Keeping up with the Coneses: 2012

Us being our normal selves

Well my oh my...it has been a while for me. How can you all try to keep up with us if I never blog?! Well I guess I had better start doing it again. As most of you probably already know, we moved to Arizona! This state is pretty cool. The best part is NO SNOW!!!! It has been really great getting to know Garett's family too! One of the reasons we moved here was because we thought I would be able to get a job where Garett's sister Terra works. So I came out three weeks early to interview for that job. About a week after the interview, they told me that they did not want to hire me... I, of course, started to freak out a little bit because we were counting on me having a job when we moved here. I was staying with Garett's sister at the time but I was able to talk to Garett about it and he calmed me down by telling me that whatever happens is meant to happen. Heavenly Father had a better plan for me. And it was true. A week after Garett graduated from DLI and moved out here, and we moved into our new apartment, I was able to get a job. It really just kind of fell in my lap. The owner of the company is in our ward.

Our first day at church, Garett and I walked in and noticed that everyone there was slightly older than we expected them to be. We quickly started to think during sacrament meeting that we might need to ask to be in a different ward because there was no one here that was our age. But then Sacrament meeting ended and we were immediately greeted by someone who was anxious to meet us. When they had gotten our full back story and had said goodbye, we were instantly greeted by another patron wanting to know everything about us. And it went on until about halfway into the next meeting. After church was over, we weren't able to get home until about an hour after the last meeting. We decided that it was the place for us! Everyone here is so nice and wonderful. We are also quite the novelty. When we first moved in, almost everyone we met said we should meet the other young couple in the ward meaning there were only the two young couples including ourselves. I thought that was pretty funny.

So I have been working at this company for about 4-5 months now and it has its ups and downs but it has been a really great experience for me. Just two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go to Washington DC. I didn't get a lot of time for sightseeing but it was still a really great experience and I had never been there. It was for the President's Day Choral Festival which we planned and it went wonderfully. Dr. Andre Thomas conducted a group of six different choirs and an orchestra. These groups came from all around the country and our company planned their trips there. It was really wonderful being able to see how our hard work pays off. I am an operations agent in this company so I plan trips for these people. I plan their dinners, the hotels they stay at and pretty much everything they are going to do on these trips. I am basically a travel agent for concert and marching bands/choirs. Here is the link to our website: http://musiccelebrations.com/.

I have had so much fun! I love getting to know all these directors from all over the world and planning a trip for their students/participants that will be a wonderful experience for them! I have a lot of groups going to Washington DC this year so if you ever plan on going, I can tell you the best places to go.

During these few months that I started working at this company, Garett has been gone pretty much the entire time. Yes he was here in the beginning for a week or two and then left again but we have been apart for most of the time starting in November 2011. It has been really tough for both of us. I was able to see him for Christmas though. He was in San Angelo Texas for a three-month training for his MOS (don't ask me what it stands for I just know that his MOS is MI [military intelligence]). I took a few days off from work and flew there. We spent Christmas at his Aunt Leann's house who lives in Austin area. She was so nice and her three kids were there on Christmas too. She got us all matching pajamas! It was so cute and we had so much fun! Then I had to fly back home an then Garett and I were apart for two months. This was the longest that we have ever been apart but it went pretty well. I stayed busy with work and so did he and we were able to talk to each other every night. I missed him terribly. But it ended last week! I was able to take a few days off work again and I flew to Texas again (the Wednesday after the Monday that I had returned from Washington DC) and I was able to go to his graduation. I am so proud of him! I witnessed my first Military graduation for him. What was really amazing was when I went up and put the military intelligence pin on to his uniform. I am so proud of him. He had drill this weekend though so I am alone again. He will be back on Monday though! Hurray!