Surgery

I guess I should tell about his knee surgery. Steve has a disease called osteochondritis dissecans so he had to have surgery on his knee. The surgery was a little worse then we planned. He had a big piece of cartilage floating in his knee along with a big creator in his meniscus. So they took 3 screws and put the cartilage back and then did transplants of cartilage plugs from the back portion of his knee in the creator. Instead of being a same day surgery they kept him over night. The next morning he was released with pain pills, muscle relaxers, and anti-puke pills. We left for Colorado that same day for a family reunion. The Doc did ok it. Five days later we were back in the hospital with a DVT (deep vein thrombus) and a PE (pulmonary embolism). It was a little scary but everything turned out just fine. The up side of it I got to practice my injection giving skills and my blood drawing skills on my hubby. Secretly I love it! Everything is healing well and I am grateful we did it now! I am happy he is out of pain. (Although he says I am trying to kill him with the rat poison "coumadin" (blood thinner) that I am giving him.) He is by far my favorite husband and I am lucky he picks me.

Happy B-day Steve

Steve just turn 25 on the 25th! I can't believe how old he is getting. For his b-day he went to work like always but he also had therapy for his knee.


Then when he got home we went out to eat at Ruby River. He loves the ribs and steak there. After that he came home to open his present that I thought rocked. He definitely enjoyed the use of his present.


I included coupons so he could get one at least once a month. The next day we went to the Nickelback concert with our good friend James. It was a really good concert with great music and even better company. Thanks Steve for having a birthday so I had an excuse to spoil you and party!

I like him. I think I will keep him for a few more years.

Happy Birthday to Kinley and Preschool

Kinley turned 3 in June and I can't believe how "big" she is. Technically she only weighs 25 lbs, but she acts like a little 10 year old. She is so sassy and I have the hardest time not laughing when she is. She is going to be way too smart for me in just a few years. She is addicted to anything princess and her favorite color is purple. She loves to change her outfit 12 times a day and hates to pick up her messes. She always says she needs help cleaning up the mess, but never has a problem making it. I love her kisses and hugs and that she will tell me if she likes my outfit or not. I excited for her to get bigger but terrified at the same time.




She also has just started preschool. She loves it! This year I am not too worried about the academic part of it but more for the social. With her being the only baby right now it is hard for her not to be selfish. It is fun to hear all her stories after preschool. The latest one went like this.
" Mom, today my friend took my purple spot on the carpet"
"oh she did?"
"Yes, my friend with the princesses on her backpack. I was not happy. My favorite color is purple"
" wow, so what happened?"
"I had to sit on the orange square"
" that is a great color"
"No it is not. I hate the color orange. I only like purple, pink, and white."
" well it was nice of you to share.
" I know Mom. It is cause I am such a nice nice girl."

I love that I am able to see these moments and have these conversations with her. We are lucky to have her.

When will it sink in?

So I passed my nursing boards and I am now a full blown registered nurse. I can not tell you how horrible I felt after taking them. I always had the support of everyone telling me I passed but even with that encouragement you still feel like garbage! I actually found out from one of my dear friend/classmates. I got a random phone call from him the night of the 19th of June. He said, "congratualtions to the both of us. We both passed! Got to go I'm at work." I was so excited I could hardly sit still. I told Steve who showed as much excitement as he ever does then I called my daddy. I instantly started to cry. All the sleepless nights, tests everyday, missing parts of you baby growing up, and sometimes not seeing your hubby more than 8 hours a week were finally worth it. Steve started calling and texting everyone who would care in his mind. I knew he was proud of me.

Well that was just over 2 months ago and I still don't think it has sunk in. I love were I work and I have made some of the greatest friends on night shift. It is interesting how people come into your life at certain times. It may sound weird but I think my marriage has become better because of the friends I have made at work. I am excited to learn and grow even more in my career. I am still wanting to be in trauma for most of my career but the rehab/g&g place I work at right now is great for now.

OH HAPPY DAY!!!

JUMP FOR JOY AND SHOUT HURRAY! NURSING SCHOOL IS OVER.... at least for today!

That's right you read it! I have graduated from nursing school and I am now a Registered Nurse! After 20 long months of never seeing any friends, family, or being able to get a good night sleep I am finished. Thank you to everyone for you love and support... oh and patience! A special thanks to some of my dearest friends (Erica and Jason, Traci, Lydia, KeiLani, Gina, Mom, and Mom) For watching my baby and loving her with the love that I was not able to give while in school! I am truly indebted for life to you all! I have made some wonderful, hopefully lifelong, friend while in school. I am so happy and elated to be finished although I am having a hard time filling up my spare time. The person I am most grateful for is my husband! He supported me through everything! The countless nights that I was working for free, staying up doing homework, being a horrible housekeeper, and sometimes a crabby wife. (I know it is hard to believe that one!) He was so patient and loved me no matter what! I love that boy!

What's the plan now? (I know you were dying to know)
Currently I am working at a Rehab/Grandpa and Granny home near home. I love it and will probably stay there for a little while. We are hoping to find a bigger house near the end of this year to move into so our growing family will fit....
With that note. NO, I am not currently pregnant. I know it is a perfect time to be and now that I am done with school there are no more excuses (HUBBY). All I can say is we are talking about it. (I am basically begging for one or two...(twins)) If you would like to text the hubby and throw out your own thought on this, as long as they are FOR me getting prego none against, I would not be against that idea. (totally kidding... kind of... ok, I'm not! Text away! Just don't mention it was me that said to)
We have many fun trips planned as a family this summer. Colorado for a family reunion, boating, Florida without the baby, and I am sure whatever else I see fit to plan. Stephen is having surgery in July on his knee. (dead cartilage = ouchie knee and swelling= surgery :) )
I hope you all have a great summer! Send me presents or just come and play with me sometime! Love you all!

Princess Festival

Today we went to the "Princess Festival" in Lindon. All the money goes to the women in Kenya. It was such a "magical" place. The girls (McKinley, Addison, and Kameryn) had a great time helping the Blue Fairy find and save all the princesses from the wicked scary witch. Of course there were a billion pictures taken, but these are some of my favorite. I am so happy we went and I am planning on going next year! It was great to do something with the sisters. We really wish KeiLani was there, but work was calling her name. My friend Jen came with us though and we are so happy she did. We like Auntie Jen.

Next stop Mickelsen Farm to learn the life on the farm!! So happy to be done with school and have the time to play. I'm always looking for more fun activities. If you know of any, leave a comment.

Honey, I'm Pregnant!

Yesterday I played one of the best jokes on my husband. So, as many of you probably know I want a baby... but I don't. It is a bi-polar crisis in our family right now. Steve is content to not have one until I am finished with school and we have some things lined up in life. I have decided that I support this decision. Being at the end of nursing school means that 1/4 of my class has decided to get prego! I am so happy for them. With that come positive pregnancy tests. So this was the joke. I decided yesterday that as an April Fools joke I was going to tell Steve I was pregnant. First of all I am a horrible liar and so I would like you to appreciate how well I did at this. So, I had my dear friend E. give me a sample of her positive prego urine. (it is not that gross if you are in nursing school). I drove straight to All-A-Dollar to pick up a pregnancy test. I got three, this is because last time I found out I was pregnant I took about 7 tests just to make sure. So I had to have at least 3 for Steve to believe me. Anyways, there I sat in the parking lot with my gf urine between my legs in a Wendy's cup taking the pregnancy test. I am not going to lie, it was quite exciting to see the 2 pink lines on all three tests. Even if I knew they weren't mine. After the test were taken I put on my best actress face and decided there was no turning back. I drove to Steve's work and had my story all ready to go. It went perfect! It hit him like a train and I was such a great actress! He was shocked, didn't know what to say. I had my story all planned out on how I had to take a test before I could start birth control and that is when it came up positive. There was this insane awkward silence. He even asked me if this was real and not one of my friends. (I lied) I felt nauseous and like crying, mainly because I just knew I was going to get caught. Then I got all teary eyed because I knew he wasn't excited at all. I started to think, what if this is what it is really like when I am really prego. I was crushed! This whole joke had backfired on me and now I felt bad too! He walked me to my car still in a daze, kissed me on my forehead, and told me he would see me later. It was all I could do to not tell him right there that it was a joke. But I was able to keep it in. We ate dinner in silence, we watch AI in silence and I knew it was because his brain was going a million miles a minute trying to figure out what we were going to do. If any of you know Steve, finances were the number one thing he was worried about. I just couldn't take it any longer. I had made a comment about needing to loose weight and he told me that would have to wait because I would need to gain weight to have a healthy baby. Then he said the thing that crushed me. He said," Well this will be good for Kinley to have a sibling." Knife in my heart! I knew this had gone too far! He was okay with having a baby and now I had to tell him it was all a joke. Originally I had planned to tell him on April Fools morning before I went to bed and he went to work. But I just couldn't make him suffer all night. I sat on his lap, gave him a kiss on the cheek and whispered in his ear, "I'm not pregnant. It was just an April Fools joke. I'm sorry..." I was afraid he was going to be so mad. Instead he started to laugh and told me in a loving way that he hated me and that was a good one! I had totally got him! He told me all the worries that he had been thinking about since I told him earlier that day. Man does this little boy plan for everything! We laughed some more, I said I was sorry a billion times for it going too far. Then I told him my worry about next time. He said if the pregnancy was planned he would be super excited. But a surprise was not what he wanted again. So the dilemma I am now having is that after lying about being pregnant for about 7 hours and realizing that Steve was okay with it after the initial shock... I may want a baby! I do, but I don't... back to bi-polar baby feelings. I love my husband and I am glad that he still loves me after that mean trick! It was the best April Fools joke ever, although I think it affected me more than I would have liked.
Oh and to answer the question on why I did it yesterday, it was so that my smart husband wouldn't think it was an April Fools joke.

Vegitarianism here I come... again.

Yes, you read that right. Those of you that have known me for a long time know that I have not always been a huge fan of meat. Well, it has been 2 years since I have added bloody nasty animals to my diet. If you haven't figured it out yet I believe they will be leaving my diet faster than... lets just say fast. The story goes like this. Stephen my wonderful husband, in a way I say that with sarcasm, but in real life I truly do love every part about him. Well my cute little hubby made dinner tonight which was hamburgers. The first one he made was 100% cooked and I shared it with Kinley. So I was still a little hungry after only eating a half of a burger. I guess he really didn't want me to enjoy eating meat ever again or he might have been trying to kill me because what happened next was a nightmare! So I got my bun all ready with ketchup and he place the patty on the bun. I proceeded to take a bite and all I saw was blood drip down the bun. I immediately spit out the half of a bite in my mouth and ran to the sink. After spitting and dry heaving over and over again I thought I was done until I went to the bathroom and continued to gag. He tried to kill me! I am totally a blood and guts girl too, I guess just not for my food. Stephen apologized and told me he almost couldn't eat anymore after hearing me gag. Yet he still proceeded to eat another hamburger. I guess I should look at the positive in this. I have started to want to eat way healthier and haven't really been a huge fan of red meat or pork for awhile. So I guess it was better for me to quit cold turkey. (no pun intended) My dear mother in law is on the green smoothie health kick and so I am going to just jump on board with that I guess. Wish me luck in my quest to stay alive with my hubby... j/k There is just no more red bloody meat for me. I glad I made it through this one. :)

Taylor Family 2008 Book!

This is a book I made at artscow.com. I really loved how easy it was and the quality is great. It show you a lot of our new family pictures taken by Brittany Andersen, a good friend of mine from school. She did a fantastic job!
Copy and paste this link to see our book:

http://www.artscow.com/share/mnvgguhlqpjx

Add copy and paste this link to sign up for artscow ans get a TON of stuff free! We even made ornaments with our picture on them and gave them for Christmas gifts. Everything is personalized. It is great! Just check it out for yourself. Love you all.

http://www.artscow.com/?Ref=458642

Goals and More

I realized that Halloween was last year and I should probably update. Here is a list of what has happened since then. I hope I don't forget anything.

* I passed my LPN (licenced practional nurse) test.
* I got a new job at a rehab center working night shifts and I love it!
* I have started working out on our Wii Fit and loving that too.
* We got family pictures.
* Kinley thinks everything " is a good idea"
* Kinley told me I was her bestest friend... but then forgot all about our friendship the second daddy walked in.
* We bought and sold a car within a month. ( give or take some days)
* Steve got sick with CO poisoning again... this time from a heater at work. He is totally fine now.
* Steve mastered the Mario Kart on the Wii.... with what little time he has.
* I lost the American Idol challenge to my "boyfriend" Jason. (total inside joke. We are not dating!)
*Steve has shoveled about 10 feet of snow this year already. (we are buying a 4 wheeler and plow before next year)
* Kinley has been a princess ever since Halloween. Meaning, she won't take off her dress. She also got a new one for Christmas. See pictures. My dear friend Melanie made it. It will grow with her and it is fabulous sturdy material. If you want one too I can get you her number.
* Stephen and I both got new phones... yeah :)
* Kinley loves to eat the snow. " Only the white stuff, Mom. The other stuff is nasty dirty," she tells me EVERY time she goes to get some.
* " I have crap in my ears Mom, get it for me."- Kinley ... earwax + mommy's comments = excuse not to go to bed
* Kinley recites "I am a Child of God" like a poem or conversation. It is so adorable.
* Vernal was the place to be on New Years! WT whoot whoot! Love our friends HayLee and Justin who let us stay with them. And always Ben and Lydia who spent that holiday with us too... " if you were the opposite sex for a day..."
* We celebrated THREE YEARS of marital bliss on December 17th. It was great! I am so blessed to be married to an amazing man that is hardworking, loving, super funny, and super HOTT. (right Jessica ... lol) We are a super blessed family!

I think that is enough about these past few months. Now onto our 2009 Goals:
We did these together but they are kind of personal too. And I am sure our list will get longer as the year goes on.
#1- get out of debt... (except for school and mortgage.)
#2 - loose weight (this is for me)
#3 - get pregnant! (this is for Stephen... j/k)
#4- build fence. ( any hookups friends?)
#5- build shed ( " ")
#6- take a vacation ( for me and my sanity)
#7- re-do Kinley's room... (Steve doesn't know about this one)
#8 - attend church at least 1 time every 2 months... ( this is a stretch people! just be proud!)
#9 - enjoy life to the fullest... always a good goal to have.
# 10 - maybe get a new vehicle for Alyssa ( combined goal... Steve thinks I need one more. He says my car is embarrassing to drive. )

That is all I can think about for now. I hope to have more later and be able to knock a lot of these off! Love you all. Thanks for being patient with us and our busy times. Please let us know how we can help you!

Pictures are soon to follow...when they will let me upload them :{

Happy Halloween

Kinley started off by going trick-or-treating at Jason's work. She was a big hit and we were grateful that he invited her to come. Kinley was a princess, I was a wicked witch, and Steve was suppose to be a prince (he didn't love that idea), so he went as a security guard. Many people thought he changed his career. Thanks Wurtz fam for the costume. At night we had the traditional trick or treating at Steve's family's neighborhood, then to my Mom's where we had yummy chili, homemade donuts, and cornbread. Brandon and his friend Owen, and Rob dressed up in some wicked dance costumes. It made us all laugh really hard. We had lots of fun then came home to pass out some candy. We begged one family to come get candy and then we had 2 girls that came trick or treating. Steve answered the door and said, " take as much as you want," instead he meant to say take a couple. These 2 girls went crazy. Steve had a huge bowl of real sized snickers and m&ms and lets just say we have 2 left. These girls kept saying they hit the jackpot as Steve stood shocked in the doorway. First of all... why didn't they have manners? Oh well, although we were a bit bugged that about $30 of candy went to two not so polite girls... We were happy to know that they thought we rocked! Hopefully next year we get more trick or treaters because we are the "jackpot" house.

Pumpkin Carving

We had so much fun with our friends pumpkin carving. It was great fun and super messy!
I think Kin has gotten the Kami smile...

My big helper!

" Look mommy, a fower. Here, I will pick it. And bro it for you." Little does she know, but this is not a flower. This is a weed and the more she blows it all over the more I get. Blowing usually gets it all in her mouth too, so lately she will pick it and then just hit off all the seeds when the blowing fails. I love her so much. I can't believe how much she has grown and how much she talks. It is like a never ending record. I also love how much she loves her daddy. Despite the fact that I carried her for almost 9 months, nursed her for another 9 months, and changed her a lot doesn't not give me top priority in her book. I think I need a mommas boy. (no this is not an announcement.)

On a side note. Kinley just brought me a nerd rope and said,
" mom will you open this?"
"um... no, I don't think we should eat this as I put it on the desk."
" but I want it!"
" Sorry, but we don't need it"- I continued to put it higher as she reached for it
"no no no, I'll put it back. I want to put it back."
As a trusting mom I gave it back. She then walked into the other room still with it in her hand, climbed up behind me onto my chair and found so sizzors on the desk. then she said...
" don't worry mom, I will cut it open. OK. (in that high voice and a head nod that all moms do when they want their child to answer that way.) I typing this ignored her. Until I heard.
" I did it! I cut it by myself." I paused from writing to see that she had gotten it and then as a mean mom I took the candy back away and told her that if she chooses not to listen she can go to time out. Fake cries and whines came out of her little body as she made her way to her dad. She started the fake cry with him saying, "Mommy told me NO. She told me no."

Did I mention how much I love her! I think she is so cute I just can't get enough of her.

Half Way... it feels great!

these are a bunch of my friends from school. I have studied with most of them. :)

I have graduated as a LPN! What does this mean? I am now able to sit for my boards ( the really big test that scares me a little.) and to prove that I am smart enough to be a license practional nurse. I am not going to tell you when I will take it. But I will tell you it is super soon. I just don't want to not pass and then have to tell you all and feel dumb. My hopes are high though. I feel like I have learned a ton in this past year and I would trust myself to take care of those I love. So hopefully that mean I will pass. Here are some pictures from my graduation. Steve was not able to be there... but he did send me a text that told me how proud of me he was. ( I may have cried a little.) I was so happy to have the support of my parents and his parents there though. I have made so many great friends and I can not wait to be finished. I will be done on May 29th and graduation will be soon after that. Thanks for all your support. Pray for me daily until you know if I passed my test.

(for some reason I have no pictures of me with my parents, or with my in-laws. I know i took some... sad)

Little Red Flag!

Go and check out this blog and know what you need to do to make you blog safer. http://imadhis.blogspot.com/2008/09/caught-on-web.html

Love you all. I passed all my classes for my LPN and I am just waiting to get a date to test. Life is busy but wonderful! We love you all. Graduation is on the 17th. Call me if you would like to come and find out more about it.