GOOD NEWS..... this month I got suprised when my National Physical Therapy Exam results came back sooner than expected...and I PASSED!!! It was one of the most difficult and exhausting tests I have ever taken and I am so thankful I never have to take another one again! Also my first PT license also went through quicker than I thought and so I was able to start my first real job on June 1st at St. Joseph's Villa. It has been an adjustment working with a new company, but I am learning to love the residents and listening to their life stories.
Before I started working, we enjoyed our last holiday weekend, Memorial day/weekend by first going to Topaz Mountain with my family. The picture below is exactly what it looks like...the middle of nowhere (well, some place past Delta).
You may wonder why in the world would anyone go here? Well apparently Topaz Mountains are known for the hidden Topaz gems in these hills. We headed up for these hills with hammers, chisels, and buckets to find the gems, but we forgot to find out just exactly
what the topaz is supposed to look like. So we spent the afternoon randomly whacking rocks in half trying to find gems.....needless to say we weren't too successful so we decided to go to a place nearby to discover trilobites since we knew what they looked like. That began a whole new adventure...
with my dad getting pulled over for "stealing" gasoline from the gas station below.
A cop pulled my dad over and stated he had stolen gas when in all reality he had tried to pay for gas here 2 times with his debt card although the machine wasn't working and he had no idea. So we had to drive all the way back and work it out, therfore we didn't make it to the trilobites.
Then we decided to call it a day and go home, but our adventures weren't through....
we were just outside of Utah Lake when again, we hear the lights and sirens behind us. Again we rush to put our seatbelts on and wonder what it was for this time. Apparently my dad was trying to pass a trailer right when the road had double lines, luckily the cop saw my dad worked for Sandy Fire for years and let him off.
LAGOON:
We also went to Lagoon with my family. I didn't get too many pictures but we did have fun riding our favorite rides like Wicked, the white roller coaster, flying aces, and the ferris wheel. This was a beautiful peacock hanging out by the log flume.
Jeff and my Dad were the only ones to brave a water ride when it was 60 degrees outside and raining.
They claimed the ride doesn't get you wet, but they were drenched!
As a kid we always remembered sticking our heads out of the praire dog holes for a picture.
These little guys were out cold sleeping on their backs and reminded me of how our cats sleep in the summer.
Another memory we both had was drinking out of the lion's head drinking fountain, although it seems like they didn't have too many of them left at the Zoo.
Jeff's face was classic in this picture because as he was posing, a huge spray of water came out and gave him a good scare.
We had a busy and fun 4th of July weekend this year. We began with attending the Riverton parade Friday night with Amanda's family. Saturday morning we watched Sterling in Riverton's ATV rodeo.
We then went boating with my parents to Rockport to enjoy some sun. It was nice and relaxing although the water was only 5o degrees!
Jeff braved the cold water and enjoyed some tubing.
Then we drove to Oakley to attend their famous "4th of July Rodeo". It was really good and fun to watch. Here are some of the livestock.
Ster and Amanda
Shannon performing at Sandy's celebration
In other good news, we put in an offer on a house across the street from us and have been approved to close on the house on the 18th of July (2 weeks!) It is a little earlier than planned, but it is too good of a deal to pass up. Hopefully we will have great news and a new home soon!
For my birthday I got lots of clothes, a new life jacket, and tickets to Rascal Flatts concert this fall!
One of our new favorite traditions in the summer is going to Demolition Derbys. We attended the Bluffdale Derby (which I didn't take any pictures at) and the West Jordan Derby (which is the best one!) This year a few cars got pushed up onto the barricades and one car even started on fire!
A cop pulled my dad over and stated he had stolen gas when in all reality he had tried to pay for gas here 2 times with his debt card although the machine wasn't working and he had no idea. So we had to drive all the way back and work it out, therfore we didn't make it to the trilobites.
Jeff and my Dad were the only ones to brave a water ride when it was 60 degrees outside and raining.
They claimed the ride doesn't get you wet, but they were drenched!
This is the Health Proffessions building on campus and where I basically lived for 2 years.
We had to enjoy one last time at Big Foot BBQ before we left.
Since grandpa's knees were hurting him, my dad and papa P took the "special elevator" which went sooooo slow and they set the alarm off trying to get out.
In the limo my parents got for us after graduation. We rode up to the Snowbowl and then went to Olive Garden for lunch
Walking up to recieve my diploma
The pictures are out of order, but this is the part we get "hooded". I was hooded by Dr. Derosa our anatomy professor. The hood and 3 black strips on our arm represents at Doctorate degree.
My graduation was held in a huge circus tent in a parking lot due to the stadium being under construction.
The night before graduation, we had a class dinner banquet at the High Country Conference Center.
We also went down to Sedona to look around and feel the sun 
I am so thankful for all of the support I have recieved from everyone though my education. It has been a long 7 years of back to back school, stress, homework, moving away to AZ, and memories. On Mon. the 23rd, I took my NPTE exam to get my license....it was the hardest test I have taken in my life. I am crossing my fingers that I passed since I have to wait a few weeks to find out if I passed. In the mean time I will be starting work at St. Joseph Villa as an aide until my license comes in. I am nervous since this is my first job as a PT and I will be in charge of a few PTAs, but it will be so nice to finally have money. 
