Life's Blessings

Two weeks ago I got a phone call that my good friend Anna had passed away.  It is heartbreaking to me. We had met up with her and her husband for lunch at The Oyster last August. It was SO good to catch up with her, and I'm thankful that they took the time to come meet us.  She was definitely someone who could make anyone laugh, and although we lived across the country from each other, it felt like no time had passed when we saw each other last. Yesterday while going through my old journal I found a note she had written to me from when we lived together talking about our jokes. When I read it I can just picture her talking and laughing. I definitely miss her. 

 

On Monday I got this picture of the sunset from Elder Ascanio in Chile with this message: 

"After a day of walking not being able to enter any houses, it's incredible how our Father in Heaven shows His love for us by placing this incredible sunset as we were walking up a hill." 

I was driving from Utah back to Arizona today and got to be witness to one of the most beautiful sunsets.  The picture taken with my cell phone does NOT do it justice at all.  The blue was a gorgeous baby blue and the pink in the clouds was amazing.  It just reminded me that Heavenly Father is there, looking out for us, showing us His love every day if we look for it.  

 

Arizona

So I moved to Arizona the middle of September.  It was about 110 the first week I was here (according to my car) and it was HOT.  It's cooling down, and today is only 86, which feels pretty cool.  Who would have ever thought that I would be cold at 80 degrees? I'm staying with my cousin Janae and her family and I love it. I've found more than one picture her girls have left me hidden somewhere in my room.  They are tons of fun to play with, and I'm VERY thankful to them for letting me stay with them.

My dad drove down with me and we stopped and saw everyone for a day in Provo.  It was good to see everyone, weird that I wasn't staying though. We were going to stop by and see the Grand Canyon but it was POURING rain so we decided to do it a different time. Kellie and I decided to drive to California the first weekend I was here to go to Disneyland.  It was tons of fun spending time with her and playing at Disneyland. I seriously feel like a kid when I go there.

Other than that I've just been looking for a job, going to the young single adult activities and finding all the free/cheap deals at the local shooting ranges.  There is a place here where on Fridays they have Ladies' Night (but it's all day).  They have free handgun rental, free lane rental, the only thing you pay for is ammo.  It's pretty sweet.  I like the indoor one because you get to use the fun targets where they move with the push of a button. haha It's a stupid reason I know, but it's fun. There is an outdoor range here that has free skeet shooting for women on every other Thursday night.  I went last week and LOVED it. It was so fun. I've got some of my friends to go with me next time too.

It's Olivia's birthday on Wednesday and Emily and I have been planning her present for a while now.  I got a sewing machine for my birthday (thank you mom and dad!) and have used it pretty much everyday.  We decided to make a quilt for Olivia.  We picked out fabric and came up with a pattern together, and it's the first quilt that I've made without any help.  It's obviously not perfect, but I actually really liked quilting it.  I'm excited to work on my skills.

I know there is probably a lot more that I missed, but that's it for now.  Arizona is going great and I'm meeting a lot of fun people, so hopefully I get a job soon so I can stay!

Summer

This summer I was lucky to be able to come home and play with babies and nephews, go swimming, play in the lake, and quilt with my mom. We welcomed baby Hudson into the family a few weeks ago, and I'm pretty sure he never gets put down.  I love being able to see my nephews and niece every day, and not just for a week or two out of the year.  It's going to be hard to move!

I've also been quilting, and trying to perfect my applique technique.  I was at the fabric store with my mom when I saw a monkey fabric that I loved.  The polka dots were on the next shelf over, but I just loved the blue and green together.  After the fabric lady told me they didn't go together I was determined to make it cute.  It's a busy quilt, but I'm really happy with how it turned out. I figured out this pattern and practiced my applique on the back with the monkey.  It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but it definitely isn't perfect! I'm excited to get the two sides put together and quilted!

My applique monkey on the back in the corner

The fabric up close

Lots of Good News!

I have been SO lucky and blessed lately! Here is the run down:

I finished finals and came home just in time for Jensley's birth.  She is beautiful.  She was born the day before my dad's birthday and has been VERY loved by everyone around.

My dad got a new helicopter! We go flying at least a few times a week and I still get excited to go.  I love the view.

I got to get together with my best friends from high school for a little reunion. I love that no matter how long it's been since we've seen each other we can still catch up and have a great time. I love these girls!

I got a new car! I love it.  It's a 2012 charcoal Mazda3.  So if you know anyone who wants to buy my old car let me know! :)

I flew down to Utah with Whitni and my parents on May 8th for my nursing graduation and pinning ceremony.  It was fun to see everyone a last time and get to have my parents meet everyone I've been talking about for the last two years.  My parents, grandparents, Whit, KC, aunt Sherry, and my friends Aaron Carmack and Junior went also.  It was fun, and thank you mom and dad for everything you helped me with!

I took my NCLEX test (National nursing boards) and found out the next day that I PASSED! It was nerve-racking but so relieving now that it's over.  I'm officially a registered nurse!

I've been to a few Mariner games with my family and love the atmosphere at the stadium.  We got half priced tickets and got to sit in the nice area, with cushion seats and carpet in the corridors.  The bathrooms were empty and actually clean! I don't know if I can go back to the normal sections now...

The next upcoming event: HAWAII! I'm SOO excited. It will be my first time there and I can't wait.  My cousins Tiffany and Jarrett are going to New York and needed someone to watch their two kids while they are gone.  I leave on Tuesday and will be back a week and a half after that.  I can't wait!

It's almost time...

...for me to graduate, take the NCLEX, move to Arizona, and be a REAL nurse. I'm beyond excited. I rented a study book for the NCLEX from the library on Thursday of last week and I've already gone through it and am starting the practice tests.  There was one night I actually couldn't sleep because I wanted to keep reading it..sad I know. I love it though.

I have exactly 3 more class periods and two finals until I'm done, and then I have to wait a few weeks for the actual graduation.  I'm not sure when I get to take my NCLEX yet but I'm going to try to do it as soon as I can.  I have really been wanting to do travel nursing but without any experience in nursing that's not really an option right now, so I decided I'd move somewhere new! While talking to my cousins at Sherry's last week Colby mentioned Arizona.  That stuck with me and so I started looking at job openings and possibilities.  Turns out there are a lot of openings and they pay pretty well, so looks like I'm moving down there! I'm going to be going home at the end of the semester and hanging out with the family and hopefully find some source of income while I apply for nursing jobs in Arizona.  SO exciting!

Ryker passed out on the couch after playing all day

A few weeks ago I got to go home for Spring Break.  I was there the whole week and loved spending time with my family, especially my nephews.  They are SO fun.  I rode bikes a lot with them and watched plenty of Diego. I even miss the "Rescue Pack Song" that was on it.  One day Rock and I went on a "run" that turned into us walking on the beach and picking up every single shell we saw.  There were ducks that kept following us and Rock decided to talk to them.  You can't really hear what he says, but he's asking them to show him how they fly.  I love his innocence haha.

I had to take a picture to show my mom.  Whitni made that face on purpose...I think...

In other random news, I haven't straightened my hair for two weeks! A lot of my friends didn't even know I had curly hair, but I've been trying products to help keep the frizz down and help the curls.  I'm loving how much less time it takes to get ready now!

Sewing!

I borrowed my mom's old sewing machine after Thanksgiving so I could finish up some stockings I sent to some missionary friends.  So a few weeks ago I went to Sherry's and she helped me sew a blanket that my mom is going to quilt. I spent about 7 hours there and finally finished the top.  I loved it and got the sewing bug.  I have made missionary stockings, a quilt, in the process of making another one, and last night made a pillow case for Javier who is serving in Chile.  It's the Chile flag! I didn't use a pattern so it's not perfect, but I was impressed the star even resembled a star, so I'm okay with it. I am kinda obsessed with sewing and am looking forward to using my fabric stash for more fun projects! 

My Chile pillowcase!

The star up not too close..it has many flaws!

My missionary stockings

My unfinished quilt that my mom is quilting for me, the back is made of brown minke fabric and it has a border around it now 

Christmas for Mom and Dad

This Christmas I had NO idea what to get my parents.  I had no money to buy them something, and usually when I buy them something it ends up being something that I use more than they do.   One day I happened to be on Pinterest and saw a project that a daughter did for her dad's 60th birthday.  She had emailed some of her dad's friends and asked them to write a memory or thought for him to open on his birthday.  She put all the responses in envelopes and had him open them one by one.  I absolutely loved the idea so I thought I would try my own little version of it.  I emailed some of my parent's friends and lots of family and made a private group on Facebook to try to get responses.  I got TONS. I loved reading the responses.  Some were hilarious and others made me cry while I read them.  I took everything and put them in homemade books that I learned how to do from this website.

My photography skills aren't the best but I thought they turned out great (and I learned a lot about my parents haha) and I'm so thankful for everyone who helped add to them. It wouldn't have worked without the help!

I'm so grateful for my parents and all the help they give me!

First Day of Class

I had my first day of the last semester of school before I take my NCLEX to be a registered nurse! It didn't really hit me until I got a call from Career Services and went and talked with them.  The first thing he asked me was how excited I was.  I always say I'm excited to graduate and get a real nursing job, but I had never REALLY thought about how close it was. It really is happening! I can't even explain how excited I am to get to do this.  I have 13 days of class left. :) I kind of feel like a senior in high school, doing mock job interviews and sending in my resume to have people critique.  It's all coming together! I couldn't be happier!

(And thank you mom and dad for helping me out! I really couldn't have done it without you!)

NEW YEAR!

To finish off 2011:

Halloween: Whit and I dressed up as Ninja Turtles, and put together our costumes with help from Nick and Chris. We were pretty proud of them. We ended up going dancing with some friends at a random Halloween party, and watching a scary movie after. Tons of fun, even if Whit and I were coughing and blowing our noses the whole night.

When it was REALLY Halloween, Pepe, Jun, Whit and I went to the airport to pick up Javi who was getting ready to go into the MTC. We made him a sweet little sign and everything, and while we were waiting for him to come down the stairs, he called us wondering where we were. He had already picked up his bags, and was on a different airline than we had thought.  It was SO good to see him though.

His parents flew in a day later and are SO funny. We all went out to dinner and got to know them better. They had really interesting stories from when they lived in Cuba, Russia, Venezuela and Mexico. It was a fun few days, and then we got to say goodbye to him at the MTC on November 2. 

Thanksgiving: Before we all went on our separate trips for Thanksgiving we decided to have a little friend Thanksgiving.  It was perfect.  From around the table starting front left and going clockwise is Nick, Chris Yegge, Liz Allen (roommate), Stacey Johnson, Viviana Zamora, me, and RJ Mattei.  Whit was taking the picture.

I was in charge of the turkey! I made one last year when we stayed down here for Thanksgiving and it turned out pretty well.  I got a smaller one this year and we still had tons of leftovers.  It was good food and lots of laughing as always!

For Thanksgiving day, my dad had bought me a plane ticket home.  It was SO great.  My carpool group dropped me off at the airport after class and I was home by 8pm.  It was so good to be home.  I got to hang out with the nephews and family a ton so it couldn't have been better.  One night I woke up at 2 am and there was someone's face right in front of mine.  I was CREEPED out.  All I could say was, "Who are you!?" And then I heard Nick laugh and so I figured out it was Whit and Nick.  They had driven through the night to come home.  I guess they were mad when I got a plane ticket home and decided to plan a trip without telling anyone but our friends, who were all excited they could keep the secret from me. We got to go to the Turkey Bowl but mostly took pictures and talked with cousins this year.

Finals: We spent the week in the library and all managed to live through the week! I am officially on my last semester before I am an RN!

Christmas: We got to go home, and the drive was pretty fast, especially because there was no snow ANYWHERE on the drive home.  Not even on the side of the roads. It was kinda nice, I got lucky and slept most of the way home.  Whit and I got addicted to Once Upon a Time and Grimm.  SO GOOD.  I got to play more with my awesome nephews and Whit and I took Rock and Ryker ice skating.  Rock absolutely loved it and didn't want to leave. I loved getting to play with them everyday and finally getting Ryker to give me lots of loves. I'm excited to see those boys again!

Ice skating with Rock

Now on to 2012! I'm back in Provo and just getting things ready for the new semester to start next week.  I only have classes on Tuesdays and then I have ten 12 hour shifts throughout the semester for my preceptor-ship in the labor and delivery unit.  I did that rotation during the summer and absolutely loved it. I'm incredibly excited for this semester.  Things are going great!