Almost time to start school!!!

So we're gearing up to get back in the swing of things with school! Well, Miguel has been working all break, but I have been doing absolutely nothing but sleeping and eating. Man, it's been great =) I know this semester is going to be tough, so I've been taking in all the sleep I can get.

Miguel's still rocking the house at work and of course at school. Neither of us have any idea what to expect from the next couple of months. Miguel will be nearing the end of school (he graduates in August, but is walking with the ASU in May....i know, his program is strange) and I graduate in May! Right after we graduate we're going to head to Europe for "Renee and Miguel take over some of the coolest places in the world!" We're both so excited to go to Europe together. Right when we get back I will be taking the Kaplan review for the nursing boards and then hopefully taking the boards soon after that. Then it's time for the wedding! Lauren asked me to be one of her bridesmaids, so I'm super thrilled! A great friend of mine, Caitlyn, is also getting married this summer. She also asked me to be a bridesmaid, so it's going to be a great summer! I'm hoping to start working soon after my boards in the Banner hospital system.

I guess that's all for now. Let the fun begin.....

Some pictures from Miguel's Mom's 50th celebration!

Christmas and Family Fun!

Miguel and I just got back from California for a fun-filled Christmas vacation!

The week started out with my parents driving here to Phoenix, surprising me by bringing my little brother Pablo and his puppy Mitch. I can't even say how excited we were to see him. The dogs got along really well, although there were some problems with Ava getting jealous of Mitch and Austin playing so much. The cats pretty much stayed in our room the entire time to stay out of Mitch's way. Basically, we ate, drank, and played hours and hours of rockband. It was SO MUCH FUN!!

On Christmas Eve, Miguel and I left for the bay area around 6pm and got to California at 7. We went straight to my brother-in-law Fernando's house to spend time with Miguel's parents, Fernando, and his fiance Lauren. We had some FANTASTIC salsa and just spent some good time talking and drinking some beer and wine. After that we left to our cousin Perla's house to say hi to Tia Chuy and Crystal before they left for their Christmas in Paris!! When we got there they were watching the Twilight movie. Seeing as watching this movie will be a huge event for me (after reading all 4 books in only 4 days and becoming completely obsessed in the process) I refused to watch the movie until I was here at home with Amanda. We went back to Miguel's parents house and completely crashed until 11 the next day. We spent the next couple of days celebrating the holidays Chavez style with the cousins and the rest of the family. We had a fantastic trip! For Christmas, Miguel's parents are going to give us our plane ticket to Europe for our graduation trip!!!! When we opened the envelope with the voucher we pretty much tackled Miguel's mom! We are so grateful for this help and are so excited for our trip to Europe! We plan on leaving May 18 and flying into Paris. After that, we will fly into Rome for a couple of days and then head up to Venice to board our cruise ship. On the cruise, we will visit Turkey, Croatia and Greece! We're hoping to fly out of Venice to return home May 31st. We couldn't be more excited for this trip!!! Lauren also gave me a nursing student's survival pack as my Christmas present. The pack contained chapstick (OF COURSE!) and a cute kitty cosmetic bag with a mirror. She also gave me the nurse's pro pack, an organizer that carries all of our various scissors, tape, alcohol wipes, safety pins, and my pin light. I couldn't be more excited to show off my gift at clinicals this semester!! Thanks Lauren!!

So now we're back in Scottsdale and Miguel is getting ready for work tomorrow. My in-laws and Tia Sandi and cousins are going to be coming here to Phoenix for the next week, so it will be another fun week of family time. Hopefully we can go see the zoo lights and other fun stuff around the area. We plan on spending New Year's with one of my best friends Debora and friends. I don't feel that well, so I will also be trying to rest as much as I can and then finally get back into my Bikram yoga routine.

Miguel and I are also getting really excited about the fact that we're coming up on our 2 year wedding anniversary on February 10. We will have been together for 4 years. Time flies when you're having so much fun being married and in love!

More posts to come now that I have time off from school!

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA....A WONDERFUL, HISTORIC DAY. WE'RE SO HAPPY, WE COULD CRY, AND WE'RE SO PROUD TO BE AMERICANS AT THIS MOMENT!!

October 2008!

Some fun pics!!!

It's been awhile

So perhaps it's been awhile since we updated our blog. Needless to say, we've both been busy with school and work, and just life. Miguel is a rockstar at work and with school as usual. He's working full-time right now as a temporary team leader, managing 7-10 people. He's so patient and good at what he does, so of course he's doing so well at work! On Tuesdays and Thursdays he goes to school from 6-10 and takes care of homework and various group projects on the other days and over the weekend.
As for me, I'm still doing the school thing and loving it. It's SO HARD though!! Summer semester was supposed to be one of the hardest of our entire nursing school process, and they weren't kidding. At the beginning of the summer I was doing clinical rotations at Mercy-Gilbert hospital. I rotated to almost every unit, including the OR, PACU, ER, electrophysiology, and the med/surg unit. I loved working in the hospital, especially the ER! Although I haven't worked in the ICU yet, I have a funny feeling that I'll end up working in either the ER or ICU. As long as there is plenty of adrenaline to go around! I can't say how much I am enjoying school and the friends I've met there. One particular special friend I've gotten close to is Amanda. She's just one of the coolest people I've ever met. She's been through a lot in her life, including surviving a coma and a liver transplant. She's great. Our semester ends August 8, and then we start again two weeks later for our OB and peds rotation. I'm really excited for the rest of the rotations, because our last semester we get to rotate to ER and ICU! Nursing is for me, I know it in my heart. Although lately I've had to eat, breathe, be nursing school, I can't say I've been unhappy about any of it. All of the sacrifice Miguel and I are having to do while we're both in school is going to be completely worth it, I know it and he knows.
Without Miguel's constant support and love, I have no idea how I would be getting through such hard schooling. It's hard to spend time together, but when we do, it's just perfect. Our favorite thing to do is to just stay around the house and just be. I probably don't tell him enough how special and important he is, or that he's just everything to me. He's an amazing husband and best friend. I honestly couldn't be happier with the way my life is going right now. Aside from being able to spend more time with Miguel, I wouldn't change a thing right now. I get to see my best friends and I get to see my family and spend time with my doggies and my kitties. Who could ask for more?
At the end of this semester we're going to be going to Mexico for a Chavez-Burrull fun-filled adventure. Miguel's parents were kind enough to rent a suite at a time-share called the Grande Mayan near Puerto Penasco to help Miguel and I celebrate our 25th birthdays. Thank you so much and it means a lot to us! We're both ready for a fun, relaxing break from school and work. Pablo and his girlfriend Ashley are going to come, which is awesome! I know it was really hard for both of them to get time off, as both of them are taking summer school classes, so I'm really pumped to have them be able to join us! I can't remember the last time we've all been on a vacation! I LOVE spending time with Pooky (what I've called my brother since high school) and I think Ashley is just fantastic. They seem to be doing really well! My dad owns a new AVIS as well, on the westside of El Paso. As hard as it is for him to be running both businesses, we all know it will be worth it and I can only hope this experience shows him how talented he really is. My mom is still working at the JCC and granting wishes for the make-a-wish foundation. She's already granted 10 wishes this year! Congrats on 10 successful wishes mom!! My mom spends so much of her time doing so much good for so many deserving people. I am so grateful that I learned from her the joys of giving what I can to those in need.
We spent the fourth of July with Amanda and some other friends at the Tempe Town Lake, ,which was a blast! We definitely needed that 4 day weekend and break from school.
There's not much more going on. The last weekend of break we're heading to El Paso for Danny and Cynthia's wedding. I agreed to help Cynthia set up the reception area for their big day, so that should be exciting. Danny has been a dear friend to me for a very long time, so helping make his day special means a lot to me. Of course, I also volunteered Miguel to help me with the decor....he gladly accepted the request, because he's just a swell guy =)
I want to end this ridiculously long post by saying that being married is so fun! Miguel and I continue to learn so much more about each other and all of the amazing things we can do as husband and wife. It's hard to believe we've been married for a over a year and a half and that we've been together for over 3 and a half years! I'm so grateful to have him in my life and so grateful he chose me to spend the rest of his life with. I love you Miguel =)