My favorite place in Rexburg

We have people come over to our apartment all the time! We have double date dinners and friends come over and hang out and play games. Any time either of us has a group project, we always opt to meet at our place - we prefer to be home! The awesome thing about this is that our apartment is super cute and everyone always compliments on my decorating! We have even had a few couples move into our complex because of how great our apartment is! I really feel like we have the greatest set up here at Hyde Park and have gotten a lot for our money. It was really a miracle that we got this apartment in the first place. This is our second one here in Rexburg since we have been married which is pretty great since we have been married for 2 years. Our first apartment was a hot mess. We were scouring Rexburg for any open married housing and were looking online from Ferron, UT which is 6 hours away. We finally found one and drove up that day to tour it and sign the contract. It was not the most amazing apartment we could have got, but it was seriously the ONLY apartment open that we could find so we took it! We moved in a week later in December with no furniture and slept on the floor in our new bedding. It was a basement apartment which basically equals very dark and freezing. We had Little Ceasars in the second bedroom on the floor, which has now turned into a "thing" that we like to do. It is our "first meal" sort of thing now and we did the exact same thing when we moved into our second apartment too - its the little things right! Our furniture finally came but our whole bed set didnt even fit into our bedroom. That was our first sign! Matthew's mom came to visit us and she was nice enough to say that our place was lovely....I know she was lying, but I love her anyway. Anyway, the winter was pretty harsh that year and needless to say we found a whole lot of mold one night. It was all behind our bed and into our closet which ruined 3 of my dresses and some pillows I had on the floor. We immediately pulled everything out of the room and scrubbed down our very new and very expensive bed set. We moved out the next day! That was a whorlwind if I ever knew one. I cried all night long and half of the next day wondering what in the world we were going to do. It was now March and in the middle of our college semester. I was on the phone all day and we must have visited at least 7 apartment complexes all saying they were full. I was so heartbroken and we had no idea what we needed to do. I was not spending another night in mold-ville and Matthew was furious at our rentor for selling us now obvious lies. Our rentor told us he would come by and clean the walls and that it is really not that big of a deal. Is he serious!!! No, it is in the walls buddy and we are not staying here. Well needless to say we lost A LOT of money moving out with no notice even though we were inhaling mold every night while we slept...I am still very bitter. We finally found a place that was open and unfortunately out of our price range but where else would we go. We drove there and were wating on the realtor to come and visit us and I just felt this pulling that we should leave. We left and pulled into the parking lot across the street to talk and figure out what we should do. As fate would have it, we pulled right up to our future apartment, called the number on the sign outside and BAM we had an apartment! The apartment manager drove right over and we toured it right there on the spot. We followed her over to her office right after the tour and signed papers. Crazy right! I cried again, but this time in total disbelief and thankfulness to my Heavenly Father for having a plan for us. They hurried and cleaned the carpets for us and moved in everything that we could fit on the kitchen floor while the carpets dried. Thank goodness Rexburg is not that big of a town and we did not really have to "pack up." The apartment was the total opposite of everything that we had just moved from which made me over-the-moon happy. It was brand new, second floor, has huge windows in the living room and big windows in the master and second bedroom, was in our price range, washer and dryer, garbage disposal, dishwasher!!!!, and covered parking as well. We hardly ever use the lights because of all the natural light that we get all year around. The apartment faces the east, so we get all the light from the sunrise in the living room and all the light from the sunset in the bedrooms. And we can see the Temple from our frong door. PERFECT! It is the biggest married housing that I have seen for the price we pay and has the most going for it. We have lived in our miracle apartment for 2 years next march and I am going to be so sad the day that we move. We have really made this place our home and look forward to living here for another 2 years while Matthew finishes school. And to top it all off, I am seriously in love with our ward family. We teach the Sunbeam class together which has been one of the greatest things to happen to us since marriage and we love each of our children so much. My favorite place in Rexburg is my HOME. I love my life, I love my husband, and I love my home. Thank you Heavenly Father for always watching out for me and my family.

All Hallow's Eve

Halloween has got to be one of my all time favorite holidays. My second favorite to be exact! It is filled with such mystery and excitement! Falls is also my favorite time of the year! It is just so beautiful. The colors, clean crisp air, decorations, and layering of course!

 Matthew and I carved pumpkins tonight and it was so fun, as always. He is so fun and I love spending time with him. It was a perfect night!

We watched Hocus Pocus (my #2 movie) and Casper while carving our very adorably themed pumpkins. I carved Minnie Mouse and Matthew, well I am sure you can guess, he carved Daffy Duck. HA...ok fine he carved Mickey of course! Then I carved a baby pumpkin with a heart to put between our pumpkins. Hey, if I am going to be in the Larson family, I HAVE to get used to Disney. Not that it bothers me at all. If they have to love and spend a lot of time at something, I can live with it being Disney.

I also got to have a lot of fun playing with my camera and the pumpkins. I tried a lot of new and fun techniques to really try and get that "glow" of lit pumpkins and the excitement that they bring. I think I got some great shots and am thrilled at how they turned out.

 

All in all, it was a great night and we have a lot of fun! Happy Halloween everyone!

Snow Day

We woke up to about 5 1/2 inches of snow this morning and it was beautiful. It was still snowing and it was so perfect. No one had touched the snow outside of our house yet so it was all fresh and ready to be played it. And...something that never happens in Rexburg...there was very little wind. The snow was just falling to the ground like a scene from a movie. There is something so magical about the first snow fall of the season. Everything is covered in white and looks so fresh and new. It kind of feels like being in the Temple for me. It is so white and pure. Well, until I get on the road and then the whole Temple feeling quickly changes to nasty gray mush and I wish it was all gone again. Matthew did not feel well today so he stayed home from work and I had class. He drove me to school and picked me up. Thankfully because we both slept in (because he was sick and I suck at waking up in the morning) and I needed to get to school quickly with no time to look for parking spots. When he picked me up from school I begged him to play with me when we got home. With a little pushing he agreed and so we got our gloves and hoodies out and went to town. It was so much fun. The last time we played in the snow like that was February 2010 when he just got off his mission. It was a lot better this time though because he was not afraid to push me around a little and actually touch me! We each got a few good hits in and snapped some pictures of our fun! Then we showered off and got into some warm clothes; drank hot chocolate and watched Disney movies for the rest of the day. If I could freeze time or have a "ground hog day," I would live that day for the rest of forever. I love my husband so much and appreciate all the joy that he brings to me. We are truly happy and so blessed to have each other for time and all eternity.

Such a cutie

After he attacked me and then ran away

MMM...and it is a yummy treat

Chi of Shaolin Show

We went to a great show on Monday. It was definitely worth the money and just so much fun. It was full of great energy and lots of crazy tricks. It was called Chi of Shaolin: The Tale of the Dragon. There were 6 women and 6 men and they were all so great. I just could not believe some of the great tricks that they were doing. It seemed more like a dream. Surely these people cannot actually be doing these things. Are people supposed to be able to bend like that? Did that just happen? My hands were hurting so bad, but I just could not stop clapping. I was always that person that starting all the rest of the crown clapping, but I just could not help it – they were great. It was kind of like a Cirque du Soleil show…but not as awesome or expensive, but still very fun and entertaining. This is on my to-do list though. I heard about this show on a crappy Idaho commercial (seriously…they are awful here). We were able to get great seats, which I was so surprised since I bought them the day before the show and it was great. You have to watch this video to see a little bit of the show that we got to enjoy. I love going on dates with my husband and getting to learn at the same time. I am so thankful that my husband indulges me and takes me to thinks like this.

A Family Weekend

Matthews parents came up to visit us this weekend and it was so much fun. I love seeing and visiting with them, especially since we have not seen them since last June during the family reunion. Speaking of which, wow…I married into a LOT of family, but that’s a typical Utah Mormon occurrence I suppose. Even though it took me a lot of getting used to and I still have to “take breaks,” I would not change it for the world. I love them all! So Brooke and Dale came in on Friday around 7 and we had some yummy tacos for dinner. Then we played Phase 10, which is kind of our tradition. Brooke calls me the Phase 10 queen because when Matthew and I were dating and newly married, I never lost a game. Then we woke up early on Saturday and went to a beautiful endowment session in the Rexburg, Idaho Temple. It was Brooke and Dale’s first time in the Rexburg Temple and we had a great time. Matthew and I were the witness couple (which is our favorite because we get to get up and move more than usual).  Matthew and I had to go to primary practice because we had the primary program on Sunday. We teach the Sunbeams class (3 and 4 year olds) and it is so much fun. Brooke and Dale watched the BYU football game…like I didn’t see that coming. When Matthew and I got home, we finished watching the game with them…again, I am not surprised. I mean this is the family that made Matthew and I get married at 9am so they could go to a BYU game that afternoon! (Love you guys!) We went bowling and Dale and I tied the first game. I got 4 strikes in a row (is this real life?). Then Matthew blew everyone away and won the second game, which is interesting because he bombed the first game. Love you sweetie. We then went all out on dinner (because his parents were paying) and went to Dairy Queen. OH YEAH! We decided to end the night with a Halloween-y movie and watched Sleepy Hollow (the one with Johnny Depp of course). The primary program was so much fun and all the kids were so excited after they did their parts. Our kids, I have to say are for sure the cutest ones. They are the perfect age for cuteness when they get in front of a mic and people at the same time. This was my first primary program that I was in ever and so I had a great time too. Matthew and I sat in the very front with our little kids in those tiny chairs…it was great. Brooke and Dale left around 1:30 after we had a lunch/dinner. We were sad to see them so, but we are looking forward to Thanksgiving and seeing all the family again.

Answered Prayers!

Well it has been a long and hard process but I finally got the call from the doctor that I have been wanting for what seems like an eternity. Over the past 8 months I have had a rollercoaster ride of symptoms from what I was diagnosed with of hyperthyroidism. I was tired, had a heart rate of around 130 bpm's, was skipping periods (this one I did not mind so much), SUPER sweaty all the time, like nasty amounts of sweat just from walking up one flight of stairs, irritable, inability to get pregnant, and so much more. All of this became known to us because we actually thought we were pregnant, hence the skipped period symptom but I got a 50/50 on the 6 pregnancy tests that I took. So, I went to the student health clinic where they took a blood sample (I am awful with needles). He said I really was not pregnant which was hard to hear, but apparently I had bigger problems and we started talking about going and seeing a specialist in Idaho Falls which is about 30 minutes away from our home. Luckily, we were able to catch it very early which made treatment easier to determine when we got to that stage. When I was finally able to be squeezed into the doctor's office at Idaho Falls 2 weeks later, I was completely on edge. My grandma and I did a lot of research in the meantime and when I say my grandma and I, I really mean my grandma. Needless to say, I was nervous. My doctor said that I would probably need radiation. WHAT!! When did that become an everyday word that I was going to have to be using. I was furious, and sad, and heartbroken, and I dont even know what else. I barely made it home before I had a complete breakdown. Little did I know I would be having several of those in the near future. I had to take a blood test every month...again with the needles!! And no, I did not get used to it. I felt/feel so bad for everyone who ever has and ever will take a blood sample from me. I just want to apologize to all of you right now. I know you are trying to make me feel better by asking me questions to get me through it, but please just stop talking and let me have a panic attack in peace. I may be 22 years old, but I seriously turn into a total baby...like 3 year old, cry on everything BABY! It is bad and pretty embarrassing, but I cant help it. Its not that it hurts, its that I overthink it and totally freak myself out...bigtime! Anyway, So months go by and I am finally wrapping my head around this whole radiation word and everything that comes with that. I cant leave our second bedroom for at least 3 days, no human contact of any kind (or I might Hulk out and contaminate everyone), no getting pregnant for at least a year, take all of our food storage and anything that could absorb radiation out of the room I will be locked in, no talking, I would have to flush the toilet at least 3 times everytime I used it, wash my clothes seperately...crazy right! So we scheduled an uptake and scan which is like a mini dose of radiation for the doctor to be able to see where to point the radiation to completely kill my thyroid. The radiation nurse pulled out a box which had another box in it which had a large pipe looking bottle in it which had a regular pill bottle in it which had a capsule that I was supposed to swallow. I was terrified my pee was going to be green or something. I had to go in the next day and get the scan portion of the procedure and I pasted out 3 times and had a small seizure - needless to say I was not feeling well that day. I decided to go to another doctor in Pocatello which is an hour away for a second opinion before I commit my body to radiation since I did not really handle the uptake and scan all that well. I was praying so hard to please not make me have to go through this. It was all so scary and fast and awful and I really did not know what to do or how to handle my emotions of what was going on. I had a doctors appointment at both doctors in the same week and the news they had was so comforting. It appeared that my scan showed no signs of hyperthyroidism and I was in the down of the rollercoaster ride. So, not I had 2 options. I would either go back up to stable which is what we are all hoping for or I would rocket back down into hypothyroidism. If I went back to normal, the explanations would be a thyroid virus that comes and smacks you in the face and then leaves, OR it was my thyroids way of giving one last fight before it basically commits suicide and I have to take medicine for the rest of my life. Since both options now did not contain the word radiation, I was so releaved. Well, the update is I had a blood test about a week and a half ago AND.....I am back to perfectly normal! I am so esctatic and happy, and excited and AH everything. Apparently it was just a virus. I have to have my blood drawn every 3 months for a year just to make sure everything is remaining stable, but what a relief. I could not believe it. I saved the voice mail that my nurse left me and have listened to it at least 5 times now just to make sure that it was real. I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father for knowing what the outcome would be even when I did not. I cannot lie - there were a few days where I could see myself starting to question and feel angry. I did not understand why this was all happening to us. I was trying to do everything that the Lord wanted me to do so why was this going on? I am so thankful that my testimony and my husband did not let me dwell in that dark place and help me to understand that this is life and trials are what we signed up for. This was an amazing trial for me, and probably my hardest so far, but in the end, I can honestly say that I am thankful. I learned what it means to trust in a loving Heavenly Father even when you are not sure what will happen or why. I learned what it means to understand the Lords timeline even when it is not what you want to hear. But most importantly, I learned that I really do have a testimony. It would have been easy for me to fall away and blame Him for what was happening, but I didn't. I do love my Father and all the blessings AND trials that He has given me and my family. This trial made my relationship to Matthew so much stronger. Seeing how comforting he was when I needed it and dropping everything to be with me for doctors visits and blood draws and on my hard days. He really does love me and it has made us grow closer and stronger in ourselves and together in the gospel. I am so thankful. It also opened our eyes to adoption which is something that we never thought about before and now we are looking forward to trying to adopt at least one child someday. I know that my Heavenly Father knew what was going on and I hope I made Him proud in how we handled this trial in our lives. I am so thankful for all the prayers and everyone who put our names in the temple. Thank you for all the support and love that I have received and felt these last 8 months, we are truly appreciative.

Our story begins...2 years ago

I know, I have really been meaning to start a blog for my family and friends and mostly for our some day kids, but what can I say - life is crazy. Matthew and I are both in school with full time jobs and it can be a mad house somedays. I feel the worst about our poor apartment who takes the grunt of our labors. It is so clean on monday and by friday it is seriously a nightmare. BUT...we are happy and in love and on our way to successful and fun-filled lives together. We love BYU-Idaho, even the snow (most of the time) and I cannot imagine us anywhere else in our lives right now. Everything has worked out here so amazingly that we feel so blessed and dont want to go anywhere for a while. We are in love with our apartment (on clean days), our ward is truly an inspiration to us and shows us how we should be living, school is amazing...and did I mention cheap! We have the pleasure of teaching the Sunbeams together and it has been such an amazing learning experience for us: as a couple, what it takes to teach children, and a little taste of parenthood. Watching Matthew grow into this part-time father figure for our children has made me love him all the more. That is one of the first things he said he loved about me before we started dating, and now I see it in him and he was right. I LOVE that about him.
We met almost 3 years ago while he was on his mission. He served in South Carolina in my area while I was home from college on break before I transferred and came out here to BYU-Idaho. We really did not like each other when we first met, but that soon changed and as soon as I moved out here I started to write him. He came home the day after by 20th birthday and we started dating almost immediately. I went down to Utah for his homecoming and met his whole family which I instantly fell in love with. It was such a change for me since my entire family consists of 4 people and his is a whopping 16 just in his immediate family. We got engaged 8 months later on September 11th of all days and then got married for time and all eternity in the Manti, Utah Temple on November 20, 2010. I am so blessed to have him and his family in my life. I count my blessings for him everyday and feel so lucky to have in-laws that I truly love and care about and feel their love for me as well. It is almost our 2 year anniversary and I see so much more happiness coming our way than ever before. Sometimes I feel like we are just truly getting the hang of this whole marriage thing especially since our entire schedules change every 3 months, almost as quickly as the seasons change here in Idaho, but I know that as we are continually doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord for eachother and making our priorities in order with the gospel and what we need for our families, we are being blessed everyday and growing stronger together and individually. I am so thankful for Matthew and love him so much.
I have recently started a photography business for my entrepreneurship cluster classes and it has been so fun so far. I have no idea what I am doing and very little experience since I have not taken any of my photography classes yet, but I have loved experimenting with courageous people who let me put them in front of my lens. It has been a love/hate relationship with my editing software though. Everything I know, I love, but I also know there is so much I have yet to learn and look forward to figuring out all the fun tips and tricks that are out there to make my photos look professional and beautiful. I think it will be a great skill to have once Matthew and I start having lots of little ones running around as well as something that I really enjoy that I can turn into a career.