Karli Blum

To the Cutest Niece and Nephew I have!

2011-12-25T22:08:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve,

{Ams} and I set out to take some super cute pics of the kids for Mom for Christmas.

Our Super Secretive Mission:

.....ACCOMPLISHED.....

Without mom even having a clue!

The one that made it into Grandmas Christmas Wrapping. Framed 8x10 style!

I LOVE THIS ONE!!
Ams was pretending to be a monkey behind me, at least that's what I deducted from the sounds she was making.
I love the tears in {Binkers} eyes and her nose flaring with laughter.

Blue-eyed little {Bugs}.

Binker is probably one of the most enthusiastic models I have.
She loves to strike up any sort of pose!

The Past Two Weeks of Adventure and Awesomeness!

2011-12-04T00:08:00.000-08:00

In the Past 2 weeks I have:

Grappled and rappelled off of a random tree.
Gone to St. George for Thanksgiving.
Sledding in the Big Cottonwood Canyon.
Started up my photography business and had my first client this week!!!
Been Dancing.
Built a fort/cave in our basement.
Built a gingerbread house.
FINISHED the Christmas lights outside and put them all on timers.
Read a couple of different books.
Played the piano and guitar for about 2 hours a day.
Swam a couple miles this week.

Tommy, one of my really good friends and shipmates from the crew is up from the Dominican Republic right now and we have had a blast this last week doing all sorts of crazy stuff I've always wanted to do

. . . So we . . .

Rode our bikes up and down and around 3 Mountains.

Half the time, we didn't really know where the trails were,
maybe because we were where most people would NEVER go Mountain Biking.

We ran into some pretty spectacular hikers as well, and one was willing to take our picture, and he even managed to get in it somehow . . .

Our view from midway down South Mountain.

We had just scaled down South Mountain from SunCrest, you know, where they paraglide . . . Yeah, my legs were so done and I had to sit down. But the ride was so worth it! The sock was to keep the pant leg from getting stuck in the chain and gears . . . highly fashionable, I know!

Rode our bikes around downtown Salt Lake (best way to see the city). We parked up by the U of U next to a trax station and rode all the way down into the city. And when we were done, hopped back on Trax and got our door to door delivery service! It was Fantastic! It started snowing the last little bit to, so we found a little hot chocolate before we ended the trip. And then came on home.

The Lights are incredible at the Temple right now! This year is one of the most spectacular displays I can ever remember! (It may be because I can, in a tiny way, appreciate all of the hard work that went into each tree and branch now)

Abravanel Hall

Joseph Smith Building

The Gateway

And the real kicker was tonight, for the first time ever in my life . . . we made SUSHI!

It tasted SO GOOD!!

I must admit, I fell into a two and a half hour sushi coma afterwards . . . I fell sound asleep. and then we watched BYU beat Hawaii soundly. (Tommy was raised in Hawaii) So, it was not a fun game for him, I quite enjoyed it.

Such a great couple weeks! Filled with some crazy times!

Welp, that's as good of an update as I've ever seen. Catch yah later! Thanks for sticking it to the end.

May each day be better than the last!

Have a good week!

Christmas Lights!!!

2011-11-29T21:58:00.000-08:00

3 weeks . . .

. . . . . 6 blown fuses.

. . . . 2 branch slaps to the eyeball. . . . . .

And only a couple THOUSAND Lights Later . . . .

And I Couldn't Be More ExCiTeD

About how Great our house looks this year!

HaPpy HoLiDayS!!

Salt Lake Temple

2011-11-17T20:24:00.000-08:00

Pictures of the Salt Lake Temple that I took today.

Swimming in AZ

2011-10-02T09:19:00.000-07:00

So, Basically I go swimming everyday!! Love it! I took my camera to the pool one day, and got some sweet shots. Our must haves at the pool . . . at least 3 tennis balls and my neighbors viking helmet.

The Garden . . . AKA strip of dirt in our 'backyard'

2011-04-27T18:03:00.000-07:00

My latest project . . .

Transforming a neglected weed festering strip of dirt into something pleasant.

before after

Even our Turtles that we keep in the back are happier!
They don't have to bush-wack it to there little home.

Before

After
I also planted rows of lettuce and sugar snap peas on the other side of the Phoenix Roebelenii bush by the bikes.

It has been a long process especially cause the only time I have to work on it is on Tuesday and Wednesdays. And at that time, everyone else is working, so it has been a one woman task . . . but definitely worth the effort. I go outside everyday to enjoy it. But, now it is up in the 90's so, don't know how often I'll be going out there . . . HOT!!!

Little Bit about Life as of Late

2011-03-29T21:50:00.000-07:00

Well.

I am home for conference. Figured I would let anyone know, just in case they wanted to play this week. I'll be here until the 6th of April.

Work is going SO Well! I love it! I have my schedule figured out and am working 4 twelve hour shifts a week. I work Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 5 pm to 5 am. And then Mondays at 10 am. Kinda hard to switch to the day shift like that, but that's the scheduling office for yah, they really didn't think that would affect me and my partner to much. The hard part of it is, my weekend is on Tuesday and Wednesday, so dates are hard to schedule (not like I get asked much anyway, but hey).

I work on ambulance AP49 with Jason, who is freaking amazing!! He knows exactly where everything is and what needs to happen. I'll turn around to ask him to set something up, and he'll already have it ready, he anticipates like crazy! He is so good! We have way to much fun! We get run ragged though. The second we clear from a hospital after taking a patient there, dispatch drops another call on us. Which is good because it makes the night go a little faster, but it is very taxing! They only have a few ambulances running at night on the weekend covering the whole valley, so you can imagine how much they run us. The craziest part of it is, we'll easily put over 200 miles on a rig a night. Poor Jason has to drive so much, and he gets so tired sometimes. I have only had to throw things at him a couple of times from the back of the rig while we've had a patient, just to make sure he's alert, yah know. At any rate, I am loving my job, loving my room mates and my house. I am in the process of planting a garden, that will probably be my next post, that backyard is very neglected, but not for long.

Anyway. Life is grand!

Transportation

2011-03-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

Dominican Republic

2011-03-15T15:50:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a month since I have been in the wonderful Country of the Dominican Republic. And boy do I miss it! Don't get me wrong, I am loving Arizona, but I do miss my Familia Dominicana.

Some of my favorites . . .

What you wake up to, and watch the sun go down in. So Vast!

For years I have tried to capture Joe doing this face!!! I finally got it! And, it is just a Great looking shot of the guys! All pretty in their blue!

Here is the entire crew.

Our best day so far! the total: 103.

Roberto!! My Bachata Instructor, Dive buddy, and Body Guard. Whom he calls "Watchyman"

Cookie!! Takes care of EVERYBODY!! He is so great! And his dimples just make me smile!

Roboco y Cookie

Some random kid in the street popping a wheelie side saddle style, and then doing donuts in that same position . . . SKill!

And where would the boat be without the infamous all-seeing Canelo?

He is probably going to be our future captain. He practically is already. Man, I have a lot of respect for this kid. He just knows how to have a good time to!

Love the boat! Miss it like crazy! Excited to get back there soon.

Well, we can start with this . . .

2011-03-01T12:07:00.000-08:00

So Much has happened in the past month of my life! I will start with the basics.

I got HOME from the Dominican Republic on the morning of the 8th of February.

While I was still there,
I got these pics emailed to me on February 3,
My courageous car tried to take on a snow-plow head on. The results . . .

Somehow Dad ALWAYS has a back-up plan.

He arranged a new vehicle for me . . . And now, I am sporting a Dodge Ram 1500.

Okay, so that's the car situation.

I moved to Arizona.

I live in a condo house thing with 4 other girls. They are so much fun!

I have my own room. Of which I Love! When, I actually get to be in it.

I am working as a paramedic for Southwest Ambulance. I have been with the company for 15 days and already worked a grand total of 186 hours. Mathematically, that would be the equivalent of working 12 hours every day I have been here. I have had six 24 hour shifts.

And countless other crazy random shifts.

I WORK A LOT!

Which, I get paid Time and a half after I work 40 hours within a pay period, which is just 2 days of working for me. for this pay period, which started Saturday, I have already acquired 50 hours. And there are still 10 more days left in the pay period! I'm pretty excited! Making Bank.

Everything is going good. My singles ward is way funny, and HUGE!

Welp, that's about all the time I have to update. More to come . . . sometime.

Thanks for reading.

After months of Searching . . .

2011-01-13T14:28:00.000-08:00

Two Words . . . .

JOB HUNTING!

Two more words . . . .

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Job Title: Paramedic for South West Ambulance

I'll be running my own paramedic truck starting in February for an ambulance service down in Phoenix Arizona. I'm pretty excited. It's a little bit farther south than I would want to be right now . . . I have liked being close to the family. But, a job is a job.

And finally after 2 months of dedicated searching, and referrals, and names and numbers and calling and searching, etc . . . I finally got the perfect job for what I need to do right now to get my foot in the door and get going with my career.

Phoenix, here I come. (After I go to The Dominican, of course)

Now, I just need a place to live . . .

Anyone have any good suggestions or referrals?

Let me know.

Even if it's a "Hey Karli, I heard that there's this place on the south of the city that is terrible to live . . . Avoid it." Any input or help would be muchly appreciated. All I know about Phoenix is that it is hot! And the Suns play there for basketball.

I'm looking into the Mesa/Tempe/Gilbert side of the city if that helps. Let me know, if you know, of anyone who has friends or relatives I can chat it up with to find the best place to live.

Winter Festivities

2011-01-04T17:22:00.000-08:00

I LOVE THE SNOW!!

For New Year's I went up to one of my friends cabins up in Big Cotton Wood Canyon. . . THERE WAS SO MUCH SNOW!!!! It Was Great!! There was a path cleared off the tin roof for everyone to slide down, my goodness!! . . . IT was Screamin Fast! It only lasted a couple of seconds, but it was one of those drops that your heart goes into your throat and you seriously can't breathe! It was so fun! I went down about 20 times! My first run was in the dark on New Year's Eve . . . I stayed outside for about 3 hours before we dropped our own beach ball to welcome in 2011 because there was no TV. There were ice caves built, and showtunes on the pedalling/playing/reel piano. The cabin was 47*F the entire night. The pipes froze up on us a couple of times, but it was so much fun! And totally worth it!

Climbing to the top of the slippery slide to go flying off the roof.

Getting some sweet powdery air! This thing is so FAST!!

TON OF SNOW!!! I LOVE IT!!

The swing set to the left. The shed to the right. Notice that you can jump to the roof from the snow line. It is TALL!

The ice cave he built was to sturdy, so he decided to jump up and down . . . Then it broke.

Our New Year's group! (There were about 35 other people up at the cabin, but these were my good friends that I went up with. Lisa on the far left is the one whose relatives own the cabin. It was so much fun! And tie-dye man . . . Well, those are his mom's long-johns that he got her for a mother's day gift a while ago that she never wore . . . I think he planned that one out well for himself.

Dont even worry . . . .

I took full advantage of that opportunity!

Yes, I will post . . . the question is, What?

2010-12-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

What does someone that does practically nothing all day with her life post about?

I will find something. . . . That is the goal. Be prepared.

A little summin summin I whipped up for my good friend Steph!

2010-11-08T08:45:00.000-08:00

Steph! Check it out!!!

I made you A KILLER CHALK BAG!!!

disregard the safety pin . . . unless you like it, then it can stay. but for now, it is just temporary.

Features:

Hand woven encasing
Bright colors
A stay open top for convenience
A sophisticated draw string for the safe keeping of your chalk; complete with a quick easy access for those desperate times when chalk is essential to your grip.
Embelished gold grommet, complete with name en-graven to make it truly personalized!!
Carribeaner to clip . . . VIRTUALLY ANYWHERE!! As you can see, Even our front door!

BASICALLY, You are gettin Hooked up My dear!! You may just be the luckiest person in the world!!!

Messed up

2010-11-03T23:17:00.000-07:00

I messed up the blog somehow.

Under construction now I guess.

So, disregard the disarray. Hopefully I will have this straightened up and looking shnazzy soon. Good night.

I'm Home

2010-11-02T14:16:00.000-07:00

I Love My Family!!!

Family Pictures. Captured by my amazing cousin Julie Wallace. Thanks Jules!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

HIKING

This explains the ripples in the above picture. A barrel full of fun!

GRAND FINALE:

6 years ago, the three of us went on this same hike.

We took one of our favorite pictures of all time.

We decided to try and recreate it yesterday.

We got pretty Close!!

Even the rock that is split in half in the middle right is still in the middle right.

From memory 6 years ago, not to shabby.

Way happy we recreated this one.

Pretty Fun to be Home!

Coming home

2010-10-25T17:49:00.000-07:00

Got my plane ticket home. I'll be home on Wednesday night at around 11:40. Way sad to be leaving, but way excited to get home for the Halloween festivities and my family! And civilization . . . kinda. I think having less is more. We are so lucky to have the things that we have! There is so much to go around when all you have is nothing. And let me tell you! There is a LOT to be grateful for in this world!! I hope we all realize the good in Every day that we have. And the blessings that are so prevalent all around us. I sat in a home yesterday with a family and two members of the crew and some friends from town and enjoyed lemonade milkshakes from what little they had. And the mother, was wearing one of the dresses that I put in a bag to give away. She doesn't know that it used to be mine, but it made me realize how much we really have. And it looked Really Cute on her. Anyway. Just hope that I can always realize how much the Lord looks our for us, and how well He knows each one of His children. Excited to see you family! Take care. And care for those around you, and don't let the little things bother you, and find joy in the simple things in life. For that is what will truly fill your soul.

Pictures!

2010-10-08T07:43:00.000-07:00

Me Casa.

Some of My Brothers.

The dive site is right on the other side of that cliff. It's Beautiful!

Remember that crystal blue water with no white caps? Yeah, the hurricane has really stirred things up. We had to let out some of the anchor line so that the boat wouldn't have as much tension on it.

When the weather is bad, we have nothing to do but to play with the artifacts. Captain Billy (left) and Our Archeologist Alejandro (right) he is very dedicated and working around the clock, I think the fact that we aren't diving is good for him, gives him a chance to catch up. He is doing some excellent work right now!! It's actually really impressive.

Every night we have a gorgeous sunset! Especially with the storms.

Caught yah! We work hard around here. . . So, you need a good ciesta every now and then. A La Cueva (to the cave) to go nighty night. I was in the kitchen and looked down in the cueva to see this, it was so cute, I just couldn't pass it up. We printed it off, just in time for them to wake up, and when they did, wow, some great reactions!

. . . . Priceless.

They look scary in pictures, but their really not. We have some great laughs! This is the back of the boat, the hang out spot. Man, I just love these guys!! Mingo, Cooki, Carnelo, Amiel, and Roberto. Each one so different, and each one so valuable to this crew! Glad to be even just a small part of it.

That's about it for now. Later!!

Tail end of a Hurricane.

2010-10-08T06:18:00.000-07:00

So, we haven't been able to dive for the last 4 days. The waves are pretty big. We're braving the weather. I haven't gotten sea sick yet. Which is good. There have been times where our outriggers have gone into the water on either side, which, means the boat is rocking a ton! The cupboards opened and we lost the bottle of soy sauce and the bottle of chicken wing sauce. Sad day. We have rice 3 times a day to, so no soy, its gonna be difficult. :) The guys on the boat are great! I still am really bad at spanish, but I'm getting to where I can kind of follow a conversation along and figure out what they're talking about. We have a lot of fun!! When we're diving, its even better!! Having fun! Missing home every now and then, and civilization. I can't wait for the day when I can get some homemade popovers and gravy from me mommy. I made cream puffs last night, everyone was way happy. It was quite the task, trying to keep things from not flying off the counter and go everywhere. I succeeded though! And, it was amazing, I didn't leave any tracks. While the puffs were in the oven, I was sitting at the table, and no one would have even known that I was cooking!! Mom, you'd have been so proud, lets see how I do when dishes aren't at risk. Let's hope I can keep up that good habit. Anyway. Life is great. Can't wait to see the fam. And get back to diving. I'm gonna find a cable and load some pictures soon. Life is bueno!!

2010-10-03T08:59:00.000-07:00

Conference starts in 10 minutes! I have been counting down for the last 6 hours!! The guys were pretty sad that I wouldn't go diving with them today, but I told them that they were going to find something awesome, so we'll see if they do. The generator on the boat is shut off right now, so it's getting a bit toasty, and I only have about half hour of battery left on this computer, good thing there are two others right next to me so I can watch Conference! Man I didn't realize how much I love conference!! I always knew I did, but not being with the family yesterday to watch it really sucked. But, I know that you are all enjoying puffed pancake right now and are about to go nestle in to hear the words of the prophet.

Yesterday was awesome!! We found so much stuff! Everyone came up with a very unique treasure. Roberto and I definitely had the best hole though! We pulled up a ton of precious metals (is how I'll put it) I don't know what I'm allowed to disclose or not. So, once dad finds out and if he wants to tell you. Go ask him about it. It's pretty exciting! Everytime we pull something up, Roberto and I sing a muffled little song under the water that has to do with what we pulled up, and then when we get up, we sing it even louder! So much fun!

Conference is Starting!!! YAY!! Alright! Love yah tons! I'm doing well, and life is Grand!

Dominican Republic

2010-09-24T07:53:00.000-07:00

Well, I am in the DR. I have been here for 2 weeks, and I am going to be here for 4 more. Internet access is limited, but just know that I am safe and having a great time! My tan is great! My skin is humidified, and I have gotten wet at least twice each day from outside. I feel so fortunate to be here! And, I am really bad at Spanish still, but, it is coming along, at least I can order food, that's important. All of the investors and my family have gone home, so, it's just me and the crew. We aren't going out on the site for another couple of days, waiting for groceries and for the hurricane to blow by. I am sleeping in the hull down below, I have my own fancy shmancy room, and it has a/c and I feel like I am sleeping in an ice box. The way I get around is on the handle bars of Tommy's mountain bike, or the back of a motorcycle, or I walk (which isn't very often because of creepos that see my blue eyes and blow kissy faces at me) But, I assure you, I am in great hands. And I am way excited to get out and start diving! Alright, we are shutting the generator off, thus the computer as well. So Adios.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMBER!!! The real Reason I got on the internet! Love yah!

2010-09-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

Okay, these are all out of order, but its some of the stuff I've been up to this summer.

And I tell yah! It's been fun!

Taking pictures has been a little less than average, but the ones I've gotten, have been timeless.

Storm chasing

Hikes with rivers

9 mile hike with the Cousins and Kerr! So fun!

Camping in Woodland, past Park City, we went four wheeling a ton!

Dad let me drive once, and only once, I almost knocked him out about 3 times.

Checked out a chunk of land.

Cohwen was our guide. (Which was partly the reason why dad almost fell off) Which was totally worth it and so much fun!!

Caught grass hoppers and put em in a bag and went fishing, four wheelers to get to a pond that we canoed on. I actually caught a fish!!! And then it ate my hook, So, I never got to bring it up.

So peaceful! Especially when we're not on it. Surprisingly, we never tipped the canoe.

Me, Dad and Kerri took a Rescue diver course and are now certified, we had to 'save' our instructor. If you are a scuba diver, take this course, you learn so much! And its a hoot!

The mottly crew! So much fun! I went to Rexburg over the weekend and had a blast! We went Mountain Biking (i ran over a cactus and popped my tire on our last little jaunt), Fishing and Canoeing, Four-wheeling, had a fire, had lots of cookies, played some b-ball, played some guitar, was serenaded by a theatre organ that our friends father built (amazing), star gazed (amazing), got an AWESOME new camera strap from my way awesome Friend! (That deserves a post all by itself it is epic!!) Thanks Rach! played with cats, dogs, birds, frogs, spiders, grass hoppers, fish, And best of all . . . A ton of people that I haven't seen for what feels like forever! It was so good to just be up in Rexy and see a ton of great friends! And best of all, know I didn't have any homework assignments due or be stuck their in the bitter rexy winter! :)

So, I head to the Dominican Republic in a couple of hours, and when I get back, summer will be over, the leaves will be a changing! And I will have way more pictures for ya!

It's Official . . .

2010-07-28T23:45:00.000-07:00

One more post . . .
I really do need to go pack after this!

I Am OFFICIALLY A
Paramedic!!!

I Have passed all of my National Exams! (on the first attempts) And can now have the title

Karli Blum NREMT-P on any badge I wear.
-Nationally Registered Emergency Medical Technician - Paramedic.

I guess first I'll have to get a job that will actually give me a badge, but, I'm Still WAY Excited!!
We celebrated with Olive Garden Tuesday Afternoon after I found out I passed! YAY!!!

Glad I'm Home!

2010-07-28T23:38:00.000-07:00

Two of my Favorite People in the whole wide world! And probably two of my favorite to take pictures of . . . Cause they're so dang cute and funny!

We pulled out the hose for the kids to play with the other day! And It was way fun! . . to watch and take pictures of. Especially when they would fill there mouths and run somewhere far and water the flowers or paint splattered water on the ground.

Covering the spray . . . Very Wise.

I just LOVE Being With my Family!!

Man Alive I have missed them dearly! I can't wait for the Family Reunion this weekend! Speaking of which, we leave in the morning, and I still haven't packed. Woopseydoodle.

Home "Improvements?"

2010-07-28T23:20:00.000-07:00

Kerri and I are home!! Well, until we go to Canada tomorrow, but our stuff is moved back in! And we are here to stay!! My closet has never really been to functional. So, I drew up some plans on how to make it more useful, and emptied it. . . . along with all of the stuff that I moved back home with INTO MY ROOM! It's a good thing I built a room up in the attic a while back, at least I had a place to sleep.

Lucky Mom!
She WAS excited about us being home, until the projects started exploding everywhere.

I completely Emptied This! . . . .

And Put it into THIS!!! . . . . Wow!!?

Once the clothes were able to be hung up . . . It wasn't Too Bad.

The Closet that I drew up, That mom and I constructed.

Where did it all go you ask . . . ?

Well, 6 garbage bags now overflow the garbage bins outside.

3 D.I. Bags.

And 2 boxes of college stuff went in the attic.

Who knew I had such nice carpet?! Isn't it just lovely!?

It is completed! And it is SOO Clean! I Love it! It is completely organized and Clutter Free!

And the best part is . . . . MOM's SUPER HAPPY It's Done to! And now, WAY Happy That we are Home! Yay!! Love you Mom! Thanks for putting up with us!

GRADUATION COMMENCEMENT

2010-07-25T14:24:00.000-07:00

My Entire Family Came Up! Thank you So Much Family!
I love you ALL!

I PASSED MY NATIONAL EXAM!!

2010-07-17T21:53:00.000-07:00

After 7 grueling hours of testing this morning . . . .

I passed the Practical Portion of my National Exam!

Just one more written test to go . . . .

and then, I am a NATIONALLY REGISTERED PARAMEDIC! . . . THE HIGHEST LEVEL YOU CAN GET IN THE EMERGENCY FIELD.

and I get one of these shiny numbers:

I can not wait for this past year and a half of endeavor's to finally pay off with a shiny gold patch!

Awe . . . . I could just stare at that picture ALL DAY!!! It's so beautiful!

And I can't wait to get one of my own!

Just 9 more days of studying and then a test, and hopefully I will pass the first time and not have to retake it. There is a 40% pass rate for the first time throughout the nation. yeeks.

Also . . . I graduate in 6 days!

If you are interested in attending, the commencement will be held:

July 23, 2010

at BYU, Idaho

at 5:30 PM.

If you have more questions, welp, just ask, I'm sure you know how to contact me.

DOOMS DAY!

2010-07-13T21:28:00.000-07:00

So, There is a fire a blazin South West of Rexburg. And cast THE COOLEST Lighting. So, I seized the opportunity and went and took some pictures.
Also helped that I couldn't find my lacrosse banquet tonight. . . woops. My Bad. But, It was a much needed awesome break! And I am way happy with how these turned out!

Now, The Un-Edited Pictures of the Day:

National Registry Exam

2010-07-13T16:23:00.000-07:00

So, I take the first portion of my National Exam on Saturday to officially become a paramedic. Yes, NATIONAL EXAM.
I am kinda just needing a little break from freaking out a bit, so, I am posting about it. It's kind of a big deal. And, I graduate college in 10 Days!
Which means, I get to move back home next week! And I take my written portion of my National Exam on July 26 in Draper, THAT One!!! I AM REALLY SCARED OF. Throughout the nation, there is a 40 percent pass rate for the first time you take the exam. And you get 3 chances before you have to go through a refresher course. And then 3 more chances, and if you don't pass, well, you should either rethink your line of career choice, or go through the paramedic program AGAIN! . . . No Thank You! At least I will have been home for a couple days before I take that one.
Then the family will head on up to Canada for a reunion. And then, go work in the Dominican Republic for a bit, and then go to Africa with my Uncle, Dad, and Amber . . . hopefully everything will work out for that.

Well, that was good to kind of take a break from homework, but now, I have to go and get back to working on it. After this week, I won't be so overwhelmed.

Good news:
My lacrosse team won the Championship. 13-7. I scored the first and the last goal for the game.
My Frisbee team made it to the Semi-Finals, which was pretty good, considering we only won one game all season, and then the one to get us into the Championships. Really fun. And I get to go to my banquets tonight and tomorrow. So glad I played, it was so fun and worthwhile.

I LOVE MY FAMILY!

2010-06-23T17:45:00.000-07:00

Every year we try and take family pictures, and I don't know why we go to such great lengths. We end up capturing our family perfectly anyway. This was last weeks model! And man, we have some fun! And then some not so fun drama. . . But hey, we at least keep it interesting.

YAY Family Pictures!!

These ones depicts our family the best I think!

I just watch in amazement! Man, how did I get so lucky?

The only one we got where we are all remotely looking and smiling at the camera.

I just love my family . . . . That is All!

Kerri Ran a Half-Marathon!

2010-06-13T11:05:00.000-07:00

Kerri Ran her Half-Marathon yesterday with our roommate Laura. She did SO Good!

We are way proud of her!

She ran it in 2 hours and 4 minutes!

She could hardly walk later that night.

Later that night, I had my Lacrosse game!
It was SOOOO Fun! We got to play at the stadium.
We won 10-7.
Way intense game!

MUD!

2010-06-07T23:58:00.000-07:00

Today, we went and found mud. And then, we partied! (I wanted to get some sweet shots for my photography class) I think that mission was accomplished! Here are some from today.

Don't worry, we changed into dry clothes after. :)

Fun-filled crazy adventures!

2010-06-07T00:22:00.000-07:00

WAY EXCITED FOR THE WEEKEND!!!

Last week was memorial day weekend. I biked to a Mountain in Rexburg deemed "R Mountain" and climbed it and biked back. The entire endeavor took a grand total of 3 hours. Went with my room mate, and it was so much fun!

It was awesome! Kerri and I went 'camping' with my parents down in the Hot Springs somewhere North of Tremonton, Hoot and a Half! We played a healthy game of keep away in the pools, (Which I still have some scratches and bruises from) And it definitely was not a long enough trip. On the way down, this little bird went total kamikaze and smacked my wind shield. First bird dead from my car. It even made it past my car the first time, turned right back around and up, and poof soot. Sorry little guy. Kerri and I took off the next morning in order to get to Logan for a farewell at 9. My friend Lindsay from the paramedic program just left for the MTC and she is going to Albuquerque, New Mexico Spanish speaking for the next 18 months. Way crazy good! Then, I went rock climbing with Stephanie and Landon the next day. And I pretty much crocheted 4 hats this week and a baby bootie. Yeah, I really don't have much to do.

Fun with the fire

Kerri blowing on an ember

My roommate Lindsay writing her name. I think she did pretty good.

I am in an outdoor photography class now. So, expect some awesome pictures soon!

This weekend, I had a lacrosse game and a frisbee game. Went rock climbing and slack lining and biking and dutch ovening and to a fire, and had a blast! It was such a fun weekend! One of the very rare weekends that Kerri is actually able to play and do stuff with us. So, that was really fun! I have all sorts of bruises from my adventures, and I am so excited to see what this next week entails for me! Yippee!

Kerri's papers are completely submitted now and on their way to the Prophet. She should be getting her call within the next 2 weeks. CrAzY!!!

Life as of Late . . .

2010-05-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

Well, This is my Final Semester at BYU-Idaho. I GRADUATE ON JULY 23, 2010! With an associates degree in health administration. I am taking my national paramedic written exam within the next month, and the practical (hands on) portion in July. So, I will graduate with my National Paramedic Certification. Which will be very exciting. For the degree portion, I was required to take 5 more credits of religion. So, I am in 3 religion classes right now! And it is AwEsOmE!!! I am also in sociology. The best part is, I will only have to take two tests for my classes this semester. The mid-term and the final for sociology.

I am on a competitive girls ultimate Frisbee team, and a competitive girls lacrosse team. Man! Is it ever fun! My schedule ROCKS!!

My lacrosse team totally DoMiNaTeD on Friday night!!

For the last two seasons up at BYU-Idaho, the lacrosse team has been co-ed. And if you have never seen a lacrosse game- just know that the only thing that is the same in guys and girls rules is the fact that you have to get the ball in the net to score. The sticks are different, the rules, the lines on the field, the strategy, the agility, even the color of the ball. So, I have been having to compensate immensely while playing with the guys, and plus, I would get beat all the time with speed! So, We finally have enough popularity with the sport to get a girls team and a guys team going. It was SO much fun to actually be playing with just girls again! which was a lot easier for me So, I Scored 6 Goals and had 4 Assists! YAY!! My coach is from back east, so she is way good! And we have about 6 girls on my team that have played before, and man, we just worked together so well! The Nicest part was before my game, three of the guys I played with last year came up to me and told me that if they could, they would totally have me suit up for their team and play as there attack-man! They wanted me back on their team! Which was one of the best compliment I heard all day! My frisbee team played on Saturday in high wind, and we could use a little help. Definitely not as meshed as my lacrosse team. But, fun nonetheless.

So that is my life as of late. I have also been called as Relief Society Piano player. Which is THE BEST!! And it has been my dream calling ever since I got into Relief Society!

SATURDAY NIGHT:

SO FuN! I am living in a house with 8 girls. And it is a party and a half! We all get along so good! So, a couple of them knew that it was Victoria's Secret Semi-annual Bra sale, so, they somehow swayed me to come along with them to go bra shopping. Now if you know me, yikes! That is scary territory, so, yes family, I had some experiences. found one i liked, but they didn't have the right style, so still just going with the sports bras for a while. If you wanna, I'll tell you the style and stuff for my birthday gift for tomorrow. :) But, I found out, all you have to do is go in there, tell em you need to get sized, they run around the store for you, and you just stay in the dressing room. Way less scary! Anyway, one of our friends who is practically a roommate made it really fun, and man was I ever glad she was there. She used to have a phobia as well, so she could relate.

Then, we went out to dinner at Red Robin afterwards, and man alive: HAPPIEST FOOD DANCE OF MY LIFE! The Banzai Burger was incredible! And you get bottomless steak fries . . . Yumm! We had a party and a half! My roomie took pics, maybe I'll go steal them from her.

Then, we headed to one of the local gals's houses and watched robin hood: prince of thieves. Wow, great movie, kinda gory, but I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Two of em were out cold by the time the movie got over, and then we made milk shakes (that we stirred) They were delicious. But, All in all, A FaNtAsTIc EveNinG! Full of laughs and adventure! I LOve my Roomies!

Dominican Republic

2010-04-23T14:32:00.000-07:00

This is our new diving area . . . Gorgeous!

This is still in the area that we are in already, beautiful nonetheless.

So, Dad and I were told that the beach on the other side was Beautiful. And that we should go check it out. Well, instead of getting wet, we went up and over a mountain. Little did we know, we were going to be following a goat path. It was quite the hike, but, we made it.

Afterwards, we decided to just get wet. The tumult we had to walk back in, which wasn't all that bad actually.

My Pina-Colada . . SO GOOD!!! It was a shaved out pineapple with the juice and strips left in it with coconut milk added. YUMMMMYYYYYY!!!!!!

Catch of the day . . . our lunch

Dominican Specialty! Plantain Fries, Cabbage, Carrots, Fish, and Rice! Bueno! Very tasty!

Friends that didn't make the menu for that day . . . But, made the album anyway.

The only way to get to the beach we were at was to drive through a river that actually connects the two roads. Off to the left of the vehicle: there are some locals cleaning their food, off to the right front: two people cleaning a motor bike, and to the left front, four men basking in the 'deep portion of the river' soaking and drinkin beers. And, while we were driving, a man on a horse came by and passed us.

Between Lunch and 'the Hike' we went and gave beans and rice to some of the locals. It was really neat.

This is someone's home.

The local Church

and they are so creative! This is a boat that he made.

It's amazing, for not having much, they have A LOT of Heart! They will give you anything they have! And they live so simply. I wonder if we should all just go and live there ways for a while, and we would all be more grateful. We have so much!

Happy Easter!!

2010-04-11T21:05:00.000-07:00

The egg that's a replica of Kerri crafted by Marlayna.

Can you see the resemblence? Oh and, Amber taped Ker's mouth all crazy. hahah.

The golden egg I painted

CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN!!

She loves posing for pics now so funny

Remeber These gals? They are all growed up now! We get a good 50 eggs a week.

They are the funniest little chickens, well, not so little now.

Feeding the Chickens wheat

Yaz handing out the wheat rations

Good job snagging that one ams! Notice tates affinity for tools in the background already. hehe.

Making bead watches while the men head down stairs for a game of pirates dice.

My cousin and his fiance came down! Yay!

And my cousin and her boy! In there matchy pjs!

It was so fun having the fam here! And just to be home and to enjoy the easter celebrations!

I'm Home.

2010-04-02T01:05:00.000-07:00

It’s really weird to be home. I love it! But it is weird.
I am in such a bittersweet realm at the moment. There were so many people in Oklahoma that I grew to love and learned so much from. I miss them dearly. But, while I was there, I was missing so many that I loved. So, it is good to be home, and be with the ones who made me who I was in order to go out and love the ones that have helped make me who I knew I could always be. Does that make sense? Anyway. I have many people to thank for who I am today. MANY People. And I'm home.

My last week of shifts went Awesome! We had way to much fun on the ambulance! And I was so sad for it to be my last shift on Friday. My preceptor has been a paramedic for a couple years now, and has had several students. For some reason, each one of his students on their last day, last shift, last patient, that patient is just bound to die. For some reason, every time, that patient is just not gonna live. Well, I broke his streak. But, that doesn't mean I didn't have my fair share of patients die. Just not my last one. I think it was because I kept singing Nappy Roots song "Good Day" It goes a little something like this:

Gonna be a good day, Ain't nobody gotta cry today, cause ain't nobody gonna die today, save that drama for another day, hey, it's gonna be a good day.

That's probably what did it right there. And the fact that we had had two patients die that week. So, we ended on a good note, a transport. Bahaha! Which, turned out to have a very neat CT Scan. He had air in his brain. Not even kidding, got hit in the head with a shock absorber, cracked his skull, and air leaked through his sinuses and into his brian. Giving his scan the appearance of little black worms in his brain. Very interesting. Anyway, no worries, he was completely with it, and just being transported from one hospitals ER to another hospital where they had a neurologist that could somehow deal with the situation.

Saying good bye on Friday was super hard. I learned So SO So much from Blake. And, not gonna lie, I'm really bummed that Leslie and him are on the ambulance right now, and I'm not. But, it did make me happy to get a text back from him after I let him know we got home safe, saying:

Wish you were back. I forgot how to do everything and have a new student now. Today is his first clinical ever... We've got a lot of work to do

Which made me really happy, because that really means that Leslie and I did EVERYTHING! I was actually in charge, and he had let me be the medic for the month that I was with him. Which Rocks! Especially on the critical calls. One in particular stands out, where we walked into the house, fire was doing CPR, I had them put the monitor on, I check for a pulse, nothing. The basic on our truck that day asks: "Hey, do you need me?" Blake tells him "naw, we got this." And he went and got a history for me from the family. I set up the airway, tell Blake to get the IV, hang a line, and push epinephrine and atropine. I get the tube in, tell fire to continue with ventilations and compressions, we get her secured and ready to go, I look around, and Blake is over in the other room giving stickers to a little kid! It was awesome! He had that much confidence in me to just be able to watch from a distance, and let me run everything! I check for a pulse, a rhythm, and we have a very weak pulse, and a very nice looking ECG. Continue on with everything. Half way through the transport, the patient will blink twice when I ask her to, and is spontaneously moving her hands. Got her into the hospital, give report, and transfer care to them. And it was awesome! And Blake was so proud! There were other calls where he wouldn't know specific details on patients until we got them to the hospital and I was telling the nurse everything that I had found out and what was pertinent. Which was awesome, because then he could write his report on the information I gave to the nurse, which means that the report I gave was really good too! Now, don't get me wrong. He had eyes in the back of his head. He was always there at the precise moment I needed him, or right there to correct my errors. And when I had a question, we would discuss about 4 different solutions to one thing. He really got me thinking, and he was an awesome preceptor! Anyway, point of that. I learned a ton! Miss the ambulance a Lot! And am so glad that I got to go through those experiences and gained so much confidence because of the confidence that was placed in me.

Every Friday night, after shift. Stetson (BYU-I Paramedic Student that has helped get me through since day 1 of the program) and we would go have, what I call, a "pancake party". We went to either Denny's or IHOP once a week from the week he arrived. It just so happened that the only time we could get together was at 1:30 in the morning after our Friday shifts. So, this last Friday, we stayed at IHOP until 4 in the morning. Just chattin it up. And, I am really going to miss our little pancake parties. But, they were so good to just unwind, talk about some of the calls we had had, hear each others experiences, and just be able to laugh and enjoy blueberry pancakes and oreo milk shakes w nachos and fries on occasion. The funniest thing about IHOP on a friday night is, It's PACKED!! Especially at 2 in the morning. I found out later, that it's because the nearby bar kicks everyone out at 1:30, and the next best thing that is open that late just happens to be Denny's or IHOP. Which gets super funny when you start looking around you at all the different characters that show up. But, breakfast food parties are probably one of my favorite things Ever! Especially at wee hours of the morning.

Saturday was awesome. Went to a service project where we helped sand the drywall putty from a little families house that caught on fire back in November and the contractor up and left with all of the money that they had given him to restore the house. So, a couple kids from the branch went and helped them out. I got my oil changed while we were there. And then, we went to a surprise birthday party for Joey. Which was SO much fun! Man, I am gonna miss the kids from the branch! They threw me and Brittany a going away party deal fro FHE last monday. Which was so nice of them. And each one of them wrote me a little card, and it was so nice of them! And, it was a blast and a half!! And I just want to thank them for doing that, it meant a lot. Five of them sang us a song at the end of it, that was AmAzInG! And if they ever get it recorded, I will for sure be putting it on here!

Sunday. Last day ever. Church was so good! As always. Went and watched the Blind Side at Joey's later that night. And then, at 11:07 PM, went and picked Mom and Dad up at the Airport! YAY!! Mom and Dad are the greatest! They met my closest friends that I made their, shared lots of laughs and stories for a while. They gave me a present that I wasn't allowed to open till I was outside of the city. We said good bye, gave lots of hugs. Shed some tears when I pulled away from them, and drove off with my parents. And, now, I'm home. And my parents should be very glad that they came and got me, or else, I probably would have stayed longer. But, I made a huge playlist of some really great songs that I knew my dad would love for the 20 hour drive we had ahead of us. and, it was definitely a fun drive. Stopped in Sidney, Wyoming for the night. Mom and I went swimming while Dad typed up some more pages of his book. And we had really good food all along the way. We stopped a truck stop with home made apple butter = delicious. and I got a mushroom swiss burger . . . Yum!! And, we made it home safely! And only saw one U-Haul trailer flip a Chevy Blazer over in 50 mph wind gusts. Everyone was okay, including the two cats and the dog that were in the car. Minor scratches and cuts. Gave 'em some alcohol swabs and band-aids and we were back on the road.

Anyway. Good to be home. Sad to be gone, and so happy to be moving forward with life.

My friend got her mission call last night. Went up to her house for that. She is going to the Phillipines in June and I got to see a ton of really good buddies that I haven't seen for a while. I got to see my Uncle and Cousin and go to dinner with them last night. And, I got to see little Yazzi, who did not want me to leave her ever again. Man, I have got the cutest niece and nephew in the world! And, I wish that Amber's blog was for realsie . . . good april fool's joke beansie! But, I want it to be true! Cause your kids are stinkin adorable!!! Anyway, lovin life. Missin the ambulance and the branch. But so happy to come home to a room full of balloons and a pinata full of candy. And now, get to see a ton of people for conference that are coming to stay with us. And I get to see Kerri!! Whoot whoot!! Can't wait! Love conference and easter! Yippee!

468 of my required 480 hours done!

2010-03-22T02:13:00.000-07:00

Whoo! Where to start!?

I guess, the best and happiest thing that has happened . . .

I Finally SWITCHED PRECEPTORS!!!

My new preceptor's name is Blake, and I couldn't be more excited to go to work every day! Man, it is a night and day difference! Pretty much, he tells me every day that the truck is mine, and that I am to take it over. There have been several calls where he hasn't even put gloves on. One patient didn't even know he was in the ambulance with us! Cause he lets me do everything! It rocks! And, if I have a question, we talk about it right then and there, and he makes sure that everyone is comfortable and that things are going smoothly. But, somehow, he always still knows exactly what is going on, and he gives me immediate feed back, and whenever I feel like I really messed up, or I just fell a little short, he always turns it right back around, makes me analyze it in a different light and makes me feel better about the situation. And sometimes I do get the 'okay, what happened there'? look. But, then get the 'alright, let's work on this part, and go get us another one!' chat.
But, what's funny is, I mess up and get jumbled on the patients that are just fine. And basically using us as a glorified taxi service . . . "Ok, so why are we here today? What's different that made you call the ambulance?" Those ones confuse me like crazy! But then, I'll have the patient that's on the ground, not breathing, and know exactly what to do! Tell everyone exactly what they need to be doing, and take complete control of everything that is going on. So . . . I am doing great! All of my evaluations are very positive and I feel like I am deserving the high scores that I am getting! So, pretty sure, I am gonna pass the internship! And, I only have 4 more shifts left. Which, is such a bitter sweet! I am so excited to get home and see my family! But, I am going to miss the people that I have come to love out here, and that have helped me become even more of what I need to be. But, it is time, I have learned way more than I ever thought possible, and am so excited about everything that is going on!

Let's see, I had a 56 year old drunk patient this week where the conversation went a little something like this: And Blake just laughed the entire time, I had to laugh along to, because, this conversation got repeated 3 TIMES!!

Little background first though, set the scene. Very run down home, no siding, just plywood, all windows boarded off, foundation showing about 3 feet above ground from the dirt being washed away around it, garbage everywhere. The only food, grapefruit peels. The man hasn't eaten in 3 days, wants a sandwich (reason for the trip to the hospital) and has been drinking everything he can get his hands on; besides water. He has to be the one to close his gate, it takes him a good 5 minutes, cause he can hardly stand up straight from being inebriated. And, when we get him to the ambulance, he put his hands on the hood of the truck, like he was getting arrested. Baha! So, he obviously knows the drill. We get him in the back of the ambulance, I ask him to sit down and lean back, and he gives me the most bone-chilling glare I have ever received from a drunk man. So, I say 'please'. And get the response "I don't like you" and the conversation proceeds something like this:

"You look way to young to be doing this! Do you even know what you're doing?"
(as I'm holding a needle to his arm) bahah!

"How old are you?"

"I'm 20"

"Yep! you're definitely to young! What do you get paid!?"

"I don't get paid, I'm a student" (now up to this point, We've been in the ambulance about 5 minutes. I have been asking questions, finding out a bit of history, and I was still getting the evil eye from him, and I thought I was seriously about to get smacked, but, something about this time, softened his heart)

"You need to find a different job! They're not payin you enough! You're way to nice."
Still a very inquisitive look. He was in awe that I wasn't getting paid, and that I would put up with this sort of stuff, and actually want to make it my profession.

"Are you married?"

"Nope, I'm to young remember?"

"You're not married!??! . . . .

"Well, are yah gay?"
we all chuckle at that one.

"No."
(inquisitive stare down to see if I was lyin)

Well, do you wanna be married!?"

"Eventually, one day, yes."

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Nope."
(Which I prolly should have said yes at this point)

"Well, why not?"

"I dunno, I just don't"

"Well, you sure are purty!"

"Well, Thank you."

"Don't say thank you! You're way to nice!"

"What am I supposed to say?"

"Well . . . I dunno! Nothin I guess!"

"Humphhg! . . . Well . . . Do ya wanna Get Married?"

"No."

Throughout the 30 minute transport, we had a lot of good laughs, and I didn't feel to threatened. I made him cry at one point and then he asked me to marry him again, then he would tell me to find someone really nice and get married, that I am going to be a great wife, and that I really need to find a different job. He even made a couple comments such as "I'm old enough to be your father!" and "I have a son that is 23, but you're not meetin him!" how funny of a call this really was. And told me to go into the army, and then told me that I needed to get some food. Because he asked me if I had a sandwich, and i told him i didn't, and he said, are you lying? and I told him I wasn't, cause if I did, I'd be eaten the other half. So, needless to say, got him to the hospital. Had some good laughs, and he placed an order for a sandwich the second we got there. And then we told him that the nurse that was taking care of him now, does have a wedding ring on, so she's taken. Haha! He chuckled. Then pointed his finger at me and told me "get married", then we left.

So, life is pretty stinking funny!

And my preceptor is stinkin awesome!! We have way to much fun! And he is way to smart for his own good! And he asks me the most ridiculous questions, that I go and ask the nurses, and they don't even know. He won't tell me what the answer is, ever, until he knows I have chewed it over a good 20 times in my brain. So, we definitely learn a ton, and we definitely have a lot of fun! And, the best part is, he treats his patients like they are actual human beings! He will let us stay on scene for about 2 hours, if all the patient needs is someone to chat with. And we have. Too much fun! I love it! And he freaking rocks!

I have one week left here. And I am going to miss it . . . a lot. But, I have learned so much! And have definitely made my stay here worth it. I am very excited to see my family, to finish up schooling; I am graduating from BYU, Idaho in July. And I'm really excited to see where the wind blows me from there.

Too Much Fun!

2010-02-28T21:58:00.000-08:00

Brittany and I have somewhat overlapping schedules, so the only times we get to see each other are either on Sundays, or at crazy hours of the night, so we party it up! And, I tell you what! We have some FuNnY Times! I just stinking love it! I am gonna miss being out here! We are coming right down to three weeks left . . . it's gone fast!, and we have met some Incredible people here! And the best part is . . . it feels like we have known them forever! It's gonna be weird leaving, but, let's not dwell upon that. The best is here and now.

No longer forward nor behind

I look in hope and fear;

But grateful take the good I find,

The best of now and here.

John G. Whittier

For Valentines Day, which was so much fun! Brittany made me this candy poster, which I LOVE!! And, it has gotten me through many a day since then. I got Brittany those crazy little time crystallized Sea Monkeys that come to life when you add water, and I can seriously get mesmerized by those tiny twitching specks for a good 15 minutes at a time, they are very captivating. So, that has been exciting. I forgot to tell you that for Valentine’s weekend, Christy drove all the way from Missouri to just come spend the weekend with me! It was SO MUCH FUN!! And I honestly can’t wait to be her roommate this coming semester! (Kerri, Christy and I are all living in a house called Bristol Manor right off of campus next semester, and I’m stoked!) And plus, it will be Oh so beautiful weather! Rexburg in the summer is THE PLACE TO BE!! So, I have a grand candy fix, and had the best date night with Christy EVER! (A BBQ at the house . . . YUMM, Going down to Bricktown and strolling along the windy river through down town, Marble Slab Creamery – best ice cream EVER!, and sitting on a tail gate in Toby Keiths ‘I Love this Bar’ Grill. Best V-day Weekend! Thanks for coming Christy! That was way to fun!

Christy and me on the cushioned tail-gate coming out of the wall in the entry way of Toby Keith's Place. Marble Slab . . . Best ice cream IN THE WORLD!! Seriously! So, creamy and such a good flavor! (you know those lotions from bath and body that you always wish could taste how they smell . . . coconut bliss!) Hmm'Mm . . . Heaven.

SEA MONKEY EXTRAVAGANZA!!

With the 1-2-3 ''easy'' step instructions! Haha! I had to analyze them for a good five minutes to make sure we were giving our sea monkeys the best possible chance to survive and grow! :)

we brought them to life! Now we have at least 18, that I can count, twitchy specks of life!

Amidst the trials . . . We have some stinking good times!

Need I say more . . .

P.S. Brittany never allows you to have a bad day that stays that way. She cheers you up instantly with whatever she can! This days beauty, my door filled with post-it notes EVERYWHERE! :)

Comments are in!

2010-02-28T00:26:00.000-08:00

Alrighty! YaY!! Looks like Everyone's in!
And yes, it is no wonder where I get my crafty skills from! ;) Thank you!

Erin = Red

Amber = Cream

Mom = Black or Eggplant

Kirstin = the Cream? or Greenish Gray one? Maybe a mixture of both?

Dallen = although unspecified = Dark Blue = Manly

Awesome! I'm excited! And, just a little update from the internship stand point of my life . . . I am finally getting to switch preceptors this week. I typed up a very well written email to the supervisor once again, and I so eloquently and forcefully persuaded and demanded to switch. So, hopefully, things will start going a little better on the trucks. And, if not, I will at least get to still crochet special hand crafted hats for ya'll! (a lil southern swang we be pickin up) Anyway! Have an awesome weekend! Love you all!

P.S. technically, Amber was vetoed from the comment position as being in the top 5, since she already had one in the works, so if there is still just one more person out there dying for a hat, I will perhaps accept your plea. :) Let me know if you want one. I'll see what I can do. And Dallen, if you don't want one, you better tell me, cause I will make you one.

Special Once-in-a-Lifetime Offer!

2010-02-24T22:11:00.000-08:00

So, I remembered I knew how to croquette, So, that is just what I did. . .

I croqueted my little heart out. And, it helps my day go by much faster. I have already croqueted 3 hats this week. Yes, I am in business!

Any requests?

Got 13 more shifts on the ambulance, that is where I am most effective. Don't worry, I keep them as germ free as possible! :)

I think they've turned out really cute!

No worries men, made Billy one and he LOVES It!! And he is a manly man! So, if you would like a specialty crafted hat from Karli's quick croqueting addiction, Place your order while I am still stuck in the back of a rig! Quick, They're going fast!

Gonna Give a Quick lil shout out to Breanne and Kerri for their persistence in teaching me how to croquete several times, I think you will be proud of your ambitious results. The best part is, a couple of the gals from the Relief Society are coming to my house this Friday for me to teach them how to make one of these exquisite little numbers! It's gonna be fun!

FIRST FIVE TO COMMENT GET ONE IF THEY INDICATE THE DESIRE!!
So, Hurry quick!
and tell me the color choice!

Everyone is sportin one! Place your order now! Color too! I'm Going yarn shopping this Friday, so better hurry while this once-in a-lifetime offer is still available~

P.S. Amber~ you're set!

Got one in the works for ya! ;)

Intern . . . a recent medical graduate receiving supervised training, sometimes without pay, at a trade or occupation to gain work experience. As a Verb: Confine (someone) as a Prisoner

2010-02-07T22:07:00.000-08:00

This has been A CrAzY Week!!

Patients were insane!

A drunk man that filleted his finger with a machete 3 days prior to us getting there. And, he still had blood on his clothes from the incident . . . . just giving you a taste of his hygiene habits. Lets just say, He didn't smell like roses. He was hilarious though and drunk as a skunk!
Two full arrests.

The first one. We got an organized rhythm back at a rate of 81, but no pulse. They pronounced her dead in the ER after they worked on her for a good 30 minutes. Then, while they were prepping her for the family to come in and see, she started breathing spontaneously, the nurses thought that it was just her final gasps of life, but then, SHE LIFTED HER HEAD OFF OF THE TABLE!!! So, they worked her for another hour, and then finally pronounced her dead again.
The next one, we got a pulse back, began pacing his heart, got a heart beat that synchronized with the electrical impulses from our monitor. Got him to the hospital, the nurses unhooked the pacer!!!!! And, his heart stopped beating . . . BECAUSE They unhooked it! And they accused us of never having a heart beat or a tube correctly placed! When, we were getting capnography readings of 35-40 on the way to the hospital! And, in order to have that high, your heart pretty much has to be beating, and you pretty much need to be exchanging oxygen. I guess it didn't matter anyway though. Because about twenty minutes later they had gotten a copy of the DNR form that the family had signed Earlier that morning. So, then they terminated all treatment anyway. So, kind of an odd situation.

Lets see.
I am most likely switching preceptors this week. So, we will see how that goes. Which means I may possibly switch shift schedules. For multiple reasons.
But, basically I am stuck at where I am at with this current preceptor, and do not feel like I have progressed in my medicine for the past 3 weeks. She takes her job very seriously, and likes things done in a precise manner, as she should, but she takes control of EVERYTHING! Which, is not conducive to my educational well being. I have told her this, she said she would back off a bit, but, inevitably, that has not been the case. I have tried to push my way through it, but it is just not getting better and I am fighting a losing battle while getting run over and put down time and time again by my preceptor. I realize an internship is a learning experience, I knew from the get go it was going to be hard, and if it were easy, it wouldn't be worth it. But, its not worth it when the people that you are working closely with, that are telling you "yay" or "nay" are digging you into the ground, pushing you out of the way, and telling you in vulgarity and profane language that she won't step in until she feels like you have 'messed' up, or are going to slow. Which, the patients that we had for these situations, were NOT going to die by the time we got them to the hospital, because they were -- in part -- fakers, so, super easy to treat, but she gets fed up with them and starts cussing at them and carrying on, while I am trying to do my assessment and get things done, and then she will tell me to get out of the way, just because she is fed up with the BS calls that we get. Honestly, they are the easiest calls you will run, and the best experience FOR A STUDENT to find out the underlying events that made them actually call the ambulance. Which is usually mental disorders or med refills. She is super scary to even try to stand up to, she gets this untamable fire in her eyes that I don't even want to go up against. Especially because she doesn't really care. She already has her Gold Patch and a job that she has had for 12 YEARS! So, at this point, she would probably actually prefer to get fired, for it is an excuse for her to finally get out, for she is totally burnt out. So, I have chatted with the supervisor, taken his advice for the week, but I will be chatting with him again tomorrow on seeing what can be done about the situation. So, kind of a scary little plunge at the moment, but, it will all work out. And hopefully I can become everything that I need to while I am out here. Everything that is supposed to happen will. And, the Lord is looking out for me. Besides, I have learned SO MUCH about quite a variety of topics--especially myself-- since she has been my instructor. But, now, I just need someone that will let me spread my wings and get in there and actually LET ME mess up so I can LEARN from my mistakes and progress to better things.

Outside of the MEDIC life.

Brittany and I are in THE BEST singles branch family EVER!! There is a bond and a knit tightness that I can already feel so strongly! I went to a University Singles Ward activity yesterday with 5 of the kids from my branch. We went bowling. AND .. . . .

I WON QUEEN of the Bowling Extravaganza! I got the highest score out of the girls! And got a sombrero with "QUEEN" written across the front! It was super awesome and totally unexpected. We ate tacos afterwards and did some karaoke afterwords. Then, I went to IHOP with a couple of friends later that night. And the best part about yesterday . . .

STETSON MADE IT TO TOWN! Happy day! I gave him a much needed hair cut and a little tour of the essential spots he would need to know around the city. Like where work is, where Britt and I live. that's about it and that's about as VITAL to life in OKC as it gets.

So, another week down.
It is my half way evaluation this week for my internship. And, we'll see how it goes.

Got a branch bon fire outing lined up for this friday! Super Stoked! It's gonna be BIG!! So, I just need to make it through the next 96 hours. And . . . . All will be well!

Love you all!

IcE StoRm!!

2010-01-30T21:51:00.000-08:00

"One of the worst storms Oklahoma City has seen". Well, I think that's because of the snow, they're not so used to that. They freak out more about the snow than they do the two-inch thick layer of ice that covers EVERYTHING!! Power-lines, trees, cars, mailboxes, roads, signs. If its outside, It got it. I had a patient that fell on the ice her ankle was broken very obviously deformed

and then 3 that had gotten into car accidents. They were okay. They were more scared than anything. Rear-ended into the corner of a liquor store. That hadn't even boughten the liquor yet!! Can't imagine what they would be like if they were inebriated.

All you can really do is chip at it after your car has been running for at least a half hour. and then it breaks off in sheets. It completely shields your car, so good luck even being able to get inside to turn the ignition on.

The first time i had legitimately seen power lines look like jump ropes swinging! It was insane!

And for those who didn't know. This is my new vehicle! It is a Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo series. And it be NICE!! I LOVE IT!! And, it has handled like a dream on these bowling ally slick roads.

It feels like you are always walking on top of a frozen pond. Its kinda weird.

Oklahoma City!

2010-01-22T11:24:00.000-08:00

Where to Begin?

Living with a super awesome married couple in a nice house right outside the City. They have two dogs and are expecting a little baby in August. So, unfortunately we won’t be here. I say we because Brittany and I are living here. Brittany was paramedic of the year in our class! She is an amazing medic! She is here and showing me up all the time! J Which is good. It has been super fun being with her though. It definitely would be a completely different experience without her here. We have done a ton on the days that we aren’t working. Which are not many that we get to have together. The only day we get together now is Sunday. So, we go to the Singles Ward! It has been fun. We are in the choir and tonight the relief society is going to go see the movie Leap Year together and go get ice cream afterwards! So I’m super excited! Anyway. Things Brit and I have done . . .

· Went and saw Avatar.
· NBA Basketball Game OKC Thunder vs. Pacers (had some super awesome kids sitting behind us!) the tickets were $4 each! It was awesome!
· Fish tank store J almost bought a Beta, I think I will do that today.
· Got caught in an Ice storm! Craziness! Everything gets a layer of ice on it . . . EVERYTHING!! The side walks, the roads, your windows, the tires, its insane.
Ate at Panda Express, of Course! They have 10 here! Britts super happy bout that! The closest one from Rexburg is in Logan, and believe you I, she has made that drive to go get it. :)
· Got caught in a lightning and Hail storm
· They have an ice cream shop called Braums that is super super good!! Been twice.
· Baked cookies
· Cooked meals
· Gone shopping . . . just Wal*Mart, nothing to fancy.
· Went to Johnny Carrino’s . . . Best Italian cream sodas ever! (blackberry’s a favorite)
· We stay up and chat till super late almost every night.

Work schedule wise, we don’t get to see each other very often.

I work Mon-Thur 10:15-22:15

Brit works Wed – Sat 10:45-22:45

So, we only really get to see each other on Sundays.

I have made it through my second week of my internship! I have had 8 shifts and 39 patients; half of which that have actually been in an emergency type situation. The others basically just use us as a glorified taxi service for sympathy and a direct ‘in’ to the hospital. But, they chose the wrong medic to get sympathy from. My preceptor does not tolerate fakers or drug seekers or drug abusers very well. It is quite entertaining. The Patients I have had:

· Emaciated old man with a stoma (hole in his throat to breathe out of) He was skin and bone and could hardly breath. He hadn’t been able to get up to do anything and he had been lying in a forgotten bed for 4 weeks without food. The only reason he was found was on a final sweep through before the apartment complex he was at was going to spray for bugs. Sad deal.
· 3 asthma attack patients
· 3 chest pain patients
· Narcotic overdose that wasn’t breathing when we got there. I gave him some Narcan (naloxolone . . . does wonders) and he was talking to us about 30 seconds later.
· Man with Brain tumors that was unresponsive his pupils were unreactive and the right one was three times the size of the left . . . no bueno.
· 3 seizure patients . . . 2 fakers with eye fluttering just to get out of something that they didn’t want to be in. But, no worries, they got treated.

o If someone is unresponsive in Oklahoma, protocol states that you must put an airway tube into there nose to keep there tongue from falling into the back of there throat, so if they are faking and fake being unresponsive, they get a lovely surprise. And so do we, when they reach up, yank the tube out and start yelling and then go unresponsive again. It is quite entertaining. But very beneficial for the ones that actually do need it. And, even for the ones that don’t. J

· Face to a ladder from twenty feet up . . .yikes! His nose was split completely in half
Massive bleed out from a dialysis port from an arm. Fire men were doing CPR when we got there. She had lost more than half of her blood volume. My preceptor said that there was more blood from her than the gunshot wounds and stabbing patients that she has had. So, that was a very interesting call!
· A 4 month old baby burnt her hand in sweet potatoes.
· 3 toddlers that had seizures.
· Lots of old people falls. One with a pretty obvious deformity to her right hip.
· An insomniac twitcher in his 40’s; couldn’t figure out why his eyes were burning and his body was shaking, but he hasn’t had sleep for the past month and is going to school and working full time. . . . hmmm . . .
· A few drunks . . . they’re always quite entertaining. One that got super combative and we had to tie down to the cot.
· Diabetic with low blood sugar.
· And some various other random calls.

It has been very busy and awesome! My preceptor has been a medic for 12 years in the same place. So, she knows what she is doing, and she is making sure that I do to before she will hand things over to me. so, that’s a little frustrating. But, I’m sure by at least the 4^th week she will trust me enough and see enough of what I can do to actually step back and let me run the calls and things. But, I have 8 more weeks to get that down. So, it should go well.

Well, I love you all! Just know that I am safe and having a great learning experience. Sorry its so long. And has been so long since I blogged! If you have made it to this point of my entry, congratulations on getting through it! Can’t wait to see you guys! Much love!

Pics from the game! We got our face painted with the OKC symbol! We went ALL OUT!! Really the only thing I have taken pictures of.

Me And Britt! SUPER FUN TIME!!

So before the game, we found this parking lot that if you made a free throw, they would give you your five bucks back! well, Little did they know that I played for the Girls Thunder Basketball Team at BYU, Idaho.

Needless to Say. . . I got a certificate and 5 bucks back!! Go Team!

I knew I had joined that team for a higher calling in life!

The Best Christmas of my Life!!

2010-01-09T11:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas Rocked! We had our pinning ceremony for the Paramedic Program on Dec 16. That was amazing! I got my pin. And now, I don't need to go back to that paramedic classroom for secular knowledge anymore, now, it will all come from the streets! (Which I am in Oklahoma right now awaiting Monday when I meet my preceptor and start riding on the ambulance with her) I will keep you posted. Back to Christmas though . . .

The best part . . .

HAWAII with the FaMiLy!!! So Awesome!!!

We did so much in the 10 days that we were there! We met up with my cousins over there to! Which was So AwEsOmE!! . . . Much love to you Garners and Wallaces!

So, we stayed in a super nice house on the shore of Waimanallo. so nice, Go to the beach as much as you want and be able to wash the sand off right outside before you went in the house. We played in the sand a ton! We also got some surfing kayaks that we took out to where the good sized waves were and rode the waves for a few hundred feet and then turned back around paddled right into the next ones, and then took the next big one. One problem, which was super funny. Dad was in his own kayak and my mom and I were in the other. We all caught the same wave and we were heading straight for each other. Well, Dad Won! He ran over my leg with the kayak turned us parallel with the wave, kept going and made mom and I flip right over! It was crazy! We were laughing pretty hard when we surfaced, and then we had to hurry and flip the kayak back over before the last waves buddy got to us. well, i got back in the kayak, kneeled down, and then mom hopped in, knees are not very stable. I fell out three more times after that. But, we took some snorkel gear and snorkeled on some beautiful coral. It was well worth the 30 minute paddle excursion out to where we were.

More things,

Hunama Bay . . . Beautiful! we snorkeled one of the islands protected coves. a huge variety of tropical fish. And even Tate and Yazzi loved to play in the water because their weren't any big waves to knock them over. It was perfect! I even saw a good friend there from back home. We see her everywhere! . . Moab, Hawaii, Temple Square. Awesome!

Polynesian Cultural Center . . . Luau and Show! It was amazing! Tate was captivated by the show the entire time . . . hard to do! I definitely would love to be polynesian! They are such a happy and inviting people! So family oriented and ready to welcome any. We went to church while we there and were so welcomed. They gave us each a croquetted lei and invited us to the front of the podium to accept it and sing aloha oye to us! It was amazing! And they all played with Yazzi and Tate. which helped them get through church as well. The sunday school teacher was so passionate about teaching on family: a proclamation to the world. And she made you feel like mistakes are made, but Heavenly Father knows you and he knows what is best and he will help you through anything! She was seriously an amazing lady! And she was super funny!

Boogie boarding!

We climbed to the top of a mountain that looked out over the entire island and you could see the next island over. it was pretty amazing! And, dad made it to the top! I believe it was a good 3 hour endeavor.

We had excellent food every day! Ham, Turkey, Pot Roast, Burgers, Halibut, Luau, Steak and Shrimp. YUM!!

Went and watched the surfers on the North Shore Christmas day. 40 foot tall pipelines!! The waves were insane!

Of course, being at the beach! . . . Sand castles, holes, "tubs" (holes with water), spooking Amber out about the 'sharks', watching the waves, sun, warmth, walking down the beach catching crabs, watched a school of fish once . . . neat. Digging for sea shells, Body surfing!, Sun, boogie boarding with mom, getting eaten by waves, Yazzi and I sculpted 5 sand turtles. Did I mention it was warm and sunny? Yum! Anyway, I loved it!

Christmas in Hawaii!

2009-12-25T22:52:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the Hawaiian Islands!

From the Air!!

Kerri scoping out the waves for prime boogie boarding!

Oh Yeah! Sweet Waves!

That little black shadow in the middle is me, I totally got swallowed by a wave!

And then I got spit out!

And of course, these waves! From the niece and nephew.

Paramedic Program Graduation!

2009-12-25T20:33:00.000-08:00

I am finally through my training of the paramedic program.
Well, I guess I shouldn't say FINALLY, Because, I really ENJOYED it! While it lasted. It let me cross paths with some amazing people that I would have never met otherwise. I grew so much and learned so much about life and myself. I feel like I can handle several situations now that a year ago I would have ran away with flailing arms! But now, I have gotten through many challenges and have succeeded and made it through what seemed a year ago impossible and I would have never even dreamed to have even started let alone finish such a rigorous program. But, it has been so worth it. And now,

I leave for my internship on January 4th to Oklahoma City. It will be for at least 10 weeks, and then I take my national exam and get deemed a true paramedic. (hopefully) Then, I have one more semester left of school up at BYU, Idaho to graduate with my degree in health administration. Then, the real REAL world!! to work, either at a fire station or an ER, Who knows, But, it will ultimately be in Utah.
Unless the economy hates the new medical bill, then I will be moving to Canada! :)

Wedding Pictures

2009-11-27T22:38:00.001-08:00

They Got MarRieD!!!

And I was the Photographer!

WaY ExCiTinG!

Such A Beautiful And Fun day!

Thank you for letting me be a part of it! And Capture it for you!

SUCH A FANTASTIC COUPLE!!!

Feasts, Jeans, and Jars!

2009-11-26T19:47:00.000-08:00

We made a waffle feast! One room mate is missing . . . . (she got a boyfriend)

We have a roomie feast every chance we can!) especially on Sunday's!

Anyone is invited! (if you dare come into our lair) Mwahaha!

It's different down here! :)

Steph's pants got a hole in them . . . major! So, we finish job. And wear as head Dress! :)

This is what inspired our jar SeNsAtIoNs!

We found this lil beauty in my window well.

ever since, we have had jars full of all sorts of wonders!

centipedes

lady bugs

more spiders

Snake

rubber frogs :)

needless to say, they all died.

We even killed (accidentally) 4 fish this semester.

Scraggles, Sprihickle, Spumpkin, and Fishy. (they lived in various bowls and then a giant pickle jar!)

One is still alive!!!

. . . . REGGLE! He is a feisty little fighter of a Beta Fish

(we'll see if he makes it through thanksgiving without any accompaniment!)

Snakes Passing!

R.I.P. dear pets of Sunset Down!

ThE HaTs! . . . yeah, found those . . . 8 for 2 dollars at the dance costume auction!

Perfect for services!

R.I.P Pets of Sunset Hall Down!

Dad's Party . . . It be Rated "ARRH"!

2009-11-26T13:36:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know, this was back in October! . . . Been busy. With school, ER Shifts, the Ambulance, and HOMEWORK!! And of course, I take time to visit as many as I can. But, here is back on October 10th. We had a Surprise Pirate Party!

The cake I constructed.

FIFTY-SEVEN LiTtLe fLaMeS!!!

impending upon the mast and sail!

He blew them all out in one gust!

After he waited to see if it would actually burn down for a while :)

It took some convincing to actually get him in the house, but once we got him there, he was pretty excited (but he has always been a really good actor)
But I think it was genuinely sincere this time!

Argh! We all be crazy pirates!

Dad's favorite joke . . . . . We acquired from Florida

"Around here, we all be rated -ARH!"
(best when said with one eye closed, lip curled up, and finger in the shape of a hook. For Effect)

Thanks Giving

2009-11-25T22:30:00.000-08:00

Whipped Cream and Strawberries . . . Tres Leches Cake! Yum!

We made Pies!!!! Happy Thanksgiving! I am grateful for the

cUtEsT Niece and The CuTeSt Nephew

on this planet!

He even cleans his own mouth and tongue!

Friends Engagement Pics!

2009-11-25T13:36:00.000-08:00

Friends from school are getting hitched!

And they asked me to take there Pics!

So . . . .

Here they are!

Enjoy!

Live ~ Laugh ~ Love

JellyStone

2009-11-25T13:20:00.000-08:00

Our family took a little vacation to Yellowstone over a weekend in September some time (yah, sorry, it's been a while) but, I just wanted to share some of the beautiful pictures that came from that trip! It was a hoot and a half! And so good to be with the family after being in school for a bit.

Marlayna And Mom

Good Old Faithful!

The s'more is what makes it camping! We improvised with digestive crackers, pink mallows, and chocolate chips.
Way tasty!

Yellowstone was awesome! Pictures say more words than I ever can, so take what you will from this post, and it was a blast!

RoOm MaTeS!

2009-10-25T20:21:00.000-07:00

We all live in the basement of a little house called Sunset Hall. It is basically a little shack, but we love it! Every day is a Stinkin Party! seriously . . . . HoOt & a HaLf!

From the left:

Emma, Stephanie, Amy, Sherida, Chynna, Karli (me), Holly, and Brittany.

. . . . . . . too much Fun! I will have to add some stories some time because

They are seriously awesome!

AIR IDAHO RESCUE CLINICALS

2009-10-25T20:13:00.000-07:00

We have started a new clinical at BYU, Idaho with Air Idaho Rescue.

We are the first class to ever have the privilege of getting to fly.

It is a pretty neat experience. I have flown once already. We flew to Afton, Wyoming and picked up a patient to take them to Cody, Wyoming. We flew over Yellowstone and the Tetons while the sun was setting, it was Beautiful! And the flight was very smooth. I worked with some pretty chill people, and the entire process was so organized and systematic, it was great. And, once you show up, nurses and doctors just step back and let you take over, its a pretty neat feeling. I definitely learned a thing or two on that flight. I got to sit by the patient while they were in the plane, and then in the cockpit on our way back to base. It was sweet! And, I also got a full nights rest that night, even though it was a 24 hour shift.

It was seriously perfect.

Ear Update

2009-09-01T22:10:00.000-07:00

For those who didn't know, I ruptured my right ear drum (on July 3rd) from using my head to skip across the water after I flipped off of a tube while boating. . . . . It hurt really bad, but, I climbed back on the tube until I finally got bucked off again. And then, we headed for home. So, i had driven my Mustang to the reservoir, so I had to drive back. Everyone was wondering why I was so quiet . . . they thought it was because i was still shaken up about how scary my tubing experience had been, which it was, I screamed the entire time while on the tube, but, we wont mention that little fact to anyone: but, it was because of the pain. So, when we got home, I finally turned to my room mate and told her that something was seriously wrong with my ear, so, I walked over to my FHE Bro's house, rounded up the troops to give me a blessing, then my awesome room mate drove me to the community care clinic. the Physician looked in my LEFT ear, said "looks good" looked in the right ear and said

"whoo! Big hole . . . big Hole! Yep, its definitely ruptured, here is your antibiotic prescription, take some ibuprofen, and come back in 10 days for a check up" and then I was outta there.

I slept really well that night, got up @ 6 in the morning half deaf, put my uniform on, and worked a 14 hour shift in Idaho Falls. You would think on 4th of July you would get some pretty exciting stuff . . . Nope, 3 patients, one little new born that I wasn't even allowed to touch cause all we did was pick up a team of nurses to go get the baby. Then a fall, and I don't even remember the other one, that's how exciting it was. But, I got some pretty good barbecued from the fire station! But, no pain in the ear, Just deafness. Until, I went to vegas 9 days later. plane ride. Then, swimming in the pool . . . Big mistake . . . I forgot about my ear, and then it filled with yucky pool water and hurt for the rest of the time. Which, I had to work on the ambulance later that day, luckily, it was my last shift in Vegas. But, walking up and down the strip . . . Whoo! Ouchey!

I don't think I wrote about Vegas . . .

Our entire Medic class with two of our professors took a trip down to Vegas for a week; the week before school got out too, with 36 more tests to go until the semester ended. Wow! Talk about sprint to the finish when we got home! Anyway, We each took two 12-hour shifts and had completely different experiences. Most of us got positions lined up for our internships there for next year! It was a blast! I had 14 patients within the 24 hours of me running. 5 of which were clinically diagnosed with dementia! It was a pretty grand time . . . you should ask me about Mr. 'broken chain saw to the leg' man! He was CrAzY! Anyway, that's Vegas in a nutshell. It was so worth going!!!

Okay, so, my right ear drum had been in the healing process for about 1 month before we went to Australia. On one of our dives (if you scroll down to Australia post you can see the entire story) I ruptured my left Ear Drum!!!! (on August 10th) And fluid rushed into it! I got vertigo, the same intense pain . . . blah, blah, ouch! Went to a doctor, he looked in my right one, said it was full of blood behind the tympanic membrane, looked in my left one . . . Big hole. So, that's how it went.

So, to give the status on my ears right now.

I have great hearing in both ears.
Zero pain when I stay at the same elevation.
Crackle when swallow for the past four years, and still crackle.
Still have a tiny hole in my left one . . . air still passes out of it a bit when I equalize my ears, but, It doesn't squeal for everyone to hear like it used to. It is probably no bigger then the end of a pin right now.

But, A couple more days, and it will be closed up for good, and then I can swim again, with my head under the water at least. I still go swimming though, don't tell my doctor, I just am an expert at keepin my ear dry in showers, rivers, and pools now. (As long as Amber isn't swimming with me and splashing me to death) I think I have done rather well.

Moab!!!

2009-09-01T16:00:00.001-07:00

The ONLY spot of shade the entire day! It was HOT!
Gearing up to repel off of Corona Arch

There goes Kerri the Brave!

Did I say Kerri the Brave? I meant CRAZY!!!!
. . . . she got bit by a psycho spider a couple of months ago.

I love how my hair does WhAtEveR it wants!!! It really is quite fun to see what it decides next.
After our HOT day of hikin around . . . We went to the 'secret swimming hole' to cool off!
. . . AmaZinG!

The rocks were smooth and slick, perfect for a 30 foot slide.

If that doesn't put your heart in your throat . . .

She LIVES!!!

The only problem was, climbing to where you need to jump off. But, with a hand and a boost from friends . . . and some faith . . . Anything is possible. Until, they push you off before you get to your final destination.

Did I mention heart in the throat??

More of the slide with Kerri and Aaron, our Rexburg friend, who is pretty much one of the best people you could ever meet! He took really good care of all of us on our excursions . . . cuz 10 hours before we left for Moab, he came up with the idea then called us, and drove down from Rexburg to our house, and then to Moab after we all piled into his vehicle. It was a lot of fun!

. . . So ReFreShiNg and such a GraNd TimE!

Sydney

2009-08-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

MOM . . . That is why the birds love us!
The boat ride and dads old stompin grounds from the mission!

Now, after watching Finding Nemo, I now know why they made the seaguls always say mine! Cause, that is exactly what they did! And they were not dumb! They hung around our food and looked for every chance they could, the second after I snapped this photo I heard a gasp and then a "you crazy birds!!" from another gentlemen, if you notice, They waited till we were distracted and dove in for our friends food, there is a bird on the far right in this frame! It was pretty hilarious! and, they did win. And got away with his potatoe quishe stuff, quite frankly, I think the birds enjoyed it more than I did, it wasn't my favorite dish over there. Luckily I was eating chow mein noodles at this moment.
And once again, but with Beauties in front!

The ever so famous Sydney Opera House

Sorry! Takin forever! Our last day in Australia we went to the Sydney harbor. By far my favorite event! It was simply divine! We got a tour of the opera house, the history of it, and then we took a ferry ride in the harbor, and went down little shops, and had just a delightful little time. We ended it by crossing the harbor bridge (which has a toll on it) 6 times, because we were not listening to our gps the way we should have. But, we finally got to where we needed to be, and the best part for Dad was that we found a ship that they had replicated after buying all of the blue prints for from the 17th century, it was a lot smaller than the ship that we are working on as a company, but it was very neat to see how everything went together on the riggings and throughout the quarters. It even got to sail around the world on a voyage and ended up back where it had been made. It was pretty fun for dad and us. And, our gps 'Matilda' as we called her led us safely back to our hotel afterwards to get ready for our 16 hour flight the next day that would only take one hour. We left Australia Thursday Morning at 9:00 aussie time, and got home at 10:15 AM Utah time. Man, all of us were pretty wackie w jet lag. it wasn't rare to find all of us sitting around awake at 4 in the morning still waiting to get tired. (if you notice some of my blogs . . . the times they were updated . . . yep, just waiting for the eyes to even think about drooping.) Pretty fun times!

Diving

2009-08-17T00:21:00.000-07:00

Just a taste of the waves out at Fish Rock.

The 5 foot wing-span ray under a cliff.

Gray Nurse Shark

6 foot Wobby Gong; the only shark that can bite its own tail (don't grab it's tail! they can't let go of what they bite because of the way their jaw is made). You will have quite the little surprise and get a good laugh from the people on the boat after you go up to show them what you got stuck to your arm after you grabbed it's tail, so that they can pry it off of you. (Our boat captain told us that a guy they took out diving got a little baby one, no longer than his forearm, stuck on to his bottom lip after attempting to get a picture of him kissing it! Awesome! Then the next day in the news papers . . . "Man bit by shark out on the reef!" they just forgot to mention how big the shark was and why it bit him).

My dive buddy, If you look up above the rock he is holding, you can see the outline of another shark.
The sharks were pretty curious and just followed us from a 'safe' distance the entire first dive at where the EAC meets another current. These are Gray Nurse Sharks, they have retractable jaws that when they bite things there teeth roll back into there mouth so it is hard to let go of things, they usually don't chew anything wider than there jaw for this reason, same with the wobby gong, they can't let them go, so, humans are basically not on the menu for them.

Fish

Channel . . . very neat to go through

All of the pictures were from the first day of diving.
What an awesome Experience!

Some of THE Coolest (and coldest) dives I have ever been on!

While in Aussie, We did a couple of fantastic dives. we set up a couple of dives with some dive masters that we found over there. It was pretty neat! (Did I mention it was their winter though) BURR!!!!!

Second day of Diving:
So, we jump in a pretty decent size boat, turn to the crew and ask how the diving is going to be "Oh . . . (aussie accent) it'll be beautiful! Weather should cooperate, and the water will be fantastic!! . . . Superb Conditions!" Well . . . Imagine this . . .before we even got out of the harbor/river that we launched the boat into, our dive master throws us some life jackets and we oblige and put them on. about five minutes later, he puts his on. "strange?" i think to myslef, "There is no law saying we need life jackets" at this time in the boat ride. Well, not even a minute after the boat driver gets his jacket on, we get out of the safety of the harbor and start hitting swells that any professional surfer would kill for. Then he starts going on about how many boats sink there a year pretty casually and lah-dah-dah . . . . Okay, To draw you a picture, my father is standing in the boat, which makes his feet about 5 feet above the water line naturally, the waves were above my dads head from where I was sitting. Rolling waves that were crashing into the rocks that we had just passed indicating the end of the harbor. He has to gun it up these waves so that we can get down the other side, they are curling all around us! So . . . We came to a wave that started curling on top of us, it was pretty much higher than the ceilings in most kitchens. And It was CURLING!!!!! We gunned the engine up it with the bow pointing in the sky, the boat went almost vertical, and had no where else to go except plummet down the other side when the wave went under neath us with a crash, I think I was not the only one who wanted to turn back at this point. But, needless to say, we looked at him, and my dad said "You Aussies are Nuts!!" replied with a chuckle and said "no worries mates, this is the worst of it, only 17 more kilometers until Fish Rock." while the first mate is going on about how calm it will be when we get to the site "Oh, it'll be a mill pond out there!" Umm . . . there definitely weren't any curling waves, but we were pretty rocky rolly, the waves were huge! And the driver kept talking about how the waves usually kick up a bit more in the afternoon! (Oh goodie, i can't wait until after the dive to head back in) I am just really glad I took some sea sick pills a bit before the embarkation. But, going in was okay, we got to surf the waves back in on top of them instead of fight em.

So, that was getting out to the sight. When we got there we geared up and jumped in. It definitely took my breath away! A bit colder than what I am used to! Oh, it was cold! But, nonetheless, we endured with our 10 millimeters of wet suit on, and sharks skin shirts) so, we descended, swam around this huge rock, enjoying the fish, and the somewhat stirred up water, but hey, still better then the dominican on a good day in visibility. The dive master turned around to me and cupped his hear to have us listen. We could hear hump-back whales singing. We swam around the rock and through some canyons, and got to the mouth of a cave after seeing a couple gray nurse sharks, and entered, how awesome! They have these sharks that they call Wobbygongs or carpet sharks that are basically bottom dwellers, and just lay on the ground, they definitely don't bug you if you don't bug them. but they are quick, before my dad and I knew what they were, we saw one sleeping out in the open, and he went up and tickled it's back, he woke up quite startle and swam very quickly away. But, They were sleeping when we were above them in a 7 foot-tall cave that went under and through this huge rock! It was pretty night to shine your light and see probably 20 of these sharks just lying on the bottom, we came to one section where a 9 footer had this huge lobster beside his mouth, with a bunch more shells of lobsters behind him, that was a bit creepy, but still pretty cool. The surge in the cave was kinda neat to, you barely needed to kick, and you would rush forward, and then just hold on so you stay in that place, and then go forward again. It was fun. Then, we started ascending up a a part of the cave that was basically a large flat tube going to the next portion.

On the ascent, I looked up and noticed I was going up way to fast, I could feel it on my lungs and in my head, I tried to release the air in my BC (vest) but couldn't find the right valve cause I wasn't really used to that gear. I have also had a pretty bad cold for the past week and ruptured my right ear drum 6 weeks ago in Idaho while Tubing. So, crappy situations to begin with. Then all of a sudden I got this really sharp pain in my ears and then they basically just exploded, and water started rushing in, I got vertigo and everything just started spinning, the only thing that I could see was a rope to my left, so I clung to it. I just started rolling with the surge and couldn't control anything that was happening to me. Luckily, the dive master saw me and came up to me and grabbed my arm, i pointed to my ears and gave him the no good sign. He took me by the hand and escorted me out of the next 50 feet we had of the cave, and out and around to the side where the boat was on. We had to decompress (wait 5 minutes at 5 meters to get all the bubbles out of your system, basically) before we could get up to the boat, man, that was a long five minutes. I clung to the rocks that were next to us, and just tried to endure the pain and try not to float away. Man, every time I would shift my head or anything, it felt like it would just keep going in that direction, like my brain was doing these flips inside my head or something, slow movements were best. I need to go to sleep though, if you read this before I finish, sorry, just come back later, but, I am alive now to write this and can hear about 30 percent of what goes on around me in my left ear that has a hole in the tympanic membrane. I am on antibiotics and should be healed in another 2 weeks.

AUSTRALIA

2009-08-01T15:42:00.001-07:00

After our 16 hour plane ride, we have landed. The best part was, I slept for 13 hours of the flight! Whoa! Then, Kerri and I watched the movie Australia to get into the Outback Mode! And sure enough, the second we got off the plane, the immigration man sounded just like the main character on the movie! He was awesome! The only problem was, I could see my breath when we walked out of the airport . . . It’s WINTER HERE!

We have seen a couple of old friends, and have begun our ascent to the great north of this rather vast continent. (I have heard it is up in the 80’s in the north . . . perfect). This is one of the most exotic places in this world. It feels like I am on another planet, but then I see a glimpse of the places that I have been in my life, and realize that we are still on earth. But, I tell you what; these marsupials are definitely a different set of creatures entirely! We went kayaking and canoeing down a river in Kangaroo valley and got to see plenty of roos, wombats, and crazy birds. It was pretty awesome! Got a little wet, but that was definitely supposed to be expected. Then we went and saw Fitzroy Falls, a gigantic waterfall, which luckily wasn’t even close to the river we kayaked down! But, that was chilly. We ran back to our cars after seeing that one and then blasted the heat.
Today we have been on the road for quite some time; we have driven the equivalence of driving from our front door to Calgary. And when we finally get to where we are going, it will be like driving from our house to New York and then up to Canada and then back. We have stopped at a few awesome places:
Sydney Temple.
New Castle, a quaint little place where we had Italian Bistro for lunch and got Fresh Farmer’s Market Fruit for the road.
Surfer’s Paradise, and It was definitely a surfer’s paradise! Beautiful white sandy beach with majestic turquoise waves. V isited some more friends.
Australia Zoo, where Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter himself, made quite the name for himself. What a zoo! We got to see all of his favorite little Beauties and pet some kangaroos and koalas. What a place.

All in all, the trip has been quite eventful thus far, no worries, my journal holds all the funny little treasures, it’s got some good ones, you’ll have to sit down and go through it with me when we get back . . . Along with the pictures, of course. Enjoy the few I’ve got here.

HAIR CUTS!!!

2009-07-27T15:46:00.000-07:00

So, now we really look like twins! I have been wanting to cut my hair short for quite some time now. So, I finally just went for it. (Sorry Breanne, I couldn't help it!) Kerri came for moral support, and half way through mine found a picture of what she wanted, and well, here we are!! Compared to Kerri in this one, I look like a boy. But, while kerri was holding her hair, she said, and I quote . . "look kids, a yakk died on the floor!" So awesome! I LOVE IT! IT is so stinkin Easy and fun! And after all, It's just hair! it will be perfect for when we go to Australia tomorrow! Oh, yah, we are going to Australia tomorrow! I will keep you updated on the adventures that go on there! YAY!!

Much needed UPDATES!!!

2009-07-26T23:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry! It has been quite some time!

But, school is finally out for the summer,
So I at least have a second to breathe! Whoo!

Updates . . . . Lets see, where to begin?

The last 3 weeks of school were absolutely nuts! But, manageable, especially cause I had a ton of support from all sides! Thank you, I think you know who you are, you might not though, It was the little things that kept me going! So, you can just assume that . . . if you are reading this, you were one of my inspirations! :) But, I finished this semester strong, finishing a grand total of 23 tests the last week and a half. Having to retake a select few to get a descent score on them. Not to mention that the week before finals, our entire class took the best field trip ever! We are talking LAS VEGAS Baby!! It was so stinkin awesome! . . . So, it really has been a while since I blogged, I will give the details.

Our class and teachers decided that it would be way awesome and educational, of course, to go ride with the ambulances down in Vegas and see how a busy ambulance service functions. Well, i tell you what, I sure did learn a thing or two! It was seriously such a crazy awesome experience. We got to vegas and hit the ground running! Non-stop fun for five days straight! We would lay out next to the pool before our 12-hour shifts started at 4:00 pm, so nice. the only catch was, it was 111*F by 11 in the morning!!! And, the ambulances didn't have air conditioning!! Man alive! I seriously felt like I was going to cook! And some of my patients felt the same! And then they would tell me how bad they felt for us! Yah, you're telling me! Except for they were the ones that were usually stuck there against there will. But, I had some pretty awesome experiences! 14 patients for two 12 hour shifts. Not bad, considering in Rexburg, you're lucky to get one in a 24 hour shift. But, my first four patients were clinically diagnosed with dementia, and they were just nuts! Very entertaining, and can I just tell you how hard it is to keep a straight face in front of your patients! Holy cow! it was pretty dang fun! You'll have to ask me about crazy drunk man who took a 'chain-saw' to the leg!! That's a crowd pleaser! Anyway . . Vegas rocked! My parents came down the day before we all left and had dinner with our entire class, and I got to be with them all of Thursday day! (after my 12 hour shift, so basically, 2 hours of sleep that night, and then just go go go!) it was stinkin awesome! We may get the opportunity to do our internships there! Who knows.

Basically, biggest thing right now is that school is out for the SUMMER!!! WAHOO! I am so happy to be back home with my family! I saw so many people today that I haven't seen in over 2 years! It was so awesome! I love that everyone is just growing up and going in opposite directions! It is so fun to just see what everyone is up to and working towards!

I stinkin love my family! It is So SoSOOO Good to be back home with them! I missed them like the chickens!! I forget how crazy they are! Man! They are just nuts! And I wouldn't have it any other way!
Poor little Yazzi though, every time she had to leave me, or I would leave her, she would just go nuts! I don't know if this was a regular occurrence of separation anxiety, or if it is cause she loves me so much! I think me being gone so much has taken a toll on her, she never knows when she will see me next, (That may not be the real reason she cries, its probably the fact that she's leaving Grandma, but, we would like to think it is all for me!) But, I do know this, she wouldn't let me out of her sight whenever I was around. Man, she is just a hoot and a half!

Well, there are some updates . . . questions, comments, concerns . . . feel free to give them! :) I will take them as I will.

Little Random Facts of my Life

2009-06-14T22:24:00.000-07:00

I absolutely Love FOOD!!
I hate eating by myself . . or even cooking for myself . . . food is just not as tasty if there is not a reason to make it exquisite . .

I have a stuffy nose right now. . . Everything inside my face is trying to squeeze through my nostrils!! Yikers!

I got to see my family this weekend in Soda Springs and go fishing and play cards and get more sleep night than i have in this past week! I was dead tired!

I am graduating from BYU-Idaho with my associated degree in paramedicine this December.

I have a date for this thursday. . . His name is Aaron Van Horn . . . he is one of the fire fighters up here and just got into the paramedic program for the fall semester. We are going to have a huge bon fire!

Kerri and my Dad are coming up on Friday to go scuba diving with me and my search and rescue class. Way Excited!

My college lacrosse team that i am on is undefeated. We have played in 5 games.

I have gotten hit with three huge hail storms in the past three weeks. Once at my lacrosse game . . . Ouch!

I miss my family like the chickens!!
I couldn't have received a better family in my life . . . seriously, when it comes to family, Mine is stacked with greatness! I don't think you can rig a better team to help get you through this life! Either I am seriously blessed, or just entirely lucky!

My life is grand!

BYE BYE STITCHES!

2009-06-11T22:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I went to class and we all made a consecutive medical decision that the stitches were ready to come out . . . So, My teacher took one stitch out, and then Brittany, then Craig, Brian, Stan, Me, then Stetson. It was pretty sweet! And then . . . They were all gone. Not gonna lie, I kinda miss 'em. :( I had a full eyebrow for once in my life (although some people always wondered if they had to shave my eyebrow) but they looked WAY Awesome!! But, now I have a nice little red 'scratch' on my face. It looks really good though! And the discoloration has finally subsided, and it is a lot less tender.

7 always was my lucky number

2009-05-28T19:51:00.000-07:00

So, let it be known that at 7 o'clock on the 28th of May 2009, I, Karli Ann Blum, after treating 118 patients in the E.R. was now on the receiving end of the health care system. And became a patient to a wonderful nursing staff in the oh so beautiful emergency room of Rexburg Idaho. The best part was, one of my class mates was on shift tonight and he was the one that got to help work on me while I was up there! It was awesome! (considering the circumstances)

One word . . . Lacrosse!

Watered down version of the tale:
I was behind the goal, two balls were in play, I was watching one ball while a kid took a shot, the goalie didn't stop it, it collided with my sunglasses, which in turn impaled my face, and I saw stars, spun around, dropped to a knee, told everyone what to do for me, and ended up with 7 stitches. And now, I have a sweet swollen eye and some various bruises. But, I am doing great! Minimal pain as of right now. and that is about it. Oh, another plus, I finally have a some what complete, bushy, looking eyebrow! I never really did before tonight, they are to blonde on the ends. But not today pal! My right eye brow is quite stunning. Seriously . . . people just love to stare at it!

The big 2-0!!

2009-05-24T22:05:00.000-07:00

Can you beleive it? I am not a teenager anymore! What happened? Well, this has basically been the best birthday weekend ever! And oddly enough and somewhat sad, the first birthday I have ever celebrated with just me as the main birthday girl. And I tell you what . . . Princess . . . Is all I have been for the past 3 days! Down right spoiled by my spectacular family! I have built a chicken coop for our little flock, So fun! Painted posters with Amber and Yazzi. Went to dinner and a movie with mom and amber. Olive Garden and Night at the Museum II . . . A Must see! I have enjoyed great Food at every meal time! Exquisite delicacies! Yumm! Breakfast in Bed this morning, with a cereal that I recieved for my birthday. I 9 birthday cupcakes! (in triangle shape with frosting and fondent flowers on top with trick candles! Luckily Yazzi and my mom helped me blow them out, cause I think that would have been to much for me to handle . . . seriously, blowing out my very own candles, weird.) But they were delicious! Yazzi claimed 3 of them! And I had a couple myself! I got pork chops for dinner, on the barbeque . . . FAVORITE!!! And I got a wicked awesome kite, and cake decorating equipment, we are talking the fully loaded works for a professional cake decorater!!! So ExCiTeD!!! A bandana, some granola, awesome face paints (go to amber's blog later for the spectacular insight on that) and 2 air conditioners (1 from each parent) . . . I thought that was great! But, the best part about the weekend was seriously being with my awesome family! Yazzi is just so hilarious and Crazy! Taten is adorable and starting to walk! He smiles at everything! Amber is so stinkin awesome! Love her to death! Glad we have put the past behind us! Although . . . I still kinda don't enjoy eating raisins on a regular basis . . . hmmm... Cohwen is STINKING hilarious! Holy CRAP! is all I have to say about that! My parents are simply the best parents anyone could ask for in the world! I get so excited knowing that I get to come home and see them! (seriously though . . . for the past 3 weeks knowing I was coming home for my birthday has been way happy and I have been so anxious! But It finally came! And it has been so awesome!) And the lost twin, well, she will come back eventually, and I miss her terribly. I seriously would not be who I am today with out that insane girl by my side! Jeepers! She is nuts! Love her to death and I can't wait to see her in a week! Hope she didn't get eaten by a liger. Anyway . . . Best birthday weekend ever! Man, 20 seems old! I don't know how some of you people out there have made it past 23! I ammend and look up to you! That seems so far away! Man the amount of stuff you can accomplish within a year! Hope this one is just as good, if not better than the last!

Surprise! BEST DAY EVER!!!!

2009-05-21T13:06:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday was basically the best day ever! My 7 hour class was canceled because my teacher wasn't going to be there. So, I had all the time in the world!! I still had to go to 5 hours of classes, but 4 hours of that is awesome lab, so that was fun! So, with my extra time . . . I cut someone's hair. ( I am quite the hair cutter now, I have cut 5 peoples hair within the past 3 weeks. And I must say . . . they look fabulous!) I helped my room mate compile and frost a cake. (More details to come) Cleaned my room. Cooked some awesome lunch, Did some homework, rode Magness! And competed and won against my room mate in Mario Kart! 7 times!! So, I went to lacrosse practice, had such a good time! My team rocks! We have our first game tonight! (i will let you know how it goes) Then, afterwards I stayed and helped 2 girls with their stick skills that had just started learning how to play, they improved immensely by the end of our little session. Then, my awesome room mates, came and got me from practice which was way nice, and I learned they hadn't eaten dinner yet, And I was way confused! So, then they asked me to tell them about my day, so I did. Then, I walked in to my apartment to find it covered in streamers and my room mate holding up a camera, and then they placed an awesome cone hat on me! There were presents in the middle of the floor! And dinner laid out on the counter/table It was so exciting!!!! I couldn't believe it! They got me good! Later I had learned that they have ben planning to surprise me for over a week! They did good at keeping it in! I felt so stinkin loved! We ate our amazing dinner . . . Chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, gravy, and lemonade in my new crazy glass! It was so perfect! And such a surprise! And a kid that I had cut his hair a couple of days ago said he owed me, and when I got home there was a note written on my white board saying look in the freezer, and low-and-behold, He had gotten me my favorite flavor of Jambe Juice!!! It was seriously awesome! Oh, then the cake! All sarah and I did earlier was frost the cake, then they turned it over to me, and let me decorate it! So, I drew each of us on the side of the cake with a 'sweet' little thank you on top! It was so fun! And it is basically gone already! Seriously though . . . best day ever! Whoo that was long! Thanks for sticking to the end! I can't wait to go home this weekend and I must prepare for the best weekend of my life! Seeing my family on my birthday!!!!!! Much Love!

Boredom on A Thursday Evening!

2009-05-08T13:31:00.000-07:00

My room mate came home from her cake decorating class yesterday and informed me that she had wrecked one of her cakes in class, so she had two extra white cakes cooked up, and she told me I could decorate them! So, We whipped up some cream cheese frosting, pulled out the strawberries, got a couple of her cake decorating tips and let me go at it! It was so stinkin fun! And this was the final master piece! Each flower was done by some one different in the apartment! My first cake decorating experience, and I don't think it will be my last! I enjoyed it quite muchly!