Adventures of October

Another month filled with adventure. We weren't quite as busy as the past few months but we still had a lot to do.

The first of the month was filled with teaching lessons, attending Mary Kay training conference, and most importantly celebrating Travis big 3-0. I wanted to do something fun for him since Travis had been gone for so long. So with the help of a friend we made an awesome cake. My friend Beth is an amazing cake decorator. I made the cake and she made the design. Since Travis is a major Transformer fan we had to make the cake that would show this.

We also went out for a dinner after the cake was made. It was a little late since we started on the cake a little later than expected, but hey it looked awesome and we had fun with friends.

After the birthday celebration we were off to another adventure. Travis had to take his second round of board exams and the only place for a D.O. student to take it is in Philidelphia. So off we went to see a place we had never been to. I tagged along to do some sightseeing, and sights I did see. While Travis spent 8 hours taking a test I was out wandering. I was blessed in being able to see awesome historical sights. I spent the day on a 5 mile hike around Valley Forge. It was incredible, beautiful, just plain amazing.

When Travis was done with his test we went to see if we could see the Liberty Bell. Well that didn't end up happening since he was done when all the business were closing. We still saw Independance Hall though and even saw the US Mint building and the tomb of Benjamin Franklin. Pennsylvania was gorgeous and we enjoyed our 2 day stay.

We then headed to Portsmouth VA for another interview. We hit Washington D.C. on the way through Virgina. I have never been to this great capital so I was excited to see it all. It's a little unnerving to see sights that I have only seen through movies. I have always dreamed of seeing these sights, it was awesome to finally get that chance. Travis decided to make it a little more interesting and rented bikes to make the trek to see each monument easier. I loved it, I had never seen so many monuments in one place. After a crazy day running around like crazy people seeing as much as we could see we headed off to a new location.

Travis had an interview at a Naval Base in Portsmouth VA. They have a mixed Air Force/Navy pediatric residency program. We wanted to be able to have enough choices for the match day that is coming up in December. Travis really enjoyed his interview and said that the program is really good. The area is really pretty and the town is small with bigger cities near by for shopping.

Overall the trip was awesome and the month was a success. On to a new month, lets see what adventures it has in store for us.

Adventures of September

The month of September was supposed to be relaxing and rejuvenating. Well that really didn't end up happening.

Pictures will be coming soon

I ended up leaving for California 3 days early because I was really having a rough time with a few things and needed to be around family that loves me. It ended up being a good thing because my Grandma Pat ended up being admitted into the hospital right before I got there. She had been struggling with taking care of herself so mom and dad had moved her in with them. The weekends where Travis would visit she seemed to be ok until right before I left. She was hallucinating and forgetting a ton. When I got there she was already completely confused, she was calling me by my youngest sisters name. We all got to see her at the hospital as a whole family. It was the first time in years that all of us kids were home at the same time. It was really a blessing that we were all able to see Grandma. Mom and I had plans to get pedicures and to relax with visiting with family and all. That all changed.

Through out the first week I was home we visited grandma and to work on some of her personal stuff. We were able to have a little bit of fun. Mom, the kids and I visited Travis at the AFB to get a look at the area. We visited an air museum, AFB hospital and of course the beloved Jelly Belly Factory. Things were relaxed enough however everyone knew things were not likely going to change with my Grandma. My dad and Travis left the following weekend. Travis headed off to the next audition rotation in San Antonio Texas. I still had a week left in Cali. So I went to a dance with my baby brother, who is 15, and took a girls day with my mom and youngest sister. Well the one day we had to ourselves is the day we found out that my Grandma had passed. She had declined so fast and there were no answers in why she did pass, but at least we know she is out of pain. We planned the service and somehow mom and I had the program planned along with a neat photo collage of my Grandma's life. It was a really good service and am so grateful that I was home for it all to support my family. Sadly I wasn't able to stay much longer. The service was on a Friday and my flight was on Sunday. I was on my way to Texas.

I spent several of the days in Texas sleeping, trying to recover from the last week in California. Travis still had shifts at the clinic but he was normally done by 3pm so we had plenty of time to explore San Antonio. Our first stop was the highly talked about "River Walk". Its an area were the city was built around the river that runs through it. Several buildings are original from when the missions were built. It was raining cats and dogs so in the pictures we are a little wet. Everything was so green.

We also took a day to visit the string of missions. They are all state parks but yet the convents and chapels are still used. The agriculture was incredible. It's amazing how they designed their buildings so many years ago. Of course after our day long exploration of missions we had to visit Travis' favorite type of restaurant. Fogo De Chao is a Brazilian steak house that serves authentic Brazilian food. As soon as Travis saw it we had to eat there. He even found someone from the area he went on his mission to. I love watching and hearing him speak Portuguese. I can tell it truly makes him happy.

I really wanted to visit the temple in San Antonio, however since we both were flying we didn't pack the right clothes and the temple doesn't rent any so we had to settle on just wandering the outside and seeing the view of the city.

I only was there a week but I were able to see quite a lot of the area. We even were able to see old roommates that live in San Antonio with their families. Sadly I forgot to take pictures to remember the fun and games that we enjoyed. To the Welch's and the Todd's I say thank you for letting us visit. We had a ton of fun and we hope we can do it again soon. I left Texas that Sunday and had to be without Travis for 2 more weeks. Nothing fun happened while he was gone. All I was up to was teaching my private lessons and doing a few facials. It was great to be home.

Adventures of August

So during the month of August it was pretty mellow.

Travis was busy finishing up his audition rotation at the Children's Hospital here in Dayton. It is a joint civilian/military residency program. So if it goes well he would be a military personnel at the hospital. He would be active and he would have time in the clinic on base.

He was really excited at the end of this rotation. He says that he is 99% sure he wants to do pediatrics. However he still had a Family Medicine rotation that he left for half way through August.

This rotation was is California, Fairfield to be exact at the Travis AFB. It is only about 2 hours away from where my parents live. So he spent almost every weekend up there with them. The rotation wasn't bad. It was a lot of refilling prescriptions and physicals. It pretty much solidified his decision in pediatrics. Although he did have a chance to visit the pediatric clinic at the hospital and said it was very promising. It could be a possible future placement after residency. I know my parents would love it if we moved to Cali.

As for me I have just been finishing up teaching horse camp at the barn I work at. We have camp for kids Monday through Friday where we teach kids the basics of horseback riding. We had been going since June and we were done at the end of August. We had a camp out for our volunteers that have helped us through the whole summer. It was the last week of camp and we wanted to celebrate being done. It was awesome to just take an evening to just have fun.

The other good thing was that I scheduled 2 private lessons for the rest of the fall and spring.

The rest of the month was spent with me missing Travis and me getting ready to visit Travis and my family in California. I couldn't wait to get away and have a vacation of my own.

Adventures of July

Alright alright I know it has been a while but hey at least I am getting back to it. We have had a really busy 4 months. We have traveled across the country and seen family, historical sites and had tons of fun.

To start our tale of adventure we'll begin in July. Travis was busy during June and beginning of July studying for his board exams. He wanted to get the written exam done before we headed off to our first adventure.

We also celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary in the month of July. We decided to head to the amusement park here in Ohio, King's Island. It was tons of fun and was nice to get out and have fun. It is awesome to have a park so near by. They had tons of fun rides and even other entertainment. It was worth the long lines and the sunburns.

The next weekend we had to head out to Des Moines Iowa. Travis was required to return to DMU for some sorta review thing. It was ridiculous. He was supposed to be there for a week, however not all day everyday. It was dumb especially for the students that were not in Des Moines for 3rd and 4th year. We tried to make it worth it and see things in the area that we didn't get to while we lived there. We visited the Iowa's one and only amusement park, Adventureland. It was most definitely not as nice as other parks we have been to. The difference was roughly 200lbs and funky tattoos on white trash people. The other sad part was that they only had 3 roller-coasters with only 2 working. It was worth seeing something we missed out on while living here. We did also enjoy seeing our friends that still live there.

After we got back to Dayton we were able to go to the Annual Dayton Air Show. This year the special guests were the Blue Angels from the Navy. I haven't seen them in years and Travis has never seen them so it was really neat. We love the air shows they have in this area. Its a great time to get out and see awesome pieces of history.

Playing Catch Up...

Okay everyone please be patient with me while I play catch up. I have had a rough month so it will take me awhile. We are still alive but we are just busy. Love to all, comment if you want details.

I've had to make a change...

Well Ladies and Gents I have had to make a change in my life.

The time has come for me to leave retail. I hate the fact that I have actually done this but it had to happen.

Okay, a little explanation. Things at the store (Bath and Body Works) just got a little too crazy. There was everything from gossiping, total rumors and back stabbing going on. It came down to the fact that I had to make sure that I had a cheesy grin on my face before I walked into the store or my boss would think I had a bad attitude about working there.

I'm sorry I have been working 2 jobs since March so there were some days that I was a little tired.

I would have loved to stay at the store but when I am not able to even spend an evening with my husband or plan anything because I am "on call" is a little ridiculous.

No we aren't in the medical field but we are "on call" some days and if you don't call in it is like missing a full day of work. No Other Retail Store does this!!!

So after discussing it and weighing all my options I decided I would wait till the end of the huge semi-annual sale was over to quit. Well that lasted about 30 min after going to work 3 Saturdays ago. Things went bad to worse. All of a sudden managers were thinking I was yelling at people! I don't yell at people!!! There were a few other things that happened that day but I was done, D-O-N-E, done.

That was the last time my boss talked to me. I had 2 wks left which I worked 4.75 hrs (by their scheduling) and now I am home free. Last weekend was the first full weekend I have had off in over 6 months!!!

I LOVE IT!!!

So now I am working at Horse'n Around Farms as a riding instructor and selling Mary Kay. I am making as much or more than I was at the store and I am ten times happier.

I know no one asked to hear my ranting but thanks for listening anyway.

Cat feeder 2

So I haven't really gotten around to finishing the VCR cat feeder to make it completely useful, but in the mean time I have made a water feeder for the cats. This is extremely easy and simple, although buying a thing at Walmart is only like $4. But if you cheap (like me) then this is for you!

Materials:

An air tight container to hold water

A dish that can hold the container and have room for a cat to stick it's head in (or dog)

All you do is cut a small hole in the bottom of the bottle, I ended up doing a hole about 3/4", otherwise the water wouldn't come out on its own. Fill up the bottle and place it in the dish. When the water level reaches the top of the hole, it will stop filling since more air can't get into the bottle to replace the water that leaves, creating a pressure equilibrium. The original site I saw this on used a gallon jug and a 9x13 pan. Our cats seem to like it, although they still use the toilet half the time! :-) Travis