Airy-Zona

Tyler and I went to Arizona last week and, aside from my car selfies, we barely took any pictures at all. If you want to stop reading here, I'll understand (no i won't).

Tyler scheduled his MCAT in Arizona because he wanted to take it in May but there weren't any tests available in Utah in May, so it seemed as good an excuse as any to visit Tyler's family. It was really nice to get away for a few days. It was nice for me, anyway... Tyler had to endure a couple of stressful days before he got to the nice part.

We are thinking he did really well, thanks to all the prayers from our loved ones and also thanks to Tyler studying his butt off on top of his brutal homework load. He impresses me every day.

He finished his test early so we went to the outlets for a Treat Yoself day. Cuz we deserved it. Tyler deserved it and I deserved it vicariously through him.

We spent Saturday in the garden pruning, planting, and replanting.

Momma Dalton and I got some good walks in and Ty and I really enjoyed spending Sunday with adults for a change :)

Thanks for reading. For a reward, here's a pic of me practicing my Kylie Jenner pout during our 10-hour road trip.

Stop this Train

Whoo! Been an eventful couple weeks.

I graduated from college! I now have a Bachelors in Communications with an emphasis in PR and minors in business management and editing. Or at least I will, after I pay all my student fees so BYU will stop holding my diploma for ransom.

It was a real treat to celebrate my graduation with my family and Tyler's family, who drove down from Arizona for the festivities. Ty and I took a couple much needed days off. He volunteered to be my personal photographer and took a few lovely pictures of me trying to not look like a big billowy lump in my graduation robes.

I gotta say, it was a bit of a bummer to graduate without Tyler. The ceremony was kind of lonely without him and I was super envious of all the couples walking across the stage and taking pictures together. But it was still a very cool moment when I heard my name called and I walked forward to take my empty diploma holder and shake hands with college heads I'd never met before. I had made it! So much has happened in the five years I've been at college, and I'm a different person now than I was when I first came. I'm so thankful I had the opportunity to attend such a wonderful university and be influenced by so many amazing people.

After the ceremony, we all went to PF Changs for dinner, then back to squeeze into our teeny apartment to enjoy each other's company. It's such a rare and special occasion when so many of the people I love are in the same space with me, and it made me feel very loved. What a wonderful family I have.

I had a lot of notions about what being graduated would be like. When I started college, I figured that with my college degree I would be entitled to a great career and that I would have a full-time job offer right out of the gate and that everything would just come together easily. I'm sure it will all come together, but for now it's still in flux and I'm still figuring out where I fit now that I'm out in the world. I also thought graduating would mean waaaaay more free time, but I actually just use my homework time to do freelance writing, cook, clean and take care of my poor hubby who has 8 hours of school work and 2 hours of MCAT studying every day on top of work during spring semester. I am soooo proud of his endurance and diligence but also--and I think I speak for both of us when I say this--soooo ready for him to get a little break.

Another milestone: Ty and I hit one year of marriage a couple weeks ago! So the hard part's over now, right? ;)

Tyler and I celebrated one year of marriage by sleeping in, trying new restaurants, and going to the movies to suffer through The Duff together. (It did not live up to our hopes and expectations.) As students and newlyweds, these activities are fairly rare luxuries to us, and we savored them.

The year has gone by so fast. I am so thankful for my partner who patiently supports me and stands by my side as I learn the lessons I was meant to learn in this life. He has been the constant kind voice in my ear that tells me I am doing better than I think I am, that I deserve good things, and that everything will work out alright. Sure do love that guy. Here's to a great year and many, many more.