the Graham Cracker House

The pictures from our epic trip have been floating the web for weeks, it's time I give some details of this one of a kind Murray family reunion.
First and foremost- I was just glad to get 2 weeks off work.  Taking a break from work really does wonders for the soul.  And Washington is the perfect place to visit for this type of time off.
All the Murray's (11 of us now!) made it to Anacortes by Saturday the 14th of August.  We packed in a BBQ, family pictures (poor Kacy), a bike ride, a few games of settlers, church, two boat debriefings  a "captain's fireside", a little bit of sleep a lot of ice cream before departing from our respective marinas on Monday morning.  Michael, Steph, Erin, Alex, and Kacy took our boat, the MurrMaid, while the rest of us were the crew of "Surprise" a 39' beneteau we chartered for the week.

Roche Harbor at night

relaxing in the "therapy pool"

As the rest of the world celebrated Harry Potter's (20??) birthday, Bjorn and I commemorated being married for one whole year.  I feel old having reached this point, though I'm not sure if I have any right to be.  I know we have many more anniversaries to come- and I'm already excited for them.

Bjorn had one of the best kind of birthday celebrations- a four day event!  Last year his special day was sort of overlooked in all the wedding planning madness, so I was eager to give him the birthday he deserves this year.  Thursday in between my night shifts he opened his presents (thanks parents!) and Friday I made one-of-a-kind cake and we went out to dinner. While at dinner, all our Utah County "family" (steph, mick, erin, alex, kc, maren, chris) drove up to SLC and snuck into our house.  Bjorn had an idea something was up- but was genuinely surprised at the people and balloons that greeted him as we walked inside.
Here is some photographic evidence of our unique cake and fun familia party.

Our entertaining story of the month comes from the Murray clan.  Of course.  Because now that 7 of the 11 B. H. Murray's reside in Utah, we are together and causing laughter whenever we can.
Erin, Kacy, and roommate Maren came up to SLC for a date with the Grahams.  We took them to "our" pool, then donated blood together.  I know that may sound strange, but Bjorn and I have gone on more than one date to donate blood. Weird, I know. But it is nice to know I have saved a life or two.  Especially because the blood goes to local hospitals, like Primary Children's, I can say to my patient "that's my blood you're getting!"I digress.
So the five of us are donating blood.  Erin and I have had problems in the past (i.e. throwing up, almost passing out, low iron, etc.).  Kacy and Maren have never donated before. Bjorn, of course, is a pro.  He RACES when he donates.  (to see how fast 1 pint can come out).  So Kacy is naturally nervous, but I hold her hand during the scary parts (needle stick) and she and Maren do great!  We're sitting in the food area gorging ourselves on their assortment of snacks when Maren states she doesn't feel so great.  She is quickly wheeled (in a wheely-office chair) over to the beds again and lays down while they take her vitals.  Kacy starts to think "glad that wasn't me" then realizes she DOES feel sick.  Before she can get the whole sentence out she has completely passed out in the chair.  Her head leaned back and she started breathing funny.... it was scary for a moment. I was helping Maren on the other side of the room, but came rushing over with a few other staff when Erin said "she's sort of freaking out".  The staff had Bjorn  pick Kacy up (I guess the no heavy lifting after donating rules don't apply to him) and lay her on the floor.  They had towels and cold packs all ready and surrounding her quickly.  By then it was just humorous.  She started to wake up after about a minute and said some funny things.  I was laughing so hard!  And trying to keep from laughing at the same time.  It was great.  Kacy was soon taken over to the beds as well and she and Maren spent another half hour recovering together before we could go home.
She says she's still considering donating again.

One of the longest road trips of my life- probably because the stay was so short- but definitely worth every minute.  Mick and Steph had a reception the next week in Arizona, where she grew up.  Being the kind, loving, family members we are, three siblings and our parents made the trip down, along with a spouse, ex-roommate (who's more like a brother to us now), and another roommate.
I have to say the 3+ hours in the hotel pool was by the far the highlight of the trip.  Though the beauteous green and purple reception (in a cute, old,  church hall) was perfectly put together.  I even helped Madeline win the quiz (but there were no prizes).  enough rambling.  I'll let pictures finish the story.

Three weddings in 14 months! I think my parents are ready for a break.  Kacy and Gavin say they will GLADLY comply with that request.  

Michael and Stephanie's marriage at the Oquirrah Mountain temple was joyous.  I spent several seconds deciding on the right word and JOYous does describe the day well.  With lovely colors, a hot sun, fun family and friends to hang out with all day, spiritual moments, and a yummy luncheon at Gardener Village.  I was able to get to know Stephanie and her family more during the weekend and am truly excited to have a sister in law!

Second to the Murray Wedding was Madeline's 10th birthday.  The whole family saw  Toy Story 3 together on opening day.  Quite funny!   Right on par with the other two.
The most traumatic part of the day was discovering I had lost my wedding ring after we went swimming!  I was becoming depressed about it, but Bjorn and I went back to look in the grass after the movie, and after 15 minutes of searching I found it!  What a miracle.  We are so grateful.

Third momentous event of the weekend: KC moved to BYU!  I actually moved her into her dorms, and with Erin's help gave her a tour of campus the next door.  Erin took her to get all her books, etc., and Mom finally took her grocery shopping.  I think she'll do just fine living on her own.

On the last day of the family gathering I took Madeline and Gavin to 7-peaks.  They had no memories of the park, so I enjoyed showing them around around and rushing from one slide to the next.  Bjorn showed up in the late afternoon and convinced us to do the BIG rides.  With only slight sunburns and the wave pool breaking down only once we considered it a highly successful day.

Happy Permanence Day! I have officially lived in our newlywed cottage for over 10 months, which is the longest amount of time I have lived in any one spot since High School. That being several years ago- this is a big deal. While pondering how to celebrate permanence day I realized it probably should include some sort of big change, since my life has been in a constant flux every 6-9 months or so for the past 8 years, it's time for another one. We decided on rearranging the bedroom (I've never rearranged a room- besides adding new beds to fit more siblings- I'm always moving on and moving out in a few months) along with a thorough cleaning and some added organization- my favorite way to celebrate anything! We bought some baskets for Bjorn's clothes shelves and I just love them! They fit perfect and even look good and I love looking into that closet now. I'll open it just to make myself smile. Silly, I know.
After a great many errands, Bjorn and I enjoyed Chinese take-out and Martinelli's. Every weekend needs a reason to celebrate. :)

It appears I have overlooked the seemingly insignificant parts of our lives that actually enable to go on trips, are the items we go on trips to get away from, and are what help us grow and save and plan for our future.  These items would be: work and school.

Hello again Washington!  Though we're not taking up residence (yet) Bjorn and I thouroughly enjoyed our eight day stay with our families in Northwest Washington.  We packed a perfect amount of amazing activities into our short visit so I'll describe just a few of my favorite moments.

or should it be Moabitis?   Whichever one more accurately describes the grand adventures Bjorn and I had in SE Utah April 14-16.  I'll let pictures do most of the talking on this one.

Our campfire..... Have I mentioned how grateful I am for an eagle scout husband who taught merit badges at scout camp multiple summers?  Yep.  One less thing I have to worry about. Our little campsite was on a bend of the green river (that was as much water as we could find here)

Arches National Park (and some classic poses):

We hiked a ton! Saw almost every arch, went through a few water bottles and gatorades, took the Xterra on a CRAZY 4-wheel drive trails (Bjorn loved it, and I got a bit unnerved), and even tried our feet at mountain biking.

the view from Suzy's side window as we faced yet another rock climbing challenge.....

a wee bit worn out

That tiny speck in the middle is Bjorn AKA the climber

delicate arch, from a distance ( this is one on half of the utah license plates- for the people who don't ski)

Another Coleen Classic pose

Mountain bike adventure on one of the easier Moab trails.  The view of the canyons at the end was spectacular!  Though riding back to the car was not.  The sun started to beat down us.... we ran out of water.... it was bad news.  Luckily that was with 1 mile left.  Bjorn hurried to the car, and drove it up the trail to meet me.  SAVED!   I'm not sure why we are smiling in these pictures.

Our ward Relief Society meeting this month was full of purses,  (for decorations, invites, and games) and an emphasis on the individual worth of each of us, no matter which purse we are carrying.  The woman in charge wanted to take a look a at all different purses we carry at different times in our lives ( make-up bag, briefcase, diaper bag, granny handbag, etc.).

She asked me to speak on the "newlywed/working" stage of life and discuss my delight on the positive aspects of this stage of life.  "Of course there are up and downs to every stage, but we're going to focus on the positives" she said in her request.  This sent me on a week-long thought process on what really are the good spots to my current stage.  I found this exercise extremely bneneficial for me, because I don't always live IN the moment.  At least I am not doing a "Lot's Wife" anymore, but I do still like to look AHEAD and wish I was there. Wishing we were all done with school, wishing we had kids, wishing we could have a real house- with a garden, etc.  
Taking a minute to contemplate how GOOD life really is brought much gratitude to my life.  I'm in the BEST stage right now. I'm graduated, I have a job, I have a husband, and I have TIME to spend with him.  I also have time to volunteer, to help others, to spend time with friends, to give service.  I can learn so much from the ladies ahead of me at other stages, and also be an example to the ones in school, preparing (or on) missions, and preparing for marriage.  I have done a lot!  And there is a lot more ahead of me, but no need to rush.
Heavenly Father needs where I am right now, and I know he has a marvelous plan for the B. Grahams future.

Since the last week of February, either Bjorn or I have been sick. Violently ill, recovering, recuperating, almost sick, coughing, hacking, not sleeping well, sneezing, almost better, or something of the sort- every day.  I think it started with some bug I brought home from the hospital- MPV maybe? Bjorn had a real bad bout last week and even went to the doctors office voluntarily.  He was given antibiotics and is improving. Yesterday I started to come down with something AGAIN, after feeling fully healthy for almost a month.  The sinus pressure built up overnight, yet I still went to work.  After coughing and sneezing into every mask I wore and destroying four jolly ranchers because I had no medicine nor cough drops with me, miraculously I was able to go home early.  The unit was slow and they needed to send a nurse home.  Luckily, my day was up, so the charge just asked if I wanted to go. She didn't even know I was sick.  I considered it a great tender mercy and eagerly said yes.  I came home eager to dose up on drugs and pass out.... once again.   My sweet husband of course took great care of my ornery, exhausted self.  We haven't done dishes together in long while..... the unspoken rules is whoever is NOT sick at the moment gets to rid the kitchen of dirtiness.

Enough complaining.  I realize there are a couple ups to being sick.  And by couple I mean 2.    First, you are allowed to eat whatever you want (whatever sounds good.... whatever you can keep down) and along with that get to drink lots of juice (Bjorn and I love all fruit juices).  Second, being sick gives me an opportunity to stop.  I like to go-go-go-go ALL the time. I love being productive.  I find when I am sick the house doesn't get picked up, the bed isn't always made, and the dishes pile up. Yet long past due e-mails to friends are sent, books I've been meaning to finish suddenly become more interesting, and Bjorn and I have time to sit and talk.  I lay on the germ infested couch pondering life, marriage, the terrifying thought of having children running around the house while being this sick, the people I wanted to see and help this week, my plans for the future, and humbly realizing God's plan for the future, and how much more I need to trust in Him.  Though I have great plans for myself and my family (including not ever being sick ever again), I know God's plans for us are even greater, teaching invaluable lessons and brining us closer together as well as closer to Him.