We Are Ready For Summer

We decided our Spring/Summer project would be to add on/update our deck. We found after living here for a year that we wanted to be outside more eating dinner and etc. so what better way to to that than with a deck.

Here is our old deck

We decided to use Rhino Decking so that we would not have the yearly upkeep with wood.

Andy did most of the work himself, but we were very thankful for the help that we did get. Thank you Dave, Jason, Heath, and Josh. I tried the best I could with deck removal and staining, but when it came to actually putting in the boards I was a little worried about using the drill and messing something up.

Andy and Jason putting some of the boards on

The deck turned out amazing and we were out there almost the entire day today.

The New Deck
The decorated table. I found the top (metal) table mats at Pier One. They are so helpful in holding down the actual table mats.

A closer view of the gazebo

A closer view of our table

I just had to share this photo of Oscar...as you can tell he was exhausted from all the work
We hope to see you for a Summer dinner

Answering some questions

I have been asked many times since passing the exam "what does that mean for me?"
I will go from an on the job paid Pathologist Assistant to a certified Pathologist Assistant. This step means a pay increase and that I am now marketable anywhere. OJT pa's are being phased out as far as certification goes; so that means to become a pa you must go to a school (all of the schools are on the East coast). Also, there is word that if you are OJT you might not be able to work in hospitals as they are wanting only certified people working with tissue and doing autopsies. I got in right in time. With this new requirement pa's are harder to come by so as of right now we are "in demand". This was the one and only test I had to take and now I just keep up my certification by going to the conferences. I have completed a few autopsies on my own, which is a huge accomplishment. Doing the autopsies also gives me a leg up; the docs really don't want to do them and out of the five pa's we have Mike and I are the only ones that can do an autopsy. Really what this all means is that I absolutely love my job and the people I work for and with. We do not plan to move so this just seals in my position with my company. I hope this gives you all a better understanding of what this means for me and I am happy to answer any other questions.

I PASSED

I took my pathologist assistant exam today and PASSED. Over three years of studying and it is now done...thank goodness. Today will be spent in sweats working on the list of projects I have wanted to do, but had to wait to start until this is done...fun projects. Tomorrow is a massage. I wanted to thank everyone for all of their kind words and thoughts during this long event in our life. I really want to thank my husband for his kind words, thoughts, suggestions, and for simply hugging me during those "not so good days". Oh ya...I am sure he will be glad to have everything off our dining room table now =). I will post a picture when I get the actual certificate. Thank you all again.

What have we been doing?????

What have we been doing? I noticed I have not blogged in quite sometime and thought you all might be wondering where we have gone to...well we have been busy. The snow is finally gone and we are getting ready for Spring. Our big project this Spring/early Summer is to put on a new deck. We are going to make a larger deck out of the Rhino Decking and are very excited. We enjoy being outside and think this will be a wonderful, low maintenance addition.

Andy just returned from Portland (thanks girls for catching up...Andy said he had a wonderful time) on a business trip. So far he has gone to China, Vancouver Canada, and now Portland. He enjoys traveling and says it gives him alittle variety to the job. I also posted the photo of his car as he is turning it back over to the summer car...lower, nicer wheels and tires, etc. We love this car.

I have been busy looking at the yard; actually I was able to pick a few weeds. I am so anxious to get out and work in it. I love Spring time. I am still loving my job and the people I work for and with. My other big exciting event this Fall is that I am a "matron of honor" in my friend Amanda's wedding (see her below). I worked with her at one of the hospitals here in Spokane and we have since become amazing friends. We spent this past weekend shopping for dresses and as you can see the one below is for the bridesmaids. Her dress is amazing; I didn't want to post that photo as there is a slim chance her fiance may see this. Our dresses are going to be a dark blue/gray.

We are doing well. Thank you for all the phone calls and emails. We love you all very much.

Giving Thanks

"May kindness return to you in the same beautiful way that is was given"

I just wanted to write and thank all my friends and family for the wonderful cards and phone calls on my birthday. I really appreciated hearing from you. Thank you for making my 28 a special day.

Weekend Entertainment

This is kind of a silly post, but we have had so much entertainment this weekend. We have gotten TONS of snow this year...more than I can remember in a long time. Well this past weekend it has warmed up and with it lots of melting. Our street is horrible to drive on if you do not have 4-wheel or AWD. The snow/slush is about 8-12 inches deep (hard to tell in photo), and as you can see many are having trouble. I think this is the tenth vehicle in about 12 hours that has gotten stuck. Last night Andy went out twice, once with his tow rope, to help people out. One thing it has provided is much entertainment. We found ourselves shouting last night "don't stop, don't stop"...crazy folks we are. Anyway this is as good as it gets for now...the snow has slowed our life to work and movies lately. I am so thankful it is melting now though and on to Spring.

New Camera

Andy gave me an amazing camera for Christmas and even with all the snow I have been trying to learn all the features. It is sure fun taking photos and has been a great distraction from all the studying. Here are some of our (yes, Andy is really enjoying it too) photos.