McCall Musings

We just got back from the annual Walker-Christensen Winter McCall trip. For those of you who don't know where or what McCall is, let me enlighten you. Picture a pristine lake surrounded by pine forests. Now picture world-class ski resorts within 30 minutes of your condo and hot springs close by to soak in after a long day of skiing. Are you starting to get the picture? Jordan's family owns a condo in McCall and so we vacation there a few times a year. It's great for boating in the summer and perfect for a skiing trip in the Winter. Anway, we had a great time snowboarding/skiing, playing games, watching movies and sledding. Here are some of the pictures I took of the trip.

Outside the condo. It snowed over a foot while we were there.

My neice Emma getting pulled on the sled. Come on, does it get much cuter than that?

The McCall babes

The manly men of McCall

Uncle Jordan wanted to paint Emma's toenails. He picked out a fabulous shade of pink!

Playing cards with the girls.

Paging Dr. Walker.....

Okay, okay, so I'm not really a doctor. I am however, the newest Speech-Pathology extern at McKay-Dee Hospital. I started my externship last Wednesday and it's been a crazy ride ever since. I had no idea going into this that I would have to learn a whole new language. I thought my basic anatomy terms would squeak me by, but I find they're woefully inadequate. For that matter, who knew that the medical field speaks in nothing but acronyms--INR, SNF, ECF, RBC, TCU. Fortunatly, I'm slowly starting to catch on. Despite the new jargon and the many bodily fluids I've seen this week, I find that I'm LOVING working in a hospital. It is so rewarding to use the knowledge I've gained in grad school and make a difference in people's lives. I'm allowed to wear scrubs on the weekends but I didn't have any, so I went to a store by my house. I was floored when I walked in and they actually had cute scrubs!! I thought it was against the rules to wear good looking scrubs. Anyway, I included pictures of me in my new, chic hospital getup.

Hello 2008!

I figured it was about time I updated our blog. We had a great holiday season that included snowboarding/skiing, movies, approximately 1000 Rook games, and Jordan breaking his ankle playing basketball (the joys of no health insurance!). We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's. Though we had such a great time over the break, we're both ready to jump back into a little bit of a routine. I start my externship with McKay-Dee Hospital tomorrow morning and I'm a bit nervous about it. I can't believe that I am in my last semester of school. Anyways, I posted some pictures (that I took with my new camera, YAY!), and I'll try to be better about updating our blog. Enjoy!
Waiting to open presents at the Walkers

Jordan's long greasy hair. Don't worry though--I swear he takes regular showers. He finally got it cut the day after Christmas.

Our gift from Mike and Erin. Thanks guys!

New Year's Eve with my family.

Happy New Years!!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..

So, I'm finally done with finals, and I'm officially bored. It's no fun having time off when everyone else is busy! I decided it was time for Jordan and I to take pictures in front of our little tree. This is our first real Christmas tree that we have purchased since we've been married, and I felt that it deserved some notoriety. The day that we purchased the tree will forever be remembered in my mind. To preface my story, I had been suffering from the WORST case of stomach flu known to man. It lasted for eight days and managed to ruin both my birthday (a high holy holiday) and Thanksgiving. The day after Thanksgiving, I woke up still feeling pretty sick and emptied all the contents of my stomach which included two Thanksgiving dinners. If you want details about the next part of my morning in which I lost all control of bodily function you'll have to ask me in person because it's not for the faint of heart. After my traumatic morning, Jordan and I were in the Christmas spirit (we waited until after Thanksgiving all you pre-Thanksgiving Christmas celebrators) and we decided to decorate our humble apartment. We had so much fun putting up our Christmas decorations and then went down to Dick's Ace Hardware to buy three more pieces to our Christmas village. Then we went for broke and bought our first Christmas tree at J & L's. We then decorated our little Christmas tree while listening to some of the classics (i.e. Bing Crosby and A Carpenter's Christmas). I included pictures of our village and tree for your enjoyment. Cute, huh? Well, the last part of my story consists of me eating pizza and a McDonald's cheeseburger later that night (yes, I know I'm an idiot, but I thought I was feeling better!) and then projectile vomiting all over myself and our bathroom downstairs. Jordan, bless his heart, helped me clean myself up and then cleaned up my vomit. What a nice husband!

Tagged by Julia McMillan

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Wearing sweatshirts in the summer to cover up my sweaty armpits.
2. Singing "You don't own me" in the eighth grade girl's choir.
3. Dreaming of my future life with James Sukhan.
4. Eating pepperoni Hot Pockets every day after school.
5. Watching old scary movies at Lindsey Ward's house.

5 Things on my to-do list today
1. Study for my Swallowing Disorders final
2. Buy Jordan's Christmas presents
3. Make a fruit tray for the Christmas party I'm having for my stroke therapy group.
4. Clean my bathroom.
5. Study for the Praxis

5 Snacks I enjoy
1. Cottage cheese and peaches
2. Mike and Ikes
3. Cheese and crackers
4. Pretzels
5. Pizza

5 Things I would do if I were a Billionaire
1. Buy a house (in Utah and somewhere exotic like Spain).
2. Buy everyone in my family new cars.
3. Pay off my school loans.
4. Invest in the stock market
5. Pay for underprivelaged kids to attend college.

3 of my bad habits:
1. Biting my fingernails.
2. Grinding my teeth at night.
3. Pushing my snooze button at least 3 times in the morning.

5 places I have lived
1. Roy, Utah
2. Centerville, Utah
3. Provo, Utah
4. Salt Lake City, Utah
5. That’s all!

5 Jobs I’ve had
1. I cleaned a home decorating business when I was fourteen. The fridge was NASTY!
2. Cougar Copy Center- worked for 6 dollars an hour and they never trained me.
3. TDJ Finishing-I taped stuff and pulled stuff off an assembly line. Best job ever!
4. Blomquist Hale Consulting-Saturday receptionist. Never work for your dad!
5. Brighton Bank- I was a teller for a summer.

5 Things people probably don’t know about me
1. I do not go numb when the dentist gives me shots. I've had two root canals with basically no anesthetic.
2. I am half Canadian and am very proud of my Canuck heritage.
3. I broke my foot doing the "Boot scoot and boogie" in my bedroom at my parent's house.
4. I can play the guitar.
5. I love to skinny dip and swim naked every chance I get.

I now tag Jen Pratt, Erin, Haley, Amy, and Jenny McKasson to do this task. It's actually very fun and reflective. Pass it on!

Let it Snow!!

Jordan and I woke up Saturday morning to a winter wonderland. The most beautiful snowstorm blew in and it snowed big, fluffy flakes all day. Naturally the first thing we did was put on our snow clothes and run over to the neighbors to see if they wanted to play with us. Take note of my new coat, pants, and beanie I got for my birthday. I'm going to be the sassiest snowboarder chick on the slopes this year!

We decided to make a snowman with the Smoot kids from next door. We used a yam for the nose, guacamole chips for the mouth and oranges for the eyes. When is was time to name him we decided that he looked like an Alfonzo.

Posing in front of the completed Alfonzo.

Jordan is such a fun husband! He gets so excited about things and helps me to take life a little less seriously.

Rise and Shout!

BYU beats the University of Utah 17 to 10!! What a happy day for the Walkers and the Hales. The game was crazy intense and it all came down to the last minute, but we pulled out our BYU magic and were victorious. My husband is a happy man. Jordan and I sat in the middle of the U of U student section dressed in our BYU blue last year and were harassed horribly, so I can't say I feel bad for a SINGLE Ute fan out there.

After the game Scott and Jordan stormed the field and carried Michael Reed on their shoulders. Jordan was most excited about touching Max Hall on the shoulder (it must be a guy thing). None of us have voices left from cheering so loudly.

My dad is one of the biggest BYU fans out there.

Scoreboard!

Time for a change

I went to get my haircut yesterday and decided I was sick of having the same haircut since sixth grade. Now, I didn't do anything drastic, but for those of you know me I've taken a leap. I actually love my bangs!

As you can see, Jordan wasn't exactly in the picture-taking mood.

We went to dinner at Benihana's to celebrate my mom's and my birthday. Yummy!