a post of thanks.

i am thankful for:
1. my family
2. the gospel of jesus christ
3. being relief society president
4. being almost finished with my first semester of nursing school
5. my life
6. my friends
7. my cousins (especially my bestie cousin hay)
8. my car to drive to school in when it is below freezing and windy
9. food to eat
10. adversity
11. restoration of the gospel
12. the holidays
13. the first break i have had since labor day
14. patterned scarves
15. my health
16. ball point pens
17. the 40 day journey: drawing closer to christ
18. baby stella
19. cell phone
20. temples
21. journals (just finished my 17th)
22. memories
23. laughter
24. smiling
25. eye sight to be able to see the beautiful world around me
26. freshly fallen snow
27. mountains
28. camping--on the north rim
29. my testimony
30. planners
31. the tickets we won for the 2010 christmas concert feat. david archuleta
32. my bestie susie peterson
33. laura, because she came to visit me when i was feeling down
34. for ma for paying for dinner that night
35. ice skating at dixie igloo
36. the close proximity of cedar city and st. george
37. the one month christmas break coming up soon
38. the opportunity to move out of this apartment
39. the joy and happiness that this life brings me
40. positive attitudes
41. going on dates
42. fun games like ninja
43. cute earrings
44. the light of christ in my life
45. great neighbors, as loud as they are
46. my siblings--peter, michelle, rachel, scott, dan, and laura
47. my parents--ma + pa
48. 0600 clinicals at VVMC
49. baking delicious treats
50. making presents for people/sisters who are feeling a little down
51. brightening someones day
52. happiness
53. kindness
54. this marvelous earth
55. technology
56. blogs
57. the first signs of spring
58. graduation (in 2012)
59. Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father
60. everyone who has and will ever support me in the things i am doing with my life, for the love that you show and give me and the happiness that you bring into my life! i am so much better for it because of you...for that i say

Thank-You!

the semester is dying down and i am freaking out!
everything seems to be due, plus relief society stuff is just piling up, its great!
i have validation this week.
next week i have a huge evidence-based paper due.
the week after i have a personal health behavior change plan due.
then it will be thanksgiving break and i will finally have a break since....labor day weekend!
ya it has been a long semester, thank heavens that next semester there will be more breaks spread out throughout the semester because i know i will need it.
it is seriously amazing though how fast this semester has gone by it seemed like yesterday i was just starting nursing school and now look at where i am, i have given my first shot and i am soon going to be able to pass off sticking someone with an IV! i am so stoked for that.
last week i got in the mail the most amazing tickets! my ma signed all the families addresses up for the a concert and we won the lottery!
we won tickets for the
2010 Mormon Tabernacle Christmas Concert feat. David Archuleta!
ya i was screaming i was so excited for it! plus i hope to talk to david and remind him of that time he called me and left me a message to wish me happy birthday, then he will remember and we will fall madly in love and we will get married....haha! no i just thought it would be funny to bring it up to him!

this is just sue and i.
of course i am looking like a dream like always. and sue is smiling cause she never knows when i am going to make a face.
so enjoy the beauty of our faces:)

Ward Halloween Party.

[10.28.10]
i love dressing up! so sue and i went all out for our ward halloween party! we were 80's aerobic instructors. there was not very many people dressed up at our party and we were the only ones who were so out there in our costumes. it was great! i can definitely say that we rocked the socks off our bishopric and ward members! it was a fabulous time.

we look so good. work it work it.

Nursing Pledge Ceremony.

[10.19.10]

my nursing class of spring 2012 took our pledge on the 19th of october. that was a blast! all we really had to do was stand up in front of family members and recite this pledge that ian dempsy wrote for our class. it was spectacular. can you believe that i am a student nurse and i am going to be a nurse in just a few short, long, hard years? ya sometimes i think about that and i get all weirded out because it is crazy that i am already to this point in my education. i feel like i just graduated from high school. so weird.

we are all so close...we are like family. these are just some of my classmates. there is a total of 20 students in my class!

ward temple trip.

[09.09.10]
my favorite time of the semester is when our ward takes a trip down to the st. george temple to do baptisms for the dead. we first made a pit stop at iceburg to enjoy their wonderful shakes which filled our stomachs. then headed to the temple to fill our souls.

jessica. susie. kenzie. anna. sarah. kalli.

susie + anna

i love life.

my life is great.
i study all the time.
i try to be social [which is completely gone now].
the reason being is i am now the...
RELIEF SOCIETY PRESIDENT!
woot woot.
let the fun begin.

hostess.

{08.27.10}
not the treat, but the actual thing.
yes i hosted my first party! it was so much fun. a lot more people came than i was expecting which turned out to be better than no one coming..imagine that.
the main reason for throwing this bash was for my freshie roomies to meet some new people (guys) mostly, and i just happen to know a lot of guys. but as soon as most everyone had showed up my roomies slipped out the door without me even noticing. (besides my roomie kelli, she stayed) they didn't return until midnight or later, yes the party was still going but dwindling fast.
it was a magical night full of wonder!
what a great way to start out my junior year of college.

sue + me
best friends forever.

michelle moore + ian dempsy
both are in the nursing program with me.

me + janisa + nikelle +kelli {missing chelsie & kelsey}
roomies forever & for life.

first day.

what an overwhelming first day of school. i already have reading i need to be doing, yet i am writing on my blog. click here if you want to know how i truly feel about my first day of nursing school. it should give you just a brief estimate of the emotions that are circulating throughout my mind and body. now lets hope i can complete the goal i have set for myself.

let the fun begin.

moved into my apartment yesterday {08.20.10}. met my new roomies who are all freshmen this year and who don't seem to like me and my craziness too much. started having my usual bout of anxiety, but i did spend last night grooving away, sweatily i might add, to some glorious institute dance music. which has seemed to calm me down a bit.

this year i am living in a private room. in a basement. hopefully it works out well or i may just be upset.

here i come.

the time has come. tomorrow i move back to cedar to start my new adventure...lets just call it my nursing adventure. i am nervous, but excited (just like troy bolten was when he started his first day of college). i haven't decided if i am going to sing yet, but we will see where this coming monday leads me.

this summer has been great! but i am looking forward to getting back to work, school work that is.

rachel :: peter :: anna :: stella :: dan :: nikki elliott:: laura

havasupai.

*[have-a-soup-i]
in june i had the opportunity to hike down to havasupai with my cousin hayley and some of her friends. it was hard, but totally rewarding. besides the fact that my entire body was eaten alive by mosquitos (face, legs, arms, butt, etc) plus a couple of spider bites. disgusting, i know.

::hilary barton, hayley dalton, me::

::me at mooney falls::
while we were there an ogden boy scout leader died and fell off this water fall.

::looking down the canyon past mooney falls::

::me and hayley, enjoying the heat and getting ready to go and sit in the cold water::

::me and hayley before we started hiking down::

summer time.

this summer i have left myself with pretty much no free time. i have three jobs that are keeping me pretty busy. which is a good thing because one of my least favorite things to do is to sit and wonder what i shall do. or think about things i could do, but have zero energy to do them. i have also been running with my mothers running group on monday and friday mornings(even though i didn't go this morning, its a holiday). lets just say i am hurting from it. i believe i need new running shoes:) since it is a holiday, i have many things planned. the one that i am most excited about is swimming. i have not gone swimming once this summer, and i am super stoked to be going. the second is something that i have been putting off...cleaning grandma julie. she is dirty and nasty and its about time i gave her a wash. no, i didn't name my car..well sort of. i called it grandma because of the ugly gold color of the car. and then one day colby called it julie, so i guess i just ran with it.

ATTN: everyone.

just wanted to let you know i have changed.

what i was last summer is not who i am this

summer. just wanted to clarify, so as to not

confuse anyone.

ps. this post is because dan doesn't believe i have changed {in retrospec of guys}

roomie dinner.

for a little celebration of not killing each other this year, us roomies {+dirk} went out to dinner tonight to our favorite place...cafe rio! it was delicious! not only was the food really good looking and tasty, but there was this dang good looking boy that came it. lets just say he was definitely tall, dark, and handsome. of course being me i didn't go up and say anything to him. just looked and admired. then when we left i waved goodbye like i had actually known him. it was perfect! what a great way to spend some of the last days here at SUU this semester..but at cafe rio, staring at cute boys who i will never have the guts to talk to...its da best!

:: sue :: kelsi :: dirk :: kalai :: me ::

:: kelsi + dirk ::
they are engaged

:: kalai and me ::

:: sue + me ::
oh how my wardrobe is going to get cut in half :( sad.

final sunday.

it is our final sunday here in cedar city. then it is off to moving home for the glorious summer of saint george! i am super stoked. i just can't wait for this patho test that i should be studying for at moment, instead i am blogging. figures. for the first time in a really long time, susie and i made a delicious sunday meal. we made chicken tortilla soup from scratch. it actually turned out pretty darn good. we had our friend duane come over and eat some with us. it was really tasty.

it is kind of bitter-sweet. the end of the school year that is. it has been a completely different experience this year than was last year. i made so many more friends. i actually stayed most of the weekends here in cedar {probably because i had work} but overall i have enjoyed my sophomore year of college so much more. and i have enjoyed sue as a roomie, even though we have definitely had our fair share of fights. i won't get into those.

here's to a great year. and hopefully an even better one next year!

::our creation::

:: sue and duane ::

:: me and duane ::

dear.

dear finals week.
please come quickly.
but come with ease and easiness.
i want to be over with you,
so i can move back to sunny saint george.

dear cedar.
would you please stop being so cold?
its spring time for petes sake!
which means no more clouds, and definitly no more snow!
seriously.

dear pathophysiology.
i just spent 4.5 hours studying you today
why can i not remember what i have learned
from this very long, yet quick semester?
it is very frustrating.
plus there are a lot of things to remember from you.
dang.

dear university of utah.
could you please hurry up and give me an answer.
anything at this point would be grand
{a yes would be even grander!}
you have only made me wait since january.
you should be done by now.
freak. stop procrastinating!

dear nose.
why do you have to bleed all the time?
its very stupid.

dear ma + pa
have i told you that you are the best?
well you are!
I LOVE YOU!
oh, and i also love peepee, moosh, ray, scott, steya, dan, and wa.

brain fried.

you know its almost finals week when you have three tests in one day. ya it was outrageous. thankfully though i have a really scatter-brained mircobiology teacher who came to class and forgot that he was giving us a test! so i ended up going and studying for the ever so hard pathophysiology. finally when that craziness was over i studied for my nutrition test, which was alright seeing as i only studied for it two hours before the test. now that those two tests are done i can focus on micro and all of my sweet finals next week:)

ps. sad news, just finished watching the last and final episode of ugly betty. i want to cry. my most favorite show ever has finished.

family feud.

{04.12.10}
for family home evening tonight, we played a game that was suggested by my mother...family feud. it was a great success. everyone had a great time, at least i think they did. you never know with college kids. the questions were a little out dated, but they still worked. the girls team ended up winning the entire thing. they had 32 points and the boys had 27 points. i ended up just doing one point for getting it right cause i can't add numbers in my head very well...which would have taken up most of the time we had to play. so i made it simple for me.

::the buzzer. i didn't get a real one, so i made one::

::kurt + holly:: ::duane + justine::

::holly + kelsi + dirk:: ::shaun + billie jean::

::the boys, team "Q", celebrating a round win:: ::sam and kelcey fighting it out, kelcey won::

::the girls -- team "Whoa Man":: ::me + sue before fhe::

saturday relaxation.

{04.10.10}

this was the first saturday in a really long time in which i did not have work...and guess what i ended up doing? going to work. ya, i'm a little weird. but this time i brought susie and we went to just visit my residents. it was so much fun and we ended up spending about two hours there just catching up with and introducing sue to them. well i hate to be biased but i visited some of my favorites:)

after spending time at emerald pointe, sue and i spent the rest of the day just hanging out. we went on a drive later in the afternoon. we drove up the mountain and then stopped to take some pictures. it was freezing! i am amazed at how the temperature can change in just a few miles. overall this day was great and i enjoyed all my free time. i will say however that i did feel very anxious when we weren't doing anything.

^me + ruth

^me + steve

^sue + me :: gangtas at heart.

^model sue.

^model anna.

ice skating.

{February 2010}
clear back in the month of {02} i went down to stg and a bunch of us went ice skating at the new dixie igloo. little did we know, it was "stick and puck" which means we had to carry around hockey sticks and shoot pucks into the goals. this little "inconvenience" actually turned into a pretty good thing because we were practically the only ones there. so we had the whole rink to our pleasure. we skated and hockied around for an hour until we put down our sticks and had our own winter 2010 olympics. there were a few events
1 lap dash {around the rink} -- gold medal -- dan
longest length on one leg -- gold medal -- dan
longest length crouching down -- gold medal -- dan
couples figure skating -- gold medal -- colby spragg + ME!
lets just say it was my the proudest moment of my life, to receive that gold from my fellow peers. i felt like i was on top of the world!

brother + sister

::colby spragg, kristen loveland, muffin jamison, anna dalton, broclyn bickmore, mikey p, holly decker, dan dalton::

::me +mikey p::
showing off our SWEET skates!

::broclyn bickmore, holly decker, me, kristen loveland::

{04.02.10}
Happy Birthday Sue!

for susie's birthday we had a little get together about two days before her actual birthday because of the easter weekend thing, and the fact that everyone was going out of town...seeing as we didn't have school on friday. we had cake, pie, and ice cream. it was blast. of course, we took tons of pictures because that is what we do at these kind of shin-digs:)

^birthday girl

^besties ::anna, dan, kurt, sue::

^sue, blowing out the candles on her cake.
**note** she was the only roommate to have actual candles and fire. lucky.

^roommates ::kalai, kelsi, sue, anna::

^the decorated birthday door + susie

{spring break 2010}

spring break came at the most wonderful time this year! the weather was perfect, here in cedar and in stg. although most of my break was spent watching march madness, i did actually do a couple of things like work, go hiking, play Frisbee {for like 30 minutes}, and my cousin got married so i attended that. although the break was wonderful, it was uber difficult to come back to school and actually get focused! i took a test today, and let me tell you, i definitely didn't study as much as i should have. this is not a good sign, seeing as i have six weeks left of school.

^ dance party at Josh's wedding. yes, us dalton's sure do know how to get our groove on. not to brag, but we were the best dancers there!

^ posing before the ceremony. my step grandma pat said that laura's outfit was sexy. haha that was a funny moment, wa was kind of embarrassed.

^ hiking with pa, the day after his birthday cause for some reason he didn't want to go on his birthday. we went on a short hike in the gorge to look at some pictographs.

^padad on his birthday with stella jane. i made a big birthday poster sign, but it was so windy that we weren't able to get a picture. {or maybe we just forgot}

^ i babysat stella all day long, which was the best time of my life. we played outside all day long! she just runs around like crazy. i was trying to teach her how to smell the flowers and then say "mmmm"...she finally caught on, it was so funny!