Catch up

So I have not posted anything in a very long time. Time to play some catch up...
Summer: Ryan left to go on his Southwest road trip that he had received a fellowship to go on.  He traveled through Texas, west Texas, into New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and then back to Arkansas.  He was studying both the culture and ancient architecture of the area and seeing how it influences today's architecture.  He could probably explain it a lot better.  I got to go with him on part of his trip for a week, which was fun. We went to Ft. Davis, El Paso to see lots of my family, and then Phoenix where I had to fly back to Texas. I got to spend some time with my family before I had to head back to Arkansas to start my new job as an RN in the ICU.

Ryan sketching the Alamo. He did a lot of sketching on this trip.

A cave at Hueco Tanks that we spent hours in so Ryan could sketch some of the pictographs.

Most of west Texas looks like this...

I started my new job in the ICU at the end of June and Ryan eventually came home from his trip.  Our summer was pretty uneventful because I was working.  We celebrated our 3rd anniversary August 2nd, 2011. We went to the Turpentine Wildlife Refuge in Eureka Springs which was super neat!  They have all these big cats that they've rescued from private owners. We also went swimming out at Beaver Lake and then had an amazing dinner at James at the Mill.

My yummy dinner

Ryan's dinner

3 years already!

We also got to go tubing in August with some of our friends down the Illinois River in Oklahoma which was super fun!  Minus the fact that we hit a deer on our way there, which resulted in having to replace the front end of the car.  But we had a great time tubing!

Fall: School unfortunately started not too long after and our brief summer came to a close.  And guess what?  Ryan left me yet again for another trip!  This time to Rwanda.  Yes, as in Africa.  I refused to be alone for another several weeks, so I convinced my little brother Travis to come up and stay with me and Blanca for the month of September.  We had a great time!  I even got to take him to his first college football game.

At the Razorback-Troy game with Travis

All too soon my brother had to go back to Texas, but in exchange, Ryan came home from Rwanda, bearing gifts too.

Travis wearing the mask Ryan brought home from Rwanda.

Ryan's parents got to come up for Bikes, Blues, and BBQ, which was fun because his dad had never been before.

Sometime this fall, I got called to teach the 4-5 year olds in Primary and Ryan was called to teach the 12-13 year old kids in Sunday School.  So far we are both enjoying our new callings.

Ryan and I also got to go to two Razorback games this season, Auburn and South Carolina.

At the Auburn game which we amazingly got tickets to!

We also went to Joplin and got to see my two step-sisters and my nieces to celebrate the two little girls turning 2! I can't believe how big they are getting!  And they just keep getting cuter!  Halie and Chloe just moved back to Fayetteville, so I'm excited to get to spend more time with them!

And speaking of two's, Blanca turned 2 yesterday, November 11! I can't believe how big she's gotten!  But she's still the same old puppy.

I don't know how, but she was totally asleep like this!

So I think I have caught up on the comings and goings of the Campbell family.  Ryan is trying to survive the rest of the semester and I'm trying to survive the ICU.  We've become pretty boring, so I apologize to all my friends here reading this.  I have to go to bed early before I work my 12.5-13 hour shift, and Ryan has been doing a lot of work for studio (although that's not really anything new).  For the first time ever, I won't be home for Thanksgiving (as I have the privilege of working Thanksgiving and that weekend), so I finally get to use my turkey roaster we got as a wedding present.  Hopefully, we get to go home for a little bit around Christmas.  My little brother is leaving on his mission to Mexico City in January, so I would really like to get to see him again before he leaves to serve the Lord for 2 years (and get in touch with our family's roots!).

Well thanks for reading my long, overdue post!  Until next time!

Camping with the Family

After graduation, my family stayed here for about a week.  My poor mom is really allergic to my dog, so Blanca stayed with some friends while they were staying with us (Thank you Scotts and Whitney!).  We had a great time!

Sunday was when the Campbells and Lanhams left, but the rest of us went to church and bummed about the house for the rest of the day, playing games and enjoying spending time with each other.  Monday we took them out to Eureka Springs, showed them Thorncrown Chapel, ate lunch at the Basin Park Hotel, and peeked into all the cool little shops.

Tuesday we picked up Blanca and headed out to the Buffalo River to go camping.  Blanca loved camping! And the drive up there.

Travis & Cassie got stuffed in the back
seat with Blanca while Mom and Dad rode
in the other car.

We were going to drive out to Sam's Throne to go climbing, but it was getting late in the afternoon, so we went hiking instead.  Blanca kind of played in the river, she's getting better with the whole water thing.  My brother, Travis, carried firewood back to camp.  I thought he looked slightly reminiscent of a Led Zeppelin album cover.

Ryan is very good at starting fires

Blanca got lots of food she
doesn't normally get.

Blanca was exhausted after a long day of playing in the river and running up and down her lead.  She curled up in our tent with her head resting on Ryan's feet.

Wednesday we went out to Sam's Throne to climb, but it started to rain and the rock was pretty wet.  Instead, we hiked along the top of the cliffs where the climbs were.

My Daddy, little brother, my Mommy,
and little sis Cassie.

Blanca did not like being on the edge of the cliff.

Blanca loves hiking!

We came back to Fayetteville, went out to dinner at La Huerta, and then saw Thor, which was awesome!  Thursday morning they headed back to Texas.  I did not get to spend nearly enough time with my mom or Cassie, but I did get to spend some time with my dad and little brother.  I'm really glad I got to spend some time with Travis, because he'll be leaving on a mission soon.  It was a wonderful trip and I really miss them.      

Graduation!

 I know I wrote a horribly long post already about the last four years of college, but this one is about the good stuff...graduation!  I'll warn you in advance that there are a lot of pictures I put up.

For nursing school we do a "Pinning Ceremony" where we take the Florence Nightingale pledge and get "pinned."  The pins say BSN(Bachelor of Science in Nursing) and have Florence Nightingale's lamp in the center.  Around the edge it says University of Arkansas and there is a very tiny razorback at the bottom.

Not the best of pictures, but you can kind of see what it looks like.

Because the lovely University thought it would be smart to schedule the pinning Thursday before graduation, my family was not able to get up here from Texas, Alabama, and Florida in time.  So it was just me and Ryan.

And of course all my nursing school friends!

Calling the hogs for the last time together!

Friday was when my family got here.  My grandparents and Ryan's parents took us out to eat at Noodles, yummy!  Then my family met us there when they got in from Texas.  My dad, step-mom, and siblings (the Lanham side of the family) got in from Florida pretty late, but they still stopped by to visit.

We had planned on doing a picnic for lunch, but of course, Saturday was freezing!  We decided to brave the cold and headed over to Wilson Park for fried chicken and graduation cake.  Then it was time to head over to Bud Walton Arena.  The traffic was crazy and I ended up having to walk from the track stadium.  This would not have been a big deal if I had not had crazy heels on.  My feet were killing my by the time I got to the arena with no time to spare.  As I was about to walk down into the tunnel, I realized I did not have my tassel attached to my cap!  It seems like a silly thing to freak out about, but I was really upset.  I tramped back up the hill frantically looking for my tassel in case I had dropped it.  No luck.  I asked one of the organizers if they had extra tassels.  He said to find him down in the tunnel when we lined up.  I left knowing he would probably forget about me and I would be tassel-less.  Fortunately for me, I found him again in the arena and he had an '08 tassel for me.  I instantly felt better and decided I had a good story to tell.  I walked across the stage and then took lots of pictures with all my amazing family.

The Lanham Family- Dad, Step-Mom, siblings (Delaney, Adam,
Travis, Sierra, Halie) & cute little niece Chloe!
We were missing Clara (at BYU-I), Savannah (had an AP test),
 Alex and her fiancé Richard
and my other adorable niece, Bella.

My mommy, little sister Cassie
& I

My dad and I

Three of my best friends from nursing school.  We're missing
our other friend Whitney, who we lost track of in the crowd.

My wonderful hubby.

I'm missing pictures with my grandparents and Ryan's parents.  We went to dinner at Whole Hog Cafe and then went back to our house to eat the cake Ryan had gotten me from Rick's Bakery.  Somehow, sixteen of us managed to fit in my townhouse.  It was loud and noisy and lots of fun!

My grandma also got me a huge sheet cake. Good
thing there were a lot of us!

My little niece is too precious, so I had to throw in this super cute picture!

Ryan and I absolutely adore this little girl.

I also received some amazing gifts too that I had to show off!  My parents got me a lovely gray suit, my little sister, Cassie got me some awesome Chaco sandals (I may never wear another pair of shoes again), and my in-laws got me an amazing diploma frame(will post a picture when my diploma is mailed to me).  My grandparents gave me some beautiful pearls, Ryan got me a sweet Beatles lunchbox, and my brother Travis gave me a bunch of Glee cd's and a beautiful necklace.  My step-mom made me a really fun apron and my little sister, Delaney helped make me a cookbook.  I also received a lot of really nice graduating nurse cards I did not know you could buy.  I have an amazing family! 

   

My brother decided to show off
my apron. It looks better on me.

                

It was a slightly stressful weekend, but amazing, nonetheless.  I am so blessed to have so many people that love and support me!     

My College Career

I wrote this Wednesday night, but then the server went down and I was not able to post till Friday.

Well it is finally here...I officially graduate from college on Saturday.  I passed my very last nursing school test today (a 180 question comprehensive NCLEX predictor).  Up until this afternoon when I saw that passing grade, I did not allow myself to get to excited about my upcoming graduation.  After the test, it really hit me that I am done with college.  Wow!  So much has happened in the last four years.  I find myself a little reminiscent as I think about my college career. I first started at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, NE.  Why you may ask would a Texas girl who eventually ended up in Arkansas make a side stop at Nebraska? They came to me and offered me a huge scholarship, so off I went to become a cornhusker.  I think these picture sum up my Nebraska experience.

Corn fields and football.  Don't get me wrong, I loved my year there.  I met wonderful people, did fun things, and learned that your hair can freeze when it's 0 degrees or below.  When I look back, I realize that despite the cold, constant snow, and homesickness, I had so much fun while I was there.  Then I got engaged to Ryan when I came and visited him over Spring Break, so I transferred to Arkansas.

We got married that August and I started at the University of Arkansas in the fall of 2008.  I changed my major from Biology/Pre-Med to Nursing.  I made wonderful friends that made me feel welcome in my new home and kept me busy when Ryan was gone constantly, away at school doing architecture studio work.

I learned to call the Hogs and finally understood Ryan's obsession with Bikes, Blues, and BBQ.

We climbed, we camped, we hiked, we canoed (not successfully) through the beautiful Ozark Mountains. 

All the while, I worked hard to finish my pre-requisites for nursing school and then applied at the end of my sophomore year.  I started nursing school in the fall of my junior year.  That first semester was crazy intense.  I do not think I have ever worked harder in my life.  My friends saw less and less of my as I fell deeper and deeper into stacks of nursing textbooks.  Christmas break provided a much needed break and we went to CO to ice climb with my family.  Then spring break saw us in Lake Tahoe snowboarding.  Both were super fun trips and provided much needed stress relief!

I don't think I could have been with a better group of girls than the ones in my nursing class.  Through our four long semesters together of studying endless nights, getting through long clinical hours, and even harder nursing classes, we have really gotten close.  There are some amazing girls in my class that I am proud to call friends. Fifty of us will graduate Saturday, ready to become real nurses.

The summer before my senior year was not the best.  Ryan was away in Mexico from May to August for architecture school.  I have never missed someone so much.  There would be weeks at a time when I was unable to talk with him because of bad or nonexistent internet connections.  He came home the day before our anniversary and I could not have been happier.  Then tragedy struck our family nine days later and our lives were turned upside down.  The fall semester was hard as we tried to pick up the pieces of our lives and get through our rigorous course work.  Spring semester got a little better, although I was really sick for the first two-three weeks of school.  We spent a wonderful Spring Break in Navarre, FL with my family.  

The semester passed by remarkably uneventful up until three weeks ago.  At the end of April, it rained for five days straight.  Our house flooded.  Fortunately I was home and I was able to get our rug and electronics out of harm's way.  We had three inches of running water flow through the back door to the front door for about two hours.  The parking lot behind us turned into a roaring river and there was about two feet of water up against my back door.  To top it all off, I had an interview that day, an hour after the flooding started.  I had a hard time even getting to the place because all the roads in Fayetteville were flooded.  By the time I got into the building, my suit was plastered to my body (despite my umbrella) and I had dropped my resume somewhere in the parking lot.  Not the best of first impressions.  

That Wednesday was when the tornadoes hit Alabama.  My aunt had talked with my grandparents that live in Huntsville that night and found out their roof was damaged but that they were okay.  Then tornado sirens went back off in the background and they lost connection.  The next day we read about the devastation that had occurred throughout the region.  Six tornadoes alone had gone through their county.  No one could get in touch with my grandparents.  My uncle called the police department and found out that no fatalities had been reported within city limits.  Power was down, as well as cell phone towers.  I waited all day to hear from them, antsy with worry.  No one could get through to them.  Finally, Friday morning, my uncle contacted me to let me know that they were okay.  All of this was going on right as Ryan and I were trying to finish projects, papers, and prepare for finals.

I look back at the past four years and I notice a trend.  Through the good and the bad times, Heavenly Father has been there watching out for me.  I know that would not have been possible for me to get through nursing school without Him.  Tests used to be a weakness for me in high school.  I was always the last one finished and I always had to struggle to get the grades that I wanted on them.  Nursing school is all about the tests.  Now, I get through tests pretty quickly and have passed all my standardized tests.  It might not seem like much, but passing some of my nursing tests were miracles to me.

 For the last seventeen years of my life, I have dedicated myself to school.  And now it is all over and I am starting a new chapter of my life.  The looming stress and pressure of nursing school is gone (most likely to be quickly replaced with something else).  Yes, graduate school will come, and I still have my NCLEX to pass before I become an official Registered Nurse.  But for today, I will be happy and be completely school related stress free!!!

Spring Break 2011

We had such an awesome Spring Break!!! We went to Navarre, Florida to visit my family.  The drive was super long, about 13 hours through Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and then finally Florida, but it was pretty fun because my step-sister Clara was with us.  Blanca loved Clara and was super happy to have someone to cuddle with in the back seat.  We got to Florida Saturday evening and went on nighttime stroll along the beach with everyone.  When I say everyone, I mean my dad and my step-mom, my little brother and sister, Adam and Delaney, and three of my step sisters, Clara, Savannah, and Sierra.  

We went to church on Sunday and recovered from our long drive. We also went to the Gulf Breeze National Sea Shore for a late Sunday walk.  Monday, Clara, Ryan, Adam and I all went to the Navarre Beach.  They live about 5-6 minutes from the beach.  It was so pretty! White sands, crystal blue water.  Ryan was amazed at how white the sand was, since he grew up going to northeast Atlantic beaches. 

Adam jumping over a wave and Ryan hunting for shells

Tuesday we went to Pennsacola with Adam and met my dad for lunch, and then went to the Naval Aviation Museum.  It's hard to say who had more fun...my six year old brother who is obsessed with jets, or Ryan, who used to be obsessed with all planes as a child.  There was a whole section where you could get into the cockpits of various jets.

We drove back along the Santa Rosa Barrier Island.  SO GORGEOUS!!! Miles of white sands and ocean! This was the view we had along the highway.  The ocean was only about 100-200 yards away from the roadside.

Wednesday we took Delaney and Adam to the beach.  They had fun burying Ryan in the sand while Clara and I had fun boogie boarding.  Then we all went to Destin to help Savannah find shoes for prom.  Driving into Destin, there is a huge sand bar in the bay.  It was the most gorgeous water I've ever seen!  It was sparkling turquoise and perfectly clear.  You could see right down to the bottom! 

Thursday Ryan and I went to back to Destin to check out the beaches there.  We went to the boardwalk first, and then made our way down to one of the state parks. When we got there, the purple and red flags were up.  The red is for strong currents and waves, and the purple is for "dangerous marine life."  We asked the ranger about it and they said there had been lots of Portuguese Man O'Wars the day before, but he had not seen any that day.  Needless to say this did not calm my fears, but Ryan paid the entry fee to the park and we drove on to the beach.  I have had a semi-irrational fear of jellyfish since childhood, although I have not been stung by one yet.  I asked Ryan if he still wanted to go to the beach and he said sure.  He had to drag me into the water, assuring me I would be able to see the jellyfish because they were bright blue, even though he ruined it by adding they were pretty poisonous.  To my relief, we did not see any, but I cut my boogie boarding short, not wanting to try my luck.  We had a delicious lunch out on one of the wharfs and went back home.  

Later I googled a Portugese Man O'War.  This is what they look like...

Probably a good thing I did not know what they looked like beforehand, because I most likely would not have gotten into the water.  Ryan went fishing early Friday morning, and then Clara, Adam, my Dad and I joined him later on the beach to fly the kite Adam had found at a garage sale.  The water was extra cold and it was super windy and cool, which did make for good kite flying, but was not so great for swimming.  There were tons of dolphins all along the beach and off the pier. We celebrated Delaney's 10th birthday later in the evening with pizza and huge four layer cake my step-mom made.  It was super yummy!!!  

Saturday came too quickly and it was time to leave.  We stayed for Delaney's softball game early in the morning and then left around noon.  The drive seemed even longer because we were headed back to cold weather and reality instead of sunshine and vacation.  We got in late last night and it was freezing and drizzly.  I woke up this morning homesick for three families; my dad's, my mom's, and Ryan's.  I wish I could be in multiple places at once.  I am not looking forward to school tomorrow, but at least there is only 6 weeks left, and then  I graduate!  

So onto reality and another month before all my family comes up for graduation.  At least we had an amazing Spring Break! I hope it finally warms up here in Fayetteville and stays warm!

Our three seconds of fame...

So I mentioned in my post on Christmas Break Ryan and I got to be in a HEB commercial.  For all of you who are not from Texas, it's a big grocery store chain.  The commercial aired in Texas for the Super Bowl.  Ryan and I were extras in a the dance hall scenes and the picnic scenes.  Those scenes took ALL day to film.  We got there at 7am, started filming at 9, and didn't finish till almost 6pm.  Also, it was freezing that day.  Anyway, here's the link to the commercial! I do not claim to understand the title of the song...you can in fact spell "Texas" without HEB...oh well.

You Can't Spell Texas Without HEB

I'm wearing a purple shirt and Ryan is wearing a leather jacket.  You can catch glimpses of us at 22 seconds, 29 seconds, and 2:08 minutes. Enjoy!