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.

The Big News...

It's all gone...

BEFORE


AFTER



I got my hair cut off! Most people probably don't think this is a big deal, but I've had my hair long for most of my life--like 99%. So to get 8" cut off is a big deal. Not to mention this is the shortest I remember it being since kindergarten.


To those of you who thought I was pregnant, I don't know what to tell you other than "sorry". One day that may be the title of my post, but not right now.

Stay Tuned For a BIG Update...

A New Year!

It's crazy to think that another year has gone by! There were days when I thought time was going by so slowly, yet here I sit at the start of 2010! Anyways, Christmas was a blast this year! Chris and I were able to go down to Moab and we thought we would get a break from all of the snow. Yeah right! Moab got hit with snow and cold weather the entire 2 weeks we were there. But we still had tons of fun!

Chris and I arrived in Moab the Sunday evening before Christmas. Due to rooming arrangements, I slept in Annabelle's twin bed and Chris slept on a matress on the floor of Annabelle's room. At first I wondered if it bothered Chris that he was on the floor. But then it dawned on me that he was probably relieved that I couldn't take up 2/3 of his sleeping room (I tend to sleep really close to Chris at night!). But don't worry, Chris is thrilled to be sharing a bed again. Natalie, David and Rylie arrived Wednesday afternoon and we celebrated Rylie's 1st birthday. Of course, she didn't really know who all of us were, so she cried most of the time. On Christmas Eve, we had our traditional family poker game. I think dad came out the winner??? Just kidding, dad, I know you won! And Chris was runner-up so he got to put his name in the book! Way to go Chris! (No actual gambling occurred).

Christmas morning was full of surprises and lots of excitment. After opening presents, the family was able to talk with Gordon! Chris spoke to him in Spanish and assured us that Gordon is really picking up the language. It was good to hear his voice, especially since Chris and I don't know if we'll be able to talk to him next Christmas. The festivities continued with the whole family going to see Sherlock Holmes on Christmas day and the start of a crash course on Mario Brothers Wii. The next few days were filled with endless Bowzer battles, football games, and fun. Natalie, David and Rylie said goodbye on Sunday and I did well not to cry.

The next couple of nights were occupied with intense football games and on Monday we celebrated Chris's 25th birthday! On Tuesday my mom, dad, Annabelle and I went to Grand Junction, CO for some "after Christmas" shopping. On Wednesday, my mom helped me sew some burp cloths for my visiting teaching companion who had her baby at the end of December. They are so cute! On New Year's Eve, we all spent our time at the Stake center in Moab watching the youth eat, dance, and karaoke. The Stake had a count down to the new year and hundreds of balloons fell from the ceiling of the gym--it was pretty cool. New Year's day was filled with nothing but football and 7-layer dip! It was a blast to observe Chris and my dad while watching these games! Chris worked at the Potash plant while we were in Moab, but I know he really enjoyed being able to come home and watch football--especially the games where a Big Ten team won (Go Buckeyes!)! All in all, we had lots of fun and appreciate the hospitality of our families. We love you!

Here are some pictures from our Christmas vacation. Enjoy!

Rachel licking the snow--crazy girl!

Rylie opening a present

My favorite picture! This is pretty much how the whole party went!

There's a smile!

Natalie and Rylie on Christmas Eve

Rylie on Christmas morning eating one of her presents...so cute!

Natalie, David and Rylie on Christmas morning

Rylie and Grandpa Garrett--Grandpa working his charm!

Grandma feeding Rylie. We had to give her a bath after this!

Sunday afternoon nap--arranged by Bob Ross!

Annabelle's cute toenails

Rachel on New Year's Eve

Chris and I on New Year's Eve

Annabelle on New Year's Eve

Mom and Dad Garrett on New Year's Eve

Annabelle and Susan at the New Year's Eve party--crazy girls!

Mom and Dad Garrett dancing before the balloons fell

Chris and I dancing before the balloons fell--our first dance since our wedding...!

Here are some videos from Christmas! Enjoy!

Rylie laughing!

Birthday preview!

Rylie's sneeze--so funny!

Christmas Day with the Wii!

Chris's birthday!

Rachel singing "I Will Survive!" on karaoke with some young women!

In addition to all of this excitment, Chris and I have begun a new semester and with any luck, we will be done in December! I can't wait! Both Chris and I have pretty hard classes this semester, but we're used to that fact, and hopefully we can once again pull through. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Pictures

Here are a few pictures from our Thanksgiving trip to Ohio. We only used our camera for the first few days, so there aren't as many as we'd like. But when you're having fun, who remembers the camera? While we were there, Chris's niece, Hayleigh, was baptized. We were so glad that we could be there! We were able to attend the Columbus temple, which was a first for me, and it was a wonderful experience. There was horse riding, shooting, naps, and more food than I needed. "The Girls" went to see New Moon--which was a lot of fun for me--and surprisingly enough, there were little video games played, which didn't bother me in the slightest. We also got some face time with the local missionaries, which made me think of Gordon. His most recent letter said that he was able to enjoy Thanksgiving and I'm so grateful for the loving families that made that possible! Chris and I really enjoyed our time in Ohio with family. We wish we all lived closer so we could get together more often.

Hayleigh with her 1st set of scriptures


Hayleigh, Keith, Mat, Eve, and Chris's Mom at the baptism


Chris's Dad, Maria, and Olivia


Ella, Lydia, and Maddie--so, so cute


Olivia and Lydia--try not to get those names confused--and Landon, who didn't want to look at the camera


A video of Olivia playing the piano with Maria


All in all we had tons of fun and can't wait to all be together again!

Thanksgiving and Finals!

What an awkward combination...Thanksgiving was great, but finals are a killer (2 more weeks!!!)! Chris and I had the wonderful opportunity to fly to Ohio to spend Thanksgiving with his family. Most of the family was there and it was so much fun! We played BANG! quite a few times and had late nights talking and laughing! There was also a lot of watching out for the little "chillin's" that were there! But more info and a few pictures will be coming, if I can get my camera to cooperate!

Some Projects

Here are some pictures of the projects Chris has done for his Advanced CNC class. This is an advanced programming class for different types of computerized machinery. Chris had to create the designs and write the codes for the cutting process. For the brass heart, he used a wire EDM; for the name plate, he used a CNC mill; and for the Horse head, Chris used a CNC plasma cutter. I don't know what all of that means, exactly, but I really like what he has been able to do! He is so creative and comes home with all of these ideas for his next project!

Chris originally planned to make the brass heart as a key chain ornament to give me for my birthday, but it turned out bigger than I thought it would! The name plate says "HANSEN" and has a Bugatti symbol on the left and a football helmet on the right (I really liked this one when he brought it home!). And the Horse head cut-out is actually a gift for Chris's mom. He created the branding symbol (her initials) in the bottom right corner. I am so proud of Chris and the hard work he puts forth in all of his classes and I can't wait to see what he brings home next!

Birthday!

Saturday was my 24th birthday and it was a good one! Chris serenaded me with "Happy Birthday" and surprised me with a digital picture frame. He remembered me saying something about it over the summer and kept the idea in the back of his mind for months--I am so impressed! He also treated me to dinner and the ever famous G's Dairy Delights, an ice cream shop that Chris and I enjoy. My family showered me with phone calls and text messages, birthday cards and cake and ice cream. I am so blessed to have so many people who love me and I am reminded all the time. So thank you to all those who helped make my birthday a GREAT one--even though it is somewhat depressing that I am already 24!

Birthdays are Bosh

Saturday is my 24th birthday and I'm not all that excited. The thrill of getting older is no longer appealing to me. And I wonder if it comes to everyone as they get older and are forced to become more responsible. When you are younger, the joy of parties and presents is overwhelming and then you reach the teenage years and the world begins to open up to you. But after 21 or 22 the world starts to close back in on you. You have to have all the answers and you are expected to have your life planned out until at least retirement. Bills are piling up but money isn't coming in--only failing grades. The pressures to do everything and be everything are amassing, and all of this as you're being told that you must make something of yourself or you will be of no value to anyone. I really never asked to get older. Why couldn't I stay little?

Drive-in Movie!

On Saturday night Chris and I had the unique opportunity to go to a drive-in movie theater. We were pretty excited considering neither of us had ever been to one before. We pulled in, they told us which radio station to turn to, and we found a pretty good spot to park our car. There were some serious drive-in-movie-goers who brought couches and mattresses to put in the back of their car or truck, and some people set up camping chairs and sat outside their vehicle. It was too cold for me to do that! There was a concession area and Chris got a milkshake and I got something to drink and a candy bar. We saw "G.I. Joe" and it was really nice to recline our seats back a little and have control of the volume! One of the only draw backs was that a few people arrived late and their headlights shone right into our mirrors. Other than that we had a good time. I still like the theater best, but at least now Chris and I can say that we've experienced the excitement of a drive-in movie!

I know, I know...

I haven't posted very much the last several months and hopefully with internet access that will change. But I'm going to get you up-to-date on what has happened since I last posted. Well, as some of you know, Annabelle came to stay with Chris and I in Wendover, Nevada for a week. She celebrated her 8th birthday with us and we had a lot of fun with her. We took her to the park, to see ICE AGE 3, to the city pool (where there are 2 really fun slides--right chica???), we made a cake for her birthday, and took her all over the vast city of Wendover. She had some crafts that my mom sent with her, which we did a lot of, but her favorite thing was to take the cushions off of the couch and build huts with them. Annabelle also swears she gained weight while she was with us, but I don't know about that! Anyways, Chris and I had fun with her and we hope she had fun too!
Chris and Annabelle at our pool

Annabelle couldn't wait to get up and celebrate her birthday!

Some of the stuff mom sent

Enjoying the fruits of our labors!

Annabelle decorated her own cake...

Chris and Annabelle eating cake!

Annabelle's makeover and photo shoot

At the end of August, Chris and I were able to go with his family to the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple open house. It is beautiful inside and is built a lot like the Rexburg temple--with numerous flights of stairs and such--but has its own unique characteristics. Hayleigh, our niece, counted all of the pictures of Christ in the temple and I think she got to 32??? It was a wonderful opportunity to visit this temple. And for those of you who don't know, this temple is the 13th temple in Utah (which makes Utah home to 10% of all the temples in the world. Amazing, I know!)
Oquirrh Mountain Temple

Also since our last post, Chris and I have moved back to Rexburg, Idaho. There are a few things we miss from Wendover, such as seeing my dad on his work trips, the sun and warmth, Wendover Will, our branch (especially the Young Women!) and of course our pool. However, I am glad to be back, but I know Chris misses working. What an upbeat provider he will be! We are happy to get the ball rolling with school, though. We have spent the last few days unpacking and getting ready for school, which begins on Thursday. Both of us are a little nervous for this semester, but we know with the Lord's help we will make through yet again.

No, We're Not Dead!

I'm sure many of you have wondered why our blogging has stopped. Well, we are in Wendover, Nevada and have no internet. I have to go to the local library or to Chris's work to access the internet, but I'm not allowed to plug anything into the computers. So we are in Moab, Utah for the weekend and I am taking advantage of the internet available here!
Anyways, we had a lot of fun going down the river, having a barbecue, watching the fireworks and shooting off some of our own. Here are some pictures from this weekend.




Here are some pictures from our trip to Disneyland. It was Chris's first time in Disneyland so we stayed as long as we could both days. We were sore, but it was totally worth it!




This is a picture of Chris and his favorite car at the car show in Moab at the end of April. There were a couple hundred cars at this car show and Chris took about that many pictures! Boys and their toys!!


I hope this post has given you a look into what's been going on this summer. Annabelle is going to Wendover with us this week and we (hopefully) will post some pictures of her time there. Until next time...