Welcome Home Eh!

Trent's much anticpated arrival date came yesterday and it was an awesome day. He served for two great years in the Paraguay Asuncion North mission. He is still the same funny brother that left and we are all so happy for him to be home.

The day started off with my mom and I setting up the house for dinner and we were the official "sign makers."

Then, as we left to go to the airport, we found out that his flight was early. Not a good thing to tell a mom when she hasn't seen her son in two years. My mom drove like a crazy person to get to the airport, which was quite entertaining. But, the whole extended family that could come made it in time.....

To welcome home Elder Peterson! It was so good to see him again. He is a great brother and I feel blessed that I was able to take the week off and come home to see him.

I love my Family!
Now, we can't wait until Friday when Steven, along with my sister Nicole and her husband Steve, get to come up to Calgary and spend the weekend. It will be the first time since our wedding two and a half years ago that our whole immediate family will be together.

Good & Ugly

I have been a terrible blogger lately. We have been having a lot of fun, and it has been nice getting back into a routine where I have more than five spare minutes a day. Life right now is....

I'm still working full-time at my job, getting back into shape, and planning all our fun summer adventures. Steven is still working and taking lots of credits this summer in order to graduate early in December.

A couple of weekends ago, we were able to go down to Las Vegas and visit all the Footes. We had a blast.....

going to the lake..... it was a little chilly and we had to wear wet suits (I've only included a picture here of Steven in one. Mine was meant for a child, and was so skin-tight I got stuck). I'm also pretty much the only one in the Foote Family that doesn't water-ski amazingly. But, I do love the lake and a fun tube ride!

Steven and I also had a fun time in the car together. Growing up we would drive from Calgary to Utah (14 hours) at least once a year, and so I love a good road trip.

And, we got to be there for Mother's Day and talk to Steven's brother, Jason, who is serving a mission in El Salvador. Fun weekend.

Last weekend, our niece, Rebecca was blessed, and so we had some more fun with the Footes.... hiking, bowling, and just hanging out. I beat Steven at bowling. He was pretty excited about that.

So, that has all been pretty good. Next up? I'm going home on Monday to welcome Trent back from his mission. We have a lot of Peterson fun coming up.

Now, What is the ugly that the title of this post alluded to?

About an hour ago, I went to the dentist for a cleaning and filling. I pride myself on excellent oral hygiene, and as such, I have never had a cavity. However, right before I graduated high school, my back tooth cracked and had to be covered with a filling. That filling needed replacing, and hence my visit to the dentist today.

My mouth, for some reason, would NOT freeze. The dentist normally puts in two shots to freeze the mouth. I took six. The painful part is over, but now more than HALF of my face is completely frozen. I look like this....

Only my decent level of self-confidence, along with my knowledge that not very many people read our blog made me feel ok about posting that. I figured I would want to look back and laugh.

So, life is always full of good, bad, and sometimes ugly parts. Luckily, the good usually outweigh the bad and the ugly :)

Grateful

I know that many people have already seen this video, about plane-crash survivor Stephanie Nielson, but for those who have not watched it yet-- watch! I watched it today along with reading her blog, and I feel a renewed sense of gratitude. I honestly have been feeling a little bit sorry for myself lately because of some struggles and how life isn't timing out exactly as I planned, and this story of courage and faith was just what I needed to hear. I always feel so good when I take the time to stop and appreciate the beauty of life and the goodness of others. What a remarkable story!

It's Time for a Change

This is me last week.....

And this is me today....

The hair is a small change, but I was just thinking about how we have a lot of big changes coming up soon. One change I'm looking forward to? Trent coming home from his mission. One change that I am NOT looking forward to? Moving twice in 5 months. Ick. Does anybody actually like moving? Oh, and yes I am wearing a turtleneck in May. It is freezing and we even had some snow this morning. Sunny weather and summer will be a welcome change to this winter that has lasted way too long.

The Big Apple

Steven and I arrived home from our AWESOME vacation to New York late last night (more like this morning). And then we both had to get up nice and early in order to make it to school/work. Coming home from a vacation is the worst. However, our trip was so much fun and I am so glad we decided to go. We had a great time together, and it fulfilled a dream of mine by going.

My Favorites:

The shopping and fashion. I was like a little kid at Christmas while on Fifth Avenue.

Going to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway... I wouldn't say that I am a huge musical fan, but the show was so amazing, it gave me chills.

Visiting the temple and going to church IN the temple. That was a neat experience. The temple is also about 2 blocks away from Julliard and when the hymns were sung, I honestly felt like I had accidentally joined the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Visiting the famous monuments of the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building.... The whole city really does just sparkle at night.

And, walking across the Brooklyn Bridge from Brooklyn into Manhatten. If I lived in New York, I think that I would make the walk weekly because the views are incredible.

Steven's favorites:

The food, specifically the pizza, hotdogs, and cupcakes. Let's just say it is a good thing we were walking so much. And a very good thing that they don't have a Magnolia bakery in Provo. That just might be the thing that could make us both fat.

Visiting museums. We went through the Guggenheim and visited the outside of the Met and the MOMA (Steven is the more cultured one. I like the shopping, he likes the museums.)

Wall Street and the Financial side of New York (ok, so I really loved this part too. I guess that is what you get when two accountants go to New York).

And, surpisingly, when I asked Steven about his favorite parts, the first thing he said was "The Subway." Shocking, I know. But, Steven absolutely LOVES maps, and so finding his way around a huge city was actually fun for him. I planned the places and he got us there. We made a good team.

There were so many other things that we did- Little Italy, Chinatown, Times Square, Central Park, 9/11 Memorial, etc...... If anybody wants to see all of the pictures we took, the are here http://picasaweb.google.com/smfoote/NewYorkDays1And2, and here http://picasaweb.google.com/smfoote/NYDay3 and here http://picasaweb.google.com/smfoote/NYDay4And5. A year ago, the three places I wanted to visit most in the world were Paris, Germany, and New York. I never thought that I would see all of them in a year. I feel very lucky and blessed. We definitely LOVED New York.

Let Freedom Ring

On Thursday at work (the big April 15th), the partners gave out gifts and cards to thank the staff for all of the work we did during tax season. The card said "Let Freedom Ring," and that is really how I feel. I am free. I have a life again. I see daylight, and the weather has been perfect. Here is what we have done this weekend to celebrate my newfound freedom:

(1) Honestly, the very first thing I did was come home and take a nap. In fact, I took a nap Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Steven came home from taking a test yesterday and found me just waking up from a nap and said, "another nap?" But.... my body has definitely appreciated the rest....

(2) Steven and I went out for dinner and a movie to celebrate. We saw "The Blind Side" which was great and has been out for a LONG time. We got a little behind on "new" entertainment these past few months.

(3) Went shopping. I love shopping. And Steven really must have missed me while I was working so much because he came for the whole afternoon, and didn't even complain once. Those that know how Steven is with shopping can realize what a miracle this is. My favorite new item? These pink shoes.... I think they are way cute, and pink is just my favorite:

(4) Hung-out with my good friend Lauren, and fellow tax-season survivor. During tax season, we planned on going to get pedicures together to celebrate. But, when it came right down to it, we didn't REALLY want to spend $40 to have somebody paint our toes. So, we enjoyed the sunshine, chatted like only girls can, and got $1 drinks on a nice walk.

(5) Had a BBQ in the park with all the Provo Footes. Guacamole burgers, Frisbee, and fun. Perfect Saturday night:

All the above along with going for walks, cleaning the car, laundry, etc. made quite the full weekend. I'm amazed at how nice it is to have spare time again. Whew..... now off to New York next week. Can't wait.

Conference Weekend

This weekend was conference weekend, which is something I always look forward to. I had a great weekend, and I definitely feel uplifted and strengthened. One highlight of conference weekend is always the traditional "girls night" during the priesthood session. Steven's family was visiting, and so I had lots of girls to spend it with. We first braved the crowds to eat dinner at Olive Garden, and then we decided to do a little craft......

Pretty awesome tie-dye, if I do say so myself. Here is the whole group, with our final masterpieces (we missed you Katie!):

I feel so lucky and blessed to have such wonderful family on both sides. And speaking of family, I am so excited for this little brother of mine to get home from his mission to Paraguay in less than two months....

I guess he is not that little anymore, but he'll always be my baby brother. And, he is quite the stud, so look out girls.....

Sunday's are great. Conference is great. Family is great. That's all.