A dream.

This morning I woke up and remembered the entirety of my dream so vividly. For some reason I feel like this dream has some profound meaning and some lesson intertwined in it that I need to learn. Normally I can only recall vague details and partial pieces from my dreams. Maybe that’s why I feel so strongly about the importance of this one. So here it goes…

I had on a full bodysuit and was paddling out into the ocean on a surfboard. I wanted to learn how to surf and was missing one key component. I had no instructor, and yet this didn’t seem to bother me at all. I was completely alone in the water, not one single other surfer that I could glean advice from. I sat there in the water waiting and waiting for a wave to come and none ever did. Much deeper out into the water I saw a strong wave building and then crash way before it ever reached me. I debated whether or not I should paddle further into the ocean towards that spot. I didn’t feel safe moving from where I was, and decided to continue waiting for a wave to come to me. I glanced back towards the shore where there was a large crowd of spectators, all eyes on me. Glenn stood out and I watched him waving and cheering me on. And yet, I just sat there on my board, motionless. I started thinking about what I would do when a wave came. Would I be able to paddle quickly enough and stand up in time? Would I just get completely wiped out by the strength of the wave? Out of nowhere, I started seeing people on the water, that didn’t belong on the water. First, I saw a group of people skateboarding on the water right past me towards the shore. Then I saw a team of cross country runners, running on top of the water, also towards the shore. I tried to stop one of the runners and ask, “Where did you come from, How are you running on the water?” No one would stop for me and answer my questions. I sat there on my surfboard, contemplating how is what I saw even possible? I sat there on my board and waited…

I’m open to any assistance from my readers to help me interpret this dream. I shared my dream with Glenn this morning and he thought I needed to find out what that wave further out was. I want to know why having never surfed before, would I just casually try to teach myself. What were the strange skateboarders and runners doing on the water, was it just my head playing tricks on me? If I had slept longer would a wave eventually come? Explanations please! Oh and if you do comment please do so on this page and not the Facebook link. Thank you!

Girls Camp

A few months ago I was called to serve as the Stake Young Women’s Secretary in my church. To say that I felt inadequate would be quite the understatement. At only 23 years old, I was called to be a role model to young women ages 12-18. As flattered as I was by the call, I was truly terrified! In fact, I even wavered a couple weeks in and seriously thought about quitting. I was reassured by the counselor who extended the call, after another lengthy conversation with him about my concerns, that he had never felt the Spirit so strongly after meeting someone that they (meaning me) were the right person. No pressure right?!

Fast forward from my rocky start to just last week, and I finally felt like I was able to really get to know and serve the young women of the Newburgh, NY Stake. It had been six years since I last went to girl’s camp, and to be honest I never really thought I would go back. I wouldn’t exactly say I hated girl’s camp. I just never really looked forward to or enjoyed it. At least I tried right? So anyway, here I am ‘older and wiser’ at girls camp once again, and as a stake leader nonetheless. And you know what, I loved it! I can honestly say I would be willing to go up as a leader again and this time with less hesitation, but still just as much stuff ;-)

Unlike my years at camp staying in cabins with bunk-beds lacking a few or most springs, we were tent camping for the week. Tuesday was spent just setting up tents, attempting to start a fire with wet wood, and cooking our foil dinners. My favorite part of Tuesday was our ward devotional. West Point in the summer is a desolate place, and we only had two young women up at camp. However, we had plenty of West Point representatives come up for the week as leaders or just for a night. I loved bonding with these sweet girls over the week, and I hope they enjoyed their first year at camp. I’m not sure if I made any impact on these girls at all but I know they made an impact on me.

The next day was a three mile hike and I was responsible for driving up a carload of girls. I am directionally challenged and somehow ended up being the leader car. All was well until I missed a turn, had to u-turn, losing all the cars behind me, and going the wrong direction for quite a ways down the wrong road. We were driving along and we came across some random guy in a red truck. We rolled down the windows, stated we were lost, and he started to give directions. I think he could see my eyes glazing over and sense that this girl was never going to get where she was going so he kindly offered to drive and let us follow. After winding a ways down roads that were not on our directions I told the girls, either we will make it to our hike or we’re going to be thrown in a ditch somewhere down this road. Luckily, he was just a kind local who knew the back roads and we made it to our hike. And I just want to add that even after all that we weren’t the last car to arrive. Someone else drove to Connecticut, ha someone who is worse with directions than me!

The highlight of camp for me was Thursday. My husband and puppies got to come up to girl’s camp that afternoon! After only 2 ½ days I was already missing my man like crazy! Glenn built the most remarkable spirit walk, complete with great and spacious building, tree of life, mist of darkness, and iron rod. He always impresses me with his talents and creativity, and it was special to hear how this reenactment of Lehi’s Dream was such a testimony builder for these girls. By Thursday night I was exhausted and dirty and happy to jump in the car and head home with my family. I have some special camp memories from this week, and made some friends from my ward that I wished I had sooner. It was a lesson for me that sometimes other people are just as scared to open up and meet new people as I am. I am grateful that girl’s camp helped me to love and embrace my calling. I feel as if going to camp this year was the one reason I needed to be called then it was worthwhile.  

4/5 West Point girls. Poor Hannah was in one of the cars that got lost.

We all finished!

French braiding hair is how I make friends.

Happy to have my puppies with me at camp :-)

ONE YEAR!

One of the many things I love about Glenn is that he loves to surprise me. He is so creative and comes up with the most fun dates. I love how Glenn puts so much effort into these surprises, and he thinks it’s absolutely hilarious how crazy it makes me not knowing. Truly though, I love it because I know Glenn’s surprise dates will not disappoint, it just makes it extra difficult to know how to dress. With a 1 YEAR wedding anniversary coming up I knew Glenn was planning something, and thus the waiting began. My trip to CA ended up being perfect because it would have been practically impossible to keep this secret. In fact while I was on route back to NY my Dad calls me and tells me how much I will love my anniversary date. That’s the other way Glenn likes to torture me, telling absolutely everyone but me what we’re doing. So in the car headed home Glenn tells me that he can’t really keep the secret until our actual anniversary and I’ll know as soon as I get home what it will be. So I walk inside to find a white and pink cruiser bike!! We have been wanting to go on more bike rides and I’m so excited to have my own bike! Our plan was to take our cruisers on the train into NYC and ride our bikes through Central Park and then down to the waterfront. We mapped out our ride and it was going to be about 17 miles. I made pasta salad, and we packed that along with some other goodies for a picnic in the park. We had our camelbaks filled with water, bikes, helmets, and we were set to go.

Anyone who knows me really well knows that I’m not the most flexible person. I am a planner. I am obsessed with having a plan and knowing exactly what we’re going to do. Being spontaneous is something I am constantly working on. When something doesn’t go exactly as planned it’s difficult for me to adjust.

That being said our date didn’t go exactly according to plan, but it was still a memorable day and I still had fun. Our kind friends the Hales let us borrow their van so we could transport our bikes to the train station. When we arrive at the train station we find out the train only comes every hour and five minutes on off-peak days and we had to wait about 45 minutes. Traveling with bikes on the train is much easier in theory than execution. The wide handlebars made it hard to maneuver through the aisles and we just had to stand with our bikes near the doors the whole ride. When we finally reached Grand Central it was just over a mile to Central Park. We start riding on the sidewalk because I was positive I would die if I rode in the street with all the crazy NYC drivers. We were told by the police that riding on the sidewalk isn’t allowed and we had to walk our bikes to Central Park. Central Park has hills! Oh my goodness, I was not expecting that to be so challenging and I had to stop and walk up a few hills. We bought a map inside the park and picked out a scenic little waterfall we stopped at to eat our delicious picnic. It was incredibly hot this day, and it was making me a little cranky. I was feeling so bad because I was worried Glenn thought I wasn’t having fun, when I really just was so exhausted from the heat. I was hoping to stumble across a children’s water park to cool down and like two minutes after I said this, Glenn spots one. This was my favorite moment all day. We just let ourselves get drenched in this little water fountain. No care at all to my nice straightened hair, just letting the water rinse through my head and down my shirt was so refreshing and made for a much happier girl. I felt so rejuvenated after this water break, I even managed to bike all the way up a couple hills without walking at all.

After circling around all of Central Park we rode down to the waterfront where there is a nice long bike path. This was nice and flat, and just what cruiser bikes are made for. Fleet Week was going on and there were lots of people. We’re riding along when Glenn gets stopped by a park ranger and told he missed a sign saying he needed to dismount his bicycle. Glenn hops off and the woman continues to ask for his I.D. which he hands over without complaint, and she proceeds to write him a ticket! I was pissed!!!! A. Glenn maybe rode two feet past the sign. B. It was so crowded and therefore very easy to miss. C. So many people rode past without ever dismounting. D. The other park ranger there was just telling people to dismount and letting them go no problem, and we get the woman with a major power trip. I felt like yelling and screaming at her because it was so unfair. She then took her sweet time and took like twenty minutes to write up an environmental summons. Really now, what’s better for the environment than riding a bike. I was so proud of Glenn when he crumpled up the ticket and called her a joke! We rode all the way down to the 9/11 Memorial and then found out we needed to lock up our bikes like three blocks away. I was worried about them being stolen and we decided to just skip it. By this point in the day I was so tired and sunburned and just wanted to go home. I think we biked close to 20 miles, which doesn’t sound like much, but keep in mind we’re on one speed cruisers. We decided to skip our fancy dinner plans, hit up a Jamba Juice, and go home.

I love and appreciate Glenn so much! He knows how to handle me through my ups and downs in emotions, and just never stops loving me. Thank You for planning such a wonderful First Wedding Anniversary date! I look forward to sharing an eternity more with you!

These pictures we took at West Point on our actual anniversary, and the next day was our bike ride. I’m pretty sure my picture obsession makes Glenn crazy, but he is such a good sport.

The definition of subtle.

I am super picky when it comes to my hair, and especially who I allow to cut it. I have had the same girl, Whitney, cut my hair for three years. I attempted one hair cut when we lived in NJ, and wasn’t overly happy with the outcome. So when I took my trip to California a few weeks ago I was in desperate need of a haircut, and made an appointment while I was there. Only I didn’t just cut my hair, I put in feathers! I debated back and forth and am so happy with my decision to get them. I called Glenn and told him that I put a hot pink feather in my hair and that it was really subtle. It was then that Glenn questioned whether I knew the definition of subtle. I explained that the feather kind of blends in and hides in my hair, and therefore yes it is subtle. Glenn feels you can’t describe a feather, a hot pink and light purple feather at that, as subtle. So I turn to my audience for opinions please. What is the definition of subtle? Do you think the feather in my hair can be described as subtle, yes or no?

Soaking in the California sunshine!

I was so appreciative to fly out to CA for 10 days, and be there for Mothers Day and Rebekah’s High School graduation. This trip was an eye opener for me in a few ways. This is the longest amount of time Glenn and I have been apart in the 2 ½ years we have been together. About 5 minutes away from the airport it all of a sudden hit me that Glenn wasn’t coming and I started crying and missing him already. I knew I would miss Glenn. I just didn’t realize how severely and how hard it would be for me to be apart. The next thing I realized came from a simple question the guy sitting next to me on the plane asked. “Are you headed home, or leaving home?” I hesitated for a second because I honestly didn’t know how to answer anymore. California was home to me for almost 23 years, and in my heart it will always feel like going home. At the same time, my life isn’t in California anymore. I was teary-eyed the second I left NY because my life is here with my husband and our puppies. The home is where the heart is! The ultimate in cliché’s but so fitting of my feelings for my sweet marriage and how happy I am. I don’t say any of this to take away from how much I will always love to visit CA, and my family and friends there. At the same time I felt like just that, a visitor. When I was staying in my old hot pink bedroom, the color of the walls was still the same, but it didn’t feel like mine anymore. It made me appreciate how much I love having our own home, and having our own unique way of doing things.

Aside from extremely missing Glenn, I am so grateful that I didn’t have to wait until Christmastime before I could see my family again. My trip started with Rebekah picking me up from the airport. This was my first time ever in the car with her behind the wheel, and after a detour to Woodland, we made it home safely. After warm greetings a very tired girl still on East Coast time wanted to sleep, only to awaken at 6:00 AM completely alert and ready for the day. I spent my Saturday with my Dad running errands, and enjoying some of my Elk Grove favorites. We got Daddy/Daughter manicures, ate Tops Yogurt, and went to Target. Target may not seem like that big a deal, but when you live 30 minutes from one trust me it’s very exciting! I had to laugh this day because everywhere we went I ran into random people I know, Target parking lot, Safeway, and my favorite Chaleen Cowley waving wildly to me at the stoplight.

Mother’s Day was another early morning. My Mom volunteered me to work registration at the Run like a Mother 5K, so I was ready to go at 5:40 AM. I enjoyed this time because I was able to work and chat with Nancy, one of my Fairy Godmothers whom I love! Then there was my Mother’s job on race day. She is one of many identities. She is Cruella Deville, Mrs. Claus, and now she is the official race day Fairy Godmother complete with tutu, wings, and purple hair. I love you Mom, you have always been one for fabulous flair! It was so nice to be home and spend Mothers Day with you!! I went to my family ward and I always love catching up with people there who have known me forever! Sunday night was our usual Sunday night dinner craziness! Normally dinner is just the two of us and I like how crazy, loud, and full of laughter my parents home always is on Sunday nights. I hope I can be like my mother in that sense. She has the most impressive ability to bring people together and make all feel welcome.

Most of my trip was pretty low key. What I was looking forward to the most was just seeing people. I was able to spend an afternoon with my Grandma eating sushi and wandering around Arden Fair Mall. I visited with my in-laws and darling nieces eating pizza and playing Cataan. I was hoping for another niece to arrive while I was in CA, but unfortunately that didn’t happen, no matter how much encouragement from Auntie Abbie. I spent time loving on puppies and babies. I had lunch with my second mom Debby. I saw Cindy and Kai, and finally met baby Mary. I wish they would all move to the East Coast so I can be her nanny again! I saw my friend Cameron and met his new wife Rachel, and talked about how we have gotten old. It’s always so difficult to see everyone that I want to see, and if you didn’t get quality one on time I’m sorry and I love you and lets Skype!

The main reason for my trip was Rebekah’s High School graduation!! I’m going to brag for just a second. Rebekah is a gorgeous, smart, and talented girl. All you have to do is look at her in her sky high heels, in her cap and gown, with three chords, and national honor society sash, and you can’t deny she is going places with her life! We like to joke in our family that raising Rebekah was a group effort, and therefore we should all take a little pride in graduation day. The combined powers of the masses made for one remarkable girl. You are so loved! UNR is lucky to have you in the Fall.

Another day that I was looking forward to was Mommy and Me day!! I miss doing craft projects with my Mom. I accomplished lots of knitting while in CA, and even went to a knitting tasting with my Mom and Grandma. My Mom is tremendously crafty and I wish I could have her closer to assist me when I get stuck and take knitting classes with me. We went to sewing day, had a yummy lunch, and watched The Help. Glenn was thrilled to get out of watching Letters to Juliet. He isn’t always thrilled about my taste in movies so I had to get in my chick flicks fix with my Mom.

The Saturday before I left was family fun day! Now that we’re all grown and going in a million different directions it’s harder to find times where we can do something fun as a family. Rebekah, Corey, and I went and had a sibling breakfast at Ihop in the morning. Or should I say the Propovich kids ;-) Some may wonder, when did I gain a brother? Corey was my parent’s replacement child when I got married, and he fits right into the family. That night we went to Leatherby’s Elk Grove for dinner, and got our bowling action on at Strikes. Despite our best efforts at family fun day, Kayla still missed it. I love my sisters and hope that no matter how much distance between us we never forget how special that bond is.

It’s impossible to write absolutely everything about my trip. I had a wonderful time, and loved visiting with people. Now come visit us in NY! By Sunday night I was so ready to be home with Glenn and to see my Rocky!! Little did I know of the long journey home ahead of me! It took me flying Sacramento to Minneapolis, Minneapolis to Cincinnati, finding out my flight was cancelled, having to run to catch a flight to Atlanta, and then arriving in Atlanta to almost not get a seat to Newark. After 4 flights, I was sick, exhausted and most likely smelly from my near 24 hours of traveling, but all that didn’t matter when I was finally reunited with Glenn. You know that moment in the movies when two people see each other from a distance, ditch their luggage, and start running into each other’s arms, to have the man lift up the woman and kiss her passionately? Yes, that really happened!

NY Sightseeing

My friend Emily and her 2 year old son Kaiden came to visit us at the beginning of May. Her husband needed peace and quiet to study for finals which created the perfect opportunity for them to take a trip to NY. It was so exciting for me to have our first houseguests in our humble little home. 3 adults, 1 toddler, and 2 puppies in a one bedroom apartment made for lots of excitement. Emily had to sleep on an air mattress in the living room and Kaiden slept in the kitchen but we all fit! Kaiden loves our puppies, Rocky and Lexi got so much attention! Lexi is a mellow dog and started hiding from Kaiden under the end table in the corner. Kaiden would say, “white puppy go in puppy tunnel”. It was so cute! This visit was extra special because Emily and I are friends from California, and now we both live on the East Coast. I love all our new friends, there is just something so nice about talking to someone who knows the same people and grew up in the same area. I felt like a little piece of CA was right here in NY with me! Our first day of exploring involved us taking the train, missing our stop, getting off in Grand Central Station and then taking the Subway to Central Park. Let me add how terrified I was beforehand of the Subway. I envisioned really smelly and dirty and filled with lots of sketchy people. Not that it wasn’t those things, but I went on it anyway. Trust me it was a big step for me! This was both of ours first time in Central Park and the best way I can describe it is AWE!! I was amazed that something so beautiful and green and enormous could be right in the middle of the craziness of NYC. We walked for miles in the park and could barely even dent the amount of sites to see. We went to the Central Park Zoo, Belvedere Castle, and saw so many statues. From there we took a break from the rain and went to the famous three-story F.A.O Schwartz. I even braved the Subway a second time and this time into Harlem! Luckily the train was only about a block away, and we didn’t have to spend much time there. Walking all day made me so tired that I was so grateful I prepped enchiladas the day before and all I had to do was pop them in the oven when we got home. My day caught up with me about halfway through Captain America and I was out!

The next day we drove down to Liberty Island in New Jersey. We took a ferry and went to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. In typical tourist fashion I took so many photos of the Statue of Liberty (Don’t worry I am only posting my favorites). I was a little disappointed that she was under construction and we couldn’t go inside. Kaiden made this a very memorable trip for us anyway. While Emily and I were busy taking pictures Kaiden made some new friends he was running and playing with on the lawn. Next time we turn around he was face planted in mud and in tears. Poor kid! It was so cold and his clothes were drenched in mud, and quite the crowd witnessed this tumble. Every Mom in the vicinity was digging through her purse and offering up their wet wipes. All in all I had the best two days exploring and catching up with a friend!! Rocky and Lexi would love to have Kaiden come visit again with his mommy, and so would I!!

A rare occurence of late.

It is a rare occurrence when I have my husband home for the weekend. Typically he will work late on either Friday or Saturday, and lately both! Sad but true, a week ago Glenn came home from work at 4:30 AM! I am always such a paranoid wreck when he works hours like this. I always think the worst and start imagining him in car crashes because of sleep deprivation. (One time I even called the cops to check by his work when he wasn’t home by the time he promised – although that’s another story.) I hate this busy season at his work and I know he does too. This past weekend I had Glenn home all weekend! I honestly forgot that weekends used to be fun!

We took advantage of this rarity and went hiking with our friends Chris and Chan on Saturday. We are so grateful to have made some really good friends in NY. It is not uncommon lately for these two to just stop by unannounced just to say hi. That makes me feel like they are comfortable with us, and real friends, and I just love that! Chris is the hiker extraordinaire and goes every weekend, occasionally convincing his wife to tag along. Chris promised this would be an easy hike, so we packed up our Camelbaks with water and snacks, and our dogs even got to tag along. I was actually worried that Rocky and Lexi would get tired and we would have to carry them. A Chihuahua and a Maltese are small dogs so I thought their little legs would wear out. I was wrong. Rocky and Lexi kicked their Mama’s butt on this hike! These puppies provided so much amusement for us and I was so happy they came on the hike. What should have been my real concern is how out of shape I am! Just because I am a tiny person does not mean I am in shape. We hiked to the top of Black Rock Mountain. New York doesn’t have real mountains compared to California. So the fact this hike wore me out as much as it did was kind of pathetic. On the uphills my breathing was so shallow and came in sharp gasps. New goal for this summer: Hike more, so that I’m not such a wuss! On my behalf I never complained once and never asked to stop for breaks! This was a 4 ½ mile hike and we completed it in about 2 hours 45 min. We did stop along the way to take pictures, and enjoyed our snacks and the lovely view from the top. Remember me saying the amusement the dogs provided? So while we were at the top Rocky nearly leaped off the mountain! Glenn had two clementines sitting beside him and Rocky runs up to him in his excited way and accidentally knocks one of the clementines. We watch as it quickly rolls down the sloped rock and falls off the side of the mountain. Rocky waits a second and then starts running after it, then suddenly just stops probably thinking that jump was a little further than he would like. That was scare number two of the day from Rocky. Earlier along in the hike was a little lake. We stopped and Glenn threw the dogs in the water to cool off. Lexi loves to swim! Rocky on the other hand nearly drowned. He dog paddled his little heart out and wasn’t making any progress towards land. I was so worried and thought Glenn would have to jump in after him. He finally started making some progress alongside a stick we put in the water to help him back. I didn’t take my eyes off Rocky and later Glenn told me how intently focused Lexi was on watching Rocky. How sweet, she almost went and saved him herself. Like I said plenty of excitement bringing these puppies along. Even with the crazy moments I would definitely bring the dogs with us again.

This was a jam packed day. Even after our morning hike, we still had a million loads of laundry to take to the Laundromat (ok more like five, but we had to get it done), grocery shopping, test driving a car just for fun and ditching out on the sales pitch at the end, and dinner out at Chilis. It was a marvelous Saturday, and I was so happy to have Glenn home on the weekend to entertain me!

This picture needs a caption. Any suggestions?

Poor puppy is not a good swimmer.

Finally getting the hang of it.

The Lion King!

The reward: The amazing view from the top!