January 2016

We left for Florida January 5th, and school started on the 12th. So it was a quick but incredible fun trip! Half of us stayed in a Marriott while the other half stayed in another resort that was super similar to a Marriott timeshare. Both places were so beautiful, and during the day we were all together in one (we really only needed one more place so we had enough beds!) It was so fun to see Emerson and William talk and play together! Really though they had the cutest conversations, especially because Emerson's sentences aren't as complete as Williams, so he would say things like: "That's a truck!" And Emerson would reply "Truck" or say "Oh" like he understood. They were so cute! We played pickleball, which is super popular in St. George but I don't know many other places that have courts and paddles & balls so it was a fun surprise when they had it! Robby and I got to teach the family and we played lots of doubles. We also played basketball, mini golf, went on walks, rented a surrey bike, and rode a boat across the little lake at the hotel. We got the surrey bike the day before Joe, Kels and William got there. We used Rochelle's selfie-stick while we rode and laughed pretty much the entire time because it was really hard to steer that thing! Also Emerson got pretty good at using the selfie-stick :) Time for picture overload...because whenever we are with family we take way too many pictures!

Put him right to sleep :)

We got pedicures with just the girls and Rochelle and Kelsey talked about what they might name their baby girls! Kelsey said how she loved the name Brooke, it made me so happy to finally have a good idea what her name would be. Rochelle told me early on the names she liked, but I knew she was thinking Camilla. Chelsea gave Rochelle and I spray tans since she was working at a tanning salon and needed to practice with this new airbrush machine. It was weird being so tan, I'm just used to always being pale! I hated it at first, but then liked it a little more once it faded a bit. We ate Wawa sandwiches and of course Kelsey and Mom made the most delicious dinners every night!

We were expecting it to be a rather laid back vacation considering both Kelsey and Rochelle were pregnant (Kelsey was due at the end of March and Rochelle mid April). I was shocked and so happy when Rochelle and Eric surprised us with park-hopper tickets to DisneyWorld! It was SO nice of them to work that out! Someone in Eric's family ward had worked for Disney and had tickets he wasn't going to use. So we started our Disney day at Animal Kingdom with Emerson and William in mind :) It was a rainy day so we ran through the rain to get to the Lion King show. We went on the safari ride and I was in shock of how many animals they have and how close they get to you! It was amazing. We split up so Chelsea, Robby and I could ride Mount Everest. We went to Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day to watch the parades and shows. We went on Buzz Lightyear, Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Robby and I got to ride on Dumbo with Emerson! He kept saying "I did it!" when he would move the lever up and down, it was so funny! Chelsea and Joe went with William, then Mom and Dad rode together. We got on the train and the boys loved that! William got scared a few times, he doesn't like crowds or loud noises so it got tough a few times. Plus the boys are still at that age where they need to take a nap, so that made it kinda tricky too. But I was impressed that we made it through the whole day! By the time Wishes started William was crying and wanted to leave so everyone except Robby, Chelsea and I stayed to watch both the castle show and then Wishes. The castle was still decorated for Christmas with the icicle lights which only added to the magic! It was such a fun day!

Look at that hand hold! So precious

The picture we sent to Robby's family once we landed in Orlando

Had to take a flamingo picture because my shirt has flamingos on it!

We ended our trip with a delicious trip to Ghirardelli. I couldn't help but start to cry as we said our goodbyes. The trip went so fast, I just wanted more time! Plus I was getting sentimental thinking about how the next time I would see my sisters, they'd have another baby! I was about to start the nursing program too so the stress of the unknown was hitting me hard. But all I could do was cry it out a little bit and tell everyone how much I would miss them!

Starting the nursing program was so scary! We got home, and I started my new calling as the junior Primary chorister. I was nervous out of my mind! It's gotten easier, but I still have my days when I feel rather clueless & inadequate. It is a lot of preparation and practice, but I love singing with the little kids! They are so fun and they bring the spirit so strongly as they sing their hearts out! 

Now back to school...we had an orientation where we sat in a big room and talked about how the next year and a half would be like. We met out teachers, introduced ourselves, did team building activities, etc. I got to start my clinical at the VA home where I worked for several months, which was nice because it was familiar and comparatively it is a really nice, clean and newer facility. The first week was overwhelming and felt like it lasted a month! But after a few weeks everything sped up crazy fast! By week 2 we were practicing injections and IV's!! Talk about being thrown into it all! It was an exciting, hard, stressful, fun, and hard first semester! I learned a lot about myself, cried many times, was pushed way out of my comfort zone and realized I have a long way to go...but I know it will all be so worth it!