Some of my favorite things...

Christmas cards, or any GOOD mail

kids' movies

hot chocolate

kitties under the Christmas tree

our clean home

kitties playing and making us giggle, or, in Drew's case (since giggling isn't "manly"), chuckle

decorating... for any occasion

cooking

not worrying about bills

going to my parents' for Christmas!

I've never been bitten by a dog, and I've never had a bee sting, but when I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad! :)

Thanks, Estelle!

Just a quick "shout out" to Estelle Ritchie for putting together our spectacular blog headers! She is wonderfully talented in all spectra of art. I asked her if she could take some of my favorite pictures and combine them with one of my favorite fonts to make a few blog headers and was very willing to help.

So, thanks, Estelle! You rock!

Quirky cats

Our cats are so quirky... I never knew cats could be so weird! Nolan is a spastic little guy and loves his little stuffed mice and goes crazy for them any time of the day! And when we scratch above their tails both Leo and Nolan react in the most hilarious ways! Leo becomes very unstable on his feet and plops down for more lovin'; Nolan gets even more spastic and claws his way around the legs of the table. They're so goofy!

We just put our Christmas tree up... I'm not so sure it was a good idea. Nolan is crazy about it! He started out biting our little artificial tree, then he started swatting at it, then sitting underneath it and sticking his head in the branches... then, finally, he found a way to get his whole body in the tree. What a goof ball! Luckily, none of our "breakable ornaments" are on our tree, so we're not concerned. It's just something we have to, uh, look forward to every Christmas!

Nolan and Leo, our new additions!

These are our boys: Leonardo and Nolan. They are wonderful!

Leo is a bobtail Tabby. He is our little cuddle-cat. He normally likes to be in our laps being loved on!

This is Nolan. He is a domestic short-hair... they call his coloring "obsidian", which I think is super cool. Nolan is also one of the softest cats you will ever pet. He's normally a nuisance and likes to play with his little stuffed mice, but he has a very sweet side... especially when he likes to climb in bed with us at 4:00am right in between Drew and me...

Leo and Nolan are 7 months old and we think they're brothers... They were brought into the animal shelter together and would stick by each other even when there were tons of other cats around. Nolan loves to clean Leo and try and get him to fight when he's feeling playful! Leo definitely controls play-time, though.

This has become one of their favorite spots to play. They attack each other's paws through the holes. Leo likes to sleep here with our dirty clothes sometimes, too.

It has been a nice change having these little guys in our home. We were so excited when we got to bring them home with us... into their "forever home," as the shelter calls it. They're hilarious and sweet and are a wonderful addition to our little family!

Holy WHOA!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I..

.

was absolutely AWESOME!

I realize I just used a word that I'm not completely fond of, but I couldn't think of a synonym for "awesome" that better suited thoughts I had about this movie!

At the end of the movie, I was craving more. They'd given me enough to satisfy, but I was hungry for more! The directing was superb; the effects, story-line, and acting were better than any of the other HP movies. You just have to see it if you haven't yet.

Unfortunately, there were some, um, "artistic" additions that were unnecessary. Ginny's bare back and a scene that should have been more innocent than it was: did we really need to see "naked" kissing teens (blurred, smoky effects; flesh-colored full body shot and a glimpse of mid-chest and up of said teens)? Really? It didn't add any more to the movie than if it hadn't been in it. But I guess they can do whatever they want...

Overall, great movie! Dark, but comic. Good ol' Fred and George. :)

GO SEE IT, okay? And let me know what you think.

Carissa, the college student

I am officially enrolled in classes at BYU-Idaho! It will be busy, but we need a little more chaos in our lives sometimes, ya know?

Here's the run-down:

American Foundations (online)

Math for the Real World

Book of Mormon

American Sign Language (YES!!!!)

Note Taking and Listening (online)

Concentration (online)

The whole curriculum at BYU-I has changed since I was last a student, so I have to take "Foundations" classes with lame names like "Math for the Real World". The last two classes are each half the semester and only half a credit each... I needed one more credit to make 12 (full-time). It will be interesting to see how I can work out all day work, evening classes, and still find time to clean, spend time with Drew, and do my homework and fulfill church callings. I will need the Lord's help more than ever... and I will have Drew by my side through it all. Plus, he won't feel guilty leaving me alone to do homework now because I'll be in class while he does his homework! It all works out.

Hopefully. :) Wish us luck. We are accepting any time management suggestions as well!

Mystery Date!

Who'd have known that the whole Elders' Quorum could have put together such an amazing date night for their wives? I guess I had such little faith because I had never seen it happen before. I think differently now.

Thursday night Drew reminded me that we had a ward date night at church on Friday night. I had totally forgotten about this date that all of the men at church knew about but had kept their wives oblivious to. So I continuously asked the hub questions about what we were going to do. "I don't know," he would say with a smirk. Or "I'm not telling." That stinker. Friday night rolled around and the only clues I was given were to get all dolled up, to not eat dinner, and to meet at our complex clubhouse at 7pm. Okay, I could do that. Yeah, right, until he leaves me alone with my thoughts an hour before I need to leave. I left our apartment dressed in an outfit I knew he'd love with my hair scrunched and makeup on (an unfortunate rarity) and headed down to our clubhouse with other gals in the ward.

Drew was nowhere to be seen, but there it was: a white stretch limo waiting for all of us girls! It was fun! We were driven around for a few minutes and then taken to our church building where our husbands were lined up inside waiting to escort us to dinner. Drew took my coat, escorted me to a decked out table in a well decorated Relief Society room and we were entertained by two great musicians in our ward. They played guitars and mandolins and sang love songs for us.

Then came dinner. It was delicious! Italian dressed salad, roll, cheesy ziti, and creamy chocolate mousse ice cream. Oh, and they really went all out and gave us SPRITE instead of the usual water. :) Hehe we girls were all giddy!

After dinner, all hubbies were called up front to serenade us. They sang an interesting, but cute version of "My Girl". And lastly, we were escorted to the gym for a few slow dances before the end of the night. Can I just say... I LOVE dancing with Drew. We're not great dancers but I just love the romance and the way he sings the songs to me while dancing and talking and laughing together. He's such a sweetheart.

Most of all, I loved the mystery of the whole night. Drew kept leaning over and telling me "there's more" and it made things so exciting all night! I really loved seeing the other couples in our ward in such a romantic setting. I could see how much they really love each other. And Drew was so wonderful to me.... I really felt his love for me in a more public way than normal. What an amazing man I have!

So, to those husbands who want a new idea for a date for your honey, give her some mystery romance! Coming from a wife, it is one amazing date that will never be forgotten!

BYU-Idaho, here I come!

I have just received my acceptance email saying I have been accepted to BYU-Idaho! I'm a college student again!! I am still waiting to hear what track I'll be on: Fall/Winter, Winter/Spring, or Spring/Fall. Hopefully it's Winter/Spring!

It's been awhile since I've been to school, so I'm a bit nervous. I've never known how to study... I didn't forget, I just never learned a studying style for me, so I guess it'll be a good opportunity to get to know myself as a student.

I hope I will keep in mind, as I attend school, the importance of education and how I have been longing to learn more. I love learning, but I don't always want to do the work. Thankfully, I have a built-in reminder whom I like to keep around (his name is Drew) and whom I know will keep me on task. Thank you in advance, hub!

On another note, here is my latest "recently read" book list:

- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

- Catching Fire

- Mockingjay

- The Great and Terrible Volume 1: Prologue: The Brothers

I'm jumping straight into another series! Thanks to Aunt Amy, Mom in Kansas City, and Drew, I am now reading The Great and Terrible, a series by Chris Stewart, published by Deseret Book. I'll let you know how it's going once I'm into the series a little more...

Have an absolutely splendid day!

I've joined the world of readers

Thank you, thank you. I know, it's quite an accomplishment; something most did in elementary school.

But what I really mean is that I have fallen in love with reading. And I now rely on books to keep me entertained almost as much as I do food to keep me alive. Almost.

When Drew and I made the decision to rid of our cable TV, we went out and got library cards. It started out slowly because of our crazy work schedules, but soon we found ourselves settling in for the night with a book in each of our hands and reading together instead of wasting our time watching nasty, useless, mind-rotting cable. (You can tell I really like TV, huh?)

Ever since our TV-to-book switch, I've found myself wanting to venture into new genres of books. So far, I haven't, but I want to!

Here's my most recent "books read" list (I think it's even in order):

- Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

- Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters

- Twilight

- Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan's Curse

- New Moon

- Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth

- Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Last Olympian

- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

- Eclipse (part of it... until I got bored)

- The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

- The Hunger Games

Can you tell that I'm TOTALLY into the fads of the day? Well, I am. And I love fantasy. And some science fiction. And if either of those genres is in a series, then I'm sold.

As for these series books...

I think I've read the Harry Potter books at least 4 times but Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 comes out in the movie theater next month and I want to get all the details down before I see it. I probably shouldn't refresh my memory, though, because I normally get so annoyed with the movie versions that I can't appreciate the [normally] very well-made movie for what it's worth until much later. Nevertheless, Drew is picking up Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows from the library for me as we speak... or as I type.

The Twilight "Saga," as they're calling it, I have read through once or twice, but I am very fond of the story line. I need to finish Eclipse, start up on Breaking Dawn, and read the bit of Midnight Sun that's available online. Love it.

Some people may ask why I even bother reading certain books or series more than once. I will simply say: I love the worlds into which I can delve through books; I love every little detail and like to keep my memory sharp.

Percy Jackson is hilarious. My hat's off to Rick Riordan for channeling the 12-year-old boy in himself and writing such adventurous and witty books. If you haven't read them, don't write them off until you've read at least the first book in the series.

I just started The Hunger Games trilogy, obviously beginning with the first book. It took me about 20 almost-straight hours to read the first installment of that riveting trilogy. AMAZING. I'm going to give a suggestion I so often heard growing up: "Don't knock it 'til you've tried it." Really. Read them.

I may keep an updated list of "books read" every now and then. I also need to venture into some new genres. Any suggestions?

My husband, the intern

As of last night, Drew is now an intern on the campaign staff for Allred for Idaho! (See previous post: "Allred for Idaho") The internship will take place over a 6 week period, where Drew will, essentially, be on the campaign staff. He already has quite a few assignments that he is looking forward to. We couldn't be happier that this has worked out so well!

There are pros and cons to taking this internship at the present time:

Pros:

- Drew will be completing his requirement for an internship for his major

- This sets him on track to be finished with his Bachelor's degree in April 2011!

Cons:

- Drew can't work more than one day per week due to the work load

- He had to drop Hebrew (one of his favorite classes), again, due to the work load... but on the bright side, he'll be auditing the class (participating without getting credit or needing to turn in homework and tests)

Overall, we are very excited for this new opportunity! We'll keep you updated on the goings-on with the campaign and the internship!

Primary Activity at Bishop's

Saturday was our Primary Activity!

Our theme was "I know that Heavenly Father loves me".

Hailee is proud of her strawberry that she picked

Kent: thoroughly enjoying his strawberry

Bishop Kohler's land; they have 80 acres

Our Primary children in the wagon, ready for a ride

Just picked some apples!

Wagon ride!

Picking out pumpkins

"Here!" says Molly... she wants to get her "punkin" now too

Kent and Bishop

Hailee and Bishop

Abbie Carson telling the children that she knows that Heavenly Father loves her because He gave us beautiful mountains and a pretty sky and everything in the world

On the wagon, ready for some refreshments

We had such a fun time with these kids! I think they'll remember it every time they see a pumpkin now. :) I sure hope they know that Heavenly Father loves them!

Idahoisms

In our time living here in Rexburg, Idaho, I have noticed quite a few phrases, quirks, and methods used only here in Idaho... "isms", if you will. Here are my observations:

- anything that has handles, holds groceries, garbage, etc., and resembles what I call a "bag" is called a "sack"

- instead of investing in some good snow plows to rid of the winter's awful snow and ice, Idahoans convert an everyday back hoe, tractor, or pick-up truck into a plow

- on top of the amazing snow plowing, the state uses red rock from the Tetons to use as traction on the roads... not sand, not salt, RED ROCK, which is really only effective as a stain for your pants and shoes

- whether they're pants, a jacket, or a skirt, anything denim is called "Levis"
- the word "meal", and any other word to rhyme it, sounds like "mill", and the like

- no one here knows how to use a turn signal while driving, unless the driver is from a state where they were actually taught to use it

- every school year is interrupted in October by the week-long "Spud-Harvest Break", a time for local farmers to, well, harvest "spuds", or potatoes, as normal people would call them

- just because we're from NY, doesn't mean that we're from NYC... why does everyone here assume that? The Idahoans need to get out and live a little... and maybe inform themselves on the location of Syracuse, NY

- not showing up for class is called "sluffing" here... I thought it was just "skipping class"...?

- something we love (honest): right after "Spud Harvest", 15-pound bags of potatoes are $2 each, sometimes less

- I have never seen such an odd highway system... in addition to exits, there are just normal turn-offs, as if we're just driving down a normal TWO-LANE road (at 70 MPH) and need to turn right to get to Grandma's

- specific to Rexburg, the highest speed limit in the whole city is 35 MPH, but it's mostly just 25

- living so close to an LDS temple is one of the biggest blessings... even if we didn't live right down the street from the Rexburg temple, it would only be a 30 minute drive to the Idaho Falls temple

I'm betting there will be more in the future, but that's all I can think up right now...

Idaho can be a crazy place to live, but for now, we are loving it, whether they call my jeans "Levis" or not. :)

Allred for Idaho!

Let me forewarn you: this post is somewhat political and is half-written by my smartsy husband, which means it sounds a little more intelligent than I normally write. :)

Recently, Drew and I have had a wonderful opportunity to get involved with Allred for Idaho, the gubernatorial campaign for Keith Allred. We stumbled across Allred's website while Drew was exploring an internship back in April. When he learned about a possible internship with the Allred campaign, Drew decided to check out just who this Keith Allred guy is. After reading up on his platform, Drew urged me to learn more.

I have seen first-hand the problems going on in the State of Idaho, namely in education. Keith Allred's entire platform is centered around creating jobs and improving the quality of the educational system. So Drew and I discussed Allred's campaign more thoroughly and we found that we now support this candidate for Governor of Idaho.

Drew was unable to get the internship he was looking at with Allred due to work obligations, but this semester he met up with an old friend from his mission and found out that his mother is Allred's campaign manager in Southeastern Idaho (hey, that's us!). This friend told him about all the opportunities to help with the campaign in these last few crucial weeks before election day. We decided, together, to take advantage of them!

So this past Saturday, the City of Rexburg had a fun little event showcasing some local talent and local venues called Rexburg Unplugged. The Allred campaign had a booth at the event, so we went to volunteer our help. When we got there, we were surprised to meet Keith Allred himself, there to talk to residents of Rexburg and to answer any questions they may have for him first hand. We were both very impressed with him and found him to be a very genuine and a very kind and warm man. He's so stinking tall, too! A great thing about Keith is that he's not a "career politician"; he's the type of person who is concerned solely about the people of the state and fixing the problems we face. Though Keith is a people-person, that does not mean he does not have what it takes to become our governor. He was a professor of government at Harvard and has a PhD from UCLA in Conflict Resolution.

Allred is running for governor because the Democratic party approached him and, feeling that he would be the strongest candidate to run against the current governor (Butch Otter, who is Republican), they asked him to run on the Democratic ticket. Even though Keith would not be ideologically classified as a Democrat, he chose to run as a Democrat because he saw that it would be his best chance to run against Otter.

So at Rexburg Unplugged, Drew and I focused on making Rexburg-ians aware that they can vote in the State of Idaho after living here for 30 days, and urging them to inform themselves on the issues and the candidates' stance on those issues. The great thing was that Keith Allred, himself, was there too and would come over to us and introduce himself whenever he saw us talking to people. A few people commented on the unique opportunity it was to be able to talk to him face to face.

I have never really been involved in politics, rather choosing to stay ignorant, especially as a student living away from home. But this is my home now, at least for now, and I need to get involved. Drew and I loved the experience we had to help just this one day with the campaign and it strengthened our desire to help in the campaign for this man whom we support whole-heartedly. We are planning on doing all we can, wherever we can, to make those aware of his policies and his goal of truly helping the residents of Idaho. Drew will be as close to a full-time intern as he can be while taking 17 credit hours of classes in the time leading up to election day, November 2, 2010.

If you were to have questions regarding Keith Allred's campaign, please don't hesitate to ask us personally or take a look-see at his website: http://www.allredforidaho.com/home.aspx

We'll keep ya updated!

Beautiful Bountiful Basket!

Isn't it beautiful?

We picked it up just this morning. We heard about these Bountiful Baskets and really wanted to try them out! So I searched the Bountiful Baskets website and ordered my own basket (a "contribution" of only $15)! I chose the site I wanted to pick my produce up at and we picked it up on the designated day and time, 9:45 AM today.

We are so excited to use this produce in as simple a form as possible. Most may not know, but I need to lose quite a bit of weight before it is safe for us to get pregnant, so eating healthy fruits and veggies will hopefully get us set on that track more firmly. Drew and I are both enthusiastic about our new discovery!

1 head Romaine lettuce
7 cobs sweet corn
7 pickling cucumbers
2 bags carrots
1 eggplant
4 Roma tomatoes

8 pears
1 package strawberries
1 cantaloupe
1 LARGE bag seedless red grapes
9 bananas
7 "pluots" (plum/apricot hybrid)

YUM! Now maybe you can help us think of what to do with a lot of this...

We also went to the farmers' market last Friday and still have a half-full bag of fresh green beans, 1/4 lb cherries, 2 large zucchini, and our bishop needed to get rid of lots of cabbage, so we have a very VERY large head of cabbage too. We will have some of this gone due to Dello going in on this basket with us... so technically, half of this is hers. But we'll still be left with a lot! Help! We need ideas and I have yet to figure out how to use the new RecipeZaar website, which is now Food.com...

Wish us luck! :)

Work, Callings, and New Friends!

We love our jobs!!

Excellence In Everyone is one of the best places we have ever worked. Though the pay is not ideal, the work is more fantastic than we could ever have hoped for! The hours are good, our co-workers are great, and our clients (a handful of the sweetest disabled people you will ever meet) make every bit of it worth our while! Unfortunately, once the middle school starts up again, I don't think I'll be able to continue on at Excellence. The center is only open until 6pm weekdays and I will already be working at the school until 3:30pm. It takes us 15 minutes to drive to Excellence on the highway and we would be paying more money in gas than I would be making. Drew, on the other hand, will be able to work on Tuesdays and Thursdays (while taking 14 credits of classes)! My hero. : )

Drew has just been called as the 67th Ward Clerk and will be spending more time at church on Sundays and Tuesdays than he used to as an Assistant Clerk. It will be very busy, but very rewarding. We are already seeing the blessings of serving in church callings in our ward. I will continue serving as the 1st counselor in the Primary Presidency. I love it! Being a student (married) ward, every semester brings new families and new Primary children. We are looking forward to making new little friends!

Lately we have been spending more time with the Kumfermans. The Kumfermans are my cousin's fiancee's family (my cousin, Tyler Ackley, is marrying Krista Kumferman). The first time we spent time with them was Independence Day weekend, and again last weekend for their youngest daughter's birthday (both times were when Ty and Krista came up from Utah to visit). Karen and Ed are so welcoming that we feel as though we have found some long-lost family members. We are so happy to say that we have made new friends!

Speaking of friends... I have some dear family friends who are moving to the Rexburg area soon! Jason and Lynette Williams and their family will be moving here so Jason can teach Nursing at BYU-Idaho! I am so excited for the Williams' to come here! "Aunt Lynette" and "Uncle Jay" were such a huge help to my parents when Scott and Nathan were born in 1998. They treated us like family and would stay the night with us when my dad was out of town and my mom had to work night shift. They now have a family of their own, and I am excited that their oldest, Megan, will be coming to the middle school where I work! We look forward to the Williams' arrival!

Lots of changes! We welcome change with open arms. (Wow, I really sound like a prepared-for-anything Air Force wife!)

Love you all! Don't hesitate to leave comments (a.k.a. "love notes"). ; )

Tyler and Cortney are Newlyweds!

Drew and I were delighted when we got our invitation to Cortney and Tyler's wedding in the mail! We knew we'd be there, even if it meant driving down to Bountiful for a few hours... We just love them!

We decided against a few hour visit and arranged for us to stay with my sister, Kalin, at her home off of Utah Lake for the weekend. The wedding was on Friday, July 16th, so we headed out of Rexburg on Thursday night. 50 miles out of town, Drew told me that he didn't know where his temple recommend was. Oops! So we drove back home, found it in the pair of pants he wore to the temple the week before, and had a feeling that we should stay home that night instead of driving 4 hours to Utah.

After a great night's sleep, we headed off to Bountiful (only 3 hours from Rexburg) for a wedding!

The sealer had such wonderful things to say. He was very mindful of the fact that Cortney and Tyler's fathers were close to them, and gave them a chance to speak to the couple. It was so sweet.

After the sealing and pictures, we were invited to a luncheon in honor of the newlyweds, held by the family of one of Tyler's mission companions. It was awesome!
I caught the sweethearts dancing to some music:

Congratulations, Tyler and Cortney! We love you!

(We found out that the couple will be living not even 2 miles from us once school starts in the fall and we will be able to hang out with them whenever we're able! So excited!)

It's been awhile...

Okay, so it's been, like, two months. But who's counting?

Drew and I are now EMPLOYED! And have been since June 1st! We work at a center for the developmentally disabled in St. Anthony (just a 15 min drive from here). Essentially, we're doing in the community what I do in the school district. We don't do anything academic, though. It's strictly "life skills" and helping them with social skills and such. It's the best!

Excellence In Everyone, our new employer, is the best job I have ever worked at! Drew agrees. We wake up every day looking forward to work; thinking about new things we can do with our clients and how we can strengthen our friendships with these amazing people. Everyone is so happy there and we love the feeling we come home with every day! Drew said last week that it is the only job he has felt good about going to every single time (we all know there are normally days that we don't want to go to work - but that is not the case with this one)!

It truly is a blessing that we stumbled across this job and it is even more a blessing that we work in the same place. Thanks to our friend, George, who worked at Excellence previously and called ahead for us, we now have the best jobs we have ever had!

So many great things in our lives!

We celebrated Drew's 24th birthday last weekend! We went to the temple, to the library, and even saw Toy Story 3 (all on the Saturday before his b'day)!! Toy Story 3 was such a great movie! It was a perfect ending for the Buzz and Woody story.

On Sunday, Drew's birthday, we spent quite a bit of time at church; we went to David's ward to see Dello speak in church after our already long day of meetings and church services. That night we had a big crowd over to our place for cake and games! It was so much fun!

(The picture shows what David got Drew at the DI for his birthday gifts: a World's Greatest Dad t-shirt, a Guinness World Records 2003 book, a mug that asks "is your attitude worth catching?", a Winger's gift card, The Rainmaker book, and NBA Jam game for the computer)

By request, I made homemade macaroni and cheese for Drew's birthday dinner! It was my first time and it actually turned out pretty good! :-)

There should be another post pretty soon about my outlook on the movie Eclipse! I'm going to see it tonight with my client-turned-friend, Wendie, and I am really excited! I've heard nothing but wonderful things about it since it came out late Tuesday night. Maybe I'll even take some pictures of my fun with Wendie! We'll see.

Love you all!

Dirk and Stef SEALED FOR ETERNITY!

It's a wonderful thing when I can say something like this about my siblings! Dirk and Stefanie Silver were sealed for time and all eternity in the Palmyra, New York LDS Temple on Thursday, May 6, 2010! They are, currently, on a much needed honeymoon in Hawaii. They celebrated their 2 year anniversary on March 10, and were never able to go on a honeymoon when they were first married.

We are so happy for them!!

Life is... well...

Pretty plain right now.

Not much is happening in our lives. Here's what's going on with us lately:

• Drew is out of classes until Fall Semester. He is currently looking for a job, which has been hard in this little town.
• The school district is cutting school a week early this year, which is good for the kids but bad for me. The salary-paid teachers are getting paid for the week that we're cutting out, but the hourly-paid employees, like me, will not be getting paid. Which puts me out over $300. Go Madison School District.
• I am looking for a summer job. Wish me luck.
• We are liking our church assignments; Drew working with the Bishopric as an assistant clerk, and me in the Primary presidency working with the children in the congregation. Love it!
• My brother, Dirk, and his wife, Stefanie, are getting sealed in the Palmyra temple this week. Drew and I get to go home for that exciting event and will be home for 5 days!

That's about it, I suppose. Not much, huh? I'll definitely take lots of photos this week as we go home. They'll be posted... sometime!

Sick of being SICK!

Since I started working at the Middle School, I have had all of these nasty sicknesses! Drew's immune system finally took a plunge a couple of weeks ago and he had to go to the Student Health Center for some antibiotics. Cough, cough, cough... sneeze, sneeze, sneeze... stomach ache, stomach ache, stomach ache... YUCK!

We've had enough. So we began eating healthier, keeping our home cleaner (or trying to...), taking vitamin C, drinking LOTS of water, and washing our hands every time we come in the apartment. Hopefully it will make a difference. The only thing we need to start adding to our immune system jump-start is exercise. Bleh.

Wish us luck. :)

I love being a wife!

Just a random note: I love being a wife!

I love cooking for Drew.

I love cleaning our home with my hub.

I love sleeping beside him, our feet always touching.

I love being his mini-distraction when he's got homework. :)

I love watching our favorite movies and shows together.

I love it when Drew comes home and gives me a HUGE smile.

I love setting out his clothes in the morning while he shaves.

I love the sweet little kisses he gives me for no reason at all.

I love the way he sings.

I love being silly with him ALL the time!

I love how special he makes me feel.

I love the way he loves me, and how he constantly shows it.

I love doing laundry.

I love cutting Drew's hair, even if it's not very good.

I love waking up to my hubby's smile...

I love it when he cuddles up with me and won't let me get out of bed to shower.

I love that he takes such great care of me.

I love that he'll do the dishes that I hate so much.

I love going on dates with my hubby.

I love singing with him.

I love how randomly goofy Drew is!

I love how I feel when I am with him and when I think of him.

I love that I could go on forever about loving being his wife...

I just love being a wife. I love being Drew's wife.

A day with Little Rich

Saturday was my good friend's birthday, so I decided to make her go out with her hubby for the day and leave her darling baby boy in our care!

I was eager for Caity to bring her baby over to us... so much so that I ran to the door and exclaimed, "Baby, baby, baby!" when they rang the doorbell. :) Once we were alone with the baby, Drew and I had the BEST time with Rich ("Little Rich" according to Mom and Dad, since Daddy's name is also Rich)! We played with him, and fed him, watched him sleep peacefully, (and changed his diaper 3 times), and had a wonderful time! We're pretty much pros by now. Eight hours with that little guy got us mighty attached and we were feelin' the baby blues when he left.

Needless to say, we took MANY photos! Take a look:

Rich fell asleep almost immediately when he came over

He hated that bottle...

So sweet!!

Happy little boy!

One year older and (wiser?) SILLIER too!

Happy Birthday to me!

I am officially 22 years old! My birthday was one of the best days I've had in awhile, and I think Drew enjoyed it too!

Friday, February 19, was my birthday, and since it was a school day I had to go to work. Before work, though, Drew wanted me to open my gifts from him. He got me a Sign Language book (I have been wanting to learn for quite awhile) and a BYU-Idaho zip-up hoody! Work was actually really good! My name was on the morning announcements because it was my special day, my co-workers harmonized a beautiful rendition of "Happy Birthday", we had a taco salad potluck and cupcakes for lunch, and my student was so sweet to me (as always I must say)! She even made me a card! :)

My boss said it would be okay for me to scoot out early and get a substitute for the last 2 hours of school. So I left early, leaving the easiest part of the day to the sub, and I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening with my wonderful husband!

Drew had everything planned out for the day, and I was so excited to go along with those plans!

First, we went to a 3:10 movie in Idaho Falls... Avatar in 3-D again! :) I was so pampered; Drew asked me if I wanted anything to snack on, and of course I did! We got the works!

After the AWESOME movie, we headed back to Rexburg to get some Thai food! We have this really good little Thai restaurant on Main Street... we had been there before and loved it, so I knew that's where I wanted to eat on my birthday! I had the same thing as last time: Pineapple Curry Duck, red Thai curry with pineapple, peppers, tomatoes, basil, and duck. So yummy! Drew had half of a crispy duck with Thai sweet and sour sauce. It was spicy but delicious (I tried a little)!

After dinner, Drew took me over to our friends' home! Dello, Bethany, Dave (Drew's brother), their friend Kristen, and her sister Emily, were all there to celebrate! We had Texas sheet cake and ice cream and had a great time together!

We finally went home and found a bag of cookies on our doorstep! I later found out that my friend Caity had left them for me. We wound our night down by watching some episodes of 24.

We cuddled and read together, and finally went to sleep... for longer than expected!

What a wonderful 22nd birthday! Who cares if I'm getting older... no one could ever take the kid out of me...! :)

Our Valentine Weekend...

Our Valentine's Day weekend was very eventful! Saturday, the day before V-Day, we had the chance to get out and get some things accomplished. We spent the whole day together! :)

Sunday was absolutely amazing! We were blessed to have Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles preside and speak at a special stake meeting (in place of our regular church meetings). Elder Cook came to Rexburg for a leadership training and then chose our stake to visit. The meeting was wonderful! Our stake president spoke, as well as President Clark, the president of BYU-Idaho, and Sister and Elder Cook. Everyone's message came to two key points: we need to strengthen our testimonies and we need to make our homes more gospel centered. What a wonderful message!

Valentine's Day just happened to be Chinese New Year (which Drew thought was cool since he lived in Hong Kong for 2 years) so we decided to have a Chinese-themed Valentine's Day dinner!

Drew did the dishes beforehand so we could have something to cook with :)

Our "first course" - Egg Drop Soup, YUM!

Our main: honey and soy sauce marinated pork with pork fried rice

We had some fun with the camera... there are a lot more where this came from!

We stayed up late watching movies! Then at 1am (no longer the Sabbath!) we went to the gas station to get hot chocolate and snacks to watch another movie (we're so bad)! We had a blast! We love our late-night adventures together.

Valentine's Day 2010 was a great one!