$4, a Y decal shirt saving the day, and the worst thing ever to do in your *free* time.....just rambles for a day

We bought a $4 end table. FOUR. CUATRO. Ya, 4 bucks.  It's not even (that) crappy either. I'm satisfied.

Like the kind you put at the end of your couch (if we ever have a couch).  Good dealy-o.  Now we are just hoping it doesn't break when we put something on it!  But we now *OFFICIALLY* own an end table ($4), TV stand thingy ($24+tax), and a kitchen table ($40).  We are feeling good...we've been able to spend (SO FAR) a 1/4 of what we had thought for the kitchen table and end table! Below budget and life is good.  BUT now we are realizing how empty our little apartment is. Actually no, it's a big apartment. I don't know why I chose a two bedroom one (well except for the fact that that was pretty much all I could find in our range of price and location.  SO. We have two bedrooms.  I think I thought having more space at home would make up for Aaron being gone...?? Anywho. We have A apartment now and we're grateful.  Except for the emptiness part..but time is our friend on that one.

I have been kind of a bum lately. And when I say kind of I am. I have worked hard on a lot of applications. And even saying that I know isn't exactly the whole truth because the jobs I REALLY wanted I sent the application over to Steff to look over before I turned it in..and what that means is she did a makeover on my job application stuff so now I rock....sort of.  Or sort of not. But it looks WAAAY better. And I'm so grateful.  I even got a job...not my first...or second picks..but with being in Duluth Minnesota I have really become used to taking 3rd, 4th picks..or even something that wasn't a pick.  But, with all my bumminess I have realized something: Call the Midwife is the worst show.  It makes me so stressed every time a baby is being born. I can't watch that show again until I have one or I will not be able to...too bad I already watched the first 2 seasons (ouch). So, I've learned a lot obviously in my free time about things.

Now, off to better things to keep in mind. A Y t-shirt.  They have those big Y decals on the front. You know, a big circle on the front, right in the middle, with a Y in it!  The greatest shirts, really.  So, I remembered a little funny that happened while at my mom's house right before we left.  Aaron and I were watching soccer or something, he was sitting up-right and I was lying down with my legs over his lap. THEN I fell asleep.  What came to light after that is hilarious. I woke up with Aaron's face on my shoulder/chest.  Why is that funny? It's not.

The funny part is his drool laying in my Y decal. YES! You'd better believe it. It was a pool-a-drool (pool of drool)...it was just sitting there.  Waiting for another drip from his mouth to make a ripple in it! So, what am I trying to say? IT DIDN'T SOAK THROUGH. Hal-le-lu-jah!  Honestly, I wouldn't have cared if it did I love the guy so much.  I just love to remember stories like this because they make me laugh and I love to remember them on random days and just laugh to myself.

Speaking of laughing to myself, I really have been doing that lately about something in particular that's not Aaron's drool....

Mattresses.  I HATE them. I do. You spend half of your life (or more?) on a mattress!!! And to make things worse you don't even get to pick them out in different colors. They're always white (at least on top).  So. Aaron and I have been looking for a new other-half-of-our-life and it's been cracking me up inside. It is SO awkward. The mattress industry and salesman really need to reassess how they're doing things. I hate going to a random place (that's usually more department-store feeling, ya know wide open spaces..not a lot of wall separations kind of thing. And you are expected and encouraged even to LAY down in the middle of it. It's so awkward. Especially when the salesman comes up to you while you're trying to imagine a (hopefully good) night's sleep on the thing and says "feels good doesn't it" because then automatically I don't want to buy it.  So.  Mattress are officially the worst things to buy. It's a terrible experience that I don't want to have again any time soon. But, in the mean time, I can giggle to myself about all the random places I've laid down in and felt really stupid.  Maybe I'm self-conscious, but at least I can laugh about it.

Well, enough with the rambles. Aaron and I are healthy and well and that is something to be grateful for! After tomorrow Aaron will have only one week left in his summer session, and will be ready for the real deal in the fall! Things are beginning to settle in...slowly, but they are.  I even got to have the sister missionaries over to teach a discussion today with a beautiful girl that reminded me of my dear Miss Carolyn. Tall and beautiful.  Anyways, she's getting baptized and it is so refreshing to look at her and see her light! She is so cute and I am excited to be her friend! Did I mention she runs cross country and track for UMD. Ya, she's cool.

Life is good here in Duluth. I'll say that. It's been an adjustment. Will keep being one for awhile. But I have come to remember that "I can."  I can do this.  I have the best thing in the world (Aaron forever) and so I just need to keep the chin up!

 

 

 

 

Because these just seemed to fit the random thoughts of my brain today.

TTFN

We did move and we are ready to admit it.

 Or should I say I am ready to admit it?

 

 If we opened the back doors...well we just didn't open them. But let's just say we probably wouldn't be able to put everything back in the car if we tried to do this again.  

Like seriously how did this all fit: 

and this isn't even everything....

So looking around our dorm room, I really believe it is a miracle and blessing we were able to fit what we did into our car...AND that nothing went wrong on the way!


We are moving into our little apartment down the street from the university on Friday! (If all goes well that is) It's been a little bit difficult finding and nailing down a place to live. Whenever an apartment said "ready now" or "available now" it was never 'ready' or 'available' now. BUT! We found one and it is all working out just fine. 

When we got here, the first thing we did was go down to the shore and take a walk.






It is really beautiful. In fact it's so beautiful it's a wonder that there even is a winter here (I'll be eating those words in a few months I'm sure).  

 We also recently took a ride on the North Shore. Supposedly the best biking around.  It was SO beautiful. It follows the shoreline (obviously) and is truly a sight! There are wild flowers the whole way, and it's (semi) safe.  And how I am forgetting the best part....it's FLAT! There are hills everywhere...EVERYWHERE here. And this was a doable ride since my gears are all messed up and if there's a hill I'm never sure if I'm going to be able to downshift or have to walk my bike up the hill.  Aaron's bike, of course, runs so smooth he can't get enough of it. He loves that thing and it's fun to see him and his hobby in action.

We have had a lot of fun together. It seems so strange to have Aaron start medical school. We were both shocked to find out the summer program was an all day type thing, but we're hoping this is a great head-start for him for the fall.  You only get to do medical school once (hopefully) after all!  

So, here we are. Duluthians. Minnesotans (or Minnesohtahns as they say).  And we're here to stay...for at least 4 years. And then we'll see how we've lasted the winters and such!

True Love.

If this isn't true love I don't know what is... and

and....we have 2 other beds in the other room...completely empty.  

He loves me. 

Dontchaknow

(Ok...so we forgot to take this one, thanks google! But it looks JUST like this!) 

We got all the rest...

7 states later we arrived...yes, to the land of the cold! It's already cold here! It's like in the 70's during the day...and well cold at night.  And YES, everyone talks funny.  It cracks us up!


Welcoming ourselves to

MINNESOTA.

It was only 6 months of stomach wrenching anxiety, 2 months of hard-to-make plans, and 4 weeks of crying that got us here for me.  I have been so overwhelmed with moving.  I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father.  I often think why I had to be the one who had to move, marry the doctor (thanks dad for jinxing me), yada yada yada....but I know the Lord has his eye on Aaron and I and that He's not out to get us...or me.  And that we're going to love it here. I haven't had much to do, and job searching has been a lot slower than expected...but I know we will love it here...sometimes good things take time :)

We got here to a dorm....yes...dorm...like Heritage Halls, only they allow this:

WHAT?  what?

Haha...already my Utah bubble is bursted and just dripping all over me.


Aaron is so optimistic and has taken me to do fun things already.  We have run down the beautiful trails, gotten malts at the awesome malt shop (that's only open May-October...might I add), found the cheap movie theatre, and of course...walmart! Couldn't have lived without that place.

This is what I thought it was going to be like:

This is what it is actually like:

Ya, we live on the water! The water? YA. It's super weird. Like I feel like we live in a vacation photo. It sure is beautiful.  It worries me I might actually like it here ;)  

Amongst the move, and with all the free time I've suddenly found myself with, with slow housing and job searchings, lots of time to reflect. Summer has just been a nice bliss for Aaron and I.  We were so spoiled...and so busy!

We were able to accomplish a lot, including 3 major dreams of ours (mine, his, and mine + his type dreams):

• Go to Peru, namely Macchu Picchu
• Run a marathon (with my Dad and bro!)
• Get in and go to medical school

We also got to enjoy and experience:

• Graduating college and moving to the parents'
• going to Sedona, twice! We visited the lovely Cathedral Rock, and later Devil's Bridge ....so awesome! And we hiked Devil's Bridge with Aaron's parents, Emma and BOTH her babies (woot woot to the in shape 2 baby mom!), and Adam...it was a feat if I do say so!
• I got my wisdom teeth out (seriously, never been so scared of anything...except maybe cockroaches. But I was so proud of myself!)
• I got stung by a wasp....3 times! Rude.  (*I only added this to the list to get a little pity, if even just from myself to myself)
• Hiked the Grand Canyon! Aaron hiked it all in one day! Woah man!
• Boating! With the steppers and byron and the cute kiddos
• batting cages/dinner with steff, byron, jake
• lots of swimming in mom's pool
• fourth of July...swimming again!

This was a fun packed summer.  Aaron keeps saying things like, oh I only have one class to worry about so we can do fun things this summer....and all I keep thinking is we already have done fun things! But, he's right (as always).  Continuing to do things, hopefully fun things, together is what keeps us together.  We are so grateful the Lord has blessed us with healthy bodies because we both just love sports so much that I don't know what we'd do if we didn't (knock on wood). We are grateful for all that's happened....for this new (even if challenging) experience here in Duluth.  

Aaron started class last Monday. That's almost 2 weeks ago!  We had NO idea what to expect. We thought maybe it would be like 8-noon each day...well it's 8:30-3:30....and well I just had a reality check that I need to get a job ASAP or go crazy.  Aaron's been such a good sport. He always is.