"Jeez they only have like one type of peanut butter: Kroger......and Jif......."

Alright, I know it's been two weeks, but yall'll just have to deal with it. I had two tests this past week so I've been studying like crazy for them. They both went well, I was just a little nervous about them. Anyway, the quote from this week is by yours truly. Brittany and I went shopping and we were looking to get some peanut butter. I spoke before I got all the information processed in my brain so, of course, I said something stupid. Oh well.

Life has been very busy with this spring term. Classes are super fast, and Brittany is finishing up her school year with the boy she works with. It's weird to think that the classes I'm taking will be over in 3 weeks. It's barely enough time to learn anything it seems like. I'm going to have to get use to summer classes, though, because I'll be taking them for the next 3 summers. Worth it. Speaking of classes, Brittany and I finalized our class schedules for this fall. Brittany worked it out so all her classes will be on Tuesday or Thursday and she will be switching to a MWF schedule at work. This gives her more hours, but us quite a bit less time together. We're definitely going to have to make the time we have quality.

A little story when I was signing up for classes: once I got my double major approved, I had to redo my fall schedule to include all the computer science stuff. I had it all down and was set, until I realized that a class I had signed up for conflicted with marching band (in which I was recently chosen to be section leader for this fall, woop!). I couldn't find another time except for one that would be during an ensemble time (I won't know which ensemble I will be in until the first few days of the semester). It was very dis-heartening and frustrating and I gave up for the day trying to move other classes around. The next day I logged back in and 5 seats were added to each section of the class I needed and I was able to pick one that fit absolutely perfectly into a time slot I had open. I can't say whether it was a coincidence or divine help, but I definitely know that I am supposed to be doing this.

Anyway, Brittany and I went to the temple last Thursday after having not been for a long while. It was wonderful to feel the Spirit there and to connect to Heavenly Father again. Friday, we went to Red Robin on a date. It was delicious! Brittany had never been there, so I had to introduce her. We got this fried zucchini appetizer that was delicious. I think we're going to have to make this Thursday/Friday combo thing a regular occurance in our schedules. We'll see how long it lasts though. Our routines fall apart.....routinely lol.

We've started getting down to crunch time with the move. This weekend is the last weekend we have so we're getting some help from Mary and Derek and our Aunt Nicole's family to finish up. We've made several trips up there with the things we don't normally use and most of our clothes are up there already. We're both very excited about getting into a bigger place. We've run into the dilema, however, that we don't have a bed yet (or couch). We've been looking on craigslist and found a hide-a-bed for pretty cheap, but we decided that out of anything we would spend money to get a nice mattress. We can deal with a semi-comfy couch, or a beaten up dresser, etc, but life is just too miserable with a crappy bed.

I'll have to post our recipe later, as I am at work right now. I can't even remember what we had decided to put up...but I'm sure it was delicious.

Anywho, we love you all and hope you're doing as well as us!
Christian and Brittany

Happy Happy Happy Mother's Day!

What day is today? Nicky and Alex from Full House will tell you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZBNr5foaEo

We would like to thank our mothers for all that they have done for us. They have been fabulous examples in our lives and amazing teachers. We owe them our lives. Literally.

This week we went to go see the townhouse we are going to rent this summer. It actually belongs to my aunt and uncle. They are trying to sell it, but haven't been successful, and they need to at least rent it out in the meantime because right now it's costing them money. They needed to find someone who would rent it month-to-month and who would keep it clean for showings. We fit the bill, so they offered it to us. When we went to go see it, we loved it! There will be a lot of family in town this summer and we'd love to have room for people to stay at our place... something we've really never fully experienced, as a 300-square-foot apartment doesn't offer much room for visitors.

Last week I got to be "Star of the Week" in the first grade classroom I work in, meaning that I got to bring a show-and-tell item every day of the week and I got to make a poster including a bunch of pictures of myself that would be hung on the classroom door every day that week. Since I only work Tuesday and Thursday, I only had to bring two things. On Tuesday I brought my teddy bear that I've had since I was two, and on Thursday I brought my oboe. On Friday it is traditional that they write a letter and draw a picture for the Star of the Week. The teacher then collects all the letters/pictures and binds them together in a little book for you to take home and cherish. I got mine and it was so precious! Allow me to share with you some of my favorite excerpts; misspellings, backward letters and all. It should be a special treat for you mothers too, as you realize how sweet your kids are.

1) "Dear Brittany
What bo you have for Crismis? I am not going give you a presint for crismis. you are not my wrst enume. . . . PS. ti's Opusit day.
Sincerely,
Cole"
... it's opposite day.... so I AM his worst enemy?

2) "Dear Brittany,
Are you in a band? I rode my dirt bike in a band. . . .
Sincerely, Jaret"
....?????

3) "Dear Brittany,
. . . . Who is your bff? Are you marryd? . . . .
Sincerely, Mrs. Malia"
I love how first graders already know netspeak. And I don't know why a bunch of the girls call themselves Mrs.

4) "Dear Brittany,
. . . . How old is your Husband?Is he in the thirthes? . . . .
Sincerely, Mrs. Lily"
They've seen pictures of him. And he doesn't look at all like he's in his thirties. I think they assume if you're an adult, you must be in your thirties.

5) "Dear Brittany,
Do you like cheese? . . . . I Chloe am awesome.
Sincerely, Chloe"
just.... lol

6) "Dear Brittany,
What favorite oboe? You rock Brittany? What is your favorite thing obt your hosbin? You are the bom bot com.
. . . . Sincerely, Weston"
did you all hear that? I am the bomb dot com. Sweet.

7) "Dear Brittany,
Do you hav a chicin? wutis eo favit animL. hi Brittany. Do you Like to dresup in?
. . . . Sincerely, Grace"
not sure what inspired the question about the chicken...

8) "Brittany, Dear
you rokc like th oreoe with frosting. Pritee plese with a cheree on top. Stamp you lrening plan.
Payton, Sincerely"
The kids are supposed to take out their learning plans (piece of paper that informs parents of what's going on at school, homework, etc) every morning so the teacher can come by and stamp them. I definitely don't have a learning plan. But I am glad to know that I rock like the Oreo with frosting. Whatever that's about.

annnnnnd Christian's favorite excerpt:
9) "Dear Brittany
I like your oboe. Do you like Wizard 101? . . . .
Sincerely, Dallin"

Aren't they so precious??? These kids remind me why I try my patience from 8 to 3 every Tuesday and Thursday.

On Saturday some prospective tenants came to see the apartment, since we'll be moving out in June. A batch of them came at 10 and another batch came at 1. So I spent the whole morning cleaning. Our apartment is now shining beautifully and clean.

We just discovered the problem with summertime. Bugs. All winter we have been pest-free except for two wolf spiders that somehow found their way in, and the occasional swarm of sugar ants if we dropped a piece of food on the floor and forgot to sweep it up. But I remember last summer there was a bees' nest somewhere right by our mailbox. And I guess now that the high is 60, they've decided to come back. Except this time, we think they've decided to nest inside the walls. So far, since around 7 pm yesterday, we've found 6 bees in our apartment. We don't know how they're getting in, but there are tons of nooks and crannies in our walls that they could be hiding inside. It also so happens that I am terrified of bees. Christian has killed them all for me like a wonderful husband, but he is getting slightly annoyed that I am so scared of them. So every time I see one, I am trying not to completely freak out, but to rather just calmly call Christian into the room while I hide.

Eeeek! Make that seven bees! I have such a wonderful husband...

Our recipe for this week is "Grandma Mac & Cheese". Homemade macaroni and cheese the way my grandma makes it.

12 oz uncooked pasta

2 Tbsp flour, sifted

3/4 cup milk

1 cup shredded cheese

3 Tbsp butter

Cook pasta according to package directions. While cooking the pasta, make a simple white sauce by simmering the milk and butter then stirring in the flour, adding more if necessary. When the flour is all stirred in, add the cheese. Then pour the sauce over the pasta and enjoy.

We found that the sauce was a little too thick for our taste and there wasn't quite enough to cover all our pasta, so we think next time we will use 1 cup of milk, 4 Tbsp butter, and a little more cheese, while keeping the amount of flour the same. Delicious!

Again, happy Mother's Day!

"It's possible....pig."

The quote from this week is one we've gotten into the habit of saying quite a bit over the last few weeks. It's from the movie Princess Bride. The hero, Wesley, was brought back to life a few scenes earlier in the movie, and has not been able to move at all since then. The evil man who comes in, Prince Humperdinck, has been trying to woo the girl that is in the scene (seen here). It's a great movie. We highly recommend for any family night!

The spring term started up this week. It has been nice and snowy/rainy just in time for spring :( We're slightly sick of Utah and it's snow-in-May-ness. But we're glad to be here going to school. We love it here. Brittany is taking three classes: basic conducting (for her music minor), the first half of The Doctrine and Covenants, and Child Development. She is enjoying all of her classes, in particular the last one. She got her book and discovered there was this program that came with it where you can "raise" a virtual child, making decisions on how to raise it, etc. She's already raised a daughter to 18 years old, who turned out very successful. She is currently searching for the "start over button" because she wants to do it again.

My term started off like a horse race. I really had to hit the ground running. I'm taking the second half of The Book of Mormon, and Latin 111, which is Latin 101 and 102 put together. Not only is this an accelerated course, I'm taking it in a condensed time. We're covering about two chapters a day, and in the four days we've had class, we've successfully covered 70% of the material I learned in the first two years of high school Latin. It has been very fun, though, getting familiarized again with the language.

News on the double major: by some miracle, my petition was accepted for a double major! I am now a computer science major with an additional major in brass performance. I was super excited when I got the informing email. It's going to be a lot of work, and it's gonna be rough, but I think it will all pay off. I'm looking forward to the summer term, where I will start my computer science courses.

Monday, Brittany and I were invited to her cousin's surprise birthday party at Subzero Ice Cream in Pleasant Grove. This place literally mixes your ice cream and then freezes it with liquid nitrogen. They have giant tanks of the stuff behind the counter. Her cousin, who turned 11, and all of the other kids got very excited every time they put the "smoke" on the ice cream. They had a game room for parties with some arcade games and a wii. We ate cake and enjoyed an evening with her family.

Last night, we went to a party hosted by one of the French horn players in the marching band. The occasion was the start of spring, even though it's not very spring-like yet. She had invited some girls that she knew from her mission, and friends from UVU, and some marching band friends. It was quite a mix of people. We played apples to apples, and ate pizza and watched the movie "Oscar". If you haven't seen that movie, it's a good one. It is a comedy/mystery/gangster movie with Sylvester Stallone and a bunch of other really big names. Brittany's family grew up on that movie so she was very excited, and I had seen it once before, but didn't remember much. It was lots of fun.

Anyway, we gotta get crackin on our Sunday afternoon nap, so we love you all!

P.S. The recipe from this week is Lasagna soup. We got if from $5 dinners website. We chose to use beef in it, and the only changes we made were to leave out the parsley, and we doubled the amount of pasta (we used shell pasta). It didn't taste very lasagna-ish, but I thought the spices in it and everything were fantastic! The doubled pasta also soaked up a lot of water, so it ended up more like a hamburger helper recipe than soup. MMMM I'm gonna go eat some leftovers now. :) :) :) Bye!