"Married, pregnant, graduating from college, and still not old enough to rent a U-haul"

I am in Ohio now. It was quite the ordeal getting here though. We picked up the moving truck on Thursday and they said that we could have the 24' truck instead of the 16' truck we reserved for the same price. So we took it.

We loaded it a little of Thursday and a little of Friday but most of the packing happened on Saturday. My whole family helped pack and clean our apartment and there is no way we could have done it without them. We would have had to stay in Utah for a few more days to get that place clean! The check-out requirements were ridiculous! "Clean the floors until shining." SHINING?! They had not even been swept when we moved in! But my family did an amazing job and it looked a million times better than it did when we moved in.

Goodbye, very small bedroom.

Goodbye, very small living room.

Goodbye, very small kitchen and oven that was terrible.

Thank you, family!

We brought some of Sam's sister's furniture to Ohio and we slept on the bed in the back of the moving truck. It was very scary because we could have been latched in but by the time we stopped I was usually so tired that it didn't even matter.

Look how huge that truck is! Good job, Sam.

The title of this post is something my mom said. You have to be at least 25 years old to drive a moving truck so Sam had to do it himself. Not that I would have wanted to though. Being too young was the perfect excuse.

Graduation

It is so strange to think that I am graduated from college. What am I going to do?! At first I was so sad. Where are all of my textbooks and to do lists? Where are the exams and due dates? But I am guessing the baby will fill that void very well in about three months.

Below are just a whole bunch of pictures from graduation that I doubt anyone will look at but they are here anyway...

Beginning the processional into the Marriott Center.

Elder Nelson, President Samuelson, and President Uchtdorf

Family

Yay!

Parents

Grandparents

Little brothers

I promise that I am not this big yet.

Matthew's girlfriend! Love her!

Fashion statement

In-laws

Big brother who thinks it is hilarious that I am getting fat. Look who's talking, mister!

All that work and they give me a diploma that says SAMPLE across the front and tell me I have to wait for mine to arrive in the mail in three weeks?!

Out to lunch at Saigon Cafe to celebrate. This is another thing I will miss about Provo.

Tuesday Thyme: Poppy Seed Pastry

Poppy Seed Pastry

Pastry:
1 pkg. dry yeast (2 1/2 tsp.)
1 c. hot tap water (120 degrees)
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. salt
4 1/2 - 5 c. flour
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 c. butter, melted

Filling:
3/4 c. poppy seed
2 T. water
2/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. cherry preserves

Prepare oven to use as a proofing oven.

Pastry
1. Dissolve the yeast in water and add the sugar and salt to activate the yeast.
2. Place the flour in a bowl and add the eggs, butter, and yeast mixture.
3. Knead to form a smooth elastic dough and set in the proofing oven until doubled in bulk.

Filling
1. Place the poppy seeds, water, and sugar in a pan and cook over medium heat until the mixture has thickened slightly.
2. Add the vanilla and preserves.
3. Roll the pastry into a rectangle 1/4" thick.
4. Spread with the filling and roll up. Score diagonal slices along the top every 3". Let rise 20 minutes in proofing oven. Once that is done, turn oven up to 350 degrees.
5. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes.

Goodbye, Utah

When I first came to Utah, I hated pretty much everything about it and couldn't wait until the next break from school so I could go back to Arizona. Three years later, and I am so glad that I came to BYU. Now that I only have two days left here, I came up with a few things I will miss about Utah or BYU and also a few things that I will definitely be fine without.

Things I Will Miss About Utah or BYU:

1. Nearby family

Just a few members of my Utah family.

2. The Mesa

The Mesa is where I lived for my first two years at BYU. This is where I was living when I met Sam. My parents own it.

3. The park where we first said "I love you"

That was a great night...

4. Campus

5. Y on the mountain

6. The Daily Universe

7. The library

8. Swimming with Kayla

My cousin and I would go swimming together every Thursday. I will definitely miss that.

9. Living near Del Taco

The nearest Del Taco to our apartment in Ohio is 2.5 hours away. I don't think Del Taco is a good enough reason to convince Sam to drive that far. There are no Del Tacos in New York.

10. Matthew's baseball games

He didn't get to play very much this season and I will miss not being able to go to his games for the next three seasons.

11. Close temple

Things I Will NOT Miss About Utah or BYU:

1. Snow in the middle of April

2. RB stairs

There are two more flights that you can't see. And I climbed those at least once a day.

3. Parking

Pretty much all Utah County parking enforcement is messed up.

4. Poor apartment management

Goodbye, love fern.

5. No washer/dryer

I hope to never have to live without a washer and dryer again. We would go to my brother's house about once a month and spend six hours doing our laundry.

6. The roundabout

It seems that no one knows how to use a roundabout. I almost die every day. See instructions here.

Tuesday Thyme: Roasted Potatoes

Roasted Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary
serves 5

3 lbs. red bliss potatoes
1/4 c. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, bruised
1 T. fresh rosemary leaves
1 1/2 t. salt
1 t. black pepper, freshly ground

1. Peel the potatoes, if desired, quarter them
2. Combine the oil, garlic, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the potatoes and toss until they are evenly coated. Transfer to a lightly oiled sheet pan.
3. Roast at 425 degrees, using a spatula to flip potatoes after 20 minutes. Continue roasting until golden brown and tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 20-25 minutes more. Serve immediately or hold hot for service.

Provo Baby Shower

My sisters-in-law and mother-in-law threw a baby shower for me on Friday and it was really fun! I had never been to a baby shower before and had no idea what to expect. But we got to try some delicious baby food. Yum yum.

Kayla was not a big fan of the baby food tasting.

Justine and Emily had to race to see who could drink the most water in two minutes.

It looked painful.

We cheered for them.

No scissors so I was biting the ribbon.

Look at how little that thing is! It is adorable!

Party! Kayla (cousin), Laura (brother's girlfriend), Emily (sister-in-law), Marian (mother-in-law), Grandma (grandmother-in-law), Anna (sister-in-law), me, and Justine (cousin).

You're in big trouble, mister!

Emily: I woke up in the middle of the night for no reason and couldn't go back to sleep.

Sam: Maybe it was because Baby was kicking really hard, and then when you woke up he got caught so he stopped to not get in trouble.


He does kick a lot these days. Sneaky little devil!

Summer Plans

Sam lives in Ohio now. I have mentioned it twice but never really explained the story.

This is Sam's fifth summer installing security systems (his fourth summer as a lead tech). However, when Icon Security merged with Pinnacle Security, he lost all seniority. We were worried that he wouldn't get to be a lead tech because Pinnacle really values recruiting and, well, Sam isn't exactly the best recruiter. We had been offered offices and then they would be taken away.

Sam's boss called him mid-March and told him that he could go to the Akron, OH office but he would have to start April 1st. That was a really hard decision because after being separated for a month and a half at the end of last summer, we decided that we would never do it again. But we were scared that if we didn't take the Akron office then we wouldn't get any office at all... which would be a major pay cut.

So Sam moved to Ohio on March 30th. It has been really hard but you do what you have to do. The baby is kicking all the time now and he doesn't get to feel it. Also, it is finals and it is really hard to stay motivated when there is no one around. The time change has probably been the hardest adjustment. I keep Sam up on the phone until around 4am Ohio time because I am not tired yet. Oops.

Although Ohio seems super ghetto to me, I will survive. I am excited to live somewhere new and have new experiences.

Sam will come back for my graduation in a week and then we will drive back to Akron for the summer.

Taken by Sam as he entered Ohio.

Half Marathon

I completely forgot to post about Sam's half marathon adventure! The Provo half marathon was on April 4th. Sam flew back from Ohio to run in it and his luggage missed his second flight so we had to go buy him running clothes the night before. That was frustrating. Anyway, he ran with his dad and sister and they stayed together the whole time!

They finished in two hours and seventeen minutes. It snowed through the entire thing. Gross!

Good job, Sam! You are amazing!