D1 Year 2018-2019

June -

We loaded up all of our things and took off on our very long drive across the country. My mom drove our UHaul, Damon kept her company, and Logan and I switched off driving our civic with Finno. We made a stop in middle of nowhere Nebraska for the night and kept on driving!

As we pulled into Kirksville, I think we were both shitting bricks. In my mind, I was thinking we were moving to something similar to rural Utah, Summit County... this was the farthest thing from that. We pulled into our driveway, and had our first look at our new house! It was TINY!! 728 square feet. 2 beds, 1 bath.

We had loaded up my mom's long-arm quilter and thought it would fit in one of the bedrooms... it would find a nice cozy spot in our front room for the next 2 years. I can only imagine what our neighbors thought.

The fence separating our yard from our neighbors was a very short chain link with a very loud great Pyrenees on the other side. Logan immediately was looking at alternative options. He texted our landlord and he agreed to get Logan all of the supplies for a solid wood fence.

We unpacked for a few days and I took off on a 2 week trip to Ireland. Logan built the fence and nearly died in the humidity!

July -

I came home and started my new job at a local dental office. Within a few days, I knew it wasn't a good fit... but hoped it would get better.

We had Logan's white coat ceremony and started school! It was a tricky juggle to get to work and home with one car and the new school schedule. We tried a restaurant called Pear Tree, which would be our go-to for years to come. :)

I spent two weeks of lunch breaks and nights crying not wanting to go back.  Logan took my phone, texted my boss letting her know I would not be back... and then deleted the nasty response texts so I wouldn't have to see those. It was a hot mess!

Logan's schedule was crazy. He would be in a class for a week, covering one subject, and then have a final the following Monday before moving on to the next subject. Constantly studying and spitting information out. We had decided to sign him up for a work-study job on Saturday nights from 8 pm-midnight. We weren't sure if this was a good idea... but it ended up being one of our favorite things.

August -

Life was getting much easier and we were getting into a groove of life. We rented a paddleboard and kayak at Thousand Hillbillies and had a great time together!

We celebrated 4 years of marriage and tried a sketchy snow cone shack we never went back to.

September -

My mom upgraded the long arm machine so it had computer magic. Some Mennonites came from about 3 hours away to set it up. It was so interesting to watch!

It was finally cruise time! I had booked us a cruise as a graduation present and it lined up perfectly with Logan's fall break. We found a single guy in our ward to watch Finn and we were off to Florida! It was the best week ever. I would relive that vacation over and over again if I could.

October -

The closer we got to October the faster my body started tanking. I blamed it on grief. Logan would leave for school and I would sleep the entire day. My body started aching, and I hoped when October ended I would come back to life.

My family came to visit over my dad's death anniversary. We were all sooo wiped out but still had a good time together.

We played the lottery religiously, hoping we could win and assume new identities. The BEST $2 dream.

For Halloween, we dressed up as each other and went to a local Halloween event. Yes, those are dead bodies floating upside down in trees.  

November -

We originally thought we wanted to join the Air Force or Army to pay for school. Nov 19 I ended up at my first doctors appointment because I was in so much pain. They drew some blood and we took off that evening to Kansas City for an Army physical. Long story short... it was never scheduled so we got some new tires for the upcoming winter and came home!

We celebrated Thanksgiving with some ward members and tried to solve my medical mystery.

December -

The sun doesn't shine much in Kirksville and by December we were really missing it!! Doesn't that just look dreary??

I did a few more doctor's appointments, xrays, labs + turns out I have Lupus. We've decided even years are not good to us! I spend most days and nights in the bathtub.

We spend Christmas together in Kirksville and get together with a few ward members. We took a little trip to Quincy and make some hot toddy's.

January -

We took our first trip to Nauvoo, Illinois. We spent the night in Keokuk, and I just felt soo terrible.

We celebrated my 22nd birthday with some shopping at Marshalls and dinner at Pear Tree. :)

February -

Logan finally gets to start drilling on plastic teeth more and do less bookwork. His first pair of loupes!

I took a trip home to Utah to get in some warmer weather and try and feel better. Logan hung out at home and worked more on drilling teeth. My mom flew back to Missouri with me to attend more doctor's appointments and support us. We even drove around to some church history sites and got quite the scandalous massage in Kansas City. ;)

 March -

My initial prednisone dose was not tapered correctly and so it created a ton of more issues. I went back on prednisone and we planned a little getaway to St. Louis. It was a fun little trip. Logan ran a 5k ... and probably thought about getting rid of me. ;)

April -

I started a job at the Holiday Inn Express working their night reception M-W. It was a fun gig outside of my comfort zone, served a lot of alcohol + made a lot of great tips! Although I was a little worried about being kidnapped.... :)

I did a lot of sewing + we enjoyed the nice weather outside! Trips to Pear Tree... growing a garden... still working through prednisone side effects.

May -

More sewing, work + board study for Logan! Planning on taking a trip back to Utah for our summer break.

June -

We are done with year ONE! Logan finished top of his class. Flew to St. Louis, crushed boards and we took off on our drive to Utah! It was sooo long. Finn did great! We had a great time getting together with family and eating some food we missed.