~LIFE IN THE OR~

Sometimes work can be hilarious! Well, the patients can be hilarious...today was no exception. I have the privilege of working with "older" patients on Monday and Tuesday because they come in to have cataracts removed or various other problems with their eyes taken care of by some of our very talented eye surgeons. One of my unique responsibilities is to take a medical history on each patient including any medications they might be taking at the time of surgery...today I learned that there is a new medication out there for the elderly that I am going to make sure that I have a prescription for when I reach those "golden years". I was going through the usual questions about medications when my cute little patient told me that she was taking "Prilosex". Normally I don't even look up as I write down each medication but, I stopped, pen in hand and looked up to see if she was kidding...nope! So, I asked her if she meant "Prilosec" and she said no, she was taking "Prilosex" ... that is exactly what I wrote and exactly how it went back on the record to the OR...now everyone wants a Rx for "Prilosex"! We are not really sure what it does but, she looked pretty darn good for 80 something...

~HAPPY 24th OF JULY WEEKEND~

It has been a busy weekend for me but, I love busy weekends. The only problem is that they go by WAY too fast and I am back to work before I know it wondering where the weekend went!!! We have been busy this week helping Sky and Cambria paint and get ready to move into their new home. It has kept us all very busy...especially them. So today since the tile setters were there and we needed to stay out of their way we had a day to do what we wanted to do! I started my day with one of my favorite/un-favorite things...my run up the canyon. IT IS HOT!!! Even at 6:00 in the morning it is HOT! I don't usually get to run in the mornings because of the crazy hours I work but, it doesn't really matter because it is still HOT! When I got home Cambria was waiting to make waffles with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and bananas. Buttermilk syrup and whipped cream...so much for the run!!! After the nutritious breakfast we took off for a hike to Stewart Falls in Provo Canyon with the dogs. Little Louie, Garett and Lisa's wiener dog, Thor the Great Dane and Shelby the whatever...(very smart whatever might I add). Louie lead the way setting a fast little pace that was difficult to keep up with. That is one fast wiener dog! We caused quite a commotion on the trail as people we passed had to stop and pet, comment and just plain STARE at Louie or Thor...Shelby, not so much...It was fun to watch the reactions from the back of the pack!

After returning home Grandpa Steve had Cole out for a practice round of golf...of coarse I had to go and get some pictures!! That kid is so photogenic. I don't think I could take a bad picture of him and believe me I can take a lot of BAD pictures! He was not all that interested in golf once he found out there were ducks in the river and rocks on the bank. What is it with little boys and rocks? We also saw a water snake and a muskrat. All in all an interesting afternoon of "GOLF?" for a 3 year old!

~MIRACLES~

What are you thinking little girl
Behind those eyes of blue?

If you could speak would you tell me
of all the things you knew

Of where you've been and who you were
before you came to earth.

Of just how great and just how much
each of our souls are worth.

So often it takes a little one to make us understand
The miracles that come to us are fist held in God's own hands.

For Bella love, Grandma

~BELLA SMILES~

It is always so fun to catch those very first smiles on camera. Bella was so cute today as she tried to get a sound out. Well what can I say she is cute all the time, even when she cries! She is still holding on to those blue eyes and all of us think that they are here to stay. Mom and Dad are thrilled. She is the first one in their family to get her daddy's blue eyes!

Grandchildren are just so much fun!

~VACATION ANYONE~

(Don't take this too seriously...also, my friend told me damn, shit, and hell are not swear words....Okay, okay, I'll get the soap...).

I have nothing to say really, nothing of great importance to write about...I can't think of anything remotely funny or interesting happening in my life right now. Just long days of work and wanting to desperately be someplace else. I keep telling myself that I need to stay away from on coming trains or high ledges right now because the temptation to step off or step in front of might just overpower me...Yea, I guess you could say that I am having a bad day...hell, I have had a bad week and, I need a vacation from myself. Is there such a thing. Just a quick change of "person-age"(I really like the "age" part)? We take vacations for different reasons don't we. A much needed trip to the tropics to bask in the sun and the sand because our souls crave the warmth only the islands can provide. We throw our skies on the rack and head north to the snow covered mountains because we want to defy gravity for a week and tell ourselves once again that we really do "still have it" you know, that need to show everyone (self included) that the kid in us is still alive and kickin! Well, I need a vacation from me. I need to just leave this person that I have turned into and go away for awhile...somewhere kind and forgiving where it will be okay to just sit and do nothing but think about being kind and forgiving...I really need to do that. Yesterday I realized how much I have forgotten about basic attributes. I need to re-discover many of them...Perhaps ALL of them! Lately I have been so worried about stuff I can't do anything about that it has almost consumed me. I have forgotten who I am and why, yes why I am here...and I owe everyone that I love an apology for being a beast of burden because I truly have been an ASS. (or are beasts of burdens cows)? This so-called vacation from "self" could prove very enlightening once I discover how to fix the stupid and put a little grease on the smart. I just need to figure out where I've stowed the patience, kindness and tolerance. They are there, I'll find them, I just have to push through the insensitive, selfish and self-absorbed... How long do you think I will need to be gone? :)

~MAPLE MOUNTAIN~

Wow! What a day! I am exhausted, drained and physically overwhelmed...I have spent the day with my friends that are so far above me when it comes to fitness that it is almost laughable but, I gave it a great effort and tried desperately to stay up, not complain to loudly and well at times just BREATH!

Maple Mountain looms just minutes from my house. I have lived here for 23 years and never climbed to the top. After today, I now know why. I have climbed Timp. several times and it is challenging but not bad. Maple is challenging and BAD! It is rocky, steep and possibly a heart attack just waiting to happen...seriously! However, the view and the company you take with you is worth every slip of the foot, every twist of an ankle and every snow field you slide down to your untimely demise (or shorts full of mud. Thank you Kami for coming with me and making me feel better about that wonderfully BAD decision)!

When we finally reached the top, the wind was blowing and the temperature was a bit chilly to say the least...we ate our lunch quickly, took a few pictures and began our decent to a warmer altitude as fast as our sore knees and ankles would allow us. Most of our group liked going up better than coming down...does that make sense to anyone? Perhaps that helps you understand the examples of physical phenomenons I was hiking with today!!!

All in all it was a great day. I will recover in a couple of weeks...okay days and yes, I will do it again. Just wait to ask me for a few weeks! My knees will need that long to forgive me!

P.S.

I found my cell phone! It wasn't lost on the glacier after all...

~4TH of JULY at the CABIN~

What a fun weekend we had! As usual it is always fun when the grandkids are there to entertain us but you add the Forth of July in Scofield to that and you can't help but have a BLAST!

The little ones are at the ages where they really are just so cute to watch. They say and do the funniest things...Little Cole snuggled up to Lisa and asked her so innocently if she "was startin to have kids yet" ... we both cracked up. It embarrassed him a little but he quickly recovered when we told him how cute we thought he was! Maddie and Abbie are both starting to put together full sentences that are so cute. It is amazing to just listen to them. They are so little but so SMART!


We spent some time at the" carnival" in Scofield if that is what you call it. The little ones rode the ponys and slid down the slides. They got to swing on the swings and Cole managed to turn around just at the wrong time and the swing hit him in the nose giving him a bloody nose. Of coarse he had on a very cute white pin striped button down shirt that from that point on was also sporting red poka dots! He is such a tough little guy, he didn't even cry, just put his head back and asked for a tissue!




We got tired of the party pretty quick and returned to the cabin for lunch. The kids needed a nap and the moms and dads needed a break! That night we had the all American BBQ complete with hot dogs and hamburgers and then to top it off Som'ores...so delicious! Thanks Garett and Lisa!


It was a great weekend filled with lots of fun and family. We missed Stephanie and Jon, Gage and Ali but, understand that they LOVE the 4th of July in Vernal. As hard as that is for some people to understand it isn't for me because I loved the 4th of July in Delta. There is just something about small town USA that you can't explain to people who aren't a part of that. It's GREAT! We missed them because they are so much a part of our family but, there are other weekends at the cabin to look forward to! We also missed Cambria and Sky who were in Disneyland. Now I am sure that given the choice they would have preferred to be at the Carnival in Scofield I mean come on who would really want to miss the ugliest 4-wheeler parade or the rubber duckie river float or the karaoke sing off or the ...lol

Thanks everyone for making the weekend so much fun!

~HAPPY 4TH of JULY~

~HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLARK~

Clark was born on the 4th of July and therefore all of his life he has thought that all the hoopla has been for him! The parade, the fireworks, the BBQ's...it was all for HIS birthday. We never really had the heart to tell him when he was younger that it wasn't so he pretty much grew up thinking that everyone had a parade for their birthday!

The nice thing about having a birthday on a holiday is that you always have the day off from work! When it's a major holiday you even get a party EVERY year. No one ever forgets your birthday and you pretty much always get a present! If you ask the rest of the kids, I should have had them all on holidays!

Clark has always been a great guy, the kind of guy everyone likes being around. He is funny and every once in a while seriously profound! I love this kid who is not so much a kid anymore. The very best thing that has happened to Clark in the last few years is his cute wife Cami and their adorable daughter Abigail.


Clark works extremely hard trying to make everything perfect for everyone. There is not anything he wouldn't do for you if you asked. His only fault is that he is often way too hard on himself... ( I'm sure Cami could probably fill me in on a few more faults, wives have the inside scoop on stuff like that).

It so fun to see my boys with children of their own and watch them as they demonstrate what good fathers they are becoming.

Good job Lore and Cami!