The Big 2012

     Here is to a New Year and New Resolutions for the Finn household.  We have a lot of the same goals this year, individually and as a family.....so here they are

RESOLUTIONS

1)  Ryan and I are sick of our "student" bodies, so we are transforming them to Lean, Mean, Burning Calories Studying machines haha

Ryan does not have anyway weight to lose, but wants to tone up.

After college basketball, all of my muscle and sleek body turned to flab.  I then lost all of that weight and was at my skinniest/healthiest point.  Then marriage and pharmacy school came and all the weight got put back on.  But now it is time to get healthy again.  Not just losing 20 lbs but also to lose inches and get my BMI down.  Who knows when we will start having kids, but I want to be healthy before, during, and after

2)  Increasing our scripture study time, together and individually

3)  Making sure FHE happens every week

4) Making sure that we make time for our own individual "outs."

These "outs" as we call it are time for something WE want to do aka not studying.  For example an "out" is to play basketball for 30 minutes or regain piano abilities by playing 30 minutes a day.  SomethingWE WANT to become better at or enjoy.

     I hope for the very few people that do read this blog that you have made goals to and are ready to accomplish these New "Resolutions" along with us.  

     

     This year is going to be a very busy year for us, especially with school.  In June Ryan will take his big boards, which pretty much tells him what kind of doctor he can be.  Ryan will have finished 2 years of Med school and I one year of Pharmacy school.  We will have been married for 2 whole Years and have lived in AZ for 2 years!  

Here's to a good 2012!

Let's bring it in with a Huge Bang!

The Holidays

     I love traditions, especially for holidays and if there is one tradition that I grew up with that has stuck is making Christmas Candy!!!!  I love to bake and I love the goodies I am allowed to make during the holidays.  Since every batch of candy I make is huge we decided that in order to help save our figures we would make little candy plates for our friends.  This way after we delivered to everyone their candy, the leftover would be ours!  It was so good and fun to make!

     We made some peanut brittle, english toffee, barvarian mint fudge, peanut clusters, and caramels!  The only thing missing is our cinnamon caramels. I didn't have enough flavoring, but don't worry, we'll make it next year!

     After a couple of tests were taken, we were ready for the Christmas celebrating to really begin for us students. We decided to start the celebration out right with going to Texas Roadhouse with some of our good friends.  The food was delicious as always!  I even kind of missed working there, it is just a fun environment, good people, and good food....

The Horrock's, The Sirueck's, and The Finn's

We decided to say it was Austin's birthday!  He was such a good sport!

     After dinner we went to downtown Glendale to go and see the Glendale Glitters.  They hang over a MILLION lights in a park and on some of the main streets  It is a fun place to go! The railroad which used to be the lively hood of the town runs through there.  While there with the Sirueck's, lil' Madi wanted to take a carriage ride, it was a lot of fun!

     Once again it was time to head home and go see family!  When we got to Idaho it welcomed us with the temperature of... 5 degrees!!! We loved it!  It was also a big deal to come home this time because Ryan's younger brother Morgan came home from his mission in the Dominican Republic.  I hadn't even met Morgan yet, Ryan and I met right after he left, so it was exciting to meet another in-law.

     We were also able to see some of my high school buddies and have a fun little get together with them.  Great food, competitive ping pong games, kinek competitions, and of course awesome white elephants gifts.  This was the first time Ryan really got to meet some of my friends since we have all gone away and not stayed in our home town, I think he now understands why I act the way I do sometimes, haha

 
     For Christmas we did a lot of traveling.  It is nice when your families live kind of close to one another but it sure makes for A LOT of driving, but it was worth it.  We went to my sisters for an awesome Christmas Eve dinner of steak, king crab, and jumbo shrimp.....AMAZING!  I decided to show them my culinary skills i've been gaining in AZ and made from scratch peanut butter chocolate cheesecake with Reese's on top....everyone was so impressed and it tasted awesome.  click here if you want to try it!

I also made a regular cherry cheesecake just in case my main one didn't work

My brother in-law Beau was super excited for them

     We did lots of reading with the lil' kiddos, especially Ryan

     After Christmas Eve dinner, we headed back to the Finn's for the sibling gift exchange and a movie that Ryan's sister Tania made for Morgan about what happened while he was gone for 2 years... Lil' Tanner loves to help bring gifts and open gifts.

   
     Once that finished, we headed back out to my parents before Santa came to have an early morning Christmas with my parents and then go to church with them.  After church we headed back to the Finn's for Christmas and then when to their church where Papa Finn was speaking.  It was a crazy 2 days of traveling across Idaho, but it was worth it.

     After the Christmas chaos it was time to get a little R&R and of course some studying as we headed up to the my family's cabin.

      I LOVE Island Park!  I was so excited for all the snow, but it was a little bit of a disappointment, there was maybe a foot of snow or so.  There is always TONS of snow up there during the holidays, usually you can hardly see the rancher's fences.  I was ready to go snowmobiling, snowshoeing, making snowmen, and running in the snow!  We didn't go snowmobiling which was a big disappointment or snowshoeing or make snowmen, BUT I did go running in the snow in my winter gear and I LOVED IT!  There is nothing like running in the cold, best feeling in the world.  I also made Ryan go on some winter walks we me at night.  It is so beautiful to go walking at night in the snow where everything is snow covered and white!

Forgive the cheesy picture

     We still had a lot of fun siting by the fireplaces, playing many card games, putting a huge puzzle together, eating way to much food, a lil' bit of studying of course, and just enjoying family.  We were entertained by the lil' ones running around and rearranging furniture...

Harper Jo and Gunner

     Before we new it, it was time for some Finn family pictures and to celebrate the New Years! Let me tell you we were so festive!  Ryan and I both came down with the flu on NY Eve morning!  We were such couch potatoes, as soon as family pictures got over with we never left the couch for 12 hours or so unless we had an "emergency" which occurred quite often.  Talk about the worst celebration ever, we were only thankful that we got it before we had to fly out the next day haha.  After the crazy flu, we headed back to sunny 82 degree AZ and picked school up right where we left it.  It was a great Christmas break and fun to see all of the family.  So long Santa, see ya next year!

The Railroad Family

     This past Thanksgiving we were finally able to get all of my family together long enough to take some family pictures.  We decided to surprise my mom with having a photographer taking them so she could finally update the pictures in her home.  We wanted to have some meaning to them, so we decided to take the pictures at the Union Pacific Rail Road (UPRR) where my dad has worked for over 30+ years as an engineer (he drives the trains), not to mention his dad worked there and his great grandfather worked for the railroad also!  It is kind of a big deal in our family.  I thought the pictures turned out awesome, most were taken out on the tracks but we also got some in the old train depot!

The whole "Hess" clan

Finally got my dad to smile! He never smiles in pictures.  Isn't his handle bar mustache SWEET!!!

The Hess Honeys

The Crystal's

The Anderson's

The Twiss's

The Grandkids

Knowing Christ in Christmas

     Christmas for me this year has brought on a new meaning.  I have been so fortunate to have found wonderful friends who get to endure through the agony and pain of pharmacy school with me.  I have to admit I was really wanting to find some good LDS friends like I had at ISU.  People with the same interests and way of living, but to my surprise I have been blessed with the most diverse group of friends.  We have had many religion talks, they seems to happen a lot when people find out your are Mormon.  But this wonderful season of Christmas has helped me realize the true meaning and why we exactly celebrate Christmas.
     So here is the group.....

           1) Irina = Russian, Jewish but now is a practicing Atheist

2) Kim = American, non-practicing Jehovah Witness

3)  Sam = Native American, Christian??? (i think? Haven't quite figured it out)

4)  Kristen = American, Not really a specific religion

5) Kali Jo = American, Latter Day Saint

Irina is missing, but the awesome friends

     Now I do not write this for comparing or saying that one is better then the other, but it has taken me awhile to appreciate the situation Heavenly Father has given me.  At first my group of friends use to call me Mormon and wanted to know why that was the name of the religion.  After a very long lunch discussions they learned that it is a nickname and now when anything is referred to me about religion they no longer say Mormon, but LDS.  This was a huge goal of mine for them to understand and start to say my religion was LDS.  To me this shows they understand that I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  

Elder Ballard stated beautifully in October 2011 General Conference the

importance of a "Name" and that we as members should call ourselves

Latter Day Saints, you can find his article here.  Here is part of his talk I liked...

"Brothers and sisters, just think of what an impact we can have by simply responding by using the full name of the Church as the Lord has declared we should do. And if you cannot immediately use the full name, at least say, “I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ” and later explain “of Latter-day Saints.”

Back in 1948 at the October general conference, President George Albert Smith said, “Brethren and sisters, when you go away from here, you may be associating with various denominations of the world, but remember that there is only one Church in all the world that by divine command bears the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord”

     Now on to the impression I have been having about knowing Christ in Christmas.  With the very diverse group of religions in my friends, I have learned a lot about their traditions in their family and what is meaningful to them during the holidays.  They all have their own beautiful meanings for celebration but can I just say that I feel so lucky, that for myself and my family WE have a beautiful meaning for Christmas!  It is not about gifts or some old man who brings great gifts (even though I do love it) but that it is a time to really celebrate our Wonderful and Beautiful Savior. He is the reason why we are on this Earth and to give thanks to our beloved Elder Brother who did so much for us.  This has been a burning testimony inside of my heart these last few days.  For I feel and am shameful to say that it took much time for me to understand the true meaning of Christmas, but I am very thankful that I know!  I couldn't ask for better friends to help get me through school and for this amazing time in my life to be the best example to them and share my testimony when I can.

This is the reason why the Finn's celebrate and Love CHRISTmas

I hope you and your families will find the true meaning as well this wonderful Christmas Holiday!

Merry CHRISTmas!

Time to be Thankful

     There is nothing better than the holidays.  We have been waiting for November to come for so LONG.  Not only does November mean lots of good, homemade food and family, but it also means COLD weather for a change!  We are talking cold like 65 to 75 degrees cold!  No more sweating or running the air conditioning, we actually get to keep all the windows open (which also means a HUGE decrease in our power bill!).  After spending a few days in Cancun, it was time to head to good ole IDAHO and really enjoy some cold weather.  Ryan and I were so excited, we actually got to pull out our winter clothes out of the storage bins and pack a sweater for a change, it was beautiful!
     One of the first things we were able to do was go Christmas Tree hunting with Ryan's sister and their little family.  I was so excited to be able to play in the snow!  We couldn't have asked for better weather and it even snowed on us a little bit!

Ryan, Me, and his little brother Jordan

The Hunt Clan

Ryan says this is the normal look I give him a lot, usually I am wondering why he is doing what he is doing! State of confusion, I guess.

   Ryan's sister Tiffany just had a baby about 4 months ago and we weren't sure how far we were going to be hiking to find the "perfect" tree so they stayed back in the car and were going to just wait for us.  After we found a great spot, Ryan and I decided it wasn't that far and so we ran back, and yes we really did run in the 2 feet of snow all the way back to the car to get Tiffany and Kennedy to come and play with us.

Ryan and Tanner

     This here is Jordan, he pretty much thinks he is an Abercrombie & Fitch model.  No one really knows what to do with him so we just let him be, haha.  Don't worry girls he will be available in about 2.5 years.

      It was a lot of fun playing in the snow, it really makes me miss seasons and just plain old weather.  The only weather we have in AZ is sun with a sporadic cloud in the sky, maybe.

     When we go to Idaho, we always have to ride horses.  I wish there was a way I could bring them to AZ.  We took Ryan's nephew Tanner out for a ride, he loves Rival and Danny.  This time we taught him how to brush the horses before we saddle them.

     It gets me excited for when we will be able to have horses someday and our kids will hopefully have a love for them like I did growing up.

     We were also able to go out and meet up with some friends we haven't seen in awhile to one of our favorite restaurants, Wingers!  We miss their "sticky fingers" they are just pure amazingness!

     Finally it was the big day we were all waiting for, THANKSGIVING!  I was so excited for some yummy food.  But of course you can't just eat everything in sight until you run a 5K in the morning, so we headed to the Paul, Idaho for the Turkey Trot where 2 of my sisters live.  We were both just so excited to run the race that I got us there a whole hour early! haha  My only goal was to beat my brother in law who is always competing with me, and by golly Ryan and I killed him by almost 5 minutes!

The Group

 All the sisters minus 1

Ryan has never ran a race before, but I am pretty sure after this 5K he is itching to run a 1/2 marathon with me!

   We enjoyed an amazing dinner at the Finn's on Thanksgiving, unfortunately I forget to take pictures of the clan.  The food was Fantastic.  One of the best things about having the parents live close to one another, even in the same state, is having 2 Thanksgivings!  My family had our dinner on Saturday!  It was so good also!  I was able to make little pilgrim hats out of reese's peanut butter cups and shortbread cookies with my nieces and nephews, they turned out pretty cute and a great appetizer!

I promise my nieces and nephews love me, they just might not show it all the time

Isn't my hubby a cutie?  

     Ryan and I love the cold! We are so excited to head back and hit the slopes to go skiing!  I ran almost every day in the cold weather! I was able to run in my cold gear and it was pure joy.  I tell you there is nothing like breathing in cold air and running up actual hills.  Probably one of my favorite winter activities.    

     It was so nice to go home and see family. It's sometimes hard to go home cause it makes us realize more and more that Idaho is becoming a place that we visit to see our family and not our home anymore.  It's hard to realize that AZ is actually "our" home cause our reality occurs there and we own something there.  We still love Idaho though and hopefully we will be back in 8 years!  

We will see you again Idaho in 3.5 weeks for Christmas and I will get to meet my brother in law Morgan, who is returning from a 2 year mission in the Dominican Republic.

Fall Cleaning

     I have been counting down the days this whole last quarter of school until I had a day where I could officially "deep" clean our apartment.  I was so excited to rent a carpet cleaner!  I officially think Ryan now understands how OCD I am about a clean apartment.  I was counting down the days to be down with finals and also to be able to CLEAN, not the usually Saturday morning cleaning!
     My last final that I had to take was a bruiser!  I pulled a true all-nighter, not even sleeping a second for that dang test and once 9:30 am rolled around I was a free woman from school (at least for 2 weeks).  Ryan didn't have his last test till 10 that morning.  I was planning on taking a nap and then I would start to clean, but I was foolish to even think that I would have been able to sleep.  So instead I headed straight for the store and rented a carpet cleaner!  When Ryan came home from his last test he was so ready to relax and take a nap but instead he found me elbow deep in the kitchen scrubbing away!  He is seriously the best husband ever.  He could have gone and taken a nap and I would have been fine with that but instead he put his stuff away and asked me where he could help.  He truly is a trooper in putting up with me and my crazy madness with cleaning.  Here are somethings he learned

1)  What it really means to clean out a fridge (take everything out, throw stuff, remove shelves, and wipe down everything)

2)  How to remove everything off a shelf and DUST

3)  Deep clean means clean the carpets with a carpet cleaner

(I forgot to take a picture of him cleaning the carpets)

4)  His wife LOVES the straight lines made when vacuuming

     After a long hard day of cleaning, our apartment is clean, fresh, and smells like cinnamon pine cones!

     I forgot to mention, the Saturday after finals, Ryan's buddy called him up and asked him "if his wife would let him go golfing" haha, of course I can't say no after him helping me clean, so in the middle of November, he went and golfed 18 holes!