Thoughts from Steven and Becky

Fall to Christmas

2012-01-01T18:55:00.000-08:00

We have sure been very busy these holidays and have been very blessed to spend so much time with family. Here is a quick blurb of some of our happenings lately.

We spent Christmas break in Heber with Grandma and Grandpa Crandell. We had a blast with all of the snow, cousins, and presents that Santa brought.

For Halloween Callie wanted to be a fairy princess. What a cute little fairy she made.

We even got to do some extra fun things like go to Grandma Crandell's Halloween party in Heber, and check out Aunt Annie's apple orchard/pumkin patch in Wilcox.

Summer at a quick glance

2011-09-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

Long time no post.... so what have we been up to?.... Well here is a very quick snap shot of our very fun, friend & family filled, summer.

Camping on Mount Graham over Labor Day.

Sammy-Head Graduates from Physician Assistant School!

Steven, Callie, and I took a mini vac while up for the graduation and went to Mesa children's museum!

Callie started gymnastics, and loves it!

We took a visit to the Trujillo's after Steven's work conference ended.

We laid back with our friends Arry and Lilly at the resort pool while Dad went to his conference

Uncle Ben joined us for a week!

We hit the 24th of July Mormon Parade in Thatcher with fire works!!!

Celebrated the 4th of July in Heber!

Made a bazzillion piggy pops for enrichment

Saw my wonderfull brother Andy get married to his beautiful wife, Cheryl. They are expecting!!!

Loved the Crandell family reunion and wore the kids out with pool, build a bear, and pedicures.

Grew a hearty family garden.

I know this is not summer, but Callie loved her Easter as well. :)

Callie is 2 years old!

2011-04-12T20:49:00.000-07:00

Today Callie is officially 2 years old! We actually celebrated conference weekend, because most of the family was around, but Callie still loved it! We ate hot dogs, chips, and ice cream cake... some of her most favorite food! Afterwards, we blew bubbles and turned on the bubble machine...one of her favorite activities! She loved the toys, bubbles, and food, but especially running around with her little cousins.

Blessings...Not Enough Room to Receive

2011-04-12T20:01:00.000-07:00

2 weeks ago, March 29 we were blessed beyond imagination when an emergency occurred. That evening I had begun a second miscarriage. Unlike the previous miscarriage, this was unfortunately more complicated. I began hemorrhaging, collapsing to the ground, and nearly going into hypovolemic shock. Steven rushed me to the Emergency Room, where I was started on IV fluids and transfused with 2 units of blood, and where they attempted to unsuccessfully manually remove the clots (during a birth or miscarriage, if all of the materials of conception do not successfully come out or come out in pieces, then the mother will continue to bleed...potentially bleeding to death.) Fortunately, the a surgery team just happened to be at the hospital and they were able to perform an emergency D & C (Dilation and Curettage). I was kept over night, due to loss of blood, but was discharged the next day with no complications, just instructions to take it easy for a couple of weeks.

So Blessings. Things could have happened so differently, but we were blessed beyond measure. First, Steven returned home from Home Teaching shortly after the hemorrhaging began and with assistants from Sam and Lacy, was able to get me to the hospital right away. It makes me cringe to think what the results could have been if this had started at any other time when Steven was not home. Second, the emergency team just happened to be at the hospital to quickly be able to get me in for surgery. Third, I am married to an amazing man who was there to hold my hand and be the support I needed. Fourth, We had help from so many people afterwards during the recovery. Amber, my 16 week pregnant sister, drove all of the way from Mesa that morning with an ice-cooler full of groceries and filled my fridge and cupboards. She not only did this, but cooked and provided materials for yummy meals as well. Lacy (my sister-in-law) and Melissa Welker took Callie for several days do play and provided meals also. Many others provided more food, treats, flowers, and support. We really were blessed beyond measure. We eventually had to start turning people down who offered assistance because we were given so much help. Thank you everyone for your support and help through this crazy time in our lives, and a successful recovery.

Trujillo Family Vacation

2011-03-17T14:43:00.001-07:00

Last week Poppy took all 18 of the ENTIRE Trujillo family on a week long cruise to the Caribbean. It was not hard know that we were all with the same group in our matching spiffy new shirts.

My favorite Stop was Libadee, a private island off of Haiti.

The kids were just able to play, play, play, in the water for hours.

Katlyn made a beautiful sand Mermaid.

We had a nice line up of fine looking men, and a Katlyn, with some fine looking beach bods.

Next stop was Jaimaca. Love the Jaimacan people.

Then came Grand Cayman. We loved snorkeling and swimming with the sting rays and all of the underwater creatures of the crystal clear Cayman waters.

Callie wanted a Mermaid, but it turned out that after Katlyn decided that the redheaded green mermaid was her favorite, Callie had nothing to do with the blond pink mermaid I had chosen for her that matched her room perfectly. I did not realize this until I took the red headed doll away, and she teared up like I had broken her little heart to pieces. Needless to say, we got her the redhead doll, which she still loves.

Next came Cozumel, an island off of Mexico. We were so blessed to luck out with free tickets to the Mayan ruins, from 2 sweet women who were unable to get a refund.

Ragnar 2011

2011-03-03T07:19:00.000-08:00

From top left to right: Timmy Boy, Brennon, Big Tim, Brennon, Becky, and Adam

Last year my brother-in-law's, Brennon's, accounting firm decided to put together a Ragnar team of accountants from the firm, but funny how things turn out... Only 3 people from the firm actually ran, and the rest was filled by family, friends, and (ha, ha, ha!) a whole bunch of Mormons.

But that's okay... Timmy Boy and Big Tim fit right in. We had a blast running around 200 miles of relay together, driving, getting hardly any sleep, and snacking on goodies that Amber got for us. There were 12 members total with 2 vans with 6 runners. We were Van #2.

We lucked out. An old friend Calob Boone joined our group with his fiance, Jenny. She is a sweetie and a half and was kind enough to be our designated driver after working a night shift and getting only 3 hours of sleep.

Below: Jenny and Calob

Exchanged took place by slapping a cool little band on the next team memeber. And yes, we ran through the entire freezing night.

But lack of sleep, freezing weather, and running many many miles did not take the smile off these boys. :)

And Finally! after 2 days of running... We made it!

Love this Kid!

2011-01-05T19:23:00.000-08:00

Christmas

2011-01-05T16:02:00.000-08:00

This Christmas in Casa Grande was really wonderful. Steven's gift turned out great. He had to go on a scavenger hunt with a series of clues. It was well worth it to him because he got just what he wanted, the watch he had been researching and wanting for weeks. I will admit the idea was not an original, he had done one for me last Christmas, but he still loved it!

Callie loved Christmas too. Funny, I think her favorite toy ended up on being the most simple, stacking boxes. But she sure made out good, and the other kids in town sure love coming over and playing with Callie and her new toys.

Pre Christmas fun

2011-01-05T15:51:00.000-08:00

The week before Christmas was jam packed with family fun and laughter. That Monday the Crandell family had a nice big fat Christmas party at RED LOBSTER!!!!! The food was awesome and the company was even better. My mother had planned some cute games before the food came and then afterwards we exchanged gifts. One of the the games was a service exchange where everyone wrote on a sheet of paper a service they were willing to give. My mother told a story while the papers were randomly passed to those surrounding the table. I was thrilled to receive the service of a free night of baby sitting from my little bro Adam, and my grandpa Brewer will be receiving some scrumptious cookies from me.

Later that week Carriane invited Amber and us to go sing Christmas carols to a group of elderly folk and let the little girls see Santa (really Carriane's father, who does pull off a great Santa). I guess every year they do this with their father, cool, huh.

Christmas Eve Steven and I met up with the Trujillo family where, thanks to the superior planning of Poppy, we had another fun filled day which included hiking CG mountain, crafting with the kids, bowling, sharing presents, and eating real deal yummy Mexican food.

2011-01-05T15:28:00.000-08:00

After Thanksgiving we still had a fun filled weekend, cutting down Christmas trees on the Rim, celebrating Nonny's birthday, and visiting Santa.

Ya, I know, I am married to one dang hansome man

The picture did not turn out very clear, but you can clearly see that Callie is freaked out by this weird man in a red suit. After she was off his lap and realized he gave away free presents, she fell in love with Santa and that became her favorite word that night. She now says "Santa, HO HO HO!"

Thanksgiving

2011-01-05T15:25:00.001-08:00

Family Pictures

2010-11-21T18:18:00.001-08:00

My Sister-in-law, Sarah, rocks! She took our family pictures and they turned out awesome! Thank you Sarah!

Brewer Family Reunion

2010-11-21T18:17:00.000-08:00

Crandell Family Vacation

2010-07-25T17:58:00.000-07:00

4th of July in Heber

2010-07-11T20:15:00.000-07:00

The fourth of July has always been a big deal for my family and the little town of Heber for as long as I can remember. We were fortunate enough to be there this 4th of July weekend. You could just feel the excitement in the air.

We stayed a couple of nights at the cabin enjoying time with the Trujillo side of our family.

My parents always host a huge scrumptious dinner where family and friends come to mingle and prepare for Heber's famous fire works show.

Bar Results

2010-05-10T20:21:00.001-07:00

The news is in.......Steven passed the bar!

Grand Canyon

2010-04-17T21:21:00.001-07:00

Since I will be starting call at the end of April, we figured that we had better get away before we can't. So to get away we went to the Grand Canyon!!!!

My husband says this was one of the cheapest family vacations we have been on. For some reason, which we are very greatful for and not expecting, they let us into the park for free (I think it's earth day), and then we got a great deal on a hotel and packed our own lunches and water. It turned out to be a great trip and great price. Good thinking Steven!

Callie's Wild Hair 1st Birthday Party

2010-04-17T20:38:00.001-07:00

Callie officially turned one years old. Since Callie's hair has been long and crazy since she the day she was born, we celebrated with a wild hair party.

During the party we played "Pin the Bow on Callie", where the grand babies pinned bows on a big picture of Callie and "Callie Pictionary", which Carriane was so kind to share her idea.

Mom, me, did pink highlights. Dad, went punk rocker with spikes, and Callie wore a gigantic bow with a pink pony tail.

Poor Reesie, by the end of the party she was done, but Hunter had a blast wearing his hair just like his dad with the blue mohawk! Sarah wore a fun BIG flower to add to the wild fling.

Amber, Brennon, Haden, and Bailey. Amber threw her hair into some fun pig tails, brennon styled what hair he did have, Hayden came with wild spikes, and bailey came with a bazzilions bows on her head.

Amy wore a gun big green bow. Mom had the wild pony tails, and Ben hid his crazy hair under a hat the whole time to reveal it at the very end.

The male adult wild hair award winner was of course, Poppy, with a mix of everything you could think of in his hair.

Carriane won the adult female award with her gigantic black fro, Ben won the most artistic award with his hidden hair under his artist hat.

The grand babies had a blast. I think they loved playing with Callie's birthday toys more than Callie!

The birthday cake turned out awesome. I though Callie would love destroying it, but it turned out that she was most interested in the fondante.

I though Callie needed a wild cake for her wild party, so I made her a wild zebra cake.

Easter

2010-04-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

Easter was a blast. We went to Grandma and Grandpa Crandell's and watched conference and had a fun Easter egg hunt. The Easter Bunny (moms and dads) brought some really cute things for the grandbabies, matching hats, matching sunglasses, and lots of yummy snacks. We just had a good time eating good food, watching conference, and hanging out.

Callie, Kate, and Bailey jamming out on the piano

Disney Land!!!!!!!!

2010-03-14T10:52:00.001-07:00

To celebrate Steven getting done with law school and the bar, we make a big trip to DisneyLand. Steven has been wanting to go for 3 years! So it was about time.

What do you notice in the picture above...... There is no one there! We were one of the very first in the park, and the first on space mountain.

As you can see my little guy (Sorry, I meant to say big fierce husband) is pretty excited.
He was like a little kid in the candy store.

If you look close you can see that Steven even made us "TEAM TRUJILLO" shirts, which we wore with pride of course.

Woody even showed us some smooth gun finger shooting moves!

So I know this picture is blurred, but that girl in the top right corner, screaming for her dear life... ya that's me on tower of Terror. That man that she is clinging on to who is smiling from hear to ear... of course, it's Steven.

And yes, after nearly 4 years of marriage, we are still living happily ever after.

The end.

Poppy's Birthday Party

2010-03-14T10:43:00.000-07:00

It is official; Poppy is a senior citizen. We celebrated his 60th Birthday Party, so as Poppy would say "Don't forget my senior discount."

It was so nice to have so much family together. We ate some good grub and had a good time.

Gramps scooped up Callie and held her the whole night. I don't think she minded one bit.

Phoenix Zoo Day

2010-03-02T20:57:00.000-08:00

So today we met up with Sarah and her two little ones, Hunter and Reese, at the Phoenix zoo. I think the adults liked it almost as much as Hunter!

They have this really cool tree house which was just ideal for pictures!

Oh, and we were sure not to miss the Giraffes.

Hunter got a hit out of the turtles, but even more amazing to him were the squirrels and birds that he chased around.

Little Reese and Callie were good sports in missing out on their nice long morning naps.

Even Callie got a hit out of the animals. It's amazing how those goats just sit there and let those kids pet, poke, and prod at them.

and I could not resist putting these picts. I'm so in love with my little girl's hair!

She is not even 1 yet!

Just living and loving life

2010-02-28T16:48:00.000-08:00

Callie is growing so big!

And her hair just keeps getting longer and longer!

Dressing her up is so fun! The other day was just fun party dress day! No big reason, but just because.

Having Cabela's so close has it's perks. Callie loves to see the animals, Steven loves to check out the outdoor gear, and it gives friends and family a good reason to come and visit us.

Just Swinging away on Nonny and Poppy's swing. This past weekend we went over to help out a little bit around the yard. Micheal and Sarah met up with us and we got a chance to go on a double date with a free baby sitter for all the babies! Hurray for Nonny and Poppy!

Recently, my friend Onya came over and I showed her a few cake decorating tips. With the few tricks I showed her, she quickly caught on and was able to decorate these cakes in one sitting! Wow good job Onya! Those are some yummy, beautiful looking cakes!

Law School Graduation

2010-02-28T15:05:00.001-08:00

My intelligent talented husband, Steven, officially graduated from law school Jan 23, 2010 from Cooley Law school.

We visited the Lansing Downtown Campus, and Steven showed us what it's like to be a real law school student.

It sure looks like Ashton might make a great attorney some day.

We are so lucky to have so much support. Steven's sister, Lisa, and brother-in-law, Jeff, came all of the way with their 2 kids, Katlyn and Ashton, from Alabama. Steven'a parents flew with us all the way from AZ, and my brother Casey and his wife Tamara came with their 2 children Paige and Brice for the special occasion. Thanks everyone for the support.

Happy Day!

2009-12-06T14:23:00.000-08:00

Life happens fast. Steven will be graduating soon and we wondered what we would do for income while he studied for the bar. We prayed to be financially independent and in October I applied for what seemed to be a bazillion nursing positions. Well, about 2 and a half weeks ago I got a job offer to work as a cardiac catheterization nurse in West Phoenix. They offered to pack the apartment, take care of the shipment, ship one of our cars, and even top it all off with a bonus. We were thrilled to be so blessed! So I booked a flight and flew home with my parents to AZ after Thanksgiving at my brother's in Grand Rapids.

Thanks giving was awesome. We had the best oven baked turkey I had ever tasted, thanks to Tamara, the tastiest yams, thanks to Steven, and the most scrumptious stuffing, thanks to me (okay, okay the receipt came from Diana Charles)! Bummer I don't have the pictures to post, but it was great.

The night that I flew out we all went to the little Michigan famous diner, Steak and Shake.

Great shakes and meals for a great price. Can't you tell my brothers and sister liked it too!

So my dad is pretty amazing. We flew into the airport around 11pm, and waited for luggage for another hour or so, and then my dad drove the 3 hours homes that night. Wow! how does he stay awake like that. He is super Dad!

The next day when arriving in Heber, Callie and I went Christmas tree hunting with the Trujillos. Not a bad looking batch of tree choppers, huh!

Then we met up with Gramps and Gran. This was the first time that Callie met them, they were thrilled. Poor Callie is missing from the picture because she was out cold napping.

So while being here in AZ we have been visiting family. We stayed with Nonny and Poppy Trujillo a few days, the Crandells, and now the Adams. Everyone has been so helpfull and generous. Thanks guys for taking care of me and little Callie. Its been nice hanging out with family and letting Callie get to know her cousins before I start working.

Our normal day

2009-11-22T18:50:00.000-08:00

Bath time is a blast after eating yummy baby food!

After wards mom gets me all dressed up and sometimes even curls my hair!

I especially love to get out of the apartment and go for a walk around the block.

Growing Like a Weed

2009-11-06T05:28:00.000-08:00

Callie is growing like a weed. She sits up all by herself.

She like to play sweet beautiful music on the piano.

And she loves hanging upside down! Oh the fun things babies love!

Uncle Johns Cider Mill

2009-11-06T05:20:00.000-08:00

Since being in Michigan we have always wanted to go do a corn maze. Well recently, Steven took Callie and I to Uncle John's Cider Mill in St. Johns. While there we took a tractor ride down to the corn maze, hit the pumkin patch, and then topped it off with cider and donuts. We had a blast. Thanks Hun!

Good ol' Second Hand

2009-10-25T17:04:00.000-07:00

Halloween is fast approaching and we found the perfect costume for Callie. It's either a duck or chick, whatever you want it to be, but we got it for $8 at a mom to mom sale. The lady said that it was originally $50!

Jumper, $5 off Craig's list. Callie absolutely loves it!

And doesn't Callie show off her beautiful pig tales while modeling in her Bumbo. I got it off Craig's list for $15.

Ya, what can I say...I'm a pretty good deal finder. ;)

Hair Cut

2009-10-18T18:04:00.000-07:00

Callie got her very first hair cut a couple of weeks ago. As you can see, she was just unable to see through her amazon jungle of hair.

She did so well and did not fuss once. She absolutely loved the attention.

Hurray, Callie can see!

Hanging at the Crandell's

2009-10-05T17:11:00.000-07:00

So after posting last Saturday I realized I did not post any pictures of Callie! Oh no! I hope this makes up for it. Callie loves to be bundled like a little burrito. Here is my little bean burrito!Last Saturday Steven tried feeding Callie, but she was getting fussy as he held the bottle. Finally, Steven just let go and she contently held the bottle all by herself! Good job Callie. You are growing up so fast.

I came to Grand Rapids last Friday to help out when Tamara delivered little Brice. Paige and Callie are becoming great buds. They take baths together everyday and Paige tries to help out with Callie and Brice as much as she can.

Welcome home baby Brice!

New Baby in Town

2009-10-03T19:01:00.001-07:00

Casey is a Daddy....again! Tamara just delivered a little baby boy. Congrats guys!

Cake

2009-10-03T18:40:00.001-07:00

I have been taking a Wilton cake decorating class and have been having lots of fun. Below is my first Wilton cake. I brought it to a church activity and the kids just loved it!

Below is my 3rd cake. I forgot to take a picture of the 2nd (it had a giant sunflower on it).

So I only made 3 cakes in the class, but became inspired to try some others when I fell in love with a fondant cake at a bakery in the mall. Below is Brice's (my brand new baby cousin) birthday cake.

Steven's birthday cake below is actually the first fondant cake I made. The cake at the bakery was a "Topsy Turvy" cake, where it looks like it is tipping. I just loved it and decided that Steven needed a cake as cool as that for his birthday. I looked up a recipe on-line for marshmallow fondant and about 10 hours of hard manual labor later, whala! Steven has a Topsy Turvy Cake.

Birthday

2009-10-03T18:19:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Steven's 27th birthday this week. Casey and Tamara came into town and we went to Red Robin for their amazing mouth-watering burgers and then went home for some yummy birthday cake! I am so lucky to be married to such a intelligent, fun, good-looking guy. Happy Birthday Baby! Hope we have a whole lot more to grow old through. :)

Meijer Gardens

2009-10-03T18:08:00.001-07:00

About a week ago we went to the Meijer Gardens with Casey and his family. It is a good size park with various plants, statues, ans sites. Lovely Tamara found a way to get us in for free! Thanks Tamara!

The Trojan Horse is three stories tall. I think it was my favorite of all.

"Angry Mom," the name of the statue. We sure do make a couple of great angry moms!

They even had a kids zone! We are hanging out in the kids zone tree house. I'm sure I will just love it when Callie is old enough to love this kind of stuff!

Just Living Life

2009-09-21T14:54:00.000-07:00

I made my first Wilton Cake, the classic rainbow. I 'm loving the class and can't wait to see what else I create.

Yesterday Steven, being the sweety he is, cooked me dinner, turkey burgers with all of the fixings. Great burgers hun. Thanks a ton!

Callie's hair is just getting longer and longer! The poor girl can't even see unless I pull her hair back, and she's only five months old!

Hair

2009-09-06T16:34:00.001-07:00

At less than 5 months old Callie is wearing curlers in her hair!

Isn't she so pretty!

2009 Summer Arizona Trip

2009-09-03T20:11:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our trip in Arizona. Boy did we have a blast with the family. We did so many things. A good amount of time was spent in Casa Grande hanging out in Nonny and Poppy's pool, eating out, getting spoiled silly, and loving every minute of it.

During the weekend we drove up to the Trujillo Family Cabin. The Ponderosa Forest of the Mogollon Rim is absolutely beautiful. I had missed the climbing mountains and rugged rocks. It was refreshing to breath in the crisp, cool, clean air. While there we managed to take a hike around Willow Springs Lake with Steven's parent's, camp by Patrick's Pond with the Crandell Clan, shuck and bag fresh corn with Grandpa and Grandma Brewer, and spend lots of time laughing and living up these precious moments with family.

When back up to CG we enjoyed spending time celebrating Sarah's B-day at Red Robin, touring the Titan II Missile museum and relaxing. We just loved our trip and can't wait until we can move back and be with family. We have such amazing families. I think this trip just made me love and appreciate them even more.

Check out the slide show of all of our fun. :)

Grand Haven

2009-08-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Steven had to study for finals, so I loaded Callie up and went to Lake Michigan in Grand Haven with Casey, Tamara, and friends.

Above are our new buddies Brady, Shay, and Baby Kesley

Being tired and hot, Little Miss Callie was not a fan of the cold water.

Paige and Kesley are great buds. Check out those styling swim suits!

Uncle Casey, helping out with Callie.

Callie was so exhausted when we left. She just zonked right out.

Faces

2009-08-16T18:47:00.000-07:00

One day we just thought we would have fun with the camera and this is what we got out of Callie.

Things Callie Likes to Do

2009-08-05T05:34:00.000-07:00

Callie likes to play with her cousin Paige.

Callie likes to hang out with Dad (Dad is her favorite person, she just loves it when he comes home after school).

Callie likes to look beautiful (this is her first manicure, didn't mom do a great job!)

Callie likes to sit in her swing.

Callie likes to take naps (she only naps in her swing, or bundled up really tight, laying flat, and with her feet sticking out).

We love our little Callie.

2009-08-05T05:16:00.000-07:00

This past weekend while Steven went to go work in the temple, I loaded up Callie and met up with Tamara and Shay for the Coast Guard Festival in Grand Haven.

We enjoyed the free boat tours. Hey we're up for anything that's free!

This boat is called the Mackinac. It is used as an ice breaker. Because of it's design it is able to drift on top of the ice, and then it's weight breaks the ice. Cool, huh!

Paige even got to be captain for a minute.

Baby Fun

2009-07-27T04:59:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we went to visit Casey and Tamara in Grand Rapids. While there we went garage shopping and found some awesome deals. One of Tamara's lucky finds was a baby doll stroller. Boy did Paige love it, especially when she tried it out with a Baby Callie!

Traumatic Saturday

2009-07-13T15:24:00.000-07:00

My mom called me the other day telling me such horrific news I almost cried. Bailey, my sister Amber's 13 month old baby, was standing by her mom in their bedroom when she began screaming. Thinking she was tired, Amber put her in her bed, but she started acting weird, a really scary type weird. She started rolling around in her bed, she made freaky weird noises, and her eyes began shaking. Amber had a feeling to run back to the place where Bailey was standing by the desk. She looked around and found 8 baby Bark Scorpions, the most deadly scorpions in the United States! Who knows how many times she was bit or stung; these scorpions don't leave marks, but Amber saw that she had stepped on 3. She called her husband who then directed her to call poison control. She was directed by the phone operator to watch for signs of drooling and difficulty breathing. By this time Bailey was shaking uncontrollably, unable to cry, and foaming at the mouth. An ambulance was sent on its way. When they arrived they rushed her inside the vehicle with oxygen. In the midst of all of this trauma, they told Amber she could not ride with her baby in the ambulance. Sobbing, Amber was devastated beyond meens.... what do you meen they would not let her ride? Her baby was dyeing! Luckily, a saint fireman stepped in and let her on, saying he would take the blame if something went wrong and that this baby needed her mother more than anything. They rushed to the hospital not knowing whether Baily was going to live or die. Traumatized, Amber was given paper work asking for permission to treat Bailey using the only drug they had for this type of venom, which also happened to be an experimental anti-venom drug. Experimental drug.... what other choice did Amber have than to let Bailey become the ginnie pig? 5 doses were administered, the most that these administering medical personnel had ever given, but with each dose she became better and better and she survived. I am so grateful that Amber listened to the spirit and found the scorpions. Bailey may not have been here otherwise. Good job Amber. I love you and Bailey so much. You are a great mom.

So What Exactly Do Moms Do All Day?

2009-07-13T08:10:00.000-07:00

Before I became a mom I worked full time (and often over-time) in a stressfull position as a night cardiac RN. Before that I worked, went to school full time, and served in a very involved church calling. Before that I was a high school student taking college classes, working, and involved in any clubs, plays, or activities I could jam into my tight schedule. I've been this way my whole life, wanting to achieve much and be successful while at the same time not missing out on anything. So before I became a mom I am guilty to say that I was one of those idiots who wondered what stay-at-home-moms did all day. Before having Callie I worried I would become depressed over "having nothing to do"..... Boy did that thought come back and kick me in the hind end. After having Callie I went through the shock of "Wow I'm not getting any sleep, I'm super emotional, and somehow I am supposed to be functional and take care of a baby and a husband." I quickly learned that the title "Stay-at-Home-Mom" was a little more complicated than feed baby, change baby, put baby to sleep, and then have nothing to do all day. I cried when my mom left me. My mother-in-law came to help afterwards, and then we flew to AZ and had help, but I had no idea how I was going to make it after all of the help was gone. Callie had a hard time napping, I had breast feeding issues, sometimes she would not eat, and then she would become hysterical making the whole deal even rougher. Those first 6 weeks were pretty rough. Well, finally after lots of prayers, the day came and Callie started sleeping longer stretches during the night, and I was able to become more of a human again. My emotions stabilized and I started figuring out Callie's needs and how to address them before she became a hysterical ball of tears.

Now that things have stabilized I am loving this special calling in life. I take care of the people I love the most. Callie is my bud and after we play, or while she sleeps, I am able to take care of house chores and then sometimes have time to develop talents I never had much time to before. I am making better friendships and learning about all of the neat places I have been missing out on. For example, my friend Rebecca Jones recently introduced me to this park called Hawk Island. It is awesome...has a paved running trail, splash pad, lake, fishing, playground, and other fun goodies. So last Saturday I had to take my husband and Callie. Here are the picts below.

Callie inititaly was not a big fan of the water. Of course, being the cruel parents we are, we laughed and put her in even further. She eventually got use to it and seemed pretty okay being the shark as I reenacted a shark attack on Dad.

The Thursday before this, I met up with a whole other group of women at Lake Lansing. Good times.

Below are our friends, Rebecca (holding Peter) on the left and Keely on the right.

I am also trying to learn the art of baby fashion. Below Callie is displaying her lovely hat from Grandma Crandell. Thanks grandma...we need all the hair help we can get!

For the 4th we went to Grand Rapids and had a BBQ with Casey and some people in his ward. Below is a picture of cousin Paige and Callie sporting off their festive 4th of July outfits.

Oh and of course I turned a whopping 24. Man I am getting old. I never imagined my life past 21! Steven took me to Red Robin for my lucky day, fixed my watch, and got me the game Settlers of Catan!

Father's Day

2009-06-22T11:44:00.000-07:00

For Father's Day we went with the Melos and my brother's family to Frances park for a BBQ!
It was nice to get out of the house, cook up some steaks, throw a frisbee, and just hang out.

Casey and Tamara drove from Grand Rapids to spend the afternoon with us. We love having family so close!

Little McKenzie sure loved playing Frisbee. We are going to miss the Melos after they move back to AZ in August. :(

So now that Steven is a father I get to brag about him on Father's day. Here are 10 things I just LOVE about Steven:

1: He is soooooooo good looking
2: He is smart and works hard in his school. He made it on the Dean's list this year! Good job Babe!
3: He is the #1 Dad. He is so good with Callie. He will just hold, rock, feed, and talk to her. I love to watch and see how gentle he is with her. Every once in a while I can get him to change a poopy diaper too!
4: He is an fabulous chef.
5: He is so fun to be around.
6: He is very considerate.
7: He is an aweseome example of service.
8: He is very determined.
9: He is very patient.
10: He knows how to be goofy and have a fun time.

We love you Steven!

Pictures with Julie!

2009-06-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

Julie Herman is such a sweaty. She offered to take pictures of Callie with her awesome camera. I was so impressed with how well she got Callie to look at the camera and not cry. She did so well with her. I think she should become a professional baby photographer. Here is some of her work.

Life with Callie

2009-06-17T17:21:00.000-07:00

Having Callie is so much fun. In the morning we take a bath...

Get nice and lotioned up....

then play dress up! Today we dressed up for pictures at our friend Julie Herrmann's. She was sweet enough to offer her pro flash photographer skills with her fancy shmansy camera. Thanks Julie. I can't wait to see how the picts turn out!

Oh and those cool Bumbo seats that the kids just love, but they are way too expensive for a piece of foam... well we got our little Bumbo off Craig's list for $15. Yay, Craig's list!

2009-06-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures of our little cutie.

Sam & Lacy in town!

2009-06-02T11:03:00.001-07:00

So this weekend we were lucky enough to have Sam and Lacy in town. Sam was nice enough to drive Casey's car here from AZ all by himself! Casey is moving to Grand Rapids for his medical residency. Sam picked Lacy up in Chicago and after visiting there and Nauvoo they joined us here in Lansing. We took them to a beautiful rose garden in a park.

I love my sis-in-law Lacy. Here we are overlooking the Grand River.

One of the flowers even matched Callie's!

Here we are on the park's trail

After the park we hit the capital building and then headed over to MSU's little museum. It was tiny, but I was super surprised about how much stuff they were able to cram inside! Even a few dinosaurs!

Thanks for visiting Sam an Lacy! We loved having you in town. :)

2009-05-29T00:37:00.000-07:00

Callie lounging around in the laundry. She is growing like a weed!

For Steven and my 3rd anniversary, he took me on a surprise trip to Grand Haven! We saw the musical water light fountains at night, which are a must see, and then checked out the down town and Lake Michigan. I would highly recommend visiting this cute little tourist trap! Thanks Steven! Callie and I had a great time. No picts of Steven... :(

Sumo

2009-05-18T17:57:00.000-07:00

Back to Michigan

2009-05-18T17:44:00.001-07:00

We loved being in AZ and in a way I wish I could just stay, but It's nice to be back home and get on our own routine. When we got back we went to a BBQ with a bunch of our Michigan buddies at Birchfield park. Lots of good food.

It seems like Callie is getting fatter every day. She is our little Gordita. Her hair is a hit. People can't keep their hands off of it. They say they have never seen a newborn with so much hair. I will have to admit that neither have I!

Momma Crandell graduated!

2009-05-18T17:30:00.000-07:00

Here we are at Cardinal Stadium with my super smart and talented mom who graduated with her degree in elementary education! I am so proud of her. She not only graduated while being a full time mom of nine kids, going to school full time, and moving like 3 times, but somehow among all this she managed to still get straight A's!

Afterwards we all celebrated at one of our all time fave restraunts... Red Lobster!

Baby Blessing and Baby Shower

2009-05-18T15:53:00.001-07:00

Here is Baby Callie. Isn't she a cutie!

All of the grandbabies were at the blessing. I never knew how much fun it would be trying to get four babies to stay still! Each one looks so different, but they each are so cute!

Lisa, Jeff and the kids came all the way from Alabama to see little Callie blessed! Thanks guys. we were so glad to have you there.

Four generations of Fun: Great Grandma Brewer, Grandma Crandell, Me, and then Baby Callie!What a great looking group of men! Thanks for making it guys!

Our new family

Oh and my sweet sis Amber through me a baby shower. You rock Amber! Thanks for the great gifts everyone.

Aren't Cousin Katlyn and Baby Callie styling in their matching outfits made by Aunt Lisa!

2009-04-26T07:05:00.000-07:00

Here some more pictures with grandma. Callie loves being a baby. She is so happy to eat and poop. What more do you really need.

She finally has a name!

2009-04-18T14:38:00.001-07:00

Finally, Baby Trujillo has a name... Callie Elyse Trujillo

Callie loves her grandma.

And she especially loves her daddy

She's Here!

2009-04-12T16:58:00.000-07:00

The moment everybody been waiting for is finally here. We are pleased to announce the birth of our baby girl. She entered this world at 6:17am weighing in at an even 7 pounds with a length of 19 inches. Boy she has lots of hair. Here are some pictures.

Trip to Bronners

2009-03-30T13:51:00.001-07:00

Frankenmuth, Michigan has the world's largest Christmas store, Bronners. It is a pretty good size. A couple of weeks ago we drove over to check this smanshy place out. I had never seen so many Christmas ornaments in my life! Steven was a sweety and came along to keep me company.

Ya, this is one decked out Christmas store!

With so much walking I almost thought our baby was going to pop out and and be born in a Christmas wonderland.

But nope, I have 2 more weeks to go!

Baby Shower Time!

2009-03-01T16:20:00.001-08:00

Who doesn't love baby showers....Especially when they are for you and your baby! My friend Kate put together the baby shower and it turned perfect.

We got so many great baby gifts. Baby and I are so happy! Thanks everyone!

Even a little school spirit came for Steven

Thanks Kate, you did a great job!

Valentine's Day

2009-03-01T15:49:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day turned out terrific. First we started the day with one of the Crandell family's favorite breakfasts, strawberry pancakes.

After Steven put in his days worth of studying we went to Lansing's 150 year anniversary. I was especially excited to check out the ice sculptures, eat free cake, and drink free hot chocolate.

And what better way to end the afternoon with a good meal at Red Robin, one of Steven and my favorite restaurants.

11 more weeks!

2009-01-22T17:07:00.001-08:00

So, less than 3 months to go. Things are looking pretty good, just battling the anemic tiredness. Hopefully with increasing my dose of iron again and Steven packing the meat down my throat it will get better.

And Mr. Steven got his very first pair of glasses! He now compares his vision with glasses to high definition TV, where as before it was regular TV. I'm so grateful for eye insurance so that my Babe can see.

Here is our bedding set. We got a suuuuper great deal. I think the set originally was over $180, but I found a display model on clearance and then the clearance was on sale for 30% off and then I had a 15% coupon on top of that!

Winter Snow and Visitors

2009-01-11T16:23:00.000-08:00

Yet another snow storm (it seems like we get one every week).

Casey and Tamara came into town just to see us. Actually, they came for residency-program interviews. We are super excited to see them, and Paige was super excited about the snow . . . can you tell

Paige has been such a good sport. She has been sick the whole time she has been here, but she still smiles and laughs.

Preparing for Baby!

2009-01-11T15:48:00.001-08:00

Baby is coming in a few months. We have been blessed enough to get a beautiful crib from Mom and Dad Trujillo. We also found a dresser that matches great. We were even lucky enough to find a glider on Craig's List for $40.00! Woohoo! Oh and Steve just loves his brand new TV!

Christmas is here!

2008-12-27T17:11:00.001-08:00

You look fabulous Hun! Steven got a new shirt, pants, and shoes!

Look at my cool new winter clothing! I especially dig the socks!

Our new hats gave us a great laugh. We call them the arctic hats...they are super comfy and they keep your heads super warm. Perfect for Michigan winters.

We have been soooooo blessed this year. Thank you everyone for the Christmas gifts, cards and wishes. We are so blessed in our lives. We have such wonderful friends and families, we have the gospel, we have good working vehicles, we have our health, a warm apartment, and so many more things to be greatfull for. I also feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband who is my best friend and brings me so much happiness and laughter. Thank you Steven, I love you.

Fowler Christmas Party

2008-12-23T19:02:00.000-08:00

This past Monday we went to our friends, the Fouler's, for a Christmas party. At the party there was a cool sweater contest, so before the party Steven and I joyfully trotted over to good ol' Salvation Army to find our hideous treasures. But Nate had the same idea too! Steven and I had some pretty ugly cool sweaters, but needless to say I think Nate (the one to the very right) blew ours out of the water with his snow man sweater from Good Will!

And Yes, I am still popping out. Rebecca Jones (seen to far left) is due any time. I still have 3.5 months to go! Hopefully I can look as great as her at 9 months.

Above: The Fowler Family (Des, Jack, Nate, and Sydney)

Above: The Melo's (Paul and Kate...Where's McKinzee....having fun with all the little kids)

Above: The Charle's (Diana, Brad, and little Sadie)

Above: The Jones (Rebecca, Jaline, Eve, and Baby soon to be)

And of course this fabulous looking couple...the Trujillo's. Man We make these ugly sweaters look good!

Thanksgiving with the Melos

2008-11-30T16:12:00.001-08:00

We wish we could be home for the holidays, but when all else fails, go to the Melo's! They are such great hosts. It was so much fun getting together with friends and stuffing ourselves like crazy.

Baby has an identity

2008-11-22T14:59:00.001-08:00

We went to the Dr's last Thursday and got out sonogram!

Yes, we were re leaved to find out that the baby had two arms, two legs, no extra body parts and everything looked to be functioning perfectly.

And we found out Baby is a GIRL!!!!!

So when I got home I went over to Kate Melo's bow making party and was overjoyed to make these beauties!

Boy or Girl?

2008-11-16T18:00:00.000-08:00

We are 19 weeks along and find out on Thursday what we are going to have. What do you guys think?

Baby on the Way

2008-10-29T17:09:00.000-07:00

So here we are, almost 17 weeks! We are so excited. I'm hoping the next 5 months go by really fast. But you know it's part of the experience. I'm gaining weight now (as you can see), but I still have a couple more to go until I hit my pre-pregnancy weight. Steven is such a sweetheart. He even makes me my favorite eggs when I wake up. Thanks mom and dad for shipping me home to AZ and taking such great care of me. Thanks Linda and Ricardo for the maternity clothes and Ensure... I think it's starting to work! Thanks Steven for tolerating the lovely sound of me throwing up and holding my hair back... you really are my sweet heart!

Great News!

2008-10-13T11:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since we have posted... But I have been sicker than a dog! Because... I am 14 weeks PREGNANT! My mom has been kind enough to let me come home so she can take care of me. I love my family they are so good to me! Hopefully I will have pictures up soon of my belly.

2008-08-18T17:53:00.000-07:00

So we took Amy to the famous Field Museum in Chicago, IL. They had all kinds of cool stuff like Egyptian and American history displays, plants, stones, and yes dinosaurs! Behind us is a T-Rex head. They had big dinosaurs put together too, but I wanted to put a picture of me and my cute husband up!

So Mummies, kinda creepy...... but cool at the same time. Did you know they even mummified cats and birds!

Oh and of course what would Chicago be without Chicago style pizza! This was Amy's very first! MMMMMMMM so yummy. I think it is very wise that they do not put the number of calories per slice. Then you feel less guilty when you eat 1, 2, or three slices!

Check this bear out! The museum had a lot of really cool displays like our friendly real live bear! ....Okay maybe if he were really alive he would not be so friendly, but cool thought huh!

We are so glad that Amy would come up to see us. We love visitors. Amy is such a beautiful, sweet, kind, gentle, fun-loving, talented girl. She will make some lucky guy very happy some day. Oh and I recently heard she just made the varsity volley ball team at Casa Grande High School! Way to go girl!

Crandell out on the night!

2008-07-13T19:19:00.001-07:00

You can't beat a night at the Sweet Tomatoe after good ol family pictures!

4th of July weekend at Trujillo Family Cabin

2008-07-13T18:58:00.001-07:00

We absolutely loved being back in AZ with everyone. We have such awesome families. It is very rare that we are able to get every single member of the family together.

We are triathletes!

2008-06-22T18:14:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we did our very first triathlon. We were so stoked. The race consisted of a 200 meter swim, a 8mile bike ride, and a 2mile run. Here are some picts!

Becky is showing her tri numbers just before the race. She's hanging with her friend from work, Becky Anderson. Becky Anderson Introduced us to the idea of the triathlon. Thanks Becky! We had a blast!
Here I am preparing for the swim.

Look at Becky's buff arms. Becky did so good in the tri. She did it in 54 mins.
We won't even talk about this picture. This was my first real race. I think it just got me even more excited about the idea of doing more.

Mackinac Island

2008-06-01T17:58:00.001-07:00

For our 2 year anniversary Steven and I went to the famous Mackinac Island. It is nestled off the shores of the upper peninsula of Lake Huron.

No cars are allowed. You get around by foot, horse, or bike. We tried a little of each. In fact, their taxis are horse-drawn carriages

Arch Rock, We love the water of the Lake Huron; it is so blue!
Our little bed and breakfast we stayed at. They had some great breakfast. I think I was mostly a fan of their oatmeal.

The governor's mansion. Maybe I should convince Steven to become governor of Michigan some day.
Lots of horses and lots of horse poo. They were really good about keeping things cleaned up with professional pooper-scoopers.

Steven enjoying our little room of the B&B
Check out that hottie!

Kirtland and Lansing

2008-06-01T17:36:00.001-07:00

We loved having Steven's parents up here. They spoiled us to death, and we loved every minute of it.

Yay for pedicures!
This tree is outside of the Rose Gardens of Frances park. I loved it!
Kirtland Temple
The love birds in Kirtland.

Outside of the Newell K. Whitney store. Can you Believe it, at one time before the church restored it to its original state it use to be a bar!

2008-06-01T17:07:00.000-07:00

Linda and Ricardo came up at the beginning of May. We were estatic that family wanted to come and see our new home. For our first tourist spot we went to the Henry Ford Museum. They have all kinds of great stuff there. If you are ever in Detroit I would highly recommend it. Here are some picts.

Working on a good ol' Ford Model T
The museum had different eras portrayed. I think Linda found hers. She is sure a pro at making yummy, "lardy" food.

This is for you Adam! I hope you like the bungalow we picked out for you
Say no to KKK!
Where do I go?

Celebrate Good Times!!!

2008-04-27T16:28:00.000-07:00

Steven got a brand new mountain bike for our anniversary, and he loves it! Sometimes I go in the room and see him just staring at the bike or polishing it; I think it's his new baby. We love going on bike rides at Birchfield park. He's quite the go getter going down hills, but of course I am way better at eating the dirt on my way down, but Steven says I'm a pro at the technical stuff. Thanks Babe.Michigan is a great place for gardening, soooooo here is our garden! We are growing chives, oregano, basil, rosemary, and mint.

What better way to celebrate the spring than with a BBQ! We just got our new BBQ grill and have had so much fun with it. A couple of weeks ago we had our friends over, the Melos, and had some delicious turkey burgers. mmmmmm
And of course the highlight of it all......One year down of law school! Good job boys!
So what do we do to celebrate.... go scope out Lake Michigan....
Mr. Stud Muffin on the doc....
Mrs. Stud Muffin scoping out Mr. Stud Muffin.

Things we are excited about:

Only two more years left of school.

Steven's parents are coming to see us in ONE week!!!

Amber is going to have a baby in June.

Rusty's wife Carriane is pregnant.

Adam is going on a mission to Argentina.

We are going home for the 4th of July, to AZ!!!!

Eak! I've been Tagged

2008-03-22T02:30:00.000-07:00

Eak! I've been tagged. I'd better post because I think this is the 2nd time Thanks to Amber Jarvis and Carriane. Things you may not know about me:

#1: I love to sleep. I think since I hit high school my favorite past time has been sleeping. I can easily pull off a 3-4 hour nap on a Sunday afternoon. And now thanks to working nights it's a great excuse to sleep all day.

#2: After I have a good long work out I like to check my muscles out in the mirror. Concededed...maybe, but don't worry,they aren't much to brag about.

#3: I love to make people smile. I just love it when I get a grouchy old patient at work and by then end of the night he smiles instead of yells at me when I come in. :)

#4: I'm a sweet freek, especially chocolate.

#5: Sometimes when I'm in the car by myself or with Steven, I dance and sing to the top of my lungs. Well, I guess I can't dance with my legs, but I have some pretty good shoulder and arm moves.

#6: In college my roommates would have to hide my peanut butter from me because I would eat so much I would either get constipated or get tummy aches. Thanks old roomy's!

I know there is supposed to be 7, but I can't think of anything else off the top of my head. :)

Me in my fancy robe with my facial lady

2008-03-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

Facial

2008-03-16T17:23:00.000-07:00

My husband is a stud! After working a long night he comes and picks me up from work and then leaves a tape recorder in the car for me to listen to. On it he tells me how good looking I am and smart and fun, and how proud he is of me for working so hard. He then tells me that he did something I would never do for myself, schedule a facial. I did not have to do anything, just show up. It was paid for and he even put the route in on the navigation system! I could not believe my ears! He scheduled it at an AVEDA beauty school. I was so impressed. I was expecting the salon to be in an older buiding where they had rows of people lined up getting their faces rubbed, but it was nothing like that at all. When I arrived I found a very upscale stylish salon. Probably one of the nicest I had ever been in. I was led to my own private dressing room where I changed into a bath robe. I was then let into a private room with dim lit lights and soft nature music where my facial lady rubbed my feet while I filled a sheet asking questions about my skin. Then she gave me the most amazing facial in the whole world. I even got to pick my aromas. She massaged, cleansed, and rubbed oils and lotions on my face, shoulders, arms, hands, and feet. It was fabulous! I felt like I was some rich lady who ruled the world! The whole process was like 1.5 hours. So any men out there who may be reading this, if you want to impress your wife, chances are this will definitely do the trick.

Fun in Louisville

2008-02-24T16:44:00.000-08:00

Dr. Katlyn listening to patient Lisa. The kids had a blast at the science museum!

Easy Slugger... don't move to fast.

Steven in the kids world of the science museum

Here we are, so excited to eat PF Changs! mmmm

Doen't Ashton look so excited!

Batter up! If you go to Louisville you have to hit the famous Louisville Bat Museum

Last weekend we went to Louisville to meet up with Lisa and Jeff and the kids. We went to the Bat Museum, a science musem, went bowling, and just had a great time hangen with the fam. We really loved Louisville. Pretty much I think It's my dream town, except for the whole missing family part, but it's absolutelty gorgeous, even during the winter, and houses are a super good price, from what I hear any way.

Pretzels

2008-02-24T16:39:00.000-08:00

The other night we made pretzels. They turned out awesome! Plus it was a cheap date night!

International Car Show

2008-02-07T19:27:00.000-08:00

The Car that drives itself!
Mercedes C Class
Cadilac CTS coupe

This is a $110,000 Mercedes Benz, my future summer cruzer!
Or Maybe it's the mini cuper
Check out the Oscer Meyer Weener in the Version of a Car! The Hibred Fisker
The Real Deal Speed Racer!

For months Steven has been talking about the Detroit International Car show. It is huge! Michigan is known for their big car manufacturers I can only see why they would hold it here in Michigan. They have all kinds. Pretty much all of the big names, and then some we had never even heard of.

Back to Reality

2008-02-01T03:27:00.000-08:00

That's right... that's my awesome hubby helping scrub the tub. Work it babe! work it!

After Christmas we had to jump back into reality again, working at the hospital, going school, church callings, the temple, the whole nine yards. But even in our spare time we manage to clean house. What's the saying", "a clean house is a happy house."

Christmas with the Crandells

2008-01-06T21:43:00.000-08:00

The fam around the good ol' Christmas Tree

Casey and Tamara made it to Christmas, just a few days after Paige was born. What troopers. We were all excited to see the newest member of our family, Paige! Sorry, I forgot to get a close up of that cute little face.
Dad off to work!

Casey's white elephant gift exchange was a hit!
We all love mom
Carriane and Abraham Lincoln make quite the awesome couple
Oh, Sam and Lacey. We are so glad to have Lacey in our family
Excaliber!

Christmas day we spent with my spunky family. We had almost everyone there, but missed poor Amber and Brennon who were spending Christmas with the Adams Family. I was sure glad to spend time with everyone. 5 months was just too long to be away from all of the fun!

What a catch!

Midget Vs Mexican

Christmas in Arizona

2008-01-06T21:04:00.000-08:00

Gorgious Sarah holder her oh so cute little Hunter.
Boy look at those good looking men. I married into the right family!
Don't forget Clowy. The most excited about everything puppy in the whole world!
What a cute little family!

Ricardo was so excited about his Ipod. He hid that present away from the rest of the others, just in case a robber wanted to break into the house and steal them. They would get away with the others, but not that Ipod.

Nanny and Poppy with Hunter!

Man! What a great looking family! We wish we could have had everyone there!

This year we packed up our bags and flew back to Arizona to spend time with our families in Casa Grande. The hilarious part is that Steven's family lives in Casa Grande and owns a cabin in Heber. My parents, with Amy and Ben, moved to Casa Grande for my dad's job and still has a house in Heber! So matter where we go, we have the chance of being with both families. These were picts of all the fun!

Christmas Eve was spent with our wonderfull Trujillo family. We had a great meal, ate goodies, and exchanged gifts. It was so nice to be with family. I hope next time we get together we will have the whole clan there as well. I am so glad to be a part of this great family.

2007-12-18T19:26:00.000-08:00

Well what can I say? It has been a while. I don't even know if people still check our blog. Let me tell you what has been going on. This last Sunday I finished finals. I feel so good to be done. I hope that I did well, but I can't really say how well I did--I just don't know. My hardest test was Property. It was part multiple choice and part essay. The essay was about 100 mins long. However, the hardest part was the 13 future interests questions including the 4 Rule Against Prepetuities questions which can be tricky. Since then, I have basically been doing nothing. Actually, I have watched about 5 episodes of Chuck on my computer. I love that show and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good show with lots of action. On Sunday it snowed the first real snow. I think we got about 7-9 inches of snow. The bad thing is that they stink at plowing the roads. They basically don't and instead they simply salt the roads. What can I say? We are very excited to come home for a couple of reasons. First, its warm in Arizona--it has not been above freezing in 12 days. Second, its Christmas the best time of the year. Lastly, it will be good to see everybody. It has been some time and a visit is due. We'll see you then.

Nursing

2007-11-06T23:33:00.000-08:00

Nursing, wow it has definitely kept me on my feet. Lately I found out why they call my cardiac unit a step down cardiac unit, also considered a critical care floor. We get the patients who are recovering from heart surgery, had a heart attack, have coronary artery disease, and then some of the general med surg stuff. Halloween night was one really bloody night for me. I had the nicest older gentleman as a patient who had an arterial line in, or in other words a big IV put into one of the biggest blood vessels of the body. My patient was confused and often stated "Becky take me out of this basement, I want to go to my room" after reorienting him and telling him "You are already in your room, and we are on the 4th floor not a basement" he would be okay. Then he I would go in and see he would have his leg bent, a huge no no with an arterial line in the groin. I would run over and say "keep your leg straight!" He would say "why?" I would think "because I don't want you to bleed to death." and then tell him why. After about 4 times of going through this I had to get an order for a leg restraint. He was such a good sport. I just had to keep reorienting him. We get a lot of older patients who become confused or see weird things while in the hospital, like my friend calmly stated that he was seeing spiders on the wall behind me. You just have to keep telling them what's going on. We'll after a successful night with my friend, him not bleeding to death, and him pulling out only one of his own arm IV's, I felt like the night was a success. Then came the time right at shift change when he needed a procedure. It is amazing how problems just happen to occur right at shift change. On our way off the floor and going inside the elevator, part of the art line tubing became disconnected. I looked down and noticed blood was poring all over the floor. I yelled out to the staff "Get gloves!" but I knew by the time that they returned he could have lost tremendous amounts of blood. With blood all over the elevator floor and continuing to poor I did what I had to do: jumped in, kinked the tubing, stopped the bleeding, and the fixed the problem. With blood up to my wrist I saved the day. Well I thought I did. I can honestly say that was a new experience. When I took him down to the procedure a nurse stated "I hate when that happens," like it was an everyday occurrence. Boy do I have a lot to learn, first is to bring gloves when you take a patient off the unit.

Halloween Fun

2007-11-06T22:44:00.001-08:00

The weekend before Halloween we went to our friend's, the West's, home for a Halloween party. They had one great party with bread/soup bowls, pie, treats, pumpkin carving, and take home goodies. My favorite part about it was.......

Seeing Princess Layla and Darth Vader.

One happy family. Stephanie works as a nurse at the same hospital as me, but in the ER department, and Ryan goes to law school too, but at MSU instead of Cooley, where Steven goes.

Here is our pumpkin, Morris. Okay I just came up with that name, but he looks like a Morris right? He's still sitting outside. The Squirrels are literally just eating him away. That's okay we had no emotional attachments to Morris and hope they are getting their winter fill.

Oh! and we made Oreo Cookie Carmel Apples. mmmmmmm. So easy. Just roll the apple in crushed oreos while the carmel on the apple is still hot. Soooooo tasty.

2007-10-29T03:22:00.000-07:00

Since Becky, passed her nursing boards she went from student to family interior decorator. She has become very fond of Hobby-Lobby and Modgepodge.

2007-10-29T02:04:00.000-07:00

2007-10-27T13:46:00.000-07:00

2007-10-27T13:40:00.001-07:00

What a nice day today was. It has been a little chilly today. I think the temp. is about 49. I just thought we would post some fun pictures of us. Here you go!

Detroit Temple

2007-10-20T02:31:00.000-07:00

Last night Steven and I planned on going to the Detroit Temple as our Friday date night. I was to pick him up right after he was done with school and then we would drive straight to Detroit. On my way to pick up Steven I got a cell phone call, and of all people, it was the temple president. I thought "How did he know we were coming? I did not schedule an appointment, or did I?" It turned out that he didn't know, but stated that our bishop had referred us to him to be temple workers. I told him that we were headed over to Detroit at that very moment; how convenient is that! On the way over there we got held up in traffic. Luckily though we made it to Detroit in a decent how, but poor Steven was tired and hungry. On our way I told Steven that we could eat any where he wanted, but it turned out because of lack of time, our options ended up on being very limited to KFC and a small diner, and Steven let me know that KFC was not going to satisfy his 10am hunger. We were scrunched for time and I could feel the tension in the air as Steven said "why do we do this? I don't like being rushed." I thought to myself "Because there is no other time to go to the temple, and you just told me that your hungry. What do you want me to do?," but I kept my mouth shut. He was right we were scrunched for time. I felt like I was in a lose-lose situation. Well, I knew for sure I did not like the hungry/irritable version of Steven so I took him to the small dinner. We rushed through dinner and rushed to the temple, and in our ideal world we would have made it to the 8pm session, but we didn't. Amazingly though what really happened is that as soon as we entered the door the atmosphere changed. There was not that sense of rush or failure. I felt at peace and happy. I still felt good for coming. We were able to meet with the temple president and he offered us the opportunity to work as ordinance workers, and stated how we would be blessed in doing so. We then went and did sealings. When it was all said and done everything turned out perfect. No, we did not make it in time for the session, but we were able to do sealings, an experience that Steven and I always wanted to have, and on top of that meet with an amazing man of God. After going to the temple we left with a peace that we did not have before entering, and an excitement in the opportunity to work at the temple. Oh, and I learned next time to pack dinner. :)

2007-10-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures of us. Enjoy.

2007-10-18T09:48:00.000-07:00

Well, this week and last week have been pretty good. Last week I had mid-terms in torts, criminal law, and contracts. Funny thing is that the test that I felt the worse about, torts, I did the best and the test that I though I did pretty well in I did pretty good but not as good as the one I felt bad about. Anyways, I am above the average in all the classes according to the mid-terms. Nevertheless, I do not want to get a false sense of security because in law school the only test that really matters is the final. I have heard stories of people that have aced the mid-term and still got a C. Also, more good news is that in my skills class (a class that is suppose to teach me law school reasoning and writing skills) practice essay for torts I only missed 1/2 point for a 97 percent. This essay is graded by a professor on campus. Once again, however, I do not want to get a false sense of security, but at least I know I'm not way out in the deep-in. Other than law school and Becky''s work, we haven't done much. I guess last Friday we went to see saltinbanco by Circ De Soli (I think that is how you spell it). It was amazing what they could do. I would highly recommend seeing any of their performances if you get the chance. Well better get back to work.

Update

2007-10-05T15:38:00.000-07:00

Well lets see . . .This week has been pretty uneventful. I have just been doing the normal thing. You know, reading and studying. It has been pretty good. Next week is mid-terms and I have a bit of studying. The good thing is that they are only worth about 10% of my grade so I don't have to worry too much. Becky is at work right now. She has started working nights so I don't see her often. The leafs are changing colors and things are going to really get colorful in the next couple of weeks. We'll have to take some pics and post them for all to see. Well things are going great and we'll be sure to keep everybody updated to our progress.

Chicago

2007-09-30T21:07:00.000-07:00

We went to Chicago about three weeks ago. To the left, here we are on top of the Sears Tower. It used to be the tallest building in the world!