First Game of the Season

Saturday we traveled to the upstate for the first Clemson football game of the season. They beat N. Texas 35 to 10. Sunday we spent the day just visiting and hanging out. We played a lot of horseshoes and we even set up the baby pool for Bella. She had a blast!

Our Blogless Summer

Summer is over and it is true- I neglected the blog for the entire season. We had a wonderful summer so I wanted to give a little overview of some of the things that we did  so I can get back on track with the blog.

Stephen and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary. 
It fell on a Tuesday and we both had to work so we went to dinner at a fondue restaurant and then went home to eat the top of our wedding cake. I know what you are thinking: aren't you supposed to do that on the one year? Yes, well, we forgot. We finally ate it (well a bite of it). The cake tasted OK but the icing wasn't that great. I must say it does feel good to finally have it out of our freezer. These past two years have been amazing and I thank God everyday for the wonderful husband He picked out for me. I love you Stephen and I'm looking forward to many, many more anniversaries.

We took a weekend to go to the mountains. 
The weekend of July fourth Stephen and I drove up to North Carolina and spent the weekend in a little cabin in the mountains. It was so wonderful to get away and just spend a few days with each other. We hung out, cooked together, watched old Disney movies, played board games, read on the front porch, and just enjoyed God's creation and each other's company. We went hiking, swimming in rivers,  and even climbed up a few waterfalls. One night we drove into Brevard, a nearby town, to watch the local fireworks show. That town has a strange obsession with white squirrels. They have pictures of them everywhere and they sell white squirrel stuffed animals and paraphernalia. It was a little strange but very amusing.

Matt and Jenni got married!
On June 27th Stephen's brother Matt got married! The wedding was in Lexington and it was beautiful. We had so much fun hanging out with family all weekend and celebrating their special day. Welcome to the family Jenni, we love you both and are so excited and happy for you two.

This was also my dad's birthday. When we got home we all went out for dinner since Stephen and I were out of town on the actual day. Love you dad!

Marcus had an unfortunate incident. 
Poor Marcus, he always seems to be getting himself hurt. He has chased bugs off balconies, fallen off balconies, eaten wasps, jumped on the hot stove, jumped on the treadmill while it was going full speed, and has now stuck his tail in a candle. We have always burned candles and he has always stayed away from them, until now. His little tail just engulfed in flames right in front of Stephen and I. We both lunged toward him and got the flames out. It didn't get to his skin, but some of the hair was black. He kept sniffing his tail and making a disgusted face. It smelled awful. We finally had to just cut some of his tail fur off. Don't worry, he made a full recovery and still has a beautiful tail.

The Finley family vacation
In July, the Finleys rented a beach house on Folly and spent the week in Charleston. Stephen and I still had to be at the hospital for school but I was able to take half days. We had a great time just hanging out and relaxing at the beach.  We swam a lot and played games like cornhole and horseshoes. It was fun to spend time with family and just relax.

Visiting friends
My dear sweet friend Amber Wise came to visit. She teaches up in NC. We went to the beach and out to dinner at Red's Icehouse. It is always refreshing to see her smiling face. She has been a great friend to me and has had such an impact on my life. I am always grateful when I get to spend time with her.

Well, those are just a few of the things that happened this summer. Life is so eventful and it goes by so fast. I wanted to get of few of these things posted because I like to think of this blog as my electronic scrapbook : )

Stephen is a fourth year!

This past Friday Stephen completed his last day of clinicals as a third year medical student. He finished up with neurosurgery and neuro ICU. He will get two weeks off and then he begins his fourth year with a cardiology consults rotation. I am so proud of him for all the hard work he has put in. He has done so well this year. We have both really enjoyed this time and are really looking forward to his final year in school.

Silly Marcus

My little Marky loves diet coke just like his momma : )

Trivia Night

Stephen and I have always been fond of trivia night. We both used to play when we attended Clemson. Recently, we found out that the Applebee's next to our house has trivia every Wednesday night. We have been trying to get a group going but it hasn't worked out yet. So... last Wednesday we decided just to go the two us and just have fun. We had a great date night, lots of fun, and we won! We couldn't believe it. We were down by 7 points going into the final round so we decided to just go for it. The question was:

Put these movies in order by release date from oldest to most recent: Maverick, Mall Rats, Major League, Married to the Mob.

We had never heard of the last one so we just guessed that it had to be old. The correct answer is: Married to the Mob, Major League, Maverick, Mall Rats. We got it right and won a $50 gift card, yay. We got a free meal (and some) thanks to our neighborhood grill. Thanks Applebees : )

Memorial Day Fun

The Sunday before Memorial Day, we headed to my parents house for a cookout. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time having fun with family. My parents put up a baby pool in the backyard for the kids (Layna and Bella). Bella wasn't sure she was allowed in at first. However, once we told her it was OK we couldn't get her out. They had so much fun playing together. They swam, played ball, and chased bubbles all day.

 Layna and Bella in the pool

 Bella chasing Layna's bubbles

 Stephen getting in on the fun

Enjoying some yummy food

Visit to Beckley

Last week I made a solo trip to Beckley, WV to visit my school, Mountain State University. So far in my schooling, I have taken all of my classes online. On June 14th, I start full time doing clinical rotations at Roper St. Francis. Before I could start my clinicals, I had to do a 3 day orientation on campus.

I was a little nervous because this was my first trip away from home by myself. (When I studied abroad in Italy I had roommates that I did stuff with, so I don't count that). Overall it wasn't as scary as I though it would be. The only dumb thing I did was getting into someone else's car. I had a rental car, so I wasn't used to it yet. I went to where I thought I had parked. There was a silver car so I pressed the unlock button. It was open, so I got in. I put my seat belt on, adjusted the mirrors and was about to stick the key in when I noticed the car didn't look right. It said Ford on the steering wheel and that is when I realized I was in the wrong car! Opps. I got out really fast hoping the owners weren't around. In my defense though, who leaves their car unlocked at a Quality Inn hotel?! It is 2010 people, you can't do that.

I had a blast on campus. It was so great to finally meet all of the faculty I had been working with online and get some hands on experience. Everyone was really nice and helpful.  I basically spent the entire three days scanning. The staff all took turns in the lab letting me scan them. I did full abdominal protocols (aorta, liver, gallbladder, kidneys, and spleen), thyroid, and female pelvis. One of the instructors was even 19 weeks pregnant so I got to do an OB exam. It was amazing to see that little life moving around inside her. I felt like I had met him and knew him and he wasn't even born yet!

The time I spent there was really helpful. There is such a big difference in looking at pictures in a book and seeing the images on the screen in real time. I also got familiar with the machine and how to use the controls to get the best possible images. I learned lots of little tips like it is ok to press hard during an abdominal exam, asking them to take a deep breath can make all the difference, when in doubt put color flow on it, the cine loop is your friend, and small movements can make big differences. I feel so much more confident and excited about starting clinicals now!

This is the lab we used to scan in. It is right inside the DMS department next to the faculty offices.

This is the machine I learned on.

This is Bre, my clinical coordinator. She taught me almost the entire time.

Me and Bre

A few of the staff. From left to right:  Tammy (clinical lab and small parts instructor), Nashella (abdominal instructor), Bre (clinical coordinator), and Ashley (DMS administrative assistant)

MSU campus, you can see the
MSU sign to the very right of the pic.

Driving to the airport. WV is so beautiful. The entire drive was just winding around these gorgeous mountains.

 My rental car, a Nissan Versa. It was really nice.