Update of Summer 2012

Yet AGAIN I haven't updated our blog.  Life has been so busy that when I do have "downtime," I don't think of updating on our life.

I completed my first two semesters of nursing school this spring and have only 2 more to go!  I can't believe how fast it went by.  I am so excited to be a nurse, yet very nervous to transition into this new role.  I had to take my LPN boards this summer due to originally being accepted as a LPN student by Weber State University, even though I am moving on this year to the RN program.  The exam was nothing like I had expected.  I felt like little of my studying reflected what I was tested on.  I was so excited to learn that I passed and now hold a LPN license, even though I have no plans on using my license.

Nick and I are still separated by distance, but not for too much longer!  We just learned today that he passed his Mandarin DLPT (Defensive Language Proficiency Test)!!  Chinese has not been the easiest thing for Nick to learn (it doesn't seem easy for anyone!), but he still never gave up.  He finished the course successfully, and has earned an Associate's Degree in Mandarin. Great job babe!  All of that being said, he will be graduating this month, and will be returning home.  We are both VERY excited to be back in the same state together.   I am also anxious to see how Murphy reacts to having his Dad home. :)
We will be living in a little apartment for the next year while I finish school.  After I graduate this upcoming spring, we will be looking into buying our first house. 

I hope to update again later this month with pictures and more info on his graduation :)

Monterey, California

The beautiful beach, which is less than 5 miles away from our house.

Once again I have failed to keep up on our blog.  Better late than never, right?  Well, I moved down to Monterey May 7th, and we absolutely love being able to be together.

Murphy

 It turned out, the weekend I moved down, the SPCA (the local animal shelter) was having a special on dogs: any dog a year or older was priced at $19.05.  May 8th (Mother's Day), I convinced Nick to go with me to the SPCA just to "look" at dogs.  Well, so much for looking... We lucked out and found a dog that we fell in love with.  His paper work said he was about 1 year old, Chihuahua mix,  so we were able to rescue him for only 19 bucks!  The first few weeks of adopting Murphy were not easy.  He had this odd cough, so we decided to take him to the vet, and we had a voucher for a free new-pet examination.  Turns out, Murphy had contracted the very contagious virus known as Kennel Cough from the shelter, which is essentially an upper respiratory tract infection.  He was prescribed an anti-biotic, and cough syrup.  We also found out that Murphy is just a puppy, at the time he was probably around 6 months old, and most likely doesn't have any Chihuahua in him.  We, and the vet, believe Murphy is probably a Corgi (he has a longer body, and the distinct Corgi legs), and lab mix (he has the coloring, ears, and facial features of a lab, and is taller than a Corgi).  Thankfully, the infection cleared up, but getting him to take his medication was no "walk in the park".  In addition to Murphy being ill, he was not potty trained.  I have never potty-trained a dog by myself (I always had my family to assist me with the process), and Nick was gone nearly all day.  Potty-training is not an easy task.  It is quite time consuming, actually.  Murphy is now fully potty-trained, and an absolute joy of an addition to our family.  His favorite things to do are: play with all of his toys, go for car rides, playing at the dog park, and snuggling up with us.

This is our adorable home.  We are being spoiled by not having to live in an apartment.

Nick is consumed by his Chinese class.  He has to leave the house around 430 most days of the week.  He then isn't home till around 1630.  I try to make dinner almost every night of the week, so Nick comes home to hot meal ready by 1700.  He then starts his homework at 1800, and does his homework for the remainder of the night.  He is one busy guy!  Chinese definitely is not an easy language to learn, and no matter how hard it gets, Nick refuses to give up.

I recently found out that I was accepted into the LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) program at Weber State University, and I am also an alternate for the RN program!  I finally was accepted to go to school for what I have been dreaming to do for years.  I now felt like I was faced with choosing between living in California with my husband, and putting nursing school off (and possibly run into the problem of not being accepted again), or following my career/education dreams.  Nick was very supportive, and continuously stated, "Do what you want; I am going anywhere."  It was exactly what I needed to hear.  My husband wasn't going to insist I stay here and put off what I have wanted to do for years, and will still remain supportive while being over 800 miles apart.  So, I made the decision to move back to Utah to attend nursing school!  I am very excited to attend school, but I am going to terribly miss being with Nick.  In the long run, it is what is best for us and our future family.  My parents are graciously going to help me move back home, and allow me to bring our doggy.

Well, that's about all that I can think of for now to update. Hopefully, I can remember to update soon.

AIT DONE

Good news!! Nick graduated from AIT last week, and safely made it to Monterey, California.  He is currently looking for a place to live before he starts his Mandarin classes next month.  We are hoping he will be able to come home soon, so we can get all of our stuff arranged to be moved to California.

I found out earlier this month that I have been selected as an alternated candidate for Weber State University's Nursing program.  Even though I am not guaranteed acceptance, it was very nice to not be flat out denied, especially since there were over 600 applicants and only 100 accepted.  I am still waiting to hear back from the University of Utah and DATC (Davis Applied Technology College, which is run through Weber State University).  It is still undecided whether or not I will be moving to California to be with Nick, although both of us absolutely LOVE the idea of finally being able to live together again!

A Few of Our Favorite Wedding Pics