Summer in Manhattan

I finally have some time to write. It's my day off and sitting inside while it's raining never felt so good. I debated starting a journal because I have so much that goes on that I never write about and well blogging doesn't quite cut it because you obviously can't put everything in your blog (especially when it's public). But, then I realized that whenever I start trying to keep a journal it never works out. First of all I have to do it on my computer because my hand would cramp to death if I wrote in a book, and then it just gets lost in my millions of documents saved on my computer. I actually have quite a few random little entries from the last couple years that are on there. I know I know I could just be organized and make it work, but the way life is right now- there is no organization and pretty much no extra time. So here I am- blogging.

I'm going to start about two weeks ago because that is when the madness began. Just thinking about being back in Provo with the beautiful green trees and the nice crisp summer air is making me homesick. But anyway, up until two weeks ago we were lovin life. We both worked on campus so we didn't have strict schedules. We would work a couple hours whenever we wanted during the day and then would play tennis, go to his parent's house for a fire, hang out with friends, go on hikes, etc. All the fun summer things. We started a little list of things we wanted to do before we left and we did almost all of them! Here's some items from our list:

-Hogle Zoo -probably my favorite one

-Movie Night -I don't think this really happened but I'm sure we watched some movie...

-Ice Blocking in Rock Canyon Park -nope but it sounded fun

-BBQ up the Canyon -mother's day with my family

-Roast marshmallows -twice

-Run 5k -wish I could say we did this..

-Bike ride to Utah Lake  -started out but then it poured on us. As soon as we got home it cleared up but we didn't have the heart to go out and try again

-Temple -yes, always a good thing

-Badminton at parents  -never set up the badminton but played lots of basketball and molkey

-Hike the Y  -yes, but our hike to stewart falls was way better

Ok so once all the fun was over we had a whole lot of packing and cleaning to do. Preston was really good about getting started early on packing and he kept moving out pieces of our furniture and dejunking our closet everyday when I would go to work. So it was a sad, long drawn out process. And seriously it was sad. By the end it was so busy that I didn't really have time to reminisce, but I'll really miss our apartment. It was the perfect place for us to live for the first two and a half years of our marriage. For the sake of remembering that wonderful place here's a couple pictures:

Our last two days in Provo were spent cleaning that place spotless. Preston's mom helped us and we could not have done it without her. (Thanks Linda!) From there we left on our red eye flight to New York City. 

Coming to New York was exhausting like I expected. There is just so much walking that I wasn't used to! I think I'm starting to get the hang of things now, but the first couple days we were here I wanted to fall over dead so many times. 

--Quick side story---

We have a bunch of friends that are also out here for the summer. Emily and George just got married and they flew out here the day after us. When they got here they went to their apartment that they were supposed to be staying in for the summer and the landlord of the building saw them going in and went and talked to them. So apparently it is not okay to sublease the apartment out for the summer and the girl that was letting them live there got in big trouble and Emily and George no longer had a place to stay. So they ended up coming over to stay at our  apartment with us until they found somewhere else. Not to mention on the taxi ride over Emily threw up... in her bag!! So that was quite the adventure. Luckily they found somewhere now and besides the 2 stabbings that have already happened in their apartment building, they are doing much better!

--Ok back to us--

Going to church on Sunday was like no other time. (and I'm not talking about the crazies in our ward) Walking in those doors to the church filled me with so much emotion. I was choked up throughout the entire sacrament meeting and couldn't even sing the songs. It's amazing the sanctuary that the church is in a big city like this. It's so different from anywhere else I've been. Walking and taking the subway to church on Sunday just felt like any other day. I hardly saw anyone dressed up, and it was almost just as crowded as every other day. So when I walked into our church it was just unexplainable. Everything just felt right for the first time in a while. I can't say how thankful I am to have the church in my life. Sundays like this past week really confirm everything I believe to be true.

Monday came quickly and I was off to my first day at my internship. Preston didn't start work till a week after me so he had the week to himself. He was so helpful to me, walking me to the subway, packing snacks in my purse, and waiting outside my work when I got off. Once I even got so lost running errands for work that I ended up clear up by our apartment and he came and gave me a subway card and lead me back in the right direction. That story is actually pretty embarrassing. I walked like 20 blocks and ended up being gone from work for almost 2 hours, when getting the mail should have only taken like 20 minutes. Work is good.. I guess that's probably the extent of what I want to say about that on my public blog. But really, once I get used to things I think it'll be a really good internship. This last week was crazy and it feels soooo good to have a day off and just relax and sleep in. (I have every Friday off, lucky me!)

There's a lot more I could write about I guess but I'll end here today. Basically I'm still alive and I think things are looking up. I've been pretty sick for the past while, but I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I've also made huge strides in learning how to use the subways and get around on my own which will be really important next week when Preston is working all the time. I think this summer will be an unforgettable experience that will really help me grow as a person.

I'll end with a few pictures that I've taken here. I need to be better about taking pictures lately.

Oh yeah I also forgot to say that we love our apartment! It's really nice and clean. We wish we could stay here the whole time, but we have another apartment that we're moving to in another week. The people who live here are coming back from vacation :(

Preston on our balcony with an incredible view of the empire state building

Me (awkward pose)

more apartment pics

little kitchen

Hanging out in Central Park

picking up Shake Shack for the office

Concert in Prospect Park in Brooklyn

Union Square- where I work