Maui - Best Vacation Ever!!!!!

Josh and I had a great time in Hawaii, we both agreed it was the best vacation ever! We kind of needed a vacation from our vacation though. We didn't come back with hardly any sun - some wondered if we even went on vacation. Well, we did and I have the pictures to prove it. Check them out here. I don't have any pictures of the surprise party (which was priceless), so I will have to get those from my Aunt Diane who was our official photographer for the week. Here is a quick snapshot of what we did all week:

Sunday, March 13th we arrived in Maui about 2:30pm - mom had been texting me all day because they were arriving in Maui the same day but a few hours earlier. Since we were staying in the same hotel we had to make sure we didn't run into each other. We did NOT want to ruin the surprise on Monday. Later that afternoon Josh and I picked up the birthday cake, some food for the breakfast surprise party and then unpacked our stuff (once we finally got into our official room... it's a long story).

Monday morning we (Karl, Audrey, Jackie, Diane , Josh and me) surprised Dad at breakfast- he was speechless. After breakfast, five of us (Josh, Jackie, Diane, Haley Spooner and me) went to the Maui Ocean Center and the Maui Tropical Plantation. That evening we went to the Spooner's hotel and had some appetizers and drinks.

Tuesday we got up at 6:15am to begin our Road to Hana Tour. Josh and I were accompanied by Karl, Audrey and Diane. It was about a 12 hour day, but we saw a lot of great scenery. A couple highlights were the Black Sand Beach at Wai'anapanapa State Park and swimming in the Oheo Gulch Seven Pools. It was definately a long day - but worth it.

On Wednesday me, dad and Josh went on a Snorkeling trip. It was extremely windy that day so the water was rough and they were unsure if we were going to be able to visit both snorkeling spots on the agenda. We went to Turtle Town and Molokini Islet for some snorkeling. This was my first real snorkeling adventure, but dad had been a few times before. He said that there was quite a variety of fish at Turtle Town - he said that was rare. When we were heading back to the harbour after our snorkeling adventures we saw some whales - I got some pretty good shots. We got back to the hotel about 2:00pm - at that point we needed to get ready for our evening plans. We had tickets to Warren and Annabelles Magic Night Club (Extremely funny - good food too) which was in Lahaina. We had a little bit of time before the show so we walked along Front Street in Lahaina and got an opportunity to check out the local shops. It was a great day!

It wasn't long before we were on our next adventure in Maui. We got up about 2:15am on Thursday to begin our way up Haleakalā for the morning's sunrise with Diane. Haleakalā, "The House of the Sun", is a dormant volcano and the tallest peak on Maui, reaching 10,023 feet above sea level. We got to the top about 5:30am and sun was expected to rise at 6:25am. It was very chilly up there and extremely windy - Diane was used to it since she lives in Iowa. The wait and weather was worth it - the views were amazing to say the least. I think I easily took 100 pictures that morning. The view was constantly changing as the sun was coming up and the clouds were rolling beneath us. It was also Diane's last day and she was supposed to leave the hotel at 1:00pm to head towards the airport - well after our early sunrise we had a couple hours to spare and she really wanted to see the Olivne Pools (north side of the island). So we went on a quick road trip. It was fun! We are so glad Diane was able to join us on vacation. We rarely get to see her so it was a special treat to be in her company for the week. The rest of the afternoon was spent resting on the patio of our hotel room to catch a few rays and Zzzzs. That evening we hung out at Mom and Dad's room and ordered some Pizza from a local restaurant just a couple blocks away.

Friday was our last day in Maui. The six of us (Mom, Dad, Karl, Audrey, Josh and myself) had breakfast in Mom and Dad's room to clean out the refrigerator. Our flight wasn't until 9:00pm that evening so we had a lot of time to kill since we had to check out of our room at noon. We saw a lot of stuff that day - we went to Iao Valley, a black sand beach just south of Wailea, Peggy Sue's Restaurant, Island Paperie (scrapbook store) and we also checked out a local mall. After all that we headed to the airport to drop off our rental car and get checked in.

Before our trip to Maui I was very worried about the long flight, but I managed really well. Josh and I had a great week and would love to go back some day - there was still so much to see and plus this time we didn't really RELAX like you are supposed to on vacation, nevertheless we still had a great trip.

We send a HUGE thanks to Mom for planning such a special surprise and generously paying for our hotel for the week. We really did have a great time!!!!

Dr. Josh

Today, Josh received his name tag during the Texas Chiropractic College's White Coat Ceremony. He has officially joined the Moody Clinic as a Student Chiropractic Intern. He has less than one year until he graduates.

I am so proud of him and so thankful that I get to share my life with him.

Happy New Year!

It is hard to believe it is 2011… I don’t know about you, but it takes me forever to finally write the New Year on documents. Even today I am still writing 2010 on stuff for work. Anyone got any suggestions as to how I can get in the habit of writing 2011????

Over the new year weekend, we spent some time at my parents house. On Wednesday we had our Christmas celebration with my parents, siblings and their “significant others”. We had a fabulous dinner and enjoyed unwrapping Christmas gifts. On Thursday, my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins arrived from Minnesota and Iowa for our annual Kuklenz Christmas. Of course we always have fantastic food and very entertaining games.

Josh and I really treasure time spent with my family as we don’t get to see them regularly throughout the year. You can see the cute & crazy Kuklenz Klan below minus an uncle and two cousins :(

Merry Christmas!

Josh and I visited his Mom’s house for Christmas. I can’t believe it but Santa found us up there!!!

We spent the day there watching the kids open presents, eat dinner and just visit. Unfortunately I came down with a bad cold so I ended up taking a nap for the majority of the afternoon. Then we had to head home because we had to get ready to go to Josh’s dad’s house on Sunday to celebrate with the Elliott Family. We had a great time there as well. Gifts, food and a few riveting games “try and unwrap the gift card game”.

Happy Anniversary!

We did it; we survived the first year of marriage!!!!!

To celebrate we spent the weekend in Houston. We started off Saturday morning at Hermann Park. We toured the Houston Museum of Natural Science and spent some more time in the Park just around the museum. That afternoon we went to Marble Slab to get some Ice Cream – an expensive but ever so yummy treat! Then we made our way west towards the Galleria where our hotel was located. We got checked in and all cleaned up to go to dinner.

We ate dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. I have a feeling it will become an annual tradition since we went there last year on the day after our wedding. We loved the food and atmosphere – especially the sweet potatoes!!!!! Some might say they’re “Orgasmic”.

On Sunday, we had breakfast at the hotel then checked out shortly after. We headed across the street to the Galleria where we enjoyed the afternoon just walking around and doing some last minute Christmas shopping. During the Holiday season they have an ice rink in the mall, we have always wanted to go ice skating, but on Sunday they were hosting a holiday special by kids in the community… so no skating for Josh and Jill – maybe next year! We had a late lunch with the elephants and gorillas at the Rainforest Café (Josh had never been).

That was it… not too exciting, but we did enjoy the quality time together and just getting out of the house. We didn’t exchange Anniversary gifts, but I did get my Christmas gift early, I got a camera… very helpful to document our eventful weekend.

Hanging out at Hermann Park

A duck with a mohawk, tee hee hee

Being silly at the hotel

Our complimentary dessert at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Mmmmmmmm

Good News!

Well, there have been many blog-worthy topics that have taken place over the course of the past few months, but can I find the time to do it… NO! Let’s see we bought a new TV Stand (for Josh’s big screen T.V. he is hoping Santa will bring him), we went on a week long road trip up to Minnesota and Iowa visiting all of my Family (we had a blast), Josh took his first round of national boards, Jill was almost held at gunpoint, Josh received his white lab coat - a ceremony honoring students going to clinic, we went church hunting, we went to the Moore family reunion (Josh’s mom’s side of the family) at Ratcliff Lake, and much more I’m sure, but my memory is failing to recall anything else at the moment.

So I am sure you are asking yourself, what could be so exciting and noteworthy that Jill finally found some time to mention it on the blog? Well I can assure it you it is very exciting news… are you ready??? Okay here it goes – JOSH PASSED ALL SECTIONS IN PART 1 OF BOARDS!!! WOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!

There were six sections for Part 1 and in order to pass each section he needed to receive at least a 375 or better. Josh was very anxious about taking these exams. Not only were they scheduled for the week right after we got back from our week long road trip, but he had to take six tests within a span of 36 hours! Part 1 of Boards has a reputation of being the most difficult to study for and hardest to pass. Each of the exams had 150 multiple choice questions which tests a “basic” science. Normally Josh does not excel at test in these types of subjects because he is more hands on – But this time he did! His grades for each section are below (he cut chemistry kind of close don’t you think?)

General Anatomy - 434
Spinal Anatomy - 411
Physiology - 411
Chemistry - 375
Pathology - 498
Microbiology - 470

I am so proud of him, and I know he will be a great Doctor!

Throughout the next year Josh will work towards his license by completing three more exam parts as well as Physical Therapy. Once he completes all of that, he will have a license! Part two and three are scheduled for March 2011.

Happy Birthday America!

Over the Holiday weekend Josh and I traveled to The Colony to visit my parents. We arrived Friday around noon just in time to go grab some lunch at a new restaurant, Palio’s. That afternoon we just hung out, there were many storms that passed through due to Hurricane Alex. Mom had blessed us (Some would say punished) with a home cooked meal, Pork Chops in the Crock Pot. (She made it especially for dad although he never ate any). Dad’s flight was re-routed to Oklahoma City, so he didn’t arrive home till close to 9:45pm, and Karl arrived shortly after that. Then it was off to bed for all of us!

Saturday we all worked on a top secret Christmas project. Mom and Dad will be hosting the Kuklenz Christmas at their home this year. I can’t wait, it seems like it has been many years since I have been able to attend the Kuklenz Christmas festivities.

Sunday we went to church, came home and made some brunch and the girls headed off to the Allen outlet mall, while Karl practiced driving the Mustang (he is supposed to get his Manual Camero in the next couple months) and Josh and Dad trimmed the Palm Trees. That evening we grilled some burgers and had a 4th of July feast.

Monday morning, Josh and Dad (mostly Josh) decided it would be a good idea to go rent a trailer and finally finish off the retaining wall by inserting the pea gravel. Check out Mom’s blog for pictures: www.the-kuklenz-family.blogspot.com. Once they finished, Josh got cleaned up and we hit the road back to Houston.

Another visitor!

Jackie came for a visit this past weekend. She came down on Thursday night after a long week of band camp. She spent most of her time of Friday playing the Wii, but she did manage to go get a massage (lucky duck). Once I got home from work we went grocery shopping and proceeded home to watch a movie, Invictus. I thought it was a pretty good flick.

Saturday, just after we woke up, we headed to Old Town Spring. I have never been before so I wanted to check it out. And I didn’t want to be out in the heat of the day so we went fairly early. It is basically an old town that now is filled with little shops, restaurants, museums and art galleries. Take a look: http://www.oldtownspring.com. It was a fairly cheap trip; I only bought one thing (I can’t tell because it is a present for someone). On our way home we picked up some lunch. Later that afternoon Josh went and showed off the old Camry to a potential buyer.

That evening Jackie went and visited Karl and Audrey while Josh and I attended his Grandpa’s birthday bash in Pasadena. We had a great time! I still had not met all of Josh’s extended family so it was nice to finally put a name with a face. We came back home that evening and Jackie had met us there after her visit with Karl. She stayed one final night with us and was off to band camp bright and early the next morning.

This week I am working nightshift and then Josh and I are headed to my parent’s house on Friday for the 4th of July weekend. I am so excited; we always have such a great time together!

Our New Baby! Not the crying kind though!

As mentioned in an earlier blog, Josh and I have been looking into purchasing a new (well... newer) vehicle. We found a great deal this past weekend so we jumped on it.

We purchased a 2007 Ford Edge SEL plus with only 23K miles. This car has everything you can think of… Navigation System, Vista Sunroof, Premium Leather, Tow Hitch, Parking Sensors, 6 CD Changer, Heated Seats, Memory Seats and much more! The car is in great condition for being 3 years old. We haven’t picked up the new car yet because we asked the dealership to fix a couple things first.

Pictures will be coming soon. In the mean time here is a picture of the vehicle pulled from the dealership’s website.

Mary's visit

This week we had some company. Josh’s little sister, Mary, came for a visit. She arrived Tuesday afternoon and stayed through Sunday morning. During her visit she attended classes with Josh at Texas Chiropractic College, played the Wii, slept, assisted us in car shopping and went bowling at Main Event. Sunday morning we woke up and drove to Grapeland, had lunch and visited with Josh’s family before heading back home. Mary assured us she had a great time.

To top off the exciting week, Mary got a summer job offer shortly after she got home. Congratulations Mary!

Weekend Activities

The weekend went by so fast. We have been looking at what kind of vehicle we would like to purchase next. Josh is driving my old car, a 1996 Toyota Camry. It has a couple issues we need to get fixed, but overall it still runs well. I am afrait at some point we will be putting more money into the car than it is worth so I want to find something that we can purchase just in case. Even though we are only living off of my income, we are still saving money (one of the reasons Josh loves me so much). So we have some money saved up, we also switched insurance providers (savings of about $100/month), and I also received a substantial raise this year. Woo Hooo!

Josh made breakfast both mornings, pancakes on Saturday and breakfast burritos on Sunday. When we weren't out looking at cars, we were lounging in front of the TV or out on a walk... boy was it hot this weekend!!!! We did end up renting a couple of movies on Saturday night, Sherlock Holmes and Public Enemies. Both were ok, but neither were a "must see" in my opinion.

Memorial Day Weekend

Josh and I spent Memorial Day weekend in Dallas at my parent’s house.

Josh picked me up at work Friday afternoon so I didn’t have to travel south and then back north again (traffic leaving Houston is bad on a normal afternoon, not to mention a Holiday weekend). We arrived in Dallas around 7:15pm, had a bite to eat and just lounged around awaiting the arrival of my brother, Karl, and his girlfriend, Audrey. Not much else happened on Friday night, we went to bed kind of early.

Saturday we woke up and Mom made breakfast burritos… Mmmmmm. Jackie only ate scrambled eggs because she had her wisdom teeth taken out the day before. Eggs were nice change of pace from her slushes and pudding she had been eating. Anyways, breakfast was delicious; we cleaned up the dishes and proceeded outside to assist the boys in building the retaining wall around the air conditioner units. Mom, Audrey and I made three trips to Home Depot to pick up more stones for the retaining wall, luckily we ran into some strapping young men to lift the stones… you know that what that means? no broken nails… wooo hoooo!

Before and After

Once the sun had reached the side of the house the boys came inside and we all had lunch, then it was POOL TIME! The rest of the day was spent pool side… ahhhhh I love the sun! Dad had put ribs in the smoker for dinner; we could smell them all afternoon. It really left our mouths watering for the dinner bell! Right before dinner dad threw some marinated shrimp on the grill, Mom and Jackie didn’t have any shrimp so that left more for the rest of us, but there still wasn’t enough… they were so delicious!
Sunday morning, Jackie and Mom got ready to attend church while the rest of us headed to the lake before the crazies got out. We got out on the lake around 10:00am and sped across the lake to Dad’s favorite anchor spot. The boys chatted while Audrey and I soaked up some rays. Once we got a little toasty, I finally convinced Audrey to jump in the lake with me, it was disgustingly refreshing. Awhile later we traveled back across the lake only this time, it was a little different. By that time it was close to 1:00pm and the crazies were out! It took us a lot longer to get back across the lake, people were cutting you off, and there were tubers and jet skis, waves and more waves!!! Time to go! So we did! We loaded the boat, got home and put the boat in the garage in record time, we were home by 2:00pm. We spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool and enjoyed some burgers and hot dogs for dinner. That evening it was the battle of the T.V.s Karl and Audrey were watching the Twins Game while the others were watching the Nascar Race.

Monday, I got up and made Monkey Bread for breakfast. The boys finished up the retaining wall while I mowed the lawn. The rest of the day was relaxing around the house and packing for the trip home. We left The Colony around 2:30pm and arrived at home shortly after 7:00pm. Nothing particularly significant happened over the weekend, but I was extremely thankful to see my whole family. It’s not very often we are all together anymore. I hope to see them all over the 4th of July Holiday when we all work on a special project! Stay tuned for more on that story!

Happy 24th Birthday Joshua!!!!

I asked Josh what he wanted to do for his birthday and he said he wanted to spend the weekend at his dads because he was off work, which is a rare occurrence. After we got home from work on Friday we packed up and headed to east Houston. We had a great time just visiting and telling stories. Saturday (Josh’s Birthday) we woke up to the smell of Pancakes Terry was baking in the kitchen. We all rested after breakfast, and I baked Josh’s birthday cake (Funfetti of course!). We grilled some burgers for lunch and rented movies to watch for the rest of the day. Throughout the day Josh got to open one gift from me at each meal. I will let him tell you what his least favorite gift was.

On Sunday, we woke up early to get ready to attend First Baptist Church in Pasadena, TX with Josh’s Grandparents. After church they treated us to brunch at Franks. After that we went back to Terry’s and watched the Nascar Race (Jimmie didn’t do so hot) and I took a nap. We packed up all of our stuff headed back to Pasadena for the Strawberry Festival. Can you believe we got a huge flat of strawberries for just $10? I am looking forward to Josh’s smoothies. After the festival we met Terry, Net and Josh’s Grandparents at Texas Roadhouse to treat them to dinner. It was delicious! We had a very relaxing weekend… now it’s back to school and work!

San Antonio Get-Away

May 7th – May 9th Josh and I went to San Antonio, Texas for a weekend get-away. Work had been really stressful and exhausting the few weeks before and Josh was on his last week of break in between trimesters. So we decided to just go away and have fun. If anyone knows me in the slightest… this is extremely out of character. But it was worth it!

Friday morning we woke up, packed and headed for San Antonio with a slight detour through Brenham, Texas. Blue Bell Creameries in Brenham, Texas has been cranking out the best ice cream in the country since 1911. Visitors share in the rich history of Blue Bell with a short film, see the ice cream making process from the time the milk is received to the time the filled ice cream cartons are sent into the blast freezer, and then end the tour with a serving of ice cream… Mmmmmm. A friend of mine from college currently works in the Marketing and Research department so we got to see him as well. Josh had been to the factory before, but it was my first time. It was pretty interesting. After the tour we grabbed some lunch and got back on track for our trip to San Antonio.

We arrived at the Courtyard Marriott on the Riverwalk around 5:30pm. We walked to Market Square to check out some shops and eat at a Mexican Restaurant/Bakery, Mi Tierra. We strolled around the riverwalk and headed back to the hotel. We planned on visiting the Planetarium at UT San Antonio on Friday night, but when we arrived they had cancelled all shows for the night. Hmmm, what do we do now? Well we headed back to the hotel, walked around the river again and just relaxed. Ahhhhhhh

The next day we did visited some museums: Ripley’s Believe it or not!, Guinness World Records, Tomb Raider 3 D Adventure and Louis Tussaud's Wax Works. We walked around the Rivercenter Mall, walked to the La Vallarta (off the riverwalk – they had small little shops). We grabbed some lunch at The County Line Bar-B-Que, it was delicious! Then we went on a boat tour of the Riverwalk. The rest of the day we just walked around either on the riverwalk or up on the streets of downtown San Antonio. Then we headed back to the hotel to freshen up. We had reservations for the IMAX theatre that evening to see Avatar in 3D. The movie was great, it was a lot better than we were expecting it to be. It was about 10pm after we finished the movie so we strolled back to the hotel and ventured down the new section of the riverwalk that extends down towards the Art District. It was very peaceful, but kind of scary at the same time. This section of the river is not as commercialized as the rest so there weren’t very many people around.

When we woke up Sunday it was misty outside. We had planned to go to the San Antonio Zoo, but I didn’t figure that would be good Zoo weather, so I told Josh let’s just head towards home… so we did. We stopped at Buckeys to get some beef jerky and Fudge… Mmmmmmmm. And then I remembered there was a big outlet mall we had passed on the way to Brenham on Friday. I asked Josh if he wanted to stop by there before we go home. He took a little convincing and then finally agreed. So we headed to the Houston Premium Outlet Center. Wooo Hooo SHOPPING!!! After we finished there we still had a 30 minute drive home. While we are exiting the Outlet Mall Josh says, “That sure was more expensive than the Zoo.” and I replied, “But it sure did make me happier than the Zoo!”

It was nice not having an agenda or a list of things to do or a budget to stay in. We did as much or as little as we wanted whenever we wanted to do it. Now that is a vacation! I am really looking forward to the many more, big and small, vacations we will take together in our lifetime.

Josh's Grades

Josh has completed another successful trimester at Texas Chiropractic College. They are not all A’s, but he did pass all his classes! Great Job Dr. Elliott to-be!

Adjusting 4 -- A
Physical Medicine and Rehab -- B
Diagnostic Imaging 3 (X-ray Physics) -- B
X-ray Position -- B
Internal Diagnosis I -- B
Nutrition II -- C
Clinical Neurolgy -- C

Texas Motor Speedway

For Christmas, Mom and Dad gave me and Josh two tickets to April’s Nascar Race at Texas Motor Speedway. The day had finally arrived, and we were so excited to go to the race… ear plugs were bought, race scanner was reserved, Jimmie Johnson paraphernalia bought and displayed proudly… oh and don’t forget the rain pancho! Oh Yes, you heard me correctly. IT WAS RAINING!!! If anyone knows anything about racing it is that you can not race in the rain. BUMMER!

It had been raining a couple days leading up to the event, and the morning of the race it did clear up a little, but there was still a constant mist. We decided to head out to the race track and be optomistic. While we were there we walked around the track and did some souvenir shopping. We also met up with an employee from my work, Toby (he is a die-hard Nascar fan and doesn’t miss a race at Texas Motor Speedway), we grilled up some chicken and burgers while we all place dour predictions about the race. 3:30pm rolls around and still no race, race was scheduled to begin at 2:00pm. We found out they had re-scheduled the race for the next day. Well that’s just peachy!!! NOT. I had to work the next day and Josh had to complete his last two finals for the trimester, it was impossible to stay! BUMMER!

Tickets were non-refundable. BUMMER! We tried selling or giving the tickets away to family and friends, but no one was interested.

The next race isn’t until November this year and we haven’t decided if we are going to purchase tickets yet. SIGH, it’s still a sore subject. So I would suggest not mentioning it.

Dr Gingerbread Baby

Gingerbread Baby at Texas Chiropractic College with Josh.
Gingerbread Baby buckled in for the long car ride to school (40 miles each way).

"Land!!!!! I'm here!"

Getting an xray

Laying on the exam table for a full work-up

Spinal manipulation time.

Ahhhh!!!! That's the spot!

"I'm feeling much better now ~ Thanks Dr. Josh!"

Happy Birthday to Me!

On Sunday, March 7th, I turned 24 years old... or in Terry's words "You are almost a quarter of a century old!" Gee, thanks for pointing that out!

The day was very relaxing. I woke up, opened my gift from Josh (step extensions for my Wii fit board), watched some shows I had taped from earlier in the week and then took a shower to get ready for the day. I had a brief webcam date with Makayla before Terry and Net arrived. They treated us to lunch at The Cracker Barrel and then we came back to the apartment to watch the remainder of the NASCAR race. After Terry and Net left, Josh and I lounged around the house for the rest of the night, watched the Oscars and went to bed.

Habitat for Humanity

A group of volunteers from work got together on Saturnday to work with Habitat for Humanity. This was not my first experience working with HFH, but it was my first working time with the Montgomery County group. The majority of us painted primer on the outside of the house, while a few men helped put up sheet rock inside.

The house we worked on was sponsored by First Baptist Church Conroe and they were very welcoming and friendly.

Surprise!

On Friday, March 5th I received a surprise at work. Josh had sent flowers to celebrate my birthday. I had a box on my desk after returning from the copy room, I noticed it was flowers and read the card, it said "Happy Birthday, I love you and I hope you have a great day! love always, Joshua. P.S. The vase is in your trunk, I thought it would look good on your desk!" -- He was referring to the vase Karl bought us for the wedding. He had snuck it into the trunk of my car that morning before he left for school. I could not leave those beautiful flowers at work so I transported them home in a homemade contraption... they made it home safely.

The flowers are beautiful! Thank you sweetie!