Life Update!

Things have settled down a bit, so I finally have time to sit down and reflect on our lives since graduating. A lot has happened, so this might (it will!) be a long post, sorry!

It's always been Ian's dream to be the CEO of a children's hospital. He is fascinated with healthcare and all of its intricacies and if you know Ian he has a huge heart, especially when it comes to kids.

Well, a couple months ago he got a little closer to his dream. He was accepted into the Master's Program of Healthcare Administration at Texas A &M! We have the letter and smile to prove it. I mean, come on, doesn't he look so good in a suit? I think he'll make an amazing hospital administrator. (please note the cute A&M swag he's wearing).

After receiving this exciting news, we only had a few weeks to move. Thankfully Texas A & M is in College Station which is only 3 hours from where we were currently living with his parents. (I'm going to miss his mom's cooking)

We found a great place to live, or so we thought. The model looked great, the price was great, it was close to campus. It was perfect. But we moved in and it was AWFUL to say the least!! I've never seen a dumpier apartment in my life. We should have known it was going to be a disaster as soon as we walked into the office on move-in day and there was a line of people complaining about their apartments.

The counters were falling apart, the stove, fridge, dishwasher and shower didn't work. There were cockroaches. It was a nightmare. Since Ian's parents drove down to help us move all of our stuff, including heavy furniture we had just bought, we had no choice but to move our stuff into this welcoming abode.

We actually had to stay in a hotel the first night because the smell in the apartment was so bad. They had just painted probably a day earlier and "re-finished" the bathtub. Yeah, not our idea of a move-in ready.

Oh, and this is us trying to keep a smile on our faces. This was day 2 of living in this apartment when the fridge started working so we were a little bit happier.

Since it was our anniversary two days later, we had made plans to go down to South Padre Island. Even though it was a crazy weekend moving in, we felt like we deserved to forget about the mess and get a little piece of paradise. Am I right? So off we went! 

To be honest, I was skeptical of this vacation we planned because it's Texas and does Texas really have good beaches? I was pleasantly surprised! 

South Padre is BEAUTIFUL! There were palm trees everywhere. It's only 30 minutes from the Mexico border, so I can see why it looks a little more exotic than the rest of the state.

Our time at South Padre consisted of lots of boogie-boarding because man does the Gulf have waves like no other! It was fun and exhausting. The water at the Gulf is not pretty but it's warm and the sand is nice. We did lots of crab scouting at night. We also discovered that there was a little amusement park there so Ian of course HAD to ride the go-carts. We went to Sea Turtle Inc. where we got to see turtles that are rescued either because they had an injury or didn't quite make it to the ocean. They rehabilitate them and then send the turtles back into the ocean if they're healthy enough. It was cool seeing that one turtle had a rubber fin!

One of my favorite places we went was the Birding Center. It was a mile and a half of walkways in this swampy area that led out to the ocean. We saw lots of native birds, fishes and crabs. Supposedly there were crocodiles there, but I didn't see them. Marketing scheme maybe? I was REALLY looking forward to seeing them but I guess they decided to hide from us. But this place had an amazing view it was so worth the visit!

They even had a pretty spiral staircase!

We got to play on jet skis, which I have never been on before. That was so much fun! 40 minutes of pure joy and freedom! The dock was in the cutest little neighborhood with gorgeous beach homes right on the ocean water.

 Besides having fun in the water, the food was amazing! We may or may not have eaten gelato every night while we were there. (Ian seriously wouldn't let us go a day without having one) For our anniversary evening, we went to a Japanese grill where they cook the food in front of you. We also had sushi of course, since this was one of our first dates together. But our favorite place we ate was Gabriella's.

It was the last night of our vacation and I was craving some Italian. This place was seriously the most romantic, charming restaurant I've ever been too! Think lady and the tramp. White and red checkered table cloths, a candle, an old-fashioned black and white love story playing on the TV in the background....I was so close to ordering spaghetti just for the sake of trying to reinvent our own Lady and The Tramp...but I love pizza too much. And holy crap, I've never tasted more authentic Italian pizza!

I had tons of leftovers the next day and I was literally eating slices of pizza on our road trip back to College Station. It was that good.

What I loved about this vacation is that we didn't "over plan" it. I tend to want to do a million different things in a day and plan everything out. Ian is the exact opposite. He flies by the seat of his pants and would rather play in the ocean all day and just chill. That's just his personality. I don't really get it, but this vacation I felt like we actually compromised and I realized that sometimes it's okay to have down time. That's part of vacationing.

Speaking of planning activities, we planned a sunset and fireworks cruise for the last evening we were there, but guess what? It rained so they had to cancel. I was super bummed!! But it's just an excuse to come back right?

Something I've learned through all of this past month's exciting and not-so-exciting events, is that life can be tough. It's not always smooth-sailing but when you have someone who loves and cares about you it makes life so much more enjoyable :)

Caps and Gowns

I've clearly dropped the ball on posting updates in my life! The new year so far has been about school, school and more school!

Our hard work has paid off because we're official graduates of BYU-Idaho!! The best part about graduating was that I got to graduate not only with my husband, but my sister too! Ian and I both have a Bachelor's degree in Communication with an emphasis in Public Relations and graduated magna cum laude. We both received the Gordon B. Hinckley Communicator award that only 12 students receive each semester. I was honored to receive it because I look up to President Hinckley in so many ways! 

My daddy and grandma were so excited that they decided to make a trip out for the award ceremony. I was lucky to have my beautiful cousin Rachel and my sister there as well. This picture is blurry sorry there wasn't a better quality one. 
 

This semester was filled with lots of papers to correct ( I was a TA for the Communication Department Chair), a PRSSA Bateman campaign, coding my own website and lots of Illustrator! It has definitely been my most challenging semester so far, but I have also grown the most. I am so proud of what I accomplished.  On top of all that, I've had amazing friends to keep me sane along the way!

I'm really going to miss BYU-Idaho! I didn't think I would, because of the horrid wind, bitter cold, and terrible drivers, but this place truly is special. This university has been a place with so many good memories, including finding my husband here. 

There has been a lot of fun, tears, stressful/late nights, moving, Netflix, runs to Taco Time and G's Dairy, walks in Porter Park, and bocce ball. The college experience is an incredible one and I am so grateful for this part of my life.

I don't really like change, in fact, I kinda hate it. And the fact that I love being a student makes it hard to realize that I'm done with this phase in my life. But the future is exciting! Ian will be applying to grad school next month and I'm currently on the job hunt, so we're excited to see where life takes us next. Hats off to that!

Helping Grant a Wish

I've been interning at Make-A-Wish North Texas this fall, and it has been a blessing in more than one way. A few weeks ago I got to be a part of a truly remarkable experience. I was a wish granter for an 8 year old named Brian who will be getting a kidney transplant soon. His wish was to go on a shopping spree and he received more than $1500 and  in-kind donations to get whatever his heart desired. We got picked up in a limo and headed out for his big day that he'd been anticipating. Brian couldn't keep a smile off his face. And neither could I. Seeing his excitement the entire day as he bought things that he's always wanted, made me so happy.

We went to a few different stores and the mall where managers and staff members treated him like a king. I couldn't believe the hospitality of all the store owners and how they went the extra mile to make Brian's wish day special. I was particularly touched by the manager at GameStop who had made a big sign welcoming Brian to the store and provided him and even bought some things for Brian on his own dime. I was reminded that there are still so many good people out there.

Throughout the day, Brian kept saying that this was the best day of his life. It was one of the longest shopping days, but certainly the most memorable. Helping him pick out his TV at Best Buy and having him pick out toys at Wal-Mart, playing with him at Legoland, made for a day where I was reminded how good it feels to do something for others. 

Make-A-Wish is such an amazing organization and I feel grateful to be a part of it! Brian touched my heart and I will never forget him. 

Celebrating Our 1 Year!

Ian and I celebrated our one year anniversary on August 17th!! Can you believe it's already been a year? We can hardly believe it.

To celebrate, we decided to stay fairly close to home and kick it in Dallas. We thought a weekend get-a-way would be perfect and it was a short drive (we're a little tired of road trips!) which was nice.

On Friday morning, Ian surprised me with this beautiful bouquet :) He knows how much I love flowers. The picture is blurry, but it was the only one I got!

Friday afternoon, we headed to Dallas to go to a Death Cab for Cutie and Iron & Wine concert. As we were driving there, the area became really rundown. There were hardly any stores and it was sketchy. We wanted to grab a bite to eat before the concert, but there were only two choices: McDonald's or Burger King! haha I hate fast food, but we had no choice. So we sat in our car eating McDonald's (a little scared of our surroundings; there were three cop cars right next door). Romantic dinner, right? We laughed about it, even though it wasn't our idea of a nice anniversary dinner.

We got to the concert and it was outdoors, so it was absolutely boiling outside! But we managed to stay fairly cool thanks to some giant fans. The concert was so much fun!! And we discovered a new band that we like: the Oh Hellos. I love their sound! They're kind of similar to Mumford & Sons.

 

After the concert, we checked into our cute hotel called the Le Meridian near the Galleria. It was really nice and we got a great deal on it!

Saturday morning we headed to the Dallas Arboretum which was so beautiful! It was definitely a romantic spot. Even though we got there in the morning it was still hot as heck! But it was worth all the sweat. Here is a video we took of this lovely tunnel of trees, which was our favorite part:

                         Here are some other pictures Ian took of our favorite flowers and plants:

                      

 

Can you see why Ian took me here? It is breathtaking!



















After exploring this "secret garden"  we went to the Dallas World Aquarium. We've been to a few different aquariums in the Bay Area, but I have to say the Dallas one is the best one I've seen yet! It has exotic animals and fish from around the world. What was neat, is that this aquarium is in the middle of the city with all these skyscrapers, and then there was this jungle like place that made you feel like you were in the Amazon or somewhere tropical! So cool.

 
 Here are some of the highlights of what we saw:

  

   

After exploring the aquarium, of course shopping was a must. Dallas has lots of great malls! We went to Grapevine Mills and they had some good outlet stores like The Loft. Ian bought me a little something :)

On Sunday I gave Ian the gift I've been working on with my very talented friend Morgan Urness! She is an amazing graphic designer and helped me make a gift that was special and one-of-a-kind! There are some minor errors on this png  because I was too lazy to update my newest, error-free version. Sad I know, but you get the idea! :) 

That pretty much sums up our romantic weekend! Our first year has been a great one and I look forward to the years ahead with my best friend. I am truly blessed to have a husband like Ian. He is too good to me :) Happy Anniversary honey!

 
   

Reunion in Washington

We've finished another year at BYU-Idaho. Ian is officially done with his classes! Both of us just have an internship to complete before we both graduate in April!

After our semester ended, we headed to Washington for an Andersen family reunion in Washington!

I didn't take a lot of pictures, but I had to write about our time there, because it was lovely. Being in nature is something we needed after the stressful semester. I read this book on the way to the reunion. It was an 11-hour drive so reading was a good way to pass the time. And it's a pretty amazing story of a woman who hikes the Pacific Crest Trail all by herself!

We stayed at Ensign Ranch in Cle Elum, which was absolutely beautiful! I was able to meet all of Ian's dad's family. There were nearly 200 Andersens there! Everyone was so nice and welcoming. They made me feel right at home. They are a fun bunch of people and I can see where Ian gets his humor and charm :)

We did some fun things at the ranch. There was a nice lake where we went canoeing.

There was also a big water slide where we went tubing. It was a blast. Ian was having so much fun, that he popped his shoulder out of place! There was a really bumpy part and he flew off his tube and landed wrong on his bad shoulder. It freaked me out!! I've never seen it out of place before. Thankfully it went back to normal and it didn't stop us from going on the slide some more :)

We enjoyed a day of horseback riding. Ian's horse was an angel but my horse kept trying to eat the plants so he'd stop and hold up the line! haha

One of my favorite things we did was star gazing. It's so peaceful to just lay there looking up at the stars and just talk. Nothing beats star gazing in the middle of the woods! We could see the Milky Way and a ton of shooting stars and satellites! We had a competition to see who could spot the most satellites. Let's just say, Ian has a good eye :)

All the kids there loved Ian because he made a campfire for all of us to roast s'mores! We even discovered they make SQUARE marshmallows. Can't believe I didn't know about this before. haha

After the weekend, I didn't want to leave! I had never been to Washington, and by that time I was already won over.

I would love to go back to Ensign Ranch someday and take our kids there. It was a lovely place :)

P.S. It was also Suzi's birthday when we got there (Ian's younger sister) and so I made her this gift to decorate their apartment...I love crafting!

Spring Break: California and Vegas!

Spring break was the best!!! We spent the majority of the time in California with my family. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to be home again! I haven't seen my family since my wedding. It was weird coming home though because I didn't even stay in my own room. And my room looked different, but my mom still kept some of my things and even decorated my room with some of the wedding decor. She calls it my "shrine." haha You think she misses me much? :)

While we were with my family we went to Jake's baseball game and cheered him on. He is such a good little left-handed pitcher! I was mostly amazed at how tall he's gotten. Holy cow. It made me realize how much time has gone by since I've seen him!

We taught everyone how to play bocceball ( one of me and Ian's favorite outdoor games) and every morning Ian and Jake were outside shooting gophers with a pellet gun. Too funny to watch how intense they got about it.

Then the little kid inside of him really came out. Ian wanted to go play arcade games with everyone so we spent the day at Boomers and drove go-carts and played miniature golf. We had way too much fun playing Deal or No Deal.

We even got to go visit Laura and my cute little nephews and niece Oakley!  She is only a month old, she is precious!

                                     

Ian and I went and had a picnic at the park where he proposed to me. It was neat to be back exactly where we were last year. We grabbed our Mr. Pickle's sandwiches that we had that day and a blanket and headed to the river. It was lovely and brought back so many good memories.
       
              


The day before we left, my whole family went to Six Flags: Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo. It was seriously so fun! I haven't been on roller coaster rides for years. We had a blast!! We watched an elephant and dolphin show which was amazing! And I got absolutely fried from walking around all day. But that's okay. Hey, I wanted some California sun and I got it!

I didn't want that day to end. Because I knew Friday would come and we'd have to leave. I cried that night because I didn't want to leave!! Time really does go by way too fast sometimes.

On Friday we left and of course as we were driving away I start crying my eyes out!! Poor Ian, having to deal with my emotions. But he was so sweet and he always knows how to comfort me.

We had another fun part of our trip to look forward and soon enough I was okay and excited for our next adventure! VEGAS!!

I took way too many pictures here. But I won't post all of them for your sake. I haven't been to Vegas since I was 11. Ian and I decided to stay at the Luxor. The pyramid hotel that projects a giant beam into the sky at night.

I remember seeing it as a girl and I thought it was so cool. Well now I finally got to stay there! We got there Friday evening. It was about a 9-hour drive to Vegas from California. Honestly, car rides like this one do not seem long at all. I was captivated by the Elizabeth Smart book and fell in and out of naps. Ian always makes me laugh until my ribs hurt, so I don't mind road trips :)

We got to the Luxor and I was so excited! I walked in and couldn't believe how huge it was...it was like its own world with a mall, exhibits, restaurants. It was spectacular! We didn't book the hotel room ahead of time so there were only 9 rooms left for the night! We were lucky to get in.

We met up with our buddy CJ who just got a job as nurse in Vegas. We haven't seen him since the wedding and I know Ian and CJ wanted some bro time. He met up with us at our hotel and we headed out on the town for the night!

Vegas was HOPPIN'! There were so many people everywhere probably because it was spring break. But at least it wasn't terribly hot like during other
times of the year. April is a perfect time to go. We walked everywhere. I mean everywhere. I love being in a city filled with lights, music and people!

We walked into pretty much every hotel to check them out. One of my favorite ones was the Bellagio. We stopped and watched the water show they have in their huge pond. There was a lot to see and I'm pretty confident we saw it all. My aching feet could testify to that


On Saturday we discovered that there was the Bodies Exhibit in our hotel and there was no way we were going to pass that up! We got a student discount (yay for being college students!) and it was worth every penny. We literally got to see real human bodies.  Yeah it was a little gross at times. Ian and I felt a little queezy in the beginning but you get used to it. It was more fascinating than anything. The most amazing part of the exhibit was the fetal development section. We got to see embryos just 14 days old. Crazy how tiny and un-human like they look. It was incredible!

Later we headed out on the town again. We couldn't resist stopping at the M&M store. The store had four floors, not even kidding. Look at all these brilliant colors! They even had silver and black ones. We made a mix of our own. My favorite were the raspberry chocolate ones!

  

At night we met with CJ again and went to Treasure Island to watch Mystere, which is a Circque de Soleil show. I've heard so much about these shows, and I felt lucky to be able to go to one. The tickets were not cheap. We got to sit right in the front, second row. Best seats ever. The show was mind blowing! People doing crazy acrobatics! It was very entertaining. I could watch that show again and again. 

The next day we headed back to Rexburg and got to visit my daddy, grandma and brother for Easter in Utah on our way back. 

It was a great vacation! Now we have a new semester to "look forward" to.