Aussie Footy by Tom

This is an explanation of how footy works. They play the game on oval shaped cricket grounds that are a ton wider and a ton longer than our football fields theres two large poles and two short poles on each end of the field if the ball kicked between the two long poles its a 6 point goal if it is kicked between a long pole and a short pole (called behind poles) its only one point the players must bounce the ball every 15 or so steps and instead of passing overhand they "handball" or volley it to each other blah blah blah its a ton different and way crazy....oh and they dont use pads or helmets and theyre more hardcore than the NFL could ever even hope to be

We're still for Geelong, the greatest team of all!

So, on Friday we had a little party at our house! It was the Australian Football League's Premier Game! It is kinda like our Super Bowl here in the States! In order to be part of the Hughes family it's a requirement to be a fan of the Geelong Cats! They did great this season, they only lost one game! We were super excited cause we knew they had a good chance of winning again this year! (They won the Premiers last year!) They played against the Hawthorne Hawks! I was especially excited because I have never seen an Aussie Footy game before, but have heard a ton about it! Melinda, my sister-in-law, and I went and bought some Australian food, or as close as we could get here in SLC, before the game started and we were getting really psyched! Melinda also made an Aussie dessert called Pavlova! Tom doesn't like it so much but I loved it! So, the pre-game show came on and Tom was able to make it home from work in time so he didn't miss any of the actual game! It was so much fun to watch! They don't wear a whole lot of padding like our guys do! However, I have never seen anything so brutal, which I was warned about! They didn't stop the game when people got hurt. If they didn't get off the field fast, they were gonna get run over again! The Cat's did really well the first half and then we don't know what happened! They ended up loosing by 26 points, but that doesn't change the heart of true fans! We will definitely still be supporting them and I would definitely like to see another footy game, but I can't wait to see one in real life! It was a blast beoming more involved in Tom's culture!

So this kinda shows that they kinda go all out to get the ball! The ball is a bit wider than our ball here so you definitely cannot grab it with just one hand. It's also very smooth leather and hard to hold on to!

This is the team captain! He got hurt in the middle of the game and wasn't able to play for about a quarter! He was really fighting at the end and took the loss pretty hard! It was sad! I hate loosing! I got these pics off the GFL site! Thought they were pretty cool!

Families Are Forever! And I am so GRATEFUL!

Today I decided that I wanted to go to the temple, so I did. About fifteen minutes after I decided, I was dressed and out the door. It was such an amazing experience, as it always is! Afterwards though, I went to the cemetary where my father-in-law, Jeff, is buried! I sat by his headstone for a while and just cried and cried. Part of me is upset that I have never been able to hear his voice or see him in person. He passed away when Tom was 14 after battling 8 long years with multiple health problems. I want to be able to tell my kids stories of their Grandpa Hughes and I can't, cause I never met him! I have never had the chance to tell him thank you for raising such and amazing, strong, gentle son! He can't tell me stories of when he lived in Australia or when he came to the states, or what Tom was like when he was little. As I was out there feeling sorry for myself, I looked at the back of his headstone and there was the picture of the St. George Temple! I began to feel calm, I was still crying, but instead of tears of self pitty they were tears of joy. This is because of the teachings of Jesus Christ that families are forever. I know that I will be able to meet him someday and give him a hug! I will be able to talk to him and hear his accent! I have tried to learn as much as I can about him from Tom, Linda and Melinda. He was and is an amazing man! He was very family oriented and he loved Linda very much, as she did him! That's so important to me! My parents are still very much in love and I enjoy watching them be together! I hope and pray that my marriage will be so strong for so many years! I know that Jeff does love me already! Even though he hasn't been able to tell me face to face! He has let me know in various special ways! I hope he knows that I feel the same! I am so grateful to this great man for the legacy that he left for his children, which I consider myself to be, and the rest of his posterity! I am proud to call myself a Hughes, and I am proud that my children will carry on that name! I strive every day to do what is right so I can tell him that I brought honor to his name when I see him!

This is Tom and his dad! I think Tom was about 5, but I am not sure!

Our story in a nutshell!

So, here goes! Tom and I met in March of 2006. Tom moved to Cedar City on a Sunday from Salt Lake City, just because, all of the sudden he felt like that's what he should do. It worked out perfectly that his job transfered and he was able to find an apartment on super short notice. I moved down there from SLC as well the following Thursday. I had actually planned to move to St. George earlier so I could be at least closer to Cedar City, because there were no jobs available in Cedar. Well, that didn't work out and all of the sudden there was a job opening! Yay! Just what I wanted! Needless to say I got the job! So, the Wednesday after I moved there our friend Megs called and wanted to go to lunch! I had so many other things to do, but I decided to just go anyways. After lunch we were craving donuts so we went and got some and Megan wanted to take one to her friend "Tom"! When we did, Tom was really flirty, and I told my cousin, Andrea, later that night that I thought he was pretty cute, but nothing would ever happen! A big group of us went to a movie and Megan went and dragged Tom to it, very much against his will! We ended up sitting next to each other and to make a long story short, got my number. The three of us went back to Megs house and talked till like 4 am. Tom texted me at 9am and asked when we were going to hang out! We arranged it for the next night, but it didn't work out cause I wanted to go home and see my family. My parents will get a laugh out of this cause Tom and I were on the phone almost the whole time. The longest we talked was 6 hours and 35 min! While I was in Vegas I talked to my Aunt Gaelynn, who is like my sister, and told her there was this guy I had been talking to on the phone and I really liked him. Well, before I even came home from Vegas, we decided we were dating! I came back to Cedar and went strait to his house. We just hugged when he opened the door and it wasn't nearly as awkward and uncomfortable as it should have been! He was thrown right into the fire when we went to Lance and Gaelynn's house for dinner that night! Gaelynn told my mom he was certainly different than anyone I had ever dated! After that we spent every waking minute together when we weren't working.

When he met my family they loved him, but my mom admitted that he was very different from anyone I have ever dated! We had so much fun! We went to the lake and went to dinner at Beni Hana!

We spent ever day together until we broke up. I was a little confused but needless to say it was the worst 4 days of my life! We ended up getting back together and the next time we were apart was when Tom went with his family to Australia for two whole weeks! They had a lot of fun but I missed him like crazy!

The day he got home I drove up to SLC to surprise him and pick him up from the airport! Then in a quick trip we drove to Las Vegas and all of my family met me there when I went through the temple for the first time! It was such an amazing experience and I am so greatful for all the support I received! In Sptember my Grandpa Thompson was diagnosed with lung cancer and passed away 5 weeks later! It was a really hard time for me and I miss him like crazy, but I know he's well, and doing the one thing he didn't have a chance to do in this life...full time missionary work!

The night we got home from his funeral, we were engaged! Right in his mom's front room! It was amazing! It also happened to be Tom's birthday!

We were married for Time and All Eternity in the St. George Temple January 6, 2007! It was such a great day! We lived in Cedar for about 6 months and moved to SLC so Tom could go to school! He has decided to be an electrician! He is so great at that kind of stuff! I am working at the hospital here as a RN in the Endoscopy Department. So, there you have it! Our life together up to this point!

Finally did it!

So, I finally did it! I am creating a blog! Never thought I would get into this, but I have found that so many people have blogs, and I just want to keep in touch with them!