The Miracle Window

It is funny how Heavenly Father answers your prayers sometimes. Sometimes He answers your prayers directly.  Like you get a feeling right away while you are on your knees that answers your question. Sometimes He answers your prayers through other people. Like the other day was a miserable day for me, and then someone in my ward randomly dropped off cupcakes at my door because she felt prompted to do so. (It made my day 1,000 times better.) Other times He answers your prayers randomly... in ways you might have never thought. 

When Bryce and I first moved into our apartment, we ran into a problem. Our couch would not fit through the front door. The couch was too long, the ceiling was too low, and, even after taking the door off, we didn't have enough room to push it through and turn it. 

We thought for a few minutes about what to do.

The way I saw it, we had three options:

(1) saw our couch in half. 

(2) send the couch home with dad and buy a new one. 

(3) use our couch as patio furniture. 

None of those options sounded appealing. 

Suddenly my dad had the greatest idea. Since we were living on the first floor, we could just shove the couch through the window! I was nervous it wasn't going to fit. But about two minutes later our couch was sitting nicely in our living room after a simple slide through the window. I never thought I would be so grateful to live on the first floor of our apartment complex... until tonight.....

Bryce is out of town. I was bored. I decided to go get a soda from the gas station. I was back in a jiffy, went to my front door, went to unlock it, and.... only my car key was on the lanyard. My apartment key was gone. What the HECK??? Anyway. I didn't know what to do. Immediately I started to retrace my steps. I used the lego flashlight on my lanyard to search. I couldn't find it. I was getting more and more nervous. Bryce was gone. I was locked out. It was getting pretty late. 

Once again, I found myself with three options:

(1) sleep under the stairwell like a hobo. 

(2) sleep in my car like a hobo.

(3) sleep at a neighbor's house...like a hobo. 

Once again, none of those options sounded appealing. 

So I decided to pray. I prayed that I would find my key. I prayed hard. And shed a couple tears (because I am silly like that.) As soon as I was finished praying, I GOT MY ANSWER! No. Heavenly Father didn't tell me where my key was. He didn't help me find it either. He just told me to call my dad. So that is what I did. 

You will probably guess where this is going. My dad suggested that I just crawl through the window! 

Brilliant. 

So that is exactly what I did. I felt like a criminal, but now I get to sleep in my own bed tonight. :) I am SO grateful for my dad. Thanks to him, I won't be sleeping like a hobo tonight. I am also so grateful for our first floor apartment and our miracle window. It has saved our couch and me... and it has only been three weeks! Most of all, I am grateful for Heavenly Father. He is the most creative prayer answerer ever!

That's about right.

I saw this on facebook. It's so true! I had to share.

Does this make us famous?

I am at 2:38. On the blue turf at Boise State. Yellow shirt. Right side. Bryce is just to the right of me wearing a blue shirt. My mom is just to the left of me in the white. I am so happy I was able to be a part of this awesome video! This is what Bryce and I were doing just a couple hours before he proposed to me. :) What a great day!

Packsaddle Lake

Sometimes I complain about Rexburg. "It's too cold," I say. "There is NOTHING to do," I say. But really, I am exaggerating. Yah, it is cold in the winter, and yah, sometimes it seems like a boring place, but if you just drive out of Rexburg for about 30 minutes in any direction, there are some beautiful, fun places! Like Badger Creek, for instance. Well, Bryce and I decided to go hiking, and I decided to take him to a place I went while working at Badger. It is called Packsaddle Lake. It isn't a super long hike, but it is absolutely gorgeous and the little lake is so fun! It has the COOLEST rope swing you have ever been on. I was excited to take Bryce on this little adventure! 

New Apartment!

SOOOO for this spring and fall semesters, Bryce and I were planning on moving to Idaho Falls to live with Teresa and Marie (Bryce's aunts). We were moving there to save some money on rent, and also so that I could be closer to the school I would be student teaching at. WELL the day that we were finishing up moving things to Idaho Falls, Bryce got a phone call from a housing complex here in Rexburg saying that they had an opening for us. It is a subsidized housing complex... meaning that the government will pay what we can't. SO Bryce and I decided to take advantage of the opportunity! Now... look at the pictures, and guess how much we pay each month for rent.

 Just guess. 

Then guess lower. 

Then lower again. 

The answer will be at the bottom of this post. 

WE ARE THRILLED! I love our new place! 

$1.00 a month!!!!

Another Trip to Sun Valley

We had a blast in Sun Valley a couple weekends ago! We went golfing and we saw the avengers. We also made some more hunger game t-shirts and we enjoyed some time in the hot tub! And, as always, we had delicious food all weekend! Here are a some pictures:

Hahaha :)

Just saw this and thought it was hilarious!

I Love to Teach

It's true. I love a lot of things. I love to play soccer, I love to play the piano, I love to rock climb, I love to snowboard, and I love to teach. Teaching is a new one for me. I can't say that I ever thought I would want to be a teacher. In fact, that was at the bottom of my list. I wanted to be an athletic trainer. I wanted to continue in the field of sports medicine. That was my dream. All of that changed when I worked at Badger Creek. I realized that I loved being in the circumstances where I could have a positive influence on the youth. What better place to do that than in the classroom? So right after Badger Creek, I signed up for a course load of elementary education classes, and it has been AWESOME ever since! I feel like this is where I belong. I feel like this is where I can truly be successful and have the opportunity to help Heavenly Father bless the lives of children. I love to teach. This semester I have been doing my Senior Practicum. It is my last semester before I student teach. I just want to show off some of the cute 3rd graders I have been teaching!

A Little Trip To The Zoo

Last time Bryce and I went home, we got the chance to go to the zoo right as we were headed out of town! We went with Kim and Kylee, Kim's sister-in-law Natalie, and Kyli's cousin Olivia. It was so fun! 

Posing with the lion...

Kylee and mommy on the merry-go-round!

Then Stuart and Rebekah joined up with us. THEY ARE SO FUN! 

All of us enjoying the safari jeep. Rebekah, Stu, Stu's brother, Bryce, and Me!

Easter Eggs

Bryce and I got to celebrate Easter with some friends this year. April is one of my friends from class, and we decided to get together and decorate some eggs. 

This is April and her husband, Brett, and their baby, Simon.

Tie-dye glitter eggs!  

Invention Connection

I had to make a social studies center that I might use in my classroom. I was particularly proud of what my final product was. A sub category of social studies is technology, so I decided to do my center on inventions. It is hard to tell by this picture (and this isn't actually the FINAL product, but it is close enough) but there are 3 different activities. 

Activity #1

Newspaper Ninja Instructions:

1.   For this activity, choose an invention to read about. Your invention choices include earmuffs, lifesavers, Band-Aids, windshield wipers, disposable diapers, and Frisbees. Read through the brief history of the invention of this product. Once you have finished your article, imagine what it would have been like living in that time. Imagine how you would have felt when you learned about this invention.

2.  Write a half page newspaper article about this “new” invention. Be sure to include the date, the invention, who invented it, and any other interesting facts you would like people to know. Make people excited about this “new” invention.

3.  Practice reading your news article out loud multiple times until it becomes fluent for you to read.

4.  Be prepared to share this with the class. 

Activity #2

Tremendous Timeline Instructions:

1.   In the box is a list of inventions throughout the times. You’re on a mystery investigation to find out who invented each item and when! So get out your brains and your magnifying glasses, and let’s solve the mystery!

2.  Using any source (internet, encyclopedia, etc.) find out who invented each of the items.

3.  Once you have solved each mystery, draw a picture of the item. On the picture include the name of the inventor and the year that they made the invention. Then clip your picture onto the timeline. 

Activity #3

Cool Creations Instructions:

1.   Anyone can be an inventor, just like Tomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin, including you. All you need is the right stuff! Think about an invention you want to make. What could you make to make your life easier? What could you invent to make someone else’s life better?

2.  With the supplies available, invent your own product that you would like to sell. You can invent anything you would like!

3.  Once you have made your invention, draw a picture of it and write a persuasive paragraph about your invention, and why you think everyone should buy it. Be sure to include the name of your invention, the purposes of the invention, and the price.

4.  You may now add your invention to the timeline in activity #2! Draw a picture of your invention. Be sure to include your name and the date, and clip it onto the timeline.

HUNGER GAMES!

I LOVE the Hunger Games Series. I love them because they really make you think. They are incredibly captivating and thought provoking. I find myself emotionally attached to the main characters. These books are amazing if you haven't read them already. I am sad that I have already read the whole series (because now it is over) but one good thing about a great series is that they tend to come with great movies! I was SO excited for the movie to come out. So was Bryce (I made him listen to/read the books :). Bryce, Rachel and I (Ben was at robotics) decided to make T-shirts for the movie so that we could view it in style. This was our product! We made stencils out of foam and then sprayed bleach on top of them. They look sweet, don't they? 

I wish we would have took a picture of the back of our shirts. They have a quote from the book:

"May the odds be ever in your favor"

SO COOL!

So It's Been a While....

So WAAAYYYY back in March Bryce and I took a trip down to Salt Lake to go to Ben's robotics competition. The competition was way cool and BJ's team did really well! In my opinion they should have won. Here are some pics of us at the competition with the robot! 

 

Then on Sunday, my family and I took a trip to temple square. It was so cool to share that experience with my family!  

Mom and Dad standing in front of the temple they were sealed in. 

This was the week before Rachel was baptized. I am so happy we got to share this with her!