Jardine Juniper

We had an awesome start to our week with a camping-date-hike extravaganza!

Chris made sure he designated our trip of the week as our official date ahead of time - yah I'm that lucky, I have a husband who really listens to all my nonsense - and it was one heck of a date. Monday after I got off work around 10pm we tossed all our camping gear into the truck and headed up Logan canyon. We spent the night at Wood Camp and it was a gorgeous little camp. It was right next to Logan River and as two washed up river guides we couldn't have asked for a more peaceful night than being able to fall asleep and wake up to the sound of moving water. (But words of the wise, try not to mention rivers around us. We've both come down with a bad case of whitewater-fever and as excited as we are for Alaska we can't stop dreaming - literally, we both have dreams - of the river.)

Tuesday morning we woke up to a light snowfall and had a nice little breakfast in our tent. We then packed up and started our hike up Jardine Juniper.

And it continued to snow. And we kept hiking. And it snowed harder. And we fell down past our knees in the snow. And we went 6 miles. Then we stopped and had lunch under the platform - the only dry place on the mountain - and enjoyed the view of a spectacular 1,500 year old Juniper tree, the oldest living juniper tree.

Annnnnd, we went back in the snow with another 6 miles back to the truck. And it snowed harder. And it snowed so much our footprints from the way up had already disappeared. And it snowed until you could no longer see the trail. And we lost the trail. But luckily we found it again. And we kept hiking. And it kept snowing. Have I mentioned yet that it snowed on this 12 mile hike? Anyways, all-in-all, it was an awesome hike and we were the only two people on the trail all day (probably because of all the snow).

We couldn't have asked for a better start to our week, and we are so glad that we had the opportunity to camp and hike on the only two cold and snowy days that Logan has had in weeks. But hey, when you both have a day off you do what you gotta do to spend time together and enjoy God's creations.

The rest of the week was busy with school and work. Chris did his clinicals for his CNA class. He particularly enjoyed the old woman who muttered "I don't like you" under her breath when helped feed her. And contrary to what he may say I'm sure he also enjoyed all the bowel movements he helped clean up.

Today we had the unique opportunity to go home teaching together. Chris's companion wasn't able to meet up with him this month so I stepped in to fill those shoes. It really is a miracle and a wonder every time I see my husband teach the gospel. He truly has a special spirit and I am constantly working to be even half as good as him. He's a great example to all those we live around, but is the greatest example to me.

That about sums up this week. We were bummed to miss out on Jorgen's baptism and all the fun family times this weekend, but we sure can't wait until next weekend when we have the chance to go down and visit our family in Moab!

Oh! And one more thing! We finalllllllly got our plane tickets for Alaska! We will be flying out the evening of May 2nd. Juneau here we come!

Remember to pray and remember to play,

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew

Eating Green, Superheros, and "Dating"

Hey, I'm back! I unfortunately had to work last Sunday causing us to decide Chris should do the blog update so we could spend the time that I had at home together. And unfortunately now that I'm back there won't be a full post about candied bacon complete with sentences of heart-felt devotion, pictures, and a recipe. As my husband would say, "sorry 'bout it!".

We started off our week by celebrating St. Patricks Day Monday morning. It was a very green start to our week. 

After breakfast Chris went to his first day of CNA class. He's not too thrilled about learning how to wipe people's butts and clean up vomit, and gets bummed out (no pun intended) when he compares it to his EMT class that he loved. - Side note: Chris passed both the written and practical EMT exams, aka He's now a real certified EMT! - However, he needs to have his CNA certification in order to get into the nursing programs we are looking at and he recognizes how it's a necessary step on his way to becoming a Nurse Anesthetist. As the week went on he started appreciating his class more as he began connecting everything he was learning to the help he was given when he was in the hospital with p-ANCA vasculitis a few years back. Though he admits he doesn't want to ever work as a CNA, he says that if he has to he will just continually remind himself how others did that work for him and find comfort in those memories. 

Tuesday I had a day off work and it was perfect. I had been asked to help with a Relief Society dinner that night and I had a lot of fun helping to get everything in order. I spent the morning at the church decorating (man, I don't know if I'm crafty enough for these women!) and then spent most of the night at church helping with food, enjoying the activity, and cleaning up. We had a fun superhero theme, and had a great guest speaker who talked about how women, especially mothers, can be seen as superheros to many. He did an awesome job. And it was extra fun because everybody dressed up! 

This week felt long as Chris had class everyday from 8:30-6:00 and then I went to work while he was still in class and didn't get off until 10 or 11 most nights. It made us even more excited for Alaska where we will have the same work schedule and extra grateful for the time that we did have to spend together. 

When I was working on Friday afternoon I served a super sweet elderly couple. As I was chatting with them I told them about Chris and how we were newlyweds. They looked at me and told me quite firmly to never let schooling, work, or anything else get in the way of dating your spouse. They reminded me how important it was to date every week, and how even though times get hectic and hard if you make it a priority in your life it will happen. Well, poor Christopher, I had Friday night off work and when he got home from class I went all emotional girl on him. I was telling him how I was worried we stopped prioritizing dates in the last few weeks and how necessary I thought it was. Chris thought we had been going on dates the whole time - and it's partially true. We have consistently made time for each other and to do things together, but we haven't been using the word "date" or designating one activity from another as "date" lately. At the end of the week we would just look back on what we had done and consider some of the one-on-one time as a date. We had a good conversation about the importance in using that word and having an official date every week, so that we never find ourselves getting into a habit of not dating. We don't want to be real grown-ups with kids and start justifying our grocery shopping trips as dates, so we can't get in the habit now of looking back on a week and picking a specific activity we did and then passing it off as a date as an after thought. Anyways, I should probably jump off my soap box so here are some pictures from our date Friday night...

We went through wedding gift cards and Christmas gifts to find ourselves a free date!

We drove down to Longhorn Steakhouse for a delicious dinner.

We saw Insurgent in the movie theater and realized only after showing up that it would be in 3-D!

You can tell we aren't in Moab because the theater has super comfortable reclining leather chairs.

Needless to say it was a great date night, especially because it was mostly free!

On Sunday we were blessed with the opportunity to teach the CTR 7 class. (Since we are only in this ward for a short period of time and both have to miss occasional Sundays due to work we have been asked to be primary subs as our callings.) Our lesson was on the Holy Ghost, and we actually were able to feel a great spirit in the room amidst the talkative and misbehaving youngsters. One girl there was visiting with her cousin and told us "my mom and dad say that this church isn't true and the Book of Mormon isn't true", I think Chris and I were both a bit in shock at that comment and before either of us could figure out the right way to respond the other kids had started responding. How great it was to hear those little ones bare their own testimonies. The best part of the day was when later during that class the same girl raises her hand and says "I feel all warm inside. The Holy Ghost is here". How I hope she can remember that feeling!

After church we were able to stop by the Duersch's for a quick visit. Julie is looking fabulous! And we are so excited for Hannah and her mission call. Following our visit we headed out to the park for a great night of hammocking and grilling burgers. We are loving this beautiful weather.

Remember to pray and remember to play,

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew

PS Chris's blogpost of candied bacon last week gave away our secret that we caved and ate sugar again! We're restarting no sugar, only this time are more motivated and dedicated. We aren't going Dad Andrew strict, but for sure are stopping all desserts, candies, and ice creams. So if anyone has some great sugar-free recipes, or tips for avoiding sugar send them our way! We're determined to stick to it. 

Update

Well, Dani delegated the blog update to me this week. Tuesday was the last day for my EMT course, and we did patient assessments in preparation for our upcoming state test on Friday. We also got to practice delivery/neonate skills with a slightly disturbing OB/GYN dummy. Yep, complete with male and female dolls, umbilical cord, and placenta. The lower torso of the mother is on the table to the right of me. Weird.

On Friday we all traveled down to SLC for our state practical exams. We were told from the state Bureau of EMS that it was going to be at 8am so we left Logan bright and early to get down there in time. When we got to the campus there was nobody there and the people we asked had no idea what we were talking about. So we called the Bureau and they told us it had been rescheduled for 5:30 that evening. There was no way all of us were going to drive back to Logan and then drive back down that evening, so my buddy/classmate Payton and I spent the day visiting outdoor retail stores, Naomi at the Olive Garden, the Masonic lodge, and touring the State Capitol in SLC. It was a good time, despite being tired and frustrated that no one had told us about the time change. 

For the state test that evening we were tested individually -- we had two patient assessments to do. One trauma (fall, motor vehicle accident, etc) and one medical (allergic reaction, heart attack, difficulty breathing, etc) with nine minutes to complete each of them. I finished each of mine with confidence. I should hear back this week with my final grade, but I think I did pretty well.

Dani has been busy with work, she's worked almost every day this week with it being USU's spring break and every college student is out of town. She's feeling pretty burnt out and looking forward to a couple days off starting tomorrow. Next week I have the last written part of my EMT exams, I start my CNA class (certified nursing assistant, we do all the dirty work), and continue with my regular USU classes after spring break.

This morning for breakfast I made candied bacon. It's incredible. If you haven't tried it, you've got to.

1lb thick-cut bacon
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 tbs rice vinegar
4 tbs maple syrup
Crushed black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix brown sugar, vinegar, syrup, and pepper in a small bowl. Place bacon slices on a metal cooling rack over a cookie sheet (you can put tin foil over cookie sheet to make clean-up easier).

Bake for 10 minutes, then flip over and bake for another 5 min. Remove bacon, brush with mixture, and bake for 5 minutes. Pull them out, flip them, brush with more mixture, and bake for another 5 min. Repeat until brown and crisp, about 30 minutes.

And the Productive Streak Continues!

Sorry we missed getting our update out on Sunday...again. We have been crazy busy as of late and sometimes it feels like it takes all we have just to keep each other updated! We were looking at a calendar this week and decided that once we hit the second week of April things will start to settle down and we will be able to breathe again and do fun things. Until then, I guess we have to pretend to be the adults we are expected to be for a while and get things done.

Chris is continuing to do awesome in all his classes. This week was especially exciting for him because he spent all day Friday with the EMT's from Roy, UT and rode along in the ambulance for emergency calls. His most exciting call was for an elderly woman with a femur fracture, and his least exciting calls were dialysis transfers for elderly, immobile tracheostomy patients from a nursing home to the dialysis center. He loved being a part of the action and was even asked to be the one to take vitals for the patients. He really loves what he is studying and the opportunities that it brings, so we are definitely looking forward to his future in medicine.

Learning how to remove helmets

Chris's seat in the back of the ambulance

Pediatric day in class

I worked nearly every shift at the restaurant this week and we were both a little surprised this weekend when we counted up the tips from this week and realized how much we had actually made! Being a server definitely isn't a long-term goal for either of us, but it is giving us all that we need right now and we are grateful for the jobs that we both have.

On Sunday we had the pleasure of being able to be the speakers in sacrament meeting. There was one other speaker that day who was a missionary giving his homecoming talk. He was the first speaker which we were happy about because we figured he would want to take up a lot of the time. He got up there with no notes, and we started to doubt the longevity of his thoughts. He only spoke for four minutes!!! That made me super nervous because I then realized that Chris and I had a lot of time to fill. Normally, I probably would have just given my talk without a thought to the time and had a selfish instinct that went, "sorry, buddy, but you're the last speaker" to the guy going after me, but I like Chris more than that so I felt the responsibility to take up half of the remaining time. I did alright but the real star of the show was Christopher. He had the whole congregation laughing at his jokes, and I swear even less babies were chattering when that man got behind the pulpit. After we spoke people came and shook our hands, though the majority of the compliments were directed at Chris. He had one woman tell him that he "spoke just like Elder Bednar", and how impressed she was by him. The elders quorum president came up to us and told Chris he gave "the best talk on families he can remember hearing in a long time", and then asked for a copy so he could read it again and share with his family at FHE. I left church that day in awe that I somehow tricked a man of God like Chris to marry me. I sure am the lucky one.

Remember to pray and remember to play,

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew

A Productive Week

After last week's shenanigans of being sick and down we kicked it up this week by having a super productive week.

We were both able to return to work, and I especially got a lot of hours in. It was fun when we would work at the same time and then come home and make bets on who made more money that day.

Chris went to all his classes and studied super hard. Last week it was rough to get a lot of studying in, so he really took to the books and made sure he was back where he needed to be for all his classes. I'm so grateful that he understands the importance of education and really puts all he has into it so he can get a good job in the future to provide for our family.

Another big part of our week was researching nursing schools. Though Chris loves Utah State they don't have their own nursing program. Rather than just apply to schools in Logan we've decided to research different nursing schools throughout Utah and prepare to apply to a few different schools. We aren't yet sure what the future holds for us, but we are trying to prepare for it. We now know the requirements for getting in, and Chris is really applying himself to get into the best program for our family. We wouldn't mind a few extra prayers headed our direction as we continue this process of trying to get into the right program for us.

Now you're probably all wondering what I did with all my spare time why Chris was studying his brains out. And, as any good wife would reply, the answer is I got all homemaker-y. I deep cleaned our house (you know how it is after being sick - you feel like everything is dirty so you just tackle it all with full force), went grocery shopping, and started restocking some of our "food staples". Chris and I try to eat mostly healthy (or as healthy as we can on a student budget), and a big part of that for us is making food from scratch instead of buying processed, sugary food with labels full of words I don't know.

I made a batch of hummus, a staple for our fridge, but unfortunately there's no picture.

I made more granola: Chris's favorite and a must have for our pantry at all times.

I used Mom Andrew's awesome bread recipe! (And even remembered to cut it down since there's only two of us!)

And made a homemade spinach quiche. This is a Brading family recipe, but I had fun making adjustments to make it even healthier. Every week I try to make at least one good meal, and then we munch on those leftovers throughout the week since our schedules don't lend to nightly family dinners.

Luckily this weekend we were able to sneak some fun into our productive week.  Chris's good friend Clint Young came up from Morgan, UT with his new lady Sadie and we all drove up Logan Canyon and had a fire. We roasted hot dogs for dinner and had a great time laughing with each other and getting to know Sadie. Chris and I gave our stamp of approval and are excited to see where things go for our friend!

On Sunday we had a beautiful sabbath day. We went to church early and had a great meeting with the bishopric. It was fun to have some time to get to know them on a more personal level and was just another reminder of what a wonderful ward we are a part of. Sunday evening we went over to our friend Andrew's house and had a chance to catch up with him. Have we told you yet that we are doing a no sugar month? Well we told Andrew and he was still making cookies when we showed up! That sure tested us, but we held strong and just nibbled on the chips and hummus we had brought.

Oh! And Sunday marked six months since Christopher asked me to marry him!!! So here's just a little reminder of how perfect that day was:

                       

Remember to pray and remember to play,
Mr. & Mrs. Andrew