Student and Baby

As many of you know, I am going to be student teaching in a third grade classroom at Smalley Elementary School in Henderson! I am excited but very nervous. I just hope the cooperating teacher is good to me and that the students aren't too bad. I am nervous also because I don't know how flexible the teacher will be with me if I have to go to a doctor's appointment or something. Also, I hope that I can find a doctor that will take me. I've heard of girls having to beg doctor's to take them because they are all booked up or something. I have three doctor's in mind so far- Dr. Sauter (he's wicked busy), Dr. Paul, and Dr. Juarez. I'm crossing my fingers that we can get one of those! Because I am 28 weeks next week and I need to go in soon. That's an important appointment! And I have to get my shot. Yuck. Anyways, hope you all had a Merry Christmas! We sure did! It's been fun, and we are happy to finally be in Henderson and away from the icky snow and ice! Happy NEW YEAR! We are going to Joe's aunt's house for games and food tomorrow night...it should be fun.

All Grown up and Graduated!

Well, today I graduated! It was great. We got to be the first graduating class to graduate in the new BYU-Idaho center! It is a beautiful building and it resembles the conference center. It is a lot bigger than the Hart auditorium is, but of course it's not nearly as big as the conference center. It seats 15,000 people! Crazy! Anyways, can't believe we made it! Well, I still have to student teach, but we are done in Rexburg FOREVER! I will miss it here a lot, but I definitely won't miss the fall/winter/spring weather! Yes, winter lasts three seasons.... usually. Plus, I am terrified to drive in the snow and especially when there is ice. It's been melting and freezing a lot and if I slide the littlest bit, I will cry... and I have a couple of times... but we're still alive and I am rambling. So, yes. Graduation was great and Marvin K. Jensen spoke to us and it was wonderful. Last night Joe and I went to the graduation banquet and got to have a little reunion with some of our closest friends who have since moved out of the ward. It was so great to see them before we move. Convocation followed and that was fun too. There were a lot of education majors graduating (A LOT more Eled than ECSE though, which is to be expected). It was just all great and I felt bad Joe has been so sick, but has still come because he is the only one here to see me do something I thought I'd never see myself do. Well, the end of the tunnel is here and it feels great. I know I couldn't have done it without my Father in Heaven, My husband, my family, and wonderful, wonderful friends who have done so much for Joe and I. Thank you everyone! :) We are excited for the next part of our life.... very nervous, but excited. We are starting our family and Joe is hoping to find a career that he enjoys. For now, he'll be selling insurance with Allstate...and who knows, maybe he'll love that. That'd be hard for me to love though. Just saying. And I probably won't start teaching teaching until our children are in school (unless something happens and I need to work) and that will be a while. I better make sure to keep my credentials up! I didn't do this for nothing! I really do want to teach one day! :) Okay, anyways, our next step is to pack and clean this apartment out! It'll be a long couple days, but it's worth it to wait and let Joe get over pneumonia and gain strength back. For now, we can do the little things... like decide what we are trashing or giving to D.I. and putting some things in boxes. Anyways, world! Next time I post, we might be in Henderson, so Merry Christmas!!! :)

Joe and I at my graduation banquet...My cheeks are huge.These are our good friends Luke and Mary and there adorable baby boy Max. They've done so much for us, and I served with Mary in the relief society presidency before her little family moved out of the ward. :)Joe got a snap of me before I went to be awarded my diploma (case, haha).Joe and I after convocation...what a trooper. Poor boy was feeling sicky.This is us and our good friends Kristen, Jared, and their cute new baby Ashlyn (they also have another little girl Kaylee who is almost 2). They are really good friends and I served with Kristen in the relief society presidency before they moved out of the ward. As you can see, they graduated together. How exciting! :)Here's a little snippet of the new BYU-Idaho center auditorium. Beautiful isn't it? This is where we had commencement this morning. Joe and I couldn't be there for the dedication of the building because Joe was bed ridden, so when we marched into here from the gym, my eyes got huge. :) I look like I am on drugs in this picture... hahaMe and my two favorite people :) Joe and Ryker. So glad they could share this special day with me! Love you boys! :)

The Promised Post

So, I was going to take a 24 week pic, but I was like what's the point in taking one every week? I should wait another 4 weeks or something and then there will definitely be a difference. I am getting big though. I went into my last appointment here in Rexburg today, and I gained 10 pounds since I went in last, 4 weeks ago. Yikes! That's a little bit more than 2 pounds a week! I don't think it will be quite that much though because lately, I have not been able to eat anything I want because I get full after my first bite! That's a little bit of an exaggeration, but you get my drift. So, we are a little bit nervous about moving and finding a doctor in Vegas and getting insurance stuff taken care of and all that stuff. I'm supposed to get that one shot in my hip at 28 weeks from my RH factor thing. Also, someone gave me advice and said that we should do Lamaze classes because Joe will have no clue how to coach me through labor or something like that. I have no clue, but maybe we'll do that when I'm like 7 months or something. I'm sure we'll be fine if we don't do that classes. Either way, whatevs. So, when me and my team (Amyra and Tandy) went to do our last intervention session for our strategies class, we took the family small thank you gifts and a thank you card for letting us come into their home and work with their child. When we were just about to get in Amyra's car, the mom said, "can you girls come back, we have something for you!" Next thing we know, they hand us all this fancy cosmetic stuff (pics below). I guess her husband used to work for some expensive cosmetic company in the past and had all this stuff the company gave to him. I'm not sure why he gave to him so much except like when the weight of the products were off and they couldn't sell them or something. So, yes. He gave us the following items. Well, he gave me a little bit more than Tandy and Amyra, but that's only because I am pregnant, and they don't need stretch mark creams. haha
So this is stretch mark cream. This is one of those products that they couldn't sell because the weight was off and ya. whatev.
This lotion is amazing. He said that they have 5 pound boxes of this (his wife must love all this) It has been great to put on my itchy itchy womb. Also, the mom came out with the nipple cream. She was afraid I'd be embarrassed, but I was like whatev. She said that I will love this when I am breastfeeding because it is very painful (so I've heard, I'm not expecting anything less than painful).
So, that silvery thing is worth $45. I would never spend that much money on any cosmetic item... well, that small anyways! It is some kind of photo finish targeted pore and line primer stuff. Fancy. They gave me an extra bottle of scar healing stuff and then a tube of scar therapy (not sure what the difference is). They also gave me this fancy tinted moisturizer for my face. Fancy!
I also got some more cute baby gifts from girls who couldn't make it. My friend Leann got all these cute sleepy time outfits!
My friend Mary gave me the cutest little cardigan three piece outfit. The onesie says "handsome like daddy" So cute!!! And my bishop and his wife gave us a soft blue blankey with a cute newborn onesie! So cute! Love!
Wednesday was my last day with the Kindergartners. I will miss this little bunch! They are all little darlings and just so silly! I will also miss my cooperating teacher. I won't use names for privacy reasons, but she is great! Love them all! I will miss the sound of their snow boots clonking around on the floor. That is one of the most amazing schools I have been in!!! :) Go Discovery Elementary Dragons! :) Oh, also I graduate next Friday and Saturday. Can't believe that! Friday they are dedicating the new BYU-Idaho center. It is supposed to be a lot like the conference center and is huge. I heard it is so beautiful. Joe and I are going to go to that and President Eyring will be speaking. We also are going to my graduation banquet at 5:00 that day. Delicious food I'm sure. After that, I will go to convocation and graduate with all my education peeps. Saturday morning will be commencement and I believe someone from the Seventy will be speaking to us, and that will be in the new BYU-Idaho center. It will be great, and I am excited to get pics in a cap and gown. It will feel more real that way... maybe. Okay, anyways, I'm going to eat some pizza and breadsticks now! Enjoy! More of you need to look at my blog! I feel like I update no one on here! Or maybe a lot of you just don't leave comments, except a few of you. You know who you are! :)

24 Weeks and Other Goodies Coming Soon!

I shall post soon, but for now, this is just a reminder to me! :)

Great News!

I have some wonderful news! I did my portfolio presentation on Wednesday. I presented myself in front of a committee of four. I sat at this table and they sat around in desks and watched me while I did a speech on my learning journey in the ECSE program. I have to admit, it was a little scary, but it wasn't at all as terrifying as I pictured. Two of them were smiling at me constantly so it made me a little bit more comfortable. They sent me out after I presented and they asked all the questions they wanted, and ten to fifteen minutes later called me back in. They said, "Cynthia, of course we feel it is unanimous that you are indeed ready to student teach." I was so very happy. Then they told me about my strengths, gave me some recommendations, and then congratulated me. I went out and jumped around with my friend Amyra and helped get her ready to go in. Since she had to sit out and wait for me, I had to wait until she was done with hers. Of course she passed because she is amazing. We went and celebrated after at Subway. She is student teaching in vegas too, so it will be exciting to still be able to see her a little bit. She is coming to visit Ryker after he is born too! :) Anyways, it was like this huge burden was lifted off my shoulders when they said I passed! :) oh, and my cooperating teacher for my kindergarten practicum sat in on the committee and she gave me a gift after. It was so sweet. This is what she gave me:
Cute huh? I love children's books! I must have told her or something. Isn't that so sweet of her? I've really had a great semester! :)
Anyways, last night was my baby shower. It was really fun. We had brownies (the most delicious chocolatey brownies ever), cake, and some yummy grapefruit soda drink. Not really sure what kind it was, but it was delicious. Ryker liked it a lot. It was very nice of my friends Kristen and Alex to throw the baby shower for me. They made it really comfortable and decorated it in a Christmasy setting. It was very nice! My friend Linda got pics of me opening gifts, but I'll post those when she gets those to me. It was super fun, and I got a lot of great gifts! Ryker will love it all! Also, thanks everyone! :)

I got a pack of 5 onesies (they are sports onesies, super cute), three hooded towels (super cute), four receiving blankets, a really soft blanket, two packs of baby wash cloths, two home made burping rags, and like 14 nursing pads. My friend Kristen made them. :)

I was so excited to get all this essential stuff! You can never have enough I've heard! I got 4 things of lotion (one is Aveeno brand) and 4 baby washes (one is Aveeno brand), a little sample of aveeno baby shampoo, some baby shampoo, and diaper rash cream (heard that stuff is magical). :)
I don't know why this pic wouldn't come up the right way, but I got a cute striped sleeper, a long sleeve moose onesie, a bib that says "Thank Heaven for little BOYS" :), a cute little green outfit with little footsies, and four burping rags! :)
Two cute striped onesies with a matching six pack of socks, a bib that says "born to eat," a cute bear blanket, cute little "things that go" book set, and little vans with dinosaurs on them. Aren't those the cutest little shoes EVER!? :)

A little lion outfit that says roar all over it with a lion bib and the pants are backwards just to show off the ROAR butt :) Also, the sleeper right next to it is REALLY soft and a girl in my ward MADE IT. She is so talented! It's for 6-9 months, but I'm pretty sure Ryker won't be that big at 6-9 months, but ya never know! :)
The little sleeper on the left is what Joe picked out right after we found out we were having a boy, a blue onesie with cute little jeans, and a cute little one piece outfit (an up close look below), and some cute little booties! :)
Isn't that so cute? I like the tie and the watch on the arm! haha!This is me yesterday after the baby shower as you can see from the stuff in the background. Over Thanksgiving break I just kind of popped out! yikes! It's exciting now though because people can tell. A little girl in Kindergarten even asked "Mrs. Gebhardt, are you pregnant?" I told her yes and that I was having a boy. She said, "I have a baby boy!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone is having such a wonderful holiday! We had fun in Ogden and had a delicious (as always) Thanksgiving dinner made by mom, and are now enjoying our time in Henderson...we had Thanksgiving dinner (or should I say lunch) with Joe's Aunt Karen, Uncle Mark, cousins, and friends. We are so grateful that they were willing to share this holiday with us! It was delicious of course. Aunt Karen cooked her turkey for 12 hours... it was so tender and juicy. Delish! It truly has been fun despite all the homework I've been doing. Finishing up my portfolio and writing my speech so I can memorize it by next Wednesday. It'll be a scary day, but it will be exciting when it is accomplished! Plus the next day will be my Rexburg baby shower. I look forward to it! I'm grateful for such wonderful friends who are so nice to do so much for me! I'm so grateful for all my family, Joe, and Joe and I are both thankful for our baby boy Ryker! We are also excited to see Kiki go through the temple tomorrow! What an exciting day for her and her family! :) She is going to Indianapolis, Indiana--the same mish her dad served in! :)
Thanksgiving Dinner at Mom's! :) Thanks Mom!
The almost finished product! Can't wait to get this wide load out of my hands and into the ECSE faculty's.

Overwhelming!

I had my first mental breakdown yesterday for the first time in a very long time... I just felt so overwhelmed with school, my calling, and the fact that we'll be moving in the next month. It's so sad! I am really going to miss Rexburg, but I know that it will be much fun starting the next chapter of our lives. It's exciting, yet very scary! I have my portfolio presentation the Wednesday after Thanksgiving break. I am TERRIFIED...as is everyone else who has to do theirs this semester. They start presentations today, and I bet my peers will do great! It will be so nice once I'm past that point. That's the scariest part of this whole program. I'm not even scared to student teach compared to this! I have to present for fifteen minutes in front of a committee (including ECSE faculty, my cooperating teacher for Kindergarten, and some dude high up in the education department) and be able to show them that I know what I need to know to move on to student teaching. They ask me any questions they want after I'm done presenting, and I have to answer them right there. Then, they send me out for like ten more minutes and wait until they call me back in. They tell me my strengths, weaknesses, give advice, and then tell me if they feel I am ready to move on to student teaching. If they don't feel I am, I FAIL. Well, they'll just have me present again the next week. Usually people pass though. The next couple weeks they look over my actual portfolio (that I've worked like 10+ hours on--still not done). This is really all I fret about right now. For my calling, I have to do visiting teaching interview, which aren't hard. They last about 5 minutes, but I'm just starting them and I have 18 girls to interview... and half of them probably won't sign up or even show. I fear it is because they haven't done their visiting teaching, but we tell them that it is okay and that we would still like to talk to them. Also, we are leaving Friday at noon to go to Utah and then Vegas for the break. We want to start moving stuff down, so we don't have to worry about getting a UHAUL, but I feel like I have NO time to start packing that stuff because I have all these other assignments. We have a Relief Society activity Thursday, which I'm second counselor so I must be there. I have an intervention session for my Strategies class Wednesday night, and aside from this I have to do the interviews. Joe is studying for a huge test to get licensed for insurance because we think that will help him get a job easier when we move, and he has been overwhelmed too... he just handles it better than me. Other than that, I am so happy and excited that we know we are having a boy! His name is Ryker Thomas. Don't judge. We love that name and that is his name! We've decided. Ryker because we just like that name and Thomas after Thomas S. Monson. Cute huh?
We had stake conference this weekend and it was wonderful, but I just get so distracted by the babies and especially the boys now that I know we are having a boy. Joe was quite distracted himself. So cute! Also, I just love looking at baby clothes, but I need to just hold off until it's baby shower time! I'm hoping someone here throws me one, but I'll end up having one no matter what, so it's okay. It'll all be fun! My friend Jessica who is the Relief Society president found out the same day that she is having a girl. Everyone thought that we would have the girl and she would have the boy. It's always the opposite of what we think. But Jess and I say that we both knew deep down inside that she was having a girl and I was having a boy. Anyways, I really need to go do some homework. Love you all family and friends! :)

It's a BOY!!!

We are pleased to announce that we are having a wonderful little boy! We are super duper excited. She didn't print any pics that show proof that it is a boy, but we have some great pictures of his head! He's so cute! They gave us a DVD of the ultrasound, and I just watched it. Definitely a boy. Not that I doubted it because I'm pretty they wouldn't make a mistake, but when she said it's pretty clear I kept missing the screen because I was looking at Joe and talking about how surprised he was. He was sure it was a girl, but he is very excited to have a boy too. We both are! Ah! I can't even describe how excited I am! I think it's just the fact that we finally know to say "he." Ok, since everyone has been asking... we like the names Ryker or Ethan. We haven't really looked too much into it though, so we aren't sure on first or middle names or whatever. Anyways, we are so excited about our baby boy! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!

4 More Days...

until we find out what this baby is!!! We are super duper excited. Oh, and I just got a call from the doctor saying that they got my blood test results back. They said my CBC test looks good, but they want me on some additional folic acid. My red blood cell count must be low. Also, they want to do a CBC on Joey, so they'll be doing lots of fun things on Friday. The ultrasound will be the best part of course. Hope that everything goes well! Yay for our little baby!!! :)
Here's my updated baby bump at 20 weeks! I don't know why Joe feels he has to get me close up. He's so silly!

Here are our updated numbers!
We have 17 votes for a girl (Matt and Logan voted a girl too; very surprising)
We have 13 votes for a boy
We have 2 votes for one of each (twins, which is pretty much a cop out answer because clearly we are only having ONE baby)
Anyways, this is so fun for me even though it's a 50/50 chance. I still like to see what people think. Next Friday needs to come faster!!!Okay, so I might have cheated a little bit and angled myself to make myself look bigger, but I figure I'll look like that next week if not earlier! :)

What Do We Have?

So far 75% (6 votes) have said a girl and 25% have said a boy (2 votes). I don't know how many more people are planning on voting, but I guess I'll do another update right before we find out.

What do you think?!

So, I will probably do a poll on facebook because you all know I don't know how to do anything on blogger except type and put pictures up, but I wanted to still open your votes to blogger. In a comment, post whether you think we will have a boy or a girl! We find out in two weeks!!!

18 Weeks!

You like how I am eating a sandwich? Peanut Butter and Honey... Yum! Got the flu shot today and my arm is really sore. :( Going for a checkup on Friday and then finding out the sex in two weeks!!! :)

17 Weeks Pregnant

17 Weeks!

Today I am 17 weeks! Crazy! We get to find out if it is a girl or a boy in 3 weeks and 3 days! :) Yay!!! Just within the last couple of days I have realized that I feel like I NEVER get full. I feel like I'm eating way too much, but I heard that the second trimester is like that because the baby is doing some serious growing and developing. I'll probably be back at more frequent smaller meals when I am in the third trimester... If I'm anything like my friend Shannon, anyways. I just don't want to gain way too much excess weight. Hopefully no more than ten or fifteen extra pounds (after the baby has been delivered, of course). I only say this because I heard of a girl who gained 15 just in her first trimester, and gained overall like 50-60 pounds. Yikes. Anyways, I'm rambling. I gotta shower and get ready for class. I will post a pic of my belly later. I look more pregnant now... crazy! Just a week later and it popped out!

Pregnancy

Well, I am officially 16 weeks along, and I can feel my stomach start to get firm. It is a very strange feeling for me. It's like I'm constipated or something. TMI, I know, but it's the truth! I can no longer sleep on my stomach... so, so sad. That is my favorite way to sleep... so comfy! Now it just feels strange. It's not like I'm uncomfortable, but I feel like I'm squishing the baby, so my brain will not allow it. I ordered a body pillow... can't wait til it comes. I have to be honest though--I have loved every minute of pregnancy! Regardless of the nausea! Oh, speaking of nausea... it's pretty much gone. I made it through it and only puked once! (watch, now I'll puke tonight. ahha) Anyways, I'm 16 weeks and this is all I have to show for it! (refer to pic below) Can't wait til I look pregnant and not like I've eaten way too many doughnuts. :) We find out if we are having a boy or a girl November 12th! My dad's birthday! It will be an exciting day for everyone! :) My friend Jess who is due the same day is finding out the same day! We didn't even plan it! Crazy!Sorry for our embarrassing water marks on the mirror...We also went to Yellowstone National Park for the first time this past weekend! It was so fun and we saw a grizzly bear! Scary! We got a pic of it, but this is the best pic of all. haha

Wow-This is Way Overdue

It's been so long since I've blogged. I'm horrible about blogging. Hopefully I'll get better, but maybe not since this is going to be a tough semester. Everybody knows this, but Joe and I are going to be a Daddy and Mommy! We found out in July and were excited to find out yesterday that we are due March 31, 2011! One of my good friends (and the RS president, who I work closely with) Jessica is due the same day! Awesome, huh? Anyways, we are super duper excited! Joe thinks it is a girl. I have no clue what to think. I just know that Joe is pretty sure it's a girl. My friend who is pregnant with a boy said that they say girls usually have a higher heartbeat than boys and she said that ours is higher than hers was. Doesn't mean anything though. But anyways, seeing the baby made it feel so real. I almost cried I couldn't believe that baby was inside of me! They also gave me a video, so Joe and I watched it last night. You could really see the baby's heart beating. Our baby is two inches long and had a heartbeat of 180 bpm. She showed us the hands, the tummy, the thighs, the spinal cord, and even the umbilical cord. It was so cute! School is going well. I'm managing, but having a hard time getting back into the swing of things... have to motivate myself to do my homework. I really like the piano class. It is lots of fun. Anyways, gotta do some homework and prepare for a homevisit.

Looks like the baby is sucking his or her thumb! So precious! :)

Woopsie!

Just realized that Brent didn't actually mean send him a Big Jud burger pic, he wanted me to send him a REAL Big Jud burger. Whoops! haha

Big Jud Bid Deal!

On behalf of Brent's request, here are the Big Jud pics. I think that the first one is a double Big Jud, but we didn't get a double. That would be sooo much meat!!! Oh, and p.s., when we got there, I look over, and there is Matt with all his buddies. Matt said his friend Nate leaned over and said, "Matt did you invite your sister?" and they all look back and I waved like a crazy person. It was Awesome!
Some random guy!
It was so good! I was disappointed in myself though because I couldn't finish half of a Big Jud.
Joe enjoyed that thing thoroughly. He finished his. :)
The guy that we went on the double date with got a Big Jud and finished the whole thing, and then he forgot to get his picture taken. It was funny! Oh, and I just learned that it is Big Jud's, not Big Judd's.

I am pleased to announce that next Friday is my last day of school (for the semester, of course)! The day after that, I have to take my Praxis exam, which certifies me to be a teacher. Hopefully I pass--those tests are not cheap! $220! Anways, I'll be testing from about 7:30 til 12:30 (with a 45 minute break between the tests). Anyways, enough of that. This past Wednesday marked the last day of preschool with the children... it was a bitter-sweet feeling. I would totally post a picture of our class, but I am not allowed to for privacy reasons. Those little ones were so fun to work with... oh, how I get attached way too easily. For the last day, we had a summer theme. The children learned about the seasons, eating (or drinking) refreshing treats, and summer activities. After we learned about summertime activities, we all went outside and had some of our own summertime activities. They Pretended to sell otter pops to college students with fake money... it was so cute. I was over the "fishing for prizes." There was also a water balloon toss, sponge relay, face painting, and a "trike" wash (rather than a car wash). There was also a sensory table filled with water for the children to play in. It was a great time! It couldn't have gone more perfect for the last day of preschool! In other news, I am 85% finished with Assessments and Evaluation!!! Woo hoo! It really has not been as bad as everyone made it seem... I'm learning so much in that class, and we found today that we're starting to make jokes out of what we learned... we sound like wicked nerds! BAHA! It's exciting to think that I can do well in a master's level course... it'd be cool to get a master's! We have three days of finals just for that class. On Monday, we have the first 50 multiple choice questions. On Tuesday, we have up to three hours to answer fifteen essay questions well-written! On Wednesday, we have the second 50 multiple choice question... then we are done. Wednesday will be a day of celebration... then I need to take my New Testament final on Thursday. Tonight Joe and I are going on a double date with his friend Bob and his girlfriend. We are going to BIG JUDD'S! Yes! We haven't been there since we weren't even engaged! We are definitely going to get a BIG JUDD burger... that thing his HUGE! It should be delicious. Tomorrow my friend Mary is having her bachelorette party... she is getting married next Friday, and I am so happy for her! She has become one of my good friends! Congrats Mary! :)This is Mary in Ecuador. She lived there for a semester to help in the orphanage... I just think this is the cutest pic ever!

I applied for my last semester of class... excited, might I add! I am taking my Kindergarten practicum (4 credits), Strategies (4 credits, a lot like assessments), Science Methods (2 credits), and Social Studies Methods (2 credits). In honor of my last semester of classes and just because I want to take advantage while I still can, I am taking two additional classes for fun! I am taking Fit for Life (2 credits, you learn all about the body and fitness) and a Piano class! :) (2 credits, I am super excited to finally use my keyboard! :) It is one of my dreams to play the piano well. It is also one of my dreams to run a half marathon... a marathon is way too much, but I could do a half marathon, maybe. I would like to run one one day. Maybe not for a while though. Anyways, life is good. Joe is working at Western Wats. Poor guy. It's not his favorite, but it's something. He is keeping himself busy, so that is good because I am always really busy. Anyways, sometimes I wish I was a millionaire so that I could just get a car and by tickets to fly anywhere I want to. There are many people I would like to visit right now... KT and her familiy, for example. It has been approximately two years since I've seen them. :( Tear! Love you all!!!!So, in honor of you KT! The best pic EVER!!! :) Love you sista!

Thank Goodness!

Thank Goodness for the gospel... Couldn't have made it this far into the semester without it! Oh, and exercising helps too! We love the gym! :)

Didn't Feel Like Fixing It

Saying goodbye to Timmy!...

Brighton is such a silly little boy! :)
Dad's awesome shoes. They're DC!!!
On our way to church... I like how Logan is smiling for the camera in the back...
Hanging out at the Brunner's house! It's so different with only three cousins there now...
Timmy shoved a piece of chicken in his mouth! Baha!
Jumpin' on the "tramp"!
Went to the temple with the brothers and parents to do baptisms.
Hello All! So, the first week of the semester was... OK. I know that it is going to be a rough semester. It already feels rough! We have a lot to do to get ready for Preschool, and I have to get a second lesson plan done by like next week or something! The lesson plans are long and it's a long process. We have to have them done about three weeks before the lesson is taught because it needs to go to our head teacher first and then my instructor, and then my team (the girls I work with in the preschool). There are several different majors in the preschool labs. There is my major ECE/ECSE and then there are child development majors, Professional Preschool majors, etc. Since we are ECSE majors, our lesson plans are different and they are a lot longer, more detailed, and more rigorous. It is pretty intense and a little confusing, but that is okay. I'm glad that we only have to do four lesson plans because I guess normally they have to do six on their own. In this case, since it is the spring semester and there are no off campus placements, there are more students in each lab--limiting us to so many lessons to teach. We only have to make and teach two lesson plans on our own, and then we teach with one other person the first time and then the last time, all the ECSE majors teach together. It will really help me as I am taking the Assessments course which is going to kick my butt. If we don't pass the first test, the teacher drops us from the class. We get multiple attempts to pass the test, but you have to get a 90 or higher to pass, so yes. I really look forward to that. At least there are only two tests. That's nice. I am also taking a religion class (New Testament), which I think will help out because last semester I didn't take a religion class, and I needed one more three credit scripture-based religion. I am also taking Math Methods. Next semester, I will be taking Kindergarten practicum, Strategies, social studies methods, and science methods. My last semester of classes!!! YES! This semester will be hardest by far. That's what I've been told. Anyways, Joe found a job! He's going to try it out. He starts training Tuesday. It's called Palacio...a magazine company. He's not entirely sure what he'll be doing, but we'll see. We had Matt over for dinner tonight. We made pizza. It was a good time. He was all out of food at his apartment. We were glad to feed him. He had to leave though because he said he had a ton of homework. Anyways, all I really had an update on is school and Joe's job because that is really all that is up with us. Enjoy the pics from our break!

Spending some time with Mom and Darin and the grandparents!
I love Luke's face in this pic
Me and Blue... Love him...
Getting ready to take Joe out for his first In-n-Out experience! We picked up Timmy from school and took him with us too.
Timmy's friend Kaden and I helped Timmy ask a girl to prom. Cute?
Here's his answer! :)
Joe's aunt Karen and uncle Mark and cousin Hilary. We went to some place called Grand China. Great Chinese food. His aunt and uncle spoiled us a lot while we were there.
Little Seth! What a doll! P.S. sad that I didn't get any pics with Brent and Shayla! :( We got to visit with them for a little bit and Shayla made some amazing pasta!!! Thanks again!
The little bros! They're all bigger than me now!


One of our awesome attempts to get a pic of the whole group. haha! We put the camera on timer and put the camera on the garbage can haha!