Thanksgiving

I know it's a little past date but I'm including it anyway. The day after my graduation we (Adam, Olivia and I) forwent the traditional Thanksgiving and headed to Mexico. We spent a completely relaxing week in Cancun. We stayed at an all-inclusive resort right on the beach. It was a perfect time to go. The crowds were minimal and the weather wasn't too hot. In fact, I only remember sweating once. The water was so warm and the waves were great. The hotel food was actually fantastic, we had fresh fish tacos everyday! Most of the days we just spent time between the beach and the kids pool. Olivia had such a blast. The kids pool had a Noah's Arc theme and had water slides, fountains and animals in it, plus it was warm. The adult pool was cold and had a bar in the middle of it. Needless to say we didn't spend much time there. One day we went to Isla Mujeres, a small island off the north eastern coast of the peninsula. We rented a golf cart and drove around to the sites. We did a little snorkeling at a national park on the island. Olivia didn't last five minutes, but she saw a stingray before we got out. We went on a long walk along the coast to some old Mayan ruins and stood on the eastern most tip of Mexico. Adam found a huge, green conch shell, which we smuggled back to the states. Once we bleached it, it became a beautiful white and pink shell. Thanksgiving dinner wasn't quite the same without pumpkin pie and candied yams but fun just the same. The hotel set up a pen with live turkeys in it. No one got sunburned too bad or sick on our trip, and aside from Olivia's impatience with the long travel times (Are we there yet?), I would say we had a perfect trip.

Of course, nothing is perfect. Montezuma decided to follow us home and get his revenge there. All of us suffered various forms of GI distress during the next week, Adam more than Olivia and I. He even had to go to the hospital and get IV fluids. This was the week we were supposed to pack for our move. Since Adam was layed up more than myself I took on the grueling task of packing most of the house. While Adam was getting pumped full of fluids my parents and some members of our ward helped us fill our truck. Then my folks and Adam's sister followed us up to Roseville to unload. We were so grateful for the help we got. We unpacked, battled an ant infestation, and I started work. The Christmas and New Years holiday is upon us and we are blessed to be spending time with our families. We wish all of you the best this time of year.

THE BEGINNING

It has finally happened! Well, at least I am excited about it. I have come the the decision that I must join the blogging world along with the rest of my family. I have felt so left out looking at everyone else's blogs and not having one of my own. The closest thing I come to is facebook, not nearly as cool. So, I have been out of the loop long enough, or should I say YOU have been out of the loop long enough! Yeah! Where to start?! Some of you know the story up till now, but some of you don't. It is a little wordy.

OK, from the beginning. Well, I consider life before my precious girl, Olivia Kate, arrived over four years ago mediocre, hardly worth mentioning, and life ever since blessed. During her first year we resided in Austin, TX and I worked as an ICU nurse. It was just us girls, and though we had each other, it was a little lonely. My parents offered me a wonderful gift. They opened their home to me in California so I could go back to school. Olivia and I packed up our things and headed west. I worked in a small community hospital north of San Francisco. Olivia attended daycare. We loved the weather in Novato and being with Grandma and Grandpa, as well as Uncle Jared. I applied to a master's nursing program at Samuel Merritt College to become a nurse anesthetist and I was accepted in the fall of 2006. Olivia was two and I had a busy couple of years headed my way.

The summer before I started school, I met a man in my ward with whom I would casually talk with during Gospel Doctrine and in the parking lot. He was a teacher, coached football and softball, nice, good looking, single as I could tell, but he always seemed like he had something more to say but couldn't get it out. Well, after a couple months of that I managed to get my hands on a pair of Cal football tickets and dared to ask him to the game. He wasn't home and I left a message with his sister. Well, he called me back that night, asked me to an A's game and ever since then he doesn't hold back anymore. By the way, his name is Adam Reid. Adam grew up in Novato, went to Rick's and graduated from BYU with a BS in biology and got his teaching credentials. He taught in Utah for two years before moving back. He went on a mission to Brazil. By the time February came around we decided we wanted to get married and set the date for July. We were married at my parents home July 14, 2007. We had a great honeymoon in Aruba and came back home where real life was waiting. Adam developed a wonderful relationship with Olivia while we were dating and he easily slipped into the role of Daddy. He is who she knows and loves as her Father. Olivia and I are so lucky!

The last year and a half has been filled with the normal trials of meshing two different, well three different lives together. Adam's job as a teacher, coach and dad, as well as completing his Master's in Education Administration this fall have kept him busy. There hasn't been as much time for playing softball or golf or video games, but I never heard him complain. Nor would he complain about my 50+ hours at the hospital. Wifely duties such as cooking, grocery shopping and cleaning were left to him. Fortunately his mother taught him well and his years as an independent bachelor were to his advantage. Olivia has grown so tall for her age. She is very agile and fast. She has such a bright mind and her wheels are always turning. She loves singing and dancing and princesses. Her daycare transitioned into preschool and loved her teacher, Miss Stacey, who took care of her for three years.

I finally graduated at the end of November. The Bay area had few job opportunities and we felt that the political environment, as well as the expense of the area were not going to help us raise our family the way we want to. So, instead of continuing his teaching job this fall, Adam stayed at home, finished school and did some substitute teaching. This allowed me to widen the job search so we could move during a school year. It has lead us to the Sacramento, CA area. I got a job with the Kaiser Permanente Anesthesia Department. We rented a house in Roseville, in the foothills just below the Sierras. It is close to a great park and a new elementary school. Olivia already loves "our new house". It was hard to leave Novato. My parents are still there and so is Adam's mother, his Dad passed away in 2001. Fortuantely the drive is 90 minutes. Olivia adore's her Nanna and Grandma and Grandpa Jensen. We are looking forward to this next year. Hopefully, my attempts at blogging with be consistent and more creative as I figure out how to attach pics and make it cute!