Summer = Camping

This summer we were able to go on two camping trips with both sides of our family and it was a blast. Mid June the Hall clan decided to take a trip down to Central Utah to spend time in the mountains with each other and Fumi Nau Abo. Fumi became apart of our family several years ago when he was roommates with my brother Adam. Fumi is from Japan, he was here going to school at BYU and when the holidays came he came down to Fairview to spend the holidays with us...needless to say we fell in love with Fumi quickly. He went back to Japan for a few years and we would exchange packages during the holidays and chat on facebook but we missed him so much. This summer he made a special trip to come back to Utah and spend time with us and it was so fun.

We went down to Southern Utah, mine and Jordan's side of the state, and toured the parks like dedicated tourists! We live in such a beautiful diverse place and we are so lucky to spend time in it! I know that we definitly take the beauty of our state for granted and we are going to try and spend as much time as we can in Zions this last year we are in Cedar due to the fact that it is an AMAZING place!

Here are some pictures from our week of camping/touring Southern Utah!

Here we are at base camp, it was surprisingly cold during the day and at night despite the fact it was late June but we bundled up and stayed warm.

This was mine and Jordan's first time camping together. It was so fun snuggling up to him at night in our sleeping bags, he is like a furnace and keeps me warm!

We went fishing one night, I LOVE FISHING, and did have some success...

Jordan tasted some bait and it wasn't too yummy...

Fumi caught a MONSTER!

Grandpa teachin Kaylee to fish.

Kays testing her rain boots...they were successful.

Me freezin my but off. I did catch one fish, Kaylee beat me by catching 2.

This trip was so fun but we felt like "tourists" due to the fact that we drove to 3 different parks in southern Utah. The first stop on the list was Cedar Breaks. Here are me and Jord at Cedar Breaks with Fumi!

The next stop on the list was Bryce Canyon! 

The next day we went to Zions. Can I just tell you that I LOVE Zions so so much. It's so gorgeous. Every time we go there I am amazed at it's beauty. Tyler and Mandy drove over with us and it was so nice being able to sit and chat with them about life...and maybe possibly have a freakout over a spider that started climbing up Jordan's leg, the girls started screaming and the guys started yelling at us to stop because we were going to cause an accident (I don't think they understood that if we were driving and a spider started climbing up my leg there would have for sure been an accident!). 

We drove into Zions the back way and saw these big horn sheep off the side of the road climbing up the rocks. I had never seen big horn sheep out in the wild before so this was fun.

We decided to do a small hike up to Emerald pools so Kaylee could do it but when we got to the first pool and saw that the rest of the hike was closed I was pretty ticked...it was still pretty though. 

We rode the tram up and down the canyon and enjoyed being tourists yet again. Fumi flashin his peace sign!

Kaylee bought a racoon stuffed animal before our hike and Jord put it in our camel pack so it wouldn't get dirty during the hike...here we are pretending this is our child :)

The whole crew in Zions. I love my family so much! So grateful we got to spend some time with them and that Fumi was able to fly out and see us!

One year of Nursing Shmursing

Well it's official. I'm an adult with a career and I've been doing it for a year now :)

When turned the big 23 one year ago I got my first job as a RN! My first official job was actually giving flu shots at Walmart (this job rocked, I got paid to sit on my butt and read….Hunger Games are so good). My second job as a RN, (technically my first real nursing job) was at Kolob Rehabilitation in St. George. Gosh I wish I would have wrote in my journal when I first starting working, talk about stress. The bathroom was my saving grace, I would occasionally go there for a five minute break where I could cry in private and then resume the stress of the floor. My morning med pass lasted from 6 AM to 1030 AM, only to start my second med pass at 11AM. There were so many patients that I didn’t really know any of them and had no idea what they really needed. I had never changed a dirty brief in my life and although this is TMI I had to double glove over and over again due to constipation….digital removal is oh so very gross. From falls, chest pain (I hate chest pain, you never know when its real), supervising CNA's, dealing with doctors, getting punched in the face from combative residents, med errors, caring for those that were actively dying, calling family and telling them that their loved one has passed and much much more I eventually began to like my job. I hated commuting but learned to appreciate the geriatric population and enjoyed making a difference in their lives and in my own. Being a geriatric nurse is hard work but I continue to push myself as I think of the fact that one day in heaven these individuals and my Father in Heaven will hold me accountable for the care I provide for them in this fragile state.

The first time I worked with a resident actively dying I learned what a privilege it is. Those are very precious moments and to make one comfortable during that time is a very rewarding feeling. The first time I had a resident pass the family was not there and it was my responsibility to call the family and inform them of this, I had been keeping touch with the daughter frequently but to tell someone that their father has passed away, that is hard. I could not/cannot do it without crying and hope I never can. The family called after this day and spoke to someone one in management and complimented the care I gave to their father during his passing and how I informed/treated the family during and after, that is rewarding.  

 When I went to nursing school I never dreamed of being a geriatric nurse but I am so glad that my career gave me this experience. I really learned to get to know my residents as well as love them. There’s nothing like hearing “you’re my favorite nurse”, you know you’re not only taking care of them physically but mentally as well. I love those residents. I know one day in heaven I will be best friends with some of those residents and I look forward to that.

I am now working in Cedar City at Kolob, owned by the same company but under different management which makes a big difference. I enjoy my job but I do look forward to working in a more acute area such as medsurge. Being the breadwinner is definitely challenging at times and i'm thankful I don't have to do it forever but while I am doing it I'm becoming a stronger person and learning from those I work with, especially those in the geriatric population. 

Viva La Mexico!

PLAYING CATCH UP!

We went on the Mexican Rivera Cruise over Spring Break and it was a blast. We went with two of our friends, Kelli and Brett Christensen, and enjoyed spending time with friends and one another.


The first stop on the trip was Cabo San Lucas. The first day we walked around the shops and went ziplinning. We should have waited on the Zipline until Puerto Vallarta but we did not know this. The scenery was horrible, just dry desert land with extreme heat. I didn't dare drink the water they provided so I was so thirsty the entire time. The company we went with banned photographs so we couldn't bring anything cool back from there but we did snap a few before and afters...

We wore these cool scrub caps on our heads under the helmets...not sure why we took a picture with them and  not the helmet. 

The company we went with also had a Tequilla factory on site. They were obsessed with their Agave, it drove us crazy.

some of the not so beautiful scenery.

On the ride back from the zipline we asked the driver if he knew of any local restaurants that we should try...he recommended Mango Deck saying it was right on the beach with great food and a fun atmosphere. As soon as we were dropped off we heard the music thumping...we walked around to the back of the building only to see Spring Break gone wild in front of our eyes. I guess he thought we were there to party just like everyone else and this would be a fun place to go. We sat down and were amazed at what was going on. Girls dancing on tables (luckily their tops hadn't come off yet), multiple individuals passed out on tables,and drunk people EVERYWHERE! It really was just like a movie. We ordered some nachos, ate real fast and decided to head back to the boat. We walked down to the beach to head back to the boat and noticed the party was still going down on the sand, once again drunk people everywhere. One guy actually grabbed Jordan and said "Why the ?#%@ are you wearing a shirt, it's like you're married", when Jord responded that he was married pure shock arose and the guy just walked away. Haha this still makes me laugh.

Mango Deck, you can kinda see the party behind us but this picture does not do justice.

The second day in Cabo we decided a lazy beach day was in need and lovers beach would be perfect. All I wanted to do was lay around and swim in the ocean but little did we know this was not the beach for that.  You have to take a water taxi to get to the beach and as soon as we got there you could tell the water here was very powerful. You basically had to jump from the boat and hope the tide would go down in enough time to jump on the sand. Women lost hats, sunglasses flew into the ocean, and even little kids got ripped into the ocean (we'll explain later).

Taking the water taxi to the beach. He's so sexy!

The waves were INCREDIBLY huge! Signs were posted everywhere saying "swim at own risk". Needless to say I'm not the greatest swimmer despite my mothers attempt of changing this with swimming lessons at the age of 16. You would simply wade in the water and could fill the rip tide pulling you so strongly. The beach is a on a peninsula so you can be on either side, we tried the side closer to the boat and found the tide wasn't as strong but it was still powerful. One little boy, about 8 years old, was playing in the water but not being careful, his parents were up on the beach drinking their bear not paying attention at all. He was laying on his stomach about 7 feet from me and Kelli when all the sudden a wave crashed at our feet followed immediately by another wave and pulled the little guy out to the ocean faster than you would ever imagine.he started screaming, Kelli being the lifeguard she is jumped into the water and started swimming as hard as she could. Luckily the little guy could tread and was able to keep his head above water, everyone on the beach was in panic, the dad was trying to swim out there but was struggling and the mom was standing on the shore   SCREAMING in pure terror (I do not blame her). Kelli made it to him and a water taxi was signaled to go out and get them. I was shaking. It was definitely an experience you will never forget.

After Kelli saved a life. She had sand in her swimsuit like crazy!

Spending time on Lovers Beach

Once we got back on the boat we enjoyed the sunset and just relaxed.

The third day we were in Puerto Vallarta where we went cliff diving. We rented a taxi for 6 hours and had our private chauffeur named Rene, he was awesome.  He took us to all the cool spots.

Cliff Diving

This natural rock slide was SOOOOO fun!

Pure terror. I hate birds.

Puerto Vallarta

SHARKY's!

These home's were beautiful!

Such an amazing view!

Jordan handled that parrot like a champ. kinda disgusting.

We had such a fun time in Puerta Vallarta! 

When we weren't on land we loved partying on the boat. Jordan surprised me with the spa package that allowed us to use the aroma therapy rooms, steam rooms, mineral pool ect and it was probably one of our favorite places on the boat. It was so fun just spending time together. We went here almost every day and loved relaxing. We will never ever go on a cruise without the spa :)

We played mini golf, and cornhole multiple times...watched a few movies under the stars. Played card games. And of course ate.

We had so much fun playing Cornhole that we made one of our own once we got home!

We did get a little motion sick so I took dramamine like crazy and wondered why I felt so tired all the time, I should have read about the side effects. One night we came back to our cabin at about 8 pm, I was exhausted and asked Jordan if he would care if we took a "nap", of course he said it was fine, he turned on the tv and I crashed. Next thing I knew I woke up and it was 2 AM. I have such a good husband to stay with his boring wife. Brett and Kelli actually did the exact same thing this night, we had a good laugh about it in the morning. 

When I had the energy to stay up we usually went out and ate, listened to kareokee, saw a few of the shows, saw the comedians, and slept. I really couldn't stay awake like I should have. It was fun being able to dress up on the formal nights though! 

First Formal Night

Second Formal Night 

The other Christensen's

Dinner was always one of our favorite times, especially with our waiter. I can't remember his name now but he was hilarious. From dancing, to singing us songs with Jordan as his air guitar, we always laughed our heads off! 

 Overall our cruise was a great success and we will definitely be going on one again.