The Adventure Lives on

Well this has been QUITE an exciting summer.

I started my first job at an assisted living center. My first few days (okay more like first couple weeks) were pretty rough. I was only given a 2 hour orientation and was kind of thrown into everything without a supervisor present. It's taken me awhile to get to know how to do all the paperwork, meet my patients, and figure out how things run at the facility, but I think I am starting to get the hang of it. I was kind of miserable at first. I hate hate HATE feeling incompetent. Its the worst! And that's how I felt at first. But now I'm getting to know my patients and I really enjoy being a light in their life, even if its just 30 minutes a day.

Oh AND I had a birthday! I turned 25. Quarter of a century! Woot Woot! My birthday was pretty low key since I had to work that day. When I came home from work David and Elaine took me to a local (and pretty legit) BBQ place for dinner. Yay Texas!  Elaine also made me an Oreo Icecream cake and it was DELICIOUS!

I've started making friends here in San Antonio which has been a major blessing. Ive been invited to movies and game nights and even a ghost tour down town! Some friends and I went out to dinner at the Rainforest Cafe (THAT was an experience in itself. The rain forest had interactive animals and "thunderstorms" every half hour) on the riverwalk and then met up outside the Alamo for a ghost tour. They took us around downtown San Antonio and  told us about the history of the buildings and the supposed ghost sitings. It was actually one of the coolest tours Ive been on. AND San Antonio night life is so fun!

 These are all places that are supposedly "haunted"

Here is a video of a light show that they do downtown.

The next weekend my friend Christina (the first friend I made here) invited me to an outdoor movie night down town. We brought blankets and snacks and chilled with friends on the lawn before the movie started. I met a few new people there too.

A week ago, I rode with David and Elaine's family to Destin Florida where our family reunion was being held. We split the car trip into two days and stayed the night in New Orleans. We stopped to get some Cajun food and the next morning we toured down town New Orleans since I have never been there. The city is rich with culture. It was such a neat experience.

 I may have bought a voodoo doll for good luck :) Hey, I'm "online dating" now, I guess I need all the luck I can get ;) haha

This was the BEST pasta I have had in a LONG time. And of course I got jambalaya on the side, just because I can. :) When in New Orleans...eat jambalaya.

Later that day we made the rest of the trip to Florida where we met up with all our extended family. And let me just tell you, that was BY FAR the BEST vacation I have ever been on. Everything worked out perfectly! The weather, the dinners, the activities all went off without a hitch. No family drama. Just family love and fun. It was so nice to spend time with my parents and siblings. It's weird that my siblings are all grown up. I still see them as children in my mind and so it's crazy to think that my brothers will be going on missions soon and that this was probably our last vacation together for a couple years. I feel so blessed to have had this time with them. And in such a beautiful place!

Destin is gorgeous! Clear blue ocean. White sand. And did I mention gorgeous sunsets every night?
We went jet skiing, saw dolphins, ate fresh seafood at an ocean side restaurant, swam in the resort pool every night, had a scavenger hunt, and played games. We kicked the reunion off with fireworks at night on the beach.

This one is actually my favorite because it's SO my family. Laughing at our dad for being ridiculous :)

 

 Dad and the girls.

Mom and the Girls

 Noelle and I at the Bay

 Grace and I at the Beach

Siblings at the beach watching the Fireworks on our last night together.

Katrina and I threw Mary a baby shower. The venue was perfect! The kids played on the wii while the adults participated in the shower games. The party was story book themed and the families bought Mary and Colton books that were easy to take home on an airplane.

After the reunion was over, Katrina's family and I traveled to Orlando to visit Universal Studios. I had never been before and I loved it! My favorite part of course was the Harry Potter portion of the park. I bought a wand at Olivanders wand shop, drank Butterbeer (yum!), bought candy at Honeydukes, and ate "The Great Feast" at the Three Broomsticks. Oh and I rode a few rides. :) It rained a few times in the park, but only for short periods and we were all wearing clothes that dried pretty quickly. It made for some shorter lines though which was nice :)

 The first day we decided to take things easy and we stopped at the Temple. SUCH a good decision!

 The Adventure Begins

 Jurassic Park :)

HARRY POTTER!!!!

One of my favorite pictures is the one of Noelle at the bottom. She was so astounded with the wand shop. :)

Chocolate frog from Honeydukes :)

 

The Adventure Lives On

I flew home (San Antonio. Isn't it crazy that this is my home now?) yesterday. And its back to work tomorrow. Ive had the best vacation I could dream of and I'm a little worried that my life will seem boring from now on. But I have friends and family coming to visit so I have THAT to look forward to :)

Is everything REALLY bigger in Texas?

So... I made it to Texas :)

I drove from Ohio in my "new" car. I split the drive across three days. The first night I stayed with an old roommate Jamie. It was great being able to spend time with her and her family. We caught each other up on our lives and reminisced on old times. I'm so happy she and I are friends.

The next day  I drove to Arlington Texas where my aunt Dorothy lives. She and her husband took me out to this delicious Mexican restaurant and then we went to an outdoor concert. They had all the people from "out of state" put a sticker on the map. I put a sticker on Utah AND Ohio because I feel like I can represent both :) After the concert, we went and picked up  my cousin Aubrey from girls camp. It was fun to listen to her talk about her time there. Her energy and friendliness is infectious. :)

My cousin Marianne

My aunt Dorothy. She's very loveable.

Oh Liam!

The next day I drove the last couple hours to San Antonio to my uncle David and aunt Elaine's home. They have so graciously allowed me to stay in their guest bedroom. During my drive, I received a call saying that the paperwork I had sent in almost a month prior for my license had just been entered into the Texas database THAT DAY. I was informed that I would have to wait 4-6 weeks until I received my license and could start working. I was supposed to start working in 3 days...  Needless to say, I was panicked! The next few weeks i called the licensing department and checked online every day waiting to hear when I would be approved to start working. I was so worried that the facility would drop my contract and hire someone already licensed, but they were very understanding. I FINALLY received my license last week and I started working on Wednesday. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. It's been a stressful couple weeks.

As stressed as I have been, David and Elaine have been great. Inviting me to go swimming, go to Six Flags and giving me on a tour of the Alamo and the River walk. Two of my cousins had birthdays (That's right, I got to go to Chuck E Cheese...be jealous!) and last weekend Dorothy's family came down and we all went to the beach in Corpus Christi and celebrated Independence Day together. It's really nice being with family.

Six Flags

If you look closely you can see my cousins Ben and Mara. I love that they love roller coasters as much as I do.

My cousin Emily

Batman. The 4D coaster. The line was so long so we didn't actually go on that one but it was cool to watch :)

The Alamo!

Inside the Alamo

I have to admit, I had to google the history of the Alamo before we went. It has a very interesting story. Its a story of a battle that's pretty much against all odds, and even though the Americans lost in the end, the courageous lives of the men who fought proved the "Texan" mentality to fight for their land. No wonder there is so much Texan pride here.

The River walk (I want to go back! It was so cool)

We stopped at this icecream/Gelato place to get a treat

Birthday Party at Chuck E Cheese

We went to float this really cool river that had water slides along the way. The slides were pretty intense. At one point Elaine and Emily got knocked off  their inner tubes and the lifeguards jumped in to help them swim to the shore.

I was the official Water Bottle Person. So I had a bag of water bottles on my lap the whole time :)

So Relaxing!

I've been able to go to the San Antonio temple a few times and each time I leave feeling so blessed. I feel completely at home and filled with so much peace. My worries seem smaller and I feel strengthened to get through my trials. I really want to make it a weekly occurrence.

The first time I went to the temple, I was really down hearted because things weren't going to plan. And on top of everything, I had lost my temple clothing during my move. I know they are just clothes but it was a big deal to me. I sat in the temple feeling sorry for myself and thinking of where I could have placed them and all of the sudden these random spots came to my mind. I kept thinking that there is NO WAY they could have end up there, but as Iwalked outside, I decided to call my sister Katrina and have her look there. AND SHE FOUND THEM! I sat on a bench and broke down crying. (kind of embarrassing now that I think of it...anyone could have seen me) It was such a Tender Mercie. Heavenly Father is aware of me and my problems. Even though they are just clothes, he knew they were important to me and he was speaking to me in the temple. In this way He let me know that He loves me. I am SO grateful for this.

Beautiful Flowers outside the temple. I had never seen a tree like this, so, of course I took a picture :)

The temple

Sitting outside the temple the day before I started working. I was getting pretty nervous earlier that day and decided to go to the Temple. I left feeling so happy and filled with peace.

Here are a few pictures from the day we went to the beach at Corpus Christi. The waves were perfect for boogie boards and body surfing.

My cousin Aubrey and I. Isn't she cute?

I got a couple compliments on the T-shirt quilt my twin sister Katrina made me. A few strangers stopped by to say how nice it looked and to ask me if I made it. One day I hope to be as talented as Katrina...One Day...

A few of my friends were in San Antonio for EFY and I got to meet up with them during their break. It was so fun to see familiar faces and catch up on their lives. Yay Utah Friends!

My cousin Emily and I. Girls just wanna have fun.

This is Sprinkles. We got to dog sit her for a little over a week and Ive decided I want a dog as cuddly as she is.  :)

So David and Elaine have close friends here that have a SUPER nice pool/backyard. Even though we have a community pool, we sometimes go swimming in their pool and its so fun. They have recently just added a water slide which I have yet to try out.

In the car waiting to float the river with these cuties.

We went out to dinner for some good old fashioned Texas BBQ after our day at the beach.

I've slowly been making friends here which is exciting. I always forget how much I NEED a social life until I go without one. The fourth of July really helped with that. We had a big singles activity at a Ranch close by. I was really reluctant to go, but I'm so glad I did. There was dancing, food, pie eating contests and a bonfire. I got to meet quite a few people and at the end of the night we went to a part of the property that was on a hill and they set off fireworks. It was pretty cool.
 I also had my first run in with fire ants that nights...so...that was awesome. I feel like a "true Texan" now. :)

Another bit of news in my life is that my Mom convinced me to try online dating to meet new people. I'm still not quite sure how I feel about it and it definitely has me outside of my comfort zone, but since she offered to pay for it, I feel like I need to give it a fair chance. So this is me.COMPLETELY out of my comfort zone. Living in a new state, starting a new job, and trying online dating...this could get interesting.

On wednesday I started my job. FINALLY! My first day (my first week really) was SUPER overwhelming. There is so much for me to learn. I feel like I constantly need to prove myself and I come home exhausted! I know that in a couple months I will start to feel comfortable and I cant WAIT to feel that way. However, it's nice knowing that I'm getting paid for my work. Oh the life of a professional :)

Oh and to answer the question from the caption, I'm not sure if EVERYTHING is bigger in Texas, BUT the sky here is HUGE with big puffy clouds. It seems to go on forever. I think that is my favorite part of Texas so far :)