Aaron & Camille's Blog

Some Serious Catching Up

2011-12-02T16:24:00.000-07:00

So we all know by now that I'm a horrible blogger, but I decided to have anther go at it and hopefully this time it sticks better. No promises though...

The last few months have been pretty crazy - I think summer is just like that, fun but crazy. From family camp outs to weddings to bbq's and culminating in a trip to DC over Halloween we've had a packed summer and fall. Here is a barrage of pictures and captions summarizing the last several months. Enjoy!

Mother's Day brunch at the Dodo

Garret & Kellie got married! We absolutely LOVE Kellie and have had so much fun with them so far. We're super excited that they live close and like to play games with us.

We had what appears to be our last "Building Your Nest"ers FHE this summer. A lot of our friends from our ward have moved, so that's been sad...

We went camping over the 4th of July with the Kaysville Roundy's and Garret & Kellie up in the Wyoming Uintahs by Bridger Lake.

We didn't get down to Fish Lake as much as we would have like this year, but we did get down for the 24th of July. It was my last trip down there with Mal before they moved to Tahiti... awesome trip.

More Fish Lake - just me & Aaron!

We had family pictures taken with the Madsen Family. We hadn't even started yet and it was going this great. :) Chelsy from chelsyann photography did an awesome job!

We had a blast at the annual Madsen Family Camp Out! It's one of only two annual events now for the extended Madsen clan and I look forward to it every year. This year we were at East Canyon. Good times!

Me & my cousin Courtney by fire light at the Madsen Family Camp Out.

More camping out...

Aaron and his brothers, Garret & Zach had a brothers trip up to the Green River Lakes. They had a very manly trip and the pictures are absolutely spectacular!

We also got up 4-wheeling with my family up at Soapstone! Covered in dust yet loving it...

I think this was from Aaron's birthday - he turned the big 3-0 this year, but I can't remember. This may just be one of our FHE SLC's with our good friends from BYU. It's always a party when this group gets together. :)

Aaron's cousin Tyler, I mean Elder Brinkerhoff left on his mission to California.

Aaron did some more hiking. He made it out on some good ones this year. I think this is going up to Lone Peak, but I can't remember...

Aaron rocking the mustache. He grew out his beard most of the summer and then shaved it down to the stache for a few days. All the ladies at church absolutely loved it! It was great.

We flew south to Arizona in October to support Aaron's cousin Jenna and her new husband Dave at their wedding. The weather was wonderful, the wedding festivities were great and we got to spend time with some of Aaron's cousins that we don't get see.

Aaron's sister Megan came to visit with her 1 year old daughter, Aspen (who we all adore), so we had a family day at the zoo! Lots of cousin love going on... so cute!

We celebrated Halloween before we left for DC with a FHE SLC at the Lillywhites! There was pumpkin carving and everything!!

Then we were off to DC where we spent Halloween and I presented at a national public health conference. The next several pictures are from our adventures in DC!

We caught up with our friends the Smurfs, aka the Hunters at a Halloween Party up in Baltimore.

We went to Arlington Cemetary. I had never been before and I loved it. What a fascinating & special place.

We also got to see the new MLK, Jr Memorial. It's quite impressive, but I have to say I still think it's a little ironic that he is carved out of white stone. I'm just saying... I didn't see that one coming. :)

The Lincoln Memorial. A must for us as Aaron proposed at the base of the memorial steps close to the reflection pond. We always have a moment there.

We got to meet up with some of Aaron's friends from Baltimre Kristen and Nancy...

This got wildly out of order somehow, but here's a fun shot of all the Roundy girls at Garret & Kellie's wedding. We do love purple.

Cohort bonding with 2 of my friends from my MPH program (Brea & Eli) at Five Guys in DC. It was so fun to see them. I got to spend a lot of time with my friend Alisha too but somehow I didn't end up with picture.

Aaron also got to spend some quality scouting time this year down at Bryce and up at the Smith's cabin. Sometimes I think he looks more like the young men than the leaders... I love it.

I think that is way more than enough for one post. Stay tuned in the next couple of weeks for news on our new house and our trip to the Caribbean! Life never really slows down, but it would be far less fun if it did!

Happiness Addendum

2011-09-23T11:02:00.000-06:00

One feeling I neglected to express in my previous post was happiness. Although I was feeling deep sadness and sorrow I almost felt guilty because I was still happy. The feelings coexisting confused me, but I came to a profound realization that although horrible things happen to us they don't have to change us. The love of God is abiding and deep and provides joy in our lives in spite of the adversities we face. I was still happy because my life was still amazing and is still amazing. I have an incredible husband, the best family I could ever ask for and an abiding testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even though I still have moments of sorrow and I may still feel sad, I am full of joy. Whatever happens I know there is a greater plan and that provides peace and resilient joy. Life is good.

That Feeling

2011-09-20T22:46:00.000-06:00

Lately I've been really feeling like I need to write down some of the experiences and feelings I've had lately, so I dusted off the old journal and started to form my thoughts. As I was mulling over everything a very good friend called me and I found out she recently had a miscarriage too. I realized in that moment that if I had been more open about my experience I could have been there for her. She would have known that I understand and we could have talked about it sooner. I'm not a super secretive person, but I deal with things in a very personal way. I turn to my Heavenly Father first and those immedicately around me second. I talk about these things, but usually not on blogs or in groups of people. But I know that there is someone out there who is feeling how I still feel, and this is for you.

Last November I took my first pregnancy test and it was positive. After that twinge of shock wore off Aaron and I were excited, but almost immediately I started having issues. I had some spotting, but nothing too crazy. At what we thought was 8 weeks we went to our first appointment and met with a great nurse who relieved a lot of anxiety and ordered an ultrasound just to make sure everything was on track. I can't even begin to describe the roller coaster of emotions I went through the following weeks and beyond. That first ultrasound didn't go exactly as planned, but by the end we saw a little life and found a heartbeat. Our ultrasound tech was amazing too; she was such a tender mercy. Those appointments were followed by a rhogam shot, another ultrasound and ultimately a miscarriage. The people around me were great but I felt like no one really knew what exactly I felt, but now I know what it's like.

I know what it's like to cry in the bathroom stall at work because I started bleeding again and I knew something was wrong. I know what it's like to spend your first anniversary in a hotel bleeding and dreading the news I knew the news I was going to receive at the doctor the next day. I know what it's like to see the ultrasound and realize that everything's falling apart. I know what it's like to pass impossibly large clots and not want to leave the bathroom because there's so much blood, to wish so much to stop bleeding and then weeks later hope so much I would start bleeding again. But on the other hand I also know how it feels to be pregnant.The joy of seeing that second line turn pink on the pregnancy test. The shock of realizing something reat is growing inside of you.

I was only pregnancy for over 2 months, which isn't very long compared with teh whole 9 most people go through, but it's significant to me. I know what it feels like to be nauseous all day and have to go pee what seems like every five minutes. I know what it's like to sit at work and the best I can do is hold my head up with my hands and stare at the cube wall so I don't go blind from staring at the computer screen. I know what it's like to crash on the couch after work and never want to move again. I know what it's like to see the little smudge on the ultrasound screen and watch the little wave of the heartbeat line and marvel at the miracle inside me. Sometimes that has been the hardest part - to know what my pregnant friends and acquaintances are going through but not really be able to chat about it with them. To kind of be a part of this whole world of pregnancy and preparing for children, but not really be part of the club. Sometimes I kind of feel like I'm in limbo that way. I want to be supportive and relate my own experiences, but it's hard to know how to do that in a way that doesn't bring up all the sad feelings of losing a pregnancy so I usually don't. It's not that I don't want to share, it's just that I don't always know how. And sometimes it's still hard too. The emotion of the whole experience hits me at the most random times. It's still near to my heart, but if you ever need to talk about it I'm here. I may not know exactly what you're feeling or going through, but I know what it's like to have a miscarriage and it's still very near to my heart.

A Life Well Lived

2011-03-05T02:34:00.002-07:00

The past couple weeks I have been pondering a little bit about mortality and the value of a life well lived. My opa (grandpa) and an older man I grew close to on my mission, Brother Craft both passed away at the end of February. They had both been ill - in different ways, but both were ready to pass on. They lived very different lives, but in the end saw that theirs' each was a life well lived.

Attending the funerals and thinking of the many memories I have of these two men, but especially my opa has made me think about what constitutes a life will lived. What can we do that will allow us to live a happy life, bless the lives of those around us and then depart this life in peace? My opa knew the answer to these questions and lived them. He wasn't perfect; none of us are, but he was a selfless, kind man who has blessed my life (and many others) forever. His life was full of challenges and defining moments; the decisions that he made during those times shaped his life to become a life will lived. Our lives work the same way. We are faced with various situations and how we choose to respond to those define who we are and shape us and those around us.

How are others shaped by our decisions? My life was shaped by many of Opa's decisions. Among the big ones are his joining the Church, his fleeing East Germany and moving to America, his serving a mission in Austria and corresponding with and then marrying Oma, his decision to be involved in his grandchildren's life, and his selfless service in whatever was needed of him.

My Crafty Side

2011-02-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

Obviously a lot has happened in the last few months that I haven't blogged about. I hope to be able to, but I'm not making any guarantees. In short the holidays were amazing and we got to spend a lot of time with family! It was so nice not to be in the midst of a wedding and enjoy the time with everyone eating and playing games. We also celebrated our one year anniversary on December 30! I can't believe I am married to such an amazing person! It seems like we've always been together and that's such how it's supposed to be, but this year has also flown by. What a fun, crazy adventure! Along with all the fun, we've been working away and dealing with everything life has thrown at us.

A couple of weeks ago as things were slowing down and I had Martin Luther King, Jr Day off of work I decided to humor my crafty side and spend some time with my mom. Months ago I had picked up some fabric to make an apron, so I decided to actually do it. I have to say I did most of the sewing myself, but my mom helped me throughout the whole process and did a lot too. I think the apron and matching oven mit we put together are pretty awesome. The pictures don't really do them justice. :(

I also wanted to do something fun for my good friend Foss for her baby shower, so I crocheted around a burp cloth and bib for her too. She was my guinea pig as these were my first crocheted baby items, but all things considered I think they turned out alright.

Close up of the crochet stiches on the burp and bib.

The whole finished bib and burp and their coordinating backs.

Close up of the oven mitt lying on the apron.

The oven mit

The whole finished retro ruffle apron!

It definitely looks better in real life, but this gives you the idea!

Who knew I had a crafty side? It is all thanks to my mom. She is such an amazing seamstress/quilter and a patient teacher. I definitely wouldn't have a crafty side without her. Yay for Moms!!

My New Favorite Song!

2011-02-09T16:31:00.002-07:00

For all you who need a reminder :)

2011-01-25T21:34:00.000-07:00

I'm Thankful for...

2010-11-23T08:25:00.003-07:00

America and all of her freedoms! The last year and a half I have been able to spend a lot of time back East immersed in American History. It was so fun to be able to experience so much of our history, and it has really made me more grateful for the miracle of freedom. While Aaron's family was visiting us in Baltimore his brother shared this YouTube video with us and I still love it. The men who stood up for our rights at the risk of their own lives and livelihoods are such an inspiration. Thank you to all who have made our freedom secure - from the past, present and future!

To all you pregnant people out there

2010-11-19T15:39:00.004-07:00

Does anyone else ever feel like they don't have anything to blog about that anyone would want to read? Today is such an occasion for me, so I decided to pass along something I ran across on a blog the other day. This is particularly for all of you pregnant friends out there, but if anyone else sees another use for this no one is stopping you! :)

I found a "free offer" promotion code for nursing covers on a health blog the other day and it looks like a great deal. All you have to pay for is shipping and you get one of these:

Although I'm still not sure how I feel about the name of the brand, Udder Covers you can click for the website: http://www.uddercovers.com/

The promo code is "Thanksgiving" and will take $32 (the cost of the cover) off at checkout. You can also use this to get the 3-piece gift set - it will just cost you$5 plus shipping.

It didn't say when the promotion would end, so it could stop at anytime. I just thought I'd pass this along to those of you who may be interested. Enjoy!

Back to the Gym?

2010-11-12T14:00:00.002-07:00

As background let me explain that the building I work in has a gym that is open to employees really inexpensively. When I started working there in August I thought it would be a great way to break up the day, and as a bonus we were allowed 30 minutes of work time 3 times a week to. Awesome, right? Those were my thoughts exactly.

A couple weeks after I started I brought a bag of gym clothes and meant daily to sign up for the gym. I kept forgetting and putting if off until one day my friend and next door cubicle neighbor invited me to go try out the boot camp-type workout class. I hesitated a little as I hadn't been feeling the best and I had only eaten a little breakfast pretty early that morning (and it was now noon). I rebuked myself for procrastinating once again and decided to go...

It seemed to be going well for a while. The class was pretty intense (even the people who go multiple times a week said it was intense), but I was impressed with myself for how well I was doing. I was only going to stay for 30 or 40 minutes, but as I got into it I just decided to stay... and that my friend was the beginning of the end. About 45 minutes into the class I started to feel a little light headed. I figured I was just over doing it a little on my first day back to the gym, so I went and got a drink. I came back to the floor and starting again but the light headedness got worse, so I sat down. The teacher immediately rebuked me and told me not to sit down - that all of my blood would go to my butt. So I stood up and got another drink. The next thing I know my other friend was telling me I don't look so good and I'm slowly making my way to the floor once again as I tell her I'm not feeling that well. The teacher freaks out as I tell her I'm fine I just feel like I'm going to pass out so I'm going to lie down. I think I almost gave the poor woman a heart attack. I told her I was fine that I probably just hadn't eaten enough today since I had a small breakfast so early this morning, but she was worried. I almost died of embarrassment, but I recovered, changed and made it make to my cubicle.

The teacher came up to check on me and I had to reassure her that I was fine. She said that she wanted me to come back to the class, but she made me promise to get a physical first just to make sure everthing was ok. I agreed to both and although I have been to the doctor for my not-so-yearly physical I have yet to make it back to the gym. Maybe one day... maybe.

Wow! It's Been A Long Time...

2010-11-12T10:13:00.006-07:00

So after more than 2 months I hope that people will still read our blog. I can't believe I've let it slide for so long. I'd like to say my neglect has been because I've been so crazy busy I just haven't had time, but I can't even think of a great excuse. So I'll just jump into what's been going on.

We did make it to the State Fair and it was a blast! Complete with pig racing, deep fried oreos and the big yellow slide! :) It lived up to all my expectations as usual.

For Labor Day the Madsen clan (sans Melissa & Chris) migrated south. We landed in St. George Friday night to see Tarzan at Tuacahn, and it was awesome. It was such a great venue to showcase the gorillas and all of the trapezee-ing, etc. We even stayed around after the show and got pictures with the cast. I'll have to track them down because some of them are pretty awesome. From St. George we continued south to Las Vegas to play with the Newson family and celebrate with our good friends Liz & her new husband Dave. They are so cute together and we're glad we could come down to join in the festivities.

Aaron's grandpa, Aaron Bruce Mendenhall, Jr passed away on October 1st. It was sad to see him leave us, but it was amazing how everyone could feel it was his time. His whole family gave a beautiful funeral service and it was a great experience to learn of his influence in so many people's lives. Aaron's sisters came in from England and Detroit for everything and it was good to be able to spend some time all together. We also got to meet baby Aspen for the first time and she is a doll!

We made it to our first BYU Football game of the season (and probably only live game this year). It was the rainy Wyoming game, but it was a win so we'll take it! :) It wasn't bad once we got there and we sat it the awesome Madsen seats! So no complaining here! Go Cougs!

Halloween was quite exciting as well. We were quite the party animals as we made it 2 parties and were too late for the 3rd we wanted to go to. It was a lot of fun. My friend Jessica lent me an awesome pirate wench costume and then Aaron found all the makings of a pirate costume as well, so we were quite the fearsome couple. :) The pics of the two of us must be on Aaron's camera, but here are Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf (aka my parents) and two of my sisters Carly, Erika and me.

We've also had some fun playing with our nieces and nephews lately. We've had a lot of fun building forts in the living room. One day we'll build a really good one, but this will work for now as our hiding place from the evil skeksis (see The Dark Crystal if you don't know what that is :)).

More will follow and in better time than before (although that won't be hard to do). May you all have a happy feasting season! Bring on the holidays!

Anticipation...

2010-09-01T13:48:00.004-06:00

I LOVE the State Fair! And it's almost here! I can't wait!! September 9th-19th!

I'm Back

2010-08-26T21:25:00.003-06:00

First off I have to announce that we are the proud aunt & uncle of a beautiful baby girl, Aspen Riley Pruett! We are so excited for Aaron's sister Megan & her husband Ben as they embark on the wonderful adventure that is parenthood! We can't wait to meet her! She is just so precious!

Now after that precious introduction and a much longer than anticipated hiatus I am finally writing again. We have been back in Utah for just about 2 months and it has been quite crazy, but great. I thought we would get home and have tons of time to just play with everyone we haven't seen forever, but that's not really how it has worked out. We haven't even been grocery shopping since we've been home if that tells you anything...well beside the occasional quick trip to grab a needed item for a party or something. July was brimming with fabulous family events that included a trip to Colorado for cousin Preston's wedding, the Madsen Family Campout at Bear Lake, family BBQ's, moving into Aaron's parents' house, Aaron joining his dad's practice and a trip to Fish Lake (not quite in that order). We played right up until the time that I started my new job at the Utah Department of Health.

I feel so blessed to have found such a great job so quickly! I'm working as an epidemiologist and data manager for the Utah Environmental Public Health Tracking Network. Basically I work with data to track health outcomes and environmental hazards. If you want to know more you can ask me about it. :) I was pretty lucky to take over the job from my friend John who just moved to North Carolina to pursue a PhD - the luckiest part was the 2 week overlap we had for John to impart as much of his wisdom as I could absorb. I still feel like I'm really slow, but I'm starting to get more and more comfortable with what I'm doing. And I really like everyone I work with so that's always a huge bonus!

Aaron is also settling into his role as a dentist. So if any of you are in need of a new dentist search no more! :) My sister Erika was his first official patient of his own; I'll have to get a testimonial from her before she comes in again to get her cavity filled! If you're interested you can check out the practice's website at www.drroundy.com. It should be updated soon with Aaron's information as well, but the phone numbers are the same! He's also looking for somewhere else to work for a day or two a week, so I'll keep you all posted on how that goes!

There's so much to write about and pictures to post that I can't do it all in one sitting, so the anticipation continues. I'll write again soon though. Until then...

Seriously Behind

2010-07-19T14:07:00.010-06:00

To say I'm a little behind would be quite the understatement. I hope I can capture adequately everything that has been going on. Just a warning - that will probably involve way too many pictures because I love them so much!

Way back for Memorial Day we went to visit some of my close friends from my mission who now live in Norfolk, VA. We stopped at Colonial Williamsburg on our way and had a blast traveling back in time.

I can't find my other pictures with Chris & Lori right now, but they took us down to Virginia Beach and around the naval base and then we enjoyed some time at the beach!

This is out of order, but just a couple of days before we left Baltimore we went to our last O's game with our good friends the Michael & Marilyn.

My sisters, Erika & Carly came for a visit and we had a great time taking them around DC & Baltimore seeing all the sites.
The SmithsoniansThe monuments

Baltimore - the Inner Harbor
The National Cathedral
My friend Betsy from work and I organized an IGTC O's Game Outing for our office. I still need to get the picture of all of us from Lisa, but it was really fun to get out of the office and have some fun together. I already miss everyone at IGTC.
The weekend before we went to Jamaica we took one last trip up to PA to visit my aunt & uncle and their family up there. We drove up to a pay pond near the Poconos and had some adventures fishing with the kids!

It was so cute to see them cast their lines and then get so excited when the fish would bite (on pretty much every cast) and then real them in and get a little freaked out! We loved it!

JAMAICA!
We finally made it to our belated honeymoon trip just a few days before we drove home at the end of June. It was pretty much blissful!

We snorkeled and swam in the warm Caribbean Sea!
Ate a ton of delicious food!
Took many romantic strolls on the beachDid some more snorkeling and snuck some paparazzi pictures in between our hours of laying out and reading on the beach!

Experienced 6 gorgeous Jamaican sunsets on the beach and pretty much wished we never had to come home! It was a great trip!THE DRIVE HOME!!
In the 3 days we had in Baltimore after we got back from Jamaica we sold/gave away all of our furniture and packed up the rest of our possessions in our little red Corolla and set out for our 7 day journey across the country.

Stop 1: Detroit!
We drove up to Detroit to visit Aaron's sister, Megan and her husband Ben. We had a blast crashing residents' parties and eating Middle Eastern food!

Eastern Market was seriously amazing. I wish they something like that here in Utah!

The Henry Ford Museum.
This is the bus that Rosa Parks refused to move on. Aaron and I are reenacting a picture taken on the bus that's on display in the museum.

Stop 2: Nauvoo!

The Joseph Smith homestead
The Nauvoo Temple! We were able to go on a session while we were there and it is such an amazing place!

Stop 3: Mission Lands: Independence & Topeka
I couldn't drive across the country without stopping to visit people I love and miss from my mission!
We were able to go to lunch with Pat & Jerry Moore - I'll have to tell their story some time it is absolutely amazing! And it was so fun too see them!

Visiting the Craft's in Independence!

Celebrating my birthday in Topeka with the Paz & Fechter's!
Thank you for making it so special!!
The Ashley's in Topeka were generous enough to let us stay at their house and we loved seeing them too! It was way too quick of a drive through, but it was so fun to see everyone we were able to!

Stop 4: Colorado
We somehow escaped Aaron's aunt and uncle's in Loveland, CO without taking any pictures, but we are so grateful they let us stay at the Hotel Roundy. :) It was so fun to get to know more of Aaron's family and we're excited to visit again this weekend for Preston's wedding!

We finally made it home and unloaded our car. It doesn't look like that much but imagine being crammed in a little Corolla with all that stuff for a week... :) It was definitely an adventure!

The end. For now at least... I'll give you all some time to recover from this monstrous post!

PS - For those of you who made it to the end of the post and are in Utah, we're hoping our life will calm down a little bit soon so we can play! I'll update more on what we've been up to since being in Utah soon!

Teaser...

2010-06-24T14:05:00.003-06:00

Sorry I've been a total slacker on updating the blog. The last few weeks have been pretty packed and we're leaving early tomorrow morning for our cross-country drive so a full update is still going to be delayed. I wanted to leave a little teaser for our Jamaica trip though, just to get you all excited! We had a blast and more pictures and full report is to come. Yeah mon!

Lilac - the Color of Dentistry

2010-06-01T20:46:00.004-06:00

On Friday, May 21, 2010 Aaron Preston Roundy was bestowed the degree Doctor of Dental Surgery from the Baltimore School of Dental Surgery. To honor Dr. Roundy on this great accomplishment we had a lot of family in town to celebrate. It was so fun to spend time with everyone and to be able to share this with those we love. We are all so proud of you Aaron!

Aaron's dad got to hood him and it was so fun to watch them have that moment together! (PS - the lighting at the convocation was horrible, so sorry the pics aren't the greatest)

The Dr's Roundy!
Brayden and me entertaining ourselves while we were waiting for things to get going...
I was lucky enough to swoop in and catch the last few months of dental school, but Aaron's parents are really the ones who supported him all the way through! Thank you!!
Rocking the Lilac!

The whole party crew! Thank you everyone for coming out! It was so fun to have you!!

We sort of missed the commencement processional, but don't worry we got this great picture and made it to the arena in plenty of time!

The LDS Academy of Dentists plus wives
(I would add and husband, but Michael was MIA).
Aaron giving us a tour of the state of the art facilities as the school between convocation and commencement.

The end of all the formal ceremonies... hooray for being done!It was such a great week and I am so proud of Aaron! Thank you to everyone who helped make this such a special occasion! Hooray for being done with school... FOREVER!!

Harpers Ferry & The Duffins Together Forever

2010-06-01T18:10:00.005-06:00

To celebrate the union of Preston & Emily Duffin that took place in Boise, ID a few weeks earlier Aaron and I along with our friends Justin & Beth made our way down to Fredericksburg, VA by way of Harpers Ferry, WV. Our friend Kristen told us Harpers Ferry was a must see and it was definitely worth the detour. Its a quaint little historic town that played a role in the Civil War as the site of John Brown's Raid. Enjoy the pics!

An old-fashioned billboard!

The Catholic church on the hill - gorgeous!

Looking back toward the town and the railroad tracks.

Some geese with some cute little goslings.

Down by the river... so pretty!

Celebrating with Dr. & Mrs. Duffin at the Gauntlet Country Club in Fredericksburg. Congrats!

The lovely couple! Good luck in Ohio, Korea & Hawaii.
We'll definitely be visiting! :)

Paintballing

2010-06-01T17:44:00.003-06:00

Here are a few pics from our paintballing adventure a few weeks ago. I have to say I was a little nervous going for the first time, but I psyched myself out so much that there was no way it could be as bad as I had imagined. It turned out really fun! I left with only one bruise, but Aaron wasn't so lucky. He had all sorts of welts... he must have been a little more daring than me...

CSA's

2010-05-19T10:26:00.007-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I noticed a flyer in an elevator at work that featured a few pictures of vegetables, a website and the words "Community Support Agriculture." I was instantly intrigued and jotted down the website. I am now completely enthralled by this idea.

To begin let me explain a little bit more of what community supported agriculture (CSA) is. CSA is basically a bringing together of the farmer and the consumer. A consumer (for example, you) is basically given an opportunity to invest in the farm. You purchase a share of the crops up front (around March-April) and then pick up a lovely share of the harvest each week for several weeks once crops are ready.

For example, Aaron and I recently purchased a share from Tagge's Famous Fruit. After I had researched many CSA farms in Utah, specifically ones that have pick-up points in the Salt Lake Valley we decided on Tagge's. I contacted Thayne who was very helpful and excited to inform me that they were still accepting CSA customers for a couple more weeks. I then went online and paid our $275 up front. Now I am anxiously awaiting our first pick-up on July 8th and the subsequent 14 weeks when I will go to the pick-up spot conveniently located at 10600 So and 1300 East in Sandy and pick up my fresh produce at no additional cost! YUM!

I think it is such a fun idea with so many benefits for both the farmer and the consumer. Many of the farms I looked into had a desire and excitement to create relationships with their CSA customers. Some even offer canning classes and other suggestions on how to use or store extra produce. One CSA I saw had a pumpkin patch and as part of your share you can bring your family down to the farm and pick your pumpkins in October. I was also assured by some of the people I talked with that they treat their CSA's as their best customers! They want to you to invest again next year. :)

I love that this is a way to support local farmers! It helps the farmers especially during the pre-harvest period when they are pouring in a lot of money into the farm to prepare the crops for harvest, but not receiving any income. It also helps them a little bit in planning how much to plant, etc. as they have a guaranteed market.

I could just go on and on, but if you are interested a really great website I found for Utah CSAs is csautah.org. If you live elsewhere I'm sure you can google it. If you'd like my notes for a variety of farms I looked into feel free to shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment and I'd be happy to send them to you! Also, here is a link to a post about CSA's on the Hopkins CLF blog. Enjoy!

PS - We have been quite busy the last few weeks and have lots to blog about... paintballing, Harpers Ferry, Preston & Emily's wedding, family visits, Aaron's graduation (this Friday!), etc. So stay posted, one day I'll get to it all! And yes, it will be me. Aaron still refuses to actually contribute to the blog. :(

Graduation!

2010-05-06T19:28:00.006-06:00

Two weeks ago Aaron and I made a quick trip back to Utah so we could attend my graduation festivities. It was so fun to see our family and to reunite with the cohort. We had a blast! We ate way too much, played a lot of games and pretty much got way too excited to move back to Utah. For all of you we weren't able to see (and who live in Utah) we're excited to be back to play in t-minus two months and counting.

Don't get me wrong we are loving our time together here in Baltimore, but there's just so much we're excited for back in Utah we're getting a little anxious. The time is sure to go quickly though. Aaron graduates in 2 weeks and we'll have lots of family in town to celebrate. This Saturday we're going paint balling - thank you Marilyn and Michael for planning that adventure. Tomorrow we're going to the dental school picnic. We're still planning a few more "East Coast Adventures," and we're counting down to Jamaica! So pretty much the next couple of months are going to be crazy, but so much fun!

Here are a few pictures from graduation. I stole some from Lauren (thanks!). Enjoy!

Down on the floor before the college convocation with Dr. Cole!
And YES, that is SALMON! You know you're jealous.

It IS a hood! Go Hogwarts! I miss you guys!

MPH Cohort 7! The best cohort ever!!
My support crew! Thank you for everything!

My parents.

That's my man!

The Book of Mormon

2010-05-03T07:49:00.001-06:00

To see the video on YouTube and to "like" it click this link. Unfortunately I haven't figured out how to make it small enough to fit the video in the window, but the testimony of Elder Holland is powerful and worth 4 minutes and 40 seconds to watch. I know The Book of Mormon is the word of God. I am so thankful to Joseph and Hyrum and all those who were willing to sacrifice even their lives for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Gettysburg

2010-05-02T17:03:00.005-06:00

A few weeks ago (April 17) we took a day trip up to Gettysburg, PA. Site of one of the most famous battles and a major turning point of the American Civil War. We had both been to Gettysburg before on various family vacations, but I didn't remember much at all. It is such a fun experience to drive all around the area and view the different vantage points and learn the strategies and events related to the battle.

Posing with Honest Abe outside of the new Visitors' Center.

Peering down from Little Round Top.

Some period cannon and monuments along the drive.
The Pennsylvania Memorial
We lucked out and got to see a little reenactment!
Aaron at "the clump of trees."
It is fun to see the landmarks from across the battlefield and then close up.

The Angle

Within the Soldiers National Cemetery.

A view of a couple of different types of markers...
In memorial of the Gettysburg Address. President Lincoln actually stood a little bit further into the cemetery, but this was dedicated to the remembering of that simple, exquisite address.In his address President Lincoln stated, "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."

He was right about the world not forgetting what happened on those fields that President Lincoln "dedicated" that day and that the soldiers consecrated with their lives, but he was very wrong about the impression his address would have on history. Thank you President Lincoln for your words of wisdom, and for letting the world (and future speech writers) know that it's not the length of the speech that determines the impact it will have. Hooray for history!

Birthday, Baseball & Sakura Matsuri

2010-04-14T19:42:00.007-06:00

One of the fun things about living out here in Baltimore is all the fun that surrounds us. This weekend the National Cherry Blossom Festival wrapped up down in DC with the annual parade followed by the Sakura Matsuri, or Japanese Street Festival. Monday was also Aaron's birthday! We celebrated by going to the O's game with some friends.

We caught quite a bit of the parade, and even got to see Miss America sing!

Here's a video of a bit of the street festival and some of the yummy food we ate. I'm not sure it was completely authentic Japanese, but it was good.

Aaron eating some of the "chicken on a stick" as the sign read. Others called it "chicken teriyaki." Whatever it was it was delicious!

We got to see Ryan & Laura while they were here visiting! We only got to see them for a few minutes on Saturday before they were off seeing the rest of the DC sites, but we got to have dinner with them Sunday down in Virginia. Thanks Shanna for hosting all of us!

Some of the Taiko Drummers performing for the crowds.
They were pretty awesome!

The Cherry Blossoms had pretty much all fallen from the rain a couple of days earlier, but the tulips were blooming beautifully!

The Tidal Basin... hooray for Spring!

Monday, April 12th! Aaron's Birthday at the Orioles game.
Justin, me, Aaron, Marilyn, Michael
Thanks for celebrating with us!

Me and the old man. Happy Birthday Aaron!

Unfortunately Aaron ate all of his surprise birthday eclair from Vaccaro's before I could take a picture. It must have been good though. :) Happy Spring!

Blossoms, Basketball & Easter Eggs

2010-04-07T19:19:00.008-06:00

Last week the National Cherry Blossom Festival kicked off down in DC, so we ventured down to DC a little early to enjoy the blossoms before we met the Hunters for the Wizards v. Jazz game.

Some gorgeous non-cherry blossoms

The Waterfront with some beautiful blossoms & the Jefferson

I love how the colorful blossoms pop out from the winter barren trees!

Wizards v. Jazz. . . go Jazz!

Easter Egg Hunt up in Owings Mills with Aaron some dental school friends and their families. It was so fun to watch all the kids search for the eggs!

Dying Easter Eggs!

My pride and joy - the rainbow egg!

The dashing egg model... so hot right now

With spring literally blooming and Easter and General Conference drawing our attention to our Savior and His miraculous resurrection I am so grateful for the hope that comes only through Jesus Christ. I love the constant reminders of miracles and rebirth that surround us this beautiful season. After a cold, dark, snowy winter, the hope of warmth, color and life is finally realized once again! Happy Spring!

Spring Break!

2010-04-03T20:32:00.012-06:00

For Aaron's Spring Break a couple of weeks ago we decided to take advantage of our proximity to family and church history sites via a rockin' road trip. Here are a few highlights (and by a few I mean a whole ton of pictures - brace yourself).

1st Stop: Madsen Family of PA

My aunt and uncle and their family live just a few short hours north of us, and we have been wanting to visit again since we have settled in Baltimore. We decided they would make an awesome first stop on our road trip. Thank you Madsen's! We'll be back!

Spencer & Aaron zoned into the wii.

Caitlin watching her dad bowl!

The best group shot of our bowling adventures, and yes that is saying something.

2nd Stop: Palmyra

Christus at the VC. Notice the Sacred Grove as the background.

More of the inside at the Visitors' Center. Beautiful "stained glass" depiction of Joseph receiving the plates from Moroni.

Hill Cumorah monument.

Aaron "searching for the plates" on the back of the hill.

At the Smith Farm. The attic of the log home (right) where Moroni appeared to 17-year old Joseph Smith, and the frame home (left).

The Sacred Grove. We were hoping to catch "early Spring" like Joseph Smith recorded, but I think we were a little too early. The Spirit there was amazing though, and it was so nice to have the whole grove to ourselves!

Grandin Building, the location of the first printing of the Book of Mormon, 1830.

The site of the Martin Harris Farm, just out of town.

Stop 3: Fayette, NY

The Peter Whitmer Home & Visitors' Center in Fayette, NY

Stop 4: Seneca Falls, NY

Fayette was so close to Seneca Falls I couldn't resist. We stopped in at the Women's Rights National Park and learned more about the fight for women's rights in America.

(Notice that Aaron wouldn't be in any of the pictures...)

Stop 5: Mendon, NY

Tomlinson Inn where the Young family was introduced to the gospel. Samuel Smith presented Phineas Young with a copy of the Book of Mormon.

Tomlinson Corners Cemetary
The grave marker of Miriam Works Young, Brigham Young's first wife.

Solomon Kimball's (Heber C. Kimball's father) restored headstone.

Half of the original John Young home (Brigham's father). The other half has been moved across the street. The senior missionary couple who are living here saw us taking pictures and invited us in. They were so sweet, and told us more about the home and the area! Thank you!

Searching for the site of Brigham Young's home and saw mill. We're not sure if we really ever found it, but it was a fun adventure!

This could maybe be it... maybe...

Spring Break! continued

2010-04-03T18:51:00.015-06:00

Stop 6: Kirtland, OH

(including Hiram, OH, Amish Country & Fairport Harbor, Lake Eerie)

Historic Kirtland village.

Upper room of the Newel K. Whitney
store where the school of the prophets
was held.

The Newel K. Whitney store.

The Saw Mill The Ashery. Wicked cool.

The stone quarry where the saints got the stone to build the Kirtland temple (since the bricks in the area were sub-par). You can still see the marks from when they cut the stone!

The John Johnson Home & Farm. All of the paint colors are authentic to the original home, and it's a sign of prosperity (white and red were the cheapest colors - and thus the most common). It amazes me how much the Johnson's were willing to give up, including their beautiful, large dream house to follow the prophet!

This is the bedroom Joseph & Emma slept in

when he was attacked by the mob, tarred &

feathered but then preached on the steps the

next morning.

(Notice the checkboard floors.)

The Elder preaching where Joseph Smith

would preach on the steps of the John Johnson home.

A shot of the carriage house and barn.

Riding in the Amish buggy at the Middlefield

Cheese Factory. Yes, we did find a cheese

factory! And I loved it!

Mary Yoder's Amish Restaurant. Yay for Amish country.

Fairport Harbor on Lake Eerie. Some of the saints sailed into this harbor on their journey to gather in "the Ohio." There's a really cool story about the harbor in New York being frozen over and none of the ships being able to get out, but Mother Smith (Lucy Mack) prayed that the company with her would be able to leave. The ice cracked and it was open long enough for their boat to leave and then closed right up. Looking at the frozen harbor (at the end of March) I can totally understand how frozen the harbors could get.

The Lighthouse at Fairport Harbor.

The Kirtland Temple - absolutely amazing! I can't believe how the Saints were able to build this, and then for it to last for so long.

The Kirtland Cemetary.

A Little Catching Up

2010-04-03T18:19:00.004-06:00

So, we have been a little neglectful of downloading pictures an updating the blog so here is a little bit of what we've been up to lately (with the exception of our trip - that will be it's own post).

Valentine's roses for me...

Valentine's sour patch kids for Aaron!

Valentine's tulips from my dad! I am so lucky to be one of his delightful, darling daughters!

Aaron's cousin Neil came up to visit while he was attending a conference in Bethesda. It was so fun to have visitors! You are all welcome... :)

We met some of my friends from BYU down in DC for dinner, but we wandered around for a while first. We discovered a few monuments we have never seen before!

Where Aaron proposed.

The monument for the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Super cool. It's one of my new favorites.

The White House. This is the closest I've ever been!

Celebrating Aaron being done with boards with appetizers & cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory!

Sunbeams

2010-03-29T10:16:00.010-06:00

Yesterday our sunbeams were especially cute so I thought I'd share some of their moments.

Moment 1: For sharing time we were talking about prophets and there were pictures of 4 prophets on the board. One of the older kids picked the picture of Jesus getting baptized, and Sister G asked who was in the picture baptizing Jesus. The older kids were struggling and Sister G was about to help them when Mr. J (one of our sunbeams) shouts out, "John the Baptist." Sister G was a little shocked and exclaimed that he was right! Point 1 for the sunbeams!

Moment 2: Sister G then asked who else wanted to pick a picture. Miss A (another one of our sunbeams) can be pretty shy, but I knew she knew the pictures so I asked if she wanted to go pick one. She went up to the board and pointed to a picture of Joseph Smith. Sister G then asked if she knew who it was and she half whispered, "Joseph Smith." It was really cute. Point 2 for the sunbeams!

Moment 3: We moved onto singing time and continuing with the prophets theme Sister A put up 5 more pictures of prophets (all of which were the subject of a verse of "Follow the Prophet"). She asked if anyone knew any of the prophets and Mr. T (another one of our sunbeams) shouts out, "Samuel!" We expecting the kids to guess Moses holding the 10 Commandments or one of the more talked about stories, but no. Mr. T knew Samuel! He shocked everyone! Point 3 for the sunbeams!

We got many more comments yesterday about how cute the sunbeams were and how much they knew! We wish we could take credit, but the amazingness of the sunbeams has to go to the wonderful parents who take the time to teach their children and the sunbeams who learn much more than we tend to give them credit for!

Boards!

2010-03-22T09:22:00.004-06:00

While we were gone last week for Spring Break, Aaron received the results from the patient-based boards (dental licensing test) he took last Thursday and...

HE PASSED! and with flying colors I might add!

I am so proud of him! He totally rocked every part of the examination. He is now done with all sections of the boards and almost set for graduation in May! Watch out for Dr. Roundy!

EllaRue Photography

2010-03-11T11:39:00.002-07:00

Hey. I just realized that I neglected to attribute our beautiful wedding photos (& bridals) to Shayna at EllaRue Photography! She did an amazing job and was so fun to work with! We would totally recommend her. If you're looking for a wedding photographer or for someone to take family pictures she's awesome!

You can also check out her blog... she posted some of our pictures recently!

http://ellaruephoto.blogspot.com/

Game of the Week

2010-03-08T09:17:00.005-07:00

We really enjoy playing games and do so often. We have our favorites, but we also love to try new games. I thought it would be fun to share some games we have discovered and to get ideas for new games we should try.

This week one of our new favorite games is Ticket to Ride: Europe! Our friends Justin and Beth bought it and we LOVE it! Hopefully they won't get sick of playing it with us!

Here's a brief synopsis of the game from Boardgame Revolution:

"Ticket to Ride Europe takes you on a new train adventure across Europe. From Edinburgh to Constantinople and from Lisbon to Moscow, you'll visit great cities of turn-of-the-century Europe. More than just a new map, Ticket to Ride – Europe features brand new gameplay elements including Tunnels, Ferries and Train Stations. The game will also include larger format cards and Train Station game pieces."

There is an original "Ticket to Ride" which we have not played, but we heard that the Europe one was more fun anyway.

Please feel free to share your opinion of this game or other games you would or would not recommend! Happy gaming!

Ramblings in Response

2010-03-05T14:47:00.003-07:00

Just up front – I probably won’t post like this very often at all. There was just a lot I wanted to respond to from another post, so I thought I’d do it here. My friend Ashley posted a fiery post on her blog recently about educated women and the way that women of the Church view education. It may be helpful to read her post and the comments from it first as I’m partly responding to her post.

I agree that some women get defensive because they don't want to feel demeaned. I think that many people defend their choices by pushing them on others to prevent feeling inferior, but I don’t want to get into that. I believe our society today (both in the Church and outside of it) is more supportive of women achieving educational goals (as it should be), but I also believe there will always be those who have chosen not to pursue the path to “higher education” who will defend their choice by justification and defensiveness. I also believe that a woman's education extends beyond one she obtains formally. I feel like both of my parents are highly educated and value education (as exemplified by 2 daughters with masters degrees, one who just finished her bachelors and one getting ready to head right into college), even though they both received only some formal college education. They are successful and have raised (in my opinion) a very successful family!

I know many extraordinary women, some who have advanced degrees and some who for whatever reason did not pursue higher education. I have learned a lot from (and I owe a lot to) all of these women. I don’t believe that any woman should be classified as educated or uneducated, especially in the Church. We all have circumstances in life that we have to react to and make sacrifices for. That being said I think that everyone (including women) should pursue as much education (formal and informal) as possible, and I think that that is one of the many great things about the Church – it urges us to do so.

Weber Stake Academy, 1905

I personally am one of those daughters of my parents with a master’s degree. I worked hard and really enjoyed school. I felt that it was important for me to continue pursuing my education and I was blessed to be able to do so. I can’t say that I would have made all of the same choices had I been presented with different opportunities and choices in life. We can each only make choices with what we are presented with, and that is and always will be different for each and everyone one of us. Like serving a mission, I firmly believe that what I learned on my mission will make me a better wife and mother. Does that mean that someone who didn’t serve a mission can’t be an incredible wife or mother, absolutely not!! It’s just what I needed! I believe that education can work in much the same way. How blessed we are to have a loving Heavenly Father to guide us down the path that is the best for us. My hope is that we all support each other on our respective paths, not with a judging eye but with a compassionate heart.

That being said I also think we need to urge young women today to seek education and as the scriptures admonish, “Seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” I could go on and on, but I don’t want to add any more to my disjointed ramblings. Thanks Ash for getting me thinking about this today. I hope your RS experiences improve in the future!

Officially Hooked Up!

2010-02-24T11:24:00.005-07:00

Well it's official. We are now "on the line" and "all set up." We sold a small part of our souls to Comcast last night and finally tech-ed up our apartment. We now personally have cable & internet in our very own living room! Thanks to Justin & Beth and the Barre Boys for your willingness to facilitate our Lost addiction the past few weeks, and we apologize to whoever we were piggy backing off of for wireless. It won't happen again! :)

Aaron is especially excited now that we can watch women's figure skating! Bring on the Olympics!

Finally - WEDDING PICTURES!

2010-02-22T12:32:00.014-07:00

Here is a sneak peek of the wedding pictures. There are way too many to post here (and it takes forever), but you can access the rest in the Picassa web albums I created:

http://picasaweb.google.com/camillemadsen/WeddingTemple

http://picasaweb.google.com/camillemadsen/WeddingReception

or on Facebook.

Enjoy!

Shout Out to Ashley

2010-02-22T12:26:00.003-07:00

I just wanted to give a shout out and congratulations to my good friend and fellow BYU MPHer, Ashley Suker for her successful defense of her Masters Project last Thursday! Hooray for passing academic rites of passage! The worst if now over!

JAMAICA or bust!

2010-02-19T12:22:00.008-07:00

It's official! We have booked our belated honeymoon!

We're going here:

To stay here:

To lay out here:

And pretty much have a blissful vacation! June can't come soon enough!

PS - My patience was rewarded on Wednesday with not one, but TWO packages! Wedding pictures are coming soon, but unfortunately our Internet is MIA until Tuesday and my computer at work apparently doesn't have a DVD drive... I know. What are the odds. But they're coming soon, promise! Love from Baltimore!

WAITING

2010-02-17T09:15:00.004-07:00

I hate waiting for mail, but I love getting it! My parents sent us a package forever ago (ok like 5 days ago), and everyday I come home and ask, "Did the package come." And Aaron always gets this sad look on his face and says, "nope!" I'm a little obsessed now. But I blame it on the fact that the mail didn't deliver for at least a week because of the storms, and on the on-line tracking feature of the USPS. I've been following the package multiple times a day for the last few days. I'ts been in Baltimore since Sunday - hurry up and get to my apartment! Hopefully it comes today!!

PS - The package contains a disk of the wedding pictures (another reason for my impatience), so stay tuned for that post! Assuming the package ever arrives. :)

Snowpocalypse

2010-02-12T15:03:00.006-07:00

SNOW!!! and lots of it has been falling, falling. . . Last Friday a major snow storm hit Baltimore and left us a beautiful 2 feet of snow! It was beautiful, but it closed the city of Baltimore for the weekend. We enjoyed a nice long weekend trapped inside, but made the most of it. We played a lot of Settlers (and made addicts out of some our friends), Boggle, cards, etc. We also ventured out in the snow to walk the streets and clear off the car.

Monday the roads were somewhat drivable, but our car was still trapped by the two feet of snow in the unplowed roads.

We were all geared up for Tuesday and I was ready to fly out to one of my best friend's wedding, but apparently the weather was gearing up as well and the threat of another 6-10 inches of snow canceled my flight. :( This second storm hit later Tuesday afternoon and was pretty harsh. It was a lot windier and created drifts. We still don't know how much more snow fell as some places had nothing on the ground and a few feet away was up to our knees! (Not that I really know, I didn't go out but Aaron did.)

To top it all off the University of Maryland opened again for school today, so I assumed Hopkins did as well. Not so. I rode the bus all the way to work (which took an amazingly long time and I had to walk further to catch my bus due to weather limitations), but when I went to get in the row house where the office is located I found the front door locked! I couldn't even get into the key pad to get into the building proper. Foiled in my attempts I called my boss who was surprised, but told me to go home and that we'll get back to work on Monday. Good times.

Well here are some other pics from a little excursion we took a couple weeks ago up to the Inner Harbor.

Domestication

2010-02-01T13:02:00.003-07:00

When Aaron and I first moved here to Baltimore and undertook our "move in" grocery excursion Aaron suggested that we buy baking basics (flour, sugar, baking soda, etc.). My first thought was, "I'm pretty sure I told him I don't bake." I don't know if he saw the look on my face or just felt the nonexcitement emanating from my mind, but he continued saying that he thought it would be fun for us to bake together. He said he always saw the married guys bring homemade cookies they had made with their wives and thought it would be fun. I was hesitant, but what kind of wife would I be if I refused to buy flour? Don't get me wrong, I really like to cook... but I'm not known for my baking skills! But we collected all the necessary items from the baking aisle and continued with our shopping.

A couple weeks later Aaron suggested that we make some chocolate chip cookies. I was a little less hesitant as I was excited for cookies and something we could do together. We faithfully followed the recipe on the back of the chocolate chips package and made some pretty delicious cookies... that even stayed soft until they were all eaten! (May not seem like a big deal to most of you, but it is for me.) I was pleased with our baking experience. Although Aaron liked the cookies he said that he generally liked his chocolate chip cookies chewier. Although we didn't do anything about it then, the unintended challenge was issued and I felt the need to make chewier chocolate chip cookies!

So yesterday I had a hankering to be in the kitchen, but we had been invited to our bishop's house for dinner so I didn't need to make dinner. I decided that I would try making some different cookies... I originally wanted to make sugar cookies, but I had shot down purchasing shortening and was subsequently thwarted in my sugar cookie desires... darn kharma. So I decided to try my hand at chewier chocolate chip cookies.

Thanks to Martha Stewart's Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe, I believe my attempt was a success! After some issues with the baking time were solved, the chewy chocolate chip cookies were just about perfect!

Any other tips of easy baking recipes we could try our hand at?

Bridals

2010-01-25T09:25:00.014-07:00

So I realized the other day that I never posted any of my bridal pictures anywhere. Before the wedding I didn't want Aaron to stumble upon them and see them, and then I just never posted them. So although it's a few months after the fact I hope you enjoy them!

Memory Grove

Galivan Plaza

Orange Wall by the old Cafe Pierpont (I can't remember what it's called now)

Plaza somewhere Downtown SLC

Right to Work

2010-01-19T11:05:00.004-07:00

Our ward out here in Baltimore doesn't waste any time! The week after we moved in we got a call to meet with the Bishop; so our second week at church we went early to meet with the bishop and received our first calling as a couple... PRIMARY!

Aaron and I are teaching the 3 & 4 year olds. We taught our class for the first time on Sunday and they are so cute! We have three boys and one little girl. They are great but a little restless as most of them are right out of nursery, so we decided more interactive activities/lessons would be best. We're also all about the snacks, so yesterday we invested in some major goldfish! They seemed to like the granola bars we brought on Sunday, but we decided to go classic and buy the fish! Much to Aaron's dismay, but in true public health fashion we got the whole grain goldfish... we'll let you know how they are.

If you have any tips or great lesson ideas we're always open to suggestions!

Getting Started

2010-01-13T09:43:00.005-07:00

As we enter the world of married life we decided our transition could not be complete without starting a blog. So here we go...

To say the least the past few weeks have been a complete whirlwind. I finished up school to graduate with my Masters of Public Health (I think... I should check on that), Aaron and I got married, we went on a 2 day honeymoon, I moved to Baltimore, we moved into our new apartment, I started a new job at the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at Johns Hopkins, and we've been settling into all of the changes! It all sounds pretty crazy, but everything has worked out so well it is absolutely amazing!

The wedding went really well. Thanks to everyone who made it to the reception! I know the weather was pretty bad, but it meant a lot for those of you who did make it! Everything worked out so well with the temple and the reception and everything. Aaron and I were trying to think of anything that went wrong and we couldn't think of anything! (well besides the weather, but we couldn't really do anything about that and it worked out too). Here are just a few pictures from the temple and reception:

Yes, it was pretty frigid! But the pictures turned out really pretty with the snow, so I guess it was worth it. We both got to keep all of our toes too, so that was an added bonus! The reception was beautiful too! I can't wait to get all of the pictures back. We'll share more when we get them!

For the honeymoon we went up to Midway for a little two night getaway, and it was perfect! We stayed at a little Bed & Breakfast that had a steam room and sauna in our bathroom! We would totally recommend the Invited Inn! It is run by an older couple who are insanely hospitable and make breakfast in the morning and hors d'oeuvres in the afternoon. To top it all off, we were right next to these wicked cool ice castles!

Life is definitely great! We love and miss you all! More updates from Baltimore to come.