The Adventures of Tod & Adrianna

Tod's high school reunion in Colorado

2012-02-06T19:57:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks after traveling to Arizona we packed up the Mazda again to head out to Colorado Springs for Tod's 10 year high school reunion.

The reunion was interesting, they had a photographer to take a "class photo" and the dj was terrible, played hip hop and rap the whole time (per one girl's play list). Everyone could get free drinks up till a certain time so Tod, myself, and one of his LDS buddies and his wife were the only sober ones at the party. Tod and I tried to Lindy hop to a few songs that had a little more dance-ability to them but mostly we just snacked on appetizers and socialized with folks. I'm gonna let Tod do more of the talking here, since it was HIS reunion and all. More of his thoughts a little later . . .

I have no idea what the guy behind Tod is doing!

Not Tod's whole Class, but those who made it.

a few months ago

2012-02-06T18:23:00.000-08:00

So a few months ago (back in June of 2011, to be exact) I began a post to describe what I call the "tour de four corners" road trip adventures that Tod and I went on in May. It included stops in such places as Prescott, AZ, Colorado Springs, CO, Santa Fe, NM, and the all famous Four Corners Monument.

I intended to describe what we did and how I felt about it (cause I'm the one writing this post) and then I never got back to it. I started the post, entered the title, intended to get all the photographs edited & in order with witty captions and descriptions of our adventures. Well, sorry folks that didn't happen. What I will do, in lack of the original post that never was, is offer a post that is 8 months late.

In the interest of space (and saving you from looking at a insanely long post) here are the *highlights* of the Prescott Photos: (the rest you can find on flickr!)

Tod is driving our Mazda

we were driving behind a corvette into town. it was one of MANY corvettes we saw in Prescott.

a shop on the side of the road.

cool rocks.

headed to Gurley St.

Our hotel room in the historic Hassayampa Inn.

Now, where to go in the Historic Downtown area?

Let's go!

A bit of silliness

Prescott College's Crossroad's center and Library.

Pretty waterfall. The driver was not the photographer! This is zoomed in from the passenger side.

Good bye Prescott Forest. (taken through the rear window)

Graduation and the Royal Wedding.

2011-05-03T09:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, I skipped getting up at 4am to watch the Royal Wedding of Catherine and Prince William in lieu of my own graduation. Considering that I am a citizen of a country which is a member of the Commonwealth, does that make me a bad Canadian? Or does that mean that I am becoming more American? ;) Hold on is there actually a 4 am? No! There's is only a 4 pm! You're pulling my leg. Personally I prefer my sleep over waking up at any time of the day that should only exist in the afternoon.

Not to mention I had my own great things to do and titles to earn! Here are a few pictures highlighting the momentous event.

Guess what they had leading the Processional of Graduates--Bag pipers!!! I *LOVE* Bagpipes!!! The sound of those instruments made me even happier.

Here's a cool game: Where in the crowd is Adrianna Anderson?

Hint: I'm sitting in front of the kid from Afghanistan.

Tod said he could always find me because he recognized my beautiful hair.

There she is!

The speakers at Commencement were quite good. Featured with their photograph are a few memorable quotes.
(all photos courtesy of my hubby, Tod.)

Our Student Body Pres. called this a "Royal Day". Not usually into pop culture he chose to use the Royal wedding as a metaphor for the degrees we will recieve. We have earned these titles jsut as Catherine, a commoner, has worked for and earned her title as Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge. This is not a simple task which was completed and earned. He poses the question to the audience: What will you do with your title?

The big statement in Pres. Holland's talk: Make tomorow's "Today" possible, meaning that we should go out into the world and use our skills, abilities and experience with higher education to the betterment of those around us and not only express our knowledge but take action pave the way for those who will follow after us.
He quoted C.S. Lewis, (I will summarize the quote): Don't put off crucial aims. Do it with proper planning and careful decision.
Another summarized quote from W.H. Murrary: Providence moves with commitment.

The Keynote speaker, Robert C. Gay: Each of you can make a difference. Do something that has significant impact upon others lives. Great responsibility comes with great opportunity.
This accomplishment is not about some job. Forget about yourself and work to serve and build others. Be a builder of souls, not a passerby in the mainstream of mediocrity.
It's whee you go forward that matters, not that you go forward.
Just getting by will not answer "How will I make a difference out there?"
"What manner of Men ought ye be? Even as I am." (quoting: 3 Nephi 27:27) Robert then asserts "Each of you have the power to do that."
He shared a story about an experence he had as a Temple president in Africa. The inspiration came "Stop and help that boy" as he was on his way to a meeting. He had seen a boy, about 9 or 10, who was very sorrowful and crying beside the traffic circle he was passing through. Robert asked one of his associates to go fetch the boy while Robert conducted his meeting. Afterwards Robert came out to see the boy, and found that the boy was hiding in the bushes because he "didn't know what the big white man wanted". Robert inquired about why the boy was so sad, and learned that the boy was an orphan. The boy was given a bed by "surrogate parents" but he had to earn his keep by selling materials that his "surrogate parents" made in the markets. He had sold the merchandise for the day and was on his way home when he discovered that he had a hole in his pocket and lost all the money which he had earned. If he returned home without the money he would be accused of stealing, no matter how honest he was about the situation, he would be thrown out on the street to fend for himself again. Robert comforted the boy, gave him the 5 or 6 dollars that he had earned and lost that day, and sent him on his way. This seemingly simple experience, for Robert, took a few minutes and a few dollars to make a difference. For the boy it impacted his life for the better. Robert did not hear from the boy again.
Robert advised us to "Move to the sounds of your heart" and to "Put in your heart unselfish love". I feel that with these words he was also advising us to listen to the light of Christ within us, and to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
To close his remarks Robert spoke about his keynote speaker at his doctoral graduation from Harvard. Mother Teresa was his keynote speaker and she said many powerful things encouraging the graduates to be strong, uphold one another and to make moral choices. He shared with us this message she gave to them, "I may not have gold, I may not have silver, but I can be a brother or a sister or a father or a mother to another soul."

Then there were the Convocation ceremonies in the afternoon where I got to walk!

I'm back!

Hello up there--my family in the stands!

100 billion.

Poet.

Dean of the College of HSS, David Yales.

Got it!

Woot!

Aw! It's all wet!
(My Cap fell into the fountain.)

Willy and I were tight.

My Mama & Papa

This Global Citizen brought to you by the UVU International Center, The Wolverines, and the letter A.

And for those of you who thought you missed the event:

Tod's Birthday!

2011-04-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

So this year Tod was really excited to turn 28. When asked why, he said, "I don't know, I feel like it's going to be a good year."

Turns out it was Jens's birthday as well so we celebrated together! Here's their shared Boston cream strawberry cake with 28 candles:

After eating lots of good food (including PB&J sandwiches, hummus, couscous salad, and more cake varieties than there were birthday boys) we played a trivia game called Smart @$$ which was introduced to us by the Sorensons. You can't see their faces in this photograph, but Megan and Devin are sitting in each others laps in the camp chair on the bottom left side of the photo. Lincoln is the centre of attention, of course. It was a fun time had by all.

What better way to kick off a good year than through a birthday party with good friends & family?

Don't you wish you were at my house for dinner? ;)

2010-08-06T19:01:00.000-07:00

I call it: Turkey Vegetable Supreme.

There have been sightings...

2010-02-14T12:54:00.000-08:00

I've been working at the Marriott for 9 months now, delivering room service orders. Yesterday, I got to meet my first movie star! Not sure exactly what he is in town for, but it is supposed that there is some filming going on. Who is it, you ask?

*Drumroll*

Danny Glover! I got to deliver a complimentary fruit basket to him. And Vinnie Jones was also seen coming into the hotel restaurant.

In the news -- Again?

2010-02-11T13:25:00.000-08:00

This morning in my math class I found out, through a classmate who saw the article, that Tod and I were in the news again! Same picture, updated story. Just a funny FYI. I'm in the paper all over the place!

Fictionist, New Phones, & Joint Bank accounts.

2010-02-11T05:37:00.000-08:00

For joy! Tod and I have similar taste in music. One band we especially enjoy: Fictionist. They're my fave local (read: USA) band, and second only to my all time fave Matthew Good. On Jan 29th they hosted a cd release party, which we had the pleasure of attending (read: it rocked our socks off!). We've been anticipating picking up their new album for a while because Fictionist has been playing some of their new songs at other shows we've attended in the past year. Not to mention the band sort of owed us one because we're on their street team, we helped out with some publicity stuff last year, but Jacob never dropped off the "thank you". I think maybe he avoided doing so because of a misunderstood txt mssg (Jacob txt'd me, thanked the 2 of us for helping out, asked if we wanted t-shirts or cd's and I txt'd back to say cd's, but to only drop off one cause we're getting married, and he never txt'd back. . . but I meant that Tod and I were getting married, not me and Jacob. Sheesh, people in rock bands, think that everyone's out to get them, plus he's not good looking, not even a little attractive, he's a scrawny twig with a curly red head afro).

The show was also cool because we bumped into a good friend who now lives in Oregon. Additionally it was cool because I got the chance to test the 3 mega pixel camera on my new phone. I still think that phone cameras are silly, but they're not completely useless.

So yes, we got new phones, and they match! (aw, aren't we a cute married couple?) They're called fire and ice, because one is flaming red and orange and the other is cool icy blue - guess which one is mine! ;) They're pretty sweet, and we got them on a good deal. we did get duped into getting a $20/month unlimited txt-ing deal, which I discovered is NOT part of the whole phone plan as the sales guy made us believe, so it has since been removed. We barely use 150 txt's per month, which at the going rate of $0.05 per txt, only adds up to $7.50, and we were getting busted for $20! So in reality getting a family plan for Tod and I only added about $15 to the monthly bill, not Ideal, but it's pretty dang good compared to other places.

I was sold on the phone when I found out that it had a touch qwerty board on it, which is funny because I don't txt that much, but it does make writing notes or txts much faster and easier.

What that really told me was that the phone had a great deal more functionality than I had first thought after the initial impression while comparing it to our other options. I like functionality. You may notice there are only a few buttons on the face of the phone. That's cause everything you need is in a menu on the touch screen! When computers first came out with tablets I thought they were awesome. Now I have a 'tablet' that fits in my pocket! Sweet. The main reason why we looked at new phones, actualy there were 2 reasons, were: 1) My poor little slide phone finally had it's last slide which turned into a 'pop'. It fell on a tiled floor from my coat pocket, the springs sprung, and it still worked! That thing has been a fighter, it's been dropped, found its way into a puddle in the parking lot at the gym, survived living in international territory, been lost in my car for a few days, and then the last slide on the tile floor. The only problem was that, post tile floor, I had to use 2 hands to talk on the phone, because the only thing keeping it together were the little computer wires between the 2 sliding sides, which makes life a little more complicated. So, good bye little Charles Agape Samsung.

2) We are trying to "unify" our life so that in 2011, when we re-apply for my green card, we have plenty of documents as evidence to the US government to prove that we are indeed married for love and for eternity, not just to keep me in the country. :)

As of yesterday we have even more proof of our "jointness". I was added to Tod's bank accounts at Wellsfargo yesterday and we closed mine. We also have joint accounts at UCCU, but I think it's going to take a while to get our monies working in joint ways, cause WF is where Tod's pay cheques go, and UCCU is where mine go. But we're both on everything bank accounts now, so, yay!

Super exciting I know.

Savin' our dimes to wrap up 2009.

2009-12-31T21:38:00.000-08:00

For our New Years Celebration Tod and I chose to spend the evening at Albertsons raking in the deals.

Here is our loot:

The total price (before taxes, and sale prices): $246.78.
We paid: $71.36.

That's a 71% savings.

How'd we do it? Haha! Well, we separated our merchandise into 3 purchases, utilized two $10 register reward we recieved with our Protor and Gamble Products on 2 of the transactions, and bought a ton of Christmas clearance items. We don't get that high of savings all the time when we shop -- our average is between 20%-40% savings on our purchases -- but with the Christmas clearance, great sales, coupons, and the two $10 register rewards we really made a great deal!

Most of the Christmas items were .50 cents each! We got lots of cards, wrapping paper, and gift bags & singing gift boxes.

Thank you Proctor & Gamble!

We could have saved even more on this purchase had we been able to take advantage of Olay's rebates, but the other deal seeking mom's in Utah stole our thunder and bought out all the qualifying items that would make the purchase a good deal. This time we let go of the money making Olay deal in hopes that we can still use it later on, before those Olay rebates expire.

We also watched the broadcast of the New Year's festivities at the House of Blues in Boston, and shared out very first New Years Kiss. *tender*

Happy New year everyone.

Back into the Swing of things.

2009-09-13T21:59:00.000-07:00

Well, school is back in full force for both Tod and I. I started classes on the 26th of August, and Tod began on Aug. 31st. This semester I am trying to challenge math, again, and hopefully I pass this time! Why is it that I can do most everything but play with numbers? I'm not terrible, but unless I have a very clear and easy to understand instructor, trying to make sense of math on my own is just not happening. Luckily for me Tod has committed to be my tutor cause he's brilliant in that area of academia. So, the plan is: math pass + good looking -- I mean -- smart tutor + a dedicated student= Pass college algebra! If my math and stats classes go well this year I will graduate. Finally.

Tod is studying Computer science, with about three more semesters after this one to complete his degree. Classes are challenging and exciting.

Some more exciting news is that I got a new job! Funnily enough, now that I have "legal permission" to work off campus I found another job on campus. It's ok though, cause it pays $1.50 more than my last campus job, and it's in a department that will give me LOTS of room to grow and plenty of opportunity for work in the future, including working from home if I so desire.

Where/what is it you wonder? Well I am a Grant Research Aide in the Sponsored Programs office. My job is to help professors on campus find grants to fund their research projects. This job will both help me to find out where the grant $$ is and how to effectively write grants. Learning both of these important skills is what can enable me to work from home. I don't plan to be a home bug all my life, but there will be a time that I will want to be there for my kids, and still want to use my skills, and these I can safely do together.

This is the website for the office that I currently work for. The information on the site needs some expansion because the information is rather limited but at least it's a start. http://www.uvu.edu/sponsoredprograms/

2009-08-30T10:15:00.000-07:00

The Coopers are back in P-town! That means Tod and I become the perma-babysitters once again. Also it means that we get to use the second bedroom in our apartment! We have been storing their things for the summer so that they wouldn't have to pay for a rental unit and their things could be protected from temperature wear and tear (some casualties from last year were Taralee's drapes that she made that used to be green that are now orange and some candles that became misfigured because of the heat).

We had some great help with some friends in the ward, including my visiting teaching companion, her husband, and a couple other men from the ward who came with them. So thankfully for all the big stuff it wasn't just the Cooper's and Anderson's toughing it out. It was quite amazing how some items ended up in the apartment, such as the Coopers king sized bed... it came up over the railing of the balcony, and their apartment is on the second floor!

Another joy of this adventure is that we get to sleep on the floor! The Coopers were kind enough to let us use their box springs for their king sized bed, and we put a couple of mattresses that belong to La Grande on top. But with their boxsprings gone and no beds to replace them we have put our memory foam mattress topper on the floor.

Management did order new twin beds, of which 2 were meant to come here, but somehow they did not end up at our house. A little background information first --

Our apartment is a fully furnished place for 4 single girls, but as time has passed and married people have lived in this unit the 4 beds turned into 3 mattresses by moving the pieces to other apartments that could use them. On Friday such has happened with two more mattresses, so we now have one. The reason why we gave up the two is because Managment has invested in some new twin bed sets, and I requested that we get a couple of those because we don't have a bed. We do have a memory foam mattress topper that is very useful in "unifying" 2 separate beds that we push together so we can sleep like a real married couple. Hopefully we can get those new bed sets delivered to our house today so we can both rest well; Tod didn't like the floor last night.

Another fun adventure we had this week occurred on Tuesday. Our power was turned off!
We have not been receiving a bill from our landlord, because they weren't being sent a bill, and so we have not been paying for it because no one knew where it was going. We have been asking for it for over 6 weeks, because after the first one not coming you think perhaps it jsut didn't get sent out this month, we'll get it next month, and when no bill showed up the second month, we began to ask weekly for it, because we didn't want to end up with a monster sized bill!

We tried to call the utility company a few weeks ago to no avail, they wouldn't talk to Tod because his name was not on the account so they wouldn't give us any information, my name wasn't on there either, so no use trying to get them to talk to me. So we patiently waited and repeatedly requested some information from our management company until Tuesday. Then we called and kindly asked them to do something about it immediately, because our fridge was defrosting, our lights were out, and we had no way to keep our computers charged. So while we waited we took one of our coupons and went out to Lunch at the Village in, because we couldn't cook ourselves any food.

We also got a cube of dry ice to keep the freezer cold, and did it ever! It worked like a charm.
Then we picked up a cheque and the account number from Continental Management and paid Provo electric, and had our power back on by 5pm. Hopefully we get out electricity bill this next month.

Very exciting news.

2009-08-09T10:03:00.001-07:00

Many things have been occurring these past few weeks. Once again we have developed pictures to post! But first we want to share with you some REALLY exciting news for both Tod & Adrianna...

Adrianna is now legal to work ANYWHERE in the United States!

As part of our application for Adrianna's residency we also sent in an application for authorization to work off campus -- and now, after 5 years of working at UVU, she can get a real job where her talents can really be utilized!!! Yipee! When we opened the envelope and realized it contained Adrianna's employment authorization card we hugged each other so tightly shouting for joy and jumping up and down in our kitchen/living room.

Before:

After:

Tod also has very exciting news: The scooter shop sold his scooter! After having it for sale there for over 4 months a buyer has decided that they would like to be the proud owner of their new-to-them yellow 50cc Hyosung. We received the call notifying us of the sale from the scooter shop within an hour of receiving Adrianna's employment authorization card in the mail, so we hugged and jumped up and down shouting for joy again! We then went out to dinner to celebrate and enjoyed yummy, yummy steak among other very tasty things.

Watch that last step, it's a doozy

2009-07-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

Tuesday had started out so great. Sleeping in on my day off, waking up to my lovely wife, it seemed to be the start of a relaxing day. Alas, but it was not to be so. As part of our calling as the ward institute representatives, we encourage members of the ward to come out Tuesday nights to institute. To help accomplish this, we have been posting fliers on members' doors during the afternoon before institute. As we were making our rounds, I made my way down the steps to a basement apartment. I stepped down from what I thought was the bottom step, only to find the edge of the actual bottom step. My foot rolled underneath my ankle and I heard/felt a pop. And then, some of the most exquisite pain I had felt came over me and caused me to drop to the steps as quickly as I could.

Adrianna rushed to my side and assisted me in loosening and taking off my shoe. She then helped me to slowly hobble up the stairs and back to the car. Any weight put on my ankle caused so much pain. At home, we removed my sock and found that my ankle was swollen to the size of a baseball! We applied ice and bandage and elevation in order to prevent further damage. I was not to have the continual care of my wife, though, as she left for work shortly thereafter.

About an hour later, while I was laying on the couch, someone knocked on the door wanting to be shown an apartment. I told her to knock on the door of one of the show apartments and hoped that the girls living there would be home. She came back shortly, having had no response. I then had to get up and show the young lady the apartment. So I wasn't able to rest it completely. Thankfully, it was good enough for us to go to institute that night, albeit moving very slowly for me.

So here's a pic of it that night after the swelling had gone down.

I can walk on it now, but it'll still hurt when I turn on it. And all the busyness at work hasn't helped in its recovery. I just hope the road to recovery is short.

Hodgepodge.

2009-07-10T21:27:00.001-07:00

So I decided instead of making you sift through posts, I'll just put the pictures here with the captions. enjoy!

Look at the doughnuts!

Thanks Taralee and Jamie! We're making good use of your "gifts".

My poor digital camera. I tried to fix it. I guess it wasn't meant to be.

Happy Mothers Day.
Here's some plants for you to care for, love, nurture, & kill within 2 weeks.

We have come to love homemade Tortillas. They're amazing!
We can make flour and corn tortillas.
Yum.

The Y Hike

2009-07-10T20:36:00.000-07:00

Well, after shuttling a few groups of Patriotic Americans up to the Y, Tod, Loriann and I began the trek. At the top we scored some pictures of our amazing feat.

Ok, so this is the Y. Yes, I know, it's the side of he Y. If you look close you can Kinda see the people and the red stripes. :)

We packed a yummy dinner, including 5 buck pizza (which now sells pizza for $5 again!), beef and pastrami sandwiches, yummy-sweet-fresh pineapple, Starburst candy, black licorice, and tons of water.

This is is view we had of the rest of the Y from our picnic perch.

"Where'd the cute boy I was talking to go?" --Loriann

Us on the Y.

It seems like my 28-80 mm zoom lens needs to be cleaned.
(the others above were taken with the 28mm non-zoom lens)

Somewhere in this picture is our Apartment complex.

After all that hiking, gazing, picnic-ing we were ready to go back down the mountain to watch the fireworks on the trunk of our car.

Pictures!

2009-07-10T20:34:00.000-07:00

Finally Tod and I have Pictures to share! Yeay!

Be forewarned, I am still getting used to using an SLR Camera, so they're not pa-wow, but they're something! I'll try to get future ones developed more often so it's not so long between posts & photos. I'm going to try to re-post the older mega-post with the photos now. I apologize for having to scroll, but I think it would look funny if I just posted them here all out of context.

Really, I'll figure out how to get this all sorted. Until we have a digital -- it is what it is. Enjoy!

Hiking the Y for the 4th of July

2009-07-03T10:18:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow Tod and I put our developing strength to the test. We're Hiking the Y! It's a fairly easy hike, that's not so special, but what's going to be amazing about it is that we're going to dress up all in blue and try -- with hundreds (approx. 300-600) of other people -- to turn the Y into a giant US flag!

I am going to be a shuttle driver from the BYU Law Building to the Y Trail head (in attempt to prevent a massive traffic jam at the trail head where there's only 50 parking spots) and Tod will be Directing people. We will then hike the Y in our garb with our blanket and umbrella (they're blue too!) and join the rest of the the folk on the mountain. We're going to stick around to watch the fireworks. I plan to bring my camera (the old skool SLR) to take all kinds of fun pictures and hopefully I'll finish off the roll so you'll all get to see what else we've been up to!

I hope that this will put some brownie points in the karma bag towards my immigration papers. The gov't rescheduled my biometrics appointment for the 14th of july, when we wanted to go down to St. George and visit my sister and her family. So our visiting plans will change cause I don't want to tell the gov't to reschedule.

This little adventure may get us in the news paper again, the organizers have alerted the media including Provo's Daily Herald, so we may be captured again in the paper doing fun stuff!

Look what I did

2009-06-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

And y'all thought it would just be Adrianna posting on the blog. Ha! You thought wrong.

Anyways, we're getting into coupon shopping and enjoying it quite thoroughly. It's really amazing to see how much the price goes down as the coupons get tagged. This week, Albertson's had a sale on the following item:

Normal Price was $11.99 and the sale knocked off six bucks, making it $5.99. Now, in the Sunday coupon saver ads, there was a $4 coupon for this exact item. :D So for a little over $2, I've got myself a very nice razor, which is funny because ever since I've needed to shave, I have only used an electric razor. Looks like it's time for a change and it may get bloody...

So many posts, so little pictures.

2009-06-15T12:38:00.001-07:00

I am a strong believer that images represent far more than any word we could write on a page. Granted words are excessively powerful things to influence & harm a situation or person in an instant. In contrast I believe that images and the things of vision are the being of creation and destruction because vision starts in your spirit and your soul motivating the creation of words to capture the images that are felt and seen inside.

So after many words to describe my belief in pictures I am now going to post several adventures sans photographs. I have been taking pictures with my old school SLR -- that's right with real film -- that show all the fun things we've been doing. As a side note it is fun to use a real camera, it just doesn't offer the same sort of immediacy that digital does.

One such pictureless post is a comment on mothers day. The picture speaks more than I can say. The caption that belongs with the picture is: "Happy Mothers day! Here's a present to make you (Adrianna) feel less than adequate, exemplifying your inability to nurture and keep things alive." Unfortunately, the picture* is still on the roll of film. You'll see it someday, maybe by the end of the month.

The next post that is quite fun and that I do have a picture for.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Tod and I were featured in the Daily Herald as avid Provo Rec Center members! (See for yourself!)
The photographer not only caught us working out she also quoted moi!

Additional exciting news relating to our spot on the section front page spot is that I have decided to run the Suncrest Mountain Race with Taralee in September. Tod is helping me amp up our work outs so I can get fit for the marathon training schedule which starts in July (one reason why we're pictured above lifting weights). The marathon is on September 12th, so by then I'll be able to run 13 miles! Yahoo!

The next post: "Look what we're doing with all the Pillsbury rolls we inherited!" The picture* shows the fun we have in the kitchen.

Another post explains that I proudly thought I could repair my poor broken Nikon S10. Well, upon execution of repair Tod and I quickly discovered that this was not a fix-it project, it was a demolition project, with the final result shown here: (insert picture*).

As the last 'post' explains my digital camera is out of commission, hence I use the old-school SLR. One day I'd love to get my hands on a digital SLR, preferably the Nikon D5000 or the Nikon D60.

And that ends the marathon post that is full of text. Soon you'll not only be able to read about our fun adventures you'll be able to see them too! Until then dear readers.

*Pictures soon to be posted as they are developed.

The beginning of "Together Forever"

2009-06-09T14:33:00.001-07:00

The wedding was fantastic. Tod and I were married on May 2nd & finally we get to spend the rest of our lives, and eternity, together.

When it came down to it, all the plans, all the preparations, all the dreaming, came together in a way that joyfully passed by too quickly.

The morning of the 2nd was pouring rain as I drove up to Salt lake to get my hair and nails done. I was a little nervous driving up the freeway with such low visibility. I didn't mind the rain for the day though, I love it. I think rain is very calming and exciting, and it was waching all of the pollen out of the air and that means I could breathe.

The ceremony was the most stellar & warmingly beautiful thing I have ever experienced. Tod and I were married in the Salt Lake Temple at 2:20 in the afternoon. It was incredibly fun getting ready in the brides room. At the temple they let you have one escort, which was my mom, & then they have temple workers to dote upon you & help you get ready. Then I was escorted to where I could meet Tod, & we could go through the veil together. It was the most amazing feeling to meet with our sealer before our marriage and talk about where we have been in our lives. Then we waited in the celestial room for them to call us into the sealing room. We were brought in there to find it empty. All of our guests were still in the lobby waiting to be called up! So we were escorted back to the celestial room while we waited for them to be called and seated. Tod and I booked a room that seated 45 people and when we returned the second time we found that nearly all the seats were filled, only a couple seats were left open.

That moment that I walked into the sealing room was the second that I started to be so filled with joy that I cried. I cried a little in the celestial room as Tod and I waited to be presented in the sealing room, but I was really overwhelmed when I looked across the faces of family and friends that I have known so long, only just met, who travelled so far, and all their brightness and smiles as they watched us walk in -- the joy that is in my heart -- it is indescribable. I am crying even now as I recall that moment and relate it to you.

The things that the sealer said motivates me to want to return to the temple so that I can recall those things again, to review the thoughtfulness and depth of what it means to both be sealed and to attend the temple. He highlighted specific points of various ceremonies, such as the endowment and the initiatory, in his words that gives me great satisfaction. Also they increased my knowledge of my understanding of my role and privilege and joy that is mine to be a wife, and motivates me to revisit the temple.

Afterwards time seems to have moved by so quickly, like in fast forward, as we went out into the light & romantic rain to take pictures with our family, and then around the temple grounds, and the reception that evening. I was especially excited to see all of the friends and family that were later on at the reception, and to spend some time with them and spread the joy a little longer as we visited.

I must say that one of the greatest gifts I received that evening was the company of good friends and family.

One specifically that I will mention is my past Bishop, Bishop Klein, from BYU 138th ward. It was the ward (congregation) that I moved from into 57th ward where I met Tod. I lived in the boundaries of that ward for almost three years -- a very tumultuous three years. His visit was of particular note because he had come early to the reception, but missed us because we were still off taking pictures. He gave his well wishes to my parents and then continued home. As he sat at home he just couldn't get the uneasy feeling out of his heart that he should come back and see us. So he did. Bishop Klein sat with us at the end of the night made sure that we were well fed and well watered asking with an attitude of joy and service, "is there anything else I can get for the both of you?" then proceeded to check on all those seated around us as well in the same manner. Once he made sure everyone was doing well he sat with us and gave us some advice called "The Three C's". I love Bishop Klein for this reason because he comes us with such memorable ways to remember the advice that he gives or the gospel doctrine that he teaches. I quite literally have every ounce of energy within me listening as he speaks so that I do not miss anything he -- or the Holy spirit -- says.

The three C's are first, Confidence. One must have confindence in oneself, in the gospel, and in their spouse. The second is Clarity. Clarity offers us the ability to understand, empathize, and see (both mentally and physically) so we can appropriately act and gain truthful knowledge. The last he stopped and asked with a coy smile on his face "can you guess what the third C is?" Both Tod and I thought and reflected, Tod shook his head, and I go ta glimmerin my eye and excitedly shared "Charity". Bishop Klein said "Yes. That is right." He then turned his gaze to Tod and related about his earlier visit before the reception wth my parents, and shared that he had told my parents that I am very talented in this last C, that "Adrianna has and shows a great deal of charity" so now he was not surprised that I came to figure it out so quickly. He said to us that Charity is the true love in our hearts that motivates us to do good not only with each other (our spouse) but to all those we meet and will bring into this world. He advised us to keep Charity as a strong element in our home as we build and invite friends and family into it.

This advice will stand as one of the most treasured gifts I have ever been given.

It was a beautiful day with everything turning out just as perfectly as it could, regardless of plans, because everyone just gave themselves to being there -- and all that "being there" demanded -- and made it magnificent.