Doug likes dogs

We were worried for a while that Doug was only liked people and not dogs so much.  Every time he would get around another dog we would start a low growl and then bark.  After talking to Emily about it we figured it was probably because he was more nervous than anything.  Well the other night he got to interact with the Ferrin's dog Gracy.  Here is the footage.  As you can see, things went great, other than the few times Doug tried to eat Gracy's hind leg like a piece of chicken.  

 

Sir Douglas von Cypress

I know the majority of the readers of this blog have meet our newest family member Doug but I don't feel like he's been formally introduced.  We picked him up from Cedar City two weeks ago yesterday.  Much do our dismay he was much larger than the pictures online showed.  Felicia thought she'd be able to carry him around in her purse but soon realized she didn't even want to let him sit on her lap too long. We've finally decided the full registered name for Doug is, "Sir Douglas von Cypress". "Sir" because he is such a gentleman, "Douglas" because we love the name, "von" which is German for "from" and "Cypress" which is the family Cedar trees come from. Hence he is "The gentleman Douglas from Cedar" or Cedar City that is.    Just one week after we got him he developed "cherry eye", which is  common with the breed, and we had to send him into surgery to get it fixed.  That explains the cone on his head.  Doug is full of personality and funny antics which keeps us smiling and laughing.  His puppy eyes and quick desire to please bodes well for him because the desire to drown him is often there.  Doug has had a particularly rough day today and has heard the word "NO!" way too many times for one day.  Well when he went to Mom and Dad's for lunch he decided to get back at us by plopping a dirt clod into Felicia's shoe.  

    

July 27th

Today is Felicia and my (John, to those of you who were wondering who's abandoned blog this was) two year anniversary.  This past year has gone by in such a hurry.  It's been a year of high expectations, goals, many a nights standing in front of the dry erase board planning our days, making check lists, writing out our budget (time and time again), and constantly trying to squeeze just one more drop out of the day.  School has been the bulk of our lives since we've known each other.  We're there now as a matter-a-fact.  It has felt like an eternal process but there is light at the end of the tunnel, for Felicia anyways.  Anything she touches turns to gold.  Her attitude is, "if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right".  And she shines and I squint and smile.  

In our relatively short time together, in comparison to those of you who read this, this date has been a trail  marker for us.  A mountain of sorts that we have had to conquer together.    Obviously, two years ago on this day we were married.  One year later to the date we gave talks together in sacrament meeting.  There were many steps taken to get to those points of achievement.  The trail was dark at times but hope and blessings kept us moving.  Without dedication to each other those achievements that are miracles in my life would have never come to pass.  

As the clock chimes the passing of another year, our steps towards progress have taken us to new heights and our commitment to life and each other has granted us the opportunity to say "yes we can" again to a new challenge we've been prepared for.  This day proves once again that it is a special day for us as we would like to invite all to Felicia's baptism on Aug. 15.

We would like to publicly thank the Landrum's for their tremendous cooperation in making changes to their plans and making their lives a little less convenient so as to make ours a little more.  We hope that all can attend as it will be a very special day for all of us.   

ps. We are out of mins. on our phone plan so if you so desire, we can be contacted after 9pm.    

        

Blood Money

I have been donating plasma for, well, way too long.  Mom and Felicia cringe every time it's mentioned.  "I don't like it.  What if you get AIDS from a dirty needle?" -Mom  

Well as far as I know I haven't acquired any disease or virus but I have bought a lot of groceries and rented a lot of movies from the money I make doing it.  I get bonuses for donating on my fifth and seven time for each month.  I made enough this week alone to pay for my rent. (Don't quit your day job to do the same.  You'll be disappointed.)  Anyways, I took some pictures last time I went in so any of you who are unfamiliar with it can get a glimpse into my side job.  

Oh the life of a poor college student.  I love it.

Family Reunion Memories

Since there is so much talk about the Family Reunion, I just thought I'd post this to get us all excited.  Enjoy.

Dirty Harry

             Yes this is just the rabbit and yes, it is worth watching all the way through for some comic relief at about 50 sec.  Make sure you turn up your volume so you can hear my commentary.  So here it is. The much awaited and much prolonged video footage of            Harvey/Thumper/Dirty Harry.    Sorry it took so long Em. 

 

Nurse Dummy (that's me)

Do you remember as a kid playing house, cops and robbers, lost kids in the weed-fort, H&R Block (for only a very select few) or Doctor? That was fun. Now that we've all got our intern hours out of the way we get to practice some of these skills on a daily basis in the real world. (Make sure your kids are doing the right internship so they don't grow up to be a "lost kid" or a "robber") Anyway, as most of you know, Felicia is doing her internship, known as clinical hours, as a nurse. (That was a lot of commas) She gets to do a practicum in a made up scenario on a dummy and then practice her new skill in a real life situation at the hospital during her clinical hours. This past week was extra exciting for her. She learned how to put things in patients like drugs through an i.v., nasal gastic tubes, urinary catheters, depositories, and i.v.'s themselves. Then, as explained earlier, she got to practice all of those friendly skills on real people. Well she felt quite confident in herself in all of the above learned skills except for one, i.v.'s. She'd got to practice on a dummy but they don't let you practice on one another during nursing school anymore. Well the instructors know that practice makes perfect so they turned a "blind eye" as some of the students, including Felicia, took some i.v.'s home to practice on the brave or stupid. She confronted me with her real life practice problem and asked if I'd volunteer my hand to her for a minute. "Sure!" I don't mind needles. I get stuck by a 16 gauge needle twice a week for an hour at a time. A little 22 gauge needle won't be but a little prick. Right? Well the pictures below will tell the rest of the story. Just a little advice for anyone planning on sticking a needle in someone. Don't do it so slow that you can see your skin dimple before the needle break through. It feels really gross. Especially when it has a catheter attached.

Notice the paleness 

(zoom really close and you might see beads of sweat)