Oh The Little Joys

I find little joys in the smallest things.

For example.

I am currently sitting on the couch with Gabster listening to 

The Kingdom of Africa's Music.

That's right.

I have found it.

Itunes Radio

whey haven't I noticed you until now!

That's right...every single radio you can imagine!

We have Country

College/University

Comedy

Golden Oldies

Top 40

and on and on and on

And then

there are subcategories!!

Glee Hits 24 hrs/day

Best of Italy

Latino Rock

70's Retro

and on and on and on

So my little joy is all the music that I can now be introduced to

from around the world.

simply amazing.

Almost as amazing as the wonderful smell of the crock pot cooking in the kitchen

{that would be shannon's masterpiece}

Gotta love Sunday's.

The roomies all together.

Spending time together.

Happy Sunday!

{ya...we kinda like to party}

Coming Home

What a beautiful morning!

I woke up to the sunshine simply beaming through my bedroom window

Friday: Class from 10-12

Simply amazing

You can believe that I slept in 

{granted...it was only until 7:35am..but that is sleeping in for me!}

I woke up smiling

Now, does it really surprise you that every song that I listen to right now

 starts with the title Coming Home!

I didn't think so.

Thank you Didd-Dirty Money

Your song Coming Home. Perfect

"I'm coming home. I'm coming home. Tell the world that I'm coming home"

Thank you Gwyneth Paltrow

Your song Coming Home. Perfect

"After all of my running, I am finally coming home"

yay!!

Have you gotten the clue yet?

I am coming home!

I guess I should say going home...one week!

So excited.

I know,  I know I did just see my family over Christmas, but I didn't get to actually go home

I miss my room

I miss my bed

I miss my mom's cooking

{this is my cute mamma in the kitchen...probably making something fantastic}

You can best believe I have a menu request

1. Lasanga {My mamma's Italian, so her homemade spaghetti sauce...meraviglioso!}

2. My daddy's barbequed burgers

3. Persimmon cookies

4. Triple C's (Chocolate Chip Cookies)

okay, I better stop now...I am getting too hungry

I miss my cute kitty Stanley

{What cat do you know that loves bubble baths!}

I miss just being home!

And doing things like this

{Just Dance 2 on Wii...need I say more!?}

So, this day couldn't be better.

Sunshine.

Running.

One class.

Work.

{yes, that is a happy place for me..weird I know}

and more sunshine.

Unfortunately I have to start studying for my Pharmacology test.

But I am not going to think about that right now.

Cause I am very happy

{Happy like when I went and saw Keith Urban in concert. Wow, thats a lot of happy}

Happy Friday!

Thata Baby.

As I was sitting in class, I decided to whip out my computer and pass some time.

You know...

blog stalk

facebook

email

more blogs

homework

calendar

grades (already...crazy I know)

BYU website

well, it was during my little meandering that I found this!

BYU Once Again Nation's Most Popular University according to U.S. News

click here and read!!

That always makes you proud!

Way to go BYU

School	Students Accepted	First Year Enrollment	Yield
Brigham Young University	7,049	5,421	76.9%
Harvard University	2,175	1,663	76.5%
Stanford University	2,426	1,694	69.8%
Georgia Southern University	5,154	3,539	68.7%
University of Nebraska--Lincoln	5,943	3,986	67.1%
University of Alaska--Fairbanks	1,507	1,008	66.9%
Yale University	1,958	1,307	66.8%
Idaho State University	2,856	1,906	66.7%
University of North Dakota	3,003	1,992	66.3%
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	1,676	1,072	64.0%
Yeshiva University	1,269	809	63.8%
Kansas State University	5,550	3,522	63.5%
University of Pennsylvania	4,040	2,475	61.3%
University of Memphis	3,726	2,256	60.5%
Oral Roberts University	827	498	60.2%
Princeton University	2,209	1,320	59.8%
University of New Orleans	2,130	1,259	59.1%
University of Alabama--Huntsville	1,387	802	57.8%
University of Florida	10,821	6,253	57.8%
Columbia University	2,501	1,419	56.7%

Good luck in your Basketball Game tomorrow night!

BYU vs. San Diego State

This is how dedicated our fans are

It is snowing outside

It is cold

and we have 500+ people waiting outside the Marriott Center for the game.

Dedication baby

{my good friend Amanda waited in line and snapped this picture!}

As for me

 I sit here with my most favorite nursing friends trying to figure out

 Pharmacology medication calculations 

sipping hot chocolate...life is good..well the hot chocolate is good, hw, not so much.

{love her}

Meet My Roomie!

World I think it is time to meet Gabby

This is my roommate

Gabby and I have been roommates since the good ol' dorms.

{I know...I can't believe she has kept me around this long!}

Before I met Gabby Freshman year, we would email back and forth to each other.

I thought we were really cool.

You know...the traditional...

Hi! My name is Madison your new roommate! I love to dance, play tennis, and I live in Northern California with my fab fam. 

It pretty much went like that. 

Poor Gabby didn't know what she was in for!

It seems that I left out in my "hi this is me email" that I am also...

loud

crazy

hilarious (well, at least I think so)

and likes to talk

a lot

But she kept me!

And for that I am so grateful.

She is always there for me when I need someone to talk to.

I share my most secretest secrets with her.

She is the one person that I know will laugh at my jokes

{okay okay...she may be laughing at me...but I don't care!}

Her laugh "infiltrates" me

{inside joke}

She is always giving

Always caring

Always lifting me up

Thank you Gabby for putting up with my craziness

I sure do love you

and can't think of a better roommate.

Operating Room

You know that great amazing feeling when you wake up in the middle of the night and you realize you still have more hours to sleep!

Well that was me last night.

I woke up at 2:30am this morning to use el baño and when I looked at the clock I was so excited

because I still had 2 more hours to sleep!

My alarm was set to go off at 4:40am

It's clinical day..what do you expect!

My plan: 

1. Wake up

2. Throw on the scrubs and get ready

3. Make a lunch

4. Grab the brownies I made for Paige's bday

5. Go get Paige at 5:30am

6. Get to the hospital by 5:50

Well...when does anything ever goes as planned?

What actually happened:

1. Woke up at 5:32 from a text from Paige

2. Freaked out and jumped out of bed

{sorry Gabs, I was so loud}

3. Threw on my scrubs

4. Ran out the door

5. Ran back inside to grab my stethoscope

6. Ran out the door...again

7. Ran back inside to grab a banana

{instructions from my clinical instructor...eat a hardy carb filled breakfast...its OR day}

8. Ran out the door...again

9. Ran back inside to grab the brownies on the counter

10. Off to Paige's I went- got there in 2 minutes

11. Picked up Paige

12. Got to Timpanogos Hospital in 6.3 minutes

{..I may have been driving just a tad fast...sorry mom and dad but don't worry! No ticket}

13. Kicked Paige out of the car at the Main Entrance so she wasn't late

14. Parked the car

15. Went to my shift in Same Day Surgery/OR

16. Only 2 minutes late..phew!

17. Let the day begin

Mark this day one of the best days in Nursing School

I had an amazing nurse that I got to follow

I inserted my first catheter on a real person today! 

{A female even...way harder than a male}

No more tomatoes!

I inserted IV's

I wore Surgery Scrubs

{way more comfortable than my BYU scrubs}

I wore face masks and hair caps

I watched surgeries all morning

Brachytherapy surgeries

BMT's

Adenoidectomies

and so on and so forth

I was on cloud 9

I got to work with amazing nurses, doctors and anesthesiologists

It's days like these that makes me forget about the endless amount of homework I have 

or the brutal tests I have to study for

It's days like these that make me excited to become a nurse.

and it's days like these that make me feel like I am a nurse

Yay for the Operating Room!

P.S.

As mentioned before it is Paige's Birthday!

Happy 20th Birthday my dear friend Paige Brunt

I am so glad that I met you in Chemistry class

You are an amazing friend and wonderful person

You inspire me everyday with your optimism and love for life.

And you are the best nursing partner ever.

Love you!

oh ya, and I love how you are obsessed with Grey's Anatomy.

Makes me love you that much more!

{what a beautiful girl!}

Happiest Place on Earth

Disneyland.

It truly is The Happiest Place on Earth.

It hold's a special place in my heart because it brings back so many memories.

When I was younger

{okay, who am I kidding, up until a couple years ago}

my family would go to Disneyland.

Every year.

It was always a vacation we looked forward to.

We would pack up the Suburban with our boogie boards, beach towels, cameras, etc.

and venture the trip to Southern California.

We would go to Disneyland and spend time on the beach.

Awesome vacation.

Well, after our cruise we were right next to Disneyland how could we not go!

About a month before the trip, my mom calls to tell me that we have now decided to spend a couple days in L.A. so that we could go to Disneyland.

She wanted to know if that would be okay with my work schedule.

I told her...for Disneyland...of course!

So Kenz and I switched our flights so we could stay a couple days longer.

That idea made me very excited.

The fact that I got  2 more days with my family was good enough!

Disneyland during Christmas was a new experience!

And a great one at that.

The decorations were amazing.

The lights were gorgeous.

And the fake snow was...well okay, I have real snow but the rest of the fam loved it!

Everyone is happy here.
{hence the happiest place on earth}

Kids run around wide-eyed, big smile on their face with Mickey Mouse ears

It is such a great site.

So happy.

And so were we!

{Toy Story 3! One of the best rides at California Adventures}

Until next year Disneyland!

Almost the weekend!

Now that is something to be very happy about.

Hola Mexico!

This Christmas was the first Christmas I didn't spend at home. 

And I came to find

that was just fine.
{oh wow, I even rhyme! haha}

Because I spent my Christmas day zip-lining through the jungles of Matzlan and laying on the beach.
Spending a week with the people I love.

Not too shabby.

Mackenzie and I flew out of Salt Lake Tuesday, December 21st right into L.A.

I had to work that morning, so right from work I drove to Lehi and parked Henry (aka my car)

in front of my grandparents house

Poor fellow. I'm gonna miss him!

But off we go to the airport.

Kenz and I caught our flight with no problem, and were greeted at LAX 

by my mom, aunt, cousin and Macey.

The rest of the fam was at the hotel, and my dad and Miranda were flying in later that evening.

It was raining in LA which was no fun at all, but at least it wasn't very cold!

Love California.

The next morning we waited to set sail.

After a quick grab and go at Starbucks

(that was one large line of 16 people ha)

we headed to the boat!

We were so excited when we saw it sitting in the harbor.

Everyone was anxious to board!

Once we boarded, we had to have a mandatory fire drill. 

(We felt like Titanic...everyone in their life-vests. But, we did learn...do not say Titanic!)

When we first boarded the ship we were handed a sheet of paper.

A scavenger hunt.

Perfect.

Competition=My Family.

Winner=Prizes.

Even more perfect.

So away we went 

(well the kids did...the parents just gave us our cards and said go get our stamped...typical)

Exploring the decks were so much fun!

There were 14 total.

On our excursion, we even got massages!

After we got our card stamped, we headed down to the main deck for the Set Sail Party

Lots of music.

Lots of people.

Lots of drinks.

Lots and lots of fun.

We even won two prizes for the Scavenger hunt!

Even better.

Free internet and free BINGO

After the party we went to go check out our rooms.

Our Cruise Director

aka my daddy

{this handsome fellow right here}

arranged all the rooms so that we were 

all right next to each other.

Well, except the 3 boys.

Which turned out to be a not-so-bad accident.

The rooms weren't too shabby!

Nonnie and Papa had a room with a balcony...so sweet.

The first 2 days we were sailing, so we enjoyed the cruise ship.

This means.

1. Food

2. Karaoke

3. Chess and lots of card games

4. Laying out on the deck

5. Comedy Shows

6. Dance Shows

8. Food

9. Gingerbread Houses

10. Dancing

{if you are wondering who the guy in jeans and a towel is..well that would be my uncle...enough said}

{The parents partied more than the kids!}

Our first stop was Puerto Vallarta.

It was Christmas Day and we got ready to go zip-lining through the jungle.

We took a trip in the back of a car up to the place.

It was quite the ride let me tell you.

When we got to the zip-lining place, we had to harness and helmet up

Yes. Everyone looked this funny. 

Not just our crazy group.

Let the zip-lining begin!

It was so much fun. We would fly through the jungle and over creeks 

It was amazing.

When we finished our last run through the jungle.

They surprised us with mule rides back up to camp.

Probably the best part seeing P.J. ride the smallest little donkey.

Loved it.

{Imagine seeing this coming up the hill. It was one for the books...poor donkey}

Puerto Vallarta was amazing.

A great way to spend Christmas!

Our next stop was Matzlan.

Here, we went on the ATV's all over the plantations.

I think we were all even more excited for this.

Let's just say that my family has a...need for speed!

And my amazing favorite (only) brother was the..uhm..let's just say he rolled his quad and made Mackenzie fly off of her's 

and always making sand fly into your face.

{I'm pretty hard core though too...if I do say so myself}

After the 3 hour ride...you can imagine what we looked like!

Sand, Dirt and Sweat...what a great combo!

The last stop on our 7-Day Riviera Cruise was Cabo San Lucas!

We were all looking forward to this stop because my family has been there before.

We have a house in Cabo, but it was nice to do a little something different.

And when I say different...I mean amazing

In Cabo we got to swim with the dolphins!

What a great experience it was. 

I have always wanted to do this, so I was very anxious.

We all got on our wet-suits and were ready!

(pics from the actual swimming with the dolphins are on their way)

{I think they liked the wet suits a little too much}

{Wow mamma, getting a little short there!}

{All of the kids}

The trip was amazing. 

So much fun, and definetly more than I ever could imagine.

I got to spend time with my most favorite people in the world.

I love my family! 

Thank you everyone for such an amazing trip.

How I wish I was back in the sun!