I want it all...

A Rising Star

2011-07-20T07:13:00.003-06:00

There was a radio ad for open Disney auditions this week, call this number and be one of the first....So, I called. They are looking for kids from 6 t0 16. Zander has mentioned in the past how cool he thinks that would be to be on a disney show. When I called they asked a few quick questions and then gave me an audition time and location. When we go we are supposed to take a head shot (boom!) and a body shot. I called my friend Jaime (a really good amateur photographer) to come and snap a few.

Here are the results.

You know it's HOT when...

2011-07-15T21:22:00.002-06:00

- you're dangly earrings burn your neck
- after taking the windshield shade down, you still can't touch the steering wheel
- your legs sweat
- the unheated swimming pool is too hot
- you'd give your right leg to go swimming anyway
- the plastic sunglasses you left in the car (but not in the sun) burn your ears and bridge of your nose
- the plastic drink cup melts around the top when left in the car
- you step outside and are sweating before you hit the sun
- you can't walk down the driveway at 10 pm without burning your feet
- you learn (somehow) that nipples don't have sweat glands
- you set your thermostat for 78 and feel chilled when first stepping into the house
- it's 90 degrees at 8:15 am, and 96 at 10:45 pm while posting on your blog...

We have a guest room if anyone wants to come stay with us....
maybe in October or November. =)

My Girl (Part 2)

2011-01-21T19:28:00.008-07:00

On Saturday Sadie turned 2!! She is getting so big! She talks so much and is saying so many different sounds. She fights with, and cuddles with, her brothers depending on her mood. And she has many. Michael just did a great post on her so now I'm doing the year in review of Sadie in pictures. Here are some favorites from the last 2 years!

'My Girl'

2011-01-13T09:09:00.002-07:00

It's been awhile since I blogged. I guess I got out of the habit.

Sadie is getting so big. Yesterday while Keagan was going pee Sadie pushed the door open to watch. I went in and pulled her out (kicking and screaming). I explained that Keagan was going to the bathroom. Later on I was at my desk working on a client's project and Sadie came in with no pants and no diaper. Shocked (more that she got the diaper off) - I said what are doing nakey pants? She pointed to the bathroom which is next to my office and ran to the toilet. I asked if she needed to potty. She lifted the lid and then stood as tall as she could up to the toilet! I laughed out loud and then no little girls need to sit. I put the seat down and put the kids Dora seat on and tried to sit her down. She screamed in protest arching her back until I set her down; at which point, she stood tall up to the toilet to pretend she would pee. See never did.

An article recently published about how iPhones are the new busy toy for kids. When I read it, I thought, that is so true. Rachel and I have plenty of games apps on our phones and the kids play them all the time, car rides, church, in the house. One game Sadie loves most is a learn to read app. It has you match the letters and then says the word and a sound when you finish. Sadie has become pretty impressive with the game.

Today while reading to her she closed the book and pointed to each letter on the Peekaboo book and pronounced the letters (no coaching) impressively clear. B-A-B-Y S-A-Y-S. Needless to say I was pretty impressed!

Keagan is learning write and read. He knows he letters really well and can spell pretty well certain words like, Batman, Spiderman, Ironman, etc. He has demonstrated this as he is the king of downloading new movies through Netflix. All of them superhero movies. Though he can type pretty well he still needs work on his writing skills. Yesterday I was working with him on writing the letter K.

This makes me wonder...will handwriting become obsolete someday as texting and typing becomes more and more prominent? Ender

Here we are...

2010-12-10T18:26:00.006-07:00

Zander: Do you know why Christmas is my favorite holiday?

Mom: Because you get to think about Jesus all the time? ;)

Zander: (thinking) Well, yes. But that's not what I was thinking.

Mom: Because you get presents?

Zander: Yes! And do you know why Halloween is my 2nd favorite holiday?

Mom: Because you get candy?

Zander: Yes! Two holidays where you get free stuff! It doesn't get better than that!

Man, is this my kid or what?! And is that good or bad??

In other news...

My job is still going great. I'm learning a ton every day and have decided it's probably time to start re-reading my textbooks now that I'm actually applying what I'm learning. The doctor is very helpful and answers all my questions. Still.

Michael has been looking for a job, with no luck so far. Until then, he's being a great stay-at-home Dad. As all you stay at home parents know, it can be exhausting fighting with kids all day, so I try to do my part when I get home.

Zander loves his new school. He's doing well. He got straight A's on h is report card a couple weeks ago. We've been able to see a few movies and go to a few activities here so Zander feels like he's been having "the best days ever" since we moved here. He's so cute.

Keagan is surviving being home all day with Dad and Sadie. He knows most of his letters, still loves to watch his Batman and Spiderman movies with Sadie, and play with his figurines, at which time he tells his sister it's a "one-player game."

Sadie will be 2 in January and is bossier than anyone in the house. When her poor brothers try to love and cuddle her, if she's not in the mood, which she usually isn't, she gives them the "straight arm." Still. Not sure that will change any time soon. But when she does allow her brothers to cuddle her THEY ARE SO CUTE!!

Texas has been good to us. The weather is colder than I thought, with temperatures this week ranging from the 30's to the 60's. It's cold in the mornings and nice fall weather the rest of the day. As for the humidity, when it's not hot out, you don't even notice it.

Our ward is great and we've made some good friends. We have new callings in church as the CTR 4 teachers, starting in January. So when Keagan moves up, we'll be his new teachers. We substituted in his Sunbeam class last week and there are 10 of them! Yeah, I said 10! It should keep us busy.

Another thing I love about Texas is the sunsets. I don't know if it's because there are no mountains to block the horizon, but I've never seen so many beautiful sunsets. One thing I hate about Texas is the traffic. the two freeways that I take to get to work are only 2 lanes! It's totally lame.

I don't think I have any great pictures of Texas, but here are some we've taken recently.

Our cute little family at our Halloween trunk-or-treat.

One of the beautiful sunsets. Not a great photo...taken with my phone while driving.

Dinner time. Don't ask.

Fall comes to Fort Worth.

Lighting of the town Christmas tree.

Zander got to be Joseph in our ward Christmas program. That's him with the scarf wrapped around his head. (I had done a better job before we got there, but someone "re-wrapped" him later.

To be a Mom

2010-11-07T16:19:00.002-07:00

Last night Sadie woke us up at 4:00 am crying and covered in throw up. Michael and I tag teamed and got her and her bed cleaned up. Thankfully, he did the bed while I bathed the little one. (Throw up is one thing I don't deal so well with. Blood? No problem. Vomit? It makes me want to.) After getting her all cleaned up and in clean pajamas, I tucked her into our bed (with bucket nearby) and climbed in next to her. As I laid down, she rolled over towards me and put her little arm around my neck and patted my back, as she often does. I laid there being held by my little baby and was filled with warm fuzzy feelings about being a mom. There are few things that bring such joy as being loved by a child. My heart swelled and I fell asleep content, and nervous at the same time that she might throw up again.

One hour later we repeated the whole process. Minus the warm fuzzies. I was too tired at that point. And instead of falling asleep "nervous" that she would throw up again, I was sure she would and woke up with every stir and cough. Needless to say, I didn't sleep so well. But I would do it again because i love my children with all my big, swollen, happy heart. Even if I do have to pick vomit out of their hair.

My new job

2010-10-28T19:22:00.003-06:00

Today marks one week at my new job. For those that don't know, I accepted a job in Fort Worth, Texas, at Rockwood Medical Clinic. I work with Dr. Guevara in his private family practice clinic. I've been working with him as I'm learning the ropes of the clinic and trying to feel comfortable practicing on my own. That may take some time.

When I showed up my first day, I encountered a number of surprises.

#1: MY NAME IS ON THE DOOR!! That's right. Look at that! I feel so important.

#2: This bouquet was waiting for me thanks to Dr. and Mrs. Guevara and the staff at my new office. Yes, it's as big as it looks. You know what they say...everything is bigger in Texas. =)

Here'a another shot the next day after it had started to bloom. It is an amazingly beautiful bouquet. And huge!!

This is the day after the Texas Rangers won the championship game. Everybody is so proud their team is going to the World Series for the first time ever! I came into work and Dr. Guevara was wearing his Rangers t-shirt and I said I was going to have to buy me one. He said he thought I might feel like that so he brought me his extra jersey just in case I wanted to wear it. Here's us in our Rangers shirts. And yes, he's only and inch or two taller than I am, and his wife is even shorter. =)

I love this new clinic. The MA's and office staff have all been so nice and welcoming. Dr. Guevara is so patient with my sometimes not so functioning brain. I love it here!!

My crazy kids

2010-10-13T19:28:00.004-06:00

I've been writing down things the kids say that are funny and now need to throw away the scrap of paper as we're cleaning/packing.

So here it is:

Keagan: 1. (after Zander argues with me about something I asked him to do) "You got to listen to the mama!" in a sing song voice. So stinkin' cute!

2. When I was playing a game with him that works on his alphabet learning. He was getting tired of me asking and said, "Stop asking me questions. You're ruining my day."

3. After saying his first prayer that deviated from the norm, "I have a lot of words for Jesus!"

Zander: 1. He was playing on the computer with his friends and something wasn't working right. They started to ask me for help, then I hear this from Zander: "Here. Let me take charge. I know everything about this computer and how it works." I about fell over trying not to laugh out loud.

2. I was pushing the kids (all three of them) on the swings. I hadn't gotten to Zander in a few minutes and he says, "Mom, I'm losing altitude."

Where do they come up with this stuff?

And for Sadie? Her vocabulary is growing every day also. She now says: mommy, daddy, mama, mine, baby, doggie, hi, hello, bye-bye, yeah, owie, and probably other I can't think of right now.

I love my kids!

Keagan helping Sadie walk on the cement wall at the library.

Daddy giving horsey rides.

The kids weathering the heat on the way home from Arizona. This is a stop at the Marble Bridge (or something like that). It was so cool!

It's time...almost

2010-10-08T10:39:00.009-06:00

We're getting ready to move. It happens ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!! We've been packing slowly, getting everything we own in boxes. It's tiring. We are picking up the moving trucks next Wednesday night, packing them Thursday, then driving Friday and Saturday to arrive at our new home in Fort Worth by Saturday night!

I've been reading my sisters blogs and they are so great (lately) about updating them and doing pictures, that I was inspired.

So, here's some random information for the last little while, with visuals. =)

A few weeks ago, Michael was on a business trip to Canada for a week. The first day he was gone, it wasn't even 9:00 AM yet and the kids were driving me crazy. I decided I didn't want to be mom and dad to three crazy children for a week by myself, so we took off and drove to Arizona to stay with my sister, so we could go crazy together!
The kids had a great time, of course. Here's some of the highlights.

We arrived about 2:00 AM. Because I wasn't planning on going, it took us a while to pack and get on the road. Then it's a 12 hour drive. The kids did amazingly well.

The play area/splashpad at the mall:

The pool:

The motorcycle:

We have a neighbor with a peach tree that needed help cleaning up her tree and yard. We picked 10 gallons of peaches and I canned 21 bottles!! And Michael even helped. Thanks Babe! =) Here's proof:

Okay, that's good for now. Enjoy!

WHEW!

2010-08-24T21:06:00.005-06:00

Today was a big day. I took the PANCE (Physician Assistant National Certification Exam) which will give me a license to actually work as a PA. It is a forever long, 6 hour 360 question test. It’s broken down into sections of 60 questions that you have 60 minutes to answer, 6 times. Yeah, it was a long day. And it started with them making me empty my pockets and turn them inside out. I had to put my chapstick in my locker and put the barrette and clip in my hair before I went in. Had to take off my watch, and take the hair elastic off my wrist and put it in my hair! Not even that could be on my wrist. So I walked in with all three things in my hair and promptly took them out and set them on the desk. But I least I had them. It was crazy! The good news is I had 45 minutes of break time to take whenever. I started at 11:00, and took the first two sections back to back, then took a 15-minute snack and bathroom break. I went back, took sections 3 and 4 without a break and by the 4th hour of testing my head was swimming. I took a 25-minute lunch/rest/bathroom break and headed back to start hour/section 5. After that, I took my last 5 minutes to run a lap around the building and gear up for my last section. Then, WHEW!! I was done! I thought I would feel some great relief when I was finished, but I didn’t. Maybe when I find out I passed it will come.

I came home, my awesome sister-in-law Denise, who watched my kids had dinner ready and we all sat down and ate, then the kids and I watched the first part of Holes. Michael was busy with wedding stuff again tonight. He works all day at Curtiss Wright, then comes home and does wedding stuff. Thankfully he has now hired two very competent girls to help with wedding planning and that hopefully means things settle down eventually.

In other news, I’ve applied for a few jobs. The one I’m most excited about is at the Solitude ski clinic. That would be awesome! It’s a full-time, fully benefitted job, but seasonal. I’ve also applied with some agencies and got a call today about some openings out of state. I don't know, we’ll see how it all works out.

Zander started school yesterday and has Mrs. Baumgardner (Mrs. B) as his teacher and likes her. He seems pretty happy about school right now. That makes me happy. He's still the tall, skinny kid he's been still landing >97% for his height. And he's smart as a whip.

Keagan is itching to go to preschool and I’m itching to get him there. He's so ready to start having structured learning and play with friends his age. He always plays with Zander and his friends, which usually works out well, but I'll be happy when he's with his peers. It will happen eventually.

Sadie is getting as big as ever, starting to say new words and make new sounds. Tonight she told me that a frog says “bi-bi-bi” (like rib"bi"t) and that a cow says “moo”. She also likes to dance. Any time music come on she starts waving her hands and bouncing. She is so stinkin’ cute.

Now I’m ready to get me some ice cream, turn on a movie for me and just relax the rest of the night. Or maybe I'll sit here and read blogs. Something I haven't done forever.
And here are some recent pictures just for fun because everybody loves pictures!
Later!

On afternoon when we were swimming in our little pool. I don't have pictures of the kids in the water because I have to be there with them...=)

Some other lovely nature pictures. I love to take these.

Weekend Fun

2010-08-21T22:03:00.005-06:00

Here's some fun pictures from the last few weeks and weekend activities.

We went to the LDS Church garden in our area and volunteered to help out. It's funny I had forgotten this memory as a child, but when we got there I remembered doing this in Indiana too. But, today we got up about 630 fought to dress the kids pack them in the car and go. We had a good time (after the whining stopped) and weeding this entire row to help get it ready to be winterized. They harvested the cabbages that were in the just prior to us arriving and we picked up the left overs and then weeded. It took us 2 hours all together. Each of the kids helped. Rachel wants to say, "look how far I've come mom and dad, not one bathroom break. ;)"

Sadie was taking a bath and decided she was done. She got herself out, got a towel (hand towel) and wrapped in around herself. We were all laughing so hard I had to quickly grab the camera. What a cutie!

Keagan trying to become a REAL Spiderman by working of some rock climbing skills at the Gateway.

Braxton and Zander having fun.

They all took the train to downtown. My little sister decided to surprise them and join in on the fun. What a great sister.

My nephew Nathan and Melody got married.

I actually mowed the lawn (it hasn't been a regular occurance this year). I think it's great that each of my kids have a great desire to help mow the lawn. I just hope it lasts. Zander has decided he's old enough to mow the lawn on his own this year. I've tried to let him do it by himself a couple times. He thinks it's great...at least for a few minutes.

FINALLY!!

2010-08-13T12:47:00.004-06:00

THAT'S RIGHT...

GRADUATION DAY!!!

I actually walked in May, because the school of medicine walks once a year, and had my official PA program ceremony on August 6th. I'M DONE!! Well, now I have to take boards and pass to be able to work, but, I'm on my way!!

I thought I had a job, but it didn't work out last minute. I really want to work in family practice, but either there aren't as many of those jobs available as I thought, or I just don't know where to look. If anyone hears of anything, let me know!

Here is my big day in May with caps and gowns and Masters hoods. Very fun! and beautiful flowers from Michael. He also arranged a party for me at our house. We had a great time celebrating!

This is certainly the most expensive piece of paper I'll ever hold!

And these beautiful flowers are from my parents. My sister (*thanks Jess*) also sent me a lovely arrangement, but I can't find that picture right now.

Love my fam!

And....

Michael has a job!!

His old boss called him. Turns out he was just promoted up to the corporate company and wanted to hire Michael back on to work with him again. They are their own separate marketing group now, managing not just the corporate stuff but marketing and advertising for all 7 daughter companies (including the company he was at before!).

Things are certainly looking up for us....

Now if I could just find a job...

Oh! and I'm on Facebook now, so find me and be my friend!

Grab a stick of Juicy Fruit. The taste...it's gonna move ya!

2010-06-21T10:40:00.003-06:00

What a great time this past week! It was the Gonzales Family Vacation. This year we went to Yuba Reservoir next to Scipio, which is where my g-ma Flora came from. While there we floated on the lake, rode the tube, skied, wake-boarded, etc. The kids had a great time hanging out with their cousins.

Saturday was a little hairy with constant strong winds all day. By 3 we had to take the boat off the water because the white caps were starting to over take the boat! Around 830 the winds died down enough to allow a few to grab some glassy water before sundown. I coaxed Rachel into going since she hadn't had a chance to ski to that point. She had a great time and got to slolom.

Friday I had my chance to wake board for the first time in years. Here's some great footage of me crashing. It really hurt! Keagan even tubed with Rachel. Zander chickened out.

An update...finally

2010-06-14T20:02:00.000-06:00

Well, we're still here and I thought I would say hello for those that do occasionally tune in. Hello!! We are doing pretty good. Michael is doing wedding planning these days, and he absolutely loves it. However, it doesn't necessarily pay the bills, so he's still doing freelance work on the side and is still looking for a steady paycheck that comes from someone else's pocket. =)

I'm doing a rotation at a family practice clinic in West Valley. They have 3 family practice docs and 2 OB/GYNs. And I happen to know that they are looking to hire... I loved my OB rotation, but it's still family practice, that also sees a lot of babies/kids. Right up my alley. And 90% of the patient population only speaks Spanish. Another plus for me. After I'm doing there in two more weeks, I do my surgery rotation during the month of July, then I GRADUATE the first week of August! It's so close!! Now I really need to focus on studying to pass boards so I can find a job and start paying back all my student loans. But the end is in sight!

Zander just finished 1st grade and is sooo excited to have summer here.

Keagan is right behind his big brother, doing everything he does.

Sadie is almost 1 1/2 now. She is Miss Independent, but so very needy at the same time. She said a new word the other day..."Me!" Wow. What a surprise. It's actually very cute as everything they do at this age is. She also says hi, mom, dad, bye, uh-oh and baby.

All in all things are good. I know Michael has done a pretty good job of updating the blog but I wanted to add my two cents.

Later!

little mister pouty face

2010-06-14T12:56:00.003-06:00

Today I had to take the kids out to do errands again today. I sure wish I had one of those free sitters that some of my friends keep talking about. Oh well. It went pretty well until I had to send Keagan out to the Jeep for a time out because he keep hitting the wedding balls (paper machet) when I told him no repeatedly. Slight embarrasing.

When we got home Keagan started to thow a fit that he couldn't find his batman shirt (gray one with Robin on it too). I argued, but you are wearing a batman shirt. No...not this one!! He started to cry and laid on the floor. I told him I didn't want to listen to him cry, so he should cry in his room.

Next thing I know Zander is saying Keagan is in the pantry and won't come out. I said it was okay. I didn't realize he'd taken his pouting to the pantry. I thought he was just getting a treat after finishing his lunch. Some 10 minutes later I didn't hear him anymore and noticed the pantry door was shut again. I opened the door and this is what I found.....

Summer, Summer, Summertime!

2010-06-13T21:18:00.004-06:00

So it finally felt like summer had hit the Gonzales home this last week, even though temps are still below the 80s and even into the 60s. I think this has to do with our new pool. The kids love it!!!! The first day it was up it was in the 80s and Keagan and Zander first got it in around 10am had a quick break (very quick) for lunch and then swam all afternoon until 6 or so when dinner was ready.

I love summer! And, with this small kiddy pool in the backyard it reminds me of my childhood days with our semi-large pool (about 3x the size of this kiddy pool) in the backyard. We swam ALL the time and most days the neighborhood kids came over to enjoy it also. Ahh...those simple days. (course that's not what my parents are sayin'! haha)

Enjoy the pics.

Silly, Trix are for Kids.

2010-06-09T09:20:00.002-06:00

So yesterday I'm at Lowe's picking up sand for our new pool I bought with birthday money and gift cards I got from the Ward side and my parents. We are all in the Jeep with 11 bags of sand and Keagan is trying to get out while I'm putting Sadie in. He's holding himself and doing his infamous "pee-pee" dance. "I've got to go to the bathroom."
"Can you just hold it? We're going home right now and you can go there."
"I've got to go really bad!" Said Keagan, as he jumped up and down more desperately.
"Keagan, you can hold it. Just hold it for a few minutes. Hurry, put on your seatbelt. The faster you get your seatbelt on the faster we get home."
"Okay, but I don't think this is a very good plan." Whispered Keagan.

The Good 'Ol Days

2010-06-09T09:00:00.003-06:00

Sorry all. I forget sometimes that Rachel is too busy to blog. So many funny things have happened over the last month. Too many to recall, but here's one I was thinking of the other night.

I haven't been able to play hardly any softball this year. I really miss it. But, Monday night I got called in as an extra. It was soooooo much fun! However, I sucked it up bad! I played right field, which is highly unusual for me. Typically I play either third, short, left or left center field positions. Mostly left. Anyway, being somewhat out of practice and I arrived late so my warm up was really insufficient, I totally missed three hits (in a row) out to right field. I ran up on the ball to try and catch it - missed - and then had to run back to the fence to pick it up and throw it to second. By which time the single turned into a triple! stupid, stupid, stupid. I think I was the determining factor in the first inning's 6 of 7 total runs. I felt like such a smuck.

The next inning I was more on my regular game. I caught 2 fly balls and headed off 3 others holding them to a single base hit. It was the busiest right field game I've ever played!!

About mid game. I felt my arm being thrown out. Then slipped on the freshly rained on grass landing in an awkward position to pick up the error. This really hurt my leg and found myself having to limp it off and stretching to fix the strained muscle. What did all this equate to? I'm turning 35 on Saturday, feeling a little old, and trying to keep in the best shape I can.

I realized after that, there will come a day (actually foreseeable) that I will have to quit trying to play sports like I'm 20 something. What a crappy realization!

I Need IronMan 2 Money

2010-05-16T15:51:00.004-06:00

So Ironman 2 came this last weekend and I was so pumped to go see it. But, I didn't have any spending money. So what do I do??? Nope, I didn't sell plasma or bodily fluids. I turned it into a family event and had a yard sale. The boys were so excited. They helped Rachel clean out unwanted toys from the toy room and find clothes that we didn't need anymore. Rachel and I put out all our baby furniture, then posted a ditty on KSL.

After all the gathering was done we made signs. This was a ton of fun for both boys. I made outline words and the boys colored them in with markers. We all had a great time.

The next morning Zander had his salesman hat on and headed up the sales department of this yard sale. He answered questions from the perusers and made change for the buyers as needed. He was so excited.

In all Zander earned enough money to pay for a new Yugio pack of cards and Rachel and I earned enough money to go on our date night. Go Team Gonzales!!

The following day Sunday we were able to teach Zander about tithing and how it is an important way for us to give thanks to God for the way provides for us, by giving 10% to his church. It helps build faith, pay for buildings, missionaries and other important things the church needs to keep running. I'm grateful for teaching moments like these. It helps strengthen my testimony of tithing and His living church.

Climbing...Climbing up.

2010-05-16T15:35:00.002-06:00

Sadie is getting to be so big. She wants to be just like her brothers; act like them, pretend like them, and play like them. She thinks she is just as big. Nothing can stop her. Yesterday I stayed home from skiing. I know...I can't believe those words came out of my mouth either, but I did. I weeded the flower beds in our backyard and the rose bushes in Nancy's yard. This was a great stress relief for me.

Following this, I took out the ladder extended it all the way up and went to get the clippers to chop off a branch. The clippers were only a few feet away, but by the time I walked over to get them Sadie was half way up the ladder chasing her brother Zander! I stood close and watch as she went up the first time. I tried to get her down, but she held on super tight and screamed as I tried to explain that her time was up. I had Keagan go get the camera and filmed her climbing the ladder for the 4th time. There was no stopping her. She not only wanted to climb it, but she wanted to be on the top of the highest rung of this 12' extension ladder. Check out the footage.

Following in our ski tracks

2010-04-18T09:27:00.004-06:00

I made it!

2010-04-11T16:50:00.003-06:00

I made it to Guatemala. After a long ordeal of layovers and drivers that were MIA, we´re finally here. I´m sitting in an internet cafe listening to Lady Gaga. Love it. I´ll probably do more updating on the site I made for this trip. You can visit that at guatemala-mission.blogspot.com. I already have some great pictures. It´s beautiful here. We are in the city San Lucas Toliman, about 100 yards away from Lake Atitlan, which sits at the base of several volcanoes, Toliman and Atitlan to name a few.

It´s similar to Mexico here. Michael and I went to Puerto Vallarta a couple years ago and it´s very similar. The women wear ¨traditional¨dress and the men wear jeans. Kind of funny. Well I pay for the minute (although it´s only about $.50 for 30 minutes) and my friends are waiting, so I´m headed out. I´ll post more on the guatemala site, so watch for that and pictures!

Here is one picture my friend took of the front of our hotel. The ¨courtyard¨is much more impressive and will follow.

Later!

Oh, kids

2010-03-25T15:12:00.005-06:00

We're getting ready one morning and Sadie was unhappy and crying. We were all in the boys room and Zander says, "I wish I was an old person so I could turn my ears down!"

At dinner, Keagan asked if he could be done and get down.

Michael: "Is your food gone?"

Keagan: "Ummm.."

Michael: "As soon as your food is gone you can get down."

Keagan: "Do you hear that sound? That's the sound of me being done."

We had just seen an end of the world movie and took that time to teach about the fact that we can live together forever as a family if we make good choices here on earth.

Rachel: "Dad and I were married in the temple so we get to be together forever. If you get married in the temple and make good choices, you can live forever in heaven with your families, too."

Keagan: "I know who I can marry! Caleb!" (his cousin)

Zander, being the smarty pants that he is, had almost nothing but praise at parent teacher conference a few weeks ago. He didn't score so well in handwriting, however. So I've been trying to help him practice he handwriting, which he refuses to do. I was showing him how to make b's, d's and the number 9 without picking up your pencil.

Rachel: "If you make a circle then keep going and make the line, that makes it look better. You'll need to know how to do that later when you learn cursive."

Zander: "Well, thank you, but I'm just going to save that for the future." (That is an exact quote because I wrote it down right after he said it.) I almost laughed out loud.

And last but not least, this morning I'm feeding Sadie breakfast while she's standing in her high chair, which she often does. She lifts her foot up on the tray and I notice a small piece of cereal between her toes, so I take it out and set it to the side of her tray. She took another bite of cereal, the picked up the piece I just moved, very carefully put it back between her toes and put her foot down! What the crap?!

They never cease to amaze me. Life is such an adventure with little ones around. =)

Website Redesign

2010-03-21T22:53:00.002-06:00

If you weren't aware, I Redesigned my website for All Things Included. It has a gallery of wedding pictures and links to a new facebook, twitter, and blog accounts where I'll be periodically posting wedding and event tips, and daily activities. Come and join the fun!

www.allthingsincluded.net. Every Bride Deserves a Wedding Planner

Mischieveous little bugger!

2010-03-21T22:42:00.002-06:00

So our little Sadie seems to be the most mischieveous little bugger. I know I'm not the most attentive these days as I spend A LOT of time on the computer, or on the phone, but it seems everytime I turn around she is pulling out all the tuperware, removing all the DVDs, climbing up the stool in the kitchen to grab something or other on the counter. Thing about the kitchen stool is...if it's not where she wants it she just pushes it to where she wants, climbs up and finds something to play with and/or put in her mouth.

Mostly I've found that I need to close the bathroom doors all the time, because she pulls herself up on the toilet stretches over to the sink, and grabs the glasses, the toothbrushes, or unrolls all the paper on the roll.

At night when she's supposed to be sleeping she likes to climb on top of the couch and flicker the light switch.

See what I mean...MISCHIEVEOUS!!!

It was a crazy day...

2010-03-11T12:03:00.002-07:00

in the ER yesterday, literally. We had 7 psych patients come through and about 4 others with other complaints that turned out to just be crazy. At one point in the morning we had one woman singing very sweetly, but loudly, "I am a child of God" while restrained to the bed. The woman in the room next to her yelled "Ow!" about every 2-3 seconds. When the young guy in the room next was asked if he knew why he was there, he said it was because he was the best rapper in the world! Such talent in one ER! I turned to one of the residents and laughed and said it was going to be a long morning. It's amazing how many crazy people there are out there, and how a good majority of them seem to find their way to the ER for one reason or another on every given day.

To be honest, it makes me feel a little crazy by the time I leave. To be there for 9-10 hours and only enough of a lunch break to chew and swallow food is a little much at times. Not to say I'm not enjoying my experience and learning a lot, but let's just say I don't think I'll end up in an ER when I graduate. =)

Playing catch!

2010-03-04T17:05:00.000-07:00

In January I did my OB/GYN rotation and I loved it. I'm worked with my OB, who delivered Sadie. She's great, and I love the staff, too. Also, I loved working with the expecting moms! This was very fun for me. The best part is the deliveries. On my first day we delivered a 7 lb 9 oz little girl. I got to scrub in and stand right next to the doctor while she delivered the baby. The next day, we delivered another little girl, 5 lbs 1 oz, and this time I helped! She told me where to put my hands to help mom deliver and I said okay, then she said, "No, put your hands here." So I did and the head was delivered. She helped me get a grip on her head while she delivered the body, but I got to catch her coming out! I continued to hold the baby while the doctor suctioned her nose and mouth and dad cut the cord, then I set her in the blanket and the nurse wrapped her and gave her to mom. It was so cool!! Here she is...

I'd say this is for sure where I'm going to end up, but as a PA I most likely wouldn't deliver babies. And the thought of doing nothing but pap smears the rest of my life doesn't really excite me....

We'll see.... =)

Last month I rotated in Cardiology and that was fun, too. I learned a lot about reading EKGs which is why I wanted to be there. I wasn't very good at it before. My preceptor and the nurses we worked with in the hospital were all very cool, too.

On Monday I started my rotation in the ER. I was very intimidated by this. I have always worked in clinics and the speed and severity of problems really scares me. For the first three shifts I worked nights, and it was relatively slow, so I think that was a good introduction. I worked 6pm-2am Monday night, then 12am-7am the last two nights. That wreaks havoc on your body I'll tell you what. I wasn't nearly as tired at work as I thought I would be, but more tired at home, even after sleeping until 1-2 in the afternoon. And I'm hungry and not hungry at weird times. Crazy. It hasn't been too bad so far and I hope by saying that I'm not jinxing myself!

Trouble, nothing but trouble

2010-02-21T22:40:00.002-07:00

Sadie is so funny sometimes the way she is always climbing on to things she shouldn't and trying to be such a big girl. One thing she is always doing is trying to stand up and climb out of her high chair. Feeding her can be a lengthy chore because of this. Recently after trying to climb out of her chair and sitting on the tray I asked her to sit back down. The following picture is the result of her trying to obey her Daddy. Unfortunately for her I was more interested in capturing the moment than saving her. Here's a few pictures.

One Stop Shopping

2010-02-19T00:03:00.002-07:00

So the next time you're in David's Bridal and you notice a strange guy hanging around that keeps complimenting all the brides on how great their dresses looks, it could be you've just met Michael, Principal Planner for All Things Included. No, I'm not just some creepy guy hanging around a bunch of young brides trying on georgeous dresses. David's Bridal and I have signed a partnership agreement, of sorts, making me their preffered vendor for wedding planning.

I'm excited about this deal as David's Bridal actually sees 2-3 times the quantity of brides that most other wedding shops see in the Salt Lake Valley. This also provides an outlet for brides to actually get all their shopping and contracts done in just a few short hours, if they decide to work through me, as I'm able to help brides get everything coordinated and organized from time they get their dress sized to the nuptials and honeymoon plans.

Ultimate All Things Included (Utah) Wedding

2010-02-13T10:53:00.004-07:00

Saturday night was a great time. Hiring the right people makes all the difference in how your wedding turns out. I'm not just talking about the decorations, food and DJ either.

I've gained such a different perspective of weddings such I've started doing this. Now that it's a job, I see how it could work instead of how it did. I see how making the night and day of the bride's and groom's special day becomes even more important. Each day I become more and more convinced that my new role is more essential than luxury.

Here's what I'm talking about. No matter how well some brides and parents try and plan, their are some things that just fall through the cracks. In this case it would have been the send off (but I saved the night). Brides are all twitter-patted and building 3-6 months worth of foreplay. They forget they have a job that they took on. Parents are busy trying to finance everything and then eagle-eyeing the groom to make sure the kids make it to the temple worthily. The night of, when they say they'll take care of the details they are too busy impressing friends and family with their recent accomplishment to remember details like the first dance and cutting the cake. The best man...HAH! Saturday night the best man left before the cake was even cut!

Things like this is what I'm finding happen that keep the evening from being eveything it otherwise could have been.

Here's some pictures.

Wub...True Wub is what brings here today

2010-02-07T21:50:00.003-07:00

So I just finished up my first wedding what a great time! Everything went really well. There were a few items that I had forgotten to bring with me and had to send Rachel to the store to pick them up, but the client never knew anything was missing or not perfect, so all's well that ends well.

Instead of going into a bunch of funny writing about things that happened the odd behind the scenes like fights between the Valet and Guests because the Valet didn't want to give a guest his keys that was too drunk to stand let alone too drunk to drive, I thought I'd just post a couple pictures that Rachel had taken. You'll have to visit my other blog at blog.allthingsincluded.net once I get the official wedding pictures.

Puke here, Puke there, Puke Everywhere

2010-01-20T20:40:00.003-07:00

Last night we cashed in on Kimball and Heidi's offer to babysit our kids so we could enjoy a nice night at the Jordan River Temple. Except I got to enjoy the session while Rachel had to excuse herself. I found out when the session was over, 2 hours later, while I was standing in the celestial room that she was not doing so well. She had thrown up 5 times in the last couple hours, plus had a number of bouts of diarrhea.

I went downstairs, picked her up from the first aid room and took her home. (Funny I didn't even know the temple had a first-aid room. Apparently, neither did a couple of other sisters that I asked for directions.) At home, she continued to thrown up well into the night. I could hear her from downstairs as I was working on a couple of contracts for the next day's business.

In the morning Zander refused to wake up because he went to bed so late. Keagan and Sadie both slept in too. It turned out Zander had picked up whatever Rachel had and he spent today moaning and wailing while hovering over the throne and laying on the couch, but never actually threw up.

I don't know what was in the air last night, but this wasn't something that had just hit my family. My 11:00 merger was postponed to Friday because she had come down with the same thing. My assistant Natalie came down with the same thing at the end of a long day doing bridal pictures. What a crazy thing going around.

I too haven't been feeling tip-top tonight, but I took a couple of Tylenol and that helped subside the headache and bodyaches. Rachel mentioned while I was doing that, that she had never in the 10+ years of marriage and courtship seen me throw-up. I hope this doesn't come to an end tonight.

All Things Included

2010-01-10T22:56:00.003-07:00

So some of you may know that over Christmas I was deciding if I should expand my business practice from corporate event planning to wedding planning. After some deliberation I decided to go ahead with the move. I will say that this decision must have been inspired, because everything just seemed to fall in to place during the planning phase.

On Sunday I made the final decision. Monday morning I made the call to the organizers of the Bridal Showcase held at the Salt Palace. Monday afternoon I was told I might be awarded the prestigious planner spot for the Ultimate Utah Wedding (see details on www.ultimateutahwedding.com). Monday I also developed a new logo. Tuesday, I developed literature, booth, and business cards, plus ordered some super cute key-rings for swag. Wednesday I proofed the prints, Thursday everything arrived and Friday I set up my 10x10 space at the show. Friday I found out that I did get the planner spot and it was solidified. I met the couple and their parents later that day and we were all excited to be working together (especially the mom, because she thought she was going to have to look over everything.)

When it ended Saturday night at 7pm I had handed out close to 250 business cards, about 200 literature pieces, took in 100 leads, and booked more than a dozen appointments for initial consulting spots this coming week! OMG!!! What a weekend! I also hired an assistant to help me take care of everything. Oh yeah. This is funny too....I had 3 other girls come to my booth and ask me for a position! haha. That was great. Two from bridal shops, one from a reception house. Good times.

I've uploaded a picture of my booth. The massage chair was my brilliant marketing plan to hold brides and mothers captive while we talked, and explained "this is how we'll pamper you through the planning process." The cardboard standup was allowed in our booth as promotional propaganda for the Ultimate Utah Wedding, which helped as a conversational piece too.

The real disappointing part of the whole weekend, which may destroy a friendship of more than 5 years, happened when I had asked for the help of a friend who owns a bridal shop. Prior to the show I was mocked and told I didn't have any business doing this. During the show this friend's family (bridal shop) told me "no way", and nearly ignored me during the show. Though I did get to talk with them for about 10 minutes during the show, the conversation left me feeling defeated by what I thought was going to be an ally in this new venture, even though in the end he said unconvincingly he'd stick a couple of cards on the desk in the event somebody happened to ask. Oddly enough other bridal shops were just as obstinate, while others still were great to work with and I was able to form some great partnerships.

A really funny story on this note is I was speaking with a lady from a bridal shop in Bountiful. She wasn't super friendly and then just stopped speaking to me and said the show started, good-bye. I said, oh...I'm sorry I didn't realize the time and then looked at my watch and politely said enjoy the day, to which she didn't respond. The best part of this, was there wasn't anyone on the show floor yet. Later on she sat across from me at the lunch table. We were the only two there. I said, hello and asked how the day was going. Her response, was she stood up and walked away. WOW! I've never had the cold shoulder so hard in the 100 or so shows I've been to over the years. Crazy business.

Over all...though it was a great show, and I had far more amazing experiences than these two bad experiences. But the bad experiences are always good for a laugh after the fact.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

2009-12-14T15:56:00.004-07:00

We went to our church Christmas Party Saturday night. It was great fun, and the kids got to sit on Santa's Lap.

As usual I did a week or two's blogs in one day. So, read the others below.

Tra-LA-LAAAA!!!!

2009-12-14T15:51:00.002-07:00

This happened awhile ago, but I keep forgetting to post it so ya'll can see it. If any of you have ever read Captain Underpants then you'll find this particularly funny. Otherwise, it may just amuse you. One day getting ready for bed Keagan was took off his clothes as usual, but then instead of putting his jammies on, he put his cape back on, and paraded around in his cape and underwear. Rachel asked Keagan, what are you doing? He said, I'm Captain Underpants!! Tra-La-LAAAA!!! Love this kid.

Silver Bells are Ringing

2009-12-14T15:23:00.003-07:00

Ah, the sweet smell of Christmas is in the air, here at the Gonzales home. I finally got our Christmas lights up yesterday evening. The kids were so excited to see them glowing when they came home from the Grandparents. Zander exclaimed, and we have the best lights on the street too. In fact, they are the only external sign on our street that it's Christmas. Zander was excited about that too.

As is customary at our home we usually are awaken to either Keagan or Sadie vying for our loving embrace in the middle of night. Last night was the same on that note, however, I woke up around 3 or 4 to Keagan singing Jingle Bells in his sleep. I was laughing so hard I had to wake up Rachel so she could enjoy his song too. I only wish I had got up to get the video camera.

Zander's school held their Christmas Concert the other night. Those are always an adventure, and even more so with Sadie and Keagan. Check out the video and you'll see what I mean. There is a picture of Zander below too. He not trying to grab our attention is he?!

A Private Invitation - Annual Christmas Party

2009-11-29T18:34:00.003-07:00

It's that time again, and I keep forgetting to send out invitations. So here is the most informal invitation for a formal party ever.

For those of you that follow our blog and know our family you are officially invited to come to our Annual Formal Christmas Party. Get dressed to the nines and celebrate the Christmas season Gonzales style. (NO, that doesn't mean piÑata or pink flamingos. Although a pink flamingo might look cool hooked up to a sleigh with bells and lights)

Saturday, December 19.
7:00pm till whenever

Please bring an appetizer or dessert to share.

Please send an RSVP to michaelgonzales99@yahoo.com.

STOP THE PRESSES!

2009-11-13T11:54:00.003-07:00

Zander's latest craze is publishing his own Post. It started out in church last week and has continued every day since. Each day after school he sits down at the kitchen table pulls out the crayons and a blank paper and jots down his headline, "Theme for the day," and several other headliners. He draws pictures of the themes, and creates coupons. He started off simple, but the last few times, he's started actually writing down his captions rather than just making scribbly lines where the text should go.

Looks like he's taking after his grandparents and dad a little bit. My Dad, for those of you that don't know, has written and published several books on a wide range of topics related to his field of expertise. Rachel's Dad, for those you that don't know, is the editor and publisher of a free bicycling newspaper that distributes monthly. Cycling Utah. You can see it online at CyclingUtah.com.

I'm the layout guru. Zander is always watching me create things and continually asks which magazine my next ad is going to be published in.

I'm a model. Ya know what I mean...

2009-11-13T11:40:00.004-07:00

I went and had pictures taken yesterday. I never knew what a chore that would be. As we were getting dressed I had the thought, hey let's go get our pictures taken. So, I put Sadie in something cute (course that's not hard for her), and asked Keagan if he'd like to get his picture taken. He said yes. Then I had to convince him that he couldn't wear his batman clothes for his pictures, but we made a deal and he packed them in his backpack. They can never be too far. :) It was almost harder for me to get him to comb his hair then it was to change his clothes. BOY that kid is opinionated.

After all this prep, we got in the Jeep and went to Walmart. They had sent a coupon in the mail. Except the Walmart that's closest to us doesn't have a Portrait Studio. So, we packed up and went to Target, where we've done a few other pictures. When we got there it was 930 and nobody was there. We waited for them to open at 10, but found out they were all booked up. I did make an appointment for another day—just in case. Keagan was so excited to get his picture taken though that he refused to give up. He wanted to go someplace else. "Okay." I sighed, and off we went to Sears. They have a great Portrait Studio. When we got there, there was no line, 2 empty studios, but they were waiting on a 1030 appointment to show up. It was 1020. Good thing was they had an open 11 slot. So, we wondered around for 30 minutes and went back. Another 30 minutes went by before we were called. I was super nervous, because Sadie was getting tired at this point. The photographer was great and 10 minutes later we were done. Thirty more minutes later we got to pay and leave.

Check out the results! I was so happy my kids were so happy through the extra long morning.

hodge podge

2009-11-01T22:01:00.004-07:00

Hi ya'll. Here's a bunch of fun videos that I've meant to upload but haven't. I'll spare the long descriptions this time around.

Keagan wants to do whatever Zander can do.

Rachel too. Except Rachel is helping to show off Sadie's new skills.

Keagan just can't get enough of his baby sister. So much so, that he's resorted to sleeping in her crib at night. Even funnier still is that Sadie rarely will ever sleep in her own bed.

Why is it that I have two kids who refuse to sleep in their own beds? I paint their rooms all cute, give them night lights and they still refuse to sleep in their beds. :)

Carving pumpkins

2009-10-28T21:59:00.003-06:00

Tonight we carved our Halloween pumpkins. We had such a good time! We turned the music up, covered the counter, got out the carving tools and went to town. Zander picked the design for his pumpkin and carved the whole thing by himself! We had to really convince him to stick his hand in the pumpkin to clean it out, though. Mostly by refusing to do it for him. He's such a clean freak! But he's getting so big. Keagan was a big help getting seeds out and giving encouragement to everyone. He's such a big helper. Sadie sucked on the spoon we were using to clean out the pumpkins. Yummy!

Zander has adopted Halloween as his favorite holiday, and following suit, so has Keagan, so we've had to add to our decorations this year. He told us what we had just wouldn't do. So we bought some tombstones and web and decorated the yard. We didn't get the camera out there until it was too dark, so maybe those pics will come after Halloween day and all of us in our costumes!

Hey, Hey I am Monkey!

2009-10-17T08:24:00.004-06:00

Grease Monkey that is.

Okay, most of you won't get this blog title. There was a sitcom featuring a band called the Monkey's when I was growing up that I watched a lot. Consequently, the sitcom made the band that went on instead of the other way around. This is part of the chorus line in the opener song/jingle.

So, being unemployed I find plenty of ways to keep myself busy. Or rather people find plenty of ways to keep me busy. "Fix the van" was a chore I had been given by Karma, my mother-in-law. This was supposed to be a simple thing, since the only thing wrong with it was the starter motor needed to be replaced. I had done this with a couple other cars I had while I was a teenager, so I didn't think much of it. Turns out there was a major adventure ahead and I didn't even know it.

First, it turns out the starter was under the driver seat. That was trick to figure out. I googled the problem and found the solution. So with directions and a picture of the starter in hand - literally - I started on the project.

It took me a few hours to get it out, but only about 30 minutes or less to put it back in. After I got the starter replaced and realized the battery was dead. So, I tried to recharge the battery, but it was toasted too. I bought a new battery put it in and started it right up. Dust and crap from almost 2 years of sitting came flying out and filled my garage. Then some whistling started. I thought it might just be the belts trying to work back in. After a couple of seconds smoke started to fill the garage and the whistling stopped. I thought, this can't be good! I used the air hose to blow out all the smoke and then checked the engine. The serpentine belt burned off. CRAP!! something else. I went back to Checker for the 3rd time that day and got a new belt. Came home and tried to figure out how to put it on. That took some time. Once I finally got it on, I tensioned it back down and started the van up. No squealing this time, then snap! the belt broke again, after just a few seconds of being on. Puzzled, I looked over the belt route and noticed a burn mark on the alternator wheel. Turns out the Alternator had seized. Great.

The tale just keeps going on like this.

You make funny faces hun.

2009-10-17T07:49:00.002-06:00

Earlier this week I was trying to make dinner and Sadie was dying of hunger - so what's new. And I had the thought, "Hey Zander, wanna try feeding Sadie?" He was all to excited to try it out. I took a second to show him how and he was good. Check out this video. He was so cute and Sadie loved being fed by him.

Bid this farewell

2009-10-10T15:40:00.002-06:00

Get your own graph at skinnyr

I made my goal! And since you can't really read it on the side of my blog anyway (because it's so small), I'm getting rid of the graph I've had to help encourage me to loose my baby weight. I now officially weigh what I did when I got married. Thank you. =) And say goodbye to my lovely graph.

holding on to my ding-a-ling

2009-10-05T12:08:00.002-06:00

Wow. So, Zander is feeling much better and ready to go back to school. He's feeling so much better, that he is sticking Keagan in the laundry basket and pushing him down the stairs. Keagan is doing the same to Zander. Too funny!!

Oh, the title you ask...go Google Chuck Berry's song, My Ding-a-ling and you'll get it. It's a song I learned as a teen that my Dad introduced my to, which incedently became my friend's and my favorite song.

Here's a great video Clip. Oh, and here's a link to Chuck Berry's video of the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MLBfwblps8

Livin' the dream man

2009-09-27T10:36:00.003-06:00

I've been wanting to write a book for a long time. For those of you who know me this may not come as much of a surprise. I often live "off-the-cuff," and have several business venture ideas. It's only too bad that we don't have the means to try them all out. I'm pretty sure a couple of them would be real winners. Right now I have the time, well sort of, and figure it might be a good time to try and accomplish this goal.

Any way...I'm writing a book about business upwards management, or managing up. There are plenty of books that discuss management philosophies and the like, I've always thought it would be fun to write a book geared toward the entry level or intern worker. If any of you have any funny stories about bosses, or yourself/ "someone you know", and would like to consider having published please send them to me at michaelgonzales99@yahoo.com. Not everything submitted will be published, and if they are, I will change names to protect anyone involved. I'm looking for stories where;

You as the "underclass (wo)man" was right and the boss was wrong, or where your efforts proved triumphant.
You failed and learned a big lesson going forward.
The dawning of, "duh! that's how it works."
DOH! I shouldn't have sent that
I can do this no matter what
you were able to make the most of something bad

Please provide background to the story. This book is more of a comedy than a serious business practices book, though I'm sure some will take it as such. Because behind most funny stories are good morales.

I look forward to reading your stories.

Looking for new work

2009-09-25T11:43:00.002-06:00

For those of you that haven't heard, I was laid off the beginning of September as part of a labor reduction initiative at DeltaValve. I'm currently seeking employment in Marketing Management preferably in Oil and Gas, but I'm adaptable to take on anything. If any of you have any leads that may help, I would appreciate the insight.

The funny thing about family and friends is... many times, we know what's going on in each other's lives on a personal level, rarely are we aware of what each other do on a professional level. Heck, I still have a hard time explaining what my Dad taught after all these years, because his curriculum always seemed to be changing. To help out with this, below is a link to my professional site on LinkedIn. Here you can read a brief outline of what I do, what a few of my accomplishments are, and even some recommendations a few people I've worked with have said about me.

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/michael-gonzales/14/2a6/257

OH @#%^&!

2009-09-25T09:27:00.005-06:00

We spent the evening at Primary Children's Hospital with Zander. Michael was picking him up from the bus stop and Zander wanted to race. Michael accelerated quickly, felt a bump, looked in the rear view mirror and saw Zander on the ground. He immediately stopped, picked him up and brought him to me at work. The PA I work with, Gay, decided we would be better going somewhere else. We have an xray machine, but the M.A. wasn't sure how good of xrays she could take of his hip, which was hurting the most, and Gay doesn't feel too confident reading them and our doc is out of town. We bandaged up all the scrapes he had (all on the left side: elbow, hip, stomach, ankle) and brought him home. I called my Orthopedics Instructor for advice for an uninsured patient (hoping he would offer his free services) and he highly recommended we go to Primary Children's. While I was talking to him, Michael went to talk to Zander's friend Mackenzie who was at the bus stop.

She told him what happened was as Michael pulled away, Zander grabbed the door handle (on the passenger side) and he tripped and was then pulled down under the van and the back tire ran over his mid-section. After we heard that, and the recommendation from my teacher, Michael and the bishop gave Zander a priesthood blessing of healing and health, Bishop Jensen took the other kids and we left.

When we got there the waiting room was full and we fully expected to wait. I went to check in and as soon as I said he had been run over there wasn't a second to breath. The nurse, Fritz, put a collar on Zander's neck and told me I was about to be freaked out as they put him on a gurney and rushed him back where a team of doctors was waiting. They cut his shirt off (which upset Zander almost as much as the whole night) and started checking vitals and pain and everything else. He got an IV, they drew blood, EKG, chest xray, c-spine xray, brain CT and abdominal CT. Every step along the way I told each new person we didn't have insurance, but that didn't seem to change anything, which is a little frustrating. They did have us fill out financial assistance paperwork before we left, but some of those tests didn't need to be done.

Anyway, after a battery of tests and such, Zander has a buckle fracture of the pelvis and some major bruising in his hip and abdomen. A buckle fracture is just what is sounds like. The bone isn't separated or cracked, but has a buckle in it. It's on the L back side of his hip, straight back from the hip bone in front that we can see and feel.
There's no treatment for that. They said he could be weight bearing as tolerated, but that he wouldn't want to for a couple days. He's out of school for a week and out of PE for 6 weeks, doctors orders.

He's been a great sport about all this and is in good spirits. He only cried twice in our 4 hour visit to the ER. The first was when his shirt was cut off, the second was when he was getting the CT scans and then again (okay three times) when they didn't take the neck brace (collar) off as soon as would have liked. Michael was brave too and only cried twice, which is quite impressive as every new person wanted to know how it happened. They're both so brave. =)

---

All in all there were some funny things that happened along the way through the Hospital. Here are a bunch of pictures from the ordeal. Like Zander didn't stop talking the entire time. The comment the attending doc made was, "well the accident doesn't seem to have not affected the area of his speech." Zander's favorite comment to everyone at the hospital was, "NO TOUCHY!"

If I could Hie to Kolob

2009-09-25T08:52:00.006-06:00

Last weekend was a great time. We took the kids went to Solitude renewed our ski passes and went for a hike. Looks like we will ALL go skiing this year, well minus Sadie. I
was able to get passes for Rachel, Zander, Keagan, and myself for all of $50! Rachel and I were very excited about this seeing as how I don't have any steady income. After we got the tickets, we noticed the sunrise lift was running so we walked up to it and decided to get on a go for a ride to the top of the ridge. On
ce we got to the top, I thought it would be fun to walk to Solitude Lake — it's more of a pond than a lake, but whatever. Away we went! Sadie in the backpack and Keagan, Zander skipping along. Rachel and I held hands as we walked down the trail and explained to the boys, "this is where we go skiing." As we walked down the hill toward Summit lift I recalled the great points off the trail that I would haul off and do some trick like a back scratcher or 180 to land on off the trail in the trees and take the short cut. Ahh...good memories!

Zander was paid particular attention — and made sure we did too — to the sounds of nature around us. He recognized woodpeckers and a doe. There was a large mole thing that we saw and took pictures of that we had no idea what it was, but it was sure fun to observe!

We had hopes to picnic at the Lake once we got there, but by the time we got there we only had like 25 minutes to get back and it took us 20 minutes to hike up there. We did take a few more minutes than we should have to look at the ultra clear pond and look at another part of the mountain where we all congregate after skiing down Black Forest and then race (shoosh) to the Summit Lift. The crazy thing on the way back was Keagan was too tired to hurray so I put him on my shoulders and with Sadie and Keagan on my back I ran a portion of the trail to make it back in time. We were all out of breath by the time we reach the lift down. What a work out!

At the bottom we enjoyed cold cooked hotdogs, apples, goldfish and water. What a great time! We plan to go up again this Saturday.

Keagan sings—next American Idol

2009-09-20T15:53:00.002-06:00

Okay, maybe not, but it's just so dang cute. Keagan is the macho boy and doesn't sing much. In Sunday School he barely does the hand signs to the songs. But, being home every day can be so entertaining. I found out on my first day at home that Keagan loves Super Why. Check this out.

Batman is coming to town

2009-09-20T15:45:00.005-06:00

Wait a minute I thought it was Santa is coming to town? Heck no! Not in this family.

Halloween is just around the corner and Batman is in full swing. Keagan is bugging me for a new batman costume. I guess he deserves it since he has completely worn his mask out. It's broken so bad that is barely fits on the face anymore. To go with this fetish I painted his room with a HUGE batman on the wall. Zander was jealous because he's not so much into batman anymore, and he wanted ninjas on the wall. So, like any good Dad I had him and Mom cut out stencils and I put a bunch of Ninjas on the wall too. They look like they are sneaking about buildings getting poised to strike on the dark knight.

The painting isn't the best, but it was sure fun.

There she goes again

2009-09-20T15:23:00.003-06:00

So Sadie is on the move and she's not slowing down! Since September 3 I (Michael) have been unemployed. I lost my job due to a reduction in labor and now I'm playing Mr. Mom while searching for something—What I don't know but I'll know when I find it. Back the real topic...Since 9/3 I'm constantly chasing after Sadie and then consoling her when she falls, which she does fairly often. That's just the way growing up goes. We fall, then we get back up again. I wonder if I'll ever be done growing up.

We were sitting down for dinner one day and Sadie decided that her sitting in the chair wasn't going to cut it. She wanted whatever was on the table and nothing was going to stop her! Ever since then she continues to astound me; getting braver each day. A few days later she startled me as I was sitting at the computer searching for a job by starting to climb the stairs. WAIT!! Little people that are not even 8-months old yet are not supposed to be climbing stairs and standing up on their own.

So, here's some fun Sadie pictures.

Following her figuring out how to successfully climb up the stairs she has decided her favorite place to play is...YES—on the stairs. She chases the toys up the stairs then sits on a stair, usually the third one. After a minute she likes to scoot over to the railing, grabs hold and pulls herself up. She pretty well stands there until I come get her, or falls down. She's fallen twice, nothing serious. Since standing at the base of my chair screaming doesn't get my attention much anymore, she has resorted to climbing the five stairs the main level then crawls around the dinning table to in front of me. Grabs hold of the bars and smiles at me through the bars. This is really quite funny and convenient for me. This way I can watch her, she can watch me AND I can continue my online search through network contacts and postings.

Ahh...my adventurous baby girl.

From the mouths of babes

2009-08-28T20:44:00.002-06:00

My kids say the cutest things. I wish I could just carry a tape recorder around with me all the time. Here's a few snippets from the last few weeks; at least the good ones I can remember.

Zander was emptying the dishwasher and to put the plates away he climbs up on the counter, then to put the cups away, he walks across the narrow part in front of the sink. Today as he crossed it he said to me, "You know what you have to have to do this?" or course I'm thinking balance or something like that. But Zander responds, "It's the same thing you need to do everything." I'm a little confused now. Then it comes, "Faith!"

Zander comes in the door from school out of breath. He tells me his friend was trying to beat him home, but he was too fast. "I'm getting faster and smarter! It must be all the work I'm doing at school!"

I was driving in the car with Keagan and Sadie when we had to stop to let a train go ahead of us.

Keagan: Mom, I like trains. Does Sadie like train?

Me: I don't think Sadie knows what a train is, buddy.

Keagan: (laughing) Choo-choo! That's what a train is!

Zander got an invitation to our neighbor's birthday party. It's a friend that he plays with, but she is a girl...When I asked him if he was excited to go he said, "Well, I'm going to be working on my books so I'm going to be having a busy schedule."

Where do kids come up with this stuff???

Our backyard

2009-07-13T16:22:00.005-06:00

I've been promising pictures of our redone backyard for a long time, so here you have it.

[Drumroll, please....]

Here is Michael with a jack hammer tearing out our old, pitiful cement block. He was really excited to do this project not only because he got to put in his dream patio, but because he got to use lots of big tools and machines.

Like this bobcat. And Keagan being our little man's man was right there wherever his dad and all the tools were. Here they are clearing away the rubble from the old patio and other places in the yard. Notice the work gloves, work boots, and ear protection, just like his dad.

Then he framed out the new curved patio. We can't have anything so plain as a rectangle one. Where's the fun in that?

This is the cement truck with the "boom" that pumped the cement over the house and into the back yard. Michael was fascinated with this one. He said it made the job 100 times easier using that than having to wheelbarrow and shovel it back there!

Here is the work in progress. One is smoothing the cement and the other is following behind doing the stamp work. Michael was helping do the finishing work, but these guys were so efficient he ended up just being in the way. So he made me proud and got lots of pictures!

Here is the finished product...almost!

And this is after Michael put the color wash and antiquing on it. And of course he beautified it by adding huge pots and planting flowers. No detail left undone.

Honey, you did a great job with our new patio! And of course thanks to those who came and helped. My brother Kimball was here as was our friend Matt. Thanks guys!

Let me clarify...

2009-06-25T11:55:00.004-06:00

Michael was cut from the trip to Brazil, not from his job. Thank heavens! He actually got a promotion not too long ago from Events Coordinator to Events Manager. His actual job hasn't changed (nor did his pay unfortunately) but he has a manager title, which is always a better thing for seniority.

Sorry for the confusion...and thanks for your concern!!

I'm bummed!

2009-06-17T22:14:00.003-06:00

Well, Brazil is out. The budget was cut, and in turn so was Michael. We won't be going to the beaches of Rio de Janeiro after all. =(

And I was going to be the hottest thing on the beach (you were right, Jessica). I've lost 9 pounds so far, putting me at 115. It's almost the least I've weighed since having kids. After having Zander (and doing South Beach) I got down to 113, but then stayed pretty constant at 115 shortly after that. So, I'm there again. Go me!

Well, I did a rotation at the IMC hospital last Friday. I was on the surgical transplant floor. It was so interesting and so humbling! It makes me realize how much I don't know. This Friday, I'm going to do Head Start physicals for migrant workers children. I'm pretty excited to do that. Maybe I can practice my Spanish.

Well, I'm super busy at school right now doing preliminary papers to prepare us for our master's project we'll start next semester. I hate doing research. Can I just say that? That's why I'm getting a degree as a clinician and not going into research. And tomorrow I have to do a physical on a "patient" with a complaint of headaches. I'll be videotaped and have to give a diagnosis and treatment plan at the end to a faculty member. A little intimidating, yes.

On that note, I need to go read up on all the things that can cause headaches! Pray it's not a stroke!

Later. =)

Wacky Weather

2009-06-09T18:25:00.002-06:00

So, outside right now there's lightning, thunder, rain.......and hail. That's right. It's June 9th and it's hailing, really hard, outside my window. Welcome to Utah! And in the time it's taken me to log in and type this, it's probably rained about an inch. I kid you not. It's coming down in huge pouring streams of rain. And hail.

That's it. Hail. In June. Hee hee. :)

Go me!

2009-06-01T22:58:00.003-06:00

If you will refer to the graph on the left hand side of this page, you will see that I have been losing some weight. Most of it was fairly easy, I had a baby and since then lost most of the baby weight. I was, however, still 5-6 pounds more than my pre-pregnancy weight. Last week it came to my attention that I may be able to accompany my husband to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he is going in August for a conference. The hotel is right by the beach. Now, I was sitting at 124 for a good 2 months, which is the few pounds higher than before Sadie. Seeing as how I am barely 5' tall (on a good day) that means I still have a few pounds to lose before I am beach ready. So two weeks ago Michael and I started doing the South Beach diet. I love this diet, as much as you can love any diet. It works very well for me. I've done it before. It's very healthy and isn't so much a diet as a change in eating habits, if you do it right. So far, I've lost 6 pounds. I'm aiming for 6-10 more which would put me down to about 110-113 which is about where I was before I had kids. How great would that be! Even if my body will never be the same (until I have plastic surgery to fix it, that is) my weight might be if I stay dedicated enough. The though of a bikini and me and Michael is Brazil may be just the inspiration I need. Wish me continued luck!!

Sadie's blessing

2009-04-23T16:53:00.002-06:00

So, this last Sunday we blessed Sadie at church. I got her a beautiful dress and we had a great family party at our house afterwards. Here are a few of my favorite pictures:

Who doesn't love getting all dressed up? I love the fluffy white dress and headband. We even got matching bracelets for the occasion. Thanks Mom!
This is us trying to take a family picture. It gets increasingly hard to do that as Michael and I are now outnumbered. AHHH! That's a scary thought.

We are doing well. Zander is playing soccer and loves it. Keagan loves whatever Zander loves. Sadie is adorable, as you can see. And she loves her parents as she is now sleeping through the night. Really she is so good all the time. She hardly ever cries. And when she's hungry or tired if we don't get to her fast enough, she just puts her fingers in her mouth and sucks on them until she goes to sleep. She really is an angel.

I am coming to the end of my semester. By Thursday (May 7) I'll be done with classes and the 4 tests I have left. Then I get a whole week off before starting again. Not the three I've had the last few semesters, but that's okay.

Michael has been home all month and it's been wonderful having him here. He recently got a promotion at work and I'm very proud of him. He works very hard at work and at home for our family. My next post will be of our backyard that he has redone. It's amazing! Thanks Babe!

Random pictures

2009-04-20T21:38:00.006-06:00

I have some fun things I want to share.
First, I went shopping with my sister a few weeks ago and bought a few new shirts to wear to clinic and then at the last minute we stopped at DSW. I found these beauties in the clearance section:

I've been looking for red shoes for a long time. These aren't the exact shade I wanted but I love the shoe, so I'm not complaining! In fact I feel smokin' hot when I wear them! =)

This was made for us by our friend (and our PA) Todd when Sadie was born:

What a talented man! And it matches her room perfect. It's embroidered, all the flowers and hearts and everything. The white is the frame and the green behind is the wall. Isn't it perfect? I love it.

I took this the other night. I put Sadie in the tub while the boys were in and they loved it!

And this is my new favorite picture of Sadie:

I know, it's something of a miracle to capture a smile with her only being 3 months old! I was lucky, and she loves me!

Okay, that's all. =)

Picnic Saturday

2009-03-24T18:46:00.006-06:00

Zander has told me that he is going to make every Saturday a holiday. It's going to be called "Picnic Saturday"! We went on a picnic 1 1/2 weeks ago and had a great time. We walked to a small park near our house and the boys played and we all ate. It was the first day it was really sunny, but it was still just a bit chilly. Anyway, we had a great time! Here's the photos:

As soon as we got there Zander told me he needed to take a "sun rest". That's him laying out on the blanket eating his sandwich. And Michael followed his example. Keagan was too busy playing to even sit while eating. He's take a bite while running by. We had a great time. Sadie slept the whole time in her car seat in the stroller.

New news

2009-03-18T13:17:00.006-06:00

Well, it's spring break (!) for me so I have a lot to say! First of all, it's been so nice to not have to worry about school, getting up early, doing homework, etc. I'm still up at 7-7:30 everyday because of the kids, but once (or twice) I've gone back to bed after Zander is off to school and Natalie is here to entertain Keagan. I've gone walking 3 days this week (including last Saturday). My house is getting a little cleaner every day (again, thanks to Natalie) and I get to see my kids most of the day everyday. Here are some fun pictures of my fam:

I know this isn't the best picture, but the boys were watching TV one afternoon and Keagan was laying right on top of Zander and neither was fussing about it until I got the camera out. It was so cute. Also, Zander says the funnies things these days. He's so smart sometimes...and so funny. The other day after I finished feeding Sadie, she was still hungry, so I made her a bottle of pumped milk and asked Zander if he wanted to feed her. He looks at me and says, "What?! I don't have nipples with milk in them!" And this last weekend we had a birthday party for my dad. He asked me how old he was, then added, "I hope he's not more than 100."This one is so cute. Keagan absolutely adores this little girl. He is constantly crawling on top of her to kiss her, and he always wants to hold her. Oh yeah, and he calls her "My Seedee" and gets mad when we try to say she ours, too. =)
This is Sadie at 1 month old. I took this picture in our living room and was pretty impressed with myself!

Here is Sadie at 2 months old, and yes, that's a smile on her face...well kind of. They're so hard to capture in pictures, but she's doing it and warming our hearts every time!

Here's Michael (strutting his stuff) and me on a date last night. We went to dinner at Orchid, a Thai restaurant close to us (that I highly recommend), then we went ice skating! It was a great night; we had a lot of fun. =)

Back in the saddle

2009-02-16T09:15:00.004-07:00

I've been asked by a few people if I'm back at school. Unfortunately, that came much quicker than I wanted it to. Sadie was born the Thursday the 15th, and I was back in class Monday the 26th, part time and back full time by Thursday of that same week. It's just too hard to try and make up all the time I was missing. The lectures were being recorded, but try finding time to listen to 6 hours of lecture from one day missed. Not easy. And sitting in class wasn't too hard on me. It also helped that the first few days I went back were short days. I've been lucky this semester that we haven't had hardly any days that go until 5. I'm usually home by 3:30, in time to feed Sadie in the afternoon. That has been nice. I hate to leave her, but our new nanny, Natalie, is fantastic. That makes it a little easier. I still haven't found much time to study, and am tired from not sleeping more than 5 hours at a time, and sometimes in a night, but overall things are going well.

A week after Sadie was born, we had our "White Coat Ceremony" (what the picture is from-my small group with our advisor) to officially give us our white coats so we can start "Friday Clinic". It's kind of a preview to our rotations, just to get our feet wet, so to speak. Every Friday, I am with my preceptor, who works at Foothill Family Clinic. The first couple weeks I just basically shadowed her and we talked about the cases. This next week, I'm going to start taking some histories and doing some of the exams on the patients. It's been fun. I love being in the clinic again, and not just in the classroom. My preceptor is really great, too, so we have a good time.
That's my update for now!

More about Sadie

2009-01-23T15:30:00.009-07:00

Here are a few more pictures from the hospital of our family, most importantly our little angel.

The boys love her and are always telling me they want to hold her, usually when I'm feeding her. When she cries Keagan tells her, "Hey Seedee, you o-tay."

And here are some pictures of the bedroom Daddy made his little princess. In case you're wondering, we no longer have an office. =( But it's worth it.

Welcoming...

2009-01-16T14:58:00.009-07:00

SADIE ANNE GONZALES

Sadie was born Thursday night at 6:30 pm, by c-section (sad, but oh well). We are doing good. Labor just didn't progress fast enough. After 10 hours, I was still only dilated to a 3, and the one doctor in her practice that wouldn't agree to a VBAC was on call that night, so it was a no go after 6. I'm up and moving around during the day, evenings are a bit more difficult.

Sadie was a little thing, 6 lbs. 4 oz. and 19.5".

Having a new baby is great because all your friends and family call and come by just to see how you're doing. Most of my family came by that night, and Michael's sister Christine, too. Then Michael's parents unexpectedly called, and then stayed up late to video skype with us for about 15 minutes. That was fun.

Okay, so, I'll backtrack just a few minutes. When the last two were born Michael and my mom were both there. Marinda was there when Zander was born. This time the doctor had to play our advocate and talk the anesthesiologist into allowing Marielle to be in there. She is up from Phoenix to watch. She's taking a class to become a certified birthing instructor and part of the requirements is that she must watch births. Here's a fun picture of the three of us going in to surgery.

Latest Update

2009-01-10T16:14:00.006-07:00

Thanks to my sister and my birthday last month, I spent a day at the salon last week being pampered. I had my hair done, had my blond highlights touched up and also some red highlights added. I also had a pedicure and have very cute purple toes right now. I also thought I would throw in a pregnancy picture, since hopefully I won't look that way for long.

I was scheduled for a c-section this coming Tuesday Jan. 13, but we've decided it's reasonable to try for a vaginal birth this time. So we moved the c-section to the 20th, my actual due date, and are hoping that I go into labor on my own before then. With school starting in 2 days, I'm hoping the recovery will be shorter if I can have a regular delivery.

As for our Christmas, it was crazy and wonderful as usual. We went sledding Christmas Eve with Michael's family, then had dinner with my family. Then Christmas morning, we opened our presents, went to my parents and opened more, then went to Michael's family for one more round. Here are a few pictures.

I'm Done!!

2008-12-21T23:26:00.002-07:00

That's right. My last final was Thursday morning. I had three this last week, and passed all my finals. Some of them by the skin of my teeth, but I passed them all and that's what counts, right? Now I have three weeks off! School starts again on January 12th, and then I'm having a baby on January 13th. I'm due on the 20th, but for c-sections they schedule them at 39 weeks. So unless I go into labor early, the 13th is the day!

We still haven't decided on a name. We have a few favorites, but probably won't decide for sure until she is actually born. So, in three weeks, you'll all know, if we do. =)

Now I just need to finish Christmas shopping, mail packages (sorry they'll be late to those of you we're sending stuff to-finals and shopping don't go well together), put up a crib, sort through girl clothes that were given to me by a friend (thanks Kalli!) and pretty do everything else to prepare for a baby that we haven't done any of yet. So, that's what's on my agenda. I thought about scrapbooking if I had any time, but not sure how much of that will actually happen.

All-in-all, I'm glad for time off! Things have been stressful the last few months with my overwhelming school, Michael working his regular job, doing free lance work, and taking a writing class for work. It's amazing we made it, but we did, and a little R&R will do us some good! Yay for Christmas vacation!

Hungry, Hungry Hippo

2008-12-15T21:41:00.004-07:00

When Michael got home from work tonight, Zander told him how hungry he was. Michael commented that he was a hungry, hungry hippo. To which Zander replied, "No, I think that's mom because she's fat like a hippo." When they told me that later in the car, I laughed and just told Zander it was a good think he was only 5.

Oh, the honesty of children.

Gotta love 'em. =)

Happy? Birthday to me!

2008-11-23T13:19:00.007-07:00

Well, yesterday was my birthday and I turned the bit 3-0!! That's right folks. I'm 30. And not a minute sad about it. However, yesterday wasn't my best day ever. Let me explain....

Zander came to me probably Monday morning and told me his hands hurt. He had a few small bumps on them, but I didn't think much about it. Then they got worse. On Tuesday night at dinner he complained of his throat hurting so much he cried when he tried to eat. On Wednesday, Michael took him to the doctor, and he has hand-foot-mouth disease. We just learned about this in my pediatrics class, how could I miss it?! I feel like a horrible mom and like I'm not on track to be a great PA either. That same night I noticed Keagan wouldn't eat and looked in his mouth, and sure enough, he has it too. Keagan doesn't have any sores on his hands or feet, but his mouth is bad. The last few nights have been horrible. Zander is getting better, and his sores are all healing, but Keagan is a few days behind. He wakes up about every hour crying that it hurts. Yesterday, he cried almost all day long except when he would crash on the floor somewhere. He won't eat, he won't sleep...Michael and I feel like we're going crazy. Anyway, I felt bad dumping them on my parents when Keagan was so unhappy, but we needed some sanity time, so we took advantage and went out for my birthday last night.

We had dinner at Famous Dave's and it was delicious! After dinner we went to Gardner Village. We went on a carriage ride and just shopped around. I've never been there before and it was really fun. I even got an apple cider to keep me warm as we walked around. I got a few fun pictures, too.

Here's us in taking our carriage ride. The pictures were taken with my phone, so there's no flash. Sorry they're so dark.

Then here's a couple pictures of the trees with their lights. That's probably my favorite part of Christmas, the lights. They are so pretty!

So, what started out to be a rough day ended up to be a great birthday!

Thanks Michael and Mom and Dad!

I got the word...

2008-11-11T15:25:00.004-07:00

I've been chastised for not updating my blog lately. I have nothing new (of note) to report. I'm so busy with school I don't do much else. I'm a little overwhelmed with school right now. We still have tests every week and after Thanksgiving we have two tests the next week, two the week after, then three the next week, which is finals week. My last test is Dec 18th. I will breath a sigh of relief when that day comes and goes. I spend every Saturday and usually Sunday evenings in study groups. I try to study during the week and usually end up falling asleep at my desk. Welcome to life as a mother of two, pregnant, graduate student. =)

I'm 7 months along now. I feel tired all the time lately (hence the falling asleep in class and at desk at home). I'm uncomfortable almost all the time, and can't eat much at one sitting because I just don't have room. Anyone who has seen me pregnant knows I get huge, so I run out of room pretty quickly.

Other than that, not a lot to report. Michael painted our kitchen area last weekend. He did behind the table area a red/orange color and the pantry corner forest green. It all actually looks really good. The rust color was a mis-tint, our favorite (and cheapest) way to buy paint. Zander is excelling in school. His teacher had nothing but rave reviews about his at parent-teacher conference. He's so smart and well behaved. We're great parents. Shall I go on?? Keagan is finally growing and he's also getting smarter. It amazes me the things I say to him that he understands. I don't talk to him like a baby and he certainly doesn't ask like one.

So, all in all, things are still moving along at our house. I take it a day at a time and try not to think too much about the in between. Here's a little photo we took at home a few weeks ago just before church. Enjoy.

Busy, busy, busy

2008-10-06T20:06:00.002-06:00

Starting three weeks ago and continuing for the rest of the semester, I have a test every Monday morning. My last three tests have been hard, but not unbearable. But today was my final in Cardiology/EKG/Cardiovascular Nutrition. Yeah, three finals (three different classes) in one. I spent a lot of time over the last week and weekend studying for this test. After the test was over, I thought I was going to cry. For all the hours I put in, I felt totally unprepared. I had made as many educated guesses as I could on the things I wasn't sure about. I read scriptures on the bus on the way to school today. As far as I know, that is the only reason I did well. Turns out, I got an A! I ended up with 95% on the test! I was so happy! I've been averaging in the high 80's on the last few tests, which is not as well as I could probably do, but with as much as I have going on, good enough.

Okay, enough about that. Zander lost his second tooth a week or so ago. He got another dollar and took them both to the dollar store and bought some toys. Michael took both the boys and let Keagan get a toy, too. True to form, they both fought over Keagan's toy, Zander having decided that was better than what he got. Kids. Also, Zander has been learning to write better and read in Kindergarten. He's loving school, reading, and learning in general. He's such a smart kid. But I think I need to stop telling him that. He told me the other day (as he has before) that is the smartest person in the universe. At least I'll never fail in giving my children good self-esteem, eh?

Keagan continues to learn new words and become more independent and vocal about his independence. The time out chair has become his friend (and Zander's too for that matter) as we're learning to listen to mom and dad. When he's doing something wrong, he says to me, in his sweetest voice, "Hi Mommy". Then does it again if I'm still mad. What a manipulator. But sometimes it's funny to watch.

Michael has been home the last few months, which I've been extremely grateful for. He's such a help and support to me. I've gotten used to him traveling, but being 6 months pregnant (and very emotional) makes it a little more challenging for me. He's also taking a writing class at the U for work and really enjoying it.

Well, that's the update on my little family. I know these are getting far and few between so I thought I better update on the whole gang!

Later!

The unproud new owners...

2008-09-17T20:24:00.003-06:00

of a minivan. That's right, folks. We have joined the ranks. We know we will be able to fit three kids and three car seats in the Jeep (it's wider than the Galant), but our nanny has a baby, too. If we want her to continue to take Zander to karate, or run errands for us (which I do more when Michael is out of town) we need to have a car that holds 4 children....hence, a minivan. We bought it used, and unfortunately not quite as nice as the picture here (dang). It's white, with tan leather interior (we were excited about the leather - easier to clean up).

Anyway, if anyone is looking to buy an awesome Jeep Overland, we are selling ours. =( We LOVE this Jeep, but until I'm done with school, we don't want to worry about the payment.

Well, that's all there is to say about that!

And the verdict is...

2008-09-07T22:21:00.001-06:00

Yes, I'm still here, but something is missing...

2008-09-07T11:06:00.006-06:00

I know, I know..."I have so much to say before school starts again..." Well, I never have enough time in a day, whether I'm in school or not, it turns out. Here is one thing I wanted to write about: Zander lost his first tooth! His bottom front tooth fell out while he was eating breakfast on Monday, August 18. He was very excited!

He comes to me, with his fist closed, and says, "Mom, I was wondering what a tooth looks like when it falls out. Does it look like THIS?!?!" And shows me the contents of his hand and starts laughing. He is such a clever little kid.

Here he is all toothless and happy!

And here is another one with him and brother, Keagan. They are so cute together!

Happy Anniversary

2008-08-20T10:32:00.005-06:00

So, today we celebrate 9 YEARS of marriage! I can't believe it either. Michael, my amazing husband, surprised me with a wonderful gift! (And one for him, too. He's a great shopper, for the both of us.)

This is my new baby. He said being together 9 years is a journey and deserves the Journey Necklace (with white sapphire stones). He said he was so excited to give it to me he hardly slept last night, like it was Christmas. This was better than Christmas! Thanks, Babe!

And, this is what I got (riiight) for Michael. He got a new set of golf clubs. He went to buy one club with a gift card he had and the sets of clubs were on sale. So he got them and called it my gift to him. I'm such a good wife I even surprise myself sometimes!

I have lots of other things to talk about before school starts on Monday, so visit me here often between now and then!

And...we're done

2008-08-06T15:43:00.003-06:00

So, I survived my first semester of PA school. I even think I made it with A's and B's, although grades aren't available for another week. Honestly, it wasn't as hard as I was afraid it might be. But most of our graded classes (not pass/fail) were review type classes, except for a few very difficult exceptions like Biochemistry and Microbiology. Next semester, however, is going to be very different. The students and faculty alike have told us that fall semester is by far the hardest. It's much more time consuming with a lot more new material being presented, real medical stuff. For those interested, I'll put my schedule below, so you can see what I'll be doing. For those not interested, skip it! By the way, this means I'm 1/4 the way done with classes! Yeah!

Course: Pathophysiology I

Classes in this course: Infectious Disease, Surface Anatomy, Wound Management, Pediatrics, Adolescent Medicine, Orthopedics, Gastroenterology, Opthalmology, ENT

Course: Specialty Care I

Classes: Cardiology, ECG Inerpretation, OB/GYN, Pulmonology, Radiology, Nephrology, Lab Interpretation

Course: Drug Therapy in Primary Care I

Course: Patient Problem Management I

Classes: Tutorials, Focused Exams, FP (Family Practice) Grand Rounds (This is a meeting of doctors and residents where they present patient cases and solutions for them. I've never been but I've been to similar meetings and they are fascinating!), Professional Issues, Cultural Competency

Course: Evidence-Based Medicine I

Classes: EBM Overview, COPC (Not sure what this stands for)

As you can see, as happened this semester, I have 5 graded courses that are made of several classes each. We get a grade in each class (some are just pass/fail), then all the class grades are combined to give is a course grade. They rotate in and out, so I can be taking 5 or 10 classes at a time, depending on when they all start/stop.

ANYWAY, I'm out of school for 3 weeks! I'm trying to get caught up on blogs that I haven't seen forever, including mine. I'm also wanting to do some scrapbooking! I love being home with my kids more, and am looking forward to a vacation at some point, maybe. Anyone who wants to do lunch or a scrapbook date...call me! I'm available, but not for long!

My cute boys!

2008-07-30T22:26:00.002-06:00

My nanny, Stephanie, is the daughter of a friend that I worked with at Huntsman. They took the boys swimming one day and made these cute scrapbook pages. I thought I would share because they are so cute! Thanks Annette and Stephanie!

I'm doing good!

2008-07-05T21:33:00.005-06:00

Well the first two days of this holiday weekend were way more fun than I thought they would be! Can I just say I'm so grateful for friends?!

My family left on Thursday night for Nouvoo (with my parents and siblings) so I am all alone. I cried like a baby when they left. I was so afraid of being a lost little puppy that I tried really hard to keep myself busy. Well, I stayed so busy, I was late for everything I found to do!

I got up on Friday the 4th and went to our Ward Breakfast at the church. While there, I made plans with a friend to go see 'Made of Honor' and we loved it. It's a very fun show! Then we came to my house and played Guitar Hero. Always a hit. That evening I went to a BBQ with some friends from school. We had a great time, especially because there was delicious juice and fruit pizza. How can you not have a great time when delicious juice is involved? We decided not to walk to Sugarhouse Park for fireworks, the original plan, but we set up camp in the backyard and could see the show just fine anyway! The fireworks were amazing! I LOVE fireworks!

Today, I decided I was going to go to the gym and swim laps, something I haven't done in a very long time. Michael suggested I ride my bike to the gym, then swim. So I got on my bike, rode the almost 5 miles there, laid by the pool (and did a few laps, with mostly arms to get some sort of upper body workout in) and laid by the pool for a little while longer. Then got back on my bike and rode the almost 5 miles home, which almost killed me. I realized on the way back, that the ride there wasn't because I was "in the zone" as I had hoped, but it was mostly downhill. Yeah, that means it was mostly uphill on the way home. I was already tired, and it was 98 degrees, so that's why I almost died. But I'm okay.

Next, after a much needed shower, I went to the wedding of a friend I worked with at Huntsman. They got married at East Canyon Resort and it was beautiful! And, I had a fantastic time! I saw all (well most) of my old crew and was there for the ceremony (at 2:30), the time in between, and for most of the reception, which started at 5:30. I didn't leave until 8. It was hot and we danced like fools and loved every minute of it! We even followed the kids example and ran through the fountain before the night was over. I sure miss my girls up there!

Not a great photo, but it was taken with my phone, which doesn't zoom. (Michael has the camera on vacation.) It was so pretty and Krystal looked amazing!

These were flowers that were growing wild on the way up the canyon. I know you can't tell because this picture was taken with my phone again, but these flowers were such a vibrant purple and they were in red soil, so they stood out even more. They were so pretty I pulled over and took a few shots.

So since I haven't done any homework yet this weekend, and that was all I thought I would do, I guess I know what is planned for tomorrow!

I know this is already longer than you want to read, but a little brag note: my last two finals I have scored 97% and 91%. Go me! =)

Kung Fu Zander

2008-07-02T09:58:00.003-06:00

We went and saw Kung Fu Panda a few nights ago, and had such a good time! Zander wore his karate uniform, and when I saw the panda out in the lobby, I couldn't pass up this photo op! It's such a good movie. Anyone who hasn't taken their kids, or even gone on their own, should. It's funny, it's clean, and it has such a good message. We even got to have popcorn. It was a fun night!

Now I'm getting ready to be on my own for the next 10 days while Michael, the kids, and my whole family go on vacation...without me. I can't afford to miss that many days of school, and right now school has to come first. It makes me sad thinking they are all going to be gone for so long...what am I going to do with myself?! Oh yeah, homework that I haven't done for a few months...what was I thinking.

I'll keep you posted on how they are doing and my loneliness scale. Later!

We've gone green

2008-06-13T21:53:00.002-06:00

I thought maybe I'd write about something other than school. But first...I have to say, I took a final on Monday in History Taking and got 99%! That's more like it!

Okay, now I'll explain the title. I take the bus to school (on most days that I'm up early enough to catch the but at 7:00), Michael bought a bike a few weeks ago and rides his bike to work on most days, too. With gas now hitting $4.00 a gallon, we knew something had to change. Two times this week we even packed the kids in the stroller/bike trailer and rode up to Harmon's to get a Redbox movie. The first ride I felt like I was going to throw up when we got there, but tonight I didn't feel that way until I got home. I'm getting better!

Well, I'm going so Michael and I can watch a movie together. Later!

Time flies

2008-06-07T09:57:00.002-06:00

What a crazy past few weeks! I started school, and Michael was home for the first two weeks. Then he was gone from Monday morning to Friday night last week and this week. It's been a real challenge to stay on top of studies and reading and homework without any help at night. The first week, my parents were able to help out but this week, they have been busy, too. The other night I put on a movie and tried to get some reading done (yes, I have evolved into one of those parents who lets the TV do a little babysitting...) and after 1 1/2 pages 20 minutes later decided the kids weren't interested in the TV and needed some Mommy time. So I put the book away and we all climbed into my bed to sleep together.

I passed BioChemistry, something I am very proud of! I don't have to remediate the first class in the program! Yeah for me! Now starts our chaotic summer schedule of rotating classes.

The weather has been as crazy as ever. It's June 7th at 10:05 right now and it's 49 degrees outside. We've had the heat on the last few days. It has rained and been in the 60's the last few days. So crazy.

My sister Jessica got home yesterday, and it was so fun to see her! I'm so glad she gets to be here for the next almost two months! Yeah for family!

Well, that's it for me. I've got to get back to the books.

one week down...

2008-05-18T17:29:00.002-06:00

...I don't know how many to go, but I'm not counting!

Well, my first week of grad school is over and I'm still alive! As I mentioned before it actually wasn't too bad because we only had 2 actual days of Biochemistry, but I feel like I've read a lot more material than that already. We have quizzes everyday, which I've not done so well on. I guess just reading the assignment for the next day at 10:00 pm isn't enough to retain what's needed to answer questions on a quiz. I'm working on that.

This weekend was a good one. Friday night Michael and I went on a date to the movies and saw Vantage Point. It was pretty good, nothing to shout about, but thrilling in the moment. Then on Saturday afternoon the doctor who is the Medical Director for the PA program held the annual 3 on 3 basketball tournament at his house. All three classes of PA's went (class 37 who graduate in August, class 38 who are starting rotations in August, and us class 39, the newbies) and had 1 or 2 teams paying and the medical residents went, too, since the doctor is on that board as well. It was really fun.

That evening, our class had already planned a barbecue to get to know each other better. So we went to a classmate's house and barbecued and just hung out. We had a great time. I spent all day Saturday in the sun watching games, visiting and eating. What could be better?!

Today I taught Relief Society which was fun. I get nervous, but I really enjoy doing it. The lesson was on prayer and personal revelation. The Joseph Smith manual did a good job, and adding to it wasn't hard, especially with the great comments from the ladies in the ward.

Now it's 5:30 and Zander is at a friend's house, Michael and Keagan are on a walk, and we have no idea what we're having for dinner. What a relaxed, fun weekend we've had!

I'm baaack!

2008-05-13T18:40:00.004-06:00

Yes, I'm alive and well. I just finished my second day of school in the PA program. It was two days of orientation basically, so not a lot to report. Tomorrow we start into our 2 1/2 week screaming fast course of biochemistry. I've read my reading assignments up to this point, and so far it doesn't seem too bad. ALL the staff keep telling us how excited they are to have us there and to have a new class starting and to see us succeed. It's pretty nice.

So, the full time hours don't bother me. I've worked full time (although not in about 2 1/2 years) before, so that's not bad, but SITTING ALL DAY LONG is a little wearing. My job was very on the go. I probably never sat for more than 10-15 minutes at a time. Now I'm in a chair from 8-5, with a few breaks in between. I find myself very tired in the afternoon and remembering that's what happens when you're not moving (or standing in surgery) all day. I miss my job and my friends there, but am making new friends at school. They keep telling us how we're building friendships that will last a life time right now, so play nice! Yes, they actually said that to us.

We finally did get a nanny hired, and it's a girl I worked with at Huntsman. Her mom was an MA with me and she worked in the file room. She has a 6 week old baby and brings him to the house. So far, it's been great. I know her and trust her and the boys seem to like her. The first day (yesterday) Keagan had a fever. She made an appointment and took him to our doctor (PA actually =)) and he had strep. I had strep last week, so not a big surprise. So then today seemed pretty uneventful for her. I decided the first day should always be hard, because the rest seems like a breeze, right?!

All is well in the Gonzales household. Except the part where we got robbed last week. Someone came into the house, through the back sliding door which I didn't lock for the first time ever, when I took Zander to preschool. FIFTEEN minutes later my husband came home for lunch and the TV wasn't mounted on the wall. Our comforter was missing (which we later found on the side of the house????) and his wedding ring and my iPod are gone. Oh, and they emptied our cup of change. Lame! Then they unlocked the front door and walked right out. WITH A 42" TV IN THEIR HANDS! We're a little unnerved and are getting a security system for the house. With the hubby traveling for work occasionally, we're not taking any chances. The good news is we have insurance, so with the price of the deductible, all our things will be replaced.

Okay, besides that, all is well. Our family is doing good, Michael's job is going well, I'm right where I should be, and the kids are happy. We truly are blessed.

Barcelona, Part II

2008-04-29T22:11:00.014-06:00

Here comes several more pictures of our travels together. The day after this the conference started for Michael, so I played tourist on my own.

When you travel by yourselves, you get really good at taking pictures of yourselves!

This is the hotel we moved into after 2 days of staying in a very small apartment. I didn't think I was such a diva until I moved from that to a 5 star hotel. Wow! I love being spoiled! And somebody else picking up the tab... hehe

These are pictures from the Olympic Stadium. The olympics were held here in 1992, but the stadium was built in 1929 for the Internation Exhibition, and in hopes that the olympics would be here the next year. These pictures are taken from the outside, of the field, and the "covered seating" that was built then lifted into place so there were no beams to obstruct the view. Pretty cool!

Placa d'Espanya

This is the "gateway" to Montjuic (mountain of the Jew, named for the Jewish cemetary there). This is a hill where the MNAC is (a picture that is in the last post) and where the Olympic stadium and events were held. There are also various gardens and other museums.

A city plaza, about 10:00 pm

A view of Barcelona from Mount Tibidabo

Mount Tibidabo is an interesting place. It stands was up on a hill (obviously) that you can see from anywhere in the city. We took a trolley car up part way, then the "Funicular", a sort of train that goes to the top. At the top, there is a cathedral and an amusement park. Bizarre combination. But it was beautiful.

One of many random shopping buildings, by night.

Hola de Barcelona!

2008-04-22T01:28:00.011-06:00

Michael and I on the tour bus!

I know you've all been anxiously waiting so here goes. We arrived last Friday afternoon, it took about 3 hours for us to unload, get our bags and get out of the airport. Then it took another 30-45 minutes to get a taxi. We finally made it to the apartment we were staying in while waiting for the guy with the key, realized we had left our camera in the taxi. We got inside, spent about an hour on the phone with the taxi company to no avail, took a small nap, I got in the shower to warm up, and we went out for the evening. It was colder than I thought and we couldn't figure out how to turn the heat on until later. I warmed up, we bought a new camera, and had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. Yeah Hard Rock! I love that place. What I don't love right now is how bad the dollar is doing. The Euro is much stronger right now (1 Euro = $1.60), so we are paying 1 1/2 times more for everything. Other than that, prices are pretty equal.

On Saturday and Sunday, we bought a pass to a hop-on-hop-off tour bus (the double decker kind) and toured around the city that way. A great way to go. Gave us a good feel for the city, and where the highlights were. Well here are a few photos from our first few days in Spain!

Us eating at Hard Rock Cafe Barcelona!

The beach boardwalk at Port Olimpic, and two old men enjoying the sun. hehe

Barcelona's pride and joy, La Sagrada Familia (The Sacred Family)

This is an interesting building. One entrance is all gothic style, very similar to other cathedrals, but much more elaborate, designed by Gaudi. The other entrance was built recently by a different architect and very modern and blocky. It's quite bizarre, if you ask me. The towers and very tall and ornate, as you can see. Eventually there will be twelve towers for the disciples of Christ and a taller one for him. It still isn't finished and has been under construction for over 100 years.

MNAC: el Museu Nacional de Arte Catalunya

This houses the art museum, but even though we went inside, they closed about 20 minutes later, so we didn't buy a ticket. Maybe another day.

La Casa Mila or La Padrera

This was an apartment building built by Gaudi, one of Barcelona's most famous architects. I has a courtyard in the middle, so all the room have natural lighting. The curves of the building are supposed to imitate the "waves of the Mediterranean." Even the roof of this building is amazing, maybe even more interesting than the inside.

Okay, here a glimpse of our first two days. I'll do more later, but I'm burning daylight trying to get this all done. So much to see, so little time! The internet is a little different here (and my computer keeps switching from English to Spanish!), and I've had some troubles. But eventually, this will get done!

Later.

Here, there and everywhere

2008-04-15T16:52:00.003-06:00

I know it's been a while. But I don't have much to report, although I'm very busy right now...

Michael and I leave for Spain, Barcelona specifically, on Thursday and will be gone for a week! He's going for a conference for 3 days, and he had enough sky miles to fly me over for free. We'll have three days together, then I'll have 3 on my own while he's in the conference. So, today I'm doing laundry and starting to pack bags for us and the boys. Grandparents are watching the boys while we're gone...thanks moms and dads!

On another note, yesterday Michael scored tickets to an afternoon Bees baseball game. We went at lunch time. It was 80 degrees out and lovely, even though it was a bit windy. Today, even as I'm typing this, it is snowing outside. And hard. This has been the craziest year.

So, tomorrow is my last day at work. It would normally be such a great day, but I really love my job and especially the people I work with. I've been there for 3 years and am good friends with everybody I work with. I'm really going to miss seeing them all the time. You guys rock!

After we get home from Barcelona I'll be home for two weeks, then school starts! I'll start my 2 year marathon of classes every day from 8-5. And I think we may have found a nanny!! I'm so excited. A roommate of our niece called and said she was interested. The downside is it's only for the summer, but then I found someone through the nanny website I've been using that is available after summer and wants a long term job, like 2 years! If that works out, it would be awesome. A huge relief to me. Whew!

Well, that's about it for now. My next post will probably be from Espana! I'll try to load my favore 1-2 pictures everyday so I can share some of our adventures! Ole!

My New Do!

2008-04-01T10:26:00.003-06:00

I did it! I cut my hair short and dyed it blond, well put in blond highlights anyway! I'm thinking either people love it or hate it because they either rave about it to me or don't say anything at all. It's such a drastic difference that it's not like people just don't notice. So when they don't say anything...

That's okay because I like it! Here is a pic!

Keagan-pants turns 2!

2008-03-30T23:28:00.000-06:00

Don't ask me how he ended up with that nickname, but it's what I call him. I think it comes from 'cutie-pants'. He loves bikes. The problem is he's not big enough to pedal, and we're so lucky that he got a new one for his birthday!

His vocabulary is really growing. Up until about 1-2 months ago, he could say "mama" and "mo" (or no). Now he says mom, dad, juice, chew (shoe), bompa (grandpa), eye (I, eye, and ice), mo (no), Pabo (Pablo from Backyardigans), among many, many others. And of course 'mine' is as clear as a bell! He is two after all. Everyday he has a new word, it's so fun!

We are having issues with sleeping in a bed. This is naptime. He refused to go into his room, and ended up falling asleep on the stairs. This is even more funny because just the day before I was joking with my visiting teacher that he'll end up sleeping on the stairs all night if he doesn't stay in his bed. Moms always know best. =)

We had a party tonight with both our families here, and had so much fun! He got lots of gifts that he loves...a lawnmower (bubble blowing), tool belt and tools, fire truck, tricycle, ball, Thomas trains, Thomas pajamas, a Backyardigans movie...man is this boy spoiled or what?

Happy Birthday Buddy!!

Wait...What?!

2008-03-27T09:43:00.004-06:00

This is what I woke up to this morning. Yesterday I went to work with a jacket on, and didn't even wear it on the way out to my car. Then this morning...it's snowing! That's right. Today is March 27th, almost April and it's snowing outside! I guess we do have a few good ski days left this year!

I had to brush the snow off the flowers to even see that that's what was underneath. Here's another pretty picture of the cute pink flowers that are blooming in my front yard, under all the snow!

Zander on the slopes!

2008-03-23T10:56:00.001-06:00

The Z-Man

2008-03-18T14:06:00.006-06:00

A picture of Zander taken by Zander

Zander has been so funny lately. He turned 5 in December and is getting smarter (and taller) everyday. He says things that make me wish I could just tape record everything he says so that someday I could play it back for him. There are a few I wrote down because he just keeps us thoroughly entertained. Here are a few snippets into my life with Zander:

Side note: The following conversation was actually a few conversation wrapped into one for your reading enjoyment.

We were talking about living places and I told him we lived in an apartment before he was born.

Z: Before I was born? So I was in your tummy?

R: No, it was before you were in my tummy, too. You were still in heaven. Babies are in heaven first, then they come to mommy's tummies before they are born.

Z: So, is heaven in your tummy? Because that's what it sounds like you are telling me.

R: (No response)

Z: How did the baby get in your tummy?

R: Uhhh....

Z: I know! (Whew!) Jesus put it there because he's magic, right? Jesus does whatever we ask him too, and because he's magic you can put your body in the graveyard and go ask Jesus to put a baby in your tummy, and he will, then you can fly back down and put your body on like a costume and come back home. How does the baby come out of your tummy?

R: (This is about the only time I'm truly grateful that I have c-sections!) Well, they cut a small hole in my tummy and take the baby out through the hole, then they sew it back together.

Keep in mind, these are all direct quotes. I wrote them down right after they happened, and you can see why!

We were talking about winking. (I lead the music in church during sacrament meeting, and often wink at my kids when up there.)

R: You wink at someone when you think they're cute. Or sometimes just because you like or love that person.

Z: (Winks at me)

R: Oh, Zander, do you think I'm cute?

Z: What?! No! I just love you.

R: (laughing) You don't think I'm cute?

Z: Well, maybe on Sundays when you're all dressed up and stuff.

We told him Easter was coming soon and he said, "Easter is my favorite because the sun is up and the snow is almost gone and the flowers start to grow that you can pick for your mom..." (then he winks at me).

"Is Christmas coming soon, because I feel the Christmas spirit a lot right now."

We sure love our Zander man, and all the cute things he says, too!

I'm #36!! I'm #36!!

2008-03-11T09:18:00.003-06:00

Which at this point is so much better than being #1 (on the wait list that is)!

I GOT IN!!!!

I was accepted today into the U of U PA Program (or UPAP)! Somebody dropped yesterday, so I'm #36 in the PA class of 2010. YEAH ME!!!

Classes start May 12th (summer semester), then I'll have class summer, fall, spring and summer, then I'll have 1 year of rotations. I'll do 5 different rotations, of 4 weeks each, in primary care (this is actually 22 weeks and can include other specialties), pre-natal care/GYN, pediatrics, emergency medicine, an surgery. Then there is potentially one elective at the end.

I can't believe I actually made it in! All the work and prayers and worrying and prayers...HAVE FINALLY PAID OFF!!!

Crafts with the kids

2008-03-08T22:59:00.003-07:00

So, I bought these on clearance for $2 each about 4 years ago or something. I found them again when we moved and decided to do something with them. Michael has been looking for hooks of some kind to "contain all my bags" and the boys needed something to do with their coats other than throwing them on the floor....so we made these, and hung them in our rooms!

Zander (and Keagan) painted green on theirs, then I helped them touch up the stripes. I was pretty proud of how they turned out (and myself) so I thought I'd share!

Tag, I'm it

2008-02-28T14:39:00.003-07:00

Okay, finally a topic that is not about school! Whew!
Here's a little insight into the lives of my hubby and me!

How long have you been together? 9 1/2 years (man I'm getting old!)

How long did you date? Almost a year: dated 6 months, engaged for 5 months.

How old is he? 32, to my 29

Who eats more? Are you kidding? He does!

Who said "I love you" first? I think he did, but don't remember.

Who is taller? Is there anyone who isn't?

Who sings better? He does, and I try.

Who is smarter? I'm more book smart, he's more everything else smart.

Who does laundry? Me, although he used to help...

Who does the dishes? Usually me, occasionally him.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do (Is that the right side when looking at it from the foot of the bed? That always confuses me.) =)

Who pays the bills? I do

Who mows the lawn? He does, thank heavens.

Who cooks dinner? Usually me, but he's a great cook.

Who is more stubborn? This is a dangerous question, and I'm not sure I even know the answer.

Who kissed who first? It was a mutual make out. (Oh, did I just say that out loud?!)

Who asked who out? I think he asked me. We hung out with the same group, so we knew each other and hung out a lot. Not sure about the first "date".

Who proposed? I did. He had a proposal go wrong, and told me I was going to have to propose to him when I was ready. Then he made it official by "asking me" and giving me the ring.

Who is more sensitive? Do you mean who cries more? I do.

Who has more friends? Not sure...I probably have more people I socialize with.

Who has more siblings? He has 5 siblings to my 4.

Is this wrong?

2008-02-24T10:11:00.001-07:00

Thanks to my friend, Colin, I took a quiz that gave me this answer. Some of the questions made me laugh out loud! Apparently I'm not cut out for fighting children like he is, but I think I could hold my own!

The Latest Scoop

2008-02-20T22:37:00.002-07:00

Okay, since I know you are all on the edge of your seats just waiting for my news, here's the scoop:

I got a letter Northeastern yesterday, and I'm on their wait list. I think wait lists are my destiny. No instant gratification here! I don't know where I'm ranked, I just have to tell them I want to be on the list for now, which I do. I guess. But really, I do.

I called the U of U today after not hearing and not being able to wait. The details are:

Three people (out of 36) declined their seat in the program. (The real question here is: Are they on crack?!) So they move to the wait list (Doris was a great help to me here).

#1 - accepted a seat

#2 - accepted a seat

#3 - hasn't responded yet

#4 - accepted and put deposit down somewhere else (doesn't mean they wouldn't still accept)

#5 - probably would accept

#6 - never RSVP'd to remain on the list, but will still be offered a seat (lame, I know)

#7 - me!

So, I could be a little as two seats away, if #3 doesn't accept. Doris also told me that two years ago three people backed out even after paying their deposits. So, there's still hope! And it's better than one in a million!

Happy Valentine's Day to me!

2008-02-19T09:42:00.005-07:00

Michael and I decided that because we went to Boston together last week and ate a couple great restaurants and did sightseeing and all that, that would count as our Valentine's Day celebration. Then on Wednesday night, when I finally got home through the storm, Michael told me to eat and jump in the car, we were going to get my present. I was surprised! Then he told me I was getting new ski boots!! I've had the same ones for about 10 years and they are a little bit for me, something that has really started to bother me lately. So a few hours later I came home with these:

And even more amazing, was I also came home with these!:

HOW COOL IS THAT! You can't really see the colors from this picture, but the skis are red and an orange color, not light pink like it looks. Everything in the store was 40-70% off. I got a great deal, which makes them even sweeter! I have the best husband! I love you Babe! I can't wait to go skiing this weekend! YEAH!

And, our adventures coming home were something else. The freeway was closed because a semi-truck jack-knifed on I-15 northbound. We got off in Lehi and tried to take a side road. Hello. That was interesting. The wind was blowing so hard we couldn't see. Then there was a car stuck in the feet of snow in the snowbank, and Michael, my macho, kind-hearted man, stopped to get him out. After 25 minutes we were on our way. He was that guy's hero that night! He's my hero, too!

Boston, Part II

2008-02-11T13:18:00.002-07:00

I had a great time in Bahstin as they say it. On the day of my interviews there were several books out about Boston for us to read in our down time. One was the Boston Dictionary. It was hilarious! The author was "Bahstin Dryvehs" or "Boston drivers" in regular English.
So, my second day was my interview day. I had three individual interviews. The first was with a physician that precepts students in the second year (year of rotations). He was an interesting guy. Kind of akward, so the interview was akward, but good. My second interview was sith a woman who graduated from the program several years ago. She was really nice and we got along great. Hit it off. The interview was more of a relaxed conversation. That went really well also. The third was with the program director, and again it was a very relaxed, very good interview. To make it simple: MY INTERVIEWS WERE FANTASTIC! I felt really good about my responses. There were no trick questions, nothing crazy, just talking. I was able to point out that I'm now one of the chief MA's in my clinic, that I order all the medication for my clinic, and that I have EIGHT years of experience. I pointed those things out in all three interviews, I think. They said most interviews would be done by 12:00 (starting at 8:00), but I finished at 9:45, so Michael and I had extra time to sight-see! When I was done interviewing, Michael and I both felt positive about the way things had gone, so we'll see!

First, we decided to walk the Freedom Trail. We started at Boston Commons and walked about 1/2 way through it (about a mile), saw 11 of the 16 sites, then walked back to the car and drove around to the end. Then we decided to drive out to Cape Cod for dinner. It took about an hour to get there, and when we got to the restaurant we were referred to, they were out of lobster! But they made a lobster casserole for Michael and I had crused sole with pinenuts and shrimp covered in an orange butter sauce. It was delectable! And the place was so quaint. We sat by the fireplace, and it was mostly lit by candles. It was very romantic. =) Happy Valentine's Day to us!

The next day, Ken and his girlfriend Sanjeeta came with us into the city. We saw the two sites from the tour we missed and had lunch at a great little (and I mean small - there were like 10 tables in there and that was too many) Italian restaurant in the North end of Boston. It was really fun. Ken and Sanjeeta are the nicest people. We stayed with them all but the first night we were there. He let us have his car to drive around (which had GPS, thank heavens!) and were just really fun to be with. Thanks guys!

Then we came home to our wonderful boys, and my wonderful parents who watched them while we were gone!

Now, we play the waiting game again. I will hear from the U of U on Tuesday if anyone declined the seat and how many in the waiting list have gotten in. Then I should hear from Northeastern U. by the end of the month, which is only two more weeks!

We made it...Bwoston

2008-02-08T21:13:00.001-07:00

Yeah, that's the closest I can get to spelling it phonetically to match the accent. We arrived last night at 6:00 pm and a friend of my sister's, Ken (whe has been wonderful to us), picked us up at the airport, took us to our hotel (the John Hancock Hotel & Conference center, which isn't nearly as charming as the pictures on their website), then took us to find a restaurant. We walked around Copley Square mall and saw stores I've only heard about. To name a few, we walked past Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany & Co., Neiman Marcus, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Kenneth Cole, and Hugo Boss. We didn't do any shopping around in those places because we were hungry and just looking for food. But I did get a really cute pair of red stone earrings to match my necklace I got in Mexico. Cool. Then we ate at Vinny T's, an Italian restaurant.
We made it back to the hotel, unpacked a little read a little and called it a night.

We got up this morning, got ready and after finding a cab (that the hotel was supposed to have ready for us) showed up late to the first session of the interview. Luckily, our first session was sitting in on a pharmacology class with the first year PA students for 2 hours.
After that we went to a small room and were introduced to some of the program's directors and such and were also given a financial aid info session. Session is a big word for the 5 minute spill we were given. It was the shortest info session I've received so far.
Michael was with me up to that point, but then he had to go as we split into groups and were paired off with 4 interviewees, a first year student and a second year student to ask questions. We had an hour for this and we were done in about 15 minutes.
Then Michael found us and we had lunch with some first year students who were great. After that, Michael again had to find his own way as I went to a "group activity" which is some kind of wierd code name for written test. We were given a "mini GRE" of 50 questions such as: "Do these two words have a. the same meaning b. opposite meanings or c. no relation to one another?" and "If a plane travels 75 feet in 1/4 second, how far does it travel in 5 seconds?" The questions are easy enough to figure out, but, you have 12 minutes to complete the test. The we had 20 minutes to complete two short essays. First was a 62 year old man diagnosed with advanced colon cancer. He asks the attending physician not to tell his wife. The next day the wife calls in and asks how his appt went. What do you tell her? The second was discuss the role of the pituitary gland. For the record, I answered the first one well and bombed the second one. I had to google 'pituitary gland' when I got out. Nice.
Then another question and answer period with a graduate of the program who has been working for 20 years as a PA. I've never had so many opportunities to ask questions. Every session started and ended, or was entirely made up of, asking questions.

Overall, today was an unimportant day. Tomorrow are my interviews. I did learn a few things today. I am terribly unlucky. There was a girl I talked to today who interviewed and was accepted to two of the other programs I applied to. She graduated with a 3.7 (I graduated with a 3.6), she has been a CNA for 1 1/2 YEARS!! I have been an MA for 8 YEARS! YES, 8 YEARS! AND SHE WAS ACCEPTED TO TWO TOP TEN PROGRAMS IN THE NATION THAT I DIDN'T EVEN GEN AN INTERVIEW WITH! WHERE'S THE JUSTICE? Okay, I'm done *yelling*, and I'm getting over it. Kind of. Of the other 2 people I talked to, one has been an OR tech for 1-2 years (doing EKG's and drawing blood, which I've done for 8 years, if I may remind you) and the other is a massage therapist, with NO MEDICAL EXPERIENCE. Yeah, I know, I'm over it. Let's just say if I don't get in here, or anywhere, I'm calling schools and throwing tantrums.

Okay, it's late, this is long, and I'm going to bed. Tomorrow I have interviews until 12 then sight seeing in Boston! Yeah! Wish me luck!

You guys are awesome!

2008-02-03T23:19:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm feeling much better today. I just want to say thanks to all my friends and family....you guys rock! After putting up my last post on a day that I was feeling a little down, I got a lot of positive feedback from everybody. I LOVE READING YOUR COMMENTS! Even if you think you don't have anything to say, I love knowing that I'm important enough for you to read about! The first thing I look on when I open my blog is if I have any new comments!

Anyway, all your fun comments helped me feel more positive, and I also received emails and phone calls to help cheer me up. And I am. Now I just have to figure out a way to get 7 people to decide the the U of U is not for them. Hmmm......

Yesterday we went skiing at Snowbird with my parents, my cousin and her husband. Nothing like a GREAT day on the slopes to clear your mind and lift your spirits. The snow was awesome! But I was beat at the end of the day. We skiied hard all day, on all blacks and almost all moguls. Also, it was freezing! It was so cold that at the end of they day my behind was HURTING sitting on the chair up because of how cold it was. But it was still great. And it helped that we had an awesome babysitter. A girl from Michael's work came over and watched they boys and she was so good with them! That always helps make the day a little better for us. Thanks Malena!

All-in-all I'm feeling better and it's mostly due to your love and support, and especially the patience of my sweet husband!