Fun-Filled Weekend.....

Instead of sitting around all weekend, Dani & I actually did some fun things! Steph came down on Thursday so she could get her hair done on Friday. After I got out of my Rotation Advising, we headed to The Library to grab some lunch. After we ate, we went to the Brown & Gold store and the Bookstore to see if there was any new shirts in that we could wear to the Cowboy game the next day. We made a quick trip to Maurices and the chocolate store before heading home to watch the Lovell vs. Rocky game. It was weird to watch & cheer for the girls without Emi being out on the floor. It definitely wasn't the same, but I'm glad that she's on her way to recovery for her knee! We spent the rest of the night being lazy & bumming around the house.

Saturday we went to the Cowboy Basketball game. The boys play Utah State and we played really well. The game was the Gold Out, it was cool to see our student section all wearing the same color for once. :) It was a pretty eventful game with some questionable calls, our obnoxious crowd, & one of our players getting ejected, it was good that we came out with a win!

Steph headed home pretty early this morning so she could be home for work tomorrow and be home to watch the Super Bowl. Our Super Bowl "Party" was pretty exciting, since it was just me & Dani. It wasn't the most exciting game & definitely didn't end the way we wanted it to. The half-time show was awesome, I absolutely love Bruno Mars, & it was the highlight of the game! We made some homemade pizza to eat while we watched the game. It took me a couple times to make the dough because the first time I got the water too hot & killed the yeast in the first batch. We were going to have the pizza done by the middle of the first half but ended up having to wait until the middle of half-time to eat. It turned out really good and was totally worth the wait!

When reading about our weekend, it doesn't seem all the exciting, but compared to what it usually consists of, it really was pretty eventful! I had a good time and was happy to have something to fill our time!

Christmas & the Rest of Break.....

Christmas morning didn't start too early this year, around 8 or 9. I'm so grateful for my parents and everything they do for us. They try to make sure we all have a great holiday and get us lots of amazing gifts. I really wanted to get my parents something special for Christmas but was really struggling with what to get them. We ordered a mounted wall art picture from Shutterfly of the Salt Lake Temple, which is where they were sealed when they got married. It turned out really nice, and I was pleased with it.

We spent the rest of the day being lazy and playing with our new presents. Later that night, we went to Kara's to see what the kids got for Christmas from Santa & their parents. It was a low key day, but was great to spend the day with family.

The next week it was time for Emi's birthday. I can't believe my baby sister is already 17. The favorite gifts we got for her were displays for all her sports awards. She amazes me with how she excels in everything she does. She's so talented. I'm proud to be her sister and can't brag enough about her. She's one of my best friends and couldn't imagine our family without her. We spent the night with Kara & her family again for some homemade pizza, cupcakes, & a night filled with games. I'm pretty boring, I rang in the New Year in my bed watching a movie in the dark (pretty sure that's a sign that I'm getting old).

The rest of break I spent hanging out at home, making some blankets on my new sewing machine, playing my guitar, and spending time with my family. Of course we had to make a trip down to the drug store for some of the famous Lovell Drug ice cream, which is definitely the best in town. We also spent lots of time out at Kara's house playing games and watching tv with the kiddos.

Christmas Break went by way too quick. It was a nice break and I enjoyed all the time I got to spend with my family. I'm so grateful for everything that they do for me. I can't believe I'm already back at school with my first week already under my belt. Only 15 weeks to go until I'm done with school work forever!

Christmas Eve.....

Christmas Break went by super quick. Because finals were the second week of December, we didn't get home until late on the 13th. I got to open my birthday presents when we got home that night, went to bed, and watched Emi's game the next day. To finish off the night we had Kara & her family up for dinner and dessert. The next week was spent getting things ready for Christmas time, shopping, and watching Emi's basketball tournament.

The day before Christmas Eve, Dani brought Kate, Jake, & Dallin up so they could wrap up the surprise present they got for their parents. Katelyn had told Dani that she was so sad that she couldn't get her mom and dad a present because they're always there. When we went up to Billings we got them a picture frame and stand that we put a picture of the kids in it. They were so excited and cute coming up, picking out the wrapping paper, making cards, doing all the wrapping, and making a plan of how we were going to sneak it out to the house without their parents seeing it. I have to say I think this was one of my favorite things about Christmas this year. I'm glad we were able to help the kids come up with a gift for their parents.

Our plan was a success, Kara & Jason had no idea and were really surprised when they brought the present out Christmas morning. The next day we got the family deliveries done and got ready for Christmas Eve night. We had a small dinner and program with Kara & the family. After dinner, we played some Christmas Twister followed by Christmas Bingo (which I'm pretty sure is the kids favorite part of the night)! The kids started off Family Home Evening by singing some Christmas songs, which made my heart melt. My mom then talked about the nativity and how it would have felt to be there. We went to the basement and sat in front of a large picture of the stable, while Emi played O Holy Night. My mom challenged us to think about what Christmas really meant and how we can try to put Christ first in our lives. To finish off the evening, we did some Secret Santa.

Before bed, we got to open our new PJs. I love getting new slippers and something new to sleep in. This year my mom and dad got each of us Bulldogs sweats and shirts. My mom let us take a few pictures before kicking us into our rooms, so they wouldn't be up until dawn (even though I don't know if that worked out so well)!

Christmas Eve is actually my favorite part of Christmas and what I look forward to the most. From dinner and the program to Secret Santa, that's what makes it feel like the Holidays to me.

Thanksgiving Week.....

Well Thanksgiving break has come and gone. I was home for an entire week, but it went by so fast it only felt like it was about 2-3 days! Dani & I headed home Monday afternoon after I finished taking my Law Exam. It's been so long since we've been back to Lovell (since September), which really hasn't been all that long but it feels like forever. We got home pretty late so we all we did was eat some dinner, talked for awhile, and then went to sleep.

Tuesday I had a Doctor's appointment (which went great) and then headed out to Kara's house to see her, Jase, and the kids. It was so nice to see those kiddos. While we were there, Katelyn showed me what she's learned on the guitar at school. She knew quite a few chords, so I showed her the chords of You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift. She practiced all day and had it memorized by the time she came up Thursday night.

Wednesday night, we watched Duck Dynasty while we made 9 pies for Thanksgiving the next day. We had a pretty laid back Thanksgiving day dinner. It was my mom, dad, Danielle, Emilee, and Me. Kara had Jason's family out to their house for dinner so they came up later that night for pie. My mom asked if we could take some pictures, they turned out great (just wish Kara & Liss could have been there for there too)!

The next day, my dad didn't have to work. Since the weather was actually nice, we decided to get the outside Christmas lights put up. It still took a long time (about 4-5 hours) to get them hung, but it took much less time with 5 people working on it. After we got finished up, Dani, Emi, & I headed up to Cowley to watch the Brown and Gold game.

It was a great break and I'm sad it's over. We laughed a lot all week and had so much fun together. There's not too many dull moments at the Reasch house (especially when Dani and Emi are around).

Now it's back to school for 2 more weeks, and then I'm home for Christmas break for a month. With another semester down and only one more to go until it's time for rotations!!

Down to the Wire.....

I can't believe that this semester is almost over! It is flying by. I'm leaving for Thanksgiving break in a week and after I get back, there's only 2 weeks left until I'm on Christmas break. At the end of this year, I'll be all done with schoolwork and starting in June it's time for me to start rotations. My official graduation date has been set: May 16, 2015!! It's so surreal that in a year and a half I'll be done with school forever. Graduation has been a long time coming, and it can't get here soon enough. I knew this time was coming, but I got an email from my professor about my schedule and it made it feel so real.

As exciting as it is, it also scares me. The transition and change is going to take awhile to get use to. Once I start rotations, the preceptors are going expect me to not only remember but apply those things that I've been learning for years now. It's intimidating because right now I don't feel like I know anything. I can't even remember all the things that I've learned this semester, let alone recall things from the past 5 years! Obviously, I know more then I think I do (hopefully), and I guess I'll find out when the time comes.

With the start of the new school year, also means the start of sports season. Football & Volleyball are close to being over. My favorite time of year started a few weeks ago, which means it's time for basketball! I love going to watch our team play. It's such a cool atmosphere to be in (even if our student section is obnoxious and don't have much sportsmanship)!! Dani & I have been going to as many games as we could this year, as long as we didn't have homework or exams to study for. We love our Pokes & are proud to be from Wyoming!!

The Rest of My Summer.....

For the most part the rest of my summer consisted mainly of working and hanging out at home. As always one of the best parts of my summer was Lovell's Day week. Melissa & her family came down because it was her 10 year reunion! Before the town festivities started, we went up to 5 Springs for a picnic and to get out of the house for the night. It was the only time this summer that I went up to the mountains and it made me ache to be up there!

We spent the week going to the follies, babysitting the kids, going to listen to the Cowley Boys, hit up the parade/ rodeo, and ended the week with the fireworks.

It was so nice this summer and I loved spending time outside, going on walks, or spending the night in the yard watching the kiddos play in the yard. Sometimes it's nice to have time to relax and have nothing more to do then enjoy time with your family!

Probably the highlight of my summer was making a trip to Cheyenne Frontier Days to watch Luke Bryan in concert. It was a quick trip because we went down on Wednesday night and were back by Friday afternoon. The concert was amazing and he was just as good looking in person as I had hoped he'd be. The opening act was Thompson Square and I definitely became a bigger fan of their songs after that night. The best part of the weekend was spending time with Dani & Emi. Before going to the concert, we ate at the Olive Garden and then walked around the fair for awhile before getting in line. While we were standing in line, we got caught in a rain storm, so all the time we took getting ready was pretty pointless since we ended up looking like wet dogs for the entire concert. It rained like crazy before, during, and after the concert. Even though I dealt sickness, wind, cold, rain and obnoxious people, it was all worth it watch Luke Bryan shake it!

 After the first rainstorm hit.

We even made it back in time for Cowley's Day to watch the parade and got to see all my cousins, aunts, uncles, & Grandpa Ken. After we watched the parade, we spent the day at the park watching Emi play in the volleyball tournament and catching up with the Smith family who came down from Utah.

Summer ended by having the week off from work, which we spent at home relaxing, going to Billings to go shopping for school clothes / supplies, and spending one of the days in Yellowstone. I forget how beautiful the park is, and wish I'd go more often. I didn't realize there were so many parts of the park I hadn't ever been to, and since we didn't have anywhere to go, we drove through a lot more of it. We saw the falls and went to Mammoth to eat walk around.

I'm amazed at how fast summer went. I can't believe I'm already back down in Laramie at school. It was a good break, spending it with my friends and family. Thanks to time off, I'm ready to be back in full swing at school! Bring on my last year of classes.

Superwoman For a Day.....

I always knew that mom's were superheroes, but it wasn't until yesterday that I truly appreciated everything a mom has to do.

Kara & Jason needed to go to Billings to pick out some stuff for their addition on their house. To make the decision process a little easier, I babysat the kids. It was one of the longest, most stressful 7 hours of my life. But I loved it and couldn't think of a better way then spending it with those sweet kids that I'm lucky enough to call my nieces & nephews. We played games, watched movies, ate dinner & popcorn, Just Dance'd, and completed everything on Katelyn's bucket list she made before I got there. We were even able to clean up our mess so the house looked good when Kara & Jase got home.

I must have done an okay job because they asked if I could do it again next time their mom & dad needed to go to Billings. I was even invited to stay the night and eventually left with tears of goodbye because they didn't want to me to go. I'm so lucky to be so loved by those kids.

After just 7 hours I was worn out. My parents and sisters even came to help for awhile, but I was still ready for bed by the time I got home. Mom's are definitely all like Superwoman. They do their job each & every day without a break, vacation, pay, sick days, or most of the time gratitude or notice for what they do. I have the best mother in the entire world, who does all she can for our family. She works herself to the bone for us. After yesterday, I'm doubly amazed that she's done this for over 30 years! With all the hard work and sacrifices you make, you really have to be a selfless person to be a mother.

This gave me a little insight to what a mom does every day. There's no harder job in the world, but also no more rewarding job. I can't imagine a better feeling in the world then to feel how loved you are by those little kids. My mom & sisters are the best examples of how mom's should be and act. I hope that I will be just like them when the time comes for me. Thanks Kara for letting my watch your sweet kiddos!