Flu Shot

I finally did it! For the well-being and safety of all adorable little children (specifically named Zach of course) I allowed someone to stab me. Well, they stabbed me with a flu shot. Not nearly as dramatic as just saying I was stabbed. I almost forgot all about my apointment too! JT and I jumped out of bed in our extremely good looking pajamas and dashed to the health center. When the shot lady (for lack of a better title) came in, she looked at JT and asked what he was in for. He replied that he would take whatever she had lying around and smiled that cocky grin of his. She was not amused. Luckily, he was allowed to stay. She gave me the shot and it was the least painful one I have ever gotten! Usually I start crying in anticipation and then get worse afterwards because I'm a big baby. I didn't even have time to let the tear ducts start up! It was awesome. She said I was a big girl since I didn't cry and allowed me to pick out a lollipop. I would definitely recommend the entire experience!

Living It Up

We have been taking full advantage of our time here! I'm really happy to see how active we are. There's no reason to not enjoy it! So what exactly have we been up to?
1. BYU football games
It was soo much fun to attend a football game again! JT, of course, was a lot more excited about the sport aspect of it than I was. I love the excitement and the cheering. The only thing I'm not a fan of is halftime. It's a waste of time. I'd rather have the game continue. We kept sitting in the wrong seats. People asked us to move twice before we finally found our seats! I felt bad for all the commotion we caused.
2. General Conference
My uncle gave us tickets to Sunday evening's General Conference session! We were really grateful and excited to go. We asked two friends and a roommate of theirs to go with us. The social aspect of the trip left much to be desired. Everyone was very tired. However, being back at Conference was fantastic! We were in our seats a little over half hour ahead of time. I was telling a friend about my desire to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing "Lead Kindly Light". He sighed and told me that I probably wouldn't get my wish since that song was sung in Priesthood session. I was pretty disappointed. I can't tell whether it's the words or the melody I love more. Anyways, just as I finished expressing my disappointment, the organ began softly playing it! I was speechless! I know it's silly, but it meant a lot to me. JT says his favorite part of Conference was the humor in the talk on marriage by Elder Nelson.
3. Family
We have LOVED spending time with Joe, Christina, Zach, Lacie, and Stephen! After all, there's no one more important than family. We have fun playing with Zach and the parentals or watching Gossip Girl marathons (the latter is soley a Kasaundra-Christina activity--JT wouldn't be caught dead). Even though I'm ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED of shots, I'm going to suck it up and get a flu shot. That's for you Zach. Lacie and Stephen have been fun to spend time with too! We for sure thought they had good (insert eyebrow wiggle) news to tell us when they invited us to dinner the other night. We were wrong, but I'm glad we got together anyways. I hope they feel free to call us anytime they feel the need for Brick Oven!

Other than that we just have future plans like snowboarding, skiing, driving through the canyon to watch the leaves turn, and attending BYU's Homecoming Spectacular tomorrow night! Yay! Things are turning out to be so much fun!

Saturday

Well, today felt pretty eventful. I slept in until 11 am. THAT was nice. Apparently it came as a great sacrifice to JT to let me sleep that long. I'm surprised that he didn't just throw the cat on my face and say "good. you're awake." As I write this he even laughs and says that it's true. We had brunch before I left for work and JT started house work. He's got soo many projects going with this place that it's crazy. Our carpets were really filthy, but thanks to JT's hard work and Joe & Christina's steam cleaner, we finally feel that we can sit on the floor and not catch a disease! He's also cleaning and organizing the office, keeping the cat entertained, attaching screen doors, and cutting down big nasty bushes outside our house! He had a little too much fun with the chainsaw today. Our place faces a busy street, so I guess it caused a lot of commotion to have a big guy out front weilding a chainsaw. Cars actually slowed down to stare!
Later tonight JT and I went out on a date to Los Hermanos. It was yummy, but the best part was the horchata! It's this Mexican rice drink that's phenomenal. When I was a kid my mom would make it especially for me when I got sick. It really upset her that she would spend a day making it and within half an hour it would all be gone! Los Hermanos is the first place I've ever gone that makes it the way she did! It was a nice blast from the past.
After dinner JT and I wanted to be cool. We saw a sign that said there would be a free dance in the canyon so we turned the car around and jetted over there. Big mistake. It was soo bad. We had to wait for the film festival to end, and then half an hour later the dance started. It was techno with a big screen showing scenes from The Fifth Element. Nobody was dancing and the DJ was doing a great job of clearing the floor. JT and I watched the entire thing for a good half hour from a couch. We didn't hear one good song until...of course...we were getting in the car.
We know that as married people we're expected to become respectable homebodies, but we're having a real big problem with that. It seems that you're expected to just sit at home and be...married (?) out here. Everything is geared towards single people. I'm pretty sure we were the only married couple at that entire dance. Why is that? What about marriage means that you have to stop enjoying the things you did when you were single? It just means that you have a permanent buddy. Whatever. JT and I plan to revolutionize this town. Wish us luck.

Utah or Bust

We officially moved! I've been staying up in Utah by myself while JT has finished out his enlistment with the USMC. I had meant, and even attempted, to post these photos before. Better late than never! My family hosted a gathering to say goodbye to us and my brother John. John left for his first year of college. He's grown up soo quickly. On our last night together in San Clemente, JT and I went to Rockin' Baja Lobster and had an awesome dinner! We were so glad that we opted to split a meal. There was too much food to finish! I highly recommend it.

When it came time to move me up here I was really sad. It seemed like JT and I were just starting to spend time together! I sucked it up and tried to organize our new place and start school. It's been rough being apart, but it's over! JT is on his way up here as we speak!!! He had a few issues with paperwork, but that's was to be expected. I'm so looking forward to really beginning our lives out here. We've got family up here--and as an added bonus, we LOVE spending time with them! We already have a weekly dinner group set up. Next week is Chinese food. We also have a date for tomorrow night at BYU's Fall Fest. I'm going to try and talk JT into getting his face painted! He probably won't go for it. We'll see.

All in all, things are looking really good for us. However, it's hard to help being optimistic when we're finally going to be together again! I'm counting down the hours...

Busy busy busy...

Well, it's official. We're moving into our new apartment on the 21st! That gives us a little less than 2 weeks to pack up and make the nine hour drive to Utah. I don't relish the idea of making the trip with a yeowling cat in the backseat. The medication we gave her last time didn't quite do the trick. I doubt that it will work this time either. I don't have the greatest luck.
Between JT and I, there are a mix of emotions regarding the move. His is simple to explain: excitement. It's a new change and the close of a four year contract with the USMC. He's proud of the way he's spent the past four years of his life. He's just ready to try something new. JT already has a new job lined up! He's going to do very well. I'm really proud of him.
I'm excited to be going too! I've geniunely missed the academic lifestyle. I'm jealous when students come through my store for back-to-school shopping. I can't wait to finish up and get my degree! This time off has been beneficial. I've gained new perspective. I have now officially decided to get at least one master's degree. I'm ready for the challenge.
My only reservations are that I have missed out on so much time with friends and family. This Summer it hasn't mattered that we only live 45 minutes away from family. It may as well have been a continent apart with the way gas prices have gone. I'm really sad about it. Both our families have been so close and it hasn't mattered. Moving away is the literal and symbolic break from them. We really are starting our lives together on our own. I hate thinking about how much we will miss. That right there is what my reservations come down to--missing out on their lives. I'm also leaving friends behind. I'd especially like to apologize to you Wailum. We promised to come see you and tour Bodyworld with you. Please forgive me! We really meant to and really wanted to. You've been a wonderful friend to JT and I. Especially me. I know you'll laugh and say "I told you so" when you see your name in my blog. Wailum isn't the only friend we're missing out on either. Some of the nicest friends we've made are here in California. I was secretly happy to know that our friend who taught us to surf was sad to see us going! It's nice knowing that we will be missed.
Okay, I'm going to stop whining now about the move. It's a new start and a new adventure. It's where JT and I will start our family. It's where we will settle down. It's where we will finish school. There's so much to accomplish that we can't help being excited! This experience is going to be fun. We are looking forward to it!

Another Trout wedding!

Well it's been quite the year for the Trout family. Two weddings in one year! Congratulations to Lacie and Stephen! It was a GORGEOUS wedding and reception. They really pulled out all the stops. They looked like they really enjoyed themselves. We're happy for them.

I was surprised that JT and I were able to stay awake through the whole thing though. We were soo exhausted from the trip up there that I don't think we got our second wind until Saturday. We had fun during our crazy stay! Christina, Joe, & Zach were always fun to spend time with. From building book cases to waiting for Breaking Dawn to come out at midnight (not to mention endless hours of guitar hero), we had a blast. It left us a lot to look forward to in the coming year when we move closer! It will be hard returning to normal life...if only for the next 3 weeks.