Merry Christmas Everyone!

My experiences in the OR

Part of my nursing curriculum this semester is to visit the OR for a few days. It was so awesome! It made me rethink the kind of nurse I want to become. Surgical nursing really appeals to me at this point :) Here are a few of the procedures I was able to attend...


Total knee replacement



Total hip replacement


Knee scope and debridment




Shoulder scope and tendon repair



Carpal tunnel repair

This is how Josh cleans his guns...

Because the cleaning oil Josh uses on his guns is very strong, it recommends you clean outside where there is fresh air ventilation. However, he is usually too lazy to go upstairs and outside, so he just sits in our window well from the basement. I snapped these pictures because it just looked so funny! hahaha

World Hunger

We watched this video in one of my nursing classes this week. I can't believe the statistics. I hope we can all become more aware of these issues and make a difference :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc2L2DkIK-w&feature=related

My first scrub-in and IV

This week in my nursing lab we learned how to insert IVs. It was actually really terrifying! I was so worried I was hurting Lacey (my lab partner). She claimed it didn't hurt, but from all the digging I did, I think she was just being nice. I hope I can get to the point where I get into the vein on my first try.

here is the tourniquet... finding a vein


Getting ready...


Here I go... Lacey sure looks scared ha ha ha... eh...yeah...

We also practiced scrubbing in and gowning to prepare for the operating room. It was so fun! We had to scrub our hands and arms for nearly 5 minutes and then don the sterile gown and gloves. It was really fun! At some point this semester I am going to get the opportunity to stand in on a real operation. I am so excited!

My little nephew Max!

I never posted this picture of my nephew Maxwell. He is Crif and Jill's little boy. This picture was taken when everybody was visiting this summer :) Isn't he cute?

Soap Carving

I thought I would post this picture just because it is so funny. The other day Josh and I were having a hard time figuring out something to do. We finally decided to carve a soap sculpture of a creepy face. My parents were out of town, so we snuck into their shower and put it on the little soap shelf. They had a big surprise when they got home ha ha ha!

My amazing Nieces and Nephews

Look at these cute videos. The first is of My nephew John. He is a few months over one year. His parents are my sister Diana and her husband Tom

The second is little Jade. She is Dan and Jazmine's girl. She is just a little younger than John.

Josh's New Gun

This week my dad has purchased several guns. Cabela's (the sports store not far away from where we live) was having a deal where if you spend $500 you get $150 free to spend in the store. So what my dad did was buy a gun for about 500 dollars then give the free 150 dollar shopping spree to his sons. My brother Dan bought a shotgun with it, and Josh was also offered the deal. It was hard to find a gun for only $150, and we didn't want to spend a ton of money on one, but eventually we found the coolest gun ever! This M91-30 MOSIN NAGANT is a vintage WWII rifle. Apparently the Russians had stockpiled these bolt-action rifles in bunkers during the war, and were just recently dug up. They were never used, in excellent condition, and worked perfectly. The rifle even has a bayonet! Cabela's now sells them. It is so neat to have a piece of history like this. Josh Took it out to shoot today and said it was very accurate, and VERY powerful. Comparable to a 30-06! And it looks cool too! I don't know why they were selling them for so cheap because they are awesome.

Weekend with the Fam

Last weekend my whole family got together in Provo. It was a blast! All of my nieces and nephews are so cute and getting so big. I put some photos of them below. We played a lot of fun games, went to Farr's Ice Cream, and sat around reminiscing about the good old days ha ha.

BEWARE!!! sick sick sick

A few weeks ago a family friend came in to visit us here in Provo. She had just gotten over a stomach bug that had been going around her in-laws that was pretty nasty, but no one thought anything about it. Usually when you have been well a few days you don't transmit the sickness...right? WRONG!! Next my niece Rilyn got sick, then it was my husband, then my sister Emily, then my sister Nen, then my mom, then my dad, then my nephew John.

We figured after this had been going on for about a week that everyone else was in the clear. But as Nen, Rilyn, John, Ryan, and my mom went to California to visit my brother Dan and his wife Jazmine the virus struck again! The travelers had even been well for days before they left! Then Jazmine's friend got it, then Dan and Jazmine themselves, then my brother Ryan, then Jazmine's family.

Wow it has been a grueling few weeks! I thought I was safe, but now I am sick too! The only people who have escaped this super contagious bug are Nen's husband Tom, and my grandma. Everyone else who has come in contact with one of the sick people has caught it!

This really feels like something out of a horror movie! I cannot believe how virulent it is. The symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, cramping, and malaise. So beware...it could come to you next!

On a brighter note, all my family is coming into town next weekend. I am so excited!

Taste of the Valley

As some of you may know, in Utah we celebrate "Pioneer Day" on July 24th. There are festivities and cultural events throughout the day. This year we chose to attend "taste of the valley". You pay to enter then you can go get small serving sizes of around 15 top provo restaurants. It is a lot of fun because you can taste a lot of different things! It was great. Poor Josh was sick a few days ago and wasn't up to the fun, but I went with my sister and her family. Here are some pictures!

Our anniversary

we had such a great anniversary. Josh took me out to dinner at Goodwood and we both ate till we almost burst. Then we went to a movie. Josh got me the most beautiful earings. A few days later, we had the 1 year cake... well you can see for yourself how that went... surprisingly enough, it wasn't half bad! Just a bit freezer-burned ;)

My new Blog!

Check out my new blog just for COOKING!! Yey now you guys don't have to endure all my food pictures and posts unless you want to. I will still update this blog as I have been doing, but now you will have all my recipes too. By the way, the pics on it are all my own :) http://applesaucewithsugar.blogspot.com/ check it out

Such a good housewife! ha ha ha

CANNING! YEY!
This week I have been canning! I am so proud of myself. So far I have done corn, teriyaki sauce, strawberry jam, rotkohl and strawberries (which I will blend into smoothies later). Before I'm done, I'm hoping to do applesauce, apple pie filling, pears, and peaches. I feel like such a good little wifie. Ha Ha. I have also been doing some fruit drying which is almost as much fun as canning.

Last week's games

this is Dan playing a "minute to win it" game. The object of the game is to get the cookie from your forehead into your mouth using only facial muscles. lol enjoy

Our Great weekend

This weekend was Rilyn's birthday party. Dan and Jazmine also flew up to spend the weekend here.



Rilyn's birthday cake. This is what she ordered me to make: a blue cake with black frosting. A mermaid on top and "critters" all over. Lol

Of course we also had to have the "who is taller" debate between Dan and Ryan. The result was indecisive (hey, I don't want to get in trouble here !)

It was a great party, so great in fact that Rilyn fell asleep in her own party tent. All worn out ha ha

Our trip to L.A.

So we just got back from visiting L.A. It was so much fun. My brother lives there, so we stayed with him and had a blast. First, we helped Dan's wife Jazmine throw a birthday party for their one-year-old daughter Jade. The theme was ice cream. As a present, I made her these cute wooden alphabet blocks. She loves to play with them.






We also were able to go to six flags magic mountain. Josh has been there before, but I never have so it was exciting. We got to go on all of the best rides. It was a lot of fun. The only downside is that I got my purse stolen. I figured that might happen so I just brought a nasty old one I was going to throw away anyway and didn't put anything valuable in it. Whoever stole my purse got granola bars and spare tampons. What a find! lol



We also went to the beach. That was fun until we all got major sunburns ha ha ha. It is so nice to be able to take a few days off and have some fun. :)

renovation week!!

This week is going to be a blast!! We are making some major improvements on our little basement apartment.
First, we took down the nasty wallpaper boarder. We and Grandma loved the result!

Next repainted josh's speakers a sleek black!
We are getting ready to hang some awesome pictures of us on the wall with frames from Ikea. I'm so excited to finish everything. Grandma even gave us the OK to paint the walls a muted cream :) I love summertime!

Josh's Biking video!

We made a sweet biking video of all Josh's tricks. enjoy...

Josh's B-day

This week was my wonderful husband's birthday! He is 23. We had kneaders for breakfast and celebrated with a raspberry/strawberry cake Wednesday evening. He got so many birthday wishes and gifts from everyone, so thanks!

Easter 2010!

This Easter was Great! We celebrated with my sister Em, and my sister Nen (including her husband and two kids too).It was a blast. On Saturday, while the boys were at priesthood meeting of General Conference, we did some girly crafts. These flowers are stiffened fabric, punched into shapes and pulled together through wire.















Here are some pictures of the Egg hunt we did early Sunday morning. It was so fun. We made breakfast (egg gravy over biscuits...mmmm so good!) and watched LDS General Conference too. I love being with my family :)