25 hours, 1800 miles and 3 dead deer later....

We are in Ohio!!! We left Springville on Tuesday night (and I've been without the Internet since then) and drove to Denver. We left early the next morning and drove just outside of St. Louis. We finally finished the drive to Columbus the following day. Let me just say that it was awful! We drove both cars out so we both drove the whole way! For the most part, though, the drive was pretty scenic...if you like flat farmland. And, yes, we did see at least 3 dead deer along the way. Based on what we've done the last few days, I think I'm going to love it here. I'll add some pictures of our apartment on a later post.

Just in case...here's our new address:
Audrey and Toren Forsberg
2550 Farrel Drive #305
Columbus, Ohio 43235

The Biggest Loser

A few months ago after clicking through channels mindlessly I settled an episode of this season's Biggest Loser...and it was over for me. I quickly became a Biggest Loser Addict. I watched the show faithfully every Tuesday. And if for some reason I couldn't watch it, I had Toren download it for me the next day. I seriously couldn't get enough of it. I'm not sure what it is about that show, but I absolutely love it. Maybe it's because it motivates me to eat better and work out often. Or maybe it's because I feel inspired to do great things after watching normal people taking control of their lives and changing them for the better. Or maybe it's because after watching something so regularly you feel like these people are actually your friends....it's pathetic, I know.

Anyway, the last half of the season has been intensely competitive. First it was the black team against the blue team...and the blue team picked the black team off one-by-one. Then it was boys against girls...and the boys had to defend the "bond of brotherhood." And then Jay decided to sacrifice himself so his brother Mark could go on a win. It was all very emotional.

So, naturally, I desperately wanted one of the girls to win. And guess what....Ali did!! She lost a total of 112 pounds and I must say, she looks great. I can't WAIT until next season!

Gailey Family Visit

Last Wednesday my dad, sister (Laura), and brother (John) flew in to Salt Lake to enjoy some time with us, my grandparents, and go to conference. While Toren was in class all day Thursday, I drove up and spent time with them in Salt Lake. Laura, John and I went bowling (I killed them with a 109), and then we spent the rest of the time just hanging out with our grandparents. That night we drove back down to Springville (including my dad). They spent the night with us, and all 5 of us drove out to the Crater in Midway for some scuba diving.

Laura and John aren't certified yet, but they were able to do an experience scuba lesson. They loved it! We had a blast, too. The Crater is a natural hot springs, so it's almost like you're swimming in a bathtub that looks like a cave. It's pretty cool. After our dive we drove back up to Salt Lake and spent some more time with our grandparents.

Saturday we were back in Salt Lake to watch conference with everyone. Toren and John had tickets to watch the Priesthood session in the conference center that night. Laura and I dropped them off and then braved the mall. We were only able to put in about an hour of shopping before we nearly suffocated from pushing ourselves through all the crowds. It was insane!

After we picked the boys up we went back to our grandparent’s house and by this time many of our cousins, aunts and uncles had also arrived. We all ate dinner together and chatted. It was nice to catch up with family that we don’t see all the time.

We such a fun weekend that we had to spend most of today sleeping in order to recover (in between conferences, of course). We love spending time with family!

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We're Getting a Puppy!!

I've been begging Toren for months to let me get a puppy and he finally gave in. Actually, since we aren't allowed to have pets at the apartment we're living in he always had a good excuse to tell me no, but our new place in Ohio is pet friendly and he had no other good arguments. I'm thrilled! I've really needed a companion while he's at school all day, and I think it will only get worse over the summer.

So, we decided on a Beagle (Toren really wanted a French Bulldog, but I think bulldogs usually look like angry toads). We found an Amish family in Ohio that breeds dogs, including Beagles. We put a down payment on the cutest male and we'll be able to pick it up once we get out there.

We agreed on a few "normal" names, though Toren did offer up a few that just won't work (little killer, for example). Now we just need your help to narrow down the names. So make sure to vote for the one you think is best!

Six Months Down...Eternity to Go

Well, yesterday was our six month wedding anniversary. Some days it feels like the time has flown by and other days it feels like it's already been an eternity :). We're very happy though, and I love being married. Here are a few reasons why...

1. I have a permanent chauffeur.
2. I always have a date on the weekends.
3. I can shave my legs less and sometimes go without makeup.
4. I save tons of money on phone calls and text messages to him.
5. I don’t have to kill spiders or take the garbage out.
6. I don’t get scared at night anymore.
7. I have someone to scratch my back when I need it.
8. I don’t have to worry about my roommate wearing my clothes.
9. I’m becoming enlightened to BYU sports.
10. I don’t have to attend the Singles Ward anymore.

Spring Cleaning

I decided to do a deep clean of our apartment today (Did anyone see Oprah yesterday and today?? It was very motivational for a good Spring Cleaning...). As I was scrubbing everything down I couldn't help but remember what our apartment looked like when we first moved in.

I think the apartment had been vacant for several weeks before we moved in...and I'm not so sure the people that lived in it before us cleaned it before they left..or ever. The blinds were practically brown form all the dirt caked on them. Every corner in every room had a pile-up of cobwebs. Oh, and did I mention that we kept finding HUGE spiders everywhere?! I was almost too afraid to move stuff around for fear that a spider lurked underneath. I had to yell for Toren about every 20 minutes to kill another one (I don't get close to spiders). It was awful.

I didn't take too many pictures of our experience, but I did take two of the toilet. I think they'll give you a good idea of what we were dealing with.

Painful Tragedy

I know all of you have been just sitting on the edges of your seats waiting for us to post something new on our blog. Well, the only excuse I have is that we had a bit of a tragedy in our family a couple weeks ago....

My best friend Amanda gave me a plant for my birthday almost 3 years ago. This plant traveled with me from school, back home, back to school, back home, to my grandpa's house for babysitting, back home, to Utah. It's kind of like a small child and it's been thriving so well, growing about 4 times it's original size.

Well, Toren and I woke up to a beautiful, sunny day a couple weeks ago. I decided it was a great day to clean out the car. I also decided that my Birthday Plant would probably enjoy basking in the sun a bit, so I took it out behind our complex with me.

It was a great day for myself and my Birthday Plant. A few days later, the tragedy of my actions set in when I looked out our back window and saw my Birthday Plant still outside! It had been exposed to freezing nights and forceful winds, and it did not look good.

I brought my Birthday Plant inside and tried to revive it with some water. Over the next few days I continued to water it and hoped for the best. It was to no avail though. The damage had already been done.


Finally Toren took it out to the dumpster while I fought the urge to cry. That Birthday Plant had been with me a long time. I think Toren was secretly relieved that we wouldn't have to carry it with us as we drove to Columbus for the summer.


We're done mourning now, so expect more frequent posts in the future.