Hello family and friends!! Since it's the close of 2011 we decided to tell you about our year through pictures.
PART 1: Our first semester at BYU - Jan-April
We both transferred to BYU at the beginning of January.
This is what it looked like when we got here. We were extremely blessed because the night we drove in to town there was no snow. We were afraid that our drive to Utah over the mountain would be icy and dangerous but when we prayed we felt like it would be okay. Our drive was completely snow free! (Until the next morning when it looked like this) We were able to get to Mark & Debbie Child's house where they so graciously let us stay until we found our own place, just a few days before school started.
This is me crossing a stream on campus. Yes I am a dork.
As you can imagine our first apartment on our own was pretty bare. This is our dining table (those are cardboard boxes underneath the tablecloth)
This is our couch.
These are our only chairs (which we borrowed the whole semester from the Child's)
This is a desk Joe made me out of more cardboard boxes, and a sewing machine I borrowed from a friend.
At the end of the semester Tracy and Carl Leder were moving and needed to get rid of this couch so we purchased it for a very cheap price and I think it's the best purchase we've ever made! We absolutely love our couch. We also bought their fold up table and chairs which we love also.
This apartment was very very old and the heating vents didn't all work, the bathroom was teeny and didn't have any counter space, the kitchen didn't have room for a table, but ya know what? It was ours and we were grateful to have a place of our own.
Joe's version of Teen Girl Squad's "SOO Good!"
Mindy's version of Teen Girl Squad's "SOO Good!"
(For a look at a ridiculous episode click
here.)
SInce we're going to college we thought we'd let you know our progress in the world of academia: Joe is studying English and Computer Science and Mindy is studying Exercise and Wellness. School is good. Very competitive, and we definitely don't have as good GPA's as we did at the JC but it's ok. Our first semester was really hard transitioning but the second has been better. We absolutely love having such good friends out here! (Shout out to the LaPorte's, Skankey's and Holms!)
Here's what we dislike about Utah:
1. No family
2. Horrible pollution!!
3. Snow
4. Crazy construction ALL over the place!
Here's what we like:
1. Great friends
2. Cheap Movie theater
3. Zupas and Cafe Rio
4. There are a lot of fun things to do that are inexpensive
5. When your teachers talk about the gospel in class and how everything can be spiritual
6. We can walk most places
PART 2: Summer in Oklahoma - May-August
After our first semester at BYU we prayed about what to do and didn't feel bad about going to work in Oklahoma with Vivint for the summer, so we went. It was pretty crazy. Joe worked his tush off ALL summer! He worked 12-18 hour days pretty frequently, and near the end of the summer he wanted to go back to school so he could rest! Mindy didn't have a job during the summer so she taught herself how to use photoshop and did a bunch of photo shoots with people. AND started this wonderful blog to share them with all of you!
Here we are at music in the park.
(Mindy) Funny story: So when we finally got to Oklahoma City we got into the apartment that the company had set us up with. These apartments were brand new, which was awesome. We loved it! (Especially having a washer, dryer, and dishwasher- heaven!) Anyways, the first time I tried washing some clothes, 5 minutes in the entire kitchen was flooded. See in the piture how there's an X on one of the round coverings? There's supposed to be a hole there to put the hose in to
Our car died in the middle of the summer so we decided to get a new car that would last us a loong time and one we didn't have to keep dishing unneccisary amounts of money into. We got this beautiful 2011 Toyota Camry. We love it!
Since Oklahoma City and Lubbock Texas are sooo close (ok 6 hours is really not that close, but not too bad!) we were able to visit David and Sara's family. Mindy even got to stay with them for a whole week (while Joe was working...). It was AMAZING. We love their family and are so grateful to know them.
Over the summer Mindy got pretty sick and Joe flew her to California to see her doctor and get all sorts of tests done. They never did figure out what was wrong, but with a good diet and essential oils Mindy got better! This is a funny video of Mindy in an urgent care all drugged up. (Props to
David After Dentist :)
PART 3: Back to school - Sep-Dec
Mindy found our new apartment just 3 blocks away from campus!!! It actually has space in the kitchen for our little table and it has 2 bedrooms! We absolutely love it! This is the view from outside our door.
Joe's Good Flip
Mindy's Attempt at a Flip. We have fun.
This is at Bridal Veil Falls
We tried to go camping with some friends right before Fall semester started but our fun ended when Joe fractured his rib. To veiw the entire story click
here.
Autumn came to visit us briefly just before General Conference in October and it was super fun! If anyone else ever wants to visit... we DO have an extra bedroom!
We went on a date to the pet store to play with the bunnies! We love them.
We loved watching the Sing Off and Vocal Point won us over (we were skeptical at first). This is Joe's tribute to their beat boxer.
PS: Mindy talked to one of their lead singers and it was exciting!
This is us on Thanksgiving day, missing our families.
The picture on the left is our new beautiful tree! It's a bis step up from last lear (the pic on the right- just a few tree trimmings leaning against the wall..haha).
Finals are over and we're going to Oregon for Christmas! Our SECOND year anneversary is on
Dec 18th, woo hoo! Time flies!
We hope this gives you a good idea of what our year was like.
We love all of you and hope you had a great year too!
If there is anything we could ever do for you just ask, we're always here for you.
LOVE WITH ALL OUR HEARTS,
Mindy & Joe Podwys
