Rebstein, Switzerland: My Roots

Remember that one time Matt and I went to Europe? It was incredible, and I posted about it here, here, here and here. And remember all those times I promised I would finish blogging about it? A certain sister of mine won't let me forget about those, so here's the plan: I'll blog about our European honeymoon at least once a week--Tuesdays and/or Thursdays. Matt and I kept a travel journal so I'll refer to that as I go along. K deal?

I left off in Zurich, where we spent the night before heading to our main Switzerland stop--a quaint little village called Rebstein. It is where generations of my Graf ancestors are from and it was such a neat experience to be there and feel a special connection to them. Rebstein is in an absolutely breathtaking area of the alps, with unbelievable views from every angle. Maybe that's where my dad's obsession with pretty mountain views came from? I know for sure that Rebstein is where the Graf addiction to hiking comes from. I could've spent days and days just roaming the mountains above Rebstein and been perfectly content. It was fun driving through thinking of my ancestors doing exactly that.

The place I wanted to visit most in Rebstein was the little white church with the red steeple and the green clock. It's where my great-great-great-grandparents and their parents were married, and luckily, it was the first thing we spotted when we reached the village. The church is one of the sweetest little things I've ever seen, and even sweeter was the opportunity I had upon returning home to do some temple work for the family that began here hundreds of years ago.

After wandering around the churchyard for some time (and noticing that nearly half of the headstones said "Graf" on them... just like everything else in town), we found this map of the village and began exploring.

(Rebstein is also where our obsession with all European pastries began.)

It was amazing to see all the little connections we Grafs still have with our Rebstein ancestors, and such a neat experience to understand better who they were and where they came from. I'm lucky to have binders upon binders full of their stories and my family history, but nothing makes it come alive quite like walking where they did so long ago. I can't even imagine leaving such a majestic place with so much of my heritage to travel to America--and the then-barrenness of Utah, no less--knowing that I'd never return. I'm so grateful for the faith they had to do so.

LUSH

Matt is a smart man. Last summer, in preparation for my September birthday, I dragged him into the LUSH shop in every big city we visited. He took note and surprised me with a LUSH gift card as one of my presents. (And though I love giving gifts, when it comes to receiving, few things scream "thoughtful" like a gift card to a place I adore. Anyone with me on that?) Since we were still bouncing around the country at the time, I finally cashed in at the Santa Monica shop last month.

LUSH describes itself as an "adult candystore," which seems a bit inadequate to me. Sure, the excitement is akin to a child surrounded by sugar, but the feeling is something more along the lines of "I think I died and went to bath heaven." It is known for its luxurious and incredibly unique bath products such as bath bombs, shower jellies, and an ocean salt scrub that makes your skin so smooth, a baby's bottom seems scaly in comparison. Just ask Matt! (He's a great sport.)

Since our visit to LUSH coincided with their post-holiday sale, I was able to get about a zillion things for the price of two-and-a-half. Score! I've been quite enjoying my spoils, and highly recommend following in Matt's shoes the next time you need to surprise a lady (*cough*Valentine's Day*cough*).
It's a gift that keeps on giving :-)

The big kid rides

Nothing like a bunch of roller coasters to spice up the desert life! Matt had a day off a few weeks ago and we had free Six Flags tickets, so off we went to Magic Mountain. The high in Valencia that day was a mere 66 degrees, but we decided it was a great idea to just wear t-shirts anyway so we didn't have to lug anything around. It was not a great idea. We got out of our car and were welcomed by overcast skies and a light breeze... which would not feel so "light" when rushing to our faces while going 80 mph on a coaster! Right.

Since we were an hour away from home, we punched "Walmart" into our Garmin and picked up these lovelies for $10. We figured they could double as our car-to-gym jackets (that 1 minute walk can be pretty icy at night!) so no harm done.

The park was miraculously not crowded that day, so we stayed till the park closed and were able to ride every.single.coaster there at least once... and our favorites twice! Not bad. And can I just tell you that Matt is probably the most fun person to go on rides with ever? He totally makes all the little "woohoo" noises and just has a ball. Which translates into me laughing the entire time... although I'm pretty sure that's what I do anyway.

We rode those coasters till we were sick! (Well, actually Matt's the only one who really gets motion sick but I didn't want to call him out or anything... okay, just kidding, neither one of us really got sick.)

It was a blast!

Varying Perspectives

Yesterday afternoon, I was out running errands and made a quick stop at Sam's Club. A new mom was standing ahead of me in line holding a little bundle all wrapped up in thick pink blankets. The Sam's employee noticed the baby as well.

"Is that a baby girl you got there?" she asked. "How old is she?"

"Six weeks," the mom replied, beaming.

The employee appeared shocked.

"Then girl, what are you doing here in this cold air?!"

A valid question for February.
If it weren't still 70 degrees and sunny here in Southern California.

After leaving Sam's, I made sure to take a quick snapshot of the clear blue sky to illustrate my point. Yes, the day was that beautiful! (Ignore the phone line... you get the picture.)

It took every ounce of self-control I could muster for the Utahn in me to not burst out in laughter. Different perspectives, indeed.

It's a good life

My family moved every 3-5 years while I was growing up, and for the most part, I loved it! (Although, I'll never forget how tragic the news of our impending Utah move was to my soon-to-be-sophomore Californian self. In fact, my sisters and I even implemented an annual "Day of Mourning" to commemorate the day my dad got the call. But that's another story. Good thing Utah grew on me, eh?) Anyway.

I learned to love the change and all of the new people I met and experiences I had. In fact, I like it so much that now I get bored if I stay in the same place for too long--and that's one of the many reasons I'm so supportive of Matt staying in the Air Force. I love that I can have a whole life in multiple places around the country.

Of all the "lives" I've had, however, I think there will always be a special place in my heart for our Colorado lives. It's where Matt and I really became a "we," where we were able to share so many incredible experiences and most of all, where we built lasting friendships with so many amazing people. This trip was probably the last time we'll ever get to have so many of those friends in Colorado at one time, so I was more than a little nostalgic as I went through pictures from the weekend.

*The Hendricks family and our buddy Caleb (who played football with Matt) came to President Uchtdorf's Friday night meeting with us... along with little sister Coley and her date Jordan.

*We made time to stop by Briargate and eat at Ted's! Thank goodness. I am mildly obsessed with their bison burgers. Mmmm.

*Despite living on opposite coasts, it appears from their unplanned matching outfits that Mikey Bear and Matt are still on the same wavelength.

*A game night for the ages. Yes, Jordan, apparently this is what grown-ups are like!
GIRL POWER!

*My boys (and my man!). And my absolutely real, loving life, not-for-the-camera smile. Some days, right after you move and before you get really settled, life is sort of hard. It's good to get a healthy dose of unfeigned happiness every once in a while :-)

So to all you former-Coloradan non-bloggers who read this anyway, thanks for the memories! We sure love you.

PS-I meant to delete a draft and instead deleted my little post about LOST. Suffice it to say, we're way excited for tonight! (Thanks to Heidi for getting me hooked.)

A Visit with President Uchtdorf

When Matt was a senior, he and three of his best friends worked with the chaplain to officially invite President Uchtdorf to visit the Air Force Academy. President Uchtdorf was a German fighter pilot, a top graduate from a USAF pilot school, the chief pilot for Lufthansa and, most importantly, is now an Apostle and a member of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The paperwork finally went through, the visit was scheduled for last weekend, and the four Second Lieutenants were invited back to the Academy for the occasion. It was such an incredible experience for everyone involved, but probably especially for Matt, Mike, Chase and Jon. Matt wrote to his family about it and I'll include a little of what he said throughout the post.

"There was a special meeting just for the LDS cadets on Thursday night that the four of us were invited to attend. President Uchtdorf spent about an hour and a half telling us of his flying experience along with various pictured illustrations. He talked a lot about the importance of being humble and being a good example. 'Never underestimate the power of your good example.' He opened it up for questions. The questions that the cadets asked really prompted some amazing instruction. The spirit was incredible, especially while he bore his testimony. He truly is called of God, and it was so neat to have that witness reconfirmed to me while I was sitting 20 feet from him. Afterwards, he went around the room and shook everyone’s hand."

The next day, President Uchtdorf spent the morning with Academy officials and then ate lunch on the staff tower of the infamous Mitchell Hall. Matt, his friends, and a small group of LDS cadets were invited to the lunch. My husband said Mitch's has never tasted so good.

After lunch, everyone went outside to take pictures.

"I told him where I had served my mission and we talked about a few people that we both knew. I then expressed how special it was for me to be serving in Germany and Austria when he was called as a Apostle. I told him that a German missionary stood up during the session when he was called and started dancing around in the aisles! He actually knew the missionary's family and we both got a good laugh.

"He then gathered me, Mike and Jon around him and again expressed his gratitude to us (for inviting him there). This time he included how thankful he was that we were there as an example to all the cadets that they can make it through this place. He said, 'Your being here is an inspiration to all around you.' I thought it interesting that he would say that, considering that was exactly what I was thinking about him!"

That was probably the thing that Matt and I were most impressed by--how sincerely kind President Uchtdorf was to everyone. He complimented every single person he spoke to and made them feel special and loved. Talk about teaching by example!

That evening's events were opened up to guests, which meant I was able to accompany Matt to the Academy (which was as beautiful as ever).

The Academy had sectioned off a portion of Mitchell Hall for the LDS cadets to have dinner before the meeting. Matt and Mike introduced me and Jenna to President Uchtdorf and we were able to have a neat conversation with him. Such a great memory to share!

That night's meeting was held in the Cadet Chapel for LDS cadets, their cadet friends, and their sponsor families. It was incredible! (I wish I could share all of my notes, but you're more than welcome to call if you'd like to hear more.) President Uchtdorf spoke extensively about what an amazing place the Academy is, the quality of people who are involved with it, and the opportunities for good that these men & women will have throughout their time with the Air Force. He said that peace in the world begins with finding an inner peace through God, and told the cadets to never doubt that they are where they're supposed to be.

I've always been so grateful for Matt's experiences at the Air Force Academy and for the path that it has given us, although it's not an easy one. It brought tears to my eyes to receive that validation from an Apostle.

I am so grateful that Matt was led to the Academy and for all of the incredible experiences he was able to have there. I know that it is where the Lord wanted him to be, and that He continues to guide our lives now. I'm so thankful for the opportunity we had to meet President Uchtdorf last weekend. He truly is one of the Lord's Apostles on the earth today and the Light of Christ shines through him. I didn't have to meet him to know that, and yet it was confirmed to me every second that we spent with him. We are so blessed to be members of this church and to have the gospel in our lives. It brings us so much peace and happiness; I don't know what I'd ever do without it.

Snippets

You may not have noticed, but I am about a month behind in blogging. I feel like that's just what happens when you spend about a month on vacation, right? Since I'm sure you're all tired of the Christmas recaps, though, I'll spare you all the details and share just a few snippets from our December trip home for the holidays.

*Andy came home*

Matt's little brother Andy came home from his mission in Slovakia. His flight was almost an hour early and Matt got off work late, so we raced (whilst obeying traffic laws, of course) to Utah to make it in time. Glad we did!

Note: I dare you to find cuter kids than our nieces & nephews (and my baby brothers, of course). Seriously.

*Playing with friends*

We always have such limited time when we come home that it's hard to squeeze in seeing friends! This time, we planned ahead and had a great time catching up with everyone.

*Music and the Spoken Word*

One of my family's Christmas traditions is to attend Music and the Spoken Word the Sunday before Christmas. No one can sing Christmas carols quite like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and it's such a great way to start the home stretch into the holiday. We even caught a sunrise over the mountains on our way to Salt Lake! (That is an extremely rare phenomenon for me.)

*Lights at Temple Square*

Is anyone's Christmas ever complete without seeing them? I think not.

*Caroling at the Huntsman*

My best guy friend from high school, Jason Long, passed away from leukemia two years ago. He was treated so well at the Huntsman Cancer Institute that HCI holds a special place in all our hearts. The Longs go caroling to the patients there every Christmas Eve, and we're lucky to be invited along. It's always such a neat experience.

*The Nativity*

My family experiences the story of Christ's birth three ways at Christmas time: reading Luke 2, watching the Luke 2 video that our church produced, and acting out the preschool version of the nativity--costumes, props, set and all. This year, Matt & I were Joseph & Mary and my Gabey Baby was the cutest little shepherd you've ever seen.

*Pixie!!!*

We Grafs have an elf, and his name is Pixie. He peaks in our front window each of the three nights before Christmas and lets Santa know whether we were good or not. And if we were good, Pixie leaves presents on our doorstep before heading back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. It's the most fantastic Christmas tradition ever, dating back generations of Grafs, and the kids eat it up like candy. Observe their reactions to seeing him peak and you'll know what I mean.

*Christmas Morning*

I'm so glad my parents kept having kids because honestly, how boring would Christmas morning be without them? This year, my brothers even let us sleep in until 5:30.
Oh yeah, and Santa came for me & Matt, too.

My big gift to Matt was the trip out to Colorado that we made last weekend. I'll blog about that next. And you'll want to see it. Promise.

Back to the Springs

Hello from Colorado! Yes, we're back again after we were just here last month. What can I say? Old habits die hard. Actually, we're here for a special event this weekend that I'm way excited to tell you about! But in the meantime, I figured I should probably document our last visit that I never got around to blogging.

It was just a regular ol' weekend in Colorado--meet up with some friends, pop over to the Air Force Academy, stay & play with the Hendricks family... just the way we like it. I flew in a day before Matt, which meant I got to go to USAFA's mechanical engineering department's family Christmas party (Steve was one of Matt's instructors). The real Santa was too busy to make it, so Steve suited up in a pinch. Naturally, this led to our camera catching Jodie kissing Santa Claus.

Matt was there in spirit... and on the wall with all the other 2009 EngrMech grads.
He was looking mighty fine, if I may say so myself.

Once Matt was in town, we made sure to head over to the Broadmoor to see the Gingerbread houses and Christmas lights around the grounds. (Nevermind the fact that this first picture was taken before the lights came on.... so just imagine the entrance full of twinkling lights, mmmk?)



The Broadmoor is so beautiful in the winter time with the lakes frozen over, snow on the ground, and lights in the (real!) trees. You can't help but love it.

Sunday included a trip to the Single's Ward to catch up with old friends. One of Matt's best friends, Jon, was in town for pilot training and taught Sunday School just like the good ol' days.

On Monday, Matt and I meandered over to the elementary school to have lunch with Preston and Taylor.

Matt fit right in.

Then we had a second lunch at the Academy with our buddy Caleb, who played football with Matt.

Oh, and see that bag in my hand? Yes, it's full of Air Force Falcons baby clothes. No, we're not pregnant. Yes, we like to plan ahead. And yes, Caleb thought I was crazy. But whatever.

And the moral of the story is that the mountains were so pretty and the trip was so lovely that we came back a month later. (I wonder if we'll ever wean ourselves of this place...)

Wife Business

Tonight, I met Matt in the driveway just as he pulled up from work and informed him that we needed to go to the grocery store. So he smiled and kissed me, then opened my door, put the car in reverse, and drove the four blocks to our destination without asking questions. Once inside, he grabbed a cart and then looked curiously at me as I stared aimlessly at the aisles of food.

"So, um, what do you want for dinner?" I finally asked him, as my gaze moved toward the microwavable dinners we'd grown so tired fond of during our homeless months. It'd been a long day of painting and cleaning, and they were calling my name. Matt laughed, undoubtedly thinking about all the must-be-prepared-and-cooked food we already had back home in our nice, warm kitchen.

"You know, you should really think about embracing this wife business," he teased.

To which, of course, I reminded him that I'll be more than happy to cook again once we've finished getting the house together. Also, that many a husband cooks--my brother-in-law Alex, Matt's home teaching companion, the dad of the family I nannied for...

And then we skipped merrily down the frozen food aisle and lived happily ever after.

Apples

This is me and my mom. Once upon a time, we went to New York together and packed separately. Then it rained so we took out our jackets... and we'd brought the exact same one. So we got to be twinners in NYC for a day.

This is my mom's house. The picture was obviously taken during Christmastime, but it looks the exact same now (minus the tree). No, that is not a sorry attempt at modern art. It's just a girl trying to find the perfect paint color for her home.

This is my house. The pictures were taken today and it still looks exactly the same :-)

Apparently, the apple doesn't fall very far from the tree.