"Take me on a trip, I'd like to go someday..."

My body is loving days, not the 12 hour shifts. The transition though, has left me with a nasty cold. That, in combination with a lot of sick, coughy, flu-y patients (tis the season), has left me cooped up at home for the past two days and Saturday trying to get over this thing. I thought I'd take a break from watching episodes of Grey's Anatomy (this is a new one for me...and I'm already halfway into season 2. The jury is still out for me on this show-not sure I'll stick with it. Though, you'd think since I work in a hospital, I'd prefer not to watch my job, but, what can you do?) and update my blog.

February was the beginning of my travel season (haha). I was able to go to Disneyland with my sister, brother in law, and their kids. I must say, going to Disneyland is WAY more fun with kids than just going with adults. True, you can't go on as many adult rides, but truly, how many of those can you go on without getting bored (at least at Disneyland)? I had a blast hanging out with my sisters family. They are super cute kids. Wish I had pictures, but I still haven't gotten them from my sister. Will post some soon. My favorite quote from the trip? After Liam got off Space Mountain with me (not bad for a 4 year old!), he said "Woah! That was DIZZY! I'm NEVER going on that again!!" That kid cracks me up!

That trip got me bitten by the travel bug. So now, after having had a 4 month travel lull, I'm ready to hit summer with several trips! Yay! Here's the itinerary...

April-Heading back to the B-O-Ida to remind my niece who her favorite aunt is, and then on to the college homeland of the great state of Utah to visit old friends, meet new babies, see old babies/kids, as well as assessing pregnancy progress on other friends. It's going to be a busy trip, let me tell you.

May-New York City/Vermont. So, yes, that is a random combo, but my friend has never been to the city and needed someone to go with, so I said I'd be happy to oblige :). This particular friend also has a goal to visit all 50 states, and, as she has never been to Vermont, we plan on swinging up to that state to say hi. It will be, I believe, #48 for her. Great goal, but I don't really feel the need to visit Nebraska or North Dakota. Or South Dakota, for that matter.

June-Santa Fe, New Mexico. I'm pretty stoked about this trip. I'm going to a Wilderness Medicine conference with some coworkers. So, we get to do fun hikes, rafting, outdoorsy stuff, as well as learning about how to care for people when they're injured/develop sickness in the wilderness. AWESOME!!!

July-Church History trip. I've been wanting to do this for several years now, so I'm super excited about this one, as well! This one I haven't booked tickets, yet, but I'm planning on joining my friends Erica and Garby (well, tagging along really), and probably bringing Alicia with me, to visit the church history sites in Palmyra and Nauvoo, and probably Kirtland, too. And this will be a good extension from my VT trip, as we plan on visiting Sharon, VT, the birthplace of Joseph Smith.

August-Family Reunion time!! Location TBD, but what can beat spending a few days with those people you love most? I know, I'm weird, but I LIKE going to family reunions.

September-OK, so keep your fingers crossed that this one will work out, as it's kind of a long shot at the moment, but KeNyA is the destination for this month. This will be another humanitarian trip, though a lot more expensive than my last one, since I will have to pay for my flights and room and board. But it's worth it. It's so much fun helping people improve their health. And I've always wanted to go to Africa, so I figure this is the way to do it :)

That's all for now. I've got a busy summer ahead, but that's the way I like it! After all "Life is meant to be enjoyed, not just endured". So, while I may be broke after this summer, at least I'll have the memories of this summer to last a lifetime! (Too cliche?)

I love the nightlife.

I can't believe the time has come. Tonight is my last night shift. I will be switching to a day shift next week. It's definitely bittersweet, though admittedly more sweet than bitter. Bitter in the fact that I will definitely miss working with my nightshift crew-we were a very tightknit group and we always worked hard and helped each other out. Our crew has dwindled with people moving and with the new Redmond ED opening up next week (which has, thankfully, allowed me to be on a dayshift), so it's not quite the same as it used to be. But truly, I will miss working with those awesome people regularly. SWEET in the fact that I'm stoked to live a normal life again, work fewer weekends, and have a *real* social life. Awesome.

I didn't stand a chance...

On my way to my friend, Kim's, for lunch after a big Seattle snowstorm (yes, big...6 inches is quite a bit for Seattle!), I got pummelled by my nieces and nephews who were out playing in the snow. Every single one of them ganged up on me and hit me with snowballs left and right! Considering they're getting older, they have a lot better aim than they used to! I was a bit soggy for my lunch, but definitely had a blast with the kiddos...love my family!

There's Corban, aiming a snowball directly at me.

No, I did not roll around in the snow. All the snow you see on me is the direct result of countless snowballs. I was trying to get Heather back in this picture; instead she smacked me in the face with that gob of snow in her glove.

And, when I was gone, this is what they did in the snow...

They play so much nicer with Grandma.