St. George and Zion's

This last week Tyler FINALLY got a week off. He completed his orientation (good job babe) and it was time to get him away from Vernal. We decided to take a trip to St. George and celebrate his Birthday while we were there since he would be back to work for it. Although nothing went as planned we had a blast. We were originally going to go to Vegas to ride the New York New York roller coaster and play the quarterback challenge at ESPN Zone. Lucky for us (not really) they were both closed. It was too windy to run the roller coaster and who knows about ESPN Zone, but Tyler got lucky there cause I usually kick his butt in the quarter back challenge (ok...maybe not). The trip down was a great one. We can make any situation fun, that's part of the reason I love being with my sweetheart so much.
We spent quite a bit of time at the pool which is something I feel you cannot do too much. Saturday morning when we went to go lay out though, there were a ton of kids there and we didn't really want all the commotion around, so we decided to go for a hike. Zion's of course is the best option around when you are in St. George and I couldn't wait to go. I grew up going to Zion's frequently, but haven't been in at least 10 years. We decided to do the Angel's Landing hike which was beautiful. I have to admit, it was a little challenging for me, I hate heights and was quite timid once we reached the section with the chain, but I am grateful it was there. Once we got to the top though, the whole thing is worth it. It is an absolutely phenomenal view. What a reward!

The hike only took us 2 hours which surprised me since the brochure says the average time is 4 hours, so we had plenty of time to go back to the condo and relax and grab a delicious dinner from Texas Roadhouse. That restaurant never lets me down.
All in all, it was a great trip. I hope my sweetheart enjoyed his "not official Birthday, Birthday celebration."
When we got back I had a day off in between work and coming back out to Vernal, so Tyler decided we should go Mountain Biking. I don't know if it should be called Mountain Biking, or hiking with bikes. It was quite the adventure. I road bike and it is such a different feeling from what I am used to. To me the shox make it feel like the tires are flat. I did a really good job at scaring Tyler by letting out a random scream when he couldn't see me. We went on some old trails as well that haven't been ridden in a long, long time so we had a couple of fences to jump and a lot of walking the bikes, but honestly, I can't wait to go again.

Big News

After all the miracles, heartache, developed friendships and lessons learned, and I am quitting my job with Intermountain Healthcare. I have been with the company for almost six years and this September will be five years that I have been in the same department. The feeling is so bittersweet. I am excited for the new journey I am about to embark on, but going to miss the place that I have grown so much.
I don't know if there will ever be a job that compares to the one I have had. I watch miracles occur, hearts break and relationships form. I have had the most rewarding job anyone can ever ask for, but also one of the most stressful. I have loved every smile I have seen, every hug I have been given and every thank you I have received from a child that I just made cry.
Now, it's onto something completely new. I am moving onto a field I have never worked and am very excited to learn about. Tyler got a job in Vernal a few months ago and I have decided to find a job out there and attend school. I will be working at a credit union and going to school at Utah State. While I still plan to go to nursing school, I am excited to see a totally different field and possibly end up in a totally new direction in my education. I have been so impressed the school already and am excited to have a job with normal hours, that I don't have to work holidays, weekends (one Saturday a month) and long exhausting nights. I don't know if the trade off will be worth the rewards I currently get, but you never grow if you don't jump in and take a big risk.
So...here's to new experiences. Let's hope it's a good one.

My Amazing Man

I have the most amazing man in the world. I am treated like a princess constantly and shown love unconditionally. This last May was 1 year since I met my sweetheart and I love all the experiences that we have had together...the good and bad. May was also a big month for Tyler. He graduated from Dixie State and I was so proud to watch him walk and to see all that he has accomplished. No, it's probably not the end of the education he will receive, but I am so proud of what he has accomplished at this point.
Our outing to get to the graduation was not easy, but it was so fun. Tyler had been working in Vernal for a couple weeks when the weekend of his graduation arrived. I drove out to Vernal so that we could drive to St. George together. We planned to live Thursday evening when Tyler got out of work so we would have time to hang out and relax before his graduation Friday night. Well, as we all know plans never go as expected. I picked Tyler up from work with the car loaded, tank full of gas and snacks prepared. We weren't even five miles out of Vernal when my car started to make a very nice thudding sound underneath. We pulled over to see if I was dragging something (my car is very low). There was nothing to be found, other than the tread that had come off my tire completely. So, we decided to head back into Vernal to get a new tire, only to find that my tire is a very uncommon size and no one in Vernal had it in stock (thank you to the wonderful Wal*Mart lady who called every tire shop). Well, we decided to make do and head out anyways. We would change our plans and drive slowly and carefully into Orem and get a new tire in the morning. So much for making another plan....the next attempt out of Vernal we made about ten miles out only for my passenger tire to blow out completely. Good times! Thank goodness for roadside assistance. After about an hour of waiting and lots of phone calls made telling family members we may not make it down the tow truck finally showed up.
After the short adventured that had already occurred, we found out that not only did Vernal not have my tire size, but the don't have a car rental place either (if anyone wants to open one up out there, I bet they would do well). I have to admit, I was bummed. I was excited for a weekend away with my sweetheart as well as the chance to watch him graduate. Well, turns out there's a good thing for acquaintances. Tyler's Grandpa had a friend that happened to live in the next town over that was willing to let us take his extra truck to St. George for the weekend. This is when the real adventure begins. This was no ordinary truck. This thing was a monster. It was a 2003 Dodge Ram (dually...six wheels, and six speed manual) with over 550,00 miles on it. I wasn't worried about the tires blowing this time, I was worried about the engine crashing. Turns out, I loved the truck. I couldn't wait to get into the drivers seat and test it out. Even with all the stress that my car caused, it was the best road trip I have ever had. What it comes down to is Tyler is just a fun guy to always be around.
We finally got to St. George about 4:00 a.m. Friday morning, which exhausted us for the whole weekend. The graduation was great though, and I am so grateful for everyone that came to support him. He is worth the celebration. The rest of the weekend we just relaxed and hung out at the pool and hunted down tires of the size I needed. We ended up having to go up a size if we wanted tires at all.
All in all, it was a great weekend. I couldn't have asked for a better time.




Thanks Kelsey for the pictures

My Ever Growing Family

For Easter we finally got together as our one big happy family (minus Brant not being there). There is no sarcasm in that either. I have the most amazing family in the world and love it when we have the chance to all get together. It is so rare, but the memories are always great. The Easter Bunny was kind enough to work Grandma's house into his schedule a day early so all the kids could celebrate Easter together. It was so much fun to watch the excitement and the interaction all the kids have with each other. I now have 6 nieces, nephews and one more of each on the way. I have loved watching my family grow...and it doesn't seem like the growing will stop anytime soon.