Wow! It has been a looooong time since we last updated this thingy! Since so much has happened, I'm thinking I'll just make a list of the highlights... and of course, the pictures!
1. We finally found some chairs! They match our table really really well, and we only paid $25! Talk about a stinkin' sweet deal! One of them is a little rickety... It feels like it might snap in half, but as long as you don't lean back it that one, it's good. We've been really happy with them, and we think they fit really well in our apartment.
2. For the first half of our winter break, we went to Oregon to spend some time with my family, and Jeffrey was only going to be there until the 21st, so we needed to catch him before he went to Washington. We had an amazing time spending time with my family, and checking out all of Eugene's most awesome attractions. We celebrated an early Christmas there, so we could have Christmas in both Eugene, and in Highland.
3. After an amazing time in Eugene, we began our journey to Utah. My first Christmas with the Brooks was an amazing one. Todd's family is amazing, and I'm so lucky to be a part of it now. Probably some of the highlights of being in Utah include snowboarding at both Brighton and Snowbird, sledding/snowboarding off jumps on the golf course behind the house, taking the kiddos sledding, and just relaxing with family. We also had the opportunity of attending David and Allison's sealing the weekend before we came back up to Idaho. It was a beautiful ceremony, and it was so great to see a lot of the Fajardo family. Also, this Christmas we decided to invest in a little "family" christmas present, which is a Canon Rebel T3i. With all the sledding we did, I had a blast testing it out, and it is UH-MAZ-ING! I love love love love it! The pictures turn out so great, and I was able to get some pretty sweet shots. Here are some of our favorites from our time in Utah.
Our cute matching PJs
Todd's impressive facial hair after about 2 weeks
Ping pong tournament. Pretty much went on for like two weeks
I just love this picture! What a cutie!
Funniest picture of all time
Todd is a pro... that's all I have to say
Cute little Annie
LOVE this picture of Noah!
My first attempt at going off jumps
The Brooks "Cheesy smiles" at David and Allison's wedding
The happy couple!
So cute
This one rival's Noah's for best picture OF ALL TIME
Photo-bombed!
Todder's and I at the Salt Lake Temple
4. So now we're back up at school and the updates are much less exciting. We also have no pictures to go along with our updates. So the school has started these "Open Pool Kayak" clinics in the school pool on Thursday nights. Todd heard about it and has been working on his "kayak roll" and thought it'd be a sweet place to learn, with people who can teach him. In just an hour, he improved soooo much, it was fun to watch!
5. So this week I had my student teaching interviews. Student teaching is a little less than a year away, but they want us to be squared away with where we will be student teaching pretty early. It turns out there isn't a partner high school in Salt Lake City that we can student teach at, but there is a middle school in South Jordan. So I interviewed with pretty much all of the high schools that I could have (in Vegas, Mesa, and Ogden). In the end, we decided that even if I have to student teach middle school, it would be better for us to save some money by possibly living at home for a few months while I student teach instead of moving to Vegas or Mesa or something. So the way it works is we turn in a "wish list" of our favorite schools, and the principals turn in wish lists of their favorite student teachers, and they try to match us up with one of our top choices. So if we don't get our number one choice of South Jordan Middle School, I will either be going to Las Vegas High School, or to Mesa High School. We won't find out for a couple months though, so it'll be interesting to see.
In other news for "future plans," Todd and I recently heard about opportunities with the Coast Guard. There could be some benefits that the Coast Guard could offer, like paying for Todd's grad school, and our housing, and things like that. Anyway, it's only something we've barely started looking into, but it could end up being a good option.
6. Finally, for the sad news. You may have seen on facebook that I re-injured my ACL. How did it happen, you ask? Ultimate Frisbee.... again. I don't think I have the best luck with that sport. The doctor doesn't think I tore it, but he thinks it may be "stretched." The problem with this is that once it stretches, it never goes back to normal. And the stinky part is that an MRI doesn't even help to show how bad the stretch is. So we basically have to wait and see if I'm going to need surgery again. For now, I'm just trying to get better, slowly starting to walk again and trying to get my strength back. Keep your fingers crossed! If it's not stretched too badly, I won't need surgery, and I could be playing again in just a few weeks! We'll see though... I'll keep you posted.
In short, despite all the stress about my knee and our future, we are happy and loving life more than ever. Life just keeps getting better and better, and I can't wait for the new adventures that are to come!
