Because it's warmer down there!

Me and Trent before the ride.

This is Toby on the our cousin Jared's chromed out four-wheeler.

He looks good on it, huh?
First, I have to apologize for no current updates. Trent takes the computer to school and he uses it all night for homework. Right now, I snuck home from work to get on while he is still at work. He works hard for us! I am so grateful.
Anyway, Trent had fall break last week, and Toby was on UEA. So...the Thackers headed down south. We went to St. George on Thursday, and that night the girls(Me, Joni, Grandma Thacker, and Joni) went to Tuachan to see Les Miserables, while the boys watched the sad BYU game. The play was good, but it was a little long, I love Tuachan though. It is such a fun place.
Friday we went riding 4-wheelers at the nearby Sandhollow Resort. It was so much fun! Our whole family was out on the Sand Dunes. That night we went to my favorite place, The Pasta Factory for dinner, yum it was good!
We went shopping at the outlets on Saturday. We had originally planned on going to hike in Zion, but we figured it would be super busy because of UEA. Not to mention we stayed up til 3 am on Friday night/Saturday morning hanging out with Toby and Aunt Julie. It was so much fun!!

Lesson Learned...

Since we moved into our townhouse I have been trying to decorate. The other day I decided to TRY making my own artwork for our bathroom. I bought these wood framed mirrors from Ikea for 2.50 each, then I found scrapbook paper that matched our colors and tried to mod podge it. I decided that from now on I'll just pay a little extra dough and get pre-made merchandise, cuz lets face it...I am not an artsy fartsy person. I envy those who are, and invite you to feel free to stop by my house and do your thing!

this is what they looked like before i touched them



Advice anyone??

That's one good cookie!!!

Well, first things first, this isn't Casandra, It's her wonderful husband trent. I have seen some of the other husbands getting on the blogs and posting so I thought I would try it. I was just waiting for something worth posting about. As you can tell by the title, it's about cookies. Last night while I was doing homework, (which has been a common thing as of late) my wonderful wife decided to make cookies. Now for anyone that knows me they know that I am a sucker for cookies, especially chocolate chip. I love them so much my wife could probably get away with spending our life savings on shoes if she did it while feeding me cookies (which she would probably love to do). Now, the cookies my wife made are the absolute best cookies I have ever had. I am not joking!!! I don't know what she did to them, but they are amazing. I am seriously considering freezing some to save for a later date (you know, some horrible homework day down the road when I need a little boost me up). And I was thinking today that she deserved a little extra thanks for that. So I decide to do it on the blog. I also wanted to let her know that I just don't love her for her cookies, I love everything about her. So, thanks hun for being so wonderful and putting up with me every day (which I know isn't easy). You're the greatest thing that has every happened to me and I just wanted you to know that!
LOVE YOU BABE!

It's my party

Well, Thursday was my birthday. It was a pretty normal day. I started the morning off great with roses and a note from Trent. Then, I was off to work. My boss took the staff out to lunch for my birthday, so that was really nice. Then, I came home to my husband doing homework, poor guy, he did about 30 hours worth of homework this week.On saturday, we were finally able to celebrate. We went out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, then hit the mall for a shopping spree. Trent had no idea what to get me this year, so he set me free in the mall. I got some pretty good stuff, now I just have to wait for the weather to cool down so that I can actually wear some of it.

All in a days work!

So last weekend we did some major overhaul on our kitchen. We painted, put hardware on the cabinets, hung decorations, bought a new kitchen table, curtains, and all those details. We worked pretty hard, and were able to get it all done in one day...Saturday. I had a vision, so I shopped for the rugs, curtains, decor, and paint. I had that all purchased by noon. So, by 1:00 I started with the paint, and Trent began putting together our new kitchen table. I think it turned out pretty good. We still have some things we'd like to do eventually...like wood flooring and a backsplash, but here are the before and after pics.

It's gone.

Well, many of you know that since I got married I have been addicted to cutting my hair. Well, 8 weeks ago when I went to my hair appointment the guy that does my hair tried to get me to do this super short haircut and I chickened out. But, I did it this time.

I love how easy it is to do my hair, but I can't decide if this is the look for me or not...

We moved!

Okay, we moved two weeks ago. We are so excited to be in our new home together. It is sooo spacious!!! We've kept really busy around the house lately with household projects. I will post more pictures when the house is actually decorated and cute. The move went really well. I was unpacked much sooner than I thought I would be thanks to my two moms and my friend sarah. They helped me unpack my kitchen the night we moved in, and it was such an enormous help.

Anyway, among the many projects we've done around here...we... unpacked, built a bookshelf, painted the master bedroom, the living room, downstairs bathroom, and the kitchen.

Here is a before, during, and after of the bedroom. I painted this the night before we moved in because Trent refused to sleep in it lime green. (p.s. don't mind that in the 'after' picture the bedspread looks like is coming half off the bed, Trent made the bed this morning and I think he was still asleep while he did it.)

Tagged ABC's

I was tagged by my friend Meghan. So, since I am currently way to lazy to write about any of the other busy stuff we've been up to(aka painting our house, moving, etc.) I thought I'd just do this tag...but pictures of the new casa will come soon!

A- Attached or single: Attached
B- Best Friend: Trent and Meghan
C-Cake or Pie: neither, I like cookies the best.
D-Day: Either Friday or Sunday. Both have that sort of "Ahh" feeling.
E- Essential Item: Chapstick, I would die without it.
F- Favorite Color: Purple
G-Gummi Bears or Worms: Bears I guess, neither are my favorite though.
H-Home town: Born and raised in good ole' Kearns, Utah
I- Indulgences: pedicures, massages, expensive makeup.
J- January or July?: I don't know, July is hot and most of my January's are spent in the mountains on snowmobiles.
K-Kids: Not any time soon, we're on the five year plan!
L-Life is incomplete without: family and friends.
M- Marriage Date: June 21st, 2007
N- Number of Siblings: One brother, 2 brother-in-laws, 1 sister-in-law
O- Oranges or Apples: oranges.
P- Phobias or Fears: i hate feet, i am a clean freak, i fear losing someone i love.
Q- Quote:
R- Reason To Smile: like Meghan said, how do I pick just one!?
S- Season: Autumn.
T- Tag Three: See below
U- Unknown fact about me: my plan in high school was to work as a dental assistant while i went through law school, yep folks, I wanted to be a lawyer. But now I am a dental hygienist and I love my job.
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: Milk, eggs, butter, yogurt, ice cream, chicken, steak...mmm.
W- Worst Habit: Trent says shopping is my worst habit, but really is it all that bad?!
X-Rays or Ultrasounds: never had an ultrasound, but I take xrays on people all day long.
Y-Your favorite food: Cafe Rio
Z: Zodiac Sign: Virgo

I tag anyone who hasn't done this one yet.

It's Been Awhile!

Okay, so I know it has been awhile, and we really didn't disappear. Here are some pics of our recent doings.

First, Trent found his most recent love(and money pit) an RC car. He spends most evenings driving it, charging, breaking it, and fixing it. I am sure that his mom is excited for us to be gone, because the random car parts will no longer be all over in her house.
We have also been camping a few times in our new trailer. I took a picture of her on our most recent camping trip to Aspen Grove campground at Strawberry Reservoir. We went with my side of the family for Pioneer Day. It was really fun and it is always so beautiful up there.

So, we spent the weekend in my parents boat. I pulled Trent on the tube, and then he got his turn at me. Luckily he was nice, so he got to come back home with me!

Now, we are in for a very busy week. We spend Tuesday night signing all of the final papers for our house, and we get the keys on Wednesday! Wahoo! Then, we spend Wednesday night and Thursday painting the master bedroom and moving in. We opted to paint the bedroom before we moved in because Trent literally refuses to stay in it without a paint job. It is currently bright lime green. Don't get me wrong, in the right room and the right house, this lime green color might be lovely, but it is not for us! Anyway, we will spend our first night in our new home on Thursday. I just hope I can get pretty settled quickly because I have to read Breaking Dawn this weekend, and we all know that whatever there is to be done will be put off until reading the book is finished! I am so excited for that to come out!! (For those of you who don't know, Breaking Dawn is the final book in the Twilight series, I love those books).

Tough Work!

Okay, so I know that we have seriously sucked at blogging lately! Sorry everyone. We went to Flaming Gorge for the 4th of July. We went camping with my family. It was really fun, we took our new trailer out for the first time. Yep, that's right, I no longer have to sleep in a tent when we camp! We bought a trailer. It was great, and I slept so good in it! We didn't take any pics while we were there, but we did have fun tubing and water skiing, among other things.

This week I also got the status of my job all cleared up! Hooray! I was so happy with the way everything turned out too! I was able to talk to Dr. Y, whom I have previously referred to, and work out the schedule with him. So, I work for him on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and then I got this other 2 day a week job really close to my house. The Dr. there is great, and I actually knew him and his staff when I worked at my old job as a dental assistant. (His office was right next to ours.) So anyway, I love the girls, they are all cute and young, and the doctor is wonderful. The office is really nice, so that helps too. I work for him on Mondays and Wednesdays. I am so excited! I am officially going to be working 4 days per week now, like I wanted! The only bummer is that since they are both part-time jobs I don't get the perks, like holiday pay, vacation, etc. But, someday that will come, I am sure!

Trent and I also took on quite the project this week. As you all know we close on our new home is just a few weeks, so we have been preparing in any way we can. We've bought the necessary furniture, etc. So, we bought this great TV armoire on KSL, it is huge, and I wanted to paint it and antique it to put in my future living room. I didn't realized how huge it was when I thought up that great plan. So, anyway it took some work but it turned out great. Just what I was going for. I tried something different this time too, because I thought it would be easier. I used spray paint. It actually is supposed to enhance the antiqued look because it kind of makes stuff look like it has been ragged. Anyway, I was proud of myself...

Here are some pics of it(i forgot to take a before shot, so all you get is the after)

Hopefully the pictures make it look as good as I say it looks...let me know what you think!

We moved!

Well, we spent the entire weekend moving out of our little apartment. It was tough work, and we had a lot more stuff than we thought! Needless to say we ran out of boxes along the way and ended up putting everything we had left in big black garbage bags. We are lucky enough to have Joni and Larry, Trent's parents, who've agreed to let us store our loot until we move into our townhome at the end of the month. Our closing date is set at July 30th. Here are a few pics of our new room(the temporary one).

Needless to say, we've downsized temporarily! Can you tell the room used to be Trent's! (There is BYU and sports stuff everywhere.) The bed is quite a bit smaller than ours too, but we didn't want to set ours up for just a few weeks, then have to take it down again. So, Trent says this will be a good way for us to learn to appreciate what we have! (aka we have a queen bed, and I still wish we had a california king, and our current sleeping arrangements are on a double bed!)

'Fros, Flus, and our Anniversary.

So Trent finally got a hair cut. I actually love his curls, but it was getting a little out of control. His hair was really long...here is what it looked like. It was kind of a afro, especially by the end of the day!
Look at those cute dimples! I love you Trent.

Well, today is our 1 year anniversary. We celebrated last night, with Trent surprising me to dinner at the Roof restaurant. We ate and he had a rose delivered to our table, we sat next to the window the overlooks all of temple square. It was really pretty. Neither of us had ever been there so we had a good time, the food was wonderful. They serve the best fresh lion house rolls! The dessert is awesome, everything looks so good you can't choose. Afterward we just walked around temple square and took some pictures. It is so pretty down there in the summer! I love it.

Luckily we celebrated last night too because as soon as we got home Trent started feeling sick and was up all night long with nausea and vomiting! He is still very sick so all of the fun plans we'd scheduled for today are on hold. He has been in bed all day. And I have been sitting around. Oh well, I guess we always have next year! Happy Anniversary to us!

What would you do!?

Okay people out there, I have a serious problem that I don't know how to fix. Some of you know that I started working as a hygienist. Before graduation I was hired by Dr. Y for two days a week in an amazingly up-to-date office located in Sandy. (Plasma tv's on the ceiling, massaging chairs, digital xrays, computers in every operatory, paperless charting, etc.) I was told that I would get an hour per patient at this office, however, it is only a half an hour now, the Dr. changed his mind. I did it for one day and cried at the end because 30 minutes double booked is seriously insane, not to mention bad for the patient. So, I went out temping this week to make sure I am not the only crazy one that thinks 30 minutes is not enough. I was offered jobs at both the offices I temp'd in! Now what do I do!!? I have discussed my concern with Dr. Y about the time issue, and have had no success. I am his first hygienist, so he has some kinks to work through because it is new for him. Any suggestions?

Now, lets talk about the other 2 offices.

Office #1....In jordan landing, (seriously takes 5 minutes to get there from my house, so nice!) 3 days a week, good staff and doctor, up-to-date(but not paperless and no digital xray), same pay wage, work starts at 9-5(yay! i don't have to get up early). However, the doc is kind of not the best with his bedside manner, he is not rude by any means, but he doesn't explain things to pt. I get 50 minutes per patient there.

Office #2 Awesome dentist with great personality with patients and staff. 60 minutes per patient, 3 days per week(8-5 two days, 7-3 one day). Not-so-up-to-date. Nothing is digital, everything is super old school. The dentist recently bought the practice from an old DDS and we're talking old! Don't know if there are any intentions of upgrading the office. Super nice staff. Located near Fashion Place mall(so not too far). Same pay wage as other two, however the DDS is kind of employed by a corporation type thing, which involves me as the RDH "selling" dentistry in a way. Not so much like I have a script, but I would be responsible for getting the patient to accept the necessary treatment. Also because it is almost corporate I have the option of a salary wage or an hourly wage.

These are my options, I have no idea what to do. I stay with Dr. Y and work through the kinks, not knowing if I will ever be successful, but sacrifice because it is a nice office. I quit Dr. Y and go to work in Office #1 and get over the fact that the DDS is not my favorite personality. Or I quit at Dr. Y and work for Office #2 with all the old, old, old equipment. I cannot decide what I feel like is most important...new modern office, great dds, or close to home! Help! This has been my struggle for the week and I have no conclusion yet, input would be great!
Thanks all!

Ma First Paycheck!

Well, this week I got my official RDH license in the mail! So, I am legal and ready to go. Fortunately the day after I got my license a dentist that I used to work for needed a hygienist to come fill in. So I went to work and got paid at the end of the day! HOORAY! What a sweet prize, to finally see that all that school was worth it. I wish I could go shopping and celebrate my joy, but Trent says we should save for the house, which is true, I guess I would rather be able to buy furniture.
Trent started his summer classes this week, and he is definitely going to be busy. I am starting to feel bad for him, because it must be so hard to want to do homework when I don't have any. I was lucky, because whenever I had homework, so did he, so I didn't feel like I was missing anything.
We haven't been doing much lately. This weather is pretty crappy, so outdoor fun is out the door! We have been shopping around(more like window shopping) for furniture. We are having a hard time deciding which style of decorating we like the most! Aghh! It is so hard, because I think so much stuff is cute, I just can't decide!
Anyway, sorry the blog has gotten so boring, I guess we've just been boring lately! Hopefully if summer ever comes we'll have some spice in our lives!

Update!

Well, first and foremost...the greatest news of all; I PASSED BOARDS! I got my scores yesterday, and I was so excited that I passed I cried for about 5 minutes. I am so glad that all of my hard work paid off.
Next, we haven't been up to much lately. Trent is taking summer school and working. I started my job last week. I work 2 days a week, and am still looking for something to add 2 more days.
Our sister-in-law Cassie Jo leaves on her mission to Nashville, Tennessee this Wednesday, we are so excited for her.
We recently saw Iron Man, which was a really good show. I really liked it, but I've always liked the comic book movies. We also got together with a bunch of our friends and had a potluck/BBQ and played games. I am so grateful for my friends. Things have changed over the years, we now have babies and husbands, but it is always great to see each other.

Tagged

3 JOYS:

1. My husband, he makes me happy.
2. Being graduated. You can't beat that freedom! No more school!
3. My friends and family. They keep me where I need to be! I love spending time with them, they make me laugh.

3 FEARS:

1. Not passing board exams.
2. Losing Trent.
3. That I won't be a good mom, when that day comes. I have always been afraid of this. I think being a mom is a tough job.

3 GOALS:

1. To get into a home/townhouse very soon.
2. To lose weight/get in better shape. (This has always been one of my goals, because it never seems to happen!)
3. Be a better wife and friend Be happy, be supportive, make dinner for the guy who works hard all day, keep the house clean, call the friends I haven't talked to for awhile. There are so many things I could do better.

3 OBSESSIONS:

1. Blogging! I am seriously so addicted. This week I had to make a goal one day that I would not check the blogs. Isn't that sad?!
2. Carbs. I love bread, cereal, cookies, pasta, rice, and all that stuff that is bad for ya.
3. Washing my hands. I have a little bit of OCD when it comes to this. I touch a doorknob, I wash my hands. I touch my steering wheel, I wash my hands. I think I am a germ-o-phobe.

3 RANDOM SURPRISE FACTS:

1. I worry about everything. I worry that my family will get in car accidents, that someone will rob my house, that someone I love will die, that I am not good enough at everything I do. I don't know why, and I can't help it. Trent is always so carefree, he worries rarely and when he does it lasts a minute. I get stomach aches and headaches because I worry so much!
2. I miss my friends. I miss the good ole' days when we didn't have lives except to hang out with each other. I miss the advice, the love, the comfort, and the laughter of my friends. I wish we could all see each other more than we do.
3. I like snowmobiling. I pretend that I don't like it that much, but I really do. I like to go fast! I can't wait to get a machine of my own.

I tag anyone willing to fill this out....it is actually really fun. You should all try it!

Lava Hot Springs!

Since I took the board exams on Thursday, I needed a little getaway, so off we went to Lava Hot Springs. It was a nice little drive, and a beautiful day. We went up Friday afternoon and came home late afternoon on Saturday. When we arrived at the hotel we had arranged it was under remodel, so they sent us to one across the street. It was the scariest hotel I have ever seen. We didn't want to stay there, so we got our money back and found the amazing Lions Gate Manor. We would have loved to stay longer, but we had to get home for the Mother's Day plans. Anyway, if you haven't been to Lava you should go. It is just a dinky little town, but the hot springs are oh so relaxing. I loved it! We just sat in them for hours. Then, we went and got massages, I think I got Trent addicted. He was really worried about getting one because he is so ticklish, but it didn't bother him one bit. WooHoo! Now I know I can talk him into it! We stayed in a really nice brand new bed and breakfast hotel. It was beautiful. They have different themed rooms. We stayed in the "Persian Dream", which featured immaculate furniture. We also ran into Trent's cuz Cassi and David Pratt while we were there. They came in from South Carolina, and ended up at the same hotel as us! It was crazy, and good to chat with them for awhile. The bed, hand-carved.

This was such an awesome chandelier. This picture doesn't do it any justice.This was a very large chaise lounger, I loved it!

Clinical Boards!

First, I will start with the good news. I found out yesterday that I passed the 8 hour written exam. That is a relief, I am glad I will never have to take that one again!
Well, today I took the last and final board exam in the series I have had this semester. I ended up changing my patient like 5 days ago, which stressed me out because I didn't get any of the professors opinions on whether or not she was good. She lives here in Salt Lake, so I had 2 of my friends pick her up and bring her to Weber. She ended up working out, she qualified, and I have no idea if I passed or not. I have to wait 2-4 weeks! Ughh!! I don't know what takes them so long, they took an hour to grade her after I cleaned her teeth, so they already know what I got!
She was a great patient, very cooperative and not too sensitive. The test ended up being a little bit more stressful than I thought it would be. It is timed, so that stressed me out, but I gave it my best and all I can do is hope that will be good enough.

Stomach Flu!

So, with graduation you would think that I would have celebrated my little heart out this weekend, but no, I didn't. I woke up Saturday morning feeling a bit under the weather, and by Sunday, I had the full blown flu. I had a fever, chills, sore everything, and of course nausea and vomiting(as if life weren't already bad enough). So, my cute hubby took care of me all day and night, in spite of it all. I was pretty much up all night Sunday/Monday morning because my body ached so bad I couldn't stay still. Poor Trent didn't know what to do, and I felt bad for keeping him up! He was a trooper though, and got up and went to work and did not complain at all. He came home and checked on me during his lunch break and everything. I am feeling better today, but still not 100%, so I have been quarantined to the house. I hope I didn't give anyone else the flu, cuz it was not fun! And, thanks to my wonderful husband, I love you babe!

Pics from Graduation!

Well, today was graduation! It is great to be done with school forever! WooHoo!