Sunday, October 28, 2012

Haunted Happenings

 I know I say it all the time, but I can't believe this was our last full week in October. In a few shorts days, it will be November! But of course, I'm not complaining. That means Christmas is just that much closer!

Eric is still busy every night with rehearsals for Holiday. Next week are his final dress and tech rehearsals and then his show starts the next week. I am so excited to finally see it!
So I can say whatever I want, because he's my man and I'm a little biased, but isn't he handsome?

I spent most of this week pouring over my chemistry books and ended up taking the longest test of my life in the testing center. But it was worth it, because I got an A! We also signed up for our LAST semester of classes at BYU! *gulp* that much closer to grad school and "real adult life." Neither of us are sure how we feel about it. 

We also got to see Ryan (Eric's brother) for the weekend! Though it was a short visit and we both had a lot of rehearsals, it was still fun to see him when we did!

This week we also found out that Eric's sister Ashley is having her third boy! With Justin and Shellese's twins coming in November, there will soon be three new additions to the Gourley clan! So exciting!

Friday night I had an...interesting...show at the Provo Convention Center for 200 Japanese exchange students and their host families. The show went well, but our stage felt and sounded like a plastic (and textured) cutting board. Needless to say, our clogging number sounded and looked more painful than anything with all of the scratching taps against the stage. 

Here's our group at the "Brandon Home" in Pleasant Grove
Yesterday I spent most of the day working with Habitat Humanity on a home in Pleasant Grove. It was a "costume build" (hence why I'm wearing my old Indian costume)...but I ended regretting the costume when we spent most of our day painting. Not only do I love giving service and building homes for families who cannot have their own, but I really love being around construction. Is that weird? I grew up my whole life with my family's construction company and ever since I was little I remember my dad taking me to all of their sites and getting to see different homes and projects being built from the foundation, to the framing, all the way to the final touches. I love the smell of sawdust and paint, and I love the sounds of hammering, drilling, and sawing. I also LOVE the "new house" smell. Though I spent most of the day painting, I really spent most of the day reminiscing about me being a little girl and spending time with my dad. I remember when we built our last house as a family and how it was probably my favorite thing we ever did together. I remember driving around our backhoes and helping dad dig out our basement, getting to help him with all the foundation, the framing, the painting, the tiling, and everything else. Though we don't live in that house still, it holds so many memories of us as a family! Do you ever wish you could go back and relive certain moments of your childhood?

 Last night, after some much needed gym time, Eric and I went on our first real date with just the two of us in who knows how long. We went up to Thanksgiving Point (my first time ever) and had a fun time wandering through the corn mazes and the haunted houses. Our favorite thing of the night ended up being the kids racing slides...we couldn't get enough of them! On our way out we picked out GIANT pumpkins which we will be carving later tonight with friends. Though it was a little cold, we had so much fun just getting to do something with the two of us. I love being married and having a best friend who shares all of my same passions and hobbies!


A penny for your thoughts

This week in one of my classes we had a lesson on finding purpose in the insignificant things of life. Our lesson was likened to someone passing a penny on the ground - something I think we've all done. Often we pass a penny and don't pick it up because we're in a hurry and we think, "It's only a penny." But how many times do we do this with other blessings God brings into our lives that at the time we don't see or feel are significant. I was really touched by the idea of finding value in everything in life, especially the small things that often go unnoticed. I think humility is one of the keys to "seeing" those small things in life that we often ignore when clouded by pride. Too often we want something bigger, or a more obvious answer to our prayers. But I have found that God is constantly sending us tender mercies daily - they are just often really small that we fail to recognize them. As a side note, a guy in my class raised his hand and told us for the two years he served his mission, he picked up change every time he passed it, and in total collected $285 dollars worth! We need to be humble enough to notice the little things in life because in turn, they will make us who we are and have a much bigger impact on us then we ever realize. So next time you pass a penny, pick it up and ponder what small blessings in your life God has given you.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

It's just a bunch of Hocus Pocus!

Since Halloween is Eric's FAVORITE holiday and October his FAVORITE month, I decided to go all out so he could feel the true Halloween spirit! We have been watching one Halloween movie every night during dinner, reading a Halloween story every night before bedtime, playing Halloween music on pandora, and getting super creative with our apartment's spookiness! Enjoy our random crafts and cheap dollar store decorations =)













This is my new favorite Halloween book! I wandered around the BYU bookstore between classes a few weeks ago and grabbed the ones that were on sale. We are reading our last one tonight, so we'll have to re-read them all unless you have any suggestions on new ones?!?!?!



A few weeks ago we went on a double date with two of our favorite people, Amber and Sam, and finally saw the movie Hotel Transylvania! Ever since we went to Transylvania this Summer in Romania, we've been counting down the days until the movie came out! It wasn't my absolute favorite, but Eric really liked it. What was neat was that a lot of the rooms and furniture in the movie were identical to Dracula's castle. Definitely worth seeing if you're looking for a cute Halloween movie!
We are pretty sad that we won't get to dress up on Halloween because we both have late rehearsals that night, but we're planning on at least carving pumpkins and hopefully finding a good haunted house! 

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Leaves are Falling all around...

The past week has been very eventful for us Gourleys! Besides the usual homework and tests, we've had Eric's brother Justin here visiting with us! Our fun week with Justin started out with the BYU parade and homecoming BLACK OUT game...

I think I'm having a little too much fun in this picture
Eric and Nate always go to the games together, but this time Justin and I got to sneak seats with them! Don't you love our blackout shirts?
The stands looked legit with everyone wearing black!
Saturday after the game we got a flat tire and spent most of the night trying to get it fixed. Then Sunday we spent the evening with Grandma Gourley. We all got some good laughs as Eric and Justin drove around her house and tried out her new "jazzy."

Growing up is always optional...
 After classes on Monday we took Justin on our usual bike ride down the river to Utah Lake. We go every week and I swear the trees just get prettier and prettier. Here's a few snapshots from our ride:

Utah Lake


Justin and Eric 
I rode behind to take pictures and I'll admit, ran into a few trees and fences while getting distracted with my camera. Next time I'll make sure to stop every time I take a picture!

Tuesday we went shopping for Halloween decorations...

When Wednesday rolled around Eric and Justin took off for Nevada to go deer hunting while I held up the fort here in Provo (aka...sat around and studied for exams). It's always so sad when Eric leaves and I'm here all alone (or vice versa)! 

Here's the boys before we said goodbyes!
Here's my man during the hunt! Don't you love his new hair-do for his latest play at BYU?
Their sleeping quarters...in the back of Justin's truck!
The boys came back empty handed because they never saw any deer, just a lot of antelope. Next year they're putting in for antelope tags instead...

Tonight was our last night before Justin leaves in the morning! We went on a 16 mile bike ride and then enjoyed Hocus Pocus while eating Indian, Chinese and Pizza for dinner (guess which one I ate)! Here's some more gorgeous pictures from our bike ride:





I've been really pushing myself to give myself "fun breaks" every once in a while. I usually do nothing but homework (and gym time) from sun-up to sun-down, and usually by Saturday I'm a big, grumpy stress-case. After Uchtdorf's talk in conference about enjoying the journey, I made some goals on taking things more slow, spending more quality time with Eric and allowing myself some fun time every once in a while. This past week with Justin has been really good for me and as hard as it has been to set unfinished homework aside, it's been very rewarding. Here's to all the fun that awaits Eric and I in October!

Friday, October 5, 2012

October already?

Time flies when you're having fun! I can't believe it's already October, can you? We're already almost half way through the semester and I am in shock of how fast everything is happening. When October rolled around we made some goals for the month to push ourselves. I am continuing my goal of going to the gym at least 6x a week, along with eating a completely 100% raw food diet for the month. Eric decided (with a lot of pushing from me of course) to go gluten free for the month and see if he feels any different.
This past week we had a lot of...interesting happenings. First off, our oven exploded! The heating coils inside melted apart and literally caused an explosion in our kitchen. I felt my life flashing before my eyes. Since then, we've been getting creative on how to cook all Eric's meals on the stove top. You never realize how often you use something until it's gone. Second off, our microwave died...so we went to Walmart and bought the cheapest model we could find. Now it takes almost 10 minutes to defrost something compared to the 1 minute our last microwave used. Cheap is not always better, but when you're college students...it doesn't matter. Last week I got an eye infection but fought it for 5 days before I finally woke up with my eyes swollen shut on Friday. I finally got the guts to skip all my classes (first time of the semester) and go see the eye doctor. Almost $100 later, I left with an eye drop bottle about the size of my pinky finger and my infection cleared up within 24 hours. Lessons learned? Never procrastinate an eye infection and medicine is expensive. This week the Beijing Dance Company was here visiting BYU. We put on a show for them Monday evening and a few of us girls performed a Chinese Umbrella Dance as a gift for them. It was rather a magical experience getting to dance it for them, regardless of how silly we felt. I was too cheap to buy tickets to their concert, but everyone else who went has talked about nothing else. And yes, I regret being cheap.
Last weekend we drove up to Duchesne for Amber and Sam's wedding reception. It was Eric's first time going out there, so it was quite an adventure. We stayed up all night playing games, laughing, and enjoying ourselves. Then Sunday we attended the Brigham City Temple Dedication. As we got out of the car to walk into the building, my dress zipper busted (the zipper goes down the front) and it began unzipping itself. I carried in my purse to cover the front which was very much unzipped by that point...but when we got to the door, they told us we couldn't carry in any bags. Luckily, I had a white hankerchief to cover my lap with the rest of the dedication. Lesson learned? Don't get dresses with zippers down the front. A few days ago Eric and I decided to take a beautiful drive up the canyon and admire the beautiful colors in nature. We brought water colors to paint, but half way through our drive, we both were feeling extremely sick. We should have eaten food before we attempted to drive all the windy and twisty roads through the mountain. Sadly, Eric threw up all the way down the mountain and we  never got to paint our pictures. So, if you're planning a romantic drive through the canyon...eat some food first.

Isn't life great? The past few weeks have been one thing after another, along with an arm full of homework and exams. But life couldn't be better. We've been having fun decorating for Halloween (Eric's favorite holiday) and going for late night runs after the gym. He also surprised me last weekend when I got home from a long day of shows with a hair cut and a shave! No more beard! Though I've felt at the end of my thread the past few days, I have witnessed many miracles all around me. I am constantly reminded of the blessings I have in my life. My biggest blessing is Eric, who keeps me smiling and is constantly supporting me when I feel I've had enough. Here's to the rest of October and to what ever else might come our way!

From our beautiful drive up the canyon!





Us and the Beijing Dance Company!