Mindy & Joe's Adventures of 2011

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

Marie & Jeff Family

I took photos of my beautiful cousin, Marie, and her new family! I loved seeing how their kids already love each other and how happy they all are. I am so excited for you, Marie!

When we asked Ethan how much he loves his new brother he just put up 10 fingers so cute!

All the Girls

All the Kids

Brothers

Sisters

Yay I love this family pic!

You're like angels!

Temple!! Oh yeah.

Love.

Marie and Jeff.

Now that's bliss.

Crazy Camping Adventures

I have lots of pictures for you today! Joe and I went "camping" with the Holms a few months ago (when it was still warm grumble grumble). We actually had to leave early becuase of a misfortune... But I'll tell the story through the pictures:

This is Me! Andrew and Alicia picked us up and we headed off to Provo Canyon.

And here it is! The picture doesn't do it justice. It is a magnificent waterfall.

Walking to the bridge to get to the falls.

 Crossing the bridge.

 Andrew and Alicia.

 The water was freezing but we decided to all put our feet in for as long as we could stand. That didn't last long.

 My beautiful people!

 My handsome husband.

 Crossing the log to play on the rocks.

Alicia.

Amazon Woman Alicia.

Andrew.

Joe.

Mindy.

 Ahh! Gorgeous Alicia!

Yay! Joe and I with the falls! (Thanks Alicia!)

Joe and Andrew were playing frisbee but it fell off a cliff, so Joe climbed down to get it.

 After Bridal Veil Falls we drove to the campsite. Yes this is their Awesome Yellow Lancer!

We found this little guy at our campsite and thought he was soo cute!

 Cute!

 

We all went on a little hike to try and find wood for a campfire and found this awesome tree!!

 And of course, the highlight of the campsite was the rope swing. Joe was actually the only one to try it out though.

Testing it out.

Making sure the branch would hold (btw look at how skinny that branch is)

Andrew helping Joe get on. 

The sheer joy on his face is so classic! (Especially because you know what's coming.) He's like a kid in a candy story. I absolutely love it!

Uh-Oh...
After this picture Joe decided to see how far he could swing in the air and then jump off. Andrew was going to go next, but just as Joe got to the apex of his swing the branch Broke! He fell on his side and hand which hurt badly.

 I ran to him and asked him questions about where he was hurting. I had just started taking a first aid class and told him, "Well, I know what's wrong, but I don't know how to fix it. We haven't learned that part yet!"

 This is it.

After this he developed a massive migrain and was hurting a lot so we went home.

A few days of agony passed and we finally went to the doctors and concluded that he had fractured a rib. It hurt horribly for about a few weeks and then he got better!

The end.