south of the border...

brennandi arrived at our apartment a week ago and there is still plenty to organize...the office floor looks like a tornado came through, but we finally got internet, so i'm going to write about our honeymoon.

the day after we got married, brennan surprised me with a little series of photos to reveal our honeymoon destination...

yessssssssss....sunday morning early early we flew to cancun where we stayed at an all-inclusive resort.  i'll admit, the food wasn't the best there, but i was so grateful that the first 5 days of our honeymoon were there cause i got pretty sick and it was so nice to not have to go anywhere or do anything...and by not do anything i mean go on a catamaran ride, snorkel, and bum around in the water and on the beach two steps from our hotel.  or sit in the jacuzzi tub on the balcony of our room.  it was blissful.

then on day 5, we rented a car and navigated our way to chichen itza and merida.  it was so different from cancun--a lot less touristy and very cultural.  everywhere we went we met a new mayan who wanted to talk to us and tell us about their culture.  we learned so much and really fell in love with the mayan people.  brennan wants to give one of our children a mayan name now...how about itzel or faas or tadeas wright?

day 8 - best day of the trip.  en route to tulum, we stopped at ek balam - some more mayan ruins - where we raced to the top of the temple, kissed in every hidden corner, brennan jumped everytime he came around a corner and saw an iguana, and we met our new friend joel, a little 20 year-old mayan kid.  he took us to a private cenote then to a restaurant in his village where the walls and ceilings were dotted with poisonous geckos--definitely off the beaten path, and one of the coolest experiences of my life.

(brennan se cree indiana jones..jeje)

days 9 and 10 were spent in tulum...tulum is another mayan site, and the town is what i imagine hawaii feels like...it was my favorite place we stayed.  i got to hold a baby tiger and a star fish, then snorkel with a squid, sea turtles, and sting rays.

days 11-12 - playa del carmen.  our hotel was again two steps from the beach, and we just lazed around cause brennan was sick that time -- too many tacos al pastor, i think.

the whole trip was the perfect combination of sight-seeing, swimming, bumming around, shopping, and canoodling...i am one lucky girl.

peace+love

how i met my lover

i've been meaning to get back into this whole blogging thing for a while now, but have felt like i forgot how to write.  on sunday we watched "My New Life", the mormon message by Stephanie Nielsen, and that motivated me to get back into it, if simply to share my testimony and how grateful i am for the gospel in my life and the way it shapes who i am and how i live.  perhaps the biggest way it's shaped my life recently is my decision to marry this guy:

man, this picture just makes me smile.  he is so great, and so great for me.  sometimes when i think how much i love him and how good he is to me i just cry.  

we were talking the other day about how awesome it is that things just worked out the way they did.  

i came home from mexico 7 lbs lighter, sick, and heartbroken.  i was not about to jump into another relationship.  in fact, i remember sitting at dinner that night telling my mom how i was done saying yes to every guy that asked me out.  from then on i was only going to say yes if i was really interested.  that was on a wednesday.  on sunday, on a whim, i decided to go to ward prayer since i didn't know any of the new people who had moved in while i was gone.  it was at a guys apartment in old academy.  i was one of the last to leave, and on my way out the door, the guys who lived in that apartment cornered me and said, "we haven't met you yet!"  after introducing myself a couple of them just walked away, but one stuck around to chat.  we talked about how from the back of his head he looked like another guy i'd dated (story for another day) and ender's game.  the next day i bought ender's game and brennan added me on facebook.  on wednesday i went to a gospel doctrine committee meeting only to find brennan there as well.  i had to leave early, so we didn't get a chance to talk, but just a couple of hours later he called and asked me to go to the boise state vs. byu football game with him that friday.  after the game on friday we went to dinner then back to his house and spent 8 hours together that first date.  after that first date we saw each other every day until christmas break and continue to do so.  i actually had a blind date the day after our first date (so much for saying no), but i kept it short so i could get to the ward halloween dance where i knew brennan would be.  

as for brennan, he was pretty frustrated with dating when we met.  he wanted to get married and was going on a lot of dates, but couldn't find anyone who kept his interest long enough to develop into something.  he also never went to ward prayer, but it was at his apartment, so he didn't have a choice.  at the time, he had been taking this girl out who apparently "wasn't very smart".  a couple weeks after we started dating he told me "once i met you i thought, why am i dating this girl?  i should be dating kelli".  and so he did.

it is pretty awesome loving someone and being loved by someone this way--to have that support and devotion.  it has been the best opportunity to develop charity, patience, and humility.  i can only imagine how cool it will be to be married. just one month and twelve days till we will be sealed for all eternity in this beautiful house of God!

peace+love

lessons learned the hard way...

wow, i have been quite the sporadic blogger as of late.  i don't know that anyone even reads this anymore.  but i actually do have something of value to share today.  i've spent the last 6 weeks in mexico, and if i'm being totally honest with myself and everyone else it has been one of the toughest experiences i've ever had.  not that living in mexico is hard, it's great!  but there are lots of circumstances that have made it difficult.  but i am so grateful.  because i also feel like i've learned and grown more in the last 6 weeks than in the last 6 months combined.  i've spent the last couple of days reflecting on some of those lessons i've learned, and i want to share a few with you...

Obedience IS happiness.  it is also the greatest source of peace.

commandments protect us from pain.

repentance can be a difficult, painful process, but a beautiful one that, when done correctly and sincerely, brings lasting changes and profound peace.

the atonement truly does heal.  no matter how broken you feel, the atonement provides the light you must work toward to be made whole again.

love God above all things.  this love will bring you confidence, faith, hope, and the patience needed in moments of difficulty.

i feel like i am in such a good place right now, with god and with myself.  i have an amazing family and am surrounded by people who inspire me everyday.  and in the hard times i have prayer and my relaxing music to put things into perspective. last night i was thinking how grateful i am for all of the experiences i've had in life where God has testified to me that He exists and He loves me and i can trust Him.  today i was thinking how grateful i am for the people in my life who have helped me along the way.  in short, 

i know God lives.  "what comfort this sweet sentence gives."

plus, look how loved i am.  two of my favorite people i've met here and malachi bought us sunflowers!

peace+love

a very white glow fish in a black pond.

word.  i am in mexico in case you didn't already figure that out.  here's what it's like:
-today i realized i almost feel like i'm on another mission.  except that i get to go out of the mtc walls (menos mal), get online whenever i want, and talk to this stud everyday

(i miss him a little bit a lot.  good thing my 2 roommates are engaged and almost engaged so they can't get sick of me talking about him)

-but other than that i spend most of my day studying the scriptures and teaching missionaries.  22 of them.  20 of which are male, 18 years old, 2013 high school graduates.  yes, it is exhausting.  good thing i don't have to wake up at 6:30 every morning.
-speaking of my roommates, i could not ask for better ones.  in our house there are 5 bedrooms.  3 of those bedrooms have one person in them (and 4 beds).  but we choose to share the three of us to one room anyway.  seriously, God knows us and cares about our needs.

amanda (engaged), me, sydnee (practically engaged)

-i stick out like a sore thumb.  in chile i felt like i could blend in a little better.  between the 25 extra pounds i had and all the german-descendants in chile i passed for a chilean or argentine pretty often.  no one doubted my ability to speak spanish.  it is not the same story here.  everyone is brown.  sometimes it works, though.  like the other day when we went out to the city and i had to go to the bathroom.  i didn't realize you had to buy a ticket at the front so i just went right in.  there was this little woman at the door trying to get my attention, but i didn't notice (she was really small).  then she turned to this guy and said, "oh, ella no habla.  ya, pase."  free bathroom for the gringa!

-i do not know how mexicans get all their nutrients.  they do not eat nearly enough vegetables.  i've resorted to taking multivitamins everyday.  but, their tortillas, tacos, and frijoles really are better.  churros, to die for.

-outside of la ciudad de mexico, it's actually really pretty.  but mexico d.f. is really pretty ugly.

mmmmm....this is not d.f.  this is an hour north in teotihuacan.

-people here drive worse than chileans.  waaaaaay worse.  our taxi driver yesterday decided to create his own lane in between a bus and another car.  

mexico is crazy, but i'm growing to love it more everyday.  and even though it's hard to be far away from home, i have already grown in a way i could not have if i were home in my comfortable environment with my classes, apartment, my main man, my bike, working 20 hours a week, doing my normal routine.  and that makes it all worth it.

picture overload!

this is what you look like when you get caught in a monsoon.  which happens every single day.

i think the sixtine chapel needs these.  mirrors so you don't have to crane your neck to look at the ceiling.

this weekend is independence day.  hence the flags.

                           

los templos de teotihuacan.  i can't tell you how many stairs we climbed that day, but it was a lot.

the teotihuacanos made 260 human sacrifices right behind where we're sitting.  back in the year 200.

el templo de la luna behind us

this is the position they would be in for the human sacrifices.

would you really expect anything else?

just one more for good measure...

p.s.  it's okay to be jealous.  next weekend i'm going to see lucha libre.  nacho libre in real life!

here comes the rain. again.

this is the story of my life...

no one warned me about this.  i am ill-equiped.  other than that and the cafeteria food, mexico is great.
peace+love