Oh Olive!

This is what she does EVERY TIME we go to the dog park. She is like a pig rolling in the mud. She is the only one who chooses to torture their mom like this AND she refuses to go in the water to rinse off. Usually resulting in a full on bath when we get home. Its all good though because she LOOOOOVES the dog park SO much. If you tell her we are going she flips - just can't contain herself.



All the other dogs wondering what the heck she is doing. You like how her legs are all sprawled out back so she can get maximum belly to mud application?



She is LOVING life.



Always with the tongue.



Olive and the Pellingers were best buds by the time they left - she cuddled up with them and was totally over G and I!

Oregon Reunion

Mid-August we had the pleasure of hosting a whole gaggle of friends from our days in Oregon - one from each pair got a PhD at the University of Oregon (home of the #2 football team in the NATION - NO.BIG.DEAL). The first to arrive and travelling the farthest were Tom and Donna in from Massachusetts. We started off by introducing them to Flat Branch and YogoLuv.



Then we introduced them to Olive and she, being the exceedingly well mannered dog that she is, proceeded to jump all over them and lick them profusely. we are so proud. PS this post has a ton of pictures but there were over 200 so I did waht I could to cut it down.



The next day we set off on the Katy Trail to bike to Rocheport - our fav little town we have told you about before. It was HOT that day. yuck.



We brought a picnic and bought a bottle of wine to enjoy at the winery. We got a flat tire on the way home and almost missed the time we had to turn our rented bikes in by...we were exhausted! 32 miles is a lot! We got in our jammies and ate shakespears - it was awesome.



The next day we laid low since we had been so active previously. I really wanted G to bake with me, but he never will - Donna helped me convince him and we made these AMAZING oatmeal cookies. I make them all the time because I am obsessed and everyone always can't get enough.





That evening Brett and Beth arrived from Kansas and we had an awesome dinner off the grill. Even later that night Jon and Jess arrived!



The next morning we ventured to the farmers market - it was a perfect morning for a visit.



Yumm - fresh fruit and veggies!



The whole gang with our loot! I LOVE this picture.



Then we drove to Rocheport and took everyone to our favorite restaurant that all of our guests have to visit - Abigails in Rocheport. The food is SO good and fresh and the restaurant has the best kitschy ambiance.



The whole gang! Soo good to all be in one place!



We went back to the winery for the afternoon and enjoyed good conversation and spirits.



We made more yummy food for dinner and then played games. Its our favorite thing to do when we are all together. Well - its my favorite at least.

as Tom demonstrates - things got intense. It was such a fun weekend with everyone! We wish it could have been longer, but we are so thankful for what we got! Before Tom and Donna left we took Olive to the dog park - there are a few funny pics I will post tomorrow.

Pesto!

Life has significantly calmed down and I FINALLY (after three weeks and two rounds of antibiotics) am free of ear infections! I am going to get this blog updated with what we have been doing the past few months. I'm going way back to mid-August with this one! 

All summer we had more basil than we knew what to do with - our basil plants looked like bushes and there were four of them! I decided that I needed to spend an afternoon turning it all into pesto before the season ended. 

I used this recipe - except that pine nuts are like a gazillion dollars in the midwest (maybe because we don't have lots of pine trees??) so I used walnuts. When I ran out of walnuts I used almonds and I can't tell a difference in the taste. 

YUM! I LOVE pesto and it is so expensive to buy so I was pumped! I bought cute little jars to put it in and I almost fooled myself into thinking I was canning (something I really want to learn). 

Really though I just put it all up in the freezer for safe keeping - and the recipe says omit the cheese if you are going to freeze - I really don't think its necessary unless you have a really sophisticated palate or something. Tastes good to me! 

i love my ducks (return of the quack!)

This makes me SO happy! Seriously there were goosebumps the first time I watched it. Remember the version from last season? They do such a good job!

In other news I passed the Nursing board exam last saturday! I am officially a nurse! NOW THAT FELT GOOD -  I was so stressed about that test! The bad news is that I've been sick for like 12 days and don't seem to be getting better even after a round of antibiotics. The lesson... stress does bad things for the immune system. I have soooooooo many pictures to post. Its ridiculous...maybe later this week? There is light at the end of the tunnel of craziness that we have been calling life lately - I really can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to down time and feeling better!

NCLEX

its a bigger day for some of us than for others...

OMG

life has TOTALLY been kicking my butt. FOR REAL. i'm going to take a minute to get you all caught up...at least a little bit. where to start?? i had a job all but set up in the unit and hospital i wanted to work in in Columbia, but then the HR department implemented a personality test into the interview process and....i failed =(. it was incredibly depressing and infuriating. INFURIATING. then life tried to go on - i focused on finishing school and kept thinking life would calm down and even out. then i graduated and got a job in a TEEENY TINY hospital in a town near columbia, but didn't start right away. then i took a week long kaplan prep course in Kansas City, threw Lainey a bridal shower, had lots of friends in town (SO FUN) and tried to get some R&R in. then i started working at the TENNEY (7 patients in the whole place) hospital. it was ok, but from the beginning i could tell it wasn't what i needed out of my first job - i need lots of experience and training at a large hospital. if i don't get that as a new grad it is going to be really hard to get it later. ever since the university fiasco happened i had been searching out jobs in STL and KC. nothing real serious, but i kept looking and applying. i happened to submit an application real quick one afternoon to St Louis Children's Hospital's NICU. They weren't currently hiring, but always accept applications.

Shortly thereafter I got a call from HR asking me to interview - which I bought a new outfit for - drove over and completed two one hour interviews on a Friday afternoon. Then they asked me to come back a few days later for a panel interview. I was nervous, but WAY excited! Grant and Olive came to STL with me the night before so I could prep and not have to get up too super early and drive all the way from Columbia that morning. It went well - I thought. Later that evening we were sweating it out in the Hyundai on our way to Kansas City (without AC in 95 degree + humidity heat) to see She and Him when Children's hospital called to offer me the job! SWEET! we were so excited. SO excited. The opportunity is amazing. The hospital is one of the top 5 pediatric hospitals in the country and they have great perks and benefits.

I'm not going to lie - it has been one of the most stressful times in my life trying to juggle a marriage, working in a different city, finding an apartment, the dog, preparing for boards, staying sane. BUT we think this is going to be the best thing for us in the long run so we are going to make some sacrifices now. AND there are some pluses... STL has tons of delicious restaurants - we have already had so many more ethnic dinners here than we could ever have in Columbia. and things are starting to fall into place... this weekend I will move into an apartment with another new nurse in the NICU so I can avoid perpetual hotel living. The ultimate goal is for me to work in STL 3 days/week and then be in Columbia 4 days/week, but we will have to see how it all works out.

Do you understand why I haven't been blogging?? I really can't tell you how insane life has been - too insane for this girl to handle! Hope to be back soon with pictures from the last few months! love you all!

PS... can you believe monday marked two years since this?? how the heck did that happen so fast?!