September 11th

I wasn't planning to do this but throughout the day, I've thought a lot about what happened 11 years ago.

Eleven years ago, I walked into Riverside Elementary School and thought it would be just another normal day. A friend mentioned to the class that on the news, she heard something about a plane running into a building. We thought it was a complete accident. Little did we know that plane would change our future. Later in the day, our teacher announced what happened. The classroom across the hallway had the TV on and was watching footage. But our teacher would not allow us to go watch the news. That day was early release so I got home before my siblings. I put my backpack down, turned on the news, and called my mom at work. I remember the moment I turned the TV on, it was replaying the very moment the second plane crashed into the tower. At the age of 11, I had no clue what to think. Never before had our nation been attacked on our soil in my lifetime. I had learned about historical events such as the attacks on Pearl Harbor and the Civil War battles. But never before had I lived through such an attack.

A few weeks later, my class went to the school district's school forest for the traditional camp trip. One night there, my class gathered around the radio to listen to President Bush announce that we were going to war against the people who destroyed our nation. Little did I know that my brother would fight in the war President Bush spoke about.

Fortunately, I was not related to anyone who lost their life with the terrorist attacks. I am proud of my brother who served (and survived) two tours in Iraq to fight against the evil in the world. I consider myself so blessed and grateful despite the evil nature of the attacks. It serves as a testimony to me that God is always watching over us despite the wickedness that exists.

Weekend Adventures

Our first weekend back in Provo that didn't include moving was quite eventful. On Friday, I decided to decorate some more cupcakes and tried tie-dying the frosting. It turned out all right.

 Then, for date night on Friday, Joseph and I decided to get a fish. My old beta fish died right after we got married and we just didn't get around to getting a new fish. So we are pleased to announce as the newest member of our small family... Alpha Beta.

 While at the pet store, there was an adoption table with puppies as usual. Of course, I had to browse and play with the puppies. I found a dachsund/pug mix that stole my heart! Unfortunately we have to wait to get a dog. But here is a picture of what she looked like. I named her Hotdog.

Saturday, we went to the Provo Farmer's Market. It was okay; nothing too fancy but we got some peppers and some yummy pears. After the BYU football game, we went hiking up Rock Canyon.

It looks like I'm falling but it was just a weird angle with the camera.

Then today I took an adventure and made homemade ravioli. Everything is from scratch, noodles, filling, etc. It was hard and tasted yummy. But in the future, I think store-bought ravioli is just fine.

Joe is working really hard.

 This next week brings many exciting times as well. I start my job tomorrow (Hooray for income!) and the rival game between BYU and Utah is on Saturday. Go Cougars!

Settling Down and Being Craft-y

We moved to Texas in May. We moved to Nephi, Utah in August. We moved to Provo, Utah in September. There's been a lot of moving this summer. And who knows when the time will come to move again...

But, now that we're somewhat settled down into our apartment, I had time to be craft-y. My job doesn't start until next week so I took advantage of the time. I completed some projects I wanted to do for a long time. I finally bought a slipcover to cover our ugly pink (and rather scratchy) couch. It looks much nicer now. We also bought some bookcases for our mass amounts of games and books. But the big project I did this week was this:

I bought the frame from DI for 75 cents and got the piece of wood from Home Depot for 54 cents! I bought the paint and that was it! I love it and can't wait to do more with it over the years.