Hiking the Y

Since we are moving and will no longer have a front row view of the Y, we decided to christen our new hiking backpack and trek up the steep path to the Y on the mountain. Emily loved it and every time we stopped to catch our breath looked at us like, "Why are we stopping, guys? Let's go! Easiest hike of my life." We had a great time and thought it was a very appropriate way to bid farewell to Provo life.

Alpine House

We are moving out of our cute, little house in Provo in a little over week to a place in Orem. While we are excited about the move and very excited about not being property managers anymore, we will miss our little house and the wonderful times we had here. It is the house where we had Emily. It is the house she has started to grow up in. It is the house we have come to know as home. While we will not miss all of the single students walking and yelling through our backyard at all hours of the night, nor the random people parking in our driveway or blocking our driveway, nor the 80+ year old original cloth wiring, we will miss our little place for the charm and comfort it provided us for over two years. Goodbye Alpine House!

Graduation

It finally happened- graduation. It has been seven years coming and a baby in the middle somewhere, but I am finally done, and boy does it feel good! My parents and Dave's parents were all here for the celebration and Emily loved all the attention. My dad has the best pictures on his camera (I rang the Victory Bell and rode the Cougar!), but these are some of the shots we got:
Lots of Graduates
Our friend Eric who helps watch Emily while I am working

My student teaching partner, Chrissy

My family, luckily, sat about 20 rows right behind where I ended up sitting for Commencement, so we were able to get this picture inside

My personal favorite- yes, we are teaching Emily to stick out her tongue. Very ladylike.Two of my most favorite people- couldn't have done it without you, Mom and Dad! Love you more!

Quick Update

so, I'm finally graduating!!! I am so excited to finally be done with all of the school stuff! Well, I guess I'm not really done with school stuff since now I teach, but getting paid to be there is way better than paying to be there. Dave will finish up with his semester in about a week and a half, but will be taking summer classes while I finish out the year as a long term sub at American Fork High School. Hopefully I will know if I have a permanent job for next year by the end of the week. Emily is growing bigger by the second it seems and I just can't believe that I am the mother of a toddler, not just a little baby anymore.
We found a new place to live and will be moving to Orem in 6 weeks. I am so sad to be leaving our ward and all of the wonderful friends that we have, but I have to keep reminding myself that Orem is only 7 minutes away- they can all still come visit all the time!
We are so excited to start this new stage of our lives and wanted to share it with everyone.

Go, Mighty Cougars!

The semester is rapidly closing at BYU and I couldn't be more excited. It has been almost seven years since I started at BYU and I will finally don a cap and gown next month. It is a little embarrassing to admit that it has taken me SO long to finish, but I feel that what I have a achieved at BYU has been so much more than just a degree. Here are a few of the things that have happened since starting at BYU:

Spent a summer working in NYC

Worked for EFY
Got married

Had a child

Faced the dreaded C-word: Cancer

Became close to fluent in Spanish

Supported our family (with lots of help from Dave) and have finished with next to no debt

Strengthed my testimony more than I ever thought possible

This list may not seem impressive to anyone else, but as I think back to all of the trials that I've had to overcome and lessons that I've had to learn, I realize how grateful I am that I made the choice to attend BYU. There is no other university in the world that could have helped me grow in spirituality and in education the way that BYU has allowed me to. I will miss being an official Cougar, but once a Cougar, always a Cougar!

Talking

Emily says so many words now, and I thought I would document her vocabulary. So far, she can say (not just mimics, but she associates the word with the object): mama, dada, yes, no, keys, ball, block, bath, woof (like a dog), meow, quackquack, Nancy, Robbie, Grandma, Grandpa, amen, hi, bye, more please, string cheese, french toast, milk, pizza, bite, yogurt, that, thanks, all done, yummy, pray, bath, and night night. That's all I can think of right now, but the vocab grows everyday. I think its so funny that most of her words have to do with food-she is definitely her father's daughter!

December Highlights

We did so many fun things in December and absolutely loved being on vacation over Christmas break. We were able to spend a full week in Concord with Dave's family and then spend a few days in Washington with my sister's family and my parents. It was a TON of drving and after we got back, Emily would cry any time I got on the freeway. I don't think she wants to go on a road trip any time soon! Here are some of the hightlights of December:
1. Llamas walking down our street on Sunday

2. Emily's first time playing in the snow

A little timid in the beginning...

Crying when I made her come back in.

3. Yoga poses

4. Christmas in CA

5. Trip to Leavenworth