Finals: Check!

Joe and I just finished up finals for Spring term!  Woot woot!  We kept busy the whole time and are definitely glad to be done.  With Joe working two jobs (working more hours than a full time job) and going to school full-time plus me doing student teaching stuff, going to school with more than full-time credits, and working in between, we did not sleep much at our house.  In fact, I don't think the two of us have ever been more tired than we were during that time...

Tired, but happy.

Joe's first term was definitely an adventure and adjustment.  When describing the difference between LDS-BC and BYU he said the biggest change was how demanding the courses at BYU were.  The big classes and less personal relationships with the professors was also a change, but he survived and ended up being successful in his classes.

Finals week, as usual, was a time of intense studying and cramming.  Although we tried to learn the material throughout the semester and tried to not procrastinate our studies, as it got closer we got more and more stressed (I didn't have too many finals, but I think the fact that both of us had finals at the same time made it seem more intense).  It was interesting for us to learn how each of us handled that stress though.  Joe was so good to take any free minute to study, to be realistic with his time, to do his best, and to be okay with however it turned out.  When it all came down to it, we learned a lot and the studying paid off.  I was so proud of him!

So now... Spring term and finals: done!

Coming up:
Lots of summer work and saving up money for Joe & Summer term classes (my last classes at BYU!) for me.

Spring Semester

We just don't stop at our house.  About two weeks ago, Joe and I started Spring Term at BYU.  Both of us have full course loads (or more) and Joe picked up a second job.  He joined me and Cameron at the Mechanical Shop, but we all work different hours so rarely ever see each other (if ever).
But even with how tired we are, we have still done some really neat things.

• Cameron moved in with us for two weeks.
• Last week we helped Cameron and Alyssa move into their new apartment.
• This past weekend we went home for Mothers Day.
• We celebrated our anniversary on May 4th by going up to Park City.
• And we played soccer on our ward's intramural team!  We lost our first game, but then won the second game 3-1!

And coming up we have a vacation to Arizona for Cameron's wedding!  That will be a great break and a fun get-away for us.  We couldn't be more excited for Cameron and Alyssa!  We love them both.

Life is crazy, but life is good!  

Playing Catch-Up

As mentioned a few days ago, Joe and I have had some big events happen in the past few months!  First, I'll start with Joe!

Back in February, Joe got accepted to Brigham Young University!!!!!!  After a lot of anticipation and waiting for their decision, Joe and I were not disappointed!  This was a huge accomplishment for him and I couldn't be more proud!  I'm a wife of a Cougar and I am so excited that he gets to join me at the Y!

Here are a few pictures of the celebration the night that Joe got accepted:

I made him his favorite Apple Pie Bars

Look at that happy Cougar!

So excited!!!!

Also, just a few weeks ago, on April 12, Joe graduated from LDS-Business College!  Woohoo!  I got myself a smart college man! :)

The commencement took place in the Salt Lake City Tabernacle at 2pm.  We were so grateful to both his parents and mine were able to come down to support Joe and join us in the celebration.  Thanks Mom & Dad Johnsons!!!

And of course, being the obnoxious wife that I am, I made Joe stand for pictures before he could leave (I had to do it growing up and our kids will have to do it too, so he might as well get used to it.  He married a picture kind of gal!).  We had had a quick picnic on temple square before he had to join his class and he was anxious to go.  We were both glad that he had decided to walk and enjoyed being at the commencement.  Elder L. Whitney Clayton spoke at the commencement and talked about cherishing those important moments in life.  This was definitely one of those moments.

Ready to go!

Joe with one of his good friends, Jordan.  The two
carpooled together when Joe lived in North Ogden.

All gussied up and ready to graduate!

As for me, my big news came at the end of March.  I was applying for an internship to be an elementary school teacher next year.  This internship would allow me to be hired on as a full-time employee for the school district, be assigned my very own class for the following 2013-2014 school year, and would replace the student-teaching requirement for graduation at BYU.  The internship is a great opportunity because interns receive assistance from school district personnel as well as facilitators and professors who are directly tied to BYU.

BYU has formed a Partnership with five public-school districts in the Utah Valley Area: Nebo, Provo, Alpine, Wasatch, and Jordan.  Since Joe and I had already experienced the pain of commuting, I was hoping to stay close here in Provo.  Therefore, I chose to interview with Provo School District and on March 27, the long-awaited and nerve-wracking interview day came!  I met with a panel of principals and facilitators from each of the schools in the Partnership and then waited with anticipation for their call.  (It was possibly one of the longest afternoons of my life.)

Around 5pm, I got a call and was offered a job in Provo School District!!!!!!!!!!!  With unconstrained excitement, I stammered out a "Yes!"  I felt like crying and jumping up and down for joy all at the same time!  I am really going to be a teacher!!!!!

Interview Day!

Later, I went to my school to meet with my principal.  There I found out that I will be teaching 5th grade!!! This was a huge shock because I thought I was going to be in 2nd grade, but I can't wait to be in the upper grades.  The more I learn about the curriculum and the people that I will be working with, the more I think this is going to be the perfect fit for my first year.

So that's where we are right now.  Let the adventures begin!

Summer?

A few weekends ago, Joe and I decided to go to Provo Beach Resort for our date night.  I had some money leftover on a card from when I had been there before.  Together we did the ropes course and played in the arcade area.  Joe made the ropes course a lot of fun as he would try to "catch" me by meeting me at the posts between obstacles.  We laughed a lot and liked getting out to do something active.

Us after completing our time on the ropes course

Although we thought it would satisfy our craving for summer, I think it just made us more anxious.  Joe and I love summertime!  We love getting out in the warm weather.  One of the things we especially love to do is ride our bikes.  A few days ago we rode up by the Provo River and followed it for a while down to South Provo.  The path was beautiful, but I hated the bugs-- when you are riding your bike and bugs keep hitting your face as you ride by, it is not a good feeling-- so after a while we just rode along the side of the road instead.

Then yesterday, it was absolutely gorgeous and sunny here in good ol' Provo, so Joe and I took advantage of it!  We rode around for a few miles and stopped at 3 different parks in the area.  We eventually found the "jackpot" at big park on Center Street that has pathways winding through a big grassy area.  We had fun winding about and riding on these pathways and playing with our bikes.  Simple, quality, family time!

Finals Are Over!

I'm done with finals and it feels great!  Now Joe can have his sane, not overly stressed, happy wife back.  Such a relief for both of us. (:

To celebrate the few days of break that we have before we start up classes again next week (We are both taking classes over Spring/Summer), we went to the Provo Temple and then out to one of my favorite places for dessert... Yogurtland.  Yumm!

It was fun to spend the night together, relax, and laugh a lot!

Yes. We are still alive.

After nearly a year-long break from blogging, I am back and determined to be better this time.

For now, here is a quick update...

Within the past few months we have had some major events happen for us and I am excited to share them!  I will share more details in future posts, but here is a quick overview of where we are at right now:

1. We moved!  In November we switched from Apartment #3 to Apartment #2 (the other basement apartment in the house).  Even though we didn't move far, it has made a world of difference.  We love our new place and are so happy with this change!  We still live in Provo, we're still going to school, and we will be sticking around until we finish. Woohoo for poor married student life! :)

2. In February, Joe got accepted to attend Brigham Young University!  He will begin April 30th and is excited to continue his education as a Cougar.  Along with this, Joe graduated this semester from LDS-Business College with his Associates Degree and a Certificate in Professional Sales.  We are so proud of him!

3. I got hired for an internship next year! I will be teaching Fifth Grade at a local elementary school and cannot wait to have my own classroom!  It is such an amazing opportunity.

We are happy and in love as ever, working every day to make our marriage strong.  Families are forever!

6 Month Anniversary!

Joe and I have been married for 6 months!  Woohoo!  Happy every day that we are together!

We decided to celebrate over the weekend by doing something we never do: Going out to eat without a coupon!  This was huge for us.  We also decided to go somewhere fancy that we wouldn't normally go to.  Therefore, spoiled as can be, we went to lunch at Tucanos!  Yumm!!!

We took our time and tried to be cautious to not fill ourselves up too much, but really?  How can you resist? Everything we ate was absolutely delicious!  Joe really liked the pineapple and would ask for tons of it every time it came around.  The experience was definitely a treat for us!

After Tucanos, we walked around the Riverwoods and found a few fun treasures in the toy store called Blickenstaff's.  We had a great time playing around and taking pictures.

Another great stop on the adventure of marriage!