The Illusion Persists . . .

The illusion persists that Moab is warm in the winter. Still hoping that there might be a shred of truth to that illusion, Joe and I took a trip south over this past weekend. While we were anything but warm (we saw both snow and light hail) we had a super fun weekend! I can't think of a way that I would rather spend Valentine's Day then hiking around beautiful country and then snuggling up in a tent with my adorable husband. On Saturday we drove south, then we hiked to a place call Fisher's Towers and got totally lost on the trail (I guess a 3 foot sign with an arrow isn't obvious enough). We hiked up to the base of huge sandstone towers (the Titan is 900 ft tall) and realized that there was no where left to hike. On our way back we found the correct turn and hiked to the opposite side of the towers. It is a beautiful place. Climbers have actually summited the Titan. They must have been human spider monkeys.

The next day we went to church (smelling and looking rather fresh) and then spent a day and a half exploring Arches National Park. We saw/hiked to all but about 3 arches. Arches National Park is amazing!!!

I would especially recommend the Devil's Garden hike. It is breathtaking! and you cross something like 11 arches during the hike. By the end, you come across another 200 foot arch carved into orange sandstone and you shrug your shoulders . . . it's just another arch.

These sandstone "fins" we learned, are the first step in arch formation. Then, over many years, water breaks away chunks of rock, until arches form.

Baby Tabs

On Thursday I decided that I absolutely couldn't wait any longer to have an In N' Out burger. . . as soon as I finished work on Friday we jumped in our car and drove to St. George. Just joking (about the burger). In N' Out was actually just a bonus. Joe and I spent a fun weekend with my little sis Mindy and her husband Nick, and we finally got to meet our newest niece Tabria, and she is as cute as she could possibly be.

Oh . . . and I am her favorite aunt :) especially when I am all stinky from running as pictured. 

Sundry Items

Being so overly ambitious I thought that I would post something every week, and yet, once again a month has passed with no posts, so finally, here is a little update.

My cute mother came into town. We spent a super fun couple of days doing whatever we wanted (and nothing at all). Our mission for her visit: find the perfect serving bowls. This mission took us to every housewares/decorating store in the county and yet we remained unsuccessful. Those perfect serving bowls escaped us for now, but they will be uncovered. Otherwise, we watched Becoming Jane (the perfect chick flick) ate a lot of good food, and had a generally wonderful time. I love you Mom!

This last weekend was a little more hectic. Joe and I babysat 5 of our nieces and nephews for 4 days while their parents soaked up the sun in Cabo San Lucas. We had so much fun! Our weekend was complete with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese's, the Purple Turtle, and watching Agent Cody Banks about 220 times. Pictured below . . . Team Nettesheim

One last thing to mention for this post (and maybe this month :) ) . . . sometimes it is good to be a nurse. There have definitely been times when I have questioned my decision to become a nurse, but the other day I had an experience that reminded me how valuable nurses really are. I was working at the oncology clinic when one of our patients complained of chest pain that had been going on for some time. The first nurse who drew her blood did not assess/address her symptoms. I was working in the back, waiting for her test results when I realized that most likely no one had talked with her about her symptoms. I only needed a few minutes with the patient to realize that she needed to go to the emergency room immediately. I called an ambulance and had her sent to the ER. Of course at this point the ER nurse in me kicked in, and it killed me to send her off with the paramedics because I really wanted to be on the other side, receiving the patient and taking care of her on arrival in the ER. Anyway, the patient was eventually diagnosed with multiple pulmonary emboli (or blood clots in her lungs . . . similar to a heart attack of the lungs) and is still in the hospital. I didn't think too much of the episode until my manager said, "Steffany, you saved a life today." Wow. I am just glad that I had the experience to recognize the severity of her symptoms. Sometimes it is good to be a nurse.

Happy Birthday (to me :o)

It was my birthday yesterday and I had a fabulous day. Joe and I went to breakfast with friends, played in a soccer game, and I saw old friends at a wedding reception; I thought my day was complete. Then, Joe gave me a book, Sushi for Dummies, (the dummy is me) and all the supplies to create our own sushi masterpieces, so last night we had a sushi making date. We cooked 2 varieties of tofu and created hand rolls and finger sushi complete with wasabi, chili sauce, and ponzu dipping sauce. By the time we had finished eating my eyes were watering, my nose was burning, and my mouth was on fire. That was not mild mannered sushi, but it was surprisingly delicious.



Our first sushi attempt . . . . definitely a success.

If you haven't updated your blog in 2 months . . .

What do you do if you haven't updated your blog in 2 months? Since my last update we have passed 2 major holidays, Joe has been into and out of an arm cast, and a new year has started. That seems like a little much to cover in one post, but I guess I will try to give just a brief update of the last 2 months.

One big event . . . Joe got screwed. Really. He was playing flag football just before Thanksgiving and broke his 4th metacarpal. He had surgery on Wednesday night before Thanksgiving and had 5 screws put into his hand. Ouch!

While he was still half asleep I threw him in the car and we drove to St. George where we spent a wonderful Thanksgiving with my wonderful family. Joe slept through most of the weekend, but we were extremely grateful that he had a chance to rest before getting back to school (and we went swimming outside in November), making for a generally great Thanksgiving holiday.

You may have noticed, but my cute little sis Mindy was more than a little bit pregnant at Thanksgiving. . . and on December 22 she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Tabria Orgill. Congratulations Mindy and Nick!! I am so excited to meet my newest niece and am looking forward to making another trip south hopefully in the very near future.

We spent a wonderful Christmas with Joe's family. On Christmas Eve we all went to Temple Square to see the lights; then Joe and I spent several days at his sister's house. Christmas is always more exciting when the house is buzzing with little children.

Rocky Mountain Rivals

Our soccer teams played our final games of the season. Joe's team took a trip up to Couer D'Alene to play the college of Northern Idaho. After driving all night they were completely exhausted and got dominated 3-0, but both of our awesome mothers came along for the trip, and my dad drove across from Richland where he was on business, making it well worth the drive.

Joe's team redeemed themselves by ending the season with 2 huge victories. First, they beat the Mexi League All-Stars 5-4 (they beat the Real Salt Lake reserves and defeated Joe's team 8-1 earlier in the season) and in their final game they defeated Utah Valley University (formerly UVSC) 3-2.

And we are the cheering section. Go my favorite sport's team, Go!

Seattle

I flew from New England (see post below) to Seattle. I had originally planned to drive up to Seattle with Joe's sister Amanda, her husband, and five children, but took a 2000 mile detour to New England when Joe research trip got planned for the same time. When I arrived in Seattle, I spent a couple of days with the very awesome Jen and Mike Kelley (It was sooooo good to see you guys). They live downtown in a beautiful apartment. Jen took me on a tour of downtown Seattle (including a stop at the famous Pike's Place Market).

Then, I met up with Manda, Teri (Joe's other sister who lives in Seattle) and all of their adorable children. I spent the next few days exploring other parts of Seattle with them including the aerospace musaum, Snoqualmie Falls, and Ensign Ranch. We stayed at Teri's beautiful home in Duvall.

It was a wonderful trip. The only hitch was a snow storm that hit as we were driving home across the Idaho/Utah border. We traveled approx 2 miles in 3 hours. Our fourteen hour drive turned into 20. It is definitely an adventure to spend 20 hours in the back of a suburban with 5 kids. Luckily, they are five of the cutest, coolest kids ever, and even a 20 hour drive turned out to be fun and memorable adventure.