My dad rocks.

Happy Father's Day to all dads out there!

Mothers Day and Fathers Day posts are really hard to write.  There's just so, so SO much to write, and I never feel like I can stuff enough love in there for how much I feel.

But here's some things I want to write about my dad.

-He's an amazing marathon runner.  I can't keep count, but he's run over ten.
-He cries a lot and it's very cute.
-He works so hard.  He gets up in the wee hours of the morning (like...4am) to get going on things.  And yet he always has the energy to spend time with his kids whether it's four-square, helping us with math, or discussing life plans.
-He does so much service.  He's always helping clean someones yard, shovel snow, talk to someone who needs him. I love that example.
-I learn so much about our Heavenly Father from watching my dad.  About unconditional love, and about His role in our lives.  I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful father!!

I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto.

It's been a fun, busy first week in Chicago!  Derek works full time, but when he comes home it's time to play!  (It's so very different from us coming home from a long school day with hours of homework still ahead of us.  Summer is great for that.)

Here's some of the fun things we've done:

we ate deep dish pizza!  

happy pizza happy Derek.  This was literally the first thing we did after we pulled stuff out of the car.  Derek was so excited to try the pizza.  plus we were starving.

my favorite thing:  just across the street from us is a forest with so many trails!  so much fun.  We've gone for Sunday walks and the occasional run.

we discovered an ice cream place that sells the biggest Italian ice!!!  we shared and didn't even finish.  pretty cheap and pretty much delicious!!!  (also note how cute the pink looks next to Derek's shirt.)

the temple!! a needed change of pace from the rest of the city.  

we rode the train to the city!  Also, someday we're gonna hire a professional photographer to follow us around so we can have pictures together ;)

I love the rivers and lakes.   soooo pretty.  they're just the perfect color.

lots of really tall buildings, but every once in a while there's one that looks different and unique

we navigated our way through the city to navy pier.  lots of cool things to do and eat and smell.  plus really cool views of the city!

we splurged and rode the ferris wheel.  this is our artistic picture of us holding our tickets.  that's as good as our
artsy-ness gets, folks.

about half way up the ferris wheel be both realized we're a little bit afraid of heights. luckily we had a family from arkansas in there with us so we had to pretend to be cool.  Otherwise we woulda been like...

We made it off safely.  Here's a view of the city from navy pier

here's a view of Kaylie from navy pier

Derek and I made a deal.  We could go to a big soccer game for him if we could go to a musical for me.  We were lucky and we got to see Les Mis!!!  It was really well done and the voices were incredible!!  We could probably write a whole blog post just about the musical.  It's such a beautiful story of redemption and of how good a person can be.  Derek didn't cry that much ;)

We finished the week by visiting Kyra, Kevin, and Joseph at Warren Dunes National Park.  Oh my goodness, this little boy is so much fun.  He's so happy to play in the freezing cold water.  Out of all of us, he was the bravest.

Splashing in the water!  (Kyra's gonna blog about it all, so for more fun visit kevinkyramoon.blogspot.com)

If it seems like it's been a busy week, it's because it was a busy week. :) We're only here for a summer so we're trying to experience all we can.

Getting there

So guess what, we're in Chicago!!  Derek got an financial analyst internship with Honeywell so we drove out last weekend.  It's beautiful here and we have really enjoyed our time so far!

We wanted to take a couple pictures along the way of the journey, so here goes!!

did anybody else see this horrible movie?  well, it's pretty terrible.  but it's about "getting there" so that's pretty fitting.

this is us before we left.  someday our kids will be so excited to see this.  (...or not)

Maybe someday Derek can be part of a Mormon Message about driving across the country with all of his belongings and wife in a tiny vehicle. just like this one!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nczw6xHJ0I

while in Green River, Utah we ate in this lovely and deserted park.  also, the grocery store's bathroom is in a tricky place to find.  between that and the constipation Derek waited for me for about three hours.

I'm obsessed with I-70.  Just look at these mountains.

Right when Derek and I switched and it was my turn to drive, the road started getting really steep.  Like, steep enough that me pressing on the gas all the way couldn't get us in our little packed car past 40mph.  So over to the slow lane I went.   I  also went to a lower gear and still-- so slow!!!  Then it started to rain.  And I was very scared.   Then we switched back.  And made it happily.  Derek is a good driver :)

Intermission:  we got to stay at my mom's sister Becca's house!!  Very fun.  We played night games and watched the national spelling bee finalists go at it.  We also watched the diversity dwindle as all the white kids got out.

We made it to Kansas!!  After passing signs for Toto's Pizza and other Oz-related signs, it felt appropriate to turn switch from our little Harry Potter on CD over to Wicked. 

Yep.  We made it to Kansas. 

This was a fun field to drive by.  Look familiar?  Looks like your desktop.  

Cute, right?

More Kansas lovin.

Intermission:  We stayed at Grandma Rytting's.  Very fun!  Plus, I got some good video game practice in.  Mario Kart is tough, guys.  (but really.  I'm still about double the speed of the worst score)

Janae made us strawberry muffins to take in the morning.  But Spencer and I got a picture so it looks like we did it ;)  

We left Kansas early in the morning and got to see the sunrise!!!
I like to call this masterpiece "Sunrise over Dead Bugs on a Windshield"

Flies, mosquitoes, and gnats.  all gone.

and....WE MADE IT!!!!  here's the view outside our bedroom window.
...on the 15th floor.  I've only climbed those stairs once. 

P.S.  I know you're all wondering.  Derek didn't really wait three hours.

Updates

This semester is almost over!!  It's amazing how quickly winter semester goes.  It feels like I was just freaking out about whether or not I'd be able to survive clinicals in ICU and now it's over and I loved it!  Capstone is already next semester!!  Things are moving very, very quickly.

Also it smells really good outside with the grass and flowers coming out.  Not related, but also awesome.

Derek's been really impressive this semester (well, every semester he is) because he does about a bajillion times more activities than I do.  ...and he still gets A's! It's amazing.  Intramurals, on-campus internships, business school clubs, working...

This summer's going to be quite the adventure.  On the 27th of April (in TWO WEEKS!!!) I head out for my nursing trip to Ghana.  IN AFRICA.  It's going to be incredible and I am so excited to go see the country, meet the beautiful people, and teach and learn more about healthcare.  Today my group had our packing party where we each stuffed suitcases full-to-the-brim of newborn kits, gloves, about two thousand dental kits, glucose testing strips, textbooks, and a whole lot more of medical supplies.  It's getting so real!  Sidenote:  I don't know if anyone else is like this, but seeing medical supplies in bulk just gets me giddy.  (The same sort of feelings exist when I see crayola markers, paper, and scissors.  Just so many possibilities!)

Ghana friends! :)  

After Ghana, Derek has his internship with Honeywell and we get to go to Chicago!!!  We're so excited to drive out there together and have this crazy adventure together.  It's going to be so different than anything I've ever done.  (Especially now that I'm a big kid grown up.  Before when I've been in big cities like NYC or Boston, I've always had my parents taking care of me.)  Derek will be doing his internship but outside of that, we've got our list of places and people to see, pizzas to try, games to see-- it's gonna be a good time.

Beyond that, life is just good.  We're working hard in school trying to get everything finished up for finals, and trying to stay on top of the laundry :)  Best of all Derek keeps me laughing all day long.  Here's a sample of the fun I get to experience on a regular basis. . .

   

My Broken Cottage

Sometimes trials seem to go on forrreevver.  And you never really get the big picture "why" behind all of it.  But every once in a while, you catch a glimpse of what God has in store for you.

This week marks the end of a trial that has bothered me for a very long time.  But it ended.  And oh what a sweet realization it was when I realized I was free.  

As I pondered over it all, I couldn't help but think of this quote:

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”  --CS Lewis

God is in charge and He knows what we need more clearly than we do.  It's definitely difficult to let an old cottage become broken and destroyed.  But as I look at my sweetheart Derek and the life we're enjoying together, this is turning out to be the beginnings of a beautiful palace. 

On another note, WE FINALLY GOT OUR WEDDING PICTURES!!!  And I love them so much.  That was the perfect day.

Oh my, I am such a nerd...

Disclaimer #1:  This is from Kaylie not Derek.  He wanted to make sure I put that ;)

I think everyone has certain songs that they just love.  Songs which day after day, year after year, still mean something to you.  

For me there are too many of those to number and they come from all sorts of genres.  But today I've needed the motivation you can only get through epic movie soundtracks.   (Thank you, endless homework.)  

So, because I think these songs are incredible, I've decided to share them with you all.  :)  And guys.  This is so dumb.  I can't even convey how much I love these.  Baaah!  It's embarrassing. But I just love it.

Disclaimer #2:  it's pretty nerdy the stuff I love.  (and these probably aren't the best songs out there, but they're the ones I've chosen to make special.)  So yep I'm obsessed with Harry Potter, I love Narnia, etc.  It's okay to judge. 

Here we go :)

1.  Great for running to and feeling epic.

The Battle  from Narnia

2.  Even better to go running to.  It builds, it builds, and then at 2:59 it's literally impossible not to sprint to.  Try it I dare you.  

Raid on the Castle from Caspian

Literally one of the most sad/beautiful/baaah! moments in movies ever.  that knowing look of "it's okay go ahead.  i know I'll die."

3.  Don't bother listening until 2:45.  But then HOLY COW IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL.  Seriously.  

Rue's Farewell from Hunger Games

While we're talking about hunger games, I actually really didn't like the first movie.  But the second movie is powerful.  loved it.

4.  Something about farewells is just beautiful.

Dumbledore's Farewell  from HP6

5.  Slow build, but  once it gets going it's so pretty. And okay, yes, this was the part of the movie that made me cry when I first saw it.  First five minutes.  Pathetic.

Obliviate from HP7a

6.  Brace yourself.  The first note squeals at you.  

Dragon's Flight  from HP7b  

7.  Yeah, it's an oldie.  But something about flying songs is beautiful.  Cue Harry's awkward yelling at 1:21.

\Buckbeak's flight from HP3

Sometimes Harry's just awkward.  

8.  Just good.

Lily's Theme from HP7b

9.  "I've always wanted to use that spell!!"  

Statues from HP7b also Courtyard Apocalypse  

10.  More good homework music.

Arrival at Aslan's How from Caspian

Door in the Air Caspian

Return of the Lion Caspian

Don't you just love how much you can learn about Christ and the Atonement from watching Narnia?  I'm a fan :)

That's all for today folks. Hopefully you either got a really good laugh at all this, or you got to listen to some pretty, pretty stuff. :)

  

Vegetables

Today during Sacrament meeting a cute mom in my ward got up to bear her testimony about God's love for us.  She began by speaking about how hard it is to teach her little girl to eat her vegetables and not just the chicken nuggets.  She told us that it would be so easy to give up the fight on the vegetables completely.  But then this mom told us about how she looks forward into her little girl's future to how much happier and healthier she will be if she can endure the broccoli now.  So while this daughter can only see as far as finishing dinner to go play with toys, her mother can see much further.

This mother related her experiences to how Heavenly Father must feel when we go through trials.  It must be so hard to see us suffer, but He sees further into our lives and understands what will help us.

I loved her testimony.  It reminded me of similar thoughts I've had.  As little children, we didn't understand why we needed vegetables or why we couldn't touch the hot stove or run out into the street.  But we knew that our parents loved us, and we trusted that they would take care of us.  With that faith and knowledge of their love, we faithfully obeyed.

Ignore that my pictures are very obviously off of google images.

So it is with our Heavenly Father.  We may not always know why we need to do something; it doesn't make any sense to us.  But if we remember His love and have faith He will take care of us, we're able to step forward.

And as time goes on, and as we grow up a little, it begins to make more sense.  We may even learn to love what we have been asked to do.

When I was younger, the three hours of church were the longest hours of the week.  The only fun part was Primary because we sung and played games.  But the rest of the three hours were painful.  Especially Sacrament meeting.

From left to right:  Kyra, Kaylie, Jennie, neighbor

Just kidding.  It's google again.

Same thing with scripture study.  I never paid attention during family scripture study (sorry Mom!) and only did it by myself because I was supposed to, but not because I really wanted to.

But.  As I faithfully performed and attended these obligations, something wonderful happened.  Over time, my tiny perspective began to open.   I began to love more and more things about church. (Yes.  The treats in YW always helped.)  In fact, one day in high school I realized that that I actually looked forward to Sundays.  In addition, with diligence and practice, scripture study became more meaningful and I learned to enjoy it.  And as I learned about the significance of the Sacrament and why I needed it, it became a sweet moment each week.

It would have been nice if I could have paid better attention during family scriptures as a kid or started searching for a testimony earlier.

But I wasn't ready.   It took me time to reach a fuller understanding of these things' significance.

This is my attempt at a "perspective" picture (it's our family hiking...sometime...somewhere in Southern Utah.)  Notice the little bits of light coming in from the top symbolizing increased perspective and light.  I know, it's genius ;)

And so it is now.  There are certain things we're asked to do that I still really struggle with.  For example, I still don't quite understand the complete significance of the temple.  And that's so, so hard for me.  It's hard not to understand anything and then to get lost between all the hallways and rooms (I look like I'm new every single time.)  But I try to attend anyway.   Because I have faith that just as it is with vegetables, I'll grow up and someday understand the whys behind the whats.