February Wrap-Up

So I have never really been a winter lover.  In fact, I'm quite sure that I have post traumatic stress from a horrible winter in Ogden while I was in nursing school!  Or maybe I just have PTSD from nursing school in general.  But I'm working through it :)  What I'm saying is that winter just isn't my season.  But because I'm a Utah lover and I never want to leave, and winter will continue to come every year as long as I live here, I have decided to embrace it.  So to support my new goal of being positive about winter and embracing everything about it, my parents bought me a brand spanking new beautiful snowboard for Christmas, along with all the corresponding equipment (and trust me people, that stuff is not cheap).  But I must tell you, I have never been snowboarding in my life.  Okay, I went one time in 7th grade but that's only because I wanted to ride the bus with my friends and get out of school.  So needless to say, I didn't learn much and I haven't been since.
But I love to wakeboard, and I caught on pretty fast with that so I figured, "how hard can snowboarding be?  I'm sure I'll be fine after a few runs."  WRONG!  Talk about sore quads, wet bum, and bruised pride!  Geez, the five-year-olds were zooming passed me like I was standing still.  Well okay, I was standing still or rather I was sitting still wishing a small avalanche would break loose and put me out of my misery!  I literally couldn't stay on my feet for longer than 5 seconds and Kacee, the boy I was with, had to keep pulling me up only to have me crash and burn again.  I'm telling you, it was a disaster!  And yes, my sassy-baby-of-the-family colors came out like never before...I had a snowboarding meltdown.  But Kacee was very patient and kept giving me encouragement to which I would discount with a sassy frustrated remark (don't worry, I apologized profusely later)!  Anyway, I got a little better as the night progressed, but not much and I was left with a sore tailbone, sore quads, and absolutely ZERO dignity.  And no, I haven't been back, but I hear that it takes three or four times to really get the hang of it.  I'm just not sure I'm willing to expose myself to such cruel and unusual punishment all in the name of optimism toward winter!  Anyone looking to buy a brand new snowboard?! :)



This is me during a meltdown...I happend to muster up a smile!



Perfect form?

Okay, so on a lighter note, another February highlight was the Valentine dinner that Tania and I hosted with all of our friends.  We sent out pink polka dot festive invitations and asked everyone to dress in formal attire so it would be a little different than our usual dinners.  We hung white lights and filled the house with rose petals and we even bought a disco ball and and turned our kitchen into a dance floor (nobody wanted to dance except us, but we forced the boys to slow dance with us to the classic Martina McBride song "Valentine".)  And even though true love wasn't in the air, it was still a magical night with good friends and good food!

Top 11 of 2011

Last January, I created a blog post about the highlights of 2010.  And since I'm such a creature of habit (and because 2011 treated me very well), I have decided to make it a tradition. So without further adieu, I present to you the Top 11 of my 2011.  Drumroll please....

11.  The First Annual Omni Awards:  The last place I lived was called the Omni and we had such a fun ward.  And last January, all of our FHE groups were assigned a film genre and we each made a movie.  Then we had a black tie event (Omni Awards) complete with a red carpet, mocktails, and a surprise appearance from Justin Bieber himself.  It was such a magical night and I literally felt like a star.  I was even asked to present the "Best Actor" award which was so fun.  And the best part about it, our group won "Best Picture" for the night with our hit thriller "Omni Nightmare!"  Such a great memory. 



The talented cast of "Omni Nightmare"



10.  Moved to Orem:  Yep, I did it.  Made the big transition from P-town to the thriving metropolis of Orem, Utah! I bit the bullet and moved into "non-student housing" which meant I had to buy my own bed and sofa.  Who would have thought? And I will say that is has been one of the best decisions ever.  And besides living in a wonderful place with a pool, I have met some of the greatest people in the whole world and have made many lifelong friends.  Don't you dare quote me on this, but I might actually be starting to like living in Utah County...(Did I really just say that?)

9.  Graduated from WSU with my Bachelor's Degree:  I am officially upgraded from Melanie RN to Melanie RN, BSN.  Another bucket listing adventure crossed off.  I don't have any pics of this because I didn't walk at commencement for various reasons but mostly because bright purple really just isn't my color...Just take my word for it!

8.  Disneyland:  At the end of April, my whole family packed up and headed to California for a trip of a lifetime.  Everyone in the family came and it was literally a fairlytale and something we'll talk about for years to come!

And this is where mom fainted on California Screamin'...Funny now, not too funny then!

We love Tower of Terror

 7.  Girl's Camp Nurse:  So I know it's not really kosher to wish for callings in the church, but I have secretly always wanted to be a girl's camp leader which is pretty hard considering I haven't lived in a ward with a Young Women's program for nearly 7 years.  Anyway, in August my dream came true.  My wonderful cousin Melissa asked me to come to camp with her ward to be the onsite nurse.  It was so fun to be around the young women and feel of their spirit (and have a lot of fun in the mean time)!  Thanks Melissa and Bailey for giving me the chance to be a part of your ward for a few days!

6.  Trip to Cozumel:  Since I'm the baby of the family (by a long way), I have had the opportunity to spend some quality time alone with my parents throughout my life which I consider a huge blessing.  Anyway, this past fall I got to spend a week with them in paradise.  We went to Cozumel Mexico and it was magical. The place looks just like the postcards with white sand and aqua blue water. We met some great people from the south and I was also able to fulfill several bucket listing adventures including: singing karaoke, snorkeling, parasailing, and ziplining!  And you better believe I drank my fair share of virgin Miami Vices...Makes my mouth water just thinking about it. 

5.  Murdery Mystery Dinner:  As I mentioned above, since I moved to Orem I have met some of the best friends ever and we have become like a little family.  Anyway, in October my friends Mike and Sarah planned a murder mystery dinner which was super fun.  We were all assigned characters and were able to dress up as such.  I got to be Miss White and wear bright red lipstick!

4.  Thanksgiving:  I love everything about Thanksgiving because it consists of eating way more good food than should be humanly possible and then shopping my brains out the next day!  Two of my favorite hobbies.  This year was no exception.  I experienced the magic of Thanksgiving and the mayhem of black friday!  What a rush.  And this year, black friday was even more wild than other years.  On our walk into Wal Mart a car was full blown up in flames and to add to the madness, all the shoppers started revolting at 9:30 pm.  They couldn't even wait till ten.  I guess the $9.99 griddles were worth the risk of possibly getting arrested.  It was certainly an experience.  I'm just relieved we didn't get pepper sprayed.  Oh yeah, and speaking of Thanksgiving dinner, I made my first apple pie this year...totally from scratch.  And it even had a lattice top!  You should probably be impressed :)



Yep, that's the car in flames at Wal Mart



3.  25th Birthday:  I have officially completed the first quarter of my life and I've never been happier!  I celebrated my birthday with all my closest friends at my favorite restaurant...The Family Tree in Santaquin.  I feel right at home there and I also love to show my city slicker friends what it's like to hang out in the country!

2.  Tim McGraw Concert:  I know I've mentioned this before but I am not lying, standing in the pit at the Tim McGraw concert will go down in history as one of the best memories of my life because I'll tell you what...That man drives me wild!

1.  Luke was born:  I became an aunt for the 12th time and it never gets old!  Lukas Ted DeWitt arrived on August 6, 2011 and I fell in love instantly and he continues to melt my heart even though he barfs on me every single time I hold him...without fail! Anyway, I really think being an auntie is the best job ever and I feel so blessed to live so close to all my nieces and nephews and be a part of their lives.

Well enough about 2011...Here's to 2012!

A Different Perspective

I may be a little bias, but I just have to say that I really feel like I have the best job ever. I get to take care of new moms and babies everyday and get paid for it!  I'm telling you, it's wonderful.  I mean don't get me wrong, I have my fair share of hard days, but really for the most part, I love what I do.  And one of my favorite parts of my job is being the one who gets to hand a brand new baby to his/her mother for the very first time!  There is nothing like it.  I love to stand aside and watch how enamored parents are with their newest addition, and I'm always amazed at how much of an affect someone so tiny can have on a family.
The past couple of weeks as Christmas has come and gone, and I've handed many new babies to many new mothers, I have thought a lot about the humble birth of our Savior and how Mary must have felt that first Christmas night as she held her newborn son.  I'm sure she felt a little fearful and overwhelmed as she thought about raising the Savior of the World.  And despite all of her feelings of anxiety and inadequacy (as I'm sure all parents feel when they bring a new spirit into this wicked world), I'd like to think that in a lowly stable on that first Christmas night, the young mother Mary unwrapped her baby from his swaddling clothes and counted his ten tiny toes, smiled at his wrinkly skin, let him wrap his little hand around her finger and just adored him not only has the man who she knew would ultimately save her, but simply as her tiny baby boy whom God had sent for her to raise.  And I also believe (as I'm sure all mothers do) she offered a prayer of gratitude to Heavenly Father for trusting her enough to raise one of His children and plead for His help in doing so.
I'm not a mother yet, and maybe I'm not qualified to be making such assumptions but I have been blessed with the opportunity to spend a great deal of time with new babies and mothers, and although people come from different backgrounds and cultures, from my perspective, the reactions of parents when they meet their perfect little baby for the first time is universal, and I feel so grateful to be a part of it!

Country Music Speaks to My Soul...

Okay folks. I'm back and I've made a personal goal to update this blog at least once a month. However, I'm not making any promises, because this blogging goal might go over just about as well as my budgeting and not-eating-sugar-only-on-Sundays goals, which to say the least have not been going well at all! But I guess it's a step in the right direction.

Anyway, I've been dying to post pics and tell all about my magical summer of country music concerts and about how I actually got to touch Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan and Tim McGraw (not even kidding). I have pics to prove it!

BRAD PAISLEY:  Our summer concert series started with Brad Paisley at the Stadium of Fire. And I can't go without giving a little background on how we scored such perfect seats. To make a long story short, I bought a few nosebleed tickets on KSL for super cheap and we were super excited that we got such a great deal, even though the seats weren't stellar. Anyway, about two hours before the show started, we got a text from our friends (who work for the freedom festival) saying they had six second row seats for six super fans! Needless to say, we were beyond thrilled to accept his offer and even more thrilled to receive a personal wink from Mr. Paisley himself! Oh and by the way, these pics are not zoomed in. We were actually this close!

We may or may not have trampled a few toddlers and knocked over a chair or two to obtain this picture!

KENNY CHESNEY:  Concert number two of the summer concert series was Mr. Kenny Chesney. I don't have any wild stories to share about this one, but I will say that the man can sport a denim cutoff shirt with skin tight denim jeans (typically a fashion no-no) and look like a total knockout!  I love Kenny :)

TIM MCGRAW:  The peak of our country loving summer was when Tania and I got to stand in "The Pit" at the Tim McGraw concert...A dream come true for both of us.  Not kidding, if I were to be on a the Make a Wish Foundation, that's what I would choose!  But that's beside the point.  The point is, we got to touch Tim (multiple times) and I'm 98% sure we made legit eye contact at one point in the show!  And can I just say the man is even better looking in person.  He is 44 years old, and doesn't look a day over 30.  And when he goes down on his knees and dances around in those skin tight jeans...Be still my soul!  Anyway, all that being said, August 6, 2011 will go down in history as one of the best days of our lives!



We were leaning on the stage!


RASCAL FLATTS:  About a month after Tim, we celebrated Flatts Fest, and thanks to Tania's cousin who works for USANA, we scored VIP passes complete with a pre-concert dinner and tickets in a suite next to two cute Idaho country boys!  The show was fabulous.  However I will say that Gary's (the lead singer) stylist should be fired.  A man of his stature should never wear sparkly jeans and a maternity looking shirt.  It does nothing for him.  That's all.



See what I mean about the horrifying outfit?  Maybe the pic doesn't do it justice but believe me, it was bad!




JASON ALDEAN:  The series ended with our favorite country boy Jason Aldean!  He makes me proud to have redneck country roots, and makes driving a tractor and shooting a gun sound glamorous.  He's my kind of man!


Don't you love our shirts? We're true fans



Well needless to say, Summer 2011 was one of the best ones yet!

Top 10 of 2010 (in no particular order)...

Okay people, don't judge me. I know it's been forever since I've posted anything. I have no excuse other than I've just had other things to do. But I've come up with a list of the best things of the year 2010! PS...I tried to upload a picture for each event, but I'm technologcially inept and I can't figure out how to upload more than five pictures. I need some serious blog intervention. But that's beside the point. Anyway, the top 10 of 2010 are...Drum Roll please...

1. Tim McGraw and Brad Paisley concerts with the besties. Country music speaks to my soul!






2. Mom and Dad being the Grand Marshals of the Moroni July 4th parade






3. Bear Lake






4. Making Christmas chocolates with grandma






5. Bachelorette Finale party with my sisters complete with real roses, fake margaritas, and a whole lotta banter!






6. 24th Birthday trip to Vegas






7. Making an entire Thanksgiving dinner all by myself (okay so that's a lie...Not all by myself. With the help of my darling roommate Tania, and about 42 calls home to mom . Longest 12 hours of my life)!






8. Buying a car and getting a Costco card (I'm officially an adult)






9. Having a real Christmas Tree and decorating it with a sparkly hot pink/lime green polka dot bow. Not to mention our five bundles of mistletoe dotted all over the apartment (because in the UC, one mistletoe plant per apartment just doesn't cut it if you know what I mean ;)






10. Life changing experience in Zambia, Africa

Four Years...

Four years ago, my darling nephew Colton passed away with injuries sustained in a tragic car accident. I can't believe it's been that long. At times it feels like it was just yesterday, and other times it feels like I haven't seen him forever! But of course we take comfort in knowing that families are forever and that we'll see him again someday. Rest in peace Colt, and save me a place in heaven!

"Missing someone gets easier everyday. Because even though it's one day further from the last time you saw each other, it's one day closer to the next time you will." -Author Unknown

In Loving Memory of Colton Cody Dyches

April 5, 1989-August 5, 2006