Last week.

On Monday, JD and I went to Coldstone for family night and basically didn't see each other again until Friday. It was a busy week.

On Thursday, JD texted me updates of the BYU game while I went to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting to support some of the girls I work with. On Friday, we hung out with Jeremy and Stefanie. . . and surprisingly watching March Madness with other people feels incredibly less lame than watching it alone at home in your pajamas (By the way, I want VCU to win it all. Go Virginia Commonwealth!) On Saturday, we drove to Salt Lake so JD could pick up the 3! snowboards he decided to buy (Before you begin to think we're loaded, I'll correct your thinking and let you in on the fact that he practically stole them. Not really. . . but they were all valued at over $300 and he got them for about 30 bucks each. Winter super clearance+ brother's employee discount+ additional manager discount because brother has the hookup= happy husband).

Brad and Abby came along for the ride. We had lunch and went bowling before JD and I had to book it home for work. Brad was really happy because he got the best score out of the boys, which meant he got an advantage for the next time we played Settlers. Abby beat me, so she got the same prize.

I watched Nacho Libre for the first time with my work girls on Saturday night and confirmed the fact that I still hate stupid humor. After church on Sunday, we made homemade pizza, picked up the house, and napped. We went to a fireside about crucial couple communication and then Brad and Abby came over and we played games and ate coconut creme pie. Brad won the first game and Abby won the second. Surprised?

JD and I live for the weekend because our weeks always feel so long. My week was long enough last week that I actually forgot my little brother's birthday on Friday and didn't realize it until late last night. Dangit.

Learning.

When our car broke down in February, I freaked out a little. When JD's laptop (our only one) powered down for the last time this weekend, I freaked out a little more. Things we need a lot keep seeming to crash. I feel like I am going to crash.

Being an adult is hard sometimes. It's hard to manage rent, phone bills, and unexpected break-downs. Especially when you're working a lot and getting paid a little.

And by little, I mean not at all.

Thank you, internship.

I have 4 weeks left until graduation. I haven't been going to classes this semester. . .but I sure have been learning a lot. Of course, I'm learning about treatment goals, steps in recovery, symptoms of depression, how to keep good notes, when and how to process, ways to be creative, how to build families, and why relationships are essential. But, more than that, I'm learning how to depend on the Lord, how to let go of things I can't control, how to lean on my husband, and how to take care of myself.

I'm learning how to avoid crashing. I'm learning to enjoy life, and not just endure it.

And I have just a little hunch that this learning won't stop at graduation. . .

My favorite days.

My favorite days include: Blue skies, beautiful mountains, green grass, big quilts, magazine reading, games of catch, naps in the park, Sensuous Sandwich, and him.

It was a successful family night on Monday.

Gamers.

JD and I are game people. A good game and good gaming friends never get old. Brad & Abby are our go-to game friends. We've played games with them almost every weekend this year (and some weekdays too!) We like playing board games because, after the initial investment, they provide free entertainment lots and lots of times. Lately, we've been playing:

Settlers of Catan

Ticket to Ride

Killer Bunnies

Yahtzee

Monopoly Deal

Sequence

Farkle

Dominoes

and most recently,

CLUE!

Last night, Brad and Abby came over and we busted out Clue. So old-school! We got it as a wedding gift, and hadn't opened the box yet. Looking for a change, Abby and I convinced the boys it would be fun! I forgot how much strategy Clue requires. Abby won because the rest of us made incorrect accusations about the killer, his weapon, and his place of crime.

I can't wait for a rematch!

Ps. Brad and Abby got a real kick out of our engagement pictures. The fact we used board games as props for our engagements verifies our status as total nerdy gamers!

Pps. Sometimes the term "gamer" is used in reference to boys, or girls, who spend excessive amounts of time playing video games. This is not us. We don't like video games.

Ppps. When choosing a picture for this post, I wanted to choose a cute-sy one.

JD thinks the serious one is more intense :)

The Tippy-Top.

I ski on a beginner level. JD snowboards. . .on an advanced one. Sometimes it's hard for us to be together on the mountain, but, last Saturday we went to Sundance and spent all our time together.

It was a lovely day for skiers and snowboarders alike. The weather was pretty much perfect. And I had a pretty good time. . . until JD convinced me I was ready for a blue (almost black) trail. Here we are on our way up to what felt like the very tippy-top.

And here I am after I started going way too fast, lost my balance, tumbled sideways, slid face-down in the snow for about 25 feet of mountain, totally humiliated myself, acted as a complete roadblock for all the pros, and provided a good laugh for the guests on the ski lift.

At least I was on skis and could get myself up. If I had been on a snowboard, it would have been much worse. I might've called the emergency guys on snowmobiles to come get me. Instead, I laughed a lot, picked the snow out of my eyelashes, dusted it off my tummy, and braved myself down the rest of the way. It was practically the scariest thing I've ever done. . .and JD boarded down backwards the whole way to make sure I was okay. He didn't even blink. Crazy boy.

Word of honor.

I was disappointed to hear the news earlier this week about Brandon Davies being dismissed from the BYU basketball team for an Honor Code violation. I was disappointed as I watched the game against New Mexico

alone in my apartment last night. I am disappointed BYU probably won't end up playing as far as I thought they would in the college tournament this year. Of course, there is a feeling of disappointment among all BYU students and fans right now.

(I love this picture from the AP!)

But there are a few things I'm not disappointed about: I'm not disappointed Davies had the integrity to admit his mistake. I'm not disappointed BYU officials dismissed him from the team. And I'm not disappointed I signed the Honor Code as a freshman and every year after that. That is why I chose BYU. There is a higher standard. It is hard to live a moral life sometimes. But being clean and pure and wholesome feels so good,

even when losing doesn't. At the end of life, it won't matter what games we won, tests we passed,

job opportunities we were given, or titles we received. What will matter is how we lived what we believe. Every time I read these words hanging in the testing center at BYU, I get chills:

"I have been asked what I mean by word of honor. I will tell you.

Place me behind prison walls- walls of stone ever so high, ever so thick,

reaching ever so far into the ground- there is a possibility

that in some way or another I may be able to escape;

but stand me on the floor and draw a chalk line around me

and have me give my word of honor never to cross it.

Can I get out of that circle?

No, never! I'd die first!"

-Karl G. Maeser