I've finally arrived...

Well, since it seems to be the thing to do...I've decided to join the blogging world. I have loved getting updates from friends and family through their blogs and thought it might be fun to join in. I'm not sure I'll have anything all that exciting to write, but I figured it would be a good way for me to keep track of my life, since I haven't been so good at the whole writing in a journal thing lately. So, here we go with a brief summary of the last 6 months or so of our lives that I have been meaning to send out in email form, but never did.

For those of you who didn't know, after 3 great years of managing Regency apartments (in addition to the 3 1/2 years I spent there as a student) we decided it was time to move on. I figured after living almost a fourth of my life there, the time had come. We had a great experience there and were really grateful for the time we had there.

We built a house in Lehi. After much unpacking and shopping at IKEA, it is starting to feel like home. The ward is full of young families with lots of little kids. Sacrament meeting is somewhat of a circus and it takes a lot of concentration to focus on the speakers over the children that are screaming. We got called into the primary (where I have been ever since we got married) and quickly got assigned to a somewhat challenging class…Aaron thinks that I am cursed with difficult children (based on my past primary experiences and my job).

We've managed to take a few quick vacations...the best of which was our family reunion at Newport Beach where we saw "Wicked" in Los Angeles (and absolutely loved it) and rode the new "Finding Nemo" submarine ride at Disneyland on it's first full day of being open to the public (thanks to Aaron who had to sprint and hurdle a stroller to get a good place in line). We have annual passes to Disneyland because my mom invested in some property in Newport, so we can claim California residency and get cheap passes. We’ve utilized them a lot and are quickly becoming Disneyland experts. On three of our four trips this year we got “Dream Fastpasses” at Disneyland…they hand out a limited amount in undisclosed locations and they hang around your neck and give you one free fastpass to use any time that day on each of the rides that have fastpasses. Aaron seems to be the lucky charm and is the one that always spots them. Last time we also won Micky Mouse shaped loaves of sourdough bread at the bread factory in California Adventure. Aaron also runs around all day and gets us fast passes so we never run out. He even saves them, so that we can try to use them the next time we go. So far it has been successful.

We’ve also managed to read a few books this summer. The most anticipated and loved was Harry Potter which Aaron had finished within 48 hours of its release (while I was still reading Twilight—which I also loved) and then I was able to finish soon after. I thought the last book was a perfect ending to a great saga…although it was somewhat sad to realize it was over. I also loved the Twilight series, much to Aaron's delight because he can make fun of me and my book about "sparkling vampires."

Now we are back in school (although technically I never stopped). Aaron has been really busy with putting in our yard, coaching soccer, and advising the senior class officers. The soccer season for girls ended recently (after ending up 4th in state), so he has a break for a few months before boys soccer starts up. I have been really busy the last year with my jobs and working on my special education license (which my work requires and pays for). But after taking 30+ credit hours over the last two years, completing lots of projects, taking the praxis, and compiling a 3" binder portfolio...I am ecstatic to announce that as of yesterday I am finished! Now I won't feel quite as guilty when I want to watch Dancing with the Stars, Heroes, the Office, and reruns of Gilmore Girls.