Married...and not a frequent blogger

Well unfortunately without a very good camera (it got stolen on our honeymoon) we haven't been taking a lot of pics. But seeing that it's almost been six months since we've been married we're probably over-due for a post.

First a question, does anyone even read this? If so, take the poll on the side and let me know what you'd like to see.

As for pictures, the few we have are mostly on Trevor's computer (which isn't here right now). I was going to give a sampling of some pictures from the past few months, but I'm struggling to figure out how to post several pictures at once. I'm obviously not a regular blogger! So the following pics are some Jamaican highlights.

This the main souvenir from our honeymoon. It's a painting of "One Love" waterfalls. It's named after the Bob Marley (whom I'm quite the fan of now) song. We hiked here and got this painting from a local artist who lived on the side of the road near the fall. It's now hanging in our coastal themed bedroom.

I was fortunate to go back to Jamaica with my dance company. I have never sweat more in my life! This is at the national stadium in Kingston. We joined their "independence day" celebrations!

We all made some new friends while we were there. This is my friend from the beach, Elija. He is 6. He cried when we had to leave the beach.

10 Day Forecast

Well, April 24 has reached the 10 day forecast! Check it out!
Sweet!

What we learned in Provo Canyon!

This weekend we had to do an intense field study in the pouring rain in Provo Canyon for one of Shelley's classes. We went for a hike to find the answers to four specific questions:

1. What kind of pine trees grow in the canyon?
2. What kind of animals live there?
3. Where does the snow go when it melts?
4. How much rain does the area get annually?

Here are some pictures to document what we learned!

One of the many pine trees we saw.

Look, do you see how all the grass is laying flat towards down hill? It's because of melting snow!

We found a HUGE Beaver dam!

Not sure what kind of animal these come from...

Don't eat the worm, Shelley!

Pine trees only on the north face?

We thought these guys were smart...until we realized they were an hour away from the parking lot wearing only sweatshirts and jeans in the pouring rain. And they weren't going towards the cars.

Happy Easter!

This video was posted on LDS.org this past Friday. It is an inspirational and touching talk given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, a leader of the Church, combined with a video made by the church called The Lamb of God.

I with Shelley, want to share my feelings about the Savior, Jesus Christ. I believe in Him. I believe in His Resurrection and the hope it gives to all of humankind. I am deeply grateful for His love and the peace that he brings into my life.

Happy Easter!

Our Story Edit

Shelley sent this email to me today and I thought it was hilarious - and hilariously true.

On the Our Story page of our website, speaking about the beginning of our relationship, the fourth paragraph reads:

"Moab: I think this is where it really began. After spending hours together driving, hiking, camping, and of course flirting, we were both aware of the other's interest. I already knew he was interested in me, but it was there in Moab under the starry sky that he confirmed that."

Shelley's email read:

That sould say "...that he confessed what I had already suspected." Or something like that. Cuz otherwise it sounds like we made out and we didn't.

Thanks
Shell

Haha, does anyone else think that's as funny as I do?

Happy April! - Memories of Dt-Day

Besides accidentally persuading the parents of one of my roommates that the police were running after him for TPing an "O" on Y-Mount, this year's April Fools day was a little disappointing to me. So, I'll just reminisce about last year.

The crowd begins to gather at Dt-Day

Last year for April Fools, Shelley and I organized the largest most successful (in our not so humble opinion) prank in the history of BYU. They were demolishing some of the dorms and with the help of many friends, we passed out fliers saying that the last tower would be imploded on April 1st. About 4 thousand fliers. Basically, we created a fake event that had about 1,500 people show up for it. There were families taking pictures in front of the remaining tower, people in lawn chairs, news crews, liberal students protesting and petitioning the protection of the last building (which was already 33% gone), bystanders galore, and a handful of police.

The news articles that followed are really the greatest part of the whole thing. If people leave comments on this post expressing an interest in the articles, I'll be sure to link to them in the next post. But here are some pictures!

Invitations are out - we're getting so close!

After an extremely well organized group effort, we were able to efficiently mail all six hundred and something invitations. (Before I say anything else, I understand the possible sensitivity of this topic. Let me just say, this was a very hard process, and if you are surprised you didn't get one, we probably are too. There is just no way to get everyone, I almost didn't even send one to my parents...ok that's not true.)

Anyway, both mine and Shelley's roommates helped us out a ton. We met in the conference room of my office on campus and had an invitation assembly party that lasted until 2 am. Within 16 hours every invitation was assembled, stuffed with the correct inserts, thrown into an already addressed envelope (I had printed those a few days before), and mailed. You can see a pdf of the invitation on our website (click Announcement).


One last thing about assembling the invitations. The final step of sealing envelopes was the most dreaded part. During a meeting at work, all my coworkers pitched in and we got every single one sealed in less than 10 minutes. It was awesome. I have such great coworkers - there is an real feeling of service and charity where I work.

Look at this team! (look at all the envelopes getting sealed...!)

Henry Ford was right!

Many hands make light work!

In addition to this exciting checkpoint, we have been very busy with school and other festivities. This past weekend we enjoyed the Semi-Annual LDS General Conference. I was talking with my brother between sessions and we agreed that the first weekends of April and October could really be considered the Mormon Holiday. Even missionaries get a break for a few hours! As always, the messages were incredibly inspiring and uplifting. We both feel spiritually charged and excited about the future. Knowing that there may be some reading this who aren't familiar with what this worldwide General Conference is all about, I have provided two links that may be useful:

• Newsroom Press Release
  
• Audio, Video, and Text Proceedings of the Conference

While I'm on the topic of churchy things, Shelley and I are charge of a Family Home Evening group in our ward. This week, for the activity, we made videos about our beliefs and shared our feelings about different gospel-related topics. We then posted the videos on YouTube for the world to see. Randomly, I noticed while watching the video of myself that the left side of my face is limp. My guess is it either has to do with surgery or sledding...

Anyway, if you want to watch the videos, click here.

While wedding preparations occupy much of our time, Shelley and I have also been sure to maintain a little balance. Shelley has really been balancing...on her toes. Ok, sorry, bad joke. She did do some dancing last week at the Museum of Art. Her dance company, BYU Kinnect, has been performing there for the Walter Wick: "I Spy" exhibit. When I watch modern dancing I feel like an uncultured neanderthal trying to understand art. These performances, however, (as is the case with most of Shelley's dancing - yep, I'm a little biased) have actually been really fun to watch. It also helps that I LOVED "I Spy" books as a kid. The few times I have been to the MOA to watch these performances I usually end up in the gallery spending way too much time staring at "I Spy" pictures.

That's Shelley in the air in the back. This dance was inspired by the "I Spy" book Levers, Ramps, and Pulleys (or something like that).

I've also been busy working and playing and trying to finish the semester strong. In the meantime I've been finding time to play Ultimate Frisbee and maintian our website which has been really fun for me. I'm also proud to announce that I'm now trying to teach Shelley how to play tennis! I gave her a private lesson last night. I think the "blind leading the blind" would be a good summary of how it went, but we sure had fun!

One week left of class! One week until we get the keys to our new place! And 2.5 weeks until we get hitched! Yahoo!

Revolutionary way to get out of debt!

Shelley and I are in a personal finance class that you may have heard about in earlier posts. It's a great class and we've learned a ton about investments, insurance, saving, financial planning, and the list goes on. One thing we have learned, however, stands out above all the rest. It is a truly remarkable and revolutionary way to get out of, and stay out of, debt.

If you are having any financial troubles or are even just curious about this fascinating program, please enjoy the video below. It will change you life, as it has ours. It is truly a reflection of the innovative and inspiring learning environment that we participate in at BYU.

Pictures of the new pad!

Ok, before the unveiling of our new place, I just want to put a plug in for our website, which I'd say is about 95% done. All that's left is the Wedding Party stuff, which will be a fun addition in the next week or two. So after you're done reading go to http://TrevorAndShelley.com - in particular click on the directions, bring up the map, and click directions on the map - I'm super proud of this little part.

Well, here it is! Three parts: apartment, apartment, dentist office.


Okay, this is the inside (thank you Photoshop photomerge)


Another view of the kitchen...


And look at this closet! ...there's almost enough room for Shelley's clothes :)

We can move in at the middle of April and then when we get back from the h-moon we'll be all settled in and ready to go. We're EXTREMELY excited, to say the least!

Abounding in Love

It's been a while since we've posted. But we have more than enough to share with you! Hopefully I can put into words all the excitement and good things that are taking place. I've never been too skilled with the written language -that's part of the reason why I dance. I'm sure I could show you how excited I am if you were a live audience! Perhaps another night.

First a brief update on the mouth. Since we last posted, Trevor has seen the orthodontist again. His teeth have all been connected with rubber bands that pull his teeth closer together every day. Unlike before the surgery took place, Trevor hasn't missed an appointment yet! I'm very proud :-)

Now for the good stuff. Below are some recent experiences that simply overflow with love!

Trevor had planned the monster truck jam for Valentine's Day and requested that I not get him anything. Did I listen? Of course not! Since we were out all night on Valentine's I didn't have time to prepare and give him what I was planning on. So it didn't happen until a week later. I knew that Trevor loves his mom's chocolate cake and that it's been a while since he's had it, so I decided to make it. Nothing like trying a new recipe! It went well except for half of the cake stuck to the pans. We're going to blame that on the low quality of the bake ware...or the oven. (If anything doesn't turn out quite right when I cook, Trev just blames it on the oven. Naturally it's the oven's fault and no mistake which I might have made!) The cake turned out surprisingly well considering we had to mask holes with the the frosting. It tasted delicious too! And really that's all that matters.

This is all the cake that stuck to the pan creating the holes we had to cover.

Before Trevor was allowed to eat the cake I made him sit next to me on the couch as I proceeded to read a list I had compiled containing reasons why I love him. The list of course was not complete, but I thought he should be reminded of some of the reasons why I love him so much! As a side note ...the other night we were at a party and a friend made the comment to another girl "I hope I love my future husband as much as you love yours." This was said because it is so apparent how much she loves him by how she talks about him in person and even raves about him on their blog. I thought to myself Goodness! I hope people can tell how much I love Trevor! You might know if you've ever caught me looking at him that he just melts my heart. He is so good to me regardless of how cooperative I may or may not be and he truly is my best friend! And that's just couple of reasons on my long list of why I love Trevor.

A delicious treat!

And now I want to share another story of love. I gave Trevor a kite for Christmas. I thought it would be fun and it satisfied an item on my life long list of things to do. It was a beautiful windy day last Tuesday. The kite would go up but not stay up. Trevor shortly mastered the skill of keeping the kite in the air for extended periods of time. It was my turn and I was struggling. I was either pulling the strings too hard or not hard enough so right after the kite was afloat it would quickly nose dive into the grass. After several unsuccessful attempts, some growing frustration and slight disappointment, Trevor decided something else needed to be done. He decided he'd at least get the kite in the air and then I could take over. I assumed my position as kite tosser while he stood across the field with the strings in hand. Once I tossed the kite I ran to where he was, slipped under the kite strings, and grabbed onto the handles. We ran backwards together pulling on the kite strings hand-in-hand so I could get the feel for it. Our feet weren't synchronized so I just kept stepping on him as we ran backwards keeping the kite afloat. I couldn't breath because I was laughing so hard! There was something so magical about doing it together. Running, laughing, and succeeding.That glorious moment of accomplishing something together (even if it was merely getting a kite afloat) was a manifestation of love and our ability to succeed together. With Trev I feel like I can do anything! Oh how I love him! (side note from Trevor: whoa, this is starting to get mushy)

A page from my journal.

Not only do we love each other but we are loved! Trevor and I have been petitioning Heavenly Father for His help in our prayers lately. It was becoming a concern that we hadn't found somewhere to live yet. We simply prayed for help in completing this necessary pre-wedding task. I am here to tell you that prayers are answered! WE HAVE SOMEWHERE TO LIVE!! Our friend Daniel noticed an ad on a 3x5 index card posted on campus. He got the info for us and the apartment was still available. Not only did we (with Daniel's help) find some where, but it meets all of our "requirements" (Okay, perhaps they were just preferences. Nevertheless they were all met). Just as we hoped for, our darling little apartment is close to campus, has two bedrooms, a dishwasher, and comes with a washer and dryer. We got everything we wanted and more! It's brand new, has ample amounts of counter-top space, plenty of parking, and it looks good too! Ask and ye shall receive!

This last story of love I'm not sure how to put into words because it was something I felt. Last night we had the opportunity to hear from an Apostle, Elder M. Russell Ballard. We, with hundreds of other single students who live in our area, chose not to attend the last basketball game of the season on a Saturday night, but instead be tutored by a man full of wisdom. He has lived a long life and has done many good things. The thing that touched me the most was the way he spoke about his dear wife of 57 years. He shared with us the joy that they experience with their family of 7 children, 43 grandchildren, and 30ish great-grandchilren. As he encouraged us to take steps that can lead us to this same joy, I couldn't keep from smiling. I feel so lucky to have found someone with whom I will start a family. We are so excited to learn how to love each other and hopefully one day experience the joy of having children of our own. I am so blessed and full of so much anticipation for the bright future ahead. April 24th will be a glorious day, a grand beginning to a wonderful lifetime filled with love!

(Another side note by Trevor:)After the conference, we went and stuffed ourselves silly at a new Chinese Buffet in Provo! Delicious!

Our First V-Day!

Monster Jam! The gap in the teeth helped me fit in...

Well, I dragged Shelley along (...okay, I'll give her way more credit - she came very willingly) to the Monster Jam in Salt Lake this weekend - on Valentine's Day. What a cool girl friend! She'd been before as a little girl; this was my first time. Honestly, compared to motocross and what I've seen of Monster Jams on TV, I was a little disappointed. They didn't line up RV's and school buses to jump over, and they didn't even destroy anything! Give me a break!

Regardless, there were still some cool parts. Like when "Maximum Destruction" flipped over, or when the dirt bikes came out and did some SWEET tricks on this huge jump. There's a few videos below.

Basically, I didn't score a ton of points in the "Most Romantic Valentine's Day of Her Life" category, but who cares. We were together and having fun the whole way. After, we shifted gears completely and went to a small cafe in Salt Lake for some hot chocolate. It was freezing outside and a delicious cup of creamy hot chocolate with my sweetie was just what we needed. The atmosphere of the cafe, with its smooth jazz and cozy fire, was in sharp contrast to the monster muscle machines, smoke, dirt, and screaming, accompanied by two hours of Limp Bizkit, Metallica, and Kid Rock.

As I told Shelley while we were leaving the Delta Center, "I've set the expectation low, next year can only be better!"

Maybe she'll add some commentary on the monumental event later.

Backwards Bob rips it up!

Example of something LAME

Yep, we wore ear plugs. Don't worry, we could still hear everything. Our personal finance professor would be so proud.

This part was awesome! For 10 minutes these three guys came out and did some sweet tricks on their dirt bikes. By far our favorite part.

Progress Toward Married Life

Exciting things are happening with Shelley and I. First off, I think we finished registering. Shelley will probably be making adjustments to our registry even after we're married, but pretty much the important things (tools, games, camping equipment, etc.) have been registered for--who needs blenders and butter knives when you've got drills and radial arm saws? I'll probably get a few dirty looks for this, but we will also graciously accept pizza gift cards from any major pizza chains or Provo based restaurants. It is imperative that I mention that.

Other big news: I can eat! To celebrate we busted out the barbecue my parents gave us for Christmas and grilled up some (soft) food. Namely, Talapia. I was going to go for Salmon but the $8.50 a pound was a little much for me. We concluded the BBQ party with a HUGE slab of prime rib that took six people to finish off. Pictured below. All in all, now that we have barbecued together, we are one step closer to becoming a real family. And I just feel that much more manly. (Oh, oh, oh - Tim Allen Grunt)

Just look at the flame under that guy!

THE JAW!

Okay, so we have collectively made a goal to make at least one entry in the blog every week. Shouldn't be too hard, except that we made the goal three weeks ago...

Regardless, I just want to talk a little bit about the most recent, semi-significant change in my life. My jaw. Rather, my mouth. A picture to start out with should help me explain it all. Warning! Not for the faint of heart!

(Sad that these are the first pictures ever posted to our blog. You're sure to come back again...)

This is me during surgery - round 2.

This is me, post surgery. Swollen and drugged up as ever!

Well, that pretty much sums it up. EXCEPT NO IT DOESN'T! Lets give some stats and historical information on what this is about. Growing up I had the wonderful opportunity to have braces twice (yes, I am now on round three). Among the many appliances and retainers glued to my mouth, I had a handy little retainer that would get wider every time I cranked it with a key. The retainer's purpose was to expand the roof of my mouth, compensating for my under-bite. Not a big deal, it worked, temporarily, until I grew up and the roof of my mouth sealed shut to never be expanded again (this actually happens to every one's mouth). This would have been fine if my bottom jaw had ceased growing at the same time the orthodontist ceased having me expand the top. As time soon told, it wasn't enough.

The purpose of the surgery shown in the pictures was to basically cut the roof of my mouth in half, allowing me to expand it with one of the fancy (this time fixed) retainers. When the whole process is done I should be able to bite into a delicious piece of pizza without having all the toppings scraped off and dangling on my chin when I pull the rest of the piece away from my mouth - which by the way is very unattractive. The great part is that ever since the surgery I haven't had this problem.

That last statement may have been misleading. It has not been a problem because ever since the surgery I have not eaten anything, including pizza. As of today it has been one month and six days since my last pizza and solid food. I have about two more weeks until I can eat (I hope). For now, chewing is out of the question. Sports? Out of the question. Tripping on the sidewalk and landing on my jaw? Out of the question. Letting Shelley dance within a six foot radius of my face? Yep, out of the question for sure. Did I mention no pizza?! Finally, have you checked the weather? It is snowing in Utah. Naturally, you should be asking yourself, what about sledding? Even sledding, is out of the question...

KIND OF! THIS IS THE BEST PART OF THE STORY!

Okay, so the first surgery went pretty well. It made for an interesting Christmas vacation in Washington. When I got back to Utah, however, I began a series of weekly checkups with the oral surgeon and orthodontist so they could evaluate the progress of my expanding mouth. Immediately both doctors recognized a problem that x-rays verified: only the left side of my mouth was moving. Instead of both sides moving equidistant from the center, the right side had probably gotten caught on some bone and was forcing the left side even farther left than it was supposed to be. You could say this was a minor problem. I mean nothing huge except that now I had an undercut, left hook bite. The thrilling part of this news was that any progress made with the mouth would now be undone when they went back in my mouth and re-did the surgery. Yes, just thrilling.

Back to sledding, something that Shelley, my sister, and my mother all strongly suggested I not do (three very influential women in my life, might I add). Well, we were having a church social at a local park, known for good sledding. It was the opening social for the semester and both Shelley and I felt obligated to go because of our respective church responsibilities. (Can you feel the story brewing?) After an enjoyable evening of spectator sledding I finally couldn't take it anymore. Besides, the hill seemed harmless as it was and no one else was falling on their JAWS. I mean seriously, what is the big deal.

Next thing you know I on the sled barreling down the hill on a part that no one had been on yet because it looked EVEN safer. Oops. Bad idea. No one had been on that part of the hill because of the violently huge jump at the bottom. That I hit. And flew off. And got a lot of air. And landed. Hard. Really hard. As I tumbled to the ground in physical pain, the real pain was the emotional anguish of how stupid I felt. When I landed the jump I landed on my rear (thankfully) but I bit down REALLY REALLY hard. Remember how I haven't chewed anything since Dec. 20? Oh yeah, so chomping as hard as I could was very bad. I don't know who felt worse: me for sledding, or Shelley for giving up on stopping me. It hurt. Things definitely shifted when I landed.

Shelley and me at the Ward Opening Social

Fast forward to the next day. I went to the orthodontist. After looking in my mouth, with a little surprise he said, "Looks like the second surgery went well."

Me: "What?"

Dr. Dalzen: "Didn't you have the second surgery last week to fix the first?"

Me: "No, was I supposed to?"

Dr. Dalzen: (with confusion) "Yeah, but, your mouth...? Everything is in place..."

Me: (with masked mischief in my voice) "Weird. I wonder how a crazy thing like that would have ever happened..."

Dr. Dalzen: "Yeah, I'm calling the oral surgeon. You need to go see him so he can verify that everything is in place."

And with that, I gleefully skipped to my truck and sped over to the oral surgeon, where he, without being able to explain the miraculousness of it, confirmed that both the left and ride side of my mouth had shifted right into place. "What a miracle!" he exclaimed.

Well Dr. Dobson, you have no idea what a miracle. Take THAT 2nd surgery! With a little luck and a few prayers I performed my own surgery. Quick, (nearly) painless, successful, and free. My kind of health care!

As of this week I finished expanding and next week I will get braces on to close the huge gap in the front of my mouth (The gap will be displayed and discussed in a future blog entry). The goal, get this thing done by April 24. Great idea, eh?

One last comment about the three influential women in my life. Laura is a truly incredible sister. She nursed me those first few days after the surgery putting up with my drugged state of incompetence. Shelley sat by me and loved me despite my hideous face. And my mom, well, after the pain of not being with me post-op, she got me in less than functional status a few days later and babied me back to health before sending me back to Utah. Since then Shelley and her mom have been satisfying my appetite by experimenting with lots of soups, smoothies, and shakes. Good to have some great women in my life. Thanks all.

Until next time!

The Holiday and Wedding Plans

Sure enough, Christmas break equaled wedding planning galore. I had my first dress fitting, found the perfect shoes (with a discount because of a minuscule scuff), collected hundreds of addresses, finished registering at REI, and hunted through hundreds of Fitzgerald pictures searching for the perfect ones of Trevor for our slide show.

My favorite part was spending time with family. I got to spend Christmas morning with my family and then flew out to Seattle to spend the rest of the week with Trevor's family. I loved getting to know his family better, before the wedding. It especially gives me something to look forward to for our Seattle reception. Now I'll know more than just the groom and parents while we're there. I can't wait to see everyone again!

One highlight was most definitely Christmas dinner. We had dinner with with Trevor's grandpa and aunt and uncle from his mother's side. We talked and laughed together much after the delicious food was gone. It was at dinner that we discovered a simple, but comical, flaw concerning the "save the date" cards. Trevor's mom was gracious enough to help us eliminate the work of distributing them, by including them with the family Christmas card. She proofread them and had Trevor's dad proofread them and she proofread them again, but somehow the final version still had a typo. It read "...the marriage of Shelley of Trevor" instead of "Shelley and Trevor." This is when Trevor's aunt confessed she had noticed the typo. Assuming a mistake would not have been made, the only explanation she could think of was that it must be part of the "Mormon culture." While some of our may beliefs may appear quirky, we actually use prepositions the same way everyone else does. We laughed about this for quite some time! So for those of you that received this insert with the Fitzgerald Christmas card and are not LDS, may we clarify that it is not part of our religion to use unusual prepositions. :-)

Stay posted for an update from the groom and his holiday (surgical) adventures!

PS (from Trevor) If you didn't get a save-the-date card, it's because we only had 20. So, save the date! It's April 24!