Twenty-Two

Eating at Zupas and Texas Roadhouse, Ingrid Michaelson concert tickets, books which I will get to reading once the semester is done, 22 roses, being serenaded by Alex on the guitar with a birthday song just for me, Shabby Apple dress that I had my eye on for about six months, watching "The Help" while snuggling on the couch, and chocolate cake from Ikea with matchsticks substituting for candles.

I was a very lucky birthday girl.

Here's to turning 22!

In the Spirit of St. Valentine

http://attackofthecute.com/

So. Stinkin. Cute.

Firsts

These past few weeks have had a lot of firsts:

First ICU and Psych tests { aced them! }
First time crying at clinical { Tired Tabi + Nervous situation = Bursting into tears for no reason }
First job promotion { I am going to be an LPN on an Alzheimer's unit at the place I currently work at - now to study for that pesky NCLEX-PN }
First time crying, no wait sobbing, in a movie in a very long time { Listen to Your Heart (2010) - watch it! Sooo good! }
First LPN training shift { Success! }
First time getting in a car accident.{ I got rear-ended at a stop light. Not fun. }
First experience in my life where I have to get someone else to legally verify that I love my hunky husband Alex Aggen {why doesn't permanent residency paperwork have a box to check that says "snuggles every night, has got my back no matter what, and is pretty much the most important person in my whole life"? :) }
First time watching 2 sunsets on back-to-back days in a row { I need to do this more often }

Sunday Brunch

After a week of . . .

an eleven hour day on campus

a paper that takes seven hours to complete

the first of many twelve hour ICU clinical shifts

& three LSAT preparation classes a week

Sunday brunch before Church is exactly what we needed.

Kansas Holiday

We spent Christmas break in Kansas, which is where Alex is from. It was so great to be able to read books for fun, sleep in, stuff ourselves with yummy food, play with our nieces and nephews, watch old home movies and pour over photo albums, see the sights of Kansas City, and be with family. Here are pictures from our trip:

1. Decorating and getting into the Christmas spirit

2. Baking sugar cookies  

3. (Silly) glamour make-over with the girls

4. Exploring the Plaza

5. Having fun with the family (game night, eating in Lawrence, playing piano with a niece, chest bumping Uncle Tim...)

6. Christmas afternoon

7. Catching up on some much needed sleep

8. Kansas City BBQ baby!

9. New Years Eve (crepes & playing bananagrams!)

10. Exploring Weston, MO 

11. Liberty Jail and the new Kansas City LDS temple

A Lot Like Christmas

Lights dimmed, Christmas tree lit up, carols playing in the background & contemplating the reason for this season-  the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: 

for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. . . And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." (Luke 2:10-11, 13-14)

 I love this time of year.

t minus 1

1 more week of classes for Alex and then he graduates.

1 more year left for me until I graduate.

eek!
Let the countdown begin.

Pixels

1. Living Room

2. Kitchen and Dining Room

3. Master Bedroom

4. Upstairs Bathroom

5. Downstairs-Laundry Room/Bathroom and Guest Bedroom

6. Enjoying a Utah Fall

7. Wreaths I have Made

8. Being Silly & New Haircut (picture taken in our yellow home office, which was too messy to post a picture of on here...haha)

***

We have been keeping BUSY. With moving into our new place, Alex finishing the last semester of his undergraduate degree, and me spending lots of time at the hospital for clinical, most of our evenings are spent relaxing. Hence the lack of blog posts :)  

We feel so blessed in our life though, and are grateful for all that we have:

A Warm Home

A Functioning Car

Unconditional Love

Each Other

AMAZING Family and Friends

Jobs in a Troubling Economy

Food in Our Refrigerator and Pantry

The Opportunity to Pursue an Education

 Happiness 

Our Religion Which Strengthens Us in Hard Times

A Free Country

And Much, Much More...

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

 

Two

  

1. I love you.

2. I love us.

Happy 2 Year Anniversary Alex.

Duwamps

The Aggen family went a-traveling to Seattle! Here are the Highs and Lows of the trip: 

High: Sitting next to a guy on the plane that was reading a cat detective book. Also, reading over his shoulder when he wasn't aware of it-we wonder what will happen to the two lovable detective cats named KoKo and YumYum...
Low: A wheel breaking on our luggage as we are walking a few blocks to our hotel

High: Buying a CityPass which was cheap and allowed us to get into all the major attractions

Low: Sore feet from walking

High: Pike Place Market where we got yummy fresh blueberries and beautiful flowers

Low: Seeing a completely gutted fish at one of the stands...yick!

High: Sunny 75 degree weather-Perfect!
Low: Cold weather right when we got there, which lead to us thinking that it was going to be that cold the whole time we were there (thank goodness it wasn't!)

High: Cupcake with Maple frosting and Bacon on top
Low: Barely warmed Dim Sum from Chinatown

High: Renting a car our last day in Seattle to explore more of the city
Low: Confusing one-way streets

High: Spending time together enjoying the sights, the sounds, and one another

Low: Having to leave Seattle and finish our vacation

Overall our vacation was perfect and we wouldn't have changed a thing about it. Even the "Lows" of the trip made it enjoyable and will be fond memories as we look back on our vacation in years to come!

And for your viewing pleasure, a conglomeration of photos we took while we were there! 

This picture slideshow personalized with Smilebox