The Best Husband Ever!

I have the best and most handsome husband in the world!

I wasn't having a great day the other day and was a bit cranky but Nick surprised me with this beautiful flower:

Nick is hilarious and makes me laugh a lot.  A couple nights ago he was on a roll and although I was trying to fall asleep he had me laughing non stop for 5 minutes.  :)

Sometimes Nick doodles some pretty funny pictures for me.  Here are just a few:

Nick drew this a few days after our anniversary and it hangs on our fridge.  He drew us as bears on a picnic.  I have no idea where he gets his inspiration from but this was during church.  In the top right corner he wrote in parentheses (husband) just in case I forgot.  haha.  Oh, and SWAK means Sealed With A Kiss.

A lot of people in my ward have been popping out babies making me a bit baby hungry so Nick drew this picture of me having a baby at the train station and he is catching the baby.  Kind of weird.  haha.  I hope it definitely does not happen this way.
  

Nick is currently applying for medical school and is working on his secondary applications (pricey!).  He has studied and worked so hard and it has paid off (hopefully literally as well).  I am so proud of him and am excited for him to go on to medical school!

Jewelry Display

I have a ton of necklaces but it is hard to know what I have if I can't see them all so I made this:

I got some wood, painted it, attached hooks to the back, hammered in some nails and then hung it on my wall. Voila! Now I can see all of necklaces!

Earring holder

I kept my earrings in this container but they would fall down and it was annoying to try to fish them out. It was also hard to see all of them so I made this:

I just bought an 8x10 frame at the dollar store and took out the glass and back. I then hot glued some fabric on and made a few fabric roses to glue on. I bought the 8.5x11 white plastic grid (I forgot what it is called but it is by all the yarn at probably any craft store) at Hobby Lobby and hot glued it to the back of the frame. I also bought a frame stand to rest the earring holder on. It cost me a total of $7 and holds all my earring very nicely. It looks as though I can't buy or make anymore earrings because I don't have anymore room....but I could probably squeeze a few more on. ;)

Mother's Day

This is my mom. I like this picture because it shows her laughing and I love her laugh! She is the most amazing mother. She is kind, loving, charitable, hardworking, talented, smart, and much more.  I am so grateful she was able to be home with us to strengthen our family by having family dinner every night, holding Family Home Evening each week, and having us all work together as a family. She taught me the importance of hard work and the satisfaction and fun that you can get from it. She taught me the principles of the gospel by word and example which has been the greatest blessing in my life. She taught me how to serve and sacrifice by her example. My mom has always been a great support to me. I don't think she ever missed one of my games or concerts growing up. If you don't already know, my mom is an amazing cook and I am so grateful I was able to learn by watching and helping alongside her. I love my mom and am so grateful for her example, sacrifice, and hard-work for me.

This is my mother-in-law, Cathy. She is always smiling! She is kind, loving, and eager to make others happy. I am so grateful for the love and support she has given to Nick and I. She is a great example to me of faith and sacrifice. She is so much fun to be around and I love playing games with her, especially Settler's of Catan. :) I am so grateful for such an awesome mother-in-law!

Apples and Bananas

Since January Nick has been volunteering at the hospital doing Spanish interpretation but this time I joined him doing something a little different. We had the opportunity on Tuesday to volunteer for Intermountain Health Care at an elementary school promoting the "Fight Child Obesity" campaign. We went around to all the classrooms where we talked to the kids for a few minutes about being healthy and exercising and then we passed out jump ropes to encourage them to be active. It was really fun and our uniforms were awesome. Here is a picture of me in mine:

Nick was an apple but we forgot to get a picture of him. Others were dressed as grapes, a carrot, and peas. The kids really loved it. One kid said, "Man there's fruit people everywhere here today!" As a future dietitian I am totally going to get some of those costumes for my kids for Halloween! We had a blast serving together!

New Curtains!

I finally have time to sew!!!!! :) So I bought some curtains back in September for our family room but they went all the way to the floor and I wasn't feeling the color. Tons of light shines through our old curtains in the morning so Nick and I decided we should get ones that block out the sun . I never got around to returning the curtains and Target won't take them back since it is past 90 days. The two panels were both floor length and were pretty narrow so I had to cut each panel in half and then sew it side by side to make two very wide panels. I then gathered it at the top to make it more ruffly. It was a success!

Old

New

Remembering My Childhood

When my mom came to visit she brought a bunch of stuff from my childhood. I finally went through the boxes the other day and it brought back so many memories. There were my band t-shirts and band CD's (which I listened to... I haven't played the flute for 2 years and probably won't ever get to play the piccolo again), my lacrosse uniforms (the nice weather is also making me really miss playing), piano trophies, projects from elementary and middle school, and a bunch of other random stuff. This picture shows a few of my middle school projects.

I don't know when I made the brain thing but all the wood things are from a shop class I took in 8th grade. That is when I was obsessed with ice cream (I seriously would buy anything that had ice cream on it) so that is why the car I made is an ice cream cone.

I had a lot of fun growing up! I'm glad I have these things and pictures to remember it all.

Just Dance

This last weekend my mom and Tom came to town. We got together for one night at Meri's and played Just Dance on the Wii. It is super fun and pretty much a workout if you do it long enough.

Not only is this game fun to play but it is really fun to watch people play.

Sweet moves!

Alex is so cute! What a great family bonding game! And it is physically active! :)

Cute video of Nathan.

Family and Hands

Lately:

Nick has been busy studying for the MCAT. He is very dedicated and it has really paid off. He has now taken two practice exams (they are old MCATs) and scored as high as a 36 so hopefully with more studying and practice up to May 21 when he takes the test he will score even higher! I have just been studying and working. I'm continuing my two part time jobs this summer (diet tech and nutrition TA) but I'm hoping to get another one so I can work a total of 40 hours a week.

In the past week we have seen a lot of family. Last weekend Nick's sister Heidi came in town so we hung out with her and Nick's other sister Allison and played games. We love games! On Monday my brother Brett came in town with his girlfriend Heather so we had dinner with them and Meri's family. We also played Just Dance on the Wii. Nick is becoming a really good dancer! Then on Thursday Nick's mom came in town so we got to see her for a bit. During Christmas time when we went to Washington we bought this picture of Christ but couldn't fit it in our suitcase but Nick's mom was able to find room for it. I love it!

(the computer on the couch is hooked up to the tv. We are watching BYU vs. Gonzaga but have to stream it over the internet. Go BYU!)

So, ever since October I have had some really dry spots on my hands. I started my job at the hospital in October so I think it is caused by the soap. I went to the doctor in November and got some cream but that did nothing. I have also put Bag Balm and gloves on my hands while I sleep every night and that too hasn't helped. I just went this last week to a dermatologist and he wasn't quite sure what caused it. It could be from the soap at the hospital or my shampoo (but I've been using my shampoo for quite a while now). Hopefully changing these and using a new ointment will help.

Recent Activities

I started making this shirt in the summer but then got distracted, started school, and didn't have a sewing machine. Since I got a sewing machine for Christmas I was able to finish it. (It is hard to see the ruffles since it is black, but trust me it is cute!)

I have come to realize that my camera stinks! I would not take a decent picture to show the ruffles but this is the best I've got:

Other things we've been up to:

Yes. It is hard to say that this is actually my counter top. We've been busy with homework, work, and practicing the piano for church. Hey, but at least I'm cooking and eating delicious and nutrition food! :) (FYI- I cleaned it all up but it took some time)

This week I had a craving for a food from my childhood... Pigs in a Blanket (more like piglets since we used little smokies). And guess what?!?! While eating them Nick wrapped a blanket around me so I ate Pigs in a Blanket, in a blanket! They were delicious!

This picture is from Freshmen Year when I ran my first race ever with my friend Sarah. This was the Rex Lee 10k run. I did really well averaging 7:20min/mile. At the end of my freshmen year I ran a half marathon. I crossed the line at 1:47:39, place 131/567 overall, 5/43 in my division, and 31/314 women. I began this year by running 4 times a week and I plan to continue that and increase my miles so that I can run another half marathon and hopefully improve my time! Today I realized how much I have missed running. I love just thinking as I run or not thinking at all and just admiring the beauty of the earth. I love the feeling after of being exhausted but energized. Hopefully someday I can get Nick to like running too so that we can be running buddies. As of now I just run on my own which I kind of like because I can run at my own pace. I don't run extremely fast, but I plan my miles and I try to get them done as fast as I can.

The New Year

With the new year we have experienced a few new changes. Nick has begun to interpret in Spanish at the hospital. He loves being able to speak in Spanish again and work in a hospital setting. I was recently called as the relief society pianist. Unfortunately I quit piano lessons in 8th grade to just pursue flute which means I haven't really played for six years and in the years I did play I didn't learn the hymns. How I wish I would have now. Luckily last summer Nick and I brought a piano so I can practice the hymns before having to play in church. I now have about 12 songs under my belt which leaves a little over 300 to learn.

For Christmas I got a sewing machine from Nick's parents. For my first project I made some pillows for our couch. Here are some pictures:

Christmas in Washington

This year we spent Christmas in Washington with Nick's side of the family. We had a great time relaxing, eating food, talking, playing games, watching movies, and sledding. Here are some pictures of our awesome trip:

This is Nick's mom's delicious caramel popcorn. Warning: Addicting. She also made a bunch of other delicious treats that are irresistible!

For Christmas Eve me, Nick, and the grandkids all played some Christmas songs.

The grandkids acted out the Nativity scene. Mae was Mary, Porter was Joseph, James was a shepherd, and Brooks was one of the wise men.

Isn't Brooks cute?!?!

Nick and James

Nick's dad carving the Turkey. (more like pulling it off the bone cuz it was so tender)

The kids table

Christmas Dinner

Our First Christmas

Nick's mom made this cute blanket for us.

Nick and I in our new Christmas PJ's

Coming out Christmas morning

Christmas Morning

We drove up to the mountains to enjoy a day playing in the snow.

Here we are with the kids building a snow fort.

Nick's dad made us all hot chocolate with his camping stove. It was delicious!

Nick's mom and dad

They conquered the sledding hill!

Silly faces!

Sledding