I love being an Oregonian

There is something about being outside that is so soothing. This last Sunday, Ryan and I went to the park across the street and threw around the frisbee, played a game of Horse (H for Ryan...HORSE for me...), and just walked and talked. It was dusk and still warm enough to be in shorts and it was so quiet for living next to a busy street. I looked at Ryan and he was closing his eyes and smiling. He then said so contently and calmly, "Being outside is so therapeutic for me." I could tell he was soaking it all up; the quiet, the weather, the calm. It is so true! Us treehuggers tend to really appreciate nature, but it is something I miss about Oregon. The green, the space and the summer.

In an article I found online, (http://www.wilderness-programs-info.com), it said the following:

"Generations of brilliant minds, naturalists and authors have documented the many benefits of spending time in nature. Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), an American author, naturalist, and philosopher best known for his book Walden, celebrated the therapeutic effects of nature by saying, "I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright." Nature has played an integral role in the quest for happiness and personal fulfillment of many other historical figures as well, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Muir and Charles Darwin. Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), acclaimed architect and philosopher, advised, "Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you."

There is a strong body of research confirming that direct contact with nature increases mental health and psychological and spiritual development. Benefits include stress reduction, a sense of coherence and belonging, improved self-confidence and self-discipline, and a broader sense of community"

At home, I lived on the River during the summer. The rogue was my relaxation, my exercise, my fun, my getaway. I love the outdoors but what I love more than anything is water. Rivers, Oceans, Lakes and hot springs! (That reminds me - Ryan and I found the tiniest little hot spring in the middle of nowhere. I don't know if we will ever be able to find it again, it was in the middle of a muddy field but it felt soooo good!) Being in Utah, I feel so far away from all of my water adventures! But that is why Ryan and I are going to do a lot of camping :) You won't be surprised to find out that Camping gear was the first thing we registered for. Our first camping date is set for June 17-19 at Bear Lake with my cousin Rachael and her husband. It is going to be a blast! My goal is to take advantage of this summer, to go on hikes, camp and soak up the outdoors as much as we can before the cold sets in here in Provo, Utah!

Some Sad News :(

This finishing school business is harder than it sounds! I had this perfect plan in my head that went something like this: move down to Provo, easily transfer to BYU/get into the Marketing program, go to school with Ryan and graduate the same time as him! Sad to say...it hasn't gone quite as planned.

I applied to BYU as soon as I moved down to Provo in January and eagerly awaited the good news I KNEW I was going to receive. I had good grades, I had been very involved at Utah State and had been in a couple rigorous academic programs. I was set! I also had the fact that I was marrying someone who attended BYU and played Football there on my side, and that all my family graduated from there. There was no reason for me to not get accepted as a Transfer student!

Towards the end of March I checked my application status...DENIED! I was shocked. I immediately made an appointment to speak with someone in admissions, ready to plead my case. They listened, but were quick to tell me that since I had so many credits as a transfer, they didn't have enough "resources" for me. He then told me, I was pleading a good case but they would only consider it when I was actually married. So, feeling misunderstood I sadly left the office but was hopeful to come back and slam my marriage certificate on the desk and say, "check it out!"

I decided to apply to the University of Utah just as a backup plan, and (thankfully) was accepted. That would have been a real hit to my self-esteem if they denied me too! I looked at the classes I had taken compared to what they accepted and it looked like I could graduate in a semester, so even though I would have to commute, it would be better. I met with them last week and they said the scary words, "we have just changed our curriculum as of February, including classes we accept from other universities!" My heart sank. Here it comes....so after going through my classes and new classes they are requiring, turns out I can't graduate for at least two more semesters, most likely three. They added an intro to business class that I have to take before getting into the Marketing Program, even though I was close to a business major at USU! So frustrating! So, it was time to check back in with BYU...

Bad news again. They barely even glanced at the certificate and said they had already accepted 600 extra students, and that my chances of being accepted as a transfer student with all my credits was slim to none. I started bawling. But in the long run it makes sense! They wouldn't accept the majority of my credits, it would take a while to get into the Business College and I probably wouldn't be able to graduate with Ryan.

I saw this sticker and it made me laugh, and it inspired this post :)

Awww, Young Love ;)

Since Ryan is going to school and I am working, we don't see too much of each other during the week. So here is our solution to the problem!

It's Dinner Time!

I never knew making dinner could be so much fun. In fact, I find it relaxing! I am sure that's how it starts as a young wife, making sure my (probably starving) husband has something to eat at the end of the day.

All through college, this would be a standard menu for me: Breakfast - breakfast bar on the way to school or a quick bowl of cereal. Lunch - Peanut butter sandwich and a cheese stick. Dinner - Soup and whatever else I could find. Now that menu to Ryan is more of a pre-breakfast appetizer! I have had to quickly learn what kind of food to make, to make lots of it, and to make sure it's pretty healthy so I don't get too chubby ;)

It was hilarious, Ryan and I wanted to wait and go on a huge grocery run on Saturday (fourish days away) so we had cereal for breakfast, chips and salsa and sandwiches for lunch and soup and tuna sandwiches for dinner! We also had no furniture at this point so we would hunker down Asian style and sit on the ground with our legs folded, backs against the wall and plates on our laps. It was actually really fun!

My wonderful parents drove all the way from Oregon and got to Provo Saturday around 7, took us to dinner, took us to Winco, opened up our wedding presents with us, and left the next morning for home. They are either insane or just awesome. Since that glorious grocery shopping spree with my parents, I actually had some food to pick from to make some kind of meal. One night I made lemon tilapia with italian roasted tomatos and diced chilis with a side of black bean rice and fruit. The next I made Chicken Fried Rice with Egg Drop Soup, yesterday we had a yummy taco salad and tonight we had sloppy joes. Now that is eating good! Mostly, I was just impressed with my Egg Drop soup creation and it turned out to be quite tasty! I made Ryan wait for me to test it out first, just in case it was nasty.

*Just a side note. I absolutely LOVE making Ryan lunches. I have no idea why, but I just have so much fun making him little baggies of goodies and sending him off to school. It was so precious, one night Ryan told me he wanted to make me dinner so he made some sandwiches :) I am sure he will branch out one day!

A Year of Changes

By the end of this year I will have moved cities, changed schools, completed two marathons and married the man of my 14-year old dreams! For a girl who doesn't like change, that's quite a year.

I vividly remember sitting on my couch in Logan, teary-eyed and unhappy, resting my head on Caitlyn's shoulder and asking why I felt so uneasy and restless in Logan. I loved Utah State, I loved my wonderful friends and I thought I had a plan! I felt so confused. Since the time I graduated High School I had a very specific plan of what I wanted to do, where I wanted to go, and when it would happen.

THE LOVE STORY

This past Christmas, I had never felt so relieved to come home in my life. I wanted to take a break from school, or change majors, or move, or start an internship! Anything! On the drive home from the Airport, my parents told me they had seen the Folsom Family in the Temple a few days prior, and that Ryan was there! My heart skipped a little :) I met Ryan when I was 14, but never even got close to talking to him. I remember him walking into a dance and I walked out the other door! Can you say painfully shy? So when they said they saw him, I did what I usually did - "awwww lucky! He's so cute! Maybe one day I will talk to him..." Luckily my mom is a schemer. She said, well why don't you go up to their house? They want you and Kate to figure out what you are doing for Ecuador in the summer! I lost all color in my face. The thought of maybe seeing Ryan and actually having to talk to him made my stomach hurt. There was no way! I had avoided him for 6 years why stop now! So...after a couple hours of pestering, my mom said, "Lauren. This could be your one chance. You are going to look back and regret this moment if you don't go." That's all it took. I remembered something my dad says a lot, "When you are living righteously, the things in life that you regret are the things you DIDN'T do."

I walked through the Folsom's front door and immediately blushed and instantly got nervous. They were all sitting around in their front room and there was one spot left for me to sit, conveniently by Ryan on the couch. We chatted about school, about the break, and eventually Kate and I were able to talk more about Ecuador and what I needed to do to finish applying. But of course, Kate and I got sidetracked on the topic of boys and dating, and I told her that I was DONE! NO MORE! But I then jokingly told her that I still was secretly in love with Ryan. She looked over her shoulder, shut the door, and quietly said, "I can't stay out of this anymore. He wants to ask you out! He thinks you are cute!" I told her that he needed to be a man and ask me out! That night, I got a text that said: Hey there its Ryan! This is me being a man and asking you out." (I still laugh that he thought texting me was stepping up and being a man! We still argue about who really started the relationship.)

So to sum up, we spent New Year's Eve night together and almost every second after until he flew back to Utah to start school. I had never been so drawn to someone so quickly in my entire life, and he seemed to feel the same. We talked about Provo and Logan and how long distance would be fine, trying to feel a little bit more hopeful about our situation. But our problems were all solved within one day. A girl called and said she wanted to buy my contract in Logan, I got offered a job in Provo, I got offered an internship in Sandy, and found a place to live in Provo in a half hour. That scared me to death! After a couple days of wrestling with the decision, I decided to move to Provo. I figured all of the doors were opening for a reason and, being a girl scared of having any regrets, I took the big leap of faith and moved down that weekend.

The rest as they say, is "history!" Ryan and I were engaged three weeks later, and married 3 months later, to the day. April 23rd finallly came and we were able to go home and get married in our hometown temple of Medford, Oregon. What a happy day that was! Although I won't be able to remember every detail, I will always remember the peace I felt, the peace knowing that I just married my perfect man and it was in fact a match made in heaven.

The rest of this blog will just be day to day things that happen, fun new recipes I have tried, funny things that happen, a thought...just anything I feel, for this brand new Folsom fam, that is a little handful of happy :)