Family Pet

After my sadness associated with losing the always fabulous chicken pets we had *sniffle*, I have been looking for a new family pet. It gets so lonely sometimes without a cuddly animal friend. So I had to set about finding the perfect family companion.
At first, I naturally drifted towards the puppy route, but puppies need so much love, care and attention and I am in class frequently. Also, it would be difficult if I ever went out of town. Feeding, walking, cleaning up. Additionally, I was looking at something a little smaller since dad brought home a cow.
So puppy was out, maybe a kitten. Then I remembered Figaro, or as I dubbed him - Panther. Panther was pretty, but I went out of town for 3 days and when I returned I was Panther-less. Besides, who could replace Zim? Zim was the best cat ever. Also, if I need my kitten fix, I can always go over to Alix's and play with Smudge. So no kittens.
A pet, a pet, a pet. Hamsters are not super fun. Ferrets smell. Horses need much more space, turtles aren't friendly, snakes creep people out, and tigers tend to maul their owners after a while.
Then finally the answer came. It came in an unexpected place, but I took the inspiration for what it was and started to do some research. After many articles, pictures, and Youtube videos, I was sold!
Dum, da, da, dum!! Our new family pet is....

LOLA!!

The Hedgehog!Lola is 3 months old, and a pygmy African hedgehog. She likes to scurry around and is still getting used to the family. She is warming up fantastically though, and she couldn't possibly get any cuter! She's mostly full grown, and quite prickly when she is sleeping. We had the missionaries over for dinner and she had a fun time cuddling with them, although they were skeptic at first - she looks a little bit like a porcupine.

Lola is just perfect for our family! She sleeps when I am in school and plays around when I get home. She is small and quiet, but enjoys a good adventurous romp around the house on occasion. When you hold her on her back, she rolls into a prickly ball with just her head and nose sticking out. :) I am very happy with the decision to add her into the family!

I'm on a Boat

A few months ago, I was invited on an "LDS Cruise" and frankly i had no idea what that meant. LDS events usually mean (for me), awkward single's settings with forced interactions and fruit punch. In a dimly lit cultural hall. These events make me unhappy. So, when I found out it was not a single's event, I was enthralled. When my email address was finally entered correctly, I found out it was an afternoon on a 65' yacht in Newport harbor.
This was much more exciting! I had been worried because the weather could best be described as dreary leading up to the big day. In fact, the week before I started thinking about canceling because who wants to be on a boat, in the cold, in the middle of January.
Luckily! I did not cancel, and on the morning of the excursion I woke up to 80 degree weather and sunny, clear skies. The perfect yacht day. It was a fun excursion with all the LDS students (and wives and kids) from the dental school. It was fun to see Ericka, Steve and Jeremy in clothes other than scrubs! Plus, who doesn't want to eat KFC on a yacht? The irony was fantastic, and I loved it. I also loved watching Jeremy eat an entire bucket of chicken. Bucket.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day on the harbor, and while the cruise was a little on the short side, we made up for it by going for a stroll to the Newport pier afterward. While there, we saw so many scandalously clad ladies, volleyball hunks and even a pod of dolphins!
To make the trip complete, we even stopped off for some frozen yogurt on the way home! What a great day, and what a fun time. Yachting in January.

CCB

CCB found this picture today, and I thought it was the cutest thing I had ever seen. CCB is 6'2'' and I am 5'5'' - so I feel like I definitely relate to this.

What a Quarter!

Well I just finished my 5th quarter at Loma Linda, and I only have 2 left to go!! I am so excited and so happy that someday I will be done. Someday I will get off work, and go home and read a book. Or watch tv. Or go cycling. But I will not do homework. I will no longer have to study for a POP from Mrs. Hurlbutt. I will be free. They will be paying ME not the other way around. Appointments won't take three hours because I have to be supervised and get clinic checks and have everything signed off.
So much has happened this quarter, I got a little niece (Well a cousin-niece, but a niece nonetheless), survived the dinosaur museum in Lehi - the largest in North America no less, watched Beethoven's 4th at the Hatch in Boston - as the sun set and the sailboats returned, visited Salt Lake City with my dear flight attendant friend Janelle, had my first picture taken with Wes (after only 4 years or so), gave an oral hygiene presentation to a group of 6th graders, and conducted my first research project. I went swing dancing with Bill Nye the Science Guy in Pasadena, and returned again on Halloween to go swing dancing dressed as Athena accompanied by a man in a red speedo. Indeed it has been a busy quarter. I even got some little pet chickens. Cute little buddies who keep the whole family entertained. It's the start of my last year at Loma Linda *WWOOOO* and it's going to be the first Christmas with 4 little kiddos to open presents on Christmas morning.
Overall, I would say this has been a great year, full of wonderful happy things. I am so grateful and happy to be part of such a fantastic family, and to be in the program that I wanted to badly to get into. I'm grateful that I get to come home everyday and live (and bike) in such a beautiful city. I love visiting my Auntie so close by and my mom's exaggerated enthusiasm over lights and her need to buy anything and everything for her grandchildren (as long as she saves some energy for my kids far off in the distance). I'm grateful for Skype so I can see my family, even when they are in Boston. I'm grateful for rain boots and car safety features. I love everything so much, and I am so glad that I get to be a part of everything.

Sometimes I Just Miss My Cousin

I wasn't raised with any sisters. I inherited sisters as my brothers grew up and married beautiful, wonderful women. But then I had married sisters, and it's just not quite the same. So the closest thing I had growing up was a cousin (two really, but one a little closer). Jacki and I went swimming and tanning together, ate regularly at Del Taco, had insanely different music preferences, took Calligraphy together, lived together at BYU, made a lot of cheese enchiladas, and we moved home at the same time so we saw each other all the time. I love Jacki. We spent a lot of time together growing up, and then a lot of time together in college. We even watched West Side Story together (I feel that especially bonds people). And when we were here this summer, and I somehow managed to get the lamest dates ever, Jacki made them into third wheel extravaganzas and we still had fun. She was the one who came to get me from Sundance, in the snow, having to get off work, when I tore my ACL. She drove me to my final, got me crutches and spent the night with me to make sure I was ok before going to the hospital the next day. I just love my dear cousin Jacki. The only problem is that she is now on a mission in El Salvador, and while I am so happy for my dear cousin and she deserves all the happiness ever, I miss her an insane amount.
Every time I see something funny, I immediately think, "Oh, I need to tell Jacki!". With every 'indubitably' and 'indeed' that escapes my mouth, I think of Jacki, and eating at the Cheesecake Factory, watching Pride and Prejudice, or celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving. Especially now, as I wait for my family to come for Christmas, I keep forgetting that I'm not waiting for Jacki. I keep trying to remind myself which day she is coming, and I keep forgetting that she's not. So I just wanted to dedicate this little blog to my FC. I love you Kacki and I wish you a happy Christmas and wonderful mission!!