I miss playing the piano!

I played the piano from 2nd grade all the way through high school. I like to think I got pretty good and I really miss it. Whenever I visit my parents, I'll sit down for a little bit and try playing, usually just hymns, and I am so rusty. It's kind of frustrating because I put quite a bit of work into it growing up. Anyway, the last few weeks I've listened to Jon Schmidt's "Pachelbel meets U2" a few times and I've decided one day Trent and I will purchase a piano for our home. Right now it's probably just a far off dream, but I can dream, right?! I'm excited that we'll be moving down to Arizona so that for at least the next several years I can use my parents' piano.

Here is Jon Schmidt's "Pachelbel meets U2" (it's just the music, there's no video). If you haven't heard it, I hope you like it!

2 Year Anniversary!

Trent and I were married two years ago today! It was a great day :) I don't know what I'd do without Trent. He is my best friend. He loves me even if I'm ridiculously scared of the dark and paranoid that someone's in our house, when I'm super emotional and can't stop crying (haha), when I make fun of him, when my side of the bed is super messy (my side is the side that people can't see if they come upstairs and see our bedroom!) and the list goes on. He loves me no matter what and boy am I grateful for that! For those of you who know me, you know that I'm not one that laughs a whole lot. Not because I'm not happy, it just takes a lot to make me laugh. Trent makes me laugh like no other and I love it! I love that he loves to shop. I am so grateful that he enjoys cooking. Life would be so rough if I were the sole cooker. We would have a lot more cereal nights, that's all I have to say! In the end, I don't think he realizes just how much I love him.

Enough of that mushy gushy stuff (love you so much honey!). We celebrated our anniversary yesterday at Lagoon (an amusement park here in Utah). It was our first time and we had a great time, just the two of us! We didn't get any pictures :/ It's hard not having anyone around to take pictures for us! Also, Friday I got my first massage. It was great during the massage, but ever since I've been pretty sore! We decided not to exchange gifts this year because last weekend we went to the outlets in Park City and spent way more money than we thought we would. It was way fun though!

It's been a wonderful 2 years and I'm so excited for all that lies ahead. I just wish life would slow down a little bit!

The Last Song

I finished reading The Last Song Tuesday night. Loved it. I think I'd say, without hesitation, that Nicholas Sparks is my favorite author. Added to my bucket list - to see a Loggerhead Sea Turtle nest hatch like Ronnie and Will do in the book (and for anyone who hasn't read it yet, I don't think I'm giving anything away b/c the cover of the book has baby turtles on it). I'm excited to go see the movie now! I know the movie is never quite the same as the book. Like Dear John. Even though there were some significant changes in the movie, I really liked it.


Oh and do you notice anything off about this picture?


The library put the cover on upside down..haha. I thought it was pretty funny!

Graduation..I'm a bit behind on blogging :)

About 2 weeks ago Trent and I graduated! Well not officially. We actually only walked, but it was exciting nonetheless! We will officially be done with classes at the end of June, and we'll officially graduate in August. Since we'll have moved by then (we move to Arizona at the end of June) we walked during April's ceremony. Hope that makes sense! We both graduated from the College of Life Sciences. My major is Public Health and Trent's is Physiology and Developmental Biology (PDBIO).

It was so fun to have both our families come celebrate with us :) Here are some pictures!

These first two pictures are from Thursday, April 22nd after Commencement. I really like this picture even though we're all looking at another camera.

Here are Trent and I with my Grandma Whitmore ("Gram"). The white ribbon is called a stole of gratitude and I got it for my grandma b/c my grandparents paid my way through school! I so appreciate them :)

These next pictures are from Friday, April 23rd when we actually graduated. Here we are before the ceremony began.

Here we are headed to walk through the Marriott Center tunnel to get in line to get our diplomas.

This is right after my name was called. I'm walking up the ramp with Trent right behind me :) We got to walk together! (Unfortunately this picture and the next are quite blurry)

Too bad there is a mysterious blur above my head :/

We're walking back to our seats here. My mom was waiting to hand me a gorgeous bouquet of roses :) You can see them better in a later picture.

We didn't get any good pictures outside afterwards because it was freezing and RAINING..yuck! Here are myself and Jen (my twin for those of you who don't know) headed to the car far, far away.

Finally at home and warm. It was an exciting few days!

Nativity

I have been wanting to post this for a few days, but haven't had the time. Last Sunday, Easter Sunday, I went to a family dinner with some of my extended family (by extended I mean great-aunts and uncles, second cousins, etc. ..my first cousins are more like immediate family). They got Trent and I a graduation gift. I have always loved the Willow Tree figurines, as well as nativities b/c my mom has several of them. So they got us a Willow Tree nativity! I love it! I had to pull it out to see it before we put it away until Christmas and ended up keeping it out for a few days :) There are more pieces that we can add to it each year if we choose to.

Trent thought it was kind of neat that we got this on Easter b/c Christ's birth is actually right around Easter (April 6). Just thought I'd let you all see :)

P.S. If you haven't read my last post, please take a minute to do so!

Small Acts of Service

Trent consistently demonstrates small acts of service. Quick note: I bought plain cheerios for the crust of a coconut cream pie that I made and had leftovers. I don't like how plain they are so I avoid eating them unless I have some fruit to put in them. And then I usually don't have enough time to cut up some fruit or I'm just too lazy. Back to the story. Yesterday morning I came downstairs for breakfast and found a note on the cupboard to the cereal that said, "Look in the fridge honey." I proceeded to look in the fridge and found a baggie of sliced up strawberries with a note that said, "These are especially for you honey. Thanks for all you do. I love you! :)" Just a simple act of service that put a smile on my face! Thanks love for all you do!

Speaking of service, I have a cute friend named Amy who went to South Africa this last summer for her public health internship (we are both public health majors).

Here is Amy with two of the darling kids she got to know while she was there :)

Amy truly grew to love the country and the wonderful people of South Africa. She stays in close contact with a lady she called Mama Yoyo (who was kind of her mentor while she was there) and would love to go back someday and maybe even live there for a time. She is such an example to me!

Anyway, a few weeks ago Amy got word that the home of one the families she got to know burned to the ground. Amy says, "The cause of the fire is unknown. No fire trucks came, no Red Cross, no notes about donations in the local paper." So Amy decided to take action and started a Facebook page called "Donate to help the Ndwenwe family!" Take a minute to check the page out and become a fan.

Here is a picture of the Ndwenwe family

This is only part of the family. There are 9 of them in all (2 parents and 7 kids). Amy says, "The family cannot afford the materials it would take to rebuild their shack and buy other necessary items. A first priority is to get this family a place to sleep out of the weather--currently they are living outdoors. Any amount of donation you can give will be a blessing. The money will be sent in care of the owner of the school where the children attend. Though they may never know your name, they will be forever grateful. Thank you."

As I mentioned earlier, take some time to look at the Facebook page for more information. Of course, anything we can send will help. Use a little bit of your tax return! Donations in cash or check form can be sent to Amy and her address can be found under the info tab on the Facebook page. If you don't have access to Facebook leave me a comment and I'll get you the information.

Thanks guys!!

3 Years Ago

3 years ago Trent and I had our first date on St. Patrick's Day seeing Guitars Unplugged. After that night (the best date of my life..it is confirmed in my journal three years ago!) we saw each other everyday that week. About a week later, 3 years ago today, we became exclusive. Our 2 year wedding anniversary is coming up here in May. Anyway, I came home today to tulips and chocolate. Trent remembered! I didn't even remember! I always just remember our first date (easy..it was St. Patrick's Day), but he remembered the day we became "official"! It was a pleasant surprise!

So I always listen to music when I make dinner and tonight as I was making sweet 'n sour chicken "Best Years of Our Lives" came on. In the words of the Baha Men "Ohhh...Makes me wanna dance Ohhh...It's a new romance Ohhh...I look into your eyes Ohhh...Best years of our lives." I can't help but sing and dance when this song comes on :) Anyway, the last 3 years have really been the "best years of our lives" and we are so excited for the many, many more to come!