GO JAZZ!

Josh is an avid Jazz fan, and tonight the Jazz have a huge, red-letter game. It's so important because if they don't win...uhhh...something or other bad happens that Josh tried to explain to me...I think it helps them get a higher position for the play-offs or home court advantage or something? Anyway, Josh was glued to the screen from the beginning of the game to show his loyalty. But then, I had to convince him that there was only one way to really, truly show his loyalty. The Jazz definitely have a die-hard fan in Josh. Hopefully we sent some good karma out there to help them win!

An Update

It seems that lately, our lives have mostly revolved around work (and school for Josh). My training at Aspen Landing has been going pretty well. As I said before, a lot of the stuff I had already learned at my old job, but I've had to learn the differences between Canterbury and Aspen Landing. At Canterbury, we only stayed at the beginning of the event to make sure that everything was running smoothly, and then we'd turn the event over to a hostess. At Aspen Landing, the wedding coordinators are also the hostesses. One of the jobs that a hostess must do is to cut and serve the wedding cake. I never learned to cut the cake at Canterbury, so this is something they have been training me on. Square cakes are easy to cut, round cakes are a little more challenging. Also, buttercream cakes are easier to cut than fondant cakes. We also have a preferred vendor at Aspen Landing, Cindy, who's cakes, we have found, are way easier to cut than other vendors' or especially homemade cakes (this is because her cake doesn't crumble when you cut into it). Natalie (the girl who was training me to replace her) taught me how to cut the cake, and though we went through it several times, I was a little nervous to do it on my own.

However, Natalie left, and I eventually had my first night as the only wedding coordinator on duty. The cake artist delivered the cake before the event, and I found THIS little number.

Round (plus some tiers whose shape doesn't even have a name). Fondant. Not one of Cindy's. It almost felt like I was on Punk'd. What are the odds that this would be the cake I'm left to cut on my first night?! Lucky for me, one of the girls who works in the kitchen also helps with some of the hostess roles, and therefore had a lot of cake-cutting experience and could help me out.

While some stressful and unexpected situations come up at Aspen Landing, the job also has it's perks.

When people have fresh floral centerpieces and don't want to take them home at the end of the night, I get to take them home to enjoy! Even the vase I put them in came from Aspen Landing. When there is a lot of left over food, I get to take some of that home, too! I've been able to bring home soups, salads, sandwhiches, desserts...it's been great!

Between work and school, Josh and I have had a few other things going on, too. My mom came out for a visit in March, and we had a great time with her!

That same week that my Mom was in town to visit, Julianne and her family came into town as well as James and his family. This was awesome because it meant that all of the Benson's were in one place! We got to spend time with them, and it was so fun! I think the neices and nephews might have had a hard time keeping up. Samantha definitely proved that:

SO CUTE!

One highlight of that same week was that we were all able to go to Juliet and Claire's baby blessings. We already love these darling babies, and it was wonderful to hear about the wonderful girls they are and will become.

I don't think I've mentioned it before, but about a month after we first moved here, I was called as the Young Women's second counselor. The Young Women's president is Robin, the first counselor is Jessica, and the secretary is Christine. They are so fun to work with! Our ward is pretty small, so we only have around 10 young women, and of those, there are only three or four that come pretty consistently. We love these girls! Anyway, for one of our activities, we got to go to a University of Utah/University of Nebraska gymnastics meet.

It was really fun, and surprisingly crowded. Gymnastics definitely fascinates me; I can't understand how a human body can have enough power to do the things they do! We had a great time watching. It only made sense, though, for me to cheer for Nebraska...considering the U of U is BYU's rival, and since Mom grew up in Nebraska and all her family are huge fans.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Josh was released from his calling as Young Men's instructor and was called to be the Ward Mission Leader. He's a little nervous about it, but as soon as he got the call he came home and poured over thick notebooks and papers that the last ward mission leader handed over. He's so dedicated, and already doing such a great job!

Josh and I have even found the time to go out on a couple of dates! Just the other night, we splurged and had a night out on the town at IHOP. I love "buy-one-entree-get-one-free" coupons!

On Easter Sunday, we were able to go over to Janalynne's for a fabulous breakfast of eggs, bacon, and pancakes and to watch the first session of conference. Jacob and Stephanie came up from Provo as well, and Jilleena and Chris made it, too! It's so great to have family that lives close by!