A Tribute

I felt it necessary to say just how lucky I am to have the wonderful husband that I do. He works so hard... and he sacrifices so much to ensure a happy, secure future for us. I hate to see him get discouraged. This whole medical school thing is really a rough road!!! Today, we got a letter from University of Toledo. They have placed Steve on their alternate list. So, that's better than a "no." There is still hope... but, it is getting a little discouraging. So, now we are on three different alternate lists... and still waiting, and hoping that we get in somewhere. And, such is life, eh?

But, I am so proud of Steve and all that he does. How blessed I am to have him as a husband.

Clouds

Sometimes the clouds seem to stay too long…
pouring down showers and blocking the light.
A seemingly nonexistent sun.
All I see is darkness, rain.
Cold and wet,
my head is cloudy and filled with those same dark billows
that seem to expand,
yet my emptiness weighs me down.
Hazy sky
with innumerable tear drops
trickling,
falling--
Mimicking my own.
Mimicking or mocking?
Momentary breaks in the dull monotony
Offer a glimpse at elusive rays.
Fragile rays that I fear won’t stay long enough to fill me.
But long enough to give me hope...

For a time.

Back Home

Well, I am back from Europe. Our flight got in about 11:30 Tuesday night. I have to say, the jetlag has been a lot less severe this time than it was when I got to Europe. Not sure why... but it's good. It was kind of strange to come back after 4 weeks. You almost expect that life would just pause for ya while you were gone... but you get back and realize you've "lost" 4 weeks of your life here in the ol' USA. Of course, I gained a wonderful 4 weeks in Europe. I loved being with my sister and nephew and meeting my new little niece and going to some amazing places. It was a great 4 weeks.....

Here are a few thing I acquired while on my trip to Europe:

1)My first speeding ticket ever
Never been pulled over in all my 8 years of driving…Never had a speeding ticket…. That is, no speeding ticket until my recent trip to Switzerland. Luckily, I still have my record of never being pulled over. They just have the speed trap things that flash a picture of your license plate as you speed by, then they mail it to you. (or, in this case, they’ll mail it to my sister seeing as I was driving her car….)

2)A new niece

3)A new haircut
For the past 6 months I haven‘t had my personal hairdresser… my sister! Ever since she moved to Switzerland, I’ve had to go to random cheap places like Great Clips. I love having Megan cut my hair because I can just give her a general idea of what I want and then I trust her to do something fun, but something she knows I will like. So, I was excited to have her cut my hair while I was there.I definitely love the haircut she gave me!! Thanks Meg!
(Pictures to come….)

4)An increased ability to navigate
I was quite pleased with how well my mom and I got to and around Rome. I had to force myself to gain some sort of sense of direction otherwise we wouldn’t have seen much! I admit, there were a couple times we stared at a map for a while trying to figure out where the heck we were, but overall, we were very successful in our navigation. I was pretty much a pro at the metro by the end (might not sound too impressive, but if you have a sense of direction like the women in my mom's family (or lack thereof) then this is an accomplishment).

5)A deeper appreciation for Walmart
Now, in Switzerland, there was no Walmart. There were little grocery stores within walking distance of the house....more like little markets. Grocery store makes it sound too big. There were some regular sized grocery stores within driving distance. However, even at the large grocery stores, you can’t find a lot of the stuff you’re used to getting here in the states. And meat was very expensive… and half the meat, I couldn’t even identify! (Though I did see a picture of a horse on one package……). It was an adventure for sure. We still ate well of course. There are plenty of bratwurts, cheese, pastas, and more flavors of yogurt than I’ve ever imagined could exist. Oh, and of course, plenty of chocolate.

6)A greater desire to eat chocolate
Now, I realize this might make me an atypical female, but I usually am not a huge fan of chocolate. I mean, it’s not like I hate it or anything, I’d just rather have caramel or other stuff. However, while in Switzerland, I wanted to eat chocolate every day!

7)A greater appreciation for Utah drivers
Sure, people say that Utah drivers are horrible…. But anyone who says that has obviously never been to Rome!!!!! We had to ride a taxi from the train station to our hotel the first night because the metro was closed. I thought we were going to die for sure. I honestly had to close my eyes part of the time because I caught myself almost screaming a few times as we skimmed past other cars, walls, motorcycles with only inches between us and them. And it wasn’t just this taxi driver…. EVERYONE drives that way !!!! It reminded me of those video games where you are racing in a car through some city…. None of the cars are actually following any line or anything. Everyone is just cutting each other off, swerving in and out, slamming on brakes, taking quick corners……..

8) Deeper Awe at Roman Skills

Wow.... those Romans sure knew how to build some impressive architectural masterpieces. Now, I've mentioned before my love for old, historical buildings..... imagine Rome!!! Now THERE were some OLD buildings (well, mostly just remnants of buildings, but still amazing). It was so incredible to be able to see, first hand, all those things you've seen so many times in history books or whatever. To be standing right there..... amidst the ruins of ancient Roman civilization!!!! Holy cow.... it was amazing. Towering pillars that used to be out front of temples.... huge arches with intricate carvings on them.... remnants of palaces.....a colossal amphitheater where gladiators would fight to the death.... It was all seriously so.... soo...... I don't even know how to describe it. You just need to go there.....

Rome

Well, we survived! And we had a great time. Didn't get pickpocketed. Didn't get lost (too badly). Saw TONS of awesome stuff. Ate tasty pasta and gelati. It was awesome. I'll give more info later, just wanted to quickly post this so anyone who was curious didn't fear that we were still lost in some dark alley in Rome :)

Ciao!

We are flying to Rome Tuesday night! We will be there for three days. YAY!!! I am very excited. A little nervous, considering that my mom and I are both very indecisive AND have a horrible sense of direction...... I can just see us completely lost and/or spending a whole day just trying to decide where we should go.... Hopefully that won't be the case! We have tried to do as much preplanning as possible.
In our planning efforts, it was brought to our attention that this is Holy Week-- the week leading up to Easter. Holy Week is the busiest week in Rome.... of course that just happened to be the week we chose to go there!!! No turning back now. We already had our plane tickets and hotel reservations. Plus, we got all our Euros (they say you need to pay cash for most everything). So, we will go, fight the crowds, try not to get mugged, eat some good food, and certainly still have a great time! Wish us luck!

Uetliberg

Today we went up to Uetliberg. It is the highest point in Zurich and you go up there and can see all around-- the cities, the lake, the Alps, rolling hills.... .it was awesome. There are these tower things up there. One of them you wind up these stairs to the top platform where you can look out all around. Brady and Kyler made it all the way to the top, but mom and I got dizzy about two thirds of the way up and felt like we were going to fall backwards down the stairs, so we just stopped there on a little platform and looked out.

See the Alps in the background?
I was disappointed at how hazy it was... it caused the pictures not to pick up all the depth. So, the pictures don't do it justice.

If you look closely, you can see Bonstetten (where my sister lives). It is about in the center of the picture, the furthest village in view.

Traveling the World

Steve is in Ohio today for his interview. As of last night, he said everyone was very friendly and welcoming to him. Hopefully all goes well.

My mom and I are thinking about venturing out to Italy next week. We are thinking we'll go to Rome for a few days. I mean, this is probably the only time I'll ever be in Europe, so I should probably take advantage of that and go the added short distance to one of the most historically saturated destinations in the world! We'll see if we end up going.... Anyone else ever been there? Any suggestions?

I'm sorry, I'm sorry.... I know all this talk of traveling Europe isn't very nice.... Surely it causes some envy and jealousy in a few of you. So, here, this should give you a little taste of the Swiss countryside.... make it feel/sound like you're really here.....:


Notice the time on the clock.... those bells started ringing at 2:15...... Lovely eh? As unbelievable as it may seem, you really do get used to it. I hardly notice them ringing anymore. It will probably be strange when I come back to Utah and don't have bells ringing on the hour, every 15 minutes, and for extend periods of time at 6 am, 11 am, 2:15, and 6pm. Oh the joys of living in a little Swiss village....

A Bit of Sightseeing

Today, we took a little "field trip" to a castle about 20 minutes from my sister's house. Schloss Lenzburg. I love old buildings and historical stuff. The thing is, in the United States an old building is some building that's a couple hundred years old. In Europe, old buildings are much older than our home country itself!!! Parts of this castle were built in the 11th century. Awesome, eh?











Unfortunately, we couldn't go into the castle-- it was closed for the winter. We did get to walk around the castle and walk accross the draw bridge, up to the doors, etc.

Then, there was a hill across from it where you could walk up, up, up to the top where you got a great view of the castle (thats where I was when I took that first picture).

A New Niece!

Well, my sister finally had her baby early this morning- March 6th at 1:42 am. Here she is, cute little Kahri.

Kyler is a big brother now!

"Did you know that_____?"

Seven Semi-Interesting Tidbits about Us

1) Steve is a Martial Arts instructor. He has a black belt and teaches once a week. He also loves doing jujitstu and has recently started wrestling as well.

2) Last summer, there was a rattlesnake in our house. No, I'm not kidding. For a year and a half we were living just in the mouth of Ogden Canyon in a lady's house while she was on her mission. While it was beautiful there, there were some down
sides-- many in the form of giant hairy spiders and slithering snakes. One day, Steve went to turn the pilot light off on the gas fireplace. He opened up the grate thing where all the knobs are and heard a rattling, but thought it was just the sound of the grate clanging on the stone hearth. So, he proceeded to reach his hand in to the knobs. He quickly realized that the rattling was actually a rattlesnake whose head was inches from his hand!!! The snake continued to rattle and pulled its head away. Obviously Steve was quick to pull away also once he saw the movement and realized what was going on. He called Animal Control and they came and got the snake out. Luckily, I was not home at the time and decided not to come home at all that night.... I slept at my sister's house : )

What a cute little boy...


3) There were a few years when I, Jenni, was little that some people thought I was a boy. Embarrassing, I know. I look back at pictures, and I did look like a boy when I didn't curl my hair...... a pretty boy, but a boy none-the-less. (If you want to hear about the most memorable of such incidences, click on the comments following this post)

4) Steve can speak 3 languages-- English, Tahitian and French. He went on an LDS mission to Tahiti and had to learn two different languages! Man, I imagined learning one new language would be hard enough…. But learning two at the same time? Amazing. I speak a little bit of French, but probably only about as much as a missionary would learn in their first week at the MTC.

5) Speaking of the MTC…Did you know that the summer after I turned 21, I had my mission papers filled out and ready to give back to the Bishop?? I prayed so hard to get some sort of directions to what I should do with my life that summer. Should I pursue a certain career? Should I move out of my parents house and get an apartment? Should I go on a mission? Needless to say, I didn’t get some huge, straight forward answer telling me what path to take. I didn’t feel like there was really any right or wrong choice at that point, but rather that I was just supposed to start pursuing one of the paths and if that wasn’t exactly where I was supposed to head, I would be stopped before I got too far. I really had wanted to serve a mission since I was 19, so I got my papers and started filling them out. It was right about then that I started going on some dates with this one guy named Steve Toller. This seemed to delay the process a bit. Soon, I felt like HE was my answer and the path I was to pursue… and… well….. I’m sure you can guess how that story ends : )

6) Some members of my family claim that I am a hypochondriac. I don't think this is true... so maybe I do get anxiety about my health at times, but take a glimpse at the happenings of my past 12 months and tell me if you wouldn't be a little anxious as well. In the past 12 months I.......:

got braces on and all sorts of other contraptions in my mouth; due to the contraptions I was in typical pain and also got a bad sore on my tongue making it nearly impossible to swallow; my pinky toe grew to 4 times it's size, incredibly swolen and painful (still don't know what the heck caused it); as a result of the strong antibiotics I took in attempt to clear that, I got an infection in my intestines; somewhere in the midst of all this I started losing weight unintentionally (15 pounds) and continued to until just recently when I have finally been able to gain some of it back!; I was pregnant three times; I miscarried three times; I got some sort of flu or something with a fever of 102; I got some other weird infection that I couldn't seem to get rid of but finally did; Okay, so those are the highlights. Now tell me........ hypochondriac?........ Or a cursed year of bad health?????

7) I've been skydiving before!!! It was so awesome. I loved it. I went 8 weeks before we got married (so.....May of 2005?). My aunt Gayla is a certified skydiver and I decided to go up in a plane with her and try it out for myself! Your first time you jump attatched to someone else. Gayla isn't an instructor, so I wasn't attatched to her. But it was an awesome experience we had together. I wathced her jump out of the plane ahead of me.... then there I was at the open door, billions of feet in the air (okay, not billions....) and suprisingly not nervous at all. It was almost like I was just watching someone else do it... it didn't seem real. But it was so freakin awesome. Here is a clilp from the video they took of me. The quality isn't very good because I used my digital camera to record the TV playing it on the VCR.... But, it gives you a glimpse nonetheless.

Don't you just love how my cheeks and nose are flapping in the wind....????? Very flattering indeed.

Medical School

As much as we'll miss everyone back in Utah, we'd really like to get into medical school this year... Steve has his last scheduled interview next week. He flies out to Ohio on Sunday then has his interview on Monday. We are hoping and praying for the best..... any prayers on his behalf would be greatly appreciated. He is such a hard working, dedicated person and he does so well in all he pursues. He (and I) want this so badly... but, of course we don't always get what we want when we want it...Ultimately, it's not really in our hands. We'll see if this fits into His plan for us. I sure hope it does.