When life gives you lemons.......

So, this past week has been rather lemon-filled for us.  Here's some of the lemons we've been dealing with:

1. Joel was sick.  Joel has had a headache and fever almost all week, starting about Tuesday.  On Thursday, his fever broke and we thought we were in the clear.  But, his headache persisted and when we woke up on Saturday, his fever was back at 103 degrees.  It broke later that day, and we're hoping it stays gone this time around.

2. The test of death.  I had what I like to call "the test of death" this week.  On Monday, my professor announced that he was going to push back our test until the following week instead of opening it on Wednesday like it was originally going to be.  But, on Tuesday I received an e-mail from the TA saying how the test was opening the next day.  Little did I know, it really was opening the next day after all.  Which was stressful.  Really stressful.  You see, since I thought it was opening later, I had done other homework first and hadn't studied yet.  So, that was also a lemon-y experience.

Although there's been plenty of lemons this week, there's been lots of stuff to help us make lemonade

1. A package from a friend I got a wonderful package from a good friend of mine full of crazy, fun socks and a few other things.  It completely made my day and made life so much happier!  There really is power in colorful socks.

2. Babysitting the best niece and nephew in the world! On Friday, I got to babysit Miles and Molly. It totally lifted my spirits and made me grin from ear to ear.  Molly had gotten shots earlier that day, so she wanted to held basically the whole time.  It was really nice and indescribably cute when she fell asleep in my arms.  Miles and I had a blast playing the same game for basically 3 hours (I'm always amazed by how much energy he has). It was great!

We're also looking forward to my parents coming out to Utah this upcoming weekend and to listen to General Conference.

So, even though it's been a tough week, there's still lots to smile about.  So, don't worry, I'm still making lemonade.

Monthiversary!

This past Sunday, Joel and I celebrated our "Monthiversary" (in other words, a way to say our one month anniversary for someone who wanted a catchy title)!

It has been such a wonderful, busy, at times hectic, and most amazing month.  Between Joel and I both being full-time students and both working around 20 hours a week, life is definitely full of things to do.  But, we always work to find time to spend together.  I've come to really appreciate the little things and the little moments we share. Now, by no means are we perfect, but we're learning how to become more perfect together.

So, here's some things we've been up to this past month:

1) Travel.  It all started with getting married (in CA), going to Point Reyes, then to Maryland, then back to Utah for school!  Now, our new favorite destination to travel to is Target.  I swear, we probably go there every week (thanks for the gift cards everyone!).  Well. . . if I'm going to more serious, it's probably Pleasant Grove where my sister and her family and Joel's uncle and his family live.

2) Making it a home.  We had moved all of our stuff into our apartment before we left, but that kind of "moving in" meant placing boxes on the ground.  We also had enough non-perishable food and all the other bare minimums we'd need for when we first got back (so we thought. . . let's just say, don't forget to have at least one roll of toilet paper or you'll have to make a late-night run to the grocery store the night you get back).  Since then, we've slowly but surely gotten unpacked and now we're starting the more fun stuff. . .decorating!  We're especially excited about having a couch now (you don't appreciate how wonderful couches are until you don't have one).

3) Family time.  Since we've been married, we've had a lot of time to spend with our families.  It's been awesome!  Both families were able to be at the wedding and we had time with Joel's family in Maryland.  Since we've been back in Utah, we had a joint birthday dinner with my sister and her family and dinner with Joel's uncle and his family.  We've also been keeping in touch through phone calls and other such goodness.

4) New food fun. We've been enjoying lots of different types of food.  One of the more exciting things that comes to mind is Candy Corn Oreos.  They are super good!  One of the things I'm more proud of is my new skills in wrap-making.  I learned how to make wraps at my job and I've been having so much fun making them ever since.  Joel and I were also really excited about getting a waffle iron.

My summer chicken wrap

Our new waffle iron!

Cheez-it chicken!

5) Go BYU! Joel and I have been having fun watching the BYU football games (since we live in married student housing, we have free online cable).  Our team might not always be #1, but we love watching them anyway.

Our dinner for the game against the U

6) Visiting friends. We've even been able to see some of our friends.  It's always great to see them!

My old roommates came and visited!

There was even a London Reunion!

7) Going to the temple.  Joel and I go to the temple 2 times a month. I love going with him.  It brings such a sweet spirit into our lives and helps us refocus on more important things.

8) Other random things. As well as those things, we've been enjoying the little things together.  We play Ken-Ken every Sunday after church, read The Hobbit together, and just do some goofy little things together.  It's pretty great!

So, although life seems to be going at breakneck speed, I love being married to Joel.  It has been such an amazing month, married to such an amazing man.

The day I got married to my best friend

August 16, 2012. The day I got married to my best friend.

It was such a sweet and simple day, but definitely the best day in my life.  Honestly, I'm having a hard time coming up with words to describe, so this post will mostly be pictures (but, hey, a picture's worth a thousand words, right?).

In the morning, we went to the Oakland temple where we were married for time and all eternity.  This sweet and sacred ceremony was made even better by our family and a few close friends who were able to attend.

Waiting in the parking lot:

Gerrit was having fun with Molly's bloomers

After the ceremony, I discovered I much prefer being behind the camera than in front of it.  My cheeks literally hurt for smiling for so many pictures.

Pictures of just me and Joel:

Family photos:

The Marshalls

The Stuarts

The Larsens

Group picture:

Unfortunately a few people got cut off, but this is mostly everyone......

The best blonde joke ever  (a.k.a my bridesmaids):

Get it? A blonde, brunette, and a red head.......

A couple of random people shots:

Sister Thawley, our photographer (side note: the photos you see here are from Gerrit and my Mom.  They also did a great job!)

Bridesmaids and groomsmen

The Flowers

My bouquet

Bridesmaid's bouquet

A boutonniere

The location and general other photos:

(Gerrit had a lot of fun with these, I'm just posting a couple of them)

I love this one!

The Marshalls' sunglasses

Later that evening, we had a reception jammed packed with lots and lots of friends!  I haven't seen some of these people in years--so it was really fun to get to see everyone again.  From seeing and talking to lots of friends, a delicious cake (chocolate with peanut butter filling), some Polynesian dancing, and lots of other goodness, it was a great night!

The delicious cake!

Cutting the cake

Dana caught the bouquet!