Happy Anniversary

I never thought I could love someone as much as I love Stephen! He is my everything and more. We were lucky enough to celebrate our one year anniversary twice. It was absolutely perfect! On our actual anniversary we woke up to an empty apartment (because we had moved all our things to our new apartment) with hardly any food in it, stressfully made it to church, came home from church and made mac and cheese and leftover pizza, then Stephen left to go study for finals. It wasn't exactly what I had in mind for a perfect one year anniversary. Thankfully one of our good friends Tai invited us over for dinner. We hung out with their adorable kids and Stephen won a paper airplane contest. It was so fun being able to spend the afternoon with them. Then we headed home and watched our wedding video together. I am so glad we had one made. Pictures are amazing to look back on but having an actual video of our wedding is incredible. Our anniversary could have been more exciting but in a way it was perfect.
Once we made it home to Utah we celebrated our anniversary again. This time we tried to copy our wedding day and our first day married as closely as we could. When we got married our Sealer told us he hoped we would come back to the temple every year on our anniversary and to still be doing Sealings on our 50th anniversary. We were able to do Sealings in the Salt Lake Temple our first weekend home. It was such a special experience. I love being able to listen to what was said when we were married a year ago and remember all of the wonderful blessings. I hope on our 50th anniversary we are still able to go do them.
After going to the Temple we had dinner at the cheesecake factory. It has become one of our favorite places to eat in Salt Lake. We spent the night where we spent our first night married at the inn on the hill bed and breakfast. They left out some sparkling cider for us and I had a small cake made to look like our wedding cake so we could traditionally have some of our wedding cake on our first anniversary. I felt like having a fresh cake was a much better option then freezing real wedding cake for a year. It was delicious. We had such a good time at the inn on the hill. They even brought us breakfast in bed the next morning. While eating we watched country music videos in bed. It was a lot of fun. One of the videos we watched was "I don't dance" by Lee Brice. I had never heard it before but now whenever I listen to it I think back on our anniversary and how much I love being married to Stephen.
We went for a walk around the capital after checking out of the hotel but kept it pretty short because it was a bit chilly. Later we went to the Kura Door for a couples message where we went a year earlier on our first day married. It was an amazing anniversary weekend! I am so lucky to have Stephen in my life. We are absolutely perfect for each other. I can't wait to celebrate 50 more years together.

Dominica Anniversary!

Utah Anniversary! 

View from our room at Inn on the Hill

223

Dominica to San Juan to New York to Utah

Stephen is finished with his first year of medical school! He is officially a second year Medical Student. It has been tough but he has done so well. I am very proud of him. Unlike Christmas break when we stayed on the Island for about a week before coming home, we left this time the day after finals. We couldn't wait any longer for a much needed break from school and especially the Island.
Like always it is a frustrating adventure leaving Dominica. We headed home on the 23rd of April and chose to use the airline seaborne in hopes that we wouldn't have a horrible repeat of Christmas break. We spent that morning packing up last minute things to be moved to our new apartment and then headed for the airport. Going through security was fine, besides the fact that they took away my comb and a beautiful conk shell we had found by the ocean. The worker said my comb could be used as a weapon and then demonstrated how. She then said the conk shell was considered a rock of Dominica and couldn't leave. We were pretty furious and then saw over a hundred conk shells outside the airport that I'm assuming came from other disappointed people leaving the Island.
When boarding came we all made our way outside to get on the plane and waited for a while. Then we were all asked to come back inside to wait for a while. They moved everyone from our plane to one side of the airport and when one student left to the other side to talk to some friends they moved him and said we couldn't cross a certain line. We all felt a little like we were prisoners. Then they individually checked each of us and all of our personal items before letting us all on the plane. They were throwing out everyone's chapsticks and lipglosses until one girl passed around a ziplock baggie for everyone to put theirs in. As long as it was in a bag while being checked it was fine. Once we were done being checked we could take it out of the baggie. It was quite ridiculous honestly. Finally we all got on the plane after having been checked multiple times and Stephen joked that this was the safest flight he has ever been on. After saying that the flight attendant made two people on the very back row move because of balance issues during the flight. We didn't feel quite as safe after that; but we survived and made it to San Juan.
Once we got to San Juan we headed to our hotel. We stayed at the San Juan Intercontinental Resort and Hotel. It was incredible. If we ever stay in San Juan again we will definitely stay there. We had a door man bring up our bags and he was the nicest guy ever. I'm not really sure how to describe how awesome this guy was but I'll just say we left him a pretty awesome tip. We absolutely love the people in San Juan. They are all so welcoming and kind. We ate dinner at this awesome little place and had authentic Puerto Rican food. After dinner we headed to the pool area and it was again incredible. We sort of regretted not staying there for a few days. The next morning we saw a little bit of Old San Juan. It was pretty early in the morning before all the shops opened up but it was fun to see before heading to the airport. Flying to New York and then to Utah went very smoothly. We made it home on the 24th at midnight. Two long days of traveling but finally made it home!

Old San Juan

All the conk shells

Stuck in the very back to New York and Utah.

Our very own love story

Stephen and I got married on April 20, 2013. We met each other exactly one year earlier on April 20 and now we are celebrating our one year anniversary! It has been the best two years of my life knowing Stephen and an amazing first year married! He has changed my life for the better and I couldn't be more grateful and happy! I got this idea about a month ago to write our love story so we have it written down somewhere easy to find. So this is the story of how Stephen and I met two years ago today!

We met while both working at Olive Garden in Logan Utah. I had been working there for a couple years and was graduating from Utah State in a week and then moving to Salt Lake to pursue a career in Social Work. Stephen had just been hired and was finishing his last day of training. It was a busy Friday night and I noticed him right away. He was very handsome and I thought to myself, of course we hire a hot guy when I am quitting in a couple days. I went up to him and introduced myself anyways as Jen C., also mentioning that there were three Jen's that work there but that he wouldn't need to remember me because it was one of my last shifts. For whatever reason we ended up flirting a lot the whole night! That really was not like me and even a few of our co workers noticed and asked me about it afterwards. At the end of the night he left and I hadn't asked for his number or anything. I knew I wanted to see him again and soon, so I went to the back room and checked the schedule to find his last name. Then when I got home I looked for him on Facebook. All I knew was his name and that he was from Kaysville. I found someone that I thought could be him but his profile picture was of a motorcycle so I couldn't know for sure. This is what I messaged him, copied straight from Facebook...

Hey! So this is Jen C. from work. I was going to get your number before you left but after my incident spilling oil all over Tyler and pissing him off I wasn't in the best mood. But it would be fun to go on a date or something soonish, that is if you don't have a girlfriend. And I am not ever this forward but I figure if you say no it will only be awkward at work for another two weeks. So let me know! Night

I sent that at 12:30 in the morning and then went to bed expecting to never get a reply. The next day my roommate and I went to the pool and I told her all about him and how great he seemed. While we were talking he messaged me back and said...

Haha i'm actually so happy you found me because to the best of my stalking abilities I couldn't find you... But I totally agree with you and screw karma for makin this only two weeks! What are you doing tonight?

Well I had to work that night so we decided to hang out that afternoon before I went to work but that didn't work out either. So Stephen asked if I was up for doing anything after I got off work. I said Yes! I didn't get off work that night until 11:00, but I really wanted to hang out with him. So I lied about being too tired and a few of us took his buddies Jeep up Logan canyon. It was so much fun. It was while we were in the jeep that I reminded him that I was moving in two weeks. I'm pretty sure in that moment we both honestly thought we could just have a two week fling and call it that. After jeeping we watched a movie at his friends house and he took me home.
The next day was Sunday and he again asked if he could see me. We went for a long motorcycle ride. He had needed to put a little gas in the tank first because his bike had kept dying on him. Well he couldn't get it started back up for almost 20 minutes. I am pretty sure he was a little embarrassed but I thought it was pretty funny. A week later he took me to the Symphony in Salt Lake and I was able to meet his entire family on our way there. It was at the Symphony that I first pictured our lives together and knew I could fall in love him. He held my hand that night and we drove up to a look out spot in Salt Lake afterwards. I knew I had met someone that I didn't want to lose after one more week.
Looking back to that day at the pool with my roommate after just meeting Stephen the night before I had told her that I thought I was going to marry him. I even called my mom and told her I met such an amazing guy. At the time I'm sure I didn't think it was true, but looking back now maybe I did know from that first night that I met him that he would be the one for me.
From that first Friday night that we met we spent every day together for weeks. About a week after we met I asked him what he thought about me not moving to Salt Lake and staying in Logan pretty much just for him. He agreed that it might be a little weird but that he wouldn't mind at all if I stayed. On May 4th two weeks after meeting we had our first kiss. On May 23rd Stephen told me he loved me. On October 9th we got engaged and on April 20th 2013 we were married! It has been the best two years of my life being with Stephen. I am so happy I get to spend eternity with him.

Our first picture taken on Mother's Day 

May 13th 2012

Summer in Love

Proposal

Engagements

Wedding Day!!!

And now!

Victoria Falls

I love the uniqueness of the hikes in Dominica. I did Victoria Falls a few days ago and it is definitely one of my favorites for sure! There was a group of 15 of us and of course what was only supposed to be an hour and a half drive to the starting point turned into an almost 3 hour drive to the trail head. Well worth the long drive. If I learn anything about Dominica while here it is that time means nothing. If you "plan" on spending 3 hours on a hike, expect it to be an all day adventure.
The hike starts in the village of Delices. It is only .4 miles and takes about 45 minutes each way. The waterfall is 165 ft in height and flows into the white river which is sourced from boiling lake. This trail follows the river, literally meaning we crossed the river about 7 times and did quite a bit of boulder climbing to get to the falls. It is such an incredibly beautiful hike.

buddy system

Fireflies

We are getting closer and closer to the end of the semester. Before we know it we will be on a plane heading to Utah then coming back to Dominica to a new apartment and ready to finish out the last two semesters. It is hard to believe that we are already half way done on the Island. It really has gone by fast. I just hope the next two semesters go by just as fast if not faster. I have tried my best to be happy and stay positive finishing up the semester but have gotten pretty antsy waiting for the break to come. Here are a few things I have kept myself busy with finishing up second semester.
General conference weekend was amazing as always. I love that we have internet in our home so that we can watch it. Before the Sunday morning session our branch got together for a breakfast brunch. We had creme brulee french toast, cinnamon rolls, bacon, and other delicious foods. It was a lot of fun. There were no upcoming tests for Stephen so he was able to watch all of conference with me on Saturday and Sunday. We had such a fun time watching it together and snacked way too much!
With the end of the semester so close Stephen and I were needing a break from his schooling. Luckily he was feeling caught up enough for us to start a Harry Potter marathon. Initially we decided to watch one a week and hopefully get through half of it before the semester break. No, we finished all of them in just over a week, watching the last two Sunday night after conference. It was amazing having that quality time with each other especially so close to the end of the semester when we have both had enough of school and the island. I have forgotten what it is like to have a husband home with me every night. It is really nice. That's life of a medical students wife though. Busy busy. But as much as we don't get to see each other we still find ways to get some quality time every day with each other and I love it.
I've been able to do a little hiking this past couple weeks. Section 10 and half of 11 of the Waitukubuli Trail. We hiked 8 1/2 miles in 3 1/2 hours. It was a lot of fun and a pretty easy trail. We drove about 45 minutes to the trail head and then hiked all the way back to campus.
I keep mentioning my Dominica bucket list items. Once I found out there were fireflies on the island it became one of my bucket list items to see one. I titled this post fireflies because after two semesters I finally saw some! The first one I saw was from our kitchen window while we were watching one of the Harry Potter movies. Stephen pointed it out. Maybe it was just the magic of Harry Potter but they seemed so beautiful and magical to me. They are florescent green and one of the coolest things I have ever seen. A few days after that on my walk home from campus after dark I saw probably 5 or 6 of them in the bushes by our house. I probably watched them for five minutes or more. It is those little moments that help me remember the good in living here and to try to always be thankful for what I have.
With Easter coming up I have been looking forward to dyeing eggs. Our anniversary is on Easter this year so I decided to color eggs a week earlier. I used pastel food coloring and they turned out really pretty!

Still shots from a video of the fireflies!

My wonderful friend Tai had a birthday 

so a group of us surprised her with breakfast.

5K, April fools, & 3 weeks until Break

In less then 3 weeks Stephen and I will be heading home for the break!!! We are really looking forward to going home for a couple weeks and finally being able to spend more time with each other. I have been trying to keep myself busy so that I stop thinking about going home. I have finished my Standardized Patient job for the semester and will start up again next semester. Stephen has one more mini exam and then his final a week later! He has worked so hard this semester.
I decided that I wanted to do something for April Fools this year so I made Stephen some brownies. (Brown E's). I thought it was pretty clever. I would have felt bad if I didn't really make him some, so I had real ones hiding in the other room.

The thing I am most proud of this week is running my first 5k!!! There is a club that organizes one every semester and it was on my Dominica bucket list to run one. I am so grateful that Stephen was there running with me. I am quite a baby when it comes to being athletic and he talked me through it and encouraged me not to give up the whole way! I love him so very much for all he does for me. I don't know where I would be without his love and support. He was even kind enough to dump a cup of water in my face after (getting a good amount up my nose). Such a sweetheart my husband is. After the run we headed straight to the ocean to cool off and play around in the water for a bit. We are pretty lucky to live so close to it. Then we got some dinner and enjoyed the sunset. It was a day I won't forget.

April Fools!

2nd Semester Spouses Banquet

This semesters spouses banquet theme was 70's disco! It was at sisters restaurant right on the beach. We had lion fish for dinner which was super delicious, fun music, face painting, and of course time with amazing friends.