Christmas Break

If you could make a living off being a student I'd do it. You can't beat the christmas and summer breaks you get while in school. I don't have to go back to school until 4 January. In the meantime, the family and I have been hanging out during the day and I have been working at PJs in the evening to earn some extra cash. They say Mo' money, Mo' problems, but I don't really buy that. I am trying to make Mo money to avoid having any problems -it's more like No money Mo' problems. Anyway we are having fun and enjoying the break.

Porter and Friends having a late night!

Medical School

For many medical schools December 14 is the deadline for making deposits and signing admission agreements. For the past month Jenn and I have daily looked over and reviewed the pros and cons of the schools that offered me a seat in their next years class. We liked the Colorado school because it's in Colorado -2nd best state in the union, and our good friends Cascia and Steve live in Parker, the same city as the university. The problem was that the school only has preliminary accreditation because it was started in 2006, and has yet to graduate its first class. This means that I would have to finance my education through private loans which was to large of a risk for us to take, so we chose not to go to RVU.

Then we were left with Midwestern University in Phoenix and KCOM in Kirksville Missouri. Phoenix seemed like the obvious choice. It would be warm and sunny; The university was really nice; some friends currently enrolled at MWU really enjoyed it there; and, did I mention, it would be warm and sunny. However, when it came down to it we didn't feel MWU would provide me with many options regarding specialties. I am not convinced I would enjoy primary care, so their previous match lists were not all that impressive. Therefore, we withdrew my acceptance to MWU.

In the end we chose Kirksville because we felt it would be an ideal place for our family to spend the next few years. In addition, the school is only a few hours away from some of Jenn's family in Kansas City. Also, the university has an impressive match list, placing students in residencies ranging from primary care to orthopedic surgery and from pathology to neurology. Plus,we will only spend two years Kirksville. We will most likely move for for the 3rd and 4th year to complete rotations. Rotation sites include Colorado, Utah, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and many more. Because of this we feel the school will provide us with many more options to choose from when we consider the place we would like to go for residency. So we threw down our deposit and signed their admissions agreement. Sometime this coming summer (most likely July) we will be moving to Kirksville, MO.

Black Friday

Jenn, the rest of the women and my dad woke up early Friday morning to duke it out at the stores for the low priced merchandise. Later, Porter, my dad and I went to Jones Hole to wet the fly.

This was the first catch of the day. Dad hooked it; Porter reeled it in; and I posed in the picture for aesthetic reasons.

Porter struggled with 10 and 2. He (like Paul on A River Runs Through it) "broke into a rhythm all his own." However, he (unlike Paul on A River Runs Through it) experienced very limited success. As his rhythm was somewhat indiscernible, I became nervous for my eyes, ears and any other potentially snaggable body parts, so I removed his fly. He proceeded to fish flyless. He didn't care; he continued to fish, asking me every couple of minutes, "Dad, did I catch a fish yet?"

Later, we met up with Glendon and DJ. This was taken by the big hole near the trail head. The one that looks like it ought to have a twenty pounder, but yet all you can ever pull out is an 8 incher.

This was the last and biggest catch of the day. Dad claims he had a "huge" one on earlier, but of course no one was around to verify and he never landed it. I doubt there are many places in the world prettier than Jones Hole. It was nice to get away from the textbooks, note cards, pizza, etc. of daily life and relax with family in such a wonderful place.

Thanksgiving

This year we traveled to Vernal for Thanksgiving. We, as always, had a blast. We ate the Thanksgiving meal at my parents house. That evening we endured the frigid weather and watched the local parade. The next day we went to Trees for Charity, and some sort of craft show. Saturday we watched BYU beat Utah in HD at Jen and Allen's house.

Family Picture

I think this is the first family picture since the birth of Andrew. It was taken on our trip to Arizona.

Daybreak Triathlon

On September 19 Teri, Liz and I competed in the Daybreak Triathlon. Recently we received our free "photo finish." The swim portion of the race was shortened and swam in a pool because of a parasite in the local lake. This was Liz and my first and Teri's fifth triathlon, though while we were training the three of us raced each other in a self-organized/named triathlon called The Corn Days Triathlon. We hope to make Corn Days and annul event, so if anyone is interested we recently opened registration for this upcoming year. We had so much fun at Daybreak that we put together a relay team for the Wasatch Back in June - This provides me with something to keep me away from taking advantage of Papa John's (my place of employment) free pizza.

It's tough being three!

This is Porter shortly after I told him to stop hanging so far over the railing. Jenn and I got a crack out of his reaction.

Arizona Road Trip

So far so good. We have been having a blast on our trip. Last night we stayed in St. George, and we ate breakfast with kilo this morning. Tonight we are in Flagstaff. We have seen a few national parks and monuments along the way. Mom and Dad have been awesome and we have enjoyed having them with us. We head to Phoenix tomorrow and then to the interview on Monday. Hopefully that portion of the trip goes as well as the rest! Peace.

Here are a couple of fun photos of Andrew. He is growing like a weed as you can see. He had a rough go for the first month with stomach and allergy problems. Jenn has since stopped ingesting any dairy products and he has since improved.

A couple of weekends ago Porter and Jenn went to a 3D showing of toy story I and II. Porter said the glasses made his eyes red. For the few days following the movie he was worried he had been turned into a deceptacon (sp?) due to the red eyes thing. I was worried that Andrew would get a hankering for some breast milk while Jenn was at the movie Fortunately he didn't!

Porter and his classmates went on a field trip to the fire station. I was not able to attend, but Jenn went. She said Porter was incredibly cute and was very attentive the entire time. He loves going to school and hanging with his friends.

Kevin, Mishal, and Monica came out to visit shortly after Andrew arrived. Kevin, Porter and I went on a hike to waterfall canyon. The trail was only 1.2 miles, but it was some steep terrain. This was the second attempt Porter and I made to reach the waterfall. Porter made it top, but I had to carry him down. It was a fun experience. We are so lucky to have such neat places so close to our house.

Porter recently started pre-school. He has a ball. He constantly talks about his "homework," which usually consist of spiderman coloring page or something similar. These photos were taken on his first day of school.

Hiking

Jenn decided to go with the relief society today, so Porter and I decided to have a little fun of our own. First, we headed down to the park to play soccer. This involves me kicking the ball as far as I can, and then Porter and I race to see who can get to the ball first. After Soccer, we headed for the hills for a little hike. I know about a trail behind Weber State called Waterfall Canyon. The map said it would was 1.2 miles. I knew this was a little ambitious for the three-year old, but I thought we would try it anyway. We never made it to the waterfall. Much to Porter's dismay, I decided to turn around after about a mile because the trail was steep and I thought I might have to pack Porter out. Sure enough, after we started to head down Porter got tired and needed to ride on my shoulders. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but my neck still hasn't 100 % recovered from the wake boarding accident. However, we made it out OK.

Dear Mike,

Hey babe, it's me, your wife. I just wanted to show my love by jazzing up your blog a bit. I hope you don't mind. I think it looks much better!

love you sweety pie hunny buns!

Bike

Jason Woods, Rowell and I hit the Bonneville Shoreline this evening. There were a few close calls, but no wrecks. I added in a couple of pics from our previous trips to jazz it up. The scenery was pretty fantastic. I would recommend this trail to anyone who has a spare evening while in SLC.

This summer I have been working for the WSU Avian Ecology Lab. Everyday we head out to Great Salt Lake and check and mark bird nest. The Pay is horrible, but the scenery is fantastic. I can remember riding with my dad listening to bird calls thinking man this stinks. I wonder if Jenn and Porter are saying the same thing.

On Wednesday evening I hit the submit button on my medical school application, Jenn and I loaded up the car, and we met my mom and dad at the cabin in Wolf Creek. The next morning, Porter, my dad and I went fishing. We caught a fish in the first hole we fished. Thinking that we would catch another, we failed to take Porter's picture holding the fish. Of course we did not catch anymore. At least we didn't get skunked!

After ten wonderful years, I am selling the truck. Because JoAnn and Mike gave us the mini (pictures coming soon) it doesn't make sense it keep it around. If you know anyone interested tell them to call me (801-773-5792).

The Honda Express

Jesse scored this little gem for a buck fifty.  After he reattached the muffler we were ready to rock n'  roll.....  

A couple of people snapped some photos as we cruised through the neighborhoods, so be on the look out.  We might end up on one of the blogs that you follow.

At the end of the night Tri, KB, Sheesh and I said goodbye to Jeesh and MiSh, as they are moving to Vernal.  Not to worry though -KB has a Honda Express, so they won't be taking all the fun with them.

Jesse, Todd, and I took a little ride on the Bonneville Shoreline trail yesterday. The trail was steeper than I had remembered, but we had a good time away.

Nature Conservancy

Porter and I took a little trip down to the Nature Conservancy on the Great Salt Lake. We had a lot of fun, but when we reached the part of the trail furthest away from the trail head and bathroom Porter had to pee. He had no problem going off the side of the walkway. After spending sometime at Aunt Jen's house, while Jenn and I were in New Mexico, he found a fondness for peeing outside. This is no surprise to those of you who know my sister Jen. He continues to tell us stories about his time spent in Vernal. He had a really fun time and barely even knew that we were gone. Thanks to everyone who helped out!