They Walked, and walked, and walked, and walked...

My friend and I have been going walking a few times a week. It's a great chance to get out and exercise but mostly I love to just spend time with her. We've known each other since high school and we roomed together our first year of college. After that, our lives went in different directions, and after a few years we finally live in the same town. Luckily, our hubbies get along so the four of us get together almost once a week for game night.
Tonight we walked almost two miles. We decided that once we do two miles a few times a week we're going to start running the last lap. The idea is to work up to running two miles. Once we do that, we are going to do a 5K! Eventually I would like to do the Disneyland marathon :)

Delays

Tyson has been plugging away at his major and is currently in his fourth year of school. Chemical engineering is a super tough program and the trend is to finish in five years. Well, Tyson met with his academic adviser last week and he has two years to go. His original adviser messed up with academic plan in a big way. Since the ChEn courses are only offered once a semester and only during Fall or Winter, he has to taken certain classes first before other ones. His new projected graduation date is April 2014. Sigh. We were so excited about him being done next April, 2013. The good news is that this new plan gives him two summers to work and apply for internships before graduation. Also, his class load will be significantly reduced: 12 major credits Fall 2012 and Winter 2013, and 10 major credits Fall 2013 and Winter 2014. William will be 2.5 years old when Tyson graduates. 
The other reason I was hoping Tyson would be done next April is related to kids. I was hoping (ideal world, right?) that Tyson would graduate with a job offer, we would move to wherever this new job will be (hopefully, Seattle!!), and then we could start trying for another baby. I wanted to have another baby before William turns 3. I love that my brother and I are almost three years apart. From what my mom tells me, it was great for her too, since I was older and a great little helper. There is no way for us to handle having another baby while Tyson is still in school. His courses are so demanding that I'm pretty much the only one working and I'm only working part-time. We are worried about child care because as William gets older Tyson won't be able to take him to classes and Tyson already has trouble studying while he watches William. We just can't afford to pay someone a ton to watch him while I work four hours a day. We really miss having Tyson's sister live near us. She watched William last semester and it was awesome. She wouldn't be able to watch him anymore anyway though, since she's having her second in May/June.
These past few months, but really our whole marriage, has been tough. We've had a lot of unique trials that most newlyweds don't have to worry about. There are many days when we just don't know how we're going to make it. But we do know that if we trust in our Heavenly Father, give 110% to our responsibilities, and love each other like crazy, that things will work out. Somehow, someday, things will be alright. 

Thanksgiving and William's Blessing

This year my family came up from California for Thanksgiving. We waited to bless William until Thanksgiving since that was the first time my family could come. We had dinner with my aunt, uncle, grandparents, parents, and sibs. It was a lot of fun!
William's blessing was up in Ogden. My parents and sisters were the only people from my side of the family who came. I guess it was alright since Tyson's family alone made the blessing circle HUGE. I still wish my brother had been there though.
My mom took me and my sister shopping on Black Friday and it was nuts. Obviously. We all ate lunch at The Steak Center. This place features "Mormon" food, church benches, and green jello. It was super good and pretty inexpensive. Enjoy the pictures!

STOP

I don't remember dreaming last night but I do remember being shoved around the bed by a sleeping Tyson and then him shouting "STOP" for no reason. I've never heard him shout like that before. It startled me.
The night before last I dreamed that I got sent to Alcatraz and I had to fight my cell mate to the death. He stabbed me in the arm with a red ball point pen so I stabbed him in the heart with a fountain pen. Sort of reminds me of Red Eye + Alcatraz + WWE. I thought weird dreams were supposed to end when pregnancy ended. I also thought heartburn was supposed to end then after pregnancy. LIES.

To Wil Wheaton

Do you know who Wil Wheaton is? He was in Star Trek, Eureka, and some other stuff. Nerds like him. Well, what you may not know is that his parent's are my parent's neighbors. Yup. My "hometown" just got way cooler.

Once upon a time, when I was living at home, maybe during high school but it may have been in the summer after my freshman year of college, my parents went out of town. I wanted to have a get-together with all my church friends. Yes, CHURCH friends. My parents said that was okay as long as we had an adult chaperon. Annalise's dad volunteered :D

My parents have a fire pit in the backyard so we started up a little fire and roasted hotdogs and marshmallows while we sat around chatting and having a good time.

Just as a note, from our backyard the street next to the house is clearly visible, as is the Wheaton's home.

Suddenly we see a firetruck pull a U-Turn on the street above the house. We all were wondering what was going on when the doorbell rang. Annalise answered the door and the firefighters asked if she lived there. She said No, and came to get me. I told them, "Yes, I live here. Yes, my parents are out of town...why are you here?" Wil Wheaton's parents had called the fire department on us! Apparently, they were concerned that we had started a fire that could have caused a wildfire (WHAT?!) and since they knew my parent's weren't home they called the authorities. Awesome. Right as the firemen were about to start lecturing me, Annalise's dad comes to the door and says "How can I help you, gentlemen?" Needless to say, the firemen were a little surprised to this an old man in the house. I informed them that he was our adult supervision and a lawyer and everything was under control. So they left.

Now, at the time it was just a silly story that made me feel sort of like a rebel, but now that I actually know who Wil Wheaton is and I think he's a fabulous actor, it's such a better story!

I'm sure he'll never read this but just in case...

To Wil Wheaton,

Your parents are awesome. I loved you in Eureka. If you ever go visit your parents, stop by my parent's house (my dad is a Trekkie). I don't even know if your parents remember this story, but I sure do. They turned a simple party into a story that I'll never forget, and let a churchy girl feel like a rebellious teen.

Cheers,

Denise

Journaling

I am not good at writing consistently in a journal or on this blog. But this week I've started writing in my journal just about everyday. Sometimes I just feel over-whelmed and instead of acting out on those feelings I write until I run out of things to say.
It's interesting that I will start writing because of one thing but keep writing about lots of other things. Tyson and I have been going to the BYU Counseling Center for a marital check-up (it's for his Marriage Enhancement classes. He has to write a paper on the experience) for the past two weeks. The first time the counselor asked us to tell her our dating-engagement-marriage story. I personally LOVE our story and love telling it to anyone who will listen. This last time she had us do an activity called sculpting. We took turns using the items in the room to "show" what different parts of our history were like for us. For the "when you met" time, I took two chairs, faced them toward each other, and stood in between them. One chair represented marriage to the boy I was dating before Tyson and the other chair represented serving a mission. Anyways, the activity was weird at first but it showed some differences in how Tyson and I perceive things in our marriage. I have always been fascinated by these types of things: personality types, communication styles, etc. It's fun to apply this stuff to Tyson and me and our marriage.
From writing in my journal and going to this marital check-up, I've found a few things about myself that I want help understanding and resolving. This first year and a half of our marriage has challenged us beyond what I ever imagined. I'm proud to say that we are stronger for these trials. I am going to continue meeting with our counselor one-on-one in the hopes that she can help me understand some things and give me tips on how to change other things. It doesn't matter what those things are but I'm looking forward to becoming a better, more peaceful person.