1 Year...Congratulations!!!!

Hey all,
I have just been thinking this week that I can't believe it has already been a year since we were all going to our last class of our undergraduate career and saying goodbye as we headed off to the next chapter in our life. Last year at this time most of us were still in Provo and now a year later we are spread all over the world. I know that I feel that in this short year I have grown and learned so much (don't worry, I still have a lot more to learn) and I am sure that you feel the same way too. Sometimes it feels like just yesterday that we all met in the Benson building for the first class of our Nursing experience and started to get to know one another, and at other times it feels like an entire lifetime ago. I know that those 2 1/2 years were wonderful years for me, mostly because I got to get to know all of you and work with you toward becoming nurses. Thanks for letting me share those years with you, and here's to all of us finding success wherever our road takes us this next year. (I know, I know, this is really sappy, but it just had to be said).
~Natalie Gamble

New Blog

Hey everyone, I hope post grad life is treating you well. I have a new blog that is public now. It’s choosymom dot blogspot dot com. Keep in touch

-Jessica McDaniel

Ruth Duncan

Sorry it's taken me so long to post this. Good thing I have a sister-in-law who keeps me on my toes. (Thanks Katie!) Our little Ruth was born on July 7, 2009 at 8:30 am. She weighed 7 lbs 1 oz and was 19.6 in. She came with the cutest dimples and long fingers. Here she is on her blessing day and also sporting her onsie made especially by her dad. Classic! :) Hope you guys are all doing well!

Tian Jared Davis

So I finally had my baby boy 11 days after his due date. Yay!! If you would like to read the whole labor and delivery story, you can check it out on my blog. If you need access, just let me know!
-Shannon Davis

Tian Jared Davis
Born Monday July 20, 2009 @ 5:54 am
7 lbs. 10 oz.
21"

Weston Richard Brannock

Sue's post inspired me to announce our baby's birth, too! Except - I'm really late at posting this.

Weston Richard Brannock was born on May 14, 2009 at 6:40pm. He was 6 lbs 12 oz, 19 inches long. I actually had to have a c-section, because my blood pressure spiked up at my last doctor's appointment. My pressure and labs had been fine all throughout the pregnancy, but then at 37 weeks 6 days, my BP jumped up to ... 170/120! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!?! I am just so grateful to Heavenly Father that both me and Weston are healthy. I don't know how long my pressure was elevated, but after observation in the hospital for a few hours, it just wasn't coming down below 140/90, so we went ahead with the c-section (Weston was also breech).

We just celebrated Weston's 2-month b-day, and just blessed him at church. He is a WONDERFUL baby! We just love him so much!

I head back to work on Monday night. I'm going back night-shift-part-time at the CVICU at Methodist Hospital.

I'm going to try to keep our blog updated with pics of our cute little guy, so since it's a private blog, email me at amanda dot brannock at gmail dot com if you want an invite.

Hope everyone's doing GREAT! Love you all!!!

Benson Reed McKnight

I'm a little late in posting this but here it is anyway. Benson Reed McKnight was born on June 18th at 7:47pm. He weighed 6 lbs 12 oz and was 19.5 inches long. I was induced at 37 weeks and 3 days because his heart rate didn't have a lot of variability, lacked many accels, and had numerous variables on repeated NST's. My labor and delivery went well and our little boy was born healthy. They think the NST results were due to the positioning of his cord. Benson and I are both doing well now.

You can read more about my delivery and Benson on my own blog. We are planning on going private soon so send me your email address to suzydahle at gmail dot com or leave it in a comment on my blog if you'd like an invite.

Specific Date for Reunion

There were many requests that we name a specific date so people can request off, but I don't know how far ahead you do schedule requests. How does Friday May 8th work? I am just kind of throwing that out there for no specific reason (besides the fact I know I am not working that day), so let me know if it works or not.

Reunion?

I am thinking (along with several others I have spoken with) that a reunion is in order. How does sometime beginning to mid May, potluck BBQ somewhere up Provo Canyon sound? Babies, spouses, and significant others are of course a must. Let me know what you all think!

Katie Duncan

Moving to Detroit

Hey Everyone- some of you know that my husband was applying to doctoral programs for this next fall and he decided to go to Wayne State University in Detroit. I have never been there, but it should be interesting. Everyone has told me there is a great nursing shortage there- so bring on inner city ICU!

Walking in April?

Hey everyone! I hope you all have adjusted to civilian life well. I just had a quick question... I'm wondering how many of you are planning on walking in April? I think I know of a few who did not walk in August, but I am wondering who is going to physically be at the ceremony in a month and a half, as I really do not want to be the only one there from our semester. If you don't mind, leave a comment if you will be there in April. Thanks! 

Share Your NCLEX Story!

Hello Everyone!
Congrats to all who've passed the NCLEX and good luck to those still preparing to pass the NCLEX!! I've just heard from Patty Ravert that she'd love to hear from us all about our NCLEX experience. She said, "It is helpful for us to understand their [our] experiences so we [BYU CON] can appropriately counsel the current students." So, if you have a chance (maybe when you're e-mailing Renea), drop a line to her and/or the other faculty at BYU to let them know how it went for you! I hope you're all doing well! Have a great day!
-Kalie
P.S. Her e-mail address is: Patricia_Ravert@byu.edu

Hunter Fielding Smith

Hunter was born Feb 6th at 9am! He weighed 7lbs 9oz and was 20.5 inches long. The funny thing about my delivery was that my preceptor for capstone was my delivery nurse along with her BYU student. It was a whole different experience being on the patient side of things. But everything went really smoothly and we are both doing great!

Caden Scott McDaniel

Caden Scott McDaniel was born January 30, 2009 at 17:07 after 18 hours of labor and 3 hours of straight pushing. He ended up being born with a vaccuum assisted delivery and came very close to a C-section. Why? Cade was 10 pounds and 1 oz and 21 1/2 inches long. OUCH!
He is a very good and beautiful baby. We are so happy to have him in our family. Here is a picture of him in his BYU onsie that is newborn size and probably won't fit him after today.

Baby!

Hello friends! I just wanted to let you know I had my baby girl on January 6th! Her name is Mari Elise, and she is a sweet, sweet girl. You can check out more photos and all her stats on my blog! Best wishes to all of you who are having babies soon. Hope you all are doing well! ~Tawny

One Last Hoorah, Aloha Style

I have no engagement, wedding dress shopping, or weddings to report on, but Eliza, Brittany, and I did recently return from a fabulous adventure in Hawaii! Eliza and I spent the first few days in Kauai, where everyday we were graced by rainbows, whales and fantastic hikes to waterfalls. 

Then we flew to Maui where we met up with Brittany for seven more days of Hawaii adventures which included kayaking with the whales, snorkeling, watching the sunrise from the top of a volcano, riding bikes down that volcano, a Luau (in which one of the servers quickly guessed we were from Utah by our non-alcoholic beverages and Shade shirts), camping on the beach, and numerous hikes to waterfalls and bamboo waterfalls, oh yeah, and of course hitting up the beach. It was a grand graduation trip, refreshing us all for our new jobs! 

       

Good luck to everyone on the NCLEX. Congrats to all those who have already passed!

Flo & I

Hey friends! Wes & I went to London over the break where we found the Florence Nightingale Museum (I didn't know one existed either)! We didn't care much to go inside because, let's face it, I'm on a well-deserved break after 2.5 years of hearing about her all the time. But here are the pictures to prove I saw it. Hope you're all doing well!

Wedding Day!

Hello Everyone! I just thought I would post a few pictures of my wedding day. It was amazing and I was so glad it was in sunny L.A. rather than snowy Utah. I've been married for about a month now, and it's great! I start at Timpanogos once dopl gets my license processed. All in all, life is great!

Hello from China

Hi all! Just thought I would post a little update on my overseas adventures. It has been a wild ride so far, but I think I am starting to get used to things. My apartment makes Wymount Terrace look like a 5-star hotel! Oh well, at least we get hot water (most days) from 6-9am, 5:30-7:30pm, and 9pm-midnight. China is not kidding when they say they have 1/5th of the world population! There are people EVERYWHERE! The city I live in has more people in one small suburb than the whole state of Utah. We really stand out among this crowd. I have just decided to ignore the stares and come to grips with the fact that we are... different (no blending into a crowd). I do like the fact that I can understand what most people say though; I find in flattering when girls talk about my good lookin' husband as though we can't understand -- I feel good because he IS good-lookin' and he is MINE =). By the way folks, the Chinese food you eat in America is nothing like the real deal. If I wasn't pregnant, I would consider this a great time for weight loss (because the food destroys appetite better than PhenPhen). However, we did find some cold cereal in the import isle at one of the bigger grocery stores (Corn Flakes, anyone?). Driving here is a life-or-death experience every minute. No body obeys any kinds of rule (and I mean BASIC rules like drive on your side of the road, stop at red lights, stop (or at least slow!) for pedestrians, don't U-turn on the freeway, etc!). My bus driver drives on the wrong side of a six-lane road everyday. I can see cars going the same way we are on the other side of the median. The bus just faces oncoming traffic and honks for them to get out of the way!) Maybe being a nurse is not a good thing right now because at every turn I see potential life-threatening situations and I get in my ER mode. Adenaline is becoming a constant companion =)We go to church about an hour and a half away by car. We don't have a car, but that is not the point - we end up getting there somehow. It is fun to be in a little branch. The first day we walked in we ended up teaching primary. The next week we spoke in Sacrament Meeting. Last week I taught Relief Society, and next week Sam is teaching Sunday School and I am teaching Young Women's. Its tons of fun!! Anyway, I hope all of you are doing well! I miss you all and hope you look at basic things (like cheese, butter, meat you can trust, showers, and western toilets) with a new appreciation!

What are the chances?

So I went to Latter-Day Bride in SLC to get my dress, and there was Jenni looking amazing standing on the pedestal thing in front of the mirrors in her wedding dress. We took a picture to prove it. And we both got our dresses that day. Hurray! Also, I'm getting married on May 7th for those that asked.

Amanda's blog

Hey, everyone! I love having this blog together! It makes Texas seem so much closer to Utah!!! :) My blog is invite-only, so if you want to check it out, just email me! Or just comment onto this post and I'll email you the link. Hope everything is going well for everyone! Keep in touch! luv, amanda

Better late than never...

I guess I missed out on announcing this in class, but I figured I could just announce it here. Hope you're all doing well. Has anyone started their job yet?

Shannon Davis' Personal Blog

My post is the same as Jessica's. My personal blog listed to the side is an invite-only blog, so if you would like to have access to read it, please email me at sleilahill@gmail.com and let me know! I'd be happy to add you!

Jessica's blog

Hi Everyone,
As you can see my blog is listed on the side, but it is private. If you can't already access it, give me your email address and I will add you as a reader. You should definitely read it, it's pretty awesome. You can email me at jmcdaniel7@gmail.com or jmcdaniel12@gmail.com. Other than that, my baby is supposed to come this week :) I don't know if I can stand much more of this waiting.
Jessica McDaniel