And Life Goes On

It's been a solid two months since I've been on here.  I can't say I forgot about it.  I thought about writing every couple of days.  I can't say I didn't have time.  I've had more time on my hands in the last two months than I have since I started school.  Kindergarten, not college.  There isn't really a good reason for my absence.  I'll attribute it to too many things happening and not enough patience to try and write about it all.  I'll work backwards since that seems easiest at the moment.

Currently, I'm in Atlanta, GA visiting Nate's sister's family.  We came for a weekend and are staying for a week.  I think I'm going to be sick of the three shirts I brought fairly quickly.

We are visiting Atlanta from our temporary home in Charlotte, NC.  We got to Charlotte February 2nd and will be there until mid-April.  Nate will be doing an internship at our brother-in-law's private equity firm.  It's a really great opportunity for him to learn about the business and since he's off-track winter semester he's not missing out on any school.  Actually, he's also doing an online class so bonus points for him!

Our move to NC was pretty last minute.  Meaning we changed our flight back to Idaho like two days before we were supposed to leave.  That meant all we had with us were our carry-on bags we brought for Christmas vacation.  Niiiiiiice.  Actually, it gave us both an excuse to take a shopping trip to get some new clothes and shoes. 

Most people probably don't know that I am quite unlike most girls and I hate HATE buying shoes.  For some reason it is just hard for me to spend money on them.  Because of this, I wear my shoes until there is nothing left of them.  They stink, there are holes in them and they all turn the color of mud and rock salt.  It was probably a good thing I was forced to buy a few new pairs.

We found this fabulous Star Wars shirt and legging set....I was tempted to buy it.  But no.

Anyways, NC has been great so far.  Minus the monster snow storm we got that I thought we were going away from.

Before NC we were in Ohio for a month and a half.  While there we bounced between my house, his parent's house and his brother's house.  I am so thankful for our families and their hospitality for us!

New Years at his house.

Eating lunch with Noah at his elementary school.

I made Noah a perfect omlette.  The most perfect one I've ever made.  So it deserved a picture.

 Gosh I take a lot of pictures of Noah...here he is covering up all the pictures of Nate with magnets.  Not the whole picture...just Nate's face.  It was pretty funny.

Christmas was spent in NC at a cabin with most of Nate's siblings and their families.  Only one sister wasn't there but we were with her family for Thanksgiving so we really got to see everyone!  The cabin was great.  Lots of watching movies, playing games, and eating food. 

Before Christmas was school and that's already been written about.  I finally finished my internship and officially graduated from BYUI.  My diploma still hasn't come in the mail though.....

Bragging Rights

I don't think I'm too much of a bragger, but I'm taking a post to do it and I don't even care.  And I don't care if you think I'm arrogant.  You don't have to read it.

Today was my last day at the Health Center which means the last day of my internship which means the last requirement for me to finally get my degree is complete.  Yay!!  I finished classes in July and "graduated" but I couldn't get a diploma until I did an internship.  So now I'm officially done.

And let me tell you.  I have 121 earned credits from BYUI and only one solid A- to my name.  ONE.  And not a penny more.  The rest?  All A's.  Some were high A's (A 100% in Anatomy and Physiology is probably one of my proudest moments), and some were just barely A's.  That equals a 3.992 gpa.  Top 5% of my graduating class.  One stupid A- kept me from being top 1%...but I guess I shouldn't be greedy.

And let me tell you.  I busted my butt for them.  I spent so many 12 hour days on campus it's not even funny.  And while I was busting my butt in school, I was also busting my butt at work.  I spent three of my four years also working part-time in the Admissions Office.  And let me tell you, I loved it.  I wouldn't have traded my job for ANYTHING.  It's the best thing that happened to me here.

But I'll be honest.  I know I didn't bust my butt as hard as some people up here who don't get as good of grades.  I've been blessed beyond belief and I recognize that.  I know it wasn't all me these last four years.  I know my Heavenly Father has helped me in so many ways that I can't recognize.  He has supported me in all I've done and blessed me with parents that supported me no matter what.  They encouraged me to work hard and I did not want to disappoint them.  He also gave me stinkin' smart younger siblings to remind me when I think I'm smart that I'm not as smart as them (my sister just got a 35 on her ACT...my brothers got 34s or 32s or something high like that...).

I've been blessed to receive scholarships throughout my four years here that have paid for my tuition.  I am grateful for the university to provide these scholarships to relieve some of the financial burden college can create.

This school provides so many opportunities for students that half the students don't even know about!  And the world should know how great this school is but it's kind of a hidden gem right now.  But it's growing and one day everyone will know BYU-Idaho and the type of students that go here.  And I'll be able to brag that I was one of the graduates of this great university.  I was there when it underwent so many changes and times of growth.  And I succeeded.

One more thing to brag about.  I have an awesome husband.  He is so patient with me when I'm not even patient with myself.  I didn't even realize how crazy I was until I got married.  I'm not sure if I've always been this crazy or if marriage just brings it out of me...but he puts up with it and loves me just the same.  He's also a chef and cooks me fantastic meals.  He decorates our apartment.  He cleans.  He rubs my back.  He kisses me when I need it.  He gives me hugs.  He drops me off and picks me up from work every day.  He takes out the trash.  He...basically everything.  So yeah.  Life is good :)

Backtracking...The Single Life Ends

I've had this blog ready to post on for the last few weeks and just haven't done anything about it...and recently people have asked if I'm going to update my blog so I figured it was time!  I'll have to do quite a bit of backtracking though since we've been married over a month and I haven't said anything about it.  For starters, it's great!  Okay now that you know everything is going well, I'll go back....wayyyyy back.

First thing's first...I graduated!!!  It was a beautiful Tuesday evening when I walked across the stage, received my diploma case and started calling myself a college graduate.  It feels great!

My whole family was able to come to Idaho!

And my grades only went up from here after finals.  Booya.

After graduation, we headed to Island Park for a family vacation.

With three of my brothers.

On a ski lift...we were definitely not going skiing.

We stayed in a cabin in the woods and also went hiking and white water rafting!

At home we did a lot of wedding preparations, and a lot more wedding preparations.  We did take off August 1st so that I could go to the temple with my family and Nathaniel's family.  It was so special to have all of them there and to also have my grandparents from NC there who drove in just for the day.  It was Eli's first time as well as he was preparing to leave on his mission to Bolivia just a few days after the wedding.

Well, that's what the rest of single life looks like!  Wedding pictures will come as soon as I get them :)