Our first Halloween

For Halloween this year I was Richard Simmons's groupie, and Cameron was a baby. We both went to school like this. I got 10 extra credit points in my abnormal psychology class if I dressed up. Abnormal perhaps? My makeup was better for school. I had bright red lipstick and redder cheeks, but you still get the idea.

We also carved pumpkins for FHE. We wanted to do "Dwight" from the TV show "The Office" but there was small detail and we didn't have small enough knives so we stuck wit a traditional smile.

Our first place to call home...

That's our door, gnome, and coat tree. Taken from standing in the kitchen.

This is what you see when you come down the stairs.

The kitchen

more kitchen

wall of random extras

laundry and fridge. There is another cool storage closet here, but it was a boring picture so you just get to imagine it.

Dining room. Picture is taken from the living room.

Bathroom

Hallway to our bedroom

Our drawers we got at a garage sale.

Our bed.

the living room.

Where I live inside of where I live. I do my homework in this chair.

looking into our living room from the dining room.

My awesome fall wreath I made from cardboard, floss, staples, and OBVIOUSLY flowers and greenery.

Well, that's the grand tour of our house. It's been nice to have a place of our own to call home. It's fun to decorate and be a housewife. I love it.

Scrumtrlescent

I'm always giving the excuse that I blog a lot better than I write in my journal which is completely true, but I'm still not very good at blogging. Cameron is such a good influence on me for that, he writes every day. I've made a goal to do better because there has been a lot happen and I need to document my happy life. Our trip back to Utah from Washington was great. We left early Saturday morning Aug. 20th. We went down to Yackima to visit my friend from high school Laura Packham White and her family. Her husband Jake is in medical school up there. They have two adorable kids, Hannah and Charlie. It was fun talking to them since I had never met Charlie and hadn't seen them since Hannah was super small. They fed us a little bbq lunch and we were on our way. We then drove forever up to a super small town in Idaho called Coolin. We went to Priest Lake. I guess it's something like 20 miles south of the Canadian border. Cameron's roomate last year Tyler Shieffield's parents and grandparents own a cabin up there. The only word I can think of to describe it was beautiful! The batteries in our camera were dead so I don't have any pictures of that where we stayed. It was wonderful. Tyler's dad took us out on the boat and I FINALLY GOT TO WATERSKI! I love waterskiing so much. Cameron was excited to tube. He doesn't share my excitement for waterskiing because the time he tried it before was extremely painful and he didn't like it. He does love tubing though, which I like but not as much as skiing. We saw where John Stockton (the guy that used to play for the Jazz) has a cabin. That made me think of Great Grandma Parker and her love for the jazz. The water was super warm! We stayed there Saturday night and Sunday night. We went to church at a ward that was a hour away. All I remember about that experience was that chuch was FREEZING cold. Yes it was the summer so the AC could be on but man, it was super cold. Cameron was even cold and he doesnt' usually get cold. Sunday after church, lunch, and a nap, Cameron and I took a paddle boat out to 4 mile island. That was fun. We had fun spending time together giggling and racing motor boats. We never won. : ) Monday Morning Cameron got up and went kyacking for a little bit. He wanted to go across the whole lake and I didn't. He left and I just did my thing for all of 5 minutes then went running. In my year of running that 5 mile run I did that morning was definitley in the top 5 of my favorite and best runs. It was so serene. I was so energized and greatful to have a body that could run and take me to see the pretty things I did. I'll never forget. Then Monday we drove ALL DAY down to Boise Idaho. It was about 10 hours in the car. I couldn't have done much more. Cameron didn't like my driving and I didn't like his so yes, it was interesting. Whe we first got there we stopped into see our friend from Provo Chelsi Tolbert. She is so wonderful. We love her. After that we went to Josh Edgar's house in Boise for the night. Josh and Cameron were mission companions for 2 transfers. Josh and Stephanie got married in Feb. 2011. She was super nice and they have a nice place. I feel kind of bad because I was not in the best mood. I was SUPER hungry, tired and honestly not in the mood for Josh. He is loud and has a completely different personality than I do. They were very hospitable and it wasn't that bad. Then Tuesady morning we drove from Boise to Pocatello. It was so nice to get to a familiar town! Even though I hadn't been to Pocatello in a long time it was still fun because it was something I knew. We stopped at Sharon and Hal Call's house. Sharon is sisters with Cameron's Grandma Jackie Byrd who we lived with all summer. Sharon and Hal have been on a lot of missions and one of them was in Texas. They were a senior couple for Casey Rowland. Small world huh? We found that out because Sharon and Hal came to our wedding and at the luncheon just before they left they mentioned how in their Texas mission they had a cute elder from Ovid. That was convient becuase Christi and Brian and Julia were sitting there so I introuduced them. I really like Sharron and Hal. They are wonderful. They took us out to eat at Applebees. And when we were at their house visiting after they let me pick a bunch of appercots from their tree. Wonderful! I picked some for me and mom. After their house we went around the corner to the Winegars house. We love them so much! They are wonderful people. She gave us a tour of their house while president grilled us some steaks. We had a great visit with them. By this time I was just ready to get home becuase Bear Lake was our next stop! I was so excited because Morgan would be ther and I hadn't seen him since he'd been home. However, after the Winegars we went to the Johnsons. Random story about them. In our ward this summer in Shoreline we had wonderful missionaries. Elder Leavitt is from Vegas and he's great. But his first companion was Elder Saxton as in June Marie Saxton's son from Geneva. Small world. Then Elder Saxton got transfered and Elder Johnson was a greenie with Elder Leavitt. Turns out Elder Johnson is cousins with the Phillips family from Bern. So cousins with Colby and Cassie. Not only that but his older brother Brayden was in our mission in Jersey. I never knew him but Cameron did. So we stopped in to meet their family. That was fun but I really was pushing to get home. We finally got home to Bear Lake and saw Morgan! I don't really remember what I thought about first seeing him. He was bigger, that's for sure. I couldn't stop pestering him though. I kept sitting on him and always touching him. I was probably pretty annoying but I didn't care. It was great being home after a full summer away. Tuesday we spent the day just hangin out in Ovid. Cameron wanted really bad to go 4-wheeling since he'd only been once before. We did that and I saw my horse! Toney...how I'd missed her. Mom was great and got us the best food ever...STUDABAKERS PIZZA! My mouth is watering right now just thinking about it. Yum. Wednesady we went to Logan and saw the Johnson's. Man I'd missed those kids so much!!! It made me so happy that the boys after they got home from school when they first saw me ran up and gave me the biggest hug. My heart melted! I loved being with them. Everyone else met up at Darci's house since the next day was Emy's bday and we were going out to lunch. It was a fun thing we did and it would be fun to keep it as a tradition to take the birthday sister out to lunch. That's not quite possible since Jamie, Jodi, and Emily are the only ones that live close. But it was at least fun for Emy's bday. That night we stayed at Jamie's house, or should I say the Messick Motel. :) Ki and Mills love Cameron and he loves them. He gets jealous because the Johnson kids like me more than him but he says that the Messick kids like him more than me so we are even. I don't think so but I let him think that. I'm the aunt of coolness hello! No man can take that from me! :) Friday Morning Cam left early since he had a meeting for work. I came later that afternoon with Jamie and Theron. Our apartment here in Provo was unfurnished so Jamie and Theron are kind enough to let us borrow their stuff so we have somwhere to sit and sleep. We hauled in all of our stuff which was a slight disaster but I don't want to remember that. The rest of that weekend was spent unpacking. Now about our apartment. I'll post pictures on the next post but here is the story on that. A week before we got married we were playing games with Janell and her cousins. Kent was there and told us that he was moving in Aug. One thing led to another and here we live. We live super close to BYU campus which is great for Cameron. We live 960 Cedar Ave. It is the basement apartment of a couple with 3 kids. Jordan and Joanna Harmon and their kids Eli, Sunny, and Lousia. (Lousia cries A LOT and it's not a normal cry it's super annoying. Cameron and I are always commenting on her annoying noise. It's not even a cry, it's just noise.) Anyway, when we moved in the box spring for our bed wouldn't fit so for the first few weeks we slept on a mattress on the floor. The entire house was FILTHY!!!!! I don't think they even wiped anything down when they left let alone cleaned the whole time they lived there. I was super annoyed that we had to pay $650.00 plus about $70 per month for utilities for this crappy apartment. Just wait until you see the pictures. I absolutely hated living here at first. It was such a hard adjustment for me. I don't dread coming home anymore like I used to but Cameron and I are looking to find a new place for next semester. I hate the idea of moving now since I've worked so hard to get this place to where it is now, but it would be nice to find somewhere that is cheaper and less falling apartish. I can feel those emotions coming back to me now as I'm thinking about it. New subject. School for both of us is really busy. Cameron is gone a lot. That is one thing that I really apreciate and admire about my wonderful husband. He is such a hard worker. He is always working on something for work or school. He teaches 4 different stats labs and grades a lot of papers and has meetings and is always working. When he's not working working, he's studying or reharsing for choir. He is wonderful to work so hard for our little family. I sure am one lucky girl. Even though he is super busy he is really good at still making time for me. We have this little tradition that I love that when he gets home he kisses me, we eat dinner, then we watch an episode of "The Office" together before it's back to studying. It is important to me, and him, that we make time for each other. I struggled at first in the fact that I don't have a job so our only income is from what he makes teaching, and tutoring but at least he doesnt' have to worry about dinner, laundry, cleaning, and groceries. I can do that and I want too since he's got a lot of other stuff to worry about. Knowing he doesnt' have to do that makes me feel a bit better about not bringing in any income. I will next semester though because I FINALLY GRADUATE! It's official, as long as I pass all my classes (and I will) then I'll graduate on April 26th. It still feels surreal. The other thing that feels surreal is that we found out on Tuesday September 13th that I am pregnant.

Here is the story. I hadn't had a cycle since July but I took a pregnancy test the day before we left Washington and it was negative. I was starting to get a little worried that something was wrong with my body since it had been so long since I'd had a cycle but wasn't pregnant. I didn't think I was pregnant because I wasn't sick and puking. I did have less energy than before but I thought that was just my body's way of adjusting to Utah and my new schedule. Tuesdays are really long for me and when I got home at 5 I found that my computer battery that I ordered for my computer was here. Yeah! My computer hasn't been working for a while and I thought that a new battery would solve the problem. It didn't. Iwas on the phone with HP trying to get it the probelm fixed but they wanted money. I was super upset when Darci called. I was still ticked off so the poor girl got an earful. I told her everything that I was frustrated while on the brink of tears if not crying. Before I got off the phone with her she told me to "wipe the stick across my belly" (Georgia thinks that's how you tell if you are pregnant or not.) Cameron was gone until about 10:30 that night because he was at a choir retreat. After I ate dinner I was going to walk down to the creamery and get some milk. Before I left I decided I would. I was hesitant to talk one because since we've been married I've taken a few pregnancy tests and they've always been negative and it honstly upsets me. It's so frustrating wanting something so bad that is part of fulfilling our covenants to "multiply and replenish the earth" and not having it be true. It makes me sad and I didn't want to go through that until I was more sure it would be positive. I also didn't want to take one becuase Cameron wasn't here and I wanted us to find out together. However, since I didn't think I was pregnant and I was already sad and ticked off I figured I had nothing to loose except Cameron not being here and I was willing to take that change. What do ya know, not even a minute later two very visable lines appeared on the pregnancy test. Talk about emotion overload. I was sitting on the edge of the bathtub at the time and then scooted back into the tub and cried. I didn't know what to feel. Guilt because Cameron wasnt' there? Excitement that I was finally pregnant? Nervous that I was now growing and responsible for another human being? I was mostly excited because I knew Cameron would be really excited. I took the test at about 6 and knew that he wasn't going to be home for another few hours....KILLER!!! When he got home I tried to act as normal and calm as I could. Since we've been married whenever I say "guess what" his first response is always, "You're pregnant?!" So knowing that he would say this and I genuinly wanted to hear about his day first tried to avoid saying, "guess what." Well, it must have slipped out because he guessed it before I could hear about his retreat. He looked at the test and we spent the rest of the night laughing and discussing different options and plans of this new chapter in our lives. Wow! If all pregnancies will be this easy then I will do my part in bringing God's children into this world. I haven't been sick like most women get. I did barf the day after we found out but I think that was because dinner didn't agree with my stomach and that's why. I have been super tired, and ALWAYS HUNGRAY but other than that, I feel fine. Since we've found out about me being pregnant, we've decided to go with a midwife instead of a doctor at a hospital. Dont' get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with doctors, I'm not a complete hippy, it's just the type of birth that Cameron and I want to have is provided by a midwife. We chose a local midwife here in Provo named Melody Pendlton. She is wonderful. We found her becuase she is also Lacey's (my mission companion) midwife. My entire family (and then some) know about me being pregnant and they all know about the midwife. They think that I should go to a doctor but this is mine and Cameron's decision. We've researched and prayed about it and we both feel that it is the right thing to do. My family knows, that if they make fun of or make me feel bad about going to a midwife that they don't get to know much about the pregnancy. They can be a part of the baby's life but won't get to know anything else. Why tell them if they make me feel like we've made the wrong decision? It's my body and I know it will be fine. I guess I'm a little sensitive on this issue. We don't know the exact due date yet but will hopefully be able to tell at my next appointment this upcoming Friday. What a great time we have to raise children. Yes, satan is on the earth in full force but so is God. We are on His team and doing our best so we will be blessed.

Well, that's about the extent of our life as of now. We are loving being married and preparing to add April 30, 2012 a new little Gleed. I wonder if it will be a boy or a girl, who they will look like, and what will we name it. We've talked about baby names our entire marrige since we knew we were going to start our family soon. The only names that we both like are:

Girls: Annie, Berlin

Boys: Owen, Tanner, Anders, Kyler, Jackson, Landon, Ethan

Twins: Oliver and Olivia

Names that Cameron like and I don't: Sebastian, Fin, Ferris

Names that I like and Cameron doesn't: Wheatley, Briquel,

Emotion squared

It's good to know that I'm not the only emotional woman that's ever lived. Sometimes I don't like using the excuse that I'm emotional because I'm a woman but every time I feel that way I am gently reminded that God made me different and more emotional.

Right now I'm feeling a bit roller coasterey because of Daniel. I mentioned last time how we were in the nursery. Well, Daniel was one of the boys in our class and I was instantly drawn to him. Mostly because he was the most reverent but he also had similar mannerisms to Adam. I'm not even close to not admitting that I'm not biased about playing favorites. He was by far my favorite. Every Sunday he'd come in with his little red argyle sweater and nice black Sunday pants, sit there quietly never talking very much. I started a few weeks ago teasing him while helping him color that he was hiding crayons in his ears or on his knees or elbows. He thought this was hilarious and it became our weekly game of where Sister Gleed would hide the crayon. It was always stuck in my ear with my hair covering it. Such a small silly game but sometimes that was honestly the best part of nursery. Today he was practically attached to me the entire two hours and I LOVED it! He would sit in my lap, and look up at me and smile with a smile that just seemed to say, "Hello I'm Daniel and I'm 3 and perfect" I can't even explain how great this kid is. When his mom picked him up today we said how excited we were to see him next week (since it will be our last week in the ward) and his mom said that today was his last day since they were moving. I instantly teared up. I love him and am super sad that he's not old enough to have a facebook. Now what am I supposed to do? So Daniel left today, Elder Leavett is a missionary here in our ward that has been here the whole time that Cameron and I have and he is going home tomorrow to Vegas, and the Kellers left today. I've had a lot of goodbyes today. I didn't expect to get attached to people here but the closer it gets to Cameron and I heading back to Utah the more I realize that I'm a lot more sad than I expected to be. I'm always underestimating my emotions. I didn't expect to love it here as much as I do hence the reason I didn't think it would be as hard to leave.

My testimony has definitely been strengthened in the three months that we've been here on how much our Heavenly Father is truly aware of our needs. He knows I need people so he places wonderful people in my life that I end up getting attached to! I have blessings galore of being able to get to know wonderful people!

So, when the Kellers were here we had quite the many laughs (as expected) and adventures. We went to two different lighthouses, hiking, hair dying, movie watching, cards, downtown Seattle, the bus, and more laughing. Yes, I dyed my hair. The color is called pomegranate creme. It's brown with red. I like it a lot better than last time. I'm still getting used to it but it is fun to have a change. Yes--I will post pictures as soon as the Kellers get them to me.

Hello Seattle

When Cameron told me that we were going to be living in the Seattle area for the summer I had mixed emotions. The emotion that was most present in my wee body was excitement. What an opportunity. Cameron was offered a paid internship. He's so smart! I'm extremely proud of him because not only is a paid internship fairly uncommon but he didn't even apply for the position. Since he is only a Sophomore, it's pretty uncommon to have an internship that young since actuaries have a bunch of exams they have to pass and as a sophomore you don't take them yet. I was so happy for him and what an opportunity! The company that he is working for is called Milliman. If everything works out, it is our plan to intern this summer and next summer then after he graduates he'd work there full time.

After my excitement wore off, reality set in. I was going to be a newlywed living with his the basement of his grandparents house,I'd never been to Washington, what would I do for work, my family is in Utah or Idaho, and what about the rain? These were a few of the things going through my head. However, I'm proud to report that I've lived here officially 2 months and I'm alive and actually loving living here.

Cameron's internship is going well. He really loves working there. He knows one of the principal actuary there, Tim Barklay. Tim has kids the same age as Cameron and his siblings. Cameron is friends with his daughter Erin. He leaves to catch the bus every morning at 6:18. There is a Golds Gym on the first floor of his building so he goes early and works out then goes to work. So far they have him working on random projects. He rarely sees Tim but he has a super intelligent Asian mentor named Cynthia.

A few things that I love about him working everyday and working so early is that he sets out his outfit the night before for the next day. He's so cute! He so great and makes his lunches for the week a head of time and he proudly takes his Curious George lunchbox everyday. I love when he wakes up and kneels down to pray he holds my hand as I'm lying there pretty much looking like death warmed over. He's very considerate of me there sleeping, he tries to be so quiet. I rarely hear him because by the time he's finished his shower I'm usually incoherent. He makes his own breakfast and before he leaves he touches my shoulder and gives me a goodbye kiss, tells me to have a good day, and tells me how much he loves me. He is seriously the best man alive.

Living with his grandparent was not my ideal living situation after just getting married, but it's been pretty good. In all honesty at first I struggled a bit living here simply because his grandparents are so different from me. However, now that I have two jobs and I'm not home quite as much things have been better. We play cards with them about 2-3 nights a week. We play "Mormon Bridge" or "salad." It's hit or miss. Sometimes I rock and sometimes I tank. That's just how it is. Cameron LOVES playing Mormon Bridge. He loves playing games in general, but he really loves Mormon Bridge. We've had some good laughs while playing cards. Grandpa Byrd comes up with the most random sayings sometimes. He'll say things like, "we can have mashed potatoes and gravy without the gravy if we had mashed potatoes." ya, doesn't make sense. Grandma Byrd has a few key phrases that she says a lot such as, "You just never know, you just never know," or "I took that?" "I go first?" They are a lot of fun to play with.

Since I've never been to Washington ever in my whole life I thought I'd get lost a bit more than I have. But thanks to the handy dandy GPS mom and dad gave us, I feel like I know the area pretty good now. Well, I did just get lost running this morning so maybe I spoke to soon. I can at least get to church, the grocery store, and work without using the GPS. How 'bout that!

I love the ward we are in. I've been most excited to get visiting teachers and go visiting teaching. I haven't had that in my life since December and quite shockingly enough I REALLY miss it. That is one thing that I've learned is that I absolutely love and really need other women. I need relief society. We got called to serve as subs in the primary but since Sister Kerksick just had a baby we are taking over her Nursery A class while she is home for about 6 weeks with the baby. I love nursery and we have darn cute kids, but I long to be in with the other women. Maybe it's because I nanny two little kids and when I'm not nannying I'm taking pictures of little kids so I'm socially deprived. I talk to Cameron and that's about it for talking to anyone my age. So other than Cameron my social life is with 2-5 year olds or 70 year olds. Yes, I need girls.

Work is great. I actually like what I do. I got a nanny job for the Bridwell family. They are great. Chad and Jolene just celebrated their 10 year anniversary. They met at Ricks college and now live in Lynwood which is about 15 minutes north of us here in Shoreline. They have two girls and Jolene is due with their third child around Christmas. It's been nice working for a family that are members of the church because I can reinforce what they've been learning in primary, their home is decorated with familiar images. Basically, I just feel safe there. Here is a little about the girls.

This is Grace. We call her Gracie. Her wh

ole name is Elizabeth Grace Bridwell. She is 5 and absolutely LOVES princesses. We are constantly dressing up as princesses and going to a ball or dressing up the princess dolls. Her room is ceiling to floor pink with Disney everywhere. He has such a cute laugh and loves laughing. She hates being wet, except in the bathtub. She loves blowing bubbles and playing on the monkey bars. She is very protective of her swing on their

backyard swing set. She has to have the swing on the right. She is very smart and has a very active and super creative mind. I'm constantly laughing at some of the things she wants to do. She is really good to her little sister Abby. It's cute, she always calls her "Honey." Like any 5 year old, she does NOT like to clean her room. Typical little girl! She is darn cute and I love playing with her.

This is Abby. Her whole name is Abigail Rose Bridwell. She is almost 3 and she has the biggest brown eyes. She's adorable. She loves playing gymnastics. It's so fun to watch her run. she puts her head down and really concentrates with her cute little bum waddling. Super cute! She loves wearing shoes. I'm pretty sure that every 15 minutes she has a different pair of shoes on. Probably just as much as she loves changing her cloths.She is ALWAYS changing outfits. Both her and Gracie change outfits during the day at least 4 times. Abby loves going down the slide but won't go unless I'm banging on the side of the slide so that she knows that I'm there. She loves doing anything that Gracie does. She does a great job at keeping up with her older sister. She wants to name the new baby that will join their family in December Sarah. She has a big vocabulary for a 2 1/2 year old. One day she came to me and said that she just wanted to sit with me because she was "Really Frustrated!" What 2 year old says frustrated? She is cute. She loves paining nails and her nails are never all the same color. One thing that impresses me about Abby is her manners. I was talking to Grace once and she said, "Excuse me Julia, but will you please push me on the swing." The thing is she's like that about 90% of the time. She's very polite.

I do love both of these girls. They are really fun and keep me young. I work a few times

a week with them which is just great. This weekend I'm spending the entire week with them. Chad and Jolene are going up to Canada for their 10 year anniversary so I'm taking them all weekend. Should be quite the adventure.

I also have yet ANOTHER mall job....blah. I've liked both mall jobs that I've had in my 25 years of life, just not the mall environment. I work as a photographer at a place called the "Picture People." I do really like it. My favorites are taking candid pictures. There is a lot to know about taking pictures of people! Whew...who knew? I bet other photographers did. Anyway, I work with a fun group of people which has most definitely helped my deteriorating social life. There is a fun girl Stephanie that is from Jersey so of course she is my favorite! Karla is the manager there and she is a lot of fun too! Interviewing for this job was different because it was a group interview and I'd never done that before, but they hired all three of us so it must have gone well.

Last weekend, my wonderful husband took me there. Since we live so close to downtown Seattle, I've gotten a list of the "must see" places One of

those places is called Pike Place Market. I've struggled saying the name correctly and he told me that as soon as I could remember it and say it right he'd take me there. He's so good at helping me be better. We rode the bus down which was another one of my "firsts". We walked around the booths. There was swarms of people all around. I enjoyed the smells (not so much the fish stands) and seeing all the fun items for sale at the booths. We also ran into one of my favorite coworkers at the Picture People. It was quite the switch to have us go somewhere and me know someone and not Cameron. It was a one time deal I'm sure!

Cameron tried to show me where he worked but it was locked so I didn't get to...bummer. I didn't get to see the specific floor that he works on but this is what the building looks like. This is the Rainier Tower. It is the upside down pyramid looking one. It was designed by Minoru Yamasaki who designed the World Trade Center. It was completed in 1977. Yes, I do my research.

I love spending time with my good looking husband! He's so wonderful! We had such a good time people watching. It's one of our favorite things to do. These are pictures of us at one of the edges of Pike Place Market. What a fun day we had! And

we didn't even get sunburned. I'll tell ya when we did get some sun, the 4th of July which is by far my favorite holiday. This year if you were to look in the dictionary the definition of an American, Cameron and I would have been there. We went to a baseball game and ate not one but one and a half hot dogs. We wore our red white and blue all day, we went to a BBQ at Cameron's dad's cousin's house (which was also the house of one of the sister's in our mission. Yes, Cameron's cousin was in our mission. Hermana Gleed. ) where we ate watermelon and drank root beer. Can you get anymore american? I submit that you cannot. I hope the video that we made works. Let's give it a try.

Quinn was the reason we were at the baseball game. His team was in a tournament. They won their first two games which put them in the championship but then they lost that game. Sometimes I forget how much I love playing or watching baseball until I was it. Then memories of when I was younger playing in the field for FHE on dad's homemade bases. Or the times I played on teams. I love baseball/softball, it's so fun.

Let's see, what else has been going on this summer? I've run a lot and I'm awesome! : ) Not to toot my own horn but I've been working pretty darn hard and have improved a lot. I've set a goal to run a half marathon in October in Provo. I'm on a 12 week training program and it's been just the right amount. I'm shocked that I actually prefer the longer runs over the short runs. Yesterday was probably one of the better runs I've had. Not diarrhea runs, exercising runs! Hahahahah, I just had to say it, that's what it just sounded like. Yesterday I ran 5.25 miles in 53 minutes! Woo! Go me! Tonight when I told mom that she reminded me that I was at sea-level. Huh...running in Utah will be different. Oh well, I still rock!

So, I have a domestic husband. Have I mentioned how wonderful he is? We've been watching a TV show called Pushing Daisies and it's about a pie maker. It got us in the mood for pie so one week we made a peach pie (YUM) and the latest pie we made was a blueberry pie. And when I say "we" I really mean Cameron. Yes, that is a lattice top!

Well, I think that's the update. Life is wonderful. I LOVE Washington. We've had a lot of really good experiences here. We've worked a lot with the missionaries which has been wonderful since Cameron and I both love missionary work. Washington is fantastic but I will be really excited to get home and see my family. Especially since Morgan just got home from his mission. I got to skype with him tonight so I actually got to see him. He's so cute! I've missed him. I can't wait to hug him. I love him. I also got to skype with the Johnson family. They are pretty darn cute and I miss them. They all have grown! What wonderful nieces and nephews I have. I really am blessed to have the the most wonderful kids to call my nieces and nephews. Messicks and Johnsons, they are the love of my life.

Well...that's how life is.

WARNING: extremely cheesy!

Consider yourself warned because the cheeseyness thereof IS exceedingly great.

As most new brides do, I want to mush and gush over how fantastic my handsome husband is. He really is somethin' wonderful. I'll make a top 5 and we'll see how that goes.

5. Honest--

He is honest about everything. That's all there is to it.

4. Numbers--

He loves numbers and can do anything with them. Whether it's an address or the scores of our Mormon Bridge game Cameron is really good with numbers.

3. He knows everyone--

I swear wherever we go we hear "CAMERON" He knows someone seriously everywhere we go. A few weeks ago we were walking out of the temple after doing a session and he knew one of the photographers doing one of the weddings that day. Another time was on Memorial Day when we went to Folklife in the thousands of people he managed to run into two friends from High School. I thought I was a social butterfly! I can easily say that he's got me beat.

2. Movie Quotes--

Cameron thinks in movie quotes. No joke! His favorites to quote are Mean Girls, Ferris Bueler, and various SNL skits. I find myself saying, "what's that from" less often because I'm slowly remembering which quote goes with which movie or skit. Go me!

1. Laughing--

Cameron and I laugh a lot. For example, a while ago I was telling him the story of how my dad is a slow driver. One time as we were driving somewhere I made the comment after seeing the "Reduce Speed Ahead" road sign that with dad's driving I didn't think that we could REDUCE anymore. He thought that was funny but later when we were at the grocery store we happened to get behind the oldest and slowest people in the entire town of Shoreline. One time after waiting what felt like a year for an old lady to pick her tortillas and move from blocking the entire isle he said quietly to me, "Reduce Speed." hahahahahaha. I laughed so hard. I'm sure no one on earth thinks it is as funny as I do, but I thought it was absolutely hilarious.

A few other times would be the first day he came home from his internship. That is something that is forever in my memory. I was so anxious for him to come home and when he did, he came bursting in the door exclaiming, "Honey I'm home!" I ran to greet him with a big hug and kiss. We started telling each other about the adventures we both had that day but as we did so we were laying on our bed wrapped up in each other's arms giggling like little children that had just pulled a long thought-out prank. (Remember that I gave you fair warning as to the cheesyness of this post)

Another one was last night. We had just finished up playing games with Grandma and Grandpa Byrd (I almost won both of them, I might add) when we came down to get ready for bed. For some reason Cameron was in the weirdest mood. He laughed at everything. It all started off with this youtube video that we both love and adore and quote QUITE often.

Isn't that funny!? We think so, anyway Cameron has the cutest smile when he laughs. His dimples make me smile every time. I can't explain how I love the way his lips are perfectly above his I-teeth. That might be weird, but I love it. We laugh over everything mostly because he only thinks in movie quotes. I would bet that Cameron's vocabulary is broken down as follows: 75% movie quotes, 15% stats, and 10% his own original words. He is too smart for his own good. :) We do laugh at everything. It makes life splendid!

I could go on, but we have to speak in church on Sunday and I must prepare that talk. Just know that I love my husband a lot and think that he is wonderful.

I must have done somethin' right...

This song talks about how I feel as of late. Since I've last posted, a lot has happened. Another wreck, 3 different jobs, a birthday, an engagement, a 4.0 semester, a grandma in the hospital, a wedding, a honeymoon to Canada, a move to another state, an internship, and a transition to being a good wife. Wow! Let me start.

While in Provo I got a job working at an attorney's office as a receptionist for two different attorneys. Mr. Chris D. Greenwood and Mr. Guy L. Black. That was an interesting few months to say the least. They were the most "PMSey" men I have EVER met! I'd come into work one day and they would be happy and kind and very complimentary on the smallest details. I liked those days, but some days I'd come to work and they were ticked off about the practically nothing. There was one perk to those days, the girl I worked with. Natalie Rae Russell Hall. Her and I

were really good friends from the moment we met. I love her! We have a lot in common. We would talk about our individual experiences with each of the crazies that we met. Sometimes it was a story about one of the attorneys or sometimes it was a story about their crazy clients. On the whole, I did enjoy working there but I'm glad it was a short term job. One of my all-time favorite stories from working there was Tiffiany. She was one of Mr. Greenwood's clients and I loved her. She was from West Virginia and I loved it when she'd call or come into the office. My most memorable experience of her is the day I stapled her butt. Yes, I did just say that. She had an appointment and when she came up the stairs she was holding her pants. She said that she "ripped her britches" getting out of the car. I looked around for some safety pins or something when she suggested to staple her pants back together. I thought she was just going to take the stapler and go downstairs to the bathroom. NO. I stapled her pants back together but as I did, I accidentally snagged her bum. She squirmed and said, "No Julia, there is supposed to be a crack there!" We laughed for a long time. Long lived the days of Greenwood and Black. One day when I was on my way to work I was stopped at a stoplight on University Parkway and the exact same situation happened. I got rear ended. I'd had my new bumper about a month and it was crashed. I felt like a pro at what to do since I remembered to do everything I didn't do from the month previous accident. To make a long story short my car was in the shop a lot longer because he did more internal damage and as it turns out the auto shop "damaged out" my car. Which means that they just paid me for what the car was worth. That was great because I got a $2,000.00 check which paid for a lot of my schooling but didn't fix my bumper. To this day my bumper isn't flush with the car. It drives fine, but doesn't really look fine. Oh well.

My first semester at UVU turned out quite nicely. I got all A's. I was so proud of myself the last time I was home I printed off my grades and hung them on my parent's fridge just like I was in first grade. I really had worked so hard and it paid off. I had Psychology, social psychology, applied sociology, alternative methods of dispute resolution, and sociology of the family. I really did enjoy all of the classes. If I had to pick a favorite I'd have to say psychology. I liked the

information I learned in class and I really enjoyed the teacher. That is one thing that I really like about UVU. I've had a positive experience so far with all the teachers. They are creative with their assignments and fun to listen to. I actually learned something! I decided that the more pressure I have in my life the better I do.

School started on my birthday this year. It was quite exciting. I had just moved into a new apartment with new roomates, going to a new school and I had a date with Cameron that night. I loved it. School was great except the building where I had my psychology class was hard to find. I was 40 min. late. It was only a 50 min class. After that I went to work with Isobelle. She was a 97 year old lady that I worked for for a few weeks in Lehi. I just ran her errands and cleaned her house. I loved working with her! She was so kind and just absolutely wonderful it was just to much driving and not enough work. For my birthday she took me to COSTO for lunch after we

went and got her nails done. After work is when the real magic happened. Cameron. I met him at his house just after 5. The whole night was a surprise for me. We started off going to a place to get massages. H.E.A.V.E.N. I'd never had a massage before. I loved it. After that he took me out to eat at a delicious place called the Brick Oven. We had a little bit of time after dinner before my next surprise so we went to his house and ate jellybeans. Next he took me up to BYU campus to the Carl Bloch Exhibit. We had both been wanting to go and he was sweet and got us tickets. It was fun walking around looking at wonderful paintings of the Savior with someone I loved. After that, (Yes, I am spoiled!) he took me to the sociology building on campus where I opened my gifts. The first one I opened was a blue scarf that he had knitted himself for me. Then I opened up two tickets to the BYU production of Peter Pan. I loved all of it! He was so thoughtful. After I opened all of those things when we were just sitting there on the couch cuddling he brought up our relationship. After finding out that we were both on the same page he asked me if I wanted to go ring shopping. YYYYEEEEESSSS!!!!! We decided that we'd go that next Saturday.

On the appointed day I picked him up and we went to Wilson Diamonds in Provo. What bling they had! After looking and trying on a bunch of gorgeous rings I narrowed down the ones I liked to 7. I didn't think that Cameron was planning on getting engaged anytime soon so I honestly had no time table of when to expect one of these 7 pretty rings to be placed on my finger. Sometime in those weeks he asked me if I wanted to go to a youth philharmonic orchestra concert on Temple Square. I thought it sounded like a lot of fun so on the 22nd of January we set out for the concert. We met my sisters in Murray on the way to Salt Lake because Uncle Gus was in the hospital because he'd had a few strokes. After the hospital Jamie had invited us to her home for dinner before the concert. We went and, as always, we had a lovely time. After dinner we headed for Salt Lake. We got to the concert and had a great time. The kids in the orchestra did a great job! After we were walking around temple square when I had to go to the bathroom. We stopped in the South Visitor center to look around and so I could relieve my bladder. Good thing we did or I wouldn't have made it through the next part unsoiled. As we were walking towards the car, Cameron came up with this brilliant idea we should reenact the moment we saw each other after our missions. I thought it sounded great so just as before when we saw each other we ran and hugged. However this time, he didn't let me go. He held me tight and told me how much he loved me. He whispered in my ear that I was everything he wanted physically, emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually. He told me how special I was to him and how he wanted to be with me for all eternity. I still didn't' believe what was happening but it was then that he got down on one knee and opened a small box with the most GORGEOUS engagement ring I've ever seen. He said, Julia will you marry me? I was distracted and before I answered the question I had pulled the ring out of the ring box and put it on my thumb. I realized that that was the wrong finger and I didn't give him an answer. I said yes and he got up to hug and kiss me then put it on my finger. It was perfect! We hugged and kissed for a long time trying to soak in the moment of what had just happened. I was so thrilled. My heart hadn't been that full ever. I was so excited and had never been more sure about saying yes to a question that was asked of me. It just so happened that I had my camera with me so I ran over and got a stranger walking by to take our picture. After taking in the moment a while longer we then started calling people. I first called Georgia since she was just about as excited as I was for me to be getting married. I called my other sisters and parents. I honestly don't know who he called. We stayed there a bit more laughing and as we were laughing he pulled me in tight and said that was one thing that he really loved about me was how happy I was and how much he loved how often I laughed. He was adorable. In the car on the way home is when we picked our date. He got out of school for the semester a week before me and we wanted to wait until after school to get married. That is how we settled on Friday, May 6, 2011 as our wedding day. We picked Logan Temple because President Nelson was a sealer there. I had no clue that this was coming. Most times I can tell he has something to say because he gets nervous. I love that I make him nervous but he was so calm about proposing it was a shock. But, Let the plans begin!

If I've learned one thing it is that weddings are expensive. I didn't mind planning what and where and how I wanted everything it was just expensive to do it that way. I knew that I wanted blue to be one of my colors because Cameron and I both have pretty blue eyes. Selfish much? We (when I say we I mean me, Darci, and Georgia) wanted a darker blue called Commodore, but that was next to impossible to find so the wedding colors were eventually decided on turquoise and lime green. I went dress shopping at two places. David's bridal and Alysses's Bridal. At Alysse's I tried on a lot of different styles of dresses but when I found "the one"I didn't like it when I first saw it but after I put it on and saw how sparkely and shiny my hoots were in the pretty lights I was sold. We had our engagement pictures done in Logan by Darci and my parents. They were super cute! How could they not be, honestly, it's Cameron and I. The other plans went well until we got to the announcement part. I HATED doing them. I was so stressed over them I literally made myself sick. I was really sick for 2 weeks because they stressed me out so bad. I didn't have a problem picking out what I wanted but I must have expensive taste because what I liked was over a dollar an invite. No thanks! I'm not paying over 500 bucks for a paper that they are throwing away anyway. This is what we settled on. My friend Resa's husband designed them. They are wonderful. The only thing that isn't wonderful is my dyslexia with the Washington zip code.

The reception was a success! My sisters and mom were so great in helping get everything put together. I can't begin to say how thankful I am for such wonderful girls to help me. I owe them all big time. I honestly couldn't have done it alone. What a party! Cameron and I learned a dance to the song "everybody dance now" from the movie Superstar. It was a lot of fun to mix up the normal wedding reception. We had a good turnout and lots of wonderful people to help. That night I didn't sleep much. I had a lot to get done and a lot going through my head that night. I had to pack for the summer because Cameron has an internship in Seattle, Washington this summer so after our wedding we were flying out to Seattle to live for the summer. While packing I had to make piles for what I wanted to take with me on the plane, what I wanted my parents to drive up to me, and what I didn't want until we moved back to Utah for school. Crazy! I was so exhausted when I did finally get time to sleep but my mind wouldn't let me. I kept thinking of all the things I had to remember for the next morning and what needed to go where. Jodi did my makeup for the reception and wedding beautifully and Christi did my nails and hair. I looked SMASHING! They both are talented girls!

The morning of the wedding I had my makeup done at 5am and hair done at 6am so that we could leave Bear Lake by 8 because we had to be at the temple at 10 for our sealing at 11. I was so excited! I must have had a lead foot driving there that morning because we got there a lot earlier than expected. Grandma Sorenson had back surgery a few weeks prior and I hadn't seen her so we stopped in to see her before we went to the temple. I love Gram and I'm glad she's doing better. At the temple we went in got dressed and went up. Before the sealing it wasn't very eventful, just followed directions of what the temple ladies said. When Cameron and I were in the room before going into the sealing President Nelson came in and just told us how it was going to work and logistical things like that. But before he left he kept mentioning what an honor it was for him that we had asked him. I felt good about that. When it was time to go into the sealing room where all our friends and family were I was surprisingly calm. Before the actual sealing he talked to us about sacrifice. He mentioned that in the scriptures it talked about how the offering needed to be perfect and such. He related that to our marriage. What am I sacrificing to be a good spouse? He called the sacrifices that weren't accepted by the Lord a "sack of spuds" I thought it was really good and insightful. After being sealed for time and all eternity our first kiss as a married couple was awesome. Mostly because we had practiced from time to time during our engagement. Seriously! Sometimes after we'd kiss he'd say, "that was a good alter kiss." After we got to hug everyone there. What wonderful people we had to support us. It really was a glimpse of heaven. After we got ready and walked out! We took a ton of pictures and had a lot of fun being together finally married. It was a perfect day! I know that's cliche to say but the weather was perfect, it didn't snow! After the temple we went to the luncheon held at the church at my old singles ward. It was gorgeous! Cameron's mom did so much work putting that together! We ate delicious food prepared by my old roomate Sarah's inlaws. The program was the best part. I still tear up thinking about it. Cameron's little sister Kayla and little brother Quinn sang a fun song. They did great. Then all my dang cute little kids that I love and adore sang one of my all time favorite songs. They sang "I Will" Made me cry it was so cute. I can't say how much I loved it. If I were trying to fly to Neverland with Peter Pan that would be my happy thought. I miss my nieces and nephews so much. They are the best kids ever! After the lunch Cameron and I set off for Salt Lake. We were staying that night in the Spring Hill Suites Motel by the airport. I won't go into detail about that night because it is awkward and no one really cares, but just know that it was so special and wonderful. I have the best husband ever!

The next morning we flew to the SeaTac airport where we rented a car and drove to Anacortes island where we caught the ferry over to Roche Harbor. It was wonderful! I loved staying there. There wasn't a lot of people so we felt like we were the only two people on the island. We explored all the gardens, docks, mausoleums, and mount something or other. We had so much fun learning the history of the harbor and talking to the nicest people. We were walking on the dock on Mother's day when we met Gary. He was this guy that lived on his boat. He was fun to talk to. After a few days we caught another ferry up to Victoria British Columbia. We stayed in a hotel pretty close to the parliament building. We had a tea party (super nice, it was like 50.00 a person!) went window shopping and had lots of fun just being together. That next day we caught the ferry and came back to Bothell where we helped set up for our reception here. That reception was a lot of work but was gorgeous. I liked meeting all of his friends that I've heard so many stories about. Washington people are very kind. We moved that night into the basement of his Grandparent's house. What kind people to let us stay.

Since then, Cameron has started his internship at Milliman. It's an actuarial firm that works with numbers. He has his own cubical! He has worked so hard. I'm so proud of him. I've been trying to find a job here, but nothing as of yet.

Today is our two week anniversary and I love it. I love being married. He is such a wonderful man. I'm extremely blessed to be able to call him my husband. I love him very much. I love Washington and am happy to be here.