Spreading our Aussie Pride

So our good friends, J & T, who are in Australia right now have taught us a lot about Australia and the fun traditions they have. One of our favorites is the TimTam Slam. Although Aussie burgers come in at a close 2nd. Recently we taught some friends in our ward how to do TimTam Slams - it really is harder than it looks, at least I think it is. D explains how to do it the right way:


And I demonstrate how not to do it. I still don't get why it's so hard for me. Apparently I need more practice :)


P.S. Thanks, Ruachel for sharing your videos with us!

The Final of the Finals

That's right. It's the final of my finals. No longer will I have to stress over my professors slamming everything on me during the last few weeks -or even days- of the semester. No longer will I have to stay up into the wee hours of the night studying for a test I might possibly bomb the next day. No longer will I have to try to read my professor's mind and guess how he/she might grade me.

Actually, it really hasn't been that bad. It has really been an incredible experience. But...as of next Tuesday I will be FINISHED WITH MY LAST FINAL EVER!! Okay, maybe not EVER, but at least until we decide it's time for me to go to graduate school.

I finished up my last day of classes today...actually about an hour ago. I have a take-home final to finish over the weekend and turn in Tuesday morning, and then a 2 hour yoga practice after that. What better way to finish off your final semester -after all the intellectual exposure, all the cramming and learning over a 4 year period of time- than with a 2 hour yoga workout? I'm totally stoked!

Yesterday was one of the most stressful days of my life, but it's over. End of story. Thank goodness for a husband who reminds me that stressful days are not the end of the world, and regardless of the grades I get this semester, I will still graduate with honors. He always knows how to lift me up and make me feel better. Thanks, Babe! This has been an incredible journey for both of us. I've learned so much and grown so much more in the last 4 years. It's hard to say good-bye to UVU, but I am oh so excited at the same time!

Watch out for graduation pictures coming up after next Friday! Woo! Hoo!

Just what I needed.

Apostle Orson F. Whitney (1855-1931) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, explained: "No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God . . . and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we came here to acquire."

Trials give us opportunities to show the Lord and ourselves that we will be faithful. We can choose to feel sorry for ourselves and ask, "Why me?" or we can grow from our trials, increase our faith in the Lord and ask, "How can I be faithful in the midst of this trial?" We can let adversity break us down and make us bitter, or we can let it refine us and make us stronger. We can allow adversity to lead us to drift away from the things that matter most, or we can use it as a stepping-stone to grow closer to things of eternal worth.

Spiritual growth can often be achieved more readily by trials and adversity than by comfort and tranquility. Trials can teach us that faith in God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ is the source of inner strength.

-Elder David E. LeSueur
March 2010 Ensign, p. 28-29

Thought for the day:

Healthy love is like Post-it notes--a little sticky, but not too sticky.

-Huang, 2005

coming to an end

I seriously can't wait to graduate. 3 weeks from today. But at the same time I honestly can't express how much I'm going to miss being in school at UVU. I love school! I love knowing that my hard work pays off and that I've put forth my best effort in all of my classes--most of the time, anyway.

I've had senioritis for a couple months now, or pretty much all semester, really. But it really makes me sad that this fun adventure of my undergraduate endeavor is coming to an end. The degree I've been working towards all my academic life is finally here! (Although now that I've been in college and loved it so much I want to get my master's degree eventually too, but I don't feel like right now is the time to do it.)

So, here I stand ready to move onto the next stage of my life of deciding what I really want to do with myself when I grow up. I thought I had a plan, but that plan took a turn in a direction I didn't expect. So, here I am back at square one. Wish me luck and decisiveness! Indecisiveness is something I've been struggling with a lot lately. Ask my sweet husband! Thanks for your patience and encouragement, Babe!

Christmas or Easter?

I'm sure we weren't the only ones who woke up Easter Sunday with a tinge of disappointment of waking up to this:

Where's Spring?

But, we loved Easter and we LOVED Conference!! There definitely were some powerhouse talks about parenting, but I always love the talks, no matter what. It's so nice to be able to recharge our spiritual batteries every 6 months with General Conference, and being able to read the words in between.

Because it was Easter, Dar & I had tons of fun dying Easter eggs during Conference this year. The only bummer was that we were doing it by ourselves, without our usual buddies to join us, so we had to include them in our own special way:

We miss you guys!!

Last Weekend. . .

. . .was great!! Despite only getting to spend 1/2 our weekend together, we had a blast when we were together!! Dar had a scout leader training that took up a good portion of the weekend, but we managed to get some fun in anyway! Saturday afternoon after he finished up his training, we had some friends over (who served their missions in Japan) to enjoy some authentic homemade Japanese food and a great movie about Japanese culture: Memoirs of a Geisha. The food was incredible and so was the company!! Seriously. Thanks so much to Denise, Robert, and Doug for coming to spend time with us and cook amazing Japanese food!
Then, on Sunday after church we got to spend time with Dar's family for Sloane's baby blessing. (Sloane is Travis & Rachel's 4th child.) She looked beautiful!! And, my mother-in-law, Cheryl, did an absolutely INCREDIBLE job on Sloane's dress. . . which she made and smocked by hand, by the way! Oh, how I wish I had her talent!

Sloane Juliette

I got cold, so Dar helped me get cozy :)

And of course, what is a family get-together without some Nerf gun wars? It was the adults against the kids, although I'm not sure who had more fun. ;)

Getting out the "big guns"
-Gotta love that grin!-

Ammo on the ground

I think the kids won!

Thanks to our wonderful friends and family for a great weekend!