Celebration of Light

    Wednesday was a night of adventures. The family packed into our car and drove out to Vancouver. Each year at English Bay  there is a week of fireworks display on the water called 'The Celebration of Light'. Each night of the week a different country competes for the best fireworks show. Wednesday was Brazil.
We got there several hours early. They close off the streets and thousands of people storm towards the water. Even when we got there 3 hours early the beach was already packed with an eager audience.

We ordered Pizza and while Lynden and Katie went to pick it up Clayton and I had a little competition ourselves. We both played chubby bunny for the first time...with blueberries. Yes our mother would be proud of the spectacle we made in public. We finally called a truce at 40 berries. The madness had to stop. In the middle of our Phase 10 game the fireworks began.

But maybe we should have kept ourselves entertained in a better way.

They were awesome. Love fireworks. I don't think I would actually like to live in Vancouver. There's too  much traffic, too many people and way too much noise. I don't like being in a sea of people but there's something to be said for sitting in large crowd experiencing the same thing as thousands of others, hearing everyone 'ooh' and 'ahh' together .

 After the show was done we walked back to the dock where our parents left us to go on a work cruise. We began to drive home. After about 20 minutes my Dad pulled over and said he could no longer drive. He could barely stand out of the car. Shooting pains and numb hands. You don't have to be a medical student to know what that means. The 15 minute drive to the hospital was terrifying. They took him into ER immediately. After 10 minutes my brother comes back from Dad's bed. The doctor thought it was kidney stones. Painful, but not half as scary as the heart attack I thought he was having. PS. Hyperventilation causes numbness in you hands. Just so you don't freak out like I did when someone has kidney stones.

And to top off the night's adventures when we dropped Katie off at her abode a family of raccoons came running out from her garage. Man those things creep me out.

Well That's a First

It has been another wonderful year in Edmonton! There were some big changes and lots of small ones. I'm living in a new house, with new roommates and in school. I like to keep a list of the things I've done for the first time in a year. Mind if I share some with you?
It's been the first time that I've...
-Worn scrubs (jeans are seriously ruined for me now)

- Eaten a fig
- gone to the dump (backed my beast up to the dumping dock, I was pretty proud)
-gone to a YSA conference (also the first time i've been to a dance...on a roof... of a hotel!)

- Played the piano for a stake event
- Had a friend get baptized!
- Tried on engagement rings (don't get your panties in a twist folks it was with my cousin, and I know that's normal for Albertans but she's a girl and that's not ok with Albertans)

- Driven a Hybrid car (Sat in it for 5 minutes trying to turn it on. Thankfully instructions come up on the dashboard that tell you what to do)

- Shot a gun
- Done a complete  ultrasound exam all by myself!
-Met a rocket scientist
- Gone to Tuitti Fruitti (seriously people if you have not tried this place you need to get your butts over there cheap, fun and a somewhat better alternative to ice cream)
- Been forked

- Bought my first coffee...but didn't know it was coffee until afterwards
- Tasted Pâté . But only tasted. When I found out it was kidney and liver it was promptly disposed of. Do people KNOW what your liver and kidneys are for?!
- Taken an X-ray (completely different from an Ultrasound. Please never ask me if they're the same thing)
- Put together a sterile tray
- Been in a Relief Society Presidency
- Driven a standard
- Done Archery
- watched my first Alberta thunderstorm (but I watched the lightning, not the thunder)

- Had Hawaiian haystacks
- Made Crayon art

-Ran a 5 k!
-Beat my brother at Super Mariocart (life long goal. Not a word of a lie)
- Gone inside the Cardston Temple
-Fallen asleep at school. Maybe I should have drank the coffee ;)
- Been published!!

It sure was a fantastic, hard and wonderful year. More to come I'm sure!

Secret Admirers and C.S Lewis

Dear Secret Admirer,
3 years ago a brown boxed package was delivered with my name on it. The return address: Secret Admirer.
Inside was a gorgeous, white, hardcover copy of The Screwtape Letters by C.S Lewis. I was ecstatic. I'd wanted to read this book I'd heard so many people talk about. And I tried, but with school and all the other hectic happenings of life time got away.There were many failed attempts at a cover to cover read. But this summer provided the perfect opportunity. I read and read and could barely put it down. It was funny and insightful. I could hardly believe someone could not only so accurately discern the subtle down falls we 'humans' have but to put it into words.
   Thank you, whomever you are (because you've done a fabulous job at concealing your identity), for educating my mind and making me fall in love with C.S Lewis. I must have just mentioned this book in passing but you took the time to buy a lovely copy of it and send it to me. It meant a lot to me. 


I hope you find this, seeing as I have no address to send you my appreciation in return!

Tender Mercy

Practicum has been amazing. For the past 2 months I've enjoyed getting to know my career better. And it makes me excited to know this is something I'll love waking up to do in the morning. Of course every week has it's ups and downs. Yesterday first case of the morning my classmate and I made a 'boo-boo'. It was bound to happen, but still leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. Fortunately for me though I have fantastic professors. I was sitting at a computer looking at our next case with my friend and preceptor, and it felt more crowded than usual. To my surprise my prof was standing behind them with a fat envelope with my name on it. Inside were 2 Lindt chocolate bars and a 3 pack of kleenex. (from a joke we'd had about how I would need these items on a bad day at practicum.) How did she know just the right day to visit?
       Needless to say there was no bitter taste left in my mouth after her visit :)

Appendicitis

Practicum has been a dream for me! I've loved every day! I haven't seen anything too crazy yet but lets be honest I still think gallstones are the coolest things ever. They're just so pretty the way they twinkle on the screen.

  My preceptor, who is currently one of my favorite people in the world, has a policy. You find an appendix, you get the rest of the day off. Now this may not sound so hard but an appendix, even when inflamed, is less than a centimeter big. So pretty much like a needle in a haystack.
   Well today I walk into work and there's a patient already waiting for me.
  7:56 start exam. 8:10 walk out of the room. Appendix pictures: documented.
Hellllllooooo newly forged long weekend!