Just an update

Life has been pretty busy around here. I finished my internship at Alta View Hospital in Sandy. I had 3 good days and one really terrible one. Just was a little bit confused with a patient, and felt like I did a terrible job (the patient was totally fine, it was just me). When I was finished there, I stopped by Stansbury high school. Kaylea was doing the 24 hour run. We were talking in the parking lot and there were a group of boys horsing around with a car. You know how teenagers do. The car peeled out and was going through the parking lot really fast, and another boy was chasing the car, as fast as he could. He was pretty close to it. The car suddenly turned really sharp and we heard a loud thump. The car had hit the kid. Then he started screaming, "GET OFF, YOU'RE ON MY LEGS!!" over and over. The car was parked on both of his legs and the boys in the car were laughing. I ran over (nurse Tracy kicked in...) The car took off, and the kid was just sitting there in the parking lot. I told Kaylea to dial 911 and tried to look at his legs to see how badly they were broken. Well, he jumped up and tried to get away from me. He said "ambulances are for girls!" and tried to walk it off. He had this huge knot above one of his knees, and said he thought it was broken, but wouldn't let anyone do anything for him. Later we found out that the driver of the car was somebody that I know (not related, thank goodness!) That did not make me happy. A bad day at the hospital got WORSE. YUCK! Kaylea said the kid who got hit stayed at the school all night... Crazy huh?

Conner had his first flag football game today. The weather was VERY cold, but he didn't let that bother him. He played really well. He runs so fast that the other team can't get close enough to pull off his flags. It was pretty fun to watch. They won the game 53 to 13. Conner made 6 touch-downs, and he caught this pass that was amazing. It was long and high, and he had to jump with his arms stretched over his head. Nobody thought he'd be able to catch it, but he did. The next play his team was able to make a touch-down because he got them in such a good position. I asked Conner if he likes flag football better, because he doesn't get banged up and bruised as easily. He just said, "Football is AWESOME!!" He loves being on the field.

Kaylea had her first track meet. She had her personal record in the mile 5:53, and won first place. Kaylea was ecstatic!

I had a frustrating thing happen the other day. Kaylea's car broke down on the highway. We decided that it was time to send it to the junk yard, so we called a place in town to come tow it away. They were supposed to tow it on Friday. Well a week later, I got a letter stating that the car had been impounded on Sunday. They had never come to pick up the car! I had to go in and pay for the towing and 5 days of storage! It ended up being hundreds of dollars... I was extremely frustrated with the towing company that "forgot" to pick it up.

Steve's parents are on their way home from their mission. They spent the last year in Washington DC working in the LDS temple. It will be great to have them come home.

Happy Birthday Con-Man!

Fourteen years ago today this AWESOME kid was born. He's always been such a sweetheart, and I'm so proud of the young man he has become.

It's nice to know that for the most part, these two love each other. There are quite a few candles on this cake! But he had NO problem with it.


We kept his birthday simple this year. He had a choice of a party or a gift. Obviously he chose the gift. Conner has wanted an ipod touch. We were able to find one that would work just right for him. He has been on it every chance he gets all day.
Conner is taller than me now! I can't believe my youngest child passed me up. He works hard in school, is great in sports, has a great attitude, and is a joy to be around.

Happy Birthday big guy!! I love you!

February 2011

I think this is a first for me to only have 1 post each month. It's just a reflection on how my life is right now. Blogging is very important to me, but other things have crowded it out for now.

I just finished a Medical Surgical Clinical at the U of U hospital and Huntsman Cancer hospital. What amazing places to work. The people in both hospitals are so positive and are so accepting of students. I spent 6 weeks there and really feel like I learned a lot.

This is a picture of the group I work with, we have spent 1 1/2 years in clinicals together, and are really becoming good friends.

I have spent my free time trying to decorate my house, I have decided that my husband has much better taste than I. When we go shopping, he picks out these amazing things to hang on the walls, they always look so good. My house is coming together slowly but surely, and I am starting to really feel like it's becoming our space.

My kitchen has already changed since I took this picture. Kitchens always change, don't they?

We asked my sister in law for some advice on another wall in the kitchen/dining area. It was a huge wall that was completely empty, and completely intimidating. Steve picked out the mirror, which I think is so cute, and this is the final product, until we come up with more decorating funds. We want to put a thin table, or sideboard under the mirror, but that will be a while before we can do that. (Thanks for the advice Casi!)

I had company stay with us last week. My brother in law, Marty's father died. His family came and stayed with us for the week, they were able to spend time with his dad before he died, then plan and carry out the funeral. The circumstances were sad, but I was so glad to see my sister! We had a nice time together.


I keep hoping life will settle down, I know it will, but not for a few more weeks. I have started an internship at another hospital. Total patient care for my own patients. This is another first for me. I'm so excited about it. I will have another nurse to report to, but will basically take care of everything on my own.

Conner has started flag-football and is pretty excited to get out there and play.

I have a new niece!! Sicily was blessed today, and our family got together to enjoy the day with her. She's such a doll!!





These are just a few people who were there. Hey, I was lucky to get any pictures, I almost forgot!

Life is Good!

I have spent a lot of time keeping up on my missionary's blog, and have neglected this one. I'm a very happy mom. My son is an amazing missionary, he has a positive attitude and is a great leader so far. He made it to Germany yesterday, and thanks to modern technology, I received a letter and picture from his mission president the day he arrived. Very fun. I didn't have a chance to talk to him before he left, so it's nice to see proof that he actually made it to Germany. Click HERE if you want to read more about his mission.


This semester in school has been more difficult than previous ones. I have had a hard time finding my niche. I have had two clinicals going on at the same time. One at a hospital, and one at a youth mental health facility. Both have been quite stressful, and I have found myself preoccupied with thoughts of clinical instead of studying for tests. My grades are still okay, but I need to step it up. Both clinicals will be done by the end of February, and life should get a little bit easier. This is a picture of my clinical group, last semester, but we are mostly still in the same group. I love these girls! We have really become good friends. Our teacher is in the middle, and YES I am the oldest! (By a long shot!)

Steve Sr. is busy preparing for Stake Conference, and Stake Temple day coming up in a couple of weeks. He hasn't traveled as much this month, which has been really nice, but that will soon change. He has been so amazing, he has taken care of the housework, food, and kids while I have been so busy the last couple of months. He is so supportive, and has really been a strength to me. I'm so blessed to have such an amazing husband.

Kaylea and Conner never complain. They have been a little bit neglected. Kaylea has really stepped it up, she drops Conner off at school for me every morning. They both stay on top of their school work, so I don't have to worry about missing homework, etc. Conner is working hard on merit badges. I think he just might get his Eagle before he turns 16. (That's the rule in our house.) And Kaylea is running every day, and keeping up with concurrent enrollment, honors classes, and a CNA course at the community learning center.

We are busy, but it's not really that exciting to write about. We are very blessed, and life is VERY good!!!

Happy January

This has been such a busy month for me. School is going really great, but EXTREMELY busy. I have clinical at a mental health facility, and tests on Monday which means I leave at 6am and don't get home until 6pm. I have classes and tests on Tuesday, which is about the same time-frame as Mondays. Then I have clinical at University hospital on Thursdays. I leave at 5am and don't get home until about 8pm. With my clinical on Thursday I have to do a care plan on one of my patients which turns out to be an 8-10 page report. I spend most of the day on Friday or Saturday taking care of that. The good news is, I am done with clinicals at the end of February and only have to go to school 1 day a week for the rest of the semester. It's kind of nice taking care of all the business at the beginning of the semester.

I hear from my missionary every Thursday. The first thing I do when I get home from the hospital is check my emails. It's always fun to hear from him. He seems to be loving it, and will be leaving for Germany in the next week or so. That went by really fast!!!

We are settling into our new home nicely. I thought it would be fun to have my family over for a pizza party. We made homemade pizza, Casi brought a salad, Jessica brought Garlic bread, Erin brought yummy chocolate molten lava cake, and Tricia brought cookies and pizza ingredients. We watched family reunion videos from 2004 (Bear Lake). There was an amazing talent show that I thought everyone would like to see again. Wow, the kids really grow up in 6 years. Steve was playing his trumpet...I remember he thought he played really well, we were all laughing... We also had x-box, wii, movies, and lots of fun. Emi, Gabby, Mallory, and Lilly put on an amazing play, "Hannah and Grettle". And Jessica, Lee, Jared, and Kaylea (there were probably more people involved...I was not a part of it!) all tried to come up with ideas of how to answer Kaylea's date for the prom.

This is what they came up with... (I warn you in advance, these pictures are... not right!!!)




Lee and Jared dressed up like cupids. They actually put on wings and went over to Riley's house. (The boy who asked her to prom) and sang him a song.
I don't think Riley was too impressed. In fact, he was a little bit freaked out! To see a video of their antics, click HERE. Or just go to my facebook. It's hilarious! Hopefully this works, because it's too large to post on Blogger.

All in all, it was a pretty fun night. It's been a great month, and I'm sorry I haven't written more, but life will settle down soon!

I'm not a grandma YET!

It's kind of a running joke in the family that everyone thinks my hubby, Steve, is older than he is. We were relatively unknown here in Grantsville when Steve was made a bishop, and a couple of years later he was made the Stake President. His hair has become quite gray, and we have had to laugh at some of the comments from other people.

Steve has an aunt and uncle (Lana and Allen) living in Grantsville, along with his cousins from that same family. One Cousin, Trevor, is only a year younger than Steve. He has had people ask if Allen is his brother, if Trevor is his son, if Trevor's son is his grandson (Our youngest is the same age is Trevor's son.) These funny questions have been going on for the past 5 years, and I always got a kick out of them...until today.

We just moved into a new ward, and most people don't know me. I sat by a young lady today in Relief Society, and introduced myself. She said she knew a B Collings...(This would be Trevor's youngest daughter) are you her GRANDMA?? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Nothing much

It's not that I'm not motivated to post anything, I have been changing my blog background and a few other things on my blog, but there really isn't much going on around here right now to write about. Christmas break was very nice and relaxing. We are settling into our new home quite well, it's actually starting to feel like home now. The kids are back in school, and I will be starting school on Tuesday. I will be working at the University of Utah hospital this semester. I'm enjoying our new ward, I don't really know a lot of people yet, but everyone is very friendly.

I hear if you write your goals down, you are more likely to accomplish them. I have only one goal that I want to accomplish this year. (Actually I have a lot of things I want to do, but only one New Year's Goal.) FINISH NURSING SCHOOL!!! (I wish writing it down was all I had to do to accomplish it, but I guess there's work involved...) The exciting thing is there is an end in sight, and I have really loved the clinicals. I'm not sure where I will be in a year, but I am looking forward to working hard and seeing what the future brings. Happy New Year!!!

More House pics

I promised a few more pictures of the house. For Christmas we finished decorating the kid's rooms. This is Conner's trophy wall. They had already painted this wall red and white. Conner LOVES BYU, but Grantsville colors are red, white and black. We decided to embrace the red and add blue shelves. Conner keeps saying we should paint it blue, but that's not happening any time soon.
Here is his bed and night stand. He has BYU decorations everywhere. He has a BYU basketball poster that will hang above his bed, but we need to get a frame.
Here is Kaylea's room. She wanted bright colors, but not over the top. She was very happy with this choice. Kaylea has a bonus room right off her bedroom. She uses it to put on make up, and do homework. The decorations for this room are still in progress. Kaylea likes the black and white and the light pink, but really hates the bright pink and the rhinestones on the wall. I really don't have time to paint right now so she will have to deal with it for a while.


This is the bathroom on the main level. The walls are a light (bright) green, and the previous owners had it accented with bright pink. You can see the pink box above the toilet. We found a colorful, warm, shower curtain that went well with the walls, and muted the pink a bit. I think it made the room really nice.
This is Steve's office. He does most of his work from home. Our office before was twice as big, but this one works well for him.
He looks out the bay window into the front yard. It's a cozy space for him. We do need to put up curtains or blinds though. At night he's in a fish bowl if he is in his office.

On Christmas Day I didn't take any pictures at all. We had Jess and Chris come spend Friday and Saturday with us. We had a lazy day watching movies, and lounging around the house. I did miss Steve Jr. He's in the MTC right now, but besides that we had a really nice day.

Happy Birthday Jess

This beautiful young lady turned 21 yesterday! She is my oldest daughter, and just got married in February. She told me last week that I am going to be a grandma! Steve and I took Jess and Chris to Joe's Crab Shack for her birthday dinner. Yummy, yummy crab!!!

I couldn't get Steve to wear a special bib, but I was glad I wore one, I had butter dribbled all down my front! After dinner we went to see "True Grit". The movie didn't start until after 10:00pm, we didn't get home until almost 2:00am. Wow! we never stay up that late! We enjoyed spending time with Jess and Chris.

Steve's Mission

December 8, 2010 Steve was scheduled to enter the MTC. The night before his dad got to set him apart as a missionary. It was a really neat experience. Grandma and Grandpa Collings were home for a week from their mission in Washington D.C. and were able to be there along with my sister Erin.
I thought I did pretty well, I wasn't too emotional, until I actually had to drop him off curbside.
It's a tradition in the Collings family to go to the Brick Oven for dinner before going into the MTC. Grandma Collings, Adam, Cait, Zoe, and Jessica all met us there for some yummy pizza. I told Steve that the time was getting closer, and he said it was going to slow, he just wanted to get there.



Of course mom had to embarrass Steve with pictures, yet again. Then a quick hug and he was on his way. I basically cried all the way home, and off and on the next day.

He looked good, and was so excited to be there. I'm really proud of him. Now he just needs to learn the German language, and he will be spending 2 years in Frankfurt. :)

My new home

I have had some complaints that I haven't posted any pictures of my new house. I decided I'd try and show some of it. It's harder than I thought to get good pictures of this house. The room above is my family room. I'm looking from my kitchen to the family room, and on the left is the entryway and stairs to the basement.
This picture is looking from the family room into the kitchen, and below is the entryway with your Christmas card on the door if you sent me one! :)


The picture above is the master bedroom. It's really hard to get a good shot of. If you look below, there are steps going into this room, and steps up into the master bath. We learned very quickly....don't forget the steps into the room!!!! No broken bones, thank goodness, just some bruises.

This is a picture of the master bathroom. In our old master bathroom, you couldn't fit two people into it with out bumping into each other. I'm loving it!!! I will post pictures of the rest of the house later. Email me if you need our new address and phone number.

Family Pictures

I wanted to get a family picture before Steve went on his mission. The only problem was, we had couldn't find a day that everyone was available. On December 7th, Steve was going to be set apart as a missionary, so I asked the family to come early and get our pictures taken. Our photographer works in Salt Lake and would not be able to get home until it was dark so I asked my sweet sister Erin to snap a few pictures for us. She's really very good!!! Afterward we went out to dinner one last time as a family. It will be 2 years until we are all together again.
I love my family, I'm so blessed!!!