Holy Stromboli!

The following contains information that may cause people to be wide-eyed, open-mouthed and produce a slight "hughh!" out of your mouth while thinking "Really? Seriously?" (humor me)

What in the heck? Thanksgiving is next week? What?! November's half over? What??!! I'm still stuck on Halloween. I think I might have been in a comatose state for the past 2 weeks, as they're all a blur. But no complaints! The faster Thanksgiving comes, the sooner we get to see all our family! YAY! But anyhew, it's blogging time today!
David got a vacation at the first of November. He got to go to Idaho! I was so jealous! He went on business during the week and got to spend the weekend with all our familia. We love our Idaho! But I was soooo glad when he got back. That was the longest I've ever been away from him, and I'll admit it. I was a wanny. I missed him like crazy! I wanted to throw a temper tantrum at the airlines for making him get home an hour late. (wide-eyed yet?)

Before Dave left for ID, we participated in some sneaky late night pumpkin hunting. All's I hafta say is you do what ya gotta do to get pumpkin seeds in our family! The hunt was successful as we came home with 6 trophy fatties and after Turkey Day, they'll be gutted to make the most delicious treat! If you're up for an addicting snack, try this: (you'll love it)

Boil 2 cups washed pumpkin seeds for a while in salt water. Drain seeds. Melt 3 Tbsp butter/margarine & mix with 1 tsp salt & 1 tsp Worcestershire. Completely coat the pumpkin seeds with this mixture and spread out on cookie sheet. Cook @ 300-350 until the seeds turn brown and crispy. Stir the seeds around every 10 mins. until they're done.

Finally, the purpose of my "holy stromboli!" We're having a ward Thanksgiving dinner this weekend, and it's a faker! I know I'm overreacting about this, but pretty close to everything we'll be eating is either going to be fake, store bought, or out of a can. I'm so sad! :( When I think of Thanksgiving dinners, I think of yummy, fluffy, real mashed taters, homemade stuffing, yummy veggies and homemade rolls, etc. Even with past ward Turkey dinners, they'd send around signups and people would VoLuNtEeR to bring all these things from home. Yeah, the good stuff. Welp, to make things easier here in Amarillo, we do everything fake. There's even a big budget for it! (I'm almost crying just typing this) I'm all for easy, but when it comes to Thanksgiving, I guess my family spoiled me cuz all's I know is homemade deliciousness. For those of you who've not tasted the sweetness of a homemade Thanksgiving dinner, your taste buds are being sooo shafted. (I was so befuddled by this that I even offered to make massive batches of mashed spuds and homemade rolls. Desperate? Yes. Did it work? No.) So my wide eyes and open mouth will stay with me until after the dinner is over Friday night, after I've painstakingly choked down the fakers. So anyhow HOLY STROMBOLI! I hope everyone out there has a happy Thanksgiving, and I hope you all get to partake at least partly, of a yummy home cooked meal. Parker's, I can't wait to come for Thanksgiving! :)

Courtnie Update

Just for a quick update on Courtnie, as per request:
After running some tests, they figured out that Courtnie has a syndrome where her body thinks she has a blood clot or a tumor in her head, but she doesn't really. So the good news is that she doesn't really have a blood clot, like they thought. But the bad news that her body still reacts like she has one, so she still has the symptoms of having one. She's got fluid on her brain/spinal cord which I believe is causing the pressure behind her eyes, thus the double vision, headache, and hemorrhaging. It has some nasty side effects that go with it, but they started her on some new meds to start treating it, which she'll always hafta be on. :( She's pretty miserable still, but she's having a spinal tap done tomorrow to relieve the pressure to help her headache and they're hoping to go home tomorrow. It's a bitter/sweet thing, as she'll most likely hafta deal with this the rest of her life. But thank goodness for good Dr's and for wonderful family and friends like all of you who've kept her and Bryce in your prayers. What a freak thing, but I guess that goes to show that you just never know what you're going to be faced with tomorrow. Thank goodness Court's such a strong girl...I don't know if I could handle all she's been going through for the past 2 weeks and will continue to deal with! I love that girl!!

We Need Your Prayers

Just a quick note to ask for a little help on Courtnie's behalf!!! For those of you who know my sister-in-law Courtnie Dayton, (Bryce's wife) I'm asking that you pretty please remember her in your prayers this week. She's been sick for almost 2 weeks now, and they found a blood clot in her head yesterday. They rushed her to Salt Lake where she's currently having tests done and being treated at LDS hospital (she had hemorrhaging behind her eyes). So please keep her and Bryce in your prayers! THANKS BUNCHES!!!

Here's to gettin' older!

A little late, yes. But the last 2-3 weeks have been awesome, so of course I needa blog about it. They've been a blur, but definitely a blur I sneak back to all the time to soak in how fun they were. WARNING: Many pictures may be attached with this post! There. Consider yourselves warned.
So the 1st week of awesomeness included me feeling finally accepted at the hospital I'm at right now for clinicals. They've started joking with me/teasing me, and they let me do so much more now. After the 1st week I thought I'd hate it there. But now I'm sad I only have one more week. I really like the people I'm working with.
2nd qualifying week= Another year down! Yup, it's true, older and wiser (well, who knows on that last one). I admit I had my suspicions of this year's b-day being a sad one. [Explanation: this was the first b-day IN MY LIFE (yup 23 years) that my family hasn't been there to help me celebrate] So naturally I knew Dave and I would miss them being there. Well I'm happy to announce that my suspicions proved to be pretty much wrong. I was just fine, thanks to the help of my amazing hubby and friends! Yes I missed my family tons, but it was ok! My friends took me out to lunch the day before to Olive Garden (my fav!) and it was such a fun "girls" outing. (love you ladies!) Then David let me open my presents from him @ midnight,...hehe! We woke up the next morning to a pounding on our door (which had me in panic as I wasn't decently dressed yet. It was my b-day...that's my excuse) to find this: The Dorsey's had written all over our landing (I'd post picts of all the things they drew if I could...hilarious!) and they'd left yummy breakfast for us. It was sooo sweet and so fun! Thanks again Dorsey's! Well it rained the whole day, so that spoiled some of our plans for the day, but it still turned out wonderful! I was spoiled royally, thank you Dave, mi familia, and friends! David made Halloween cookies with me, he made me my favorite dinner, and even made me my b-day cake! I love you Dave!
What a great birthday!
Now for the 3rd qualifier: Last weekend I got to drive (BLAAA) to Denver to meet Kylee and Falycia for a girls weekend. It was a much needed getaway and we had so much fun! What did we do, you might ask? We shopped, laughed, shopped, tried to figger out all the funny sculptures around Denver, shopped, got lost, shopped, ate waaay too much, shopped, laughed some more, shopped, visited my cousins and aunt (and their new baby--SO CUTE), and we went shopping. It went way too fast, but I was sooo glad I got to see my sis---I really miss her!

So there you have it! My 3 great weeks in October. It totally makes up for the sudden FREEZING weather here that came outta nowheres. So a big thanks to all of you who contributed to making the last 3 weeks amazing. I'm a happy girl!

Tagged!

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago...
1.) Learning how to cook.
2.) Doing student council.
3.) Babysitting on the weekends.
4.) Running track for the first time.
5.) Playing the piano for the school melodrama.

*5 Things on my "To-Do" list today...
1.) Go visiting teaching
2.) Go grocery shopping
3.) Study study study
4.) Unpack from my trip last weekend (yeah, a lil late)
5.) Make some cookies

*5 Snacks I enjoy...
1.) Nacho Cheese/Salsa Verde Doritos (I've got a major salt tooth)
2.) Plain potato chips dipped in cottage cheese
3.) Candy corn
4.) Fresh cut veggies with ranch
5.) Cookies in milk

*5 Things I'd do if I were a Millionaire...
1.) Build a new house in our favorite place
2.) Help my parents buy a new house
3.) Get a grand piano (ok maybe a baby grand)
4.) Go to 3rd world countries to help children
5.) Buy David some new guns :)

*5 Places I've Lived...
1.) Paul, ID
2.) Rexburg, ID
3.) Ventura, CA
4.) Taylorsville, UT
5.) Amarillo, TX

*5 Jobs I've Had
1.) Beet Hoer
2.) Petial Puller/Fieldman
3.) Wedding Planner's Assistant
4.) Secretary
5.) After School Program Instructor

*5 People I tag
1.) Lynsey Dorsey
2.) Stacy Newman
3.) Marnie Parker
4.) Kelsie Sterzer
5.) Ashley McDermott

Rules: Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you’ve answered the questions on your blog.

Busy Busy!

Well holy cow! Seriously, where the heck does the time go? I can't believe September's almost over already. Yikes. Haven't done a post in a while, so it's probably apparent I'm a sporadic journal writer. I thought blogging would help me do better...It's the thought that counts, right?
The past 3 weeks have been a blur for us. David's keeps busy with work. In the last 3 weeks, he's left @ 4:30am, 5:30am, 6ish & 7ish for work, so his internal clock gets thrown for a loop sometimes. I know he's tired a lot, but he'll keep chugging all day even after work with everything else he's doing & doesn't complain a bit. He's amazing! He found out today he might be flying to Idaho next week or the week after to visit a dairy in Boise, so he's stoked! :) He also stays busy w/ Young Mens and volleyball, which he's been doing awesome at! I'm so proud of him!
As for me, I'm definitely in the swing of school again. I've REALLY come to know the meaning of studying. It's seriously all I do! I feel like a book nerd, but you do whatcha gotta do. I have phlebotomy training this week, and I start clinicals so I'm way excited for that. Nuclear medicine is amazing!
David and I have also had some amazing missionary experiences since we've been here in Texas. We always pray for experiences & it seems there's not a week that we don't get to have the missionaries over for some reason or another. So I guess the Lord's answering our prayers. We've been able to participate in discussions with investigators and some new members and it's been awesome! We truly feel like we're in the mission field. We've been able to see 2 women baptized, a man's getting baptized this weekend, and a sweet 72 yr old is getting baptized in Oct. We love our ward missionaries, and we've had a lot of fun with them.
We got to go to the temple in Lubbock last weekend with the youth and loved it. Also, the piano/org duet for Stk Conf and the primary prog are now done with so I can breathe a bit again...for at least a little while, haha!
I did another post below this about our trip to the fair last week...it was great fun. So anyhow, I've been long-winded so sorry. But now everyone can be caught back up with us! We are healthy and happy. Love and miss you all! Until next time...

Ride 'em Cowboy!

David took me to the Tri State Fair & PRCA rodeo last weekend, and we had a blast! It was fun to dress up in our cowboy duds and eat some greasy fair food. We have to admit, the smell of the animals made us nostalgic, haha! We went and ate, walked around checking out the animal barns, went to the rodeo (YEEEHAW!) where we got dirt kicked up on us all night haha (I even found dirt in my pockets that night), then finished off the night with a Luke Bryan concert. We did a lit'l country dancing @ the concert. I loved it! I don't think I've ever seen so many cowboys with a beer in one hand and a big 'ole cheesy corn dog in the other, haha. :) Ahhh, Amarillo! Here's some pictures of our fun night, and a pict of Dave with our ward missionaries. Enjoy!

Where'd The Summer Go?

Well summer is officially over & the weather here in Amarillo fits perfectly as it's windy & chilly today. As per request, we're posting a bunch of picts from our summer adventures down here in Texas. Plus, I'm just trying to figure out how to make a slideshow work on here, haha. Happy September to everyone! (Where the heck does the time go?)

Back To School!

Well today marked my first official day in my Nuclear Medicine program. I have to admit, it was a bit overwhelming, and a couple times I wondered if I would really be smart enough to be able to make it through the program and learn all that I need to. I know it's probably just the first day jitters, and I'm sure my instructors kind of wanted to scare us a bit so that we'd want to study a lot and work hard. But today also really made me excited to be in this program and I feel really lucky to have the opportunity to be where I'm at. I guess I've always known that I wanted to work in a profession where I'd be able to actually help people and work in the healthcare field. It's like I feel a need to be able to help others. I really think this extra schooling is going to help me be where I want to be and do what I want to do in my life.
I know that my greatest job will be to be a mother and raise sweet children with David, and I look forward to that by far the most. But until we're blessed with children I want to be able to help others, to fill that need that I have. I had the strongest impression today that I'm doing to right thing, that I'm really going to be able to help people. It is awesome! After graduating from BYU-I in Dec, I realized that it wouldn't be as easy for me to learn new things bookwise, as it was when I was in college. I've never felt so desperate to want to learn more and learn all that I can. I'm still young I know, and it kind of sounds pathetic, but I felt like I wasn't learning near as much anymore and I was running out of time. I really do want to learn as much as I can every chance I get! Our brains are soooooo amazing!! We can learn so much!! I guess that's kind of what pushed me to want to go back to school again. But anyhow, my first day went great, so a big thanks to all of you for your good luck wishes to me on my first week of school. I appreciate it mucho, and love you all! Watch out Amarillo, Kabree's back in school again!!! :)

Beautiful Colorado

Last weekend we were able to go camping up in Colorado with our friends, the Dorsey's. They were so nice to invite us to come up to their grandparents' cabin with them, and it was a wonderful weekend! The cabin sat in a peaceful valley, and was surrounded by mountains. We love mountains and oh how we miss them! The weather was perfect, and we even got a rain storm one night that tried to put out the guys' foil dinner fire. We hiked one day to an awesome train bridge and got to cross the river in our bare feet to get there. It was great! Baby Zannah was so good. She even fell asleep in her carrier during the hike. We ate way too much great camp food and treats, and we played golf (the card game) tournaments at night with a lantern.
The Sterzer family will appreciate this: Lynsey got the first that I've ever seen -24 hand in golf. It was amazing!

Being able to be out in nature, seeing rainbows, the fog rising out of the mountains in the morning as the sun rose, hearing the river water run, eating food cooked on the fire, and just breathing the fresh air made me so aware of how beautiful and amazing God's creations really are. I'm so grateful for what we have, and grateful for the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the mountains. We're so lucky we can just hop in the car and drive where we want to any day of the week. Even though we didn't shower for 3 days, and we got to use the great outdoors as our restroom, it was a great trip, and I wish it could have lasted a week. Thank heavens for the Dorsey's! We feel like we've known them for years, and we're sooo glad we met them here in Amarillo. We think we were led to where we live so we could meet them and be in the same ward, to make our adjustment a little easier. It's nice to be around fellow Idahoans. :) Hooray for camping!!!!!

Feelin' Lucky

I can't help but feel lucky today as I remember where David and I were a year ago. I almost completely forgot that I had my surgery a year ago this week to remove that dreaded lump in my breast that scared us to death. I guess the real reason I'm writing is to remind all of you as my friends and family to do self breast checks. Hahaha, I still feel silly when I check myself, so just know you're not alone if you feel silly too! I know this is kind of a weird thing to write about, and I hope I don't make anyone uncomfortable by writing about this. I'm sorry if I do. But I'm a big advocate of being safe, and I care about all of you! :) Women do find lumps...even when they're 21 and healthy, as I found out!

I was dreading my girl checkup this last month, as it was time again to check lump #2 I found last fall. I almost cried when my Dr. told me she couldn't hardly feel it! YAY! My mom had me start taking Vit E pills everyday, after she heard from a friend that it had helped her shrink and get rid of her lumps after her doc recommended it. I'm a believer now, and if anyone ever wants some info about it, let me know. I guess it could just be a placebo effect thing for me, and my body's attacking it just because I'm thinking the Vit E's killing it, haha! But anyhow, that's why I'm feeling so lucky this week. I know we've been blessed and I feel like a free woman with no 4 month checkup recommended this time around. So ladies, know your bodies, and please please please check yourselves every month. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_2_1x_How_to_Perform_a_Breast_Self_Examination.asp

The Rundown!

David and I have now lived in Amarillo for six months...hard to believe it's already been that long. Contrary to what we expected, we really like it here, and things have fallen into place for us. We've realized that the Lord works in mysterious ways, even if means having us Idahoans move all the way to Texas to do His will. We've been so fortunate to make some amazing friends, and we've had wonderful missionary experiences already. It just keeps getting better and better. We realized how blessed we truly are, and we're so grateful for such loving family and friends who support us even when we're so far away.

David is now employed at Micro Dairy Logic, and he's much happier there than he was with his first job down here. He gets to work with various dairies everyday setting up special computer sorting systems and other stuff (he'd do a better explanation than me, haha!). The only drawback is that he usually comes home stinky and covered in cow poop! EWWW! He's enjoying working with the scouts in our ward, and he's been tying flies again.

I just finished my summer class (YAY) and will start classes for my nuclear medicine technology program on Aug. 25. I'm excited to start, and I'm eager to learn more about nuclear medicine. Who'd have thought that I'd actually be excited to go back to school! Oh dear, what's happened to me?! Haha! I've been busy crafting up a storm with my friend Lynsey. It's been a blast, and I'll miss long days of sewing when my classes start.

We're both on a co-ed city league volleyball team with some friends and it's a blast. I get so proud of David when he plays! He's done so good, even though he hasn't really played volleyball that much. I'm also playing in a women's league, and we still play basketball every week at the church with friends. We just can't keep away from sports! Life is great, and I'm anxious to see what a Texas fall is like down here, especially since there aren't really that many trees to change colors down here.

We Did It!!!

Well I officially gave into peer pressure and started a blog. I decided it was time to actually git'er done! I was hesitant to start one, because we don't have any cute stories or pictures of kids (it's hard to do that when we don't even have kids yet!). But then I got to thinking and realized that David and I tons of cute stories and pictures of just us, and it's just fine. We make our own stories on a daily basis, and I get excited for what each new day will bring. Being so far away from most of our family and friends, I figger that blogging will help everyone to keep up with us, and get a taste of what our life is like down here in Texas. Hopefully it will help everyone feel a little bit closer to us, even though we are so far away. Please be patient with us as we are new to this, haha!