Some of our week with Dallin

Dallin surprised us with a last-minute trip up to Idaho. As we were just about to begin our summer vacation, we were so ready for it! He came on Sunday, and we had an easy night. We ate BLTs, and watched Up with Mikey while Brandon went to work.
Monday, we decided to knock something off our our "Rexburg Bucket List" and go on a hike to some wind caves that Brandon had hiked to last year. It was out in the middle of NOWHERE, but what a beautiful hike!

Some deer we found along the way.

We found a ledge that was way up high and had a great view, I loved it! However, it didn't help my fear of heights at all... so I was content to just sit away from the edge.

Climbing up the "ledge"

He just wanted to take a nap.

Brandon using his big muscles to hang onto the ledge. This face cracks me up.

That's as close as I got to the edge.

We walked through some stunning scenery.

Brandon decided to take us through a shortcut.... which was actually a "long-cut". By the time we got unlost I was over the hike. Luckily (for me), it started to rain. We heard the crack of thunder, and started running down the mountain. My calves are still super tight from it.

The rest of the night was spent by the boys playing basketball, and then off for a game of Risk.
Tuesday, the boys went golfing in the morning, and I babysat for our neighbors who just moved. Afterwards, it was time for lunch at Big Jud's. Man, what a lunch. I was SO full!

While we were out in Archer, I thought we should go drive to Ririe. That's where Thomas and Camilla Murphy raised a family, including my Great-Grandpa Murphy. It was pretty cool to see the whole town... in about 30 seconds. If I thought Rexburg was small, I now stand corrected. We got a picture of the town sign.

When we were on our way home, we got a text from our friend Rachel saying that Cody's work was renting out Rexburg Rapids for the night, and they were allowed to invite whoever they wanted. Again, part of our Rexburg Bucket List so we went! It was good, for a free ticket. We saw everything there, and now we don't need to go again.

Wednesday, I dragged the boys to Twin Falls. They said I could choose whether or not we could go, and I ended up driving the whole way there. Our first stop was to the Twin Falls temple, which was so pretty. Brandon and I went in there for a little bit, and loved it. Sometimes we just need to go, even for 20 minutes. Another one to add to our list!

We then fulfilled our purpose for this trip- we went to the houses that Grandma grew up in. I was worried that they would have been torn down by now, but Grandma gave us exact directions and addresses. The first house we saw was where she lived when she was born. It's this super cute log cabin in the middle of a street. I loved going there.

Our next stop was to go to the house that she moved to when she was 15. It was occupied, so we took pictures quickly and then ran before they could come out and yell at us.

We then went to Cafe Rio for lunch... so good. While we were there we got these gems.

After lunch, we went to go see the water falls. I had heard that they were like a mini "Niagara Falls", but I never had guessed that they would be this. They were gorgeous!

My hair is so long. I just have to point that out.

Thanks Dallin for this super artistic shot.

The boys.

So tough.

Our tough faces.

It was so beautiful.

So what did I think of Twin Falls? I loved it! It was much bigger than I expected. I thought it would be a super tiny town, but it was actually quite a big place. It had its own shopping center, which makes me think of suburbs. However, it's not a suburb of anything. It's out in the middle of nowhere. But while we were in there I really thought that it was pretty big. I wouldn't mind going back out to explore more, but we saw a lot of what I wanted to see. It was great!

the Dark Knight Rises

So last night, Brandon and I went to the midnight premiere of "the Dark Knight Rises". It was my first midnight premiere, and I have to say... it did NOT disappoint. If you liked the other Batman movies, you'll love this one. It blew me away, so incredible. Some might think it's too dark, because it is super dark. The villain, Bain, is so terrifying. I chewed off all of my fingernails watching the movie. And, I have to admit, I cried. I won't tell you what part, but anyone who's seen it knows why.
Anyways, I hate that I can't say much about it because it was so amazing. However, the next morning we realized that not everyone had as great of a time as we did. I figure this is one of those things that will be remembered for a long time, so I want to write my feelings on it. I woke up at like 11 (after going to bed at 4, not bad), and stumbled out to the front room. Brandon was watching Mitt Romney on TV talking about an atrocity that had happened. I looked it up on the Internet, and learned about the shooting at the Aurora Colorado theater. It just made me sick. Aurora isn't that far away from where our friends' families live, and Brandon's grandparents, but it was just something that was so unprecedented. It's the worst massacre by one shooter in American history. It happened during the opening scene of the movie, which has a lot of shooting in it, which probably made the people think it was part of the movie. I was reading stories of witnesses who had survived this, and it broke my heart. There was the man who lost his girlfriend, because he had been shot in the arm and couldn't carry her unconscious body. Or the man who lost sight of his baby but jumped out of the balcony, running to get the police and save his family. One of the victims died covering his girlfriend from the bullets. One of the biggest ironies in this incident is the preview that Warner Brothers had just recently taken off of the list of previews for this movie. It's for a movie "Gangster Squad", set in the mobster time of America in LA. One of the scenes in the preview is a pre-planned attack of armed men firing in a crowded movie theater. When I read that (and looked up the preview... don't do it. it's too close to home right now), it just made my stomach drop.
This made me realize that things really can happen to you. With approximately 95% of Idaho's residents owning guns (or so it seems), some sick people could really have done damage. So it really shook me up, and made me want to celebrate our lives much more fully. Unfortunately, my first idea of how to do that was shut down by my sleepy husband. I wanted to go to Logan today and go to that temple, super spur of the moment. Poor Brandon's too tired to do it. But we're going to celebrate our summer, our marriage, our families, and our lives. It's awful that things like this have to happen, but I don't want to live in fear. I'm definitely going to do as much as I can.
Ugh, my thoughts are all mixed up about this right now. I'm just so grateful that my friends and family weren't involved in this, and I'm praying for the families of the victims right now. There are stories of heroism in this scene, and I hope it helps people realize that there's more good than evil in the world.

Summer Plans

So I'm done with my classes on Tuesday. It can't come fast enough! We've been trying to get a list of things going for what we want to do this summer and so far we don't have much set in stone. We do, however, have:
MIDNIGHT PREMIERE OF DARK KNIGHT RISES!!!! Yesssss
Twin Falls for a day (Temple #8 on our list, and where Grandma Murphy grew up. We have plenty of things to see there!)
Drive-In movie
Wind caves hike near Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Golfing with Scott and Christie
Murphy Family Reunion down in Aspen Grove.
Bethany going to EFY up here for a week.
White Water Rafting in Wyoming with Bethany (and Dallin if he comes up here)


Other possiblities:
Logan
Bonfire
Hi-C Hot Springs
Rent bikes
Chukars (Idaho Falls baseball team) game
And many other things on a list titled "Rexburg Bucket List". (See later post)


I just had to list all the things we have to get me going through putting together all of my projects for the next two days. Almost done! Until then, I have to put together a case study of over 100 pages and make up a binder of science notes that I have spread throughout my apartment. So, cheers! The next time I blog I will only have one more semester of classes until I student teach.

Praxis Results, Part 2

I passed the other Praxis test! Hallelujah. Now I don't have to worry about that during my last semester of college. I got a 93% on it, and I am perfectly happy with it.

My life in a Nutshell.

So my friend Katharine posted this on Facebook... I thought it was fitting for every time I present a lesson plan. Because, pretty much anything can happen. Even in Toddler Lab. Just some levity for my life...

4th of July 2012

So 4th of July is pretty cool for Brandon and I. It's the only holiday that we've spent together in all the 3 years that we've been together. (3 Fourth of July's, that is.)
The first year, Brandon left on 4th of July, which was also the only Sunday I've ever worked in my life.

(For the full story, see here.)

Last year, Brandon flew in on Allegiant Air on 4th of July. That was the infamous "year of the wildfire" during our fireworks show, which cut it short. This picture ^^ was later in the week, when Murphy was so excited to go to the dog park that he didn't get out of his crate.
This year, we were in Rexburg. I decided that since we were here, we needed to see what Rexburg had to offer. After my sunburn over Memorial Day weekend, I decided to play it safe and cover myself as much as possible:

 (The skirt was a DownEast conquer that Brandon let me buy after passing the Special Education Praxis. WIN.)
We made out way down to the Rexburg City Parade, and it was pretty funny. I loved watching a parade without working it, and realized that parades are pretty much one big advertisement:

 

 Fire truck, naturally.

 Shopping cart for Broulim's (the local grocery store).

 We got Jamba Juice beforehand

 Firefighters were throwing out candy... the kids were going NUTS over them.

 The only picture I got of us this year, thank goodness I took it.

 Toddlers and Tiaras should come out here to see these rodeo queens.

 Advertising for one of 10 Asian food places along Main Street.

 Cuuute!

 Ron Paul. That eternal candidate.

 Car Washers dancing to "Greased Lightning".

Ah, the shuttle service that takes people from Rexburg to Provo.

 Darth Vader...?

 Then the military came in...

... and sprayed the kids down with their hoses. I don't know how safe that was but the kids liked it.
Next we had a barbecue at Jake's apartment. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures there, but it was GREAT. He had elk meat that was made into burgers... so good.
Then we went to the park and the boys played frisbee while the girls laid there and talked. Such American things. I DID put sunscreen on MOM, and I didn't get sunburned! I also had my big hat on, even with my swimsuit on. (there's a water park thing for babies in the corner, so we got our feet wet.)
 After that, it was shower time and get ready for dinner/fireworks. We went to Jimmy John's, and met up with everyone else.
Ok, let's get to the point. We went to the Idaho Falls Fireworks show. It was INCREDIBLE. Biggest show west of the Mississippi, with an average of 9 fireworks a second for 30 minutes straight. I was dying by the end, it was such a sensory overload. But so worth it. Here are some pictures I got:

The coolest part? We were sitting directly beneath the fireworks. Like, literally. The ashes were falling on us. It was so cool! Except getting cardboard in our mouths... ew.
Anyways, it was a great day. We went to Denny's to wait out the mad dash home, and made it home by about 12:30 that night. Not too bad at all.
Hopefully Brandon and I will get to see that show again too! Here's to a bunch of 4th of July holidays in our future.

PS 2 weeks from today I'm DONE with this semester. Just saying.

Praxis Results Part 1

So, June 9 I took the Praxis. It was pretty awful, not going to lie. I took two tests- the Special Education of Young Children test and the Content Knowledge of Young Children test.
I was on campus from 7 AM to 2 PM... when I left I was about ready to die. I had no idea how it was going to go...
Well, I got the results, and I passed the Special Education test! The passing was a score of 550, and the average score range was a 590 to 670. And I got a 680.


Sorry if this is bragging, I'm just excited. I find out the second test results in a week, so hopefully there's another happy post.