Ruth Lake

I am finally getting around to posting pictures from our trip to the Uintas!

Look at me with my cool pack frame! Thanks to Dave and Betsy for such a nice and generous wedding gift!!

Although Chad's pack frame is a bit larger than mine, it was about twice as heavy. He carried so much stuff in to our camping spot for us! (Including a blow-up mattress, so my first hiking/camping experience would be more positive and I'd want to go again. :) ) My husband is so strong and tough!

The view from the lake we stayed on. Wow!

Our lovely tent right on Ruth Lake. It really couldn't have been better.

Both nights we were there, the sunsets were absolutely breathtaking. This is the sunset on the first night.

The second day we were there we hiked around the area and fished in six different little lakes. We fished all day! By 4:00, I was getting a little frustrated that I hadn't caught anything all day, and so I had to just put my pole down and stop or else I was going to get mad. But Chad talked me into trying for just ten more minutes, and I finally caught one during that time! This is my first fish, and still my last. Even though we've gone fishing a few times since then, I still haven't caught anything else! Maybe next time. :) I still like to go fishing with Chad, though, because it's always peaceful and beautiful and I can't let go of the hope that I just might catch something. :) Plus, it's fun to see how much Chad loves to fish.

I think about this trip and Hawaii a lot, about how amazing it is that I have experienced so much beauty this summer. Chad and I are so grateful to live in such a pretty area.

Happy Birthday Chad!

Last Friday was Chad's birthday! We had some fun birthday celebrations. On Thursday we went out to eat with a lot of his family, and that was a ton of fun. Chad has the best, most supportive and fun family. We had a nice breakfast together on his birthday morning and then went on a ward campout that afternoon. We went fishing on a river by Causey Dam, and even though we didn't catch anything, it was really pretty. We also saw the prettiest view of Causey Reservoir, with some people kayaking in it. It was nice to be up in the cool mountains again, although it got REALLY cold at night and we were grateful we had brought extra blankets just in case! And today I made him some Thai food for his birthday dinner from me. It wasn't bad for my first try, but hopefully I'll get better at making Thai food since he likes it so much.

I am so grateful to be married to Chad. He is a saint to put up with me. I love him so much and am so grateful for the things he's taught me about friendship, love, work, learning, trying new things, forgiveness, humility, selflessness, and focusing on what's important in life. I couldn't have dreamed for a better husband. Here are some things I love about Chad:

I love how he is eager to learn about new things and how he reads a lot.
I love how he puts family as such a high priority in his life.
I love how he is so good at socializing and making conversation when we have people over at our house.
I love how he is a cookie monster and brings me home the most delicious cookies from the hospital sometimes!
I love how he makes jokes at times when I least suspect them.
I love how he is so gentle with the Sunbeams, even when they are being difficult.
I love how he stands in front of our house after a friend leaves, to wave good-bye to them as they drive away.
I love how he is so thoughtful to compliment people in front of other people to make them feel good about themselves and bring them positive attention.
I love how he laughs heartily at things he thinks are funny.
I love how he is honest with me and tells me what he likes and doesn’t like.

I love how he woke up at dawn to go fishing on our camping trip to the Uintas.

And here's Chad fishing at sunset on the night before he woke up at dawn on that same trip. Our tent was set up just behind where I'm standing taking this picture, and we had the whole lake to ourselves both nights we were there! It was the most beautiful, peaceful trip.

"Every Life is a Story"

I'm not sure if there still is, but there used to be a series of biographies on A & E, and their slogan was, "Because every life has a story." I want to tweak that a little bit to make it, "Every life is a story." I've found that when I am feeling discouraged about the negative things in my life, I like to sit back and dramatize it, and it makes it much easier to bear.

For instance, when I was in Romania, the first month or so was super hard for me. I did not like Romania at first and I missed Chad SO badly. And one thing that helped me cope was to think of someone making a movie of Chad and my romance, how we were separated and both in strange lands, walking along the foreign streets, etc, etc. Even though I hated being apart, it was kind of fun to think of how it could make a good movie clip.

Another thing I like to do is make up lines in my future biography about how this time of my life helped me learn this or that, to make my challenges seem important in shaping my wonderful character. :) Or about how I was a force for good in this area or that, to make me feel like I have power to do good in my present situation.

Another thing I'll do is pretend I'm older and looking back onto this time, reminiscing on how good this time of my life was. For instance, when I was sick of studying at BYU, I'd think of myself as a future mother, longing to have some peace and quiet to study for hours on end. :)

And the examples could go on and on, of ways I've tried to make my life seem really cool and great. I don't know if this blog is making me seem very dramatic and self-centered, but that's not my intent! What I'm trying to say is, I think every stage of life is important, because it helps mold people into what they become. And I think if we could see that on a day-to-day basis, we would feel more positive about our lives.

I think that if we could just sit back and see our own stories, we would see how cool our lives were! And I bet our grandkids or someone from a different country would, too. I think we could benefit from stepping back once in a while and trying to see our lives in the big picture. It would help us keep our problems in perspective, focus on the good, and see the humor in our thinking. We would enjoy life more, feel more grateful, and be motivated to make the most of our opportunities.

What do you all think? Am I the only one that does this? When you try to make your life into a dramatic movie or story, what parts of your life do you see differently?

NPR continued

NPR is "National Public Radio" and is talk radio, covering world and national news, the arts, politics, finance, weather, etc. For those of you who live near me, NPR is on 90.1 FM radio. For those of you who live outside of Utah, try googling "npr [location where you live]" and see if you can find what radio station it's on. :)

My new favorite radio station is

NPR! It is so great. I listen to it all the time, in the car, at home, and I even listened to it at work a few times when I was there alone working on some stuff. It is so interesting and I feel like I'm learning a lot. Plus, it makes the time go by faster while I do tedious jobs. If you haven't tried it out, give it a try and see what you think! I never used to listen to it, but now that I do, I love it.

I love the Relief Society Club!

That title's for you, John. :) But really, I do! Tonight I had my first Relief Society activity in my new ward and absolutely loved it. I love women. Especially the women in our ward, they are so friendly and funny and genuine and accepting. It was so good to chat with the older women in the ward. I think young women need older women in their lives. I know I do. And I loved to laugh at everyone's jokes all through the get-to-know-you activity we did. I am so happy I have the Relief Society in my life and I'm excited to get to know the women in my Relief Society better.

Paradise

Chad and I got back from visiting my parents in Oregon today. I am so sad it's over. It was so perfect. They took us to the Sea Lion caves, the coast, Florence, my dad's hospitals, the Saturday market, the U of O Campus, to my old elementary school and home, and the Wilammette river. We went out to eat to two really nice restaurants and they also fed us such delicious food. We watched "Gandhi," an exceptional old film, in their media room. We went to church and had a nice Sunday meal with my friends Laura and Ben. We went on a fun walk in their neighborhood and also saw a lot of wildlife in their backyard. We played Catch Phrase one night and Speed Scrabble another--my two favorite games. We also just stayed up late last night chatting. My mom and I looked at quilt magazines and decided on what quilt I'd like her to make for our wedding quilt on Friday. She also gave me my quilt that she hand quilted for me! My mom also gave me a much needed haircut this morning.

Everything was just so relaxing and perfect. I am so sad it's over. I am definitely in the withdrawal-mourning stage. I love my parents so much and it was so good to be with them in their beautiful, peaceful, loving home. My parents are some of my very best friends!

And also, it was so good to be back in Eugene. I love that city so much. It holds so many happy memories and feelings for me. I also think it is so beautiful! I love the hills and fir trees so much! I kept thinking, "I am coming back to my roots. Everything about this place is so inviting and homey to me. These trees are so beautiful!! I love how green everything is!" The whole vacation was so beautiful and perfect. I hope we can visit again very soon! Thanks, Mom and Dad, for a weekend of paradise!