Aaron & Drew

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2012-01-23T02:26:00.001-08:00

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December 2011 - The Grand Finale

2012-01-11T17:12:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful December we had! And now we're all geared up and ready for the 2012 adventures to begin.

In December:
Grant started rice cereal. He didn't skip a beat, accepted it with open arms and open mouths. This month he sprouted his first 2 bottom teeth and now has the cutest little chomper grin. He has always been a mega slimer, drooling all the time, so we didn't even recognize when he was actually teething-what a good little guy - didn't fuss at all. He's mister Rollie-pollie man and we won't be too surprised if he starts crawling this next month. He's getting to be more and more interactive which is so fun and rewarding.

We were able to get family pictures taken by one of my old high school friends. She did an amazing job and I just can't stop looking at them over and over again. I can't wait to get some framed and put up on the walls. Too many to choose from.

Aaron had two weeks off from school during his Christmas break and started his first 3 days off in California with Grant. I had to work so he figured he would hang out with his family for a couple days so I could just focus on work and sleep. It was strange having them gone, but I'm glad it all worked out for everyone. Aaron didn't have to be bored and he got some help with Grant from "Meems". Aaron took advantage of his Christmas break and spent as much of it relaxing and reading as he could. I'd say it was a success.

Grandma Meems with Grant and his cousin Van

Christmas was great. We spent it at my parent's house with the family. My mom is the most thoughtful person I know and got me some special gifts that I'll always cherish. Aaron lucked out with a pole sling for spearfishing - hopefully we can have some fun using it in the not too distant future. Grant lucked out with a TON of much needed books and has quite the library going now. It's always nice to be together on Christmas morning, to open gifts and then have the traditional Polish breakfast - pierogis are to die for. It was also very special to go to church together as a family and celebrate the birth of our Savior, to put the holidays in perspective, and commit ourselves to living a more selfless life.

Not enjoying Aunt Squid's gift yet...soon!

We had a great New Years Eve, spent with several couples from dental school. We had a riot playing minute-to-win-it games and adult-sized jenga. I must say that Aaron and I blew out the competition. We're pretty skilled if we do say so ourselves. Grant was an absolute angel and slept in one of the spare bedrooms of our friend's house.

Work continues to go well. I had a good chunk of time off due to how the schedule played out. It's always nice to have some days off in a row, but it makes it so hard to go back the first night back. I got a little down, not wanting to work. I want to be like most other moms I know and stay home with my little kiddo, to be able to focus all my attention on him and making my home a great place to live. As it is, my house is rarely clean, our diet is lacking in nutrition, and I'm a grouchy zombie with no patience. I will hopefully be going part-time soon though so that should make life TONS better. In the mean time I will continue to enjoy my job, enjoy learning about how to take care of sick kids. I love all that I'm learning, and the confidence that I'm gaining. I love that I probably will never have to wonder what's wrong with my kids or whether or not they need any intervention from a doctor or ER visit. It's a comforting feeling.

So as far as new years resolutions go:
Aaron: read more books - a wide variety; keep a daily planner with appointments and meetings; become more effecient with dental procedures
Drew: do at least 1 notable outing/adventure a month; find a better balance between home and work; be happier and more patient and learn to not sweat the small stuff

Grant: continue to grow strong, healthy, and happy

November 2011

2011-12-27T07:54:00.000-08:00

Barely got this month in. Thankfully November was a great reprieve from the hecticness of October. Some of the highlights included a quick visit from Bruce and Marcy. We enjoyed their company and had some great meals - of course our traditional Kona Grill meal. Grant especially liked the visit since Grandma Marcy was generous enough to buy him some much needed LONGER clothes.

Little man had his 4 month check-up this month. He is in the 75% for height and 25% for weight. Tall and skinny just like his parents. He's one happy little guy, just smiles at anyone and all day long. He's a good baby.

We enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with the Pratt family this year. All of the Emron and Sterling Pratt family met at Aunt Terri's and Uncle Sterlings for a great dinner. It was good to see cousins that we hadn't in a long time and to enjoy spending time with Grandma Pratt and Grandpa Bill.

Probably the most notable thing about November was my new job. I somehow secured my dream job. I'm still in shock a little bit that I actually got it. Work has never been better! I now work at the Banner Children's Hospital in the Pediatric Emergency Department. I love the change in pace and environment, not to mention all of the useful things that I'm learning that will help me with our kiddos in the future. I don't want to work at all now that I'm a mom, but if I have to, I'm glad that I actually like the type of nursing that I do.

October 2011

2011-11-02T16:42:00.000-07:00

Geeze October was a busy month! It started off with Aaron's birthday. It was a pretty low key event, but definitely a good day. As always, we took advantage of the free Joe's Farm and Grill birthday meal, which was scrumptious. I never know what to get Aaron on his birthday because he always just buys what he wants when he wants it.

My mom and sister went to New York for October break and since dad was working in Texas for the week, little Damon stayed with us. He came during the worst week ever because it was the week that I started back to work and we had our entire kitchen torn apart for our remodel. I don't think he minded the fast food though and cartoons though. I was a zombie after work so camped him in front of Power Rangers and Dragon Ball Z. We did have some fun together during the week though including a trip to the park to throw the frisbee and run through the sprinklers, a smore roast by the fire, and a zillion games of Phase 10. It was fun having him stay with us and I really enjoyed the extra pair of hands. He was definitely my "fetcher."

We were able to make an extremely short trip to Palm Desert so we could be apart of cousin Van's blessing. Van is the first cousin Grant was able to meet and he can't wait to meet his others...hopefully sometime soon! Van and Grant are only six weeks apart so it was fun to take some pictures of them together. We were able to visit with Nate, Syd, and Bruce and Marcy and awesomely enough cousing Matt and Tommy. We hadn't seen Tommy in two years so it was definitely fun to catch up with him.

Grandma Marcy and her two crying babes. Grandma Marcy is an awesome Grandma - I think I only changed Gran't diaper once during the entire time we were there. Marcy had things taken care of!

Grant loves sitting in his bumbo and loves watching football too!

Halloween was hectic. We finally were able to get the right paint for our kitchen cabinets so Aaron was spraying them while Grant and I were quarantined outside because of all the fumes. We sat in a couple lawn chairs outside and passed out candy to the tricker treaters. The fumes took a while to subside so we went camping in our new tent in the backyard!

WTF mom. Our cute little pumpkin man

Our tent is awesome! Big enough for a queen sized air mattress and a pack-n-play.

In other news, Grant now knows how to roll over on to his tummy. He won't stay on his back longer than five seconds when you put him down. The only thing is, he doesn't know how to roll back yet so when he gets tired of lifting his big noggan up he gets a little cranky until you flip him back over. He's all smiles all the time and we are just waiting and waiting until his first giggle.

Our house has officially been trashed for a month now - not the best thing for a borderline OCD person like myself. We started by tearing out our tile countertops, nasty sink, stove and microwave. We got our new granite countertops installed and have been working on refinishing our cabinets. We had to sand them, then fill them, then resand them. The nimwads at the Sherman Williams store sold us paint saying that it was the perfect cabinet paint, but it wasn't so then we had to resand, refill, then sand again. The right paint is illegal to sell in Maricopa county so we had to special order it and it took over a week! All the while we don't have any appliances, dishes, etc. We've been eating fast food, which is getting soooo disgusting. We're so ready for the project to be DONE!!! Almost. I'm hoping by the end of next week things will finally be back to normal and the house will be clean again.

Work....it's been rough. The actual working part is great really. I like my job and I like the people I work with. Also, since I work nights, Grant is with Aaron so I know he's taken care of. What's been rough is the coming home and not being able to sleep part because little guy needs attention. Finding babysitters has been up and down, but I think we finally have things squared away. On top of going back to work, I've been stressed about interviewing for new jobs. I've always wanted to work at the Banner children's hospital and so I've been pursuing that really hard these past couple weeks. I've had a couple interviews, one offer, but the right job is still out there. I'm hoping within the next couple weeks I'll have been too big of pest for the hiring manager to ignore anymore.

Lots of stuff going on this month. Hopefully things will start to calm down and November will a much needed break from chaos - just in time for the Christmas Holidays.

September 2011

2011-10-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

September was a rather relaxing month, no visitors, no special occasions, no travels; just a good month with our little family. Aaron and I have been having fun doing some home updates. We painted, stained, tiled, planted, decorated... We're loving our home more and more and hope that we are able to stay here for a long time. No too much else to touch on, just a good month of watching football and doing home improvement projects. We were able to go on a couple dates thanks to grandma. One in particular was super awesome. Aaron won a $100 gift card to a steakhouse at one of his dental meetings. They held the meeting at an indoor go-kart race track and there were prizes for the fastest racers. Aaron put all of his racing experience to good use and won first prize. We enjoyed the most expensive thing on the menu - a 10 oz filet mignon and lobster tai to each of us, with creme brule for desert. Even with the $100 gift card we still walked away with a bill. We definitely went all out. We also were able to go on an amazing horse back ride through the San Tan Mountains. Aaron and I love horses. It was a very relaxing ride through the mountains as the sun came up.

Grant is growing up so fast. At his 9 week appointment he was 50% for weight and 75% for height. Long and lean just how we like it. He is now enjoying 1 oz of apple juice/day and a good night's sleep all through the night. He makes us laugh every day with his "talking" and his smiling face. He still loves being swadled at night. Everyone thinks its sad that we put our son in a straight jacket to sleep, but he loves his monkey suit!

All tuckered out after his shots. Poor little guy.

August 2011

2011-09-02T18:58:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast time is flying by!!! At the beginning of this month Grant and I spent a week at my parents while Aaron spent a week in Acapulco, Mexico with a few other dental students doing dental work. Aaron was 1 of 5 students chosen to go, which speaks volumes to the confidence that the doctors have in him and the promise that they see. It was an awesome opportunity for him and he was able to really practice his dental skills. He was able to make great friendships and contacts too with some pretty influential people that will come in handy come graduation time. Aaron shows such an enthusiasm for learning about his trade and it is definitely showing. I am proud of him and his dedication to becoming the best dentist possible.

We blessed Grant this past month. We were fortunate enough to have Bruce and Marcy, and Nate and Syd, drive over so that Bruce and Nate could be in the circle. My dad, Grandpa Bill, and two of Aaron's close friends from dental school Tanner and Jarom were also apart of the circle. Grant behaved perfectly throughout the blessing and didn't make a peep. Aaron's blessing was fantastic. Something that stood out to me and that I will be excited to share with Grant as he gets older is Aaron's specific reference to Nephi and his courage to be obedient. Grant and I have been singing Nephi's courage a lot since then. September's visiting teaching message this month talks about there has never been a greater need for strong families and homes. I hope that Aaron and I can always provide an environment in our home where the Spirit resides so that our children will grow up strong and courageous.

I have been enjoying motherhood tremendously and have really appreciated the time that I have been able to have off. Grant and I have settled into a pretty consistent schedule. When he wakes up in the morning we just hang out and make each other smile. I love that he smiles now; we still have to work a little at teasing the smiles out of him, but they are amazing when they happen. It's incredible how happy it makes me to see him happy and smiling. When he goes down for his first nap I exercise and take a shower. I love being able to really exercise again. Mon, Wed, and Fri I normally do a Firm DVD or a P90X one. Tuesdays and Thursdays my mom and I meet at the pool and swim laps. My mom will watch Grant while I do mine and then I'll watch him while she does hers. Grant loves the pool! After Grant wakes up and gets fed we hang out again - will read, or watch TV together. When he takes his afternoon nap I am able to get whatever I need to done (lately I've been busy making stuff). When he wakes up again it's not too much longer and Aaron gets home. They normally hang out a bit and then he'll take another nap so that I can finish up dinner and we can eat. When he wakes up again he gets fed, gets his bath and settled down for the night. Grant's always been an excellent sleep and rarely ever fusses at night. When he wakes up at night he eats quickly and goes right back to sleep. He's starting to sleep longer stretches too which is awesome. One night he gave me a gift and slept 7.5 hours straight, but he's pretty much a 5 hour at a time sleeper at night, which is fantastic. I love the little routine that we have. I love seeing him grow and especially love seeing his smiles. It's amazing how much I understand the little guy. I never thought I would know what he wanted/needed by his crys, but I do and it's awesome.

In his Sunday best before church. Seriously can't get any cuter than this.

Hanging out at the pool. So Happy!

So as I mentioned while Grant takes naps I've been busy making stuff. I've been busy making drapes for Grant's room. They match his bedding with the lambs and stitching. I love how they turned out. Just waiting to find the perfect rod and finials so we can hang them. I made my little brother Damon a tooth fairy pillow. He just started losing teeth so I made this cute little pillow that has a pocket to put the tooth in and in the morning the pocket will be filled with a little surprise. Nate and Syd had their baby this week and named our little nephew Van. So I made him a little blanket copying the Vans shoes logo. I love how it turned out and can't wait to meet him and give it to him. I am currently working on finishing up some drapes for the dining room and getting some pictures on the walls, which is really long overdue. I LOVE making things :)

July 2011

2011-08-05T10:15:00.000-07:00

The most notable event of July 2011 of course is the birth of our first child Grant. He's 3 weeks old today and his personality is showing more and more. For the last week him and I have been staying at my mom's because Aaron is out of the country. Grant is getting a little spoiled with holding and getting rocked to sleep. He's grouchy when not being held and doesn't sleep well unless rocked to sleep. I think him and I are both in for a reawakening starting Saturday when we go back home. Grandma won't always be there to hold him and rock him, and I won't have mom to watch him "real quick" while I exercise or run a quick errand. We'll manage though him and I. We're becoming quite good buddies. Two things we've learned that Grant especially loves is the piano and the water. He'll lay very peacefully while I play Primary songs or hymns. He loves baths and even went for his first dip in the pool on Monday. I can't say enough how much I love living next to my parents. They have been a tremendous help, especially my mom. Aaron and I were able to go out on a nice date already thanks to them.

I guess the only other noteworthy thing to mention this month is Aaron's run-in with the scorpion. He was stung by a scorpion and had a terrible reaction. The scorpion must have gotten a lot of venom in him bc I've never seen anyone react the way he did. Blurred vision, slurred speech, twitching eyes, loss of coordination, insomnia, tingling everywhere. It lasted so long and had a sleepless night. According to poison control we were just supposed to wait and the symptoms would eventually dissipate, but Aaron got a little too worried when his "million dollar dentist hands" wouldn't work. He worried that his future career was being jeapordized so ended up going to the ER. In the end all they gave him was some valium and IV fluids, but that at least helped him get some much needed sleep. Again, so grateful that we live next to family. My dad was able to take him to the ER and wait with him so that I didn't have to take a 2-week old to a germ infested hospital.

Our little smiley :)

Special mid July post - Introducing...

2011-07-16T14:13:00.000-07:00

Grant Aren Rucker - July 14, 2011

Our little guy has arrived! Thursday night at 7:20 little Grant was born, weighing 7lb 13oz and measuring 21 in long. I was scheduled to be induced on the 13th at 5 am, but due to a L&D overflow that day I was pushed back and was told that they would call me when they had a bed available. Aaron and I had just gone to bed that night at 12:30 when they called us so we got our stuff into the car and got into a hospital bed on the 14th at 1:30 am. After paperwork and an IV, the pitocin was started at 2:30 and then it was a waiting game. Aaron and I were able to get a few hours of restless sleep before my Dr. came in before his office hours and broke my water. The contractions started almost immediately and I got the epidural soon afterwards. Although I was very thankful that the pain was absent, I didn't like how the epidural made me feel - nauseous, lightheaded, and very weak. There's no way I could have gone through the day without it. Labor went sooo slow and it wasn't until about 6:30 pm that I got the good news that I was fully dilated and almost ready to go. The nurses got the room and bassinet set up, while my Dr. finished up a C-section up on one of his other patients. When he was done and got into my room I was ready to go and Grant was ready to come out. All it took was 3 pushes and he was here. He was pretty pale and didn't cry much so I was a little worried, but he's pink as can be now and we've discovered he can cry :) It was an exhausting day so I was very grateful to finally get to sleep. The next day we were able to come home and everything is going great. A huge thank you to my mom for staying the first night so Aaron and I could catch up on some lost sleep. We love our little guy. Aaron is an amazing dad and so involved, which I am so grateful for. I am really going to try to make the most of my three months home, because I can already tell I'm going to hate going back to work. Hurry and graduate Aaron!!!

June 2011

2011-07-10T14:07:00.000-07:00

Another busy month. It started off with my baby shower. My dear friend Diana threw me a baby shower at her house and it was wonderful. It was so nice to see so many friends. I'm so grateful for everyone who came and all the wonderful gifts we received. I seriously don't think we'll have to buy any clothes for a year! Aaron and I are team-teachers in our primary and the primary presidency held another shower for me. Even though we've been in the ward for a year now, we still don't know many people outside of the primary so I was shocked at all the people that came. I felt so loved and was so happy to meet more sisters and get to know them better.

This is our bedding for the nursery so my mom and her mentor/best friend make the most amazing fondant cake to match. It wasn't even sliced into at the shower b/c there were plenty of other treats and I really couldn't bear to cut into such a beautiful cake, but when we finally did, it was just as amazing tasting as it was beautiful.

Me and my cake and cupcakes that little Squid made for the shower. They are lamb heads to match the bedding. She did such an amazing job!

We celebrated Austin's birthday this year at Panchos (I'm embarrassed to say we ate there, but it was more of a nostalgia thing. We used to go there when we were younger and have eating competitions). Anyway this is a pic of me and Austin. I'm so proud of him and all the progress he's made in the last 7 months. He's turning out to be one amazing man. For his birthday this year I made my first ever batch of cheese pierogis. They are his favorite food and normally only come on Christmas so I thought it would be a fun surprise to spring on him some midyear happy birthday pierogis. I was very proud of the end product; too much work though to make them often.

Aaron's little brother Ryan is now officially in the MTC, learning how to speak Cambodian. We met the rest of the Rucker family in Palm Desert to spend a week of fun and to attend his farewell. It was so awesome to have all the Ruckers - minus one - together. Sadly, Ben had a work training in MO, but we're glad that Vanessa and Chloe came anyway. We spent days at the amazing Shadow Lake community, ate some great meals, and just had fun being together. We're proud of Ryan and his decision to serve a mission (although with 4 brothers ahead of him that went on missions we joke that he really didn't have much of a choice). It's exciting already to receive his letters and look forward to many more.

Finally went to the farm after 4 years of being a Rucker. Ate some grapes right off the vine

37 weeks

We spent many hours working on the nursery and it's almost done. We painted, installed crownmolding, installed beadboard on the crib wall, and I made some decoupage ABC pictures to hang above the crib. It was fun working with Aaron, trying to make our kid's room special for him. We still are having a hard time finding a good dresser we want, but the little guy will be in our room for the first while anyway so I guess there's not really a rush. At my last appointment three days ago, I was 2 cm dilated and 75% effaced. The doctor doesn't think he'll come before my due date so I'm scheduled to be induced July 13th at 5am. Ready or not little guy, you're coming out!

Just a fun picture of me and buddy for the sake of it

May 2011

2011-06-01T00:16:00.000-07:00

It was a pretty busy month that started off with my birthday, our 4th anniversary, and mother's day all in one week. I gave Aaron a pass on mother's day this year to cut him some slack, but he won't be so lucky next year :) I wanted a certain picture of Jesus for my birthday so I could put it in the baby's room. The painting is beautiful! I can't wait until we get the room all set up so we can hang it. For our anniversary we enjoyed the day together and a night out to dinner.

Squid made this monkey for her little nephew. I can't believe what an amazing job she did. I can't wait till little ___ carries it around with him

Mudder got me the crib bedding from pottery barn kids that I wanted so badly. What a neat surprise!

Aaron had a 3-day weekend so we headed over to Palm Desert for a visit. It was fun to stay with Nate a Syd for the weekend and hang out with some of Aaron's family. Syd and I enjoyed talking on a nice little hike. We spend a lot of time rooting little Ryan on during his RC car race. Other highlights of the trip included a couple trips to the yogurt shop and a delicious lunch at my favorite - Thai Smile.

Nate and Aaron (the pit crew) replacing the battery on Ryan's car

It's so awesome that Syd and Nate are having a boy only 2 months after us. They will be such close cousins. Marcy had a mini shower for us and got us an assortment of identical baby items that were so cute! Can't wait to have cousin pictures with their matching stuff.

A couple days after we got back from PD, Bruce, Marcy, and Ryan came over to visit us. Marcy had a couple appointments with some tooth specialists so they made a mini trip out of it. While they were here, Ryan had the opportunity to go through the Mesa temple. Unfortunately I had work that night, but I'm so glad Aaron was able to go with his brother during such a special experience. While they were here we made it to motorcycle/RC car track for a night. I'm glad Aaron was able to ride his dirt bike one last time before it was sold.

Some exciting news from Aaron this month is that he filled his first cavity on a patient. He is officially done with book work and has moved into the clinic full time. He saw his first patient and drilled a couple cavities on her. He said he was pretty nervous, especially since he technically wasn't supposed to be doing operative work until the next week, but his clinic supervisor felt confident enough in Aaron to let him at it. Apparently Aaron rocks the clinic and impresses all of the doctors in there. I'm proud of my handsome dentist husband and excited for all the opportunities that he's going to have in the next couple months as he sees patients and finally puts what he's practiced to the real test.

Aaron and I spent our memorial day painting the baby's room. I've got a couple more projects to finish up for the room, we want to put up some crown molding, and we still have to find a dresser, but then it should be done. Don't have a typical belly shot, but here's a pic with my best childhood friend Lollie at 33 weeks. Lollie was visiting her family from OK and we were able to get together for a day with our moms. Brought back so many good memories.

I've resorted to wearing some of Aaorn's shirts because mine have gotten a little too snug for comfort.

April 2011

2011-05-18T17:55:00.000-07:00

The hospital has finally slowed down as the snowbirds have gone back home to escape the summer heat. I am back to my regular three nights a week and enjoying my days off.

We had another birthday this month, little Squidders turned 17 and we celebrated at Macaroni Grill. Squid is such a sweetie and her and I were able to celebrate a little just the two of us for a day. She played hookie from school for half and day and we spent the day at the pool and having some sister time.

We got to spend some time with Aaron's little brother this month too. Ryan finished his 1st year of BYU and flew down to spend a week with us. It was nice to be able to spend time with just little Ryan for a while before we send him off to Cambodia for 2 years. Luckily, Aaron had a pretty relaxing week of school so they were able to spend a lot of time together. We can't wait for the ENTIRE Rucker family to be together in June for his farewell. We were able to spend a day with Bruce when he came and picked up Ryan. We had an amazing homecooked lobster dinner and ate them while sitting on our new chairs that Bruce and Marcy got for us! We've had a beautiful kitchen table for almost a year now, but no chairs to sit on. Hooray we've completed the package!

I've gotten pretty obsessed with crafts and looking at craft blogs. I found a cute pattern for baby shoes and went to work. I love how they turned out. I also found a blog that showed how to make homemade labels. My mom and I had a fun time designing our own label/logo to put on our creations. I just got the fabric in the mail today and it is soooo cool to see my little logo I designed on actual fabric. I can't wait to make more stuff so I can label away.

In pregnancy news, I am now 31 weeks. A little shocker for me this month - I failed the glucose screening test, by a mere 4 points. I was really bummed and I stressed about it all the time that i had to wait until the glucose tolerance test. Luckily I passed the glucose tolerance test with flying colors and a lot of good came from the little scare. Since then, Aaron and I got little membership cards to Aunt Karen's community pool so I have been swimming laps 2-3 times a week. I have fallen in love with swimming. It's an amazing exercise and I can get super tan at the same time! I feel better about myself knowing that I'm exercising again.

(Taken on our anniversary at 30 weeks)

I got a fee baby sling off of one of the pregnancy websites and decided I needed to try it out with our current baby. Little Sophers is going to have some competition pretty soon.

March 2011

2011-04-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

Another busy month that flew by. I was busy again at work this month, working 4-5 shifts a week at the hospital. Taking advantage of the Snowbirds while they are hear. The hospital will slow way down in the next month so I'm racking in the cash while I am able.

We celebrated mudder's 50th birthday this month. Sadly dad was in Texas so Aaron and I had mudder, squid, damon, and mudder's twin sister Kathy over for yummy chicken philly sandwiches and lemon cupcakes. The weahter this past month in Mesa has been absolutely amazing so we enjoyed throwing the frisbie after food and relaxing a bit.

For Spring break this year we went to Utah. Aaron's grandfather passed away and we were able to fly up to Utah to attend his funeral and visit family. I quickly fell in love with Granny and Grandpa Rucker after Aaron and I got married and in the past 4 months they have both passed on. They were wonderful people and left quite the legacy. We were able to visit some of our favorite hotspots in Provo including J-Dawgs and Coneys. We loved seeing Bruce, Marcy, Ben, Vanessa, Ryan, and Nate. We missed Syd and the Jon and Lis family though. Hopefully we'll be able to get the entire family together soon though for Ryan's missionary farewell...hopefully.

Had to show off our latest home improvement projects. Aaron made our shed this past month. It turned out great and has plenty of space for our yard gadgets and storage. Finally we have space in our garage for cars! Imagine that. I was able to get my drapes hung for the family room. I made them several months ago, but just barely got them hung with some nice tie back tassels. We love adding to house and doing projects.

Aaron's been playing in an ice hockey league all winter. His team did amazing during the playoffs and made it to the championship game, and then they won it! Aaron absolutely loves playing ice hockey and loves to win so it's always fun to go watch him.

I am 27 weeks along today am now getting the "are you expecting questions." I even had to go get a couple more scrub tops which wasn't fun for me. We are pretty confident with our name choice, haven't put a middle name with it yet though. We are most likely going to name him Grant. We got the crib this month too, which was really exciting. I hate that Aaron and I have such expensive taste. We both loved this crib off of pottery barn kids, but it cost $1,000. yeah right. anyway we found this girl in scottsdale that was selling the exact crib for $600. she used it for only 1 kid and was selling it. We went and she sold us the crib, the cute little rocking chair, and a nice floor lamp for $440. We were so excited about the price and snatched it up. Now we can start putting my overtime money into decorating and putting the room together.

February 2011

2011-03-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that February is already over. 2011 is flying by so far. This month was pretty low profile; Aaron and I were really both busy with work and school. The snowbirds are back in town so the hospital is in over its head. It's a good and bad thing because it makes for busy hectic nights, but allows me to pick up overtime anytime that I want, and I've been taking advantage of it. kiddo comes I'll still work, but I'm sure I wont be hankering to get to the hospital and leave home so I'll work hard while I still can and want to.

For Valentines this year we celebrated by going to the Suns vs Jazz bball game. We hadn't been to one in a long time and we forgot how fun they are. The Suns aren't the best this year, but surprisingly it was an amazing game and they pulled off the win. I'm glad my hubbie and I both share a love for sports and can enjoy things like that together. Going to a Suns game is a much better way to celebrate V-day for me than I bouquet of flowers that wilt

Little Damo turned 6 this month. We all celebrated by going to Laser Quest. I remember celebrating my birthdays there when I was little so it was funny to go back.

Bruce, Marcy, Nate, and Syd came over for a short visit. So good to see them, especially Syd since it had been so long. As always, with the Ruckers comes good food; a trip to Red Lobster and Kona Grill put a smile on our faces. Here's little Aaron and Nate shooting their bb guns that they both got from their father-in-laws for Christmas. Something about the male gender and bb guns...never gets old.

Another exciting bit of news from February is that Aaron's little brother Ryan got his mission call. He'll be going to Cambodia in June! We are so excited for him (and for us!). Aaron and I always said that wherever Ryan gets called, that's where we would take our graduation trip. We're excited for Ryan and this next stage in his life. He's going to have an awesome time!

Wrapping up another months makes me 21 weeks along. I finally started to gain a little weight and there's definitely more belly than there's ever been. I've struggled with my emotions with the inevitable fact that I will get fat. I wish I could be one of those girls that looks at herself with a baby bump and gets excited, but unfortunately I'm not. I'm just looking at the positive though and know that as the belly grows, so does the kiddo so that's a great thing. Oh and I guess I should mention that kiddo is a boy - at least they think. The latest ultrasound was difficult to get good pictures, but that's what the sex is as of today.

(Taken today at 22.5 weeks)

January 2011

2011-02-19T05:00:00.000-08:00

My goal for my blog is to now start updating it monthly. I remember when my brother Austin and I were younger my mom would make us write in our journals once a month on fast Sundays. We wouldn't be able to break our fast and eat until our journal was done. I don't think I'll be that hard on myself, but I want to be able to look back and see what our little family has been up to.

This month found us at the annual Phoenix AMA supercross race. Bruce and Nate came out for the event and we brought Damon along with us. We love watching supercross and look forward to watching the races every Saturday on TV. We also enjoyed Bruce and Nate staying with us for the weekend. I missed little "Nay Nay" since we didn't get to see him or Syd over Christmas.

My mom put us through a little scare this month. For the past several months she has been noticing a pain in her knee. She just chalked it up to normal wear and tear of getting older and having run on it all her life. She finally decided to get it checked out and saw Dr. Moleski, our orthopedic surgeon. He saw something on the X-ray he took, but didn't think it was anything serious. He ordered an MRI and bone scan just to make sure though. The radiologist interpreted her MRI and said that the spot was "suspicious of chondrosarcoma," a rare form of bone cancer that effects the cartilage. Immediately we started researching and mom got 2 consults with orthopedic oncologists lined up. The good news was that the most common form of chondrosarcoma is a slow growing tumor with low rates of metastasis. We were all pretty worried and thought we were going to have to go out and buy our livestrong bracelets for our little cancer warrior. It was sad to see mom so affected and sad. Amazingly both oncologists looked at her scans and got her history and think that it is actually an enchondroma, a benign tumor that looks identical to a chondrosarcoma under the microscope and on imaging results. The doctor at the Mayo Clinic is going to have her go back in 3 months to see if there is any growth because that is the only real difference between the two. The cancerous tumor grows and the benign one doesn't. We are all breathing easy around here now though and are confident of her doctor and his confidence in her case. Needless to say, we aren't wearing our livestrongs yet.

The Pratt family annual Superstar competition took place in January. We actually were unable to complete all the events in one day, and still need to finish bowling, but it's probably safe to say that Austin is going to take the win this year. Being married to Aaron has helped with my competitiveness and I actually find myself rooting people on instead of yelling for them to miss. How evolved I'm becoming :) Mine and Aaron's Christmas gift to the family this year was personalized superstar shirts. I think they turned out awesome and although most may think it's cheezy to wear them, most went along with it.

Wrapping up January makes me 15.5 weeks along. No weight gain and no belly growth - enjoying it while it lasts.

3rd time's a charm

2011-01-01T18:40:00.000-08:00

Da-da-da-da....Important announcement folks...

Aaron and I are super excited to have our first kiddo in July 2011!!!

I finally feel safe posting this to the blog world. To explain the title of the post, this is actually my 3rd pregnancy. Numbers 1 & 2 ended in miscarriages at 7 wks and 11 wks. They found out I had low progesterone (necessary hormone to maintain uterine growth and development) levels right at the start of the 3rd so was quickly started on progestin 2xday. I guess it worked because as of today I am about 12 wks pregnant and officially out of the 1st trimester...AMAZING! I was starting to think I'd never see a 2nd trimester. We find out in about a month what the gender is, but regardless, we're just excited to have a living, growing fetus :) I've been sort of restrained in my excitement because of the 2 disasters, but I finally feel like I can start being excited and start planning and day-dreaming.

Here's pictures of little "Fud" so far. (We went to Fudruckers the other day and so my dad thinks the first name should be Fud. So far unfortunately the nickname is sticking. Every time the baby comes up, it's referred to as "Fud." Oh boy, gotta love Royal)

Half Marathon Training

2010-11-14T23:36:00.000-08:00

I started running regularly and working out about 2 months ago. It's been the first time that I really feel dedicated to an exercise routine since high school, and even then it wasn't my dedication to exercise that got me to do it - it was a coach yelling at me to run. After hearing some coworkers talk about a half-marathon they are getting ready for in January, I decided to join them in training. I am going to run a half-marathon (13.2 miles) on January 29th. I'm pretty excited about it and the training is going even better than I expected. Thankfully I've got a running buddy who is signing up for the race as well and we agreed to do our long runs (on Saturday) together. She's got a marathon already under her belt so I feel secure in my running buddy choice. The more people I tell, the more accountable I feel to actually do it, hence my blog post.

Aaron's Birthday Week

2010-10-11T15:46:00.000-07:00

My hubby is 26, still so young. He may really be 26, but all of my friends tease that I married a 12 year old. I worry that when he graduates he won't get any patients, bc no one is really going to trust that he is old enough to have graduated from dental school. We celebrated his birthday by hitting up all the joints that offer free stuff on your birthday - dinner at Joe's Farm Grill and dessert with a free dozen donuts from Krispy Kreme. It was fun shopping for him and wrapping his goodies. He looks so cute in his little work outfit :)

Aunt Karen made Aaron a beautiful dinner - yummy ribs and cake. We love Aunt Karen so much and are so thankful they live so close so we can hang out, eat food, and watch monday night football in the movie room.

We went to Glamis Dunes with Nate and Syd to ride their new sandrail. We took a midnight ride, camped out, and even got a little sun! Sandrails are sooo awesome!

To end the fun birthday week, we went to the outdoor Suns vs Mavericks basketball game. Thank you to Marcy for thinking of it and getting us there. We had a great weekend with family and a very fun birthday week.

Callings

2010-09-19T10:14:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I have been attending church at our new ward since May. We've been pretty ancy to get callings and start acting like normal members of the ward. We finally received callings last week and are excited to finnaly feel like we are apart of the ward, making a contribution and doing our part.

Aaron will be team-teaching in the CTR 5 class

And I will be helping in the Sunbeam class.
I'll also be a visiting teaching supervisor.

Since getting married, Aaron and I have been in 7 different wards, making callings difficult. We are excited about our new ward and to know we will be here at least until Aaron graduates (3 more years).

Cancun/Isla Holbox

2010-08-13T12:57:00.000-07:00

I joke with Aaron that we were finally able to go on a honeymoon...a little over 3 years after the fact. We never had a honeymoon bc we were dumb and got married on a weekend with school the following Monday. Life just got in the way. Last week we got back from a week long trip to Cancun and it was fabulous!!!

This was incredible; tons of turtles came out of the ocean to lay their eggs on the beach and then they would scoot their way back into the ocean. One of the coolest things I've ever seen.

Did a lot of snorkeling off of the beach by our hotel

Cute little brothers...So glad Nate and Syd came. We had so much fun with them!

Loved the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza

The underground swimming hole (cenote) was incredible and so refreshing after our humid trek through the ruins.

We went to Isla Holbox, an awesome little island for our next adventures... This was our taxi to our hotel

My terrible experience with Mexican gambling. I lost our ferry and taxi fare back to the mainland. Totally not funny at the time, I actually cried, but at least I can laugh about it now. I don't know how people can seriously gamble. It makes me sick to my stomach to lose money. Bottom line: this guy HAD me.

Huge manta ray...I had to touch it.

And last, but not least, the king of the beasts. This incredible creature is why I planned this whole trip to begin with. The whale shark is the largest shark in the world and each year it migrates into the gulf of Mexico off the coast of Holbox. It's been one of my life's dreams to swim with these bad boys and now I can officially cross it off my list. We swam with this guy for about an hour sometimes getting smashed by his huge caudal fin (that's how close we were). By far, my favorite part of the trip and worth every penny spent.

As always after any vacation it took a while to get back into the groove of things. Aaron and I had an amazing time, and again are so glad we were able to share our vacation with Nate and Syd as well. Traveling is my most favorite thing in the world and I can't wait till our next adventure. Time to start working some over-time shifts at the hospital to start saving.

Rocky Point for the 4th

2010-07-07T23:17:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July Aaron and I went with my family to Rocky Point for the weekend. I hadn't gone in years and I can't believe how much it has changed down there. Resorts galore! We stayed at an awesome resort and enjoyed the amenities and ocean. We ate lots of yummy shrimp dishes, rode quads, got some sun, relaxed, swam in the pool and ocean, found some crabs to put in the fish tank, and enjoyed being together. It's times like these when I recognize how blessed I am to live close to family and to have a family that likes to party. I'm so grateful for them and the friendships that we all have.

Damon makes a good footrest

Holy chester the molester, but couldn't get Sid to smile any other way

We told Sid the saltwater was good for getting rid of pimples so this is what she did

Near death experience and Visit to CA

2010-07-06T22:28:00.000-07:00

Finally Posting...

In almost tragic news, but not bc everything is a-okay now, our little pupper Sophie almost died. We came home one night to find 2 pools of bloody diarrhea on the carpet and to a dog that didn't come to the door to greet us. We were really worried and heartbroken to see our normally hyper dog lying on the pile of clothes that Aaron piles up on his side of the bed, too lethargic and sick to even make it onto our bed. I new immediately that she had parvo. Aaron called a couple vets and they all said the same thing - that all they could do was try to hydrate her, but her being an italian greyhound she didn't have a good prognosis since she didn't have any fat reserves to draw from. When a dog contracts parvo, they die from dehydration bc they lose their appetite and have frequent vomiting and diarrhea. Aaron and I researched all about parvo online and how to treat etc and we put our nursing skills to the test. We syringed pedialyte down her throat every hour (setting our alarm during the night to give her fluids) bc she refused to eat or drink. Being the extreme begger that she is, it was pretty depressing to witness. When she finally started to eat we would mix gatorade or pedialyte with the food so that she would be forced to get the fluids that way too. We made her scrambled eggs, rice, chicken all in an effort to stimulate some sort of appetitie. This went on for about 5 days. It was touch and go during those days but she's back to her good ole' self. We're so grateful bc we love our little sophers.

On another note, Aaron and I were able to drive to CA last month and visit with his family for 5 days. We went for little Ryan's high school graduation. It was great to see Aaron's whole family (minus Ben and Vanessa the little stinkers). We were even lucky enough to spend a couple days with Matt and Kendra, Aaron's cousins, who came down to PD. We all had a great time together and can't wait until the next Rucker Reunion.

Spring Break in Utah

2010-03-28T14:45:00.000-07:00

We were able to enjoy an awesome week in Utah for Aaron's spring break. Aaron's little brother Ryan even came out for the occasion. It was a terrific time. We stayed the first two nights with Ben and Vanessa before they took off to CA. It was awesome to see them and eat at one of our favorite spots, Mandarin, together.

We all had new snowboards and bindings and loved how they worked out. We first went to Sundance, next Park City, and last, my favorite, the Canyons. Thursday and Friday night we stayed at Park City Hotel thanks to Aaron's buddy Guy Morris. He runs the hotel and got us into one of their cottages for the price of the cleaning service. The cottage was spectacular, right on a lake with views of Park City resort in the back. We also had our own private hot tub that we enjoyed after snowboarding each day. The weather was awesome 2 out of the 3 boarding days. Aaron and I hadn't been in 2 years, but we quickly remembered that it's much like riding a bike - comes right back.

On our way out of town we were able to visit Granny and Grandpa Rucker, which was awesome. Aaron and I haven't seen them since BYU graduation 2 years ago. They took us to the famous Mexican resturaunt where we each enjoyed our favorite dish, "the #9." After food we all went back to their house and played some Hand and Foot. I'm so glad we got to see them before we drove home. It was an awesome trip and we were so glad that Ryan was able to come and hang out with us for the week.

Supercross groupies

2010-03-26T10:48:00.000-07:00

If any of you know my husband Aaron, you'll know that he's in love with dirtbike racing. He claims he was pretty good at it as a kid, and I'm pretty sure I believe him. In fact, one of the first nights that we hung out together at BYU was after a dirtbike race he had won. I had just gotten home from a date and he had just gotten home from a race and was hanging out at a neighbors condo in my complex. I cruised over and saw his cool trophy. We hung out a week after that and he took me to an indoor supercross track where I proceeded to fly over a burm, hit a sign and depart in the air from the bike I was riding. His love for dirt bikes has rubbed off on my over the years and now our family receives the monthly magazine of racer x and we tune in weekly to the AMA pro circuit supercross events on the SPEED network. We were lucky enough to go to not one, but 3 supercross races this year and loved it! We kicked off the season here in Phoenix, and drove to Anaheim, CA for two more events. While I love going to the events and seeing all the crashes, I do think we're a little dorky for driving out-of-state to see men go over some jumps on bikes.

Aaron as a little pipsqueak

Aaron and Nate after his win in Utah

Aaron and I at Phoenix

Me, Aaron and Squid in Anaheim

Aaron, Nate, and Aaron's high school buddies

Vacation is Over :(

2010-02-12T11:32:00.000-08:00

Man I really enjoyed my month and a half off, but alas, play-time is over. I started work this week, just orientation so I haven't really started on my unit yet. I had a hard time setting my alarm clock and getting out of bed every morning, but I made it and hopefully it's all downhill from here.

I passed national nursing boards last week. I got my results back really quickly and passed!! What a relief. I am now an official registered nurse. Now all i have to do is start actually taking care of patients.

This is what my little hubby brought home for me: favorite flowers, red velvet cake, and a book to enjoy the rest of my last week off (don't judge the author). What a little sweetie he is.

My parents were out of town last weened and so we watched little Squid and Damon. We decided to go camping out in the backyard - roast hotdogs, make shmores, and sleep in a tent. Little Damon loved it and we did too!

I'm Employed!

2010-01-16T11:21:00.000-08:00

It has been the longest job hunt ever, but it's thankfully finally over. I started looking for AZ nursing jobs last August only to be told that the Arizona nursing market is the worst in the nation and that I might be sitting around for a while jobless after graduation. I heard from many people that graduated last May from nursing school that they hadn't been able to find jobs after 5 months of looking. I was also told that my best bet would be to work in corrections for my first year. Needless to say I have been very anxious the past 5 months, but no more!

Yesterday I had another interview at the Arizona Heart Hospital. After the interview the nursing director offered me a position on the spot. He told me to call him by Monday to tell him whether I wanted a day or night job. Wow what a relief. About an hour after I got home, Banner Baywood called me and offered me a job that I had interviewed for last Tuesday. Wow, the feeling was unbelievable. When all these people told me good luck finding a job and that it would be next to impossible, I procured 2! I told Banner that I would like to think about it and that I would let them know by Monday, but called back 30 seconds later laughing and told them that I was crazy not to take it and that I accept. I'll be working on an interesting unit that cares for many different patient populations. I always dreamed of a pediatric job, but I know this unit will provide many different learning opportunities and I'm excited to get started Feb. 8th, just after I take boards on Feb. 2nd. That gives me two more weeks to relax and enjoy my time off and study.

Wow It's Been Forever

2010-01-12T19:37:00.000-08:00

Well this past month has been a busy one. I finally said goodbye to Richmond when I graduated from nursing school and was reunited with my buddies back in AZ. My awesome friends I made at nursing school treated me to the most delicious food I have ever had in my life. Fennel....yum. It was incredible. I will miss these guys and can't wait till Tavi gets married so I can have an excuse to go back and see them all and eat that delicious fennel again :)

So I made the first of the three-legged road trip to AZ by myself and met Aaron in Nashville, TN. We were lucky enough to have family there and stayed with one of Aaron's cousins for the night. We were very grateful to them for the wonderful bed and breakfast. The second night we stopped in Norman, OK and stayed with one of my very best friends Lollie. It was so nice to see her after so many years and we finally were able to meet each other's husbands. Aaron and I loved Tra and wish that we had had time to stay an extra day and play with them. The third day we finally made it.

Since being back in AZ we've moved into an apartment, potty trained our dog, visited Palm Desert for Christmas, participated in the New Years Pratt Polar Bear Swim (swimming the length of the pool on New Years Day), I've interviewed for 2 jobs so far and find out tomorrow if I get one. Aaron and I are loving being back together as a family!

Last Visit Home

2009-11-30T19:55:00.000-08:00

I just flew in for what will hopefully be my last ever flight into Richmond, VA. I got to go home for a week for Thanksgiving and boy was it a great time. The Saturday that I was there I had probably what was the most spiritual and amazing experience of my life. Aaron got a little offended by that statement thinking that our temple sealing with the paramount moment in my life. No offense to him, but honestly I can't remember much of those few moments in the temple together. A mix of nervousness, excitement, relief, awe made that experience hard to remember. But anyway, Saturday morning I had the opportunity to watch my parents kneel on either side of the temple alter and see little damon put his right hand on theres and be sealed together as his eternal parents. Damon looked so innocent, handsome, confident, and brilliant in his white suit sitting on his "pappa's" lap as the temple sealer promised that he will have extra protection in this life to help him live righteously. I cried as I saw the look of shear excitement on his face when the temple sealer told him that if he listened to the Holy Ghost in this life he would grow up to be like his pappa. Damon worships my dad. They have a really special bond and it was evident to all during those moments in the temple. What made the experience all the more special was that little Squid was able to be there as well. What an incredible experience for her to be able to enter into the temple before taking out her endowments. I think the memory of that day and the Spirit that she felt will help and strengthen her during her vulnerable teenage years until the time comes that she is ready to enter for her endowments. We were able to stand together as a family and look into the mirrors. At that time the sealer made reference to the fact that we were missing one - Austin. Although when I think about it now the fact that Austin wasn't there and that his son was sealed to his parents instead of himself is a tragic thing, I didn't feel any saddness at that time. It was an amazing experience and one that I hope never ever to forget. I love my Heavenly Father so much and am so grateful for His great Church and Plan of Happiness. How wonderful that we can spend eternity with the people we love the most. The temple is a wonderful place.

Well on a more temporal note, I had my first pseudo-job interview. My application was complete at Phoenix Children's Hosptial and I'd been leaving some voicemails for the nurse manager of the emergency department there. I called again while in town and he said that he would love to meet with me. So i drove down there and we talked for about an hour. He said that first preference for jobs go to internal applicants, or the people that already work there, but he said that more than likely I would be contacted in the next couple weeks for a formal interview. I appreciated the time he took to meet with me and was encouraged by how well the meeting went.

Boston, Handwashing, and Temple trip

2009-11-13T06:24:00.000-08:00

This has been a very busy, fun, emotional, and exciting last week. Last Thursday I had the opportunity to visit my best friend Holly in Boston. She is a theater major at the Boston Conservatory and it was so fun to stay with her for a week, and see the sites of Boston. We ate terrific food, played hundreds of games of Nertz, and had fun siteseeing. I also got to meet her boyfriend/almost fiance :) and I LOVE him. I'm really excited for Holly and these upcoming months. Thanks for the wonderful trip Hollywood!

Holly and I in Salem

The site of the Boston Massacre

Studying in the church where the lanterns mentioned in Paul Revere's Midnight Ride were hung (1 if by land, 2 if by sea)

The day after I got back from Boston my Community Health group and I visited the elementary school that we've been working with to teach them hand hygiene in an attempt to temper the swine flu pandemic. I made the not very intricate costumes and enjoyed not only getting the project done, but having fun with friends.

Also the day after I got back from Boston I hit the road again for Annapolis, Maryland. Bridget, the awesome woman that's allowing me to stay in her house, needed a ride to Annapolis and since I was thinking of going to the temple the next day anyway, just decided to load up the car and hit the road. It was an awesome car ride and I was able to talk about the church a lot. The next morning I was so touched when she came to me and said that she thought she really would like to come to church with me and bring her two kids. The separation from Aaron has been terrible, but I am glad that I've been able to live in a place where I have the opportunity to set a good example of the church and touch a terrific family. I was able to go to the Washington DC temple, which was an amazing experience. It's been a tough week and it was such a blessing to be able to be in the temple and receive the comfort, love, and strength from my Heavenly Father. I love this gospel and the happiness it brings - even in the midst of trials - if you are truly seeking the Lord's help and striving to keep the commandments.

Halloween Vacation

2009-11-03T02:20:00.000-08:00

October is the best month of the year I think anywhere, but especially in Arizona. You enjoy the cooler weather and sleeping with the windows open, the lawns get scalped and re-seeded with winter grass, all of the fun halloween decorations... True, there isn't the beautiful changing colors in the not so varied foliage, but it still is the best state to be in come October. I was able to make a quick 5 day visit to home and it was terrific. I didn't even stress my trip out with job hunting - just pure relaxation. Halloween was the highlight of the trip. We woke up and visited one of the traditional Pratt family breakfast spots and enjoyed a great lengua torta, Aaron and I got some sun at the ASU football game, I got to put together my little "brother's" (so weird to say still) halloween costume, got a quick compound fracture costume thanks to father, enjoyed seeing ward members and good chili dogs at the ward trunk-or-treat, and carved a stellar pumpkin with Aaron. I realized Aaron's excellent dexterity as I watched him carve the pumpkin. He really is going to make a great dentist. Always sucks to get dropped off at the airport, but I really feel like we're on the home stretch now. I only have 2.5 weeks until I get to fly back to AZ for a week for Thanksgiving, and after that 2 more weeks before I'm home for GOOD. Enjoy the pics.

He came a little unraveled towards the end.

A Visit Home

2009-10-05T17:36:00.000-07:00

I was able to play hookie from school for a week and fly to Arizona for 10 days. What started off as a very rocky start to the vacation (my connecting flight in Memphis was delayed for 4 hours and then eventually canceled; got 2 hours of sleep in the hotel that Delta paid for) ended up being super, but now I’m grouchy again because I’m back in Richmond. It was so nice to visit family, and of course be with Aaron and hug my little puppy.

I spent a large portion of my vacation job hunting and visiting hospitals. The job hunt continues to be extremely frustrating and discouraging, but I’m sure I’ll get one eventually. I’m just very proactive and I want to know where I’ll be working NOW. It’s a little early still to have a contract, but I hope it comes soon. At least during this trip I really got to research and find out what hospitals would work best for me. All I have to do now is be patient, continue to be persistent, and ace any interviews I get. I’m just hoping that during my November vacation I’ll be able to sign a job contract so Aaron and I can get to owning our dream home under-way. We absolutely love this foreclosed house and are really hoping that it will still be on the market in 2 months from now!

September 30th marked a huge day in my family’s life. Damon went from being my nephew to being my brother. Crazy that it finally and actually happened. We all sat in the Mesa family court and listened to the judge congratulate us on the adoption of Damon Pratt to the family. At the time I didn’t really think anything of it. I mean, he’s been living with us pretty much since he was a year old. Later I had time to reflect and think of the implications of this event. It will be a very interesting day when he begins to call my mom “mom” instead of “grandma carrot.” Thanksgiving break will be a very special time, because we will have the opportunity to go to the temple and see Damon be sealed to my parents. He will have some interesting times ahead of him as he begins to comprehend the meaning of adoption and why he is really being raised by his grandparents instead of his parents, but at least this is the case – he will continue to attend church, interact with great friends, and enjoy the blessings of loving and supportive parents.

We celebrated Aaron’s 25th birthday while I was there. I consider his new snowboard and jet ski his birthday presents (and Christmas presents for that matter), but I also got him a unique photo album filled with pictures of when he was little as well as mission photos. My family is very obsessed with pictures, and when we were little, my mom got us our wooden photo albums that had a laser engraved photo of us on the front cover. I love my photo albums of my childhood, but always wanted one for Aaron. During Christmas vacation this year I scanned every picture of his from his childhood and got prints of his mission pictures and made him his very own photo album with a laser engraved cover. It turned out so neat and I’m so glad that he finally has one.

I had a great time being a married woman again, and was very sad to have to say goodbye. I’ll make a short trip back in 3.5 weeks so I just have to buck up and make the best of it. Conference gave me so much encouragement. I worked both Friday and Saturday night so I was asleep while the actual conferences were being played, but luckily there is an amazing thing called the internet and I was able to watch them from work. I’m so grateful for inspired Apostles that speak the messages that Heavenly Father would have us hear.

My New Home

2009-09-12T03:01:00.000-07:00

Well I forgot to blog about my new home here in VA. Aaron and I moved out of our townhome when he moved to AZ because it was pretty silly to be spending a grand a month on a 2 bedroom, 2 bath space for just little old me. So I had to find a new place to live. At first this was really challenging, but then it hit me. HELLO Drew you already have a home. Take a look...

Welcome to the VCU Health System Critical Care Tower. My room is on the second floor, the Oncology Unit. When I'm not in my room, I can be found downstairs in the living room, more commonly known as the Pediatric ER.

Well obviously this is all in jest, but seriously I feel like I LIVE here. Right now in fact I'm blogging from a computer at work. I have 1 more hour left on my 12 hour night shift. I've been here at the hospital for the last 23 hours!!! Give me a freaking break already. Okay okay so i'm a little grouchy. I don't know who wouldn't be. People who are at the hospital this long are either patients and have a bed to sleep in, or residents, who have an on call room to catch a few z's. Not me. Oh well. 87 more sleeps till this is all over.

vAnEssA

2009-09-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday "V"

I hope you have such a great birthday. I love you so much and miss you terribly. I'm so grateful to have you as a big sister and best friend, seriously don't know what I would do without you. You know what's awesome? Even if we weren't related by our husbands being brothers, I know we would be just as good friends as we are now and that's so awesome to know. Well again, I hope you have the best birthday and can't wait to see you and ben and chloe and cramer and sue. Love you, love you, love you!

"D"

Good ole Valley of the Sun...Arizona

2009-08-20T08:33:00.000-07:00

My vacation in Arizona was unbelievable! I haven’t been that lazy since before my mom forced me to get a summer job the summer of my junior year. After 3.5 weeks of no work or school I thought for sure that I would be jumping at the bit to start being productive again, but here I am still being a couch potato wishing that I could go back to the heat of AZ and lie by my pool.

Vacation was great. Highlights included making a baby blanket for my new niece Chloe; a hike to Fossil Springs; 2 trips to Canyon lake; witnessing my pampered indoor dog become a rugged, semi-aquatic outdoor dog, a temple session with Aaron; and being with my buddy and family.

The finished product with my new little niece.

Sophie's glamour shot while soakin' up the rays

As the pilot announced over the PA system that we were making our final descent into Richmond my stomach dropped. I did not want the flight to end. One, because I was enjoying my book, and two, because that meant that mine and Aaron's four months of separation had actually started. I have a feeling that these next 4 months will be the hardest and loneliest of my life, but I just hope and pray that they will go quickly so that I can be reunited with my buddy back in AZ.

Miss these buddies already!

Summer Vacation

2009-07-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

I was able to start my summer vacation a little earlier than expected. Aaron had his last day at his hospital job July 1st and two days later his little brother Ryan flew out to stay with us until they both drove off for Arizona. We had a great time playing and making the most of Aaron's last 2.5 weeks out here in VA. Included in the vacation was a 4th of July trip to VA beach with surfing, paddle-ball, fireworks, and a pretty lame aquarium; lots of ultimate frisby; trips to the local fish stores to buy a new and bigger aquarium (won't get set up for a while); lots of card games with Jon and Lissa; and even a trip to the amusement park (sadly couldn't participate in that activity as it was a clinical day). I personally, as well as Aaron I'm sure, are really grateful that Ryan came out to make the drive with Aaron and Sohpie across country. It was good to know that he had someone keeping him awake and giving him some good company during the 4 day road trip. Also, we're both really thankful for Jon and Lissa and all the wonderful memories we've made together this past year.

Now that I've been alone here in our townhouse with only scrubs, a couple t-shirts, and an air mattress people may be concerned for my sanity. Never fear people, I've been thoroughly entertained. I've read 4 books in the last 5 days. Nothing like curling up on my air mattress with a bag of potato chips, sunny D, and a great book to pass the time. I think only about a 100 more books will be added to the list in the next 5 months.

Enjoy some of the pics.

Me getting up on my pathetic wave

Aaron and Ryan with their 3-D IMAX glasses on

Ryan with Sophie doing what she does best - Nuggling!

Kylea and Uncle Aaron giving little Sophers a hug

Ryan, Aaron, and Jon at King's Dominion

Had to include this last one. This was taken earlier today at Aaron's white coat ceremony. Meet my husband, Dr. Rucker.

They're on their way

2009-07-16T08:14:00.000-07:00

Well my buddies packed it up, hit the road, and left me all alone here in VA. I can't wait to take my last final next Thursday and hop on a plane to fly back to my TRUE home. Love you buddies. Drive safe.

Essential Incentives

2009-06-29T08:27:00.000-07:00

I'll first start off by breaking down my itinerary of the beginning of my work week:

Work 11 pm - 7:30 am Sunday
School 9 am - 4 pm Monday
Work 7 pm - 7:30 am Monday
School 8 am - 4 pm Tuesday

Gives me a total of 20 hours of work, 15 hours of school, and 4 hours of sleep in 40 hours of life.

I'm not going to lie, it was a torturous 40 hours and by the end of it I'm not sure if I was forming coherent sentences, you may have to ask Aaron, but it was all worth it in the end.

I arranged my schedule this way so that I could finally enjoy a weekend off (I don't think I've had one in 3 months). What did I do on my wonderful weekend off?

I enjoyed getting clobbered and floundering around on these bad boys...

Aaron and I, along with Aaron's brother Jon and friends bought these super awesome surfboards for pretty much a buy one, get one rate off of whiskeymilitia.com. I was very skeptical at first, but I'm so glad Aaron convinced me. I had so much fun. I was able to stand up a couple times, work on my tan, and enjoy a weekend without getting drowned in urine and feces (no offense to the precious baldies on the cancer floor). I've arranged my schedule for 2 more weeks of work/school marathons of hell, but I've got a wonderful carrot in the form of suring dangling in front of nose, egging me on.

We've got Aaron's little brother Ryan flying out this Wednesday and will stay with us until they both leave on the 14th in our Uhaul. I'll not be too far along and will leave on the 23rd after my last final for summer term.

Dedicated to Martha Stewart

2009-05-17T13:52:00.001-07:00

Who would have guessed that twiggy Drew Pratt, the extreme tomboy, the girl who's life was dedicated to proving that girls can do anything that boys can, would some day despair at the inevitable death of Martha Stewart. I mean, everyone dies some day right? But really, who can replace Martha Stewart as the idol of every women who has a desire to entertain, cook, sew, and decorate? No one I say. She's a domestic goddess. Alright, alright I'm carrying on, but I wanted to share to you the conversation I had with my mother the other day, when I came to the realization that Martha will not be around forever...

Me: Mom
Mom: Drew
Me: Mom what the heck am I going to do when Martha Stewart dies?
Mom: hahahaha. Someone will rise up and take her place, she'll train someone.
Me: Oh yeah! She should do a reality show; kind of like the Apprentice to train and choose her successor.

So there you go. Even though Martha Stewart will expire at some point in the future, she will have trained her replacement to continue to update her website and magazine with "Good things" for me to copy. I felt much better after this realization.

Anyway, the lengthy post was just so I could show the craft I made for my sister-in-law Vanessa for her baby shower. Vanessa's husband Ben went on a mission to Japan, so when I saw "Baby Kimonos" on Martha's site, I thought they would make a perfect gift. I thought I did a pretty darn good job and I can't wait to see my little neice in them.

Martha's Kimonos

My Kimonos

I can't wait till I have kids one day so I can make them stuff! My craft file on my computer is growing daily as I find things that I will make some day with my kids. Who would have thought that these would be the things that Drew Pratt would look forward to? Wow, I must have grown, and I must have had the most amazing and talented mother who had a fetish with Martha Stewart too.

Ballers!!!

2009-04-24T10:54:00.000-07:00

A group of women in our ward formed a basketball team to play against other wards and stakes in the surrounding Virginia area. Needless to say we brought the house down. We lost one game during the regular season, but beat the same team twice later on to advance in the tournament and go on and win the championship. It was such a fun season and really gave me something to look forward to during the months. I'm sad that the season is over, but I'm really glad I got to make friends and have the opportunity to play a game that I love so much. Here is a pic of the team. Also, after the championship game we got to cut down the net!

Spring Break

2009-03-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

Since BYU does not honor the national tradition of spring break, my spring break for the last three years has consisted of planning future vacations on the internet during my biology classes. Thankfully for us, VCU gives one and so Aaron and I were able to get away from the monotony of school and work for a couple days and relax in the great city of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. What's in Gatlinburg, Tennessee you ask?

A great aquarium

Zorbs (inflatable balls filled with water)

and a Christmas themed hotel that plays Christmas music all year round, smells like cinnamon, and only offers Christmas movies at the front desk

Aaron and I discovered that Vacations are pretty much the greatest things ever and totally feasible. It was a very inexpensive trip, yet so much fun. They just allow you to not think about making the bills meet and all the silly stressors of regular life. They are completely revitalizing and we can't wait for our next trip.

Congratulations Dr. Rucker... Aaron got into dental school!!!

2009-01-17T07:24:00.001-08:00

Aaron got into dental school!!! We are so excited. He was accepted into the Arizona school in Mesa, just 10 minutes away from my family's house. We still have until Feb. 1st to hear from VCU, but at least we know that Aaron will be a dentist. The stress that comes with sitting and waiting has been replaced with relief and excitement.

Here is the picture of the school. It's so pretty!