Meet the Crew

We make a great team of PA Fellows - serious talent, intelligence, and enthusiasm.

The Parents

The end of February, my parents came for a weekend to visit and approve of my living and work situation :)  I think I passed their investigation.  Ok, I kid.  They came out for a few days, so I gave them the grand tour of Redlands and the hospital where I work.  On Saturday, we took the aerial tram to the top of San Jacinto Mtn, which is just outside of Palm Springs.  I've never before been in a tram that rotates around.  A 360 degree view was nice, but not when the person standing next to you keeps leaning on you because she won't let go of the rotating handrail.  Don't worry lady, if you fall, I'll pull you back in.  We took a short leisurely hike, had some lunch, the headed back down.  Couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous day!

My parents even got to attend my YSA ward and meet Stephen, so that made them some happy campers!

The Big 30

I couldn't have asked for a better 30th birthday!  I was fortunate enough to have the day off from work and Stephen showed up with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  He also planned a fabulous afternoon/evening at the beach with friends.  It was a wee bit cold, but we went longboarding along the beach and then beached it up with a big bonfire, roasting hot dogs and s'mores.  It was pretty darn great, only wish I had some more photos...  Yes, some of my friends wear very colorful jeans, what can I say??

Friends

These guys are my rock.  I don't think I could do my fellowship without them.  They are my California family.  We are always doing things together and usually have Sunday dinner together each week as well.  We've done everything from go to a volleyball game, to hiking, to outside movie nights, to dancing, to dinner competitions, to Disneyland!  And everything in between, whatever that may be.  There's a group of 10 or so of us, so it usually varies with every activity who can go to what, but it's always a good time!

24 Hour Christmas

Wow, I'm SUPER behind on my blog, but there's no time like the present to catch up!  Speaking of presents... let's talk about Christmas.  But first, let's talk about holidays in general.  I think I missed EVERY significant holiday in 2013.  Let's start at the top... long distance relationship for Valentine's.  Boo.  In Honduras for Easter.  Boo.  Working the night of July 4th.  Double Boo (one of my favorite holidays).  Moved to CA 2 days before Halloween and didn't know anyone yet.  Boo.  Working on Thanksgiving.  Boo.  Working on Christmas.  Extreme Boo.  Working New Year's.  Boo.  What kind of profession did I go into anyway?!

So the point of all that was to tell you that I DID actually get to go home to Arizona for Christmas, but only for 24 hours the weekend before.  Well, there was plenty of time for some shaved ice, the temple lights, and.... that's about it.  My parents sent me home with a WHOLE suitcase full of presents.  So opening them Christmas morning before heading to work was just fabulous.

And work was bearable ONLY because we wore our ugly sweaters and I got to stay an hour longer to do a procedure.  Which meant I was an hour late to my Christmas dinner invitation.  They were just to kind to wait.  Not sure they appreciated my ugly sweater though...