Ready-Set-Graduate!

I know, I know, I just posted about school, right? Well I now have 30 minutes to kill before I turn in my VERY last final and it occurred to me that this is the only time I'll ever get to experience this feeling. From where I'm standing, it would be silly not to write about it while I have the chance.
My LAST FINAL EVER!! Can you even believe it?! It has been a lot of work, tears, and sleepless nights, but I'm finally here. Was it worth it? Maybe not. But either way, it's time to open a new chapter in my book of life.

Here is a list of things I'm excited to pursue in my post-student life:
1. Reading for enjoyment- I've discovered that I'm a total nerd. I love reading about words, yes words, and psychology, and spiritual topics, and of course, the classic escapism books. Regardless of the subject material, it'll be nice to read the occasional educational book not because I have to, but because I want to.
Speaking of which, has anyone ever read Word's Worth or Write Tight? They are great books for word nerds like myself.
2. Gym visits- Before getting married, Tyler and I were both in excellent shape. Pretty soon school caught up with us and now we rarely get to go. I plan on enrolling in either a zumba class or a belly dancing class. Seriously. People are often surprised by this, but belly dancing is one of the best ab workouts in existence. You should all try it and see for yourselves.
3. Cooking- I love cooking and trying new recipes, but rarely have time to do it. This is one thing I absolutely will not settle on; cooking will be pursued regularly at the Grange house from here on out.
5. Scrap booking- I finally get to do more digital scrap booking and it is going to be fantastic! Now if only I had really great adventures to scrapbook about...
6. Holding cute babies- Okay so this is not school related, but I'm about to become an auntie (courtesy of Stacie and Kelly) and I can hardly wait. She is going to be an absolute doll!
7. Brushing up on my dirt bike skills- This list is sounding way too girly; I just had to throw something a little less frilly into the mix. In all honesty though, my Kawi has been rather neglected over the years and it's high time I rediscover my need for speed.
8. Last but not least, Driving by students walking through ice next semester and laughing- A little mean I know, but that's one of the things I dreaded each spring semester and I can't think of a better way to appreciate the moment. To all of you students out there, it's all in good humor :)

And with that, I'm going to brave the icy weather and close this chapter of my life. So long readers!

2.5 Weeks

I created this lovely illustration one day when I should have been working, but decided to daydream about graduation instead. Is it a masterpiece or what?

This post is relatively pointless now that I think about it. Pretty much the only reason I created it was to say how incredibly stoked I am to finally graduate. Provided I pass all my classes this semester (knock on wood), I will be a free woman!! Wow!

It's kind of crazy to reflect back on the last four years of my life. Being married and owning a home while working full time, going to school full time, and serving in young womens, has been completely insane. My house is never as clean as I want it to be (we run ourselves dry of clean dishes during finals), I rarely get around to exercising, and sleep has continuously been put on the back burner.

As hard as it's been though, I'm glad I did it. I'm not sure why, but for whatever reason, I know that college was something I needed to do in my life. There's just no other explanation as to how we made it through as a poor newlywed couple in our apartment, putting both of us through school without any sort of tuition reimbursements, etc... It was an absolute miracle that we were able to make it work. It became clear early on in our marriage that our paths were being lead by a higher power and that we just needed to hold on for the ride.

At long last, that section of our ride is finally coming to an end and I'm ecstatic. Tyler still has three more classes ahead of him, but even just having one of us free from school will be excellent.

This post is turning out to be a lot longer than I anticipated, but I can't help it. I'm just absolutely thrilled!! I love learning and I'm so thankful that I decided to major in Public Relations and Advertising. It has been so interesting to learn and to write about the minds of the consumer and to learn about a world that so few people know about in spite of the fact that it drives society on a daily basis.

2.5 weeks 'til takeoff. Bring it on!

2 New Posts

It has recently been pointed out to me that I haven't posted for a while. Looking back, it has been a rather long time. Let it be known however that I misplaced my camera cord. Now that I've found it, here are two new fresh posts.
We hope you all are doing well and as always, love hearing from you!
-Tyler and Shaela

Tyler's FIRST candy bar!

This post makes me laugh because I totally sound like a doting parent posting pictures of my child's firsts. Really though, this is seriously his first candy bar! Can you blame me?!
Here's the story behind that happy face:
Tyler has long been a semi-sweet chocolate chip snacker. He loves chocolate, but he can't have milk and has always been told that semi-sweet is the only chocolate he can have. This misconception was put to rest one day at Wal-Mart when I took my dark chocolate dove bar and compared the ingredients to his beloved (and somewhat putrid) semi-sweet chocolate chips (which we've been debating were the same thing for a few years now). The final verdict? A perfect match! I was squealing and jumping like a little girl while Tyler looked at me like I'd lost a few screws.
I'm a firm believer that the closest thing you can get to milk chocolate, is Dove dark chocolate. Seriously, Dove knows their stuff.
After making this discovery, I invited my sisters over to enjoy, what else? Tyler's first s'more. Here is a play-by-play:

The man of the night prepping his mallow.


First bite!

Is it just me, or is this face screaming out, "I'm not sure about this"?


Sorry, these pictures appear to be in the wrong order, but here he is going in for the kill.

The final verdict? Me again squealing and snapping pictures and Tyler, happy to have eaten his first s'more, wondering what all the fuss was about.

A trip to the desert and a walk through history

We took a fun trip out to Little Sahara/Cherry Creek/Jericho, etc... with some family and friends. Honestly, people call it so many different names that I never know how to properly cite the location, so I usually stick with 'the desert'. Easy enough?
Anyway, it was loads of fun! Tyler is getting so good at riding! He still can't beat me... my one claim to fame. But he is getting dangerously close. I've been considering taking some secret practice runs in order to prevent him from getting any closer.
Sadly, my bike was out of commission. Just as I was ready to burst into tears, a friend offered to let me borrow his for the weekend and I was in heaven. Thank you forever Taylor!!
Now that we've got that out of the way, let me show you what we found:

This is a really cool old house that sits alongside one of the trails. It's old and clearly falling apart so naturally our first thought was to climb on in.
This location is commonly visited because it contains Porter Rockwell's cabin. Porter Rockwell just happens to be a crazy cool small pioneer man who scared anyone and everyone who crossed his path, which is probably why he was selected to be Joseph Smith's body guard. Pretty cool, eh? Anyway, people usually stop and take pictures by this house because they think it was Porter's. Not so my friend. This is simply a cool old rickety house. This next picture on the other hand, depicts his REAL house, commonly depicted as a shed (and rightfully so if you ask me).

Here is a pic. of Porter Rockwell's real house. And an added bonus, a fabulous shot of helmet hair. I'm not ashamed.

An even better shot of helmet hair :) Seriously, this house is so tiny! Even still, we can't help but cheese it up a little for the camera.

Here we are with the rest of the clan in the cabin. What an incredibly fun trip it turned out to be!!

Politically Speaking

In today's world, speaking candidly about political issues is often viewed as cliche'. Thankfully this is my personal blog, so I can post whatever my heart desires and I think this music video is spot-on! Plus, I'm seriously considering adopting some of his dance moves--- they are fabulous! For anyone who is interested, check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO2eh6f5Go0&feature=player_embedded

Tyler's attempt to blog

Shaela was kind enough to let me go to the All Star Game against Everton FC. We got great tickets from Don and Heather.
The above itallisized sentence, along with the picture, is Tyler's sole contribution to this post. He was insistent that we post about our fun anniversary celebration last week, got two sentences into it, and then handed the computer to me. Haha! As hard of a time as I've given him for this however, I can't help but be thankful because without his initiation, I probably wouldn't have posted.
So here's the story behind the great photo mentioned above:
Our anniversary was on a Sunday this year, so we decided to celebrate earlier in the week by attending the MLS All Star game at the Rio Tinto Stadium. It was a truly awesome celebration! Tyler took me to Olive Garden before the game and it was so nice to get away and spend some time with just the two of us.
.....Tyler wants me to say, "Holden was a retard and passed the ball to the wrong person." Needless to say, Ty's voice was rather weak after a wild game with slip-ups such as Holden's.
It was an intense game where the winner was finally decided after a shoot out.
We also now have R.E.A.L. scarves and shirts to remember our night by, thanks to Don and Heather.
It was so much fun!

2 years and counting

As of August 2, 2009, we will have been married for two whole years! This merits a posting for sure.

It's hard to believe that we could have served an entire mission with the amount of time we have been married now. I always planned on serving a mission. I even informed Tyler of this when we began dating. He however, had different plans and I'm so glad he did. As my cute in-laws often remind me, I'm still serving a mission, just a different one.

I don't want to get too mushy for all of you unsuspecting readers out there, so I'll just say this: Tyler is one of the best things that has ever happened to me and he reminds me of that time and time again. He is so thoughtful and goes out of his way to make me happy every day.


We've come a long way from our days of getting lost in the desert together, tying bed frames to the car with twine, and bailing water out of our bathroom sink. Despite the growth our relationship has experienced however, we are still determined to remain eternal newlyweds. The past two years have been the best of my life and I look forward to many many more to come!

Here are some of my favorite fun memories from the past two years:

• When we got married, we bought a tool set since neither of us owned any ourselves. Being a major tight wad, I refused to let Tyler buy more since we already had a full set. While installing new floors this past summer, one of the guys helping us asked for a hammer. When we handed him Ty's hammer, I wasn't sure if he was going to laugh or panic. "Where'd you get this, a happy meal?" was all he could say. To which my Dad replied, "All you need is a little pink bow on it." Tyler was relieved to have some back up and begged for a new "manly hammer".
  
  Apparently I went a little overboard with the hammer. A month later when I presented him with a new standard-sized hammer adorned with a pink ribbon, I realized how small it actually was. I'm not even sure that thing was a 12 ounce. Poor Tyler.
  

• Tyler likes to surprise me and consequently, I like surprises! Some of the fun surprises he has given include: a luv sac, pearls, treats, new windows (long story), a wedding band (during the ceremony), flowers, freshly mowed lawn, etc...
  

• Once while Tyler was gone to soccer, I locked myself out of the house. He'd just left, which meant he had an entire game to play, followed by which he was going to make a trip to Lowes. For those of you who don't know, guys (or at least my guy) will invariably spend HOURS at a single "trip" to Lowes. It was pitch black, my windows were barred shut, my neighbors were in bed, I had no phone, no keys, and I was in stilettos, carrying a knotted pillow case filled with rice Tyler made for me one night to keep me warm (I heat it in the microwave). I did the only thing I could. I walked to Lowes. It was scary. I borrowed a random stranger's cell phone to leave Tyler a voicemail instructing him to find me at Lowes. To make a long story short, Riverdale Road is very scary to cross on foot, but once I made it, Tyler was waiting for me on the other side. Needless to say, we made our first spare key that night. He takes such good care of me.

• We once tried reading Harry Potter together. Tyler was unhappy with the slow pace at which we were reading and snuck out to the living room to read the book all night. I didn't find this out until the very end when it became obvious through forced "oooh"s and "aws" that he already knew what was going on. My initial reaction was outrage. Thankfully we joke about it now. While I was definitely taken aback by his deception, I now appreciate his sincere desire to spend time together. To Tyler, reading the book meant more than just following a plot, it was spending time together, even if he already knew the ending. It's taken me 2 years, but we've finally started reading another book together. ... we'll see how it goes this time around.

This post is looking rather long, so I'll stop here. The picture above is our 2 yr. picture, engagement style (thanks for the picture Rachelle! Don't be angry at me for posting it already, okay?). Happy anniversary honey!



Love,

Shay

Penny Pinchin' Pride

Many of you already know that I am a self proclaimed penny pincher. Don't get me wrong, I spend money very frequently and I know that spending is necessary for entertainment sometimes, but I watch my pennies carefully.
I've found several different blogs and articles recently that have further ignited my passion for saving money, so I thought I'd post about it. Is it nerdy that I enjoy perusing money-saving literature in my free time?... Don't answer that.

Geeky or not, I think it's fun to look for good deals and new methods for pinching my pennies. The biggest thing I've learned from my research so far is that I am a total rookie. I seriously have so much to learn and that is exciting to me! Believe it or not, one of the things I am looking forward to in my post-graduation life is the ability to devote more time to this oh-so-important research.

I've never really put my findings into writing, so this post is my attempt to visualize some of my "methods". Hopefully from this point on, this list will continue to grow and someday I will proudly take the title of penny pinchin' queen!

If anyone has other ideas or insights, feel free to share.

1. Lori introduced me to this website: beingfrugalisfabulous.com. It's really cool! There are always updates on free samples and cheap grocery buys, as well as recipes for inexpensive meals. For example, this website lead me to a decision to start cooking my own refried beans using dried beans from the grocery store. Everyone knows that canned refried beans leave a lot to be desired. This way I can cook my own, know what's in them, store leftovers for future dinners, and save a whole lot of money in the process.

2. utahshoppingsecrets.com. This is a fairly recent discovery, but I'm quite pleased with it. This website posts grocery deals for major grocery stores and I've already used it to compile several different shopping lists that have come in quite handy.

3. Redbox. Ty and I don't have TV at our house, but we love unwinding after a busy week with a good movie. As a result, we have become quite the redbox fans. $1 per night is pretty great, right?
Over time though, we have learned little ways of getting free codes and now we rarely even have to fork over $1.00 for our movie nights. For example, text "fit" to 414141, and you can get a code that won't expire until the end of August. We have also signed up to receive a free code every month in the form of a text message. If you watch the internet, you can find free codes all over the place.

4. Watch for $1 sales and stock up. I always keep an eye out for my favorite $1 sales and when they come, I buy tons (example: Albertson's 10 for $10 sale)! Most of the time, these sales include brownie mixes, cake mixes, boxes of cereal, eggs, dish soap, snack foods, and Pillsbury products. These are products that you can always use and most of them don't ever go bad.
It's always a little stressful to rack up a comparably huge grocery bill, but when you consider how much you'll be saving in the long run, it's totally worth it.

5. One of the methods I am working on right now is learning to eat cheap. I still have a lot to learn but here are some of the things I've caught on to so far:

• Oatmeal is one of the cheapest and most nutritional meals you can buy, but don't buy the pre-made packets if you can avoid it. You can get a barrel of raw Quaker oats for next to nothing and it'll last forever. I make my own oatmeal with this, which ends up being much more nutritional.
• Bananas and apples are ordinary fruits, but they're very good for you and much cheaper than other produce.
• Instead of buying bags of prechopped salad, I buy my own head of lettuce and make it myself. You can get an entire head for about $1.00. I usually buy a head of lettuce, carrots, an avocado, and a tomato or cucumber. The great part about this is that you can mix it up according to what's on sale. You also get about 3 times the amount of ingredients and you can use leftover ingredients for additional meals throughout the week.
• People in our industry buy lunch every day. It's incredible how fast that lunch money adds up! Instead, we bring lunches from home. They're not always the most fabulous lunches (sandwiches, leftovers, yogurt, etc...), but they pay off and they are usually more healthy.
• Rice and potatoes offer additional examples of cheap foods. I try to buy brown rice instead of white. It usually costs a little more, but it's also more nutritional and still quite inexpensive.
• Extensive reading has taught me that cooking with bone-in chicken can also save a lot of money. In contrast with boneless skinless chicken breasts, these are a lot less expensive, but rather intimidating to me. I'm under the impression that they take more preparation time, so I have not tried it yet, but it is definitely on my to-do list.
• Whenever possible, buy foods straight from factories instead of the grocery store. It's a great way to avoid paying mark-ups. We have tried this at Pepperidge Farms, the creamie factory, Fat Boy sandwiches, and Wonder Bread (which is right here in Ogden).
• Learn what things cost so you'll recognize good deals when you see them.... I'm still working on this one, especially in regards to fresh produce.
• Pay attention to per unit prices. A lot of grocery stores have started posting these on the racks. This way you can't be tricked by packaging and sizes.
  

6. We do not subscribe to any internet connections at home. I know, it's so sad. But when you're a college student, you pay fees to have nice computers and super fast internet connections, so why not use them? Since we live so close to the school, I refuse to pay for the internet. Instead we have a wireless card for a laptop that we use in case we need the internet when the school labs are closed.

7. I signed up to complete E-Surveys online. These are random surveys that target consumers and are paid for by companies seeking public opinion on future business endeavors. I know there are a lot of companies out there that do this, but I have only signed up for one so far. The one I use is erewards.com. They offer a small amount of money for each survey you take, which can be traded in for rewards. I always save up until I can afford a $30 American Eagle gift card. I plan on signing up for more legitimate companies offering this service in the future.

8. Go on picnics for date nights. They are so much fun and cost a lot less than eating out, or going to a late night movie, etc... Also, if you have to go to a movie, try and attend a matinee showing. These are usually must less expensive. Since we work on weekdays, we usually wait until Saturday mornings to see movies and it has been a great change for us.

9. TV Subscriptions are a lot of money. This is really hard for guys who are sports fans like Tyler. We compensate for a lack of television by picking our favorite TV series and buying the seasons instead. We also frequent the Wal-Mart $5 movie bins. For now, Tyler watches sports online or has his parents record the games for him. He has been very patient with this.

10. Tyler pays close attention to banks and credit unions and makes sure he keeps our accounts where the interest rates are highest. We also try to utilize CD accounts regularly with whatever we can afford to set aside.

11. Neither of us consider ourselves mechanically inclined. However, changing the oil in a car is a fairly simple process that Tyler has learned to do on his own. Whenever he finds sales on oil and oil filters, he stocks up and then changes the oil on his own instead of paying expensive mechanics to do it. We also watch the mail for free tire rotations and discounted inspections.

12. When it comes to gardening, it can be hard to save money. We have been able to side step paying for expensive plants by getting starts from friends. This isn't always possible unfortunately, but we've tried to take advantage of opportunities whenever we can.

13. Everyone knows that textbooks cost a fortune. I feel like this last one is totally obvious, but we NEVER buy books from the school book stores if we can avoid it. Instead, we use half.com and amazon. We also discovered a website at chegg.com where you can rent textbooks instead of buying them. Addall.com is another helpful website that we use to compare prices. Between the two of us, we save hundreds every semester thanks to these helpful websites.


-Okay. Now that I feel like I've been blabbering for several pages, I'll call it quits. However the list is never ending. I could seriously talk about this topic for hours on end. These examples are just some of the big ones that came to mind.

Hope you all enjoyed my ranting,

Shaela

Our first tree planting ceremony

Surprising news: we had an ultra exciting night at our house a while ago and thought we'd share it with the world, or at least the blogging world. We got to plant our first tree together! In light of the momentous occasion, here are some pictures documenting our joyous ceremony:

Here it is! This is one of the coolest trees I have ever seen. It's an apple tree that has several different types of apples grafted in to one tree. Each tag indicates a different kind of apple. We look forward to enjoying gala, fuji, and golden crisp apples (among others) in the future. Is that cool or what?!

May I introduce you to our miracle tree? Tyler found this tiny thing growing by our fence last winter and immediately recognized its potential to become a large, thriving maple tree. He transplanted it into our yard and it snowed the next day. We watched it all winter long and decided there was no way it would survive all the snow in its condition. Much to our surprise however, it is doing fabulously and hence, has earned the name "miracle tree". It now has a few little branches and some leaves thanks to Tyler's heroic rescue.

There you have it. We may not have accomplished the lucious vegetable garden we anticipated, but we're making progress nonetheless. Two trees, tons of weeding, and lots of flower-planting. It really has been fun having a yard of my own to experiment with. Hopefully I'll get better at it as time goes by.

WICKED

We finally have semi-regular access to the internet again, which means we can at last unveil our fabulous pictures from Wicked, which I referenced earlier.
Unfortunately, yours truly struck out again in taking a lot of pictures, however I did take a few, so that's a step in the right direction isn't it?
I have been dreaming about seeing Wicked since I was a teenager, and Tyler has never seen a broadway play, or serious musical before, so this was a monumental night for both of us.
The end result? Tyler has now decided that musicals aren't quite so bad afterall (though I'm sure he'll still be selective about musical attendance in the future), and I was completely mesmorized by the performance. It was seriously amazing!! By far the best musical I have ever seen. I already want to see it again.
We were able to join my aunt, cousin, grandma, mom, and sisters for the night and loved every second of it. What a spectacular night!! I am so lucky to have a husband who let me buy expensive tickets for the evening. Thanks hun!

Long awaited images of our casa

Yes I know that we will need to redo this post in a couple of weeks since we are getting new wood floors that Shaela already told you about but hey I've got nothing else better do to right?! I haven't quite figured out how to format these posts so this will have to work. The top two pictures are what we bought the house looking like. the bottom two are what the house looks like at the moment

Quick Update & Pics

It's my favorite time of the semester again. FINALS! Woohoo! Thanks to numerous amounts of energy drinks, Taco Bell trips, and Hostess cupcakes, Tyler and I are survivng thus far.
We are excited about several upcoming events. They are, and in no particular order:

• As of May 3, 2009, I will no longer be a full time student. Hooray! It's all part time from here on out.
• Tyler successfully passed his Finance 3200 class, which among other things, requires 100% accuracy on all quizzes. We are so proud!
• We liked fixing up our house so much last summer, that we've decided to do it again this year. We plan on installing new wood floors, and painting our lovely stone tiled fireplace within the next month. If you're lucky, I'll actually remember to post pictures this time :)
• Camping season is just around the corner! I totally think we all need to plan a fun camping trip... anyone up for it?
• We are going to WICKED on the 28th. I have been dreaming about that musical for many years now and am ultra excited! Pictures will be posted for sure!

That being said, here are some pictures from last year that I just recently got my hands on. Hope everyone is doing well and we'll talk to you again soon!

Excerpts from The Richest Man in Babylon

The Richest Man in Babylon is one of my favorite books. I try to read it a couple times a year to see where we're at with our goals, it helps keep me focused. I just finished reading it and thought I would share some things that I got out of it.

1.A part of all I earn is mine to keep
2.Advice is one thing that is freely given away, but watch that you take only what is worth having
3.Will power is but the unflinching purpose to carry a task you set for yourself to fulfillment
4.Enjoy life while you are here. Do not overstrain or try to save too much
5.Truth is always simple. For every ten coins thou makes take out for use but nine
6.That what each of us calls our ‘necessary expenses’ will always grow to equal our incomes unless we protest the contrary.
7.We all have more desires than our earnings can gratify
8.Let they motto be 100% of appreciation value demanded for each coin spent
9.The purpose of a budget is to help thy purse fatten
10.Like a bright light in a dark cave thy budget shows the leaks and enables thee to stop them and control they expenditures
11.Wealth is not in the coins that thou carries but in the golden stream that flows into thy purse
12.The first sound principle of investment is security for thy principle.
13.Be not misled by thine own romantic desires to make wealth rapidly
14.I recommend that every man own the roof that sheltereth him and his
15.Make preparations for a suitable income in the days to come when you are no longer young
16.Process by which wealth is accumulated first in small sums then in larger ones as a man learns and becomes more capable
17.The more wisdom we know, the more we may earn
18.Be in front rank of progress and not to stand still least you be left behind
19.Better a little caution than a great regret
20.More interest in my work, more concentration, more persistence in my effort and with reasonable promptness my increased skill was rewarded.

25 Random Tid-bits about us

Randomness

I’ve noticed a lot of these lists on peoples’ blogs lately and thought they were fun. So naturally, when I had homework to do, I devoted my time to this instead.
25 Random Things about us:

1. I am completely mesmerized by British accents.
2. I have a goal to learn how to make fish this year. Tyler’s Japanese relatives who eat fish and rice everyday are incredibly healthy and fit, so I’d like to follow their lead. I just don’t have any clue how…Recipes anyone?
3. Tyler ate his first piece of pizza at age 19.
4. Tyler LOVES reading the newspaper and would do it every day if I let him buy a subscription.
5. I love watching wedding videos at receptions.
6. I like having painted toenails, but they’re rarely done because I can’t stand painting them myself.
7. We are both addicted to watching The Office.
8. Tyler wants to own a jet someday.
9. I have a bad habit of quoting Disney movies in conversations. Usually people don’t recognize them and it’s gotten me into trouble on more than one occasion.
10.I once played a main role in a mime show.
11.I HATE most video games. Just hearing them being played in our house ruins my mood.
12.If he could, Tyler would devote an entire closet to nothing but French cuff shirts and cuff links.
13.I want to own a pigmy goat one day.
14.Tyler likes to eat sorbet that looks like ice cream, but when he eats it, he won’t scoop at it like most people do, he eats it like art: neatly scraping it down layer by layer, so the top of the carton is always perfectly smooth and flat.
15.We both love getting dressed up in fancy formal wear.
16.In Jr. High I was embarrassed by my red hair because I thought boys didn’t like it.
17. In high school, Tyler worked hard on his jumping skills and won second place as the highest jumper on the soccer team.
18.I once dressed as an emo girl so my date wouldn’t ask me out again.
19.Once the two of us were looking for some entertainment and ended up racing up and down a spiral stair case balancing eggs on spoons and it became a real sport for us. We’d still be playing it if it weren’t for the fact that our new house has no stairs.
20. All meals at our house are dairy-free.
21. I love Audrey Hepburn and even want to name my future daughter Audrey.

22. I am terrified of bats due to a freak experience where one dive bombed me.
23. Tyler loves winning… at anything.
24. Tyler likes gardens and plans on starting one of our own this year. Shaela's version of a garden is a couple of nice potted plants.
25. Tyler likes expensive things. Shaela is a tight wad. Buying appliances was very funny for us because I walked to the cheapest end, Tyler walked to the most expensive, and we slowly had to work our way toward the middle.

Meet our friend

I thought spider webs like this existed only in haunted houses. This was a spider that really liked our water heater. We found the gigantic web when we were cleaning our home before we moved in. It was absolutely disgusting. I think it had been living there since our house was built. After discovering this I immediately went to Lowe's and bought a six pack of bug bombs. The package said that one can would cover up to 500 sq feet. Our house is only 1500 sq feet so three would have been plenty according to the company. I wasn't taking any chances. I chose to use all six, one in each room. I had my dad use the vacuum to suck up the web because he is tall and could reach up there. He faked that a spider came out and it totally freaked Shay out, I didn't know she was such a screamer. Since then I have seen a few spiders but nothing too bad. The joys of owning a home.

Our fun winter weekend

It's official: I am a TERRIBLE photographer! Perhaps a better way to put it would be that I am a nonexistent photographer. This past month we took an incredibly fun trip up to Island Park with the fam for my birthday. For once, we actually remembered our camera. The trouble is that we never took it out of our bag. Pathetic I know.
I wish we had really cool pictures to post up of our fun in the snow, but alas, we are empty handed, so instead I'll give a brief run down.
Island Park was an absolute blast!! Tyler surprised everyone with his superior snowmobiles. We've always known he was athletic and adventurous, but holy cow! He was incredible out there! Normally I get bored riding on the back with people, but those days are over. Tyler has converted me to passenger riding for the first time in my life. Not only did he show me up... he completely smoked me. It's so unfair.
In my defense, I was sick and had to stay indoors after the first day so I never really got a chance to defend my driving skills out there, but either way, he was fabulous!
I'm happy to say that I can still leave him in the dust on the dirt bikes, but I guess we'll just have to see how that stands this spring :)
Other than that, we've been super busy with school. Big surprise, huh? Tyler is taking several gross sounding math classes, which he is totally rocking at, and I am continuing with my communication studies. The light is finally at the end of the tunnel though, because I will graduate next fall, and then Tyler the following spring.
We are loving our house and have yet to post pictures of the final product up here, but it will come... all in time, right?

It's Catch Up Time

Since the computer labs have been closed this past month for the break, our internet access was completely obliterated. You know what that means right? It's catch up time!

This month has been a busy one! One of the coolest things we were able to do was to escort my favorite new Elder to the glorious missionary training center. I have never been so proud of my not-so-little baby brother!

Being part of his preparation and watching him grow has been such an awesome experience! For the longest time, a mission was the farthest thing from my brother's mind and we all knew it. One day last spring he confronted me about his desire to serve. I nearly fell out of my chair! I was completely overjoyed because I've always felt that his potential was completely through the roof!

The coolest part about Jake's call is that he refused to let other people know about it ahead of time. His way of announcing it to the family was in the form of a surprise party at a friend's house. It took at least 10 minutes to convince our parents that the envelope Jake was holding was in fact a mission call. Once that realization hit, everyone in the room was in tears.

What an amazing amazing experience and what an inspired missionary!

Okay so... this isn't exactly the most dignified picture, but I love it! That's my Jakie!