Night Owl

I have officially become a night owl. I've always known that I was more of a night owl than an early bird. I hate waking up to an alarm in the mornings. For the last 5 years I've had to wake up between 3am and 7am to get to work. Those 4am shifts are killer! For those of you who don't know, I work as a Phlebotomist (one who draws blood) at a Hospital in Lafayette. Hospitals are open 24/7 so therefore we are drawing blood at all hours of the day/night. I recently switch over to the night shift. I LOVE WORKING THIS SHIFT! When I tell people what new my shift is, most of them give me this look like "I could never do that", or "Oh I'm sorry for you". Well if you are thinking that right now, STOP!. This is the shift for me. These are the reasons why:
#1- I get to spend so much more time with my husband! I work Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. Jeff works Saturday, Sunday, and Monday days. Jeff is gone at work while I need to sleep. Then we get to enjoy the next 4 days off together. Before we didn't have any days off together because I was M-F, while he worked the weekends.

#2- Like I said, I hate alarm clocks. It really sucks having to drag your body out of bed when your half awake. Then, having to shove contacts into half open eyes is always a challenge: it really burns sometimes. With the night shift I'm already awake, I do try to squeeze a nap in before I go, but even if I don't get one I still make it through the night.

# 3- I have no problems sleeping during the day. This is another area that people tell me they would struggle with. Well, that's where hanging a dark blanket up over the window comes in really handy. I can pretty much sleep anytime, anywhere. Oh, and being pregnant really helps in this area too!

#4- I would do a 12hr night shift over a 8hr day shift ANY DAY! The night shifts go by so fast for me. Especially because the last 3 1/2 hours of the shift are the busiest part, so it makes it go by even faster. The day shift just DRAGS on, and looking at the clock every hour wondering how much longer until I get to go home gets really old. I LOVE how fast my 3 night shifts go by.

#5- Last but not least, Less hours for more pay. 'Nuff said.

Do you still feel sorry for me? I didn't think so.

Telling the Parents

This was so priceless! My dad's reaction was so funny. He didn't get it at first but then it clicks. A very memorable moment for all of us! Enjoy the video.

Hawaii

We were very excited to be going to Hawaii

Cam and I in Hilo

Dorks in a Banyan tree

Totally random picture.

Jeff pretending to "Snot Rocket" the waterfall...so gross!

Dorky tourists!

Akaka Falls


The last stop on our long drive...What a way to end the day!

Dorks in front of the Thurston Lava Tubes

More dorks at Volcano National Park

Cam and I at Black Sand Beach

Making our way around the island

This was a bull with HUGE horns that we saw while taking a drive around the island.

The girls did a session at the Kona Temple.

One of MANY turtles that we saw.

Grandma Foster and I

Jeff being a dorky tourist! Haha love you honey!

Jeff and I were able to go to Hawaii a couple of weeks ago. We had an absolute blast! Most of my family was there with us which made it all the more fun. There were many highlights of this trip to make it a memorable one, but two that stand out the most. #1 is that we told my parents that they were going to be first time grandparents. We got this on video and it's priceless. I'll be posting that next. #2 happened the second night we were there. Jeff, my dad, my little brother Cameron, my mom and I all went on a night dive/snorkel with Manta rays. My dad and Cameron were the scuba divers, and Jeff, myself, and my mom were the snorkelers. We were told that the night before there were about 20 Manta rays that showed up, so we were pretty much guaranteed to see at least one. Well we weren't disappointed. After about 5 minutes of being in the water we were approached by a huge Manta. We were holding flashlights which attracted plankton, which the Manta's were feeding on. The Manta's were swimming right up to us. We literally had them coming as close as a few inches of us. If we had reached out to touch them we could have, but that's a big no no so we didn't. However there were a few that were bouncing off my dad and Cameron. There were at least 20 Manta's that showed up that night. We got a video of that night, it was soooooooo amazing! One to remember forever, and to defiantly do again! I recommend it to anyone looking to go to Hawaii and that likes to scuba dive or snorkel. We had many more memories to last a lifetime, what a great trip!

Seattle

The week after getting back from California, Jeff and I were able to go to Seattle and visit Jeff's youngest sister JoEllen and her husband Sean, and of course our new little nephew Noah. We had such a good time with them. It was our first time to Seattle so they showed us a lot of the hot tourist spots, some great shopping, and of course awesome food. We weren't sure if we would be coming back since they will be leaving in May to move to Boise for the next 2 years and then who knows where after that. So Jeff and I took advantage of the time we had with them in Seattle. We went to the top of the Space Needle, on a very clear day surprisingly. We went to the famous Pike's Place Market and watched some fish tossing. We did the Underground tour of Seattle, which by the way was a very cool way to see Seattle. If you go there, that is one thing I would recommend doing. We went to Gasworks park, the locks, and even saw the troll under the bridge. Since Jeff's birthday was on the 24th we decided to celebrate a little early and go out to dinner to a nice sea food restaurant "Ivers"...umm yum! Thanks Jo and Sean! We had a great time, we look forward to our next vacation with you!

Goodbye Uncle Frank

A lot has gone on since my last post, so I have a lot to share. First I would like to share is that my Uncle Frank passed away. He was my mom's older brother and only sibling. He died of prostate cancer. He was diagnosed 2 years and one month ago. The cancer was already in stage 4. All they could do for him was treat it and make him comfortable. He spent the last few years traveling with his wife to the places they loved most. I was able to attend his funeral in Alameda California with the rest of my family. My parents, older brother, and grandma were able to say their goodbye's before he passed. Everyone said that he was holding on until my grandma got there. The funeral, or memorial, was a traditional catholic service. It was a little different that what we LDS folk are used to, but good things were said and it had a good feeling over all. I was really proud of my dad, he stepped out of his comfort zone and spoke on our families behalf about how much we loved Frank. It's pretty rare that I get to see my dad cry, it's nice to know he has tears in there somewhere. We will all miss uncle Frank, but we know that we will be with him again. Here is the obituary that was printed in the local newspaper near his home.

Franklyn S. "Frank" Nelson Jr.

June 5, 1956 - March 8, 2009 Resident of Alameda Frank passed gently in his home in Alameda surrounded by many loving friends and family. He was born in San Pedro, California. He was a graduate of the University of Utah and spent many years enjoying the creative process of designing sound equipment for Audio Access, Citaton, and other Harman Kardon Brands, as well as his final years at Cisco-Lynksis. Frank volunteered for ten plus years as a docent with the Alameda Museum. Some of his other hobbies and interest included doing live sound for local bands, organic gardening and travel. He is survived by his wife of ten years Trish (Crowley) Nelson, his stepson Brint Joseph Stewart age 28, his mother Ila Jean Nelson of West Jordan, Utah, one sister Karen (Jeff) Foster . Frank is also survived by his in-laws Josephine and Kenneth Crowley of Alameda, two nephews Cory and Cameron Foster and one niece Nicole Foster. He was preceded in death by his father Lt Col Franklyn S. Nelson Sr. Memorial service and rosary will be held Wednesday, March 11, 2009 at 5:00 PM at Greer Family Mortuary. A reception will follow at Linguini's Pizza & Beer. Frank's cremains will rest at his home. In lieu of flowers donations in his memory may be made to the American Red Cross or the Yosemite Fund. Greer Family Mortuary 510-865-3755

First Ultrasound!

I had my first Ultrasound on March 5th (sorry this is a picture of a picture, not cool enough for a digital copy yet). It was so amazing. Granted it was not what I was expecting (being a vaginal one and all), but still totally amazing. At first it showed two blobs on the screen, I was like "Uh-Oh! Twins!", but then she explained that one of the blobs was the yolk sac that kept the pregnancy going until the placenta took over. Fewww! Twins would be fun, but not for the first pregnancy. So no worries just one little blob in there. I was able to see the heart beating. That was honestly the most exciting thing about the whole thing. Jeff wasn't there with me because he was in California, but I was able to show him the picture of our blob. The next one will be a little more interesting for him. Anyway the ultrasound confirmed my due date as October 22nd. That will be fun because my little bro's is on the 20th. Who knows maybe they will even have the same birthday! It's amazing that anything is in my uterus right now, cause I sure don't feel pregnant (knock on wood)! The funny thing about this appointment is that I totally had to lie to my mom. I know I know your not supposed to lie, but when you are trying to keep a secret it's ok. My mom flew into town that night and needed me to pick her up. Well she was able to get on an earlier flight, so she got into Denver at about 4:45. I normally work until 5, but was able to get off early for this appointment. Well just like all doctor's offices, they were running way behind. My 30min appointment turned in to an hour and a half, AGAIN! So I had to fib and tell her that they wouldn't let me off early. She had to wait at the airport for about 45 minutes. I felt bad, but she forgave me. She'll really forgive me when she finds out where I really was! Hopefully I won't have lie too much more!

Families Are Forever!!!

I had one of the best weekends ever! Friday March 6th I was able to attend the temple with my grandma Foster, aunt Trudy, uncle Karl, cousin Stephanie, friend Kathleen, and my mom. It's the first time my grandma has been back to the temple in a VERY long time. She has not been active in the church ever since I've known her. She lives in Wyoming and I had no idea that she was going back to church, and even taking missionary lessons! She decided sometime around Christmas that she was going back to the temple. She decided she was ready, so on March 6th was able to return to the temple. It was such an amazing experience. We first had the opportunity to witness her, my aunt, and my grandpa (by proxy) be sealed together! My dad was already sealed to them when they went through the temple the first time, but his sisters were not there. My aunt said she had been waiting over 26 years for this. It just goes to show that it's never too late! After the sealing we attended an endowment session together. It was really neat to watch her, and wonder what she was thinking. She looked so beautiful, and so angelic. It was an experience that I will lock away in my heart and memory forever. I hope I will get to attend the temple more with her while she is still here. She is my only grandparent that I've been able to attend the temple with. My grandpa passed away a little over 5 years ago, and I could tell he was so proud of her, and that he was there with us on that special day. I don't have pictures of that special day yet, but as soon as I get some I'll be sure to post them. I love you grandma and the example that you are to me.