We Love Fall.

Wow, it feels like a lot more happened in October than I can remember. It must be all this school work that's messin' me up. We had midterms and thankfully survived. Phew! So far, we're doing well in our classes and enjoying Rexburg as best we can. Bowling, redbox, making forts, living room picnics, late night french fry runs because I'm craving fry sauce, Thirsty Thursdays at Great Scotts, $5 pizza--Date nights are never better! :)

The weather hasn't been too bad down here. Mostly 50s-60s. Two weeks ago we had the semester's first snow. 7 inches. Unlucky for us, Tayler doesn't have a legitimate winter coat... or gloves. And our car is without a snow brush and snow tires. Um, christmas ideas? Haha. Naw, although we may be dirt poor, we are loving every minute of it. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it truly is a blessing in disguise for us. We are learning so much from these experiences, and we are grateful to have the love and advice from all our family.

The ice cream shop I work at, Thor's, is slowing down with the colder weather setting in. But we're planning on selling hot chocolate and scones very soon! So that'll be fun to add, and hopefully we'll gain more and more business. Overall though, I love working there. It's one of the most fun jobs I've ever had. I actually go to work everyday happy and excited to work! Ha. Weird, right?
Oh yeah... and I'm the new manager. Nbd. :)
Okay, YES big deal! Holy cow! I was so shocked (still am), but so ecstatic. This is such an amazing blessing for us, and we couldn't be happier with this promotion.

Tayler and I are loving our dance class this semester. We are learning Cha-Cha and Samba. It's SO fun! I'm so glad he talked me into taking these classes. Nothing is more fun than dancing with your hubby!

It's been a whole year since Tayler and I met and started dating. And oh boy, what a year it has been! I wouldn't trade it away for anything. Best year of my entire life.

We're excited for this month and for all the many exciting things coming. We get to celebrate our first niece's baby blessing down in Provo, my 20th birthday in two weeks, and Thanksgiving with the Christensen side of the family.

Lot's of fun things coming up for November. And we've still got pumpkins to carve.... Maybe I'll do a cute turkey pumpkin?

Here are some of my cooking/baking attempts this past month. Gotta love Pinterest recipes:) Tayler sure hasn't complained yet... :)

Pumpkin Bars

 

Marshmallow Carmel Popcorn

Cookies N' Cream Oreo Fudge Brownies

M&M sugar cookies with cream cheese

Chocolate Chip MuffinsBeef Stroganoff

 Cilantro Lime Chicken

New semester, New Job, and 6 Months of Pure Bliss!

Where, oh where, did September go?! It's hard to believe fall is already here. Time for pumpkin carving, Halloween candy, fall colors, and colder weather (aka: snow for Rexburg).

Tayler and I started school about 3 weeks ago. For some reason the fall semester is always way more stressful than the others. We're already tuckered out from all the homework, projects, and assignments. Wow, talk about pathetic. :P

But aside from the stress and torture school brings us, we've still been incredibly blessed in numerous ways. After months of searching for a job in Rexburg, I was finally offered one! I now work at a brand new little ice cream parlor called Thor's Ice Cream (named "Thor's" because of our awesome school mascot--the Viking Thor). If any of you are familiar with Reed's Dairy, you'd agree that they make the BEST ice cream ever. Well, Thor's sells one scoop for $1! They've only been open for a month, so we're still trying to get the word out. But definitely come check it out if you're ever cruisin' through the good ol' Burg. Having never scooped ice cream like this before, my wrist has been killing me. But I absolutely love working there, plus, I'm getting super buff! (only on my right arm of course). ;)

Tayler and I had the wonderful opportunity to go see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform live at the BYU-I Center. It was such an amazing experience. It was Tayler's first time seeing them perform. I've seen them live a couple times, but several years ago. So it was a very fun date night:) And wow, what a show! It was more than worth it to go feel the spirit and hear their remarkable voices. We had a blast!

Since Tayler has gotten his new iPhone, I've been rather attached. I've been wanting to upgrade for some time now, and my phone has been biting the dust. Anyways, long story short, we worked it into our budget to afford one more. And let me tell ya, I LOVE it. I have been converted to smartphones and will never be able to go back. They are soooo awesome and totally worth every penny.

So you know that awkward moment when you and your husband get all dressed up in semi-formal clothes on a Saturday night, go to Olive Garden to celebrate your semi-anniversary, and get mistaken for all the high school students there dressed up for Homecoming...? Yeah. If we were in our 30's, that might be considered a compliment. But in that moment, last night, it was just embarrassing. #ThatWouldHappenToUs 

Minus the awkward dress mishap, we had a great "6 months" date day/night. We went to Idaho Falls and just played. A little window shopping, some ice cream, a movie, and dinner at our favorite place. We couldn't have asked for a better day off to spend together. It's been an amazing 6 months so far:)

Buh-bye Sweet Summertime

Well that was a short 7 week break! Sheesh. We're definitely not ready for school to start again. But we excited for all the new adventures awaiting:) We'll start the semester September 10th. I can't believe it's September already. It'll be a year ago this month that I saw Tayler for the first time and have been pretty much smitten ever since. ;)

Beginning of August, we spent a week with my family up at Wallowa Lake, Oregon. We had so much fun! We stayed in a 14-person cabin and played every day with the whole family. Fishing, go-karts, bumper boats, ice cream, smores, hiking, gondola ride, and tons of quality family time.

The next week was spent with Tayler's side of the family. For the first few days we went backpacking up at Pamelia Lake in Oregon. Unlucky for me, I got the Hand, Foot, and Mouth virus while there. Sooo gross... and painful. That lasted for about 2 weeks. But aside from that, we had so much fun up in Sherwood at Tayler's house. He had a blast hanging out with all the guys playing paintball, golf, and ping-pong. And I had a blast spending time with the girls. We had a day full of girl stuff, including their annual tea party. Way fun:) We painted our nails, went to Pittock Mansion, got all dressed up, had a yummy tea party, and to top it off, watched Pride and Prejudice.

Overall, great vacation with our families. And we loved every second of it. :)

This week is my last week working maintenance for the off campus housing. I'm still searching for that fall semester job. Gahhh, SO FRUSTRATING! Tayler will continue to work on campus.

Just recently, I've started getting into the whole crafty DIY stuff. There's just too many cute things on Pinterest! I did a craft night with a couple girl friends where we got giant letters and designed them with puffy paint and aluminum foil. And then this weekend I made a chalkboard out of chalkboard vinyl, a picture frame, and chalk marker.

Oh, and warm chocolate chip cookies topped with ice cream and hot fudge:) Mmm.

Summer lovin'

This past month has been one hectic month for sure. Finals week was killer, but we managed to survive the horrendous "death week" and passed all of our classes with flying colors. Now we're just enjoying our 7 week summer break in Rexburg until the Fall Semester starts. I can't believe how fast Spring semester flew by. And didn't we just get married like a couple weeks ago? Since when has it been 4 months?!

During finals we took part in a dance competition for our Social Dance class. All the classes throughout the course competed. We danced Cha-cha and waltz and ended up doing really well in both. We made it into the semi-finals for Cha-cha, but unfortunately got creamed by the other competitors. However, we received 3rd place in waltz! YAY for a great dance partner that knows what he's doing. ;) We'll be taking Latin dance this upcoming fall. Totallllllly excited:)

My mom came down for a few days to help in preparation for finals, along with helping us get our thank you cards put together. Phew! What a relief to get those done! If you haven't gotten one yet it's probably in our last pile to send off. No worries, we haven't forgotten you:)

I got a summer job working maintenance with a few off campus men's and women's apartments through my brother-in-law's brother-in-law. Ha:) Don't ya just love those awesome connections within families? I've worked 2 weeks so far and it's actually really fun. We deep clean (white glove) all the apartments since literally none of the girls know how to clean. I'm serious. It's disgusting. We also tape the apartments and paint them, put in new carpet, paint railings, paint parking lines in the parking lot. But it is mostly so fun because I get to work with Saraiah:) Yeahhh girl! Brother-in-law's brother's special girl. ;) Another funky connection. But seriously, I love this girl and I'm so blessed to be able to work with her.

Tayler's is and will still work on campus with the Course Improvement. I'm still searching for a Fall semester job. So.... crossing fingers! I've put in a few applications to different places. We'll see...
Hmm, let's see... what else? Oh! I got my tongue stuck to an ice cube for the first time ever! Seriously hurts. I wouldn't recommend it. Lesson learned to always wet the ice cube down before deciding to chew on it.... Even though it's technically bad for your teeth...

We are so stoked to finally go on vacation! One week with the Robanske/Francom/Parsons posse and the next week with the Christensens. We can't wait! More to come on our crazy upcoming adventures:)

This is how we spend our Friday nights...

This is how we spend our Friday pranking nights with Saraiah ;)

Is it summer break yet?

We are definitely ready for summer, that's for sure. It's been one crazy month. Mid-terms, registering for Fall Semester, working on late night projects... I think our brains are oozing out our ears now. These next two weeks will be torturous, as we prepare for finals. I can't believe the semester is coming to an end already. It's gone by so fast.

I was able to receive a private scholarship from the school and a pell grant. What a blessing for us! I am still on the search for a job, and hoping to get something soon with all the students leaving for break. Tayler will continue to work on campus as a Course Improvement Specialist.

The weather has been so nice here! 80s and 90s mostly. It has been very hard to resist not wearing shorts or flip flops when at school...

I've had the chance to participate a lot in the child preschool labs on campus. Oh, I LOVE it!! This is definitely the major I'm suppose to be in. Those kids bring so much joy into my day. I can't wait until I can start teaching in the labs in the upcoming semesters.

I created a Pinterest account, finally. Ha! ...I can't believe it took me so long to get one.

For some odd reason all the spiders like to come out of hiding and crawl up and down our walls once Tayler leaves for work. Seriously!? It's like they all know I'm terrified of them. Good thing I married someone who isn't afraid of killing those creepy crawlers.

Ever since I was little, I loved to dance. I remember taking a balle class, a few hip hop classes, even cheer camps... but never did I think I'd love ballroom dancing! Tayler sort of pushed me into taking a Social Dance class at the beginning of the semester with him. It's become my most favorite class! Fox Trot, Swing, Waltz, Cha cha--Way fun:)

We cannot wait for August to come. We get to go to Wallowa Lake, OR. with my family and then backpacking with Tayler's family afterwards. This will be my first backpacking experience and the first time for Tayler since he's been back from his mission. Fun times ahead! :)

Today, Tayler and I celebrate our 3rd month of being married. WAHOO! Our "quarter-of-a-year-iversary." Or as Tayler calls it, "quarter-iversary."

Striving to be a homemaker, I've been...experimenting with food. Some things turn out better than others. Like this pound cake I decided to make, I forgot we didn't have a "loaf pan" to bake it in. Oops? Plus, it was Sunday and we couldn't go to the store. So I baked it in a sheet pan. Bad idea. Almost burned the whole thing and it was hard as a rock. Fail.

Hey, it's all a learning experience, right? :) Like when Tayler wanted some scrambled eggs and I forgot to spray the pan... (facepalm). Thank goodness for scrub-brushes.

Here are a couple of my successful baking attempts:

 

"Every Love Story is Beautiful, but Ours is My Favorite."

I'm sure you wondering how this all came to be. Some say they met their future spouse at a dance, on a date, through a mutual friend, etc. Their eyes locked the moment they saw each other, and it was love a first sight...
Well, I met him in the back seat of a car... On his lap...
But of course, we didn't say a single word to each other because how completely and utterly awkward is that?! Crammed inside a tiny 4-door car, with 8 people inside, sitting on a complete stranger's lap who is one of the most attractive guys I have ever laid eyes on.  Yeah,  awkward.

It was my first semester as a freshman in college (BYU-Idaho). I had become very close friends with a past co-worker/girl from my high school, Brianne, and her roommate Jessica. We hit it off in no time. Laser pointing random people's apartments, painting our nails, watching ridiculously hilarious YouTube videos when we were bored, dancing in the pouring rain, eating frozen yogurt, walking to the cheap movie theater, laughing like hysterical maniacs that annoyed the rest of their roommates, going to the park late at night, and going to all the awesome dance parties on and off campus--one of which consisted of 8 people cramming inside of one car to go to a off campus dance party. And of course, with just my luck and tiny weight, I was the one to sit on Tayler Christensen's lap. But none of this would have happened if Brianne and Jessica hadn't been Tayler's group FHE sisters. To them I will be eternally grateful. Thanks girls! :)

Call it destiny, luck, fate, whatever you like... One thing led to the next and a little over a month later we began hanging out (officially), and then dating, and then BAM!... we fell in love. Yeah, pretty fast huh? Crazy.

He taught me how to love, and within time I fell hard for him. I didn't know what love truly was until I met Tayler. He loved and cherished me unconditionally. He was a true gentleman and respected me in every way. And within a matter of weeks he became my best friend.

Through much prayer, contemplation, and inspiration I knew without a doubt (and he knew it too) that we were meant to be together forever. Life would just seem empty without the other.

The Fall semester ended, and we were both on break until Spring. I don't know how we did it, but we survived what felt like an eternity of a long distance relationship. Luckily, we lived only 4 hours apart, so weekend trips back and forth from our hometowns were not a problem. I am so thankful that the Lord gave us that tender mercy.

On February 4, 2012 Tayler proposed to me using my own Mother's wedding ring from my parents marriage. It is absolutely priceless.

The entire day was like a dream. We woke up to watch the sunrise on a beautiful day in Sherwood, Oregon. (His family was so sweet to help me feel at home and part of the family. They are the best  in-laws I could ever ask for!) We painted and fired a penny jar that we still have to this day, ate at the cutest little restaurant, road on his family's ATV, received a gorgeous necklace, a bouquet of red roses, got all fancied up, went to an Italian restaurant, took a walk around a beautiful pond with sparkly lighted trees, sat on bench, watched the man I love kneel in front of me with a diamond ring, and I said,"YES!" It was the most magical/perfect day of my life.

Then March 30, 2012 came. And instantly that became the most magical/perfect day of my life. It was the day I married my best friend in the Columbia River Washington Temple. I felt like a true princess, in my poofy white wedding dress, marrying her Prince Charming for time and all eternity in the most beautiful place on earth. BEST DAY EVER!!

I have never been so happy in my entire life. This has been the most right, BEST decision I have ever made. Sure, marriage life may not always be easy. You're dirt poor college students that spend your weekends at home in your apartment making forts out of blankets and pillows, playing card games, drawing silly pictures of each other, laser pointing the neighbors across the parking lot, and saving all your pennies in order to buy a single ice cream cone from McDonalds for a treat. It's the best! :)

Heather