Fab Fam

These past few weeks I've been with the family a little more... Mom and I already do a lot together, but Abs and I have gone shopping (window-style of course!) and we went to Barnes and Noble for notebooks cuz it's getting to be that time of year again! (Hello Riverton, Utah!) Haven't done a whole lot with Stefan except tolerate him a little more. The poor kid, having two older sisters. And Dad's been home a little more recently so it's been nice!

Also, I went up to New Hampshire last weekend to visit the fam up there!  It was a surprise, I was having dinner with the bunch and something came up about the Monday Night Ball Game (yes, it deserves caps!) and I said, "oh, man! I haven't been to one in ages!" I ended up going home with BW as my co-pilot and WalMart had everything I needed!  I surprised my grandparents and had dinner with my grandpa on Monday night, and lunch with my grandma on Tuesday.  And shopped with a good friend of mine, my Aunty Laura!

I also would like to welcome my new baby 'cuzzin', Kambrie Danielle White to our crazy family!  She is a bundle of cuteness and has an awesome big brother, Kaleb Leighton White!  I figure that since I didn't have the blog when he was born, he should have a grand introduction too.  Anyways, congrats to Aunty Jules and Uncle Keith on their re-newly-found sleepless nights, poopy diapers, and crying kiddos!  I hope I can go visit them sometime this summer.

On the other side, Aunty Stina and Uncle Scott are coming with Dakota the week that we ship out to Utah... Two ships passing in the night.  What a bummer!  But we will get to see them over winter break.

Anyways, here's some recents and some not-so-recents.

Sunday

Dakota, when they came to surprise my grandparents on "moving-in day!"

Wish we lived a little closer.

 

Kambrie Danielle White

Isn't she precious!?

Daddy, Kambrie, and big bro Kaleb. He is just TOO excited!

Welcome home, momma!  Congrats Aunty Jules!

This one's an oldie from when Kaleb was just a wee young'un!

BW and SP have grown a bit... They are the tallest of the bunch now!

Almost done!

4 finals done. 1 more to go, and I haven't failed anything yet. It's been a good semester, school-wise! So that means that once I hand in this final, I will be half-way to being a nurse. This news excites me beyond the capacity of words! 

Vehicles

Some people hate driving. I don't. Here are my negative and positives about cars:

-Positive: Driving allows for friendships to be made. Your first car, best car, most clunkerish car, car with the most memories... Your car is your friend. And if you want to keep the friendship alive, you treat it like you would a friend.

-Can be positive or negative, depends on the car: Sometimes you are known for your car. "oh my goodness, you know that guy in the powder-blue Prius?" or "the dude that drives the Maserati." Orrrr... "the guy who is always on the side of the highway because his truck broke down... again." You are what you drive. Sometimes. 

-Negative according to my wallet, excusable according to my sanity: They say it costs too much for a tank of gas. Well... I can see their point of view on that... But if you are driving to relax (because I am a nerd, and yes I like to drive to think and relax), what is the price you would put on peace and quiet and a relaxing experience? 

-Negative: Some people have those cars that back up for you or parallel park for you or brake for you or heat your seats for you (okay that's not bad...) or open the doors automatically for you. Pretty soon we will just put our cars on auto-pilot and go to sleep for 2 hours and wake up to thanksgiving dinner... While we're at it, can someone spoon-feed me? You know that expression we say when someone can't keep odorous substances contained and it is completely necessary for all passengers to hang their heads out in the nice H-2-Oh for a few moments: ROLL DOWN THE WINDOW!!! That one? Yea... Well if you drive an old car, then that may apply, but these days, we click our windows open. That doesn't even make a cool expression. And the new I'll-open-when-I-want-and-break-when-you-need-me doors. I guess they are okay, but the culmination of all these new gadgets and clicks and do-jiggeys and buttons totally take away from the car, making driving so that you don't interact with your car. 

-Positive: And the more you interact with your car, the better you know it. And the better you know it, the better chance you have of naming your car with a fitting name. Because let's face it. Each car needs a name. 

-Positive: Each car has it's own era. My dad tells stories based on what car he had. When him and mom were dating, those were the "ford escort" days. My uncle does the same thing: when him and his buddies went bombing around Milford as teens, those were his "trans am" and "camero" days, depending on what story he tells. My grandpa too. 

Truth be told, cars have character. They see us through anger (racing down the highway) and happy times (back roads to the park). And they are just awesome. That is why I have dedicated an entire post to vehicles.

Some like these:

Some prefer these: 

And the coolest prefer these:

Or something like that...

Spring Has Sprung!

Oh how Garden City highlights the best parts of spring! I spent the afternoon with Mel and Liss Abel's and we hung out there for a while. Yes, I'm pro-Dunkin but the Starbucks there has a 50% off frappuccino deal going on right now, so yes please! We also swung by my elementary school and hung out in the school yard, going over some basic geography. Someday I will hit all 50. Anywho... this afternoon was prime for getting some pics so enjoy!

Sigh of Relief

So you walk in, sit down, and open up the ATI website. You start your exam and hope for the best. You start with question 1. The answer is C. You know it. You click it. You submit it. You regret it. The answer was definitely A. A was totally the right answer. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Expect to fail. Be surprised when you pass. That's how my day went.

Next: you get called in for student evaluations. You are so nervous you could pee your pants. But you don't. Because that would require nursing interventions and having just written a care plan, you pity any nurse who has to write one. So you smile instead. You listen to the professor ramble about how you were responsible and eager to learn. You wonder if she has a list of comments she can choose from because you just overheard her say that to the last student. She brings out the breakdown of your grade and starts in on that awful care plan you made. 81% on the dreaded care plan. Not bad, considering you started it at 6pm the night before and didn't finish it until 4:20am, 2 hours earlier. Ah. 6:20am. Ha. You got to sleep in today. It was 6:30 when the alarm went off. Not 5:00, like all the other days. What? She said something. Oh, more interventions. No problem. Yes. Of course. I understand. Thank you. Uh huh. Okay. Awesome. She wishes you a great summer. You tell her to have a great summer too. Class. Over. Walk away with a smile and a good grade.