The Fourth and Furniture!

So I almost missed fireworks this year. Yeah, I know, that would've been awful. But things are done a little differently back here and I'd better learn the ropes or I'll probably miss out on a lot. Columbus does a really big fireworks show called "Red, White, and Boom" (clever, right?), but they had it on Friday, July 1st. Not clever. That seemed to be a pattern everywhere I turned; no city appeared to be having a fireworks show on the actual 4th of July. What is up with that?! Well, we planned on going to Chris's parents on Saturday to go boating and spend time with his family so an early fireworks show was in the books. However, things didn't work out to allow us to go and we missed the fireworks show in that area. I frantically searched city web pages for surrounding areas doing shows on the 4th and lo-and-behold Dublin (a city which Chris isn't very fond of) was going to fulfill my hopes. I was stoked!

We arrived about 90 minutes prior to the start of the fireworks and laid out our spot on the grass. We had to park really far away and literally hiked to get close enough to not be blocked by trees. As the fireworks started, Chris and I looked at each other in surprise because we were in a perfect spot--right below the fireworks. I could feel the pounding in my chest as each firework went off and I was in Independence Day heaven! I kept feeling bugs land on me and wondered why they were attacking me and hoped they didn't ruin the show I had worked so diligently to attend. And then Chris, being the wise man he is, stated that ash was raining down on us because we were so close to the fireworks! I didn't like it, but I was appreciative that it wasn't a bug infestation. A little girl behind us kept shrieking out that things were landing on her and I wanted to reassure her that it wasn't bugs, just ash, but I couldn't stop laughing everytime she burst out in cries of shock. They played music in time with the fireworks and the finale was awesome! You know when the finale comes and you're not quite sure if it is the finale? That was so not the case. Chris and I left the show in awe and amazement and will definitely be going to Dublin again next year for the 4th of July fireworks show.



In other news, Chris and I FINALLY have somewhere to sit! We bought couches for our apartment last weekend and they were delivered today. They look so nice and new I hesitated to sit on them! We are so glad and so grateful for the things that we have, but it is nice every once in a while to get something new!

Far and Away

So I know it's been FOREVER since I last posted, but so many things have happened in the last 6 months that posting just wasn't an option! After graduation I went down to Moab to stay with my family while Chris went out to Ohio for job interviews. After 6 weeks apart--yes, 6 weeks--Chris and I finally reunited after he secured a job working for Honda. We headed back up to Rexburg to get our stuff out of storage and move it out to Ohio but when we got there our storage unit was frozen shut. What a "welcome back" from the coldest place on earth! Chris worked his magic with a blow torch and we eventually got our stuff loaded up (thanks Rob and Kaylyn). We then headed out to Ohio travelling around 14 hours a day and I absolutely loathed it! We arrived in Ohio on Valentine's Day.

In March I was able to fly out west and be there when Gordon got home from his mission. I flew into Arizona and rode up and back with Krystle and Natalie. He looked so handsome and it was such a spiritual experience for me! I could tell right away that Gordon had matured in the gospel and had grown so much from his mission experience. I have to say, though, some things never change! All of the brotherly qualities Gordon had when he left were still present when he got home! I had so much fun and that trip was probably one of the best I've had with my family yet! It's a big change to live so far away from my family, and it's been hard for me, but the older I get the more I realize that I need to cherish those times because they will come fewer and farther between.

Once we got to Ohio we stayed with Chris's parents for a few months and we are so grateful to them for their hospitality and pateince in putting up with us! We are now living in Marysville so Chris can be close to work. After many episodes of experiencing life in Ohio (humid weather, LOTS of bugs, 4-wheeler accidents, etc.) we are finally adjusting. We like our ward and have met lots of friendly people and can foresee our life here.

All About Annabelle

On Saturday, Annabelle was able to participate in little cheer and we are all so proud of her for how well she did! Little cheer is something that the high school cheer squad puts on every year during basketball season. Girls sign up to learn cheers and a dance and then get to perform at halftime of a boys basketball game. Annabelle had been looking forward to this for a few weeks and the day before her performance she got sick. She had a sore throat, a cough, and a fever. She rested all night Friday night and all day Saturday until it was time to get ready to go. Even though she definitely wasn't feeling well, she was so adorable and is the cutest little cheerleader/dancer ever! So for your entertainment, here is the video of Annabelle's little cheer performance (she's the cute, tall one in the back)!


P.S. This post is about Annabelle, but I can't help mentioning that on Saturday Rachel had her best basketball game of the season with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 3 steals! You're awesome Rach!

All About Annabelle

On Saturday, Annabelle was able to participate in little cheer and we are all so proud of her for how well she did! Little cheer is something that the high school cheer squad puts on every year during basketball season. Girls sign up to learn cheers and a dance and then get to perform at halftime of a boys basketball game. Annabelle had been looking forward to this for a few weeks and the day before her performance she got sick. She had a sore throat, a cough, and a fever. She rested all night Friday night and all day Saturday until it was time to get ready to go. Even though she definitely wasn't feeling well, she was so adorable and is the cutest little cheerleader/dancer ever! So for your entertainment, here is the video of Annabelle's little cheer performance (she's the cute, tall one in the back)!


P.S. This post is about Annabelle, but I can't help mentioning that on Saturday Rachel had her best basketball game of the season with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 3 steals! You're awesome Rach!

All About Annabelle

Annabelle was able to participate in little cheer this year and we are all so proud of her

Graduation and the New Year

So...Chris and I are BYU-Idaho graduates! It's been a long, trying, stressful road, but it was oh-so worth it! Did I mention it's been long? Chris used to always joke that if I would've been graduated when we got married I could have been making money these last 3-and-a-half years! He knows I don't think it's funny. But we are official graduates now and are in the process of moving on. After graduation, we spent Christmas with Chris's sister Jenny and her family. It was fun to be around little kids again during this time and watch their excitement as they opened gifts.

After Christmas, Chris and I went our separate ways--me to Moab with my family and him to Ohio and Indiana for job interviews. He had his first in-person interview with Honda on Thursday and he thinks it went well. Hopefully we have good news in the next couple of weeks. I am so proud of him and his determination to find a job. He is the best husband and we are so excited to begin this new chapter in our lives!

P.S. These pictures came from my parents camera so there aren't any of Chris's side of the family. I will try to post those when I get them!

Mom Garrett, Nicole, Chris, Dad Garrett









We sure enjoyed getting to know the Robby Garrett family better while living in Rexburg

Nicole, Rachel, Annabelle

My dad has a picture just like this from his graduation, with him and his parents



Garrett Family

Chris receiving his diploma

Nicole receiving her diploma

Chris, Granna Duke, Nicole

So I know it's been quite some time since I last posted, but let me tell you why. Chris and I are graduating in 15 days! We've been so busy this semester that I'm surprised we're still sane (well, at least partly sane in my case). We are so excited to begin a new era in our lives. Chris is anxious to begin working and I am anxious to be done studying!

For Thanksgiving we went down to my family's in Moab. We were able to relax, watch lots of football and eat any 'ol time we wanted--it was great! Chris also went duck hunting for the first time with my dad. We also spent a few days with Jenny and David and their family. We sure do enjoy having family close by and we appreciate their letting us stay with them. Anywho, here are some pictures/videos for your entertainment.



















P.S. I think I'm more excited for graduation than I am for Christmas. Is that a bad thing?

School and Yellowstone

So a new semester has begun and life is back to being crazy busy and uber stressful. Chris and I certainly enjoyed our 6 or so weeks off traveling to visit family and looking for a job. We were privileged to see Jenny, David and their kids along with DeDee, Eden and Keith in Provo; my parents and sisters in Moab; Natalie, David, Rylie and Krystle in Arizona; Marty, Gail, Maria, Kimmy, Matt, Eve and their girls in Ohio; and Mike, Heather and their kids in Indiana. We drove to all of these wonderful places in our car and for those of you who know me know I get car sick and don't like to travel this way if I can help it. But I survived and am now firmly planted in Rexburg until graduation in December.

Oh...did I mention we're graduating in December? Chris and I are thrilled to be weeks away from being able to say we endured to the end! It hasn't really hit us yet because school is school and it feels the same as any other semester, but none-the-less it is all coming to a close.

Sidewalk drawing in Moab (Annabelle)
Sidewalk drawing in Moab (Nicole)

This past weekend Chris and I took Maria and Keith (who are now at BYU-Idaho with us) to Yellowstone National Park. We didn't see a whole lot other than elk and buffalo (nope...no bears), but we made the most of it and had fun. On the way back to Rexburg I was able to stop at the cabin in Macks Inn for probably the last time for a long time and it was good to see it again and relive some of my favorite memories from vacations there.
Maria and Keith
Chris and I

All in all life is the same as usual: Chris and I are madly in love and ready to begin another winter here in Rexburg as we continue our education at the "Y" of "I".

Spanking

Not long ago a sister in my ward posted on her blog her opinion on spanking children and stated some research on the subject. But it got me wondering what my family and friends think about spanking their children. So if you wouldn't mind giving me your opinion I would greatly appreciate it!

Ohio

Chris and I went to Ohio in June for Mat and Eve's sealing. They were sealed to each other and then to their 3 beautiful daughters. The trip was a lot of fun--short, but sweet--and we wished we could've stayed longer! Here are a few pictures at the temple and one of Chris doing a "wheelie" on a four-wheeler. He had a blast scaring the kids with it!





P.S. We went target shooting and I got the high score for the round (a 43 out of 50)!

Father's Day

I just want to give a shout-out to all of the wonderful men in my life...Chris, my dad, my father-in-law Marty, my grandpa Nicoll, and my grandpa Duke. I am so thankful to have the love and support of these GREAT men! I look to them for advice and I count each of them as a blessing every day! I love you all!

Dinner

So this...



Is what we had for dinner. No, we didn't go out to eat, we made this at home. This is a Christopher masterpiece! He was wanting to make pita sandwiches and this is what his turned out to be--salami, pepperoni, pastrami, bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, pepper jack cheese, mayonnaise, pickles, banana peppers, olive oil, and red wine vinegar. Here are some more pictures so you can salivate along with us!

A Break

For those of you who don't know, Chris and I will graduate in December and will have gone year-round (4 semesters in a row) when that time comes. We finished up the Winter semester on April 9th and are now into our first day of the Spring semester (our 3rd semester in a row). I am somewhat saddened at the fact that I have to go to school during the summer because I've never had to do that before. Summers were always a literal break from school, but I don't get that this summer. However, this means that Chris and I will graduate in December instead of next April and I'm sure when the time comes I will be happy I "skipped" my summer vacation.

Anyways, we went to Provo to see Jenny and David and their kids for most of the break and we spent a few short days in Moab with my family. We had time to relax for a day or two and then we were off to the mall, Jumping Jacks, jeeping :), the tulip festival, Cabela's, Costco, and various other activities. We love getting to spend time with family and we are so grateful for the hospitality shown to us when we visit.

Here are a few pictures and videos from when Chris and I went jeeping. Because of this experience Chris is now convinced we need some type of four-wheeling machine so he can go trail riding whenever he wants! Needless to say, he LOVED it! We were both a little sore the next day from being jolted around, but it was so worth it in the end!

School, School, and More School!

I just wanted everyone to know that Chris and I are still alive and doing well! We only have 1 1/2 weeks left in this semester and then only 2 more after that until we graduate! Chris says time is going by so fast, but I think it's pretty stagnant most of the time.

We've been having pretty nice weather here in Rexburg (which is a change from the norm), and I am loving every second of it. Chris says the farmers are down-and-out about the lack of moisture, but I like to think of it as a blessing...

Chris and I are both busy with school, church, etc. but we still find the time to go out every once in a while. Thursday Chris and I went to the temple. We love the Rexburg temple and we love how close it is to us. We can look up the street from our apartment and see it. Anyways, after we went to the temple we were hungry and tried the Pita Pit. We'll probably eat there again, but it wasn't our favorite. After that, Chris and I both heard the call of BRC's custard, which ended an almost perfect evening on the perfect note. On Friday, Chris and I wanted to eat on campus; they built a new "food-court" called The Crossroads a while ago and we wanted to check it out. When we went, most of the food areas were closed, but we still wanted to go out. So we decided to go to Winger's. We don't usually eat out that often, but we've come to the conclusion that once we leave Rexburg, our food options will greatly increase!

We've also been going to a new stake building since the beginning of March. This stake center is the largest chapel in the whole world! It's pretty neat to be the first group of people to attend meetings there (it's SO clean and new)! It's also a testimony of the blessings of tithing.

I don't have any pictures for you all to enjoy, but I'll try to post some in the next few weeks.

Valentine's Day and President's Day Weekend

Chris and I were able to go down to Provo, Utah for the 3-day weekend and we had tons of fun! Saturday Chris went with my dad and Annabelle to Sam's Club, Uinta Golf and various other masculine places. Chris also got his picture taken next to a Lamborghini (I'm sure it was the highlight of his day!) Meanwhile, my mom, Rachel and I went to a bridal fair at Provo High. We had tons of fun looking at dresses, sampling food, and getting our hair done! Later that day Chris and I, along with Jenny and David (Jenny is Chris's sister), went to a session at the Salt Lake temple. This was a neat experience since neither Chris nor I had ever been to the Salt Lake temple. Afterwards we went to dinner at The Roof, which is atop the Joseph Smith building. We ate TONS of food (Chris made sure he got his money's worth!) and laughed and had a really good time. Thanks Jenny and David! We spent the rest of our break relaxing, playing with kids, and watching the Olympics.