Halloween in Colorado Springs

This Halloween we flew over to Colorado and spent the weekend with one of my best friends and her family. We had a great time! The kids enjoyed trick or treating and came home with entirely too much candy! It was fun to see Taylor and Blake (4) play together- they loved each other. Course it was even funner to dress them up as Buzz and Woody. The kids got a real kick out of going on airplane- and of course had an argument over who exactly got to sit where. So- on to the photos...

Oh- How He Makes Me Laugh!

I just have to laugh- and share... This is how I found Taylor watching Mickey Mouse this morning! I guess the tubes from swimming last night didn't get put away and he found another use for them.

Weekend Away

Ryan and I decided that we would take the kids and go away this weekend. I have to say that it was great fun. We went up to Park City and stayed in the Westgate Hotel. I picked it because the room was pretty cheep and it looked promising. All I can say is WoW! Our room had a fully equipped kitchen, a living room with pullout sleeper couch, a patio with table and chairs, and a master bedroom with a king sized bed and a jacuzzi tub. It was wonderful! The hotel also had a game room that the kids had a blast in. The only downside was how huge the hotel was- it was very easy to get lost...
Today, after a breakfast cooked in the hotel room, we headed off to the outlet mall. I spent about 100 bucks and fully outfitted the girls for school. Can't beat that, right! We then headed up to the alpine slide. We had taken the kids up here a couple weeks before and it was cold and rainy. They had fun so we agreed we could go again when it was warmer. Today was almost too warm, LOL! All of us have sunburned faces!
I had gone to Costco and bought the 10 pack pass thing so we were able to take the kids on the Alpine slide and then the Alpine coaster 2x. They loved it! Jessica was so brave this time that she flipped herself out of the Alpine slide! No worries- she skinned up an elbow and will have a bruised shoulder but she's ok. The amazing thing was that she got right back in and finished going down the mountain without even shedding a tear.
I do have to say though that the Alpine coaster is by far the better ride. It was so much fun to ride up the mountain in the little sled and then come flying down it. The girls could be heard screaming and laughing the entire way.
We had such a great time that I was too busy to take pictures- oh well! It's all about the memories, right?!? It was great to escape for a bit and just play with our kids.

Baseball and Fireworks

Ryan and I decided that we would spend the 24th of July at the ball game. The Orem Owlz play at UVU and they were having a game and firework night. The kids thought this was a great idea. They loved that we were able to sit so close to the field. Both Jessica and Kelsi caught baseballs- how do we rate?!? After the game, there was a great display of fireworks! Over all, it was a great night and we plan on doing it again soon. However, I think this time I will spend a little extra money and pay for seats- sliding down the general admission hill all night wasn't exactly comfortable! I took some cute pics. The first is of the kids watching the players warm up. Taylor kept telling us that they were "those guys", LOL. The second is of Taylor wearing Daddy's glove so that he could "catch it".

New Job!

Well, life is slowly getting back to pre-nursing school craziness. The kids are adjusting to having a mom again and have even started suggesting things for us to do this summer! I am also happy to report that I am now employed full-time as an RN. I took a job at the State Developmental Center working with mentally handicapped adults. This isn't my first choice of jobs but I took it for a couple of reasons-
1- the benefits are incredible! 24 paid days off a year and complete health, dental, and vision benefits for less than $100 a month
2- the patients here are really what inspired me to go into nursing in the first place. I worked here for 3 years before school and loved the interaction so much that I decided this was my lifelong calling- I feel I owe these patients something for their inspiration
3- there is something to be said for patients that- love me unconditionally, get excited when they see me, and in general are completely innocent of the world around them.
4- the schedule allows Ryan or I to be with the kids for all of about 4 hours each day. After two years of school, they really need and are enjoying having a parent around most of the time. And, I have Fri and Sat off which means lots of mini-vacations this summer!

I really do not see myself here for a very long time, maybe only a few months, but I am enjoying the slower paced environment, while earning RN wages. I look forward to when I can get back into the hospital but, for now, this really is the best place for me to be.

Climbing Mountains

On Thursday I made the very long, stressful drive to a little company called Pearson Vue. I walked into the office and waited in line, listened to their little spill about confidentiality at least 4 times, had my right index fingerprint taken 4 times, was given a white board and pen, had to turn my pockets inside out to prove they were empty, was again fingerprinted and told about confidentiality and finally told I could begin.

Sitting in front of that computer again was a little daunting. We had worked for two years so that I could take this one test. No pressure, right! For those that are not familiar with the Nclex test, it is a computerized adaptive test. It is smart enough to judge how "safe" of a nurse you will be. The test can have anywhere from 75-265 questions- all dependent upon how you answered your previous questions. Once it has determined that you will or won't be a good nurse, the computer simply turns off. When I took my LPN boards- the computer turning off made me want to cry- "I wasn't finished, please let me keep answering these awful questions!" This time when I hit question 75 all I could think was, "please turn off, please turn off, please turn off" Magically, it did!

However, then comes the 48 hours of absolute agony! I am not a patient person and waiting for test results like this is horrible. Especially since the people at Pearson Vue know how you did the minute the computer flips off- probably even before that! Ryan was, of course, confident of my success and told me numerous times that I had nothing to worry about.

Yesterday morning, the 48 hours were over and I even left work to go to my parents house and check my results. After listening to the spill about this not "being official until the license comes in the mail" and I "am not allowed to practice as a Registered Nurse until that time" the funny voice on the phone said, "Congratulations, you passed!" Whew- 2 years and the 48 hour wait is really over. I am a Registered Nurse! Our life can go on- we have climbed this huge difficult mountain and the view from the top is incredible!

Graduation Day

After 2 long years of blood, sweat and tears... graduation finally arrived. It was a nice ceremony at the Provo Tabernacle. But, it was even better to feel that sense of accomplishment and know that we were officially finished.

As I look back, it is amazing to realize that our life has really been in a holding pattern for the last two years. Taylor was 4 months old when I started school- he is now 2 1/2. Jessica was still in preschool- she is now going into the 2nd grade. And Kelsi, due to being the oldest, has been the one that really missed having a full time mom around. Thankfully, we have been able to pull together as a family and get through all that nursing school has entailed.

I really have to give credit where it is due though... Ryan has been my rock through all of this. He has laughed with me, cried with me, listened to me vent, helped me to study, cleaned the house and taken care of the kids alone for numerous hours- I think that he has seen what it would be like to be single. Thankfully, after all that, he is still here and together we are stronger then we were before we began.

It has been a long two years that went by quickly. And as I approached that stand to gain my diploma it really hit me that we are closing this chapter in our lives only to open a new one. Like all chapters of our lives, the pages are blank and waiting for us to fill them. I am so thankful that I get to write them with my wonderful husband and children and that together we know we can accomplish anything... we made it through nursing school after all.

Outside the tabernacle

My incredible husband

My nursing school buddies- Never would have guessed that I would make lifelong friends during school- but these two have been a real blessing

Getting my diploma
(OK, so it's just a quote and the real thing comes in the mail but hey I'm done!)