Sherlock Holmes + Zoe's Birthday

This week was another full one! Sunday night, one of Jake's coworkers and his wife came over and we had a game night. The boys played this game that's basically Russian Roulette with jelly beans, it was HORRIFYING to watch! For each color of jelly bean, there were two options: one that was a normal flavor, and one that was something disgusting like vomit or skunk spray. You didn't know which flavor you had until you started eating it, and by then it would be too late to do anything about it. Jake got the vomit one several times, and the skunk spray...oh my GOODNESS I have never smelled anything so terrible. He had skunk breath for hours after we finished, and he couldn't even finish the jelly bean it was so awful! He took about two chomps into it and then had to spit it into a trash can and gulp down some juice to get rid of some of the taste. I'm so glad I didn't play haha!

 Jake and Zoe cuddling on Monday morning 
before Jake had to leave for work. So cute!

On Wednesday I registered for my LAST semester of college classes. It's a very surreal feeling, knowing that this will be my last semester on BYU-Idaho's campus. I'll still be living in Rexburg during fall semester while I student teach, and probably for a few semesters after that for Jake to finish up his AA and for me to hopefully get a teaching job, but after this semester nothing will be the same as it has been for the past few years. It's so weird!

The weather is really improving here in Rexburg, so much so that Zoe and I have been enjoying some nice walks together. We've walked to a park that's about a mile away several times this week, and Zoe has been LOVING it! She gets tuckered out since her little legs are so short, but that doesn't stop her from trying to run everywhere she possibly can! Wednesday afternoon Jake and I had a picnic with Zoe at the park, since he got off work a little bit early and we had several hours of sunshine left to enjoy. And Friday evening we took her on a walk to the library, which was a lot farther than she'd ever walked before, and she even started panting on our way home she was so exhausted!

After our walk to the library Friday evening!

I've been spending this week enjoying Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories that Jake got me for Christmas. It's a two-volume set of almost 2,000 pages total, so it's a pretty hefty task. But I love it SO MUCH! Before I took that Detective Fiction class fall semester, I had never really read any detective stories or mysteries. And now that I have, I'm a huge fan. I finished the first volume earlier this week, and I'm already almost half-way through the second one!

Saturday evening when Jake got home from work, we celebrated Zoe's birthday. It's sometime in March but her previous owners didn't know exactly when, so we figured March 5th was as good a day as any other this month! We got chicken nuggets and put a candle in one for Zoe, and sang to her. She was pretty stoked about the chicken nugget, as you can imagine. And we got her some presents, like a hedgehog squeaky toy and her favorite peanut butter bones. Happy 3rd Birthday, Zoe!

I PASSED THE PRAXIS!

This past week was filled with SO MUCH STUFF! I finally finished reading Frankenstein, which I've been trying to do for several months and just haven't really had the desire to read (weird for me, I know). But I did it! I also had my Younique launch party, which ended up being very successful. Thanks to my family and friends that bought products from me, I know you're going to LOVE them!!

I worked a lot on items, networking, and promoting for my Etsy shop, which was a lot of fun. I'm not having a ton of success yet, but my shop is getting noticed, so that's something at least! I just need to turn the shop views into sales.

Tuesday night my visiting teachers came over, and one of them brought her daughter who is about 4 months old. Zoe had never seen a baby that small, and I was curious to see how she would handle it. It was HILARIOUS. Zoe kept sniffing her and even licked her face a few times before I could pull her away, and then spent the rest of their visit just staring at the baby all wide-eyed and confused. It was definitely a funny night.

This is how Zoe cuddles up to me while I read...she has to be 
as close to me as possible!

Saturday night Jake and I went to a baby shower/party for our friends Aubrie and Jordan. Aubrie was one of my roommates my last semester as a single student, and she got married just a few weeks before Jake and I. They're expecting a baby girl in May, but are living in Utah now so it's been quite a while since we'd seen them. It was fun getting to catch up and laugh with them! 

That evening I happened to check my email, and saw that my score for my PRAXIS had been posted. I quickly logged on and waited for the page to load, which seemed to take for EVER. But when it did, I saw that I PASSED!!!!!!! I was (and still am) so excited that I can hardly believe it. It doesn't really feel real! I was so stressed out about that stupid test that it felt like there was no way I could possibly do well, but I did! I'm so grateful for all the prayers, positive thoughts, and words of encouragement that I got while I was getting ready to take that test, and they mean even more to me now that I know they actually worked! I can officially become a teacher, once I graduate!

Jake and I used the face-swap filter on Snapchat, and 

this was the result...we're still laughing about it!

Sunshine in Rexburg

This week we finally started getting some decent weather! The snow is melting and the sun is shining, which means we can actually go outside and do stuff! Sunday morning we took Zoe on a walk before church, and she was THRILLED. There were still parts of our walk where Jake had to carry her because the mud was so deep, but she loved being outside and sniffing around at everything she's been missing!

Other than that, this week has been fairly uneventful. Jake and I have been working hard: him with school and work and me with my Etsy shop and Younique, and staying busy! Zoe LOVES having me home so much during the day; if I ever leave for more than half an hour, she loses her mind when I return and acts like it's the end of the world. Silly pup.

The PRAXIS + Valentine's Day

This week started out extremely stressful for me, since I took the PRAXIS on Wednesday. Jake gave me several priesthood blessings leading up to the exam, and I had a lot of people praying for me, which I could really feel starting Tuesday night. I know it was because of the blessing Jake gave me and all the prayers from friends and family that I was able to sleep soundly that night, and wake up feeling ready to kick that exam's butt! I won't know my score for about two weeks, but I'm just so relieved to have it over with. Even if I didn't pass and I have to retake the exam, at least I know what to expect and I'll feel more prepared.

The day after my exam, I officially signed up to do something that I've been planning on since last December: I'm a Younique presenter! If you think you haven't heard of Younique, you're probably wrong: they're the company that has that AMAZING mascara that everyone is always raving about. I'm super excited for this new adventure and can't wait to share the products with everyone!

For Valentine's Day, Jake and I celebrated Saturday evening and a little on actual Valentine's Day. Saturday Jake came home early from work and surprised me with flowers, fresh strawberries, and sparkling cider. I wasn't expecting anything since earlier in the week I had bought myself a new purse and told Jake that it would be my present, so I was definitely shocked when he walked in the house with all those goodies for me! I'm pretty spoiled. That evening we went to the cheap movie theater in town and finally saw Mockingjay Part 2! It was fun to see a movie and eat popcorn, and we had a great time.

Sunday morning I surprised Jake with his Valentine's Day gift: a Flash t-shirt! When I had bought myself my new purse, I found a coupon that was the exact amount I needed to buy Jake's shirt. So I got a discount on my purse, and used the rest of the money to buy the shirt! He never saw it coming, it was probably the greatest surprise I have ever managed to spring on him haha! He was thrilled when he opened his present, since the Flash is one of his favorite superheroes, and the shirt fit him like a glove.

We got ready for church, and then went to a regional stake conference for all the married students in Rexburg. It was hosted by Elder Ronald A. Rasband, one of the newest of the apostles. It was so awesome to hear from a church leader and to feel the spirit! We came home from conference and finished putting together our yummy Valentine's Day dinner: crockpot tortellini soup and rolls. For dessert I made Jake's favorite, Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie, and we had some vanilla ice cream with it. Jake was way happier than he should have been about a silly pie haha, but I was glad to make him smile!

Happy Valentine's Day!

February's Beginning

This week was filled with lots of different things for Jake and I: Jake had classes, work, and homework, and I had studying for the PRAXIS, Etsy shop promoting/networking, cleaning, and all that fun stuff. 

On Wednesday I finally got my new phone!! I've been suffering with my iPhone 4s for almost two years, and it just wasn't cutting it anymore with all the software updates from Apple. My little 8G phone couldn't hold any more info! My parents bought me an iPhone 6s Plus, and I couldn't be happier. It's HUGE compared to my tiny hands, but I love how much storage I now have (64G) and how nice the camera is--it's even nicer than my "real" camera! 

On Thursday I went on campus to have a professional photo taken of me for my student teaching interviews, which will be sometime in early March. Each step I take towards becoming a real teacher makes me both very excited and extremely nervous. I don't feel like I'm ready to be a "real" grownup yet, but I've gotta do it!

I've got a lot of different things in the works for my Etsy shop, but I don't want to give anything away on here and spoil the surprises that I'll be announcing over the next few weeks. Suffice it to say that this past week has been full of crafting, planning, and preparing! I can't wait!