Snowing

I can almost hear the Christmas music now...oh wait, they are probably already playing it in the stores! I guess it is a good thing Nate spent the day putting all our patio/bbq stuff in the storage shed yesterday because it is snowing! I am still hoping we get at least a couple more days in the next month of really nice fall weather without any wind. I am not ready for this cold weather yet. I think it is so funny that the locals here keep telling us how horrible the winters are and we keep telling them that we are from Utah and are pretty familiar with snow, and they shake their heads and laugh. We will see shortly how they compare, whether we are ready or not.

I have been trying to get a picture (not really trying very hard) of the blue jays that have been frequenting our yard this past month. Five of them were out this afternoon swooping from tree to tree, this one looked as if it was checking out the bird feeder but didn't take the bait, at least he gave me a chance to video him for a second. I love birding!

It's over...I think

Well I had my last anatomy exam and lab practical earlier this week and just got the news that I am as of now still passing the class. I would like to celebrate and breathe a sigh of relief BUT we also took the anatomy shelf exam, which is a national standardized test, and will not receive scores back for another week or two. So my fate is still unclear. I think out of the 120 questions on the shelf exam I knew the answer to 10 of them, so I am not feeling to good about it. The scoring on this particular exam confuses me more than some of the questions on the exam so I am not sure how it will all play out.
At any rate I am now on an independent study pathway which gives me a little more flexibility. I still have to go to a few lectures/labs per week but no more 8 hour days! They will now give us a list of objectives to get through for each subject and we are basically on our own to learn the material. We take one exam and then move on to the next subject. I have one and a half weeks to master physiology and then move on to biochemistry where they so graciously give us two weeks to master! Nothing but good times here, love you all and miss you much.

Just thinking of dad

When I woke up this morning and started studying, I happened to glance at the calendar. This week I have been in quite a frenzy with my classes and have really been out of the loop when it comes to what day it is. I had to do a double take because the 17th registered as something familiar but it took me a half a second to realize it was dad's birthday.

Oh, how I would love to have just one more hug from him. Since moving to Erie I have really been homesick for him, it has been a very strange feeling one that I can't quite wrap my mind around yet.

I miss him so much and was just thinking how much I wish he could visit us and be the obnoxious house guest over staying his welcome. I love the pictures from his trip to Scotland, I imagine him somewhere like this just enjoying the ambiance, as he would say.

Fall Has Arrived!!

I thought it was Ang's turn for a post, but I was informed last night that I needed to blog our weekend. Ang has a test today, a test on Friday, two tests next Monday, and then her comprehensive "Shelf Exam" next week as well, so I guess she does have an excuse...and plus...she has such a SWEET SPIRIT!!!

First of all...Fall has arrived in Erie, Pennsylvania. I drove up to Buffalo last week and there were very few Fall leaves and a week later...it seems that all the trees are starting to change. The pictures are of our trip to the Fall Fest at Peek'n Peak Ski Resort and if any of you have heard of or are planning a trip to ski in New York...I would make sure you go to a different resort because this one was NOT impressive compared to ANY of Utah's ski resorts. We may be exaggerating when we call them "Small Hills". On the other hand, it is perfect for Lex. She is joining the J.S Wilson ski club and they bus them up to this ski resort, after school, once a week from 3-9. What a great Winter Activity. She is excited, and so are we, because neither Ang nor I particularly like to ski and now she has someone to go with!!!

The petting zoo was the most exciting part of the "Fall Fest", although the pumpkin launcher was a close second. I think they gathered up all of the things that no one would buy in the stores and malls, and set up booths trying to sell them at this ski resort. I imagine it was like shopping at the Quilted Bear back in 1982 and if any of you miss those times, let us know and I'm sure we can pick you up some stuff.

The next pictures are of Liv doing some "sand art", and the large over-sized poodles. I have never noticed poodles being included in a petting zoo, but the girls sure thought it was a good idea. They really thought Jen would be excited by them. Jen, I sure hope your next dog is not going to be an over-sized poodle, because they are definitely not, MAJESTIC animals!

We had a great weekend, and it sure is nice having visitors (HINT HINT). Sheryl has now made three or four trips to Erie and we hope we didn't scare her off with the bad Italian food or the low-budget airport, because we sure enjoy having her here!!!!

Whispering Woods

I know most of our blog readers will probably not appreciate this as much as I do, but I think there might be a few golfers among us. Since Ang and I use this blog as our digital scrapbook, I figured that I would document the fabulous golfing that Pennsylvania has to offer. I have golfed about 5 different courses since I have been here. The amount of trees on the courses is unreal and most of the courses are very mature. As far as condition and playability, I would say they are on par with most of the courses I've played in Utah, until today.

I had been hearing that Whispering Woods was the best course in the area and today I found out why. It is probably the best course I have EVER played. One of the best parts about the courses here are the price. Whispering Woods was $25 for 18 holes w/cart and it is the most expensive course I have played. The course we play every Sunday is $17 for 18 holes w/cart and last week I played at a course that charged $7 to walk 18 holes. I love golf, so I am in heaven with the quality of the courses and the price!!!

This is stupid!

This is what I am doing...

This is what the baby is doing...

Everybody else is having tons more fun, I am just sure of it.

I am so sick of anatomy I can hardly stand it anymore. Two more weeks and I am finished with it but that seems like an eternity. We just finished thorax, abdomen and pelvis last week, I did much better on my lab practical and decent on the written exam for these sections so I was glad about that. We are now doing head and neck and will finish with a really fun comprehensive national exam. I am so excited.

Another Birthday Party!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIV!!!!

We had such a great day on Liv's birthday, that we decided to do it all over again, except this time we decided to add 6 other eight-year olds to the mix. It really feels like Ground Hog Day (Oh and those familiar with the movie would like to know that Punxsutawney Phil is only about 2 hours from our house, so we are already making plans for the big day)!!!!

Back to the task at hand...Ang and I allow the girls to have a party with friends every OTHER year...so this was Liv's year. Liv decided she wanted to take her friends to Aoyama, which is a Japanese Steakhouse where they cook the food in front of you (similar to Tepanyaki or Benihana). Ang, Lex, and I had our hands full with 7 girls. Every minute seemed like an hour, but we got through it without too many spills, screams, or embarrassing moments.

After dinner, we all came back to our house for cake and ice cream and presents. Lex had enough after dinner, so she went over to a friend's house for a sleep over. Ang and I were on our own. We got the cake from Wegman's, our local supermarket, and as you can tell from the picture; the lady must have thought I said "LIB" instead of "LIV". No one seemed to notice.

If that wasn't enough, 4 of the girls decided to sleep over. They stayed up until about midnight, which is about 2 and a half hours past our bedtime. As I am writing this blog, we still have about 4 girls running around the house screaming. We are almost through it, but I think the effects will linger with us for WEEKS.

Liv's Birthday Round 1

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIV!!!!

What really can we say? Liv is the perfect daughter, sister, grand-daughter, niece, cousin, and friend. We are so proud of her!!! She has been counting down the days to her birthday for the last 60 days. When the day finally arrived; she could hardly contain her excitement. She requested cheesy noodles for dinner and chocolate covered strawberries for dessert.

After dinner, it was present time. Liv was again spoiled this year, but really, how many times do you turn 8?

And then there were more and more presents. Ang and I haven't had a chance to play the Wii Fit, but after yesterday (55 degrees); we may already need to start exercising indoors.

Instead of making our own chocolate covered strawberries, we decided to go to Romolo's, which is a local chocolate store in Erie. They got the LIV seal of approval, which coming from a girl who eats strawberries by the handful; says a lot!!!

Stay tuned for Round #2. Liv has her party with her friends tonight, which includes 6 friends and a SLUMBER PARTY. Her parents could not be more excited!!!