Winter in Oregon

We are loving it here in Oregon. The weather had been pretty great. During the week it can get kind of hectic and Karl and I don't really get to spend much time together but I love that he always makes an effort to be home and hang out with me in the evenings. A lot of the other husbands end up being on campus studying until about midnight so I am really grateful. Hopefully this persists after the baby is born.

Anyways back to Oregon. We try to do fun things on the weekend and this past weekend we went and explored Seaside beach. The beach was HUGE. As you can see there is a lot of great sand behind Karl and the beach went on forever. Once I got over my fear of walking barefoot among the broken shells (another confession. I have an irrational fear of severing the tendon that runs along the bottom of my foot) it was great. We found enormous shells and even some sand dollars!!! Another lifelong dream fulfilled. (I know. I am weird.)
Here is Karl with all the hotels in the background. Seaside really is a pretty cool little town.

That night we went frogging with some friends. Here are our catches. We ended up with four frogs, a salamander, and a worm. They ended up being a lot harder to find than we anticipated but we were still successful. The cops stopped to ask what we were doing. Apparently this is not something people do everyday. We sure had fun though.

My Crafty Self

So awhile ago I scored a nice glider from Thrift City. I am sure everyone is getting sick of hearing about that place but it really is awesome. My chair was only 15 dollars, pretty comfy, and works great. It just didn't look the best. The upholstery had some stains and was getting thread bare in places.

Solution? Re-cover it, of course. So on another trip to the best store ever I scored a set of King-size sheets for $2.50. I had been looking at Wal*Mart and there I could buy a single twin flat sheet for between $5-10. The King-size sheet sets were at least $40. That was just to give you a comparison on deals. So after a good washing the sheets were as good as new and I was on to my next project.

I thought I would give you some side by side comparisons so you could really see the transformations. But first. Here is my lowly glider. I had already started work on the seat (hence the white pad) when I took this picture. The back didn't go quite as planned. It didn't end up being as fitted as I wanted but oh well. It turned out pretty good for a first attempt.
The seat was getting thread-bare and worn down. So I added a foam pad before I covered it and now it is great. The glider had the most stains on it but now it looks nice and new.
So here is the finished before and after pictures. I think it turned out pretty well.
It is a super comfy chair and now it isn't the eye-sore that is was before. Yay for crafting! Now onto the next project-Curtains. Wish me luck!

Confessions of a Pregnant Lady

Most of these confessions actually have nothing to do with being pregnant. I have just had a lot of time on my hands recently and for some reason that led to self reflection or something of the sort. So here are 10 Confessions of a Pregnant Lady.

1. I LOVE Celtic music. I started listening to it in high school and I was hooked. I tried learning Gaelic but that didn't go over so well so I will have to just be content listening to Celtic Woman. If I had a bucket list learning how to play the bagpipes would definitely be on it. I figure the blowpipe is kind of like an oboe reed so I am on the right track, right?

2. I have a love/hate relationship with chocolate. I love cocoa because I absolutely LOVE hot chocolate, brownies, texas sheet cake, etc. But I really really do NOT like chocolate in bar form. The chocolate bars I do like have only a thin coating, like Twix. And while chocolate chip cookies are one of my favorites, you can't actually put in the chocolate chips or you ruin it.

3. I am so excited to be having a little girl at the end of April, but I secretly hope that I will end up having twins that they somehow missed on the ultrasound.

4. I am also terrified that my little girl will actually be a boy (it happened to a friend in college). Not that having a boy would be a bad thing, I just happen to own a lot of pink baby clothes and dresses at the moment.

5. When I wake up in the morning I usually feel great and skinny and pretty and often forget that I am actually pregnant. Then I try to get out of bed.

6. I need checklists in order to get things done, and even that is iffy. I tend to get easily distracted. Sometimes I even write something on my checklist after I have already finished it just so I can cross it off and feel like I accomplished something.

7. I am a hoarder. I hate getting rid of things "in case we need it someday". And I just can't seem to turn down free things, which is resulting in a lot of clutter in our little apartment. But I just can't help myself. Especially when everyone is so nice and volunteering their stuff.

8. I am nowhere near as crafty as I think I am. I come up with grand projects and then either can't figure them out or get bored. Hopefully this will change soon.

9. I HATE the phrase "kiss on the mouth". I have run across this in more than one book. It seems to imply that you are eating the other person. Kiss on the lips just sounds SO much better. I think it is a lot more sweet and romantic.

10. I have pretty much no self control when it comes to dessert. I know I shouldn't be eating it yet I think "I'll just have one more" or "it's only a little", like this somehow justifies eating my body weight (which, due to pregnancy, is WAY more than it used to be) in cupcakes. This is becoming a huge problem now that I am seriously craving sweets and am home all day to actually make them.

So, those are my confessions for now. Hopefully I can get a few of them under control, and soon. :)

Update

Just thought I would give a quick update on how we have been.

Karl is getting to be SUPER busy with school. He always seems to have at least two monster tests a week on top of classes and labs and skills proficiency. However, I am extremely lucky because he actually comes home every night. Apparently a lot of the other husbands/students in general stay on campus til about midnight most nights preparing for tests. Karl still has to study when he comes home early but at least I get to see him which is great.

I was lucky enough to take NCLEX, my nursing board exam, last Thursday. It was not a good test. It is designed so that you take a minimum of 75 questions and then after that the test shuts off when it decides you are either a) safe as a nurse or b) you need more training. I felt like I was missing everything and then my test shut off at about 78 questions. I thought that meant I failed miserably, but I tried to stay positive.

Then I saw that some of my friends from Utah who had taken the test the same day already had their results and they had passed. I was hoping that I didn't know because Oregon was slow. Then on Monday I got a letter. Usually you can check online. The fact that I did not see results online and I now have a letter from the Nursing Board meant to me that I failed.

So Karl handed it to me and I tried not to cry as I opened it. I just kept thinking what am I going to do. Do I try and take it again before the baby comes? I haven't even been able to really think about the baby or get anything ready because I have been so worried about the test. What do I do now?

Fortunately, when I opened the letter it said "Congratulations! You passed." So I started bawling and Karl had to deal with it, but at least they were happy tears and not sad ones. Poor Karl has had to deal with all my stress, anxiety, and hormones on top of his school work so I am sure he is glad I passed so that I at least won't be crying to him about that dang test anymore.

So I am officially a nurse!

Now that I no longer have to study all day what am I going to do with myself? Get ready for baby! I have become addicted to Pinterest and love looking at all the craft ideas. I even tried one out this weekend and made little baby shoes. I think they turned out pretty good for a first attempt.
I know they are blue but girls can like blue too. I also have a lot more time to exercise and I plan on taking long walks everyday. Hopefully that helps with the whole borderline gestational diabetes thing and the fact that my doctor has put me on weight gain restriction for the rest of my pregnancy. Which is only about two more months. Holy cow! Here is me at 30 weeks.
So that is us for now.

My Recent Ouches

Sorry, this is kind of a complaining/venting blog post. Just a heads up before you continue.

So I feel like things have been going pretty great with this pregnancy. Not that I really have anything to compare it with but I figure when the worst symptoms I have had consist of acne, occasional (ok, maybe not so occasional if you ask Karl) mood swings, and the beginnings of low back pain I really don't have anything to complain about.

Then I went to the doctor in Oregon. I had to do that glucose tolerance test to check for gestational diabetes. Once again I though, hey that wasn't too bad. Then I got the results. Barely elevated, but elevated none the less. So that means on to the 3 hours tolerance test. Let me just say, NOT COOL.

It is not very nice to make a pregnant lady fast for 12 hours, only to have to drink a very sugary nasty drink on an empty stomach and then get poked four times in the next three hours. I spent the whole night thinking about how I needed a drink but couldn't have one and was on the verge of throwing up for the first two hours after drinking that stuff.

Now I get to worry that I am hurting my baby and actually have gestational diabetes for the next two weeks until I see the dr again to go over the results.

I was also informed that I have put on a lot of weight and need to stop gaining so much. Great. Now I am not only a pregnant lady, I am a fatty pregnant lady, which is probably why I will become a diabetic, fatty, pregnant lady.

I honestly didn't think I was that big, but who am I to argue with the doctor. So here is the latest picture of me. Still 27 weeks but I like taking pictures with my different prego clothes to try and see which ones look the best.
On top of all that I am drawing closer to taking the nursing board exam (NCLEX-RN). Lots of my friends from school have already passed and I am terrified that I am going to be the stupid one who fails. I just have a hard time concentrating to study when I keep feeling the baby move and I just want to get things ready for her to come. And now I am worried about this other stuff too. Not helping.

And finally, I was making dinner on Monday (chicken pot pie and it turned out pretty well if I do say so myself). As I was putting it in the oven I was distracted and was brought quickly back to reality as my hand touched the top of the oven and I felt lots and lots of pain. It is healing pretty well, I should have taken a picture right after it happened, but it is still super red and tender. Sorry it is blurry. I have issues taking pictures one handed. Lets just say I would make a horrible surgeon.
So those are some of my ouches lately. Thanks for letting me vent.

Highlights of 2011

2011 has been a really good year for the Jepson family so I wanted to just recap some of the highlights.

Winter-Karl did not have to go to back to school since he graduated in December. This started to job hunt and he ended up doing home health, taking care of two older people in their own home. The family absolutely adored him. They even tried to convince him not to leave for grad school but fortunately they weren’t persuasive enough.

I unfortunately still had to go back to school, but it was the beginning of my last year of nursing school so that was something to look forward to. I also got to experience the joy of night clinicals, which I actually loved.

Spring- we were able to go to Washington/Oregon for a goalball tournament and were able to go check out Forest Grove, where we were going to be living in the Fall.

I officially graduated from BYU! I finished classes last August but now I am official.

Karl's flag football team won the Championship game.

Summer- That was the time for work. Karl was still impressing the family with his kindness and overall awesomeness.

I started out with two jobs, teaching swim lessons and as an assistant manager at a new theater they built in Draper. After discovering that was a little much I cut it down to just the theater.

We hiked to the top of Mt. Timp. It was quite the hike, but it was gorgeous, we made it, and I loved sliding down the glacier.

Got to go white water rafting and milk a cow! Two lifelong dreams...accomplished.

We drove to California for a friend’s wedding and were able to go camping on the beach. I always seem to pick the cold beaches but it was still a lot of fun.

Fall-Karl started Optometry School! We had a blast exploring the area once we got him moved in and even tried our hand at crabbing. Success.

We found out we were going to be having a baby! That made the fact that I had to go back to Utah to finish school a little more bearable since I was leaving on a happy note.

I started my last semester of nursing school! And got to work with kiddos up at Primay's the whole time. I LOVE peds.

We survived the four month separation and found out we are having a little girl! Bring on the pink.

And I officially graduated from nursing school.

So it has really been a great and blessed year for our family. Can’t wait to see what this year has in store for us.

Storms in Oregon

The last few days in Oregon have actually turned into winter. We had a pretty decent snow storm and have had lots of rain the last few days. Oregon may be known for being green and having lots of trees but apparently those trees did not get the memo that they are supposed to be strong and be able to withstand storms. Or apparently they get so much rain that they turn soggy.

So after the snow storm we woke up to broken trees all over the place. This particular tree was huge and is now blocking half of the road.
The falling trees also resulted in a lot of downed power lines.
So the side walks have been covered with broken branches and power lines but we are doing good. I would have taken better pictures but my camera died.

Our Life in Oregon

Well, we made it to Oregon alive! This is kind of a long post with pictures but since I now live really far from family I just wanted to give you all an idea of where we now live.

This is the outside of our house. It is right on the end so we only have neighbors on one side, which I LOVE! It is super quiet and our apartment is set up like a townhouse. This means bedrooms are upstairs and the living area is on the main floor. This ALSO means that we don't have upstairs or downstairs neighbors! YAY!I think Karl's favorite feature is the doorbell. It gives it more of a real house feel. Anyways. When you open the door you have two choices. You can go up the stairs to the bedrooms and bathroom or continue straight to our big living/dining room. And this is an old picture from when Karl first moved in. I promise the boxes are not still sitting around.
This is looking from the kitchen into the living room. I absolutely love the little bar so I can be doing dishes or cooking and still feel like I am apart of whatever Karl is doing in the living room. Those blinds open up to a sliding glass door and onto our little green (from all the moss and rain) cement slab of a "backyard".
And this is from the living room looking into the kitchen. Notice my huge pile of dishes in the corner. There isn't a dishwasher but I am getting used to doing everything by hand again. I have been spoiled for a long time.
Ok. That is the downstairs. If you chose to go up the stairs you run into our room.
This is a picture looking from our room down the little hallway. The stairs are there on the left. The first door on the right is the bathroom. The second brown set of doors of the right is a little pantry/storage closet. And straight ahead is the second bedroom.
My favorite part of the second bedroom, or the baby's room, is the built in shelves. All in all I love the apartment. The only thing I don't really like is that there is not a ton of lighting. If you noticed there weren't really any lights in the living room and none of the bedrooms have lights. So far we have one lamp but I am thinking we really need to get some more. Especially with how gloomy it is outside around here.

So that is our place. A quick update on us. We are doing great. Karl started school again and I am settling into my role of guinea pig. Still working on figuring out what to do with myself now that I am no longer a student, for the first time since kindergarten. I have been pretty busy trying to clean the apartment and get everything organized.

Everyone has been so nice to me here. It is a good thing that Karl is so great. He made a lot of friends so I feel like I already have a build in network up here. The wives are all really nice and I went to school with two of them at BYU. I swear the church makes the world super small. There is also a girl who is related to some family friends back home in Nevada.

Up here the optometry students, at least all the ones that I have met are very concerned with finances and trying to save money. So what is the big thing to do up here? "Thrifting." I went with a friend last week and I really think I might get addicted. There is a place called thrift city that is basically like a DI but they have really really nice stuff and it is super cheap. I love DI for the games back in Utah, but this place here actually has nice clothes. I got a rocking chair that I absolutely love for 15 dollars. It just needs to be recovered, which is also awesome because it gives me a project. There were also a lot of adorable baby and maternity clothes and since I have pretty much nothing that fits me anymore it was great. And we ran into about 6 people from the ward there. It is a pretty popular place. But when you can get practically brand new American Eagle, Gap, and Roxy, and Motherhood clothes for about $2.50 each what's not to love?

Anyways. Here is one last picture. This is me at 24 weeks. I can't wait till we can finally meet our little sweetheart. My favorite thing is feeling her kick. I still have yet to have Karl feel it but he says he would rather just wait and see her kick once she is born so I guess as long as he doesn't feel left out we are good. :)

Thoughts and Discoveries

I have had a lot of time to think this week. All my finals were done on Monday so after that it has just been lots of time to unwind and relax. I thought this would give me plenty of time to get all of my stuff packed to get ready to move. This is what I THOUGHT. Instead, it is now almost Friday. Karl gets here on Saturday, and I have pretty much nothing done.

I THOUGHT I was super excited to move to Oregon, and I am. I am excited to live with Karl again. To be able to see him and talk to him with out getting a huge stitch in my neck. I am super excited for that part. But I discovered that I am not super excited to actually move to a different state where I don't know anyone. Where I don't have family close. Where I don't have friends that I can go visit and hang out with.

I thought I didn't want to pack my room because it was a big job. I think I discovered the real reason is if I don't pack I can't move. I can't just leave all my stuff, even though most will probably get left behind since we don't have tons of room in the car. :) If I don't get everything cleaned and packed up it isn't real. It isn't really going to happen and Karl can just stay here with me in my comfort zone. Stupid reasoning I know, but that is where I am right now.

I thought I was ready to be a mom. I discovered I am terrified. I don't know what I am doing. I don't know how to be a parent. Especially when I am at least 13 hours away from the closest person I know who can help me figure it out. I don't feel like I have a clue. I don't know what I should be doing to get ready, what things I need, what I need to learn. It just scares me but I guess there is no going back. And I don't want to. At all. I just wish I felt more confident in my abilities but I will figure it out, eventually.

I thought I was really excited to be done with school. And I am. But I have discovered that I wish there was a way for me to be in Oregon and still in my same nursing class continuing on in the program. I made a lot of friends. And it makes me really sad to think I will probably never see any of them again. That I won't get weekly updates on how everyone's lives are going.

I thought I like the movie "Christmas in Connecticut". It is an old black and white movie that my sister and I used to watch every Christmas Eve. I discovered I still love it. It just makes me laugh and brings back old memories. I had to have at least one discovery that didn't make me cry (hormonal pregnant woman here).

So those are my thoughts at the moment. I am really nervous for what the future holds but I have discovered that despite all that I am really excited to start this next chapter of my life. And as long as I have Karl with me I know we can handle what comes our way and figure it out.

As updates go, I get to go to the Dr. tomorrow to make sure everything is fine with the baby. I am pretty sure it is still alive. I either felt it moving like crazy this morning or I have the twitchiest abdominal muscles in the history of mankind. Karl flies in on Saturday. Sunday is my last day in Sunbeams. And we get to find out if it is a boy or girl on Monday. Kind of a busy weekend, but it is going to be great.

Guess What!!!

Yep, Karl and I are having a baby! I am about 17 weeks along and we finally told our families over Thanksgiving last week. We wanted to tell when we were together, which is pretty much never now-a-days. I was a little nervous to just come out and say it so we gave them that card to break the news. I think it worked pretty well and now they have something to hang onto.

We found out in August while we were in Oregon moving Karl up for school. We had been unloading boxes, moving furniture, and exploring the coastline for a week and I swear whenever we had a quiet moment, like the car rides, I couldn't help but fall asleep. I was a little late on my cycle and I decided that if I hadn't started before I had to go back to Utah I was going to take a test. So, at about midnight, after crying because I had to leave soon, I checked and sure enough it was POSITIVE!! So instead of leaving on a sad note Karl and I were super excited. Unfortunately I had to leave for Utah about 5 hours later, but at least I was able to tell him in person instead of "guess what..." over the phone.

But funny story, my entire nursing class knew about 3 days after I did. It was the first day of class and we were going around saying something unique about ourselves (I always hate that. I can never think of anything) to try and help the teachers remember who we are. So it gets to me and I say "I am here finishing my last semester and I just got back from moving my husband to Oregon because he starts his first semester of Optometry school today. So we get to do the long distance marriage this semester". Lots of people knew that already but some didn't so they were being nice and saying that sucks. But then one person says "Well, guess that means you don't have to worry about getting pregnant this semester". It just caught me so off guard and I am horrible at lying anyways so I just turned bright red and one of my friends looked at me and says, super loud I might add, "Oh my gosh, you're PREGNANT?!?" Didn't know it was possible to turn even more red, you probably could have cooked an egg on my face for how hot it felt, and then I started crying because I totally did NOT know what to say. I didn't want people to know yet in case I miscarried or something. So that was probably the most eventful first day of school ever for me. But it ended up being great that they knew because I had people to talk to about it when I couldn't tell anyone else.

So things have been great, I haven't really been very sick, everything seems to be fine with the baby, and in three weeks Karl and I don't have to do the long distance marriage thing anymore. Lots to be thankful for (and by the way, if my posts are too long please let me know. I don't feel like I write a lot but after I post it I swear I have written a novel. So if I need to be more brief I would appreciate the heads up. Thanks!)

Primary Program Fun

So for those who don't know I teach Sunbeams at church. That means I get to hang out with a bunch of 3-4 year olds for two hours each week. It can be stressful and drive me up the walls sometimes but I love it. I was in nursery for about a year before "graduating" with my kids into Sunbeams. So it has been a fun ride and I have loved seeing these kids grow and watch their little personalities develop over the years. They say some of the funniest things.

For example, last week we had our Primary Program. I was a little concerned because my kids really don't like to sit still and we were going to be in the front seats where the bishop usually sits, which is great for the parents who get to see their kids. Not so great when you have to try to keep them all in line. So I got to sit next to one kid who has a little harder time than the rest when it comes to behaving. We spent sacrament meeting trying to keep his shoes on, keep him in his seat when we weren't singing, trying to coax him to stand by his chair when he was, and look forward instead of making faces and poking the kids behind us.

But somehow we almost made it through the whole program without any major incidents. My class had parts towards the end and I was so proud when they got up there to say their lines. They did great. One little girl stood up, said her part, and then started bawling when she got back to her seat. I think she just got scared being up in front of all the people. So I moved over to try and calm her down while my "little friend" I had been trying to keep under control went up to say his part. Dun dun dun...

While I am trying to comfort the crying girl I hear "I can read good books" which is his part and is awesome, but he didn't stop there. He went on to say "they give me superpowers and I can KILL bad guys". Once he got yelling (since all little kids yell into the mic when they are that age) KILL over the podium one of the Primary Presidency ripped him away from the microphone but it was pretty funny. Everyone started laughing and all I could think was Yep, that's Dominic for ya.

So all in all it was a memorable Primary Program and for the most part it turned out great. So just remember, you should read good books because they will give you super powers. Whether you decide to kill bad guys or not is up to you.

Don't you think?

This is just a round of Don't you think? Let's see if you agree with me.

Beauty and the BeastI totally love this movie but when I was watching it I noticed a few things. Like...

Don't you think it is a bit harsh to turn an 11 year old boy into a beast for being mean to an ugly old lady? He's a preteen boy for crying out loud. Where were his parents?

Don't you think it is weird that Mrs. Pots has like 50 tea cup children but only ever talks to Chip? Pretty sure she didn't have 50 kids when she was human so where did all those other tea cups come from?

Don't you think the beast looked a lot better as the beast? I mean come on, all the creative minds in Disney and the best they could come up with was this?
Whenever he gets turned into the prince I always think "turn him back, turn him back!"

Next is The Swan Princess

Don't you think this movie is hilarious? I forgot how funny it is. I mean with lines like "You should write a book, 'how to offend women in five syllables or less'" and a frog trying to get a kiss every five seconds how can you go wrong? You know you love this show, go watch it again, soon. You'll thank me.

Don't you think it is impossible to find the Halloween candy you want? I swear every bag has at least one candy I really don't like. And then today I was trying to find a bag of Frooties (since they are one of my favorites), which I thought was a pretty basic trick or treating choice, and I couldn't find them anywhere. Come on.


Don't you think Karl is the sweetest most awesome guy in the world. First I have to explain why and then you will agree with me if you don't already. Before he moved up to Oregon he apparently hid some things around the house for me. When I got back from moving him in he sent me on a scavenger hunt through text and I found a gift card to Frogurt (so great).

Getting back from this last trip was even worse. I came home to an empty house and just started bawling. This time he directed me to a rose and a note he had left for me. It was just what I needed at that moment. Didn't help with the water works, kind of exacerbated that part, but the words were exactly what my heart needed.

While I couldn't think of anything except, do we have everything packed, how is this all going to fit, are we forgetting anything, crap Karl is leaving me soon. He was planning ahead, thinking of things he could do for me, and getting things lined up to show he loved me even from 800 miles away.

So, Don't you think Karl is a sweetie? Because I sure do.

Fall Break in Oregon

So I am finally in Oregon and get to see Karl!!! Unfortunately I have been really sick since I got here and have spent the majority of my time asleep in bed. But when I actually am coherent I really love it up here.

I love our apartment.
I love how green everything is.
I love actually being able to see Karl.
I love being able to watch shows together.
I love being able to make dinner together.
I love being able to talk at night without getting a crick in my neck from holding the phone.
I love going on walks at night and being able to hold Karl's hand.

I could go on for a lot longer but I am starting to fade and you get the idea. I just love being in the same state as my husband. All in all it is just better. Even if I am a zombie right now and sound like a man from my cold.

I don't know where Karl hid the camera or else I would post some pictures of our new place but I guess that will have to wait for another time. Goodnight...at 11:30 am.

Oregon

So it has been official for awhile now but Karl is now living in Oregon. I am finally getting around to putting up some pictures of our trip up to move him in.

It all started out with a going away/birthday party with his family. This is his cake. I thought it turned out pretty good for my limited skills.

Don't mind all the clutter around it. Anyways, we broke up the drive over two days but it was still super long. With a lot of effort we got all our stuff into the second floor apartment. That place is not really designed for people to move in and out, which is ironic since it is month to month rent. There was a super narrow staircase that we had to try and get our furniture up. I am still amazed we were able to get everything. Thanks Tony for being there to help. I mostly just got in the way. I am discovering I am not as strong as I think I am .

So once we got everything in the adventures began. One of the highlights....Crabbing!
It was so much fun. Here is the challenge. What is the difference between Karl's and Tony's crabs? (Besides the size). One is a boy and one is a girl. You try telling the difference.

It was great to just spend the day out in a boat trying to catch these guys. We kept way too many but it was so much fun. When we got home the boys cleaned and cooked while the girls ran to the store.
It was my first time trying crab. I am still not really sure if I like it, but Ann was in heaven.


Next adventure, going to the beach. It was gorgeous. I can't believe I didn't bring my suit because the weather was gorgeous. Then we headed up to Astoria. They have this awesome tower that we climbed to the top of.
It was so intricate on the outside. I wish I could have been able to see more of it. But here is the view from the top.

I am in love. Who could ask for a more beautiful place to call home for the next few years. I can't wait til it is my time to move up there. It has been rough not being able to see Karl and phone calls just really aren't enough, but we are hanging in there. School is stressing both of us out so I guess that is a good thing. Something else to think about. But I have never looked forward to Christmas so much in my life.

Summer Recap

This summer Karl and I were able to have a lot of fun together. We were able to test out our new tent at Moon Lake with Tony and the UFB kids. It is so beautiful up there and we were able to go White Water Rafting. My first time! And I absolutely loved it. Now I am ready to turn hard core rafter.

We also went camping with our friend Nic and his girlfriend Mari. We were able to just relax, play horseshoes, and walk through a waterfall.It was super cold, but pretty. The next day I had to work from 5 until about three in the morning (oh the joys of working at a theater). That gave me less than 2 hours of sleep before we had to leave to hike Mt. Timp. Not a good idea to attempt that hike on pretty much no sleep. BUT, I prevailed! Karl, Rachel, and Thomas were really patient with me and we all made it to the top together.


It is such a pretty hike. And it only took about 10 hours. :)

Danny and some of his friends took us down the glacier and let me tell you, there is no other way to get down. It was so much fun, scenic beyond belief, and it was a lot less work. Our next big trip was going to California for Karl's friends Justine and Lewis's wedding. It was in the San Fransisco area and the weather was great. Afterwards we went to the Oakland Zoo on our way to our Beach Campground. I got asked if I was older than 14. Didn't think I could really pass for a kid anymore, especially with my wedding ring on, but apparently I can.

I have decided if I had to be a monkey I would be a white handed Gibbon. That one was so active. It was so fun to watch. We also got to see them feed the alligators which was awesome, yet scary. I never want to be on the same side of the fence as those things.
I apparently am not good at picking new beach camping spots. They are always pretty, but it is always to cold to get in the water. We spent most of the time in jackets, again. But we still had a blast. There were tons of tidal pools and beaches to explore.
But our favorite place was our sand dune. It was quite the hike to get up but once we made it there was nothing but gorgeous sand and breathtaking views. We spent most of our time at Montana de Oro up there.
When we got back to Utah Karl took me to Wheeler's Farm. We got to see all the cute animals and I finally fulfilled a lifetime dream. To milk a cow. It was just as cool as I thought it would be. Now I want a cow of my own. Except I am sure if I had to get up at 4 every morning to milk the dang thing I would get tired of my cow very fast.
Anyways, this a little bit of our summer. Now Karl is in Oregon and school has started for both of us. It is not fun being apart but we are learning to cope. I will post some of our pictures from that trip soon. Hope everyone had as great a summer as we did!

Happy Country Days!

First off I just need to brag about Karl. Here he is with his flag football team after winning the CHAMPIONSHIP GAME! Yep, I married a stud. Good job honey!

Next, I feel so blessed to be a dual citizen. I love living in America and am so grateful that I am able to live in a country that allows me all the freedoms I take for granted every day. I am also so grateful that I am a Canadian citizen and have that beautiful country as part of my heritage, even if it does cause a little persecution when I start talking about my garburator, runners, eating buns, and more. :)

I was so excited for Canada Day (July 1st) this year. I got all pumped by listening to all my canada songs, singing the national anthem (in French and English) and finding my Nanimo bar recipe. My family was in town, which made it even better, and we got to celebrate big time. We went to a parade in Riverton, hit the Living Planet Aquarium, and even topped off the night with of Nanimo bars (seriously one of my favorite treats), football, and firework popper things. It was so great to see my family. The next morning they headed off for Canada but it was fun while it lasted. Hopefully Karl and I can make it up to Canada one of these days. He still has yet to meet most of my family. I thought I had more pics but apparently this is the only one I have of that momentous day.
Me and Nat at the Aquarium.

For the Fourth Karl, Rachel, Kirsten, Tony and I went hiking up Mt. Timp. Because of all the precipitation it was quite the hike. We were able to ford a snow field
The waterfall was massive due to all the runoff. We were just going to just go to the waterfall but then we got a little adventurous. We climbed up half the mountain and across more snow fields to make it to the top of the waterfalls.
Making everyone pose for a picture. It was gorgeous up there. I love how the water goes under the snow.
Karl and Rachel started having stick fights. I swear sometimes I feel like those two are four years old and I am their mother, constantly telling them to stop picking on each other. :)
We stopped for a quick game of snowball.
Karl showing off his muscles in front of one of the waterfalls. Yeah, we hiked so that at one point I was looking down through those trees above the waterfall.
Me with my best buddy. Thanks for such a fun Fourth honey!