Disappearing Lasagna

Travis and I got a gift card to Olive Garden from my brother, Cameron, for Christmas. We finally decided to use it this last Friday. I was dreaming of the bread sticks and salad all day. So we finally got there and I got lasagna. That's a step up from the fettuccine alfredo that I usually get. So I was being pretty adventurous. Travis got some kind of fettuccine alfredo with steak or something. He loved it, so ask him if you want to know what it was. It looked too weird to me. haha.

 Anyways, I ate too many breadsticks and drank too much raspberry lemonade. So when our meals came, I only ate a few bites before I was full. Sooooo I didn't think that was a big deal because I could just box it up and eat it for lunch the next day. It was sooo delicious! So I did get it boxed. When we were done, I went to use the restroom while Travis left to warm up the car. And then.... I realized I didn't have my box of lasagna with me. I texted Travis and he said I left it on the table. I finished my "business" and left the restroom to find that our table had been cleared and my lovely lasagna was GONE. I wanted to demand for them to give me a new one, but I knew that it was my fault to leave it on the table. So that's my tragic story of the day. I was angry about it for about two days straight. haha.

Travis and I got a calling today. We got called to be ward missionaries. But the bishopric member that interviewed us told us this calling wasn't for seeking out the inactive or non members. It was to help our ward get to know each other. I guess the church is getting rid of the activities committee... so now the ward missionaries are going to plan activities to bring the ward closer. I'm kinda excited for that. The bishopric member told us they needed social couples to be ward missionaries and that's why they chose us. I don't know what gave him the idea that we're social. I just laughed inside because the only social life we have is when my brother or sister comes over to do laundry. haha. But I'm excited. It should be fun.

Victory and Defeat

Travis and I are both pretty competitive people. There is a clubhouse for our apartment complex that has a ping pong table and a pool table. Lately, we've been taking breaks from our busy lives to enjoy a few rounds of pool. Somehow it became a competition. We have been playing best 2 out of 3 and I won the last two days we played. Travis was very upset and reminds me often that I was just lucky. I probably was, but there is a little skill involved. =) And then he demanded a rematch today. So we played 4 games of pool. Travis won 3 of them! And it's hard for me to swallow. It was pretty humbling. And Travis is happy. I am trying to be happy for him, but the only reason I lost was because I forgot to wear my glasses! Nah, I'm kidding. It's all for fun. We are actually getting pretty good at pool. I really never played much before we started playing. It's fun to take a break from homework and busyness to play pool. And sometimes we play ping pong. So it's fun. We both try to support the other in their win. It's something we both are working on. Anyways, just a fun tidbit for you all. Happy Friday.

Valentine's Day

 Valentine's Day was great this year. It was actually our first Valentine's Day together! Travis was smart and waited until the week after Valentine's to ask me out last year, then he didn't have to worry about Valentine's Day at all! haha. But we had a good time this year. We were on campus until after 3. So we both snuck off and bought stuff during our free time that day. I just got him a card and pretzel m&ms. We drove home together and he made me wait in the car until he got our apartment ready. He let me in and there were flowers and a card on the table. And then a cute little stuffed dog and a heart pillow and blanket around the apartment. It was cute and now the blanket is my favorite blanket to use. So it was fun. Oh, we decorated picture frames for Valentine's Day/FHE. It was really fun. Travis decorated a frame for me and put a picture of himself in it, and I decorated one for him with a picture of me inside. We painted them, which was pretty interesting and messy.

This is the one I made for Travis.

This is the one he made for me. Isn't it cute??

We watched the Notebook that night. I forgot what crazy parts it had in it. We had to skip a couple scenes. But it's a pretty cute story. So our Valentine's Day was great. We love each other and we're doing well.

Fooooooooood

I've been cooking about 4-5 nights a week. I really enjoy it! I can't believe that I'm saying that though. I hated cooking all growing up. I think that it gives me a lot of satisfaction to make a meal for Travis. He's always so kind, even when I mess up. Luckily he'll eat anything. At first, I messed up on every single meal that I tried to make. I wouldn't ruin it, it just wouldn't be perfect. But now I've been cooking enough that I'm repeating meals that I've already made and they're turning out better. Travis is really good about complimenting my meals, or making those mmhmmmmm good sounds. haha. It makes me feel good. Some days I come home and I absolutely don't feel like cooking. That's usually when we eat leftovers. You wanna know what kind of things I've made so far? I'm gonna tell you. I've made chicken stuffing casserole, parmesan chicken, chicken roll ups, chicken enchiladas, orange chicken (we like chicken), chili, taco soup, sloppy joes, oh, hamburger helper (but I kinda don't wanna claim that) hmmm what else? That may be it, but I wanna try more things. I want an easy lasagna recipe. Maybe that will be my next adventure. Oh, not only have we been doing pretty good on dinner, we never forget about dessert. We always have something. We LOVE yellow cake with chocolate frosting. We've had that a couple times (Over a couple days.. Not all in one day!). We've made brownies. And recently we made an eclair cake. My mom gave me the recipe and it was heavenly! Oh man. So we're having fun with food.

Don't worry though, we are trying harder to exercise. On Wednesday, we ran 3 miles on the treadmill, lifted weights, and did abs. I'm still sore today. We'll hopefully get to the gym this afternoon as well. So yeah. Being a wife is so fulfilling! I love making Travis happy. I love doing laundry, keeping the apartment clean, making the bed, etc. Okay, maybe I don't love doing those things, but I don't mind them. Travis is really good about doing the dishes when I make dinner. He also helps me with dinner whenever I can use it. He's great.

Work is getting easier. I work with really great people. I actually got to train 2 people this week. It made me feel good that my boss trusted me enough to ask me to train people. And I liked being able to mold them perfectly. So now they do things just like me. =) It's sad that I'm enjoying my job, but I don't mind the work. The hard part is the waking up, but it's slowly getting easier. Oh.. yesterday we stayed on campus from 4 am to after 8 pm. That's over 16 hours on campus! I feel like we should get a reward or something. It was a long day, but a lot was accomplished. Travis and I have been going to Dental Society. It meets every other Thursday. Yesterday, this local dentist that used to be in the area seventy or something came and spoke. It was awesome hearing about dental work from the gospel perspective. He talked about loving the people more than the money. He said that dentistry is a service job. He spoke about how God has a plan for us and if we do all the things we know to be right He will provide a way. Travis is one of the hardest workers I know. And he truly loves the gospel and loves me. I know God will bless Travis in what he wants to do. Brother Hammond spoke for an hour and Travis LOVED it. He ate up everything that he said. So I'm glad we went. Twas a good day. Well goodbye for now. Love you all!

Loooooong Days

Time for an update! Travis and I have been debating on what to do this summer. I am taking the semester off. Wanna know why? Don't tell anyone... it's kinda bad. But I don't have a loan available for the spring. So the money would be coming out of our pockets. Sounds horrible. Sooooo... if I waited until the fall, we'd qualify for pell grants. Free money! That's even better than a loan. So that's the secret. We want to take the summer off and make some money to save.. and then use free money to pay for school. Brilliant. We're thinking that going to one of our parents house would be the best option. And we're leaning toward... Virginia! I'm really excited. I loved Virginia. And I LOVE Travis's family (Except Sadie. She's always competing with me for Travis's attention. And usually she wins. hahaha. Just kidding!). Anyways, so that's what we're thinking. Travis is hoping that we can both work at Red Robin. I don't know why a company would hire a couple, so I'm thinking I'll be working somewhere else. But I would love to work at Red Robin. It's my favorite place to eat. Except the only problem is, last time I worked at a hamburger joint I weighed the most I have so far in my life. It's not a good environment for me. haha.

So school is going well. I don't really know how I'm making it. I'm pretty dead every day from waking up so early. But somehow I'm doing it, and I'm doing pretty well. Same with Travis. We're gonna get through this semester. Today, we got to campus at like 3:55 am and we're leaving at like 5:15 pm. That's over 13 hours on campus and we're leaving at 5. Isn't that insane? I don't think I'll ever get used to waking up at the crack of dawn. Travis has somehow adjusted, but I don't see myself EVER adjusting. Travis has noticed that I'm a lot more irritable when I don't get enough sleep. My mom used to tell me to go take a nap whenever I was rude to my siblings. I guess I haven't grown out of that. haha. But school is great for me. I love my major! (Elementary Education) I'm graduating in two semesters. So these classes that I'm taking now are pretty intense classes. We're writing lesson plans, and planning units. I love it though! I just finished a lesson plan for science on Properties of Matter (Solids, Liquids, and Gases). I want to really teach it! Fun stuff. Travis is still working really hard on his classes. He's always studying and doing everything in his power to do well, and I'm sure he'll be blessed for it.

We don't exercise enough because we're so busy. So for this last family home evening, I bought a hip hop exercise video. haha. We did that for only like 20 minutes. It's tiring! Travis is pretty excited about it too. It's fun. But I stink at it. I thought I was a decent dancer, but Travis is showing me up. We filmed ourselves after we learned a few steps. I stink. But if I gain enough courage, I may post it on here. And remember, it's our first time. Just wait until we do the other routines. We'll probably be pro pretty soon.

So Travis and I are watching American Idol every week. We're excited because we have our own life and we get to develop our own TV habits. So our first TV show we'll faithfully watch is American Idol. Yup. It's fun being adults. =)

We go on dates every Friday. It's so good knowing that Friday night is "Us Night". No homework, nothing to come between us. I love spending time with him. I don't know how I got so lucky to have him by my side for eternity. For reals. I just look at him and feel so blessed. He's so good to me. Oh! The other day we got into a little tiny argument on the way to work. That day I had a long day at school. I wasn't going to be home until after 4:15. So Travis was home all day because he only had one class. When I walked into our apartment there were flowers on the table and a love letter. Gee wiz. That was the best. I love my husband and I love my life.

So that's our life right now. I hope all is well for you all! We love you!