Pioneer Day: July 4th, Round 2

In Utah the 24th of July is just about as big as July 4th is for the rest of the US! It's the day the Mormon Pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake valley and it is celebrated with parades, 5k runs, fireworks, and the day off work (for some!)

Amos and I both had to work, but when he had a break we celebrated with a quick trip to the BYU creamery for some delicious raspberry cheesecake swirl ice cream. Since I've been living in Provo I haven't been there for ice cream yet so that was a nice treat. It reminds me of a grocery store in the 50's - every cashier is friendly, and wears a name tag that says where they're from. We brought the carton and some spoons back to the shade at the MTC field and practically ate the whole thing!

On Wednesday we saw Batman: The Dark Knight, which we've both been anxious to see. We really liked it! It's a long movie, so if you haven't seen it yet, don't go hungry. Thanks to my purse and McDonalds' dollar menu, we sure didn't! All the actors did a great job, and Amos has been having fun acting like the joker and creeping me out! He's really good at it, so when they make another one with the joker in it, i'm nominating him! In real life he's much more like Batman, seeing as this movie quote embodies him quite nicely:

"Know your limits Master Wayne"
"Batman has no limits"
"But you do, sir"
"Well, can't afford to know them!"

That's Amos! Always very ambitious and knowing no limits; a great example for those around him!

Busy Busy!

I wondered when I'd get a chance to post again! It's been a while. (Thanks to Ashley for the encouragement to get my rear into gear and finally update the blog!)

So here it is, a 102 degree Saturday afternoon and I have some time to spare.

I absolutely love my new job. I get to teach all of our employees about business, websites and internet marketing, and make sure they are being effective consultants to our clients around the world. I've wanted to do something like this for ages and was very excited for the opportunity when it came. I get to work with a lot of great and motivated entrepreneurs and we all have a good time. We work hard, though, so there is no time for facebook, blog updating, or any of those other great internet time-killers that I used to enjoy so much! Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy them, but it's harder to find the time.

Our latest hobby aside from work and school is the TV series 24. Amos happened upon all 6 seasons on DVD and we have been watching those almost non-stop during our free time. I will not even tell you how fast we got through them because it's quite embarrassing! We've enjoyed ourselves, though. Just waiting until Jack Bauer returns to the TV screen in January, 09.

Also, we are the proud owners of 2 apartments. Well, renters, rather. They are kicking us out of our current apartment in the middle of August for BYU's Education Week so that they can rent the rooms to people attending. The problem is that Amos has all of his finals the same days we have to move. This week he found a great place in Wymount Terrace (BYU's married student housing) so we can slowly move from one place to the other. The new place has a fairly large porch so we got some fold-up 'soccer mom' chairs from Sports Authority so we can enjoy the nice fall weather out there. We also picked out some awesome Poang Chairs and footstools from IKEA (thanks Mom & Dad) for our new place because we won't be renting furniture. Amos, me, our chairs, footstools, Netflix, the TV and we're good to go!

Zippin' & Slidin'

Amos usually doesn't get off work on a Saturday, so when he did we decided we would make it an extra fun-filled day!

First, we had to take care of business. He went to work at the MTC for a few hours and then we headed up to Salt Lake for his biometrics appointment. He now has official fingerprint records with the government, so I told him to make sure he behaves if he wants to stay in America! I did make a slight fool of myself asking him what color ink they used to fingerprint him, assuming it was black. Well, apparently they do all digital fingerprinting now - no more ink. I thought his hands looked pretty clean!

We made a quick trip to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to replace the wooden spoon that our blender chewed up. Amusing story: One Sunday we decided to make strawberry milkshakes with our new blender. Since the strawberries were frozen they really weren't blending very well so I was using a wooden spoon to push them down into the blade (while the blender was running.) I served Amos his milkshake and he was really enjoying it until he spit out a small piece of wood. And then another one, and another one... We took a look at the spoon and yep, turns out there was a huge chunk of wood missing from it, so needless to say he quickly abandoned his woodchip milkshake in favor of a purely strawberry & ice cream one. Whoops!!

Anyway, back to our fun Saturday. After replacing the spoons (with cool bamboo ones!) We headed up the canyon to Snowbird. I'd seen several ads for their Alpine Slide and Zip line and really wanted to head up there to participate. We got tickets for both, and headed up the lift to go ziplining. We went at the same time and Amos beat me by a pretty hefty lead. It was a pretty cool ride, but not very steep, therefore not very fast. The most fun part of that zip line was the end and how fast we stopped. The wire runs straight into a long spring just before the end, and you wonder if you're going to stop before hitting the wall!

Then back up the lift to go down the Alpine slide. It looks just like a water slide except you're in a little cart with wheels. We watched other people go down and it doesn't look like it goes very fast but it does!! Amos beat me off the line but I took the lead after a few turns. I beat him, but not 'officially' because I slowed down before the stop sign rather than after, like he did. Just trying to follow the rules and look where it got me! But I still think I won so we'll go with that... :)

The big 24!

Yep, that's right...I robbed the cradle!

Amos was the first one of us to have a 'married' birthday so it was my job to make sure that it was a good one! I went to the London Market and bought him his favorite soda, Apple Tango, and a few other chocolate treats from home. Since he grew up in England he's quite the chocolate snob and does NOT enjoy American chocolate, so it's always good to make a trip to the market to get him the stuff he really enjoys. I left the kitchen table full of his favorite treats for him to wake up to.


Since I had some extra time the Saturday before his birthday, I took the liberty of stuffing all his presents with extra dish towels and washcloths before I wrapped them. Seeing as most of his presents were books, and also a DVD, it would have been too easy for him to guess what they were before opening them - and what fun is that?! He thought I was slightly crazy for doing that - and said he'd been wondering where all the dish towels went! I didn't wrap his tennis racket in dish towels, however, but hid it underneath the bed for him to search out once I got home from work.


Since I know that Amos loves carrot cake, I decided that I was going to make the best 3-layer carrot cake ever!! Well, it doesn't appear that way from the picture, does it? I was disappointed to find that each cake layer caved in, so it didn't make for the prettiest cake out there. I wouldn't even let him see it until I had all 24 candles on, hoping it would hide it a bit. However, Amos told me that it was the best carrot cake he has ever had! He doesn't just dish out compliments like that unless he really means them, so that made me feel great! All in all, a good 24th birthday for Amos!

Santa Drives a Bus

Today is my last day commuting! I never thought I'd say it, but there are a few things that I will truly miss.

To begin, the happy "carwash man" who is out with a hose at 6am and waves as I hop the fence across his property each morning on my way to the bus stop. And Bob the bus driver a.k.a. "Santa" who drives route 811 from Provo to Sandy. He is a happy jolly man in his 60's with a long white beard, cherry red nose, and a big belly. Santa to a Tee! He loves to tease, and has helped me out a few times when I've misplaced my pass; he also stops for me when I'm late so I don't have to run! (Quite a sight -a girl with a computer bag running in high heels.) Even more, it's 6am, he's been up since 4, and he still manages to be HAPPY!! Santa likes to call me "sleeping beauty" because as soon as I take my seat, within 5 minutes I'm out!

Trax is great for people watching. I must mention the "regulars." The nurse with red spiky hair, the lady who does her makeup -LOTS of it -on the train (once she even forgot to take one of her curlers out!), the Law student with a young family, the women who seem to be the real-life versions of "Sex in the City" girls (though I've never seen that show), the skinny masseuse with the cool tin lunchbox, the sweet quiet Asian lady, and the mustache man with shorts, white socks, big boots and aviator glasses.

The thing that's had the biggest impact on me, however, is getting a chance to observe the true kindheartedness of people. The ones who will get up to hold the door open for people running to catch the train. The men who will let you go first when stepping onto the train or bus, and who will practically jump out of their seat and offer them to women when there is standing room only.Or people who will give up a seat to someone who is older, not as well-bodied, or has their hands full. The thing I found most surprising is that it's not always the people who you'd expect. Sometimes it's the well-to-do businessmen, but many times it's the blue collar construction workers, or 'punk' teenagers, or young working girls who will serve others most selflessly. Their families will never know, their boss or church leaders won't see, and nor will their friends. The person they helped can only offer a simple 'thanks' in return, yet they are still willing to serve. That's true character.

Commuting hasn't been fun, but it's taught me lessons I couldn't have learned as effectively any other way. The experience has taught me how to spot someone in need and to be quick to offer the help that I can. It's taught me not to judge someone's character by their appearance, and it's taught me humility. I will never be able to repay those strangers who have brightened my day for a moment, who have sacrificed something for me, or sparked a friendly morning conversation, but what I can do is to do the same for others, and pay the kindness forward.

Lots of "New"s

It's always exciting when life switches up on you a bit - especially when it's all at once! Amos has just started a new semester in school, we have just started a new calling as primary substitutes, and I have just accepted a new job!

I am very excited to begin working at Thrive Learning next Monday! The company does consulting for clients who want to build and market online ventures. I have missed being in the ecommerce industry and am very happy to be back. I'll be working as a trainer for our consultants; something I absolutely love to do. This is a very welcome change, as I'll be closer to home, with a flexible schedule, and doing something I enjoy.

Speaking of teaching, Amos & I have been teaching in the Primary in church for the past few weeks. It's summertime, and since many of the teachers are going on long trips, we've been called as substitutes. It's a very fun experience and we're learning a lot - especially me, seeing as I've never been in Primary before. Everyone knows the songs but me! The first week was a little frustrating because I have no idea how to keep kids entertained while I'm trying to teach! They have a LOT of energy and not a very long attention span. Amos is great with kids and has come to my rescue every time by introducing a great balance of of doctrine, discipline, and entertainment. Not to mention, the girls all like to flirt with him and they get a kick out of his accent!

Amos started a new semester at school last Monday. It's going to be a busy one for him. I can't imagine taking 3 classes during summer term plus working a part-time job (and entertaining a wife!) He said his classes aren't too bad, though some are a bit boring and they require a lot of reading. He'll do great like usual and then hopefully have a more laid-back schedule during his last semester in the fall :)

It's official...

...I am now a blogger! It's been a long time coming, really. But what better time to start when you're young and newly married with lots of stories to tell!

Perhaps I mention the time I fed Amos a strawberry & woodchip milkshake, or our fondue frenzies, or our little apartment that I just adore. I mean, really, if you haven't lived somewhere with a finicky refrigerator, a bathroom the size of a phone booth, cinderblock walls, and twin beds pushed together on the floor then you'll never have any funny "when we first got married" stories to tell your kids! Plus, I think it builds character :) However, I must say that we are quite lucky to have found one with a pool and 2 bedrooms. That means I get my own closet(s) and Amos gets his own study room, which is wonderful.

We've been married almost 2 months now! It's been fun for both of us, and quite the adventure - as we are complete opposites. Tidy vs. Messy; Rational vs. Emotional; Saver vs. Spender...not to mention the cultural differences! It's so great because we have so much to teach and learn from one another. For example, I no longer attempt to serve fruit or jell-o with dinner anymore because 'dinner is savoury, dessert is sweet.' Haha, not in America. Silly Aussies! On the other hand, Amos discovered I have a strange affinity for opening mail. One day I returned to find all the mail so neatly opened and sorted. As great as that was, there was nothing left for me to open! Bills, junk mail, whatever it is, I like to open it. It's the kid in me I guess. Now Amos will kindly leave a pile of mail for me to open when I get home from work. Aw, lucky me!

Other than that, we're just staying busy with work and school, fitting some good fun in when we can, and enjoying the summertime weather!