Spring Fever!!!

Yesterday was a great day, well at least it was after I was finisheed being pummeled by my pathology test that I had to take in the morning. SLU was putting on a "Spring Fever" concert and festival, with performances by Tyler Hilton, Chingy (my new favorite artist), The Starting Line (do they realize that it is possible to play music and not blow out the audiences eardrums at the same time?..), Jo Dee Messina (girl power) and Augustana (motto: "our songs are awesome, but we don't know how to set up our equipment or remember our lyrics").

Some Billikens that we found around campus

I had a grand plan of introducing Linzi to Pappy's, a BBQ place by the arena, but didn't realize that they close at 4 o'clock on Saturday afternoons. We tried to go to another restaurant, but they had a 2 hour wait, so we ended up splurging and eating the yummy concession hot dogs and chicken strips at the recently completed Chaifetz Arena (home of the Billikens). We felt like we were really treating ourselves.

The performers were really fun (the theme was "Rock, Rap and Rawhide", hence the diverse group of artists). We thought Chingy was entertaining...he'll probably be our first and last rap concert. He kept pulling his cousins and sisters and nieces (with names like Ziggy, MC, and Snow) onstage and having them rap for a bit, then he just kept dancing around, throwing water on the audience and rapping about the Holiday Inn (we were sad to discover that he was not actually inviting us to an after-party, rather just introducing a song about the Holiday Inn). As I sat there watching him, I realized that I have made a mistake in my career choice...I can do what he does (just ask Linzi)...it should have been me up there on stage with him and his posse...maybe next time they come to town.

Chingy...........................................The Next Chingy

Surprise

Since we were going to Utah I decided that we would surprise my family and not tell them that we were coming. Kylee's 16th birthday was on Saturday (also Car-Bomb's birthday..happy happy birthday to you both!). We went and walked into my mom's work...she just looked up at us and smiled and was a tiny surprised, she must have had a mothers intuition or something. We told her not to tell the rest of our family and went to my parents house and my dad came home and we were just sitting in the kitchen. It was really fun to see his face. It was so good to see our families, it still felt so normal to go home and the best part was that it is getting easier to leave. (basically I made it without crying!!)

Grandma Larson

Last week Chris' grandma Ann had a stroke and passed away a few days later. We were able to fly home so we could be a part of the funeral. I didn't know grandma Ann for very long, but she was such a sweet, strong woman and a great example of a mother. She would always tell me that while Chris was getting his MD, I was getting my PHD (putting him through degree).

Chris remembers......I have a lot a great memories about my grandma. My brothers and I used to go out and work in her yard (although never for too long...she didn't want us to get tired!), afterwhich she would always feed us a delicious meal. I always loved birthdays because she would send (to 100+ of her posterity!!!) a personalized card with a long handwritten note expressing interest in our lives, love, and encouragement in whatever was going on at the time. I also remember how fun it was to write her while I was on my mission, to get to know her spititual side a bit better and hear her own mission stories from years ago. She has set a wonderful example and legacy for our family, and I hope that I can live up to the standard that she has set.

Good Bye Tercie, Hello Corolla

Well, it has been a really busy few weeks. On my way home from school 2 weeks ago my car decided that it was time to quit. (and don't worry, it was 1:oo so it was super hot, lunch time, and I really had to go to the bathroom!) It had been making really weird noises for a little bit so I wasn't that surprised. I was on the 44, which is a freeway that they expanded this year so it does not have a shoulder. I luckily made it off onto the itty bitty emergency lane. I swear I was almost smashed multiple times by big trucks. I had no idea what to do, should I call a tow truck? Should I leave my car and walk home? (I was only about 1/2 mile from our exit). I couldn't get a hold of Chris, so what do I do, I call my dad. Yes, even though he is thousands of miles away, I somehow think he can help me!
I decided to call a tow truck and called my neighbor for the number. I soon found that there was only one certain company that would tow on that road due to the no shoulder thing. I finally found the emergency highway phone number to call and got a tow truck coming. I must mention that even police cars drove by without stopping to help me, they apparently have more important matters like drug busts and shootings.
About an hour after I had broken down, I decided to try to start the car one more time, and it started. What a blessing! I mean, it was topping out at 30mph, but I made it to the service station in our neighborhood. The diagnosis was not good, the head gasket was blown, fluids were leaking into the emissions, the water pump had fallen off, the belt was slipping, and it won't even start. It was going to cost at least 3x what's it worth so we decided it was time to invest in a new car.
After much stalking of Auto Trader, we found this '05 Toyota Corolla. Thanks to Judd and Dave for carpooling my husband around so I could use his car for the week!