Grandpa Chin

The last exams of the semester occurred this week - a practical (which was stupid easy for me) and a written exam (which was less easy). A guest lecturer told us all about informatics and then laughed at the DadBod’s presentation on how we’d use it to streamline our patient influx. 

'Noeing and fishing. 

Boxing is almost over, but I did get some gloves for super cheap on the Title website. So when I drop by for occasional classes in the future, I’ll be ready. You know what I’m not ready for? Living in the wild. Brandi and I did some canoe fishing this week and still got nada. 

Crew. 'Vada 2k19.

Kailey, Roger, Ryder, and I went on an afternoon swim at Lake Powell to celebrate the end of most of my summer classes. We had a delicious lasagna dinner from Hannah, and played some good basketball at the church. We ended the night with a family chat and rewatching the movie Stardust. 

He loves babies so much. 

Friday, I was woken up early for some “delicious waffles” which were true to their name. I did a lot of HW and drove with Rog up north, making it to Mesquite in time for a late Mexican dinner. We hung out while the Chin watched the tater tot and loved her. And after they both went to bed, the adults watched Get Out. (Definitely worth seeing). 

"Let's get a pic."

We hit up the temple in the morning (post-breakfast at the hotel). The Chin kept saying, “Hey can we take a picture?” And by WE, he meant only him and Aurora. We ate at Golden Corral and snagged some cookies and then crashed immediately. Rog and I went for a quick swim while the Chin was still out and then we met back up again for dinner and Loot. When Aurora was asleep again, we went to see the Lion King (which was worth seeing, but no comparison). 

Whenever we went back to the hotel, he'd
just sit there and watch baby videos for days. 

It was good to hang out with the fam again, even if everyone was a bit distracted. We left the Chin to his devices with the tater and headed back to Page for dinner with the missionaries (and ice cream along the way)! And sink me if we didn’t watch the Scarlet Pimpernel. 

I Don't Give A Sh#& About Apathy

I rode a horse for the first time. It was easier than people make it out to be, but that might just be because I'm very aggressive and generally athletic because Kat  couldn't get her horse to move and Alyssa fell off.

SO to Mike for making this happen en fin. 

We had another week of boxing classes and more and more of our classmates keep joining for free box July at the Physioshop. The dude in charge does a good job of rotating us through the stations so we get a good workout and some mitt time.

"Just happy to be here."

H2O Tuesday was fun in that Dave made us fresh burgers when we arrived and we saw a nice view of some controlled burns across the lake. We even met some new people and learned that I need to not be the one to make initial contact with them because it is weird and aggressive. Should've listened to Mallory when she told me that Day 1 in France.

PC: Lizzy Lewis. 

Our TherEx class is wrapping up and we had to get a bunch of competencies checked off by Tarang. We were supposed to be working on it all semester, but you know how THAT goes. So on the last day of class, it turned into a madhouse.

Just in case you couldn't see us in the other pics. 

Brandi and I had several people ask to study with us afterwards, so we ran a 10-person study group where we went over various cases. It worked surprisingly well, but I'd rather keep my study sessions small for my own sanity.

My teachers have high expectations for me. 

Jason said he kept thinking about making a documentation-themed cover of Old Town Road, so guess what I spent the rest of the day doing? It is NOT good, if you're wondering. LMK if you know any men that can sing, and I'll stick to the rap portion.

My ladies. #WouldYouLikeToBuyABowel?

Our annual Parkinson's Retreat was this weekend and I had the pleasure of working with some of the most delightful women (and organizers of the PD singing group: The Mountain Tremors). They were absolutely wonderful and not at all what I was expecting. In the afternoon, Val had me running the fall station, where we literally just practice falling down. It's a terrifying thing for anyone, but especially the geriatric folk with even less motor control than normal. And they performed remarkably well. (Also since constipation is one of the first s/s, there were so many poop jokes and I felt right at home.)

Who ya gonna call?

On Friday night, Brandi and I spent some time making Amish bread and watching Blown Away (a glassblowing competition Netflix original). And just relaxing. (Taking a page out of Moriah's book.) Which was much needed.

Honestly, we weren't sure WHO had the
degenerative brain disease at this conf. 

And Saturday, the Brewtons invited us (&co) to their house for dinner, which is always fabulous. And officially began me friendship with Abbie and John Robert, who are also delightful humans to whom I would never admit that. Good times with good people.

Drinks, Apps, Sserts (part II)

I'm only a little worried about going back to school after having had no summer. But I feel like I've been using my free time judiciously, so we'll see.

Brandi and I cleaned up some of the church grounds. And I mean deep cleaned. Brandi mostly stood guard, while I headed face-first into the bushes but we DID end up with the biggest bag of trash. Also poison ivy.

The boyz (TM)

We also fed the missionaries this week. Or, we would have, if they had shown up. Instead, we fed chicken-filled croissants and apple pie and only ten pounds of mashed potatoes to our friends - Caleb, TJ, and Lindsey. (Sorry, Elder Thomas.)

Water Wednesday was a good time that I spent gossiping with Terri, who is getting released and won't hang out with us all the time.

Also, I took a boxing class! I've looking for months now, and finally mentioned it to Jason, who took over the Rock Boxing for patients with Parkinson's. And he started a free month of boxing lessons, so half the program attends.

All of the boys, actually. 

After early morning basketball, Brandi, Ming and I headed to the deep corners of the valley for a game night with my old friends, Braeden and Kenny. Also a bunch of people from my old ward. We had a delightful time and plenty of snacks. Then we met up with the ward for the temple trip in the morning and partook of Heidi's delicious leftover enchiladas for dessert. Nobody was mad.

When we got back, I had a small study group that was only moderately effective and went to hang out with Roger. We shot prairie dogs (the vermin of the west) and watched Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Sunday was Bastille Day, aka French Independence Day. In celebration, family dinner consisted of tacos and eclairs. And then I had a coding lesson that made me feel better about life.

#iScored

The weeks stink, but the weekends are great. Especially when they come early because there's a national holiday. We took an exam and a practical for TherEx, learned about documentation via song parodies, and did some aquatic therapy. A few of us stayed later on Wednesday to try to get some things checked off (to ease our burden later in the semester).

The lake, part 1. 

Then I went camping. And, contrary to popular belief, it was not my first time. People kept telling me I was handling it very well - bringing & setting up my own tent (thanks mom & dad), sleeping bag, and everything else that I needed, peeing in the woods, etc. Turns out somebody had been spreading false rumors about me. I should've just let them be impressed because honestly, by the end of several days, I had absolutely no desire to shower still.

My favorite of all the pics. Look at that. 

The food was delicious. Which was my original motivation for going, so thanks to Becky for the invite. I owe her. I helped make some red/white/blue pancakes with strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream for the 4th. I remembered how to tie a square knot and set up a borrowed hammock, to which I could disappear to read.

I did some hiking, some shooting with a revolver, some unsuccessful fishing, and some knife throwing. (During which we learned that no matter which end I hit you with, it will do some damage). But mostly I just chilled. That's what I needed. Time for both my body and brain to chill. And I was loathe to return.

Proof of me fishing. Hope it holds up in court. 

The final day there, I had a rude awakening from a midmorning nap, thanks to Uncle Jeff. And I actually screamed. Which was rather embarrassing for me. Cleaned up my stuff, played a delightful game of Enemy, and called it good.

This is with the peely top coat on still. Cred to Alyssa for the artwork. 

I returned just in time to facilitate the RS activity of the Bollywood rendition of Pride & Prejudice and some henna tats. Once it oxidizes, it'll be as dark as Aurora. Probably.