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.