IRON MAN May 5th, 2012

"GRAFTON MILNE, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN"

I've been needing to blog about this big event for a while, but haven't found the time... i'll write more later. :) But for now, here is a highlight video that I put together. I spent a lot of time working on it and it was so fun, it was my first video and I am very pleased with how it turned out. 

I am so proud of Grafton for working so hard and accomplishing such an incredible goal. It was so inspiring to be there and I loved watching him and cheering him on. (after all, I am his biggest fan :) ). 

It was an incredibly tough race being an Ironman and all, and then on top of that the weather was rough with crazy winds and the course was brutal. over 500 people didn't finish and many others finished but didn't technically qualify as an Ironman. But my determined and motivated hubby finished strong with a smile on his face after 14 hours and 21 minutes straight!!! He really is my hero.   

I hope you enjoy the video!!

1st year Dental Hygiene School...

IS ALMOST OVER.... :) I can't believe I'm almost half way done with dental hygiene school. Just a few more weeks of projects, quizzes and finals and its summer time! I really have been enjoying it so much. Especially the amazing friends I have made and the people that I have met. I have LOVED treating patients and have had so much support from my family. I have had such neat experiences helping the community and those in need with their oral health and hygiene. I especially love teaching children and helping make a difference in their lives.

Here are some pics of what I've been doing the past few months :)

I'm so happy I decided to do this...I know its what I am meant to do because I really enjoy it. I get such satisfaction and joy out of "cleaning teeth" helping people improve their health, prevent disease and decay, and live fuller lives. I love the relationships I am able to develop with my patients also...it really is a rewarding career.

March 5th-Heart Day.

March 5th has always been a special day for me. Exactly TEN years ago I had my open-heart surgery. What a blessing it was to have my heart fixed so that I could live a full, healthy and happy life, so that I could live to marry the man of my dreams and be able to have children someday. I love my "zipper" that is a constant reminder of the blessing it is to be alive and healthy. It really is miraculous what modern medicine can do. 

Tomorrow (Same day as mine), My precious, princess niece Bela will be having open heart surgery and will be spending a couple weeks in the hospital. She's been a miracle baby since the day she was born. She's the bravest and strongest little girl I know. She is such a light and joy to everyone around her and she has the sweetest, most perfect spirit. I know Heavenly Father sure has big plans for this little one.

You can read her miracle journey on her blog: http://tanandave.blogspot.com/

I love her with all my heart, and I know everything will go well, she is in good hands and has lots of prayers. 

Life is such a sweet blessing. 

THIS is why....

I will never get bored with this man!!!

I was just looking through some pictures and noticed how many I have of G with a silly face, so I had to put some of them together...I can't stop laughing even just looking at this! haha!! Its amazing how none of them are even the same, I don't know how he does it but it brings a lot of joy into my life! How could you ever be sad looking at this handsome and very animated face?! :) Yep, he's mine forever!

happy :)

 Saturday we enjoyed a beautiful picnic (with delicious costa vida burritos...mmm.). This lake is right next to our house, the weather was nice and we had to take advantage of it!! I loved it! I really just love being with him ^... He makes me laugh a lot, and brings so much joy into my life. Every day I think to myself, "Wow, How did I get so lucky?" Just about 2 years ago he took me on a picnic quite like this in fountain hills and gave the sweetest proposal... Oh So happy I said YES!!

I snapped all the pics with my phone... what a beautiful world we live in.

HAPPY PRESIDENTS DAY!! A.K.A...NO SCHOOL DAY!! WOOHOO!

Chicken and Waffles :)

Lately: 

I started my first two weeks of seeing patients, G was my first, and It was so fun having him. I was really nervous. I know, sounds silly he's just my husband, but it was scary doing all of this for the first time, and I wanted to impress him ; ) It went a lot better than I expected, especially with such a great patient. He is so good to me, I am so blessed to have his support. I was able to see Nana as my second patient, which was so fun too. Especially with all the knowledge she has being married to a Periodontist, she's so cute, and SO happy to have me going into the same field as Gramps. I've had my ups and downs with school the past 4 weeks but I am definitely learning a lot!! This coming week I am seeing a patient I don't know...eeee!

We have had some fun date nights:

 Last weekend we went to Dave and Busters and got our game on :) We had a gift card that we've been wanting to use that G has had for yearss...So we finally make it, and go to use our card, turns out it had 86 cents on it and we thought it had $25! haha. a little off, but since we were there we spent a couple bucks and enjoyed it!

 This Weekend: Friday night, we went to "The Vow" and shared a milk shake at johnny rockets. I had been wanting to see this movie for months, and my amazing hubby came with me on opening night. Oh how i'm a sucker for cheesy chick flicks :) It was really cute, and based on a true story!!! If you don't already know what its about, there is a newly wed couple madly in love that get in a car accident. The wife hits her head and cannot remember her husband: She doesn't even recognize him, or remember meeting him, or marrying him. So he has to make her fall in love with him all over again. The whole time I couldn't image how hard it would be if that happened to G and I, it broke my heart. I can't imagine my life without him.

Saturday night we got to go on a fun date with G's Brother and his wife (stu and angie) and went to a fun little restaurant in Scottsdale called LoLo's Chicken and Waffles, soul food restaurant. Graf LOVED it. It brought him back to his mission in Atlanta, Georgia. He was too cute, he ordered grape kool-aid, corn bread, chicken and waffles to have the whole experience. And I enjoyed it too...totally random combination, fried chicken and waffles, and totally not the healthiest, but it was delicious and totally worth the experience. and we had so much fun with stu and angie! We are so lucky to have such great family.

After dinner we went to U.S Airways Center to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in concert. We were blessed to get free tickets from a family friend (Uncle Paul) that works at the arena, and he hooked us up in a suite. It was amazingg!!! They sang a variety of songs, spiritual, folk, classical, patriotic, show tunes... Their music is so touching and powerful. My favorite was a couple solos by Alex Boye, He has an incredible voice, and is so soulful, he was even doing a little dance on stage, so fun.

He has an incredible story: you can watch it here...http://mormon.org/alex/

Life is great.

Back to school...and a little fun :)

I had a blast last week having sis here. It felt like she had never left. We just played, crafted, laughed, ate, sang, danced, decorated and much more all week long. I loved having her attached to my hip at all times :) I wish she didn't have to go back home. Having a sister is the best thing in the world!!! :) You can read more about our fun week on her blog:

http://jossiemarieandhusband.blogspot.com/2012/01/ariiiizona.html

Unfortunately it had to come to an end, and I started school this week...I was excited to start again but also not quite sure I was ready for the stress, busy schedule, life of studying and craziness. But it's here! This week was preeetty crazy and overwhelming. We are in for a busy semester. I am going to start seeing patients in about a week!! I have my first couple set up already, but if any of you want to help and come in for a few hours and let me give you great hygiene services (and teeth cleaning) let me know. SERIOUSLY pleeeeeaaase. I would love it :)

We have had a great weekend so far:

On Friday (which is my day off of school) I went on a hike with some friends from school. It was 5 miles and great exercise! We had a lot of fun. I sure love having such good friends at school, it makes the program much more enjoyable :)

                        

Then Friday night Gster and I went out for Spinatos Pizza (our favorite!). Then spent the night with Jake. Since my parents are out of town we were lucky to have him stay with us for the weekend and even though he's the busiest kid in the world, he squeezed in some time for his favorite sister and brother in law :)

Saturday night we had a fun date night planned :) We headed out to Glendale and got American food from In-N-Out, and went to the USA vs Venezuela soccer game. I've never been to a real soccer game before and I loved it. It was fun getting dressed in our red white and blue and cheering U-S-A, U-S-A!!

I was getting pretty disappointed when by 90 minutes both teams hadn't scored a single point!! Then they had four minutes of stoppage time and in the last minute of the game USA scored a goal! The crowd went wild!! It was a fun thing to do. We loved our fun date and doing something different than the norm.

 We loved looking at all the people dressed in flag capes, Captain America costumes, and all sorts of festive clothes. I love the American pride!!

Here's to my second semester of school...It's going to be a good one! Wish me luck :)

Enjoying the break!

I have really enjoyed having a 4 week break!! now into week three...unfortunately I got sick, which seems like the millionth time this year....but it gives me time to sit on the couch, watch movies, and blog :) 

After school got out we drove up to Flagstaff to be at Stu's Graduation. We were glad to be there and had a great little day trip with Kevin and JoAnn :) 

We had an ugly sweater christmas party with my classmates, it was fun bringing my hubby and introducing him to all the people he has heard so much about. We had a really great time eating treats, playing games, sharing stories, and getting to know each other's spouses/bf/or friends. 

(I looked everywhere for an ugly sweater, all out! haha. This was the best I could do in a short time.)

We also had an amazing christmas party with G's work: Menlo Group Commercial Real Estate. I love that he works with his brothers, so when we get together its with my favorite people :) A couple other people he works with came along too, and I really enjoy spending time with them too. Great group of people. I feel blessed to know that he goes to work every day with such wonderful people. We had a blast bowling, going to dinner, enjoying the company, and winning some great prizes :) I look forward to this every year! 

G surprised me with a fun christmas date. We grabbed our favorite pizza at Spinatos and went to Scottsdale to ride a train with a view of some great lights! When we got there the line was HUGGEE, and we were in for about a 2 1/2 hour wait in the cold. Luckily when G went to get the tickets he ran into some friends, the Miners, right near the front of the line. They graciously let us jump in line with them (Ya, I felt a little bad cutting in line...but so worth it) 

 

The lights were great, but the company was better. I sure love spending time with my honey. 

Of course we went to the Mesa LDS Temple to see their beautiful display of christmas lights, its a must every year. It really is amazing!

Mmmm...isn't he handsome :) I love my G.

We had a fun girls day with the besties, made sugar cookies, caught up on life, and watched the Holiday. Our lives have gone so many ways, all of us are up to new adventures, and I feel like we don't see each other NEAR as much as I would like to but every time we see each other it is like we haven't been apart. Thats what is so great about a best friend. I am so blessed to have these girls in my life.

I loved seeing Aub's Brigham. I can't believe how big he's getting. Its crazy. He sure is a cutie and looks exactly like her!! Makes me very excited to have my own! 

I also got to go to lunch with Alexis. I loved seeing her and hearing about her wonderful adventures up at BYU. Always love catching up with my girl friends

CHRISTMAS!!!!! It was wonderful! And very busy! On christmas eve and Christmas we went back and forth between families houses getting in all the christmas fun we could. We had our Christmas eve lunch at Nana's, she always makes it so fun and festive (she thinks we are getting too old for the silly things...never!) We had our traditional family talent show...and Graf and I decided to be Whos. We put on silly hats, taped our noses up, turned our upper lip under and sang "Where are you Christmas" In really silly little voices. Audience got a a kick out of it, turned out way better than we thought. Some how word got out to the Milne's and they convinced us to do it for them that night. I don't have any, but I'm sure there are plenty of pictures and videos floating around somewhere! haha. After lunch we went over to the Milne's for a delicious christmas eve dinner and talked about the real meaning of christmas. Then we opened some gifts from each other. My favorite was watching my nieces and nephew open their gifts, so in love with them!! Then we went over to my parents house to open our matching christmas pjs. We stayed there pretty late then went driving to see some amazing christmas lights. see here:  http://gilbertlights.com/ They are pretty much right across the street from me. 4 houses all light up and dance to the radio. Magical. Then we fell asleep to a christmas movie. :) 

Christmas Day was just as eventful. Woke up early to open presents, just Hubster and I. It was fun, he spoiled me!! And I got him some pretty good gifts too (most of which he picked out or bought on his own...haha.) I try to tell him he's not allowed to know everything he's getting for christmas, but he loves it just the same. Then we went over to my parents to open even more presents and have a delicious breakfast. Then we went to church and enjoyed a wonderful musical and spiritual meeting reflecting the Savior's birth. It was perfect having Christmas on a Sunday this year so that we could really focus on the true meaning of christmas.  After church we went back to my parent's house and got to skype Elder Whiting for about an hour and a half. It was so great hearing from him and seeing his happy face. He is having so many incredible experiences and touching so many lives already. I'm so proud of him and his passion and willingness to serve the Lord.

After we talked to him, we got to spend another wonderful dinner and night with the Milne fam. It was a wonderful, fun, family filled christmas. We spent the day after catching up on sleep, watching movies and just being together.  

I have loved holidays and the nights that Grafton and I have been able to spend together...Once school starts again monday through thursday nights are all school. I can't get enough time with him, he really is my best friend. He is such a huge support to me in my life. I couldn't have made it through my first semester without his love, help, and constant support. He truly makes me happy every single day. I'm the luckiest. 

We had a fun and magical new years eve. Mom and Dad Milne treated us to a delicious dinner at the Arrogant Butcher and a show: Michael Jackson The Immortal Cirque Du Soleil. Such an amazing show! It was a perfect night. 

I'm so excited to finish off the break with sis coming to stay with me for a week!!!

One of my new years resolutions is to blog more often. At least once a month. haha. Its a great way to journal and keep memories. And hopefully if I keep up with it...they won't be so long! haha. 

1/4 of the way there!!

I made it through my first semester of Dental Hygiene school!!! 1/4th of the way there! It was the best feeling! It was definitely one of the hardest things that I have ever done. I learned so much, not just about dental hygiene. And I made great friends. It really kept me busy. I felt like it took over my life...I woke up early, studied, left for class around 12, ate dinner on the run and made it to clinic from 5-9.  As hard as it was to keep up with all the work and stress, I really did enjoy it. I really believe I made the right decision for this field. Although I am still fully enjoying every moment of my time off=no stress and no studying, I am excited for next semester. I will start seeing real patients! 

 These are my 19 classmates and friends. We have every class together for two years...so we better like each other :) It really is great having each other for support.

Practicing.

 We worked on each other as patients most of the nights, just didn't get any pictures of that. 

We had the opportunity to go to an elementary school and teach 100 sixth graders about oral hygiene. They loved it and they were so smart. Then we helped them teach 100 first graders. I really loved it. It was so fun teaching them things that will really benefit their health and their lives. 

That is what I love about what I am learning...It isn't just about teeth. It is about the overall health of people. It is amazing how I have learned how oral health really affects the whole body and so many diseases can be related to it. I love learning how to help others. And I am looking forward to getting to know and care for many patients.