I'm surviving...

I have survived the first two weeks of my contract in Hays!!  Orientation was like it always is...and I'm beginning to hate that I have to go through orientation every 3 months!!!  This last week I was on the floor learning the in's and out's of a rural/tertiary hospital...let me tell you that is a little different than the big hospitals that I have worked in!!  I was on floor orientation for two days and then they wasted no time to float me the first day on the floor by myself...but I guess someone's gotta do it!!  All in all, it's going great and it felt so good to get my first pay check yesterday in 3 weeks!!! 
I have also survived my first 2 weeks as a farm girl!!  I have offically moved in and taken over my aunt and uncle's upstairs of their house and their DVR!!!  I would have to say that majority of the shows that are now being recorded are mine!!!  My aunt has not failed at keeping me nice 'n plump!!!  She has made the most delicious food and she even makes it for me before I head to work! I love bragging that I got my aunt's famous cheese dip for supper one night, my little sister can't stand that I got it for supper and it's not just a special event cheese dip!!! After talking to my sister about my stay there, she has determined that my aunt takes better care of me than my mom!!!  I have also, been exposed to walking a 4-H bucket calf, going on runs/walks along country roads and seeing all sorts of wild life, toad hunting with my 8 yr. old cousin, having a dog that loves to lick my toes, and becoming closer to this part of my family!!!  I am sure that the next 11 weeks will be even better and I will be exposed to far more farm life than I ever thought I would in my entire life!!!

7+1=8

Our family grew by one more person on June 11th, so now we are a family of 8!!!  Tori (my baby sister) got married to her high school sweetheart!!!  The day was just perfect!!!  As we all look back and discuss the wedding day, and beyond all of the we should have done this and should have done that's, this day was a magical day with great meaning!!  It is a day that our family will always remember, every year that comes around when we are preparing a card or gift for Tori and Darren's anniversary! Of course, like I predicted I shed a few tears during my maid of honor toast, but in the end the night ended in complete fun!!!  Here are a few more pictures of the big day!! 

The only mishap we had on the wedding day was that the limo broke down after we got to Colby and were taking outside pictures!!!  When the ushers got out of the limo and started rocking it like they were going to push it, I was immediately on the phone with my dad!!!  A few short moments later, here came a caravan of wedding guests in their cars to pick up all 20 of us that were on the limo!  It isn't wedding day without at least one mishap, thankfully it was only the limo and we weren't on the highway!!  Now that I have gained another new brother, life seems to be more than perfect!!  Darren is a fabulous new addition to our family and is much loved...sometimes I wonder if my mom loves him more than she does me!! :)  I can't wait to watch these two lovebirds grow in their relationship and expand our family even more!

I'm famous...

The company that I work for (Medical Solutions) has just updated their website...and by doing so they asked several travel nurses/allied heath to submit a photo and answer a few questions about travel nursing...so check out the website and find my claim to fame. www.medicalsolutions.com

Anxiety, Miles, & BABY!!!!

Once again it has been a while since I have updated my blog...I made it back alive from my journey from Delaware....thankfully! This time of the year the Midwest has quite the storms! I got the privilege to drive through one, now I have driven through nasty storms before, but with the thought of the tornados that had hit Missouri and Kansas a few days before I began my journey, I was a little more than concerned! The tornados never crossed my mind until a friend that lives in KC text me to tell me that there were tornados touching down in KC, then I became a little worry wart! However, I did have my very own, personal weather lady back in KC that was watching the doppler for me (Thanks Karisa!!!). Everything was great and the sky was clear until I hit Illinois...and I could see the nasty clouds! I would describe this rainfall as a monsoon, the wind was blowing, it hailed, and I could see the clouds moving....thank god they weren't spinning...I seriousy had an anxiety attack like I have never experienced in my life! Now, I had just told my friends in Delaware that I have never had any anxiety before, and I seriously don't want any anxiety for the rest of my life after experiencing that! I had my hands wrapped around the steering wheel so tight that my knuckles were white when I finally let go, my heart was beating so fast that I swear it was laying on the dash of my car, I was sweating, and my face was so close to the wind shield that my chin was sitting on top of the steering wheel....every car in front of my was pulling off, but I knew that if I would have pulled off and stopped to wait until the storm passed I probably would have ripped the inside of my car up...so I continued through it and finally made it through the storm without a tornado! Thank goodness, I said so many prayers as I was driving through that storm!!

Since that crazy long drive, I have been here, there, and everywhere! I spent an evening in KC with some great friends, back to Oakley for my sister's bridal shower, to Manhattan, KS for my sister's bachelorette party, to Lincoln, NE and spent several days with my sister and her fiancé, to Omaha, NE to meet my nursing recruiter, and finally back to Oakley where I will stay until next Monday when I start my new assignment in Hays, KS!

We have a big week ahead of us with my little sister getting married this weekend! We can't wait to add one more person to our family! My maid of honor speech has already made me cry!

On another note...we were surprised to find out that my older sister is expecting in January 14th, the same day that two of my best friends celebrate their birthday!! It's been 12 years since Nicholas was born so we are all so excited! I can't wait to be an aunt again!