BLACKBERRIES

30 minutes southeast of Moscow there are two little towns that have blackberries growing on the side of the road. The past two weeks we have gone with friends from our ward to pick blackberries. For those of you who do not know, blackberries are brutal. They have thorns so you have to be very careful when picking or you will come away with slivers and cuts.

The first time we picked berries on a side of a hill that was covered with rocks and wood. We had to climb on the rocks and wood which were not very sturdy. It was actually kind of scary and not very safe. When we were about to leave Nate stepped on some weak wood which collapsed and he fell and hit his head. He had no way to catch himself since he had blackberries in his hand. He hit his head pretty hard...luckily he did not get knocked out and he only came away with a tiny cut and bump on his head. We were able to get 1/2 to 3/4 of a gallon of blackberries because a lot of the berries were still red.

The second time we went, we went to a different area to pick and the whole side of a hill was covered in blackberry bushes. There were so many large and ripe blackberries that we were able to get about a gallon and a half!

So what have we done with all those blackberries?

• They are actually yummy to eat. I was not sure they would be that good because growing up we never had or ate fresh blackberries. They are actually really tasty and I like to eat them by the handfuls.
• I put them on my oatmeal. They help naturally sweeten the oatmeal up without using sugar.
• I made some jam out of some of the blackberries and it is actually really good. Raspberry jam is my favorite and I do not usually eat any other kind of jam but the blackberry jam is almost as good as the raspberry jam.
• I also froze some so I can continue to put them on my oatmeal and also put them into smoothies.

Picking blackberries is probably the best thing we have found out about Moscow. It is too bad that blackberry season is not very long. Hopefully we will be able to get out and pick one more time before they are all gone.

Last week we also did Bountiful Basket and we came away with a ton of fruits and vegetables. We have pretty much eaten all of the vegetables but we are still working on the fruit. I am going to make a peach pie tonight with the peaches we got!!

Moscow

We have made it to Moscow. We rolled in last Tuesday evening after a 10 hour drive. We have settled into our nice apartment and have pretty much figured out the city since it is small.

(My dad took this picture as he was leaving back to Poky at like 5 in the morning. I think the sky is way pretty. We are the top right.)

Moscow is a little city. It has so many hills and a lotof trees. You cannot see the whole city from one spot in the city because there are so many hills and there is not a tall enough one to over look the city. This is one thing we do not like about it because we love to see the city and see what is around us. There is not a whole lot here and not a whole lot to do. They do however have a mall that is better than Pocatello's because it has a Macy's.

So what have we been up to since we arrived?
The first few days consisted of us unpacking and organizing our things, figuring things out for school, going to the mall every day for internet because the internet people could not come and set ours up for a week, and figuring out campus (it seems like half of campus consists of sororities and fraternities).

On Saturday we went to Spokane to go to the temple. It is the smallest operating temple. This means you have to make an appointment to go. We did not know this so we had to wait in the waiting area to see if there would be room the already full session. About 10 minutes before the session was supposed to start the Temple President came out of the temple and asked if we were apart of a wedding party that was about to take place. Of course we weren't and we said we did not know that we had to make an appointment to go to a session. He went back into the temple and talked to the temple workers and they added some fold up chairs so we could go to the session we wanted to. It was such a blessing because we would have had to wait an hour and fifteen minutes. After we went to the temple we went to downtown Spokane and walked around and went to eat.

After we went to the temple we went to downtown Spokane and walked around and went to eat. They had this great park there. This monument is in the park to honor the railroad.


On Monday, Nate started his orientation that goes all week. Thank goodness it is over tomorrow. It has been a couple of slow days without him. It will be good once school starts so we both can be busy.

Wednesday was Nate's birthday! He turned 29! We had some couples over for poppy seed cake and cheesecake. Nate blew all 28 candles out (was supposed to be 29 but Ashley cannot count...oops). Nate was all right with it because he thinks 29 is old.

Nate got some nice new brown church shoes for his birthday that he has been needing.
(showing off his shoes that he loves!)

We are excited for this new adventure in Moscow even though it seems way to far from home (at least for Ashley).

BeST dAy of My LIfE!

4 weeks ago (May 27th),

Nate and I were married in the Salt Lake Temple! It was the best day of my life.
The day went by so fast. It almost seems like it was a dream but it was the best dream I have ever had and I am glad it really happened!!

The day was absolutely perfect!

We were blessed to have family and close friends
at the temple to be apart of our special day. The ceremony was beautiful and I
loved the spirit I felt in the sealing room. I loved kneeling across the alter
from Nate. He is one good looking guy!
The weather was also perfect. My mom had been praying for months for
good weather and all that praying helped since we were blessed with cloudy,
70 degree weather (perfect for taking pictures in).


After the wedding, we had a dinner with our family and
close friends. We had a live band so we danced the night away. There
were some great memories made on the dance floor including:
1st Dance With My Nathan (he has dancing skills),


Dancing With My Dad (I did not know he had so many moves),

and
Dancing With My Grandpa Nielson.


The day went perfect and I believe it was the best wedding ever!!
Thank you family and friends for supporting Nate and I on our wedding day. We love you all and were so glad we could spend our Wedding Day with you!

Lately...

On April 9th, I went to the Idaho Falls Temple to receive my endowment. It was a special day filled with new information. Even though I did not understand everything, I felt the spirit and went away from the temple filling great. I was not scared at all to go. I was excited and ready to go. I cannot wait to go again to gain more knowledge. I was lucky to have the support of my mom, my dad, Derek, Cole, Nate, Nate's mom and dad, Nate's sister Nikole and her husband Jeff and my grandpa Nielson. I have such great family and I am marrying into a wonderful family too!

That same night Nate found out that he got accepted to University of Idaho for law school. It was great news because Nate was going to have to make a payment (which he did not want to do) to Drake the next Monday to save his spot if he had not heard from Idaho. Since he got into U of I, we will be going there in the fall. It is not my first choice but it is the least expensive and in the long run it will be good not to be in a lot of debt. I am excited and scared for the new adventure Nate and I will have. I will also be able to finish up school in Moscow by taking a textiles class and then finish a few generals online. I will also be able to do my student teaching there in the winter.
(this is Nate's lawyer face)

I finished up my last semester in Provo this week. Nate has asked me if I am sad and to be honest I am not. I have had my experience in Provo and am ready to move on to a new experience. I will miss my friends and some teachers but I am glad to be leaving the Provo scene. I am excited to be back in Pocatello close to Nate and family. I never thought I would see the day when Nate and I would be living in the same city again!! It has been long 8 months of talking on the phone (Nate absolutely hates talking on the phone) and driving back and forth from Provo to Pocatello. We are both grateful we do not have to do it again!

I also heard some great news from my grandpa Nielson. When I was home two weeks ago, my grandpa told me that my grandma wanted me to have her china!! Can I tell you how happy and excited I was? I wanted to register for fine china but I knew that it was expensive and probably no one would buy it, so I went with the casual china. But now I will get fine china. A few weeks ago I was actually wondering who had gotten my grandma's china and I had this wish that I would get it but thought it would never happen. When my grandpa told me about the China I could not believe it because what I thought actually came true. My grandma must of known I would have loved her china. I was thinking about how special the china would be and how I will be able to tell my children stories about their great grandma and grandpa Nielson when we use the china.

One year ago, this weekend, Nate asked for my number...In 5 weeks we will be married!!

What it's like to be a child...

For the past two months on Monday and Wednesday mornings I have gone back to being a child. I walked along side and enjoyed the entertainment of 20 children between the ages of 4 and 5 for 2 1/2 hours. During my 2 months I was able to play house, have parties where we would make party hats, play with trains, and have races down the slide where I always seemed to lose. I also sangs songs like "Head, shoulders, knees and toes," and "I'm going on a lion hunt," and "Mr. Rooster," and many more. And don't you worry, I did every motion that goes along with these songs. I sat on the carpet and listened to stories. I also ate a snack every day! I would catch snot as it came out of noses. I went on field trips to the math building and watched the children be shy as they asked BYU students if they would like a rabbit as a pet? I saw the excitement of hearing "Yes, I would like a rabbit as a pet." I watched children try rabbit food(and like it) like parsnips, parsley, cilantro, carrots, apples, cucumbers and even hay.
Now, I might have complained a few times about going to Pre-school but I actually enjoyed myself. The children are cute, fun, have a ton of energy, and are excited about pretty much everything. My favorite part was seeing them get excited when they would learn something new, which made me excited!
After two months of watching them be so happy and excited about everything I kinda wish I could be a little child again. They love life and love to learn. The Pre-school children have been great examples to me of how I should make my life. When I learn something new it seems to not be a big deal but for children it is like the best thing that has ever happened to them. I am grateful I have been able to have my eyes opened to what it is like to be a child again and hope I can be more excited about learning and life.

Christmas Break

Oh, what a wonderful time of the year!

The past two weeks have been filled with many memorable moments.
First off...Nate and I were actually in the same city and had some fun times together.

The two weeks consisted of...
Going to Idaho Falls to watch Nate's 3 nieces in their Christmas Dance Recital. They sure know how to shake it!

Going out to eat with Nate's family.

Delicious Christmas Eve Dinner with my family.

Singing Christmas carols while I stumbled to play them on the piano.

Getting many wonderful gifts...a new coat, boots, and adorable apron that my mom made, and a tennis dress from Nate ( I have always wanted a tennis dress so I am excited to wear it). Nate got new scriptures (he had been using his scriptures that he got when he was baptized and they no longer had a cover on them), Sperry shoes, and money.

Going to Sun Valley and skiing Baldy (it was Nate's first time skiing Baldy). It was a beautiful warm day, which meant I did little whining about being cold.

Riding the new Gondola on Baldy and seeing the beautiful city below as we rode to the top.

Learning how to do the dance move, "the Jerk." The family became pros. YouTube it, if you do not know what it is.

Watching Sherlock Holmes. I thought it was a great movie.

Playing tennis with the family...Me and my brother Derek out played my brother Cole and my mom. When we finished playing, Cole asked if we could start off playing tennis with a prayer from now on. My family is very competitive when it comes to sports and no one likes to lose so we often get very mad at each other and we leave the courts upset at each other. The prayer might be a good idea.

Celebrating Grandpa Cuoio's 97th birthday by eating German Chocolate Cake.

Ringing the New Year by getting our groove on at the Sub. We used our "Jerk" moves and had a blast. I learned that Nate is a dancer. I do not know why he was hiding his moves from me but we will be doing much more dancing in the future.

Spending time with friends.

Soaking in the hot pools at Lava.
and...
Being TogEtHeR!

Ashley, Nate, Gordon and Sally on the Gondola

Erica, Ashley and Jeminee spending some girl time together.

Nate and Ashley at the top of Baldy.

Not so Project Runway!

The overzealous mechanical up and down pitter patter of a sewing machine can wear on your ears. I'll tell you what's worse, the sound of 12 sewing machines in non-harmonic competition for 4 straight hours! Where did Nate spend his Saturday afternoon? ... In the BYU sewing lab. Ashley suggested that I come with her to work today and since I don't see her during the week, I thought I had better take advantage. Not that it was horrible, because it wasn't, but it's just a long time to be in a basement full of not so exciting things (at least to me). For me it was like being stuck watching 4 hours straight of the worst Project Runway episode I have ever seen. That sounds harsh, I know, but just not my thing. My only salvation... access to the internet in a chair that's too short and slides away from the counter where the computer rests. Sorry Ash... I love you with all my heart, but this will probably be my first and last 4 hour session in the BYU sewing lab!