911 Help!

We are kind of settling down here is Colorado...at least we are trying not to get "too" comfy in my parents home. We have had fun together so far! We have been running, biking, boating, hitting golf balls, playing tennis, and eating some serious good meals. My mom and I are trading off during the week cooking, it's fun to cook just a few times a week and still get amazing meals on the other days too. It has been so good to have their help, we would have had a hard time without it! I probably wouldn't have been able to come for a while because we are still trying to get rid of a lease we are committed to in Utah. Since we didn't have to find anything right away, I have been able to spend time looking for somebody to buy it from us and then start looking more serious for a place for us to officially call home.

 I am still looking for a job but have applied for many and I have already had one interview! I should know in a couple weeks if I got it. I am hoping for some more interviews in the meantime. As I have expressed before, I was really concerned about Greg liking the day to day tasks of  insurance underwriting. I am happy to report, that not only is it exciting for him to have a full-time, career-starting position but he really does enjoy underwriting! Economics was one thing he thought that he would enjoy going back to school for if he hadn't picked teaching. He reports that his job is a lot like economics and he finds the information and training interesting...he has even called some meetings fascinating!

His first week was "founders" week and so Greg got spoiled a little, "a great week to start" he would say. He got all kinds of swag, candy, pop, and lunch during this week. He has also had the chance to meet some people who are part of State Farms upper management, like the VPs and such. He is loving it, and they call his group the "dream team!" A bunch of young bucks out to conquer the world, all motivated, smart, and talented! The company is really excited to have them have made it obvious that they hired them with the idea that they would be in leadership sooner then later. Greg is loving all the motivated administration, co-workers, and opportunity. I am loving buying all the work clothes! I have been on a mission to buy him a few more shirts and pants just for good measure, you know, be "looking good" each time he putters off to work. Now, about 8 shirts, 2 ties, and a pair of pants later I think I am going to take a break. Guys are hard to shop for sometimes! They claim simplicity and not being too opinionated but sometimes I am not so sure.....I go back and forth all the time in a store, wondering if he will like what I am picking out. So far, most of them were a success. I guess that is enough of my exciting news other then just the one interview.

All dressed up!

We are excited to go back to Utah in a week or so and compete in the half marathon we have been planning on for months! I can't believe it is already here and it makes me a little sick...that means summer is slipping through my hands! The summer goes by WAY TOO FAST! We have been busy moving, getting used to a new state, looking for buyers, trying to BE a buyer, looking for jobs, and tyring to enjoy some serious sunlight. Oh yes, in my free time, like I mentioned, we have been doing some fun cooking. I found my new favorite cookie recipe that I feel EVERYBODY NEEDS to try!!! It's amazing!

I don't know what you want to call them, but, they could be only a start to some other amazing ideas. I think I'll call them my "Whatchamacallits!" Sound good, okay?

Here is the recipe with a glorious pic!

1 Classic yellow Pillsbury cake mix
4-5 T (or more if you are a chocolate's best friend!) of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 C oil (I used canola)
2 large eggs
1.5-2.5 T of honey
Butterscotch chips
Mini marshmallows

Whisk together cake mix and cocoa, then mix in oil, eggs, and honey until smooth. Throw in as many butterscotch chips and marshmallows as you would like. Place on an UNGREASED cookie sheet, at least I like them ungreased but it's up to you. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes and be sure to double it because you are going to want more then just 24 cookies!

To add to my tougher then ever schedule, my Mom took me to get a pedicure! I can see why some people get hooked on these...loved it!

Last but not least, our unlikely, yet embarrassing call to 911!

Greg and I were home alone for a night because my Mom had gone to Lyman, WY for the whole weekend with my brother, Trevor. My Dad and sister, Paige, had gone to see my cousin, Bryce, play in the Shrine Bowl game. The game was in Casper, a place my family lived for almost 20 years. So, they had gotten a hotel and planned to go to church the next day and visit some old friends. Greg and I had a heck of a day! We got heat exhaustion from running too late in the day...not good when you have 12 miles to run! So, we slugged around for a good portion of the day drinking water and lying down trying to feel normal again. We did eventually get out and have a dinner and movie date to replace our climbing plans. Boo...we hated that but neither of us felt up to it so we wanted to take up the drive and climbing on a day that we didn't feel so blah. We got home and watched another movie when we decided to go to bed pretty early...we are loving the early to bed, early to rise routine! It's something we haven't done much of if we didn't have to but with Greg's new job, it has been our routine and it's been a favorite compared to the up late sleep in late deal.

Anyways...you are getting the picture, we had been sleeping for about three hours, so it seemed really late when I was woken up by movement upstairs. Not just a dog, the wind, or a creak here and there, but somebody was definitely in our house. I could hear them walking around. I didn't think twice, I woke Greg up and since I didn't have my phone with me I asked him to hand me his phone and listen. It didn't take long before he was completely freaked out too. I knew I had left the back door open and my parents neighborhood has had some vandalism and some cars broken into.

I dialed 911 while Greg quietly got up and locked our bedroom door. He kept telling me to be quiet, because I guess my voice was getting louder and louder...but the guy on the other line kept asking me questions! You get the idea, we were really scared, and there was no way I was going upstairs to check and I didn't want who ever was up there to run into us downstairs. The police got to our house quickly...and come to find out Paige and Dad cancelled their hotel room and came home early. Mmmmm...opps! Well, we wish we would have saved the police a trip but what can we say, we didn't expect anybody home and their nonvocal, constant moving around really got our attention! Much to Larimer County's credit, emergency crews were amazing on the phone, terrifically quick, and polite when it turned out to be a false alarm. Now, for the lesson, let your family know if you cancel plans and come home in the wee morning hours! Either that or be bold enough to go check things out first before you call 911...I just know that I am not brave enough!

The Grand Finale

Well, we have moved from our beloved Provo, Utah. Greg and I would tease a little about getting out of Utah, but we are really going to miss some things about that wonderful place. We will miss the people for sure! We both hate goodbyes though, so this is a "see ya later" type of situation. We hope to keep in touch and see some of our friends and family as often as we can. We really left with a "bang!" Hence, why I am calling this the grand finale, that is what it felt like! We got to have Anne, Bart, Carolyn, Reed, and Grandma Jones in town as well as visit Sandy and Skip. Everybody came to celebrate Ben and Amanda's wedding....congrats to the newly married couple! I think they will find that the institution of marriage is definitely the BEST!

We went on climbing trips, took vacation from work, parties, our favorite food, and visits from our friends!

So, here is our last couple weeks in Utah...picture form!


Let me introduce you to Greg and I's FAVORITE burrito place. Mountain West Burrito in Provo, UT. It's your hole in the wall kind of a place. You would never think to stop there and get a bite to eat. It is associated with a weird smoke shop and in a gas station at a weird location. But...the have the best burritos we have ever had!

 Greg decided to go big, frankly, looking at the pictures right now...I wish I had too! Mmmm...on the left you see the "giant size" that Greg got, and then I got the regular size. He always gets steak, I always get chicken. Both are amazing!

 Here he goes....

 More then halfway done....he is looking full, huh?

Finished! Last bite. Gut buster!? I think so, but right now it looks totally worth it.

Anticipating the arrival of Anne!

I was as excited to see my in-laws as I would my own family whom I have known my whole life. They are amazing. They are the kind of people you get advice from, look up to, laugh with, and enjoy some R&R. Anne arrived the Saturday before the wedding weekend. She enjoyed some time with Sandy and her mother in St. George before coming back to Salt Lake City for the wedding festivities. But, Greg and I got to spend a little time with her before she left. We decided to go on a hike. My camera on my phone doesn't do it justice, but you have an idea of what a beautiful hike this was here:

 Always wanting to climb....

and always makes it to the top!

Ben and Amanda's Wedding!!!

I tried to do them in order, but, it didn' seem to work out that way....well, you can see how fun the two days were. Amanda and Ben were smart to plan the wedding backwards...with the reception the night before and the wedding the day after. We had a stress free and fun fiesta the night before and then a small short dinner after the wedding. Then...the honeymooners were off!

 Ben and Greg, they have been close their whole life. Greg adores Ben..or Benny is how they call him in the Sloat family!

 Yeah! The anticipation of waiting for a bride and groom to come out is a lot of fun at the temples.

 Fiesta! It got a little chilly but we had the BEST food, the most enjoyable company, and it was a great occasion to celebrate. I like the laid back atmosphere of the fiesta. I'll admit, sometimes I bail on things I don't want to dress up for. I would have never bailed on this, but for future parties/receptions, I think a low key dress expectation is the key.

 Bart and Amanda dancing. They had a traditional Mexican dance where you pay to dance with the bride or groom...a great little cash gift for the newly weds.

 And...here they come!

 A little smooch!

 Greg, Anne, Bart

 Ben, Anne, Amanda's dad, Amanda

 Possibly the greatest wedding cake every! A traditional Mexican Wedding Cake called "Tres Leches" and if you haven't tried one like this, you want to.

 Pork, beef, and chicken tacos with a pico de gallo type dish, sauces, heated tortillas, beans, rice, and the most delicious fresh assorted drinks you could hope for. Greg and I might have had 20 cups of that cant elope stuff before we left.

 More handsome Sloat men!

Aunt Sandy and Grandma Jones

 Sandy was our host for the week and weekends that Bart, Anne, Carolyn, and Reed were in town. She is amazing! A very gracious and wonderful host. We were really excited to have Grandma Jones there too! Grandpa Jones wasn't feeling well, but he let us borrow his sweetheart to attend weddings and enjoy her company. I don't think Grandma Jones has every said an unkind word! She is the essence of kindness.

 Siblings...all great people! I am so lucky to have such a perfect group of in-laws.

 The handsome Sloat brothers!

 Carolyn, Me, Greg, Reed

 Me, Greg, and Reed

 Guests at the wedding, you can see what a beautiful night it was. The park was amazing!

 I am laughing because it looks like they are leaving instead of arriving, I am not sure how these pictures got flipped! You get the point though. Here they arrive at this beautiful park where the reception was held. We were excited to see them!

 Grandma Jones and Amanda. Amanda was a very gracious and easy going bride. She definitely wasn't a bridzilla! She was laid back and went with the flow which meant a relaxed, fun, and stress free wedding day.

Love this pic....

me, Greg, Amanda, Ben, Bart, Anne, Reed, and Carolyn

Congratulations Ben and Amanda!!

Remember were I worked. It was so crazy how I even got the job I did. But I will always consider it a miracle because it was always what I needed when I needed it. I had the most amazing co-workers and manager. We are like a little family at American Fork Hospital, especially in patient access. I started as a temp, but as soon as that was over, my manager kept me by giving me another position. When I needed a different schedule for school, it was never a problem, when I need to get more hours, no problem, when I needed to work less hours, again, no problem! Over and over I got what I really needed, even if I had to cut hours, my manager made sure I was still with the required hours per pay period in order to keep all of my benefits which included medical, dental, vision, HSA matching, life insurance, renters insurance, and tuition reimbursement! What more could I ask for??!! I couldn't! It worked out great. The move to Utah turned out great, I have taken all pre-reqs for nursing and met my husband! Not to mention I made some life time friends and got into a whole slew of hobbies I will always enjoy too! Before I left we had a little combined Happy Birthday, good-bye party! I got a balloon, food, candy, and movie tickets. It was a fun day!

Now, I want to give you a tour of the last 2 1/2 years I have been at American Fork Hosptial!

Here is the front entrance, our schedule has looked a little like this since we got married. I work Monday evenings from 4:30pm to 1:00 am. For a couple of months, Greg would pick up Monday shifts and just pick me up at work when he is done. But the kicker about some of these months were that he worked in Sandy on Tuesdays at 5:50am. Ouch...I would get home around 1:30 on Tuesday mornings and need to be dropped off at work again at 5:15am so Greg could make it to work on time. I didn't even have to work till 9:30 am. So, I didn't even need to be there for 4 more hours! I kind of talked him out of that job, we missed having a little extra mu la but doing that routine a couple times a week. I would sit at my desk at try to sleep and then walk around a zombie all day. I had school on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Then work during the day on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Since summer has rolled around it has been more work and NO SCHOOL! Greg would frequently drop me off for work, drive home, bring me a snack or my running clothes when he was on his way to work, I would run to Applebee's (only a 3 mile run...sometimes I would take detours to extend the run) and pick up the keys, drive back, and hang out for a couple hours until Greg got off or drive home and come back later to pick him up. We would get away and run, climb, go to movies, and visit friends whenever we could. It seemed we have kept to ourselves a lot because our schedules have been opposite, so we love a little quality time when we have it.

 I worked in two places at the hospital, outpatient services and the ER. Here are my two entrances!

 Little American Fork Hospital...I was born here!

 Front lobby...were most of the people I talked to walked in to.

 Hello last 2 1/2 years!  We rotate to different desks a little bit. I mostly worked at the 4th desk.

 During the last 9-10 months, I worked the Monday nights in the ER and once school was over, I picked up a few more. This was an interesting and welcome new view for me. I got to see a lot of interesting things and I enjoyed seeing the patients get treated by the different health professionals.

My dear friends, we would have so much fun at work everyday.

 They wrote me the NICEST card...like I said before, I love all these people, so I don't plan on this being a goodbye!

 Mmmm...mmmm! We have had some good parties and food since I started working here. I will definitely miss those. But! When I come to visit! I will bring some goodies to enjoy for old times sake...

 My balloon...attached to it was the chocolate and movie tickets.

 THE BADGE!

 A frequent scene in our neck of the woods, we are all the greatest of friends, and could be found chatting, giving advice, sharing news, and helping each other through rough patches in life.

I loved the awesome summer area they had for us to eat outside! Looks like a jungle.  

This is in the back office....this is Kaye. We would chat as much as we could. She is a fabulous, gorgeous, fun, athletic, energetic, and talented woman. Hopefully we can find Mr. Right for her someday! She deserves a prince charming to come sweep her off her feet.

 Oh...my work mom, there on the left. We could be found on a blanket in the "back yard" of the hospital reading books, but mostly talking about life and eating our lunches. All of us would talk about anything and everything, all these ladies are the ones who threw me a giant bridal shower and were so excited when I met Greg. They all helped me through some rough dating years, I am a little tender hearted when it came to break ups and disappointments. I never thought it could be so worth it to find such a sweetheart and it is hard to really recall those memories, although it gives me some profound empathy who have had some similar experiences. When I brought Greg in, they were all in love with him and were asking me before we had announced our engagement when we would get married! They definitely know me well! They could tell just by how I acted and how happy, confident, and excited that Greg was going to be a keeper.

This is my manager, besides being one of my tremendous friends as well, she bent over backwards for me in order to help me keep a schedule through school and then when I went back full time, she went out of her way to get me the hours I needed to keep my benefits. She is a one of a kind manager!

Applebee's.....Crapplebees??????

Greg has been working for Applebee's throughout his college career, and kept us afloat while he was looking for a full-time job. It was the perfect job for a college student! But...at the end of about 5 years of working as a server, he was excited to throw all those black shirts and pants away! They have been used and worn out! Thanks to Anne, Greg didn't have holes in his shirt like he did in his pants.

 Nice! I never even noticed it either....

And they are gone! :)

Behind Aunt Sandy's house is some gorgeous areas. Earlier, I shared photos of a hike we took with Anne. Here is a little walk we went on and all we had to do was walk out the door and go up the street a block or too! Look at the beautiful scenery! It is hard to see, but the mountains are just beginning and they were breath taking!

 Trevor, Brie Howell, and Greg
Brie is a friend of mine from a microbiology lab and class. First, I noticed how cute she was and how cute she would  dress...she has a really cute sense of style, maybe she can give me some tips! But, I really noticed how nice she was to everybody and how genuine. I got to thinking...MMMM...I want her to meet Trevor. So, on my last day of school before I got married, Trevor was in town! I invited him to class. Sneaky, huh? I warned her a little bit though. She wasn't sure she was going to come to class (they were pointless lectures) but I told her I was bringing my brother and I wanted them to meet! So, they ended up seeing a devotional together while I took a test and then he invited her to dinner with us. They have kept in touch here and there...and now they keep in touch a lot! Nothing like having a really cute, nice, and fun "friend" around, right?

 Skipping rocks...tried to get some action pictures, but an iPhone camera is so SLOW!

Now, for our biggest hobby and what people will more often then not finding Greg and I doing or trying to find time to do! Climbing. We had a few great trips before we left Utah. We usually try to meet up with our friends, Joe and Andy. They are Greg's two closest friends. I am not a photographer, but I hope someday I will be able to take some really neat shots. All of these pictures are of Joe Rawlings and Greg in American Fork Canyon.

 American Fork Canyon is so amazing....

 Way up there!!! This is a difficult climb and this was Greg's first go.

 Now, the next week we went to Maple Canyon. Andy, Joe, Greg, and I were there the first day. I drove back at the end of the day and Greg stayed with his two best buddies to camp and climb for an additional days

 Andy

 Andy with Joe belaying.

 Again, more beautiful hikes!

 This is called, "the Box" it is a long walk in there and tons of climbing routes.

 It is always possible to make it outside, even though that is where we would rather be. We spent TONS of time here at "The Quarry" a climbing gym in Provo. Not a bad place to climb in the winter and when you can't make it outside.

Now, for the last hurrah! We went up American Fork Canyon again! I had Greg drop me off at the top and I ran 7.7 miles down- in exactly 1 hour and 58 seconds...love those downhill runs! But, I was more sore then I can ever remember being, I am guessing you work muscles a little differently when running downhill. I met up with Greg and his two friends, Andy and Tommy to do some climbing.

 So it look real? Can you tell it is just a small boulder???

 There were only a few climbers there but they were climbing some tough routes! It was neat to see them climbing 13a/13b routes!

 Getting ready to warm up...

thinking about it....

 should I??

 Me...

 climbing a ladder....

 but, I was tuckered out from my run.

I thought Greg took some cool shots here...

 Getting some '"beta" as they call it in climbing...meaning talking about the tricks and "need to knows" of the climb.

It was a really fun day! We went out with a bang! Now for the next adventure/chapter in our lives!

Look...we even packed the car. (What a joke, huh? At first it was organized, then it became rather ridiculous!)