IT'S A GIRL!!

We found out it's a girl and we couldn't be any more excited so we decided to share it with the blog world. Everything is going well so far! Here is a profile view!

That's all the excitement for now!

E

1. Excellent news
2. Eternal Life
3. Environment
4. Electronics
5. Entertainment 

News Update

It's been awhile since I have posted on here. It seems like not a lot has been going on but at the same time we have been busy. Jared has been working full-time since July but now it is time to go back to school in January so he will be going to part time. I took a few classes this semester even though I was off track. This will make so I will have my Associates in Family Studies in April!

We just got back from visiting family in Lewiston for Thanksgiving. It was a nice visit. We were also to stop by Boise on our way back to visit my mom for a day which was nice. Also we have some news....We are expecting a baby in May! We couldn't be more excited. We have told our family so we figured it was time to tell the blog world.

When we were in Boise we had some pictures taken, so here is a preview of our Christmas card pictures!

 D

1. Darkness

2. Dogs

3. Dessert

4. Daisies

5. Dancing

 

Busy, Busy, Busy

I have been so busy lately. We are coming to the end of another semester which means CRUNCH TIME! 

Two weekends ago I made a trip to Boise (YAY!!) but Jared had to stay home and work all weekend (BOO!!). But it was nice to go over and visit family for the weekend. 

Jade and I have been LOVING the weather and spending a lot of time outside. She is absolutely loving it.

Jared actually got last Saturday off and so we made a day of it and went to the Rexburg Nature Park! It was great.

 We saw a few turtles as well. Can't see it all that well in this picture but he is swimming away.





 




After we got home we wanted something sweet to eat! So I made one of the many yummy things I have pinned on pinterest, Cinnamon Roll Waffles. They were superb.

C

1. Candles

2. Christ

3. Cake

4. Cookies

5. Camping

Game Night

We have been having people over for game night every weekend which has been so much fun. It has given us a chance to get to know people in our ward. I love it! I am pretty sure Jade(the doggie)  is enjoying the attention as well.

(Courtesy of Kelly & Tiahna)

 I have been searching for some easy recipes for the weekdays when we are both busy with school to make dinner a lot QUICKER! Here are some dishes I have come to LOVE!

Chicken enchiladas with green chili sour cream sauce
*These are seriously so so good*
10 soft taco shells (I used corn tortillas)
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan
2. Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese.  Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.
3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute.  Add broth and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly. 
4. Stir in sour cream and chilies. 
5. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.
6. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

This is the pizza dough recipe that I have found is so easy and can make a variety of things with it.

Basic Pizza Dough
yield: 2-12 inch pizzas, approximately 1 lb. of dough

Ingredients:
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey {or sugar}
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
3 cups bread flour {give or take 1/2 cup…depending on the heat & humidity}

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, preferably that of a stand mixer, stir yeast and honey into warm water. Sit for 5-10 minutes or until bubbles form and mixture starts to foam. This tells you that the yeast is alive and kicking. Pour in salt, oil and half the flour and mix.
Once that flour is incorporated, start adding flour in bit by bit until you get the pizza dough to the consistency you want: slightly tacky, but when you touch it it doesn’t stick to your hands.

Once you reach this stage, turn the mixer on high to knead for 6 minutes. Turn a timer on and walk away! Resist the temptation to stop earlier than 6 minutes! That seems to be the magical number. It should look something like this when it’s done!
The dough should be smooth and easy to work with. And the bowl should be clean!

Lightly grease the bowl & the dough so it doesn’t dry out, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise 1-2 hours. That’s it!
Now you can turn this dough into anything your little heart desires.

B

1. Blankets

2. Beauty

3. Brain

4. Body

5. Babies

New Semester

We are back into full swing with a new semester. We are both enjoying our classes so far this semester. Jared is now volunteering at the local Junior High School to work with the English language learners program (ELL). 

On a side note the whether is improving every day which is so exciting! 

I have been experimenting with some pizza recipes and finally found a pizza dough recipe that works and it is so EASY! If you want it let me know!

We have done some figuring and just found out we only have 4 semesters left before student teaching. We are pretty excited about that not that we don't like Rexburg, we will just be happy for the next journey.

I am going to start writing five things I am grateful for every time I post starting with A and ending with Z.

1. Aluminum Foil

2. Animals

3. Apples

4. Ah-Ha moments

5.  Art

 

 

 

Wow, so I am really bad at posting on here but I am going to try and post more often. So Jared got a job back in February. He is working part time while in school and then full time in the summer. It was a big relief. 

 Some pictures:

Ward Valentine's Dance

First dinner in our new apartment!

My mom came for a visit on our one week break between semesters which was GREAT! 

We have three new nephews from Jared's side in a matter of two months! We have only seen pictures, but they are adorable and we can't wait to meet them.

The semester just ended last week and Jared and I ended up REALLY happy with our grades. But a new semester starts in just TWO DAYS. I am not quite sure how I feel about that. I am hoping that it will fly by. Jared on the other hand, can't wait for school to start. I am pretty sure he could have school every day!!

Jared got his motorcycle here in Rexburg now and has LOVED riding it to work. I have enjoyed a couple rides too :)

We have almost been married for half of a year. That seems so crazy! The time has just flown by and it has been great. I am so fortunate to be married to my best friend that knows me and loves me for ME! This day seems like it was just last weekend..

Update

Wow, it has been awhile since I have posted on here. We are all settled into our new place and are about halfway through the semester. We are both job searching in the area. Jared has had a couple interviews and we are waiting to hear back next week. So we are keeping our fingers crossed. Jared is enjoying his Spanish and Educational Psychology class. We just got through with midterms and are looking forward to the weekend. Thank goodness for those.
But, so far married life is fantastic and are enjoying life together.


And we have decided we really like visitors. It was a drastic change for us going from being around people all of the time to just the two of us. It is really nice but we like having friends over for game night or for dinner.