Firsts

What's the opposite of a newly-wed?  An oldy-wed?  Regardless, I think Tony and I still fall under the newly -wed category due to our continuing "first" celebrations.  We have had several "firsts," and we cherish each and every one.  Our first Thanksgiving was exceptionally special because we got to celebrate it twice!  When my family visited, we had a large Thanksgiving dinner with friends, topped off by playing Life and sharing laughter til we couldn't breathe (although that may be in part due to our over-full stomachs...).  Later, actually on Thanksgiving, Tony and I shared our home with my volleyball team so we had another enormous feast.  I spent all day cooking the turkey, and I will give myself a small pat on the back because it turned out perfect, mashed potatoes, which Tony deserves a rather large pat on the back for, homemade noodles, jello pretzel salad (Tony's favorite part of dinner), pumpkin delight, and stuffing.  My teammates brought the life to the party, however, with macaroni and cheese, Hawaiian-style ham, banana bread, chili-con-queso, banana fritters, and a few other perfectly delicious additions. I had no idea my teammates were so talented in the culinary field!  Once again, so much food, such a full stomach, and a nutty amount of fun.

Tony and I are also elated to celebrate our very first Christmas!  Tony already put me on a decoration budget, which I came very close to maxing out on Black Friday.  I have a weakness for soft white Christmas lights and old-fashioned Christmas decor, what can I say?  In my defense, Tony suggested the sled, so I think it should be on his budget, not mine :)

We are coming up to the anniversary of us meeting... and therefore very close to our anniversary of when Tony proposed :)  No wonder this is the most wonderful time of the year!

Other miscellaneous firsts that didn't really make the list....

First finals week as a married couple... awwww....

First simultaneous sickness

First disagreement concerning NBA players

and.....

First time we finally finished a movie in one day!  Thank you Lord of the Rings!

Half a Year!!!

6 Months of Bliss

Happy 6 Month Anniversary to the love of my life :)   He surprised me when we got home with a stunning bouquet of white roses, each bearing a sweet note.  There are no words that express how much I love being his wife.  The last 6 months have been completely perfect.  I don't know why everyone always says the first year is the hardest.  But if it is, I am crazy excited for the future because everyday just gets better and better with my best friend!




My parents and sister also came to visit last week, so we definitely had a wild weekend with them!  Tony's birthday was on Saturday, so we all went to a local farmer's market and had adventures trying lamb, goat cheese, and savory cookies.  We then entered the mystical world of Harry Potter by touring Hogwarts.  Oh wait, never mind... that was just Yale University.  :)  In all seriousness, Yale was breathtaking and slightly creepy.  With my family visiting, we played endless amounts of card games, ate delicious food, and washed a powerful amount of dishes all couped up in our humble apartment.  So fun!

 Birthday-Boy enjoying his pumpkin cheesecake!

Since holidays are all about family, we decided to celebrate Thanksgiving on Sunday. Our friends, Stephen, Cheryl, Kalaela, and Courtney all joined us, so we had a full house.... and a blast!  After some crazy games of Catch Phrase, endless playing and noise-making with little Kalaela, and even more dishes, we were all exhausted, but purely happy.

Sunday Service Day

Mormon Helping Hands

Sunday, Tony and I had a wonderfully heartwarming experiencing helping those affected by the hurricane.  Literally 10 minutes away from our apartment, the ocean pounded 9 feet of water into the homes of countless people.  The water gutted everything from these homes: couches, cabinets, floors, walls, refrigerators, stoves, washers/dryers, beds... the list is endless.  To add insult to injury, the water left behind mounds of sand in it's wake. The people had to pile up all their ruined possessions on the street and begin knocking out their drywall and stripping out sopping wet insulation.  After church, we went with our fellow church members and helped the devastated people remove debris, sand, and walls out of their homes and clean up the wreckage of the fierce winds.  Glass littered the entire area from shattered windows.  Houses shifted, and in some cases ripped away, from their foundations.   The people here were nothing short of amazing... still faithful and optimistic despite all the destruction.  

The water level.... half way up the kitchen window. 

 These vests were so helpful to have!  As soon as we drove up, a policeman directed us where to go.  Then, people instantly approached us with work needing to get done.  We would troll the streets and people knew exactly what we were there for, and were so grateful for the help.  

Debris piled up almost as tall as the house. 

Some people got a little creative with their ruined belongings

We were just grateful to have a chance to serve the people who needed it most.  It truly made us count our blessings... and give thanks for our safety.  

Hurricane Sandy

Here I am.... Rock You like a Hurricane....

I can't even begin to say how thankful I am for the safety of Tony and I, Lance, Jen, and their family, and my other friends and family affected by this terrible event.  Periodically, Tony and I scan through the horrific images of the destruction frighteningly close to us, and tears of gratitude literally fill my eyes.  A little recap of our weekend:

SATURDAY:  Tony and I got serious about preparations for the hurricane.  After volleyball, we went to several stores searching for supplies.  People rampaged Wal Mart before we got there, probably worse than the hurricane did, so we moved on to several different stores, each providing less luck than the ones before.  Our lack of water increased our determination (and desperation!), so we decided to broaden our horizons, which led us to Home Depot.  Thank you Home Depot! Not only did they have duct tape, flashlights, and batteries, but they also had bottled water!

getting ready....

SUNDAY: Before church, my sweet husband woke up very, very early to get all our laundry done before the rush of people occupied the machines. During church, we received word that we were put on evacuation notice.  We quickly returned home to pack our bags and prepare the house.  We spent the afternoon duct taping cardboard on all our windows (we used the whole darn roll, too), removing our dishes from the cupboard, dismounting our pictures, packing our bags with essentials (toothbrushes, floss, and toothpaste, what else do you need?) and swaddling every breakable item we have in towels and blankets.  After several hours of nervous anticipation, Tony just called the West Haven Emergency System and asked if we had to evacuate.  They told us that we could stay if we wished, so we decided to remain at home.

taking everything down

MONDAY: Hurricane Sandy.  Luckily, it didn't really hit until the early afternoon, so Tony and I went on a run in the morning. It was windy and spitting rain, but we wanted to get one last stretch of our legs in before prolonged hunkering in our apartment.  The winds worsened all day, and cold settled into the apartment.  We pretty much snuggled all day and studied, and I never felt more safe than when I was cradled in my husbands strong arms.  When we still had power Monday evening, we had our "last hot meal" (which turned out to be completely untrue.  We never lost power, so had hot meals every day).  How didn't we lose power?  I will never know, because several large trees went down in our neighborhood and we had 65 mph wind gusts.

This was super close to our apartment!

Tony mourned over the "last hot meal"

Luckily, it wasn't!

Needless to say, we were a little 

stir-crazy after

staying inside so long!

TUESDAY: Similar to Monday, only in reverse.  Bad winds in the morning, but by the evening, conditions definitely improved.  Tony and I went on another run to the beach to assess the damage.  A block away from our apartment, splintered trees littered yards, rooftops, and cars.  Two blocks from our apartment, water gushed out of people's basements.  I still can't believe nothing happened to us.

By Wednesday, life pretty much returned to normal: practice, weightlifting, studying, busy, busy, busy.  Thank you all, for your thoughts and prayers.  

Please keep it up for all those still struggling in those highly affected areas.