Better Together

It's Autumn Time, It's Autumn Time

2011-10-28T17:17:00.000-07:00

and that means that it is a good time to fly. Isaac took me flying last weekend to see the beautiful fall leaves on the mountain. It was another gorgeous day and we had such a fun time together up in the sky in that tiny plane. I love the fact that my husband is a pilot and we get to do this together.

2011-10-28T17:15:00.001-07:00

What better way to spend the last few weeks before Martha left on her mission than at 7 peaks. I absolutely love this photo of these two.

Get Your Kicks, On Route US-36

2011-08-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

Isaac let me drive the truck, but I only lasted a few hours. I didn't like it very much.

Driving from Illinois to Utah is a long drive, especially when you are driving alone in separate cars. Luckily we had plenty of snacks, walkie-talkies, and good music (haha, actually the truck that Isaac was driving didn't have a radio or a CD player or anything so he was sorry out of luck in the music department). We also broke up the drive a little by stopping at the Winter Quarters Nebraska visitors center. While we were there, Isaac's sister, Martha, was preparing to leave to the MTC going to that exact mission, so it was fun to check it out and give her a little head's up about what to expect. We learned all about the pioneers that stopped there for the winter and realized that Isaac and I were driving the same route that they had taken across the country in handcarts (Nauvoo to the Salt Lake Valley). Although we were doing it in a fraction of the time in air conditioned cars, our journey still required faith and trust in the Lord and his plan for us. Just like the pioneers, our futures are a little uncertain and we have to have faith in the Lord, especially when things don't seem to be working out as planned. Sister Hawkes was the sister that gave us the tour and incidentally is now one of Martha's roommates. While we were there, we were also able to walk through the cemetery where many of the pioneers are buried, and walk around the temple (we couldn't go in because it was closed for cleaning/maintenance.) It was a good opportunity to reflect on those things that are most important in life and really put things into perspective as we moved on to a new phase in our life.

We completely lucked out on hotel rooms thanks to Priceline name your own price option--a completely different story than the last time we drove across the country--that was scary. We stopped again in Cheyenne Wyoming and were able to go out to a nice dinner, go swimming, and get a good night sleep before our final day of driving.

On day three we finally made it into the Salt Lake Valley, and immediately were stuck in traffic. As we crossed the border into Utah, Isaac, who was driving in front of me, threw his arm out the window and gave three enthusiastic fist pumps while yelling in excitement. I laughed for a long time about that one. When we finally reached our destination, we pretty much collapsed on the couch in exhaustion. It is amazing how sitting in car can completely wear you out, but we made it safely and are so glad to be here.

Leaving Illinois

2011-08-29T07:03:00.000-07:00

The decision to move was made quickly, making our last few weeks Illinois a little stressful. Our contract for our apartment expired the beginning of July forcing us to make a change one way or another. Isaac was waiting to hear back about some jobs that he had applied for/interviewed for, so we weren't sure exactly what we wanted to do or where we would be moving if we left. It seemed like we needed to stay just a little longer in Illinois. We initially tossed around the idea of trying to find an apartment that rented month to month, staying in an extended stay hotel for a while, or ideally talking our apartment management into letting us stay a few more months since no one had yet agreed to rent our apartment once our lease was up. We explored all of these paths and none of them really seemed to work out or seem appropriate. After a lot of prayer, we made the decision at the very last second to take the job offer at Wencor and move back to Utah. I had to give my work leave notice that very day in order to be within the required "two week notice" time frame.

Although we were a little pushed for time and probably should have made this decision earlier if possible, it all worked out great. We were able to say our goodbye's, tie off lose ends, pack up our things, rent our big moving truck, clean the apartment, and give one last primary lesson before driving the 28 hour trip across the country.

On our last night in Illinois, we took one last ride down our favorite back path, caught a few fireflies, watched the sun set over the corn field, and talked about our favorite memories in Illinois and the things that we would miss most. On the top of our list was definitely the friends that we had made there. We hope to be able to keep in touch and maybe go back to Illinois one day to visit. It really was such a good experience for us.

I was initially hesitant at first about moving back to Utah, but now that we are here and have had some time to settle in, it feels like the right decision. It is amazing how when you look back over your life you can always see how the Lord has guided led you down a life path that is the perfect path for you. We are unsure exactly how long we will be here or how things will pan out while we are here, but we know that with the help of the Lord, everything will work out just as it should.

Birthday at the Gateway

2011-08-27T15:36:00.000-07:00

My cousin Jeneca and her husband Kyle were living in Arkansas for the summer, and invited Isaac and I to spend the Fourth of July weekend with them in St. Louis Missouri. It was the perfect chance for one last fling in the Midwest before we moved and the perfect way to spend my birthday weekend. Here are some of the highlights of our trip:

A session at the St. Louis temple. We weren't able to make it to Jeneca's and Kyle's Wedding in Utah so it was nice to spend time with them in the Lord's house and a good way to start off the weekend.

Eating the best barbecue EVER at Pappy's. It was this tiny hole in the wall place that Jeneca and Kyle had seen on Man vs. Food. There was an hour long line out the door just to get into the building, but we beat the heat and made it to the front of the line and it was so worth it. Pulled pork, ribs, fried corn on the cob, sweet potato fries, and baked beans. Oh man, I am drooling just thinking about it.

Sweating, (again), while waiting in another line to get into the arch museum.

Watching an airshow on the steps outside the arch. This may or may not have been Isaac's favorite part. Bonus points if you can name every airplane pictured here.

Making it out alive of a really sketchy part of town we drove through on accident when our GPS took us a strange route.
Cheering the Grizzlies (baseball team) on to a win against Washington and then oohing and aahing over the firework show at the end.

Going to the zoo and getting completely SOAKED from the rainstorm. We weren't prepared at all for the rain, but we weren't going to let us deter us from going visiting every single exhibit. There weren't very many animals out due to the rain, but we laughed a lot and had a good time. (I thought that the owl in this picture reminded me of "pig", the Weasley's Owl in Harry Potter)

Eating microwaved lasagna in the hotel room after the zoo that tasted surprisingly delicious.
We said our goodbye's Monday morning and parted ways to go back home. Before we left St. Louis though, Isaac took me out to eat at this super cute cafe called the Mud House for my birthday breakfast. I had banana pecan french toast and hot chocolate. The cafe was on antique street which made it even better as we got to walk around through some of the cute antique shops.

Stopping in Amish country on our drive home. We bought some baked treats and cheese curd at the store to snack on during the drive. It was a very enlightening experience and we decided that on the whole they seem like a very friendly people with good moral values It did feel like we had stepped back in time though, it was a little surreal.

We capped our weekend adventure off by going to the firework show in Mahomet once we got back home. They shoot the fireworks off over the lake making it extra beautiful. Patriotic music blaring, fireworks booming, fireflies buzzing, and Isaac's arms wrapped around me as we laid on the grass taking it all in was the perfect ending to an amazing birthday weekend. Happy Independence Day everyone.

"Wait...Back Up"

2011-08-25T16:04:00.001-07:00

Time sure passes by quickly and before you know it the summer is over and there isn't a single thing posted on the blog. So, we are going to back-up....way back...like 4-5 months back, because I have been looking at photos and trying to organize them over the last few days, and I think that I would like to share some and share some the things that have been going on in our lives lately. (Plus I like to use this blog as something of a journal, and since I haven't been writing in my real journal this summer either, the blog will do the job).

In May, Isaac's Grandpa, Harland Dale Goodwin, passed away after a long fight with cancer. There were so many special experiences that occurred during his last few months and the weeks following his death helped draw us closer together as a family and which made his passing so bittersweet. Isaac was sad that he wasn't able to see his Grandpa one last time before he died, but we have joy in the knowledge that this earth life if not the end and that we will see him again one day. We both feel that just being able to attend the funeral was a tender mercy from the Lord. It was really difficult for me to get time off work at the clinic. A few months prior to Grandpa's passing, I asked for work off for a couple of seemingly random dates Isaac and I had chosen, planning to use to take a small vacation together. Not so coincidentally those few days that I had asked off ended up being the exact dates the funeral would be held allowing us to make it to Grandpa's funeral that we otherwise would not have been able to attend. We both feel so lucky to have known Grandpa Goodwin during this earth-life and we look forward to seeing him again and getting to know him even better (especially me, since I only was able to meet him a few times).

While in Utah, Laura asked if I wanted to do the American Fork Women of Steel Triathalon Relay with her and a friend (which friend was coincidentally Isaac's old girlfriend). I hadn't trained at all, but they needed someone to help out, so I agreed. Jenny swam, I biked, and Laura ran. Luckily the weather was just perfect and it ended up being really fun. The swimming portion was at the American Fork Recreation Center in this tiny pool, so it took forever for Jenny to even enter the water. Laura and I laid out by the pool wishing that we hadn't gotten up so early and chatting about random things for over an hour. Finally it was time to get on my bike and go. They made the swimmers run about a half mile to the transition area to switch off, which was kind of hilarious owing to the fact that Jenny was rather pregnant at the time and she was more waddling our way than running. We cheered her on enthusiastically shouting something along the lines of "get your pregnant but over here....you can do it!" Everyone around us seemed to get a kick out of it and joined in the cheering. I totally loved the biking part a lot more than I thought I would. I was using a really nice rental road bike which made it a lot more fun. There was one big hill to climb that was a total beast, but then I got to ride back down a big hill (alpine highway) at speeds faster than I have ever gone on a bike. So fun. Twelve miles passed very quickly. I traded the band off to Laura feeling glad that I didn't have to go run seeing how my legs were already starting to feel a little wobbly. When Laura reached the finish line, we all ran through together, none of us even bothering to look at our time as we really weren't doing this with the intention of trying to place. When we got our race bags and treats at the end of the race, we laughed and laughed. I suppose everything they gave us was so different from any other activity like this due to the fact that this is was female only race. We got cool t-shirts (which for some reason I decided not to wear, I know, I look really out of place) but we also got a necklace, a hand-held mirror, a lot of ads about where to get a massage/pedicure/haircut, and at the end they treated us with chocolate and diet coke. Sick right?! Who would want that after running? Well, I guess the dark chocolate bars were good, but diet coke, seriously? Is that what women are all about is diet coke and chocolate? haha. hilarious. I had a total blast and may even try and do a triathalon on my own one day. All in all, it was a good morning, and a good trip to Utah!

FIREFLIES!

2011-06-19T19:46:00.000-07:00

So I’ve wanted to see fireflies for a long time now. I’ve seen them once in my life when I was 14 on a church history trip with my family. Three days ago we first noticed them when the sun went down. We sit in the back porch for hours just mesmerized by the shear awesomeness. Bioluminescence is one dang cool dealeo. My nephew, Landon, wants to see them so Taniel took some awesome pictures. We made a video that we'll have to upload later.

Trip to the Zoo

2011-06-05T20:34:00.001-07:00

Isaac and I wanted to do something fun together for memorial day since we had been apart for a week, and so we decided that a trip to the Indianapolis Zoo would be the perfect outing. Sure, most people who go to the zoo have small children but who says that adults can't enjoy it too. And enjoy it we did; it was the perfect mini vacation. The zoo itself is a really good with a wide variety of animals and a lot of interesting information, and even though it was really hot outside, most of the animals were easy to spot. We got to touch a shark, learn about the huge tigers that are native to Russia, scare a rhino, laugh at the monkeys fight over a piece of food, and even watch a full dolphin show like is put on at Seaworld. We reminisced about how I wanted to be a zoo keeper when I was younger and talked about our favorite animals like we were five again. After we had seen all we could, Isaac took me out to eat at Cheesecake Factory for a nice dinner together which was, of course, delicious. It was the perfect day and we couldn't have been happier.

Master of Aerospace Engineering

2011-05-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

saac looked so distinguished and accomplished in his robes as he attended his commencement ceremony on Sunday. He has worked incredibly hard this year and I am so proud of him. I wanted to get a good picture of him in his robes but when we went outside to try and take pictures, he kept getting distracted by the airplanes flying overhead. I guess It is a good sign that he chose the right major if he still loves airplanes this much!

And so everyone can feel like there were there at the stadium with me cheering Isaac on (but better because you missed the hour long name-reading session) here is the video of Isaac getting his diploma in all of its glory. His grades came out about a week later and made it official, he now has a Masters Degree in Aerospace Engineering. He couldn't be happier or more relieved that he doesn't have to do summer school. Congratulation Isaac.

Untitled from Taniel Proctor on Vimeo.

Royal Hype

2011-05-01T18:44:00.000-07:00

I have been vaguely interested in the royal wedding. I certainly did not get up at 4:00 am to watch it live, nor could I tell you any interesting fact like where the tiara came from or who designed the choir outfits, but I like a princess story as much as the next girl. Kate did look beautiful. However, when I saw this article recently on ABC it was clear that the hype had gone way overboard. And seriously, I am amazed that anyone was observant enough to notice the resemblance on that tiny jelly bean in the first place. I am usually too busy shoving them into my mouth to EVER notice the fact that one jelly bean looks a lot like Kate Middleton. Just sayin. Apparently I need to slow down and examine my food a little better. If I am lucky I could pay off our student loans by auctioning off Obama's face outlined in my chicken casserole.

When in Champaign

2011-05-01T16:52:00.000-07:00

One of the lovely pleasures of living in the heart of the Midwest is listening to people talk. Seriously though, there is a country accent here that is quite prominent and rather hilarious. In actuality it is less of an accent and more of an appalling misuse of grammar. I know that I am being hypocritical as I have my fair share of grammatical errors in my own speech and writing. Simply reading this blog, you likely have noticed how incredibly poor my grammar and punctuation skills are, however the people here take those errors to a whole new level.

I have giggled to myself every time a coworker would say something funny, but then I could never remember what it was when I would try and tell Isaac later that day. So, I started secretly recording the funny things that I heard my coworkers say on a piece of scratch paper that I kept folded up in my drawer at work. I have developed quite the list, and would like to share a few of my favorites with you. (These are not fabricated)

"I'd be having a headache if you spray that"

"The last time we seen him"

"Well aren't those just the cutest britches I'd ever seen"

"I hope the weather don't get too bad tonight"

"I'd gone back and seen that one box of Kleenex"

"She just telled me a few weeks ago"

"Usually when he don't mark nothing I figured I was waiting on something"

The problem is, I have bad grammar to start with, but since living here I have noticed that I have unconsciously started picking up on some of the nuances that I have previously shared. It is not good, not good at all. But I guess it does help me to fit in with my peers. After all, when in champaign, do as the Champaignians do!

A Hairy Mess

2011-04-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

Yep, Isaac grew a beard. I don't know how it started, but I didn't mind the new look it so it just kept growing. After about a week though, it reached that weird in-between phase of not quite a beard, but well past scruff. It was facial hair in no-mans land and Isaac began to look like he had let himself go.

It was time for a haircut and a clean shave.

Problem is, I don't know how to cut hair (I know, sad) and there were no salons in the area with an appointment that day....except Walmart. In retrospect, I cannot in my right mind figure out why in the world we didn't just wait a few extra days instead of going to Walmart of all places for a haircut. I mean, seriously. Who gets their haircut at Walmart? But, we wanted that hair off right away and that smiley face and the promise of convenience was calling our name. What resulted is the worst $17 that we have ever spent. After returning home, I was in the family room while Isaac was in the bathroom checking out his haircut when I hear him yell "WHAT THE?!? She missed the whole left side of my head!" Sure enough, she had failed to cut the hair on the left side of Isaac's head. Hahaha, it was pretty hilarious. We laughed and laughed, then called up Laura (Isaac's stylist if you will) and tried to have her walk me through the steps to fix it. In the end, it really didn't look that bad, but we vowed to never do that again. I wish now that I would have taken a picture, but we were too shocked and focused on trying to fix it that I didn't even think about it. When we were living in Utah I never had to worry about it, because Laura was always there and available whenever we needed her and she does an AMAZING job. But now that that option isn't available to us anymore, I have a new goal to learn how to cut hair. My mom has always cut my Dad and Brother's hair and I guess I just never bothered to learn. Well, I am going to learn now. Who wants to teach me?

Springing Forward

2011-04-17T19:21:00.001-07:00

April is the cruellest month, breeding

Liliacs out of the dead land, mixing

Memory and desire, stirring

Dull roots with spring rain.

Winter kept us warm, covering

Earth in a forgetful snow, feeding

A little life with dried tubers.

The meaning of first line in T. S. Elliot's well known poem "The Waste Land" perplexed me as we studied his work in High School. Why would April be the cruelest month? Aside from tax day and the fact that the weather flip-flops back and forth, playing with your emotions, April doesn't appear to be cruel. After all, who doesn't love spring?

However, April and the associated onset of spring is a time of change, and change can be difficult, cruel even. After laying dormant all winter long, covered by a blanket of status quo and getting by on good enough, spring is a chance to become renewed. It is a time to evaluate our lives, see where we are lacking, and make the change to become a new person, a new life, a liliac growing out of the dead ground.

I am ready to make some significant changes in my life including my physical well-being, and my spiritual closeness to my Savior. I am sure that it will be difficult, require more time and energy than I may feel I can give, but April showers really do bring beautiful May flowers.

Happenings

2011-04-12T10:31:00.001-07:00

Wow, it has been a while. I would usually insert here some lame apology and a promise to blog more, but not this time. You see, I am not really sorry and I doubt that I will follow through on any promise to blog more. I do however want to share some of the highlights of our home over the last few months.

February was so cold and snowy. It also brought with it some unexpected problems and tears. Life continues to move forward though, and after a good bowl of ice cream, a lot of prayers, a visit from my mom, and the promise of spring on the horizon, we were once again in good spirits.

My Mom's visit was wonderfully timed and it was so nice to have her here with us. I may grow up, move out of the house, and get married, but will never outgrow the need for my mom. While she was here, she stayed in our small apartment cleaning and organizing, cooking us meals, doing laundry, and baking us homemade bread while we were at school and work. She is so unselfish and we are both so grateful for her love and kindness. When I came home at night we went for walks, went shopping, organized more, laughed, and had good long talks. Friday night we all drove to Nauvoo and spent time in the temple and visiting the historic sites. We even drove down to Carthage jail and felt the spirit as we learned about the Martyrdom of Joseph Smith. For pictures, go to my mom's blog here web.me.com/lambfamily7

Isaac has stayed busier than ever with school. He has spent many a late night on campus studying, and when he is home, he is usually in the office working away. Sometimes he wonders what in the world he was thinking doing the accelerated program, but he is doing great and is on course to graduate in less than a month. Time sure has passed by quickly.

March madness was big in our home this year. I had better just come right out and say it: "Hi, I'm Taniel and I am a Jimmer fan." Whew, glad to get that off my chest. Needless to say, we got really into the games this year and were so happy that BYU made it to sweet 16 (even if they did lose).

A few weeks after my mom came, my Dad came to visit us. He had business nearby, and we were so happy that he went out of his way to come and stay with us for a few days. We watched basketball, fixed up our bikes (dad helped us put "slicks" on, so that we could use our mountain bikes more like road bikes--which is fitting considering where we live), we learned to grill, shared stories, and went jogging together. We were sad to see him leave, but had a great time while he was here.

Our primary class has kept us on our toes as we struggle to keep them from climbing out the window, scribbling on the chalkboard, and screaming at the top of their lungs every Sunday while we teach them the Gospel. They are the cutest kids and we love them to death.

General Conference was enriching, inspiring, and gave us some much needed spiritual guidance in our lives. We have since put all of the talks on our Ipods and we listen to them as we do dishes every night and sometimes when we exercise. Technology is amazing, almost as amazing as being a member of Christ's church on the earth today.

Taxes...don't even get me started.

Work is good. Although I often feel like I am struggling to keep my head above water in the amount of work that is required of me in the alloted time I have to do it, I am blessed to be employed, to be learning, and to be with a good group of people.

And, lest you think that we are all work and no play, we have had some fun date nights out to eat, ice-skating, sports games, bike rides, and lots of lots of movie nights at home wrapped up in blankets with popcorn (air popped of course, it is so much better than microwave).

Well that's all for now. We are sure missing all of our friends and family who are spread out all over the states, and world for that matter. We hope to be able to visit with you soon.

By the way

2011-02-21T20:12:00.001-08:00

Our anniversary was wonderful, thanks for asking. Takeout Chinese, our favorite episodes of The Office, and Isaac all to myself (which means no homework allowed). It is amazing that it has been two years already and yet amazing that it has only been two years.

Judging by the lack of photos recently, it is also clear to see that we (and by that I mean I) have been horrible at taking photos. I don't know why, I love photography. I will work on that.

2011-02-21T20:05:00.000-08:00

....Sigh. I love Paris, I wish I could go back. I could use a vacation right about now.

The Perfect Storm

2011-02-02T16:52:00.001-08:00

The top news headlines today included the following: "Chicago Blizzard May be One for the Record Books", "Blizzard is Third Largest Storm in Chicago History," "Winter Storm Cripples Two Thirds of US" "Lake Shore Drive Closed as Hundred's Abandon their vehicles." Lucky for us, these headlines mean one and only one thing for us, a snow day. According to my coworkers, the clinic where I work has not been shut down in over 10 years because of a storm. I was told not to get my hopes up, but as news of the impending storm spread through the clinic, I couldn't help but cross my fingers and hope that it came our way. After all, a snow day is just what the doctor ordered. We received an official email that the clinic was closing early on Tuesday and would be closed all day on Wednesday. You would have thought that I have never had a day off before, I was so excited. I had to hang around for another hour or so after everyone else had left helping cancel appointments and inform patients of closures, but I didn't mind.

The storm came very suddenly. It was a combination of ice, snow, very high winds, and power outages. Visibility was zero and I was seriously a little sore today after chipping thick ice off of my car, but luckily I live only a few miles from work and I made it home with no problems. Isaac takes the bus to and from school and he also made it home alright. By 10pm on Tuesday night the university of Illinois had made the official decision to close down campus and cancel all Wednesday classes. It was turning out to be the perfect storm.

Our snow day was wonderful for several reasons. Reason one: we didn't lose power, which is great, especially considering we don't have a generator and our food storage leaves something to be desired. We slept in, ate breakfast together, stayed inside all day (along with the rest of the state) bundled up while watching movies. Correction: I slept in, stayed bundled up and watched movies while Isaac got up early and did homework, had an interview, and worked on projects for Wencor. He did take some breaks though to play with me :) Actually, we took the opportunity to have a little date night at the university skating rink tonight. All in all, it was a much needed break in the middle of our week, and I loved every minute of it.

(oh, and if you haven't seen the videos yet, you should seriously google Lakeshore drive and see the snow drifts that caused all of those people to abandon their cars during rush hour. The city had to send firemen in on snowmobiles to rescue people who were stranded in their cars).

New Year in Utah

2011-01-16T19:51:00.000-08:00

After Christmas in Washington with the Lamb family, which was a total blast, Taniel let me go home for a few weeks while she flew back to Illinois by herself to go to work. I still can’t believe she let me go. My family picked me up at the airport and we drove home. It totally reminded me of coming home from my mission and driving home catching up with the goings on of everybody.

The following days were pure joy. We went sledding, played Pictionary on the Wii (way fun by the way), had family dinners, went to the Nutty Nutcracker in Salt Lake, got Jared registered for school, and just stayed home and socialized. I loved every minute of it.

We had a win-win situation with my brothers and sisters because I wanted to babysit while I was there. I love my nieces and nephews. At Jake and Laralee’s we played the Wii Resort game. Hannah, William, Brooklyn, and Katie are four little angels. They got bean bags for Christmas and they showed me how they can stack four of them one on top of the other and then jump on them. Sorry, Jake and Laralee, if we weren’t supposed to ;)

At Brian and Michelle’s we made a fort downstairs and watched Despicable Me and ate popcorn. While building the fort, we just couldn’t figure out how to get the blankets to stay up. I just about called it quits, but Heber said “please don't give up yet, we can figure this out.” And we sure did. Eve saw Jack lay down with his popcorn and thought it was a good idea. She had her bowl in her hands and laid down causing all of the popcorn in her bowl to fall all over her face. She was a little shocked as one of the popcorn kernels was trying to get in her eye. Luckily the popcorn was cold by then. I wish I had a picture of that.

I didn't get any good pictures of Landon and Matthew, but we had a great time at mom's when Casey came down. Landon calls Matthew 'destructo', and while playing with Legos, I soon learned why.

I loved the time I had with my family. It could only have been better if Taniel was there.

2010: A Year in Review

2011-01-09T17:56:00.001-08:00

(With Just a Few Pictures)

January:
I began my last semester of nursing school and subsequent internship working in the Intensive Care Unit at Mountain Star Hospital. I would spend the next four months there working mostly independently as a nurse.
Isaac became a flying ace after passing his test to become a pilot.

February:
We celebrated our one year anniversary with a dinner at the Cheesecake factory and a Utah Symphony performance
With the free ski tickets that Isaac got through work, we spent a few days on the slopes.

March:
We kept trekking along through school and work.
A weekend trip to St. George to visit Isaac's Grandparents was just the break that we needed in our hectic month.

April: Fly Away
After months of thought and prayer, Isaac sent his official acceptance letter to the school of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois.
After five and a half years of school I finally graduated with my Bachelors of Science degree from Brigham Young University. It felt nice to be done, but I knew I would miss it.
My parents flew into town for the graduation ceremonies and while they were here, Isaac got to take them up for a spin in the Katana.

May:
After some initial hesitation on my part, we decided to sell our contract and move to highland to live with Michelle and Brian. We were immediately happy that we did as we couldn't get enough of these kids.
I flew to Washington for a week to be with my family and celebrate Mother's day and my Mom's birthday. We experimented with new recipes, watched soccer games, went for walks to the beach, and had so many wonderful talks.
I passed the NCLEX and officially became a registered Nurse.

June:
Michelle let us have a few of the boxes in the yard and Isaac and I planted our first garden. Which I might add was a wonderful success (Although we were leaving just about the time everything was ready to harvest).

We had our Proctor Family party at the cabin in Island Park. We spent a few days fishing, rafting, geo-caching, and marshmallow roasting.

Not long after, we spent a little over a week enjoying the beach, sun, sand, and surf in Maui. It was the vacation of a lifetime.

July:
I turned 23 this month and for my Birthday, Isaac and I backpacked up to Twin Lakes in American Fork Canyon.
The rest of the month was filled with everything that summer should be: Barbeques, bike rides, swimming at the rec center, dog-sitting, and lots of popsicles.
Jordan came to visit for a week and I got to show him around BYU and give him the scoop on college life.

August:
Isaac's had his last day of work at Wencore.
We took another weekend trip to the cabin, this time just the two of us.
We drove across the state to our new home in Champaign, Illinois. (Actually we are living in Savoy, but we are in Champaign for all intents and purposes)

September:
Isaac became a student again. I was hired on at a clinic near our home and started my first job as a registered nurse. We met our new ward and recieved callings as Primary workers.

October:
Erica is in the states and I take an impromptu trip back home to meet my neices for the first time. I get to take them trunk-or-treating and spend time with my sister.

November:
Isaac is well into the semester and doing good. He gets chosen to give a private tour to one of the managers of the Russian space program.
We spend Thanksgiving with a group of people from our ward family.

December:
Isaac completes his first semester of classes and is more than thrilled to be done.
We fly home to Washington for Christmas and spend a few days skiing in Canada and a few days bumming around the house playing board games and eating entirely too much food.
I fly back to Illinois while Isaac flies to Utah to spend a few weeks playing with his family. We talk every night on the phone, but are still thrilled to be united again once more.

It has been such a wonderful year, and I cannot wait to see what 2011 has in store for us. I sense a lot more changes coming in the future.

Truth is Stranger than Fiction

2011-01-02T18:42:00.000-08:00

I have a job in which I discover anew everyday that truth really is stranger than fiction.
I have a job which is slowly causing me to lose all faith in humanity and inching me further and further away from a liberal political position. I think that I spend one too many phone calls a day listening to people who are rude, free-loading, or just lack plain common sense. Contrary to popular belief---a doctor's note is NOT a fix all. The following are some REAL requests that I have received from patients during my short 3 month period working in Internal Medicine.

I received a request for a doctor note to be written to the electricity company to keep her power from being turned off. When I inquired as to her medical conditions, she informed me that she had high blood pressure.
Someone requested a note saying that she needed a bigger apartment because she couldn't walk very far without having to stop to catch her breath and she was having a friend move in with her.
Another person requested that the doctor give him a note saying that it was medically necessary for him sit in first class on the airplane due a routine knee surgery that he had over 5 years ago (the doctor who did the knee surgery is not even the doctor he requested the note from).
An older lady who lived out of town was commuting to her appointments. She requested (demanded, really) that we find her somewhere to live near the clinic. She included in her request price-ranges, preferences, and everything.
Patients call in all the time needing notes to release them from work. This is completely acceptable when we have seen the patient in the clinic and we have treated them and have documentation of their illness. However, patients will often call in weeks after their reported illness requesting a note for a week off of work when they didn't even bother to call us that week or come into the clinic and be seen.
One of these "work release" requests was especially interesting. There was a patient that we were seeing who was on some chronic pain medications for his back. His complaint was that a few mornings every month he just wouldn't wake up for work. In his words "his eyes just felt too heavy." When I questions him for further details, I found out that he had not set an alarm to wake up for work, and because he was up late the night before he had simply slept-in and was then blaming it on his pain medications. In an effort to help him, the doctor changed around his medications and instructed him to set an alarm. The same man later called back to ask us to write a note for him to give to his boss which would guarantee that he would never be late for work again. Sheesh!
I had a request from a patient that she needed a note to be given to child protective services that she was sick which is why she didn't go to her drug addiction class. (She needed this note a few weeks after her reported illness, and she had never come in to the doctor). Scary.
As you can imagine I also fill out hundreds of handicapped parking sticker forms, the majority of which are for people who have problems related to obesity.
I got a call once from a lady who was standing in-line to board the airplane for her vacation who needed a note saying that her oxygen tank was a medical necessity. I understand why she needed this note, what I don't understand is why she waited until she was boarding the airplane to request it. I literally had to fax it to American airlines for her to get on the plane. I sure hope she wasn't a terrorist.
I have received calls from patient with upcoming appointments demanding to know how we plan to get them to their appointment.
I also deal with my fair share of drug seekers who have every excuse in the book of how they lost their medications. They fell into the sink, the car ran them over, they were in their purse which was stolen, they were in their pants pocket and put through the washing machine, someone broke into their house and stole them, the pharmacy made an error and gave them the wrong number of pills, they were confiscated at the airport. You get the picture. The funny thing is that in these scenarios it is only the pain medication that is missing, never the blood pressure or cholesterol medications, strange.
And of course, let us not forget some of my favorite calls in which I speak with patients to triage them. I received a call from a woman my age who was very concerned because she had been burping all morning long. When I asked her what and when she had eaten last, she told me that she ate an entire pepperoni pizza at midnight and in an effort to ease her stomach she had drunken almost a liter of soda for breakfast.
I also received a call from an elderly gentleman who was very concerned because there were bubbles in toilet after he urinated. He insisted on coming in for an appointment.

Aren't these stories great! I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried. It is a good thing that I have something to laugh about at work to help ease the stress of it all. Do you have any good stories from work which make you question the sanity of our society. Please share.

Called to Serve

2011-01-01T22:35:00.000-08:00

Isn't he handsome? My little Brother has been called to serve a mission in Stockholm Sweden. He started his training at the missionary training center in Provo, UT on December 29, 2010 and I already miss him. Here is a small piece of his testimony which I swiped from his facebook account. I am sure that he will be a great missionary and am excited that he has the opportunity to dedicate two years of his life to sharing the Gospel of Jesus which has been restored to the earth.

"I am leaving for 2 years to be a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Stockholm, Sweden. I love my Savior Jesus Christ, I know that He lives and loves all of His children, and I know that he has restored His gospel upon the earth today. This message has changed my life and brought me so much peace and happiness. When you know that something is true, you can't withhold it from others. I want to share my testimony with the world."

A Happy Christmas Indeed

2011-01-01T19:02:00.001-08:00

Christmas was wonderful this year, absolutely wonderful. I was incredibly surprised when my work allowed me three days off for the holidays which we got to spend with my family. We spent a few of those days skiing at Whistler in Beautiful British Columbia. It dumped snow on us the whole time we were there, it was absolutely freezing at the top of the mountain, and my legs were incredibly sore by my first run down the hill, and yet, and I felt so happy. Pure joy. We skied all day, then spent time at night playing board games, sitting in the hot tub, watching Christmas movies, laughing, and eating yummy food.

The rest of the trip was spent at my home, on Whidbey Island. My parents house was lovely as usual. The tree this year was so retro, with the huge lights and all wrapped tinsel. I LOVED it. We played our classic Christmas Eve Bingo game, opened our new ornaments, and had a wonderful devotional together as we read about the birth of our Savior. This was my little brother, Jordan's, last Christmas home before his mission, and I will forever be touched by the spirit that I felt as we each shared our testimonies of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am certain that Jordan will be a wonderful missionary. Before we went to bed, we got to get on skype and watch Annika open some of her gifts on Christmas morning via Skype. (See, there are some benefits to being 8 hours ahead). It made us feel more like they were with us to see them all, (mostly Annika) be so excited to show us what they had recieved. I had a difficult time sleeping as usual, and Chrismtas morning was wonderful as usual. It just felt so good to be home and with my family.

For the first time in months, I finally felt relaxed. Sunday morning came much too quickly and it was very difficult to say goodbye. Goodbye to my little brother for 2 years while he left on a mission. Goodbye to Mom Dad and Nathan. And Goodbye to Isaac as he boarded a plane for Utah, while I flew home to Illinois. As always, it was hard to leave after another wonderful vacation, but I am thankful that I was able to be with my family. It was just what I needed.

UPDATE

2010-11-28T19:39:00.000-08:00

Feast or famine. Like many things in life, that is a good description of how often this blog is updated. Quite frankly, this blog has been suffering through a long famine, a famine which is near its end. The rains are coming--but first, an update on our lives must be given, which unfortunately, is free of photos.

November passed quite quickly. Isaac breathed a sigh of relief when his break from school finally arrived. He had a full week off to relax, although as with all vacations that fall in the middle of a semester, there is always that nagging feeling of guilt over relaxing when you could be studying, so he did work on some homework which will hopefully ease the stress of his last few weeks of classes. I was given Thursday AND Friday off of work which I couldn't be more thrilled about. Who doesn't love a four day weekend?

We spent Friday night prior to Isaac's break camped in a cheap hotel in St. Louis so we could attend the temple on Saturday. Our hotel neighbors down the hall threw a party then got in a rather loud and scary fight, causing the police to show up. We were still able to get enough sleep to stay awake through our temple session. We laughed later upon reading that St. Louis has the highest crime rate in the Country--I am glad that we didn't become another statistic.

We had hoped to spend some extra time in St. Louis following the temple visit, but had to leave early to return home in time for Stake Conference where we were able to listen to Elder Bednar speak. We left with full hearts and a strong desire to improve ourselves. It was seriously so wonderful to be in the presence of an Apostle of the Lord.

After hearing reports that KSL played up the so called "nude scene" in Harry Potter, we went and saw it after-all. It was so worth the $5.50 and we cannot wait until next summer to see the final movie.

We spent Thanksgiving at at the Broadbent's home. They are a wonderful family in our ward who invited us over for dinner. We enjoyed the good food and conversation with everyone there including their many birds who can all speak quite well. We have so much to be thankful for. Since leftovers were slim after dividing up the food between 5 families, we bought our own turkey to eat this week for "Second Thanksgiving" or "Fakesgiving" as Martha and Laura like to call it. We can't wait!

I caved and decided that it would be OK to have a fake Christmas tree this year. So we battled the crowds on Black Friday and found a cute six foot Colorado fir for a good deal which is now set up in our home waiting to be adorned.

During the break we were also able to take a drive through the farmland together, watch movies and several office episodes on netflix, go out to eat, and have a fun date night at the bowling alley. The score was 88 to 154 . I will let you decide which score belongs to whom.

Tonight we sit relishing in our last few hours of freedom, dreading our return to so called "real life." Isaac only has one and a half more weeks of classes, then a week of finals before he is set loose from the bonds of school for a month of homework-free vacation. Tomorrow I return to work to take on the many grumpy and irritated people who feel the need to yell at me on the phone and tell me what a horrible job I am doing and what a horrible person I am. Hooray. We do however have a lot to be thankful for are excited for the many wonderful things that this next month has in store. Until Then...cheers.

Illini Football Game

2010-11-14T19:55:00.000-08:00

Taniel and I went to our first Illinois football game at Zuppke field on Saturday. It was a bit different than going to the Cougar stadium. The stadium is quite old. So old that they used to play with leather helmets in the same stadium. Another thing that was a bit different was the orange EVERYWHERE. It looks like 90% of the fans are going hunting after the game. Actually, the colors of the Illini look pretty slick if you ask me. Although we lost to the Minnesota gophers (hehe) we had a really nice time drinking hot chocolate and snuggling in our blanket.

Honest Abe

2010-10-17T15:11:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, Isaac and I had the opportunity to drive to Springfield and visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. It was really amazing.

After his assassination, Lincoln evolved into something of a legend, and over time it has become harder and harder to separate the facts from the vision of this man that we have created in our minds. The exhibits in this museum in Springfield focus on this idea and creates for its patrons a more detailed and comprehensive view of the man behind the photos. There was also a special exhibit called "Team of Rivals" based on the book by Doris Goodwin about Lincoln's cabinet which was also fascinating. Photos weren't allowed inside the exhibits, so I lugged my big camera around for no reason, but there are so many places around Illinois that have a correlation with Lincoln that I am sure that I will have more opportunities in the future to take photos. OR....better yet, you could just come and visit and we will take you to the museum, it is worth your time, I promise!

Summer Days, Drifting Away...

2010-10-09T20:04:00.000-07:00

Although the fall season was technically ushered in a few weeks ago, the warm weather here has prevented me from fully embracing the fall season (although I am not complaining about the 80 degree weather we've had). This last week, however, I decided it was time. The temperature finally dropped a little, the leaves have begun to change, and football is in full swing. Now that I have decided it is fall, I just can't get enough of it.

On Friday night we went out with some friends and wandered through a skeleton shaped corn maze in the dark. Saturday, we walked hand-in-hand through the orchard, sipped cider, found our perfect pumpkins and toted them around our little red wagon (Yes, we are older than 6 and didn't have any children with us, why do you ask?). Isaac rides his bike to campus every day and intentionally goes out of his way to ride over the crunchy leaves. I like watching the tractors harvesting the corn fields during my daily jogs. The sunsets lately have been orange and blue, and I am thrilled about pulling out my scarves and jackets from storage. I have made soup 3 times this last week, often accompanied by a side of cornbread, and we just finished up a delicious pumpkin dessert. BYU football finally won a game, and Isaac did great on his first test of the semester. Summer days have drifted away but we couldn't be happier for the arrival of fall.

Yuck

2010-09-19T21:32:00.000-07:00

So you know those sick, grimy, hairballs that look like rats and smell like death? You know... the ones that sit in the pipes, clog the drain, and never cease to make me gag (this coming from the girl who considers herself to have a strong stomach)? The ones that no amount of drain-o will ever rid?

Yeah, well Isaac surprised me and cleaned one of those out of the drain for me yesterday. That is why I love him so much this weekend. Seriously, if that isn't true love, I don't know what is.

Employed

2010-09-19T19:55:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's right. I finally found a job. The job hunt has been something of a trying process to say the least, but I am so excited to start on as the newest Internal Medicine RN at the Christie Clinic next week.

The job hunt started with me passing the NCLEX. Whew. So glad to have that behind me.

Then, I had to go through this long and rather tedious process of applying for licensure in Illinois. This included a lot of paperwork, fingerprinting, making phone calls, writing checks, post-office visits, getting transcripts, talking with the Utah Department of Licensing, not getting clear directions, driving to Salt Lake multiple times unnecessarily, calling the Illinois Department of Licensing, and being placed on hold for almost an hour, more paperwork...and it goes on. I finally received my license in the mail about a week before we left: just in time

A couple days were spent refining, scanning, and perfecting my portfolio

I started searching for jobs about a month before we left Utah, a process that only intensified once we reached our new home. I spent hours and hours filling out online applications for every hospital/clinic/nursing home that I could find within an hour radius of our home (which is A LOT...trust me).

I then spent several days getting all dressed up to visit these hospitals to talk with nurse managers and human resource staff, only to find them in meetings or away from the office. I got in some questions where I could attempting to get the inside scoop, handed out resumes, tried to make a good impression, but usually was told in return to apply online and my application would be reviewed.

I eventually had developed a collection of business cards, which I didn't hesitate to use. I emailed and called to ask more questions or to follow up on an application I submitted. Yes, I was that annoying applicant, but I figure the squeaky wheel usually gets the grease.

I talked with everyone in my ward that I knew was a nurse, doctor, or had any connection to a medical professional and received several recommendations, phone numbers, business cards and other connections which I greatly appreciated and used. (everyone in my ward was so eager and willing to help me when they found out I was searching for an RN job. I love my ward)

I soon became frustrated when after almost 2 months of searching and applying, I hadn't even been called in for a single interview. I had received, however, several generic rejection emails stating that they had chosen other applicants whose qualifications more closely fit the needs of the company. The worst part is though, that they didn't actually hire someone else for those positions, because the job would be re-posted online a few days after I received those emails. Blah.

I have always been told that as a nurse I will be able to find a job anywhere I go, that nurses are always needed. While this is true in part, the job market for new nursing graduates is really bad right now. Nurses are not completely immune to changes in the economy as much as I wish that they were.

Isaac and I had been praying really hard that we could find something that would fit our needs and we have been putting a lot of faith in the Lord that he will take care of us and help me to get a job. Well I am here to say that the Lord is aware of us, does hear our prayers, and has a plan for each of us--even if it isn't what we think that plan will be.

Finally, about a week ago, I called to check on my application status at the Clinic, and I was invited to come interview. I was so nervous and spent an hour on the phone with my dad reviewing interview questions that they could ask and discussing appropriate responses. I am glad that I have such an awesome Dad who will sit on the phone with me for so long to do that. The interview was almost 2 hours long, so I took that as a good sign. I met with Human Resources, then I was sent to the clinic and met with several nurse managers, then they had me meet all the doctors in the clinic.

I was offered the position the following work day. That same day I received a call to interview at a local hospital, but they couldn't fit me in until the following week. The clinic needed a decision before I could interview at the hospital. I had a difficult decision to make. After much prayer and discussion with Isaac, my family, and previous professors and mentors, I chose to take the job I was offered---for several reasons which I will not go into in detail here. The few days following that decision I received 3-4 phone calls from different hospitals and nursing homes in the area inviting me to come in to interview. I am not sure why it all came about at the same time, or what exactly that means, but I am sticking with my decision to work at the clinic. I prayed about it, felt good about it, and gave them my word that I would work there.

It is not exactly the job that I thought that I would have as a nurse. I had envisioned myself working nights, 12 hour shifts in a hospital in a pediatric, med-surg, or cardiac floor. In stark contrast, my job entails mostly phone work including triaging, patient teaching, medication counseling, lab reporting, etc. I will work closely with several doctors occasionally assisting with procedures as needed, but this position will have very limited hands-on work, it will be primarily phone and paperwork. I am a little worried about losing some of my hands-on nursing skills, but my teachers assure me that I can pick those back up again quickly. I do however, get my own desk area that I can decorate with photos etc, and you really can't beat the hours that I will be working (8-5 monday-friday, which means that I get to see Isaac still--wahoo!) I am sure that there is so much to learn at this new position and I am a little nervous, but very excited to begin my first nursing job. (and my first job that pays more than minimum wage:)

I am so grateful that I have a loving Heavenly Father who is aware of me, and provides for my needs as i am faithful. Life is certainly unpredictable, but it is also so very good.

Loving This Week

2010-09-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

Home-made pizza
specifically of the tomato basil variety using this crust recipe compliments of Martha Stewart. yummm...

Watching the US open. The Federer vs Djokovic match was incredible. I wanted Federer to win, only because a Nadal vs. Federer playing for the championship is bound to be a good match, but I always like an underdog story. I still cannot WAIT for the championship match. Who do you think will win? (or is there even anyone who reads this blog that bothers to watch tennis?)

The lovely 70 degree weather that we are having here in Champaign. The windows are open and we are still wearing shorts. Ah yes...

This photo shoot from one of my favorite photographers, Diana Palmer. I adore those leggings, and can almost hear the giggles coming out of those girls.

The "...and I am a mormon" videos on mormon.org/people. Isaac and I sat down and watched EVERY single one last Sunday in one sitting. My favorites are Jeff, Jenny, and Rose. But they are all worth watching.This hilarious, and sometimes disturbing book that I am reading. Isaac took one look at the cover and told me, "you read the weirdest books." That may be true, but hey, I AM a nurse. Doesn't that entitle me to read strange books about the human body?

And finally, this video from our trip to Lagoon. It may be over a month old, but I still just can't get enough of Isaac's face. It is a sure-fire way to brighten my day. Sorry the quality of the video is so bad. You probably can't even tell how great Isaac's face is, so I included a photo for your viewing pleasure.

What are you loving this week?

All Homework and No Play Makes Isaac a Dull Boy

2010-09-09T11:56:00.000-07:00

School is getting more difficult and Isaac has been diligently studying in the office, going to TA open labs, and meeting with friends on campus to do homework. He he beginning to feel a little nervous about some of his classes (Orbital Mechanics *cough*) as they are getting more in depth, detailed, and difficult to follow. But although he is nervous, he continues to do well and stay on top of studies, for which I am proud of him. To my dismay, however, this means that my face time with Isaac is dropping significantly as he spends more and more time on campus and away from me. So does that make Isaac a dull boy? Luckily, no. In the chaos of being a busy grad student, he still makes time in his days to play with me. An office episode here, a bike-ride there, help with a batch of cookies, or a trip with me to the store, I still get some play time with him every day. What a good guy. Here are some campus pictures just for fun. Isn't campus pretty?

This is the engineering Library Isaac Studies in. I am obsessed with it. It is so pretty

"I Don't Trust You Phyllis!"

2010-09-08T16:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I posted this very long, detailed story about how Isaac and I lost 300 dollars buying a non-functioning washer and dryer from a man named Skip. I was feeling upset about the whole situation and writing it all out was somewhat therapeutic. However, we received in the mailbox this morning a $300 check from Skip as promised, and I began to feel a little bad about how I had portrayed this man in my story and decided to the delete the post. I may have been too quick to judge.

The short version of the story is this: We bought a used, guaranteed washer and dryer set for 300 dollars. When we set them up (after a lot of work getting them up the stairs), we found they didn't work.The seller, Skip, was difficult to get in contact with and told us if we got them to his shop, his mechanics would fix them as they did have a 90 day guarantee. We instead asked for a refund. Skip was upset, but finally obliged. He came and picked them up in his trailer, but told us that we would get a refund when he sold another set as he didn't have the money to pay us back right then. He told us that it would likely take 1-2 weeks, and that we could trust him. We tried to argue, but in the end agreed. We tried calling him during those 2 weeks, but weren't able to really reach him. After 2 1/2 weeks, we received a check in the mail from Skip for $300. We hope it doesn't bounce.

Here Today

2010-09-06T19:11:00.000-07:00

So nice to be in the temple. This temple.

Isaac wasn't feel well, but it was still a good trip. Can't wait to go back.

It's Not Rocket Science...or Is It?

2010-09-04T15:11:00.000-07:00

I wanted to know what Isaac was learning in his classes and decided to ask him about them the other night. He told me about intertial frames, moving vectors, natural frequencies and other things that I can't quite wrap my mind around. All the while I thumbed somewhat mindlessly through his textbooks to find this

and this

and I couldn't help but think...man, my husband is smart (and soon to be smarter).
Rocket science smart.

Video Sneak Peak of our New Pad

2010-09-04T14:55:00.000-07:00

Getting photos of our new place is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I can't seem to fit the whole room in the frame, at least not without a much wider angle lens than I currently have. However, I promised my family I would show them a few pictures of our apartment, so I did a few video clips which get the job done just as well, if not better. Yes my narration is boring, my voice sounds funny, and I compliment myself on how cool the photos on the fridge are, but you can't expect much, it's just an apartment after all (and not one on HGTV). This is titled "sneak peak" because to get the real thing you will have to come visit us, which I hope you will. We would love the company.

Out and About

2010-09-02T14:48:00.000-07:00

Isaac and I wanted to get out and see the town the last weekend and we figured the Sweet Corn Festival was the perfect opportunity. After all, Illinois and corn go together like peanut butter and jelly, Idaho and potatoes, or Isaac and airplanes. It was really fun. We got our faces all buttery eating lots of corn on the cob, browsed the booths, sampled various tasty treats, and ate some great pulled pork while we listened to the live band play. As dorky as it may sound, we also really enjoyed watching the corn husker. This machine was seriously fascinating. It looked like the machine that Bell's dad makes on Beauty and the Beast: loud, somewhat rudimentary, a little rusty, but worked like a charm. The corn was then cooked using water boiled inside this old wood burning steam engine. You would have thought it was cool too had you been there--trust me.

Saturday we kicked off Aerospace grad school by attending an airshow. To Isaac's delight they had a B-2 stealth bomber fly over, and had several cool planes on display including a Chinook helicopter and some decked out Cessnas. My favorite part though was the biplane doing cool tricks in the air, it reminded me of an old World War I dogfight. There was even a rocket powered school bus that Isaac decided needed to be a provided mode of transportation for Aerospace students. It was a fun way to get Isaac excited about his studies and to see the area a little more.

You have Two Cows

2010-09-01T16:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, there is nothing that I hate more than a forwarded email, and this is pretty much what this post is, but it made me laugh pretty hard, so I figured that it might make you laugh too. Or maybe I am just starving for entertainment...you decide.

U.S. DEMOCRAT
You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none.
You feel guilty for being successful.
You push for higher taxes so the government can provide cows for everyone.

U.S. REPUBLICAN
You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none..
So?

SOCIALIST
You have two cows.
The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.
You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.

COMMUNIST
You have two cows.
The government seizes both and provides you with milk.
You wait in line for hours to get it.
It is expensive and sour.

CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE
You have two cows.
You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.

BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE
You have two cows.
Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one, milk the other, and then pours the milk down the drain.

AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one.
You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead. You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses.
Your stock goes up.

FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You go on strike because you want three cows.
You go to lunch and drink wine..

JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.
They learn to travel..
Most are at the top of their class at cow school.

GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour.
Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year.

ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows but you don't know where they are.
You break for lunch.
Life is good.

RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You have some vodka.
You count them and learn you have five cows.
You have some more vodka.
You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.
The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have..

TALIBAN CORPORATION
You have all the cows in Afghanistan, which are two.
You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature's private parts.
You get a $40 million grant from the US government to find alternatives to milk production but use the money to buy weapons.

IRAQI CORPORATION
You have two cows.
They go into hiding.
They send radio tapes of their mooing.

POLISH CORPORATION
You have two bulls.
Employees are regularly maimed and killed attempting to milk them.

BELGIAN CORPORATION
You have one cow.
The cow is schizophrenic.
Sometimes the cow thinks he's French, other times he's Flemish.
The Flemish cow won't share with the French cow.
The French cow wants control of the Flemish cow's milk.
The cow asks permission to be cut in half.
The cow dies happy.

FLORIDA CORPORATION
You have a black cow and a brown cow.
Everyone votes for the best looking one.
Some of the people who actually like the brown one best accidentally vote for the black one.
Some people vote for both.
Some people vote for neither.
Some people can't figure out how to vote at all.
Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which one you think is the best-looking cow.

CALIFORNIA CORPORATION
You have millions of cows.
They make real California cheese.
Only five speak English.
Most are illegal.

First Day of School

2010-08-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

I felt like a proud parent sending Isaac off to his first day of grad school. I even made him take a picture on the doorstep wearing the clothes he had laid out the night before and had to resist the urge to dab my eyes and exclaim "oh, they grow up so fast!". But while I was worried about outfits, packed lunches, and making friends, Isaac was a little more grown up in his own concerns about workload, comprehension, and whether he could remember how to be a student again--it had been 5 years since he had been in school. It has now been a week since that first day, and I think that it is safe to say that Isaac has re-entered the student life with ease. He is doing really well and is enjoying all of his classes. He likes the idea of being at "airplane school" as Jack calls it, and finds it a bit easier to stay focused when he is studying something that he loves.

He is taking a full load of 4 classes which includes: applied aerodynamics, orbital mechanics, aeroelasticity, and transonic aerodynamics. He has found that graduate school has a much different feel than his undergrad. It no longer seems like the class is trying to weed him out, and the classes feel a bit more professional---people are they because they want to be there. Most of his required books are simply references, there is a heavy emphasis on lecture, the professors are eager to discuss class concepts and research, and he frequently attends seminars where professional companies come in and talk about their work and research. This does not mean however, that he is at a loss of things to do; there is still PLENTY of homework, reading, and research, but it is nice to feel a little more independent for a change.

Another first for Isaac is his new life as a minority. White, Mormon, American, and Republican is something of a novelty here---but what a great experience. Like any large, highly ranked engineering school, his classes are made up of such a big diversity of students; primarily Asian, but also several Indians, Arabs, African Americans, and the biggest shocker for a BYU engineer undergrad: women. Isaac likes to joke that the only reason that he even got into the school is that they needed a few more white guys to not seem racially prejudice. Many of the foreign students plan to earn their PHD's and return to their home country to teach, although it does need to be noted that we are not racists: yes, many students are American and have plans to live and work here. This really is such a good experience though, to be working closely with so many students with different backgrounds and experiences. It helps us to open our eyes to the world around us.

So all in all, Isaac is loving school, and I am loving the idea of having my husband in school--until he has homework to do and can't play with me :(

Church History Experience

2010-08-30T19:10:00.001-07:00

When the prophet Joseph Smith restored the gospel to the earth under the direction of our loving Heavenly Father, many of the events surrounding this restoration happened in close proximity to Illinois. Living in the heart of Illinois, Isaac and I feel lucky to be able to have the opportunity throughout the following year to visit many of these historic LDS church sites. The legacy of the saints and growing church in this area is a legacy of trials and hardship, but more importantly, a legacy of miracles, and of great faith in God and his Son.

As previously mentioned, on our way to Illinois we were able to spend some time in Independence Missouri. It was a small detour from our mapped route, but a good one. Independence and the the surrounding area (Jackson County Missouri) is important for many reasons:
1. Adam once lived there (Adam-ondi-ahman)
2. The saints eventually moved there and Independence was identified by the Lord in revelation as the center place of Zion.
3. A site was dedicated there for a temple to be built. Unfortunately the Saints were driven from the state 1833 and the temple was never built.
4. An extermination order was given here by Governor Boggs that any Mormon could be shot on the spot without question. This order was not repealed until 1976 when the books were reviewed and a formal apology was given to the LDS church.
5. The prophet Joseph Smith and several others were falsely accused of treason and imprisoned at Liberty Jail near Independence for several months in one of the coldest Missouri winters on record.
6. The area has been identified as as the site where a future great gathering will take place when Jesus Christ comes to meet with Adam and his righteous posterity. (again, Adam-ondi-Ahman)

Isaac and I were first able to stop at Liberty Jail. I could talk about the structure of the jail, I could go into detail about the hardships experienced by the men in the jail, I could even discuss in depth about the revelations received during that experience, but instead I think that for now it will suffice to say that I felt the spirit there in that cold place. It was powerful, and it was sweet. It was as if the Lord was reaching out to me and whispering so quietly to my mind and heart that yes, Jospeh Smith was truly a prophet of the Lord. I also felt a strong feeling of peace about finding a job. I had been feeling so stressed and overwhelmed about it, but listening to the stories of those in Jail, I knew that if I would do my part, I didn't need to worry because the Lord is aware of me and is in control.

For those who are interesting in learning more about the jail, please read this incredible talk entitled Lessons from Liberty Jail by Elder Holland here. You will not regret it. Sections 121-123 of the Doctrine and Covenants were also received while in the Jail.

Our second stop was the visitor's center in Independence. I guess that it isn't a very busy time of year because we were the ONLY people there with more than enough missionaries available to show us around. This was great because it provided us with our own personal tour and experience. We learned all about the conditions of the saints in Missouri at that time, about their excitement over establishing Zion, and their heartbreak at being driven out. We read journal entries of real saints and were able to feel of their testimonies and of their faith. We learned about how a real printing press works, learned the meaning of "mind your P's and Q's", and saw an original Book of Commandments. We marveled at the faith of the two young sisters who ran into the burning printing press during a mob raid and saved the Book of Commandment manuscript pages at the risk of their own lives. Lastly we admired the beauty of the Christus statue representing the second coming of the savior which seemed so fitting for the place in which it stood--a contrast to the creation represented in Salt Lake. It was a wonderful experience and we were there until close, not even realizing how late it had become.

Our last stop in Missouri was a side trip Wednesday morning to visit Adam-ondi-Ahman. We sang the hymn the whole way in the car on the way there, and discussed all that we had read and learned about this area. According to the scriptures, three years before he died, Adam called together his posterity into this valley and gave them his last blessing. (see D & C 107:53) In 1838 this area was settled by a group of Saints who had plans to make it into a large city. It was during this time, that Nephi found remains of an "old Nephite Alter or Tower" on a hill which he later named Tower Hill. the saints were eventually driven from the area, but the church still owns the land. And lastly, before the second coming of the savior, it is prophesied by Daniel the prophet (Daniel 7:9-10) that Adam and his posterity will again gather in the valley to meet with the Savior. This is also referenced to in D and C 116.

Currently, Adam-ondi-Ahman is nothing more that a very big, albeit beautiful field that the church owns which is full of corn in true midwest style. It was still wonderful to visit and ponder on the events which take place here, and will take place in the future.

Missouri was a wonderful experience and we can't wait to see more sites in the surrounding area.

On the Road

2010-08-30T14:02:00.000-07:00

Our journey across America was actually rather pleasant, although admittedly a little slower than anticipated. The Uhaul seemed to max out at 65 mph, and although there were those rare moments when Isaac could get it to go a little faster, our miles per gallon immediately plummeted. Seeing how it was guzzling away all of our money faster than we could count, we decided not to push it and were content to take it a bit slower. All in all, we made it in 3 days, or the equivalent of 28 driving hours. We were sad that we weren't able to be in the same car together, but we chatted away on the walkie-talkies, ate snacks, and got quite caught up in listening to Harry Potter 7.

The first driving day took us through hours and hours of Wyoming plains with no cell phone service or houses to be seen. Eventually the landscape morphed into acres of farmland interspersed with occasional patches of wooded areas and a few more options for food and gas stops. This was our longest day driving and around midnight, we finally pulled up to our Hotel in the not-so-nice side of town, in North Platte, Nebraska. Although we were exhausted, cranky, and eager to get out of the car, the site of the beat down motel that I had so eagerly booked the previous night (it was such a good deal, don't judge me) just about brought me to tears. It no longer seemed so inviting as it had on the website, you see. However, if we canceled we would lose our deposit, so we locked the door (thrice), turned off the light, and climbed into bed before a had a chance to think about what might be lurking outside the door... or in our bed.

We did survive however, with a vow to stay somewhere nicer when we reached Independence, Missouri. Day two went past in a manner similar to the first, and the minutes ticked by in a jumbled blur. Corn fields...Ron...Triscuits...Isaac's changing lanes...another water tower....a sip of water....voldemort just killed someone....more corn....more construction...we are getting passed by another semi....Isaac's static voice says hi over the walkie-talkie, yum, fruit snacks...Harry should stop whining, seriously....I hope I like our new apartment....more construction...more corn.... You get the picture.

We arrived in Independence a little after 4 in the afternoon--just enough time to get checked in and go see some historical sights (to be written about in a later post). We were true to our word, and we booked a room for a good deal at a Marriot Hotel. It didn't even matter to us that they were completely full leaving us with a handicapped room--to us, it seemed like heaven. Heaven complete with shower seats, a toilet phone, and an extra low peep hole. We were able to go swimming and watch a little TV that night before settling in for a deep, deep nights sleep. We slept so well, in fact, that we didn't stir until 9, causing us to miss the delicious continental breakfast. Luckily, the nice cook felt bad for us and kept out some yummy fruit and biscuits and gravy and she let us stay and eat while she cleaned up.

By day three, we were so done with driving. It seemed as though we would never arrive, and even Harry Potter started to lose my attention. We finally pulled up to our new place as the golden sun slipped behind the fields of corn. I thought that I wanted nothing more than to get out of the car, go upstairs, and sleep, but the excitement of finally making it to our new home gave me a second wind-- we unloaded half of the Uhaul by ourselves that very same night. Yep, you heard me right. We love our new place, Isaac did such a good job of picking it out. Although it is lacking somewhat in furniture, it is comfortable, inviting, and feels like home.

Up Next: Church History Stops, Sneak Peak of our new pad, Explore the town with us, and Isaac's first day of school all coming up.

WE MADE IT

2010-08-25T06:52:00.000-07:00

Saying good-bye was harder than we thought, and we were emotional. Now we are finally here, all moved in, surrounded by fields of corn and good people, and we are happy. So very happy.

More updates to come. Stay tuned.

Island Park

2010-08-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

Isaac worked his last day at Wencor a week before we had to leave for Illinois so that we could take one last trip together to Island Park. I was so looking forward to some time together just the two of us to get away and the cabin was perfect.

We napped, swam, watched the sunset, roasted marshmallows, floated down the river in kayaks, went to a play and laughed and laughed, caught a few fish, took some photos, rode double on the four wheeler, talked about life, and soaked up the many rays of sunshine.

It was just what I needed.

Puppy Fix

2010-08-24T19:29:00.000-07:00

I love animals. I always have. We have always had pets in our family, I personally had a beautiful yellow lab growing up named Emma. She was a part of our family and she really brought so much joy to our home. It was a good experience for me to learn how to take care of her, train her, and understand that good things in life may take a lot of work but are worth it. As a new wife who is moving from apartment to apartment, I know that pets aren't really a feasible option right now. I have had enough experience with dogs to know how much space, training, and exercise they need to be good and happy, and I know that we can't provide that at this time. However, when my Aunt Sue asked me to puppy-sit their new lab, Tessa, for a week I just couldn't resist. After convincing Michelle, Brian, and Isaac that it would be ok and that she would be good, I finally got my puppy fix. Tessa was so much fun. Heber was great and helped me to feed and walk her every morning and I was thrilled to be able spend a week loving this cute little ball of fur. I love the little wrinkle that goes down the middle of her head and I love the way that she does somersaults when playing with her chew toys. She was so good the whole week, and I was so sad to have to see her go back home. It was the perfect opportunity to spend some time with a dog, but also a good way to remember why Isaac keeps telling me that we can't get a dog right now when I ask for one.

Jordan, BYU, and Fun Times

2010-08-06T10:12:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights of July was a week-long visit from my brother Jordan. He graduated from High School in June, and is planning to attend BYU in the fall. He wanted to get a feel for Provo and I was the lucky one who got to show him the ropes before he moves down here. I had hoped to be around for his first semester at least, but sadly we will just barely miss him as we leave for Illinois the week before he arrives. His Birthday is in November and he has plans to leave for a mission shortly thereafter, so it will be a long time before I see him again. Thus, I was so excited to have him all to myself for a whole week. I don't feel like I know Jordan as much as I would like to, so it was super fun to spend time getting to know him a little better beyond the goofy little boy I remember him as. Jordan is the real deal: He is super smart (Valedictorian of his class, awared MANY scholarships), ridiculously good looking and tan, an accomplished athlete, very dedicated and focused, has a strong testimony of the Savior, is a dang good artist, knows how to have a good time, is pretty darn funny, AND has a pretty cool family if I do say so myself. I dare say he is going to be quite the catch for the girls in Provo.

We didn't have a lot of room for him to sleep, but we found a small space in the storage room where we could just barely fit a twin matress. Luckily, he didn't seem to mind at all and even decided that he likes small enclosed sleeping spaces. We decided that he will adjust to dorm life just fine. My nephews sure liked having him here and when we weren't sitting on the couch playing Wii, or catching grass hoppers in the back yard with Heber, we were off packing our days full of activities until we were exhausted.

We went mountain biking at sundance, played at 7 peaks water park, went to the dollar theater, hit some golf balls at the driving range, spent some time at a family Barbeque, ate at the best food joints in Provo (Zupas, Cafe Rio, Pizza Pie Cafe, Spoon it up), took the tour through timp caves, went to a BYU soccer game, went flying with Isaac (Jordan was a natural), watched a few redbox movies, went to another family party, registered for classes, and of course toured BYU, talked about BYU, and prepared for life at BYU. Jordan hopes to get his undergrad in Mechanical Engineering, then get a masters in Biomechanical engineering (or at least that is the plan now, things change). So, it was fun to have Isaac come meet us on campus one day and show Jordan all of the engineering buildings, help him to meet some professors and give him tips about studying and doing well in classes etc. Naturally, we also talked about girls and dating and had a good time giving him hints and tips etc, hopefully he wasn't too overwhelmed.

Showing Jordan around campus has really caused me to reflect upon my BYU and college experience. I had a wonderful BYU experience, however, there are so many things that I wish that I would have done better while in school. Some of these include: attend devotionals more faithfully, try and focus more on learning and less on "getting the grade", and spend more time looking outside myself to serve others. I just read this really, really wonderful talk called "What I Now Believe About a BYU education" by A. Legrand Richards. It is a wonderful talk which gives such a good perspective of the purpose of education that I believe anyone in school or preparing to attend school (especially byu) should be required to read it. I have a copy if anyone is intersted (JORDAN? hint, hint..).

Here are a few experts from the talk
"sometimes education is viewed as a game, not because learning is unimportant, but because we trivialize the manner in which it is obtained or the reason for which we seek it...[in my education] there were specific rules for winning or loosing, tricky moves you could make to compete more effectively for thos allusive grades...I wish I had placed my education in it's eternal context, which is anything but a game."

"The purpose of education, then, is to assist us as we discover, prepare for, and freely fulfil our divinely ordained missions... don't limit your concept of mission to the notion of a career....fulfilling our life's mission is not a part time project. It can't be something we do only on weekends, or inbetween classes, outside of other assignments or in our spare time. It must dominate our lives. It is far broader than the majors we select; and the resources at BYU to help you prepare for and fulfill your earthly mission are substantial"

And it goes on like that--a wonderful talk to help keep life in an eternal perspective. Something that we all need, right? Oh, and on the topic of BYU, for anyone who did attend, or is currently attending BYU, you need to check out this blog. So great. I kind of stumbled upon it and spent over an hour reading through all the entries. It is done by 2 BYU english majors who basically label all the different types of people at BYU--it is hilarious and so true. I love it. The posts about the types of people who study on which floor of the library are the best.

http://zetuslupetus.blogspot.com/

Your welcome.

More Birthday Celebration

2010-08-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about having a birthday on the fourth of July is that the entire country celebrates with you. Naturally, I have come to love almost anything associated with patriotism, fireworks, red white and blue, and tacky 4th decorations, as it brings back wonderful memories of my past birthdays. This year, Isaac took me to an outdoor Utah Symphony concert at Deer Valley as a birthday gift. It was wonderful. Everyone there just lays out their blankets and picnics as the kids run around the lawn while the symphony plays wonderful music against the backdrop of park city. The symphony played a lot of traditional American music including some Sousa marches, take me out to the ball game, and then some other non-American artist, who have come to be associated with American patriotism through movies, plays, and other means (such as Dvorak). We had picked up some Cafe Rio on the way to the concert and had a perfect dinner to go with a perfect concert. There was even a double fly-over, which was clearly Isaac's favorite part, and a gorgeous sunset to end the day off. to make the day even better than it was, there fireworks booming all around us as we drove home from each town celebrating and it felt like our own private firework show. Great Birthday!

Backpacking Birthday Bash

2010-08-05T11:50:00.000-07:00

Unlike a lot of girls I know, I love camping. There I said it. There is something special to me about being outside away from the commotion of life, breathing in the clean air, and enjoying the view (wow, I need to be careful. I am starting to sound like a tree-hugging hippie. I suppose it comes with the territory, I did, after-all, grow up in Washington). So, naturally I was ecstatic when Isaac offered to take me camping for my Birthday. We planned a three mile, one night, backpacking trip to Silver Lake up American Fork Canyon. Here are some of the highlights and low-lights of our first backpacking trip together:

* The view was incredible, you could see the back of Mount Timpanogos almost the entire way
* We were running a little late, so we didn't have much time before the sun set to pick a spot and set up our tent--however, we found a wonderful spot right next to the lake

* I found out that I sweat, like a lot. More than my husband does. Yuck.
* My bag was heavier than his (or at least that is my defense).

*Isaac disclosed to me that he had carved the name of a girl he liked into the snow on a previous trip to Silver Lake with his brother-- I wanted to go see if it may still be there. Snow is there year round--maybe it hadn't melted. Unfortunately, I never got the chance.

*It was a beautifully clear night and the stars were so bright and beautiful. We found a good rock, grabbed a blanket and laid out on the rock from dusk until we could see thousands of stars. We even saw a couple shooting stars and we each made a wish.
*It may have been a clear night, but we soon discovered that it was a VERY windy night. The trees rustled, the water in the lake sloshed, and our tent flapped all night long. Neither of us really slept more than 3 hours, but it was fun to listen to.

*It was a calm and still morning and the lake was perfectly still
*That is until a high school boys cross country team ran into the clearing, shouting and jumping into the lake. So much for serenity. They were pretty funny though, I must admit.

*We had a great breakfast of pop-tarts, dried mangoes, bagels, and peanut butter which we were able to share with a small chipmunk who wouldn't leave us alone. I swear he ate half his body weight in peanut butter. I hope that we didn't kill the poor thing.

*The hike down was a breeze (unlike the steep climb up) and we made it back in time to fish some in silver lake flat.
*We didn't catch anything, but met a nice family next to us who were willing to share some tips. They may have all been wearing tank-tops and had mullets, but they sure knew how to fish.

*A nice hot shower and a long nap are always so much more enjoyable after a camping trip. Seriously.

Maui

2010-08-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

As a graduation gift/one last get together before everyone goes their separate ways, we went on one of my favorite family vacations of all time: we took a week long trip to Wailea, Maui. We were so sad that Erica and her family could not join us and we missed them dearly, but are grateful to Erica for the sacrifices that she is making to be a mother.

On Friday the 19th of June, Isaac and I took our over-sized duffles and jumped in the car heading for the airport. Martha gave us a ride and shared with us for an hour just why Hawaii was so great and how much fun we are going to have. It was the perfect way to get pumped up for the trip. We flew into the Seattle airport, met dad, drove and drove, rode the ferry, ate yummy Ivar's fish and chips and finally made it home. Isaac apparently is allergic to cats and couldn't breathe in the office (or the cat's Lair), so we kicked Jordan out of his room and slept there. We slept great all night until about 5 in the morning when I woke up with the thought that I had 15 seconds to make it to the bathroom or there would be throw up all over Jordan's room. I was so incredibly sick and ended up throwing up and feeling nauseous the rest of the day--it was the worst. And what better way to spend the day when you are feeling nauseous than to ride on a boat on the open seas--which is exactly what we did. I only threw up once on the boat which was nice and it was actually a beautiful day and a fun time, I just wish that I could have enjoyed it without all the nausea. We sailed all over around the San Juans and saw a lot of beautiful islands, seals, and Bald Eagles. I went to bed early that night and was feeling a lot better around Dinner time on Sunday. I am glad that it didn't last very long and that no one else got sick.

Hawaii was amazing and everything that it is cracked up to be. We had a wonderful flight on Monday complete with pineapple juice, Hawaiian music, and a lot of blue ocean out the window. It was super windy as we flew into the small Maui airport, but the wind felt good as it equalized the hot, humid air that blasted you in the face as you stepped off the plane. We got our small rental van, packed ourselves in and immediately went to Costco where we loaded up on pineapple, macadamia nuts, and all sorts of good fruit and food to keep our bellies full for the week. As we started driving towards our condo, we couldn't help but laugh at the fields of dead trees and cows out the window. This is Maui, we thought? Were is all of the green jungle? However as soon as we got to the beach we were in heaven. The beach was perfect with soft white sands that squishes between your toes, perfect sunsets, palm trees, and snorkeling, and the best part is that it wasn't crowded AT ALL! We felt like we basically had the whole place to ourselves. Our condo that we were staying in was absolutely wonderful and just perfect for relaxing and having family meals, and taking multiple showers a day to rinse all of the sand off.

The next week went by in a blur. We walked down to the beach every day and enjoyed swimming and laying in the sun on our beach. When we got sick of the salt water we would swim in the pool right by the beach and maybe even use it to get some sand out of our suits (shhh...don't tell). Some of the best snorkeling on the island was right on our beach and we saw sooo many cool fish in the coral including trumpet fish, humuhumunukunukuapua'a. (or something like that), mooray eels, needle fish, angel fish, puffer fish, and more. One day we got to go swim with the turtles which was so awesome. We talked about going Scuba diving as most of us are certified, but we decided that you can see just an much by holding your breath and diving down as you can renting all of the scuba gear, so we stuck with snorkeling--which was so worth every minute.

We also spent a lot of time boogie boarding (or being spongies as the natives would say). We rented some boards which we had for the whole week, and since the waves weren't very big at the beach outside our place, we drove down to what is known as BIG BIG. Not only is the beach big, but the waves were HUGE. We all just stood there holding onto our boards staring at the waves saying "no way we are going out there---we will die!" Well, we eventually did go out there into the waves and while none of us died luckily, each of us did have several hard wipe outs where the waves just thrashed us into the sand, tumbling head over heels, until we finally washed up on the beach, sand in every crevice, only to be sucked out to sea again and thrashed by the next wave. Even still, we had the time of our lives and gave mom a good laugh or two as she snapped photos of our adventures. I remember stopping to look at Isaac after one of the big waves and laughing so hard as I noticed that he had sand in his hair, ears, eyebrows, and even in his eyelashes. By the time we left the beach, we were so full of salt water and sand, that we were sure that it would never come out--and it never really did until a few weeks after we arrived back home in Utah. The up side is that sand is such a wonderful exfoliater.

Jordan and Nathan have always wanted to try surfing, so we all spent one morning taking lessons in Lahaina from a native. He made the experience a true Hawaiian surfing experience. Mike is lanky and leathery, has bleached-blonde dreads, moves slowly, and talks like a surfer. We practice technique on the beach before the took to the water although much of the time was spent listening to mike talk about how surfing is sacred, the importance of feeling and respect the waves, and about how catching a wave relates to life, about how you have to look forward and just let everything behind you go--focus on where you are going. I couldn't help but relate him to the sea turtle in finding Nemo. They got it spot on. When it came time to actually catch the wave I couldn't really remember what to do, all I could think of was Mikes voice telling me to "respect the wave"--haha. Luckily, he was there surfing next to us giving us pointers and helping us to improve. All of us got up the first time, and were surfing in some of the bigger waves by the end of the day---although I have really got to work out my arms, I could never paddle fast enough to catch the wave by myself. I usually needed a little push. All of that paddling is EXHAUSTING. It was super fun though, and I am glad that we were able to try it. We found out that traditionally, the king and queen of Hawaii were the only ones who were allowed to surf, and coincidentally enough, the king and queen lived right in Lahaina and may have surfed on the exact beach that we learned. Just a fun little tid-bit for you.

During the week we also enjoyed beautiful sunsets, ate loads of shrimp at Bubba Gumps (yes, the place in forest gump), walked through the old stores in Lahaina, read, ate a lot of shaved ice and popsicles, went to church in the small ward on the Island where we were passed the sacrament by Polynesian boys in flip flops and "skirts", and played on the beach.

One night we went to a Luau where we heard wonderful music, enjoyed dancing from all of the Polynesian islands, and were able to sample traditional food from each of the islands. It was a beautiful night and we really enjoyed the show. Most of the meal was sea-food, which is not Isaac's favorite, but he was a good sport and tried everything, and even like a lot of it.

We also spent one day packed into the car driving the long and windy road to Hana: A small town on the opposite side of the Island. The road is paved (sort of), and winds through one of the wettest places in the United States---so naturally it is beautifully green and jungle like.

Along the way we were able to stop and hike to several waterfalls, stop at several road-side stands and eat the best pineapple, coconut and banana bread, and try not to throw up in the back of the car. One of the best stops along the way was a 3 mile hike to some beautiful waterfalls. The hike began by taking us a long way through a bamboo forest. We all couldn't help but whistle Indiana Jones and Tarzan and feel like we wanted to build our own little Swiss family Robinson hut in there. We then had to climb up some steep rocks using old ropes and ladders crafted out of bamboo. We saw some beautiful waterfalls along the way, but we wanted to keep going. We put on our swimsuits, hid our clothes in the bushes, and then swam through the river a ways to make it to our final destination: a beautiful waterfall cascading into a deep pool. Naturally we dove right in and had a nice refreshing swim, and it wasn't long before we were climbing up the rocks into the waterfall and jumping off into the pool of water. Doesn't that just sound like a movie--well it felt like that. It was amazing.
We finally made it back to the car, starving and sweating, but loving our little adventure. We then were able to stop several more times along the road and see a beautiful rocky cliff face with waves crashing against the rocks and a huge blow-hole which shot up water every minute or so. We laughed so hard when we looked out into the waves and saw a few sea turtles riding the waves, enjoying themselves. Oh what a life. We continued on until we reached a this beautiful black sand beach, complete with underwater sea caves, lava tubes, and the best sunset we had seen all week. We walked out really far onto the black lava rocks and sat and watched the waves crash against the rocks and the palm trees silhouette against the colored sky. Jordan found an old washed up beach chair, which he promptly set up as a sort of throne to relax in on top of this giant lava rock. Later, the boys found a coconut tree which they spent a good amount of time, trying to climb, throw rocks at, and shake to and acquire a fresh coconut. In the end they were successful and we broke one open by banging it on a rock, were we all enjoyed a bit of coconut milk and some fresh gooey coconut. Not bad, not bad at all. We found a small grocery store and had some peanut butter sandwiches on the way home as we drove back along the winding roads in the dark. What a trip-- we were all so glad to get out of the car by the time we made it home.

It was such a wonderful week spent with everyone. I loved just being able to hang out with my brothers and tease them again, and loved that Isaac got to know my family a little better. It was hard to come back home after such an amazing trip and we still miss the smell of the flowers, the beach, the sunshine, and the time away from work. However, we love the memories that we created and are so grateful that we had the opportunity to go. Hopefully we can go back again some day and make new memories.

THE NCLEX

2010-08-04T09:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the overload of nursing posts, but I felt that this was very significant event in my life that needed to be shared. The NCLEX-RN, is the name of the feared and dreaded nursing board exams. The equivalent to the Bar for lawyers (ok, maybe not that bad), the NCLEX must be passed in order to receive a license to practice as a registered nurse. Like most students, the thought of taking this test caused my heart rate to accelerate and a large lump to form in the back of my throat. To help me prepare, I took a prep course offered by the school which discussed the format of the test, offered studying help, and focused on the importance of practice questions. Graduation was a wonderful time, but my schooling certainly didn't feel complete as I still had the test hanging over my head.The next few months were spent filling out loads of paperwork, paying hefty fees, and doing thousands of practice questions (3,050 to be exact). It is a very unique test in that you can receive anywhere from 75 to 260 questions, and no one has the exact same test as the questions that you get change based on the answer to your previous question. If you are getting the questions correct, the test will continue to get harder and harder, if you continue to answer questions incorrect the questions get easier--thus the test is trying to assess your comprehension level--when it feels that you are far enough above or below the standard as the confident interval narrows (more or less), the test shuts off. You don't know if you passed or failed until you get your results in the mail, or pay to get them early online. Is your heart rate increasing yet? Mine is just discussing it.

Anyway, so after doing thousands of practice questions and stressing out beyond reason (but seriously, I think Isaac was really worried about me for a few weeks there), the day to take my test finally arrived. My test wasn't until 4, but I vowed not to study that day to keep my mind fresh and clear no matter how much I wanted to pull out those notes and lock myself in the closet to study. Isaac took me mountain biking to get the blood flowing and get my mind off the test in the morning. It was a wonderful idea and I loved our new found biking spot. However when we got home, I still had 3 hours until I needed to leave: three tortuous, long, ulcer forming hours to wait, try and relax, and not freak out about the test. I was so worried about not being able to concentrate out of fear that I wouldn't perform well. Isaac gave me a priesthood blessing, which really helped calm me down and prepare me to go. My family also said some special prayers in my behalf that day, which helped significantly as well. I just had to trust in the Lord that I had done everything I could to prepare, and he would help bring to remembrance the things I had learned, and help me to be able to focus.

When I arrived at the testing center I had to show 2 forms of ID, lock all my items in a locker (which lockers were missing the number 13 by the way...superstitious as we are), have my fingerprints, taken, my photo taken, my palm scanned, my jewelry removed, my pockets emptied and every other precaution to prevent cheating you can imagine. It was insane. We then met with a man who went over more instructions with us, told us that we were all being watched on video camera, scanned our fingerprints again, and let us into testing room. I took a deep breath and answered my first question: something about infection control. I felt good about it and hoped that I had answered correctly, moved on to the next question. During the whole test I tended to spend a lot of time worrying if the question I was on was more difficult than the last question. When I hit question 75 I answered the best I could, held my breath, clicked submit, and prayed that it would turn off---the screen turned blue. I let out a big sigh of relief hoping that my teacher was right and I had passed. My teacher told me that they had never had a BYU student fail in 75 questions, and she didn't think that it was at all possible, no matter how poorly we think we had done. I am glad she had said this, because the test was really difficult and I was almost positive that I had failed, but I just held on to those words in my mind-- "if you only got 75 questions, you passed." I had to be fingerprinted one more time as I left the testing center (in case I wasn't the same person I was coming in), but I left feeling like a huge burden had been lifted off my shoulders. I said a prayer of gratitude in the car and took off for home on top of the world. Isaac took me out to Cafe Rio for dinner and we played frisbee in the park feeling so grateful it was over. Three days later I paid the $7.50 to get my results early saw:
Taniel L. Proctor, RN. Passed. It was official, I had passed. I got my official lisence in the mail about a month later (so worth the 7.50 to get the results after 3 days. You can't put a price on peace of mind).

So now I am officially an RN, although I haven't worked as one yet. I applied for Jobs all over the Utah County and had several interviews, but since I would only be able to work for a few months before we moved, I wasn't able to find anyone who would hire me. I was so sick of filling out applications, and have spent the rest of the summer enjoying the sunshine, and having a summer off. I am now focusing on getting a job in Illinois. I have applied for several jobs in the Champaign, Urbana area at the Carle Foundation Hospital, and Covenant medical center, but I haven't heard anything back yet. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that I can find something that I enjoy that will pay the bills to put Isaac through school, even if I do have to work nights (boo). Say a little prayer for me and I will keep you updated on how my nursing adventures go.

The Healer's Art

2010-07-20T12:17:00.000-07:00

It has taken two and a half years of hard work, tears, laughter, and sleep deprivation for me to finally understand what was meant by the BYU School of Nursing's motto: "Learning the Healer's Art." This new-found understanding, however, has changed everything for me about what it means to carry my newly acquired title of Registered Nurse.
The first aspect of learning the healers art is learning to heal others as the savior did, physically.
There are many examples in the scriptures of Christ healing the sick those who are sick including the Leper and the woman with an issue of blood. We know that he caused the lame to walk and the blind to see. Inherent in nursing is the physical healing of those who are sick--that is typically what comes to mind when you think of nursing: medication, IV's, blood etc. Learning to physically heal the body was the major focus of nursing school and a very important aspect of my education.

However, Learning the Healer's Art extends far beyond healing other physically. Hospitals have a unique way of stripping you down, and not only of your clothes but your dignity. As a nurse, I care for people who are often in the most vulnerable position of their lives. Most of my patients are tired, scared, heartbroken, and unable to do much for themselves. All this, in addition to be sick causes people to act out of their usual character.

Thus, Learning the Healer's art also means not being too quick to judge, learning to see my patients how the Lord sees and love them, and then using the spirit to help me to heal. Christ has the power to heal any wound, spiritual or physical as was said in Matthew 4:23 that he went about "healing ALL manner of sickness and all manner of disease." Allowing the savior to lift our burdens and provide comfort is a very important part of the healing process. However, as a nurse, I am not playing a missionary role, so how do I help patients to feel that healing without preaching to them the gospel of Jesus Christ?

I can be an instrument in his hands, as he often uses other people to answer the prayers of his children and take care of them. For example, there have been times when I have felt a prompting to go into a room and check on a patient, even though the monitors indicate otherwise--only to find minutes later that the patient began to crash, and I was in the right place at the right time. Or, I have also felt that we should keep a certain patient one more day in the hospital, even though the doctor is ready to send them home. Or, in a much smaller way, it is not uncommon to me to feel that I should share a certain thought with the patient, or bring up something that I may have not done otherwise. Following these promptings can often be difficult to do in the rush of the large workload. Nurses are very weighed down with paperwork and it can be easy to get caught up in the mundane tasks, and not focus enough on the patient, but being in tune with the spirit, and trying to serve and love them as the savior would is all part of Learning the Healer's Art.

When you are very emotionally involved in patient situations, it is very spiritually exhausting. I finally have come to understand how nurses can become hard and calloused. It is a means of protecting themselves from the emotional burdens that they deal with every single day. It is very stressful and demanding work, and not surprisingly, is the job with the highest burnout rate. I don't want to ever become that hardened nurse though, I want my patients to know how much I care, which will require a eternal perspective on life and our purpose here.

However, though it is challenging, and emotionally exhausting, I love being a nurse. What other job do you feel like you are getting paid to serve the Lord, and do you have such a large opportunity to impact the lives of others. I have met so many incredible and strong people who have strengthened and enriched my life and helped me to better understand the human experience. And even though I cried my whole way through nursing school in joy, frustration, and lack of sleep, I love my career and am proud to be a nurse.

I am still new though, and have much to learn. Almost everyone has had some experience, good and bad, with nurses. Please, please, share with me your stories. What did you like that your nurse did, what do you wish that they would have done differently, what should I never under any circumstances do as a nurse? Did you hate that the nurse carried in the syringe waving it in front of your face, or maybe you wished that the nurse wouldn't talk to you like you were 12? Please share, these are the type of things that I didn't learn in school and I want to know now, complete with details. Help me to be better, please!

Why I love my Mom and Dad

2010-07-15T14:27:00.001-07:00

***Again: These posts are really out of order AND out of date, but just go with it. ****

I was lucky enough to be able to spend Mother's Day, my Mom's Birthday, AND Father's day at home with my family this year. It has been such a long time since I was able to do that and while I may be past my days of giving my parent's handmade gifts carefully crafted at school, parents always need an expression of gratitude for the work that they do (especially for raising a child like me!). So although belated, I want to make it clear once and for all why I have the best parents in the world.

I love my mom because she has always gone out of her way to make me happy. The fact that she put up with me for 23+ years without killing me is a testament to her patience, perseverance, and love. As a kid, I remember Mom always going out of her way to spend time with me. She says that the house was often messy, but that didn't make any difference as I loved having my mom take me to the library, play house, swing on the swing-set with me, come to all of my games, help me with craft projects, and even jump on the trampoline with me!

My mom has always been one to take time to ponder and think deeply, and I have loved our resulting conversations which enhance my testimony of the gospel and draw me closer to my mom. She is also so quick to recognize and appreciate beauty and is full of gratitude to the savior for his blessings although she has had her fair share of trials in this life.

I love my Mom because she down to earth and is never afraid to tell it as it is. This is not to be confused with harshness, as you could not find a more compassionate, caring person, however she doesn't have to sugar coat her conversations. It is really refreshing to talk with someone so genuine and real. Along with this, I love her sense of adventure, and the way that she likes to push against the grain (like the time she convinced all her seminary students to sit somewhere else in Sacrament meeting one Sunday which caused quite a stir among those who were forced to sit away from their usual pew).

I love the way my mom laugh increases in pitch when she is really laughing hard until tears are streaming down her face and she can't breath.

And of course, I love that my mom is still one of my best friends in the world and we can talk on the phone for hours every day. I honestly think that we must have been good friends in the pre-existance and i know that we will continue to be good friends forever more.

(oh and my scanner kind of stinks and my mom will not like the fact that i posted these photos online, but they are still classic!)

I have always been something of a Daddy's girl and I can't express enough, just how much I love my Dad. I love my Dad because he is such a hard worker and has taught me just how important it is for me to work hard. My dad will get home super late from a business trip and instead of sitting down to relax and watch some TV you will find him out in the yard mowing the lawn or weeding until it is literally to dark to possibly work anymore. This drive he has is evident in his career, his success with triathalon's, and his work serving in the church.

I love my Dad for the way that he treats my Mom, and he treats our family. My dad is so incredibly gentle and sweet towards my mom and while I was always grossed out when they would dance and kiss in front of me growing up, I now appreciate that my Dad wasn't afraid to let us know how much he loved mom. I remember many nights falling asleep on Dad's chest, or falling asleep to his voice as he sang us "teach me to walk in the light" or "I stand all amazed."

I love my Dad because he taught me how to fish, crab, hike, bike and build. I love that Dad let me be his special helper with his woodworking projects out in the garage and would always take the time to teach me how to hammer the nail or cut the wood just right.

I love that my Dad has such a strong testimony of the Gospel and has taken the time to pray, read scriptures, and teach us about our Heavenly Father and Savior. I would love when my dad would take me along with him when he would visit a different ward and I loved being able to listen to him speak and sometimes cry as he bore testimony of the savior to the congregation.

And I love that my Dad has never felt distanced from me. I love being able to call him anytime that I need him and he will be there to talk with me and help, no matter what I am calling about whether it be to tell him that I did good on a test, or am calling to ask advice about boys--he will always be there.

I love my family and feel so blessed to have such incredible parents as I do. Life is so good and I hope to someday be as good of a parent to my children as mine have been to me. Why do you love your parents?

WE HEART ISLAND PARK

2010-07-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

One of the first adventures of the summer was a trip to Island Park with the Proctor Family. We weren't able to stay as long as last year, but we still enjoyed being all together and had a really great time. We joked that it really wouldn't feel like too much of a vacation this year seeing how we almost all live within 3 blocks of each other and we get to spend a lot of time together on a regular basis, but there is something nice about getting away from home and trying different activities that we wouldn't be able to usually do. While at the cabin we walked around Big Springs and took a tour of the Johnny Sack's cabin, went Geocaching and found some cool treasures, roasted marshmallows and hotdogs over the fire, saw the beautiful mesa falls, gained 5 lbs eating all the good food that others made (and William didn't even throw up the Sandwich this year! Although poor Vonda got the flu and unfortunately took on that role), painted and tie-dyed t-shirts, rented rafts and floated the river where we saw an eagle and a moose and where the kids enjoyed racing the boats, went to the playmill theater and watched Beauty and the Beast (so cute---although we missed out on shaking all of the actors hands), played golf and bocci ball, went four-wheeling and laughed when Landon told his mom that he thinks they should buy one, celebrated Matthew's first birthday, launched a rocket, went to the Island Park ward where Laura saw a guy so cute she fainted (ok, not really why), enjoyed the hot tub, and of course we did a little bit of fishing (without much success unfortunately). The weather wasn't the best, but the memories that we were able to make all being together made up for it all. Here are a select few photos from the trip. I took a lot of video on my camera on the trip, which I cannot find anywhere. I feel just sick about it, I must have deleted it somehow when I was sorting through my photos--luckily I still have some photos left, but I will be much more careful next time about saving my files correctly. I also have several more photos from the trip is anyone (who went) wants them :)

Isaac didn't think that the trip was long enough, so we look forward to going back later this summer and trying some of the tricks that Andrew shared with us on how to catch big fish.

Why do we blog?

2010-07-13T14:10:00.001-07:00

This summer has been especially eventful, but unfortunately, not a lot of happening have made it to the blog.

I find it strange that I feel the need to apologize to the the internet, as if I have some moral duty to write on my blog. What exactly am I worried about? I have made no commitments or promises to my so called readers (ha, if only), or the blog police. And why do we blog anyway? What makes us so convinced that the rest of the world is interested in reading about our day to day experiences? Are we so vain, and so wrapped up in our own little lives that we think others will benefit in any way from our poorly taken pictures and our ramblings? And yet, the funny this is that I am interested in what other people have to say. I think that blogs provide a unique insight into what it means to be human, and there is something so intriguing to me about having a small insight into what brings others joy and happiness, and how others live their lives.

So why did I decide to get a blog? I think that record keeping and journaling of some sort is really important. It provides us opportunities to look back over our lives and see how the Lord has guided and blessed us, and also allows us to debrief and think deeply about experiences that we have had. However, while journaling and blogging are similar, they are not the same. I can journal (and do), without sharing my thoughts with the world. So why blog? Well I really do think that maybe some people (mostly my family) is interested in reading about my life, and I blog because I like to keep up on what other people are doing, so why not do the same. Blogging helps me feel connected to people in ways that I may not connect with them otherwise and allows me to share experiences and practice writing. So, although I sometimes feel dumb doing it, and although I am still not making any promises, I think that I will continue to blog, and continue to journal. So prepare for some great upcoming future blogs.

Happy Weekend!

2010-06-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

We are leaving for Maui today (well, first Washington, then on to Maui). The sun, surf, and sand are calling our names. Be back soon.

Memorial Day

2010-06-06T19:13:00.001-07:00

Although school has been out for over a month, it never truly feels like summer until Memorial Day (especially since it snowed enough to make a snowman the other day). It was beautiful weather and Isaac had the day off, so we decided to go hiking to Timpanogos cave. As we were a little late getting out the door, we were worried that there wouldn't be any tickets left, but were pleasantly surprised to find that there were plenty. Scott, Laura, Michelle, and Heber all came along and we had such a great time. It was so fun having Scott there to explain all of the history of the trail and other random facts that he has learned over the course of all the times that he has gone. Our tour guide who took us through the cave was great. She was so excited to meet Heber, espcially since one of the men who discovered the cave was named Heber and she let him help out at different parts of the tour. As we were leaving the cave Heber exclaimed "I can't wait to tell all of my friends about this. Thanks for naming me Heber mom!" The cave really was so cool inside. It smelled damp and musky and had the strangest geologic features that I have ever seen. It was truly incredible.

After that, Isaac and I headed up to the Clark Planetarium and watched "Hubble" in 3D. It was so cool and really opened my eyes to just how incredibly small I am, and how much there is out there that we haven't explored. (Those awesome glasses also opened my eyes to the Dorkiness that is 3d movies).

We ended off the night with a great dinner and fun games in the yard with my nieces and nephews. Welcome summer, I have been waiting for you!

Washington

2010-05-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

It had been almost a year and a half since I had been home to Washington, and I was really beginning to miss it. Isaac and I toyed around with the idea of taking a weekend and driving up, but the drive is really long and payed time-off hours are in short supply; in the end it just wasn't worth it. When my Dad offered to fly me up as a mother's day/birthday gift for my mom, I couldn't refuse. The timing couldn't be more perfect-what with school just being over, no current job, a long wait period to take my test, and mother's day just around the corner. It seemed that all the pieces just fell together---right into my lap. I felt bad leaving Isaac home for a week to work while I went to play with my family, but he insisted that I go, and Laura and Michelle assured me that they would take care of him. So away I went.

In short, the week was incredible. The moment that Seattle came into view from the airplane, I couldn't stop smiling.

The view leaving Salt Lake and Flying into Seattle

I have lived in Washington most of my life, but coming back home, I am once again reminded just how beautiful it is. I love the big evergreens, the moss, the rocky beaches, the billboard free highways, and the ocean.

My week started out with running a 5K with my dad as a fundraiser for Nathan's class. It was fun, and it felt nice to run at sea level for a change, although I still held my dad back from his usual pace.

Look Carefully and you can see me at the starting line

My brothers were still in school, so I didn't get to see them as much as I would have liked, but luckily, it was the end of soccer season, so I was able to watch several of their play-off games. Nathan is a Freshman and Jordan is a senior, but they both made varsity, so they got to play on the same team together. They had a great season, but ended up losing in their first state game. I loved watching their games though and had a really good time cheering them on, taking photos with my mom, and trying to find them on the field by searching for their bright blue and bright red cleats.

With just my mom and I home during the day, we were able to spend a lot of time together just doing whatever we felt like. We cooked, scrapbooked, took the dogs on walks, talked, read, shopped, and of course took a lot of photos. One of my favorite days was a stop in Seattle on the way to a soccer game. We ate clam chowder and fish and chips along the water-front, being sure to give away a good portion of our fries to the hungry seagulls. We walked through Pike Place market sampling good food, and enjoying the music, and browsed through some great antique shops.

My mom's birthday and mother's day are only days apart, and not unexpectedly, we decided to buy her flowers as a gift. My mom wanted to stop at a nursery to buy roses for her rose garden, so we took the opportunity to to find her flowers to plant in her pots. This nursery, however, was the prettiest nursery that I have ever seen. I was almost convinced to give up my nursing profession to work there. I was in love--however the photos don't do it justice.

At nights when the boys were home, I would try to help them with their homework, beat Nathan in ping-pong, and play with the animals. I miss having animals around, something that Isaac can't quite understand. I also helped out in the yard, sat in the hot-tub, and maybe did a little bit of studying myself. One night my dad tried to teach me how to ride the boys dirt bike. It was fun, and I did alright, but I was terrified to shift out of first gear. I also tried my hand at road biking for the first time. My dad and I rode about 10 miles around the Island together. It was incredibly beautiful, and my dad and I talked about how cool it is to be able to ride through farmland, up hills, through the trees, and along the beach all in one area, while seeing relatively few cars. One day I would like to own a road bike. It is really good exercise and I liked the feeling of going fast (at least faster than my mountain bike)

On my mom's Birthday, she decided that she wanted to go on a hike. So we loaded up the dog, some water, and our cameras and headed off towards deception pass state park. The hike was short, but beautiful, and we spent the rest of our day sitting out on the beach practicing taking pictures and enjoying the sunshine. I was so lucky to have good, sunny weather the entire week that I was there--a rare occurrence that we had to take advantage of. There are so many reasons that I love my mom and I really appreciated all the time that I got to spend with her. She is such a great example to me of what a mother should and can be, and is honestly one of my best friends. It was a great week and I while I missed Isaac and was so excited to be home to see him, I can't wait to go back to Washington to see my family again (this time with Isaac) in June.

Moved

2010-05-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy last couple of months and not surprisingly, our blog has been neglected.

In a quick, spur-of-the-moment decision, Isaac and I decided to leave our beloved apartment and move to Highland to save some money. We had planned to move in with Isaac's parents, but last minute took the offer to live with his sister, Michelle, in their basement. We miss our place, but are so grateful to Michelle and Brian for letting us stay with them for a few months. We were flooded with offers to buy our contract as soon as we placed an add, and we were so happy to find that we didn't have any problems with our landlord or the renters (very much unlike my previous renting experiences). I spent the next week packing and labeling boxes, trying to organize the packing as much as I could in order to save time and effort when the process is repeated in August. I discovered that moving is a whole new experience once you are married. No longer can I just shove all of my belongings into the back of my car. I couldn't believe how much stuff we had acquired over one year of marriage! Isaac agreed to rent a moving truck for us and I couldn't help but laugh when he pulled up in the biggest truck that U haul rents. Our things definitely could have fit in a smaller truck, but not having to play Tetris with boxes and furniture was worth the extra fifteen dollars. At the end of a long day boxing, cleaning, and transferring items, we finished off the day with little Cesar's pizza and hit the sack, completely exhausted. I vowed to not unpack anything so that we wouldn't have to repeat this process, but finally caved and set up our things in our new room. Isaac's new commute to work is a little longer, but he passes the time by listening to conference talks or books on tape. I love having some company during the day, and Isaac loves having someone to play Legos with when he gets home (Heber) and having someone else in the house who shares his love of airplanes (Jack). We are excited for many more adventures this summer to come!

Thoughts on Life Plans

2010-05-24T13:08:00.000-07:00

"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us"
---Joseph Campbell

I have always tried to plan out my life.
It never turns out the way that I have planned.
It is always better.

I was going to go to school to be a photographer, however, I had a feeling that I should apply for nursing school, so I did. I was sure that I was never going to be accepted, but I was. I had plans to go on a mission, graduate, then travel the world doing humanitarian nursing work. At age 21 I got married instead. After graduation I planned to stay in Utah for a while, get a job, and start a family. I am unemployed, not expecting a baby, and living in my sister-in-law’s basement while preparing to move to nowhere, Illinois in a few months; not exactly in-line with my original plan.

But life is so good and much better than anything I had envisioned for myself. I am learning that as I diligently pray for guidance, strive to follow the Spirit, and put my trust in the Lord’s plan for me, I can see evidence of the Lord gently leading me to this wonderful, unexpected life that holds so much joy and happiness for me. I am not saying that we shouldn’t try to make plans in life, but I have learned that I must be willing to give up those plans when I feel the Spirit directing me down a different path. The Lord knows best what I need in life, and if I follow His plan I will truly find the happiness that I want in life, even if not in the way that I thought.

I don’t know where this life will take me, but I am prepared to be flexible and adventurous, and truly have the life that is waiting for me

I Can Do Anything Good!

2010-05-19T08:51:00.000-07:00

I seriously want to do this every day for the rest of my life.
Watch it, love it, do it.

BYU ALUMNI

2010-04-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

As of Friday, I am no longer a BYU student, but instead a BYU alumni member. I did it. I am officially a college graduate. Graduation was so fun and I loved celebrating with everyone. As we are in the process of moving, all of our photos are on the external hard-drive packed away somewhere, but I thought that I would just share one which makes me laugh every time I look at it. I will post more later, once things settle down a bit, but for now, to see more photos visit my mom's blog.

Quick Update on the Proctors

2010-04-05T08:57:00.000-07:00

I just finished my last clinical day ever. I spent the last three months (over 220 hours) working in the Intensive Care Unit at Mountain Star Hospital. I was an incredible experience and I feel that I am finally prepared to work under a nursing license. I came to this conclusion once I realized that I will never know it all, but I know enough to understand when things aren't right and when I need to get some help.

Surrounded by piles of books and papers as I work to finish up projects and study for finals, it is hard to believe that I will actually be graduating in a few weeks. After being in school for 18+ years, it is a little disorienting to be moving on from that phase in my life to a life where I am offered a bit more freedom and flexibility. It won't just be sleep, study, school, and eat anymore. I am counting down the days to April 22nd, however, I want to cry just thinking about never sitting through a lecture again. I love school so much. I am such a nerd. I have been helping Jordan organize his schedule to start at BYU in the fall and am so excited for him to have this experience of being in school. I am already starting to feel jealous and he hasn't even started yet.

Isaac and I are making some major life decisions right now. It seems funny how those major decisions all seem to happen at the same time in life. We are grateful that we have the spirit of the Lord to guide us in these choices. More updates to come.

I get to see my family in a few weeks. My parents are coming down for graduation and I am so excited to see them. I will see my brothers the end of June and I guess that I will have to be content to talk to Erica and her family over Skype. I am loving our late-night talks though and laughing at how to care for three children under the age of three. For a fun look into their life click on the link on the side of my page: mom's Germany blog. It is hilarious, especially the one about her trying to climb out of her "mini van."

We are taking a graduation/family trip to Hawaii in June. It will be a much needed vacation together and we can't stop thinking about it, especially on days like today when it is snowing and windy. Nathan apparently thinks that mother nature is just ticked off about global warming, read about his take on the issue here.

Yesterday we finished reading the entire Book of Mormon together per request from our Bishop. It was a difficult challenge and we spent many car trips and lunches together reading out loud. What an incredible book. Reading it has truly brought a sacred spirit into our lives and the truth of it cannot be denied. It has also strengthened our testimony of the Bible as we are studying the Old Testament for Sunday School, and we are so grateful that we have both records readily available for our use.

More updates to come in the future, but we are loving life and loving being a family.

Dog-Stache

2010-03-20T16:20:00.000-07:00

I found this dog-stache on "The Rockstar Diaries" and knew immediately that my familie's dog Bailey needed this. Seriously, this is one of the best and most creative ways to blow your money ever! I only wish that Isaac and I had a dog to give this toy too. But alas...

2010-03-19T16:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Jimmer-
Thank you for leading your team to a win in double over-time.

Please do it again. That would be great.
Sincerely,
Taniel

P.S. I love that when I google your name one of the suggested searches is
"Jimmer Fredette Girlfriend". You must have lots of single BYU women chasing after you, haha.

2010-02-14T20:44:00.000-08:00

Can you believe that it has already been one year. I thought that I couldn't love Isaac any more as we kissed over the altar that day, but today as we celebrate our first year anniversary I realize that I love him so much more than I thought I could. I can't wait to see how much our love has grown after 25 years.

Annika

2010-01-31T11:23:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I have seen my niece Annika. I get to talk to her quite a bit on skype which makes living so far away from them a little better since I miss them so much. Whenever I get on the computer Annika always wants to know where Iyak (Isaac) is, and doesn't seem to care much about me. But she does love to show me her "tricks" and LOVES to talk. She just doesn't stop. I am not sure how Erica and Brad deal with her chatting ALL all the time, but it sure makes her fun. Erica just posted this video over on their blog, and I just couldn't stop watching it. I must have watched it like 5 times, so since I loved it so much, I am posting it on my own blog for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy, I hope you like it as much as I did!

AnnikaSleding from Erica Holland on Vimeo.

Lovely

2010-01-26T15:38:00.001-08:00

Isn't this lovely? I would love to hear the story that goes along with this photo, or maybe you have a story of your own that fits with the picture that you want to share.

*****Post Edit*****
I didn't mean to make it sound like this was my photo because it is NOT! I need to give credit where it is due, which is to Katetopolis. She is the provider of this photo, not me. Sorry. I just really liked it and wanted to share

Borsch....Celebrating Russia

2010-01-24T14:11:00.000-08:00

The Russian people hold a special place in my heart. Last night, Taniel and I made borsch together. It was absolutely delicious! It sounds gross because it includes Dwight Schrute's favorite vegetable: the beet. Beets are red, grow like potatoes, and smell a lot like dirt. Taniel had never seen a one cut up before.

After slicing and dicing a million vegetables it was finally ready to eat. Taniel thought it was the prettiest soup she had ever seen because the beets dye the rest of the vegetables red. We got out the smetana (sour cream), bread and shapkas. With the music of Tchaikovsky in the background we began our feast.

Thank you Russia for introducing us to borsch!

Avatar

2010-01-21T18:18:00.000-08:00

Isaac and I went and saw Avatar a week ago. After watching the preview a few months back I had absolutely no desire to see it, but alas, when Isaac wanted to see it I just couldn't tell him no. We forked out the money to watch it in 3-D which was definitely worth it because visually, the movie was incredible. I was expecting the 3-D experience to be kind of dumb, with those old glasses where there is one blue lens and one red lens that cause you to become an epileptic, but the glasses were actually not bad. You look like a total dork (for any of you who plan to go see it on a date..just a head's up) but at least they don't give you a headache. So visually the movie was really fun to watch on the big screen and have the whole experience, BUT
the story line was pretty bad. It was a mixture of Pocahontas and Fern Gully with some really awkward scenes of kissing blue people. With that said though, I was surprised how much I liked it. It's all about expectations--if you expect it to be awesome, you might be disappointed. On the other-hand, if you are expecting it to be lame like me, you might find that you enjoyed the experience. I was glad though that we went to see it in theaters, because due to the lame story line, I really don't think that it would be worth watching on our little TV without the 3D.

This picture is my Avatar--I know, it's weird. I look just like a blue Zoe Saldana

Guess Who's a Pilot?

2010-01-09T13:31:00.000-08:00

I will give you a clue... It is not the person on the left.

That's right! As of today, Isaac is officially a pilot and he couldn't be more excited. He has been working toward this goal for a couple years now, and today he finally made that dream a reality. I can't wait for him to take me up flying with him.

After His Flight

Preparing the Night Before

Europe on my Mind

2010-01-06T21:19:00.000-08:00

I came across some pictures of Europe during my week-long project of organizing the office. As always happens when I start these kinds projects, I spend more time sitting, reading, and reminiscing than I do actually cleaning (although by the end of the day I did check "clean the office" off my list). I love these photos and I find it so amazing that something as simple as a song, a taste, or in this case a photo can evoke such strong emotions. I was so incredibly happy sitting there on the floor surrounded by papers and books looking at these pictures of Europe. But I miss it. Oh, I miss it so much. There is something about being in Europe that just makes my heart sing. I don't know if it is the history, the ruins, the good food, or the incredible photo potential, but I am feeling like I could use a vacation to visit Erica right about now. *side note: I tried to post a bunch of my favorite Europe pictures, but it wouldn't work and I don't want to try and do it all again, so you only get one for now. Sorry.

Europe I miss your great gelato, quaint towns, roman ruins, art museums, mopeds, ornate fountains, cheese platters, eifle tower, swiss alps, old castles, catholic churches, everyone claiming they have something associated with Christ or St. Paul, street musicians, youth hostles, versaille, minivans the size of my honda, flowerboxes, and rich history.

Two Days on the Slopes

2010-01-05T09:31:00.000-08:00

One of the perks of Isaac's job is that he is able to get free lift tickets to Sundance. We have had so much fun during the summer mountain biking, and now that winter is here we are able to enjoy the mountains in a new way, with SNOW! We were able to get tickets for the 30th of December and we took Martha and Jared with us. It had just dumped snow the night before, making it an ideal day to be on the mountain. It was Martha's first time skiing, and she did great. She was nervous and crashed a few times her first trip down, ( it didn't help that she was using my skis and boots which were not her size), but by her second time she made it the whole way down the hill without falling. Jared had only been a few times before, but you would never know, as he looked like he had been doing it his whole life. He got to wear his new hat that he got for Christmas, and when combined with his bandanna to keep his face warm he may have scared a few kids as he flew down the hill. Isaac received lots of compliments on his Shopka, which kept his head so warm he claims he was sweating. We decided he looked like he had dog ears and loved how easy it was to find him on the hill. I decided to try snowboarding so that I could learn with Martha and had a great time, but don't think that I am ready to switch quite yet. I took several hard falls and woke up the next morning aching all over--Thank goodness I have a helmet.

Isaac and I decided to go one more time before school and work started again, and spent Monday skiing together. The sky was blue, the sun was shining and it was absolutely beautiful. There was no fresh powder, but the snow wasn't bad and it was nice to go when it wasn't crowded. We had a wonderful time and can't wait to go again.

Good-bye One O'clock Church

2009-12-27T19:19:00.000-08:00

Today was our last day of having one o'clock church. Next week, church will begin at nine. I really can't wait, but there is so much that I will miss about our one o'clock slot. Sunday has really become my favorite day of the week.
On Sunday, I like waking up next to Isaac as the sun shines through the window. Isaac usually smiles at me and says "Good morning beautiful, happy Sunday" before we both fall back asleep for another hour.
I like sitting on the couch and watching "Music and the Spoken Word" together. Isaac knows that I will be cold, (which I always am) and will cover me with a blanket.
I like taking turns making a big Sunday breakfast of pancakes, or grits, or egg and ham sandwiches.
I like having enough time after breakfast to read the scriptures or the ensign together and talk about our plans for the week.
And of course, I like having enough time to get ready for church and make it on time. And might I add that we have indeed been on time for church almost every week this entire year. That my friends, is an incredible feat.

However... I really dislike coming home from church and feeling that the day is already over. I look forward to coming home and being able to take a nap, and feeling like I have time to do something else on Sunday besides attend church.

So, good-bye 1:00 and I am excited to meet you 9:00. We are going to be great friends and have many great Sunday's together this upcoming year.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

2009-12-27T17:27:00.000-08:00

It is always remarkable how quickly Christmas day passes. After months of preparation decorating, listening to holiday music, shopping, and anxiously awaiting the last day of classes, Christmas day comes and goes much too quickly.

It is similar to a free fall slide at the waterpark--you wait in line it seems forever, mentally preparing, anxiously anticipating and discussing what it will be like to experience the nearly vertical drop. Then, when your turn finally comes and the 12-year-old lifeguard gives you the go-ahead, all of the waiting culminates into a girlish squeal, a rush of adrenaline, and a horrible wedgie before it is over--just like that.

Even though it passed quickly, Christmas was indeed wonderful---all of Christmas, not just December 25th. And in contrast to the waterpark, my Christmas season was full of peace, not wedgies (although there may have been a girlish squeal in there somewhere on Christmas morning).

This was me and Isaac's first Christmas together as a couple, and similarly, my first Christmas away from family. I was excited to spend Christmas with my husband and my new family, but I still felt a little sad that I wouldn't get to see my family at all during Christmas. I was sad about missing our ski trip to Canada, but mostly I was sad about not getting one of Nathan's hugs and missing out on my dad's cheesy jokes. I was sad about not being able to have late night talks with my mom, laughing fits with Jordan, and the chance to reminisce with Erica. However, thanks to Skype, I was still able to talk to everyone on Christmas, and while I still missed being with my family, I LOVED spending Christmas with the Proctors and being a part of all of their Christmas traditions. I really felt happy and at peace despite being away from home, and just realized how much I love everyone in Isaac's family.

Sadly, I did not take a single picture on Christmas, which is surprising considering how much I love photography. However, there are certain times in life when I really just want to enjoy the moment as it stands and remember it without the added obligation to capture the perfect frame. But I will remember this Christmas, for it was new and exciting.

We spent the 23rd tearing through Jan's closets searching for her passport and birth certificate. She was headed to Canada with my family, but had forgot to bring those important documents, and needed them the next day. We found them, sent them, retrieved them from the mail room, then sent them using a different company. Luckily the package arrived just in time. Whew!
Christmas Eve consisted of the feast of a life-time, exchanging gifts, a visit from Santa (Isaac), who terrified Brooklyn and didn't convince the rest that he was was the REAL St. Nick, songs, a nativity pageant, eggnog, a lot of laughing, and "a Christmas Story"
Christmas morning still holds its same excitement for me it seems. I woke up at 6:00, then couldn't fall back asleep. I convinced Isaac to get up with me (who wasn't feeling too well), and we opened presents by the tree and realized that we have so much to be thankful for. by 8:00 we had gone back to bed for a few hours. We spent the rest of Christmas in Highland playing with new toys, talking, and watching Julie and Julia.
We found ourselves in a hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant called T-bone on boxing day. Delightfully wonderful food and service for the price. The rest of the date was spent at RC Willey picking out carpet for Michelle's new house (hooray!). Jake, Brian, Michelle, and Isaac all received an itouch for Christmas and we laughed as they huddle together everywhere we went discussing and playing on their new toys.
Sunday-- Isaac still isn't feeling well, but we continue to enjoy being together during this season.

Just as Christmas has passed, it will not be long before 2009 has come and gone. I want to enjoy it while it is here and cherish the memories that it provides-- in all their imperfection. So Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you~

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

2009-12-22T11:18:00.000-08:00

I love this poster by Matte Stephens. Christmas is only a few days away, maybe I will take a walk in the snow with my hubby to celebrate.

Celebrating Hanukkah

2009-12-22T09:49:00.000-08:00

Hanukkah is known around the world as a Jewish celebration, but maybe it should be celebrated by Christians as well, for without Hanukkah, there would have been no Christmas. The story of Hanukkah goes something like this:

The ancient Jewish nation was once again threatened when Antiochus IV became king of Syria in 175 BC. Syria had controlled Israel previously, but the Jews had hitherto been treated with tolerance. When Antiochus IV came into power, he demanded that all Jews worship the pagan Greek Gods. He forbid sabbath day worship, circumcision, and reading from the scriptures. The Syrians took over the temple and defiled it by replacing the sacred ceremonies with Pagan rights and the slaughtering of pigs on the temple altar. The Jews who dared oppose the Syrian decrees were executed. If something had not changed, the Jewish religion and identity would have been obliterated within just a few generations.

BUT... in 165 BC, the Jewish people joined forces and revolted against the Syrians. They were led by a Hasmonean named Judah Maccabee (hence the name Macabean Revolt) and by 164 BC the small group of Jews had recaptured Jerusalem and the temple.

Having freed Jerusalem, the Jews began the process of cleansing and rededicating the temple. According to Rabbinic tradition, only enough ritually pure oil was found to light the great seven-armed menorah lamp in the temple for 1 day, but the lamp must burn for 8 days straight in order for the temple to be rededicated. Miraculously, the small amount of oil burned for all eight days, the time it took to prepare more oil to be used. The event was truly a miracle and a sign that God had been with the Jews in establishing their freedom and saving their religion and identity. To this day, the eight day dedication period has been celebrated by Jews throughout the world and has come to be called "hanukkah" the Hebrew term meaning "dedication."

It must be remembered that Jesus Christ, the son of God, was born into a faithful Jewish family and that Jesus himself was a Jew and worshiped according to law of ancient Israel. Members of the LDS church today are members of the house of Israel, this is not just Jewish heritage, this is our heritage as well. Those who celebrate Christmas each December may find it interesting to know that Jesus himself, traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate Hanukkah. The Gospel of John reports that "it was at Jerusalem, the feast of the dedication, and it was winter, and Jesus walked to the temple in Solomon's porch." (John 10: 22-23). Jesus honored the Hanukkah festival in the same way he honored Passover and other biblical feasts: he taught the people of his own divine identity and mission.

So... as Christians and/or Latter-day Saints, we ought to all consider this: If there had been no Maccabean revolt, if Jerusalem and the temple had not been liberated, if Antiochus and the Syrians had prevailed in obliterating the Jewish religion and identity, there would not have been a Jewish town called Nazareth, and no virtuous Jewish maiden named Mary. Nor would there have been a righteous man named Joseph, nor a Davidic village of Bethlehem. There would have been no Jewish nation awaiting a Messiah. The entire setting for the birth and life of Jesus would not have existed.

--Taken from an article by Jeffery Chadwick Professor of Religion at BYU

Which is why I found it justified to celebrate Hanukkah this year. Typical celebration includes lighting one candle on the menorah each day for eight days in remembrance of the rededication of the temple, eating food fried in oil (symbolic of the oil in the temple), playing dreidle (a gambling games in which the letters on the dreidle say: "a miracle happened here), and praying and giving thanks to our Heavenly Father.

Thanks be to God that there was a revolt, there was a Hanukkah, and the Jewish nation survived. This prepared the way for the first Christmas, and Jesus the Messiah was born into the world. So Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to everyone!

Sick Day and a Christmas Tree

2009-12-11T21:30:00.000-08:00

Isaac and I both caught nasty colds last week and to prevent spreading our germs to everyone else, we decided to take a sick day. So we spent Thursday night and Friday sitting on the couch, watching Elf, blowing our noses, and enjoying having a reason to get to spend the day together. We also got to decorate for Christmas! Hooray. Isaac was so sweet to take me to get our tree on Saturday and he had started to write the following post about the experience which he never finished. I wanted to include it anyway

"We love this time of the year. It's so fun to watch Taniel because she gets SO excited about Christmas. We went to a local tree lot and picked out our favorite one. It looks wonderful. Taniel has several ornaments from her childhood. Her family has a tradition where everybody gets an ornament each year. It was really neat to hear about what each one means. It gives our tree a more special meaning. "

More to come on holiday celebrations in future posts. Being sick is awful, especially when you feel like your head is going to explode, but when you get to be sick with your best friend, it makes it bearable, and even enjoyable. Especially when you have a beautiful tree to look at.

NEW MOON

2009-12-11T21:24:00.000-08:00

Only a true Man would take his wife to go see New Moon. Isaac is truly a Man (with a capital M). With that said though, this video pretty much sums up what he thought of the movie.

Thanksgiving

2009-12-11T19:57:00.000-08:00

Yes Thanksgiving was two weeks ago, and yes I am just writing about it now. Better late than never though right?

Thanksgiving was great. On Thursday morning Vonda made us her delicious buttermilk pancakes and then we headed west of Utah lake for a Turkey shoot---minus the turkey's and plus clay pigeons. Jared was quite the sharp shooter and put us all to shame, but we still managed to hit a few target and have an incredible time.

Dinner was so delicious, as was dessert. We had basically every kind of pie imaginable to choose from, so I naturally had to try a little bit of all of them. Let's just say that a nap was in order when all of the feasting was done.

Thanksgiving is such a wonderful time to enjoy being with family and give Thanks for all of our wonderful blessings. Isaac and I sure have so much to be Thankful for: namely each other, our awesome families, a good job, an opportunity to be in school, and of course the gospel of Jesus Christ. We really are so blessed.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."
--John F. Kennedy

I graduated!

2009-12-09T20:28:00.000-08:00

We had Dave Ramey's 'financial peace university' class at my work for the past 13 weeks....and I passed! It was a really good class. Here are some main points that I really liked about it:

1. Using an envelope system. Get cash out of the bank for groceries for the month and put it into an envelope. That way you budget what you are going to spend that month, and the cash in the envelope sees that you follow suit. You can't use the system for all of your purchases, obviously, but with groceries, dates and activities, etc, it helps you control what you spend.

2. Accounting is different than budgeting. Give a name to every dollar you earn in a month. Tell it where it will go. At the end of the month, you don't wonder where it all went, because you told it where to go.

3. Wealth is built up over a long period of time. It's a lot like spiritual growth, in my opinion. It's putting a little bit in a bucket over and over. Interest will help you build wealth. If you're always in debt, you're being abused by interest, not blessed by it. Put money away for tomorrow.

Anyways, the class was good. Dave Ramsey's a good guy. The class even discusses the need to give and pay tithing. I highly recommend this class.

GRE

2009-11-16T21:02:00.000-08:00

Of all the nice things I try to do, Taniel forgot to mention the fact that I shave her back on a weekly basis. In all seriousness, Taniel is much too kind in her description of me, but don't worry, I'll get her back (no pun intended).

My experience with the GRE. The GRE is a tough test. I was in my seat sweating as the clock counted down from 30 minutes on the verbal section. My leg was bouncing up and down. I looked over my shoulder and there was a hornet crawling on me! I screamed like a girl for a good 5 seconds, ok not really, but I flicked it off as fast as I could. It couldn’t fly for some reason so it stayed behind me on the ground crawling around….I couldn’t think about anything else but that dang hornet.

Overall the test went well. My recommendations to future GRE test takers: bring hornet repellent.

Happy Birthday Isaac

2009-11-10T14:08:00.000-08:00

Not that long ago, I remember sitting in a small town in France with my family, and at that time I remember feeling overwhelmed with joy, and feeling that life just could not get better than it was at that time. I was wrong. I wasn't then able to comprehend just how much joy lay in store for me in the future and how one person would make me feel so happy. That person, as you may guess, is my husband Isaac.

Today is Isaac's birthday, and while he far exceeds what I am able to write about him in a measly blog post, I don't think that means that I shouldn't write anything at all. And thus, here are a few reasons why Isaac deserves to be celebrated today.

In the plainest words, Isaac is good. He doesn't have difficulty in making right choices and acts with integrity in those choices. He loves the Lord and honors the priesthood that he holds. That alone is enough for me to want to live with him for eternity, but there is so much more.

As a husband, Isaac is so incredibly gentle and tender towards me. He tells me I am pretty even when I first wake up or get done exercising and am all sweaty. When I make dinner, he will ask for seconds, even when it is yucky. And all those times when I am busy with school, he cooks for me and then does the dishes on top of all that without a word of complaint. He is very careful about never saying anything to me that might be demeaning, and is quick to apologize at the slightest hint of having hurt my feelings. He opens my doors and always offers to brush my hair out.

Isaac knows best how to make me smile. His witty comments have just enough humor that it isn't completely obvious that he is joking, and for a small moment, the listening parties are left somewhat unsure of how to receive it. His smiling eyes usually give it away, and I find that it is these comments which make me laugh the most. Like my own dad, he has no reservations about laughing at his own humor which is all the more endearing to me.

There is beauty everywhere in the world, even in the dessert of Utah, and Isaac is quick to recognize this beauty in all its forms. On seemingly ordinary days, he will point out the mountains to me, or pull me out on the deck to show me how unique and colorful the clouds are that evening. I always find that he is right, they are beautiful, but it takes him pulling me away from my homework or laundry pile of life to see that beauty.

Sometimes at night right before I fall asleep Isaac will kiss my forehead and whisper "I love you" in my ear just to make sure that I know. But I do know, I know every time he takes my hand, or asks how my test went, or sends me a text message that says "I miss you". I know he loves me every time that he closes the lid on the toilet seat or makes me breakfast on Sunday "just because." I don't think that sitting on that bench in France I could have foreseen my happiness today, and that has taught me a valuable lesson. If we let it, life will continue to get better, and we must understand that the Lord always has something greater in store for us in the future. For me, this has meant having Isaac in my life. Of course there will be ups and downs, but somehow, life just keeps getting better. So own it Isaac, being 28 just means a whole lot more happiness and excitement in store for your. I love you and wish you a very happy birthday.

The Jean Problem

2009-10-30T13:52:00.001-07:00

I love jeans, but I hate shopping for them. It is getting around that time when my jeans are wearing thin and that dreaded trip to the mall is drawing close.
Here is my dilemma in shopping for jeans:

1. Skinny Jeans are really in style right now, and I think that they look great on so many people. But let's be honest, I don't think that I could pull the skinny jean look off. I feel like I would end up looking like those large women who work for airport security. You know the ones that you can't tell whether or not their pants are real or spray-painted on... not good.

2. Most jeans that I can find in the teen/young adult areas ride so low, that if I ever bend over or move around at all, I inadvertently moon the world. (And the world already has one of those, so I don't fancy adding another one.)

3. On the flip side of that, I don't exactly want to have to buy "mom jeans." (Though in my mother's defense, her jeans are great.)

**If you find that you don't know what "mom jeans" are see the below video for a great visual definition*****

4. Why don' t I just buy the same ones that I had in the past? Well.. I had American Eagle jeans that I loved, but when I went to the store to find the same brand and type, they had changed them a lot. They ride lower on the hip, are less true denim and more stretchy (don't love that), and they come with holes all over in them. I put enough holes in my jeans as it is, I don't want to buy them with holes already in them. I want my money's worth at least.

5. I also hate how jeans are $80 a pair (odd expression, pair). I once tried to buy jeans at Ross, but that didn't work out for me so well. The crotch hung down really low and made me waddle a little bit.

Where are all of these wonderful jeans that Stacy and Clinton talk about in "What Not To Wear?" I just want a good pair of classy, dark, not super low on the hips, straight leg/boot leg jeans. Is that so hard to ask without flying to New York? Although...a trip does sound fun.

So.... who has suggestions for me? Where do you buy your favorite jeans? I need your help!

Good News and Bad News

2009-10-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

Bad News: I got a flat tire on the freeway today

Good News: I changed it all by myself. A nice boy pulled over to help, but I was basically done by the time he showed up, so he just made small talk while watching me screw down the bolts. I wonder if he felt awkward once he realized that this damsel in distress was not actually in distress. I appreciated the gesture though. I like knowing that there are still good people in this world, plus it was nice to have some company.

H1N1 Vaccination and Call for Your Two Cents

2009-10-27T21:41:00.000-07:00

I recieved an email a few weeks ago notifying me that I needed to recieve the H1N1 vaccination by November in order to continue with my clinical requirements. One more thing to check off my list. I discovered that the Utah County Health department was getting a shipment in today and would be providing vaccinations to those in the priority groups including health care workers. Perfect.After class I rushed to the health department where I stood outside in a very long line,in the snow,for almost a half hour, only to be told by an oversized nurse in mickey mouse Halloween scrubs that they had run out. Good day self, Good day.

What are your thoughts on the swine flu vaccination? Will you be getting one this year? I would love to know your opinion on this somewhat controversial matter, I don't think that there is a wrong answer to this, I am just curious. I may just post my opinion at a later date.

Pumpkins

2009-10-21T16:42:00.000-07:00

Halloween is not my favorite holiday, not at all. I really don't understand what it is that we are even celebrating. Scantily clad women? Bloody chainsaws? Heaping piles of candy? But although I don't like Halloween, "Autumn is the years last, loveliest smile." I love the bright colors, the cool air, apple cider, and even pumpkins. Yes, those funny little squash have provided many wonderful memories for me.
I don't know exactly how the idea came about, or who first suggested it, but when I was little my sister Erica and I ran a pumpkin stand outside our house. Most little kids sell lemonade, we sold pumpkins. Each year in the spring, we would set aside a small section of the garden specific for our pumpkins, then through the summer, we would care for the pumpkins until they were ready to be picked and sold come October. Although we sound so professional and responsible, it must be noted that all the gardening and weeding and work associated with being underage gardener/entrepreneurs came only at the frequent urging and request of a very patient manager...our mom. I do however remember rotating the pumpkins to prevent them growing flat on one side, and carefully arranging them outside on our picnic table and sitting outside for hours waiting for anyone to walk by. We made $60 one year, a monumental achievement for a 7 year old.

(This picture isn't from our garden by the way, but a pumpkin patch)

I have so many other good memories of carving pumpkins with my family year after year. I learned to love that feeling of reaching into the pumpkin to pull out the glupe, then roasting the pumpkin seeds up until the time that I left for college.

Which is why I dragged my in-laws into going to a pumpkin patch and carving pumpkins with me this last weekend. We ended up finding a patch near Michelle's where we could get a pumpkin then head over for dinner. My fond memories tend to just push aside the realistic truth that pumpkin patches aren't much more than scattered round balls sitting in a giant dirt field. Not really that exciting, but I loved it anyway. We had a great dinner and played some football in the back to complete the evening. So fun. So thanks everyone for entertaining my childish ideas and carving pumpkins with me. It was so fun and helped me feel like I was 7 again, if only for a moment.

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Fall is Here

2009-09-27T17:24:00.000-07:00

We absolutely love this time of the year. Yes, it is sad that summer is over, but there are so many good things about this season that mask out the end of summer blues. We love to go to the mountains to enjoy the leaves. Randy (Taniel's dad) came down last weekend and we went mountain biking up Provo canyon. We had a wonderful time. It is breathtaking up there. If you haven't been up there yet, go....right now, just go up there.

School Starts

2009-09-20T18:44:00.000-07:00

Taniel has officially started her last year at BYU in the nursing program. She is really busy with clinicals and homework. She studies harder than I've seen anybody study; she is a much better student than I (or me....see, I told you!). We still manage to find time to ourselves to relax and enjoy being together.

We've been thinking about going to graduate school for an aeronautical engineering degree. This requires studying for my favorite type of standardized test: the GRE. The math part I can do, but the verbal and writing are so far from my forte that you can't even hear them (an example of my poor writing). I take the test three days before my birthday. Now Taniel and I study together!

Zip a dee doo dah

2009-08-28T16:26:00.000-07:00

We just got back from one of the best vacations I have ever been on. My family hasn't been all together on a vacation for a while, so this was a most enjoyable one. We stayed at Taniel's family's cabin near the golf course (thanks, Randy and Deb). My absolute favorite part of the trip was waking up early and having breakfast as a family with all the grandkids in their pajamas. We did plenty of fishing, canoeing, yellowstoning, and even went to a 'Secret Garden' play in West Yellowstone (highly recommended, by the way). Little William (3 yrs old) kept singing "Zip a dee doo dah", which was the cutest thing ever. I love being with family, it gives us a taste of heaven being around them.

2009-08-15T16:53:00.000-07:00

2 Weeks Without Internet

2009-08-13T09:33:00.000-07:00

It is truly incredible how much we have come to rely on technology to keep our lives moving forward. For the last couple of weeks, Isaac and I were able to have a taste of just how dependent we are when we found ourselves without internet. We were previously sharing with our neighbors, but when they got a job in Salt Lake and quickly moved, we were left to provide internet options for ourselves. We didn't think that it would be too difficult to live for a while without internet, after all, we don't exactly spend hours and hours surfing the web. We are aware that we do probably spend more time than is necessary online, and maybe this would be a good way to get away from that habit.

It was a strange couple of weeks, in which I began to feel rather isolated from the rest of the world. I wondered how that could be? After all, I was still living in the world, surrounded by other people, going about my normal day to day activities---still, I felt as if I had no idea what was happening around me.

As isolated as it felt to not have internet, it was also strangely enjoyable. We found that the time that we might have wasted on the computer was spent with each other talking and doing fun activities. I do not mean to say that by having internet we never talk or do anything together, but there was just something unique about the past two weeks together that made me feel a little bit closer and more connected to my husband. Also, when I needed to get a hold of someone, instead of writing an email, I called instead. I would like to say that the whole calling thing was really easy and from now on I am always going to call, but that is not the truth. In fact, I have become so accustomed to writing emails that making a simple phone call was actually very difficult for me. I felt awkward and shy on the phone and during the whole call wished that I had internet and could have just written a small note.

As I look back over my experiences in the past two weeks, this internet free experience made me a little wary that I am moving on a path away from real human relationships towards those that have no lasting value. The fact that making a small phone call was even a little difficult for me, made me realize that I am not doing very well at developing interpersonal skills and learning how to work with other people and build real human relationships. Sure, I am learning them to a certain extent at school and work, but technology seems to be pushing our world further and further away from those real human contacts and relationships to much more trivial ones. And I am quite guilty of over-texting and emailing, and not taking the time to meet new people and build as many relationships as I wish that I would have.

In the May 2009 CES fireside David Bednar gave an incredible talk warning of the dangers of living in a virtual reality and not actually seeing "things as they really are" (Alma 32:35) He says, "Sadly, some young men and women in the church today ignore things as they really are and negelct eternal relationships for digital distractions, diversions and detours that have no lasting value"

"Today I raise an apostolic voice of warning about the potentially stifling, suffocating, suppressing, constraining impact of some kinds of cyberspace interactions and experiences upon our souls."

"Please be careful of becoming so immersed and engrosed in pixels, texting, earbuds, twittering, online social networking, and potentially addictive uses of media and the internet that you fail to recognize the importance of your physical body and miss the richness of person to person communication. Beware of digital displays and data in many forms of computer mediated interaction that can displace the full range of physical capacity and experience...If you and I are not vigilent, we can become "past feeling" as did laman and lemuel long ago (Nephi 17:45)."

(The talk can be found at http://byub.org/talks/transcripts/ces/2009/5/ces200953-3543.pdf if you get a chance to read it, it will be well worth your time.)

I certainly don't want to become past feeling nor do I want to be counted in that category of those who let thier real friendships deteriorate and become replaced with facebook ones.
Although I felt isolated without the internet during the past couple of weeks, maybe the real truth is that by using the internet excessively, that is true isolation. It is a much sadder exsistence in which one becomes isolated in their own virtual world and stuck staring at a computer all day. One in which no one talks to each other across campus anymore because they are all listening to their headphones--alone.

This doesn't mean that I won't ever get on email, check facebook, or listen to my ipod on campus again, but from this experience I do have a renewed determination to spend less idleing time online, to step outside my comfort zone and make new friends, keep relationships alive, and to see things "as they really are"... which will start with me closing my computer right now and spending the rest of the day doing things of greater worth.

Welcoming...

2009-07-29T19:43:00.000-07:00

We would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family, our fish. It is a male, he is blue and beautiful, and he is already making a great addition to the family. The problem is that we can't come up with a good name for him. None of the names we thought of really seemed to stick. So, we have decided to hold a contest to help name our fish and are calling for ideas. Anyone can participate, and then in a weeks time the contest will close, the winner will be chosen, and our fish will be named at an officially ceremony at which all participants are invited to attend. Until then... please send us your ideas!

Never Too Old to Play Dress-Up

2009-07-15T14:55:00.000-07:00

Midnight showings of movies are an adventure of their own kind, an adventure that must be experienced to be understood. The energy level can be felt almost immediately upon entry into the theater, and unlike regular showings, the crowd is very vocal, often cheering, booing, or laughing unusually loud during favorite parts of the show. One of the especially unique things about midnight showings is that it is not at all unusual to arrive in costume...which is exactly what we did. Last night, Isaac and I went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. At the encouraging of Martha and Laura, we decided that we might as well dress up in order to be part of the whole experience. It was a blast. We decided to dress up like Harry and Ginny, complete with wands and even a firebolt broomstick. The movie was incredible and even though we didn't get to bed until around 4 in the morning, we had an amazing time and didn't regret it in the least bit. I was able to get some pictures of Martha, Laura, and Melodie before it got too dark, but don't have any good photos to show of Me and Isaac's amazing costumes... you will just have to imagine.

Martha as Hermoine Granger

Melodie as Bellatrix Lestrange

Sarah as Luna Lovegood

The dark Mark, Hermoine and Tom Riddle

Laura as Rita Skeeter and our only shot of the two of us in the theater

LAKE POWELL

2009-07-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

My family was generous enough to invite us to come to Lake Powell for a couple days with them in June and we gladly accepted. Still extremely sore from RAGNAR, we put the boat in the water on Monday and set out with high spirits to find a campsite. Due to the rainy weather, the water level of the lake had risen 20 feet wiping out some of the best campsites and making it really difficult for us to find anywhere to pitch 5 tents. We soon felt the effects of low blood sugar, being in too much sun, too close together for too long as we continued to drive all bickering and feeling quite grumpy. We finally settled on a pretty lame campsite and enjoyed a quick dip in the water. More bad news came when we found out that our family who was going to meet us at the Marina that night was having serious car troubles and weren't sure if they would make it before dark. We decided to gather together and say a prayer to help the Barfuss family make it safely and to help us find a better place to camp. From that point things started to look up and it seemed like we might be able to have a fun family vacation after all. The Barfuss family finally made it just in time, and we found a better campsite that was more suited to our needs and got everything set up just as the sun was going down. Isaac and I only stayed for three days, but we had such a great time in those three days together with family.

We tubed until our arms were sore and we couldn't pull ourselves back up after taking a spill, told stories around the dinner table and laughed at Josh's endless puns, we went exploring in old brown (the boat) up some slot canyons and all got a good scare when Steve jumped into one of the mukey pools of water, laughed about our adventures to the toilet in the bushes, ate soft-serve ice-cream at the marina every day, got seriously burned despite putting on endless amounts of sunscreen, went water-skiing and wakeboarding on nice glassy water (For Isaac's first time, he did AMAZING), burned up in the tent every-morning once the sun came up, went cliff-jumping and laughed when it gave Isaac a bloody nose, enjoyed looking at absolutely nothing while snorkling, and enjoyed a beautiful sunset together at the end of every day.

There is something about being away from the world, all out together in nature that is able to strengthen family bonds, and provide opportunities to discuss things as a family including the gospel. I loved just being able to sit around and talk and laugh together without the disruption of cell phones, when we all have messy hair and no make-up but can just love each other for who we are.

This has given Isaac a wonderful opportunity to get to know my family even better, and whether that is good or bad he told me on the way home that he finally understood what his Grandpa meant when he told him that "you are not just marrying the girl, but her whole family."