A little update...

A lot has happened in the last few months, but honestly I haven’t updated the blog because some of those happenings are not quite set in stone yet.  A few people have asked me recently if we still have a blog… Oops!! So here is a quick update…

One totally exciting event took place way back in like June-ish, but took some time to become official.  Grant was offered an internship position with a company called Managed Wealth Financial back in the spring, but Grant told them he can’t do his internship until his senior year, which was 2 years away at that time.  However, he heard through some friends of ours that he could do his internship for a company that he had previously worked for.  So, he contacted the regional manager who had offered the internship to him and told him he could start working for them now!  As of August, Grant is a financial consultant, currently licensed to sell life insurance.  He is studying for his Series 6 exam, which covers investments and securities.  That is what he wants to focus on in his career, so he is excited to take that exam before the end of the year.  Grant loves finance, which I am sure you already know if you have read my past blog posts.  He reads finance books all the time and is always helping others with their personal budgets.  AND he has been the ward clerk since I think March, which he LOVES.  He took his first few clients in September and sold his first two policies at the end of the month.  He is really excited about his career choice, and it is fun to see him so passionate about what he does.  I am grateful that my hubby is so natural in this area, because I am totally NOT! I have learned a lot about finance, and I feel very secure because he knows what he is doing.  Those of you who are married can probably relate to those times when you realize you’re married to the right person… When Grant told me he wanted to be a financial consultant, it was one of those moments :)

I changed my major on the second day of this semester.  Those of you who know me probably know I love, love, love psychology.  I always knew that’s the field I wanted to study and have a career in.  AND, I have enjoyed it all through college.  However, back when Grant and I were dating, we discussed whether or not I would be a working mom or a stay-at-home mom.  Grant always wanted the latter, yet I wasn’t really set on either one of the two.  I realized soon after we had that conversation that I really wanted to be a stay-at-home mom if our situation allowed, and I have known without a doubt that that is what I want to do since we have been married.  So, I knew in the back of my mind that I might not be putting a degree to use right away, since we were planning on starting a family right after I graduate.  I also didn’t plan on working until our kids are older or even out of the house.  BUT, I was still getting my degree for that “later-on” or “just-in-case” situation.  However, on the first day of the semester, I sat in my History and Systems of Psychology class and had this overwhelming feeling that I wasn’t doing the right thing.  I was confused because I LOVE psychology (always have since my first psych class in high school) and didn’t know what else I would do.  I have always kind of planned on attending cosmetology school after my BA, so I thought that maybe I should just graduate with my associates at the end of the semester and attend the hair academy next year, then  finish up my degree if I wanted/needed to afterwards.  That was a possibility for a few weeks, until I realized I needed to change my major.  I know it was the right change because I have been so extremely excited about it since.  I am now a Marriage and Family Studies major with an emphasis in Home and Family Living.  So, I get to take lots of classes that will be so practical and useful for being a wife, mom, and homemaker.  That is what I am most excited about.  Another huge plus is that I still get to take quite a few psych classes.  ALSO, I get to take a pregnancy class and a few sewing classes, which I am super excited about.  This major definitely caters to my creative, future mommy side.  It's great!  I want to take all of the classes available to me, even though I don’t need all of them.  That’s when you know you are majoring in the right field :) I’ll be in school a little longer now, because I was about half way through when I made this change.  That’s okay, though.  We knew we would be sticking around Idaho for a while anyways since Grant is starting his career here.  We aren’t in any rush… although, I am not going to lie, I would be perfectly fine being done with school sooner so we can start a family.  I am SO excited to be a mommy!

I think it is safe to say that, after a year and a few months of marriage, we are still adjusting.  I learn new things about Grant every single day, and we encounter new struggles and experiences that kind of rock the boat every now and then.  Marriage truly is a journey, and I love it.  It is sometimes the hardest journey, but it is so worth it… especially when you know you are on the journey with the right person.  I am grateful for the countless humbling, learning experiences I have had thus far in our marriage.  I know that I have recognized more of my shortcomings and bad habits since we have been married than I could have when I was single, and it is both amazing and difficult to work through those things.  I feel so blessed for those moments.  I can see how the Lord has taken careful consideration in giving me the right lessons and experiences to grow and become the woman I want to be and the woman He knows I can be.  Having a wonderful spouse who loves me through it all is the best part.  Grant is so supportive of me, even when I’m talking about my faults.  I know he loves me no matter what, and I think that in itself is such a beautiful, rare thing.  Another thing that tells me I married the right person :)

 I think Grant is pretty settled here in Idaho, yet I am still trying to make it feel like home.  When I think “home” I still think Arlington.  I think part of that is because we are still in school, and who knows how long we will be here?!  Our living situation feels so far from permanent, although part of me feels like we will be here for a while.  Like I said, still adjusting.  As much as I don’t love the unknown, I don’t fear it because I know that my Heavenly Father is in charge of our future.  He has a perfect plan for us, and I am grateful for that.  I like when a new page turns in our story.  It’s so exciting to see what is unfolding for us.  I could probably be a little more patient about it… something I’m trying to learn.  Regardless of what happens, we have each other and that is all that matters!

Our First Anniversary

We just celebrated our first anniversary this past weekend.  I can’t believe how fast it went!  I feel like I blinked maybe once… and here we are a few days into year two.  We have had such a blast together.  We have learned lots about each other, ourselves, and how to make our marriage better.  All the experiences we have had this past year, whether good or bad, have helped us grow and love each other even more.  We have gone through some significantly difficult struggles since we have been married, but I am no less than 110% grateful for each of these struggles.  It has helped us learn how to work through things together and to keep our Heavenly Father at the forefront of our lives.  He truly has been the key to our success in all things, and I know that as we continue to seek Him in our marriage, it will only improve.

I can honestly say that I have grown up so much more than I thought possible in one year.  Marriage certainly has a way of throwing every single responsibility and stress on a young couple.  I remember telling my mom that it was weird having to think about buying toilet paper, PAM, and printer ink.  Add that to rent, insurance, gas, groceries, and all those other things you need to live day-to-day, and it’s a great recipe for a fantastic lesson on being a “grown-up”.  I don’t feel like I was necessarily thrown into being responsible for myself since I was away at school in Hawaii for a year before we were married.  However, being responsible for yourself as a college student doesn’t even begin to touch being responsible for you and your spouse as a married couple.  I am grateful that Grant is so financially minded and frugal, because he has taught me so much about budgeting and finance that I never knew before.  Our paycheck-to-paycheck income has especially forced me to be wise with our money and diligent with our budgeting.  I have loved every minute of it, and I certainly feel like I am so much more prepared for any financial situation that may come in our future. 

Thought I would share how we celebrated our first anniversary.  We had such a wonderful day!  Since our actual anniversary fell on Sunday, we celebrated on Saturday.  We woke up, had some pancakes, and got ready for the day.  We decided that we wanted to start a tradition of visiting a new temple and doing sealings every year for our anniversary.  So, we drove down to the Idaho Falls Temple, which we had never been to before.  It was a super busy day there with lots of weddings, so we were there for a while.  It was nice to just sit in the temple and have some time to reflect.  After the temple, we went to Olive Garden for lunch.  We both had soup, salad, and breadsticks.  Can’t go wrong with that!  After lunch, we changed out of our church clothes and begin to walk around in Idaho Falls.  There were street fairs all along the Snake River and downtown Idaho Falls.  We explored the booths, and I couldn’t help but tell Grant that I felt like that is what couples do on their 40^th anniversary or something. It was certainly low-key, but we had so much fun just walking hand-in-hand. 

 Idaho Falls Temple

We had decided that we wanted to try our hand at geocaching, so we downloaded a free app that includes directions and hints to find a cache.  The first one took us to this super cute island in Idaho Falls that we explored for a while.  I could have stayed there all day.  We couldn’t find the cache, and decided to try another one since we weren’t quite sure what we were looking for.  The second one took us back to the temple, where Grant climbed under a tree to find the cache!  It was seriously so exciting!  We signed the list inside with the date and our names and, of course, snapped a couple pictures.  With that, we hopped back in the car and headed home for a nap before dinner.

 Grant found the cache!

 Signing our names on the list

I decided that I would make dinner for our anniversary to save a few bucks.  On Saturday night, I made teriyaki chicken, one of Grant’s favorite dinners.  After we ate, we headed to the dollar theater here in Rexburg to watch Now You See Me.  We haven’t gone to a movie together since our first week here in Rexburg back in January, so we definitely enjoyed it.  It really was the perfect, relaxing day that I think we both really needed!

Sunday was kind of just like any other Sunday, besides the fact that we exchanged anniversary gifts.  I made Grant a “52 Things I Love About You” deck of cards.  He had compiled a folder of pictures, one for each month of our first year of marriage.  He said he was going to make a calendar.  We ended up going to Porter’s, a craft store in town, together this week.  We got a few things we needed and made the calendar board together.  It was a lot of fun.  One of the cards in the deck I made Grant says, “You help me with my crafts”.  I really do love that about him.  He helps me paint, sand, glue, measure, hang-up, or anything else I ask for help with.  This was really the best gift ever… he came up with a craft idea and then let me make it however I wanted.  The best part was that he helped me with it. 

Yes, my hubby and I made this!

After church on Sunday, I made steak, asparagus, and, Grant’s request, French fries for dinner.  We finished it off with one of our favorite desserts, Strawberry Delight. 

My favorite part of our anniversary??  When Grant told me to close my eyes, walked me to the kitchen, hit play, and started dancing with me to our wedding song.  I cried… a lot!  I am a sucker for slow dancing and Grant HATES it, so it was so sweet for him to do that for me.  It was the best ending to a wonderful weekend. 

I truly am so blessed to have Grant to share my life with.  He is such an amazing person, and someone who I try to be more like every day.  He is selfless and caring, and he is the kind of husband every girl dreams of having.  I am so excited to see what adventures unfold for us in this next year and all the years to come.  

Grant's Birthday!

Grant turned 24 on Sunday the 12^th/Mother’s Day!  Thought I would share how we celebrated his first birthday since we have been married.

We started last week on Tuesday with lunch at Red Robin, Grant's favorite restaurant.  He has a “Red Royalty” card, which allows him to get a free burger during his birthday month.  We had to take a trip down to Idaho Falls that Tuesday to get some stuff for our fish at Petco, so we decided to just eat at Red Robin then.  His favorite burger is the Royal Red Robin burger, which has bacon and a fried egg on it… apparently it’s “really good”.  He was certainly a happy camper eating his burger :)

I had asked Grant a few weeks before what he wanted for his birthday, and he kept telling me nothing.  He said he didn't want me to spend a dime on his birthday and to just do something that didn't cost money.  So, I told him to make a list of ten things he wanted for his birthday.  Apparently I should have set some kind of rules because the list he composed was titled “10 things I want for my birthday that don’t cost money”.  That just has Grant written all over it, doesn't it?!  I kindly asked him to make a second list of 10 things he wanted for his birthday that do cost money just in case I actually wanted to get something for him.  This second list consisted of finance books only.  If you don’t know Grant very well, now you do!  However hard this was for me, because birthday are always a huge deal in my family and I always go all-out for birthdays, I complied with his wishes to keep it simple and not spend a lot of money on his birthday.  I ordered three of the books for him online, got him some of his favorite treats, and made him a 24-punch card booklet with random favors from me (one of the things he asked for that didn't cost money was a coupon book). 

I still wanted to surprise him with SOMETHING because he already knew everything about his birthday.  I had been planning to take him golfing the day before his birthday, but somehow he figured it out and told me he didn't want to (yeah right!!) because he didn't want to spend the money on it.  So, I took him to play tennis instead at a park here in town… poor guy.  I’m TERRIBLE at tennis.  Should have just hired someone to play with him!  He spent most of the time teaching me haha :)  About a week before his birthday, I was texting a couple from our ward that we are good friends with about having them come over for dinner and games on his birthday, which I was going to keep from Grant.  I also sent a text to my boss about making a cheesecake for him since that is one of his favorite desserts.  I told him to not read my texts until after his birthday in order to keep these things a secret.  He still figured both of these surprises out.  Even though I tried to play the dessert off by making the cookies he asked for, he still knew I got a cheesecake.  "I am just that good", he says.  I am anxious to see if I can ever surprise him for his birthday. 

After we played tennis on Saturday, he helped me do some grocery shopping for his birthday breakfast and dinner the next day, and then we went for hot dogs at a place called Skeeters.  Afterwards, he went to play baseball with one of his companions from his mission and some other guys.  On Sunday, I made hash browns, sausage, and eggs for his birthday breakfast.  After church, he had to stay for his new calling as assistant ward clerk, so we asked our friends to give me a ride home.  This was when I went and picked up the “surprise” cheesecake and decorated with a batman “Happy Birthday” banner.  I made lasagna, bread sticks  and salad for dinner, and we also had some watermelon… one of Grant’s favorite fruits.  Our friends joined us for dinner and games, and we had a ton of fun!  After games we lit some birthday candles, sang “Happy Birthday”, and ate some cake cookie whoopie pies and strawberry cheesecake.  Even though I didn't succeed in surprising him, he didn't care and had a fabulous birthday :)

Birthday Breakfast!

Batman birthday banner

Birthday dessert :)

Life in Rexburg

I have been TERRIBLE about keeping up with our blog the last few months.  We have been busy, busy, busy... I'll have to do a bit of catching-up in this post :)

We have been in Rexburg, Idaho since January 5th.  After both of us were accepted to attend BYU-Idaho beginning winter 2013, we began looking for housing and sending in applications.  After about a month of absolutely no luck, I started to get a little stressed.  Most of the apartment complexes were full by the time we were actually accepted.  We were checking Craig’s list, the BYU-I bulletin, and asking friends in Rexburg to keep an eye out for us.  We were on our knees in prayer all the time, trusting that the Lord would help us find a place.  We both knew we were supposed to be in Rexburg and that everything would work out like it was supposed to, but it was still a little stressful.  We looked for months with no luck, and by the time Christmas came around, we packed all our stuff and made arrangements to move to Idaho not knowing where we were going to live.  We were thinking we may have to camp out in our car for a couple weeks until something turned up, or maybe find some friends to stay with until we could secure a home.  FINALLY, 5 days before we were supposed to drive to Rexburg, we found out we had a basement apartment!  This news was seriously the most relieving news in the world.  We moved in the Saturday before classes started, and we got our moving truck with all our belongings on the Monday that classes started.  It was definitely not ideal, but we were just happy to have a place to live!  I was super nervous about it, since we had never seen pictures of the apartment at all.  I was hoping it had enough room for us and that it would actually feel like home.  When we arrived, I was SO happy - it is the perfect place for us!  The living room and kitchen are so big for a basement apartment, and there are two bedrooms, so we have an extra closet for storage and room to have guests stay here.  We knew that the Lord had His hand on this place for us.  We love our little home, especially since it is our first one together :) I will post pictures soon.

When we applied to live here, they said it was furnished, but when we got here there were couches, a kitchen table with chairs, a computer desk, and dressers.  No bed.  For the first month living here, we were on our air mattress.  Not the most comfortable thing in the world, but I still couldn't complain because we had a roof over our head!  We visited the mattress outlet in town and bought a mattress and box spring, and I was extremely excited to finally pull out our new sheets and beautiful quilt we got from the wedding.  Grant is going to build a bed frame for us this summer, which he is super excited about.

Grant and I had 4 classes together during winter semester, which made transitioning so easy.  We got to spend a lot of time together that way, and we saved lots of money on books because we were able to share for the classes we had together.  The semester just ended a couple weeks ago, and Grant and I both did really well.  He ended with a 3.9 and I got a 4.0.  Definitely a good first semester in Idaho! Grant was officially accepted into the Business Management program after passing his presentation with the board.  He had to complete a portfolio, which was about 15 pages long, and present to the board, consisting of members of the Business department.  He has decided that he wants to be a financial advisor, which is perfect since he is a business management major with an emphasis in finance.  He has already had someone contact him about doing an internship with their company.  That is really exciting after just being here for a few months!  He is applying to do fast grad, which allows him to go to school all three semesters to finish faster.  He really loves finance, and it is fun to see him so excited about his career plans.  He reads finance books like you wouldn’t believe and is really good about helping us be smart with our finances and budgeting.  I am so blessed to have him!

Both of us had been looking for jobs since before we moved here, but it is SUPER hard to find jobs in Rexburg.  I got really lucky when I walked into Da Pineapple Grill, a Hawaiian/Asian restaurant here in town with a sushi bar, to turn in an application at the end of January.  The owner interviewed and hired me on the spot.  I have been working there as a waitress and sushi roller since February 1^st.  I really love it, and it is certainly nice to work in a place that feels like home to me.  The comfort food isn’t bad either ;)  Grant applied at literally 20 places since we have been here and just started last week with a property care company.  He has been donating plasma for a couple months to bring in some extra money. 

Grant and I love our ward here, although we only have a few couples that we actually know well.  We like being in a married student ward a lot more than being in a family ward.  There are a handful of babies and kids in the ward, so I do get a little baby-fill on Sundays.  I have two callings in the ward – ward music chair assistant and activities committee member.  Grant doesn’t have a calling yet, but I keep telling him that Heavenly Father is giving him a break before he is called as the Bishop ;)  We were also called to work in the temple, which we had wanted to do for a while.  We have been working in the baptistry every other Saturday for two months.  It is so wonderful to get to the temple even more than we usually do. 

Now that we are both off-track, we will just be working.  We have quite a busy summer ahead of us, with a few weddings, a baptism, and a niece on the way.  We are looking forward to having visitors this summer as well. Grant’s youngest sister, Carly, and my little sister, Serafina, are coming in August to attend EFY here at BYU-I.  My mom is driving them down and bringing my little brothers the week before to visit, and then Grant’s mom is coming down to pick the girls up and drive them back home.  We have not done a whole lot of activities here yet, so we are excited to have them come and join us in exploring Rexburg :)