Like A Little Child

Skyler went onto KSL the other day and called me up all excited to tell me he found 2 posts for trucks and wheels for his longboard for only $30 - this is good apparently :) What he was really calling for was to get the "ok" to go ahead and buy a set. Since the weather has gotten nicer we've been doing a lot more outside and one of those things has been longboarding...well, I've been longboarding and he has been jogging along LOL Needless to say I agreed that it would be a lot nicer (and more fun for him) if he could also ride a longboard instead of trying to keep up with me. He went ahead and bought a set of trucks and wheels for $30, and they ended up being Sector 9's - also good apparently. He came home that day and had all of the needed supplies to finish his board - he was so cute. It was like watching a kid who is all giddy at Christmas from all the excitement. He got his board in riding condition that night and was so excited he wanted pictures. We randomly knocked on our neighbor's door and asked one of the girls to take some pictures of us. So here are the semi-finished longboards:

Here's the fronts of our boards (p.s. I just finished running so don' t mind how amazing I look)

And here are the backs of our boards. Skyler decorated mine all by himself for my Christmas gift. He's so cute!

And here we are being cool on our boards

After our photo-shoot we went down the road and rode around the church parking lot. I'm ashamed to admit that I totally biffed it!

Luckily this ankle wound was the worst thing that happened to me besides the hurt of my pride as our neighbors across the street watched me fall :( ....shame.....

Bye Bye Fundamentals - Here we come Maternity Newborn/Med Surg!!

Today was my clinical groups last day in clinical - Yay! Don't get me wrong, I've loved every minute of it and I've learned so much, but any break from school is a welcome break. This semester we got to experience what it is like to work in a care/rehab center.

It has been interesting (especially for me who has never had experience with direct patient care) to assist the wonderful people I've met with their daily living tasks. One thing I have decided is that I'm not going to get old - but other than that LOL There are things that may or may not happen to you as you age. Sometimes we play a role in our health and other times we are along for the ride. I saw a lot of people who were along for the ride. Life is a chain of events and all I can hope to do is take care of my body (which I am so blessed to have) and pray for help with the rest of it :)

Like I said I learned a lot. I was able to assist/do many things from showers and helping people eat to administering meds and injections and changing a wound bandage on a stage 3 (almost 4 pressure ulcer). I was going to post a pic of what the wound I saw looked like, but then I was thinking not everyone may appreciate or be facinated by those types of things like I am. All you have to do is google "stage 4 pressure ulcer" and you can see what I'm talking about if you're interested. As for the showers and bathroom visits - before I had done it I was really worried about it being awkward and uncomfortable, but from the very first clinical day it was easy to see that when you are helpless to do things on your own those feelings go out the window. I was so glad I could help these people do these things they couldn't do. The best was when they would look at you and say "Thank you so much for helping me."

Today was really fun. One of the ladies there loves to sing. If she's in a grumpy mood all you have to do is get her started on a song like one of her favorites (I'll be loving you) ALWAYS by Patsy Cline. Today she got started on that one. She and this other lady (suffering from dementia) started singing together at the top of their lungs. Usually we (me and fellow nursing students) will chime in when we know it, but today they were singing to each other and we just watched and listened. It was probably the cutest thing I've ever seen. They would change the words or add words in where they saw fit - One lady sang "I'll be loving you Always - Curly" because she kept calling the other woman Curly since she can't remember people/names. She was being so funny.

It is hard work! I am exhausted and my back is sore, but I can tell I am definitely going into the right career. For every bad experience (like the day I got spit on as I was trying to get blood sugars, or the woman who screamed bloody murder as I was trying to give my first injection on a human, just to scare me) there are a million good ones. I just need to go write them all down! Anyway, this summer is our Maternity/Newborn class/clinicals and our Med Surg class/clinicals. I am very excited and can't wait to have more stories.

Here is my clinical group - Left to right/Back Row: Josh, Debbie (clinical instructor), Linda, Sharon, Cammie, Vanessa, Katherine, Diana, Katie. Front Row: Me and Jonelle

Same order But just being goofy. We have a lot of fun together (unimportant side note/observation - I have the same funny face I pull in every funny face pic...weird, I'll have to change that!)

Our little Aleta, all grown up

Aleta, Amanda, BreAnn and I go a long way back :) We first met our senior year of high school when we all took a Veterinary Assisting class at Jordan Applied Technology Center. It was probably the most fun I have ever had at school (although I'm pretty sure our instructor hated us, now that I look back on how we acted LOL). We (minus Aleta) even ventured all the way to Nashville, Tennessee that year to compete with HOSA (Health Occupation Students of America) where we won 5th place nationally for medical reading - good times :) We've been friends ever since. Although I was the friend saying I wouldn't get married until I was 30, I turned out to be the first one hitched. They all came to see me in AZ for my bridal shower and then to Skyler's and my reception in SLC. Whether we've gotten together once a year or every few months we've stayed pretty close. If I'm ever needing a girls night out where my stomach hurts from laughing so hard, these are the girls I call up.

Well, it was Aleta's turn to marry the love of her life. She and Paul got married last Saturday, April 10th. Skyler and I were able to attend the sealing ceremony at the Draper temple here in SLC. It was really neat to be able to be there for that ~ she's the first one of my friends to get married. Amanda and BreAnn were outside the temple and it was so fun for us to stand back and watch how happy Aleta was. She and Paul are perfect for each other! Congratulations Aleta!

Left to Right: Amanda, Aleta, me, BreAnn

At the reception place we thought it was a good opportunity for some couples photos. I was the only one with a camera and unfortunately it stinks! But some of the pics weren't too bad. Here are a few of Amanda with her boyfriend Tim and his son Taylor.

Amanda and Tim

Tim and Taylor

Skyler and I

Our BreAnn didn't have a boy to pose with so she strutted her cute stuff solo.

And then we posed with her too - aren't we a cute couple!?

Amanda, BreAnn, and me

This interesting pic is not supposed to be what it looks like. I was simply trying to be silly and act like I was going to lick the ice sculpture. Really I was on the side of the swan, but when I saw this later I realized it looked a little risk-ay - like I'm gonna goose the goose. Ooops!

We later entertained ourselves in the courtyard. Skyler and I were across from them in this pic on another swing. We were touching feet as we swung. As you can see on the faces of these two, it was surprisingly fun.

The reception was really pretty and they had ColdStone cater it ~ coolest thing EVER! Aleta looked gorgeous and so happy next to Paul. I'm really glad that she found such a great guy to marry. Skyler and I got them a tent for their gift so they can come camping with us ;) We love you Aleta!!....oh, and Paul!!! :D

Easter

We kind of had a laid back and quiet Easter this year - partly because I think it snuck up on us! Last year we did Easter baskets and everything, but this year we just had a nice Sunday dinner over at my dad's and Joan's house with my brother, grandpa, and grandma Muhlestein. Skyler and I watched Conference together as I baked this Easter cake. It was a coconut vanilla cake with multi-colored layers. It turned out okay, but if nothing else it was definitely Easter-y.

Of course we had to dye Easter Eggs, but we only did six because neither Skyler or I like to eat hard boiled eggs very often. It's just one of those tradition things :)

For Christmas this last year Joan bought Skyler and I a scrap-book calendar so each month I've been trying to get a pic from one of the highlighting events. This one's just goofy, but I think I'll put it on for April.