Greenbrier River Trail

This week I finally went out to discover the Greenbrier River Trail with my friends. Several weeks ago while running outside on the narrow roads, my dog Skofeild got a little anxious and ran after a truck. I ended up tripping over him and I skid on my whole left leg. The fall was so hard that I scraped my leg and both legs were very bruised.


I took this picture after I healed a bit, it doesn't look so bad anymore, but I was sore for days
I haven't ran outside since then, I've opted to cross train on the elliptical for now. The Greenbrier trail is 77 miles, no moter vehicles are allowed and it will be great to run on. I was put in charge of the running group so I think I've found the best place to run now!

There are lots of bugs out there so this netting came in handy, this is Arianna Lewis, Racheal's daughter


Racheal and Becki


The river, at first I thought it was muddy and gross but it's actually the rock formations. It's a very pristine river.



Derek had his first real test on Friday. His schedule has been so crazy this week. Every morning we get up together, have breakfast and we leave together so that he can grant me access to the school gym. I'm supposedly going to get my own pass but until then I'll just have to use Derek's.Derek typically has lecture from 8:00am-5:00pm(with one hour of lunch), he'll study until 6:00pm and then come home for dinner. Once he's eaten dinner, I usually pack him a second dinner or snack and he returns to school to study (he can't concentrate at home with me and Skoey around and I don't blame him). He typically returns home at 12am but this week he has been coming home at 2:00am. I try to wait up for him but I conk out at 12am. We don't find out what his grade is until later on this week so we're anxious to find out how he did on his very first test.

Meanwhile, I've been keeping busy with the girls from my ward and the Spouse groups on campus. I'm in charge of the running group and I joined the sewing, exercise and outdoor discovery of WV group. My calendar is packed with lots of fun stuff now. I've also been baking a lot more than usual. We can no longer afford to splurge on the processed foods like Oreos, candy bars, Costco muffins that Derek seems to enjoy so much. It's been great though because I really do enjoy baking.
On Friday we met up with the other students of our ward to celebrate their first medical school test. We had lots of yummy food and lots of good conversation. Here are a few snapshots of our fun times:)


We're pretty excited that at least one of our buddies has a grill!


One of my new favorite friends, I finally got this little girl to like me enough to let me hold her:)

Happy 3rd Birthday Audric

It was my nephew Audric's birthday yesterday. I was so excited to call him to sing happy birthday to him but when I called he was far to occupied to come talk on the phone. Several weeks ago when I spoke to him on the phone he asked me when I was going to come over. I explained that we live too far, I even told him that Skofeild (our puppy) misses him. He laughed as he replied 'that's silly Tiva'...'Tiva we gon save you som cake k?' We miss him so much. Derek and I have been using his most common words whenever we are together, our favorite one is 'your gonna be sad!'





One of the last times we visited my brother's house before we moved to West Virginia he played most of the time with Derek. He loves to jump on him and Derek throws him in the air. When we were getting ready to leave he asked 'Derweck...do you wanna play?' when Derek responded, 'no we have to go bud' Audric became frusteraed and said 'I'm gon bweck your car' we didn't understand what he was trying to say so we asked him to repeat himself. He said 'I'm gon bwek your car and your gonna be sad!' It's funny to think that a child so young has the ability to understand that with out our car we couldn't leave.What a smart little boy. We miss you Audric, happy birthday!

We miss you too Braxten! Our last picture at Liberty Park July 11, 2009

Somewhat settled in, a virtual tour of our new home!

Things have been going really well, Derek has completed his first week of Medical School and he is still very excited to become a Doctor. I continue to submit applications for work on a daily basis, I'm really getting tired of people asking me if I've found a job yet. No more updates on endless submissions of applications until I find a winner o.k everyone? Until then, I've enjoyed cooking recipes from the Food Network channel and watching the Baby Show on TLC, I've decided that I want to have my babies natural (actually, I've always wanted to have them natural but the show has been inspirational)I'd like to give birth in a jetted bathtub..at a birthing center. I doubt this ity biti town has a birthing center, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. I do other things as well besides watch t.v., I should enter clips titled 'The Housewives of West Virginia', we're husbandless, jobless and penniless, we have to make our own fun in this great town:)

My sister Kura insists on seeing pictures of our new home. So here they are (one of the many reasons why I have a private blog).

This was once a house, it was converted into an upper and lower level apartment. We have a lot of random spaces for that reason.

ENTRANCE:
This is pretty random space, I don't have anything to put in it yet but I think a sofa table would look great against the wall opposite of this photo. This door leads to a ton of storage and the cellar. My favorite part of about this random space is the old school window unit. It cools down our living room quiet nicely.



FRONT ROOM:
This space is a bit small, I've always liked wooden floors they make a room feel so classy. I have to sweep everyday, sometimes 2x a day because Skofeilds hair everywhere, I would hate for anyone visiting to see it. The nifty square box is our heating system, I've never seen anything like it. I hope it keeps us warm






OFFICE/PERSONAL GYM/ GUEST ROOM:

The office needs a bit more work, I have a few projects that I've been working on. I still have two huge boxes filled with frames. My treadmill is next to the window, I don't plan to use it until it's frigid cold outside.
We also have a comfy air mattress so if your ever passing through and need a free place to say you'll get the pleasure of staying in this room. Derek doesn't use it too much as an office, he has his own office at school that he prefers to use.



BEDROOM:
Our bedroom has two separate spaces. Our bed is right next to a window and a walk in closet. The second space serves as my vanity area since our bathroom is so tiny. We're thinking that it will be a great space once we have a little one, if we have one during the two years we live here. My brother Simi tells me that it's a horrible idea. We'll see about that.





BATHROOM:
We defiantly downgraded from our previous bathroom, even our toilet seems miniature. Oh well, it serves its purpose.



UTILITY ROOM:
This is by far one of the greatest rooms! We've been doing laundry at our family's homes for the past two years. I can multi-task now, I no longer have to spend my whole day away from home waiting on laundry.



KITCHEN:
Derek says the kitchen was the heart of the home during his childhood because his mother spent so much time in it. My childhood of course was the opposite, we ate ramen noodles raw and cold cereal. I definitely need to work on the decor, I'll have to watch more interior design shows to get inspired. I have photos of family up right now but it still needs serious help.



KITCHEN FRIENDS:
One night we had Honey Walnut Shrimp for dinner and we saved the oil in its original bottle. Several days later, I noticed the wrapping was clawed off in pieced and mice droppings near it. We went through all our covers and bleached everything. We purchased rat poisoning and humane mice traps. It only took two days to catch a mouse, we were too freaked out to pick up the box so thanks to our friend Stuart, we got it out of our house. Since then, the mice have mysteriously disappeared. I think we killed them off with the poisoning. Supposedly it's normal to have mice in this area.



So this is our new home and we've enjoyed it. Next week, I'll post a virtual tour of our neighborhood, it's beautiful here.

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.