Hot Digity Dog!

Well ladies and gents (or probably just ladies cause my mom and sister at the only ones reading :)) I have been having such an amazing summer. Lets be honest, who woulda thunk this could happen in Casper, Wyoming?? I am very pleased. So I moved here about two months ago and I have been blessed beyond measure! First, I found the perfect older couple to live with. No joke! They are like my adopted grandparents and I love them so much. Second, I found two of the perfect jobs. I teach swimming lessons in the morning and get to sing songs about monkeys, frogs, and turtles all morning then I get to go to a steak house in the evening called FireRock. It is perfect. FireRock is so flexible with my hours and I also do have to work weekends so I get to spend them with Sammy Boy doing whatever it is we do!

 We have gone to Thermopolis...

Mt. Rushmore...

Lake Alcova... 

Jewel Cave...

and I am sure there are MANY more exciting places we will go. Annnwayyyyzzzz. All of those places are awesome but that is not why I am writing. Sam and I got engaged about three weeks ago. YUP ENGAGED! That means we are getting married! We are so excited. He is a HUGE blessing in my life and I never want to spend another day without him (or at least without talking to him because this summer we are kinda in different states). I love him so much and I am so excited to spend the rest of my life and forever with him. 

So we aren't EXACTLY sure on the wedding date but we are thinking October 18. We will just see. Now we gots to start planning a wedding... Wait... how in the world do I do that????

Hot Digity Dog!! I don't care that I have no idea how to plan a wedding, I will figure it out with help from many amazing people in my life. I am just SOOOOO excited to marry Sam!

It rhymes with... Hummer!

That's right everybody... IT'S SUMMER!!!! Well for me summer started on Monday at 11:30.. But for Sam summer starts in about four and a half hours!So I guess it isn't summer for evvvveerrryybodyyyy yet but I am too excited so I am going to post this a little early. :) I just am thrilled that for ONCE my summer started on Monday of finals week and not Friday (that is a first for me!)

This semester has been amazing. My schedule load was MUCH easier than all of my other semesters and let me tell you what, I enjoyed it thoroughly. I am glad that my major had all the hard Biology classes at the beginning. Shoot I picked the perfect major. Even though the semester was real easy and my major is amazing that isn't the thing that made it so great, the real reason it was so great is because I started dating an amazing guy named Sam. He is incredible and made this semester so much fun!

We have done so many fun things this semester like skiing, boating, snowmobiling, crafts, hikes, kites, food, talks in church, hot springs, and lots more! His semester load has been SUPER hard and really busy but he still makes so much time for me. Wowzers. So anywayzzzz, yeah, he is great. Now, the semester is over and we are trying to figure out our summer! Sam got a great internship for civil engineering in... Casper, WY. Yeah, in other words like 6 hours away from here. So I think I am gonna be moving to Casper for the summer and it is gonna be an adventure. I really am so excited. I am going to teach swim lessons and then hopefully get a job at a restaurant for the evenings. I also need to find a place to live... If anybody has any connections up there or knows of a place I could live would you please, no PRETTY PLEASE with a cherry on top, let me know. :) I was really worried about my summer and how it was all going to work out (e.g. living arrangements and jobs) but then I was talking to a friend of mine and she said that soon I was going to be tied down with a real job and so I should travel it up now and have adventures. So here it goes! Bring it on summer, I can't wait!

Girlies

So for spring break this year I went MaUi!! Crazy right?? It was so much fun. The most fun part was the girls I was with! They were all so SO great. I feel like I have five new best friends :)
 

 They are all such good examples to me also! We all went to church in Maui even though we could have been doing loads of other things (no guarantees we could see the speakers because there may or may not have been a BILLION people there!!)

We also all went to a luau one of our last nights there. It may have been a TAD pricey but hey... it was fun right? My boyfriend has a really good saying, "Money comes and goes but memories last forever!" So true. I will have the memories of this trip for a lifetime and I am so happy I got to go and meet all of these awesome girls!            SPRING BREAK 2012: MAUI                                                                    

Hallelujah!

Man I am having a gooooood day! :)
Ok, let me preface why I am so happy. So on January 14 I took my general content knowledge test to certify to become a Biology teacher. Let me tell you, I was streeesssing. I took a few practice tests before and I didn't do very well so I was real worried I was gonna fail. Well I studied hard after my practice tests and the day of the test finally arrived. I had just come to terms with the fact that I may fail. I just thought, yup... I might have to retake this test, and you know what, that's ok! So I went into the test. LONGEST TEST EVER. It was so long and and the people were strict and yeah it was bad news. To make matters worse the test was timed.... I am not good at taking timed test! I get so nervous that I am not going to finish and then it just makes everything worse. Well anyways, half the time was gone and I wasn't half done with my test. I started to speed up a little and right before they called time I finished the test. I was discouraged to say the least. I felt like there were a whole bunch of questions I didn't know the answers too and I just wasn't sure how I did.

Well this week I have started dreading Feb. 14 because that is the day I thought my Praxis scores would be released. I didn't want to look and see I didn't pass and then have V-day ruined! hahah BUT today in the mail I got a certificate that looked a little like this.

SO mine said Karen Schmidt and my test was Biology but you get the idea! so don't worry about it ;)

This basically means I am a genius. ha psych. It does mean, however, that I scored in the top 15% of everyone who has taken the test in previous years! :) I PASSED! I never have to take this dumb test again! YES YES YES. I am thrilled. I can be a science teacher now, and if my students say, "Teacher you do not know what you are talking about.." I will just whip this certificate out and say, "yes I do!" hahaha sorry to toot my own horn but I just am so excited.  Well all, it looks like 2012 is shaping up to be a GREAT year. Love the life you have and go find yourself a valentine before Tuesday :) that's gonna be a good day too. adios.

Happy Holidays

Oh how I love Christmas break.. but then again don't we all?? Wanna know the best thing ever?..... Ok, you twisted my arm, I'll tell you! So when I graduate I will basically have the coolest job ever and I will get a Christmas break every year, YIPEE! For reals though, I can't wait to get out there and start teaching, yeah I am about to poop my pants at the same time 'cause I am so scared but I also am so excited and know it is the job for me. Anywayyyyzzzz... my break. Let me tell you, it was been lots of fun! I have been down to Bountiful a lot, skied twice on two feet of snow (awesome powder days right fellow Beav lovers, psych). I went shopping in SLC with my amazing friends, we went to the Gallivan Center and Temple Square and it was fun (even if I was the only one with out a guy there too keep me warm :) good things my friends still love me enough to keep me around! haha loser alert right here. I kid I kid.)

The crew. :)

I finally got on top of the Conference Center as well. It may or may not have been against the rules (if there is a sign that says "Don't proceed beyond this point, unless you are with a tour" and there are chains across the stairs it's probably against the rules, huh.. ) but we did it anyways and I loved it.

 My camera doesn't do it justice but it really was such a pretty view. Too bad we were breaking the rules and I was nervous, I woulda loved to have stayed longer!

Next I have been practicing up on the ukulele my little brother got me for Christmas, isn't he the best?? I am getting pretty good too. Here is the first song I learned I now have like 5 more under my belt. I love it.

 (Still not sure how I got the guts to put this up but here it is)

I also got to watch "Never Say Never" (you ALL know that this is the Justin Beiber documentary, just accept the fact that you love him too) and "The Witches" which are two of the best movies ever :). My siblings and I redid my parents living room for Christmas too and it was SO much fun. It looks so much better and I am pretty sure my parents love it. I loved doing it and being with my brothers and their wives (and my sister's family in spirit!!) so much. jeez I got blessed with such a good family! Sarah and I also got to go couch shopping for the room. We picked out an awesome couch and then surprised my papa by telling him he owed us a little bit of mula... hahahahahahaha we felt good about it.  

Then for New Years Meghan and I went down to SLC to be with some friends from down there and we had a great time! We went to a BEAUTIFUL cabin and then a dance party where we (Meghan, Kyle, and myself) made up a verrrryyy classy dance move. It was a fun way to celebrate the New Years. AND that night my friend Chris introduced me to one of the yummiest treats ever. You know nibs? The little licorice bites?? Well those come in normal licorice size now... (Not sure if that makes sense but they just made them long now) let me tell you they are delectable. It probably helps that licorice is already my favorite non-chocolate candy :)

 YUMMMMM.. for reals though..

One last thing that you all do not really need to know but I am going to tell you anyways, I found my new favorite song! It is called "You" by Chris Young and it is UH-mazing I am listening to it right now as I.. type?.. haha yup

 Peace and love. tata