Chistmas, New Years, and Randy's Birthday

Christmas

Christmas Eve we went over to the Cox's home for food, games, and Christmas traditions of reading the Christmas Story from Luke and The Christmas Orange story. One of the games played involved a spinner and a bowl full of jelly beans. When it was your turn, you spun the spinner and then had to eat what ever jelly bean matched. That catch was for every color of jelly bean there were two flavors - one good and one nasty. I did not participate but had a blast watching my dad and Garrett. Dad got wet socks and raw fish. He almost didn't keep it down.

We spent Christmas morning together in our new home. We had breakfast, opened presents, then went to church. Afterwards we loaded up Mitch, Winter, a bag full of presents, and what seemed like a million cinnamon rolls (Randy made at least 6+ batches this year) and headed to my parent's house. We spent the rest of the day with my family. We ate way too much food, worked on a puzzle, and had fun opening presents. Randy was on call Christmas day and was called out to take care of a fawn that was stuck in a fence. The tires on his work truck were well worn. He ended up sliding down a hill and burying the truck in a snow drift barely missing a parked car. Dad and Jason had to go pull him out. Thankfully, his work truck now has new tires.


The day after Christmas, the 9 of us went snowmobiling near Park City. That was first time I have been on a snowmobile in at least 10 years. It was freezing, but we had a good time. The most dramatic thing that happened was Garrett lost his glove and our guide was kind enough to go get it for him. We also learned that it is best if Randy and I have separate snowmobiles. :-) That evening was the Rawson Christmas party.  

Oh Jason

New Year's

On New Year's the Coxs came to my parent's home. Of course plenty of food was involved. We were tired and I think we celebrated New Year's at 10:15. Somehow Randy and I didn't get home until almost midnight.

Randy's Birthday

We celebrated Randy's birthday over three days. On Saturday we went out to lunch at Red Robin with the Vocklers and then headed over to James and Kelsie's place for games and dessert. We had dinner with all of my family on Sunday. Monday my parents came over to install a new over the oven microwave they had purchased for Randy. It is amazing to have extra counter space now that our old microwave is off the counter (and it currently sitting on the floor in the living room). That night we went to Warrens for dinner.

Randy's Work

These last two weeks have been incredibly rough for Randy. We have been blessed with a ton of snow which in turn means more deer and elk problems for land owners (animals getting into their hay stacks, destroying fences etc). As you can imagine, many of these land owners are not happy campers. As helping land owners is Randy's primary job, he has been working like crazy trying to help all of the land owners with their problems which includes driving to their property to better understand the issues, cut fencing, deliver fencing, haze animals off property, etc. Randy has worked late every day last week and on Friday didn't get home until 10:30 pm.

He did have some interesting experiences this past week. One included darting a troublesome moose who amazingly laid down at the back of the open trailer door. That will never happen again, but it was such a blessing at there was 4.5 feet of snow on the ground and it would have been incredibly difficult to drag the bull moose through the snow. Last night, Randy brought home an owl that had been hit by a car. It spent the night in the baby's room and during the night it escaped from the box and was sitting up in the closet. Randy took it to a rehab center this morning, and it looks like the owl will be okay and will be able to be released. Randy is currently out responding to another moose call.     

My Work

My job is going well. Getting up and down off the floor and bending over at the waist are getting progressively more difficult. Clients and my co workers have been very helpful in lifting animals up and down for me. I performed my first gastrotomy last month. That was an awesome confidence building experience. The dog did well until he ate all of his pain medication (1800 mg of Rimadyl) at once and had to be readmitted to the hospital for treatment. He did go home and is doing well last I heard.Two weeks ago, another doctor performed a gastrotomy on another dog and he removed $15.33 in change from the dog's stomach! That was super cool.

This week I removed a cyst from Alli, my parent's dog. Surgery went really well, but the little stinker pulled out her stitches! However, her surgery site should heal just fine.



Baby Girl

24 weeks

Tomorrow I will reach the 30 week mark. This past Wednesday I had my gestational diabetes screening, received a DTaP booster, and had a 3D ultrasound. Little girl likes having her hands in her face so we weren't able to see her entire face, but we could see a little nose, eyes, mouth, chin, hands, and toes. So far everything is going well in regards to my pregnancy. I am now going to be having appointments every 2 weeks instead of every 4. Little girl has become quite a mover and Randy felt her move for the first time last night. For the most part, I have been feeling really good. I get tired easy and I sigh a lot, and sleeping is difficult, but I can't complain about much. Randy did have to tie my shoes for me other day. It really hurts to bend over. I still haven't had any craving much to Randy's disappointment. He has been looking forward to a midnight ice cream run, but so far it hasn't happened. 

28 Weeks

The nursery still isn't put together yet. I picked up a load of baby girl stuff from my cousin Amber. Her room is almost empty, but it is currently full of all the pictures and wall art for the entire house.


My Love

This morning Randy got up and brought home doughnuts for breakfast and a bouquet of flowers for me. He really is the best match for me. I can't imagine my life without him. He works so hard, always gives his best, and is willing to work a longer day in order to help someone else out. He has been getting up early or staying out late to shovel snow. 

A Week with My Love

I drove home from Seattle on a Sunday and I was driving another 7 hours the following day after showing our house. This time I was on my way to spend a week with my very best friend!

We spent Tuesday driving around listening for collars and hiking around looking for dead deer. That morning I called a clinic in Heyburn Idaho to setup a working interview for the next day.


My working interview went well. After a couple of hours I could image myself working there. Everyone was kind and very open to discuss all aspects of the practice. While I was there, Randy had his first caving experience looking for bats.

On Thursday, we were out listening for deer and we buried the truck in a snow drift and had to call someone  to pull us out. We had locked the gate so we had a 15 minute ATV ride to let Clint in. After about 15 minutes of maneuvering and pulling the truck came free. That day was freezing with blowing winds and snow flurries.

Randy took Friday off and we drove down to the clinic so he could see the practice and meet everyone. I wanted Randy's opinion on the practice. We then drove around the area looking at different little towns. We also stopped to see the Shoshone Falls, but there was very little water running over.

Saturday, Randy woke up feeling terrible. We went to the Hagerman Fossil Museum where there are many equine fossils. Later that day we did sealings in the Twin Falls temple. It was a treasured moment to be across from that sacred alter from Randy and to remember the covenents we had made with God and the blessings He has promised us if we keep those covenents.

Sunday morning came too soon. Randy left that day for a wildlife conference in Coeur D'Alene. I drove up to the Boise airport to catch a flight to Salt Lake City. My mom and I were going to Disneyland!

Job Interview & Randy's Birthday

Last Friday, I loaded up Mitch and Winter and drove down to Emmett. I dropped the critters off at my in-laws and drove to Hagerman Saturday morning to see Randy. Randy's birthday was that day and we celebrated by eating our way through Twin Falls and window shopping. One of the places was called Sips & Desserts. They have a variety of drinks (sodas, coffees, hot chocolate) that you can mix and cookies. I had a hot chocolate with French vanilla, caramel, and toffee bits and a frosted lemon sugar cookie with raspberry drizzle.

For as long as I've know Randy, he has wanted a nice camera and this year with the help of our parents, I was able to get Randy his camera. With some luck and an honest mistake, we were able to purchase the camera he wanted for $300 dollars off the retail price. Thank you Target for being awesome!

Sunday morning, after breakfast, we were getting ready for church when Randy got called in to work. Fish and Game has recently finished trapping/collaring deer and elk. If they receive a mortality signal from any of the collars someone needs to go out as soon as possible to determine cause of death. Randy is that lucky person. We were able to go to church for sacrament, but then had to leave. On our way out, we met an incredible woman- Melinda.

After we loaded up the car with lots of warm clothes, food, and gear we drove the office to pick up more supplies, change vehicles, and load up the ATV. We had an hour and half drive followed by a 15 minute ATV ride up to the deer. On the ATV ride we must have seen at least 100 + deer. It was just us and the deer out there. It was a beautiful day, not too cold, and bearable windy. There wasn't much left of the fawn and Randy determined that it was most likely coyotes that got him based on the condition of the carcass. While we were out, Randy got another call that another deer had died in the nearby area. After driving around and tracking the collar, it was determined that deer was on top on a butte probably at the bottom of a cliff. As it was an hour away from getting dark, no know roads to the location, likely a cougar kill, and we needed to drive to Pocatello that night, we did not go get that deer.

 

That evening we made the 2 hour drive to Pocatello. The practice I interviewed with kindly paid for a hotel (which is an improvement over the air mattress we slept on at Randy's place). The next morning at 8:45 we arrived at the practice. The doctor had arranged for a shelter cat to come in for me to spay. Before anything else, I did a physical exam and premeded the cat. Then she gave us a tour of the hospital and Randy left to explore Pocatello until lunch. That morning, I spayed the cat (and learned some time saving tricks), watched her neuter a dog, went in on an appointment, and watched two dentals. Randy and I had a quick lunch at Firehouse Subs (a favorite of mine). The afternoon was filled with wellness exam appointments. The office manager had called some of the their best clients to come in for a wellness visit. I would then do my exam and afterwards the doctor would visit with the client about me. It was quite an experience. I was told to introduce myself as Dr. McBride (crazy! I'm not a doctor quite yet). I became more confident as the day went out. There were several moments that I went from panic (AHH I don't know what to do) to hold on (I know stuff) to making a reasonable/appropriate treatment plan for a patient. It was in those moments that maybe I can do this. Maybe I really can be a veterinarian.

That evening we went out to dinner with the office manager and her husband, as well as the doctor and her husband. We had a good time getting to know each other. Near the close of the evening, the doctor shared with me the feedback she had received from the clients and the staff. All of it was positive and she asked that I strongly consider her practice. That night we had the long drive back to Hagerman. Tuesday morning I made the long trek back to Pullman.

I don't know the next time I'll see Randy, but hopefully it will be soon!

Our First Camping Trip

The week following Randy coming home, we went for a one night camping trip with Mitch. We went to a little place called Elk River about 70 miles from here. We stayed at an actual campsite. It wasn't my favorite camping experience. We couldn't have any form of fire including briquets (which we found out after we had tinfoil dinners) and the campsites were super close together. I felt like we had to whisper because our RV neighbors were so close. Also there were not any hikes or places to explore from the campground. We had to drive to the start of all trails. Neither of us slept well, as the result we were up, fed, and packed by 7 am.









Our first stop was a little paved trail to see the oldest tree (apart from the redwoods) in this area. Its a giant red cedar that estimated to be a least 3000 years old and about 13 feet in diameter. It was impressive. It was thought provoking to lean on a living thing that has been around since before the time of Jesus Christ and to think about all the world events that have occurred in this tree's life time while it quietly grows in a little grove in northern Idaho.

Afterwards we drove around looking for another adventure. We found a 5 mile loop that looked promising. As we were hiking along, we passed some recently fresh bear feces which got my heart pumping. We ended up in this beautiful meadow. Unfortunately there were 3 trails to choose from and no signs or trail markers to tell us which path to take. We decided to play it safe and turn around and return the way we came. 

After the meadow hike we hiked to the three waterfalls on the Elk River.

Lower Falls

Middle Falls 

Section of Middle Falls 

Upper Falls 

Wading in the Upper Falls 

I am glad we were able to get out of the house and explore some beautiful places. Most of all I am so glad to have my husband home.

Good things

A few of the good things that I have done over the last two weeks of equine medicine 

passed a nasogastric tube on a horse twice without incident - stomach gas tastes just as gross as it sounds 

learned the joys of bottle feeding a few days old foal, being splattered with milk, foal milk mustaches

enjoyed a walk with my dear friend Brooklin one evening 

Soaked up some sunshine with Amanda, Jake, and Ashley at the Farmer's market, Pattys, and the U-pick flower garden 

Experienced the overwhelming good feeling of a sincere thank you from a client for taking care of her horse 

Had dinner with Becky and spent a few hours catching up on life- I miss seeing that girl every day 

Performed abdominal ultrasound on a horse

had a blast laughing with my rotation mates and the clinicians and eating ice cream

Bottle fed a tiny fawn

Took Mitch to a BBQ

Facetimed with my family


Yup- its been busy! 

Ramblings (A lot of them)

Last week my dad and Grandpa Sheets came for a day to put on our new roof! And just in time since the rain just keeps coming. This was the first time Grandpa has been to our house. I was able to show him around school and he thought Mitch and Winter were hilarious.

I attended a lunch lecture this last week about equine infectious diseases worldwide and what is being  done to try to halt disease from spreading. One of my professors traveled to Ethiopia last year for a conference on this subject. Many people make their living using cart horses to transport anything they can find - people, bricks, construction materials, food, etc. Most of these horses are slim and some are very thin. The owners do not have the funds to pay for vaccines, routine health care, commercially made tack (they make saddles, bits, bridles out of whatever they can find), or proper hoof care let alone well built homes. They are living on less then $2 per day. There are several outreach groups that are providing treatment, vaccines, and education free of charge to the owners of these horses. This presentation reminded me just how much I have to be thankful for. I have never known want, I have never gone hungry for more then a few hours, I have clean water, a warm place to call home, a sewer system that works, animals that are companions, a wonderful education, the gospel of Jesus Christ, a loving husband, strong family support, good friends- what on earth could I possibly complain about???? What more could I possibly want or need?

I am humiliated to say that I can come up with more. This week Randy was offered a job working for University of Idaho working with Sage Grouse in a similar area to where he was earlier this year. So once again, my Randy is leaving me. I know I should be grateful that he continually acquires field jobs that will hopefully allow him to find a full time permanent job or get into graduate school. I am one of the lucky girls in my class that gets to live with her husband for 6 to 7 months a year, and not only see him for a few days during breaks for the 4 years.  But I am so tired to being left. I want to start a family, but I'm not sure if that will ever be possible with us constantly living apart and me going to school or work full time (since I have racked up quite a debt load). I am so tired of being hopeful that something is going to work out to have it come crashing down. I am tired of not being excited about what I am learning. This semester has beaten me up and spit me back out again. It has made me question why did I ever want this to begin with. What is it that is so wonderful about vet med that is worth all of this effort and sacrifice? The song 'Done' by The Band Perry is a near perfect description about how I feel about this semester.  

Then there is actual clinical practice of vet med. I probably read too many blog posts about how difficult it is to be a vet and a normal human being. 'You can never please anyone' seems to be the biggest complaint. Clients blaming you for only caring about the money, working late every day of the week and weekends, not having time to properly care for a family, the list goes on. Since I haven't made it there yet, I can't say I have had these experiences, but they don't seem too outrageous. I realize I don't want to work overnights, weekends, or emergencies all the time. Does that make me a bad/lazy veterinarian? I don't want my kids raised in day care.  This would be much easier if I didn't go to vet school. Then we could go where ever Randy got a job, I could stay home and raise our family. But for some reason I was strongly prompted to apply for vet school at WSU. As Randy won't let me forget, I am supposed to be here. I thought I knew why, but now I am not so sure. I can't see why Heavenly Father would ask me to do something that 'seems' to go against what I have been taught. I can't see how it is possible to be a good wife, mother, friend, daughter, veterinarian, and pay off my student loans. There does not seem to be enough time to do all those things well.

My sweet Randy keeps reminding me there is a reason, that everything will work out, don't give up, and to remain faithful. A blogpost from Veterinarians Behaving Badly, has become one of my favorites. It is formatted as a letter to a new grad and if you want to read it you can find it here. The author says 'Focus on the animals... remember you will have limitations... our profession rocks... you are a healer... do not let this job take over your life...'. Slowly I may be able to find my passion for vet med. Hopefully spending time with family and not cramming for exams will give allow my exhausted brain to find my reason why.

Fly Fishing

Our 3 year anniversary is tomorrow! It has been an incredible journey so far and I am looking forward to millions more! To celebrate Randy, Mitch, and I went fly fishing for small mouth bass yesterday with Lorraine, my boss from WADDL. This was the first time we have fished together as a couple. We got up early and headed south to a smaller river off the Snake River. It was beautiful and we had the place to ourselves!

We spent all day at this spot. I caught 3 fish and had a bunch of bites. Randy caught the first fish of the day and a whole bunch more. To make up for it I caught the biggest fish of the day. I also learned that the dorsal fins are spiny and how to 'lip' a bass.

Mitch loved it! He ran up and down the bank. I would turn around and he would be taking himself for a swim up the river as if he had some where very important to be. Lorraine showed him a couple fish and he thought that was the greatest thing in the world. He caught two of them in his mouth! Its a good thing he knows the command Drop It! After Lorraine would let the fish go he would swim around looking for it or would intently watch her waiting for the fish to come back. It was hilarious how intent he was on finding the fish.

While we were fishing an osprey flew around a few times and landed near by. Randy got a few cool pictures, just wish the power lines weren't in the way, but his facial expressions were pretty sweet. 

By the end of the day we were super tired but we had a great time. My wonderful boss treated us to Fazzari's pizza for dinner.  It was a blessing to be able to go on this trip. I wasn't sure what we were going to do for our anniversary. I wanted to do something special but as poor collage students anything too fancy was out of our budget. This was perfect! We spent a day together learning new skills, spent the entire time outside, Mitch got to come and all it cost was our time and two day fishing licences. 

We are already starting to plan our next fishing trip. Hopefully my schedule will allow us to go again before the end of the year. 

Mesa Falls and Harriman Stake Park

During my second weekend in Rigby, our good friend Stephanie came up for a visit. She brought along her boyfriend Logan. It finally felt like I was on vacation! 

We started out the day by heading up to the lower Mesa Falls. 

Lower Falls

Once we got our fill of looking over this vast river canyon we drove a little further and then hiked down to the Upper Falls. The visitor center was also open and had a large collection of animal hides, claws, eggs, antlers, etc. It was pretty cool. 

Upper Falls

Randy was right in wanting to get there early. As we were leaving, it started getting busy. It was national Get-Outside-Day or something like that. 

Our next stop was Harriman State Park. This is an old family ranch that was donated to the state as a park. Its beautiful! We got rained on, hailed on, and sleeted on on our 9 mile hike. The park has all sorts of terrain- a large meadow, forest, a large lake, and mountains.

The huge meadow

We were on the lookout for wildlife but mostly all we saw were lots of birds- swans, pelicans, gulls, redwing blackbirds, magpies, little unidentified birds. We would often stop when we spotted a bird and Randy would whip out his bird book and look it up. We watched some redwing blackbirds chase off a large raven. We were coming near the end of the trail when Randy suddenly stopped in front of me. I looked up to see a female moose eating her lunch about 30 feet away. Stephanie, Logan, and I backed up quite a bit until we could still see the moose, but at a much safer distance. Randy got some pictures which I'm hoping he will put on here at some point. Our choices were either go back a longer way or walk past her and hope for the best. We decided to walk past her, she didn't seem to care at all that we existed and just kept munching on the branches of the surrounding trees. We saw her a few other times and we think we saw another moose as well. 

We had a peanut butter and honey sandwiches for lunch in the parking lot. We forgot a knife so Randy kindly used his large pocket knife to spread the peanut butter.

We went back to the clinic and Logan and I played pool. Neither of us are very good so we never did finish. That night we all went down to Idaho Falls for dinner at Red Robin with Sylvia and her husband Bryan. It was great to sit and catch up with Sylvia and get to know Bryan. Sylvia, Stephanie, Randy, and I all met at the Livestock Center while we attending BYU-I. I hope that one day we can live closer to our friends and going out to dinner will happen more often then every two years. 

Thanks Stephanie for making the drive up to Idaho for the weekend.