site of deposition

i realize this photo is not the cutest photo ever taken of me but it documents an important step in my career.  i passed my anesthesia board exam and can now apply for my anesthesia license.  gone are the days where i have to call my instructor over to observe me giving anesthetic to a patient.

(this summary of events may or may not make sense to some readers but just follow the basic idea)

the first step was the written exam taken early this morning.  it bothers me that i don't know how many or which questions i missed but as long as i know it was good enough to get a passing grade then i guess i should just be ok with it.  our results come in an envelope in the hallway by our candidate number.  once you find out that you pass the written, you are eligible to take the clinical exam at your previously scheduled time.

i was one of the first to be called back for my clinical exam.  i set up my syringes, my topical anesthetic, and got my paper work filled out, then called my patient back.  my patient was my friend and classmate, autumn.  she is so supportive.  i started with the IA.  i was able to calm my nerves for the most part but i was still a little shaky heading toward my initial penetration point.  the needle slid right in and went exactly where it needed to go.  i call it out, negative aspiration, deposited a little solution, and was instructed to withdraw.  next, on to the PSA.  i knew going into this that i had gotten a positive aspiration on the right PSA every single time before so i was expecting one.  i was nervous that there would be a positive and that i wouldn't see it for whatever reason and fail the exam.  autumn told me her goal for today was "not to bleed."  i was so dead set on getting a good aspiration that i wouldn't be able to miss seeing the results that my harpoon got disengaged from the stopper.  oh stink.  i just withdrew, gave that thumb ring a few good hits and went right back in, negative.  i injected a little more solution and got the heck out of there.  done.  of course at that moment i was unsure if my disengaged harpoon would get me into trouble.  by the time i disinfected and re-wrapped my unit my results were ready in an envelope for me.  and i passed. 

i can finally start to enjoy this christmas season.  what a relief to have that over with.  i am so glad that we went on the first day and did not have to wait until sunday to take the exam.

big shout out to my patient, autumn for letting me stab her with needles repeatedly on multiple occasions, and for my amazing husband, blake for being willing to be my backup if things didn't go as planned today.

three french hens

yep, its these three again.  i sure do love them, (especially the one on the left).  kent's wife is a very talented photographer and did a photo shoot with these good looking subjects the other days.  these are some of the more tame photos taken. 

life is always exciting being married to such a fantastic guy.  he is an amazing provider for our family.  i'm so proud of him.

the best

two of my most favorite people in the world: calli and nate.  these two have been my best friends since high school.  i can't imagine what life would be like without these two.  i know life is busy and calli has spent time away and nate is still currently away from me but whenever we get together it feels just like old times.  depicted here are some of my favorite times that i can only laugh and smile when i look at these pictures.  love you guys!  also, we need some more updated photos of the three of us.  just saying

all-star team

a while back blake moved out of his old office and now works out of an office with kent and jeff.  these three are such a power-house of a team.  they are still part of the same company with whom they hang their licenses but they work out of an office in kent's back yard.  blake has loved the success they have had together.

jeff is not only a great co-worker for blake but also a great friend.  he brightens my day every time i see him.  he and blake continually are empowering each other to new levels.  i just need to find him a nice girl that i really like hanging out with because i'm sure jeff will be in our lives for a long long time.

kent has so much love and has so much experience and wisdom.  i also really love how important his family is to him.  blake and i are taking his daughter, bella to the ASU girls volleyball game tomorrow which should he a lot of fun.  i don't say many prayers anymore that do not include kent and his family.  what a blessing they are for us.

most of all i want to acknowledge my sweet blake.  he is the best thing that has ever happened to me.  i heard someone speak about how to choose a husband and asked, "would you rather have someone who puts you up on a pedestal and practically worships you, or would you rather have someone that challenges you to become better?"  i am so lucky that i found someone that does both for me.  i know that blake loves me and will always do his best to be an awesome husband and father.  because of how good he is to me, i am constantly trying to find ways to serve him and show him how much i love him.  he is such a hard worker and is so good at what he does.  i'm so excited to see what the future holds for us.

woman of iron

my sister-in-law did an ironman last weekend.  it was her first one and she finished in only 6 and a half hours.  i have no idea how she dose it but she is in such great shape.

she is also one of the best moms i have ever met.  she has cute little 4 year old twins that are some of the most loved kids in the entire world.

thanks for being such a great example, linds.

i've got a crush on you

every year the gilbert high school choir puts on a western bbq.  the choir kids sign up/audition to perform.  this is the third year that blake and i have gone together.  my youngest brother, whom i call "kid" performed a song.  my whole family was there which i love because we don't get everyone in the same place too often.  i have the best siblings and the cutest nieces and nephews.

that night we also gave my sister-in-law a necklace that we had made for her to remember her son, brycen.  the little guy is still inside of her but his prognosis is not great.  i have been so impressed by the faith of my sister-in-law and my brother as they go through this experience.  i'm excited to meet little brycen someday, whether in this life or the next.  i'm grateful for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ that allows for our families to be eternal.  what a blessing.

18 monthiversary

i know its been a few weeks since oct 9, which is our "18 monthiversary" but i just have been too busy to upload any photos.  blake and i decided that we were going to do all of our favorite things that day.  the day started out with going to get donuts- with maple frosting of course.  after devouring those blake i'm guessing had a food coma so took a 2 hour nap after already sleeping 10 hours the night before.

we then went to see some of our favorite people.  our little "godchild" was having her 1st birthday party. she wasn't quite sure what to do with the cake at first but she soon figured it out and loved it.

we then went to look at houses--blake's favorite activity of all.  its a thing we do whenever we have extra time we drive around and find things we like so when we are ready to buy a house, we'll know exactly what we want.  i fell in love with a house that is about 4.3 million outside of our price range unfortunately.  haha.

the day ended with playing cards with my family and a trip to ikea where i didn't buy anything except beautiful grey ribbon that we be adorning our christmas gifts this year.

i love my sweet husband.  best decision i ever made was to marry him.

still alive and well

so i know its been a while since i have made a post.  things have been going really well but really busy.  i am in my last year in dental hygiene school and loving it.  (i just submitted my anesthesia board application today!)  and blake is as busy as every with seminary and work.  i got to go to his seminary class on thursday since we had an online day at school.  the lesson was about when jacob worked 7 years for rachel because he loved her so much.  i was a surprise (even to me) guest speaker and spoke about eternal marriage and the kids got to ask me questions.  it was a sweet experience and my love for blake grew even more.

the picture above is from our honeymoon.  i wonder when the "honeymoon stage" wears off.  i feel more and more in love with this boy every day.  i get so excited for him to come home from work every night.  i don't think it will ever wear off for us.  i'm such a lucky girl.

seminary

so i have mentioned that blake got a new calling and the early morning seminary teacher for arcadia high school.  these pictures were taken at a seminary dinner/fireside type thing the weekend before it all started.  the middle picture is of our friend "hales" who got baptized a few months back.  she is 15 and is so solid.  she gave a talk in church on sunday and it was powerful.  i felt like a proud parent watching her.  needless to say she attends seminary.  she isn't in blake's class though.  blake teaches the juniors and seniors.  he is loving teaching and i am loving getting up early and starting my day.  it has been such a blessing for us to be able to prepare his lessons together at night and really study the scriptures together.  what a great spirit it invites into our little home.

oh to dream

blake and i have been talking about new cars lately as we don't know how long my car will stay alive.  i'm trying to plan ahead and get more of a "mom car" that we can grow into as we start having kids in these next few years.  i have really liked some of the new crossovers that are out.  i think being up a little higher may help with loading kids in and out of car seats.

this is us at the car show in L.A. back in november in my future future car (not a typo just emphasizing that this is not the group of cars we have been talking about for our next car purchase), my range rover sport.  ahh... some day.

young love

my parents are so cute.  this picture is one of their engagement photos taken many years ago, but in some ways i think they look exactly the same.  i'm so glad that they got married and had a family.  i'm so grateful that they raised their family in the gospel and taught their children who God is and the relationship they can have with Him and His son Jesus Christ.  i love my family and its eternal nature.

precept upon precept

soon after blake returned from his mission in argentina he went on a trip with his mom to israel and egypt and perhaps a few other places.  (if you haven't met my mother-in-law you are missing out.  she is full on knowledge and passion for the scriptures, especially the old testament.  she has taught institute for years and now just got a calling in her ward to be the relief society president.  she doesn't know for sure if she is teaching institute for this coming semester, but told me the only way she could have time to do both is if she taught "something easy...like Isaiah.")

blake was just sustained as the new early morning seminary teacher for arcadia high school.  next week blake begins his new calling very early in the morning and i can think of no one better suited for it.  he is teaching the old testament this year and lucky for him his mother is who i said above.  i'm sure his being on that trip with his mom gave him some interesting perspective that will help him in his teaching, but more than that, his whole life has prepared him for this.  he is going to do such an amazing job with these kids.  he has such a profound influence on them, and they not only honor and respect him, but they love him.

what is old is new

my mother-in-law got a new computer and she was so very kind to give us her old one.   its been so nice to have a mac again.  the best part i have found is the old pictures that she left on for us.

here are just a few.

• my emo high school blake (he looks like he is about 8 yrs old though) 
• blake's high school graduation with his cute family (minus clint and angela)
• blake's cute baby face in the mtc.  he may look way too young to be on a mission but this guy was one of the best missionaries in the history of the church.

blake still has a baby face but slowly is looking older.  i even think he looks really young in our wedding pictures with was just over a year ago.  i sure do love you blake landon.

paint it white

as blake and i have been slowly (very slowly) looking for houses i grow more and more in love with a few things:

• white kitchens (i really love this one with a big island with bar chairs)
• wood floors (especially when they are really wide)
• huge windows (i'm such a sucker for natural light)

"the whole fam damily"

my parents and their grandchildren

my cute brother and his wife

the 7 kids

how cute are these kids?

the girls

the boys

the title here is especially dedicated to my dad who commonly uses this phrase.  the last time my family got family pictures taken was the week before i left on my mission, so a good 3.5 years ago.  (this is why i made blake promise that we would have family pictures every year so we don't let so much time go by between them.  pictures are important to me.)