Where DO I live?

Not many people have been to Oklahoma. And since Todd and I are spending our first Christmas together with my family, I decided to show everyone what Oklahoma actually looks like. So many people ask me where I'm from and then when I tell them they have nothing to say. They are always like "Ohhhh......that's cool...." and silently add the word lame on the end. But, Oklahoma really is not that lame. It keeps you on your toes. For example: a week before I got here there was a HUGE ice storm. Now it's about 60 degrees. And tomorrow it will drop to the twenties. Everyday is an experience and it's just so good to be home! My small town is not mentioned on this map, but just look to the southeast and use your imagination.

Cleveland Rocks!

So last month I went to Cleveland to visit my brother. My sister-in-law Chrissy was going to have surgery and so I flew out to help with Evie and Zella (the CUTEST girls in the whole world!) Anyway, Chrissy ended up getting pregnant so the surgery was a no-go, but I still went to see them. It was so much fun! We went to the mall, played the Wii, and went to eat at the Cheesecake factory....yummmm. Here are some pictures of Evie and Zella (I got really picture crazy with Zella) , and a couple of Mike and Chrissy. Chrissy, I miss you! You are the cutest mom in the world. Mike and I at the Kirkland Temple.

Chrissy playing Guitar Hero. So fun. Wish I could buy one...

Zella modeling for the camera.

Evie pouting. This picture really cracks me up. You can tell she is
thinking "my life is horrible".

Evie not pouting. She is so cute.

Zella. Enough said.

This one makes me want to cry! She looks so sweet.

Answer to Rach's tag...

In answer to Rachel's tag here are a few things about me that most people don't know...just hope I still have a couple friends after this:

1) Water. I love to get a glass of water to drink, but I never drink the whole thing. Then a couple hours later when I'm thirsty again, instead of grabbing the glass of water that I just had, I'll go get a new glass because that other water is now old. The way I think of it is like this: who really knows what is in the tap water? And whatever is in there has just had time to sit still and multiply...plus it collects dust. EEWWWW! My all time favorite bottled water is Fiji. And yes, you can taste a difference in bottled water.

2) I HATE people touching/using my things. This does not mean a plate or blanket, I'm talking about my personal things such as my clothes and makeup. LeeAnn, you should remember what I'm talking about. :) My friends in high school were afraid to use my things. This goes along with the fact that sometimes I'm messy, but I still know where everything is. Really.

3) On the opposite side of Rach, I'm addicted to Advil. I LOVE it. I use it for every ache and pain and I'm pretty sure I'll soon become immune.

4) I, like Heather, talk in my sleep. But unlike Cory, Todd has actually had conversations with me. And I think my mom has, too. I also have a lot of dreams that come true later on. One time I was eating breakfast and I remembered I had this dream I was doing and thinking this. Then I thought I would out smart my dream and think of something random to throw it off, so I thought of the random word "airplane"... but that was in my dream, too. Weird.

5) In high school I was bit by a fiddle-back spider. It was this huge sore on my leg and left a scar. Gross, huh?

6) I am DEATHLY afraid of really deep water. Not deep water in a pool, but deep water in the ocean or lakes. You can't pay me to get in for long periods if at all. Who knows what's down there? When I went snorkeling in Hawaii, Todd and I went to deep and I practically had a panic attack until I was back on shore. I really couldn't breath and I was shaking...I'm really afraid of sharks in the ocean. Yes, I know the odds of me getting eaten, but if there it's even 1 in 1000, I'll be that 1. Even at Lake Powell I had a hard time. Yeah, it's irrational, but it's still real. And valid.

So that's it. Sorry it was boring, but I had my duty to answer Rachel. (Plus she is having a baby soon and I don't want her to be mad at me so I can hold her the most :)

Halloween

So, a couple weeks ago Todd and I were put in the activities committee. Our first assignment was to plan the Halloween party. Yeah, it was fun going out and buying our costumes and dressing up, but the party was lame. I mean, LAME! If it were not for our friends, I think I would have morphed into a real vampire and started killing people just for something to do. And the boringness (not sure if that's a word) was not our fault. Really. We planned activities. Like, really fun ones such as making caramel apples with all sorts of candy bars to put on them, fishing, cake walk...ya know stuff that should make you want to do things but instead everyone just stood around and talked. On the bright side, Todd won funniest costume. I went as a vampire and Todd a cowboy. Here are some pics.

What did you just say??

Yesterday at work the funniest thing happened. Actually, two funny things happened. The first one went like this:

Tyson (a four year old in my class): "I don't get this worksheet! Which one am I supposed to cross out?"
Me: "Well, what does that picture look like? Does the kitty look like the rest of the houses?" (You were supposed to cross out the picture that didn't match.)
Tyson: "It just looks like one big, huge kitty to me..."
Ben (another four year old who says his K's like T's): "Yes, one big, huge titty."

Then at nap time I heard a little girl scream this to one of her friends, "How do you like that, Bridger?!?" I took her out to the hallway and asked her why she was screaming. She just started crying and finally admitted to farting on Bridger's head! Gross, I know, but very funny.

Ivy Elizabeth

Last Monday my sister, Ellen, had her first baby. Her name is Ivy Elizabeth and she is seven pounds seven ounces. She is a doll! I won't be able to meet her until around Christmas, but that's okay with me. She won't realize I'm her favorite person in the world until she's about two, anyway. Here is a picture of her and my sister who still looks incredible, even after giving birth:

My head itches...

It has happened. I have been dreading this day since I started working with kids. One of these children (thankfully not one out of my class) was complaining about their head itching. I didn't even have to look...the LICE was right there climbing all around in this kids hair. I just about fainted. Now, I'm really not that much of a freak when it comes to bugs, but lice gets to me. When I was in third grade I got it and my MOM cut my hair. So you can imagine my memories tied to these little pests. I had Todd check my hair and treated it just in case.

My head is itching just thinking about it. Blah.

Answer to Chrissy:

Here is an answer to Chrissy's tag on what I "need." For further explanation just check out Chrissy's blog.
Joy needs:
1) Tragedy (please no...)
2) Prayer
3) To leave her office (???)
4) Personal time with her husband (this is a PG website) and babies
5) Jokes
This is true. Google it if you don't believe me.

Todd needs:
1) A spanking (from me?)
2) To live up to his contract
3) Color models
4) A home

Mrs. Joy...or Doy as they say it....

So, I have found a job doing what I do best...which is apparently wiping runny noses and tying shoes. Yes, I am a preschool teacher. And I LOVE it! I have about eight kids in my class and they are all so adorable. There is a little girl named Taylor who is so funny. I want to adopt her. The other day I caught her in the bathroom stuffing toilet paper in her shirt to make it look like she had boobs. I know what you're thinking... "But you don't have a teaching degree yet" and to this I say "Yeah, I'm just that good." Time just flies by when I'm there. I had some pictures of them on here, but I don't want creeps looking at them. They are adorable...but still no comparison to my nieces!

Disclaimer

After reading the last post, I realize it might be just a little dramatic. So here I go to set some things straight: Rexburg is really not that bad. Utah is great, but everyone must understand that Oklahoma is still, and always will be, my number one. (While my family lives there, anyway) Utah is right by Oklahoma...but it also ties with Texas for where I want to live in the future. So Mike, maybe now you won't want to wash my mouth out with soap. :)

A Tribute to Utah

So, it has happened. I officially miss Utah. And if you ever ask me about this again, I won't admit it. I miss living two minutes from a Mall (notice it is capitalized because I now show this word its proper respect), I miss BYU in Provo, I miss Matt and Cate, and I miss the Jackson family. I also miss Tori (the little girl I babysat), and I miss having all the options of places to eat. To say it gently, I hate Idaho and I love Utah! I know this is just for a couple of years, but I think I might just not make it. So, if you find out that I have driven off some cliff or went swimming with a toaster, just know that I'm in a much better place. Probably Mall heaven. Here are some pictures of the Jackson family. We miss you! And lastly to our temple. True, I didn't get to see it all the often, but knowing I'm four hours away makes it worse.

I'm addicted to blogging!

This is where we got my wedding ring. Matt and Cate had this idea and we stole it. (I'm good at stealing ideas like that) Anyway, is this store the cutest or what? Not as cute as me and Todd, but close. Oh, and we moved up to Idaho! Yes, we are living in the soon to be frozen tundra of BYU-Idaho. We just got up here Saturday so I will tell everyone more about it later.

Long time, no blog...

This past month has been exciting to say the least. First of all, we went to Oklahoma to visit my parents. There, Todd and I had our year anniversary, my dad had his birthday, saw the OKC bombing sight (first time for me), and went fishing. Oh, and we ate tons and tons of food. That's like the main thing my family likes to do. That, and eat icecream out of cups...which I still think is normal. :) Here are some pics of our Oklahoma trip. Enjoy...but not to much.

For our anniversary, Todd took me to an italian restaurant called Papa Gorgio's (I have NO idea how to spell it). While we were eating he pulled out pearl earings! They are just so beautiful...you can see them in the picture if you look close enough.

All the employees came out to sing my dad happy birthday. He turned thirty nine! No, he's older but I'm not allowed to say. (It was a mexican resturant which explains the hat)

My mom, me, and my dad

Courtney, Matt making weird/evil face, and Cate

This was written by a rescue worker on a wall right by where the building used to stand.

Fishing! There is no greater thing to do in the world. Don't you LOVE the hats? My g-pa gave them to us. We all caught a fish. Matt and I caught the biggest...not to brag or anything. I'm just SUCH an outdoorsy type of person- as long as I can still wear my pearls.

Lake Powell, July 2007

Lake Powell and the boys pulling the boat after it broke.

Last week Todd and I went to Lake Powell with his family. Lets just say I'm not a camper so it took a pretty big toll on me. As for Todd, he says he came back energized, but he can't even straighten his arms because water skiing just about killed him. Too many things happened to write, so I'll make a list of the most memorable.
- having like 40 people on one house boat
- sleeping OUTSIDE in the RAIN (big deal for me)
- bathing in the lake and thinking it is clean. blah.
- getting tan :)
- the boat breaking down and watching all the boys push it back to the house boat (which took three hours!)
- eating fantastic food
- riding the wave runners with Todd while screaming in his ear
- watching Todd water ski...he really is amazing at it.
Well, that's not all that happened, but it's a good overall picture. Yes, it was a blast and we will go back despite all the grossness of camping.















Todd water skiing and me trying not to burn.

Life is just so exciting...

So, Todd is out of school for the summer. His life now consists of playing video games, watching made for t.v. movies, and doing dishes. (oh, and working) Anyway, my classes are going so great. I spend tons of hours in the BYU preschool, and now I'm beginning to understand why I'm in this major. All you do is play, eat, play, and then go home. There is a little Hindu boy who just runs around because he doesn't understand English screaming "Hello, Goodbye!" He thinks it's hilarious. So, Todd is turning in his application to the business school this week. Keep your fingers crossed!
p.s. Rachel is pregnant! Auntie Joy wants a baby girl since Heather is already giving me a boy. I'll post a picture of these wonderful women later...they were my first roommates and still my best friends. I'm so excited for them!

Hawaii 2007

This May Todd's family took us to Hawaii. It was so much fun! Not just because we got to eat all the junk food that we usually can't afford to buy, but because all we had to do for a week was go to the beach. I'm sad to say we didn't see any famous people, but we did get to go to some famous beaches. :)

Easter 2007

This Easter Todd and I went to Goblin Valley and Little Wild Horse Canyon with his family. It was really fun, except for the part where the hike was six hours long and I got a really bad sunburn. But, Todd loved the narrows and we got to eat at a really good burger place afterwards.

August 24, 2006

Reception Picture
Us at our wedding. Dang, that picture gives me some major bags under my eyes. This was probably the longest day of my life, but it was also the most fun. What was the best part? Being with all my family...duh. Especially my way to cute niece, Evie. I have this feeling I might just love her more than my own children. What can ya do?

Curious

Just checking to see how this whole thing works. I have to say that im a little interested in the whole "blog" thing. We probably won't get going until we have a kid and our lives actually get interesting, but hey I was curious!

Here's a picture from our honey moon at Catalina Island, August 2006.