A Hitch In Our Git-Along

I know, I know. You've missed me. I've missed you too! I'm a bit ashamed that it has been almost 3 months since my last post. In my defense, things have been a little busy. And, it's one of those things where you want to post, but it's been so long and you have so much to catch up on that you don't know where to start. But I promise to be better. I'm just going to have you up on the most recent events and hope to have a chance to fill in the holes in due time.

So, last Friday (08.08.08) after the amazing opening ceremonies, Brent and I decided to go see a movie with our friends, Quin and Natalie. We had a great time and enjoyed our company and then drove homeward. A date night like any other date night. We were driving home with the windows down because it was a surprisingly pleasant night. About halfway home, we were coming up on an unidentified object lying in the road. Unfortunately, there was median to our left and an indecisive TransAm to our right. We were coming up on the looming object fast, but we had no room to swerve. Brent decided to take it straight on. I didn't hear anything under the front tires, but then I felt the car lurch. 

We craned our ears, but we weren't sure what we heard. It sounded like there could be some rushing air, but the sprinklers were at work in the median so we weren't sure if that air noise was our tire or just in our heads. We drove a few more yards and then Brent decided we should pull over. You guessed it, we had a flat. Of course, we were on one of the darkest portions of the street - no streetlights to illuminate our dire plight. We quickly called our friends and Brent got to work loosening the lugnuts. As Quin and Natalie got there to shed some light on our dire plight, a police officer offered his assistance too. Since we weren't under a streetlight, we were glad that he moved in behind us with his lights going because we'd almost been hit by someone who didn't see that we'd stopped and nearly smashed us. 

Once Brent got the tire off, Quin and Natalie started looking for the hole. They didn't find anything in the tread, and we were hoping maybe we'd just popped the bead. As Quin set the tire in the trunk, I noticed a small gouge in the rim. That was when we saw it - an inch and a half gash in the wall of the tire. So much for that tire!

Once the police drove off, we all drove back around to see what could inflict such damage to our tire. We parked in a vacant parking lot and ran out to the middle of the street to find the offending object. I got there first, and what did I see lying unassumingly in the middle of the street? A trailer hitch. The whole hitch. No wonder we had a gash in our tire! When Brent took in the car to fix the tire, he made a $5 profit on the hitch. I guess it wasn't such a bad misadventure after all. 

For the edification of all

I love when people use their talents to glorify God. This link will take you to photographs from an exhibit at the Mesa Arizona Temple Visitor's Center right now. The slideshow alone is a moving experience. I recommend checking out the real thing.

A trip to Utah

So, in April, Brent and I got to journey to Utah for my graduation. While there we spent treasured time with family and friends. Thanks to all who took time to see us and visit and share your love. It was a great trip!!!

Me and the Jills. I love these girls!

I love this girl! She was my roommate my freshman year and has been a continual light to me over the years. Congrats, K! You made it!

Here's me and Brent with a favorite hometeacher and his lovely wife. They're off to do great things!Family and friends and delicious food!
Brothers. I love them!

Look, mom, I'm graduating!

Me with Elder L. Tom Perry and his wife. I love these people!This stud spoke at our graduation. He's been a great friend and example to me! Thanks for all you do and all you are! Ecuador, here you come!
Me & Dr. McPherson. I am indebted to this man.

This is one of my favoritest people in the whole wide world! Thanks for coming! I love your guts (and the rest of you too)!

Kathy! This lovely woman put me up for most of my interim time in Utah! I am forever in your debt. I couldn't have finished my thesis without you!

Stephen and Holly got a new bed! They had been sleeping on an old waterbed . . . not too full of water so they were practically on boards. Then, to be frugal, they slept on a couple of mattresses that they rescued from the demolition of DT. Congrats on graduating to a real bed.

Knead I say more?

Welcome home, Sister Peterson! You were a breath of fresh air (and beautiful as always)!

Thai food and good friends.

What happened to the party idea?

A joyous reunion. It felt like coming home!

The next week, the BYU Singers came to B-town. I love these guys! I had the incredible opportunity to sing with each of them at one point in time or another. And then to have them share in my BYU experience. . . life is so sweet sometimes, you know?

Highlights from March

This was our first trip to Magic Mountain. We had a blast! Alisa was a little nervous at first (so was I, let's be real here), but we had a great time (or at least we survived). Then we went to the beach. Seth and Alisa had never seen the ocean before, so it was fun to watch them embrace the waves. We had a great time together! Thanks family for coming!

Oh, they say when you're married in June . . .

I have been negligent. I am so sorry, gentle reader. I have no good excuse. In my defense, I could say that I've been a bit otherwise engaged (no pun intended), and I'm amazed at how many little details there are to iron out.

Last weekend, Brent and I went to Arizona to procure a marriage license (a must if you plan on getting married. Fancy that). While we were there we got to catch up with family (Brent met more for the first time. Coming from the boy who only has two cousins which he may have seen twice in his life, he doesn't believe a person can have more family than I do. I reassured him that this is just the tip of the iceburg.) I got to have bridal shots taken (for previews, please visit http://nikaelacurtis.typepad.com/ ) and I had a bridal shower (thanks everyone!), we ate good food, laughed a lot, and slept less than is really healthy, but who can sleep when there's so much to do?

On top of our own wedding, we've had a lot on our proverbial plates. Brent's mom was married today, he had finals last week and a job interview for an internship this summer. I've been trying to be supportive and trying to keep up with everything at the same time. The census at our hospital was just upped to 50 - a major feat for us. Of course, not all of those patients need speech therapy, but as the caseload in general grows, so does our little speech caseload. Life just gets to be busy sometimes.

I have to take a deep breath and remind myself why I'm in the situation I am right now. Being engaged is not my favorite state of being. I must say though, it has its shining moments. Some of the perks:
-looking forward to Brent coming home from work
-hearing "I love you" every day
-saying "I love you" every day
-planning for my future home
-looking forward to another trip to Mesa
-more time spent on the phone with family and friends
-hearing that song from Seven Brides and Seven Brothers at every turn (I almost want to dance in my one-piece underwear and sing along)
-admiring the new ring on my finger and being overwhelmed by the incredible significance and symbolism it
-being incandescently happy
-and so on. I won't get carried away here.

Lastly, the announcements are going out soon, so if you want one and haven't sent me your address, I make no guarantees. I love you all! Wish me luck, it's going to be a whirlwind ride up till the end! :)

It's official!

"Chocolate milk is my favorite fruit."

In other news, I'm engaged to be married to Brent Aaron Hill on June 14th in the Mesa Arizona Temple. That's why I've been so quiet from this end.

Attached is a picture of the ring. Love you all! Please send your addresses! I'm so happy!!!

Yeah, wit kind-of runs in the family

My sister says the funniest things. One of her earliest was: "Chocolate milk is my favorite fruit." I think my personal favorite was the time she brought home her math paper with the problem that read "What is the difference between 8 and 15?" Her answer? "8 is an even number and 15 is odd." Technically, a very correct answer.

This weekend, my family came out to see me in sunny California. This warranted a first-ever trip to the beach for my two youngest siblings, and a trip to Magic Mountain. Being the not-so-avid-roller-coaster-riders that we are, there was some almost-universal trepidation upon seeing so many iron edifices cutting into the Valencia skyline.

We warmed up with a few of the classics, but after lunch we decided it was time to tackle Goliath. Looking at that 255 ft drop didn't exactly instill me with warm feelings of peace and serenity. I have a fear of falling and a sensitive equilbrium, but there was no way I was going to chicken out of this ride.

As we advanced to the front of the line, my sister (now age 8) expressed her concerns about the upcoming "adventure." By this time now, though, I was getting excited. The rest of the bunch was too. In an attempt to mollify her concern, my mom said, "Look, those people who are just getting off are smiling. They had a great time." And then came the classic Alisa line. Without missing a beat, she returned, "Yeah, they're just smiling because they're grateful to be getting off!"

She may have had a point.