two years.

Two years ago today, after a long day of finals and a big, beautiful snow, David asked me to marry him. He'd picked up the ring just that afternoon and just couldn't wait another day to propose. I'm glad he didn't.

I feel so fortunate to have found my best friend so early in life. He is nothing but good, to me and to all those around him. And with him I gained a wonderful, beautiful, loving and supporting second family. It seems so fitting that today, on the anniversary of our engagement, we are lovingly thinking of our dear sister Katie Rowe who is at this moment entering the MTC to begin her mission.

I'm sorry to romanticize Christmas again, but there's something magical about this holiday. I'm so anxious for this semester to end just so that I can appreciate the love of Christmas more.

And don't worry, I promise to write more concrete posts with real information about our lives as soon as all of my papers are in.

Provo Christmas Market, December 2014

that time of year.

On one of the last warm Saturdays of the year, we took our friends, Christy and Daxson, to one of our favorite places down by the lake for a picnic. The weather was perfect and the colors and textures of the lake in fall were stunning. I've always loved the vibrancy of colors in the fall. It seems strange that a season marked by the death of vegetation in many ways appears most full of life.

 

 

Of course, now winter has fully set in (which I really can't complain about, considering how long it took for temperatures to drop below freezing this year...) and with it, the typical drudgery of darkened afternoons and midterm taking/grading. And then of course, we got hit with $2600 of car repairs, which was extra fun. 

I can't say I'm the most positive person, and I don't deal well with spontaneous changes or interruptions to plans. I've started to feel more overwhelmed with school and preparing for life after school. And because of this, I've become incredibly grateful for this time of year. I am so grateful to take a few days next week and not worry about deadlines, but to worry instead about baking treats and spending time with my family. I am so grateful for the mandatory pause from all of the rush and worry to stop and be thankful for the opportunity I have to gain additional education in such a positive environment, with people who understand my hectic schedule and obligations, to be in school with my husband, to have a car to drive, to be close to my family to help with and enjoy the birth of four new babies.

I won't argue with people who don't like Christmas music before Thanksgiving. But I do. I do, because to me, Christmas music isn't about a specific holiday - it's about a feeling. And the feelings I associate with Christmas, are the same feelings I associate with Thanksgiving - warmth, and love, and gratitude. And I only survive this time of year because I anticipate those feelings. Christmas music - this time of year - soothes my soul and reminds me that despite cold weather and its doldrums, my life is really quite wonderful. I have it so good.

 

And I'm grateful for that.

fall musings.

This semester has surprised me by being far less stressful than all of last year. Perhaps it's simply the significant decrease in number of classes I'm required to take, but I prefer to chalk it up to experience. In other news, I turned in the first draft of my thesis, and it was returned with praise and minimal editing required. You could say that I'm in good spirits.

David and I took some time recently to enjoy the fall weather and mountainous scenery with friends and family. I rediscovered my love for taking pictures. It's this time of year that I start to wonder if I might find I miss Utah if I ever move away.

This little girl has a really big crush on Uncle David and it warms my heart. Here she is flying like an airplane on his shoulders on a hike through the fall trees. For a guy who wasn't used to little kids, he stepped into 20 nieces and nephews like a champ. They all adore him. I must have married a real gem.

summer.

I realize I've been tuned out for the last four months. To be honest, I've attempted to catch up on posts multiple times, but for one reason or another, never succeeded. And now the sad fact is that the time it would take to upload catch up photos now would not longer make it worth it to catch up.

So here's a very lame post with mostly text to recap the summer and kick off a year of better blog devotion.

This summer was busy for both of us. David went to school during the spring while I TAed. Then he went to work full time while I taught my first class (all by myself) at BYU while simultaneously working part time conserving Egyptian textiles at the Museum of Peoples and Cultures. Somewhere in all the chaos we had time for two trips to California, fireworks, parades, family reunions, mission calls, mission returns, and celebrating our first anniversary. I'm sort of laughing as I type this out because I feel like half of the reason the summer felt so busy was actually because we were doing so many fun things - and in the moment I thought we were having the most boring summer a young married couple could have.

I do want to elaborate on my teaching experience a bit - mostly because it left a much greater impression on me than I thought it would. It was hard in ways I never anticipated, and much easier in ways I didn't think it would be. I had a great group of students, mostly eager to learn and great at participating. They laughed at my dumb jokes and told me they liked my passion for art (and that I needed to be more organized... so there's that.) And at the end of the semester when they handed me their finals, I got a little bit teary-eyed, realizing that my first batch of students had graduated beyond what I had to offer. (And then some of them showed up in the classes I TA for this semester. Can't get rid of me that easily!) Long story short, it was a really great experience, and I'm looking forward to teaching again in the winter.

So for now we're just getting settled in to a new semester. David is jumping into his advertising classes and loving it - he's so excited about what he's studying, which of course makes school and homework more bearable for both of us. I'm feeling much less pressure and anxiety at the start of this year - maybe because I'm a veteran now, or maybe because I've got a great start on my actual thesis. First draft is due at the end of this month. Defense deadline is in February. Totally doable, right?

We're happy. I guess that's my main message with this post... I can't detail all the fun things we've done or all the craziness and hair-pulling we've endured. But I can say that at this precise moment in my life, I feel a very deep sense of happiness and contentment, that I really haven't felt in a while. So that's us. And me. I didn't write on the blog this summer because I was busy building a foundation for happiness for the coming year. And happiness isn't perfection. But I'm hoping that happiness wins out in the end.

David will kill me for posting this one, but I decided it's my favorite picture of us from this summer - we finally made it to the beach, and it was one of the best afternoons. And this picture makes me happy. And it's the best summer tribute I could come up with.

arizona and then some.

Would you believe I managed to survive another semester of grad school?

Me neither.

But in grad school, you don't really get a summer break. I will continue working as a TA over Spring term, and then in Summer I get to teach my own class. TA DA!

See my name there? My very own class. It's terrifying.

Besides TAing and teaching and working whatever other job I can find to support my small family, I will also be writing my thesis. Joys. First draft due the first day of class. ALSO I will be assisting with the planning and installation of the MOA's very first textile exhibition: Cut! Costumes and the Cinema. Don't get too excited, it's a pre-packaged deal. But I will get to work with the couriers on installation. I hope.

So! Now that you're filled in on where life is heading, I'll back up a little and cover where it's been. In March I had the amazing opportunity to return to my beloved Phoenix Art Museum to help with the installation of Hollywood Costume, a fantastic exhibition on loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In my two weeks at the museum I rubbed shoulders with textile conservators from the V&A and Phoenix as well as costume designer and curator Deborah Nadoolman Landis. I also directly handled red carpet gowns worn by actresses like Amy Adams and Glenn Close, and indirectly handled movie costumes worn by actors and actresses like Audrey Hepburn and Leonardo di Caprio. It was thrilling. Seriously. Pictures were forbidden, so you'll have to trust I was there, and if you travel anywhere near Phoenix before July, you MUST see this amazing exhibition.

My jaunt to Phoenix did mean time away from dear David, but he was able to fly out and spend a day with me in my home away from homes before we drove home. This was fortunate, because what he doesn't realize is I'm serious when I say we're going to live there some day and every minute I had him in AZ was part of a planned conversion to the place. Because I love it there so much.

Thanks to my pals at the museum, I was given a fancy pass that provided us both free admission to a variety of institutions across the valley for our day of adventure. We started the morning at the zoo, stopped for some AMAZING tacos at a hole-in-the wall downtown, got a sneak preview of the Hollywood Costume exhibition, purchased some sugary treats at Rainbow Doughnuts, and ended our beautiful evening with a walk through the Chihuly exhibition at the Desert Botanical Gardens as the sun set over the cacti. It was lovely.

David imitating the longhorns as I imitate the flamingos.

Ever seen a giraffe run? It's majestic.

 

 

Chihuly and cacti. 'Nuff said.

 

 

Our drive home was only mildly eventful (no pictures), but I arrived home to a SPOTLESS house, complete with the following details:

Hotel folded towels. Complete with the little toiletries we took from our hotel in Chicago. He folded the toilet paper too.

 

I think he missed me. :)

museum of natural curiosity.

In case you haven't heard, Thanksgiving Point is opening a brand new children's museum this spring called the Museum of Natural Curiosity. Through some high-profile connections (thanks Dad!) the Erdmann clan was able to get a private sneak peek/tour of the museum at the beginning of March. Folks, this is no simple children's museum. This is an all-hands-on interactive family playground museum. It was a BLAST. And not just for the littles. David and I were laughing and running and exploring just as much as the rest of them. We were so busy having fun, I took hardly any pictures, but here are a few:

David squeezed himself into the cockpit of this little airplane perched high in the trees of the jungle-themed room. The room included several treetop rope bridges, lots of climbing structures, and slides.

Sandbox? Topographical map? Or both? Don't worry. The topography changes as you move the sand around. As if that's not cool enough, you can make it rain and see where the water falls.

One of our favorite areas in Kidopolis: the automatic orchestra. Just tap the screen when you want an instrument to play and conduct an orchestra, right in front of you.

Waterworks is a room focused on weather and water. Major splash zone. But our favorite was this wind tunnel that imitates wind forces up to 95 mph. Because you've always wondered what that felt like.

The museum is very kid friendly, right down to the doors on your way it. It's adorable.

While we didn't take a lot of pictures, we took plenty of videos. If you're not convinced of the joy of this place yet, let that fact be evidence. I've narrowed it down to two for sharing. The first (sorry it's sideways) is David goofing off on the rope bridges. The second is possibly my favorite activity in the building. It's fine.

 

 

So... there it is. You should go.

chicago.

Every year the art history department sponsors a trip to the College Art Association's big conference in February. Every year I have wanted to go and haven't been able to for one reason or another. This year's conference was in Chicago and I was determined I would attend. When we found we found really great airfare, we determined David ought to come along too. And so our adventure began.

We found a great deal on a lovely hotel. River view. 38th floor. We spent our first evening in Chicago standing at the window watching this:

And also this:

 

Yup. Every day we watched the ice move up and down that river. Chicago was freezing cold. The worst part was that all the locals told us how lucky we were we came during a warmer week. But we did our best to not let the cold prevent us from seeing the best of the city. Dave and I were pretty gung-ho until he came down with a really bad cold at the end of our first day and spent the next day and a half in bed. Which meant that I spent my time going back and forth between the conference center for sessions and the hotel to bring him food and medicine.

AND YET, despite the plot twists our adventure developed, we still managed to have a pretty good time:

Deep dish pizza at Giordano's. Our reactions are mirrored here in the faces of Christy and Daxson. SO MUCH CHEESE.

Chicago dogs and custard with the gang.

Millennium Park and the Cloud Gate at sunset. There was an outdoor skating rink on the other side that we had great ambitions to visit, but it just sounded so cold...

Selfies. Couples problems.

Tried to be romantic.

Please note again, the ice. This was on the way home from our Valentine's dinner at The Grand Luxe.

Toured the Chicago Art Institute - definitely a highlight.

Ate really expensive dessert at the top of the Hancock Tower.

Visited the Frank Lloyd Wright Studio. Loved it. Again. So did Dave.

The only non-selfie we have.

So, I'm actually a little more impressed with what we did after writing this post... Though I do realized most of these pictures are scenic. But let's be honest. We spent most of our time doing this:

Admiring.

birthday boy.

Recently got to celebrate this handsome guy's birthday.

We celebrated with a day full of yummy food and goofiness. Because that's who we are. And presents. Lots of presents.

I made a beautiful cake in his honor. He LOVES coconut.

Happy 23rd Birthday David Rowe! I am so grateful to have finally spent the first of MANY birthdays with you.

zion's.

David and I were itching to get out of P-Town for a bit, so we took advantage of a three day weekend and drove down to Cedar City to visit my favorite cousin, Alesha, and her husband Daniel. Friday night included a trip to the Pastry Pub for chocolate cake, a rousing game of Canasta, and LOTS of talking (mostly Alesha and me - the boys fell asleep before we decided we should probably call it a night!)

Alesha and Daniel taught us how to play Canasta. It was surprisingly competitive and so much fun!

Saturday Alesha and Daniel took us down to Zion's to go hiking. The weather was BEAUTIFUL - sixty degrees and sunny. Even though the trees were still bare, the red rock was stunning. It was just the breath of fresh air we needed before we dove head first into the new semester. Brace yourself for a million pics...

No green, but so beautiful.

 

 

 

We had way too much fun climbing on anything and everything we saw.

These two were way too much fun - Alesha and I laughed about how lucky we married guys who got along so well!

David's favorite trick on all the crazy slanted rock formations. Don't mind Daniel's legs in the corner.

Favorite cousins! We realized we hadn't spent a weekend together since we were ten - it was about time!

Normal.

We like each other. A bit.

Like I said - we had to climb on everything. This was one of the more terrifying things we climbed on...

Such a great view.

The shadow of the car on the sunset illuminated red rock on the way home. Too great not to document.

Saturday night Alesha and Daniel introduced us to their favorite pizza place - delicious wood fired pizza makes a fine meal after a day of hiking! We topped it all off with nutella stuffed pizza for dessert. It was divine.

Sunday we went to Sacrament Meeting with Alesha and Daniel before packing up to head home - we had to be back in time for dinner with David's parents! A quickie of a vacation to be sure, but incredibly therapeutic and loads of fun. Thanks for taking such good care of us Alesha and Daniel! We hope to visit you again soon!!!