Matt and Jana

House pictures

2009-11-15T13:41:00.005-07:00

Here are some pictures of our house, and we're going to post some more once we have some more time to fix it up... It's a work in progress.

This first picture is the view out of the kitchen windows and our master bedroom window. They were taken on my phone (camera's broken), so sorry for the poor quality.

Moved in, video from school

2009-11-14T16:23:00.002-07:00

Well, it's been a while since I've posted. Medical school is keeping me pretty busy, and Jana has been hard at work. She's going to day shifts soon, so that will be awesome - we'll actually get to see each other (rather than waving to each other in passing on the highway in the mornings and evenings).

We've moved into our home out in Gilbert. It is beeeeeeeeautiful, and I'll post some pictures as soon as we have it put together in working order. Should be a week or so....

Well, all I've got to post is this short video about my medical school. It's a blurb about Russell Pearce's inaction in putting the medical school's construction (which is a much needed building to expand the class size and train more physicians) plans on the agenda. The money is there, but for some reason he won't put it on the agenda.

Here's the video...

http://www.azcentral.com/video/?bctid=49524995001#/400+million+dollar+project+on+hold/49524995001

Home

2009-07-20T12:20:00.004-07:00

We've been reeeeally busy the last few days... buying a house! So, that's why no pictures of Ecuador are up yet. The house we've put money down on is a 2200 sq ft, 4 bed 2.5 bath, home on Higley and Elliot. As long as all goes well, we'll have a brand new built home to move in on sometime in October or November. And this is what it will look like:

We're so excited, especially since it's a great price. :)

Long trip in Ecuador

2009-07-10T15:21:00.002-07:00

Anyone who knows Jana and me knows that we are always planning our next trip. We're currently in a nice hotel in Guayaquil, Ecuador with internet access on my laptop for the first time in about a month. We started the trip by flying into Quito, then flew over to the Galapagos Islands for about a week. After that, we flew into Guayaquil then took a few hour bus ride through a big town called Portoviejo and finally to a farm in the middle of nowhere. To get a true Ecuadorian experience, we lived with a family and there were some other gringos (white people) there living in a house across the street. We made good friends with the three of them, and did some volunteer work in the local towns around the farm. We tested about 600 people for diabetes, I gave nutrition lectures to different groups of people, and I worked with a local doctor. He and his second hand nurse, who Jana worked with while we were there, served the Ecuadorians in the countryside (en el campo). I worked on improving my Spanish and Jana is getting better with her Spanish as well. Tonight is our last night in Ecuador, then we're relaxing in Miami - actually, Ft Lauderdale - on the beach and in a nice American hotel. We'll post some pictures in a bit, since the internet isn't working perfectly right now.

Pictures are more fun than text

2009-06-07T01:02:00.004-07:00

I'll post some more pictures here soon, since we've taken a bit lately. Jana and I will be off to Ecuador on June 16th, so hopefully we can post some pictures of the Galapagos Islands and the rest of Ecuador while we're there. If not, we will post once we get back on July 15th. Quick update on the whole medical school situation-I have been accepted to University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix, which is located in downtown Phoenix. So, Jana will get to keep her job at Banner Good Sam and I may be doing rotations (a couple years down the road) at the same hospital her and I have worked at. I'm very excited to start, but still trying to squeeze the life out of the last summer of freedom I'll have for a while! And here's a video of Olive her head stuck in a fry box. Yes, we love our cats... a lot.

A case for do-gooding

2009-06-07T00:35:00.004-07:00

OK, long story but worth the read.

I told the story to a friend on google chat, so I'll just copy and paste it here rather than re-writing the whole thing... Here goes...

me: you hear the crazy story about my stuff getting stolen?
friend: what stuff?
me: computer monitor and wallet/backpack contents
if you have a minute i can tell it
friend: no way.
sure
that's crazy - from your car?
house?
me: yeah from my car
so i was packing stuff to move from our apt in chandler to jana's parents' place
it was late, so i just brought the major, valuable stuff in
cats, computer, sound system and TV
the rest I left out in my honda
stupidly enough, I left our 22" computer monitor that I love out in our car
so in the morning jana wakes me up
and says, matt you left the computer monitor SITTING out in front of the accord
I say "what?"
you're crazy
I go out
sure enough, it's sitting there in front of my car
friend: omg
me: yeah
it gets weirder
so I figured I had been sleepwalking or something
brought the thing halfway in
then just left it there in the driveway
but
i go back inside
check my cell phone
i have this long, 5 page message from one of my old friends from high school's little brother
saying his buddy stole my stuff and brought it over to his house
friend: omg, no way
me: him and his older brother recognized me from my ID
and told the kid he had to return it
so he did
friend: oh wow
me: and set it out in front of my car
friend: ha
me: and here's the best part of all
my friend's little brother had recently sent me a message here on gmail
because he wants to go to medical school and heard I had been accepted
and i was bored at work
so i spent like 5 straight hours giving him advice and answering his questions
friend: very nice
me: so what does this whole incidence spell?
K-A-R-M-A
friend: totally
i'm a believer
me: in it's purest, most natural form
makes me think the whole thing is somehow magically beyond coincidence
friend: dude, good story
yeah, definitely
me: yeah
unbelievably beautiful
me: i think it's an inspirational story that promotes do-gooding and keeping contact with those even when they aren't the biggest do-gooders themselves
my old friend from high school was one of my buddies i'd cause mischief with when I was younger
and his little bro is in the same situation i think
so, who knows, the whole deal could have been my friend's little bro
or my friend
but i believe his story
and as long as i got all my stuff back
i'm happy
and i don't care to investigate further
friend: yeah, totally - even if he didn't realize it was yours and when he found your ID he thought better of it
me: i would like to meet with the perpetrator (sp?) personally and give him a heart to heart
friend: once he realized who he'd stolen from
me: saying, what if this wasn't someone you knew
they have a life just like me
and just because you felt (or one of your friends felt) that personal connection
friend: whether or not you believe in a final judgement or anything like that, still something to be said for just being good to people
me: doesn't mean that you should feel OK stealing from people you don't have personal connections with
absolutely
friend: exactly - easiest way to really know if something is good to do is to imagine what the world would be like if everyone were like you
me: golden rule
friend: if everyone stole from everyone else, what would the world be like
me: best moral guideline ever

I am still in disbelief that I was actually robbed and un-robbed all in one night while I was sleeping. It seems too good to be true. I am happy that I have all of my stuff back, and I am not worried about pressing charges.

Your thoughts???

:)

2009-04-14T23:55:00.005-07:00

Here are some pictures of SAN DIEGO:

And, here are some pictures from Anaheim:

Happy Birthday Carys. To the happiest place on Earth, DISNEYLAND!

Sincerely,

Your annual pass holders.

Procrastinating

2009-04-01T21:17:00.008-07:00

Hello blog-

I have an essay to write and I need a break. My black cat Olive is fed up with me always being on this computer writing reports.

Here she is posing like a good cat.

And here is my other cat Maggie sticking it to the environment.

Anyway, I might as well update while I'm at it. Jana is still beautiful, amazing, dedicated, hard-working, caring, genuine, and beautiful (oops I already said that one) as ever.

That's her with her nephew and one of her nieces. We went to a disappointing suns game with the parents of these cute kids, Spencer and Tina. We lost to the Mavs in a tragic defeat reported by a Suns reporter to be "the end of a dynasty" or something as this game pretty much excluded us from the playoffs.

Other than that, life has been pretty normal. I use the term 'normal' loosely since both Jana and I have been working ourselves to the brink of madness for the past few years. Jana is still working at Banner Good Sam Hospital as a nurse (RN) and picking up overtime shifts so we can save some $$ for a house... we're sick of apartments. I am graduating in May (OBAMA is speaking at my graduation!) with a Bachelor's in nutrition and have been accepted to start a Master's degree in nutrition starting this August. I am also on 3 different "alternate lists" to get into medical school (Wake Forest, U of A Tucson, and U of A Phoenix campus), so hopefully one of those schools will accept me here soon. Finally, here is a nice picture of Jana and half of my face. I think this was taken on our way to San Diego this past March for spring break. It was a fun trip, and we're also going to Disneyland here soon to meet Jason, Jessie, and Stacey + family to celebrate Carys's birthday! Woo hooooooo-oo...

Enjoy the pictures!

Dinner with Kobe

2009-02-15T02:28:00.003-07:00

So, Jana and I went to Maestro's City Hall Steak House last night for Valentine's day along with Stacey and Legrand. I had the ahi tuna and Jana had a big, juicy steak. The food was great, but the company was even better.

No, I'm not talking about Stacey and Legrand (although they are superstars)... I'm talking about when Kobe Bryant walked into the place towering what looked like 8 feet tall over his wife. He sat at a table right near to us along with some other superstars of past and present: Lebron James, Carlos Boozer, and Scottie Pippen among them.

It was awesome. Kobe! He seemed just as arrogant in choosing which table he'd sit at as when he's playing the game.

...Wish I had a picture...

Winter trips and Disneyland pics

2009-02-12T00:34:00.004-07:00

All interested parties:

We went to Disneyland, NYC, and Utah. Each trip was a lot of fun. Life is hectic. Matt goes to school full-time, works full-time, and is helping one of his professors draft a research paper. Jana works night shifts at Banner Good Sam Hospital in the neurological intensive care unit. It is stressful but she enjoys it.

Enjoy the pictures!

2008-12-17T13:06:00.002-07:00

We just received the JDRF newsletter today that highlighted the diabetes walk for the cure in November of 2008. To our surprise, Carys and I made the front page! We are in orange, and I am holding Carys on my shoulders. We think that we should have had the full front page to ourselves (seeing as how it's the best picture on there), but alas, we are one of the many small pictures (but still in the CENTER). You can see some more pictures of the walk on Stacey's or my mom's blog.

Anyway, sorry for the huge lack of posts lately. I just finished my last few finals yesterday. We should be posting some more pictures of our two trips this Christmas break here soon, too. We are headed to New York City tonight (just for fun) and then up to Utah right after New Year's (to see family, go snowboarding, and attend a medical school interview at U of U). Merry Christmas everyone!

Olive and Maggie...

2008-07-15T05:25:00.002-07:00

With all the talk of babies, Jana and I wanted to let everyone know that we have two new babies ourselves! We both love cats, so we were very lucky when one of my co-workers found a couple kittens underneath her shed who needed a new home. We named the all black girl Olive and the grey, striped girl Maggie.

Jana Evans, BSN

2008-05-19T21:15:00.006-07:00

Introducing the beautiful (and educated) Nurse Jana!

After the ceremony we all went out to Los Olivos with Jana's family. It was alot of fun to celebrate Jana's Big Day!

The happiest day in our universe

2008-05-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

Finally, here are some of the wedding photos. Sorry it took so long, Jana and I have both been engrossed in school. Jana just recently graduated with her Bachelor's of science in nursing (pictures to come). She was absolutely thrilled at her ceremony and is anxious and looking forward to starting her new job as a nurse at the neurological ICU in Banner Good Sam Hospital in Phoenix. I'm still going to ASU until I graduate in December, and as an explanation for never adding any wedding pictures until now... I got all great grades while taking a full load of classes, getting married, and working full time all at once (toot toot - my own horn). Aaaaanyway, we hope you enjoy the pictures! 'Twas a happy day.

Honeymoon in Maui

2008-03-25T08:09:00.000-07:00

Well, our wedding was sooooo much fun and our honeymoon was even better! Thanks to one of my coworkers Oliva we were able to stay at the Westin Hotel on Ka'anapali beach for 1/5 of the normal price. It was beautiful and we were treated like a king and queen the entire time. Even one of our drivers that took us from one place to another sent us up macadamia nut chocolates and cookies for free. The pool was so much fun, the beach was beautiful, and all of the activities were great!

Engaged!!!

2007-12-18T10:12:00.000-07:00

I asked Jana to marry me on the north beach of San Francisco with a ring and a little eight line poem. She giggled and said, "Yes". We saw and took a photo of the newspaper article http://www.theonion.com/content/news/man_likes_woman_so_much_he_marries in The Onion. It's funny. More pictures of Frisco to come...!

Nursing school party!

2007-12-11T17:13:00.001-07:00

This is my learning community in nursing school and we had a little christmas party with a white elephant gift exchange. It has been a great semester and we only have one more to go!!

Thanksgiving Fun!

2007-11-26T12:25:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun this year. We spent thanksgiving at Matt's Aunt Susans house as well as Rustlers Rooste with my family. It was fun to see everyone and eat lots of good food.

Copying Jason and Jessie

2007-10-24T22:18:00.000-07:00

I've never been called paris hilton but matt has been called ashton kutcher before! Haha this is so fun! Stacey, Cheryl, and Emily you are officially tagged.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHERYL FROM MATT AND JANA!!!!!

Here, There, and Everywhere

2007-10-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

The Hoover Dam!!

Matt and I inside the Venetian in Las Vegas.
Matt and I in Las Vegas outside the Bellagio.
My mom and my neice sienna.

The last picture taken of my brother Seth and I before he moved to Utah. :-(

Love is magic

2007-07-25T21:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Matt in beautiful Peru at Machu Picchu. He is having the time of his life and i finally got my braces off!!!!

Cusco!

2007-07-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the last little bit... Matt is having a blast in Peru taking spanish classes and visiting different places and i am as busy as can be with nursing school. Here are some pictures of me and my neices and nephew and also of matt in cusco!

4,000 miles apart

2007-07-04T16:41:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from the past few days. Matt is in Peru with Mike and he sent some beautiful pictures. The others are of my nursing school fun, we had to draw blood from each other!

Aspen Grove, UT

2007-06-27T14:33:00.000-07:00

Our Hotel, Turtle Bay.... What a View!

2007-05-29T20:14:00.000-07:00

Dole Plantation!

2007-05-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

Snorking at Hanama Bay!

2007-05-29T19:47:00.000-07:00