Summer so far!

Justin and I have been loving summer. Despite how horrible the winters are up here in Idaho, the summers are fantastic! We started our summer by going down to Arizona for my sister Marie's wedding. We were able to spend almost two weeks home and it was amazing. Especially because at that time in May, it was actually still snowing in Idaho. I was busy the whole time visiting friends and family and helping prepare for the wedding. The only bad part about the visit was I was incredibly sick the entire time. I fought to have energy, had to sleep often, and always had to have a box of kleenex's with me. I managed to love my time there anyway. Not to mention, it's always nice to be around your Mom when you're sick. They just know how to take care of you! (Disclaimer, Justin also took good care of me, he got me drugs and made sure I got enough sleep!) Some of the usual family activities when I'm home is play lots of card games, croquet, swim, and shopping! Me and my 3 sisters were able to go shopping one day and find clothes for my sister getting married to wear on her honeymoon. They went to Jamaica! The wedding was beautiful and turned out so nice! It was fun to be a part of a traditional wedding and walk down the isle and everything as a bridesmaid!

The Bridesmaids

Marie and my Dad

Marie with her new husband Mark!

Since we've been home, Justin and I have been trying to keep our weekends full of fun. Justin got a job this summer working for the Forestry Service, most specifically the Fish and Game. He goes out to rivers in the southern Idaho area and shocks fish, then the capture them and take census on the fish, and put them back. It involves a lot of hiking and packing a ton of equipment. Then wading through water sometimes full of debris with 50 lb. packs on their back, and then shocking, collecting, and counting the fish. He enjoys the labor and working outside, despite the hard work. He's able to work with a friend of his which makes it nice and he gets along well with the rest of the crew. The only bad part is, because the work about 2 hours south of Rexburg, Justin is gone Monday through Thursday, and they stay in a house during the work week in Soda Springs. It's hard having him gone so often but I'm getting used to it, and I try to keep myself busy, especially with work. Although my hours at work have been cut lately which makes that harder. So when I don't have to work on the weekends Justin and I like to keep busy having fun.

We've gone shooting a couple times recently with different friends. We go out to a forest area about a half hour away have a picnic. It's been really fun. The second time we went we actually brought a dutch oven out and Justin made dutch oven pizza, one of his specialties!

Boys during their Clay Pigeon Competition

our friends Ephraim and Danielle, and their dog

Shooting trip with friends Megan and Andrew

Clay Pigeon competition again

Me and Megan

Andrew

Something else that has been so fun this summer is my little brother Nathan visited for almost 2 weeks. It was so so so much fun having him up here and we had a blast! The weather was perfect while he was here, usually sunny and in the mid 70's. He was here for my birthday which was a special treat. I'm now 26. I admit, it's scary being closer to 30 then 20. I had an ear ache and sore throat for about 2 weeks before my birthday. My sister Marie called the morning of to wish me happy birthday. I told about my aliments and she said I should go to the doctor and get an antibiotic to take care of it. I know, it's been two weeks so why didn't I think of it, not to mention I'm a nurse. Well I grew up not going to the doctor and just getting over things in time so that thought never occurs to me. So I took her advice and went to the urgent care since it was a Saturday. I had a ear infection and he prescribed me an antibiotic. The ear ache and sore throat were gone 2 days later. We went straight from the doctor to Fat Cats, one of the only places to do things in Rexburg. It's a bowling alley, arcade place, miniature golf, and theatre. We had a coupon for bowling, miniature golf, and pizza. So Justin and I and then Nathan, my sister Rachel and her two kids, and cousin Kate and her husband Nate all came and we golfed and bowled. It was really fun except for that I kept guttering the ball until I got back into it and so I had a horrible score. As a birthday present to me, Justin arranged to have me record a song with a friend of ours, Ephraim (who we went shooting with). He used to work in the music business in LA and has recording equipment. So from Fat Cats Justin took me over there and I recorded the song, Already Gone. It took about 4 hours and it made it a bit harder with my sore throat, but Ephraim taught me to sing lighter, which was way easier on my voice. It took me a while to grasp singing soft and light though cause anyone who knows me knows that I love to belt out a song!... I tried to post the song on here, but I couldn't figure out how to get it on.

After the recording Justin bought dinner for us and Ephraim and his wife. Then we went back to our house were more friends met us and we had cake and ice cream. Justin arranged for another friend of ours whose an excellent cook to make "Better then Sex" cake which was delicious. It was such a fun day and Justin and my brother Nathan totally spoiled me. We went out later that night and Nathan bought me a dress I'd been eyeing and a clock he noticed we needed in our kitchen!

The next weekend, Justin, Nathan, and I went camping for a night in Jackson Hole. It was so pretty there and we were able to just relax and enjoy nature. Our camping spot was right next to the snake river so we played down there for a while. We played lots of frisbee and what was the most fun was playing frisbee golf. We also toured around the town of Jackson Hole and went for a a scenic drive. When I was a nanny I went to Jackson Hole with the family. We stayed in Teton Village which is the resort area for the rich. It was so fun seeing the place again and bringing back those memories.

I think I should invest in one of these!

Nathan, I think he totally pulls off the cowboy thing!

Downtown Jackson Hole

Snake River

Skipping rocks on the river

Frisbee

Ahh, whittle Naffin sweeping

Getting ready for breakfast

Teton Mountains

Buffalo

Teton Village, the hotel I stayed in is on the right.

Most recently, this last weekend, Justin and I went down to the Salt Lake area to visit. We went down on Thursday and spent Thursday and Friday with Justin's cousin Vanessa and her husband Drew in Provo. We always have fun playing games with them and staying up late talking. On Friday they took us to breakfast and then we walked around BYU campus. Justin had never been there and I hadn't been there since EFY about 9 years ago. I forgot how nice the campus is. Not to mention big compared to BYU-Idaho!

On our way driving from Provo back up to Farmington where my brother Benjamin and his family live, Justin and I stopped by IKEA for fun. While there we found our dream kitchen that we hope we can replicate some day. Justin and I always love visiting my brother in Farmington. They have a large beautiful home and a fantastic view of the mountains. When Justin and I were first married we lived in their ward back in Arizona for almost 2 years. We grew close to Ben and Megan and their kids and so it's always a treat to visit and spend time with them. Justin and Ben always play some kind of world conquering game when we're over there that lasts about 5 hours. This trip was no different. After an incredible BBQ that Megan prepared for dinner the boys played their game that lasted until about 1:00am. Saturday morning there was a parade for "Farmington Days" that we went to. Local town parades are always the best we had fun seeing all the local businesses and LDS stakes that were represented!

At the Parade, Justin with Megan and Spencer and Will up front

My nephews Will and Mitchell

That's right, there was a Hurst in the parade!

For lunch, Justin and I went down to SLC and met up with Justin's very first mission companion or "Poppy" as Justin calls him. During lunch the guys had fun catching each other up on their lives since the mission and reminiscing all their old memories. Afterward, Justin and I went down to temple square and enjoyed walking around.

That night, Justin and I went out to dinner at a BBQ place Ben had gone to and wanted to take Megan. From the outside the place looked like a biker joint but it was nice inside and the food was incredibly good. After, Ben and Megan took us for a drive through the "Avenues" of SLC where some of the first homes were built in Salt Lake. The homes there were so beautiful and had so much character. We saw the governors mansion which was incredible looking, it is all so beautiful in that area. And, we drove by the SLC cemetery where so many of the prophets are buried. The cemetery is so massive so we decided next time we come to visit we're going to find a map of the cemetery and find the prophets grave sites! We had frozen yogurt for dessert to finish off the night. Justin and I had a perfect weekend and can't wait to come back!

Justin and I left Sunday afternoon and got home at 6:00pm. Now it's Monday and I had to say goodbye to Justin this morning and I'm working tonight. Back to life I guess!

Great Weekend and Guns!

Last weekend, March 4th and 5th, Justin and I went to Logan, UT to meet up with Justin's cousin, Vanessa and her husband Drew. It was Drew and Vanessa's anniversary and they have a tradition of going to the Anniversary Inn in Logan, UT every year for their anniversary. Justin and I were lucky enough to be able to join them this year. The coolest thing is that the Anniversary Inn isn't just any Inn, it's a themed room Inn! I'll admit though, the room that Justin and I chose wasn't that exciting but it was nice for us. We stayed in the Presidential Suite. We forgot our camera so I wasn't able to take any pictures, but luckily there's a website with them...

Here is our room!

A fantastic jacuzzi tub in front of the fireplace!

A nice bathroom with a huge walk-in shower!

It was such a fun luxury for Justin and I, and the room came with Sparkling Cider and cheesecake. Vanessa and Drew stayed in the African Safari room. It was a lot more exotic then ours. It had the illusion that you are staying in a big canapé tent...

We arrived Friday around midday. Oh side note, we drove through Preston, ID on our way to Logan where my Mom spent some of her years growing up. I'd always been curious to see the town. It is so small! It's just little and quaint and really in the middle of no where. Although compared to the towns surrounding Preston all with a population of about 500, Preston is pretty big. It was fun to finally see that town though. So when we got to the Inn we actually were able to take a tour of all the rooms that the Anniversary Inn had. Justin and I chose out a couple rooms we want to stay in for next time. Then after lunch we went to the temple together. I love visiting new temples and seeing how pretty they are inside. Although I'll admit, the outside of the Logan temple is more impressive then the inside...

That night we went out to dinner at Hamilton's Steak and Seafood. It was the best food I think I've ever eaten. I had steak, mashed potatoes, and a salad. Generic food I realize, but it was the best that I've ever had! Justin also had a salmon dish that he says is the best he's had and he's actually tried recreating the Salmon he had with no success though. We had a great night and enjoyed a delicious breakfast in bed that was delivered to our room. We had such a great weekend and one of the best parts was that it was in the mid 40's, we didn't even need jackets!!!

Back here in Rexburg the snow is finally starting to melt. It's all pretty ugly but it's the anticipation of the beauty that's to come that keeps us excited. Right now it's piles of black snow and dead grass everywhere. But everyday a little more grass shows and we're so excited for the snow to be gone!

So Justin has had his eye on a double barrel shot gun at Sportsman's for quite a while. We decided that when we get our tax return back this year that he could get it. We agreed when we got married that Justin could buy one weapon a year. Technically he didn't buy a weapon last year as we were saving up for our move so he was deserving of this purchase. So last night we bought him his shot gun. We ran into some stumps getting it because we needed to have a document from the government that had our new address on it since his drivers license didn't. So we had to go find a library and print something off. It all worked out though and now Justin has his gun.

So when we were at Sportsman's I asked the associate we were working with what the point of a double barrel shot gun was, could you shoot both barrels at the same time? Apparently you only shoot both barrels at the same time if you're an idiot. The point of a double barrel shot gun is just "because it's cool". Typical boys!

Life is good right now. I can't wait to visit home for my sister's wedding in May. Justin is doing fantastic in school and I'm so proud of him!

I wish I was asleep right now

So it's 4:36am right now, and I'm laying in bed on my computer. I woke up at about 2:30am and read for about an hour and then "accidentally" made enough noise that my husband woke up cause I was so bored, but he fell back asleep pretty quick. And then I started looking at pictures on my cousin Kate's photography website. Justin and I had a photo shoot with her last night and so I was checking out some of her other photos in anticipation of getting ours cause I'm so excited!... Anyway, so why am I up in the middle of the night doing nothing, because this is just how it is for me now. I work night shift, my schedule is four nights on and then four nights off. Trying to go between sleeping during the day though and then sleep at night is so so so hard. I used to be a morning person. I was all about early to bed and early to rise. I thought naps were for the weak and sleeping in past 8:00, let alone 7:00 was ridiculous and lazy. Well all of that has changed. On my days off it seems like it doesn't matter what time I go to bed, I can't get up before 9:00am, and I usually prefer more like 10:00am. My first night off is the worst though. Because I worked the night before I of course slept a bit during the day. I try to keep sleeping during the day after my last night of work to 2 - 3 hours so that I can sleep again that night but it usually turns out to be more like 5 - 6 hours cause I'm just too tired. But then at night I miss sleeping with my husband so I try to go to bed with him. I usually fall asleep fine but then I wake up in the middle of the night wide awake and hungry. Last time this happened I had a whole meal at 12:30am, did some laundry, prepared my primary lesson, watched a movie, read for an hour, and then finally fell back asleep at about 5:30am, and then slept in the next day until 11:30am. How horrible is that, well it's horrible I think. The nights after that I do better about sleeping through the night but I usually got to bed between 12:00 - 1:00am and get up between 9:00 - 10:00am. I know I just need to accept that this is my sleeping pattern now and get over it but it's hard changing sleeping habits you've had for 25 years. Getting used to not seeing mornings anymore. Although I guess I do see mornings on my way home from work, even sunrises if it's not foggy. This is just hard though. The worst is when I first started work. Even though I had just been up an entire night, I felt so horrible and lazy that I slept the next day. Especially because it was during the shortest days of the year so during the days I worked I rarely saw sunlight for 4 days straight. I felt like I was wasting my day and I tried to sleep as little as I could, luckily I had a husband who forced my back in bed if I got up too early, otherwise I paid for it at work that night! Thankfully, I no longer have a guilt trip about sleeping after I've worked the night before now. I am just fine with sleeping during the day now! But I still feel out of sorts switching between nights and days and in some weird ways I feel separate from the rest of the world. I feel like no one can truly understand how weird it is to switch your sleeping patterns so drastically and then to have to switch them back and forth every week. My Dad worked night shift pretty much my whole life, my sister worked night shift for something like 3 or 4 years but I don't ever remember either of them talking about difficulties they had with it or how weird it was. So then I think, am I just crazy, am I being a baby, am I just weird (well that parts probably true), what is wrong with me. So if those of you who have had any experience with working night shift have advice or even more so can relate so I don't feel so alone in my circumstance that would be fantastic!

I realize that I just pretty much spent an entire entry complaining, but I think I really just needed to express myself, put my thoughts into words. On a more positive note work is going really well. I enjoy the night shift and my co-workers and I'm feeling more and more confident every day. I'm really starting to care for and bond with the residents I work with, which I know can be a good and bad thing. The anxiety and what I believe is seasonal depression that I've been dealing with (I believe I've mentioned previously about some of that) is getting a lot better and a lot less frequent. Having the sun out more lately and I started taking Vitamin D have both really helped. I am more in love with my husband then ever before and going through some of these trials lately have brought us so close together.

Oh, so I mentioned a photo shoot Justin and I did last night with my cousin Kate. Can I just say what a fantastic photographer I think she is. She was so good about little details during the shoot. Things that when you see a picture of yourself you think man what was I doing with my arm, or I wish I would have pulled my hair out of my face or lifted my chin a little more. She sees all those things and fixes them before she takes the picture so that they turn out great! She had fun and unique poses for us and we felt so comfortable during the whole shoot, it was a lot of fun and now I can't wait to see the proofs and get some pictures! For those of you who don't know Kate, you can see her work on her website at www.katemowerphotography.com, and then you can see what I'm talking about!

Well, it's about 5:30am now and I've been kicked out of my room cause I'm making too much noise. I should probably try to get some sleep again, we'll see how it goes though!