Mimi and Grandpa's

It's always great having an excuse to get a bunch of family together, and I think Brian getting home from Russia is definitely one of those times :) Even Brad, Ada, and Jake came down from Flagstaff to spend some time together. There are several miscellaneous pictures of them, my family, Mimi, Grandpa, Nana, Jonne, and Jana.

Not the clearest picture, but she's so cute!

We did have a little bit of Christmas before we left, mainly to help with the packing for New York. Let me tell you, moving around Christmas is CRAZINESS! It makes being in NY more exciting, but it definitely complicates packing and flying. We did a present exchange with Mimi and Grandpa, and then we opened two presents that needed special care for the flight.

From Trevor. (I'm so excited to be a Knicks fan! LOVE AMARE!) We actually used this blanket to pack around my cello so it'd make it safely through the move.

And my mom gave me a necklace with my grandpa's signature on it. It's a great memento of a wonderful person!

Zoo Lights!

I LOVE going to the zoo, especially for Zoo Lights at Christmas. I think it had been close to ten years or something nuts like that since the last time we went. So since so many people were in town, we battled the crowds at the zoo. And let me tell you there were serious crowds! Good thing Mimi got tickets ahead of time!

Trevor, Dad, and Brian

Marcus, Erica, Trevor, and Brian with the lion in lights

Trevor, Saguaro, Brian

dramatic Trevor

flamingos, my mom's favorite

Dad, Mimi, Mom, Grandpa, Jana

Marcus found his missionary tag in his coat. Brian was surprised.

the camel would lean down to get water

the monkey would actually swing!

a very blue tree

Trev, Dad, Jonne, Brian, Marcus, Nana

Trevor, Dad, Brian, Marcus

Over in the Arizona section....

javelinas

My Older Younger Brother

One of the main reasons we came to Arizona instead of flying to NY straight was obviously to see my family and pick up Brian from the airport. Seriously! Brian's back from Russia! After a little over two years, he returned from his mission just in time for the holidays. It was really fun to get a bunch of family together to wait for him to get off the plane. In these pictures, you will see Nana, Jonne, Mimi, Grandpa, me, Marcus, my mom and dad, Trevor, and the Lee family (who happened to be at the airport picking up family too).


My dad made posters at work welcoming Brian home. And there was a Russian couple in the airport who told us everything was written correctly in Russian. We were a little nervous it could've said something insulting accidentally :)

And here he is-- crazy hat and all. Typical Bri. Haha. Actually the hat was a gift for Trev.

Our Russian Celebrity

Brian with his best friend Brad Meese and Brad's fiance

Sibs

The kids

My family

I had to include this picture. Here's Brian's room after dumping out his suitcases. I am sure my mom just loves this... :)
It's great having Brian back home. It seems crazy that he's back after two years already. It was slow while he was there, but now it is like nothing changed. He looks the same and acts the same. And the three of us kids probably argue the same. But it's great. The biggest change in him I noticed came during his Homecoming Talk in church. It was really wonderful. He's gotten so insightful and has such a strong testimony of the gospel and principles of concepts like obedience and patience. What a guy :)

COLLEGE: CHECK!

That's how Marcus has been putting it at least. :)

And this could be his:


And let me tell you, it feels great. His most frequent comment is that he doesn't know what to do from now until when he starts working in January. :) He's been reading a lot, trying to sleep in, and moving to NY. So I guess that hasn't left much free time. But still, it's amazing!

We don't know if he'll be able to walk at the BYU April Graduation yet, so until that happens (or if it doesn't), this will have to do...



CONGRATULATIONS MARCUS!!! Our newest BYU alumni :)

Packin' Up

It makes me nervous how they say every year goes by a little faster-- I can't believe we've been packing up to leave Utah. We knew it was coming, but I never thought it'd be here this fast! I started packing a couple months ago to avoid the crazy rush at the end; however, that didn't quite work out as planned :) We were in the stage of only a few things packed for a long time, and then we had to basically do everything in a week. Craziness! Especially since on top of the packing, we had to find a new apartment and meet a deadline for a moving truck while we both worked and Marcus finished school. Thank goodness it's all over now :)

We were at this stage for a really long time:

This picture just cracked me up. Marcus was in his "smoking jacket" researching tvs and whether or not we were going to sell ours. Yes, we did end up selling it. And yes, he really did call his bathroom a smoking jacket for like a week. Haha.

I think this was the most overwhelming part. A billion boxes NOT PACKED!

Chicago loved having boxes and bags everywhere. So many places to hide!

The moving company came right on schedule, and by that time we were so tired of packing that we just threw everything else in the car. It was madness once we got to Arizona to try to sort through the stuff and pack what we needed for the airplane flight.

And we were off! With Baby Boo, our bamboo plant, in the cup holder.

We drove to Arizona with Trevor, Nana, and Jonne. Sadly my bad luck traveling rubbed off on them, and they had a quick call to AAA along the way.

Surprisingly enough Chicago was great almost the entire way to Phoenix. Once we pulled out her blanket, she slept the rest of the car ride on someone's lap. Hopefully her sedatives for the plane ride make that quick and easy too!
Getting to this point was crazy, but it did go by fairly quickly. I love being in Arizona. It's sad we are only here for a long weekend. But I have some more posts coming about this trip soon.

Dear Provo

Dear Provo,

I thought long and hard about what I wanted to tell you at this monumentous occasion, and I decided it was too easy to trail off on tangents. Living in Utah was never one of my goals. And several times, it caught me off guard. I had never thought of myself as a Utah girl, but having lived there for six and a half years, with a Utah license and license plate, I guess I must fit that category. But it's really not a bad thing. You're a great place, and you've provided many wonderful experiences and opportunities. Instead you'll get a top ten list of things I love about you and will miss about you.

10. You know they say that you don't realize what you had until it's gone, and I think that's totally the case with you. Let's be totally honest-- Everyone knows I hate the cold and the snow, and those are two of your greatest characteristics. You do them both so well. I finally am willing to admit I have admired your mountains and trees, definitely in the spring and fall, but also in the winter. Even the bubble world of Provo is simply beautiful. And this has been such a great time to finally reflect on that a little more than normal. I have many pictures of you during all seasons, and I am positive that New York will never compare, although it does have its own beauty.

9. I will definitely miss the conveniences of living in Utah. It's so easy to travel around to different areas and events. It was fun being able to have weekends in Park City, Snowbird, and Logan. There's so much personality in every city, and we have many great pictures and memories.

8. BYU. I swear you leak this out too much, and I'll come back and haunt you one day. Like what my mom plans to do at the cute little house in California she loves. BYU really is an incredible school, and it provided so many experiences that I couldn't have gotten anywhere else. And I have so many unique memories involving masterclasses with the cello studio, crazy classes, and orchestra concerts. Marcus and I both worked extremely hard for our degrees, and it's nice knowing that other people respect those diplomas and the opportunities we've had there. And of course I met Marcus freshman year in the dorms at BYU. I guess at some point I should recognize that fact :)

7. The MPS. Marcus had one of the All Time Best College Jobs. Seriously. He loved his boss, and he was trusted with a lot of responsibilities that made working a lot of fun for him. He met so many talented people that have worked on amazing projects such as the temple videos, the new New Testament clips, and 17 Miracles. And he was always able to get a lot of homework done when he'd sit down and focus :)

6. Working for the Provo School District has led me to great jobs and amazing friends. I never would've thought that my lunch job would have gotten me a connection to teach orchestra or meet people I still email. The ladies in the office really took care of me and were basically family.

5. Of course Bed Bath & Beyond has to make the list. It really has been a great job for me right now. I worked with a great group of people, and they really have been some of my best friends. Plus the managers are all one of a kind. They were never afraid to speak their minds and help you out in any way possible. It's such a great company, and if you ever need a job, look into it!

4. It took us awhile to find what we really liked, but there is some great food mixed around this state. It will be different than NY obviously, but you can't compete with Cafe Rio, Texas Roadhouse, Maria Bonita, and Cafe Paesan. Yum! I'd say I'll get thinner finally without those places, but I doubt that's really true :)

3. Playing with the Utah Valley Symphony has been a great time. Really. I've been able to force myself to practice the cello every once in awhile and be part of some fun concerts.

2. We've made great friends in Utah. People like the Staklands, the Shields, and the Sleeps. Obviously we like people with last names starting with the letter S. :) We've had so many fun times with them all and will miss them all greatly.

1. Obviously, number one is the family members located around the state. During my senior year, Brian was out here, and during Marcus' senior year, Trevor was at BYU. It was great spending some time with those two crazy guys. Plus having the Hardys close has been wonderful, and one of the few things I regret is not getting up to see them more often. Luckily I know they are anxious to come visit us. There are also obviously quite a few Pages, Morins, Nielsens, and more scattered about. It has been too easy to get caught up with work and school and miss out of chances to spend time together. Moving away makes me cherish the memories I have more.

You've been good to us Provo. We appreciate you ;)

Love,
Erica (& Marcus)

Patience

With all the craziness recently, I think the moral of the story is that patience cures it all! Seriously. No matter how absurd the management companies can be, how many miles you are away from your destination, how much notice moving trucks need, or how many boxes somehow need to be packed, if you just keep at it, it will solve itself. Eventually. :) And every once in awhile, something positive happens. For example, maybe you've been trying hard to find a box to move a fairly decent sized keyboard with no luck-- but then you finally find a way to make it happen...

Yep, I added a good few inches to the box. And I think it worked :)

The apartment is getting empty-- we're getting closer!