First weekend in October

So this past weekend was the White Coat Ceremony for the first year medical students. Kris' mom came out for the festivities and a little visit with her favorite son and daughter-in-law. They had the ceremony on the Wake Forest campus which is not where the medical school is. They had a speaker and then they had them come up one by one and put a white coat on them. It was neat and inspiring. I'm so proud of Kris and all of his hard work so far. I know that there is still a long way to go but he is going to be a great physician in whatever direction he decides to go. The speaker was the dean of the medical school at Texas A & M and he was a former faculty member here in the 90's. He decided to wear a baseball cap instead of the regular cap for these types of ceremonies.
The ceremony was held in the Wait chapel on the regular Wake campus. It was pretty.We spent that afternoon at the medical school and got a tour of the building where they spend all of there time. Then there were talks given by 2 professors and 2 upper classmen about the history of Wake Forest and the life of the student while here. It was a beautiful day and we had a good time.
The other part of the weekend was spent doing a little bit of birthday shopping, the county fair, traveling along a small portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and at Old Salem. The fair was pretty good. It sure seemed like there were lots of rides and game booths but we were able to find some of the other stuff we were interested in seeing and doing. I ate some roasted corn on the cob which was delicious, Kris had an ice cream cone, and Jean had a funnel cake which was also delectable.
We also made a stop at the demolition derby. It didn't compare to the ones I've been to in Fairview Utah but it sure was full of those people that come out of the woodworks when the fair comes to town;)
We saw a guy carving something in wood with his chain saw-it looked like the Karate Kid's teacher guy. I don't remember his name. We didn't stay long enough watching him to see what it really was going to be.
We also made a quick stop to watch the sheep dogs work with sheep
and some ducks.
Then we toured the education building with all the crafts, food, and photography that people entered. Hats off to all those who spend the time and make the effort to enter their stuff. Lastly we walked through the building that had all those people selling/promoting things. I only saw one thing that almost tempted me and it was a handbag, interesting. All in all we had a good time at the fair.
The Blue Ridge Parkway was pretty with the leaves just beginning to change. We didn't go really far on it but it did take us a good part of the day.Many of the overlooks were overgrown with huge trees so there really wasn't much of a view.
We went for a small walk in the trees here. The color of the leaves on this tree was beautiful.
The mountain in the background is Grandfather Mountain. It is a place on our destination list but we didn't want to pay an entrance fee on Sunday for just a few minutes. Right now it is privately owned but the word on the street is that it will be bought by the state sometime in the future.
Finally we stopped at some waterfalls. This is just above where the water falls through the rock. It was gorgeous.

Friday was test #2 for Kris and so we had the weekend to spend some time together without having to do much studying. We decided to make a trip to Stone Mountain State Park despite the gas crisis that was going down here in NC. Apparently we get all of our oil/gas from Texas and since they shut things down for the hurricane there was a sort of panic here. Anyway, we had a great time. I didn't know that we were going to be doing the stair master in the mountains but we did and it was fun. The hike we did went up and over the top of the mountain and back around. It was 3.8 miles. It's nothing like the mountains of Utah but they are still beautiful and I'm excited to see them when the leaves change. Word on the street is that it is breath taking.

For the past few weeks we had been planning on going to the Winston-Salem Air Show. With tropical storm Hannah we thought that maybe that wasn't going to happen. But, good for us, the storm barely brushed us and the show went on. Kris was in airplane heaven;) There were lots of planes on display and several were the classics. I'm not going to pretend that I know what those are but they were pretty cool. The show itself was neat. Kris said that those planes that do the aerobatics have to have lots of power. It was awesome to watch them do their tricks then come zooming back towards the earth to do another trick. Kris said that an air show at an Air Force base is pretty sweet too because you get the big jets and such. Maybe one day we'll get there.

Labor Day Weekend

Since Kris didn't have to go to school on Monday that gave us a little more opportunity to take some time and enjoy the area around us. We are still learning of cool things to do but we discovered a couple this weekend. On Saturday afternoon we decided that we would take a little trip to a place called Mount Airy. It is about 45 minutes from here and it is the place where the Andy Griffith grew up. Apparently his old house is a bed and breakfast now. Anyway, it isn't the place where the hit TV show was filmed but they have a recreation of the Old Jail House (which oddly is closed on Saturdays), the police car, and the barber shop. I don't remember details about this show but I do remember the whistling. We got there kind of late (4:30pm or so) and lots of the stores were already closed. We did meander through some antique stores and gift shops with memorabilia from the show. Then we had dinner at a greasy little diner that was kind of dirty but I had a delicious philly steak and cheese sandwich.
From there we went to Pilot Mountain which is a little mountain with a rock top. We didn't have much time to explore up there but we did do a little hike around the top. It was pretty nice and I think we only passed 1 guy. We looked into it later at home and found out that there is a bit of climbing there and that we can probably do them because there is some stuff that isn't too difficult. There are other trails there that we will go back and do when we have more time.
On Monday we went to Hanging Rock State Park which is also about 45 minutes away from here. We hiked to the hanging rock which is a bit like pilot mountain where the rock is bare at the top but at this one you could go all the way to the top and walk around. It was a bit of a drop off and it was way cool.


Our other little hike was to Window Falls and Hidden Falls. I guess that NC has been in a drought for the last few year so I don't know if the waterfalls would be more spectacular at another time but it was a nice little hike. The Window is the first picture and the fall is the second.

All in all we had a good time and now we have a couple of places close by that we can get more familiar with. We still have lots more to discover but it was a start.

Tweetsie Railroad

Well, this past week I kept hearing commercials on the radio about the Riders in the Sky performing at Tweetsie Railroad on Saturday and Sunday. I decided to look into it late Saturday morning and decided that it would be a great way to spend the rest of the birthday money my dad sent me. It was about 1.5 hours from here and the singing was great. There are some other attractions there like riding on the coal burning steam engine train. The train was cool but the acting at different stops was kind of lame. That's what you get at a place like that though. We took one of those antique photos which was pretty fun. While we were doing that it decided to rain. And rain it did for about 20 minutes. Then it cleared up and we tried to go on some of the rides but it looked like it would rain again and it was near closing time. It was a fun place and I'm glad we went. Now we know if anyone wants to come visit us, there is a little place that kids might enjoy not too far away.
Kris got put behind bars for talking back but he was able to get himself out with a wet shirt;)jk, that's what happens in Shanghi Noon.
I got to ride a real pony. It's back didn't even break.

We Made It

The rest of the trip went well, we moved our stuff in yesterday. It was like 95 degrees and 200% humidity. I was soaked. Our apartment is starting to feel like home. We have some pictures hung and the furniture in place. Winston-Salem has tons of trees, it is a very pretty area. Everyone I have met has been very pleasant. Orientation starts the 28th and classes a week later. Now that we have our stuff here are some pics of our roadtrip.

This is at Martins Cove, where my triple great grandfather died crossing the plains. His son kept a detailed journal and much of the information in the visitors center is from it.
Thanks Kim & Owen for letting us stay with you at your sweet place.
Kris, Garrett, and Jenny at a fountain in Kansas City (the city of fountains), Thanks Garrett

This is looking across the Mississippi, where the pioneers walked across on the ice in February 1846 as they were forced from their homes. Nauvoo was a neat experience.


Lastly, this is downtown Cincinnati from the Levee on a beautiful evening.

Road Trip

I wish we had one of those cool maps like in Indiana Jones that follows where you go with a red line on the map. We have been driving cross country to North Carolina. We have stopped at several pioneer sites and places where some of our ancestors walked across the plains as they moved west with the pioneers. Martin's Cove, Winter Quarters, and Liberty Jail were quick stops. We spent a day and a half in Nauvoo, IL. The pageant was really impressive and the historic homes and workshops were fun to see. There is a very special feeling there as you se how the pioneers lived and what they gave up for their beliefs. Now we are in Cincinnati with Jenny's cousin, then tomorrow it is on to NC. We have been fortunate to have friends to impose upon and crash with as we travel. Union Station was a neat place to visit in Kansas City as well as a neat sculpture of Winston Churchill, thanks to Garrett. I am excited to start getting settled in, and I'm both nervous and excited for all that is ahead. Sorry no pics on this one, we'll have some posted when we get to NC.

North Carolina here we come

We're gonna be Demon Deacons, Kris got accepted to medical school at Wake Forest and we start at the end of July. It is something we have been waiting on for a long time and finally we have good news. Lots to do before we leave, packing, paperwork, and finding an apartment without seeing it. Anyway, we are excited and grateful for the answer to many of our prayers.

Lake Powell 2008

We spent last week at Lake Powell. Need we say more....

It was a fun filled family week and although the water was chilly enough to surprise you every time, it was very nice weather. My parents also got a newer boat, so we tested it out...we were able to slalom ski for the first time in years.

Deseret Beauty

In May we went down to Zion National Park, we camped down on the creek outside the park because all the campgrounds were full. The weather was beautiful, we hiked Angel's Landing and several other shorter hikes. This is from the top of Angel's Landing.
Memorial weekend we headed down to Capitol Reef with the Sheltons. It was great to camp for more than one night. We did a few fun canyon hikes, and played some games in the evenings. There was also a lot of petroglyphs from the Freemont indians that lived here a long time ago.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

My mom was in town this past weekend, it was fun to have her here. We toured the LDS Humanitarian Services, where they prepare and organize all the food, clothing, medical supplies, and other items that are sent all over the world. It was pretty amazing to see how much assistance is given each year. We also went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point. Surprisingly, there were some of the tulips that still had not bloomed yet, and it was the 26th of April. We have had a bit of cool weather this spring. We are still waiting to hear from Wake Forest. We also passed the one year mark as married folks yesterday. It seems to have flown by, it has been a great year. Fortunately, Jenny has decided to keep me around for another year. :)

Here are some of the tulips for the interested parties.



And here is us in the classic self portrait pose at the Thanksgiving Point waterfalls.

Buffalo Chips and Hot Pots

Well, since December I have been working with the 11-year-old Boy Scouts. It has been lots of fun and a learning experience. We have recently started going on campouts. Last month, we went to Antelope Island on the Great Salt Lake. It was quite windy (see the video), but we started a fire using buffalo dung and let me tell you, those boys thought that was something else. I'll bet we gathered all the dry buffalo poo within a quarter mile of our camp. This month we camped in Diamond Fork, down in Spanish Fork Canyon. The weather was much nicer and we hiked up to the hot springs. My favorite part is the camping and hiking and really getting to see the boys excited about camping and the outdoors.

Here is a couple of the boys and an old bull buffalo.


And here is the burning poo (don't put it out with your boots!)

March 2008

Well, here we are again for our monthly update. We finally heard back from Duke and it is a no go so we are just keeping our hopes up for Wake Forest. As for our adventures this month, we went pheasant hunting at a hunting club near Roosevelt Utah for the first time ever. I'm pretty sure that I need to practice shooting a shot gun. Not that I'm dangerous or anything like that but it is something you have to practice to just pull up the gun and shoot at something that is flying in the air. I may have gotten a few BB's in a bird but Dr. King who was with us shot at the same one and he claimed it. He probably was the one that got the kill shot, I just felt good that I made him think twice about if he got it or not;) Kris is pretty good with a shot gun and was able to practice the day before shooting clay pigeons with Jason. He got 2 birds for sure and had 2 others that were shot at by multiple people to make it difficult to say who really got it. We had 24 birds to get and after several hours of walking up and down the field we were able to come up with 22 pheasants. All in all it was a great day. Now we (or rather Kris) need to find a good recipe for pheasant. Yum.