We Dance

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Updates

I hate it when I go to a friend's blog and see that our blog has fallen to the bottom of the list because it has been so long since the last post... The problem is I don't like to post anything without pictures and I still don't have the cord for my camera. But I will just pretend and maybe find pictures online of other people and say they're family. Well, last month was my birthday. We spent it up north at my brother's house. We had a small celebration and Candice made dinner for me. I got a handful of giftcards which helped because I desperately needed new clothes. Glen got me a gift certificate for a manicure and pedicure and Candice got me the next book in my new favorite series so I spent an hour being pampered and reading my book. It was great!

It's actually the prequel

Then we went to Arizona for Thanksgiving and the wedding and I got a much needed week off from work. Not that work is hard or anything, just needed some sleeping in time and some time to spend with my family. We saw Twilight which was pretty sappy. We also saw Bolt which was kinda funny. The hamster saved that movie. It was in 3-D which is always an adventure. Glen is officially quitting his teaching job at the music store but he is going to be teaching private lessons out of our home which I am really excited about. There are several people in the ward that want him to teach their kids so hopefully he will have quite a few students. And they're kids we know we like because they are in the primary. And all of their parents speak english which is a plus.

The semester is finally over. Not that it was long... I'm not sure why I said finally. Anywho, it was a really easy semester for me. I only had two courses and one final exam which was open book. However, next semester will be a challenge. I will have seven courses plus orchestra and I will still be working 40 hours a week. My work schedule will be interesting. I will have to start at 6 am and finish at 6 pm, with courses in between. I am applying for financial aid for the first time in my life. I am hoping that since I only worked half a year in 2007 what with the mission and all, I will be able to get a grant of some kind. However, if not, I just learned I will be eligible for bonuses starting next month so I will have some extra funds to pay for school if need be. Glen and I are planning a trip. We don't know where. It has changed from Las Vegas to San Francisco to the Bahamas (Glen didn't know about that one) to Mexico and now to South America. I have a very strong desire to go to Argentina and see my friends and family down there.

I miss these guys the most... La familia Cruz

And I suppose we would have to visit Brazil as well while we were there (lame). But if that is the trip of choice it will be awhile before we can go. Hopefully it will be before we have any kids. My parents are in New York because they think they are special or something. Apparently my dad's parents said they didn't think they would be able to go to New York again before they died and I guess that's all it takes for my dad and my uncle Noel to take action. All six of them are now enjoying themselves in New York and Pennsylvania. This is the second Christmas in a row my parents have gone and I've never been. I'm planning on telling my dad that I don't think I'll be able to see Italy before I die...

Thanksgiving

This year Caitie was married the day before Thanksgiving in the Mesa, Arizona Temple. This meant her now in-laws had to travel to Arizona for the big day. We didn't want them to miss out on Thanksgiving just because their son married a crazy that wanted to get married not only in another state but the day before a major holiday, so we invited them for dinner. Here are some pictures:A picture from one end of the ginourmous table.

The other end.


After dinner clean-up.



Glen waiting for pie.

The sealing went great and the reception was awesome. I will be sure to post pictures of the bride and groom as soon as I have a few.

Halloween

Hey, I stole some pictures from a friend so that you could all get a taste of halloween at the Hicks' residence. After the pictures of us are the pictures of my family. So here I am in the background as a witch. As you can see, there are spiderwebs on the lamp. Glen covered most of the furniture and pictures with swebs (as Caitie calls them). It was awesome! The girl in front is our friend Kristen. She is a murder victim from an episode of Bones which is the favorite at their house.

Here Glen acts as the undertaker for the the dead body in our graveyard. If you look closely you can see the ghoul in our front window.

This is my awesome brother Dayton as the mad scientist.

This is Cameron as the science experiment gone wrong... terribly wrong.

And this is my sister Candice, the assistant, and Dax, experiment #2.

My brother Taylor, sister Miken and nephews Dade and Tayen

as various characters from Dark Knight.

Miken makes all of their costumes.

The Halloween party was really fun. We had enough food for the neighborhood and enough candy for seventeen neighborhoods. Too bad only ten kids stopped by... I was a little disappointed, but now I get to look forward to the happiness November and December bring me!

Cedar City: The Answer to Our Prayers

So I thought I would tell the history of how we ended up living in Cedar City. In November of '07 I had decided I needed a change. I really wanted to go back to school and start studying Spanish at BYU. I also had always wanted to work at the MTC so I thought that would be the perfect set up. I applied to BYU, was accepted and enrolled in 16 credits of classes. I let my boss know I was going to quit and go back to school. I also told him I was applying to the MTC. I had an interview at the MTC where I had to "teach" and show my abilities, in english. I then got a phone call to test my spanish abilities. They called my back for a second interview but it started to feel wrong. It wasn't really what I wanted and since I didn't get hired, I know it was what was right. My boss let me stay on part-time at Independence University and I was going to go to school as well. Then, the Saturday before school started, Glen proposed... (He surprised me by saying he had applied to BYU and would be willing to transfer there for me, even though he hates it!) This meant I was going to be moving out of my parents' home and would need to make enough money for two people to live plus rent and all the other things I hadn't needed to pay for since I was mooching off the parents. When I called to tell my boss I was engaged, his first question was, "So, do you want your old job back?" The thoughts of needing to make money had not crossed my mind yet since I was so consumed by feelings of giddiness. So I said, "No! hahahaha."
Then I started thinking about it and realized, yes, I did want my old job back. I called my boss back and pleaded with him and I was given my job back. Then I went home and dropped out of all of my courses. It was a scary feeling and a little frustrating since I had already bought all of my books. In fact, they are still on my bookshelf, I never got the chance to take them back.

Well, now we had to figure out where we were going to live. And that always seemed to be everyone's first questions when we told them we were getting married, "Where are you going to live?" I started looking for a place in Springville, Provo and Orem. Everything was really expensive and very little let you have a pet. I searched for weeks and couldn't find anything. Then Glen said he was willing to go to University of Utah as well. (This whole time he is still enrolled at SUU and living in Cedar City so he can't help me search for a place to live) So I start looking in Salt Lake and Murray (where I worked) that would work for us. Everytime I went to look at a place, I took pictures of it with my phone and sent them to Glen. Nothing seemed to work. Then I found a place in the Marmalade district in Salt Lake. This was about two blocks from the BYU Salt Lake Center where I was currently enrolled in classes, and about two miles from the U. They allowed pets for a fee and I was finally pleased. I took my mom to look at it and she liked it but something didn't feel right. I put a deposit down anyway because we needed a place to live and we were getting married in like a month.

But neither Glen nor I felt very good about Salt Lake or the U. We started to think maybe we should move to Arizona since that's where my parents were moving and where a couple of my brothers live with their families. We looked into apartments in Tempe where ASU is and where I would have a job. I used to work at Walden University and I was offered a $10,000 raise to go back. It was very tempting. I found a really cute apartment that was pretty affordable and I knew if worse came to worse, my parents have 4 extra bedrooms. We both applied to ASU. However, as I thought more about it, I realized Glen would not be happy at that school. He was used to SUU and ASU is huge-mongous. So, one weekend when I was visiting him in Cedar, as I tried to do quite often, we were sitting in church and passing notes. We had considered moving to Cedar but my parents made a pretty good argument against it since I wouldn't have a job... But it sounded like a good idea because SUU pays for all of Glen's schooling and then some. We were having a hard time deciding what would be best for the both of us. However, as we sat in church passing notes, Glen asked where we were going to live. I said I didn't know. He then said we needed to make a decision and handed me a paper that said "Cedar City YES or NO: Circle one". That wasn't very nice of him but it worked. I sat there for a minute and then I circled YES. Ever since that day I knew we made the right decision.

The next day it was Glen's turn to search for a place for us to live. Within a week we had decided on a house. The rent would be about half what people were asking in Salt Lake. It was located two blocks from campus. I talked to my boss and he said he would see if he could figure out a way for me to work from home. Everything was falling into place. However, when we got back from the Honeymoon and moved in, I found out I had no job... We were quickly running out of the money I had put away. I searched in Cedar for a job but without much hope. My boss said he was going to talk to the manager of another department and see if he could get me a job there. I inteviewed but didn't hear back for awhile. Luckily, after we'd spent the last dollar in our checking account, Glen received a check from SUU for $1000. Apparently they had some extra funds and gave them out randomly to students (lesson: pay tithing). Then, after a month of unemployedness, I had a job again. A job that allows me to work from home. I think it's safe to say this was the right place to end up. Everything has been great here. We love our ward! They are family. I am able to take a few courses at SUU since I work from home and it is so close I walk to school. I've always wanted to walk to school. Anyway, long story short, the Church is true! Listen to the promptings of the Spirit and everything will be alright.

A Temple in Córdoba!

The time has come! President Monson announced today that there will be a temple built in Córdoba, Argentina. I served in Salta, Tucuman, Santiago and Jujuy. The members in Argentina have one temple. It is located in Buenos Aires:

The most the members were able to go was once a year. In Jujuy, the members of the ward I was in have fundraisers so that more members are able to make the trip. It is a trip of 950 miles. When the temple is built in Córdoba, the members will only have to travel about 500 miles. Located at the temple in Buenos Aires is a hostel of sorts. The members share rooms and will do temple work for days at a time with very little breaks. They make the most of their once a year trip. There is a chef there but usually the members take there own food to save money. Hopefully the new temple with have the same accommodations for the members. The last area I served in was in Tucuman. Tucuman is located right next to Córdoba. This is a huge blessing for these people I have grown to love. I can't wait for the dedication and I hope to be there, shouting Hosannas and waving my handkerchief.

Thinking on the great lengths the Argentine members go to to get to the sacred house of Lord, reminds me of how blessed we are to live so close to so many temples. I know that the temple is a place where we can not only do service but we also receive so many blessings and feel so close to our Father in Heaven. I hope to be able to make more time for the Lord and visit the temple more often as we have been instructed by the prophets.

The Honeymoon

Good Times

1. My rock star name (first pet and current car): Dazzle Santa Fe
2. My gangsta name (favorite candy bar and favorite cookie): Big Hunk Sugar
3.My "brotha" name (first initial of first name and first three letters of last name: Chic
4.My detective name (favorite color and favorite animal): Green Monkey
5. My soap opera name (first name and city where you were born): Chelsea Mesa
6. My Star Wars name (first three letters of your last name and first two letters of your first name then the word "of" then a medication you are on): Hicch of Loestrin
7. My superhero name (2nd favorite color and favorite drink with "The" in front): The Blue Slurpee
8. My Nascar name (first names of your grandfathers): Jay Conrad
9. My stripper name (name of your favorite perfume/cologne and your favorite candy):Summer Now and Later
10. My witness-protection name (mother's and father's middle names): Mary Kay (that's real inconspicuous)
I'm Tagging Candice, Caitie, Cindy and Miken

It's Halloween at Our House!!

Glen and I have decided that Halloween can't come soon enough. We have already put up our orange lights and huge pumpkins on the porch. We are planning to do much more but we are trying to be big and not put it up yet. School is going well. I am in two real classes and orchestra. I am not counting orchestra as real because I refuse to pay for it so I am not getting credit for it. But Glen and I are stand partners which is really fun. Glen is also doing well in school. He is taking about a million credits. Glen started the Southern Utah Handbell Choir last Tuesday. I get to play in it! Our callings are turning out to be great blessings. I love the kids in the primary. I learn so much from them and I get a good laugh every Sunday. There is one singer in the sunbeams that likes to sing louder than anyone else, whether he knows the words or not. His name is Elliot and I want to take him home with me. I'd like to take them all home but I know their parents would probably miss them after a few months; and I don't think we could feed them for very long.
The weeds in our yard are taking over everything. I can't get in or out of my car without breaking out in a rash. Apparently I am allergic to our yard. We tried pulling all of the weeds once... but we only did half the yard before the day was over and then I started work and we never finished. My mom has suggested we just buss the tops of the weeds and make a nice bush-looking... thing... That might work. The weeds were so bad we had to shave Charlie because he kept coming inside with sticky weeds stuck to EVERY part of his body. But it's a good thing we didn't put grass in like we'd planned because now we can bring to pass the awesome plans we have for Halloween.

The girl is a little better. We should stick to girls, perhaps

What do you think about my little new baby Sally?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?

This is our future baby... Maybe we shouldn't breed!

What do you think about my little new baby Jacob?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?

I Finally Get a Brother-in-Law!

This past Sunday was the big day. My little sister Caitie has been dating Nate since March. She met him in a Dating and Courtship institute class (I'm not kidding). Anywho, they have known they were going to get married for some time now, but we have been waiting on a ring. Which looks something like this:

I think... I haven't seen it in person. But the point is, he finally proposed on Sunday and the date is set for November 26. Nate will be my first and only brother-in-law. Caitie is my only sister and Glen has five sisters... I mean, I guess I could count thier husbands... but it's not the same. They will be married in the Mesa, Arizona Temple which means we will be having Thanksgiving in the desert. At least it's cooler in November. It's strange to think Caitie and I will be sharing the same anniversary year since we are four and a half years apart but I guess she is more mature... or maybe she fell in love with a return missionary so she didn't have to wait for him to come home and while waiting, go on a mission herself...

Kanarra Creek Canyon

Those of you who know us best know that we are not hiking people. At least when the hike involves going up the entire first half. However, this hike was awesome! It was rarely up and we got to wade through the freezing cold creek in order to move on through the slot canyon. At one point the only way to go on is by climbing a rickety ladder attached to a tree truck to get over the waterfall. This was my least favorite part at the time but looking back it was pretty dang cool. I am deathly afraid of heights and I was sure I was going to fall to my death. But, amazingly, I am still here. We continued hiking until we came to one part where the water was about three feet deep and we started to think it wasn't worth it. Glen and I had decided to stay behind and wait for the rest of the group to come back, but as we watched everyone else suffer through the icy water, we couldn't help but want to participate. So, we also risked our lower limbs to keep going. The sad part is we didn't go even a quarter of a mile before we reached another waterfall and realized not all of us would be willing to pull themselves up by a rope attached to a rock wall. Here is a photo:

So, we turned back. I regret now wading through the water to go just a little further. It was painfully cold and we had to go the way we came. But we made it home alive. Charlie enjoyed it even though he spent most of the time in the backpack with Glen's sweatshirt.

Bayview Week of Handbells

We left for Michigan on Saturday and slept in Traverse City. On Sunday we visit the Music Hall Museum. They had all types of self-playing instuments. It was fun! Then we drove to Petoskey. We went to a really nice restaurant there in the Perry Hotel. That night we went to a concert in Bayview that featured the wonderful talents of the people there. We stayed the night in Petoskey. On Monday morning we headed back to Bayview. It is only 2 min from Petoskey so it's not that big of a deal. Bayview was founded by the Methodists as a camp where people could learn the arts, cooking and several other skills. Students still come every year to learn. Every house is a quiant cottage and the entire community shuts down for the winter because there is so much snow, you can't be there. People have to board up the windows and move away for the summer. We stayed in the dorms which was just a big cottage with lots of bedrooms. Everyday was chock full of practicing for Glen and reading and exploring for me. I got to see a lot of Petoskey and do a little shopping. Thursday night was the big concert. Glen did great! Everyone did. Then Friday morning we drove to the ferry to be whisked across the lake to Mackinac Island. There are no motor vehicles allowed on the island so there were lots of horses and lots of horse poop. We rented bikes and toured the interior of the island. It was gorgeous! Then we had dinner and shopped the rest of the night. We headed home on Saturday. Saturday night we had dinner with my parents and stayed the night in their hotel. Sunday we spent with my side of the family and we celebrated Cameron's birthday. It was a very fun week! But we are glad to be home.

SURPRISE!!

As is now common knowledge, Glen's birthday was last Friday (August 1). We saw Taming of the Shrew and went to dinner. Oh, and I made him a special breakfast and gave him Mary Poppins (a movie he likes, but not what he asked for...). Needless to say, he was a little disappointed but tried to hide it. I didn't even have a cake for him... What he didn't know is I had a surprise waiting for him the next day. He thought his best friend, Roy, was in Moab. A little lie he came up with to really make the surprise fun. Anyway, since we were traveling up north for Katie's baptism, I thought I would get a group of his friends together for a surprise party at a restaurant. He thought we were meeting one of our friends for a casual lunch. When we got there, they were all peeking out of the restaurant window, but he didn't notice. We walked in and they all yelled, "Happy Birthday!" It was pretty funny. Then we sat for lunch and I gave Glen his real presents: some Wii gear. (Actually, the only thing he asked for was sheet music which I ordered but isn't here yet) Oh, and of course Roy was there. He would never miss Glen's birthday. Then we traveled up to Clinton for Katie's baptism. It was great to get to know his family a little better and to be a part of such a special event for Katie. Then it was back to Candice and Dayton's for a surprise birthday cake and some Disney Scene It. Overall I think it was a good birthday experience for him. At least, I had fun! (pictures to come as soon as I find a replacement USB for my camera... things get lost when you move.)

August

Today is the last day of July. You know what that means! Tomorrow is Glen's birthday! We are going to go see Taming of the Shrew at the Shakespearean Festival and then we'll go to dinner. He'll finally be as old as me.... 19. Just kidding. We will be 23 together until I have a birthday in November. Anywho, we have all kinds of plans for August. We will be going to Michigan for the Bayview Week of Handbells from Aug. 9-16. It is also a big birthday month for our family.
Aug 1: Glen's B-Day
Aug 2: Katie Sticht's (niece) baptism
Aug 4: Candice's B-Day
Aug 5: Brandon's (brother) B-Day
Aug 15: Cameron's (nephew) 1st B-Day
I'm sure there are more that I am forgetting... Anyway, my mom is coming up to Utah to visit us the weekend of Cam's birthday. We get home that Saturday from Michigan so we will stay at Dayton and Candice's and have the chance to see her for a day or so. I will be going in to work that Monday the 18th which is very convenient. I'm sure by Monday I will have some fun stories from Glen's birthday.

Life as we know it

Things are going really well here in Cedar City. We like our callings. We have only been able to be in primary one Sunday, but that one Sunday was a blast. Glen is working at the SUU music building doing odd jobs and I am working from home as a Student Advisor. It is the best job I have ever had! I get to stay home and tidy up the house and take the dog out. I'm almost always busy which is very nice. And today is Friday which means tonight is date night!!! My favorite night of the week. It's nice when the biggest problem you have to worry about it is which movie to see, which can be hard when Mamma Mia and Dark Knight come out on the same weekend. Anyway, life is great and I love my little family!

Training

Well, I will be in Utah County next week. I will hopefully get to change my name and get a new drivers license and stuff. I will be training in Murray Tues, Wed, and Thurs. I will go up there on Monday and spend some quality time with the fam. Hopefully Glen can go a few days without me...

I got the job!!

Well, I finally have a job. I will be working for Independence University, again, as a student advisor working from home. I will have to go to Murray once a month, but that's better than everyday!!

Holy Crap! We Have Callings!

Well, today was the big day. They finally got our records and they extended us callings. As of July, I will be the primary chorister and Glen will be the primary pianist. We are thrilled about the opportunity we have to be able to work with the primary... Glen of course is not nervous because all he has to do is play the songs I pick. I have to get a group of kids ready for the primary program in November. AND every fifth Sunday I am in charge of sharing time. This ought to be an adventure. I think the nickname for my calling is "birth control". Anywho, I will be updating everyone on how that goes.

Interview

Well, just an update for you. I had my interview yesterday and they said there are a few logistics they have to work out to make sure it's even possible for me to work from home. Hopefully they will contact me soon!

Wedding

Hello Everybody!

Well, we started a blog with another provider and no one else we knew was on it so we thought we would make a new one using blogspot so people we know can see it. Anywho, we just got married 3 1/2 weeks ago and things are going really well for us here in Cedar City. The job I was going to have down here fell through but I have an interview tomorrow with the same company, different position. Wish me luck! We have jumped headfirst into our new ward. Glen was put into the rotation to play the organ in Sacrament meeting two minutes after we walked into the ward building for the first time. We both sing in the choir and rumor has it the bishop will be extending callings to us this week. The honeymoon was a lot of fun! I wish you all could have been there. Oh wait, no I don't. I think if any one of my brothers was there... well, I don't even want to think about it. Glen is working at the music store as a substitute piano teacher and will be working as a teacher starting in August. That just means he is getting some practice before he starts teaching Dax to play the piano. Mom came to visit about a week ago and really made our house a home. Our front yard is dirt and weeds so yesterday we started cleaning it up. We got about halfway done and we hope to finish and put some grass in... as soon as I get a job... So, that's what's up with us!