fun in the sun...and the snow?

the other day we had a million things on our "to do" list. after recovering from our work week by sleeping in until 1pm, steve and i rolled out of bed, well, rolled over in bed, and started talking. after going over all the things we "should" do that day, we opted for something we "wanted" to do that day.
we packed up the car, loaded ourselves and marley in the subi, and hit the road. one of our favorite places in utah is parley's canyon, and going up into the uintahs along mirror lake highway. it's just such a beautiful and peaceful drive. and this time of year, it's still pretty deserted, but so green. it was awesome. it felt like we had the whole park to ourselves!
the sun was out, the sky was blue, there were some awesome scattered clouds in the sky, and there was us. our little family of 3, driving down the road, enjoying some music and the scenery, and of course, each other (gag, i know, but hey, we are still newlyweds!)
we got out of the car at a few different spots to hike a bit and enjoy the water. it was just the perfect day. even though there were so many things we should have done instead, the moment we got up in the mountains, all those cares went away, and there was nowhere i would have rather been.
we drove up to the summit, and were surprised to see quite a bit of snow still up there. it got to be a cool 46 degrees at the top, but it was so awesome!

our attempt at a family picture

marley drinking some water, er, snow

after playing around in the sun, snow, and water, we headed back into salt lake for steve's softball game. the team got a W, and i felt complete satisfaction. what a day!
it's days like that that make me so grateful for my life. sure it isn't perfect, but it sure comes close, thanks to all the blessings i have.

Dr. Grace?

Big news, I got into grad school! I start the doctorate nurse practitioner program in family practice in august. holy crap. 8 semesters and i will be a doctor. ha!. now, scholarship time. wish me luck!

from the mind of grace

a few thoughts that have been running through my mind.
well, it's just about official. i'm no longer a collings. man i had no idea how much work it took to change your last name. if only i could make one stop, fill out a form, and wham bam, thank you mam, have it be done. but noooo, i have to make a separate stop for every little stinking thing that is in my name. boy is it time consuming! and of course all of those "legal" type places aren't in and out kind of places. more like in, wait 30 minutes at least, then finally take care of business. ugh. now i know why people stay married. it's not for love, it's to avoid the hassle of changing your name again.
in other news, life seems like it's just about back to normal. i am getting used to the idea of being a married woman and having a husband. still feels weird to say "my husband" or be called a rawson, but i am enjoying nonetheless.
school is busy as ever. i have been second guessing my desire to go through 8 more semesters of studying, cramming, late nights, assignments. but as of now, i'm still in it. that is, if i get accepted to the program. so i have been waiting to hear something, anything from the nursing department about my application. on thursday, i get a message from an advisor in the nursing department saying someone has been trying to get a hold of me (calling, leaving voicemails, emailing) to schedule an interview. and that since they have not heard back from me, they assume i am withdrawing my application. i called the lady back and explained to her that i had not gotten any calls, voicemails, or emails from anyone and that of course i am not withdrawing my application. she apologized and then informed me that they were finishing up interviews that afternoon and asked if i could be there for an interview in 2 hours. holy moly! talk about winging it. but i think it went okay and rushing it didn't give me much time to stress about it. so anyway, they should be letting all the applicants know within the next couple weeks. so fingers crossed!
steve is out of work for the next month because he tore his rotator cuff and labral cartilage in his right shoulder when he slipped on some ice just before we got married. he is going to try PT for a month and try to avoid surgery. but if the PT doesn't work, then it looks like surgery might be the option. poor guy, it's killing him not to be able to work right now. he loves his job so much and i think he's going stir crazy sitting at home all the time. he can't even golf to fill his time.
so that's pretty much our life these days. the house is still coming together, slooooowly, but surely. it's fun to have projects, but on the other hand, i would like it to be all put together and decorated already.

at home with the rawson's

last night was my first night back at work since the wedding. i was half looking forward to going back and seeing people, and half dreading getting back to "real life". not to mention i haven't been feeling super swell the last few days, and i wasn't looking forward to leaving my new husband at home while i went off and had to work. but i did, and the night went well. 7am rolled around and i was out the door on my way home to crawl in bed with my boys (steve and marley). when i got home, i saw this on my nightstand.
my heart melted. i thought it was so sweet that he thought of me and got me these beautiful flowers and arranged them and had them waiting for me when i got home. that just made my day. but it got better. then he showed me this.
people who know me, know i love cereal. it's my staple food. and i ran out of cereal yesterday and had none for today. so steve being the intune and sweet, sweet man that he is, got me a refill. love that guy. but it doesn't end there.
after i slept off the night shift and woke up to go to class, i came home to this.
and this...
steve made the yummiest home made meal on the BBQ in our snow filled backyard. the whole time we were dating, i'm not sure we even made a home cooked meal together. and don't get me wrong, i didn't help with this meal either, but i was at least present while he cooked it :) i love that steve cooks, because i definitely don't. oh, don't think i'm finished. it keeps going.
while steve was busy cooking away, i was just sitting on my lazy bum and blurted out i thought it would be nice if we could have a candle burning because i think they make everything seem so cozy. man am i whiney? i'm so glad steve puts up with me. and since our house is in shambles, you can imagine i have no idea where a candle would be, if it's even at the house yet. i thought nothing of my comments and went on munching on "appetizers".

yummiest pineapple ever!
Marley was a very helpful taster of the food. Lucky dog.

steve went out to check on the meat on the barbie and came back in a few minutes later with this...
man is this guy for real!? he snuck out on me and went to the store to get that stupid little commodity i wanted. i couldn't believe it! but man was i a happy camper. the smell of good food cooking, yummy pineapple to eat, beautiful flowers, and a candle to decorate the house. not to mention, my favorite boys (again, steve and marley) in the world at home with me. YUM.
i relished in my amazement of my awesome, hot, husband for the rest of the night, and we had an amazingly YUMMY meal to boot.
i think i can get used to this married life thing pretty easily :) love you babe and thanks for being so stinking awesome!
and don't think we forgot about marley. he patiently waited his turn while we stuffed our faces with our meal.

but then it was his turn.

i think he was outside in the snow storm for about 30 minutes licking those bones and burying them. he was soaking wet when he came back inside, but i think he was just fine with that.

introducing the Mr.

I know it's been awhile since i've posted anything. and believe it or not, it's not because of a lack of things to post about. i have been busy getting married!
steve and i were sealed in the san diego temple on february 28. it was such a perfect day for us and we couldn't have asked for more. we then spent a few days in las vegas, just relaxing and not having a care in the world. it was so sweet!
we are now back in salt lake, and moving into our new house and making it our home. i love this place and i'm so excited i get to live here with my new husband! i think that so far, living together is my favorite part of being married. it's just so perfect. YUM.
here are a few pictures of the wedding and vegas. we haven't gotten our professional pictures back yet, but these will tide you over until we get those back. who knows when that will be. enjoy!

at dinner the night before the wedding.
on our way to the temple
san diego temple from the freeway
our temple sealer robert daynes
married!
the mr. at our hotel pool in vegas
mr. and mrs. rawson!