One year anniversary

Today marks our 1 year anniversary in Hattiesburg. I can't believe we have already been here a year! I feel like time has just flown by! We went on a walk with some friends one of the first Sundays we were here and they told us how fast time was going to fly once we got settled and really, I didn't believe them. I was still in "shock" that I was living in southern Mississippi and didn't know how I was going to make it through even the next month of my life. I know that sounds pretty dramatic, but moving to Mississippi was one of the hardest things I have ever done. The thought of being so far away from my family was so unimaginable to me that I couldn't even think about it when we first got here, but I have grown a lot in the year that we have lived here. I really couldn't be more grateful for our decision to move to Hattiesburg. Living here has blessed both mine and Cody's lives in ways that we could have never imagined both individually and together. Everything has just fallen into place for us here, and I know this is where we are supposed to be at this point in our lives. A year ago, I would talk about how I couldn't wait to be done with school and move back to the west, but now thinking about leaving is hard! I know we still have at least 2 years left, but  I can't imagine how much deeper our friendships and roots will grow in that time. My relationship with Cody has grown exponentially and we have made friendships that I know will last the rest of our lives.

7-14-2013, our first walk on the Southern Miss campus

We celebrated Cody's birthday this week. He turned the big 3-0! (It's still kind of a sore subject in our house..) We didn't do much on his actual birthday because I had class and he had some work he had to get done at the school, but I still sang happy birthday to him when I got home and I managed to decorate the house before I left for class that morning :) 

     

We also had the opportunity to be chaperones at youth conference this year for our stake. It was a really cool experience. The theme for youth conference was, "Moroni's Quest" and we did a journey through the Book of Mormon. Each day the youth got to watch a few stories acted out from the Book of Mormon by some of the leaders. It was an awesome experience and such a testimony builder. I am grateful for the opportunity we had to attend youth conference, it was such an uplifting experience for us both. I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon and the knowledge it gives me of a loving Savior, it truly is another testament of Jesus Christ. The theme for the youth this year is "Come Unto Christ" and the young men and women of the Hattiesburg Stake sang the theme song at the closing exercises for the conference. It is such a beautiful song and they did such a great job! It gives me chills every time I hear it. If you haven't heard it, I encourage you to check it out here!

This week was my last week of working in the Admissions Office at Southern Miss! Cody and I decided it would be in my best interest to put all of my effort into my school work for the next 2 years. I loved working at Southern Miss and made so many great friends. That job was a huge blessing in my life and quitting was actually a lot harder than I thought it was going to be, but I'm excited to be a full-time student!

Not much more has happened in the past month. We celebrated the 4th of July with some friends by having a barbecue and playing some games. It was a pretty low key night, but we had a lot of fun. 

Well, the semester is wrapping up here in the next couple of weeks. Cody has really enjoyed teaching this summer and I have really enjoyed being back in school. It was quite the adjustment at first, but I think I'm finally back in the swing of things. Finals are in a couple of weeks and then we get to go back to Henderson for a little bit! We are pretty excited to see family and spend some days at the beach :)

Catch up!

So I guess this post is just going to be a bunch of pictures along with some commentary of what we've been doing for the past 2 months! I'm obviously behind and need to catch up with what's been going on.

Well #1 on my list...... I GOT IN TO NURSING SCHOOL! WOOHOO!! Let me tell you, it was a long wait for that dang letter, but it FINALLY came the 2nd week in April and it felt so good to finally know what I was going to be doing for the next 2 years of my life!

School started May 19th and so far so good. I actually have to take Bible classes since it is a private Baptist university, so I decided to take Old Testament in a 2 week mini session. I wanted have it over with before my nursing classes started. It was quite the marathon, but we covered the whole Old Testament in 2 weeks. We obviously didn't read the whole thing, but we learned all we could in the time we had. Genesis - Deuteronomy the first week and Joshua - Malachi the second week.. haha! Thanks to those days in primary I received 10 extra credit points at the end of the class for being able to list all 39 books in the correct oder. Gotta love those primary songs!

I actually really enjoyed the class. I was pretty nervous walking in on the first day. I just wasn't sure what to expect, but it was a really good experience. Being in that class actually helped strengthen my testimony of the gospel. I am so grateful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It is such a huge blessing in my life and I am so grateful for the knowledge it gives me of a loving Savior and Heavenly Father. It is such a comfort to me to know that God has a plan for me and that He is involved in my everyday life, no matter how small or insignificant I might feel. 

My Nursing 101 class and pharmacology class started this week. I feel pretty overwhelmed, but I am really excited to be learning! I feel a little rusty because I have been out of school for so long, but Cody is making sure I keep on top of my studies. I think after being in college for over 7 years, he's got this whole studying thing down pat. :)

Cody started school last week. He is teaching anatomical kinesiology and taking 2 statistic classes this semester. Needless to say we will both be pretty busy this summer!

We ran a 5k together back in March for the LuckyDay foundation at USM. It's fun to get out and do things together. We don't love running, but we've learned it's a necessary evil... 

We went to our first Southern Miss baseball game in April! We literally live right next to the baseball fields, so getting there really isn't too tough. Haha. We can usually hear the game from our apartment anyways, so we might as well go and watch, right? The Conference USA tournament was here this year too, so we were able to catch a few games a couple weeks ago. Even though USM didn't win the tournament, we really enjoyed the atmosphere and watching the games with some friends.

Gladys Knight and the Saints Unified Voices came to Hattiesburg at the end of April. We were able to work as ushers at the fireside. It was such a cool experience! Her choir was so awesome! It was also fun to see a few friendly faces in the choir! A little piece of home was here in Hattiesburg :) We really really enjoyed the fireside and you could tell everyone in attendance enjoyed it as well. 

We also had the opportunity to go to Louisville, MS last month to help with tornado clean up. It was really hard work, and I was really sunburnt and sore the next day, but I would do it again in a heart beat. I really enjoyed working with other people in our ward and serving the people of Louisville. It was awesome to see how Mormon Helping Hands can bring the saints together to help serve others in our community. Serving others can truly bring joy into one's life and I know it brought joy to mine. 

That is the trunk of one of the trees we helped clean up from the tornado. I still cannot fathom that something could be powerful enough to rip something so strong out of the ground. 

 I had never seen tornado damage before. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. The houses on the left side of the road were totally fine and standing, but the houses on the right side of the road were completely demolished with maybe 1 or 2 walls still standing. It is crazy to me how selective tornadoes can be.

We are still doing really well and enjoying our time here in Hattiesburg. Next month we will have been here for 1 year and I can't believe it! Time has gone by so fast! Everyone told us it would, but I didn't believe them.. now I do. I'm sure the next 2 years are going to fly by now that we're both in school and busy running around to different places. 

So I guess I have accepted the fact that I am just going to be the once a month type of blogger. Haha. I guess I just don’t feel exciting enough to blog more than once a month about what’s going on. Maybe it will change, but then again, it probably won’t. Hah.

Well, we experienced our first Mardi Gras in the south! We were able to go to a Mardi Gras parade in Hattiesburg with a group of friends from our ward. We really enjoyed the parade and catching all of the beads and moon pies that were thrown our way. It took a while for someone to throw Cody a moon pie, but once they did it was all he could talk about. Haha.

 

 

Cody got a day off from school for, “Mardi Gras Break.” It is normally 2 days, but since we had a few snow days earlier this year, the students only got one day off.   You would think that because I work for the university that I would get the day off too, but nope! I very quickly learned that just because the students have the day off, doesn’t mean the staff does L Those days at work are the worst! Hardly anyone is on campus and not many calls come in because people assume we’re closed, so time just crawls by!

Spring Break was last week and I think Cody really enjoyed his time off! He still worked on his papers over the break, but made sure to give himself some Cody time (which I think was greatly needed.. haha) We actually took a trip to Destin, FL for a couple of days  to enjoy the warm weather and beautiful beaches! Destin is about 3 ½ hours away from Hattiesburg, so the drive wasn’t bad at all. We actually drove down with another couple and their daughter so that made time go by even faster J

Destin is absolutely beautiful. We spent all day Saturday at the beach soaking up the sun and enjoying the wonderful weather. The water was pretty chilly, but that didn’t hold us back! I wasn’t brave enough to completely submerge myself in the water, but I was pretty happy with waist deep. 

They had a pretty sweet sunscreen machine at the beach. Pay $1 for 45 seconds of SPF 30!

                            

                            

Being at the beach definitely made me miss my family! Our trip to Destin was the first beach trip I’ve been on that wasn’t to southern California. Whenever I think of the beach, I think of San Clemente. Waking up to the awesome view and smell of ocean air at Aunt Linda and Uncle Ed’s beach house, going to SC Café for breakfast and then making our way to the beach for the rest of the day. Of course it wouldn’t be a trip to the beach without getting pedicures at Mingee’s, and doing some shopping on Del Mar Street. I love San Clemente and all of the memories that are there! I get so jealous when I hear about my family taking trips to the beach together while I’m so far away, but hopefully at some point we’ll be able to join in on those trips back to San Clemente. J

The fam in San Clemente, 2006 maybe?

Living so far away from my family has really made me realize how blessed and fortunate I was to have everyone I love so close when I lived in Henderson. I still can’t believe me and my sisters all live in different states. It’s just weird! I guess I just never realized how spoiled I was having them so close. Hopefully someday we’ll all be able to live a little closer to each other!

We were also able to travel to Baton Rouge this month for our stake temple day. We had to be to the temple at 9am, so we had to wake up pretty early to get there on time. We left Hattiesburg around 6am and made the 2 ½ hour drive to Baton Rouge. Surprisingly, I stayed awake the whole drive to the temple and had some really good conversations with Cody and our friend Spencer. Usually I’m asleep once we hit the interstate, but I felt like I needed to be a good, “co-pilot” and keep Cody and Spencer company.  I always enjoy my time at the temple. It gives me the recharge I need for the month ahead. There is always such a sweet and calming spirit inside of the temple where I can feel the overwhelming love of my Heavenly Father and savior, Jesus Christ. The outside world melts away and I can focus on the eternal perspective of life and the true plan of happiness.

Well, I can’t believe it is almost the end of March! I took the TEAS test last month and did better than I expected! I had never been so nervous about a test in my entire life! It is safe to say that I cried tears of joy once I saw my score, I was so glad it was all over. Now that the test is over and my application is in, I just have to sit and wait. I probably won’t hear back until the end of April or beginning of May, so I’ll just continue to keep my fingers crossed J

Cody went on his first scout outing last weekend with the boy scouts in our ward. Cody is the scout master and was able to coordinate a campout for the 2^nd weekend of spring break while he was out of school. They were able to fish and cook a Dutch oven dinner of chicken and potatoes. Cody didn’t have much luck catching fish, but I quickly reminded him it was because he didn’t have the fish whisperer (me) with him. Haha. When we go home to Panguitch during the summer time me and Cody like to go stream fishing. I guess it’s safe to say that I have a bit more luck when it comes to catching fish J Anyways!  Cody said the boys had a good time at the campout and the food turned out, so that’s all that matters, right?

We are doing very well and are so happy to be here in Hattiesburg. We love all of our friends and couldn’t feel more blessed to be around such great people. We love our ward and serving in the church. I was called to be the 1^st counselor in the primary presidency at the beginning of the year and I love my calling! I love being in primary and having the opportunity to work with such great kids. I have been trying my best the past few weeks to learn about cub scouts! I have to say, growing up with all sisters and only one brother has not helped me much when it comes to scouting. I know Cam went through the cub scouting program, but I didn’t pay enough attention! My father-in-law has been a huge help. I call him the scouting guru, haha. He’s so sweet to give me advice and help where he can because honestly, I need all the help I can get!

The Wedding

Thanks to the Polar Vortex, we had a few SNOW days here in Hattiesburg a few weeks ago. The university shut down for 2 1/2 days because of the weather, so we were forced to stay home in our PJ's, sleep in, watch movies, and play the Wii. Tough life, right? Haha. We enjoyed our days off and were a little bummed to go back to our real lives of work and school. 

  

When it was time to go back, we had to scrape the snow off our windows with a spatula, haha! Not the best ice/snow scraper, but we made it work :)

     

This was the beginning of the snow fall.. obviously serious enough to shut down the university ;)

We were able to fly home last week for Stacie and Brett's wedding. It was a quick trip, but we always love going home and seeing friends and family. We arrived in Vegas Thursday night and I went straight to the strip for dinner and Stacie's bachelorette party. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life, needless to say, we had a really fun night. 

We went golfing on Friday morning with my dad, Brett and 2 of his friends. Golfing is always a great time, especially when you have awesome golf partners. I always love golfing with my dad and Cody. Your bad shots don't seem so bad when you're having a good time. :)

The rehearsal dinner was Friday night and the food was so good! It was fun getting to know Brett's family and to have everyone together. 

This is a picture Benton took of everyone at the dinner, pretty cool right?

Saturday morning we woke up early to go over to the golf club and set up lights.  I guess I should say we went over to the golf club to watch my dad and Cody put up lights, but me, my mom, Lisa, Aunt Tracy and Gracie were all there for moral support. Lisa was nice enough to go on a Sonic run for everyone. Let me tell you, if you ever need my dad to help you with anything, just get him a Coke from Sonic and he can work wonders. He was a new man once he took a drink of that Coke, the lights were up in no time! 

We didn't have to be to the temple till 2:30, so we had a few hours to get ourselves showered and ready to go. Our friend, Jen Rose was nice enough to do everyone's makeup for the wedding :) After she was done with us we were all picture perfect and ready to go! 

Of course, the sealing ceremony was wonderful. Stacie looked beautiful and her and Brett couldn't stop smiling.  I always love going to the temple to be reminded of the eternal perspective of life.

I'm so proud of this picture I took of the temple! Isn't it beautiful?? There was a gorgeous sunset and I'm so glad I was able to snap this shot of the temple. 

The happy couple :)

We stayed at the temple for a while to take pictures then we were off to the golf club for the reception! 

The reception was so much fun! I loved seeing so many family friends and catching up with my friends! I love being able to catch up with my friends and feel like we haven't missed a beat with one another. I have been blessed with such great friends in my life and couldn't be more grateful. 

The reception of course was beautiful :) I think the dancing might have been the best part. Me and Cody were able to get out and bust a few moves, but Brett's groomsmen were definitely the life of the party! It was so fun to watch everyone dance and have a good time. Family, friends, food and dancing.. what could be better??

Sunday morning me, my mom, Jill and Jen all went to our cousin Loni's bridal shower. I was so glad the shower was scheduled while we were all in town! The decorations at the shower were so cute. I loved all of the yellow, burlap, and lace. We played some fun games and ate great food. Our cousin Michelle did such a nice job putting everything together and we enjoyed every minute of it :)

After the shower I was able to meet up with Cody and his family. Even though we didn't get to spend much time together, we were still able to catch up and enjoy each others company.

Even though our trip was short, we loved every minute of it. Of course I always wish we could spend more time with family and see more friends, but 3 1/2 days home is better than nothing! We're so blessed to have such great family that made it possible for us to come home! We loved being there to see everyone and support Stacie and Brett.

We arrived back in Hattiesburg about 2 am on Monday morning and we were up getting ready for work and school a few hours later. Needless to say we were exhausted all day Monday, but it was totally worth it :)

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I'm applying for nursing school this month in hopes to start school this coming Fall. We had a meeting with an instructor in the nursing school at William Carey University on Monday afternoon. William Carey is a private Baptist university here in town. I don't quite have all of the pre-reqs I need to apply for the nursing program at Southern Miss, so I am applying to William Carey's BSN program and have very high hopes of getting in :) I turned in my application while I was there, and I take the TEAS test next week. Once my TEAS test score is turned in, my application will be complete! I won't know of my admission status until the end of April or beginning of May, but hopefully everything works out. I feel like I've been waiting FOREVER to apply/start nursing school and it seems almost surreal that this is all finally happening.  I don't know what Cody is more excited about, me applying for nursing school, or the possibility of me graduating from a private Baptist university in the deep south. Haha! Hopefully I'll have some good news to share come the beginning of May :)

Home for the holidays :)

Okay, so I'm the worst blogger ever. Honestly, half the time I forget we even have a blog until someone tells me I need to update it.. haha. So, here is an update! 

---Just a heads up.. this blog post is going to have lots of pictures… so enjoy :) ---

Cody finished his first semester of doctoral school! Woohoo! One semester down, five to go! He did really well, but he worked really hard! This semester should be a little easier, I think he has finally gotten into a groove :)

Our trip home was so nice! We enjoyed every minute of it! We flew home on the 18th and left for Panguitch the next morning. Stacie and my mom drove us up to St. George and Jennifer was nice enough to meet us in St. George and take us the rest of the way to Panguitch. We didn't have a car while we were home, so we had to get rides everywhere.. haha. I was so glad Stacie was able to come with us on the long drive so I could hear about her mission and catch her up on our life in Mississippi. It's so nice to have her home!! :) 

Panguitch was COLD as usual, but it was really fun. This was the first time I had been in Panguitch when it was snowing, so that was cool. Me and Cody got to have a little snowball fight and build a snowman :) Yes, our snowman is a little short and fat, but don't judge.

This is Laddy, or I guess I should say, Aladdin Prince of Arabia. Haha. Brianne named him when she was 6 or 7, best.name.ever.

We were able to go to Brianne's basketball game and see Nicole cheer. They're both so awesome and fun to watch! Brianne's basketball team is pretty talented. I wouldn't be surprised if they take state this year :)

We stayed in Panguitch for a few days and then drove back to Henderson for Christmas Eve and the rest of our break. We bummed a ride with Lindsey back home and that was nice too. Long car rides are the best when it comes to catching up with people! It was so nice to get to see her and catch up on everything!

We spent Christmas Eve with Shelley, Rick, Rhonda, Ava, Justin and Lindsey. We had the usual Christmas Eve dinner of steak and potatoes and it was delicious, per usual. We spent Christmas day with my family and had my dad's brothers and their families over for breakfast, it's a Kirk family tradition. I can't remember a Christmas morning we haven't spent with my dad's family, I always love our family breakfast on Christmas morning. 

We were also able to visit with lots of friends while we were home :) Two of our really good friends had babies after we moved! It was weird seeing our friends with kids, but I guess it's okay because their kids are really cute.

  

 Sofia loves the camera and is always so smiley! Mason is still a little camera shy, but I'm sure Sofia can give him a few pointers.. haha.

Lunch with friends is always the best. So glad I got to catch up with these two girls. Crazy to think we've been friends since meeting in primary in the Silver Springs Ward over 12 years ago! Love them!

My sisters decided to have a New Years Eve party for all the kids in our family. It was awesome. We had our countdown at 9 pm, so that made it even better, haha! We started the night off with an awesome dance party, followed by popsicles and sparklers.

 

Our trip ended with a great round of golf and Dragon Ridge with my dad and his friend Rick. It was the first time we've been golfing since the move, but it was still a lot of fun. Beautiful day and great company, what could be better? My friend Amanda from BYU was actually able to come join us for a few holes. It was great to see her. If anyone needs golf lessons in the Las Vegas area, Amanda Keith at Golf Tech is your girl! 

It's hard to remember EVERYTHING we did while we were home, but I tried to take as many pictures as I could. I'm not a very good at remembering to take pictures, but I'm trying to be better.. so here are a few random ones.

We celebrated Stacie's birthday :)

This is Princess Earmuffs. She was always "toasty wosty." I think they were her favorite gift :)

Homemade ice cream sandwiches from Aunt Tracy, delicious!

I had the chance to spend time with Jess and Danielle during Stacie's bridal shower. Bestest friends forever.

Well, I'm sure I left a few things out, but trying to remember everything from our long trip was just not possible. I'm getting old.. haha. 

We're finally settled back in to our daily routines here in Hattiesburg. Work has been pretty busy with the start of the Spring semester and scholarship deadlines coming up. Hopefully things will slow down at work after February 1st, but I doubt it. 

We have enjoyed watching football the past few Sundays. We now go to church at 9 so we get home just in time for Cody to catch his Niners. Luckily, he hasn't gone into a depression after their loss to the Seahawks. There's always next year, right? I'm just glad because now we can both root for Peyton Manning and the Broncos together :)