Our move to Utah

I cant believe we have been here 9 months already.  Time is going way too fast.  Currently I'm watching the Bachelorette, so I'll try and keep my thoughts focused and not get too distracted by Emily's choices in men.

For Valentine's Day this year, I surprised Steve by taking him to one of our timeshares in Heber.  Our friends Tyson and Ashley met us there.  We spent the weekend shopping at the outlets, eating at fun restaurants and swimming in a crater!  Totally awesome.  I wish I had some pictures to share of our trip.

March was fun- we went to Vegas and stayed with some of Steve's high school friends.  We won some money and lost some money...but mostly lost. 

 Then the next week we went back to Austin for our friends' Tim and Leah's baby blessing of sweet Dominic.  It was so fun to be back home for a bit to see my family and our friends.  Again, the pictures of that trip are all on my phone and I don't know how to get those on my blog.

In April, I ran my first marathon! I never thought 26.2 miles could taste so sweet. I finished in 5 &1/2 hours. It was so amazing to see thousands of people who have worked SO hard all come together for the same reason, and that I could be a part of that- I am so blessed. My body was so angry at me- I was sore from head to toe for a week- I lost my 2 big toenails due to heat blisters that formed underneath the nails. I was so happy to see friends and family come out and support me. I survived and am feeling SOOO accomplished. To date, this is THE hardest thing that I have ever done, and I crossed the finish line with the biggest smile on my face.

My Mom, Dad & sister Tawn came up for a visit.  They were really looking forward to seeing the sites around here.  We took them to see Flaming Gorge, the dinosaur monument, and a cool little scenic valley in the middle of an oil field.  Wish they could have stayed longer!

We made some friends here, Garrett and Mindy- Garrett and Steve have to same birthday, May 1st, so we decided to take a little camping trip to celebrate.

Tyson and Ashley came up for a weekend- we went to a drive-in movie (my very first one, I cant tell you how excited I was) here.  We piled in the back of our truck and made it super cozy with lots of blankets and pillows.  It was great until Steve got food poisoning and was barfing back by the concessions and ruining the movie for everyone else, so we decided to come home so he could vomit in peace.

In May we hit the 6 year mark! We went out to Flaming Gorge and stayed at the resort there. We did horseback riding and hiking and ate at some fantastic places. We wanted to stay and never come back to reality!

 Memorial Day was fun- We went up to the mountains and had made a fire and had a BBQ with our cousins Loren & Brody and friends Garrett and Mindy and all their kids.  Super fun, we are so blessed to have such awesome family and friends so close by.  No pictures of that event either...I'm really slacking.

I'm taking a summer Anatomy class, its going OK, I more wish i just could of had a break.  Work is going really well, I really like the ER and seeing all the excitement that goes on there.

Steve is in heaven here, I'm not sure I'll ever get to that point, but I'm liking it more.  He absolutely loves his job, he really got so lucky to find something that he loves and that he can support us on.  Such an answer to my prayers.

Lydia is getting married in March 2013 - we really like Colby, he seems to be really good to Lydia.  Dalton gets home in January!  Seriously CANNOT wait for that!

I'll try hard and update more often.  I so wish I could be that girl that blogs weekly, but its not happening.

Hope this super long update finds everyone happy and healthy!

Time marches on

I cant believe its been 3 months since our move, sheesh!

Steve is really enjoying his new job. I went with him to work the other day- I wasn't allowed out of the truck in the oil fields because I'm not down with steel toed boots and hard hats, so I took some nail polish and gave myself a mani in between riding to the different pumps.

I started my job at the hospital in ER registration and am enjoying it. I'll only be working a few nights per week so I have plenty of time for school. I started my classes last week, Physiology and Human Development. Liking them so far!

I got registered for my very first full MARATHON! I am doing well in my training so far- haven't walked once in all my miles. I may be whistling a different tune when it comes to running 30+ miles/week! April 21st is go time!

My older sister Tawn is here this weekend visiting from Colorado, so fun to see her!
My brother Dalton just passed his year mark in Chile, he is doing so well! I archive his letters and pictures in a blog, check it out at http://elderwharton.blogspot.com/


Hope this update finds everyone happy and healthy!

Our move to Utah

Wow, has it really been that long since my last post?? Yikes!

LOTS to catch up on!

Steve got a job offer in Utah as a application engineer for an energy solutions company. He goes out to the oil fields and makes sure that the chemicals are balanced and running smoothly. There is great opportunity for rapid growth and advancement with this company. They are treating us really well so far- we moved here in October. Steve has a couple cousins out here that have made this transition so easy. Loren has made me feel like we don't live among strangers. I love that I have some familiar faces so close by.

I have been enjoying my time as a stay at home wife, cooking dinner every night, making Steve's lunches, working out, doing sewing & painting projects, and just soaking up this new life! All good things come to an end though- I have a job interview tomorrow at the hospital here as a housekeeper. I'm really not sure what all that job includes, but the hospital offers tuition reimbursement & scholarships to those who are pursuing anything in the medical field. So that will be AWESOME when I start up school again in January. The nursing program is great here, and all my credits transferred from Austin, so I'm really not being set back at all, except for the fact that I couldn't take classes this fall because we moved in the middle of the semester. Once you are accepted into the RN program, everything is FREE! Tuition, books, supplies, scrubs, EVERYTHING! This is because of all the oil, the town receives certain royalties/scholarships that are given to the schools. The school is so small that it has more than enough money to cover all the students' expenses. Seems too good to be true, huh! More and more I'm learning that this move has been an unbelievable blessing to us.

I do miss my people though- Texas will always be home to me. I don't know how I got so lucky to have met all you Austinites. Miss you guys more than anything. I cant wait to come home this week for Thanksgiving!

Also, one of my besties, Leah Sannar got blessed with a perfect baby boy that they adopted last week. We are having a shower for her this weekend! Cant wait to meet the little man! Stay tuned for pictures from my trip home this week!!

We went on a cruise the week before we moved, so fun that my fam joined us, the perfect send off!

Grandmother's passing

Steve's grandmother passed away and she will be missed dearly. She is finally reunited with her sweetheart. We were able to go up to her funeral and spend some time with the family. It was such a great trip, we miss the Shums already.
Practicing our song for the funeral.




The only picture I got with the whole family


Carolyn, Katie & Becky comparing who is the whitest

We were able to see our good friends Tyson, Ashley, Kyle & Leah. Love you guys!!!

Spring Break sure was nice to get a minute away from school! Its just non-stop. I feel like I don't have any time to think, I just have to GO! Work, school, school, work. That's all I do anymore.

Ever since we moved out to Texas, Steve has been talking about how he wants to be in Utah for General Conference, to go to Chuck-a-Rama with all the Shums and then go to Priesthood, and then to Grandmother's afterward. I surprised him with a plane ticket for this upcoming Conference next weekend, he is so excited. I'll be staying home to hold down the fort.

I think that's about it, not too much new stuff, just busy busy busy. I need a vacation!

February

I cant believe we got snow in Austin!! Don't laugh Utah readers, but this is really the MOST snow I've EVER seen in Austin. The whole town shuts down and this is why- we don't have road plowers. I passed 2 cars in the ditch on my 3 mile drive to work. I got to work and we called and canceled all our patients for the day, and then on my way home, I did a 360! It was really scary, but no cars were around, and it was in slow motion, so I was okay. It was fun to have a snow day- Steve called in sick. Later that day it got up to the 50s and was really sunny. It was short lived, but definitely exciting.


Okay, I have to be that annoying wife for a minute that brags about her husband. We both have class on Valentines night, so we celebrated on Saturday. He woke me up with breakfast in bed, heart-shaped french toast. So sweet!! Then, he had gotten a couple of canvas' (he knows I love to paint!) and had us paint something that represented 'us'. Isn't he so creative??

He decided to paint the gazebo that he proposed to me in. (Awwww) Its not finished, but here is what he has so far...
I wanted to paint the Manti temple which is where we were married.


After that, he set up my massage table and gave me a 90 minute massage! For someone who isn't a massage therapist, that is a really long time!! We later went to SUZI'S for sushi, it was so good- I think we found our new favorite restaurant.

He is so great and I love him dearly. Thanks baby for a wonderful Valentines Day!!

Check out Dalton's blog

http://elderwharton.blogspot.com/

Well, we tried...

Hahaha, we did try, but Lydia is strolling, Tawn is dancing, and me & Steve's feet are planted and not going anywhere for a while. Dalton is the only natural looking one. Miss you, brother!

Content (adjective)

Things are going. Dalton left Wednesday for Chile for 2 years. I really didn't think that I would have a hard time with that, but alas. I cried for 2 days. I thought I was depressed, but really, I'm learning that I'm just not the biggest fan of change and growth. I thought that I was a 'change it up' type of gal, thriving in new experiences and ready for the next adventure. I'm getting to know myself better and I'm not that type, not really. Things will never be the same. My baby brother will come back a grown man, go back to school, find a wife and have a family of his own. Gone are the days where he would come to our house and sleep over, staying up all night with Steve playing video games and eating panda express. Its overwhelming. I'm happy now, so excited for him. I love my brother, I'm so proud of the man that he is growing up to be. He is in the right place at the right time. We had very, very special and sacred family moments the night before he left. I will never forget the feelings that were shared between us all. I love my family, I'm so blessed. Good luck, Dalton, see ya in 2 years!

The Switch

I haven't been shopping in a long while- I thought it was necessary to update my wardrobe a bit and get some skinny jeans and a tunic or two. I go to Kohl's (which I've always loved) Junior section and grab some things that I'm pretty sure are my size. I look for the dressing room with the most mirrors (some dont even have them inside the room!) and begin to try on these clothes that I thought for sure would have stayed in the 1980's. What the...?! Nothing fits! I know what you're thinking, skinny jeans are supposed to be tight and uncomfortable, but really, this wasn't right. Even the 'loose, flowy' tunics just fit weird. So I tried the next size up, fit better, but still sooo uncomfortable in all the wrong spots. I decided there was nothing left for me to do (some of you know where I'm going with this...) I went to the WOMENS department.

I tried on a small, and it felt awesome!! In the womens department, you wont find any super low jeans that give you camel toe, or shirts that are made too short to show off your belly button piercing. Just nice fitting clothes made with comfort in mind. Wow, am I old or what! I'm 25 years old and I guess that qualifies me to be a woman, but I didn't think shopping in the womens dept came till much later...

So move over, Britney Spears, make room for Lauren Conrad's line, because I've made the switch to the womens department!