Home Sweet Home

It is so nice to be home... That means Christmas is almost here!! When I got home last week a was filled with holiday spirit. I wrapped all the presents for my mom, helped decorate the house, and just having lots of snow makes it feel like Christmas time :)

I love going home! This is what I would wake up to every morning growing up. I love how you can leave everything behind you and relax. There isn't very good cell service so you turn you phone off and forget about it.

This is some wild life that we saw in less than a weeks time. A deer running through our back yard. And two raccoons in a tree down the street at a neighbors house. We also saw some turkeys! I may live in a small town in the mountains, but who wouldn't want to vacation for Christmas here?!?!

Christmas Spirit

It has finally snowed a couple of inches in Kirksville, making it feel more like the Christmas season. Sunday Ryan and I made and decorated sugar cookies as the first snow flakes came down.

Ryan SUPER excited for cookies



I forgot how pretty things our after it snows...

Gingerbread Houses

This weekend we made ginger bread houses at the Oldham's. It was a great night surrounded by friends, candy and hot chocolate!!


Village of Gingerbread Houses Natalie working hard

Girls admiring their work

Winter Ball

AT Still hosted is annual Winter Ball. It only cost $5 and we got dinner catered by some local place and dancing! It was fun to get dressed up and have a candle lite dinner with Ryan.

Ryan and I pampering ourselves, getting ready for the ball!

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!! Since we were unable to go home for the holiday. Ryan and I grouped up with some of our Kirksville friends for dinner. For our contribution, I made rolls and mashed potatoes. We had turkey, potatoes, gravy, rolls, green bean casserole, corn and salads! It was so delicious!

I love this time of year. I missed being with family, but am so excited to go home for Christmas!!

Cafe Rio

Since there isn't a Cafe Rio in Missouri, we decided to bring it to us! I made the chicken, dressing and tortillas and our friends, the Sandgren's, made the pork, rice and pico de gallo. Lets just say it was pretty darn good! Can't wait to go home and eat the real thing :)

We are the Champions

Last weekend Ryan and I signed up to play in our stake's volleyball tournament. We had an all mens team, all womens team, and coed. We traveled two hours to Macomb, IL and played at Western Illinois University.



The womens team took 1st!! The mens took 1st as well they beat the other Kirksville team in the championship! And our coed team beat the other Kirksville team in the championship to be undefeated as well!! It was a lot of fun and a lot of volleyball. We were tired at the end of the day and so sore Sunday morning :(

FINALS ARE OVER!!

Ryan finished his last final on Friday. He did very well and I am so proud of him!! He was starting to get burned out towards the end, but now has a week off to recuperate! I also am so happy because now we don't have all his books and study notes all over the living room :) (Ryan likes to study with the tv on and not in his office) Good Job RYAN!

Stuff Happens

So Ryan and I have kinda talked about starting a family in the future. It has been quite the experience watching Emi and see her grow. It's like having our own baby but still getting sleep at night!

Well yesterday made me not want to have kids for a while! The day was going normal; eat, nap and playing around. I thought I better change you diaper before your next nap. So I took her out of her bouncer thing that she was sitting and proceeded to change her.

As you can see it was quite a mess. I took her straight up stairs to the guest bathroom. (there was no way I was cleaning that in my shower) Laid her down and took off her clothes and diaper and gave her a quick rinse. I wrapped her in a towel to dry her off when I realized I didn't have any spare clothes. Luckily Ryan was getting home from his test. I had him sit and watch her while I drove to her house to get a new outfit!

Like I said, it is a thing like this, that I am glad to give her back and even more happy that I don't have to do that laundry :)

Michigan

So last week I went to Michigan to see my sister. I had a great time and was glad i could help out in times of need! My niece was running to the kitchen to see what her brothers and I were doing, when she fell and hit her head on the wall. My sister had to take her to the urgent care for three stitches.

I also enjoyed watching my nephew Andrew playing in his first basketball game. I also watched the kids while Christina and Don could go to the temple together, and I also watched the two boys so they could go to parent teacher conferences.

I also cut Brendan's hair which was monumental. He wouldn't let anyone do it! So thanks mom for "letting" me go!

Train Reaction

Quick story for those who haven't heard.... Last week I took the Amtrak train, that has a station by Kirksville, and rode it to Michigan to visit my sister while Ryan gets ready for his first term finals!! Well the train was pretty fun riding it to Chicago and then from Chicago to Ann Arbor (where my sister lives). We were almost to my train depot when the train stopped. We looked around and realized we weren't at a station. The conductor came over the intercom and told us he had to turn off the power and restart it, it will only be a few minutes and then we'll get going again. When he shut off the power people started getting worried and telling all the horror stories that they have heard from friends that have riden the trains. 'One time my friends train hit a deer and they had to stop and clean the tracks off' another person brought up the train that hit a car full of teenagers in Michigan during the summer and killed them. Then someone started joking about if WE hit a car! We all laughed and said we didn't feel anything, we'd know if we hit a car.... Well WE DID HIT A CAR!! A car stalled on the train track, luckily the driver jumped out and wasn't injured. We had to wait for the cops and fire truck to arrive to take statements and get all the passengers information. We were getting ready to leave when more cops arrived. Some lady had jumped off the train and called the cops. She had told them false alligations that were happening on the train. So we had to wait for them to do their investigation. A hour and a half later we started again. It only took 10 more minutes to get to my drop off location! Just my luck, we hit a car down the street from the train station!

We I am enjoying my vacation. Loving all the shopping that me and my sister have done and am so tired from running around with all the kids!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Just want to wish everyone a Happy (and safe) Halloween!!

Life Update

Well not much has happened here. It is now turning into fall and the colors are beautiful. I am not used to this because around this time at home everything in brown and it's getting ready to snow! But here the reds and oranges of the tree leaves is gorgeous!

Ryan has been studying a lot, but now has a routine. There is usually a test every Monday or Friday. He has been really sick lately. At first I had a sore throat and a cough, then he did. At first it was just a common cold but it has really moved down in to his chest. He now coughs up a lot of mucus (sorry for the details) But I think the worst is over and he is slowly getting better.

Well that's about all that is going on in our life!! Hope everyone has a great Halloween!

Hotel Fun

We stayed in Keokuk, Iowa over the weekend while we went to Nauvoo and Carthage. We tried to leave the room as much as possible while Ryan stayed behind to study! The last morning though, Andrew and Brendan included him in their pillow fight. I think there was about 20 pillows that they kept throwing at him!!

Ryan ate catfish for the first time. (my family isn't big fish eaters) They cooked it skeleton and all! YUCK

Hallie enjoying the Halloween candy from Grandma and Andrew and Brendan playing their giant checkers game from Grandpa!

Nauvoo

My parents came to town this weekend. We drove up to Nauvoo and my sister, Christina, and her family drove down from Michigan. It was a great weekend, short, but a great weekend with family and beautiful weather!!

1. The kids had fun at all the presentations that they gave, here they are with Grandpa making rope. 2.One of the original sunstones from the Nauvoo temple and Ryan had to pick it! 3.Ryan and I with our Nauvoo brick.

1. Ryan and I outside the temple. 2. Andrew and Brendan getting their picture (Hallie was asleep in the car) 3. the kids had to burn off some energy by throwing rocks into the Mississippi River

We also stopped and saw Carthage. This is the window that Joseph Smith fell out of.
Like a said the weekend was great! We had so much fun as a family and it was nice to get out of Kirksville.

Fall Time

Well it has been getting pretty cold/chilly here in Missouri. And that has put me in a cooking mood! This weekend I spent the day making Cinnamon Rolls for my first time ever, and I must say they turned out very well! Also made potato soup for dinner last week as well :)

Since we are now starving medical students, we have started making things homemade now instead of having to buy it from the store. So far we have made from scratch: pancakes, pizza dough, flour tortillas, and cinnamon rolls... Next is bread!

Oh and Ryan got his hair cut.... it was SO LONG. This is his hair cutting outfit :)

Emi

sorry couldn't get it to rotate

I have been watching a 3 month old for another student that also goes to AT Still. It's been really fun and trying at times, but have learned a lot. I have never seen Ryan interact with a baby before and he's been doing a good job. I know he'll be a great father (someday) and for it's nice to only have a baby in the day time!

Missouri Howdy

(This is a story Ryan told me last night, sorry about the swearing)

Ryan was sitting on campus studying when one of his professors walked by. Ryan stopped him and said hi and how are you. The professor responding and they had some small talk. At the end of the conversation, the professor said, "Now that you live in Missouri, you need to talk like it. Here we don't ask how are you doing we say 'How the hell are ya' and you don't say fine you say 'Doin dam good'!"

We are slowly learning the Missouri way of life!!

Broken Phone

Last week my phone officially broke!! I am experiencing what it was like before phones and you had to be around a land line. Well I have mailed my phone to my mom (joys of no verizon store nearby) and she will mail me back her old phone! Thanks mom :) so if you need me call Ryan!

Band Wagon Fans

After last nights slaughter, Ryan and I have officially given up on BYU getting a BCS bowl game and are now joining the BSU fan club! *GO BRONCOS*

Ryan (brother) and Ryan (husband) sporting their spirit

My sister Alison and I cheering on BSU

HELP!

If anyone knows how to have the update under their friends and family link so it says their last post entry, CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME!! Several people have said just to check the box, but what box and where!?!

BYU vs Tulane

Some of the students that go to AT Still reserved the rec room on campus. We were able to watch the BYU vs Oklahoma game there as well! There are quite a few people that attended BYU.

This has been quite and exciting season so far.... Ryan is really going to miss being at the games and cheering for the cougars!

Remembering 9/11

Ryan and I were talking about how 9/11 will be the highlight of our generation; like how our parents remember where they were when JFK was shot or how our grandparents talk about Pearl Harbor. So we thought we would share what we were doing that morning....

Ryan was in the shower getting ready for school listening to Z103 in Idaho Falls, Id and heard them talking about how the first tower was hit. By the time he got out of the shower and turned on the TV, the second building had been hit as well.

I was in my kitchen getting lunch or breakfast ready when my dad told us to come into the living room and watch the news. I sat there with some of family and watched the two towers get hit and collapse. My dad told us that he didn't care that we were going to be late to school. When we finally arrived at school, every class room was watching the news and playing those terrible scenes over and over again.

My family and I went to New York when we were little and it was weird to look at the pictures and realize that those buildings were gone and so many things were about to change. We are so thankful to live in a country with all the freedoms that we have! GOD BLESS AMERICA

Rainy Day

The other day it was starting to rain. So I ran up stairs to close our door to the balcony when I saw this cute mama bird sitting on the railing watching her two baby birds playing in the tree!!

Labor Day

We were planning on going to Nauvoo for the weekend but decided to stay home. We went to the lake and had a bbq with some friends from Kirksville. It was a relaxing day filled with food friends and games!

Ryan enjoying the chicken that her made for us :)
After the bbq enjoying the cool Missouri fall weather!
It was a nice night, some bugs, but we had some unexpected visitors....RACCOONS!!