Celebrating in SEDONA

     After 4 weeks of pharmacy school, it was time for tests.  My schedule has a set time for tests every Tuesday and Thursday morning along with any other tests during the week.  This is/was the only hard week I have this quarter besides Finals week.  The week contained of 4 tests, 3 quizzes and 1 paper.  Needless to say I accomplished everything with an A and Smile!  It was a very stressful week, but it gave me a lot of respect for Ryan.  During his first year of medical school I could recall numerous times where he had at least 3 tests in one week and then 6 tests during finals!  He gave me a few pointers which helped me out quite a bit.  I am very Thankful for my supportive husband.  I have felt very guilty this summer starting up school again while it is his LAST SUMMER of FUN, but we have been able to play a lot.  School has not been that bad and now that I have my "bad" week behind me there is all but more fun to come!
     We decided to get out of the hot heat of 115 degrees and head to SEDONA!  It is only 80 minutes away from us, about 20 degrees cooler, and 4000 feet higher then Phoenix.  We stopped at the Ranger Station and got all of the information needed and off we were to explore.  Sedona is amazing and beautiful.  We decided it is like Sun Valley, Idaho and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  Ryan and I thought that since it was our first time to Sedona we should go on one of the trails that will give an over look of the whole valley.  So of course THAT trail was the longest and the highest in elevation, 7000 feet! Why not, Right?  It was a lot of fun and needless to say 8 miles later we were ready to shower!

We noticed this random cone mountain in the middle of the valley

Taking a Little Break

     It was around 100 degrees when we started hiking at 11 am.  I know, I know who starts to hike when the day gets hot?  WE DO!  If you want a good workout why not during the mid heat of the day!

We thought these trees looked like Dr. Seuss trees, Ryan's is red

Mine is Yellow!

Here is one of the first look out points about 2 miles in

Ryan celebrating

Kali celebrating

     One thing you will notice in the landscape pictures is how bad the SMOG is! It is so sad that all of that smog comes from Phoenix/Maricopa County!  You can not get a very clear view anywhere, even 80 miles away.  Next we had another 2 miles to go to get to the very top.

Picture from the top at 7000 feet

  
     On the way home, we got stuck on the freeway for about 45 minutes due to the winds tipped over a Semi Truck.  We actually experienced Idaho 30-50 mph winds! It was pretty crazy.  We were ready to get home and SHOWER.  I could feel the red and black sand/dirt get into my socks the whole hike.  I think the picture says it all....

     100 degrees + sweat + loose dirt/sand= dirty legs and toes, well at least Kali's toes and a much needed shower for the both of us.  We bought an annual pass for parking for up in Sedona.  There are around 50 to 100 hikes, some more famous then others, but we are sure we are going to conquer all of them.

Our First Scorpion!

     It was the worst time of my life.  I'll set up the scene.  It was about 11 pm Friday night and we were just about to head to bed when I thought I saw something on our dining wall.  It looked like a dragonfly or a big bug to me.  It was right at the top corner, so I figured it was something that flies to get up there.  Of course I make Ryan go and check it out, and all I remember him say is, "Kal, we have our first scorpion!"  Now I grew up as a farm girl and not a lot of stuff freaks/grosses me out, but the fact that it was IN my house freaked me out!   It is a law down here that apartment complexes have to spray for cockroaches, scorpions, and spiders every week and if you find anything crawling around in your apartment they have to come and fumigate it for you.
     So Ryan, the "man" that he is goes and puts on his hiking boots haha and grabs a spatula.  Our plan of attack was to whack it with a spatula and then once it fell on the ground to stomp on it.  Before we did all of this, while we were just staring at it, we looked on the internet about them.  The internet said that they can live through a lot of "beating" so make sure you really stomp on it good.  Here are a few pictures of the event...

The Scorpion

Analyzing what to do

haha I just laugh at this picture

The Nasty Devil is Dead!

     Needless to say the next morning we marched right over to the office of our apartment and told them about it.  They were really surprised that it was in our house, but do not worry folks our place is getting fumigated on Friday! So all you people that plan on coming to visit us, our house will be safe by then!

     On a much happier note, I teach primary CTR 6 and I have grown to really love my kids.  It was a little challenging at first, but it has turned out to be a lot of fun for me and for Ryan when he comes and visits us.  But the kids have been doing really good and they memorized a scripture for me so I asked them what kind of cupcakes they would like.  A lot of the kids are into "Angry Birds" a video/ipod game  ( i have never played but Ryan plays it and so do his buddies) so I figured I could do that for them.  I found a blog about a lady who made her son angry bird cupcakes so I copied her.  They turned out pretty good!  It was a lot of fun with Ryan to make them and the kids loved them!

Making the birds

Final product

The whole crew

Les Miserables

     Awhile back, my good friend Chelsea wanted to know if we wanted to go to Les Miserables with her and her husband.  I love musicals even though I can't sing and of course Ryan wanted to go, so we decided to have a double date.  We went to an awesome pizza place called Oregano's and of course we didn't order pizza, but Amazing Pasta and Chicken sandwich.

     And then it was time for the big show.  This is one of Ryan's favorites, but I did not know the plot at all.  So I bugged Ryan every now and then to figure out what was going on.

Jacoby, Chelsea, Me, and Ryan

     I really really liked the show.  It was a little long, 3 hours, but the double date was something very much needed.  Next to come, Wicked!

1st Day of Pharmacy school....Again!

     I can't believe that it has been a whole year since I have been out of Pharmacy School at ISU.  It is crazy to think that a year ago, I made the big decision to switch pharmacy schools so I could follow my husband.  It was a big sacrifice that I made looking back now, but a very EASY decision to make at the same time for our lil' family to be.
     I loved ISU's College of Pharmacy.  It was my second family.  I made the best of friends and really liked the small class size.  It is hard to leave the school when you know all of the professors by first name and the Dean is your good friend.  But for some reason I was okay leaving for another adventure.   Now I am lucky to be able to have gone through 2 White Coat Ceremonies (medical ceremony for induction into the field).

ISU's College of Pharmacy White Coat with Parents (before ryan)

  
     And soon to come...Midwestern University's College of Pharmacy white coat ceremony in October.  Now during the scorching, hot weather of Arizona, I get to enjoy going to school all day in air conditioned rooms....haha.  It definitely has been different not seeing my old "pharm buddies" but I am making new friends and finally know that I will be a pharmacist in exactly 3 Years!!! Along side with my hubby who will be a Doctor and heading into residency.

First day of school

    Here is the school that Ryan and I will owe our life/income to for the next few years.  It really is a beautiful campus for being in the desert.

Jammin' Time

     WE LOVE HOMEMADE JAM!  Yep that is all that I have to say.  It is like candy to me, literally since it has like 4 cups of sugar in it!  I did not quite know that it had that much till Ryan and I decided to make our own Raspberry and Strawberry Jam.  My mom has been making it with my sisters all week and my mother in-law made some before we went to Idaho, so Ryan and I felt left out and decided to do it on our own.  We don't have much food storage for being graduate students but we decided that if things get bad, we will just live on our Jam! haha

     It was a lot of fun.  I enjoy that Ryan likes to cook and bake with me.  I grew up with my dad cooking a lot and I enjoyed those times with him and now I get to enjoy/laugh a lot with Ryan in the kitchen.

Mashing the Raspberries

Stirring the Sugar, Pectin, and Water

Filling the containers

WaLa! The Amazing finished project

Yes, I am very proud 

One Year Down, 9 More To Go!!!!

     Yay!  I can't believe that Ryan has finished his first year of medical school!  It went by super fast/slow looking back at this past year....Ryan even said that it went by fast.  There were definitely some slow times when I didn't think he could study anymore then he already was or another long week of work working 6 nights out of a week.  There were some months that were hard to get through but it has been a great first year!  I am so proud of Ryan for how well he did his first year!  This last finals week was a bruiser!!!! He had 2 finals the week before finals week and then 6 FINALS the week of finals!!! He is a trooper....he even pulled out a freakin' 100% on one of the biggest finals! Who does that, right?
  
     So to celebrate, the wives of our lil' group planned a big dinner on the night they finished.  It was so nice to be able to get together and just relax.  There was no rushing home after dinner to study.   The wives made some awesome Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Reese's on them....AMAZING!

The Whole Gang

     It was such a great time.  We have been so fortunate to be able to make friendships with these people!   After a fun night on Friday, it was time to head to IDAHO for a 10 day vacation.  We missed our families and were ready for a change of weather.  We love the sun in AZ but boy do we miss seasons and the cold.   I was so ready to see the nieces and nephews and to RIDE HORSES!!!!     Everyday I went riding by myself, with Ryan, friends, and family.

Ashley and I! The best pharmacy friend ever!

     You may wonder why I am in sweaters?  It may look nice but the temperature was only like 50 degrees!  I was freezing all the time, even if it was sunny.

Just ignore my cheesy smile

Harper Jo wasn't to sure about riding

Gunner loved rding

    
     One of my goals since I knew I was marrying a city boy was to convert Ryan to be a cowboy....and I am pretty sure I am on my way!

     Over Memorial weekend, my whole family was able to get together on Saturday.  It was so much fun!  Jami rode with Harper for a little bit.

    Kodi rode with Gunner....

  
     Ryan's little nephew came out to ride with Ryan and I, but I didn't get any pictures of the ride.   It was a very cold and windy day, but we had a lot of fun.  We enjoyed hot chocolate and swiss rolls afterwards.  I love Ryan's and Tanner's wind blown hair in this picture.

     Idaho received a lot of moisture this past winter and a lot of rain/slow in the spring so canals, rivers, and anywhere else is flooding.  The falls where I live are usually not impressive and hardly have water coming out of the flood gates, but this year is an exception.  We we went with Tiffany, Jon, and Tanner to go and see the American Falls below the damn.  It was very windy and cold as you can see in the pictures.

Tiff, Tanner, Jon

  
     My sister Kodi, is a cosmetologist and I have been wanting to learn how to cut Ryan's hair so the time finally came to learn.  It is something that is doable but I don't mind giving Ryan $15 to go and have him get it professionally cut now.

Trying to cut with scissors

Kodi finishing the final cut, I gave up

     We had a lot of fun with family and friends.  We went on a triple date with some of Ryan's friends.  I hooked up one of my friends with Ryan's buddy.  We went four wheeling, had a campfire, and got poured on.  In my book, it was a hit! haha  This is why I love Idaho.  It is so green and you can do anything and everything in your own back yard.

It was cold, as you can see with Ryan's beanie

Still snow in the mountains and its the beginning of June!

     Unfortunately, the fun came to an end and Ryan and I had to return to Arizona to become responsible adults again.  I had orientation that I had to be back for and Ryan needed to start working in the research lab for his professor.  On our drive down to SLC to fly out, the mountains were amazing and we left Idaho with it looking like this....in June!

     SNOW, Cold, and Windy!  We sure do miss you Idaho!  haha

Isn't he the cutest lil' boy

HAHA look at how excited Harper is!

     So long Family, see you in August!