The Final Word

The final word for the night: I LOVE MY MOM! Mother's Day was a big blur of family and chaos, so of course blogging didn't make the to do list.



I love having a mom who doubles as my best friend. I learned over the years that not everyone is lucky enough to have that. I am, and I'm so grateful for it!







We had a wonderful celebrating Mother's Day at my parents' house with all of my aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces, and siblings (minus Doug and John). Looking around at such a big and wonderful family, I thought about the unique and special friendship I have with each of my cousins and family members. I thought about how lucky I am to have the solid family that I was born into, and it made me think about how grateful I am for my Grandma Joan who created this:

Veddings.

Scott and I had a wonderful week celebrating the weddings of these great friends.

On Wednesday we went up to the Fort Douglas theater to see Tommy and Riley. Their reception was really fun and casual (Scott was in heaven because they had ahi tuna and cerviche). Riley has the cutest style, and it was really fun to meet her. Tommy is one of my best friends from the Y, and I couldn't be happier he found such a cute girl! Scott knew Riley from a random Moab trip a few years back and said she was a lot of fun. I love when things circulate the way they do and you end up having connections to everyone. Tommy and Riley are moving in just a few blocks away, so I'm hoping we'll get a chance to hang out and take some fun trips with them.

Jordan and Gabi's wedding was on Thursday. They're in the picture on the right. I took this picture at a rodeo in The Middle of Nowhere, Utah (that's the name of the city: The Middle of Nowhere). Scott and I know Jordan from the glory days of Stratford, Jamestown, and our awesome 61st ward. Gabi is from Brazil, where Jordan served his mission. They started dating down at the Y, and we were lucky enough to be on a few group dates with them. I really love Gabi and how easy-going she is. She's the easiest girl to like. Jordan is one of the nicest guys I've met, so odds are they're going to pretty happy. Their reception was at the Old Meeting House on Highland Drive. It was such a fun reception. We saw Sutton and Andrew Jensen in the parking lot as we pulled up, and we got to hang out with so many wonderful friends from that point on. This was such a fun wedding to go to because it also brought together a whole crew of 61st warders. We got to catch up with Eric, Dusty, Brad and Angie, Sutton and Andrew, Justin Osborne, and a bunch of other friends we hadn't seen in a while. We only have one year to hang out with Gabi and Jordan before they move to Brazil, so we'll have to make sure we see them and our other Provo friends a lot more often.

I have a lot of fun going to weddings. I love seeing friends and remembering my wedding and how much fun I had. I can honestly say that I loved everything about my wedding. My friends and family did so much to make it perfect, and it was! I loved that my mom and I were laid-back about everything, and it all came together the way it should. I loved the food. I loved the cake! I loved the place! I loved that all of our friends (and most of my parent's friends) stayed until the the end. I loved that I knew every single person in the room and ever person who signed our guest book. I loved the pictures of Scott and me covered in mud. I loved wearing my grandma's dress! I loved that Tyler made sure to have butter mints at my sign-in table. I love that we got a chance to eat our food. I love that we danced. I love that we didn't have a line. I loved running out of the humanities building through an aisle of sparklers. I loved looking at Scott and realizing that we were both smiling the biggest smiles we ever smiled. I loved that it was a party. I loved having the Tony Caputos beverage fountain. I loved the creepy painting on the wall. As beautiful as all my friend's weddings have been, I can say that I haven't been to a wedding yet where I thought that I would have rather done what they did. Our wedding was perfect for me!

Right person. Right place. Right Time.

After Jordan and Gabi's reception, we made a pit stop at steak night to catch up with some other friends. It was the most social week we've had in a while. It felt great to see friends and hang out, but it also felt good to crash in our bed at the end of the night. I'm afraid I'm just running out of the gas it takes to stay up late.

Take a look at these smiles. We're pretty lucky. We're a happy couple. We have a lot to smile about. But Scott and I went to the dentist this morning. Can you tell from the pictures below which one of us happens to have completely rotten teeth? One of those smiles below is rotting away, while one of those smiles has never had 12 metal instruments shoved into it at once filling a cavity. Never! Not once! Lucky, lucky, lucky... boo!

Today's Cavity Count:
Scott: 0
Lindsey: 1 1/2

Last visit to the dentist:
Scott: 2005
Lindsey: 2008

Cavity Count to date:
Scott: 0
Lindsey: I have more fillings in my mouth than I have actual tooth

I shouldn't be surprised. Sometimes I forget that I married a BYU poster child. A poster child has got to have great teeth, right?

I'm the one cursed with bad teeth and poor eyesight. I just hope our kids end up with Scott's genes.

Bobby Boy

May God bless and keep you always,
May your wishes all come true,
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung,
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous,
May you grow up to be true,
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you.
May you always be courageous,
Stand upright and be strong,
May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy,
May your feet always be swift,
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift.
May your heart always be joyful,
May your song always be sung,
May you stay forever young.

A.E. Housman

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.

Now, of my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.

And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.

When I first read this poem, I thought about how Housman was trying to urge me to open my eyes and pay attention to the beauty of the cherry blossoms while they’re in bloom — while I can. Because they will only bloom for a short time, and because Housman can estimate that he only has fifty springs left to enjoy, he emphasizes the urgency in taking time to enjoy the trees whose blossoms are white and full, as if they were snow.

After reading this poem a second time, I sensed this same carpe diem theme and thought about the cherry blossoms outside my own front door, committed to noticing and appreciating them more fully. I also thought about what a shame it is that the blossoms turn to leaves so quickly, and that the time for blossoms is a short one.

With this in mind, I read Housman’s poem a third time, this time noticing something different in the last stanza, specifically in the last line: “About the woodlands I will go/ To see the cherry hung with snow.” For a minute, this was kind of depressing, reminding me that the tree becomes bare and dormant in the winter. But the seize the day component of the poem reinforced to me that this was still a poem about making the most out of the everyday moments. As I began to reinterpret this line, I thought about how I can take it less figuratively and perhaps Housman is literally encouraging us to enjoy the cherry trees even in the winter. This is far more optimistic and far more encouraging of getting joy out of life, all times in life — the winter as well as the seventy springs we will enjoy during our time. This not only creates a positive frame of thinking, but also expands the window for beautiful moments, being that they can be found in all seasons — or in the warm and cold ups and downs of our lives.

Email Exerpt

This was a choice portion of Johnny's email this week,

"but anywho sorry this week is in such a rush- lets see questions you had.

yeah that was me with the charge i bought 2 smell good stuff to wear cus here in italy there are no mens deodorant... i wear the womens deodorant and i was sick of smelling like a woman. anywho hope its ok, you can pull cash from my account for that."

It was just too perfect. We should probably send him some old spice.

He's a MAN.
And he'd like to smell like a MAN.
And he can, if he stops using women scented deodorant.

I know there are a lot of Old Spice ad favorites floating around out there. I'm sure most people have already seen these. If not, google it! I can't wait for Johnny to come home. I see hilarious things every day and have all kinds of adventures that I just want to call and tell Johnny about or invite him for. Johnny's the brother who would call me up on my senior trip in Newport just to tell me that the Magic Bullet commercial was on and that he was mezmorized. I'll have to welcome him home with a snuggie. It's just one of the economical marvels that has entered our lives since he left.

Grounding and Reminding

I need to learn to testify with as much strength

Another fantastic move by Scotty

My husband is amazing! I don't know a single thing that Scott can't do. Including making me smile. No one makes me happy the way that Scott does. No one knows me quite as well.

I am so proud of Scott for his hard work and his ability to go for what he wants! We had a grad school triumph today! As we pray about the best decision to make, I look forward to our future, knowing that I am in very capable hands, and that together we will always have a rich and happy life.

Marianne Moore

I am immersed in this recently, relating.

Poetry

I, too, dislike it: there are things that are important beyond all
this fiddle.
Reading it, however, with a perfect contempt for it, one
discovers in
it after all, a place for the genuine.
Hands that can grasp, eyes
that can dilate, hair that can rise
if it must, these things are important not because a

high-sounding interpretation can be put upon them but because
they are
useful. When they become so derivative as to become
unintelligible,
the same thing may be said for all of us, that we
do not admire what
we cannot understand: the bat
holding on upside down or in quest of something to

eat, elephants pushing, a wild horse taking a roll, a tireless wolf
under
a tree, the immovable critic twitching his skin like a horse that
feels a
flea, the base-
ball fan, the statistician--
nor is it valid
to discriminate against 'business documents and

school-books'; all these phenomena are important. One must
make a distinction
however: when dragged into prominence by half poets, the
result is not poetry,
nor till the poets among us can be
'literalists of
the imagination'--above
insolence and triviality and can present

for inspection, 'imaginary gardens with real toads in them', shall
we have
it. In the meantime, if you demand on the one hand,
the raw material of poetry in
all its rawness and
that which is on the other hand
genuine, you are interested in poetry.

El Fin de Semana

We had another great weekend. On Friday Scott and I went to a wedding reception for our friend Jana and her husband Mark. I loved walking into the door and looking at a completely Jana wedding: simple and gorgeous. For food, they had a ton of different kinds of bread with cheese, jams, and other spreads to top the bread. I thought it was the cutest idea... like a tea party! After the reception, we made our way over to Momentum for a night of climbing.

On Saturday morning we woke up and went to the temple for a couple hours. It was a great start to the day... immediately countered, however, by the feeling of nastiness we got when we went to customer service at Walmart. After hearing a disgruntled customer flip out at the cashier, and after checking out some of the extraordinary Walmart characters, we left Walmart feeling gross and needing to revamp our spirits. The April showers subsided just long enough to allow us a beautiful bike ride up City Creek.



Do you love how we're always color-coordinated? Blue helmets. Red shells. Tan shorts. We were even both wearing black socks. Pah!

We fueled up after the ride with some delicious Mexican food (I love the coupons we get in the mail). Scotty got an enchilada that had a weird chocolate sauce on it that I've never heard of. But Mr. Latin America said he ate it all the time on either his mission or his travels. The kid never eats a bite of candy, but he'll eat his entrée smothered in chocolate. I gave it a shot... not bad for a combo dinner/dessert.

After dinner we got to spend some time with Adam, Becka, and Andrew. We hung out for a while, just catching up, and ended up watching Sherlock Holmes, which I really liked. The crew ended up spending the night, and we woke up to a rain-free morning so we went for a morning stroll through the avenues. It started raining the instant we got back. Andrew slept on our couch until about 11:00am, when we finally had to kick him out so we could head to church.

Now things are back to normal, and Scott and I are having a nice evening at home catching up on "stuff." We may or may not have taken a two hour nap today after church.

We had a wonderful Sunday. The theme of today's lessons and testimonies seemed to circulate around prayer. Scott and I both made some sincere discoveries in our hearts about different aspects of this principle. I feel like we truly are starting the week with strength and new resolves. I'm so grateful that I have Scott to strengthen and motivate me. I am always working hard to keep up!

The best of it is that it's May! I love this time of year; it's the time of year where things come to life. You know who else came to life in May? I did! I'm looking forward to celebrating my birthday once again with a beautiful week on the river. It's such a great tradition, and the best gift Scott could give me. I love having so much that Scott and I enjoy together. The river is important to me because it's not only something we both loved to do before we got together, but also because it is HOW we got together. I can't help but feel a renewal of all the things I love about Scott and our relationship when I'm on the river. I can't help but feel more myself. I can't help but feel closer to the Lord when I don't let his glory and creation go to waste. I can't wait for the day when we can complete our own collection of gear!

Scott says.

Scott just got home and I showed him the pictures below (we were on the subject of disgusting things).

He said, "Lindsey. Why did you do this?"

I don't know.

For those who say...

From the beginning of our relationship, people have told us that we look exactly alike. We never saw it.

Scott is a blondie; I'm a brunette
Scott is tall; I am short
Scott has straight hair; I have curly hair (Although you don't see it often)
Scott has a nose; I have a bump
Scott has a strong jaw; I have a narrow face

We both have blue eyes. That's something, I guess.

Well does this creep you out or what? (The answer is yes. It does creep you out.) It's a good thing Scott never looks at this blog, because he's probably be really weirded out that I did this. (I did it once with a different web site to see what our kids would look like, and apparently our kids will be black.)

Carolyn Rasmus

To live with integrity means we feel and live with wholeness. When we - whether consciously or unconsciously - depart from who we are and from our knowledge of right and wrong, we not only complicate our lives but feel increased stress and often guilt.

A simple exercise can help us check our personal integrity. Divide a piece of paper into halves. On one half the paper write the word actions; on the other half, the word beliefs.

On the action side list the things you have done this past week. On the beliefs side of the paper, list the things you believe in, the things you value and desire to do in your life.

How do these two lists compare? Do your actions match your beliefs? If they do, you probably already have the confidence that a life of integrity brings - you feel whole, complete, and at peace.

If there is a discrepancy between your actions and beliefs, you might feel disquieted, agitated, or depressed. Here, then, is your opportunity to make some changes, to look at ways in which you can make time to care for your soul.

Paul Bunyan's Potty + Needles

It takes a long, long time to see the desert. It asks us to redefine what is beautiful. Terry Tempest Williams

Oh Meadow.

Yet another great weekend. We are loving the sunshine!

On Friday my mom and dad gave us a coupon to Donovan's Steak place for the most delicious dinner ever! It was so fun to surprise Scotty with a fun date and to do something out of the ordinary for us. It was really fun to go to a nice restaurant (we haven't been to a restaurant with waiters in a long time! We usually splurge for Cafe Rio). Thanks mom and dad!

We woke up on Saturday and went for a hike up above our house. We hiked up to Black Mountain. There's still snow up there! But it was beautiful weather, and we loved getting out and starting the morning right. Our buddy Andrew came with us. It was fun to catch up on things and be up on the hills!



So we went to lunch with Andrew afterwards and about halfway through our lunch we got the idea that we'd go camping. An hour later we were on the road. We picked Adam and Becka up in Provo and headed down to Meadow to our favorite hot springs and lava tubes. We had a great time swimming in the hot springs (about 35 feet deep) and exploring the lava tubes and abandoned mining site. Scott also had a great time playing with the shutter speed on our camera. It was so great to get away for the night and to feel like we really were able to make the most of our weekend. We went to bed last night at about 9:15 and woke up ready for the week. But the week always seems to go pretty fast, and the weekend is right around the corner.


Scott and I are always color-coordinated for some strange reason.












Scott has a fascination with dropping heavy things down gaping holes. I photograph his excitement.







We thought it was cool that Andrew was the only one in focus, staring the camera down, while the rest of us look like ghosts.

I have a cabbage patch head.



Such a nice picture, right? One big happy family sitting around the campfire. If only Scott didn't have cheat death by jumping into the fire.

And then the fire sucked his soul and he is now floating in the air with the smoke from our fire.

And we all sat around for the rest of the night, talking about how much we missed him.



It was one of the most satisfying fires! And it was way better than sitting around watching a movie in the city. I'm so glad I'm married to my best friend who loves all the things I love. And I'm so happy we have great friends who will hop on board for a very last-minute trip. It was a very productive 3pm Saturday to 11:00am Sunday.


These hot springs are in the middle of nowhere! But they don't smell, they're not murky, and you can explore down below instead of just chill in the hot tub. It was such a relaxing and fun trip.

Kyle

After a week with a dead cell phone, I located the charger and plugged it in to see what messages and missed calls awaited me.

And I was so happy to see a text from Kyle, one of my best friends and cousin! It had been about four months since we've talked! Before two years ago that wouldn't have been a big deal... but after living next door to each other at school and hanging out almost every day... I'm really surprised that it's been so long! I guess marriage takes it's toll! By the time we were out of the newlywed stage, Kyle and Allison were in it!

I called Kyle back, and it was great to catch up on what has been going on. I don't like long gaps between talks with my friends, but it's great when you can go that long and pick right up where you left off. It's the mark of a great friendship, I think.



When Kyle and I were hanging out one day, we talked about who was going to get married first. Most people claim that they're not getting married for a while, but Kyle and I were convinced that we'd beat each other (having observed first-hand each other's dating life). I told him we should make a bet. Kyle suggested we bet a puppy. If I got married first, Kyle would have to buy me a puppy. If he got married first, I'd buy him a puppy. A husband AND a puppy? Pretty good deal, right?

I went off to river guide, and we didn't talk quite as often. When I was done on the river, I went to Kyle's house in Roseville for a week to hang out with Kyle (originally to spend time with him before I left on my mission). He was the first one to know about Scott. I caught him up on everything, he gave me a lot of good advice, we went hiking and boating, and six months later this picture was taken at my wedding. Kyle brought his cute girlfriend to the wedding. I thought she was great! I was about to tell Kyle to pay up with the puppy, but I instead told him that if he was engaged within six months of my wedding we'd call it even and we'd each get our own puppy. Kyle kind of shrugged a bit. "Are you going to be engaged within six months, Kyle?!" I asked him.

This is the face he made. Priceless. Their wedding day was one of my favorite days!

Word of Mouth

I've been hearing and reading a lot about this video. So I decided to check it out. I love Elder Holland. He is one of the most powerful speakers I have ever come to know. I really do feel as though I have come to know Elder Holland. I feel connected to him because of his charisma and passion when he speaks. What he says about the Book of Mormon is what I wish more than anything I could fully express to some of the people in my life. But of course I always find myself lacking the graceful dictation and the conviction of the spirit in the moment when I wish I could bear witness of the Book of Mormon. This is a beautiful and compelling testimony based on the actuality of the Book of Mormon's beginnings. Watch it. And keep reading!

First Sunburn of the Summer

Dousing each other with green aloe vera gel made for good entertainment for Andrew and Ben while they were in the bath tub and Grandma and Grandpa's house. Andrew loved watching me turn Scott into a "green goober." Ben was kind of concerned. Kirst told me Andrew was drawing Scott and me as "green goobers" this morning. I will have to frame that picture.

We were expecting it to be chilly down in Capitol Reef, but instead it was gorgeous!! Hello summer! I don't even know where spring went... cause this weekend went straight to summer. We had a wonderful weekend hiking throughout the washes, ridges, and slot canyons. It was such a fun trip for me because it was a combo of river friends and high school friends. I loved spending time with some of my favorite people, and I loved watching them get to know Scotty a bit better. Scott and I were talking about the weekends, and we realized that for the first time in our lives, the weeks go by a lot faster than the weekends! By the time Monday rolls around, it feels like we were able to pack so much into the weekend that it couldn't have been only two and a half days! That's good news, and we're hoping to keep it up all summer! It's only April and we're already checking off our summer list! I'm a happy girl. I love getaways with Scott. And it's so great to have a home that I love coming home to!

And I partook of my first watermelon of the season at my mom's house. Happy, happy girl.



As always, I ended up carrying Scott the entire way. What a wimp.
And when you scroll down, you'll see a picture of me eating Parry's head. I don't know what's going on there.