Pete & Sandy

Strawberry Cream Crumble

2012-01-22T15:56:00.001-08:00

One of my new years resolutions was to start working on a cookbook of all my favorite foods. I'm not sure what I am going to call it yet. Right now I'm leaning towards, Confessions of a Picky Eater or I Like Left Overs. I'm sure I'll change my mind a hundred times before I get around to printing it. Anyway, I've decided to make and photograph one new recipe for my cookbook each month. This month I'm going with a long time favorite....(that I picked up from my cousin Eden)

STRAWBERRY CREAM CRUMBLE

Crust

-2 cups flour

-1/2 cup brown sugar

-1/2 cup softened butter

Mix flour, brown sugar, and butter in a mixing bowl. Pat mixture down into a 9X13 pan. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Crumble!

Filling

-8oz package of cream cheese

-2 cups heavy cream

-1 cup powdered sugar

-2 tsp vanilla

Whip the heavy cream and blend in the powdered sugar and vanilla. In a separate bowl beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. Mix the whip cream into the cream cheese.

Topping

-Package of Danish Dessert

-4 cups sliced strawberries

-2 cups cold water

Stir content of Danish Dessert package into 2 cups cold water in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a full boil. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Cool slightly then fold in the strawberries.

Layer it

Crust on the bottom, then filling, then topping. Chill 4 hours and then serve.

Makes 12 large servings :)

Nutritional Info..
Coming soon (Pete's New Year Resolution Goal!)

2012

2012-01-01T15:16:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I can't believe it's already 2012. 2011 was full of fun, adventures, and a lot of learning. Here's to hoping 2012 will be the same.

-Sandy's Biggest Accomplishment of 2011: Landed a job at Salem Dermatology

-Pete's Biggest Accomplishment of 2011: Climbed El Cap in under 24 hours and climbed 5.13

Sandy's New Year Resolutions

1. Participate in the Dirty Dash and/or Muddy Buddy

2. Give Surfing in Oregon a try

3. Start my own Cookbook

4. Get back to climbing 5.11's

Pete's New Years Resolutions

1. Climb Astroman in Yosemite and climb 8a

2. Learn how to play the guitar

3. Get in shape/Eat better

4. Add nutritional facts to Sandy's Cookbook

(photo: goofing around in a photo booth on New Years Eve)

The 13 Days of Sandy's Birthday

2011-12-13T07:02:00.000-08:00

I was just joking on Nov 30th when I told Pete that the next day was the beginning of the 13 day's of Sandy's Birthday which is immediately followed by the 12 days of Christmas. But he took me seriously.

On the 1st day of Sandy's Birthday her true love made for her a Thermos of Hot Chocolate

On the 2nd day of Sandy's Birthday her true love gave to her a Bag of Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

On the 3rd Day of Sandy's Birthday her true love made for her Fried Potatoes and a Dipping Egg

On the 4th Day of Sandy's Birthday her true love made for her French Toast with Whipped Cream and Raspberries

On the 5th Day of Sandy's Birthday her true love gave to her a Pack of Fig Newtons

On the 6th Day of Sandy's Birthday her true love bought for her Chèvre and a Salame Stick

On the 7th Day of Sandy's Birthday her true love gave to her Rainbow Chip Frosting

On the 8th Day of Sandy's Birthday her true love gave to her a Big Pack of Hand Warmers

On the 9th Day of Sandy's Birthday her true love bought for her a Prana Scarf

On the 10th Day of Sandy's Birthday her true love made for her Crepes with all her Favorite Toppings

On the 11th Day of Sandy's Birthday her true love took her to Breakfast at Little T's and on a Hike in the Columbia River Gorge

On the 12th Day of Sandy's Birthday her true love bought for her some Awesome Black Yarn

On the 13th Day of Sandy's Birthday her true love took her to her Favorite Restaurant, Ken's Artisan Pizza and gave her a Ridiculously Warm Down Jacket that she absolutely loves!

And yes, just in case you were wondering, Pete did sing to me as I got my new treat for each day. What a wonderful Birthday. What a Wonderful Husband!

A New Beanie For Pete

2011-12-11T17:22:00.000-08:00

I love making things, especially a good beanie. I just finished working on a new beanie for Pete and I think it turned out rad!

This weekend we put it to the test with a short but cold hike to Elowah Falls and Pete said it worked great! I think he looks great in it :)

Pump-Kin

2011-10-31T06:06:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween.................... I love a good family tradition and this is one I look forward to all year long.

Nehalem Bay Crabbing

2011-10-09T08:26:00.000-07:00

Pete and I had so much fun crabbing last year that we decided we needed to go again this year. Ben came out for the weekend and the 3 of us spent Saturday on a tiny little boat out in Nehalem Bay crabbing. We had a blast!We rented 4 crab rings and were busy all morning motoring from one ring to the next and hauling up our catch. By the end of our crabbing adventure we had brought in 21 Dungeness Crab large enough to keep. Needless to say our lunch that day was delicious. Last year we only caught red rock crabs which were still tasty but a lot more work to eat because they are so small. I have a feeling crabbing is turning into one of our yearly family traditions. I love it :)

Climbing Update

2011-10-03T20:41:00.000-07:00

I've been very lucky to have some amazing climbing trips this summer. Thanks for being so supportive Sandy!
North Cascades & Index
Over the weekend of September 10 to 11 I went to the North Cascades and Index Washington with my friend Trevor. This was my final chance to prepare mentally for Yosemite (i.e. get my trad head in gear) and to get a brief intro to aid climbing. Our first objective was the Liberty Crack on the Liberty Bell near Washington Pass in the North Cascades. The route goes up the middle of a 1,200 foot granite face with a few pitches of aid climbing before transitioning into easier free climbing in the 5.10 and below range.

The Liberty Bell is the large spire on the right. In typical style we didn't leave Portland until about 7:30 p.m. on Friday night, which meant that we didn't get to Washington Pass until 2:30 a.m. We had heard that many climbers fix the first 3 pitches the day before so we wanted to get an early start to ensure that we were the first on the wall and ahead of any slower parties, so we got up around 4:30 a.m. and we got to the base of the wall just after first light. Luckily we just beat a slow party to the base of the wall who had fixed the first couple of pitches. We had great weather and the climbing was very fun, with the exception of one pitch that involved climbing over and belaying on a completely rotten block that had the consistency of popcorn (scary). We topped out around 3:00 p.m. and had great views of the entire North Cascades Range. Trevor aid climbing the Lithuanian Lip on pitch 2 of the Liberty Crack. Trevor and I on the summit of the Liberty Bell. The next day we drove down to Index, WA to do some cragging. I was good to get some last minute mileage on granite before my Yosemite trip.
Yosemite
My friend, Pump-Master Jake, recently graduated from law school and moved from Portland to Boulder. He suggested that we plan a weeklong trip to Yosemite this fall after he took the Bar as a graduation present for him. Our goal was to climb two of the biggest walls in the valley in a push: The Nose on El Cap and the NW Regular Face on Half Dome. I left Tuesday (9/20) night and drove down from Portland to Sacramento Airport where I picked up Jake on Wednesday (9/21) morning and we continued on to Yosemite. Our original plan was to hike up the "Death Slabs" approach to Half Dome the first afternoon in the valley and climb the NW Regular Face of Half Dome the next day, but as we were packing and racking up for the hike to the base it started to rain pretty hard. This freaked us out, especially since the weather reports we had been looking at showed a 0% chance of rain all week. We decided to postpone our attempt of Half Dome and settled for a very quick evening assent of the Nutcracker. The next day (Thursday 9/22) we decided to do a test run up to the first bivy ledge on the Nose, the most prominent route up El Capitan. The first bivy ledge is located at pitch 11 of 31 and seemed like a good gage to see if it was possible for us to complete the route in a day. We ended up taking much longer than we had hoped, not to mention we got scorched by the sun all day (without sun screen and sufficient water). After this first experience on the Nose we decided that we would not attempt the route this trip and we would focus our efforts on Half Dome and shorter free routes. We were pretty worked and rested most of the day Friday (9/23) and started the approach up the "Death Slabs" to the base of Half Dome that afternoon. Here I am ascending a fixed line on the "Death Slabs" approach to Half Dome with the 2,000+ foot NW face of Half Dome in the background. The "Death Slabs" approach is one of the most horrendous hikes I have ever done. I had imagined that they would be scary due to the name, but the hike wasn't too scary and in reality the "death" in the name must refer to death by overexertion. We started climbing Half Dome at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday (9/24). The first several pitches were very casual and fun. Jake and I swapped leads on every pitch and were free/French free climbing every pitch. Here I am on the belay ledge at the top of pitch 7 with the valley in the background. We continued to cruise the route until it started to rain while Jake was climbing the chimneys starting at pitch 13. Before long we were caught in a full on thunder/hail storm. I was belaying at the base of the chimneys which acted like a vertical river dumping water directly on my head. I had made the big mistake of leaving my rain jacket back at the car and wearing a cotton T-shirt so soon I was completely drenched and freezing. Luckily Jake found a Patagonia jacket in the chimney which helped keep him a little warmer. The thunderstorm ended up lasting about 4 hours. Since we didn't have a good spot to stop and were freezing we just continued to climb which became more difficult due to the wet rock, and we started to move much slower. Eventually we made it to a big ledge on pitch 17 and the sun came out for a little bit before sunset. This was key as it gave us an opportunity to dry out a little bit before we needed to start climbing in the dark and it started to get colder. Here's the thunderstorm in the distance. We ended up topping out on the climb at around 11:00 p.m. We were a little bummed since we climbed the most famous pitch, "the Thank God Ledge," in the dark and didn't get to experience the the position in the daylight - it is actually much less scary to climb in the dark since you can't see how far up you really are. When we were on the last pitch we heard some of the craziest rock fall either of us had ever heard, it lasted about 30 seconds and sounded like a fighter jet was circling half dome, we never found out where it occurred, but it was definitely a spooky experience to be on the side of a wet big wall while a major rock fall is occurring somewhere close. We ended up hiking off the top of Half Dome and stumbling our way back to camp at the base of the wall and bivying for the night. The next day (Sunday 9/25) we woke up late and slowly worked our way back down the "Death Slabs" to enjoy another rest day in the valley.

The Yosemite Facelift had been going on all week which made getting a campsite at Camp 4 very difficult up to this point so we had just been sleeping in the forest near Curry Village. This can definitely start to wear on you since you have to pack up every morning and eat around a random bear box in a parking lot. The last day of the facelift was Sunday so we got up very early Monday (9/26) morning and stood in line to make sure we got a campsite at Camp 4. Once we got settled at Camp 4 we decided that we would take a semi-rest day and would climb a couple of moderate free routes. We started off the day trying to get on Serenity Crack and Sons of Yesterday but ended up abandoning that plan after waiting at the base for an hour or so for some very slow parties to clear out. We then headed over to the Middle Cathedral Rock to climb the Central Pillar of Frenzy, but this climb was also very busy with very slow parties. Eventually we got on Frenzy, but only ended up climbing the first 3 pitches. The Middle Cathedral is directly across the valley from El Capitan and is home to some of the best views of the Nose, after climbing Frenzy and being awe struck by the beauty of Nose we made the crazy decision that we had to climb that route during this trip, regardless of how slow we may be. We decided that we would climb the Rostrum on Tuesday (9/27), rest on Wednesday (9/28) and climb the Nose on Thursday (9/29).

The Rostrum is one of the most famous hard free routes in the valley (second only to Astroman). It is a very steep and sustained 8 pitch route with almost every pitch being harder than 5.10 with several 5.11 pitches. It ended up being an amazing climb where I was able to climb all of the hard pitches clean (on lead or following), I ended up falling on the last pitch by getting completely off route on a very easy yet strange move, oh well. It was still one of the most amazing days climbing I have ever had. One of the highlights was leading a 5.10a off-width (the crux for me), which ended up taking me over an hour to climb. At one point I was grunting and struggling for 15 min and Jake said the rope only moved a few inches up. Next time I'm in the valley, I need to practice climbing wide cracks. Once at the top we ran into Alex Honnold (free-solo climber), it was fun to talk about all of the routes he had free soloed, including the NW Regular Face of Half Dome and the Rostrum. Jake leading one of the amazing hand crack pitches on the Rostrum. The next day (Wednesday 9/28) we rested up for our attempt of the Nose the following day. The original plan was to start the route at 12:00 midnight and try to finish before midnight the next day, but neither of us could sleep during the day so in the afternoon after virtually no sleep all day we decided to start the route earlier so that we could get it over with. We ended starting the Nose at 8:45 p.m. on Wednesday (9/28). We decided to break the climb up into large blocks to enable the leader to stay in leading mode and the follower to stay in jugging mode so that we would be more efficient. I got the first block from the base to El Cap Tower on pitch 14. The climbing started out with us making good time and getting to the top of Dolt Tower (pitch 11) in a little over 5 hours (we shaved more than an hour off our previous attempt). The daily high temperature was going to be in the high 80's and since El Cap is south facing we wanted to get as much climbing done as possible in the cool of the night. Climbing at night is actually much more enjoyable than I had imagined, the only bummer is that you can't tell how high up you are or how far away your last piece of gear is so the exposure is less dramatic. I lead the Stove Legs cracks in the dark without realizing that I had only placed a few pieces of gear on each 200+ long pitch (I would never do this in the daylight!). We swapped leads after pitch 14 and Jake lead the famous Texas Flake, Boot Flake, King Swing, and Great Roof pitches. We started to climb in the daylight just as Jake was completing the King Swing. We started to slow down a bit after the King Swing because I am very slow at jugging (sorry Jake). Something about jugging, especially traversing pitches, really freaks me out. But Jake continued to do great and lead some of the hardest pitches on the route despite being in the full sun. We didn't want to weigh ourselves down too much so we decided to only take about 6.5 liters of water. Luckily there was water stashed low on the route, but at that point we were still climbing in the cool of the night, so we definitely started to get dehydrated climbing in the sun. Here I am somewhere high on the route thirsty and ready to fall asleep. Tom from the El Cap Report took this photo of Jake leading the Pancake Flake pitch and me belaying with the Great Roof to my left. We ended up swapping leads a final time at Camp V (pitch 24) so that I could lead the remaining pitches. At this point it was looking like it would be close whether or not we would be able to finish in a day. Luckily the upper pitches were more straight forward and I was able to French free most of them. The exposure near the top of the route gets pretty crazy as the rock gradually gets steeper and steeper. For me, the exposure climaxed at the Changing Corners (pitch 27) where I was belaying from a hanging stance and was watching Jake jug with almost 3,000 feet of air below as the rope was crossing across a very sharp corner. I had the irrational thought that the rope could get cut on the sharp corner, Jake would fall, and I would be stuck on the wall with only a few feet of rope. Thankfully this didn't happen and we were totally safe all the way to the top. We ended up topping out at 8:05 p.m. on Thursday (9/29), 23 hours and 20 minutes after we started and just within our goal of climbing the Nose in a day! This may not be super impressive since the speed record for the Nose is just over 2 hours, but we felt a very big sense of accomplishment since it takes most parties about 3 days to complete the route. Jake jugging like a machine with 3,000 feet of air below. We had hoped to top out on El Cap in the daylight so that we could descend the East Ledges (an exposed route back down the valley via a series of gullies and rappels), but since it was dark, descending that route was out of the question. We ended up meeting a couple of climbers at the top who had built a campfire and we decided to spend the night on top and to descend the East Ledges the next day. Even with a campfire next to us, we ended up freezing after trying to sleep for a few hours (we didn't have sleeping bags and the weather is significantly colder at the top of El Cap). Since neither of us could sleep we decided to hike back to the valley floor via the long unexposed 8 mile hike down the Yosemite Falls trail. In order to save weight during the climb, Jake and I had only brought one pair of approach shoes for jugging and I had brought a pair of flip flops for the decent. This meant that I had to hike 8 miles in the middle of the night wearing my flip flops (my feet are still bruised and sore almost a week later!). We ended up getting back to our campsite at Camp 4 around 5 a.m. on Friday (9/30) morning, roughly 46 hours since I had any sort of decent sleep, talk about a marathon day!

After climbing the Nose there was no question that we were completely done climbing so after sleeping in we packed up and headed down to stay the night at Sandy's mom's place in Antioch. I feel bad that we couldn't visit any of her family, but we were complete zombies, after eating roughly 8000 calories I had one of the best nights of sleep I have ever had. All in all, our trip to Yosemite was one of the most successful climbing trips I have ever had, we were able to climb everything we planned on climbing in the style that we wanted... can't wait till next year!

I Love Oregon

2011-09-18T10:35:00.000-07:00

Have I ever mentioned that I absolutely love Oregon. The longer I live here the more I love it! This place is just filled with beauty. Yesterday Pete and I hiked along the Eagle Creek Trail back to Tunnel Falls. We had a wonderful time! The hike passes 5 water falls. My favorites were...Punch Bowel Falls which has an awesome swimming hole at it's base. (We'll have to go back on a hot day some time and go for a swim.) Tenas Falls And Tunnel Falls where they literally tunneled behind the falls. (I couldn't fit all of Tunnel Falls into one photo, so here is my best photoshop attempt at combining 2 photos) After hiking nearly 13 miles I hurt all over and Pete had a few aches of his own but we couldn't resist the delicious blackberries scattered along the trail head. We stayed an extra 30 minutes or so to pick blackberries in the rain. I'm glad we did because the French Toast and Blackberry Breakfast Pete made for me this morning was out of this world.

Swifts

2011-09-18T10:33:00.000-07:00

Each year Vaux's Swifts migrate south to Central America and Venezuela. Along their way many stop in Portland to hang our for a month or so. The Chapman School chimney in Northwest Porthland houses the largest known roost of migrating Swifts in the world! So many swifts set up camp in the Chapman Chimney that they have had to add support cables to make it structurally sound. Each nigh around sunset thousands of Swifts gather and circle the chimney before crowding in for the night. Thousands of Portlanders also gather on the lawn to watch. It was quite the event. Pete and I packed a little picnic and had a great time bird/people watching. We sat at the top of a little hill were there were over 70 little kids (yes, I attempted to count them) sliding down the side on card board boxes. The hill was not large enough for 70 kids so there were a lot of collisions but for the most part everyone seemed to be having a blast and we thoroughly enjoyed watching. As the sun began to set more and more Swifts started circling the chimney. It was really neat to watch. They circled for a while andd then in unisen began to swarm into the chimney. At one point a hawk, which must have been hiding nearby swooped in for the kill and scattered all of the swifts. Everyone booed at the hawk. I guess he makes an apperance each night to grab some dinner and each night the crowed booes. It was very entertaining.

Baby Finlinson #3

2011-09-15T20:33:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Misty, Wade, Ford & Dock!
Baby Finlinson #3 has finally arrived. He was born early this morning. His name is Coast Viera Finlinson. I am headed out to the Bay Area next week and I can't wait to meet this little man and see the other 2 little rascals too. I love my family :)

Devil's Tower

2011-09-06T19:34:00.000-07:00

A few years back Pete and I made a list of 30 "classic climbs" that we wanted to do over the next few years. Two of the climbs on our list were on Devil's Tower so we decided to head out over the Labor Day weekend. We caught a flight to Denver CO, met up with our friends Lacey and Jake and drove over 6 hours to Devils Tower in WY. We pulled in around 2am and set up camp on the lawn of Devils Tower Lodge. The owner of Devil's Tower Lodge is awesome and lets climbers camp on his lawn for free :) Pete and I were worried there would be a long line for the climb we wanted to do since it was labor day weekend so we woke up at 5:30am to try and beat all of the other climbers to the climb. Jake was a good sport and humored us. Turns out we got up a little too early. Nobody even got close to the base until hours later. The first climb we got on was Durrance Route 5.8. I lead the first pitch up the fallen tower. Jake lead the second pitch, and Pete linked the last 2. It was an easy climb with a great view from the summit. On the summit there was a leather tablet rolled up in a metal container for everyone who reached the top to sign. I wanted to sign it but we didn't bring a pen and the one up there had run out of ink so we settled for a photo with the log. After ticking the first of our classic climbs we spent most of the rest of the day enjoying the good weather and taking in the view. I cant get over how absolutely amazing Devils Tower is. I think every other sentence out of my mouth was something along the lines of "This place is rad." Pete and Jake were able to hop on one more climb before calling it a day. They got on Mr. Clean 5.11 and said that it was a super fun climb. It was super long and looked super hard. On Sunday we had one goal in mind and that was to climb El Matador which was the 2nd "classic climb" on our list. This climb really was awesome. This route is the most perfect stem box in the world. At first there is a thin hand sized crack that you can lay back and then eventually the columns get close enough together to stem. Pete was able to stem a lot sooner than I was because his legs are a lot longer. By the time I reached the top my hip flexors were about to give out. Pete and Jake and I were all sore in different places. I can't leave out my favorite picture of my feet! After we finished the climb we decided to head back to Boulder CO but on our way we noticed that we were only 2 hours from Mount Rushmore and we figured if we didn't go now we probably never would so we detoured to Rapid City, SD. I'm glad I went. Now I can cross that off my list. On Monday we did a little climbing in Boulder Canyon, explored Boulder, and then caught the plane back to Portland.

Squamish

2011-08-28T21:27:00.000-07:00

We went to Squamish this weekend. We got there early Friday morning around 2am and ended up sleeping in the back of our Subaru. After catching up on some sleep we headed over to the Sheriff's Badge on the Chief. We got on the wrong trail and ended up having to traversing the base of all of the north walls - only Americans would be tripped up by mileage posted as kilometers. We got on Border Line/Blazing Saddles, a cool 2 pitch (well 4 if you don't link pitches) climb with an amazing hand crack and roof to end.

Pete on Blazing Saddles. Later that day we napped and did some lazy cragging at the Smoke Bluffs and Murrin Park. The next day we woke up late and headed over to the Smoke Bluffs again to do the Smoke Bluff connection, which is a link up of 4 classic cracks. We got stuck behind a very slow party of 3 so we just took our time and enjoyed ourselves (luckily there are really good ledges at each pitch), but we did finish in the full sun which was not very fun. By the time we got off the wall we figured we had better go swimming so we headed over to the aquatic center, Yosemite would be much cooler with an aquatic center! Later that evening we went and did more cragging at Murrin Park.

The next day we woke up early and climbed the 5 pitches of Snake on the Apron. Here is Sandy working through a cruxy traverse section (the feet are much worse than the look).

Squamish!

Canyoneering, Climbing, & Reminiscing

2011-08-12T17:21:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Pete and I decided to go on a mini vacation. We left work a little early, caught a plane to Salt Lake City, drove through the night and arrived at Zion National Park at 4:30am. Once there we found the Zion Canyon Visitor Center where a line had already formed with visitors seeking permits for slot canyons and hikes that only a limited number of people are allowed on each day. I had slept most of the drive and was ready to fall back asleep but Pete was wired after consuming a 5 hour energy shot to keep himself up for the drive. I went back to the car and slept while he sat in line unable to sleep. When the Zion Canyon Visitor Center opened in the morning Pete managed to obtain permits for the 3 slot canyons we had hoped to do. We couldn't believe our luck! For 2 of the 3 canyons we picked up the last 2 available openings. After getting the permits we prepared our things, rented wet-suits, and headed out. Pete still hadn't slept. He ended up staying awake for 34 hours straight but he stayed in good spirits and was a good sport. The first Slot Canyon we did was Echo Canyon and just as you would expect the acoustics were fantastic. The hike up to Echo Canyon was painfully hot but once in the shaded canyon things felt just right. The hike through Echo was a lot of fun. There were a few repels along the way, most of which ended up in potholes filled with bitter cold water, hence the need for a wetsuit. I have a strong aversion to being cold but with my wetsuit on I wasn't cold at all. Here are some Pictures from Echo Canyon...The cliffs were beautiful. Here I am getting ready for the first rappel. Here we are in our super cool helmets! I really enjoyed this section of Echo where we jumped from the little perch Pete is on into the water filled pot hole. Pete was anxious to get out of the water, besides being really cold it is also stagnant and stunk. More pictures showing the rad canyon walls.........Here we are both super excited to have successfully completed our first Slot Canyon and Canyoneering experience. Now for more. We finished Echo Canyon early in the day so we ventured next to Keyhole Canyon. Luckily the hike to the entrance of Keyhole Canyon wasn't long because it was ridiculously hot. We loved Keyhole canyon! It was so much fun! Filled with lots of variety. There were down climbs.Followed by shallow pools to wade through. Narrow passage ways....More rappels into potholes filled with cold water.......Cool chambers....Keyhole's walls were just as impressive as Echo's, if not slightly more so.At the end of Keyhole Canyon the walls narrow and the canyon fills with water. The walls are too close to allow for comfortable swimming but we were able to push off the walls with our arms to propel ourselves along. It was fun. The next day we hiked 4 miles gaining 2,200ft of elevation in 105 degree weather with the sun beating down on us much of the time to reach Mystery Canyon. The hike was brutal with the heat and the steep climbs but we really enjoyed Mystery Canyon. The hike through Mystery Canyon was really relaxing. It consisted of one rappel after another with a few down climbs mixed in................Action shot of Pete down climbing. This is one of the longer and more interesting rappels that ends far below in a small pool. The picture really doesn't do it justice. Guess you better just go and check it out for yourself. ...Here I am on the final rappel.... Leaving Mystery Canyon and entering the Narrows. Hiking down a short segment of the Narrows was a lot of fun too. It was such a hot day, it felt so good to lay in the river and cool down. We would have liked to stay and do some more slot canyons but we figured we probably wouldn't have much luck getting anymore permits so we headed for Maple Canyon. Maple Canyon is one of Pete's favorite places to climb. The next day we headed back to Logan, Utah. I love and miss Logan. Pete and I have dreams of moving back there some day. We went up Logan Canyon and I got on my favorite climb of all time, Terminological Inexactitude, more commonly referred to as TX, at Fucoidal Quartzite. It is still my favorite climb :) We visited a few other crags and then drove around Logan reminiscing. We stopped at the Apricot Tree where Pete and I would sit on summer nights and eat apricots. The Apricots weren't quite ripe yet but we found 2 that tasted pretty good. I loved that Apricot Tree. One day when I own a house and some land I want to have an apricot tree just like it!

Summer BBQ's

2011-06-17T20:38:00.000-07:00

Pete & I bought a charcoal grill. We are super excited for some summer BBQ'ing! Pete made baby back ribs tonight, they were fantastic! Last week we grilled Salmon. I'm loving it.

Tick List

2011-06-13T18:28:00.000-07:00

Pete just lost the best climbing partner he has ever had to Colorado. I have been trying to pick up the slack but I've been feeling a little rusty at lead climbing and I don't have the confidence to get on anything very hard which leads to rapid onset of boredom for me. Cleaver Pete has developed the perfect solution...He made me my very own Smith Rock Tick List...I love ticking things off lists! It's just the motivation I needed to get excited about climbing. I have a feeling we will be spending a lot of time at Smith this summer. We have already been a couple of times since the advent of the Tick List. The first week we went it was a little chilly but with the help of my puffy and Pete's I managed to stay comfy. I am looking forward to some warmer weather soon.

Thailand

2011-05-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

Sandy and I have been talking about going to Thailand ever since we got married over 5 years ago. We finally decided to go this April for a few weeks before Sandy started her new job. We figured vacation schedules in the future might get more problematic and you never know what the future could have in store. We have now been back for more than a month and people have been asking to see pictures and hear all about our trip. Since Sandy is now a working woman who is also studying every night like a mad woman to get up to speed with Dermatology, I have been nominated to do report on our trip.

April 6 - Flight to Bangkok via Vancouver and Hong Kong, roughly 24 hours of plane rides and hanging out in airports. Did I mention I can't sleep on planes...

April 7 - Arrive in Bangkok at 10:00 p.m. We decided not to make any hotel arrangements prior to the trip so we had a very tense encounter with a shady taxi driver trying to make it to the nearest cheap hotel. We finally made it to one of the more expensive hotels we stayed at throughout the trip and paid 3 times too much for our taxi. All this while battling our crazy insomnia induced headaches. This was also our first encounter with Thai humidity which required me to defog my glasses every couple of minutes, like I kept repeatedly opening a hot and steamy dishwasher.

April 8 to April 11 - Chiang Mai. The next morning we caught the first plane up to Chiang Mai and checked into a the first guesthouse we opened up to in the guidebook. The guesthouse was called Gap's House and ended up being really great for about $15 a night. Chiang Mai ended up being really cool. We stayed in the old city which is surrounded by a mote and has a temple on just about every street corner. And these temples... we are just talking little shrines, every one of them is massive; the most insignificant would still be impressive if it were anywhere else in the world. We went to Wat Phra Singh, which is located in the heart of the old city. This is a picture of the Lion Buddha which is housed in one of the many buildings that make up this temple. This picture definitely doesn't do it justice, this Buddha is probably around 20 or 30 feet tall. Another picture at Wat Phra Singh, this is one of the many buildings that make up the temple, most of which were equally ornate and beautiful. After we checked out Wat Phra Singh we rented a motorbike (fun!) to check out the city a bit more. We quickly realized that outside of the old city, Chiang Mai is a bustling Asian metropolis with its own fair share of slums and super malls. We ended up heading for the mountains and Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, which is another temple located high in the mountains overlooking the city. The temple was built on this location in 1383 after a roaming elephant with a sacred relic on its back stopped and died here, figures...The upper courtyard of Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. You could probably spend a whole trip in Thailand checking out temples, but we have a hard enough time being religious back home; we decided we would call it good for a while after seeing these two. Sandy and I had an ongoing obsession with tropical fruit. This is a picture of one of Sandy's favorite fruits, Dragon Fruit, once open it looks and tastes like a mellow while kiwi. We took a day long cooking class at the owner of our guesthouse's home. We had a great time and Sandy realized that she does actually like some Thai food. Sandy making green curry paste in a mortar and pestle (for those of you who live in Portland its a Pok Pok!). Here I am about to make some stir fry. Here are five of the dishes we made. Clockwise from top left we have spicy & sour lemon grass soup, green curry, chicken cashew stir fry, Thai style fish cakes, and a fish souffle. Sandy's favorite was the green curry, mine was the fish cakes. The most fun of all the possible transportation options, a Tuk Tuk. We went on a one day trek in the mountains outside of Chiang Mai where we went elephant riding, hiking to a waterfall and a couple of native villages, and bamboo rafting. The elephant ride was an experience, we mostly just felt bad for the elephants. Lets just say that PETA has a lot of catching up to do in Thailand. Public enemy number one: front and center, see the bull hook in his hand? Our elephant was super smart. He would only take a few steps in between banana feedings. In this picture he is asking for another banana before moving again. We would place a banana in between his nostrils and he would violently swing it into his mouth with his trunk, peel on and all. Sandy's last moments with our elephant. The elephant was attacking her to get the last few bananas. Bananas are elephant crack. Hiking though the country. Those huts in the background are a Hmong village that we visited. A picture from our bamboo raft ride. They let me steer, what you don't see is the 7 year old guide we had in the front of the raft. It was the beginning of the Thai New Year (Songkran). They celebrate this holiday by having a massive water fight. All of the native Thais came out to the river to start the water fight. We were the only white people on the river. Fried bananas! We love street food and Chiang Mai had the best street food. Even better than Portland? Yes. Every Sunday night they shut down one of the main streets though the old city for a massive art walk and market. This was the favorite market we visited in Thailand, probably due to the abundance of amazing street food.

April 11 to April 17 - Railay Railay was the main reason why we wanted to go to Thailand as it is famous for rock climbing on its incredible limestone sea cliffs. Railay is an isolated peninsula that is only accessible via long tail boat. There is no dock on the peninsula because the water is too shallow, so everybody and everything that comes on and off the peninsula must wade through a little bit of sea water. We suspect that this is one of the reasons why food was so dang expensive at Railay. Railay is also home to several very developed beach resorts. This makes for very interesting tourist demographics at Railay which consisted of half wealthy sun bathing families and half dirt bag climbers. We checked into the cheapest bungalow we could find at $12 a night on the trashy/party side of the peninsula, Railay East (sunrise side) and went to check out the rocks. Monkeys on the pathway to Phra Nang Beach, the most isolated and picturesque of the four beaches at Railay. Phra Nang wall. I thought this was one of the most impressive walls at Railay, a large portion of this wall is closed to climbing due to a sacred shrine at the base, but there is still lots of good climbing here. A wider perspective of Phra Nang Beach and the Phra Nang Wall. We went on a snorkeling trip out to some of the islands off the coast of Railay. While traveling in the boat to go snorkeling we saw a whale shark. Apparently this was quite the treat as the locals had never seen a whale shark at this location. To put things into perspective, this shark seemed much longer than the long tail that we were traveling in. During our snorkeling trip we stopped for dinner at one of the islands we visited. In this picture you can see the Railay peninsula in the background. This is the long tail boat that we rode in for our snorkeling trip. Long tail boats have got to be the most versatile boat on the planet. They call them long tail boats because the propeller is at the end of a long shaft that is used for a rudder and can be taken in and out of the water with a small handle. They can turn on a dime and never have to worry about hitting the propeller in shallow water (as long as the driver is paying attention). The Railay peninsula from a cool view point that we hiked to. Railay East is on the right (this is the trashy side of the peninsula that we stayed at) and Railay West is on the far left. The tide is out considerably, so it makes Railay East look better than it really is, normally the beach is much smaller and is not fit for swimming. Railay West, on the other hand is a contender (in my opinion) for best beach in the world and is perfect for swimming. You can also see Tonsai Bay (the fourth beach on the peninsula) in the top left corner of the picture. Notice how everything is completely surrounded by cliffs? There are climbing routes on every single cliff there. Sunset from Railay West at dinner. Several of the resorts have restaurants right on the beach that make for some incredible scenery. This is a picture of Sandy on a route called Grove Tube. It was a really fun and easy water grove that had tons of good solution pockets for handholds. Here is a picture of me lowering off a route called Burnt Offerings. It was a really cool short roof out of a cave that I blew the onsight on by trying a huge blind dyno at the lip. I ended up sending the next go. We went on a tour to go deep water soloing at a small island off the coast of Railay. We went to two walls, this was the most fun and accessible (a.k.a. least scary). Here is Sandy tearing it up with out a rope, she did awesome. Here I am pulling the lip on a cool roof problem. Deep water soling was definitely much more scary than I thought it would be. It was also difficult because of the chalk situation, I only had one chalk bag and didn't want to get it wet. The guide left a bag of chalk at the main starting points on the wall, but my hands would be completely wet after the first couple of moves. Overall, it was a very fun experience that I would do again, I would just bring multiple chalk bags! Isn't Sandy cute? This picture was taken at one of the many resturantes that we ate at. We were getting eaten alive by mosquitos when I took this picture. I have no idea what the name of this fruit is. All I know is that it was incredible and was not durian, despite the inside looking just like it. On our last night at Railay before heading to Phi Phi they held a fire dancing competition. This guy was the most rasta of the competitors. Its funny how rastafarian many of the Thai climbers are, it reminds me of the old Chris Sharma bouldering videos. Obviously it could be worse, I definately perfer Bob Marley over electro euro-pop or the screaming 80's wanabe metal guitars of the Master's of Stone climbing videos which were inexplicably made in the mid to late 90's. Anyway, we had a blast watching the fire dancers including the random fat Austrian dude (sorry no picture). The anouncer kept calling this kid "my boy." He looked like he was twelve and seemed to be doing the most diffucult moves. We never found out who won, but both Sandy and I were routing for "my boy."

April 17 to April 19 - Phi Phi We decided to take a short trip down to Phi Phi for a couple of days. Phi Phi (pronounced Pee Pee) consists of two islands: Phi Phi Don is inhabited and is a popular backbacker party spot and Phi Phi Ley is an uninhabited national park. Phi Phi was made famous after being the setting for the movie "The Beach" with Leonardo Decaprio over a decade ago. I remember watching that movie and thinking it looked like the coolest place on earth. Our main objective was to go snorkling and exploring on Phi Phi Ley, which was the setting for the movie. Yep, that is a shark. Don't worry it is a black tip reef shark and is harmless. We ended up seeing many sharks on our snorkling trip, including a pack of about 10. Sandy had a knack for attracting sharks as our guide was typically off in la-la land while Sandy was typically surrounded by them. Peace, Yo! We saw a few Nemos (as in Nemo from the movie Finding Nemo) while snorkling off the coast of Phi Phi Ley. This is real. Again, off the coast of Phi Phi ley. Next time we are going diving. We hiked up to a viewpoint (accidentally going the the long way) above the main town on Phi Phi Don for this photo. The town below was almost completely wiped out during the 2005 tsumami. There was a picture of what the place looked like from this view point immediately after the disaster, it was pretty humbling. It is sad to think about the thousands of people who lost their lives here just a handful of years ago.

April 19 to April 21 - Railay After a few short days in Phi Phi we headed back to Railay. We would have perhaps liked to have stayed longer in Phi Phi, but I had a cimbing date the next day at Tonsai Bay at Railay with a Brit named Richard who we had met while deep water soloing. It turns out that he had been quite the strong climber back in the day and had climbed with the likes of Jerry Moffat and Ben Moon. We had a great day climbing and his climbing was very impressive considering the facct that he hadn't seriously climbed for decades. Sandy and I ended up getting a bungalow on the Tonsai Bay side of the penisula, which turned out to be more our style than the previous week we had spend on Railay East. Tonsai was much cheaper and much more laid back than both Railay beaches. I also enjoyed the climbing more on the Tonsai side, it seemed like there was much more quality climbing right off the beach than at Railay. Our bungalow at Tonsai Bay. We really liked this place, I'd give it 4 starts. Sandy at Mama Chicken, a great food shack right off the beach at Tonsai Bay. They had incredible BBQ chicken and I couldn't get Sandy to stop drinking their lemon ice shakes (even though they use unpurified water). Sunrise over the Thaiwand Wall from Tonsai Bay.

April 21 to April 22 - Krabi TownKrabi is the closest city to Railay and is home to the regional airport. We decided to spend a day and a night there before heading back to Bangkok. There really isn't much to the town of Krabi. It is a pretty basic place, not nearly as cool as Chiang Mai. It seems to be more of a base camp for tourists going to Railay, Phi Phi, and other islands in the Andaman Sea. However, the town ended up having two redeeming qualities: its close to the mountains and the evening street food market was amazing. We rented a motorbike and rode up to Khao Phanom Bencha National Park which is home to an 11 teired waterfall and many wild animals which included "... leopards and black panthers and tigers and Asiatic black bears and barking deer and serow and Malayan tapirs and leaf monkeys and gibbons...and...and...and..." just to name a few. Got to love the motorbike, although it took a while to get used to driving on the left side of the road! We hiked up past many of the tiers of the 11 tier waterfall in Khao Phanom Bencha National Park, we think this could have been the 11th tier. We kept hiking past this waterfall way up into the jungle until Sandy thought she heard a tiger and we ran back down the trail scared $#!%-less. Its funny because it really could have been a tiger based on the list of animals that are supposedly in the park, who knows? I think it was a tiger. Did I mention we saw a tiger in the wild?

April 22 to April 24 - Bangkok We decided to take a couple of days to explore Bangkok before coming home. Bangkok is a crazy busy place... China town! We took a ferry up the Chao Phraya to the last stop in the far northern end of the city called Nonthaburi to check out an early morning produce market. You get a totally different feel for the city from the river. Turns out they had more than just produce at the market in Nonthaburi. I wish we had markets like this everyday in the US. Its funny how farmer's markets are a novelty in America, but they are a daily fact of life in Thailand. Some people may be turned off by the apparent lack of sanitation, but I think that the freshness of everything at a market like this more than makes up for the fact that it isn't on ice or the floor isn't swept, etc. This is Wat Phra Kaew, it is the main temple in the royal district and the most famous in the whole country. It was definately worth the visit, although it almost felt like Disney Land, there were even turnstiles at the entrance. Inside the Wat Phra Kaew courtyard. These pictures don't give the scale of the place justice, all of the buildings were massive. More Wat Phra Kaew. Davy Jones, Pirates of the Carabean, anyone? We somehow pulled it off: Sandy got a license plate from Thailand. The last evening in Bangkok, Sandy spotted some license plates for sale in a window while we were riding accross the city in a taxi. We had to retrace our crazy taxi ride in the craziest downpour we have ever experienced to get back to the shop and were able to arrive just as they were closing. We went to get dessert at at a French cafe to celebrate.

April 24 - Flight to Portland via Tokyo and Vancouver. Roughly 24 hours of plane rides and hanging out in airports. Did I mention I can't sleep on planes... Arrive in Portland, Sandy proptly eats macaroni and tomato juice and never wants to eat Thai food again.

I'm a professional now

2011-05-02T17:49:00.000-07:00

It's official, I'm a professional now. Today was my first day of work at Dermatology Clinic. I was so nervous but everything went great. I think I am really going to love my job. I am super excited about it.

Sandy Oveson PA-C

A WEEK TO CELEBRATE!

2011-03-17T17:01:00.000-07:00

This week has been fantastic. The highlight for me was our 5 year anniversary (3/11)! The longer I'm married to Pete the more I like him! We celebrated by spending the weekend on the Oregon Coast. And then of course it's Pete's Birthweek. (I demand special treatment the whole week of my birthday and this year Pete has decided he wants special treatment the whole week too...so he is constantly referring to his Birthweek. It makes me smile.) We celebrated they day of his birth (3/16) during his Birthweek by climbing at the circuit, eating at Ned Ludd, and then grabbing dessert at Pix Patisserie. Pete loved it.On top of those absolutely wonderful reasons to celebrate I was offered 3 jobs this week. It's crazy to me that I can go from absolutely no prospect for really over 6 months to 3 job offers in 1 week. One of the jobs I wasn't really interested in but the other 2 I had a really hard time choosing between. Ultimately, I decided to take a job as a Physician Assistant at a Dermatology Clinic in Salem Oregon. I rotated through this clinic during my PA training and had a wonderful time there and I really liked all of the staff so I am excited to join their team. I signed the papers on the day of Pete's birth so...it's official! I start May 2nd (after returning from a 2 week trip to Thailand!).

I can't believe it's been 5 years!

2011-03-11T09:55:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's really been five years. The time has flown by! I feel so lucky to have such a rad husband...I swear he just keeps getting cooler :)

And of course...my favorite part of our anniversary...our yearly myJones and love song.

I'm Sticking With you

-Velvet Underground

I'm sticking with you

'cos I'm made out of glue

Anything that you might do

I'm gonna do too

You held up a stage coach in the rain

And I'm doing the same

Saw you hanging from a tree

And I made believe it was me

I'm sticking with you

'cos I'm made out of glue

Anything that you might do

I'm gonna do too

People going to the stratosphere

Soldiers fighting with the cong?

But with you by my side I can do anything

When we swing

We hang past right and wrong

I'll do anything for you

Anything you want me too

I'll do anything for you

Oohoh I'm sticking with you

...

Unemployment!

2011-03-07T11:59:00.000-08:00

Well I must admit I never really imagined that I would be without a job for over 6 months...but sure enough here I am at 6 months 3 weeks post graduation and I am still unemployed. During my unemployment I have had some highs and some lows but thanks to my very supportive husband things really haven't been too bad. Pete works hard to keep the bills paid and to support my sanity. With all my free time we quickly discovered that a busy me is a happy me and that the alternative is not quite as fun. So I have managed to keep busy by taking a photography class and a pottery class. In my pottery class I decided to make a colander... and a sieve... and a strainer...

I also made another colander, seive, and strainer, plus some other random things. I really enjoyed my pottery class and think that one day I will need to have a pottery wheel of my own (although I didn't really ever use a pottery wheel in my pottery class....long story).

Sunday Hikes

2011-02-13T17:28:00.000-08:00

This year Pete and I don't have church until 1pm so we decided that we would go for a little hike every Sunday morning before church (so far we have probably missed more than we have made). This week we remembered to bring the camera along. The hike was so pretty. The pictures really don't do it justice. We hiked in the Columbia Gorge from Wahkeena Falls to Multnomah Falls. It was about a 5.5 mile trip and we had a wonderful time. I love hiking with Pete. I swear we have our best conversations when hiking.

Our Christmas Tree

2010-12-05T13:53:00.001-08:00

Saturday morning I made some Hot Chocolate and Pete packed a lunch and we headed to Mount Hood for our Christmas Tree finding adventure. Finding a small Christmas Tree to fit our apartment was a lot harder then we had anticipated but eventually we found one we liked. I thought it was probably still too big (things always look smaller than they really are when you're outside) so I insisted we look a little longer. After looking a little longer we found...nothing, so we went back and cut down the first one that we liked. Pete was a good sport and hauled the tree up a huge hill back to our car. Now I know why everyone else hiked up hill first to find their tree :) When we got it home we quickly realized that our tree was in fact too tall and too wide so Pete quickly cut off TOO much and now it is far too short and disproportionately wide but we like it anyway.

Crabbing

2010-11-07T21:47:00.000-08:00

Our trip to the coast didn't start out too great. First we were stuck in a traffic jam. Then while trying to find a boat to rent we found out that all of the boats in Newport Oregon that can be rented already have been. I guess I should have called a little sooner. Then out of the blue Pete tells me he thinks our waitress is hot and my feelings get hurt. (Turns out he said she was odd, not hot...so I got over that one pretty fast). The next morning when we go to get our crabbing gear we learn that we have literally chosen the worse day of the year to go crabbing because of the huge tide change. We decided to go crabbing regardless. So we grabbed our rings, and our bait (a tuna head and some mink) and headed to the fishing pier. Even though it wasn't a great day for crabbing the pier was chuck full of crabbers. So many in fact that we couldn't even fit at the end of the pier to throw in our rings so we had to crab from 1/2 way out. Here's Pete in action! Some people were catching crab but not us.... We were out on that dock for 3 hours and only brought in one dungeness crab which we couldn't keep because it was a female and too small. We were determined to not let this crabbing trip end in defeat so we went and rented some more rings (4 total) and picked up some better crab bait. From watching the more successful crabbers out on the pier we decided the crabs liked chicken and cat food, so that is exactly what we bought. We waited for the window of time when we were told the crabbing would be best and then headed back to the Pier. It was windy and pouring rain but we were not detoured. Within 5 or so minutes my pants and the smart wool thermals I was wearing to keep warm were completely soaked through. I couldn't have been more wet if I had jumped into the Ocean. But the crabbing...the crabbing was great! Each time we would pull up our ring we would have 3-7 red rocks on it and sometimes even a few dungeness (which were always too small to keep). With our 4 rings in the water we kept busy and I didn't even really notice the cold. The time flew by. With the miserable weather and us running from crab ring to crab ring Pete keeps telling me he felt like he was on that show "The Deadliest Catch." All in all we hauled in 33 red rock crabs (actually more but we shared with some less fortunate crabbers on the pier). We didn't end up catching any dungeness crabs that were big enough to keep which was a bummer but there is always next time..right? After crabbing we headed back to camp where Pete cooked all of our crab on his little camping stove in the pouring rain. Now that the action had died down I was feeling cold so I busied myself setting up camp in the heated car. (We slept in the car because everything was too wet to actually set up a tent on.) Then I sat by the window and visited with Pete while he finished cooking the crabs which ended up taking over an hour and a half. He is so good to me. Getting the meat off of the crab was an ordeal but well worth the effort. We had the crab for dinner and it was delicious. We still have a lot left over so I think I will make some crab dip today. I love crab dip :)

Our crab army!

More on October 31

2010-10-31T23:26:00.001-07:00

This year for Halloween we procrastinated until the night before to come up with a good costume idea so I had to make due with what we had. Pete and I dressed up like my mom and my dad in the 70's. All I had to pick up from the store was a wig.These are the actual clothes my parents were married in. We had a wonderful Halloween. Saturday night we went out to eat at Queen of Sheba with our friends Lacey and Jake and some of their friends. Then on Sunday we went to our other friends' house, the Knights, to pass out candy while they went trick or treating with their kids. It was a lot of fun. I loved seeing all the kids in their costumes. I think my favorite was a toddler dressed up as the UPS guy...he was awesome.

October 31

2010-10-31T09:05:00.001-07:00

I love family traditions...and now I've made one of my own. For the past 3 years Pete and I have had a lot of fun making our Pumpkin pictures. These silly pictures have me looking forward to Halloween all year round.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Elephant's Perch

2010-09-20T17:11:00.000-07:00

Pete and I decided to go on a little backpacking adventure this last weekend. We went to the Sawtooths in Idaho. We arrived in Stanley Idaho Friday afternoon and caught a shuttle across Red Fish Lake. The boat ride cost us 30$ but it was well worth it because it cut 4 miles off of the hike both ways. The lake was really pretty and the water was so clear. The hike to our campsite was just 3 miles +/-. The first 2 miles were nice and easy but after crossing the river on a bunch of wobbling tree trunks the hike got substantially harder. The last mile was all up hill and seemed like it would never end. Not to mention the fact that I made matters considerably worse by demanding breaks every 50 feet or so :) (Thanks Pete) When we finally got to where we were headed we found the perfect camp site on a rock right next to the lake. We set up camp and had dinner. After Dinner Pete read the regulations on the camping permit we had picked up on our way in and it turns out that our perfect campsite was prohibited. We had to be at least 100 feet away from any lake...so we had to pack everything up and move to another spot which ultimately turned out to be just as nice of a campsite if not better. Saturday morning we woke up early and headed out to climb the Mountaineer's Route on Elephant's Perch. This little piece of paper was the only thing that kept us going in the right directions. Pete stopped frequently while climbing to look at this topo and make sure he was headed in the right direction.The climbing was great and we had a lot of fun. There were 7 pitches total and then a little bit of hiking/scrambling to reach the summit. I made Pete lead all of the pitches because I'm not feeling confident on lead yet. Here we are at the 1st belay station. The 3rd pitch was one of my favorite pitches. Mostly because it was so pretty but also because their was some fun climbing too. The 3rd pitch started under this amazing roof. Luckily we didn't have to climb over it. Instead we did a fun traverse out left.The 6th pitch was another one of my favorite pitches. I liked it because there was this super sweet crack that I could fit my whole leg into. I was practically bear hugging the rock. And then of course the 7th and final pitch was great because it meant we had made it!!!Here we are at the top of the climb... and of course I can't forget about the most important picture...our shoes!!! And then more at the top of the climb pictures...We were so excited to be at the top...can't you tell. From here we still had a little bit of hiking and some scrambling to do before we finally reached the summit which was marked by a cairn (pile of rocks). Here I am at the top...and of course here we are at the top. The view from the top was absolutely amazing! The hike back down to our camp was pretty steep at times and the ground was not very stable. At one point Pete accused me of kicking rocks down at him but I swear I couldn't help it. I was glad we weren't hiking down in the dark. After a full day of climbing I knew I was going to get some great sleep Saturday night but at midnight Pete woke me up because he was hearing things outside of the tent. At first I shrugged it off because Pete has a habit of hearing things when we go camping but as we lay there silent in our tent there was the unmistakable sound of splashing in the lakes just a hundred feet away. We shot each other silent glances and then Pete slowly slipped his head out of the tent to see what he could see. When he came back he said there was something BIG and BLACK in the water. My heart began to race. I didn't say a word I just lay silently picturing this large grizzly bear splashing in the water a mere 100 feet away. And then as if my heart wasn't racing fast enough already I started to hear something wondering around our campground and then it came right up to the tent and began to sniff at the tent door. I was frozen in terror. Thoughts of a giant bear claw ripping through the thin tent fabric and dragging me away were racing through my mind. Pete held my hand tightly and I buried myself into his side as far away from the tent wall as I could get and prayed over and over and over again that we would be safe. Eventually the sniffing stopped and all was quite but that didn't last too long. After about 10 min I heard the sniffing again. This time I asked Pete if it was right behind me. he couldn't see any shadows or anything and eventually the sniffing stopped. From midnight to 3am we both lay quietly, anxiously analyzing every sound until we were certain that whatever was outside of our tent had left. Then at 3am I was finally able to calm down and drift back to sleep. When I woke up at 7am I was anxious to pack up camp and get out but Pete insisted that we stay in the tent until after the sun came up because the most dangerous time to be out hiking with a hungry bear who may not have found anything for dinner would be at dawn. So we sat and talked about the night before. Turns out Pete never saw anything in the water...He said he couldn't see anything at all really because he didn't have his glasses on and he can't really see much without them. I don't understand why he put his head outside of the tent if he couldn't see??? What he did saw was this it was big...which he had decided must be true because of the amount of noise it had made in the water. As for it being black...I guess that was from my own imagination. Needless to say, with the morning came the reassurance that all would be fine and also the uncertainty that any predator had ever been present. Much of what I had heard that night (the animal wondering around our campsite, the sniffing) could have easily been attributed to and was most likely due to the rustling of our tent in the wind. What we will never know is what was making all that noise in the water....Was it a bear? Some other animal? Or simply a larger gust of whine? Who knows??? Regardless, I was happy we were leaving. The hike out was much easier than the hike in but I was still glad when we reached Red Fish Lake and were able to sit and wait for the shuttle boat that would be taking us the remaining 4 miles back to our car.

On the drive home we took a 2 hour detour so that we could swing by a climbing shop in Ketchum Idaho called The Elephant's Perch which is supposedly the only place where you can find four information for the Perch. They gave us a sweet poster for free of the Elephant's Perch which had a bunch of different climbs marked on it. Pete can hardly wait to go back and climb some more.

The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful except for our deer sighting. I saw the deer first and said "deer, deer, deer!!!" Pete was going about 70mph but slowed to 30mph as he locked his eyes onto the deer in the lane just next to ours trying to anticipate what it would do. What he didn't realize and what I didn't realize he didn't realize was that when I said "deer, deer, deer!!!" I meant "multiple deer!". When Pete saw the large deer in the left lane he focused in on it and his vision tunneled. He didn't notice the 3 baby deer that were in our lane until he was nearly on top of them. Luckily he slammed on his breaks and they stumbled out of the way just in the nick of time. We missed hitting them by inches. I was relieved. They were so cute and it would have been tragic if we would have hurt them.

Oveson Family Reunion

2010-09-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

I just can't help myself...I have to call it a Family Reunion...mostly because Pete is so adamant that it isn't one. When we first started talking about a family vacation to the coast I told him that his sister Polly had called me and wanted my help designing the 2010 Oveson Family Reunion T-Shirt. It was the closest to distraught I have ever seen Pete. Well, regardless of what you call it...Family Reunion or Family Vacation...we had a great time.

We rented a house in Manzanita towards the end of August. It was a great house. It had a great view of the coast and on the balcony there was a hot tub where you could sit and look at the stars as the waves crashed on the beach below. The coast was gorgeous and the weather was great! (too hot for some, perfect for me)

We had a lot of fun hanging out with Pete's Parents, Polly, Ben, Matt & Libby, and all of our nieces and nephews.

Pete and Ben went surfing pretty much every chance they got. Pete keeps trying to convince me that I should learn to surf but I say that the Oregon coastal water is just to dang cold so I will just remain content soaking up the sun rays on the beach.

Returns

2010-09-09T17:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'll admit it...I'm sentimental, always have been. I just get attached to things. I can't help it.

...

I still have my first stuffed animal, Opus.

I still have my first pair of converse.

I still have the first outfit a boy told me I looked cute in.

I still have and wear my rusty colored fleece (Old Faithful) Pete helped me pick out when we were dating .

I still have my first pair of climbing shoes.

And I still have my 1st climbing Harness, now 5-6 years old.

...

For the past 2 years Pete has been trying to convince me that I needed a new harness. He kept saying mine was too old and wasn't safe but I liked my old harness and I thought it looked good and sturdy and I am sentimentally attached to it. Needless to say Pete was persistent and bought me a new harness. It was neon yellow. I hated it, so...I kept wearing my old harness. Then he picked out another harness that he thought I would like better. It was green and grey with a white strip. I did like it better than the yellow harness but still not as much as my original harness so...I kept wearing my old harness. By this time I figured I had better take matters into my own hands before our house filled with harnesses, so I went out and found the perfect replacement. I bought the Arc'Teryx R280 women's climbing harness. It is the raddest harness I have ever seen. I am so excited about it. It came in the mail today. I put it on right away and wore it around the house all day :) It is very comfy and stylish.

We now have 3 brand new small women's harnesses at our house. One which cannot be returned, one which needs to be returned, and one which I absolutely love. We also have one medium men's harness that needs to be returned. After I bought my harness Pete was so excited about it that he bought the men's version for himself. Unfortunately, his harness didn't fit as perfectly as mine. So basically we have hundreds of dollars worth of harness at our home that we need to return/sold. :)

...

While I am on the subject of returns I am reminded of our last return fiasco. A little over a year and a half ago there was a killer deal on Steep and Cheap for this light weight jacket that looked just like one Pete had just purchased the day before. I bought it, figuring that if it fit we would save over 100$ by returning the other jacket and if it didn't fit we could simply return it. Turns out it didn't fit. Pete said he was going to return it and I completely forgot about it. Months went by. Then one day the subject of the jacket came up again. Pete hadn't returned it and we couldn't find it. After retracing the past few days I realized that while cleaning the apartment I had thrown away the bag that it had been delivered in. I didn't even think to look inside and the jacket was so light weight that I couldn't tell anything was in the bag. I felt so sick inside. I had just thrown away somewhere around 200$. But I refuse to take all the blame. Pete had months to return that jacket. It wasn't funny then...but it is a little funny now.

Crater Lake

2010-09-07T22:39:00.000-07:00

Over Labor Day Weekend Pete and I decided to check out Crater Lake.

Crater Lake is in Oregon and is the deepest lake in the United States. It was very pretty.

WooHoo! Hurray! WooHoo!

2010-09-02T12:47:00.001-07:00

Last tuesday I took the PANCE-Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam. I was so nervous and then after taking it I just felt awful inside->anxious, nervous, and stressed out. I was so worried that I hadn't passed and that I would be the 1st OHSU graduate to fail the PANCE. AHHH! But today I found out I didn't fail, I passed! In fact I CRUSHED it! I scored in the 97-98th percentile! Go me! I have been all smiles today. To celebrate Pete and I went to our favorite street corner -> Hawthorne and 21st. They have some great food carts there. Pete got fries from Potato Champion and I got a pizza from Pyro Pizza. The food was delicious. After eating we caught the end of a fireworks show. I am pretty sure the fireworks were celebrating me passing my test :)Now onto finding a job.

Family Fun

2010-08-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

It was so fun to have my family in town for a little bit last week. We had such a good time. I was sad to see them go. I especially had fun bonding with my cute little nephews Ford and Dock. Ford was such a good sport about sharing his special day with me...His Birthday was the day I graduated so after sitting through my graduation ceremony and reception we had the real party (his birthday party) at the park. He is such a smart little kid and so dang cute. He calls me "Aunt Sandy" and I love it!I really enjoyed getting to know Dock too. He is growing up so fast. He gives the greatest hugs and was such a happy kid. We became best friends fast :) I sure do wish those Finlinson's lived a little closer to us. We made a couple of trips to VooDoo Donuts. Everyone loved their crazy donuts. (except me...I can't bring myself to eat one...yuck) We ate at one of my favorite food carts, Rip City Grill. We went to Saturdays Market (on Sunday) and got to look at all the cool art. Pete took us out on Lake Oswego to see what he has been working on. The houses that back up to the lake are amazing!One of the highlights of last week for me was hiking the Oneonta Gorge. Pete and I did it 2 years ago and ever since then my mom has been talking about how fun it sounded. Before the hike really even starts you have to cross this little stream that is about an inch deep. Paige slipped on a rock walking across and almost fell in the water. That gave my mom the giggles which made her slip on a rock and she really did fall in. It was so funny...but I guess you probably had to be there. Now she tells me she has some pretty good size bruises. After that I was worried the whole time that someone was going to get hurt but everyone made it out just fine. The hardest part of the hike was right at the start where you have to climb over a 15-20 foot pile of drift wood. From there as you hike back into the gorge the walls narrow in and pretty soon you are waist deep in water. Luckily it was a hot day so the cold water felt good. Then at the back of the gorge is a cute little water fall. We all had a great time.

I was so Glad that everyone came to visit! I hope they get to come again soon! There's still lots of Portland to explore.

THE GOOD WORD IS...

2010-08-14T22:29:00.000-07:00

GRADUATION!!!I won't ever say that PA school flew by but I must admit that I can't believe it is over. I AM SO EXCITED TO BE DONE! The last 26 months have probably been the hardest 26 months of my life but I think in the end they will also turn out to be some of the most life changing. I was pretty excited because I got an award for "Best Grand Rounds Presentation." My grands rounds presentation was about 4 months ago and was on Hepatitis C. I worked so hard on it so it was neat to get some recognition. The best part about graduating was getting to see some of my favorite people who came to help me celebrate. My Mom, Aunt Peg and Paige came up from Cali. Misty, Wade and the boys came from Nevada. Here we are enjoying dessert at Papa Hyden's. I even got one of Peggy's classic theme gifts!

She gave me a First Aid Kit with a box of 50 band-aids. On each band-aid was a reason why I will make a great PA and inside of each wrapper was some cash. Peggy's gifts are always so creative and fun. OHSU Physician Assistant Program
Class of 2010

R10 Asthma, Allergies, and Immunology

2010-08-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

POLLENWell, I just finished my 10th rotation! I was in Bend Oregon working with Dr. Williams and learning all about pollen, allergies, and runny noses. I saw a lot of seasonal allergies, asthma, and vasomotor rhinitis. I also got to see a bunch of other cool things like eosinophilic esophagitis, vocal cord dysfunction, laryngopharyngeal reflux, urticaria, and pollen food allergy syndrome. I really enjoyed this rotation and Dr. Williams was a great teacher!

NOW JUST 1 MORE WEEK UNTIL I GRADUATE!
I CAN HARDLY STAND IT :)

PA School Friends

2010-07-17T15:40:00.000-07:00

Climbing at Smith Rock.With my friends from PA School....Cathlin, Mary P, and Mary Z.
We had such a great time.
-Forced to get my LEAD back on...it felt good :)

Leavenworth and Index

2010-07-06T22:00:00.000-07:00

I like to think of myself as a morning person. Pete on the other hand is not a morning person. He will press the snooze button over and over and over again. Or truth be told he will simply sleep through it until it drives me absolutely crazy and I turn it off. The only time Pete can seem to get up early is if he is going climbing or skiing. And if he doing that then he wants to get up and go at an unreasonably early hour. It is ridiculous really or at least I thought so until this last weekend. This last weekend Pete and I went to Leavenworth Washington to climb Outer Space, a 6 pitch multi-pitch climb. We decided we didn't need to get up early because we would be climbing on a Friday so there probably wouldn't be anyone on the climb. We were wrong. When we got to the base of the climb there was a party of 4 who had just started up it. Needless to say what should have been a 4 hour day turned into a 9 hour day. To make matters worse the climb was east facing so by the time we started climbing it was in the shade. To make matters even worse it was windy. So I was cold and I hate being cold. Regardless of that we had a pretty good time and when all was said and done it turned into a good little memory. I now recognize the merit of waking up early to be the first group on the route. At the base and at the top of the climb there were a bunch of mountain goats. They were fun to watch. I am still amazed at how well they climb. (probably better then most Americans) Pete climbed a couple classic climbs (angel crack and damnation crack) while we were in Leavenworth and then we swung by Index so that he could climb a couple other classics (godzilla and thin fingers).Index was so pretty and Pete had a blast climbing there. I think we will have to take a trip back there soon. Pete is climbing thin fingers in this photo.After our escapades in Washington we headed home to Portland and then I had to move back to Bend for my last 5 week rotation. Pete came with me for the day and I belayed him on Chain Reaction at Smith Rock. He had been projecting this climb for a little over a month and had been falling at the same spot for weeks. But now he will project it no more because he finally SENT IT without falling. WAY TO GO PETE! You rock! I am one proud wife :)

R9 General Surgery

2010-07-01T15:26:00.001-07:00

Well I just finished up my 9th rotation which was my general surgery rotation. Here I am with Nicole O'Neil PA-C, Cindy the MA, and Jana VanAmburg MD. I had such a great time working with these women and I learned a ton from each of them. I also got to work with and learned a lot from Dr. Buzzas and Eric Davis PA-C.The first day I arrived I went straight to the OR and then that night I was on trauma call so I hit the ground running.

In addition to the adrenaline filled traumas I also got to see and assist with a lot of really neat surgeries. I saw...a parathyroidectomy, appendectomy, cholecystectomy, splenectomy, small bowel resection, lumpectomy for breast cancer, hernia repair, coronary artery bypass graft... and the list goes on. I also got to watch a bunch of colonoscopies and esophagogastroduodenoscopies.

JUST 1 MORE ROTATION TO GO!!!

Balcony Garden

2010-06-12T12:03:00.000-07:00

This years balcony garden is up and running. I wasn't planning on having a garden this year because I am moving around so much but at my last rotations one of the patients left 15 tomato plants and I couldn't resist....I took 4. Then one of our neighbors in Portland who is studying horticulture said he had planted hundreds of tomatoes for school and didn't know what to do with all of them...Pete offered to take 3 and I couldn't be happier. Today when we went to get pots and cages for the tomatoes I saw some basil and jalapeno starts that I just had to have. Needless to say my garden is much larger than anticipated. It is going to be a huge ordeal in 8 weeks when I move back to Portland and want to take all my plants with me.

Monkey Face

2010-05-31T19:55:00.000-07:00

For the holiday weekend Pete and I decided to take a quick trip to Smith Rock and climb the Monkey Face. (Which was convenient since I had to move to Bend this weekend anyway.) This picture of Monkey Face is from one of Pete's previous visits to Smith.I haven't had the chance to climb much lately so we decided to take the easiest route up which also turned out to be the busiest route up. By the time we moseyed on over to the base of the climb there were already 3-4 groups on it, so what should have been a 2 hour climb turned into an all day hang out.Which, I thoroughly enjoyed because it was nice and sunny for the majority of the day. Here we are at one of our belay stations were we basked in the sun for a little over an hour waiting for the party ahead of us to get far enough ahead. When we were just about to start our very last pitch the weather took a turn for the worst. We could see and hear a thunderstorm rapidly approaching. Luckily the rain didn't reach us until we were repelling down.Here we are enjoying the very short summit experience.

R7 & R8 Preceptorship

2010-05-31T18:49:00.000-07:00

I just finished up my 10 week Preceptorship which was my 7th and 8th rotations. Time is flying by. I worked at a family practice clinic in Independence Oregon with Dr. White. I learned a lot of things and by the last week I felt like I could have probably treated 3/4 of the patients I saw on my own (mostly because they all had the common cold and didn't need to be treated). Dr. White offered me a job if I wanted to stick around. Unfortunately, Independence is a little too far away from Portland and Pete for me. But getting a job offer made me feel like I must be doing something right, so that is good :) Now just 2 rotations left. Both of which I will be stationed in Bend Oregon for, which will be nice because it is close to Smith Rock so I think Pete will visit often.

Olympic National Park

2010-05-25T09:06:00.001-07:00

Not last weekend but the weekend before Pete and I did a little car camping. We went up to explore Olympic National Park. We had a wonderful time. We stopped off at a few beaches where I marveled at all the pretty rocks while Pete skipped them in the rivers headed to the ocean. He tried to teach me how to skip a rock but I failed miserably. At one of the beaches we discovered this pile of starfish. If I was a starfish I would want to be Orange.
We also saw 2 bald eagles while we were at the beaches. I thought that was pretty rad. In addition to visiting the beach we took a trip to the rain forest and also to a few waterfalls. Next time we go to visit Olympic National Park we want to do the 17 mile coastal hike between the Hoh River and La Push. Anyone want to come with us?

Cirque du Soleil

2010-05-23T21:35:00.000-07:00

Pete is RAD! He surprised me by taking me to the Cirque du Soleil this weekend. Generally he's not very good at keeping secrets but this time he did a great job. We had such a good time. We saw KOOZA. My favorite part of the show was the contorsionists. I don't know how it is physically possible for people to do the things that they did but it sure was entertaining. We also really enjoyed "the wheel of death".

Havasupai

2010-04-29T18:34:00.001-07:00

Pete and I recently went on a vacation with our friends Cody and Carli. We went to Havasupai. I have been wanting to go there for years but we just hadn't gotten around to it. The hike to Havasupai is about 10 miles and really wasn't all that bad. It is flat for the most part. We hiked in on a Thursday and on the way in it snowed on us. Not what I was expecting from Arizona in April. Even though I was looking forward to being nice and warm in Arizona, the snow was nice for the hike in. It kept us from getting too hot.

Along the way we meet "Buddy" (Pete named him-I wanted to call him "Rascal"). He was just hanging out on the trail. He hiked with us for quite a while but each time a we passed a different group of people he was torn between us and them. Eventually he chose to hike with someone else. I guess it's for the best though because Pete wouldn't let me pet him because he said he probably had worms.The hike in was really pretty. Lots of red sandstone with lots of unique features. At 8 miles in we ran into a small Indian village. It is the only place in the US that still gets mail by the pony express. Pete and I really wanted to send all of our friends and family post cards via the pony express but when we got there they where all sold out of post cards :( We were just a little disappointed to say the least.Our friend Cody, who came with us is an amazing photographer and along the way we often stopped to take pictures. While he was instructing his wife on how to make the perfect pose Pete was instructing me.Needless to say I think her poses might have been slightly more becoming.At least I've learned that batting your eyes really fast is never a good look for a camera. :)

After we left the village we had just 2 more miles to go till we made it to our camp site. At this point we were hiking along side the river. The water was so clear and green. It was rad but I was getting tired.

I was so relieved by the time we made it to Havasu Falls because that meant we were nearly there. This falls was really cool. I guess a few years ago there where 2 water falls side by side, however, there was a massive mud slide that wiped out the other falls. I wish I could have seen it before the slide but it is still amazing.

By the time we set up camp I was exhausted and went right to sleep.

On Friday we decided we would hike down to the where the canyon we were in meet with the Grand Canyon 8 miles away. At the very beginning of the hike there was a large cliff that had a steep trail etched into it's side. I thought it was more like climbing then hiking. But after that things mellowed out.

Along the way there were lots of really scenic areas. Here is a picture of Carli and Me at one such scenic stop.

Below is Beaver Falls. It was my favorite waterfall.
We stopped her for quite some time while Cody worked on getting the perfect picture.
We all helped out.

(The above picture was for my mom who decorated our home with an Indian/Desert theme when I was little. I saw this cactus garden and thought of you.)

After we finished our escapades at Beaver Falls Carli and Cody headed back to camp and Pete and I pressed forward in hopes that we might reach the grand canyon. As we hiked the trail often dead ended up against the river and we were forced to ford the river to get back on the trail. I didn't feel like hiking in soggy shoes so Pete came to the rescue and carried me across the river. By the time all was said and done Pete carried me across the river 17 times. My husband rocks. He only got me wet once and I dried off pretty fast.

We hiked for a couple more hours before we realized that if we didn't turn back we might be hiking in the dark and we didn't have head lamps. Pete had me pretty convinced that we might have to sleep on the trail because it would be too dangerous for us to continue to hike in the dark as there were some steep cliffs and some areas where we had to ford the river. (I decided if we did have to sleep on the trail I was going to take pictures of me signing messages to my family just in case I got hypothermia and didn't make it.)

Luckily that didn't turn out to be an issue. We made it back with time to spare. We had spent so much time taking pictures during the earlier part of the day that we hadn't covered too much ground so we made much better time on the way home. I must admit that I was relived we didn't have to go up the cliff trail in the dark or sleep on the trail.

I was a little disappointed that we didn't make it to the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River but I guess there is always next time. Better to be safe then sorry. When we got back and talked to other people who had done the hike in the past we learned that we were likely just a ridge or 2 away. We were nearly there!

On Saturday we just played in the water, soaked up the sun, and goofed off.

I even got Pete to participate in a dance party at the base of a water fall with me which was a lot of fun!On Sunday we hiked out. The hike out was not too bad until the last 2 miles. At which point there was no more shade, it was HOT, and the idea of the massive hill at the end was nearly unbearable. Lucky for me Pete was super encouraging and let me hang on to one of the straps on his backpack for a little extra motivation. A lot of other people were hiking out at the same time we were. They all looked pretty tired too, but they had all paid to have horses haul their bags out so they didn't have the extra weight we did. The horses hauling there bags seemed just as exhausted as me. Some times they even looked a little delusional. I felt bad for them. Once I finally reached the top I rewarded myself with a popsicle which someone was selling out of their car. A popsicle never tasted so good.

On the drive back to Vegas stopped to check out Hoover Dam. I thought I had been there before but I called the only people who I would have gone there with and they both told me I had never been there. I guess it's another one of my false memories. I have many. The dam was really cool and it was fun to walk across.

They are building a bridge just down stream from the dam. It is such a pretty bridge. This picture really doesn't do it justice. Pete thinks this bridge might have the largest drop in the US when all is said and done.

Rhododendrons

2010-03-27T18:35:00.000-07:00

Pete and I just found out that we live right next to a Rhododendron Garden so we decided to take a little day trip there. I thought one of the coolest things at the garden was this bridge. Ever since I married Pete I have had this new found appreciation for bridges...I think it is kind of funny. Neither Pete nor I were really sure what a rhododendron was so we spent most of our time there debating whether the rhodedendron where the flowering bushes or trees. It turns out that they are both rhododendrons. I thought these red ones were really striking.
This pink flower ball was pretty rad too.Pete and I also thought this wall was really neat. It has plants growing out of it! Anyhow we discovered that we can get in free on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (otherwise 3$ per person). I think we will probably make another trip there soon. It was so beautiful. Besides the flowers and the bridges there were also lots of cool looking ducks, geese, and even a blue heron. (The geese weren't too nice. One of them hissed at both me and Pete and I thought it was going to attack me. Needless to say I took the long way around.)

R6 Inpatient Medicine

2010-03-14T21:58:00.000-07:00

Just finished my Inpatient Medicine rotation. Learned all kinds of things. 6 rotations down...just 4 to go! Also as of today just 5 more months until graduation!

4 Years! Already?

2010-03-11T15:34:00.001-08:00

Time Really has flown by. I can't believe Pete and I have been married for 4 YEARS!!! Crazy!!! I am so lucky to have such a rad husband and I can't wait for all of our exciting adventures in the years to come.

Each year for our anniversary we get a myJone. It takes the pressure off of getting each other a gift :) Here is what this years label looks like. We also quote a love song on the back. This years love song is LOVE YOU MADLY by Cake. And I must admit I really do LOVE PETE MADLY!!! Here is a link to the music video...note who wins in the end. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_jPuASK3FE

LOVE YOU MADLY

by Cake

I don't want to wonder

If this is a blunder

I don't want to worry whether

We're Going to stay together

'Till we die

I don't want to jump in

Unless this music's thumping

All the dishes rattle in the cupboards

When the elephants arrive

I want to love you madly

I want to love you now

I want to love you madly, ouais

I want to love you, love you

Love you madly

I don't want to fake it

I just want to make it

The ornaments look pretty

But they're pulling down the branches

Of the Tree

I don't want to think about it

I don't want to talk about it

When I kiss your lips

I want to sink down to the bottom

Of the sea

I want to love you madly

I want to love you now, yeah

I want to love you madly, ouais

I want to love you, love you

Love you madly

I don't want to hold back

I don't want to slip down

I don't want to think back to the one thing that

I know I Should have done

I don't want to doubt you

Know everything about you

I don't want to sit across the table from you

Wishing I could run

I want to love you madly

I want to love you now

I want to love you madly, ouais

I want to love you, love you

Love you madly

9 out of 10 isn't bad

2010-02-08T15:51:00.000-08:00

Pete and I had an amazing weekend!!! Although it was much too short. Really we just had 1 day together because Pete went to Utah on Friday for his best friends wedding and didn't come back until Sunday morning. I think he would have liked to stay longer but I insisted he come home because since I was in between rotations I didn't have any homework and I really wanted to do something fun with him.

Our fun adventure consisted of a hike through Silver Falls State Park. We had planned on just hiking for a mile or 2 but each time we got to a new waterfall we seemed so close to the next waterfall that we couldn't help but go just a little further. When all was said and done our 2 mile hike turned into more like 9-10 miles. Above is a picture of us at the first waterfall, South Falls.

Along the way there were lots of beautiful things to look at. One of my favorite things was this really old large tree trunk that's core had rotted out. There was a small opening in the trunk just big enough for me to squeeze through. I instantly recognized it as the coolest fort ever and rushed in.

Pete tried to come in too but he was just too muscular to fit through such a small hole. The second waterfall we came across was called Lower South Falls. (they weren't feeling very creative when they named these falls.) I thought it was really pretty. The trail we were on was pretty sweet because it always seemed to bring you right up next to the waterfalls and then back behind it if at all possible. We had a fun time hiding behind the sheets of water where I may or may not have stolen a kiss or 2 from Pete :)
Another one of my favorite parts about this hike were some of the bridges...Ever since I married Pete I have gained a new appreciation for bridges. (When he was younger his family would take massive detours when on road trips just so Pete could see some special bridge.) I just love the way they look.
Above is a picture of the 3rdwaterfall we came across, Lower North Falls and below is the 4th, Double Falls.
The 5th waterfall we came across was Drake Falls, pictured below.
And then of course there was the 6th falls, Middle North Falls, another one of my favorites.We hiked behind this falls too and then hung out for a while in a little cave on the other side where the trail hit a dead end.In addition to all of the falls there were also a bunch of creeks and streams that I thought were also beautiful. Here I am next to one of my favorites.
Below is a picture of the 7th falls we saw along the hike, Twin Falls.
And then there was the North Falls pictured below which seemed to be the most powerful of them all. It was the 8th falls we saw along the way.
And then finally the 9th and falss we visited was Winter Falls.I couldn't believe how many waterfalls were packed along this trail. The trail itself was called Trail of Ten Falls. We only saw 9. I don't know how we missed the 10th and final falls but 9 out of 10 isn't so bad if you ask me. By the time we were done with the hike I was a mess. COVERED IN MUD!

But it was most definitely worth it. Actually it made me wish I had my own pile of mud to play in. I just wish every weekend was just as much fun. We had such a great time.

R5 Emergency Medicine

2010-02-05T19:33:00.000-08:00

I just finished up my ER rotation at Mt. Hood Legacy Emergency Department. I was able to work with a lot of amazing MD's there and I had a great time.

Highlights of this rotation...

1. Watched a Dr. perform a successful emergency cricothyrotomy. (It was the 1st time in his many years of practice that he had needed to do one.)
2. I was able to incise and drain a few abscesses-ouch.
3. I got to see Hidradenitis Suppurativa.
4. I learned how to do a digital nerve block.
5. I relocated a patella and a fractured pinky toe.
6. I saw a fractured and grossly displaced ankle. (if you only knew...)

5 rotations down...JUST 5 MORE TO GO!!!

Sandy

2009-12-29T13:16:00.001-08:00

It's been brown...It's been blond...It's even been red...But it hasn't been this short in a really long time...

Pete

2009-12-29T11:42:00.000-08:00

The Pete we all know and love...attempts a goatee...but he hates it, so he goes on to bigger and better things
->the stash...but his wife doesn't like to kiss a furry lip, so sadly the stash is now gone. We will miss the way it looked ;)

Speak Out...

2009-12-15T18:30:00.000-08:00

Speak Out Against Intimate Partner Violence...

was the title of my community outreach project that I had to do for PA school. I spoke to a group of 9th graders in my home town about Intimate Partner Violence. They were a very good audience.

Did you know that about...

1 in every 4 women will be a victim of Intimate Partner Violence at some point in their lives.
1 in every 13 men will be a victim of Intimate Partner Violence at some point in their lives.
1 in every 11 teens has been a victim of physical dating violence.

Basically the take home point of my presentation was that any relationship can become abusive and that it is important that we speak up and raise awareness about intimate partner violence and let others know that it is unacceptable.

(above picture from the domestic violence resource center)

Family Traditions

2009-12-04T12:05:00.000-08:00

When I was younger every year for my birthday we would make a Christmas ornament or some other Christmas craft. We've made penguins out of blown eggs, reindeer from clothes pins, felt Christmas trees containing kisses, and of course there was Oscar the Grouch.Well it's been a while since we've made ornaments, but this year the family tradition is up and rolling again. While we were in Elko Misty, my Mom, and I made bottle cap Christmas ornaments. I think they turned out so cute.In honor of my new Christmas ornaments I bought a small little tree. This is the 1st Christmas tree I have had since I left home 6 1/2 years ago. I always wanted a small Christmas tree when I was younger. I thought it would make it look like there were more presents under the tree.Unfortunately, I think Santa is planning on meeting us in Utah this year so I don't think this tree will get to see many presents. But even better than presents under the Christmas tree are all the friends and family we will get to see while we are in Utah!

Pete's Work Makes Press

2009-12-03T17:12:00.001-08:00

Read about it if you would like:
http://www.lakeoswegoreview.com/news/story.php?story_id=125979712542758200

Skiing

2009-12-01T08:01:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Pete and I went on a short skiing adventure to Mt. Hood. I'm usually not a very big fan of skiing with Pete cuz he goes too fast down too bumpy and too steep of hills with too much powder and I end up crashing and tumbling down behind him. He tells me that if you aren't crashing and tumbling you're not pushing yourself but I think it is much more fun to not crash or tumble.Any how we went to Timberline and we had a wonderful time together. Pete took it easy. (He Had to cuz there really wasn't anything steep or bumpy or deep in powder.) I really need to brush up on my skiing skills sometime because I love to hear about all the ski trips Pete went on with him family when he was a kid and I hope we can do the same for our kids (when we have 'em). I guess I probably have 8-10 years before I really need to worry about having kids that can ski.Ben, Pete, Libby, and Polly.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-30T08:19:00.001-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving Pete and I went to Elko, Nevada where my sister and her family live. We had a wonderful time. I got to meet my little nephew Dock. He is so cute and cuddly.

I also got to play a bunch with Ford. We had such a great time. He is a RAD little guy.

Other than that we just hung out, did crafts, ate delicious food, and had a lot to be thankful for. Pete and I did manage to venture out to Lamoille Canyon. It was absolutely spectacular. It’s been dubbed the Yosemite of Nevada. The next time we visit Elko I am sure Pete will be packing all of his climbing gear.

Rotation 4, Women's Health

2009-11-29T21:27:00.000-08:00

I've spent the last 5 weeks living in Boise, Idaho. I was there doing a rotation in Women's Health.
The highlights of this rotation:
1. I was able to assist in the delivery of 2 baby's. I got to catch them on the way out. It was an awesome experience.
2. I was able to help (although minimally) with a few c-sections too.
3. I saw endometriosis during a laparoscopic hysterectomy.
4. I helped with numerous vaginal hysterectomies.
5. I helped with a couple tubal ligations.
6. I got to do a ton of prenatal visits. It made me maybe just a little baby hungry. I thought it was so cool each time I found the babies little heart beat!
7. I worked with some amazing peopleThe lowlights of this rotation:
1. With every new rotation I realize how much I actually don't know...grrr.
2. I was stuck with a suturing needle during a surgery and had to go to the ER for blood tests which I didn't end up getting...long story...left the ER before the doc had a chance to see me so I did manage to avoid the huge ER bill.

4 rotations down...5 to go.

Hope You Had A Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T23:42:00.001-07:00

Baby Finlinson #2

2009-10-31T08:22:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Misty and Wade and Ford!!!

Little Baby Finlinson #2 is finally here. His name is Dock Patrick Finlinson and he arrived on October 30th. I can't wait to meet the little man!

Leavenworth

2009-10-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

So I haven't been blogging about many fun adventures lately, mostly because I haven't been on any...Too busy with school to get out much these days. Pete on the other hand still gets out every chance he gets. A few weeks ago Pete was able to go to Leavenworth WA. He really enjoyed the climbing there and is already planning our next trip back. At the top of one the climbs Pete was greeted by 2 curious mountain goats. I am sure they thought he was crazy :) Pete captured the above Kodak moment before even completing the climb. I think he is too funny. Omar and Scott went to Leavenworth with Pete. We are so lucky to have such good friends to go on all of our adventures with. I can't wait until I can start tagging along again.

Pediatrics

2009-10-17T11:23:00.001-07:00

Time is flying by. I just finished my 5 week Pediatrics Rotation. I had such a great time and I was able to work with so many great people. I am really going to miss this rotation. But I will tell you what I wont miss...BEING SICK. I think I was pretty much sick with some sort of viral illness the whole time I was at this rotation. Little kids are viral reservoirs. High Lights of this rotation.
1. MRSA abscesses-I got to slice a couple of these open and watch the puss drain out (pretty painful)
2. Perforated ear drums due to Otitis Media (ear infection)- I didn't realize how common this was. Nor did I realize that they generally heal up just fine on their own. YEAH!
3. Avulsion Fracture and Mallet Finger Deformity of the Pointer finger-I hit this diagnosis right on the head, first try :)Here I am with Dr. Temple. Every year a few Doctors from this clinic spend some time in Africa providing much needed health care to the under served. Dr. Temple is headed over their in July 2010. That is during my last rotation which happens to be an elective. I really want to go but I don't know if my program will consider that an appropriate elective choice. They have said in the past that they want us to learn how to serve the people in our community and not abroad. But I think it would be an awesome experience and I think I would learn a lot. So if any of you have a good argument as to why I should get to go let me know so that when I approach my program I have a strong argument.

Goodbye Glasses

2009-09-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

Ever since I was little I have had to wear glasses. I got my first pair of glasses in kindergarten. I have lots of fond memories of my glasses. Mostly of loosing/breaking them. I had one pair run over by a bus, my mom stepped on another, and then of course their was the pair that got lost in the grass only to be discovered a year later when someone finally mowed the lawn. The stories could go on and on. Over the last 5 or so years I haven't been wearing them much though because my last prescription didn't seem right and I have been too lazy to go back to the eye doc. Growing up I was always under the impression that my eyes were really bad and that I had a really strong prescription but I seem to do just fine w/o my glasses and then after marrying Pete I was amazed at how bad his vision seems to be w/o glasses. Anyhow, I finally made it to the eye doc and guess what! 20/20 vision in both eyes! I DON'T NEED GLASSES!?!?!? I must admit I am a little sad to see them go. I kind of liked having glasses.
At the eye doc's they took pictures of the back of our eyes. I thought this was super cool! Above is one of my eyes and below is one of Pete's. I think Pete's looks scary compared to mine but he thinks it looks just fine.

Rotation 2 Done

2009-09-11T21:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I just wrapped up my second rotation. This one was in Community Medicine. It was exhausting! I don't know how I will ever be able to remember all the things I need to know! I am now pretty much scared to death.

Sadly, no Kodak moment :( from this rotation.

The Story Behind The Bugs

2009-09-10T22:51:00.000-07:00

Sadly the story behind the bugs is not really all that interesting. It sounds much more intriguing if the details are left out but since some people have been wondering I guess I will fill in the blanks. The other night Pete asked me to put some rice on to cook for him, so I did and I remember thinking..."This rice looks kinda funny" but I didn't really dwell on it. Pete came home from work and ate a heaping pile of beans and rice. YUM! After finishing his dinner he went to put away the left overs and that was when he noticed all the bugs. There were hundreds of them. I don't know how we both missed them. YUCK!!! Luckily I had something else for dinner earlier.

I FED MY HUSBAND BUGS!

2009-09-02T18:52:00.000-07:00

Literally.

Rotation 1 Done

2009-08-07T21:03:00.000-07:00

Well, I am done with my first rotation and I had a blast. I got to see so many cool things and I met so many amazing people.

Here I am with Amy, Theresa, and Mae. I learned so much from these guys. They were great. I also got to work with a lot of other rad people. I am going to miss everyone.

Rotation 1, Dermatology

2009-07-17T19:13:00.000-07:00

I am officially done with my first year of PA School. Now onto the second! The first year of PA school is pretty much classroom based and maybe a little boring. But the second year is all hands on! For the next year or so I will be moving all over the state of Oregon working with and learning from practicing PAs and MDs. I am currenlty working at a Dermatology Clinic in Salem Oregon. So far I am loving Derm! I could definitely see myself continuing in this field when I am done with school. I've seen all kinds of neat things like; impetigo, cellulitis, fungal infections, psoriasis, inverse psoriasis, clavi, lots of different dermatitis', lots of different types of sun damaged skin, and lots of other things. I am slowly but surely getting better at determining the appropriate treatment for these conditions too. I have had many happy patients. Like my good friend Breanne for example, I took care of a wart on her foot. Doesn't she look happy :) I must admit I was a little concerned at how dark black the skin turned around the area I had frozen. We were worried for a little bit that we might have to amputate her toe ;) but it is looking much better now.

Slacklining In The Park

2009-07-01T14:17:00.000-07:00

This weekend Pete and I did a little slacklining in the park. We had a lot of fun. We even created a new game...FRISBY SLACKLINING!! (Nate is going to love it.)

Finlinson Family Visit

2009-06-29T16:33:00.000-07:00

The Finlinson Family dropped in for a visit this weekend and we had such a great time hanging out with them. Saturday we woke up early (Thanks Ford!) and headed to the Farmer's market where we bought some delicious Rainier Cherries and Sweet Peas to snack on. Then we headed to Saturday's Market to check out all the crafts. There were so many cool things there but I think the boys thought it was kind of boring. After that we went to the Chinese Garden. Everybody loved it.The birds at the Chinese Garden are very territorial and I must have been standing the wrong way in their territory because one of them swooped down and knocked me in the head. It was pretty funny. Here's a picture of Me and Twister at the Chinese Garden.We also made a trip out to see Multnomah falls before Ford decided he was too tired to go on and we had to come home. Sunday we took it easy...Really, really easy. We woke up early (Thanks Ford!) Ate some delicious crepes and then most everyone took a long nap until we had to go to church. And then after church most everyone took another long nap. I think it was about 5:30pm before everyone was really up for the day ;) Then we headed to the Japanese Garden. I love the Japanese Garden here in Portland. It is so beautiful and serene. Then we went on a short walk through the Hoyt Arboretum which was also beautiful. And that was pretty much all we had time for. Today the Finlinson Family headed for home. I was sad to see them go. We had such a good time. I hope they visit again soon.
Here's Ford! He was such a good little guy. I can't wait to hug and kiss him again. Oh, I miss you guys already :(

More Summer Vacation Fun

2009-06-23T23:04:00.001-07:00

This last weekend Pete and I headed to Smith Rock to get in just a little more fun before I had to head back to school. We left Friday night and made it Smith just in time to set up camp and go to sleep. We slept so good. Best camping experience ever. Our apartment has been so hot lately that it is hard to sleep through the night. But the temperature in Terrebonne was perfect! Saturday we had a fun filled day of climbing at Smith. We had a great time. Then on Sunday we did a little exploring in the Lower Gorge. Pete was so excited (can't you tell) He checked out all the climbs along the trail and probably picked out another project while I took a short nap on a rock :) Good Times. And then it was time for some real fun!!! THE DEMO DERBY! I love a good demo derby and this one sure was good. Although I must admit it did leave me a little misty eyed for Logan. The Derby was filled with excitement. In the first round they had to call in the ambulance...don't worry the guy turned out to be ok, he even returned to drive in the Grand Slam event. Then there were a few fires, cars driving on top of other cars, cars stuck on top of logs, and of course lots of cars hitting cars. Pete and I placed bets on who we thought would win in each round. We rarely picked a winning car but the car I did pick outlasted Pete's car every time so he owes me dessert :) YEAH!!! All in all we had a BLAST! We just wish we would have had some friends around to enjoy the fun with us ;) Maybe next time.

The Adventures of Pete & Sandy

2009-06-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

Pete and I just got back from a vacation to Hawaii. We had so much fun. I wish we could have stayed longer, there is still so much I wanted to do! Here is a quick synopsis of our trip with lots of pictures of course.

Saturday-We arrived in Kauai on Saturday, checked into our condo and then went exploring. Our first adventure took us down a short trail to the rocky shore line below. Here, water from the ocean waves and walls of rock have created natural little swimming holes. It was beautiful. As the tide changes some of the little pools aren’t as protected from the waves as others. They are jostled by the power of perpetual waves making the swimming conditions unfavorable while at the same time making a site that is absolutely spectacular. The pools that were a little more protected from the waves made for great fun. When we finally found a pool that was appropriate for swimming Pete jumped right in.
I however was a little bit more hesitant. Pete, my Mom, and nearly everyone else I had talked to about Hawaii told me that the ocean was “bath water warm”…Well it’s not, at least not what I consider bath water warm. I’ve decided that instead a more appropriate statement would be something like “It’s not too cold” or “once your all the way in it doesn’t feel cold”. Anyway eventually I mustered up the guts to get all the way in and was surprised to find that once in it didn’t feel cold at all (½ in ½ out is cold though). We had a great time splashing around in Queen’s Bath and we even found some cool creatures. This is Pete holding a Sea Cucumber. We ran across a lot of sea cucumbers while in Kauai.
I don’t have any idea what these are but they were sitting on the rock next to the swimming hole. Do you know what they are?The whole coast line was really breathtaking. One of my favorite views was of this little inlet formed by the rocks that ended at a little waterfall. And then of course there were the waves crashing against the rocks. Queen's Bath was such a cool place!

Sunday-Sunday Morning we made a quick trip to the grocery store. While I was waiting for Pete to finish checking out I saw this girl that looked just like my best friend from kindergarten. At first I thought it couldn’t be Victoria but then I decided I had just better ask anyhow. So I walked up to her and said “You look really familiar,” Her response was “SANDY!!” Haha isn’t that crazy… So we chatted for a little bit and then parted ways. She had just gotten married and they were honeymooning. Anyhow, it was fun to see her and chat about old times. After that we headed to Waimea Canyon or as Mark Twain would say, The Grand Canyon of the Pacific. I know I probably sound like a broken record but I must say the view was spectacular. The red and brown rock mixed with green plants, against the bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds was beautiful. We drove to the very end of Waimea Canyon Road and then went for a hike. We started hiking on the Pihea Trail and then continued on the Alaka’i Swamp Trail. Most of the way we hiked on boards which made the hiking fast and easy. The scenery was pretty amazing and changed frequently. At first it was pretty barren with not much more then red rock hills, and then before I knew it we were surrounded by trees, bushes, and all sorts of plants. After a little more hiking we came across a cool stream. Here I am about to cool off a little. And then…the swamp. It turns out it has been a pretty dry year so it really wasn’t all that swampy. It looked more like a desert to me. There were a few spots of mud that got pretty deep. I stuck I long stick into one mud pot so I can verify that the mud goes at least 4 feet deep in some areas. I heard it goes much deeper though. I wouldn’t want to fall into that. Apparently in the 50’s they tried to build a road through the swamp but all their equipment sank so they had to abandon it there. Needless to say there is no road that goes all the way around the island. The Alaka’i Swamp Trail ends at the Kilohana Lookout and what a look out it was. As we walked up to the lookout we saw an amazing view of Ha’ena and green majestic mountains. And then suddenly we couldn’t see anything, just a wall of white as the clouds rolled in. Eventually it cleared enough so that we could see again. It was cool to watch the clouds come and go. It’s amazing how fast they go. Pete said we could practically see our condo from where we were standing but since there is no road across the north shore we would have to drive the 3 hours back around the island. The hike was hot but worth it. We nearly ran out of water which made it a little more painful than it needed to be but again it was worth it.

Monday-Monday was somewhat of a down day. We spent much of the morning trying to find me a new swimsuit. Have I ever mentioned that I HATE SHOPPING! Nevertheless, I did find 2 new swimsuits that I love so I have to say out shopping adventure was a success. After we shopped we went to visit my Aunt Linda and Cousin Bethany. When Pete and I planned our trip to Kauai I had no idea that I had family there. We had a nice little visit and they told us all the things that we couldn’t miss while we were there. Then we headed for Hideaway Beach. Hideaway Beach is my favorite beach. It is a small secluded little beach with very few people there and an amazing view. While we were there we did a little snorkeling. We saw so many cool fish. I love snorkeling. Who would have ever thought you could have so much fun while looking so silly. There I am...and of course there's Pete.After a fun day of snorkeling we decided to get to bed early cuz we had a full days adventure ahead.

Tuesday-We woke up bright and early ?:30 am and were out the door in a snap. We were headed to Kayak the Na Pali Coast. 17 miles of Kayaking fun :) The day started off great. Right after launching off we saw a baby seal swim by and then an eagle ray. I was a little nervous that I wasn’t going to be able to kayak the entire length but the ocean was pretty calm and the wind was at our backs most of the day. Plus the Na Pali Coast is beautiful. We kayaked past amazing walls of rock. I could tell Pete was just dying to get out and do a little deep sea climbing. But there wasn’t enough time :( We also passed some amazing beaches with golden sand and strikingly blue ocean. The mountains along the Na Pali Coast are rad! They are super steep and look knife sharp. Pretty much the coolest mountains I have ever seen. As we kayaked across the coast line we spotted many little caves that we would then explore. It was so rad! We got so deep into one of the caves that I couldn’t see anything at all, just jet black. To add to the utter success of the trip we got to see a whole school of dolphins. They swam right by us and they were having so much fun jumping, and flipping, and twirling. It was amazing…I mean really amazing. We also kayaked passed a few sea turtles. I have a new found love for sea turtles. This little adventure took up the whole day and left me with aching shoulders and Pete with severely burned shins (we ran out of sunscreen-I told him we would need more). But when all was said and done it turned out to be the highlight of the trip. What a RAD experience.

Wednesday- After Kayaking the Na Poli Coast both Pete and I were pretty exhausted so we decided to take it easy. So we took a driving tour of the island and visited all of the easy access waterfalls. We saw…Opaeka’a falls…Wailua Falls…and Kipu Falls. I loved Kipu falls. There is the perfect little swimming hole at the base of the falls. The hike to Kipu Falls brings you to the top of the falls and then to get into the swimming hole you have 3 options. 1. Cliff Jump 2. Rope Swing 3. Be a wuss and take the ladder. Pete had no fear. He jumped of the cliff and got on the rope swing without batting an eye. Here he is coming back from jumping of the Cliff. I however have turned into quite the scaredy pants since I got married. It took me a while but with the encouragement of Pete I managed to do it all too. It was soo much fun! Definitely a must do if you are in Kauai. Here's some poor footage of our Cliff Jumping/Rope Swinging.

After we finished our cliff jumping/rope swinging adventure we headed to see Spouting Horn. It was pretty cool. Every time a big wave would come the water would rush under the rocks and then shoot up through a hole in the rock. Then we headed to Dukes for dinner. Pete has been talking about Duke’s ever since I mentioned going to Hawaii. He just won’t stop talking about their Hula Pie. Dinner at Duke’s was great but a little $$$$ for me. The Hula Pie however was well worth the praise Pete gave it. YUM YUM YUM!

Thursday-Thursday morning we went in search of sea turtles. Have I mentioned that I love sea turtles. We had heard that if there is one place you are sure to find a turtle it is in turtle cave. So that is exactly where we went and sure enough there in the back of the cave were 2 sleeping turtles. We tried to get a picture of them but this is the best we were able to get because it was so dark. Here’s me and Pete in turtle cave.After hanging out with the turtles we decided we hadn’t had enough of the Na Poli Coast so we headed back that way for a little 8 mile hike. Once again the views were amazing. There were so many cool plants and an amazing view of the ocean. After the first 2 miles the trail dumps you out on this incredible beach. And then there’s another 2 miles of hiking back to a breathtaking waterfall. Again, Pete just jumped right into the pool at the base of the falls. I, of course, took a little prodding before I would get in. But eventually I did get in and Pete and I swam under the falls together. Very Romantic :) Friday- On Friday Pete and I took Surf lessons. This was all a surprise to me. I wasn’t planning on getting surfing lessons but I am glad I did cuz we had a great time. The guy who taught us how to surf reminded both of us of Pete’s old roommate Evan. We would swim out to where he was with out boards and then he would give us a push just in time to catch the waves. Pete kept surfing after our lessons and learned how to catch a wave on his own. I think I might always need someone to push me. Here I am watching Pete surf. I tried to get a picture of him surfing but he was too far away. When Pete finally wore himself out we headed back to Princeville (that is where our Condo is) picked up some Martinelli’s and headed to Hideaway Beach for a romantic evening of sunset watching and star gazing. When we got down to the beach there were only 2 other groups of people there and soon after the sun set they all left and we had the beach to ourselves. It was awesome. The sunset was beautiful. And after the sun went down we had a great time making up our own constellations.

Saturday-Saturday we left Kauai and went to Oahu. Most of Saturday we just drove around. We went and saw BYU-Hawaii and the Temple. We went to the USS Arizona Memorial. Yep…I cried. (we didn't take this picture but I think it really puts things into perspective.)Then we went in search of my parents old apartment building from when they lived in Oahu years ago. It took a while but I think we narrowed it down to the right building. After that Pete and I walked along the beach and watched all the people surfing at Waikiki. The waves where so big and there were soo many people out there attempting to surfing. There were literally hundreds of people in the water. I saw a number of people complain that they had gotten run over by another surfer. We also got to see some hula dancers. It was a lot of fun. The rest of the night we walked through the streets of Waikiki. It is such a crazy place. It reminds us of Vegas only without the casinos. There were so many street venders and people handing out fliers. Pete and I got a kick out of the guys trying to get people to shoot guns… “real guns.” After being unable to convince us to shoot “real guns” one of the guys asks “what’s wrong with guns?” Ok so you had to be there…but it was funny to us and now that it’s written down we can laugh about it forever. Pete bought me a coconut. It was a fun little treat but I still prefer the dried coconut that is covered in sugar :)

Sunday-Sunday morning Pete went surfing at Waikiki and I did a little sun bathing. Then we headed to Hanuma Bay. While we were at Hanuma Bay we went snorkeling. We saw a ton of cool fish but our goal was to find a sea turtle and we did. It was so cool to be so close to it. He was just chillen down by the reef eating lunch. We stalked him for awhile. It was great fun. After our adventures with the sea turtle we decided we needed some more HULA PIE so we went to Duke’s. It was packed! We had to wait forever to get find seats and we almost got in a fight with a drunk guy over a table. (long story) Eventually we did get a table though and dinner was delicious. And Pete loved his Hula Pie.

Monday- Monday was our last day in Hawaii. We woke up supper early so that Pete could catch a few more waves before we had to head home. I ended up falling asleep on the beach. Best nap ever.

We were very sad to leave :,(

PA School- THE FUN STUFF

2009-06-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

PA school has been tough, but the last 2 weeks have been real laid back and relaxing. I feel like a real person again :) We have been learning how to do all kinds of procedures. We got to practice suturing pigs feet! -Looks like my pig's foot sustained some serious injuries! We also practiced things on each other. We learned how to start IVs, draw blood, and administer injections. I was surprised at how easy everything was but I still need a lot of practice. There is definitely technique to it all which I haven't developed yet. I convinced Pete to let me practice on him. (He's probably going to regret this!) Now I just need to get the supplies.
We also learned how to make casts and splints. This was my favorite part. I wanted to keep my cast on all day but they wouldn't let me. Jill made me a short arm cast and I put her in a short leg cast.
We also learned how to scrub in for a surgery. This week was a lot of fun but I must be honest...I AM NOT READY FOR THE REAL WORLD YET! I hope I get lots of practice on my rotations this coming year.

French's Dome

2009-05-31T18:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend Nate, Omar, Pete and I went to French's Dome to get in a little climbing. The place was packed! There was somebody on practically every climb. It was crazy- Crazy fun that is. (There were 2 women there with little kids. One was around 1 and the other baby was just 2 months. I hope I am like those ladies after I have kids. I am still a little shocked that the lady with the 2 month old is already back out climbing...that is intense!)

I am still a little rusty on my climbing skills but I decided I had better try and lead a climb or 2 (or 3). Nate and I stuck to the easy ones and we had a great time. Above is a picture of me leading a climb outside for the first time in about a year. (Have I mentioned that school keeps me super busy?) Nate was an awesome climbing partner, much more laid back than Pete.While Nate and I were enjoying a world of luxury and enjoyment in the realm of the 5.8 climbs Omar and Pete willingly submitted themselves to pain and hardships climbing 5.12's. The things Pete can do amaze me. He can climb so hard and he even looks good while he is doing it ;)

There is also an amazing view of Mt. Hood from French's Dome. From the bottom of the climb you couldn't see much through the trees but when you are at the top the view was absolutely breath taking. I definitely want to go back!

Last Thursday

2009-05-29T17:28:00.001-07:00

I LOVE PORTLAND!!! There is always something fun going on here. I can't wait until I am done with school and have time to really enjoy all that Portland has to offer. I hope we stay here forever! Last night Nate, Pete and I went to Last Thursday. We had such a great time. We ate at my favorite place, Tour De Crepes, and then walked up and down Alderta looking at all the cool art for sale. I found soo many things that I wanted and one item I just couldn't resist...

Pete is always giving me a hard time about not having a good place for my credit cards, money, and license. Personally I was ok with my rubber band wallet...

But since he insisted on giving me a hard time about it. I insisted upon buying this SUPER COOL DUCT TAPE WALLET! Isn't it great!Nate couldn't resist the duct tape wallets either. He got a really cool one with PDX scrabble pieces. I almost got this one before deciding on the bike one.

There was also a lot of good music at Last Thursday. There was practically a different band every block. I really enjoyed the Renegade Minstrels who serenaded us while we ate crepes. Pete on the other hand preferred the 80's smooth jazz band. All in all I believe a good time was had by all. I can't wait to go back.

Oh and 1 more thing...If you want to pay us a visit, come in the summer and plan it around Last Thursday.

Family Photo Time

2009-05-24T17:10:00.000-07:00

Every Couple of years someone gets it in their head that we need to do Family Photos. This was that year.

Here is our little Oveson Family.And of course the Viera girls and their boys.
And then...the entire Clark Clan.

Back on the Rocks

2009-05-22T12:58:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy with school lately (or really the past year) that Pete and I haven't had time to do much together. So yesterday I decided I to take the evening off and I told Pete we could do whatever he wanted. Of course Pete wanted to go climbing. We climbed at Carver. It was beautiful and a lot of fun. It was so nice to be outside and enjoy the fresh air. The cliffs at Carver are so cool. They are smooth hard basalt covered in lime green moss. A picture really can't do it justice but here's one anyhow. I was somewhat dismayed at how fast I have forgotten how to climb. I've lost all my strength. :( I really need to get out more. On the bright side. It was fun to watch Pete. He is amazing. How did I get so lucky to have such a RAD husband??? Not to mention the fact that he is super HOT!

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T11:44:00.000-07:00

Ever since I was little I have always had an Easter nest. The night before Easter we would put together our nests with the clothes we were planning on wearing the next day and then in the morning we would find that the Easter Bunny had filled our nests with gifts. I was a little worried that with our recent move to Portland the Easter Bunny might have lost track of me and Pete this year but he pulled through with the best Easter gifts yet. My Easter nest looked lovely. It had a pair of converse, some peanut butter m&m's, 2 izze sodas, and some beautiful flowers in it. I was so excited. Pete's Easter nest wasn't quite as exciting as mine but he liked it anyway. The Easter Bunny got him a 1 year Oregon Parks Pass so that he can go to Smith Rock as many times as he wants without paying for a day pass. We had a very HAPPY EASTER and we hope you did too!

Board Games

2009-03-31T22:39:00.000-07:00

Pete and I have always said that we don't like board games. But since moving to Portland we have had a change of heart. It is now one of our favorite activities when the weekends roll around. My favorite place to play games is at Coffee Time in NW Portland. During spring break we got together with Jake, Lacey, and Nate (see above picture) and played some card games. It was great fun. We played all night long. I don't think we left the Coffee Time until around 1am. The night was full of good company, good times, and lots of entertainment people watching.

Oh I almost forgot! Right as we were leaving Coffee Time Pete almost got in a fit with an old guy. It was so funny. I think Pete picked up a newspaper at an empty table or something because he thought it was garbage and this guy rips it out of his hand and starts saying all these mean things. Pete apologized numerous times but the guy was so upset he just kept angrily muttering. I kind of felt bad for the guy. I hope he cheers up soon.

Spring Break

2009-03-27T09:31:00.000-07:00

Portland is an amazing place. I just wish I wasn't in school so that I could enjoy it more ;) Pete and I went on a hike last night. It was so nice to get out and enjoy nature and each others company. I had such a good time. The hike was really scenic. We passed waterfalls, moss covered trees, and these really pretty white flowers. Once at the top we had an amazing view of the Columbia River.

On our way home we decided to drive through the Alberta District of Portland. We like to explore different neighborhoods from time to time so that we can decide where we will want to live when we buy a house :) Well, when we got to Alberta it was around 8:30 and I expected it to be pretty dead but I was wrong. There were so many people there. It turns out we managed to land ourselves in Alberta on the last Thursday of the month and on the last Thursday of the month all the stores stay open late and vendors set up on the street. It was a happening place. We had a blast looking at all the art and people watching. We saw clowns on stilts, people throwing flames, protesters, a guy with a bear hat, and a lady in all leather with horns.

The best part of our visit to Alberta though was the food. We ate at this little place (or really garage) called Tour De Crepes. It was such a fun little atmosphere. They basically took a little garage and turned it into a dinning area and then they had a little cart behind the garage where you ordered your crepes. It was such a laid back environment. They even had a bunch of board games. Pete and I didn't play a board game this time but I think we will have to go back sometime soon. The food was really good too. I got a tomato, pesto basil, and cheese crepe. It was delicious. The dessert crepes looked tasty too. Pete and I tried to share a dessert crepe. We got a raspberry, vanilla custard, and chocolate crepe. Pete loved it. I DON'T LIKE CHOCOLATE! That's the last time I compromise over dessert.

3 years already?

2009-03-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

Pete and I have been married for 3 years now. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. We sure have had a lot of fun together. For our anniversary we went and saw Wicked here in Portland. I was so excited, maybe a little too excited. The play was good but not as good as I had expected it to be. I am glad we got to go though. It has given me a completely different perspective on the Wizard of Oz (a better one I think).

Every year for our anniversary Pete and I order a case of Jones Soda with one of our favorite pictures from the year. This year's winner is a picture of the 2 of us on the top of Half Dome in Yosemite. This picture brings back so many fun memories. I don't think I have ever felt so many emotions in one day- anticipation, excitement, awe, fear, exhaustion, pain, relief, frustration, pain, fun, love/hate, pain, accomplishment, and of course hunger (this may not seem like an emotion to some but those who know me well will understand.)

We aslo pick a love song for each year and include a portion of it on the label. This year we picked the song, Boats and Birds, by Gregory and the Hawk. I love this song. I could listen to it over and over again. Here are some of the Lyrics:

If you be my star, I'll be your sky, you can hide underneath me and come out at night, when I turn jet black and you show off your light, I live to let you shine, I live to let you shine.

But you can skyrocket away from me, and never come back if you find another galaxy, far from here with more room to fly, just leave me your stardust to remember you by.

If you be my boat, I'll be your sea, a depth of pure blue just to probe curiosity, ebbing and flowing and pushed by a breeze, I live to make you free, I live to make you free.

But you can set sail to the west if you want to, and past the horizon till I can't even see you, far from here where the beaches are wide, just leave me your wake to remember you by.

Christmas in Cali

2009-02-23T22:45:00.001-08:00

A belated update: This year...or would you call it last year??? Pete and I spent Christmas in Cali. It was so nice to be home with my Fam. We didn't do much but it sure was nice to sit back a relax a little (and forget about school). Pete and I spent one day in the city while we were there, which is always fun. We drove around and looked at rad houses, had lunch with Wade and Misty, and went for a stroll on the Golden Gate Bridge. The last time we were on the Golden Gate Bridge Pete asked me to marry him :)

Well It Doesn't Snow A Lot Here In Portland...

2008-12-14T10:47:00.001-08:00

Well It Doesn't Snow A Lot Here In Portland...But when it does, they CANCEL CHURCH!!! When I woke up this morning and looked out the window I couldn't believe what I saw. It was snowing like crazy! So I jumped into my snow clothes and bugged Pete until he got out of bed. They say it doesn't snow much here in Portland and when it does snow it doesn't stick around. So, I wasn't going to miss the opportunity to build a snow man. The snow didn't stick together very well and it was very windy but we made it work anyway. By the time we were done I looked like a snowman myself.

What A Blast!

2008-12-13T23:30:00.000-08:00

What a Birthday!!! This year for my birthday Pete and I decided to check out some Hot Springs here in Oregon called Bagby Hot Springs. The hike to the springs was absolutly stunning. The snow coating the river bank and all of the trees made me feel like I was in a fairy tale. It was so amazing. Pete's favorite part of the hike was this bridge that was covered in snow. I tried to engage Pete in a number of snow ball fights but he wouldn't have it. So instead I practiced my running aim at tree trunks(it turns out I can't aim...I missed the trees about 75% of the time). After about a mile and a half of hiking we stumbled across the Hot Springs. They were really cool. They had built all these little wooden buildings and then built tubs and hollowed out tree trunks that could be filled with the Hot Spring water. The water came from the springs at about 130 degrees F; Hot Hot Hot. But they also had cold stream water near by that you could mix in to make the temperature just right. Pete and I started out in the community area where their was one big tub and 3 hollowed out trees but before long a bunch of girls started to crowd the area. I had Pete go set up a private room for us (yes...that's right, this place has private rooms). While he was gone things got wild. More and more girls came and pretty soon the bathing suits started coming off. I didn't know what to do. Poor Pete...I managed to warn Pete in enough time to shield his eyes from most of this crazy business. I don't know how people can be so comfortable being naked in a public place but then again I guess that is to be expected at a natural hot springs. Anyway Pete and I moved to our own private room. Where we relaxed and chatted. The private rooms were really cool too. They had a single hollowed out tree trunk with a drain in the bottom. To get them set up you just corck the hole and let the water in. There is only a partial roof over the rooms so we had a great view of the snow covered trees above us. Here is a picture of Pete enjoying a soak in our log. There was a guy in the private room next to us that heard us talking about how Rad this place was. It turns out he had helped build it back in 1985. He told us all about it and gave us advice on what hot springs we should visit next. After soaking in the springs for about 2hrs we decided we had better head back to civilization and get some food. On the way back I threw another snowball at Pete...I didn't think it would hit him cuz I can't aim (remeber I missed most of those trees) never the less it hit him right in the ear and he wasn't very happy with me which made me not very happy with him. Luckly Pete is a pretty good peace maker so our perfect day only had a slight hiccup in it. When we got home we went and had dinner at the Bombay Cricket Club. It was some of the best Indian food I have ever had. My meal was really spicy, just the way I like it...They made it with habanero chilis. After dinner we decided we had better get dessert too (even though we were both stuffed) so we went to Papa Hayden's and I got my favorite dessert there, Raspberry Sorbet. For my birthday Pete got me a new camara and a scarf. I love them both. He did such a good job at making my birthday memorable. I am such a lucky wife. Pete is so good to me-not to mention the fact that he is so stinking HOT!

Japanese Garden

2008-11-25T14:16:00.000-08:00

The last few days have been a lot of fun. My mom came up from California to visit. It was so good to have her here. (Mom- I hope you come back soon!) We had a lot of fun together. We always do. While she was here we visited Portland's Japanese Garden, which was really pretty. I think it just about convinced Pete that he needs one of his own Japanese Gardens when we "grow up." (Wade-since we are family do you think you could give us a discount on your services?)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

2008-10-31T11:58:00.000-07:00

Halloween was pretty uneventful this year. I've been so busy with school and studying that I haven't had time to do much else. I did manage to fit in a trip to the pumpkin patch though. Pete and I went with our friends Breanne and Jeff. Breanne is in PA school with me. She is the only thing that is keeping me sane. Here we are at the pumpkin patch picking out our pumpkins.

This year I was really excited to carve a pumpkin because I had this great idea to cut the bottoms out of the pumpkins instead of the tops so that we could put the on our heads. It took a little bit of convincing but eventually I got everyone else to play along. Here is a picture of me and Breanne with our pumpkin heads. Pete wasn't quite as cooperative as Breanne. First he refused to carve a face into his pumpkin and then when I wanted him to take a picture with me a few days later he kept complaining that his pumpkin was rotten and had flies on the inside (when I checked later he wasn't lieing).

I guess he was being a pretty good sport.

I was also pretty excited about passing out candy to trick-or-treaters this year. I wanted to see all of their fun costumes. I opened our front door, set my pumpkin out, turned up the halloween music and waited. Much to my dismay the only trick-or-treater that came by was Pete. After 3 hours of waiting I finally gave up and just put a bowl of candy out so that Pete and I could go out and have some fun. Maybe next year I'll have better luck.

A Little Adventure

2008-08-30T20:37:00.000-07:00

Pete and I went on the funnest little adventure today. We hiked the Oneota Gorge Loop. It was an easy hike but so beautiful and a nice break from studying for me. The trail started off at the base of Horsetail Falls and then looped around to another waterfall, Ponytail Falls, that we actually got to hike behind. I really wanted to stand under the falls but Pete thought that was a bad idea. He didn't want to hear me complain for the rest of the hike about being cold and wet. After we finished that little hike we decided to go on another. Which turned out to be my favorite adventure of the day. We started by hiking what looked like a little stream bed in a slot canyon. We had to climb over a huge log jam and eventually that little stream got a little deeper and I was wading waste deep through the water. when the water first started to look deep I tried to climb across the wall but Pete said it looked like I was about to fall in and he said it would probably be safer for me to just give up and get in so I did. So much for not getting wet. When we finally reached the end of the slot canyon there was a pretty cool waterfall and a pool of water at the base of it. There were also some crazy boys who had decided to jump in. At first I thought they were loony! But then I remembered how much fun Pete and I had had years ago jumping into the freezing cold water of First Damn in Logan Utah and I decided I couldn't miss an opportunity like that. It took a little bit of persuading but eventually I convinced Pete to come along. It was oh so cold but worth the rush of adrenalin. I wanted to run the rest of the way back to the car so that I would stay warm but Pete was taking his sweet time taking pictures of all the scenery. He got some pretty sweet pictures but I still think running was the better idea.

My Husband Is So Good To Me

2008-08-26T21:48:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned lately that my Husband is incredible and so sweet. He makes me smile and laugh! Yesterday Pete gave me the best gift, a single flower and a huge tomato. You might think this is a silly gift but it was just what I needed. The flower was beautiful and made me smile. But I was most excited about the tomato. A tomato isn't a very good gift for most people but it is a great one for me so I really felt like Pete put some thought into this one. The tomato was rad. It was about a pound and a half and Pete said it was the most expensive tomato he had ever seen. It ended up costing like 9$. I love expensive tomatoes :)

I promise I won't blog about every ripe tomato

2008-08-18T10:17:00.000-07:00

I promise I won't blog about every ripe tomato but I am just so excited about this one. I have been waiting weeks for it to ripen. It is so big. I was worried I would have to leave for Utah before it had fully ripened but it turned red just in time. TOMATOES MAKE ME SMILE!!! They always have. I remember years ago...My mom gave me 20$ and sent me in the store to buy a little treat. She fully expected me to come back with orange tic-tacs or snickers or something like that and of course all of her change. To her surprise I came back with no change and a bag full of tomatoes. Red tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, big tomatoes, and small tomatoes. I LOVE TOMATOES!!! Always have always will.

The First Ripe Tomato

2008-08-15T13:52:00.000-07:00

Today I got to eat my first ripe tomato. It tasted great. I am excited for the rest of my tomatoes to ripen (there's at least 62 more out there). Someone told me that if I cut my tomato plants back the tomatoes will ripen faster cuz the plant won't have to work so hard to keep everything nourished. I can't bring myself to do it though cuz they have gotten so big and wild and I love them that way.

Bet you didn't know I was an ARTIST

2008-08-15T08:59:00.000-07:00

I made this card a few weeks ago for Pete and I was so proud of it I thought I had better blog about it. Just in case you can't tell...that is me at the bottom belaying my hot manly husband up a gnarly steep cliff.

Baby Fin Is Finally Here

2008-08-14T15:41:00.001-07:00

Congratulations Misty and Wade!!!

Little Baby Finlinson is finally here and I can't wait to meet him. His name is Ford Thomas Finlinson and he is pretty dang cute! I am going to take a trip out to Denver Colorado see him next week. I am so so so excited. I can't believe my Sister has finally had a baby. I couldn't be more happy.

Bringing Back Old Memories

2008-08-03T10:29:00.000-07:00

Pete and I chaperoned a youth church dance last night. I had a blast! I am not so sure about Pete though. It was so fun to see all those kids, in their acquired teenage years, trying to dance. It brought back so many great memories. My favorite part about chaperoning last night was watching the girls try and run away from the boys who they didn't want to dance with. The girls would try to avoid eye contact and then walk quickly around the outskirts of the dance to avoid confrontation. But those darn boys were so determined. They would walk right through the center of the dance floor and ask the girl to dance before she had a chance to hide in the hallway. And of course the girls would say yes. Oh and I also liked watching the dynamics when slow dances came to an end. I saw a few girls try and dash before the song was completely over but once again those darn boys wouldn't have it and would insist on having a hug. It was so funny to watch. I used to have so much fun going to the church dances. I think form age 14 to 16 my friends and I went about every week. Church dances haven't changed much since I last went to them. You still need a dance card to get in. Here is a picture of my old dance card. I saved it cuz I have so many fond memories of going to these dances. I used to have so much fun getting ready for the church dances and going to them. The drive to the church dances was always a lot of fun. We would pack about 6 of us girls in a van or something and then one of our great mom's would drive us out. The whole way there we would all be in giggles, singing disney songs, talking about the boys we liked, and all that girly stuff. At the dances we meet all kinds go crazy boys. I think each week I came home with a new crush. It makes me laugh just thinking about it. I looked all over to see if I had any good pictures from the dances but this is one of the only ones I could find. This is me with my friend Jay. I thought he was pretty hot at the time. The only thing I can really remember about him now is that one time while we were dancing he told me he was a Vicodin dealer. I never really was sure if he was serious or not but either way I think its kinda funny.

Now It Feels Like Home!!

2008-07-04T15:17:00.000-07:00

Well Pete and I have been married a little over 2 years now and until recently hadn't owned a single piece of furniture. While we were in Logan we just borrowed furniture from family. For our first few weeks here in Oregon Pete and I had to sleep on an air mattress, eat off the floor, and relax in lawn chairs. But now our little apartment is starting to feel like home.

Now we have...
Table and Chairs
Coffee Table
Couch and Love Seat

Bed and Bed Frame
Desk
Dresser
Nightstand

When the ball gets rolling...

2008-06-27T23:22:00.000-07:00

Hepatorrhexis, Blepharoptosis, Dyspnea, Nephrectomy...Do you know what these words mean??? A week ago I didn't but now I do :) I just had my first test in PA school. It was a medical terminology test and yes I passed. It is such a relief to have my first test out of the way! Now I can start focusing on the next test, and the next, and the one after that....

The new old school

2008-06-23T22:05:00.000-07:00

Me and Sandy have been wanting to get bikes so we can start driving less. Last week we finally got fed up and started watching craigslist seriously. As Sandy was checking craigslist every minute or so for new postings she found a rad old school steel road bike in her size (there had been tons of bikes in my size, but I guess it is harder to find used smaller bikes). As usual there was some drama, this other girl had called first, but there was a misunderstanding and we had thought that Sandy had called first. He was a good guy and wanted to be fair but we had thought Sandy called first so our phone calls got a bit heated.

It turned out that the other girl ended up getting another bike, so the guy called us back to see if Sandy still wanted the bike. So we ended up bailing out a little early from diner with our friends Adam and Krystl (sorry guys) to go get the bike. This guy was cleaning out his garage and he had some pretty incredible bikes. First of all the bike that Sandy had found on craigslist was in great shape, a 1986 Univega Gran Rally with full 600 components and a leather brooks saddle. There was no question that she was going to get it. While Sandy was riding around on her new bike the guy showed me the companion bike to Sandy's, a 1986 Univega Superstrata with full Dura-ace components. I rode it around and fell in love. I have always had a soft spot for older bikes, but this rode better than many high end new bikes. As you can see (or maybe you can't) both bikes are in near mint condition, the previous owners - who happened to be a married couple! - rode the bikes a few miles and then just parked them in their garage for decades. Below are a couple of pictures.

Sandy's root beer brown bike
My bike

My First Day Of School

2008-06-18T20:19:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day of school at OHSU!!! I am really excited to get started but a little nervous too. I am pretty sure everyone else in my class is in the same boat. I can hardly believe this is really happening. And even more crazy is the idea that by the end of this I am going to be a Physician Assistant. 2 years just doesn't seem like a long enough time to learn everything I am going to need to know. But I guess OHSU does a pretty good job of cramming everything in and making it stick cuz they have like a 100% pass rate on the PANCE (Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam). Wish me luck!

(Mom...this is my first day of school picture...in memory of all of the ones you used to take...note the shrubbery in the background)

Dirt Under My Fingernails

2008-06-03T18:13:00.000-07:00

Today I planted my little patio garden!!! I am so excited about it. I planted four different types of tomato plants. (red beefsteak, black prince, lemon boy, and bonnie original) I also planted some basil, oregano, and parsley. I wish I could have a larger garden but I don't have much room and patio gardening is pretty expensive. I don't think I will even break even$$$ with all the tomatoes I am hoping to get. Oh well, I am just excited to have a little garden.

The Circuit

2008-05-30T21:43:00.000-07:00

Pete and I went Bouldering tonight at The Circuit. I was really excited because I sent 2 routes that I thought were pretty tough. They were V-4's. Pete of course was climbing stuff I couldn't even hang onto. He's amazing! Pete got a year pass to the gym but I didn't get one cuz I'll probably be to busy with school to go regularly. Pete gets 2 guest passes each month. I hope I will have enough free time that I will be able to use those.

Pete's First Day Of Work!!!

2008-05-27T16:11:00.001-07:00

Today is Pete's first day of work!!! Doesn't he look all professional? It's hard to believe that he's got a real job. I guess that means he's a grown up now. NOT ME!!!

Highway 101

2008-05-24T23:42:00.000-07:00

Well we have finally made it to Oregon and we are excited to be here! Pete and I left California last Monday. Instead of taking the direct 9hr route to Portland via I-5 we took the more scenic Highway 101 which added a few hours onto the voyage. The views from HW 101 were absolutely amazing. In California we passed beautiful vineyard and huge redwoods. Of course I made Pete stop in Legget, CA, so that we could drive through the famous Chandelier Tree.

It is a pretty amazing tree. It is 315 ft tall and has a 9ft high 6ft wide hole cut right out of the base of it (as you can see). I can't believe the tree is still alive with such a huge chunk of its base gone. I thought there would be a lot of other cool trees near Chandelier Tree but there really weren't any that compared. So we just drove through the tree a couple of times, then walked through a couple of times, and then we were back on the road. We were anxious to see more giant redwoods. We took a scenic detour from HW 101 down the Avenue of the Giants. I have never seen such enormous trees before. They were so big around and so tall! Pretty cool. Here's a picture of Pete beneath a Giant Redwood.We also drove past a bunch of awesome beaches. We stopped at one to have a quick little picnic. The beaches in Oregon are amazing! Pete seems to think they are calling to him. Every time we passed a cool beach he would tell me about how rad it would be to go surfing there. As for me, the thought of surfing in the west coast ocean is not enticing. WAY TOO COLD!!! But if he really wants to go, I'll probably tag along and sit on the beach and watch. That is, if it is a nice warm day. Instead of the 1 day 9hr direct rout to Portland our little adventure turned into a 2 day outing with about 15hr of driving. We probably could have made it in one day but we didn't want to miss seeing anything cool so we camped in a small pullout off of the road. I wonder if I will ever look back on my life and the adventures Pete and I go on and think that I was absolutely crazy. I can't even imagine either of my parents sleeping on the side of the road but then again I can't imagine paying 100$ for a night in a crappy hotel room.