2 months....

I am soooo excited. It is exactly 2 months to the day till I will meet my future husband at the temple and marry him for eternity! For now it is a lot of planning and some stressing along the way...

Honestly we are doing so good as far as being ready. We have the venue, the temple date, my dress, bridesmaids dresses, food, decorations, etc... Now I find myself searching online for stuff I can do for the wedding. :( I've officially decided I'm probably crazy, but can you blame a girl for being excited?

Here is my little plug for addresses. If you read my blog and I haven't asked for your address or you aren't on the address list that Grandma Hellewell just send out, will you please send me your address so I can send you an invitation. Thanks

Engaged

Sorry, this isn't much, but I was realizing that I hadn't even posted that I was getting married. So, for those of you that don't know I am getting married January 15th in the Bountiful temple. My fiance's name is Justin McEwan. He is amazing and I am so lucky to be marrying him for eternity.

Cute kid pics

Hey everyone. I know i'm horrible at blogging lately. I am super busy lately it seems...although I do seem to have time to jump on to facebook so I should find more time for my blog :P

On monday this week my family went to Antelope Island, a state park which has antelope and buffalo running wild. It was pretty fun. It used to be a running ranch and the ranch house is open to walk through. The kids really loved it, and the adults had fun too. Here are a few pics from our trip. Enjoy :)








I didn't have any good pics of Liam...so he isn't included in these pics, but I'll upload one soon. Hope everyone is doing well.

pretending to be mommy

Well, it has been way too long since I've blogged. Feel like I'm super busy all the time. My job is moving along. This next week is my last week on orientation and then I'll transition to being an official PICU nurse. I'm getting excited. I also just got called to the RS presidency so my sundays are pretty busy now. Other than that I'm trying to spend time with my family since all my immediate family lives nearby now.

This weekend my sister and brother-in-law are running this relay that is like 100 miles non-stop. So, I recieved the job of watching the kids. Lucas has decided that I'm his "other mommy" he calls me mommy all the time. I'm definitly not ready to be a mom of 5, but it is going ok. Most likely because my mom and dad have been relieving me with taking at least on kid at a time.

Well, we are about to go up to Park City to see Chris and Jared finish their race so that is all for now. HOpe everyone is doing well.

Real Life

Well, I'm sorry it has been so long since I updated. I would say I've been really busy, but the truth of the matter is I've been so lazy and boring that I had nothing to write about....

So, I started at Primary Childrens Hospital yesterday. I'm so happy to be back at work. I can't wait to get on the unit. Right now I'm just going through orientation which is kinda boring... I've met a few nice girls that I'll be working with though. I think it is going to be a great thing.

For the last few weeks I've just been enjoying my free time. I've spent a lot of time with my sister up in Syracuse which has been great fun. I continue to go dancing every thursday night which is great fun, even though I'm not so good. I've gotten to know a few guys that have good potential but not really anything to report on the dating topic... :(

Well, I guess that is about it really. I'll write again when I have more to report.

check out my sisters blog!!!

Most of you who follow my blog probably follow my sisters blog too but if you don't already go check out: morethoughtswithchris.blogspot.com

She posts free giveaways from different blogs which are great fun. She wins all sorts of fun stuff pretty frequently.

Right now on her blog she has a giveaway going for a great family friendly outdoors kit from Yoplait. It has all sorts of fun things to do outdoors. So, if you have a family, some friends or know of someone who has some ;) then you should go over and check it out.

a few pics and updates

So, last week I met my friend Jina to look at apartments together. While I was waiting for her I took a few pictures of the temple. Here are a few of my favs.






Jina and I ended up finding an apartment in Midvale, right on the Sandy/Midvale border. The apartment is nice. Don't know enough about the area to know how it is. I hope the ward ends up being a good one. The day we met up to look at apartments one of my other good friends came down from Rexburg with her husband a baby. It was great to see Kristina and meet her son. None of my pictures of us together turned out that great so I wont share those...

I'm still kinda living between my apartment and my sisters house. I don't have any of my furniture yet. It should be here on tues or wed next week. For now I'm enjoying spending time with my niece and nephews. The older kids are on spring break so we are having fun. On Monday we went to the zoo. It was my first time and I thought it was great. I hope to go back some time soon. Here are a few random pics from the trip to the zoo.














We also went to the tree house museum yesterday and I took the older three kids to see Monsters vs. Aliens. The kids enjoyed the movie and were really good. I think tomorrow will be more of a relaxing day. I'm really looking forward to this weekend. I LOVE Easter. I love all that it means and just in general love the holiday. Spring time is so beautiful and I love chocolate, getting dressed up in a new outfit for church, being with family, and easter egg hunts. I'm especially excited since this year I get to spend the holiday with the kids. I hope everyone has a great Easter!

In Utah

So, sorry I haven't really posted in awhile. NOt too much going on really although life is changing I guess. I'm in Utah, but living with my sister till I find a place. Kinda feels like I'm here for a visit still. I'm still in suitcases and it has been fun. I guess once I get into a place it will feel more like I've actually moved... We shall see.

Chris and I have gone shopping some and braved the stores with my adorable but rambunctious niece and nephews a few times. My brother-in-law was super sweet and watched the kids last night so we could go out. It was nice even if I spent too much money.

One of the things I missed from my college days was getting to go Country Dancing, so one of the first things I did once I got here was to go dancing again. The dancing in SLC is very different than Rexburg but it is fun. It has been too long since i've really danced and I can tell I'm pretty out of shape. Dancing can be exhausting!!!! It was a long of fun though: cute guys, dancing, music, and did I mention cute guys???

Today I went to the singles branch again which was fun although it is much smaller than even last time I came. They are trying to recruit me but I still think I need to move closer to work. My friend Jina is moving out here on Tuesday and we are going to go look at some places on Wednesday. Hopefully it will all work out. I'd like to get moved in with some time to spare before work starts.

Well, I hope all is well with everyone.

Coming to an end...

Well, I've worked at Shriner's hospital for 3 years now...It really has been a good first job. I've learned to love all the burned kids and their families I've treated over the years. I have learned how hard it is to lose a kid after working so hard to save them and the joy of seeing a little one return walking, talking and doing well. I'm going to miss the kids and my coworkers that have become my friends. But, I am excited for new experiences and adventures. I believe strongly that this is what I am supposed to do right now.

Tonight may very well be my last night at Shriners (I am scheduled tomorrow but put in to be cancelled and it looks very likely). My coworkers have planned a small going away potluck and some of us are going to breakfast tomorrow morning after work. They have all been so sweet and I will miss them.

For now I am going to relax a bit before I go to work :)

One of my new favorite things!!

I just discovered a great new thing!!! It is called Emergen-C. It has a lot of Vit-C and B vitamins. I am always sick as most of you know so I mentioned at work that I tried Airborne to try to avoid getting sick. But I can barely swallow that stuff down and have never really noticed a difference. My co-worker recommended I try this stuff. I've only tried it for about a week, but I already feel like I have so much more energy and it has held off this cold I've been threatening to get for a week or so. You can check it out and www.emergenc.com, plus it looks like it has free samples. I have only tried the tangerine flavor but I think it actually tastes good!!

Oh, another "fav thing" I found this week is a new author. My sister recommended I try her a little while ago but I wasn't wild about the first book i read. The author is Melody Carlson and the book is called "A mile in my flip-flops" really cute. It is christian fiction, but not super "preachy" which is the only thing that irritates me about some christian fiction. I always like finding a new author...I go through books too fast.

Well, other than that I am getting really, really excited for my job at Shriner's to be over so I can start moving to Utah. Only 6 more shifts and then it is on to new things...crazy!! I'm trying to debate between buying a house or renting and haven't really decided yet. But I am looking at both. Looks like I'll be in Utah soon which I'm pretty sure my sister and her family is excited about. Seems like it is the cool thing in our family to move to Utah (look what you started Chris).

I guess that is about it for now

a few things to report...

Well, for being friday the 13th it is a GREAT day!!!

I recieved a phone call from the manager of the pediatric ICU who I had a great conversation with...and a job offer. I had already recieved the offer for the float pool position at Primary Childrens, but I really wanted this job instead. I am very excited. I hope that everything can be worked out to get there in a few weeks. unless I want to wait till May to start I must get there no later than the 10th. I have a lot of work to do to move to Utah, but I am very excited!!! I'm looking for apartments and trying to get all the necessary odds and ends together despite still being sick. I'm hoping that my dad is right and that it is airplanes and not Utah which continues to make me ill....

On another note....It is that time of year again. To most people it is called "Valentine's day," but to a single woman it is never so great. But alas, I am determined that it be a good day (and weekend) anyways. So, after my doctor appointment today I stopped by sherrie's berries for a little treat...




...and now I am sitting on my couch watching the greatest Chic Flick in the world "Pride and Prejudice" (sigh)




I was able to keep down one berry and some lunch/dinner from Jac's Urban Eats :) So it is a GREAT DAY!!! I wish you all a great Valentine's day

back in Cali...

So I'm home, and I'm sick AGAIN! I don't know what it is but I ALWAYS get sick when I go to Utah. Is this a sign that I'm not supposed to move there??? I still haven't heard from the float pool position about whether i got it or not. I did get a call from the PICU wanting to do a phone interview. She sounded excited that I applied...I didn't answer cause I feel so crummy and I'm lame. I feel stupid, but also glad I couldn't have sounded too impressive feeling like I do. But I need to call back I know...Well that is about it for now. I did have a lot of fun in Utah, still am confused about what I'm supposed to do. I think the Lord is just making me make the decision myself which is probably the best thing, but it is still driving me crazy!!! Well, here is to making decisions quickly :)

Sooooooooooooooo done with work...

I'm so glad it is my friday and I'm off for about a week. I get to go to Utah for a few days and I'm way happy about that. Joelle's birthday is friday so it will be way fun to be there for that. She is getting so big!!

I hopefully also will have an interview for friday at Primary Childrens although I'm having a bit of trouble getting ahold of the recruiter to confirm.... Wish me luck though!!!

Work is a big frustrating, stupid thing right now....so it will be great to get away from it for awhile. Well that is it. Hope everyone is happy and healthy.

Venting...

so, it is 2am....and i'm on about every medicine known to man thanks to the doctors and I can't sleep. My back feels mostly ok, but I'm going on night 3 with like no sleep and I'm about to go insane. I'm blogging because I'm sick of staring at my ceiling in the vain hope that I can sleep. For some reason I keep thinking about the strangest things. For example: I kept getting names stuck in my head that I would want to name a son if I ever had one...and then I had to look up what the stupid names meant. Ok, so now that I sound completely crazy (I'm blaming the insomnia and drugs for that), I'm going to try and go back to staring at the ceiling. sorry again for this blog. please just look at it, laugh and forget anything said here. :)

stupid me...

Well, I hurt my back this week at work and am so frustrated with my self. I've had to go to the clinic that works with our workmans comp and went to PT for the first time today. I think it will get better soon though and I am still making it to work so I can't complain (at least not too bad). BLAH!

Because my mom is complaining I haven't blogged in awhile

So, I bought myself a new camera right around Thanksgiving. I spent way too much and haven't figured everything out on it yet, but I love it. Since I've seen my sister's family twice since then, her children have been my subjects. They are just too cute and everyone likes pictures of the kids over pictures of ourselves... I can tell Lucas sits still the most because I have more of him than any of the others. Here are a few of my attempts. I still need work, but the kids are cute ;)











Other than playing with my camera I've been focusing a small portion of my time trying to figure out where I will live once my lease is over at the end of february. I'm still in the "I have no clue what I want to do" stage. Sometimes I think I'll move to Utah (I have an interview soon there...), other times I really like my ward and think change is such a pain. But I have to find somewhere to live so I'm still debating it out in my mind. I better figure it out soon. If anyone has any ideas or theories or experiences let me know.