Nauvoo with Texans

Our summer has been full of family and full of road trips - just like a summer should be. Michael's sister Pam drove up from Texas with her fun family, and they invited us to meet them in Nauvoo. We were so excited to see them - Houston is too far away!

We had a crazy week, so we ended up not being able to start on our 5 hour drive until about 7 on Thursday night. And then we had the craziest late night drive. These pictures are all bad and blurry - but I had to document the series of strange events. It started when our gaslight came on (such a frequent occurrence...so depressing), so we started searching for a gas station. We finally found one - and it didn't accept credit cards. At all? We finally found another - and when I scanned my credit card it just flashed this message at me: "No one can pay now. No one can pay now." ?? Then we found a third gas station, and when Michael scanned his credit card it told him to go inside and pay the clerk - but inside was pitch black, empty and locked. We were getting desperate. 

Finally we had to cross the Mississippi and head into Iowa, hoping for a cooperative gas station. Our fourth try finally filled our tank. But then my phone took us some crazy way out of town, which involved driving on an abandoned road that led to a prison, crossing a $2 toll bridge run by a sweet old lady that was right by the prison (I wanted her to get in the car with us and leave that place). Then, we stopped so we wouldn't hit that deer. Then, we stopped so we wouldn't hit that fox. Then, we drove through cornfields and cornfields and suddenly our hotel appeared, kind of in the middle of no where. It was creepy. And add to all that the fact that we had our windows down and music loud and we were pulling out all the stops to stay awake because we were so completely exhausted - holy moly Nauvoo, we barely made it to you.

But the next morning we woke up to these little kiddos! Three nephews and a niece that live way too far away. We had such a good time with them.

Nauvoo is so great. I had only been there once before, with one of my BYU classes in a long ago November. We froze our way through a couple days there, and just loved it. This time the weather was completely perfect.

There are plenty of missionaries around Nauvoo to show you a good time. We went on a carriage ride with horses, a wagon ride with oxen, learned how to make barrels and rope and bread and candles, went to an old schoolhouse and printing press... it's the best.

They let us keep the rope that we made, and this is what ended up happening....Gary loved it. 

The Nauvoo temple is almost always in view, up on a hill over the city. It's beautiful. Michael's sister was married there ten years ago.

We went to walk around the temple grounds that night and took some pictures. I asked little Ben if he was going to get married in that temple, and he said, "No...not this temple. I want to get married in the cookie temple." I'm definitely going to his wedding.

We didn't have time to go inside the temple on this trip, but we'll definitely make our way out there again while we're in Indiana. I think it's such a beautiful place.

We took the kiddos to an old cemetery on Saturday morning, and had fun seeing who could find the oldest grave. We found the headstone of Seymour Brunson - Joseph Smith spoke at his funeral, and it was there that the Prophet introduced the doctrine of Baptism for the Dead. The whole weekend I was just wishing that Susan Black was walking around with us...she is an incredible church history teacher at BYU with a memory like no other. I wish I took her class 10 times.

Speaking of Ben and cookies. We ate a few cookies before leaving our hotel to see a show that night, and ran around outside beforehand to get some energy out. We noticed Ben was still hanging on to his cookie, and when we asked him why, he said "I'm just needing milk." This is a kid after my own heart. We finally convinced him to eat the cookie sans milk before the show, but I completely understand where he's coming from here. Doesn't he look so sad there on the right? Realizing his cookie had to be solo? Poor guy.

This is where they used to have church in Nauvoo. I could totally get on board with that - sunshine and trees during meetings. 

On our way out of town we went to Carthage, where Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed. The missionaries there do a wonderful job of teaching you about the final days of Joseph Smith's life, and bearing their testimonies of the Gospel that he restored.

Pam's family drove to Indianapolis after Nauvoo, and spent Sunday here with us. They thoroughly entertained us during church, and then we went on a Sunday stroll down the canal. At one point little Gary was feeding three geese from his hands that were the same height as him...and loving it, of course. Ben fell asleep on the way there and was pretty unimpressed with us waking him up for the experience. But he came around.

It's so fun to have family visit and see where you live. It somehow makes homes feel more homey when family has been there. Thanks for visiting, Walkers!

Through the Sunday Blues

Do you ever get the Sunday night blues? That feeling of, wait weekend, why are you leaving me so quickly? Things were going so well? We get that. I am the prominent complainer of Sunday night blues, but we both get it. Sometimes facing a Monday kick off to a whole new week of dental school and work is as unappealing as having an entire package of Oreos but no milk in the fridge.

Yesterday we did, thankfully, have milk though. And I used it with my Oreos to combat that Sunday night blues. Poor Michael used them to fuel his studying streak... he has monthly tests all through his second year of dental school that cover all his classes, for all of the past month. Always on a Monday morning.

If that doesn't give you the ultimate Sunday night blues, I don't know what could.

He studied this entire past week at every spare moment, and I have a small and very hazy memory of him getting out of bed at 4:00 this morning to study even more before that darn 8am test. He's a hard worker. And he's pretty tired. He needs the Oreos way more than me.

Yesterday my family had our first Google Hangout, and that was way too much fun. We did a lot of great catching up and laughing, up until we found the features that let you "dress up". Then we completely stopped communicating and just played around the rest of the time, as seen below. I couldn't stop laughing at those tiny devil horns. Also a very good remedy for Sunday night blues. Jaren was born to wear that monocle. And Lydia the Pirate is looking pretty good, too. Ali wore that graduation cap the entire time. I think she's looking forward to finishing grad school, yeah?

A while ago we found a good deal on JOHN MAYER concert tickets, and I have been counting down the days until we could finally go hear that voice. It was kind of poor planning though, seeing as the concert was right before Michael's first monthly test... he studied the whole drive there and I think maybe contemplated bringing his laptop to the concert. We loved it though, and I think it was a good break for him. Oh John Mayer... he sang me through so many Cedar/Provo drives. I think he cures my headaches better than Excedrin. And it was way too fun seeing him just play and play his guitar. It's like it's just part of him and he's not even thinking about it. Did you know his parents took him to see a psychiatrist twice when he was growing up, because all he would do is play his guitar and they were worried about him? True story. Music is just in him. And yeah...I get that the guy has made himself known as a jerk. But I still seriously love his voice and songs.

We had so much fun watching him play. Anyone who didn't stay for the encore was crazy because he came back and played Gravity. That is far and away much better than beating traffic, any day. We inhaled a serious amount of secondhand smoke that night (some of it with a funny smell), and we were the only ones in sight with a water bottle rather than an alternative choice of beverage...but, good music. Worth it.

Oh, and this is Twinkles. She spent her weekend with us, too. She looks kind of sad? But we showed her a good time, don't worry. I don't know what's going on lately, but Michael's dog sitting business is booming. That guy... he keeps life interesting.

Here's to another fun weekend and getting through those Sunday night blues.

AND getting through Michael's first monthly test today. He rocked it!

Man oh man.

This pretty much sums up the way I feel about this past week:

Happy Friday, people.

Thoughts: On Confidence

This sign has been hanging in our bedroom, but this week I moved it to a more high traffic area  in our house. I want it to be a reminder to me more often, and I spend a lot of time in that tiny kitchen of ours.

"Confidence: Coming to understand who you are spiritually."

One of my Public Relations professors at BYU made this sign for me, and all the other students in her class that semester. We did an intensive research project with her that really was monumental for me in my life. She works for a publishing company, and we helped her with an initiative to research attitudes regarding some unpublished Church History materials, in hopes of showing the value in making them available to the public, specifically LDS women. Publishing took one year from the time we conducted those research initiatives, but she did eventually accomplish what she set out to do. You can read more about her experience here, and see the now published materials here.

The project's goal was to give Mormon women more tools to help them realize their worth and potential. Throughout that semester, our professor let us know she was obsessed with this one certain concept: The importance of learning to understand the way the Spirit of God speaks to you, and learning to feel and follow that Spirit is the most important thing you can do in this life. If you can feel and hear that Spirit, which is accomplished by the way you live your life and the person that you choose to be, and if you follow what you feel and hear, then you will understand and accomplish your individual purpose.

So, confidence. That is how I define it now. Confidence is coming to understand who you are spiritually. Not just being comfortable with who you are, but knowing who you are. For me, the number one definition of WHO I AM is this: I am a daughter of God, who is loved. Because I know that, I don't question my value based on outside factors that the world sometimes throws at me. There are days I feel that I am not doing well enough at my job. There are days when I don't feel like I'm doing enough for my family and my friends. There are days I'm disappointed in myself. There are days when other people treat me in a way that could potentially damage my sense of self worth. But I don't let those things take away from my happiness and confidence. I have confidence because perspective tells me that I am bigger than those things. Failures, challenges, or people that temporarily make me feel inadequate are not a reflection of who I am. 

I distinctly remember the best compliment a friend ever gave me: she told me I had just the right amount and kind of confidence. This came after I had had this quote in my mind for two years, and been working toward really developing my understanding of who I am spiritually. 

I know that I am a child of God, and I know that my purpose is to live in the right way so that I can live with Him again. I know that. I hope that if you're reading this, you know the same thing. The best way to find confidence is to gain a spiritual sense of who you are. The best way to gain a spiritual sense of who you are is by praying to gain that, and by reading this book. The best way to keep confidence is by constantly following the Spirit of God and growing closer to Him.

Note: I love this sign. I have been missing it, and my parents sent it across the country with my brother's family when they visited last month. That was such a sweet thought from my parents, and I am so happy to have it hanging in my home now!

How to: DIY Painted Moroccan Wall

We have a tiny kitchen, and a tiny budget, but I still like pretty things. So, I found some inspiration and got to work on my very bleak and blank canvas that was our kitchen: a DIY Painted Moroccan Wall.

Disclaimer: I started this project in January (yes, January), before this pattern started showing up everywhere. On everything. So maybe I'm ahead of the times, maybe I'm super trendy... but mostly I just kind of feel like one of the slowest painting members of the masses. Dang it. 

But we love the wall and that's all that matters. So here's the breakdown of the painting experience:

I knew I wanted something busy that could be the focal point of the kitchen, because it's a large blank space with not a lot of furniture coverage. I considered stripes, but I'm trying to kick my addiction. Or at least cut back. So after finding the Moroccan pattern, I knew it would be just what I was looking for.

First I painted the wall with two layers of a satin finish light grey. Menard's did a great job matching my chosen paint sample to their cheapest brand of paint, making it $14 instead of the brand name $35. Apparently my natural taste in paint is expensive. (Also in boots. See my last post.) Sigh.

After giving the paint plenty of time to dry, I gathered my small set of supplies. All it took to make the Moroccan design was: the smallest size can of white paint with a gloss finish (I wanted contrast against the satin), a paintbrush that was the width of the line size I was going for, a pencil, a level, and this free printable stencil, traced onto cardboard. I already had everything but the paint, so the total cost of the design: $3. I had thought about doing wallpaper or even saving money by wallpapering with gift wrap, but I just couldn't refuse doing the whole project for just $3. (And soooo many man hours, but I have a lot more of those than dollars at this point in my life.)

Then, the stencil process started. At first I contemplated only doing five lines of shapes down the wall, about one third of the way in, so I started there in case I liked the look of it. I held the stencil in the middle of the wall vertically, then worked up and down from there - I checked horizontally and vertically with the level every time I traced the stencil shape. Then, once I had connected the shapes from ceiling to floor, I painted along the outside of the line using the width of the brush for consistency. After finishing just a few lines, I knew I wanted to paint the entire wall.

Each line had to be double coated for the right color, and it took me 45 minutes almost to the second for every vertical line. That's why it looked the way it does in the picture above for quite a while...half-finished. I took lots of breaks when it came to getting this wall done. My hours between getting off work and going to bed just somehow disappear? So I just took my sweet time with this :)

During the painting process, we found a new dining set and kitchen cabinet from Craigslist land. I loved the lighter wood but I felt like the wall started to overshadow all the other blank space in the kitchen. Plus, our old black curtains kind of sucked out the happiness that the cute busy wall brought in.

So, I found some floral material on clearance to make into smaller curtains, and just used $4 tension rods from Bed Bath & Beyond in the window frame, rather than the heavy hardware that used to be above the doors. I lined the middle shelf of the cabinet with the extra floral material to match, and lined the other shelves with a striped material for contrast. I love the mix of patterns with matching colors - it turned out better than I planned, because I never really had a plan :) That's the beauty of depending on Craigslist and a small, small budget!

Here's our kitchen, before and after. I can't believe how long we lived with that empty blank kitchen. Moving in is such a process. Or else I'm just really slow and indecisive when it comes to decorating...can't be helped.

From start to finish, painting this wall took almost exactly 24 of my life's hours. A whole day. I'm feeling totally ok with that - it has brightened up that kitchen every day since I [finally] finished it! The curtains were my first and hopefully last sewing project for this apartment. I have never learned how to sew very well, so it gives me anxiety. But lining the shelves with material, I can handle that! Considering no sewing is involved, and I used sticky tack in case I get sick of the material :) I know the way I like to change things around often, so I can't make things too permanent.

Except for the wall. That wall will be a Moroccan wall for the rest of its life, even if I have to pay the next tenants to let it live. Since the wall pattern cost a total of $3, I think I'm ok with that.

Quick Trip: Milwaukee

Michael's brother-in-law works in Des Moines, and he had a business trip in Milwaukee a couple weeks ago. His whole family came, and they invited Michael and I to come explore the city with them! We love visiting new places, living in the "Crossroads of America" is the best. So, we took off on a Friday afternoon for a super quick trip up north!

If you ask Google Maps (which we did), Milwaukee is just 4.5 short hours away. But if you take Chicago traffic into account (which we didn't), it's about six...I don't know why everyone is trying to get the same place on those Chicago freeways all.the.time. But, we made it through and got to Wisconsin in time to see our cute nieces and nephew before they went to bed. Then we had fun staying up with Danny & Diana just talking, laughing, watching this video, and laughing some more.

The next day we went downtown to explore. The pictures above are Michael and Danny being thoroughly entertained by a cool bee pod. Michael is kind of obsessed with bees, and always making future beekeeper plans...I don't know how I feel about that. I have never been stung because I'm really good at leaving bees alone. So letting them live in my yard? Questionable.

Plus, they're a little expensive... THIS is probably #1 on Michael's some-day-far-away wishlist. But I can't judge him because THESE are high up on mine. That kind of shows you how much cooler he is than me, huh. Dang it. 

Ok back to Milwaukee. That day we also went through some markets, took a tour of a cheese factory, experienced quark, ate a lot of Greek food, drove through beautiful neighborhoods, and......

...found the beach! It was a windy cold day, but there was still a volleyball tournament and plenty of beach goers. I guess they just get used to that freezing water and embrace their unique beach situation. Jocelyn and Madeline loved running around...just chasing sea gulls and playing in the sand. Dirt is so good at entertaining children.

We drove back home Saturday and braved that Chicago traffic again (yes, it was still there). But this time we made it more enjoyable with a quick exit to drive through downtown and pick up a couple of these. Of course.

We love seeing family, and we love seeing new cities! Thanks for inviting us, Danny & Diana!

Thoughts: on keeping on.

This is one of my favorite quotes, with one of my favorite places. I took this picture when we hiked Mt. Sinai at two in the morning to catch the sunrise. If there's a place that always helps you feel that things will work out, it's up high, on a mountain.

And things do always work out.