And the verdict is...

Yes, I'm still here, but something is missing...

I know, I know..."I have so much to say before school starts again..."  Well, I never have enough time in a day, whether I'm in school or not, it turns out.  Here is one thing I wanted to write about:  Zander lost his first tooth!  His bottom front tooth fell out while he was eating breakfast on Monday, August 18.  He was very excited!  

He comes to me, with his fist closed, and says, "Mom, I was wondering what a tooth looks like when it falls out.  Does it look like THIS?!?!" And shows me the contents of his hand and starts laughing.  He is such a clever little kid.

Here he is all toothless and happy! 

And here is another one with him and brother, Keagan.  They are so cute together!

Happy Anniversary

So, today we celebrate 9 YEARS of marriage!  I can't believe it either.  Michael, my amazing husband, surprised me with a wonderful gift! (And one for him, too.  He's a great shopper, for the both of us.)

This is my new baby. He said being together 9 years is a journey and deserves the Journey Necklace (with white sapphire stones). He said he was so excited to give it to me he hardly slept last night, like it was Christmas.  This was better than Christmas!  Thanks, Babe!

And, this is what I got (riiight) for Michael.  He got a new set of golf clubs.  He went to buy one club with a gift card he had and the sets of clubs were on sale.  So he got them and called it my gift to him.   I'm such a good wife I even surprise myself sometimes!

I have lots of other things to talk about before school starts on Monday, so visit me here often between now and then!

And...we're done

So, I survived my first semester of PA school.  I even think I made it with A's and B's, although grades aren't available for another week.  Honestly, it wasn't as hard as I was afraid it might be.  But most of our graded classes (not pass/fail) were review type classes, except for a few very difficult exceptions like Biochemistry and Microbiology.  Next semester, however, is going to be very different.  The students and faculty alike have told us that fall semester is by far the hardest.  It's much more time consuming with a lot more new material being presented, real medical stuff.  For those interested, I'll put my schedule below, so you can see what I'll be doing.  For those not interested, skip it!  By the way, this means I'm 1/4 the way done with classes!  Yeah!

Course: Pathophysiology I 

Classes in this course: Infectious Disease, Surface Anatomy, Wound Management, Pediatrics, Adolescent Medicine, Orthopedics, Gastroenterology, Opthalmology, ENT

Course: Specialty Care I

Classes: Cardiology, ECG Inerpretation, OB/GYN, Pulmonology, Radiology, Nephrology, Lab Interpretation

Course: Drug Therapy in Primary Care I

Course: Patient Problem Management I

Classes: Tutorials, Focused Exams, FP (Family Practice) Grand Rounds (This is a meeting of doctors and residents where they present patient cases and solutions for them.  I've never been but I've been to similar meetings and they are fascinating!), Professional Issues, Cultural Competency

Course: Evidence-Based Medicine I

Classes: EBM Overview, COPC (Not sure what this stands for)

As you can see, as happened this semester, I have 5 graded courses that are made of several classes each.  We get a grade in each class (some are just pass/fail), then all the class grades are combined to give is a course grade.  They rotate in and out, so I can be taking 5 or 10 classes at a time, depending on when they all start/stop.  

ANYWAY, I'm out of school for 3 weeks!  I'm trying to get caught up on blogs that I haven't seen forever, including mine.  I'm also wanting to do some scrapbooking!  I love being home with my kids more, and am looking forward to a vacation at some point, maybe.  Anyone who wants to do lunch or a scrapbook date...call me!  I'm available, but not for long!

My cute boys!

My nanny, Stephanie, is the daughter of a friend that I worked with at Huntsman.  They took the boys swimming one day and made these cute scrapbook pages.  I thought I would share because they are so cute!  Thanks Annette and Stephanie!

I'm doing good!

Well the first two days of this holiday weekend were way more fun than I thought they would be!  Can I just say I'm so grateful for friends?! 

My family left on Thursday night for Nouvoo (with my parents and siblings) so I am all alone.  I cried like a baby when they left.   I was so afraid of being a lost little puppy that I tried really hard to keep myself busy.  Well, I stayed so busy, I was late for everything I found to do!

I got up on Friday the 4th and went to our Ward Breakfast at the church.  While there, I made plans with a friend to go see 'Made of Honor' and we loved it.  It's a very fun show!  Then we came to my house and played Guitar Hero.  Always a hit.  That evening I went to a BBQ with some friends from school.  We had a great time, especially because there was delicious juice and fruit pizza.  How can you not have a great time when delicious juice is involved?  We decided not to walk to Sugarhouse Park for fireworks, the original plan, but we set up camp in the backyard and could see the show just fine anyway!  The fireworks were amazing!  I LOVE fireworks!

Today, I decided I was going to go to the gym and swim laps, something I haven't done in a very long time.  Michael suggested I ride my bike to the gym, then swim.  So I got on my bike, rode the almost 5 miles there, laid by the pool (and did a few laps, with mostly arms to get some sort of upper body workout in) and laid by the pool for a little while longer.  Then got back on my bike and rode the almost 5 miles home, which almost killed me.  I realized on the way back, that the ride there wasn't because I was "in the zone" as I had hoped, but it was mostly downhill.  Yeah, that means it was mostly uphill on the way home.  I was already tired, and it was 98 degrees, so that's why I almost died.  But I'm okay. 

Next, after a much needed shower, I went to the wedding of a friend I worked with at Huntsman.  They got married at East Canyon Resort and it was beautiful!  And, I had a fantastic time!  I saw all (well most) of my old crew and was there for the ceremony (at 2:30), the time in between, and for most of the reception, which started at 5:30.  I didn't leave until 8.  It was hot and we danced like fools and loved every minute of it!  We even followed the kids example and ran through the fountain before the night was over.  I sure miss my girls up there!

Not a great photo, but it was taken with my phone, which doesn't zoom.  (Michael has the camera on vacation.)   It was so pretty and Krystal looked amazing!  

These were flowers that were growing wild on the way up the canyon.  I know you can't tell because this picture was taken with my phone again, but these flowers were such a vibrant purple and they were in red soil, so they stood out even more.  They were so pretty I pulled over and took a few shots. 

So since I haven't done any homework yet this weekend, and that was all I thought I would do, I guess I know what is planned for tomorrow!

I know this is already longer than you want to read, but a little brag note:  my last two finals I have scored 97% and 91%.  Go me!  =)

Kung Fu Zander

We went and saw Kung Fu Panda a few nights ago, and had such a good time!  Zander wore his karate uniform, and when I saw the panda out in the lobby, I couldn't pass up this photo op!  It's such a good movie.  Anyone who hasn't taken their kids, or even gone on their own, should.  It's funny, it's clean, and it has such a good message.  We even got to have popcorn.  It was a fun night!

Now I'm getting ready to be on my own for the next 10 days while Michael, the kids, and my whole family go on vacation...without me.  I can't afford to miss that many days of school, and right now school has to come first.  It makes me sad thinking they are all going to be gone for so long...what am I going to do with myself?!  Oh yeah, homework that I haven't done for a few months...what was I thinking.

I'll keep you posted on how they are doing and my loneliness scale.  Later!