Thanksgiving Pics

Rob had to work the night before Thanksgiving and got home late (like 8:30 a.m.). He got about 2 hours of sleep, and then we headed to Aunt Janet & Uncle Stan's house. Kind of a quiet year for that side of the family. Just Aunt Janet's family, my parents, Shelli, Jody's family and us. The following pictures were taken with Leah's new camera - my battery was dead.

These were Shelli's specialty this Thanksgiving - Turkey Cupcakes! Don't worry, they were spice cake, not really turkey!

Speak of the devil...Shelli with baby Jonas.

Jody with baby Jonas. He sure loves his Daddy!

Who loves baby Jonas the most? Definitely Aunt Monica!!!
This was my first time meeting him. What a stinkin' CUTIE! He has a real twinkle in his eyes. Full of smiles and cuddles! He slept in my arms all afternoon.

We then left and headed for Round 2 at Rob's parents' house. It was fun to celebrate Thanksgiving with Fred & Miep! After dinner there, we headed home for BED!!! Rob was exhausted at that point. We knew we'd be getting up super-early to hit the Black Friday Sale at Robert's Crafts - Miep wanted to get a Cricut. That was our first Black Friday experience. Crazy, but not too bad. At least everyone was civilized.

Anyways, that was our Thanksgiving experience!

Christmas Tree Choppin'

For many years, the family has had a tradition of hunting down their Christmas trees the day after Thanksgiving, and then going to breakfast at the Spring Chicken Inn. Rob & I haven't particpated in the past, so this was new for us. Here are a few pics to document the experience...

It was crisp and cool up in the mountains. No snow yet, but definitely chipper!

This year, Fred & Miep came in from Holland for the holidays. We are so excited to have them here for all of the festivities!!! This is Fred, Miep, JoAnn & Rodger. Such happy family!

Here are Bruce & Pam, standing in front of their chosen tree.

Then Bruce does the cutting & chopping.

Then Fred helps him haul the tree back to the trailer. Rob helped too, but was being sneaky to avoid the camera.

It's amazing! I actually caught Miep before she caught me! Auntie Miep was playing paparazzi throughout the entire outing. She was sneaking around snapping pictures like a real shutterbug - she even hid in the trees to catch us off guard.

Pam & Kim show us that sisters really can be friends. Ü

Then Miss Kim pretends to do some cutting & chopping of her own - photo op! Once the pictures were taken, little brother stepped in to do the real dirty work.

Last, but not least, Rodger & JoAnn FINALLY chose their tree.

The latest....

Well, it has been awhile since our last post. I intended to post sooner, but time gets away from us really easily these days.

We are still working on the house when we get a chance, but not near as often as I'd hoped. We should see primer around the windows within a week or so if the weather holds out for us. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

Since the last post, I have started my clinical rotations for the Respiratory Therapy program. My rotation this semester is at University Hospital. I have been throughout several floors. We are still pretty new at everything, so what we do is pretty simple.

I have learned many things by working in the hospital outside of my normal sleep capacity. I have learned to not play with pipe bombs. It is always a bad deal when they explode in your hands. I have also learned that if you are being pursued by police officers, shooting yourself in an attempt to blame them for the gunshot doesn't work out. Based on the general expertise given to us by CSI, it would appear pretty easy to determine none of the police shot him....

On Thursday, I was on the Cystic Fibrosis floor. The U is an accredited Cystic Fibrosis Care Clinic. I have recently researched CF and it was very interesting, and rewarding to work with patients that have CF.

CF is a genetic disease that affects 30,000 people within the United States. Due to so few being affected, the federal government does not provide any funding for research. As of 2006, the life expectancy of a CF patient was 37 years. In 1985 is was 22, in 1969 it was 12, and in 1955 it was only 5 years. CF is a digestive disease which the body creates too much salt. This affects body secretions, meaning that they cannot digest food properly, and their lungs and sinuses fill with thick mucous. Those with CF typically die of respiratory failure.

A typical 2 week visit to the clinic at the U runs approximately $40,000. Most patients come in multiple times a year. They provide rest, medications, and treatments necessary to increase their lung capacity. Lung transplantion is a possibility, however it does not cure the disease. The body is unable to produce normal mucous, therefore a lung transplant is not a cure, it just increases the life span.

Sorry this is song long, but I am also including some funny things from work this week. Perhaps it is because I am always tired, but these really struck me funny. For a little background, our Doctors have the patients fill out an 11 page questionnaire to give them a good medical history, family history, and life style habits. Some of the following responses were hilarious.


This patient's exercise regiment eincludes "walk to car".


This patient's general complaint is... "I cannot get to many women to sleep with me."

This patient was really funny. He has a PhD in Physics. His "Other significant conditions" include: Back trouble, morbid obesity, and excessive intellect."

Preview for next post: I have new RT manikin pictures! Super creepy!

Quick Update

Here are a few pictures of the house.

Last week Monica's dad (Lance) and family friend Larry came down and helped me finish everything up. The siding is complete, but there are a few finishing touches needed.

This shows the new wood I put around the windows. The wood underneath was super weathered, and figured this would make a nicer finish job. Everything is almost ready for paint.

I am hoping that next week I can prime and paint the windows. At that point, we can paint the windows, front and back doors. Once that is done, we will pretty much be done. We are hoping that at we can get some additional things done in the yard, but at least get the house done before the winter weather sets in.

Its nice to see things come together. It has been a long project, but the finished product was worth it. We are excited to get it done and post the pictures.

Well, I am off to study for a quiz, test, finish an assignment, write a paper, and finish up a presentation. Lucky me!




This shows the new wood that I put around the windows. I bought a pneumatic brad nailer...fun tool! It made things go much faster, and gave a cleaner finish.

Striking Resemblence Found!

Where has September gone? We are sorry that we haven't posted anything as of late, but this has been a wild month between school, work, and home improvement projects. Yes, we are still working on the house, but we are getting close. Pictures of that project will soon follow, we promise. We have the siding completed, but there is a small amount of final touches and painting the windows and doors that I need to finish.

This month has flown by! I can't believe how fast the weeks have gone by. This semester will be a quick one. We have been learning a great deal of new information. Most recently we have been learning about, and practicing intubation and manual recesitation. Intubation is interesting, I have some experience from my EMT courses, but practice is always welcome. Basically, to begin with, you place the patient into a "sniffing" position. Then you insert a laryngoscope, and lift the tongue, and epiglottus out of your way. This allows you to peek down their throat and see the vocal cords (trachea), and esophagus. The idea is that you pass the endotracheal tube (ET tube) past the vocal cords and down about 9 cm. You inflate a pillow (cuff) with air, which allows it to stay in place and provide ventilation for the pt.

Seeing how this isn't something we can practice on each other, we have manikins. Every day a few more are being pulled out which we haven't seen before to accommodate more people practicing. This week we found two that we found extremely funny. One resembled Voldemort from Harry Potter, and the other's mouth resembled something from Wallace and Gromit. Look for yourself, and see what you think!

This is Gunther. We think that he strongly resembles Voldemort.

This is Lord Voldemort. Gunther has to be his brother!

This manikin still remains unnamed. However, his mouth represents anyone in Wallace and Gromit's Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

Wallace and Gromit.

Stay posted (that was funny) for another new post with pictures of house coming soon!

Labor Day...Manual Labor Day!

This was how Labor Day began. We had already put up the fascia and trim on the front, sides and most of the back. You'll notice that the driveway and sidewalks are wet. Who would be dumb enough to hang siding in the rain??? That'd be us...and a few friends & family members.

Here's the first piece to go up. Wahoo!

The sun finally came out, and progress sped up a bit. Here is Dad (Lance) and Larry (family friend) measuring and cutting a piece for under the windows.

Fortunately, the neighbors were kind enough to fetch their awning to help spare us from some of the pouring rain. We should have taken pictures of the storm we were working in, but we didn't want to get the camera wet...and we were working. Here are Eric (neighbor), Dad (Rodger) and Rob working hard.

We ended the day with the full front done, and part of the side.

The trim around the windows will still needs to be painted, but we're more focused on the actual siding for now.

What a cute little house!!! Definitely beats the foam look!!!!!

Back to the grind....

Well, after a few nice days away from hectic daily life, once again I am back to the grind. Buddy was kind enough to help out with the siding project. He was intent on guarding the shade from the saw horses and the miter saw. I think he wanted to ensure that no one else would join in the fun of finishing up the trim for the siding project.

Every year, since I was 4 years old, with the exception of when I was on my mission, my Dad and I have gone to "Father's and Son's". This was initiated by my parents Stake. As years of late, due to our hectic adult schedules, we have simply picked a convenient time for both of us and we go by ourselves.

We enjoy the beautiful scenery, and wildlife. We talk about, and do all sorts of different things that only two guys would enjoy. These topics can range from life experiences to funny stories, car talk, dreams and goals, and lies about last year's fishing results. I am always completely honest.... This year I caught the first, my dad caught the biggest, and it was a draw for the most. I won that title the first day, but it was close the second day. This trip also allows us to eat those things our wives prefer us not to.

The weather was beautiful. Typically due to the high altitude, it is not uncommon to experience brief, yet severe thunderstorms in the afternoon. This year was the exception. We had perfect weather the entire trip. We got up at different times each day, but on Monday morning, when I got up it was 48 degrees and steam was coming off the lake. On Wednesday morning it was 42 degrees when we left at 0800. A hoodie felt great, I am glad I thought to take it.

It was yet another successful trip. However, we failed to see any big game this trip. Typically going in, or coming out, we see deer, or an occasional moose. Our biggest wildlife experience was a visit from some grateful chipmunks and squirrels, oh and a few ducks. The ducks were entertaining to watch as they gobbled up distracted dragon flies in reeds near the shore. I cast my line into the ducks once and scattered them quite effectively. I cleaned out the trailer of some canned food dated 03/03. When I opened the re fried beans, there was a "pop" that startled me. I can only imagine the "pops" they would've created had we tried to eat them.... If there are any reports of exploding chipmunks, I know nothing about it. Perhaps their wives will be upset with them for their menu....

We had a great time. As a tradition, as we pull away from the campsite we start planning next year's excursion. We always swear we are going to make it up more than one time next year. So far, we haven't made it, maybe next year.

More Baby Pictures!!!

New Baby!!!

Check out the newest addition to our family - our nephew Jonas Porter Livingston!

What a cute little stink!!! Congratulations to Jody & Danielle!

Born this morning - 7 lbs 5 oz & 19" long!

Finally heard....

On Friday, June 28th, I took the national boards administered by the BRPT for sleep medicine to become a RPSGT, Registered Polysomnographic Technologist.

It is a four hour test that is taken within a a facility that could easily be compared to a top secret government installation; you know, like the ones that don't exist.... I had to give everything other than a DNA sample to get in and out the of the test, including a biometric fingerprint scan, and two forms of government issued ID. They won't even allow you to chew gum once you are beyond the front desk. Once in the facility, you are recorded from a digital audio/video feed making the most simple typically private tasks unnerving. You can't shake that feeling that you are always being watched, so blowing your nose seems really awkward. Feeling foolish you look around to see where the camera and mic or located, but deep down you know everyone else does it too. Then a slight smile emerges, which quickly disappears so you don't draw any extra attention to yourself. Besides, who that is starting a 4 hour test smiles?

Placed in front of you is a monitor, keyboard, calculator, and a dry erase board/marker. Which is nice, but more complicated then it needs to be. If you fill up the dry erase "board" (a laminated sheet of paper), you can't simply erase it, you have to raise your hand and request a new one. So of course, the first thing you do is to throw out everything on paper you can recall. Diagrams of EKG rhythms, the 10/20 EEG placement system, formulas to calculate percentages of sleep, etc. Then you are ready to begin the test. The test consists of 200 weighted questions, meaning some have a higher point value then others. As you begin to answer the first ten questions, skipping 8 of them you feel your confidence slip away. Later on in a review of the test, you realize your nerves were clouding your reading skills and those skipped questions aren't near as bad as you originally thought.

The worst part about the test, is that it is offered four times per year; March, June, September, and December. The testing window is two weeks. They don't give you immediate results. Once the window has closed, they score all the tests and determine the number of who passed. So if you take the test in the first of the window, it could be upwards of six stressful weeks waiting to hear if you passed or not. Well, as luck would have it, June produced the highest number of applicants in BRPT history. Not to mention they moved their offices to a new building. Together this resulted in a longer than usual wait for the posting of the results.

A few weeks ago, they posted a comment on their website that said results would be released the week of July 28th. On Friday, July 25th, they changed it to email "Pass/Fail" notification would be sent out that day, and the listing of passing test takers names would be posted on their website Monday, July 28th. They are in the Eastern time zone, so I kept checking my email, to no avail. No word. Not all weekened. I didn't know if I should take that as good or bad news.

Finally this around 11:00 am they posted the list and I finally heard....

I PASSED!

This is an example of the 10/20 EEG system. (The triangle is supposed to be a nose.) This is the complete layout of an EEG. Each circle and Alphanumeric number pinpoint an EEG electrode. They are missing two, the ears; A1, A2. In sleep we only use 9 of them, but you are required to know many more. 10/20 refers to the measurement of the head. Each electrode is 10 or 20% distance from another electrode based on how and what you are measuring for.

Everyone recognizes this as the EKG wave form. Any variation from this example, and you can have any variety of issues. In the test you are given examples and you have to determine what the problem with the heart is, and what is the most common cause for that given dysrrhythmia.