Graduation Day

She is known by many names: Mal-Pal, Pallory, Kit-Kat, Meow Meow, and the list goes on. Most of you know her as Mallory. Today she graduates from the Anglo-American School of Moscow. Congratulations!!! I know she has worked so hard. In September, she will be making our father's dream come true and enrolling at BYU. I have no doubt Mallory will be successful in whatever she chooses to do in life. Congratulations Mallory!

A note about the picture. Mallory took that lovely picture of herself on my camera. I've been eagerly anticipating today when I would finally have a reason to post it.

A Walking Tour

Today for Memorial Day we went on a walking tour of downtown Dallas. I had found a cool tour described on Fodors.com that I wanted to try out. Granted, it was suppose to rain all day, but we went out anyway. The tour starts at the 6th Floor Museum where Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK. It was surprisingly a very cool and interesting museum. I didn't get a good shot of the window...sorry. But below is infamous grassy knoll for all you conspiracy theorists and Zoolander fans out there (male models??)

We walked past Dealey Plaza which is where the first Dallas settlers came. From there we strolled past the historic Old Red Courthouse. Then we walked to the West End District which is full of tons of little cute shops, restaurants and clubs. We had lunch at on the rooftop of a restaurant called "Gators" and yes they serve alligator. And Quinn actually ordered it. Here he is below with his plate of fried alligator.

I ate some too. It wasn't too bad. It has a texture sort of like calamari. It started to downpour while we were at the restaurant so we had to wait that out for a bit. But it cleared up enough to resume the walk.

From the West End District we walked to Thanksgiving Square. It is this square dedicated to being thankful for all of our blessings. They had a visitors center and chapel there but it wasn't open yet, so we didn't get to go inside. But apparently all of the Thanksgiving prayers given by the President are on display there. I can't do it justice but you can click here for more info. It was a very cool park right in the middle of downtown.

From Thanksgiving Square we headed over to the Neiman Marcus flagship store. Unfortunately, it was closed. So I guess I'll just have to go back. By this point it looked like it might start to rain again so we headed back to the car. It was definitely a fun day and very exciting to get to know the city of Dallas.

A Pilgrimage

Quinn and I have been a bit homesick as of late. Ever since we moved to Texas we've been severely missing the Mexican grills that are so popular in Utah such as Costa Vida, Cafe Rio and Bajio. Being that we moved to Texas, the land of Tex-Mex, we thought we might find something similar, but we have yet to. But we did know that there was a Bajio in Garland, TX. We mapquested it and it looked to be about 20 miles away. So we headed off tonight on a pilgrimage of sorts. Of course, it was a torrential down pour during the drive. We got very lost and even had to make a phone call to my sister to have her look it up on the map and help re-orient us. But after 1 hour and 10 minutes of driving we finally found it. It was so delicious! I've definitely missed it and I know Quinn missed the shrimp tacos.

Here we are about to enjoy our meals.

(Please excuse my hair but when it rains in Texas there is no reason to waste time drying and flat ironing my hair so this is my wash n' go look.)

And here are our plates after Quinn polished off both of our meals. Do you think he liked it???

His plate was so clean after he was done you could have used it to serve the next customer. We made it back home in only 40 minutes but all the driving was worth it.

The Little Things

Yesterday evening, I went with Quinn and a friend of his from school on a search for particular model of the star ship Enterprise. We went to several hobby stores and where in and out of the car frequently. At about our third stop, Quinn's friend Jeremy asked Quinn if he opens the car door for me all of the time? Because he had been doing just that at every stop. I told Jeremy, that yes, Quinn does. I think Jeremy was a bit shocked. He went on to say that he does that in the beginning, but once he is in a relationship he doesn't do that anymore. Quinn said that he can see why most people would do that, but that opening the car door is just something little he can do to show me I'm special (how cute!). And the truth is, it probably wouldn't bother me much if he stopped, in fact, I think subconsciously I half-expected him to stop after we were married. But I have to say, I absolutely love and adore the fact that he still does it and hope it continues. After all, it is the little things that really lets someone know that you love them.

Castles and Kids

I finished reading “The Glass Castle” this weekend. This is a memoir by Jeannette Walls. For those of you who aren’t familiar with her, she writes the “Scoop” column for msnbc.com. Perhaps, it is said that that is how I know her, but it is true nonetheless. But I just have to say, I loved this book. Mainly because it was so terrifying that people could live the way her family lived. But in the end, it is a tale of triumph. Jeannette Walls and her 3 siblings were born to a mother who didn’t want to be a mother and a father who was a drunk. To feed themselves the kids would steal food out of the dumpster. She tells of a time when she was 3 when she was left alone to boil hotdogs and then she caught on fire. Her father then “stole” her out of the hospital because he didn’t believe in hospitals or the doctors who worked in them. Another time when they were moving, they loaded all of the kids and put them in the back of a uHaul (newborn baby included) and drove like that for hours. The kids had no heat, windows, etc…Those two instances don’t even begin to do justice to the horror that these children endured. And for all the Arnett’s, the family even took a turn living in Blythe. Perhaps, you guys even crossed paths.

I meant to mention this on the blog when it happened, but somehow it must have slipped my mind. But yesterday during primary I was reminded of it again. We spend the last 10 or so minutes coloring during class. Usually we try to keep it related to the lesson. Two weeks ago when we were teaching the kids about bodies and how they should be grateful for them, we asked them to draw a picture of themselves. One little girl, Keziah was very proud of her picture. She brought it over to me and showed me. She proceeds to tell me that it is a picture of Tristen, another little girl in the class. I asked her what Tristen was doing in the picture to which she replied “She is tumbling down the mountain.” Quinn and I couldn’t contain our laughter. Kids say the darndest things.

Craziness

The craziest thing just happened. My phone rang tonight and it was a number I didn't recognize. I answered it (which is something I rarely do). Immediately the guy on the other end asks "Is this Devry?" to which I hesitantly reply "Yes". He then tells me I don't know him, but that he was recently in Jamaica and met a Sarah who says she knows me. Hearing that name was a shock. Sarah was my best friend when I lived in Ecuador. I haven't seen her or spoken to her since I was 15 years old.

Turns out this guy who called me is from Salt Lake and was on vacation in Jamaica. He overheard Sarah speaking Spanish. He went on to tell me that he too speaks Spanish because he served a mission in PR. I guess it caught his attention because Sara looks very very Dutch. Anyway, he says they got to talking and she found out that he was LDS and from Utah. She went on to tell him that she use to have a friend that was Mormon that she use to go to church with from time to time and that I was from Utah as well. I'm still fuzzy on some of the details but I guess he volunteered to try and track me down when he got back to Utah. Sarah had given him my name and he tracked down my parent's house and then was forwarded on to me. He got my email and was going to forward it on to Sarah.

It was in a bit of shock after I hung up the phone. 14 years later. It is just crazy to think about it. I can't wait to hear from her. The guy knew that she had just recently moved to Jamaica with her husband who is apparently the Executive Chef at the Ritz Carlton down there.

What a small world full of crazy coincidences. I thankful for the man taking the time to look me up and helping to bring two old friends back together again.

Happy Halo 3 Beta Day!!

Many of you may not be aware that today is a holiday. Or at least it is to Quinn. Today is the release of Halo 3 Beta. It gives everyone the opportunity to play the highly anticipated game and offer feedback before the game is released worldwide on September 25^th. Quinn has been preparing for the game for the release. It started a few months ago when we went out and bought a game merely because if you buy that game then a free invitation to the Beta comes along with it. Quinn had planned to wake up this morning at 6 am so that he could be showered and dressed by 7 when the beta was released. So when he got out of bed this morning I groggily inquired if it was 6 already. He told me that it wasn’t. That he just couldn’t sleep anymore. He was like a little kid at Christmas. So cute. Anyway, he was up and at ‘em way before my 6:30 alarm went off. Tonight he and a friend I’m sure will be up late playing Halo 3, but I made it very clear that they had to turn it off for at least 1 hour so I could watch “Lost”. Anyway, here is wishing you all a Happy Halo 3 Beta Day.

A Run for the Border

Many of you know of my affinity for Del Taco. I have been touting Del Taco for some time. I remember way back during my Penn days how I would talk about it to anyone who would listen. I’ve just always liked it better than Taco Bell. For one, they use real cheddar cheese and I’m not sure what that stuff is that Taco Bell uses. And two, their mild sauce is amazing. I use to live off of the bean burritos. It was a ridiculously cheap lunch. So you can all imagine my despair upon realizing that there are no Del Tacos here in Texas. I was devastated. I thought there was little Taco Bell could do to tempt me back.

Well, today I spent most of my lunch at Michael’s picking up stuff for Sunday when I spied a Taco Bell across the street. So I went. I tried their new 7-layer Crunch Wrap. Beans, cheese, guacamole, mild sauce, tomatoes, sour cream and tortilla strips wrapped in a tortilla and grilled—good to go. I have to say, it was quite tasty. I called Quinn immediately to tell him because he always tries to get me to go to Taco Bell and I always refuse. This new development might have just changed my life. Or at least made tolerating the years I spend in Texas sans Del Taco more tolerable.

East Coast West Coast

Today we got my sister Mallory's high school graduation announcement in the mail. By the way Mallory, Congratulations!! Anyway, while I was examining the announcement Quinn mentioned that he thought it was weird that she had sent out announcements. I was a little perplexed because I had sent them out and so had most people I have known. Then he said it was a Utah thing (even though Mallory attends highs school in Russia and not Utah) and that people on the east coast don't do grad announcements. So I obviously had to take a survey on the blog. How many of you sent out high school graduation announcements? And responses from people not attending high school in a state not Utah will be weighted more heavily. I'm really curious now. I always just assumed everyone did this.

And in a "Lost" moment...Locke rocks!

A Year in Review

Yesterday Quinn and I marked the 1 year anniversary of our marriage. What a year it has been. So much has happened—not just to us, but to all of those around us that we love so much. It seems like the past year has been filled with engagements, weddings, babies, graduations, moves etc... It is definitely an exciting time for us and our friends and families.

Just in the last year Quinn altered the direction of schooling and found a great program that will help him do what he loves. We moved to a new city and have started to make new friendships. I quit a job and have recently just started a new one. The next year is unknown and exciting as we carve out a new path for ourselves.

I’ve learned so much this past year. I’ve learned how hard marriage is and how much joy it can bring. I’ve learned that Quinn and I have two very different ways of thinking for the most part. Sometimes his way baffles me and leaves me speechless and I’m sure I do the same thing to him. I’ve learned a lot about compromise and a lot about forgiveness. Most importantly, I’ve learned so much about selflessness, love and gratitude. I love Quinn very much and I’m so grateful for this year we have been able to spend together and I eagerly await the many years to come.

What is in a name?

Someone in my new office apparently thinks my name is Avery. I never understood that one. I get it all the time. I mean come on, people, my name doesn’t even start with an A. So to mistakenly call someone a name that begins with a sound that is not even close to the sound it actually begins with is just ridiculous. I almost corrected him, but then I thought it would be more fun for him to come to the realization on his own when he hears everyone else in the office calling me by the correct name (because no one else seems to have a problem with it). Plus, I’m just never quite sure how to correct someone when they call you by the wrong name straight to your face. I guess I need to figure out a way to do this since I run into this problem all the time. Once when I was in the 9^th grade, my Earth Science teacher called me DeVry (as in the University) the entire year. It was pretty funny.

Craft Projects

I finished reading Twilight last night. Every lunch this week has been dedicated to reading it and last night I was determined to finish it up. So I did nothing but read with a 30 minute break to watch The Office. I really enjoyed it. A fun, entertaining read. I loved the hero and the villain of the story. The heroine annoyed at times. But I eagerly await getting my hands on the sequel A New Moon.

Additionally, I need ideas for Mother’s Day. I’m in need of a fairly simple activity/craft project for the Sunbeams to do in class so that they have something to give to their mothers. Any ideas? I was thinking of maybe some sort of candy flower that they can assemble…I’m still brainstorming. But since crafts aren’t exactly my thing, I thought I would put it out there for any suggestions.

Idol News Flash

Quinn just informed me that he has never heard Jon Bon Jovi's "Blaze of Glory." I'm speechless. Who have I been married to this whole time :)

PS (I had to edit this post because another shocking discovery has been made thanks to "Dancing with the Stars"

Quinn also has no idea who Meatloaf is. I even did my best performance of "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" and he still had nothing. Clearly I need to make a CD of old 80's music for him to listen to.

Update

I thought I would finally post a bit of an update. I am now gainfully employed once again. It is nice to have a purpose again. Although, I will say that I see Quinn much less now. Before, I would get to see him when he came home for lunch and after five for a bit and then I would usually try to stay up until he came home or at least have him wake me up when he got home. But now that I have somewhere to be early every morning, I prefer if he just lets me sleep. But we will get use to it I’m sure.

My new challenge is having the energy to go to work, brave traffic, come home, make dinner, and clean etc…So far, I have let the clean etc. slide, but I’m hoping to make strides in getting it under control again this week and once again having a nice balanced life.

All of the sudden it is HOT in Texas. I swear it happened over night. There use to be nice spring weather and now not so much. The sad thing is that I’m sure it is only going to get worse.

In other news, I finally got around to getting the newest book that has discussed a lot in the blogosphere. I went over to the B&N today during lunch and picked up Twilight. I only got through the first chapter before I had to get back to work, but I’m eagerly awaiting getting home and cracking it open. I have been dying to find out what this Vampire love obsession is about. I’m sure I won’t be disappointed.