edZOOcate yourselves!!

I was so excited to finally go to the zoo today that I got a little bonkers :) Some classmates of mine, Chelsey and Devon, Phil, Molly and Andy, and Emily, joined Tyler and I at the zoo! Chelsey and I had talked about going for about two weeks and we all finally caved! I invited everyone last minute, so I was grateful for friends to join us! We had soooo much fun! The bears were eating, the tigers were sleeping, the monkeys were bouncing off of the walls, and luckily our friend Phil brought his camera because our battery died!
We also paid a dollar for the shortest train ride of our lives, which was a blessing in disguise because the young lady commentating over the loudspeaker sounded like the teacher from "Peanuts" and we just couldn't take any more! It was a great time had by all!!! I can't wait to go again!!
Renew the Zoo!

The amazing picture of the day: watching the elephants eat.
That's all they did.
The entire time.
Tyler and I at the zoo!
Evolution at its best!
Choo-choo! Best 4:15 minutes of my day!

Quick note....

I've been cramming for tests the past few days, completely tuning out to the world by listening to one of my favorite Pandora stations, "The Way I Am." To make things a little more complicated, I've been voted in as the President of my medical class, and our program is #1 in the nation right now, which definitely yields quite a bit of responsibility. An interesting situation led me to question why people put themselves in uncomfortable situations, not only for themselves, but for all others around them. In the midst of studying, I've been contemplating which actions I could take that would be the most rewarding for everyone in this particular situation. I've counseled, prayed, etc. Then the other night as I attempted to drown out the world as well as thoughts of my own, a song came on....

Have you ever felt like the girl in this picture? Do you know someone right now who might? Listen to a song called, "Outside Looking In" by Jordan Pruitt. She sounds like Taylor Swift ironically enough, yet her message was loud and clear. If you can, check out her music video on YouTube. 

If I was in a Young Women's calling, I would download it, take it to Mutual, and show it to those girls who are so impressionable. 

I stopped to think about the person in this situation and felt more compassion towards them then I could have thought possible, despite all of my previous attempts to do so. I am grateful for tender mercies which are so 'insidiously' placed into my life...I might have missed it....

Having ventured from the east coast to the middle of the Salt Lake Valley, I've desperately been craving a mom-and-pop, little Italy, scenic Italian restaurant. My former roommate from BYU-I came to Salt Lake one weekend, and graciously accompanied us with her presence. Christine is always a fabulous time and we loved seeing her again! She's like Ty's new little sister (well, was all last semester) and even drove all the way from WY to come to our wedding reception! How considerate and thoughtful! We found ourselves a tiny, and of course expensive, mom-and-pop looking restaurant, and ate our little hearts out. My lasagna was delicious, and I was so excited to take my leftovers home, that I simply left that $14 worth of food sitting on the table. I didn't even realize it until we had come home from clubbin' that night! However, the night was not a total loss. Our good friend, Brendan Hammil, is down here working for the LDS Church and came out dancing with us!! I wish I had pictures, because both Ty and Brendan were highly entertaining!

My former co-worker, LuAnn and her husband, took a vacation to Park City and invited us to dinner with them!! It was wonderful to just be together again, for them to meet Tyler, and just have fun! I miss them! She was a very important mentor to me at my time working at Madison Memorial Hospital for the past year. I can't wait to see them again!!!

I will never have to buy my husband an X-box....

What do you do when you're still unpacking and don't know what to do with the Target gift bags? Potato sack races of course! And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why I'll never have to buy my husband an X-box. There is never a dull moment with us...!

We've still got another year....

Is this not the biggest rainbow you've ever seen? We were driving to the grocery store, traffic slowed down, I freaked out and said, "If only we had the camera," in the most desperation I could muster. What happens next? Tyler pulls the camera out of his pocket (may I remind you that we're going to Albertsons...) and wha-la! It was hugemongous!!



You could actually see the ends of the rainbow!! It was enormous! And, I hope you can see it in these pictures, but there was a SECOND one that extended further! It should be to the left of this picture right above this text...I have never seen 1)the end of a rainbow, or 2) two rainbows, or 3) two rainbows and the ends of both.
A checker at the Albertsons was bringing everyone out to see it-that lil guy was sooooo stoked, just like me...we hope he didn't get fired for not working :) Freakin' rad...

So its officially official! Tyler and I are now two married people, just living the good ol' American Dream. As soon as we got home, Ty started work again and I had my first day of graduate school! Super scary. Remember when you were in the first grade and had to go to school and you were terrified?! Well, somehow, I have that as a chronic characteristic. I always get scared, even when I was at BYU-I and knew everyone in all of my classes. Needless to say, it has been a very interesting first week! I learned the names of almost everyone in my program, made some friends, got my Student ID Card (which you need for everything), and I learned how to take the shuttle home from campus so Ty doesn't have to drive all the way from work just to pick me up and take me home (even though he did that every day this week but today)!

We feel pretty blessed to have received as much as we did for our wedding; we're beyond grateful, as we're the poor, married college students that you can always pick out of a crowd! I also received a pretty bounteous blessing - I qualified for reclassification, and was given Residency tuition, meaning in-state, saving us approximately $7500 a semester. Wow. To say the least.

Anyway, onto the wedding update - below I've posted some of my favorite bridal pictures taken by my girlfriend Clarissa Keith. She's amazing with a camera and must've put on a corrective lens because I have over 500 pictures that actually turned out well! Thanks sooo much! Also, my Aunt Karen snapped a few shots of us at the Bountiful Temple after we were married; I won't get the professionals for another few months, so here are the few that I have for now! Enjoy!

Wedding Gala - Aunt Karen

Bridals a la Clarissa

The Inevitable

Inevitable. The day that ends my life as I currently know it. And I could not be more grateful! Tomorrow, Tyler and I will be sealed for time & all eternity in the Bountiful Temple. What can I say more?

In order to set the stage for the lovey-dovey romance that we really do have, I wanted to take a moment and shine the spotlight on him, perhaps to share why I am beyond blessed.

Tyler radiates kindness, love, compassion, and understanding. His composition is the perfect blend of cool, as in the very essence of "cool," spirituality (he could hold any calling in the church and not be a show-choir, elders-quorum president, but someone of great understanding and love for all), humor, compassion; the list simply continues. As I found myself bogged down in the meticulous plans of the wedding, Tyler consistently and continually asked what he could do to help, and not only helped with so many things, but he was constantly concerned for my welfare; his focus never left my happiness. That is the pattern that he set while we dated and that pattern inevitably continues. His friends have a wonderful and deep respect for him; pretty sure his wife's is more involved!

Just last night, after a million things had been accomplished, Tyler and I drove to the airport to pick up my bridal pictures from our photographer; we then headed back to the apt, where he had left his car. He was to be at work the next morning by 5 am, work till 7pm, and somewhere still pack for the honeymoon, grab tuxes, etc. On the other side of the car, I sat, breaking into small, uncontrollable pieces. Overwhelmed, I irrationally began to worry about whatever decided to cross my mind. He sat and talked with me, gave me a blessing, and held me as we continued our conversation until around 11:30 pm. He truly put me first, let me cry, listened with real intent, and loved me. He just loved me. This has been the pattern of our love. How blessed my life has been and will continue to be as we love and care for one another.

Tomorrow. Crazy huh?