We're having a baby!

Pharmacy Benefit Conference

JD and I attended a Pharmacy Benefits Conference Tuesday and Wednesday.  I was going for work and JD was nice enough to attend with me as a pharmacy student (yay for free student admission).  I was super excited to see the inside of The Governor Hotel.  I have admired this building in the past as I have walked between Powell's Book Store and the train stop and the interior did not disappoint either.  The ceilings were either hand painted or wood carved.  There were original tiles from 1909 when the building was built and so much character.  I loved it.  We also enjoyed 'fancy' food for two days including salmon (that cost $30/plate downstairs).  In the end we also both received continuing education and won a drawing.  JD got a $50 gift card to Deschutes Brewery that has a promising menu for dinner and I won a $100 gift card to Amazon.com, after asking for something without alcohol when I originally won a fancy bottle of wine.  While I am sure it wasn't JD's preference to spend the first two days of freedom from school at a conference on pharmacy benefits, it was fun spending time with him while I worked.

Bridal Veil

We had a great time going to Bridal Veil Falls in the Gorge this weekend.  It was so stinkin pretty.  We go places on occasion where I can't help but step back in awe that places like this exist and appreciate what the Creator has provided for us to enjoy and feel His love for us.  Being in Oregon, I have that experience often and am grateful for the opportunity to enjoy the varying things we have been able to see from the forests to the oceanfront.  It was definitely a memorable way to spend Mother's Day after church and skyping/talking with our mom's.

P1 to P2

JD experienced an amazing transformation this week.  Upon the completion of his last comprehensive exam and a day of reviewing results, he was able to change from a Pharmacy Year 1 Student to a Pharmacy Year 2 Student and full blown intern.  The change was so remarkable that it was something akin to the Beast changing back into the Prince complete with flashing lights out of the fingertips and floating in the air with magic sparkle dust all around.  

Ok really he just finished his exams, attended a celebratory BBQ hosted by Fred Meyers Pharmacy, and he can now work has an intern doing everything except final prescription checks in the pharmacies that he works at.  While it was a rather lackluster transition, it is exciting to know that we now have 1 year left of didactic studies before a year of clinical rotations. 

Horse Tail Falls Loop

We went and did the Horse Tail Falls Loop in Columbia River Gorge today.  We are having 80 degree sunny days right now so it was nice to be in a misty, windy, canyon hiking around.  We got to see Horse Tail Falls, Oneonta Falls, Oneonta Gorge, Ponytail Falls, and a lot of people hiking with their dogs.  

Part of the trail involved going across a steel bridge that has been approved by engineers to hold one person at a time.  The panorama makes it look pretty bad but it is not all crooked just not 'fully stable' according to the signs.

Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

We had such a fun adventure this week.  We had the opportunity to go to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Woodburn, Oregon.  It is toward the end of the season/festival so according to the daily field report 'only' 70% of the 40 acre field was in bloom.  It was incredible.  JD and I compliment each other in a lot of ways an example includes our photography, normally when we get home from our trips all of my photos are big landscapes and portraits.  JD's photos are always zoomed in photos of flowers, bugs, birds, leaves, etc.   Needless to say this setting was perfect for us.  We had taken over 200 photos before we left. 

We had a great time taking pictures, walking around the fields, looking at the huge variety of tulips, and people watching.  We were both happy to have made it down before it was over, we were also glad we got there early because it was nuts when we were leaving. 

Tulips Panoramas

Pittock Place

We went for a nice walk around different parts of forest above Portland today.  We verified that there are no roses in the International Rose Test Garden and that it was recently pruned.  We then went up to Pittock Mansion and took in the view from there.  I was also excited because the parking lot was also a trailhead for Forest Park, so I finally can say that I was in Forest Park today.  Forest Park is a 40 mile loop system that is right down town and because it is so big, it connects many different parts of the city.  It is huge and there are a ton of maps and trailheads and suggestions and I have always been a little overwhelmed in making that our destination, but now we will have to get back up there again soon.

Adidas Employee Store

 
 
My work provides an Employee Store Pass each April to get into the Adidas and Columbia Employee Stores (they used to do Nike as well but not anymore).  JD and I were able to make the trip to North Portland this morning to check out the Adidas Campus and store and it was definitely interesting.  It was super busy and there were people all over the place trying on shoes, clothes, etc.  I ended up with socks and  a jacket, though I think it would be more fun to go if we actually had more money we could spend, because with 50% off it really is a pretty good deal on most items.  I really enjoyed the giant sneakers they had in front of one of their buildings so we got to take a quick detour past the campus soccer field and basketball court/gym/weightroom (blue circular building in the top picture) to check them out.

Infographics

Annual Scrapbooking Adventure

I enjoy scrapbooking but I don't do it very often, nor do I do very much of it when I do.  Typically I will do an annual summary of pages each year in November/December.  Problem is this year between flying home for Christmas and work obligations, I never did get to putting together the pages.  This Conference weekend seemed like a great opportunity to mess up the living room and get these pages done.  I do a set for my family (which is then color copied for the Clarke and Hewlett Grandparent books), and I do the full year summary in addition to the summary pages for myself and JD for the Speths, finally I do our own personal set.  I use the same pictures for each set though each one has a different amount of space allowed and arrangements to be figured out.  I really enjoyed doing this before, in between, and after sessions in addition to during the musical numbers of Conference.  It was fun to have a reminder of what happened last year and see the different things that my family has accomplished.  I am super excited to give the Speth's their pages in May when they come to visit, better late than never.

Getting Excited