JS 2020

With the Chins still in town on Sunday, we had our own Sacrament and played so many games. I hit my quota for the next 5 years. We also recorded a song for Xander's mission including authentic chin choreography - which was going well until the Dadso konked his noggin on a light fixture he had warned us about moments prior. 

The classic jumping pic. (One take). 

Our next adventure was to Sunset Crater (which we planned on only visiting briefly, but Greg wanted to go to the top - which you can't actually do) and Waputki - which has tons of well-preserved ruins that we explored just a little before celebrating 2-days-before-Joseph-Smith's-birthday at El Tapatio again. 

The girls at the crater.

We then headed to Sedona - without realizing that it was the winter solstice and the hippies had organized a dance party at Cathedral Rock (our original destination). So the lots were full and we decided to try another hike a mile down the road. Which was fine, and 2/3 cars arrived. But then we found out that the Chin had typed in "red rock" to his GPS instead of "Cathedral Rock trailhead" as instructed. Our only saving grace was that Lauren had to go to the airport, giving up her parking spot to a very angry dadso. 

Our JS Bday celebration 2020. 

But after spending our time venturing off the trail and exploring and climbing like mountain goats, we had to decide whether to venture into the town or head to our next stop: Jerome. We chose that. And explored for bit before getting some Haunted Hammy's. Our ghost tour was then unexpectedly cancelled. Still waiting for details on that...

Christmas 2020. 

Kev and Trev stayed behind while the chins returned to CT. They went hunting with Roger - returning as 'No Kill Trev' and 'the Bone Daddy' with 7 quail and 1 dove for dinner. Which almost rivaled the ham and mashed taters that we had for Christmas dinner. We tried to connect all of our Christmas gifts to the gospel, excluding repeats, but then K/T both racked in 8 shirts each and it got boring. 

"Look up!"

Then we met up with the Sandalls at Jackass Canyon for a Christmas hike. It includes a whole lot of downhill and sliding and climbing. 

My big fishy. 

And fish. Which we saved 15 of for a nice dinner. I should eat more fish, but only when it's cooked by Roger bc 10/10. 

The sum totals. 

And No Kill Trev was no longer. 

Game for the Name

It started as a normal week. Then the chins arrived. Just in time for some friendly bball with Rog and a munch at his favorite restaurant without him (El Tapatio). 

What you can't see is him trembling in fear. 

Day two included a jaunt to the Grand Canyon, where the Chin started by being salty that we didn't tell him how to type "Grand Canyon" into Maps and continued with him being terrified and refusing to venture towards the rim lookouts.

What kind of feet do we have? Strong feet!

We walked about 3 miles along the rim to find the top of Bright Angel trail before venturing on a 2.5mi roundtrip down the trail. Moriah loved it.  What she loved MORE was the pizza joint we hit up afterwards - that also had lots of pasta (and she ate it all). 

The Naomi pose #1.

She and Isabelle and Lavinia slept over that night. We watched the Mummy 1 and 2 and did some fun projects. But then Roger took the girls shooting and Moriah and I ate breakfast. Apparently, Isabelle was surprisingly good with the revolver. Watch out. 

We grow on trees. 

We then took the crew to a local park known as Walnut Canyon. It's a cool 1-miler (including 700+ stairs) with some cliff dwellings that are left from hundreds of years ago, if not more. It's a beautiful area and more so for the history that exists there. 

BFF in the flesh. 

I had a chance to chat with Autumn and Jesse - which is always a delight - right before Lauren arrived, so a few of my good friends had a chance to meet each other. We had some drinks to celebrate neither of us having COVID and Lauren finally attending a wedding (even if it was fake). She only threw up a little. 

The ladies.

We had a chill day with waffles by Rog, hair by Hannah, a backdrop by Eve, and lots of help from the chins. We ended up having most of our guests cancel last minute on our shindig (which is perfectly fine, but we could've changed some things if we had known earlier). Still, it was a good turnout and a good time. And I spent most of it with my family anyways. 

The lads.

Mike did our ceremony, Greg and Mac ran the Zoom (and recorded it if you wanted to watch it later), and Zubs had the music ready. A big shoutout to everyone that helped. Carol, the Sandalls, the Chins, etc. We had dancing (with a playlist designed 90% by Roger for his family, who danced 10% of the time) and tacos. Which was MGH's favorite part. We had quick roasts and a walk-through reception. 

Chingear comin' in clutch. 

And then my favorite part, the chin v Sandalls (plus Markies, Garrett, and bridal party) basketball game.  We lost by 2, but more importantly - WE ALL PLAYED. With the exception of MGH and Mom only. 10/10 worth it. 

Roger goes hunting (and I lose 2 toes to frostbite)

 Now that I'm back in Flag and living with all my own stuff and I have some time to myself, guess what I'm doing? If you said studying and Roger's dishes - you are correct. What a life I lead! For the record, I hate studying with a fiery passion and am never going back to school again because it is the worst. 

The highlight of the week (for someone, I'm sure) is when we went hunting. If you've never been hunting before, here's how a trip usually goes: 

4:00 Wake up, hate your life. Put on 80% of your clothes and grab some hot chocolate to go. 

5:30 Arrive at your destination. Put on the remaining 20% of your clothes, with the camo's on the outside. Walk to a blind, preferably near water. It could be 0.25 miles or 3 miles, but you have to be set up at the site BEFORE the sun is up.

The pictures I take of him. 

6:15 Watch and wait. Don't make any sudden movements and preferably none at all. Even though you're in a blind - they can hear you and smell you. So now that hot chocolate is useless, your legs are cramping and you can't feel your left foot. 

9:00 Continue to watch and wait. Maybe you see some deer coming to water. Maybe elk. Whatever it is, it's probably not the species AND gender that you are looking for. But it's cool to see something happening, because you can't open the book you brought through your 3 layers of thick mittens.

11:00 The sun is out, but you can't tell because you're in the shade, where only the frigid wind can get you. Eventually, your hunter buddies will have to eat or pee, so you probably won't be here much longer. 

The pictures he takes of me. 

12:00pm Warm your frostbitten extremities in the truck slowly. You will go through several different stages of pain. It's normal. And it's snowing now, which seems like a good time to follow deer tracks. 

2:00 Well, you didn't get close enough and now the deer are bedded down for a nap and will be very challenging to find. Also it's snowing harder now and there's a chance your vehicle will not make it back to civilization and you are not prepared to camp here. 

2:30 After running back to the truck, you begin your way back to civilization and a nap. You've earned it. But not too long. It all starts again in a few hours for the evening hunt. Good luck!

Roger Goes to the Zoo (so stop complaining)

This was my last week. I like these people, I like this setting. It was interesting doing some coverage for inpatient this week, but that it definitely not my gig. We had a little party and cupcakes for my last day - and Trevor even saved his lunch so he could eat with us one day. This seems to be a good time to take a break from a hospital setting, as many people are getting sick. 

The fam. 

Friday I moved all my stuff up to Flag and had nowhere to put it, so it's strewn throughout the house. And then Saturday, I went back down to Prescott, so Amanda could take me, Roger, Paislee, and Marshal to the zoo, Out of Africa. 

These are the two baby giraffes. 

Our adventure began with an open bus ride safari into a pen with many large animals. Including giraffes that stuck their heads into windows, sniffing for spare cookies. The giraffes are always my favorites. 

The zebras follow the bus the whole time. 

Roger and I had practice not letting two small children get lost or eaten. 

There's a tiger in the background.

And then we went home and got ice cream and took a nap and went shopping and then I moved back into my apartment for real. 

Two monkeys. 

The Most Stressful Time (and all eternity)

 Stu & Eve slept at our house Saturday night - thanks to that $15 pullout couch, a mattress topper, and so many blankets. We all went and got covid tested so we wouldn't have to quarantine during our holiday travels. (This is the only exciting thing to happen the week of 11/21, so it does not get its own post.)

Then I had two days of work and plenty of time to stress out. The good news is that we made it onto our flight and they let us go to Connecticut. Also, very impressed with JetBlue's covid management. The dadso picked us up from Logan and brought us to the grandparents - where blueberry muffins, eggs, and the gurgling cod were waiting for us. We gave the man a preview of an exciting Christmas present and were off to Hutchinsville. 

The crew. 

After everyone took a nap, we headed to my favorite hike, Glacier Park. The trails were better marked, but the leaves were wet and slippy (aka "treacherous"). Everyone enjoyed it. Or at least told me they did. Then we had to play so many games while eating Ming Moon. 

Case in point.

Thursday was Thanksgiving. And it was nice not to have to convince Roger of the virtues of sweet potato casserole or raspberry jello. And he got to make pie bites, which I ate before he could stop me. And again, we played so many games. 

Thanks, Steve Lourenco. 

Nothing special happened on Friday. Jokes, we got sealed. Grampy came down with his escorts. We got to be in a temple during quarantine. We took so many pictures. And ate some real crab rangoons. 

Roger's favorite of my poses.

We had a nice break, changed into scrubs, and did our 1 hour drive-by reception, which was steadily busy the entire time. 10/10 would recommend. We even had a Zubby, who was there to fetch snacks and get people to sign our guest book (and sanitize everything afterwards). 

The Bridge. 

Saturday was a tourist day. We got cider at the mill (last weekend of the year, baby). We visited Mystic Village (get that honey, you already know). We walked up and down the bridge (welcome to water, Arizonans) and got ice cream. And I only LOOKED at the books (you're welcome, wallet). And Roger got to revisit Avalonea. Oh and Moriah got to pet the goat (the second time, the first time, it was the WRONG GOAT).

Abednagoat.

Anyways, then we flew back, had a delicious dinner, and I got ready for my last week of my second clinical internship of the last bit of school I ever want to attend.

Veteran's Day = Double Weekend

It was a short week. During which we realized that our schedules were rapidly shrinking. One of the PTs has to use his PTO or he loses it, so he'll only be working 7 days in the month of December. Good for him. Bad news for those of us who have to cover him. And that means we've got to trim down our schedule, which we've been trying to work on since we get 4 new patients a day and can't find room to reschedule them... The cool thing is that a lot of them just need commitment to a tailored home exercise program. But some of them don't.

We've got quite a few patients we see regularly who just don't seem to want to put in the work. So we meet with them twice a week just to do the same basic stuff - which is NOT the skilled care I would like to give. In that light, these select patients will be taking some time off to try on their own for a while at least. 

Sneak preview. 

One thing I really like about the VA is that we get most holidays off. Including Veteran's Day. Which I spent in Flagstaff distracting Roger from doing homework and getting frustrated with myself on the basketball court. Which seems to be a regular thing right now. 

I came back up to Flag on Friday night and did all of Roger's chores so we could hang out with his bro once he was off of work. We went on a little hike and took senior pictures (which is a thing, apparently). And I drew a bit. 

On Sunday, we got to watch the Chosen (highly recommend) and spend some time in church with Carol's family. And then we spent some time with Roger's grandparents. And also, I made some deliciously experimental blueberry muffins (with the CT blubes) which will be a repeat.

Which hunting company needs a new model?

The Biggest Aspens

 OkAY let me tell you about my patient. But not in too much detail because HIPAA. He has Parkinson's and has had some very typical PD problems of freezing and falling and shuffling and difficulty sequencing and the like. And so we've been working on this for a while (and by that I mean 3 weeks) and we're at the point where he freezes and I tell him to do a very simple task and retry and he crushes it. For example, he can't figure out how to get out of bed. So I tell him to give himself a high-five and then get up. And it's suddenly so easy. This is magic. 

The house Roger prepared for us. 

Anyways. Those are the most exciting parts of my life. But I can't tell you about most of it because there's too much. It's like missionary life. The day goes fast but takes four years because so much is happening. And I'm really excited for some food and a break by the end. 

I need to be better at my "signature pose". 

The other good news of the week is that my car is registered. I was well prepared. And it only took like 20-ish minutes total, despite the worker's doubts that we could do it. So I drove the new puppy up to Flag for the weekend, with the thought that we'd drive back down Sunday together so Roger could take the other car. Which did not happen. Due to the snow. In Arizona. In November. Ugh. 

"What happens when you forget toilet paper."

In case you haven't heard, Roger's entire family and extended family are hooked on "Chuck" - which is my favorite show. You're welcome. It's wholesome, action-packed, and hilarious. But the star, Zach Levi, also stars in Shazam. So we watched it out. It sure is cheesy, but it's worth a watch. 

The biggest aspen of them all. 

One of my favorite things about Roger is that he loves to cook. And he's good at it. Which is why I let him fry up some pork chops in bacon grease. And to repay him, I made him some pizza and oreo balls. Or truffles. Whatever you want to call them. 

The aspens. 

We hiked up to the aspens to grab a trail cam before the snow hit. I missed the fall colors, but I just like the skinny white trees that are all packed so close together. And some fresh mountain air. 

Look, me having a good time. 

We spent time with Carol/Ryan and the children and missionaries and ate Zupa's soup with homemade rolls. Carol crushed us at dice with a 4,000+ point roll. Smushed us. 

The elusive big foot. 

And we painted. But I didn't get to finish, so I stole the whole box of paints to draw this up. Any guesses where this is?

Last a Week (perfect attendance with a late record)

With the purchase of a new vehicle, I was excited to register it so Roger can also have a decent working vehicle. Unfortunately, I rushed all the way to the DMV after work only to have the man at the window inform me that I needed an appointment and there were none available until Friday. Next Friday. That's ok. I didn't really want to use the new vehicle ever. 

Becky and I have been running a mile every day and then Paislee and Marshall and I have been "working out". Paislee kind of tries and complains she can't do it and starts tormenting her brother. Marshall counts with us for like 2 exercises. And then I do the rest alone but with wild children running around me. Just what I wanted. 

The new ad campaign. 

I dressed up for Halloween. As the Brawny Man (lady) for work and as a classic ghost for Roger. He's starting to like Halloween just a little bit. Probably because I'm hilarious and very convincing. 

I convinced Roger to get the key to the church so we could play ball. And by that I mean I drove him to get it twice, because the first time didn't work out. It was my first time on a real court in over a year and testing out the new kicks on that dusty floor. Let's just say, there is progress to be made. 

And then Roger delivered an invite to our fake wedding to Mike Palmer. Because I also drove him there. And then reminded Mike that he's doing the ceremony. He's hype. We talked to him for at least four years. And then I went to bed. 

And I was stoked to receive and mail out a trial version of Grampy's book. We've both got some work to do, but I'm excited. 

Roger Turns 25

We kicked it up a notch at the VA this week and I did approximately 1 million evals, but I felt good about them this round. The thing I love about this profession is that I will always get to keep learning and find new mysteries to help people solve. The thing I love about my internship at the VA is that I actually get paid. Not much, but more than $0, which is nice for all the free labor I provide. 

Other news of the week: I bought a car. It's a 2011 Prius. And it's a hatchback, which is what I was looking for a little more. Here's hoping it's a durable ride. The guys I bought from were super cool, nice people and even offered to pay for the dealership to do a pre-purchase check on it, which turned out really good. Pictures to come. 

Just a funny meme. 

Also of note, we found (and tested) 2 new taco joints in the process of picking up this car that were fire. And even tried cow tongue tacos, which were delicious, but probably not a repeat. 

Roger turned 25 this week and he wanted to celebrate via a weekend hunting trip with the boys. But he did come visit me on his way down, so that was nice. We played with the kids and Becky used every dish in the house to make 4-6 meals for dinner. And all of them were amazing. 

This was my first chill weekend. I got some stuff done for my own life AND helped do some landscaping around the house. I was grateful for the borrowed tractor as we moved 10 tons of sand and at least that much rock around the outside of the house. And I showered. You're welcome. 

The Amigos

The VA is going well. It's much less stressful by far since they're only allowing "50%" of a normal caseload. But since there's 2 of us, we get to see a lot more patients. Unless they all cancel, like on Friday. We did get to see a patient in the hospital and play with the Bioness and  BITS systems. 

Myra's taking the little chickies tomorrow. 

I might be buying a car. It's a 2011 Prius 4 hatchback that's been really well maintained. Pending a pre-purchase check by the Toyota dealership on Tuesday, Rog and I might have 2 working vehicles again. Hopefully reliable and functional for many years. 

Reunion. 

It's Lauren's fall break, so she drove down to AZ for a bit to relive the good old days with Ho'o and I. We played so many games with Ho'o's family (which we won, #undefeated) and met her husband Marcos who we like. We got an oil change and pedicures and went to the mall for a bit and ate at Cafe Rio. We went "swimming" and ate cheesecake and I fell asleep long before midnight every night. (Sorry).  Lauren *almost* made it out with a full set of cheetah print nails and a mind to reestablish in AZ. 

A summary. 

A Fun Surprise

Week 2 at the Prescott VA - and the weirdness continues. We did get in 2 good patient days and an amputee clinic before my CI left on a longer weekend. I spent Thursday working inpatient, but since they split the job into Covid/non-Covid (essentially splitting a 1-person job between 2 people), we only had 2 patients. But Ted and I had a great time and I shadowed a few other therapists in our spare time. 

At the Curtis residence.

Friday I was only in for a few hours, so I was working with Char, a niche OT who specializes in behavior and mental health. Rather than helping with ADLs, she aids in group craft projects designed to improve patient positivity in addition to physical health benefits. For example, I took a personality test that said my strongest traits were: humor, spirituality, love of learning, curiosity, and leadership. (My lowest was love, but no need to get into that.) I then spent my time making a collage cup with pictures representing these traits, 3 things I like about myself, and 3 goals I have. 

After the cup was finished, I headed down to Phoenix, picked Maddy up, and drove to day 4 of our PNF course. Val was down for a bit and between her, Kay, Gatewood, and Gillian, we had the best time. Exhausted, learning so much, and avoiding the people we didn't love. Her parents were nice enough to provide dinner (twice), where I ran into Becca/Keaton (once). 

He needs a friend to live with. 

We also got to hang out with Jeff and Brandee, who supervised me in replacing my MAF sensor. We stayed with Brady and Kelly, who are both delightful and reasonable humans (with an unreasonable interest in Dr. Gatewood's hands). And I did some preliminary research on basketball shoes. 

Monday was Columbus Day (or Indigenous People's Day), which the government considers a holiday. So I did not have work. Instead, I drove straight from Phoenix to Flagstaff, ate fajitas, and had a temple interview (part dos). I also discovered that Roger's jests about buying me two little friends was real. Awesome. 

Name suggestions?

New Week, New Me

My rotation at the Prescott VA began this week. I spent the majority of day one doing onboarding stuff with various members of staff and eventually found my CI, Amanda. Day two, we had a full day training (with snacks) on the body weight support system known as a Bioness Vector. It's pretty cool. Day three was spent in the prosthetics lab with a doctor - helping adjust and make recommendations for amputees and their devices. Also cool. 

My new plant I "adopted" from the VA greenhouse. 

I eventually found out where a small basketball court is AND I tested negative for covid-19. Thursday we had a normal (ish) day of patients and Friday the power was out for 90% of the day (planned). So it was a weird week, but super chill so far which is kind of what I needed. 

We got our pics back from Cole Clark. 

After work Friday, I drove up to Flag to pick Roger up. And then drove him back to Prescott. He was sad he couldn't go hunting. But he did get a new suit that he "fell in love with as soon as he put it on" and it was on sale for $100. You're welcome, sir. 

He hates his hair in this picture. Don't look at it. 

And we watched so much conference. I love conference. It was kind of a weird one this time, just because we're kind of at the mercy of the family I'm living with. So it wasn't as focused as I would have like it. But Marshall definitely knows how to say Roger's name now, so that's a plus. 

He also hated doing this picture, so 10/10 all around.

We got Roger stocked up on frozen foods again (so he won't have to eat out so much). And chased the children. And we painted. Here's mine:

Water color without gesso.