Vacations

This is for you Emily!

Brian and I have been on a two vacations recently, and due to Emily's pestering :) here's what we did!  The first on was a cruise out of Jacksonville, FL to the Bahamas.  This is us just as we're leaving the port!

I wanted Brian to get a picture of the bridge we went under because it was really pretty, but I didn't know he got me in the picture too.

This was our formal night on the cruise. :)

His name is Freddy, this ships 'fun" mascot. 

Brian was one of the final 4 in one of the competitions.  The lady in the pink polka dots was our cruise director!  She was the best one we've had!  She was hilarious.  P.S. Brian came in second. :)

The weather was perfect the day we left, but it just went down hill fro there.  People were getting sick all the time because we were swaying so much.  It was also really stormy and rainy outside!  We even missed our stop in Half-Moon Cay because it was too dangerous for us to go into the port.  We finally got to Nassau, where the weather was much better and we finally got to get some sun, and we finally got to get off the boat!

I am so excited to simply be off the boat!

We chose to go to the beach then do some shopping- 3 things I absolutely love...sun, shopping, and my hubby!  It was a great day!  And the water was so clear and pretty!

As we  were getting back on the boat, we saw this guy getting the shells and the starfish ready to sell!  It was pretty interesting to see!

The first day on the boat, we were practicing the evacuation procedures in case anything went wrong, and this cute little family from Alabama was in our group!  They are 5-year old twins  and were so much fun!  Brian said something about me being a twin, and from that time on we were all good friends, eating together and going to the shows together!  The mom just kept asking questions about me growing up and what it was like being a twin, and asked lots of suggestions in regards to her own twin girls!  They were such a fun family!  And the twins absolutely adored Brian and loved playing in the water with him.

When we got back from the cruise, we had two days before leaving for California for a Meritain conference with Brian's brother Chris and his wife Carrie.  There was just one 3-hour meeting for work, then the rest of the time was play time!  We got picked up from the airport in a limo!  So much fun! 

Sunday afternoon on the way from the San Fransisco airport to Napa Valley, where the conference was.

 The 3 hour meeting was Monday morning, then we went golfing!  It was one of the four activities to choose from!  It was a blast!  It was my first time golfing for real...not just mini golfing.  It was harder than I though, but also a lot of fun!  If you look in the background you can see some of the vineyards.  That's what we played through.  There were grapes growing on both side of the course and sometimes right in the middle of it.  It made for an interesting day, but was beautiful!

Tuesday morning, we woke up at the crack of dawn to go on the hot air balloon rides!  It was so much fun and so pretty!  Here are some more pictures:

I thought this one was especially cool because you can see the reflection of the balloon in the pond!

I couldn't believe how smooth the ride was, you couldn't feel a thing!

After the ride as they are deflating our balloon.

The four activities to choose from for the trip were golfing, wine tasting, vineyard tour, and massages.  Obviously wine tasting was out of the picture.  We could have gone on the vineyard tour, but we didn't think we would really care about anything we learned, so that only left golfing and massages.  Obviously golfing was Monday.  So that left massages for Tuesday.  We had some free time after the hot air balloon ride and before the massages which we filled with pool time!  Then the massages came.  Neither Brian or I had ever had one before, but we both loved them!  Sorry, no pictures. :)

Then we went to dinner over-looking a vineyard.  Again, very pretty.

There were lots of bugs...Brian killed the one you can see on the pillar.  It was pretty funny. :)

Wednesday was the day to leave, but Brian's brother had some other meetings, so the rest of us went to explore San Fransisco.

Pier 39.

We went to go see the seals that usually lay all across these planks, but there were hardly any of them there this time!  I was really sad!

We  also visited Ghirardelli Square, which was pretty cool!  Anything named after chocolate has to be awesome!

Then we walked around Fisherman's Wharf and got clam chowder in bread bowls for lunch...yum!  We visited a few shops and watched the street performers!  My favorite thing was this guy that would just sit on the sidewalk and hold two branches in front of him.  When people got close enough, he would jump out at them.  It was pretty obvious that he was holding the branches and that there wasn't some weird tree growing in the middle of the sidewalk, but people walking by were so distracted by looking at other things, that they never noticed him!  It was the best when he got groups of girls who would scream and run away.  We had a blast watching him for a while.  :)  When Chris got back, he picked us up then we drove down Lombard street before heading to the airport!  It was such a fun day!

And the only thing I bought in San Fransisco...SALT-WATER TAFFY!!!  I didn't realize how much I miss living next to the coast until I tasted the salt-water taffy again.  It's so sweet and fresh!  The kind you can get here in Colorado is good, but the kind right next to a coast...HEAVENLY!  Anyone need an idea of what to get me for my birthday?  :)

It was two vacations filled with fun and relaxation!  Even though I don't know when our next vacation will be, I already can't wait for it!

Nursing School

I started my VERY LAST TERM of nursing school on Oct. 31! Yay! The end is in site! We have two different clinicals this term...Wednesday's and Thursday's are at a hospital on the floor, and Monday's we are at a nursing home learning about Leadership...and it is the same nursing home from my very first term of clinicals!

Anniversary

Our anniversary tradition is setting up our Christmas tree and all our Christmas decorations. I was worried about what we'll do this year because our anniversary is on a Monday, so I have clinicals for 12 hours during the day, and I am scheduled to work that night...so we decided to celebrate on Sunday. Sunday is our sister-in-law's birthday, so there will be a family dinner. Sunday is also the birthday of our Bishop's youngest son, Max i.e. Brian's best friend. Max already invited Brian over for his birthday dinner that night (he said I could come too). So we have two birthday dinners that day...so maybe have an anniversary lunch on Sunday, hten decorate? That's an option.

A better option: try to get work off! I already emailed one of the charge nurse's who works on the schedule...there are three CNA's scheduled for that night, but only two usually work so I asked if I could have it off! We'll see what she says! I hope I can have it off thought...that would be absolutely perfect! :)

We obvioulsy already know what we'll do to celebrate, but any gift ideas that don't cost too much?!

That Time of Year...

I LOVE this time of year! Halloween is a fun holiday, but as soon as it's over is when the realy fun starts because I start getting ready of CHRISTMAS!!! My sister always says I just kinda skip over hte Thanksgiving holiday, but Idon't think I do at all...getting ready for Christmas and thinking about what Christmas is all about makes me even more thankful for the many wonderful blessing that I enjoy! Here are some of the blessings that have been on my mind a lot lately:

1.) Brian
He is always on my mind, and I am alway grateful for him, but especially right now at this busy time in our lives, he never fails to make me feel like I am the most important thing in his life. He will even leave work early to make sure he can see me before I go to work (even ifjustfor a few short minutes). I also love how he lets me do pretty much whatever I want! :) If I say it's time for dinner or FHE or something, he puts down whatever he's doing or turns off the TV and is ready. If I say I am too busy to do the dishes, he will do them in a heartbeat. The weekends are always my days to do whatever Iwant...If there is something he needs to do or has planned, he will let me know, then he will do whatever I want the rest of the day, whether doing something at home, or going out and doing something. He let me make the crafts I want without complaining about the cost of supplies. He even lets me try new recipes on him, even thought he doesn't particularly enjoy it :) I am not sure why he is so wonderful about everything...I tell myself it's because he's easy-going and he trusts me that I'll never request anything too weird or make him do something crazy. I know it's not easy on him for me to be working the night shift (because he loves cuddling as much as I do, and because it makes or some lonely evenings for him sometimes), but he understands that it is just what we need to be doing right now, and he always makes the best of it. And he always has such a positive attitude about everything...work, church, my schooling, and life in general! He is wonderful and I consider him my greatest blessing!

2.) The inspiration of church leaders
Yesterday for FHE, Brian and I went over President Uchtdorf's talk, "Forget Me Not" for like the hundreth time! It was such a wonderful talk, and I hear people referring to it all the time now! I know he was inspiried in giving that talk. It is exactly what I need right now.

Forget Not...
...to be patient with yourself
...the difference between good and foolish sacrifices
...to be happy now
...the "why" of the gospel
...that the Lord loves you

Such simple things, but so powerful!

3.) Fall
Such a fun time of year with the changing of seasons...some days of snow, some days of sun, but alwasy so beautiful! And the changing colors of the leaves...love them!

4.) Christmas music
It just gives me such a happy feeling! And it always bring such a wonderful Spirit into my home!

5.) Mu Hubby
He is just so cute! :)

6.) Family
My family is so amazing! They let me call them when I am sleepy while I am driving so I can talk their ears off to keep myself awake :) And they are just nice...it's hard to put it any better than that!

7.) Work
Work can be pretty challening sometimes, but I love it! It's nice to know that you are making a difference in someone's life. It is fulfilling. And it helps my in school to see how things really work and what the "real-world" is like instead of just reading about the things in a book. And the nurses are so awesome...they will tell me when they're about to do something cool or something they don't think I've done or seen before and are so good at teaching me!

8.) On-call shifts
Somethimes it's just nice to get that call at 5:00 pm to let me know they are overstaffed and I am on-call for the night. Then I get paid $5/hour to stay at home and answer my phone if they need me, and if I am called in, I get paid time and a half. Not ideal to be on-call regularly because I don't sleep well when I'm worried about my phone ringing, but it's refreshing once in a while :)

9.) People who are nice
It sounds simple, but it just makes you feel so good when people are nice, even if it's not to you! It's makes me so happy to see people being nice to others...driving, shopping, anywhere!

10.) My Hubby- he is nice to everyone!

Those are very few of the many blessings that I enjoy! There are so many more! And this season helps us remember that there are always things to be thankful for!

Saturday is a Special Day...

...it's the day to get ready for Sunday!

Ok, so we didn't do anything to get us ready for Sunday, but it was still special! Brian and I went skiing. We got free passes to Copper Mountain through Sports Authority, then we got our ski rentals for just a penny each through Sports Authority too! It was awesome. I haven't been skiing since I was really little though, and Brian was so nice so show me how to clip into the skis and how to get out of them. He was so patient with me going so slow the first couple times (or every time). He was the best teacher ever! Side note: I only fell 5 times ALL day! Not bad for a rookie!

When we got home, Brian put everything away and cleaned up while I set out on my first couponing experience! I got 60 boxes of fruit snacks and one gallon of milk for $6.25! I even messed up twice and had to pay a little extra, and it was still only that little! I was there for almost 2 hours, but it was totally worth it!

I told Brian that since our food storage is getting bigger and bigger, his project for this next Saturday should be either buying or making me shelves for the basement...I just can't bring myself to put food on the ground, even if they are in boxes...just can't do it!

So here's to what a special day Saturday was...skiing for hardly anything, and stocking up on fruit snacks for hardly anything...what could be better?!

OBSESSED!

So there are a few things that I REALLY REALLY like (chocolate, reading, piano, and a few more), but there's only one thing that I can honestly say that I am absolutely obsessed with. Go ahead, take a guess. Ok, here's the answer: my HUBBY! I really am obsessed with him! How could I not be after seeing this for eight days straight:

We went to Mexico with Brian's family for our Christmas vacation, and I loved every minute of it! It was great to spend so much time with Brian...we were never apart for more than an hour at a time, and that was only when I was reading while he was looking for seashells or something like that. It was awesome! And it was only after coming back from that vacation that I realized how obsessed with him I really am! We got back on a Saturday afternoon, and the following Monday we both went our separate ways to work and it was SO WEIRD. I couldn't think of anything all day except how much I missed him. Then on Tuesday I went to school and everyone was talking about their Christmas breaks and how much fun everyone had. They asked about my vacation and I told them about it, then I started crying (out of happiness), about how much fun I had with Brian. Now, I cry when I'm sad, when I'm frustrated, and when I'm scared, but that is only the second time I every remember crying out of pure happiness (our wedding was the first time). And for the few weeks since then, I have been super busy going from school to work everyday, usually leaving the house by 6:30 am, and not getting home until about 10:15. The lack of sleep has been difficult, the lack of a good eating schedule has been difficult, and the amount of homework I've received has been overwhelming, but I can deal with all that. The thing that's been hardest to deal with is not seeing my hubby as often! And I blame it all on the vacation. If I hadn't been with him 24/7 for eight days, I don't think it would have been as hard to go back to real life! But don't worry, I wouldn't take back the vacation anyway!

So here's to you, Brian! I loved spending so much time with you in Mexico, and even though we're super busy now, I look forward to every chance we get to spend together! :)

Our Very First Christmas Card!

We are so excited to send out our very first Christmas card! Last year was just way too hectic since we got married at the end of November, then went on our honeymoon, then had one week of school before spending the weekend in Colorado for our second reception--with all that going on, I didn't even think about sending out a card until it was too late! But when I did think about it, I was sad that I didn't get around to it! I think it's such a fun tradition that I hope we always do, so I was determined to do it this year!

That's why I was so excited when my sister told me about this offer from Shutterfly! Check it out here: http://blog.shutterfly.com/5358/holiday2010-blog-submission-form/. I have seen a lot of Shutterfly products before and have ordered them for other and have always been very impressed! They are AWESOME!

Look here to see the Christmas options: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards

And their thank you cards are just as awesome!
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/thank-you-cards

I have been so pleased with my previous experiences with Shutterfly and ama so excited about this! Their products are always very good quality, and I have never been diappointed! So if you are thinking about doing Christmas cards, definitely look into this! And look into it for birthday invitations, thank you cards, photo calendars, and other holiday cards! You will be impressed!