Clint & Tiffany

Happenings

2011-12-22T14:33:00.000-08:00

Are you surprised that I'm posting? I know I sure am! I guess this is what happens when you have two weeks off of work (!!!!) and you just don't want to clean the house, again.
Clint and I have been having so much fun going to work, sleeping and the occasional trip to see family. For Halloween we stayed home and handed out candy to our cute neighbors. There were some pretty cute costumes! I think my all time favorite was a family dressed up like the Incredibles (yes, I'm talking about you Patrice!). Amazing...or should I say incredible? :) Clint and I carved pumpkins, which I haven't done in ages! Sure was fun, but oh so messy!

(Mine is the ghost...Clint found an Angry Bird pattern online that he just had to do!)

For the holidays we switch off whose family we go to each year. However, our families live about 5 minutes away from each other, so really we are just switching off who we spend more time with (so far, it has worked very well!). Well, this year was my family's turn to endure us for Thanksgiving! My Grandma was able to be there, which was so nice. It had been awhile since I had seen her. We had turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, jello (can't live in Utah and not have Jello!), rolls, corn, green beans, and red cabbage (it's a German thing? Tastes a lot like pickles...). Oh, and don't forget the pies...I think we had a pie for each person! On Friday, Jessica and I braved the crowds and went shopping. It actually wasn't that bad. I think a lot of people had already gone the night before, so it was just like a busy Saturday. That night we went up to Temple Square to see the lights. Gorgeous as always.

(Clint really needed a hair cut in this picture! Don't worry, he got one last week...)

On Saturday my Grandma taught us how to make Liebkuchen, which is a German honey cake. I have been wanting to learn for years how to make this! I'm glad my Dad was so persistent on us making it. For those of you who haven't heard of it, it's very similar to gingerbread, but better. I wish I would have taken pictures, but I was too busy helping Grandma! I have already eaten all of ours. Don't worry, I gave a few pieces to Clint.

Work is going great. I love my schedule this year. Because I'm only part time I only work in the mornings. I have two classes each day, and I wouldn't have it any other way! I am slowly getting the hang of my Chemistry class. It's one thing to know the information and another to actually teach it. The nice thing about it is I only have 17 kids in that class! They are an awesome class. I still love what I do, but I don't always like doing it. Does that make sense?

We will be with Clint's family for Christmas this year. Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. This year it has been harder to get into the Christmas spirit. I don't know what it is, but it has just been harder. I find that I have to remind myself that Christmas isn't about the presents or the house being decorated or treats being made (although, I made some pretty yummy ones this year!), it's really about remembering the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. I have always loved the story of Christ's birth. So simple, yet so profound. Before we could open presents on Christmas morning, my Dad would read the story to us from the Bible and remind us that even though we receive presents, to never forget the True Meaning of Christmas. This is something that I have carried onto my own little family. At first Clint thought it was weird, but now I think he secretly likes it. I know our Savior lives and that He loves each one of us.

I hope each one of you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I Know, I Know...

2011-07-27T15:19:00.000-07:00

I'm a slacker! I haven't blogged in, oh, about a year :) Wow, that was awhile ago, huh? Well, let me update you on what has been going on in the past year....are you ready? This might be a very l o n g post...

I started teaching high school science last August. I have to be honest, I didn't love it at first; I didn't even like it. I had a very challenging class full of freshmen. All they wanted to do was talk, complain, and talk some more. It was a hard first few months. Thankfully, I got a Christmas Break :) That energized me and the second half of the year was a LOT better! My challenging class and I got to know each other better and we came to an agreement. They would let me teach, and I would let them talk the last 10 minutes of class. It worked about 85% of the time, which I was so grateful for! At least they were progressing! By the fourth quarter I loved teaching. I felt like it was where I belonged and needed to be (which I had my doubts at the first). I will be teaching again this next year and I will teach Chemistry and Earth Systems. I will miss teaching Biology. I don't feel as confident teaching Chemistry or Earth Systems, but Biology is where I know the most and feel the most comfortable. I will for sure be stepping out of my comfort zone this next school year! I'm very grateful that I work with some amazing teachers that help me so much. I don't think I would have survived this past year without them.

Clint still works at the bank, and is loving it! At least, that is what he tells me :) I think it's kind of weird that we both have 'grown-up' jobs. I still feel like I should be in college going to school! I don't feel 'grown-up' at all!

I have been really bad about taking pictures this past year. I don't even have any from Christmas or Thanksgiving! I sure hope someone has a picture of us somewhere during those times :)

My family always goes up to Temple Square in SLC around Thanksgiving time. This year, we did it the day after Thanksgiving. There were a LOT of people there, but it was so pretty! It had been a long time since I've been there to see the lights. There's just something about seeing Christmas lights on trees that makes me smile :) I did get pictures of this event, so not all is lost!

As you can see from the picture, my brothers are crazy! They like to wear shorts in the winter... We were only missing two people: Chloe (Jer and McCall's daughter) and Jared.

In March we went with some of my family to St. George and visited some historical sites (my Dad is big on historical sites and has always wanted to see the ones in St. George). We went to the Temple where we saw many couples that had just gotten married (so cute!). Then we went to the Tabernacle and listened to an Organ Concert. It was so cool! It's amazing what you can do with an Organ. Then we went to Brigham Young's house and took a tour. It's a small, but quite cute house!

In April we decided to be adventurous and hike Angel's Landing in Zions National Park. Our friends had done it earlier that month and Jenny and Josh (Clint's sister and her husband) had done it the month before so we were feeling a little left out :) They kept telling us how pretty it was and I think we just wanted to see it for ourselves. That is one HARD hike! The sign right before the trail head says something like if you are scared of heights and are out of shape to not do this hike; we didn't listen to this advice. We didn't think we were THAT out of shape. Boy, were we wrong! I could barely make it through one switchback without having to stop and catch my breath. But, as soon as you reach the top, it's so worth it.

The view is spectacular. This picture doesn't do it justice.

We made the mistake of going on a free pass day, so there were a lot of people there. Note to self: always know when free pass days are and don't go on that day! I'm not sure if I would ever do that hike again. Maybe in a few years when I have forgotten how much pain my knees were in the next day.

We made it to the top!

In June Clint and I went to Disneyland! I hadn't been since I was 6 and Clint hadn't been since he was about 12. I have always wanted to go again (I don't remember a thing from when I was 6) and we had been talking about going since we got married. This year, everything just fell into place so we went! I love Disneyland! It's amazing what they have done with the place. My favorite ride was Space Mountain and I loved the 3D show It's tough to be a bug. But, I think my most favorite part was the Jedi Training show that they do. It is awesome! I loved it and I wasn't even apart of it! They pick kids from the crowd and they get to 'train' to be a Jedi. Once they have 'trained' Darth Vader, Darth Maul and Storm Troopers come from out of the ground. Each kid gets to 'fight' Darth Vader. There was this little girl about 4 and she went right up to him and wasn't scared one bit. I would have been scared! It was so neat! Ok, so maybe I'm a little bit of a nerd, but they did awesome on the costumes and voices.

We spent three days there going between Disneyland and California Adventure. It was the perfect amount of time. We did EVERYTHING that we wanted to do, and then some more. It was so nice to get away from everything and just have some time to ourselves. It was nice that we didn't have to worry about anyone else, and we could just do what we wanted to do. Clint was so good at going on rides that were more for little kids than for us. But, you are in Disneyland, you have to go on them! (Like It's a Small World, etc.)

Classic picture front of the Castle. It was cloudy and kind of cold in the mornings.

My favorite Disney movie is Peter Pan, so of course we had to go on the ride! Don't I look so excited! I think this was the best one in Fantasy Land

This summer we have had something going on each weekend whether it is hiking, camping, or family stuff. It sure has been fun, but it makes the summer go by a lot faster! And it makes it a little harder to put in our front yard.

We hiked Kanaraville Falls with our ward. You walk up a river through a slot canyon. The water was FREEZING but it was fun to get out and do something! Plus, it was absolutely beautiful which makes it worth it.

And, of course, summer isn't summer without a trip to Bryce Canyon :) I still love it and marvel at how beautiful it is. We didn't get there until about 7pm and went on a short hike. It was the perfect temperature and not a lot of people were there. We camped at 'our spot', which is still gorgeous as ever. Good times!

Well, we planted a garden again this year, and it is doing a lot better than it was last year! Our corn is actually growing and doesn't look sickly. It's still not perfect, but we are learning something new each time so hopefully each year will get better than the previous ones :) Clint and his Dad are going to put in our sprinkler system this weekend so that we can finally start on our front yard :) I am so excited to have grass instead of dirt and weeds! Other than that, our life is pretty dull!

I promise I won't wait another year to update what has been going on with us, but I can't promise when it will be!

Just the Two of Us

2010-07-26T12:12:00.000-07:00

Not including our Honeymoon, Clint and I have never taken a vacation all by ourselves. We have always been with either friends or family. Don't get me wrong, I love our family and friends and love to go on vacation with them. But, this year I wanted to do something with just Clint; no one else. Clint has to take 5 days off in a row, so we decided to go to Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon and Zions National Parks. Mostly because Clint has never been to any of them, or if he has he doesn't remember them, and also because I had to write a report on a national park for the class I took this summer (all done!). Just a disclaimer: Because it was just the two of us on this trip, most, if not all, of the pictures on this post will be of Clint and me. :)

First stop: Bryce Canyon National Park! This is my favorite National Park in Utah (I haven't been to any outside of Utah, so I can't say). It wasn't too hot, which was oh so nice! In fact, it didn't get over 85 degrees while we were there. I think that's almost perfect! If you ever want to go somewhere out of the country, but don’t want to spend a lot of money, go to Bryce Canyon. There were so many people from out of the country that at times I felt like I was in Europe or Asia! Everyone was speaking anything but English.

Clint and Me

(It was a little bit of a challenge at times to get a good picture of us with no one else to take it.)

The one thing I really wanted to do was to go down into Bryce Canyon and hike among the red, orange, and white rock. I LOVED it! I wished we could have done it all day, but my feet hurt after awhile. Wow it's been a long time since I've actually hike!

(A very nice man, who barely spoke English, took our picture after seeing us struggle to take it ourselves!)

Clint gathering firewood like a real man!

We didn't want to camp in the campgrounds and we happened to see a friend of ours who is a Park Ranger, so she told us of a nice road to go on to find a spot to camp. It was PERFECT!! I think this was my favorite part of the entire trip! Although there wasn't a bathroom, the view and secludedness made up for it. We would just sit on our camping chairs and look around listening to the crickets in the trees (not sure what they were, but we called them 'our bugs'. They sounded a lot like crickets, but faster). We stayed here two nights because it was so nice. We were kind of sad to leave (kind of because I wanted a real bathroom!)

The view from our camping spot. Georgeous!

Next stop, the Grand Canyon! So, I've been to the Grand Canyon on the North side, and I wasn't all that impressed. This is how it went my first time there: 'Oh cool! That is really far down. WOW! Ok, let's go.' I told Clint this, but he still wanted to see it. I don't think he really believed me. He sure did when we got there! He said: 'This is it? I mean it's cool and all, but I thought it would be better.'

We did a short little hike, sat in the shade and watched people marvel at the Grand Canyon, took some pictures, and then we left. It sure is amazing! (but Bryce Canyon is better).

Yep! Sure is Grand!

We were going to camp in a campground near Grand Canyon, but as we drove around it, we still couldn't get over how secluded it was at our last spot and how close together everyone was at this campground (no privacy at all!), so we didn't. We drove back to Kanab and stayed in a small campground just outside of the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. There were people there, but they were on the other side of the campground and there were lots of trees, so it was nice. I think I only saw one person the whole time we were there. Plus, it was only $5!

And last, but not least, Zion National Park. It was so HOT!! But, I thought it was beautiful! One hike (it was really a walk) went right next to the river and ended at the river so you could get in and play. At first I didn't know this and I saw people with their swim suits on and I thought to myself: That is not good hiking attire! I was so confused, until we reached the end. The river was nice and refreshing! We took our socks and shoes off and waded in the freezing cold water. I sat down in it and I was dry by the time we got back to the shuttle bus; that is how hot it was! I would love to go back when it's not so hot and when I'm not so ready to take a shower! Four days is a little too long for me to not take a shower.

(It took us awhile to get this picture! Fourth time's the charm!)

The water was so cold and so nice!

I have to be honest; I was a little worried to go on a trip all by ourselves for this long. What if I didn’t like being with him for so long? Or what if we got sick of each other? But, I am happy to say, we didn’t. It was so nice to get away from TV, work, the internet, cell phones and especially the Xbox. I had Clint all to myself for 4 whole days, and it was so nice! Sometimes I wish we could do this every day. I guess if we did, it wouldn’t be called a vacation.

Gross!

2010-07-26T12:07:00.000-07:00

We have bugs in our garden. Our zucchini and squash plants have those zucchini bugs (I think that's what they are called) so I have been spraying the plant with a mixture of water and dish soap because we heard that it would kill the bugs when they ate the plant. Plus it is easy and cheap. I don't think it's been working. They seem to multiply by 20 each time I go out there! I try and kill the ones that I can see when I'm out there, but there are eggs all over the leaves. It's really disgusting!

And then, while we were watering the other day, we found this big caterpillar/warm thing inching around our tomatoe plants. Clint wanted me to kill it. I think he was a little scared to kill it, but so was I! That thing was HUGE!

So, we finally gave in and bought some bug-killer stuff (don't remember what it's called) to get rid of them. We put it on Friday, so we will see if it works. Sure hope so! At least they aren't in our house! I don't think I could handle that. Oh the things you learn when you plant a garden :) Bytheway, we now know to plant marigolds near our tomato plants. If you know of any other trick, let me know.

The tomato worm.

I don't know why they are called worms when they are so big! This one was as fat at my thumb.

Easy Banana Cream Pie

2010-06-29T19:24:00.000-07:00

I love, love, LOVE Banana Cream Pie! On Sunday I really wanted one, so I figured I could just make one without a recipe and with whatever I had on hand. It actually turned out really good! Here is what I did:

1 package Banana pudding

1/2 of 8oz cool whip

1 graham cracker pie crust

1 3/4 c Milk

2 bananas (more if you want!)

Cut bananas into pieces and place on bottom of pie crust. I bought my pie crust at the store because it was more convenient, but you can easily make your own with graham crackers and butter or with vanilla wafers. Wisk banana pudding and milk together for about 1 min, just to get it all mixed. Mix in cool whip. Pour mixture onto pie crust and chill for at least an hour.

Clint LOVED this pie, and actually asked me to make another one for later that night! I would have taken a picture, but I was enjoying it way too much and by the time I thought about taking a picture, it was all gone. Oh, well... Let me know if you have a better recipe; I am always up for a good piece of Banana Cream Pie!

Everything and Anything

2010-06-11T21:59:00.000-07:00

This past month or so has been quite busy for Clint and me! I guess I will start with the sad stuff and move onto the more happy stuff. I have to warn you this post is a little long! But, atleast there are pictures :)

My Mom's Mom, Barbara LaRue Zwhalen Lambert, passed away on June 5, 2010. It was a little expected, but still very hard. She was staying with my parents the past 6 weeks or so, so that is where she passed away. She was born on January 18, 1922 so she lived a long and productive life. She served in the Marines as the head cook and married my Grandpa who was in the Navy at the time. Together they had 9 kids with 8 of them still living. This made for some very fun and very large family get togethers!

I love my Grandma very much. She taught me to always be kind to others, love everyone, stay faithful in the gospel and to work hard. She would always ask how I was and what I was up to and she would listen even though at times I'm sure it was kind of boring!

My Grandma was very beautiful, I think, even when she got older. I think that this picture is from right before my Grandpa and her got married.

My Grandma and me.

My Mom and Dad were in school and going to work right after I was born and so my Grandma took care of me often, even when she broke both of her ankles! She was amazing!

My Grandma and Grandpa

It's a little hard having so many deaths in my family in such a short time. I feel like everytime I turn around someone else is getting old and starting to die. I don't like dealth; I never have. I especially don't like funerals and I wish that I could never go to another funeral again. It's not that they are horrible, it's just that I tend to remember each and every funeral I have ever been to and the feelings that I felt at each one. I also tend to cry when I see or hear someone else crying and I don't like crying. My eyes get red and puffy, my nose runs and I talk funny.
One Sunday in Relief Society we were talking about the Plan of Salvation and one sister commented on how she loves how she can go to funerals and be happy because she knows that there is life after death. I wanted to comment and almost disagree with her, but I didn't because I didn't think it would have been appropriate. Yes I know that I will see my Grandma, Grandpas and Aunt again, but that doesn't make it any easier for me to have them pass away. I am happy that they are healthy, but I'm sad because I don't get to see them for what feels like a long time. Death is never easy, no matter how much you know or how strong your testimony of the gospel is. I know this sounds a little selfish and very childish, but it's just how I feel.

Anyway, now onto something much more happier! Clint graduated and now has his MBA! I am so proud of him! It feels so nice to finally be done with school and have him home at night. The only problem is that now that he's home at night, I have to actually cook something for dinner...

Clint with his Master's hood. I was so jealous! Someday I want to get my PhD. I love school and Clint doesn't really care, so it's kind of funny that he is the one to get his Master's and I'm not. But, someday, when we have more money, hopefully I will.

My sister, Jessica, graduated from High School!

This makes me feel so OLD! I remember when she was born and when we hated each other. Now, she is one of my best friends. I think my parents were smart to have us share a room when we were younger, although at the time I wanted to runaway! We would stay up late talking and just being goofy. I am so proud of who she has become and everything that she does.

My youngest brother and sister have graduated from Elementary school.

They are so ready to move onto Jr. High! This makes me feel even older. I remember my Mom telling me she was pregnant and going to the doctor and learning that my Mom was going to have twins! I am so glad they are my brother and sister! Spencer is so funny he cracks me up every time I talk to him. And Emily is so nice and good with animals. If you ever want to know what kind of dog is what, Emily will know. She loves animals; anything and everything about them!

Clint decided to play Soft Ball with the bank on a city league and has liked it so far. The only down part to it is that they haven't won a game :( Although, they have been close twice! But, he has fun doing it.

We put in a garden! This picture is of our raspberry plants. Clint LOVES raspberries and so when a lady at his work offered us her raspberries plants (she can't take care of them anymore) Clint was so excited! He talked about it for weeks! We were a little nervous that they wouldn't make it because of the shock of them being transplanted, but out of the 50 plants we got (yes, 50...) about 47 of them are starting to come alive! We don't think we will get raspberries this year, but next year we will have a TON.

My sisters and brother came down over Memorial weekend and helped us put in our garden and to have some fun. I haven't taken a picture of it yet, but it is a lot bigger than I expected! We planted corn, tomatoes, onions, zuchinni, and squash. We really hope something will grow and we get atleast one tomato! This is our first time planting a garden, and we sure are learning a lot. Don't worry, we didn't make my siblings work the entire weekend. We also went shotgun shooting, had a Bar-B-Q, played games, and visited the cemetary (my family does that every year so we had to). We loved having them here. It was nice to have a full house for once.

I'm all grown up

2010-05-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

Since I have been done Student Teaching I have been looking at teaching jobs and because I live in a kind of small town, there aren't too many Science Teaching positions open. There were a couple at the Middle School here, but I didn't catch them in time, and, to be honest, I really don't like teaching Middle School aged kids! I've tried and they are a little too immature for me! Anyway, I had given up all hope when I happened to look last Wednesday and there was a position open and it was EXACTLY what I was looking for! Part time, science, at a High School. Perfect! So, I ran around that day getting everything that I needed to apply for it and the next day I went and turned in my application.

I didn't think I would get an interview until the next Wednesday or so, but they called up on Monday and set up an interview for that afternoon. I was so nervous! I spent the rest of the morning brushing up on my teaching skills and philosophy and looking up interview questions that they may ask. There are some tough questions out there! The interview went well. Thankfully they didn't ask the tough questions that I was dreading. I actually Student Taught with one of the interviewers, which made me even more nervous (not that I didn't like her, but that I knew her and she was helping interviewing me!). I walked out feeling ok, but over analyzing everything that I had said (that is just what I do). I called Clint and told him a play-by-play of how the interview went. Clint told me to stop worrying and that I did great (he really is the best husband ever!). So, I made up my mind that I didn't get the job and to stop worrying about it (for me, this is the only way to stop thinking about something).

Well, this morning one of the interviewers called and asked some questions on specific classes I had taken and then told me that I only needed one more class and I would be qualified to teach Earth Systems (which was one of the classes they needed a teacher for) and asked if I would be willing to take that class this summer if it meant I would get the job. I said yes, and she said thanks, we will let you know our decision. That made me so nervous! I was fine until that phone call!! Anyway, I went to the library to look up that one class to see if it was offered this summer at the University and it is. But, I didn't want to sign up for it if I wasn't going to get the job.

And then I got a phone call from the principal at the High School and she offered me the job on condition that I take that class, of course. AHHHH!!!! I said I accepted it and I would take that class this summer. I was shaking so hard I could hardly hold the phone. I know this is a very long story, but I need to ramble to someone, and Clint is at work and I have talked his ear off enough these past few days while he has been at work (hopefully he doesn't get in trouble!).

So, I am officially a high school science teacher! It feels good to have gone to school for so long and work so hard for something and have it finally pay off. One of my dreams is finally coming true. And, yes, I know it's weird to dream about being a science teacher, but that's just me. I am a nerd and proud of it!

Circle of Life

2010-04-13T19:40:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law, McCall, had her baby. She is one of the cutest little babies I have ever seen, but I may be a little biased. She came a month early, but both Mother and baby are doing great.

Chloe
(How adorable is she?)

My Grandpa Walgren passed away on March 29, 2010. It was a long time coming, but still very hard. Each time I saw him I always told Clint: "This will probably be the last time I get to see him" and I've been saying that since before we got married three years ago. He had diabetes and the past 4 or so years the disease starting getting to him.

My Grandpa was a very special man to me. I always looked up to him and he was my favorite

person to talk to because he would always make me laugh. One thing that has stood out to me about my Grandpa was that he paid attention to details. My family and my Grandparents were all hiking and we would take frequent stops (mostly because of me...my face goes really red when I do practically anything and they were worried that I would get overheated). Each time we stopped, Grandpa would point out little things like a pretty little flower amidst weeds or a squirle or something like that. At first I was so amazed that he saw those things! But, then I started looking for them and I had so much fun showing him all the things that I saw. He taught me to slow down and enjoy the things around me because you may see something beautiful that you may have missed.

I love this picture of him. For some reason, it reminds me of President Hinckley. My Grandpa was very knowledgeable when it came to the gospel. I remember whenever he and my Grandma would come to visit we would all sit around the kitchen table and just talk. My Grandpa wasn't a very loud person, so when he spoke, you listened.

Me and Grandpa!

He was making a funny face, but my Mom took too long taking the picture...oh well.

I LOVE this picture of him!
This is exactly who my Grandpa was. Always pulling a funny face whenever he could.

Uncle David, Auntie Sheri, My Dad, Grandma, and Auntie Shelly all doing my Grandpa's favorite expression. Love it!
I love my family very much. I have gotten to know my extended family a little bit more these past 6 months and I can honestly say that I have the best family in the world! I wish we all lived closer so we could do things together more often.
My testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has increased tremendously. We believe that there is life after this one here on earth and that we will see those who have passed on once again. I know that someday I will see my Grandpa and my Auntie Wendy again. I still miss them, but I know that they are finally home and are healthy once again.

All in one

2009-11-21T14:21:00.000-08:00

Just a warning, there are quite a few pictures on this posting! But, I guess that makes up for not posting in a while. Ok, so it's been a long time. Anyway, lots has happened.
First of all, our house is DONE! We are all moved in (well, our stuff is all in our house, wether we we have put it all away yet is the question) and we LOOOOVE it! We have no idea how we fit so much stuff into a one bedroom apartment. The only thing that I am not happy about is our rock on the front of our house. That is NOT the kind we picked out! But, whatcanyado? The only time I remember that I don't like it is when I leave and come home. So, that's not too bad.

The front of our house.

Front entry and our shoes : )

Living room, dining room, kitchen and stairs.
This was before they cleaned up so that is why there is dirt on our floors.

Hallway. Our one and only one!
You can kind of see the guest bathroom and a closet (love it!)

These are my absolute favorite things about our house! No more going to the laundry mat or to my in-laws to do laundry. I have my very own washer and dryer! And a room to stuff all our dirty clothes into :) The dryer in the picture isn't ours. They ordered the wrong kind, so we had to wait for 2 weeks before we got "ours". It was nice of them to let us borrow one they had.

Just to let you know, they are MASSIVE! I don't know if I was just used to tiny washer and dryers, but I can put a whole load in plus more! It's like heaven.

Sheep Festival

Every year, my best friend, Lori, comes down to watch the Sheep parade. We love it! It's a fun tradition. But, this year, the parade just wasn't as good. One year, the sheep got away and started going down one of the busiest roads here in our town. Funny! But, not this year. So, we are re-thinking our annual sheep festival tradition. We just weren't impressed. Allwell, it was still fun to get together like old times!

Me and Lori.
(Her aunt calls us chocolate and vanilla)

The sheep.
I think it's so funny how a town has a parade where they herd sheep down main street and that I actually go and watch it!

Volleyball

My sister plays for her high school volleyball team, and they won State! It was a good game! They played Lone Peak, which is their biggest rivalry, so it was even more intense. My sister called me Saturday morning and told me that she was playing later that night and if we could come. How could I say no? So, we drove and watch them win! It was well worth the drive.

They even had their mascot there (Go Vikings!).
What's funny about this is that this is the exact same costume they had for the mascot when I was in High School, which has been almost 6 years, and it was way old then.

Ready to play!

Auntie Wendy

My Aunt has been battling Breast Cancer for the past 8 years, and it finally caught up to her. She passed away the end of September. My family and I went to California for her funeral. Even though I knew she didn't have much longer, it was still hard. She fought hard. I had the opportunity to go with my Grandma, aunts and cousins to help dress her into her clothes. At first I was a little scared to do so, because I don't do so well with dead people that I have known (I don't know anyone who really does). Anyway, it was the most spiritual experience I have ever had. I know that we are here on Earth for a reason and that there is life after death. I know that I will see my aunt again someday.

Although the circumstance wasn't that great, it was nice to see the family that I rarely get to see. I have the most amazing family and I wish I lived closer to them.

Me, Jess, Auntie Siggy (my grandma's sis), and my Grandma Tia

"The Pink Ladies"

We all had pink scarves and worse pink ribbons to honor my Aunt. I have never been so proud to wear pink in my life. (For those of you who know me, I'm not a huge fan of pink, but now I am)

Me, Cole (doesn't he look like Edward from Twilght??), Jess, Jared, and Keenan is in front.

My Dad, his brother and Sisters and my Grandparents.
(It's wierd not seeing my Auntie Wendy in that picture.)

This is the only picture I have on my computer of her. Isn't she beautiful? Even though we didn't talk very often, I still miss her. She seemed to always be laughing and having a good time no matter what.

Well, that is all the pictures for now. I will be done student teaching on Tuesday (yay!) and then it's time for me to start look for a job (boo). This year for Thanksgiving, we are going to my parents'. Each year, we go to Temple Square in Salt Lake the day before Thanksgiving. I am excited! I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and eats lots of Turkey and yummy food! I know I sure am ;)

It's a House

2009-08-29T08:42:00.001-07:00

School has started once again and it's sad to see summer go :( I am doing my student teaching, and so far it's not that bad. I'm student teaching with two teachers (one for chemistry and the other for biology) and they are both very nice and pretty laid back about things, so I don't think I will have a problem. Clint is still working (which he loves) and is going to night school three nights a week (not too bad).
This past week we found out that my sister-in-law, McCall, is pregnant! It came as a surprise because they just got married in June, but we are so excited! My little sister, Emily, is the most excited, I think. She called me as soon as she found out and was practically screaming. Kind of funny. No, this doesn't mean that I am pregnant or will get pregnant any time soon. It's not that we don't like kids, it just hasn't happened for us, yet. Plus, why have kids when we have nieces and nephews? It's a good deal, I think. We get to have all the fun and then give them back to their parents once they start crying or need their diaper changed :)

Anyway, our house is going up so FAST! It's been about five weeks since they started digging, and they are finished framing it. Here are some pictures of it going up!

Foundation! It had rained the day before and that day so it was SO muddy!
They poured the bottom of the basement (I have no idea what they call it...the floor?) Anyway, we were so excited! We walked all over it and started planning out what we are going to do with it. We came up with five different plans of how to finish it. We probably won't do any of them and come up with a completly different plan! But, it sure was fun to see it. (Clint had no idea I was taking the picture)

And then two days later, this is what it looked like! That space is the stairs going down into the basement.

And then 3 days later this is what had happened....

And the next day after that we had a roof! So much FUN!

This is what it looked like on the inside...kind of messy, but it's starting to look like a real house! (This is a picture of me standing in our dinning room looking into the living room/bedroom.)

This is the back of our house after they had finished framing (it only took them less than a week...fast!) There was a tractor in the way, so I couldn't get a real good one.

And this is the front! Every time we go out to see it, we get more and more excited for it to just be done! It has been fun to see the whole process of building a house, but it doesn't help that I'm impatient! Right now, they have all the windows in, the electrical is completed and they should start sheet rocking (spelling??) this next week. I have to say, I was a little worried about building where we are building because it is kind of out in the middle of nowhere, but each time we go out there, we spend like 2 hours just walking around. The sunsets we have seen are absolutly beautiful! I think I can get used to that!

Summer Fun

2009-07-25T15:07:00.000-07:00

Wow! A lot has happened since I last posted...well, not really, but it seems like quite a bit for us!
First of all, my brother, Jeremiah, got married to McCall in June.

For some reason, we aren't all looking at the same camera!
(There were lots of people with their cameras there...oh so much fun....)

Me, Jessica (yup, she's my sister!) and our cousin, Megan (she just got home from a mission...she's so cool!)

My family! I think this is the first picture of all of us together.
Jared, Mom, Dad, McCall, Jeremiah, Jessica, Me, Clint, Emily and Spencer.

Fourth of July

For July 4th, we went up and spent the day with Clint's family. Clint's Grandparents had a huge party with ALL of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. There were only 6 that weren't there out of 91. That's pretty impressive! It was fun to see lots of people that I don't know or only met once when Clint and I got married. But, it was HOT! It was kind of funny because people would follow the shade around to sit in so they wouldn't burn. I didn't get a lot of pictures because all we did was sit around, eat and talk. Afterwards, we watched the fireworks with my family and then drove home because we had to be back for Church the next day (I don't think we will EVER do that again!)

These are some of my nieces and nephews. They are SO CUTE!
(That's my brother-in-law in the back making a face)

Jenni, Josh, Jax, Julie, Joan and I'm sitting behind Joan. This is my In-laws' yard which is HUGE and so nice to have a big party like this in. In the back my dad-in-law made a play house which is just so cool and the kids love it (if you make the picture bigger, you can kind of see it).

Penrod Family Reunion

For Clint's family's reunion, we went up to Strawberry Resivoir (by Heber) and went camping and boating for two days. We had a blast! My brother-in-law half owns a cabin up there so we were able to stay in it and have a real toilet and Clint and I were able to sleep in a real bed (now, that's my kind of camping!) Anyway, we went tubing, had fun in the sun and just enjoyed each other. I love my nieces and nephews, but after this trip I'm almost glad that I don't have kids yet! I don't know if I could handle them! Well, it's a good thing they start out small and usually come one at a time. Everyone except one sister and her family were there (they are in Texis right now and couldn't make it up)

The water was FREEZING especially after you got out because the wind was blowing. These kids were so cute! They all huddled together with their teeth chattering.

My niece tubing! She was so funny! She always wanted to go faster and faster.
Oh, I love to tube! I just love boating.

Me and Clint goofing around.

Some of the boys got up early on Saturday morning and went fishing. My niece decided to go with them and she had a blast! She loved catching those fish and touching them and you could tell (she kind of smelled like fish when they got back).

After we ran out of gas for the boats on the second day, the kids had just as much fun playing with the tube as they did riding in it!

The cabin we stayed in. Way nice and had the most beautiful view! There was a huge deck on the back of it with a firepit in the middle which is where we spent our evenings. It was perfect, except for the excessive amount of flies! They were just annoying.

A House

So, Clint and I have decided to build our own house and we are WAY excited (and a little nervous)! It has been going very fast. We signed the papers last Tuesday, approved our house plan on Wednesday, and they started digging the hole on Thursday...crazy! We have become those people who go and look at their hole in the dirt at least once a day, if not more. But, we love it! We are sad that we aren't living closer to family, but we know this is the right step for us to take right now. It's kind of scary and fun all at the same time having to grow up!

The Hole

What's New

2009-06-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

So, I've been such a slacker at this whole blogging thing. I think it's just the whole writing stuff down! My journal isn't that fantastic, either. A lot of it has to do with the fact that our lives are boring and busy.

Anyway, enough of the excuses, let me tell you what's going on in our lives right now! We just went to San Diego this last weekend (see following posts) and had so much fun! It was nice to just get out and DO something! Plus, now I have something to scrapbook for my mom-in-law for Christmas! (each year for Christmas, her kids scrapbook some pages of that previous year for her, and since we don't have any kids, our pages are pretty plain. This last year, I did a page of Clint and I doing funny faces...that's right, a whole page of us making goofy faces...I don't think I can do that twice in a row unless I do it every year and then it would become our tradition! Hmmm...something to think about).

Well, Clint got a perminant job at State Bank, so we will be living here for quite awhile! At least 3-5 years, if not longer. We love it here and have felt like we need to stay here to raise our children, so we were looking for an excuse to stay. We are so blessed to have a good job, especially the way the economy is! Now, our next adventure will be finding a house. We can live in our apartment until Clint graduates with his MBA (which isn't til next May) so we have some time. But, it would be nice to have our own place with our own washer and dryer! It's just time to move out of an apartment and into something bigger. Not that we need something bigger right now (I'm NOT pregnant) but someday we will and it would be nice to be prepared for it!
I'm still working and am waiting to student teach this fall. I want to just get it done with! I'm nervous, scared and excited all at once. Tomorrow I am taking the Praxis PLT test (which I should be studying for right now...) I'm not exactly sure why I have to take it, I just know I have to take it, so I am.

Well, that's about it on our end for now! My brother is getting married later this month so I'm sure I'll have pictures to post about that! I hope everyone is having a great summer so far!

Sea World

2009-06-12T10:37:00.001-07:00

On Saturday we went to Sea World, which was my Favorite part of our entire trip! My favorite animal is the Orca whale, or the killer whale. I don't know why, but I have always loved them. When I was little I wanted to be just like Jesse in Free Willy (I secretly still do, but not really). Anyway, it was a BLAST! We forgot to charge our camera's batteries the night before (we though we had a lot more power left than we really did) so our camera died about half way through the park. But, that's ok. That just mean we have to go back ; )

Tiff, Dave and Jenna. Jenna got a wheelchair because yesterday we did so much walking! (Not sure if you noticed or not, but she's about 7 months pregnant) It was no nice to have that wheelchair! Not only for Jenna, but we got really good seats at all the shows.

Save a species! We didn't get to save a species that day, but maybe another day!

Me and Shamu!

Shamu can jump HIGH! It was so cool!
After the show, people were walking up to the glass to see the whales up close and personal (as close as you can get) and two of the whales swam by and splashed them! It was so funny! They were SOAKED. All the people had such suprised looks on their faces. Ah...such good times!

Clint, Tiff and Flamingos.
Did you know that the reason why they are the color that they are is because they eat shrimp? True fact! So, I guess that means be careful what you eat!

I promise I did put on sunscreen, I just don't think my nose got a whole lot of it because it is burned! I look like rudolf the red nosed reindeer!
So, now that I have been to Sea World, I want to be an whale trainer....just kidding, but I really think that would be the coolest job ever! You get to play with animals all day long. Clint even said that if that's what I really wanted to do we would go wherever we needed to go to let me do it. Awww...what a nice and supportive husband! But, I think I'll stick with what I'm doing now for the time being.

ps-Sea World is now my new favorite place in the whole world! Ok, so not the whole world, but pretty close! : )

San Diego!

2009-06-12T09:41:00.001-07:00

For our graduation present to ourselves (and in much need of a vacation!) we decided to go to San Diego for a weekend. It was SO MUCH FUN! Our friends, Dave and Jenna, came with us which made it even more fun! I was a little worried that we would get sick of eachother by the end of the weekend, but we didn't...at least, I didn't. My grandparents live in Wrightwood (a small town in the San Bernadino mountains) so we drove there Thursday night and stayed the night. Firday morning we got up and headed to San Diego. We decided that since we were in the area that we would go to the the San Diego Temple. It was BEAUTIFUL! If you ever get the chance to go, do it! It's a lot smaller than I expected. The pictures make it look so much bigger, but it was still very pretty. It was windy, but the weather was perfect. While we were there, we saw four brides and grooms....so cute!

The San Diego Temple and pretty flowers

Clint and Tiffany

Dave and Jenna

After the temple, we headed to the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier. We got there at 3pm and figured that was plenty of time to go through the entire thing by 5 (when it closes). We were so wrong! If you ever go, make sure to have at least 3 hours inorder to see everything! It's a self guided tour of the ship made into a museum. It was way cool and HUGE! I had no idea how big it was. In all our pictures we look kind of dumb because they give you head phones and a thing that when you put in a number it tells you about the item or area (the numbers are on signs everywhere). It was nice because we didn't have to listen to everything if we didn't want to. The only problem was when we wanted to talk to eachother it was kind of hard to hear!

Tiffany and Clint decked out in our self-guided tour attire.

On the top of the carrier, they had a lot of planes and helicopters to look at. Some you could even get inside which was so amazing. Clint LOVED this! He kept talking about the movies that he and his Dad would watch with this kind of stuff in it.

Clint and Dave.
I'm not sure what this plane can do, but I think it was pretty cool because they both wanted their picture taken next to it.

This is a wax person pretending to be the captain. I thought it was kind of funny! When you walked by him, he started talking about various stuff. I don't remember what he was saying because by this time it was closing time so they were asking everyone to get off the ship.

A lot of the planes looked like this. If you look closely you can see that the wing is bent up in half. I think by doing it this way it saves on a lot of space so that they can fit more planes on the deck. But, if I'm wrong and you know the reason why, let me know!
Anyway, it was a good experience. I had no idea how BIG these aircraft carriers really are! As I walked up all those stairs I thought that the people on these ships have to be in real good shape. If not, they would be soon!

After looking at the aircraft carrier, we went to the beach! It was very windy, and not that warm, but you can't go to San Diego and not go to the beach. So, we did. We made sandcastles and mine and Clint's was the best, until the ocean came and ruined it : ( But, we still had a lot of fun! After the beach, we went to our hotel and got cleaned up and then went into Old Town and ate at an amazing Mexican resturant called Cafe Coyote. I'm not sure if it was so good because we were all extremely hungry, or if the food really was good! But, I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys mexican food. Clint says that I was born in the wrong country because I love tacos, rice, bean, enchilladas or anything mexican (except the really spicy stuff-I don't like it).

Their sandcastle....

And our sandcastle! (so much cooler....it even has a place for 'people' to walk up to it)

Graduation!

2009-05-24T15:49:00.000-07:00

I know I am a little late at getting these pictures up, but better late than never, right? We have finally graduated from college! I thought this day would never come. Clint got his Bachelor's in Finance and mine in Biology and Chemistry Education. My family came down and Clint's sister and brother-in-law (Jenni and Josh) came, too. We really appreciate all the love and support that we receive from our families and are grateful that they were willing to come watch us walk across a stage and hear our names being called. Clint's parents weren't able to make it because our neice was being baptized the same day in Boston, so they were there with her (we completely understand!).

I think that the highlight of the commencement was President Monson's talk. He is an amazing speaker! He talked about learning from the past, looking to the future, and enjoying the present. It was short and sweet and to the point (just how commencement talks should be!). Now that we have our Bachelor degrees, Clint is going to get his MBA this next year, and I am going to do Student Teaching in the Fall to complete my teaching certificate. This summer we are just going to work and enjoy time with friends and family.

President Monson speaking

Clint and Tiffany so excited to be Done!

Clint, Tiffany, Jessica, Russ (my Dad), Shirley (my Mom), Spencer and Emily

Josh, Jenni, Clint and Tiffany

Tiffany and Clint (so, we got a little bored with taking normal pictures)

February? Already?!?

2009-02-17T17:13:00.000-08:00

It's already February, and it doesn't even feel like it! Clint and I are pretty boring people. Occasionally we will go and do something, but I always forget my camera! I'll admit that I'm a blonde at times. It amazes me how much people actually put onto their blogs! But, then I am reminded that they have children, and I don't. So, I make that my excuse as to why I don't post as much I should. I just don't have anything to post! : ) So, excuse my web-pictures, I just didn't want this post to be so boring!

January was fun. It was so nice to have those few days of such nice weather! Now that it is back to snowing, I can't wait for summer to come. I am already making many summer plans!
Can you guess where I want to go???

My brother, Jeremiah, got engaged to his girlfriend, McCall which was kind of a surprise to us all! But, we are super excited for her to be in our family. We need someone creative to pick up all of our non-creativeness slack. My family can be a little weird at times, so I sure am glad that we didn't scare her off!
Valentine's Day was great! I am the kind of person who doesn't really like Valentine's Day, and Clint knows this. But, this year I was determined to have a good day anyway. So, I told Clint to get me a few flowers (not too much because they cost a lot and they are pretty for only a few days) and to make me dinner. We had a couple of our friends, Dave and Jenna, over for a breakfast/lunch during the day which was so much fun! (Of course, I didn't take any pictures...) Clint is an amazing breakfast cooker (which would surprise anyone who knew Clint's cooking skills) so he and Dave made hashbrowns, eggs, bacon, and pancakes, and I made the muffins. It was so good. They did an awesome job!
After, we went on a walk up the canyon trail (I think that's what it's called) to walk off all that fat that we had just eaten. It was a nice day, contrary to what the weather man had said the day before. Then that night, Clint and I watched How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (Hillerious!) and had some ice cream. We were so full from lunch that we couldn't eat dinner! All in all, it was the best Valentine's Day I have ever had, and I think my scrouge-ness on the holiday has lifted ever so slightly. I guess only time will tell... : )

O, Christmas Tree!

2008-12-18T10:13:00.000-08:00

While my sister, Jessica, was visiting us she helped me put up our Christmas Tree! We didn't have one of our own, and I have ALWAYS wanted my very own fake tree (I love the smell of real ones, but I'm not the best care taker...they always die!) so we went over to Wal Mart (it's the only place in town...literally) and scouted out fake trees. I wanted a big one because I love it when they are big. But, I didn't want it too big. The only ones that were left (that weren't pre-lit...I think that putting on the lights is the most fun of having a tree!) were 7 feet tall. I didn't think that it would be too big, so I got it. Well, come to find out, it's a little tall...there's no room for a star on the top...and it takes up 1/4 of our living room, but, we have a tree! I barely had enough ornaments to fit on the tree, that's why it looks a little sparse. And, our tree skirt is a little too small (as you can tell in the second picture), so we took it off and put presents under it instead. Next year we will have to invest in a bigger tree skirt! But, it sure it pretty when the lights are lit. I just love Christmas!

Clint and I acting oh so serious....like always!

Me, the tree (incase you couldn't see it...), Jessica and the santa that my mom-in-law made (crazy talented!)

The past few days it has been snowing like crazy here! This picture was just the beginning of a storm on last Saturday. The next day all the cars were covered. You could hardly tell which one was yours! And in our city, they don't plow the streets very well, so there is still snow on the ground from this snow storm; although you can't tell because it has snowed twice since then! We are just being blessed with snow (if that's what you want to call it). Our car is doing pretty good so far in the snow considering that it's a car. I am so jealous right now of people living in the southern States! Maybe I can convince Clint to move to Arizona for the winter...

Up Date...sorta

2008-12-05T16:25:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I'm a slacker! School has been so crazy this semester! I seriously think it's September at times!
Because I'm not on my computer right now, there won't be any pictures, but I wanted to write SOMETHING...so here it goes...
Clint and I have just been going to school, working, and then going to school some more. Clint loves his job at the bank, and I love working at the school. So, for now, we love our jobs! School is a whole other story... For me, it's a love-hate relationship.
For Thanksgiving (which is the best holiday EVER...really, any holiday that is based around food is the best) we went up to PG and spent it with Clint's family. It was so fun seeing everyone, especially all the kids. It's crazy how fast they grow up! But, it also reminds Clint of why we don't have kids right now : )
I went over to my parent's house Thanksgiving night while Clint played XBox to look at the ads (Clint doesn't care). It's one of my family's traditions. My Dad gets 4 or 5 newspapers with all the ads in them, and we all look through them to see if there are any good deals in them. The reason why he gets so many of them is so that the younger kids (and maybe some of the older ones, too) can cut out what they want for Christmas, plus, there are 8 of us looking through them all at once. I'm sure you can imagine the madness. We have been doing it for as long as I can remember, I couldn't pass it up this year! I was a little disappointed in this year's ads...not a whole lot of good stuff (there were actually better deals online, you just had to look a little!)
My sister came back down with us after Thanksgiving and stayed with us for the weekend. SO MUCH FUN! But, since I do have pictures of that, I will save it for another day.
I think that's about it. Our life is pretty boring, especially around finals time (which is next week, ahh!)
Happy Holidays!

Summer Pictures!

2008-08-20T15:04:00.000-07:00

COVE FORT

Clint and I decided to go and do something since the summer was almost over. Since we both work what feels like all the time, we didn't go very far. And since Cove Fort is less than an hour away from Cedar, that is where we went! If you ever get the chance to go, it's quite the experience.

Ahh...How cute!

Clint and I infront of the fort ready to go inside!

The courtyard inside the fort...kind of cool!

The Boy's Room...

...and the Girl's Room!

This is the kind of dress they used to wear! They sure were short...

ST. GEORGE
This Summer Clint and I went to St. George quite often...But, these are all the pictures we got...kind of pathetic, I know!

Clint and I infront of the St. George Temple goofing around...like always!

A more appropriate picture of Clint and I in front of the Temple.

Clint's top lip swelled up!
(he really has grapes in his mouth...)

We hope everone had a GREAT summer! Good luck this fall in school, work or whatever you are doing!!

Weekend Trip

2008-07-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

Clint and I surprised my Grandparents with a visit over Memorial weekend. It was priceless to see my Grandma's face when she opened the door! I thought she was going to have a heart attack. I wish I would have had my camera out and ready! My Dad was already there because he had a business trip earlier that week and decided to visit my Grandparents (his parents) for the rest of the week. These are a few pictures that we took while there. Enjoy!

My Dad and Me. Clint took the picture and didn't tell us! He does that a lot...

Grandma, Grandpa, Tiffany, and Clint sitting around the table...it's just what we do when we are there! The table is where all the talking and fun takes place. You'd think we'd go into the living room...

Now you can see where I get my goofyness from...my Grandparents!

Welcome!

2008-07-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

Hey! I thought that it would be cool to make a blog, so I am! I'm not that great at it. Infact, I really have NO idea what I'm doing! But, I'll practice and get there someday.
Have a Great Day!
ps-this picture is of me and Clint at a Buddhist Monastery in Mongolia...SO COOL!