November in a Nutshell

November was a busy month between Ryan having finals, Thanksgiving, and work. We drove to Michigan to stay with my sister and the rest of my family came and visited as well. It was so fun having our whole family together for Thanksgiving. We haven't been together for over a year and we haven't been together for Thanksgiving since 2001!!

Next year we will be moving to Grand Blanc MI so Ryan can continue his education in a hospital setting. I am so excited to move there for many reasons but an added bonus is that it is 40 minutes away from my sister!! Ryan and I decided to take a day and drive up there to look at different housing places. It was crazy to think that in 7 months this will be our new home. The hospital/grounds were really nice and we found some nice places we could live in :)

My nephew turned 3 and we celebrated with a cowboy cake. We did the tradition turkey dinner with all the fixings but most importantly...


BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING!!! and turkey bowl (football)
My sister and I left the house at midnight to head to Old Navy for pjs and noticed that the line was forming already at Target (we weren't plannin on lining up until 2) so we hurried and ran to Walmart to get some presents on sale and then headed to Target. We were not prepared for the freezing cold temperatures. My sister was in flip flops and I was in a hoodie. She stood in line while I ran back to the house for some warm supplies. We got home at 7:30, took a small nap, showered and headed out again with my mom...

We scored some good deals and now I can't wait for Christmas!!

We returned home to Kirksville to super cold temperatures. It makes it feel more like Christmas without snow and the mountains back west :(
I haven't even unpacked yet because next Friday we are leaving to go to Idaho Falls to visit Ryan's family and having Christmas there!

I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving and have a Merry Christmas (hopefully I post before that!)

Party Time

Finals are over!! Bags are packed!! And it is time for Thanksgiving with the family :)

Much Needed Update

Don't worry everyone we are still alive, just really really busy!! So here is a quick update for Ryan and I...

Ryan
1. Its FINALS WEEK
2. Won intramural volleyball YES, WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!!

Lisa
1. Became a licensed pharm tech and has started working full time :)
2. Went to Centerville IA and picked up an antique hope chest for a low $50 GREAT BUY!!
3. Also won intramural volleyball!


OK so I realized we really didn't have anything to update since Halloween.... sad life I know, but we are really REALLY excited to get out of town this weekend for Thanksgiving break :)

Happy Halloween

We had a Halloween party at a friends house and it was a blast. We had over 20 people and had soup, salad, and home made rootbeer! The kids had a pinatta full of candy and also a cake walk/dance party :) The couple had fun doing a donut on a string eating contest and Matt and Kenzi DOMINATED with eating that dounut in 10 seconds!!

Happy Halloween

ps next year we'll be in Michigan and spending Halloween with my sister and here family!!

Pumpkin Party

We are so lucky to have great friends here in Kirksville. When we move next year I am really going to miss all them all and the little things we do together.

Our friends invited us over to their house to carve pumpkins since Halloween is THIS SUNDAY!! Ryan and I stopped at Walmart and bought a cute perfectly round pumpkin to carve.

Thanks Earl and Rachel for having us over and hope everyone is ready for Halloween!

ps does anyone have any good costume ideas???

Future Doctor!

Today we found out where Ryan will be working and continuing his medical education. We gave the school our top six places which were Grand Blanc MI, St Louis MO, Wyandotte MI, Columbus OH, Detroit MI, and Trenton MI....

We got our 1st choice!! Next June we will be moving to Grand Blanc Michigan and couldn't be more excited. I have sister that lives in Canton MI which is a little more than a hour away from us!!

Wish us luck :)

Ryan's Ankle

Last Saturday Ryan was playing intramural flag football and decided to roll his ankle! He jumped up to block a pass and landed on the the opposing teams foot, causing Ryan to roll his ankle. He hoped off the field and stayed on the couch icing his ankle all weekend. By Monday he was able to put some weight on it.


His two feet after it happened... before the swelling was at its biggest

During class, Ryan was moving his ankle seeing how if felt and noticed that he could move it front to back but wasn't able to go side to side and was worried that he might have fractured the bones on the side of his foot. So we drove to Macon, MO to the doctors office that Ryan works with with ortho club. They took some xrays and everything is fine and the doctor was surprised that he didn't fracture the blah blah blah bone....


His two feet and my foot.... You can't even see his ankle bone!

All in all, his foot was super swollen, and not it is bruised all over! Looks pretty cool :) but don't worry Ryan is fine and was playing goalie in soccer later that week. (the goalie only stands there anyways!)


The next day the color started showing on his ankle and toes

Do you ever....

Do you ever see your husband?? That is probably the most common question that I am asked... Every time I say yeah and never really think about it, but I figure I will designate a post just to being a medical student wife/widow!!

I was thinking about this the other night and remembering what it was like being married to Ryan while he was attending BYU and the differences between undergrad and medical school. I realized that life really isn't different! I came to Missouri prepared to never see him and cherish the little moments we had together between tests. I was surprised when he was home ALL THE TIME!

During undergrad Ryan always took a full course load, worked on campus or off, and still kept a really high GPA. I think that work ethic really helped him adjust to medical school and the pressures it has on a student.

One little difference is that Ryan can't skip class and head to Snowbird for the occasional snow day and snowboard in all the fresh powder :)

Another difference is that I we eat more at home now... In Provo we would either be eating out or switching nights cooking/eating at other family members house. We were blessed to have my brother and sister attend BYU while we were there and we would switch nights cooking for everyone.

We still are involved with intramurals. Ryan played soccer at BYU and he still has a night once a week to play. He also plays raquetball, football and we play volleyball together.

I am not saying medical school is easy and that it's for every one but you really get out of it what you put into it. Ryan works hard so we can enjoy time keeping a normal life... But he really can't wait to enjoy some snow days again :)

Temple Cleaning

So my friend Kenzi and I went and helped cleaned the Nauvoo temple this week and it was a really fun experience. It was a little strange at first just walking around inside the temple, but it was fun to see some of the things that you usually wouldn't see while doing a session.

We were able to walk down the hall way with some of the original temple clothes from saints that lived in Nauvoo, keys to the original temple and we saw Joseph Smith's sword. They head custodian lady showed us part of the painting in one of the rooms that President Hinckley painted and she also showed us some of the "secrets" to the murals in the rooms.

She told us that next time we could go up in the tower that is on top of the temple!

It was fun to get out of Kirksville and have girl talk on the way to Nauvoo. Thanks for going with me Kenzi!!

Falling in Love Again

So just had to post this, but last night I came home from a meeting around 10:30pm. Ryan stayed up playing on his computer until I came home (sweet huh). We had a five minute conversation about the meeting and then he headed to bed. I did a few things around the house, turned off lights and locked door, then headed upstairs to go to bed as well....

We are lying in bed and I tell Ryan that I am starving. He sits up and asks if I want him to make me some pancakes!!! I paused thinking about warm chocolate chip pancakes hot from the griddle, covered with syrup, served to me in bed by my husband. Oh.... but then I thought about Ryan staying up another 30 minutes when I know he has a 7am meeting. I told him thats sweet but he didn't have too and gave him a kiss good night.

I have to say that I fell in love with Ryan again when he offered to make me pancakes!!

Football Frenzy

You can't have a fall without some FOOTBALL! We love us some football... We got College Football, Intramural Football, Fantasy Football, and Monday Night Football!

Like I said we love us some football. It's the perfect time of year for it. The weather is cool and crisp. Makes me crave a hot dog and some nachos :) The sad thing is it makes me miss BYU and going to their football games with friends and family. BUT Missouri is very colorful and vibrant.


Ryan is on an intramural team with some friends and it is fun to watch him and hang on the sidelines with the other wives.

In the Mood...

ok ok get your mind out of the gutter!! But really, I don't know if it was the weather or going on all the summer vacations, but I AM BACK!! I feel normal again and feel back into my same routine... I finally want to clean and cook meals again and just be the best wife ever! Today I cleaned me house from top to bottom, did all the laundry, and made dinner!

I think Ryan is going to appreciate it because now we won't eat peanut butter sandwiches every night and he'll have clean clothes and our house will look and smell pretty!

Gotta go finish folding laundry... PEACE

Columbia

We spent most of the time in Columbia with Ryan's brother Tyler. We ate at some fantastic restaurants. We tailgated for the opening University of South Carolina football game (sorry no pictures), toured the town and campus and went to the Clemson vs South Carolina soccer game. And we also enjoyed watching BYU beat Washington... GO COUGARS!

Charleston

We spent a day and a half in Charleston and did a boat tour of the harbor and then a carriage ride through the city. I loved the architecture of colonial America and enjoy the stories of the civil war.

my future beach house!

We had great weather and a nice sea breeze to keep us cool. We saw pelicans diving into the ocean and catching fish and also DOLPHINS!! Dolphins were swimming around the shrimp boat feeding off what they were throwing back into the ocean.

We went and toured the Boone Hall Plantation. They had origin slaves homes that served in the house. They had a Gullah guy that did a demonstration on the slave language, and religious beliefs and how they had to adapt them to being in America and learning English.





It was such a fun trip to Charleston. Thanks Ryan and his parents for surprising me with a night in Charleston.

It was a great 23rd birthday!!!

BBQ Beach and Birthday

Ryan's brother Tyler treated us to bbq for my prebirthday dinner. I mean in the the south we have to have some BBQ!!! And as a bonus, my brother Ryan came down from Charlotte to spend the day with us!

For my actual birthday Ryan and I went to Charleston and stayed in a hotel right on the beach! We spent the day relaxing and Ryan enjoyed eating tons of seafood (I don't allow it in my house)

Along for the Ride

Ryan and I hit the road early Saturday morning... We were expecting it to be a 16 hour car drive and we planned on staying the night in Nashville to help break up the drive. Once we turned on the gps and realized it was only a 13 hour drive we decided to keep going.

And We're Off...

Adios Kirksville!! Ryan is done with finals and we are off to enjoy our last bit of summer by heading to South Carolina... We're going to enjoy good food, good company, and just good times together!!

Later!

Manly Man

notice AT Still's mustache!
zoom in and you might see Ryan's!!

Ok... as some of you know it is tradition to grow a mustache called an "osteostache" for orientation to show that you are a second year, full of wisdom and knowledge, and so much cooler than the first years!! Well Ryan tried growing his for WEEKS and this is what he got...

Yeah quite the manly man :)

a little help from crayola :)

Here is Ryan with our friends at a shaving party... Lets just say they had a lot of fun shaving it to look really weird.

after

I don't know why Ryan always ends up doing an awkward prom pose??

before

YAY for now officially becoming 2nd Years!!!