Bitter Sweet

I am having very mixed feelings as I start to write this blog... Alex and I have 11 more days of bliss here in Canada before we head back to Logan. I am excited to be going home to our normal routine where Alex doesnt have to work all the time and we can finally enjoy being together! But on the other hand, I am leaving my family again... at least its not a long time until we see eachother again since there are only a few more months until christmas! But I am very excited to get back to our american family ;) Alex is definitely home sick. He doesnt really say it out loud, I know he is when he starts calling his family EVERY day haha


So we are currently living at my parents house which has turned out to be alot more beneficial than we could have thought. They have been a great support, especially my mom who is constantly looking for gluten free diets and what not. Alot of good has happened lately which is amazing! Our luck has finally started turning around. Alex hit his goal this summer with 105 sales :) I was so proud of him, he toughed it out till the very last day of the season and worked so hard. Love being married to someone who knows the value of hard work and commitment. As soon as we were done summer sales, we house sat and dog sat for Crystal and Tanner when they were in Arizona. It definitely rid me of my puppy fever and no longer want one right now haha Alex is pretty happy about that.

So Since we have been back in Edmonton I have worked with a great doctor who has tried really hard to pull strings to have the operations done that I needed. Turns out I am gluten and lactose intolerant. So its not a big deal which is great! Just have to watch my diet, which has turned out to be harder that I would have thought haha but all is good! The last MIRACLE is that I have a great mother in law who stormed into the immigration office and developed a GREAT contact at the immigration office who has been an angel in this whole process. We have been calling back and forth about my advanced parole document, and she pulled some strings to have my document expedited so that I could come back home with Alex at the end of the month. With the help from Shaylee and of course Cindy, I got the document today!! Such a big relief. I felt so silly when Officer Howe called me to tell me that Cindy should be recieving the document because I bawled like a baby! I was so excited and way too relieved haha such a huge worry off my shoulders.

  Now I just get to relax and enjoy the time I have left with my family. So far Alex and I have been to two receptions together, we have gone to Elk Island Park with my parents and went canoeing and had a fire, were able to be at the little Pizzey family reunion, we have gone on bike rides, done gymnastics (so sore) haha, gone fishing, hungout with fun couples, have watched a few of Nicks football games, babysat Ella, and lots of Sunday dinners. We are trying to enjoy the time we have here which makes sales alot harder to focus on, but its been good. Main reason Alex stayed was because I wasnt allowed back into the states haha so silly. But some extra money in our savings account always helps!

OH CANADA! Home sweet home and LOVING it :)

I am so sorry to all our family back home! I have not blogged about ANYTHING since being here in Calgary! I really should have been because a lot has happened… both good and bad. First off I LOVE being back in Alberta, I am extremely sentimental about every little thing, even the look of Alberta license plates haha Cindy can testify to that! She spent the entire 15 or so hours with me in my car on the drive up to Edmonton. I don’t know if I should feel sorry for her or explain how lucky she was to spend that time with me ;) But I came home to my new baby niece Ella who is honestly such a gorgeous baby. Blonde, big blue eyes, and well-tempered, just like her mom and dad. She is a very lucky little girl to have Crystal and Tanner as her parents. I am loving life being back together with my family. There could not have been a sweeter reunion. I love them all so much and it has been amazing to be close to them again. We are living in an apartment complex on the south east side of Calgary. Our apartment is huge compared to our place back home… Alex and I cannot see eachother at all times, there are corners and rooms that we can actually disappear into haha They are newly renovated and clean which is great, and I have tried to make it as homey as I can. But I want to paint the walls so bad! They are white and boring and driving me nuts, but that’s what you get when you only live somewhere for four months. Alex has been enjoying work and is on track to have his best summer yet, so we are both very happy, and it has been nice to reunite with Michelle Forsyth and her cute little family J We have a fun group of girls here this summer all supporting our husbands haha Sarah Bonnett is from Las Vegas and has two little boys, Amanda Forsyth from Lethbridge and Karli Johnson who just recently reunited with her husband after two months of being apart! So it has been very fun being around the girls and the four kids in going to the Zoo, Calaway Park, Elbow Falls, and the spray park! You name it and i am sure we have done it haha I go home quite a bit and then Alex joins me on Sunday, we had the opportunity of going to my cousins wedding! Blake and Lindsay are way too cute and I could not have been happier for them. It was nice for Alex and I to witness their marriage and to be there as they were sealed for time and eternity. It reminded us of the covenants that we made to each other 6 months ago J

                                                                     BANFF :)

                                             Blake and Lindsay's Wedding <3

     

                                                                                                     

It’s crazy to think that Alex and I have been married for 6 months!! Alex doesn’t think six months is anything to celebrate, but he came home with flowers and some sparkling juice and took me out for dinner because he knew I cared J  I can honestly say that these past 6 months have been the happiest and saddest times of my life. I have made hard decisions and sacrificed lots… and it has been worth EVERY single penny. Alex and I are so happy, I could not have asked for a better man in my life. He knows how to handle me when I am crazy, cares for me when I am sick (which has been a lot lately…), and makes me laugh when I am mad or stressed. We have so much fun together and try to do as much as we can together when we get the time. Alex leaves at 12 and doesn’t get home till around 10 every week day and then Saturdays he leaves at 8:45 and gets home at 10… We only have the mornings, a couple hours at night and then Sundays to be together, so we try to make the most of it! In the mornings we usually take an hour or so to just lay in bed and cuddle and be lazy, and then we will usually go for a walk. Our nights end in us cuddling and watching part of a movie, however, Alex cannot stay awake in movies to save his life… it’s a bit ridiculous. But Alex and I have been to Banff twice now, we love it there. On Canada Day we took Zach and Karli to Banff and went on a hike up to Johnston’s Falls. It was such a pretty hike and the falls were gorgeous! I could stand beside a waterfall and just sit there for hours on end…

Now onto a couple of issues that Alex and I have been dealing with. I’ll start with the stomach pains that I have been having. I don’t know what to call it and neither do the doctors, I have been to two different ones and have now been referred to specialists. I have been in for multiple blood tests, ultrasounds, breath tests, all kinds of tests and everything has come back fine, but i am still in pain… Possible diagnosis are GI, crohns or colitis, or endometriosis. The last two would be the worst case scenarios and we are just trying to rule them out as possibilities. GI is most likely what is going on in which I will have to change my diet and be very careful what I eat which isn’t ideal but not horrible. I have been having episodes of extreme pain every month or so, constant pressure in my stomach abdominal area, am constantly tired, food doesn’t seem to be digesting properly, as well as other annoying symptoms. I have been dealing with it since last September…so I had just had one of my stomach episodes, and on the day that those happen I cannot stand up straight, walk around, nothing, and then my stomach is uneasy and sore for a few days following. Well two days later I burnt my foot way bad!! Talk about bad luck, oh my heck! So stupid… I was boiling water and the cup with the hot water slipped out of my hand and spilt down and onto my poor foot! I was wearing socks and I was in so much pain that I was not thinking clearly and I ripped my sock off taking most of the skin on my foot with it… it was the most excruciating pain, well besides the Stomach pains but those come and go throughout the day and the burning was constant for a couple days. So Alex got me a bucket of water and that helped but it still killed and I didn’t know what to do next! So of course I hopped on Facebook and asked for opinions haha \then I called health link and they told me to go to the hospital. That was a horrible experience!! First, I had to take my foot out of the water to get to the car which was so freaking painful. But Alex, as strong as he is, carried me and my bucket of water so that I could have it on the drive there haha it was so embarrassing walking in because I was balling obviously haha and couldn’t really explain to the reception what had happened. But they got me in a wheelchair, my bucket and all, and got me in right away. But then they had to wrap it, which means taking it out of the water, and I thought I was going to die haha (dramatic I know) and so they gave me T3 and a shot of morphine and it almost did the trick. It took a while to kick in and even then I thought they had given me a placebo because it still freaking burned, but it was somewhat bearable now. I am just glad it happened when Alex was around so he could drive me and just be with me! There’s no way I could have driven there on my own. So that’s the deal with my health issues.

Now for my immigration update! It still sucks and is as frustrating as ever. I really wish I had just paid a lawyer to do it, looking back now I definitely should have. Firstly, our post office in Logan decided the send the notices that immigration was sending back to them instead of forward them to Cindy as I had requested… Immigration of course paused my application without me knowing… So that was hold up #1. Secondly, I was told before I came to Canada that I did not need my fingerprints done in order to receive my Advanced Parole which allows me back into the United States. An immigration officer recently informed me that I DO need the fingerprints done in order for the document to be processed and completed and you can only get them done in the United States. If he is correct, then that means I cannot get my advanced parole document which means I cannot go back to the states without immigration denying my request for permanent residency. So basically, I’m screwed. I am waiting for the notice to be sent to Cindy that will notify me whether or not I actually do need my fingerprints done, and if I do, then there is a border patrol guy who is trying to help me get across. Because I still have a valid student visa there is a possibility that I can get back across on that without immigration throwing a fit. So right now I am just kind of waiting… if I can’t get across then I will have to re file from Canada which would keep me here an extra year. Alex and I are already planning on taking a semester off and traveling Europe. Even if things go well, my travel document won’t come till after the semester starts anyways, so while we have no children, no mortgage, or real obligations we may as well take advantage of it! Taking a semester off does not change when Alex graduates, it just makes what would have been an easy semester a harder semester so it’s not a big deal school wise either. We plan on selling post season, and then backpack Europe for the month of October and then take a cruise from Spain on the 5^th of November for 13 days, ending in Florida. But we will know for sure what we are going to do when Cindy receives the notice…scary.

So that’s the long/ short summary of the past few months here in Calgary, and like I said there have been some great times, and some not so great times haha but as Alex always says, “everything will be fine, it will all work out.”

Our Crazy Couple of Months!

 I haven’t written in a couple months because our life insists on being crazy busy. We have not been home for a weekend in what feels like forever! This will probably turn into a novel so I apologize, but this is our life!!

The first trip we went on was a cruise that we spontaneously decided to go on with Brandon and Brooke Major and Jenna and Addison Gines. We honestly decided to go and book the trip all in one night a week before we were to leave! Craziness. It was a Mexican cruise that left from LA with Carnival Cruise lines. We drove in two vehicles down and stayed at Jenna’s family’s condo in St. George. Her brother lives there and is hilarious. The boys had a good time beating the last level in the Mario brother’s game on WII. So ridiculous. We then drove straight through to LA and got on the boat!! It was honestly so fun. We ate a TON (Alex gained 18 pounds!!) and enjoyed playing cards and doing as many activities as we could. We met two really fun young couples who were at our dinner table with us, and a funny tongan. So funny story; we were having lunch at the buffet area and i fell asleep... so natually everyone thought it would be funny to leave me. Well this big tongan guy saw what was going on and decided to come cuddle up to me!! i woke up thinking it was Alex and was very suprised when it wasnt haha good joke guys...

Anyways, our first stop was at Catalina Island where we walked around and saw the shops and walked up to this old temple? I think it was a temple, but anyways, it was surrounded by a beautiful walk through a garden full of every possible plant that grew on the island. It was really pretty. Weather was a bit chilly and overcast majority of the time, but comfortable. I was silly and laid out on the deck with my leggings folded half way up my calf. I found out later that it had made a perfect tan line across the middle of my calf! Looked great when I wore shorts, or when in my skirt the following Sunday. Embarrassing.  The next stop was at Ensenada. This was probably our favourite stop. We first walked around the flea market and Alex bought himself a hammock (he’s very proud of it) and I loved bartering and got the best deal of the day! One man told me I was a very tough girl ;) Alex loved that haha for the afternoon we rented a golf cart and got all six of us on it and just cruised around! We didn’t read the rule book and decided it would be a good idea to go up a way steep hill to the top of the island. Well it stopped half way and the boys had to push it up the hill while I drove haha the way down was just as adventurous as we feared the brakes would go out and had to zig zag across the road the entire way down hahaha it was great. We then broke the rules again and drove it down on the beach where we ran into this ten year old boy who was offering rides along the beach on his horses. Alex and I took him up on his offer and rode along the beach. It was so fun! He had a full sized horse and then a smaller mule and at one point he made Alex and I ride together on the small little mule haha it was honestly so funny. We loved it. By the way, for anyone who doesn’t know, Alex is absolutely in love with horses! So I was really happy he got the chance to do that J we then had a day at sea and it was done, time to go home.

 But we first stopped at the pier, walked down to the beach and ate some real seafood in LA. We left that afternoon and stopped in Vegas and walked along the strip. Brandon had never been so it was fun to see him all excited about everything. We were then supposed to drive to St. George and spend the night but Alex was driving and decided that it would be better if he just drove the entire way home!!! I was so mad. The rest of us didn’t want to sleep in the car all the way home but he just figured he was doing us all a favour by getting us home earlier haha what a boy… So that was our cruise in a nut shell! Such a good spring break J

The next weekend we went to Arizona and met up with my parents, Emily and her friend Carly. It was so nice to be in some hot weather for a while! My parents have a home in a retirement community just outside of surprise. We went to three of the March Madness games, so fun! First two games were the sweet sixteen rounds and the last was an elite eight game. We loved it so much, it was so nice to spend time with my family, and Alex and I both love basketball so it was beyond fun J The rest of the time we lounged in the pool and hot tub, went to a spring training baseball game! I found out that Alex knows a ton about baseball so he could tell me exactly what was going on and why they were doing such things, it was cool to see him like that. We went to the hunger games haha just a good time all around. I love my family; they are so fun to be around! Even though it was only a couple day trip I had been excited for literally months.

The following weekend was General Conference and so we went down to Salt Lake and watched it at Alex’s mom’s house. Blake and Lindsay who had just gotten engaged came down and so we got to hang out with them a little bit. Alex got priesthood session tickets for him and his Dad to go which was way fun for Alex, and so Blake went with them and Lindsay and I just hung out around temple square. It was really fun to catch up. Alex also had a mission reunion that weekend where we went to a temple session and then had dinner at the church. The Lindleys are part of our family, and so it is always nice to visit with them.

After that weekend we went up to Alex’s families cabin for Easter with his Mom, Richard and Shaylee and Jeff. Alex sold in Pocatello Saturday while I hung out with the family and we decorated Easter eggs with his nephew Carter. Jeff tried to one up my eggs but failed… Shaylee, Jeff and Carter ended up coming with me to pick up Alex later that night and we went to Lava Hot Springs, one of our favourite activities! When we got home Cindy and Richard had deep fried a turkey and it was delicious! Next morning we hunted for eggs with Carter and went to the small ward there in chesterfield. It was a great weekend; I really enjoyed spending time with his family J

The next weekend we packed up on Thursday and went to Zion’s National Park with our group! The Gines, Rio and David Grange, Nick and Lauren Hancey, Hayley and Jerry Axtell and Amanda and Trent Hagman. We all headed out at different times and we went with the Hagman’s late Thursday night and stayed in Provo and left early Friday morning. When we got there we met up with the Gines and Granges and went on a small hike and then explored around! It is so pretty there, I couldn’t handle it! I love camping so much. But unfortunately it rained that night and so us girls just stayed in our tent and put hair wraps in each other’s hair while the boys explored alternate hikes in the rain. We slept in the same tent as the Hagmans and it sucked! It rained and stormed all night and the tent ended up flooding and Trent kicked a hole in the tent haha funny, but brutal.  And to top everything off, we woke up the next morning to snow!! In April!! Killer. But we made the most of it and were joined by the others who came in the middle of the night. We went on a couple different hikes which were really super pretty. The red rock looked really cool with the white snow sprinkled on it. A very unique experience we are told. But when we were done hiking we decided it would be smart to go into St. George to hangout for the night. Half of us packed our stuff and decided to stay the night at Jenna’s condo because of the tent situation. Such a good idea haha so we went to St. George and Rio called up her grandparents who lived close by and we got access to a heated pool and hot tub. SO nice haha then just played cards and watched star wars. I was so confused the entire time though. I had never seen star wars before, and we didn’t watch the first one and so I just thought it was stupid. Jenna’s brother didn’t like me saying that haha oops! Oh and Hayley is a chef so she made us ribs and peach cobbler, soo good. We were spoiled. So we slept well and went back to Zion’s on Sunday and went and climbed Angels Landing. That was a really fun hike, but I am a FREAK! At one point it gets pretty steep and so they have a chain that is bolted and goes all the way to the top. And so it was pretty slippery because of all the snow that was up there, and anyways I was SO nervous that everyone else around me was going to slip and fall to their death! I wasn’t nervous for myself, I was completely fine doing it, but at one point, this old man was climbing back down and slipped a little, well, I started hyperventilating…I couldn’t have anyone in front of me because if they slipped, even the slightest, I would freak out! It was horrible. But overall, the hike was gorgeous and so fun, I loved it! It was really neat because we were able to go on hikes where there aren’t normally waterfalls and on some, there were five or six just streaming down a huge mountain. So cool! So I definitely recommend to anyone who likes hiking to go to Zion’s Park. It is well worth the trip J

So that is our CRAZY life! Not one weekend where we have been at home… horrible I know. The rest of the week is still full with school as we only have two and a half weeks left till we come back to Canada! Alex’s mom is coming up this weekend to help me deep clean while Alex goes up and helps Rich fix up the cabin. Then Cindy and I will join them up there for the rest of the weekend. Another weekend gone!

My life doesn’t seem to relax for even a moment. It has been very eventful and fun J I honestly wouldn’t change a thing, except that maybe my immigration papers would have NO MORE PROBLEMS and that they would go through smoothly and quickly! But I am so grateful for the friends that I have made and for a husband that I absolutely adore! We have so much fun together, every day he makes me laugh and I can’t handle it haha we definitely fight and pick at each other but that’s what we do! Whenever I am grouchy he will start grunting and saying how he is just so mad, and repeats it over and over till I start laughing. What a terd! He has established a very good means of diffusing my anger haha

So I am sorry for the late post and that it is soooo long! But Alex is at soccer and I just got back from a relief society party with nothing else to do for the first time in months!! Which I am very grateful for.

Gotta Love the Married Life!

So Alex and I have now had our first valentines together and it was fun :) I had never before had a boyfriend on Valentines Day so I was a little more than excited for this one. He bought me my favorite meal (Chik-Fil-A spicy deluxe chicken burger) and some sparkling apple juice with candles haha some candies and other goodies... and I surprised him with a white and milk chocolate fondue and a scavenger hunt for coupons! We then sported our Aggie pride and went to the basketball game and later enjoyed a movie night together in our apartment :)



But besides a great valentines, we have been integrated into a game night group with friends from our young student married ward! It has been really fun to have people to hangout with who are in the same stage of life and don't have kids yet so they are available to go out and play haha Last week we hiked up to a cave in Green Canyon and had a winter campfire. We roasted starbursts which is something that I have never heard of and was a delightful surprise! They are so good! But we loved being in the cave as Alex and I have never been up there, we're still rookies when it comes to Logan's outdoor wonders.

Utah is great as there is so much to do! A couple weekends ago we had the privilege to go to The Utah Jazz game!! That was pretty fun and we both enjoyed that. Vivint paid for us to go and for Alex's recruits as well, so he was a bit stressed about keeping them entertained and kinda left me to do my own thing but I was at a Jazz game and enjoyed it none the less :)

We have also been going up to Lava hot springs a lot, I love them as they are the closest thing to a hot tub. I miss the one back home... I have been dying to get into one since we went snowboarding last weekend at Sundance. Alex's mission president invited everyone out to go skiing and paid for us all plus a private lunch... It was gorgeous outside and was amazing to be up on the top of a mountain and be able to overlook the others. It really makes you appreciate where you live, I love seeing the mountains everyday :)
But the day had its challenges as it was only my third time snowboarding! It was really fun though, I learned how to carve the last time I went so at least I can do that. But I cant just go straight down the hill which is a problem. I am really slow and don't do well with crowded hills haha But Alex was very impressed so that made me feel good. He would always go down a ways and then wait and tell me how well I was doing haha I knew he was probably just saying that to make me feel good but even so, I didn't discourage him from saying it ;) Then to say thanks for being so patient with me, I ended my day earlier than him so he could do a couple runs at his own speed which I'm sure he appreciated haha.

But other than that, school has still been keeping us crazy busy. Alex has started going to lectures from big time business men and women and so I started going with him to occupy my time as well and they have turned out to be really interesting. And then after the lectures we go to the gym together. Alex says that he will teach me how to play soccer and we will just kick the ball around, but what he really means is that we can go and play in a GAME with all his soccer friends!! what a trickster! But there is no way! I don't know the rules and I haven't developed a good touch yet. So if he wants the ball shooting around all over the place then ya sure, I'm the girl for that. So I just end up playing basketball while he goes and plays his game haha

But anyways, life continues to become more and more busy, but it has been way fun, and married life just keeps getting better. But I still don't really feel like I'm married, I feel exactly the same as when we were dating but just better haha But I figure thats probably a good way to feel :)

I Love You More Than Yesterday But Less Than Tomorrow.

So everyday just keeps getting better and I now feel like we have settled into a pretty good routine. Mondays we have our own FHE with specific jobs in which we rotate every week. One person prepares the message and the other makes desert! This past monday was Alex's turn and I thought it was pretty cute/funny so I had to share. He made this wonderful pudding pie with an oreo crust, and in case you cant make out what the little oreos say ( because I  couldnt either), it says A <3 K haha What a romantic ;) 

So lately Alex and I have been driving up the canyon and exploring the river and mountains which is always fun, and just focusing hard on school! I just got through my first round of exams and Alex is just going through them now, so goodluck to him!
The rest of the week is pretty mundane, except that the basketball team I play on is very entertaining. I am probably the top player on my team which shows how much we suck! So that's not as fun but its good excersize and its still basketball so its good. I'm more aggresive than ever which is a scary thought for anyone who has ever played with or against me haha Oh and Alex went and bought a desk that mounts to the wall, a lounging chair which he is in 24/7 now, and a DVD rack. All very exciting things which contribute to turning our little apartment into a home :)

So just a little emabarrasing story to end this post. Alex's sister, cousin, two aunts and uncle are doing a challenge to go to every temple in Utah in a certain amount of months ( I cant remember how many) and so this past week was the Logan temple. So we decided we were going to join them, but that morning I could not find my reccomend and being as emotional as I have been lately, started balling and decided there was nothing that could be done and I just couldnt go. But Alex being the determined and caring guy he is, decided that we would go to the temple anyways to see if there was anything they could do. So we went and told the front worker the deal, and he went looking for the Temple President. Well it was already ten minutes till the session was to start, and then five minutes till the session rolled around and the Temple President had just come to address my issue. By this time I had just told Alex to go in and if I made it then that would be awesome but if not then I would see them after. Well the President looks me up and says im good to go, but there is only 3 minutes till the session starts. I tell him my family is in that session and so he runs me to the change room, gets a lady to help me get dressed, it takes 1 minute to get me out of the change room and he escorts me to the ordinance room, litterally speed walking/jogging through the temple!! He opens the door, stops the session just to let me in!!! I was two minutes late and oh my heck was it ever embarrassing. The entire session I was balling, not only because I was embarrased but because I couldnt beleive how amazing the Temple President was in helping me out. I was so overwhelmed with the love of my Heavenly Father and of the temple workers. So this is a love/hate experience. But made me realize how important the temple is and how much it meant to me that I be there. I loved it because of course the entire time I am saying sorry to all these people helping me out and every one of them just keeps telling me how happy they are that I am there. LOVE IT!
And all Alex could say about it was how weird he felt being in there alone and how happy he was when I came running in there haha I love him so much, whenever im upset he'll tell me that he loves me more than yesterday but less than tomorrow. That everyday he seems to love me more.

A little tour of where we live :) Ive tried to show most people through skype but I think this makes it a little easier to see!

This is the Logan Valley!!



This is our cute little house! We are the little entrance off to the left of the front entrance. and I thought this was pretty funny... we have to use old skeleton keys!!



Our bedroom...




... Magically tranforms into our living room!! We love having our futon, it makes the space alot bigger when people come over and the memory foam cover we got makes it just as comfy as any bed! The size works perfect, Alex and I fit just well enough that we dont have to sleep touching all the time, though most of the time I wake up to him cuddling me anyways haha




 




This is our little bathroom, I tried to get a picture of the shower which is off to the right behind the door, but it didnt work haha its too small in there!

This is our kitchen, the second and only other room in our home :) But it has been a perfect size for Alex and I and I love it. It also serves as the homework table until we buy a desk for the living room haha we have been looking at one that mounts on the wall and folds back up against it when we arent using it! Super nice for that room becasuse there isnt much room as it is.

This is a picture taken from one end of the apartment to the other. Just to show you exactly how small it really is haha
The right corner (with our backpacks and HUGE printer), is where we will put up a desk :)


And this is our view from our front door :) Alex and I have made a goal to try and go 3 times a month. shouldnt be too hard since it takes 40 seconds to get there!!



Summary of the first month!

Alex and I will have been married 1 month next Friday, February 3rd, which is very exciting! The first month has been amazing, and hectic all at the same time... We live in Logan, Utah which is a valley, or a bowl that is surrounded by mountains. It is a small town with gorgeous rivers and walkways. I love it here, and am grateful to live right across the street from the Logan Temple. We live in a basement studio apartment, so it consists of the living room/bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. I think I have done pretty well at making it cozy instead of just small haha But it has been really fun, Alex and I are never more than two feet apart so its a good thing we love each other!
 We both started college full time, and it has been really fun to be able to go to school together everyday.Alex is working on a double major in marketing and entrepreneur business, and I was going into finance but am thinking about taking family studies instead.
Alex has been working a lot with Vivint, as a co-manager and has been selling in Idaho quite a bit which is good, but which means I get to stay all alone at his cabin which is literally in the middle of no where. However, it is nice to be able to curl up by the fire and do whatever I please. He also plays soccer Tuesday nights, and I play basketball Thursday nights, so we both have our releases which I think helps haha
Immigration has been the major stress in our lives and I am finally thinking I have things figured out, but as of this semester I wasn't able to qualify for instate tuition, so I am forever indebted to my parents. Any girl would be very lucky to have them in their life.
This will suprise my family for sure,  but you should know that I can actually COOK!! I have gotten ALL my recipes off of pinterest and Alex has been very impressed with them all haha I have made sweet and sour bacon chicken, BBQ chicken, made my first moose roast thanks to the advice from Dad, enchiladas, and others but I cant remember them all... and  I know I am missing the most impressive ones... oh well.
Also, something that is very unique to Utah which I think is hilarious, walking around campus you will see many kids walking around with scriptures in their hand haha
On the topic of church, Alex and I attend a newly married student ward which is ONLY couples with a few babies... It was very weird to see, as everyone just sits with their husbands, so it is just clusters of two scattered around in the chapel, but I have learned to love it. Everyone is in the same stage of life as you are, and the releif society is way fun.
So the first month has been so fun, and everyday I love Alex more :)