Time to Say Goodbye

Last night, after a long day of truck loading for them, Kiersten and I were able to spend a last night in Provo with my sister and brother-in-law Kimberly and David. We'll miss spending time with them. It has been great having family so close.

Best of luck, you two!

It was red and yellow and green and brown...

And scarlet and black and ocher and peach

And ruby and olive and violet and fawn

And lilac and gold and chocolate and mauve

And cream and crimson and silver and rose

And azure and lemon and russet and grey

And purple and white and pink and orange

And blue!

You don't have to know me long to know that I love musicals, and happily for me, Kiersten does too. Thus, at the beginning of the summer, we made the goal to be in attendance at all three of the Scera outdoor theater's summer musicals. And, equipped with a starving student card promising us two tickets for $10 each time, we were confident in our ability to make it happen. And so, as of Monday evening, we are happy to announce...

Beauty and the Beast ... ... ... ... CHECK!

West Side Story ... ... ... ... CHECK!

AND...

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ... ... ... ... CHECK!

The Scera always does an amazing job at pulling together a stellar cast (both as actors and singers) and they don't waste any time or money on providing the best set, choreography and atmosphere for their outdoor plays. That being said, it is hard to pick a favorite musical of the summer.

This last performance of Joseph, however, had some special meaning for Kiersten and I. For those of you who remember, our first date eleven months ago was also to a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. We both admit this week's performance was the better of the two (no hesitation there), and it even added a fun twist of Las Vegas to the plot, but somehow those high school students from last September attempting French accents as they sang "Those Canaan Days" forever won a place in our hearts.

And now, as we prepare to leave Provo a week from today, we with them sing,

Eh bien, raise your berets, to those [Provo] days.

1 Month Anniversary!

Eric and I have passed our one month- do we count as an old married couple yet?

Eric suprised me with an amazing anniversary. I didn't expect anything much- its just the one month and I work so late... He picked me up from work at 8:30 and all I thought I was getting was a quick dinner before going to bed. But he opens the door for me and there is this beautiful bouquet of roses and our wedding cake sitting on the table. He had decorated the cake and then also cooked me an amazing dinner. We then danced in our living room to our wedding cd. Eric (this may suprise some of you) is actually turning into quite the dancer!

A Week's Review

Sorry this might be a long and not detailed post, but we'll have to get better at posting if you want anything better. That aside, this has been an AMAZING week, but especially an AMAZING weekend.

First, however, we'll start with Monday. Kiersten and I went to the Scera theater in Orem to enjoy a wonderful evening of West Side Story. We've always been impressed by the casts that the Scera pulls together, and we were not disappointed this time either.

We also enjoyed our first visitors as a married couple. Last Sunday Kiersten's parents and siblings Edward and Lilly spent the night on their way up to Idaho. Unfortunately, their way back home later in the week was less than smooth with car problems, so we only had Edward and Lilly as guests Thursday night. All told, though, I think we could get used to having guests every now and then.

Despite the excitement of having family over and the enchantment of going to muscial theater, Friday night was perhaps the best of the nights. We were opportuned to travel to Salt Lake to attend the Tabernacle Choir's Pioneer Day Commemoration. Our seats close to the front made for an enjoyable show of the choir, orchestra and more than spectacular soloist, but to our great joy, our seats also put us in position for a charming encounter with the prophet as he exited the Conference Center. Upon seeing a child along the rope separating the audience from him, President Monson apparently couldn't help but rush over to the child and ask if he wanted to see him wiggle his ears. And, we've all seen it on TV, but President Monson can really wiggle those ears. He then proceeded to shake hands of the crowd that had gathered, and he had just shaken my sister Kimberly's hand when he turned and said, "I better get back to my wife." It was a blessing to be so close (a few feet) to the prophet, and it made what might be our last trip to Salt Lake City one to remember.

Being the last Saturday that we'll have together in Provo, due to my position as weekened coordinator for a Chinese summer camp, yesterday Kiersten and I decided to hike to Stewart Falls. All we can say is that we will miss Provo when we leave. There is truly beauty all around here in Provo, Utah.

Lastly, our week would not be complete without mentioning the amazing enchiladas Kiersten made for our dinner tonight with my sister and brother-in-law and friends Rich and Leslie. They were amazing, and here is a picture of the work in progress to convince you. We also had some delightful rhubarb cake that we might have to post on here later for you to enjoy. It was delightful.

Two Weeks!

Two weeks on our way to eternity! Yes, for those of you who missed it, Kiersten and I were married two weeks ago from today. Please forgive our long absence from blogging, but I imagine you'll understand that we've been a little busy. We are back, though, and excited to share with you our amazing past month. Here's a quick picture recap.

Our trip started with a drive to Kiersten's home of Fontana, California. But who couldn't make a stop at Cove Fort on the way? This is not only an enchanting pioneer fort, but it also home to a rich trove of Hinckley history.

Taking a break from wedding preparations, Kiersten and I headed off for a day of excitement at Disneyland with the Anderson family.

We regret to say that we didn't get any pictures of the "rehearsal" dinner the night before the wedding, but we both readily agree that it was perhaps the best sampling of hamburgers and sides that we could have imagined. And, what would a formal rehearsal dinner be without a good Texas pinata.

Not many words are needed to say that this (June 27) was undoubtedly the happiest day of both our lives. We are still waiting for the official pictures to be ready, but much thanks to our sister Brittany for snapping these charming pictures. I wish I could write more, but I think our smiles say it all.

The Fontana reception in Kiersten's backyard couldn't have gone more perfect. Cutting into that amazingly beautiful cake was the hardest part of the whole day.

Much thanks to Kimberly and Brittany for the expected but still exciting artwork on the getaway car.

Our first stop for the honeymoon was in the Sacramento Mountains of Cloudcroft, New Mexico. We stayed in a beautiful cabin complete with everything we could have wanted, but our days there were mostly spent outdoors hiking the breathtaking trails surrounding the town.

Our next stop was in Carlsbad to visit the caverns, including a wonderful hike to reach our ranger-guided tour at the Slaughter Canyon Cave. We might also add that our bed and breakfast that we stayed at that night was beyond expectations.

Our last stop was San Antonio, where we had a wonderful open house filled with family and friends. Our time there also included a stop at the San Antonio Temple and the Japanese Tea Gardens. A heartfelt thanks is owed to the Owen's, who let us stay in their beautiful home while they were away on vacation.

And last of all, our drive home included a brief but fun roadside stop at Wilson's Arch.

Hopefully that wasn't too many pictures to stomach in one sitting (more pictures can be seen by clicking on our photo links on the right), but I suppose that's why people blog more frequently than once every month. Kiersten and I have been back in Provo since Monday night, and we are loving life together. Life has calmed down for sure, but now we have new exciting challenges to face, foremost of which is unpacking and repacking to prepare for our 9-month trip to China in just over a month.

Thank you to all our family and friends for all your help and support. This month has been so amazing largely in part to you. Happy two weeks Kiersten! I love you!

Just to hold you over...

I promise that we'll write a better post later, but here's some clips from our date last Thursday to hold you over. There was also a wonderful time at the Mormon Tabernacle Choir public rehearsal, but our camera battery died before we had a chance to snap a picture of that.

When time is short...

I was reading in my journal just now, and I came across this entry. It's less than three weeks until we're married, and I thought this was an appropriate passage to share. My feelings and love for Kiersten have only grown stronger.

November 19, 2008

I held Kiersten's hand tonight! Yeah, I know it's been a while since I've written, and a whole lot has happened. I'll try to catch up more later, but for now just know that Kiersten is very possibly (basically certainly) the most amazing girl I have ever met. As far as I can tell, and I think I can tell a lot, she is everything that I've been looking for in a girl. It was so hard getting the courage to hold her hand, though. I've wanted to do it since last Friday at the basketball game (where I'm pretty sure she was hinting during halftime). But I did it. I did it tonight in the celestial room of the Provo Temple. If I may say so, it was a pretty good place to do it. Oh, I'm just so happy right now, but I really have to go to bed. I'll write more, don't worry.