Why do we even HAVE that button?

If you've been on BYU-Idaho campus lately, you've probably heard (or noticed) that something's different about my.byui.edu.

Personally, I really like the change and am excited to use it (in my last semester ... weird ...). But there's one button that made me laugh out loud. Seriously — when I saw it I got a bad case of the giggles.

If that's hard to see, I'll make it easier for you.

Ryan: "Avoid that button when you're having a hard day. 'School sucks!' (click). 'What did I just do?!'"

I guess BYU-Idaho's making it really easy to put yourself out of your misery during finals week. Merciful, I suppose, but still.

Don't tempt me.

(Also - if you can tell me what movie that title is from, you get 10 points.)

Half-iversary

Happy six-monthiversary to US!



















We've been a family for six months today, and we're so excited! We're generally finishers, but in the half of a year we've been married we've done a lot of things halfway. We have:

1. Finished half of school year
2. Driven halfway across the U.S.















3. Read half of the Book of Mormon
4. Been married longer than half the people in our ward
5. Endured half of a Rexburg winter
6. Bought each other half as many Christmas gifts as we got last year
7. Bought everything marked half price at Broulim's
8. Gone to half the temples in Idaho
9. Learned to get by on half the closet space we used to have
10. Made half as many phone calls as we did while we were dating
11. Gotten Bre halfway up on waterskis (SO close ... next summer ...)
12. Worked two part-time (half-time?) jobs
13. Ruined half of our laundry (the darks, to be exact) with an exploding pen (thanks for your help in recovering them, Mom!)
14. Scored half as many points as my dad in Scattergories
15. Changed our class schedules half a dozen times so we could eat lunch together on some days
16. Forgotten to pack lunches on the half of those days
17. Had the best half-of-a-year ever.

We love life. We love each other. And we love being married.

Heading South

It looks like Andy Bernard knows what he's talking about. I got the internship. :)

This summer, I'll write for the news section of this magazine (it might look familiar):


















And some of my stuff will also go on these glossy pages (look carefully — they're different):


















And if I understand correctly, I'll write a little bit for lds.org.

Can you say "Dream job"? Ryan's transferring to BYU and I'm graduating in April (yipee!) so we were headed South anyway. Also, if any of you know Ryan Kunz, I'll be doing the same internship he's doing right now. We'll move to Utah next April and live the BYU dream (even if I will be working mere inches from the U for the first few months) for the next three or four years until Ryan finishes his degrees.

Good thing we love Utah.

Interviewing 101

I had an interview for an internship last Friday, and I want you all to know I totally got advice from the best source possible: The Office. It taught me to ...

1. Use my brain to my advantage (when advantageous)
2. Tell myself they "saved the best for first" when I found out I was going to be the first interview of the day.
3. Make my weaknesses sound like strengths
4. Have a five-year plan
5. Wear a feminine business suit

Not that I did all that, but it was some pretty good advice.

You don't want to miss out on ...

Another blog! :) Doesn't it look fun?


Yes, I'm trying my hand at photography. And it's wicked-fun. This is the blog I'm keeping for my Custom Images course, a class that focuses (no pun intended) on photography and Photoshop. It's fun to post them and even MORE fun to get feedback, so if you know anything about photography, or if you don't, you might want to check it out. It's right here.

Not to be a cheapskate ...

but really. Yesterday, I brought soup to work with me to eat for lunch but didn't have a spoon. So I went downstairs to Café Kimball and asked for one.

And they charged me eight cents.

Eight cents. For a plastic spoon.


I know the economy is rough, but I still kind of think it was a joke.

Still a "City Beautiful"

The other day, Jenny said, "When are you going to blog about Nauvoo? I've been checking for it." And you know how I feel about blog requests. (They're my FAVORITE!)


So, way back in August, Ryan and I (and his parents, and two of his sisters and their families) boarded an "upgraded" RV that Ryan's parents rented. 36 hours and one visit from Roadside Assistance later, I first laid eyes what Joseph called "The City Beautiful." He was right.

Ryan's grandparents are on a mission in Nauvoo, and it was great to see them (and to get to know them — they left before we were engaged). Ryan has a great family and we had a blast!




Sister Olaveson showed us around the Pendleton Schoolhouse.



Carthage Jail



We went to the Nauvoo Temple with Ryan's parents and Tracy and Jeremie. It was even prettier on the inside.



Elder Olaveson took us on a trail ride. I kept the sneezing to a minimum (I'm allergic to horses)



Did you really think I'd miss this?

Some fun facts I picked up on the way:
1. The Nauvoo Temple faces west. Most face east.
2. The whole area was a swamp when the Saints came. They built a giant ditch to drain it.
3. The early saints used animal lard to make candles (who THINKS of that?)
4. Lucy Mack Smith was really, really short and petite.
5. Joseph Smith, Sr., was a barrelmaker by trade