Happy Fall!

I'm almost as good at blogging as I am at writing in my journal. It's been like 6 months now?! Ha. Well I won't post a million things to bore you all but I'll fill you in on a quick list of things that have been going on in our lives!

1. We moved to Oklahoma.
2. Survived a few massive tornados.
3. Played with friends and lounged by the pool a lot!
4. Worked for a pest control company.

-Side note-Cristine worked for the company with me in the office and one day towards the end of us working there Cris and I were on one if you can imagine. I dared her to answer the phone in one of her weird voices and keep that same voice through the same phone call. I didn't think she'd really do it. But she was wearing stretchy pants to pretty much anything could happen. Next call comes in and I'm working away so Cris picks up the phone and starts talking in a very nasally voice combined with a mexican accent. I look at her in shock and then bend over laughing hysterically. She tries to keep it together while she sets up a reservice for this customer and her accent turns into more of an English one or something. I'm crying by now. She hangs up and we both die laughing. If you know Cristine you know how funny this was. I'm sooo glad her and Nicole were there to work with me. It made the Summer much more enjoyable!

5. Trent worked his tail off.
6. I came home in August 3 weeks earlier than Trent.
7. Trent sold in Wisconson for 3 weeks.
8. I stared teaching 1st grade. SOOOO much work.

Trent's forcing me to go to bed so this will have to be continued! :) 

SPRING!

Okay, so Rexburg hasn't quite gotten the memo that it needs to be warming up. But other places have which means soon....hopefully very soon. I LOVE SUNSHINE. Trent and I got to go on a couple of walks this week which makes this girl very happy! Nothing I love more than going on a walk with my best friend in the sunshine.

I thought that sense I haven't had to work a lot or go to school this semester that I would be a little better about blogging. Turns out that has nothing to do with it! I'm just a lazy blogger! Dang, can't use those excuses anymore. Trent has been working his tail off with school this semester and I have been subbing, cooking, and cleaning. And occasionally crafting!

I have always wanted a maxi skirt because they look so comfortable. But I would try them on at the store and they would drown me or they would be close to $50. It hurts me to spend that much on a skirt! So I decided to put my sewing machine to good use and try out my first clothing project. I was actually pleasantly surprised at how easy it was! I did have a few blond moments but it only took me 3 hours to make and the fabric was $15. Score! I would show you a picture but I don't have any :(

This past weekend Whitney and I threw a baby shower for my sister. It was a good time and she got loaded up with a bunch of clothes and baby stuff! Whit tried her hand at cake decorating and she did awesome! just look at her skills....

I wish I would have gotten more detailed pictures of everything because it was so cute, but I get distracted real easy and before I knew it the shower was over and this is what I had. Oh well!

Lately, and when I say lately I mean for a month, my leg has been hurting. I described it to Trent this morning as a toothache in my leg. I'm telling you that's what it feels like! He is convinced I have lost it. Maybe I have, but this dang leg is driving me up the wall. Some days I can walk fine. Other days I can hardly walk without it hurting. We thought it was shin splints at first, but those would have been gone by now and a lot of the pain is in my ankle and behind my knee so that doesn't make sense. We FINALLY made an appointment with the doc and I'm hoping he doesn't just tell me I'm crazy.

I'm DYING to go running again. A whole month without it when you have all the time in the world to do it, really stinks.

On a happier note, we will be in Oklahoma in exactly 3 weeks from today! What!? I feel like we just got back. I could not be more excited for excessive amounts of pool time... and work occasionally. Guess what is going to be even better?

We aren't going to be loners this year! 

That's right, Colton & Whitney, Jason & Cris, and our friends up in Rexburg Jordan and Nicole are all coming with us! PARTY!!! But seriously, what's better than the pool and sunshine? I'll tell ya, pool and sunshine with friends! :)

Bad news is I realllly need to find a teaching job before we leave which is kind of pushing it because we will be leaving in the middle of hiring season so we are praying something works out.

But so PUMPED to be with friends all summer. :) Hopefully by the next time I post I've already started working on my summer tan, and I can walk.

Freedom

Usually today would be the last day of freedom for me for the next few months. BUT I don't have to go to school anymore! It's such a weird feeling. I kept thinking all weekend that I had to get everything done before Monday came and then I would remember I am free! Monday doesn't mean crazy busy. I don't have to try and survive till Friday at 5! I'm loving it already. I am going to be substituting in two school districts until April just to keep myself from going crazy.

Trent however has already started Chemistry homework and he hasn't even had his first day. Poor guy. He dominated his classes last semester and ended up being able to keep his scholarship!

After my last day of student teaching it was so hard to leave the kids I had been with for 4 months, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. They grow on ya. I wrote each of them a card letting them know how grateful I was that they were there to help me become a better teacher. They started crying when they read them and there was a flood of tears until they left that day. I somehow held it together because I knew that I would be coming back a week later to be their substitute and surprise them.

They were pumped and so was I. I really got the feel of what it would be like to have my own classroom and run everything from start to finish all on my own. It was a lot of fun. Trent and I were able to throw their Christmas party for them before we went home as well.

Christmas break was sooo good! We got to relax a lot and spend a lot of time with the family. AND eat a lot of good food. TOO much food. Hanni made these killer vegan red velvet cupcakes that were to die for and my sister made spinach and artichoke dip that was good too! This year we were blessed to have Trent's parents join my family for Christmas Eve dinner. LaRue is always telling halarious stories and Benton has the best sense of humor. They livened up our Christmas Eve for sure! It was nice to have both families together for once instead of feeling like you need to be somehwere else all of the time.

Christmas came and I successfully surprised my husband with some OKC BBall shorts and a keyboard for his ipad. I already knew what I was getting and I was soo excited for it. Ever since I took a photography class in highschool I have been wanting a nice camera. Trent decided it was time for me to get one and after Christmas morning we basically spent most of our time playing with the camera. It's a Cannon Rebel t3i.  It's a lot of fun to experiment with it and see how the photos turn out. Trent and I watched the hour and a half instructional video on it and felt like we were trying to learn a new language and that we would have to watch it 10 more times just to understand it all! Here are a few photos that we took during the break. (I don't have photoshop yet so don't judge...I'm not at that level yet!)

We had to support our Thunder while they played...unfortunately they lost to the Heat..

LaRue sporting the new top we got her for Christmas.

Calli and Coulter's little girls!

A mink hat LaRue insisted that I wear while I was outside taking pictures. :)

Having fun with silhouette pics.

There's always got to be that one piece of hair...

This photo and the next one were fun because they were taken at 10p.m. without flash. We just left the shutter open for a long time and it turned out like this!

Our faces are kind of blurry because we had to try and stand perfectly still for 30 seconds...Not easy!

Our Niece Jocelyn-- Who is ADORABLE!

When we came back to Rexburg this week I stepped on the scale and realized I needed to get myself in shape! It should be easier than ever now that I don't have any homework or prep work for the next day. So for the next 4 months I am going to either be working or in the gym! Trent has been my trainfer for the past week helping me with weight training. Yes I feel like an idiot in the mans section of the gym but I decided I didn't care! Whitney is going to be up here in a couple of weeks and we are going to work hard to get in the best shape we have ever been! I have also started back up on myfitnesspal app that helps me with portion control mostly and keeping my calories down. Knowing that I have to run 4 miles to work off a Jamba Juice makes it a lot less appealing!

Hopefully i'll be able to blog a little bit more now so that I don't have to create ridiculously long posts and try to cover 3 months of activities.

P.S. I'm sure most of you know but I am going to be an Aunt! Kenz is due June 30th :) Can't wait to find out if it is a boy or a girl! Hapy New Year to you all!

birthday boy

It's been a while since I posted anything. And to be honest the only reason I am now is because I've already procrastinated my homework with pinterest, facebook, and instagram. The only thing left was my blog.

I'm really not in the mood to even do this right now but anything is better than writing a lesson plan on the desert. Nothing really epic has happened to us lately. So I will give you a rundown on what our past few weeks have been like.

Cris and Jason came to visit us and we got to have dinner with a bunch of friends. It was SO nice to be around all of them! We had fun with Cris and Jason and listened to conference.

Trent works 3 days a week from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. M,W, F

Ouch.

I usually wake up on those days to him kneeling on the floor next to me holding my hand and saying our morning prayers. Then he kisses me goodbye and I'm out! I wake up an hour later looking for him and realize what I thought was a dream had really happened.

Then he has classes everyday until about 5. He also plays football and basketball so we have two games a week at least.

I student teach every day. It's fun. Exhausting. Adventurous.

We went to Montana to visit Brody and Hanni and we got to go to a football game there. It was good to visit them and see Montana. It was a lot prettier than I was expecting.

We finally had a weekend to ourselves after that and we spent it grocery shopping and doing homework.

This past weekend we spent our Friday night at my school carnival. We brought our Kinect and had it set up for the kids to play Wipeout. HILARIOUS.  Trent and I were rolling on the floor laughing a few times. We were pretty tired after that night and as we drove home I could tell Trent was bummed about something. I asked him what was wrong and he said nothing.

He is so funny.

He thought I had forgotten about his birthday.

I had my mom buy his gift with her card so he couldn't trace it by looking at our account. I kept telling him what he wanted was too expensive and he didn't need it. He took it surprisingly well for a while until it was the night before his birthday and we were sitting at a carnival and I asked him what I should get him.We even went into target and sportsman's looking for ideas. The whole time I was praying he didn't get anything because we couldn't afford both but i didn't want to ruin the surprise! He didn't thankfully.

So we got home from the carnival around 10 and I decided I needed to cheer this boy up. I did my best to sneak out of the house while he was doing homework and went to the mailbox praying that his present had arrived. It did! I trudged my way back through the snow and knocked on his door. He said "What"

I said, "Can I come in?"

He said, "Yes.."

I walked in with his gift behind my back and said, "I was wondering if you would hate me a little less if you knew I got you this!"

BAM.

Whipped that bad boy out and he was smiling so big.

Then I got in trouble for making him think I was a bad wife who hadn't gotten him anything. haha! It was an otterbox case for his ipad he's been dying to have for months.


He has been a happy camper ever since. We spent his birthday lounging around most of the day and eating cupcakes and taking naps....and homework of course.

only 6 more weeks of student teaching....

I think I can....I think I can...

It's not every day...

....you almost burn your house down. Oh wait, for me it is. For those of you who know me well you know I have a history of house fires. Well, the other night I was craving some popcorn and Trent and I were about to watch a movie so I threw some in the microwave hit the "popcorn" button and ran upstairs to change into my pajamas. BAD IDEA.

Mini bag of popcorn + "popcorn" button =  death.

           

I came downstairs and saw smoke coming from the kitchen. I opened up the door and a plume of smoke hit me right in the face. Then I yelled something like "oh, no" or something else... and Trent came running down the stairs to see our whole kitchen and living room covered in smoke.

did our smoke alarms go off? No.

Do they go off after I open the bathroom door after I have showered or if i am boiling water on the stove? Yes.

Needless to say our house smelled like burnt popcorn for the next few days....and i didn't feel like popcorn so much anymore.

Trent started school this week and it's going to be a difficult semester for him. He has a ton of hard classes but he is a trooper and studies way more than I ever had the patience for! So far student teaching has been great. I feel like it's easier than being a college student! The students in my class are all really good and my teacher is really good to work with. I taught a lesson on the layers of the earth and found this idea on pinterest and just happened to have a plethora of play-doh in my teaching box. The kids were amazed by it and asked me if they could touch it. haha. They crack me up!

I also taught a lesson on pangea and one girl in my class is convinced it didn't happen. She was so mad! I had my first observation from the University this past Friday and it went well. :) I always get sooo nervous for those!

Trent and I have been wanting to go hike the R mountain and we finally did last week. I was surprised how steep it was! I was huffing and puffing the whole way up! It was really pretty at the top though.

This weekend we decided to go play tennis on Friday night because we are slightly addicted. So we went and played a few games, went to go get in our car and it was booted! NOOOOOOOOO!

That was an expensive game of tennis.

Then we went home Saturday morning for Jaren's reception. We got to spend time at Trent's house and played some football with Dillon. He is a miniature Trenton. They were hilarious together. Here are some action shots....

After that we went golfing with my dad. We have him addicted now :) I got par on a hole finally! Then we went to the reception and saw Jaren and his happy wife! they were cute together.

That night we went to my house and ate pizza and watched the byu/utah game with my ma and pa. It was nuts. and really frustrating. I sat there imagining how angry Kalli was. HAHA!

Now we are back in Rexburg ready for another week to come and go!

Spoiled

Sorry to keep you waiting in suspense for so long about the burlap curtains...i know..you haven't been able to think of anything else this whole time. But they turned out! Thankfully! I just used stitch witchery to put them together because I was afraid of sewing burlap. And I took Joelle's advice and didn't measure and guessed my way through it. :) Here's the finished product!

It's been a while but since we left Oklahoma we have basically been on a month long vacation...We have been soooo spoiled! Mostly because we got to spend all day everyday with each other. What more could you ask for?

As soon as we got home Sadie got married. It was so fun to see everyone and Sadie was a gorgeous bride. After her wedding Trent and I didn't know what to do with ourselves because for once we had no plans. It felt so good.

So we went jet skiing, golfing, rode bikes, made some decor for my mom, and kept my dad busy because my mom went on vacation with her sisters.  We also got to spend a lot of time with our nieces and nephews. We missed them so much this summer! Terrel asked me if i was burnt...I said no.. and he said..."oh so you're half mexican like me then?" hah!

Coy and Katie

Skylee has so much energy it's unbelievable but she is dang cute!

his shirt says..."This guy is a ladies man" totally true.

Hanging out by the horses...

We thought Trent might go back to Oklahoma and sell for a couple of weeks so we moved into our apartment pretty early so I wouldn't have to do it on my own. He didn't go back. He couldn't leave this for two weeks! :)

In front of Olympic Park in Park city....we will never have a picture without the sun in our eyes...

We got all moved in and then went down to Park City for a quick getaway before I had to start student teaching. My car was in the repair shop so we got a rental car...(this was all they had)

 An updated version of a geo metro...the Mazda 2. It's pretty sad when your car only takes up half a parking spot. We lost it so many times because it's impossible to see until you are standing next to it....it made for some good laughs.

We went shopping at the outlet mall there and found some great buys! Then we met up with Cris and Jason for a fun day at 7 peaks and then got to go to dinner with Karee and Josh too! It was a really good weekend.

The goofs

Missed this girl big time while we were away!

Too long since we have all hung out together!

More goofs...

Then real life began :( BOO

I was so nervous to start student teaching. I HATE being judged. Student teaching might as well be titled..."the final judgement"

 I went to the orientation and they said "Think of this as a 16 week interview"

That was supposed to make me feel better?

I can't think of anything worse!

My goal for the next 3 months is to keep the stress levels down. I'm a perfectionist and I want to put 100% into every lesson. Can't happen! So i'm focusing on doing what I can and letting the rest work itself out. And not caring what others think about me because i know that i'm doing my best. WAY easier said than done but i'll try!

My teacher is really nice. She does a lot of things in her classroom that I want to do which is nice.  I had a week of inservice with the teachers and then this last week the kids came to school. I already love them! It's so fun to get to know each of them and have experiences that make me laugh so hard inside I can hardly stand it.

My favorite quotes from this week....

You're married? You don't look that old.
You are short Mrs. McKenzie!
Mrs. McKenzie how old are you? (me) Guess...  Them (16!)       
Halfway through the day...Mrs. McKenzie can I go home?

My favorite...During a fire drill

Mrs. McKenzie are we going to have a fire drill every Monday?
(me) No... and it's Thursday...
Oh yea...

My teacher also plays the chipmunks CD. It has "All my single ladies" on it and I almost died laughing when I saw a boy in my class dancing and singing to it when he thought no one was watching.

Tuesday I have to teach a lesson on self confidence...how to you teach that?

Believe in yourself kids...the end.

Trent...has been a little bored. Chance has been keeping him busy or vice versa at the gym, golf course, and I don't even want to know what else they have done. I heard yoga and I just asked Trent to stop there..

and if you were wondering...he is napping right now of course.

Yes..it's 7:30 at night and he is napping....

I got Friday off and will get tomorrow off from teaching. Such a good long weekend for Trent and I. We have been able to get a lot done including making more curtains, getting a new computer chair so we can both sit at the desk, go golfing, and we tried to go to the fair last night but as we were driving to it in blackfoot a horendous storm was headed our way so we diceded to just eat at buffalo wild wings in idaho falls....which i'm not sure was a better choice. We also bought the game Farkle randomly and have been loving it!

I found the BEST roast recipe in the world on pinterest and I want to share it with you!

http://keeperworthyrecipes.blogspot.com/2009/10/3-packet-pot-roast.html

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All you have to do is mix the packets together, throw the roast in the crockpot and put in a 1/2 to 1 cup of water. BAM best roast I have ever tasted...Try it! The drippings make and awesome gravy to go on top of potatoes too!

Like always, time to wake Trent up and make him take me on a walk :) I made that sound like i'm his dog. oh well...

burlap

Since Sadie's wedding all I can think about is burlap projects. To make it worse we just moved in to our apartment in Rexburg and I feel like I need to decorate everything with wall to wall burlap. Trent won't let me.

So I'm attempting burlap curtains.

Scary.

I bought 5 yards but I'm procrastinating because I'm nervous that I'll screw it up.

Pray for me! If you don't see a post in the near future about my burlap curtains...don't ask. It will most likely be a touchy subject. :)