We LOVE Visitors!!!

Burke and I had a wonderful weekend+ with his mom, dad, and little sister who came to visit from Wisconsin while on Spring Break. It was so so fun to see them and so nice to have them here. Here's a little recap.

On Friday afternoon Burke and I drove up to Gettysburg, PA, where Burke's fam was staying the night also. The next morning we went to the Visitor's Center and watched a lovely video about the Battle of Gettysburg and then we had an awesome bus tour of the battlefield. It was neat cause you could actually get a feel for what happened there. It made me pretty sad though.


In the afternoon we drove back to our place (it's about 4 hours). We hung out here for a bit, and then we drove down to Virginia Beach. That was my first peek at Chix Beach. From what I could tell (it was night), that's a dang nice beach! Ours is nice, but it doesn't quite have the white sand and big waves of VA Beach.

On Sunday and Monday night Burke's fam stayed in a big downtown hotel with a gorgeous view. We walked down to the Battleship Wisconsin which is berthed right there downtown. The museum was closed but it was still neat to see it. (I like that it's called Wisconsin... of course they had to go see it.)


On Monday after I got out of my morning class we all drove up to Colonial Williamsburg. Burke's Mom hadn't realized how close it was to where we lived but she had always wanted to see it. We didn't buy the outrageous tickets but we just walked around the town to see what we could see. The weather cleared up and warmed up so it was a really nice afternoon. It's a beautiful place! We were too late to see Jamestown and Yorktown, but it's neat to realize how much history was right here in this area.

The Governor's Mansion in Colonial Williamsburg

Monday night they topped off their vacation with a visit to AW Shucks. Actually, they were too busy and too small to seat us, so we got our food to-go. It was worth it though. My friend had recommended it as a great place for seafood, and oh-my-goodness it was awesome! I've never been a big seafood person, but I'm trying to get past that and try stuff. I loved my crabcake sandwich and everything else I tried! (Except the hushpuppies, but that's just me... not a big fan in general.)

Norfolk has mermaids all over it. I guess it's like the symbol of the city. They are on all of the neighborhood signs, on top of flag posts, decorating all sorts of buildings--everywhere. I finally read, in the tourist magazine from their hotel, that over 100 10-foot mermaids were made by various sculptors and sold at auction as a fundraiser. They call it "Mermaids on Parade."
Burke's family headed back to Wisconsin yesterday morning. We loved their visit, and hope that they did too! After they came I actually found that I like this city more than I thought I did. I have a lot of complaints, but it's neat in a lot of ways too. Their visit gave us an excuse to do some more exploring that we haven't gotten around to yet.

So basically what I'm trying to say is if you come and visit us we'll show you a good time. (If we can get out of school and work....)

Thanks Kathy, Curtis, and Bonnie for coming so far! (And thanks to you too, Ryan and Kaylynn, for your visit!) We LOVE visitors!!!

Three things we love

Here are three of life's little joys that have been getting us through the day lately:

Jake Shimabukuro


Burke introduced me to this ukulele-playing master a long time ago, and recently I have rediscovered his genius through Pandora. My Jake station is my most used study music, selecting from instrumental-only albums (all uke and acoustic guitar) with feel-good titles like "Everything Under The Sun," "Not All Who Wander Are Lost," and "Good Day Sunshine." For a while there I would write down song titles I wanted to buy on i-tunes, but they just kept coming! So usually I just listen to Pandora, and love every minute. I'm pretty sure I've never "thumbs-downed" any song that came up, which is a pretty good record if you ask me. I love that Burke introduced me to this music that makes my heart happy. Some of our favorites are Jake's "Crazy G (live)," his "Beat of My Heart," "Be Still My Soul" by Paul Johnson, and "Canon" by Trace Bundy (thanks to Clark!).


Rodney Yee


I was talking to one of my friends at school about yoga and she recommended some videos by Rodney Yee. I went right home and bought two on Amazon, cause I was so anxious to do yoga again and certainly couldn't afford the classes. I started doing AM Yoga, 20 minute sessions "for every day of the week." OK, besides studying the scriptures and praying, I can't think of any better way to start the day. They are lovely. I also got a steal on Rodney's "Power Yoga Collection," which has 3 hour-long sessions. I don't do these as often but when I do I get nice and sore. But I love them.

And the best part is, Burke started doing it with me and now he loves Rodney too. He's so excited about how much improvement he's already seeing in his flexibility!


Blue Bunny Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Ok it was actually kind of a fluke that we bought this specific ice cream (we usually only buy generic brand!!) and it didn't even last a week, but really it's an almost nightly dose of ice cream in general that's been getting us through. However, mint chocolate chip IS my favorite flavor, and Blue Bunny IS the most delicious brand of it I think I've ever tried. Dee-vine. Really.


Whatever it takes to get you through the day!

Burke's Bakilas

In Burke's 2nd to last semester at BYU he was in a Marketing class. In one of his projects he and his group analyzed the marketing of Vibram Five Fingers. As the researched the product and how it could be marketed, Burke became a believer...and he has wanted a pair of toe-pocket "shoes" ever since.

As a Christmas gift my parents gave him a gift card for a sporting goods store so he could get some if he wanted. Unfortunately, he's got some pretty big feet, and when we went they did not have his size in the style that he thought he wanted. After much patient waiting, Burke bought his Bakilas (the style he wanted) on Friday night.


He was not crazy about the color ("They're blue polka dots! They'll draw more attention!") but he decided to do it anyway rather than wait and see if they got anything else in in their next shipment (whenever that might be!). If I remember correctly, Burke's group determined that one of the major barriers to this product was it's appearance....people think they look weird. But Burke's trying not to let that stop him. He wore them while we ran errands yesterday.

With jeans...

He also wore them running yesterday morning, and he LOVED it. Now all my selfless husband can think about is getting some for me. :)

It'll be March in 2 days...

And in Virginia, March means SPRING! Really, truly, grass turning green, flowers, warmth, and even bare feet on the beach. We've gotten some premature tastes of spring lately but it will really be here soon. And I can't wait!

Life has been pretty crazy lately. School is SO BUSY! I am studying an insane amount but I've been able to do well enough so far. I LOVE my Mechanisms of Diseases class (most of the time). Anatomy has gotten crazy. The head and neck were pretty tortuous. By the time I finished that exam on Tuesday afternoon I felt like it should have been Friday. I was wiped out. On Thursday in lab we opened up the chest cavity and started learning about the lungs. So fun.

On Valentine's day Burke and I celebrated 3 years of knowing each other. After dinner Burke took me to Color Me Mine. Instead of each getting our own pottery to paint we picked one thing and painted it together (that is probably the epitome of our poor student lifestyle!). But actually we had a lot of fun doing it together and we both love how it turned out. Burke wanted to paint mountains, and when he did they reminded me of sweet Provo.





Which is where, on that fateful day 3 years ago, we met in a tent outside the Marriott Center. We feel pretty grateful for our mutual friends and for BYU basketball...what brought us together. Speaking of BYU basketball, I just can't get much studying done when they play. No, we can't watch the games on TV, but we've been finding ways to follow.... and we love it. I miss being at the Marriott Center SO MUCH! We are looking forward to a Cougar-filled NCAA tournament!



We have been doing less "fun stuff" than I figured we would simply because we are busier than we expected and because everything costs more than we expected. (For example, Colonial Williamsburg costs like $40 a person at the least!) This month we are looking forward to a trip to see Aaron in Buena Vista and hopefully a visit from some of Burke's family! I am excited for March.

Freedom from want

Yesterday Burke and I drove down to the Raleigh, NC temple. My mom and dad met us there and we did a session together. It was SO lovely! I loved seeing Mama and Daddy again and being with them in the temple. Plus Burke and I hadn't been to that temple since our wedding day.


After our session we all went to the NC Museum of Art. We got to see the Norman Rockwell exhibit (it was in Wisconsin in the fall but we missed it!). It was a pretty fun exhibit, as they go. I really enjoyed learning about this man who illustrated classic America. I was especially moved by a picture he painted of a little black girl in a stark, white dress being escorted into a white school at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. What a powerful moment and a brave little girl.


Rockwell also illustrated the "Four Freedoms" speech that President Roosevelt gave at the state of the union address in 1941. Roosevelt said:

"In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.

The first is freedom of speech and expression—everywhere in the world.

The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way--everywhere in the world.

The third is freedom from want—which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants—everywhere in the world.

The fourth is freedom from fear—which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor—anywhere in the world."


I love these goals and Rockwell's interpretation of them. I'm grateful for the freedoms we enjoy in this country. I know that all of those goals haven't necessarily been met, but these are worthy goals. And as I look at my own life, I recognize the great freedom that I have always felt from want. Especially thanks to these two lovely people:


I am so blessed.

Our new environment

Burke and I are starting to get settled into our new surroundings and routines here in Norfolk.


We were not so excited about our apartment when we first got here. Actually, angry is probably the better word. We signed the lease blind, but it was only a month-to-month so we figured we were safe. Our first impressions were, as soon as our month is up, we're out. Now that we've gotten unpacked and settled, though, we think it'll work just fine.

We literally live right on the beach. It's protected in some way so there are very little waves, and I can't tell if it will be alright for swimming or not, but it's beautiful. We've gone out for sunrise runs on the beach a few times now. It's amazing. I'm excited for when it will be warm enough to go barefoot, but even so I just love how rejuvenating it is to go running on a beautiful morning. It brings joy to my heart.


I am now the proud wearer of a white coat! Actually, I haven't worn it yet except at the ceremony where I received it. But next week I will have my first clinical practice assignment at the TATC. This is a practice clinic where paid actors come in and pretend to be patients. I'll get to watch video of myself and get feedback from my patient. I am way excited about it. All I have to do for the first one is make them feel comfortable and take their history, but it is a grade so hopefully I won't be real nervous. My white coat is a short one, which is how you distinguish "learners" from pros.

I like my classes. It's fun to learn cool stuff that I love all the time. Some of them are a little boring so far, actually, but I think they'll pick up. Anatomy is information overload, like usual, but I'm really finding that my Functional Anatomy class at BYU helped a LOT and I remember lots more than I expected to. Dissection is....interesting.... but it's amazing what you can get used to, and how quickly. I haven't been stressed out yet, but real tests start soon, so we'll see.


Burke had a rough first week because we had internet issues (it sure is hard to work from home without the internet!!). But this week is going great. He found a steal of a deal on craigslist for a desk so he's all set up with his own home office. He's finding he has lots more to do than he expected and we have every reason to think that this long-distance thing is going to work out just great.

AND we have been called to work in the primary. Specifically in the nursery and the cub scouts. So that is interesting! Being in nursery is a completely different experience of church. We haven't done anything with cub scouts yet but Burke's pretty excited about that.

We were able to spend a few days in NC before school started and we got to see Ian and Emma and Adam and Beth before they all headed back to Utah. I was really grateful for that. Unfortunately the quick move meant that our Christmas with Burke's family was a little more rushed and stressful than I would have liked, but it was really nice too. I think my family had a wonderful Christmas (it was a white one, even!) with a little niece/daughter/granddaughter to spoil rotten. Last Friday Mom drove up to be at my white coat ceremony and she spent the night on our futon, and it was so fun to have her here! And this weekend we are going back home because it's Dillon's birthday and I have a day off of school. It's a long drive but doable, and that's really really nice.

Do I look like my mama?


Pilot Mountain with Bethie

For a day we were all together!

A BIG Blizzard and Some BIG Blessings

The Blizzard:

So I've mentioned it before, but ever since I knew we were going to be moving to Wisconsin I've been dreading this winter. As it turns out, I'm getting off pretty easy. For one thing, we're moving to Virginia before January. Plus, normally in Wisconsin it snows in October and there's a good amount of snow on the ground by November, but this year we had our first real snowfall on December 9th. Still though, I think I may have had enough of winter by the time we move anyway. This weekend we had a big blizzard with 13 inches of snow from Saturday evening til Sunday morning.

I had to work 2nd shift on both Saturday and Sunday. Burke was out with the missionaries Saturday evening after the snow started, and they picked me up from work on the way home. It took us 40 minutes to get the missionaries home and then 30 minutes to get home from there. Then we got stuck getting into our parking lot and Burke and our neighbor had to dig our car out. Thank goodness we have a garage in our complex. On Sunday, church was cancelled, which must tell you how bad it was since this is Wisconsin, for crying out loud! It had snowed so much with so much wind that we were literally snowed in! That's never happened to me before. There was a 4 foot snowdrift in front of our door and about the same in front of our garage. Someone came to plow our parking lot around noon on Sunday when the snow finally stopped. Then we could shovel out our front door and in front of our garage. The roads were awful! Thankfully, Burke does pretty well in the snow and drove me to work for the next couple of days. The road we live on and the road my work is on are still a big mess, but otherwise the city has mostly recovered.

The biggest pity is that on Sunday the temperature dropped and the wind continued so that we've been having wind chill factors below 0....too cold for much snow playing! Maybe the next snowfall will be nice and gentle, at a balmy 28 degrees or so.

A view of our garage right as the guy started plowing:


We opened our front door to this:


The next day looked like this:

The snowdrifts looked really cool the way the wind had shaped them:


The Blessings:

1. We all survived the big blizzard, even though we unfortunately couldn't stay huddled up inside all weekend (like any normal person should do).
2. I only have a week and a day left at my job... Hallelujah! (I'm quitting before Christmas so I don't have to work 2nd on Christmas Eve... double Hallelujah!)

AND THE HUGE BLESSING OF THE WEEK:

3. Burke has a job!!! He found out yesterday that the company he works for now (Thrivent Financial) is keeping him on to work LONG DISTANCE! We couldn't be more grateful. We haven't figured out a lot of the details yet but he'll be working from home, with a salary and benefits! Sigh of relief just doesn't even express it. We're not sure if this will last forever but it's a guaranteed 3 months at least, which will at least give him an opportunity to meet people in the area and get ideas about what else he could do there.

I'm so proud of him, just because this is not something that this company ever does! They just decided to give it a try because they like him so much. :) We feel so incredibly blessed.

Now that I've spent so long writing this I'll mention that we still haven't decided where to live (that's another story for another day) and we haven't started packing, even though we could be moving as early as two weeks from yesterday. Not to mention Christmas is in there too. And I'm here blogging...