Weekend Festivities

Well, we have lots to blog about! The last weekend has been filled with blessings, excitement, and a little bit of luck. First of all, we found out on Thursday that we are getting Pell Grants! We are so grateful. When we first got married, we were denied financial aid because it asked for our income info from 2007 . . . when Rob wasn't in school yet and worked full time . . . so our income was too high. But, we petitioned for them to use our 2008 info instead, and once they saw how dirt poor we really were, they approved it! We are so glad, because we were really worried about coming up with another semester of tuition by next week!

Rob finished his last finals of the semester on Thursday, and on Friday morning we went to Salt Lake to spend Easter weekend with my parents. It was such a good weekend. Of course it was filled with tons of delicious food and of course we ate way too much!

My mom's annual bunny cake that we still insist upon as adults

Also this year, we made homemade chocolate/marshmallow eggs! (We used Nestle's crunch bars for the chocolate). They were good!

To top it all off, the Easter Bunny came!!

When we got there on Friday, we spent the afternoon at Cabella's. We love that store! We spent hours looking at all the taxidermied animals and exhibits and even played a shooting game. Rob and I tied. Anyway, the highlight for Rob was the little treasure pictured below. Petro Carbo. Rob has been looking for this stuff for years! He got it for his dad a few years ago and he really liked it . . . but for some reason they have not been able to find it anywhere since. So Rob was shocked to find the stuff, and bought some.

So, on to our shopping spree! Let me first say that this shopping spree had nothing to do with our financial aid happiness. While the financial aid was a huge weight off our shoulders, we immediately budgeted every penny of it to bills, savings, and of course school expenses. So, we weren't planning to do that much shopping in Salt Lake except to spend some last gift cards we had for Target and Costco.

On our way out the door Friday morning, I suddenly remembered something. I had almost an entire year's supply of contact lenses that I got last year, but never used because my eyes were always dry, and then I got Lasik, so the contacts were just stored. I thought, "We'll probably go to Costco in Salt Lake. Maybe we can sell them back." It was an afterthought, but we had time to grab them. We took them to Costco and ended up getting a surprisingly excellent amount of cash! Since this money was unexpected, and every penny of our finances was already budgeted, we decided to have fun with it and treated ourselves to a mini shopping spree! By "shopping spree" we don't mean we blew it all . . . every single thing we bought was something we have been wanting or needing for a long time, and was practical . . . but it felt so good to buy things for ourselves after being so tight with money since we've been married. Anyway, on to our purchases!

#1: Our first tent! It's a 4 man. We love it, and we got a great deal. It was from Costco. The Coleman Rogue 4.

#2: Two new night stands! We have been wanting night stands that match our bed for a long time and these were super cheap at Ikea. (They are actually supposed to be living room end tables, but they are small enough and we think they look fine!)

#3: Can we just say that we love Ikea?! We had time to just browse the store and it's our favorite now. We decided that we'd better get a coffee table too! It was also cheap.
#4: We spent our Target gift cards on tools and flashlights, which we have been needing. Here are a few of them below. One other thing we had kind of been wanting was a spice rack, but we decided instead to spend our remaining Target money on individual spices . . . the ones we will actually use!

#5: With our remaining cash, I got a new pair of jeans (badly needed) and Rob got a new Razor Scooter! He had one at the beginning of this year and he loved having it to ride on campus, but it broke. I told him he could get a new one if we got financial aid . . . although it ended up coming out of the "free" contact money instead!

We really feel good about our purchases. And just when we thought the weekend couldn't get better, the following occurred: Before Easter dinner, my feet were hurting and I was complaining to Rob that I don't have any shoes with arch support and that my only tennis shoes were falling apart. He told me that maybe it would be a good idea to invest in some new ones, but I, of course, was back to tightwad mode. So we ate a delicious turkey dinner and had Katie's friend Cheri and her family over. At the end of dinner, Cheri said, "Hey, Kim (a neighbor and also a friend of Reuben's) has a huge bag of nice used running shoes she is giving to DI. Do you guys need any?" We were shocked. We ran over and tried them on and amazingly, the sizes were perfect and I ended up with 2 great pairs! They are in good condition too! We are so happy. Happy Easter to us!!

Finally, on Sunday evening I "graduated." You see, I graduated in December and they didn't have a ceremony then. They mailed me my diploma and I have the option to walk in the ceremony this month. I decided not to make the trip just to walk, since I have a job now and since my mom won't be in town anyway. So we decided to just take pictures with my diploma. Katie's friend Cheri also just graduated and let me wear her cap and gown to make it more official! So here are my graduation pictures!

My two greatest accomplishments: degree and husband!

Recent Activity

Saint Patrick's Day by Rob:
So I'm sure all of you have been wondering, "What did Rob and Rachel do for Saint Patrick's Day?!" And since you're dying to know, we'll tell you.
Firstly, I have this awesome outfit that I wear on St. Patty's day that has an Ireland t-shirt and an Irish hat. That doesn't quite make me Irish, but I feel like it. Secondly, Rachel and I decided that we would not make corned beef and cabbage, because I don't like it. So we made special hamburgers instead. As you can see, a little creativity and grilling expertise produced some "Saint Patties". Get it? Hamburger patties shaped like crosses. Cheesy joke, deliciously cheesy. It was a stretch for Saint Patrick's Day, but I definitely wasn't going to eat the corned beef.For dessert, Rachel made us Jello, and you can't go wrong with Jello.Pi Day by Rachel:
Another special day we celebrated was Pi Day: March 14th. Get it? 3.14. . . Pi. Some of our friends threw a Pi(e) Party, where we all made delicious pies and ate them! We decided to make a strawberry chiffon pie with a chocolate cookie crust. (I should have taken a picture before the cool whip topping... oh well). The recipe was kind of complicated and called for lots of weird things, but it turned out really good! And now we know what "chiffon" is. Rob thought it tasted like strawberry lemonade.
Other big hits at the Pi(e) party: A pizza pie, pot pie, tons of sweet pies, a pie with the numbers of Pi circling until it reached the middle, and a giant pumpkin pie in the shape of the Greek letter Pi! Needless to say, we were in Pie Heaven. And our stomachs have not been well since.



In other news, I still love my new job. It's so laid back and I am loving the flexibility. The kids are perfect angels too (so far) and the work hours go by really quickly. And I love having free mornings to work out and relax, and having weekends off to do things like make bread (or pie) and clean.

Rob is getting close to the end of his semester. He has been spending a lot of time reading in his free time and is progressing in his current series. And mostly, he loves being married to me!

Maybe someday we will have exciting blogs and pictures that don't involve food. . . but apparently food is the only thing we take pictures of!

Rachel's New Job

Well, a few weeks ago, I started the job I had been planning on. I wasn't really happy with it, so I decided to keep looking. That same week, I applied for another job, and amazingly got it! The following blog is really long, but I am just so excited about my new job!

Here is a little comparison between the two:

Old Job:
I was training to be a manager at a Kmart store in Idaho Falls. I had interned there last summer and they gave me a job offer, and I accepted it, since the salary was really good and I had no other ideas for work in the Rexburg area. It was only a 6 month program, then if there were no openings in the area (which was likely) they would want me to relocate. Since that wasn't an option, I was only planning on the 6 months. I started the job and it really stressed me out. (I know that new jobs are always hard, and I didn't just give up-- I had spent 3 months during my internship doing the same thing so I knew what the job was like). The big thing for me was the schedule. Since I was salaried, I was scheduled for 48 hours every week on top of the 35 minute commute to Idaho Falls (35 minutes in perfect weather... which it wasn't). Two days a week I had to work 8am to 9pm with only a 1 hour lunch break. I had two days off, but they were random and usually not on weekends. I was as likely to have a Sunday off as I was to have a Tuesday off. I hated it. The work itself wasn't that bad, but it was not fulfilling work and I dreaded going to work every day. I was going to try to stick it out for the 6 months, but I was blessed with something else right away!

New Job: PSR (Psychosocial Rehabilitation) Specialist
For this job, I work one-on-one with children with some sort of social/behavioral disability. The main categories are problems with Authority, Anger/Agression, and Attention/focusing. Each child is allowed a certain number of hours (usually about 5 or 6) per week to meet with me so I can work on their specific problems with them. They all attend the partial care center that employed me, so usually I pick them up from there and take them to work either in their home or in a community setting such as a library, park, museum, or grocery store. From what I hear, the hardest part is that I have to submit notes after every session describing what problem we were working on, justify our activity in relation to that problem, and evaluate the child. There are strict rules for these notes since they are submitted to Medicaid, like you can't say words like "played" or "activity" -- instead, you say "task"-- but I think I will catch on quickly. I have already been complimented on how quickly I am getting the hang of the notes. The pay is not quite as good as my old job, but it is just fine for us, and when I factor in the 48 hour weeks I was working, I'm really not making that much less per hour. Plus, it can last more than 6 months.

Here are some reasons I am excited for my new job:

• It is in Rexburg, so no more commute to Idaho Falls.
• I make my own schedule!! It's my job to figure out with the parents when to meet with the kids. During the school year, I have to meet with the school-aged kids mostly in the afternoons, evenings, and maybe Saturdays if I need to, but it doesn't bother me. I won't have to work any Saturday nights or Sundays! So far I don't even work Fridays, but that will probably change since I will get more kids soon.
  
• I am very independent. I can come up with my own activities to do with the kids and I don't have a boss breathing down my neck.
• This job is directly related to my major in sociology. A Bachelor's Degree in a social science was required and I will actually use what I learned in college.
• On my notes and all other paperwork, I have to sign my name with my credentials! (Rachel Grimmer, B.S.) Sweet!
• Dress: casual. The best of both worlds- I feel like a professional, but I don't have to dress like one!
  
• Each child is given an hour per week for me to make a "collateral contact" with their parents or teachers. These can be done over the phone. So, since I am starting out with 5 kids, 5 of my weekly work hours can be done at home on the phone.
• Everyone I work with is really friendly and willing to help me.
  

Last week I had training and made my first collateral contacts with the parents. All the parents are so nice, flexible with schedules, and trust me as a professional. I also met with 2 kids and just got to know them a little better. The kids all seem great and none of them seem to be out of control or anything. Like all jobs, I was a little bit uncomfortable starting out because there are no specific 'lesson plans' or anything. However, I ran into another PSR in the library who gave me ideas and told me that lots of simple activities can be beneficial for kids with certain problems. For example, if a child has trouble paying attention, they can work on a maze or a craft and I evaluate how well they focus. Or, for a child with problems with authority and following rules, we can play games that require following rules. She said my job is basically teaching social skills, and my relationship with the kids is beneficial itself. The partial care center also has huge binders full of activity ideas for certain behavioral problems. I'm sure I will get the hang of it soon and I already feel less stressed about working!

This job was a major blessing for me. I know it can be difficult to find good jobs these days, and I still can't believe I so quickly found, was hired, and started this job that seems so perfect for me. I'm sure it will have its challenges, but I know it is a better fit for me than what I was doing before. Our prayers were answered and I am so happy with how things turned out.

*If anyone has any ideas of activities, games, or crafts for children, or knows of any good websites or books, please let me know!

Visitors

The last two weekends were especially fun for us because we had visitors at our apartment! First, Natalie, Kayla, and Kjirsten came from Provo to see us. They were my roommates last year and Rob and I call them "the cousins". . . because they are cousins with each other, not us. And they are some of our very favorite friends! Basically we just watched X-Files all weekend because they brought all the seasons and we love X-Files. Also, we went shopping at DI and blog stalked and made delicious caramel popcorn! We didn't take any pictures, but here is an old one of the 5 of us from last year. We were so happy that they came!!


Then, the next weekend, Lindsey, Kyle, and Kyson came to visit us from Canada, so my parents and Katie came up from Salt Lake as well! We had almost too many delicious meals to fit into one weekend. My mom prepared and brought ingredients for tons of food! She made lots of chicken cordon bleu before she came for Friday night, and brought ingredients for meatloaf and mashed potatoes for Saturday, which was Valentine's Day, and she made mini meatloaf hearts!
She also made lots of heart sugar cookies and brought frosting and candy for decorating! They left on Saturday evening and left us a kitchen full of food and leftovers! (Plus canned food they brought for us, a box of oranges, lots of salad makings and veggies, and almost an entire cheesecake).
We were really excited about the food, as you can imagine, but we were mostly happy to have family visiting. We spent a little time outside, watching Kyson sled with Kyle, and walking around campus while Lindsey and Kyle reminisced. Then, we went to our clubhouse and played pool and ping pong. Later that night, after my parents left, Lindsey and I went to the mall in Idaho Falls to shop. It was a fun weekend and Kyson warmed up to us.

Kyle and Kyson sledding in the parking lot

Anyway, since then things have been a little more boring and busy. I started work last week and have been working long hours. Rob has been busy with school and study groups and tests. Nothing too exciting. In conclusion, we like having people come visit us!

Our Super New Apartment!!

So! Here's the blog about our apartment! We're very excited about our very first home together. It's very cozy and roomy. We love it so very much. Here's a short tour given by Rob.

The Ultimate Grimmer Home Tour Five Hundred Thousand

Okay, the two first pictures are of our living room. See those pictures on the walls. I don't mean to boast, but they didn't have any hanging brackets on them... so I created some and hung them myself. Thank you. Aside from that, we got the majority of our stuff second hand, but it's nice looking and we like it a lot.

Onward!!

Alright! So this is our bedroom! Rachel has always had a dream of a big white fluffy bed with a plush white comforter, as she's mentioned before. Well, this is it. Then for the hangings above the bed. I hung those. Anyway, I'm just saying... it's good looking. We also have separate closets! Two doored closets with racks and stuff in them. Very nice.

Next!

This is obviously the bathroom. I'm not quite sure what else to say about that... We do keep our bathroom really clean though...

The Kitchen!

Our Kitchen and Dining room. Not much decoration besides the flowers and the two pictures. We've been making a lot of bread lately. We've got a Bosch mixer, which is pretty sweet.This is our guest room... it's a little junky right now. Alright, I don't want to make this long. That's our apartment!

Wedding Pictures

We got our pictures back and we love them! They were taken by my friend from High School, Amy, and her husband Tavis Guild. They were really fun and creative and we had such a good time taking pictures with them. Their photography/videography business is called Memory Montage Productions and the website is www.memorymp.com.

Here are just a few of our pictures... we have a ton of them! If you are facebook friends with us, you can see more there.