Trip #1 ... Oregon

This trip was a blast.  It was great to be out of school and go visit family.  We even got to go see Jonny's grandparents down in Eureka, CA.  It was a great trip.  Here are a couple of highlights from the trip.

Jonny Graduated!

Wow, it is crazy that this chapter of our life is coming to an end.  Jonny finished school at BYU and has accepted his first job at Wasatch High School in Heber, Utah.  He will be teaching physics as a full time job.  He had many offers and we are really excited that we got our top choice.  It looks like we might be settling in Utah.  Never thought that it would happen but I am actually really excited about living in Heber.  Anyways, this week has been crazy.  Monday through Thursday we moved out, cleaned up and then Jonny walked on Friday.  Then Saturday we drove out to Oregon to spend the next week and a half on a much needed break.  I am super stoked to begin a low-laid summer and this was a great start.  Congratulations Jonny!!

Major Update

Well, better super late than never.  I couldn't believe it has been since Thanksgiving since our last post.  Life has been good!  This year has flown by with difficult classes and tests but there have been some real highlights.  Christmas was amazing.  We went to Oregon and enjoyed everything beautiful there.  Yes I missed my family at home in Iowa but I absolutely loved getting closer to my new family.  They are amazing people and they already have a great love for me.  I felt so blessed so many times.

Here is a picture of one of our walks to a frozen lake.

Moving on to my birthday in February.  I had an absolutely wonderful birthday.  My family sent some books, candy, shoes, and much needed quarters for laundry among other necessities.  As my "big" gift, I got to go snowboarding.  Over winter break, I inherited a free snowboard and had been dying to use it.  That was a lot of fun.  Yes, it was my first time, yes, nearly every part of my body was bruised, and no, I did not choose to learn on the bunny hill.  Even though I hurt nearly everywhere and my hands were already swollen before we left the park, I had a lot of fun.  Jonny was really patient with me and helped me to learn a lot.  There was only one time where I tried for half an hour to get back on to the trail and just couldn't (I always tended to go to the left a little bit more) and had to crawl back ...  That was a good humility lesson.

Some other fun activities that Jonny and I have done this semester would include going to Goblin Valley, the Festival of Colors, and having picnics at the park.  I always feel that pictures speak louder than words, so here is what I have to say.

Thanksgiving Feast

Thanksgiving was a blast this year.  Even though we were not able to travel home to visit family, Krista, Jonny and I had a wonderful time and made a feast worthy of a large family.  Thanksgiving Day, I got up at 6:40 in order to put our turkey into a crockpot at 7.  It barely fit in the crockpot, so we wrapped it in foil to keep the moisture in.  Then Jonny, Krista and I cooked until we ate at 4.  We made funeral potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, homemade potato rolls, corn, mashed potatoes, homemade stuffing, gravy, along with a store bought pumpkin pie for dessert.  Everything turned out wonderful!!

The wishbone was a little flimsy and bendable ... took awhile for it to finally break!

Later that week, Jonny and I went to feed the ducks the crusts of the bread that we used for our stuffing.  These ducks are not shy at all!!  My favorite place to put the bread was right on Jonny's shoe. It definitely kept us laughing.  It was a great end to the week before classes pick up again and before we know it, it is finals week.  It is always crazy how fast the semester goes, I am so glad that I got to spend it with Jonny though.

Fall Fun!!

Cornbelly's was a blast!

Hayride!!!

spiderman...spiderman ... does whatever Jonny can ....

New Wanted ... and Unwanted Additions

This past week has been a little crazy but it is amazing how everything works out.  I am super excited because I have everything up on the walls (whether it actually has pictures in it or not is a little debatable) and we finally got our new keyboard!!!!  I am soo happy.

(I love our entertainment 'set', never thought we would own a TV, thanks to all my siblings who pitched in on a wonderful wedding present.  Love you guys!)

Then came the unwanted change to our apartment.  Thursday night, Jonny and I come home to find neither of our keys work.  Then low and behold, I notice our doorknob is now silver!!!  We are locked out of our apartment.  We decided to just drive somewhere to get dinner and worry about it later.  Well, our car was gone.  By about now I am feeling like I'm living an alternate reality.  So we check to make sure the neighbors were the same and thank goodness they were.  They had ordered a lock change and our apartment was changed instead.  SURPRISE!  So we were able to get into our house through their apartment.  Then came the search for the car.  Yup, gotta love Provo parking, it was towed.  A trip to the impound and $250 later we have our car, our apartment, and only ONE key to our house.