Going South

For fall break we worked really hard and got a lot of stuff done Thursday and Friday and then we took our vacation on Saturday. We left 8AM and headed to Manti. We barely made the 11:30 session. And both of our phones thought Manti was a different time zone so we were very confused and thought it was daylight savings time. Weird. The temple was beautiful! We went to lunch in Manti where they had the best Motzarella sticks I've ever had. Mmmm. And we got some candy at the cute candy shop on Main. After lunch and dessert we headed to a little town called Salina to see Grandpa Dennis and Aunt Rochelle. Grandpa Dennis told us story after story from his 95 years of life. He seemed to me like quite the rogue when he was young. Aunt Rochelle loved her surprise visit and had cookies all ready for us. We met up with some friends in Springville for dinner and stopped by Mom and Dad Dennis's for apple pie and rolls to take home. What a busy but fun day!

Oly Homecoming

Earlier this evening Brad and I returned to high school years. Our ward had a tailgate party and it just so happened right after was the homecoming game at Olympus High. So I dragged Brad and for the first time since 2001 I returned to a sports event at Olympus. We decided high school sport events can be much more entertaining than college due to the more unsportsmanlike conduct of player and spectator. We sat with the families and moms and dads sure get into there kids games. I think the family section cheered more than the students. I was fascinated observing the social adolescent zoo (it's hard to believe I was a part of that not too long ago). It's amazing what a couple years in college and grad school can do for your perspective on high school. It was also freezing cold and after the game was complete the students rushed the field BEFORE the game was over. Oops. Brad and I couldn't stop the laughter. What a night!

Active versus Content

One of my favorite things about our DC vacation was all of our active routines. Running, Biking, Hiking, Walks, and just working out. I feel my very best when I am Active. It brings me back to my years in ballet when I was in tip top condition and felt I could conquer anything. When we returned to Utah and thus reality I vowed I would not fall back into my content routine of laziness, but alas life overcame me and I returned to bad habits. The other day I was driving somewhere doing another errand and I saw a lady out jogging pushing her baby in a stroller. She was probably in her mid 30s and at least had one baby. I was inspired by her effort to be active, though she could easily find other things needing to be done. I was reminded of a quote "We are the architects of our lives." And so I am making the goal of doing something Active (despite the business of life) at least 3 times a week. As long as I can I want to be an Active woman and I will start now.

1st Date Anniverasary

So I have the day off thanks to Parent Teacher Conferences and I thought I would report about our first ever anniversary. On Sep. 15th 2007 Brad asked me out on our 1st ever date. At the time I was annoyed with dating (after a really bad date previously in the week) and was set on taking a break from dating after this date with this kid Brad who moved into my ward. Well I ended up having the best first date in my life. He took me to the Krishna Temple Festival of India in Spanish Fork. It was so much fun and started our love story. So this year after being married almost 4 months on Sep 13 we ventured out to the same festival and re-lived our first date. A few slight changes occured. For some reason unknown to me but to Brad's delight I now like curry. Last year I did not. And during the production there was more "physical contact" last year there was only "leaning":) Our friends from DC met up with us and we had a great time. We decided we will always celebrate the anniversary of our first date this same way (well as long as we are in utah). So if you want to have a new cultural experience and some yummy curry set your calendar next year for the middle of september. Oh and did I mention the shopping! I got this beautiful salmon colored shawl handmade in India for not much money at all.

A new twist on Cannon

So Brad and I have enjoyed a new past time. Duets with me on the piano and him on the guitar. It all started with Canon in D which I was playing and he got out his guitar and we rocked. Tonight we repeated the experience but with his electric guitar, this time it was a hard core rocking experience. He just loves his guitar and gets all these facial expressions and moves to "feel" the music. I love it. But we are louder then the average condo owner in our complex, our poor neighbors...

A free moment

Well blog access is quite limited now that I am working for granite district and unlike jordan they block gmail, blogspot and sites like that. I also don't know what to write about now that I'm back in the day to day life. We had amazing steak last night. It was Brad's first time grilling steaks and we used a marinade recipe from Mom Dennis. Yum, we both thought mmmmm restaurant quality. So I am wanting to take a poll. Do you (whoever reads this) have difficulty waking up in the morning- especially in the winter months? I am conducting a personal research study to find better ways to rise and shine. I consider myself a morning person once I am up and showered but it is the getting up that is difficult. Just 10 more minutes mentality aided by the snooze button is difficult to resist. But 10 minutes late in the morning sets back my whole day. Does anyone else have this problem and what do suggest for intervention.

Home at Last

Brad got home Saturday evening. Yeah! We both felt like 2 weeks was a whole lot longer than we thought. Sunday we went to our home ward (in Utah) for the 1st time. They were so welcoming, and randomly our homeward was the same home ward Lil Josh and the Ashcraft's were at to see their friend's mission talk. Small World. I don't know if it was sympathetic jet lag or I haven't been to a whole block of afternoon church for a while, but Brad and I were both struggling to stay awake in Sacrament meeting. Sunday night we celebrated Jon's birthday with great food and a whole lot of The Great Dalmuti. Brad made Dalmuti into a verb and we both got really into this 1 1/2 hour game. I think the family was a little surprised with our competitiveness with eachother. We can get a little intense:) I love that monday was a holiday because we spent the whole day together. Brad and Dad built a bookshelf and now we have an office because all of his books are off the floor. Hurray! Then we celebrated and did lunch and a movie. The Dark Night was a bit crazy scary for me but Brad liked the plot. We finished the day off with grilled cheese and Seinfeld. Now it is back to normal. It's amazing the things that you miss when your love is absent for two weeks. I feel so blessed to have him in my life. He makes me laugh. He makes me think. He inspires me to be great and he shows me how to love. I love this cute boy.