Trip to Cache Valley: January 13-18, 2009

Mike and I made a belated holiday visit to Cache Valley last week and had such a good time. In fact, we were so busy visiting with friends and family and doing fun things that we didn't take a single picture! I packed the camera and then left it in my suitcase for the whole week. Oh well -- fun memories are better than photos. :)

We got to see so many of our family members and friends. We stayed with my parents, who are empty-nesters now that my baby brother has moved out. Mom and Dad are so much fun! They took us cross-country skiing up in Immigration Canyon in Idaho. On the way there and back we saw a moose and a herd of deer! It was a gorgeous day: the sky was deep, deep blue and the sun was shining off of the dry, sparkly snow. The snow was perfect for skiing and the temperature was between 30 and 40 degrees. Michael is very good at skiing; I'm a bit awkward and clumsy, but I do enjoy it. After skiing and lunching we went and sat in the therapeutic minteral water at Riverdale Resort.

Rob, Sarah and Nick (my siblings and sibling-in-law) came over to Mom and Dad's house a couple of nights for dinner and games. We played Wii and also lots of card and board games. I love my little bros and Sarah.

My cousin Emily invited us over for dinner and it was so fun to see her, her husband, and their two cute little boys. At dinner with the Munks we also got to catch up with a college friend, Shanna, and her husband and kids. It was wonderful to see everybody! We had a great time playing games and visiting.

We spent some time with my grandparents and with Mike's grandparents, including his delightful 92-year-old grandma in Provo, UT. We got to see some aunts and uncles and my good friends Mary (for lunch) and Wendy (for pastries and knitting).

It's always hard for me to leave home when the vacation is over, and this time was no different. I try to "buck up," but every time we leave I cry and cry. Leaving my childhood home and coming back to my real life as an adult can be tough -- last night we returned to a musty-smelling house, a very lonely and needy kitten, and an empty refrigerator -- but it is nice to get back to a regular schedule, school, and work. We loved spending time with family and hope to see you all again soon!

2008: Year in Review

This morning on NPR several commentators bid "good riddance" to 2008, a very bad year for financial markets (and political corruption, and natural disasters . . .). Thinking back on my personal experiences this year, I bid a much fonder farewell to 2008. It was a good year in the Bowles-Terry household.

Mike and I had a lot of fun following the presidential campaign. It consumed much of our free time and conversation all year long. Political drama is really some of the best entertainment available. And, as most of you know, we were thrilled with the way the campaign came out in the end and are hoping for good things in the year to come.

We took several short road trips in 2008: Carthage, Nauvoo, Chicago, (and Chicago and Chicago again), and Indianapolis. We had a wonderful visit from the Terrys in May and a fun-filled visit from my Mom and Dad in October. We spent time in Cache Valley during the summer and we're going to be there again in just a couple of weeks.

Mike has been very successful in his position at the bank, and my career as a librarian is getting ready to take off. I attended and presented at two different conferences in 2008, had a job interview and a job offer (that I didn't take), and will graduate in four months!

Our church activities have kept us busy over the past year. I lead the children's music program and love it. I'm also the pianist for the church choir and for our regular Sunday meetings. I love teaching music to the children -- I learn so much from them! Mike does a bit of everything in our congregation: he makes a lot of visits to people who need assistance, teaches in our Sunday meetings, and generally helps out wherever necessary.

We spent Thanksgiving this year with Mike's former Logan roommate, Karl, in Lafayette, Indiana where Karl is working on a PhD at Purdue. We had a fabulous time catching up with him and sharing an excellent meal.

Digging delicious cornbread/sage stuffing out of the turkey's body cavity. Yum!Karl & Mike coming up with a plan of attack for the carvin' of the bird.

We feel very blessed to have good friends in our church congregation; the George family invited us over for Christmas this year and we had a really wonderful time. We had a delicious turkey dinner, played games, and had a huge show-and-tell session of gifts received by G (6), M (4), A (2), and E (9 months). Actually, E didn't show off her toys. She got a bit overexcited and napped for much of the afternoon while we were there. :)

We wish the very best to all of our friends and family in 2009!

In Memoriam: Montague (Monty) Brough Terry

Unfortunately, I didn't get to know Monty well. We only met a few times, but I'll never forget the first time I met him. Mike and I went to Albuquerque for a visit with the Terry family and I was sort of nervous -- we'd only been dating a couple of months and it would be my first time meeting many Terry family members. Monty made me feel so welcome -- I sat down on the couch and almost immediately found 90 pounds of beagle on my lap. Unexpected, yes, but also very endearing. He was a very sweet dog. -- Melissa

Melissa's memory of Monty points to what I'll always remember most about him - his unconditional love. I'll always remember how excited he was to see me, whether it was first thing in the morning or after I had been away from home for a semester at Utah State. He would wag his tail so hard that his whole body would shake. Or if it had only been a little while since he'd seen me, if I walked into the room after being in another room for a little while, Monty would start to wag his tail. If he was laying on the floor, I'd hear the "thump, thump" of his wagging tail hitting the floor.

The most fun that Monty and I had together was on our walks. When I would put on my tennis shoes, he knew it was time to take a walk, and he would get so excited! He'd run and jump, and it was kind of hard to settle him down enough to get his leash attached to his collar. But after the pre-walk drama, we were off to sniff the neighborhood together. Some walks lasted longer than others. If something happened that Monty didn't like - if a strong wind blew in the wrong direction or if Monty spotted a hot-air balloon overhead - he'd turn around, hunker down, and drag me back to the house.

Monty, we love you and we will miss you. -- Mike

For more remembrances of Monty, see Bob & Emily's blog and Rachel & Jake's blog.

Happy Holidays!

Melissa and Mike in Chicago in August 2008

We wish all of our friends and family a very merry Christmas, happy holidays, and a healthy and productive new year. We're grateful for your friendship and love.

The Wild, Wild West of Illinois Politics

Rod Blagojevich

Our esteemed governor, Rod Blagojevich (pronounced bluh-GOY-uh-vich) has apparently been trying to sell Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat. Great. This is just the latest incident in Illinois's very sordid political history. My hope is that this doesn't hurt President-elect Obama too badly -- he's not implicated in the mess, but of course Fox News has jumped into the Obama angle of the story with both feet. Since I didn't grow up in Illinois and didn't take Illinois history, I need a little insight into when and why things went so wrong. Somewhere between Abraham Lincoln and George Ryan, ethics and morality completely excused themselves from politics in this state.

Another movie post

A friend and I went to see Twilight yesterday. Yes, I read all four books. No, I am not 15 or a children's librarian or a YA librarian. No, I didn't read them just because the author is Mormon and so am I. Yes, I'm a little bit embarrassed at how much I liked the series. Why? Because it's about teenage vampires and it's a pretty sappy romance and I was an English major and should have higher standards for the stuff that I read.

Now that the Q&A is out of the way, here are my thoughts about the movie, Twilight:

• It is lesser than the book.
• It could be much worse.
• The movie includes some cheesy dialogue, bad special effects, and not particularly great acting. But it's not all bad.
  
• The movie (and the book) totally capture the despair and wonder of teenage love.
• The movie very successfully evokes the spirit of the book.
• The movie captures just what it's like to be in high school.
  

So, I enjoyed the movie. Mike was totally uninterested in seeing it (and I know he would have been groaning and rolling his eyes throughout), so I'm glad I got to see it with a lady friend rather than subjecting Mike to the experience. My very funny brother-in-law, Mike's brother, is blogging about his experience reading the Twilight series. Check it out: Edward Kidnapped My Wife.

P.S. One more thing -- recently on Times and Seasons (a Mormon blog) there was a review of Breaking Dawn, the final book in the Twilight series. ** Spoiler Alert ** The reviewer claims that Breaking Dawn is "a profoundly Mormon book by a proudly Mormon author" because it concludes the love story not just with a marriage, but with the promise of an eternal partnership (a tenet of Mormon belief). The book also makes the heroine a perfected and immortal being after her death (which is also a part of Mormon theology). Any thoughts from those of you who've read Breaking Dawn? I personally wasn't thrilled with the book, though it did satisfactorily tie up all the loose ends and effectively finish my addiction to the series.

The Fountain

Mike and I watched this movie last night and I'm still thinking about it, which is the sign of a good movie, if you ask me. Movies that stay with you and make you think for hours or days are often more worthwhile than the type you forget as you're leaving the theatre. I'd recommend the movie if you're interested in "love, death, spirituality, and the fragility of our existence in this world" (summary from imdb.com).