Happy Holidays!

Oh, hey there.
Guess what.
The holidays are over...
Huh. That went fast.
Shall we recap??





Flashback to October......

Happy Halloween!

It was pretty low-key for us. Tom and I didn't even dress up. That made me sad, because I love to dress up. But we didn't have an occasion to, so we didn't worry about it. But, it was Tyler's first Halloween, so we had to make sure he had a costume! Que, Costco special:

This is one of my favorite pictures of him. Currently: My desktop background.

Tyler was an adorable dragon! No candy for him, but we did take a bag of goodies to our tenants for the holiday. Reverse trick-or-treating!

Flash of light! Suddenly, it's November....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving this year was with the Chambers, so we had the great pleasure of traveling down to Salt Lake and spending a few days with them.

We had a lot of fun going to the movies - Tyler's first move, mind you -, the arcade, and of course, BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING! On our way to Utah, Tom said, "I am so pumped for Black Friday in Salt Lake!" It wasn't nearly as crazy as we thought it would be, but we still had fun and found some great deals!

We scored over 800 tickets! Tom was a master and won 5 Jackpots! 

We decided that we should never go gambling... we rocketed through out nickles like nobody's business. But we got some pretty sweet prizes!

Tyler was a real trooper. We were out shopping until 2:30 AM! We got a bunch of funny looks, toting around a baby at that time of night, but Tyler didn't mind a bit. He's a night owl, just like his daddy.

You blink and.... WHAM! December!

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

We decided early that even though it is Tyler's first Christmas, we were going to keep it simple, since he won't know the difference. Next year though... oh ho. Ho ho ho. 

Tyler loved everything about Christmas... The lights, the snow, the tree. You name it, he loved it. Well, except the hat I made him wear because it was cold and snowy. That he didn't love so much. But, it's adorable, so I made him wear it often anyway.

We were home for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, then made the trek down to Pocatello to be with my family.

Santa brought Tyler a Bumbo! Hooray!

We had a lot of fun, and got some great presents! Tom told my mom that he didn't want anything for Christmas. When she wouldn't take no for an answer, he replied, "Fine. Get me home decor."

Then home again to ring in the New Year! We invited some friends over, and since all the students were gone, we played in our clubhouse.

I was obviously tired. Gross. Tyler was too. And then Tom... we love him.

We really enjoyed the holiday season this year and had a hard time saying goodbye when it was all over. It has a whole new meaning with a little one. It was so much more enjoyable too! 

We hope you all enjoyed 2013 and are looking forward to 2014 as much as we are! Except the part where I write "2013" on everything until September...

Have You Ever....?

Have you ever wanted to decorate for the holidays, but just didn't do it?

I have. I don't have many decorations, but I wanted to put out something for Valentine's Day. Aaaand I didn't... Bummer. The day came and went in the blink of an eye. I'll tell you what I did do though. I made a printable. Yeah, like the cute things you see all over Pinterest. It isn't so great, but it was fun to play around with. Here, see for yourself.

Someday, I'll be able to make some just as good as the ones on Pinterest.

Tom tried his hand at a Valentine Printable too. See?

He's so romantic...

Have you ever made a baby blanket with no previous sewing experience?

I have. I have been bound and determined to make a baby blanket all through my pregnancy. But who has never sewn on a sewing machine before (without a master seamstress' supervision)? Oh, that's right. This girl.  I was stubborn enough to give it a try. The finished product is far  from perfect, but it is made with a mother's love. That's all that counts, right? I took a bunch of pictures, but here's just one for now. Maybe I'll grace you with a tutorial-type post sometime. Maybe.

Have you ever wanted to make curtains for the baby's bedroom, with still no sewing experience?

I have. I have yet to start this project though... It's a little more daunting than a baby blanket.

Have you ever had a 2nd, 2nd Anniversary?

I have. Tom and I celebrated our two year anniversary the end of February. We decided to split the celebrations up into two parts so we could each have a chance to surprise the other. It was a brilliant idea on my husband's part. Maybe next year, we can split it into 3 parts... then after that, 4.... and by the time we're 75, we will have a lot of days to celebrate!

Have you ever had your husband log into your blog and write the true feelings of his heart?

I have. That is what the previous post is all about. I hope some of you get a kick out of it. I did.

Have you ever thought that "cubed steak" was, in fact, meat cut into cubes?

I have. And it's not. Whoops. I'm not sure what I was thinking... Pregnancy brain got in the way I guess. Good news is, our smothered burritos turned out fine. Though next time I'll make sure to use stew meat. I got the recipe from Pinterest, but here's the link to the actual blog. It was a hit with the hubby!

Have you ever taken a few "baby bump" pictures on your phone and been so dissatisfied with how you looked that you didn't want to post them for anyone to see, but your mom and her friends kept bugging you about wanting to see "how cute you look" and so you gave in?

I have. This one is for your mom.

26 weeks

31 weeks

I'm at 34 weeks now and feeling great! Only 6 more to go...

And, have you ever wanted to keep writing, but didn't have anything else to say?

I have.

Seriously?

July. Really? July was the last time I blogged? Pathetic.

I am truly a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad" blogger. (Remember that book?)

And to top it all off, I'm a hypocrite. I am always reading other blogs, and when I finally get all caught up with nothing else to read, I think, "Geez, why won't this person blog already? It's been forever!" Huh.

So, with that said, there is no where else to go but UP! Right? I can improve! Right? I will improve! right??? I surely hope so.

Life. It is a many splendid thing. Here is what is happening up here in "the Burg," as my father calls it.

Nothing. Hence why I haven't blogged. Yet, EVERYTHING! Hence why I haven't blogged. Nothing too exciting has been happening, but we have been so busy! So I'll start at the beginning, a very good place to start.

- July - 

My little sister got married! Crazy, but it truly happened. And it was truly beautiful. And I truly forgot my camera. Sheesh. They are such a gorgeous and happy couple. I'm so glad Tom and I set them up. :)

My darling sister-in-law taught Tom and I how to make jam. Our first attempt was freezer jam. Mmmmm, strawberry... Some of it didn't set up quite right, so we used it for syrup on waffles. I wasn't complaining a bit! We also learned how to make homemade yogurt. Who knew it was so easy? It is also very revealing as to how much sugar and other sweeteners actually go into the store bought stuff. It's bitter! But add some jam, and it is delightful.

- August - 

We went to Lagoon! More than once actually. The first time was for Tom's work. He drove a bus of Junior High Students.... Yay. On the plus side, it was a lovely day...

The skies eventually cleared up and we had some fun. And Tom made a new friend.

And then, a few weeks later, we went with Tom's family. It was a lot of fun to be with them. I ended up getting so sick though. I told Tom I couldn't ride that ride, but he talked me into it somehow. Bad news. You can tell I wasn't feeling well by the picture we took on the SkyRide.

Do we not look like we're 10 or something?

WE MOVED!

Outside our old place.
Can you tell we had been moving all day? I can.

Again, you ask? Yes, again. And thank goodness. 

The reason being, we got new jobs! Tom and I are now the Onsite Managers of Brighton Apartments and Townhomes. It's been great so far. We love our new place, our new boss, the new students, etc. Life is pretty good. It's super stressful since we're new and still trying to figure things out, but it has been such a good change for us. This also means I am no longer working at the Marriott. I loved the people I worked with, and I miss them already, but I am so thankful to not work until 11:00pm and never again on Sunday! Hooray! Though working at the nicest hotel in Rexburg had it's perks...

Terrible quality, but yes, that is Jon Schmidt's name on the arrival list. Like, THE Jon Schmidt. The piano player. I will miss being in the loop with the famous people.

P.S. This new job was the very exciting news from my last post that MANY people mistook for a pregnancy announcement. Sorry. Not as exciting for you as a baby would have been, I know.

- September -

Oops... How did that get on here....

What do you do in the Summertime?

Summer is finally here, and you know it because of the hot, HOT weather. We're loving it!

We've been busy little bees here in Rexburg, so excuse my lack of blogging. I'll offer you a little recap on our summer events so far.

To start the summer off, we went to HAWAII! It was so much fun that it deserves it's own dedicated post. That, and there are way too many pictures. But we surely had fun and had a hard time coming back!

Tom and I both participated in our first ever 5K run. Thanks to his sister Marie for the heads up, we signed up and started training, which for me consisted of 3 morning runs. Oops. But we had a lot of fun and plan on improving and doing more races in the future!

A few weekends ago, Rexburg had an air show, free to the public. They have a really neat Flight Museum here at the airport and flew many planes from that exhibit, as well as stunt planes that were hired out. Tom and I joined his Grandma & Grandpa Christensen for a morning of planes, and lots of them. We really enjoyed the opportunity to chat with his Grandpa about the planes. He knows so much! He could tell us the name, year, make, specialties, etc. of nearly every plane that flew that day. He had a lot of fun reminiscing about the days when he owned a plane. We really enjoyed his stories. And the planes of course! 

One day while I was at work, Tom went exploring and happened upon Rexburg's Nature Park. We're not sure the exact name of it, but it is really pretty and out away from things. Except the airport, it's right next to the runway, but that isn't much of a problem in a little town like Rexburg. On my next day off, he took me too and we explored. There were ducks, flowers, bridges, and even a snake! We had fun exploring with Tom's parents' dog Kannoli.

This (^) picture cracked me up. Tom saw two geese on top of this hill sitting on a nest. His curiosity was perked and he tried to get close enough to see if there were really eggs in the nest. Little did he know that Kanolli was wandering around behind that hill, slowly sniffing her way to the top.... HONK HONK!! The geese completely freaked out when Kanolli came up over the hill. They were both so focused on Tom that they didn't see her at all until she was too close for their comfort. Tom let out a squeal and ran for his life. The geese were up on their little webbed feet honking and hissing, guarding whatever was in their nest. Good mommies. Haha

The 4th of July came around and I was just itching to make a decoration or 2. I had Tom take me to Porters, the local craft store, so I could get my supplies. He was such a good sport the whole time. I think we wandered around for over a good hour. Poor kid. At least he finds ways to entertain himself...

But I finally made the right decisions and came home to create my conjured up masterpieces. They aren't perfect and might need some tweaking in the near future, but I was pleased enough to display them in our home.

We didn't do anything special for the holiday. I worked in the morning from 7a-3p, but got paid double time so I didn't complain too much. Afterwards we went to eat with Tom's parents and then just hung around at home. I ended up falling asleep early after my long day at work. (Something about the 4th sure made people grumpy. It was weird.) So instead of watching any fireworks, we listened to them through our open windows. Terribly exciting, right?

I have been working a lot at the hotel, and it has been exhausting. It's difficult being there until 11:00 at night and standing the whole time. I complain a lot to my husband about various things. But, it's good money though, right? The other night, it was so busy and I ran up and down the 4 flights of stairs enough times that I ripped a hole in my shoe... My poor little toe is exposed to the world. Looks like I need some new ones.

We've been very blessed over the past 3 months since moving to Rexburg. We really like the atmosphere of the town and are enjoying our time here. I will admit that it hasn't been all good and dandy. Both of our jobs are stressful and not quite what we want, and our living space is the same (minus the stressful). But, we have received some very, very good news that will change things dramatically for us over the next little while. 

And we're so excited!!

Rexburgians

I can't believe how fast time flies. It has been a month since we moved to Rexburg.

Rexburg is treating us well, and we are enjoying ourselves.

Our apartment is humble, but just great for a newly married couple. We were really spoiled in Pocatello, and our home now is much more like what you would expect newly weds to live in as they start off. We live in the basement of an old house and "manage" the girls who live upstairs. There are 4 of them this semester, but usually there are 6. They are all very friendly and fun gals. We have to do clean checks once a week and enjoy what little time we have  to get to know them. We also enjoy watching movies with them as the dialogue comes directly through the vents and into our bedroom.

I was hired as a "Guest Service Representative" (aka Front Desk) for the Springhill Suites Marriott in town. It is a great place to work and everyone there is so friendly. Marriott is a good company and does well to treat their employees well. I've had a hard time adjusting to the 3p-11p shift that I often am scheduled to work because my usual bedtime is an hour or so before I get off. Slowly, but surely, I will get used to it. My only complaint is that the Front Desk is a 24 hr, 7 days a week kind of job, so I end up working quite a few Sundays. Not what I like. But, I am the new kid on the block, so I pretty much expected it. With time, I'm hoping I can get out of working them. The hotel is much smaller than the Clarion in Pocatello, so even on "busy" nights, I find myself without things to do and really bored... I end up cleaning a lot: the lobby, the front desk, the closet, and the back office, just to name a few. But I'm not complaining. I would rather be bored than stressed out of my mind because everything is going wrong! The best part about this job is I can receive an Associate Rate at ANY Marriott worldwide, so long as it is available. I also have access to a Friends and Family Rate. *wink wink*

Tom is working for the Salt Lake Express. They mostly use him for charters, so he actually has a lot of downtime. With charters, he is paid by the day, so in a weekend, he can make what he would working on regular routes. He really enjoys the charters and prefers them over the scheduled routes. Charters are fun for me too because if the group gives the okay, I can come along! Sometimes they are more busy than others, but they always feel like a mini vacation. It's a pretty good gig. So far he has been to Boise a few times, Yellowstone, Salt Lake, Idaho Falls, Grace, and Downey, to name a few.

Tom is officially a BYU-I Student. The proof is in the cards.

Our I-cards. This is how we can get into the I-center and the gym, among other things. Tom was very eager to get his I-card, so he obtained special permission to take an online class this semester, although he technically isn't supposed to start school until the Fall. For now he only has the one online class, Science Foundations, but he will start up full time in September.

Between our jobs and traveling on weekends -baby blessings, farewells- we haven't had a chance to experience our new ward yet. It is very sad, but we both have this coming Sunday off and will finally be able to attend. We just hope the ward doesn't think we're inactive!

Probably our most exciting news is our new purchase....

Hooray for a new car! We have been looking for a while with not much luck, until we stumbled upon this beauty parked in front of the Broulim's grocery store here in town. We called and though the guy had had a lot of interest, we were the first to say, "We'll take it!" As soon as we offered, he said he had calls flooding in of people offering to buy the car. We were lucky that we were dealing with a honorable man and he stuck to his word to sell it to us. We sure do love it!

We miss Pocatello often, but we really are enjoying ourselves here. We really like the atmosphere of Rexburg. It is a lot of fun to walk to a park and see so many people there enjoying the weather, a game of Ultimate Frisbee, or spending time with one another. We often walk to Porter Park and meet Mom, Dad, Sam, and Kanolli. We sure enjoy living close to them and getting to see them as often as we do! It's also really neat to be so close to a temple. We are just down the hill and could easily walk to it. We're very excited to make that a regular part of our routine!

3 cheers for 3 years in Rexburg! (give or take.)