Anniversary!

We made it! Today is our one year anniversary. I can't believe it has already been a year. It seems like just yesterday that I was standing outside the temple thinking Chad wasn't going to show up. Luckily, he was only a few minutes late and we were able to be sealed for eternity!

I am the luckiest girl on earth to have Chad for a husband. He was so incredibly supportive of me this year while I was in school. He was always cheering me on whether I aced a test or failed it. He left a great job in Arizona where he was making really good money to move to Las Vegas and have to start all over again just so I could go to school. I know this year has been so hard for him but he is just always so happy and optimistic. Although he will never read this, I just want to tell you that I love you Chad! Thanks for all the adventures this year.

We thought the year apart was hard, but if we can make it through the first year of med school and be happier now than when we got married then we are set for eternity! Love you babe - Happy Anniversary!

Killers!

Thanks to our friend Jordan, we were able to get Killers tickets. Chad and I saw them in Utah when we were dating and it wasn't that big of deal to get tickets, but in Vegas it is a very different story. Vegas is their home town, so they are always sold out within minutes. It was such a great night and the Killers were AMAZING as usual! Brandon Flowers is such a great performer and they sound so awesome live. I LOVE THE KILLERS!





Chad is kind of hiding behind me if you were wondering. He is the one reaching around me giving a peace sign... of course. Get it for the Killers!

We'll Miss You Grandpa

About 10 days after we got back from Spring Break, my grandpa passed away at his home in Salem. He was healthy his entire life up until a few months ago when he took a pretty hard fall and broke a few ribs. He went into the hospital in March because he couldn' t breath and they found that he had an accumulation of blood in his lungs. After spending some time in the hospital, my mom's family decided it would be best for him to be at home. They had a hospital bed in his house and my mom and her brothers and sisters took turns staying with him and taking care of him.

When I was up there during spring break, I had the opportunity to stay with him one evening. I will never forget that experience. I was able to serve my grandpa one last time. I'm so thankful that my grandpa lasted long enough for me to say goodbye to him one last time.


My Dad, brother, Chad, and all the brothers-in-law went down before we left to go back to Vegas from Spring break to give both my grandpa and grandma blessings. It was such a spiritual experience for our family and it gave us all closure to accept his death.

My grandpa was one of the best men I have ever known. He only knew how to work and give service to others. From before I was born to a few months before he died, my grandpa would wake up every morning to go do chores at the dairy. He was always looking for someone in need of his help. He would give up the clothes on his back if it meant someone else could get what they needed. My grandparents were never wealthy, but they always supported all of the their grandkids on their missions and always donated anything extra to the church.

The funeral was awesome. My mom's brothers and sisters all talked about their memories of their dad while growing up. It was fun to hear everyone's own opinion about him and how he treated each of them like they were the favorite. My grandpa fought in WWII so he had the military men there and they shot their guns.

I love you grandpa and I will miss you.

Spring Break!!... I mean Passover.

If any of you don't know, Touro is a Jewish school and therefore we celebrate Jewish holidays. Fortunately for us, Passover fell at a time so that we got 10 days off from school!! It was a much needed break right after a block week in order to gear up for the final block of school.

Right when I came home from my last exam, Chad surprised me with..... KEENS! I know what you are thinking.. sickness. Because I thought the same thing. I think Keens could possibly be the ugliest shoe known to man. Chad got them specifically so we could go to Zion's and hike the narrows. I sucked up my pride and put on the shoes. I must admit, I am glad that I had them while I was hiking. They are very practical hiking shoes. (ugly but practical)


We set out on our journey to Zion's at 5 am so that we could meet our friend, John, and be able to still hike the narrows that day. So we get our camp site all picked out and we jump on the bus to take us to the beginning of the narrows. On our way up there, we noticed a few things that were a little weird.
Clue 1: There was no one else on the bus that was geared up to hike the narrows (one of the more popular hikes).
Clue 2: When we got off the bus and started up the paved trail before getting in the water, we noticed a few people putting on dry suits. We seriously made fun of them because they were too sissy to get wet.

Then came the water...
We were told by friends and read online that all they up the narrows, you just "waded" from one land piece to the next. Waded meaning ankle deep most of the time and SOME knee deep. Well, it was definitely not like that. Immediately the water was knee deep and it quickly became almost waist deep with hardly any land in site. This wouldn't have been so bad if the water wasn't 40 degrees, and we were in the shade the entire time. It was a little on the chilly side. We hiked up about 15 minutes and I seriously started getting hypothermia. Oh, and the people with dry suits that we were making fun of.... ya, they passed us with little smirks on their faces. We found out the hard way that apparently April is way too early in the season to be hiking the narrows. We turned around and found some sun to bring our body temperatures back up to normal.

This is me before entering the water.










John and I are trying not to get wet. This is the most shallow part. We didn't take any pictures of the deepest parts because were just worried about not falling on our butts at that point.








This is Chad trying to tough it out. I will admit it, I was the wimp in the group who wanted to turn around. Notice how far up it is wet on Chad's shorts and now add about 4 inches to that and you will get how high the water was on me. This is before the deepest part. Oh well, it was fun trying and an experience we will never forget. We are going to try to go back sometime this summer to hike the narrows and the subway.




When we turned around, we decided to hike Angel's landing instead. It was such an awesome hike! I would recommend it to anyone going to Zion's. It is mostly in the sun, so this is the perfect hike for the earlier months in the season. I would hate to be hiking that in 100 degree weather.

Chad and I found a cave on the way up to the top.










Chad and I at the very highest point - the actual "angel's landing."










Chad almost fell off!!











We had a great time at Zion's and we hope we get to finish what we started this summer! We went to Salem after that to spend some time with my family and especially with my grandpa since he was in poor health. All in all, it was a great spring break and exactly what I needed to relieve the stress from school!

Wedding Season

Chad's sister, Katelin, got married at the end of March to her new hubby Sean! We are so excited for them. I didn't get to go to the wedding because I couldn't miss school. I still feel like a horrible person for missing their wedding, but I would have literally failed Neuro if I would have gone. I really wish I could have been there! From what I can tell from the pictures and what Chad tells me, the temple ceremony was awesome and the reception was gorgeous! Not to mention the bride... love the dress! We are so happy to have Sean in the family. Get it Sean and Kate, GET IT!

Oh, and Sean and Kate came down a few weekends ago and spent the night with us on the way to AND from Arizona and I only saw them for 10 minutes on their way out the door Sunday morning. School is seriously taking over my life. Sorry guys! I wish I could have spent more time with you.

Updates!!

I know, I know... I am the worst at blogging! I have been so busy with school that this blog was the last thing on my mind. Now that I have had some time to catch up on my sleep, I have gotten up enough strength to tackle this. I am just going to post EVERYTHING that we have done since March. It isn't that much, seeing as how most of the time I was just seeing white walls in a prison called Touro University, but there will be a lot! Be prepared for what is to come!

Dreaming of Summertime...

Since this summer is the only time I will be able to get any free time, my parents are giving us a week in their Marriott timeshare. Chad and I need to decide where we should go and we need your help! I really want to go somewhere with a beach, but I'm open to anything. If anyone has ANY ideas, we would love some. I have been looking at all the different places for two days and I can't decide where we want to go. Has anyone been anywhere fun and adventurous lately?

Life in Vegas

What does a ginormous baby, two men getting a workout in their underwear, and weird creatures walking around on stilts all have in common? It must be.... MYSTERE! One of the perks about living in Las Vegas is that we get locals pricing for a few select shows. For our first Valentine's day as a married couple, Chad got us tickets to go see Mystere. Although it was a week late because I had to study for blocks, we had such a great time! It was really weird and we couldn't figure out if there was a story line, but all of the acrobatics were amazing!

After the show, we went to eat at Little Italy in the Fashion Show Mall. The food was amazing, but the view was better! The restraunt had an awesome view of the Wynn. It made us wish that we had more money so we could stay at the new part of the Wynn, the Encore. We had a really fun Late Valentine's Day.

I finally gave in! It took me a while, but I have finally started a blog. I decided it would just be a good way to let people know what is going on with us since we live in Vegas. For those of you who haven't been in touch with either of us, here is a little background. Chad and I met in 2005 in a BYU physics class. We studied together and became friends before we started dating. Chad moved to Arizona for work during my last year at BYU so we lived apart for a year. We got married in June of 2008 and moved to Las Vegas so that I could go to osteopathic medical school. I just finished my first semester! Chad found a job at an investment company and has enjoyed learning about that industry. His job is really flexible so that has given him time to study for the LSAT which will take in Feb. Here are some pictures from our wedding.