Not again...

I hadn't blogged for a few weeks because I thought, ah, nothing is really going on with us.  But I guess I'm just in denial or failed to remember all these things, so here we go again....

This post isn't one of those, oh look the cute couple are having so much fun....  Nope, not like that this time.  Okay, I'll just get right into it.

David had another kidney stone!!  This is his second, in case you were wondering.  And we really were hoping that he'd never have one again.  I know he'd agree with that for sure, we've even avoided certain foods that we thought were the cause of it before.  So we were babysitting our nephew while his sister was born, and had an enjoyable time at the hospital visiting them.  But I guess we wanted a little more time spent at the hospital or something?  We were home the Monday night after Easter and Tuesday morning I woke up slightly earlier than usual, to David up - not usual.  David apparently had been up for an hour as he was trying to figure out what was wrong with his stomach as the vaguely familiar pain progressed.  When I woke up David said he was in pain and I asked, kidney stone?  And he thought so.  There really wasn't any discussion or having to convince him of a hospital visit.  Here it was almost 6 am and he was dressed in two seconds while I was still trying to wake up and run to the bathroom etc.  I was ready and David was already in the car, with it running and him in the drivers seat.  Well, knowing last time we went a lot later in the process and he couldn't even sit and was in lots of pain in the back, I didn't want him driving us this time.  But he really wanted to drive himself to the hospital, I guess to check it off of his "must do in his lifetime" list.  So we went, and luckily he didn't go through the red lights like he wanted, ha ha.

The hospital last time made us wait 2 hours before getting him in and drugged up, luckily this time, they weren't very busy so we were checked right in and he was hooked right up.  The IV is the worst part, and then when that was bad, they gave him fluids because of dehydration.  He used 2 of them right up in the first hour or so.  Wow.  Can't believe I can watch or be there, by the way.  But anyway, they were out of their regular medication so they gave him some other stuff which is supposed to be 10x stronger, but really only took the edge off, so we didn't think it was that good.  Plus it also gave some side effects, like David forgot to breathe, so he was hooked up to oxygen pretty quickly.  After his CT scan and blood work, they confirmed it was a kidney stone.  He still wasn't very comfortable and kept going in circles - more meds - stomach ache - nausea - relaxed for a few minutes - more pain - nausea - more meds - nausea...  And they were trying to take him off the IV meds and put him on pills and the cycle just kept happening.  Finally his body calmed down a bit and as long as he could breathe and stand up they said they'd send him home so he could just manage the pain at home.  They also said the kidney was 1 cm away from his bladder so he should be passing it in the next few hours.
They were wrong on that estimate!  David relaxed at home all evening - his brother and dad visited for a blessing (while on their way home from the hospital with their newborn by the way, wow).  And then we just slept, relaxed and stuff.  He had 4 different meds that were to be taken daily or every 6 or 8 hours etc.  While he missed school, I texted all his buddies to take notes, etc.  And then the stone still didn't pass with all the liquids, etc.  At least the medicine helped a little and David felt good enough to even take a test for his class on Wednesday!  Wow.  The teacher didn't care that he had a stone, so he had to go.  Wow again, but the U is starting to not surprise me at all.  David finally passed the stone after class on Thursday.  He was exhausted and it took him all weekend to recuperate.  But he did get a present, a little stone, and now we get to see what the cause was and if this will be a dietary change or hereditary.  Both don't sound too good.

Glad my baby is okay now!  So sorry he had to go through it.

Easter Surprise

We had the best surprise this Easter!  My sister-in-law and brother-in-law had their second baby, first girl join the family!  And wasn't she lucky to come early Easter morning - how fun!

David & I were the lucky ones to get to watch their first born while they spent a few days in the hospital.  We camped at their house and enjoyed living in luxury for a few days... And then also came home thinking, wow, we live here?  Not that our home is bad, just not a big nice new lots of room to cook play etc etc.  But where we are is good for now.  We had SO MUCH fun getting spoiled becuase we were able to be a part of this special occation, get to hold the cutest baby, and also hopefully did a good job babysitting.

I've decided that I am now the "baby whisperer" for our home.  So you know those little kids say so much, but sometimes its hard to know what they say unless you are their parents or around them a lot?  At first we had to do some guess work, but after the first day or so, I felt like a pro.  No longer did I hear "I need a kiss you" - and thought he wanted a kiss (although how cute would that be) but I figured it out, he needed a tissue!  And of course, what 2 year old asks for those?  He's just too good and too smart and so sweet.  And now his world has been turned upside down, and he's a big brother, and a good one I hear!  Okay and to prove that I understand toddlers, this past weekend I spent a few hours with an old roommate (post to come) and her kids were talkers and while usually I'm just nodding and pretending to understand, I could have a full on conversation about anything that popped in their heads.  I felt pretty proud, got a new talent from babysitting my nephew :)

I was also spoiled and able to visit the hospital a few times and hold the little one for A LONG time :)  I think little newborns are the cutest things ever.  And while I may not know why they cry, they have the cutest cry and sweetest little faces.  We visited her last weekend too and I got spoiled will lots of baby time, they are so sweet to let us visit and be Aunt & Uncle for a bit!  (Even when she cried, it was okay, I just realized how much her parents do for her, how much sleep they may be losing these days, but its all because they love her).

Anyway, the pictures tell it all don't they?  What a fun surprise!  Easter was really just filled with babysitting and holding the little one.  But I also made some rice crispy baskets will jelly beans (forgot to take a picture but they were cute) and then we stopped by the Clarks for a bit to fill up on more jelly beans and a good dinner.  The kids did an Easter egg hunt and then we headed back to babysitting.  I was also lucky to miss Monday at work.  Wahoo!  (Ended up missing Tuesday too - post to come)  Yay for new babies and families that share them with us!  Congrats you guys!

Following the Crowd

I don't like to "follow the crowd" when its something that everyone talks about and tells you to do/go see/read, etc.  I don't know why, but as soon as I hear something from a few sources, I shut down!  So strange since you'd think the more people who recommend, then I'd take that and go for it.  NOPE.

And then after the HYPE is over, I warm up to it and I do get sucked in eventually. 

Case in point - I never wanted to read Harry Potter, but many years ago a cute guy at my work actually had the 1st Harry Potter book and basically handed it to me and said, go!  I had avoided it, but when the book was right there and a cute boy wanted me to read and it would be a good conversation, okay, I'm in.  So, I read it at work (did phone calls so that was possible) and took it home and within 48 hours or a bit more, I was done.... and hooked.  I found the next and the next from roommates and I've read all 7.  I watched the movies 1-3, but I still haven't warmed up to the rest yet.  The hype is about over, and my in-laws have the movies so if they get dropped off and unexpectedly get popped into the DVD player, I'll probably like them too.  Although movie 3 just wasn't the same as the world in my head so I wanted to cling to the books.

Another "in thing" was Twighlight.  I heard the talk, and never did anything else.  But then I started to carpool to work with my co-worker.  The first movie was coming out soon and she wanted to re-read, or re-listen to them.  So, there I was stuck in the car listening to it, without wanting to be the follower.  But, after book #1, I was hooked.  I ended up moving to SLC and had to read book #3 on my own rather than forced to listen on a drive.  And I watched movie 1 and 2, but haven't found someone to see the next ones with yet.

And then there was the blue people - (had to google it and "blue people movie" worked haha) ah, Avatar.  David & I still haven't seen it.  We've heard it has awesome graphics, etc, but we just have better things to watch.  Someday though, the hype is over, but we just haven't had it put in front of us to watch yet.

Now there's The Hunger Games.  Everyone I know is talking about that one.  They've been reading the books for years, and now there's a movie so the crowd is at its peak.  Oh goodie.  We haven't read or seen it.  I'm sure I'll be twisted into reading and watching, but from what I've heard - kids fighting to the death, what a crazy plot.  And really, not my thing.  Talk to me next year, I'm sure I'll be saying how awesome it was, but not right now.  I've been considering asking to borrow the book, just cuz I need a new book to read, but I haven't gotten there yet.

But with styles, I think I break down a lot easier and follow the current trends, at least the ones I can afford.  I'm kind of addicted to shopping at the moment (whatever makes you happy right?) and I still only buy things that are on sale or are a good buy, so makes it hard to keep up.  And also I've noticed Utah is a year or two behind the trends so I guess I'm really behind.  I'm not into the colored pants yet, or some other things, but skinny jeans are okay (I thought they were hideous at first), jewelry yes, and layers are my favorite.  I'm not totally into the baggy shirts yet, but anyway, the point was - I'm considering growing out my bangs (need a change) and my hairstylist showed me how to twist them back all trendy :)  Cute huh?  I've been doing it for the gym but now I've got it at work today.

Viva Las Vegas

For Spring Break, we packed it in like usual... I took 3 days off work, David didn't have school, and we went to VEGAS!!  (March 14 - 18)

The last time I went to Vegas, I could have been like 12?  And David went there off and on to visit his great grandmother, but never made it to the famous strip.  And finally we have a chance to take a mini vacation.  So, of course, we wanted to go to Vegas right?  (that was written sarcastically)

We actually planned this trip with Eric & Amanda (my bro and his wife).  While we all wanted to go to California, D and I couldn't imagine a 14 hour car ride when really the purpose was to relax and hang with the siblings (especially for such a short trip).  So, Vegas was the half way point between us.  And they had spring break a week after us, so we went before them and we had 2 days together and then they stayed after us.  My mom came too and came on our time schedule since her break was the same as ours.  So really, this little trip became the first vacation of our little family.  And depending where D and I end up over the next few years, it could be our last for a good while.

Here are our favorite memories from the vacation:

• Our longest road trip so far as ACDC (I guess that means we do more flying than driving)
• Luckily didn't have car problems, just a sunny drive - bought sunglasses in Vegas for the drive back - which the drive ended up being snowy rather than sunny - but we still used the sunglasses
• The hotel was "fine" but the staff were rude and unhelpful, making the hotel worse, but we paid for what we got I guess
• Our GPS got us a little lost, apparently he didn't know Las Vegas or hadn't been updated recently - we found Mom at the airport after driving back and forth several times on the freeway per our GPS
• Our daily routine (when it didn't rain the last day) - Gym, Eat, Swimming, Get ready, and then out to for a drive or to the strip with Mom
• Swimming in the "heated" pool, I did it even though I froze
• Walking down the strip our first night - David got to experience his FIRST casino!  (no we didn't win anything, or even play anything)
• We visited the outlet mall our first day there
• And also found the Las Vegas temple and saw David's grandma's old home
• Went to our favorite real Italian pizza place - Settebello Las Vegas :)  And were able to take E & A there too for their first time!
• Saw "The Blue Man Group" on Friday night when E & A showed up
• Found our future dream home
• Took lots of pictures by the waterfalls on the strip
• Saturday we tried to take the monorail to the south side of the strip, but the monorail wasn't open where we went so we drove to the south of the strip.  Then had to still park forever away and walk.
• When the rain storm hit, David was the saint who ran back and got the car and picked us up from the monorail which apparently only works one way....  He's the best, just sayin
• Breakfast craving took us to Denny's and then we played games in the hotel before leaving the next morning

It was a great first family vacation.  Glad that everyone could come!

2nd Anniversary

We celebrated our 2nd Anniversary from Feb 18th - 20th.  Our anniversary celebrations are usually pretty short, but they are held highly and a good time to reflect on us being married!!  2 years baby!!

As mentioned, I was the planner this year.  And I think I did a good job.  You'll have to let me know if you agree :)

Saturday I had a roadtrip bag all ready and we drove up to Ogden.  What's in Ogden?  Well, it's just a smaller town about an hour out of Salt Lake.  But, they have this awesome place where you can experience thrill adventures right in their building.  So they have simulated surfing, rock climbing, bowling, and simulated skydiving.  And we did.... SKYDIVING!  It's called iFLY Utah.  More pics below.  Since it was only us 2, we didn't get any actual pictures of us "flying" but we took mental pictures of each other, and some pictures of other random people.

We paid for the first-timers 2 min adventure.  You get all suited up, earplugs, and helmet too, and then the group goes into the air chamber waiting area.  Each person takes a turn entering the cylinder air chamber for 1 minute with the trainer.  Before entering you learn your position, then when you get in, you just hop on in and BoOm, you're in the air!!  Well, I made it sound easy, because really, I was bouncing all over depending on how I was positioned, but the trainer helped me get corrected.  I was smiling and loving it (didn't realize till after, but totally drooling too haha).  You don't feel like you are falling, but more like you are floating/swimming in a very loud and windy sky.  Supposedly that's how it feels for real, but since I'm not good with heights, I think simulated is all that I'll get to experience in this life :)

 Then after everyone did their first minute, you'd go back in for your second minute and perfect your technique a little more.  And the last 30 seconds the trainer would grab handles on your suit (as the below shows) and he'd spin you around and around to the top of the chamber and then you'd get in sync so that you can go up and down while spinning (butterflies!).  This was my favorite part!!!  Oh yeah!  I did better the second time keeping my mouth shut.  David said I did good and looked good, the only thing was I couldn't keep my legs in the right place since the air kept pushing them back too far.  I still stayed up.  David looked good too.  When he entered for the 2nd time, he actually did a barrel roll on accident but cool!  And he did good and my favorite part was watching the air push his face up so that his facial skin was flapping in the wind :)  Funny!  It was great!  We'll do it again, and David wants to really skydive, so I'll be watching from the bottom someday.

 Here's us afterwards.  You can see we look at little windblown, and you can see David's goggle lines around his eyes too.

After our fun adventure we drove back to SLC and since it was a beautiful day we walked around downtown.  Stopped at Gateway and then walked to check out the new mall almost done by Temple Square.  I booked a hotel right below the Capital building so we checked in and checked it out.  A B&B - we're loving them lately.  I planned dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory (2 years ago that was our restaurant with the fam the day before the wedding), but this one was downtown.  We checked out the shops and had a great meal!

Then lastly we went and did sealings at the SLC Temple.  Since we were sealed 2 years ago in that temple, I thought it would make it special to be there and reminisce about those wonderful memories.  We had a wonderful time.
The next days we just relaxed at home or with family:
We finally finished our Italy puzzle that was sitting on our table for months!  We've been here!

 Monday we took Grandpa Clark out for his 91st Birthday at Bennihanas!  He loved it and we all loved it too - any excuse to get there is just good.  He just had a surgery etc, and it was lucky that he's doing even better than before.  Attending are Jonathan & Annie and Brandon & Amber.  After lunch D & I went to the movies and saw "The Vow", very appropriate.  And then we just soaked in the last day off work/school and that was it.

HAPPY 2nd ANNIVERSARY to us!!

Testing New Goodies

For Christmas we got a DONUT maker!!!  Totally not expected, but David has been looking at that box since we got it.  We busted it out a couple weekends ago.  There are a few different suggested recipes, but we just did the basic donut.  At first it kinda tasted like a pancake but adding the frosting tricked us into it being a donut more.  We took some to our house neighbors and then promptly ate the rest.  YUM!

The next baking project was the weekend before Valentine's day.  We had a game night with some neighbors and decided to do chocolate strawberries and also strawberry cake heart shaped cookies.  We definitely have the chocolate strawberries down, but the heart cookies, we weren't sure.  We used a strawberry cake mix and then shaped them into hearts - actually found out you roll 2 smaller balls of dough and then when laying next to each other, you pull the bottoms down to form the heart point and shape the rest.  Not too bad, but the line in the middle and the roundness of the two sides (cheeks) just got us giggling.  Before baked they look like little bums :)  I guess hearts or bums are appropriate for Love week right???  We had fun together, thanks D for helping me!

 heheheheh

I just LOVE cookies!!!

DC Goals - reaction

Apparently David reads our blog... ha ha ha, I know, he's the only one...  And our conversation went like this last night:

David: So, I read your goals.
Andrea: What goals?
David: On your blog?
Andrea: Oh, wow you read them already?  I just put them up today.
David: Well I read it always, and I had some time today.
Andrea: Ah, cool.
David: So... about half of those goals I didn't know!  I learned your goals today.
Andrea: Really? I think we've talked about them, right?  What ones?
David: I don't know.
David: Like the deep cleaning.
Andrea: Oh, well I just had that idea for awhile and guess I didn't say.
David: Actually I mentioned it during one of our chats awhile ago.
Andrea: Really?  Hmm, I guess it was you who gave me that idea.  I had heard of that idea but forgot who it was from.
David: Yeah we talked about it and you didn't say you liked that idea.
Andrea: Because I'm usually the cleaner, and when you said it, it meant the house must be dirty!
David: That's not what I meant...
Andrea: I know, just teasing :)  Well, I guess I warmed up to the idea eventually.
Conversation continues... next conversation:
Andrea: So, do you have some goals for 2012? I can put them up and motivate you...
David: No, that's okay.
Andrea: Why not?
David: Well, my goals are a little different than yours
Andrea: Do tell... (and I wrote them below)

This is seriously part of a normal conversation at our home.  Me and my absentmindedness and David keeping us all together.  He's too good to me always.  I do have to say that even though I may be the "cleaner" he's been cleaning our dishes (no dishwasher remember) for 3-4 months JUST HIM.  I'm loving the break.

 So, here are David's goals for 2012 that he told me (no he doesn't know they are being blogged)

• Don't kill my U of U professors
• Survive being a Biology major even though the major doesn't teach anything except what the professors are researching about
• Try not to blow up the school
• Be happy that some of the worst students in my classes are already accepted into dental school
• Graduate and never ever go back to the U of U
• Keep breathing and survive this last semester
• Hope that these last classes I'm taking won't get cancelled or the professors won't fail me just because I go in and ask for their help...

Okay so he was being silly in case you didn't know.  But honestly school for him the past 2 years has really been depressing and pretty horrible.  The teachers aren't there to help the students, no one cares if they learn or understand, tests aren't made to test what you have learned, but to have you guess on what you haven't learned, etc.  And it just gets more frustrating the higher the classes.  And then they just cancel classes that he needs to graduate, days before class starts....  And really it just gets worse.  I can see why these are the goals he thinks about - I'm right there with him.  I'm glad he keeps me laughing everyday.  Love you D!!!

Okay this is half cute and eww...