MAUI

When one is given an invitation by one's family to accompany them to a tropical island, one has no choice to say yes right?!

Yes, is the answer to that. Of course I had to travel to Maui with my family and cousins. All the boy cousins are on missions. So before they all come home we decided to have one more giant Girl Party--we went all out.  Crazy memories and TONS of pictures later, I come back to the mainland a little darker. The best memories were:

1. Having all 6 of us be squashed and tossed by a 15 ft wave we nicknamed Jessie.  We were beaten over and over while the parents laughed at us. Needless to say, I am still finding sand in various locations. 
2. Celebrating Karlie's 19th birthday--yeah I feel old. I can't wait for her to come to BYU this fall! The highlight was after a fantastic meal at Maui Tacos, Kyra, Jessie, and Kristi got up and sang Happy Birthday to Karlie at the mall.
3. Snorkeling around with all the pretty fish--Angelfish are my new favorite. While snorkeling I heard Kyra yell, "URTLE!" I loved watching turtles swim. The Ahihi Kinau Nature Preserve.
4. Eating Fresh Pineapple until we puked. 
5. Quiet early hours reading and just enjoying the waves crashing.
6. Laughing at all the great stories my Dad and Uncle Dan told us about their childhoods. 
7. Spending a week in a completely separate hotel room from the parents with 5 other crazy Chicas.
8. Hiking through a Bamboo Forest up to a gorgeous waterfall.
9. Slipping on a few slippery rocks in a mad attempt to save a runaway flip-flop.  I might have slipped and landed on my butt. Bruise is still growing. 
10. Kyra Screaming I'm Inferior and being dead serious about it.
11. Everyone making fun of me for my poor attempt at a Baywatch Run.
12. Six Girls one bathroom--you do the math.
13. Everyone screaming as a TON of dolphins pass by us.  
14. Fantastic food and Hula Pie. Yup.
15. Laying in the sun, doing absolutely nothing--turns out I could be okay being a beach bum. Man I have missed the sun. Hawaii might have to become an annual thing.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
     

Warts

I've had friends with me for the last 4-5 years. They've refused to leave. Gotten bigger. Become a pain in the foot. And watched them multiply.  Freezing, gels, professional freezing, acid, and creams failed to remove them. So I went to a trusty doctor who numbed and burned them off.  Thank goodness for numbing medications! Though that hurt worse then anything else has. My toe in particular did not appreciate it in the least. I walked in with 4 warts and left with 4 black holes. And a smell that would make anyone nauseous. But Oh well.  Now I get to walk around with 4 open wholes and bandaides for a while. Hey at least they are gone!!

 

Ending

It all ended on July 16, 2011. After 10 years of reading and watching Harry Potter, the last movie arrived. The ER once again rented out the whole theater--a headache all over again. The theater was full of crazy ER people and their families. I loved it. I can't believe there won't be another movie or book out. I grew up reading those books. Yeah I am a Harry Potter Nerd.  The Siblings and I even made shirts. I did manage to read the 7th book and watch all the previous movies.  Harry Potter is amazing. I can't believe the details and world J.K Rowling created.

The Shirts the Sibling & I Made For the Event

Harry Potter Fans

Tears

Frequently I hear, "You are an ER nurse? Wow, I bet you have some great stories! How do you do it?" Most of the time the ER is fun chaos. Evidence the human race really have no common sense.  Everyone from papercuts, to strokes, to fractured arms, to druggies, to traumas, to sick babies comes through those doors. I've noticed over the last few years I've become a little bit more callus toward a few things. A survival instinct. But every once in a while a case comes a long that takes me a few days to process. Tonight was one such case.

I have some amazing co-workers. Seriously I could not ask for a better group of people to work with. I know they have my back in any situation. Last night a sick little baby came in.  One of my favorite nurses was the primary nurse and immediately went in and began to help that poor thing. The poor thing was so sick and in the midst of being transferred, coded. 45min later of drug pushing, chest compressions, fluid bolusing, and a neonatologist intervention the baby's little heart began to beat. Unfortunately the baby did not survive later. My heart just broke for that mom as she watched us work so hard to save her little baby.  Her husband was able to make it and support his wife.  My heart still breaks for them.  Their lives have forever changed.  I seriously do not know what I would do without the knowledge I have of the gospel. 

So yes my job is crazy but every once in a while a patient comes a long that really touches my heart. I pray that mom finds peace.  I will shed a few tears, write down the experience--so I can process it, and go back to work. Hey, I am an ER nurse. It's what I do.

Rexburg

The travel bug hit me bad this month. It has been a few months since I've escaped life with a trip. I'm anxiously awaiting Hawaii which is still few weeks away; so in the mean time I took off to Rexburg. Since this year marks my 5year graduation mark--also my 5 years as being a nurse, I decided it was time to visit. Mark and Heather came up with me and we invaded my Aunt Susie and Uncle Mark's house for a bit. I still can't believe it's been five years since I set foot on that campus. 

 

The adventure began Friday evening, after I was able to recover a bit from the 3 in-a-row shift adventure. Work for some reason has been extra draining lately.  Mark and I began with the ever-essential trip to Costco and sprinted to pick up Heather. Road trips are becoming one of my favorite things. Mark played DJ--actually he is quite amazing at picking the perfect song. About an hour into the trip we decided we were starving and crashed Carl's Jr.  Ugh, I still have flash backs to the painful stomach bulge after that meal. But it tasted soooooo good.  After rolling ourselves back into the car, the adventure continued.  Around Pocatello, an Idaho State cop decided he was bored and wanted to pick on the blue car full of adventurous Young Adults. Ugh the attitude. I REALLY REALLY wanted to kick the short, full of it, cop who I'm sure was just bored and wanted to pick on the out of states travelers.  Needless to say I drove away frustrated and with a $150 ticket on my license.  But as we drove up to Rexburg, I saw the temple sitting on the hill and felt strangely like I was coming home.  Granted it was all dark and difficult to see everything but I LOVED it.  However, it all had to wait as we drove to my Uncle's house and we greeted but 3 boys that are MUCH taller than I remember them being.  Seriously, when did they get to be eye level?! By this time I was tired and crashed hard.

Enjoying a Bit of Sun

Saturday morning we woke and took off toward the sand-dunes.  The kids took off straight into the water and waded the raft with all our gear on it. Can I tell you how much I have missed the sun?!  We explored the open water, shrieked a bit as the cold water hit my chest, and anxiously awaited the sand experience. Kyler led us to the secret spot.  Yeah, it wasn't that secret. We watched as crazy people on all sorts of off-road vehicles sped across the sand. My personal favorite was the groups that also had a can of beer in had. Job security. Wow.  Heather and I jumped on the inter-tubes and basked in the sun for a while. Mark then proceeded to dump me--not his wife--into the water. Good to know that some things never change.  Well Mark and Heather vanished on a boating adventure while me and the boys enjoyed the sun.  I just absorbed the sun. He and I have missed each other.  While enjoying the peace we were invaded by a large group of off roader's. They set up a water slide down into the dune. Oh it was funny to watch them go down. They even offered to let us go down and we had a party landing into the pool. Finally, the adults showed up and we waded out to the car, burned, hot, sandy, and sweaty.  Showers, naps, and aloe applying were all needed before our next adventure. 

 

Being the Elmers we are, Ice Cream was essential. Dairy Queen held special memories for all of us so we crashed it and ate the most chocolate filled ice cream we could find.  Hyped up on sugar we headed back for a movie and chill time. But not before I got a tour of my old campus.  Wow, things have changed. I'm kinda jealous I'm not attending school up there right now.  Walking around brought up so many memories. I will have to go up again when everything is open. The buildings all look the same, the Temple is gorgeous, and I miss the spirit up there. I just can't believe how long it has been since I graduated. I was a bit more read at this point and needed some more aloe, but it FINALLY felt like summer. My first true sunburn of the year. 

The New Building --the I-Center and Manwaring Center

The Clark Building--Where I Spent Most of My Time

Thank Goodness for Chocolate

Sunday morning my alarm went off and I got ready for church on campus. It was different getting ready with boys instead of 6 girls crammed into one bathroom. The Smith building became the chapel--I had my English class in this building.  Fast Sunday went by a little bit slower due to the hot stuffy room--I was up there is the freezing cold not the heat.  But Testimony meeting was one of the highlights.  I got up and bore my testimony. Oh How I missed it up there. That campus really does have a special spirit. After Heather and I found the boys we headed home and ate BBQ hamburgers and again crashed for another nap. The evening was spent Hiking up to Mesa Falls. The funniest part was watching us all dance around trying to avoid being eaten alive by mosquitoes.  The falls were gorgeous though. I don't know why I love waterfalls so much--but to me they are one of the best things in this world. I spent the rest of the night reading Harry Potter.

Stupid Bugs

Britton Became Mark's New Shadow

Finding the Dead Things

Monday morning was slow but we got up, ate some food, packed up, and left for home. Mark drove so I could crash before my shift. The drive was quick. I stopped and said hello to the rest of my family before taking off for the insanity of the ER. July 4th was wrapped up with dealing with 160 patients in the ER. HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!