Happy Birthday Elissa Rose!!!

My sweet little Elissa is turning 8 years old!!! Crazy how time flies!!! It seems like just yesterday she was still in her Momma's tummy and kicking haha. Then she was born and she was the sweetest baby ever! I remember thinking that she was so beautiful and looked just like Em. She is still beautiful...still looks like her momma and is getting even more adorable each and every day. It's hard to believe it's been 8 years! I was talking with Emily about it this week and it's just so crazy that it's been 8 years and looking at pictures of back when and now and how much things have changed...yet so much has stayed the same. Happy Birthday Elissa Rose!! It's great to be 8! Love Auntie Kate!

(I wanted to do a longer post but the internet at the library is kind of crazy so oh well! She knows I love her ;) )

Off for another Life Adventure!!!!

Okay so people will be mad at me for  not telling them I  moved. Oh well. Life will go on. I hate goodbyes. Yes yes I know it's not goodbye it's "see you later" but I just really wasn't in the mood for any of that. Eventually I hope those of you who are upset will forgive me but I stand by my choice and I did what I needed to do.

I was born in Utah and moved to California when I was two. California is all I've known. This is home. This is where I've grown up and lived for practically my whole life. I'm not a kid anymore...haven't been for a long time and it's time for me to move on. Yes, it will be different and yes, it's a new place BUT it will be an adventure.

I am now living in Farmington, New Mexico and will be for the next few years. I'm starting my new adventure with a job as a dialysis RN. I've finally found a job. I've dreamed of being a nurse since I was five years old. I think people thought that I would grow out of that and decide to do something else but nursing is my passion. I love helping people, caring for them and seeing the outcome of them feeling so much better then when they came in. I have a chance to make a difference. I know there will be extremely hard days but there will also be good days. And I know that no matter what, the Lord will be with me.

I am grateful for all of you who have helped me on my journey in life and have been with me for many adventures. I pray that I will find friends here that will also become apart of my new adventures in a new place. And keep in mind I will never forget all of the great people I have met in California. Some of you I consider like family. Thank you for all your love and support I greatly appreciate it!

My lifestyle here is going to be different then in California. There isn't a whole lot around and even the nearest temple is about 3 hours away. It will be an adjustment but like I always say, Life is an Adventure Worth Taking. This is my new adventure and I'm looking forward to a great year!!! :) Here's a little recap on what's been going on since I got here:

Let’s just say it was a LONG 13 hours of driving in rain, wind, snow, sand, wind and rain storms. And not to mention I was driving a big moving truck. Not totally ideal but whatever...it had to be done. We got in about 9 p.m. local time. I only had one guy from the ward show up to help but thankfully I got it all moved in. Sunday we slept in and missed church :( So we just unpacked and hung out then went furniture looking at Ashley Furniture. That was fun :) Monday consisted of me running around getting things done for work to start Tuesday. I went to the post office, the bank, the library, the gas co. and then had to drive 2 1/2 hours to drop my aunt off at the train station. Let’s just say if I do a train station, it’s going to be in Albuquerque. Then I had to drive back and luckily didn’t hit any weather until Shiprock and then it snowed the rest of the way home. I started my first day Tuesday. It went well :) It was long but it went by kind of fast! This whole week is basically training, well actually I will be training in depth for about six months but the reading and basic stuff will be this week. 

 Haha there you have it! I have a fridge stocked with a little food and so I'm looking forward to baking and cooking soon!! Hope you all have an awesome week!! Love you all!!

Happy Birthday Mom!! It's the BIG one!! haha

Happy Birthday to my awesome mom!!! Sadly because of moving and trying to arrange everything, I didn't get everything I wanted to do for her birthday done. I figure I have the whole year though to celebrate so it's not that big of a deal ;)

She started off her fabulous day by having breakfast in bed courtesy of me :) She had cinnamon rolls, eggs, bacon, fruit and hashbrowns. Us kids sat on the bed with our plates and had breakfast with her. It was great! Then we all got ready to go and started our fun day. It actually didn't go quite as planned but that's okay.

We went to Cabazon first and did some shopping. Mom got some cute stuff! Then we headed over to the bowling alley. It took FOREVER to even get a lane but we finally did and bowled a couple of games. Chad won one game and Bret won. It was fun!

Then we left and were going to go see Mission Impossible. However because the bowling took longer then expected we just went home and watched The Help. Well they did. I had a terrible headache so I didn't. Afterwards it was too late for dinner so we just had some cake and opened presents. It was a chill day and that's exactly what mom wanted :)

It was so awesome surprising mom with Jeri who flew home for her birthday! So fun! Overall it was a great birthday weekend for her and I know this year will also be great!!

Happy Birthday Mom! You are the best mom ever and such an inspiration to me! I'm so grateful I have you as my mom! Love you always!!

(I will post pictures and video someday but with moving it's been too hard to edit and do all of that so for now just enjoy what I write!) 

It's almost that time....

There's some big posts coming but for the moment I just wanted to write some thoughts down. I am in the process of moving.... and soon. 

It's a bittersweet thing for me. This is my home. But I know that there is something great happening for me and I'm looking forward to it!! :) 

My room is packed. I have boxes everywhere. Some of them aren't sealed up yet completely even though they could be mainly because I'm procrastinating. I don't want to have it be official yet that I'm leaving. All of my pictures are done except for one picture frame I have of all the people who have supported me through the past few years and who have been my inspiration to keep pursuing my dream. It's the only frame I have left hanging on my wall and I'm keeping it there until the day I leave. I need that constant reminder. May sound cheesy I know but I love pictures haha

Anyways... I've been watching all my Alias season episodes and it reminds me of all the good times I've had with my dad. I love that show! Makes me wonder if I've ever met an undercover CIA agent haha doubtful but that would be cool! We used to watch it every thursday night. A lot has changed since those days but I've realized that those memories will never change. I have those forever. All the memories I've made here in California, all the people I've met, all the things I've done, will still be with me. 

The plane invention I'm indebted to because that will be my means of transportation back to Cali. I definitely won't be up to 12 hour drives so plane rides it is :) So I'm grateful for planes :) 

Anyways... random post I know but just wanted write down that memories are important and precious and we have them forever. I'm grateful for that. I will keep you all posted on what goes on in the next few days/weeks/months! :) 

Happy New Year

I really can't believe it's already 2012!!! Crazy how time flies!! 2011 wasn't as great of a year as I had hoped it to be. It was fine but it was a very trying year for me. With that said....my goals from last year are still the same.

1. Learn one new song on the piano
2. Move
3. Start Working
4. Crochet a blanket (Finish my Blanket)
5. Learn Spanish
6. Read the Book of Mormon twice
7. Eat healthy
8. Maintain a healthy weight
9. Attend the temple monthly
10. Give service daily
11. Read 10 books: one from each of the following categories:

1. Health/Nutrition
2. Holocaust
3. Lifestyle/Relationships
4. Autobiography (haven’t decided who yet)
5. Church History (2 from this category)
6. Meditation
7. Politics
8. Italian Culture
9. South American Culture

 Although I read some books from some of those categories... I'd like to do it again. And I plan on learning Spanish by reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish. We'll see how that goes, I will let you know! Those are my year long goals but here is my my short term goals for the month:

*Exercise daily
*Move
*Attend the temple
*Start reading a church history book


I still need to post about my Canada trip. Hopefully I will get to that later today! I can't believe the first week of the new year is already almost over!!! Crazy how time flies!!

Happy Happy Birthday!!!

Okay REAL quick I just need to do a quick shout out to my sister and cousin for their birthday!!! Crazy how another year has come and gone!!!! Sadly I didn't get to spend the day with my sister since she was back in Utah and Carissa was in Hawaii (jealous!). But I think they had a pretty awesome birthday from what I know :)

Happy Birthday Carissa!!! Thanks for being there for me, giving me advice and motivating me!!! I love our chats and all our good times together!!! You are amazing and talented and beautiful!!  Hope this year is the best year ever for you!!! xoxo 

Happy Birthday Jeri!!! You've always been an awesome sister and always there when I need you and I hope I do the same!! You are inspiring and I love having conversations with you about anything and everything! You are beautiful and I admire you! Hope this next year is a great one for you!! Love you tons!!!