Steven and Destiny

Claire Turns One!!

2011-01-31T21:38:00.016-07:00

Miss Claire Abigail turned one last Friday, the 28th! I can't believe how fast that year went! I swear I put a baby to bed Thursday night and woke up to a little girl on Friday morning.Steven had to work that day, so I got to have her all to myself for most of the day. It was a pretty low key but fun day. We had a yummy breakfast of birthday waffles, then later that day went out to my friend's to make her big cake. That evening we all went to dinner with Grandpa Steve and then Steven and I took Claire swimming at the new Aquatic Center. It was the first time we'd been and we thought it was pretty nice. Overpriced, but still nice and the water was the perfect temperature. Claire wasn't too sure at first, but once she got used to the water she LOVED it! She was kicking her feet and waving her arms, almost like a doggie paddle. It was super cute. The she figured out how to splash and was a splashing maniac! It was a fun way to spend her real birthday with just our little family.
My friends Trish and Paula make these super cute outfits with appliqued onesies, leg warmers, and tutus. Perfect for a birthday girl! Unfortunately you can't see just how cute it is because a certain little girl is too busy to let her mom get a good picture!Best pic of the cute little fishy on the front I could get.

Claire's birthday party was Saturday afternoon. We decided that it would be easier and more convenient for everyone to do it then instead of Friday night. We had decided on a butterfly theme, mostly because I had a small butterfly cake pan :) Creative, I know. Like I said before, my friend Evee helped me make the big cake and I am SO grateful for her help! Without it, Claire would've had a pretty lame cake :) I did figure I could decorate her small cake on my own, but clearly you will see in the pictures that cake decorating is not my calling by any means. I think it turned out decent though. I also made the banner, my attempt at being crafty :)

Everyone arrived around 1:00 for the party and we ate a delicious lunch of pulled pork sandwiches and all the fixings. After lunch, Claire opened her presents. She remembered what to do from Christmas pretty well and it was fun to watch her!

And surprise, surprise....she got spoiled. Then we sang Happy Birthday to her. She wasn't exactly sure how to blow the candle out (even though we had coached her) so Treyson and Kennedy helped her. At first Claire was a little timid about digging into her cake, but once I gave her a little taste she was all over it. And she kept eating, and eating, and eating! I'm pretty sure she ate way more chocolate cake than a one year old probably should! We actually had to take it away from her and that, with the combination of nap time approaching fast, really didn't make her happy at all!

Then it was off to the bath and down for a late nap before going to Dylan's basketball games. After she woke up and everyone was gone, we realized in all the craziness we hadn't gotten a picture of all of us together. Lame. Thank goodness for the self-timer! Ugh.

We had a fun couple of days celebrating Claire's birthday and are grateful for all who came. She is surely a loved little girl! Happy birthday Miss Claire! We love you so much and can't believe you are one year old! You bring so much joy to our lives everyday!

Christmas Eve

2011-01-11T00:14:00.006-07:00

Christmas Eve was pretty relaxed for us this year. It is usually spent at Steven's grandparents with pretty much all of his family; however, this year they were sick and unable to host. Becky hosted instead and it was just Steve, Becky, Dylan, and our little family. It was weird not to have the rest of the family there but it was a good time.
We started out with yummy appetizers and some visiting. That was followed by a couple rounds of White Elephant (aka Yaaankee Swap for my fellow Office watchers). Of course, Claire got to got first and go figure chose the present that was just for her. Her very own cell phone. She loved it, but still prefers my phone unfortunately. After the game we relaxed, played with Claire, and visited some more. Then it was time for the traditional lasagna dinner which was delicious. After dinner we relaxed and watched whatever Christmas movie was on TV and then read the Christmas story from Luke.

She sure loves her Daddy!

And her Uncle Dylan!

This is Claire's favorite place to play at Grandma's. She loves that she can see herself and whoever else is in the room.

Claire showed off her walking skills, with a little help of course.
Christmas Eve Family Photo. Not the greatest, but the best we could get with a wiggly baby!

After the festivities were over at the Hultgren house, we headed over to my parent's house for a little while. My family used to always visit my Hitz grandparents on Christmas Eve, so since they've been gone not much happens at my parent's house. We let Claire get her wiggles out, get a few rounds of patty cake in with Grandpa, and loves from Grandma, Grandpa, and Braden. Then we got her jammies on and headed home so Santa could come. Like I said, a pretty low key Christmas Eve for us this year.

Santa, Gingerbread Train, & The Grinch

2010-12-31T13:00:00.008-07:00

Because we were all sick, we missed our ward party this year. This meant we missed seeing Santa there. Luckily, Santa came back to town and was at one of the stores downtown one Saturday. We took Claire down to see him and weren't quite sure what to expect.

At first she was kind of stoned faced and just stared at him.

Then she kept looking at us, the photographer they had, and just around the store. She did this for about 5 minutes, despite our attempts to get her to smile.

After awhile, something finally made her laugh and she giggled/smiled for a good couple of minutes. She was quite the little ham.

And then she started pointing and talking to Santa. It was like she was explaining to him what she wanted. Cute! These pictures aren't as good as the ones we got from the photographer, but they tell the story better.

A few days later, we did our annual gingerbread night. Steven and I have done a gingerbread house together since we were dating so it's because somewhat of a tradition. Last year we did a mini village that turned out to be not so much fun, so this year we decided on a gingerbread train. It was much better! Claire was zero help, but she was there. I had given her a wooden spoon and pot to play with while I made dinner earlier and she was still pretty entertained by that. She was interested in the candy, go figure, so she got a taste or two. I thought our finished product turned out pretty cute. We were especially proud of our caboose full of "coal" (my idea) and the "smoke" (Steven's idea) coming from the engine. We are excited to continue this tradition again next year and see if Claire will be more into it or not. One evening a couple of days before Christmas, I was busy wrapping caramels and Steven trying to get a few presents wrapped. Claire was busy getting into EVERYTHING and so Steven decided to put on How the Grinch Stole Christmas for her. He put her in her bumbo and gave her a couple crackers. It was so funny to watch her and she was so into it. At first she didn't even notice we were taking her picture. A few nights before this, Steven had built a blanket fort in her room and we all got in it and watched Merry Madagascar together. Isn't he the funnest dad?! Claire loved that too and, of course, I didn't get a picture. That seems to be a theme around here.

I still have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to post and like I said before, I told myself I'd do it before the end of the year. But, Steven came home early today and wants to go on a date tonight, so it probably won't happen :) Eventually it will. Have a safe and happy New Year!!

Decorating the Christmas Tree

2010-12-29T23:16:00.007-07:00

***I have some serious catching up to do here, so please bear with me. I promised myself I'd at least get this month done before the end of the year. Nothing like waiting till the last minute :)

We had planned on getting our Christmas tree up the Monday after Thanksgiving for FHE. We had the tree and all the decorations out and ready; but for some reason or another, it didn't happen that night. So, we planned on the next night. Needless to say, Claire and I were sick the next day. Then Steven got it, then Claire again, and so on. We finally got around to doing it on Sunday, December 5th.

Claire was such a big help getting all the decorations out for us. She even played with and tasted them to make sure they were all ok :)

She actually was really fun. She got to put her very own "Claire's first Christmas" ornament on the tree, but I forgot to get a picture of it. (Don't worry that she got 3 more personalized first Christmas ornaments! I have no idea what I'm going to do with them all, but it just goes to show how she's not spoiled AT ALL.) It was fun helping her put the ornaments on the tree and even more fun trying to keep her from taking them right back off. Eventually she got bored and decided she liked a small snow globe better. At least it kept her busy long enough for us to finish decorating the house. I have to give Steven a shout out on the outside decorations, too. They were great! Sadly, once again, I didn't get a picture. I know, I'm that awesome. All in all, our first Christmas decorating experience with a small child was a success!

Claire's 1st Halloween

2010-11-01T10:51:00.013-06:00

Our Halloween week was a super busy one! We had something almost every night last week and for us, that's very rare. I had CPR recertification on Tuesday night and Steven was on call. Becky and Dylan came over to hang out while I was gone and to watch Claire just in case Steven got called in. Wednesday I spent most of the day in the kitchen making cinnamon rolls for our ward party. Thursday and Friday were filled with chores and laundry and Friday night we had family pictures taken in Lovell. (I can't WAIT to get them!!) On our way back into town we stopped and got Pizza on the Run and then came home to carve our pumpkins. Claire loved watching us and "helping" with her pumpkin. She had to go to bed before they were done so she was excited to see them and play with them the next morning.

Saturday we cleaned up outside in the yard a little and then made sugar cookies to decorate. Too bad we never got around to decorating them. After that we got Claire decked out in her Halloween costume and headed to the Trunk or Treat. This was the first one we have gone to. It was crazy! We got one of the last parking spots left at the very end of the parking lot and we still ran out of candy about 15 minutes into it! It was fun to see kids from our primary classes dressed up. Claire was closely watching all the kids reaching in the bowl for their candy and eventually dived in for her own piece!

After watching the costume parade, we headed to Lovell. Claire got quite the stash of candy for a nine month old who can't even eat it! First stop was Great Grandma and Grandpa Christensen's house. Claire had a great time sitting on Grandpa's lap eating a roll and watching Grandma make her a goodie bag. She gets super excited when she eats and grabbed the roll and took a couple quick big bites before we could get it away from her. We didn't realize she had actually gotten any pieces in her mouth until a few seconds later when she started full out choking. Scary! Luckily we were able to get it out quick. After that we decided we should probably head out :)

Next stop was Uncle Jordan and Aunt Angie's house. (Jordan got married for those who didn't know! Post about that coming soon!) Claire had fun playing with them and once again got a goodie bag. Then we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Hitz's. Claire was excited to see her favorite cousin Ross the vampire and had fun with grandma and grandpa. She had the most fun with grandma's dog Libby. She loves following her around and gets super excited when Libby plays with her. I don't even like dogs, but it's pretty cute!

Claire got spoiled with candy again. By the time we headed back to Powell we were exhausted, but it was a fun night and I think Claire had a good time on her first Halloween! For our actual Halloween night, we spent it over at our friends house for dinner and fun with lots of friends. It was a busy busy week, but lots of fun!

Claire - 6 1/2 Months

2010-08-19T09:41:00.014-06:00

Claire had her 6 month check up today. A little late, but not my fault. There were only 2 doctors taking new patients here and they both happened to be on vacation for the past 2 weeks. Here are her stats from this appt:

Weight - 11 lbs 15 oz (Less than 5th percentile)

Height - 24 in (Less than 5th percentile)

Head - 15 3/4 (Less than 5th)

In other words....She's TINY! We had been noticing over the last month and a half that she was losing her belly and rolls and were slightly concerned about her weight. They weighed her 4 times just to be sure. The Dr. said he's not overly concerned about it since she is eating well and is very active, but he wants to see her for a weight check again in a month. In he meantime, he said to fatten her up with larger amounts of cereal and vegetables. He said "I think she's just a compact little girl". I prefer petite over compact :) She's wearing mostly 3-6M clothes, but some 0-3M still fit her. Anything 6-9M she drowns in, obviously.

Claire actually turned 6 months old on July 28th. We went on a little mini vacation to Denver and for her 6 month birthday took her to her very first Rockies game. She loved it! We sat club level for the first time which was nice. It's a lot cleaner up there! There was a little boy 3 days younger than Claire sitting in the row in front of us and it was his first game, too. Claire was about half his size, but much more vocal! She was loving being outside and talked the whole game. It was a good time even though the Rockies disappointed us and lost. We also went to the afternoon game the next day. It was really hot and during Claire's naptime so she was a little whiney, but overall did well. We had to head back to Powell for Steven to be at work the next morning, so we left the game a little early and listened to the rest on XM while driving. Rockies won! Anyway, it was a quick trip but fun for our first little family vacation. We are looking forward to going to the Oregon coast next summer!

Claire's first tooth broke through the day before her 6 month birthday and her second tooth a few days later. She isn't the most pleasant teether, but who can blame her?! It took her a few days after her teeth popped through to figure them out. Her tongue was constantly hanging halfway out running along those little buggers!

Claire can sit up on her own, but usually doesn't for very long. She much prefers being on her belly. For the past week or so, Claire has been up on her hands and knees rocking back and forth. Yikes. She then moves her legs forward and pulls herself forward with her arms. Once she's figures out how to get those arms going at the same time, she'll be full out crawling. Yikes again! She's pretty much been getting where she wants to go by scooting for a couple months, but now she's so much faster! And can only get faster once she's crawling. I really need to baby-proof this place! I need to get some video of this, too.

As I mentioned before, Claire is a talker! She loves to make high-pitched screechy noises. Right now she says baba, nana, mama(unfortunately I don't think she's referring to me), and gaga. She also does this thing where she lets her tongue hang out while she does a fake belly laugh/cough. It's pretty dang cute :)

We can't believe Claire is almost 7 months old! It has gone by so fast, yet we can't remember her not being part of our family. She has brought so much joy to our lives. We love you, Claire!

5 months

2010-07-08T23:08:00.012-06:00

Claire is now 5 months old. Plus two weeks. She is still as cute as ever, and actually, I'm pretty sure she gets cuter every day :)

Claire is doing all sorts of fun things at 5 months:

Loves to play with her feet. She is constantly checking them out, and more often, sucking on her toes. Super cute. When she's doesn't have them in her mouth, she is kicking her legs nonstop. Again, super cute.

Has become a bit of a Mama's girl. Most of the time I like this, but sometimes Mama could use a break! Other than her dad, she really only lets women (Grandma's really) hold her. She pretty much refuses to let Grandpa Hitz hold her, but will flirt and smile at him from a distance. She does this with her uncles, too. They've learned not to take it personally because usually no matter who has her, it's only a matter of time before she wants Mom again.
Loves to be outside. Whether it's going for a walk, sitting on the swing, or even just helping me water plants, she loves it.

Loves bathtime and could stay in there for hours if we let her.

Pretty much sleeping through the night now. Usually from about 9PM-7AM. If she does wake up, it's just once to eat and then she's right back to sleep. She is also FINALLY in a pretty routine schedule as far as naps go.
Likes to touch your face. She does this a lot while she's eating and when she just wakes up.

Gives lots of smiles and has started belly-laughing. We love seeing what silly things we can do to get those laughs. Too cute! She also has the world's best pouty lip. Once she gives that, you know she's done. Seriously, I have to get a picture of it.
Studies and watches everything we do. She's done this since she was tiny, but now it's like she's really studying and trying to figure out how she can do whatever it is we're doing, too.
Scoots and rolls all over the place! She is definitely keeping me busy lately!

The past five and a half months have gone SO fast! I can't believe she will be six months old soon. We just love her and can't get enough of her!

4 months

2010-06-15T16:35:00.008-06:00

Claire turned 4 months old on May 28th. Yes, that was awhile ago but we've been busy! We were actually in the process of moving out of our apartment in Cheyenne on that day. Anyway, better late than never. Claire had her 4 month checkup a few days before she actually turned 4 months because I wanted to get it done before we moved. At her appointment she weighed 12.5 lbs and was 23.4 inches long. I can't remember the exact percentiles (don't worry, I wrote them in her baby book) but both were around the 25th percentile.

All smiles on her 4 month birthday. Even though Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma were busy packing and cleaning.

So exhausted from all the hard work!

Just playing and entertaining herself, which is basically what she did all day. She even put herself to sleep for naps. She was such a good girl!Last night in Cheyenne. It was a long day for her, too!

At 4 months, Claire is learning and growing more everyday. She started rolling from her belly to her back about 4 days before she turned 3 months old. Soon after that, she was getting really close to rolling from back to belly. Well, the day after her 4 month birthday she did it! It was minutes before we left our apartment. I guess she wanted to reach that milestone before we moved! Now she sometimes rolls around, but mostly once she gets on her belly she scoots forward and in circles. She's getting more and more mobile everyday and it scares me!

She started out under the toy on her back. It only took about 5 minutes for her to scoot to where she's laying in this picture.

Claire has definitely found her voice and talks and sings all the time. She's been laughing more the past few weeks, too. It's been fun for us to see what different things can get her laughing. She's still super slobbery and usually wears a bib all day so her clothes don't get soaked. She puts EVERYTHING in her mouth and usually only wants her pacifier to chew on during the day and only really uses it for soothing at night now. Last week, her gums were quite red and irritated and she was SUCH A BEAR for a few days, so I'm thinking it won't be long until a tooth breaks through. Not sure how I feel about that yet, it seems pretty dang early for teeth.

Her sleeping habits have definitely improved since we've moved. Now that she has her own room and her own crib she's only spent one night in our room with us, and that was when Steven was gone overnight. It was definitely time to get her a crib as she was outgrowing her bassinet. So far I think she likes it. I think she's enjoying actually being able to move around in her bed :) She slept through the night for the first time on June 9th! She went down around 9:30 and didn't get up until 6:30. It was so nice! Sadly, it hasn't happened since :( She is also starting to get on more of a schedule as far as naps go, which is nice for mom.

As far as eating goes, Claire is still exclusively nursing. Her doctor in Cheyenne recommended waiting another month or so to start any cereal since she is still thriving on breastmilk. We are planning on trying cereal after she turns 5 months, which I guess is only a couple weeks away now :)

I could go on and on about all the fun things Claire does everyday but I won't. I just can't believe how big she is getting. We love our baby Claire and are enjoying watching her learn and grow!

Graduation, Mother's Day, Birthday, Moving, etc etc

2010-05-20T18:29:00.009-06:00

This girl needs a crib!

Wow, we have been busy and have lots of blogging to catch up on! Where to start...Steven's graduation I guess. Steven graduated May 8, 2010 with his Doctorate of Pharmacy degree. His graduation was held in the Arena Auditorium with the other Health Science programs and was first thing in the morning at 8:30. We(Us, Steven's parents and Dylan, my parents, and Steven's grandparents) all had to leave Cheyenne by 6:45 AM which was not the most fun part of the day. Anyway, Senator Enzi was the speaker and then luckily the School of Pharmacy was the first. Claire was a trooper and slept from when we left Cheyenne until about 10 minutes before Steven was hooded, and then about 5 minutes after he was done she got hungry. Perfect timing baby! It was exciting to watch Steven achieve a goal he has been striving to reach for so long. All of his hard work, late nights, and super early mornings paid off. We are so proud of you, Steven! It was nice to have family here to support him as well.

blurry, but getting hooded

Yay, no more school!!

The next day was my first Mother's Day! Baby Claire woke up at her usual 7 AM, but Daddy got up with her and let Mommy sleep until 8. It was wonderful! When I got up and came out of the room, Daddy had dressed Claire in a special outfit. It helped that Grandma and Grandpa Hultgren and Dylan were still here, so Daddy was able to make breakfast for everyone. It was yummy and Mommy sure appreciated not having to cook for everyone! After saying goodbye to everyone it was off to church. Claire was a perfect angel at church and didn't fuss at all. If only my primary class had been angels that day, too :) After church, Steven had to get ready to head up north to start his new job the next day. But not before giving me my gift from him and Claire. I got an adorable homemade card, a cute book, and a gift certificate for a necklace from The Vintage Pearl. I picked this one. After Steven left, Claire was such a good girl for the rest of the day and was super cuddly. I am so lucky to be her Mommy! My first Mother's Day was great and definitely one to remember!As I said before, Steven started his job in Powell the Monday after graduation (May 10th). So far, he loves it but we knew he would! His day off the week was Tuesday so he went looking for a place for us to live. He ended up finding us a brand new, never been lived in duplex. We were kindof hoping for a house to rent for awhile before we buy, but this place was too good to pass up! Once we get moved and unpacked, I'll post pictures. Claire and I made the long drive to Lovell on Thursday and I must say she did AWESOME! She slept and played and only fussed a little when she got hungry. It took a little longer than usual because of having to stop to feed her, but she was great. Friday after Steven got off work, the two of us left for Billings for my birthday. We left Claire with Grandma Becky overnight! I was pretty nervous about it, not because I was worried she wouldn't be ok, just because it was the first time. I was proud of myself for not calling every hour! We only called once in the morning to see how her night was. For my birthday, Steven got us a jacuzzi suite for the night and we relaxed all Friday evening. It was nice to be able to get some good sleep! I have been in desperate need for new clothes but wouldn't let myself get any until all the baby weight was off. I still have about 5 lbs to go, but on Saturday morning Steven took me shopping. I got tons of good stuff and even hit some great deals! It was nice to be able to spend some alone time with my husband and I enjoyed it very much! We headed home around 1:30 and were both ready to see our baby girl! Becky and Steve said she was a good girl and they had so much fun. Unfortunately, we have no pictures to document this first in her life. Oops. Sunday was my real birthday and it was also a wonderful day filled with family. My mom made me a delicious dinner and I got some fun gifts. Thanks to everyone for making my 25th a great one!

Claire and I came back to Cheyenne Monday morning so that I could be to work Tuesday. Steven will come home tomorrow night and we'll spend most of the weekend packing up our apartment. He has to go back to Powell for work Mon-Thurs and will fly back here next Friday. My mom is coming Wednesday to help me with the baby and last minute packing/cleaning. We are hoping to get the U-haul packed up Friday night and get on the road Saturday morning. We have really liked living in Cheyenne, but are really excited to be in Powell closer to family and start a new chapter of our lives there. I'm pretty sure I won't get around to posting anything again before we move, but once we get everything set up in Powell I'll get right on it! I'll leave you with a picture of our little cutie in the bath!

Back Blogging - Claire's Blessing

2010-04-19T17:44:00.009-06:00

We blessed baby Claire on Saturday April 3rd in Lovell. We had decided it would be a lot easier for us to go to Lovell than have all our family come to Cheyenne, and honestly we aren't particularly close to anyone in our ward here. We had originally planned on doing it the weekend before that but Steven's rotation schedule didn't really allow it. Since it was Easter weekend, we were able to have an extra day at home so it actually worked out better. However, it was also General Conference weekend so we weren't able to do it during a sacrament meeting. Instead we did the blessing in the Relief Society room before the priesthood session Saturday evening. Steven gave Claire an amazingly beautiful blessing and I'll always remember the things that were said. Of course it made me cry, as well as about every other woman in the room :) Before everyone got there Claire had started to fuss so I took her in the bathroom to change and nurse her but nothing would calm her down. I finally got her settled down a little and she was fine until about 1 minute into the blessing. Then she started screaming! Steven had to stop and find her pacifier but then she fell right asleep. I was so glad she didn't cry through the whole thing. After it was over, of course it was picture time. In the rush of getting her ready, I forgot the camera! Ugh, I was so mad at myself! Luckily, pretty much everyone else had their cameras so there definitely wasn't a lack of pictures. That's partially why it took me so long to blog about this because I was waiting for pictures from family. After way too many pictures, the guys went out into the cultural hall for priesthood meeting and the rest of us were trying to get ready to go. I realized I had left some stuff in the bathroom so I ran to get it. When I came back into the Relief Society room, Steven's mom was holding Claire's dress up. Apparently while I was gone, she had a major blowout! The worst one up to that point. I guess that's why she was so upset! Luckily Becky was able to save her dress, but her onesie and tights were pretty much covered in poo. We had to completely undress her and it took all the wipes I had to clean her up. I had to wrap her up real good in a blanket to get her back home, it was awesome :) Definitely memorable! Anyway, it was a great evening and we were so blessed to be able to have so much family there to support us.

Nobody got pictures of just Claire in her dress and I was going to do it after we got home from the church. But then the whole blowout happened, and I had to try to take some when we got back to Cheyenne. Every time I tried, she was NOT interested! These are the best I could get!

She's thinking....Seriously Mom?

With Grandma Becky right before the accident!

Claire and Grandma Hitz

Claire's other grandma (my second mom) Kathy

I'm hoping my mom has a better picture of the three of us, cuz this one isn't that great.

My sister got her this pacifier just for her blessing. It says "Heaven Sent". I thought it was adorable.

2 Months

2010-03-28T18:36:00.005-06:00

Claire is 2 months old today! I can't believe that 2 months ago, my baby looked like this:

and today she looks like this:

She is growing more and more everyday. She doesn't have her 2 month check-up until next week, but according to Wii Fit Plus Claire weighs about 10.5 lbs! Pretty much all of her newborn clothes are too small now. She has been a lot better during the day and isn't as fussy, which has been nice for me. She is really a good and happy baby as long as she has a full belly and clean diaper. Go figure. Claire still sleeps well during the night, usually only getting up twice to nurse. She doesn't love her bassinet so she sometimes sleeps with Mommy and Daddy. We're working on trying to get her to sleep in her own bed all night. I went back to work on the 9th so Claire has been going to daycare on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I was super nervous about this but luckily we found a great daycare with wonderful workers. Claire has been smiling and giggling a lot lately. She is super slobbery and likes to blow bubbles. She still likes being on her tummy and loves to play with Dad when he gets home. She is excited to take her first trip to Lovell this weekend (wish us luck!) and can't wait to see her grandparents and FINALLY meet her Aunt Kyle, Uncles Jordan and Lynn, and her cousins. Here's some pictures of our little cutie from the past month, enjoy!

One Month!

2010-03-04T16:27:00.010-07:00

**Warning - this post has tons of pictures! I can't choose just a few, she is too dang cute!**

Claire was one month old last Sunday, the 28th! I can't believe how fast that month went and how much she's grown. She had her 1 month appt on Monday and weighed in at 8 lbs 14 oz (23rd percentile) and was 21.5 inches (65th percentile). I was surprised at her weight, she gained over a pound in 2 weeks! I shouldn't have been so surprised because this girl loves to eat! Luckily, she only wants to eat every 4-5 hours at night. Too bad it's not that way during the day. For some reason for the past couple weeks she hates the daytime. She is fussy, likes to be held most of the time, and eats every 2-3 hours during the day. Granted, she was a little congested for about a week so I'm hoping she'll be happier now that she's feeling better. I have to give a shoutout to Kristin for lending me her Sleepy Wrap. Thank You! I am finally able to get things done around the house during the day! At one month old, Claire has stared to smile (haven't caught this on camera yet), is overall pretty strong and can hold her head up really well for her age, and likes to be on her tummy. She has her dad wrapped around her little finger. And maybe her mom, too :) She is so much fun and we can't get enough of her!

Sleeping in with Daddy

Ready to go to church for the 1st time

Better Late Than Never

2010-02-16T16:36:00.008-07:00

On Thursday, January 28th, at 1:40 PM our lives changed forever! Now that my computer is functioning properly I can finally post all about it so here goes! Be prepared this will probably be long, my labor was NOT a short process! I don't expect everyone to read it all, but I want to get it all down.

For about a week before she was born I had been feeling a lot of pressure and having random contractions, but nothing very strong or regular. Needless to say I was pretty uncomfortable, not getting much sleep, and was pretty much over being pregnant :) Steven was also getting impatient and wanting our little girl to come! So when I finally started having regular contractions early in the morning on Wednesday the 27th (exactly 39 wks along), I was pretty sure this was it. I didn't want to jump the gun and go to the hospital too soon so I got up and got some last minute cleaning done around the house while I timed contractions and before I woke Steven up. Around 8 AM they had been every 3-4 min for about 2 hours so I woke him up and told him we should probably get ready. By this time, I was excited but SUPER nervous and anxious at the same time. We got things ready to go, Steven gave me a blessing to calm me down a bit, and by 10:30 we were at the hospital. They hooked me up to the monitors and checked me. 3cm and 80%, same as I had been for 2 weeks. Since my contractions were still coming regularly, they wanted us to stay for awhile and see if anything would happen. By 1:30, not much had changed and they were talking about sending us home. Yeah, pretty sure they forgot about us a few times and we didn't actually get discharged until about 5:30 PM. Annoying. But it turns out it was a good thing, because we both hadn't eaten since that morning and were starving. We stopped at Taco Bell on the way home and by then my contractions were getting stronger but were still about 3-4 min apart. We came home, I took a shower and tried to sleep for awhile.

Around 8:30 PM my contractions were quite a bit stronger and I was definitely in pain! I toughed it out until about 9:30 and finally called the on-call Dr. She said she thought we'd be back and to come on in. By that time I was trying not to cry and contractions were coming every 2 minutes and lasting about 1 min long. We headed back to the hospital and by 10:30 PM, I was admitted and was for sure not going home without a baby! Since I tested positive for Group B Strep, I had to have antibiotics while in labor so they hooked me up to the IV. The contractions were coming faster and stronger still, but I wanted to see how long I could go without the epidural. Around midnight I was DONE and they called for the anesthesiologist. Half an hour, a little prick, and what felt like an electric shock later, I was in epidural heaven! We were too wired to sleep for a few hours, but eventually we both dozed off for a couple hours. Around 6 AM, I started noticing my left side was completely dead but I was starting to feel things on my right side. About this same time, the nurse checked me and I was still about an 8. She commented that if my water broke, things would probably move right along. The Dr. came in about at about 7 and checked me but didn't want to break my water, she wanted things to happen naturally. Yeah, I was annoyed about that. By this time I was feeling EVERYTHING on my right side and luckily when the shift change came, the new nurse upped my epidural dose. About 9 AM, the midwife on call came in and checked me and said "Let's break that bag of water and I bet things will start happening". She did, but things didn't happen as fast as I would have liked them to :)

Trying to stay positive, this was about 12 hours into it

By 11, I was getting super frustrated and just praying for someone to come check me. Shortly after, the midwife did just that and said the magic words: "Let's get ready to start pushing!" As freaked out as I had been making myself about this part, I was SO ready by this point. I started pushing right at noon, and pushed for almost 2 hours. Claire Abigail Hultgren finally arrived at 1:40 PM exactly! She weighed 7lb 3.9oz (not sure why it wasn't rounded up to 4?) and was 20 inches long. She was absolutely beautiful and surprised me with a full head of thick, dark hair. (I was sure she wouldn't have much hair at all, but Steven said all along that she would have lots of dark hair. He always has to be right!) Mommy and baby girl. If I look dead tired, it"s cause I was!!

After they cleaned her up and we had a few min with our beautiful little girl, one of the residents that helped with the delivery came in and told us they wanted to put Claire on IV antibiotics for 48 hours. This was because I got a slight fever while pushing(umm, who wouldn't?!) and she had a little fever when she first was born. Since I was GBS positive and even though I had gotten 4 doses of ampicillin, they just wanted to be safe. Poor baby, but whatever was best for her. Steven went with the nurses to give her a bath and get her hooked up to her IV. He helped with the bath and tried to stay for the IV, but after they poked her a few times to find a vein, he said he couldn't watch anymore.

Not enjoying her first bath. She still hates them!

Before getting her IV

After the IV

Look how huge that thing is! :(

So, there you have it. Two long days/nights and at least 18 hours of labor. Yikes! It was totally worth it! We think Claire is beautiful and we fell in love with her the second we saw her. The whole process was surreal. It's amazing how life can change in a matter of a few seconds and how someone so small and precious can bring so much joy!

Our first family picture!

**More about her first few weeks to come!**

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T15:32:00.002-07:00

From the cutest little Valentine ever!

P.S. My computer crashed right after she was born, but is FINALLY fixed! A post and tons of pictures of this little cutie coming soon!

Suggestions, please!

2010-01-06T18:37:00.002-07:00

Ok, so I'm 36 weeks prego today (AAAHHH!) and decided it's time to pack my hospital bag. Problem is.... I'm not sure what to pack! I've looked at about a billion lists, but they only add to my confusion. Some have tons of stuff, most of which seems ridiculous (but what do I know?) and some have hardly anything. So, all you moms out there, what are your recommendations? What is necessary, and what is nice to have? Thanks in advance!

A Much Needed Update!

2009-12-19T13:42:00.010-07:00

It's been awhile since our last post(obviously) so I thought I'd update everyone on what's been going on with us lately. And I'm waiting for my Christmas candies to cool so I can eat them...I mean put them together for my Primary kids....yeah...

We've been busy living life as usual the past couple of months. Steven finished his rotation in Powell and was back just in time for Halloween. His dad sent him back with a couple pumpkins for us to carve, but we only managed to use one of them. Also a few days before Halloween, we took Steven's sister Tiffany to Fort Collins to the haunted corn maze for her birthday. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures but had to mention how much fun it was. (Even though we stood in line for 2 hours surrounded by annoying little girls. These same teenage girls got scared once inside the corn maze and followed us for awhile before we could lose them. I hope I was not this annoying as a teenager, but something tells me I probably was.) Halloween night we were pretty lazy and watched a couple scary movies and waited for trick-or-treaters. Don't worry, we got one. The fact that tradition kept up this year and southern Wyoming got completely dumped on with snow that week probably had something to do with that. Cheyenne got what we usually get all winter in 4 days. And Steven and I both got snow days from work/rotations. Can't complain about that! I wish I would have taken pictures of all the snow, it was crazy.

Here's our October pictures:

Steven and his usual silly picture face My favorite part, cleaning out the gunk.

Steven wanted to get a side picture so everyone could see my belly.

This is me at 26 weeks.

I'm not sure how I caught this picture, but is it not hilarious! And maybe a little creepy :)

Our finished product. As you can see, we don't get overly creative with the Jack-o-lanterns.

November seemed to be super busy for us, although looking back I'm not sure why. Steven had one of his toughest rotations, ambulatory care, at the UW Family Practice clinic here in town. His evenings were full of projects and presentations. Mine were filled with feeding and cleaning up after him :) JK. He finished his rotation the week before Thanksgiving, and now has a break until March! We traveled up north to Lovell for Thanksgiving again and it was great to be home for a few days. We ate dinner with both my family and his, and let me just say this year went a lot better than last! I think we both realized last year that there was no reason to stress about being on time to one house or the other and we there was no need to rush around. I think we also realized that we didn't have to eat EVERYTHING at both houses. We were a lot less full this year, and the food was still just as delicious the next day! Thanksgiving night we went to A Christmas Carol movie with Steven's family at the Hyart. Not my favorite, but it was ok. The rest of the weekend was spent playing with kids, shopping in Billings, playing cards, and taking my nephew, Ross, to Powell to the movie Old Dogs. Once again, not my favorite but it was decent.

November pictures:

Treyson and Kennedy love Uncle Steven! They wanted him to be their horsey and they rode around like this for about 20 minutes. I'm thinking Steven will be a fun and PATIENT daddy! Steven taught Kennedy how to box, too cute!

This is me at 30 weeks. I think I look a lot bigger in the picture than I actually was, but maybe not. It could have been all that Thanksgiving food :)

December has been flying by! The first weekend of the month we made an overnight trip to Denver for some Christmas shopping. Steven surprised me that Friday night with tickets to the Colorado Ballet's preformance of The Nutcracker at the Denver Performing Arts center. He knew that I was wanting to go the past couple years, and even though he wasn't overly thrilled about going to the ballet, he wanted to take me. It was SO good! The dancers were amazing, the staging, backdrops, and costumes were awesome, and the orchestra was great! Steven admitted that he enjoyed it a lot more than he thought he would. Our favorite parts were the Land of the Snow, the Russian dancers, the Sugar Plum Fairy, and Mother Ginger(HAHAHA). It was a great surprise and a fun way to start off the Christmas season. Thanks babe!

Before going to The Nutcracker, me at 31 weeks.

We had big plans to get ALL of our shopping done the next day, but we weren't as successful as we hoped we'd be. Luckily, I finished the last of it yesterday and we are DONE! The other night we made our annual gingerbread house. We decided to go with a mini village instead of one big house this time. It turned out to be a lot harder! Everything was so small, and for some reason neither one of us was feeling overly creative this year. But, we had fun and it turned out alright.

Like I mentioned before, Steven has had a break from rotations for a few weeks. He's been keeping himself busy by playing Xbox and sleeping in, and actually has been keeping up on the housework and laundry while I'm at work. It's been great! He has also been going over to Laramie to work at the Walmart pharmacy a few days a week, also. Everyone in his class gets two months worth of "off months" and his happened to fall back to back in January and February. When we first found this out he was kindof bummed, but now we look at it as a blessing since that's when baby will be making her appearance! Right now he's in Powell getting a few days working there. He'll be back tomorrow and we'll leave for Lovell Tuesday evening after I get off work to stay for Christmas. We are looking forward to being with family and having a break for a few days.

As for a pregnancy update, things are going great! I'm 33 weeks along now and feeling pretty good. Other than the regular feet hurting and back pain, I've been fine. Starting to get a little uncomfortable, but my pregnancy has been pretty dang easy so I can't complain too much. Funny story- Thursday at work I had a patient that his wife is pregant and due in June. He asked when I was due and I told him Feb 3rd. He said "Oh so about 6 weeks left" and I said "No, I was 33 weeks yesterday so I have 9 weeks left". And he was like "Huh? How?". For some reason in my head, I was thinking I had 9 weeks left to get ready, but really it's only a little over 6! Not only did I feel like an idiot, in my mind I lost 2 1/2 weeks! AAAHHH! There is still so much to do and after Christmas time is going to FLY! But we are getting so excited and anxious to meet our little girl. We still haven't 100% decided on a name, but have one we really like and have liked since we found out we were expecting. We shall see if it fits, if not we have a couple others that we like too.

33 weeks

Well, that's what has been happening with us! We hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Baby Hultgren is A .......

2009-10-03T10:26:00.002-06:00

GIRL!!!

We had our ultrasound yesterday afternoon and everything went great! We were so excited to see our little one. Before we went in, Steven asked what my final thought was. I was definitely feeling that it was a boy, he was pretty sure it was a girl. I was so surprised when she said "This is a little baby girl" and showed us that it definitely is! The ultrasound tech was very thorough and explained everything in detail to us. Everything looked wonderful and baby girl is measuring right on. She took tons of pictures and I can't believe how many she gave us. Hopefully I'll get a couple uploaded on here soon. We feel very blessed that things have gone so well and continue to look good. We have talked about a few names(really only agreed on about two!), but we want to wait until we see her to decide what fits best. We haven't bought hardly anything yet, but I told Steven we have to go buy a cute girly outfit today! He is so dang cute about it already, and I know he will be a sucker for his daughter! We are so excited and can't wait to meet our little girl!

Just in case you were wondering....

2009-09-21T19:40:00.005-06:00

We are still alive!! It doesn't seem like we've been up to much, but of course we've been busy as always. Steven finished his rotation in Scottsbluff and has been here in Cheyenne for the last 4 weeks at the Air Force base. It was so nice to have him home every night! Even though he was busy with rotation projects and working on a big presentation, just having him here was wonderful. The big presentation he was working on is for reflective week which started today in Laramie. All the students are given an assigned topic and have to do a 45 minute presentation on it for their whole class and professors. Steven is lucky, or unlucky (depends on how you look at it), and gets to give his during the first of the three reflective weeks and does it on Wednesday. I think he's glad that he'll have it out of the way. He'll be in Laramie for the rest of the week and then starts his next rotation in Powell next Monday. It's crazy that he's already done with half of his rotations. YAY! As for me, I've been staying busy with work and....that's about it :)

And now for a baby update...I'm officially halfway through my pregnancy! I was 20 weeks on Wednesday. To me, it seems to have flown by and I've been lucky that it's been pretty easy so far. (Something tells me that will change :) ) We had our 20 week appt on Friday and things are looking great! Steven was able to come with me for the first time since our very first appointment. He was excited to hear the baby's heartbeat, even though it kept kicking where the doppler was. Our baby already has an attitude, oh great! I just started feeling the baby move about a week and a half ago. It definitely makes it seem more real and it's amazing to feel that there really is a baby in there! I also, all of the sudden, have an obvious baby bump! It just showed up one day and I can't believe how much it's grown just in the few weeks. My loving hubby loves to remind me how much I'm growing. Thanks babe, I didn't notice! Here's proof:

Next time I'll stand up straight :)

Everyone keeps asking if and when we'll find out the gender. They do things kind of wierd here and don't do the ultrasounds until the 22nd week. Kind of a bummer, but what's a couple more weeks I guess? We are scheduled for the ultrasound on October 2nd, and YES we are finding out! I need to plan! As of right now, I think it's a boy and Steven thinks it's a girl. I guess we'll see! Well, that's what we've been up to. I'm actually looking forward to Steven's rotation in Powell. Mostly because I'm excited to go visit him up north and see family that I've been missing a lot lately! And just in case you forgot what Steven looks like here's us at a baseball game on his birthday in June. Right behind home plate, Go Rox!

Update on Us

2009-07-19T17:13:00.004-06:00

First of all, thanks to everyone for the well wishes and congratulations on our last post! We are very excited, even if it was a total surprise! :) We had planned on waiting until Steven graduated to start a family, but obviously the Lord had something different planned! Funny story-we hadn't really talked about it too much, but right after we moved to Cheyenne in May we starting talking about how this time next year we'd like to be getting ready to start a family. Turns out I was already pregnant :) Anyway, for those people who have asked, I'm just about 12 weeks along. I've only had a few days that I've been a little sick, but nothing like what I've heard from what others have experienced during the first trimester. I've had more headaches than anything and have been super tired. Works seems to be kicking my butt lately, but I love my coworkers for their willingness to help me out when they can. I got to hear baby's heartbeat on Friday, which was amazing and made it seem more real to me! Steven was bummed he wasn't able to be there because he's in Basin on rotation right now. (FYI, I'm OVER rotations.) We finally told our families our news on the 4th. It was super hard to keep it from them for that long, but it was worth it to get to tell them all in person. Steven's parents are super excited as it is there first grandchild, and mine are equally excited for a new grandchild! Needless to say, I'm pretty sure our child won't be missing out on any spoiling by any means.

Nothing else overly exciting is going on with us right now. Like I said, Steven has been up north all month and will be in Scottsbluff, NE next month. We enjoy our weekends together and can't wait until he's in Cheyenne for a few consecutive months. This week is Frontier Days here in town. I'd love to say we're all over it and going to the concerts and rodeo, but with Steven being gone all week the last thing we want to do on the weekends is be around thousands of other people! Yesterday we went to Laramie to see my brother Jordan who was there coaching Legion baseball. We live about 5 minutes from I-25, but it took us a good 20 to get on it. It usually takes me 3 minutes to get to work, but Friday it took a good 10. I'm not one for big crowds and traffic and was rather annoyed about it. I think I'll ride my bike tomorrow. Last night when we got back we had a picnic at the park (one FAR away from Frontier Park) and then went to the batting cages. It was a lot of fun and we got some good pictures with the beautiful sunset that we had here last night. When we got back to our apartment, we could hear the King of Country George Strait himself singing away up at the Park. And we didn't even have to pay for tickets :)

So that's what we've been up to. I only have 2 days of work this week because of all the Frontier Days mayhem, so I'm heading to Lovell on Wednesday for a few extra days with the Hubs. Have a wonderful week!

Coming Soon

2009-07-06T11:29:00.004-06:00

Baby Hultgren

Due to Arrive

February 3, 2010

And So It Begins...

2009-05-31T16:18:00.006-06:00

Steven left for his first rotation today. And guess what? I already hate it. I've pretty much been dreading this day since before we got married. He'll basically be gone all summer, so for me today is just the start of a horribly long summer. Although I'm sad and hate not having him here, I am excited and proud of him for working so hard to get to this point. I've made a goal to stay positive and am trying to remember we're on the downward slope now. I have a list of things to get done and keep me busy while he's gone, so wish me luck! This month he's doing a rotation with the Wyoming Pharmacy Association. He'll be helping get ready for the Pharmacy Convention 2-3 days a week, and working in Powell at the hospital also. The office is based out of Byron, so he'll be in Lovell staying with his parents, getting Mom-cooked meals and laundry service, golfing and playing baseball; and getting to play with the niece and nephews. It's also a good excuse for me to be home almost every weekend :)

We also celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary yesterday! I can't believe how fast time flies! We had a very relaxing and enjoyable day together. We headed down to Fort Collins yesterday morning and went shopping for some new coffee and end tables. (Thanks for the birthday money, Mom & Dad!) We found some we liked and were able to get a great deal on them. We then went and had an hour long couple's massage at a day spa. It was WONDERFUL! Definitely something we both needed and enjoyed. After eating and shopping around a bit, we headed home. There was some assembly required on our new furniture but luckily it was minimal and very simple, so we were able to do it without any frustration or arguing :) To end the evening, we ate the top of our wedding cake and watched our wedding video. Without getting too mushy, I just have to say how lucky I am to have such a wonderful husband. The past year has been amazing and more than I could have ever imagined. Steven, thank you for being the man that you are and making me feel like a princess. I love that we can talk for hours, laugh together, cry together, and get through anything together. I look forward to the rest of eternity with you! I Love You!

I also realize I haven't posted anything since February. We aren't that exciting, but believe it or not a few things have happened since then. I've started a post about it all, but have yet to finish it. It's one of the things on my list to get done, so hopefully soon!

Valentine's Day 2009

2009-02-17T19:45:00.004-07:00

Our Valentine's Day was great this year! We chose to stay at home rather go out and have to deal with the craziness. This summer we went to The Melting Pot for dinner one night and loved it. My brother and sister-in-law gave us a nice fondue set for Christmas, so we decided to have our own little Melting Pot here at home. We bought different kinds of meats and vegetables to cook and found a great broth recipe online to cook them in. We also found some recipes for different dipping sauces like a chipotle mango sauce and a spicy curry sauce. If anybody wants them, let me know and I'll post them, they were yummy. We moved the table into the living room and had a little candle lit dinner while we watched Phantom of the Opera. It's in Denver right now and I really wanted to get tickets, but they were a little too expensive for us right now. So Steven bought me the movie for V-Day instead. He also got me Crash, which is one of my favorite movies, and a big ol bag of candies from the candy store in the mall. He sure knows the way to my heart :) I got him a blue ray, a new Swiss Army water bottle for school, and some treats. It's a good thing we watch a lot of movies, since we both got them for each other! We took pictures, but I'm too lazy to upload them right now. Maybe another day :) We had a great first Valentine's Day as a married couple! It was a great way to celebrate our happiness and love for each other.

Tag

2009-02-15T16:16:00.009-07:00

I was tagged awhile ago by Andrea and Lindi, so here ya go!

25 Random Things About Me (Only if I can think of that many)
Rules:
Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 5 people to be tagged.

1. When I was 2 years old, my parents were putting an addition onto our house and I fell off a saw horse and cracked my head open.(If you're wondering why my parents let me play on a saw horse, your guess is as good as mine.) Instead of stitches/staples, the Dr. simply tied a bunch of knots in my hair to keep to wound closed. I have a nice little scar right where I part my hair. During that same addition, my older brother Jordan got ran over, so I think I got the better end of the deal on that one :)
2. When I hang my clothes up, they have to be on hangers that are either the same color as the clothes or a color that coordinates. For example, a white shirt goes on a white hanger, black on black, a pink shirt goes on a white hanger, etc. I've learned to only buy white or black hangers.
3. I hate lunchmeat. Something about it absolutely disgusts me. My sandwiches consist of bread, mayo, and cheese. No meat. Weird, I know.
4. I have to wash the forks about 3 times each when I wash dishes. I have a phobia of food being left in between the prongs. OCD...I have it.
5. I would sleep in until noon everyday if I could.
6. The only semester of college that I got a 4.0 was my 1st semester of Dental Hygiene school. After that, I realized that DDS's only care if I passed Boards and had my license, not if I got an A in Clinical Seminar II :)
7. My favorite household chore is laundry. I love folding warm clothes right out of the dryer. And they always smell so good.
8. I eat more candy than any dental hygienist should! Steven has found many a candy stash around the apartment. He thinks I hide it from him, but really I hide it so I'll forget about it and then be excited when I find it! I know, I'm lame.
9. I love Neil Diamond. Steven bought me a 2 Disc set for Valentine's last year, it was awesome.
10. My very best friends in the world(other than Steven)are my brothers and sister. My parents are a very close second.
11. I have never ridden a horse. I'd love to say I want to but....
12. I REALLY dislike animals. I think I got this from my dad. They just gross me out and really, they intimidate me.
13. My plan if I didn't get into Dental Hygiene school was to move to Utah with my friend Ashlie and get my teaching degree. I think I would have hated it.
14. It is impossible for me to take a shower any shorter than 15 min. I usually average 20-30 min.
15. I hate socks.
16. I hated the color pink and refused to wear it until I got a pink outfit for my HS graduation. Now, it's one of my favorite colors and I wear lots of it!
17. After I broke up with my last boyfriend who I dated for 2 1/2 years, I promised myself I wouldn't date for at least a few months. Two weeks later, Steven and I were dating.
18. I'm a total Daddy's Girl and I always will be! My dad is my hero, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
19. I always turn the faucet on when I use the bathroom. I hate the thought of anyone hearing me, because I HATE hearing anyone else.
20. I really want to try a new hairstyle, something totally different, but we all know I'm a wuss and won't do it.
21. I watch way too much TV. I don't think I could function without it, which is really sad.
22. I love my alone time. Give me a half hour to myself, and I'm a happy girl.
23. I am currently calling-less at church. We were released from nursery a month ago and Steven got a calling the same day. I'm really enjoying Relief Society, and hoping I can fly under the radar for a bit longer :)
24. My dream vacation would be a trip to Italy and Greece. I'd love to go to Switzerland, too. Steven and I plan to do this someday.
25. I'm taking the last of my classes for my Bachelor's degree this semester online. To be perfectly honest, it's one of the last things on my mind and I lost all ambition before I even started the classes.

Whew! That was hard! I tag anyone who has enough time to do this, it took me 3 days!!

World's Worst Blogger?

2009-02-11T20:49:00.014-07:00

Ok....I'm a horrible blogger. I've had good intentions of getting caught up for the past few weeks, but by the time I'm home from work, I lose the motivation. And I hate to break it to everyone, but I'd rather spend my evenings hanging out with the Hub than blogging :) I know I said I'd post about Christmas, but it's beyond late so I won't bore everyone with details. I'll just say we had a great time being home for over 2 weeks. We got to spend lots of time with family and catch up with old friends(thanks Dani & Lindi!). We got some great gifts and appreciate all that our families did for us during the Holidays.

Things have been beyond crazy here since we got back. I started my new job Jan 5th and LOVE LOVE LOVE it! The other ladies I work with are great and Dr. Lambert is one of the nicest people I've met. Everyone was very helpful and patient with me while I was still learning everything in the office. I think I've picked up on everything really quickly and don't want to toot my own horn (ok, maybe I do a little :)) but I produced over $1500 more in January than the last hygienist ever had. The drive to Cheyenne everyday hasn't been too bad. I missed one day due to closed roads, but was able to make it up on a Friday since my usual schedule is Mon-Thurs.

Steven is back in the swing of things at school. He's in his last semester of actual classes and is ready to be DONE! We will put in his preferences for rotations on Friday, so here in a few weeks we should know what his schedule will be next year. We're excited, but not looking forward to having to spend time apart. Steven is still working part-time at the pharmacy in Walmart, also. We are super busy and have definitely learned to enjoy the evenings and weekends when we get to relax together. Well, that's what we've been up to! I'll try to be better about blogging, but really, we're not that exciting :) Click here to see our pictures from Christmas, enjoy!

One Year Ago Today...

2009-01-19T18:23:00.003-07:00

We got engaged! I can't believe that was a whole year ago, but time flies when you're in LOVE! :)

Stay tuned for a nice long post about Christmas and such. (Yes, I realize that was almost a month ago, but I've been one busy girl!)

So...

2008-12-09T12:09:00.004-07:00

Guess who FINALLY got a job?! And not just any job, the perfect job! I interviewed with a DDS last week, and the whole interview I knew he would be great to work for. He's an LDS dentist (not that I wouldn't be happy working for a non-LDS dentist) and during the interview he actually told me about Elder Worthlin passing away! He saw on my resume that I had received my YW Recognition award (thanks to another girl who encouraged me to put that on it!). Anyway, he called yesterday with the news, and I've been super excited ever since! I will be working for Dr. Kyle Lambert in Cheyenne. Driving back and forth to Cheyenne will be interesting, but with nobody hiring in Laramie it's totally worth it to me. Dr. Lambert is a newer dentist and just bought out an older practice. He updated the whole office with new operatories and digital everything, so that will be nice. I'll be working 2-4 days a week, but it's not for sure when I'll be starting yet. Most likely after the new year. Steven and I are really excited and feel like this is an answer to our prayers. I definitely think I needed to be humbed and remember that Heavenly Father has his own time table, which doesn't always match up with what we think is best for ourselves! If you want to know more about Dr. Lambert and his practice click here.

Our First Christmas Tree

2008-12-07T21:07:00.012-07:00

We finally put up our Christmas tree and decorations on Wednesday night! Steven has been (and still is) super busy with finals being this week, so we had to squeeze it into his schedule. We've been looking forward to doing this since before Thanksgiving and probably would have done it as soon as we got home from Lovell if he hadn't been so busy. We both wanted a real tree, but figured since we'll be gone for over 2 weeks we didn't really want to come home from break to a floor full of pine needles so artificial it was. Steven has always had a "fun tree" with lots of ornaments, while I prefer a "pretty tree". He likes colored lights, I like white. Marriage is about compromise, right? I think I got my way more than he did :) Needless to say, we have a "pretty, fun tree" and we both love it!

Trying to get the branches PERFECT!

Yeah, we ran out of ribbon...Don't worry, I got more

I'm a little OCD when it comes to things like this :)

Steven got to put the star on

The finished product. Fun, yet pretty!

Our Pharmacy and Dental Hygiene ornaments :)

Horrible picture, but our cute stockings. Obviously we had nowhere to hang them, so we got a little creative!

The Filipino nativity my Mom gave us. Our first one! They are made out of cement, and Steven said that's how a lot of them are really done in the Philippines. He brought his mom home one that is bamboo.

Steven has 3 finals this week and will be completely finished on Wednesday. We haven't finished our Christmas shopping yet, so we're heading to Denver for a few days on Thursday. I'm excited to get our shopping done, and get to spend time with my husband who I haven't seen much lately! Anyway, we had so much fun shopping for a tree and decorating and now it finally feels like Christmas in our little apartment! Happy Holidays!

Weekend Fun

2008-11-24T22:33:00.003-07:00

We had a great weekend. My little brother, Braden, came to town on Friday night. He got here around 9:30 PM and by 9:45, he was already out with his friends. I guess he wasn't too excited to hang out with an old married couple. The only time we actually saw him was Saturday evening when he took us out to dinner. We all went to the last Cowboys football game of the season, but he sat with his friends down in the student section with all the "crazies", so we opted not to sit by him. The weather was amazing on Saturday for the game, and although the Cowboys lost the ol Bronze Boot (I think that's right?) to CSU it was still fun.

I convinced Steven to go to Twilight with me so we had planned to go Saturday night, but we both ended up not feeling well or like going by the time it rolled around. So instead, I watched a whole lot of HGTV and Food Network while Steven studied for his exam today. I was lucky enough to get a show of Steven's version of Michael Jackson's Thiller dance. Probably the funniest thing I've ever seen! I wish I would have got it on video...maybe I'll convince him to show me again.
I ended up not feeling well most of Sunday, so I missed out on church. Steven was pumped to go to nursery without me :)

Speaking of Twilight, we just got back from the movie. I'm glad I was able to get all of your reviews of the movie before seeing it so I knew what to expect. I think I'm in agreement with the majority of people who thought it was good, but not great. I jumped on the whole Twilight bandwagon a little late. I'm not as "die hard fan" as a lot of people, in fact it took me a long time to get through the first two books, but I was determined to finish them all before I saw the movie. I actually just finished Breaking Dawn this morning and have two things to say about it:
1) Renesmee? What an awful name. It drove me nuts throughout the entire book. I see how it makes sense, but I officially hate this name.
2) I thought it was a little on the racy side. I'm glad I don't have a pre-teen daughter, because I would never let her read it at that age.
But other than those two things, it was a good ending to the series. I'm glad I finally read them, even if I was a little late. I'm such a follower!

Steven had a huge exam today (as in 50% of his grade) and I am happy to say he passed with flying colors! He is dreading finals week, as am I :) We are so excited and ready to go home tomorrow for Thanksgiving break. Which reminds me, I have lots of packing to do! I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Nothing Too Exciting

2008-11-13T14:34:00.007-07:00

I haven't posted for awhile, but honestly there hasn't been much to post about lately. We lead a pretty unexciting life around here. Steven has been super busy with school for the past few weeks, and I'm sure it will only get worse as it gets closer to the end of the semester. He's been really diligent about studying and his hard work has paid off with his exams. I'm proud of you, babe!

We went to the Denver temple last Friday. It was a great way to spend the afternoon and was definitely something we needed. I love being able to leave all my stress and worries at the door and feel the spirit and peace within the temple. This was only the second time I've been to this temple, and although I have a hard time considering it "my temple", it's really beautiful. After our session, we stopped at the Deseret Bookstore, and then ate at TGI Friday's. On our way home we stopped in Loveland at the outdoor mall. We got some great ideas for Christmas (which I'm getting SO excited for!).

Last night we went to a comedy show on campus with a couple of Steven's pharmacy friends. There were a few comics, but the headliner was Christian Finnegan. If you've ever watched Best Week Ever on VH1, you'd know who he is. The whole show was funny, but Christian was definitely the best of them all. It was fun to get out and do something during the week!

Between job hunting, housework, and my one online class I've actually been pretty busy myself the last couple weeks. I've found a new love of cooking and trying new recipes. For those of you who know me well, this might surprise you. Trust me, nobody was more surprised than me, with the exception of my mom. :) As much as she tried to teach me, I really had no desire to be in the kitchen as a teenager and even when I went to college. I guess when you have somebody to cook for and your own kitchen, things change. A few weeks ago when I was home I went to Relief Society in my parents' ward. They had just had Super Saturday and had recipes from the soup luncheon they had. I grabbed this one from my mom's neighbor, Sister Baird, and tried it the other day.

Tortilla Soup

-Cut 8 corn tortillas into narrow strips and fry in oil until crisp. Drain well on paper towel.

-Head 2-3 TBSP vegetable oil in saucepan and add one small onion (I used half an onion and it was plenty for me) and a little dry garlic. Gently fry for 2-3 minutes until soft. Do not brown.

-Peel and chop 1 cup fresh tomatoes. Add to onions and cook for 2 minutes.

-Add 1 cup frozen corn

-Stir in 6 cups chicken stock

-Add some cilantro, fresh or dried

-Add tortilla strips and simmer for a few minutes.

-Serve immediately with grated cheese on top.

This made a lot of soup for just the two of us. It was really good, especially on the cold day that we had it. Next time I'll probably add some chopped up chicken breasts. Try it out!

Well, that's what we've been up to lately. We're excited for Thanksgiving, both to spend time with our families as well as have a break from school.

Help!

2008-10-30T15:56:00.003-06:00

My sister asked me to help her out and post some information for her. She is trying to get her Mary Kay business started. If she can get 10 or more people to spend $10 or more, she can get a huge discount on her starter kit. So if anyone uses Mary Kay products, go to this link and help her out! Don't worry that the website says Laurilyn Morrison, she's my Aunt and is giving Kyle her points to start out on. If you purchase a mascara, your name will be entered in a drawing for a prize (I'm not sure what it is yet). Thanks!

It's been awhile...

2008-10-29T19:49:00.008-06:00

It has been forever since my last post, so this might be a long one. A lot has happened with us over the past few weeks. Some of it may not be extremely interesting, but bear with me as I feel it is important to document these things.

The weekend of October 10th we had the opportunity to go home to Lovell for my nephew Ross's baptism. It's crazy to me that he is even old enough to be baptized. He called Steven a few weeks earlier and asked him to baptize him, which I thought was pretty cool. Ross and Steven have been buddies since we dated in high school and Ross was just a baby. Steven was really excited to do this for him, and honored that Ross asked him.

Ross before the baptism

Ross and Steven

The baptism went very well and, for me at least, the spirit was very strong. I had the opportunity to participate in the baptism by leading the music, as well as singing a song with my little brother Braden. During the closing song, "I Know That My Redeemer Lives", I looked down at Ross all decked out in his new suit with his hymn book open and singing at the top of his little lungs and my eyes filled with tears. I love every one of my nephews and my niece, but Ross has and always will have a special place in my heart. He was born during a hard time between my sister and I, and he helped repair our relationship and bring us even closer as sisters. Kyle also worked a lot when Ross was little and I had the opportunity to babysit him all throughout high school. I am so proud of him and his decision to be baptized. I know that Ross knows the church is true and that baptism is the first step in Heavenly Father's plan.

Here's more pictures of our weekend at home:

http://s374.photobucket.com/albums/oo182/destinyhultgren/?albumview=slideshow

The Friday after we got home (October 17th) my mom called to let me know that my Grandma Morrison was moved from the nursing home to the Lovell Hospital and things weren't looking good. She told me she would keep me updated, and when she called me the next Monday there hadn't been much change. I felt like I should go home and help out where I could, as well as see my grandma while I had the chance. I was able to go home Tuesday afternoon. When I went to see my grandma on Wednesday, I was shocked at what I saw. The little body in the bed looked nothing like the woman I had grown up with, and it was then that I knew it wouldn't be much longer. I was able to sit with her and hold her hand for a little while. There was a special spirit that could be felt in that hospital room. At around 4 PM Wednesday October 22, 2008 my sweet grandmother, Louisa Mickelson Morrison, passed away at the age of 93.

I have so many memories of Grandma that I don't even know where to start. We spent a lot of time at her house growing up and loved every minute of it. I remember sitting on the green couch cuddled up with her reading books. She actually taught me how to read. I remember going out to the backyard to pick strawberries and going for nature walks with her while at the cabin.

Grandma was such a girly girl. She always had her hair and nails done, and was always rocking the red lipstick. My sister was able to do her hair and make up for the viewing, and she did an amazing job that Grandma would have been proud of. When Steven and I were home in August, Kyle and I had the chance to spend an afternoon with Grandma at the nursing home. Kyle permed and did her hair and makeup while I did her nails. She was so happy and loved being pampered. I will always hold that day with Grandma close to my heart.

Kyle, Grandma, and I

My beautiful grandmother

I'm so grateful for the chance I had to spend a few minutes with my Grandma Morrison before she passed away. She was an amazing woman that was loved by many. Her funeral was held Saturday October 25, 2008. It was a warm and beautiful fall day, and the spirit was once again very strong at the services. I'm thankful for the knowledge we have of the Plan of Salvation and that we will be able to see Grandma again someday. I know she had been waiting for almost 13 years to see my Grandpa Morrison again. I'm sure it was an amazing reunion for them and the rest of her family who were waiting to greet her on the other side. I love you Grandma!

2008-10-07T21:37:00.002-06:00

Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your friends. Copy then change all the answers so they apply to you, then post on your blog. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 8:30
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamond's are a girls best friend :)
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Tropic Thunder I think
4. Favorite TV show? The Office, Heroes, Iron Chef America, or House Hunters
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? cereal or pancakes
6. What is your middle name? Melinda
7. What food do you dislike? lunchmeat, pickles, seafood, mushrooms. I'm picky, so I'll stop there :)
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Secondhand Serenade and Taylor Swift
9. What kind of car do you drive? Mine got totalled, so I've been driving my Grandma's 1992 Mercury Grand Marquis. It's awesome.
10. Favorite sandwich? Cheese
11. What characteristic do you despise? Cockiness and dishonesty
12. Favorite item of clothing? A pair of capris from Old Navy, but it's too cold for them now
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Italy and Greece
14. Favorite brand of clothing? Hmm...probably American Eagle
15. Where would you retire to? Anywhere close to my family
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? My 22nd, because Steven called me, and the rest is history :)
17. Favorite sport to watch? Baseball or Volleyball
18. Furthest place you expect someone to look at this from? I honestly don't know
19. If you had a superpower, what would it be? I haven't figured that out yet, maybe invisible.
20. When is your birthday? May 16th
21. Are you a morning person or a night person? I'm an afternoon person
22. What is your shoe size? 7 1/2
23. Pets? No, I'm definitely not an animal person
24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? Not that I can think of
25. What did you want to be when you were little? A teacher, a gymnast, or a dentist.
26. How are you today? Let's just say it's been a long day and I'm ready for tomorrow
27. What is your favorite candy? Gummy Bears, Licorice, or Skittles
28. What is your favorite flower? Lillies and Tulips
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Thursday when we go to Lovell
30. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Mint Chocolate Chip
31. What are you listening to right now? Steven's watching ESPN
32.What was the last thing you ate? Reduced fat wheat thins
33. Do you wish on stars? Not usually
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Green
35. How is the weather right now? Windy and cold
36. Who was the first person you talked to on the phone today? My mom
37. Favorite soft drink? Diet Cherry Pepsi
38. Favorite restaurant? Olive Garden, Corona Village, or Texas Roadhouse
39. Real hair color? Dark brown
40. What was your favorite toy as a child? Little People
41. Summer or winter? I like Spring best
42. Hugs or kisses? Both please
43. Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla
44. Where was your last vacation? Lovell, if that counts. If not, Denver
45. When is the last time your cried?Last week
46. What is under your bed? Absolutely nothing
47. What did you do last night? Watched Heroes with Steven, cleaned up the living room, read a book, and went to bed.
48. What are you afraid of losing? Family
49. Salty or sweet? I probably eat more sweet
50. How many keys on your key ring? 3 or 4
51. How many years at your current job? I've been the cook/maid for 4 months :)
52. Favorite day of the week? Sunday
53. How many towns have you lived in? 3
54. Do you make friends easily? Yes and No, I can become friends with a person quickly but it takes me a long time to open up and become really good friends.

It's Official!

2008-10-02T13:59:00.002-06:00

I'm officially Destiny Hultgren, RDH! I got my license on Tuesday! Turns out, without a job, a license is pretty useless :) I really am anxious to get out and start working though. I sent out all my resumes and called the offices I've interviewed with, so hopefully something will come up soon.There are a few offices that are hiring right now, so I'm crossing my fingers. It's a good feeling to know that I've finally accomplished a goal that once seemed so far out of reach. You couldn't pay me to do the dental hygiene program over, once was plenty! Steven has been really busy with school the past week, so we decided to go out on Tuesday night. We went to Corona Village (YUM) and celebrated my licensure, his amazing job on his exams so far, and the fact that the White Sox FINALLY won the AL Central Division Title by beating the Twins Tuesday night. (Steven loves the White Sox and gets grouchy when they lose, so this was a huge plus for me :) ) We took some cute pictures, but Steven recently cleaned the office, and my camera cord is now missing. That's a good enough reason to get a new camera, right? Maybe when I get a job! We're looking forward to conference this weekend and going to Lovell next weekend. Anyway, that's what we've been up to!

Tagged Again

2008-09-28T15:49:00.003-06:00

8 TV shows I like to watch:
1. The Office
2. Heroes
3. Iron Chef America
4. House Hunters
5. Brothers and Sisters
6. Sportscenter
7. General Hospital (guilty pleasure)
8. Friends reruns

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Olive Garden
2. Texas Roadhouse
3. T.G.I.Fridays
4. Corona Village
5. Cracker Barrell
6. McAlisters Deli
7. Linda's Kitchen (AKA my Mom's)
8. Becky's Kitchen (AKA My Mom-in-laws)

8 Things that happened yesterday: (Oh geez, this is asking a lot!)
1.Slept in with my husband, loved it
2. Spent too much time on the computer
3. DIDN'T waste my time/money to watch the Cowboys play
4. Cleaned the apartment
5. Took Steven lunch after being stuck behind a family of 10 at Subway so he could eat while he studied ALL DAY
6. Prepared Nursery lesson
7. Went to General Relief Society Broadcast, loved it too :)
8. Grabbed a few groceries on my way home

8 Things I'm looking forward to:
1. Getting my dental hygiene license, if that ever happens
2. Getting a job and using my expensive education
3. Going home for Ross's baptism in two weeks
4. The Holidays, love them
5. Motivation to lose 5 lbs to find me....soon please....
6. Steven's graduation
7. Moving to Powell
8. Starting a family....eventually

8 People I tag:
1. Amy
2. Andrea
3. Kara
4. Karissa
5. Lindi
6. Shannon
7. Susan
8. Whoever else wants to do this :)

I Got Tagged

2008-09-26T19:51:00.002-06:00

The rules of the game. Go to your pictures folder and take the fourth picture from the fourth file and post it. That's it.

This picture was taken after my Grandpa Hitz's funeral a year and a half ago. Our family has changed quite a bit since then! For example, my sister is no longer with her husband, her kids are HUGE now, and my dad no longer has a porn mustache :) I tag Kristy, Kara Beth, Dani, and Lisa. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Heroes and Blues

2008-09-23T18:35:00.004-06:00

One night this summer, Steven and I were trying to think of something to do. We ended up going to Hastings to look for something to rent, but couldn't really see anything worth getting. We had heard that Heroes was a good show, so we decided to rent the first disc of season one. Needless to say, we became addicted and ended up buying to first two seasons. We hurried through them so that we would be all caught up for the start of the new season last night. It was awesome!! I tend to get frustrated while watching it though, cuz I always have so many new questions and NO answers! You never know who the bad guys are or what's gonna happen next, but that is why I love it so much, it keeps my attention. Anyway, if you haven't watched this show, I highly recommend it!

So I finally finished up my Wyoming licensure application and took the state exam last Monday. After I finished my exam, the Board secretary told me that the board needed to approve my application and that most likely I'd have my license number by the end of the week. So here we are, over a week later, and I haven't heard a thing. I'm pretty frustrated with the whole process, I hate having to wait on other people. I have a couple possible job offers, but we're just waiting on my license. Those dentists aren't gonna wait forever! And I'm sooooo ready to work and use the skills I've learned. Lately I've just gotten to the point where I drive myself crazy every day trying to find something to entertain myself. Don't get me wrong, I love being a wife and doing the make dinner, do laundry, clean the house thing. I'm just not at a point in my life where I'm satisfied with that being my day to day routine. I'm ready to feel like I went to school for 5 years for a reason. In all reality, I should have just gotten a job right after we got married, but we didn't know what was going to happen throughout the summer, and hind-sight is twenty twenty I guess. I hope nobody thinks I'm just Ms. Negativity all the time now, I just needed to vent. I really am very blessed and have no reason to complain at all, it's just one of those days. But tomorrow is a new day and it will be better! As long as I get a call about my license going through :)

FYI

2008-09-18T10:18:00.002-06:00

Steven finally looked at the blog last night for the first time since "we" started it. He got a little annoyed with me about the whole Xbox post, and said "Thanks for making it look like all I do is play stupid video games". Sooooo let me just clarify for everyone, he does not sit on the couch and play Xbox all night long. (Although I do think he plays more than he realizes) He really is very busy with work and school. He doesn't neglect me, we do spend a lot of time doing fun things together. So now everyone knows, I was simply making fun of how into it he was that particular night! Love you babe :)

Wyoming Barbies

2008-09-17T18:57:00.003-06:00

One of my hygiene girls sent me this email today, and it made me giggle so I thought I'd share it. Those of you from Wyoming might find it pretty funny :)

Jackson Barbie:This modern day homemaker Barbie is available with a Mercedes 4WD SUV, a Prada handbag and matching Nike Yoga ensemble. She has a masters degree and double-majored, but has the luxury of being a stay-at-home mom with Ken's generous salary. Comes with Percocet prescription and Botox. Starbucks mug and traffic-jamming Blackberry internet/cell phone device sold separately. Husband Ken is into fishing, golfing, baseball and is often "working late." Available at all Seattle-area Starbucks retailers.

Teton Village Barbie: This princess Barbie is only sold at Nordstrom. She comes with an assortment of Kate Spade handbags, your choice of a BMW convertible or Hummer H2 and a long-haired foreign lapdog named "Honey." Also available is her Cookie cutter development dream house. Available with or without tummy tuck, facelift, and breast augmentation. Workaholic, cheating husband, Ken, comes with a Porsche.

Rock Springs Barbie: This recently paroled Barbie comes with a 9mm handgun, switchblade, '78 El Camino with dark tinted windows, and a meth lab kit. This model is available only after dark and can only be purchased with cash--preferably small bills, unless you're a cop, then we don't know what you're talking about. Boyfriend Ken is in rehab. Available at many pawn shops.

Rawlins Barbie: This tobacco chewing, brassy-haired Barbie comes with a pair of high heeled sandals with one broken heel from the time she chased Beer Gut Ken out of Cheyenne Barbie's trailer. Her ensemble includes low-rise acid-washed jeans, fake fingernails, strawberry lip gloss and a see-through halter top. Purchase her Mustang convertible separately and get a confederate flag bumper sticker absolutely free. Boyfriend Ken is in the State Prison. Available at Army/Navy Surplus.

Cheyenne Barbie: This pale model comes dressed in her own Wrangler jeans 2 sizes too small, steel-toes cowboy boots , a Willie Nelson T-shirt and a Tweety Bird tattoo on her shoulder. She has fake fingernails, a six pack of Budweiser, and a Hank Williams, Jr. CD set. She can spit over a distance of 6 feet and kick PRCA cowboy Ken's ass when she is drunk. Also available is the gold-toned cubic zirconium ring Ken gave her after another one of his "episodes" with his boss's daughter. Comes with Barbie's Dream Double Wide Trailer. Available at Wal-Mart.

Gillette Barbie: Pregnant at purchase, this Barbie cones with a stroller and bus pass. Also included is a G.E.D. and a completely filled out food stamps form. Construction worker Ken and his '82 Caddy are optional. Available at Value Villa.

Laramie Barbie: This Barbie is made out of recycled plastic and tofu. She has long straight brown hair, archless feet, hairy armpits, no make-up, and Birkenstocks with white socks. She does not want or need a Ken doll. If you purchase the optional Subaru Wagon, you will receive a free rainbow flag sticker. Available at REI.

Lander Barbie: This versatile doll can be easily converted from Barbie to Ken by simply adding or removing snap on parts. Walks to work. Likes to "experiment," but will never commit. This model is being phased out and is only available from the manufacture.

Cody Barbie: This Barbie is a transplant from California and moved into the area to "get away from the big city." She comes with a 10 acre "ranch" on the South Fork and a 1-ton crew cab diesel truck that she drives the kids to school in. She moved here to live in the beautiful and low populated west, but now doesn't want anyone else to move here because they will ruin the area. Retired lawyer Ken comes with his own cowboy outfit so he can act like he is a local and "fit in." This model is sold at any main street art gallery in Cody, and there are several to choose from.

Green River Barbie: Comes in 2 choices, 1) See Rock Springs Barbie, 2)Comes with Ken and 10 children, minivan and Sunday best clothing. Optional LDS church and missionaries are sold separately. Available at any Deseret Bookstore. A free copy of the Book Of Mormon is also included with Choice 2.

Pinedale Barbie: Comes with oily coveralls, muddy work truck, can of Cope,and Tool-pusher Ken. Optional drilling rig also available. Sold at any roadside gas station.

Evanston Barbie: Comes with years of mental instability, and a straight jacket. Accessories also include a bottle of morphine, a bed pan, and an imaginary friend. Psychologist Ken is sold separately with Ken's happy-time psycho couch. Available at any hospital

Bridger Valley Barbie: Comes with 5 sheep, a llama, and her blue '82 Chevy pickup with a brown door. Boyfriend/cousin Ken sold separately. Available at any feed store.

My Husband is a N.E.R.D

2008-09-11T20:56:00.004-06:00

He's sitting on the couch...controller in hand...headset on...totally consumed by Xbox. If he were playing football, baseball, or anything sports related I could tolerate it; but he's playing Halo 3. Walking around shooting people. Talking strategy with his friends on the headset. ANNOYING. And it's been going on for a good hour and a half. I think I'm a pretty good wife, I usually don't let the little things bug me. But seriously. It's a little (OK, a lot) much. On the other hand, it gives me time to surf the internet, and if I happen to, by some sort of accident of course, do some online shopping...I'll blame it on his neglecting me :) It's a good thing I love the guy!

Stupid? Or Accident Prone?

2008-09-08T13:18:00.008-06:00

You know those T-shirts that say "I'm with Stupid" with an arrow? Yeah, Steven totally needs one. I admit to being somewhat ditzy once in awhile, but after last Friday, maybe I'm just stupid. Steven's school schedule this semester is great. He has classes Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday with Tuesday and Friday off. He usually works on those days off. Friday he was scheduled to work from 3-9, so we decided to run some errands before he went to work. Somehow, this turned into a ridiculous argument about who knows what, and when he left for work I was still a little ticked. So a few hours later, he sends me a text message saying something along the lines of "You're not even worried if I'm alive or not". By this time I was over whatever it was we were arguing about and trying to be funny sent him a text message back that said "Unless a terrorist suddenly decides to bomb Walmart, I'm sure you're safe". Yeah...DUMB! Turns out, there were not one, but TWO bomb threats at Walmart on Friday! They had to evacuate the whole store twice and send the bomb squad in. Yep....that's what I get for trying to be funny. Luckily, he really was fine :) So that was stupid thing number one, now on the stupid thing number two. After a fun night of watching season 4 of The Office, we got ready for bed, brushed teeth, said prayers, etc. Steven laid down on his pillow, I went to follow and WHACKED the side of my face on his elbow. Not really sure how it happened, but it hurt so bad and there was instantly a huge goose egg by my left eye! I couldn't decide if I wanted to cry or laugh...the laughing won. And to make it worse, we have NO ICE so I have to use a popsicle!

Pretty, huh? It actually looks worse now!

And this is what I did a few months ago to the same eye, by simply opening my car door :) Steven and I decided that I'm not so much stupid, just very much accident prone! I clearly need to be more aware of myself and my surroundings! I think the fact that I never broke a bone, had trips to the ER, etc when I was younger is catching up with me. Hopefully, our kids won't inherit this trait from me. That could get expensive!

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-02T15:18:00.005-06:00

Our Labor Day weekend was great! Steven's mom Becky and little brother Dylan came to town for the weekend. They got here late Friday night, so Friday was spent cleaning house. Not that our apartment is just horribly messy, it just needed a little pick me up. Saturday morning Steven and I met up with his old roommate Eric and his wife Julie who were in town on their way moving from New York to California. I've met Eric, but not his wife so it was good to see them and catch up. Then we met up with the family at the Cowboys football game. It was extremely hot here on Saturday, very uncharacteristic of Laramie. Steven and I went to most of the home games last year, so it was fun to go with his family. I don't claim to be a football expert, but neither one of us were very impressed with the team this year. Hopefully, they are just working out the kinks and will get better as the season goes on. During halftime of the game, one of Steven's mission companions Johny called and said him and his wife Ashley were coming through town on their way moving from California to Chicago. So after the game, we met up with them. I've heard so much about "Elder Johnson" so it was nice to finally meet him. And his wife is a dental hygienist too, so we chatted about that. It was really fun for Steven to see his friends, even if it was just for a few minutes. We went home and relaxed for a bit and then all went to Chili's for dinner. We hadn't been since it opened here, and honestly weren't that impressed. The food was ok, but the service was horrible, and it really wasn't that busy. After dinner, we went and played miniature golf, at quite possibly the sketchiest place I've ever been, but it was fun. Sunday was church and it was nice to be in our own ward two Sundays in a row, which rarely happened all summer! I made Sunday dinner for everyone, including Steven's sister Tiffany and her roommate Brie. We had stuffed chicken breasts, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, and fruit salad. It was yummy. We had a fun rest of the night visiting and laughing with everyone. Becky and Dylan left yesterday morning and Steven and I headed to Denver for the Rockies/Giants game. We decided to go at the last minute and were lucky to get great seats again for cheap. It was an afternoon game and once again, so hot. The game itself was pretty uneventful, only a few hits and some good defensive plays, but we love being at the ballpark and it was nice to spend the day there. We stopped in Cheyenne on the way home and used a gift certificate to The Outback that we got for our wedding and then were on our way home. Now that Labor Day is over, it really feels like summer is gone. Boo. I will admit though, I am ready for more of a routine with Steven being in school and me about to start working. Anyway, it was a great weekend and I'm glad we got to spend it with friends and family who we love.

Our Crazy Month

2008-08-22T13:54:00.009-06:00

Ok, it's been a while, so be prepared for a long post! August has been crazy for us. I can't think of a single day this month that there hasn't been something going on. The first weekend in August we went to Lovell so Steven could play in a golf tournament with his dad. It was kind of an unplanned trip, but it was worth it. It was also my dad's 60th (yes, 60) birthday on July 31st, so while Steven was golfing I got to spend the day at our cabin on the Big Horns with my family. Here's a few cute pictures from that weekend:

Kennedy and Treyson

Uncle Jordan taught Ross how to fish

Who looks that good camping? Not me!

The next weekend we took a little mini vacation to Denver. We did a lot of fun things while we were there. The first night we saw The Dark Knight on IMAX. Let me just say it was worth waiting a few extra weeks because IMAX rocks! The next day we went to the Museum of Natural Science. We saw a lot of fun things like mummy's, gemstones, dinosaur fossils, and we went to an awesome planetarium show.

I cut 5 inches off my hair the day before we left

He couldn't take a serious picture all day

Woolly Mammoth tooth, now that would be hard to clean!

Umm...he's the body to the TRex head...we got some REALLY
weird looks but we thought it was hilarious!

After the museum we had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and ate WAY too much food, but it was SO yummy! We walked around on 16th Street for a couple hours and did one of our favorite things to do together. ROCKIES GAME! They played the Padres that night. We've been to a lot of games and sat all over, but this was our first time sitting in the outfield. We were 2nd row left field. We felt like we were on the field with our buddies Matt Holliday and Willy Taveras :) Even though there was a rain delay, it was a fun game.

Before the 55 min rain delay
After the rain...Rockies WIN!

The next day we went to Water World. There were so many people there, but we had a lot of fun going on the slides. I didn't really think carrying the camera around was a great idea there, so no pictures. After Water World we headed to Fort Collins for dinner at The Melting Pot. If you haven't been there, GO! The whole experience is a little pricey, but definitely worth it. The food was excellent, especially the chocolate fondue :) We came home that night, went to church and nursery the next day, and left that afternoon for a week in Lovell. For those of you who don't know, Steven was offered a great job at the Powell Hospital after he graduates. He did an internship there last summer and loved it and turns out they loved him too. Along with a guaranteed job after graduation, they told him he could come and work there anytime he wanted during summers, breaks, etc. They pay WAY better than the old Walmart pharmacy, so we figured it was definitely worth it to do whenever we get the chance. We were so spoiled at home with good food and loved being able to be with family. Last Friday we decided to head up the Big Horns and fish at Sibley Lake. Steven's brother, Dylan, came with us. Too bad we got up the mountain and IT WAS SNOWING! And not just a little bit, like they needed to plow the roads snowing. We were pretty bummed, but we ended up going up to North Fork past Cody and fishing there. Apparently luck wasn't on our side, we fished all day and caught nothing. That's right, 3 people, zero fish. Oh well!

Steven doing what he did all day, fixing all of our poles

I got to spend lots of time at home with my family while Steven worked. Monday (the 18th) was my nephew Treyson's 3rd birthday. We left that evening, but I was glad I got to spend some time with him during the day.

Me and the birthday boy

We hit a deer on the way home. This is AFTER Steven banged some of the dents out :(

We had such a good time being home, but honestly we were ready to be back at OUR home by the time the week was over! Thanks to our parents for letting us stay and spoiling us! On a side note, I had a job interview this morning. I think it went well, but I haven't heard great things about this particular dentist, so we'll see if anything comes of it, or if I even want to work there. It was good to get an interview at least. Steven has been working everyday since we've been back and works all weekend. And then school starts Monday. Goodbye sweet summertime! :(

The Results

2008-08-11T12:56:00.005-06:00

I just got my clinical board results and......I passed!!! Anything above a 75% is passing and I got an 89%, and that's including a 5 point penalty because during the process of the cleaning, my patient removed her protective eyewear for a few minutes. So technically I would have gotten a 94%. Oops. But I'm proud of myself and really happy with the results. I'm super excited and can't wait to get back to Laramie and start my licensure process. (We're in Lovell for a week) This whole process has strengthened my testimony fasting and prayer. I feel so blessed to know that if we put our faith and trust in the Lord and do the best we can, things will work out for the best. I can't wait to get my career started!

Minneapolis

2008-07-29T17:45:00.005-06:00

This last weekend was my long awaited trip to Minneapolis for my clinical board exam. This post will most likely be pretty long and is mostly for journal purposes, so skip to the pictures if you want! I spent all day Thursday packing and trying to relax. We tried really hard to go to bed early, but probably didn't get to sleep until about midnight. We left Laramie early early Friday morning, at about 4:15 AM and headed to Casper to pick up my patient, Megan, who is Steven's cousin James girlfriend. On the way there, we came within about 2 ft of hitting a huge deer. It was scary, but it our reactions were hilarious and we laughed about it the rest of the way to Casper! After picking up Megan, we headed down the interstate to Denver. What a long ride! We made it to Denver around 11 and got our boarding passes and checked my bag. Our flight wasn't scheduled to leave until 12:50 so Steven stayed and ate lunch at the airport with us before we went through security. I was sad he had to leave, but the poor guy had to head straight back to Laramie to be back at work that afternoon. Megan and I boarded our plane, I had the window seat but gave it to Megan since it was her first time flying. I got to sit in the middle seat and the guy next to me was super chatty, which I found annoying considering I was dead tired :) Our flight to Minneapolis was only about 1.5 hours, but we lost an hour on the way so we arrived around 3:30. I'd been worried about my bag with my instruments not making it on the plane, so I was relieved when it was there waiting for me! We caught a taxi to our hotel, about 12 miles from the airport. FYI...they have sketchy cab drivers in Minneapolis... I had another set of my instruments and supplies for my exam Fed-Exed to our hotel and was glad they were there waiting for me. We went to dinner at Buca de Beppo and spent the rest of the night relaxing at our hotel. Saturday morning we ate a good breakfast at our hotel and then caught a taxi to the University of Minnesota health science tower 3 miles away. A couple girls I graduated with were there to take the exam as well, and it was nice to see familiar faces! I expected to be extremely nervous, but I was surprisingly calm. The only time I got nervous was while waiting to see if my patient qualified. Before she went in to be examined, I had a bad feeling about the teeth I was submitting, so I looked over my sheet again. It's a good thing I did because I had submitted one too many anterior teeth. (The qualifications are so specific, it's confusing) I hurried to fix my mistake before she went in, but still had a bad feeling about it. When she came walking out and gave me a thumbs up, I instantly relaxed! The rest of the exam went well. I feel confident in my clinical skills, so I'm pretty sure I passed. It'll be about 2 weeks until I find out, but it's such a good feeling to have it done! After the exam, we hurried back to our hotel, changed, and hopped on the train to the Mall of America. It was so fun! I knew it was big, but I didn't expect it to be sooo huge! We were there for almost 3 hours, and only made it through 2 levels. And that was pretty much running from store to store! I got Steven a new White Sox hat and some new running shoes for myself. We rode the train back with about 100 sketchy people, but it we had a lot of fun! We went to bed around 12:30 and had to be up at 3:30 to catch the 4AM train to the airport. Our flight left at 6:00 and since we got the hour back, landed in Denver at 7:15. Steven had to leave Laramie at about 4AM also to be there to pick us up. Then we drove back to Casper to take Megan home. By the time Steven and I got back to Laramie around 2:30, we were sooo dead tired! We slept the rest of the afternoon, and went to bed really early! Overall, the trip went really well. We were able to find everything, our bags made it, my boards went well, etc. Thanks to all our family and friends who were rooting for and praying for me! I've really felt my Heavenly Father's influence throughout this whole process. On a side note, Steven left to go to work yesterday morning and realized his wallet was stolen, right out of his unlocked car....yep....He apparently left it in there when we got back, so we've been cancelling cards, checking credit reports, etc. Anyway, I didn't get a lot of pictures taken in Minneapolis, but here are the few I did take.

The amusement park in the middle of the Mall of America

Part of the water park in the Mall
Riding the train back to our hotel
The sketchy train station
Don't judge me, this was at 4 AM!
The flowers I came home to, turns out my husband missed me ;)

Surprise!

2008-07-24T18:09:00.005-06:00

Those of you that know me well know that I have a slight tendency to stress and freak out about things way before necessary. Sometimes it gets so bad I make myself sick or get a panic attack...ridiculous, I know. So it really is no surprise that for the past week I've been secretly stressing about my upcoming clinical boards. Turns out, it wasn't as secretly as I thought. Steven came home from work last night with a surprise planned for me to help me relax. I guess that's what I get for marrying someone who knows me so well :) He wanted to take me to the Saratoga Hot Springs for the night! I've never been, but he has and has told me a lot about them. We quickly packed our swimsuits and a couple sandwiches and were on our way. We drove over the Snowys, which I also have never been to. They were really pretty and we scouted out several future camping/fishing spots along the way. There were quite a few people at the hot springs when we got there, so I wasn't sure how much fun that would be but I was pleasantly surprised. We sat and relaxed in the hot mineral water and people watched. There was quite the variety of people there, too. Hippy old people there to "cleanse" themselves in the mineral water, families spending time together, teenage girls flirting with teenage boys, and the one random kid. This kid rode up to the pool on a scooter, and took his shirt (exposing his skinny little body) and socks off. He then proceeded to NOT roll up his pant legs and stick his legs in the water, jeans and all. How strange, but pretty hilarious to watch! We had to alternate between the hot springs and stick our feet in the cold river water every once in awhile because it was so hot. We stayed for about an hour and a half, stopped at a gas station for a drink, and were on our way home. It was such a fun surprise and I'm thankful to have such a creative, thoughtful, and fun husband to help me relax when I really need it! I love you, babe! (Like he'll ever read that :)) Here are some pictures we took, most of which are pretty random and ridiculous!

What a geek, but I love him :)

The mineral water turned my toe ring black...good thing it was like $4

Pouting that we had to leave :(

Notice how red our legs are, it was SOO hot!

We both look pasty white in this picture

Our relaxing weekend

2008-07-21T10:06:00.002-06:00

Since Steven and I have been married, I've found a new love for the weekends, especially Saturdays. This is most likely due to the fact that Steven works all week, while I am home wishing I had my license so I could work! Anyway, we had a really run and relaxing weekend. On Friday night we went camping with our friends Ben and Brianna, Josh and Melissa, and Derek and Jessica and their adorable baby Pheonix. We haven't invested in a lot of camping gear yet so we planned on sharing a tent with Ben and Brianna, but Josh and Melissa ended up bringing an extra tent that we used. Our camp site looked pretty cute with 4 little couples tents. I wish I had pictures but, of course, I forgot my camera. We roasted hot dogs, (I brought a sandwich, I refuse to eat hot dogs) told stories, laughed a LOT, played games, and then went to sleep. It was such a pretty night with the full moon and lots of stars out. We woke up and Derek made us breakfast and we packed up and came home. We are so lucky to have made such awesome friends here and we had a great time! Steven and I spent the rest of Saturday relaxing at home, although we did go to the park a couple blocks from our apartment to play catch and then went and got ice cream cones that evening. Sunday mornings at the Hultgren home are always a little crazy, and this week was no exception. Our meetings start at 9, and since Steven gets up early during the week, I usually let him sleep in a little on Sundays. As usual, this resulted in us running around the apartment trying to not be late. So there I was kneeling on the floor in front of our closet reaching for my shoes when all the sudden, WHACK! We have sliding doors on our closet, and my wonderful husband slid the door over to get something out of the other side and sure enough whacked me in the head! It hurt so bad! I have a little goose egg and a pretty big bruise on my forehead. Of course, Steven felt horrible and I tried really hard not to be ticked about it :) Good thing we are in the nursery so the kids were the only ones to see it. The kids showed me their owies, so I showed them mine! We took a nice long nap after church and ate a really good Sunday dinner. My husband spoiled me and cooked dinner Saturday AND Sunday. Looks like I picked a good one! I'm glad we had such a relaxing weekend, because next weekend won't be so relaxing for me, considering I'll be in Minneapolis taking my clinical board exam and will most likely be stressed all weekend! I hope everyone else had a great weekend!

Woohoo!

2008-07-09T18:52:00.002-06:00

I finally found a patient for my clinical boards! I've been stressing, praying, fasting, etc for over a month about this, so it is such a relief to know that I have a patient. The only thing to worry about now is travel arrangements to Minneapolis, which for me is a little stressful, but nothing compared to the last couple of days! I'm just so excited, one step closer to RDH!

Thanks, Megan for being my patient!

More Pictures

2008-07-07T19:49:00.005-06:00

I wanted to post some more of our wedding photos so those of you that couldn't make it could see them. Plus, I just think they turned out so good! Donna Stuart from Studio 1127 in Billings took them. I think she did a great job! These are just a few, we haven't gotten all of them yet. Enjoy!

This is one of my favorites!

Some of our families at the temple, the rest of the family and friends there decided they didn't want to be in the picture!

I look like I'm raping my husband in this picture ;)

Finally!

2008-07-03T12:34:00.003-06:00

Well, after becoming addicted to reading my friends blogs, I've finally decided to create my own! I don't know that our lives are so exciting that they're worth blogging about, but we'll see. I guess I should start with a little bit about us. Steven and I have known each other since we were on the same little league baseball team. I was the token "girl on the team", he hated it and proceeded to tease me for the next few years. Fastforward to high school, his junior year and my sophomore, we started dating. We had a lot of fun in high school and fell in love. In 2003, I graduated and Steven left on his mission to the Philippines. During that time, we both changed quite a bit and decided to break it off. When he returned home, I didn't think much of it until the first time I saw him. I was living in Sheridan for the summer and came home for my dad's birthday. I went to church on Sunday, sat down and looked up at the pulpit and there he was! I felt horrible because my boyfriend at the time was there with me! I realized then that I definitely still had feelings for Steven, but hid them for about 2 more years. On my 22nd birthday, after not talking to each other for an entire year, he called to wish me a happy birthday. We ended up talking for hours, and the rest is history! We spent the summer together and fell in love all over again. We got engaged January 19th and were married May 30th in the Billings, Montana temple. Our wedding day was perfect and something we will never forget! We are currently living in Laramie where Steven has 2 more years of Pharamacy school at UW. I graduated in May from Sheridan College with my degree in Dental Hygiene. I passed the national written board exam in March, and will take the clinical board exam at the end of July in Minneapolis. Then I can begin the process of getting licensed and finding a job! We are finally getting settled in to our new apartment and our new life together and are loving it! We hope that this blog will be a good way to keep in touch with friends and family and are excited to hear about what is going on in each of your lives!