My Decade

I've seen this on a couple of other blogs, and thought it was pretty fun. I will warn you, it's kinda long.

2000

Went to Snow College. I graduated in May and wasn't very sad to be leaving San Pete County. I spent the summer in New Canaan, CT, as a nanny. Turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life! I had a great time. I came home at the end of the summer and decided not to go to school that fall. One of the worst decisions of my life. I ended up the year living at home and working at K-Mart.

2001

Started at USU (go Aggies!) and then went back to CT to nanny for the same family for the summer. In September, I headed off on my mission to Auckland New Zealand. The last 3 months of the year I spent in Mt Roskill, Auckland as a missionary. Good times. Those 3 months are also when I got to know Elder Ryland...which becomes important later on.

2002

Spent this entire year in New Zealand. Met some of my favorite people in the world. Ate a lot of good food. Luckily started riding a bike so I didn't gain any more weight. Got rained on a lot. Enjoyed teaching the gospel and seeing people change their lives. Definitely a good year.

2003

Came home from my mission in April. Had a rough time adjusting back to real life, but I think I made it eventually. Lived at home and spent a lot of time with my mom, which was fantastic. Love you Mom! Broke my ribs in a 4-wheeler accident. Not so fun. In October I went back to NZ for a few weeks. My friend Laura came with me and we had a great time! And I worked...but that wasn't very exciting. Kept in touch with Elder Ryland.

2004

Went back to USU. I was finally into my program (Special Education) and loved it. I spent the summer in Tulsa, OK living with my grandparents. Random. It was great. I had a crappy job and good times. And then back to USU to finish up the year. Lived with my best friends and had a great time! Kept in touch with Elder Ryland.

2005

Sam Ryland came to visit for 3 weeks at the beginning of this year. He spent a lot of time in Logan. Then he went back to Australia. And we began our long distance relationship. I still went to USU. In May I went to Australia and met Sam's family. Spent the rest of the summer on road trips and camping with my friends. Sam started school at BYU and we finally lived in the same state. He drove to Logan a lot. We got engaged in November. I graduated in December and moved back to Springville.

2006

Started my first teaching job at Oak Canyon Jr. High as a resource teacher. Jr. High was not my favorite. In February, Sam and I got married in Logan. It was cold, but one of the best days of my life. I have the best husband! In August I started teaching at Spanish Fork Middle School. It was pretty stressful, but I did really love it. Sam and I got to go to New York, which we loved.

2007

I got pregnant. Finished out teaching the school year and then didn't go back. Jackson was born 10 Sept and was perfect. He was such a good baby (except that he didn't sleep) and I loved being home with him. Most days. On Dec 29, we left for Australia.

2008

Spent the first 3 months in Brisbane with Sam's family. We had a great time with family and hanging out in Australia. On the way home, we spent 2 1/2 weeks traveling around NZ. At times hard with a 7 month old, but definitely worth it. Back in Utah, Sam graduated from BYU and then we spent 3 weeks with my parents and brother on the road trip of a life time. We saw family in Oklahoma and Tennessee and my sister in Maryland. Along with that, we saw Philidelphia, DC, Chicago, and Nauvoo. And lots of places in between. We finally settled down in Sept. and moved to Mapleton. Good choice. Sam got a job.

2009

I got pregnant. Jackson grew up. Sam mostly enjoyed work, and then got laid off. Sam got re-hired. We spent a lot of time with my family, which we loved. On 1 September Owen joined the ranks. I eventually got used to having 2 kids. Sam got his US citizenship and I got my Australian permanent residency. And on 28 December we said goodbye and flew to Australia.

2010

Off to a good start...