Crafty Cousin Part 2

My cousin is doing an awesome giveaway on her craft blog and it's so easy to enter!  Check it out at http://vintagewannabee.blogspot.com, and enter to win!

When Life Gets Tough, Paint.

Lately, life has been really tough.  When life gets tough, I get painting.

This picture was inspired by another painting I saw by an artist named Paul Sinus.  It came at a time when someone I went to high school with got into a serious car accident.  He may or may not survive, and even though we didn't know each other well, I felt deeply affected by his tragedy.  

"Vanished"

9x12

Oil on canvas

“Suddenly, as rare things will, it vanished.”
--Elizabeth Barrett Browning

We are all pulling for you Max, hang in there.

This picture represents the most difficult day of my life.  In the past two days, I've lost, and I've loved.  When I started this painting I was helpless, afraid, and angry.  But sometime during the course of painting this, everything changed.  Instead of anger and fear I was overcome by love.  A love that will never falter, or fail.  A love that has been tested to the breaking point, and still survived.

"Engulfed"

20x20

Oil on canvas

"Love is a spirit all compact of fire."
--William Shakespeare

Love is a spirit composed of fire.  It can be jealous, or it can be warm.  Love can be like smoldering ashes, or it can be a flame as bright as day.  Love can stand the test of time if it is cared for and fed.  Love can burn you, or it can save your life.  Luckily for me, it was the latter.  His love saved me, and I'll never forget that.

I love you Nick.

Christmas Never Looked So Good

Nick and I have been married for two years now, and this will be our third Christmas together.  We've never even thought about sending out Christmas cards, because we figured people only did that once something exciting happened in their lives, like having children.  Until I saw a post on my sister's blog about a Christmas card giveaway from Shutterfly.  It's so simple!  All you have to do is make a blog post, and bam!  There they are, 50 free Christmas cards.  There are so many cute designs to choose from, (it took Nick and I an hour to sort through them all), but we finally decided on one called Pretty Little Ornaments.
I also thought it might be a fun idea for presents to the parentals this year to make them a photo calendar of pictures of all the kids using Shutterfly's easy photo calendar project.  I decided against the idea only because Nick and I have given family picture projects to our parents every year since we've been married, and I bet they are really sick of looking at our faces!  And if you're planning a holiday party, take some of the stress away by using Shutterfly's user friendly holiday invitations project.
After seeing how easy it was to make Christmas cards, I highly recommend taking advantage of this great offer!  It's as simple as picking a card, dropping in your family's pictures, and clicking the order button.  The holidays never looked so good!

Crafty Cousin

This is my crafy cousin, Nichelle's, website!  Check her stuff out, it's super cute!
The Vintage Wanna Bee

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The good:
My 12 straight days of working (throw in a double on day 8) was officially over at 6:00 this morning!

The bad:
Thursday morning class meant after getting off an 8 hour shift on my twelfth straight day of work, I didn't get to go home and sleep off the exhaustion....I had to go straight to school.

The ugly:
My class doesn't get out until 3:30pm.

The good:
I got out of class an hour early!

The bad:
My car sucks.

The ugly:
I blew a tire on the way home.  And if you don't recall, this will be the third major tire disaster in less than 6 months.

The good:
It happened on the way home from school rather than on the way to school.  Also, Nick just happened to be on his lunch break at that very moment, so he offered to come help.

The bad:
Apparently, there was an accident.  Nick was stuck in traffic.

The ugly:
My tire was literally blown to bits.

The good:
A cop happened to drive by while I sat helplessly in my car.  He called the UDOT Highway Incident Management Team to come rescue me.  Which, they did.

The bad:
Nick drove all the way out to where I was for nothing.

The ugly:
My face after 12 straight days of work, and school, with hardly any sleep, hurting my back (bad- one whole side is numb every time I bend over), aching muscles, shooting pains in my neck, and knowing that I have reached the point of being so exhausted, that I'm no longer tired.

The good:
I got a 98% (49/50) on my first pathophysiology exam of the quarter!

The really good:
I have 4 glorious days off of everything!  No school, no work....just me, a hot shower, my Nicky, Juni, family, Halloween/birthday parties, and glorious, glorious sleep!  YAY.

A Perfect Quarter

This is a summary of my first quarter of nursing school....

That's right, 4.0!  9 credits of perfect.

It's triplets!

The title tricked you didn't it?  No, I'm not pregnant.  This is a picture from my sister date with my sister, and her two adorable children.  Everyone has always told me that I look like my sister, and I never believe them.  I always wished that I looked more like Jenny, as she is the more beautiful one.  But this  picture has proved me wrong...we look like twins.  After taking a closer look, I realized that Pearl could seriously pass for my flesh and blood.  I think we look exactly the same in this picture.  The shape of our eyes, our nose, our cheeks, even the shape of our eyebrows!  Amazing!  I hope I have kids that look like Pearl, because she's a freaking cutie!

Families

"Families are the compass that guide us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter."

-- Brad Henry

 

My family is, hands down, the coolest in the world.  The past few weeks I've really grown a great appreciation for my family.  Not being able to see them as often as I'd like has made me realize how much I miss and love them.

My Dad can fix ANYTHING.  And he does it with a smile on his face just because he loves you.  He is the most patient man I've ever known, and he is the glue that holds our family together.  He is truly my hero, I couldn't ask for a better role model to try to live up to.

My Mom accepts me for who I am, even when I am being a little shit!  She is always there to count on, and always strives to give us the best life possible.  I couldn't ask for anything more out of life than to be the kind of mother that she is.  Mom - you are far above the best mother anyone could ever hope for.

My sister, Jenny, is my best friend.  I can't imagine life without her.

My big brother, Jesse, is a freaking stud.  I can't begin to describe how much he means to me...I still remember him giving me the greatest gift I've ever received: "No matter where I am or what I'm doing, if you need me, call me, and I will be there."

Kurtis, my big little brother, is the most hilarious person I've ever met.  He makes me laugh every time I talk to him.  He is such an amazing person, and I only hope that I can teach him as much as he has taught me.  He is the easiest person in the world to talk to, and I love knowing that he does (even if he won't admit it) like hanging out with me!

Emily (Jesse's wife), you are so strong.  I only hope that I can be half the woman that you are.  Plus, we share clothes, and that is awesome!

Jeff, you are my knight in shining armor!  How many times have you fixed my POS car without complaining?  More than you wanted to, I'm sure, and I'll be forever grateful for you and your sense of humor!  

Ruby, Pearl, and Cole, an aunt couldn't ask for better nieces and nephews!  You love unconditionally, and you have such wonderful little spirits!  Ruby and Pearl, you are so spunky and constantly amaze me with your wonderful imagination!  Cole, your hair is pure bliss, and so are your cute baby noises.

To my Grandparents, I love you all so much.  I've never met people who were more giving and sincere in everything you do.  Grandma Allen, you are the life of the party, and I love that about you!  Grandpa Allen, I always knew that no matter what happened in my life, you would always be there for me.  

Grandpa Jewkes, you give without expecting anything in return.  You put so much love in everything that you do, and have taught me so much.  Grandma Jewkes, I miss you every single day.  I still learn so much from you, and know that you would be proud of the woman I have become.

Nick, the past three years have been the best of my life, and all the good things I am are because of you.

Aunt Julie, Uncle Bob, and Aunt Sugar, you taught me how to be beautiful - inside and out.

To all my other family, I love you too!  I could go on for days about all the wonderful things you have done for me in my life, and all the wonderful memories I have of us, but it's past my bedtime.  I love and miss you all!

"The family is a haven in a heartless world. "

--Christopher Lasch

The Life of a Working Student

Yes, I stole this picture from Jenny.

No, it is not the most flattering picture of me, but Cole looks adorable sporting his new do!

I miss Cole, Pearl, and Jenny.

I never knew how much seeing them everyday would mean to me, but now that I'm lucky to see them once a week, I miss them terribly.

My sister is my best friend.  Pearl and Cole are literally like my kids.  But ever since I got a full time job and started nursing school, I feel like I'll be lucky if they even remember who I am!

I'm constantly worrying about them and thinking about them and wishing I could go see them or do something for them.

I'll admit, I cried a lot over labor day weekend because I was stuck working while my family was at Bear Lake.  

I miss my family.  I miss being able to go up to Logan on the weekends to hang out with them.  I miss being able to go to Bear Lake for every holiday over the summer. 

What was I thinking taking on a full time job and full time school?!  Don't get me wrong, I love my new job, and I'm enjoying school, but I feel like all I do is work, go to school, come home, go to bed, and wake up the next morning to do it all over again!  I barely even see Nick anymore, because when we are both home, I am so exhausted I usually just sit and fall asleep in the chair or go to bed at 8:00!

Eh, its just the life of a working student, right?  Someone tell me it will get better!

Double Trouble

I've been slacking this summer.  Not just on blogging, but on having a life outside of work and school.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my new jobs and am loving school, but I feel like I literally don't have a life.  The last two weeks I have been working doubles nearly every day, and on the days I don't work doubles, I work a regular 8 hour shift and then go straight to school.  By the time I get home, I am so worn out that I skip dinner and go straight to bed.  It's been a really hectic time for me, but I'm enjoying (almost) every minute of it.

School is going great, and so far I have a 4.0.  It's midterms this week, so hopefully I can keep up the good grades for just a few more weeks.

I really love my job.  The people I work with are great, and I've met some really neat people with fascinating stories!  Last Tuesday I met a man who grew up in Germany during WWII and had actually met Hitler.  How crazy is that?  I also met a woman who was a nurse during WWII and saw things I hope I never have to.  

I really miss the kids and my coworkers at the daycare.  I find myself constantly having dreams about the kids, and wish I could still be Miss Kimmy.  I miss being able to see Pearl, Cole, and my sister every day.  It really meant a lot to be such a huge part of their lives, and I hope they don't forget about me!

Despite being insanely busy, I have been able to make three fun trips this summer: one to the Peacock Reunion, and two to Bear Lake!

The Peacock reunion was as fun as ever, and despite the fact that I went there with nothing but $9 to my name, I came back with the two most coveted items there!

The "women's quilt" from the annual quilt raffle...

...and a homemade wooden puzzle of a turtle that my Grandpa Jewkes made!

Pearl got a wooden puzzle of an elephant (which was my second favorite)!  And we spent almost an hour playing with them.  My Grandpa is amazing, and I am so grateful to have things that he made with his own hands and that will forever remind me of what a wonderful and giving person he is.  Love you Grandpa!

Oh, and remember these babies?!

They made $75 at the auction!  I was so pleased that people liked them!

I also made two trips to Bear Lake, one over the 4th of July, and one for Raspberry days.  It's great to be able to spend a few weekends with my entire family.  And what better way to do it than at Bear Lake on the beach!?

I haven't uploaded (more like thieved them from Jenny) any pictures from the Bear Lake trips yet, but I will post them soon!

A Plethora of Peacocks

Every year over the 24th of July, our family heads down to Castledale, Utah for the Peacock family reunion.  This isn't your traditional, lame, boring, sitting around talking to people you don't even know kind of reunion.  It is, by far, the coolest family reunion I have ever (and will ever) been to.  Not only is there tons of food, fun family, and entertainment...there is an auction.  Yes, an auction.  Where you spend real money (it all goes to buying food for next year's reunion) on cool things that are mostly handmade by someone in the family.  Last year Nick and I bought a hand crocheted afghan, and a handmade wooden jewelry/music box.  Well this year I decided that I wanted to pitch in, but because of my lack of talent, I did the only thing I know how to do...paint.  I wanted it to be related to the family somehow...and so, I painted a peacock!

After the first peacock I thought, "Hey, I want one of these."  So I made myself one.  Then I showed the peacock to my sister, and she demanded I make her one.  So I did.  Then I showed it to my Mom and sister-in-law...they wanted one too, so I made them one as well.  By the time all was said and done, I had an entire party of painted peacocks on my hands, and I love them!  I can't wait to see if someone wants to buy them at the family auction!

This is the whole gang.

This is the original peacock, the one my sister demanded from me!

We Highed To Kolob

Over the weekend of the 12th, my family took a small vacation to Southern Utah to see my cousin Paul and his new wife Jenny.  (Congratulations!)

During the trip we accompanied my Grandma and Grandpa Allen to Kolob Canyons, and also stopped to see the site of the Mountain Meadows Massacre.  Despite the somewhat dismal weather, it was a wonderful trip and the scenery was breathtaking.  

Here are some photo's from Kolob Canyon. 

Grandma & Grandpa Allen, Kurtis, Mom, Dad, Kim, Nick

 

These flowers are awesome!  I wish I knew what they were.  They remind me of the Fireweed in Alaska.

 

This one was edited using the settings on my camera.  Who knew you could do so much directly on the camera?

 

My Mom decided to name this rock formation "Butt-Crack Rock"

 

View looking back into Kolob Canyon

The next day on our way to Panaca, Nevada to see Paul, Jenny and the rest of their gang, we stopped by the site of the Mountain Meadows Massacre.  I'm sure you've all heard of it, but actually being there and reading what happened was heartbreaking.  Over 120 people were killed, including women and children.  Only the lives of 17 children under the age of 8 were spared.  

There were two attack sites, the first was where the Baker-Fancher party were originally camped.

This marker explains what happened at Site #1 - September 7, 1857

After the Mormons & Indians formed a treaty with the remaining members of the party, they led the rest of the wagon train onwards and eventually stopped them and ambushed them, killing all but 17 children.

This marker explains what happened after the remaining campers were being escorted out of the valley.  

Site #2 - September 11, 1857

It was so sad to read such a heart breaking story and see where it all happened.

By the way, September 11th...freaky right?

Cole Royal Johnson

Cole is 10 days old already!  He's so stinkin' cute!

Pearl is such a good big sister...in fact, she may love him a little too much.  She smothers him with kisses and hugs and always wants to hold him.

He had his photo's taken by Robert Dyer Photography, and as always, they are awesome!

RICCO!

This morning at 4am I got the call I've been waiting for....Ricco was on his way!  I rushed over to Jenny's house so I could be with Pearl while they went to the hospital.

Ricco, (still no official name), was born at 11:30am.  He was 7 lbs. 10 oz., 20 inches long, and has TONS of blond hair!

Check out that mohawk!

Proud and beautiful Mama!

 Uncle Nick with baby Ricco!

Ford Tough Failure

As if last week's drama wasn't enough, Ford Tough (my car) is at it again. Yesterday, Nick and I woke up early so we could go to breakfast before our appointment with Robert Dyer Photography. We hopped on the freeway and before we knew it, something was wrong with the car. We pulled over to check all the tires to see if ANOTHER one had gone flat, but none of them had. So we started driving, but something was definitely wrong. We pulled over again and Nick told me to drive toward him so he could see what was going on. He immediately put his hands up and started yelling at me to stop....

This is what we found:

Our front driver's side tire literally looked like it had boobs! There were two massive bulges and several small ones...it was so scary! I'm pretty sure that if we had kept driving and not noticed the bulges, it would have completely exploded and we would have been driving on the rim....at 70mph!!!

The best part....it was a BRAND SPANKING NEW tire! I had it for less than a week. We put the spare tire on and went to our appointment...an hour early. Afterward, we took it straight to the shop. The guy got this horrible look on his face when we showed it to him and all he said was, "Oh my god, that is so scary! I'm so sorry." Haha, every single time he walked past us he would just shake is head and say, "So scary."

Apparently bulging tires are pretty dangerous.

My Knights In Shining Armor

Once again I've been a blogging slacker, but in my defense, life has recently taken a turn for the craziest.
To read about Easter and baby animal days, check out my sister's blog.

I'll try to blog my version later, but for now, I have to blog about the worst 24-hours of my life.

**Note: Author was very loopy when she wrote this. Please forgive her rambling, grammar errors, and any other nonsense you find.

Yesterday after I got off of work, I went over to my sister's house to get some yummy leftovers. I played with my adorable Pearl for a while, and then around 8:00 decided it was time to head to the store, and then home. Unfortunately Ford Tough (my car) decided not to cooperate. He wouldn't start no matter how hard I tried.
Luckily, my brother-in-law, Jeff, came to the rescue. Yes, Jeff, you are knight in shining armor #1. He worked on my poor car for over an hour, getting all greased up and dirty trying to fix the starter motor connections. It finally started and off I went. Hopefully my sister likes her man dirty!

After a trip to Target, and Wal-Mart, I hit the road for home. Ford Tough decided he didn't want to put up with the freeway though, so he blew a tire. Yeah, blowing a tire at 60mph is not fun. I know how to change a tire, really, but I panicked. It was the freeway, and 11:00 at night. So I called knight in shining armor #2, Nick.

He drove all the way out to where I was and spent at least a half hour changing my tire. (The jack was not cooperating too well.)

By the time we got home it was 12:30 and we were both exhausted. I relaxed for a while and then decided to hop in the shower so that I had time to go get a new tire the next morning before work.

Our shower downstairs has been having some drainage issues the last week, and is unusable. So I attempted to use the upstairs shower. I don't think it liked the idea very well because as soon as I got in and tried to close the glass sliding door, it fell off the track. As I was holding it in both hands trying to put it back, it shattered. Completely shattered. There is nothing left of it. Glass was everywhere; covering the tub, the floor, the sink, and even managed to make it out into the hallway despite the closed door.

Needless to say, I found myself standing in a pool of shattered glass with no escape route. Immediately panic set in. I spent what felt like a lifetime trying to find some way around all the glass before my knight in shining armor came to the rescue, again. Nick had heard the glass break and came running. He lifted me up out of my glass pool, plopped me down on a towel in the hallway and ran for his first aide kit. Blood was everywhere....EVERYWHERE. It soaked all the way through the folded towel and into the carpet, and was dripping down my legs and arms. I really wanted to post pictures of the mess (awesome!), but Nick told me no.

Nick wrapped up my foot and arm and rushed me to the E.R. Four and a half hours later, I was leaving with six stitches in the bottom of my toe, crutches, and multiple other minor cuts and scrapes. The shots to numb the wound were honestly the most painful thing I've ever experienced (even worse than exploding ovaries). It felt like someone was relentlessly jamming a hot metal rod into the already sore wound. Not to mention the lady who did my stitches was a student, and in Nick's words, "she did a hack job." Yes, I felt the stitches, and yes, it hurt almost as bad as the numbing job.

It could have been a lot worse, and Nick and I are very glad it didn't turn out worse than it was. Nick saved me, twice. He really is my knight in shining armor. Love you babe!

On a good note, Ricco is almost here! YAY!

Ugh.

It has been a very rough week.

Lost and Found

I found it! I found my camera inside a T-mobile phone box. No more nights spent crying and searching our tiny house for it.

As a side note, T-mobile is weak, just like their boxes.

The hubs, he's good

I was s-p-o-i-l-e-d with a spotless kitchen, two dozen roses, and a sexy hubby when I got home from work yesterday!


Unfortunately, there is a down side to this story. I needed to take a picture of the beautiful flowers, which ended with a very frustrating, tearful two-day search for my camera. I have turned our house and cars upside down, and I swear it grew legs and walked out. I can't find it anywhere. So I had to use Nicks camera, and I don't like it.

Gift Card Shopping Spree

Today, after I took my Social Epidemiology exam, I gathered up all of my gift cards and hit the stores! Thanks Val and Amy (one of my favorite mom's from the daycare) for providing me with a much needed day of relaxing and spending mulah! For Free!!

Thanks to Amy, these shoes now belong on my feet. Yay!

Val, I was able to get three books with the Barnes and Noble gift card you gave me. I'm very excited to read them, and can't wait for some free time to get started. Spring Break here I come!

I also bought a new sweatshirt and a couple of shirts from Old Navy with a gift card I got for Christmas. It was a good day!

Nick and I went to see Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland movie on opening night, and it is definitely a MUST see! So good.

We also had the chance to go with his mom and dad to the Utah Symphony last night. The names of the pieces slipped my mind, but I know it was Mozart, and I know it was great! Not to mention the wicked cool blown glass art piece out in the foyer. It was made by Dale Chihuly for the 2002 Olympics and it was spectacular!

Blogging Failure

My favorite part about blogging (or lack of): Making the headers! And I have to say that so far, March is definitely one of my favorites. Too bad it can only stay up there for a month.

The Last Hoorah!

Finals week was a mess. Nick and I spent all week studying, getting no sleep, and praying that we'd be awake enough to take the tests. Literally one hour after Nick and I finished our last final, we headed to American Fork to see our sister, Laura, become Mrs. Tyler Hogge! The bride and groom looked beautiful, and despite our crankiness and lack of sleep, Nick and I tried to put on happy faces.

We fell asleep at the reception...whoops!

Well, we didn't sleep the whole time! We had to mingle. More like I had to follow Nick around like a lost puppy while he talked to people!

Congrats Laura and Tyler! We love you guys!

Then it was one quick week to do all of the Christmas shopping and trying to catch up on sleep before we headed to Logan on Christmas Eve. We spent X-mas Eve and the next morning with my family, then headed on a 2.5 hour drive to Alpine for another round of opening presents and getting spoiled! We had such a blast over Christmas that I didn't take any pictures...pathetic, I know!

After that it was a week of relaxing before driving back to Logan for New Years and a slew of bowl games! Go Utes!

Then back home just in time for the last hurrah! Ice Skating! Nick and I drove out to Midway to visit the largest refrigerated outdoor ice rink. We were actually the only ones there for the first 15 minutes! It was a blast and we plan on going again soon!

Sadly, this holiday season wasn't all fun and games. Last Monday my cousin Nichelle got into a sledding accident. She was sledding down Old Main in Logan and hit a tree. She collapsed her right lung, broke six ribs and three vertebrae in the lumbar region of her spinal column, and dislocated her left hip. She is so lucky to be alive and walking! She was released from the hospital on Saturday and I was able to go up to Logan to visit her. I was so amazed that she is doing so well! She is a lucky girl and we're so glad that she's going to be okay. She was sledding with some very good friends of mine from high school and I couldn't have hoped for her to be surrounded by better people! You rock Nichelle, recover quickly and know we love you so much!