A Proud Sister...Tay Graduates

Today, my little brother (ok maybe I should say younger, not littler brother) is graduating from Viewmont High School. I could not be more proud of my little bro and the kind of guy he has grown up to be. Last night, Jedd and I, along with some family members, were able to go and attend his Seminary Graduation. It was fun to be there with him and celebrate with him, it sure didn't hurt that it was pretty quick either! Since we are not able to attend his high school graduation today, we took pictures last night with Taylor and my mom and dad. (Look how sharp he looks in his gown!)

CONGRATS BRO! We are so proud of you and SO excited for you to start this new part of your life!

3rd Year checked off the list

For those who don't know, I have finally finished my 3rd year of teaching high school.  School ended on Friday May 29th and I am officially a "summer bum" with no plans.  And let me just say that it is AWESOME!  I love summer vacation, probably just as much as I used to when I was in school.  I look forward to those last few days with kids, and no more assignments/tests to correct, no more arguing with kids to do homework, and I can just relax and enjoy my break from 200 high school aged kids of mine.  

So what does this summer hold for me?  

- being able to see my sisters, their kids, and my mom more often

- sleeping in past 5:00 am

- being able to go out running/walking in the mornings BEFORE I get ready for the day

- not having to worry about the dreaded Monday morning on Sunday night and preparing for the week

- being able to clean my house on a day of the week, rather than Saturday morning

- packing up Jedd's and my apartment to move out of apartment come the end of July

- picking out colors and counters and carpets and everything under the sun for our new house :)

- and anything else that comes my way!  

I just have to say what a relief and big accomplishment it is of mine to say that I have survived the first 3 years as a teacher. Statistics show that within the first 3 years of teaching, one third of brand new teachers decide to find a new career path.  And as I have looked back on my the last 3 years, I can admit that I see why that statistic is so high.  Being a teacher is definitely not a glamour job and it takes a lot of work and patience.  But I guess there is nothing else that I would rather spend my time doing. I'm also excited to say that because I have jumped through all the hoops of these first 3 years, I officially have my Level 2 License and am no longer a provisional teacher.  Not being a provisional teacher is huge to educators.  Being provisional means that your contract may or may not be renewed from year to year at the school you teach at.  Your principal can let you go without warning or explanation.  It is so great knowing my job is a little more secure.

So here is to a busy and awesome summer vacation!  

First house purchase

Thanks to the amazing sales going on at RC Willey yesterday, Jedd and I were able to buy the first thing for our new house. Our house comes with stainless steel appliances: oven, range, fridge, and dishwasher. We were planning on just using a white fridge, borrowed from a family member, but realized that this deal was way too good to pass up for us. If any of you know, RC Willey opened yesterday at 9:00 am. Jedd and I decided to be down there at about 8:50 to just try and catch the opening. To our SHOCKING surprise, there was a HUGE line to get into the store, just about as bad as the lines on day after Thanksgiving sales. As we later found out there were people there a little before 6 am. WOW! I wasn't that into this sale, but it sure worked out great for us! The first 200 customers got a free $25 gift card and we knew there was no way we were about to get that....but somehow we actually got one. (I bought a candle with it...yummy peach!) With all those people there, again we thought there was no way we were going to be able to get this fridge because there was only 10 per store. We walked right over to the fridge and there was a salesman who was helping another couple with the fridge and told them to walk with him over to his computer and he would order it for them. We, very sneakily I might add, followed them over and we ended up getting the fridge! We are so excited about it. Now all of our appliances will match. We were just planning on waiting until after tax returns next year to purchase a fridge with our tax credit from the government, but now we don't have to worry! We saved so much money, and now we have a brand new fridge to use when we move in. ( Thanks mom for calling and letting us know about this great deal!)

Building in Hooper

So the final verdict is in, we are officially building a house out in Hooper!! Last night we finally signed the papers and everything is just waiting to get approved by the builder, which shouldn't be a big deal. In our contract, it says that the builder will have the house done no later than 4 months so that will come quick, but not quick enough. Yes, both of us never even DREAMED we would be building out in that area, but we are so excited about it. We love the area, it is right next to a great elementary school, and there is a huge park with soccer and baseball fields and a play area just down the street from us. Of course, this is just for the future. (We are planning WAY WAY ahead.)

We are building a rambler style house with an unfinished basement on a 0.23 acre lot. The main level will have the kitchen, living room, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a utility room with washer and dryer, a walk in closet (for me!) and in the master bath, we will have a separate shower and tub (something I have ALWAYS wanted but never thought I could have). The house also comes with a 2 car garage (again, something I have never had). When we finish the basement, we will be able to have 2 more bedrooms, one more full bath and a huge family living area. It will be just perfect for us! We start picking out colors of everything including both outside and inside in about 2-3 weeks. I am getting so excited to be able to decorate the way I want to, and not just have to live with the walls the way there are like in an apartment. I can finally do what I want. We are so very excited about it. After we signed the papers, Jedd and I drove out there to take a picture of our land and where we will be building. I am planning on getting pictures as the house progresses so I'll post them sporadically to keep you all updated. (mainly it will be for me but who cares!) Here is our lot. There are no houses being built right behind us so far. It could happen, but we aren't for sure.

(Of course I had to snag a picture of us on the lot.)

A Wedding Ring

Exactly one year ago yesterday Jedd officially proposed to me. This picture was taken at my sister's house the day after. (Thank goodness for my sister and her camera because Jedd and I don't have any other pictures of this special occasion.) Jedd and I had talked about getting married on Mother's Day last year but we weren't officially engaged until I got the ring on May 20th. Jedd had been teasing me all week before saying that he hadn't gotten the ring yet and even had his mom in on it lying to me about how slow he is about getting things done. I was so disappointed realizing that I might not have gotten the ring for another couple weeks. The day we got engaged, Jedd had a softball game and so we went to grab a bite to eat really quick before heading to the game, while all this time Jedd kept telling me how he had a huge headache (this will come into play a little later on). On this specific day, Jedd's whole family was going with us, and I was a little confused as to why everyone was coming...it was not normal. But none of them would actually ride with us, they all crammed into Jedd's grandpa's car to drive down. I was confused, but decided to think nothing of it. Jedd was in a hurry to get to the game and wanted to beat his grandpa there, and there again I was a little confused but decided to think nothing of it. By the time we arrived at the game, everyone was there and he was a little frazzled, and kept saying he had a headache. So when he turned off the car, I asked him if he wanted some of the Advil that he keeps in his glove compartment. I pulled it out and shook it to see if there was actually some in it and it sounded pretty strange, but thought it was ok. By the time I had reached in the compartment and shook the bottle, Jedd had gotten out of the car and was on my side of the car. I thought, ok he doesn't want Advil because I could have just handed it to him in the car. WHATEVER! So Jedd opened the door on my side and asked if I could get the bottle out again to get him some Advil. By the time I had reached in, he was down on one knee, and asking if I would get out of the car. Jedd says that he had to beg me to get out of the car, but I was so confused I had no idea what was going on. I got out of the car, dumped the Advil bottle out and there was my ring. He asked me to marry him and of course I said yes, almost tearing up. We walked over to his family who were all watching us from a distance on the bleachers. Because of all of this happening, Jedd was late to his baseball game so he had to go and pitch right after. This was probably the 2nd to best day of my life, the 1st being the day I married the love of my life.

I love you honey!

I couldn't have asked for a better husband and I have no IDEA how I got so lucky to trick you into marrying me!

Painting

This weekend, I was finally able to go up with the rest of my family and help out around my grandma's house. On Saturday, we ended up painting the doorways of her storage areas and the gables on each end. You might not think this would take all day, but it really did. We were all tired to say the least at the end of the day. I spent most of the day on a ladder painting what everyone else couldn't reach. My neck was pretty tired of looking up, but man they look good! My husband seems to be one of the few not a little freaked out of being up so high on a ladder (thanks to his years up on roofs). But I just had to take this picture to show you what kind of stuff we were painting. It seems that I probably got the most paint on me, it ended up in my hair, all over my hands which was wiped off on my pants, on my shirt and even my shoes. But the dirtier you get, the more fun you have right? Every time we took a little break, this is what I saw coming around the corner of the storage sheds. It was so cute, Jedd would race with the kids and they absolutely LOVED it. And last but not least, just a cute picture of the two of us after a long day of painting. What a good husband I have for coming and helping out.

All Married and Happy

{Szilvia, me, Sam, Tahra, Cami}

Last night I was able to meet with a few friends of mine for dinner. It has been a couple of years since we have all been together so it was so fun to reminisce and just talk. We are all now married and two of us even have kids. HOLY COW! I think back to when I first met these girls and strange to say it has been a long LONG TIME! We all started out single going to an institute class (yes back in the day when I attended those), and now look at us! Man how time flies by. Thanks girls for such a fun "Girls Night Out" at Olive Garden. The food was fantastic and the company was even better!

Tay's Prom

My little bro (ok, not "little brother", but "younger brother"), Taylor, went to his senior year Prom this last weekend. Everyone was out of town on the Saturday, so Jedd and I, and Michael and Afton went over to help him make sure his tux looked just right and he knew how to put things on correctly on Friday night. I think he looked pretty awesome, and yes, he is wearing PURPLE! I can't wait to see the pictures with him and his date. But for now, I had to post a few of him in his tux. Sorry bro! :) I just couldn't resist putting them on!

Snow White and Cinderella

Jedd's niece Kallie is finally potty trained so yesterday my mother in law threw a princess party. It was so much fun. And how lucky for us, Snow White and Cinderella showed up to the party! Hailee (Snow White) and Kallie (Cinderella) got bubbles among other things so they wanted to blow them outside. The wind was picking up a little bit so it was hard, but it was still fun. And look at my good husband helping them out? He is just so cute with these girls! I was just about dying when I saw their little dressed and hair. Aimee does such a great job making these girls look absolutely adorable! They are just too cute. And how in the world was I ever to choose just a couple pictures to put on my blog of these cute girls? Well, I didn't so I apologize for the picture overload. I didn't want to just pick one. This I think totally could be in a magazine. I just couldn't get them to look at the camera. The girls wanted to see the flowers so we took them over to the side of the house where there were lots of them. By the end, they both had 2 tulips in their hands to take into grandma's house. And of course, I had to snag one more picture of the princesses before we went inside.

Thanks Kallie for letting us come to your party and thanks Hailee for playing with us! Jedd and I had so much fun playing with these two cute girls. Who wouldn't when you see these faces??

Grateful

I didn't have a whole lot to post about today, but something has happened that has got me thinking quite a bit. In the last week, one student has committed suicide and another student was killed in a car accident at the high school that I teach at. At times like these, it really gets me thinking about how grateful I am for the life that I have and the many blessings I have received. I am grateful for the knowledge I have of the Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder Day Saints. I am grateful for the knowledge we have about this life and where we are headed after we pass on. I am grateful for my family, both mine and Jedd's. And most importantly, I am so grateful for Jedd in my life. So today, as I am sitting at my computer, looking outside at the sun shining down, I am grateful to be alive.

“Life is too short not to make the best and the most of everything that comes your way everyday.”