quick 2013/2014 year recap/photo dump

We moved to Iowa in late July.  It has been a complete adventure being away from home (Utah; family; cafe rio; mooches; etc).  We have learned more about the 'mid west' than I've ever wanted to know ;)  As you can see, from the above picture,  I have more-bitter-than-sweet emotions about being here in Iowa.  Though, it's a all okay as long as I have Spencer with me.  

Summer quickly ended as school started in August.  This is when I learned what it was like to be a true medical school wife.  The most accurate description is that it is hard and lonely to be a spouse of a medical student.  Fortunately, we were not the only mormons that started med school here without children.  Our group of friends (our Iowa family) are all so amazing.  We have the best gang of nerds in the state and they make it feel a thousand times less lonely when we have dinner with each other or have game nights.  Which was pretty much every week.  Dinner group was the best thing that has ever happened to Spencer and I.  We are so grateful to have the blessing of caring, thoughtful, and talented friends.  (Picture of the gang farther down)

So, remember when I said we learned more than I ever wanted to know?  I learned that winter is my least favorite time of the year and that winters here are long and extremely cold.  Negative temperature with -40 degree windchill.  It's not a joke.  Worst winter of my life.  I mostly stayed in my bed and didn't have lots to do.  Well, at least it felt that way.  I stayed busy in my job search and was always doing something with the young women in the ward.  Yup, I'm still in the young women presidency.  Hardest calling I will ever have.  I am so much more grateful for my young women leaders.   

Spencer had his birthday in February and the only way to celebrate was to have our friends over for hot dogs and cheesecake after a long day of tests at school.  This is Spencer asleep at our friends house.  We are those friends :) 

March finally came and it was still freezing cold outside.  So, Spencer decided that over spring break we should visit the bio-dome.  It was the happiest day of my life in Iowa.  It was so warm and green.  

April came and there was a huge fire in Des Moines that left the old younkers building looking like a tom cruise movie.   I forgot to mention that I finally found a job in February working at Heartland Area Education Agency.  Prior to my finding a good job, I nannied for the cutest couple in Des Moines.  They are in our ward and have little twin girls.  They lived in the next building over from the younkers building.  I am glad that their home was not touched by the fire.   The picture below shows some of the damage.  I was standing in the Skywalk.  That is a thing here in Des Moines.  All the buildings downtown are connected by skywalks.  I think it's because it is so cold in the winter.   

^The entire gang!^

Okay so, I'm sorry that Todd is flipping you off.  It was meant to not get posted but it is the only picture I have of these silly guys and there 'manscaping' activities.  I have a waxing kit and sometimes I wax the med students.  Here, they are getting the nose hair removal treatment :) 

April got warm enough to have the ice melt on the river.  Some of us decided to go fishing one weekend.  Spencer caught a northern pike.  We were all so excited for him.  

May! Glorious May! I left to San Diego for Kimberly, my sister's, wedding.  It was so nice to see the coast.  Spencer couldn't make it because of school, so I enjoyed spending time with my sister and my sister-in-law!  We were in charge of getting the bride ready.  It was not an easy task.  I'm so grateful for Malerie because she definitely can keep her cool under stressful situations.  I am also so happy for Kimberly and glad that Blake is a part of our family now.  They make the most adorable couple! 

Photo bombing :) 

When I got back to Iowa it was warm.  Actually, here in Iowa it is really warm.  Upper 80's with very dense humidity.  I won't complain about the heat though - I will gladly take it over freezing temps any day.  Spring is finally here.  Most days, I go running down to this park with amazing trees.

During the final week of school, I never saw Spencer.  I did find treats that he would leave for me.  He is the best.  

Below is a picture of the gang on the last day of school... until July... 

For right now, all the tests are over!!  Our gang decided to celebrate with woods ball, hot dogs, smores, and canoeing.  We have all become so close.  Saying goodbye to them for the summer will be rough.  Spencer and I will be staying in Iowa.  Most the group will be traveling back to Utah, Idaho, and Arizona.  Here's to looking forward to next year! Congrats you guys on surviving 1st year!

Our friends are the best! I love you guys!  

Spencer and I together on his last day as a 1st year med student!  Both looking a little tired but still rockin it ;) 

I am so proud of you Spence! 

Winter Quarters Nebraska

Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple 

Earlier this month I drove my car, full of youth, to our closest mormon temple to do baptisms for the dead.  I am in the Young Women Presidency in our ward here in Iowa.  It was windy, cold and took forever to commute.  I hate driving on road trips (that's what makes Spencer such a wonderful husband -- he drives most of the time).  Thankfully, we finally arrived.

The youth in our ward are great, and I mean that, they really are wonderful.  Because most teenagers on a Saturday morning don't want to wake up early to drive two hours there and two hours back - but, my beehives, they did it.  With smiles and giggles the entire trip.  Not only did we travel to the temple, we also went to the visitors center across the street.

I will be honest, I didn't know much about the history of the pioneers other than they walked and walked and walked and walked... like the primary song, right?  I mean I even went on pioneer trek in my youth and really can't think of anything interesting that happened besides lots of walking, a few kids passing out here and there... the usually stuff.  Anyway, I found out that I have pioneer ancestry and still couldn't recall much about anything from my church history education.

Driving around this little town filled with mormon history was something else.  Streets were named after companies, ie., Young Street (I'm so mad I didn't take a picture of that - next time), and then the pioneer cemetery is located behind the temple and is shown in the above picture.  We decided not to walk around outside in the cold with wet hair, so much our observing was from the car or inside the visitors center.

Here is exactly what I learned on this trip:  info here
Basically, to sum up.  Iowa, "most tried stamina, courage, and equipment" of the pioneers.  And guess what, I feel like I can totally relate.

Resolutions, for a beautiful new year

Start by saying yes// practice confidence// be patient// don’t compromise your happiness// for goodness sakes stop slouching// dress up, spend less time in sweats// tell the truth// move your body, run, dance, and play// keep going// laugh, laugh a lot, laugh at yourself// bring a camera// love freely// give thanks, for everything in your life.....// keep sucking it in, we'll get there, eventually ;)

(grateful for my winter workout gear that I got for christmas, even though I still haven't made it to the gym - it's so darn cold!)

2014 theme is...

(christmas 2013, salt lake city, ut.)

Happiness...

Yes, for my theme of 2014, I chose the word happiness.  I decided on happiness because if I was going to be openly honest with myself, I would have to say, that I have been fairly unhappy lately.  I'm just completely sick of it so, I'm choosing happiness.

It wont be easy, since I have pretty much forgotten how to be genuinely happy with myself and my surroundings.  Moving has played a huge part in that unhappiness.  Now, I realize that I can't change that aspect of my life but, I can decide to change how I feel about living in Iowa.

I also need to find a job that makes me happy.  I've been sitting around our house feeling very lonely and realized I need to get out.  Not as in outside out really, it's pretty terrible and you can get frost bite within 10-30 minutes.  Just out and about and get to know Iowa a little better.  I've lived here for over 6 months and only know where the library, mall, and church are located.  Sad story.

I'm turning 26 this year and I am done feeling this helpless about my life.  Marrying a medical student does have limitations on just about everything; spending any sort of, money, time, vacations, weekend dates,  etc... has become difficult or out of the question.  I just want to feel a little bit more control over my life right now.  So, that is what I hope this theme will facilitate.

And hopefully, this will transition my blog into something fun with happy memories to look back on, in a few years, when we are finally done with medical school.  Ah, saying it makes me feel like the end is so far away, but we have had most doctors tell us that they loved their medical school days.  I just really hope we can begin to love ours, even if we never ever have to go back and do it all over again.  

 So, you can all look forward to seeing more funny posts or silliness on this blog from me :)

A New Year

2014 is finally here.

We spent New Year's Eve sleeping in our car which we had parked at a rest stop in Nebraska.  It was an adventure to say the least and, in many ways, it was the only way to wish 2013 goodbye.  It's not that we set a low bar of expectations for this year; we actually spent our time enjoying just being together without any distractions and spending the night being grateful for everything we have.  It was more than enough for us.

Waking up inside a snow covered car parked in Nebraska proved to us that we are remarkable people.   Who does that?  We do.  2013 consisted of so many changes and many bittersweet moments.  We experienced our own up's and down's just like everyone else.  But there were a few very defining times for us this past year.

Our year in review:
> Spencer was accepted to a couple of medical schools
> He decided and tried to convince me to move to Iowa for school after he interviewed there
> We told Oregon that we accepted their offer
> Spencer graduated from the University of Utah
> We tried a handful of infertility treatments without any success
> I said goodbye to my job
> We drove to Capistrano Beach and stayed in a beach house for a week
> We said goodbye to our families and all our friends
> We started another chapter of our lives by beginning medical school and moving across country to the corn fields of Iowa -- not oregon
> Lived in Iowa for a month without any furniture but an ironing board a cooler and a stool
> I got called to the Young Women's Presidency -- it was a huge surprise, there is something that the Lord is trying to teach me with this calling...
> We found a great group of first year med students that are more than just friends here in Iowa; they are like family
> I learned how to cook and grocery shop by myself now
> Spencer decided he wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon, a general surgeon, an interventional cardiologist, an internist, a radiologist, an OBGYN, and a gastroenterologist.... it changes weekly
> I flew back to Utah for Emily and Dan's wedding
> Spencer was called to be a ride coordinator -- apparently, that is a real calling here
> I flew back to Utah and then to Hawaii for a memorial service and the beginning of my parents home renovations
> I got a job working at Wells Fargo
>  We celebrated Thanksgiving in Iowa with some amazing friends that are third and second years
> I quit my job at Wells Fargo
> We decided to drive back home for Christmas and surprise everyone
> On December 31st we began our trek back to Iowa and got a speeding ticket in Wyoming just hours before the new year
> Decided we hated Wyoming around midnight and decided to make it to Nebraska before pulling off and sleeping in our car

Happy New Year.
I hope that 2014 is awesome!

A Merry Christmas at home

 
We headed home to Utah from Iowa for Christmas this year.  It was a complete surprise to everyone when we showed up.  Thanks to my mama who can keep a secret.  My dad's face was priceless.  Spencer's sister called it; however, everyone else in his family were in complete shock when they saw us.  Anyway, it was so much fun to be back home during our winter break.  (That "Welcome Home" sign was for a neighbor who had just completed his two year mission in Chile.  But we also felt like it was secretly for us too!)


Oh how we missed the mountains of Utah - and our families too.

We had a wonderful and busy Christmas holiday.  With Spencer's family we made it to two christmas parties, a wedding, a father's birthday, and the birth of nephew #9.  With my family we did another two christmas parties, wrapped all day on christmas eve and woke up early to watch the little kids rip all that wrapping paper off, and then, moved all the furniture out of the house so that they could refinish the wood floors.  (My parents are doing huge renovations to their home.)  It was crazy but we wouldn't have had it any other way.

Merry Christmas!  Hopefully your holiday was filled with the joy of the season!
Love, Lindsey

blame it on my A.D.D., baby

SAIL!
(that was for Kimmie!)


and these too...