Celebrating

Our anniversary was very low key considering it was on a week day and Niel is studying for boards. When I got home from work, Niel surprised me with this beautiful bouquet of flowers. He first claimed he made it...but then he admitted to just picking out the flowers with his florist Betty. I loved it. I think it is one of my favorite arrangements he has bought for me. I made Niel a home-made gift, but I am embarrassed to admit what I made him on my public blog.
We went to a restaurant called Romano's, which is downtown Redlands. The food was amazing and we loved the atmosphere. It is a quaint and charming Italian restaurant in an old, historic building that has been renovated. They had romantic music playing and fresh cut flowers on the table. It was a simple, but nice anniversary.

Delicious

As you may know I hate cooking. I love the fact that I can use the excuse of working full time to explain why I don't spend much time in the kitchen. There are so many other things I would rather be doing than cooking. This is why you will rarely see any type of recipe on my blog. But here is a simple recipe...the Darci type of recipe. This dip is delicious. It is best with strawberries and apples. Or if you are Niel you dip your carrots in it too.Alright here it goes: Mix equal portions of marshmallow creme and cream cheese together...voila! Then you have a delicious fruit dip.

Class of 2009

Saturday night was Niel's PA class party. His last day of school at Loma Linda University was last Friday! It was held at a sweet home on the hill overlooking the city. There was dinner, a slide show, karaoke, and awards. The mock awards were gold spray painted speculums presented by the class president. Weird, I know. Niel was awarded the "Most likely to use his iPhone as a pillow". I thought the award was quite suiting considering he uses his iPhone all the time.

Most of his classmates are girls (not the whole class is pictured)Here are a few of the guys from his class: Chris, Niel, Shaun, and James
Amber (one of Niel's classmates), me and Lindsey (Shaun's wife)

The DJ showed up and the alcohol starting rolling at about 10:30 after the faculty left. We wanted to stay for some dancing but decided against it when weird, random people started showing up for the party who weren't in his PA class. When a drunk woman from Brazil tried to hit on Niel, we decided to call it a night. I wish we could have done some dancing but I thought we would spare ourselves of being hit on by drunk crazies. We had a really fun night celebrating!

Three years later...

Today marks our third year anniversary.


Since then, we've...-moved to CA-gained weight- got new haircuts-finished schoolUnfortunately, no offspring yet...maybe one of these days there will be some little Schurigs running around:) This isn't an announcement.
Happy Anniversary Niel from your wonderful wife:)

Notice

Want to know why I have a perma-smile?

I officially told my boss last Friday that September 14th will be my last day of work!

My job has been a great learning experience for me. I have learned a lot about communication, multi-tasking, working under pressure, operations, and lots of practical skills for the work force. Even though there have been times when I have been really unhappy with my job, I feel that it has been a good first "real" job. I've finished my degree since I started this job and now I have more confidence in my abilities when I seek employment in Vegas (or wherever we end up if not there).

I will miss my co-workers as I leave but overall I am really excited! I am looking forward to having a break from work for awhile during our moving and transition period. And I am also looking forward to finding a more challenging job where I feel I am putting my degree to good use.

In the mean time I am working on convincing Niel to take me on a cruise to Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta from San Diego or LA in between our move. Anyone interested in joining us?

Vegas?

We got a call on Wednesday from the orthopaedic practice in Vegas informing us that they want to hire Niel!!! We are both really excited since this was his first interview and he was offered a position.

Decisions. Decisions. I have always hated making big decisions.

So here are my thoughts on Vegas... part of me is just really excited that we have a job offer and that they want him to start ASAP. There are a lot of good things about living in Vegas:

• Great shopping, lots of restaurants, and lots to do in the city.
• I have an aunt and uncle who live there
• There are quite a few mormons there and fellow BYU fans:)
• It is close to Lake Mead (a great boating location for when we get that boat:)
• Only several hours from Disneyland, the beach, and SoCAL
• Las Vegas Temple
• Five hour drive from Utah, where we both have siblings and relatives
• We could live in a nice planned community, Summerlin, which is pretty nice from what we hear.
• Oh, and It's pretty much Niel's dream job, since he's always wanted to do Orthopedic Sports Medicine.

BUT...

It is SO far away from my parents. A 16 hour drive to be exact. That is the biggest drawback of living in Vegas. Here are a few other drawbacks:

- It gets way too HOT for a couple months in the summer...but that might be better than freezing cold in the winter.

-No beach. So sad...I seriously have loved living close to the beach in CA.

-Vegas is Vegas...in many ways not the ideal place to raise children.

Other things in the making...

1. There is an orthopedic surgeon in Phoenix interested in speaking with Niel
2. An orthopedic group in Seattle wants to schedule a phone interview

We have been applying to jobs all over in Washington, Oregon, and CA. We are also open to moving to Idaho or Utah, but we haven't seen any job opportunities. Right now we are trying to keep our options open and not commit to anything for a few more weeks.

There are pros and cons about living anywhere. Overall we are feeling pretty good about the Vegas job opportunity. Niel really liked the Doctor and he happens to be LDS. He graduated from BYU, went to Loma Linda University, and enjoys sports.

Things have fallen into place quite nicely with this job offer. During Niel's orthopedic residency in July, one of his preceptors told him he knew a doctor in Vegas looking for a PA. He told Niel that he would give him a good recommendation if he was interested. It is really hard to get a job as a PA specializing in surgery without experience or a residency.

The biggest thing keeping me from being 100% sure about Vegas is the fact that it is so far from my home in Washington. I always hoped that we would be able to settle down somewhere in Washington so that our children could grow up close to their grandparents and cousins. I would have never guessed or thought that Vegas would be the place I would end up. But ya know what? Sometimes life is unpredictable...and if it feels like the right thing, then you go with it. I will keep you posted on what we decide.

Vegas Interview

Tomorrow morning, Niel has a potential job interview with a doctor in Vegas. He has had a couple other phone interviews with doctors but this will be his first in-peron interview. From what Niel knows about the job, it would be his dream job. Not only is it a position for an orthopedic surgeon, but he would be specializing in sports medicine. I remember not long after I met Niel he told me he would love to specialize in orthopedics working with athletes.

Tonight he will drive to Vegas and stay the night for his interview in the morning. We've been practicing interviewing questions. Oh, and don't worry...I picked out his outfit for the interview...and a back up tie and shirt just in case something gets on THE interview outfit. I wish I could go with him to the interview so see the area and visit the practice but I can't get off work.

My thoughts on moving to Vegas? I have mixed feelings which will be discussed if he gets the job offer.

I am really excited for Niel and I hope he does well! No pressure!

Flashback

I was able to see some of my good high school friends in WA including my Besty Camille. Saturday night I went to a BBQ at Kelly Hodges' house. Some old friends were there including Stace Webley, who I hadn't seen since before he left on his mission and I finally got to meet his wife. After the BBQ I went to Crescent Bar with Camille, Stephen, and Kevin. On Sunday, I got to see Kellie Bird and a bunch of other Quincy folk I hadn't seen in years.

{Camille and I swimming at the condos in Crescent Bar}
My swimsuit obsession can be partly blamed on Camille. It all started with a crazy trip to Walmart looking for last minute swimsuits for our week together in Lake Chelan. Camille would get several adorable suits a year...so of course I wanted to be just like her. I mean if she is getting a handful of new suits every year why shouldn't I? We made annual trips to the swimsuit shop in Crescent Bar, which gave us hopes to one day start a swimsuit shop in Lake Chelan together. Maybe one of these days Camille... It was great to see her as always...miss you:)

Party

Lucky for Sammuel, his birthday fell on one of the family reunion days. We celebrated his sixth birthday and Lori got him a really cool army cake!

We ordered take out from the Olive Garden...yum (kid's table below).

McKay and I decided to make a pinata for the party. We made it from scratch using a balloon, newspaper, and glue. While we were making it McKay said, "This is taking a LONG time." After it dried the grandkids helped me decorate it. It was time consuming but we ended up with an excellent hand-crafted pinata. Definitely topnotch -check it out. It withstood two rounds of beatings.

Elijah

My brother Brent captured some great pictures of the kiddos hitting the pinata. I love the expressions on their faces. Grandpa regulated the front of the pinata line to make sure no one got hurt or jumped in front.

McKay-powerful

Trent-very fierce
Lori-determined
Beth-satisfaction
Here is a video of Allison...she is so funny you have to watch it. She gives the boys some attitude when they start making fun of her.
Daniel didn't like the pinata as much as the rest of us and cried most of the time. I guess he didn't like the violence...poor little guy. One other detail I can't leave out about my trip. Tyler and I had several late night Mario competitions. We played the original Nintendo just like the old days...remember that one? It had been years since I'd played but I brought my A-game and we dominated.

The following day we woke up and went to the family reunion for the whole Child family side at the Moses Lake aquatic center. It was about 105 degrees outside but it was nice to see some relatives I hadn't seen a long time. We floated the lazy river, BBQ'd, went on a couple slides, and hung out.
Well that concludes the family reunion posts. I wish Niel could have come but his board exams are about a month away! Thanks to Lori and David for being such great hosts and planning the event. Brannen and Paul-we missed you!

Cuties

Here are some pictures taken throughout the week of the kiddos. I might be biased but I think I have the cutest nieces and nephews:)
This is me with my niece Allison, who is full of energy. We became little buddies during the trip. When we were boating at the lake I took Allison to play at the kiddie pool in the park.
One of the nights we had a family talent show. The grand kids decided at the last minute they wanted to perform a play. They made it up all by themselves and performed it for us. The adults weren't quite sure what the plot line was but it was pretty funny anyways (the picture above is the kiddos in their costumes for the show). My dad decided to display some vegetables he grew in the garden for the talent show (This was a last minute decision to avoid having to play the accordian for everyone) and my nephew McKay told him, "Grandpa- it isn't show and tell! It is a TALENT show!" Here is what everyone else did for the talent show: My mom, Tiffani, Lori, and Todd played the piano, McKay showed us his art book, Jericho and McKay had everyone participate in the 'Fruit Salad' hula, Brent and Beth displayed a picture slide show, and I performed 'A rig of bamboo'.


Tiffani and Daniel


Jordan

Mom and Dad with the grand kids


Beth and Daniel

Me holding baby Jordan

Look what happens...

When two people fall in love:)
And this is only half of us! Two of my older brother's families were not able to make it to the reunion. We were able to go to the Columbia River Temple together one of the days.

I think it needs to be mentioned that it was 100+ degrees outside when we took this picture. We were sweating bullets so it is actually quite amazing that it turned out so well. We had a fishing trip planned afterwards, but due to the heat, we opted to hangout indoors at Lori and David's house.

One of the reasons why we got together as a family was to celebrate my mom and dad's 40Th wedding anniversary. I loved growing up with lots of siblings. It is so much fun when we get together and now even more fun with all of the grand kids thrown into the mixture. Yay for big families!

Boating

This day could easily mark the best day of summer '09 because it included two of my favorite things: spending time with my family and boating. We spent the day on the Columbia River. The water was smooth and there weren't many boats on the water. We had a picnic in the park and spent the rest of the day on the water. It was bliss...I love boating and miss going as often as I used to.

First time going wake boarding this summer and I got up my first time! The sad thing is that I was SO sore the following day.

Brother-in-law David driving the boat like a champ.


My nephew Daniel taking it easy in the park. I hadn't met little Daniel since he was born last October until this trip. He is such a cute and sweet little boy.

tubing with Todd & Tiffani

Jordan and Allison

Trent kickin' it on the boat


My sister-in-law Beth and nephew Sammuel

My nephew Tyler showing me up on the wake board:)

Niel and I would like to get a boat when Niel is a PA huh Niel? OK. Actually that is just me...but I am working on Niel. You should leave some comments in favor of owning a boat to help me with my cause. Thanks.

Floss daily or else...

You might end up like me with three cavities...EEK! I will admit, I go through my strong phases and my not so strong phases of flossing. But in my defense I have my mom's teeth genes...which aren't the best genes as far as getting cavities go (no offense mom). Starting now I am pledging to my blog, myself, my readers, and my dentist that I will floss every day (or at LEAST every other day only if serious schedule conflicts arise). My first day in Washington, I had an appointment with my dentist (who happens to be my brother). He is pretty much the best dentist ever. He filled all three cavities in about 30 minutes and I took it like a champ. I have to mention that I took it like a champ because I have had slight anxiety about getting work done on my teeth ever since my horrific childhood experience at the dentist. This experience includes the dentist gagging me, causing me to throw up on him. The story ends with the dentist requesting that we reschedule our appointment.

My whole left side of my face was numb for about seven hours after getting my fillings. It was actually pretty funny because my face would do weird things when I talked, tried to smile, or ate. Fortunately, it provided good entertainment at the dinner table.

A big thank you to Dr. Child for the great dentistry work you provided me with. Hopefully you won't have to see me for another cavity anytime soon:)

There's no place like home...

Last week I went back to my hometown Quincy, Washington. It was the first time I had been to Quincy in a year and a half. That is the longest I have ever been away from home and it was far too long. Even though I spent 18 years growing up in Quincy, I tend to forget the simple but great things about living there until I return. When I arrived Tuesday night, I spent time outside enjoying the peacefulness of the country (definitely a different lifestyle than living in Southern CA). First of all I forgot how great it smells in the summertime on the farm. The air smells of fresh crops(not smoggy). The closest home is half a mile away, a truck or tractor drives by every ten minutes, and the house is surrounded by my dad's fields. My first night home, I went on the water truck with my dad and nephew McKay to water down the dirt by our haystacks. It brought back good memories from when I was younger of going with my dad around the farm.

Here are just a few perks of living in the country:

-riding four wheelers around

-a huge, open yard with evergreen trees

-having John Deere tractors on hand for things like building snow piles for sledding in the winter

-having your own gas and diesel pump

-privacy in your own back yard knowing that no one is around for half a mile

-no traffic

-eating all of your own fresh, home-grown vegetables

-being able to see the stars, hear the crickets, and hear the frogs croak at night:)

It was great to be home and spend time with my family...I will be posting lots of pictures soon!

Carlsbad

A few weeks ago, Niel and I went to visit my old roommate Paige and her family while they were vacationing in Carlsbad. We went to church, had lunch, walked along the beach, and had fun visiting.

It was a beautiful day, so Niel and I rode beach cruisers along the beach. We love the San Diego area and wouldn't mind living there at all if it wasn't so far from family and if the housing wasn't so expensive.

It was so good to see the Cordons! We always have a good time hanging out with them. They are expecting baby #2 this month and will be moving to LA in September. Hopefully that means we will get to see them more often!