December's Around the Corner!

Oh how lovely is the feeling when December is around the corner! All my life, December 1st has meant the first day of the beginning of a month-long holiday! Shopping, love, trees, presents, and so much fun! But for the past three years, I've been exposed to one feeling in particular that mixes up all these wonderful feelings: finals. Instead of smells of cinnamon, pine, and vanilla, I've been smelling pencil shavings, eraser smudging, freshly printed paper, and the wonderful smell of an old book. (The last one was actually not quite sarcastic. I really do love the smell of an old book.) These are of course everyone's dream Christmas smells, right? Well, to our relief, there are only two more weeks until Nic and I are off to California and Oregon to enjoy the sun, rain, and family. 

Nic doing all the lights!

This is our first apartment together for Christmas here in Idaho. It is SO much fun to put up a REAL tree. (In my family we used to always use the pre-lit fake trees.) Nic's parents brought up a tree from Oregon so we could have a traditional Oregon tree. It's not what I'm used to, considering I like a full bushy tree, but I'm warming up to this new one. Although it's not the fullest tree, it's definitely the best smelling and looks pretty dang good with some lights and ornaments on it. Nic just sawed off the top of the tree to fit in our apartment and the bottom so it would soak up some water, and that was that. We officially have a Christmas tree! Yay Christmas!

Putting the Ornaments on

Nic and I have had a crazy couple of weeks, with a fun one celebrating thanksgiving! We had two thanksgivings this year, one with my family and one with Nic's and let me tell you what, two thanksgivings is two too many. They were both amazing, containing my favorite recipes. I love my mom's yams and stuffing. They are soo good! And Nic's mom and dad made some awesome mashed potatoes and a great bacon turkey. Although the turkey had some difficulties, the bacon was amazing! We also got to get together and take some Barnes family pictures with the growing Barnes clan. Kelia, my friend and an awesome photographer just happened to be near by and took some great photos! I can't wait to see them! It was just fun to get together and see our families, including nephew Miles and soon-to-be niece! I wish we had family here in Idaho with us because we sure miss everyone like crazy! 

Barnes Family Picture

 Now I need to get back to mask making, book reading, and some classroom discipline studies and I'm sure Nic has math like crazy to somehow complete in 2 weeks. I don't know how he does it! I know I talk about how great he is in almost all my blog posts, but I can't help it! If you don't want to read it all over again, you can just stop here. But he is so kind and caring. After almost nine months of being with him all day, every day, he's showed me how to be forgiving, considerate and patient. I just can't get enough of him! I couldn't have asked to marry a better man and I love him more than anyone could ever understand. Thanks for everything you do, babe.

Can anyone say, 6 months?!

Wow! It's been a long time since I've had time to blog but on this lovely Saturday morning, I get to splurge with my time. Nic and I had a great 7-Week break! We didn't get to do a lot of fun things and Nic was working every night but we still did a few great things here and there. I know that we can't wait for the holidays to come around because we finally get to go back to see our families!

It has been an insane few weeks though and the first week of the semester is officially over! We're Juniors, meaning we should have about 2 years left, but because of the fact that we both didn't know what we wanted to do until now, I'm pretty sure we've both been delayed a year. As frustrating as that is, BYU-I has a great program where you can go to school for the 3 semesters out of the year instead of the regular two. It would cost more money, more quickly, but I think that would be our best option because we could be out of here in our supposed to be 2 years. It feels like college is never going to end, but I can't help but be grateful for this time in our lives. Learning is one of my many passions so I enjoy it, but I think that teaching will be one of my passions too. Being married in college has allowed us to have fun and enjoy these years until we're out of here moving onto the next part of our lives.

We moved into our new apartment on August 30, and it was tough! I miss having my family here to help! Nic's friend Kris came over and helped move the big stuff but I think we still have two boxes waiting to be unpacked! Phew moving is not fun! We do love our new apartment! It has two rooms and this time we actually have room for a table. It's so nice to be living somewhere where you can actually breathe! Ha ha, but we're happy to be here.

On September 12 we passed the 6 month mark of being married! Time has flown by faster than I could have ever imagined. We're half-way to our anniversary! Life can get busy and every couple has to flash back to reality every now and then, I can only hope that as the years pass by, we will be able to be just as twitterpated - as the owl in Bambi would call it - as we were the day we were sealed in the temple for eternity. My love for him grows every day and hard times only bring us closer together. I married the perfect man for me. :)

So, we had an adventure to the emergency room last night. All because of something that's never happened before. My elementary art methods class is doing clay pot right now so my teacher gave each of us clay to take home and finish our projects. I started doing it on Thursday night and took a break until yesterday.

Yesterday morning, I found myself itching like crazy and I thought really nothing of it. As the day went on, I noticed welts starting to appear in my fingers, hands, and arms. Once again, I ignored it thinking I may have just bumped myself. I worked on my clay all day and later that night I felt more and more bumps start to appear on my right hand and about an hour after that, my fingers started to swell into a balloon! I started freaking out because I have never been allergic to anything before. Nic came home from work and took me to the hospital, luckily, my throat never closed up and the only thing I was left with was a huge right hand and welts and hives all over my arms and down to my toes. I was given a quick anti-inflammatory shot and a big dose of benadryl that definitely knocked me out for the night. The swelling in my hand went away just about an hour ago, and let me tell you what, I am never touching that clay, or any other clays, ever again. Ha ha.

Besides that adventure, we woke up to a great Saturday, made some homemade waffles (the only ones that Nic loves) and listened to some relaxing Mindy Gledhill. Growing up, Saturday's were always the best day (besides cleaning, of course) so I like to just have as much fun as I can on these days, and fun for me means blasting relaxing music, feeling the beautiful sunrise, eating a delicious breakfast, and dancing around with the man I love. We just soaked up the time that we found in this crazy week to spend together. This semester going to be a hard one but I think we will both do great the next 3 months! Here are a couple pictures from this morning and of course, the post below is a little bit of Mindy Gledhill. (By the way, mom, I love my new apron! Thanks so much! I used it today. I'll put up a picture so you can see it!)

Mindy Gledhill - Whole Wide World (Official Music Video)

Some songs can be exactly what your wanting to say out loud. <3

Sweet Summa Time

With only a week and a half left of the semester, Nic and I are finally relaxing! (Even though we should be freaking out about finals!) But we are just so excited to spend this 7-week break doing so many fun things. There are several things that I want to do in Utah, South Dakota, Wyoming, and so many other places. I love this country and I want to get out and see it this summer! The Fourth of July was so fun this year! Nic's family came for that weekend so we got to spend it with them. Nic's mom spoiled us with dinners and much more! Thanks Tamera and Doug, you guys are great.

My amazing family is coming into town next weekend! I'm so excited to see them! It's been four months since Nic and I have been married so that means 4 months since I've seen some of my fam bam and let me tell you what, it's been 4 months too long. Court and Ty are going to EFY here at BYU-I and my brother Grant is graduating! It's an exciting time and with the sun shining, I feel like everything is just ten times better. So, Mom and Dad, have a safe drive down here! We love you!

Ya know, as much as I hate Rexburg in the winter, I love it in the summer! It's so beautiful with trees and rivers. Nic and I have been able to just drive out 20 minutes to a spot where no one is around. We go shooting and just drive around in our new JEEP! There are beautiful fields everywhere you go and these awesome colors that fill a sunset sky. Ya, it's drier than anywhere else, windy as all get out, and the altitude is so high (I can't even run a mile without wheezing) but it's definitely beautiful and fun living here in the mean time.

Although, being here in Rexburg for the summer makes me miss my California sunshine more than anything!!! I am having beach deprivations like crazy. Seriously, I think I dream about the ocean at least 5 times a week. I really hope Nic and I can get the time to come down to SD and have a little mini vacation. I love that I'm from a town that going back to can seem like paradise because that really is what Cbad is! I'd love to see all my amazing friends and talk and talk and talk some more. :) So, Meg, Kaitlin, and Alexa, I know you guys all work at the same place so they're going to have to be deprived of you all for one day so we can all get together.

Nic and I had a fun friday night date at the drive-in theater! I've always wanted to go to one so we went to Craigo's and off to the movie we went. We set our radio to 107.7 FM and just had the best time. We saw Cars 2. It really is a cute movie, a ton different from the first one but I enjoyed it. Nic and I were laughing throughout the whole thing.

Life really is great right now and I could never ask for a better husband. He is so perfect for me. He has made my life so wonderful and I can't wait for all of the years ahead. I love you, Nic. :) P.S. I think I have the right to brag about how handsome my husband is! haha ;) I took this picture when he wasn't looking.

Rexburg Rapids!

Nic and I have had a crazy couple of weeks but let me tell you what, it's good to be home and get back to normal life. It's sad to say that normal life consists of going to classes, dropping Nic off at work, cleaning, homework, picking Nic up, and going to bed. Life is crazy right now but I just have to enjoy it because no matter how crazy it gets, I'm still as happy as ever.

We went to Nic's family reunion for the Evan's family last weekend! It was fun to see everyone and finally meet his entire family. We only got to stay for a day or so because Nic was starting his new job! Nic got a job at Melaleuca and it has been a huge blessing! They sell amazing lotions, shampoos, vitamins, and much much more. He loves going to work. It's a great environment full of fun people, I'm so happy for him and glad that he can go to work not dreading it. I'm still working at the same 'ol testing center. Every semester I say I am done working there but for some reason I just can never quit! It's a great on-campus job and has awesome people.I learn more and more things about BYU-Idaho every semester year that I'm here. Today, Nic and I walked all around the brand new BYU-I Center for the first time since we've moved back. We've been to the basketball courts and indoor track before but we've never actually walked through it all. Let me tell you, it's beautiful. There's a certain peaceful spirit that lingers all around the building and it makes you never want to leave. There are HUGE beautiful pictures of Christ and his life all around the doors to the auditorium. We're so lucky to go to a school that can provide us with the things BYU-I does. Rexburg may be cold in the winter and hot in the summer, but it really is a great place to go to college and learn about the world around you. We can go to a class and talk freely about religion and the gospel and apply it to our education. It really is an awesome experience and I'm so grateful that I can go here.

Now on to Rexburg Rapids! Rexburg FINALLY opened up an outdoor pool with slides, a kiddy section, and even a lazy river!! Nic and I went for the first time last Saturday and it was SO fun! I've missed swimming and just being in the water so bad. This will have to hold us over until we can finally jump into the ocean-which is my absolute favorite place to swim. It's a great way to have fun and for kids to play. I really think that every city or town needs a place for kids to go and escape and have fun outdoors. We are all inside most of the days and forget about the amazing things that we have around us. Having a pool in Rexburg will hopefully get people outdoors!

The semester is almost over! Thank goodness. The McKinley family is coming to visit July 15 and I am so excited to have them here!!! They have never been here in the summer haha I feel so bad that they've only experienced Rexburg in the winter-not so fun. I wish Boo Boo, Nick Rowe, and Steph could be here too! :( It will still be fun and we get to have some summer sun! Miss you all!

My birthday!!

Wow, I really need to get better at finding time to blog! It's been a busy couple of weeks. Lots of fun and lots of work. We stayed up until 1:30 in the morning one night just doing homework. Then we wake up the next morning at 8 ready for more classes. I can't wait for this spring semester to be over so we can start having some fun-and a little break. So here's a little update about the things that we've been up to.

Last Wednesday, May 25th, it was my birthday! It didn't really feel like my birthday until Nic got home with flowers, a coldestone cake, and a couple presents-he has a secret hiding place in our apartment that I still have yet to find. So I opened up my presents and I was so happy. I got a gorgeous new white ceramic watch and a new dress. I got to open up several cards from Nic's family and one from mine and read all the nice birthday wishes. We just celebrated the rest of the day and went to Idaho Falls for dinner-Texas Road House! Yum. We came home in a rush to get Nic to his football game and he made it there right on time. It was one of the best birthdays I've had. All because of Nic. :)

Mom, I promised I would tell you how I like this cook book, so here it is! I got this crock-pot cook book from my mom that I've been dyinggg to have. It's called 365 Days of of slow cooking. Karen Peterson wrote it after having done 365 days of cooking in the slow cooker and blogging about each one. She rated each recipe on 1-5 stars. 1 being the absolute worst and 5 being absolutely amazing. I've only tried one recipe from this particular book and so far it's been great. Nic and I have decided that we're pork people, not really beef. (Unless it's a steak, of course)

So I was going through the pork section and came across ribs, roasts, and even pork chops. I decided on making a "root beer pork roast." Let me just say, yum. It's a really easy recipe and the only thing that I was missing was the worcestershire sauce. (which I used bbq sauce instead-not thrilled with that idea) I still can't even say worcestershire. It's impossible to me. Anyways, you put the pork on a bun, tortillas, or just plain eat it alone. Every one of those is good! Nic ate it by itself and I put it on a tortilla. It was amazing. The flavors blended perfectly and it was a bomb in your mouth. I can't wait to try some more!
(These pictures are for you, momma!)

Some BB Gun Fun!

So yesterday Nic and I decided to get out of the house and take a little break from the things going on around us. We decided that we'd go fishing and shoot the BB gun a little bit. So, out to Beaver Dick Park we went! We got to the park so excited to go fishing, all until we realized this happened...
The Park had flooded almost completely!! The river has gotten higher and higher and I think this was the result. The road was blocked off to the camp site and there was no way that we could have caught a fish in the nice pool created on the dock that we usually fish. So, on to the BB gun we went!
We've been saving up our pop cans for a while now and so we set them up and just took aim. It was a nice little relaxing time before we both had to get to work. Here's a little video of us just havin some fun!

Afterwards, I headed to work and Nic picked me up at 10:30. We grabbed a pizza for dinner and headed home. I was dreading going home because I knew the house was a mess and I had so much homework to do. We walked into our house and I saw a new shirt and flowers sitting on the coffee table for me. Not only that, but the house was perfectly clean. Nic is the most amazing man and I realize how lucky I am every day that I'm with him.

A Little Fun in a Busy Week

We've had a crazy past week with school starting and Nic's job starting. It's sad to drop him off every day at work and know I won't see him for 6 hours! :( Last weekend we were able to hang out with Nic's friend Kris and his wife Kelia. It was so fun. The four of us went out at night and we shot glow sticks. Haha it actually ended up being really fun.

Easter went great and we both gave each other easter baskets and celebrates a little bit! I got a BB gun and nic got a new pocket knife...all in hopes to go camping a TON this summer.

Today, we just wanted a break from the crazy things going on so we went and played a little soccer and shot my new BB gun!! I love spending all my time with Nic and I don't think that we could be any happier. We can't wait for the semester to be over so we can go spend our time in the warm sun!

Nic is so handsome!

I'm not near as good, but it was fun!

My new BB Gun!! Quiet and fun! haha

The little tangerine that we destroyed! Haha

Nic's New Haircut!

I finally got the guts to give Nic a haircut! It's so easy to cut a guy's hair so I figured I couldn't mess up that bad. ;) We got a awesome electric buzzer and just buzzed away. I am really quite proud of the result...and according to Nic...he is too. Haha. Besides the much unwanted snow, we've had an amazing week and spent a ton of time with our nephew Miles! Stephanie and Grant have the cutest baby around. We love being able to spend our time with our family and some of our friends that we have gotten to see in a while. We have officially been married for 25 days haha time has already just flown by. I don't think that we could be any happier. :)

The new buzzer!

Nic's New Haircut!!
Before we ventured out into the snow!

Miles eating

Married and Moved in!

We got married March 12, 2011 and we're SO excited to be moved into our own apartment...finally! After weeks of wedding things and an open house in Oregon, we're back in Rexburg, ID to start school April 19th.

The wedding was absolutely amazing. It was nice warm day in San Diego and Nic and I were just filled with so much happiness. It was the greatest day of our lives.

Thanks to everyone who came out to see it and celebrate my special day with us. We had so much help getting everything ready. Thanks to my ENTIRE family, especially my amazing mom. She planned the whole thing and it turned out beautiful.

It was so great to have my friends who moved away come to visit for it too. The Kealy's and Brittney Butler. It was so great to have you guys there.

Now all we have to do is enjoy our new aparment, work, and just start the rest of our lives together. We can't wait for the amazing things that we have in store.

I don't have any of the proffesional wedding pictures yet, but here are some of the apartment!!

^ Nic's Grandma made this adorable quilt. ^