Spring Update / Happy Memorial Day!

Matt keeps reminding me to update the blog...and I keep forgetting. Oh well, I do what I can, right?
Anyway, here are the updates:

*We finished our first year of school as a married couple, and we both survived. I graduated on April 25th. My mom, Leon, dad, and Loralyn came out to see me graduate. We had a really great time with them out here.

Sorry, that's kind of a bad picture. It was dark. But there I am! Cap and gown and all!

*Emma got her mission call to the Peru Lima Central mission! She's leaving in July, if all of her visa stuff goes through. We hope it will. I miss her a lot, because she's home for the summer and to prepare for her mission. I miss our Friday lunch dates and having her come over on Sundays.

*I started working at an international school in Provo as an English teacher. I teach two different classes and I really enjoy my work and my students. Plus, it's nice to bring home a steady paycheck :)

*Matt and I were called as Family History Consultants during the school year, so we've been really into family history. I've been finding out a lot about my own ancestors, especially on my mom's dad's side, which we really know nothing about. I've gone back five or six generations on most of my lines, except for one or two that are giving me trouble. Matt's been a huge help to me in finding my ancestors, and it's been something that's brought us closer together.

*We were just recently released from that calling and called as Sunday School teachers. Starting in June we'll be teaching the Marriage and Family class. Still not sure how that's going to turn out, but we're excited for the challenge.

*Matt's sister Bethany moved out here. It's been fun having her relatively close by so we can have her over for games and stuff.

Okay, I think that's all that going on in the big picture. Now for the small stuff.

First of all, last weekend I went with Abby and Amy to see Gail Carson Levine, the author of Ella Enchanted, speak at the Provo Library. She signed my book! It was really fun.

 Uh...this is Amy and me pretending to read. It's kind of corny, but the arch was cool, and we had to do something!

So glad I could share a cool experience with dear friends.

On Saturday, Matt and I had quite a day. First of all, we went to the temple and had a really nice morning there. Then, as we were coming out of the temple, we were approached by a random elderly woman who asked in broken English if she could have a ride home. She had taken the bus to the temple and now it wasn't coming again for a few hours. She was from Peru, so Matt and I chatted with her in Spanish as we drove her to her home in Orem. She was a really sweet lady, so it was nice to be able to serve her.

Then we went to the Old Towne Grille on Center Street. So. Good. Seriously, next time you're in Provo you should go.

Then we went to feed the ducks! If you didn't know, feeding the ducks is like one of my very favorite things to do in the whole world. I love it. So it's a treat when Matt and I take a walk down to the pond to feed them. And there were ducklings!!!!

 Pretty much the best day ever. 

Then yesterday after church I was able to get together with some of the sisters who served in Norway. We made kjøttkaker and boiled potatoes and even got to have fruit with vaniljesaus for dessert! It was delicious.

Then we sat around a campfire, roasted marshmallows, and sang hymns in Norwegian while Traci accompanied us on the ukelele. It was a great time.

Today is Memorial Day. Matt and I were going to have a picnic in the canyon, but while we were heading up there there was an accident or something, because we saw six or seven emergency vehicles going up with their sirens on, and traffic was backed up. So we turned around and decided to eat at the park near our apartment. It was such a cute little picnic!

What a handsome husband I have :)

 My first go at pasta salad. Okay...so it mostly came from a box. but I think I can figure it out in the future. 

I think in this picture he's contemplating the different colors of the grass...or something.

It was a beautiful, sunny day and we had a really fun time sitting in the sunshine eating our picnic food :)

Alright, you're all caught up! 

Fall Update

Yeah, I warned you that I probably wouldn't write very consistently. I consider it every once in a while but then I think "Eh...what is there really to say?"

But, at Matt's request, I'm going to do my best to put something meaningful down.
Things have been going well. We're really enjoying our ward. Matthew attended an Elders Quorum activity on Saturday and had a wonderful time. And the sisters in the Relief Society as super nice. In October they hosted a Pinterest party, which I was totally into. So yes, the ward is very nice.

Matt and I have been able to attend the temple a few times in the last few months. We were able to do sealings a few weeks ago and that was a really special experience. I love helping with sealings because we're so happy and I like knowing that I'm helping other people receive the blessing of an eternal spouse.

Uhh...what else? We've put up a few of the decorations in our apartment so it's looking a little more homey, which is nice.

We've been able to have my sister Emma over a few times for dinner. That's always fun :) And on Fridays she's usually kind enough to take one or both of us out for lunch (since she's a rich freshman with all of those lovely unused student account dollars that she has to use up). It's a standing appointment that we've really come to enjoy.

This Thanksgiving we'll be having dinner with my family up in Murray. Then for Christmas we'll be hitting my family first before heading over to Michigan for Christmas with Matt's family. It's really a blessing that our families live relatively close to one another and we're able to see both families this Christmas.

Yeah, I guess that's it for now. Nothing mind blowing or really interesting has happened. We're just enjoying our time together and trying to get through the semester.

FHE

How does one go about having FHE when there are only two people? How do we make it different from any other night of the week, when we also hang out together?
Well, here's what we decided on this week.

It's PAINTING TIME!!!
Matt had some of those craft kits (with paintable banks!) so that was FHE for us.

Here's Matthew, painting his train. He's been very meticulous with this. As for me, you can see the outcome of my efforts over to the left. That weird pink and blue shape? That's a spotted cat. I tried to get a better picture but it really didn't turn out. But I don't think you need a close up to tell that I should definitely not pursue a career in art....ever.

We had a fun time :) Life is good here in the Dunford home. 

After the Wedding

Hello all!
Okay, it has been a complete whirlwind.
Matthew and I were married on August 17th in the Chicago Temple, where we were sealed for time and all eternity. It was everything we could've hoped for and more.

We were greeted outside by friends and family and the whole thing was just amazing.

Then the BEST reception EVER! Seriously, the women in my home ward really came together to make the cultural hall in the church look absolutely beautiful, and I was just blown away. There were so many cute little touches that made it wonderful, from the Norwegian and Argentine flags that were hanging for our missions and the Wisconsin and Michigan state flags hanging for our homes to the beautiful lace covered mason jars that served as our center pieces. And look at this cake! My Aunt Kathy made this cake! (It was funfetti, my favorite :).

And Sister Nishida from the ward made our wedding favors. We found these on pintrest and I don't even know how much time she must've spent on them. But they're pretzel sticks dipped in chocolate, one is a bride and the other is a groom!

So yes. To end the incessant picture posting, I'll just say that it was beautiful and Matt and I couldn't have been happier.

Then it was off to our honeymoon in Door County. We stayed at this darling little bed and breakfast in Sturgeon Bay. The hostess was so nice and even recommended restaurants and local shops we should check out. And we had cherry juice with our breakfast, which was so good that we just had to stop at a shop on our way home to pick some up.

Then we packed up everything we had in my parents' suburban (along with all of my sister's stuff) and headed out to Utah. It was a very long drive and we were happy to finally get back to Provo.
We spent all day Thursday moving in, and we can now say that, aside from a few random things that don't quite have a place yet, we are completely moved in. At first when we moved in we didn't even have a bed, actually, and it took until this afternoon for management to get us anything more than a mattress on the floor. But we now officially have a bed. And today we were able to go get our books and run some errands. So things are finally settling down, which is a relief.

And now Matt wants to take a walk, so I'll end this. But really, let me just say that I woke up this morning and just felt so blessed for everything that's happened in my life to get me to this point. There are so many times that I can see that Heavenly Father was guiding us and arranging things so that we could meet and have the experiences and the preparation necessary for us to be together. I love the title of this blog (which I recently changed. Sorry, I just felt that this one was more appropriate.) because I really do feel that instead of giving us lemons, Life gave us lemonade. And I'm so grateful.

Here Goes Nothin'

Okay everyone, here we go. I have to admit that I'm not a good blogger. Katy keeps hers up to date and looking absolutely pristine. I confess that I only really ever blogged right before my mission and even then I was pretty inconsistent. I'll probably be inconsistent here, as well, until after the wedding. Because let's face it, how fascinating could a blog about Matthew and Kaitlin possibly be when we're in different states and never see each other? Hopefully we'll be much more interesting after the wedding.

Now, my dear friend Abby (who was also my mission companion) has often commented on the fact that I for some reason feel compelled to explain everything I ever do or think. It's true. So I will now explain to you my reasons for creating a blog (and creating it this early). I really feel like a blog will be a good way to keep friends and family in the know. Plus, they're fun to have (at least, that's what I hear). But I know for a fact that I will be really short on time after the wedding. Getting married, driving cross-country, and trying to find and move into an apartment all before school starts two weeks later will most likely prove to be quite a feat. So I doubt that I'll have tons of time to make my blog all pretty. Therefore, I decided to do all of the designing and set up now so all I'll have to do later is post every once in a while. So if it feels like this blog is a little premature...it absolutely is. But circumstances being what they are, I think it's okay.

That being said, I'm going to leave you. But not before I tell you how excited I am! Matt and I are getting married in 36 days and I couldn't be happier. He is one of the world's truly exceptional young men and I am so lucky that I get to spend eternity by his side.