A Weekend of Firsts

Don't judge me by the fact that I only did one day of that challenge. I realized that maybe I am just busier than I thought I was.
However, I MUST blog about this past weekend, because it was great.

Friday afternoon kicked off my birthday weekend. Bryce and I started things off right by getting J-Dawgs for dinner, and stopping by the duck pond on campus where we spent part of our FIRST date. We both realized how fun it can be to create dialogue for different animals. Yes, we know we're ridiculous.

On Saturday, I hiked to the summit of Mt. Timpanogos for the FRIST time with Bryce, Taylor, Ed, and Sarah. It was a pretty hefty hike, taking us about 11 hours, but it was totally worth it. Bryce and I wanted to hike it last summer, but marathon training always took priority. Follow the pictures all the way to the top!















That night, Bryce and I grabbed Costa Vida for dinner (mango chicken salad...best thing ever) and then Michelle brought a birthday cake over. Taylor, Ed, Michelle, Bryce, and I celebrated my birthday a few hours early with a nice round of The Great Dalmuti. Taylor and Ed were nice enough to even bring me a very specially wrapped birthday gift:



The contents? Truffles, Dove chocolate, and a 5-lb. bag of gummy worms. I'm set at LEAST until next Halloween.

On my official twenty-FIRST birthday, Bryce and I went to church despite our massive sun burns and sleepy selves (we looked ridiculous, I can promise you). We then headed up to Bern, Idaho with Bryce's grandparents. They own some land and a cabin up there, and we've been meaning to go up all summer. We visited some extended family that lives up there, and then celebrated my birthday with even more birthday cake, candles, and ice cream.

Monday was truly a day of firsts. It started out with Grandpa Kunz teaching me how to drive a tractor for the FIRST time...turns out the tutorial came after the tractor started moving. It was fun driving them around though.



Then, it was time for me to learn how to shoot a gun. Another FIRST for me. I wasn't terribly keen on the idea at first, but it grew on me, I guess. I didn't do so bad with the 22, but the 45-70 was a little to heavy/powerful for me...I needed Bryce's grandpa to hold the barrel for me so I could actually aim (embarrassing...haha)


small gun...


big gun...



We mostly shot at juice cans...but here's some damage Bryce did to this wood.


The bullet went in...


...and out.

By the end of the morning, Bryce's grandma said I had been fully turned into a farm girl. I hope that's not a bad thing.

They also have a grove of sorts where everyone carves their initials into a tree. Bryce and I are special enough to be in the "married" section. We went with the classic heart around the initials. I thought it was cute.





That's a view of the cabin. You can also see some of Bern down between the hills.
On our way back to Provo, we stopped in at Utah State, had some Aggie Ice Cream (another first for me). It sure was tasty :)

Once we got back to Provo, nothing could finish of the weekend better with watching a little bit of Pride and Prejudice (the A&E version, of course).

Happy Birthday to me!

Day 01: Something you're looking forward to this year.

There are many things I'm looking forward to this year, such as birthdays or Christmas or not working full time, but I think most of all I'm looking forward to this Fall. (unintentional rhyming)
"Fall" is all-inclusive.
First of all, Fall, er...Autumn is my most favorite season. I love the weather, the change of colors on the trees (or mountains, when you're in Utah), and getting to wear scarves and sweaters again.
Second, this is the first semester of my last year as an undergrad student at BYU. I'm actually kind of excited to get back to the studies (don't quote me on this when my first round of midterms comes around). The end is in sight, and that gives me great hope.
Third, I'm excited for the sports. Mainly football, but I'm also excited to play intramural soccer again. Bryce and I have big plans for every Saturday until...well, until the National Championship. Bryce has been practicing his grilling skills, and ESPN is calling our names. Thank you, BYU, for going independent so we no longer have to suffer listening to the commentators on The Mountain.
The first official day of Fall is September 23rd. I might just make it into a little holiday of it's own.

Alright, so I caved.

So, I mentioned in my last post that I have been wanting to blog more. Not because I want to become "a blogger" (you know what I'm talking about) but just because...well...a few reasons:
Summer finals are over, and I've got two plus weeks until next semester starts. Plus, I need something to distract me so I don't distract Bryce while he's studying for the LSAT. Seriously, I will have the "youngest child" syndrome forever (give me attention NOWWWWW)...although I don't think I'm THAT bad, just sometimes.
Anyway, it'll give me something to do, something to think about, blah blah. I talked with Abby today, and we did some brainstorming (30-day crafts, cookies, pictures...etc.) but nothing is really striking my fancy. I think I need to start with just text. Cookies next month?
I guess I should explain better. I google searched 30-day blog challenges. Most of them are "30 things about ME" which I'm not all too attracted to. I found this list on a random blog, danacreative.blogspot.com:

Day 01: Something you're looking forward to this year.
Day 02: Something you regret not having done last year.
Day 03: Something with which you struggle.
Day 04: Something that is part of your routine that you enjoy.
Day 05: Something in life that gives you balance.
Day 06: Something that excites you and fills you with joy.
Day 07: Vacation Hiatus
Day 08: Vacation Hiatus
Day 09: Vacation Hiatus
Day 10: Something at which you've been a champion or the best.
Day 11: Something about which people seem to compliment you.
Day 12: Something you hope to change about yourself and why.
Day 13: Discuss some of the things on your bucket list.
Day 14: Someone who has made your life worth living.
Day 15: A band/musical artist whose music impacted your life.
Day 16: A book you’ve read that changed your views on something.
Day 17: Someone with whom you shared a friendship/relationship that simply drifted out of your life.
Day 18: Someone you met randomly that's made an impact on your life.
Day 19: Something that shook your belief system to its core (a big disappointment in your life).
Day 20: Discuss your favorite movie and why it's so special to you.
Day 21: Write about your best friend (not significant other) and what makes them special.
Day 22: Describe a dark/turbulent moment in your life.
Day 23: Describe a truly spiritual moment in your life.
Day 24: Discuss a spontaneous moment in your life that that turned out to be fantastic.
Day 25: Discuss something you planned that ended up not being what you expected.
Day 26: How do you handle/deal with both success and failure?
Day 27: What is your vocation (why are you here on earth)?
Day 28: What is your biggest dream in life (what one great thing do you want to accomplish)?
Day 29: What WAS your biggest dream in life (you wanted to do as a kid but no longer can)?
Day 30: Someone in your family that means so much to you.
Day 31: Epilogue: Write a letter to yourself.

While a lot of these seem pretty "deep" (and are mostly about ME) I am hoping that I won't fall into some transcendental state of mind and try to be all super philosophical and serious in these, because a lot of them could be taken that way. We'll see how things go...and I completely reserve the right to abandon ship or modify ship depending on whatever I happen to be feeling over the next 31 days. I guess this person went on a "vaca" for three days, so I guess those are up to me. Ummmm....okay that's all.

See you tomorrow...when I'll talk about something I'm looking forward to. Oh, how fun.

Missing Limb

Hi.
It's been a while.
Life's good, thanks for asking.
I'm still alive, still healthy, still married, still happy.

And I'm not really sure what to blog about. Here goes nothing, which will probably turn into a ramble about the little things I find amusing in my life with Bryce.

I've been working at Independent Study full time this summer. I have my own cubicle back with all the "old" full-time employees. Not sure how I got that oh-so-prime position, but I sit at a computer all day. At first it was rough working 40 hours a week, but now I'm used to it and I kind of like it. I think my "superiors" like the work I'm doing too because I've been referred to as "a MACHINE!" and even got FULL ADMINISTRATIVE RIGHTS this week (whatever THAT means...) One employee sent me an email that read:

Dear Annie,

Please slow down. You're making us look bad.

Sincerely,

The Rest of Us

What can I say? I've always been one for efficiency, and Bryce always teases me about the speed at which I use my computer.
So...that's work.

I've also been taking a class on The Pearl of Great Price this term. Tonight was actually our last class, since finals are next week. It's been probably in my top 2 if not my most favorite religion class at BYU. I've learned many, many, many things, and always get to come home from class and tell Bryce everything we talked about that day. I took it from Byron Merrill, if anyone is interested. My Fall Semester books, if bought new, are going to cost $946 dollars...classes start in just under 4 weeks.
And, that's school.

And life besides work and school is fabulous. Bryce and I are attempting to make big-boy and big-girl decisions even though we tell each other nearly every day that we're not mature enough for that kind of stuff.
Despite our resistance, Bryce has been full-throttle in an LSAT prep course, and we've been researching law schools all over the country. Since many of the schools that we're looking at could be considered "southern" states, we've been practicing our best southern accents. A few more "now look right that there, honey bunches" and I'll pass for a native.
I finally made Kunz my legal last name.
Yesterday it was really hot outside, and our air conditioning was failing, so we opened our doors (screens closed). After a couple hours we were getting ready for bed and realized that dozens (we're talking 50+) bugs had weaseled their way into our bedroom and were all over our bed, ceiling, etc. I killed 3. Bryce killed the rest. It took about an hour. We didn't get a ton of sleep last night.
(funny thing is that our doors also leak when it rains heavily...thinking we might need them looked at)
Bryce applied to be in the church's New Testament video. They were looking for people who are unusually skinny or missing limbs to be extras in their healing scenes. We figured missing a right hand qualifies. We're hoping he gets in and can get a BYU beard card ;)
Well, that's about it. I'm thinking maybe I'll do one of those blog challenges that makes you blog every day about something small. That way I'll feel like I have a purpose without boring ...uh...whoever...with weird "bugs in my bedroom" stories.

This wedding picture makes me laugh...that's all.