Christmas Time

Well we had a great Christmas. We love that we had tons of snow on Christmas and that the weather wasn't too bad so we could visit our families. We enjoyed all the different Christmas parties we had and have one more to attend on Sunday. We are also excited that we have two more months before our baby is expected to arrive. I have some belly pictures to share. I am not fond of taking these pictures because I don't like to see my self so large! It seems the baby is growing rapidly and everything with the pregnancy is perfect (no swelling etc) But she is making me uncomfortable these days, her favorite position is sticking her foot under my right Rib cage. I have 9 weeks to go and I am sure that as she grows the more uncomfortable I will get. Good thing Russ gave me a Prenatal massage certificate for Christmas! =)

28 weeks

30 weeks

We are getting ready for our baby girl to arrive and collecting things slowly so we don't have to buy everything at once. We have had the crib for a few months and this is the bedding that I got for Christmas, it is my favorite gift =) It looks so adorable now it just needs a little girl!

Here are some other Christmas activities photos

Decorating cookies

Building a snowman

GO BYU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The last post was by the husband. This is the true team to cheer for!

GO UTAH!!!!! 

Please HELP RUSS!!

For Russ's English class he has to write a research paper. For this paper he needs data from a survey he created. Above is a link to the survey, it is only 10 questions, if you could take it it would be very helpful. He is polling college graduates and current college students, so if that applies to you please take it!!! Thanks!!!!

Other updates:
I can feel the baby move a lot now. It is real kicks and movements I can feel now rather than the bubbling it was before. It is one of my favorite things because it makes her feel real and when she moves I know she is there.

Russ and I spoke in church today. We were assigned to talk about Pres. Uchtdorfs talk from conference "The Infinite Power of Hope" People told us we did well, so I guess it went good?

I start my job a week from Monday (Nov 17th) The office is only 5 minutes from our house. That is fabulous. When I was on rotations in Arizona I had an hour commute.

Thats all for now!

JOB

So I finally got a job and one that I want =) I have a lot of interviews and I was really getting sick of the process. I got a job with Central Utah Clinic in the Internal Medicine department. I will be working in an outpatient office in Orem. The doctors I will work with are really nice and the office seems like a great place to work. I have been really bored and I am very excited to get to work!

Battlecreek Canyon

My mom and I went hiking in Battlecreek canyon, it is a little canyon in Pleasant Grove. It was so beautiful, if we had gone a few weeks earlier all the leaves would have been changing but it was still pretty. It was a mile and a half straight up hill. It was hard but worth it. The trail was right along the river and waterfalls. There was one big waterfall and a few other smaller ones. Here are some pictures.

Its a......

So we had an ultrasound this week. It was really amazing. Up until now I have kind of been in denial about the whole pregnancy thing. When the Dr. put the ultrasound on my stomach and I was a baby it was really amazing. He looked and showed us everything from the choroid plexus (in the brain) to the heart and the spine. Everything was good and healthy in the baby. Then he stops on a picture and said "Do you want to know what it is?" We said Yes, and then he circles something and said do you know what this is? We had no idea it really didn't look like much. He then said, "It's a GIRL"!!!! We got a few more wide open shots between her legs from a few different angles so we are pretty sure that it is a girl!!!! Here are some pictures


This is part of her face and her hand.




This is her face and her big belly.


These are her legs as if you were looking at her from the bottom.

Now we are debating over names...

Baby

So I think I have felt the baby move a few times. Only if I am really still and not paying attention will I feel a little bubble like thing push against my stomach. I am 18 weeks now. Scary!!!

I have had a few job interviews and one offer so far. The place that offered me is a place that I really don't want to work. So I am waiting to see if I can get offers at other places. We will see. It is a really frustrated process. I really wanted to work in primary care i.e. family practice or pediatrics but there are no jobs in those areas. So I have to settle for specialties that I am not as interested in, but I need a job soon since the baby will start to grow and I wont be able to hide it much longer.

BOARDS

I took my boards last week. It was extremely hard! I have been freaking out all week waiting for my score. I found out this morning that I PASSED!!!!! I actually did very well I am surprised but VERY happy. I have a few job leads so I will post when I decide.

My sister plays soccer for Idaho State University. This weekend they came down to Provo/Orem to play UVU and BYU. The UVU game was tied 0-0. They lost to BYU 0-2. BYU is a really good team and ISU put up a good fight. Noelle play almost the entire game. Here are some pictures of the BYU game.

All the cousins that are going to BYU came to the game to support Noelle.


This is Abbey and Nichole.

Our Cruise

We went on a Mediterranean Cruise for my graduation and our 1 year anniversary. We are very lucky, we could never have done this with out the airline benefits. Flying to Europe for free in first class was pretty nice, I would have to say. Our cruise started in Venice and ended in Barcelona. We stopped at 3 islands in Greece, Croatia, Sicily, Rome, and Florence. It was very hot and humid! Our favorite stops were the ones in Greece. The ocean was amazing. Here are some pictures.

NEWS...

So I have some news....
I am pregnant. It was a shock to us but we are very excited. I am 15 weeks, due March 4th. I have so far been lucky besides being tired and feeling "weird" I have not really been too sick. I still have a hard time believing it is real, since I can't see it. We should be able to fine out the gender in about a month, something I cannot wait for.

Graduation!!!

I graduated on Aug 22, 2008. PA school was the hardest thing I have ever done, and I am very glad that it is over!!! Now I have to take the national boards and find a job. Wish me luck. Here are some pictures from Graduation.
Students wear short white coats and practitioners wear long white coats. During the ceramony they coat us with our long white coats.

Today was the last day at my last rotation. I am very happy. I am very ready to be finished with school. Now we are packing and getting ready to move to Utah. After being in Utah for 2 days we are flying to Philly for graduation. After alot of hard work and frustrating days it is almost over =)!!!

Sedona

Yesturday we went to Sedona. It is about 2 hours from Phoenix. We felt like we needed to see something in Arizona while we were still here. We went to Slide Rock State Park. It is a river that runs through the red rocks that has natural water slides and water deep enough to cliff jump. The water was pretty cold but it was really fun. There was a spot to cliff jump but it was a little to high for us 20+ feet! Sedona looks alot like southern utah. It was nice weather 95, it felt good compared to the 110 weather we were having in Phoenix. It was fun, there are some pictures below.

So I finally got my grade for my practical retake. I passed with flying colors. Even though it was a pain in the butt to fly to Philly for the retake, it was nice to get a good grade and prove that I will be a good PA!!
I have 3 weeks left until I am done with my last rotation and then go to Philly for graduation. I am very excited! It seems that the last few weeks are really dragging. I am ready to be finished. All I have to do now is finish my graduate project and put in the time at my site and then I am done!!!
For those of you who don't already know, we are moving back to Utah. We are very excited. Russ will be going to school full time at UVU (for now) and I will get a job. (FYI if anyone knows anyone who needs a PA let me know). There are so many things about Utah that we miss. One being able to go outside! The mountains, the snow in the winter, family, no scorpions, hiking, the list goes on and on.....
We are going to be driving up there on Aug 15th. 3 weeks from today!!!!

YUCK!!

This is Russ trying to get it out of the printer and catch it.

So I am not a fan of Phoenix anymore. This is the second scorpion we have found in our house. The first one ran in when we opened the door. This one I found this morning in our spare bedroom. I was going to print something but the paper was out so I reached my hand in the printer to feel how many pages were left and I saw the scorpion run back into the printer. I shutter just thinking about it...yuck

This is the scorpion. We have to catch it under a glass container and then suffocate it with nail polish remover to kill it.

4th of July

Happy 4Th of July!


Kelsey, Jamie, Ashley, Russ and Wyatt at the Layton City Fireworks.


We had a BBQ then went to see the fireworks. It was fun, there was a lady next to us that was drunk and had to dump out all her beer cans and then she threw them across the lawn, it was entertaining.

Ash falling from the sky

A lighting strike causes a big fire outside of Phoenix two days ago. When we were walking to our car tonight there was ash falling out of the sky. The fire is causing huge clouds of smoke in the sky and turning it dark. It was kind of wierd to see ash coming down.

The smoke that we see looks alot bigger than this picture.

So I finally got my scores!!! I found out while I was at work but I couldn't wait till I got home so I had to check. Well I PASSED my summative exam. This was the hardest test of all, my school actually makes it harder than the boards so that if we pass this test we will pass the boards (which is good in a way). But I unfortunately did not pass my practical exam. Which is really weird because I feel VERY confident about my clinical skills and I felt that I did a very good job. I missed the passing grade by 0.7 is that ridiculous!!! Half the class failed so I feel better about that but it means that I have to go back to Philly to test again in July. At least I don't have to take the 6 hour 400 question exam again! I JUST WANT TO BE DONE!!!

So this picture is exactly how it feels in Phoenix. The temp today was 109 and its only June 10Th! The air doesn't feel that bad but the problem is the sun, it is so hot that it feels like it is sizzling your skin just by being outside, and this is only the beginning!

Anyway I still haven't found out about my test, they told us that we will find out by this Friday (which would have been 4 weeks since the test!!!) Cross your fingers for me, I really want to pass!

PHILADELPHIA

I had to come back to Philly for exams this week. We had to take a 400 question written test in 6 hours. Then we have a practical exam, we have to see 4 see four patients and examine them and then write notes and answer questions about disease processes. It is pretty scary. These exams are the summative exams of our schooling, if we don't pass we get another opportunity to take the tests and if we don't pass again we are kicked out of school. The exams are harder than the national boards so that if we pass school we will pass the boards. This has been a very stressful time and we don't find out if we pass for a few weeks, that just adds to the stress. I have been studying really hard so I am hoping for the best.

As for Philly, it was not a fun flight over here. I was diverted to DC because of bad weather and the Philly airport shut down until the weather cleared. We refueled and then finally made it to Philly. It is rainy here and cold. I am realizing how glad I am that I do not live here anymore. This city is very dirty and there are so many weird people. Just walking down the street to school we have to step over sleeping homeless people, avoid people who look suspicious and always watch our surroundings. Overall I am glad that I had the experience of living here but I am also glad that it is over. There were a few good things about living here (besides that I met Russ),

This is Kelly Drive, it is a running trail next to a river, it was right near my old apartment. I really enjoyed running here, except in the humidity and watching out for the Fairmount rapist. I would always run when it was light so I wasn't to scared.

This is LOVE park. It is right downtown and a few blocks from my school, sometimes we would go there during lunch.

Anyway, I am really excited to be done with school (as long as I passed my exams). I really love living in Phoenix right now and am excited to see where life takes us next.

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