Amanda at BYU. Go Cougars!
My nephew Christian. Tom was recently serving in the "desert" so that is the reason for the outfit.
My handsome dad and brother

I'm home sick- never had pneumonia before but my lungs hurt really bad. Although 24 hours of sleep really helped :) We went up to the snow earlier this week and I think I wore myself out. I exerted myself a lot watching Ross learn to snowboard. Sitting there, enjoying the sun... And then we went snowmobiling. Ross didn't like me as a driver but I thought I did well for a first timer. I only went off the path and almost tipped over once. It was an adventure riding in the back though- I think it must be like bull riding. Not that I have ever tried that. We had a blast though. Pictures to follow when i feel like sorting through those. We also went sledding and had to wipe out lots to avoid the trees. We had a great time. Thank you to my mom for taking us and to my brother Matthew for being there to have snowball fights with Ross.

My brother Tom is coming to visit us this week with his wife and my nephew Christian. We last saw them six months ago and now he is walking and getting even cuter. Tom is in the Air Force- he being deployed to Japan next. They live way too far away in Nebraska.

Liz is turning 30 this week. I'll post some pictures of the festivities later. She is planning her next trip to Antartica. I wish I could go but the price is high and I don't have that luxury of thinking only of myself anymore. I am crossing my fingers that Ross gets accepted to nursing school- we should hear in the next month. So hopefully we will go to the Philippines before school starts in the fall and then we can plan a fun trip to celebrate his graduation in two years.

Amanda is still up at BYU. She is doing athletic training and is working with the baseball team. How tough is that the watch baseball every day :) But she is working very hard and just got a job at the MTC. I miss her.

I am counting down until baseball starts. We have tickets for the A's home opener. I love this time of the year. The sun is shining and the trees are blossoming. I love wearing shorts and flip flops. And again, lots of baseball!

Here are some cute pictures of my family. I love living near home.

Still surviving night shift. It has calmed down some. We were having a string of patients go bad every night last month. The stress wears on you after a while. The latest hospital news is that the sewer broke and flooded the basement. Gross. They had to cancel all surgeries for a day. They are renovating the hospital and the front is a huge hole- kind of like when the area in front of the BYU library was a big hole but even more massive. I can't wait until they are done because we need a bigger ER and more beds! I was thinking the other day, my life is boring, I don't have much to post. But then I was thinking, if anyone spent an evening with me at work, they would definetly disagree about the boring. But it is just what I do and I don't think about work when i am off- for the most part. Some things do get to me at times.

So that is our update. Ross is out "running errands" which I am sure involves time at the plant and pet stores. He did leave a really long time ago. Our sunbeam class decorated our door for St. Patricks day so I have been eating Lucky Charms all week. Yum.

I love everyones blogs- I can't figure out how you all make them look so cool. Jealous of all the disneyland trips I have been reading about. Miss you all. Happy Easter!

Funny Memory

I was just updating my Smugmug website- I have hundreds of pictures full of memories. And I saw this picture of Naiomi. Sheree, Naiomi, Liz and I went to El Morocco in Pleasant Hill to have Middle Eastern food and watch belly dancing. Naiomi made her way over to the bar and made friends with the other customers there- and the bartender. She managed to charm a few dollars out of the bartender- and free Shirley Temples. When we looked over there, she was sitting on a stool next to a customer at the bar with the red hat on. The customer and bartender were laughing and told us "She is going to be trouble when she gets older". Then Naiomi joined in with the belly dancing. I just have such good memories of that night. I can't believe she is already 7 years old.

My Birthday

For my 31st birthday, Ross and I went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and then we drove down the coast to Cambria. The weather was perfect so we could see miles down the coastline. We stayed at a hotel right across from the beach. It was relaxing to just get away and spend some time with my wonderful husband :) We went to Hearst castle which is pretty amazing. And mostly we walked along the beach and saw amazing sunsets. So now I am officially in my 30's- but I am excited to see what the next years will bring.

Just an update- After our hawaii trip, life got busy again. Ross is back in school. He is taking 9 credits I think and then is still working full time. And I am working 12 hour night shifts now which I like- not as stressful so far because the night time quiets down a bit and I feel like I have more time to get everything done. But I am still adjusting to the sleep schedule. So feel free to call me at 3 am- I will most likely be up. I am trying to work out a system so I can still sleep well at night when I am off. I do feel like I have a lot more free time though. I finally finished all of the Harry Potter books. We have been out looking at cars since I know mine won't last forever- but it has given me a good 11 years. And I finally feel like being married is normal now- although the name change is still wierd. So we are both doing well. I am trying to do a better job of keeping up with people- I just never have been much of a computer person. That is Ross' expertise but I can't seem to get him interested in posting on the blog. He set up a planted aquarium in the kitchen and every few days I see new fish that he has added. I am glad that it makes him happy.

Hawaii Honeymoon

Ross and I went to Hawaii for our belated honeymoon during the first 10 days of January. I wanted to wait until winter time when it was cold here- never have liked winter. And I wanted to see whales. We stayed on Maui for the first 5 days of the trip. We stayed in South Kihei right across from the beach and we had a great view from our balcony. We checked out the different popular beaches and did lots of snorkeling. We also took a trip out to Molokini because Ross was hesitant about snorkeling in the ocean and I wanted him to have a good beginning experience. He loved it and after that he wanted to go snorkeling all the time. We saw lots of whales while on Maui but I was disappointed because I had not yet seen a whale breach. So then we went to Kauai for 4 days. We stayed in Poipu which was paradise to me. Beautiful and sunny with great beaches. I would love to live there someday. We had been so busy sightseeing on maui so it was fun to just relax at the beach most of our time there. We did take one boat trip- it was so cool because we saw lots of whales jumping up out of the water and playing. And two whales saw right in front of our boat, just a few feet away. And a pod of dolphins also swam along with our boat. It was so much fun. I love hawaii and I was so glad to have Ross with me to share it with this time.

Ross' Favorite Hobby

Ross built me a fish pond on my patio while I was traveling in Russia. I thought it was going to be something little- but Ross sure surprised me. He has always loved fish and we discovered that he has a talent for landscaping and gardening. So I just wanted to show off his hard work. He is really busy with work and school so this is his escape.

Honeymoon

Ross and I spent a few days along the northern California coast for our honeymoon. We enjoyed the scenic and rugged coastline, hiked, and enjoyed lots of good food. We loved Mendocino. Anytime we find somewhere new we like, Ross always wants to move there- so I guess we are retiring to Mendocino now- although that might change after we go to Hawaii in January.