A Few of my Favorite Things

Summer so far has been so great. Maybe the second greatest summer of ever. I'm taking more than a full load of classes while working, which seems like it'd be hard, but actually it's remarkably easy and the classes I'm taking I really really enjoy. Furthermore, it's peculiar and exciting knowing that this is my last real semester of taking classes. Next semester I'll have classes but not all the time. And then after that, it's pretty much just teaching. After doing college for this long, I'm so ready for that, to be done.

I thought I'd talk today about my town, Provo. Let me tell you about how we found ourselves here. First we lived in SLC, then Joe got a job up north so we moved to Layton, then a few weeks after his job up north, he got an amazing opportunity that would accompany his grad school studies down here in Provo. So we were gearing to pick up and move again, and the idea of actually living in Provo came up. I don't know why that idea was such a hard one for me, but it was. Maybe it was because when you go to the U, you spend so much time making fun of Provo that to actually live there would be a badge of shame forever. Add to that the fact that moving is just hard, packing up all of your things, saying goodbye to friends you've made. It's hard. But I've learned that it's an adventure too, and that home isn't a location as much as it is Joe.

Anyways. We moved to Provo and Joe really talked it up to me because he knew it was going to be hard on me. And I'll say, it was hard adjusting to living here, but I've really come to love it. I'll share what I love about it with you!

I love that our house isn't as huge as it was in Layton. We're a small family, there's no reason for us to have stairs right now, and it's much easier to get up and get a glass of water when it's right around the corner.

I love how much family is down here. I've gotten to know a lot of Joseph's family and it's been so much fun.

I love that our small pet store where we buy food for our lizards is right around the corner from the Asian market, where we get the best things.

I love how grand our library is.

I love how our backyard is kinda strange and very beautiful.

I love our little garden plot.

I love that the garden plot drove us to discover a plant nursery with a sweet old lady, and the IFA county store with sweet baby bunnies that nibble my fingers and cuddle up to me in tiny fluff balls.

I love the food places down here. There are some really great ones that we've gotten to discover! Indian, Thai, Chinese, fancy and plain, it's been fun!

I really like riding the train to SLC. It passes by rivers and mountains and lakes and it's really beautiful! It gives me time to do homework and learn random information and sleep and read books.

Some day we're going to move from here. I'm really excited for that day, not because it means leaving Provo, but because it means finding a new place with new adventures. And if Joe's there, it'll be pretty ok. I think it's entirely possible to be miserable anywhere you live, no matter where it is. But it's so possible to find the good parts and live in those parts too. Who knows, you might find yourself enjoying it.