Where Has the Time Gone??

Here's a recap of the last week or so........

Mid December: We had our Ward Breakfast with Santa. Braydon got to see Santa and tell him all the toys he wanted from him. It was nice to have a Ward party in the morning so we could have the rest of the day to clean/play/relax. We had a continental breakfast with muffins, bagels, danishes, along with hot chocolate.

Dec. 20th: Nanny and Papa came down for the Holiday's. We spent the evening at Home Depot buying material for shelves in our garage so that we could actually start parking both of our cars in it!!!!

Dec. 21st: I worked all day while my parents, Katie, and Braydon built the shelves so we could mount them as soon as I got home. I'm thankful that most of the work was finished by the time I got there (JUST KIDDING). We went to a nice Italian restaurant called Carmine's which was quite good. When I was on my Internship here in Vegas, my CI took me there for one of my last days.

Dec. 22nd: My dad and I went to the Las Vegas Bowl between BYU and UCLA. It was the first BYU game that I've gone to in about 3-4 years and it was a good one to go and see. It was a FREEZING 37 degrees at the game. Yes, Vegas does get that cold and my dad and I were frozen by halftime. We did stay to the very end (in which I was glad) and watch all the BYU fans run on to the field after the UCLA kicker missed a field goal. We watched for a few minutes and decided to go to warmth of the car and not go down to the field. It was a very nerve-racking game.

Dec. 23rd: I signed up to provide physical therapy at the Nutcracker on UNLV campus at work. For providing treatment to the ballerina's, I get to take 3 other people to the performance. Katie, Braydon and my mom came with me. We had a good time. I had to be there about an hour early, go backstage at intermission, and stay about 20 minutes after the show. I did a lot of stretching, massages, ultrasounds but it was worth it to see the show. Braydon even enjoyed it.

Dec. 24th: We had a Friend/Family Christmas Eve Party at our house. The Crane's, Shafers', my parents, and us got together to eat, play, and have a good time. We had soup and rolls for dinner, played lots of games, and ate to many treats. The kids got to make their families gingerbread house.

Dec. 25th: Spent the morning opening presents, playing with toys, visiting friends, and playing some more. Braydon got spoiled with tons of Transformers toys, books, blankets, pj's and anything else you can imagine Transformers. Katie got scrapbook organizers, Cricut cartridge, and a gift certificate to Rod Works in Utah to do some more decorating to our house. Katie surprised me with a new Wii with 2 controllers, and 4 games (Wii Sports, Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third, TMNT). I got Madden 08 from my In-Laws. I was very much surprised. Now when we have visitors, we can go bowling in the comfort of our own home!!!! We all had a great day.

Check out our new photo albums (Braydon with Santa, Garage Shelves, Las Vegas Bowl, Nutcracker, Xmas Eve, and Xmas Day) that have been uploaded for your viewing pleasure.

It's Been Busy Around Here!!!

The past two weeks have flown by considering how busy we have been lately!! Basically for me, I wake up early (6:00 am) to leave for work (7:00 am) and don't return home until the evening (3:30-5:30 pm) depending on the case load. I guess that's how "Real Life" goes after school!!! We have blinds in our house now and are excited about that so we don't have sheets hanging in our windows. We had Mountainland Rehab Christmas Party at the Suncoast Casino bowling alley for Cosmic Bowling. We all got to bowl 3 games and had an enjoyable time. Since it was so late, Braydon spent the night with Ryan and Sierra and we picked him up in the morning.

We went to a Live Nativity at a local LDS Church. We went with the Shafer's and had a great time. We had heard that it fills up quickly and it is only 3 nights with 2 performances each night. We got there about 30 minutes early and it was packed. Good thing our friend's got their about 90 minutes early to save our seats. Braydon even enjoyed it and sat through the whole thing.

We have gone to a new ward the last few weeks and it's HUGE and that's an understatement!!! There are about 650 people with a growing rate of 1 person a day!!! Sacrament Meeting is like going to Stake Conference every week. Another thing about our ward is that we have 5 nursery's, big primary, but not enough YM to pass the Sacrament. Every family in the ward has a baby or the mom is pregnant (to Katie's dismay!!!) We have to drive about 30 minutes to get to the church and it is the same lay out as the church in Flagstaff so we feel right at home.

Up coming event's include: Ward Christmas Breakfast, Homemade Thanksgiving Dinner, BYU Bowl Game (Yes, I'm going with my Dad!!), Christmas with my parents, New Year's with Katie's family.

Take a look at the our live nativity pictures in our photo album.

House Pictures!!!

Here's a short little update about us and the house. We have finally got most of the boxes put away into their spot. It's actually started to feel more like a house and not a storage unit with all the boxes everywhere. We have also put up our Christmas decorations and are officially in the holiday spirit!!! We will be going to our new ward for the first time on Sunday, even though it is in the dreaded 1:00 pm time slot. That's about it for now, sorry it's short but all we have been doing is unpacking for the last week.

Take a look in our photo album for our 3 new albums (Halloween, House during the Day, House at Night). I know we have some duplicates of pictures from the day and night album but our camera battery died and I didn't think we got the day ones saved, oh well, it just gives you different light to look at our house.

Happy Holiday's!!!!

We're Moved In!!!

Thanks to the help of family (Katie's family) and good friends (Crane's) we are living in our own house. We got our key last Wednesday afternoon and Katie and I moved some boxes in that night. Thanksgiving morning, we went back over to the storage unit to move more boxes. This time we had two SUV's to load and we were able to take two trip before going home to watch the Dallas Cowboy football game (do you actually think I would miss that???) and get ready to go out to dinner. We went to Memphis Barbecue for a family style Thanksgiving dinner. Of course, it was not as good as home-made but we decided that with us moving, our friends working, we could have a home-made meal any time (and will in December sometime!)

We rented a moving truck for Friday and Mike and I loaded up the truck just in time for Katie's Dad, Mom, and little sister to help un-load. That as been pretty much our weekend with shopping at Home Depot, Linen-N-Things, Target, going out to brunch at The Original Pancake House, Cheesecake Factory. We did have some spare time to watch the BYU-Utah game (Which was a great game to watch!!!) and have a small Poker Game in which I was victorious over Katie's little sister, Emily. I was close with each of us taking the chip lead for the last half hour until I got some good hands.

We will have some pictures up on the web as soon as we get most of the boxes out of our house and into the garage.

Some keep checking back in!!!!

House Closing!!!

We officially signed on the dotted line to close on our house this afternoon. Since it was so late in the day, we will not be able to get our keys until tomorrow sometime. We are so excited to have a house of our own especally in time for the holiday season! We will start moving all the little stuff tomorrow night and all day Thursday (except for the Turkey dinner and the Cowboy's football game, of course!!!) We have rented a truck for Friday to move the big stuff and will also have our kitchen table delivered that day. We will have a very busy weekend with lots of unloading, unpacking, and decorating.

We will have some before and after pictures of our house online in the next few days!!!

Stay tuned!!!

Carpet and Front Yard In!!!

Katie and our friend Lorey went to a pre-walk through yesterday in the house. Some of the new things that have been done is the carpet has been laid, the front yard has been put in, and the laundry sink with counter has been put in. We are getting so excited to be moving in. We have our official final walk through one week from yesterday (11/16) in which we go through the house and make final touch ups, house maintenance issues (A/C, furnace, water, electrical, etc....) I honestly don't believe how fast the house has been built and we only have about 1-2 weeks to go.

Braydon is loving school. I met Katie at his school yesterday to meet his teacher, see where his class is. Braydon was so excited to show me his desk and all his stuff in the desk. We have been worried he would be behind considering he hadn't been in school until now. The teachers told us yesterday that from what she has seen in theses last few days, he will be fine. She also said she will do some testing on him this next week and let us know more specifically after that. She did say she could tell he had been taught before (either pre-school or home taught). We are so proud of him!!!

Sports Update: Basically the same stuff is happening. The Cougars are winning. The Cowboys are winning. Life is good!!! The Utah Jazz have begun their season but like I've stated before: "Who Cares, It's FOOTBALL Season!!!"

Check out the few pictures Katie took at the pre-walk through. More pictures to come next week.

Braydon Goes To School!!!

Braydon attended his first day at his school. He was so excited to go and meet new friends. He is in the afternoon from 12:45 to 3:25. Katie wanted him to go to the morning class but this class actually works out better so that I will be able to pick him up after school when I get out of work early. He looked so handsome!!!

This makes it official, Katie and Braydon are down here for good. I am so glad that they are here. We all drove from Utah with our X-terra packed full. We were able to do a lot of things while we were up for the weekend. We spent time with both Moore's and Rogers'. It was actually a "Spiritual" weekend with time at the Provo Temple with my family and a baby blessing with Katie's family.

House Update: As of today (Nov. 7th) we have carpet in our house. We also have gotten our final walk through moved up to Nov. 16th. Katie and our friend Lorey will be meeting with the superintendent this Friday (Nov. 9th) to do a pre-walk through. I just can't believe that in about 3 weeks we will be in our new house!!!

Check out our new pictures of Braydon at school and we will have picture of our house this weekend.

Rocky Mountain LOW???

As most of you know, the World Series ended Sunday with the Boston Red Sox sweeping my Colorado Rockies. It was not much of a series. The Rockies had a 8 day lay off that may (not making any excuses) have been the Rockies down fall. No, I did not give up on them and was hopeful clear to the last out. But you know, ROCK-tober had to end sometime and who cares about baseball, it's FOOTBALL SEASON BABY!!!

I had my first experience at the local Las Vegas DMV on Monday. I needed to change our cars registration by the end of the month. They have about 4-6 different places I could go to around town but I choose the one closest to my work. I knew before hand that it was going to be busy considering it was a Monday at the end of the month. I did not know the fact that the end of October (Oct. 31 to be exact) is Neveda Day (like the 24th of July). This meant the DMV had a 3 day weekend was was closed since last Friday. I arrived the the DMV at 1:30 pm and did not drive out of there until 5:30 pm. Yes, 4 hours later I had my new plates in hand and I thought Utah's was bad. I would stand in Utah's DMV line 4 times before I will try Nevada's again. The only good thing about it was that they had a little snack bar. You might say to yourself "Why do that have a snack bar?" Because they know it will take hours to get anything done and people will spend more money while waiting, in which I did considering the drinking fountain was straight from the sewer!!! Any way to get more of your hard earned money.

Now, on a happier note, I will be flying to Utah this Friday after work to participate in a baby blessing on Sunday and gathering up all (I should say most of) Katie's and Braydon's stuff to move down here to Vegas from now on. I am so glad that they will be down here with me now for good. It's been a long 3 months. Braydon is excited to start school here and to meet new friends. Now, we are just waiting for our house to get done.

As for the house, it is progressing along. We have the garage door on, all of the cement work finished, tile has been laid and starting to look more and more like a house. I do have more pictures up in the photo album. Take a look.

P.S. By the way, this will be the most red on this blog in a LONG time so enjoy it while it last!!!

Painted Inside and Out!!!

Katie and Braydon have been down here in Vegas for about a week now and I have enjoyed every minute with them. It's good to have them around. We have been busy and always doing something with each other. The other day we went to a show at the Planet Hollywood Casino (the former Aladdin Casino). Katie and I decided to go to the buffet before the show. Mike was glad to watch Braydon that night so we could have a date night. Thanks Mike.

The buffet was very good. It was by far, the best buffet we have been to since coming down here to Vegas. It was $25 per person, with a seafood section that was to die for. They have huge Crab legs that are already cut in half so all you have to do is fork the meat out, shrimp that was already peeled for you (except the tail), seafood chowder, fried shrimp and that is just the seafood section. The Italian section was Katie's favorite place with Lobster bow-tie pasta and cheese filled ravioli. Other sections include Mexican, Far East, and the popular Dessert. We got stuffed and will visit there again.

The show was the Ultimate Variety Show at the V theatre. It was about 1.5 hours long with several different acts. The MC was a jugular and juggled many different objects, which included bowling pins, hats, tennis balls, and my favorite ping pong balls juggling with only his mouth. Other acts included a balancing act, magician, comedian, and an aerial show with two men hanging on ropes flying above our heads. The only thing that we did NOT like about the show was that there was a man hanging on a wall above our heads with drums that were WAY to loud. He played the drums between every act and got VERY old and loud.

Now, we change our focus to the house. We visited there the other day and didn't even recognized it. The outside was painted and doesn't look as "Pink" as we thought it would be. We went inside and the inside was painted also. They have some touch up to do but it looks really nice. All the cabinets are in kitchen and bathrooms have been installed. We were so excited to see all the changes. The only problem is that we don't have a camera. Our friend has it up in Utah so you will have to wait and see what it looks like later. I will get them on the website as soon as I get some pictures.

Sports Update:
World Series is almost upon us. My Rockies have made it and we are still waiting for the Indians-Red Soxs to finish their series to see who will make it. The Indians are winning 3-2 and are heading back to Boston for the last two games. We should find out by this weekend what the match-up will be. Just remember, GO ROCKIES!!!!

Rockie Mountain High!!!

I am officially on the Colorado Rockies band wagon. They have had an amazing run to get into the playoffs and have continued (so far) in the playoffs. I am cheering for the Rockies because they have never been to the World Series. They have a 2-0 lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Yes, I know, I should be pulling for the D-backs since I lived in Flagstaff for two years. If my team is not in the playoffs (I really don't have a true baseball team), I go for the team that has not won or been in the championship for the longest time. Since the D-Back won in 2001, I'm cheering for the Rockies.

The Cougars beat up on the Rebels last night also. It was actually a closer game then I thought it would be. When BYU goes on the road, they have a Friday Night Fireside in a local church. A co-worker of mine went to it and said it was really good. We will have to start making it a tradition to go to them when they travel down here.

I just finished a Continuing Education course on Cardiopulmonary - Cancer Rehab. It was provided by Mounationland Rehabilitation, so it was basically free with a course manual, textbook, and breakfast for the two days. It was a good review and I had a good idea of the concepts we were discussing. I know the longer I get away from my college experience, the more I will forget.

House is continuing to progress (not as fast as Katie and I would like it to be). The first coat of paint (primer) is on and it really starting to look at a house. Check out the latest pictures in the photo album.

YANKEE'S SUCK!!!!

Here's a quick note to let everyone out their know how I REALLY feel about those dang Yankee's. I have a very fond dis-like to them and I found a perfect blog background to go with it that I will leave up for a week or so. I hope you all enjoy it, as I did last night when they lost!!!!!!

Texture and Doors!!!

I just finished my weekly visit to our house. They have finished the stucco on the outside and all of the scaffolding has been taken away. The walls on the inside have texture on them and most of the doors have been installed. It's nice because it is now locked up and no one can get in unless they have a key. Hopefully, nothing or no one will try to get in.

This week, I've also been playing around with our blog site. With the help of my sister, I figured it out and now know how to change the background color. I say change, but really mean changing from one Cowboy background to another. You will have to continue to check in to see what's the background of the week (or month).

Nothing else has been happening. Check out our house in the photo album!!!

We Got Walls!!!

Yesterday, I was able to drive out to our house to see how far it is. I haven't been able to see it for about 2 weeks and I was anxious to see where it is. All the drywall is up and has been mudded and taped. It is nice to start to see it come together. All the rooms look smaller then they did when it was just the framing but I'm glad to see it all come together. The stucco job looks to be finished be there still is scaffolding around the house.

This weekend was also a good poker weekend. I was down to my last few dollars and needed to redeem myself for last weekend in Utah. I took $60 dollars out on Friday night to begin my adventure. My best hand I got that night was on a Kill pot ($3-$6 game) and I had pocket Aces with 4 other people in the pot. I kept raising and they keep calling me. It ended up being Heads-up with another guy who had pocket Kings (which was pretty upset that I had Aces). That pot ended up being about $100 dollars and I ended up leaving the casino with $120 (up $60)

I decided to got out again Saturday night and only taking $60 with me to avoid getting in trouble with Katie. No particular hand stands out, but I increased my earnings slowly throughout the night. I ended up coming home with $160 (up $100). I was pretty pleased with my weekend. I felt I played very well with no stupid calls or bets. I also had plenty of good Lay-Downs to help me stay out of trouble. Being up $160 in a weekend definitely puts a smile on my face (especially Katie's)

Take a look at our photo album for the pictures of the house.

Back in Las Vegas

I had a wonderful chance to fly out to Utah this last weekend to visit both my family and Katie's family. Katie and my sister came to the airport Thursday Night to pick me up after their last few days of HELL (You will have to ask Katie about it because I know I will leave out some of the key facts!!!) The next day we had a family dinner at my parents house and played some games.

Saturday morning we left Springville to go to Heber to spend the rest of my time with Katie's family. I got to see my little niece for the first time and also have my wife tell me she is baby hungry. I was thinking, if I had one dollar for every time she mentioned she wanted a baby, I would have the $10,000 buy-in to the Worlds Series of Poker!!!!

Speaking of poker, we had a family home game in which Katie won. It was her first big tournament win and she was very excited. She beat our brother-in-law Travis. Katie get VERY sick of play poker for long periods of time. Travis had A-Q 0ff suit and went all in. Katie, who was chip leader, had Q-4 off suit and thought about it for a while before she called. So basically, it was an Ace against a 4. A Queen came out on the flop, so Travis was still winning. The Turn was no help to Katie. She was down to only getting a 4 to win and she Rivered a 4. Only three 4's were left in the deck and she got it. Nevertheless, Katie was excited to win the $190 pot and Travis was flabbergasted and speechless.

Sunday was a day to watch NFL. I did have a Poker Heads Up match against Katie's mom and she could not loss a hand. Every time I had 3 of a Kind, she had a Full House, so basically I had a loseing poker weekend. Katie, Braydon, and her family took me to the airport and I am now home in Vegas.

Check out our Photo Album for pictures of Braydon and our new niece Hannah.

No Pictures!!!

This update on our house will be without pictures. No, not because I forgot the camera but because I have been using my friends camera and they have been up in Utah for the week for a birthday party. This means they had their camera with them.

When I arrived to our house, there was a stack of drywall on pallets (which I'm glad I don't have to install!!!). As I got to the garage, I realized that all the insulation was in the walls and it actually started to look like a house with walls. It was weird not being able to see through the framed walls and it looked so closed in. The entire outside of the house has scaffolding around it getting ready for stucco and the tiles for the roof have been put in little piles throughout ready to be installed at the roofers discretion.

We won't have pictures of the house for a few weeks. I will be going to Utah this weekend. I fly out of Vegas on Thursday and then fly back in on Sunday. It will be good to see everyone in Utah since I haven't seen them in two months.

I will let you know how my visit goes next week!!!

And it All Came to an End with a Crash!!!

The last day that Katie and Braydon will be with me here in Las Vegas and we spent the whole afternoon in the UMC Quick Care. I got a call on my cell phone just before lunchtime while I was with a patient and could not answer it. Another call about 30 seconds later. One more about a minute later in which I was able to answer from my friend that we are living with telling me Braydon had just split his head open and needed stitches. I got off the phone and asked several co-workers where we could go in Henderson. He was playing in our friends living room when he fell and hit his head on a rocking chair. He was wearing some kid safety glasses on this head so Katie don't know if he actually hit the chair of if the glasses cut his head.

The problem was that our friends had an appointment for a minor medical procedure and Katie was without a car. I talked to my boss and she told me it was alright to leave for the afternoon (even though we were busy). I met them at the hospital close to our friends house. Katie was still trying to figure out where our insurance worked so the stay "in network." I then drove Katie and Braydon the Quick Care. We spent the next 2 hours waiting to get a few, simple stitches (in which I could have done with the right, sterile instruments.)

He DID NOT like the fact that he needed two shots to numb the area before procedure would begin. The doctor wrapped a sheet around him with his arms at his side, like a little burrito, screaming his head off, with me holding his head still so he would not move. The doctor then draped a sterile cloth over his head with a small hole so he could work on the little area. He ended up with 6 stitches over his left eye brow.

Katie said he was very brave with very little crying (and to mention little blood). For his bravery, he got a special toy. He wanted a new cell phone, ipod, and bluetooth ear piece transformer set, which he loved and wanted really bad.

I put some pictures of his war wound in the photo album. I know this is a quick update from our last post so if you have not read our last post, keep on reading.

Late Holiday Upate!!!

These last few weeks have gone by fast. Labor Day weekend came and went without much excitement with it. We did sit down to watch our beloved BYU Cougars win there first game of the year against Arizona. I had to work a half day on Monday so we didn't plan anything that day. I worked the rest of the week as usual with nothing much to say about that. We watched the Cougars try and pull off the upset over the #13 ranked team in the country, UCLA. I was very disappointed on how the cougars began the game. They definitely didn't come out to play in the first half. They did spark an interest in the game in the 3rd quarter with two quick touchdown that got them in the game but didn't do much after.

Our house is coming along as planned. We have fixed up some minor details that we wanted changed. They (KB Homes- Our builder) has come back to us to "make-up" for some of the earlier problems with a 10 x 12 cement pad in the backyard and a nice credit towards our home to lower our base price. I was like Christmas when we heard all of that. We are all getting excited to have our own place and our first home. Check out the pictures in our photo album

Back By Popular Demand!!!

Yes, we are back to updating our blog on a regular basis (I hope so)!!! Thanks to all those who have poked, prodded, and begged to have an update of our lives (names will be confidential)!!!


The last two weeks have been great. My parents, Katie, and Braydon came down to move all our stuff (mostly junk) to a storage unit here in Vegas so now we are already to move in when the time comes. My Dad was VERY glad the this was the LAST time he would have to help us move, considering that he is getting up there in age!!! That weekend, my mom got some free rollar coaster rides at the New York-New York and Sahara Casinos. We just ate breakfest and went to the NY-NY first and all got weezy stomachs. The NY-NY coaster reminded me of the White Rollarcoast at Lagoon, that's not smooth to say the least. The Sahara was much smoother but faster and the first half was forward and the last half was backwards. Needless to say, our stomachs all felt funny afterwards.

Katie and Braydon have been having fun playing with Lorey, Ryan, and Sierra everyday and just relaxing. They have gone swimming, waterpark, park, shopping, etc..... They are going to stay here Las Vegas until after Labor Day when Lorey goes to Utah and they will all drive up together. I will be flying in to Salt Lake in the middle of Septemeber for a long weekend and then fly back on sunday.

New Photo Albums: Waterpark, Lindsey's Baby Shower Cake made by Katie, House Pictures

That's it for now. More updates coming soon!!!!

House Is Going Up!!!

Our house is starting to take shape!!! The framing process is in full swing and actually looking like a house. Both floors are up and the roof is starting to go on. It's amazing that in a few months we will have a place of our own!!!

Work is going well. I worked my first weekend and it really wasn't that bad. When I say "weekend" I mean Saturday. It is set up that the Hospital doesn't want to have to pay us overtime and there pay schedule is Sun-Sat every week, so that means we can only work Saturday or Sunday (not both) to NOT get overtime, which is fine with me. Since we don't get overtime, we get to have a day off during the week. My day off will be this Friday when my parents, Katie, and Braydon will come down and bring our stuff to put into a storage unit. I'm excited to see them since it's been a month since I have seen them.

The only problem I had with working Saturday was the fact that I was working in ICU/IMC and Medical Floor. I usually only work on the Orthopaedic/Surgical Floor during the week with helping on the Medical Floor if needed. The other therapist told me that "he only works the Surgical Floor" basically telling me "Good Luck in ICU/IMC." I felt a little "out of place" considering I didn't know any of the nurses/patients/physician. I have worked in an ICU unit before but knew the situation ahead of time and not just thrown into it. I managed and got through it alright.

We have decided to save money over the next few months and not get an apartment here in Las Vegas and I will continue to live here with the Crane's and Katie/Braydon will continue to live between Katie's and my parents (which we are very grateful for all those involved). We just want to make sure we have as much money possible at time of Closing on our house.

There is pictures of our house in the Family Photo Album so you to can see our house framed.

Still Here!

Things are going well for us. We just found out that we qualified for the loan on the house, so everything is a go!! We are really excited about finally having a home of our own. They have started framing the house. They have three walls up on the first level. I will get pictures of it as soon as I can.

Work is Good. I'm starting to get to know all the nurses, doctors, CNA's, and other Therapist that are making the job a little easier. There are a lot of good people working at the hospital.

Katie and Braydon are still in Utah and having a great time. We all miss each other and are excited to see each other in the next few weeks. I put up 3 new picture album of some of the adventures they have been on, so check them out.

That's about it, We are still hanging in there!!!!

Life Away From Family and Living in Vegas

Sorry for being so slow in updating our website. I've been quite busy since moving down here with looking for a new house, starting a job, finding a storage place for all our junk for a few months.

Katie and I came down on July 5th and looked at homes all day on the 6th and 7th before Katie flew back to Salt Lake on the 8th. We were successful and found a house that is in the process of being built. Its was interesting because the first day we only looked at re-sales and most were well out of our price range. The next day we only looked at places that were building and found out that it is cheaper to build a brand new rather than one already built. The development is called Mountains Edge and is in the southwest area of Las Vegas and just south (about 15-20 minutes) of the hospital I'm working at. Here are the basic floor plans for our house. We are very excited since it is a house that had everything we wanted and it will be finished in mid-November and not have to wait 6-8 months. All will be invited to stay if your ever in the area so just let us know.

Now, for work. I just finished my second week and actually enjoyed it. Well, mostly enjoyed working and getting PAID!!! I work on the 3rd floor in the Orthopaedic section with those patients getting out of surgery (Knees, Hips, Backs, Necks, etc....) I have 35 rooms max if they are all full. I see about 20-25 patients in a day with the help of a PT aide. I'm still trying to get to know all the workers and how things are done (meetings, charting, billing, etc...). I will get the hang of it and all will be well in the next few weeks.

That's about all that is going on here. I miss Katie and Braydon not being here but they only have about 4 weeks until they move down here. Katie finishes work the end of July and will be coming in mid-August so Braydon will be able to start school in the school that is close to our house. I think Katie is excited to quit work and being able to stay at home (if she desires).

I added some pictures in our photo album of how far along the house is at this time and will be giving you updated pictures about once a month to let you all know where we are in the building process so check them out.

I Hate Packing!!

That phrase says it all!!! I can not believe how much stuff you can have in a little apartment. I guess the one good thing about moving is been able to go through all your things and make a DI run or two. We will be moving out of our apartment in two days and we aren't even boxed up yet.

Our summer has flown right by. Here is a little recap (Since I haven't been posting for the last month):

1. Braydon had his Head Start Graduation two days after returning from Disneyland. He was sad that he didn't have school any more (which I hope is true later in his life as well).

2. During Memorial Day weekend, we when to the cabin with my parents and had a relaxing time. We also went to Heber to see Thomas the Train. This year was a joke. You had to pay for a ticket to be able to participate in all the activities (which were free last year) so Braydon wasn't able to do much.

3. First weekend of June was spent the Katie's family up at the cabin. We had another fun and relaxing weekend with three-wheeler rides, shooting, and poker.

4. Bradyon has begun t-ball and is loving it. It's a beginning league where there is no outs and every kid to bat and learn how to run the bases. He like running the bases the most. He is a good little hitter and thrower as well.

5. We went to the Art City Day's Parade. My feelings are that a parade is a parade and if you have seen one, you have seen them all. I do enjoy watching Braydon get excited for various floats. We hen hit the local baseball field to play t-ball with Braydon's cousins.

6. Throughout the summer, Katie has been taking a cake class and is learning how to use fondant and it becoming a great cake decorator.

Well, I better get back to packing so we can start cleaning!!!

Take a look at all of our new pictures in our Photo album

I PASSED!!!!!

Just in case you haven't heard yet, I pass my National Physical Therapy Exam and will be starting my job on July 9th. I am so relieved and totally stress-free now and can actually begin packing up and begin the process of moving (Which I dread!!!)

Katie and I will go down to Las Vegas on July 5th to look for houses the entire weekend and then Katie will fly back to Salt Lake City on Sunday.

We are completely grateful for all of your love and support, we couldn't have done it without you!!!

P.S. Pictures of the past few weeks (months) will be added shortly now that I have some free time on my hands.

To Busy!!!

I know it has taken me a few weeks to update our website but I told you I may not have time to update it on a regular basis since I'm studying for my exam. Here's the update about that, I take the test Thursday (June 21st) at 9:00 am. I should know the results by Friday afternoon and hopefully all is well. (Everyone say a little prayer for me!!!!)

Braydon in playing T-ball and loving it, Katie is still supporting the family, and I still study 3-6 hours a day, so we are doing the same old stuff.

Hope good news in my next update!!!!

AKA Dr. Rogers!!!

Yes, it's official!! You may now call me Doctor Rogers!!! I graduated May 12 with my Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Northern Arizona University. Our PT class was one of the first people down on the field and we as in the first two rows. After all the speeches, we as a class stood up in front of the stage and got "Hooded" with our Doctoral Hoods by one of our professors. Then, since we were already standing, we walked across the stage with our name being read, getting our diploma holder (Like I will use that, I'm Framing it) in our hands and then sat back down. It was actually a pretty fast ceremony only lasting about two hours.

Then that evening, we had a Department Graduation/Dinner/Party. We got to be Hooded again and able to thank all of the professors. We had some speakers with a Professor and classmate. Then we has some awards given out to some of my classmates and then we as a class got "Thank You" gifts for all of the Professors. I was asked to give one out to Dr. Cornwall. He is the Chair of the department and was actually in my ward when we lived down there so I got to know him pretty good. The dinner was alright and really noting to brag about. The next morning we headed to California and Disneyland.

We checked into our hotel and got into our swimming suits and headed to Huntington Beach. All the kids loved playing in the water but liked the sand better. The water was very cold so we just got in to our thighs (unless you got stuck my a big wave that took your legs out!!!)

The next three days were for playing in Disneyland and California Adventures. We spent two days in Disneyland and one in California Adventures considering the kids wanted to be in Disneyland more. We had everything planned out with speed walking to every attraction. We had a Blast!!!

We stopped in Las Vegas to look for some houses. We actually found one that was in our price range with 3 bedrooms, loft, and nice big living room and kitchen that we have put an offer on and we will see what happens. There are a lot of houses for sell and I don't think we will have a problem finding a house.

Now, I'm studying about 6-8 hours a day to pass the National Physical Therapy Exam in the middle of June. Wish me luck!!!

We have some pictures of Graduation and Disneyland in our Photo Album for you all to enjoy!!!

Last Time in Flagstaff (Most Likely)!!!

I am currently attending a course about the National Physical Therapy Exam (NPTE) here in good old Flagstaff. This course in offering tips, study strategies, and testing format that will help pass the NPTE. The NPTE is a 250 question in 5 hours computer based test so be able to get a license to practice physical therapy in the state (Nevada in my case) you desire. The passing score is 600 out of 800 (don't know how they get that number) but its roughly 75%. The current pass rate for first time NPTE takers is 80%. I guess one good thing about the test, is that you don't have to take it in the state your practicing. I just have to find a testing center here in Utah to take it at and they send it to Nevada for me.

We were giving 8-12 practice questions for each section of the exam over the 2-day course. I scored around 65% which I am very pleased with considering I haven't begun studying yet. I plan on spending 5-6 hours a day, 5-6 days a week, for 4-6 weeks studying so I will be able to take the NPTE between June 11-22. So yes, the website may not be updated (unless Katie does it) in this time.

So now, All I have left is Graduation and a Rogers Family (Parents, Sister's family, us) trip to Disneyland. I'm staying with friends in our Flagstaff ward and former SHS classmate, Monica Clifton (now Harmon). All of my family will arrive Friday afternoon and then graduate the next day and then driving to California on Mother's Day.

I will put up pictures for Graduation and Disneyland as soon as we get back.

Summer Has Begun!!

Well, typically I don't think of summer officially starting until Memorial Day but since I am finished with my LAST internship, I feel it has begun early for me. This past weekend, the Boy's (My dad, brother-in-law Jon, his two boys, Braydon and I) went on a retreat to the cabin while the Girl's had a Scrapbooking Party at my parents house.

We did some four-wheeling riding, BB gun shooting (for the little boys), .22 and skeet shooting (for the BIG boys). I also got to see some of the NFL draft and the Jazz playoff game. We had a good time up there. When we were driving up to the cabin we ran into a lot of muddy, slick spots from the snow melt off. We stopped and helped a family get un-stuck. Other then that, it was a very relaxing weekend.

We just signed Braydon up for T-ball. He is so excited. We went a park in Spanish Fork with Katie's sister's family and played some baseball. We also just bought him a "real" glove and his first "real" baseball to start working with. I can't wait to see him play. We have a plastic T-ball stand with plastic bat and ball that he hits pretty good. But of course, the plastic ball and bat are over sized to make it easier to hit but I still think he will do good.

That's about it for us. We have a party up in Heber this weekend and then I leave for Flagstaff on Sunday for my last class before I graduate!!! (I thought that day would never come!!!)

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY BRAYDON!!!

This past weekend was Braydon's Birthday. We had a party Saturday with the Moore's and the Rogers. It was a nice day outside and decided to have the festivities in the backyard. Braydon opened his presents (he got spoiled!!!) and then had some cake and ice cream. The cake was made by Katie with assistance from Angela (it was very good!!!)

After that, we went to the Kangaroo Zoo in Pleasant Grove to let all the children run around. It's a place that has 8-12 giant blow-up jumpers. We were there for about an hour and all the kids were all "red-faced", "hot and sweaty", and all were ready to go to sleep. They all had a good time and enjoyed themselves (even Katie got into it!!! Check out the pictures)

Monday was his official Birthday and we had a special Family Home Evening with it all planned by Braydon. He wanted spaghetti noodles with Parmesan cheese for dinner and for treat he wanted fried tortilla's with cinnamon-sugar. I wasn't feeling to good so I laid on the couch and Katie played with Braydon and all his new toys.

I did add a photo album for Braydon's Birthday from the cake to the Kangaroo Zoo so check them out.

VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!!!

It's official!!!

I have accepted a new Physical Therapy job in Las Vegas. I will be working for Mountainland Rehabilitation at Spring Valley Hospital in southwest Las Vegas. The hospital has four floors and I will be mostly working on the Orthopedic floor with patients who have just had surgeries (Total Knees, Total Hips, Total Shoulders, Various Back Surgeries, and any other surgeries you can think of). The nice thing about working in a hospital is that you get to see Physicians (Surgeons) on a regular basis and if (or when) the opportunity arrives to work in an Outpatient setting, I will already know the Physicians. I my have to work an few weekends or holidays but since it is in Las Vegas, a lot of PT just want to work a few shifts including weekends or holidays.

We are VERY excited to have this opportunity to work in such a nice environment. My manager is from Utah county and went to BYU. I even know some of his relatives that live in Springville. I felt very comfortable throughout the interview process and felt very good about working with the PT's in my department and living in Vegas.

We had several other jobs available but looking at the starting salary, cost of living, and house prices (thanks Jake), it just makes sense to move to Las Vegas and get some experience and maybe (most likely) getting back to Utah if I get a chance. We have started looking at some houses to see what we can afford with all the student loans hanging over our heads.

Katie is excited yet scared to move to a "Big City." I think she is even more excited about not having to work anymore (at least until she gets bored) and not having to drive in the snow!!!

Braydon is also excited to get to play with his friend Ryan on a more regular basis but will miss his cousin very much. He is also excited to start kindergarten when he moves there (can you believe that???)

So, if anybody wants to spend some time in Las Vegas, we will always have an open door and free room to stay in. I will let you know how the house hunting goes.

By the way, I will most likely leave for Vegas around June and Katie and Braydon will come down in August so Braydon can start school in September.

PS: I did put some Easter pictures (With the Crane's and Rogers) up in our Photo album along with some other random pictures from home.

Exciting Week Ahead!!!

This last few weeks have flown by as if they were just here yesterday! I had an un-expected phone call from a Clinic Director from Mountainland Rehabilitation (MLR) last week. I had spoken to a fellow NAU classmate (well, he graduated a year ago) who works for MLR and was asking him about any job openings that he may know of. He gave my number out to a few people and one called me and set up an interview for the next day. The clinic is about 11th E and 3900 S in SLC. I went up there and had a good interview and he asked me back for a second interview in the middle of April to see how the clinic runs and to see it in action. I is exciting to get out and start interviewing with potential job opportunities.

The end of this week I have two more interviews. One interview in Las Vegas on Thursday and one in Kingman, Az on Friday. I'm looking forward to visiting them and learning more about their clinics. I feel that I got some of the "rust" out during the SLC interview and feel confident that these next two will go even better.

We went to Katie's parents house for a early Easter party. The kids got to build a bunny gingerbread house, make cupcakes, and color eggs. They also got lots of candy and toys from the Easter egg hunt. The adults had a good time playing Texas Hold'em (Yes, I think we ALL have a gambling problem!!! J/K!!!). I was able to win the tournament over Katie's Aunt Heidi and earned a cool $70 (Since I didn't have to "buy-in" thanks to my brother-in-law).

I will let you all know how the interviews went next week.

I did put 3 new photo albums up so take a look at them.

Job Interviews!!!

It's starting to feel as if I am actually done with school. I have started to put my resume out and getting contacted for Physical Therapy positions. I have one interview in Las Vegas in April (dates to be determined within the next few days). I am also hoping for an interview in Kingman, Az during the time I'm in Vegas to cut down on the travel time. The job in Vegas is an Inpatient Hospital job with opportunity to go to an Outpatient job in the future. Kingman is a Outpatient job. I eventually want to work in Outpatient so I have to start deciding what is right for our family. It's good to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

My NCAA bracket is still looking pretty good. I got 5 out 8 in the Elite 8 and 3 out of 4 in the Final Four. I still have both teams in that I picked to play in the Championship game (UCLA and Georgetown) with Georgetown winning it all!!! I don't think I will win the pot at my internship but could finish in the top 5 (GO UCLA & G-TOWN!!!!).

As for the family, we as all doing well with no sickness or complaints (knock on wood!!)

We're Still Here!!

Nothing exciting has been happening with us at the time being!!! We had a good St. Patricks day with a poker party that night. The whole basement at Katie's Uncle's and Aunt's house was green and had a lot of green food to partake of. We started with about 14 people. We decided to have two table of seven. We combined the tables when only 8 people were left. Katie took 10th place and I made it to the final table. I was the short stack on the final table and went all in on a pair of 10's. I lost to a pair of Jacks (thanks to my mother-in-law). I ended up taking 8th spot. My brother-in-law won it all with his wife taking 3rd.

My NCAA bracket is doing alright. I still have 12 of the 16 teams still in it (thanks to Maryland, Texas, Wisconsin, and Virgina Tech all losing). I can only get 6 out of the Elite Eight and still have all 4 of my Final four teams still in it. I will keep you updated next week.

I'm starting to look for and apply for jobs now. I have just updated my resume and have sent it out to a few people. I am looking at jobs right now in Utah (anywhere), Las Vegas, and Kingman, Az. I'm just excited to start taking the first steps in finding a "real" job!!! So, if you know of any Physical Therapy job openings, let me know!!!

The Madness is Among Us!!!

It is time for March Madness to begin!!! This three week span has got to be right up at the top of the list for the best three weeks of all sports (OK, may second behind the NFL playoffs!). I love to fill out my bracket to see how well I pick the games. Here are my final four: Florida (1), Pittsburgh (3), Texas (4) (sorry Jake, I have Texas beating UNC in the Sweet 16), and Texas A&M (3) with Florida winning the national championship over Texas for my bracket #1. In my 2nd bracket I have Florida (1), UCLA (2), Georgetown (2), and Texas A&M (3) with Gerogetown beating UCLA in the Championship. Bracket 1 is just for my use and Bracket 2 is for work and all the therapist competition and being able to talk some "Smack" with them. I did fill out #1 first and #2 last. I have a personal limit to only two brackets per year. I do now some who fill out different brackets for every office pool they are in. Now, I hope it turns out the way I've predicted.

This past week was Katie's Birthday so Braydon and I went shopping on Saturday and got her a Cuddle Bug machine and Course I cake decorating kit from Provo Craft. She loved it and now actually WANTS to scrapbook (which is not the norm for her!!!)

I went to a Poker Party at Katie's Uncle's friends house in which I took 2nd out of 10 people. I was pretty excited for that considering I was short stacked for awhile. I have another Poker Party this weekend on St. Patricks day so I will have to let you know how that one turns out.

For the record, Katie's picks are: North Carolina (1), Arizona (8), Weber State (15), BYU (8), with BYU beating Arizona in the Championship game. Braydon's picks are: Oregon (3), Georgetown (2), Weber State (15), BYU (8) with BYU beating Oregon in the Championship game. I guess Katie and Braydon are both "TRUE BLUE" Cougar fans but I don't know if I have that much faith in the Cougars!!!

If you want your Final Four picks on the record, feel free to post it in a comment for all of us to keep track of whose picks were the best!!!

Year of the COUGAR!!!

I don't even know what year it is (as in the Chinese calendar that you see in Chinese restaurants) but it is definitely the year of the cougars. BYU football started off the year with a Mountain West Conference championship with a bowl game win (yes, I know, it's not the "actual" year but academic year). This was then followed by MWC championships in both Men's and Women's. I heard from a local sports radio station that it was the first time in 25 years (I think) that football and men's basketball won the "Out-right" league championship in the same year. Katie and I went to the season finally against Utah Saturday night. It was a great game. The Cougars started off slow but turned in on at the end of the 1st half and the beginning of the 2nd half. We actually started to leave with about 10 minutes remaining (only about half way in the second half) because we were pounding the "School up North" by 30 points and we needed to meet my parents for dinner because they were watching Braydon and we wanted to beat the rush from the game.

Friday night we had a Poker night at our house with Katie's family and some of your friends. We had 11 people playing. We had a lot of treats and snacks to munch on. I ended up taking 3rd place, while Katie took her usual place as the first person out of the game. My Brother-in-law, Travis took 2nd spot winning $20 and my Mother-in-law taking 1st place winning a pot of $120. She was very excited to win (considering she has taken 2nd many, many times before)

We have a few pictures from our poker night in our photo album to check out if you wish.

Down to 3-Days!!!

Yes, I can't believe it also but I'm down to my last 3-days in my third internship. Time has flown by. I will be sad to leave this facility because I learned so much from both of the therapist there. I won't miss the driving. for the last 4 months, I've been commuting from PG to Bountiful and then West Jordan. I can't wait to only have to drive about 15 minutes to N. Orem at Timpanogos Hospital. I will actually get to sleep in (if you consider 6 am sleeping in!!!) but won't because my body has been used to getting up at 4 am (working out, reading scriptures, getting ready for the day, making my breakfast and lunch) so I can leave the house by 6 am to get to the clinic and see my first patient at 7 am.

I received my capstone project back the other day. I think it had more black (hand written) ink from my advisor then computer ink. I have to do a lot of corrections that I am hopefully going to take care of this weekend so I can send it back to her by Monday to try to get it done earlier!!! I talked to a fellow classmate with the same advisor and he said the same thing about getting hammered with his capstone so I guess I don't feel to bad. It is good that our professor is complete when reading our papers and that none of her students will be slacking!!!

As for the family, we are all doing good with no serious complaints. We actually haven't done much over the last few weeks. Hope we can change that in the upcoming ones.

Only Two More Weeks!!!

We have been busy the last few weeks. I have just completed my 6th week of my third internship leaving 2 weeks to go. Time has been going by fast. I can't believe I have about 10 weeks left in my physical therapy program (well, maybe I can!!!)

These last few weeks I have been finishing my capstone (thesis) project. I have just sent my first draft (of many I would think) to my professor. It is about 20 pages written and 26 with cover page, references, and tables. I will be glad when this paper is finished!!!

Like I said, February has been busy. We all have gotten over the recent flu bug (head and stomach). Katie had the wonderful opportunity of getting it twice about a week apart. I even had to miss a day at my internship due to it.

Braydon got the chance to show off his Grandpa Moore at his school. February is safety month and Braydon wanted to have his favorite police officer come to his school. He had so much fun with his grandpa that day (even though he got sick that afternoon)

My grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. We had a get together with some of our family and some of their friends and had a great time seeing family that I haven't seen for years.

We just finished our Valentines this weekend. We decided not to go out to dinner on the 14th because I had to work late that night and didn't want to fight the crowds. I did surprise Katie with some flowers that I had left for her that morning. Katie's mom came and got Braydon and took him up to Heber Thursday night so Katie and I could go to dinner on Friday. We went to Texas Roadhouse in for dinner. It is located in the South Town Mall on 106thSLC. We loved it. We both got the ribs and they are to die for. They were so tender that when you lifted the bone up to your mouth, the meat fell off. I recommend it to anyone. I do suggest to use the call ahead method of getting you number. We did that and still had to wait for about 20-30 minutes on a Friday night. People around us had been given a quote of 75-85 minute waits. It's good but I don't know it its that good.

We do have 4 new photo albums (Goofing around, G-pa at school, Holt's 50th wedding anniversary, and Valentines) so check them out.

It's That Time of Year, AGAIN!!!

I know, I have not taken my weekly assignment (given to myself) of updating our website every Saturday. I wish I could say that there is a reason for not doing so but I can't come up with a good one. I have been busy with my internship, or writing my capstone paper, or family activities but all those reasons would just be an excuse for my procrastination so I won't!!!

Over the last few weeks I've been able to go to some BYU basketball games that have honestly been some of the best games I've gone to ( Yes, I know BYU is not UNC or Duke by any means) in the 28 years of my life. I went to the Air Force game that was a sell out (since student tickets were only $1) and the cougars beat the national ranked (15th) Falcons by double digits. Last weekend, the UNLV Rebels were in town ranked 25th in the nation and the Cougars beat them by 20 something. With a win last night over the Wyoming Cowboys, the Cougars are all alone in 1st place in the Mountain West. Not bad for the Cougars.

I have just passed the half way mark of my internship and things are going very well. I see about 6-10 patients a day, doing all the new evaluations that come through the door to help me get better at them considering it take several years to get use to being comfortable doing them. Everything is going good......

EXCEPT.....

I hate this time of year. The weather is miserable and football season is at it's end!!! Sorry, had to wipe the tears out of my eyes. Super Bowl Sunday has come and gone once again. I do have to say that I am glad the Colts won this year. We had a get together with my family and Katie's family and ate way to much food. I know the Pro Bowl is next week but that isn't a "Real" game, its a way for the NFL to earn more money and not every players that is elected goes to the Pro Bowl due to "injuries" or "personal" reasons. I guess I will have to break out my old high school football games to get me to April and the NFL Draft and then August for the Pre-season.

Hope I can make it.

First Week Back!!

I just finished my first week in my internship. It was good to get back to doing things and not sitting around being bored all the time. My clinical instructor was sick for the first few days so I shadowed another therapist there and started getting into the swing of thing and how the clinic works. My CI felt better Thursday and Friday and came in so I got to meet him and start working with him.

My schedule is a little crazy. Some days I work from 7-3 and others times I work 11-7. I will begin getting a case load for myself beginning on Monday with a new eval that will be coming in and by the end of my internship, my CI wants to have about every other patient working with me. With a full schedule, each therapist will see about 10-12 patients a day so I will be seeing about 5-6 a day.

That's about it for me. Katie is still working everyday at Provo Craft in Spanish Fork and Braydon is loving school and being a typical 4 year old boy.

Good-bye 2006, Welcome 2007!!!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!! (I know, it's a little late)

It feels sad to say but it's out with the old and in with the new. This year has been marked out our (Katie's mostly) calendar for a few years now (5 years to be exact). I will be graduating in May (if all turns out) and then I will be a "regular" working man (without summers off and no more Christmas/New years breaks).

I started my third internship today in West Jordan at a Mountainland Rehab facility that is on the SLCC campus on 90th South and Bangerter. It is a "teaching" facility that helps with local high schools teaching about different health professions ranging from physical therapy to dental assistants to pharmacy to name a few. I will help the PT's in the clinic in teaching some to the PT parts of the class. It should be a good overall experience for me.

That's about it for us. We have all going back into the swing of things with my internship, Katie's work, and Braydon's back to school.