A Labor Nurse's Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Since people don't stop having babies just cuz it's a holiday, I got to stick around Utah this Christmas. So I decided to make the most of my forced white Christmas :) I met up with my friend Lisa and her family for dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Yummo!

Even though it was rather cold and misty that night, I decided while I was in SLC to go check out the lights on Temple Square. Totally worth it! They were beautiful, and the mist made it that much more dreamy :)
I then had to work the 3 nights proceeding Christmas, including Christmas Eve. Fortunately we weren't too busy and had plenty of time to goof off during the midnight hours :) And in case you're wondering, that's a pair of XXX-large pants we managed to shove ourselves into. Good times!

After talking with the family and getting some sleep Christmas day, I made dinner and ate with a friend from work, openned some awesome presents, and then started in on the puzzles I got. Even though I was away from home, it turned out to be a pretty good Christmas!

New Hampshire with Naomi!

Can I just say that I love traveling? Cuz I really, really do :) At the end of September I had the oppotunity to fly back to Chicago and then drive with Naomi, Brooklyn, and Lily out to Nashua, NH where Naomi's sister Becca lives. It was such a gorgeous drive and the girls were great!!We had plenty of rest stops to keep us from going crazy. Some were just road side gas stations, but we also managed to stay a night in Palmyra on the way there and Kirtland on the way back. We showed the girls some of the church history sites and even took a walk through the sacred grove.

The sacred grove is beautiful in fall, with leaves falling everywhere. Amazing!

Once we got to Nashua, Becca made sure we had the time of our lives and took us to one of my new favorite places- an apple picking orchard. The apples there were a-m-a-zing! It's so different having an apple fresh from the tree. I can't complain about the apple cider donuts we ate either :P

Brooklyn especially loved picking apples, though sometimes managed to pull off a little more than she bargained for :P

Naomi and I had another reason for going to NH- we ran in the Applefest Half Marathon! Those pictures to come in another post! But while we were only an hour from Boston, the history buff in me was dying to go see the sites! So Becca graciously agreed to watch the girls, while Naomi and I spent a few hours touring Boston. You're the best Becca!!!

Since we didn't have a lot of time, we decided to walk the freedom trail and see what we could of the city that way. It was so cool to be in places that I'd heard about forever, like Boston Commons, Old North Church, and Bunker Hill. We also took a less historic, but definitely tasty moment to eat lunch in Little Italy. I had the most amazing butternut squash ravioli. Now I need to find a recipe :)

Bunker Hill was probably the most impactful stop on the trail for me. I've always known the story, but until I was standing there by the statue of Colonel Prescott and pretending to fire on redcoats 20 yards away, I didn't realize just how much courgae my colonial ancestors had. 20 yards is close!! But I'm so glad that they chose to fight for freedom and that I live in America today. Amazing city, amazing trip, and as always with my best friend Naomi it was amazing company. Thanks Omi and Becca for the good times. Can't wait to go back again!!

Hiking Season!!

Stewart Falls!!!!

I love it when hiking season begins in UT. The snow is (mostly) gone, the sun is out, and the trails are just begging to be used!! I've forgotten my camera on some of the hikes I've done so far, but here are a few pictures from Stewart Falls- always a good one!
I really love anything to do with water and so waterfalls are great! I get the mountain and the sound of rushing water all in one beautiful setting! The hikes will continue and I'll put up more pictures as I complete them :)

Last Days in Chicago

The last couple of days in Chicago were awesome and I didn't want to leave! It was so fun just spending some more time with some of my favorite people! P.S. I will take full credit for Lily's cuteness in the above picture- she was smiling at me :)

Lily found a new favorite "chair" in my arms. Minus the barfing, she sure is fun to hold!

Brooklyn was her amusing self as always. Who knew strawberries made such good blush?

On Monday night, Kevin was a stud and watched the girls so Naomi and I could go to dinner and a movie- literally, we ate dinner while watching the movie! Love that theater- genius! It was fun to spend some time just me and Omi.

Tuesday night we got a sitter and took a trip to the Chicago Temple. The workers were so nice, and since we were some of the only patrons there we got showered with attention! It's a beautiful temple. Thanks for taking me along! I didn't want to leave on Wednesday, and my only consolation is that in September Naomi and I are running a race in NH and taking a road trip with the girls. I miss you guys already! Thanks for letting me stay and play with you :)

Fun to Dye For

A typical morning at Naomi's- getting to spend some quality time with Brooklyn and Lily. I would like to think that Lily is absorbing my laid back attitude.
Kevin went to Michigan over the weekend and left us carless, so we decided that it would be a good idea to dye my hair. Yup. And we did it too :) Hard to see in the pictures because my hair glows redder in any light, but I went from a darker blonde to an ash brown. Not a big change, but baby steps :) Now Brooklyn definitely looks like she belongs to me :P
After the dye party, we decided to get out of the house and walk to a nearby park. We had tons of fun on the swings and slides- and just watching Brooklyn is a hoot! She managed to attract the attentions of a 4.5 year old boy also playing there. If I had her charisma, I'd be going out every night! Always a party with these girls :)

Fun Times in Chicago!

Vacation!! I'm lucky enough to be out in Lisle (suburb of Chicago) with Naomi, Kevin, Brooklyn, and Lily for 2 whole weeks and it's been awesome! Lots of just hanging out with Naomi and the girls at home, but we've gotten out and done some cool stuff too. One such visit was to the DuPage Children's Museum in Naperville. I wish I had one when I was little!
Brooklyn was a kick running from activity to activity, and I found it entertaining just to watch her go.
We even helped Lily's glowing personality to emerge under the black lights.
We, of course have gotten some cool pics of the girls. Lily on a blanket and towel to catch her constant baby barfs. She's a cutie, though, for sure!
Brooklyn decided I was her new favorite jungle gym- I guess I'll take what I can get :)
Naomi also signed herself, me, and Kevin to run the Trail of Terror 4 mile run on May 15th. So I wrapped up the bum ankle and off we trotted! It was a beautiful trail run up and down lots of hills and through an awesome forest preserve. Both my ankle and Naomi made it through!!!
Standing by the river before the start of the race.
Goofing off along the first half mile of road before we hit the actual trail.
Post run pic! The successful trio of running awesomeness- people are lucky to be graced with our presence. But just remember, there is no charge for awesomeness. Or attractiveness.

Tasty Eats

Lately I've felt like trying some new recipes just to change up the normal eats I eat as a single, crazy busy girl :) So here are some of my latest successes! (recipes available upon request!)
Stuffed red bell peppers- quite easy, very delicious, and suprisingly low cal!

Mmmm. Grilling. I love when summer comes around and I can play with fire! Roasted veggies sprinkled with ranch dressing mix or seasoned salt. Tasty :)

My exoeriment today was fresh, homemade salsa. I'd never made it by myself before and didn't really feel like following a recipe so I made it up. Turned out quite well I think!! It's fun to try new things- let me know if any of you have fun recipes for me to try!

Little Wild Horse Canyon and Goblin Valley- Roadtrip!!

Last week I decided that since most on my roommates were moving, I too needed to get out of Provo. I figured that Goblin Valley was only a few hours away and I always wanted to go there, so it was the perfect one day get away :) Unfortunately, I sprained my ankle on Friday so I couldn't run around as much as I wanted- in fact I gimp-hobbled my way through everything. But I've never been one to do the prudent thing and stay home, so away I went!

I first stopped at Earlene's house in Emery and she showed me around the town and their farm on their dune buggy. It was awesome! I've never really been in a little town like that :) I then finished my drive and decided to "hike" through Little Wild Horse Canyon before continuing on to Goblins.

Little Wild Horse is a slot canyon, so it gets very narrow and has the coolest formations. I actually did slip through all these little spaces :)

Me squeezing through the canyon.

I just love this slot canyon- little waves of color and rock everywhere. Of course, I kept looking at everything with a rock climber's eye: maybe if I grabbed here, I could reach to there... I really wanted to climb the walls!

I played with the timer function on my camera and got a few shots of myself.

Probably I had a little too much fun with it :)

After a while the canyon narrowed too much for me to continue hobbling over rocks, so I drove a couple miles down the road to Goblin Valley!

Goblins are cool formations left behind from the time when this was a tidal flat of a large, inland sea. I like them cuz they have so much character :)

Me and the Goblins. There weren't very many people there at that time, so I actually wandered around surrounded by silence for the most part. It was very peaceful :)

I liked this guy especially. He's actually really huge when you're standing next to him. It was a great adventure and wonderful to leave Utah valley for a day. Next time I go I'll make sure I'm not a gimp so I can hike everywhere and climb a few walls!

Shelly's final pre-miss days

As many of you know, last Wednesday my little sissy Michelle entered the MTC on her way to the Porto, Portugal mission. It was a crazy whirlwind getting her there with everything done- she had to finish up finals for the semester, move out and clean out her apartment, and visit home one last time- but we managed and she is now learning Portugese 24/7.
They've changed how missionaries are dropped off. Instead of escorting them inside, you literally drop them at the curb and wave goodbye! So on Tuesday night, we decided to drive up to the MTC and take a few of the customary missionary farewell pics, sans the sunday best.

We deided the theme here was "All The Single Ladies", even though Jenny's not single :P I'm sure that Shelly will be a wonderful, spiritual, and awesome missionary and I wish her the best! It will be hard not having my buddy with me for the next little while, but I guess I'll just have to branch out and make new friends. Preferrably some who will travel with me all over the world. Any takers?

Luau- He Huaka'i Aloha

This year's Luau, He Huaka'i Aloha, talked about the journey of the missionaries to the Polynesian islands. I was in the Hawai'i section and danced the Pa Lua- couples dance :) It was so much fun! So here are some pictures from the show! Above is Shelby and me.

Eva, Eileen, and me. Eileen danced in Hawaii too, but the slow dance of Auana (I might not have spelled that right).
Roomies!!! Lynnell, Eva, and me.
Rachel Ann, Rachel, and me :) The other girls also danced in New Zealand and did amazing!
Kumu Keoki- he did great as Eva's dance partner :)
Rachel and me again.
Me and my dance partner, Erwin :)
Eva and I and some random guy. But seriously, he said that we should take a picture of the 3 of us and hopped right in :)
Me and Eva :) Luau is so great and even though I won't miss getting up early on Saturday mornings, I'm already looking forward to next year!