VW Passat (2001-2009) RIP

Des Moines - Garrett and Sarah Condie's VW Passat, 8, died unexpextedly Saturday, July 25, 2009 at the Jordan Creek Mall in West Des Moines, IA.

The Passat leaves behind his two owners who were shocked to see him go and who are grieving for the loss of their vehicle, especially after recently dumping money into the piece junk.

The Passat entered the Condie family in 2006 after Garrett's mission. It provided fun times for Garrett and saw him through his 3 years at USU. People were amazed at the sound system the then-bachelor Garrett was able to put in. He could put any lowriding hispanic's sterio out of business.

After unexpectedly not starting after a trip to the mall, many techniques were used to revive the poor Passat. However, after a towing to the dealership, the Condies made a tough decision to pull the plug instead of sinking more into it.

Goodbye Passat. We will miss you, expecially because you left us high and dry. But no worries, we will get over our grief and eventually move on. Goodbye Passat. Rest in Peace in your new upcoming home: the junkyard.

A private funeral service will be held later this week. The family would like to thank everyone for their outreach of love and support. In leiu of flowers, please donate to the Condie Car Charity which will go to a much needed couple *cough* who have resulted in a similar car death situation.

Nauvoo

When we found out we were moving to Des Moines I was most excited about the fact that we were only 3 hours away from Nauvoo. Not wanting to pass the experience up, Garret and I along with Russell, another sales rep, went to Nauvoo on Sunday. Sundays are the only days we have off and what better way to spend it than going to Nauvoo.

Garrett had already been but not I. I just ate it all up. I love learning and learning about church history really opened my eyes up. I've been reading the D&C each day trying to even learn more. Here are some pictures from our journey. The weather was perfect and it wasn't crowded at all. It felt like we were on a personal tour the whole time.
Crossing the Mississippi

Entering IllinoisThe original Sun image
Lyon Drug is where Garrett's Grandma served when she was a missionaryI am jumping rope over the rope we made.
Joseph, Hyrum and Emma's Graves


I told Garrett we needed to vary our "stand by each other with our arms wrapped around each other" pose we always do. Thus, I am sitting on the stairs of Joseph's Red Brick store by a flower pot. This is where the Relief Society was established.
This was Garrett's pose of choice... This is the seventies hall. I loved all the artifacts it had in there.




And we're back to the traditional pose in front of the BEAUTIFUL Nauvoo Temple.A statue of Joseph and Hyrum

Coming away from Nauvoo both of our tesitmonies were stronger. I felt so lucky and blessed to be a part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. I am also so grateful for the opportunity temples give us and to be able to be sealed to Garrett forever. Going to Nauvoo was a dream fulfilled and something I will never forget.

I Should Be Exercising...

It's no secret that I love to exercise but lately I seem to lack the gusto to go. The weather here in Iowa has been rainy, rainy, humid and rainy. With dark skies and wet pavement it makes me just want to stay inside under a blanket all day. But then at the end of the day comes the guiltiness of being lazy.

So I should be exercising right now but I am finding things to do to put it off until I can't anymore. Thus, the blog post. It should keep me from hitting the gym for about another 15 minutes...

The reason our blog hasn't been updated for awhile is that nothing much has happened. We did drive from Reno, NV to Des Moines, IA and I thought I would have a ton to blog about. It turns out the sagebrush and antelope of Wyoming can lull anyone to sleep and Nebraska, though beautiful, is flat and pretty much the same thing over and over again.

Des Moines is breathtaking, lush and green. The only thing I don't like about it is that I don't know where anything is. Usually I use the mountains to realize what's North and South but here everything is pretty flat and there are so many trees you can't see anything. At least we're breathing good, oxygenated air.

On our way from Reno to Des Moines we stopped in Rupert and Logan to say hi to our families quick. We miss them so much. In Rupert we were able to stop by our lot and see that the foundation for our house has been poured. EXCITING!

Originally our house was going to be finishing by Novemeber 1st, but with interest rates rising our house's deadline has been pushed up. We should be first time homeowners by Septemeber...CRAZY. We are both so excited to have a home of our own and for the opportunity we will have to live in Rupert.

Well, I guess it's off to the gym. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for the opportunity and time I have to exercise it's just that this murky weather makes me lazy! Until next time...