Hey friends!!!! Wow, we all must be busy living very exciting lives because this little blog has really fallen by the wayside. Hopefully you guys even still check it... We need to have a party sometime soon! Kylie and Steph, are you guys going to be visiting in Utah anytime soon??

Well, we have some pretty big news here at the Orton house that I wanted to let you guys in on:

Our little family is growing!!! We're due the beginning of December so I'm about 12 weeks along right now. We got to hear the little heart beat for the first time on Friday. It was amazing! We couldn't be more excited! Sometimes it still seems a little surreal that we're actually having a baby and going to be parents, but we're so thrilled! Hopefully, as long as the baby cooperates and is in a good position, we'll get to find out next month if it's a boy or girl. So exciting :)

I love you guys and am so grateful for all of you in my life! I miss you lots and hope all of your lives are going well.

I love to see the temple

Hello Lovely Ladies,

I just wanted to let you all know that I will be going through the Las Vegas Temple to receive my endowment on May 30, 2012. I am so excited!

I told you guys while I was up in Utah that my stake president had said no because of my age. When I got back home, I made an appointment to meet with him. I still felt strongly about going through and I wanted to ask him if he would fast and pray about it with me. I went into it knowing there was a possibility that I still would not be allowed to go through, but if that answer was given as a result of fasting and prayer and not just the fact that I was 23, I would be satisfied. At the end of our meeting, he told me he felt impressed to go forward with this.

I talked to my Bishop the following Sunday and he was so excited for me. He said he was proud that I went to meet with the stake president and when the stake president asked him if he felt good about me going through he said, "HECK YES!!" haha. I've felt really grateful for the positive response from my church leaders, family and friends. Part of me was worried they would question me going through or discourage me from going through so young but they have been so supportive. When I told my grandparents yesterday, they were so excited for me and gave me some good advice. My grandma then proceeded to tell me that the single men usually go to the 6:00am sessions so they can be out in time for work. Silly Grandma!

I got my recommend from my bishop a couple weeks ago and then met with my stake president today so it's official. I know this is the right thing for me to do at this time in my life. I'm so grateful for this gospel and I know it's true! I know that my Heavenly Father knows who I am and has a plan for me. I can't wait to receive the blessings that wait for me in the temple!

Gender Reveal Party

On Thursday, JD and I will be able to know the gender of our baby at our ultrasound. We are going to have them write it on a slip of paper and find out together with our friends & family at a gender reveal party on Friday night. You are all invited! Friday night at 7 pm at our place in Lehi. There will be dinner & treats. Let us know if you can make it :)

Fashion HELP!!!!

Okay, I feel really silly but I need help from you fashion forward ladies! I found this awesome leather (not real leather) jacket at TJ Maxx for $15 the other day and my first instinct was I really loved it. I brought it home and Jeremy wasn't too sure about it... he thought it was cute but too a little too motor-cycle mama or 80's rock chick or something. So now I'm torn! I'm really trying to get out of my boring fashion rut that I'm in and trying to branch out... but I can't decide if this was a good one or if I should just take it back. Be honest-- if you don't like it, PLEASE tell me. I want complete honesty here :)

Also, I'm not sure how those fashion blog ladies do it- I felt like a doof taking pictures of myself in the mirror and feel like I look so awkward. But I know you guys won't judge me :) and please ignore all my shoes on the floor- I probably should've cleaned up first...

This last one I look super awkward, but i wanted to get a full effect one... Thanks for your help!!! Love you guys a lot!!! We need to get together soon! Kylie are you going to be able to come here anytime?

Addresses

I was just thinking today that it would be beneficial to have everyone's mailing addresses on here just in case we need them. Plus I am sure Cory will be needing them soon.

So everyone should edit this post and put your address on here.

Cory Schiess (before april 27th)
1232 Aspen Ave.
Provo, UT 84604

Cory Gilmore (after april 27th)
300 E 476 N Apt #102
Provo, UT 84606

Kylie Durham
2421 La Casa Dr.
Henderson, NV 89014

Stephanie Lee
434 N 200 E
Provo, UT 84606

Kasidy Seegmiller
876 E 900 N #10
Provo, UT 84604

 Stefanie Orton
2242 N 430 W
Lehi, UT 84043

Summer Knowlden
2366 N Eaglecrest Dr.
Lehi, UT 84043

Roommate Dinner

Hello Lovely Ladies,
I think it is time for a roommate dinner.  I am now engaged and I want to see you all and show you my ring and catch up, it's been a while.
I am thinking this Sunday 2/19, which also happens to be Stefanie's Birthday!
I don't know if Stef has plans, she probably does, but let's see if we can make something work.  If not this sunday then maybe Saturday Night!  That way we can do a roommate dinner and celebrate Stef's birthday and she will still be able to have her Sunday plans.
Let me know what you guys think!
Once we find a date then we will decide on a place and what to eat!
Kasidy said if we don't do it this Sunday then she will be out of town next Sunday, so we would have to wait until March, which is fine with me.  Maybe we could even do something on Monday since it's a holiday from School.
everyone just post up your availability!
Love you guys, can't wait to see you super soon!
Love,
Cory

I'm Engaged

It's about time!  I have been waiting for this little baby for a month!

So, I know we all want to hear the proposal story so here goes.  In order for you to properly understand I will include a little background story

So, on Jan. 5th Sean and I ordered the ring you see in the pictures below.  We had to do a custom order because I found one in the store, but I wanted it to be a little different.  The custom order is 4 steps. First you order the ring and meet with a jeweler to talk about what you want.  Then you come in to approve a 3D image, then you come in to approve a wax model, and then you go in to pick it up.  The process takes 4-6 weeks, about a week for each step.  The guy we ordered it from said because it was a pretty simple custom it would probably only take 3 weeks.  We were super excited and he told us he would call us in a week to approve the 3D image. Well, about 2 weeks went by and we hadn't heard anything.  Sean called them and they said it wasn't done yet but they would call us when the image was done, it should be later today or tomorrow.  We waited another 4 days and finally decided to just drop by.  When we dropped by and asked about the image, to our disgust it was finished, but no one had called us.  Sadly, the image was wrong, they had messed something up and would have to make another one.  We were feeling pretty helpless and like we were never going to get the ring.  It had taken 2 1/2 weeks just to get an image and it wasn't even right.

So, we waited some more.  They did call us in to approve a second image a few days later and we were feeling good.  It was only one more week until the promise date of Feb. 5th.  The lady told us making the wax and then making the ring were the fastest parts of the process.  We waited another week and still hadn't heard anything...or at least that's what I thought!

Sean called me when he got off work on Saturday evening.  He said he wanted to take me out for a special little date because he felt bad that we hadn't gotten to do anything for our 10 month anniversary on Monday.  I thought it sounded sweet and I was excited.  The thought crossed my mind that he might propose, but I thought no way.  We hadn't approved the wax so I was sure he couldn't have had the ring already.  We got in the car and he told me this special date had 3 stops.  First, we would go to the CocoBean to get cupcakes.  I love their cupcakes and Sean regularly surprises me with them on our month anniversaries.  Then, we went and to Starbucks and got Hot Chocolate.  As we were leaving Starbucks we could see Jared's (where we got the ring), and I suggested that we go over and give them some grief for taking so long on the ring.  Sean just chuckled and said he'd rather not.  So funny.  Then he told me where we were going for the 3rd spot.  

He said we were going to the blue house where I used to live when we first started dating.  He had gone over their earlier in the day and asked the girls that live their now if he could bring his girlfriend up to sit on the roof and have a little date.  I was so excited! When Sean and I first started dating we sat up on that roof all the time!  We had our first kiss up their, we decided we wanted to start dating up their and we would sit up their and talk for hours in the evenings.  I always loved sitting up their with him and thought it was so sweet of him to think of it.  We headed up the old stairs and I was holding the cupcakes.  As we got to the top, Sean says, "Oh, look! Blankets!"  He had had his roommate Joseph go up and put some blankets up for us while we were getting our treats.  Too bad Joseph put them in the wrong place.  So we bundled them up and took them over to where we would usually sit.  

I sat down and started to get comfy.  Sean was still standing up and he asked me to stand up and give him a hug ( I found out later he did that so I would be standing while he got down on one knee, it was super cute!).    I was hugging him and he was saying sweet things about how much he loved me and how he thought it was so neat that we were back up on the roof of the house and I mentioned about our first kiss.  Their was tons of reminiscing going on!  Then he got really serious and asked me if he could talk to me about something.  I was a little thrown off.  I was startled, but said yes.  Then he took a step back and got down on one knee.  I just shook my head and said, "What?  How do you have that"  He pulled out the ring and popped open the box.  I covered my mouth and just kept saying things like, "Where did you get that, how do you have that? What?"  I was blown away!  Sean was just smiling, I'm sure he was just so proud of himself.  Then he said, "Cory Suzanne Schiess, will you marry me?"  I said yes and bent down to hug and kiss him.  I was so surprised and so happy.  We just stayed their for a while knelt down and he put the ring on my finger.  It was so gorgeous and even though it was kind of dark up their I could tell it was so gorgeous and exactly what we had wanted.  I was pretty shocked and we sat down and snuggled up in the blankets while he finally told me how he had the ring.

He said that on Friday Jared's had called him and said the ring would be done on Saturday at 12pm.  He was a little confused and asked if they meant the wax mold.  They told him no, they had just skipped over that step and went straight into making the ring so that it would be done by Feb. 5th, the promise date.  He was shocked and said he would be there to pick it up.  He picked it up on Saturday and spent the whole day freaking out about what he was going to do and how he was going to propose.  He thought he still had another week or more to prepare.  The cutest part of the story to me is that he said he practiced proposing to his roommate Joseph (Naylor) in the hallway all day and was really nervous.  Because Joseph is such a good roommate, he always said yes no matter what.  Sean also said he and Joseph practiced hugging with the ring box in different pockets to see where he could put it so I wouldn't feel it.  So cute!

Well, that's the story.  It was such a surprise and absolutely perfect.  I did not see it coming and I am so excited to finally be able to tell the everyone!

Now, here's some pictures!

Close up, really doesn't do the ring justice.  

Can't wait for you guys to see it in person!

So happy!

Party Picture.

Next get-together.

We have to get together before Kylie moves!
Let's start planning!

I am unavailable Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday nights.
I think we've found that Sundays generally work out best for most of us.

When are ya'll leaving for the holidays?

Moving. Cleaning. Painting.

Hi!
We are moving upstairs and I need major help if you have time. Today (Tuesday) I will be cleaning/moving from like 5pm to 11pm. Tomorrow(Wednesday), I will be painting/cleaning all day from around 9am to 10pm. And on Thursday, I will probably be finishing painting in the morning, but I have to be done by 2pm. If ya'll are free during any of those intervals, I would LOVE some help and your company!
Summer

pictures pretty please!

Hey Summer! Could you post the pictures from the roommate dinner?! I would love to have them.

It was so fun to be with all of you that night! I hope there are many more of those get-togethers in the future!

UPDATE: The pictures are on my blog now. Love ya'll.
-Summer

So I have an update...

IT's MEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello friends! So I kinda realized this morning that I have an update about my life and a few of you might actually not know it. What a perfect opportunity to post on the roommate blog (even though I am supposed to be doing homework so I can get to the temple before class... I'm sure it'll all work out though). You guys are important to me and need to be informed. Anyway, the news is that I have a boyfriend. I am dating Justin Felkner. Funny, huh? Who would've thought that moving in with Cory freshman year and then that spring semester of fun would lead to this? It kinda cracks me up how life works out, but I really, really like him and so far am having a great time dating him. It's only been like three days, but we kissed on Monday and are totally official. I even introduced him as my boyfriend to David Scow yesterday. I know it seems crazy that I've been home 7 weeks and have a boyfriend (especially since my boyfriend was dating a different girl when I got home...oops), but it seems really natural and it's super fun. Anyway, I just wanted to update you on that now so I won't turn as red when you all find out about it at the roommate dinner. Also, I should post on my mission sometime because that was also kind of a big deal for me. I'll put some pictures here since I don't have any of Justin yet. Love you guys!












It turns out that I'm not so good at blogging and I can't figure out how too manage these pictures so I'll just tell you quickly what they are. The first one is hanging out with Kortni and Jonathan, who is now her husband, but wasn't when I left. It was so fun being with my family again. They are just as crazy as I remember...yay! The next one to the right is me and my companion, Hna. Clark (my last one) on her birthday. We bought a cheap candle from the store and I made it awesome by taping a picture of her face to it. She loved it. Next follows Hna. Clark and I with Gloria - my last baptism of the mission and a really special lady. It took her a while to get there, but she was so cute and happy on that day. It was the week before I went home and I was really grateful that I got to be there for it. Then is me and Hna. LaPray (my MTC companion, who also now has a boyfriend and we crack up every time we hang out about how we were missionaries just a little while ago and now we are real people again) on the airplane ride home after like two days. There is a reason this blog is private - no one else should see this picture, but I wanted you guys to be able to feel the pain of a two-day wait in Buenos Aires because of a volcano and then a 20 hour travel plan to get to my family again. Good times. But I finally made it and the last picture is right after I got off the plane with all my luggage and my dad and my little brother, Jarrett. The mission is really over. It seems weird now that I even went to Argentina. I remember when I see Latinos at Smith's and immediately love them or hear a little kid yelling Spanish at his mom and understand what he's saying. I remember in all my prayers because I have to thank Heavenly Father every single day for the amazing experience that the mission was for me. I'm just really grateful that he sent me on a mission and let me do hard things so that I could be a better person. I really love the people I met and it will always be something really special for me. I do realize though that my mission is over and it's time to be a real person again, which I actually love. And you get to date boys when you're a real person, which is so fun. Anyway, I can't wait to see you guys and hear about your lives! I love you all so much!

Come On Cougs!

Yes, the loss was completely disappointing.  I feel like it was probably worse being there in person.
The UT fans just getting shear joy out of watching us totally bomb at the end.
The beginning of the game was so exciting, and then the second half came and it was painful to watch us struggle.

But here's some pics of Sean and I visiting in Texas, proof that we wore our cougar blue and cheered with all our hearts!

So, the explanation for the UT flip flops.  As we were walking to the game from our parking spot, my sandal broke.  Ya, know what I mean right?  When the toe part of your flip flop detaches and there is no way possible to wear the shoe anymore.  So, Sean and my mom ran around until they found a booth selling flip flops.  Of course, the only kind of flip flops they were selling were burnt orange UT longhorn flip flops.  They totally clashed with my outfit.  But, atleast my little foot didn't get burned on the 100 degree sidewalk anymore.

So cool.  I had never been to a game at UT.  So FUN!

Sean, Sam, and me at Mt. Bonnell for the sunset over Lady Bird Lake in Austin.

Probably Seans favorite part of the trip.  He really loved Sam!  Best Buds.

roommate dinner!

let's do dinner! we can do it Sunday at our place. anyone free?

Dreaming and thinking.

I'm still in the dreaming and thinking and saving-money-to-buy-supplies stage. . . but I'm in the process of "starting a business." I went to some craft vendors today and asked about pricing to open a booth. I spent a few hours in Barnes and Noble looking at craft and home decor magazines for inspiration this afternoon. I emailed a friend from home who has her own business and we are going to have a meeting next week so she can give me advice. I'm trying to start doing something about this little fairytale I have of selling things I make. It's all I think about lately. . . oh? and the fact that I'll have been married for two years on Sunday and my sisters keep telling me how much they want a little niece or nephew. That little thought creeps up in my mind sometimes too. Oh, and also, how school should be starting in a few weeks. . . but I don't go to school anymore. And I keep telling JD I'm so jealous he gets to go and he just rolls his eyes. Dreaming and thinking. That's what I mostly do these days.

90 degrees and rising

Our A/C broke this weekend sometime while we were at Jeremy's family reunion. We came home to 84 degrees and by last night it was 89 in our house (it didn't help that for some reason almost all of our windows were missing the screens when we bought the house and we haven't gotten to replacing them yet, so we couldn't open most of our windows). Anyways, I was fondly remembering when our A/C wasn't working the first week of school at the Boiling Point and we all walked home from campus in the heat to our 90 degree apartment. Oh good times!

I miss you guys and can't wait until we're all reunited :)

I'm Staying in Utah

Today it becomes totally official!

Job...yes!
Car...yes!
Housing...yes!

I signed a contract today, so I officially have nothing to worry about anymore.  Now I just have to move in and start paying the bills.

I am independent!  I am staying in Utah!  I am so happy to not have to job or apartment search!

I will be here at least til April, that's when my contract ends.  But, I'm sure it will be longer than that!

Can't wait to be here for our reunion when Kas and Stephs get back to Utah!

Love you girls!

ps-my apartment is a basement apartment in the neighborhood by Kiwanis park, the more eastern side of Kiwanis.  It's really great.  It has a mural!  1232 Aspen Avenue to be exact!

Private room, washer/dryer, 3 roommates, utilities included, free internet, and such a cute little green kitchen!

This is gunna be such an epic semester!  Well, not for me.  I guess I should say an epic next 4 months!
Can't wait to graduate.  That will be Aug. 12th.  My whole fam damily will be here for that!
So much great stuff right now!

KASIDY

Kasidy!! Are you in Utah or Vegas?? Me and Jeremy are going out of town this weekend, but I'm DYING to see you! When are we all having a party???? SOON? yes? Pleeeease! :)

if we must wait, it would be awesome if steph was back too for the party. It's just been so long since we've all been together. maybe we should wait. but not too long because i'm VERY anxious!!!

When I grow up, I want to be...

A dental hygienist!

And guess what?!

I GOT ACCEPTED TO UCDH! I'll be starting hygiene school in January! Two more years of Utah and then I'm off to where ever my heart desires...and where I can get a job. :) Yay!

STUPID VOLCANO!

KASIDY!!!!! COME HOME ALREADY!!!!

Can I just be the first to say...

Kasidy is coming home in less than a week!!

We will be seeing her precious face in one week.

I can't wait, and I think this reunion will need a few girls to be on hand...
those few girls are my best friends, who I like to call the BOILING POINT!!

So try to free up your next friday or saturday!

Love you girls,

bye-hia blanca!

Happy 4th!

This weekend was WONDERFUL. It was just what I needed to be renewed and refreshed. I love family and had the opportunity to spend some quality time with my mom, siblings, and nieces and nephews. My family is hilarious and I had the best weekend. Unfortunately, my Pop couldn't make the trip because he got really sick, but he's doing a lot better now.

My niece Emma got baptized! I am so proud of her for making the decision to join the church. The spirit was strong in the room and it was a special day. Emma is a special girl.

It was really fun to hang out with Chelsea and Weston. I like hanging out with them a lot more now that they are married :). We went bowling and Chelsea and I totally beat Weston after he had been talking up how good he was. Booyah!

We went and watched the fireworks up by the temple. Chelsea got impatient and instead of waiting to turn left so we could get back to 900 east, she went straight and it led up right into a traffic jam. We were literally stopped for an hour and a half. We had also just had large Sonic drinks and mom and I had to go to the bathroom really bad. We ended up asking some random people to use their restroom. Oh the adventures!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I wish it would have lasted longer! God Bless America!

Happy 4th from Powell, Wyoming!

Sean and I went to visit his family in Powell, Wyoming for the long weekend.
It was a wonderful weekend and I got to meet his sister and her husband and 2 children (they are from her husbands previous marriage).
She took some pics of me modeling some headbands for her etsy shop.  I will hopefully be famous soon!!

It was more than wonderful...I'm really falling for this boy!

Sean and I with our spraklers for the 4th of July!

Everyone post pictures of their weekend festivities!  I want to see all of your gorgeous faces!!

thinking of you

I was just thinking about how much I miss all of you!

I'm so busy right now, it's insane. Also, I suck at managing my time, so I'm kind of getting stressed. Then I come home and get more stressed because I'm a little tired of my living situation. I feel stagnant and am ready to move (which is happening in the fall). I often wish I could come home to all of you. I love being able to just be, and I miss doing that in the boiling point.

I hope you all are well. I'll try to be better at updating about my life...but that will have to wait for another day.

Also, Kasidy comes home THIS MONTH!

It turns out I didn't ruin his life.

I don't have much to report in terms of my own life. However, I did want to announce the recent engagement of my highschool boyfriend, Stephen. (Think: the obsessed missionary we ran into at the MTC, who swore to me in letters he'd never find love again). I saw this picture pop up on my newsfeed on Facebook a few days ago. And I have to admit, I cried. I didn't cry because I'm unhappy in my marriage or wish it was me or anything of that sort. I think it was just because I finally have closure. Not to mention the fact that all my thoughts and memories of him are incredibly emotional. It could also be that they look absolutely and totally smitten with each other. My heart is so full. I'm really happy for him. I'm really happy for me. I'm really happy we didn't end up with each other. I'm glad I didn't "wait to see if it would work out with him." Because I'm pretty sure I might've accidentally convinced myself to marry him and ended up fighting for the rest of my life over stupid things like politics and name-brand cereals. Mostly, I'm rambling now. . . but Stephen's engaged! And it's such a relief that I didn't ruin his life :)



Miss you guys!!!

Hey everyone!!! Long time no see :( I miss you guys a lot.


Cory-- I'm so excited for you that everything is going great with Sean. You seem so happy. And those boots are dang cute! Nice grab!


I don't have very much to exciting news to report but here's a little semi-exciting update.


I got promoted from receptionist and am in training for management at my job. I feel really blessed because it's a great opportunity to make more money for savings while Jeremy is finishing up school before we start a family, but the bad news is that I super duper hate coming to work every day. Jeremy keeps telling me to have a positive attitude, and I know I should try harder to be positive but what I'm doing is just not even anything I remotely care about. It's an executive suites office so we lease out corporate space (WAY overpriced space, might I add-- like 200 sq feet of interior space (not even a window) costs $1,000 a month! if you want a window, that'll cost you another $300 per month! ridiculous, no?) So I come to work and am bored out of my mind. I just feel so frustrated because I feel like I'm standing still-- not really moving forward in the direction that I really want to go. I'm trying to decide if I want to start looking for jobs at the health dept again, like I tried right after I graduated and see if anyone will hire me now, or if I should get my personal trainer certification and be a personal trainer (a secret dream of mine since like the beginning of high school). I keep coming back to that option, but it's like $600 for the good certification courses so I don't know. Are you guys working places you like? Did you find jobs in your field? Any advice??? Words of encouragement even? I'm open to any suggestions...


I just got home from Girls Camp on Saturday. It is so fun being a leader. It's a lot of work, but all our girls are so awesome. It was my first time being away from Jeremy overnight since we've been married. That was a real bummer. I got really homesick and missed him like crazy, but it's true what they say: Distance makes the heart grow fonder. I'm just glad we weren't apart for long. But it's so good to be home and back with my cute hubster.


And my last bit of news is that I chopped my hair!!!





YAY :) It's a fun change and I like it a lot--luckily so does Jer :). Part of me always misses my long hair when I cut it short, but it's exciting to cut it and have it different for a while. So, yeah. That's it :)



okay, when does Kasidy get home!!! I just realized it's coming up really soon right??

New Boots

So, everytime I go to D.I. I look to see if they have any cute old boots for cheap that I want to buy.
I never come out victorious...until yesterday!

I was browsing the shoes and headed over to where they have all the boots.  Then I found these little beauties...

they were just my size, and I so cute!  Do you think they are mens or womens?  They were in the men's section, but they definitely look like womens.  I'm just gunna tell myself they are women's boots.

I can't wait to wear them!

It was pretty much fate that I went to D.I. yesterday, and I'm so glad no one else had snatched them up1

Maybe I can get Sean to go to the Strawberry Days Rodeo with me this weekend!  Perfect occasion to wear my boots!

Things are going Great!

Sean's parents came in town last weekend.
I really enjoyed getting to know them.  I don't know if y'all remember the story of when I met Jacob's mom, but pretty much she rejected my hug that I tried to give her when we met.

No worries, this meeting was much better.  His momma went straight in for the hug as soon as I got out of the car.  She was very warm and inviting and I did not feel like I had to prove myself to her.  It seemed it was enough for her that I was important to Sean.  We had a fun weekend of eating out, visiting Park City, going to Real Salt Lake games, and swimming.  I was glad to meet his parents and it definitely is nice to know that I am accepted by his parents.

Sean's dad is funny, he definitely lets his wife dominate most of the conversation, but when you get him alone he is so silly and fun.  It was just Sean his dad and I at the soccer game.  It was raining and we lost, but it was so much fun!

Things are going great besides Sean.  I will be done with school in 2 weeks!  I can't wait to be done, but think it is finally hitting me that it's all over.  Sad to think I will not be able to come up on campus and won't be considered a BYU student anymore.  It's really been 4 of the most wonderful years of my life.  Mostly thanks to you wonderful girls!  I love y'all.

My internship is great as well, super fun to interact with the residents and get to know them and hear about their lives and all that they have been through.  My favorite person right now is a man named James from Southern Mississippi.  he has a precious southern accent and is always telling me to listen to people and learn from what you hear and to be kind because people appreciate simple courtesies.  He's great!  I also love sweet little Elaine, who sits by me during sit down Tai Chi and laughs at the way I do the moves.  She is a doll!

Anyway, that's my update!  When we went to Park City Sean was adamant that he get his picture taken in a bobsled...don't worry he did!

I have fleas. No, seriously.

I wish I was joking. It's gross, but I'll get to that story later.

California is awesome! Seriously, the only thing missing from this pseudo-paradise is friends, which hopefully I will have sooner rather than later. The weather is PERFECT every single day. Warm enough that you can wear shorts and a t-shirt, but not so hot that you will die if you wear a cardigan. Perfect. It's beautiful here. There are so many plants and flowers and parks to walk through. Also, my sister, brother-in-law, and my darling little niece live about 15 minutes away. It's so fun!

I got to California last Wednesday night. While I was in Utah and Canada, I thought I had housing all sorted out. An LDS girl emailed me, letting me know that she had a room available in Menlo Park. I looked up the address, and it just happened to be only a few blocks away from the office I'll be working at. In addition to a perfect location, I would have my own room, my own bathroom, my own separate entrance, and a walk-in closet all for a measly $830/month, including a parking space and utilities. I know, that doesn't sound like the cheapest rent, but for this area it's actually pretty good. There was a minor fiasco with the lease, because it's for an entire year instead of just for the summer. We worked that out, and everything seemed ready to go.

Anyway, I got the key from the girl (her name is Ngaio) and moved in that night. The next day I met with the property manager. He seemed really nice, and while we were talking he asked me if the girls had filled me in on the "situation" at the apartment. Feeling nervous, I asked him to explain further and he informed me that earlier that month they had had a flea infestation in the apartment. The source? There is a small crawl space on the back side of the apartment, and they found a dead raccoon under there. He assured me that things should be taken care of, but I just had to make sure and vacuum my room often. I trusted that things had been taken care of, and even though I was a little bit grossed out at the thought of a flea infestation, I didn't care too much. A couple of days later, I noticed that I had bites all over my stomach, ankles, and feet. They were really itchy, and after talking to my roommates that night we determined that they are flea bites. I guess they had the place sprayed a week ago, but it takes at least two weeks for it to take full effect so I just have to wait and see. In the meantime, I have now washed and dried all of my belongings, thrown out a mattress, become a pro vacuumer, and somewhat of an expert in fleas, including their life cycle, how to trap them, and how to tell the difference between fleas and bedbugs.

So yeah, the story is actually slightly more complicated because the girl who sold the the contract never informed me about the problem. I told her that I can't sign it until the bug problem is resolved, but in the meantime she is like, freaking out because she has to find someone to replace me if I end up not signing it. Also, she's kind of a stress case anyway. I feel bad, but I'm also kind of miffed that I basically walked into this trap and now I am covered in flea bites. I think everything will be sorted out eventually. In every other way my apartment is ideal. It's kind of fun to have actual neighbors. I feel like I'm experiencing real life, and it's so much fun!

Other than the flea issue, things are great with me. My roommates are both LDS and in the older singles ward (age 26+). I really, really like them. They're both super laid back and hilarious. I'm mostly just sad because I have to go to church by myself, and it's always kind of awkward to walk in for the very first time and have no one to go with you. Church went well, though, and I think I'll like the ward. I'm excited to see how the summer progresses. I start work next week and I'm really excited. Also nervous. I feel like I need to start studying everything I've ever learned in economics so I don't make a total fool of myself.

Anyway, what are all of you up to? I don't know how often anyone checks this anymore, but I'd love to hear all about your lives. I miss you all and love you more!

Let's get together, ya ya ya!

Parent trap, anyone?!

CAN WE ALL GET TOGETHER SOON? Stephanie is leaving for her internship next week and I go out of town on Thursday. Would Monday work for everyone?!

Post on here so we can figure it out! Love you all!