Student Doctor Nelson

So proud of this cute boy! He loves that I make him take "back to school" pictures. Isn't that a tradition no matter what kind of school you are going to!?
This medical school stuff is the real deal... school and studying from 7:30 to 10:00 everyday on the first week alone! I'm sure glad he loves it though because there is a lot to come.
Here he is getting his white coat at the ceremony.
The three friends. I am sure glad we have them here with us. We have already had tons of fun with them. Casey has the cutest little family that I have loved getting to spend time with and Brenner already feels like family. We are going to use this picture as a before and in four years take an after shot. We are expecting some balding and lots of gray hairs.

As for me, still trying to look for jobs at the university and getting ready to substitute teach for this year! Also, loving that we are so close to home. I have already been home once, my family has come once, and Joey's parents came this past weekend. SO NICE to only be a few hours away!

P.S. Next time anyone is in Tucson, you must pay a visit to Eegee's. We have literally gone everyday since we have been here and we have been here a few weeks. This may come close to Starburst jellybeans? Doesn't Joey's face say it all? Ha!

Ready or Not

I have been avoiding the inevitable...moving. You know when you think something is so far away that you don't really have to face it? Well, that is what I have done this whole summer and it must change because ready or not, we are heading to Tucson on Monday!

I have been living in an unrealistic, dream world called home. We have stayed with our parents, eaten every meal with our parents, hung out with sisters/family all day, and I haven't worked a minute all summer! So, moving and starting a new little life in Tucson is going to be a rude awakening. Regardless, it is a good thing. We are excited to meet new people, excited for Joey to start school, excited to make our little apartment cute, and excited to get this new chapter of our lives started.

This will be our newest home in 4 days!

What I got out of BYU...

I know I haven't posted for a while and I have no excuse. I have been chillin in Arizona with no work and no school! I'm trying to take advantage of it because it is coming to a close pretty dang quick!

Being a fresh college grad, I was trying to think of exactly what I got out of my four years of college.

For starters, I got a husband out of it! I can't believe Joey and I started dating the summer before BYU. I sure feel lucky to have had him throughout every step of the journey and to always have a best friend to share every new experience with.

A great education....

A job I loved.... With awesome friends there....

The cutest friends I met in my major....

Lots of little friends...

Lots of different roommates...

Fun times with my family and friends...

And the list goes on! I'm definitely happy to be done with school for a while but sad to leave Utah and all of the people we love there!

Student Teaching and Birthday

I seriously can't believe that I am done with student teaching, which therefore means done with BYU. I was in a 2nd/3rd grade class for the first 8 weeks and a 6th grade class the last 6 weeks. For 5 of those 6 weeks in 6th grade, I taught all day, everyday and these cute kids definitely felt like my own. We had some really good times together to say the least. I never knew how much I could really love a bunch of random kids until I started teaching. I find myself praying for them at night and thinking about them on weekends and after school. It was hard getting observed a bizillion times and having people critique everything I did but I honestly feel ready to teach and have my own classroom.

But, I am ready for my house to not look like this anymore....
(Teacher Work Sample days. Love the full circle around my blanket spot)


Look at this cute class...
(Notice my autistic friend in the front throughout each picture. I could take a whole blog post just about him.)

We were supposed to be making ugly faces but apparently I was the only one doing it!

Some of the many random gifts I got on my last day.

My super cute mentor teacher. She is the most amazing teacher and I learned so much from her! Best way to end my semester.
ALSO, I had a birthday in the mix of all of this. I spent most my day teaching (we had a huge dance party to celebrate) but that night we went to dinner with some family. I woke up to so many fun gifts from my cute husband and got lots of fun things from cousins, family, and friends. Thank you!


Best cake ever from my cute cousin Brittany.
Longest post ever! Stay tuned for graduation in a week and a half!

We love...

JELLY BEANS!!

What have we been up to? Oh, besides school, work, and teaching we manage to eat at least one of these bags of jelly beans EACH DAY. These are a few of our very favorite. They are in stores for three more weeks so go try them if you haven't... maybe if you buy them they will be sold out so we can't eat anymore. Happy Sunday and conference!

Arizona, here we come!

So, it is official. Joey was accepted to University of Arizona on Wednesday!! This was by far our top choice for so many reasons and Joey was convinced there was absolutely no way he was going to get in (they NEVER accept white, BYU students). He was already making big plans for Virginia: calling people there, looking for jobs for me, finding housing, researching everything about the medical school etc. But, for some reason, I didn't feel like it was where we would end up. It is beautiful there and it would be a completely new experience living on the East coast but I still never felt convinced.

Even though we won't be living somewhere that looks like this anymore...



We are fine with it because this is what we have lived in our whole lives (Mesa might be a little prettier than Tucson).


Best things about it:
Two hours away from our families (dream come true)
Less than 1/3rd of the cost as Virginia, or some of the other schools
I can work for U of A and Joey will get FREE MEDICAL SCHOOL!
I can get my masters right away if I want
Cost of living is nothing compared to Virginia
Amazing medical school

Just thought I would share our very exciting news with everyone! If anyone ever decides to visit the very beautiful town of Tucson, Arizona, you have a place to stay :)

Goodbye

So apparently this is how my students see me. No big deal, I still love them.

Thursday was my last day with my little friends. I start teaching 6th grade on Monday! I'm a little nervous but I'm ready to switch things up. With that said, I am sure going to miss my 2nd/3rd graders after 8 weeks together. Let me show you just a few of the many good times we had together...


Valentine's Day at an elementary school beats anything. We even had a full blown dance party.


Countless pictures, drawings, and notes....everyday.

Yes, I am the big puppy and he is the small puppy.

Art projects


And much, much more....

Check out some of these great poses.

Stay tuned for life with the 6th graders!