Back To The Old Grindstone

Well, we are back in Rexburg once again for another semester of school, BUT this is the last time!! Graduation is in three and a half months and we couldn't be more excited. I was pretty depressed having to leave Utah behind to come back to the dreaded, tiny, cold, and windy town of Rexburg, but what was weird about it all was that on the drive up here as I was nearing Rexburg a strange feeling came over me like a warm blanket. It all felt so familiar and......sorta like I was.......home. I was dreading having to move back, but I guess after living here for the past four years its the only home I've had since before I got married.

We took over a couple's lease in the complex next to our old one. Usually taking over a lease is pretty cut and dry and there are no problems, but this time we weren't able to look at the apartment before moving in, and being a different complex evidently there are different rules. Needless to say, I was really upset when we moved in only to find that the couple didn't bother or have the common courtesy to clean the apartment before they moved out. Even if they didn't clean it, it still would have been nice to have had some kind of warning from them saying, "By the way, we didn't clean the apartment for you." I spent the first weekend in our new apartment cleaning it and unloading our boxes trying to put the house back together. I only had one day to get ready for school and take a breather with my honey before the work starts to pile up.

It's nice to be back in a familiar town and to have a semester that Stephen doesn't have to work, and all our expenses are paid for by the government. Hopefully graduation will come quickly and we can take our vacation to Cedar Point for a graduation gift to us!

A Visit Home

A few weeks ago I made a trip to Twin to see my family before I went back to school. I saw the girls a month earlier when they came to visit me in Utah, but I really wanted to see all my nieces and nephews--this is the best part of going home for a visit. The first day I got there I spent a few hours at Trish's house until Mom got home from the store. I went with Trish to pick up Charity from school who had no idea I was going to be there. The boys were playing on the jungle gym showing me all their tricks when the bus pulled up and Charity hopped off. She looked across the street to see that her mom was waiting for her, but then she just lit up when she realized I was there waiting for her too. She ran across the street with her arms wide open to give me a big hug. This is the best part of being the only child living away from home is that when I get to visit, all the kids give me hugs and kisses.

That Devin is a talker I'll tell you what! He had to show me his room and everything in it. Quentin and Charity both colored pictures for me to take back home, and little Peytin is as cute as can be. I got to Mom's house later that night to see the girls living in the basement; they were both excited to show me their new baby sister and jump on the trampoline with me. They were also quoting and singing songs from their new favorite movie "Tangled", they crack me up!

Baby Britney

I even got to babysit for KoLei for a few hours and boy were they hyper, haha they too, had to show me all their new toys and all their tricks on the swing set. This was the most I've ever heard Valarie speak. So I got to see all the grandkids plus have a girls night with all the girls minus Lynnette to work on our wreaths. Even Becky was able and willing to bring her sick pregnant body over to help us all out. This was a high light of my visit because it wouldn't be the same without Becky there, poor thing. I have to say though, my wreath turned out so darn cute!! Although I don't get any credit for making it because Becky did all the work. I also made a chocolate cake from scratch in honor of Becky that turned out quite well if I don't say so myself even though I couldn't use colored frosting.

 I wish I could have stayed a a few extra days, but I had to get back home to get ready to move. I love my family and always look forward to any visits I can make.