It's Official!!

It's official everyone. On Thursday, May 1st I received my Master's Degree in Speech-Language Pathology. After five straight years of school, I am more than happy to be done. After reflecting on my college experience, I realize that receiving an education has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. The things that I have learned in my studies will help me throughout my life. I recognize that I couldn't have done it on my own though. I feel like I need to thank Jordan first and foremost. He has been SO patient with me while I have been in graduate school. He worked hard so that I didn't have to work while I completed my degree (and so that we would actually be able to see each other). He also helped me to tone down my Type-A, overachieving personality and just CHILL a little bit. I love and appreciate him so much.

Also, my parents have helped me to get to this point by helping me to understand the importance of education. From the time I was small they have helped me and encouraged me to go as far as I can academically. I couldn't ask for more supportive parents.

Speaking of supportive, my in-laws also came to my graduation. This may not seem like a big deal to some, but my father-in-law didn't even go to his own graduation. He has now suffered through two graduations on my behalf. For him it is the ultimate act of love.

What now? Well, this summer I plan to do whatever the heck I want. I'm going to travel, work on my tan, read books, and get my life organized. Oh yeah.

The fun part of school was making such great friends. These are two of my greatest friends in the program--Brittany and Julia. Though I will NOT miss taking tests and writing papers, I will miss seeing these girls everyday.

The crew. What a good looking group, eh? I have loved going to school with these people.

My brother Scott graduated from BYU with his Master's in Accountancy last week as well. We took some pre-grad pics.

Who knows?

He's Home!!

Last Wednesday Elder J. Clark Walker (Jordan's brother) returned home from the Manchester, New Hampshire mission. It was so fun to see him after two years. Clark left just two weeks before we were married, so I'm excited to get to know him better. If any of you have single lady friends out there, let me know.

Jammin' with Jimmy

On April 14th, (I know, it's been over two weeks!!) Jordan, Annie and I lived the dream. That's right, we went to the Jimmy Eat World/ Paramore concert on the Chase This Light tour. Never in all my days have I been so prepared for a concert. I'm pretty sure I know every word to every song on the Chase This Light album. For those of you who have not experienced Chase This Light--get thee to a music store!! Jordan and I are major Jimmy fans, so the concert was amazing!! We had awesome seats and we rocked out and sang our little hearts out. Even though my hearing is permanently damagaed, the concert was WELL worth it. Here are a few pics from the concert.

Go Jazz!

On Friday night Jordan, Annie and I were spontaneous and decided to scalp tickets to the Jazz vs Nuggets game. We showed up fifteen minutes before the game started and picked up some nosebleeders. The game was awesome and the Jazz creamed the Nuggets 124-97. P.S. Carmelo Anthony is WAY overrated!

Check out my cool Kyle Korver jersey. Jordan bought it for me for Valentine's Day.


Posing in front of the John Stockton statue after the game.

Cut Me Some Slack...

I realized today that my last post was on March 18th. Man, it's hard to keep up with this blogging business sometimes. Believe it not, but I've been extremely busy with school and work lately. I'm happy to report that I completed the final paper, presentation and exam of my college career in the past week. My little brain still can't comprehend that I'm done!!! As of today, I have 19 days left until gradation. As I mentioned in my last post I have accepted a job working for Davis County School District this fall, but I still don't know exactly which school(s) I'll be working at, so I'll keep you updated. Jordan also had a CRAZY busy school week, but luckily he survived. Despite being a little sleep deprived, I'd say that we're happy and healthy. Considering I've been so bad at updating my blog, I included pictures and a brief description of some of the things we've been up to the past month. Enjoy.

Jordan's mom, dad, and our sister-in-law, Jessica, all had birthdays in the same week, so it was fun to celebrate birthdays all week long. This picture is of Jordan and his dad giving the bug a "Walker wash". They take their car washing very seriously.

Emma with her umbrella hat on.


This would be the before and after shots of our closet. We got the spring cleaning bug and deep cleaned our whole apartment. I am so lucky to have a husband that is willing to pitch in and help keep things looking nice. We threw out five garbage bags full of junk and gave three bags of stuff to DI. It's amazing how much stuff you accumulate!


Easter fun--dying easter eggs at my house consists of using a white crayon to write insulting things on the eggs to each other. The insults are only revealed when the eggs come out of the dye. What an uplifting tradition, right?

Playing Ketchup

Okay, so it's been awhile. I'm happy to report that I am no longer suffering from the flu. Halle-freakin-lujah!! So much has happened since my last post. Last Friday I finished up my 10-week externship at McKay-Dee Hospital. I loved my time at McKay-Dee and was sad to say goodbye to all the patients and my awesome supervisor, Dawn. Today I started my second externship at Orchard Elementary school in North Salt Lake. I'm especially excited about this externship because I have accepted a job with Davis County School District to work with elementary school kids starting next fall. It's crazy to think that I might actually make money being an SLP. Kind of a novel concept for me. The past couple of weeks have also been fun because my sister-in-law, Erin, came into town with my niece and nephew (Abbie and Landon). We did all sorts of fun things while they were here from swimming at the Bountiful rec center to visiting the Hogle Zoo. They left this morning (sniff), and I already miss them. It was so great to have them here!!

The kids came and jumped on Jordan and I in bed every morning. We had so much fun playing with them. They especially loved playing with their Uncle Jordan.

Annie and I after the traditional Hale family St. Patrick's dinner. Yes, I do look like a gremlin....or a bat.....you decide.

Abbie the elf.

Check out those blue eyes!

Joseph and Landon on the train at the zoo. Isn't Joseph cute with his Curious George hat?

Give me Death

It began a week ago Friday. I came home from work and felt "out of sorts". The next morning I woke up with a sore throat, and then Saturday night it hit me like a ton of bricks--the dreaded flu!! I have never been so sick in my entire life! Let's just say I have been puking, coughing, fevering, and it feels like someone took a cheese grater to the back of my throat. It's been over a week and I still feel awful. I attempted to go back to work on Friday, only to come home and sleep for almost 20 hours. Since coming down with this death bug I've had ample time to think, and I've come up with a list of things that I realized I take for granted when I'm healthy.

1) Breathing: I miss the days in which I could take a deep breath in through my nose without whistling. I fluctuate between two different conditions. Either both nostrils are so plugged that no amount of air could possibly creep through, or one nostril is plugged up to my brain and the other nostril is as dry as the Sahara and burns every time I breathe in.

2) Eating: I truly believe that I have eaten over 600 pieces of unbuttered toast this week. While this wards off the nausea, it is doing a real number on my bowels. I'll spare you the details. I dream of cheese. Lots of cheese.

3) Going Outside: I haven't been outside all week. ALL WEEK. I'm starting to feel...a...little...crazy...People are not meant to stay inside.

4) Going to Work: I never thought I'd say this in my life, but I sincerely want to go back to work. I'm not really a lazy person, but I'm not exactly the kind of persons who just LOVES to work. I can honestly say that I'm ready to be productive. Watching movies loses its charm after watching 20 in a row.

For those of you who have managed to avoid the flu, good for you. If you start feeling feverish, achy, and your throat hurts like a mofo, you're in for it. I suggest you get down to Blockbuster, because you're in for the long haul.

Oh Canada, My Home and Native Land..

Can I just say that I LOVE weddings! We just got back from a trip to Southern Alberta, Canada, where we went to see my cousin, Sarah, get married to Mr. Zac Rhodenizer. It was a whirlwind trip (we left Thursday and came home Tuesday), but it was so worth it! While there we got to see the farmhouse where my Grandma Ursaki grew up and all the places that she played as a child. We also got to meet all of my mom's cousins and my Great Aunt Peggy. Aunt Peggy was so much like my grandma that I found myself instantly loving her. I can't even describe how wonderful it was to hear all the stories of my grandma's childhood and to learn about her extraordinary life. I will forever be grateful to my grandma, because though raised in inactivity, she listened to the whisperings of the spirit and found the church again. Because of her faith, my mom was raised in the church, and consequently, so was I. Anway, it was so fun to attend Sarah's wedding and all of the festivities that went with it. My feet are still sore from the rocking dance at her reception. It was a great trip!!!!!

My Aunt Peggy and my Grandma Ursaki. Don't they look alike?

My coolest cousin Matteo and me. Matteo is almost a black belt in karate and he showed me some of his sweet ninja moves.

My cousins in their wedding finery.

The real reason I love Canada. Wunderbars!!!!! Yes, that is a 24 pack of Wunderbars. Will I gain weight? Probably. Do I care? Not really.