married life-an adventure itself

So, Mark and I were married about 8 months ago, and decided to start a blog to document our adventures and life together. First we want to do a brief summary of the happenings so far, which could possibly take 8 months itself, but hence, the summary.

We were married in the Winter Quarters Temple on December 17, 2010. Although it was a beautiful, clear skied day, it was absolutely freezing. Wearing a short sleeve wedding dress was probably not the greatest idea, but worked great later, as we were dancing at the reception.

Both sets of parents were there, and my grandma (my dad's mom) was there, which was very special to me. Mark's sister's were all able to come, even Fayme, who gave birth to Enoch just a few days before. We all know that she did it on purpose because there was no way she was going to miss her only brother getting married in the temple for time and all eternity.

Anyways, the night went smoothly, with everyone dancing, my interpretation of NSYNC's "Bye, bye, bye," and Nate being so dillegent on keeping sure the mints and nuts were always full on the tables. Mark and I shared our first dance to Michael Buble's "You and I," Dad and I danced to "My Girl," and Mark and his mom danced to some boy band song that I don't remember ever hearing before or after that night (Mark says it it 'Mama' by Boys 2 Men). For me, one of the greatest parts of the night was all my friends from band who came out to congratulate and celebrate with me. I was so glad to see them.

The only down side to the reception was all the left over pumpkin rolls my parents had to try handing out to people, and were still eating in May. All the hard work my mom did in making those was appreciated by all who took a moment to relax and eat in the midst of dancing the night away.

After telling you this, you will think I am crazy, as everyone said before and still say when I tell them, but the next morning I graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and WALKED! I am sure that there could have been a better way to plan that, but I feel like I still would not have done anything differently. Everything added to the excitement of the moment, and I can now say that I was married when I graduated.

That afternoon, Mark's sister, Sherri (from California) held a luau in our honor in Grand Island, where Mark's parents live. The place looked amazing. Sherri did a fantastic job of planning a great, relaxing, fun, and delicious party. My brother was able to see what hula hooping actually looks like, thanks to Sylvia Rose, and I am sure that he is still impressed to this day, as I am.

Mark and I drove to Omaha that night, and the next morning we began our journey to Florida. On Monday morning, we went to the port and saw, for the first time, our cruise ship, the location for our honeymoon. It was amazing and huge! I don't think I had ever seen a cruise ship before, and I was so impressed! Mark and I spent 4 days on the ship, sailing to Cozumel Mexico, and exploring the Mayan Ruins there.

We landed on Christmas Eve and had quite an adventure getting home. Our flight out of Florida was delayed, and so we almost didn't reach our connecting flight. The only reason we made it was because Mark took all the bags and yelled encouragingly back at me as he ran through the airport, while I trailed behind.

Christmas Eve (after we got home) and Christmas morning was spent with my family, doing our regular traditions, plus the addition of opening Christmas and Wedding presents on the same day. It was like a super Christmas! Mark and I drove to Fayme and Ethan's before Christmas dinner, and had a splendid time there with the family (including Mark's parents). Alex  called home from his mission, and was even able to call me seperately since I wasn't back with my parents. It was so great to hear his voice and tell him all about the wedding and honeymoon.

On January 1, 2011 (Saturday), Mark and I drove to Eagle Mountain, Utah where we would be staying for a while, with his aunt.  It was windy and quite snowy through Wyoming, but Mark wouldn't let me drive much, so we were mostly safe. I had a hard time staying awake after reaching Utah, and I remember Mark waking me up periodically to tell me that I need to pay attention so I know where we live. After getting to our new basement home, I was so excited that I was no longer tired, and we made our first meal together in our new home: Noodles and vodka sauce from a jar. It was absolutely delicious.


This is the front of the house we live in
--we only have the basement



My mom and dad came out on Monday with the majority of our stuff, including a piano that Mark's mom had found for me! They left the next morning, and so did Mark, for his first day back at school, while I was left home to clean and organize the house. It was a long few weeks until I found a job in downtown Salt Lake City. And a few more weeks after that, to learn how to manuver the horrible Utah driving. I heard something on the news the other day that Salt Lake City is the 6th most dangerous place to drive--I BELIEVE IT! Just yesterday, I saw a guy swerve too hard and hit the road barrier separating traffic.

Mark and I were able to go out to Nebraska twice already, once for Nate's baptism, and the other time was for the fourth of July (back to Grand Island). Both times have been great to see our families, and we are always sad to leave them.



We have also been able to cultivate our talents, a talent I didn't know I had--volleyball! We have played in three tournaments since May and have done pretty well, for being in the beginning level (novice). We got 4th place in our first, and placed 3rd in our second, but the last one, a dusk till dawn, we didn't do well against the competition, and ended up leaving early. Oh, well, we have shirts to prove that we play, so we are very excited about that.

 

Flooding in our spare room



 Anyways, Mark and I have had our share of adventures, like flooding in our bedroom, then flooding in the spare room, and Mark's car breaking down. But we have had the great times too! Life with a boy is hard, but it is also fun, espeically when that boy is your best friend. We have learned to rely so much upon each other, for emotional, physical, and spiritual support. I am so in love with him, and grateful for him!