Fall is a Favorite

So I am a Summer person through and through.  I love the sun and warmth, the endless stream of activities, and late summer nights.  However, since leaving AZ I have come to also really love the Fall.  It's one thing to experience Fall in Utah (beautiful, up in the canyons especially), but completely another here in Oregon.  Fall colors seems to last at least 2 months here.  Weather is perfect.  The rain has not started yet.  I'm sure glad I caught the last 2 weeks of it.  The drive up here was absolutely gorgeous.  Seeing yellow, orange and red on the trees makes me so happy.  I cannot believe the holidays are already here.  This week is Thanksgiving.  Didn't see that one coming!  You have to remember, I came from 90 degree weather in AZ one day (summer essentially) to 50 degree weather in Oregon the next and no time to anticipate the holidays.  What a surprise!

Road Trip – AZ to OR via CA

I had to be back in Portland yet again the beginning of November, which meant more driving.  My Pops wanted to drive up with me so he flew all the way from the East Coast.  I kind of wanted to do the drive by myself, but I’m sure glad he came!  We had a great time and we made lots of stops along the way to keep it from being too monotonous.  Our progress in photos:

Day 1 – Kearny to Phoenix to San Diego

Day 2 – San Diego to LA to San Francisco to Ukiah

Day 3 – Ukiah up the coast to the Redwood Forest to Crater Lake to Eugene

Day 4 – Eugene to Portland

Rotation #3 & 4 Kearny, AZ

Just knocked out another 2 rotations at the Kearny Clinic.  Family Medicine was the focus this time around.  I couldn't have picked a better place to spend the last 12 weeks.  For one, it's super close to home.  Secondly, my preceptor was excellent - a great teacher who let me do quite a few procedures (laceration repair, incision & drainage, toenail removal, joint injections, etc.).  Lastly, because it was a rural area, they see a lot of urgent care as well.  There is an x-ray machine on site so I got lots of "exposure" (nice pun?) to reading films.

My preceptor and I got along fabulously.  I remember back to the first week when we were getting ready to go in and see a patient when we realized each other played volleyball.  We stood outside the door and talked volleyball for like 10 minutes....oops.  Then that Friday we played "name that tune" pretty much like all day, after I told him I loved 80's music.  We have continued to do so since, with all genres of music.  Don't worry, he actually taught me a thing or two as well :)

As I stated before, I am definitely warming up to family practice.  Hours are great, there is plenty of variety, you see your patients more than just once, and you can always refer to a specialist if it is outside your area of expertise.  Sounds like a great combination, except...... I want something more procedural based.  I definitely built up my experience level on this rotation and feel more confident as a provider, but I still have a long way to go.

When I first found out that I would be spending my longest rotation in Kearny, of all places, I was really bummed because it's so small (population about 2,000) and in the middle of nowhere.  We used to play against Kearny in sports when I was in high school and we'd also kill them in basketball, 90 something to 20 something.  And now I would get to live there.  I have actually come to really love it! Kearny is a copper mining town and is up in the mountains.  There is beautiful scenery and cactus everywhere!  I love the cactus!  Everyone has been very friendly too.  I even found a beautiful lake to go running around!

There's not many options for living in Kearny, but I stayed with a very nice 85 year old lady and her 3 cats.  The cats were obnoxious, always jumping up on the table and counters while I was eating (GAH), but it has worked out nicely.  She is a very nice lady and is pretty active for her age, always volunteering for one thing or another.  The day before I left, she was actually hospitalized (I won't go into specifics, but I played a large role in diagnosis).  I certainly couldn't leave before saying goodbye, so the next day I drove to Globe and surprised her with some flowers.  Such a sweet lady; funny too.  Take this note she left me for example the night she went into the hospital, which was also Halloween...

On the weekends, I would either come home to Thatcher or head to the valley (Phoenix) to spend with friends.  I also wanted to attend a YSA ward for church to meet and be around more people my age.  Unfortunately the ward I went to seemed to have quite a few young'uns in it.  I mostly hung out with my friend Sariah (we were in the same ward up at BYU a few years ago) and her friends.  We were always doing something fun - 
Floating the Salt River, Building sand castles at the only beach pool in AZ, Cheering on the Diamondbacks, Eating delicious food, Jazzing it up at the Dueling Piano Bar on Mill Ave., Supporting BYU football with our fellow cougar fans, Shopping the sales racks, Living it up at the State Fair, Exploring Papago Park, and much much more!

Side Note: I told Sariah that I have always wanted to win one of those giant stuffed animals.  So she dared me to just ask someone to take a picture with theirs, and for once I chickened out on a dare.  AN EASY DARE.  What is happening to me?!  So Sariah set the stage and asked someone.  After that we decided to see how many pictures we could get with people's giant stuffed animals.  End result: 12

My friend Troy came into town from New Orleans while I was there so we spent a day at Saguaro Lake on the jet skis.  So much fun!  I became quite the daring driver doing all kinds of spins, but for some reason I kept flying off the back whenever Troy was doing his crazy driving.  Such a beautiful lake too!

My little sister also came into town one weekend from Oklahoma, so my Mom and I met up with her for a day of fun.  We had lunch at Red Lobster, cupcakes for desert, and wandered around Old Town Scottsdale.  Everything was just dandy until I actually sat on a cactus.....and there are STILL spines that I cannot seem to remove.  Haha!

I ended up going home to Thatcher about 5 or 6 times over the course of the last 3 months.  I even surprised my Mom and showed up that first Thursday I was in AZ, only to find she wasn't home.  So I sat in the pool parking lot across the street like a creeper until she got home.  Surprise!  She loved it.  I LOVE coming home to Thatcher.  And I LOVE the desert.  I caught the cotton picking season just in time too!

My Mom and I had a fun fall day at Apple Annie's picking apples & pumpkins, eating apple smoked hamburgers & fresh apple pie, with cider donuts & kettle corn for the road.  I also LOVE fall and feel a little cheated that I was in AZ (where fall does not exist) for the better part of the season...

I had the good fortune of being in the area for my 10 year high school reunion.  I was actually glad when I knew that I'd be on rotations and mostly likely somewhere across the country so I wouldn't have to attend.  ANY excuse not to go would be good... I don't know what I was thinking though, because it was so much fun!  I'm actually super glad I got to go and see everyone again!  We had a really great turnout; prob a little more than half our class showed up.  I thought it might be weird to see and talk to people I hadn't done such with for 10 years, but turns out everyone is pretty much exactly the same :)  Festivities including attending the Homecoming assembly, riding atop a fire engine in the parade, going to the high school football game, ice cream social that night, and a BBQ for lunch the next day.  And I went to all of it!  Alisa decided she would tell the Luke Rain story and everyone LOVED it.  Let's just say I was a practical jokester in high school and my friends got me back REAL good.... I only wish I had taken more pictures with friends.

Basically, I miss Arizona already and am already planning when I can come back next.  Here's what I will miss the most - clear blue skies.

Utah

Every time I come back to UT I feel like I am coming back home.  Some of the best times of my life were spent here w/ my siblings and many of the greatest friends for 7 years.  A quick weekend trip actually turned into a 5 day trip since my preceptor was also on vacation.  I came up for Allison's wedding reception (we've been roommates for 4 years and she is the greatest) and of course to see my sister and brother-in-law and their newest addition to the family.  It amazingly worked out to see my little sister as well the first day I was in town so the 3 of us hung out all afternoon and evening w/ a cupcake picnic up at Sundance.  I LOVE THEM TO PIECES!  I also got to catch up w/ many UT friends and even finally catch up w/ and see a boy I've been in touch w/ for the last several months :) No, I am not dating anyone yet.  But there are a few possibilities on the horizon.

This is my cutest ever new little niece.  She is all smiles and wide exploring eyes.  Can't wait until I get to see her again!

Elise decided to let Erik take care of the new baby while we went out and had some fun adventures (her first adventure since before having the baby!).  We went to the Provo Farmer's Market, stopping at all the baby boutiques and admiring all the delicious eats for sale.  I was happy w/ the fresh peaches we purchased.  Then we headed off to Utah Lake for some good 'ol rafting.  It's always an adventure w/ my raft!  Typical for Utah - people out having picnics and blasting country music.

That night Amy and I headed up to Allison & Stew's reception up past Park City.  The 3 of us had been roommates for 3 years and we were finally being split apart!  Good thing we both approved of the man of choice :)  Such a cute and happy couple! Sorry about my abnormally large chin......

On Monday we hiked up to Stewart Falls, probably one of my favorite hikes in UT.  I have yet to hike Timp though, which I hear is pretty amazing.  Even the baby accompanied us!  What a trooper!  I decided I really enjoy hiking and need to do much more of it, especially when I go back to Oregon.  Ever since getting into mtn. biking, I haven't hiked nearly as much.  That's about to change!

My one regret of my visit to UT - not eating at J Dawg's.  But I'll be back at some point soon....it's inevitable!  I'm really going to miss these mountains.....

PORTLAND

After my speedy road trip to AZ, I took off to Portland for a week for required classroom attendance.  8 hrs of lecture EVERY day.  How in the world did I sit for that long for a whole year?!  After 3 months of rotations, I could barely sit still.  The lectures where interesting, but it was hard to adjust to sitting still for that long.  The best part of the week was seeing my classmates after a 3 month separation.  It was great to hear stories and accomplishments.  We got to attend the White Coat Ceremony for the class of 2014 - it was nice to relax this time and kick back.  Hung out lots w/ my classmates Nathan & Anya.

Since I flew to Portland I didn't have a car so it was a little tricky finding rides, borrowing cars, and riding the MAX/bus, but it all worked out!  I got to catch up w/ lots of friends, explore downtown, eat at the food carts, play some volleyball, and even go paddle boarding!  I had a few friends move to town during the week so it was nice to catch up and introduce them to all of my favorite peeps.  Basically, after this week of great times w/ friends EVERY DAY I did not want to leave Portland.  Just 3 more months and I'll be back.  Hopefully the time passes quickly.

This was the first time paddle boarding for all of us.  We drove 40 min. north to Scappoose Bay and paddle boarded around, getting stuck only once, and falling off only once (just 10 ft from the dock on the way back in).  I highly recommend it - minimal balancing skill required.  Erin and I had our last hooray at DQ - I had a frozen hot chocolate of course - since we are now doing no sugar for 3 MONTHS.  Wish me luck.  You know me and sugar........

Can I just say I love this picture and I love these girls.  Can't wait to be reunited soon yet again!