Dear Benny and Sariah,

Dear Benny and Sariah,

I wanted to share some great news with the two of you - Steve and I are engaged!!!  Little did we know when we were your counselors at EFY that the participants would be more inspired than the counselors at SLC-04.  Apparently you guys saw this coming from the very beginning, but it took us a little longer to figure it out for ourselves.  It seems that your ceaseless efforts to discover and perfect as many pick-up lines as possible paid off - at least for us.  Benny, when you made Steve use them on me to see how they worked, I just laughed.  Since it wasn't "legal" - according to the "For the Strength of Youth" pamphlet - to use pick-up lines on Sariah (tell me again, when do you turn sixteen?), I acquiesced and played along.  I figured that someday in the future you'd realize that pick-up lines are, in fact, completely unnecessary.  Eventually, you'll figure that out - be sure to let us know when you do.

Anyway, things picked up between the two of us when I headed back to BYU in September, and he did the same, but at WSU, to finish up school.  It was a somewhat-long distance relationship, and Steve affectionately became known as my "weekend boyfriend" since that's when I mostly saw him.  It was nice though.  Enough contact to keep me wishing for more, but not so much that I couldn't focus on school in order to graduate in December.  September flew right by, with fun dates like the demolition derby in Logan, and gelato with dear friends in Bountiful.  October slipped away too quickly, but we did manage a chair-lift ride under the stars at Sundance, and domino-Sundays with both our families.  November was Thanksgiving, December was Christmas, and all of the sudden, we found ourselves in 2009.  January was freezing - mostly because Steve left me behind in Bountiful while he went on a vacation to Ohio and Canada with friends from his Taiwan days.  But then I turned around and took off on a trip to the UK to visit a dear friend in London, so I guess that made things equally chilly for both of us.  February was great though - Valentine's Day alone made up for not getting to spend February 30th and 31st with Steve.  Maybe it is because Valentine's Day is so awesome that those other days were seen as expendable back when everyone was figuring out how to downsize the calendar.  March was lucky.  I found out towards the end of the month that I'll be going to graduate school in England this fall, and since Steve was really excited about it too, I figured I'd eventually invite him to come with me as a "permanent fixture in my household," which, as it turns out, he was already planning on for quite some time.  Sweet!  April has by far been the best - no joke.  The reason for sending this letter revolves entirely around the events of April 27th, 2009 - the day when Steve asked me to marry him.  At some point over the last nine months, though I can't tell you the exact time or place, I fell in love with him, which explains why I happily said "yes!"  We both have our own versions of how the wonderful event happened, so I'll let you enjoy it from the two of us.  I only said yes in one of them, so you'll have to watch them both to find out what went down.  I, personally, am a huge fan of Steve's version - it's priceless!  Thanks so much for all your efforts - we are truly grateful.  See you September 17th!!!

All the best you two,

Kristen

Steve's version: Kristen's version:

Tale of two cities

      Well, my time is up to decide where to go to graduate school.  After lots of applications, letters of recommendation, and transcripts being sent all over the place, it really came down to two schools - the University of Essex and Stony Brook University.  Neither school was anywhere on my radar screen when I first considered going to graduate school, but through a friend as well as some random research, both became top contenders.  Choosing between a year in London or two years in NYC is pretty tough, but I have finally made my decision.  The winner is....UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX!!!!  Ow-Owww!!!!  I can't wait!  Living in Europe has been a dream of mine, and it looks like it's going to come true.  Who knows what the future holds after this adventure, but I'm so grateful for the opportunity.  I'm reading "John Adams" right now and the oft-quoted sentiment of that great man definitely rings true in my own life:  

"I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy.  My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study paintings, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain."

I don't know about the porcelain, but I'm grateful to have the opportunity to study paintings, architecture, and sculpture.  My program at Essex emphasizes works produced during the Renaissance through the nineteenth century.  Again - a dream come true.  Michelangelo, Bernini, Delacroix, David, Raphael, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Dürer, Turner, Ingres, and many more such artists will be my area of expertise.  The end goal?  Bringing art to life for others through museum work, as well as cultivating appreciation of the arts through teaching.  

Classes start in October, so I'll be leaving shortly before that, but the official date of departure has yet to be determined.  Consider this announcement a cordial invitation  - visitors will always be welcome!!!  CHEERS!!!

Two gardens

     It's been a great day - Easter Sunday usually is though.  Easter egg hunts and near-sightings of the Easter bunny will ensue shortly, but I'm truly thankful for the real reason we celebrate Easter.  It has almost been one year since I left to study at the BYU Jerusalem Center, but I remember like it was yesterday what I saw and felt there - especially inside the area surrounding the garden tomb just outside the Old City.  Seeing the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives was profound, but it paled in comparison to the experience of walking around the garden tomb.  The feeling in the former (though poignant) seemed very far away, so very distant, whereas in the latter, the feelings were very near the surface, and ever present.  I'm grateful for what I know and believe, and I hope you'll check out the following two videos at the following addresses (just copy and paste):

http://mabrystudios.typepad.com/reflections_of_christ/2008/03/reflections-sli.html

and

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1158671326103&ref=nf

 Happy Easter!!!

the new job

        Life sure is funny.  I laughed when I was offered a job at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building serving at banquets and receptions.  The reason for the laughter is because I swore to myself long ago that I would never have my own wedding reception at the JSMB -- and now I'm working there, mostly serving at wedding receptions and banquets.  Ha!  And, what's even better - the room that I really don't like - the Empire room - is the first room that I served in.  Now, for those of you reading this who had your reception at the JSMB, please don't be offended by this post.  The JSMB is stunning, but for some strange reason, I still have issues.  Go figure.  It's kind of like my prejudice towards Texans, which I maintained fiercely up until the time when I opened my mission call and read that I'd been called to serve in the Texas San Antonio Mission.  That was a true kodak moment if ever one existed.  But, surprisingly enough, just like how I immediately fell in love with all things Texas after opening my call, tonight I came to realize that receptions at the JSMB aren't all that bad.  The room was gorgeous at the beginning of the banquet, and even though I was pretty tired by the end of the evening (I have a much greater appreciation for all the time and effort that goes into the receptions from start to finish), it was amazing to look outside the window as I was working to see a stunning view of the Salt Lake temple at night.  So, after one night of working at the JSMB, years of prejudices are beginning to break down.  I survived the Empire room tonight.  Will I have my own reception there?  Probably not (baby steps people, baby steps!!!). We'll see how it goes tomorrow in the Palmyra room for a wedding luncheon.  I'm sure there will be many funny stories to come if I drop a tray of dishes or trip through the door, etc.  Hopefully that won't happen, but you just never know....so stay tuned!