Graduation Photo Shoot

Graduation is coming up, so I did a photo shoot so I can send a picture out with my announcements. These were some of our favorites. There are a couple of Matthew and I together and a couple that won't be candidates for the announcement but that were fun anyway, even if I look silly

Just Dance: The Matt and Cory Addition

Cory came over earlier this week because Danielle was out of the country for a nursing service project and this is what we ended up doing:

Colors Galore

For the past few years Matthew and I have wanted to attend the Festival of Colors at the Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, but each year something has come up. This year when we first heard about the festival we promptly put it into our calendar and this year we finally achieved our goal. It was a fun experience with dancing and hugging and of course, color throwing.

#3

On Tuesday Matthew and I celebrated our 3^rd Wedding Anniversary. For the past year we have been attending an Institute class called “The Gospel and Christian History” and it is on Tuesday Nights from 7:30-9:00 pm. Without much discussion Matthew and I both had decided that we still wanted to go to our Institute class and that we could go out to dinner to celebrate on Wednesday evening.

On Tuesday morning, Matthew and I had breakfast together and I gave him the first of two presents I had for him. For Matthew’s birthday, his parents and I bought him a new keyboard. When Matthew was little he took piano lessons, but since then has not played much, and he has been wanting to get back into it. Well, since his birthday he hasn’t had much material to play from so I thought that it would be a fun idea to give him some of the piano books he used to practice from when he was little. Matthew’s mom was very kind to let us borrow them. I added to these lesson books by buying the “Hymns Made Easy” book from the Distribution Center. I hope to be able to record the progress he makes sometime very soon!

Right now I am at an internship with an Early Intervention program called DDI Vantage and I am working at the West Site. Because it is about a 30-minute drive away, I attempt to take the bus on the days that I don’t have to be in until after 8 am. Well, Tuesday was one of those days and because I took a little too long getting ready, Matthew had to drive me to catch the Trax Train. After my internship was over for the day, I took the bus back home with the intention of taking the car to pick up the other gift that I had purchased for Matthew. When I walked up to our garage I realized that Matthew had backed the car into the garage. Now normally this wouldn’t be a big deal, but when I got into the car, I realized that Matthew had left a few notes for me in the car that I knew he intended for me to find when we went to our institute class. A couple things went through my mind as I drove away, “Dang it, now I will have to back the car back into the garage so Matthew doesn’t know I was out here” and “Oh no, what if Matthew is home already and he hears me drive away, then he will know I saw the pieces and that I am up to something.”

When I got back home, I backed the car into the garage and left the notes in the car as if I had never seen them. When I walked up the stairs to our apartment I heard music playing and thought I was going to have to find a way to sneak the gift I had passed Matthew and explain where I had gone to. But as I walked up to the door I saw a heart that said “Happy 3^rd Anniversary, Here are a 100 reasons why I love you, Have fun!” At that moment I realized that Matthew wasn’t home and let out a sigh of relief, then I got really excited to read all the notes. When I walked into the apartment I called out Matthew’s name, just to make sure he wasn’t going to spring around the corner (he might, because I do it to scare him all the time). As I did I also saw many multi-colored notes on the floor, hanging from picture frames and in other various places throughout the apartment. I then realized that these notes were in puzzle-piece shapes. I wondered what the puzzle would make and I called Matthew. I told him thank you and asked if the pieces made different color hearts and he said that they did, and then I went to work!

When Matthew was done with work I met him at the grocery store because he had promised one of the Branch Members that he would pick up an item for him. We headed home so Matthew could change and I gave him his last gift. Somehow Matthew inherited a painting of a windmill and river that his Great Grandma Jacoba Dinkelman painted. Although it is a very beautiful painting, the frame that it came in was a little outdated and Matthew wanted a new one. After several months went by and we never went to go get a new frame, I knew that his would be a great gift and Matthew loved it.

After we dropped the grocery item off to the member, we headed to Institute and we were both glad we didn’t miss it. This class has opened our eyes to the affects of culture and the idea that many people of other faiths practice many of the things we practice. I know that many people feel that the Church is not true because some of the things that are part of our beliefs have been viewed to be taken from other churches, but in my mind that is one reason why I believe the church to be true. This church was Restored, which implies that much of what is used is already in existence, it just needs a little work done on it to make it refined again.

My institute teacher compared the restoration of the gospel to reassembling and restoring an old roll-top desk he found at a garage sale. When he first saw the desk it was disassembled and was being used as a workshop bench. The roll top was off and stacked in the corner, the shelves and drawers were scattered everywhere and the parts of the desk that were still assembled had paint and dust all over it. In order to fully restore the desk, Brother Peterson had to gather all of the pieces, remove the paint spots that didn’t belong and reassemble all the pieces in their proper order. Joseph Smith did the same thing in restoring the gospel.

After Institute we invited some friends over for Pazookee (basically a sheet of cookie with ice cream put on it right after it comes out of the oven).

On Wednesday we went to Rodizio Grill for dinner courtesy of Matthew’s Parental Units. We enjoyed the fine dinning and as usual in a place where you decide when you stop eating, Matthew ate way too much, but we still had dessert. It was a wonderful anniversary, Matthew definitely made up for his V-day mishap. It is amazing that three years have already passed by. I can’t wait to see what this next year brings.

Internship 3: U of U Neuro Rehab

I was very excited for this internship and I wasn’t let down. The clinical instructors were very knowledgeable and willing to spend the time to help me learn, grow and become comfortable with my patients. My CI, Collin, gave me the space I needed to learn, but was also available to answer questions and give suggestions to improve my practice. He also should confidence in my knowledge and skills.

Collin helped me to become more comfortable with jumping in and trying things. I have a tendency to become intimidated in new and uncomfortable situations, I like to have a step by step plan of what to do, but each patient is different and sometimes those plans don’t fit well. Collin helped me to think basic and have several ideas of what I can do, so that if one thing doesn’t work, I can try something else. He and a few other therapists I worked with also helped me learn to push my patients further and not limit them to my idea of what they can do. When I was willing to do this, my patients improved more than I had expected.

I felt like this setting fit me; I can see myself working in this area and being very happy. I was excited about seeing my patients, I felt confident in what I was doing, but I was also continually challenged. There were points throughout my internship that I felt great at what I did and then other points that I needed a little more help with. Having this experience assured me that I am a good therapist while keeping me inspired to continue to strive to become better and more knowledgeable.

In this internship I had more opportunities to work with individuals from different backgrounds and cultures than where I come from. I worked with individuals from all over the world. I learned that each patient and their loved ones have different views of how they should be cared for and what the family’s responsibilities were. Some felt that we were working them too hard and that the patient needed more rest, others wanted more time in the gym. All of these situations required me to educate more and then compromise in order to keep a good relationship with everyone while doing what was best for the patient. Having to do this help me to become more comfortable with talking to the patient and the family. It also required that I look up information when I was unsure, so that I knew what I was saying was correct information.

Vday

This year V-day was on a Monday, which is a very busy day for Matthew and I. Most Mondays we go to work and then straight from work we go to choir practice with the branch members and then stay for FHE until about 8:30om, then head home get a bite of something to eat and then head to bed.

For the past few years we have had a tradition of going to the temple and then getting a heart shaped pizza for dinner. Well this year we made a resolution to go to the temple each week, so we had that part of our V-day tradition covered over the weekend. I knew Matthew was very busy and stressed with work and his calling, so I decided that this year I would take care of the heart shaped pizza.

When I finished work on Monday I called Matthew to get an update on our plans. We were trying to decide if we should skip FHE and have some time together or go to FHE and spend the evening with the branch members. It wasn’t a very good time for Matthew and I could tell he was frustrated and busy. He said that he was going to be late and then before I knew it I heard him cancel V day. We hung up and I tried not to be upset. My rational side said, “I know that Matthew loves me, he tells me and shows me everyday. I don’t need a commercially set aside day where everyone is getting the same things to ‘express love.’” This rational side couldn’t control the irrational girl inside of me screaming “How could he cancel V-day?! Doesn’t he love me? It’s not like a need a lot. One rose, is that too much to ask?”

Despite V-day being canceled, I still felt that I needed to get the heart-shaped pizza for Matthew. I figured if nothing else our tummies would be full and it's my opportunity to show him I love him. After all he DOES show/tell me all the time and I feel like I could be better at letting him know.

Later after reviewing our conversation, Matthew insisted that he did not “cancel” V-day, but he agreed that he was going to have to really put forth great effort with our Anniversary (this year is his turn to plan) to make up for it.

Looking back on the day, it was actually a good experience; I now have one more thing to tease Matthew about, I was able to serve Matthew and show him that I care and we were able to spend time with the branch members whom we adore. They bring a lot of light into our lives. We both feel we have 30 or so extra grandparents and I think that means even more to Matthew since his have all passed on.

Matthew's B to the irthday

Last weekend we celebrated Matthew's 28th birthday. On Friday night we went to Costa Vida for dinner. Matthew and I both love CostaVida, it isexactly like Cafe Rio except, it has a Mango salsa and dressing that bring its sweet pork salad to a whole new level. While there we actually ran into an old friend of minefrom the first ward Iwas in when I moved to Salt Lake City. I knew him as Elder Jensen because he was serving a Service Mission at the Institute when we first met.

After dinner Matthew and I met up with our good friend Eric Quimby and his soon to be bride Ashley for some good old fashioned bowling fun. This was the first time we met Ashley and she was delightful. I really enjoyed that her and Eric banter just as much as Matthew and I do and that when they are telling stories, they both have a view on how something "really" happened. We discovered how well Ashley bowls, even with her right hand, she kicked some tail even though she is left handed. It was a lot of fun.

On Sunday, as per tradition, we went to the Bowen homestead and had a dinner selected by Matthew and then cake, ice cream and gifts. Matthew chose to have baked pancakes, which is pretty much a dessert. I wasn't sure how I felt about having a dessert dinner followed by more dessert, but Matthew and I hadn't had baked pancakes in a long time and I had forgotten how good they were.

Matthew and I also played a very old version of "LIFE" with Liz and Cole. It was a lot of fun and had some interesting rules. After dinner Matthew opened up the gift his mother and I had been keeping from him since Christmas (and that is a very long time for me to keep a secret)...a new keyboard!! He has been talking about wanting one so he can brush up on his piano skills and it was on sale, so I thought it was the perfect idea.