Brown Family!

New Year's 2012!

2012-01-04T17:48:00.001-08:00

Curtis and I had a great New Year's this year. It started off at the BYU basketball game vs USD. A few months ago we met this kid Adam from West Ridge Academy in Salt Lake. He's been through a lot in his life and had such an inspiring story. We wanted to do something cool for him so we invited him and his friends to the BYU game. It was a lot of fun!

After the game we headed to Outback Steakhouse for dinner then to a friends house for fun and games! We got home at 11:45pm, just in time to watch the ball drop together :) I had to work the next morning at 8am. At 4:30am I was tossing and turning in bed with the worst stomach ache. Curtis asked if I was ok and I sat up and threw up everywhere. It was pretty awesome. I felt like I was 6 years old again and couldn't make it to the toilet. It was pretty much the worst thing ever. I threw up a couple more times. I immediately called in sick to work, but I guess they have this policy that you have to call in at least 6 hours prior to your shift and you can't call in sick on a holiday. So I had to go to work anyway. Right when I get there the charge nurse said I looked horrible and sent me home... Other than the whole throwing up thing, it was a fun night :)

Christmas 2011!

2012-01-01T20:13:00.000-08:00

Christmas this year was SO weird!! We were planning on going to Curtis' house for a few days...but then I got a new job and was scheduled to work December 23rd, 24th, 25th, and 26th. Awesome right?! So we had to stay in town this year. It didn't even feel like Christmas. It kind of felt like a birthday party for Curtis and I or something since we were all alone opening up gifts together.

How cute is Tyson?! We love him!

Don't you just love my Christmas decorations?? All 2 of them. :) I think the best part of the tree is the tag on the side. Curtis bought the tree and wasn't too sure if he liked it, so he kept the tag on so he could return it. Haha... Nerd.

Happy birthday Curtis... Oh wait, I mean Merry Christmas Curtis!!

Yes, all dressed and ready for work. I had to work 5pm-5am that night.

Curtis wrapped my old Nike's and left a print out saying I could buy any new one's I wanted online. He also wrapped my old clothes and left a gift card to Nordstrom's on top. Such a cute idea!! :) I was so surprised he bought me new clothes, then realized they were old one's from my closet haha...

Oh, and he wrapped an empty Mac laptop box and said we could go pick one out later. :)

Early dinner at my sister Stephanie's house before work...equipped with some amazing Shirley Temple's!

We had my sister for Christmas. We couldn't decide what to get her so we settled on a Nordstrom gift card...but gift card's are kind of boring...so we picked out the absolute ugliest shoes we could find at Nordstrom's so she would be forced to take them back and pick out anything she wanted!

Cute right?!

Cute lil' Lia Chirstmas morning/afternoon :)

New Job - UVRMC ER!

2012-01-01T15:42:00.000-08:00

I got a new job at the end of October at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center - Emergency Room!! I started training mid November and had my first official shift alone on Christmas Eve! Not the best way to spend Christmas vacation...but it's all good. :) I absolutely LOVE my job...but hate the hours. You gotta put up with the crappy shifts when you're new though. I have already seen some CRAZY stuff and learned so much! It will definitely be beneficial for my nursing career!!

Kenny's Graduation!

2011-12-22T21:55:00.001-08:00

We drove down to Vegas a couple weeks ago for Curtis' little brother Kenny's graduation! He graduated in Communications from UNLV. He's a senior in school, but still has one more year of football left, which is awesome because then he can work on his Master's Degree or something for free :)

Curtis, Kenny, and Kim. We are both so proud of him!!!

Curtis, Kim, Cheryl, Kenny, Granny, Herman, Stephanie, and Joel

We had such a good time hanging out with Curtis' family! It was kind of like our mini Christmas as well since I had to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day :(

Happy Thanksgiving 2011!

2011-11-29T20:20:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving in California with my ENTIRE family! All 24...13 of which are under the age of 8! I had to work Tuesday before Thanksgiving from 1pm-1am...so we started the drive to CA at about 2:00am. Curtis is such a champ with driving! I would totally fall asleep. I kept him up until about 7:00am, then tried to get some sleep.

Things we did while in Cali: saw Breaking Dawn, pie night, ate a TON of great food, baptism for my niece and nephew, went to the Light's on Parade downtown Hollister, played games etc. It was such a great weekend!!

The whole fam!

All the grandkids.

Curtis & Kim...

...my brother Tyler's fam...

...my brother Mitch's fam...

...and my sister Stephanie's fam.

Cody and Olivia were baptized the Saturday after Thanksgiving! I'm so glad I could get work off and be there for it! So special!! :)

At Jack-in-the-Box after the Light's on Parade! :)

Halloween 2011!

2011-11-01T18:29:00.001-07:00

We spent Halloween this year up at my brother's house trick-or-treating with his kids. It was so cute seeing my nephew Alex get so excited to get candy from each house. He was in heaven!! Then his cute little voice saying thank you to all the parents handing out the candy.

Olivia & Esther

Esther: Madonna, Olivia: Lady Gaga, Drew: Michael Jackson, Alex: Elvis

Esther, Tyler, & Jamie

Kim, Esther, & Curtis

We tried to sneak out the door with Esther, but Jamie caught us on our way out! haha. jk. She's such a good baby!

Kenny At UNLV!

2011-10-30T17:49:00.000-07:00

We took a quick trip to Vegas this last weekend to watch Curtis' brother Kenny play football. UNLV played Colorado State and won 38-35!! It was great weekend with Curtis' fam. Here's some pics from the game. P.S. Kenny is #20! :)

With the fam after the game! We all went to Cheesecake Factory later for dinner. Yum!

Marissa & Brandon's Sealing!

2011-10-12T15:22:00.000-07:00

One of my best friend's Marissa got sealed to her husband Brandon and son Isac on October 11, 2011. They were married last year on October 9, 2010 and sealed a year later. It was such an amazing experience. I wouldn't have missed it!

Curtis and I drove to Palmdale on Sunday night. We were planning on hanging out with his parents for a couple days. We stopped in Vegas on our way down and had dinner with Curtis' brother Kenny. He told us that his parents were in Florida for the weekend haha... so they weren't even going to be in town. It ended up working perfectly though because we got to hang out with my brother Mitch and his family on Monday. We headed down to San Diego on Tuesday morning. Marissa and Brandon took out their endowments then got sealed immediately after. It was perfect! The San Diego temple is SO beautiful!! We drove home right after. Curtis is such a champ when it comes to driving long distances! :)

Marissa & Brandon Smith - October 9, 2010

Bridesmaids - Kim, Alex, Rebecca, and Amy!

San Diego temple

Curtis, Kim, Marissa, Isac, and Brandon

I love this girl! She's one of those friends that you can go a year without seeing, but once you're back together it's like no time has passed! :)

Meeting Isac for the first time :) Such a cute baby!

This is Alex's baby Jacey! So adorable!

Marissa and Isac

Kim, Marissa, and Alex. I miss these girls so much!!

THE Curtis Brown!

2011-10-12T14:43:00.000-07:00

So, my husband is kind of a big deal. :) Duff Tittle wrote a book on What It Means To Be A Cougar and featured Curtis in one chapter. It's a really cool book.

Oh, and Curtis is on the inside cover. Such an awesome picture!

Yea, he's pretty amazing!

There was a book signing at the BYU bookstore last week. Curtis was asked to be there for an hour and a half and sign books for fans.

It's crazy how so many people in Provo look at Curtis as this superstar. I mean, he definitely was a star football player at BYU, but it still amazes me how many people recognize him and get a lil' crazy 5 years later. :) I love seeing the little kids come up and ask him for an autograph. So cute! Curtis is so humble and always goes out of his way for all his fans.

New York!

2011-09-20T20:41:00.001-07:00

We had a FANTASTIC weekend in New York City!! It was the perfect little trip :) I definitely realized I could never live there...but I love to visit. :)

Things I learned about New York City:

1. People in New York DO NOT follow traffic laws. They don't use blinkers...so just assume anyone at any time is going to cut you off and enter your lane. Also-pedestrians don't follow the rules either. They can see a huge orange hand saying do not walk, yet they still cross the street right in front of on coming traffic. It's all about themselves and where they are headed.

2. Do not wear flip-flops while walking the streets of NY. There are SO many people, walking everywhere, cutting you off, and stepping on the back of your sandals ALL day long.

3. I love the diversity in NY - We probably heard over 20 different languages over the weekend!

4. I think I heard more F words in one day in NY then the last 8 years I've lived in Utah.

5. There is SO much to do in NY! You definitely can't fit it into a 4 day weekend...which means we'll have to return soon haha ;)

DAY ONE - I flew in at around 4pm, headed to the hotel to unpack, then straight to dinner. Later that night we went to see Wicked!!! It was such a great musical!

Dinner at Hard Rock Cafe

Wicked stage

I think he's enjoying the show... :)

DAY TWO - Central Park, Soho shopping, dinner

There was a fast pitch softball game right in the middle of Central Park

DAY THREE - a downtown festival, 911 memorial, dinner

There was some random downtown festival going on where they closed down the streets in Times Square. It was pretty cool. :)

TONS of people!

Curtis reserved us tickets to the 911 memorial at the World Trade Center site. It was free to get in, you just had to reserve your tickets in advance. :) There's like a two month waiting period now. It was a really cool experience!

There are two huge pools/waterfalls with the names of everyone who passed engraved around the sides.

DAY FOUR - NY Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins in the afternoon and NY Giants vs. St. Louis Rams in the afternoon.

New York Yankee Stadium

Alex Rodriguez up to bat

Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter on third with Alex Rodriguez up to bat :)

Mariano Rivera broke the MLB saves record with 603 saves!!! All the fans were on their feet when he ran out in the 9th inning. Curtis and I had no idea why at first haha... :)

This is where the old Yankee stadium used to be. They built the new stadium right across the street and tore down the old one.

Nerd :)

Here is us in Times Square on the big screen :)

One of Curtis' best friends Bryan Kehl plays for the St. Louis Rams, so it was absolutely perfect that the Rams played the Giants that weekend so we could go cheer him on :)

Bryan is #50...running down the field!!

Here's the crew after the game.

Jessica, Bryan, Kim, and Curtis after the game.

Alex's 3rd Birthday - Utah State Fair!

2011-09-20T20:01:00.000-07:00

We celebrated my nephew Alex's 3rd birthday white trash style at the Utah State Fair! :) We definitely saw some interesting things there. It was a lot of fun!

The freakin' adorable birthday boy!

Yea...not sure why anyone would tie a plastic race car to the back of a goose... Only at the fair!

Alex and the ponies

Cows. Curtis asked Olivia which cow looked like her. She stopped right there and said, "None of them! Maybe the pigs...but not the cows!" haha... It was hilarious!

The cute lil' pigs!

Kisses for the lamb...

All the kids did the bungee jump thing. They LOVED it! Here's Drew doing back flips.

Alex

Love the hair

Olivia

This was definitely Olivia and Drew's favorite ride. Can't you tell by their faces?! :)

Cute Esther...with a little friend on her eye :)

Uncle Curtis and Esther!

The whole crew! :)

Baby Lia!

2011-09-06T19:21:00.000-07:00

My sister Stephanie finally had her baby girl!! 5 boys and now a little princess - Lia Renae LaPray!! She was born September 3rd at 12:07am. Her stats: 7.2 lbs - 20 inches. She's absolutely gorgeous!!

Holding Lia for the first time...

My new beautiful niece!

This is definitely my all-time favorite pic!!

Cinco Anos!

2011-08-12T08:50:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe Curtis and I have been married for 5 YEARS!!! Crazy! Our anniversary consisted of: 90 minute massages in the morning, Last Samurai for dinner, Maverick for some frozen yogurt, and a redbox DVD. It was a great day together!! :)

...I love this guy...

**August 12, 2006**

(sexiest man alive!)

California Trip: Kelsie's Wedding!

2011-08-02T18:50:00.000-07:00

Curtis and I took a trip to CA last weekend for my friend Kelsie's wedding. It definitely reminded us how badly we want to move back there! Hopefully within the next year :) Our agenda while in town: take Tyson to a beach in Carmel, Gilroy Garlic Festival, visit my best friend Jen & Trisha (and see Jen's new baby Zachary), Kelsie's wedding, dinner with my dad and brother John... It was a fun weekend!! :)

Tyson LOVING the beach!

He could play fetch ALL day.

We saw an otter close to shore... :)

This was Tyson's first time in the ocean. He was fearless at first, but then got hammered by a wave, and was a lot more careful afterwards. It was hilarious! :)

Pebble Beach Golf Course in the distance..

Kelsie's wedding at the Elk's Lodge in Gilroy, Ca

Her sister Maggie was the maid-of-honor!

Kelsie & Brian DeCarli - July 30, 2011

What a beautiful bride!

...I don't remember what was so funny... :)

Some of my best friends from high school - Jon Walton & Craig Boyd

Curtis kept making us try different poses haha.. :)

Curtis & Kim :) I love him!

...first dance as husband & wife...

Craig tried to do the sprinkler dance move and spilled his drink down his back. Hilarious!

They smashed the cake in the little kids face instead of each others :)

Nerd.

Bailey Brown and Kimberly Brown :) Same last name...kinda funny. (My friend Rob Johnson's girlfriend)

Summer Kimberly and Kimberly (My best friend Jen's little girl). I can't believe she is 5!! Isn't she gorgeous?!

Jen's newest edition Zachary! So cute!

Summer Fun!

2011-08-01T22:20:00.000-07:00

Here's some of the things Curtis and I have been up to this summer...

REAL Salt Lake Soccer Game

The girls!

Kim, Jessica, Cami, Chandler, Curtis & Bryan - We all went to frozen yogurt afterwards :)

Boating - Utah Lake

Zac wakeboarding

Jessica taking pictures...

Courtney - such a sweet pic (taken by Jessica)

Curtis

Jess kneeboarding - 360

Here is me - attempting to wakeboard haha...

Bryan

The crew :)

4th of July - random adorable pic! haha...

Alex

Golfing - Driving Range

Drew

Alex - he loved throwing the balls out on the grass - or putting them in the vending machine haha...

Olivia

Esther

Curtis

Tyler and his perfect golf swing!

Kim

Jamie :)

...more summer pics to come...

Date Night!

2011-07-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

Movie (with awesome 3D glasses), dinner, trip to the driving range...perfect date with the hubby! :)

.i.heart.him.

Esther Nicole Dabo!

2011-07-03T20:18:00.001-07:00

I'm an aunt...again!! :) My brother and his wife had their baby girl - Esther Nicole Dabo - on June 16th, 2011.

Her stats: 20 inches - 7lbs 11oz (and was 2 weeks early)!

Tyler, Jamie, & baby Esther

Can she get any cuter?!? :)

Stadium of Fire 2011!

2011-07-03T19:52:00.001-07:00

I was pleasantly surprised by how GREAT the Stadium of Fire show was this year! David Archuleta and Brad Paisely were very entertaining and put on a good show...and the fireworks were beyond amazing...as always! My sister found some great seats online that included a foursome of golf at Thanksgiving Point...so the boys started off the weekend with a little golf trip. :) It was perfect!

Stadium of Fire dancers

David Archuleta opened the show. He started off by singing the National Anthem. He did such a good job!

Brad Paisley

Dancers again.

AMAZING firework show!! :) It seriously gets better every year!!

The girls...

...and the boys...

Mom & Dad

Cruisin' Part 2!

2011-06-17T23:47:00.000-07:00

So...this post took forever to create because each picture was taking SO long to load! But here's the second part of our cruise... :) So fun!!

My mom and I :)

Curtis trying to look sexy...

Okay...he is sexy! :)

Thursday: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - Zip lines, rope swing, sliding rock, beach, jet skis, Mexican food, fresh guacamole & salsa, etc

Zip lines where the movie Predator was filmed. Beautiful!

Instructions prior to taking off...

Kimmy

Curtis and his big ol' cheeser :)

Pops

Mom

Crash landing!

There were "predators" hiding in the bushes that would come out and scare you haha...

Our guide was hilarious.

Love the face :)

And this face... haha

And this one :) He kind of struggled with the brakes.

She definitely got scared!! It was SO funny!

I was the only one who wanted to go off the rope swing. It was so fun and the water was refreshing after hiking up the hills to the zip lines in 90 degree weather!

And the only one who wanted to slide down the waterfall :)

Mom & I

Jet skis!!

The water was perfect!

Our waiter made the salsa and guacamole right at our table! So good!!!

My dad's huge dinner bowl! (his face reminds me of John haha)

Posing for the paparazzi at the downtown market...

Our taxi driver Tony was AMAZING! Right when we got off the ship he offered us a slammin' deal on the zip lines...$55 bucks each and no charge for the taxi drive up there (which was 30-40 min away). The zip lines were going for $120 each if you booked through the cruise. He even said he would wait for us to finish and take us back to the port. After we finished the zip lines we didn't know what to do next...so we asked him what we should do. He took us to this amazing beach (not over crowded) with umbrellas, lounge chairs, jet skis, massage/manicure/pedicure spa right on the beach, refreshing sodas, etc. It was perfect. Tony waited for us to play at the beach, then took us to his favorite restaurant The Margarita. Delicious! Afterwards, he took us to the downtown market to shop around. It was seriously the perfect day! :)

The cruise had a Mexican dessert buffet that night!

Friday: Day at Sea - laying out ALL day in the sun, unlimited ice cream cones 24 hrs/day (my favorite part of the cruise), delicious dinner, great entertainment, etc.

i.heart.him.

Our fabulous waiter Luci! He definitely had rhythm!

Nerd.

Saturday: Day at Sea - kind of cold so we just relaxed, had ice cream, great food, comedy show, card games, etc.

We met the biggest "Curtis Brown" fans EVER!!! The word obsessed doesn't even describe it! BYU fans everywhere we go :)

Mmmmmmm....

My dad & I

We played games until about 2am!

Such a great vacation!! :)

Cruisin' Part 1

2011-06-13T20:47:00.001-07:00

We just got back yesterday from a cruise to Mexico! It was a lot of fun!! At first it was supposed to be a "girl's trip" with just my mom and my sister....but Curtis wanted to come so we decided to invite the spouses. Then we found out you can't go on cruises past 24 weeks pregnant...so my sister and her husband couldn't come :( We definitely wished they could have come along!! (we'll just have to do the girl's trip later on this summer)

So the trip started off Thursday. We headed to Vegas Thursday night after work and stayed at Curtis' brother's house. We went shopping at the outlets the next morning then headed to Palmdale. We got to visit Curtis' family and my brother's family in Lancaster. It was so fun seeing his new house and having dinner with them! :) Sunday morning we drove to LA and picked up my parents from LAX airport. We had to be on the cruise ship by 3pm...

I love the different animals they make for you every night they clean your room :)

Monday: Day at Sea

At dinner - Elegant night

The four of us getting ready for the show that night :)

Tuesday: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico - Glass bottom water taxi tour, snorkeling, Lover's Beach, etc.

On the water taxi

The famous arch

Beautiful background!

Water seal posing for the picture :)

Getting ready to snorkel. I LOVE snorkeling!!

Mom & Dad at dinner

Our waiter and Maitre d' dancing/singing on the tables. Such great service...and WAY too much food!

Wednesday: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico again - Massages, beach, walking around town, Wal-mart :)

Taking the tender from the ship to Cabo. We found this spa offering $25 1-hour massages. They were pretty good! :) Then we just walked around town, went to the beach, etc.

Had to stop by Wal-Mart in Mexico to find my mom a comb/pick

We came back to the ship a little early to eat lunch and lay out. It was great because everyone else was off in Cabo so the ship was empty! :)

Bruno Mars Concert!

2011-05-31T15:38:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Curtis and I went to the Bruno Mars Concert at UVU. The first two bands were alright, but Bruno Mars was awesome! He's such a great performer. We loved it! Thanks Tyler & Jamie for getting us tickets for our birthday!!

Bruno Mars rockin' it!

Our seats were perfect!

Utah's Entertainment Choice Awards!

2011-05-31T15:33:00.000-07:00

We went to Utah's Entertainment Choice Awards last week with my brother and his wife. Soooo fun!! haha jk. We pretty much stayed for dinner and then left. But we had to walk the red carpet and take some fantastic pictures before we headed out. :)

Kim & Curtis

Our gorgeous husbands!

Jamie & Tyler

Bieber Fever!

2011-05-19T23:35:00.000-07:00

Guess which movie my 27 year old African American husband rented from redbox tonight??? Justin Bieber - Never Say Never. He definitely has Bieber Fever! You should have seen him dancing to the credits afterwards. Hahaha...hilarious!

.I.Love.Him. (Curtis that is...oh, and Justin too)

4th Time's Not A Charm!

2011-05-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

I have had bad days in my life...but yesterday was probably one of the worst one's yet. I found out I wasn't pregnant.

Now you may all say...well there's always next month... Not the case with Curtis and I. :( We have struggled with infertility issues for over 2 years. At first we weren't really "trying", we just weren't preventing. Then after 6 months or so we started "trying" and monitoring ovulation. Then I had a weird month were my period lasted like 27 days (probably too much detail)...which took me into the OB. They thought maybe my uterine lining was just too think or something so they ordered an ultrasound.When I went in they saw that my uterine lining was normal but my ovaries were COVERED with cysts. The cysts were preventing ovulation...which meant no baby. So they put me on this drug called Clomid...probably the worst medication EVER!! It makes you moody and my face took a toll...ACNE everywhere. I've never had skin problems...but this drug made me look like a 14 year old boy going through puberty. HORRIBLE!! Clomid is supposed to help with ovulation...but it had the worst effect on me (which I guess happens with a small percentage of women) so I switched to a similar drug called Femara...with pretty much the same outcomes of Clomid. My face still looked like a war zone, but it seemed to help a little with ovulation...but still no baby.

My skin before Clomid...

(sorry, kind of a random picture to put in this blog post)

My skin after Clomid...DISGUSTING!!!!

(It's getting better now that I've been off the med for a while)

I thought to myself...maybe we should get Curtis checked out so that if there's a problem with him I'm not going through with all this crap for nothing. So we went to a fertility Dr. in Sandy and got the little spermies checked out. Well...they weren't the best. His little guys are shaped weird. Only 1% of his sperm are normal shape and swim well enough to fertilize an egg. I guess sperm can come in all different shapes and sizes. Some may have two heads, or two tails, or short tails, or long of tails, etc...so only 1% of his are "normal". The diagnosis was infertility. My polycystic ovaries dropped our chances of having kids on our own to 33%, and with Curtis' poor sperm shape we dropped down to below 1%. The only possible way we could ever get pregnant was through In Vitro Ferilization with ICSI (which is where they get all the good sperm and inject it directly into my egg). So, at least there was a chance to still have our own kids...right??

So we jumped right into a fresh invitro cycle. They started me on birth control to get my cycle regular. On June 14th, 6 days before my last active birth control pill, I began Lupron injections (10 units) every night. Curtis was scared of the idea of sticking a needle in me so I had to do all the injections myself (thank goodness for my nursing degree haha...). On June 26th I went in for a blood draw and an ultrasound...definitely not the most comfortable experience. That night you continue the Lupron injections, but decrease the dose to 5 units, and add 20 units of low dose HCG and 1 vial of Bravelle (which stimulates my eggs to grow). You give those injections every night at the same time. Then I went in for another blood draw and ultrasound on June 29th, July 1st, July 3rd, July 5th, July 6th, July 7th, July 8th, and July 9th. They have to monitor you closely to make sure your eggs are growing slow and steady. They had to increase my dose to 1 and 1/2 vials of Bravelle to get my eggs to grow a little faster. My ovaries went from the size of walnuts to the size of grapefruits!! They were called "kissing ovaries" because they grew big enough to actually touch each other in my abdomen. Can you say...UNCOMFORTABLE!! Ugh. You are so bloated and huge. It hurt to even take Tyson out on a walk to the mailbox. No working out or playing volleyball or anything for that matter...which is extremely difficult for me to just sit around all day. I'm at a high risk for hyperstimulation, which is when your ovaries get too big that they start leaking fluid into your abdomen. For some women this can be a life-threatening situation where it makes it really hard for them to breath and they have to get the fluid pumped out of them. So they want to monitor me really close so nothing like that happens. On July 8th they said my eggs were ready so I stopped the other injections and gave myself the "trigger" shot injection. 36 hours later on the dot I went in and got all my eggs retrieved. They put you under for this procedure. I guess it takes about 45 minutes. Afterwards you wake up SO groggy. I felt SO nauseous after, so they gave me some anti-nausea medications. I slept from 2pm-9pm and felt a lot better. They ended up getting 25 eggs out of my HUGE ovaries. 19 of them were mature, so they injected all 19 with Curtis' spermies. 14 of the 19 fertilized and 4 were really good quality embryos. You start progesterone injections or vaginal suppositories 2 days after the egg retrieval. They let the embryos grow until day 5 and then put 2 of them back into me and froze 2. You are awake for this procedure. It's really uncomfortable and your uterus gets really crampy, but it's not too bad. Then they say to take it easy for the next 48 hours. The night of my embryo transfer I woke up at 4am in the most excruciating pain I have ever experienced. I woke Curtis up and he said he had some pain medications, but I was SO scared to take anything when I just had these embryos put back in me. So Curtis called the on-call Dr. and he said it was okay to take something and to come in the next morning. They think I had a cyst burst because there was some free fluid in my abdomen, but they don't know for sure. Then it was a waiting game for 14 days. I ended up starting my period about 10 days later so I knew it didn't work. I went in anyway for the blood draw and it came back negative. Ugh!

TONS of injections for one fresh invitro transfer!!

Curtis, all dolled up for the Operating Room prior to embryo transfer.

Here I am after getting 25 eggs pulled out of my ovaries. Completely out of it. Lovely.

Getting ready for our fresh embryo transfer 5 days later...

Looks enjoyable right?

Nerd.

Hoping for a baby...

#1 - July 14, 2010 - 2 Fresh Embryo Transfer

We went back to our Dr. and asked him what we should do and he said we can go right into a frozen cycle. So I got back on birth control and got ready for a frozen embryo transfer. The frozen cycle is a lot easier since you already have the eggs. You have to do Lupron injections every night to prevent ovulation and take estrogen pills to build up your uterine lining. Then you start on the progesterone to help build your lining as well. You have to go in for a few blood draws, but definitely not as many as with the fresh cycle. Once your lining is thick enough you come in for the frozen transfer. They thawed our 2 embryos out and they both looked good. A lot of frozen embryos do not survive the freezing process, but ours were good. They implanted them back into me and 14 days later I came back in for a blood draw pregnancy test. I hadn't started my period yet, so my hopes were high...but it came back negative. I was DEVASTATED. My best friend in CA just found out she was pregnant, so I was SO excited to be prego together. Not so much... Curtis took the second one a lot harder than the first one too.

#2 - September 16, 2010 - 2 Frozen Embryo Transfer

So back to the fertility Dr. it was... We opted to try a fresh invitro cycle again. I think I forgot how terrible the first cycle was...and went right into it. It wouldn't be so terrible if you were guaranteed a baby in the end. But when you go through injection after injection, tons of blood draws and vaginal ultrasounds, gain 10 lbs and feel so bloated and huge and uncomfortable, can't do anything, the emotional roller coaster, the money spent on everything...and still no baby...it sucks! But we definitely wanted to try again, so I got back on birth control and went through the same process all over again. The blood draws, the ultrasounds, the injections...all the same as the 1st time. We actually had our egg retrieval on Thanksgiving morning! How fun huh?! We had planned to go to Curtis family's house, but had to stay in Utah. We ended up going to our friends Zac and Julie's for a late Thanksgiving dinner. I laid on the couch for a couple hours and nibbled on some of Curtis' plate. This time around they got 14 eggs and 7 were mature. They injected all 7 with Curtis' sperm and all 7 fertilized. 4 were good quality and 3 were fair. Three days later we went back in for monitoring. Our Dr, recommended we do a day 3 transfer, so we did. We implanted 2 and froze 2 again. 10 days later I started my period. Wonderful?! Ugh. I had a feeling I wasn't pregnant, but I was still hoping. I told Curtis I started bleeding and we immediately started crying. We thought 3rd time was a charm right? Not so much. I went in for the pregnancy blood draw and it obviously came back negative.

#3 - November 28, 2010 - 2 Fresh Embryo Transfer

So on to attempt number 4... We had heard that there was this AMAZING doctor in California named Dr. Marrs. He was the first Dr. to ever successfully complete a frozen invitro transfer. We still had 2 frozen embryos, so we thought he was the best option for us. He flies out to Utah every few months and partners up with a fertility Dr. out here (Dr. Richards). So I got back on this special type of birth control (which made me have this outrageous appetite). I am ALWAYS hungry and gained like 8 lbs in 4 weeks. Dr. Marrs also recommended that I get on this drug called Metformin. It's usually used for diabetics, but I guess it helps women with Polycystic Ovaries as well. I had to be on it for at least 8 weeks prior to the frozen transfer, so we couldn't just jump into a cycle, we had to wait for 3 months. Then came the blood draws, vaginal ultrasounds, more medications, etc. We had two frozen embryos, but only one survived the freeze. So 2 weeks ago we transferred the 1 embryo. I took the pregnancy blood draw today and it came back negative! :(

We had to transport our two frozen embryos to our new Dr.'s office in this freezing cold tank. We locked it up tight in the back seat so it wouldn't tip over. :)

#4 - April 28, 2011 - 1 Frozen Embryo Transfer

So now what??? Do we try one last time? Do we look into adoption? Surrogate? What now?? I have absolutely no idea what we are supposed to learn from all this. It makes NO sense that two people who would make great parents and love their baby unconditionally, can't have kids...but some 16 year old can pop one out like nothin'. This is what lead to this LONG blog post about my worst day...or actually worst year ever!

Graduation!

2011-05-01T20:21:00.000-07:00

2011 Health/Science Graduation!!! It feels so great to be DONE with Nursing school. No more guilty feelings for watching Grey's Anatomy when I should be studying. No more late nights putting the finishing touches on a paper. No more stressing over finals. Ohhh....it feels amazing!

I will definitely miss the friends I've made over the past few years, our lunch dates, and runs to the gas station for that much needed caffeine... :)

Most of the 2011 Bachelor of Nursing graduates

My mom & sister! :)

My father-in-law (Herman), hubby, & mother-in-law (Cheryl) :)

It was so great to have all the family support at my graduation!!

Done!

2011-04-19T21:12:00.000-07:00

Today I:

turned in my final paper in Global Health
presented powerpoint on Tuberculosis in India
presented powerpoint on my senior project - CPR for the Professional Rescuer
turned in my reflective journal for Leadership
presented case study in Leadership
took my last final and passed with 100%!!!!!!!!!!

This is how I feel right now!!

I am officially DONE with school! I can't even explain to you how great this feels!! Done with school...crazy! I've been in college since 2003 and now have my Associates of Science, Bachelor's of Public Health, Associates of Nursing, RN license, and Bachelor's of Nursing. Graduation date set for April 26th, 2011. Can't wait! :) I will definitely miss all my nursing friends and our weekly lunch dates! :(

26th Birthday!

2011-03-30T20:46:00.001-07:00

I can't believe I'm 26!! Crazy!!

Curtis called up some friends and family and we all went out to dinner at Last Samurai in Sandy. Yum!! :) I didn't take very many pics though...

Our entertaining server!

Curtis brought us all our own individual ice cream :) Too cute!

Trisha, one of my best friends, sent me some gorgeous flowers!

It was a great, chill day! :)

Happy Birthday Hubby!

2011-03-04T19:19:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday Curtis (yesterday)! He turned 27!! We started his birthday bash by going to dinner last week with my brother Tyler, his wife Jamie, and some of their friends to celebrate birthdays! Tyler's was Feb 17th, Jamie's Feb 24th, and Curtis' March 3rd. They are all exactly a week apart...so we went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner and dessert.

Then on March 2nd we went to Outback with some friends for dinner and to celebrate Curtis' birthday (again). We all headed to the BYU basketball game afterwards. Not the best game, but it was still fun with everyone!

The Birthday Boy & Wifey

Dan & Stephanie

Then...on March 3rd...I took Curtis to dinner, a movie, and ice cream to celebrate his birthday (again, and again) :) He chose to go to Carrabba's, Unknown, and Sub Zero...mmmmm.... :)

I got him a gift card at Prim Rose for a 90 minute massage...and a couple other things. :) He was so excited! :)

Happy Birthday babe!! Love you!! :)

The Bet!

2011-03-01T21:29:00.000-08:00

Curtis and I are extremely competitive. We bet on everything..and I usually win (87% of the time haha jk). Well, tonight we bet on something about American Idol and he won. Guess what he wanted for winning?!? He wanted me to lick his toe?! Are you kidding me??? You would think he was joking except for the fact that he was trying to stick his foot in my face! Needless to say that did NOT happen! He settled for a 5 minute back massage instead :) He's sick right?

Once In A Lifetime!

2011-02-25T20:43:00.001-08:00

Curtis was baptized SEVEN years ago this month!! Crazy! :) Bishop Edgely, first counselor of the Presiding Bishopric, attended his baptism. We happened to run into him a couple weeks ago at the Utah vs. BYU basketball game and he invited us up to Salt Lake for lunch. We went up to the Church Administration Building today and had lunch in a cafeteria where the apostles eat...and guess who was sitting at the table next to us?! Elder Jeffrey R. Holland!! :) He came and sat with us for 5-10 minutes. It was an incredible experience!! They are both AMAZING men! We also got to meet President Hinckley's son and grandson...and a bunch of other people! I can't believe how down to earth President Holland was. He made you feel so special and like he truly cared about everything you had to say. :) I can't even explain it. It was an extraordinary...once in a lifetime experience to be surround by such remarkable people!

Bishop Edgely. Most likely the biggest BYU fan I have ever met! :)

Elder Holland.

Huge Scare!

2011-02-19T12:20:00.000-08:00

Two nights ago, Curtis and I were laying in bed watching TV. Tyson was laying on the edge of our bed scratching his nose when out of nowhere, he jumped off the bed started chasing something (or so I thought). We just heard him banging into walls. He stumbled down the stairs and could barely stand on his feet. Curtis went down stairs to check on him...then bolted back upstairs and put on a jacket. He knew there was something wrong. I was freaking out and quickly put on some shoes and ran downstairs. Just by looking at Tyson I knew something was wrong. He could barely stand up. I let him outside and he just wobbled out the door. He threw up 3 times on the front lawn. I ran back inside to google a 24 hour animal hospital. There's an animal hospital right down the street from our house with a 24 hour on call Doctor. We called him up and he said he'd meet us there in 10 minutes. Over the next few minutes Tyson started acting like himself again. We took him to the hospital and he was pretty much back to normal. The doctor checked him out and said he was fine. He said to keep an eye on him for the next 24 hours and if any of the symptoms come back to call him up again. He was SO nice and let us go free of charge :) It was the weirdest thing ever! We still don't know what happened or what was wrong. It was scary! You probably think I'm crazy...but I was totally freaked out. It's pretty much safe to say that Curtis and I will be overprotective parents someday haha! :)

Happy Valentine's!

2011-02-15T18:51:00.000-08:00

Curtis got me the most amazing flowers for Valentine's this year! :) I'm not a huge flowers kind of girl...but every once and a while they can totally brighten my day! After a LONG day at work we went to Ruby River for dinner. It was the only place we could get into without reservations (since I have connections in high places haha... jk). After dinner we headed straight to the gym to burn off our hearty meal :) It was a simple, but perfect Valentine's Day!

Promotion!

2011-02-04T18:51:00.000-08:00

I got a promotion last week!! :) I'm officially the Assistant Director of Nursing (ADON) at Provo Rehabilitation and Nursing!! CRAZY!!

Last month, the Director of Nursing talked to me about a possible promotion. At first, she wanted me to be a charge nurse or unit manager. I was in that position for about 3 weeks when she approached me again about the ADON position. I was in SHOCK! I've only been at this facility since August. I never thought I would even be in the running for this position! This past week has been CRAZY busy. It's always hard adjusting to a new job and trying to learn all that goes into it. My "to-do list" seems to be never ending! I'm definitely still learning...and probably will for the next 6 months! I'm super excited about this opportunity and I know I will learn A LOT! It's been extremely hard trying to balance my last semester of school with working full time, but it will all be worth it in the end. :)

New Year's Body!

2011-01-05T20:42:00.000-08:00

New Year's Goal: I want this body!!

Or this one!

New Year's 2011!

2011-01-02T17:00:00.000-08:00

I had to work this New Year's from 6pm-12pm...18 hours straight! Curtis came in at 11:59pm to give me a New Year's kiss. I took a quick break and we went to get ice cream at Maverick together. It was so simple, but it meant a lot to me. :) I love my husband and am excited to start a new year with him!

I was looking at my last year's resolutions:

My 2010 New Year's Resolutions:

1. Daily BOM reading (even if it's just a verse)

2. 12 temple trips (I'm trying for once a month)

3. P90X/gym at least 3 times a week (which is really hard with my school schedule, but P90X is great for when I don't have time to go to the gym)

4. Eat less sugar

5. Run the 1/2 marathon in May with my mom and sister

6. Pass NCLEX this summer and get my RN

I didn't read the BOM every single day, but I did pretty well. I think I only went to the temple 9 times last year. I stopped P90X after a couple months. I definitely failed at eating less sugar! I ran the 1/2 marathon and I passed the NCLEX last summer!! :) So...I was about 50/50 last year.

My 2011 Goals/Resolutions:

1. Read the BOM daily

2. Temple trip monthly

3. Work out 4 times a week

4. Move back to California (our goal is by 2012)

5. Start a family (believe me...this is harder than I thought it would be!)

6. Do a better job keeping in touch with friends :)

7. Finish my last semester of Nursing school with straight A's (I'm starting to lack the motivation)

Christmas 2010!

2010-12-30T23:38:00.001-08:00

Christmas this year was definitely one of the best I've ever had! My ENTIRE family came home to Hollister, California...all back in the house we grew up in. It was 60 degrees and there was NO snow in sight!! I flew in to CA late on the 22nd and Curtis met me out there on Christmas Eve.

Kim, Amber, Jen, & Summer

One of my best friends growing up (Amber) had a big birthday party on the 23rd. Amber and her dad share the same birthday so they celebrated Mexican style. They had someone catering dinner in their backyard - making tacos, guacamole, chips & salsa, margaritas, etc. It was a lot of fun seeing her and catching up.

Kim, Jen, & Summer

My best friend Jen is pregnant with her 2nd baby...and it's a BOY!! She's so excited! :)

Amber & Kim

Alex has a thing for shoes. All week long he was walking around in someone else's shoes. Too cute!

Kim & Pat (yes, I'm wearing 4 inch heels - which I bought for myself for Christmas)

On Christmas Eve I met up with one of my best friends when I was little. We used to spend all day everyday together. I remember my mom would come to pick me up at his house late at night and we would pretend to be sleeping so she would let me spend the night haha... I was a total tomboy who LOVED playing sports, so that's all we did together...played catch, played baseball, went to Cal vs. Stanford football games with his Uncle Vince, etc. Pat came with me to the 49er game when I won the punt, pass, and kick tournament and got to preform at half-time. We kind of lost touch over the years, so it was a lot of fun reminiscing with him and his family. :)

1994

1997

Pat, Kim, & Curtis

Pat's Uncle Vince & Grandma. Look how cute his Grandma is. :)

Kim, Stephanie, & Steven

After Pat's house, Curtis and I headed over to my cousin Jenna's house for a Christmas Eve party. Tons of food and family!

Husband & Wife :)

The girls!

Taylor & Auntie Kimmy

Auntie Kimmy & Olivia

My dad's side of the family! My Baba (in the middle) is 90 years old and looks better than ever! I truly cannot believe she is 90! She moves like she's 60 and has a WAY better memory than I do!

My immediate family took up most of the space haha... :) 11 grandkids...with a 12th on the way!

Alex found the cookies and carrots we were going to leave out for Santa and his reindeers haha... :) So cute!

Family Tradition: Opening one gift on Christmas Eve. All the grandkids opened their Christmas jammies!! :) After the grandkids went to bed, the adults got to open one gift from my parents. My mom buys big gifts for all the couples. She has them numbered 1-6 and placed out on different tables. One at a time, the spouse goes in and picks which one they would want, then the other spouse picks which one they would want. If the couple picks the same gift, they get it! We picked numbers and I drew the last number. :( Stephanie went first, then her husband Dan...and they picked two different things. Mitch, then Jill...and they picked wrong. Tyler, then Jamie...and they picked wrong. Kim, then Curtis...and we picked wrong! haha... ALL of the couples didn't choose what the other spouse chose. It was hilarious! All the gifts were good, so we would have been happy with any of them. Finally, after three rounds Curtis and I choose the same gift.

Christmas morning!! All the grandkids were SO excited that Santa came! Another Family Tradition: Having the missionaries over for breakfast on Christmas morning! One of the sister missionaries played the violin while my sister played the piano. It was amazing...and I think the only time our house was quiet. All the grandkids just sat there and listened to the beautiful music.

Derek & Taylor on their new bikes.

I was definitely spoiled this Christmas! After Thanksgiving, Curtis bought a new washer and dryer. I didn't really think we needed them since our old ones were working just fine, but Curtis insisted that we were getting a really good deal (Black Friday 50% off sale) and they would last a long time. I told him I would rather spend that kind of money on a nice camera or a video camera, but I decided I didn't need anything like that until we had some kiddos. Well, Curtis surprised me with a new camera that does HD video as well!! I absolutely LOVE it! Curtis usually isn't the best at surprises, but he totally succeeded this time! I have no idea how to really use it, but I'm learning. :) I got Curtis tons of new clothes, shoes, a hat, and cologne. He went shopping prior to Christmas and bought new work clothes, so now he has a whole new wardrobe!

The siblings in my family choose names from a hat to buy gifts for. My sister-in-law Jamie had Curtis and bought him some new ties!! :) I had my brother John and got him some new shoes and a couple t-shirts. My mom asked to to buy all of his gifts this year. She said she didn't really know what was in style, and all he needed was new clothes, so I got to go shop away! It was so fun and exciting to see him open all his gifts.

All the kids in my family were going to go in on a gift for my mom. We finally decided to get her an ipad...but then we called my dad and he said he already got it for her. She was SO excited!! We ended up getting her some new white dishes and glassware, which she loved as well!

Jack has the cutest little face!

My hubby lookin' hot in his new hat.

Tyler, Jamie, Curtis, Kim, Dan. Stephanie, Jill, & Mitch (who was taking this picture)

Another Family Tradition: Going to the movies on Christmas day. We saw How Do You Know...not the best! Curtis was snoring within 30 minutes of the movie starting haha... I know you love how HUGE the Hollister theater is!? Have you ever seen a movie theater with only 3 rows?? haha...

Britta, Trisha, Kim, & Kayla

Sunday, the 26th, we went to church and came back to my house for dinner. Later that night the Grow's (my mom's side) and my best friend Trisha came over for desserts. We always have fun with this crowd around! :)

On Monday, the 27th, we all went to Gilroy Gardens for some fun! :)

Dan & Curtis

Look at their faces!!!! haha...

OMG. Enough said. haha...

Luke & Auntie Kimmy had front row seats on the BIG rollercoaster...which Luke continued to ride over and over again! :)

Kyle & Auntie Kimmy riding the worm :)

Cody & Olivia

Curtis & I took a little break from the cold to go to In & Out.

Drew & Grandpa at the HUGE fireworks show...which was a total bust and ended up only being this lame laser show haha... :)

Early on the 28th we drove down to Palmdale to visit Curtis' family. It was a quick, chill, nice visit. We just hung out with his family and friends for a couple days, then drove back to Utah on the 30th becuase I had to work New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. I had to work from 6pm - 12pm...18 hours STRAIGHT!! I didn't want to have to work during Christmas, so I scheduled most my holiday time during New Year's!

Here is Kenny kicking Curtis' trash at a PS3 football game :)

I'm so lucky to have such an amazing family and extended family! :)

Happy Birthday Stephanie! (2 days ago...)

2010-12-16T19:18:00.000-08:00

Happy 37th birthday Stephanie!!! :) (on Dec. 14th) My sister and I are best friends!! I don't know what I would do without her. Even though we are 11.5 years apart, we are SO close! It's so fun having such an awesome sister. We are 100% alike and 100% different. :)

She loves to shop, I hate it. When she was little she LOVED wearing dresses and "twirling", I hated dresses and wore baseball hats 24/7. We both LOVE ice cream.

We were both married in the Oakland, CA temple.

We look NOTHING alike.

I love school, she's not a fan.

She loves to cook/bake, I'm not a fan. She loves to cook for her family, and I'd rather order take-out. :)

We both LOVE to play games.

We both hate running, but trained to run our 1st 1/2 marathon together!! :)

Here we are waiting to run the Salt Lake City Marathon.

After the race.

We both love to play volleyball.

We both have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome haha...

We both love to laugh and have fun.

Girl's trip to Vegas! :)

Happy birthday Stephanie!! You're an amazing sister and I love you!!

SO Blessed!

2010-12-05T21:45:00.000-08:00

We are SOOO blessed! Two days after Curtis started his new job, Novartis (his old company) laid off 1,500 employees! Every guy in Curtis' old territory got laid off! Can you say...ummm perfect timing to get a new job???!!! Crazy how Heavenly Father lets things fall in to place at times. :) Curtis was ranked #1 in his old territory, so he may not have been laid off...but still...it is such an amazing feeling to know he's at a new company with great job security!

Curtis Got A New Job!

2010-11-30T10:59:00.000-08:00

Curtis got a new job!! His first official day was yesterday. His training consists of "at home" training for 2 weeks, training in Philadelphia for 2 weeks, a week off for Christmas, and then back to Philadelphia for a week. It's pretty intense.

For those of you that don't know, Curtis used to work for Novartis as a pharmaceutical representative. His main drug was Diovan, which is a blood pressure medication. He now works for a different pharmaceutical company called Novo Nordisk and sells Novolog, which is a fast-acting insulin used to treat diabetes. He's super excited!

He did a phone interview in Utah, an interview with management in Utah, then flew to San Diego to interview with the head corporate people. I guess there were three other people in the running, but Curtis got the job! He is the BEST interviewer/people person ever! How could you not pick him for the job?! :) They offered him a higher salary, bigger bonuses, and better job security! Pharmaceutical reps have one of the best jobs! They pretty much make their own hours, the benefits are AMAZING, they get to socialize all day with people and bring them lunch, he gets a lap top, a printer, a phone, a car, a gas card...etc. It's a great job! I'm so proud of him!!

List of Curtis' Previous Cars (provided by his pharmaceutical company):

Dodge Charger. His 1st car with Novartis until it hit 60,000 miles...

Chevy Malibu. 2nd car with Novartis...temporary...about 3 months...

Ford Fusion. 3rd car with Novartis...

Chevy Tahoe. 4th car. This is the car Novo Nordisk gave Curtis for the next 3 months...

Chevy Traverse. 5th car. This will be his car in 3 months.

CRAZY right?!? :)

Dessert!

2010-11-11T20:51:00.000-08:00

Curtis left tonight at 9:02 PM and came back at 9:14 PM with this:

Curtis says, "What?...I just bought us dessert".

Now you know why I can't stay off the sugar drug!

Trach Change!

2010-11-11T20:23:00.000-08:00

My friend Kym and I replaced a trach yesterday on a patient at work. It was slightly bloody but awesome. The end.

Kim & Kym

Alumni Flag!

2010-11-08T19:48:00.000-08:00

Curtis was asked to run the alumni flag in at the BYU game last Saturday! What an honor! :) He got amazing tickets to the game, plus field access. We asked my sister, her husband, and her three oldest boys to come with us. The boys were in 7th heaven! It was a pretty cool experience! And BYU slaughtered UNLV...so thats always a plus.

Here's Curtis leading the team out of the locker room. :)

Curtis told Cosmo to go meet his three little nephews... They were SOOOO excited to meet him. I seriously think this was the best part of the day for them by far :) It was so cute!

Luke, Cody, and Steven watching the team warm-up before the game...

Me and my alumni! :)

On the sidelines...

My little nephews!

Here's Cody focusing on getting his perfect picture haha... :)

I got a quick video of Curtis running in the flag :)

My New Car!

2010-10-20T21:55:00.001-07:00

We got a new car! (I feel like the voice on Price Is Right) :) We were looking at Honda Accords at first...then Tahoe's...but fell in love with this Escalade (the look, the mileage, and the price)! The previous owner took great care of this car and didn't drive it very much...so to me, it's like brand new! :) It has tan leather interior and bucket seats for the future kiddos! I'm so excited!!

Here's our old car, 1999 Toyota Camry, which is now for sell! :) Anyone need a car?? Let me know!

Marissa & Brandon's Wedding!

2010-10-11T18:38:00.001-07:00

Ok, first of all, I forgot my camera so I had to go buy a disposable camera (not the best pictures)!

One of my BEST friends got married this last weekend in AZ! Curtis and I drove out Thursday night and came back Saturday night. Marissa is seriously such an amazing friend! She is the epitome of what a friend should be. She is always there for you no matter what! She is so kind, thoughtful, beautiful, energetic, fun, loving, etc.! We always have fun together! I absolutely love this girl! "Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget."

Marissa's fiance' (at the time) Brandon got baptized the night before their wedding so we wanted to be there in time to see that.

After the baptism! :)

Gettin' pedicures the morning of the wedding! :)

I can't believe she's getting married!!

Helping the bride get ready!

Such a beautiful bride! :)

All the girls!

Awwww....such a cute couple!

Father of the bride walkin' his little girl down the aisle...

All the bridesmaids!

Yes...I know...I need to go tanning... The disposable camera makes me look even whiter!

Cuttin' the cake. They were pretty nice to each other. It didn't get too messy :) She was whispering in his ear that he better not smash the cake in her face or she'd ask for an annulment asap haha..

Fun times with the girls!

Curtis and I left right after the wedding and drove back to Utah thru the night (or should I say Curtis drove home). He's a trooper! I wanted to stay the night and leave in the morning...but he wanted to leave that night :)

TV Commercial!

2010-09-01T16:30:00.000-07:00

Curtis was asked to do a TV commercial for First Colony Mortgage. He used to work for them a couple years ago. I guess it will play during every Utah and BYU games this season. haha... Hilarious! :)

Summer Reading!

2010-08-15T21:28:00.000-07:00

I hate reading text books...but I love reading books of my own choice! This past month I've had a lot of extra time...driving to CA, Vegas, laying by the pool, etc.

Good, but not great

Amazing!

Good, but not great

Amazing!

I'm only half way...but it's pretty good so far...

Any other suggestions????

4 Years!

2010-08-15T10:09:00.001-07:00

I seriously can't believe we have been married 4 YEARS! I wish we could have another wedding! :) Here are a couple of my fav's.

Last minute (as always with Curtis and I) we went to Vegas for our 4 year anniversary. Curtis had a meeting in the morning, so we didn't get into Vegas until around 6pm. We went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then just walked around town. The next morning we went to Massage Envy for 90 minute massages. They were honestly the BEST massages we have ever had (and cheap too). We spent the rest of the weekend in St. George...laying out by the pool, going to the movies (Step Up 3D), hanging out with friends (Lieren & Chandler and some of Curtis' old work friends), and eating. :) It was a GREAT weekend with my WONDERFUL husband! I love him soooooo much!

New Job!

2010-08-08T16:56:00.000-07:00

Everyone says that nursing is in high demand...well...definitely not in Utah County. There are actually quite a few job postings online, but almost all of them require a year experience, or they don't want to hire a new grad. I applied to over 50 jobs...and no interviews. Curtis has a friend that owns an Urgent Care in Lehi. He said I could come work there until I found something better. It wasn't the best pay, but at least it was "RN" experience that I could put on my resume. Well...I finally had an interview last Wednesday at Provo Rehab...and got hired on the spot! :) I had the interview at 10am...officially hired at 10:30am...and worked that night from 5:45pm to 6:30am! It is a great job, with amazing pay, and will definitely be a great experience! I know I will learn SO much there. I'm SO excited to finally put all this schooling to use (and earn a paycheck)! :)

I Finally Get It!

2010-08-03T19:09:00.000-07:00

When I heard about Twilight I was totally NOT into it. Werewolves and vampires are definitely not my thing. I went to all 3 movies and wasn't impressed. Well 2 weeks ago I was babysitting my nephew. After he went to bed I was pretty bored so I picked up Twilight and read the first 50 pages and fell in love. I finished all 4 books within the next 10 days haha... We drove to CA last week, so I had a 12 hour drive to just sit and read. If you haven't read them...I highly recommend it!

I heart Edward!

4th of July Weekend!

2010-07-06T15:13:00.000-07:00

On Friday the 2nd we all decided to go to Ruby River...then Comedy Sportz. It was pretty funny!

On July 3rd we all went to Stadium of Fire! Amazing! I heart Carrie Underwood. She was SO good!

Beautiful sunset!

Boy scouts gettin' their Eagle's...

2nd Generation Osmond's!

Carrie and her super tone legs! She's pretty hot. :)

I looked over and saw that my dad had rolled up some tissue and put it in his ears haha... I thought it was hilarious...so I sneaked a picutre! :) What a nerd!

I love fireworks!

We had 10th row seats! Perfect view of everything! It was a fun night!

On the 4th of July we had a party up at my sister Stephanie's house!

Yummy desserts!

Jack with his cupcake...

Jack sitting on his cupcake...

The cupcake sticking to his bum... haha... The other boys were laughing SO hard at the cupcake on Jack's butt haha...

Reagan, my dad, and Curtis...curled up in a blanket...IN JULY!!!

Everyone watching the fireworks!

We had a GREAT 4th of July weekend!! :) So glad my parents could be out here with us!!

Girl's Week!

2010-07-04T16:25:00.001-07:00

We had our 1st annual Mother/Daughter week in Vegas...and St. George! It was SO much fun! I have the BEST mother and sister EVER!!! We seriously get along SO well. We will definitely repeat this every year!

Steph and I spent the night in St. George on Sunday night, then drove down to Las Vegas on Monday morning to pick up my mom from the airport! This was the first picture taken at our hotel in Vegas!

Cheesecake Factory for dinner! SO good! It was Stephanie's first time ever going there!

That night we went to LOVE Cirque du Soleil. It was pretty good..

Watching the show...2nd row seats!!

After the show was over...

Las Vegas temple trip Tuesday morning! ...too bad Steph's recommend was expired :( It was the thought that counts haha :)

Laying out IN the pool. It was SO hot that we had to put our chairs in the water. The pool got progressively deeper...with sand in it...so it was PERFECT!! :)

After a day of shopping at the outlet mall!! :)

Walking around Caesar's Palace...

Leaving Las Vegas...headed to St. George!!

We went straight to the pool once we got to St. George!! :)

In the condo...

Out to dinner at Samurai 21

At the movie theater!

All week we would set up our camera on something...set the timer...and run back into the picture! The guy on the left was cracking up at us because it looked like we were just smiling at the wall. There was an ATM against the wall...and he told us..."No matter how long you smile at the ATM...no money is going to come out!" haha... It was one of those "had to be there moments"...but it was HILARIOUS! :)

In the movie theater!

Playing cards... This is what we did almost every night when we got home!

Laying out...AGAIN! :)

We went to Massage Envy and got 90 minute massages! AMAZING!

At Chuck-a-Rama...looking like white trash haha...

It's Official!

2010-06-16T11:44:00.000-07:00

I took the NCLEX on Monday and found out today that I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm finally a Registered Nurse! The NCLEX was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I took a predictor test a couple months ago and got a 98% chance of passing the NCLEX on my first try. I have been studying and studying for the past few months and felt pretty confident walking into the testing center. 90 minutes and 75 questions later...I felt like I didn't know anything. There were some terms I had never even heard of...and tons of questions where you had to find the "most right" answer. ugh. Those are the worst! But it all worked out in the end! I can't even begin to describe how much stress has been lifted off my shoulders! When Curtis and I saw that I had an "active" license with an actual license number...and the words "pass" on the computer screen...we both got a little teary eyed! :) Lame, I know, but it's been a long journey from an Associates of Science at Dixie State College, a Bachelors in Public Health at BYU, and an Associates in Nursing and a RN license at UVU!! ...now onto the job search...oh...and 1 more year at UVU to get my Bachelors in Nursing as well haha.... :) If you know of any hospitals that are hiring...let me know!

Kimberly Dabo Brown, R.N.

Josie's Big Day!

2010-06-06T23:29:00.000-07:00

My friend Josie got married on Saturday!! It was such a beautiful sealing & reception. Josie is one of the kindest, funniest, sweetest person I know (and amazing at volleyball)!

Barlow's & Brown's outside the Provo Temple...waiting for Josie to come out! :)

I absolutely LOVE her cowboy boots!! :)

Curtis striking his model pose! Gorgeous! :)

Reception at East Bay Golf Course. It was a perfect day!

...and the food was amazing! Congratulations Josie!!! :)

Grill Master!

2010-06-01T21:18:00.001-07:00

We officially bought our first grill! :) Curtis is hilarious. I don't think he has EVER cooked on a grill in his entire life...but for some reason he all of the sudden wanted one (which I was totally okay with). He then researched for weeks...reading all the different reviews...and finally decided which one he wanted. It went on sale for Memorial Day weekend, and he earned a $75 gift card to Lowe's through his work, so we got a GREAT deal on it! They also had a free propane exchange where you bring in any empty propane tank and they will give you a brand new filled one for free! So he got on www.ksl.com and found a propane tank for $15. He is the ultimate deal maker for sure!

Then he watched over 50 youtube videos titled "How To Grill" haha... He then proceeded to buy a book titled "Way to Grill", a meat thermometer, a timer, a grill scrub, a grill cover, etc. He seriously thought he was a pro griller before he even grilled one piece of meat!

We had our first trial run last night...and all his research paid off because our dinner was delicious! :) I love my husband!

Our new grill!

Curtis' grill kit!

Memorial Day BBQ!

2010-06-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

We had a great Memorial Day BBQ up at my sister Stephanie's house yesterday! After dinner we roasted smore's in their backyard BBQ pit! Mmmm...I LOVE roasted marshmallows!

Jack watching Little Einstein's!

Sweet lil' Kyle

Roasting marshmallows by the BBQ pit

Our smore kit!

We brought Tyson! The kids LOVED playing fetch with him and throwing the ball over and over again...

So cute!

I love how there is TONS of chocolate covering his mouth! :)

Nerdo!

2010-05-26T00:21:00.000-07:00

When Curtis and I leave to go to church or out to dinner...Curtis will leave the TV on for Tyson. haha! He is hilarious. He thinks Tyson gets bored or something being all alone in the house for hours at a time. Do you actually think Tyson sits down and watches TV? No. What a nerd. :)

We seriously have the best dog ever! Our neighbor said she doesn't trust any other dog around her kids besides Tyson. He's so good with all the kids in our neighborhood...and all the other dogs too! We love him! :)

California Trip: Britta's Wedding, Mother's Day, and Dad's Birthday!

2010-05-11T22:00:00.001-07:00

Curtis and I drove to California...again! 12 hours doesn't seem like a long time, but this is our 3rd time in the past 6 weeks. One of my closest friends got married, so we had to make the trip out for it! :) It was such a BEAUTIFUL ceremony & reception! It was the perfect weekend because it was Mother's Day and my dad's birthday on May 9th, so we got to stay for that too! :) Oh...and another reason it was a perfect trip was my parents just bought our old house back! My parents designed and built a house over 30 years ago...on the golf course, 4,500 square feet, 7 bedrooms, 4 1/2 bathrooms, HUGE! We moved out of it back in 1997, but it went back on the market, so they bought it back! They just moved in a couple weeks ago! It's crazy going back there...all the memories! Now they have enough room for when everyone comes back to town!!

We drove out on Thursday night and didn't get in until 3am. Then Curtis woke up at 8am to go golfing with the boys for a little bachelor party. That afternoon Curtis, my mom, and I went and got AMAZING massages for $25!

Curtis after his massage :)

Britta & David...sealed in the Oakland Temple...for time and all eternity...on May 8th, 2010! (My favorite temple!)

My niece Taylor eating chocolate cupcakes before the wedding reception! So cute!

The wedding cakes!

Curtis, David, Britta, & Kim. Yea, he's tall...7'4"

The beautiful couple!

Peter & Kim. One of my all time favorite cousins! He cooked up the Mother's Day dinner!

My dad blowing out his candles! Each candle stood for 21 years! haha...

Taylor found the wine at Baba's house... hahaha!

We went to church up in Mountain View so we could watch my nephew Derek sing in church! It was great seeing my brother Mitch's family! We don't get to see them very often since they live in California. I wish they lived closer!!!!

School's Out!

2010-05-05T21:13:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's amazing how much I can accomplish in one day when I'm not in school!! :) I slept in, vacuumed the house, cleaned the kitchen, got my ring re-sized, went grocery shopping, made dinner (I made double so I could take 1/2 to my neighbor who just had a baby boy), did 3 loads of laundry, packed for my trip to CA tomorrow, played with Tyson, bought and sent Mother's Day cards, went to the gym, gave myself a pedicure, studied for the NCLEX, watched American Idol, etc. My life changes when I'm not in school!! :)

Okay, so my mom and sister LOVE to cook...but I don't get it. First of all, it's expensive to eat healthy, it takes a LONG time to prepare everything (maybe I'm just slow) and clean up...and then minutes to eat it. I like to clean up as I cook so there's not a huge mess after, which also takes time. I would SO much rather drive to Costa Vida...order take out...and eat it at home. No prep time, no clean up, and almost just as much money. :) Maybe one day I'll learn to love to cook.

Today I made Mexican Chicken Soup (from Ina Garten) since it's Cinco de Mayo!! :) You can get the recipe at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/mexican-chicken-soup-recipe/index.html. It's REALLY good, but takes some time to roast the chicken, chop up the ingredients, etc. It tastes great topped with sour cream, guacamole, tortilla chips...mmm... I also made two loaves of bread, salad, dressing. I was quite proud of myself if you can't tell. :) I guess home cooked meals have the added benefit of being really tasty!

Roasted chicken

Prep work

Finished product!

Bread raising...

Braided

Finished product!

Yummy salad!