Friendship

These past couple weeks I've realized something... God has blessed me with some pretty awesome, fantastic, amazing friends!  

So I'm just gonna keep it simple and say THANK YOU to all the wonderful ladies in my life :)

Sarah and I

Monica, Me, and Heidi

Kirsten and I

Krista and I

Roxanne and I (and Ferris too)

Jordyn and I (from TWO years ago...girl we need a new photo)

 

Wordless Wednesday

It's Finally Here...

I DID IT! 

Yesterday was my last day of Dental Hygiene school.  It's been a long eight years but I'm so happy it's finally over. Goodbye Carrington College! 

All I have left are three more national board exams.  My next exam is Monday May 21st and it's from 8am-5pm.  Yep, eight hours of written goodness.  Then my LAST two are June 2nd and June 3rd.  Then it's off to Mexico with my love to bask in the sun :) Oh I've been counting down the days.

Wish me luck! 

On another note... Here's what we've been up to lately...

FISHING

Fishing on the Columbia River in Washougal, WA.

Adam caught two sturgeon and Marshall caught one.  When Adam caught his second fish Marshall got a bite as well.  The fish ended up taking Marshall's 13-foot Lamiglass rod and a chair into the river! Adam said the fish had to of been at least five feet or bigger in order to have that kind of strength! CRAZY!

FAMILY DINNER

Hailey, Me, Kirsten

Monica and I

Every Monday we get together with friends from church to have "Family Dinner."  We all pitch in with food and drinks and it has been something I look forward to every week.  We started going in March!  All of the friends I've made from church have been so wonderful.  It's nice meeting new people that you instantly click with!

BOARD EXAMS

I passed my third board exam and I found out last Wednesday! I am so happy to have it done.  Thank you Jesus!

ADAM'S BIRTHDAY

For Adam's 25th birthday we went to Joe's Crab Shack.  It's our favorite place to go for special occasions (since their menu isn't exactly budget friendly). We went with Adam's two roommates Andrew and Jarvis.  Adam and I shared a Ragin Cajun steampot filled with seafood, corn, and spicy sausage.  It was delicious!  

Adam and his sister Sara waiting to blow out the candles

Adam and his nephew Colin and his two sisters Sara and Grace helping him blow out the candles

FISHING...AGAIN

I caught not one...but TWO sturgeons!  It was my FIRST time catching them all by myself.  I set the hook and everything!! Both of them were shakers which means not in the range to keep them (which is 38in-42in).  The second one was actually bigger than the first but it got cut off in the picture.  Interesting fact...Did you know all Sturgeon start off as male?  Once they reach 42in and bigger they then turn into females.  That's why you cannot keep the larger Sturgeons.

RANDOM WEEKEND PICTURES

Adam and his sister Grace at their sister Sara's soccer game

Bonfire with friends at Hailey's farm.  She has 300acres!

Adam at the driving range while I study on the side lines

The spot where we fish in Washougal, WA

 

Happy Birthday!

Happy 25th Birthday Adam!!

Thanks for making my life a little sweeter everyday :)

You make my heart smile big!

Philippians 1:3

Wordless Wednesday (thanks Rox ;) )

Life in Pictures

I haven't really had a whole lot to talk about these last couple weeks so I thought I'd just share some photos of what I've been up to...

Adam and I fishing :) in Washougal, WA

All of Adams family and I together celebrating for his Dad's birthday

I got to clean my four year old nephew Kameron's teeth for the last time before I graduate! 

Some late night cat fishing at Lacamas Lake, WA

Spent a sunny Saturday in Eugene, OR for the UofO vs. WSU baseball game with our friends Jeremy and Kirsten

At the baseball game.  Isn't this picture cool?  Absolutely no editing either!

Easter Weekend

Last weekend was a lot of fun for Adam and I, it was jam packed that's for sure...and to top it off I was sick.  Not just any sick, I'm talkin runny nose, sneezing, headaches, coughing, body aches, and a FEVER! I didn't let that stop me though :)

Friday we went to church at Summit View for an extended worship (kind of like a special Good Friday service).  We started off with some worship songs then we all broke off separately and went to "stations of the cross."  There were eight places you could go to learn more about what Jesus went through the day he was crucified. I've never done that before and it was actually very touching.  You weren't able to speak and there were devotions you could read and journal notes provided for writing any thoughts.  I enjoyed learning about what He went through that day.

Afterwards we went to happy hour at Beaches Restaurant with our friends Jeremy and Kirsten.  If you've been there you know their happy hour menu is amazing!  Kirsten, Jeremy, and I all got Fish n' Chips, and Adam got Shrimp Ceviche and something else I don't remember.  Then for dessert Adam and I got this smore sizzling dessert.  Oh. My. It was so delicious!

On Saturday Adam and I did one of our favorite things...FISHING!  We woke up to sunshine and decided right then that's what we were going to do!  We went with another friend Brandon to Lacamas Lake got our rods in the water.

It's so relaxing to just hang out in the sun on the edge of the lake.  We both wish we had a nice boat to take out but in the words of Justin Moore "if ya ain't got a boat, you gotta bank it" that will have to do for now :)  Adam was the only one to catch anything and he caught two trout.  Whoo hoo!

Saturday night my family came into town.  My grandma Faye from Seattle and my uncle Gary from New Jersey.  My uncle comes out every summer from NJ to work for the Mariners (he's a Pacific Northwesterner at heart).  Anyway that night we all went to dinner at the Puffin Cafe.  It's down on the Columbia River near Washougal.  I had never been there before but the food was amazing!  I definitely recommend it.  The prices were very reasonable too.

Adam got craw fish!

On Easter Sunday we all went to church at Summit View!  There was eleven of us!  We had my grandma Faye, my uncle Gary, my mom Joni, her boyfriend Larry, my sister Jessica, her boyfriend Nick, Adam, his dad Bob, his mom Brenda, his brother Robbie, and me.  As usual the service was great and afterwards we went to brunch at Camas Meadows Golf Course.

My grandma Faye and I.  She's 84 can you believe it?!

I had a terrible fever in this picture, but I still love it.

April 4, 2010

In two days it will be the two year anniversary of when my apartment building burnt down.  I remember it like it was yesterday... 

It was Easter Sunday, I woke up at 6:45am to take a shower and get ready for church.  While I was in the shower I smelt a weird smell of something burning.  I worried at first that I had set something too close to the coffee pot so I jumped out to check...nothing.  Still feeling weary I called my sister who manages apartments to ask her what I should do about the smell.  She said to call the apartment complex and let them know.  By the time I went to call them that's when I heard people yelling outside.

My apartment was under the stairs on the left

I opened my front door to clouds of dark black smoke and people yelling to get out immediately!  Okay...wait WHAT?! All sorts of thoughts rushed through my head- "what am I going to grab, where are my school books, I'm supposed to go see Adam today, WHAT AM I GOING TO GRAB??!!" I literally ran out of the house in my slippers, adidas snap ups, and a sports bra.  The only things I had time to grab was my lap top, outfit I had already laid out, hair dryer, straightener, and make up.  Seems like a lot but I lived in a studio so everything was pretty close together.  Also I know the outfit, hair dryer, straightener, and make up seems pretty extreme, but here's why... Adam came home from his tour in Iraq two days prior and I was heading up to Fort Lewis that day to see him for the first time!

I ran out to the parking lot and immediately called my Grandma (luckily she was in town from Seattle because the only family I have here is my younger sister).  I rushed over to her house and quickly got ready. 

My front door where the fire had entered

We went back to the scene to see how everything looked- my friends Monica and Jon also came by.  Luckily the firefighters had stopped the fire just as it entered my apartment.  I cried to them and asked how they did it, I couldn't help but laugh when they replied "That's because we're good at our job!"

If you look closely you can see the smoke on the counter tops.

Nothing in my apartment had "burnt" (besides some vans, which I still have) but everything had to be thrown away from smoke/water damage.

This is where they removed my TV from the wall

Thankfully everyone in the apartment building had renters insurance!  The fire had started in my direct neighbor's apartment from a candle falling over (later it was found that it was arson :( ). 

One thing I definitely learned from this situation is take NOTHING for granted.  It has helped me to not sweat the small stuff...and know that eventually everything will be alright.  I know God brought me through that situation untouched for a reason and I intended to cherish that lesson.  

I also still extend my thanks to everyone who helped me during that time!  I couldn't have done it without ya :)


Oh and in case you're wondering... I still made it to Fort Lewis in time to see Adam!  Even though I smelled like a campfire x1000 there was NO way I was going to miss that opportunity!

Is That A Light At The End Of The Tunnel?

Last weekend I spent my time up in Seattle, WA taking two of my national board exams for dental hygiene school.  The school I took them at was Lake Washington Technical College in Kirkland- it was actually a beautiful school.  It was on top of a hill with views of the mountains...plus I got to take a floating bridge over Lake Washington to get there!

In order to get my license to practice dental hygiene I have to take SIX national board exams...yes SIX! There's two Anesthesia exams (written and clinical), Restorative (which is doing fillings on a dentoform), Process of Care (kind of like treatment planning for mock patients), a National Board Exam (which is a 6hour exam of EVERYTHING you've learned while in school), and finally a Clinical dental hygiene exam (which tests your clinical skills as a hygienist).  And did I mention it costs over $2000 to take these?  So basically you better pass :)

My first exam of the weekend was my Anesthesia clinical (I already have passed my written) on Friday.  Of course the night before I tossed and turned and I had to be up by 4:30am in order to make it to the school by 7am for an orientation and clinic tour.  The funny part was my actual exam wasn't until 3:30pm so I got to spend the day sleeping in my car...no really I brought my sleeping bag and pillow!  Since I'm a worry wart I didn't want to leave the school once I was there...because well, I was there!  I didn't want to chance my car breaking down, or an accident, etc.  

Finally after hours of waiting and my heart pounding ALL day it was time for my test!  My cousin so graciously accepted my offer of her being my patient.  I had to give two injections for the exam.  One of the bottom left side of her mouth, and one on the top right.  

My cousin Brittany and I before my test

 I had two examiners evaluating me, and they watch everything you do... They watch you set up your room, get your syringes ready, bring your patient in...then your actual injections.  While you're doing the injections there's several things you have to tell them outloud... Once you're at your penetration site, once you've reached your optimal depth and angle, and the results of your aspiration.  Let me tell ya, this was the MOST nerve racking experience I've ever been through.  Giving injections is no big deal for me, but man I couldn't get my hands to stop shaking for the life of me, and they never shake!  Luckily the examiners were very friendly and said that everyone's hands shake during this exam, they said they understand it's a huge day for us.  That helped calm me down.  Once the injections are completed, they make you wait...and wait...and wait...


But then...

...I got this little beauty!

I honestly couldn't believe it...I had PASSED my anesthesia board, my first one!  Now I can officially give anesthesia in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, and Nevada.  WHOA!!

Tear filled eyes and a huge smile!

After that day was over I was so exhausted from being nervous all day I couldn't even celebrate...too hard, my cousin and I went to HH then I went straight to the condo I stayed at and went to bed.  Plus- Adam was in NJ for the Army and I really wanted to wait to celebrate with him! 


On Sunday I had my restorative board- and that's where I complete two fillings, one silver (amalgam) and one white (composite) on a "dexter" dentoform.  This test isn't as exciting so I won't go into detail...and I'm still waiting to hear the results, they said it could take THIRTY days.  C'mon!!  

I am still so happy on starting to accomplish this goal of being a dental hygienist.  I have been in college for EIGHT years for this and now I only have six weeks left.  It's hard to believe I'm almost done.