Someday :)

I love my little kitty, Beetle. He is so much fun, loves to cuddle, and loves to play. What more could you ask for??Well.....I really LOVE dogs. And SOMEDAY we will find the perfect one..It might not be for a little while because with the summer coming up and it is Chris's busy season. It would be hard to have to train a puppy with only one parent. But I have dreams that Beetle and our new puppy would look like this: HOW CUTE :)I have a few breeds in mind that would be perfect for our little family. Chris and I have watched this show on Animal planet called Dogs 101 and they go through a certain amount of dog breeds and tell you alot of information about them, along with positives and negatives about their breeds. Since we live on a ranch, there is so much space around here for a dog like this to run around and play!

I can't wait to take him/her on walks, hikes, and to the dog park. Estes Park has a pretty sweet dog park..It backs up to a lake so the dogs can go swimming and they have tons of obstacles like what you see at a dog show (like a tunnel and etc.). It is going to be so fun and we can't wait!!!

Cat...then dog....then baby?????

We shall SEE!( we are taking baby steps)

The Big DAY!

I was finally able to get some wedding pictures back and it brings back so many great memories of our big day. I love looking at pictures and really looking at them. You can really tell a lot about a picture if you just look at it for a second. Look at all the people in the picture, their faces, the background, or the lighting. I have enjoyed looking at them and really appreciate all the hardwork my photographer did. She was actually my matron of honor's mother who I have known since I was 5 and has been taking pictures for as long as I can remember. She was there all weekend taking pictures of my family and bridesmaids at the nail salon, rehersal, rehersal dinner, wedding (of course), and the day after when we had family and close friends over for a brunch. I cant even remember how many pictures she took but it is in the thousands. Here is a few I love:

Life as a married couple is great! I love being with my best friend every day. Everything (well mostly everything) is put away and unpacked. The house was such a mess when I moved with boxes everywhere. So we are glad that we got all of that taken care of. We adpoted a kitten about a month ago named Beetle and we love him so much. He is SO playful and super energetic. He also loves to cuddle and be held and I love that. We decided that we were going to start small (cat) then move up to bigger things (dog, etc.). Chris and I have a lot of exciting things coming our way! Life is good and this year is going to be great! We have a few weddings to go to this year out of state so we are excited for many trips and my matron of honor is having her baby in May so we will be going to visit her out there in Florida. Florida beach in the summer time??? YES please! We are so looking forward to our new life and all that is has in store. I couldn't have found a better man to share this journey with. Being a newlywed is so fun!

Hey 2011! So glad you are here!

Today is such a great day! We just said goodbye to 2010 and hello to 2011! This past year was wonderful and so many great things happened. Just a brief summary of what happened:

2010-

-got engaged!!!!

-graduated from Nursing school, YAY!

-spent a whole summer riding horses and making new friends

-planned a wedding while still in school

-spent a lot of time with family

In 2011:

-I will be getting married in January!!

-Going to the Bahamas for our honeymoon

-Looking for a job in a hospital

-Moving to Colorado! (in the middle of their winter)

-Road trip around Colorado

-Meeting a ton of new people/friends

I am really excited for what this year has to offer and can't wait to spend it with my soon-to-be-husband!

On a different note, here is my new year's eve story....

So Chris, his friend in town, and I were going to hang out at the house and then head over to this restaurant for some live music and dinner. BUT the power went out twice and stayed off the second time. It wouldn't of been that bad if it wasn't their coldest night of the whole winter so far!!!! It was -17 degrees out side, yes NEGATIVE and we had no heat. WHEW! I was a little nervous and my Arizona skin was not prepared for this. We just stayed at the house for a little bit and bundled up. We did not want to start a fire until we got home from the restaurant but even the restaurant was out of power. Luckily they had a little genereator.

Chris's friend works for the town's power company so his boss called him and told him that he needed his help. Poor guy had to go out in that cold weather and work. He later told us that half the town was out of power and it wasn't an easy fix. So Chris and I went into town to get out of the cold house for a little bit and then went to the place to wait for him friend to get done. We waited for a while and he still wasnt done and it was like 930. So we left and got pizza and headed home because the power was back on. His friend did not get to our house until 1130!!!! He was working for about 6 hours outside. We were very thankful though that he got the power back on so our pipes wouldnt freeze!!!

It ended up being a great, fun, and WARM New Years! Thank goodness :)

It is over!

School that is!

I am so excited to say that I am finished with nursing school. No I don't have that dipolma in my hand yet but soon. December 17th at 9am to be exact. This moment is what I have kept my eyes on for the last 2 years, graduation. I have learned a lot about myself throughout nursing school and I have made some great friends along the way. I am very fortunate to have a friend who lives less than 1 mile from me, graduated from the same high school, both spent our freshman year up at NAU (but we didn't know each other), and have the same study habits. We pushed each other through school and I know that I would not have stayed sane if it wasn't for her.

I also have my family to thank for sticking it out with me. I know there were days where I was cranky/stressed and would just shut my door to the world for a little while. They were encouraging through out the whole time.

AND I have to especially thank the love of my life for helping me out as well. He sent me numerous texts/letters/voicemails about how great I am doing and that I am almost done! Everything that a great man would do! I am so glad to be ending this chapter in my life and starting a new one with him!

SO what's next you ask??? Well I am going to start studying for my board exam and looking for jobs. Most places won't hire you if you don't have your actual license so I am kind of stuck for a little bit and it is really hard when your living out of the state you are moving to. Please send good thoughts/prayers for me in hopes of finding a job in Colorado. Also, I will be chugging along with the wedding plans. There are so many details to worry about like who is going to put the centerpieces out or make sure the cake lady knows where to put the cake. I have some minifreak-outs but I have a great mom, friends, and aunts helping me through it.

Life is great right now! I couldn't ask for better and I am excited to see what the future holds for the future Mrs. Schrader.

What a weekend!

This weekend I was able to go to Colorado to spend the weekend with my love! And it was so wonderful as always!!

He welcomed me to Colorado with those BEAUTIFUL flowers! They are our wedding colors too )isn't he sooo good?!) Chris and I went to hike around the lake where we got engaged and took some re-enactment pictures. It was such a nice day and seeing the leaves changing colors were so COOL! It isn't anything I have seen before because it doesn't really happen in Arizona and in Texas, the leaves just fell off and were brown..nothing too interesting in that! We had a day full of movies and popcorn, along with a little studying..Such a nice weekend, just the 2 of us!

On another note, I AM FINISHED WITH MY CRITICAL CARE CLASS! It was a class full of a ton of information, basically telling us that there are a lot of things that can go wrong with the body FAST! It was an interesting class and I did learn a lot but I am glad that it is done...I am heading into my last 7 weeks of college! How crazy! I remember starting nursing school and feeling like it would never end...BUT here I am, almost done! WHEW...It has been a long 2 years but I am so ready to graduate and start my new life with my one and only (i love you christopher!)

So excited for Glee tonight! I'm hooked!

Is it Fall yet?!

I think I am done with this hot weather here in Arizona...its September, officially fall time and its still summer waether. I hope it cools down soon!

Anyways, I have been pretty busy lately with school and the wedding planning! We are getting married Jan. 29 and I am so excited! It has been fun and a bit stressful but I can not wait! I know it will be here before we know it but it seems like forever away haha!

This summer I worked back up in Colorado as a horse back riding counselor. It was tough but I enjoyed being up there and closer to Chris. I learned alot about horses and riding this summer! It is so beautiful in the summer time with the mountains and green grass! I love it and after the wedding I am moving up there. We also took some engagement pictures this summer around the lake. We had a couple take our pictures that have a photography business up there. We had a great time taking them. Those are some of the pictures that were taken. Also, one of our good friends that we met last summer, saw our engagement pictures and sketched a picture of it.It was a engagement gift and we had no idea she was drawing it. She is an artist and did such a great job. I posted her drawing and the picture that she sketched it from. We were so grateful for that! It is hanging in Chris's house right now.

School is going well! It is my last semester and I am soooo glad! I am ready to graduate! This semester we have clinicals in critical care. I have been in ICU and cardiac ICU. It is a great experience but a little overwhelming. People are not doing well in there and it is hard sometimes to control your emotions because you feel so empathatic for them. In a few weeks, I will be done with that rotation and start a preceptorship to finish out the semester. I have the opportunity to follow a nurse in Labor and Delivery at Banner Desert for a month. I am really excited about it because this is the section of nursing that I am so interested in.

So next weekend I head up to Colorado to visit Chris for the weekend. I miss being up there so much and him, that it will be an excellent weekend! Also, the aspen trees up there are starting to change colors and Chris said I will be there just in time for them to be in full color. I have heard that they are so beautiful!

Life is so good right now and I know it just keeps getting better!!

3 down, 1 to go

I have been in nursing school for 3 semesters and I have 1 left. I never thought I would get to this day. I remember just finishing my first semester and thinking that it is going to be a longggg 2 years. Thank goodness I have met some really great people that have helped me through. Also my friends and family have helped out as well. And a BIG shout out to my fiance Chris for supporting me and telling me that I was going to make it threw when I thought I couldn't go any farther.

I have learned so many things and got to have some great experiences. I am excited for my next semester because it is filled with practice tests, ICU expereience, job hunting, and an externship. Plus some wedding planning in there too haha!

These are just some pictures of this past semester. I had clinical classes in Pediatrics, Labor and Delivery, and Community Health. I now have some great stories to tell and new skills.

On to Colorado on Wednesday for camp and Ill be back in August! Have a great summer!