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.

"sorry about that....I must have been sleepin!"

I came down to Orem a while ago for a job interview. After it was over, I was on my way to Cam's house because he was sweet and made me lunch and when I was at the stoplight I saw in my mirror that this little red prius wasn't slowing down. Sure enough, he hit me. We pulled off into the parking lot that was right there. we got out and this is what had happened to my car.

After assessing the damage, he gave me his name and phone number. He had to have been 800 years old without a coat. It was dang cold so when he got back into his car I thought it was just to stay warm until the cops came, or to get his insurance information, but no...HE DROVE OFF! So here I am with a broken butt of my car. I called dad, the cops, the man, the cops again and nothin. He wouldn't answer and the cops wouldn't do anything since he left. To make a long story short, he was honest and called. His insurance paid for everything. It really wasn't a super big hassle, I mean it was, but not like it could have been. While my car was in the shop, they gave me this to drive. It's UGLY! Don't get me wrong, it was fun to drive, but so ugly. It's a Chevy HHR.

Anyway, I got my little car back a week ago today and it's been glorious. Overall, it wasn't super bad. All the companies involved were super nice and it turned out just fine.

Return and Report.

So, now that the year is all but up, here is the report on my new Years resolutions. I didn't get all of them done, but I did my best. Next year will be a lot of the same goals but different. Ha! Here we go!

Physically:
1. For the entire year I will lose 52 pounds.

Well, I didn't quite make the 52 pound mark, however I did manage to loose 30. So over half! I still want to loose the other half. Let's say by July.

2. I will learn more about skincare products and neat new makeup tricks.

I didn't do super good at this, but I did learn some new natural home remedies for blackheads. One of them would be to take 1 cup boiled milk mixed with lemon juice and put that on your face. Not while the milk is boiling that would be painful, but soon after.

Spiritually:
1. I will read the scriptures daily. After my shower when I'm awake and can actually think about what I'm reading. I will think for myself and improve my critical thinking skills.

I read the scriptures, but not usually after the shower, it happened just before bed. but I did better about thinking about what I was reading. I learned a lot.

2. I will study a specific gospel topic per month. So for January, besides my regular reading, I'm going to study the Law of Consecration. I haven't picked the other topics yet, but they are bound to be brilliant.

I didn't do this at all. The last few days I've been studying Elder Scott's talk from this past conference about faith and character and how they are intertwined. So that's been great and insightful. One thing he said that stuck out to me is that I have to be daily what I want to be in the end. So, if I want to be a runner, I have to run. If I want to be a journal writer, I have to write in my journal. huh, go figure! : )

3. I will write in my journal once a week. I'd like to work my way up to once a day, but that's not realistic, I know me and how faithful I am at journaling. Once a week on Sunday is definitely doable, so that's the goal.

I did sooooo good at this until school started. So, I'd say I was good half the year but I last checked and it's been since October that I've written in my journal. Shoot.

4. I will be a good missionary and bring one friend with me to church this year. I will continue teaching and helping the missionaries, but like the leaders of the church have said, they are the full-time teachers and I'm the full-time finder.

Diego came to church 2 times with me. He hasn't talked to me since I told him I didn't want to date him, but he came to church and the missionaries had two lessons with him.

Mentally:
1. I WILL GRADUATE UTAH STATE!!!!

Or Utah Valley University! Ya, plans changed on that.

2. I will finish my last CIL test before finals week of the spring test.

Well, I don't think I have to take these at UVU so I won't be taking them.

3. I will get no C's on my report card this semester

Oh!!! This one I did!!!! I got two B's and and an A. Whoot! Go me!

4. I will read 3 books other than the Book of Mormon.

I did this one too! Well, I haven't finished my 3rd book but I will.

I read two books this summer. One was about these old ladies in Philadelphia. I liked that one. I think it was called "The ladies of Tree Hill?" something like that. and the other one was weird. It was a murder mysteryish book. I don't remember what it was called that's how impressive it was. The third book had to be a book about energy and it's called "healing the inner self" somethin' like that. I did love it. If ya wanna borrow it, ya can! : )

Socially:
1. I will make 12 new friends this year. Yes that's easy to do for me because I'm so wonderful and everyone wants to get to know me, but this goal is meant for quality friends, not necessarily just acquaintances.

I'd say I did this. Being relief Society President really helped with this. I met a ton of wonderful people. Lot's more than 12.

2. I will Blog daily. I know this might be a silly goal, but I feel that it will help with my weekly journal writing. Unless it is physically impossible, I will blog daily.

Ya, this was no good. I did good for what a week? This one was hard. Sorry.

3. I will Get Health Insurance. I'm not sure how this fits into any of my other category, but I figured that If I got health insurance I'd be more willing to go play with my friends and be more socially active because I wouldn't have the lingering fear that if I got hurt I'd basically have to die because I couldn't afford to get fixed. That's why I put it in the social section.

I technically did because I didn't get kicked off my parents insurance like I thought. Thanks to Obama I get to be on their insurance until I'm 26.

4. I will get out of debt. I owe my parental units money and they will be paid off this year. This will be quite the task and I will have to switch some things around in my budget, but it's completely possible. (This is another one that just got shoved into the social category. I'm sure it will somehow help me socially.)

This actually went the other way. I got more in debt because I apparently applied for a grant. I didn't want to pay the school back so I chose to pay my parents back instead so paying them off with take longer.

5. I will write Morgan weekly. I know how much I loved getting mail and he was soooo good at writing me, so I will write him every week.

I did really good at this until November then it went ALL down hill. School got busy with transferring schools so he got put on the back burner. Sorry Buddy!

6. I will have one solid relationship this year. Not an emotionally constipated one like the relationship of 2009, but a normal, healthy, good relationship.

YES! I did this one too! I'm in love with Cameron and it's SUCH a good relationship. He's wonderful!

Here are some of the highlights from the year.

My very first surprise birthday party! So much fun! Thanks Jamie and Jamie!

February wasn't to exciting. I was super sick pretty much the whole month. But I did love my two roommates. I love the Keller girls!

in March, my wonderful roommate Sarah Walton became Mrs. Sarah Palmer. I loved her wedding in the Draper temple. She was gorgeous. It was a wonderful day!

In April, my bestest Yamie Joung married the one and only Steve Brown. I love them both! That was another wonderful day I won't forget!

in May a group of my friends and I went on a CRUISE!!! It was a lot of fun, and SOOO pretty!

In June I gained another Brother-in-law. Scott Tomlin. I sure like him! Man...so many weddings this year!

I LOVE the 4th of July! Petrine took me to the Stadium of Fire in Provo and that was awesome, but this picture was at Jamie's house just doin' our own fireworks.

In August I moved back into my apartment with my girls, and Holly! :) I love them, but these were the only roommate pictures we got all semester. Sad!

September gets a few pictures because A LOT happened. This is of our ward retreat activity that Trevor Mahoney and myself planned. It was a Hawaiian Luau. It was a lot of work, but awesome!

Of course our infamous Jackson trip was in September. SO MUCH FUN!

I ran my first 5K. It was a lot of fun. 32:54 (I think anyway)

October also gets more than one picture because October was epic. For Halloween the Kellers were my conscience. and these are our other friends....plus Jake.

Cameron and I started dating! See! I said October was epic! : )

Cam's birthday was in November.

December I moved to be closer to this wonderful man!

and I think this is pretty much my year! Whoo!

Laughing stock: cattle with a sense of humor.

I know that the title of my post has nothing to do with what the post will actually be about, but I just thought it was funny. As for the post, the banner at the top has a lot to do with what's going on. Let me back up about 2 months. Yes, here we are in for the long haul!! First off, Cameron finally kissed me a few days before Halloween. Joel was in the Middle East and Darci had asked me to help her with her kids. We went to "How to Train Your Dragon" in the theater. We were cuddling through the movie and halfway through he turned my chin and kissed me ever so gently. (sorry, that was uber cheesy but that's how it was.) Since then, things were going relatively smooth in life until Utah State decided to ruin my life. Not quite that dramatic because it's all turned out nicely, but in the moment I was full of rage. I've been working with the head honcho sociology advisor Eddy Berry for a while, like almost a year and a half, planning all my classes and in what order I was going to take them and so forth. I went to register a while ago and I couldn't register for a few of the classes I was supposed to take and I couldn't find the other half of the ones I was supposed to find. Turns out there was a bunch of conflict with classes needing prerequisites emailed my advisor which then opened the flood gates for the drama to come spewing into my life. The shortened version of it is that I couldn't register because I hadn't taken the math placement test and in order to even make anything possible I had to email the professors and ask if I could take them all concurrently. No one was emailing me back, or calling so I went almost the entire week with no classes and no answers to know if I could even get classes. Friday was the day that we were going to have a birthday party for Cameron at Jamie's house but little did I know that that day was going to be such an emotional day. I'd been stressed out all week with no answers but excited for Cameron's birthday party and even more excited to give him his present. (I sewed an elephant on the front of an ugly sweater.) After school that day I went and took the Math placement test which was HORRIBLE! I didn't know any of the answers and the lady was being a real crapface. As I was walking out of the test knowing that I hadn't passed I saw that there was a voice mail from Eddy. Yes, the phone call I'd been waiting for ALL WEEK!!! While listening to her message she told me nothing new. She basically regurgitated the information I'd been asking her about all week. Big mess. Needless to say I was 40 minutes late for work because my test took a long time and I was somewhat paralyzed because I was crying so hard. Here was the problem. I could still go to USU and finish my 7 classes, but the way it was set up was it it would have taken me 3 semesters. NO THANKS! I'm not taking a year and a half to finish 7 classes. So work was hard that day because I couldn't concentrate worth crap. Erin was super nice and went and got lunch for us and stayed and talked to me. After work I went to Jamie's still nervous to tell Cameron. He'd called me to see how the test went, but I was not in the mood to talk about it with him right then. I got to Jamie's and still had about an hour before I had to pick him up from the train. I picked him up and pretty much melted right then and there. He was all dressed up and he looked DANG GOOD! He's super cute! On the way back to Jamie's he asked me why I didn't call him back and I said that we'd talk about it later because I knew that if I talked about it right there I'd be a mess and you can't be a mess when you're about to have the birthday party of the century! Uh uh! We had a lot of fun at the party then after when it was just me and him, I told him everything. I told him of the frustrating day and what I was stressed about. He took it like a champ! He had a brilliant idea of me transferring to UVU. I'd thought of that, but not more than "oh, that'd be nice to be at UVU so I could be close to him." The next day we went to the temple and out to lunch with my sisters. Funny story, while were at lunch, when we were ordering the man asked for a name for them to call when our food was finished and without thinking, Cam said "George!" I had to try soooo hard to hold it in! I tell people a fake name when I meet them for the first time (don't worry, I don't do it all that often) but I've never thought to do it to the food people. I guess I'm worried that I'd forget the name I told them then I'd never get my food, and that's NOT ok. But it was funny and definitely one of my favorite moments with him. Anyway, when I got back to Logan I started the "change my life" ball rolling, (of course after praying about it and making sure it was right) I got accepted to UVU, got housing, sold my contract at Bridgerland, and had a few job interviews. I moved here and things have been great there was only two setbacks of a car wreck and a close call with being homeless for a night. (those get their own posts, they're that good!) But ya, I live in Wolverine Crossing now and it's great! I have my own room and AND bathroom! I do love it here.

The only thing that is constant is change!

Wow how times have changed! It's only been about two months and my life is, I feel, completely different. How you might ask? Well, I'm now the 27th ward Relief Society President. Ahhh! I know! Me? I'm the most immature person I know! (That's not completely true) It's been quite the adventure so far. When Bishop called me into his office I was sure I was getting kicked out of the church. I could think of nothing else. Little did I know that he was releasing me from activities chair to put me in Relief Society. What a spiritual experience that first week was! I could hardly contain myself I was always spiritually feasting. It was wonderful! Since then, I've lost, at least a little bit, the desire for that constant nourishment from the spirit. It's a lot of work and it is easier to go back to the way things were. I'm still a good person, don't get me wrong, I'm just not in ultra church mode all the time anymore. I felt the weight of the calling because I know how much I love and respect all the relief society presidents I've had and now that was me! I have 44 girls lives that I'm in small way responsible for. I've never been to so many meetings in my life! I don't think I even went to this many as a missionary. Ok, maybe, but I go to a lot! One Sunday a few weeks ago, I was at the church from 8:00 am to 9:30 that night with an hour and a half break in the middle. Wowza! I've got the best councilors in the world! Kacey Chidester is the first councilor. Out of the entire presidency, she is the only one I knew before. She was in the same mission with me. She is wonderful! Alyssa Williams is the second councilor. She is a lot of fun! Ashley Lee is the secretary is the secretary. With her I was a little nervous to call her because she is a freshman and just from the first time meeting her I didn't know if our personalities would work out, but she is fantastic! All of them are extremely responsible and so willing to do anything! I love them all! My visiting teaching leader is Sunita Anand. She is from India and the cutest thing ever! I definitely have the cream of the crop to work with. They sure do make things really easy for me! I love them all! The girls are great and the ward is great. No complaints there. What an experience!
The next item of business is that I'm pretty much getting married! I'm in love with Cameron Gleed. He IS the bees knees! He makes me want to be a better person! That's so cliche to say, but it's so true! This is our story:
We met the first part of February 2008. I was a seasoned missionary getting transferred to Cape May. He was a greenie getting transferred to the same area. Getting to know the new elders was the last thing on my mind, I had Sister Woolley to get to know. Sometime after that we were having lunch at the Tolmans and he reached across my plate. I thought that was super rude and I snapped at him. I must have been having a bad day or something. I'm not sure how much longer after the lunch incidence happened that I got the phone call that Kanatha died. I was devastated. I was in an area where I didn't know anyone very well and I was supposed to deal with this change by myself. That's at least what I felt like. I remember the night I got the emailed obituary from Mertle Rae I read it out loud to everyone there. (The elders, Tolmans, and my companion) I of course cried, but I looked up and I saw him wipe a tear. What a sweetie. He was so kind to me. I could tell he genuinely cared. I couldn't be mad at him after he was so sweet to me. After that we became super good friends. When I got home, we wrote emails and letters pretty much every week the rest of his mission. His letters were definitely the highlight of my week. He got home February 4, 2010 and called me soon after he was home. Mostly because I told him to, but the other mostly because he wanted to! : ) After he got home and was in Washington, there wasn't a lot we could do other than talk on the phone, which we did quite often. He goes to BYU so he moved a few months after he got home so he could start school. The first time we met up was at Temple Square. When we finally saw each other it was magic! He gave me the best hug ever! We went to the Joseph Smith Memorial building and had a quick lunch before I had to go to Kainoa's violin recital and he had to meet up with his grandparents. That afternoon after the recital I called him and invited him over to meet my family and eat some pizza, no big deal. He came over and we had a lot of fun, but that's kind of inevitable when Cameron's around. He's a lot of fun and everyone likes him. We went shopping that night for a tie for Jodi's wedding and just goofed off in the stores before we dropped him off at his grandparents house. After that we would talk more on the phone, but never really saw each other mainly because as we all remember, Trevor was a big part of my life at this time. This part in our story is a little hazy to me, I know we kept talking and such, but that's about all I remember. Well, this summer we kept getting closer and closer thanks to Trevor. I'd call him to complain or to tell him the latest dumb thing Trevor had said and he was so good to listen to me. It then became a joke that Trevor wasn't going go go away until I had another boyfriend. So he was my boyfriend. He started calling me all the time and we'd say things like, "hey girlfriend" "Hey boyfriend" all the time. Then it started not being such a joke. When the Winegars came home he came up to their homecoming but he came up the day before. I took him out to the Adams lake to meet them and they loved him. That is really important to me for them to meet because the Adams are very important people in my life. We had a lot of fun, then that night we were at David Beatty's cousin's house in North Logan watching a movie he held my hand and I LOVED IT! He is so wonderful. We saw each other that next Sunday at the Winegars homecoming and that was fine, but there were a lot of other missionaries there that both of us wanted to talk to separately. Since then, I didn't see him until the mission reunion. When I walked into the gym I thought I was in the wrong place because I didn't know anyone but I saw President Winegar so I started to walk towards him when Cameron turned around and saw me. He gave me a giant hug and said, "hello beautiful!" I melted! The rest of that day he just followed me around and we kinda held hands through the conference sessions. We talked about what is going to happen after I graduate and other random topics. That Sunday I went to his grandparents house in Layton to watch conference with them. I love his grandparents. I went to his family reunion in July so I'd already met a bunch of his family and they are perfect. Not a lot of drama and just super nice people. I felt like part of them the instance I got there. I love that about him and them. They are very kind people. The first session we didn't talk or even sit very close by each other, but the second session he put his arm around me and we held hands then. This was a very big point in our relationship because we were being affectionate in front a lot of missionaries and his family on Sunday. I loved it! I love walking into a room, seeing him, and being able to think, "wow, that one likes me!" I think that every time I see him. After dinner with his family I dropped him off in Kaysville and before I got in the car He told me that he loved me. What a wonderful thing to hear! I'd heard, well read, it before, but never heard it from him. I said it back and got in the car and left. Ok, in all honesty I knew it was coming because during conference I happened to look down in his journal and saw that he had wrote that he loved me and was going to tell me or something along those lines. This last weekend was the Tolman's farewell so I went down and picked him and Kayla up from the BYU game and we went to the DI to find Cameron to find an ugly sweater. He has an obsession with ugly sweaters. After that, we went to his ward talent show. That was great because he held my hand during that too! Another major step taken because now his friends know. The only issue is that I don't know exactly what he is thinking about me. I know everything else what he was thinking, but other than that I'm clueless. I guess it makes it kinda fun because when he does actually tell me what he is thinking it surprises me and I like that, but it would be nice to be able to read his thoughts when it comes to me. Sunday at church with the Tolmans he held my hand during church, but the best part was that he kissed the top of my head. Sweet huh!? Oh I love that man so much! We hung out with the Tolmans that afternoon as well as the Winegars. We went to their house with them and played games. Fun, but kinda awkward to be on a double date with the mission president. After that we had dinner with his uncle's parents in Sandy. That was a lot of fun. They adored me! I can't say I blame them, but they were a super nice and wonderful family. That night he hugged me and that was that. All through the week we talk, facebook, text, and write snail mail. I love it! I really get to know him a lot of different ways. This last weekend he rode the train to Ogden and I met him there. We had lunch and went to Ifly (an indoor skydiving place) with Jamie and Steve which was a lot of fun. I love them! After we dropped them off, we went to an art museum but it was closed. We took crazy pictures and laughed a lot. After that we went to 25th street and just went in and out of all the little antique stores finding the most random but awesome things. After that we went to Rainbow gardens. It is a restaurant/gift shop that was fabulous! I dropped him off at the train station again because I had to go back to babysit for Darci. He makes me so happy. I love that he laughs a the same things I laugh at. He is a great member of the church. His family is super strong in the church. He is creative. He is smart. He is majoring in actuary science. He wants a lot of kids. He is random just like me. OH man, I could go on for hours about how wonderful he is, but I've been working on this post for a very long time. He doesn't know about the plans for us to get married in July, but he will know soon! He is my same kind of weird!