Graduation and a visit from both parental units

I graduated this week! Braden's parents came down for the occasion and my parents came up for the occasion. It was quite the grand weekend. I was kind of dreading the actual convocation ceremony since I've had to sit through a couple previously due to my job in college and they seem to take forever. However, to my surprise, this one took under an hour and a half. Apparently there were over 1100 graduates in April graduation for the Marriott school. In August graduation, there was 200. I don't want to think how much longer graduation would have been with an additional 900 people whose names had to be read and they had to walk across the stage. What a blessing I decided to graduate in August! We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. Thank you Joyce for introducing us to such a wonderful place! Their rolls are to die for along with the creamy cinnamon butter. Ooo delish. Well worth the wait. I did feel bad for parents since they still had to make the drive back to Burley and didn't leave til about 9 PM. Mom and Dad Turner got me a graduation doll that Mom Turner personally painted (and it looks fabulous) in BYU's colors and a decoration for our wall that has the 10 commandments of a happy marriage listed. It's super cute! I can't wait to find the perfect spot for it in our apartment. Mom and Dad Rabjohns got me several little things for our apartment which are all adorable! My mom gave us a blender since for some surprising reason nobody gave us one for our wedding! And we also ended up with only one toaster! However, my favorite gift was the "Hopes and Dreams" jar. It's the cutest thing I've ever seen and it's a good reminder that just because we're a newlywed couple with not very much money doesn't mean we can't dream and save for special things we want to do. We have two trips we'd really like to make in the next couple years that we need to save for: a trip back to Braden's mission in the Netherlands and a trip to upstate New York so my Grandpa Rabjohns can meet Braden since he wasn't able to make it to the wedding.

It was awesome having both sets of parents around. We had an awesome day today while my parents were still in town. We made them a delicious breakfast of french toast with strawberries and real whipped cream. Then we went to the park and played games. Then to costco for pizza and some groceries. And then back to the apartment for delicious cheesecake that Braden made. It was a really good day. I love having my parents around. I wish we could see both of our parents more often, but with work and soon to be school that will make things a little more difficult.

Today Braden and I were talking about how blessed we are. Seriously, Heavenly Father has taken very good care of us. Money is tight right now, but we can't think of a single thing we need. In fact, not all of our stuff fits in our apartment. We're still working on organizing it. We have our challenges, but we aren't lacking anywhere.

On a totally different note, my first week at my new job went great! I'm still a little nervous about talking on the phone so much doing tax plans, but I'm sure I'll get more comfortable with it soon. But everyone is super nice and helpful, and I know it's a good place for us right now. I'll take any tax experience I can get! Braden and I were laughing at how boring we were getting since we go to bed between 10 and 11 each night. No more late nights once you're married!

Thank you everyone for all that you've done to support us and help us get where we are today. We are so blessed and so thankful for all that we have and all the wonderful people we know. The Lord truly does take care of us when we live His gospel. Maybe not necessarily in the way we want, but in the way we need.