The Sheens

January Wrap-up

2012-02-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

Hi 2 friends that read my blog and don't just look at the pictures! (We all know it's true) I'm an awful blogger, but whenever I look back on past posts, I still enjoy it. So here goes 'Start blogging more often' attempt #47. I'm noticing a trend on some other blogs I follow where they're doing quick monthly or weekly summaries. I think I'll give it a try, with a few pictures in the mix.

January seriously flew by. We're in 2012, what the wha?

#1: Started it off with a new years party at our place. Was it really a party? We talked, played half a game of cards, ate pizza, LARPed, lit sparklers, and the boys of course played some StarCraft. Pretty insane partying goes on at the Sheen's, trust me, I know.

#2: Absolutely loving my new job at Banner Ironwood in the Emergency Department. It literally takes me 4 minutes to get to work, it's less stressful than my last job, and the people I work with are pretty awesome! And the shift... It's from 3pm-11pm, 4 nights a week. I get Deacon in the morning, Mark gets him at night. Perfect for us!

#3: Celebrated our Anniversary! We've been married for 3 years! My mom babysat the Deac while we saw Sherlock Holmes 2 at the IPic Theatres, ate dinner at Grimaldi's pizza, and spent the night at a hotel in Scottsdale. It was a nice, relaxing evening. I'm not gonna get all mushy about our love or anything, I'll just say Mark is a pretty righteous husband! (Yep, Bringing that 80's term back)

#4: My brother Royce and his wife Sophia blessed their baby Alan Royce Wilkins IV. Baby Alan and Deacon are best friends/cousins, and only 5 weeks apart! Baby Alan was so cute on his blessing day.

#5: Went to see Joel cross the finish line at the PF Chang's Marathon. It was a lot of fun. Spent the day with friends at the event, then had lunch at PF Chang's to celebrate Joel's accomplishment. I'm pretty sure... no, almost positive I would die if I ran a marathon.

#6: Celebrated Jenny's birthday and Joel's birthday a few weeks later!

#7: My cousin Joni and her husband Travis were sealed in the Mesa Temple! My mom and I, and a lot of their family were able to go through the temple with them, then we had lunch at Olive Garden to celebrate.

#8: In Deacon news - the little guy rolls over now from tummy to back all the time and from back to tummy a couple of times. He notices Bokey now and loves it when Bokey gets near him so he can feel his fur and laugh at him. He knows how to hold objects much better, and passes them between both hands. He started eating rice cereal, took him some time to get used to it but now he loves it! Deac has been super happy lately, laughs and squeals all the time! I have a million pictures and videos, can't get enough of it!

#9: Mark is back in school, getting his Masters in IT through Harvard University Online. He's super busy with school and work, but he's doing awesome so far!

#10: Had a girls night with some friends at our house. Too bad not everyone could make it, but so great to see such awesome friends! Also, Deac got to spend some time with his best friend, Luke!

And that was January!

1 month old

2011-10-14T17:07:00.000-07:00

Seriously, it's been over a month since my little dude was born! He's no longer a newborn. Deacon is changing and growing every day! He's 85th percentile for head circumference, 81st for height, and 30th for weight. Yep, he's our tall, big headed, skinny boy. I saw his first real smile on Sept 28th. He smiles occasionally and it melts my heart every time. He's been lifting his head for a few weeks, and he can hold it upright for a few seconds now and move it side to side. He makes eye contact with faces and objects. He gets pretty gassy sometimes and throws some crazy fits, poor guy. He has peed on his changing table and all over me, many, many times. His sleep at night is pretty random still, but we've had some good nights with 5-7 hours of uninterrupted sleep. His left foot twitches as he falls asleep. He loves to sleep on his daddy's chest. We're pretty sure he has a dairy sensitivity. I've been trying my best to avoid it, it's nearly impossible! Almost every food label has some sort of dairy byproduct in it. And have I mentioned how much I love dairy?! It's worth a happy baby though. A few times while I've been changing his diaper, I've watched him frantically grab at the air and he gets a hold of his own hair and screams soooo loud like someone's hurting him. I have to pry his little fingers away. It's a little sad, but mostly funny. He loves music, especially when his daddy sings to him. One of his favorite songs is The Imperial March (the dirty diaper song). He has the best sneeze ever. He does a sneeze, then the cutest sigh afterwards. We've been trying to catch it on video, which is not an easy task. I caught the end of one here...

Sorry to go on and on about him, but I want to be able to remember all these little things. Pretty much, he's the cutest kid and we couldn't love him more. He's super sweet, and he really brings so much love and joy into our home and our family.

Here are a few outtakes from his 1 month photos.

My Labor Story...

2011-10-05T16:55:00.037-07:00

So it's about time I share my not so normal labor story. :) I think it's pretty unique and funny. Here it goes...

Sept. 5th at 2:00am, I woke up to a pretty gnarly, painful contraction. In my mind I'm thinking, "This could be the real thing!" Not so much... For the next 20 hours I had contractions varying from every 5-10 minutes apart. When people say back labor is the worst, believe them... back labor is the WORST! So every 5-10 minutes my uterus would contract in the front with some cramping down low, and then it felt like hundreds of burning knives were stabbing my lower back. I kept waiting for them to get closer together, you know, the 5-1-1 rule? I tried sleeping while I was waiting. That didn't happen. Mark helped by rubbing my lower back, but it was still pretty awful. A few warm baths, a lot of exercise ball bouncing, and a lot of moaning took place in the next 20 hours. Finally, Sept. 6th at around 8:30pm I had a few contractions that were pretty bad and were ranging from between 3 and 5 minutes apart. That lasted about 30 minutes so I was ready to go to the hospital.

Leaving for the hospital.

Assuming 20 hours of contractions had to have progressed me further than the 3 cm I was the week before, we checked in to OB Triage. They hooked me up to the monitor, and of course my contractions went back to about 6-7 minutes apart. :( They checked me and get this... I was still at 3 cm! I couldn't believe it. I was 90% effaced and at station 0. It could still be a while till I would be dilated more so they decided to send me home. But to help me get some sleep, they gave me 2 Ambien and told me to go directly to sleep when I get home because Ambien can give you some crazy hallucinations if you stay awake. We're driving the short 2 minute drive home, and as we turn onto our street, no joke, my water broke! Mark luckily covered the passenger seat with a garbage bag and towel earlier that day. He asked if I didn't just pee my pants, but when I got out and showed him he knew it was the real thing. I changed my clothes and went back to the hospital at around 10:00pm. As I was getting out of the car, I could hardly see anything or walk, I literally felt and looked like I was drunk. Almost everything from this point on is a blur. As we were checking in at the ER, the real contractions started. Man, were they terrible. I pretty much lost it. They got me a wheelchair and I was wailing around like a crazy person. Mark said it was quite a sight for everyone in the waiting room. I could hardly see, and my brain was hallucinating and going in a bunch of crazy directions. The next few hours I was tripping out and acting crazy. Mark has to tell this part of the story cause I literally don't remember most of it. (Ambien is crazy stuff). They hooked me up to the monitor, and checked me again. I was having crazy strong contractions and went from 3cm dilated to 6cm in about 15 minutes. One of those contractions lasted 3 and a half minutes, and the babies heart rate and oxygen dropped. All the nurses became frantic, threw some oxygen on me, gave me a shot of Terbutaline to calm down the contractions, and were yelling out to prep the OR. Mark tells me now how scary those few minutes were. Baby's heart rate got better and the room calmed down a bit. They quickly gave me the epidural and told me to sleep for a while.

Thumbs up for Epidurals.

One hour later I was dilated to 9cm, 10 minutes later I was at 10cm. They woke me up and started explaining the pushing process. Ambien + Epidural = floating on a cloud... I felt pretty awesome, except I was being goofy and making dumb jokes and I couldn't really stay awake. I was falling asleep as Dr. Kingra was talking to me. I was even falling asleep between pushes! I pushed for about 45 minutes.

About to start pushing.

Pretty sure I had just said something weird or a lame joke.

Towards the end the adrenaline luckily woke me up more, so that I could remember this part. They told me he was close and to give a really good push. The baby's head, shoulders and body all came out at once and they placed him on my chest. I was overcome with so many emotions as I looked down, saw my baby boy, and stroked his little cheek for the first time.

They took him to the incubator, cleaned him up then handed him to his daddy. Seeing the look on Mark's face as he held him for the first time was incredible. While the doctor finished with the placenta and stitching, I got to hold my wide-eyed little boy again. Then he was passed around the room to Mark's mom and dad, my mom, and my 2 sisters.

I needed to hold him again, so they brought him to me. I laid there with my baby, surrounded by people that I love and was reminded by my mom that my dad was there with us. At that moment I felt it, I knew my dad was able to enjoy that moment with us and my baby gets to have his Grandpa protect him and watch over him from Heaven. Still when I think about that moment, I can picture what my dad would look like holding my brand new baby, the excitement and love on his face. Overall, it was a crazy experience, and one that I will cherish and remember forever. Deacon completes our family, the love and joy he has brought to mine and Mark's lives is incredible.

Deacon Alexander Sheen - born at 2:37am on his due date September 7, 2011

Weighed 7 lb 5 oz, 20 inches long, light brown hair, skinny little legs, and big blue eyes.

Letters to Little Sheen 4

2011-07-19T19:34:00.001-07:00

May 24, 2011
25 weeks. Just got back from a week long trip to New York and Boston! It was your first vacation, and I'm pretty sure you had a good time. Especially considering all the yummy food we ate on this trip! Mommy and daddy had a great time too, and you were a trooper, didn't cause any problems. I had some Braxton Hicks contractions from all the walking, but overall it was pretty good! We realized on this trip how often it is that strangers will comment on me being pregnant and will do extra nice things for me. For example, bathrooms are hard to find in New York City. There were a few times when I was waiting in line at a restaurant for the bathroom, and an employee came up to me and brought me to the empoyee bathroom so I didn't have to wait. Such nice people. (Little pregnancy bonus) :) More than half way done with the pregnancy!

June 15, 2011
28 weeks. You just keep getting bigger every day! I'm not too uncomfortable yet, itching/stretching skin, and annoying Braxton Hicks contractions, not too bad, but my belly is definitely growing. Also, my fingers don't really seem swollen, but my wedding ring is definitely getting too tight for comfort. So I bought a temporary fake ring so I don't have to worry about it getting stuck. I went to lunch with some friends last week and 3 out of 6 of us were pregnant. Seems like a lot of people are right now. One of my best friends Sara is pregnant with a little boy too! I can't wait for you and him to be best buddies and grow up together! 28 weeks is a pretty big milestone. If you were born at this point, your lungs are developed enough you would be able to survive with minimal medical help. Exciting for your daddy and me!

June 20, 2011
29 weeks. I got to see your cute chubby face today!! I had my 3D ultrasound done at the doctor. It was INCREDIBLE. Such an amazing feeling came over me as I watched you kick, move and smile on the screen. I really feel like I'm closer to you now, I can remember your cute little face when I think about you or talk about you. Can't wait till I see you outside of my tummy!

4D ultrasound pictures!

2011-06-20T15:02:00.002-07:00

Here's a preview of baby boy Sheen!

It was so fun seeing him kick and move around! Ah, we can't wait till he's here!

Letters to Little Sheen 3

2011-05-10T01:43:00.000-07:00

March 31, 2011
17 weeks. Pretty sure I felt you move today. Felt like a tiny little flutter in my lower stomach, unlike anything I've felt before.
April 7, 2011
18 weeks. Now I'm positive it's been you making those funny feelings in my tummy. I have felt it every day for the last week. Also, we had another ultrasound today! It was incredible seeing you in there all squished, moving your tiny arms and legs. The ultrasound tech measured all your body parts and organs, and you're growing right on track! It took a long time because she couldn't get a good view of your "area". So she had me go to the bathroom to relieve some of the pressure from my bladder. She let dad in on a little secret while I was in the bathroom and told him she was pretty sure you were a boy. I got back and sure enough, she found the cutest little boy parts. Daddy was holding my hand through the ultrasound and gave me a tight squeeze when she confirmed that you were a boy. We couldn't be more excited!!
May 9, 2011
23 weeks along. You kick and punch my belly constantly, and they're gettting stronger every week! Dad can feel and see your kicks now too. It really is an amazing feeling. I've been working on the nursery lately. I've painted the walls, bought a crib and dresser, started sanding the dresser today to paint it, bought a carseat, some crib bedding, and lots of cute clothes! I had an appointment today, and got to hear your heartbeat again. Another month and we get to see you again on the ultrasound! Every night I lay my hands on my belly and feel you squirm around inside. It's weird, but I feel like I'm getting to know you, I can feel that you're here with me. Your dad and I are anxiously awaiting your arrival, and we can't wait to hold you in our arms!

April 2011

2011-05-02T02:15:00.000-07:00

The month of April completely flew by. I'm always a little relieved when May begins, no more confusion when people are talking about the date or month and I think they're saying my name. We had a pretty fun-filled last few weeks. I'll share some picture highlights.

Gary and Holly gave us this fun "Congratulations, you're having a boy" gift. I'm sorry if some of you think this is cute, I still think it's hilarious and a bit creepy.

Some friends were in town so a bunch of us got together.

Took senior pictures for these cute girls. (My sister and her friend Alison)

Our family dog Bella passed away unexpectedly. :( So we had a family dinner in remembrance of her. It was really sweet, we shared pictures and stories about her.

Mark and I have been doing a lot around the house lately; got the carpets cleaned, fixed broken things, had a yard sale, started painting the baby's room...

My little brother got married to a beautiful and sweet girl, Sophia. It was a lot of fun!

My sisters and me.

And we've been spending time outside lately, enjoying the amazing weather and spring flowers.

April was pretty fantastic.

Sorry...

2011-04-21T00:34:00.001-07:00

Sorry about all the baby posts lately, I know it gets old. And I think I've taken to that point... or maybe past it?
Life has calmed down a bit. I'm used to work now, not as stressed out as I was before. Ooh ooh, I also have my energy back! So I think I'll attempt to be better at blogging, just for fun. :)

We're having...

2011-04-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

We're having a baby boy!!!

Letters to Little Sheen 2

2011-03-25T23:48:00.001-07:00

Mar. 8, 2011
14 weeks along now. I had another OB appointment today, the PA Abbie just asked how things were doing with the pregnancy. They also used a doppler to listen to your little heartbeat. It was about 156 beats per minute. I've been feeling pretty great, no major complaints really. Excited things are moving along!
Mar. 24, 2011
16 weeks now. I'm finally starting to show! The little bump kind of showed up over night. Two more weeks till we find out of you're a little buddy or a little lady!

Letters to Little Sheen

2011-03-06T23:27:00.002-07:00

So I've seen other people post cute letters to their future or current baby. Kinda cheesy, but super cute. I love the idea of printing these letters and letting Little Sheen read them some day. So, sorry if you're not interested in reading them. This is one of those personal, journal replacing, for me kind of posts...

Dec. 25, 2010
Two days early, but thought a "positive" could be a fun Christmas present for your daddy and me. Took a test, it was negative.
Dec. 29, 2010
Two days late, so I took a test again. When I saw a faint positive line show up almost immediately, I started getting jittery with excitement. I waited the full 3 minutes, and sure enough it was positive! Daddy was playing Starcraft 2 (you'll soon be well acquainted with this game) with Corey and Eric, so I couldn't make a big scene. I walked in and whispered to your dad "I need to talk to you when your game is over". A few minutes later, he came downstairs and the first thing he said was "You're pregnant". I was completely shocked that he guessed it! I made him come upstairs and look at the test to make sure I wasn't being crazy and just seeing a positive because I wanted it to be positive. He agreed, it was positive. :) He gave me a hug and we celebrated quietly in our closet.
Jan. 12
About 6 weeks along now! Our first appointment is on Jan. 31 at 2:30. I'll be 9 weeks along and we decided we'll tell close friends and family at that point. We'll get to see you on the ultrasound then! It's so hard not to tell people about you sometimes. So things are going well. You are growing every day and with your growing and my hormone fluctuations, my body is going through some changes too. The symptoms I've been feeling the last few weeks are mainly dizziness, tiredness - I need a nap on most days, I never used to take naps, forgetfulness/airheadedness (ex: put peanut butter in the fridge and jelly in the pantry), occasional stomach aches, and some seriously sore boobs :) . Your daddy and I are very excited for you to be here, you come up pretty often in our conversations.
Feb. 6
9 and a half weeks! So we told our families yesterday. First we told your great grandma Wilkins and your Grandpa (my dad) the good news. They were both very excited, Grandpa even teared up a little. Then we went and visited your aunts Alexis and Amber, uncle Royce and soon to be aunt Sophia, and great grandma Herbert, (your Grandma - my mom - already knew). Of course, they were all excited also! Royce is hoping you're a boy. A little while later we went to the Sheens. Mark's aunt Mara made dinner for everyone, so we're all sitting at the table - me and your dad, your Grandma and Grandpa Sheen (your dad's parents), Uncle Nick, Aunt Kristen, Chris, and Mara (Greg couldn't make it). The prayer was said, then everyone began talking and passing the food, all of the sudden your daddy says "April's pregnant!". Everyone froze and stared at us waiting to find out if he was joking or not. It was pretty funny. When they realized he was being serious, they were all very excited. I know I've said the word "excited" 3 times now, but it's true, your family is anxiously awaiting your arrival and can't wait to meet you!

I've got big news!!

2011-02-21T14:18:00.000-07:00

It's true... We're going to have a baby!!

I'm about 12 weeks pregnant right now, and the baby is due around September 7th!

We've known for a while, but now we can share our excitement with everyone!

Here's Baby Sheen's debut picture, taken a few weeks ago.

Europe Trip 2010!

2011-01-21T21:59:00.000-07:00

Soon after graduation, we went to Europe! I really should blog about it and tell all of our stories, but I'll do that another time.
Here are some pictures from Dublin, Ireland.

Next was London, England.

After that, we went to Paris, France.

And lastly, we went to Rome, Italy.

Sorry about the sideways pictures, blogger is being lame, I found out online that blogger has issues with Canon pictures sometimes. If anyone knows how to fix it, let me know. They're right side up on my computer, but they upload differently.
Anyway... I obviously didn't post all of the pictures, there are too many! But it was an amaaazing trip. It was fun finding our way around the cities, trying new foods (incredible food by the way!), and learning about the different cultures and history. We're so glad we were able to go!

Blarg.

2011-01-21T21:10:00.000-07:00

I stink at blogging.

Things have been great lately! I got a job at Banner Desert in the Emergency Department! It was pretty intimidating at first. It's super busy all the time, but I'm really loving it. Mark's still working at the charter school. He's still running Nitpic (nitpic.net) and he still plays tons of video games. Charlie's Valley Fever is getting better, she has a lot more energy. Sad news though, Charlie recently went blind. She had SARDS Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome. So she bumps her head into things a lot but she's already getting better at getting around. And Bokey is a good boy most of the time.

A lot has happened since I last posted... how about I post a bazillion pictures to show what's been going on, eh?

Posts with pictures to come...

Finished with Nursing School!

2010-07-09T00:35:00.002-07:00

You may now call me Nurse April.

Well, not yet... but still, being done with school feels incredible!

You can tell that the laziness has hit; it's been two weeks since graduation,

and it's taken me that long to post this.

Anyway... it was a wonderful and stressful 15 months.

I got to know my 30 classmates very well during that time,

and I know that there are truly some amazing nurses out there now.

It was so fun to go through nursing school with friends from high school. Love you girls!

And no offense, but especially this girl. Sara you're the best. (Psss, you're ma best friend)

Banner is awesome for paying for my schooling and hope to get a job through them soon!

My family and friends, and especially Mark were extremely supportive and helpful through it all. Thank you.

I've really learned a lot, I know for sure that nursing is what I'm meant to do, and I am excited to learn and grow throughout this awesome career!

So, that's all for now. We're leaving for Europe in... 7 hours! I should sleep.

I'll be sure to share many stories and pictures when we get back!

Landscaped Love

2010-03-09T18:16:00.010-07:00

Why women should mow the lawn every once in a while...

And on the other hand, why husbands shouldn't let their wives mow the lawn...

Obviously it has been a long time since we have mowed. So I had a little fun with it today, and Bokey Boy helped me by eating a lot of grass and sitting in the heart.

And a tip to you women who want to help with the lawn... don't wear flip flops.

This was much more fun than studying for my Block 3 final that is in two days. Oops.

Should I get going on that?

Thanksgiving in Mexico!

2010-01-04T20:23:00.007-07:00

The Sheens had their 2nd annual Mexico Thanksgiving! We had an incredible time of course! Here are a few pictures...

Mark's first ocean catch.

The Char.

Our family. (Terrible picture, but the only one)

The boys did A LOT of this...

The Bokey Boy.

Wish that was me flying... I'll have to do it next year.

Mark and Greg.

Bokey and me.

Bokey and Grandma.

I love the Sheens. I'm so lucky I married into this family.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-14T16:23:00.005-07:00

Utah/Idaho vacation

2009-11-03T16:49:00.009-07:00

It was sooooo nice to go somewhere on my short break from school. We went to Idaho Falls/Rexburg and Utah to visit friends and family. We had a great time, and the weather was marvelous! I'm supposed to be writing an evaluative argument against the death penalty, so I'm just gonna put up pictures with no explanation. You should be able to figure it out. :)

Autumn

2009-10-16T10:32:00.006-07:00

I love love love Autumn. I haven't had enough time/didn't want to spend the money for many Autumn-ey decorations. I did make a little wreath for our door though. I got (stole) the idea from here.

Mine's kind of too small, but hey, it's something. If you're wanting to do it, it was pretty easy, and I spent $8 total on everything.

Happy Autumn!!

Woo hoo!

2009-10-14T16:17:00.003-07:00

I need a new pillow!!

2009-09-09T17:22:00.007-07:00

Lately my neck has felt like this...Poor giraffe, right?

Her name is Gemina and she's really cute, and I can't believe I just compared my slightly sore neck to her sad deformity. I'm a jerk.

So the actual reason for this post is to find out if anyone knows of a pillow that might relieve some of this constant tightness. I've tried fluffy, flat, feather, memory foam... Any special brand I don't know about? Or some kind of new pillow out there?

That's all. Thanks!

"The Government Can"

2009-08-31T21:57:00.011-07:00

I know some of you may have seen this,

but I couldn't help but share it with those

who haven't. It's hilarious! Love it. Love it.

So... I couldn't figure out how to make the video

smaller, it get's cut off.

To see the original go to...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO2eh6f5Go0

Ever wonder what to do with your growing collection of plastic bags?

2009-08-12T10:58:00.008-07:00

I've found a few options.

You could make a scary Halloween costume.

And for you crafty people...

you could make a plastic bag wreath.

or plastic bag shoes.

or a stylish plastic bag bag.

And the option I'll most likely do...

Take my bags to Walmart, where they are collecting bags to recycle them.

How awesome is that?! Sometimes I don't like Walmart, but today...

... I kinda like them.

Our pleasant, easy to care for, never cause a problem pups...

2009-07-15T13:00:00.024-07:00

Mark says the only pictures I take are of the dogs. Whaaaat?! No...

But just for fun, here are some of the pros and cons I have come up with,
of owning a dog... Or 2. Or 4.

I'll start with the cons...

You'll be having a wonderful night with your sweet husband... to top off your lovely time together, you get to come home to this!

Sometimes you get to dog-sit and this is how they'll show their appreciation for you taking them in. But it's ok Dante, we forgive you. (that's a blanket)

This is how they punish you (on many occasions) for not keeping up with their constant need of bones and chew toys.

When they're feeling like they're not getting the most love in the house, this is how they tell you your marriage is getting in the way of their happiness.

Good ol' Dante... loves us so much he felt he needed to eat his way through our wall to get to us.

And that there is a box of books nibbled just far enough in to squeeze his body through and accomplish his goal. The goal he accomplished?... Dante got past a 50 gallon water tank full of water, which according to Wikianswers.com weighs approximately 417.2702 pounds... a pretty heavy generator... and huge pieces of wood. You get the picture. This dog is freaky strong and deserves an award for his unwavering determination.

Sometimes they have to go to the vet and get lumps removed. :( Poor char.

Boy occasionally kills baby birds. He's such a lover he plays and plays and plays with them until they stop moving. Then he feels guilty and brings the lifeless birds to us.

Ah! Throughout these pups' lifetime, I'm certain the amount of money we spend on dog toys will add up into the millions some day...

Again, when those toys aren't immediately available to boy's pretty little paws, he punishes us. Then we cry and beg him to forgive us and shower him with presents. It usually works.

I can't decide if this crazy dog face is a pro or a con.

And for the pros... these next photos pretty much explain themselves.

Now this... is a pro. Look at those pup pitty paws.

And their pup poopers. So cute...
Puppy secrets.
Pup curiosity.
They love their mommy.
And they love playing PSP with their daddy.
They lay on your lap while you're driving. They let you put fake zombie teeth in their mouths.
They'll do anything for a treat.
And they make the cutest sad pup faces.

Despite the torture and damage our home and our wallets take because of these pups, they're stinkin cute and they've won our hearts.

one quarter...

2009-06-23T09:43:00.003-07:00

That's right... I'm one quarter of the way done with Nursing School!! Graduation is still a year from now, but 1/4 of the way done sounds so great, doesn't it?! Nursing school has been good so far. The first few weeks I was a bit insane, but I stuck through it... more importantly, Mark stuck through it with me. I had a few random freak outs and would cry for no reason, and he was mostly sweet through it all. Haha, no we was really sweet. (I have the best husband) My clinical time at the hospital has been such a great learning experience for me. I did urinary catheters, gave shots, gave meds, and soooooo much fun stuff! It took me a little while to get used to the nursing test style, and to learn which method of studying works best for me, and to get used to my cram-packed days of school and work. But it's all doable. And I did it! I'm pumped and ready for 3 more blocks of joy! Wish me luck? And in a year... you can call me Nurse April.

Kraftwerk, Rammstein, Hasslehoff

2009-06-08T20:50:00.002-07:00

Some days I feel taken advantage of, the world doesn't appreciate me. I give and give and receive nothing in return. But others, serendipitously, I find things like this, and I know that there's someone watching out for me; happy to know how happy this makes me:

When you dream of singing a song, and making a music video - but no other real human person will appear with you in the music video, and only a green screen operator with visual basic and a sense of humor will help produce it, there's really only one option. Market to Germans.

I've been waiting months to post about our babies!

2009-05-22T11:50:00.015-07:00

Yes, they're our babies. You should see us out there every day, picking out weeds and leaves, stroking their petals, singing to them... Until we have real babies, our flowers and our dogs fill that void. Anyway, here are some pictures...

First flower came up! We were so excited...

First bud! First blooms! We were seriously so happy. It's kinda weird how excited we were.
:) Happiness.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T13:38:00.013-07:00

Happy Easter from the Sheens... You may have noticed we added a new member to our family. The cute little golden boy next to princess Char, is our new pup. His previous owners (our neighbors) haven't really been able to handle him from the begining. They finally gave up and passed the ownership on to us! They originally named him Marley... but come on! We can't have a dog named after a cheesy movie. And plus, Charlie and Marley... sound WAY too much alike. Especially to dogs. If one of them is in trouble, they both cower. If one of them is being praised, they both think they're the greatest dog. So we've brainstormed for a few days, trying to find an original name for the boy. We can't decide. So for now, we've been calling him "Beef" or "Dude".

So here he is... meet Beef/Dude!

Isn't he stinkin cute?

Recapitulation of the last year...

2009-02-11T21:07:00.169-07:00

Valentine's day 08... day one of our relationship.

A week later, we had our actual first date at Charleston's.
And we have been many times since...

A few weeks later, we took a trip to Sedona and Montezuma Castle.

In March we went to Disneyland!!!

In April, we went to prom at Excalibur High School. (Charter school Mark teaches at)

In May, we went to Vegas with Kevin, Andrea, Joel and Jenny to see Duran Duran!

We used to bowl a lot. Even though Mark would have rather been playing video games.

Charlie and Bella. Our dogidies. Best dogfriends.

Next, we took a trip to Utah.

(We like traveling)

On July 4th, went to Flagstaff and saw Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers!

And we went hiking.

Later in July, we went to California again! It happened to be the same weekend that my Russian host sister, Oksana, was in California for a scholarship program! I thought I'd never see her again!

Family :)

Girls dinner...

Sara invited me to Mexico. We stayed in a beautiful condo!

At some point in our relationship, we became obsessed with a PS3 game called Monsters... We beat the entire game, 100% on every single level! Haha. Can't wait for Monsters II!

And this is my paint version of the game.

In October we went to Utah again for conference.
And we rode bikes in the freezing rain...

And we went to Bryce Canyon...

Alexis' birthday - Oct 20th.

October 21st, he proposed! Mark, Charlie and I went to Papago park (one of our favorite places to bike). We went up to the hole in the rock at the top of the mountain and watched the sun set.

Mark was being extra cute and schmoozy and nervous, as Charlie was wrapping her leash around our legs over and over. By the time we realized she was doing this, she had us wrapped up in her leash and pinned together. You know, like Roger and Anita on 101 Dalmations?

So...it was really cute. The sun was setting, we were tangled up together, and... he asked me if I would marry him! I said yes of course... We kissed and hugged out, exchanged words of admiration... then I had to choose between Rubio's fish tacos or the Compass restaurant for dinner. It was honestly a hard decision. We love our fish tacos! But we decided on the Compass restaurant. It sits on top of the Hyatt in downtown Phoenix. It has windows as the walls to the outside, and it slowly spins around and overlooks the city. It was beautiful, and very romantic. :)

In November, we went to the Ben Folds concert at Gammage with Joel and Jenny.

For Thanksgiving, we had lunch at my aunts house. Then... we left to Mexico for the Sheen's Thanksgiving! Mark's parents got few nights at a beach house in Las Conchas. It was beautiful! And so much fun!

Yep. We kayaked with dolphins! It was incredible! I saw them from the balcony with my binoculars. So me, Mark and papa C ran out to the ocean with our kayaks. We paddled sooo fast and hard for like 20 minutes and we caught up with them. They were so friendly and poking their heads up by our kayaks. It was crazy!

"No Rebase" - the theme of our Thanksgiving trip.

Bridal shower! (Thanks to Becky Rogers)

mom, amber, lexi, aunt cara, grandma, great grandma dorothy, me, aunt linda, alicia, aunt angie

Thanks family for coming!

Christmas-time!
Caroling at great gma Dorothy's.

We had a holiday dinner with Gary, Holly, Joel and Jenny. (Props to Holly for the table decorations) Mark made delicious salmon and stuffed chicken. Then we went to the zoo-lights in our sweet limo, haha.

Girls dinner...

Wilkins Family Christmas Party...

Christmas!

A few days before our wedding... this happened.

Haha, very bad timing. And even though I was screaming hysterically, Mark was really sweet and him and Jenna took me to the hospital.

And this is what it looked like the day before my wedding. Kinda gross, I know.

Finally.... on January 3rd, our wedding!!
At 12:15 pm, Mark and I were married and sealed for time and all eternity in
the Mesa Arizona temple!

Honeymoon!
We went to Bison Ranch in Heber, AZ. It was really nice and relaxing and perfect for a bum-knee honeymoon...

And... we got stuck in the mud for a while. It was actually really funny.

Our house!! After a terribly long process and redoing the loan papers multiple times, and living in our house illegally for a few weeks... we finally got it! We're incredibly blessed to be able to move into a home together, and we love it!

2008-11-15T10:01:00.000-07:00

So I finally have a blog!