Happenings of late

I know, I know...It's been forever right? Well, we aren't the most exciting people in the world but we have been super busy! To finish of June we celebrated Mark's birthday but sadly he was too stressed with school that day to enjoy it very much! I tried to make the day as good as I could; you would have to ask him whether or not it worked! I did make him Magic Cookie Bars (or

Million Dollars bars as the Splain side call them) for his birthday. We had a lot of cake with my birthday and Brian's already so he enjoyed those I think. We also celebrated being married for 6 months in June as well.

Anyway, July has been a busy month. Projects, huge papers, and finals were not fun, but Mark lived through them! Fourth of July weekend we got to leave Rexburg (finally!) and visit Mark's family in Utah. Mom was here for the summer so we all got together (except Jen - we missed you!) for her birthday. It was tons of fun! Mark and I hadn't seen sun all summer so we got REALLY bad sun burns while we were swimming all day and then paid for it with a little heat exhaustion. It didn't ruin it for us though! We still had a blast. Thanks to Emily and Ryan for their hospitality. We had so much fun lighting and watching fireworks with the family and laughing as the nieces and nephews screamed. It was a good boost for Mark before he had to start into finals. Mark is hard to see but he is lighting a firework.

So then came the projects, papers, studying and finals. It seemed like it was one thing right after the other without any breathing room. Working at the temple cut into the extra time that he could have had on the weekend, but it helped us to get through the next stretch. Long story short...it was not fun, but we lived through it. Let's just say Mark was pleased with the results. I am so proud of him and he worked extremely hard. I couldn't ask for a better man in my life. :)

Mark's mom came to visit us and we loved having her here! She brought lots of fun stuff with her including more furniture! She also brought Mark amazing supply of jeans which we since have decided to use for a huge jean blanket.

And now...SCHOOL IS OUT!! We love it! I still have to work but Mark is enjoying his break from school and work. Mark wakes up every morning and says, "Babe, I don't have to go to school today!" with a huge smile on his face. It has been nice to spend so much time together! I feel like we are honeymooning again sometimes because that is the last time we have been able to spend this much time together! :)

The jean blanket undertaking is turning out to be a much larger project than I was expecting but I am remembering how much I love to sew! (when there is no grade attached to the project) I have been sewing up a storm and with Mark's help, with ironing and pinning, it has saved a lot of time. I spent two full days and made a lot of progress and finally have at least something to show for it. It is turning out to be awesome so far and we can't wait for the finished product! Here are pictures of the steps so far:

Lastly, this week we went with some friends to Mesa Falls and had tons of fun. It was a beautiful day and a great hike! Thanks for coming Andrea and Jordan! Mesa Falls is only about 45 minutes from our house and we decided we should go more often.

The goal for August: See my parents and brothers (we will miss Christine and her fam!), complete jean blanket, see Yellowstone, see Teton National Park, and finish reading Hunger Games.