Ocean Time

So I have been hounded by everyone that I am bad about posting anything on here so I am officially stating that I will try to update our blog at least twice monthly...whether I have any exciting pictures or not!!

With John now working in Eastern Washington for his uncle doing construction we are trying to make the most of our weekend visits.

On one of his latest visits home it was actually sunny and nice! We took advantage of the weather and spent the afternoon with the pups on the beach in Westport....

It was a successful day all in all. The pups slept great that night and John and I added a significant number of sand dollars to our collection. We must have found at least 30 whole dollars and left at least that many behind (we had to have some to go back for!)!!! Until our next nice day for our next sunny adventure....hope you enjoy the pictures!

The Holidays...

Christmas

John and I both enjoyed having my family

for Christmas weekend...it was the first holiday

we have gotten to host and it was also really nice

not to have to make the drive this year!!

This year was full of rain, hail, more rain and a lot of fun. We opened presents, ate delicious food and played games.

We also were able to go out to the beach with my whole family. I'm actually not sure if we have ever gotten to all go to the ocean together. It was cold but it was a lot of fun.

December 21st was the official day that I had been working at Raintree for 6 months!! This was exciting for a couple reasons but the biggest one is the fact that I now have paid vacation days. I took my first paid day off (EVER) Monday following Christmas. John and I were able to spend the entire day with Josh, Havila and the kids. It was a lot of fun to spend some extra time with them.

New Years

2011 was brought in with some great friends from vet school!! We rented a house in Sun River, OR for the weekend and all just kicked back for once. It was a weekend full of food, games, snow and ice!

We enjoyed games and hot tubbing (only sort of though due to the 500 degree hot tub!!!) the first night, new years eve.

New years day was spent shopping, eating, and ice skating. It was John's first time on the ice and he did great. He only fell once....but I think any of us would have in his situation (he had to either fall on purpose or plow over a little boy). I think he made the right choice even if the little boy was wearing a UW hat!!

Thank you to all our friends and family for making 2010 such a great year!! Now to begin enjoying the new year....the first year of no school for us!!!!

Snow!!!

So, it actually snowed in Aberdeen today. I was starting to miss the snow, especially when family members started sending pictures of snow covered grass back home. I guess someone heard me and decided to deliver some snow of our own!

The pups were not as excited about the snow as I was.....nor was John.

Once the snow accumulated and started to stick, they all decided it was actually fun!

If you look closely at the bottom right picture you will notice the chewed pieces of carrot at Boug's feet...and the missing nose in the left picture.

Happy holidays to all our family and friends!! I hope you all enjoy the season...I know I will! It has already brought so many smiles to my face and made life that much better!!

A Few Favorite Cases...

All through vet school the doctors told all of us their stories of memorable cases and clients. Grays Harbor has already given me some memorable cases...to say the least.

Here are a couple of my favorites so far!!!

1. Cat presents with a horrible flea infestation. Should be a simple in and out appointment...or so I thought. I walk in and introduce myself...the response? Laughing. Not exactly what I was expecting but lets see how it goes. Upon examining Chester, the cat, it is confirmed that the problem is indeed a simple flea infestation. Why is this case memorable? Is it the laughing response...NO! Was the cat sweet or gorgeous...NO! It would be the moment that my pen fell out of my pocket and the client quickly reached across the table and stole my pen!!! Definately not how I expected this appointment to go but it does make for an interesting story.

2. Dog presents after falling out of the back of a truck. Diagnosis...Dislocated hip. Popped the hip back in on Friday, again on Saturday and then sent home on Monday with strict orders to keep confined and calm. Dog presents back 2 weeks later, sling bandage still in place but hip is back out. Upon speaking further with the owner, I find out that the dog has been kenneled except when she went outside....the only problem is the dog was not taken out on a leash (which was part of the go home instructions). I will never forget the complete look of shock on the owners face when I told her that it was probably when she was running around outside to go potty that the hip dislocated again. Due to cost constraints the owners could not afford to continue treatment and were forced to look at euthanasia....this pup was so sweet and cute that I convinced the clinic to take responsibility and transfer ownership....she is now being fostered at our house. Unfortunately, three pups are a little much for John and I at this point so we are currently looking for a new home for her. If you or anyone you know would be interested in meeting or trying out Lilah please let me know!!!

Living on the Coast

As many people already know, John and I have made the move to the west side of the state (somewhere I personally never saw us moving to). This is definately a change for us but we are adjusting well...i think. Although I'm not sure that we will ever get used to the odd combinations that seem to be so normal over here...such as espresso and tacos or espresso and hot dogs.



We found a cute townhouse with a backyard for the pups. They enjoy having the room to run around (or more appropriately stated...room to sunbathe) during the day; however, they definately prefer being indoors on rainy days. Poor pups, they are in for a rude shock when the rainy season begins!






The weather is one of the biggest differences for us too. John is still trying to get used to the lack of sunshine which is resulting in him being paler than he can ever remember being.


We are settling in to our new lives here in Grays Harbor. I have truely enjoyed working so far and continue to be surprised with how much I remember and am capable of doing. Of course I know I have more to learn and thanks to my collegues here I am already learning so much more!


John will be starting some part time work soon but has been staying busy up until now helping out with technical problems around the clinic...oh yeah, he has also been the best house-husband anyone has seen! Thanks babe for all your help, you have made this transition so much easier for me with everything you do!