Another Birthday

I know I'm a month late, but I can't believe I just started my last year of my twenties! Yikes! I'm not exactly sure how I feel about that but there's nothing I can do about it. Luckily, Jeremy had the morning off so we got to spend some time together before he had to go to school. As always he spoiled me rotten, giving me a new fossil watch, a new purse, and taking me out to PF Chang's for dinner and the Cheesecake factory for dessert (I have the best husband ever). In fact, between him and my mom I was COMPLETELY spoiled.  My mom gave me money to buy a piano I'd been wanting to buy (yes she's awesome). Overall it was a great birthday and I loved hearing from so many friends and family. Thanks for making it special!



In other news:

- Jeremy and I got new callings. We are now the 4/5 year old primary teachers. That's what we get for agreeing to sub the class for three weeks when we first moved here.  ;-)  Someday I'll be able to go to Relief Society, but for now the Lord says I'm not finished in primary.

- Jeremy has been acing all his exams and tests so far in dental school and is loving it so much!

And last but not least we are heading to the white sandy beaches of Pensacola, Florida for a few days to celebrate the end of his summer term and to enjoy some time together before he hits the books hard. I'll definitely post pictures when we get back!



My New Obsession

So recently I've become obsessed with cute printables. Seriously there are some amazingly adorable ones on pinterest! Some are free to download and others costs money. I figured they looked easy enough to create so I've been messing around with some of my own for the last couple of days. It's really fun, although takes some time. But I'm learning some quick tricks, and I LOVE being creative! Here is what I have created in the last two days:



This was my first try. I thought it would be fun to frame for one of my neices or someone having a baby girl!

I did this one in like 5 minutes, but it's kinda fun.

I created this one tonight and have to say it's my favorite. I'm going to find a cheap frame at a thrift store, paint it white and frame it for our room!

Student Doctor

I've been trying to be good about photo documenting all the little firsts of Jeremy's new adventure. He was so excited and secretly a little nervous about starting school. Last Monday, July 2nd, was his first day but classes didn't really begin until Friday, July 6th. Now he's already slicing up cadavers and refining his anatomy knowledge and skills. I think he's really enjoying the learning part and is just excited to be done with all the "boring orientations and presentations." He kept coming home all frustrated the first few days saying, "How many times do we need to hear how important it is to budget our financial aid?" For right now he's in class from about 8am to usually around 3pm although his schedule will keep changing as different classes begin and end (it's not like a normal semester schedule). He has also been a real trooper about riding the bus to and from school since we now share one car. It's such a blessing to be so close to efficient (and free for students) public transportation. And if he's able to catch the express bus, it only takes a few more minutes than it would driving himself. We have already saved a lot of money by not paying for gas, or the $450 parking pass! Anyways, I'll keep the pictures and stories flowing as time goes by. It seems a little surreal that we are actually here in Louisville, with Jeremy attending dental school. We've talked and dreamt about this since we were first dating and it's so exciting that it's finally here!

Top Left: The week before school when he got his name tag. Top Right: Right outside the building where he will spend the next 4 years of his life!  Bottom Left: Sending him off on his first day of school.  Bottom Right: His school wardrobe for the next four years. Looks comfy to me!

Churchill Downs

Jeremy's dental school orientation/meet and greet was held at Churchill Downs (home of the Kentucky Derby) a few weeks ago. It was so much fun watching the horse races and choosing "my horse" before each race based on who had the most awesome name. (I couldn't figure out how to interpret their stats and basing my preditions on their names was more fun). We had a good time and met some new people, but the weather made the evening a little miserable. It was over 100 degrees (factor in humidity) when we arrived and when we left at 11pm that evening it had only "cooled" to the low 90's. YUCK! We were super sweaty to say the least! We are look forward to all the excitement of the Kentucky Derby next Spring.

Things are finally coming together for us here in Louisville. We have already made some amazing friends and have probably done more in the last month with friends than we did in the last few years in Boise. Jeremy is busy with school and I just recently (like today recently) got a super part-time job with a flexible schedule that will help bring in some extra income until I can get a full-time position. I'm doing administrative work for a little membership organization called The International Leica Society (formerly known as The Leica Historical Society of America). It's basically a camera club which a bunch of old men belong to! :) I'm just grateful for something to provide us with a little bit on extra income and that will keep me from getting so bored.

BSU Graduation

Hey guess what? We graduated!! So I'm a little behind with this post but on May 11th/12th Jeremy graduated Cum Laude with his Bachelor degree in Pre-Dental Studies and Human Biology, and I graduated with my Master of Social Work! My family (mom, dad, little brother Matt, little sister Jessica, brother-in-law Greer, and neice Zoe) all made the trip to Boise to celebrate this special occasion and it was SO much fun having them around for a few days. These are just a few pictures I had on my phone from graduation day, most of the pics of my family are on my mom's camera. My family dropped us off at the airport super early on the morning they were leaving town so we could catch our flight to Louisville to try to find housing. Thanks for being such a good sport mom! And thanks to everyone who made our days so special!

Louisville Life

Tomorrow marks a week since we moved to Louisville. I can't say everything has been easy-peasy but after reading my last post and reminding myself that I want to be the kind of person who finds the good in all situations I am going to attempt to do so. Let's just say the last week has been super eventful! But first lets back up a bit. I'll have to blog about graduation and spending time with my family who came into town in another post so this one doesn't become eternally long. So I guess I'll start at the move. On Jeremy's 25th birthday, May 31st, we packed all our belongings into a 16ft Budget truck, hooked up our one old car to the tow dolly, turned in our Boise townhouse keys and spent the rest of the evening with Jeremy's family before we left. Jeremy was super excited for his chocolate cake, with chocolate chips, and chocolate frosting (can you tell he's a chocoholic?).

The next day, June 1st, we set off on our mammoth journey! (So sad we didn't take a pic with the moving truck) Here's where we traveled to along the way:

June 1st: Drove to Spanish Fork, Utah and stayed with my sister Jessica, her husband Greer, and my neice Zoe.

Oh I'm going to miss my little Zoe!

June 2nd: Said goodbye to my sister and drove to Grand Junction, Colorado

Where we stayed in Grand Junction. Not bad but not great!

June 3rd and 4th: Drove to Colorado Springs, Colorado and stayed for two days with my college friends Dave and Camille, as well as visited with our good friends from Boise Shae and Wes. (Not sure how I didn't get any pictures with Camille and Dave?!?!?) Dave and Camille introduced us to Ticket to Ride and we played probably 6 times. Camille also made the most incredible dinners and desserts for us. She is an amazing cook and Jeremy is still raving about it!

Garden of the Gods with Jeremy

Garden of the Gods with Shae and Blake

June 5th: Drove to Topeka, Kansas

This my friends was as exciting as Kansas got!

June 6th: Drove to O'Fallon, Illinois

St. Louis Arch

June 7th: ARRIVED IN LOUISVILLE

We really are blessed that the drive went so well. I was terrified of tornadoes hitting us along the way but I'm happy to report there were no tornadoes. The worst weather we experienced was strong winds, and I'm just fine with that.

Soon after pulling up to our new home 4 or 5 guys from the elders quorum arrived to help us unload the moving truck (so grateful for the church). Half an hour later everything was unloaded and we started the unpacking process. Little did we realize that a few disasters were about to strike...

The next morning we woke up early to take the rental truck back (it had to be there by 8am to avoid any late fees). I jumped in our car to follow him there and after backing out of our spot the car made an awful noise, like the engine was dragging on the ground, and refused to move. Nothing could get it into gear, even putting it in park wouldn't work and the car would just roll backwards. Jeremy helped me push the car back into the spot, put on the emergency break, and he headed off in the truck while I woke up the only people I knew in Louisville to ask for help. (Sorry Lookhart family!) They are amazing people and jumped at the chance to help and even let us borrow one of their cars for the weekend until we could figure out what to do with our junker. A mechanic from the stake came to take a quick look at the car and told us that the AV axel was broken...awesome. So we had it towed to a shop and paid the huge amount to get it fixed only to receive a phone call about an hour later saying that our front breaks and roters were REALLY bad. At this point I'm in tears, and just so frustrated how much everything was costing and not sure how much to put into our junker car. We told the mechanic to just fix the axel and in the meantime Jeremy convinced me to go looking at new cars. Well friends, as opposed as I was to buying a new car, we really did get a sweet deal with super low payments, low interest, and a good trade in for our junker. We are now proud new owners of a 2012 Hyundai Accent.

Jeremy LOVES the new car...he hasn't even let me drive it yet!

While all this was going on the air conditioning in our new place decided not to work and we were in a hot humid apartment for over 24 hours with no air conditioning (probably what exacerbated my emotions). Also right before our car decided to break down we splurged on a really nice, new washer and dryer (we've never owned any and our new place just came with hookups). Probably wouldn't have bought such nice ones if we'd known we were going to buy a new car a few days later. Oh well...

Love our new washer and dryer!

So today our washer and dryer finally arrived for installation. I was so excited all day as I haven't done laundry in 2 weeks and was on my last pair of underwear! Well as the installation man was putting in our washer we heard him say, "Uh oh, somethings wrong with the washer. In my 7 years of doing this job I have NEVER seen this." Well, the 4 supports that hold up the washer drum had bust and the drum was literally sitting on the ground. The man called LG to report it broken and we were offered $100 or for a repair man to come fix it...um yeah right!!! The installation man politely refused both options and insisted on a complete replacement, which we will receive....NEXT WEDNESDAY!!! (hangs head in defeat) So off I went to the laundromat...at least I only had to pay for the wash since I have a working dryer!
So my friends Louisville has not been so kind to us so far, and has insisted on burying us deeper in debt. I've cried, I've screamed, and I've felt really defeated....but on the other hand there have been really amazing things that have happened!

• We love our new townhome and are almost completely done unpacking (pictures to come)
• We have met some incredible dental/medical couples who I know we will be great friends with. One of the medical couples even lives in our complex and they are just wonderful!
• We've already been invited to a Sunday dinner, movie night, girls night watching the bachelorette, church ball, and many more...
• I have experience fireflies for the first time, which are truly amazing! Love them!
• There is a Walmart and Target IN THE SAME PARKING LOT just down the road from us!

We are hoping that the Lord sees we are sufficiently humbled for now and that the huge trials will slow down a bit. Nevertheless, we are grateful for the blessings in our life and are so excited for what is to come in the next days, months, and years. Now it's time to decide what fun little trip we would like to take before school starts on July 2nd and before I find a job....we are so close to so many places! More to come on our adventures....


Who I want to be...

Some experiences I've had over the past week have caused me to do a lot of self reflection. I've been thinking a lot about the kind of person I want to be. If I were to die tomorrow how would people remember me? What would be my legacy? Would anyone say their life was better for having known me? I know this sounds weird but I feel like I've been living one accomplishment to the next, all the while telling myself, "when I'm done with grad school I'll have time to be a better friend and sister." Or "when I don't have to work as much I'll have time to serve others." One of my best excuses is, "when we are settled in our careers and don't have to worry about finances as much I'll be a more positive happier person." But I'm beginning to realize that there will always be some excuse, some obstacle, that I say is in my way making it hard for me to be the kind of person I want to be.
I want to be the kind, reliable friend that everyone knows they can turn to.

I want to be positive and happy, and find the beauty and good in every day and every situation.

I want to be the kind of person who exhausts themselves serving others, without thinking what I will receive in return.

I want others to feel the love God has for them through me.

I want to be the kind of person who only says nice things about others, and never participates in gossip.

I want to be known as confident and spontaneous, while at the same time reliable and steadfast.

I want to be patient and forgiving.

There are so many things I want to be and feel like I'm so far away from the kind of person I long to be. I know there is a time and a season for all things, and that right now it's my time to get as much education as I can and to work to support Jeremy and I as he pursues his dental career. But I can't help but thinking that our days are numbered and nobody knows when their time will be up. I don't want to be so focused on "later" that I never become the kind of person I want to be today. I have made it my renewed goal to live in the moment and stop putting off till tomorrow who I'm capable of being today!