I've Done It!

I've done it. I've finally landed myself a job, and I'm so happy about it! About a month ago, I applied for the nurse residency program with IHC. Two weeks ago I got called in for an interview, and yesterday I got offered the job. I accepted it of course. It is a nine week program where you work full time (3 twelve hour shifts), and you have to attend a three hour class every thursday. The whole point of the residency is to integrate new nurses into the hospital atmosphere. After the nine weeks, they will place me on a floor--hopefully in an area of my interest--and I will be able to work as a registered nurse. This job is such a blessing to our family, and I'm so excited to finally work as a nurse.

House Pics

So here are some pictures of the house. I will post some pictures of the kitchen once it has been painted. That might be a few weeks...we've been painting a lot this week, and I'm sick of it! But I'm liking these rooms...

Grayson's Room

Living Room

Bathroom

And I just think this picture is adorable.

New Beginnings

About two weeks ago we moved back to Provo. It's interesting being back in my hometown. I'm still trying to adapt. Since I am done with school, we decided to move back so that Garrett could pursue is dream of becoming a firefighter. He started taking classes in May, and he had to drive down to Provo a couple of nights a week to come to class. We figured it would be better if he was closer to school. So we are back. Here are some things that I am really enjoying about being back home:

We live in a house (huge plus).
I am two doors down from a lovely sister who I thoroughly enjoy spending time with.
Being close to my dad, old neighbors and friends.

Most of all, I am enjoying the house. I have been missing Salt Lake though. I've been trying to figure out why I feel so tied to that city. I think it is because I found myself when I moved there. I became my own person. I have also made friends who became like my family. I had so many great experiences there, and even though it is only an hour away now, I still feel sad. I feel sad that my close friends (not including family) are no longer five minutes away. I feel sad that I cannot walk over to ANOTHER sisters house and visit whenever I want. I feel sad that a chapter of my life is now over. I just have to keep reminding myself (as does Garrett) that we are starting something new. We are progressing. I will continue to keep that in mind.

I wish I had pictures of the new place, but I haven't taken any yet. I will soon and post them. But, I do have some DARLING picutres of my little man. Check him out.

We went to the pool on Saturday with Liz, Scott and the boys, and we had a great time. Here are a few more pics of the little event:

One more thing, I thought this was really funny. I wanted to take a picture of Grayson and I together, and every single time I held up the camera, Grayson either gave me a huge grin or giggled. It was so cute I ended up taking eight or ten shots, but here are just a couple. In the second one, you can tell that he was actually giggling. He is so cute.

I PASSED THE NCLEX!!!!

Boards

So...I made the leap this week. I finally decided to schedule my state board examination for nursing (the NCLEX RN). I'm scheduled for June 9th. I've been debating whether I should announce this or not...just in case I don't pass. If I don't pass, I'm expecting encouraging, sympathy remarks :). Anyways, keep your fingers crossed for me. I would really like to get this over with in one go!

Oh, and I almost forgot... I convinced Garrett to buzz his hair on Friday night. I love it!

Little Tidbits

So I just wanted to post some pictures from the past couple weeks. A couple of weeks ago, we went to the park. We walked around, sat on the grass, and watched the ducks at Sugar House Park.

After getting ready to change Grayson into his pajamas the other night, we snapped this:

A few other favorites:

Yesterday was Mother's Day, so we went to Garrett's mothers grave to give her a red rose. The headstone is not in yet (we have had to wait until spring until the ground is soft enough to put it in), so we are just sitting on her patch of grass. I think the one of Grayson is especially sweet.

We went to Eric Walker's wedding, and we did a little bit of dancing.

And this morning, I woke up to this:

We have had a lot of fun the past few weeks!

Long Week

Yes. I am officially done with school. But not really. Last week I finished my finals--the last that I will ever have to take, and it was a huge relief. My graduation depended on one final in particular that was worth a third of my grade. I ended up passing with flying colors (well...an 89%...I'll call that flyin'...) which was a HUGE relief. Although classes and finals are done, I still have to be at school all of this week. We have a NCLEX review class that we have to take Monday - Thursday from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.. Long. Then on Friday, we have to take our exit Hesi exams. They apparently predict how we will do on the NCLEX (I'm not sure I want to see those scores :)). Being away from Grayson so much this week has been really hard. I'm looking forward to the end of this week because after that, I will finally be able to be a mom 100% without worrying about school/tests/projects etc. It will be SO nice. But even still... I will have the NCLEX to study for. I am hoping to take that in the end of June or beginning of July. When that is finished and I have passed...I will truly be done. For now, I am just grateful that this four year journey (school) is all over with! SHOUT HALLELUJAH WITH ME!!!

Senior Dinner

I don't have much time, but I wanted to post some pictures from my senior dinner last week. It was so much fun! Being with everyone that I've gone to school with for the past four years also made me very sad. I'm so anxious to graduate, but I'm also feeling sad remembering all of the good memories and people that I've spent my time with. Thinking about not seeing these people as much as I do now just breaks my heart. We're just goofing off in most of these pictures so don't judge me.

Blessing

Yesterday was Easter, and it was such a wonderful day. It was wonderful because not only were we able to celebrate Christ and His life, but we were also able to bless Grayson. We blessed him at my dad's ward because my sister Liz was blessing her little girl as well. We just figured we would do it at the same time to make it easier for everyone. After the blessing, many friends and family gathered at my dad's house for brunch. It was lovely to be with the people that I love. It was a great day. Here are some pictures:

Grayson with Grandma Vera

Oh and Grayson has discovered that he has a pacifier on hand at all times. This just makes me smile. He discovered this a couple of days ago, and it is all he does. I love it.

DONE!!!

I just thought that everybody should know...I just finished my last nursing process paper. Wahoo! It ended up being 24 pages long, and it has taken me forever to put together--as they always do. This is the 6th nursing process paper I've written, and I'm so glad this is the last one I will ever have to write!

Sweet Thoughts

Yesterday after coming home from church, Garrett and I decided to take a nap. I absolutely love Sunday naps! As we were lying there in bed, I couldn't help but think about how wonderful my life is. I had Garrett curled up next to me on one side, and Grayson sweetly sleeping next to me on the other. I could feel Garrett's warm body next to me, and I could hear my little boy madly sucking his fingers. I couldn't help but think...I've got my whole life right here with me. What could be better than having my two greatest loves sleeping next to me? Later that evening as Garrett and I were getting ready to go to bed, I lay curled up next to Garrett with my head on his chest listening to the lub-dub of his beating heart. It reminded me of two things. The first is how precious life is. It's so precious and fragile, and I should take full advantage of the time that I have to spend with loved ones. The other thought that came to my mind was a memory. It was right before Garrett left on his mission and we were sitting in my dad's kitchen late at night. I was sitting on the counter and Garrett was standing between my legs. We were talking about him leaving, and I was getting emotional. At some point in the conversation, Garrett told me that everything would be alright. He took my hand and placed it on his heart and told me that his heart would always be mine. Luckily, he was right :). One more thought, and I'm sorry because I know this is so scattered. We were reading The Book of Mormon last night in Moroni. We were reading about how "charity suffereth long" and talking about it. We talked about how no matter what comes our way, we are in this life together and we are going to persevere through whatever is dealt to us. I know that we will hit hard times. I know that life won't always be easy, but I'm grateful that I have someone to go through it with. But, despite all of those hard things that are bound to come our way, I just have to say...life is so sweet right now.

MY LIFE

My Top 30 Favorite Songs--In No Particular Order

1. Sting--Fields of Gold (one of the most romantic songs, I believe)
2. Indigo Girls--Power of Two (memories of my lovely sisters)
3. Indigo Girls--Leaving
4. Mana--Rayando El Sol (thanks to Dave @ The Lion House for making this song memorable)
5. Eric Clapton--Lonely Stranger (so relaxing...)
6. Coldplay--Viva La Vida
7. Collective Soul--The World I Know (by the way, pretty much every Collective Soul song rocks--LOVE them!)
8. Collective Soul--Perfect to Stay
9. Collective Soul--Untitled
10. Goo Goo Dolls--Slide
11. Jack Johnson--Better Together (great for bumming around the house)
12. James Taylor--Something In The Way She Moves (love singing along with this!)
13. Kalai--On My Mind (thanks Sara F. for introducing me to Kalai!)
14. Lifehouse--Somewhere In Between
15. Marc Cohn--Don't Talk To Her At Night
16. Marc Cohn--Walking in Memphis
17. Michael Buble--Everything (reminds me of Katie's dating life :), and I've created a few memories of my own as well)
18. Michael Jackson--Beat It (can I just say...DANCE!!!)
19. Silverchair--Straight Lines
20. Nine Days--If I Am (sitting @ Katie's dads house)
21. Norah Jones--Feelin' The Same Way (love it. perfect fall-time music)
22. Rascal Flatts--Like I Am (this one is for Garrett)
23. Tracy Chapman--The Promise (also reminds me of Garrett)
24. Shawn Colvin--Never Saw Blue Like That (so sweet...)
25. Billy Joel--Lullaby (yes Liz & Scott, Billy Joel made the list)
26. The Starting Line--Playing Favorites (fell in love with this song when Garrett was on his mission in Cali--it made me think of him)
27. Keane--Somewhere Only We Know (so great to drive to)
28. AC/DC--You Shook Me All Night Long (what else can be said???)
29. Dave Matthews Band--Old Dirt Hill (I envision Jed dancing to this song on the way to the concert)
30. Frente--Accidently Kelly Street (memories of my childhood)

Shout Hallelujah for the Sun!

So yesterday, Grayson and I took a little walk. It was absolutely GORGEOUS outside! The sun was shining, and it was making me smile. It brightened my day even more when I saw flowers blooming. Ah spring... We stopped by Susan's house and played with Juney for a little while. She makes me laugh. She was running around in her underwear and batting her eyes at Grayson saying, "Ah, he loves me." I love that girl. She has so much spunk for a girl so young. After we left Susan's, we walked a little further before heading home. Grayson obviously enjoyed the ride himself because by the time we got home, he was fast asleep in his stroller. I'm so glad that spring is finally making an appearance. The sunshine and warmth is rejuvenating my spirit. Welcome spring.

I love this little face!

It seems I'm not the only one to love this face! We went to visit grandma and grandpa on Sunday. They just moved here from Idaho and were able to see Grayson for the first time. They absolutely loved him. My grandpa was saying, "I always thought that I had the cutest grandchildren, but now I can see that it is being passed down to the next generation also" amidst my grandma saying, "Well baby, he is just so strong!" We loved spending time with grandparents. Grandpa started telling us stories about the 18-wheelers that he used to drive. He loves talking about his truck driving days, and I love hearing about them. Here is Grayson with them...scroll down :).

Graduation

Lately I have been thinking about graduation (maybe because its only 2 months away!). One part of me is so excited to graduate and move on to bigger things. I'm excited to be able to work and be paid for what I'm doing. The extra money will be nice. But...there is a big part of me that is really scared to graduate. School has kind of been a safe spot for me...something that I could always focus on. It seems a little silly--even to me--to be scared to graduate. But, graduation means that things will change. I'm also scared of losing so many precious/fun memories that I have had at Westminster. I have met so many great people and made dear friends. Here are some of the memories that will be missed:





Although I will miss seeing these people all of the time--like I said, I'm excited to do new things. One thing in particular that I'm excited about is developing my art skills. I have always loved to do art, but I just don't seem to have the time to do it. Here is one of my art pieces that I am particularly proud of:
Kind of a crappy picture of it--but it will do. We will see what future projects will bring!