February

Well February managed to sneak by... I blame the fact that it is only 29 days. Even with the extra day this year, it seemed to go by too fast.

Here is what we have been up to this month:

Jon reports that he was "up to no good" this month. But I'm not sure what hes talking about. He goes to work everyday, works out and is getting super buff, and he even cooked dinner tonight. In my book he's been nothing but a dreamy husband. He also has an interview tomorrow at Loma Linda for medical school. We're crossing our fingers and our toes; we're really hoping for this one. But really, we are just praying God will send him to the right place at the right time.

I have been keeping plenty busy with school. I seriously am counting down the days until this quarter is over (12 to be exact). I cannot believe I will be registering for the LAST time this week, and that I will only have two classes next quarter. I was afraid I would feel run down and out of steam by the end of this quarter- but I think I've got a few more months of hard work left in me.

We did take a little weekend trip with some friends up to Lake Arrowhead one weekend... and I even managed to take pictures (a miracle, I haven't used my camera in so long).

The whole crew..


Game night! The cabin was available to us thanks to Jeff's dental professor who rents it out to students.


Miss Brenda and I. Love that lake view.


We even managed to find Grandma and Grandpa Tate's old house! It was very nostalgic being up there, I loved it.


Well those have been our latest adventures. Now we are just looking forward to spring break! Visits from some of our favorite people, a week off of school for me, and a wedding and family time in Santa Barbara! And someones birthday is coming up this month... things are looking good for us. Hope it is the same for you.

January 2012

Hi blogging friends.

This month has definitely thrown us into 2012, sometimes it seems like all we know around here is "busy!"

First of all, Mr. Jon and I have received new callings at church. We are no longer teaching our beloved 6-7 year-olds. Jon is now helping with the 14 and 15 year old boys in the ward, including spending his Wednesday evenings doing scouting activities. So far Jon is liking it, there are some other cool guys in there with him. I was surprised to find out that I am not leaving primary at all, but instead I am the second counselor in the primary presidency. I get to teach all the little kiddos about Noah's Ark next week, wish me luck! I am also involved in helping out with the scouting program, but I am with the cub scouts.

Jon is doing swimmingly at his job; it was fun to get his W2 and look at what a difference it makes to have a full-paying job that he LOVES. It really makes you appreciate having a good job (no matter what you get paid). Things are moving forward with medical school, and as we like to tell people now, "we will let you know when we have good news." I am sure I won't be able to contain myself once we have good news ;)

I am having a tough quarter with very different and demanding classes. As well as a big final project that is weighing on my mind. I am lucky to have my friends in my program, they make me feel sane. It feels like with the new year and the new quarter there is just a lot of new things- new clients, new mentoring experience, new final project to finish up, new classes and information. Not to mention new callings at church, etc. But I know I can survive for another month and a half.

Even when life is crazy and busy, and I feel like I am wasting any time where I'm not working, I still like my life. I love my husband. I have a lot to be thankful for.

I am looking forward to a month spent with friends, midterms, my favorite holiday, some family birthdays, and making new memories. Let's do this February...

Happy New Year

Happy new year blogging friends.

December was a whirlwind of a month for Mr. Jon and I.

I finished out the quarter strong, spent a week realizing how bored I get without school or Jon around... and then we packed up our bags and went home for a well-deserved vacation.

We had a fantastic dinner with Grandma Joan and the rest of the Van Wickle crew- it is always a delight to see them each year.

Christmas eve was lovely, with church, palazzios, and games.

Christmas day was spent at the Van Wickle's, who have the best stocking stuffers in town. Despite a major power outage in the neighborhood, we had power throughout the day. Jon and the boys tried out his new slack-line at the beach and we all gawked at how incredibly beautiful it is in Goleta.

The rest of the week included surfing for Jon and his dad, spending time with the brothers and the J's, watching a lot of movies, and eating way too much good food.

The Tate's got together Friday night, we finally felt complete when Joe arrived. We had Christmas on new year's eve- we started with a yummy brunch and then moved quickly to opening presents. The rest of the day consisted of eating at the favorite local hot spots (hamburger habit and rusty's pizza- despite the parent's offer to go to a "nice" dinner), playing games and ringing in the new year together. The day was practically perfect.

It was hard to beat the vacation we had, so Jon and I figured we better pack up and get out of town while everything still felt so sweet. Happy memories were made, relationships were strengthened, our car was packed with far more loot than we came with, and our hearts were full.

Though there may have been about 5% sadness when we left, we figured that was the correct amount to feel; after all, you should miss a vacation as good as this one.

November

My goal these days, because school is so crazy, is to just post once a month. So of course, here I am on November 30th at 11:37 at night. Procrastination = motivation.

Here is the latest update on Mr. Jon and I.


Jon interviewed at Temple University at the start of the month. He really liked the school and had a great experience there. He says he feels his interview went well... but you can never know for sure with these things. He should hear back from them soon, but no matter what happens, he is keeping up a positive attitude.

He really liked getting the experience of interviewing at a school. Temple in particular had some really cool state-of-the-art features and technology, and the campus seemed really nice. Philly would be a huge change for us, but we are open to wherever the Lord wants us to go.


My schooling is plugging along, I wish I could fit how much information I am learning into my head. Sometimes it feels like I just can't connect all the dots- I have so much information around me all the time! I wish I could just be a super-therapist and know it all. But I am growing, and that is a good feeling.

I have two more weeks of class until Christmas break. This is the normal stress-time for me. About 3 weeks before the end it all seems to be crashing down. But now I can normalize that feeling. I don't know what it is, but making lists seems to de-stress me quite a bit (and from what I hear this works for a lot of other people as well) I have now deemed my ritual end-of-the-quarter-to-do-list just "THE LIST". It is that epic. I got to cross off a couple of things today and that felt good.


Jon and I had a wonderful thanksgiving with Jon's cousins in Orange County. We ran a 5k in the morning and enjoyed a day without any worries.

It wouldn't feel right to post in November without listing what we are thankful for...

Here is what we say thank you for in our prayers each night:

1. our apartment (seriously, so close to school and the clinic, Jon takes the shuttle, stuff doesn't break and we actually like to hang out in it.)
2. Our working car (can I hear an amen?)
3. Jon's job (remember this time last year? And that sales job that Jon didn't exactly love? Now he has a job he likes, hes good at, and gets paid for!)
4. My education (while I might be a stress bucket- that's just because I'm so busy soaking in the awesomeness of what I am learning. I know I will miss it when its over.)
5. Our families (they just can't be beat. Period.)
6. Our friends (our connection to the outside world- they keep us laughing through it all.)
7. The gospel (so much happiness in our lives, purpose, meaning. Our family theme for the last two year: FAITH not fear!)

I am sure that there is a lot more things to be thankful for. But I am going to save up my word count and start putting those words into those 5 papers I need to get done in the next two weeks (I wish that was an exaggeration).

We are thankful, we are happy, we are hopeful. So onto the end of the year and into the merriest month of them all.

October

I've changed my past goal of writing weekly, to now just trying to write monthly. I wish I had lots of fun stuff to share, but things have been pretty steady over here.

1. Jon ended up re-scheduling his interview at Temple so that he could get a better deal on flights (so expensive!). So now he will be going near the beginning of November, wish him luck! It is fun to learn about Philadelphia a little bit and consider living somewhere completely different. While this is only an interview, I really like looking at various apartments and land marks for wherever Jon applies and/or interviews.

2. I am keepin' on with school. Classes aren't too bad this quarter, but the clinical work is getting heavier. I am having more clients and more clients that keep coming (which means harder working stages of therapy and bigger problems). I also am on the hunt for my "final case" which is an incredibly important aspect of graduating from our program. But I love saying that I only have about 8 months left of school, that feels pretty amazing.

3. We are looking forward to Halloween. The trunk or treat is this weekend, I think it will be fun to see the little kids we teach at church one year later! I can't believe we have been their teachers for a year, they are so funny. They are also doing the children's program in church this Sunday so I am really looking forward to them performing for the whole church.

4. Jon and I are training for a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. It is only a 5K, which is about 3 miles, but Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif and I are not big fans of running. It has been two years since my half marathon, so I think I have "recovered" from my total hate of running. Plus, training with Jon makes it way more fun. We have been pretty happy with our training so far.

5. I forgot to mention that Jon and I went to a Death Cab for Cutie concert in Santa Barbara for my birthday. It was am-aaaa-zing. I am so glad that Jon thought of such a sweet gift idea. I truly felt like they played all of my favorite songs. I was really touched when they played this one because everyone in the venue was singing along very softly...

http://youtu.be/NDHY1D0tKRA

Jon and I are going great and are glad that life is moving forward. We are excited to see where we end up in the next couple of years and we are doing our best to enjoy the journey.

Things of Note

The end of September has come so quickly. It has been a really excellent month, lots of fun things have been happening in the Van Wickle clan.

First off- I passed my comp exam! The ugly, long, awful one about everything learned in my first year? Yeah, happy to have that over with. Thank heavens!

Second- Jon has been offered an interview at Temple University for med school! This is his first interview and we are really excited. The school is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and he interviews in about two weeks and a half weeks.

I took a week off from clients, before school started, last week. It was really wonderful to get some time to myself. I got to see my Aunt, Uncle and cousins, a dear friend from when I went to school in Idaho, and read a good book. At the end of the week Jon and I headed home to visit the fam. We got to go to an Alpaca farm for the afternoon, it was so great.

Jon was a little weary of the alpacas at first, especially since they're the cousins of llamas... who can be kind of mean. But he warmed up to them enough to take this great "family picture." (I don't know why it looks like I don't have any eye brows in this picture....)


The view from the farm was amazing. You could see the ocean, even on this overcast day. The people who own it have about 120 alpacas. Each one can cost into the thousands of dollars- their super soft fur is a money maker! When you pet them it feels like you're touching the softest carpet on earth, and it doesn't smell at all. It was pretty cool to learn about the animals.


I love this picture with all the boys and mom. The alpaca being held is only one month old!


I got to celebrate an early birthday with my family on Sunday while were up there, it was great to see everyone and take some time off.

The new fall quarter has started this week. I have a case class, couples therapy, qualitative research, and religion in the family. I think it will be a busy but productive quarter.

Jon is working and doing an excellent job- he loves what he does and the people he works with. It makes all the difference for him! He is happy and looking forward to what comes next with school. We will keep everyone updated with any more good news (or at least, we hope there is more good news to share!).

I am already looking forward to Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the upcoming holiday season. And for temperatures below the 90s! This year has been packed full of new experiences, I can't wait to see what the new few months bring us.

September

Isn't fall the best season? It has the best fashion, delicious apples, great weather, and prep for Christmas (not to mention, my birthday).

Jon and I have been staying busy since my last blog post (sorry.. they have been so sporadic). Today I took a big, ugly, long exam of everything I learned my first year here at Loma Linda. That test has been weighing on my mind all summer long and I am soo glad it is over (or hopefully over, assuming I've passed).

The most exciting thing Jon and I have done in the last few weeks is going to Seattle with the Van Wickle's for his cousin's, Kaitlin, wedding. It was such a great trip and a beautiful wedding.

The three boys with their cousin- they have such a sweet relationship:


This wedding venue was perfect! Right on the lake, intimate, and of course perfect weather that day.


How cute is this chalkboard itinerary? All of the details were so well thought out.


Jon and I were so happy to be there- and Jon looks really good in Jake's sunglasses (pretty sure he wore them for half of the trip)


Ok, everywhere we went had these beautiful lakes, right on the property of whoever's home we were at. It was picture perfect.


Jon and I are so glad we got to go with the Van Wickle's, we had such a good time being on vacation with them. Including celebrating Jake's birthday, touring around Seattle, and going to a baseball game (I learned a lot from my father-in-law!).

As of right now, Jon is still hoping for some interviews for medical school. We haven't heard from very many schools so we are still hopeful. And I am seeing clients regularly, co-leading an anger management group, and as of today having NO school working looming over me! Tonight we are going to celebrate (date night of course), and tomorrow we are going to go to Universal Studios. Woot!

I hope fall proves once again to be a fun and fabulous season!