This has definitely been one interesting week :)
This weekend Madeline and Hannele left for Elko, Nevada to visit family. This allowed me to stay in Provo for the weekend! It was great seeing Grandma and Grandpabill again, they always make things so much fun! I practiced some cooking skills on them while I was down there. I made pork-chops with home made breading, and cooked spiced apples. It actually turned out to be quite good! Grandpabill was disappointed; he was hoping to tease me a bit about my lacking cooking abilities. But in the end, all he could say was, "Dang it, you can cook." I took this to be a very high compliment, it pretty much made my day :)
While I was in Provo I was also able to visit with cousins and friends. I met up with Mac and Kelly for lunch on Saturday at the Creamery on 9th. I was not only excited to see them, but also to go to the Creamery; it was my favorite place to go while I was attending BYU. It was fun catching up, and chatting about life, school, and family. We agreed to meet up once a month, or as often as I could make it down to Provo.
On Sunday I went to church with Josh. His ward was just formed, so no one knew anybody else, which was nice since I didn't know anybody either. Sacrament was just amazing, the testimonies coming from these college students were so inspirational. Josh has such a fantastic ward, I wish I could go with him every week! Later that day, I met up with Hannah. It was great seeing her after so long! Even though we haven't seen each other in over 2 years, our conversation picked up as though no time had passed. I left early Monday morning; although I had an amazing weekend in Provo, it was nice to come back to Salt Lake, and get back into my routine with Madeline.
Tuesday was a very surprising day. I stopped at Whole Foods to do some grocery shopping for the family. Just as I finished parking, a man walked up to my car and knocked on my window. He said he noticed my front bumper (which was messed up from earlier this year when someone hit me in a parking lot), and he said his business was fixing bumpers, and he would be able to fix it right then and there for $220 if I wanted. I was a tad skeptical, so I said thank you but no, and turned to walk into the store. The man stopped me again and told me he had the tools in his car, and he could have the bumper fixed up so that I wouldn't have to tape within thirty minutes. I told him I wouldn't be able to pay the $220, I even pulled out the "poor college student" card. He then looked at the bumper, and said, what about $120, if you don't think it's a good job, you don't even have to pay. I took a moment to think about it at this point. I hadn't brought my car in to be fixed because I knew any dealer would want to replace my bumper rather than repair it, which would cost at least $900 for the bumper and labor. All the bumper really needed was new bolts to hold it up so the crack in the middle wouldn't get any worse. I caved, and said ok to the $120, and the man got to work right away.
In a little over 15 minutes, he came to get me so I could look at his work. I was absolutely amazed! He completely fixed both sides of the bumper, AND filled in the huge crack in the middle, AND fixed all the scratches on my doors! Still being skeptical, I messed with bumper, testing its strength and I looked under the car to make sure everything was still there. I couldn't believe it, not only had he fixed my bumper, but he took care of the crack, and all the scratches - definitely worth $120. I honestly felt bad only paying him $120, but that is really all I could afford. The man graciously took it, thanked me many times, and then went back to his truck. I feel like someone was looking out for me, because earlier that very day I was getting a little nervous that my bumper was going to fall off soon.
The rest of this week is going to be a little crazy. Madeline is turning 9 on Saturday, and is having a huge party that night. Hannele and I are working to get everything ready for Saturday. I never realized how much goes into a birthday party, they can be quite nerve wrecking when you are trying to make sure everything turns out exactly right. Hopefully everything will go well!!
To end this very wordy blog post, I would like to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROLINE!!!!! You are awesome!! I hope you have an absolutely amazing day, and I hope you commemorate your 22 years with a big celebration!!! Wish I could be there to give you a HUGE hug!!! But until then...
LOVE YOU!!!!!!!
