Friday, September 16, 2011

we are STUDENTS.

So it has been forever since I've posted anything...mostly because I have no idea how to make our "blog" look fun so out of frustration I avoid adding anything. If anyone is willing to teach me, I will happily accept.

It seems like the last time we posted anything was around a year ago-ish so here are some updates:

- I got into ASU's Accelerated Nursing Program (Thank you Greg and Melissa for the surprise celebration dinner to Mimi's!). I started May 2011 and graduate August 2012. Yes, in a total of 16 months I will receive my BSN and my RN after I take the NCLEX (and pass!). How do we get to be done so quickly you ask? It is simple. We get no breaks! In fact, when we do get a day off our teachers schedule a test the day after so we spend our "day off" studying. If I'm socially inept when you see me again August 2012, you'll know why.
We started clinicals at the Phoenix VA for adult health. I have really loved being able to do the hands-on, real life nursing stuff. Half way through the semester we'll switch to mental health. Then next semester is peds, OB/ maternity, and community. Then our last semester is in the ICU. ( I can NOT wait!)
Other than school, I'm still in Young Women's and working at a home healthcare company. I kinda feel like I'm suffocating due to the lack of adventure we've been able to experience lately. But hopefully with it sort of cooling down now we'll be able to bike more and get out. Yes, we very much so miss Utah.

- Collin is doing wonderfully! He has started to feel the pressure of narrowing down his choices in what specialty he would like to pursue. We made a pros/ cons list of his top 3. After an opportunity to shadow Dr. Klatt (a peds ortho surgeon at Primary Children's), his top choice as of now is orthopedics. This means he has to study, study, study to do extremely well on his boards. Ortho is a very competitive residency, but it fits his personality. All they do is talk about sports during their surgeries (Needless to say he LOVED it!- Thanks Dr. Klatt!)
Collin is also busy working for Kaplan, coaching an inner city basketball team just because they needed coaches (heart of gold that man), 1st co. in the Elder's Quorum, and the man keeps me from frequent melt downs.
(You're asking if we ever get to see each other. The answer is usually sometime after 5pm.)

- Other news:
   - Collin got in-state tuition! YESS!
   - We had our 1 yr. anniversary in June... It still feels like we're dating. Thank you mom and dad for the gift certificate to Cheesecake Factory! (Otherwise we were finally going to be able to use our gift card to Chili's!)
   - Collin and I got to go to Utah to see Chelsey and Parry Cutler get married. Then a month later, Collin got to go see Scotty and Kaylee Anderson get married.

I think that about sums up the past few months. Overall, we have been very, very blessed and grateful for all the opportunties we've been able to take advantage of.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

FREE Babysitting

Our ward here in Phoenix is awesome! We've built close relationships with other young couples and have really been able to feel more at home. Our callings in the Elders Quorum Presidency and the Young Woman have kept us busy, but we've enjoyed the opportunity to be so involved and the blessings associated with the service. Our testimonies have truly been strengthened. The best part about our ward is there are TONS of cute babies and if anyone knows us, they know we love babies. So naturally, we frequently offer our free babysitting services to anyone with a kid.
We recently were able to watch our close friends' little girl, Matti. She is the CUTEST little girl and really knows how to melt your heart with her big, blue eyes. I've tried really hard to make me her favorite, but she seems to have a thing for Collin... I guess I can't blame her. But here are some pictures of our day together at our apartment:
 Outfit change...



 I liked all of our stuff on the floor anyway...
 Backyardigans... I was singing the theme song the rest of the week
 And this is my favorite. She loves him!