Vacation at last!

Aaron and I finished our final exams last week and are enjoying time off from school!  Our break so far has been WONDERFUL, and filled with LOTS of vacation.  I promise to spread this update over several posts so you don't get overwhelmed with tons of pictures and stories.

DAY 2-3

Part of our trip was spent in San Diego with the "Turnbull" side of the family.  We spent the two days at my Grandparents house.   It was so nice to finally spend some quality time with them.  My grandpa turned 90 last year and I am not sure how long he'll be with us.  He still is has brown hair and enough energy to golf.  His vision and hearing are declining fast, yet he still has a wonderful attitude and is a joy to be around.  My grandma is  the most beautiful women I have ever met.  I have no idea how old she is, but she seems to get more beautiful each year... seriously.  To celebrate Mother's Day, my aunt Nancy made reservations for ALL of us to get pedicures.  Even Aaron and my Grandpa had it done!!! 

Here's Aaron sitting between my Grandparents.

 My aunts, grandma's sister, sister and me after the pedicures.

(Sally, Betsy, Me, Aunt T, Grandma, Julie, Nancy)

This was Aunt T's first pedicure.  She was SO funny to watch.

Nan, showing Aaron the ropes

My Grandpa being a ham for the camera.  My Grandma has been making him get pedicures for a while now.  Apparently last time he had an in-grown toenail that the lady tried to dig out.  He was a little nervous this time around :) (He totally doesn't look 90 huh!)

The finished product!

Stay tuned for more vacation updates.....

Migraine miracle

 Yesterday (Saturday), Aaron had a DJ gig in monument valley.  I was planning on going with him to help load and unload the car, but got a migraine 10 minutes before we left.  Wow!  Can you believe it!  For those of you who don't know, I get really nasty migraines that leave me completely incapacitated for a WHOLE DAY.  This usually involves vomiting, screaming, sleeping and LOTS of pain killers.  Needless to say, I was not going to make it to the DJ gig.  Aaron gave me a blessing before he left.  I kid you not, the migraine immediately left, leaving only a small (bearable) headache in it's wake!  I got lots of sleep and was able to attend the adult meeting of stake conference.  It may sound strange, but I know I needed to be at that conference.  The talks were incredible, and I honestly felt like each one was "just what I needed to hear".  The Lord really does work in mysterious ways.  I am grateful for the blessing of being married to a worthy priesthood holder, and for the miracle of not having to feel the pain of the migraine in order to enjoy stake conference.  Here were a couple of thoughts that stuck out to me:

1) You can't teach a child NOT to hit by hitting

A) Your example speaks louder than words

2) There is no growing in a comfort zone, and no comfort in a growing zone  

3) The strength of youth pamphlet applies to all members 

4) A good strong marital relationship is the best gift you can give your children

5) Increased temple attendance means, increased revelation for your personal life.

Have a happy Sabbath!

Aaron's First Blog Post Ever

Greetings. After much consideration, I have decided to contribute to the Helvig Family Blog. A certain person who shall remain nameless has insistently requested that I make an effort to contribute to this online family journal, and share my deepest darkest secrets. As a participant of the Helvig Family, I formally announce that I will regularly make an appearance on the Helvig Family Blog.
-Aaron


This week has been the happiest week of my life (oops...my wife kindly reminded me of another event in our life that was the happiest also ...). I got approval from the family financial committee to purchase presale tickets to a U2 concert this upcoming October! I never dreamed that I would ever have the chance to see one of the most influential rock bands in the world! And would anyone believe that Becky wanted to go too?! I'm so excited to go with my sweetheart. It's gonna be the radest show of the year ... Get On Your Boots!

Blast from the past!!!

I spy with my very own eyes, a wavy half-up-half-down side pony tail!!!  There is only one way to describe this picture...WOW.  Can you believe how fast time flies?  Looking at my friends from Mr. Smith's 3rd grade class makes it seem like only yesterday we were pegging our pants and tying knots in the side of our shirts.  What was your favorite outfit growing up?

There have been several requests for the names of the kids most of you will recognize.  See if you can spy: Katy Barrow, Jack Ballard, Christy Montoya, Sage Christensen, Kristen Ririe, Tess Baker, Ryan Ward, Leonard Dalton, Danny Haizlet (they're listed in order, zig-zagging from Katy in the front row with zebra pants)

Getting to knowwww youuuu...lalala laa laa laa....

Even though the few of you who actually read this blog know us well, I thought I would tell you our DEEPEST DARKEST SECRETS!!!  Not really, but I wonder if you know that....

We:

1) Down a half-gallon of ice-cream every 3 days!

2) Like to be out-doors, but not if it involves camping.

3) Love movies!!!  (Becky likes the Disney, Aaron prefers action).

4) Both are serving in the primary.

5) Dipped candles downtown on our first date.

6) Live with Becky's parents... 

Aaron:

1) Never procrastinates!  Really, he finishes projects weeks before they are do (hard worker)

2) Is allergic to peanuts.

3) Never buys a shirt for more than $10, unless forced. 

4) Still opens the car door for his wife!!!

5) Cooks pasta and meat like nobodies business!

6) Own his own DJ business

Becky:

1) Can eat chocolate for breakfast! 

2) Has an arm span longer than her height (monkey-girl)

3) Is cold ALL of the time!

4) Is the proud owner of pink fuzzy socks

5) Is allergic to anything fury

6) After much culturing, can now identify the title and artist of classic rock songs 50% of the time.

Don't underestimate everyday household items!!

This little beauty is my backpack.  Only $12.00!!!!  I guess you get what you pay for.  I am only half-way through my second semester and it is completely trashed!  My Dad tried sewing it back together with FLOSS after my first week (as evidenced by the white stitches on the strap), typical dentist for ya.  I have to admit, the only reason it is still usable is because of the floss.  I highly recommend Johnson & Johnson brand for all of your heavy-duty sewing needs!

Sabbath Day Miracle

I have a hard time posting updates on my life, since nothing every seems to change.  I normally wake up, eat, go to school, eat, come home, eat, kiss my husband, do my homework, and go to bed......pretty darn exciting huh!  This past week was a little different.

Have you ever had a week that felt overwhelmingly impossible?  I was sure last week was going to be that week for me.  There have been many challenges since I started graduate school, but this is the first time I've EVER had a test, project, or final due in ALL of my classes at the SAME TIME!!!!  Honestly, I think my teachers forgot that we have more than one class.

This story begins Saturday, March 7th at precisely 10:00 PM....(two days before my midterm was due).  Although I had been given a week to work on it, I was busy spending most of that time preparing for a scary voice final, plus a million other assignments.  I decided to designate Saturday as my "work-only-on-language-midterm" day.  It only had 10 questions, so seriously, how long could it take?  HA!!!!!! I woke up at 6:30 AM to begin.  At 1:00 PM I had finished 3 questions....yep...ONLY 3.  I was starting to panic a little.  By 10:00PM I was on question number 5.  Like a true procrastinator, I had skipped the hard questions and 16 hours later was only half way through.  I have never been so stressed out in my entire life.

Not doing homework on Sunday's is one way I try to keep the Sabbath day holy.  It has been such a blessing in my life to have one day a week to NOT think about school, and FOCUS on what's really important.  It's a great way to stay balanced, I totally recommend it.  BACK TO THE STORY.....At this point, I knew I would not be able to finish on time without doing homework on Sunday.  I was in need of a MIRACLE.  I wrote my teacher an email explaining our crazy week and pleaded for one extra day.  By 10:30 there was still no response and I knew if I didn't get to sleep soon, my primary lesson would be a mess.  Aaron gave me a blessing and I quick checked my email one last time.

I had a message from my teacher saying that she was so sorry about our crazy week, and that she would extend the deadline one day.  I thought that was enough of a miracle, but it didn't stop there.  Later that week I also received an email from my voice teacher informing me that I didn't have to take the final since I had an "A" in her class...  My neuro teacher decided to give us a case study instead of a test, and Dr. Ahmend moved the due date for our research paper back 2 weeks.  Thanks to my Sabbath day miracle, the week turned out to be not overwhelmingly impossible.

I know that Heavenly Father blesses us when we try to keep the commandments.  

What miracles have you seen recently?