where your heart is

Look How I've Grown

2012-01-12T13:11:00.000-08:00

5 days old

2 months old

3 1/2 months old

3 Months Old

2011-12-27T15:00:00.000-08:00

We have had a lot of fun this month with all the changes in our little man and our first family Christmas. Here are some pictures of the last month

I reached 15Lbs this month and had to buy bigger pants, here is my first picture in my medium G-pants.

This is my first money!!! Great-Grandma Francisco sent me $20 for Christmas. I sent her this picture and a nice thank you card.

I loved having Dad home for a couple of weeks, here we are playing on the floor

I am getting so big, I love standing on my feet

This is my Great-Great-Grandpa's drumstick i held on too it for mom while she was putting some stuff away. I liked the feel of it, i just might be a percussionist when i get bigger.

Mommy told me how important it is to be a triangle player in an orchestra maybe i will give that a try

I am saving the rest of this bottle for later!

I slept 7 1/2 hours last night but i was still able to get my right arm and left leg out of my blanket, I was sure happy to see mommy and daddy when they came to get me.

Nap time in my swing with my new monkey blanket that came in my stocking on Christmas

These are my new PJs from Uncle Aaron and Aunt Chrissy, I think i look really cute.

Thanks for the great month everyone, I am sure happy and healthy and look forward to the month to come.

Love Carson.

Cuteness of this week

2011-12-08T10:01:00.001-08:00

I can't believe how fast he changes... This week he has really started to smile. He looks like Blake but we know he is my son because he rolls his eyes and learned to stick his tongue out before he learned to smile. lol
Here are some cute pictures and video from this week...

Monday morning he was laying on his blanket having an insightful conversation with Maxwell the monkey.

It got very intense (I LOVE this picture)

Then he yelled at me to let me know that Maxwell was not the best conversationalist.

So I came and talked for Maxwell and Carson was content.

Watching his mobile in his swing on Wednesday evening

And the best one of all Thursday Morning

please excuse my messy house.

Blessing Day

2011-12-05T09:23:00.001-08:00

December 4th, 2011
Carson Allen Francisco was presented to the Elders of the Church and given a name and a blessing. I am happy to announce that his name is still Carson Allen Francisco, not that i thought Blake would change it but I had to tease him about it. We were sad that no family could make it to the blessing but understood the circumstances and were very grateful for the friends that stepped in to be our family. The Hansons(friends from Cedar City that now live in Portland), Wilkonsons, Wheelers, Diehls, Gibbsons, Placteds, and Bishop Knudson. We also need to thank Jackie and Jim for the very cute Blessing outfit that the purchased for him and Grandma Elna for the beautiful white blanket that she crocheted for him. Somethings in the blessing that stood out to me; the first thing was Blake showed gratitude for having him here with us, he blessed him with Health: that he might be able to play sports, i know that this is something that is important to Blake that his little boy be healthy enough to do the things that he could not as child. He was also blessed to know the path which he might take, to serve a mission and marry in the temple.

I wanted to explain a little bit about what a Baby Blessing is for those that might not know. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints the members present their children to the Elders of the church and give them a name and a blessing. The church does not choose their name their parents do. This is just a time that it is stated for the records of the church. After the naming the father or priesthood holder gives them the blessing they feel inspired to by the spirit. This is not a baptism, we do that when they are 8 years old.

Here is a video of Carson in his blessing outfit and then just some fun pictures i have taken in the last week i hope you enjoy. The song that is playing in the background is Lady Antebellum's "If I Knew Then"

Jamie

PS: any typing errors in this post are from Carson he is asleep on my lap and his little hand keeps shooting up and pushing my mouse and keyboard.

2 Months old

2011-11-21T09:03:00.001-08:00

5 days old coming home from the hospital

2 months old look how I've grown

Nap time

date night with mommy and daddy playing ddr he was not happy just watching he wanted to play

he got a perfect score

all ready for church

Our little man is 2 months old!!! which feels crazy to me i can"t believe how fast time is moving and how much he has changed. He is more alert and loves to be a part of things. he wants to be at the table when Blake and I eat, is not content to watch us do something like play DDR he wants to be held and moved around(he is way cute trying to stand and bounce on your lap when music is playing)
He surprised even himself the other day and rolled over from his tummy to his back, i turned him back over and he tried to do it again but got stuck half way over and then got mad and started screaming. He has not attempted to roll over since.
He still loves taking a bath in the sink and kicks his legs.
He is a good little eater(with his bottle)and has gained at least 4 pounds in the last two months.
He is also a pretty good sleeper he goes to bed about 9:30pm sleeps until 1:00am and then sleeps from 1:40am to 4:30am, then he spends time in his swing until 7:30 or so. Because he takes a bottle(actually he prefers it and really does not nurse, i pump for him and give him every opportunity to nurse, he just does not take it) I get up with him ant 1:00 and Blake gets up with him at 4:30 which allows both of us time for some good sleep.

well that is all for now. we look forward to the next 2 months which will be spent enjoying the holidays in Oregon and getting ready for our move to Utah which will take place the first week in February.
Jamie

Carson One Month Old(have your volume on)

2011-10-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

3 weeks old and first bath

2011-10-17T10:53:00.000-07:00

Friday night was a difficult one...
I woke up to what i thought was Blake crawling back into bed at 12:30am and our conversation went like this... Jamie: Did you just feed him
Blake: Yes I just feed him
Jamie: I did not hear him cry ( i was upset with myself for not hearing him and a little upset that
Blake had feed him because i did not get to nurse him)
Blake: You must have been sleeping hard
So I layed there for a minute mad at myself for not hearing him and getting up with him and since he had just eaten i had better pump(yuck). So I got out of bed and went and pumped. Half way through pumping Carson starts crying so i get untangled from the pump tubes and go and give him his pacifier. He sucks happily on that for a minutes so i go to finish pumping. About two minutes later Carson is SCREAMING, something neither Blake or i had heard before, turns out he has a good set of lungs when he is angry. I go racing in there and Blake comes wide a wake. I grab Carson from his bed but he is still screaming. now i am yelling at Blake.
Jamie: You just feed him right!!!
Blake: No, i have not feed him
Jamie: What do you mean, you said you just feed him!
Blake: the last time i know he ate was 9:30pm(apparently Blake lies in his sleep)
So Blake, Carson and I made our way to the kitchen to warm a bottle up and i finished pumping.
Poor guy he is hungry in his bed, he tells me so and i go in and give him a pacifier, I would be angry too. But it is good to know that he won't sleep through a feeding anymore, which was a problem in the hospital.

Saturday night...
Carson decided that he did not want to sleep in his own bed, instead he wanted to sleep in the chair with mommy and would only cry if you put him in his bed so mommy was up until 2:30 am with him and when i told Blake that he got a turn around 12:00 he told me that he could not be cause i had the goods.(again bad sleep talking) this ticked me off because Carson was not hungry he just did not want to be alone and Daddies can cuddle too! so when the poor guy(Carson) started screaming at me at 2:00 because i was not getting his bottle fast enough i went and gave him to Blake anyway so i could have two hands to get what he wanted. Blake then feed him and i pumped so we would have some in the fridge for any outings later. I was so tired and angry by this point that Blake told me to go to bed and he would take a turn with Carson. Turned out that Carson still did not want to sleep in his own bed so Blake got to sleep in the chair until his next feeding, I then nursed him we put him in his bed, told Blake not to even blink wrong for fear Carson would realize he had been set down, and we both went to bed for a couple of hours. He finally slept in his own bed. Sunday i had a headache but over all we were okay and decided he was still cute and we would not sell him to the Indians.

Sunday night...
Carson nursed really well at 9:30 took a little more from a bottle to top him off. He got wrapped up and set in his bed where he slept for three hours. then at 12:30 i got up and he did not want to nurse at all pure lazy... so he had a bottle of breast milk, wrapped him up and he slept in his own bed for three hours, I pumped and went to bed for two. 3:30 he woke up nursed and went back to bed for another three hours at 6:30 Blake got him up changed his diaper and i nursed him again he then fell back to sleep until 9:00 which meant i actually got to take a quick shower and do my hair at a reasonable hour.
If only all night were like this one he was so good and was such a big boy, nursing so well and sleeping in his bed.

at 9:00 he was not really hungry yet but he was a wake so we decided to try our first sink bath since he seems to be healed nicely. I took his clothes off which he does not like so he cried a little i then set him on his sponge in the sink and he looked at me like *wow this is awesome* as the water enveloped his little body. He was so happy and content the whole time he had a bath it was only when it was time to get out that he squawked a little.

This is him laying in the water

So we may have our moments of hair pulling but over all we are all adjusting to family life and enjoying it. the biggest lesson i have learned this past week is don't take anything Blake says in the middle of the night too seriously.

At his last weigh in on Thursday he was up to 7lbs 2oz, he is more alert, can lift his head to look at you when he is on his tummy and he pulls lots of cute faces and makes lots of grunting and animal like noises in his sleep, i call him a little sheep or my little man, Blake calls him Captain because he is charge of this ship now.

Carson Update 2 weeks old tomorrow

2011-10-06T22:24:00.000-07:00

One week old! we love seeing the chubby cheeks

Proud Dad

Just hanging out in my sack on the Boppy

Ahhhh Relaxing while having a bath

When the bath was over

All dressed and ready for the day.

Today while giving Carson a bath, he was doing great. he liked having his face, hair and hands washed. But when I moved the towel away to wash his belly oh did he let out an angry cray at me. He was not happy. Once his belly was washed and covered back up, he was happy to have his legs and feet washed and was tuckered out.

Today we also had our first tummy time on the floor. My little man picked his head up and turned it the other direction and set it back down. What i strong little neck he has.

We are working on breastfeeding sadly we don't have that down yet so feeding time during the day goes something like this...

1. Change diaper

2. Practice breastfeeding for 10mins or so

3. bottle feed pumped breast milk

4. burp and cuddle until back a sleep.

5. spend the next 20min pumping so we have something to feed him next time.

I will be so glad when we can eliminate the pumping process and just breast feed. the nurses and lactation specialists say that it could take up to two weeks after his due date(10/30/11) for him to really breastfeed. Until then we spend time practicing and we go see the lactation specialist once a week.

Well i think that is all for now

Love you Little man Carson

Mommy

Pictures

2011-09-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

First family Photo

September 24th,2011

Went in the box September 25th,2011

Superhero Carson

Hanging out in the box

Yay made it out of the box

September 27th,2011

Going Home!!

September 28th, 2011

2011-09-25T18:06:00.000-07:00

Carson Allen Francisco’s Story

On Thursday September 22^nd, 2011 I ended up atthe Doctor’s office at 2:40pm. I had had some spotting that I thought wasprobably normal being in my third trimester of pregnancy but they wanted tomake sure that everything was okay so they had me come in for an exam. Theytold me that my cervix was tight, my water had not broken but that it lookedlike I had a yeast infection which Is common in pregnancy. They told me how totreat it and sent me home telling me that I could come in on Monday for my nextappointment or that I could skip it if I wanted. I went home and spent the restof the day hanging out and playing my Zelda wii game(haha). Blake came home from the pharmacy and we wentto bed after a movie and some talking about 11:00pm. At 1:30am I woke up withkind of a start and noticed that I had liquid between my legs. Frustrated withmyself I got up and changed my pants and laid back down to go to sleep at thispoint I was starting to notice that my lower back was hurting a lot more thenwhat has become normal for me in the last few weeks and I continued to leeksmall amounts of fluid during the pain. Fighting with myself as to wether ornot it was worth it to call the hospital (after all I had just seen the doctorand she had said everything was fine… maybe this was just part of the yeastinfection) I knew that if I called the hospital the only legal thing they couldtell me is to come in for an exam. So at 2:30 I woke Blake up and asked him forhis opinion…being half asleep he was not very good for it. So I asked for ablessing to help me sleep and make it through the night. He did give me ablessing I told him I was going to go back to bed and sleep. Just then my painspiked again and again I lost fluid. I went to the bathroom and Blake(finallyawake) grabbed the phone. They told us to call our doctors office on callnumber. Blake told her what was going on and she asked to talk to me. She didnot sound like she thought I was in labor but when I told her that the pain hadwoke me up and that when it peeked I just pulled my hair trying to breath, shetold me to go to the hospital and get checked just in case I was in labor (hahaya right). I was upset because I knew Blake had to get up in the morning andgot to his rotation and they were just going to send me home telling me I had ayeast infection and to get some sleep, but we went. On the 30min trip to thehospital I realized the pain was coming every five minutes pretty much on thedot. Now I was really scared, I was only 34weeks 5 days pregnant. We got to thehospital and they went to check to see if my water had broken they went to takea sample but laughed when they got between my legs and said yep your water isbroken we don’t need a sample. They checked my cervix and I was dilated to a 4…A 4!!!! How the heck did that happen, I thought. It was now 3:30-4:00 in themorning I was admitted and moved upstairs where it took 2 people and 4 tries toget my epidural in the nurse told me I was getting color back in my face apparentlybefore the epidural I was turning a nice color of gray and having a really hardtime remembering to breathe.

Sidenote our “Preparing for Childbirth” classes started two days before I went intolabor, therefore I had no idea what to expect or how to get through this. We didnot have a bag packed and Blake went home after I got epidural to grab some “stuff”(clothes, Camera…)

By10:30 in the morning my epidural was not working very well and they had to helpme breathe through my contractions because I could feel them with some greatintensity, I don’t want to know what they would have felt like without it. Tryingto figure out what was wrong with my epidural the nurses decided to check meand realized I was dilated to a 9 they called the doctor to come check me anddecide on my pain management. She came and checked me and asked me to give hera push and see what would happen. It was now 11:00 in the morning I gave apush, Carson came down the birth canal and she told me that we did not havetime to mess with me epidural, I was going to have a baby. My reaction… I burstinto tears (he is too early and I am too scared for this) the doctor hurried toget ready for his delivery and Carson Allen Francisco was born at 11:30am. So 10 hours after waking up with what I thoughtwas a urine leak and a bad yeast infection I gave birth to a beautiful 6lb babyboy.

Becausehe was breathing and turning pink I got to hold him and cry while they cleanedhim up a little and then Blake got to walk him down to the NICU where he isnow.

BabyCarson is doing great he is breathing and regulating his own heart and keepingwarm all by himself. These are big tasks for such a young guy. Because hespends all his energy on these things he is not eating very well and has afeeding tube. He will be in the NICU until he can eat on his own, also hisjaundice levels are getting higher and he will probably have to spend timetomorrow under the lights but 80% of babies born at his gestation have to dothat so he is doing GREAT!!! And we look forward to his growth and are so gladthat he is so healthy and strong.

We Love you little man

Jamie

in the delivery room before he was taken to the NICU

in the NICU after he had been poked a few times and Daddy had given him a bath.

that is daddies finger he is holding

First time i got to hold him after the delivery room

What a cute little man we have

Birthday: September 23rd, 2011 11:47 am

Gestational age: 34 weeks 5 days

Weight: 6lbs 1oz

length: 19 1/4 in

The Very Scattered Update

2011-07-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry no pictures or cute scrapbook this time.

I saw the doctor on Tuesday, everything is going well. Our little man is moving

and grooving all over the place these days especially at night.

His heart rate is great and i finally put on some weight (good for him bad for me)

The only place i ever wanted to see a number that high was next to the box labeled IQ

not weight.

Haha all well

As for Blake and I

We are doing great he is almost done with his second rotation.

Which is great because it means i get the car back!!

It is really hard to be stuck at home all day long, I sew and cook(when it is not to hot)

I try to go on walks but never make it very far, thank you round ligament pain.

It will be nice to be able to go to the library and store when i want to.

We are getting really excited to fly out tomorrow morning for Zach's Wedding!!

I will post more after our trip, hopefully something a little more exciting with pictures.

Jamie

Monkeys!

2011-07-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

So I am hoping that Carson(our son) likes monkeys because he is accumulating quit a collection of monkey items thanks to his mother's(me) like for them.

This is Blake before setting up Carson's new bed. I love that the bed easily breaks down to such a small size so it can travel to grandparent's homes with us.

Here it is all set up! It has a changing table and it is a play yard as well.

These are the Monkey blanket and monkey bibs I have made for him. With my new sewing machine. the machine allows me to embroider letters so the bib says "Mommy's little Monkey"

Of the 8 outfits we have bought for him so far 4 of them have monkeys on them.

Blake says we need to start looking at other animals. like a horse!!!!

Our Baby Up Dates

2011-06-28T18:16:00.000-07:00

Success!

2011-06-11T15:36:00.000-07:00

We Made It!!

Thanks mom, dad and Caleb for driving 12 hours to share in this great day.

Thanks Jackie and Jim for the books and statue that are great and i really love them.

Thanks Blake for bringing me tacos when i am writing papers, for your support, and for the beautiful necklace.

It feels so good to be finished!!!

BABY

2011-05-26T17:48:00.000-07:00

What's coming

2011-03-31T18:50:00.000-07:00

   Since we have come home from our Christmas break in Utah, Blake and i have been dealing with the mundane world that is education. Blake continues to study and pass his test on the first try. He is also going to the pharmacy once every other week and always comes home reaffirmed that he is studying the right field for him. He always impresses me with the information he continue to accumulate in that head of his.
   I on the other hand just finished yet another quarter of school and wonder if i am really getting any information into long term storage. Blake would argue that my gpa of 3.97(stupid -A) would say other wise. to that i say "easy professors and i know how to jump threw the hoops." Well ready or not come May we will see what information i really do have as i do my lecture concert and take my exit exam for graduation.With any luck i will be graduated and done with my formal education come June 12th.

What's next you ask?

   Blake starts his rotations in May. We were lucky enough to get most of his rotations in the area so that we do not have to move or be separated for 6 week periods.YEAH! Then on February 2nd Blake starts his second to last rotation in Cedar City Utah!!! This gets three exclamations for we are so excited to move back to Southern Utah. even if it is only for three months, which is his last two rotations. His last rotation is his study rotation.

Where do we go after that?

   Well we don't know yet Blake starts putting applications for jobs and Residencies in August, and then we well see what comes.

What will i be doing after i graduate and Blake is on rotations?

   I will be at home taking care of myself and getting ready for our little addition to the family that is due the end of October. I am Pregnant and we really excited(if not worried and a little scared some days). I have great Doctors that have been taking good care of me. I had an ultra sound at 6 weeks which they said it was only one baby this time, which made me really happy. Not because we would not be happy with twins but because there tend to be less complications with one baby then with multiples. I really just need this to go well. Right now they have me on what seems like way to much medication but alas...I tell Blake i am trying to grow him his own pharmacy.

Overall we feel very blessed for the blessings we have received and the opportunities we see on the horizon.

Jamie

P.S. Blake thinks it is a girl, he will talk boy names but any time he refers to the baby it is always her or she.

Snowing at 160 ft

2011-02-24T08:55:00.000-08:00

This is the view from our back porch at 8:30 this morning February 24th. When i woke up i wondered if I went to bed in Portland and Woke up in Cedar City, like magic.

The meaning behind your blog.

2010-12-02T19:28:00.000-08:00

Day 2:
"Where your heart is"
Definitions for the word HEART

1. Anatomy

a. The chambered muscular organ in vertebrates that pumps blood received from the veins into the arteries, thereby maintaining the flow of blood through the entire circulatory system.

b. A similarly functioning structure in invertebrates.

2. The area that is the approximate location of the heart in the body; the breast.

a. The vital center and source of one's being, emotions, and sensibilities.

b. The repository of one's deepest and sincerest feelings and beliefs: an appeal from the heart; a subject dear to her heart.

c. The seat of the intellect or imagination: the worst atrocities the human heart could devise.

a. Emotional constitution, basic disposition, or character: a man after my own heart.

b. One's prevailing mood or current inclination: We were light of heart.

a. Capacity for sympathy or generosity; compassion: a leader who seems to have no heart.

b. Love; affection: The child won my heart.

a. Courage; resolution; fortitude: The soldiers lost heart and retreated.

b. The firmness of will or the callousness required to carry out an unpleasant task or responsibility: hadn't the heart to send them away without food.

6. A person esteemed or admired as lovable, loyal, or courageous: a dear heart.

a. The central or innermost physical part of a place or region: the heart of the financial district.

b. The core of a plant, fruit, or vegetable: hearts of palm.

8. The most important or essential part: get to the heart of the matter.

9. A conventional two-lobed representation of the heart, usually colored red or pink.

10. Games

a. A playing card with this figure.

b. A card game in which the object is either to avoid hearts when taking tricks or to take all the hearts.

So Where is my Heart?

My heart is located under my rib cage, to the left of the sternum and between the lungs. My heart is an amazing organ. Shaped like an upside-down pear, this fist-sized powerhouse pumps five or six quarts of blood each minute to all parts of my body. (we hope)

While Blake may find that sort of information more enjoyable. I will be (try to be) posting things on this blog that is more on the emotional and characteristic side of the definition HEART. and where is that heart? it is in the places that we go the people that we love and the things that we do to make life worth living.

Enjoy more ramblings tomorrow

Jamie

15 interesting facts about you

2010-12-01T22:30:00.000-08:00

Day 1:
I guess we will see if it is possible to come up with 15 interesting about oneself.

Jamie:

1. Loves to play card and board games with friends and family
2. Knows how to play pinochle
3. Grew up in Utah but I have never been Skiing
4. Enjoys camping
5. Will Graduate with a Master Degree in Music Education with an emphasis in Percussion
6. Started piano when I was 5
7. Started violin when I was 11
8. Started Percussion when I was 20
9. Had Surfing lessons in Hawaii
10.Enjoys Cooking and worked as a pasta chef one summer
11.Has a Shoe fetish
12.Organizes closet according to color
13.My favorite season is Fall
14.I do not enjoy Christmas music
15.I earned my photography license in high school but never used or updated it so digital is a little beyond me

Blake:

1.Enjoys the morning hours
2.Speaks three languages
3.Is Blind as a Bat
4.Owns 7 guns
5.Going to Graduate with a Doctorate in Pharmacy May 2012
6.Enjoys fishing even Ice fishing
7. Has a 1857 Penny
8.Misses Hunting with his Dad, brothers and Grandpa
9.Has spent 14 days in the hospital for lungs and broken arm
10.Got arrested in a foreign country
11.Owns a 1950 Chevy Car
12.Christmas is the favorite Holiday
13.Am Vice President of Pharmacy 2nd year student body
14.Teach 5 year olds at church
15.Makes bread on a regular basis

a Blogging Challenge

2010-12-01T18:00:00.000-08:00

I took this idea from my cousin's blog and I thought December was a good month to try it out. i will post Day 1 when i get home from YWIE later to night.

A blogging challenge to make history...

Or just to be read by the 3 people that actually look at this little blog of mine.

Day 01 - A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself

Day 02 - The meaning behind your Blog name

Day 03 - A picture of you and your friends

Day 04 - A habit that you wish you didn't have

Day 05 - A picture of somewhere you’ve been to

Day 06 - Favorite super hero and why

Day 07 - A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you

Day 08 - Short term goals for this month and why

Day 09 - Something you’re proud of in the past few days

Day 10 - Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad

Day 11 - Another picture of you and your friends

Day 12 - How you found out about blogs and why you made one

Day 13 - A letter to someone who has hurt you recently

Day 14 - A picture of you and your family

Day 15 - Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play

Day 16 - Another picture of yourself

Day 17 - Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why

Day 18 - Plans/dreams/goals you have

Day 19 - Nicknames you have; why do you have them

Day 20 - Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future

Day 21 - A picture of something that makes you happy

Day 22 - What makes you different from everyone else

Day 23 - Something you crave for a lot

Day 24 - A letter to your parents

Day 25 - What I would find in your bag

Day 26 - What you think about your friends

Day 27 - Why are you doing this 30 day challenge

Day 28 - A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?

Day 29 - In this past month, what have you learned

Day 30 - Who are you?

One Year

2010-08-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

One year ago we found out I was pregnant with twins. we then found out that one of the twins was died and the other was not going to live. One year ago today we gave them back to our Heavenly Father. We miss you and think of you often.

It's already May

2010-05-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

I thought I would make an update. It is the middle of May already, time has flown by since Jamie and I moved to Hillsboro, OR. I successfully completed my first year of pharmacy school this past week and passed my end of year exam over the entire school year. There were 120 questions, and I had to get at least 90% to pass. I was a little overwhelmed with it, but thankfully it turned out alright afterall with a 96.37%.

Jamie has about 3 weeks of school remaining until she is done for the year. After that we are going back to Utah for a few weeks to visit family and friends. I look forward to going to Utah. It is going to be a lot of fun for both of us. We plan on hanging out with family, going fishing, shopping, four-wheeling, and possibly spending time at the cabin. I wish we could go tomorrow, but it will be good when we get there.

Also we had friends from Cedar City move to Portland last night. Jamie and I helped them unpack their Budget truck, crazy! It was like deja vu but only a year ago when we were doing the same thing. I am happy they are here maybe we will get to hang out with them once in a while. We are having a little BBQ tonight at Root Bridge Park with some friends to celebrate completing a year of pharmacy school. So I look forward to that.

I was elected as Vice President of my pharmacy class for next year. I actually didn't think I would get voted in; however, Jamie said if I ran for office they would vote me in-she was right! I look forward to being involved in student government and attending student senate meetings at Pacific University School of Pharmacy. I believe this will be a great opportunity and experience for me to further develop leadership and professionalism skills. I have learned an incredible amount this past year, and gratefully passed all my exams the first time, my low for the year is 93.6%. I am amazed oh it has worked out so far. I definately have worked hard, and have seen the Lord's hand in my life. I have learned if you work hard, put your trust in the Lord and do all you can, he will bless you. As he blesses us, that is our reward. We are indebted to him and always will be. I am grateful to be attending graduate school in beautiful Oregon.

Bloch Field Trip Pictures

2010-05-09T10:18:00.000-07:00

The Group, plus Blake who is taking the picture, that visited Ernest Bloch's home at Agate Beach.

Ernest Bloch was a 20th century composer.

It was such a beautiful day for the beach

Bloch Rock

After visiting Ernest Bloch we went to Newport and got to watch the sealions sing.

Just for Fun

2010-03-29T22:45:00.000-07:00

***********FOODOLOGY***************
What is your salad dressing of choice? Ranch but i am on a diet so Salt and Pepper

What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? McCormick Fish and Bar it’s amazing i love living on the coast.

What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? Probably fish but i would have to have several kinds

What are your pizza toppings of choice? Right now Probably The Wild Mushrooms and Goat cheese from Pizzacato’s

What do you like to put on your toast? I can’t remember the last time a had toast it has been years

Chocolate or Vanilla? CHOCOLATE

When is the last time you ate peanut butter and jelly? Again it has been years

Do you like pulpy orange juice? No i get pulp free and Calcium Fortified

***********TECHNOLOGY***************

How many televisions are in your house? One

What color cell phone do you have? Blake real Original

Do you have a laptop? We are a family of two but we each a have laptop and then we also have a desktop we are the modern family

***************BIOLOGY******************

Are you right-handed or left-handed? I have no idea been trying to figure that out for years

Have you ever had anything removed from your body? Yes Tonsils, Teeth and other things i don’t care to talk about

What is the last heavy item you lifted? I had to take the wheels of the tympani today so i guess that

Have you ever been knocked unconscious? I don’t think so

************BULLCRAPOLOGY**************

If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? No what is the fun in that.

If you could change your name, what would you change it to? I kind of have to agree with my dad and say there is no other name for me but Jamie

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000.00? I would drink a bottle of hot sauce for a lot less then that.

************DUMBOLOGY******************

How many pairs of flip flops do you own? One and that is because Zach brought them back from Brazil i wore them on Saturday.

Last time you had a run-in with the cops? Its been over two years since i got pulled over so i am doing well.

Last person you hugged? Blake

**************FAVORITOLOGY****************

Season? Fall, I love to watch the leaves turn colors and wear sweaters and love the nice breeze

Holiday? Thanksgiving although i missed it with my family this year

Day of the week? Monday, you feel good after have a few days off and nothing is due yet

Month? I don’t know

***********CURRENTOLOGY*****************

Missing someone? My daddy always.

Mood? Over all i have been in a good mood.

What are you listening to? My furnace just turned on

Watching? The words appear on the computer screen

Worrying about? What comes after grad school is usually the worry in the back of my mind

***************RANDOMOLOGY****************

First place you went this morning? I got in the car and drove to Portland Oregon to spend the first half of my day in a practice room that is overly crowded and i am sure breaking many fire code regulations

Do you smile often? mostly with Blake he does such funny things that you can't help but smile and shake your head.

Sleeping alone tonight? I hope not but i found out this evening that my husband slept on the couch last night so who knows.

Do you always answer your phone? If i answer when you call consider yourself very lucky

What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? I have no idea what this question even means i don’t go to Sonic there are much better places to eat in Portland and They don’t have a Sonic in Cedar City Utah

Do you own a digital camera? Yes

Have you ever had a pet fish? My dad has always had fish i personally have never.

Favorite Christmas song(s)? There is only one Christmas song that i even remotely like and that is O’ Holy Night

What's on your wish list for your birthday? My birthday was last month and i had no idea what i wanted. I got Shoes it was good.

Can you do push ups? No

Can you do a chin up? Yes

Does the future make you more nervous or excited? I think it is equal

Do you have any saved texts? Yes mostly pictures people sent me

Ever been in a car wreck? Nope, well acctually i guess i was is August.

Do you have an accent? Many which would you like to hear

What is the last song to make you cry? He is

Plans tonight? Sleep, Hopefully

Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? Yes but i don’t think i actually did

Name 3 things you bought yesterday? Yesterday was Sunday i did not Buy anything but on saturday i bought poster board, and a notebook i think that was all.

Have you ever been given roses? Yes. Though they come few and far between now. i keep them dried in a cute vase that is full so i 1)can't recieve any more flowers or 2)need to buy another vase.

Met someone who changed your life? Yeah quit a few

How did you bring in the New Year? With Dad, Mom, Grandma, Grandpa, Aaron, Chrissy(aaron’s wife), Caleb, caleb’s girlfriend (i can’t remember her name(i suck)), Blake, travis, Priscilla, and Matt we played apples to apples and ate good food and we almost missed the new year we were haveing so much fun.

Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? No, but i would like a glimps of the future just to know... like when you turn to the back of the book just to make sure you want to keep reading.

Have you ever dated someone longer than a year? Never, Blake and I only new each other 9months when we got married

Do you have any tattoos/piercings? My ears

Does anyone love you? Yes.

What songs do you sing in the shower? Oh so many...

Ever had someone sing to you? Not really, thou Blake did sing along with a Cd this one time when we were dating it’s this Diamond Rio song called unbelievable it was pretty cute and funny

Do you like to cuddle? No

Have you held hands with anyone today No

Who was the last person you took a picture of? Blake on the beach last weekend

What kind of music did you listen to in elementary school? Mostly 80’s and Country

Do you believe in staying close with your ex's? No

Are most of the friends in your life new or old? Some of both Priscilla, Brady and Travis are my oldest closest friends that i still see and hang out with when i am in Utah

What is something your friends make fun of you for? There was this time i shot jello out of my nose but i have to tell you guys that lettuce hurts more i know as Blake as my witness i shot lettuce out of my nose about a month ago all because blake was imitating a turtle eating an ice-cream cone. We have an interesting relationship.

Have you ever ridden an elephant? No.

Do you like to play Scrabble? Yes i beat my very competitive neighbor once she had to come and borrow my game during the week so she could practice.

What are you saving your money up for right now? A Marimba!!!! Donations excepted!!!! ;)jk

Love Jamie
P.s We are doing great and having fun in Oregon. We went to the beach the other weekend it was too cold to do anything but we know where to go when it gets warmer. i just finished my second Qrt and got a 4.0 yeah lets hope this qrt goes as well. Blake is still passing all of his tests on the first shot and got his rotation for the summer, he is staying at the Albertson's just down the street so we accutally get to live together this summer which is great but we only get two consecutive weeks off together so we will see what happens with trips and vacations he will have all evenings and weekends off so anyone is welcome to come visit us. you have to sleep on an air matress but so far no one has complanied.

Its about time

2010-01-27T11:01:00.000-08:00

I know i have not blogged in a long time mostly due to the fact that our lives are the same everyday with very little altering. So i will give an over view of the last few months of our lives.

November: This was my first Thanksgiving away from home i missed Grandma's stuffing(she makes some for me that is NOT cooked in the turkey). So on Thanksgiving day Blake and myself went to the movies, something i have made fun of others for in the past, it was great fun! That evening we spent a wonderful meal with Todd, Andrea, Gracie and Andrea's two sisters. We had a lot of fun making toasts about nothing and eating good food. Thanks for having us over guys. I was playing pit for a ballet the two days before and the two days after thanksgiving so it was nice to have a day off and relax.

December: Was great i got out of school a week before Blake did so i got to just relax and practice and clean the house(something that tends to get slightly neglected during school). we then made our way to the Francisco's for Christmas. We were able to spend a week hanging out, cooking good food(now i am trying to lose the weight mom always seems to put on me)watching fun movies and playing Yahtzee, and Dominoes (two games i love to play with Jim he cracks me up). The day after Christmas we headed up North to spend the next week with the Wagstaff family. Here i did a lot of sewing while Blake and Dad made model cars that they received for Christmas. Both cars turned out great. For New Years eve we had a great steak dinner with the family (except Chrissy who thinks Hot dogs are better then steak) and we let the party start!!! we Had Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Aaron Chrissy, Caleb and a girl i can't remember her name, Me Blake, Priscilla Matt, and Travis. We spent the night playing apples to apples and five crowns, and watched the 2010 year enter.

January: Has found us back to the books. We continue to work hard at our studies Blake is still getting great test scores due to his diligence in studying. 2 things have happened this month. First we purchased a Wii. I have never seen Blake really want anything so when he kept wanting this gaming system i could not refuse. So we found a great deal on amazon and made our purchase. This as i told him is both of our birthday presents and anniversary presents for the year. The things is since we are now staying home on Friday night playing the wii, we are saving a lot of money on our dates. So i think it was a good purchase. Blake picked Mario kart and i picked new super mario brothers for our games. i then took the money i had earned tutoring and playing for the ballet and we got the wii fit plus system that allows us to exercise and learn yoga in our living room. (very fun).
2nd adventure of the month is that our home computer bit the dust...Thankfully our Home teacher works at intel and has gotten us great deals on the parts we need to get it back up and running. The parts are to be here today and Blake gets to learn how to build a computer. He is excited to learn this so i guess something good came out of it.

Well i think you are all caught up in our lives.
Have a great month, i will try to write more often.
Jamie

Teaching, Life, Charity, and Love

2009-10-29T14:12:00.000-07:00

The days are going by very quickly. I can not believe that we have been living in Oregon for 3 months now. And at other moments it seems crazy that we have accomplished so much in only three months. I am already at midterms at portland state for my first quarter, and Blake is taking his fifth test tomorrow. So far he has been doing great and getting above 90% the first time which is great. i have every confidence that he will do just fine on tomorrows test as well. Well besides going to school full time Blake has been playing the Oregon in church every week. I know he likes this calling because it is a sunday only calling and he does not have to worry about it during the week. I am the laurel advisor which means i teach a lesson twice a month and have activities with the girls on wednesday nights, some of which i don't make it too. I have also picked up a small job on tuesday and thursday nights were i tutor a 14 year old girl. I meet her last night she is busy busy and likes to talk but what 14 year old girl does not like to talk. I always said that i would not know what to do with daughters seeing as i don't have any sisters and i had very few girl friends growing up. it seems the lord is teaching me what to do with teenage girls in around about way seeing as 3 nights a week that is who i am hanging out with teenage girls. It's funny now that i am not a teenage girl i like to be around them a lot more.

I have a degree and am working on another degree in teaching music but at the moment i seem to be teaching everything but music. On sundays i teach nutrition, time management and the importance of education along with other useful things. On Tuesday and thursday i tutor in Geometry, science and computers. I just thought this was an interesting fact.

I had a very interesting conversation last night about the church. i would like to note a couple things. first i was told a very touching story from a german violinist i had dinner with. He told me of his first violin student she was a 20 year old LDS girl, who he said had the sweetest spirt. he said you could not help but lover her not a romantic love but just love her. He said that she seemed to know things. She was hit by a garbage truck taken to the hospital where she was put back together and lived only to suffer a stroke shortly after and pass away. He was told at her funeral that she had written emails to some of her friends before she was hit telling them that she was sorry for being busy and wishing them the best in their lives. She seemed to know her time was at an end and was ready for it he was very touched by this. he said that he was given a book of mormon in german at the funeral, but has not chosen to convert. My thoughts on this are i am sure that young women had no idea what an influence she was being by just living the gospel to the best of her ability, she is a great example to me. And second i hope that when we give Books of Mormon to nonmembers we have the courage to follow up with it. Find out if they read it and answer any questions they may have. I may never see this German Violinist again but by one conversation with him i want to be a better person.

Never be afraid to share what you know.

I was also asked by another dinner companion that night about the members in Portland compared to the members in Utah and was happy to tell them that no matter where you go the church is constant the same. I told them that when i got to portland the missionaries were unpacking my home and the bishop was there with a list of doctors for me and food for that night so that i would not have to stress about the small things in my condition. this questions was asked by a person who claims to be anti-religious but pro community and wonders why charity(this is not the word he used) has to be tied to a religion. Why can't you pull up to your new home with a moving truck and the neighbors just come out and help no matter what religion anyone is? I love this thought and as members of the church we should be showing charity to everyone not just fellow members and the world should follow suit.

well those are my thoughts for the day.
Jamie

Quest for Knowledge

2009-10-21T20:04:00.000-07:00

Blake and I have emerged ourselves in a typhoon of information. Struggling to gather as much of this information as possible and cram it into our heads only to be expected to recall said information at a moments notice. How are we handling our said adventure? Our heads are held high, our shoulders back and we fake a confidence that will see us through to the end. Our days are repetitive, and slightly mundane; mine is spent in a practice room where i shlep my way through pages of music, labeling this as R and this as L, remembering to keep my hands low and my sound even. Others may hear the repetitive"1e&a 2e&a" under my breath only to be answered by that dadatdada of a snare drum, while preparing for an ensemble rehersal. Most of my daily confersations are with myself arguing over how this or that is to be played. The dual personality of teacher vs. students dialoge playing in my head.

Blake on the other hand spends his day surrounded by 97 other students trying to make there way through slides of information and the constant dialoge of professor after professor after professor. only to be left with hours upon hours of processing the information and understanding course objectives. The evenings are spent hunched over a lap top and surrounded by books. The hours of the day becoming shorter as the information becomes exponentially larger.

I had to write this for class, just thought i would post it.

2009-10-02T17:20:00.000-07:00

“Jamie, I think it is time you quite piano lessons. You just don’t have the musical ability to continue.”These are the words that were said to her as she left elementary school. She happily complied with her piano teacher and never took another piano lesson. She was not, however done with her musical exploration.

Jamie was born in 1986 to Randy and Loralee Wagstaff and at two years old moved into the home she would spend her childhood, a fruit farm next door to her grandparents. She spent the next 16 years learning to work hard. She learned skills such as pruning, thinning and picking peach trees, driving tractors, raising cows, canning food and taking care of younger brothers. Along with these skills Jamie and her brothers, Aaron and Caleb, were expected to take piano lessons through elementary school. After that they could choose to continue with these lessons or to pursue a new venture. It was at this time in her life when she chose to study violin.

Through the violin Jamie found reasons for living and a way to express emotions that had not and could not be expressed any other way. She made great lifelong friends with other students in orchestra, her stand partner in particularly, Braden.

Braden was a fine violinist and amazing pianist. Together they worked on many projects most of which would end in a church, inspiring emotions in others. While playing in school and taking private lessons was an essential, nothing brought more joy to Jamie then waking up and attending symphony rehearsals on Saturday morning. This is where she learned to love Schubert and take comfort in Brahms. Through this symphony she was able to learn and grow as a person and as a musician. During her senior year of high school she was invited to play in a side-by-side concert with the Utah Symphony. She also received the national school orchestra honor and director awards. The violin then led her to collage where she had intended to study music education with an emphasis in violin. However this goal was slightly altered along the way.

The Southern Utah University Professors were desperate for percussionists. They watched the students carefully, looked at their goals and aspirations and then approached Jamie in an attempt to recruit her as a percussionist. They started slowly, asking her to take a half hour lesson with the Percussion Professor, Dr. Patrick Roulet. When that was accomplished they then asked her to switch entirely and be a Percussion Major. Since there were no other percussion majors at the university, she was thrown into the deep end of things; playing in four ensembles a week and figuring out how to play each instrument quickly and accurately. Through her hard work and dedication, she found an energy and new found love for music of a different nature. As her senior recital approached Dr. Roulet left the University for ventures of his own. While Dr. Lynn Vartan took on the role as teacher and advisor for Jamie’s last year of undergrad.

As graduation approached, Lynn encouraged Jamie to consider her options of teaching or continuing her education. Graduate school was not something that she had considered before even though her husband Blake Francisco and been very open to the idea of her continuation in school. Jamie knew at this time that her destination was set for Portland, as this is where Blake was headed for pharmacy school. Her options were limited, but spirits were high, and she applied for Grad School at Portland State University, only to with draw her application months later when she discovered she was pregnant with their first child.

Five months later, as they prepared their move to Portland, Jamie went in for an ultra sound. She was there to find out the sex of the baby and yet she felt sick with nervousness, some part of her knew something was wrong. Her doctors couldn’t tell the sex, the fluids were low and something was wrong. She was sent to a specialist in St. George the following day. She found out her baby was going to die, she hates the specialist. That morning they had moved out of their home, her bed and comfort was packed in a U-Haul headed for Portland.

On arriving in Portland, Blake did everything he could to get Jamie to a doctor. It took a lot of time and yelling at people over the phone, but he got her into the best doctors for high risk pregnancies. After four hours of being poked with ultrasound equipment and needles the doctors told her that her baby had Body-Stalk Anomaly. There was a zero survival rate. She lost the baby.

With the pieces of her life and soul scattered about, she made the decision to try. To try and put some part of a life together in Portland. She contacted the Professor, at Portland State, Dr. Joel Bluestone and asked for help. He remembered her from her application before and pushed her application through the system. School started in less than a month.

Now she stands at a new door of opportunity and exploration. She may be more battered, her soul maybe bruised, but she is no worse for it. Emotion is what makes a musician. It is the ability to evoke such emotions into others, to allow them to feel what they may not have been able to on their own.

Our Blog got a Cute Makeover Yeah!

2009-09-14T13:43:00.001-07:00

Random Pictures of the Last Month

2009-09-12T15:04:00.001-07:00

This is a cute little Lighthouse just outside of Tillamook.

This is documenting Caleb's first view of an Ocean!

This picture is taken from the top of the Waterfall

(Caleb is slouching trying to make us feel taller. My height 5'8 Blake 5'10 Caleb 6'3)

This is us after hiking to the top of the waterfall. I felt completely out of shape, But felt better when i relised that i am only a month out of surgery and being 5 months pregnant so Yeah Go me for hiking to the top of a waterfall. It was Worth it.

These pictures are the views from our apartment. Jim says its like being at the cabin. Randy says it is like camping.

This is Blakes First Day of Orentation. Does he not look cute!

(Blake just loves that i put this on the internet)

?

2009-09-10T18:13:00.001-07:00

Blake told me to stop freaking out and stressing over every little thing. The reality is that if i commite to two more years of schooling we will only have a 6 month period of time that we will have to make payments on my loan with out his income and if we save we could do that without too much of an income from me as well. Torri is right in the fact that i have the time to do it now and it could help a lot if God forsaken anything ever happened to Blake and i had to support my children. She is also makes apoint that the lord has told women to get an education when they can. And while Jan makes appoint about their being a time and season for everything. I don't have children to raise right now and i have to wait to get pregnant for my own saftey and health. The Lord took my child from me at it hurts and i am angrey and fight depression everyday. My Dad and blake are admit about the fact that having something to completly lose myself in like furthering my education would help me mentaly and emotionaly. It would also speed up the time that i do have to wait to try again for children.
So while it may be hard. I go forward taking my test in 8 days. Pray for me I'm going to need it in the Aural skills portion of the test.
Jamie

I don't know What to do.

2009-09-10T09:56:00.001-07:00

Second thought on Grad School... Vent... If it weren't for the money thing I would just go. Yes Blake will be a pharmacist and we won't have any trouble paying back the loans when he is...But... I will be done with school a year or two before he will be done which means I will have to pay back my loans myself which means getting a job... Problem... Shortage of teaching jobs in the musical field...Problem... What if I get pregnant during or after grad school? I want to have children the Doctor says I can have children I just need to wait a while. But how do I pay back a loan when I am pregnant or have a baby. Do I work? I don’t want to work when I have a baby being raised by someone else I promised myself I would not do that. So how can I go to School now? If I knew I could defer the loan until Blake was done. I would do it. But really going to school now just puts us into more debt. I don’t think it is fair...But can I get a mediocre job now to keep myself busy and hope I get pregnant? I worked for 5 years on a degree I can’t seem to use except to go to grad school. I got pregnant but that turned into my own personal hell. So can I count on it again? What do I do? I have less than 10 days to decide.

A McMinnville Excursion

2009-08-13T06:50:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, Jamie and I had an excursion to McMinnville, Oregon. Jamie wanted to buy some Maurices' pants, and according to our GPS, this was the closest location. We had a good time seeing the country, and the several little towns as we drove. There was one in particular we found to be comical, by the name of Yamhill. We thought this was very original, and wondered where the hill of yams were. Also we wondered if they were close to blueberry hill, yet as luck would have it, we were unable to spot either one. We eventually found Maurices, and pants too so that was exciting. Later we ate lunch at Dairy Queen (my personal request) while there we saw a 1950 Chevy Deluxe car just like my old car. Yeah, I was really excited. I look forward to cruising around in my old car with Jamie, someday. It was quite the trip!

August 3rd

2009-08-03T19:43:00.001-07:00

We are 20 weeks along in our pregnancy and we have gotten some really bad news. First the baby has a twin that has already died. Second the fluid around the baby is very low. Third the baby has what is called Body Stalk Anomaly or Limb Body Anomaly. This defigurations is Lethal and the Baby is going to die. Body Stalk Anomaly has many characteristics such as a short amblical cord, Limb Deformations which in our case is the legs, Absent Kidneys and Bladder. This baby has very small abnormal Kindneys and no bladder. The Baby also has a shortened limb. This Anomaly happens in only 1 to 10,000 pregnancies. We have been told that is not a genitic disorder and the Doctors have high hopes for normal future Pregnancies. We are grateful for all your support and prayers.

-The Franciscos-

Yellow Stone Trip 4th of July Weekend

2009-07-19T08:26:00.000-07:00

We made it back from Yellowstone National Park it was so much fun! Blake has never been up there before so this was a new experience for him. It was cute he was so excited to see every little thing that it made it new and exciting for me too. It was a long day of travel that first day but well worth it when we got up there.

What we Saw!

Buffalo lots and lots of Buffalo
(We got stuck in a herd of them crossing the road)

Two Black Bears

( I had never seen a Black Bear before)

Elk and a Bull Elk

(Blake had to get off the road when he saw the Bull It was Exciting)

Dear and Bucks

one lone Coyote

(grandpa said it would be a cooler story if we said it was a wolf but it was indeed a Coyote)

Tons of Not very smart People.

(Orientals trying to Pet Wild Animals)

Attractions:

Old Faithful

Geysers

Mud pots

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Water Falls

Mammoth Hot springs

(grandma Was said because this has changed and is no longer active)

Grand Tetons on our way up.

We had a great trip we stayed in my grandparents Moterhome with them. My parents and Caleb had their Trailor also. After yellowstone we were happy to go to bear lake and have a hot shower. We all needed them by then. That is where aaron and his new bride chrissy meet us and spent the night. It was a great trip to have with everyone before we make our way to Oregon Next week.

Percussion Retreat in June

2009-07-19T08:01:00.000-07:00

My professor Lynn Vartan decided that it would be a fun idea to get people together during the summer and have a percussion retreat. She was right it was a blast we had two of her students from Suu (me and Joe) along with three students from California come and enjoy this week of playing music and having fun. The week consisted of three private lessons (in which i learned and memorized a new piece which for those who know me know that the memorizing part was a huge accomplishment.) Three master Classes where we play for each other and get feed back and talk about issues such as how to promote ourselves and further our education. We also worked on several ensemble piece that we recorded together at the end of the week. So much Fun!

Along with working hard we took a day to see some interesting and beautiful things around cedar city.

Our first stop was stoping around Cedar Breaks. It was a beautiful day for this.

Lynn, Aime, Kat, and Megumi ( I am not sure how she spells her Name)

Next we found our way over to the Parowan Gap which i had never heard about before but it turned out to be a really cool Site.

Needless to say we had a great week and look forward to doing this in years to come.

Graduation May 2nd, 2009

2009-05-07T10:41:00.000-07:00

Graduation was alot of fun my family and friends were able to come from northern utah and celebrate with us we also had blakes parents and grandparents who put on an amazing party for us complete with great food company and presents. I have included pictures above for your enjoyment. my mother is going to send more so maybe i will put more up later.

Trip to Portland

2009-05-07T09:35:00.000-07:00

This Week Blake and I went on a trip to portland Oregon to see if we could find a place to live for the next three years while Blake attends Pacific University. I have quikly Fallen in love with the Portland area and look forward to living there.

The Bonuses of Oregon:

My Skin was Soft and did not itch from being dry

It is so much easier to hike there becouse you are so low in altitude you don't lose your breath you feel to strong and energetic.

You feel like you live in the woods even if you are in the middle of the city because there are so many trees and they are so tall.

It is only an hour drive to the ocean.

It does not get as cold or as hot as Utah and you don't have near the amount of snow.

The Oregon residents assure as that it does not rain all the time.

We found a great apartment that we really want and hope to have seccured in July the lady working with us to get it seems really optamistic.

Please enjoy the photos we took.

Last Weeks of School

2009-04-16T11:53:00.000-07:00

It is crazy how quickly the semester has gone by. Blake is finishing up his last weeks of school and i am finished and just waiting for May 2nd to come when we can be declared collage graduates. This semester Blake has been taking a communication class and an economics class both of which he finds a little boring but he is willing to do the work. I have been student teaching out at Parowan which is about half an hour north of here. I really enjoyed the students and miss them all ready. Now that i am finished there i have finished up my Teacher Work Sample or TWS and my E portfolio what a stress relieve to have these finished. To pass my time now I do a little cross stich and a substitute teach once and a while. i am also joining my former students on their trip to provo to state solo and ensemble festival which takes place on the 24th and 25th of this month. Cary(the teacher) and I will both be driving vans up with approx. 9 students. we will get their on the 24th treat them to some activites for their hard work and then do their competition and drive back home on the 25th.
On the 18th of these month is SUU's Day of Percussion. it is a day packed with Percussion classes and master classes along with performances and just a whole lot of fun i missed last years Percussion day Because we were getting married but look forward to attending this years.

Blake is the secretary to the bishop and is working as a manager at Brad's Food Hut. When he is not doing these things or studying he is trying not to cut his fingers off doing wood working kits or using the new saw he got for his birthday yeasterday.

Graduation takes place on the 2nd of May. President Thomas S. Monson his the key note speaker at 9:00 in the morning. Our 2nd ceremony takes place at 2:00 in the randall jones theater on campus.