Monkey Butt

A Great Day

Ouch...

Following an exciting evening with a group of teachers at the holiday staff party, the ouch happens. As I am getting in the car with Kristie, Brandon, Missy, and Ryan, I look around wondering where Eric went. Finally, he comes around to my side of the car and gets in. As we sit in the backseat, he tells me that when he was trying to get in the car on the other side, the car door slammed on his finger. Ouch, right. I look at his finger and nail is instantly black and blue. We get home, Eric takes a couple of advil and we go to bed.

The next morning, Eric tells me that his finger is still throbbing. I look at it and we decide that it won't be long until the fingernail falls off. A couple of hours later, as I am putting together our wedding photo album, Eric says it's not feeling any better. As I look at it again, this time fingernail and on the pad of the finger, I see that his finger is twice the size ti should be. Immediately I tell him either he needs to ice it or we need to go to the hospital. We decide it would be best just to go to the hospital to make sure it's okay.

We get to the emergency room (not sure if this is where we should go), we check in and get the nurse to check out his finger. She takes his vitals, asks him questions, and so forth. After about fifteen minutes, she takes us to a room and says the doctor will be in. About twenty minutes later, the doctor comes and checks it out. He says that they may need to drill a hole in his nail to relieve the pressure and take an x-ray. After another twenty minutes, the nurse comes in and takes him for an x-ray. Oh, another twenty minutes, Eric comes back and says, "you know I don't feel like anyone has even looked at my finger." We agree we shouldn't have come to the ER. Another twenty minutes later (I think they work in 20 minute increments), the doctor comes back and tells us there is a fracture. They get more information from us and tell us they will put his finger in a splint and send us on our way. And finally twenty minutes later, they come back splint his finger.

Two hours later, we leave the ER and head home.

Moral of the story...don't get your finger shut in a car door (even if it's not your fault).

Watch Friday Night Lights Tonight!

Holiday...

Our holiday season started with a snow day from school on the day of our departure. We got 13 inches of snow from 12pm the night before to 3pm that afternoon. No matter what, we were going to get out. A wonderful, friend/mentor/co-worker offered to give us a ride to the airport, even in the snowy weather. We made it safe and sound, and in pretty darn good time. Actually, we made such good time that we got on an earlier flight, which was interesting since everyone else in the Milwaukee airport was getting their flights canceled or extremely delayed. We made it to Boise (about an hour late) with only one real problem, no luggage. We knew this could be a possibility since we caught a different flight. But the lady working behind the counter had never heard of Midwest Airlines and thought Milwaukee was in Canada. In other words, we were never going to get our bags. So we got in late Friday night (or Saturday morning, however you look at it) and didn't get our bags until Sunday afternoon. By the way, the only reason we got our bags is because Eric and Dad thought they would drive to the airport to see if our luggage was actually there. Sure enough, it was. Thanks Northwest for the phone call.

Our time in Boise was wonderful. Mom, Dad, Eric, and I took a drive to Boise's Botanical Gardens to see the lights. Simply beautiful. It was a first for us all and definitely won't be a last. The lights and the view of downtown Boise was incredible (I can't wait when we get to see that view a lot more). Eric and I caught up with friends that we haven't seen since the wedding. My best friend, BethAnn got engaged in September and now I could finally give her that congratulations hug and take a peek at the ring in person. We had a great night out with Beth and Ryan. We look forward to more nights with them. We also got to visit my dear friend, Julie and her husband, Drew. We had a great night catching up and playing Mario Cart Wii. My parents had a tailgate party for Boise State playing in the Poinsettia Bowl. It was great seeing family friends (who we just consider family rather than friends) and cheer on the broncos, even though they could not deliver a victory. In another room we also saw Gonzaga lose to Portland state. Not a good night for our teams! We went to a Christmas Eve party, that has become a Christmas Eve tradition, and enjoyed great company. Christmas morning was delightful. We opened our stocking, prayed that we had the powerball, and had a delicious brunch. Later that afternoon, we headed back to airport to make our way to Spokane to visit Eric's family.

After a successful flight to Spokane and no lost luggage, we had arrived to the city of 50 inches of snow in less than a month. I thought I knew what a lot snow looked like (living in Spokane, WISCONSIN, and having a cabin in McCall), but nothing had prepared me for how much snow they really had. And they just kept getting more. There was so much snow, they were running out of places to put it. Back to Christmas. We spent the evening with Joe, Amy, and Ryan eating a delicious Christmas dinner (enough to feed a small army) and yummy dessert. We opened stocking and gifts and had a wonderful, relaxing Christmas night. We spent our snowy days playing games (and if you know me, you know how much I love playing games), looking out the window in awe at the snow continuing to fall, did a little shoveling so we didn't get boxed into the house, and spent family time together. We got to go visit Ryan's new house that she recently bought, which was exciting to see and dream of one day being able to do the same thing. We stayed at great friends, Pat and McGraw's house while in town. We have missed our two friends that we have grown to appreciate more and more, as we attempt to make friends in Milwaukee. But why find something new, when you already have something great. But we know we need to and slowly it's happening. Pat, Graw, Eric, and I went on a double date that we had been looking forward to for months. Yes, because it was with great friends, but really it was because we were finally getting that burger and fries from Sawtooth Grill that we had been dying for for months now. Throughout our trip we taught Pat and Graw and Joe and Amy, how to play pinochle. It was so much fun. My parents taught us a couple of years ago and now we can't seem to get enough of it. Our next goal is to find someone in Milwaukee that knows how to play because you have to have four people. Eric's great friend, Nate got engaged while we were in town...Congrats Nate and Cassie! On New Years, Pat picked up stromboli and we watched Gonzaga get their butts spanked again. It's really starting to get depressing. We showered and went downtown to meet a few friends and get a few drinks. Unfortunately, the bar we were at decided that last call was at 11:30 (I know what you're thinking, it's New Years...our thoughts too), so the four of us hurried back to Pat and Graw's, popped open a bottle of Champagne and toasted to the New Year, all in time to see the ball drop! It was great way to cheers to 2009.

We flew back to Boise for a few more nights. Eric and I had a wonderful Christmas dinner with my Mom and Dad, Aunt Linda and Uncle Sam, and cousin Nikki and her husband, Rich. I love it when the family gets together to cook. The trip back to Milwaukee was a long one. We left Boise at 5:30 am and got into Milwaukee (after a 9 hour delay/cancel of flight in Minnneapolis) at 7:30 pm. Overall, we had an amazing Christmas vacation and wish we were still with family and friends.

Our first attempt at blogging...

Welcome to our blog. The Everson's Events! Fitting right?
Here's a recap of the last 5 months, in case you missed out...

On August 2, 2008 we became the Eversons. The week before we spent our days preparing for the BIG DAY. It was the best week spent with those who love us most and would not have changed a thing--from baking to bridal showers to bachelorette and bachelor parties to a sunny rehearsal dinner. We spent a wonderful night with our friends and family in Eagle, ID on our special day. The night was filled with lots of love, laughter, food, and the best part DANCING. The next day we had a delicious brunch with our wedding party and family. Yum, it was delicious.

After the festivities were over, we were sad to see our friends and family leave, so it was great that we had an amazing honeymoon lined up for us! We spent 8 wonderful days on the little island of Fiji. We couldn't have asked for a better place to spend our honeymoon. We spent time by and in the pool (which was on the ocean), kayaking in the ocean, happy hour at the little bar on the ocean, taking a day cruise to a secluded island followed by great snorkeling, relaxing, and best of all spending time together as husband and wife.

When we returned back to the states, with the help of dad (swanson) we packed Sally (my jeep) until every possible air space was filled with gifts, clothes, and us. Dad was a miracle worker, you should have seen it. We traveled across Montana to see the breathtaking views of buffalo and wildlife at Yellowstone. Then stopped in Fargo to spend time with my wonderful Grandma Jane, Aunt Nancy (the best cake baker and maker in the world), and Uncle Brent. Before our final stop, we drove into Minneapolis to see the Nerland clan. How nice it was to see more family! Then we landed in Milwaukee, almost like we never left.

Eric has spent countless hours down at Marquette working towards his PhD in counseling. He is working at two assistantship sites and going to class at the same time. I don't know how he does it.

Mean while, I have spent the last couple of months learning what it means to be a 4th grade teacher. I have 18 wonderful (not all the time) 9 and 10 year olds. As much as I'd like to say I teach them everyday, they teach me just as much. It is great going to work each morning and actually looking forward to it.