Poopy Underwear

It was so nice on Friday, Chris had the day off so when I got home for work we wanted to play catch. One of our favorite past times recently. We went over to the park with Maggie and let her roam around in the bushes that are completely ungroomed. A minute later she comes out all proud with a dirty pair of whitey tighties. They were massive! And best of all they had major poop stains on them. Chris and I couldn't keep from laughing and we tried to catch her. She was just too happy frolicking in the grass and playing catch me if you can. When we finally caught her Chris made sure to throw the dirty underwear way on top of the trees so she couldn't get it.

After playing catch for a few minutes we see Maggie again come with something in her mouth…It looked like a big stick, but after a minute I noticed what it was. Old dog poo… She was eating it! Dogs are so gross sometimes! Well to my fun, Chris was on night call, and I had a feeling Maggie would get sick. At two in the morning I hear faint whines and cries. She has been doing this lately for no reason so I just let her cry it out. At five in the morning I hear her howl and cry for at least 10 mins. I get up to what smells like a porta potty leaking in our house. I lifted the sheets off Maggie's kennel and poop…EVERYWHERE! I almost threw up…

I hurried and dragged her outside, forgetting her collar or leash. Poop on my jacket, waiting in the rain, she would not go… 

We went to the 2nd floor of our building where I hosed her down. Still it is 5am and I am half asleep. 

I guess this is maybe similar to what mom's experience? I now sorta get it…

Sunday I was sick :( I slept forever and am still tired! I had to go get medicine because yesterday I checked the drawers and there was no medicine. I really needed to the store and got some zicam and airborne. I get back to the house and look in the drawer and the old zicam where it was empty yesterday was now full and there was medicine and a bunch of cough drops… I thoroughly looked through and Chris did too! I should have looked again! It was kind of a cool experience although I broke the sabbath and felt guilty, you just never know when a spiritual experience will happen. 

Easter Begg Hunt

We did an Easter Saturday this weekend because I will be gone next week in Boston supporting my mom running Boston and welcoming my brother home from his mission! I am so proud of her for qualifying and I am so proud of my brother for serving a full time mission!

 On Saturday we took Maggie to Turner Park right outside our Midtown Crossing apartment. There were probably around 100 plus dogs. All the dogs and owners were in a circle being tempted by all the goodies. There were Easter eggs all over filled with Doggie

treats. I saw a couple of dogs cheating before it started. It's okay Maggie cheated too. I was a little worried that Maggie would get sick, but she seemed to truck on through treat after treat. I attempted to make an easter bunny outfit for Maggie. Of course Chris thought it was a mess and kept saying we are going to dress her outside right? Instead we settled on dressing her in the hall. The sparkles all fell off my old shirt I decorated for her. Now the hall has sparkles everywhere and pee stains. I am pretty sure we left our mark here on Midtown.

Maggie was in the costume contest at the end of the Easter Beg Hunt. She had balloon bunny ears, pink sparkle shirt, and a cotton tail I tied on her little stub tail. We didn`t win first place but I still think Maggie was the cutest dog there :). She even got a doggie cupcake! 

The winning puppy and the lamb costume

Happy St. Patricks Day!

The Holy Family Shrine (seen below) is a blue dot in Nebraska. If you don't know what a blue dot is, it basically means it is a "top tourist destination" in Omaha. This shrine or church was made for all religions to worship. It is beautiful! I have never seen a building like this, made with almost all windows and a small waterfall inside. The water trickles from the entry way all the way to the front where there is a small pond. It is very relaxing and I could spend hours in there just meditating. On one side of the building is a main highway, which I don't get why they built it right there. It's kind of noisy outside but you don't hear anything inside. On the other side of the building are rolling hills that look like they go on forever.

St. Patricks day was so much fun! Chris and I made a green breakfast for dinner. I of course had to add green veggies like broccoli and spinach to the egg scramble. 

Maggie wanted some too. 

Chris had the day off on Saturday! Finally, so we decided to live it up. We went to the dog park, although it was probably about 20 degrees. We also went to the batting cages where you could take all your rage out on slow soft ball pitch. It was so much fun, I forgot how much I loved baseball!

To sell or not to sell, that is the question...

I'll be honest…we were on the fence of selling Maggie. Since I got into my nursing program at SLU I have had to be realistic and think what I am going to do with her next year. We made a deal with a couple from Iowa who wanted to buy Maggie for her grandson's birthday. She gave us less than a week deadline. The day before we were supposed to sell her I got so sad, it didn't even click to me that she was going to be gone. So sunday rolls around and the weather is horrible, they decide not to come up that day and pick her up, making Chris and I reflect more. We got cold feet and decided to back out of the deal. Her text expression was "OMG, Amanda already showed the boys the pictures. She had told them grandma was getting them a puppy to bring home when they came at Spring Break!" 

Well no more Maggie for you! So we are going to "try it out" at least for the first part in St. Louis.

Maggie also got spade this week, they say it is supposed to calm her down. I don't know about that, she is still her hyper crazy self. Supposedly in a couple of months her hormones will change so I will definitely be watching for that.

It was Girls Night and we decided to be super creative and complicated and make sushi. I forgot to buy crab for the California Rolls so instead I made chicken, it was actually pretty good! Our neighbor across the hall has a juicer so later I brought a bunch of veggies/ fruits over there and we made carrot/apple juice! I'm not much of a juice person but the all organic juice was to die for.

Other than that Chris and I have been frantically trying to get a list together of apartments for this year in St. Louis. We want to live near SLU and the hospital but that means we have to live near downtown a little more on the sketchy side. I think it will be fine since we don't have kids and to be very careful. There are some nice pockets in St. Louis but let's just say I was shocked the first time I went there ;).

A couple of tests and a good hard working husband makes this weeks Omaha Smith's very busy! 

Love you all!

Maggie and her cotton ball. I mean look at her, how can I sell that face?

Delectable Sushi Roll

All protein waffle no flour, who would have known ;) Plus extra STRAWBERRIES!!

Kansas City Missouri

After 12 days straight of no days off Chris was in much need to have a get a way. We took an overnight bag and Maggie's "baby bag" with us and packed into the car.

So how long do you think she will cry..? We made a bet, I said 15 mins. & Chris said 30 mins. She proved us both wrong. Only 10 mins but not really.. It was on again off again and quick sharp yelps from the crate. By the end of the trip we were ready to get out of the car!

Kansas City is a very family friendly. It is know as the city of fountains, it was a pretty enough day that kids were running and splashing in the water. We enjoyed a nice walk by the Nelson Atkins Museum with the shuttlecocks. My favorite art piece was the aluminum tree. It was the size of the tree but made out of metal. I wonder how that would hold up in a lightning storm?

We were referred to by the Concierge to go to Oklahoma Joes for dinner. I guess from the Food Network Channel Man vs. Food, Adam Richmand ranks it in his top 10 restaurants must visit before you die. We found out that it was in a gas station after driving past it once. The food was awesome, but I think what was awesome was Chris's Cowboy Dinner that made him one happy camper.

I made Chris go with me to the Hallmark Museum since the Hallmark headquarters are in Kansas City. We went to the visitors center and got to see the President's Christmas cards made by Hallmark and a machine that made bow ties. Who knew Winston Churchill painted? Hallmark has made several copies of his paintings to Greeting Cards.

We also got to go see a couple of church sites including Liberty Jail and Adam-ondi-Ahman. We stayed for the presentation of the story of Joseph and the five other men in Liberty Jail. We learned that D&C 121-123 are all revelations received by Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail. The jail was very small with no natural light what so ever. Later on they deemed it to be unnatural to house humans there because of its severity and instead used it as an ice floor to preserve meats and such. I thought it was particularly funny learning that Hyrum at one point had a melt down in the jail since Chris is a descendant of him. Hey, I think I would have a melt down too!

Adam-ondi-Ahman was amazing! I loved it, this is the sight where Joseph Smith received revelation of Christ's second coming and where the Saints will be gathered in the last days. The area is enclosed in trees but out of no where is a massive field that goes on for miles. Maggie was in heaven as she frolicked in the mud and weeds. Oh that was a fun clean up.

I also got some big news this weekend. Officially accepted to St. Louis University Nursing Program! I start May 27th. I am so excited to be starting and going to St. Louis for school. I think this next year will be tough but I am so ready to being able to stay put at least for a couple years in one state and not having to worry about where we are going to move or what I am going to be doing. I know with nursing I can get a job anywhere and beyond that I love it! I love learning about the human body and the treatments/ illness that the human body is immune to. I think what made me really consider this change was when I was getting my personal fitness certification and realized the body is amazing! That and I have always been fascinated with health. Who knows what this next school year will bring. Bring it on Saint Louis!

Oklahoma Joes 

Accepted to Nursing School!

Liberty Jail, the man standing in the back is Hyrum :)

Valentines Day!

Chris had a 4 day vacation so we decided to take advantage and enjoy some skiing in Utah! We got to enjoy a snow day with Karen and Brian and after some Cafe Rio and Olympics! It was a perfect night! The next day we had a family party and got to see everyone except Alison and Travis! We missed them and baby Grayson and I wish Chris could meet him because I have already seen him twice so I feel a little guilty. Alison you just got to convince Chris to come to Denver! It was so fun to be with the Smith's and to see how happy and comfortable Chris felt at home back in his high school attire red sweatshirt and gray sweats ;).


After missing my flight from Utah to Omaha I got to spend an extra night in SLC, hey I wasn't complaining! I got to reminisce with the Bangeter's and my family at my grandparents house what I remembered of Sunday dinners. It's funny when you move away. Chris and I always do dinner together for Sunday it makes you thankful to be able to sit down and eat with family. My new flight I had a 5 hour layover in Denver. Thank Heavens I didn't bring Maggie! I actually got to study for my A and P test which I ended up getting a 96%~! Who knew I would be so good at Endocrine and Cardiology ;). JK those are hard! I got in at 6:30 and we had tickets to Justing Timberlake (JT). We tried to sell our tickets thinking that we wouldn't have time but we ended up going and it was a blast! Our seats were awesome and Justin came all the way from the stage to the back of the stadium. I even filmed his butt super close…no I was just frantic in getting my camera to turn on and filmed him instead!…;)

3 years ago from this Valentine's Day, Chris came all the way from Texas keeping it a secret from my family (at least my mom) because if he told my mom he knew word would get out to me. It is one of the most memorable days I have and one of the best days I've ever had. When I saw him come out of the bushes in a suit while holding the note and flowers I didn't even recognize him! I was that surprised I couldn't believe he was actually there in Utah!

This year I woke up to a big card and teddy bear, and candy and popcorn! I knew he would wake up before me so the night before I left out a little something for him crossword puzzles, beef jerky, pop tarts, a card, and a nice "doctor pen". We know each other very well even after 3 years. I still feel like a newlywed though!
We celebrated indoors this year since it was packed at midtown crossing with couples! We made our favorite salad "Cornucopia Salad" the best salad EVER. I decorated the table with a red table cloth and lights and hearts. I bought sparkling cider and made appetizers shrimp and cocktail sauce and dip with bread. We then watched a chick flick and cuddled on the couch now that is my kind of Valentines Day :).

This week has gone by too fast! I can't believe we have only two months in Omaha. It is bitter sweet but I will miss all the people I have met here. That will be the hardest part.

Love you all and have a fantastic week!

Cameryn

Ice Climbing

Are you sure your okay taking Maggie? Just know she has a LOT of energy and loves to play. Don't get me wrong you will fall in love with her but she is kind of hard…this is what Chris says to his fellow intern as we leave Maggie for the night to go ice climbing the next day. She too, has a big golden doodle they were best buds playing all weekend. Both, shaggy hair and playful, Maggie has found a new best friend.

Waking up at 4:30 am was a little brutal. We met the group of ice climbers at 5:15am at UNO. There were about 6 of us, most were seniors and there was a graduate assistant and a "supervisor". Andrew the Graduate Assistant said that he wanted to stop by his mom's to grab his taxes and also grabbed some homemade cookies on the way out. We came back from the trip and stopped at Tasty Tacos where he met some of his high school buddies. Well, I know who planned this trip definitely Andrew because it seemed like the whole trip revolved around him, especially when some of us wanted to leave at three and he wanted to keep climbing until 5:30…

After driving 4 1/2 hours we made it to the Silo. I definitely didn't master the art of ice climbing, but Chris took it like a champ. He was climbing to the top like he has been doing it his whole life. He tried to explain to me it is all about technique. I guess I was using my arms too much when I should have been using my lower body. I got tired so fast with my arms shaking as I came down and could barely hang on to the ice picks. It was fun to at least attempt. The weather in Iowa was -10 in the sun and windy! Probably one of the coldest days I have ever experienced. We warmed up in the Ice hut with some rounds of hot cocoa. The people we went with you could tell they are high adrenaline junkies. Don't get me wrong I love to experience new things, but I also like a routine. These guys go rock climbing in Yosemite one weekend to skydiving the next. Also it made me feel a little more grown up than the seniors who sat in back of us, "Ya like #^*^* man, thats awesome. (&(^(&! Dude, really though we free falled!" This is what we listened to on the way up and the way back.

But as they say YOLO!

We went to pick up Maggie after getting back at 11:00 pm, You could tell Kristen was exhausted! How was she? Good, good! And then I asked her No, really how was she tell me the truth. She was really nice about it. Although, she didn't say how many accidents she had she seemed like she enjoyed Maggie.

Now we get to catch up from the weekend with some sleep! Yay!

Cameryn

Maggie's favorite spot