Chance and Erin

one cool dude

2012-02-16T05:48:00.000-08:00

We are having a baby boy! The ultrasound yesterday was amazing. I loved seeing our baby and I already feel a deep love for him. The ultrasound tech took several pictures for us, but this is one of my favorites.

Our little guy is just hanging out and relaxing in my uterus like this is no big deal. Every time the tech moved the ultrasound head he was in a different position which explains all of the movement I have been feeling! Anyway, we just think he is the cutest thing, translucent skin and all.

kicks

2012-02-12T18:48:00.000-08:00

Our baby is a kicker. I started feeling the baby a few weeks ago and it has been so fun to feel them all day. I was able to share the cool feeling with Chance a few nights ago because the baby was really moving! We also hit the halfway mark last week, which feels like some sort of accomplishment for some reason haha. Anyway we have THE ultrasound this Wednesday and we are excited to find out the gender and we hope that everything is healthy with the baby. We are excited for this week of love!!

sugar cookies

2012-02-07T19:41:00.000-08:00

My mom and dad gave us the cutest Texas cookie cutters for Christmas this year. I still can't believe my mom found them in Lodi. Anyway, we decided to try them out last Sunday and they turned out cute and delicious! Thanks Mom and Dad!

2012-01-22T17:27:00.000-08:00

We are getting settled in Austin and loving our new life here. We are exploring the city little by little and we both love seeing and doing new things and meeting new people.


At the state capital building

We went to the Story of Texas museum with the Lawley's and learned all about Texas history, we figured it would be a good place to start.

Also, flashback to December. I was able to go to one of my best friend's weddings on our last day in Provo and it was the best afternoon. Sarah and I went to Spain together four years ago (wow that is crazy) and I just love her. She and her husband looked so happy and I am excited for their life together.

Then we drove to Lodi and spent a wonderful week at home.


I love them all so much!

We left on our trek to Texas on January 1st and stopped halfway in Phoenix. We spent a great day with Chance's brother Brandon complete with hiking camel back, seeing my wonderful friend Emily after two long years, going to a movie, and topping it off with the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

It was a fun filled day followed by a long 16 hour drive to Austin, but we are here and enjoying this new stage in our life!

hello there

2011-12-30T14:29:00.000-08:00

Wow, it has been a LONG time since I have written a post. So many other exciting things have been on my mind.

#1 We are having a baby! Chance and I are so excited. We are due June 27th. I threw up every night until about 12 weeks, but I am now able to really enjoy the idea of having a baby growing inside of me.

#2 We said goodbye to Provo on December 23rd and are currently in Lodi for Christmas with my family until January 1st. We are starting out the new year by moving to Austin, Texas and we are really looking forward to this change in our lives.

Christmas has been wonderful (pictures to come). We have played games, watched movies, went to a Kings game to watch the Jimmer, played putt putt golf, rode go-carts, and have just enjoyed being all together. I am so grateful for my family. They are everything to me. I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas season!

moving check list

2011-10-17T12:53:00.000-07:00

The countdown has started for our move to Austin, 10 weeks! We are starting to check things off our moving to-do list.

~~Book moving company~~
~~Sell Provo apartment contract~~
Find an apartment in Austin
Find a job for me!
Clean out/get rid of things we don't need (I am loving this process)

I am excited to explore a new place, everyone says it is so pretty!

Anyone have connections for a public health related job in Austin? I feel like I was just looking for a job and now I am at it again, fun times. On the upside we found a reasonably priced moving company that is going to move everything for us, so that we can enjoy our Christmas in Lodi. I am so happy that we won't be driving a moving truck on Christmas Eve!

Arches

2011-10-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

My parents and Emma came up for our church's General Conference two weeks ago and then afterward Megan and I were able to go with them to Arches National Park in Moab. It was so great to be with my parents and Megan and spend more time with Emma, the best sixteen year old I have ever met. Sadly Chance could not get time off from his clinical rotation and the Eliason family didn't want to attempt the 12 hour drive with Lily (I have no idea why).

She looks so innocent!

Anyway it was a wonderful trip! Here are a few pictures.


The fam at Dead Horse Point. I don't like how it got its name, but it was beautiful.

yoga and high kicks on cliffs

balance rock

Delicate Arch, my personal favorite. I feel complete now that I have seen the inspiration for Utah license plates, I never quite appreciated them before.

Last day in Moab by the Colorado River, we saw dinosaur fossils!

Thanks Mom and Dad for a fun getaway to one of God's beautiful creations. I love you!

"Nothing will work unless you do." - Maya Angelou

2011-09-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

We are busy working these days. Chance has started his first clinical rotation and is working at a skilled nursing facility all day. He helps the elderly with their physical therapy rehab and has interesting experiences with bodily fluids almost daily! Lucky him :)

I am loving my job at Community Health Connect. I help coordinate care for patients in 13 medical disciplines, including cardiology, general surgery, neurosurgery, and others. I have the best coworkers and am able to speak Spanish for a large portion of my day, as a majority of our clients only speak Spanish. I love it.

We are also both adjunct instructors at UVU teaching a physiology lab. Chance has been doing this for two years, but this is my first semester and I am teaching 3!! It is so fun to relearn and teach one of my favorite subjects.

Anyway this is our life right now... busy busy, but oh so good.

23

2011-09-12T10:49:00.000-07:00

I have loved the number 23 since the day I was born in Chicago. I just like the sound of it, 23....... I think it is going to be an exciting year! I had a great birthday thanks to Chance and my amazing family. I am looking forward to another year of learning, growing, and experiencing new things.

The Best 2 Years

2011-08-22T16:45:00.000-07:00

“Happiness in marriage can exceed a thousand times any other happiness.”

-President Faust

Ice Cream and Waterfalls

2011-08-22T08:22:00.000-07:00

This past week we checked off two items on our Provo bucket list, eating at Sammy's and hiking Mount Timpanogos. One was delicious and the other was challenging, but they were both delightful experiences!


We had the oreo pie and banana cream pie shakes, so tasty.

The beginning.

Birthday Week

2011-08-08T15:45:00.000-07:00

Here are some exciting moments from Chance's birthday week.


Chance's dad drove down and took him out to lunch, golf, and bought him a fancy new driver.


We met up with Tangi and Scott for a fun afternoon at Boondocks and a yummy dinner to follow. Chance and Niels got soaked on those boats!

Uncle Chance! These kids are the cutest.


I made Chance the Brink family favorite, Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cream Cake. It was heavenly. It was thoroughly enjoyed by all.


This shirt was Chance's birthday present from me. He is a cougar through and through that is for sure. He is already anxious to wear it to the BYU vs U game coming up in September, which my family gave him a sizable donation for!

I love birthdays. I love Chance.

day of birth

2011-08-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Chance's birthday! His birthday is a joyous day because I am so glad he was born! My life would be incomplete without him.

Happy birthday cute boy, we will be celebrating all week!

change-your-life-delicious

2011-07-21T07:49:00.000-07:00

This ice cream bar will change your life for the better. Go to Costco now and get one!

Costco hand dipped (in real milk chocolate) ice cream bar rolled in roasted almonds. The best $1.50 we have ever spent. Go with someone to share because it is huge!

50

2011-07-18T19:50:00.000-07:00

My parents turned 50 this month! And I am so happy they did because we were able to party all weekend together as a family!

We played tennis, swam in the pool, played games, went to the farmer's market, celebrated our country's birthday, made yummy food, laughed, danced, threw the best birthday party ever, and just soaked up every minute with the whole family all together.

Joe got a little creative with the weapons in clue.

We threw a really fun party for our parents with all of their close friends! Here is part of the party planning crew.

I wish they were our neighbors.


Lily and I liked the ice cream!

It was so fun to be home and hang out with Meg and Emma, we miss Megan here in Provo and Emma too for that matter!

I love the fact that I will be able to grow old with this handsome man. He is my favorite :)

Father's day

2011-06-21T08:49:00.000-07:00

My dad is the best! I was sad that I couldn't be with him and my family on his special day, and not just because they are all at the BEACH, but because I love him very much. He is so patient, loving, smart, and such a goof ball.

We had a fun father's day weekend! We went to the Hogle Zoo with my sister-in-law Tangi and her cute kids. The tigers were my favorite!

To celebrate Chance's future fatherhood (don't worry Mom, this is a far away future). I made delicious chocolate chip banana bread, which we loved, and gave him one of his favorite snacks for his long study days ahead this summer.

As you can see, he loved the bread.

A must make dinner

2011-06-16T07:55:00.000-07:00

We had the most delicious meal last night! I made Southwest Pasta Salad and homemade tortillas to go with. Seriously, make this dinner sometime soon!

De-Fense

2011-06-13T08:39:00.000-07:00

No, I am not talking about the Heat's terrible loss in the finals (of which we are very sad about), I am talking about the exquisite feeling of being done with my thesis defense! I passed my defense a month ago today, so it is about time I document this momentous event in my life.

Everything went really well, I gave my 20 minute presentation, then my committee questioned me for 40 minutes, then I left the room and they deliberated for 10 minutes and then I came back in and they said I passed with qualifications! I fixed what I needed to the next week and turned in the final copy. What a relief!

My wonderful Mom came up for the occasion, and Megan and Chance were there at my defense as well. It was so comforting to see them all while I was presenting. We had a fun weekend together and I am just so grateful for all of the love and support I have been given from my family, Chance's family, and my Heavenly Father in receiving my MPH degree.

Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve

2011-04-23T15:23:00.000-07:00

Chance and I have had an exciting weekend! I graduated (well, I officially walked) on Thursday and Friday and Chance rocked his finals and now has 3 weeks of vacation before his next semester. Graduation was wonderful, but I know it is always more exciting for the graduate than those in attendance! So I haven't officially graduated because I still need to defend my thesis. My defense is on May 13th and then I will be done! My mom is coming up and I can't wait to have this weight lifted from my shoulders.

I am proud to say that I am now employed! I was hired at a non profit organization here in Provo last week and I am loving it so far. I am working with the uninsured population who need specialty medical care, which is very similar to what I wrote my thesis on! The people that I work with are great and another bonus is that my job is only a few blocks from our apartment.

We are very grateful for all that we have been given and we are excited for warm weather to visit us sometime soon.

The end of a wonderful chapter

2011-04-12T10:05:00.000-07:00

(Last week we had our graduation banquet and about half of our MPH cohort was able to make it, so here is a picture!)

My master's program has been a wonderful and challenging chapter of my life and I have loved the experience. I can't believe it has been two years since I received the amazing news of being accepted into this competitive program. I have learned so much and grown in more ways then I could have imagined.

The thing I am going to miss the most about my program is the wonderful friends I have made. Working through difficult projects together and traveling to different events as a group has created a bond between us that I love. They are all great and will do amazing things with their lives. I am so excited to graduate all together next week!

Sunshine all winter long

2011-03-30T12:17:00.000-07:00

Sunshine during the winter? During the cold, the snow, and the wind? Yes! We have had sunshine all winter long by keeping our fridge stocked with Costco oranges. They are amazing and we eat them every day. My mom calls oranges sunshine in your mouth and we couldn't agree more. They fill your mouth with sunshine and then your throat and then your stomach and then the sunshine travels from your head to your toes leaving you smiling all over. A little extreme? You may think so, but they have kept us happy and healthy and so the theory holds true in our house.

Teach Me How to Jimmer

2011-03-15T07:14:00.000-07:00

It is March Madness time in our house. Our brackets are filled out and now we are ready for the games to begin. We are excited for BYU's first game this Thursday! Go cougars!

Accreditation!

2011-03-07T14:29:00.000-08:00

We had some great news last week when Chance's school became nationally accredited! He is attending physical therapy school at Rocky Mountain University and now that his school has become accredited his degree will mean something, which we are very happy about of course. Although we took a risk going to this school, we felt right about if from the beginning and now we know why.

A party within a party

2011-01-26T07:28:00.000-08:00

Last weekend my wonderful parents flew Chance and me to California to celebrate my grandma's 90th birthday. Everyone in her posterity was there (except Megan in Jerusalem) and it was such a happy celebration! Instead of flying into Sacramento we flew into San Francisco to spend time with Jana, Joe, and Lily before the big birthday bash. We had the best time with them. It was so great to spend time outside (it was 70 degrees!) and to be with my amazing sister, brother in law, and niece. I love them all so much!

Feeding the ducks in Golden Gate Park.

The whole Brink family! It keeps getting bigger and better!

Sunday we went to church in San Francisco and then had a picnic on the beach before heading off to the airport.

Thanks for everything Jana and Joe! It was really hard to leave and return to the snow, but hopefully someday we will live closer!

this weekend

2011-01-16T19:41:00.000-08:00

We love the weekends. This weekend we tried 2 new things.

Cheesecake Factory's Reese's Cheesecake

This cheesecake was amazing!! Thank you Brad and DeLyn for the gift card!

and

Now I have always judged this game because I thought it sounded weird, but it was actually really fun. Tyler and Chelsie always introduce us to new games at our game nights and this turned out to be quite hilarious. Thanks for the fun night guys!

Minute To Win It

2011-01-06T13:22:00.000-08:00

Over the Christmas break I attended my first Hendricks family Christmas party. This year Chance's parents were in charge and for the activity they planned minute-to-win-it-games based off of the television show. Here I am practicing for the 'Caddy Stack'.

Try it out. You have one minute to stack three golf balls on top of each other and they have to stay standing for 3 seconds.

White Christmas

2011-01-04T13:26:00.000-08:00

Chance and I had a beautiful white Christmas in Idaho this year. It was so great to spend time with the Hendricks and to relax and enjoy the season together. The break was full of yummy food, playing with kids, watching movies, and playing games.

Chance, Niels, Davis, and I built a snowman which was so fun!

We had fun playing with baby Blakely, she is so darling.

Christmas morning was pretty exciting (and early) with little kids around. Lots of Toy Story 3 and Batman gear, and lots of guns. I quickly learned that it is never too early or too late in the day to shoot the bad guys.

Chance played in his high school alumni basketball tournament over the break and his team made it to the championship game! It was so fun to watch Chance play with his friends.

We loved the break from our studies and it was so wonderful to spend every minute with Chance. Now we are back in Provo and back to the routine. Chance has some great classes this semester that he is excited about and I hope to finish my thesis, defend, and graduate. We are looking forward to this new year and all that is in store for us!

El Final de los Finales

2010-12-15T20:27:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the last final I will ever take in my life. I just need to finish up my thesis (easier said then done) and then I will be graduating in April with my masters in public health! I can see the light. It is a beautiful, warm, satisfying light.

Love and Lights

2010-12-13T20:49:00.000-08:00

Christmas season is here and I am in love with it all! One of my favorite things so far this Christmas has been the Christmas chain Chance made for us. He wrote a goal or activity for us to do each day in December and it has been the best thing.This is definitely going to be a Hendricks family tradition for us!

Here I am in our "Christmas Corner" as we like to call it.

We also went up to see the beautiful lights on temple square with Brad and DeLyn this past weekend, which was a treat.

Christmas is such a wonderful time of year! I hope everyone is enjoying this special season!

Dia de Gracias

2010-12-10T09:57:00.000-08:00

Wow... this post is a little late, but we have been just a little busy! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Lodi. The roads going there and coming home were not too fun, but I was very grateful for the days we were able to spend with my family. I love family, it is one of the greatest blessings in my life. Thanksgiving morning our whole family ran the Run Against Hunger 5k in Stockton, it was the best way to start the day! The food was delicious as always (my mom is a culinary expert) and the company couldn't get any better.

Love him.

Loved spending time with these girls. They are my best friends.

Lily was one of the highlights of Thanksgiving. I loved following her around, holding her, climbing up stairs with her, and playing "I'm going get you!"

Chance and I are grateful for this time of the year when we get to spend time with family and ponder upon the many blessings we have been given.

cold weather = soup

2010-11-20T10:59:00.000-08:00

I made this delicious cauliflower soup and artisan bread this week, it was a delicious combination and I loved eating it with Chance and one of my favorite girls in the world Sarah Campbell.

Wisconsin Cauliflower Cheddar Soup

2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 cups chicken broth
1 head cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1. In 4-quart saucepan, butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and salt; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

2. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and 1 1/2 cups water; add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes.

3. In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth.

4. Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted and smooth. Garnish soup with remaining cheese to serve.

Master Artisan Bread

Note: Makes four 1-pound loaves3 cups lukewarm water (about 100º F)
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher or other coarse salt
6 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour (no need to sift)
Cornmeal for the pizza peel

1.In a 5-quart bowl, mix the yeast, water and salt. Add all the flour, then use a wooden spoon to mix until all ingredients are uniformly moist. It is not necessary to knead or continue mixing once the ingredients are uniformly moist. This will produce a loose and very wet dough.

2.Cover with a lid (not airtight). Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse, about 2 hours, but no more than 5 hours.

3. After rising, the dough can be baked immediately, or covered (non completely airtight) and refrigerated up to 14 days. The dough will be easier to work with after at least 3 hours refrigeration.

4. On baking day, prepare a pizza peel by sprinkling it liberally with cornmeal to prevent the bread from sticking when you transfer it to the oven. Uncover the dough and sprinkle the surface with flour. Pull up and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece of dough (serrated knives are best). Store the remaining dough in the bowl and refrigerate for baking at another time.

5. Hold the mass of dough in your hands and add a little more flour as needed so it won't stick. Create a smooth ball of dough by gently pulling the sides down around to the bottom, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. While shaping, most of the dusting flour will fall off. The bottom of the loaf may appear to be a collection of bunched ends, but it will flatten out during resting and baking. Shaping the loaf this way should take no more than 1 minute.

6.Place the dough on the pizza peel. Allow the loaf to rest for about 40 minutes. It does not need to be covered. The bread may not rise much during this time.

7. Twenty minutes before baking, place a pizza stone on the center rack of the oven. If you don't have a baking stone, use another baking sheet. Remove any upper racks. Place a broiler pan on a rack below the pizza stone or on the floor of the oven. Preheat oven to 450 F.

8. When the dough has rested for 40 minutes, dust the top liberally with flour, then use a serrated knife to slash a 1/4-inch-deep cross or tic-tac-toe pattern into the top.

9.Slide the loaf off the peel and onto the baking stone. Quickly but carefully pour 1 cup of hot water into the broiler tray and close the oven door.

10.Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch. Allow the bread to cool completely, preferably on a wire cooling rack.

key lime pie

2010-11-15T09:30:00.000-08:00

So I LOVE Yoplait's thick and creamy key lime pie yogurt. It is one of my favorite foods. I used to buy six or so every week when I was single (Sutton can attest to this), but now that I am married and living on a strict food budget I decided to cut my yogurt obsession. Anyways we were at the check-out at Smiths on Saturday and I saw the key lime pie gum and I just had to try it! I am chewing it right now and I love it. End of story.

Cutest pumpkin award

2010-10-24T18:02:00.000-07:00

Chance and I carved our pumpkin last night and probably had way too much fun doing it. I wanted to do a winking pumpkin in honor of a really cute wink that Chance does and I think we captured it perfectly! What do you think?

I was laughing so hard taking this picture. I just love Chance so much, we are best friends and have so much fun together no matter what we are doing.

Cutest pumpkin award... awarded by me.

Surprise Package

2010-10-20T07:38:00.000-07:00

Chance was talking with his parents on Sunday and his mom was making her famous (and Chance's favorite) breaded steak and mashed potatoes and gravy. Chance and I both didn't have school on Monday and he was seriously considering leaving right then and driving up to Idaho Falls to eat dinner!

Well he talked himself out of it, but later that night we got a phone call from one of Chance's friends from Idaho Falls. DeLyn had found out that she was coming back to Provo Sunday night and gave her a cooler of tupperware full of leftovers from dinner to give to us!

Thanks DeLyn, you are amazing!!

Cinnamon Rolls

2010-10-13T07:18:00.000-07:00

Cinnamon rolls are amazing and always remind me of our church's world wide General Conference every six months. My parents and Emma were able to come up to Utah for a week at the beginning of the month and it was so great to have them here. Nothing beats time with family. We made cinnamon rolls for Sunday morning conference and they were amazing as ever!

True Blue

2010-09-26T19:41:00.000-07:00

The Hendricks family came for a fun visit this weekend and we were sad to see them leave today! It is always fun to have visitors. Saturday we had a true blue day. Brad and DeLyn and I hiked the Y early Saturday morning, which is always fun. It was their first time and I'm not sure if I'll be able to convince Brad to do it again, but oh well it was fun while it lasted! (Chance had a weekend course he had to go to on Saturday and Brandon didn't want to get his new Nikes dirty). Later that day we were able to go watch the BYU vs. Nevada game, it was sad to see them lose, but really fun to be there in the stadium.

Chance is the biggest BYU fan I know and so he is the best person to go with. He can find the good in anything.

Cute brothers.

Thanks Brad and DeLyn for treating us so special this weekend and thanks Brandon for keeping us laughing!

We are excited for the new week, the Brink fam comes in on Tuesday and we can't wait!

Happy birthday to me!

2010-09-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

Chance and I decided to celebrate my 22nd birthday by going on a weekend camping trip to Zion National Park. Neither of us had been before and we absolutely loved it! So so beautiful!

We found a great little campsite and went on some amazing hikes! As soon as we set up our tent we headed off to hike Angel's Landing. The last half mile of the hike you are holding on to chains climbing some steep cliffs with drop offs like you wouldn't believe!

Starting the chains...

This is the last portion of the hike and at the tip top is the end, the view was quite spectacular up there.

We made it!

We finished off the day hiking to Emerald Pools, everything in the park is just so beautiful.

Saturday morning we packed breakfast (thanks Meg and Mom for the AMAZING granola) and went to hike Hidden Canyon bright and early. We were the only ones on the trail!

Chance slipped off one of the edges here and was yelling for my help, but I had to grab the camera to take a quick photo of the view before I helped him up. Luckily he held on!

Alive and strong as ever!

Hidden Canyon had some chains too, but nothing as crazy as Angels Landing. It was so cool being the only ones on the mountain! We packed up Saturday and spent the rest of the weekend in Hurricane with Chance's cousin Brittany and her wonderful family. We hung out by the pool, ate some In-N-Out, and had fun with their cute kids. Thanks Brittany and Jeremy! Anyways we had a beautiful weekend and are excited for a new week.

The Year of Love

2010-08-23T06:50:00.000-07:00

One year ago yesterday Chance and I were sealed together for time and all eternity. We seem to reminisce about that day quite often simply because it was perfect in every way. We have agreed that this past year has been the best yet and we are looking forward to many more!

MPH degree - Maid of Provo Homes

2010-08-19T07:47:00.000-07:00

So we have an interesting neighbor in our new apartment complex. We have talked on many occassions and every time the neighbor asks for my name. This was no big deal at first because I am not the best with names either; however, the other day I realized it was not just my name he didn't remember.

I was leaving our apartment the other morning with cleaning supplies to go clean our old apartment before the cleaning check walk-through. My neighbor was leaving for work and he says hello to me (normal enough right? but no) then he asks me if I am the housekeeper for that apartment. Yes, he asked me if I was the maid for the ONE bedroom PROVO apartment I was walking out of. Not to mention he had seen me walk out of that apartment with Chance several times! I tried to stifle my laughter, but could barely contain myself. I guess if nothing works out with my MPH degree I could always go into house cleaning... I am pretty good at it.

The Other Wes Moore

2010-08-18T10:14:00.000-07:00

I just read a great thought provoking book called The Other Wes Moore. Chance and I have been talking about it for several days and I would recommend it to anyone! It is pretty intense, but very insightful about a true story of young boys growing up in the inner cities of Baltimore and how a supportive family and good role models can make a powerful difference in someone's life. The author gives a quick summary of his story at this link, check it out if you are looking for a good read!

Provo Canyon

2010-08-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

Provo Canyon is beautiful! One of my favorite things about living in Provo is packing a picnic and driving to the canyon to have lunch along the river. Chance and I have our favorite lunch spot and it always seems to be open for us. This time we stopped and bought some delicious peaches from a stand on the way there, making our picnic even tastier!

My man is 26!

2010-08-07T18:51:00.000-07:00

Chance had a birthday this week, the big 2-6!

We went up to Idaho Falls over the weekend for the blessing of Blakely Tangi Larsen, Chance's sister's darling baby girl and celebrated a little there with the family and then in Provo too. It was practically a family reunion in Idaho Falls for the baby blessing, Chance's extended family are so supportive. It doesn't matter where they live, they all come to the special events. It is pretty neat.

So, somehow my camera was on video setting for all of Chance's birthday pictures, whoops! Well yesterday we were able to go watch one of my friends Alex Rivers from high school play against the Orem Owlz which was really fun. Our friends Tyler and Chelsey came with us and it was such a beautiful night to be outside. It was so great to catch up with Alex and hear about his life.

Well I am excited for a new week! Life is good.

go girl

2010-07-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

An older woman is walking up and down the aisles of the library (my home for the entire summer while working on my fieldwork and masters project) in what appears to be her exercise clothes. Some might laugh at her, but I say you go girl. You get that exercise!

Fun in the Sun!

2010-07-26T13:56:00.000-07:00

This past week was full of excitement! Last Sunday I was able to fly and meet my family in Santa Cruz for a few days and it was wonderful.

We played a lot of Just Dance...

and Bananagrams.

All the girls got amazing pedicures.

And I loved just spending time with my family... they are the best.

Chance wasn't able to come because of school, I missed him so much! I came home Thursday evening and Chance and I started moving into our new apartment. We worked until way too late and then started again in the morning, but everything has found its place and we love our new place! To top it all off we had our ward campout this weekend. We have the BEST ward and I am so glad we are able to stay for a few more years.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2010-07-16T10:08:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful, beautiful, and talented mom. I love you so much!

See you here in 2 days!!

There Ain't No Doubt I Love This Land...

2010-07-05T20:58:00.000-07:00

We are back from Idaho Falls and had a fun 4th of July weekend with the Hendricks family! Chance and I are both so grateful to live in this free country and to enjoy the many blessings God gives to us. Friday morning we left for Jackson to go white water rafting and we had a blast! We all got pretty soaked, but this is a picture of Chance and me before the action began.

It was great to relax and spend time with family.

The whole crew waiting for the firewords (along with over 100,000 other people.. crazy!) DeLyn's sister and brother came down and I got to know some of my new little cousins.

Yesterday I made my nana's banana cake and it was a hit! Anyways we had a great weekend away and we are excited for the short week!

I love my dad

2010-06-20T13:57:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to the best dad in the whole wide world.

Love

You!

Happy Birthday Jinzie!

2010-06-14T07:55:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to the best older sister in the world. I love you sooo much Jana! Let me tell you a few reasons why Jana is the best....

She always took care of me at school, I don't know what I would have done without her in Provo.

Jana is sooo much fun! I loved hanging out with her and of course going to dance parties.

She always shared yummy treats with me and had me over for Sunday dinners. I always loved going over to her apartment and being with family.

Jana is the best because she always sets a good example for me to follow. Her wedding day was such a special day and I couldn't be happier with having such a great brother-in-law and now a darling niece.

Happy birthday Jana!!

Today is your day.

Costco

2010-06-12T14:24:00.000-07:00

I love Costco. I used to love going with my mom when I was younger, then I loved going in college with my friend Sutton, and now I love going with Chance. Why do I love Costco so much? Some might go because they like to shop in bulk, or because they have great prices, but I go for the tasters. Today they were amazing! Thai chicken pasta, coconut cream pie, yummy sausage, a delicious parmesan pasta dish, tasty cheese, sweet potato chips, and the list goes on. So today at Costco we bought apples, bread, and lettuce and in return they gave us free lunch!

Emma bemma

2010-06-08T07:31:00.000-07:00

I absolutely loved having my little sister Emma here this past weekend. She came to BYU for EFY and then stayed with us until Monday. She is so darling and funny, I loved having her happy self here with me! It was fun hearing about all of her EFY experiences and having her teach us about the many gospel lessons she learned.

We went to Rock Canyon for a picnic and games

Then we played paddle ball, which got pretty intense

Emma's 'ready' position

Chance in action

Mom and Dad sent some miscellaneous money with Emma which we used on yummy french toast at Kneaders before we checked Emma in for EFY and dinner this past weekend at Gloria's Little Italy and Yozone. Thanks Mom and Dad!! Also Emma and I decided to try a new recipe on Sunday for dinner and it turned out sooo delicious - chicken broccoli pesto calzones.

Anyways, moral of the story is that I love my sister so much. I am going to miss walking out of my bedroom and seeing this...

Memorial Weekend

2010-06-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

Chance and I had the best weekend! We went camping with Chance's cousin Justin and his wife Jessica and their three darling kids Brooke, Cole, and Aspen. It was so much fun to spend time with them and enjoy the beautiful outdoors. We played paddle ball, hiked, ate a yummy dutch oven dinner, roasted s'mores and starbursts by the fire, and finished off the night with sequence. (Just for the record, Jessica and I beat the guys fair and square.)

Chance setting up our air mattress. We brought every blanket we owned to brave the low 30s at night, and we survived! Good thing we like to cuddle.

Cole and Brooke outside of our tent. Brooke wanted to come sleep with us, but she decided that sleeping in her heated trailor was a better idea.

Thanks Justin and Jessica for such a fun weekend!

Anatomy

2010-05-25T07:52:00.000-07:00

Having an extensive knowledge of anatomy is essential to being a good physical therapist, so we are taking it seriously.

After we finished dinner last night I realized that our entire conversation was about the muscles, nerves, veins, and arteries of the forearm. Needless to say Chance is really getting into his anatomy course right now and I have willingly jumped on board to help him study. I loved my two anatomy courses I took in my undergrad and so it is fun for me to relearn the material as well as go into greater depth with all of the things Chance is learning. Chance is already having dreams about o's, i's, a's, and n's (origin, insertion, action, nerve), and he still has 3 more months of the class! I love it though, the human body is truly amazing. It is incredible how God designed everything so perfectly, we should always be grateful for our bodies and appreciate the wonderful blessing that they are.

recently

2010-05-20T11:32:00.000-07:00

A few days ago we went over to a couple's house from our ward for dinner. He served his mission in Thailand and so we had a delicious authentic Thai dinner, and we all got to cook which made it even better! I can't remember the names of the dishes, probably because I couldn't pronounce them. We have a Thai market close to our apartment and he told me what to buy so I'm going to try it out! We were in charge of bringing dessert and so I made fruit pizza, which was so delicious. My mom always made it for our birthdays when we lived at home, so I like it even more because it reminds me of her.

This is how it turned out! I wish I could have made it with Lodi strawberries, but I did my best. If you want to make it check out my mom and sister's blog http://www.twopeasandapot.blogspot.com/.

Happy Birthday Megan!

2010-05-17T06:33:00.000-07:00

This is a shout out to the newest 19 year old, the beautiful, funny, intelligent Megan Anne Brink.

Megan has always been an amazing sister and friend.

She has always been so stylish, she started having her own make-up shows when she was six years old!

She is amazing in the kitchen and her chocolate chip cookies are the best I have ever had.

She is absolutely hilarious and can quote our favorite movies like nobody's business.

She is a fighter, so watch out. Nothing can stop her from achieving her goals and I know she is going to do amazing things.

I love this girl so much. Happy birthday Meggie!

We are family, I got all my sisters with me

2010-05-11T08:29:00.000-07:00

Chance and I had the best week in Lodi last week. It was so great to be all together. I especially loved spending lots of time with my darling niece Lily. She is so cute and so fun, I love her so much!! I can't wait to be a mom (but my mom often reminds me that I should wait!).

We left Provo in the snow and enjoyed sunshine in Lodi. It felt great to lay by the pool and relax. We went to the zoo and had fun in the lorikeet exhibit.

Wednesday we spent a day in the city and I was finally able to see where Jana and Joe live. They are the best and I miss them a ton. San Francisco was lovely, we ate at a yummy cafe called the Crepevine. I had a the Tuscany crepe and it was delicious!

Then we went for a walk down by Crissy Field and the water. It was breezy, but so beautiful!

After our walk we went to the Exploritorium museum, which was so sweet. Lots of cool things to experiment with.

(So darling)

On our last day we decided to hike Mount Diablo which we have wanted to hike for so long! My dad took the day off and we had a great time. It feels so good to be outside, especially because I spent all of last semester in front of a computer.

It was really hard to leave, but we are glad to be back in Provo. Chance started physical therapy school yesterday and I start my internship this week. We have an exciting summer ahead!

Graduation!

2010-05-09T17:25:00.000-07:00

Erin says that people need to hear from me and that I need to blog more so I am following her advice. I am officially graduated!!! Here are a few pics of the two days of graduation. Thursday, April 22, was the commencement exercises in the Marriott Center. It was only an hour long and the speakers were all great. I was expecting for it to be a little longer but the speakers just got to the point. Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Twelve was the concluding speaker and it was wonderful to hear from him. He gave some great advice and taught about the relationship between the Gospel and education.

I am so lucky for the wonderful support of my family through the years. There were times when school would get discouraging but it was the help of my family and friends that I was able to make it through those harder times. Erin was a huge help and I am glad that she will be by my side through physical therapy school. From the time I met her until I graduated my grades improved every semester. She was especially encouraging and helped me stay on task better. I know I will need that help and reminder in the future. I was glad that my parents could be there along with Corey and Megan. I hope the feelings of accomplishment I had upon graduating were as joyful for them as they were for me.

With the gifts that we received after graduation, Erin and I were able to make a big purchase. We bought a bike! It has been a long time since I rode a bike but it will soon be my mode of transportation to and from school. We are really excited about the bike and feel that we got a good deal on it. And don't worry about it getting stolen because we have two locks (double the protection) that are keeping it safe!

I am very grateful that I was able to attend BYU. Anyone that has been on that campus cannot deny the wonderful mission that it holds: "Enter to learn, go forth to serve." That is definitely my goal as I enter a new chapter of my life. Tomorrow, May 10, I will be starting physical therapy school at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions here in Provo. It is a great opportunity for us to be somewhere familiar and close to BYU so Erin can finish. I know that when I look back on my life when I'm older, one of the important points in it will be my education at BYU. I know I am more prepared for what is to come because of BYU.

Mom

2010-05-08T21:33:00.000-07:00

To the most amazing mom in the world... Happy Mother's Day! I love you so so much.

(Everyone loves this woman, even the lorikeets.)

In need of a new apartment

2010-04-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

Although Chance and I have loved our cozy little apartment for the past 9 months, we have begun the search for a new place for a few reasons:

a. Chance is getting tired of moving the coffee table in the family room so he can stretch
b. After turning on the oven our apartment heats up to an uncomfortable temperature
c. The internet was down for the past 2 weeks
d. If you don't take a shower by 7:30 am the water is cold

And to top it off there was no water two days ago and we had to go to a gas station to use the restroom. Haha.. we got a good laugh out of that one.

Let the apartment hunting begin!

St. George!

2010-04-11T20:46:00.000-07:00

This past week was the Hendricks family vacation in St. George and we had a wonderful time. The first morning I stayed in the hotel to finish up some big school projects and then Chance called me and something amazing happened. He said that the guys would be done golfing in 30 minutes and so I decided to take a break from my homework and go outside to wait. I sat down outside by the pool and put my feet up...

Then the most amazing feeling hit my skin. At first I didn't know what it was, and then I remembered... the sun!! Wow it felt soooooooooo good. We were all happy to see the sun coming from Provo, Idaho Falls, and Portland. My skin didn't know quite what to do with the sun rays and so I came back pretty red, but I am happy nonetheless.

The boys golfed every day and the girls took advantage of this time to go to the pool. I had so much fun hanging out with DeLyn, Tangi, and the boys. Niels and Davis are getting so big and are talking up a storm which is so fun/funny. Tangi is pregnant with baby #3 and it is a girl! She is due the end of May and we are so excited for her and Scott.

Brad brought a big container of treats that the boys (and I) loved. We hung out every night in our hotel room and just talked and laughed together. It was so relaxing!

Chance is so cute with the boys. And I have to brag, he won golf all three days! One of Chance's cousins, Brittany, and her family live in the St. George area and we had so much fun spending time with them at their beautiful home and at the pool. We had a yummy BBQ in their backyard and her kids entertained us with kareoke.

We went to the temple on Saturday morning which was a great experience. The temple is so beautiful!

It was so sad to say goodbye to family and beautiful St. George, but we are excited to finish up this semester and for Chance to graduate!

Leaving the beautiful red rock...

Thanks to Brad and DeLyn for such a great vacation! We had so much fun.

Easter

2010-04-04T18:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

(View from our window this morning, seriously??)

I don't think the Easter bunny came to Provo this morning because of weather conditions. Eggs are not supposed to be hidden in snow, they need to be hidden in warm grass.

We have had a beautiful Easter/conference weekend nonetheless. Chance and I were able to read the accounts of the passover in the bible this past week and we both feel closer to our Savior. We are so grateful for Him and His sacrifice that He made for us. After hearing from the prophet and the apostles this weekend we are both determined to try harder to pattern our lives after Jesus Christ. We both feel rejuvenated and motivated to be better people. We went over to the Seibold's this morning for a yummy breakfast and conference and then we were able to meet up with the Brink side of the family at my Uncle Bill's house this evening for dinner. We both feel so relaxed and ready for the last week and a half of school! Bring it on.

One year ago today

2010-04-03T17:59:00.000-07:00

One year ago today Chance asked me to be his wife and I said yes. Best decision I have ever made.

Mis Padres

2010-03-27T09:08:00.000-07:00

I have the most incredible parents. I am so grateful for all that they do for me.

They are funny.

They are hard working and make a great team.

They are cougar fans.

They love the beach and take our family there for fun vacations in the summer.

They are best friends.

They love each other more than anything.

They walk side by side and support each other in their various roles.

They are very fun to travel with!

More traveling...

More travels.

And they are sooo cute together!

Anyways I love them so much and am so grateful for the example they set for me and my marriage. You guys are da best!

Cheesecake Factory = Yummy

2010-03-25T16:08:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Chance and I went out to the cheesecake factory and we had such a delicious meal!! (Thank you Brad and DeLyn for the giftcard!)

First of all the brown bread they give you before your meal is fabulous.
The portions are so big that you can split things and still feel satisfied. Chance and I had the B.L.T. salad and then stuffed chicken tortillas for our meal. Both great. Our meal was served with these corn meal cakes that were sooo good, I need to find a recipe for them.
We topped off the meal with a slice of Stephanie's Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake- wow amazing.

Such a fun date night!

Trip to D.C.

2010-03-18T08:47:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I was able to attend the Advocacy Summit in Washington D.C. with my masters program. It was a m a z i n g. The conference was great, we learned about the four top health priorities of the Society of Public Health Educators, as well as advoacy skills that we could use while discussing these topics with legislators. The four priorities we learned about were the REACH program (Racial and ethnic approaches to community health), DASH (Division of adolescent and school health), the block grant, and the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education act. Monday we were able to meet with our specific state representatives and senators asking for increased funding for these programs. It was so neat to be on Capital Hill talking with the legislators from California. I loved it.

In our free time we were able to tour the beautiful city of D.C. Such an awesome place. We walked everywhere and we lucked out with sunny weather. I loved visiting the monuments, the Lincoln, Washington, Viet Nam, Korean, FDR, and Jefferson were some of my favs.

The museums were incredible to. I was able to go to the natural history museum, the national museum of American history, and the Holocaust museum. I wanted to go to all of them, but time just didn't permit- I guess that means we'll have to go back!

I loved all of the old buildings and the columns. I loved being in such a historical place. One of my favorite parts about the city were all of the quotes on the buildings, in the buildings, on the memorial walls, etc. They were so inspiring and spiritual. It was so great for me to remember that our country was founded upon God and righteous principles. I am so grateful to live in this country and to enjoy the many freedoms we are blessed with.

Monday morning we were able to go the Arlington cemetary. It was a very humbling experience to see all of the tombstones and realize the hundreds of thousands of lives lost to protect our freedom. We were able to see the changing of the guards in front of the Tomb of the Unknowns. The Tomb of the Unknowns has been guarded continuously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, since July 2, 1937. Rain, snow, hail, it doesn't matter. The changing of the gaurds was pretty sweet. Here is the ritual that they do all day, every day, until they are relieved, which is every half hour in the summer and every hour the rest of the year.

1.The soldier walks 21 steps across the Tomb. This alludes to the 21-gun salute, which is the highest honor given to any military or foreign dignitary in America. His weapon is always on the shoulder opposite the Tomb.

2.On the 21st step, the soldier turns and faces the Tomb for 21 seconds.

3.The soldier then turns to face the other way across the Tomb and changes his weapon to the outside shoulder.

4.After 21 seconds, the first step is repeated.

Anyways, I loved the trip. I learned a lot, became closer friends with the other students in the MPH program, and was inspired to be a better American citizen. It was hard being away from Chance for a week, but the reunion was AMAZING. Haha.. needless to say we were very happy to see each other. Two weeks after being home and I am still finding sweet notes that he has hidden throughout our house. Wow I love him.

Trust

2010-03-03T18:27:00.000-08:00

Chance and I have developed a lot of trust throughout our relationship, but I think I am starting back at square zero after I tried to cut his hair a few days ago.

Disclaimer: I have never cut someone's hair before! Except Megan's bangs back when I was four.

Luckily I have such a talented husband that he was able to fix most of my mistakes with me holding up a mirror for him to see the back of his head. He is amazing and hot.

Half of a Year

2010-02-22T20:55:00.000-08:00

Happy 6 months baby, I love you!

Addiction

2010-02-19T08:34:00.000-08:00

Hi, our names our Chance and Erin and we are addicted to the Olympics.

Once we turn the t.v. on we can't turn it off.
Watching the Olympics at night is causing us to not study.
We secretly want to be Shaun White and Lindsey Vonn.

I hope we don't go through withdrawals when it is over!

Weekend Love

2010-02-16T20:41:00.000-08:00

Things I Loved About This Weekend

*I LOVED spending four great days with my husband. Our lives are so crazy and just being together for more then a couple of hours was such a treat.

*I loved getting a pedicure, thanks to part of my Christmas present from Chance. Pedicures are one of those amazing things in life like having someone wash your hair for you when getting a haircut- just wonderful.

*I loved the BYU Young Ambassadors concert we went to on Friday night. Soo amazing! I especially loved the songs from Wicked and Hairspray (although their Link did not do justice to Zac Efron).

*I loved going out to eat at CPK with my valentine and ordering my favorite Thai pizza. (Thank you Meggie for the gift card!)

*I loved having Megan and her friend over for Valentine's day dinner and for the yummy Grahm Canyon ice cream she brought us.

*I loved waking up on Monday morning and not having to get ready for school, yay for presidents!

Jazz vs Heat

2010-01-15T10:12:00.000-08:00

For Christmas I gave Chance tickets to the Jazz/Heat game, it was so fun! Ok our seats weren't great, but we got to see D Wade in action, oh and the Jazz players too.

We also celebrated our friend Ben's birthday a little bit ago, his wife Allyson made THE most amazing/beautiful chocolate peanut butter cake! So I accidentally cut Ben and Chance out of the picture, but I got the cake in there!

I prefer play time over study time

2010-01-09T17:53:00.000-08:00

Today is the Saturday after the first week of school and guess where we are. The library. Let's just say we both have tough semesters ahead of us (luckily this is the last of Chance's undergrad). We actually only have ourselves to blame because we hardly touched school work yesterday. Chance worked in the morning and then we went to the temple, which was lovely. I actually ran into two of my best friends from my childhood Spencer and Johnny, which was so fun! They both got home from their missions in Brazil about two weeks ago.

After that we met up with Ben & Allyson, Taylor & Carrie for Avatar- soOoO good! We loved it and would recommend it to anyone. We went over to Taylor and Carrie's house afterwards for dinner and games. The boys made us yummy french toast and then we were kind enough to beat them in Catch-phrase. Ok time to get back to work!

Steele and Ciera's Wedding!

2010-01-03T13:45:00.000-08:00

It was so great to be a part of Steele and Ciera's wedding, they are a darling couple and I am so glad that they finally get to be together forever! They had a beautiful sealing ceremony in the Salt Lake Temple and then a luncheon and evening reception in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Chance, Taylor, Ben, and Steele have been roommates for several years and now are all married within one year of each other. They were all groomsmen in the wedding party and I have loved getting to know the boys and their wives better. We have all become good friends! Here are some pictures of the special day.

Waiting for the new couple

Yay for love!

The boys

Ciera looked so beautiful and Steele as handsome as ever

Lunch was yummy!

We were able to see the lights on our way to the car, everything looked beautiful!

Home for the Holidays

2009-12-30T09:51:00.000-08:00

Chance and I had the BEST Christmas this past week home in Lodi. We enjoyed beautiful weather and were able to run in the mornings, go on bike rides, play tennis, and even play a round of golf. Spending time with family is so wonderful, we are so grateful for the support we have from our parents and siblings. We were able to meet our niece Lily for the first time and she is perfect. I loved holding her and listening to her baby noises. Jana and Joe are such cute parents, we wish they lived closer to us! It was hard for us to say goodbye, I can't even count how many times we said "I don't want to leave!" A big thanks to my family for the amazing week at home, we love you so much.

Jana, Joe, and Lily

My amazing parents

Emma's Christmas classic

Christmas Eve

Our first Christmas!

Christmas time is here...

2009-12-13T20:50:00.000-08:00

Christmas time is here and we couldn't be more excited! We have finals this week and then we are headed off to California on Saturday. We can't wait to relax and spend time with our family and I am so excited to finally meet my niece Lily and hold her forever.

View from our window, I like looking at the snow from the inside.

Megan came over and made cookies with us, soooo yummy!

Our Stake had a Christmas musical program at the Provo Tabernacle, it was wonderful.

Police Beat: Best of the last decade

2009-12-07T10:41:00.000-08:00

Police Beat in The Daily Universe is probably one of my favorite sections of BYU's newspaper. Today they published Police Beat: Best of the last decade and I had some pretty good laughs, so I thought I would share. Unfortunately, they didn't mention the police beat from summer term 2006, when Sutton, Emily, and I were reported for being too loud outside of Helaman Halls. Haha, good times.

Enjoy!

Disorderly Conduct
June 29, 2006: A man was found bathing in the fountain of the Joseph F. Smith Building and praying to a rock.
September 6, 2009: Two male subjects were knocking doors in the female area of Wyview Park. They identified themselves as missionaries. When the police arrived the two male students said they thought it was a novel way to meet girls.
Sept. 19, 2006: An individual reported male students singing to female students outside of Hinckley Hall in Helaman Halls. PoThe males were advised to leave due to complaints.

Theft
March 26, 2008: The mother of a BYU student called police when she suspected that her daughter’s roommate stole her butter knife. The mother later called to drop the charges.

Animal Problem
Sept. 6, 2000: A BYU employee was walking near the Harris Fine Arts Center when she heard the cries of a kitten. As she picked up the small kitten, the animal attacked, scratching and biting her. When the police arrived they were unable to locate the offending feline.
July 4, 2009: An owl was found in the former president’s home. An officer communicated with the owl and it left.

Property Damage
Oct. 2001: A glass panel of a telephone booth at Helaman Halls shattered in an attempt to fit eight people into the booth. As a third person entered the phone booth, the pressure caused the panel to break.
Nov. 25, 2005: An unknown person used a washable wipe marker to write obscenities such as “poo-poo” and “poo” on a black Denali parked in Heritage Halls.
Sept. 22, 2006: A female BYU student fell through the ceiling of the Thomas L. Martin Building while playing a game of hide and seek. The student was in an area of the building being remodeled where ceiling tiles had been removed for electrical work. Friends boosted the student into the opening where she fell through other ceiling tiles upon crawling around. She was not hurt.
Nov. 21, 2006: A female student attempted to get the attention of two male students passing by Fox Hall in Heritage Halls by tapping on the glass window of the lobby. The female student shattered the glass window with her tapping.

Domestic Violence
Oct. 23, 2006: An assault was reported in R Hall of Deseret Towers. One male student threw a bug on another male student, who retaliated by spraying shaving cream on the male who threw the bug. Shaving cream got in the eyes of the first student and the argument quickly escalated and became a physical confrontation.
Nov. 9, 2009: Domestic violence was reported at Wyview Park. Two male roommates were arguing over the temperature control setting of the thermostat when things got too heated and one roommate began assaulting the other. The males were separated and one was issued a citation. The cited individual left the apartment and stayed somewhere else for the evening.
Suspicious Behavior
Jan. 22, 2002: A man was reported leaving the bookstore carrying a gun. When the officer located the male they found he was carrying a chrome toy pistol. When the officer asked the 22-year-old male student why he was carrying the gun, he said his roommate told him it would get chicks. The officers cautioned the male on carrying or simulating a weapon before he was released.
Feb. 2, 2007: A student reported a suspicious individual with long gray hair and a beard inside a restricted lab in the Clyde building. Upon arrival, the officer found a mannequin in the reported location.
July 4, 2007: A man was reported making a suspicious phone call to a female in Helaman Halls in which he claimed he was doing a psychology project and then proceeded to hypnotize the female student on the other end of the line. The roommate of the female came home to find her asleep on the floor. The female was reported reacting strangely when certain words are spoken.
Incidents of a similar nature have occurred about two dozen times in the past. There are no suspects, but the incident is still under investigation.
Sept. 12, 2008: A custodian reported screaming near the MCKB at 4 a.m. The screams were later discovered to have come from a female student sprayed by a sidewalk sprinkler.
March 21, 2008: BYU police received a call reporting a male dressed in a bright yellow suit looking for duck eggs near the duck pond. When police arrived at the scene the man was nowhere to be found.
Feb. 16, 2009: A Wymount tenant alerted police of a suspicious man in a suspicious vehicle driving between Wymount laundry facilities. The man turned out to be a Wymount tenant who was looking for an open washer and dryer.

Suspicious Package
Oct. 2001: A female BYU student living in Deseret Towers received a suspicious looking brown paper package in the mail. The student did not recognize the return address and called the police. After investigating, police concluded that a friend had purchased a Beanie Baby on E-Bay and the Beanie Baby has been sent directly to the BYU student.
March 5, 2002: A strange letter was received by KBYU. The letter had a lump in it, so the recipient put the letter in the microwave hoping to neutralize the substance if it was anthrax. The letter started on fire and by the time the recipient could put out the flames, the only readable part of the letter was the return address which read, “Shadows of things to come.” Police are unsure about the substance contained in the letter.

Faces of Diabetes

2009-12-04T21:55:00.000-08:00

I have an internship at the state health department right now and am really enjoying my experience so far. I haven't done much, but I have definitely learned a lot. I am the graduate student intern on the diabetes media campaign Grant Sunada is currently working on called the Faces of Diabetes. We are collecting stories of people who either have diabetes or have been affected by diabetes in some way. We hope that these stories empower others to make healthy lifestyle choices as well as provide a location where people can share their own stories and comments about the disease. My masters project that I will begin working on this spring will involve evaluating the effectiveness of this campaign through focus groups, surveys, and other methods that I will be learning about next semester in my classes! I'm excited.

Thanksgiving!

2009-12-02T21:09:00.000-08:00

Chance and I had the best Thanksgiving in Idaho Falls. Here were some of the highlights:
*A delicious Thanksgiving feast
*Tangi and Scott announcing that they are having another baby in May
*Playing games (I finally learned how to play Rook)
*Watching BYU beat the U on the BIG screen (Thanks Brad for ordering the channel!)
*Taking family pictures
*Eating Thanksgiving leftovers and yummy treats
*Bowling on Saturday night
*Chance's mint M&M blizzards
*I was able to start and finish A Thousand Splendid Suns, which I absolutely loved

It was so good to be together with family. We have put up a few Christmas decorations in our apartment and have loaded the cd player with our favorite Christmas albums (NSYNC and Josh Grobin are numbers 1 & 2). We love this time of year and we hope you are enjoying it as well!

A Little Strange...

2009-11-22T16:19:00.000-08:00

Chance and I loved our apartment from the beginning simply because it was our own space; however, we have definitely noticed a few flaws. The first morning of living in our apartment I went to go plug my blow dryer in and realized that there was no outlet in the bathroom. I thought I was going crazy, how could there be no outlet in a bathroom? I looked and looked, but still couldn't find one. Anyways, I ended up setting up an area in our bedroom where I could do my hair, so everything is fine. A few weeks ago I was brushing my teeth, and I randomly looked up at our light fixture in our bathroom. I couldn't believe what I saw, there was an outlet along the rim of the light! Unbelievable, who would think to put the only outlet in a bathroom way up by the ceiling? Haha, Chance and I had a good laugh about that one. The outlet works fine, but I never use it because I'm scared its going to blow up or something. I have a feeling that our apartment isn't quite up to current building codes!

Football Games

2009-11-09T19:05:00.000-08:00

We have loved going to the football games this season, 2 more games left! This is usually how the game goes for us... Chance explains what is going on to me and then I yell like crazy and then Chance laughs at me. Needless to say we have lots of fun.

The View is Different From the Top

2009-11-08T20:10:00.000-08:00

So over conference weekend we watched Tradition, Spirit, Honor, which is a BYU footbal movie that talks about Bronco and his coaching style. During football training, one of the things Bronco had the team do was run to the top of the Y. Bronco had his team do this so that they could see that the view is different from the top (obviously they are still trying to figure this out). Anyways, watching this movie inspired Chance and me to hike the Y a few weekends ago. It was tougher than we remembered, but it was great to be outside and get a little exercise.

The view really is different from the top!

Conference

2009-11-08T19:25:00.000-08:00

Conference weekend was so fun last month, not only because we were able to hear from President Monson, the apostles, and other leaders of the church, but also because my parents and little sister were able to come up and visit. It was a tight squeeze in our little apartment, but it was so great having them here with us. We were able to attend Saturday afternoon session and then we watched Sunday session here at home. We made yummy cinnamon rolls of course, played games, watched movies, and took some good walks around our neighborhood.

We ate at Brick Oven Monday night, free root beer after five!

We Love Fall

2009-11-08T19:13:00.000-08:00

Despite our busy schedules, Chance and I have made an effort to enjoy the great season of fall here in Provo. A few weeks ago we drove up to bridal veil falls and had a yummy picnic lunch. It felt so good to sit on the grass and take in the beautiful surroundings. God has created such an amazing world for us and often times we don't take the time to appreciate all of His creations.

The BEST day of our lives

2009-10-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

Chance and I were sealed in the Oakland Temple on August 22, 2009. It was the most beautiful and perfect day. We had an amazing reception that night at my Aunt Laurie and Uncle Steve's home. It was an enchanting evening. Dinner was delicious, the gelato was so tasty, and the dancing was lots of fun. It was so great having our families and close friends there to celebrate with us. We went to Santa Cruz for our honeymoon and had a fantastic week at the beach. My grandparents let us stay at the beach house they have there and we loved every minute of it. We had an open house in Idaho Falls at Chance's home the following Saturday and it was great. We loved being able to celebrate our wedding again. School started the following Monday and we had an eventful couple of weeks trying to get all moved in. Everything is settled and we are back into school mode, we are loving our apartment and the fact that we never have to say goodbye. Needless to say life is going great!

15 More Days!

2009-08-06T20:38:00.000-07:00

We thought that we should get a head start on this blogging thing even before we're married. We have only 15 more days until the biggest day of our lives, August 22, 2009. On this date we will be sealed for all eternity in the Oakland Temple. We hope that you are as excited as we are!