Watch Me :)

Emma Noel

I have had the oppurtunity to be able to watch this little princess grow since she was about 2 1/2 years old & now she's an impressive little 1st grader (7 1/2!) I don't think I would call watching Emma a "job" - more like something that is so rewarding and fun that I treasure all the times spent at this so called "job." I am so proud of my little Emma. She is excelling in 1st grade like crazy - reading books of all sorts (definitely can read chapter books), getting an S+ (not missing a single spelling word) on her spelling tests for as many weeks as I can remember, getting down all her + and - math, but all while having fun & making tons of friends. Each week Miss Em goes to singing lessons and gymnastics, and until recently was also swimming twice a week. She is a very busy girl & someone who tries hard in everything she does. Her dedication and motivation definitely comes from her parents - her mom is the sweetest, most campassionate, hardworking mother I have ever come across. Being a surgeon and working over 8 hrs each day isn't easy - but she works through it & cares and love her daughter so much. Emma was born on Christmas Eve - hence her middle name Noel - and her mom tells her that she was her miracle that God sent. I truly do believe that Emma is a miracle that was placed in my life also. I have enjoyed every second of watching her grow up & it has made me so excited to have children someday. I think the Heavenly Father sent her to prepare me and also to help me learn patience haha :)

Last Wednesday Emma lost her 2nd tooth!!! How exciting huh?! We were about to go to bed so I was starting to floss her teeth & she pointed out how loose it was... of course being the person I am - I said it was time for that little tooth to come out!!! So we sat on the counter and wiggled & twisted it until it popped out. She was so proud of herself because she pulled it herself & was very brave! I was so excited to be able to do this with her but that's probably because of my love for dentistry.. don't know how many people get excited over pulling a tooth. haha!  Here's some pictures I took right after we put her tooth under the pillow for the tooth fairy.


Thumbs up for being brave; I (eye) <3 you; & a giant WOW!



Gosh I love this little girl!!! Isn't she the cutest thing ever :)

My Best Friend

Her name is Ashley Rae. She is the best that anyone could ask for.

It's funny we look somewhat alike-- At least that's what people have always thought. We've been asked if we were twins, sisters, and cousins multiple times. The  reason this is funny to me is because when we became friends around sophomore/ junior year of high school we were complete opposites. haha. She was perfect Miss Ashley Tanner (aka A-Tan) & I was a crazy lady. But somehow it worked for us and she accepted me for who I was and looked past my sometimes foolish ways. Then she left me and moved to Utah, which was super sad but definitely for the best. Long distance friendships are a bummer - but we still talk when we can and usually once a year I get to see her. The thing I love about our friendship is that no matter how long I go without talking to/seeing her - the second we reconnect it's like we never separated. Finding a friend like you, Ash, is something that not a lot of people find in life & I'm soo blessed to have found you so early in my life.

Seeing her get married last summer was so amazing. Getting to help with everything before was so much fun and I'm so glad I was able to be a part of it. When I saw her once she put her dress on, right before her reception, I was in shock - not only because of how beautiful she looked, but also because my best friend was getting married and we were starting another chapter in our friendship. Although those tears were silly, spur-of-the-moment awkwardness, it was all of my happiness just boiling over. I am so grateful that I was able to be a part of both her reception and her wedding (well after it lol). It will be something that I never forget.

Visiting her in her new, married life makes me smile because I know that she is going to be happy and taken care of for the rest of her life. Her husband Jake is amazing. Their relationship is something that everyone hopes they will be lucky enough to find. It's like a dream you have, that you laugh off and think, "oh what a fairytale." They have almost been married for a year now & not once have they ever raised their voices at each other. Seriously?! That really can happen? I guess so :) They are perfect for each other & I am so happy for them. I can't wait until they make cute little Nackos' -- I can't wait to see them grow into cute little toddlers -- and then into big kids.

I'm not sure what my life will entail in the next few years as I embark on many new adventures - but what I am sure of is that I will have an amazing best friend at my side the entire time.

I love you Ash with all my heart & can't wait to see where life takes us through out the years! Hopefully some day we will really be neighbors & we can really raise our kids together :)

xo,  Michelle

Spring Break!

Well hello all - I am in Utah right now visiting my bestie, Mrs Ash & her hubby Jakers (who is possibly the sweetest boy ever). Seriously Utah is so amazing... everyone is so caring and genuine here!! It just makes me so happy being around people who are so positive all the time. Jake's parents are so amazing & just graciously let me take over there spare bedroom. And boy oh boy I can't wait to see Ashley's family! It's been 9 months since I've seen them (holy cow - Ash has almost been married a whole year!) & I miss them like crazy! I can definitely say I consider them my second family. Ashley's mom is the sweetest thing ever - which is probably where Ashley gets it :) haha! I would love to be able to just pick up & move here.. but unfortunately I have 1 semester left until I graduate & then I hopefully will be off to dental school in who knows where for 4+ years. Maybe once that's all finished I can finally move here? Even though there is seriously a dentist's office every block. So not kidding!

But last night was Nicole's bridal shower! McKall, Ashley, and Cierra did such an amazing job with decorations! It turned out soo adorable!

Decorations @ McKall's adorable condo!
Seriously these girls are so creative!

P.S. Need some blogs to creep on? haha I'm so terrible because I'm such a creeper! Friday night I actually got to meet one of Ashley's friends who's blog I happen to look at all the time - and had no option but to admit to my creppiness. haha. Thankfully she didn't get weirded out & walk away from me. Anyways she has the most perfect and precious little girl!! Not even lying....

See isn't she beautiful?!? She literally did not cry for more than a second once the entire 3-4 hours she was at the bridal shower! Hopefully I will be lucky enough to have such an angel! :)

Here are some blogs that I find myself wasting time (my way to take a break from studying lol) looking at probably more than once a week... 

http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/

http://ashlemieux.blogspot.com/

http://jandacheers.blogspot.com/

http://julesandblakefarnsworth.blogspot.com/ -- this is the lovely lady who I admitted to creeping on. The posts she has about being a mom - and her mom seriously bring me to tears sometimes & they help me realize how amazing my mom is and how lucky I am to have her!

Hope you all have an amazing week! :) I will post more about my trip in a few days!
xoxo, Michelle

HAPPY 99th BIRTHDAY PAPA!!!

This man is the light in my life.

I can't imagine not growing up with him living only about 10 min away.

2 years ago in October he had brain surgery - twice. In one month. And he recovered from both miraculously. He is amazing.

I'd like to say our family has good genes - his brother passed away at 102 & his sister at 98.

But the truth of it probably is that we are stubborn Sicilians & proud of it :)

Or maybe it's the fact that since before anyone can remember he has continued to turn 29 every birthday - 29 must have been the best year of his life.

Until his surgery - we would catch him mowing his lawn and putting up Christmas lights - things most 96 year olds would never even imagine. He drove (by himself) to the casinos every day to visit his friends. He is amazing.

While in the hospital and rehab we really began to realize what a flirt he was. He made all the nurses his girlfriends and tried to convince them that he was better than their boyfriends/husbands. They should  have listened - He is amazing.

Now in a nursing home - he says he only has about 5 girlfriends. Which is him eliminating many. Everyone there knows Victor & everyone enjoys his presence. Almost every nurse has a personal relationship with him which is amazing considering how huge this place is & almost all the other residents say "Hi Victor, good to see you" when we walk by. My Grammy was a lucky women. She was amazing & he is amazing.

Papa currently loves bingo, puzzles, his kitty - which is at home, and Costco pizza. Every time I visit him he has won me either a bag of chips or a stuffed animal in bingo. Good luck has always been on his side when it comes to winning and he is always so proud to give me my prizes.

These past few months have been rough on Papa as he was admitted into the hospital in December for pneumonia. This sickness at his age is always something that is very dangerous. He somehow managed to get out of the hospital in 4 days by proving he could walk down the hall with a walker (which he hasn't done in over a year). He is amazing.

Slowly the big bad thing known as age is starting to take a toll on Papa. He is often very exhausted, has really bad arthritis, and still can't seem to get all the fluid in his lungs out. Despite not feeling good & being grumpy sometimes - he still continues to shine especially to people who know the real Victor. No matter how bad he is feeling, the smile on his face that lights up when I walk in a room is something I will never ever forget. :)

There were many times when I selfishly thought, no please don't take away Papa, he brings so much happiness to my life and so many as others. But then I realized what an amazing life he has lived - 99 years - WOW! Can you imagine all the things that can happen in that period of time?! I know I can't. I know that when it is time for him to go back to heaven and brighten the people's lives who have been missing him, it will be very hard but at the same time amazing for everybody up there. I know Grammy has been patiently waiting for quite a long time and can't wait until the day she seems him again.

Anyone that knows me well enough knows that I could go on for hours talking about my papa and telling funny stories about him. He is an irreplaceable person in my life who I am so blessed to have and has helped shape me into the person I am today. Hopefully this little tid bit gives you some insight to what an amazing person he truly is.

I LOVE YOU PAPA WITH ALL MY HEART!!!!

xo, Michelle

Laughing out loud.. seriously!

When ever I need a good laugh I watch this video. So incredibly funny - but I feel bad for this guy at the same time. Even though being buried alive isn't my biggest fear I would still be pretty scared. haha I hope you enjoy it :)

Woops

Well, I've been totally slacking on keeping up to date on this blog :-/ sorry!

I'm going to try and be better!

 

Last weekend was fabulous. My lovelies Bebo & Laurann came to visit & we had some good times & saw some funny dance moves. LOL! Valentine's Day was lots of fun - not that I had one of those things called a "valentine" haha but there were many things that made it fantastic! After my Biochem test that morning, I got to go visit my "little sister" Ebony (I'm part of the wonderful organization Big Brother, Big Sisters) and we decorated some yummy cookies with red sprinkles. Then later that night I got to celebrate not only 1 but 2 birthdays!! I actually have 3 great friends who all have their bdays on vday - Lita, Erica, and Mike P. Unfortunately, Lita was in AZ so I didn't get to celebrate with her but I did ride in a limo to celebrate Erica & Mike P's bday!



So guess what?! I get to go visit my best friend, Miss Ashley in Utah in about 3 weeks & I'm soo sooo sooo excited! I haven't seen her since her wedding, which was the end of June, and I miss her like crazy!!! Another exciting thing about this trip --- Nicole, one of Ashley's good friends who I met & got to hang out with every time I was in Utah, is getting married!! Yay it's finally happening! Sadly, I won't get to be there on their actual wedding date because of school but I do get to be there for her little party before! ;) I'm so happy for Nicole and Trevor & wish them nothing but the best in their future!

It's been snowing like crazy here lately.. well besides the past 3 days. I'm so lucky to live in such a pretty area! I can't imagine what it would be like not having gorgeous mountains, full of snow, that you can see outside your bedroom window while you're all wrapped up in blankets!



This was last week on campus.. let me tell you
wind + snow = not fun when you have to walk
all the way across campus.. i was soaked!
But it was still super pretty!







Hope everyone has a fabulous week!