The BYU Years

An established couple once told Jason and I to appreciate our years at BYU because they would be some of the most precious years we had together. They were referring to how simple and uncomplicated life together in college was before a career and children and heavier church responsibilities came along. We took their advice to heart and tried to enjoy those years. It never crossed our minds that another good reason for appreciating those years is because they would make up half of our married life together. This is a summary of our life from 2007 – 2011; the time we spent in Provo, UT while studying at Brigham Young University.

What I remember about this time is that our schedules were constantly changing. They changed with every semester in fact. This was kind of hard on me because I thrive on routine and consistency, but we had to make it work because graduating was our goal. Jason’s job changed often too. He had to find jobs that worked with whatever his schedule was at the time. One time he had a job cleaning up after volleyball and basketball games. He would come home around midnight during those times. He also had a job driving school buses for Provo School District. He had an early morning route, an after school route, and sometimes he would drive for field trips. I’m sure his very favorite job while in college was teaching Spanish to new missionaries at the Missionary Training Center. He had it written in journal that that was one of his lifetime goals, and he got to do it for one semester. (He had also written that he wanted to teach at the elementary, middle, and high school levels which he did when he got the job at the K-12 school in Guernsey after we graduated).

Before Isa was born we got to work construction with Jason’s grandpa. We got paid very well for being college students and were grateful for that opportunity. I had a job working with ESL students at Dixon Middle School when I was pregnant with Isa and that would be my last job in college. For the next three years we both went to school with a baby/toddler and Jason was the provider. How did we make it work? We took advantage of supplemental programs like WIC and Medicaid, but also we tried hard to be frugal. We didn’t go out to eat much. We shopped at DI (like Goodwill) a lot. We kept a budget every month and stuck to it for the most part. We saved when we had extra income and took advantage of Pell grants and scholarships. We also had the great resource at that time of family. When we were in Provo so was Trish and Steven, Brant and Aimee, Tyson and Brittney, and Josh and Martha for most of it. Then Kristi came along, then Kyler, and Abby and Molly Grigg, and Jeremy. (The perks of marrying into a large family!) We took advantage of these people for babysitting, mostly just for occasional dates, but Martha, Trish, Kristi and Brittney all babysat for me regularly for at least one class at one point. We graduated from college with no debt.

But my favorite person to watch Isa was Jason. It was the easiest and the least hassle and it just felt the most right when Jason was the one taking care of her. A lot of times this meant me taking Isa to campus. There we would “switch”. He would take the stroller while I went to class and then we would meet up again. For one semester I would meet him in his art studio in the HFAC (Harris Fine Arts Center) and we would have lunch there after switching. Only certain people got to be in that studio. It had a fridge and a microwave so that was nice. Sometimes we had to take Isa with us to part of the class until the other person was free to pick her up because that was just the way the schedule worked that semester. My last semester I took Isa with me to the whole class every week. (It was a shorter .5 credit class). We had to be flexible with out time. We learned how to speed read and study for tests and do assignments.

But we always managed to make time for our callings in church. We went to the Northpark 4th Ward in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,  which was a Latin ward (1). I was called to be a counselor in the young women’s program while Jason was in the young men’s. We would bring Isa with us to mutual (Wednesday night  youth group). Other callings I had were Relief Society (adult women's organization)secretary, Sunday school teacher for the youth, and Boy Scout leader. People I worked with were Eliana Sanchez, Hermana Valencia, Hermana Arredondo. I also had the same visiting teaching companion for several years, Hermana Irene Cuesta (2). We became really good friends. Jason also served as a ward missionary with Gustavo Ramirez and I know he looked up to Victor Arredondo a lot. He also loved working with Brother Sames, Hermano Prieto, Bishop Ayala. I also remember the Sikes, the couple with the French last name I can’t remember, the elderly couple from Bolivia (the wife was my first visiting teaching companion in the ward). 

We lived in the same apartment building the whole time we were in Provo. (Remember I don’t like change a whole lot?) It was an old house turned into 6 units right across from the Provo Public Library. The address was 500 North 100 East.  First we were in the basement studio apartment. It was probably 600 square feet or less. We paid $300 a month, which was pretty unheard of. We remodeled that apartment with the help of Jason’s dad and other family. I loved it. When Isa was born we moved upstairs a couple of floors to a two-bedroom apartment. We also painted almost that whole apartment. I loved that it was walking distance from a few parks, our church building, and BYU. I would take Isa to story hour at the public library often. We would also rent movies from there. Walking to campus was my workout for the day a lot of times. I would push the stroller up the hill behind the RB building. I would start out the semester walking up that hill and ended it running up the hill, just for the work out. It was a good way to stay in shape.

We also tried hard to make time for us as a couple. Our goal was weekly date night although that didn’t always happen. Some of the fun dates we had that I remember: Skipping class to go watch How to Train Your Dragon at the theater in the Provo mall, BYU dances, movie nights at home while Isa was sleeping, going on walks. Other fun things we did as a couple or as a family: playing Frisbee, Acapella Jam concert, free loading at events at BYU where there was free pizza, going to Mountain View for events like Thanksgiving or a baptism or a missionary farewell, camping, visiting nature parks around Utah, poetry festival, hispanic festival.  We also took some trips while in college like we went to Washington to visit my grandparents, we went to Texas for the holidays occasionally, and Yellowstone National Park.

2011

Jason student taught his last semester of college

Jason's Bachelor's of Fine Arts (BFA) final show

Jason taught at the Missionary Training Center one semester

2010

We had a balcony in our upstair apartment. We did container gardening out there and also gardened on a little piece of land next to the building.

At the aquarium

Yellowstone

Provo pool

Isa turned 2

Halloween

Salt Lake City Temple

2009

On our way to Washington road trip

Canned tomatoes

2008

Our first apartment. It was a studio basement apartment. When Isa was born we moved to a two bedroom upstairs.

Happy Birthday Jason

Our first child is born. Isara Isidra Harmon

(1) A ward is made up of people that go to a specific LDS church building, at a certain time depending on where you live. 

(2) Visiting Teaching is a program for the women of the church where we visit other ladies in the ward and try to make sure their spiritual and physical needs are being taken care of.