SAVMA Symposium

I went to Colorado at the end of Spring Break for the Student American Veterinary Medical Association Symposium in Fort Collins. Each year a different vet school hosts the symposium and the students put together a 3 day conference with wet labs, lectures, dinners, day trips, etc.

This trip was the first time I flew into an unknown airport and got on a shuttle by myself, and arrived at a hotel that I have never been to before. I was proud of myself for getting everywhere on time and not getting too terribly lost. 

The first day I took a nap and checked out all the booths and got a bunch of cool stuff. The opening ceremonies for the symposium included a bunch of 5 minute talks on all sorts of topics- from family, magic tricks, to why its awesome to be vet, to just funny stories.  Afterwards, we loaded up in a bunch of busses and headed to downtown Fort Collins. Fort Collins had a cute downtown town. It was so clean and full of good places to eat (including a gelato shop!) and shop. The  Symposium provided everyone a 15$ visa card for food that night. We ate a pizza place called Old Chicago.   

On the bus headed back to the hotel- Laura, Becky, and me 

The next day was the bovine palpation exam. The first part of the exam was a written test and only the top six teams get to move on to the next part of the exam. We did not move on, but I was okay with that. I wanted to go to a lecture with Temple Grandin and get lunch. The lecture was a question and answer series. This lady is amazing. She has autism, but has a PhD and almost single handily changed the way cattle are handled.

That afternoon I had a wet lab learning small animal emergency procedures. I learned how to place interosseous catheters, chest tubes, esophageal tubes, and tracheotomy tubes. It was fantastic! The evening was spent a conference center with lots of yummy food and live music. 

I spent Saturday going to lectures. I heard some interesting talks on animal hoarding, zoo animal training, equine sports medicine and advice from a veterinarian. The evening involved a semi-formal dinner (with the napkins folded like dog bones!) and a talk given by a veterinarian oncologist.  

Me and Miss Becky 

Sunday I flew back to Spokane (we got dropped off at the airport THREE hours prior!!!!) I enjoyed my time at the symposium learning new things, getting to know my own classmates better, and hearing about other vet schools. I am grateful that I attend WSU. Its a pretty unique and incredible place.

  It was lovely to be back in my own bed with Mitch and Winter. Just wish Randy could have come home with me

Bark for Life

So much sunshine!!! I love it!!! 

Mitch and I went to a local park for Bark for Life. 

Rebecca and Mitch

Carolynn and Mitch

Sara and Olive

Two black 'n whites

Megan and Loki

As the result of a fundraiser- Dr. Lampa was chosen by the
 vet school to dress up like Aladdin and be in a photo booth

I love Mitch's face- Help me! 

The Start of Spring Break

Friday the 14th, I packed up the little ones and headed up to Spokane to spend the evening with my in-laws. Cindy and I spent the evening vaccinating goats and walking my horse,Tag, who decided to hurt himself about a week earlier and couldn't be turned out with the others.

Two Brothers- Baron and Boaz 

Last year's babies and momma 

Randy's place

Luckily, Saturday I was able to catch a flight out to Salt Lake. My mom and I spent the day shopping for a bridal shower my mom was hosting and that evening my family went Sizzler for dinner. 

Sunday, I drove up to Paul, Idaho to spend a few short days with my Randy. It was nice to see where he lives and meet the guys he works with. Randy also made us a delicious meal. 

Spaghetti! 

One of the walls in the dining room was a HUGE map of the area

We stayed a hotel in Twin Falls. It was great eating the cookies the hotel provided and watching "The Pink Panther". Unfortunately, I got sick that night and spent a good chunk of the time in the bathroom. The next day we planned to up to Craters of the Moon National Park, go out to Johnny Carinos for dinner, go to the office where Randy is based out of, go grocery shopping, see the sights.... but most of that did not happen. Monday, Randy went up to the office by himself while I tried to recover. A few hours later I felt a little better and we made the hour drive to the Craters of the Moon. Craters is a bunch of ancient lava flows. We weren't able to do all the hikes, but we did walk around a little bit. 

This area has a strange and mystical beauty about it

I loved the contrast of the bright sky with the dark ground

My sweet husband took such good care of me that day. He bought me Sprite and saltine crackers which was the only thing I could keep down. When it got closer to dinner time, he kept asking if there was anything that sounded good. He listed all the foods that I usually enjoy, but nothing sounded good. Finally later that evening a Jamba Juice sounded tolerable. Randy picked up Johnny Carinos to-go and me a juice and we ate in the hotel. The next day we woke up early to get Randy back to the firehouse by 6:30. We made it back in time and after Randy left, I slept for a few more hours before I headed back to Utah. I can't wait to see my sweet husband next month! 

Brigham City Temple

My Spring Break was last week and I had a crazy busy week. For a few of those days I got to spend some precious time with my family in Utah. One morning my mom and I got up early to go to the Brigham City temple with my Aunt Kamie and Uncle Garff. The temple is just an amazing place. It is so easy to feel at peace and feel of God's love. I was reassured that everything is going to be alright. I have no idea what the rest of the year is going to be like let alone next year or anytime in the future. We have a lot of unknowns at present (well more then I would like to have), but I know that everything is going to be alright. Some how everything is going to work out and we are going to better because of it. I am grateful for these beautiful sacred buildings that help me come closer to Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father.