Graduation

So this is about 4 months late. But I figured it was fitting since my name was in the program from graduation that was on the 9th of April.

I had student teaching in Nampa, so I was going to be out of Rexburg for a while. It made more sense to walk at graduation in December rather than come back and stay in some unknown place for a couple of days in April. So I've already graduated! And now I'm officially a "former student" of BYU-Idaho!

I passed my student teaching and loved every minute of it.

I passed every class. I didn't have to retake any classes once!

I made some friends I will never forget.

I've learned some lessons that can't be forgotten.

I found and married my eternal companion.

I survived -32˚ weather.

I stayed up until 4:30.

I cleaned up a lot of toilet overflows late into the night.

I stayed out past curfew.

I got "Q'd" on purpose. (Q'd was when you got quarantined. They put a big red Q on your door and no boys could be at your house for a week. It was the last week of school, so we did it on purpose. Then we mocked it and put the entire alphabet around it written the same way... they weren't happy. but it was awesome)

I went to the sand dunes for a bonfire.

I went sledding the week of finals.

I made the ugliest tie-dye shirt ever seen.

I had many BAMO parties (boys are missing out).

I made at least 5 tents in my living room.

I never had a ncmo.

I used my senior prom dress just about every semester.

I got a C in a religion class...not my finest moment...

I learned the name of everyone in my children's lit class.

I took the teacher I disliked ALMOST the most twice. and ended up loving him at the end.

I got an award for a high score on the Praxis.

I went Latin dancing almost every week of a semester.

I wore the swimsuit you have to wear in the campus pool. Not as bad as it sounds. :)

I had a class in the Snow at the bottom of campus and then 15 minutes later a class on the third floor of the Hinckley at the top of campus.

I forgot a paper at home and ran there and back in 5 minutes (opposite ends of campus)

I have gotten a 100% on a test in the testing center.

I passed those evil math diagnostic tests. very very VERY evil.

I had LOTS of roommates get married.

I moved EVERY semester and twice during one.

I learned how to cook.

I learned what Relief Society is and what it means to be a member of it.

The list goes on and on...

Graduation was awesome. It was on December 17th and 18th. Convocation was the 17th and Commencement was on the 18th.

We were the first group to graduate from the new BYU-Idaho Center. It's just like the conference center only smaller and it has 10 basketball courts on one end of it.

J and I both graduated the same time but in different departments. So I went to mine and he went to his. The picture above is me right before my Convocation.

I also gave the opening prayer at Convocation. That was a really cool experience.

Mom and Me right after.

Me with my diploma cover!

Sam came too. That was really cool.

Both of my wonderful parents. I would never have made it this far without them.

My cute hubby.

Both of us with my parents.

With J's family.

My cousin Elise graduated too, so it was a great opportunity for our Gma to come. She's Dad's mom and so she came up with them. I'm glad she came!

The braved the snow to come to my graduation. I think Rexburg wanted to show what it could do! It snowed just about every day that they were here!
These are the Pixtons. We love them. They were such good friends! They were our first married friends. We miss them tons!

My graduation was awesome. I loved it. I was so thankful to have my parents and brother come especially since I wasn't going home for Christmas for the first time ever. It helped to have seen them only a week before Christmas. I was so thankful they came to be there to see me walk across the stage and to help me pack for my student teaching. I loved being able to show them where I went for the last 4 years. I loved showing Sam the wonderful campus that he plans on going to in a couple years. It was great. I got the wonderful graduation gift of my parents and little brother!

NEW!!!

When we went to Oregon, I got some new things!

I wore my mom's beautiful pearls for my wedding and really love pearls. She made me a bracelet that I wore for my wedding with her necklace. Then, J gave me pearl studs for Christmas. In downtown Bend, there was a fun store that sold beautiful jewelry. I got these gorgeous pearls. :) He sure does love me.

This isn't new. This is my "marshmallow" coat. I've had it since high school. I have wanted to get rid of it for a while.
So I did!! I got this gorgeous coat for only $25!! I love it! It's got two layers so I can use one just for a spring coat and then add the outer coat for cold weather. I'm excited about it!

Then, I saw this! I love geography. I got this puzzle for my classroom when I have my own and I'm thrilled! My first indoor recess activity! :)
I didn't get this in Oregon. :) I have a friend who's in beauty school and she did my hair. I like it! It's a little short, but it's been a while since I've had short hair, so it's fun!

Oregon!

I finished my Student Teaching and we went on a vacation to celebrate. J's parents have a timeshare with a company where you can get a hotel anywhere they have one. So they let us borrow theirs in Redmond Oregon. It's in the center of the state and it's very pretty. The drive is kinda boring, but it is worth it.

Our first day, J and I rented a bike for the two of us. There are paths all the way around the resort, so we just went on that. It was exhausting but fun.

Then, we toured the area. The resort is between Bend and Redmond so we went to Bend one day.
I love the white mountain in the very back of this picture.
On our afternoon in Bend, we decided to get as close as we could without directions to the mountain. We ended up going across this tiny bridge and onto a dirt road for a while. Pretty views. The pictures don't do them justice.
In Downtown Bend, there are tons of fun stores. There's a candy shop where when you walk in you're overwhelmed by the smell of sugar. It coats your throat and you just want sugar. Right then.

We bought some... ;) I got warheads. I LOVE sour candy. Warheads are the best. I love them. YUMMY!!! So this is J trying one out. heehee

Before:
And when he pops that sucker in his mouth. heehee
We also got a kite. J loves flying kites. I have honestly never really flown a kite. We tried in our front yard, but it works best away from hills, trees, and houses. :) So J got to teach me.
Here I am flying the kite (and showing him up, if I may say so myself)
Pretty
The highway the resort was on was called Cline Falls. We saw a sign that said "Cline falls" with an arrow. We followed it. No falls. Just a river. It was pretty though.
I love this man. He's my favorite. I think I'll keep him. Forever and ever.
More of the "falls"
Then, we visited Redmond. Not as much fun. But there was a yummy ice cream shop we went to. This is a chocolate/oreo shake. I love oreos. they're delicious.
It was a great vacation! We went swimming, slept in, watched movies, read, explored, biked, walked, and had a lot of fun!

I like vacations with my hubby.

Oh the nerdiness

Alright. Prepare yourself. Put on your seatbelt. I've entered into a new level of nerdiness. If you can't handle it, let go of the mouse and walk away now.

I've always considered myself at least somewhat nerdy. I was a band geek, I love Star Wars, Harry Potter, all that good stuff. I've been to midnight showings, gotten books at midnight, dressed up for parties, I own lots of music from Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and I just think I'm kind of a geek. Nerd. Whichever term you want to use.

I like the movie Sydney White and the Seven Dorks. It's funny and silly. I think it's hilarious when she asks them what they do in their spare time and they say that they play role playing video games and then reenact them with costumes and stuff. I couldn't find a picture, but that's a scene that's been playing a lot in my mind the past couple days.

My hubby got me to play....

Before you get mad and hate me forever, keep reading to see how it went. About a month ago, T, one of J's friends, said he wanted to play it and get the whole group of us to play. There are 6 of us. Three guys and their wives, basically.

T was obviously game.

His wife, E, was very excited. She's quite into the whole geeky/nerdy stuff. She plays video games whenever she can, reads fantasy novels, the whole deal.

B, another friend, was pretty game, but worried that his wife, A, wouldn't get into it and be anti.

Obviously, A, was very skeptical. She doesn't like many things nerdy. :)

J was really excited. He said he would do it even if I didn't want to.

I was skeptical. I've seen some pretty nerdy stuff, but this seemed too much.

There's a friend of the group who's very very very into D&D. He loves all things nerdy. He works at a video game store, has beaten just about every video game you can name, and really enjoys being nerdy. :) His name is Jake. Jake is a cool guy. I like talking to him. He's easy to talk to and is very patient with the fact that I know nothing about D&D.

He's our Dungeon Master. He basically makes up the whole story. He gives us obstacles, controls the bad guys, and keeps us entertained with the story. Each of our characters has certain traits. We have homelands, background histories, opinions, and how good and righteous we are. Jake has told us to get as much into character as we can. B's character is somewhat Irish. He speaks with an Irish accent. :) When we're planning strategies, we say "I" instead of "my character." When Jake talks about us and our story, he uses our character's names.

This is my figure that I got. Jake is going to paint it. I'm not sure on colors yet. All I know is Green eyes and Brown hair. (like mine.) You're welcome to give suggestions!
So.

Do I like it?

Yes.

I do.

I know!

Weird.

Nerdy.

Over the top, sometimes, yes.

But I liked it.

Should I leave out the fact that when Jake was telling the story, we got out my ipod and played LOTR music? :)

I don't wanna grow up

I sometimes wonder how old I really am. Is it something where you take your age, divide that by two and subtract 5 and that's your real age? Sometimes, that makes sense.

-The song that says "act your age, not your shoe size" comes to mind.-

The thing is...I'm just like my toddler niece. She got Tangled last week and has watched it 3 times daily since. I got it Saturday and watched it Sunday, Monday, and half on Wednesday.

Do I have a problem here?

Should I be worried?

I even bought the soundtrack to Tangled last night. And listened to the whole thing today.

I should stop admitting my obsessive actions.... :)

Hair bows

There was a little girl in my 1st grade classroom who ALWAYS had an adorable bow in her hair. I should have gotten more pictures. She had a clover for St. Patrick's Day. She had gorgeous curlie q's and sweet little flowers. I always just adored her bows! (And her, but that's besides the point)

One day, she wore this one. I think it's so so so cute! How simple but yet really creative! I think I'll have to recreate it someday for a future daughter.

Turns out she remembered how much I loved her bows. When she came to her Parent Teacher conference, she brought me a card because she was absent for our last day and clipped onto it was this beautiful flower. I was so touched! It's gorgeous and even better because a little 7 year old thought of it and had her mommy make one for me! How adorable is that!!!
I love children. They make my heart sing.

Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, I love you.

I LOVED my student teaching. I taught 1st grade in Nampa, ID.

I love 1st grade. They are absolutely adorable. They think the sun rises and sets with you. They think you know everything. They are positive that the thing that matters the most is recess. They are friends with everyone. I love it.

These are the adorable kids I got to teach this semester. In this picture I'm missing Drake, Eduardo, and Maddie. This was on my last day.

They wanted a silly picture so bad. :)
In this one we have added Drake and Eduardo. Maddie was sick.
And the crazy picture. It's hard to fit everyone when you're striking a pose. :)
I made cupcakes for the last day. Funfetti cake with creamy frosting. Very sugary. They loved getting the frosting on their noses. I should've taken a picture of that. But I think you can imagine the silliness of frosting with 7 year olds.
These are the valentines I got this year. My favorite was the Ghirardelli chocolates. She's my hero. :)
On my last day, the kiddos gave me beautiful cards. They are all so so so so sweet and heartfelt.

One says "You are pride" I asked him what that meant. It was supposed to be "pretty." How cute.

Another says "Roses are red, violets are blue, I love you."

One says "I hope you like your new gob." (job)

Lots of love from those sweet children. I got a hug from each of them and one cried her heart out. I held it in until that night when I could cry into J's t-shirt.
Every day, I would get these kinds of love notes, too. During our read-aloud after lunch, the students were allowed to draw or color or cut things out. I would hang them up on my wall by my desk. This picture is one of four of all of the pictures I got.

I love getting very cute and thoughtful gifts from 7 year olds.

J and TJ

This is the adorable TJ. J's younger sister, Jolyn's baby. He's the first grandchild on J's side, so it's a lot of fun for the aunts and uncles and especially the Grandparents. They sure do love this little boy!

J had a ton of fun playing with TJ when they were in town last.

Here are the pictures!