Mold

I hate this house. I was so happy to be in the same neighborhood, in the same ward, have an easy move to the house next door. All those joys are being completely wiped out by the fact that I hate this house. Mike and I have put so so so much work into this place. I have never worked so hard to make sure that my house was clean and smelled clean. So in addition to all the battles that we face in this house (including the smelly fridge that we STILL haven't used...oh how I miss refrigerated foods), yesterday I was cleaning carpets. Out of the kindness of a friend, we were able to borrow a carpet cleaner which I was so glad because I really want to get this smoke smell gone and the carpets were just really grimy. So yesterday I cleaned the living room...no problems, the office...no problems, and then I went to clean the guest bedroom. OH. MY. GOSH. There was a really big stain on the floor that we don't really remember when we moved in but its big and nasty and brown....we're thinking coffee was spilled. Well it was so big that part of the bed was covering it. Now obviously, the bed was up on a bed frame so its not like the stain was being suffocated. We moved the bed last night so that I could clean the carpet and this is what we found:

Do you see that?? Even if you don't, its because the camera wasn't doing the MOLD justice. Yep, whatever it was that was on the carpet was molding. I wanted to die. It just makes me think what else in this nasty house is molding, besides the fridge anyway. We cleaned it with the carpet cleaner but the stain still doesn't really come up. Plus what we read online was even if you clean the mold, it usually will come back. Sick. So we have had it. So thank goodness I married a lawyer. He wrote a nasty but not so nasty letter to our landlord pretty much telling them that they replace the carpet (or at least get some professionals in here to take care of it) and replace the fridge or we are out. And that we want our full deposit back. Because seriously, I'm paying rent, and I should not have to live like this.

And I can't even bake because I don't have a fridge to put eggs in. Sad.

Trips

Quick Update: We made it to Oklahoma. No car troubles, no driving troubles. Everything was smooth. Until we got home. Our fridge is pretty much rotten (stupid tenants before us left broccoli in the freezer and unplugged it). Mike scrubbed and scrubbed but that smell doesn't go away. The washer decided to overflow and flooded our laundry room and hallway. Luckily, Mike saw it before it completely soaked our living room. Mike's the  best and fixed it though. The printer wouldn't work. Mike fixed that too. It just seemed like nothing was going right. But Friday the 13th is pretty much over. We will lay in our bed and watch a movie and then we will go to New York in the morning. And when I get back, I will update on my last few days in Utah and our trip to New York!

105

I think its time that I make this chocolate cake. Just sayin. Is that not one of the most amazing cakes you have ever seen? Its on the list. Is it bad to make the cake that I want for Mike for his birthday?

One week. One more week in Utah. I know that I mention this every time that I blog but its coming so soon. It just breaks my poor little female heart. This back and forth stuff is tougher than I thought it was going to be. I go to Oklahoma and I feel like I was never in Utah. And then I come to Utah and I feel like I was never in Oklahoma. Its really weird.

 I have already started applying for jobs in Oklahoma. And I actually have my first interview already lined up. We get home the 12th and leave the 14th for New York so I was lucky that I had a day to interview in between. I really hope that this time its just easy. I would really like to just go to this interview, have them just love me and have me just love them, for them to offer me the right amount of money and then to just be hired. Just easy. That would be so nice. Fat chance, I'm sure.

We leave for New York in 11 days! I am so excited. We now have our hotels booked so we can breathe a little bit easier knowing we have somewhere to stay once we get there. I can't wait for our vacation. It makes me giddy just thinking about it.

Mike is already applying for internships for next summer. Apparently he applies earlier in his 2nd year because he has a year of grades behind him so he can. Its crazy to already be planning next summer when we aren't quite finished with this summer yet. He's made a couple of connections here in Utah with some attorney's and applied at a number of firms. He is keeping his options open though, looking in Oklahoma and also in Texas. So who knows where we will be next summer.

I see that in Norman this week its like 105 degrees!! I am so sorry for all my friends having to experience that and the humidity along with it. I am also so glad to be missing it.

There was really no point to this blog...

Up-to-Date

My dear friend Annie got married yesterday! We were lucky enough to go to the ceremony in the beautiful Salt Lake Temple. The sealer was wonderful. The spirit in that room was so strong. Annie looked absolutely beautiful in her wedding dress that HER MOM MADE! Yes, her mother made her dress. How cool is that? And so much more meaningful to her I'm sure. Congrats to her and her new husband!

I finished another book: "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. I am sure most of you have heard of it now, since the movie starring Julia Roberts will be coming out soon. I actually started reading it before I even knew there was a movie, which makes me happy knowing I was reading it just to read it. I have heard mixed reviews about this book but I really enjoyed it. She had such a self-discovering journey. Its interesting to read her thoughts and realize how truthful her words are. It just all made sense. And it was entertaining. But don't take my word for it. You may hate it. But now I'm excited to see the movie. (I do secretly wish it was Sandra Bullock playing this part though....Julia Roberts will do good though.)

Two weeks from today we ship ourselves and all our stuff back to Oklahoma. Mike is really really excited. Not so much for me. Mike is just really looking forward to starting school again. I am really not looking forward to him starting school again. I have really liked having him around during the summer and when he starts school, he will be back to being the silent, studious type. Plus, I have to find a job again. And job searching is just not fun. If anyone knows of anything open in Norman, I am pretty much game for anything....well almost anything. I am looking forward to being in my house again with all my stuff. I sure have missed my stuff. Just that home-sweet-home feeling. And I miss my friends! Can't wait to see everyone again!

Memories

I went through my mom's computer and found some pictures, some that I've seen, others that I hadn't ever seen, all that I absolutely love.

The day I went through the temple:

Capturing the moment while capturing the moment on Easter:

Camping:

In the motorhome with Grandma:

Happy Birthday to me:

Reading to my nieces:

Kisses:

Love:

Family:

I have so much real stuff to blog about. But this was way more fun.

Sweet

My family finally got around to taking family pictures last night. We had originally planned to take them up Big Cottonwood Canyon, but things changed so to make things easier we just took them in my parents back yard. I think that they turned out well though. And it was pretty painless. 4 little kids and not a single tear. My sister is working on the editing of these pictures but as soon as I get my hands on them I will be posting. In the meantime, here is one that my little brother took of us while waiting for our turn to get our pictures done.

Big Apple

So we did it, we are finally going on a vacation. We have been wanting to take one for the past 6 months but we could never figure out where to go or when to go. So for the past few days we have thrown up all kinds of ideas. So many countries/states to choose from. We even considered going to Panama again. But all in all it came down to where have we both wanted to go but neither of us have been that was within the range that we wanted to spend. The answer?

NEW YORK

We had such a hard time actually clicking the book button on Orbitz. But we are so glad that we are doing it! As soon as we booked our flights we were buying tickets to The Lion King on broadway and a Yankees game. So now that the three most important things are booked, we probably should find a hotel to stay in.

The coolest part about this whole trip?? We start out the trip spending two days in Niagara Falls!! I have wanted to go to Niagara Falls for so long and now we are finally going!

We had to figure out how to squeeze this trip in between leaving here and Mike starting school again. Which means we now will be leaving here about 5 days earlier than we had planned, which is such a bummer, cuz I love Utah. But it will definitely make the transition back to Oklahoma much easier by throwing a vacation in the mix!

The Council of Dads

I just finished reading "The Council of Dads" by Bruce Feiler. This was a fantastic book. I think the thing that I liked most about this book is it reminded me of certain things that I want to make sure that I incorporate into my parenting when I have kids.

Approach the cow

Pack your flip-flops

Don't see the wall

Tend your tadpoles

Live the questions

Harvest miracles

Also:

Always learn to juggle on the side of a hill

Take a walk with a turtle

Hug the monster

These things may not mean much as written, but when you learn the story in the book that goes behind each of these phrases, you will learn why they are so important. This is the type of book that you want to own, so that you can highlight the multiple lessons that are learned.

One day I'll buy it, and I'll reread it with my highlighter.

Blessings

Before we moved to Oklahoma, we were in the South Jordan 1st ward. Mike served as a priest advisor and I was a miamaid advisor. Yesterday the youth were on there way to trek when tragedy hit them. Here is the article pulled from KSL.

Bus carrying LDS youth to pioneer trek destroyed by fire
By Sarah Dallof

RAWLINS, Wyo. -- A handcart pioneer trek got off to a scary start when a tour bus taking some South Jordan teenagers to the starting location caught fire.

The real challenges for this group of young men and women from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints weren't supposed to start until their bus reached Martin's Cove. Instead, they found themselves with seconds to escape the burning bus.

"Within minutes our bus is engulfed in flames. Within literally 12 minutes the bus was completely burned to the frame." - Jeff Raditz, trek leaderFor many LDS teens, a handcart trek in Martin's Cove is a rite of passage -- a way to honor the pioneer experience. It's an example of faith and endurance.

"A lot of people died there. The people left Winter Quarters too late. They got stuck in the snow. It was 18 degrees below zero [Fahrenheit]," explained Susan Harker.

Harker's two kids, Avrielle and Craig, are on the trek with the young women and men of the South Jordan 1st Ward. The real danger, though, was in getting there and getting out of a bus on fire.

It all started with a flat tire outside Rawlins, Wyo., a couple hours away from Martin's Cove.

Trek leader Jeff Radditz said the entire bus burned in 12 minutes. "Shortly after the first flat tire, we immediately got a second flat tire," said trek leader Jeff Radditz. "They fixed that within a half hour, and another half hour passed. We were on the road, and another tire went flat and caught fire."

Radditz took home video of the bus burning on the side of the interstate. He took a cell phone picture of the end result.

"Within minutes our bus is engulfed in flames," he said. "Within literally 12 minutes the bus was completely burned to the frame."

"My daughter said there were flames coming through the floor of the bus as they were exiting," Harker said.

While the teens lost all of the supplies, some even their shoes in the fire, no one was hurt. The bus company sent a new bus, and the youth group stopped in Rawlins to take a vote on if they should continue. The decision was a unanimous "yes."

"All sorts of bad stuff happens in life, and you can't just lie down and die. You have to keep going. I think this is an important lesson for them," Harker said.

The group says they've been overwhelmed by the generosity of the people who stopped to help them, providing water, blankets and supplies.

They'll be back in Utah Thursday night.

Interesting to note that if we would still have been living in Utah, Mike and I would have been there with those kids. I am so grateful to know that everyone is okay. Its amazing the positive attitude that has come from all those who were there. We are a blessed people.

♥ Summer ♥

I ♥ Summer so much. On Thursday we went to Lagoon with my family because it was stake lagoon day. Mike and I are not much into rides, (the motion sickness just kills me) so we spent most of the day taking my niece around to ride the kiddie rides. We had a great time and I even got a churro! You just have to have a churro when you go to Lagoon.

Saturday we went hiking again. I am falling in love with hiking. It makes you feel so healthy and its so good to be up in the mountains. I'd like to say that I am going to take it up as a hobby, but living in Oklahoma makes that hard. So I guess I will just enjoy it while I am in Utah this summer.

Speaking of, this summer is flying by! Its so sad! Not only is summer the best season of the year and its almost over, but we only have a month left here in Utah. Then back to Oklahoma. No big deal, except I dread having to find another job. Seriously dread it. So much I don't even want to talk about it. Moving on...

Yesterday Mike and I spent the day at my Grandma and Grandpa's house. We had a good time just taking in the small town, slow paced life. Grandma stuffed us full of all kinds of yummy foods including her signature scones and malts. I have yet come across a malt that is as good as Grandma's. And all she puts in it is vanilla ice cream, milk and homemade strawberry jam. But I still can't make it taste like hers.