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.