Oliver, camping, and graduation

School has ended for the semester and now Darren and I are just working! Darren is working for the school in their Mechanical Operations department and loves it. I was working down in Idaho Falls at Sam's Club, but I was offered a teaching job down in Ogden, Utah. I will be teaching 6th grade social studies and reading. I am very excited and nervous all at the same time. With Darren having one more semester up in Rexburg, we will be living apart until December.

We were able to find another place to live down in Ogden and have been moving things down slowly. I can't wait until December when we will be back together. Luckily the drive is only about 2 1/2 hours between our houses so we are able to visit every weekend. We also got a dog! He is the cutest thing ever. His name is Oliver and he is a mixture of Maltese, Poodle. He does not bark, or shed! He is very lovable and I am glad I will have him down in Utah with me!

Just a few weeks ago Darren walked in graduation. It was a great time. Family was able to come into town and celebrate this great accomplishment. Darren and Tyler (my brother) walked together. am so proud of what he has done and we are both looking forward to what comes in our lives next! Right after graduation we were able to go home to go to Darren's family camping trip. This year we went to Lake Chelan in the middle of Washington. It was super hot, but we were able to play in the lake and enjoy the company that was around us. Unfortunately we were unable to stay any longer than just the weekend, but we were excited that we were actually to make it this year!.

Darren took these beautiful pictures just out of our front door! They are of the sunrise and the Tetons in the back. This is why I love Idaho. I am sad that I am moving but I know that we will have a fun time in Utah! The next few weeks will be busy and full of new adventures.

Beginning of Summer!

It has started to look like summer in Rexburg the last couple of weeks. We have been busy working and going to school. I got a job!! I am working at Sam's club down in Idaho Falls.

It kind of gets annoying having to drive down there everyday, but I like working there and I am getting a lot of hours which is good. Darren is also working. He got a job working on campus with the mechanical department. He works and goes to school full time! We recently decided that we wanted a motorcycle. So we went looking a few weekends ago and found the one that we wanted.

It is a 2007, 650 cc VStar. I have not been on it with Darren yet, but he rides it to school everyday and is enjoying it! We hope to take a long ride this summer and really just get out on the open road. Buying the motorcycle was a huge gas saver and now we rarely drive the Blazer, which is good because it does not get good gas milage at all! Last Sunday we decided to go fishing. It was so fun! We decided to go to warm river which is on the way to Mesa Falls.

Tyler and Lisa came along with us. Tyler was the only one who caught a fish.. But his was only about 4 inches, but hey, it was still a fish. Darren fly fished the entire time. I went back a forth because Tyler broke his fly rod so I let him use mine for a while. Hopefully the more we go this summer the more fish I will be able to catch! We are going to Preston for Memorial Day weekend and we will be fishing the Cub River so hopefully I will have some good news when we get back! It was such a beautiful day out and it was just fun to be outside and enjoy the sun.

The last few days have been really nice. When we moved back to Rexburg we moved to a little house (that is a duplex) that is on the out skirts of town. It is so nice not living in a big complex anymore and just having out own space. On the front side of our house we have a little flowerbed. When we first moved it was overgrown and really needed a lot of work. Darren and I finally got out there after work multiple days and started weeding and getting it ready to plant some flowers. On the side of house we have another little area, but it is covered in huge rocks, so we just weeded it and it looks so much better.

And here is our flower bed after our hard work! I love it. Darren added his own little touch by adding a shed he found while shed hunting. I am not known for gardening at all so I hope that I can keep these few flowers alive throughout the entire summer. The rest of our yard still has some major work to do, but sooner or later we will get done with it! The next step is the raised bed by our mail boxes, and finding a way to mow our lawn. We are off to a great beginning of the summer and can't wait for more of it to come!

Grouchy Bear

Last Sunday, Darren and I received a phone call we had been expecting for a while. My grandfather passed away. Even though we knew it was coming, it still was hard. We are blessed to have known such a wonderful man and I am so glad to know that he is no longer in pain and he is with his eternal companion again after 10 long years. Earl Dean Kern was born and raised in Preston Idaho and he could not be more of a cowboy. He loved his horses, his family, and his wife. We were able to see him one last time at Tyler and Lisa's wedding back in December so we are left with only good memories. On Monday April 23, 2012 We will be celebrating his life with our family close by. We was a true role model to me about how a marriage should be treated. My grandparents were married just shy of 55 years when my grandmother passed away 10 years ago. I know they are both look down on me and rooting me on in my life and only wanting the best for Darren and I.



This picture was at my wedding just three years ago. I love and miss you Grouchy Bear!
Earl Dean Kern 1924-2012

Updates since January!

A lot has happened since January when I updated this last. We finished out holiday season in Seattle with lots of fun adventures!





We went to a Thunderbird hockey game with the entire family, and then also went to the Ballard locks. The Ballard locks are where Lake Union and the Puget Sound meet and it has channels where boats go through to get to one or the other. The boats travel in on one side and then the water either raises or falls to the level of where they are going to. It is so fun to go and watch all the boats go through. We have been lucky enough to experience the Ballard Locks on our own boat!





We also had the chance to go to Snoqualmie Falls. It is a beautiful waterfall that is not far from my home town of Maple Valley. We hadn't been there in years, so it was fun to see all the changes that they are doing to the visitor center. After our time in Seattle, we headed back to Boise. We loved our time there and had a lot of great memories. We loved how there was a greenbelt to go around the Boise river. We went on in regularly and will really miss this. I finished my student teaching back in November, and was offered a long-term subbing position for a teacher that is on the fourth grade team. This was a great experience to have and I know that it will really help when I continue to look for jobs.



At the end of March I went back to Maple Valley to help with 5th grade camp at Camp Casey. I loved going when I was a camper, a high school counselor, and I still love to go as a teacher now! The students have such a fun time to get away from the school and to learn and a whole new environment. Once camp was over, my mom and I drove back to Boise and finished cleaning our house (Darren moved us while I was in Seattle!). Once we checked out of our house in Boise, we made the 4 hour travel to Rexburg. It feels good to be back. We can't wait to finish with school and then be on to more and exciting things! :)