Sisters in Salt Lake

Welcome to the new and improved blog! I was getting a little tired of seeing the same design all the time so I decided to change it up a little and design something that fit me better. In case it wasn't ovious, I am pretty much obsessed with the color mint.Those of you who attended either one of our wedding receptions or even looked at our wedding pictures will recognize that. I will always stop and look at something in the store if it's mint... that's how much I like it. My family knows that they could buy me anything that's mint and I will love it guaranteed haha. I am also equally in love with the color gold, specifically gold glitter. And that is probably the girliest thing about me haha, I'll admit that. This can sometimes be a problem since Jordan absolutely hates glitter. But our deal is that if I buy something with glitter on it, the glitter has to be glued on really well so it won't come off at all. And I can live with that haha. So that is the reasoning behind the new blog design and a little more about me I guess. I hope you like it!

Everyone loved the mint dresses!

Example of mint and gold together

Besides the new design, the rest of this blog post will be about my sisters' visit last weekend.

The girls finished their last day of school on Wednesday, June 10 and as a little celebratory gift, Mom and Dad let Ronnie, Shonna and Lydia fly down to visit us! First off, can I just say that it is SO weird to me that Sammie is now a senior, Ronnie is a sophomore, Shonna will be finishing her last year of middle school and Lydia will be finishing her last year of elementary? Holy. Crap. Where has the time gone. Even though I'm excited for them to experience things like I did, it still makes me a little sad that they have to grow up too. I can't even imagine what it will be like with my own kids someday haha.

Stare-down at Taco Bell

Anyway, I left work Thursday morning and picked up the girls from the airport. It was so cute to see them ride down the escalator and then have Lydia run towards me as fast as she could! I love being an older sister just for that reason. We came home to yummy bagels for breakfast and said goodbye to Jordan as he left for work, then spent the morning lounging around and watching TV since we were all really tired. A few hours later we couldn't decide what to have for lunch, so we told Lydia to choose. Can you guess where we went? Yep, we went to Taco Bell, her absolute favorite haha. That girl cracks me up. After lunch, we lounged around some more and I did the girls' nails while we caught up on The Bachelorette. I love having girls around! (If you haven't started watching this season of The Bachelorette, I would highly recommend doing so because of how dramatic and entertaining it is haha. There's just something about guy drama that makes it worth watching...) Anyway, once Jordan got home from work we took the girls downtown to City Creek where we browsed through the Toy Store as well as the Disney Store (a favorite of ours. Does anyone else remember the Disney Store that used to be in the Kennewick mall? We were all so bummed when they got rid of it. That was our favorite thing about going to the mall.) Then we walked around Temple Square and played some basketball at Sugarhouse Park. For dinner, we absolutely had to introduce the girls to Training Table and they absolutely loved it haha. But honestly, who doesn't love cheese fries. Even Lydia ate most of her guacamole hamburger which should tell you something considering she doesn't eat much.
To finish off the night, we enjoyed some glow-in-the-dark mini golf at Fat Cats-which is conveniently located across the street from our house-and ate ice cream while watching The Office (I've taught them well.) And that was day 1 with the sisters!

                             

Day 2 started off with more Office while we all got dressed and ate breakfast and I helped with everyone's hair (have I mentioned I love having girls around?!).Once Jordan got home, we went to Arctic Circle for lunch-the girls love it and there isn't one near them in Washington-and headed to the zoo! We were especially excited since there were going to be REAL LIVE DINOSAURS there. Just kidding, we know they were fake. But it was still fun to walk around and see the animals as well as some robotic dinosaurs thrown in. Did you know that a giraffe's heart is the size of a basketball, in order to pump blood all the way up its long neck? Or that even though its arms are really short, a T-rex could still lift over 400 pounds back in the day? Needless to say, we had a great time at the zoo or "Zoorassic Park" as they call it haha. Since we were all a little worn out from the walking and the sun, we hung out at home for a bit after our zoo adventures and let Shonna play basketball on the PlayStation (she loves having an older brother with fun games like that). It's fun watching her play because she is so talented when it comes to anything that has to do with sports. For dinner we ordered two of those giant party pizza things from Pizza Hut that come in strips to dip in an assortment of delicious sauces. That's the best way I can describe it haha. And after watching School of Rock for a little bit, we headed back over to Fat Cats to play more arcade games. Lydia and Jordan played a game called Deadstorm Pirates that Lydia was obsessed with for some reason haha, Shonna of course had to play basketball and then Ronnie freaking killed it on Guitar Hero. I am more and more impressed each time I watch her play that game. She is so incredibly talented I don't understand how her fingers can fly across the guitar like that. Is that something weird to be proud of? I don't care she's awesome and I would challenge anyone to play against her. Totes jelly, Ronnie. Keep shredding it.
We finished the rest of School of Rock as we got ready for bed and then called it a night.

Arctic Circle!

Crying from laughing so hard because she hid the fries haha

Fat Cats arcade games

The next morning we packed everything up and then headed back to the airport after a fast two days of vacation. Since the girls are under 18, I was able to get a "Gate Pass" and walk with them all the way to the gate to help them meet up with Grandma and Grandpa Warren who were flying up to Washington for the weekend! The girls really loved seeing them again. We stood around and talked until all five of them boarded the plane and that was that. I went home, cleaned and slept.  Later that night, Jordan and I joined some friends at Boondocks to play mini golf and then stuffed our faces with ice cream at Leatherby's for date night. What a great weekend with family and friends.

All in all, I love the benefits of Dad's part-time job that allow me to see my sisters more than just three times a year. Even though Jordan and I can't fly for free, I still really enjoy having them visit and stay at our place. I love spoiling them when I can and I'm sure they love it too haha. Even though I didn't believe it growing up, there really are perks to being the oldest sister and I can't wait until I get to spoil them again!

Well that concludes today's blogpost folks. Thank you for your time and attention, please come again!

Playing Catch-Up

Happy Nurses week to all of the nurses in my life whose examples have made me the nurse I am today! Since we've been celebrating Nurses Week at work the last few days, I thought it might be fun to catch up on my blog and update everything that's happened in the last few months. Has it really been that long since I last wrote?! I guess I've been slacking on that.

Well, in case you didn't know by now, I finally got a job as an RN at the University of Utah hospital working on the Inpatient Rehabilitation unit. This consists of mostly working with stroke and spinal cord injury patients. After five weeks of orientation I am finally working on my own and I actually feel like a real nurse! Imagine that haha. It is definitely hard work, especially getting used to working night shifts and being away from Jordan, but it is definitely worth it. Even with hours of running around, doing things that might make others throw up just thinking about, it only takes one grateful patient to remind me why I got into this career in the first place. I come home from each shift grateful to have a mind and body that function properly and I'm constantly reminded that my problems seem like nothing compared to what my patients have to deal with everyday. This job helps me keep a positive perspective on the little things and that's why I love being a nurse.

Anyway, what else have we done lately. Well after a long couple months of job hunting, Jordan and I decided to take a road trip and spend a week in Washington before I officially started working. It was so much fun! We played lots of games, ate lots of food and watched lots of movies haha. We were also there to celebrate Mom's birthday so I got to spoil her on her special day. Jordan and I decorated the house with the decorations Dad bought, and then Mom, Grandma and I got pedicures and ate lunch out. And of course, we couldn't go to Washington without eating at our favorite Chinese restaurant, Shang hai! We also celebrated Grandma Shaftoe's birthday by eating at Old Country Buffet, another family favorite. It was a crazy week surrounded by crazy family but that's exactly what we wanted. We can't wait to go back this summer once Alex gets home!

Our extremely comfortable new couches

Now that I'm working, we were finally able to buy a second car and boy do we love it! We got a 2012 Hyundai Sonata which is perfect for getting around town and taking long road trips. Plus, Jordan doesn't have to worry about taking me and picking me up from work anymore haha. We also bought new couches because even though we loved the leather recliners, they were getting super old and you could basically feel the springs when you sat down haha. So that's what's new in our lives right now.

Our "new" 2012 Sonata

Jenna also came down to visit last weekend and it was great getting to catch up with her and all her Hawaiian adventures. We realized that life has definitely changed and our relationship has changed along with it, but we are still close as ever and that's what matters. We had fun taking her to restaurants she'd never eaten at (such as Café Rio, Lion House Pantry, Café Zupas, Old Spaghetti Factory and Hire's) as well as spending part of the day going to a session at the Salt Lake Temple and touring Temple Square. While she was here, Jenna got to experience our crazy but cute primary class and we were definitely grateful she was there to help haha.We were also lucky enough to meet up with Idaho family and watch Kyle play baseball here in Salt Lake City. It was a great reminder that family really is everything and I absolutely loved going through the temple with my sister! It makes me feel like such a proud big sister knowing we are both worthy to experience the blessings of the temple together. We owe that week to Dad's hard work and Mom's willingness to let him work at the airport which allows the girls to fly free and visit whenever they want. What a great blessing it is and I'm so excited for the other girls to come down.

Dad during BYU-Idaho's nursing program

And that brings us to today. It's kind of crazy to think that I already have a successful and meaningful career being only 21 years old but trust me, I have definitely worked hard to get here and I don't take it for granted at all. I just hope that as the years go by, I will be half the nurse that my dad and Aunt Janell are and continue to bring honor to the Warren name as a nurse.

Besides a few setbacks here and now, Jordan and I are doing great. He continues to work his two jobs and go above and beyond in supporting our family. Like I mentioned before, we've realized more than ever these last few days (and months I guess) that family is everything and they are worth every effort to love and keep close no matter what's going on.
Until next time!

Working for Change

I'm officially a Registered Nurse!

Nothing much has happened since my last post. . . Jordan's been working really hard at two jobs, six days a week. As for me, now that I've passed the dreaded NCLEX and am now an RN I've been applying to as many nursing positions as possible but I haven't heard anything except for two rejections. That's it. I guess I thought it would be a little easier to find a job here in Salt Lake since there are so many medical facilities, but I'm trying to trust in Heavenly Father and have faith that He has something planned for me. Trust me though, I am definitely enjoying this break from work and school haha. I can already tell how much it is helping my stress levels and health.

My gorgeous and talented yogini sister-in-law Chanel

Speaking of health, Jordan and I have decided to take better care of ourselves. I've been struggling with depression and low self-esteem again so we figured it was time to do something about it. We bought a gym membership and have tried starting a sugar detox (but the holidays certainly don't help with that haha). Thanks to my sister-in-law Chanel, I've started taking a few yoga classes and I love it! I've always wanted to get into yoga more and now I have a chance! Exercise is so much more fun when you actually enjoy what you're doing haha. I'm also anxiously waiting for the Hydroxycut we ordered to see if that will help as well. I've looked into it, read reviews and I'm willing to give it a try. Of course, I'm not going to hurt myself in the process of trying to help myself so I'll be paying close attention to the effects of the supplement. I'm just sick and tired of feeling this way and watching it cause unnecessary problems so I am definitely ready for a change. To be honest, just knowing that there's a possibility that the Hydroxycut could really help me already makes me feel so much better and gives me hope that achieving my goals might actually be possible.

Playing church ball like a stud

*If anyone has any advice or feedback concerning this issue, please share!

Anyway, we had a great first Valentine's Day as a married couple and we're looking forward to our One Year Anniversary coming up in less than two months! I can't believe how fast time has flown. Three of my best friends from high school (shout-out to Megan, Cameron and Connor) have already returned home from their LDS missions, another (Dallin) will return in April, and Alex will be home in July! Life is not slowing down so I guess we better make the most of it, right? I can't wait to see everyone again and reminisce about everything that's happened in the last two years.

After a few recent experiences, I also wanted to give a special shout-out to Jordan for being such a wonderful husband. He not only puts up with my crazy thoughts and emotions, but he works so hard to support my wants and needs on a daily basis. He doesn't complain about hardly anything and he's always putting me first above everything else. Get this, today during his lunch break he even cleaned the bathroom because he promised he would. Does it get any better than that?! He's constantly pushing me to be a better person and inspiring me to be an equal partner in this eternal marriage. I've never met someone who is a better match for me and I couldn't be more grateful for having him in my life. I don't mean to brag (who am I kidding, I do mean to brag haha), but I think he deserves some much-needed recognition just for being himself. I love you Jordan!

 So that's life for us right now. I absolutely love living in Utah. The mountains are gorgeous, there are actually more than two restaurants to choose from, our church ward is great and the history buff in me finds it such a blessing to be surrounded by both church and personal family history. I can't wait to see where life in Utah takes us! 

First Post of 2015

Hello 2015! I can't believe we're already in a new year. So much has happened in the last few weeks and it's been a blast! Here's a list of our recent activities:

1. Family came into town (Rexburg) on Friday, December 19
2. I graduated from the nursing program on Friday, December 19 (definite highlight!)
3. We took a short family trip down to Salt Lake City to see Temple Square's lights, Welfare Square, Macy's candy ornaments and the Joseph Smith Memorial Building from Monday, December 22 to Tuesday, December 23 (we also enjoyed soaking ourselves in the hotel's hot tub)
4. We had our traditional sister (and Jordan) sleepover on Christmas Eve
5. We celebrated Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's house while Skyping Alex and then ate a giant feast and played super fun games at the Ostermiller's house
6. Mom and Dad helped us pack up our apartment before our big move to Utah on Friday, December 26
7. We spent the rest of the weekend playing games, watching movies, eating lots of yummy food and spending time together as a family, including our family Christmas tradition of "The Turtle Dance"
8. Family left Idaho and we attended our Rexburg ward for the last time on Sunday, December 28
9. We loaded our moving truck and finally moved into our Salt Lake apartment on Monday, December 29
10. Jordan started his first day of work while I put the apartment together on Tuesday, December 30
11. We celebrated our second Christmas and spent New Year's Eve with Jordan's mom and sister on Wednesday, December 31
12. We picked up the Ostermiller cousins from the Salt Lake airport after their Disneyland trip on Friday, January 2 and they spent the night at our house
13. We attended our new ward (also Jordan's mom's ward) for the first time and had a family gathering out at his grandparents' house on Sunday, January 4

That's about it! Now for memory's sake, here 's a list of food places we've eaten at recently:

1.Winger's
2. Chick-fil-a
3. Godfather's Pizza
4. Wendy's
5. Soda Vine
6. Arctic Circle
7. Cafe Rio
8. The Jasmine Chinese Bistro
9. Panda Express
10. Cafe Zupas
11. Domino's Pizza

Here's a list of movies/TV shows we watched:

1. The Office (duh)
2. White Christmas
3. Christmas Story
4. The Santa Clause
5. The Santa Clause 2
6. Christmas Vacation
7. Sharknado 2
8. Lots of YouTube videos
9. Elf
10. The Maze Runner
11. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
12. Glenn Beck's Conversion Story
13. Seahawks football game

And finally, a list of games we played:

1. Signs
2. Things
3. The Name Game
4. Lucky Unders
5. Rummikub
6. Apples to Apples
7. Super Mario
8. Guitar Hero
9. Wacky Six
10. Pool (at the college)
11. Deal or No Deal
12. Who Wants to be a Millionaire

If you couldn't tell, those are some of our favorite things to do as a family: eat, watch movies and play games haha. That might sound pretty lame, but we have some really fun memories doing those things together and we'll cherish those memories for as long as we can. It was such a great Christmas break!

So here we are, all settled into our new apartment and loving Utah. Jordan's been busy working two jobs while I continue to set up our home and prepare to take the dreadful NCLEX in a few weeks. Our apartment is so stinkin' cute and we absolutely love it so I wanted to share some pictures with you all!

There you have it! 2015 is going to be a great year because happiness is a choice and we are choosing to be happy no matter what the year brings. Thank you to all of you for being a part of our lives. Friends and family really make everything worth it and I know we wouldn't be as happy without your friendships. Here's to another year of memories!