Graduation

A lot has happened with us in the past month. Eric and I graduated, we celebrated our one year anniversary, and moved in with his parents for the summer before we leave for Kansas. Because of the move I lost my laptop cord and haven't been able to upload any pics. I'm going to try my best to get caught up and blog lots this summer!

Before graduation we got to meet President Samuelson (president of BYU) and his wife.

Here we are in front of the infamous BYU sign. We had to wait in line for the picture opp because it's such a popular spot.

There's the campus in the background.

My name in the program under the Business Management Grad section. Eric's name won't be in the program until August so we'll have to swipe one of those when the time comes.

The fam right after graduation.

I've never rung the victory bell so this was the last chance for me to take advantage of that. Yay for graduating!!

Eric with Dallin, one of his good friends growing up.

Me and Ruby, my friend from supply chain classes.

Me and Tay Tay!!

Us with Riley and Chelsea, some other friends from Provo High School.

It feels good to finally be done with school forever! If only I didn't have to miss out on summer by sitting in an office all day. Eric is trying to finish up strong at BYU and then he'll get a few weeks of vacation in August.

Good Week

This last week has been pretty dang good. Sunday started off great with an Easter basket hunt and then all day of Conference!

Eric's basket was lost in the comforter...

while mine was hidden in the refrigerator.

On Monday we finished making the rest of our graduation announcements. We're pretty proud of the way they turned out. For anyone who wants to come, graduation is on the 22nd and 23rd of this month!

On Tuesday I went back to my blonde hair. Eric had never seen it before, so we figured it was about time for a change.

On Friday Eric won a printer at the graduation party. That continues our winning streak (or shall I say Eric's winning streak). Unfortunately we didn't win any of the big prizes, but we are still happy with the outcome.

And finally on Saturday Eric had his last day of work!!! There were many days when he hated his job, so I'm looking forward to having a much happier husband.

Winning Streak

Before last year, I had never really won anything as far as prizes go. But lately, it seems like Eric and I can't lose. At the beginning of March there was a graduation fair that Eric and I went to. The grad fair had a drawing for a few different kinds of iPods. A few days later Eric got a phone call telling him that he won the iPod nano!! Really?! The prize came in the form of a $150 gift card. We were stoked even though Eric had no desire to get an iPod nano. After tossing and turning about what he should spend the money on, we finally decided to put the money toward an iPod touch (something Eric had been talking about for for months). Okay so Eric really just wants an iPhone, but he is going to have to settle with the iPod touch for awhile.

Then today Eric and I went to the Finance Club's Closing Social (we're not a part of the club but there was free stuff). We got free Panda Express, pizza, and there was a raffle for gift cards and an iPod. We didn't win the iPod this time, but out of 70 or more people and about 10 prizes, Eric and I BOTH won something!! I won a free mini monster (I have no idea what that is) at the Pizza Pie Cafe and Eric won $20 to Tucanos.

I love free stuff. Needless to say, I am seriously wondering why I didn't take advantage of BYU events sooner. I encourage anyone who is still at BYU to attend anything with free stuff.

Catch Up

Last month was pretty dang crazy for us! I was sick constantly and Eric caught it for a short period. We also had midterms, school, work, and baby blessings to go to. Needless to say, I'm glad it's March.

The best thing about February was the Valentine's date Eric took me on. We were going cheap this year, but Eric translated that into just cheap for presents, so for dinner we went to Chef's Table. It was SOOOOO delicious. I wanted to go back every day for the rest of the month. I learned in a Services class that Chef's Table has a policy that the waiters must fold your napkin if you leave the table for any reason. Someone actually got fired for forgetting to fold a napkin one time. So knowing me and Eric, our eyes were focused on the waiter when we saw a guy at the table next to us stand up and go to the bathroom. Lo and behold, the waiter went right to the table and folded the napkin. I encourage everyone to watch for it whenever you go to Chef's Table. What great service!!

After dinner we went to our favorite date spot: Color Me Mine! I painted a napkin holder to match our vase and Eric painted a chips and salsa bowl with a Mario Brothers theme. Yes we are obsessed with that game and have already saved the princess and completed the star coin world.

And of course since it was Valentine's Day, Eric was a great husband and got me flowers. I especially liked how they looked a week later. It wasn't just a bouquet anymore, it was a full plant!

The next big event was my birthday. I went to class, went to the doctors, did hours of laundry, ordered my graduation cap and gown, and then went on a date with Eric. Big day huh?

First Eric took me to Pastorero. Now I don't know if 8 people actually look at my blog, but I learned that for every bad experience you have you will tell an average of 8 people. So here ya go: the food made me sick on my birthday. And then afterwards Eric said, "Didn't it make you sick last time we went too?" And I realized that it did. So now I vow never to eat there again. I'm assuming Eric never gets sick there because he's had far worse in Mexico, but what do I know?

After dinner we went to a play at BYU. Eric and I were so excited to go all week because the plays are usually pretty awesome. Usually. This was one major exception. It was slow and boring and it was a struggle to stay the whole time.

My birthday was redeemed when we got home and turned on some HGTV. My stomach hurt too much to eat my birthday cupcake (compliments of Taylor Peterson!) but it was very tasty the next day.

Oh yeah, Eric bought me some Taylor Swift guitar books because he supports my music career :) Too bad I suck so much that I can't play them.

Thanks to everyone for the birthday gifts and wishes. And Dad, I'm still waiting for my card in the mail!!

Our Apartment

Today I came to realize that the whole reason my blog exists is for my sister because she is the only person who cares about reading it. So Wendy, I promised you some apartment pics in September and I am just now getting around to it!!

The other week Eric and I got sick of our tiny apartment so we rearranged the furniture and made it into a brand new apartment!! Moving the furniture opened up a ton of space so we finally had room to bring the love sac in. Now if another couple comes over, no one will have to sit on the floor (not that anyone ever comes over)!!

This is the view when you walk through the front door. The living room is to the left, then the kitchen. If you look down the hall there is a door on the left that leads to the bathroom and straight down is our bedroom. I didn't take pictures because our room was messy at the time. Maybe in another 6 months you'll be lucky enough to see that.

We hung our wedding pictures up after Christmas and they didn't line up with anything because we needed to cover up something on the wall. Now they finally line up with the furniture!! That's progress right there.

And here's our living room. You can finally see the floor! It's great. Surprisingly, a week later the apartment is just as clean :)

I hate to say it but we our counting down the months until we move to Kansas. I'm tired of this tiny apartment and Eric and I are ready for a change in general.

22 Years

Since I claim March 3rd to be my day (because it's my birthday) I decided to give everyone a peek at where it all began. This is me right after I was born! My dad was sporting an awesome mustache and Wendy was still afraid of me. Times sure have changed these past 22 years...

I wish I was a baller...

The video takes a second to start, so just be patient.

Another Christmas?!!

As if three Christmases weren't enough...Eric, Wendy, Amora, and I rented a car and drove down to Medford to have a 4th Christmas with my mom and little brother. Needless to say, the trip revolved around Amora.

Jeremy loved spending time with his niece. He would have made such a good big brother!

I don't know what they were all looking at, but Eric got his third car kit! I guess everyone was thinking the same thing.

Jeremy was very proud of his gift to Eric, and Eric liked it!!

Jeremy doesn't get a lot of brother time, so it was cute watching them bond.

Typical pose for the three of us.

I love my sissy kins!!

If one picture could sum up our family...

oReGoN tRiP

The day after Christmas Eric and I hopped on a plane to Oregon to have Christmas #3 at my dad's house. There are always a ton of people there for Christmas with my siblings, step-siblings, and their kids. This year was VERY chaotic. Presents were being opened left and right and there was no keeping track of what was going on. It was crazy.

Even though Christmas was a day late, Santa didn't forget about us. He made a surprise appearance. My sisters and I got to take our annual picture on Santa's lap in matching Christmas shirts.

Eric felt left out because he didn't have a matching shirt, so he bought himself a nice festive one to wear.
These are my two favorite tiny people:
Amora wearing her new headband I got her. It took awhile for her to get used to it, but I think she looks so cute in it!

A lot of kids are afraid of Santa, but not Billy. He walked right up to Santa waiting for his chocolate.

Sisterly love!

First Christmas Together!!

Eric and I were finally able to spend Christmas together this year! Yay for being married. We had our own little Christmas in our apartment that morning. Santa was nice enough to get us Wii Fit! For weeks I joked that every present under the tree for me was the Wii Fit but I had NO IDEA! I'm glad to know that Santa supports our New Year's Resolution of getting fit and healthy.

Like every year, the first thing we did when we woke up on Christmas morning was look in the stockings!!

After Christmas in the apartment, we headed over to the Walker house. It was a different experience for me. I've never had Christmas away from my family. Not only that, but I can't remember a time that I've had Christmas with all my siblings and both my parents in the same room like Eric gets to have every year. I look forward to many more years of that.

I don't think the Walker side of the family is as big on pictures as the Kooistra's, so I felt too awkward to take pictures every second like I normally would. But here's a couple pics of the gang.



After opening presents Holly, Eric, and I had a blast playing Super Mario Brothers for HOURS. Thanks for all the presents everyone!!

Another Tradition?

This being our first Christmas together, Eric and I didn't have very many decorations to put on the tree. However, we did have an ornament decorating kit that I got on sale last year after Christmas. I thought, "Hey, this would make a great tradition. We can do something crafty AND increase our ornament collection!" After seeing the end product, I may have to reconsider.

Eric started decorating the snowman. Why is it blue? I don't know. When he finished coloring he said, "Why did I make it blue?!" At least it's unique!! Great job Eric.

I didn't have a lot to work with when I decorated my ornament. It was just so round and empty. We never found a first Christmas ornament that we liked so I tried to make it relate to that. Nevertheless, I'm still set on buying one.

So should we keep trying to decorate every year or just give up!?! I don't know.

Holiday Cheer

After two long and stressful weeks, Eric and I are finally done with the semester and finals. We have no idea what our grades will be like. I have senioritis and really don't care if I get A's right now. I just want to be done with school forever!! One more semester to go. If only Eric were that lucky...he still has years ahead of him.

Work has been pretty crazy with the holidays. You'd think people would be nicer this time of year but NOPE! Now that school isn't consuming all of my time, I don't know what to do with my free time. Luckily my friend Sara told me to write a blog post or I might be going crazy right now.

Last year Eric and I made cookies for Halloween and this year Halloween passed by before we knew it, so we made some pretty awesome Christmas cookies.

Of course, Eric started eating the cookies before we were done decorating them.

Here are some of the finished products.

Eric's attention span is pretty short...he left me to decorate the rest of the cookies. Then I told Eric he could only eat the cookies he decorated :) That left me with a lot more!!

Last weekend Eric and I decorated gingerbread houses with our friends Ruby and Brett. Here we are with our little house.


You may be wondering what that white and red clump is. We seem to have a murder scene on our gingerbread house every year. This year the snowman was the unlucky one. His head got shot off.

Here's Ruby and Brett with their house. It was Ruby's first time making a gingerbread house!

Unfortunately, their frosting sucked and the house slowly started falling apart...sad day.

Christmas is only a few days away! It doesn't feel like Christmas to me AT ALL. I'm so glad Eric and I did most of our shopping the day after Thanksgiving so we don't have to stress too much before the holidays. I'm not that excited for Christmas just because it doesn't feel like Christmas, but I am super excited to go to Oregon the day after and see my family and have a week away from school AND work.