Three Christmases

Merry Christmas!

I can say that cause it's still Christmas in Kamas!

Hana & I at the dinner table...and Emma...Creepin.

After a lovely, quiet, gentle Christmas morning with the Stavri, followed almost immediately by a fun, rowdy, high-energy evening of the Nevi, Josh and I drove up to Kamas this morning with Haela in tow, to visit Mom and Richard. This year Josh and I found what we felt was the perfect gift for those two: a Carl Rungen painting of a bull and a cow moose set against a beautiful mountain backdrop. (I hope they love it as much as we loved giving it!). That being said, one thing I love about my mom is her joy in giving. She is always more excited to give me my present than to receive one from me.

I got literally seconds into showing Mom pictures of our house before she started to get up from her seat saying, "Okay we need to do presents right now. Richard! Time for presents!" I didn't understand until she gave me this to unwrap:

I'm already sixty pages in and it's really a great book. I've gotten lots of ideas and inspiration and I'm just ready to get started! I suppose we should actually close on the house before I start shopping for paint chips and area rugs huh? Lame. Hopefully we'll get word tomorrow.

Anyway, it's been a great marathon Christmas and I feel so very grateful for all the wonderful people in my life. I truly have been blessed by amazing family and friends who touch my life all year round! So although technically it is December 27th, I'll say it again.

Merry Christmas

and, in tribute to my marathon viewing of

A Christmas Carol

with Miranda (we watched 4 versions in 2 days)...

God Bless Us, Everyone!

House Hunters: Cedar City Edition

Oh my! Christmas is almost upon us and our world has been turned upside down! In addition to all the regular hustle and bustle of the season, plus my extra work at Sunrise, and all of Josh's involvement in A Christmas Carol...

WE'RE BUYING A HOUSE!!

And it has happened so fast I can hardly catch my breath! It's been crazy and wonderful. It's an adorable little 1950's three bedroom rambler right around the corner from our apartment. Here are all the checked boxes and details that made us fall in love!

• It's in our ward. We absolutely love our ward and our ward loves us. They made me feel so welcome when we made the decision to stay in what was then "Josh's Ward." I love my young women and Josh has great relationships with the young men and is just getting started as Scout Master.
• It's close to the University. This is fantastic because it means we can put off buying a second car for a few more years.
• The yard! It's big, beautifully landscaped without being overdone, and fenced! And you know what that means...PUPPY!! eventually...or sooner.
• The house is covered in hideous carpet, but underneath it lies oak wood floors just waiting to be refinished!
• The price! It was previously owned by a little old woman who passed away a few months ago and the kids don't live here and don't want it! We agreed on a very reasonable purchase price very quickly and they are ready to hand over the keys!
• The house is in great shape for its age. There are some summer projects in the tube but nothing serious and it passed inspection!
• Free stuff! This clip from How I Met Your Mother should appropriately convey the excitement of having stuff left by the previous owner. Seriously. They left a TON of usable free stuff!

• This is particularly poignant because the master bedroom has a slight curve to it. We're going to have to shim the floor at some point. Yeah.
• Finally and most important, it feels right. It's the right home for us and we both knew it almost as soon as we walked inside. There has been a beautiful, harmonious spirit between Josh and I over the last week that has brought me a lot of peace in the decision to move forward.

We have been working toward this since we got married and we are so happy to have finally found the right home for us.

Happy Packing 'n stuff!

Havasupai!

Last month I had the awesome opportunity to take eight of my Sunrise girls to Havasupai Falls, along with one of the therapists, my boss, and a female teacher. I was particularly excited to be involved because I’ve wanted to go there since I was a freshman in college. It’s a 7 hour drive from Hurricane (so about 8 hours for me), and then about a 10 mile hike to the campground. We stayed in Kingman, AZ and then drove the last three hours to the trailhead. We sent most of our gear down on mules and carried daypacks for the hike. It’s actually in the Grand Canyon so it was cool to be down there. I’ve always wanted to hike the Canyon but didn’t really know I had it in me. The hike down wasn’t bad at all, but I definitely got some blisters and a workout! It took us about 5 hours and the sun was just setting when we got our tents up. The next morning we hit the trails for Moony Falls, about 2 miles away from camp. We had to basically climb down the side of a cliff to get down. There were chains to hold on to and cave-like tunnels to brave. I put myself between a girl terrified of heights and one failed to mention claustrophobia. You’d think that’s a bad mix, but it was great cause it made me totally forget my own fear of heights! Win!

The water was the most clear, blue, cool water I’ve ever experienced! You could see right to the bottom of the river. I felt like a teenager again! I was climbing cliffs and exploring caves, swimming against the current to see what lurked under each waterfall, and jumping off rocks into the rushing water. I couldn’t have been happier! I spent most of our time at Moony Falls with one of the girls I haven’t been super close with before. We picked our way down the river, slipping on rocks and floating the deep parts. When we got tired we went back for our books and found the perfect little rocks in the middle of the river to plop down on! It was heaven. Pure Heaven!

Havasu Falls was a lot like Moony but much easier to get to. There were more caves to explore and the pools were deeper so we did more jumping and swimming. I also got to prove my swimming chops to the guys, which is always nice.

That night Krista (the teacher) and I slept under the stars. It took forever to fall asleep under that beautiful canvas.

The hike out was more painful because I already had blisters, but I ended up hiking with a girl who was hurting too and we agreed we just wanted to power through and go! We pulled way ahead of the group and held up our lead until the last 2 miles when the guys started running and came within view. She turned to me and said, “I’m tired, and I would love a break, but I am NOT giving up my first place lead! I will not be passed by the guys!” A girl after my own heart! Spurred by her conviction we booked it the next half mile until we hit the switchbacks. If you’ve ever done Angels Landing, you’ll get this reference. Those switchbacks are like the Wiggles from Hell! About halfway up I started to struggle and let my girl go ahead at her own pace cause I thought I might barf from exhaustion. I was so tired I had to stop every few steps and the guys passed me, but I finally made it! (I was happy to hear that my little hiking buddy got to the top first, even with the guys running!) It felt so amazing to realize I hiked about 25 miles in three days and had just reached the top! And I did all 10 miles in 4 hours 15 minutes! I felt so powerful, so strong, and so, so very sore! As I walked to the car to wait for the rest of the group I caught a look at my shadow. With my pack on and limping as I was, I looked like Richard III in a bandana!

Havasupai, with its lush green foliage and cool blue waters is strikingly beautiful, and I think is special because it isn’t accessible to just anyone. You have to want it. You have to earn it.

More pics to come!

My Happy Place

Our Jackson trip was so amazing! It was so cool to be back in that special place and get to share it with my sweetheart. I took him all over town. I showed him my favorite used bookstore, the Browse ‘n Buy thrift shop, the really cool eco-friendly library, and of course all my favorite places to eat! I took him to Bubba’s BBQ for breakfast and the Caddilac Bar. I was most excited for Josh to try the little hole-in-the-wall where I fell in love with Thai food!

Josh approves!

Teton Thai Green Curry on a warm Summer evening is heaven on a plate! Unfortunately it’s been shi shi-ed up and moved to Teton Village, about 20 minutes away, but we found out it’s still the same recipes and everything, so yes, we drove out to the Village for Thai. And it was delicious!

On our last night in town we met up with Bekah for Sidewinder’s: our favorite little sports bar. They have the best stuffed pretzels and BBQ Chopped salad in the world! And it was so great to hang out with Bekah and catch up! She’s the one who helped me get to Jackson so a lot of my great memories are of her.

It was great to see her!

I know everyone rafts the Snake when they go to Jackson but man it is EXPENSIVE!! I had no idea because I always went with people who worked as river guides so we just all pitched in a few bucks for the raft rental. Josh and I have both done it before so we decided to just play in the river. Fortunately I worked with locals so I took Josh to a little rock beach where the current isn’t too fast. We made some friends, met some dogs, and enjoyed the river.

I think the best memories of our trip were created at our little campground. This is the view from our spot!

When we pulled into Jackson we went to the Visitor’s Center where they recommended the Gros Ventre (pronounced Grow Vaunt) campground and told us to watch for a herd of bison reported to be moving through. We kept our eyes peeled but we didn’t need to, because the herd was literally crossing the highway!

The next night, while Josh was building us a fire, I was brushing my teeth a few feet away. Suddenly we heard a rustle in the bushes behind me. I shined my flashlight and watched a full grown bull moose trample through the brush and head straight for me! I slowly backed away, knowing full well how aggressive a bull can be. Josh started to edge towards the 9 mil he had just loaded. Mr. Moose passed within a yard of me and slowly lumbered up the ridge, and out into the meadow beyond the campground. My heart was pounding, my eyes straining to catch any hint that he might charge, and all my senses keenly aware of my surroundings and situation. I about wet myself!

That night we watched the most beautiful thunderstorm move up over the Tetons. When the lightning struck, those mountains lit up so grandly they looked even more purple and majestic than in the day. The storm came within 2 counts of us so we scrambled into the car, just in case, and just watched the storm chase itself across the Gros Ventre. It was so incredible!

Then we realized our tent was leaking. Hence Josh’s state of the art…er draining methods the next morning!

We thought about toughing it out, until we had everything almost dry and saw another storm rolling in. We ended up coming home late that night.

In efforts to escape the storm, we visited the Museum of Wildlife Art. You know how I know I married the right guy? We spent the morning looking at paintings, picking out our favorite artists, checking out the super cool kids art studio, and watching a video of the artist creating this painting of a bull Bison emerging from his dusty herd. It was fantastic.

It felt so good to be back in that special little town. It brought back so many sweet memories of my kids and all the fun things we did, and of course Justin, my trusty vanmate. As I look back on that Summer I remember vividly how much my choices were guided by my Heavenly Father and the protection, guidance, and growth I gained from him in Jackson. I cried as we drove out of town, but not so much out of sadness for leaving, though those tears were there too, but out of gratitude for my experiences there and the joy of including my sweet husband in my happy place!

We're Taking the Yellow Brick Road...All the Way to Jackson

Hello out there!! I'm still here! I just went on a Summer hiatus. Ever since my summer of '08 in Jackson Hole, I make a list in late May of all the fun things I want to accomplish before the end of August. This year the list was particularly long so I decided to forgo blogging for the Summer.

But now we're on...

VACATION!!!

So I thought I'd document and then catch up on Summer later.

Josh and I have been looking forward to this rare week off for such a long time. It's nice to get some away time together. But we have a lot on the docket for the next 5 1/2 days! We wanted to see some family and spend time in Northern Utah since we so rarely do, but we also wanted to really get away and after a lot of thought and research, we decided it was time to return to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I'm so excited to share my favorite place in the world with my sweetheart!

We set out from Cedar yesterday and got to Orem in the afternoon. Josh went to my dad's house to snag a nap while I spent a couple of hours with my cousin Kiara and her little boy, Kai. We hung out at the pool and then chatted at her house until Josh came back for me. Kiara and I grew up together and rarely get quality time to talk and catch up so this was really nice.

After Grammy Venturi's funeral a couple of weeks ago (a whole other post) Josh and I talked about what a wonderful homemaker she was and how much we both want to be better cooks, so I set a goal to cook at least once per week (which we consider quite a feat since I work at least 3 nights a week). We also want to broaden our perspectives by learning different styles of cooking. Thus, we asked my dad to teach us how to cook a pot roast. I grew up eating my dad's delicious Burgundy Pot Roast with mashed potatoes, homemade gravy and roasted vegetables on a wintry Sunday afternoon, followed by fresh chocolate chip cookies hot from the oven. Yeah. That's what WE did for family home evening last night! It was so much fun to watch my dad light up over seasonings and wine discussions with the smells of my childhood filling the kitchen. My dad loves to teach anything; cooking, golf, how to properly throw a football or light a campfire, and the Gospel, among other topics. He seems really happy when he's sharing his own knowledge with others. And it was delicious. I think Josh got a real taste of what my Sundays were like as a kid!

Today we meant to get up early, but now that prospect seems laughable. And actually, I did get up at about 6:30 am to do Haela's hair for her first day of school, which turned out cute...and then I went right back to bed!

Anyway, my computer has been making a funny sound when I open it so we had an appointment at the Genius Bar at Fashion Place this morning that we almost missed. But we did get in at the last minute, thank goodness. The "Genius" helping us was just lovely! He wasn't condescending at all! I just love it when smart people are still nice to me when I ask them for help! We stopped for some See's samples and headed up to Kamas to hang out with my mom and Richard and their rescue dog, Glacier. He likes me :) Tonight we'll have dinner and enjoy a nice evening with them. They live in this great house up in the mountains that feels super homey. We like being there and are excited to spent some time there!

Tomorrow we set out...for Jackson. And I just can't wait! It's like I'm going home!

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes...

Last month we celebrated our 1^st wedding anniversary! It was simple, (tax season. Nuff said.) but it was nice to spend time together. We went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse and shopped a little in St. George the Friday before. Sunday night we were hanging out, enjoying some precious us-home-simultaneously time and we reflected about the last year. Here are some highlights:

Josh started working full-time at the festival, doing what he loves

My brother, Chad, was called to serve in the Mexico City North mission and is still loving it and having lots of success

I was called to serve in the Young Women Presidency

Josh was called to teach the 11 year old boys in Primary (anyone else sensing a theme in the populations we tend to work with?)

My mom was married to Richard, who we just adore

I was promoted to a supervisor position at Sunrise

I was hired part-time at Wingers (I just can’t get enough of that place!)

We visited the Grand Canyon with John and Bobbe for my first time

We became an aunt and uncle in October when little Joseph arrived and welcomed another little Joseph into our lives when Kellie and Troy brought their second child into the world. We love both of them so much!

Josh was offered a job assistant directing A Midsummer Night’s Dream this summer with Fred Adams

Only shortly after our 1^st anniversary we received our clearance letter allowing us to be sealed for Eternity

It has been an amazing year! We love the life we are creating together and are excited for everything that it is to come!

Now and Then

Our first Valentine’s Day together turned out to be nothing like we planned. Cara’s family invited us up to attend the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House over Valentine's day weekend. It worked out nicely because it’s a lot easier to have a night out on the town in Provo than in Cedar so, the night before the open house, we decided to get all gussied up and have dinner at Carabba’s and see the new Valentine’s day release, He’s Just Not That Into You. And gussied up we got! I curled my hair, we wore nice clothes…we made all the necessary preparations…except, ya know, the dinner reservation and movie tickets.

Of course every showing was sold out and Carrabba’s had a 2 hour wait. We remembered why we love our little Cedar. Poor Josh felt so bad! He wanted to make me happy but everywhere we went the line was way out the door! And then I started thinking outside the box and remembered how much I love California Pizza Kitchen. I suggested CPK and they weren’t on a wait-probably because a pizza joint isn’t usually considered a particularly romantic atmosphere. Go figure!

Not only did we walk in and were seated immediately, but the manager recognized me from our days serving at Wingers together and gave us a discount! We had a great meal and were so pleased with ourselves for beating Valentine’s Day at it’s own game. After dinner we went to check out what wasn’t sold out at the movie theater and ended up seeing the “Underworld” Prequel and loved it! We had so much more fun than I think we would have had we followed “the plan.”

~So, now that you have some context, I’ll tell the story of our first Valentine’s day as a married couple.~

I was a little disappointed when I was scheduled to be on call at Wingers for the evening on V-day, but I figured we’d just make it work somehow. We got worried that I’d get called in and be stuck there all night so Josh suggested we go out to lunch so we at least got some "us" time in. I got all pretty and we went to Chilli’s and made the most of Josh’s lunch break. Later Josh came home and we gave each other our cards and Josh unveiled a beautiful Calla Lily plant for me so I could have my favorite flowers anytime! By the time I called in to Wingers and was told I wasn’t needed, we were pretty cozy and neither of us felt eager to brave the crowds and busy restaurants so we went down the street to the Maverick and bought…wait for it…Bahama Mamma hot dogs to eat in the comfort of our own little home.

I spent the evening scrapbooking with Josh next to me playing on the computer while we watched Terminator II on AMC! It was perfect! We decided it was just the best way to spend Valentines day: have a yummy lunch when no one else is out and enjoy our favorite hot dogs at home in the evening. As for the totally non-traditional movies we keep choosing…I wouldn’t mind keeping that one around either!

New Beginnings

So I have some events to catch up on!

In February my Young Women celebrated New Beginnings. It’s a great opportunity to start getting to know the girls who will be coming in over the next year. Our ward is pretty small so we only have one new Beehive coming in but we as a presidency still wanted to make it really special for her and the other girls.

Our super crafty secretary figured out some really cute decorations to have the girls make for the special night. I think the girls enjoyed the creativity and they did a great job! They yummy cupcakes helped a bit, I think! Mine (the chocolate ones) were a hit thanks to Bobbe’s frosting! Someday I’ll learn how to make it myself!

We asked the parents of the new girl and the two who came in this past year to stand and give a little spotlight about their daughters and tell us what they love most about their young women. It was very touching to hear these parents express in husky, emotion-filled tones how much they love their little girls. It reminded me why I love my calling.

I got to be in charge of creating a slideshow set to music of the young women. Each girl was equally represented and they all got a copy. It was fun to hear the giggles and gasps over the silly pictures and listen to them sweetly compliment each other on the pretty, serious ones.

The Presidency

Our YW Pres. Michele Malie (who is also my second cousin’s wife. Small world.) found a program online with music written by Jennie Phillips that focuses on the youth theme for this year, which is We Believe and centers on the 13^th Article of Faith. The girls each had at least one speaking part and sang with the group. One of our Beehives even sang a lovely solo. The girls were not thrilled to hear that we not only expected them to show up, but learn and perform their parts as well, but the results were awesome! There was such a beautiful spirit in the room and I think it touched the girls.

It was a really nice night. It made me think of my New Beginnings and how excited I was to FINALLY join Young Women when I turned twelve. It’s a pretty cool organization and I am grateful to be part of it.

WE GOT IT!!!

The time has FINALLY come! Yesterday while serving at Wingers, I got an ecstatic text from Josh and ran outside to hear the news for which we have really been waiting for about 15 months...

OUR SEALING CLEARANCE!!

Seriously though, we started the paperwork again back in November. I am so stinkin excited I can hardly stand it! And I can happily say we already have a date with the Temple. On April 23, 2011, we will at last be sealed for eternity in the St. George Temple, hopefully surrounded by family and good friends! I am just so happy. The Lord truly does answer prayers and I can see his constant love in my life. I think I'm the happiest girl in the world!

"Training"

I was so motivated to blog more regularly after my last post but it just didn't happen. Oh well.

So my zero-sugar experiment went ok. I refuse to call it a success or failure because I want to try again and I don't think giving it such a final judgement would aid in the motivation department. Right after I wrote last I flew into hysterics because I realized I wasn't supposed to be eating honey. Josh, ever supportive, talked me down and accompanied me on a late night grocery hunt for allowed sweeteners. I left with some Agave syrup and a box of Stevia sweetener, thoroughly relieved. I did fantastically after that until Super Bowl Sunday. I didn't care about the game, but all of the delicious treats Bobbe made for us were just too much! The next week got busy and I just fell off the wagon.

So, I'm going to start up again soon and go another week on the same plan, and then slowly reintroduce the banned foods one at a time, as well as moderate my sugar intake. I want to do this because I could not believe the difference in how I felt over those two weeks! When I was off sugar, etc. I had tons more energy, less headaches, and better overall health...but I was SO cranky!!

When I went back on sugar I felt super sluggish and gross...and not cranky...but feeling gross made me not feel emotionally great either!

Thus, the experiment. I'm hoping to learn some more about the way my body responds to different foods, and maybe learn some moderation as well. At work we are watching The Peaceful Warrior with the girls. At one point the old man tells the young man,

"There is no beginning or end to training. You simple continue. Life is a training."

That is how I'm going to approach "training" my body.

Days 1, 2, & 3

Day 1 was rough. I was sorely tempted and caved a little. Not a great start. But the mentality I have chosen is that stumbling a little is not the end of the world. I am not going off sugar for 2 weeks. I'm simply not eating anything that won't make me feel good TODAY! Telling myself that I'm not going to have anything yummy for 2 weeks is just not helpful. It seems daunting and completely un-accomplishable! So I'm taking this one day at a time.

Day 2 went pretty well except that it was a little stressful because I'm not used to taking time to thaw chicken and prepare balanced, sensible meals for myself so I ran around like a crazy person looking for something for lunch before rushing off to work. Naturally I felt flustered and not thrilled with this eating plan, but I didn't get a headache yesterday and Tuesdays are traditionally my big migraine days, so my faith was restored.

I found that when I eat full, balanced meals with healthy carbs and the right amount of protein, I feel full longer and don't crave sugar as much. I am grateful that I am already feeling the positive results of my plan.

Day 3 (today) was very challenging. I was rushed this morning and super irritated when I showed up a half hour early to work because they changed the schedule and didn't tell me. Super. Irritated. Mostly because I was in the midst of a lovely dream in my nice warm bed when I bolted out of bed after missing my alarm.

So I hurried through my Oatmeal with a bit of honey, some pecans, and frozen berries, downed some herbal tea and rushed in just to be there early. As a result, I got hungry earlier and had a later lunch than I should have so the cravings are up! I also think that the lack of (processed) sugar is making me a wee bit cranky. My poor husband!

The website (http://www.womentowomen.com/detoxification/detoxdiet.aspx) recommends plenty of fluids such as 100% juice, water, and tea as well as vitamin C supplements, meditation, and Yoga to help with cravings, so that's the plan for the rest of the evening. And I think I'll clean my house to distract myself from the yummy unopened bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs hiding in my kitchen.

11 days to go! Huzzah!

Too Much Sugar! Need More Spice!

I have ALWAYS struggled with sugar consumption. I love sugar in almost every form. Give me candy (sweet or sour), chocolates, cake, brownies, hot fudge sundaes, chocolate ice cream, ice cream in general, pies, pudding, chocolate milk...really anything with chocolate...but more than anything, the coup de grace of my sugaraholic-ness:

I. Love. Cookies.

They are my Kryptonite. I can down a box of Oreos before you even know they're there!

And, on an emotional note:

When I was little cookies were the default dessert. I was a good little veggie-eater for the lone, solitary hope that after bathtime, before bed, Dad would pour each of us a mug of ice cold milk and hand out one and a half (we got the extra half on really nasty veggie nights) hot, homemade, fresh, delectable chocolate chip & roasted pecan cookies. Heaven. My heaven will have cookies.

Once, my friends and I came home from a particularly dramatic school dance in the ninth grade just heartbroken over some stupid boys with a whole night of moping ahead of us. We walked in the door and my dad took one look at us and said, "what'll it be girls?" with a bar towel slung over his shoulder. Cara-playing along, as always-replied, "give me a milk. Make it chocolate. On the rocks." to which I added, "I need some Oreos, Dad. And stat!"

Moral of the story: Cookies and milk make everything better!

Right?

Right?

I wish it were so.

For reasons I will explain shortly, I decided to go on a sugar cleanse for 2 weeks.

No sugar.

No bread.

No caffeine. (I'm weaning.)

And some other stuff that's way easier to eliminate from my diet.

I won't bore you with the details of what I am and am not eating because it's really all about the sugar for me. I don't love french fries and potato chips. I don't eat super processed Mac-n-Cheese. I just love my sugar. But I don't feel well. I weigh more than I ever have before, which is super annoying and depressing since I'm supposedly in the prime of my life or whatever. I also get massively painful migraines which I suspect are mostly hormonal but I can't deny the correlation to sugar. I have also never had a single successful go at dieting or even creating and maintaining healthy eating habits. So I feel super motivated because I desperately want to feel better...and if I follow the plan 85% of the 2 week period (let's be realistic here) Josh promised me a pedicure! Hee hee.

I know that many of my readers (lol I have like 5 readers) have had success with plans like this so if any of you have tips or motivational support or chew toys to stop the cravings, let a rip!

Here goes!!