Preston and Jessica

Idaho/Utah Retreat

2010-08-05T10:43:00.000-07:00

Our yearly Bear Lake Trip with the Otte family was changed up a bit with the location being Burley Idaho at Grandpa Vern and Grandma Donna's. But different location didnt mean less fun. With nieces and nephews, cousins, and couples it was sure great to see everyone.

Cookouts, camping, shooting, and lets not forget golf made for a busy weekend.

Preston taught me how to shoot a 12 gauge shotgot and after chickening out the first time and then much persistence from Preston to just try it. I shot this huge gun and guess what I took one shot and one shot only. But to make things even better, I shot the clay pigeon on my one and only shot.

Its only funny because between Preston and I it is semi normal for me to do/get things on the first try. When we were dating he took me fishing, I did one cast that day and my one cast caught a fish. 4 years ago we were visiting his grandparents and were shooting a 22 at a soda can. I took 3 shots and they all hit the can. So I am glad I could continue my tradition but to be honest the gun was so big it scared me to even pull the trigger.

We played games, made ice cream and just had a great weekend.

We were super excited to see our nieces, Alexis has changed so much in 6 months, we couldnt believe it. And miss Olivia lost her two front teeth and looks like she is ready for 3rd grade instead of 1st. Time sure does fly when you are away.

After our Otte reunion we headed to Logan for a couple of days where Preston did some fishing and I did some visiting.

Who knows maybe we will be back up towards Utah sooner then we think.

4 Years and a Wonder of the World

2010-08-05T09:50:00.001-07:00

For our 4th Anniversary we decided to do some Arizona exploring. With one of the wonders of the world just a couple hours away a trip to the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff was an easy decision.

I was even able to see my good friend Kelly, who is firefighting this summer up in Flagstaff.

After a couple of days in Flagstaff and visiting the Grand Canyon we made the beautiful drive home through Sedona. Preston did a little fishing in Oak Creek Canyon and I took in the sights.

We finished our trip up in Phoenix where we were able to see the Clarks, who were over visiting from Australia.

A great way to celebrate our 4th Anniversary with forever still to come.

6 Month Update almost complete....I went to Haiti

2010-05-30T21:54:00.001-07:00

This section of the update deserves the most amount of time of all but I want to post about it all when I have collected the photos from all the other team members from our trip. For now I will sum it up quickly.

I went to Haiti with a medical team out of Tyler, Texas called Mercy Works. It was the most eye opening and rewarding experience. I have been waiting to go on a medical mission trip since I was 16 years old and it was the main reason I wanted to study something in the medical field when I went to college. Now 9 years later I was able to go, RN license and all, and the experience has only made me want to do medical missions throughout my life. Here are only a couple of photos from the trip.

Some serious packing...the sleeping bag never made it to Haiti.

I like to think someone really needed it.

Our trusted ambulance that took us to our mobile clinics each day.

One of the last families I triaged on my final clinic day.

This little girl loved her bubble bee gift.

One of the tent cities in St. Marc

I would like to thank Preston for his unfailing support. My mum for helping me gather needed supplies, her master packing skills, and for watching the boys. For Ky's mum, Kris, in lending me needing supplies, thank goodness for scouts back in the day and for Fred and his backbacking supplies. Many thanks to family and friends for keeping me in their thoughts. A big thanks to Stephanie Morgan, Preston's cousin, for going first and then telling me over and over again that I could do a trip like this.

I promise to share more as I gather photos and edit the video clips from the trip.

6 Month Update....Belated birthday celebrations in April

2010-05-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

For my birthday this year, Preston surprised me with a hot air balloon ride. I was so excited and we were scheduled to go two weeks after my birthday. Well Tucson decided to have rainy weather on almost every day we had off together and we had to keep canceling. So with much anticipation we were so excited to go in April and it was well worth the wait. It was so much better then I could have imagined. I thought the ride would be rocky and that the basket would sway all over the place, but it was nothing like it at all. The ride was so smooth and you couldn't even tell you were moving. It was a a beautiful day and you could see all over the city of Tucson.

Our hot air balloon being blow up.

Getting bigger and bigger.

It was an early morning.

The beautiful view over Tucson.

I was so thankful for my awesome birthday gift.

Lake views (man made) and all.

The shadow of our balloon... getting closer to the houses on our descent

As I mentioned above, the whole ride was smooth sailing and pretty uneventful until....we went to land. I didn't know this but there isnt an exact way to steer a balloon. As we are flying a ground crew follows us and helps us to land. I had imagined landing in this large open field of some sort, similar to what we took off in. I sure was surprised as we started to descend in a residential area and seriously came so close to the roof of a house I thought we were going to knock off the antenna. We landed in the middle of a street in a residential area and all of the home owners came out to see what the noise was. They were sure surprised to see a hot air balloon in front of their house. The male passengers had to get out and help walk the balloon to a bigger section of the road so that the balloon could be deflated

It was a great experience and an awesome birthday gift.

6 Month Update....March Madness

2010-05-30T20:09:00.001-07:00

To celebrate our good friend Kylee's birthday we had a little birthday surprise at Olive Garden.
Shane, Ky's husband, had been doing a college bracket for the days leading up to Ky's birthday. Each day she would have to choose between two teams and her gift would depend on the team she chose. On her birthday, Kylee had to choose between her alumni school, Utah State, and Shane's current doctoral school, the Univ. of Arizona. It was a hard choice to make, the Aggies vs. the Wildcats.

The fateful envelopes...

Final answer....Utah State!

And the gift....Grand Canyon trip with the Otte's in the fall.

The Otte's and the Thompsons + May trying to eat some Olive Garden

6 Month Update....Forget May flowers, we get them in March

2010-05-30T18:35:00.000-07:00

March was an awesome month. We went to Catalina State Park just as the desert wild flowers were blooming. We took the puppies and they had a blast. With the snow that was melting from a top the mountains we found some water in these natural pools that the boys had a blast in.

Mexican Poppies covering some of the hillside.

Wilson and Charlie actually following a stay command as we got a photo.
(Dont mind Char's awkward wide stance...you take what you can get)

They were such good dogs on this day. Poor Charlie got caught by a Cholla cactus right in his face. No worries though, we got it out with the help of a fellow hikers pliers.

6 Month Update....February Fun

2010-05-30T17:57:00.000-07:00

In February Preston and I went to the Accenture Match Play Tournament. The tournament was played at the Ritz-Carlton only about 15 minutes from our house and two courses up from where Preston works. Preston was in golfing heaven. I was able to take photos on one of the practice days and I even got to shake Padraig Harrington's hand.

Anthony Kim...or AK (so silly)

Padraig Harrington

Angel Cabrera

6 Month Catch Up Continued….December 2009

2010-05-23T19:34:00.001-07:00

December was a great month. We went down to Mesa with Shane, Ky and Maylen to look at the beautiful Christmas lights.

We enjoyed some Café Rio, great ice cream and best of all some great company.

We were able to spend our Christmas in Burley with the Preston's family. We were so lucky to be able get away from work and really enjoyed the time away.

We got to spend time with our beautiful nieces who are getting just so big. I got to be Santa Clause and they were the reindeer driving my sleigh all over the house.

Preston was very honored to give Olivia and Alexis a special blessing, it was a great day.

6 Months of Catch Up…starting with October 2009

2010-05-23T18:46:00.001-07:00

Here is a quick little catch up of the last 6 months in the Otte household.

We'll start with October 2009.

Preston went to Florida to test for PGA Level One and we are proud to say he PASSED!

I passed my boards late September, on the first try, thank goodness and was so lucky to get a job at UMC. It was a rocky road after graduation as far as the job market goes but was so relieved to be hired on to 3NE, an adult medical surgical unit. I started working mid-October and it was definitely a steep learning curve! I had a great preceptor named Serah, who thankfully was very patient.

To round out October, Preston and I went to an awesome Halloween party at our good friends Shane and Kylee's.

In honor of our friends who love The Office, Dwight and Angela came to their party and to our awesome surprise, Shane and Ky dressed up as us.

It was awesome and my mouth dropped when they opened the door.

Graduation

2009-08-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

After 14 months of tests, assignments, clinicals, and my favorite nursing diagnoses, I couldn't have been more excited for graduation. It was great to have Preston and my parents there to celebrate the day.

Thanks to everyone for the support and encouragement through out the past year.

A Beautiful Wedding

2009-08-14T23:15:00.000-07:00

Two weeks after Bear Lake, I was able to fly back up to Utah to attend Miss Whitney's wedding. Whitney became Mrs. Hansen when she married the love of her life, Tyler. Whitney is one of my Plasma Center friends and I will always hold our Corner Dance Party events close to my heart. She looked absolutely stunning and I felt so honored to be a part of her wedding celebration.

Bear Lake Adventures

2009-08-14T22:37:00.001-07:00

Preston and I were very lucky to be able to make it to Bear Lake this year for the Otte Family Camping Adventures! It worked out perfect with my school schedule and Preston was able to sneak away from the golf course without any trouble. We had an absolute blast and were so happy to see the family and good old Utah. Here are some photos from our weekend.

Grandma Donna and I

Grandpa Vern and Preston and the newest Otte, Cambria with her Great Grandmother

Brother and sister, the Morgan Otte's

Cousins

Little Brother

Fun in the sand

Cambria with her mom and Grandpa

Father and son bonding

Sweet Dreams

3 Boys and a Girl

A Walton, Morgan, and an Otte

Bear Lake....Just a Preview

2009-07-19T23:45:00.000-07:00

Just posting a couple of photos from our Bear Lake Trip, more to come.

Logan Trip

2009-05-21T21:21:00.000-07:00

Preston and I were up in Logan over the weekend to do some renovations on our house and we were so lucky to have family come down to help. It was a lot of work and some longs days but we were so thankful for all the help we had. I think the best part of the trip for me was getting to see our nieces Olivia and Alexis. Liv is so big now and I can't believe she is already 5. And Alexis was just a teenie thing the last time I saw her and now she is walking around all over the place. They are just a blast and we love them to death.

An Arizona Weekend Continued...

2009-05-10T17:33:00.001-07:00

On Monday my mum and I went to the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum. It was a fabulous place and we were able to see so many things. The museum had a ton of animals native to the desert but then they also had animals like otters, racoons, even a beaver. I had never actually seen a beaver, they are huge. To top it off, it was a bit overcast and a perfect temperature to be out and about. Had the sun been shining and Arizona giving us their typical weather, we might have melted. It was a great finish for my mum's birthday and we both had a blast.

San Xavier Mission

2009-05-02T12:50:00.000-07:00

For my mum's birthday we decided to do all things Tucson. We started with a new hair cut, a trip to Eegee's for their famous frozen fruit drinks and a visit to the San Xavier Mission. Every day on our drive home we pass the Mission and always wonder what it is like. As you drive by you can see this beautiful white structure that has such a unique contrast against the desert back drop. The Mission has a great history dating back to 1783 and has a nice museum that shows the church from its beginning. My mum and I had a nice time and were quite impressed with the consistent renovations done through out the years so that others will always be able to enjoy it.

Lake Patagonia

2009-05-02T12:16:00.000-07:00

Over my spring break Preston and I decided to do something a little different on his day off. We headed about an hour south to Lake Patagonia. We didn't know very much about the lake but with optimism and the two boys, we took our chances. It turned out to be a great, especially for the dogs. We had our own little section where we could let them run free in and out of the water. Charlie and Wilson absolutely loved it. We were even able to get them to swim. Charlie was great at it and able to keep his head clear out of the water. Wilson on the other hand had to work a little harder but it didn't seem to phase him because he kept going back for more. The boys played so hard all day that when we got into the car to leave they were both asleep before we left the parking lot. It was a great day and nice to see some water.

Welcome Home Charlie

2009-03-18T10:38:00.000-07:00

We have a new addition to our family and his name is Charlie. Recently I was in touch with Wilson's breeder and she mentioned to us that one of Wilson's litter mates had been returned due to the owners health issues. I mentioned this to Preston and without hesitation he said we should adopt him. I was pretty surprised by this and encouraged Preston to think about it, which lasted less then a day and we were sold.

Over the weekend I went to California to pick Charlie up and he was just the perfect dog on the 8 hour drive home. Right away I noticed the differences between him and Wilson.

Wilson weighs about 40 lbs, Charlie 30 lbs.
Wilson loves to mouth you, Charlie hasnt done it once.
Wilson is all play play play, Charlie would rather sit with you.

We are really excited that Wilson has his brother back and can't wait to see how Charlie does with us.

New Years Resolutions....

2009-03-09T17:26:00.000-07:00

As many do come the new year, Preston and I set some new years resolutions. They were great resolutions that I felt were reasonable and actually attainable. Well 3 months into the new year lets just say we aren't doing so hot. To be quite honest we have failed at every single one we set out to do but with 9 months left in 2009, we can definitely salvage our resolutions. So here are mine, stated to the World Wide Web World and maybe just maybe by posting them it give me more accountability. Here is a review of why it hasnt happened so far.

1. Write in journal once a week. - In theory this should be easy, once a week isn't very hard but considering I havent actually written anything this year it is clear its more difficult then I thought
2. Blog once a week. - Again not that difficult but on the weeks when all we do is go to school and work there just seems like there isn't anything to post about.
3. Scrapbook 2 hours a week. - I wanted to make this one really measurable and being that I dont have that much time to do be doing my craft hobbies I thought 2 hours was a good time frame. I don't know why I haven't tackled this one, literally I haven't scrapbooked once this year. I have plenty of scrapbooks to make too, I haven't even finished my freshmen of college yet so really there shouldn't be any hold ups.
4. Workout 3 times a week.- Oh how I would love to give you a great excuse for this but the reality is outside of doing gymnastics I was never really one who enjoyed going to the gym. I find it kind of boring and I don't have a good reason other then being lazy.
5. Study 3 hours a day M-F. - Of all the resolutions I have done the best with this one, but some days it just doesn't happen. Two hours of commuting + six hours of lecture = No desire to crack open the books when I get home.

Well there you have it. My 2009 Resolutions with all the excuses in the world but I promise to do better. Preston and I have this new method about checking in with each other on how our goals are coming along. So we will see how it works out.

A Golf Day

2009-01-26T17:57:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend Preston was nice enough to invite me to go chip and putt with him at a golf course in Green Valley. Now I dont want you think that I am never invited, because I am. This time though, I said yes. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am not a huge fan of actually playing golf. I like the game in general and enjoy watching it on TV but when it comes to playing it, not so much. I have a good reason for not liking to play it. Plain and simple, I am awful. After 20 years of doing gymnastics, a sport that I not only loved but that I was good at, I find little incentive in doing something I am awful at. Plus gymnastics was easy, golf is not easy. But I married a man who now makes a living from golf. A man who after 8 hours of work at Heritage Highlands Golf Club and 4 hours of playing a round of golf will come home to turn on the Golf Channel and say he wishes he could have more golf. So over the weekend I went with him to "have more golf."

A Boy and His Dog...

2009-01-26T16:27:00.001-08:00

What happens when a boy, Preston, fills a old tree hole with water?

The following....

Dog, Wilson, puts face in hole. Dog gets mud everywhere.

Boy tries to clean Dog. Boy uses ball as distraction.

Unfortunately, Dog just wants to play.

Boy looks to Girl. Dog looks to Girl.

And with some team work Boy and Girl get Dog to look like this.

After all of the excitement, Dog goes to sleep.

And this is the story of a Boy and his Dog.

The Big 24

2009-01-11T17:23:00.000-08:00

It happened, another year older and I must say that I am fine with it. It was a great birthday, started out a bit slow but finished with a bang. My parents came into town late Friday and we had a little Christmas catch up. On Saturday Preston, my parents, and I went to see Valkyrie and went to dinner at the Olive Garden. We loved the movie, despite the ending, and I recommend it to all who are into history and WWII. Now to the bang part of my birthday.

A couple of weeks ago Preston and I were looking on the computer and came across a good friends blog. While looking through her posts we saw that she was selling her camera. Not just any camera but a digital SLR, a Nikon D70. In my self pity mode I said, "Why can't she sell it next year when I'm working." Well long story short Preston did a little secret shopping and bought the camera. He surprised me with it for my birthday and I was/am super super excited. Now before anyone thinks that I know how to use a nice camera and expect these amazing photos let me set things straight. I don't know how to use it (yet) and amazing photos I am sure will takes years to come by. So I welcome all tips and suggestions because I need all the help I can get.

Here is what the camera looks like and yes my first photo on the camera, Wilson. Like I said, I have a lot to learn.

2008 In Review

2008-12-29T11:18:00.000-08:00

I know I have been pretty awful at updating this blog, especially considering I have only made one post but 2009 is a new year so I will hope for the best. To summarize 2008 and catch up on the many things I didnt blog about I thought would post photos of quite an exciting year.

We went skiing for my birthday

We went to Australia in May, where we visited Sydney and Adelaide.

We visited with friends and family and took a walk down each others past.

Then I said Good Bye Cache Valley, Hello Tucson in the beginning of June.
It was challenging move and thanks to the Thompsons, who took me in for awhile, I made it through until Preston came in July.

In the beginning of June I also started school at the University of Arizona in the Accelerated BSN program.

We "settled" in a city called Sahuarita and after another couple of challenging months we were doing just fine.

In August we went to Nogales, which about 30 minutes south of us. It was a neat experience and made us grateful for the blessings we have in America.

In October I ran in the Get Moving Tucson race hosted by Carondelet, the hospital I will work for after I graduate next August. Jerene, a classmate from the program, ran the race as well.

Preston came and cheered me on which was great and I was happy to meet my goal of finishing.

In November Wilson, an English Springer Spaniel, joined our family.

He tons of fun, a lot of work, and we love him.

Then the months of October, November, and December came where we carved pumpkins, ate Turkey and celebrated Christmas.

So there you have it, 2008 all in one post. With New Years just around the corner I have made it a New Years resolution to post once a week. At the end of next year we will see how I did.

Good Bye Cache Valley

2008-06-04T11:30:00.000-07:00

While I never thought I would end up in Logan, Utah 6 years ago. I'll never forget telling people it was the ugliest place and now 6 years later I am quite sad to be leaving the small town that revolves around Main Street. Of course I am leaving at the one of the Valleys prettiest times, when all the trees and grass are greener then ever and everything is alive again. I should have left when it was 10 degrees and the weather was absolutely miserable. There is a long standing joke that I will never come back to live in Cache Valley unless I am retired but as I drove away yesterday I had this strange feeling that I will be back sooner then anticipated.