Just Kidding!

Things can change quickly. Thats a fact of life right? Not too long ago I got a call from Desert View Hospital in Pahrump saying they would like me to come down and work full time in the emergency room. I was thrilled! I had been trying to get down there all summer long and it was finally happening! The first day I could start was November first since I had to finish out the month of October at Central Valley Medical Center. So....I went to "as needed status" at Central Valley, packed up all of my stuff, informed my sister Lynsey should would be having a baby sitter pretty much whenever she needed, and drove down to Pahrump. I was moving into a house down there my dad's company has. It was the PERFECT situation. When I went into the hospital the next day to get all set, I spoke with the Emergency Room manager. She explained they had a rigorous six week training program. I immediately was a little nervous since I knew there was a possibility I could be going back to school in January. However, I had informed them of this so I thought it was all good. Plus, I had a while before I was supposed to know anything about school. Cross that bridge when we get to it. As I was walking into the HR manager's office I got a call on my cell phone. Here is the conversation:

Rob: Hi Jessica this is Rob from Weber State University. I just wanted to inform you that you have been excepted into the RN program starting January.

Me: Oh?

Rob: Since you live further south we were wondering if you wanted to complete our program at the DATC campus in Kaysville. This program, unlike the main campus program, ends in August. The main campus program breaks during the summer and ends in Decemeber.

Me: So, I would be going to school closer to Salt Lake and I would finish earlier?

Rob: Correct.

Me: Yeah, Rob you can go ahead and count me in. I'm super excited!!

Ope...there pops up that bridge. So with the ER manager, the Administrator, and the Human Resource Manager all present I discussed my dilemma with them. I knew the ER manager (her name is Mary) because I had worked with her when I was in Pahrump before. They were so wonderful so congratulate me and said they would be more than happy to keep me here till school. However, I understand there is really no reason to train me for six weeks just so I can leave two weeks later. So...I thanked them and spent the next four days hanging out with my mom, sister, and kiddos. Then I moved my entire closet back up to Utah. Oy Vey.

Pretty much what we did while I was down there.





All my crap in Pahrump......



Same crap in Nephi.....four days later.....



Honestly, everything worked out perfect. I'm starting school in a great program closer to where I will be living and finishing earlier than I had expected. BUT....I was soooo excited to be close to Lynsey and her family for the next two months. I walked into her house after I found out and totally started crying. I miss them when they aren't here and I wanted nothing more than to be crashing on their couch, tending the kids, and just bumming around with my sister.


So.....I literally drove back down like the next week lol. It was Randy's birthday (shout out to Randy!!! Love you bro!) and Lynsey wanted to take Randy out just the two of them. I went down to babysit the kids. Since I kinda quit my job and just pick up shifts whenever someone calls me, I've had some free time on my hands. I drove down Friday after work and stayed till Tuesday. Had a blast. Thanks you guys for letting me stay, feeding me, and hanging out with me. I truly cherish our relationship probably more than I tell you :). Love you!

Wouldn't it be awkward if Lynsey didn't read this post??



Here are some pictures from the trip. I feel bad I didn't get one with the birthday boy or my sister. Woops.
These kids....seriously can't stand how cute they are!



Ava and I made some delicious cookies in some super cute aprons.





The night Lynsey and Randy went out we all snuggled up in our PJ's, watched a movie, made paper airplanes, and just played like crazy. I also painted Ava's fingernails and toenails. She picked the colors. Toenails were pink, fingernails were light pink. Shocking.



Little dude man....








Kai had a little bit of a cold in his chest so the pediatrician recommended they give him breathing treatments fours times a day for a couple of days. He kicked and screamed the first few times. When he realized he got to watch cartoons and have a treat during the treatments, he really came around. Cute Huh?





Lastly, I would like to make note that I am fully aware my eye brows are SUPER dark. My mom and I dyed them right before she left for their cruise. I think we'll try medium brown and not dark brown next time. So yes, those are in fact my eyebrows not caterpillars on my face. Geez.....

Catch Up!

So....a little while ago I went to visit some friends in good ol' Rexburg Idaho with another one of my good friends. It was a super short trip but it was really fun. Their little apartment is above a malt shop that has live music and a dance floor. I wish I had gotten a picture of their apartment because it was seriously so cute. One of the days we went to see some water falls that were soooo pretty. That night we went to eat at the most unbelievable burger joint. Yes, you'll know what I am talking about when you see the pictures. It was such a fun trip, and I have to give a shout out to the Stringhams for being so hospitable!









The pictures below are seriously unbelievable right!?! A single patty was 1 lb. They ordered me the single to see if I could get my picture on the wall by eating it all. I failed miserably. The rest of them shared a double. Needless to say we were all stuffed by the time we left.









Please don't be offended by these next pictures. Come on they are asking for it right?? We were driving out to go shoot some skeet and I made everyone get out of the car to take pictures with this sign. I just couldn't believe it! Do I have the sense of humor of a five year old....well yes I guess I do.









I also went to the Lion King at Capital Theater and Tarzan down at Tuacahn. Both were so amazing. The costumes for the Lion King are so neat. I don't have any pictures from Tarzan, unfortunately. Funny thing about Tarzan is that I think the guy who played Kerchak (Tarzan's dad) looks like a gorilla despite the makeup and costume anyway. Impressive casting. I would go to both of them again. So great!









I have to work this whole weekened :(. Therefore I don't really get to celebrate Halloween so I did it last week. My old roommate Dottie and I dressed up as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles because....well what else would we dress up as? These outifts were crafted by Dottie's mother and lots of duct tape. Sweet....





This one if fuzzy because we were moving so fast!






The next night I went to an ABC party my friends were having. They just moved into a new house so it was kind of like a house warming party. And yes, ABC does stand for anything but clothes. I went over to their house early to try and craft something out of whatever they had. Between us their was a newspaper, bubble wrap, ball pit, and duct tape dress. I have to tell you I made Julee's newspaper dress and I am super proud. Project Runway here I come! Also, I have a micro mini duct tape skirt....we ran out of duct tape!







Yup, only one looking at the camera






Last but not least....I have decided I attract rodents of unusual size. Well maybe just rodents in general. I was sitting on the couch last night watching a movie (it was like 2:30 am. My sleeping patterns are out of wack thanks to night shifts) and all of the sudden I hear our dog barking like mad. I went to investigate and there sits a hissing racoon on my dad's Harley. Oodie (our dog) was frantically trying to get to it. Of course, I run to grab the camera THEN spring into action. I grabbed Oodie so the racoon would come down and then I let Oodie go to get it. It freaked out and ran up the weedwacker hanging on the wall.





Thats when I got my dad out of bed and this is what ensued.



Apparently I laugh like a clown....didn't know that. And the rustling and growling you can hear at the very end...yeah thats Oodie and the raccoon going at it. Oodie eventually chased it up a tree. What did Oodie get for all of his hard work?? A good belly scratch and a Rabies booster the next day. Thanks Oodie!

Wigs, David, and Mountain Men

Yes, another trip to Vegas. Apparently I can't get enough. My good friend Char got married on the 28th so we did a big hoorah in Vegas for her. The girls that planned it did a great job....I'm broke but it was really fun :). The first night we went out in these crazy wigs and I'll tell you the drunk people of Vegas just loved us. We ended singing Happy Birthday to several people like we were a wigged singing group. We spent all day at the pool the next day and, yes I'll answer your question, I did see the tiny blonde comedian we know as David Spade....at the "party" pool. Not much of a party pool unless you pay 100 bucks. Crazy.
That night we dressed up nice to go to TAO the club at the Venetian. I have no idea how, but we ended up getting in the club without waiting and without paying. I've decided just talk to the right security and they'll let you in. We had so much fun!
The funniest thing of the entire trip was the drive down there. We stopped outside of Cedar City for a rest stop and Brooke (who was driving) thought her car sounded funny so we get out to investigate and Brooke freaks out and screams there is an animal!! So I look at the front of her car and there is a full on claw hanging out of her grill. So she calls her boyfriend in Cedar and we drive down to Cedar with this animal THING in her grill. I thought for sure that thing was all squished and dead in there. So when we get to Cedar her boyfriend starts poking it with a stick trying to get it out and the thing moves!!! Eventually its crawling all over in her car screeching and trying to get out. Some random guy showed up and ended up pulling the thing out by its tail. What was it you ask? A ROCK CHUCK. What the crap!?!?! It waddled away I'm sure terrified and wondering why the heck it was being relocated to Cedar City via the grill of a compact car. Poor thing.

This is a rock chuck....didn't even know what they looked liked until I had this encounter




Can you see its claw!?!


Pics from the trip....sorry I didn't get any with David









A couple weeks ago I was invited to Tintic days in....hold on....Eureka, Utah. I have actually been to Eureka several times and I have come to love this little town. They had a little parade and this mountain man presentation and all this fun stuff. I went with such a fun group of people too. I hadn't seen a lot of these people for a long time and it was so much fun. Thanks Ian for the invite :)







So I have to do a little shout out to Sam's sister Dixie she was driving through on her way to school and stayed with us for a couple days. Sam also had a gig that weekend. Thanks Dixie for stoppin' by just had a blast with ya!!!

This Summer....

I finally graduated!!.....from LPN school that is. The graduation ceremony might have been the weirdest thing I have ever taken place in. However, so exciting and such a relief I am at least this far.






This picture is posted because Robert lost his CTR ring during the ceremony and we seriously thought we were going to lose HIM. Thankfully we found it and he is still with us today.



Thanks everyone for all of your love and support...even when I was a total basketcase :)


VIVA LAS VEGAS

I have been fortunate enough to travel down to vegas a couple times since school got over. It was Ava's birthday and then she also had a dance recital and so on and so forth. Don't worry the next set of photos isn't actually going to make a lot of sense I am just combining several trips into one post.



So, you may have read the story on Lynsey's blog but we made cupcakes for Ava's birthday party and the first batch struggled. Our icing wasn't as *firm* as we needed it. I'm not blaming anyone! This lovely cupcake I called the areola cupcake when it was finished. I can say that...I'm a nurse.


Second batch....MUCH better. Fact of the matter is we were all WAY too stressed out about the way the cupcakes were gonna look. They were cupcakes for a bunch of three year old....not a celebrity wedding. It was so fun.





So I also had a birthday in May and it was the big two one!! My amazing family wanted to throw me a surprise party. I had no idea. In fact the night before my birthday I was driving home from provo with my mom and little brother when I had a little bit of a melt down. I cried about how I didn't have any friends and no one even knew it was my birthday. *A little dramatic* Robert even begged my mom to tell me about the surprise I was so sad. My plan was to go to a FRIEND's birthday party on my birthday. How lame. Anywho, the next day I went on this really fun scavenger hunt and next thing I know some girls from nursing school were at my door telling me we were driving down to vegas. Alecia had set everything up with the help of my mom and Sam.
The first night we stayed at the house in Pahrump and hung out in the mall and on the strip that day. I'll make note right now that when I got to our hotel for the next night the lady at the desk noticed it was my birthday from my license. When I told her it was my 21st she gave me a free upgrade to the penthouse suite. We were on the top floor and the view....amazing.
Anyway, once we got ready our first stop was Thunder from Down Under with VIP tickets. Yes you read right Thunder from Down Under. I have never seen so much pelvic thrusting in my life. I've also never laughed so hard. The music, the lights, the choreography, simply epic. Favorite part....one of the *aussies* jumps up on our table, grabs a lady's beer, dumps it all over himself, and whips his head around causing beer to fly every where. I'm slightly grossed out at this point but I'm also wiping tears away I am laughing so hard. It was fantastic.
After ALL that we went to a club at the Luxor where Sam had this really sweet hookup. The scene was unreal. SOOOO many people were trying to get in. Some lady, to no avail, even offered the bouncer like 250 bucks to let just her in (not even her friends). So I roll up, talk to the guy at the front, he checks the list, scans the crowd all secretively, and next thing I know there we are rolling into this big time club. When we were making our way to the front some girl got mad and said, "um there is a line here" without skipping a beat my friend Corey goes "um we're on the list" It was hilarious. Needless to say that was girl was pissed. Once we got into the club some randoms invited us to their table. So ANOTHER bouncer gives us a special stamp and from then on we had free food and drinks the entire time we were there. It was unbelievable. To top it off I look over and Chris Angel and Carrot top are right next to me. Alright.
As we were driving back to the hotel the sun started to come up. We seriously had SUCH a blast. The girls I went with were so awesome and it was a pretty unforgettable night. We got up like 2 hours later and drove back to Utah.

Literally like the only pictures I have from the trip. I totally forgot to take pictures and most of the places we went we weren't allowed to take any lol.


Yes one of the few pictures includes me posing like a giant stripper. Awe Vegas.


LIFE ON THE LAKE

Lynsey's blog has a much cuter post about Lake Powell but I had to make a note about it on my blog. We had so much fun!! The tubing and knee boarding and wakeboarding kicked all of our butts but it was totally worth it. Here are a few pics!






I think I have a new love and its called wakeboarding. Hopefully we will go boating more often so I can be boarding all year round!




I'm taking credit for this picture I was totally the photographer. Sums up the trip completely!


Check out the speedo he's rockin...

LAST ONE ALMOST THERE!

I've done a bad thing. Seriously bad. When it comes to my hair I kinda have done it all. I had this idea in my head it would be super cute to have all these crazy curls so my hair would be super easy to do. How do you get curly hair....you perm it right? My mom and I picked out the perm and the size of curlers we wanted (we had no idea what we were doing and the girl at sally's was an idiot). I called my grandma cause she's great at rolling perms and enlisted her help. She hesistated at first but was totally on board. It started out real positive.




Then the smelly burny stuff. This part sucked a little.




Then the horrific phase where you have to wash it out. I feel like I know a little about what its like to drown.





Before we go further, I'll let you know my grandma did an amazing job rolling it. No fish tails. Maybe my hair just wasn't ready for the task.
When we were done I thought I'll go blow dry my hair so I can see my lucious curly locks for the first time.

And here were the results.........



!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Surprised is any understatment. Since then I have spent a good chunk of change on some expensive conditioners and hot oil treatments. My stylist about flipped when I told her what I did. My hair is in fact on the mend but its gonna take a while. Till then lots of headbands and updo's :)