Rain on Our Parade

The Saturday before St Patrick's Day found us at The Gateway at the parade. And I'm not sure why...cause first of all, we had to get up at 6am to get there on time, second, we had not one child with us! Granted, we were going to meet Jason and Deana, who had kids we could claim, but while trying to locate them, it was just three adults walking up and down the parade route (Dave and I had been talked into going to the parade by Jared, his roommate). And third, it was cold and windy....we stood in line at Starbucks for about 30 minutes for a warm beverage!

We finally found our people and had a fun time watching all the roller skaters, horses, Shriners, clans, dance groups, dogs and Catholic school kids in the parade. Partway through, the rain started! I hadn't planned on freezing that morning, so I was only in a tee shirt and light denim jacket. Deana gave me her "magic" scarf that has a huge hole in it so you can put it on like a hat then wrap it around your neck too. Helped a bit. Dave had grabbed a windbreaker from his car, which is about as much of a coat as he ever wears (the man is in short sleeved tee shirts most of the winter!) and it may have helped with the wind but when the rain came, he just got drenched! I was glad I hadn't bothered to wash my hair that morning, and just had crazy hair at work that night...who cares, right??!! We finally left and made it to the Chinese restaurant right before the rain turned to snow :) It doesn't really matter the circumstances, as long as you're with someone who makes you happy, good times will ensue!

Dave and I PRE-rain!

After awhile, we couldn't even snuggle to stay warm, cause he was soaked!!!
The magic scarf cracks me up!

The men--Jason, Jared and Dave. (I like how the J's are snuggling a bit!)
Anything to stay warm I guess!

Second Chance Lucky

I guess it's time to update a really important part of my life, that has BECOME my life. So for those who I don't get to see every day, and who don't get to see the smile on my face, here is the abbreviated version (which will probably still be very long, cause who are we kidding? I don't do abbreviated anything!)

Once upon a time, in 1996, I met a boy named David. A week later his persistence paid off and I agreed to go out with him. We dated. We fell in love. We were going different directions. We broke up. We found others. He married his. I almost married mine. Fast forward 14 years. I see him on Facebook. He takes two minutes to realize it's me (short, dark hair had replaced long, blond!) He's surprised. We start chatting. We plan to meet for breakfast. We see each other. We small talk about work, the weather and why we broke up all those years ago (neither one really remembers actually ever breaking up...just that I returned my beautiful promise ring, which broke both our hearts.) We leave, both realizing that there are still incredibly deep feelings there. Those feelings shoot to the surface. Dang. Timing is off a little. He's going through a divorce. Divorce finalizes. Friendship ensues. Love happens.

(Hey I CAN abbreviate stories!)

Some pics from one of our first outings together...we drove all over SLC one day (we LOVE to drive) and stopped at the "This is the place" monument and Temple Square to walk around in the frigid Utah winter....we're nothing if not crazy!

We're kinda cute together, right?!

Zion and the Virgin

I took a quick trip with Joey and Glen to St George for the weekend and met up with my parents and Tammy and her kids in Mesquite for lunch then spent the next couple days with them before heading home through Zion National Park....which added HOURS to the usual 3.5 hour trip. In true Wilson style, it was a comedy of errors filled with 83 differing opinions as to what to do, where to stop, how to spend the time, but we had a great time (also in true Wilson style :)

Look very closely.....cause these are quite possibly the ONLY pictures I'll ever have of my parents outside a casino. EVER. And frankly, I was surprised to get them.....perhaps life mellows people out a bit!

Donny, Tara, Me, Joey, Dad, Mom, Glen and Tammy outside the Virgin after a yummy seafood buffet...a really good place to spend 8 bucks on a Friday afternoon...

Eating a well balanced breakfast of Nilson's Frozen Custard concretes on our way out of St George...WHAT?! Mine had berries!

Why wouldn't we be playing Rook on the Hurricane Subway lawn???

G shimmied himself up Mom's van for a group shot and I couldn't resist taking this delightful little snapshot of him and the amazing Zion Canyon behind him.

Grandma Rosemary and her eldest, yea, and also tallest, grandkiddos--Tara and Donny, in Zion.

When have I ever let a day slip by without taking a self-portrait?? NEVER. So why would I start now?? Joey, G and I cruising up the canyon....wind in our hair (we wish). C'mon, I drive a freaking Saturn!

And here we are again looking like J Asses. Can anyone tell we're related??? This is a patented look we've got going on...so don't try it at home without adult supervision.

Going through the tunnel (that our Grandpa Jim helped build in 1930, mind you....don't know how they feel good about even charging us to go through the canyon...geez). Don't worry, we were honking and jamming to Blackhawk all the while.

As a nurse (and also as a human) I know that there are people we connect with more than others. I've had many experiences at work when I've received report from a nurse that a certain patient was difficult, or needy, or apathetic, or rude, or a thousand other non-attractive personality traits! Immediately I make a judgement about the patient and it either places a black cloud over my relationship with her and the whole shift is tainted, or I get in to see her and I have a connection with her that is absolutely opposite of what I'd planned on experiencing. I know I've given report that I had a hard time with someone and found out the next shift that the nurse I gave her to had a wonderful experience. Sometimes the opposite happens...where one nurse enjoys a patient and thinks she rocks then the next nurse who gets her thinks she's hard to deal with --it totally goes both ways!!
Anyway, back to my original idea...sometimes I have such unique and amazing connections with families that completely make my night! I had just such a connection with Paul, Brookelle and Kole, this amazing new little family who started their journey with pain issues, sleep deprivation and an uphill battle with breastfeeding!!! Happens all the time :) I spent a good portion of two shifts in their room trying to make the transition from "couple" to "parents" run smoothly. They were so sweet and grateful for my help and they endeared themselves to me by being so incredibly patient. So after I loved them and left them, I found this note in my box....and their words made my day! Believe me, there are many frustrating shifts where I'm sure I'm the worst nurse in the universe or that I don't feel I helped anyone at all! But one small "thank you" speaks louder than a thousand inadequacies on my part. It is for this reason that

I LOVE MY JOB.

10 Random Things I'm Thankful For...

Felt the need to blog, but can't quite say what's in my heart just now..... so I decided to throw out some things I'm grateful for......not a complete list, mind you, just a few...

FRIENDS....those who stand by us every day as well as those who've left us--they have ALL touched our lives...

WATER...cold and crisp for drinking as well as hot and cleansing for showering, washing stuff and generally making life cleaner :)

SLEEP....good old fashioned shut-eye, whether power nap or a full 8 hours, it's much needed and I LOVE it!

FIREFIGHTERS.....they save lives, plain and simple.

SNUGGLES.....from teeny tinies, mamas, aunts, friends, lovers, dogs, blankies or daddies, doesn't matter--we all need 'em, any time, any where.

MITTENS.....and caps, scarves, coats etc. When it's cold out, I'm grateful for whatever warms me....I guess I could add hot cocoa to this category as well...

PILLOWS....and the little eyes that peek out from them! After a long day, the best thing in the world is a soft pillow to welcome me to my bed....and my nieces and nephews make me smile equally as much :)

JESUS CHRIST.....we celebrate Him as the greatest gift at Christmas and the Savior of the world at Easter....and every day He blesses my life.

MY MOTHER.....for being the kind of mother who has the guts to purchase this sweatshirt for her grown daughter....should I take the hint that she thinks I have attitude??!! Plus, she taught me how to love.

ALL THESE PEOPLE.....they're why I am who I am (so blame them if you don't like me) and they love me unconditionally, even when they're cold and wiggly.

Just some, not all, of the things I'm grateful for. Not by a long shot.

The last night of the decade, 2009...

I had to work New Year's Eve this year. It's ALWAYS busy on December 31st (everyone is trying to get their "little tax deductions" in by the end of the year :). We knew there was no chance of getting cut that night, so we decided to party like it was 1999 (wishing that it was...who wouldn't like a "do-over" decade??!!). Here's proof that we ended the decade in true-nursery style!

Rhianne and I had been at Walmart several nights before and saw these awesome headbands (and the glasses) and HAD to have them! We wore these for probably about 10 hours that night! I told parents that they were birthday hats in celebration of their baby's birthday :)

The matching set...

Pucker up, baby!!!

Britt brought fancy crowns to add to our party getup so we could ALL look fabulous! Liz, Britt, me, Rhianne, and Sarah

Annalee busted her sparkly antennae out too!

Do a little dance...

...make a little love...

...get down tonight!!!

Drinking a celebratory toast of Voltage from med cups...that's how nurses do it!

Rhi, Sarah, me, Vendla and Britt rockin' the night away :)

Oops we must have done it again! (I don't remember what, though....I wonder if Britt spiked my Voltage.....???)

You know exactly what was going through our collective minds at this precise moment...."Heeyyyyy!"

Blowing a kiss to 2009 and ready for all the love, loss, laughter, learning and life 2010 has to offer!

Since I had to spend the night working, I couldn't have picked greater peeps to enjoy it with!!!

Happy 2010!!!

Sisters! Sisters! There were never such devoted sisters...

For a reason I cannot yet comprehend, I "assisted" my Mom in choosing Christmas Day 2009 as the day we'd take our Wilson Family photos....bad idea. For oh so many reasons. These pictures are exhibit A in proving that the whole group family pictures were a disaster. But, as on that day, this day, too, I won't dwell on my poor choices! It was bitter cold and these pics show that only the toughest of the Wilson clan can still smile while freezing their backsides off! Notice the absence of men...except, of course, our faithful photographer, Dave, who had my camera. Kyrsten had Jenn's. Bless their souls!

Me, Amy, Jenn and Amber...I didn't get the memo that we weren't posing "sassy"...

The impromptu photo shoot started because I wasn't willing to leave this beautiful bridge without at least a few pictures taken there! Amy, Jenn and I started it, then noticed that Steve and Amber's car was still in the parking lot a hundred yards away, so we waved her over as well! That's just called taking advantage of a gorgeous setting!

A little sass, just cause we can!

We had fun, laughing the whole time--I don't think they believed we were really going to TOUCH the frozen bridge metal...but I was seriously focused on doing just that!

...and here we are, bravely snuggling with the frigid metal!

...then we had to snuggle with each other to warm up!

Oh yeah, we went ahead and climbed on up...then straddled it for good measure! Totally worth it, I think, cause it's such a fun pose!

And it was hysterically funny trying to hold each other up there!

I wish all my sisters had been there to play with us! I'm SO grateful for each of my sisters, who build me up and love me just the way I am!