Roadtrippin'

So over the break before fifth quarter started (that's right-- fifth quarter-- Derek is officially a second year med school student), Derek and Avril flew out to Boise to see his family and bring this sweet little ride back. Now, naturally, Avril loved flying on the big airplane with Daddy. She felt so important. Up until now, in her memory, she's only experienced other people coming and going on airplanes--- Grandmas, cousins, Mommy's friends, aunts, uncles... Now, she can number herself in the ranks of those who ride in airplanes. Just getting ready for her trip, she felt pretty important. She packed her little purple backpack full of all the most important things she was sure to need on her trip-- pen lids, nail clippers, doll shoes, paperclips, about three miniature stuffed animals, Candyland movement pieces (you know, the little Gingerbread men. She calls them "manager guys". At least I think that's what she's saying.). When she was finally ready, we put all her stuff together and got ready to leave in the semi-darkness of the pre-dawn-- yes. We left K-ville at 3:30am. Ew.

Anyway, the week was naturally spent (for Derek) immersed in the world of Magic the Gathering, dueling and battling with his fellow wizards, his brothers. They also discovered a marvelous new version of Dungeons and Dragons--- D&D Miniatures! You get actual pieces premade and do battle with them on the table. Yes, they loved it. My nerdy husband and his brothers have found meaning in life. In fact, I was told that I would be provided with my own starter set of Miniatures, but I have yet to see evidence of this. So far it has been just a lot of fast talk and empty promises.

For Avril, the week was spent being inundated into the world of Spoiling Grandma without the balancing (aka "naughty") influence of The Mom. This translates into movies (she learned all about the Little Mermaid and her "naughty" daddy) galore, candy, any kind of yummy sugary cereal she wanted, toys, dolls, clothes, books, swimming, etc. And she got to spend time with her cute little cousin, Izabel. Apparently, they had a great time, and I have photographic evidence, but it's not available digitally. So... too bad for you.

The horrible drive back also allowed for a well-stocked fun trip for her. Grandma bought her a roadtrip care package: new Disney Princess dolls, books, stickers, coloring book, My Pretty Ponies, candy, goldfish and treats. I think she was in heaven. Derek and Weston, however, pretty much wanted to die. A twenty-four hour straight-shot drive across the country always drains the will to live. Especially when there's no A/C and no cruise control. And especially when you run out of gas 15 miles outside Laramie, Wyoming and no tow trucks are willing to come at 1am. Fortunately, highway patrol came along and gave them a ride back to Laramie and they wound up delayed a mere 45 minutes. Not too bad, all things considered.
They rolled into town Sunday (the 2nd) afternoon, just in time for Weston to get rested up for another horrible day of traveling all day Monday, this time by plane. Read: sick layovers. Thanks for the awesome scheduling, Kirksville Regional Airport. (Does the sarcasm come through? Do I need to add something else to convey it better?)

Memorial Day Weekend--- the Suburbs of Chicago!

So the week before Memorial Day Weekend was finals week. Of Derek's third quarter. The great thing about the third quarter of the first year is that there's a 7-week break between the third and fourth quarters. The awful thing about our first year is that Derek will be spending 6 of those weeks in Texas doing Officer Training with the Army. So it was only natural that we take a trip to one of our favorite suburbs to see some of our favorite friends, namely (but not limited to) the Borgs. (We stayed with them in their newly remodeled home--- it's beautiful, very tastefully done.)

So we left town Saturday morning, spent 6 1/2 hours driving to West Chicago and got there sometime around 3 or 4pm. We hung out with some old friends in the pest control office there, had some AMAZING beer-basted ribs (soooo tender) and watched.... what else?... Sports Center. Utah Jazz game (I think. I fell asleep, I was so tired from the trip.)The next day we relaxed in the morning, then went to Brookfield Zoo, noonish, of course the busiest time of the week. It was super fun, though, and Avril had a blast. We went through the Butterfly Pavilion, did the whole Dolphin Show thing, and checked out the Children's Zoo as well. It was pretty fun.Monday was spent doing some lovely shopping... A fresh mall! Who knew I would miss it so much?! It was nice to go shopping with Jodie, too. She's super mellow and just great to chill with. So after I bought myself some hot new clothes (3 pairs of pants, a t-shirt & a new hoodie), we stopped off at Target and I found the CUTEST pink vintage bike. I love it... $120 isn't so much, is it? Unfortunately, we had no way to get it home, so I'll have to keep watching for something else.

After that little foray to my two favorite places that I miss most in the 'Ville (the mall & Target), we met the boys at the pool at our old apartments for a nice little dip. Avril was a little water-shy at first, but once she got into it, she really got into it! Jumping off the edge into Daddy's arms, she'd yell out, "1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10... ok, children, on your mark, get set... GO!" Then she'd sort of shuffle toward the edge and leap into Derek's arms. Absolutely adorable.

Meanwhile, Xandri tried to maintain some level of sanity while her crazy parents tried to get her to dip her little toes into this horrible, cold water and Daddy kept dripping it on her head. She was holding on by a thread by the time we got out of there.
Tuesday we had a fabulous lunch at Bada Beef-- an absolute must if you spend any time in the area. Our friend Kyle is their customer of the week right now (and with good reason). The gyros there are to die for.

We left Tuesday night after a delicious dinner at On the Border with our friends Zack & Rebecca-- from Hawai'i. It was a great time catching up with old friends and even doing a little "rekindling" of old friendships. I'm so glad we spent that weekend enjoying ourselves with our friends. It'll be something to hold me over for a while as I begin a lonely 6 weeks here without Derek. It also makes me really grateful to have such great friends both there and here in K-ville.

Nauvoo

This Saturday Derek and I went to the temple for the first time in far too long. It was our first time to the Nauvoo temple (which is the temple district we are in). I can hardly describe how grateful I was to be there. I think lacking something so vitally important for so long really makes one appreciate it all the more. From the minute I walked up the steps and in the door, I was on the verge of tears. I wept more than once while we were there.
Now, I don't know if the reason was because it had been so long since we'd been to the temple in general and it was just a relief to go, or if it was the Nauvoo temple itself, but I couldn't stop thanking the Lord for the unbelievably precious blessing of the restored gospel, of the temples and their ordinances and of Christ Himself and His Atonement.

As I gazed around at the beautiful, elegant, simple decor, the lovely art on the walls and just the peaceful, worthy architecture I was moved to tears a number of times. It was just such a relief to be able to be in such a heavenly, peaceful place, apart from the cares of the world. I don't know if I'm simply more aware of the distinction or if I've been placed in more trying circumstances lately or if the world and the Church are growing farther and farther apart so much that I can see it, but in any case it was so refreshing to go and feel the Spirit and reflect on the gospel and blessings offered us.

The funny thing is, we weren't able to do a session--- we arrived just a little before it started and Derek realized he'd left his recommend home. By the time we got it sorted out, the session had already started. Due to babysitting circumstances, we didn't have time to wait for the next one (they're hourly), so we opted to do some sealings. Others seemed concerned that we hadn't been able to do a session, but I was more than happy with what we were able to do. What a precious reminder of the covenants we made to each other and to our God! My love and appreciation for Derek only deepened in the knowledge that we are both worthy in God's eyes.


It was exactly the refresher I'd been needing for the past few weeks. I feel sustained and strengthened. Thank God for His temples!