Holiday...celebrate

Well all of my visitors are gone and now its back to just me and Daniel! It was so fun to have my mom and then Ariel out here for a few days. Something to keep me busy is always nice :) I don't have any pictures yet, but I will post them once I get them! 

I ended up getting the job at the Pediatric office which I am very excited about. It's only part time right now-3 days a week, but eventually it will be full time so I'll take it. I am supposed to start tomorrow so it'll be really nice to have some real income coming in! I had my working interview last Wednesday and she called me right after I left to offer me the job. She's a super nice dentist and her staff is awesome as well so it's good! On Thursday Daniel went to a health fair that the dental school put on for the community in Santa Monica. Lots of homeless people and less fortunate people came in to find out where they could get some health care and/or dental work done so Daniel was able to help them with that. Majority of them were Spanish so he was excited that he was used as a translator all morning. Me on the other hand just waited for him to get home so we could celebrate Thanksgiving already! :) We took off as soon as he got back to go down to Oceanside. Kami and Brett and their cute family were nice enough to wait for us as we sat through 2 1/2 hours of traffic. Dinner was delicious and it was so much fun to play with the kids. We love you guys! Thanks for letting us share the holiday with you!

Even though Daniel studied for the rest of the weekend, he still hung out with me every night:) We went and got some peppermint ice cream and rented Elf one night to get in the Christmas spirit, and the next night we did dinner at Chilis! Jules--totally thought of you as we enjoyed our queso! Overall it was a great weekend. Can't wait to see more family at Christmas. Only about 12 more days till we go home! It's going to be a great break. Top highlights are:

1. Getting out of California for a while..ohhh cant wait

2. Katie coming to visit!

3. Hattie being born:) and Alexa and Sean waiting to have her until we get there..

4. Cold weather

5. Seeing my siblings/Daniels family

6. Kaylee and Kennie

7. Everything!!

We can't wait. Daniel is hoping that his finals will be done by the 11th, but he has to re-schedule one of them because he has to go to Sacramento on the 10th. He is doing the final rounds for an Army National Guard program that will help us through dental school. They pay us a lot of money each month and in return Daniel works on a base for one Sat and Sun every month. Our fingers are crossed that it works out, it would make me breathe a little easier knowing that we can pay off some of the loads of debt DURING school instead of all of it after :) 

We love life and are grateful for our blessings this week. I have learned too many times in the past 3 years that our lives are a day by day gift. Each day is a blessing and I hope to never take it for granted. I love my family and I love my friends. Happy holidays to you all!

DWTS! :)

I love having people come here and visit us. It's so fun to have someone to play with me while Daniel is at school all day long..and the most recent visit was from my mom! So here's the story..about 3 months ago I signed up online to get tickets for Dancing With The Stars. I never miss this show and it's probably my favorite on tv right now. The tickets were free, but considering how long it had been since I asked for them, I didn't think I was going to get any this year. BUT on Friday I got an email offering me however many I needed for Monday or Tuesdays show! I chose the Monday night show since that is when they actually perform. (Tuesdays is the results show of who gets kicked off). So right after I got tickets I wanted to share my excitement with someone--anyone really. I called my mom and she didn't answer, my sister was at work, Daniel was at school, and I didn't think I would catch my dad on the phone but he answered :) Then he had a brilliant idea to fly my mom down for the weekend as her anniversary gift (their 31st wedding anniversary was on the 17th...go mom and dad!). I was super excited for her to come out for it since I knew Daniel wouldn't be able to go with me. She got here on Sunday, and left tonight at 7. It was a quick trip but SO fun. The theatre was so much smaller in real life then it looks on tv. We were on the balcony in the front row so we could see really well :) Oh I loved it! 

Wanna hear an annoying story? I know everyone loves those. So my mom and I had to stand in line from 1:15 till about 5 because seats in the theatre are first come first served. Right when we got to the line outside, these 2 girls walked up and got behind us. They were gorgeous girls wearing gorgeous cocktail dresses. When they first walked past the gate, the guards were going to let them through thinking they were performers (yeah, they were that dressed up and that cute). We started talking to them during the 4 hours of waiting, and they were some of the nicest girls I've met in a long time. Eventually the guards took us inside and up to the balcony. One of the guards asked how many was in my party, so I said two. Then she asked our new friends how many were in their party, they told her, and she told them to stand to the side for now. Once everyone on the balcony was seated she took them down to sit on the floor RIGHT behind the judges!! Oh I was so jealous. The worst part that bugged me the most--they hadn't even watched the show this season! They had to ask me who was on it while we were in line..grr. So mad. Next time I know--wear skimpy dresses, very high heels, lots of makeup, and try to look the prettiest possible. I'm determined to go back and be special enough to get VIP seats. LAME! 

My mom and I just kinda hung out for the next few days. We went shopping in downtown LA today with my Aunt and cousin which was a lot of fun. :) Tomorrow Ariel gets here!! I'm so excited. We have tickets for Jay Leno tomorrow night! I'm finally figuring out what LA is good for...going to shows and trying to get on tv. Look for us!

I had a job interview today at a Pediatric Dental Office and it went very well. I have a working interview on Wednesday but it sounded pretty positive that I will get the job. If so that would solve so much stress for us and life would be perfect. Fingers crossed it all works out!

November so far!

I have been horrible lately! Does anyone ever get to the point where there's so much to blog about that you don't even want to anymore? That's where I'm at right now..but I'm powering through and getting it done :)

I went to Utah a few weeks ago, and it was such a good trip. Way too short, but awesome! I spent all of the time with my wonderful family and cute nieces. We carved pumpkins, went trick-or-treating, played at the park, and ate a lot of good food. It's so crazy to me how fast my nieces grow up. Next time we go to Utah Alexa and Sean will more than likely have their baby girl too! And Spencer and Stephanie Johnson just had a baby boy, who we can't wait to meet either. I love growing families. I can't waitfor another vacation..and for Daniel to get to come with me. It was so weird to be back there and not have him around..I almost felt single and I didn't like it one bit. Dang dental convention! Next time for sure. Just 1 month to go! 

Stencils make life so much easier.

The first normal okay picture of Shane and me:)

Kaylee..the cutest Ariel around!

Kennady Lynn as Flounder

Oh Cafe Rio. Next time please don't have hard nasty rice and dry burritos or else I won't be able to go back..

I had so much fun and am so excited for Christmas break.  We will be going to Utah around the 13th, and then Idaho for Christmas! Thanksgiving will be spent in Oceanside (about an hour and a half away from us) with Bret and Kami and their cute family. Daniel has been studying hard and is doing really well in school..he got A's on all his midterms last week! I'm proud of him for being so disciplined. 

Some exciting things that we are looking forward to:

1. I got tickets to Dancing with the Stars today! I'm going to the live show on Monday and am very excited about it :) Go Derek and Joanna! hahah! Don't judge me..my husband is busy a lot..therefore I watch TV and re-read the twilight books. 

2. Ariel Mehlhoff is coming to see me this coming weekend!! She's one of my best friends and I can't wait to play with her here in sunny California! I'm trying to figure out some fun free stuff for us to do..Hope she doesn't mind sleeping on the couch of our tiny apartment :) I cant wait to have a friend here to play with me!! We're going to try to somehow go to the New Moon premier on the red carpet hahah since it's only like 4 miles away from me. We're dorky but you know you're jealous!

3. Katie is coming!!! It's still a few weeks away but I am so excited. She will be here December 10th and then will drive to Utah with us and spend a few days with my family. I love her to death and she bought her ticket this morning! SO exciting! 

4. Daniel and I have almost been married for 6 months!! Where has the time gone?? Life is so busy and has changed SO much in half a year, but we love it. He's the best husband ever. I feel like the luckiest girl alive. 

Life is wonderful!

Oh Fall...

Can I just say how much I normally LOVE this season? Sadly I haven't gotten to enjoy it nearly as much as I wish. Growing up in Texas, we never experienced a fall.  The closest that we really got was usually in late December when the temperatures dropped a little, the trees never fully changed color, and it usually only lasted for a few days before we were dying of humidity again. Since moving to Utah 3 years ago, (has it really only been 3 years? So weird) I have realized how much I love this season! I miss driving up the canyon and seeing all the amazing colors right now, football fever in Provo, and of course, Halloween. This year has been different. It still feels like summer outside, but not in the same way that Texas did. The weather here is really perfect all the time, and I know that I'll be so grateful to be here in 3 months when Utah is painted white with snow, but right now I can not wait to go home next weekend! I just pray the snow stays gone while I am there. It's hard to believe its nearly November when it's still 80 degrees outside and there are still people at the beach. California is wonderful for some people, but I don't think I'll fight too hard to get back to 4 seasons in 6 years! Not that Utah will be home base, but we will live somewhere with at least 3 seasons :)

Last weekend we got to go and play in Vegas! Daniel was gone all day each day for an orthodontic convention, but my sweet sister and Ryan were nice enough to come down for the weekend and give me someone to play with. Our good friends Katie and Jason came as well. It was so fun to get away for a few days..we walked the strip, saw movies, slept in..the works! The drive there wasn't too bad. 6 hours total..and more than 1/3 of the traveling time was spent just getting out of Los Angeles. Oh the joy this city brings! :)

Where has this year gone?? I can't believe its almost November. Daniel has his first midterm next week! If you really look at it, he's almost an 8th of the way done since the 1st two years are the hardest and most time consuming. It may not seem like much, but it's exciting for us. He's trying really hard to get involved and work on things to make his ortho application stand out above the crowd (in 3 years :) Last weekend made him very excited for his future profession which was cute to watch. He would come home telling me all about these new "breakthroughs" in orthodontics hahah. I'm glad he's found something he's passionate about! It'll make life more fun for us.

Next week--St. Louis for Daniel and Utah for me! Being apart for the 1st time in 5 months! How will we survive?! Just Kidding..kinda :)

The only pictures taken in Vegas were of the ortho convention..assuming that no one wants to see them, I'll spare you and won't display. Next update you can expect lots of pictures!

Lately!

Please tell me that I am not the only person in the world who wants to buy every single thing that she sees on an info-mercial! I swear for the past few days I have seen more of those dumb commercials than anything and I seriously have to talk myself out of calling and ordering things like the Swivel Sweeper G2, the swingy ab machine (cant remember the name) and even the shake weight! haha it's so pathetic but wow they make those commercials look amazing. I know Alexa and Sean love the "As Seen on TV" things too, so at least I'm not completely alone. I'm pretty intrigued though..so if you have bought or used any of those items, let me know and I will cave. I just need an actual person to confirm that they are as amazing as they are promised to be :)

This past week was a good one. Daniel didn't have classes on Thursday and has been promising forever that we would go to the beach, and he followed through with his promise. We went down the street to a beach we hadn't been to before--right by the Santa Monica Pier. It was beautiful. It was the perfect day for the beach..slight breeze but warm sun, no one around, and no birds :) We fell asleep on the sand and before we knew it, we had to leave and Daniel had to get back to studying. But it was a great few hours! 

Other than that, a few other highlights to our week were:

1. Me buying a plane ticket to go HOME for Halloween weekend! I am so so so excited to see the fam again. It's been like 2 months but I had never been away before so it feels like MUCH longer. I can't wait to see my cute nieces on halloween, I miss them tons. I wish Daniel could come with me, but he's excited for the #2 highlight!

2. Daniel applied and was chosen to go to St Louis for a dental convention Halloween weekend. He's excited to learn more and to have this experience to get him more involved so that Ortho school applications look better :) It seems like there will never be a day that he's not"working on a future application". From high school-->mission-->college-->dental school-->orthodontic school-->ahh. One day we will be done with all that :)

3. We are going to Las Vegas next weekend for an orthodontic convention..and I might go caving with Halie, Ryan, and the Stewart family for a day. Then they might come back to Vegas and play with us! Ryan's parents are nice enough to let us stay at their house. We love the Stewarts!

4. We had a date night last night. Daniel got home around 7 and actually didn't shut himself in our room to study all night! It was amazing! Olive Garden and the 1st Harry Potter movie. haha..I've read 4 of those books in the last 2 weeks and am trying to get Daniel to at least watch the movies. I need a job!!

Thats all folks! We'll keep you posted! :)

WOW

I just have to say that I am sitting here watching TLC'S show "I didn't know I was pregnant" and I am fascinated. If you have never seen this PLEASE watch it!! It's so crazy to think that this is actually possible (assuming that the show is true..:) but wow I hope that when that day comes I don't gain any weight, have no symptoms, and don't know until the moment it happens. I feel like that would be the greatest thing ever! No morning sickness or belly..just a new cute baby. If only if only.. 

Busy Busy Busy

Week one of Daniels dental school is going well so far..but holy cow people were not joking when they said he would be busy! He leaves every morning around 7am for class at 8..then usually gets home around 530, eats dinner with me, then has to go and study in our room until about 10 o'clock.  He's nice and listens to me ramble on and on about nothing as soon as he walks in the door. Not have any human communication all day long makes me very chatty once I see him. I get so bored while he studies that I will pop my head in the room to say hi or tell him something funny I saw on tv (since that's all I seem to do these days--watch tv). I was excited when he realized that he doesn't have class on Thursdays until mid October..but then this morning he still left at 7 to go to campus and study. Haha! Crazy me for thinking it would be a play day for us. I'm still getting used to this! I'm proud of him for being so disciplined. I quiz him sometimes on anatomy terms and have no idea how he spends hours studying them..I start to fall asleep just reading the definitions. So way to go Daniel for being able to be so dedicated! 

I had a job interview today for a female dentist in Beverly Hills and REALLY hope I get this job. I should find out by the end of the week if I get to go back for a working interview..fingers crossed!!