Vegas Baby!

So randomly Karen, Ally and I headed down to Vegas - and it was so much fun. There are some definite perks about being temporarily unemployed. We stayed on the strip at the Monte Carlo for two nights and soaked up the sun for hours on end, enjoying the hotel's lazy river and sipping Miami Vices. We mostly worked on our tan and of course shopped until we dropped.

Then we stayed a night at the Holiday Inn in St. George where they upgraded us to this funky HUGE room that I thought was a little creepy, but it was free, so who cares? Then we did more shopping (can you believe it?) and saw Aida at the Tuacahn theater. The setting there is AMAZING with the enormously beautiful red rocks and the backdrop of twinkling stars in the night sky. I absolutely loved the musical - it was opening night and the actors put on a great performance.

There were lot's of laughs and girl time. These two are so much fun! What a great family to be a part of.

Goodbye Spokane!

Well, to say the least, we couldn't be more excited that we're heading home to Utah! Seriously, the anticipation of finding out was almost unbearable. Summer just crawled by as we waited and waited to hear back from the University of Utah - not to mention the fact that I was stuck in Spokane for my job and of course Jeremy had to be in Utah for his internship. Plus always getting asked "so, have you heard yet?" conveniently reminded us all the time that we hadn't. We were both really nervous that we were going to have to tell everyone that we didn't get in. A month went by after he submitted his application and they told him he would hear back after only 2 weeks. We started to get even more nervous because we thought if it was going to be a "yes" he would have heard by now. Then on a Friday, our good friends, Chris and Tara, were accepted to transfer to Arizona. We couldn't have been happier for them, but Jeremy decided he couldn't wait any longer, so he called the U first thing Monday morning...

I will never forget, as I was driving home for lunch on that beautifully sunny afternoon and my phone rings and of course it's Jer and the first words out of his mouth are "guess what?". I started basically freaking out. I was so excited I accidentally hung up on him! I don't think either one of us could stop smiling all day (I couldn't even wipe the smile off my face as I gleefully told my boss "I quit!"). I guess it was a little unfortunate that we couldn't have found out sooner so I wouldn't have been by myself in Spokane, but I told him I would have done it a million times over if it meant he would get into the U.

Then the whirlwind of moving began! But again, due to my excitement, I packed our entire apartment up by Thursday. Then Jer flew in Friday - even though it took him ten hours to get here when his first flight was cancelled because there was a drizzle here in Spokane - it was pretty ridiculous. Not to mention that he had a horrible flight the night before on his way from Phoenix to Salt Lake after sweating all day under the hot sun while looking at helicopter crash remains. Poor guy. But he made it! Then, we loaded up the Uhaul Saturday morning - which happened to be our 1 year anniversary - what a great way to celebrate! We planned to go to dinner and whatnot in Spokane that evening, but after packing up, I looked around and thought "why not just go now?". And so we did. We drove straight to Salt Lake - a 14 hr. drive. Probably not the safest idea since I could not stay awake despite my best efforts and Jeremy could barely keep his eyes open. But somehow we arrived safe and sound - it's probably a good thing we said a little prayer before we left! :)

And just like that, our time in Spokane is over. Really, I can't believe we've been here a whole year. The time went by soooo fast. We made many dear friends and have some great memories like...

Pig out in the Park...

Playing in the SNOW (I've never seen it snow like that - and I'm from Utah!)...

Our new appreciation for Red Robin...

Lake Coeur d'Alene...

Bloomsday (some funny result facts)...

The beautiful river & falls...

And our absolutely wonderful ward and great friends...

And of course the night when our neighbors murdered someone and the {SWAT} team was there the next morning to blast over the loudest loud speaker I have ever heard "tenenants of 2057 come out with your hands up!". Okay, maybe not a high point, but definitely one funny, crazy, unforgettable memory that we like to laugh about all the time.

I am so proud of my husband and his diligence. He studied more than most can imagine, sometimes putting in 12, 13, 14+ hours a day! He's incredible. He worked tirelessly this school year and it definitely paid off. I am so grateful for all of his hard work and that he gets to go to the U. YAY!