Family Christmas Card Pictures

While my family was up here in Utah for Thanksgiving, we took the Myer Family Christmas Card pictures and here are some of the shots! The pictures were taken by a train car up by Vivian Park in Provo Canyon. I pretty much love my family, aren't they studs?

My beautiful sisters and I...

Mom and Dad!
Chad and I

Luke and Chad (Luke was more excited to see Chad than to see me this trip... he loves having a brother. Especially someone as cool as Chad!)

FHE at Grandpa Myer's House.

On the Monday night that my family was in Utah, my mom and Aunt Danae decided that a Myer family fiesta was in order. We all met up at Grandpa and Grandma Myer's house in Provo (they live in Provo now that they are home from their mission!) and ate some good mexican food, let all of the adorable second cousins entertain us, and got caught up in how everyone is doing. I love my cousins on the Myer side of the family and it was fun just getting to hang out a bit:

Hanging out with all the girl cousins:

Dad and Uncle Clint testing their fast-twitch muscle fibers... who knew they would ever have so much in common?

Luke playing with Hunter and Brighton (some of the cutest kids I've ever seen)... I think they're are technically our "first cousins once removed"
Grandma Renee and Hallie
McKenna holding Matthew, Kayla's new baby... look at that hair!
The twins: Brighton and Hallie
Then Luke decided to show his cousins the ropes and took them out front to shoot rocks and who knows what with his new slingshot...

I'm a nurse!

I had my very first nursing pass-off this past Monday (Nov. 24) and it actually went really well! My mom was going to drive me up on campus and drop me off and in true Mom fashion, she wanted to take my picture looking all ready for school. It's such a classic first day of school kind of picture. Anyway, I know over the next couple of semesters, I will have plenty of nursing pass-offs and plenty of days to wear my scrubs to school, but as it was my first one, it was kind of exciting!

I'm going on a bear hunt, I'm gonna catch a big one...

Yay! My family is finally here! I think I've been counting down the days for my family to get here for the past month (I missed them a lot since I saw them in August) and now they are finally here for an entire week! Since Chad and I really couldn't leave Utah for Thanksgiving, both of our families decided they could come to us. Gotta love family.

They left California on Saturday afternoon and drove through to St. George to see our family friends, the Cummings family. After spending the night there, they jumped back in the car and arrived in Provo at about 2:00 p.m. Luckily, most of our homework was already done and Chad and I had the entire day to just hang out with them. We decided to spend a little bit of time outside, and show my family our favorite mountain biking spot: South Fork Canyon. Although it has been starting to get a little cold, it was a beautiful, sunny afternoon and a wonderful day for a walk through the trees.

I love my mom!

All of the boys.

Mckenna, looking a little confused...

Luke had his slingshot in hand almost the entire time, at this moment he is shooting at the ice in the river, trying to get it to dislodge and float downstream.
Sisters!
Beautiful stream...

My best friend and hubby!

I'm excited my family is finally here for a week of Thanksgiving-ness... let the week begin!

Body Worlds!

We finally got to go and see the Body Worlds exhibit in SLC!!! Since I have been taking anatomy this semester and learning everything there is to know about the human body, I've been wanting to go up and see this legendary plastination exhibit. A weekend or so ago, we finally got the chance. It was a double date with one of Chad's friends from work and his fiance who is also taking anatomy this semester! I will be completely honest in saying that it is probably the most interesting thing I have ever seen!

For those of you who have never heard of Body Worlds before, it is an exhibit of the human body where the bodies have been dissected and preserved through a hardening process. It allows every-day people to see what things look like underneath our skin. However, I think my favorite part was getting to see all of the abnormalities in some of their specimens. They had a dissection of a back with severe scoliosis, an enlarged heart, lungs with emphysema from cigarette smoking, and everything in between. It really makes you appreciate your body and all of the intricate mechanics that help our bodies survive. It was an amazing experience and I would definately recommend it to everyone!

Welcome Home Grandma and Grandpa Myer

Friday November 7, 2008 Grandpa Peter and Grandma Renae returned back to Provo, UT after serving a mission in Southern France for a year and a half. I was so excited to finally introduce my wonderful husband Chad to my favorite Grandpa and new Grandma. When I really started thinking about it, it's crazy how much things have changed since they left in May of 2007. Before they left, they tried to set me up with their French tutor from the MTC and when they got home, Chad and I have been married for almost 6 months now! CRAZY.

Grandma and Grandpa spoke in their home ward on that Sunday (which is when we got to see them) and pretty much rocked it. Not only did they both speak in church, but they also had friends they had served with from their mission sing an interlude hymn and the closing hymn in French! Now that's what I call overachievers. It was so fun to listen to them talk about the stories from their mission, their trials, their successes, the miracles that happened. I'm so happy they were able to have such an amazing experience serving the people of France. One of my favorite things they talked about was their struggle with the language. Prior to their mission, they were tutored at the MTC for a couple of weeks and then the first six months of their mission they worked in the mission office which allowed for a little extra time in getting used to French. After all that time though, when they finally went into the field, they still could not get the hang of it. They were a little dismayed, but just worked harder at it, and prayed to receive help. At the very end, they were still not fluent but by then had realized that their incompetence in the language was key to their success in the mission. It was because they could not speak the language that they really had to rely on the members of the small branch to help them teach their investigators. This reliance forged a bond between the members and their investigators and was a blessing for both parties. Way to go Grandma and Grandpa!

After they spoke, all of the families from the Myer side and all of the families from Grandma Renae's side headed back to Grandpa's house for some food and mingling. I felt so at home with so many members of my family around: grandpa, cousins, aunts, uncles, and my adorable second cousins!

My adorable second cousins: Halle, Brighton, and Hunter (hanging out underneath Grandpa's kitchen table, of course)

Grandpa chatting it up with all the cousins...

Cousin Tasmin holding the newest second cousin, Matthew Walker (my cousin Kayla's baby boy). Okay, so he is only 3 months old and look at how much hair he's got! It's quite impressive.

Jenna and Jeff Wilson (cousins)

... and their newest baby Houston.

Eating some yummy food with Aunt Danae and Tasmin.

Overall, it was an awesome Sunday morning. I love my family and I am so proud of my grandparents for the sacrifice they made in serving the Lord. I know it wasn't easy for them, leaving home and family... while they were gone, there were 2 weddings, 2 grandchildren born, and 3 great grandchildren born. But they knew they were in the right place at the right time and they were able to bless the lives of many people they met. I can't wait until Chad and I are older and have this same opportunity to serve the Lord together.

First Snow!

One morning last week I woke up and started my day just like any other. I got up, got ready for work, packed my lunch, ate some yogurt and kashi for breakfast, grabbed a hoodie and opened the door to our carport and found a suprise outside: SNOW! I couldn't believe it, it had snowed and I hadn't even noticed until I was about to leave the house. It looked beautiful outside with all the fresh new snow and it pretty much made my day. It hasn't snowed since then, just a lot of cold and rain, but I'm excited that it is officially winter time in my book.