i'm embarrassed

 Must be time for this little chica to hit the books. I just found about one hundred typos on yesterday's post. {Actually two. But still.} And if you know me, you know about my typo-finding fetishes.

Anyway.

After I corrected the horrid little mistakes I started reading back through all the blog posts I have written since this memoir began. And it kind of felt like when you read back through the idiotic journal posts you wrote in your puppy notebook in the sixth grade. You know? About how you're just sure that whats-his-bucket likes you because he asked to borrow a pencil today in study hall. And how your one friend is most-assuredly trying to steal him away from you and you don't know what to do about it. 

Don't judge. We all wrote that stuff.

Anyway, I promise to lighten up on the typos and spice up the ol' bloggy just a bit.

Unless of course you like misplaced commas and listening to me talk about how much I la-la-LOVE my husband all the time.

I know you like that too. You can admit it.

time machine

The other night we traveled back in time.

We went to Oaxaca, Mexico...2006.

That's where Elder Hansen was roaming the streets, eating rice and beans, speaking fluent Spanish, and teaching people about our church.

And that's where I fell in love all over again.

Except, it wasn't really like that. 

Really, it was like we ate oatmeal cookies and milk in the dark and watched his old mission videos.

{And I posted just a short one here, and he probably won't like me for it.}

But I was thinking a lot about how we hadn't met yet.

And how we hadn't been on a date or kissed or held hands.

Or hadn't been engaged and married and happy.

As I was watching these videos I realized that we were kind of made for each other.

I can't quite explain it, but it was like falling in love again...

with a handsome young man from the past. 

Who is now my present, and my future.

And I wouldn't trade that juice-box smashing boy for all the tea in China.

what a man will do for seven dollars

I'll just tell you how the story went...

First, couple thinks it would be a nice day for a float down the Teton River. Wife is prepared with camera, soda, and country music.Husband is prepared with big rowing muscles and awesome shades.

 

Husband and wife enjoy a nice afternoon full of beautiful scenery. Of course, husband must fish.

After all, it is Saturday. And what is a Saturday without a line in the water? Go ahead, ask him. He'll tell you. Surprisingly, husband catches a fish. And then another. And another. Wife is surprised, she has never seen this savage-like side of husband before. 

{Wife is also annoyed. You see, while husband fishes, she has to row and steer and keep them from getting tangled in the willows.}

Just before rounding the last bend in the river, husband decides to throw out one last cast. And what does he do? He gets it stuck way up high in a tree. Wife starts laughing, thinking about how many sad little lures of his are dangling from trees. All of a sudden though, husband hands his fishing pole over, throws his legs over the side of the boat, and jumps in the water. 

Wife has never seen that boy move so fast in her life.

 

Then, he swims upstream toward the lure. Meanwhile wife is panicking as she is floating down river in the boat and the line on the fishing pole is getting tighter and tighter. 

So husband comes back to rescue wife. He pushes her and the boat over to a skinny twig sticking out of the water and says "here, hang on to this."

Wife hangs on.

And on.

And on.

And husband climbs the tree.

And then he yells from top of tree that that lure costs seven dollars. And he will get it down.

Unfortunately, the climb was too risky, on account of the branch was about three inches thick. 

So husband just sat there. In the tree. Mourning his loss.

And wife says that she would really like to know how husband would react if it were her that had gotten stuck in a tree in the river.

And husband says he wouldn't have given up. That he would have rescued her.

No matter what.

{Then I gave him a kiss and said that swimming upstream and climbing trees for seven dollar lures was dumb. And he nodded his head, 'cause he knew I was right.}

guest post

Guuyyyss...

I am guest posting today over at our favorite photog's blog...my first one ever...eeeee! 

She captured our love story from the very beginning. She took our engagement pictures, and our wedding pictures...and hopefully someday she can capture the precious moments of our little bebes. 

You should definitely check it out, 'cause she made the post all photographyish and amazing. Click here.

xoxo.

that boy is goin places

I managed to snap one picture of Mr. Hansen yesterday in his new "internship attire." He was running around frantically printing off resumes, taking out the garbage, and getting all spiffed up. Lucky for me, I caught him on his way out the door. He is officially on a hunt for knowledge. He has scoured the town over for an internship opportunity and now we are just oh-so-patiently waiting for the phone to ring.

It may not be a big deal to some, but to us, this kind of stuff is memorable. Sometimes I get all emotional {we all do, k?} and have to remind Ty and myself how much we need to appreciate this life we're living.
Right at this moment.

As we went on a little neighborhood walk the other night, we discussed our plans for the future. What it will be like to be parents. To have careers. To be responsible for more than just each other. We also couldn't help but dream of the day when Tyboy will be large and in charge of some fancy schmansy company. Tell ya what, that boy has got some motivation pushing him from behind. 

...

But then, we realized that the day will come when we will miss this day. We will miss our sucky dishwasher and broken iPod and our vacuum that blows instead of sucks. And we will probably miss the sound of the blinker going off non-stop while riding in Ty's car. And I betcha we might even miss my junky laptop that clung to life just long enough to finish the semester. I just have a feeling that someday in the midst of all the children and jobs and houses and bills and chaos...we are gonna miss those cozy evenings curled up together watching an Idaho sunset. 

For now, I think we'll just stick to this beautiful life we're living. 

It's like they say,

Come what may...

and love it.

well aren't I just some kinda Betty Crocker

Hope everyone picked up on the sarcasm there. That's about as funny as I'm feelin' today.

I have finally found something to occupy the ridiculous amount of free time I have these days. 
I went on a little jog around the block today and my new sis-in-law happened to drive by and honk at me. {As much as I would like to claim that jogging is my newfound passion, it is not.} So I ran my little buns right over to her house and saw that she was cooking in the crock-pot! A woman after my own heart, she is. And then we held a little conversation where we expressed our concerns {and horrors} of crock pot cooking. We were surprised to find out that we both share the same fear. We're not quite sure why that little ceramic beauty frightens us so, but it does. Every time I concoct a mixture in it, I have to frantically call my mother, list off all the strange ingredients I added on a whim, and ask if it will be good. I must sound like a lost little cooking soul when I do that, but I just can't help it. Sometimes I can kind of hear her laughing through the phone, on account of she is one of the world's greatest cooks and her daughter inherited none of it.

Anyway.

Tyboy is eatin' good this week. {Well, today he is.} I made pork and potatoes in the crock pot, pasta salad, and oatmeal raisin cookies. All from scratch. Except the pasta salad, that came from a box. But the rest was from scratch.

And it's quite possible that we won't be enjoying our dinner until midnight because that's what happens when you pull out the crock pot at 5 in the pm.

Anyone like to join us?

Yeah. Didn't think so.

some thoughts on small town education

As much as I hate to admit it, it feels like fall in Idaho. I can't help but think about Salmon this time of year...how much I miss it, how glad I am that it's not too far away. How relieved I am that I already did my time at SHS. How indebted I am to the teachers who taught me all that I needed to know.

{Gosh, sorry to go on these little rants, but I just can't help it sometimes.} 

Hopefully my Salmon readers will enjoy.

...

For the last few days I have been trying to explain to Tyler what it feels like to grow up in Salmon, and I have come to the conclusion that it simply cannot be done. You just have to live it. You know? 

Until you're out there on the field playing in that senior powder puff game, or pretending to be an "office aid" just so you can get out of class for an hour, or driving 80 miles an hour to beat the lunch crowds at Saveway deli, you haven't truly lived it.

Call me what you will, but I dang near get choked up thinking things like this...

{Notice what little babes we still were? Just youngins then.}

I have also been thinking about the education I received in Salmon. Granted, I did not blow everyone away with my intelligence in college. I did not attend an Ivy League school, or get accepted to some fancy medical program. I most certainly have not gotten rich. {Not yet anyway, right?}

But I did make memories that will last a lifetime. 

And I did learn to love others who live by different rules than I do. 

And I did walk away with plenty of common sense. 

And I could probably gut an animal if it came down to it.

And we learned that by testing the limits a little bit, you figure out just how much you can get away with.

And my dreams for the future were cared for and respected by the people I shared them with.

And the people around me believed in me. 

{Cause really, we're all batting for the same team when you think about it.}

I learned how to work. How to save money. How to be happy with what I had. How to depend on others and be dependable myself. How to solve physics equations using the only elevator in town. How to talk about literature, and how to memorize a ridiculous amount of body parts in nothin' flat. And even if we can't speak Spanish all that well, the class of '09 could throw a hoppin' fiesta.

...

I felt a little offended when I first went back to Salmon and saw that we had been so easily replaced. The next class had stepped right up and filled our shoes. They carried on the same traditions, entertained themselves in the same ways, and participated in the same events. They went to Friday night football games, signed themselves out of class, floated the river on those hot summer days, planned parties and dances, and ruled the school. Our school. 

Just as my resentment was growing, I realized something kind of beautiful about that quaint little town.

I realized that at the heart and soul of Salmon is the ability to make every person feel needed. 

Each and every member of our class was important, wanted, and loved. 

Every lesson we were taught in school was thought out, planned, and prepared.

The teachers made us feel like we were the only class to come up with what we thought were "brilliant" ideas. They took a genuine interest in our well being...inside of school, and out.

We felt irreplaceable. 

I'm here to tell ya, you just don't get that in the big cities.

What we didn't know 365 days ago

One year ago today Ty asked me to marry him. I wasn't too surprised {don't worry, I acted like I was} when he kneeled to the ground and asked me to be his wife.
Here are some things we didn't know 365 days ago:
.

that my mom was right. we were just kids. still are.

that weekends are precious.

that fishing habits and crafting habits can actually coexist quite nicely.

that you really shouldn't open the oven 12 times in 10 minutes to see if the cookies are done.

that our college experience would be more beneficial if we were able to constantly share 

what we learn with one another.

that I look like I'm ready for halloween carnival when I get up in the morning. 

{well I knew that. Tyboy didn't.}

that it's ok to let yourself depend on someone all the way.
especially when they are your spouse.

that sometimes in the midst of complete bliss and joy, you still need to cry a little bit.

that you really can live on love when you don't have any money.

that marriage is sometimes really hard. but always worth it.

that you still need your parents.

that agreeing to a wedding is different than agreeing to a marriage.
that when that 'I love you' thought enters your mind, you should always say it out loud.

that the rings we wear on our left hands mean a whole lot more one year later.

that it is possible to wake up every morning and love another person just a little bit 

more than you did before.

enjoying it

I almost don't even know what to do with myself without stacks of books to read and papers to write and study guides to memorize. Here I sit. On the couch. At three in the afternoon. As much as I am grateful for the opportunity we have to get a college education and maintain great jobs, sometimes spending a few peaceful days at home can be most rewarding of all. Lately I have had such a negative attitude toward cooking, organizing, and exercising...all things I used to enjoy. However, I am starting to realize that having that "how in the world am I going to finish everything I need to" thought in the back of your head all the time can be kind of unhealthy after a while. It makes you hate things you used to like. And it gives you that perpetually tired feeling. 

This week has been different. I actually look forward to cooking dinner. I have exercised and felt much more energetic during the day. I have also kept the house nice and tidy. And what a difference it has made in our home. I commend mothers who do everything for everyone and still seem to have it all together. I cannot imagine raising babies on top of all this chaos. Guess that's why they call this life a balancing act. Who knew the scale was so easy to tip, though? Ya know? Looks like my mother was right when she reminded me during my last year at home that one person simply cannot do it all. I am slowly realizing that we can all just do a little. And do it well. And do it in a way that we enjoy it. I was glad to have come across this the other day. Kind of reminds you of the things that matter most. Surprisingly, those things are sometimes the easiest to forget. Know what I mean?

Just a taste of the Midwest

What a charming little farm we found in the middleofnowhere, Missouri. Lovingly named "Pick and Pick," we treated ourselves to a bucket {or two} of fresh blackberries. It's true what they say about enjoying something more when you know you have worked for it. Since it was only...oh, ya know, 105 degrees when we were out there picking, we savored every bite of our delectable homemade cobbler. 

 This was my first experience in the Midwest, Ty's first in Missouri. We had a positively splendid week at his parents house. It's funny how hard it can be to relax and enjoy after such a hectic finish to the semester. I had to remind Tyler of the definition of vacation every morning when we got up. He especially had a hard time allowing himself to be unproductive for a day or two. I didn't mind all that much.

We golfed, swam, shopped, took a tour of the old Missouri prison, went on evening walks, and tasted just a bit of what Missouri has to offer. Oh, we almost suffocated from the humidity too.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip.