And Life Rolls On

This summer Karl was able to apply for Optometry Schools. His application was really strong and he decided to only apply to three schools to try and keep costs down. Two that he was seriously considering (Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tennessee and Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon) and one as a back up (Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona.) He received invitations to both of the schools he was serious about and is still waiting to hear from the back up school. (To me this just confirms that that school is not for us. They are new and still pretty unorganized by the look of things.) So last weekend Karl went to his first interview all the way in Tennessee. I've never been there so here is a picture of downtown. (Apparently they have their own Luxor, or look-a-like. It will be just like home.) Here's a picture of the school and Eye Center, which is supposed to be amazing for the clinicals. The school is purely an optometry school, so no sharing equipment with medical students. It is supposed to be a really great, and competitive, program. I was a bit worried for Karl though. Apparently his hotel was in the ghetto bad side of town. If we go there we will be sure to stay clear of that area. But he survived and make it back to me alive. He found out on Wednesday, not even a week later, that he has been officially accepted!!! I am so proud of him. He has his interview in Oregon this weekend and will hopefully hear back from them in the next few weeks. So we are not on our way to Tennesse yet, but it's officially a possibility.

The Green Bug is Back

Last semester we did our nursing clinicals at a nursing home. I got to work with this old man with dementia. He would tell me the same stories over and over, verbatim. And everytime I would walk into his room he would say "The Greeeen Buug. Your hair's on fire." He was such a sweet heart. So now clinicals are back and so are the green scrubs. This time however, we are in the hospital.

I get to go to American Fork, which is really nice because it is a lot closer to home than Provo, especially at 5:45 in the morning. This week I was in the med/surg unit. I really lucked out. My nurse was great and the patients were so nice. I want to adopt one of them as a grandma. She was so much fun. I really enjoyed myself and got to do a lot of new things. I gave some shots, which I have practiced on an orange but these were my first human injections. And insert a catheter. That was an experience. You couldn't see where it was even supposed to go because the patients anatomy was a little different. But I was successful so it was a great experience. Next week I'm in the ER so we'll see how that goes. It should be a little more intense and exciting. Wish me luck!

Rest of Yellowstone

Here's the rest of our trip. The second day we took it really slow. Visited the mud pots and then went into west yellowstone for the day. It was nice to just be able to relax and hang out together. The last day we saw the coolest stuff (of course. It was Karl's day to choose). And of course that was the day we forgot the camera. So all we had was my cell phone to document the gorgeous hike up Mt. Washburn. The three grizzly bears. The buffalo jam. There were seriously about 600 bison in one area (I had plenty of time to count) and they kept deciding they wanted to cross the road. It wasn't that bad if they were right in front of you so you had a good view. And of course, the gorgeous falls.
If you go to Yellowstone make sure you take Uncle Tom's trail. It gives you the best view of the lower falls. Karl loved the stairs. He's a bit afraid of heights and the fact that you can see through the steps to the ground WAY below made it interesting. We made sure to rest at the bottom. But it was well worth it. Other than that we hung out at the tent, made s'mores, and watched Karl extinguish the spontaneous flames that came from the camp stove. All in all it was a great trip.