Mom away from home!

San Diego was a blast! I had a great time hanging out with Steph and meeting her friends from Hawaii. I was so not ready to come home. The night before we came home, I asked Joseph if I could stay another few days. For some reason he wasn't too keen on that idea... Steph and I had lots of girl talks and did an amazing job and figuring out the public transportation system even when it broke down the first day! We went shopping every day (I'd forgotten how much fun it was to go shopping with the girls), went to a movie and of course we went out to eat! I think that it should be mandatory that every woman get away at least once a year to be with the girls and just kick back, relax, talk, shop and eat. Anyone with me on that??
P.S. Steph, let me know if I spelled anyone's name wrong, ok?

On the second day of conference we enjoyed a sack lunch in the shade of palm trees beside the pool. Ahhh :)
Here we are on the second day of conference. The Michelle Murray conference was exceptional. I highly encourage all you L&D nurses to go. I couldn't believe how much I learned and I've been doing this for 5+years! She was a great teacher and although I learned a lot, it sure scared me and made me realize how quickly things can go wrong and how fragile life is. Sometimes I wonder why I chose to be a nurse rather than something less life and death. When it is all said and done, I do love what I do and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Knowledge is power...right? I sure hope so!
Sorry this picture didn't turn out so well. I'm still learning how to use my new camera.

After the first day of conference we went up to Fashion Valley which is a HUGE version of the Gateway Mall here in Utah. We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory there after a few hours of shopping. I have never eaten there and I LOVED it!!! I think that it is probably my new favorite restaurant.

These are Steph's and now my friends from Hawaii. The camera-shy one is Joanne, Zandra and her son are happy to put on the shine for the camera.

Zandra's sister, Ava, and her ex-boyfriend (they booked the trip before they broke up, oops!) came along to watch her nephew during the conference.

Here's Steph with Val and Jodi. Thanks for the smiles girls!

Although it was hard to come back home so soon, it was great to see the kids again. I surprised them with these gifts which were an instant hit! Go mom!