Blog slacker = blacker

So yeah, I have been a fat blog slacker lately. I have come to terms with it and I hope you can too.

I am not working at the place on the square where I thought I would be working. Instead I will be doing PSR work for a different agency. I am just starting with them tomorrow. It will be better this way, but we still haven't had much income lately. We are glad we will be living in Rick's apartment when it is finished instead of the place we had chosen before, it will be less money and we are living much cheaper with my parents for another couple weeks until it is finished.

Also, Ana's crib is in the office at my parents' house. This means no computer usage after about 7:30-8:00 usually. Because of this I will probably continue to be somewhat of a blacker for the next couple weeks.

Quick Trip

We made a quick trip to Pocatello and Rexburg on Sunday-Monday. Sunday we celebrated my sister's b-day (Happy birthday, H!) and then Monday we went up to Rexburg. Dave had an interview a committee letter of recommendation so we had to make a trip. We also found Dave some new khaki pants, and some new black dress shoes for myself. And we even got to see some friends from our ward, which was fun.

We're still living with Dave's parents. Our apartment will probably be a couple weeks out, but its turning out great! Ana loves having Grandma and Grandpa around and I know they love having her around, too.

A little about Ana these days:

*She is getting more spirited every day. I think I'm going to have to check this book out.
*She talks all day long. She says everything. For the most part it is comprehendable, but sometimes she gets set on something and I have no idea what she is saying.
*She wants to do everything by her "self." Thats what she says too. "myself" or just "self."
*I love her little giggle. She likes to be tickled and played with.
*She can sing "You are my sunshine." It is adorable. As soon as our video camera is unpacked, we'll record it.

I'm back

Wow, its been a while since I updated. But I'm back. We moved all our stuff into Dave's brother's garage while they finish up the apartment we'll be living in, then we took a quick trip to Casper, WY to visit my sis.

We left Wednesday morning. Thursday and Friday, Dave went to work with my bro-in-law to shadow some doctors. Teri and I just played the whole time it was so much fun! Here are some pics from our trip. Its about an 8 hour drive, and Ana did great in the car! We couldn't have asked for better.

On Thursday we went to this really fun park. Ana loved the swings and slides. She would even go down the really big, curvy tube slides by herself. She loved it!

Dave took these pictures of Ana and Natalie. They had a lot of fun, with only occasional hair pulling.


Ana loved baby Claire. Sometimes she would lie on the floor next to her and smile and talk to her. Here she is giving Claire her toys.We also went to this really fun indoor aquatic center. Ana loved it! She had no fear. They had this little frog slide that landed in a foot of water and she went down it over and over. She also wanted to walk in water that was way over her head, and sat down a couple times and went under. She even went down a really big water slide with Dave. It was fun, but boy did we have to watch her close.

We left Sunday after church, and so we're back in Rupert now. Our apartment is still underway, so we're living at Dave's parents house. We have a ton more pictures, so maybe if I'm lacking a post I'll share some more. It feels good to be back in the blogging business.

Quick Update

We've been in Casper, Wyoming now for a few days. I went with Chad to work all day Thursday and Friday. Here is where he works - Central Wyoming Urological Associates

It was really interesting to be there and all the doctors were very friendly, helpful, and happy to answer my questions. I'll just say that I saw a few things that I never want to go through (like this*). Thanks Chad for setting it up!

Today we will go swimming at the aquatic center, or quatiak center as Natalie said it. Pictures of the trip to come later. Probably mostly on Erin's blog.

*Warning: You may wish you never knew this existed. I am not responsible for any self inflicted damage as a result of viewing this. You still clicked on it didn't you? I figured you would.

Mystery Photo Answer

Hokan was right on with his mystery photo guess. It's just that we don't live there anymore so I can't take another full size picture. You'll just have to trust me.

Goodbye Rexburg

Well, this may be my last post for a while. Tomorrow we're going to finish packing, and take our stuff to Rupert. Tuesday we'll officially check out of our apartment and I'll have my last doc appointment here. Then Wednesday we're heading to Wyoming for the rest of the week. Sometimes I feel like I have a lot done, other times I feel like I don't have time to do all I need to do. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

Ana has had a hard week. She got an ear infection, and multiple canker sores in her mouth. She stayed overnight without mom and dad for the first time (Thanks Granny!). When she returned, we had tons of people over, and the house is in the process of being packed up. She's been ultra-clingy, but I can understand it a bit. I worry about how she will do with the transition to a new house and then to the new baby.
Today was our last day in our ward. We've known some of the members since we were married. Sacrament Meeting was pretty emotional for me, and then I did my last Sharing Time. Man, I'm going to miss those kids. I'm gonna miss Rexburg. Its been good to us. I've been here five years. Its interesting to think of what all has happened in that time. I definitely didn't think I'd have (almost) 2 kids and be moving to Rupert. Mostly, though, I feel very blessed for the experiences we've had here, and it is hard to leave.

After Church we went up to take pictures by the Temple. Ana wasn't very cooperative, but Dave was very much enjoying his new camera and had fun taking pictures up there. Its been great having a Temple just up the street. We'll probably never live this close again. Though its hard to leave, I know that some great experiences and opportunities await us, and thats exciting!

New Camera

I got the new camera today. I got some money from selling books back and Erin let me buy it a month early for a graduation present!

Ana has been sick for about a week now. After a couple days of not feeling well we took her to the doctor and found out she has an ear infection. The medicine is just starting to kick in it seems because she was doing a little better today. Either way, this is a common scene the last few days with a sick girl.

I just thought this one was fun

Here is the newest mystery photo.

We'll see if anyone can guess it right on...

Congratulations Dave!!!

Dave is officially graduated from BYU-Idaho! I wanted to post a picture, but they are all on his parents camera because ours wasn't working. As soon as we get them I'll post them. My mom took Ana last night and she stayed in Pocatello because we couldn't get enough tickets for my parents to attend. So they helped us celebrate by giving us a night off. It was really nice.

We really enjoyed graduation with Elder Ballard.

I am so proud of Dave and all he has accomplished! He received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Chemistry. He is such a great student. He graduated with a 3.97 GPA. I'm grateful I have such a bright, capable husband!

Candyreal

Ana really likes candy. She also likes eating cereal most of the time. Usually she just eats Cheerios or Kix or something like that but recently Erin got a bag of the Malt-O-Meal crunch berries for us. Yesterday Ana pulled me into the kitchen, pointed at the crunch berry cereal and said, " I want candyreal," just a mix of candy and cereal. I guess she is pretty much right but I thought it was funny she made up a whole new word for it.

Last test

I took my very last test here at BYU-I at 2:00pm today. I was so nervous too, it was for Biochem. My grade just got posted online and I got a 94 on the final and an A in the class overall. Whew...

Now I will just have to wait a week or so to see what I get for my overall grades in my other classes. I think it will all be pretty good.

Erin is on her way to the redbox right now to pick up a movie for us to watch tonight. It will be nice. No homework hanging over my head, just a whole apartment to pack...

Anyway, there's my update. I graduate tomorrow, we will pack all day Friday and Saturday, clean Monday, move our stuff to Rupert on Tuesday, and then on Wednesday we will take off to Wyoming to visit Erin's sister for a few days before starting work. That's pretty quick but since I never got a job this semester it was important to start working as soon as I could after graduation.

I guess I haven't had any cash lately...

So, I got this today:


Since when did it sound like a good idea to ANYBODY to put a huge purple five on the back of the five dollar bill? Erin said I would get arrested and sentanced to 3 years in jail with no probation for putting this scan on my blog. I didn't agree with her as you can see. I say that's why they put the purple five on there, obviosly it will keep people from making a fake. Maybe it will only work because everyone sees the purple and they THINK it is a fake so they spend some extra time looking at the rest to make sure...

On another note - I took three tests today. It's good to have them out of the way. Now I have all day tomorrow to study for my last three tests on Wednesday. Then it's all over, and I will be back to full speed here.

Conference Weekend and other stuff

We had a great weekend in Rupert and Pocatello watching General Conference. We saw lots of family, and really enjoyed Conference. Elder Ballard's talk was especially touching to me. I already want to read a lot of the talks again. Ana woke up Saturday morning with a fever, though. Most of Saturday she spent cuddling with and falling asleep on Mama, Daddy, or Grandma.

Saturday night she woke up every 2-3 hours because she was so uncomfortable. Last night she slept much better, and she's down for a nap now. I think she's coming out of it. She's a little congested too, but mostly her mouth seems to be bothering her. I think she's getting some more teeth on the bottom.

This is Dave's last week as an undergrad. Today he has tests in all his classes, and again on Wednesday and then he is done! By next Tuesday we'll be out of Rexburg! We're moving into an apartment that Dave's brother is building on his land in Rupert, but it won't be ready for us until the first week in May, so we're going to go visit my sister in Wyoming next week after we move our stuff out then we'll be staying at Dave's parents for a few weeks. Then we've got Dave's MCAT coming up at the end of May and then the baby comes! phew! I keep thinking things are gonna settle down. I guess they never do.

Good Luck on your tests, Dave! I love you!

planned parenthood

Things never do quite work out the way you "plan" when it comes to kids, do they? The past few days Ana has been a temper tantrum queen. She's been throwing a fit about pretty much everything. This morning she woke up at about 7 am (2 hours earlier than normal). I thought, "here comes another beast-y day, but at least she'll take a nap." Well, she was the most pleasant child all morning. It was really nice. We went out to run errands just now in hopes that she would fall asleep on the way home and transfer nicely to her bed. Wouldn't you know it, she fell asleep on the way to Wal-Mart. So I had to wake her up to buy toilet paper and diapers, and then she stayed awake the whole drive home. arghh. So much for planning. But, I did put her down for a nap still. She's not asleep yet; let's keep our fingers crossed...

There really is no such thing as planned parenthood. Parenting just happens, and you gotta roll with it.

If it weren't for the zamboni...

I have been thinking of this song since I submitted my A-Z list over on the BRR. My Z was for Zamboni, just like the zamboni from this song.



And while I am on this topic again (TMBG), here is another video I really like from the DVD.

I love...

This cereal: Quaker 100% Natural Granola. It is so yummy! If you have never tried it, you should. Its a little expensive, so I only get it when we go to WinCo (which we did yesterday).

Warm, sunny days. A couple weeks ago when Spring was first tempting me, it felt so warm. The sun was shining, I didn't wear a coat, etc. Then I saw that the temperature was only 34 degrees. You know you live in Rexburg when that feels warm!!! Yesterday was also a nice day, and today looks promising. Perhaps the pile of snow in our front yard with continue to melt. I can't wait until summer!!!

French dip sandwiches. Teri told me how she makes them the "cheater" way. Hoagie buns, Roast beef deli meat (I use Hillshire Farms brand), and the Au Jus gravy packets. I also added Swiss cheese and that was yummy as well. So yummy and fast!

Working in the Primary. I've been in the Primary Presidency for almost 2 years now, and I still love every minute of it. The kids say such funny things. Even though they can be a handful, I just love it! The last 2 weeks I've been teaching the 5 year olds because the teacher moved and I've really enjoyed that too. One little girl asked me, "Are you gonna be our teacher every week now?" She looked disappointed when I told her no. I love it when I see the kids outside of Primary and they smile and say hi and tell me about their day. I'm really gonna miss it. And now I'll have to go back to Relief Society.

Change of mind...

Actually, I think I would rather buy this camera:
It doesn't have as many megapixels but that's not all that matters. Considering what I will use it for, it will definitely be enough. I went to a camera store today and looked at a few different cameras to help make up my mind for sure.

My mind is made up. Really. I am pretty sure this time. I understand that the camera I eventually get will not really effect you (unless you are Erin), but this blog isn't really all about you right?