sooo much to say

Wow. A lot has happened since I last blogged. Where to start . . .

two weekends ago

On Friday, Ben and I went to BYU's World of Dance. It was so fabulous. The ballerinas were beautiful and the ballroom dances were so fun, but the funniest dance was performed by dancEnsemble, the modern company. The boys came out in tuxedos and the girls in red dresses . . . except the girls were dolls attached to razor scooters and all of the dancing was actually scooting. The audience was rolling. How I love BYU.

On Saturday, Ben and I had a 3 month anniversary breakfast of muffins, scrambled eggs, and fruit smoothies! Then, we hosted Blue & Sami, Tigger & Jackie, DJ, Laurel, & Kipp for the BYU game and popcorn. The boys enjoyed halftime football in the mud while the girls chatted inside. Unfortunately, we lost and all the girls fell asleep during the 4th quarter.

last week

Last week was so busy!

On Tuesday, Ben had a recruiting dinner with PricewaterhouseCoopers, a.k.a. PWC, and I was invited to attend as a spouse. How exciting. We got all dressed up in our "business casual" (whatever that means) gear and headed over to the Hinckley building, a.k.a. where we got engaged. From 5:45-6:15, it was networking - standing around feeling awkward and occasionally talking to someone. From 6:15-7:30 there were breakout sessions; Ben went to the Financial Instruments and Credit Group info meeting, and I attended the "spouse panel!" All of the wives got to ask questions of PWC wives for an hour - things like "How often will I really see my husband?" or "What are your maternity benefits?" haha. Then we met back in the Assembly Hall, the Myers Family sitting at Table 28 and had a September Thanksgiving feast, complete with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie! We participated in lots of chatting and lots of schmoozing and called it a night at 9! The next day Ben had his interview and we will hear back soon.

On Thursday, Ben had another recruiting dinner, this time with Ernst & Young. It was in the Grand Ballroom of the Provo Marriott and it was a lot more laid back. When we first arrived, all of the girls were handed a yellow rose and the boys were presented with a brand new, all-in-one tool set! Haha. Then we took our seats at Table 51, played some sort of get-to-know the company game, and then munched on a half yummy, half weird dinner. (Bacon-wrapped steak and shrimp on a stick? Gross.) We participated in lots more chatting and lots more

schmoozing at came home promptly at 8! Ben, again, had another interview the next day. He has been working so hard on preparing for these interviews. I am so proud of him!

Here we are after the first dinner with our name tags!

Oh, I forgot, Wednesday night, Da Ducks had their second flag football game, this time, finishing with a win! Wa-hoo! Ben, as always, looked fabulous. At least to me. :)

last weekend

What a fun and busy weekend! Friday afternoon, Ben & I took a trip to the wondrous world known as Ikea to purchase some wood picture frames I'm going to paint for our apartment. We dined on yummy pizza at The Pie and then drove the rest of the way to SLC for a Paris reunion at the Patterson's. It was so fun to see Kate, Andrew, James, and Allison and her husband. While we were there, the Patterson's niece painted a French fleur de lis on my toes! Check it out!

On Saturday, Ben & I met Mom & G-ma Karen at Kneaders for a very filling brunch. That afternoon, Mom, G-ma, Peggy, Kelly, and I went to Salt Lake for the General Relief Society Meeting. Of course, before the broadcast, we had dinner at my favorite French restaurant, Gourmandise. I was a happy camper when they had all three of my favorite desserts - Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake, Pain au Chocolat, and French Macarons! No doubt, I got all three. :)

(We wanted to keep them fresh for Sunday breakfast, but they didn't both fit in one container. Haha!)

Mom came to our ward on Sunday and I taught Relief Society! I am going to love my new calling as Relief Society Instructor. I have all of the "Teachings For Our Times" Sundays and this month we talked about "Using Good Judgment & Not Judging Others" and "When the Lord Commands." It went great! Then we treated Mom to our favorite homemade dish - Parmesan Chicken - and took her to the airport!

my bicep

I also need to point out this picture. I was looking through our wedding photos the other day and check out my left bicep! I guess all of my pre-wedding work outs actually worked!

the moth

I also need to tell you about the moth because I think it's hilarious. The first week that Ben & I were in this new apartment, there was this huge, nasty fly buzzing around. One night as I was washing my face, I felt something on my head. I looked up and into the mirror and saw something big and black. I let out the most blood-curdling scream anyone has ever heard (Seriously, Dad.); it hurt my throat and my heart. Ben came rushing in and I meekly said "There was a fly . . ." as it flew away. Well, our pantry is big and dark and it kind of freaks me out. Usually I turn on the light inside before I even open the door. One night last week, I went in just to grab a water bottle and I didn't pre-turn on the light. When I opened the door, something big and dark flew (fluttered) around and then flew straight at me! Again, a blood-curdling scream. This time it was a meek "There was a moth . . ." Well, the little booger was un-smashable and he plagued our house with his nastiness for several days. Every time we saw him I would tell Ben to try to kill him or I would try to shew him out the door. Every time, unsuccessful. Well, a couple of nights ago, I was sitting in bed and I reached over to put my chapstick back in the drawer and guess who was sitting right in the middle of my night stand?! Mr. Booger Moth! Ben squashed him and he is now resting peacefully in the trash can. :)

Until next time, folks . . . have a great day! :)

apartment & etc.

Have we fallen off the blogging world?! Yes. But we're back!

Check out our new apartment in BYU Student Family Housing!

Living Room: Before

Living Room: After

(Thanks for the TV Daddy Myers!)

Dining Area: Before

Dining Area: After

Kitchen: Before

Kitchen: After

Pantry: Before = Sad

Pantry: After = Happy

(Thanks Daddy Rowan!)

Bathroom: Before

Bathroom: After

Study/Storage: Before

Study/Storage: After

Ben's Side:

My Side:

Bedroom: Before

Bedroom: After

(Thanks Grandma Karen for the perfect quilt!)

Last night we had a triple-header! First was a reunion for my freshman ward. I was most excited to see my freshman roommate, Kyra, who also got married this summer.

This is us on our first day at BYU.

And here we are now.

And with husbands!

Second was "Da Ducks" first flag football game. Here are Sami and I on the sidelines, bundled up like it's winter already! What's up, September?!

Lastly, the three Ben's and the wives gathered for chips, salsa, queso, bean dip, kool-aid, and peanut M&Ms. Tell me this is not a happy scene!

(Thanks Heavenly Father for wonderful friends!)

anniversary

No, not ours . . . Grandma & Grandpa Rowan's 61st!

Grandpa said it was their 62nd, Grandma said it was their 61st, and Grandpa said, "Well it feels like the 62nd!" Hahaha! Humor never grows older.

Uncle Rick and Aunt Deb put together a surprise party for Grandma & Grandpa at the new Magleby's in Springville. 19 of us "Rowans" were

there! How fun is that?!

Before Grandma & Grandpa got there, we all hung out downstairs with the place to ourselves. When they came down the stairs and saw all of us, they were so surprised! It was so precious.

We ate a scrumptious dinner - Ben had steak and I had chicken & pasta. But, somehow my order got lost and it came out about 15-20 minutes late. Unfortunate . . . but I got a free Magleby's cake! My favorite! No complaints here. :)

Here is Grandpa with his new iPhone (with an iPod!). I think he took a picture of everyone there on his phone.

Then he stood to give a speech. What love we all feel from Grandpa & Grandma!!

A happy, happy evening!! :)

For more pictures, see Anne Marie's blog.

alive & well

Yes, yes, we are. We're alive and well! Here is what's been goin' on the last week and a half . . .

We drove 11 hours to Carmel and spent the weekend with Ben's mom & dad. The highlights were the yummy food (all of Ben's favs) and the segway tour of Indianapolis. Segways are the best and they make me feel like a space martian. Another favorite was spending the whole weekend with the in-laws . . . LOVE them! :)

Then we finished our drive to Utah with 25 hours in the car. Wooo-hooo!

We are back in Provo (even though we missed the exit to BYU the first time . . . Ben said "I think the Y on the mountain was a couple of miles back . . ." Haha!). We are in the middle of unpacking and I feel that we will be in the middle of that for quite some time. We feel so blessed by the generosity shown to us through wedding gifts and are very excited to organize everything and start to use it all!

Ben got a job as a T.A. for MCom 320. Funny how that's the class I'm currently taking through Independent Study. :) He will work 10 hours per week in addition to his 15 credits of the Management Core in the Marriott School of Business. I have 12 credits of major classes - Cognitive Development, Advanced Issues in Human Development, Family Adaptation and Resiliency, and Marriage and Family Enrichment and Therapy, in addition to a half credit jazz dance class. I am currently on the job hunt. Woo-hoo for school!

No, but really, being back at BYU and being married to Benjamin is the BEST THING EVER. Seriously, love love love it!

Dad drove up this weekend to bring us our wedding presents from California and boy, did we have a party!! Daddy took us all around Provo and was the ultimate dad, setting us up with everything we could ever need and taking us to our favorite restaurants. We had an absolute blast!

Life is good. We are busy with school, setting up house, a job or trying to find a job, and enjoying life as married students!

Oh, I also chopped off all of my hair today! You like?

philadelphia reflections

Before we leave, I want to share a few thoughts about our stay in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

One of the most surprising things to me about Pennsylvania is that it is so green! I am used to California (pretty brown) and Utah (also pretty brown) which are beautiful in their own ways, but it is so, so beautiful here and I have really enjoyed it.

These are a few pictures of the drive to work - a drive I make 4 times each day. It's a good thing I love it!

Seeing animals along the way is very typical. That deer is always hanging out in the same spot! Geese are everywhere; my favorite is when they're crossing the road and I get to watch. Occasionally we see a rabbit. And there are a lot of dead opossums, raccoons, and squirrels alongside the road. I guess I take more after my mother than I thought - I love these moments!

One of the most annoying things about the location of our Extended Stay is that you cannot turn left into the parking lot and, unfortunately, we're usually coming from the direction that requires us to turn left! So, every time we come home, we drive an extra 1/4 mile to this gorgeous park to turn around and then turn left to head back to the hotel. I have seen this view so many times!

Another thing I see all of the time is moth webs. Can you believe a moth made that? They are everywhere - like, at least every 20 feet along the road! At first I thought they were spider webs and I was, obviously, so grossed out. But, a moth makes them. I was going to look it up so I could tell you more about them, but I started to get the ebbie-geebies, so just take it as a cool fact - some species of moths make ginormous webs in trees.

Those are our most common sights whenever we are driving. The other things that stand out to me the most about driving are the roads and the drivers. The roads here are so crazy - they are narrow and windy and sometimes they even flip my stomach like a roller coaster! The best way to describe them is what Paul Brown said - these roads were not meant for cars; they were made years and years ago and then just paved when people started driving. So true! It was scary and seemed really dangerous at first, but one might say we're pros now. The drivers in Pennsylvania are fast and fearless! Not dangerous, and very aware of everyone else (which I appreciate), but they know where they are going and they make sure to get there!

One of the things I have loved the most about living here is our ward. Everyone is so kind and friendly and loving. They have really made an effort to extend their friendship and make Ben & me feel welcome. I am especially grateful for Carolyn, who Ben and I made cookies for one week and who then took me out to lunch and made sure to say hello each Sunday; for Mitzi, the primary president, who is such a righteous woman - she could see how lonely my days have been and took me out to lunch one day and then took me visiting teaching with her, just so I could get out for a bit; for Lowell and Elise for inviting us over for a yummy dinner and fun evening; and for Sister Thomason, Sister Castleton, Sister Maxwell, and Sister Holbrook for their friendliness and righteous living that make them some of the most beautiful women I have met. I love this ward!

Ben & I are also very, very grateful to the Brown family. They have done so much for us and we will miss their happy family very much!

One of our favorite things has been teaching the CTR 4 primary class each Sunday. These children are so sweet and we have had so much fun teaching them.

From left to right: Hunter, Isaac, Abi, and Kate.

A couple of funny moments:

- On our first Sunday, when Ben was introducing me as his wife and saying that we were married, Hunter buried his face in his hands and was so embarrassed. Haha!

- Abi said the opening prayer one Sunday and prayed for her sister to have help being potty-trained, for her "to go number two, to poop!" Haha!

- In singing time once, we were talking about the disciples pulling nets and nets and nets of fish into their boat and Abi yelled, "for sushi!!" How does a 4-year-old even know what sushi is?

There have been so many hysterical moments, but there is no way I can describe them all!

Ben & I are so blessed to have shared a calling all summer. We have just loved it.

One other really fun thing is the new grocery store that opened last month. Seriously, no jokes at all, it is the best grocery store that exists. We went for the first time because we needed just one thing, but I'm pretty sure we spent at least 20 minutes wandering the bakery and tasting all of the yummy samples: blueberry-cranberry bread, cheesecake, brie, . . . We stop by every now and again for treats like pain au chocolate, m&m cookies, or cupcakes, and I have been eying these adorable character cupcakes for a long time. I decided that because it was our last week here, I just had to get one. So cute, right?! It's Cookie Monster! (He's only a little smashed because I dropped him in the car.) Too bad Wegman's doesn't exist in Provo!

Ben & I begin our journey (35 hour drive) back to Provo tomorrow. We are looking forward to a fun weekend in Carmel with Ben's parents and seeing my parents the next weekend when they drive to Provo to bring us our wedding presents.

School starts in about a week and a half and I think we are starting to be excited for a new school year! It will be so fun to be in Provo and be married!