i take my baby on walks through campus. it's cool.

we're fans.

rise and shout!  

the cougars are out.

i did it. i done graduated.

at times nursing school was very difficult.  but i persevered.  and now, i can't believe that i won't be continuing on in january!  i've been school for what feels like a long time, and now, i don't know what i will do with all my free time.... grow a baby perhaps?

basketball game.

about a week ago we went to the byu vs gonzaga game.  byu won, naturally.  we went with these friends , of course.  

i am so excited for this fall when john will be attending school at byu with me.  byu is an amazing school.  i am grateful for all the opportunities that are mine here, particularly the amazing byu nursing faculty that work so hard to help us learn and grow and become good nurses.  even though i am pushed past what i thought i was capable of almost every single day, i am so grateful for the things i am learning.  i know that nursing school, with all of it's ups and downs, will be worth it in the end!  

john has really inspired me lately.  he is so good at seeing the bright side of things. even during the busy accounting season when he gets six hours of sleep each night {even on weekends} and works twelve hour days {if you count commuting [even on weekends]}, he is still happy and pleasant to be around.  me on the other hand....

john, thanks for inspiring me to be better.  i know i have had a difficult time seeing the bright side of things lately.  i am so grateful for your patience with me during the past month of nursing school.  you are my favorite.  

the recipe for a perfect byu date.

the recipe for a perfect byu date:

1 cup of game-day spirit

a dash of annoyance at the quarterback

one cute, wonderful hubby

a pound of freezing cold weather

4 blankets

3 coats

a scarf

a pinch of funny photos taken by the iphone

and 2 cups of hot chocolate on the way home

mix it all together for a perfect night :)

game day.

we love going to the byu games with our friends, jordan and christina.  they are amongst our closest friends.  and let's face it, they're pretty cool.  we enjoy sitting next to them while watching byu cream the other team... even if it's freezing cold outside.  at one point during the game, i made john use his arms as  a blanket over my legs in an attempt to keep them warm.  ahhhh. much better.  

love this.

i love going to john's intramural games.  i was lucky to get out of pottery class early on thursday and watch him play a game of flag football.  i loved sitting on the sidelines in the freezing weather, wrapped in my mother's wedding present, talking to the other wives on the sidelines, and watching john play.  it may seem insignificant, but i love moments like this.  they make life fun and worthwhile.  so does john. seriously love that man.

hurray for november!

don't you just love fall colors?  on my freezing walk home, i saw this miraculous picture of the changing leaves against the background of the grey-white mountain mist.  isn't it  beautiful? some other fun photos from this last week:

1.  {delicious} cookies and cream chocolate milk. seriously, it's like drinking ice cream.

2.  y mountain on a saturday morning

3.  john's famous breakfast fried rice. {so scrumptious.}

4.  byu devotional from our beloved prophet

5.  more fall colors

6.  the man, the legend. brigham young.

7.  minion cupcakes from despicable me.  {i can take no credit - my aunt eden made them}

8.  umbrella city.  it was quite rainy today....

happy november!

saturday adventures.

saturdays for john and i are often adventuresome.  this last saturday, we raced to get the car's oil changed and make it to john's intramural flag football game in time. afterwards, we walked all the way down to the stadium for the byu football game, realized we had printed off two of the same ticket and i {the nucklehead that i am} had forgotten my student I.D.  so we walked all the way back up to our house, and then all the way back down to the stadium.  after a fun {and kind of sad for idaho state} game, we walked back home. {that's an hour total of walking, folks.}

we got dinner at costco for $5.37 {i love that costco pizza.... and cheap costco dates....} and then went up to salt lake to see my brother sam perform in university singers. {he was amazing, as always.}  my favorite song from the night was "there will be rest".  there's an equally beautiful version of it here.  completely beautiful.

we love byu.

i love going to byu.  there's a funny kind of quirky-ness about the college culture here.  and although i sometimes mock, i really do love it when i see someone on campus holding a sign with, "will d8 4 food" written on it.  there is something special about feeling a sense of duty and belonging to your school, and there is something unique about going to the football games and hearing zero offensive or crude language.  i love the football games, even when it is only 35 degrees outside.  {don't worry, i absolutely made john buy me some hot chocolate.}  and i love hanging out with pordie and christina, because they laugh at my jokes, even when they're lame.

a glimpse into our weekend.

sometimes, there's a ferris wheel on campus.

and i just walk on by, thinking, only at byu.

i feel there are so many unique things about byu.  i love how strangers just strike up a conversation with each other on campus, just to be friendly.  i love that when i call up for technical support, the nice man on the other end chats with me about life while my computer is booting, and stays on the line to help me for over an hour.  i love that people are generally kind and open and willing to make friends.  i love that there are funny clubs on thursdays and nerdy costumes on halloween.  i love that you if you drop your books, someone will be there to help pick them up for you.  i love that i met my johnny here, and that in some undetermined time in the future when we leave this campus behind, i will have a few keepsake pictures of the sunsets i see walking home each night.  because, oh how i love a provo sunset.

no-show.

john left work asap so that we could get to the basketball game.

{seeing as this is a very important time in any byu student's life.... oh yeah, and for the team....}

so we snarffed down dinner.

{delicious, thank you very much}

and then john and i scuttled to the marriot center for the byu vs. new mexico game.

i was okay with sitting in the nosebleeds section,

and since we were arriving a mere thirty minutes early,

and it was going to be a huge game, after all.

but wait- not a single seat left.

not another all-student-sports-pass-ticket holder to be let into the game.

not one.  

you have got to be kidding.

so we walked home.

{dejectedly.}

and watched the game at home.  which has it's benefits!

games are quite nice in the comfort of your own home, on your own couch....

with free water available and lots of comfy warm blankets....

and a stocked pantry.....

{basically us lazy, cheap people's dream}

plus john got to study.

see that "gmat" book in the corner?

only two-ish weeks and counting.  

he's a man's man.

i am sad about not being able to show off our matching, vintage, byu t-shirts at the game though. 

i had then screen-printed especially for john, you know.

and that pretty much sums it up.

why i love byu.

 "nice guy

will D8

4 food"
and i've seen him there about 5 times.

"the life of a married female byu student"

not usually, but sometimes....

i DO see it....

"you choose..... your destiny"

you can't really tell,

but they're wielding swords....

very dangerous,

body-mutilating swords.

since when is this a school-approved club?

"BYU - Where your

best hasn't been

good enough since

1875.

Good luck on finals" 

ONLY at BYU.

rise all loyal cougars

today, john and i went to the byu football game.  it was fun.... for the first half.  then we were killing the other team and i fell asleep.  which was even more fun.

the rest of the day involved homework, laundry, cookie-making, and we went out to dinner with george, ryan, and janessa.  the icing on the cake?  watching lord of the rings {the extended version} into the wee hours of the night.  

i love my life.