Christmas

Hi, we hope all of you had a Merry Christmas! Ours was great, but interesting. It was our first year trying to figure out how to fit in both families! But it turned out great and we were able to spend time with both sides of the family. We spent Christmas Eve with the Wittwers. That is probably my favorite event of the whole year I love it! Then we woke up at six am to go open our presents from each other. Then we needed to be to my mom and dad's at seven. We got all of our presents loaded into Ashton's truck and were all buckled in ready to go when we noticed that the truck was a little.... crooked. We got out to see what was wrong and the tire was completely flat! Merry Christmas to us. We joked that Ashton must have been really bad this year so Santa slashed his tire :) After opening presents at my parent's we went over to Ashton's parents to see them and open presents. After that we went home because Ashton wasn't feeling well and he was so sick he had to stay in bed ALL day. I had to leave him for a few hours to go eat dinner with my mom's side of the family. That was fun too. I felt so bad for Ashton. He is still really sick and I've never seen him this bad so I hope he gets feeling better! Altogether it was still a good Christmas!

DONE!!

This is what very excited geeky biology dixie state graduate looks like!

HOORAY

Top 50 Things I Learned at Dixie

Now that I am a college grad (woo hoo!!!!!!) let me share a bit of the useful knowledge that I gained while at Dixie! I also want to add that I am very grateful that I was able to finish my education while I am young and don't have any kids! It's been so much fun! I am also way thankful that I didn't have to pay for any of it :) I just want to end by saying college ROCKS and I recommend for everyone to go. and go to DIXIE I LOVED everything second of it and don't have one complaint!

And now for the top fifty things I learned at Dixie.....

50. School is fun!!!



49. My urine has an unusually high specific gravity....





48. The more I study, the worse I do. Studying just jumbles my brain.





47. Don't go to Vegas for final exams and expect to get any studying done.





46. Girls are smarter than Boys




45. Don't start reading the Twilight series in the middle of a semester. It can affect your grades.



44. Plant reproductive cycles are SOOO boring


43. Global Warming is not real.


42. Global Warming is real


41. if you continuously increase the temperature of the water a beta fish is in its fins will fall off


40. there is such thing as studying too hard


39. organic chemistry can literally cause nightmares


38. organic chemistry is the worst class EVERRRRRR


37. giving presentations in class really is not that scary


36. if you squeeze the cecum of a fetal pig, poop will come out. and it does stink


35. it is possible to dissect a pregnant cat without crying


34. the insides of a frog look eerily similar to a humans



33. evolution is REAL. so get over it


32. if you squeeze a shark's cloaca white..... stuff.... will come out


31. the lens of a sheep eyeball bounces. just like a bouncy ball


30. dr. allen isn't scary. she is really cool


29. the biology department has the coolest teachers EVER


28. don't buy a 70,000$ fish tank that costs 1,000$/month to maintain unless you are sure the budget is stable


27. don't take organic chemistry and plan a wedding at the same time


26. study groups are not a good idea for me


25. getting the highest score in a class full of future doctors gives a huge feeling of accomplishment


24. you can go the whole semester of calculus having no clue what's going on... and still get an A... and the highest grade in the class!


23. you CAN get paid to go to school


22. being the only girl in your classes is awesome!


21. 7 am class is NEVER a good idea


20. neither is 8 am class


19. the theory of relativity if possibly the coolest concept ever! but still really boring


18. summer class is the way to go


17. genetics is NOT my favorite biology genre, as i thought it was in high school


16. baby rat pups don't bite, and they aren't scary


15. beer goggles + CVP lab = an amazing time



14. gigantic vibrators + CVP lab = an even better time


13. don't buy all the books the teachers tell you you need


12. dissecting a human is possibly the coolest thing one can ever do


11. and building an elk and dog skeleton is the second


10. catching lizards with fishing pools and painting them with fingernail polish is really fun, and it's my new hobby


9. taking microbiology and infectious disease REALLY CAN cause an abnormal OCD fear of microbes


8. dissecting microscopes are really cool, and the second I come across any money i'm buying one.


7. i love desert tortoises. i don't care what you say about them


6. Labs are sometimes really long


5. decide what you want to do with your degree BEFORE you graduate


4. if you flirt with the guys in charge of the fitness center you can get an A without ever working out


3. you don't have to be black to be african american


2. college is WAY better than high school in so many ways.



1. DIXIE IS THE BEST SCHOOL EVER AND BIOLOGY IS THE BEST DEGREE EVER!!!!!!

'Tis the Season

There is a house in St. George that you must see. We call it the Griswald's because it's as decked out as Clark Griswald's house in Christmas Vacation. It's great! Also me, Ashton, Darin, and Robin made gingerbread houses the other night. Here are some pics of it!

What to do?

So this is my venting blog. I am so confused right now. I am done with school in a week, and I'm so sad. As a lot of you know I didn't get this Biology Degree with a particular plan in mind and now it's coming back to bite me in the butt. I got this degree because a love school and LOVE Biology a lot! I'm a science geek to the core. With me graduating in a week and still jobless I'm starting for freak out. I have a lot of options, all of which have pros and cons. Do I want to continue my education since I love it so much and it's not hard for me while the economy is bad anyway? (but I can't move away from St. George and my family I'd be so sad) Do I want to get a job at a doctor's office so I can apply for PA school? (Kids would be out of the question for three more years and Ashton is getting old :) Do I want to do two more semesters of education classes and be a teacher so I can talk about science everyday for the rest of my life? (One problem is that I can't stand high school and middle school aged kids blah). I would LOVE to work outside for the BLM or Forest Service, but currently the economy is causing people to be laid off from those. Do I wait two years for Dixie to get a Medical Technologist program??? I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT TO DO. I have self-diagnosed decision making anxiety, and I've been that way my whole life! I've talked to a thousand different people including a lady high up at the BLM, the supervisor over the hospital labs, I'm going to meet with the lady in charge of the whole hospital and a man from the forest service, and so far no luck! I did not go to school for five years to work at freakin Village Inn, I cry every morning that I have to wake up 4:30 am to go in there. Sorry I just needed to get this out of my head! Thanks for listening :) Advice would be appreciated!

Oh Christmas Tree

love my tree

eric autumn aspen

saw 'er down

nope, not strong enough

together with our tree

the one

all decorated

decorated at night

We went to cut down our tree the Saturday before Thanksgiving. A little early I know! But I was just too excited. Plus that was about the only time we could do it. We took a journey off into the woods and had to go a long way before we found one. Then we found these cool rocks that I just had to have so between the four of us we were loading 2 Christmas trees, 3 HEAVY rocks, a heavy electric saw, the perfectly intact fibia of a deer, and a baby! It was quite the adventure. Once we got all loaded into the truck and headed home we drove past a patch of PERFECT Christmas trees right off the side of the road! Oh well, I liked our adventure better :)

ashton

What is your husband’s name? Ashton!
How long have you been married? december 29 will be a year!! can't believe it!
How long did you date? a LONG TIME, four years, can you believe it took me that long to convince him?
How old is he? 28, i like older men :)
Who eats sweets? ashton loves candy! and so do i
Who said I love you first? ashton :)
Who is taller? ashton
Who can sing best? ashton has an amazing voice!
Who is smarter? i'm smarter at school ashton is smarter at life
Who does the laundry? both of us, but mostly me
Who pays the bills? ashton makes the money, i write out the checks
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? me
Who mows the lawn? we don't have a lawn to mow :(
Who cooks dinner? me, but ashton always helps me
Who drives? ashton
Who is the first to admit they are wrong? neither one of us are ever wrong......
Who kissed who first? ashton kissed me, needless to say, it was amazing and we hung out every day since it occurred
Who asked who out first? technically ashton and i never even dated, we never became "official" we just hung out for four years then got married
Who wears the pants? me, but ashton is so laid back it doesn't even matter
i just want to end by saying sorry to the rest of you cuz i have the best husband in the world!!!! :)

A Day For Great Background Shots

Anna

Snow Canyon

Snow Canyon

Check out the reflection!

Pine Valley

Pine Valley

Gunlock Reservoir- yes it's empty!

Yesterday we went on a ride with our friends Eric, Autumn, and Aspen. We took them to see Gunlock and Pine Valley because they had never been there before. It ended up being a day full of great scenery and background shots. This area has so many pretty places I love it!

Fall Pictures for Christmas Cards

While on a drive with Ashton's brothers we discovered the most beautiful place. I'm not even going to tell you where it's at :) but it was so pretty we had to come back the next day to take our fall pictures for Christmas Cards. We had to do it in the middle of the day, so we didn't have anyone to come take them for us, so we took them on our own with a timer. I was pretty impressed with the results! Who needs a photographer when we can do it ourselves right?? right??

FALLLLLLL

so i pretty much love fall. so far it has been filled with hunting, painting pumpkins, carving pumpkins, costume parties, pumpkin cookies and hot chocolate!! it's been tons of fun!

B.S. Biology!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is me dancing because i'm really excited!!! i just applied for graduation and now i'm officially graduating and i'm just so excited i don't even know what to do right now!!! if my facts are straight i'm the third person EVER to graduate with my bachelors in biology from dixie state college and also the first GIRL EVER!!! i've never been so proud of myself! ok enough bragging about myself. i thought i'd just share my joy with you all :)

tagged

i haven't posted for a long time and it's because i can't get my computer to upload pictures! :( i don't know what is wrong. so here is a post without pics

5. TV shows that I love to watch....
1. THE HILLS
2. HOUSE
3. law and order
4. keeping up with the kardashians
5. The News

8 Places that I love to eat......
1. durangos
2. honolulu grill
3. Texas Road House
4. pasta factory
5. 25th and main
6. grandma's
7. village inn.... not
8. wingers

8 things that happened yesterday.....
1. studied for a test
2. went to school
3. took a test
4. went to the bank
5. went to the grocery store
6. went to the gym
7. went to dinner with ashton, louis, and his bro
8. went to the movie "lake view terrace"

8 things that I look most forward to....
1. halloween!!!! love love halloween
2. quitting village inn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3. graduating
4. getting a real job- making real money
5. having babies
6. buying a house
7. anything that involves ashton
8. our first christmas together! well technically our fifth christmas together... but first one sleeping together :)

8 things I love about Fall.....
1. getting out my winter clothes
2. buying new ones
3. Halloween
4. thanksgiving
5. hot chocolate
6. lower utility bills
7. not having a piping hot steering wheel
8. it means the semester is almost over

8 things on my wishlist....
1. a biology job! these five years cannot go to waste
2. A vacation to hawaii
3. a kitty
4. a house
5. money to afford a baby- which will never happen ;)
6. a guitar
7. a piano
8. a puppy from anna

People I am tagging.....
anyone

San Diego Baby!

going under coronado bridge

san diego bay

playing at the beach

look at the glitter in the sand! hence the name silver strand beach

me in the pool- loved this pool

this is how much ashton likes to shop!

driving the electric boat

way pretty hike to the beach

the pretty san diego temple

at "the landing"

view from our room

So Ashton and I have been slackers when it comes to going to California. Since we've met we usually go about twice a year. We finally got to go down with our friends Darin and Robin and their cute kids. We stayed at Darin's grandma's house in Coronado that happened to be right like IN the water of the bay, with an amazing view. Ashton and I slept in the coolest room. The whole outside wall was glass and would slide open. For five nights we slept with it open and felt the cool ocean breeze all night. It was amazing! While we were there we went to a water park, the beach (an interesting beach- that is all i will say) a yacht ride around San Diego Bay (my favorite part). We mostly just spent time at the house. That was a vacation all in itself! It was a lot of fun and we can't wait to go back!