...after...

Karen's wedding, Tyler and I trekked out to California for Karen and Todd's wedding reception at my grandparent's house. It was a good excuse to go back home, especially since it had been a year and a half since Tyler and I went out to good ol' Hangtown.

Tyler and I spent some time walking around historic main street...

I went crazy at the candystrike store. They have some really fun olde tyme candy. My ultimate favorite is Smoothie Peanut Butter Cups. Or the Reeses Peanut Butter Cup fudge. MmmMmm. The best part is that I found out they mail the candy to anywhere in the 48 states! Woot! I already know what I'm asking for come December.

We also had a heyday in Z Pie. I LOVE these pot pies. They are seriously delicious. And, guess what? You guessed it...they ship, too! This is quite convenient, seeing as the only location in the entire United States is in Placerville. Another Christmas present, no?

Tyler and I were most sad to see this old familiar friend gone. Things sure do change when you move.


Tyler and I also spent a day at the Calaveras Big Tree State Park. SO much fun. The trees were amazing, and we didn't even see the BIG ones. Here's a gander.










Most importantly, we went to this sacred place...



We're comin' up on two years, folks. Time sure flies!

Up next, the drama of driving back to Utah...

:)

...then came...

Karen's wedding!

She and Todd were married on May 23, 2009, in the Draper, UT temple. Luckily the weather was good the morning of their wedding. The good weather, however, didn't last until the reception. We had wind and rain to deal with, but in the end everything turned out great.

Here are some pictures that Karen's photographer took.

Coming out of the temple.


Todd and Karen Petersen.


The favors. Some of the kisses actually had Karen and Todd's picture on the bottom.


Groom and his men.


Bride and her maids.

...next I...

went on a cruise to celebrate graduating! I went with five other students and three instructors from school. It was a blast! We started off by spending a day in Vegas doing what - shopping! Then we headed down to San Diego, where we jumped on our ship. Our cruise took us to Catalina Island and then out to sea for two days. We finished off our vacation by spending a day in beautiful San Diego.

Here are some pictures from the cruise.

VEGAS
Lunch at Johnny Rockets with Monkey. Monkey made it through the entire trip - granted, she was a little skinnier by the end.

Mmmmmm I LOVE frozen yogurt. SO good. And this outdoor mall was amazing. As was Fashion Show Mall.

You can't go to Vegas and not gamble! We hit up the slot machines and played a little roulette...compliments of Mrs. Knight.

In front of the Belagio fountains. Always a great show.

Welcome to Vegas...on our way out.

FIRST DAY ON BOARD THE CARNIVAL ELATION
AWESOME food. We LOVED the flour tortilla chip nachos.
CATALINA ISLAND
This was one of the best days of our cruise. We rented some golf carts (that none of the students could drive because none of us are over 25) and explored Catalina. We then went to the beach. It was beautiful. And of course we shopped.

CRUISE continued
Karaoke. Yup, we did. I must admit the first song (Earl's Gotta Die) was better than the second (Bootylicious). Because of these performances, we became known as the "hygiene hotties."

Mrs. Knight discovering Sarah's deep, dark secret...

PLATYSMA picture. Erin and Brooke apparently weren't in on the platysma action.

All of us with our waiters after the last dinner on board. From right to left: Mrs. Dowd, assistant waiter (I can't remember his name; actually, I don't know that I ever knew it...), Erin, Sarah, me, Brooke, Mrs. Veit, Colette, Ariel, Song (our head waiter), and Mrs. Knight.

SAN DIEGO
Shopping. I passed on these beauties. I should have invested in them.

We rented bikes and rode them down the beach. SO AWESOME. It was a lot of fun.

Posing on the beach. "Be a model!" Good thing I went into dental hygiene.

"Let's all hold hands and walk away." Ha ha ha.

"Now let's do a jumping picture." We took this picture numerous times, and we never once got everyone in the air.

And, of course...
This temple is absolutely beautiful. I'd never been there before, and I'm glad we made the stop. Next time I hope to do a session.

This cruise was awesome. I miss these girls already, and we got back less than a month ago!

:)

'Bout Time...

Sheesh! A lot has happened since my last post, and it's about time I updated. We'll start things off with my graduation...

My graduation was a week after Tyler's and the day after my clinical boards. It was a huge relief to sit at graduation with the other dental hygiene girls (in nearly the front row) and not have a care in the world. We were done with all of our tests and graduating! What could be better?

President Monson was the key note speaker at the UVU commencement. He gave a great speech on glancing backward, reaching outward, and looking forward (or something of that nature). President Uchtdorf and President Eyring were present in the audience with their wives.

Convocation was the same day as commencement. Brooke was the valedictorian for our college, and she gave a fantastic speech on greatness. Jana sang a beautiful song and blew us all away. Then...we graduated! Here are some pictures from that day.

Receiving my empty diploma holder from Dr. Veit, the dental hygiene department chair. (Notice that the color of dentistry is purple.)

Some of the girls - those that came to graduation.

I spent hours and hours with this lovely lady. Much of that time was spent studying...and it paid off! She got the highest score on the national boards from UVU!! (Good thing I studied with her, huh?)

Weidmer family. My mom and dad came to watch me graduate...again. Just ask them. They'll tell you all about how I'm going "backwards." GED next?

Jeffs family. Tyler's parents and grandma came to congratulate me. Thanks for coming!

Overall, it was a great day, and I'm done with school (for now).

Master's anyone?

:)

Beautiful

While I was on my cruise (more on that later), my dental hygiene clinical board exam results came in the mail. As soon as I set foot in California, I called Tyler so he could open it. (Apparently the envelope was relatively see-through, so Tyler knew the results before I even called him.)

I PASSED!

And, not only did I pass, I got 100%...

I almost didn't believe Tyler when he told me that. I asked him a few times, just to make sure. 100%? Me? Too good to be true.

But it was. I saw the success memo myself when I got home on Friday. Wahoo!

So, to recap (I mean, com'on...I spent two years of my life and well over $20,000 to become a hygienist - I'm a little excited and relieved):

I passed my written boards with a 94% (10% higher than the national average).

I passed my local anesthesia written and practical tests (they don't give you scores for those).

I passed the dental hygiene clinical exam with a 100%.

Rock on!

:)

I'm all done!

Today I took my very last licensing board test: the WREB clinical boards. This was probably the most expensive and most important test of my life, so needless to say I was a little stressed! It went well, though (7:00 am start time and all), and the best part is that it's OVER! Graduation is tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited.

I am, however, going to miss these thirteen beautiful and intelligent ladies.
I've spent more time with these girls over the last two years than I have with Tyler. No joke. I consider myself lucky, however, to have worked and stressed and laughed with these ladies. They're all so wonderful. I'm going to miss them dearly. We'll just have to have reunions often...and maybe a trip to NY to see Angie.

:)

PS - We all passed our written national boards! Wahoo!

He Graduated!

I'm so proud of Tyler. He graduated yesterday! He is now officially an engineer, having received a bachelors of science in mechanical engineering. But does school stop here for him? Nope. He was accepted to a myriad of law schools but in the end decided that BYU is the place for him. He'll start at the BYU law school this fall. I'm excited for him to start his new schooling, and I know that he is too.

In the meantime, we have four school-less months to enjoy!!

BYU graduate:

The world is Tyler's campus.

Entering to learn, going forth to serve.

Classic. Tyler showing Cougar who's who. Yeehaw.

The happy graduate about to receive his diploma.

Receiving his diploma. Yay!

After graduation, Tyler and I went to lunch with his parents at PF Changs. It was so good and a great way to celebrate graduation.

* * *

On a side note...

This is what we did yesterday after graduation. We had weeds like a rain forest. They were so incredibly thick. For as many weeds as there were, they weren't that hard to pull.

Thank goodness.

:)