February Update

Yes, it has been forever since I posted. I just got done talking about how it hasn't been too busy around here lately, and then... yep the craziness starts again! Nothing big or exciting going on, just the usual, school, work, and this is the time of year when I feel like things start to get busy.

We always have a lot going on the in spring, especially at school, but also at home. Spring is probably one of the busiest times at school, and here at our household we have lots going on too. This spring is especially crazy for us. On top of our usual birthdays, small get-a-ways, etc... we have a few weddings we are involved in this summer, which yep that means all the showers, parties etc are in the spring. Oh and my bother is graduating HS so we have all his stuff to attend! And, let me clarify, when I say a few weddings, I mean overall this spring and summer we have 7 weddings to attend.... yes 7! And I am in three of them and Mitch is in two of them. So to say I am already worn thin is an understatement. I love wedding season and especially since I get to be a part of all my best friends weddings, but I am trying to balance all the fun with showers, parties, weddings, trips and still have a life. Ha! I feel like February was our "down" month and when march comes, the craziness begins. I am trying to mentally prepare for it all.

I have also been taking my teacher certification tests and that is going well... I am just so ready to be done! I am having to study a lot more than I thought and so that is taking up a lot of my time. I decided a few months ago I am going to be taking a few more tests on top of my original ones to become certified in more areas. I never thought I would say I want to take more test and prolong this process, but I really think in the long run this will benefit me. I would so much rather be hanging out with friends, helping with more wedding stuff, etc, but this is the most important thing to me right now! I am so lucky to have friends that are encouraging and understanding. My goal this year is too be done with all my tests and I cannot wait! I have had an opportunity come up at the school I am at right now and when we figure out Mitchs school stuff, I will know if it will be a possibility and can't wait to share!

Since it has been several weeks since I last posted, here is an little update on what we've had going on! We celebrated our 100th day of school this month! I seriously cannot believe we have now been in school over 100 days. As tough as this year has been, it is flying by! We always have a theme for our 100th day, and so this year we decided to dress up as "100 year old ladies". The kids were also encouraged to dress up and it was just a fun day celebrating 100 days of learning!

Some of my sweet kiddos dressed up as old men :)

Also at school, we celebrated the opening ceremonies of the olympics, by having our own school wide opening ceremony. As a class, we were assigned a country and had to make their flag. We chose two students from each class and they walked the halls in our "opening ceremonies parade". We now have all the flags hanging up in our school to keep track on the medal count. It has been so fun and the kids love it!

My class was assigned Jamaica!! 

And I cannot forget my favorite part of February... Valentines Day!! I love spending valentines at school- I feel like I have several valentines :) I always tell Mitch not to buy me chocolate because oh my goodness the amount of chocolates and stuffed animals I get is unreal!

One of my many little valentines! 

Mitch and I don't really do gifts for christmas or valentines. We usually pick a close location and do a small get-a-way for our gifts. But this year, he surprised me every morning the week of valentines with a small little something... my favorite candy, snacks a two new shirts- a Sky fitness shirt and also a new thunder shirt. It was so sweet!

I love my new Thunder shirt!

I had actually made plans back in December for us to go to OKC and have dinner with my good friend Summer and her Fiance. We haven't got to spent a lot of time with them and so we thought it would be fun. Well, Mitch surprised me and we ended up spending the whole weekend there and he booked us a room at the Skirvin Hotel in downtown OKC. If you have never heard of The Skirvin, it is a historic hotel, very similar to The Mayo here in Tulsa.

We had a blast and we were both in much need of a relaxing weekend away from everything. For our valentines dinner with Summer and Brett, Summer booked us reservations at a steakhouse called The Ranch and oh my goodness, hands down one of the best steakhouses I have ever been to. Mitch and I love trying nice steakhouses on special occasions and this was def up there on our list. If you are in the OKC area and want a nice steak dinner- this would be my recommendation!

After dinner, we went up the the top floor of the Devon tower. They have a restaurant/bar/lounge up there called Vast and the view was incredible!! We just sat and had drinks- it was the perfect ending to our valentines day!

Sunday, we slept in and then made our way to Shawnee. Anytime we are in that area, we like to stop by and visit OBU. Every time I am back it makes me miss college so much. I just loved OBU and it brought back so many great memories. We also stop because our good friend peter now lives there so it us always nice to catch up... and eat at Vans! The weather was sooooo nice that day- Mitch and I had some time to kill before lunch, so we walked around campus.

My freshman dorm!

OBU Tennis! Where I spent most of my life while at OBU and where I met my husband! 

Thats about all we have been up to this past month. We are both ready for March. 1. Because it is my birthday!! 2. We are going to Breck for spring break 3. Warm weather is right around the corner! Get outside and enjoy this beautiful day!!

January in pictures

This month has been pretty low key for us. We are typically "busy" people but this month has been a nice relaxing month. We haven't really traveled much this month, so nothing too exciting to share. Here is what our January looked like though pictures...

The weather overall this month has been nice. We have had those cold January days, but other than that, we have has some really beautiful spring-like days! The past three weekend, we have been out on riverside. It makes me so ready for springtime!

We also joined a new gym this month. We loved Lifetime, but it was just too expensive for the amount of times we went. It was also pretty far from our house and I think that played a role in us not going as often as we wanted. We joined SkyFitness at the beginning of this month and we have absolutely loved it. It is so much cheaper and I am finally in a routine. I love that I get off work at 3 and I get my workout done ad am home by 5:00! Mitch loves it because he is now doing cross fit again!

This is us last weekend on our way to Wichita for Mitch's interview. It is a super long story, but after the interview he did not want to attend this school. It was not a good experience for him and it was a good reminder that the interview isn't just for them to see if you get in, but for Mitch to see if he likes the program. That was our first time really visiting Wichita and at the school. We weren't fans and just did not feel a peace about it. It was really hard to feel like that knowing the program would've been great for our situation, but God continues to show us he has better plans. 

BUT... we did end the night at BJ's with dinner and a pazookie! We love BJ'S and make trips to OKC just to eat there, so we were thrilled when we saw they had one in Wichita. 

Some of the girls in my life group had a watch party for the bachelor wedding and yes- we did have our own wedding cake! I just love these girls! They are some of the strongest most genuine girls I know and they challenge me and make me better everyday. 

This picture has no real purpose, but I found it cute. A sweet little boy in my class fell asleep at lunch this week. I seriously love my job!

Mitch and I had a date night this past friday night and were planning on trying this new pizza place called Upper Crust, but it was super crowded, so we went to Stavastanos instead. Anytime we go out for pizza the is where we go! Their deep dish will compete with any deep dish in Chicago! Yum!

Since the weather has been cold, Bella has been cooped up inside, so we ventured out and took her to Lowes yesterday! She was super excited!! 

Around this time of year, we also get a King Cake in honor of Mardi Gras... since we are no longer living in AR they are a little harder to come by. Merritts always has them, but this year they were sold out. So we settled for some yummy mardi gras cookies until we can get a cake! 

We woke to this this morning. We were told we would maybe have a trace to an inch of snow on sunday, so we thought this was about all we would get,but they were wrong. South Tulsa got more than they expected and we have around 4 inches right now. 

It is now completely covered and we are staying in and enjoying the pretty snow! 

Yes, we did bundle up and get out and play in the snow for a little. It is so cold we didn't stay long but it was fun to get Bella out. She loves the snow!! Our Super Bowl plans have been cancelled due to the weather, but we are still excited to stay in and enjoy the game... okay, and maybe the food :)