Women's Research Institute

Sorry it's been a while since I last wrote, but to be honest, I don't feel like I have a lot of interesting things to say or write about. I don't have really cute kids to put up pictures of and my life's pretty bland. But I'd like to write about a pressing issue that means a lot to me.

I'm a feminist and I don't feel bad saying so. I don't think it's a bad word (as the picture says), because to me it simply means someone who feels women are equal to men and that they haven't always been treated as they should. Despite what some have accused me of, I don't think I'm being denied anything by being a female, but I do feel women have been overlooked a lot in the past and that we deserve equal treatment, equal credit and equal pay. But I digress.

While I was at BYU my major was history with a minor in Women's Studies. If I could have majored in it I would, however only the minor was allowed. My eyes were opened by wonderful teachers regarding significant contributions women have made throughout history. These teachers weren't bra-burning hippies who swore against marriage, but truly righteous examples. One in particular, Kris Frederickson,was a significant example to me of what I would like to become. She was incredibly well-read and level-headed, had raised a large family and was head of the Study Abroad program in London. When she spoke of her family you knew it wasn't a distant relationship with her family, but a very personal relationship with each child and a real unity she had with her husband. She was also very serious about her study and research in European Women's History. The minor was housed in the Women's Research Institute which funded various research programs such as micro-loans for women and their benefit on the economy in India and relations between children depending on their gender. BYU has decided to close the WRI and put the minor under the Sociology. While they will still have the Emmeline Wells Grant to support the studies, I feel it wasn't given enough of a chance to survive and it is upsetting that they close it.

If there's anything I've learned about women through the gospel , it is that the most important contribution a woman can give to society is a righteous family that is proactive in their community. I see my sisters-in-law as they raise bright, loving, energetic kids who are able to recognize Jesus before the can make full sentences and I realize the bar is set high. If I'm blessed with children that will be my number 1 priority. However, I realize that I may not be able to have that blessing during this life and so I focus on what I can do without having children. I feel that the WRI could have helped recover the dignity of motherhood while still addressing what other things women can do to contribute outside of their home. I'm not saying if you don't do something other than raise your children you're a failure- not at all-- but I feel that by having a correct perspective of who we are as daughters of God with divine nature, we could help correct incorrect principles taught by far-left groups who argue for "women's rights" under false ideas and have academic proof behind it (since that's what so many people argue is fact).

Maybe I'm rambling.... I do apologize. But I feel like it was an untapped resource to help worldwide that has been cut before it reached it's prime.

Travelling, swine flu and the like....

Hello, hello, hello...

Well, I'm determined NOT to take a nap this fine Sunday afternoon and have resorted to updating the old blog... I figure I've read a little, and subjected Justin to Steel Magnolias, so the next best productive thing would be to either update my blog or soak in the bathtub. Seeing as the latter would probably put me to sleep (I am my mother's daughter after all), I figure the blog was the best idea.. So where to begin.. How about since last time?Since the last entry we've been back to NOLA with a few friends, gone to Houston for a friend of Justin's homecoming talk, and found out we had the swine flu. So to start from the beginning...

Every other week I have shorter lunches so that on Fridays I get off early. The weekend of Friday the 17th Justin and I took our good friends Regent and James Payne down to NOLA. Regent lived there for several years growing up and James' parents lived there for a little while before he was born. It was kind of a last minute thing, but a lot of fun. We visited the Mardi Gras museum, ate delicious food, walked around downtown and just enjoyed being home/on vacation. Below are some pictures from the trip...

Regent trying on masks in a souvenir shop.

Regent avoiding the bathroom in the Mardi Gras museum..

(Despite the façade, it was actually a nice, clean restroom)

Justin attempting to eat the kingcake off the wall....

James and Regent striking a pose at the Mardi Gras museum entrance.

Enjoying the delicacies of Sal's Sno-Ball Stand...

The next weekend we headed back to Houston for the homecoming of Justin's friend Stefan. It was the first time I met him and he was a nice kid... No pictures or anything I thought I'd just kill some space and throw that in the post...

Earlier in the month for about a week I had been struggling with a high temperature, heavy congestion, nausea and incredible fatigue. At first I thought it was just a flu, but after going to the doctor, the PA said it was probably bronchitis and a sinus infection. So I took the antibiotic treatment he gave and went on my merry way. Justin fell ill the next week and when he went back to the doctor he got the same response, so being the good patient he is, he took the medicine and went on his way.. Two and a half weeks pass and we still have a lot of congestion and while I cough a lot, Justin can't hear out of an ear.. After we went to a training session with our personal trainer, Justin got very winded and light-headed. Since our doctor's office is also an emergency-physician of sorts after 5, we decided we'd head back and see if he had any suggestions. After discussing the symptoms and having the doctor check us out, he said, "well folks, the only thing I could think of it being is the fajita flu." "The what?" "Swine flu." Huh. "Yes, bronchitis is really something only smokers or people who are exposed to second-hand smoke get." (I wish he'd have told his PA that). Either way, he put us on the highest dosage of antibiotics he could find as well as inhalers. Yeah, we felt like winners. I realize that in order to truly diagnose it as that he would have to take a blood test, but I just wanted to get over whatever I had, so I took the drugs.. And am discussing a t-shirt idea with Justin saying "I survived swine flu". And that's that.... Now let me go cough on someone to see if I can pass it along.

The accent gives it away

I had a funny experience I wanted to share. Today at work I was minding my own business (well, other peoples' business, really) when a guy I'd never seen in my life walked in front of my desk. While I do sit in a cubicle, mine is one of those fancy ones with a window that faces the hallway. He smiled and waved. He passed by a few times until finally this afternoon he came by and introduced himself. He's one of the regional supervisors who was visiting the area seeing how things were going and he wanted to know how I was adjusting as the new kid. Right off the bat I had to chuckle because his accent gave him away. He was from New Orleans. While it is under investigation and pending a responsive text message from my mom, he may have even known her which makes it even more amusing.

I'm not sure why it is, but since moving from New Orleans and still being able to make relatively frequesnt trips back, I've grown more aware of the unique accent New Orleans natives have. I hate when people try to say that the "correct" way to say New Orleans is N'awlins. That's not true. You have to be drunk and stupid to say it like that. I did, however, have a good friend on the mission from Dallas who said frequented New Orleans and said that the best way to describe the New Orleans accent is "a New Yorker gone retarded". While I don't entirely agree with the retarded part, I would say "a very lost New Yorker". I think of one of my great aunts and an old bishop of mine who had this accent and smile because that's how it sounds to me. It has gradually become a very melodic thing to me. If anything it makes me miss New Orleans and all of her quirks and eccentric personalities.

When I first started at BYU I used to hate telling people I was from New Orleans because they would ask why I didn't have a Southern accent. While I would randomly wish I had it (when good looking guys said they liked the accent), for the most part I was proud I didn't have a Southern accent because in my mind having one had a whole bunch of negative implications with it. I was grateful for the fact that neither of my parents had distinctive accents (not even dad's Cuban accent was strong) and that I never picked up the phrase y'all or other stereotypically Southern phrases (I swear I heard it more from dorm mates from the midwest and west than from my own lips).

While it has taken me much longer to appreciate a Southern accent, I am learning that a Southern drawl doesn't necessarily mean ignorance or backwardsness. I have come accept the word y'all in its many forms (my Utah-born and raised in laws love saying "ya'lls"), and even use it every once in a while, yet my mind still corrects people when they say it ("you, not y'all, and DEFINITELY not you guys). I suppose in my pretentious mind I won't be able to move past certain prejudices.

A Bug's Life?

First off, I would just like to gripe a little about our apartment. I refer to this post as a bug's life because that's what I feel like this last week has been. Since coming home from Rochester last week, despite the sprays, powders and other voodoo concoctions, we cannot seem to rid our house of lovely little pests. I pride myself on the fact that the house is pretty clean all the time, so it's just frustrating to see bugs of varying shapes and sizes crawl in the kitchen, the bathroom, on the TV while I'm doing Wii Fit or on the picture frames. Yeah, it really is THAT BAD! Luckily we're moving this next week (our contract with this complex ends the 22nd of June but I feel like a crazy, paranoid person with all these bugs, so yeah..) so I'm pretty happy.

It's kind of weird the way disliking your home immensely can have on you. Normally we don't eat out very much and I enjoy just staying home doing whatever, but I've honestly gotten to the point where we've eatten out more than our fair share this week and the only room I want to be in is the bedroom because it's the only room where I haven't seen something crawling. I know, I'm complaining a lot.. Sorry. But it's even begun to affect my sleeping pattern.. Normally we stay up until about 10. I wake up around 6:15 and things are good. But for some reason today I went to bed at 5 pm and woke up at 1 am. Yikes! And we've got nursery! Oh well. There are worse things- there's always a Sunday nap... But yeah. Okay, enough griping. I've got happier things to share.

The apartment is a smidge smaller (I think the only place it's smaller is in regards to closets- we have no pantry and instead of two large walk-in closets in the bedroom we have one smaller one to share), but that building in the complex burned down a little while ago, so they've rebuilt everything and it's entirely new, so I'm okay with the trade-off. That plus it's about 5 minutes from my work. Granted, Justin and I just joined a gym (Paychex has a deal with Bally's Total Fitness and I'm aching to lose weight) which is in the other direction from work, but yeah.. I'm happy. I'm just ready to get rid of the bugs!

April 22nd I started a new job with Paychex. Anyone who knows my family knows my mom worked there for about 12 years and really liked it there until that whole Hurricane Katrina thing brought her office up to Baton Rouge. Granted, she loves working for the Church more, but yeah. So for those who don't know what Paychex is, it's an outsourcing company for smaller businesses. We handle payroll, human resources and other items for smaller companies. I particularly work with payroll so I've been talking with smaller companies in the San Antonio and Austin area dealing with their payroll and taxes. It's actually pretty fun. For the first few weeks of the job they don't let you take payroll because there's a lot to learn- I had to read and take a bunch of quizzes regarding federal tax laws (luckily Texas doesn't have a State Income Tax so I don't have to worry about that too much). After the first 3 weeks they sent me to the headquarters in Rochester, NY for two weeks to what they call "The University of Paychex". Basically from 8-5 we learned about the application we use to take payroll, how we would figure it out manually (lots of little equation stuff) and then A LOT more about tax laws. But luckily I think I absorbed more from the 300 paged book at my branch, because a lot of it seemed like a review to just cement it into my head. Every Wednesday and Friday we had quizzes and tests- the final being held the second Friday determined whether or not we kept our job actually-- and every night and the weekend in between we had homework. It really wasn't that bad for me though.

In my class there were 3 people (normally a class has about 30, but because of the economy the company's been on a hiring freeze and they've just started using a new system so we're the first ones to learn it; it's kind of fun), a girl from Hoboken, NJ and a guy from Tulsa, OK. It's kind of funny how they kind of fit my mind's stereotype concerning people from those areas, but at the same time were a little different from what I expected. There was also another girl who was there for two weeks by herself learning the old system who stayed at our hotel and rode with us from work. She was from Las Vegas and wow... After the first day of her I had a headache (I'm completely serious). They were all pretty nice people (even if our personalities didn't exactly mesh) and since they tended to go out drinking instead of doing homework in the evenings I was left to my own devices which included talk to Justin on the phone, watching FoodTV and HGTV (we don't have cable at home) and occassionaly exercising. Overall I think it paid off because I was the "valedictorian" of the class.. Hahahaha

Justin came up the weekend between the two weeks (it was his birthday the 14th and my mom thought it would be a nice present). It was a lot of fun because we rented a car and went to visit sites in the area (Niagara Falls was a little more than an hour away and Palmyra, NY was only about 20 minutes from the hotel where we stayed). I'll post pictures in my next entry. But I felt lucky in a weird sense because his flight out of Rochester was cancelled so he got to stay an extra night. I was happy!

After the test on Friday I flew back home to San Antonio only to get into the car and drive to Justin's parents' house in Houston (technically in a place called Magnolia just north of Houston where they just built a beautiful home). It was a really fun weekend hanging out with his entire family (his brothers Jeff and Jon came with their families and we just hung out around the house for the weekend).

Overall, things have been going really well for us. On Friday the 29th we celebrated our 6 month anniversary (I know, not a big thing, but we like celebrating) so we went to a Benihana knock-off called Osaka which is way cheaper, less crowded and in my opinion more fun. I just have to say how grateful I am for Justin. He is the biggest blessing in my life. I'm grateful for his patience and love. It was weird because my roommate in Rochester (the girl from NJ) kept saying how lonely she was without her boyfriend. I can understand that. At first I was like, "I'm cool, I'm fine being here by myself." But when I saw Justin I realized how much I missed him and was SO GLAD he was there. I know I've always appreciated him, but I don't think I realized until then how incredibly important he was to me (I hope that doesn't make me sound like a horrible wife. I just tend to be someone who's completely fine being alone and who sometimes prefers it). But Justin is by far my best friend. As much as I love my family and as much as I love my close friends, I couldn't imagine doing anything really fun, exciting or imporatnt without him.

Houston Rodeo

First off I would like to gripe after which I promise I’ll be more positive. I HATE offshoring!! Since Sunday our Internet hasn’t been working. When we called we were connected with a man with an incredible Indian accent who said his name was John. Hmm… He tried to help but due to his not understanding Justin clearly and Justin getting frustrated, we were given a number to call the following day in the morning. Due to work and such we ended up not calling yesterday, but rather this morning. Once again we were connected with another man who had a very not-American sounding voice who said his name was John. After doing the exact same thing as the other man named “John” he finally said he would connect Justin with someone in San Antonio. The man in San Antonio wasn’t much help either, but that’s another story. I would just like to say it is frustrating that so many companies are offshoring. With the state that the economy is in and the fact that so many companies want federal help it is upsetting to me to know that Americans are going unemployed while “John” in wherever-ville is employed by my US based Internet provider. I don’t mean to sound like a racist or someone who dislikes other countries that are worse off than we are from being used for some services, but it is frustrating when they are the customer service department yet they don’t understand when you say “brand” or “router”. Okay, I am finished.

Last weekend Justin and I cashed in on one of our Christmas presents from his parents to attend the concert of our choice at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. While the concert I most wanted to go to was Brad Paisley (I never thought I’d really like country but Justin got me into a few people), it was a Thursday evening and I needed to work as much as possible last week. So we took up the Saturday choice- Josh Turner.

I only know a few of his songs, but I like them- even if some of them are more country/Christian. I have to say, the concert was GREAT! I really like it because his wife is the keyboardist for his group and he and his band have a good sense of humor when the perform. When introducing his wife (while introducing the whole band) he said, “No, she’s not fat. She’s pregnant.. Granted I don’t know how that happened…. All we do is kiss.” Justin and I laughed but the people in the stadium didn’t get it I guess because not a lot of people laughed. But yes- I liked his concert. Granted, the entire experience was interesting to say the least….
This was the first rodeo or anything like it that I’ve really attended and apparently the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the largest Livestock Show and Rodeo in the world. It’s for a good cause- helping Houston area schools—so I was glad to know that it was staffed by volunteers and that the money spent there went to a good purpose. Because the rodeo is such a huge event a lot of times people will need to park a few blocks away and take buses to the arenas, so this is what we did since it was the cheapest option and it would be better to ride in the bus than to walk in the drizzle or the day. In the bus they show videos about the rodeo to get you excited and such for the upcoming events. The opening shot was on a man going bareback on a bucking bronco. Now, I’ve always been afraid that I’m a stubborn snob when it comes to things but I could help but think, “What the heck am I doing here?? I’m too smart for this!” I was surrounded by 10-gallon hats and mullets… and the men were even worse! Okay, that was mean. Sorry. Not everyone was like that.

When we got off of the bus the volunteers were actually really nice. Justin’s family goes to the rodeo at least once a year and they have a tradition to buy these cinnamon rolls that are about the size of the average human hand (open- not in a fist). So we walked around looking at different things and Justin decided it was time for me to experience my first up-close experience with livestock. So we entered the building where they were. For a little background information I’m going to mention a few things. Every Christmas Justin’s family goes to a condo they have in a ski-resort town named Crested Butte in Colorado. During the drive up there they pass through several farming towns and ranches. Apparently Justin’s mom and sister have a love for the smell of ranches and cows so they’ll roll down the windows to get the full effect. I think that part of the reason they go to the livestock show is because they love the smell so much. I’m glad they weren’t with us that day because I started dry heaving when we entered the building. My loving husband didn’t make me stay in there for very long (which I am grateful for). I’m sad to admit I am a city girl and don’t see that changing. Luckily the animals weren’t actually there when we got to the back area where they were supposed to be- heaven knows how strong it would have smelled. After a few minutes in this building we decided to go to the rodeo so I could experience a rodeo up close.

All I can say is WOW! There were points when I thought, “Why would anyone in their right mind do this?” and other times when I thought it was kind of neat. I think it kind of awakened my inner animals-rights self because some of the events I didn’t like (team roping and calf-wrestling and such). I felt my mind was going numb from watching these events so we got up and walked around and went back in for the Chuck Wagon racing which was neat as well as the Calf Scramble where members of local FFA groups tried to tie a calf in order to get money for their group to buy a calf to later sell. But my favorite event of the evening was a new event they added this year called “Mutton Bustin’”.

Mutton Bustin’ is where ten kids between the ages of 4 and 6 compete to ride mutton across a stretch of the field for the longest amount of time. For the most part, the kids fell off once the mutton was let out of its cage, but one kid (a little 4 year old) was able to ride it until almost the end. It was great. Some kids cried or were sad after they finished, but most of them hammed it up and raised their arms to receive their cheers and stuff. It was REALLY funny.

After the concert we walked around some more and found a place that sold chocolate covered CHEESECAKE ON A STICK! Yeah, it was weird, but tasted DELICIOUS! They just had a regular cheesecake that they sliced up and dipped in chocolate similar to the chocolate at Dairy Queen that freezes really quickly. In addition they sold chocolate covered strawberries on a stick. I’ll admit that Justin and I bought one of each and enjoyed it while looking at acts that’ve performed at the rodeo over the rears. I hope this hasn’t come across and condescending to those who enjoy rodeos- it’s just not something I’ve ever experienced. I guess it’s just part of living in Texas? I know I won’t be here for the rest of my life so I should live it up while I can. Who else can say they’ve seen 4 year olds race across a field on muttons?

Update 20/20

      Recently I’ve been working with a credit union in the area called Security Services Federal Credit Union doing data-entry/IT work. It’s really hard to describe. Basically we’re testing their new online banking programs to make sure there are no major glitches. However, this has temporarily changed as the system has been down for the last week, and so, I’ve been spending my days killing time online. As much fun as it seems it could be, it’s not too enthralling. But it’s all good, I figure I can use this time to catch up on some stuff since I update my blog about as often as I dye my hair (that’s actually a lie- I dye my hair more often).

       Life’s been pretty good. Following our return from Christmas/New Years trips to Houston and New Orleans (respectively), I began to seriously search for a job. While it took a while, and this job is only a temporary position lasting until the middle or end of May (depending on when we finish testing everything), I am grateful for the work I’ve been able to find. The people here are pretty nice and (as Justin likes to call them) typical computer nerds. Hey- I like it!

      About a week after we got home from our holiday vacation, we were called to serve in the nursery. Why is this such a common calling for newly married couples? What’s the purpose of it- to encourage or discourage from having kids soon? What is your opinion? Justin and I LOVE our calling. We have 8 kids in our group, and while they are a bit wild (the room is probably 5 ft by 12ft. Yeah.. ), they’re sweet kids. There are the twins- Jackson and Lexus (yeah.. We just call her Lexie) who are a handful. Jackson cried a lot in the beginning and Justin has given Lexie the nickname of Godzilla (horrible as it is) due to her throwing of chairs and such during play time. But they’re warming up to us and really aren’t that bad if you give them enough attention. Then there is Lincoln. He reminds me of Elijah, very energetic, cute blond boy. I noticed that he’s been playing with baby dolls recently (I think it’s normal given the fact that his mom just had a baby), but the other Sunday he made us laugh when he tried to breast feed the baby he was playing with. He was very confused when we laughed. Then there is Micaela. She has taken the longest to warm up to us because he parents were the nursery leaders before us, so it’s understandable. Luckily we’ve gotten to be good friends with her parents so we go over there often enough for her not to get scared by us (not scared of ME.. Justin still terrifies her). We’re still amazed at the fact that she can tell you the names of all the states and their capitals- and she hasn’t turned 2 yet. There is Scotty. Scotty’s parents are students at BYU-Idaho who are down for the semester doing an internship here. His parents happen to both be from here, so they live with his mom’s parents. I think that because he lives in a home where there are lots of adults, he listens to us. He’s a good kid. The typical little boy who likes to beat up the play-doh with his wooden rolling pin. There is also Will. He’s a really cute kid. I feel bad for him because his parents are in law school and medical school and so I wonder how much he gets to see them. Every Sunday that his dad brings him in he cries. Last Sunday he wanted to make me cry there were so many tears. He literally hung his head down above the little table with their play-doh and the tears formed a little puddle on the table. He reminds me of my brother Andrew a lot though. He looks A LOT like Andrew did when he was little; they even have similar smiles; it’s great. But he’s happy once he can climb on anything or play with the trains or cars during play time. Then there are (and we’re guilty of it, sorry) Justin and my favorites- Carly and Clark. Carly came into nursery the same week we did and is Justin’s pet. Once we combine with the older class she climbs up on Justin’s lap and stays there during singing and playing time. Justin calls her his little buddy. My little buddy is Clark. Micaela has the biggest crush on him. When we sing “I Love to See the Temple” during singing time she holds his arm and sings to him. She also will randomly grab him and hug him. I don’t blame her. He is TOO CUTE! He’s not very tall; he’s got chubby baby cheeks and a funny personality. He laughs at anything and likes to sing and do hand motions. Plus he’s really good at pointing out certain animals and stuff. I just love the kid. But enough gushing about the kids… Every week there’s something funny to share about them.

       We bought a Wii about a month ago after Justin got a grant. While I feel guilty for having spent the money, it’s been A LOT of fun. We got the Rock Band2 pack and within 2 weeks Justin and I got to the end where you’re playing way too much no-name heavy metal.. We’ve taken a break since then… It’s not encouraging when you’re playing songs you’ve never heard of. But we also got a game called Order Up! which is GREAT! It’s not very hard, but it’s fun and very funny with some of its jokes. Basically you play a chef that gets dropped from a plane and lands on an island called PortAbello. You work your way up the food chain by cooking at different restaurants and stuff. The characters are really funny and yeah.. It made me want to get a few more cooking games, but unfortunately they’ve all been pretty lame since.

We've also invested in a Wii Fit and I LOVE IT! It’s great to have something you can do right there despite the cold rain (as it’s been these last few days). Maybe it’s an indication that I’m pathetically out of shape, but I can break a sweat when I do several games consecutively. That plus it’s a good quick pickup in the mornings.

 

Well, it’s 5 and I’m ready to go home. Have a good one!

Finally made it legal

Well, November 29 has come and gone! While none of the professional pictures for the day are up yet, here are some candids from the day of as well as from our pre-bridal session (yeah, we cheated and Justin and I took pictures October 30. And luckily so- the 29 was VERY overcast and rainy!! I'll make sure to post more pictures soon.)

The festivities started earlier that week as everyone came into town for Thanksgiving. Friday was quite a rush with last minute details, a mani/pedi with my mom, aunt and cousin, and the bridal shower. Originally my mom was shooting for me to go to bed and be asleep by 10:30, however, due to parties and festivities, (and the fact that the bachelorette party didn't even end until 10:15), that was not achieved. When I got home we had more things to work with and after practicing a last minute song (I decided I wanted to surprise Justin at the reception, so I sang for him while Brian played), I went upstairs and talked with my best friend Kate until 3 (Yes, I'm just that smart) only to wake up at 5 in order to get to the hair/makeup artist's shop in Baton Rouge for 6:30.

The day went by way too quickly as I'm sure everyone told me it would.Since it was only my mom and I at the salon it was pretty relaxed, although I could tell my mom was realy anxious and nervous. I would almost say she was worse than I was, except I chipped off my manicure while sitting there waiting for her to get done. At 10 we drove to the temple where we were greeted by Justin and his best man/friend Brandon. The temple was beautiful and just as it should have been. But it flew by so quickly. I tried not to look at anyone for fear of raccoon eyes, but alas, that failed even if all I did was stare at the sealer.

After the ceremony we at up at the stake center while waiting for the photographer. My aunt and uncle prepared a nice little lunch for us to tide us over and after the pictures- quite the feat for our "just family" group of about 50.

Afterwards we drove down to New Orleans for my family to take a quick breather and gather stuff for the reception while Justin and I checked into our hotel, the St. James on Magazine downtown (for the record, it was a great hotel. Pretty small, but not packed and not too noisy). When we were opening the door to the room the photographer called to say she was ready and waiting at the reception site. While Justin's family was already almost there and waiting (the had just driven down from Baton Rouge), my family wasn't quite ready yet. So rush they did. While it was a little unsettling, my sisters-in-law and cousins are amazing and had everything up in a matter of minutes. While it was a little untraditional to be taking the group pictures while the guests were walking up for the reception at 6:15, hey, why not. It made it so I didn't have to do a receiving line!

The reception was great though. There was dancing, amazing food (thank you City Park catering and my mom), and just fun. I was really happy to see everyone that came, including my high school newspaper advisor, whom I have been close with since Junior year, and many family members and friends whom I haven't seen for a while either. Possibly the biggest surprise for either of us that night though was when Brandon and my brothers stole a tire from Justin's car to auction it off to get money for us. While I thought it was funny the Bush family was less than pleased. But hey, all in good fun, right? At least I didn't have to drive around with condoms and cans on my car à la Steel Magnolias.

Since then things have been good. The drive back to San Antonio was good, Justin and I have been rotating "sick duty" since we've been home (I've been sick twice), but it's all good. I love being here and being with Justin. My birthday was a few days after we got home from New Orleans and although he had a presentation in his class early that morning, he still made the day wonderful with flowers, breakfast in bed and a fun date that night.

The following Friday was the open house in Houston filled with more family and friends, my parents, Erica and Gabe drove up from New Orleans and we just had a good time. That's what you're supposed to do though, right?



David and Caroline with Elijah and Claire

Ashley and Elijah

Singing "At Last"

Brian sang our first song "Something"

my cousin Kaycee snapped a picture of me outside the temple





How it REALLY felt that day!
(Just kidding)