Senior Projects and Goodbye's

Zach got to present his Senior project today. It was a project he had to spend at least 50 hours on. He did mock posters, a news paper add and bookmarks for the Fairfield public library. All of the pictures (old and new Curious George and the western library) were all made by hand using Illustrator. 

Monday night we had our last ward activity with the "Friendly 55th" ward. Zach was released form his calling on Sunday so we are back to being in the boring family wards. No, we love family wards, but the singles wards were so much fun.

For the last ward activity the family home evening groups created their own "Isn't it about time?" movies. After the Cafe Rio dinner we watched all of the movies and gave out awards at the end. A lot of people got really into the whole Oscar theme and dressed up. It was a good evening filled with great movies that brought tears and lots of laughs. We already miss the friends we have made in the singles ward and the wonderful bishopric.  

Today would have been my last day teaching 6th graders but they had spring break that started on Monday. So last Wednesday was my last day. I got so many notes from students throughout the day. I also got chocolate from one of my buddies and books for my future collection from my cooperating teacher. I felt so blessed to have the opportunity to work with such a wonderful teacher and a kind class. There were so many times they gave me the benefit of the doubt and I will never forget my first group of 6th graders. Man, I love teaching. 

9 days.... 

Happy Wednesday everyone!

A Place of Learning

2008-2012 

Wow has the time gone by fast. Now that we are looking at graduation in just a week and a few days it feels like I just set foot on Brigham Young University of Idaho's campus a week or two ago. Now its done and I think I might miss this place just a little bit. It's a beautiful campus and it gets prettier each semester.

Now I am feeling all nostalgic, but I am so excited for the adventures this next year alone will bring. I hope everyone that steps foot on this campus is able to take in as much of it as they can. It's a wonderful school with professors that love teaching and that amazing spirit of Rick's.

Happy Monday everyone!

White Top

I ran across this great idea a few months back over at Cotton & Curls. She turned a shirt from her mans closet into a feminine summer top and gave a great tutorial. Not long after, I ran into this J.Crew top and I decided I had to make it (or at least attempt it).

To my great pleasure Zach was going to throw out one of his white shirts and I snagged it before it made it to the trash or DI.  Now if you really want a good tutorial go visit Cotton & Curls. 

I flipped it inside out.

Using a shirt as a pattern I gave my self seam allowance and traced my outline and cut it out.

I pinned it. 

I attached the seams and reinforced with a zig zag stitch. 

I double rolled the neck and stitched all around. 

I folded the arms twice and did a hidden stitch by hand.

I ironed it. 

I wore it. 

I love it. 

Ta-da! There you have it. My easy summer shirt that I didn't have to spend a penny on. Next time I would leave a little more room in the arm pit. By that I mean I would give my chest a little more room to avoid button pulling. Its not bad, I just would have given a little more room. 

13 days until graduation.

14 days until we leave Rexburg.

3 1/2 months until New York! 

Happy weekend everyone!

Pudding from Avocados

I ran across this crazy recipe at Edible Perspective. It is a pudding made from avocados but it tastes like a chocolate banana pudding. Delicious.

It takes two avocados

Two bananas

6- 8 Tbs. of Cocoa powder

Scoop of protein powder (if you want)

tsp. of Vanilla

tsp. of Cinnamon

Milk if needed

We started with our magic bullet and realized quickly it was not going to do the job. J ust the banana and the avocado were too much for the small bullet. So we switched over to the full-size blender, which I recommend you start with. You just blend everything until it's nice and creamy, add more of whatever you want for the flavor you want and enjoy.

We added a little bit of chocolate syrup to enhance that chocolate flavor. We loved it and recommend it for those looking for some guilt free, chocolaty pleasure. 

Happy warm and sunny Thursday everyone!

Montana Getaway

Anyone who has traveled up to Great Falls knows exactly where this is. We headed up to Montana for a long weekend, because we decided we deserved to have a break. We stayed Friday through Monday and came home Tuesday morning just in time to turn in some assignments. 

I completely forgot about St. Patrick's day and did not bring any green. Luckily we were all in the same boat so no pinching wars ensued.  We started the day with green milk and lucky charms and we finished the day with corned beef and cabbage. Classic and delicious.

Saturday we headed to town for a youth activity, shopping, ring cleaning and food.  Check out the lovely fish buffalo.

Between errands we headed to Chuck's, as is tradition, for some good eats. 

After Chuck's we ended up at Sam's Club and after some mighty good finds we stopped for some dessert.  It made me think of my mom and all of our Sam's Club treats. So good, every time.

Sunday we had two missionary farewells to go to. Zach went with the men to Lewistown for his cousin, Weston's, farewell. The ladies and I stayed in Fairfield for Tate's Sunday talk.  I can't believe how much these guys and Brock have grown since I first met them, but here we are. They will both be wonderful missionaries in Ghana and Guam.

We got to spend some time after church with Tate and the wonderful Pearson clan. That meant we got to see our favorite little Pearson who we can't get enough of. We love her parents too, which makes seeing her extra fun.

We had planned to head home Monday but when we saw the snow outside we were easily persuaded to stay another night.  It was great to stay,  relax and visit as long as possible. 

Erica made wonderful food all weekend, like she always does, including these delicious shrimp fajitas. We were so filled with good food, memories, conversations and laughs. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful in-laws who let us drop by on only a few days notice to help us calm our senioritis and re-focus. You two are truly the best. If there is any way any of you can marry into this family, do it!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

2 weeks, 4 days and counting till graduation.

Reflection

We have filled our 4 years in Rexburg with more memories than I can even remember at times. 

This is the place that I met the love of my life....

... sang beneath the stadium on Sunday evenings ...

 ... had the best roommates X 5...

... made the worlds greatest lip sync dance videos ...

... lived in the dorms and creaky first apartments ...

... went on dates with the cutest guy around ...

 ... went on many great adventures ...

... made lasting friendships (some of which are our married friends now)...

...  spent almost a full semester showing off my engagement ring...

 ... planned a wedding and moved into our first apartment ...

... enjoyed countless shakes and concerts at Sammy's ...

... kept score at basketball games ...

... learned how to play tennis ...

 ... cheered for flag football teams ...

... went shooting ...

 ... jumped off bridges into the Snake River ...

... enjoyed riding bikes on warm summer days ...

... and walking around town and fun places like the farmers market. We have enjoyed our years here and all the friends we have made. While I am sure we will miss this place, we are so excited for new adventures, friends, and memories.

p.s. Three weeks. 

Happy weekend everyone!