Fiesta Bowl

Yesterday Justen and I went to Fiesta Bowl at the Phx Stadium here in Glendale with some friends. We definitely aren't TCU or Boise State Fans, but the tickets were cheap and it's football so we decided to go. We were way up high, like the last row, but it was fine by me. The area where we seat was mainly isolated by TCU fans who were very nice. The game was great except for some stupid Boise State fans. From the beginning of the first quarter they held up this display board high above their heads continuously. Not poster board, but I huge science display board. It made it difficult to see. This sweet older lady behind them asked them politely if they could hold the sign down and they totally were rude to her. I was mad! It's completely disrespectful to talk to someone they way they did to her, and especially cause she's their elder. Justen finally called the S.A.F.E. security people and they came and took the sign away. The boys started arguing with the security men and they took 2 of them away. That's what happens when you choose to be punk college kids. The rest of the game was pleasant. I still wish I would have seen TCU show up for the game. I was waiting the whole time... I guess the Mountain West Conference will still have to wait to ever getting the Championships. Oh well...
Justen and Courtney
Justen with Derek and Trevor

Why Justen is insistent about taking pictures of me, I don't know!

Our Fabulous Christmas!

Since we're both in "education" Justen and I have 2 weeks off here for Christmas Break and it's been fabulous! You can totally tell that we normally are crazy busy, cause we've done absolutely nothing for 2 weeks! We've been lounging in our PJ's playing video games, ordering take-out, and playing games! Haha.... It's awesome... partly cause we know what lies ahead (lots of stress and work). Besides being lazy we've have lots of fun with our families.

We went to Vegas right before Christmas to visit my sister and her husband. We were there only for a short time, but it was nice to catch up and see each other. I also got to see my friend and her sweet new baby.

Christmas was crazy, but we bounced from house to house and enjoyed lots of fun with our families. Thanks everyone for creating wonderful memories!

We are extremely grateful for this Christmas Season and the peace we feel from knowing that our Savior lives and loves us. We have so much to be thankful for! May we all have the spirit of Christ in our hearts this next year! We wish everyone a wonderful New Year in 2010!

White Coat Ceremony

I feel really bad because its been a few weeks since Justen's White Coat Ceremony, but better late than never. On October 9th Justen received his White Coat. This symbolizes Justen taking his first step as a doctor. They even call the students, "Student Doctor" to establish that professionalism right away. Me, Justen's parents, Aunt Kris, and Grandma were all able to be there for the recognition. We are all so proud of Justen and the HUGE task he's undertaking. Next week he takes his 1st semester finals! Wish him luck!

Life as We Currently Know It

Honestly not much and so much has been happening. Time truly is flying by us so fast. Our days are pretty much routine. Justen is now in full force. School occupies much of his time, but he is doing well and is a wealth of knowledge! He constantly is telling about some process that occurs in the body and I try to keep up with his brilliance! As for me, my days are spent at the school. On average I pull 10 hour days at school and then come home and grade papers. I've recently realized that teaching isn't just a job, it's a lifestyle. I literally live teaching. That's about all I do.

My dad took his kids to NYC over the Labor Day weekend and we had a blast! It was so neat to spend time with my siblings and father while exploring New York! Over the course of 5 days we covered so much and enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the city. I can't say i'd enjoy living there, but I loved visiting. Hopefully one day Justen and I could make it back together! Here are a few snapshots of our trip!

Inside the Empire State Building

A view from the top of the Empire State Building

Times Square

The M&M Store

We saw 9 to 5 on Broadway while there. It was a really funny musical!

U.S. Open! We got to see Oudin beat Sharapova and Ivers beat Roddick and James Blake's match.

Statue of Liberty!

So Much to Catch Up On

So much has happened in the past month and I've been so busy I've neglected to write about it on our blog! I think we were caught in this whirlwind of craziness that time just passed. I can't believe that it's the middle of August already! July was a great month! There were several highlights of the month, but the trek was probably in the top three. I'll post pictures once I find my camera which is still MIA because of moving. Next, was Grandma's 90th birthday party. It's so fun to get together with family and we all enjoyed the occasion! The biggest hoopla of July was moving to ARIZONA! A week before we were moving I got a job offer from Pendergast School District, but they wanted me here July 29th on Tuesday. We weren't planning to get to the Valley till Wednesday. So I made the trip down Monday night and Justen followed our original plan. I felt so bad leaving him to pack up the whole house, but he did fabulous and all our stuff made it! I however spent the last week of July throwing my classroom together. Thanks to amazing family I was able to make my classroom look great! I couldn't have done it without them! Thank you everyone who helped me out! So I'm teaching 6th grade math at Westwind Intermediate in PHX. So far the 1st two weeks have been great! I'm been busy and a little stressed, but I LOVE what I'm doing and have fit into my teaching job excellently!

So now we are finally getting settled in. We love our apartment and we are located close to practically anything we need/want! Justen started his first week of school this week and he's loving it! He's dived right into reading and learning and studying. His 1st test is on Monday, so we'll see how it goes!

So when I find my camera I'll post pictures and such! We're just happy to be settled and getting into our new routine!

That's Right... We're Moving... Cause Justen got Accepted!

We couldn't be more happier right now! We found out 11 days ago that Justen got accepted into Midwestern University in Glendale, AZ! We've been waiting and waiting to hear the good news and it finally came! Hip Hip Hooray! Orientation starts August 4th so we will move down on the 29th of July. We are definitely sad to be leaving Utah and all our wonderful friends, however we are extremely excited for the new journey!

This weekend we went to Manti for the Pageant. We left early so we could get a good spot on the grass. We went with Justin and Susan and had a great time! It was a bit chilly, but we survived to see a wonderful performance!

Strawberry Days

Pleasant Grove Strawberry Days was last week! We enjoyed lots of fun entertainment. We watched as they set up the Carnival on Wednesday and planned to hit it up on Saturday. Saturday rolled around we headed to the parade. The threatening clouds above didn't damper the spirit and we had a great time! That night we went down to the Carnival only to get rained out. We were kind bummed we didn't get to ride the rides, but the funnel cakes made up for it!



One of the cars exploded right next to us. Kinda scary for the people.

Most unique float by far!