3 Years

Three years ago today, I married the man who left the man of my dreams in the dust. Cori, I love:

Your dedication to us, your family always comes first

The way you honor your priesthood

That you appreciate good music, good food, and good places

Watching you play sports-- this guy is a stud

The father you have become

Your work ethic

Your love for BYU sports, and the Jazz

The 1 1/2 children we are raising together

Watching you with the young men in our ward

The way you love me

Two years ago, we celebrated our first anniversary atop Machu Picchu

Last year we celebrated #2 during our graduation trip to Yellowstone

This year, we look forward to simply enjoying an evening together. As I mentioned in my last post, this weekend we visited the Temple where we were married. It was so special attending the sealing there at this time of year. Not only did it bring back so many memories, but it brought to memory so many promises that have been fulfilled in our little family.

All my love, Cori!

Welcome to Gardnerville

I'd like to introduce you to my home town. Cori and I just returned from 4 1/2 wonderful days with family and friends there. Every trip home, we find ourselves dreaming up schemes that will help us move back. What could be so great about a little ranch town in Northern Nevada? What could inspire the desire to spend our lives in a place that is barely a blip on the map? Well, among its surprising amenities, Gardnerville boasts:

the home of the W* family

amazing views of the Sierra Nevada's

out door everything all year round

great proximity to Lake Tahoe (only 15-20 min. to South Lake)

3 Basque restaurants

visits to Virginia City of Mark Twain lore and the great camel races

(and the best rib eye sandwich at the Bucket o' Blood Saloon according to Cori)

smog free air

small town feel without the small town living

the piano that took the brunt of my emotional ups and downs during high school

an impressive number of Saints

accessibility to Reno (1 hour) and San Fran (3 hours)--a girl has gotta shop

millions of stars at night

seasons-- snow in the winter, green in the spring, hot in the summer, we love the changes

the Ponderosa Claim, home of the Cartwright's and the famed series Bonanza

enough memories to stuff a book shelf

Maybe I haven't convinced you. I have to admit that even I forget how great this place is. However, I completely understand what possessed my dad to move our family here. We had lived in So. California for nearly 14 years, and then within less than a year, my parents relocated dad's business, built a home atop an alfalfa field and moved us to the country. Its grown and changed so much in the 13 years my family has been there. But something that will never change about Gardnerville is that like only a few other places (London, Washington D.C., and BYU), it will always be a part of me.

The dream house my parents built together

not pictured: the barn and horses, dad's orchard, mom's daffodils

The view from our front porch

Our Trip

Here is a little list of highlights from our trip to NV:

Attending the sealing of my dear friend on the weekend of my own anniversary with Cori in the Temple where we were sealed three years ago.

Going to a Rockapella concert with the whole fam. These guys are so amazing!

http://www.rockapella.com

Eating out at J.T.'s - our fav. Basque restaurant. It is a family style affair complete with five courses. The night we went, the courses included: vegetable soup, bread and salad, ox tail stew with beans and lentils (ewe, I know. It was actually very tasty), share-sees of salmon, sirloin steak and lamb chops, and finally, a little bowl of pistachio ice cream. Oh, I almost forgot the seasoned fries. It is more than a meal. It is an experience.

Hangin' with Thea and her BFF (a.k.a. her iBook).

Laughing it up with Sara over some piano duets.

Spending time with Jared and his girlfriend Larissa.

Feeding the horses with Gracie. And watching Grace with all the dogs (there are 3 when everyone gets together).

Being spoiled in general by the two best parents a girl could ask for. Cori and I had nearly two whole days to ourselves. We spent time at the temple, visited friends, did some shopping and saw a movie... in the movie theater! (Spiderman 3 is worth the matinee ticket. Seriously.) Our plans for a day hike were cancelled due to crazy weather, yes, it snowed.We like to call this one 'Grammie Marla helping Grace go down for a nap'

Thanks Jessika!

What a treat. I had such a lovely week with my London pal Jessika. She was a perfect house guest, and I think I can safely say that we wore each other out! We did all the usual things around here, Disneyland, an afternoon at the beach, yummy dinners and lunches out... But we did some other things that have been conspicuous by their absence from my life. Namely:

1. A girls' day out

2. A couple of girls' nights in

Yikes, I needed that.

We spent our girls' day out touring Hollywood Blvd. complete with its walk of stars, and the Kodak and Graumin Chinese Theaters. We ate lunch at a Creperie in the Hollywood Galleria, and then enjoyed a leisurely drive through Beverly Hills to Rodeo Drive. Yes folks, Rodeo Drive. We paced the showcases inside and out of Tiffany's, goggled at Gucci, and dreamed over Dior.

We spent our girls' nights in relaxing tired feet, chatting through chick flicks, and trying not to eat too much ice cream.

Yikes, I needed that too.

It was actually a bit of a crazy week for both of us. Cori had finished his interviews, and he and I were in the midst of some serious decision making. This was made crazier by Cori's schedule with the Young Men as he was away at night, and then on a backpacking trip. And, no sooner had Jessika gotten here, but she received a phone call that set some changes into motion in her life as well. I really enjoyed having her with me through the week, despite the all phone call breaks we both were obligated to take. For pictures and more details, you'll have to checkout Jessika's blog in the next week or so (I've got a link on my sidebar).

Thanks again, Jessika! We loved having you with us!

Missionary Memories

It seems like my time as a missionary might as well have been a lifetime ago. So many significant things have happened in my life between now and then. Yet, so much of who I am I owe to the sculpting I received while a missionary. So I know I carry my mission with me everyday, though my memory of street names, people's names, and memorized scriptures is getting a bit shaky.

But, isn't it amazing how the smallest brush with a living piece of your past can bring so much to the front of your mind?

This weekend, I was given a special gift. I got a call from an old friend who I got to help teach and who was baptized while I was serving in a singles ward. She was in town for a singles conference, and happened to have my contact information with her. It was so special to spend some time with her. I listened to her talk about going to the Temple. I listened to her talk about feeling and following the Spirit. I listened to her talk about her sister (for whom we prayed and worked and prayed some more) who is now a strong member of the Church and who has gone to the Temple.

An amazing period of my life was brought from off the shelf and opened wide. I treasured its pages and added a few lines. I was renewed in so many ways. Thanks for the visit Marisol. And thanks Jessika, for rolling with all the punches while you were here!

What I've been reading

Between all the traveling we've done lately, and all the nights I've spent on the couch or in bed feeling less than great, I've done quite a bit of reading. In no particular order, here's a little taste of what I've had my nose in.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

This is a novel that I loved at its beginning, detested in its rising action, and adored at its denouement. Despite my range of emotional reactions, it was a page turner. I was surprised. Edwards has a remarkable talent for putting indescribable experiences into just the right words. Her descriptions of being a new parent, finding clothes that fit a week after delivery, nursing, loving, and trying to keep things together were nostalgically perfect. She weaves a compelling story of an unthinkable secret that affects two families. One family is completely devastated as a result of this secret. And juxtaposed to the devastation is another family that flowers in love and security. The narrative warns of fear and selfishness simultaneously glimmering with redemption and hope. The characters are real, hence my detestation at watching some of them change and degenerate because of their choices. I took a new look at my interpersonal relationships, as well as my own fears insecurities that I allow to influence my choices.

The Remains of the Day

This was a re-read that I try to get in every year or so. Its one of my favorites. Ishiguro won the Booker Prize (the most prestigious literary award in the UK) for this novel. Its narrative style is very unique as the story is told in the past tense times two. Stevens, the protagonist, is in the midst of a big change and he takes a journey through his past as he travels to meet an old friend. The reader is constantly being thrust from his memories to the situations he is encountering along his trip. The fantastic effect of this style is that we are seeing everything through Steven's paradigm and Ishiguro challenges us to read what has been written between the lines. What unfolds is a quietly tragic tale of a life lived for the wrong cause. I learned so much about myself when I first read this. It was like holding a magnification mirror up to a piece of me I had never wanted to see. But it was liberating to acknowledge this part of myself, because I was able to change it. I realized that I had given myself certain titles, like Stevens. He was the quintessential butler, and allowed this title to rule his behavior to the point that he wasn't consciously making his own choices. Similarly, I had defined myself by titles like 'straight A student', or 'go to girl' and I was shocked to see how much I allowed these titles to occasionally rule over my choices and skew my priorities. The lesson is learned anew every time I read it, as I am constantly adding new titles to my identity. This was my first time reading the novel as a mother, and I had a list of things to work on when I finished.

Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman

An Assembly Such as This

This is a novel in three parts that my mom sent to me. She has read several Pride and Prejudice (or P&P as we true fans call it) re-works and sequels, and proclaimed this her favorite. I was skeptical at first, but once I was in, I couldn't put the book down. I LOVE IT! Though, I've only read the first installment, and half of the second. It brilliantly tells the P&P story entirely from Darcy's point of view. Aidan weaves in and out of Austen's narrative, quoting dialogues exactly. But every action point has a new light shining on it as we approach it from Darcy's perspective. The novel as a concept makes a ton of sense to me. Its almost like Austen intended to go back some day and write the 'He Said' companion to this 'She Said' novel. There is so much of Darcy's life and situation that don't get explored- he is such a darn enigma! This novel is laced with historical information and laugh-out-loud comical interactions that put a lot of meat onto Darcy's character. It cleverly explores the sources of Darcy's seemingly abrupt and inconsistent behaviors. I was worried that reading a work like this would taint my original P&P experiences, but on the contrary, this series has only enhanced so far.

The Nazi Officer's Wife

I read this one for book club. I've read several books about the Holocaust, and this one was decidedly different. It is the true story of how Edith Hahn Beer, a Jew from Vienna, survived the Holocaust by assuming a false identity and ultimately marrying a Nazi. It was fascinating to read about how the Nazi's and the war were viewed as they spread across Europe. It was also heartbreaking to be involved in her story as she struggled through complete rejection as a Jew in a Nazi world, only to be rejected by other Jews in a post Nazi world because she didn't go to a concentration camp. Through all of her heartache, she was ambitious and optimistic. She completed law school and practiced as a judge. She experienced motherhood. She had true joy and happiness in her life. I would laugh and turn the page and cry and turn the page and laugh again. I definitely recommend this book.

A weekend at home

Ahhh.

Yes that was a sigh.

We had a whole weekend at home,

without any big church events that either of us needed to head,

without any trips to the airport,

without any dramatic illnesses (though we spent the week working on that one),

without mountains of catch up work,

without anything really planned.

We watched episodes of The Office and of Lost that we had missed over the last weeks. We slept in. I was able to get 5 loads of laundry done in 2 hours flat sans Grace. We spent a couple of hours at the beach. We all took a nap. We met our friends Carl, Kris, and little Wesley (whom we have not seen for too long) for yummy Chinese food. We enjoyed the Sabbath together.

This is how we spent most of the week. Gracie contracted a very aggressive respiratory virus, and we spent several days on a heavy regiment of nebulizer treatments, anti-biotics, and steroids. Scary stuff, but she's doing well. What a little trooper! She was especially good about the nebulizer. Saturday morning cartoons with Dad certainly helped.

Grace chasing birds.

Chilly weather wasn't going to keep this guy out of the water. It sure kept me on shore!

Don't worry. We're not getting used to the leisurely life. It was the calm before the storm. Cori is officially on the hunt for his next rotation. Its hard to believe we've been here nearly a year already. He interviews in AZ this week, and next weekend he's going to IL for another interview. And these are just the offers that came his way before he was officially looking. We'll have some big decisions to make in the next few weeks. Tentative moving date: the beginning of June. Yikes.