two years

Brent and I have been married for two years. And they have been the most amazing two years of my whole life.


December 26, 2007 was the very best day of my entire life.


When we were in the temple, right after we had been sealed, I was walking into the room where I could change back into my wedding dress and Brent reached over with a huge smile on his face and said, "I just can't stop smiling." I have felt like that ever since.


Every day since our wedding day has just gotten better and I have gotten happier. I didn't know that would even be possible.


I get butterflies in my tummy every time my sweet husband gives me a kiss.


Brent and I laugh everyday. Sometimes I wonder why I don't have rockin abs from so much laughter.


We have had challenges in these last two years, but our happiness BY FAR outweighs the hard stuff. So much so that I don't remember too many hard things that have happened.


I love Brent more that anything in the whole world. And I know that he feels the same way about me. It is so sweet to be loved so much.


I am so grateful I get to have this amazing guy for eternity. I love you, Brent!

our Christmas card

We didn't get around to sending these out this year. I did work hard making them though....so, you can just enjoy it like this. :)

Christmas Day!

It was a packed Christmas at home. Everyone there and it was such a delight. (We were just missing "The Other One." hehe) It was fun to open presents at home and we got lots of good things. Thanks for Christmas everyone!
We had Christmas breakfast at Jeannie and Brian's house and it was delicious. Thanks for a great time. Once again, I didn't take a single picture over there. I don't know why....I guess it just slipped my mind. (Here is to next year and being a fabulous picture taker!) We had a good time chatting and playing games. We played this cool dice game and I'm not going to lie....I'm pretty good. I got second right after Heather. If you are going to Vegas, you should probably take me cause I am lucky!

Christmas dinner was the usual prime rib. Mmmmm. It was lots of meat in all its glory. Mark joined us as a surprise to Brent. What fun. We ate and played games. Brent and I won the Pictionary challenge and it was such a delight! Mark and Hilary were on a team and Hilary didn't stand a chance at winning...poor girl.

Christmas Eve!

Okay, I am officially terrible. I had my camera at the annual Hirz Christmas Even shindig. However, I didn't take a single picture. Why you ask? I have no idea. None. Zip. Zilch. I still can't believe it. However, it was still a magical evening full of delight. Thanks Mimi and Bampa for a great time out at the farm. I wish we had more time to spend out there visiting. We got the most darling stockings that I am excited to hang next year. They even have our names on them! How tender, right? Thanks Hirz family, you all rock!

Leavenworth!

We went to Leavenworth! And it was fabulous. Brent and I went 2 years ago on our little honeymoon and it was fun to go back. This time I was looking at more than just my new, adorable husband. Here are some (unedited-I just want to get them posted) pictures to document the day.

I guess I am really excited to go to Leavenworth? Or maybe I just like to take pictures of myself?

Here we are, such a cute little family in Leavenworth. Chris wasn't too excited about taking pictures all during the break....

Blue-Hair came with us! I convinced her and I am sure she was very happy I did.

Here we are, just looking adorable. Isn't Brent just the cutest thing you have ever seen?

Beside the pretzel tree! They had this awesome tree that was decorated with huge pretzels. It was way sweet. Too bad that guy had to get in my picture behind me....

Also in Leavenworth, you have to watch out for the wild animals. Luckily, Kevin managed to get away with only a few scratches.

Just a side story....

They have this shop with all sorts of neat gag things. They have this hot sauce that people can try and I have heard it is insanely hot. Well, if everyone else was trying it....Brent and I had to try some too. Oh. My. Gosh. It was absolutely ridiculous! I have never in my whole life had something so unbelievably hot. I only had a tiny taste and I thought my head was going to explode. Brent was dying too. We had to run down a few shops and get some ice cream to extinguish the fire....even then, we were still in so much pain. It was fun though. And I don't think I will ever have something so hot again. Whew.

Columbia River Temple

One of the things that we did when we were all home for Christmas break was go to the temple with Chris as he went through for the very first time. It was quite an experience to be there with him and to be in the temple with my whole family. I am so grateful that we have lived lives so that we could all attend the temple together. I love the blessings of the temple and the knowledge of eternal families. The temple is such a blessing. Something cool...I went through the Columbia River Temple two years ago today with my sweetie!

Haha, Dad and Kevin playing dress up while everyone else got ready. And don't miss Brent's face in the background!

The temple!


Aww, how tender right?

Dear Ellen,

I want you to be my friend. You are absolutely hilarious and I think we would get along great. I was watching your show the other day and you called someone on that awesome phone that you have. I want you to call me! I think it would be fabulous if you called just to say hello. We could chat for a little while and we would hit it off swell. I know you read my blog faithfully, so just give me a call and I promise I will answer.

Love,
Carolyn

love it

This season hasn't been my favorite on SYTYCD. I miss Mia. However, I do love this routine. So, you can all enjoy it with me. :)

I'm done. It's over.

And I can't believe it. I have had mixed emotions the last few days as I am all done with college. Can you believe it? I am a college graduate! It is insane to think.

Friday was my last day at Springville Junior High. And, since I hate to cry, it was kind of an awkward day. Ha.

Diane gave me the most fabulous gift, including all things that have been inside jokes throughout the semester. My oh my, I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Things including secret soup, candy cane kisses (worth every WW point!), a framed picture of herself, Chicken in a Biskit crackers that are fat free, the power of Lemonjello, and a list of her favorite Hirzy Sue moments. Hahaha, the list was aaaaamaaazing. I told her that I was sad that nobody else would understand all of these Hirzy moments. Oh well, I'll remember.First Period

All of the kids and Ms. Hamilton made me a thank you book full of sweet little notes. My little English class wrote me notes too. All of them are super precious. I might have cried just a little when I was reading the notes to Brent. Maybe....

I have had the most wonderful time as a student teacher. I feel that I have learned more in this 4 months than I did the rest of the time I was at BYU. I have learned practical things that will help me as I have my own classroom.

Third Period

I can't believe how much I love junior high kids. I wanted to teach jr high to have a change and to see how I liked it. I loooooved it. The kids had their own personalities and they were able to joke around. They could be more independant but they still needed and wanted help.

Fourth Period

It's crazy to think that I am all done. (Before older brother might I add. hehe) I'm not quite sure what I'll do next. I have an interview tomorrow for a job that I would LOVE to get. But, who knows...maybe I will get my masters? All I know is that I am done with school! And it has been an amazing journey. I'm thankful for the things I have learned and for the friends I have made. Life is good. Very good.

Brent laughed and laughed....

So, if you think this song is really bad.....don't judge me. Brent loves Star Wars, and I love Christmas music, so we really couldn't go wrong with this song.



There it is folks. "Vader Did You Know"

Life is good.

++It seems like Brent and I never see each other. I am always at school during the day and he works evenings. I miss him a lot. But, I am glad that he has a job and that he is able to provide for us. I'm glad that I was able to quit my job while I was student teaching so I could focus on that. I am grateful for my hard working, financially providing, VERY cute husband.

++This is my second to last week of student teaching. I cannot believe how quickly the last semester has flown by. Do I really get done next week? Wow, I can't even believe it. I have had the most wonderful experiences while student teaching. (Student teaching will get its own special post, don't you worry.) I feel ready and eager to have my own classroom.These are a couple of my kiddos in English class. I love them all. Aren't they adorable? (PS...I had to take these pics myself...they aren't the greatest.)

++I am still looking everywhere for a job. There aren't seeming to be many available right now. I guess it makes sense since it is the middle of the school year and the economy stinks. Hopefully something opens up soon. And, hopefully that something won't be un-teaching related. Cross your fingers, friends!

++Thanksgiving was fabulous. Chris came to hang out with us and it was great to spend some time with him. I have kinda missed my little brother. We all had Thanksgiving and Kevin's house and we all shared in the cooking of the delightful meal. The turkey turned out great, good job Kevin! And I "made" a delightful pie. Oh! The night before we spent the night over there and had a fun sleep over. We watched movies...or we fell asleep...and then we watched the parade. It was joy. There was a lot of hanging out but there was a lot of portfolio working too.Chris was supposed to take a picture of me and Brent. Instead, he cut me out and pretended like he was giving Brent a kiss. What a turd.

++Speaking of little brother, he got his mission call! I can't believe that he is getting ready to serve a mission. He got called to the Hermasillo Mexico mission and he reports on the 24th of February. He called and put me on speaker phone when he was opening and reading his call. He was just so excited. He said that Mexico has been where he has always wanted to go. He thinks he is going to the best mission on Earth. And for him, I'm sure it will be. He texted me after he got his call and it said, "I'm bying scriptures in Mexico lingo." He is so excited! I'm proud of him for working so hard. He has had fantastic examples of missionaries in his life and I am glad for him.
++There is this place in Springville called Two Jacks. It is in this gas station and looks kinda sketchy. They have the most amazing pizza. The crust is straight from Heaven, I swear. Well, I have been telling Brent about it forever and I finally took him and Chris there the other day. He loved it and I am so glad! He told me a couple of days after we went "Ever since you took me to Two Jacks, I have been wanting more." I'm glad he loved it as much as me. We really are perfect together.

++As busy as life as been lately, I have kept pretty sane. I have only had a couple college related melt-downs which I say is pretty good. Soon I will be a college graduate. It is within reach and I can't believe it. I am looking forward to wearing that ridiculous hat and getting my diploma.

++Brent has the day off on Saturday. He hasn't had a Saturday off for at least 3 weeks. We are going to go see the lights on Temple Square. I am looking forward to an evening with my handsom husband. And boy, he sure is handsom.

++Life really is great right now. I'm grateful for all of my blessings. I am so grateful for an amazing family and for a wonderful husband. This has kinda been a random all over post, but when I look back on this, I am going to love looking at it, I'm sure.

here's a funny

I love my mentor teacher, Diane. She is a hoot. We have a lot in common. Like, we both hate tomatoes! We also both had the mouth widener thing because out mouth sucked. And lots more. Well, yesterday we were having a conversation about Christmas lights. It went something like this.

Me: You know what kind of Christmas lights I hate? I hate the blue ones. They look so cold.

Diane: Me too! I don't like them. You know what my favorites are? My favorite colors are white ones or colored ones.

Me: (look of confusion)

Diane: Um...

Me: Weird, my favorite ones are the other ones. I hate white ones and colored ones.

Diane and Me: (laughter for a long time)

Haha, okay, so it might not seem that funny. But, let me tell you what...it was hilarious! Not even joking about that one.

I am thankful for temple marriage. I am thankful for the knowledge and the opportunity I have to be with my honey for eternity. I am thankful for the knowledge that I have of eternal families. I am thankful that I know how important temples are to eternal families. I am thankful that Brent wants to be with me for eternity. He is such a good guy.

Ugh

I hate when pregnant people complain about how much they hate being pregnant. I'm sure that they feel like that sometimes...but maybe they should be grateful that they are going to have a baby? I dunno....just an observation that I made today.

Last BYU observation....CHECK!

a good day to drive

Woo-hoo!

I'm sick of having that last post be on top. So.....I'm gonna add a post. And this one will be a happy one. So there.My BYU supervisor came today to observe me. I always get nervous when she comes because, lets face it, she controls my grade. And she really controls my ability to graduate IN DECEMBER!! But, guess what people, my score was 10 percentage points higher this time than it was last time. Basically, I am pretty awesome. Or maybe it means that last time I just really sucked and so there wasn't anywhere to go but up? Nahhhhh, not that one.

She is coming again on Tuesday for the last time! Did you read that? THE LAST TIME! No more observations from her after that! I really cannot wait until I graduate. I'm still not having any luck finding a teaching job. There just don't seem to be any opening up anywhere. But.....I'm still keeping my fingers crossed. Maybe if you crossed yours too? That would probably help. Thanks peeps.

Here is to a VERY busy next few weeks. I have a lot to accomplish, but I know I can do it. Yeah for Mrs. Hirz!

I can already tell....

This is my blog, so I get to blog about things I want too. Feel free to skip this one....

....that this is going to be a long, hard week for many reasons.

There are the little things that will make this week seem long....the school work that I have to get done, my BYU supervisor coming to observe me (again), the lack of restful sleep I have been getting...but there will also be the bigger, more emotional things to make this week long.

I can't believe that this is the week I should be going to the hospital, having a beautiful Hirz baby. Has it already been that long? Sometimes I'm still so emotional over the whole thing that it doesn't seem possible. Was I really in the doctor's office about 6 months ago hearing heartbreaking news? How can it have been so long ago, but still seem so current and hurt so much? I hate crying to Brent because it just makes him sad too. But, he always makes me feel better, no matter what. I stand by the fact that I have the most amazing husband in the whole world and that with him, there is a bright side to everything. The good thing is that I am so busy at school I don't have time to think too much about it. The bad thing, I have time once I'm in bed for the night trying to fall asleep.

I'll get through this week. And I'll get through the next. And I'll even get through the one after that. This week will just be a long one to handle. However, I am extremely blessed. And I am grateful for that.

Welcome to Holland

by Emily Pearl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

Yes, we are still alive.

Just so everyone knows, we are alive and well.

Both of us are extremely busy right now with school and work. We don't see each other too often...I miss my husband all of the time. But, we are both doing good things and so I keep telling myself that this is worth it.

I only have 5 weeks (Thanksgiving week doesn't count) of student teaching left. I am really loving the experiences I am having. My mentor teacher is a-ma-zing! I don't think there could have been a better fit for me. She is a party all the time. The kids I teach are hilarious. Junior high is such a fun age. I honestly can't believe that I am this close to being done. FIVE WEEKS?!?! Wow, is the world ready for Carolyn? I sure hope so...because I am running at it full speed. Now if I could just find a job....

Brent is busy with school and work. He really needs a vacation right about this time of the semester. He is getting burnt out. Classes suck, but he keeps going. He is such a trooper and hanging in like a champ. He is great at his job, even though Staples kinda sucks. I am so proud of him for doing so much for me. He is the greatest husband I could have ever asked for.

We are both blessed beyond measure. We have wonderful opportunities and awesome families. While we are busy, we do know how lucky we are. We love you all and yes, we are still alive. Don't worry!

PS, we got our plane tickets home! We will be in Moses Lake from Sunday night, December 20 to Monday morning, December 28. Hooray for going home!

You can't say anything around some kids...

My BYU professor came today to do a formal observation. I am not going to go into the details of that because I don't want to think about it right now....I will just say that it could have gone better.

Anyways...

This is how a conversation went today.

Sammie--"Hi!"

Heidi-- "Hi."

Sammie-- "Mrs. Hirz, is that your BYU teacher?"

Carolyn-- "Yes it is."

Sammie-- "She is really nice!"

Carolyn-- "Yeah, Sam. She is."

Sam-- "Mrs. Hirz, why did you say you were scared of her? She is so nice!"

Carolyn (shaking my head to try to get Sam to stop talking!)-- "Sam, I never said that. What are you talking about? I never said that!"

Sam-- "Yes you did Mrs. Hirz. You said you didn't want her to come cause she was scary. But she seems nice."

Heidi (peering around the table to look at me and basically laugh in my face because she likes to be scary)--laughs

Carolyn-- "Okay Sam, I think it's time for you to go and sit back down, okay? You are in lots of trouble..."

Sam-- "Okay."

She was totally oblivious. I was so embarrassed.

I'm going to have to watch what I say about BYU around these kids. Oh man....

A baby was made....

in Kleinfeld.We are watching Say Yes to the Dress and I'm pretty sure these people made a baby in the store. A guy came with his fiance to shop for dresses. She came out in one that didn't cover her body very well....this is what he said. "I can't ....I can't, I can't, I can't handle it." He then got up and made out with her face. They cut away pretty quickly, so I don't know what happened for sure...I'm just making a guess.

Pretty sick.

I made a fall wreath!

And I think I like it. I dunno? What do you think?

Sometimes....

when I have a million things to do and I can barely keep my head above the water....

when I think of things and how they should be....

when I have questions and wonder....

I can't help but think of how blessed I am to have Brent.

And how happy I am even if things are rough.

I am truly happy with Brent.

And it is the most wonderful feeling.

What a guy he is, what a guy.