We've set a date!!

Travis and I are getting married on March 19th at noon!!! It was made official today!

Luau

This weekend I headed home for my mom's Luau. She is the Ward Activities Chair Person up there and had put a TON of work into this party. For months all she has been talking about every time we go out is finding things to do at and to decorate for the luau. All her hard work paid off. It was a great time, the ward loved it. She brought in hula dancers, had games for the kids, taught people how to tie a lava lava, played sticks (never heard of it before) ATE FOOD, and much more. She even brought in a bunch of bamboo and had a little hut made. It was outside and was a windy day but she pulled it off. Travis did an abbreviated version of the ha'a; a type of Hawaiian war chant/dance that the University of Hawaii Warriors do before their games. His voice is still recovering from yelling so loud. It was a great time!!!  (I stole some of these pictures from my sister's blog- if they look familiar.)

Homecoming/Parents weekend

Saturday morning my parents and Travis came down for the Homecoming game and parents' weekend. It was very nice to see them all and spend the day with them. We went to Mountain days- an annual activity on the Main street of BV with little vendors, cloggers, food and lots of southern baked goods for sale. It was neat to walk around and my mom loved seeing everyone's dogs. Afterword we went to the SVU football game vs Gillford and SVU WON!! GREAT JOB KNIGHTS!! We had dinner at Solernos- a little Italian joint that my friend Becky works at. She served us and we had lots of food. Right before my parents were about to leave and take Travis back with them we decided he should stay and go to the Homecoming dance with me. Wasn't that nice!! I hadn't been to one at SVU and since I am graduating in May this would be my last chance. We scurried around buying pants and shoes and borrowing a shirt for him to wear. It was fun for my friends and I to get ready together- just like high school times. At about 1 AM  we went to an all night diner for french toast and hot chocolate. The dance was great and the company was even better. It meant so much that Travis stayed.
Sunday we had the opportunity to go to Stake Conference where our friend from home, Alex, came as well. She lives around the mountain but came to this regional meeting. It was nice to see her. Travis and I had lunch before it was time for us to drive up to Harrisonburg and meet up with his family.
I am so glad that my parents came down and that Travis could too!!

I love to see the temple... and go to panera.

On Tuesday SVU gave us the day off to go up to the Temple. The closest one for us is the Temple in Kensington, MD for us members of The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints. Travis drove up and spent about 20 minutes with me before he had to head off for work. He spent about 5 times that in the car getting to and from the temple but it was great to see him for even for just a little while.
Lindsay was kind enough to meet me there and take me out to lunch at Panera. We had a good time together and as always the kids were great. Sophie surprises me every time I see her with how much she is growing and how much she is able to say. Josh is such a sweet boy and has nothing but kindness in his heart. Lindsay is pretty cool too :)
It was a long drive up and back, on a hot and stuffy bus, but it was nice to spend some time at the visitor center and with my family. A day well spent.

Anna's Medical Mission trip

Hey everyone!

For a long time, as long as I can remember, I've been planning on going into the medical field. I think I have narrowed my pursuits into being a neonatal nurse. I love kids, especially tiny ones, and this job would be more like fun than work for me. (In theory anyway) When I graduate in May from SVU I will go on to get a second bachelors in nursing at a VA school. As preparation for my career I enjoy attending and volunteering at RAM (Remote Area Medical) trips through my school. They are HUGE events made possible by hundreds of volunteer doctors and medical personnel providing free care to thousands of people who otherwise would not be able to afford it. It is humbling to see the lack these people have and think of all that I have been blessed with. The most recent trip was in Grundy, VA. I helped in the phlebotomy lab (blood). I was nervous at first, I didn't want to hurt anyone, but after some training and a few diet cokes I was ready to get to work. Drawing blood is nerve wracking but I was thankful for the opportunity. As I was warming up to the idea of drawing blood for testing I worked on the other side of the room with urine analysis. It was gross but it all was medicine to me. Testing we did was able to help people determine if they had some sort of illness that they might not have realized they had before. The entire weekend was full of service and gratitude. I have never seen so many doctors who would give of their time and money to help those in need. If you have any background in medicine the RAM organization would love for you to volunteer at any upcoming events!!

Photo update

In case you are not part of the facebook craze, at this point I'm not sure how you could stand not to be, you can click on the title of this blog post (Photo Update) and it will link to the album with the rest of our engagement pictures. You don't have to be a member of facebook to look at our album through this link. We are so happy with how they turned out- I couldn't have asked for better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN9CqsBDWrY

This is a link to a short sideshow that our photographer, Leah Sidwell, put together for us. She is so awesome!

-Anna