Using our newly acquired skills, Ryan and I decided that this Mother's Day would be a great opportunity to put our cake decorating skills to use and make a Mother's Day cake.
We also made some special Mother's Day videos for our moms!
Barb:
Mary:
This last week was a total blast getting to hang out with my sister Adrienne and nephew Brooklen! All I can say about the little guy is that he is...SPOILED!!! One of the highlights of the week was getting to go to Last Chance. For those of you who don't know, we are HUGE Last Chance fans. But if you've ever been there, you'll know that the people there can be a little rude. After going on Tuesday morning, Adrienne decided that the line for the dressing rooms just wasn't moving quick enough. Being the problem solver she is, we went back on Thursday and she wore leggings. Since the leggings were so tight, she was able to try things on right over her clothes without every having to go into the dressing room. I'm super mad that I didn't take a picture, but just picture her little stick legs in leggings and one of Hunter's t-shirts! She looked totally hot!
Somehow, I don't seem to have any pictures of Adrienne from this last week. But here are some pics of her little stud!
(Already a money grubber at a young age)
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Since graduating, it seems like everyone wants to know what's next for us. So here's the rundown... For those who don't know, Ryan majored in Construction Management and I majored in Business Management. As of next Monday, Ryan will begin his new job with Intel Corporation as a Project Manager. In the position, he will be managing a wide variety of construction projects within the company. We're pretty excited as it's tough to find a job in construction management with normal work hours. Ryan's pretty excited to start, especially since he can wear jeans and a t-shirt to work, work from home every once in a while, and Intel allows him to have a flexible work schedule.
On that same note, I will soon start my new job working for SubmitAWebsite.com as a PPC Manager. (I'm sure most of you are wondering what the heck a PPC Manager does.) Since my background is in online marketing, I decided to go that route for a career. Let's just say that it deals with online marketing and the management of search engine accounts with Google and Yahoo. Since online marketing is such a difficult field to get into, this is definitely a great opportunity with a lot of potential for growth in the future.
Luckily, we have 2 weeks to relax before we begin the new jobs. We've definitely been cherishing these weeks of vacation before it's officially time for us to start real life.
After 3 years of freezing in Idaho, we are officially warm again! On Thursday we made the long drive from Rexburg to AZ and on Friday we got moved into our new apartment. We absolutely love being able to go outside without having to bundle up!
Before moving back to AZ, we seriously searched for months for a good deal on an apartment. It was tough to find a place that would work for us since we want to get into a house in the next 6 months. Apparently, apartments expect you to pay a lot more if you want a short lease. So when a friend (thanks Celeste) told us that her old apartment was available, we jumped on it as it's a super smokin' deal. Although the apartment is older, it'll save us a lot of money as most of the utilities are included. However, since moving in, we continue to find more and more surprises. Here are a few of the surprises we've found SO FAR:
1. No baseboards in any of the carpeted rooms (only in the kitchen and bathrooms)
2. No lights (Yep, that's right, there's only lights in the kitchen and bathrooms)
3. No microwave (I went to heat up some food yesterday, only to realize that we don't have a microwave. It's sad that it took us almost 2 days to realize this one)
Don't get me wrong, overall, we like the apartment and it should work out well. Hopefully we just won't have too many more surprises. But it's a fun adventure living in a new place and we're excited to see what new surprises each day will bring. So stay tuned, you never know what new surprises will pop up next!
When writing the previous blog entry, I totally forgot to mention one of the best stories from graduation. One of the cool things about the BYU schools' graduations, is that they have general authorities come and speak. This year at our graduation, we had Elder Ballard as the main speaker. Now Ryan's uncle is a member of the 70 so he's met quite a few apostles, while I, on the other hand...have not. So there we were, walking out to the main floor at the beginning of commencement, and all of the faculty were lined up on the sides of the hallways clapping for us. As we walked through the hall, we were saying hi to all the teachers we had taken classes from in the past. At the end of the line, right before entering the auditorium, I saw the President of the university standing at my right, so I looked to my left to see who was standing there. As I walk past this man, I realized that it was Elder Ballard. Being totally shocked, I just stood there staring at him in total awe. More than anything, I was just surprised. I had never even been in the same room as an apostle, and "poof," there was one right next to me. After staring at him and not saying anything, he finally broke the awkwardness and said "Hi there." The moral of the story is that I will always be known as the creepy girl who just stood there totally star struck by an apostle. Let's just say that since it happened, Ryan hasn't let me forget what a total goober I looked like.
Well, that day has finally come and gone... On Friday, Ryan and I officially graduated from college. I'm not gonna lie, it's a little weird. Here we are, sitting at our apartment on a Sunday night, not knowing what to do with ourselves without homework. I'll admit, the thought of starting real life and working 8 hour days without a summer vacation, really doesn't sound too exciting. But altogether, we're excited to be moving back to the warmth and starting something new!
It was a fun weekend as we were able to spend the weekend hanging out with our parents. We definitely want to say thank you to our parents as they made the trip here to Rexburg to support us. We also want to give a special thanks to my dad for making the drive up here the day after tax season ends to help us move!
One of our favorite wedding presents has been our amazing fondue pot. When we first picked it out, we were a little skeptical as to whether we'd actually use it or not, but this weekend we had our second fondue night since getting married. Since our time in Rexburg is coming to an end, we decided to have one last rockin' night of fondue to say goodbye. Although we were too distracted by all the food to whip out the camera and take pics, we had a great time getting to hang out with all of our friends one last time before making our big move. A special thanks to Ansley & TJ for hosting the night at their place! (And thanks to everyone else for the thousands of calories I consumed while piggin' out on fondue!)
I'm a little hesitant to post these pictures simply because they make my cake look bad, but here are the pics for Ryan's final cake. The entire semester, Ryan's been embarrassed to tell people he's taking the class because the it's most commonly taken by girls. For the final project, Ryan decided to make a graduation cake. Check out Ryan's attempt at making a more "manly" cake!
For our final in cake decorating class, we had to create a 2-tier cake using some of the techniques we learned throughout the semester. For this particular cake, everything had to be made from scratch. And I mean EVERYTHING, from the cake to the frosting to the actual fondant. Yesterday I finished my cake so my teacher suggested that I display it in the bridal expo. So today we dropped the cake off at the show and got to showcase my first tiered caked. Check it out! (Pics of Ryan's cake will be coming soon.)
One of our favorite shows is "Top Chef." So you can imagine our excitement when we found out that we had to purchase chef coats for our cake decorating class. The last two weeks we've spent quite a bit of time in the school kitchen as we've been working on our big final project. I'll post the pictures of our final cakes when they're done, but in the meantime, check us out in our cool chef's coats. Can anyone say "Top Chef's?"
This last weekend was a ton of fun as we were able to hang out with Ryan's friends and family. Continuing with our Spokane tradition, we went to Cour d'Alene to gorge out on ice cream. Being the trooper that I am, I decided to make a second attempt at the magnificent "Gooey." Once again, I failed the challenge, but I did get a lot closer this time around. As always, Ryan finished his "Gooey" without any problems and I got about 3 bites away from my goal. I know, I know, 3 bites seems like nothing, but after eating all of that ice cream let's see how easy it is for you to eat those last three bites!
Ryan's:
Mine: (I never thought the day would come that I would look at ice cream and want to puke)
This last weekend was our last weekend visiting Spokane before our big move. The weekend was a ton of fun since Ryan's sister also went home so we could spend the weekend with her kids. As always, Ryan's nephew and niece were the highlight of the weekend. Yesterday alone, Ryan's niece put glitter all over the house, cut her hair, and said the dinner prayer in her own made-up language. Let's just say that life's always interesting with the kids are around!
On Friday night we went to dinner with some of my old roommates. All I can say is that it's amazing how things change. When I first came to BYU-Idaho, my roommates and I were all 18 and 19 enjoying single life. Back then, we could care less about boys, we were much more concerned with junk food and what our weekend plans were going to be. The nice thing about living at BYU-I are that almost all of the apartment complexes have 6 people per an apartment. Since BYU-I is on the three-track system, I usually had different roommates each semester. Although each semester was remarkably different, it was always fun getting to live with new people and make new friends. Here are some stats on my past roommates:
Total roommates at BYU-I: 11
Roommates who are now married or will be this year: 7
Roommates w/ a baby: 1
Where roommates are from: Idaho, Washington, Colorado, Texas, California, Utah, and Kansas
I know I've already complained about the snow this winter, but due to the large amount of snow we've received, I think I'm pretty justified in my complaints. As you can see in the pictures below, it's snowed pretty much every day this winter. And just when we think the worst is over, we jinx ourselves and another 2 feet of snow drops from the sky. We've learned that the biggest mistake we can make around here is to not drive our cars every day. Experience has taught us that if we don't move our cars every day, the snow begins to build up and our cars ends up looking like this: (By the way, these aren't our cars, luckily, our cars haven't gotten covered this bad)
And once a car gets to this point, it might as well be broken down for the rest of the winter. All I know is that whoever put the word "winter" and "wonderland" in the same sentence is absolutely out of there mind!
Ryan was raised in a home where the Superbowl was a pretty big deal. (I, on the other hand, am a bigger fan of the food than the actual game.) Growing up, one of the main highlights of the game was his moms amazing bbq wings. In order to carry on the tradition, Ryan had his mom teach him how to make the wings over Christmas break. Being the little chef that he is, Ryan spent all Saturday afternoon basting away. On Sunday we went over to a friend's house for the big game and the wings were a hit. Although I probably ate half of them myself, I think it's pretty safe to say that he's going to be cooking them a lot more often from here on out.
Today I had an entertaining experience as I went to the doctors office. At the end of my appointment, the doctor said she wanted to take a blood test so she sent me over to the lab. I hadn't eaten anything all day and the girl drawing the blood couldn't seem to get a good vain so she kept poking me, over and over again. As I was watching her draw the blood, I could feel myself getting a little dizzy. After about 5 minutes of constant poking and prodding, she drew all the blood she needed and sent me on my way. On my way to the check-out desk, I could feel myself about to lose it. When I got about 10 feet from the check-out desk, I felt myself starting to fade out and..........BAM! I hit the floor! I must've landed pretty hard because the doctors came running from all over the office. The next thing I knew, I was waking up with blood all over my hands. Lucky for me, I was at the student health center which means they handle everything from routine check-ups to...of course, stitches. So a half an hour and 9 stitches later, I walked out of the office with a band-aid on each arm, stitches on my head, and a headache that I'll never forget. I thought I was supposed to feel better after going to the doctor.
After living in the cold for the last four years, I consider myself to be pretty well adjusted to cold weather. That is, until this last week. This week I experienced the coldest days of my life! After 4 days of temperatures ranging from -20 to -30 degrees, I have officially had my fill of winters outside of Arizona. The week was full of excitement as we began each day with a 20 minute collaborative effort of jump-starting my car due to the cold. Once we both got our cars running and out of the snow-filled parking lot, we had to deal with the pain of parking and walking to our classes in the unbearable cold. After one day of not wearing gloves, I'm pretty sure I developed a mild case of frostbite. The good news is that today warmed up to a balmy 16 degrees. After this last week of pure winter bliss, I think it's pretty safe to say that we're ready for an Arizona winter!
Since it's our last semester here at BYU-I, we decided it was time for us to take a laid-back class that would actually be fun. After constant pushing and prodding, I finally convinced Ryan to take a cake decorating class with me. We are now going into our fourth week of the class and have come to the conclusion that while my cake decorating skills are lacking, Ryan's are superb! In my defense, Ryan's mom has been decorating cakes for about 30 years so he's grown up watching his mom. If you don't believe me, check out our first cakes. Can you guess which one is Ryan's? (This was his attempt at making rosette's and shells manly).
One of my pet peeves if when people ask me the question, "What are your hobbies?" As if it already isn't sad enough that I don't have any interesting talents or hobbies, this questions forces me to publicly state that I am talentless, or at least I was. For Christmas, Ryan's parents gave us Guitar Hero III for Nintendo Wii. Although we may not be good at the actual guitar, we have both have found a special interest in this remarkable game. Yep, that's right, we are guilty of spending many late nights playing this game. Besides the fact that we feel really cool getting to play our very own guitar (customized with Guitar Hero stickers), we've actually turned out to be pretty good at. So from here on out, if anyone asks me what my hobbies are, I'm going to be forced to tell them that I am a Guitar Hero Master! 
Over Christmas break we were able to play house and fully embrace our "uncle, aunt" roles. The trip ended up being pretty affordable as the kids entertained us most of the time. However, the trip made us come to the realization that when we do have kids, we're going to have some stiff competition, considering the fact that our nephews and niece are pretty much the cutest kids ever!
For Christmas, we received baby clothes from Ryan's parents. I think they might be trying to tell us something. But as much fun as we had with our nephew's and niece, I think the trip made us realize one very important thing...parenthood can WAIT! (Sorry mom and dad.)
One of our favorite things to do in Washington is visit the restaurant, "Dockside" at the Coeur d'Alene Resort. The restaurant has huge ice cream sundae's called "Gooey's." Now in the past, me and Ryan have always shared one of these over-sized deserts. However, this time we decided to take on the challenge of eating one on our own. I felt pretty confident about halfway through the sundae, but soon after I began to feel the wrath of "The Gooey." I honestly tried my best but despite my effort, I was unable to finish the last 8 bites or so. In my defense, I'm sure that I could've finished the rest if I pushed myself even more, but I feared that I wouldn't make it to the bathroom in time if I tried. So today I am sad to admit that I failed the Gooey challenge while Ryan passed with flying colors. While finishing a Gooey may not be the best new years resolution, it sure was a great way to kick of the new year! Then again, there's always next time...
This year we cherished our Christmas break as it was our last official holiday break as college students. Vacations have become highly valued as graduation approaches and we face the reality that week-long vacations will be much more of a rare occurrence in the future. Now if you don't know this already, Ryan is a die-hard Gonzaga basketball fan. However, as much as he loves their basketball team, he's never had the opportunity to go to one of their games. As a result, for Christmas his family got us and all of his siblings tickets to a basketball tournament in Seattle where Gonzaga was playing. So this last Saturday we got up early and flew over to Seattle to spend the day in the city and attend the game. Although we didn't get to spend a ton of time in the city, we did get to go down to the famous fish market, Pike's Place Market. A little later in the day we attended the game and Ryan finally got to see his team in action. To Ryan's disappointment, Gonzaga didn't win the game but we had a great time visiting the city and getting to spend time with his siblings.
Since all of Ryan's family was home for Christmas this year, his family decided to take family photos. Although I'm not a huge fan of pictures, I enjoyed this particular photo session as it allowed us to get our own family pictures out of the way at the same time. Figuring that we will be spending every other Christmas with each others families and our families will probably be taking pictures each time we get together, it looks as though the arrangement of family pictures will always be taken care of for us. Here's hoping!
Well, it's officially 2008 and the new year is looking to be an exciting year as we both prepare to graduate in April. After constant prodding from family and friends, we've decided to give into the blog epidemic and begin our own family blog. We've been hesitant to start one in the past as our lives are pretty boring with work and school occupying the majority of our time. But you all asked for it, so here it is. We'll just apologize now for boring you to death in the future. So consider this our first official post to kick off 2008! We're looking forward to a great year!
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