Life thus far in Ronceverte, WV

For the past couple of weeks Derek and I have been discovering our new surroundings. We've hiked several trails, biked through narrow pathways near the Greenbriar river and I've found several running routes that will work for me. Our puppy Skofeild is getting a lot of exercise. I eventually want to train him to run/bike with us with out a leash. He just turned 1 on July 21 (Actually June 21st but we didn't bring him home until July 21st), we didn't do much to celebrate good thing he is a dog and dogs don't care whether we celebrate their birthdays or not.




Each week we've looked forward to attending church, we've met several other 1st year medical students. This year there are 5 LDS first year medical students, 2-2ND year and 2-3rd year. It's been great because the 2ND year students have been so willing to answer questions regarding what to expect our first year. I'm really excited that all the students have wives that I get to hang out with, it has made our transition a lot easier.



Future Doctors! Pictured Left to Right: Jonathan Lewis (TN), my good looking hubby, Stuart North (ID), James Bishop(UT), Joey Sorber (UT)



My new friends! Left to Right: Racheal and their eight month old Arianna, Me-childless...but maybe soon!, Becci-childless too-, Jame's has a wife but she is due to deliver in Utah, Kathryn and their two week old Ozzy-such a cute little boy.

I'm still looking for employment. A lot of people are out of work here in West Virginia. I'm actually o.k with a break after having worked a full time job and a part time job the majority of this year. I still have a lot to do to get settled, I enjoy living in a clutter free, organized house. I have a whole lists of tasks to complete so it's not like I'm at home twiddling my thumbs waiting for my husband to get home.

Today was Derek's first day of school, he is pretty excited. He already has a group a friends from our ward to support him and his own office space at the school reserved for studying (a recommendation that most students don't know about, thanks to the 2ND year med students). Tommorow we have an orientation scheduled for the wives/partners, I look forward to it so that I can have a better idea of what to expect. It still is crazy to think that we are finally here accomplishing a goal that seemed so far away. We're thankful that everything has fallen in to place for us, we know that this is where we need to be.

Ronceverte, West Virginia Our New Home

We made it to our final destination after driving for over 50 hours. Special thanks to my dad, he's a professional truck driver so he offered to drive us to West Virginia. Many people told him he was crazy for offering but I'm thankful for a father who is so ready and willing to help us out when we need him. My little brother Stevey also came along to supposedly keep me awake but he slept with his mouth wide open the majority of the time. I kept threatening to throw something in his mouth but I'm too much of a cautious driver so I didn't risk the potential distractions that would lead to an accident.

We drove through Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky. Derek and I rotated driving our Mini SUV. By the end of each day we were so tired, we had planned to sleep at the rest stops but we later decided to sleep in motels/inns so that we could get a good night rest.



...somewhere along the way



This is us very exhausted...



Ronceverte is a smaller town about 5 miles away from Lewisburg (the town where the medical school is located). The population is 1,500 and we have been told that everyone knows every one's business. Derek and I are private, I figure that most people won't know more than what they see in our actions.

We attend church about 30 minutes away in another small town called White Sulphur Springs. There are so many churches surrounding us, just from our house I can see five most of them are Baptist but there are a few Evangelical and Pentecostal. Our neighbor, the Pentecostal Preacher has already invited us to dinner (I look forward to that:). I'm thankful that the church is everywhere, it makes me feel secure no matter where I am.

Personally I still feel very uncomfortable. It's different here, comparable to a 3rd world country in some areas. Prices for everything are so inflated even though most companies pay minimum wage $6.55/hr. We asked the locals for an explanation for the inflation and they claimed it was because a lot of wealthy people retire here. Other locals said that they are used to 'penny pinchin'. The pace of life is extreamly slow, we set up a bank account at the local bank and it took 2 hours. The banker was a native of Ronceverte and she had stories about everything. The accent alone takes some getting used to. Derek is starting to talk with a twang and it is driving me nuts.

Overall this town is beautiful and people are extreamly friendly. Several of the girls I met at our new ward mentioned that it will take several months to get used to life here. I need to stay busy and I know I'll be o.k.



I took this picture around 4am, on Friday morning. The airport is 2 hours away so we had to get up extra early. It's raw, no edits at all. I really enjoy photography so I'm thinking that I might do it on the side for a little extra money. I've learned everything I know via internet so I've still got a lot to learn. I plan to eventually set up a photo blog to show off my work, I just have too many other things to do for now.

So long...Farewell..

Our cute little niece Zoe. She loves hanging out with Grandpa Milar, she stuck by his side through out the whole party.



These are my BFF's with their Hubbys (Susiane and Jon and Alithie and Levi) Thanks so much for throwing us a great farewell party. I can't wait to put this picture in my "you make my heart smile" frame that I recieved as a gift from Alithie.



Special thanks to my big brother for sacrificing sleep to help us move. He helped us for a couple hours before he had to work at 7:00pm and he returned at 7:00am to help us move the rest of our stuff before our farewell party. Also thanks to all our siblings/in-laws for helping us pack and load the moving truck.



During my childhood, I spent nearly every weekend with these girls. We'd dance to Vili Manilli and the Jet's. It's crazy that we're all adults now.





Grandma Mele, she was so sad to see us go she wouldn't let go of me.



Grandma Milar was just as sad, look at Grandpa Milar. He finds humor in everything, he's such a fun Grandpa.





My huge Tongan family (..this wasn't even all of us). Thanks for comming everyone, I love getting together with family.







Friends and Family...





More friends and family...



I was so stressed about cleaning our apartment, reality didn't hit me until we started driving to West Virgina. I cried for most of the morning, we will miss everyone so much. We look forward to visiting (I'd like to come home to meet the new baby arrivals, Mele Stewart due: August, Stacy Cazeau due: November and Alithie Rock due: November...we'll see if we could make it this Christmas. If not, we do have a web cam:)

Our Busy life!

The past two weeks have been crazy busy. I was asked to organize our ward/neighborhood's first annual 5k run. Members of the ward referred to me as a professional runner so I felt extremal pressure to make sure the race ran smoothly. I mapped out the run, ordered the bibs and the metals.
I knew that the number of runners would be relatively small because it was our first race so I tried to convince everyone I knew to run it.16 runners registered, I was so happy that there was more than Steve and Jim running.




Jim also ran a 10k earlier that morning. Everyone in the race was so impressed by his running abilities. He was injured and still managed to come in second place.



Although Steve has muscular built, he had never run a race before. I always tell him that he doesn't work for his muscles...they are inherited from our hardworking ancestors. Why didn't I inherit such a nice built? Here he is with my mom. He's wearing all my running gear. Don't worry, I only asked for my hydration belt and i-pod back.



Meanwhile, we have been trying to get a renter for our apartment. I've been posting our apartment on KSL and Craig's list at least every other day. Our apartment agreement is lame because we had to pay the whole months rent unless we get a renter before we leave. Next time I'll read the lease agreement more thoroughly, if we had known that we would have to pay $625 for only 11 days, we would have left on June
30th!
I'm really glad I'm not a manager, I've had a lot of weird folks ask strange questions and walk through our apartment.



This past week was also my last week at work as a Housing Counselor for Community Development Corporation of Utah. I was ready to be done but I didn't think I'd get emotional. Some people think I'm emotionless...call Spock because it is somewhat true. I was given a farewell card and it was quiet touching because in it listed all the things I had done to contribute to CDC. I actually felt like I played an important role...so yeah, it was a tearful ride home in the privacy of my car.

This week we've just packing like robots, I purchased plenty of bubble wrap to make sure nothing breaks. I'm a bit OCD about the way I pack, I like things organized and I really think it's driving my husband nuts. If he could, he would grab a whole drawer, dump it in a box and call it good. Doesn't fly with me so our packing has been slow and steady rather than rushed. It's hard to believe that at this time next week, we'll be in West Virgina. Wish us luck.

2 years of blissfull happiness!

Yesterday we celebrated our second anniversary. Sometimes I feel like Derek and I have just met, it's hard to believe that we have been married for 2 years! I love celebrating our anniversary, we reminise about everything good in our lives. This year has been an amazing year, we both agree that we have have been so blessed this year. Derek will be starting Medical School this fall and we are so excited.



This picture was taken on our second date...I was already so in love:)This picture was taken by one of my friends at the Goapele Concert.

Sibling Camp Trip 2009

Yes, that's snow. We were freezing when we arrived to the top of the mountain.





We look forward to our camp trip all year, last year we started the tradition because it was inexpensive and we had so much fun bonding with our siblings. This year we were determined despite the rain storms. We pitched our tents with extra tarps and slept through the rain on Wednesday night. The following day the weather was great, we rented four wheelers and enjoyed them all day...I personally think the great weather was an answere to our prayers. We had so much climbing the mountain and splashing through the mud puddles.



Skofeild had so much fun chasing the four wheelers. He loves to camp!



My sister Christina cooking us yummy skones for breakfast...my mom obviously didn't want to take a picture so early in the morning.





My mom is so funny, she kept saying that she wouldn't go though the river but once she did, she couldn't stop. Notice my poor sister Loni's face, dosn't she look terrified?



We decided to cut the trip a little short due to all the rain. Overall, we had a great time we hope we can make it back to Utaht for the next camp trip next year.

Derek turned 28 today just six days after I turned 27. According to Astrologists’ we are...Adaptable, versatile, communicative, witty, intellectual, eloquent, youthful and lively. Hurray for us, we’re a great match. I consider my self blessed to have Derek in my life, we are happily in love. I’m not going to get all sentimental…that’s just not me. I figure I’d share something silly instead.

Does anyone remember the fabric padded, laced photo albums we typically make in 2th or 3rd grade? I can’t remember how young we were but it’s really fun read what was written when we were so young. My album was white with blue polka dots. Skofeid, our puppy decided he didn’t like the smell; he destroyed it just two days after my husband convinced me to bring it home from my dad’s house. The album is a biography of you and your family.

My album is painfully embarrassing, I didn’t know how to spell and the stories I told seemed so bogus. Reading it makes me think ‘Dang, where the heck were my parents and why didn’t they help me?’ My album is disorganized; some pages are type written with a type writer while other pages were written in cursive. I found one page that was type written but I guest the ink ran out so the rest of it is written in my sloppy cursive.


In contrast, Derek’s album is perfect in every way. I guess he liked polka dots too because his album is red with white dots, it is nicely trimmed with white lace and two ribbons to tie it shut. Inside you will find that each page has neat cursive writing and each picture is properly labeled. His spelling and punctuation was excellent (I guess it helps to have native English speaking parents to help right? LOL).

Anyhow, I love, love reading Derek’s album. He wrote sweet things about his mother and father and funny things about his brother. His writing was simple, honest and positive; I find so much humor in reading it. Here is an excerpt from Derek’s personal essay on himself, written while he was in elementary:
“When I was one and a half I always have a pacifier. I had one in each hand and one in my mouth. If I lost one or someone took it away I would cry until I got it back. Once I lost one I had to have my dad go and buy me one at the store.”



Captions written Derek himself when he was a child “I loved my rapers they were fun”



“Me on my own first birthday with a nice hat”

Derek has several pictures of himself as a baby with a pacifier in at least one hand and one in his mouth. He was such a cute kid and he has become a very handsome adult. Happy Birthday Honey



Picture taken today, we love playing Mario Cart it is so addicting!