Family in Phoenix

Here is a great family pic from our Christmas break stay in Phoenix :)

Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one

Okay, so I guess today was more average than fun, but it was still good, and tomorrow is still another one. It has now been exactly three months since my last post {fail}. How does time escape so quickly? Another thing - Matt and I have been married for 7.5 months. Yikes! Before we know it we are going to be 68 with grandchildren. It's coming faster than I'm ready for. Sort of. I'm ready for somethings, just not being 68.

I applied for graduate school! That's the exciting bit of news in Andrea's life. I applied to study Exercise Science with an emphasis in Health Promotion at BYU. I'm QUITE excited for it. For now I'm just hoping and praying and wishing on every star that I will get in...hopefully that works for me.

I went through this period of time where I felt like my only hobbies were studying, sleeping, working, and being married to my wonderful husband. While all of those hobbies still predominate in my life, I'm finally finding some new ones that I'm pretty excited about! I'm taking two exercise classes this semester: zumba and spin. Both are awesome! I was kind of nervous about zumba because I'm no dancer. Fortunately, neither is 3/4 of the rest of the class. In fact, I'd dare say that I'm in some upper percentile, but maybe that's pushing it. I'm actually really enjoying it! Everyone should try it. I'm thinking about getting more involved in zumba after this semester...instructor? Maybe. We'll see. Spin class is also great! BYU recently put in a new spin room that has an HD projector that fills a whole wall. Just last week we rode through mountain trails, on the Hollywood trails, and through canyons, among other things. It feels like such a good workout every time. Also, a friend named Emily from my ward has recently started an exercise group that meets on Saturday mornings. She will leading us through some turbo kick routines. Sweet!

Besides fitness hobbies, I'm starting a quilting class with my mother-in-law Stephanie this weekend, which I think is going to be awesome! We are going to make one block of a quilt each class time and by the end we will have enough blocks to make a whole quilt! I think that quilts are beautiful and I would love to know how to make them. And couponing! My sister-in-law Nicki is showing me the ropes on couponing. It is actually quite a bit of work and upkeep, but I'm looking forward to saving buko bucks!

Matt is just as wonderful as ever. He has a heavy load of classes this semester that are keeping him quite busy. Next week is travelling down to Las Vegas for a construction management competition on risk. I'm going to miss him, but I'm glad that he can have this opportunity.

Hopefully it will be less than three months before my next post. That would be nice.

Most played song on my ipod lately: Two Door Cinema Club - What You Know. I got it from spin class! It's great!

What's Cookin'

I started posting some recipes in my "What's Cookin'" section. Ash and Kenz, this is for you, but really these are things that I would make on any given day, that are simple and quick. Enjoy!

Beauty Redefined

This is really cool. Check this out: http://www.beautyredefined.net/

Relief Society Broadcast

The General Relief Society Broadcast was amazing! Sister Beck, Sister Allred, Sister Thompson, and President Uchtdorf all spoke. The spirit was so strong, especially as they each talked about how we are each daughters of God and that He loves us. The Church just released a few weeks ago a new manual called “Daughters In My Kingdom” that is a compilation of stories about the first women in the Relief Society. The Presidency put this together so that we could learn of our Relief Society heritage and be strengthened by the examples of early, faithful women in the Church. I remember last year when Sister Beck announced that they would be doing this, and how much enthusiasm she had for it. I haven’t had much of a chance to look at it yet, but it looks like an amazing book. I am excited for the opportunity to read of my Relief Society precedents and learn from their valiance. Matt did back-up interpreting for Hungarian at the Conference Center tonight. They do this just in case the system stops working in Hungary, and they actually do it for all of the languages. I went with Stephanie (Matt’s mom) and then the three of us went out to dinner at Z Tejas afterward. President Uchtdorf’s talk was incredible. He uses the best imagery and he is a wonderful storyteller. There was one point where he started to get really emotional as he told each one of us as an apostle of the Lord that God has not forgotten us and He loves us. The entire Conference Center was dead silent as he spoke these words of comfort and love to us. I think that every woman there felt like he was talking specifically to her – I know I did. It was a great broadcast. I am looking forward to General Conference next weekend!

I would strongly encourage everyone to watch the Relief Society Broadcast, especially sisters. I came away feeling strengthened and edified.

Today's song/video in the Erickson home: Reflections of Christ

Some catching up

September 18, 2011

Yesterday was Matt and my’s 3-monthiversary! This has been such an amazing three months. I’m not sure that life could get any better. Sometimes I get nervous that this is simply a dream that is too good to be true, but then I see Matt and he holds me close and I am reminded that he is really in my life. He is my best friend and my companion. I am so grateful that I have him to go through life with. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It seems like school is already starting to run away from me, no matter how hard I try to keep up. One thing that keeps me going, however, is how much I love my classes! They truly fascinate me. I am taking exercise physiology, chronic disease prevention, obesity and weight management, technical communication, and biomechanics. I feel like I am finally taking all of the classes that I wanted to take from the very beginning; I just had several pre-reqs in my way before. I love learning about how the human body works and I am especially enjoying the studying I am able to do about lifestyle management. I am realizing more than ever that it takes a tremendous amount of effort to maintain a healthy lifestyle and prevent diseases, more than most people are willing to give. Too many people have convinced themselves that good health is their personal right, and that someone else should fix it for them. When in reality it is each individual’s responsibility to take care of themselves and to accept the consequences of poor lifestyle choices. I am finding that the only way that I can even begin the process of maintaining good health is by reading and learning and pondering on it every single day. This way I can be reminded of the choices I need to make on a daily basis. This kind of thing is not something that is learned all in one sitting and is then carried through for the rest of your life. It takes daily effort. An analogy that one professor shared was that if you were to ask a successful business man if all of the money he had earned and the success he had acquired was his right, he would say that it absolutely was not his right. Rather, that he had worked hard day in and day out to get where he was. Sadly, too many people are not willing to put in the same kind of effort when it comes to their physical health. That is one of the main points that I have learned thus far. I am liking this field of lifestyle management more and more as I study it. I had always planned on helping people in the medical field, but this method of disease prevention does not involve medicine or surgeries. It is simply helping people realize the importance of eating right and exercising. I think this is a fantastic approach to the increasingly heavy problem that is American obesity.

Matt and I are beginning a Flexitarian diet. I would recommend it to anyone. It is not vegetarian, but rather focusing your meals on whole fruits and vegetables, and eating meat sparingly. We have already started and it really is amazing to see the effects that it can have on your mind and your well-being. I’ll continue to give up-dates on it.

We are starting to make some more married friends. School is going well. Work is going well. BYU football is not going so well (BYU 10 – Utah 54, boo). Life is great. We finally got out all of our thank you cards the day before our 3-monthiversary! That was a great feeling. I reach out to everyone who is going through that process…it’s lengthy. We were happy that we got to go to the Roderick-Egan wedding on Friday night! They were an absolutely stunning couple and the dinner/reception hall was incredible. We are very happy for them.

Matt continues to be a stalwart example to me of dedication and personal righteousness. He makes me want to be better, and following his example has helped me to be so in little ways. Going to the temple with him is the most amazing experience. I love being able to talk with him about all that we see and hear. Listening to his spiritual insights has led me to higher ground. I love him dearly! I also love Sundays because they give me the opportunity to reflect on my relationship with my Father in Heaven. I know that He loves me and that He is helping us along the way in our marriage, and I am so grateful for that.

Here is today’s song in the Erickson home: We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet

Everyone should visit Wisconsin at some point.

Everyone should visit Wisconsin at some point! It is such a great place. I am really glad that I can say that I am from there. It is so fun to go back every once in a while and visit my family and old friends. On August 5, Matt, Paul, Stephanie, Tiffany, and I went to Wisconsin for our second wedding reception and to visit my family. We had a great time! We came in two hours late Wednesday night, but we were afforded the luxury of staying in Rachel’s bedroom, queen bed and all. A few months ago Rachel took it upon herself to make her room awesome, and she did just that. Each wall is a different color: purple, hot pink, blue, black, and green. All of the colors are coordinated with the bedding and the curtains and she has done a great job decorating. We were very pleased that we were the lucky ones who got to stay there, even if it meant Rachel had to sleep on Sophie’s bed for a few nights. I was so glad for the time that we were able to spend just hanging out with my siblings. One of the hardest things for me moving away to college three years ago was the fact that I wouldn’t get to see them grow up and I was afraid that they would forget who I was. They haven’t, fortunately. This makes me especially grateful for the time that I do get to spend with them and for the experiences that I get to have with them, and it is even better now that I have Matt to share them with me. I was amazed by how much each one of them has grown! Whitney is getting ready for her second year of college (weird) at BYUI and is busy with concerts, friends, boys, work, and who knows everything else. I think she is very excited to be back at school. Rachel is a cruising 16 year old who is wound up in boys, high school, and work. I should emphasize that she is considerably more wound up in school and work than boys. I think she would appreciate that. Sabrina is 100% pure stud who seems to get prettier every day (even with the braces). Soccer and now tennis occupy most of her time, but she is still turning into a composed and beautiful woman. Banks is growing up! He’s passed Sabrina in height (which Sabrina has convinced herself doesn’t matter), he has whole conversations when he talks to people, he’s very smart and witty, and he’s a mean rock n’ roll machine on his guitar. Kallan is just as loveable as ever and she loves being where other people are and doing what they are doing. She’s always there for a hug! Chase is one cool kid. I think that Matt has felt the most welcomed by him than by any one else. He’s feisty, confident, and fun-loving. He’s always there to play a game with someone, show a magic trick, or help with anything. He really is growing up! Sophie is a little princess. Sometimes I’m convinced that she runs the house, and that’s how she likes it. She is fun and cute and ambitious. She finally started warming up to Matt, now she just needs people to stop asking her if she likes him, because she always says no! Well my siblings aren’t the only ones who have changed. Parents get older too! Not to say that they are old, because they’re not. I can just see changes in them as time goes by as well. My parents have handled this whole “first daughter getting married” thing wonderfully. I didn’t expect it to be terribly difficult, but they have made it smooth beyond belief. Honestly, I’ve been very proud of the way that they accepted the transition and have welcomed Matt and the Erickson’s. I have wonderful parents!

So now on to the activities that have happened. On August 4th the Ericksons, Matt, and I went with my family and my grandparents to the Wisconsin State Fair. I think that Paul was blown away by the display of Wisconsin culture, as were we all. You can get just about any food fried and put on a stick at the different vendors there. Matt and I actually bought a fried Snickers on a stick for a whopping $4. It was good, but I think we both agreed that a 50 cent Snickers bar would have been better. We all went down the burlap sack slide (watching Tiffany go down with Sophie was precious!). Of course we all ate an original Wisconsin State Fair cream puff! Banks’s ended up all over his face somehow and I’m pretty sure he smashed one in Sabrina’s face as well…crazy kids! On August 5th my parents arranged for us to have our second wedding reception at the Country Springs hotel in Pewaukee, WI. It was very nice. My mom did an amazing job planning the whole thing.







The hotel catered it for us with bruschetta, mini quiche, mini chicken cordon bleu, salmon on bread, fruit, and lemonade. My mom had beautiful flowers and an amazing cake. She really went all out and it was wonderful. We had a line consisting of my parents, Matt and I, and Matt’s parents, with my grandparents greeting people at the door. After everyone had made it through we cut the cake and I threw my toss bouquet (which Whitney caught). I was so happy with how many people came to see us. I think that my parents were very pleased that they had so many friends come as well. The room was a pretty good size and it was full almost the whole time. It was great! Everyone had cake and kept mingling, and Matt and I finally got to eat. We think that there were four or five other wedding receptions happening that same night in the hotel ballrooms, and the other ones were much louder than ours! They all had dance music going and flashing lights and lots of alcohol going. My siblings enjoyed dancing through the windows of the other receptions; periodically someone inside would see them and start dancing back at them. We went back home and Matt and I opened all of our gifts and cards. It is amazing how generous people are! We felt very loved and supported. Every time we would get a check Kallan would yell “How much did they give you?!” It was very fun to open presents with them.

On Sunday Matt and his family came to church with us. I finally got to show him off to my home ward! I love going to church with him. My dad shared a touching testimony during sacrament meeting where he testified that Matt and I had done the right things and that we had pleased God. He said that we had each lived out lives well enough and righteous enough to marry in the temple. He said that he thought we had found each other as a reward for one another as a blessing for th way that we had lived our lives. He also spoke of complete joy, and he told the story of when he watched Matt help me through the veil when I went through the temple for the first time. He said that his joy was full. I was incredibly grateful for his testimony and for his love. He has been an amazing father through all of this. The Erickson’s also got to experience a crazy DuPaix family home evening. I think that they really enjoyed it. The kids were running around and sitting on their laps. We drew pictures as part of the game and everyone was laughing and joking and having a great time. Then on Monday, Matt and I took Sabrina and Banks to Six Flags Great America! We didn’t get there until around 1pm and then it started raining and a lot of the rides were getting shut down, which was a bummer. We waited it out and ran through the rain to the different big rides until we were able to make it on all of them. I think that we rode each big ride once. We were able to get Banks on every ride except one…Vertical Velocity. He was absolutely terrified to go on it. He waited in line with us and then walked through and waited. I’m sure that he will conquer V2 someday soon. Matt and I had a great time with them.

We had a wonderful time hanging out with the family, playing games, laughing, wrestling, and eating smores around the campfire in the backyard. It was a great way to have our final official celebration of our wedding. We have been pretty excited to get back into the swing of school, especially being married. Hopefully it will be a great semester! If nothing else this summer has been a time of absolute spiritual heights. My life has changed forever, and I really think this is the happiest time of my life. I am so grateful to the Lord for helping me find Matt.