Track Season Begins

Kaylea had her first track meet yesterday. She started the meet in a bad mood, she didn't know why, but just said she was worried to run and hoped she'd get a little "luck 'o the Irish" and run well.

She was planning on running two races, the 1/2 mile, and the mile. Her dad talked her into running the 2 mile as well.

I guess there was a little bit of luck on her side, because she took first place in all three races, and finished at least 100 yards ahead of the second place runner for every race.

She was only a few seconds off her personal record for last year, usually it takes her a few races to get to that point. It was a great start to her track season.

More wedding pictures

I'm having a hard time waiting for pictures to come back from the photographer. It's not her fault, Jessica has been gone and hasn't picked the pictures she wants yet. But I copied these from our photographer's website and wanted to share them. I think they're so cute!! Here's her website if you want to see more, she's an amazing photographer. http://ambersagersphotography.com Anyway, this is my favorite picture so far; I think it catches their personality perfectly!



Aren't they a cute couple??

Conner's Birthday!

Conner turned 13 yesterday. He had a huge party last year, so this year it was just a small family party. Steve and I took Conner shopping for some much needed clothes. He also picked out a new game for the X-box, and we went to Ruby Tuesday for a birthday lunch. We decided a small cake would work nicely, his had strawberry filling and was almost too small to fit 13 candles on. All in all, I think he had a pretty good day. I love this little guy...actually he's only about an inch shorter than me now. He's growing so tall!

Leftover Wedding Cake

So it's been almost a week since the wedding, and I guess I ordered more refreshments for the reception than was necessary. We've been piecing on sheetcake and sandwiches this week. The sandwiches were gone by Tuesday, but we had one more sheetcake that had only 3 pieces missing. Steve asked Conner to just throw it away, it wasn't good anymore...this is Conner we're talking about here. He decided it would be fun to plaster his face in it, along with his friends. Then they mashed it up into a pile of goo, had a cake war, and pretty much slaughtered it. You would never guess this pile started out as a cake. It's amazing what kids think is fun. YUCK!

My new family!

As most of you know, Jessica got married over the weekend. It was an AMAZING day. My dad flew in from Washington state to perform the sealing ceremony. The spirit in the temple was so strong, I couldn't ask for a better memory. We were able to spend time with family and friends, and add to our family. We met Chris' family, and we all seem to get along so well. I think his parents are so neat, and Jessica should fit right in with his siblings (Actually Kaylea fits pretty well in that family too!).

We were invited to a luncheon that afternoon with the Hoskins family, and really enjoyed spending a while with them. Then we held a reception that evening. Everything turned out so beautiful. The cake was made by Chris' aunt, it was very pretty, and tasted SO GOOD! The flowers were done by my cousin Shayla, Jessica just wanted daisies, and I think Shayla read her mind, she did the bouquet exactly as Jessica hoped it would be done.

I have several very good friends in the ward who helped in the kitchen. I have to thank Michelle Gowans for being there all day to open the church for people, and get everything set up. It really took a load off my mind. I also had Shanna Tuckett and Lori Cartwright who were there helping to make the reception run smoothly. Then 5 girls from my ward spent the evening serving and cleaning up after people. They worked really hard, and all dressed so cute. The whole room looked just like springtime.

My sister Erin put music together and took pictures for me all evening, brought the food to the church, and probably worked harder on this reception than I did. I had an amazing day, and now I'm so excited to have a new son-in-law. I have had a really hard time uploading pictures today, so they will all be posted on facebook.

Nursing Lab

Yesterday was a big day for me. I finished my last lab for the semester. My lab partner, Nancy, and I had to give each other an IM (intramuscular) shot. It's one that goes in the shoulder, we just put saline in the syringe, but it kinda hurt! I remembered to take my camera today. We forgot to take a picture until the end, but our lab instructor had us hold up some of the needles we used. This gives you an idea of what the lab is like, it looks a lot like a hospital, with someone in each bed. And if you follow the link I posted earlier, you see the more high tech part of the lab.

Now that the labs are done, we start next Monday with clinicals. We will be going to a nursing home and putting the things we've learned to practice. I'm really excited about this. Many of my fellow classmates already work as CNA's or MA's and have experience helping people, but this is a first for me. I'm supposed to be there at 6:00am, which means I leave the house at 5:00am... YIKES! I'm having such an amazing experience with this schooling!

Bridal Showers

I just have to say we are so blessed to have such a great family and friends. Over the past 3 weeks Jessica has had 3 bridal showers. I posted about her first one here in our neighborhood. The next week Steve's family threw a shower for Jessica. It was such a blast. Steve's mom held it at her house, and his cousin Brook Keegan, and aunt Debby Kenney put it all together. Wow, they went to a lot of work. This is Jessica with Aunt Eloise, and LoaJean. It was so fun to have them here representing the Collings side of the family. Loa Jean is Steve's grandma, she's such a spunky lady and is so sweet.
Cousins Aubrey, Ashley, and Brook. One thing I might say, Brook had surgery to remove skin cancer the week before this shower. She had just had stitches removed and still threw an amazing shower. Thanks so much Brook!!!
Cousins Candy and Cathy, I tried to take at least 7 pictures of Cathy and couldn't get one of her just smiling, but I think this fits. These ladies are my facebook, blogging buddies, they're so much fun, and are so supportive.
Joanne and Cathy with her two daughters Ciarra, and Carley. My son Steve and Ciarra were in the same school class 3 years in a row until we moved to Grantsville. I can't believe they are both seniors in high school, where did the time go?? Joanne was so sweet to come, I love the Kenney family!
It was a great day for Jessica. She found out her dad's family is a lot of fun! (I think she already knew, but she had fun.)

The next week it way my family's turn to throw her a shower. I put these pictures in backwards, but the following picture is after the shower was over.
Jessica with her cousins Sage, McKenna, sister Kaylea, and Brittany her friend.
This shower was put on by my sisters-in-law Casi and Tricia, and my sister Erin, who I notice I don't have any pictures of?? They really did a great job! We just had a nice relaxing day, it's so fun spending time together with them.


I lost the picture, but Jessica's future sister-in-law joined us for this shower. A funny story about her, she's married to Chris' brother and her name is Jessica. So once our Jessica is married, there will be two Jessica Hoskins in their family. She was really cute, and a lot of fun to get to know better.

Thanks everyone for helping Jessica get a great start to her new life. We're in the final stretch now, next week at this time the wedding will be over! Jessica has been amazing so far, she is very laid back, and is just so grateful for all that people have done for her. Please come join us for the wedding if possible!!

SLCC Nursing on TV

The nursing program I am in was featured on Studio 5 on KSL TV. I thought I'd share it with you. Follow this link to find out more about what I've been working on.

Riding in the Valley of Fire

Last week Steve, his Uncle Allen, and a few friends from Grantsville, went for a horseback ride for a few days. They went to the Valley of Fire, which is located down south, near Mesquite Nevada. They went with other members of the American Fox Trotter's Assn. It sounds like they had a really nice time. I found these pictures of the group, and thought I'd post them. Steve's wearing a khaki shirt and white cap, riding his horse, Dakota.





I think he really enjoyed some time off from everything else going on...wedding, stake conference, work... I LOVE my cowboy!!

sick, sick Conner

I came home from school on Thursday to find out that Conner had come home from school sick... Steve picked him up around 10:00 and gave him some advil. When I got home at 3:00 he had been sleeping the whole day, and still had a fever. I gave him some tylenol which brought the fever down for about an hour, then it went right back up. For the rest of the night on Thursday, and the whole day Friday, I couldn't get his fever to go below 100 degrees. He slept the whole day, and wasn't even interested in TV. I was getting a little bit freaked out. He was really upset because his head was throbbing, but there were no other symptoms. I took him to the doctor's office this evening, and found out, much to my surprise that he has STREP! The doctor was even surprised, they tested him for strep, flu, and meningitis...yikes! I'll take strep! I'm just relieved to have an answer, and hopefully he'll back to his usual self by Monday.

Nursing pictures

Today I had a lab, and I had to wear my nursing uniform to class. When I practice in the lab I just have to wear scrubs, and thanks to Jessica, I have several cute ones to choose from. When I actually have a lab day, and need to pass off procedures, I am required to wear the SLCC nursing uniform, which is bright blue with a student patch above the left pocket, white shoes, and nursing ID. We look a lot like smurfs. I promised to post pictures of me in my uniform, so here goes. (I've decided these scrubs add about 10 pounds to my body...) I'm really enjoying the learning experience, it's keeping me busy, but I think it will be worth it.

Busy January weekend

It has really been a busy weekend for us, but very fun. I turned 40 on Friday, which should have been a depressing day, but I'm very blessed to have people in my life who care about me. Steve spent the day with me, we went out to lunch in Salt Lake, and then he took me to the store to let me pick out a treadmill! I've wanted one for so long, I like to run outside in the spring and summer, but the winter snow, ice, fog, and cold help me talk myself out of running all the time. I had several friends bring gifts over, and many facebook notes, which are always fun. Friday night Steve invited family and a few friends over for a party. We had pizza, and an over the hill cake... sorry, no pictures... I was spoiled rotten!! Erin made up a questionaire to see how well people know me, the sad thing is I didn't know some of the answers!! What's my favorite color?? no clue... She also brought a list of the cost of things during the year I was born, I didn't feel old until she read that list. Bread was 25 cents a loaf the year I was born, and houses were like $15,000! Anyway, thanks to everyone for making 40 a fabulous birthday!!

On Saturday, my good friend Lori Cartwright threw a bridal shower for Jessica. She had her house decorated in the colors and theme of Jessica's wedding reception, it was BEAUTIFUL. In fact, if I had thought about it sooner, I would have had her decorate for the reception itself. It was so fun to have friends from the neighborhood drop by with gifts. I guess it's making the fact that Jessica is getting married a reality! Again, no camera... I am really having a hard time without my small camera in my purse. She had love songs playing in the background, and yummy salads and rolls for lunch. The whole afternoon was so neat, I owe Lori bigtime!!

We sent out most of the invitations this weekend, if you didn't get one please let me know, I might have a wrong address for you.

Last, but not least, Kaylea was invited to go to the Snow Ball Saturday night with a really nice young man named Steve Moulton. She found a really cute dress,

And had Jessica help her with her hair...Of course pinning on the boutonniere is not an easy task, but Kaylea makes anything fun.Aren't they a cute couple? It sounded like they had a really nice time. I can't believe Kaylea is old enough to start dating, and going to these dances... I need to catch my breath.

School is crazy hard, but really cool. Now that I have a camera again, I'll take some pictures of my official uniform. Life is good.

January

My camera has been lost, my life has been crazy busy, and I haven't even gotten on the computer except for school and work for the last 3 weeks. We're right in the middle of wedding preparations, which is really exciting, but not a lot to talk about. I'm right in the thick of school which is taking up a lot more time than I thought. It's a huge blessing, but also a lot of work, and not a lot to blog about. I am now a primary teacher, I absolutely LOVE the kids I teach. They are turning 12 this year, and I have had such a neat time teaching them.

Oh yes, my loving sister reminded me on facebook that I will be turning 40 in a couple of weeks. I'm thinking that might be a depressing day...

Oh well, I'm keeping this short and sweet, life is good, I feel very blessed.

Christmas Eve surprise

We spent Christmas Eve at Steve's parent's house this year. Steve and I were in charge of the Nativity, which was a fun experience. I brought my camera, but was so busy with the kids, I didn't have a chance to take any pictures. The kids were all dressed up and ready to start the nativity, when I realized we didn't have gifts from the wise men. Caitlyn told me they had it all taken care of. They had received Dave and Marcia's mission call in the mail that day, and had wrapped it up and told them that it hadn't come yet. So the wise men brought this wrapped box down and gave it to the baby Jesus. After we all sang Silent Night, we told mom and dad to open the gift... they were really surprised that it was their mission call. They were called to the Washington DC Temple for a year. They'll leave in April. It was a really fun surprise.

Ice Fishing for Christmas

This year we did things a little bit differently for Christmas. Jessica went with Chris to meet his parents and spend Christmas with them. From what I have heard, she had a really fun time. We invited them over on the Sunday before Christmas to celebrate Jessica's 20th birthday. We had a nice dinner, with birthday cake, birthday presents, and of course no pictures. But it was a really nice day.



On Christmas morning, we realized that Jessica is the motivator of the family, she usually has all the kids awake early, and they are anxiously waiting at the bottom of the stairs singing Jingle Bells, to wake mom and dad, and let us know they are ready to come see what Santa brought. Conner wanted to get up so badly, but Kaylea and Steve wouldn't get out of bed. Kaylea finally did, but Steve wanted to stay in dream land a little bit longer. We actually opened presents without him. It was really weird.



After a relaxing morning eating German pancakes, and enjoying one another's company, we all got packed up and decided to go ice fishing. We stopped in to see Grandma Loa Jean, and spent about an hour with her, and then drove up to Daniel's Summit. They have a lodge there where we ate lunch beside a toasty warm fire.

After lunch we went to the Lodge at Strawberry Reservoir where we had a room reserved for the night. The kids immediately dressed in their warm snow clothes and started ice fishing. Dad was the first to catch a fish, he is the world's greatest fisherman, and needed to keep that title. I was very proud of him. Even Maizey enjoyed the day with us.That night we played games and watched movies. Steve Jr. dominated us all in Monopoly...he ALWAYS wins. We're okay with that, we just told him he needs to take care of us when he makes his first million.Bright and early the next morning dad and Kaylea tried fishing again, with Conner right behind them. He was so excited to catch this beauty. He hasn't had a lot of fishing experience, so this was really neat.Kaylea played with Maizey for a few minutes out on the lake, but Maizey prefered the warmth of our room...along with Steve, who thinks fishing in -5 degree weather is just crazy and wrong.

We stopped in Heber on the way home and ate at the train restaurant, and REALLY enjoyed coming home to our WARM house! Dad thinks this might be a fun tradition to start. It was definitely a change of pace, and we really enjoyed spending time together as a family.

Very cute pictures

Jessica and Chris took pictures yesterday for their wedding invitations. Click here to see some of their pictures. I think they're so cute! Go to blog and click on the sneak peek of J+C. Amber is a new photographer here in Grantsville. She does a great job!

Thanksgiving 2009

We spent Thanksgiving with my family this year. Because we raised 6 turkeys, we decided to bring the biggest one for Thanksgiving dinner. This turkey was Conner's 30 pound tom. He didn't win any awards for it, but that made it really nice for our family. This was the largest pan I could find to cook it in, but I was afraid there would be juices all over the bottom of the oven. It was really crammed in there. I ended up spending the night at Lee and Tricia's house so I could get up at 6:00 am to stuff and start it. I was scared to death to cook such a large turkey, but I think it turned out okay. Look how it completely filled the oven. It was pretty cool.

I love getting together with m y brothers and sisters. We have so much fun. Here are Jared and Casi, with Lewis. Lewis is walking now, his hair is always spiked so cute, and he has such bright blue eyes.

It was nice to have Jessica and Chris spend the day with us as well. My brother's love to be obnoxious, if Chris decides he still wants to be a part of this family after all of their teasing, I'll be surprised.

Here is the "girls" table. Uncle Steve kept trying to sit down at one of the seats, and they all got really mad at him. He said we should all love each other, and should share our tables with our Uncle. They said no. They didn't think Uncle Steve was very funny...

Here is the little kids table. I think it's so funny what cheezy smiles you get when you ask younger kids to smile. They were REALLY HAPPY!

And of course the older kids table. Dallin had just left when I snapped the picture. He was at the end. You notice Jessica is missing...she graduated to the Adult's table when she got engaged!

Tricia had each table decorated so cute. We really enjoyed each other's company. My brother David and his family were planning to come for the holiday. They live in California. As they were leaving, they noticed that one of their daughter's had a fever. They took her to the doctor and found out that she had swine flu. We were all so disappointed, we were really looking forward to spending time with him and his family. We called him on Thanksgiving, just to see how Mia was doing, and found out that Dave had gotten sick as well.

It is hard having my family so spread out, but we did have the four siblings that live close by all come. Lee and Tricia, Erin and Brayden, Steve and I, and Jared and Casi. We also had my cousin's son Bryce, he dodged every picture I took, but he is serving a mission in Salt Lake City, and was able to join us for Thanksgiving. We had such a fun day!!Here are a couple of cute pictures somebody took.