Washington D.C. Temple

Yesterday, (Saturday, Aug 29th) I got the chance to go to the Washington DC Temple!!! It was a nice break from the everyday life things one does in West Virginia. I went with some of the Relief Society sisters there were about 13 of us. We had a great time getting to know one another. The drive there was about 4 hours, we left at 6:20ish and got there at 10:30am. The drive home took much longer due to 3 car accidents on the interstates… all with in 10 miles of each other. I am glad I went, poor Stewart was jealous… he spent his day studying all day long preparing himself for his BIG test tomorrow! Wish him luck.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARGIE… & RUPERT DOG!

Today is my sister Margie’s 24th Birthday and on August 29th is my sister Katie’s dog, Rupert’s 2nd Birthday.

Margie (sorry Margie, I don't have any pictures of you after you got home... just found that out)

Rupert Dog

Since Stewart and I are in WV and could not make it home for the festivities we decided (ok it was really me that decided this) to have our own birthday party for them here in West Virginia. I made two mini-cakes and decorated them... this is my first attempt at cake decorating, a skill I hope to become well-versed in one day. Anyway for an amateur I think they turned out okay. So Margie and Rupert here’s to you and your big day!

Can you guess who's cake is who's?

Can't figure it out? Ok, we will tell you...

Mmmmm... good cake!

Mmmmm... good Ice Cream!

Thanks for having a BIRTHDAY "Ya All", hope it was HAPPY!!! We miss you and love your guts!

P.S. On a side note... Stewart and I arrived in Lewisburg exactly one month ago today. We cant believe that we have been here for only a month it feels much longer than that. Oh well, cheers to us!

West Virginia Adventures

Well I decided that it was high time I share with you some of the fun things we have done since moving to West Virginia. So forget about all the boring details about our week sit back and enjoy the pictures of the good times and the fun things “ya alls” are missing out on. Guess you better come visit! Loves

RASPBERRY PICKING

I went to a Raspberry farm just the other day with some gals from Church. It was a little rainy but the raspberries were worth it. There we tons of them just waiting for us to pick them. They also had a field of blueberry bushes, but we were too late in the season to pick any. Guess I will have to go back next year. The best part about the raspberries besides getting to eat them was the price… definitely worth the curvy road to get there.

Sam, Nativa, Emily, Ben, Lisa, Rachel, Adrianna, and Mike

Me with my bucket and some Raspberries

The fruits of my labor... Yum!!!

WEST VIRGINIA STATE FAIR

Lucky for us the West Virginia State Fair is only two miles away from our home and lucky for us we had a nice family in our ward give us two free tickets to the fair this year… so we went to the fair. The WV State Fair is very agriculture related and there were a lot of people showing their animals. It took me back to my fair days when I showed a pig, dairy cow, and a horse. I was able to tell Stewart all about it. Of course since I had seen most of all that before… I walked through the exhibits a little to fast for Stewart. He even told me I had to slow down or he was not going to hold my hand anymore. So I slowed down and took the chance to teach Stewart a little about my childhood days… good memories.

Who doesn't want to learn to milk a cow?

This guy was teaching us all about cows and how to milk them... he was taking forever otherwise Stewart would have milked a cow. If I had known he was that interested we could have done that in Idaho... I am sure my Dad would have loved to teach him. Oh Dad why don't you set something like this up at the next fair in Idaho... you could make some good $$$.

Stewart and a Horse

This was the BIG event at the fair... the Horse Pull. Stewart and I watched the winning horses pull 8500 pounds, 23 1/2 feet!

CIVIL WAR MEMORIAL

It is amazing to me the RICH history found in this city. Shortly after Stewart and I arrived we visited this memorial. It is shaped into a big cross, and fenced in. There are buildings here in Lewisburg that date back to the early 1700’s, and many museums that explain the history of this area. It really is a neat experience to live here… even if the roads are narrow and windy.

OLD LEWISBURG CEMETERY

This Cemetery is the first cemetery that I have ever seen where there was a Black area and a White area. Your race determined which side you could be buried on. Many of the headstones are cracked and very old. They looked like if you touched them they would fall over. The stone building you see in the second pictures is the old Presbyterian Church that was used as a hospital in the civil wars days, as well as a great many other things... so much to learn about this area. I went to the library thinking I would check out a book on the area… despite that fact that they have several, you can’t check them out. And even though I have the time to sit at the library all day and read them… I still should get some stuff done around the house. Oh well… maybe one day.

LOST WORLD CAVERNS

This place was neat to go and see, it was a self guided tour of all the natural formations that some people stumbled upon in 1942. I think there website tells you better then in ever could about the place so if your really interested click here, and it will take you to there home page.

THE END

Well that is about all I have for you today… hope you enjoyed seeing some of the things we have been up to. Honestly everything is better in person so come on over and visit we would love to have you.

Week 2 Down Week 3 Here We Come!

It is 8am here and I should be showered and ready for the day… but I am not (not yet anyway) I sat down in the living room and decided that it was high time I scratch “update blog” off my to do list. It has been on the list for 4 days now, and almost always the one that does not get crossed off at the end of the day. Any who here I am now updating you all on our life in West Virginia.

This past week Stewart had his first two tests and a quiz in school. We are still waiting on the results of one of the tests but so far he is doing great and getting along just fine. I am super proud of him and all his accomplishments. I seriously do not know how he can study such long hours and still be sane enough to talk with me (actually I do know how he dose it… a lot of prayer, and simple blessings from a loving Heavenly Father).

We enjoy living so close to the school, Stewart comes home for lunch and gives his brain a break for 30 minutes and he gives his wife a chance to see him. I have been able to help Stewart coordinate some of the crazy demands that the school wants. Things such as, going to anatomy lab from 1 to 3 and then at 3:15 wanting him to be in business attire for a practice clinical. Days like that I meet Stewart in the parking lot with his books and business attire he runs and changes out of his old smelly anatomy cloths, gives them to me and runs to class. After class I meet him again and he changes back so that he can go study. It is a fun process and I don’t mind helping him while I don’t have any work demands.

Speaking of work, I saw the other day a position available for Box office Ticket Manager at the Carnegie Hall here in Lewisburg. The hall is just 5 blocks down the hill from my house, a strait shot and walk-able distance. When reading over the job description and qualifications they want, I can honestly say that I can meet everyone of there wants. I have all that experience in my previous work history. The one thing that is really holding me back is Stewart and I have talked about things and we feel that a part time job would be best at this time (we talked about this before we ever moved to WV). This job is a full time job, I am honestly thinking about doing it and yet something is stopping me. I know what kind of hours and overtime ticket managers have… I worked in that setting. If I took this job yes we would have an income but I would have to hire someone to clean the house and make dinner for Stewart since he and I would probably have totally different schedules. Ok, thanks for listening to me talk things thru and work things out in my mind. I don’t think this is the right job for me… although perfect it is not for me. Call me crazy but my number one most important job is to make sure Stewarts needs are taken care of, that he has good healthy meals waiting for him, clean cloths in the dresser, a clean home to come home to, and of course someone to ask him how his day went when he walks in the door.

Besides job hunting I just finished my second book this week. And plan to go to the library with the gals to get another one. I have also been filling my time by looking for different opportunities to volunteer in the area, and hope something comes up soon. It has been nice to have some friends in the area to socialize with. That’s the beauty of being a member of a world wide church, where ever you go no matter what type of change is being thrown at you one thing will always be the same and that is the Church. When we moved here we had an instant group of friends waiting for us. I love that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is organized that everywhere throughout the world everyone is learning the same lesson and being taught the same principles. I have talked with some of Stewart's med school friends that say they are looking for a church they like in the area. For members of the LDS faith, we don’t have that problem it is the same wherever we go and along with it FRIENDS.

I should be going now, just wanted everyone to know we are alive and happy. Thanks for all the comments and support. We do miss every one of you and not a day goes by that I don’t think of you and the amazing people you are. Thanks for your influence in our live, we have learned so much from you. Keep in touch!



FIRST YEAR MED SCHOOL PICTURES

Guys from Church, the Sunday evening before Day one of Med School

L to R: Jonathan, Derek, Stewart, James and Joe

Guys and their wives and babies
L to R: Rachel, with Jonathan and daughter, Arianna; Derek and Nativa; Stewart and Becky ; James, his wife is expecting and stayed behind until after the baby is born; and then last, Joe, Kathryn, and their new baby, Ozzy (he is only 4 weeks old)

I took these pictures off of Naiva's blog, thanks for taking the pictures and for sharing you do AWESOME work!

We are all moved in... Come and See

Well the moment you have all been waiting for has finally arrived! I have pictures and an update as to what we have been doing… EXCITING!!! So Stewart has been in school now for two days (Thursday and Friday), but he started on Monday (Aug 3) with orientation (Monday thru Wednesday). Here is a picture of Stewart's first day… he had to wear a suit and tie. I thought he looked sharp!

Look at the fog behind Stewart, every morning this is what we see... it is kind of neat and sort of calming.

*******************************
For me this week has gone by soooooo slow! I feel for everyday I live a whole week and for every week it is a month. Stewart however thinks the week has just flown by. I wonder why, its not like he is super busy or anything. He actually is very busy; to prove my point I will give you an example of what a normal day is to us now. The alarm sounds at 5:40 am, we get up make the bed, while Stewart prepares himself for the day, I make him breakfast and pack his lunch and or snacks. At about 7:00 am, Stewart gives me a goodbye kiss and heads off to school. I clean up the kitchen, shower and get ready for the day and then do odds and ends to keep myself busy here at the apt or around town. Stewart has lecture all morning and at noon comes home for lunch and to change into some old clothes for Anatomy Lab. 12:40 pm he is out the door headed back to class for an hour and then off to the Anatomy Lab where he spends the afternoon until about 5:00 pm. After lab he stays on campus and studies until 6:00 pm. At 6:15 pm he is home we have dinner and then at 7:00 pm he goes back to school for more study time. He will usually come home around 10:00 or 10:30 pm. And so this is our life, I have thus far decided to keep the same schedule as Stewart meaning I get up with him and I wait to go to bed until he is ready. I don’t know how long that will last as I have been super tired at times, but I can’t sleep alone anymore so if I were to go to bed I probably would not be able to sleep.

So now you know what Stewart is up to day in and out, do you want to know what I have been up too? I knew you did… here goes: I have cleaned the house 3 times, organized the bills, paid bills, marked out a budget, made delectable dinners, done the laundry, went to Wal*Mart, went to Kmart, went back to Wal*Mart and then back to Kmart… those are my two options in this town. (Stewart's editorial note, added without Becky's knowledge: Becky has been a huge help to me. It is so nice to come home to a meal that is already made. She is working very hard to keep our household organized and keep me going. I don't know what I would do without her! Now back to Becky.) I have also hung out with some of the gals from church who have just moved to this town with their husbands. There are four of us all around the same age, and in the same situation. We have investigated the town, and just chatted with one another since we don’t have anyone at home to talk with much anymore. Also with the help of one of the gals I decorated the apartment, which now leads me to the PICTURES!!! Hope you enjoy looking at the pictures of our apartment. We miss you all and most important we LOVE YOUR GUTS!!

KITCHEN:

HALLWAY:

HALLWAY PANTRY:

Looks like we will be okay for a while... food wise

LIVING ROOM:

You like our "fireplace" behind the T.V.? We were told that there was a fireplace in our apartment... all it is, is a mantel with pealing wallpaper and a electric outlet. Disappointing!

BATHROOM:

We have a window in our shower... see for yourself; we're not crazy about it

Look at the storage in these closets!!! We put our food storage in the bathroom guess if we get locked in we wont starve.

BEDROOM:




STEWART'S STUDY:

Finally this is a picture of Stewart's new set of wheels, he rides his bike to school so i can have the car. This is actually his graduation gift from his parents Danny and Leslie, Grandma North, Grandma Hegerhorst, and of course me. We used all the money that was given to Stewart when he graduated from ISU as well as the money I won from the ISU CARES campaign when I worked at ISU. So thank you to everyone who helped purchase Stewart's fancy new bike! He loves it!