FOCUS

Well, this post is being written at 1:30 am because I am home alone and ster is working on a painting. poor guy, its freezing outside. Well updates- I am officially done with classroom work. I presented my project and defended last week and therefore in 5 months I will be a master of occupational therapy- yeah right, I am no master, but they are willing to provide me with the degree so I will take it. I am really in deep gratitude to a great husband who endured me over the past two weeks as I was self-consumed with the stresses of life. I owe him.
Ster is just finishing up finals- he is doing great. He is taking the GRE on thursday, in boise, so he will be glad to get through that. We were talking to his parents today about schools to apply to. It was so weird. He is looking at many schools and as the list gets shorter, I will update this blog on the whereabouts of those schools.

Well I realized I never posted about NYC. It was an incredible trip. Brandon and Becky were amazing to us. She cooked, entertained, cleaned, and made the trip very memorable. Brandon sacrificed a tremendous amount of time he really could have been studying so he could spend time with us. They both mean so much to us.

My favorite attraction in the big apple was the Bronx Zoo. So worth the 45 minute sub ride. They have every animal imaginable. I don't even normally like animals that much (sorry PETA) but I loved it. We also went to the today show, went to Macy's the day after thanksgiving, hit up canal street, ate great food, saw Lady Liberty and Ellis Island, went to the weirdest museum ever, the Museum of Modern Art, walked a million miles, froze at the Brooklyn Bridge while Ster took incredible shots, and many other activities. Actually while we were at the Brooklyn Bridge, I was freezing and Ster gave me his coat and endured -20 windchill so he could get some great photos. What a nice guy :)

So adding pictures on this thing is always a disaster so I would recommend you look at facebook if possible. If you are not on face (get it)email me and I will let you look at our visual delights.
Well, thats us

LIFE

Sterling and I have had some really fun weekends lately. Last weekend we went to my family's cabin at Palisades and had CHRISTMAS! My whole family was able to be there which was great since my brother and his family live in Alabama. If you know Kent and Vick, you know they are the best parents/friends you could ever have. We had thanksgiving while we were there as well which was splendid. It was one big holiday festival to say the least.

This weekend Sterling and I went to the Symphony in Pocatello because we thought we would take in some culture. It ended up being really fun, although we did sit on the very back row. Saturday, we went to the sealing of Sterling's aunt and uncle in Idaho Falls which was a very sweet experience. We found out last weekend that our bishop who Ster has been serving in the bishopbric with, was called to be the Stake President of the other student stake in Pocatello. We are so sad to see him go, we truly loved he and his wife. They had the whole bishopbric over on Saturday night and we played games and had an amazing dinner. Needless to say, it was a typical mormon weekend, but we loved it.

Sterling and I are going to New York next week to visit Brandon and Becky. They have had their fair share of trials over the last month and we are very excited to see them and spend time with them over thanksgiving. They are amazing people and we are so lucky to have them as family members.

School update: I passed my comprehensive exams which was a tremendous relief. I offically have one more test left in my college career! I now have to present and defend my professional project with my partner Kathryn. She is the best partner to have for a project and we have worked very well together. I call her my wife because we spend so much time studying, working on projects, and going to class, I see her more than Sterling. Sterling is doing well in school. He has had a lot going on this semester, but he continues to bust out good grades. He is working on his portfolio and preparing for the GRE. The application process is hard for sure, but he always seems to amaze me with his ability to complete things. I am very proud of how hard he works.

Well, thats us.

Relief

Well...after hours of studying, three years of school (actually six), and a lot of stress I finished my comprehensive exams today! This doesn't mean I am done, it is just a huge step. Next I have to defend my capstone/professional project. So if you are actually wondering if I will post, don't get your hopes up (not that you would hope that), because it still probably won't happen that often, plus our life is pretty much the same as everyone else's...busy. But i have a good time reading all of your blogs, so please keep posting, it's therapuetic.

LOVE

These pictures are from our good friend, Raymond House Jr's wedding. Sterling and I were honored to be a part of their special day. We had so much fun with rehearsal, decorating, getting the bride and groom ready, and then witnessing their marriage. Ray and Amber are incredible people, and we wish them all the happiness a marriage can bring.

Seriously So Blessed

So if you are in the mood to laugh so hard you could cry, check out seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com. Maybe the funniest satiristic blog you will ever come across. After following this blog (thanks GAR), i think i will start writing like she does.

NYC Pictures

Check out the NYC picture slideshow at this link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30040669@N08/show/

Home Alone

Well, I am home alone...and I hate it. Sterling has been driving across the country since Friday and thankfully he arrived safe and sound monday afternoon. I think moving into Brandon and Becky's new apartment in NYC presented somewhat of a challenge. Ster and Bran did it ALL by themselves, although they were expecting help when they arrived, that help ditched them last second. It took several hours and Ster sounded sooooooo tired on the phone. I guess it is expected since he and Bran drove for the last three days all day like trailblazers. He is a good brother I think.
We got a new camara this last week. If you know Ster very well you know he is insanely talented when it comes to anything artistic. I am excited to see his pictures from his cross country trek. I am sure they won't disappoint. It looks like a nice camara to me, so nice in fact I am barely aloud to touch it! I do have a tendency to drop and break things so it is understandable.
I have loved watching the Olympics this last couple of weeks. It has really cut into my sleeping schedule, but it has made me feel so patriotic. Those athletes are seriously insane. I cannot even fathom the determination and sacrifices those athlets have made. I guess what I am trying to say is... GO USA. ha ha
Anyways, hopefully my next post will include some fun pics.

Adventures in Mennear Land

Well, I promise I tried to update my blog last week, but somehow everything i had done was deleted. I was upset and have been boycotting blogging since...until today. So, just an update on what we have been doing lately.
Two weeks ago we went to Redfish Lake with my family. Sterlings brothers both came with wife and girlfriend. It was so fun up there. We hiked, wakeboarded, skiied, laughed, and most importantly ate....a lot. Sterling went on a crazy hike with my insane hiker father. It was a 12 mile jaunt to the top of the highest peak in the Sawtooth Range. Sterling loved it, but he didn't have much food for the hike and it took all day so that added to the challenge.

I went back to another week of work after Redfish. Sterling also returned to work for a few days before we headed off to Bear Lake this last weekend. I haven't been there all that much, but it was so fun! Again we went with Sterling's brothers and wife and girlfriend. It was Becky's grandparents' place we stayed at there. Becky is Sterling's brother's wife (wow). We ate way too many rasberry milkshakes and laid on the beach and jet skiied. Another amazing weekend.

Sterling and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary over the weekend. It has been a fun/hard/exciting/learning/growing two years. I love that guy and have so much to learn from him! I hope we have 50 more anniversaries to celebrate together.

Sterling's three best friends have either moved, or are moving in the next month. Chad and Taylor, our very good friends left for Texas last week which was hard, but we are so excited for them! And both of Sterling's brothers are moving. I think this will be a hard time for both of us, escpeically him, because of all the changes. Becky and Brandon are moving to NYC for medical school and Wesley goes on his mission to El Salvador in the same week. Luckily Sterling is helping his brother drive/move across the country so Brandon and Sterling will have a lot of time together before they actually move. Sterling and I are also planning on going to NYC over thanksgiving.

We all go through these times of change in our lives. I remember moving from jr high to high school, and then the big one for me was high school to college. I felt like i was losing all my friends and realizing that things would never be the same again. Then when I moved from grand junction and stopped playing volleyball and left a lot of friends there in colorado, that was another huge change for me. This seems to be another one of those times, instead I have another person to face the changes with, who I will always have, so those changes will never seem so hard. But change is so good. It helps you to grow and learn to face new challenges and rely on eachother!

Another weird thing I am thinking about is the fact that I start my last semester of classroom school this fall. It is so weird to think that after 6 years of working so dilligently (summers included), I will finally earn a master's degree. I never dreamed that I would go this far in school, but it has really challenged me and helped me to love school and learning. I honestly will miss school (never thought I would say that either). I guess if I miss it too much i can live vicariously throuhg sterling whe will face another few years after I complete school.

Well enough with the sob stories and catch up, now go have a good day.

Winning Streak Continues

So, no worries, we won our softball game again tonight! That's two in a row. As I was standing on second base during the game, not paying attention, I realized that I LOVED being outside on summer nights, under the lights, enjoying beautiful weather, and playing a game I am terrible at with friends and sterling. (sorry run on sentence.)
I am terrible at softball for many reasons. One of them is that I am insanely afraid of the ball, (mostly stemming from childhood experiences). The other night during our game, again I was playing second base. "Hercules" got up to bat and decided to make a direct shot for my shin with a grounder. Did i mention I have terrible reflexes and couldn't get my glove to my shin in time? Needless to say I stopped it with my shin (adding to my fear of the ball), but I threw the guy out at first through my intense pain. Since that night two weeks ago I have not been able to feel anything in that two inch diameter place where the ball attacked my shin. It is so annoying.

Sterling is gone tonight working on an architecture work project. They say architects live under their desk, I hope this doesn't prove to be true when sterling is a REAL architect. He works hard which I definately appreciate.
I have had some great experiences working in the hospital this summer. People have some incredible stories to tell. Everyday I am amazed by people who have been all over the world, lived amazing lives, and here they are lying in a hospital bed because they got in a car accident, or have cancer, or their joints don't want to work anymore. It makes me so grateful for my health and makes me want to live each day as if it was my last.
So my word of advice, appreciate your body! They don't always work the way we expect them to.

For your Information

So I feel like I am speaking in church and about to introduce us, like you don't already know us, but I feel that is appropriate for this post. WELL, Sterling just finished football this last school year after four seasons (took a break for this thing we call a mission!). Sterling is an art major at Idaho State Univeristy and he is always creating amazing things. For example:

Sterling is working for an architecture firm this summer and he is really enjoying it. It is challenging but he is gaining some great experience. He continues to impress me day after day with all he does.

Sterling and I love summer because we get to be outside more. We really like to wakeboard and waterskii and just generally boat. Sterling is busy with other committments as well and he just works really hard at everything he does.

So I am also a student. I am studying occupational therapy. I am currently doing a rotation at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.I have to commute to Idaho Falls which is a pain, but I enjoy the people I work with and really enjoy what I am doing ( I hope I enjoy it because this program is costing us an arm and leg). I work 7 days on for about 11 hours and then I get 7 glorious days off and work with kids who have emotional and behavioral problems. I have one more semester of school, an internship and a professional project (thesis) and I am done.

We currently play softball for a city league team and it is really funny to watch. Prior to last night's game, you would think that sterling and I had never played sports in our whole lives by watching us. We always pop-flied out when we hit, and I couldn't catch a thing to save my life. Last night we redeemed ourselves a bit and actually got on base, and caught a few balls. WHOOO, now let's just make sure we can keep this up!

So, there you have it, that is us in a nutshell.

We're kinda new to this

So, here I am beginning the blogging world. I guess it is a good way to "journal" our life experiences, and check up on all our friends and family. Don't expect much from this, I am a terrible writer, I am not funny, and I definately do not tell good stories. So enjoy, laugh, cry, and keep in touch.