Graduation Celebration & Merry Christmas! (from Niki)

These last couple weeks of December have capped off a busy and wonderful 2007 for Matt and me. Friday was the official grad school graduation after two whirlwind years of classes. Some months went by too slow, and some months went by too fast, but overall, I'm just thrilled to be finished and have my evenings back. UNO’s MBA program is no Wesleyan (prairie wolves shoutout!), but I made some friends and learned quite a bit. We had a graduation celebration that night at our house, and it's moments like that when I'm so thankful for all the fantastic family and friends in my life.

Christmas was wonderful as usual. We split time between Matt's family in Aurora and mine in Yutan. The whole Wiles clan made the trek to grandma and grandpa’s house, so it was just like the old days to have everyone together for the holidays. They've certainly had an exciting 2007 too, so it was fun to share in their happiness.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and best wishes for a very happy new year.

Wiles Christmas 2007 Letter

Once again, we are blogging our annual Christmas Letter to the regular readers. Ed & Janice

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family!

WE had a very merry, or perhaps I should say marry, 2007.

Elissa was married to Matt Bright on September 22, at the Loch Lloyd country club in Kansas City. The day was perfect and we are happy to officially welcome Matt into our family. They are now living in their first house, in Shawnee, KS. Elissa continues to work at Johnson County Community College, now as a supervisor in Student Services. Matt is a Certifying Scientist at Quest Diagnostics.

To continue with the ‘marry’ theme…..Kelly became engaged to Paul Hollstein on December 8. We are all elated! They are just beginning to work on the wedding details, but the location will be Nebraska. Paul moved from Des Moines to Lincoln last spring when he was promoted to Product Manager with Allied Insurance Company. Kelly soon followed, when she started a new job as the managing pharmacist at the new Target in south Lincoln.



No, Zac is not married or engaged, but he still has his very pretty girlfriend, Stephanie, and his same job at the law office in Joliet.

Ed and I ARE still married, 34 years now, and life continues much the same for us. We are very blessed with good health, fine family, and wonderful friends. We were able to spend the Thanksgiving weekend in Oklahoma with Ed’s family and will be spending the Christmas holidays with Janice’s family and all our children in Yutan, Nebraska.

Hello from Mary Jo

Dear Family,

Greetings to all and special congratulations to Kelly and Paul. We are happy to welcome another Paul to the family. (Mine has worn pretty well for nearly 37 years....and we wish you similar good fortune.)

I must confess I haven't checked the Blog for awhile because there has been a noticeable lack of activity lately and I didn't want to be disappointed...Sigh...so this is the first I saw your happy announcement.

I suspect you are all in the Christmas Frenzy about now. I've accomplished some things, but not much shopping. We have had a solid coat of ice for a week. Finally, on Friday, before the predicted snow arrived, I told Paul I was taking off and wouldn't come back until I got all the visits I could finished. Actually, I made a lot of good progress, but I was really stiff and tired that night after mincing up and down driveways, up stairs, and across porches, most of which were still coated with the ice.

We are going to Omaha next Sunday for Christmas with my family. Andrew and Jenn (latest lady friend) are coming over from Des Moines to meet us there. She has three boys, so don't know how many if any of them will be along. Oh, my.

I am trying to convince Mom to come home with us after the dinner at John and Sue's for a few days. We'll see if the logistics can be worked out.

Merry Christmas to all.

Engagement-Kelly and Paul

Paul and I are engaged! And following Elissa's format, I will answer the three prime questions:
1. How did he propose? We were decorating our tree on Saturday evening and he decided we needed some presents under the tree to complete it--we wrapped a few and admired our good work. Then he said he had an early gift for me that I might need before Christmas...he then made a big production about bringing a very large box downstairs as a decoy then said the gift actually wasn't in the box but in his hands then he asked if I'd marry him and of course I said 'yes'!!
2. When's the wedding date? This one's not so clear yet, we're thinking maybe fall in Lincoln.
3. What's the ring look like? It's a solitaire cushion cut on a white gold band (see picture below).
That's our exciting news around here and hopefully I'll see lots of you at Christmas in Yutan!

Happy Holidays from Kelly

November was a busy month for us here in Lincoln. We had Zac come visit for a whirlwind weekend where he was recognized at the UNL rec center for his officiating. Zac was an all-American official 2 years in a row for intramural flag football and volleyball. Now his name can be seen at the rec center on the other side of the coliseum where the girls play volleyball near the racquet ball courts! They had a nice ceremony for all of the University's all-American intramural athletes/officials on Friday night to dedicate the wall.
Paul and I spent Thanksgiving with his family and friends in Wichita, KS. His sister recently moved there for a job as a Spanish teacher. Since this is not very far from Oklahoma, we made a side trip on Saturday down to Ponca City, OK to meet up with my parents and dad's family for lunch and a tour through the Marland Mansion. The mansion was modeled after a Tuscan villa and Mr. Marland (an oil baron) spent millions to build it in 1928. He unfortunately was only able to afford to live there for about 18 months before he lost his fortune to New York banker J.P. Morgan. The city now owns the mansion and grounds and gave us a lovely tour. It was all decorated for the holidays and really got us in the Christmas spirit following our delicious turkey dinners.
Thanks to Joan for stopping in Target while I was working and saying hi (she was doing some Christmas shopping)--sounds like she had to work on Thanksgiving Day but Connie was nice enough to make mashed potatoes for her to bring and share. I also get to see Debbie at Target quite a bit and she said everyone had fun in Yutan for Thanksgiving. We will be in Yutan for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (mom, dad, me, elissa and matt) see some of you then!

*twiddles thumbs while waiting for other people to post*

Alright, so what's up with that topic? It's twice in a row I've posted now!!!! Anyway, I'm posting quickly to tell you about work, school and...*takes a deep breath*...MY NEW CAR!!!!! So where shall I start? Umm, how about work?

I work at Visinet Inc. in Grand Island now. I do Supervised Visitation, Family Support, and Escort/Transportation. I will work with kids who have been taken away by DHHS and placed in foster homes most likely. Sometimes they leave the children in the house and try to preserve the families I guess, but that's not my job. I need a Bachelors Degree for that.

Anyway, I get my first case Monday and possibly even more cases. I actually asked in my meeting for more cases. Well, I'm going to school, but I need to have $$$ so I can pay off my car!!!! LOL. Okay, now to school.

I'm pulling a B in Economics right now. I repeated the course at Doane College, but the good news is that it's easier the second time around and the textbook is much easier to understand! My teacher is an excellent one to work with and she's VERY accommodating to my disability. It's really nice to have a teacher that does that. Multicultural Counseling is going so-so. I can't wait until I'm done with that class. Randy wanted me to do it and I was like "Uh okay." But since I'm not a Human Relations major anymore, I didn't need it. But it counts as an elective, so that's the good news. I'm a Liberal Arts major now with an emphasis in Human Relations and Psychology.

Now to my new car!!!! I bought it a week ago and just got it the other day! It's a 2002 sliver Dodge Neon. It had 60,300 miles on it when I got it! I'm so stoked because I figure I should be able to maintain it well and get it up to 150,000 miles or so if not more! I took a loan out from the credit union and had no cosigner. But I have to pay close to $100/month. So hopefully Visinet will pay off! Anyway, I'm attaching a couple of pictures of it.

Well, that is all now. I guess i better get going on my homework. i hope everything is going well for you and that you all have a Happy Thanksgiving! Ta ta!

Suz
Here is my 2002 Dodge Neon!!!!!

Oh buddy, oh buduh, life goes on...life goes on

Like my little title? I'm thinking of the theme song to whatever show that was back then when I was young. Anyway, where should I start? Should I start with work, school or in the middle? Hmm...now that's a tougie. I'll start with school.

Okay, so I'm already just ONE week into the term and have been bombarded with homework! I can't believe it!!!! Ugh. For Multicultural Counseling, I'm writing talking points out of the reading. Now let me say this, I have NO motivation what so ever to read the stupid books. *sighs* But I did those. I have to lead a discussion tomorrow night on my reading assignment and well, I haven't touched it. I'm out of it. No motivation = no homework getting done. So that's my first class.

My second class is umm Economics again. Ugh, that stupid course. I'm taking that at Doane also. I'm taking it lecture and that really helps. Plus my teacher is SO willing to work with me. It's been easier working with her than my last teacher. So that's really good to know. She knows that I shouldn't have a time limit on my tests and that I have a learning disability. So that's the good part. However, mom would be driven nuts by her because she has such a happy and bubbly personality. She's hyper. Mom would cringe in class with her but I love it. It keeps me awake!!!! Suzy is an awesome teacher and it's better with her than doing it individualized.

So that's school in a nutshell. Check with me in 7 more weeks and I'll have a new list of classes going on. Man, it felt GREAT not having to go to campus last term. I had online courses and that was it. That really helped me out. Now this term I'm getting used to again going to Grand Island two nights a week. But hopefully I'll be done this summer. Yup, this summer. A term extra, but that's alright.

Umm, work. Well, most of you know that I quit the RISE job. I couldn't balance full time school and full time work. So I left. But I just had an interview with Visinet in Grand Island today. The nice thing is that she said she would let me know by the end of the week if I got hired. Funny. Her last name is Warren also. We found that quite ironic. Now I'm trying to figure out if she's related to me! At least Grandma doesn't think so, but who knows. That would be odd if we were related. Anyway, after the interview, about an hour later, I got the call saying I was hired. Wow, now that was quick! But I was thrilled and I took the job! So I'm not unemployed anymore! Can't wait to start!

And a final note. I'm OFFICIALLY searching for my birth mother. Holt Korea has the request and hopefully they are getting it done. I really hope that she can be found, but I'm not for sure yet. I just hope that she is found. I want some health history and other stuff from her. But I'm hoping that we can have a relationship of some kind. Who knows though. I just hope that she is found. I'll keep you updated on that. I'm hoping that it won't take more than 6 months to find her.

Well, that's it from here. I have nothing else to say. I'm waiting for a new mattress and that's it. So I better get going. I will talk to you all later. Plus I have eyestrain and a headache. Grr...

Suz

Elissa & Matt's Wedding!

Thank you to all that attended our wedding a few weeks ago! Matt and I had such a wonderful day and hope everyone had a great time as well. We just got our professional pictures last night and I've uploaded them to my picasa website. Just a fair warning...there are a TON of pictures, so feel free to flip through them whenever. Here's the web address http://picasaweb.google.com/elissawiles (Could someone please embed this in the links column...I don't appear to have access to that - thanks!)

After the wedding, Matt and I went to Saint Augustine, FL for our honeymoon. His aunt Jane was kind enough to let us use her beach house for the week! The weather was wonderful and we mostly did a lot of sleeping, eating out and relaxing. We also saw the fort, alligator farm and did quite a bit of walking around downtown and hanging out on the beach. Too bad we're both back to work again! We are excited to start on new projects now that all the wedding planning is finished - go team Bright! Thank you again for all that were there and all the sweet cards and support!


-Elissa & Matt Bright

Hello from Mary Jo

Hi, Everyone!

Now that I have sent my belated wedding gift to the newlyweds and have seen Janice's post, I wanted to write a bit on the family blog. I am sorry we missed the wedding. I had just recently recovered from some kind of "flu" that settled in my back and wasn't really relishing a 6-hr drive. Paul was having a cement floor poured in a new big storage building he put up on the farm and was frantically picking up irrigation pipe (by himself) before the custom-farmer got there to combine the beans. We just decided it probably wouldn't be sensible to add a week-end trip to the mix. I have had several gab-sessions with mom about the affair and so "almost" feel like I was there. She told me how beautiful the mother of the bride looked, and tried to describe the dress, so I was excited to see Janice included the picture of herself and Ed.

This organic farming is proving to be very time-intensive, but Paul is extremely pleased with the yields he is getting (if you remember he was combining wheat the day of the family reunion). His custom-farmer is a young guy with lots of land, big equipment, uses the genetically modified seed, pesticides, herbicides, etc. and he is interested to see that Paul's yields are favorably comparing with his. (Of course, the labor is much more intensive on the organic method...and you couldn't do it on all of the acres he covers.) Paul claims he is loving it all, so I guess if this is how he wants to "retire", I'm glad. His health is good (still gets regular cancer checks) and he's in good shape for a 65-year old, so we are grateful.

I've enjoyed Joan's vet reports...although I wouldn't care to be participating in the various procedures she had described! Now I have a story for her. We have six 4-year old laying hens, that are "free-range". We lock them in a movable pen each night. We've had one that was determined to be a setter for a large part of the summer. Their nests are in another building (their "winter quarters".) Paul had been faithfully carrying her from the nest to the secure roost each night. One evening we had been out, it was well past dark, and Suzanne had locked the pen on the others, who were on the roost. Paul decided she'd be OK. The next morning, he found a big pile of feathers in the nest and on the ground in front of the nest. He figured something had eaten her. Imagine his surprise when he found her in some tall grass, looking tough, but alive. She was bald in many spots, and limping, so he left her alone. Later, she turned up in the pen. We kept her in there for several days with food and water, and each day she was better. When she let us examine her, it was obvious a big hunk of skin was torn off her thigh/breast and that was why she was limping. It is now 4 weeks later. Her feathers are growing back (except where she was skinned), she is active, runs and scratches, and competes with her sisters for grasshoppers and scraps. We call her "Toughy". We were absolutely amazed she could survive and didn't at least succumb to an infection in the wound. And we wonder how on earth she escaped from what ever had her trapped in the nest and then drug her out.

I hope some of you who took pictures at the wedding will share...always love to hear from you all.

Wedding After-glow

We are still basking in the afterglow of the wonderful wedding weekend. We had such fun sharing it with our wonderful family and friends. We had Ed's sister take some pictures with our camera, so I am including a few of those. In a few weeks we will have the disc from the photographer.

We are enjoying this mild weather. We spent yesterday with good friends at their annual lobster and clam bake. (If you were at the wedding, our clam bake crowd was the table of people from Naperville that we also do Bible study and New Year's Eve with. We have become good, loyal friends through the years.) They have a great patio/back yard and we just soaked up the day. Good thing that I didn't have to fit into that aqua MOB dress last night after that feast!

Great to see Theresa and Bill in KC! Now if she would just blog.......hint, hint.

Hope you all had half as much fun as we did. Thanks for the miles traveled and effort made.

Love,

Janice

Go Buffs! (from Niki)

For as long as I’ve known Matt, he's been a Colorado Buffalos football fan. (I know, I know. Stop throwing things!) Well, now he has turned me into a fan and since Florida State was coming to Boulder for the first time ever last week, we decided to make a vacation out of it.

The morning before the game we decided you can’t be that close to the mountains and not be outdoorsy. We heard beautiful things about Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park so we wanted to go hiking. Somehow we were under the assumption that hiking=walking. Not so in Colorado. The bus dropped us off at the start of one of the trails and people begin to pile out. As we look around, we see that these are some serious hikers. They have professional walking sticks, backpacks that match their outfits, and multiple water bottles. Matt and I have jeans and a digital camera.


The incline and altitude were pretty intense, but we managed to take our time and stop for plenty of pictures along the way. The weather was perfect and the scenery was incredible. Matt read all the warning signs about mountain lions (apparently if they attack you, you’re supposed to fight back!) and was a bit disappointed that boring elk were all the wildlife we managed to see.

The football game was also very exciting. We got there in plenty of time to walk around the beautiful campus and partake in some of the tailgating festivities. Folsom field is much smaller than Memorial Stadium so I was able to wonder around before the game and get up close to Ralphie the buffalo. (The photo below is from the brass one out front). It’s insane how huge a real buffalo is! The "Ralphie handlers" were one of my favorite parts. They have bright yellow cowboy shirts and tight Wrangler jeans, but they also wear $150 running shoes. No cowboy boots when you're running next to a giant animal sprinting at full speed. The score was close for the whole game so everyone around us was rowdy and fun. Florida State ended up winning, but we figured they would.

We’ve barely had time to unpack our suitcases before we head down to Kansas City this weekend for Elissa’s wedding. Very very exciting, and we look forward to seeing everyone there.

Niki

Another update from Joan....

Hello all!!

It's been 3 weeks since I finished my necropsy rotation. We saw a lot more than just green pigs! We had a really wide variety of animals come and some were not so pleasant! We had horses, cattle (both dairy and beef), goats, llamas, alpacas, dogs, cats and several exotic animals. I don't have any pictures, but believe me, there were a lot of bad sights and smells! Each person on the rotation had to do a presentation on a case and I chose "hardware disease." For those of you not familiar with "hardware disease," it happens when cattle swallow a metal object and it lodges in their reticulum (one of the four stomachs, close to the diaphragm.) The metal, a nail or wire usually, punctures the reticulum and can go through the liver, diaphragm, lungs, and sometimes even into the heart. I'm sure Grandpa Bull remembers these!

Immediately after my necropsy rotation, I left for Atlanta, GA for 6 weeks with the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). I stopped in Nashville and visited a friend of mine who lives there. We went out and saw the lights of "NashVegas" as the locals call it. It is a fun town and I would highly recommend visiting if you have the chance.

In Atlanta, I've been staying with Jeff and Cindy Peterson (Cindy is Mom's cousin from the other side of the family.) It's been great to get to know them since I don't remember ever meeting them! I even got to go to a Brave's game with their son, Brandon, and his girlfriend! Atlanta also had a German Bierfest that I went to. I tried to speak the few words of German that I remembered from high school!

For the first 3 weeks at the CDC, I basically just did office work. I got to see what it would be like to live in the corporate world filled with cubicles and ringing phones. The information I worked with concerned Cryptospordium (an enteric disease that causes diarrhea.) It's been increasing in many states and we were trying to figure out why. As luck would have it, Colorado called the CDC for help with their increasing cases of Crypto and I was sent with a team to Denver. We are currently working on questionnaires to try to determine why more people are being infected.

That's all for now...I am hoping to make it back to Nebraska for the Iowa State and Kansas State football games and see some of you!!

Joan

Pharmacy open/State Fair-Kelly

Here are a few photos from recent life, the first one is when Grandma and Grandpa stopped by the new pharmacy in Lincoln after car-shopping with Paul. So far, the pharmacy has been running smoothly and we just had a new coupon mailed out for Super Target pharmacy which has really driven our business. Yesterday, on my 12-hour day, we filled our record thus far of 51 prescriptions. I'm very pleased with how well everything is going in the pharmacy and am grateful to be working with such wonderful people.
This picture is me at the state fair last weekend. Paul and I decided it would be fun to attend since we're right in Lincoln but decided it was a bit of a rip off! We ended up riding one ride (the Big Ben that drops you straight down from a tower) and it cost $6.50 for one ride! Then we needed an order of fried oreos to split (which we were introduced to in Iowa and found to be very tasty). These were $3 for 3 oreos! I couldn't believe it but we paid it anyways since it is just once a year.
Our state fair weekend was a very busy one, we had some neighbors and co-workers over to the house for a grill-out on Friday night, then went to the state fair and Dundee Days (in Omaha) on Saturday. We stayed with some friends on Saturday night and decided to check out the new mall in West Omaha on Sunday afternoon--it's a very nice outdoor mall but I didn't find anything I needed to buy. I, brilliantly, suggested we take Highway 6 back to Lincoln instead of the interstate since we were in no rush to get home but we wound up in Fremont!!! I'm still not sure how this happened, I swear we were on Hwy 6 but somehow this became Hwy 275 and it took us an extra hour to get home. I think we'll be sticking to the interstate from here on out.
That's all for now, Paul and I are looking forward to the first Nebraska football game this weekend, we have tickets and will be cheering/ wearing red like all good Huskers do on Saturdays. Maybe I'll see some of you there:)-Kelly

American Idol Pictures

Here is a good crowd shot that I took. There were tons of crowd shots, but I chose to upload this one only.
Another picture of the judging tables. There were 11 of them.

This is a picture of the judging stations set up. The 4 yellow lines were taped on the floor and we stood in a line of 4 in front of the judge. We then stepped forward to the judges table when we sang.

An estimated 8,000 people turned out in Omaha. So here are 3 of the 12 pictures I took! The rest are cat pictures on this film :-).

AMERICAN IDOL--PART 2

Well, here I am finally at home. Today was a LONG and exhausting day. I'll upload some pictures later of the Qwest Center and how it was set up once I use up the rest of the film on my disposable camera :-). But here is the full story of today's auditions.

It started out with me being woke up with a strong summer thunderstorm moving through Omaha. And here they said that it was supposed to stay north of us. But after that, I was up and at it at 4:00 am. They wanted us in line between 5-6 am you know. So I had my wakeup call and stuff and then went back to sleep for 30 minutes. I had a quickie shower and got my bracelet wet, but luckily it didn't smudge my number off of it. But yeah, then I was up and at it and ate my breakfast at the hotel. Thank goodness they started continental breakfast at 3:30 am!!!

So then here I am checking out of my motel room and heading for the Qwest Center. So I get there at 5:30 or so. LONG line already. They want us there by 6 keep in mind. But needless to say, we still had people coming in and lining up at 8:00. And auditions were supposed to start at 8:00. And yes, they were late at starting them and we didn't even get into the building until 9:00 or so, if not 9:30. But once we got in there, we had a good time singing Born in the USA (although that doesn't apply to me). After that, we did some chants and screams and yes, I lost my voice. Hehehe, for awhile that is. But then I was warming up all day and singing.

So a few hours go by. Around 2:00 I FINALLY got to audition. I was so excited!!! However, when I sang for the judge, my voiced cracked and I was not thrilled. Needless to say, they did not choose me to move on. No one in my group moved on. The judge said that we were good, but not what they were looking for. My question is this, what WERE they looking for? Obviously people who could sing, yes, but what else??? I mean, you can't say star personality and stuff like that because they don't get to know us in 15 seconds!!!

Okay, back to the auditions. There were supposed to be 12 judges, but only 11 were judging. No clue what had happened to the 12th one. But it was set up in the arena so we could hear everyone sing and see everyone. The singers were on the floor in front of the judges. So yuppers that's what happened. Like I said, I'll upload pictures later.

Well, in the end, it was an EXCELLENT experience, yet boring in a way. But I cried after I found out I didn't make it only because I was disappointed in myself for my voice cracking along with the fact that I REALLY wanted to make it to the second round. I guess my dreams have been shattered of meeting Randy, Paula and Simon for tips on improving my voice. Well, there's always Philadelphia still!!! HA HA! Speaking of which, it was rumored that 25 states showed up to the auditions. We had some people from Idaho, others from Missouri and Wisconsin and we even had a person from Connecticut fly in with her father AND some person drove from NEW YORK!!! Talk about a LONG trip!!!!

But I'm glad to be back at home. I splurged and spent about $22 in cat toys. My cats were SO thrilled tonight in getting them!!! They just LOVE them!!!! But yeah, now it's time to read 4 days of newspapers that I'm behind plus today's and go through my mail. Anyway, that's the story behind the auditions and yeah, I didn't make it, but there's always next year!!! That is, if htey are relatively close. If they're in Iowa or Kansas or something like that, I MIGHT go again, but for now, I'll just look forward to seeing the auditions on television this January of who made it in Omaha.

Ta ta for now.

Suz

P.S. How's that paper Keeley?

AMERICAN IDOL PART 1

Well, I have made it to Omaha. Seeing Keeley, Cleone, John, and Christian along with Uncle Dave has been good. Hanging out with Grandma was good also. But here I am to say how I've been doing. I went to the Qwest Center on Wednesday and walked in a quarter until 10 and got my bracelet and walked out. I didn't even have to wait in line!!! That was awesome!!!! So I was thrilled. I then ventured around Omaha and did my shopping (majority of it). Bummer, no clothes for me, but $22 worth of cat toys!!!! I hope my cats will like them.

So okay, you're wondering where I'm at huh? I am sitting here in the hotel and typing this. Here's the lowdown for tomorrow's audition. I am going to be in line between 5 and 6 am. I then have to wait until 8 am when the auditions start!!! Grr, I hate waiting in line. But the good news is that I should get to audition. But we go through about 4 rounds before we go to Randy, Paula and Simon. But the bad news is that they won't be back until October. So yeah, if I make it that far (which I won't) I have to be back in October. Good luck on that!!! HAHAHA!!!

Anyway, we get like 15 seconds to audition and that's it. So yeah, not much time for me to sing my song. But I'm singing Josh Groban's You Raise Me Up. He's coming to the Qwest Center at the end of the month. I was going to go, but then decided not to because I'm up here for this. But you never know, I might come back--highly doubt it though. Anyway, back to the audition. So yeah, that's what I'm doing.

I plan on making the venture back to Hastings tomrrow night. So I will update the blog and tell you how the audition went. I just found out that Paula, Randy, and Simon are at every site the day of audition except US!!! That really sucks. So WE have to come back in October, but no one else had to wait. So this really bites. But anyway, that's the story here.

Well, I better get to bed. It's late and it's 9:07. So yeah, better go to bed. I'll update people tomorrow. Good night!

Suz

Rotation 4 (from Joan)

Hello everyone!

"Toby" - had surgery on both knees for luxating patellas

Another rotation has ended for me and a new one has started this week. For the past 3 weeks I have been on the orthopedic surgery rotation. This rotation deals only with small animals and mainly dogs at that. By far the most common injuries are to dogs' hind legs. We saw several CCLR (cranial cruciate ligament ruptures) which are equivalent to ACL tears in humans. There are several different surgical procedures that can be used to correct this. The surgery done most commonly at K-State is called a TPLO (tibial plateau leveling osteotomy) and it's a bit hard to explain. Ask me about sometime if you really want to know and I can do my best!! Another common problem in small dogs is luxating patellas (moving kneecaps). We saw several of these and they did very well after surgery. We also saw several fractures, most of the dogs had been hit by a car. There are several ways to correct these and being at a referral hospital, we did surgery on most. Correction of fractures usually includes metal plates, screws, wire, external fixators, or a combination of any of these.

That's me helping "KC" on the water treadmill (check out the cool waders!)

As a student on orthopedic surgery, one of our responsibilities is to begin the rehabilitation process. This includes things like walking, simple physical therapy procedures and even a water treadmill! Not too many places have a water treadmill so many clients take advantage of it if they can. The water displaces the dog's weight just enough so it is comfortable doing exercise. This really helps them to use muscles that may have atrophied after an injury or surgery. The patients that really benefit are those who have had a "slipped disk" in their back or neck. These are most often dachsunds and they need a lot of rehabilitation.

All in all, I enjoyed orthopedic surgery. It was very challenging but worthwhile. I have already started my necropsy rotation (the same as autopsy in humans.) Recently deceased animals are sent in to get a diagnosis on the reason they died. During the first two days, I had 3 pigs. I will say that choosing this rotation in August may not have been the greatest idea. On Monday the pig was literally green in color because it had already decomposed extensively over the weekend. I think I still smell from it! I promised Steve and John some gory details, but I will wait until the rotation is over for the best stories!

Until then, enjoy the end of summer! I am currently taking my (hopefully) last ever lecture class. It is very interesting, we are talking about emerging infectious disease, but the last class is kind of a big deal!!

Joan

Beautiful Family Pleasures

Hello everyone!

Thank you, Sue, for the amazing pictures. Beautiful people, wonderful family!! I ordered a couple pictures (for the first time) from Kodak Gallery. Will have to wait a few more days for them. Something else to look forward to.

Shaylee with Fred (Angelique's cat)

Niki, your trip to Alaska came as a BIG surprise to me. What a thrilling experience for you. Snow in July - go figure (however I remember now the picture inserted in my last entry one year ago). Another reminder to all --stay cool.

Susie, you have convinced me to hold off night school for awhile. Thank you for giving me another reason to put that off.

Marty and Steve are busy (as I write this) getting ready for their next little fishing adventure tomorrow with John, I believe. This will be the first outing for Marty in over a year. Bonding with the guys is a wonderful thing. We are happy he is able to slip away.

The girls and I left him at home last week for a mini vacation. He was invited but the office needed him more. We spent two nights ruffing it in a: two bedroom (each with own private bathroom) cabin furnished with leather furniture, pillows galore, towels, kitchen (everything provided except groceries), whirlpool, sauna, fireplace, outdoor furniture, private patio, books galore, game boards, indoor picnic table in upstairs loft, hammock, two tents upstairs position in opposite corners furnished with full size mattress, sheets, and comforters. This place was amazing! The beds were silky-soft and comfortable. And plenty of cool air upstairs and down. If you ever want a romantic (wished Marty was there!) get away from phones, television, noise, pollution, this is the place -- Cottagewood Resorts located 50 mins. south of Minneapolis, MN. Sure beat staying in a hotel. Maria and Shaylee wanted to reside there permanently. Do I blame them? Erika learned one thing -- check towel for spiders before using. It was funny. She picked her room. Ha-ha.

Our nephew and niece spent the night with us one night and we had a memorable time with them. They live in Lakeville (suburb of Minneapolis). Wished my sister (Angelique) could have joined us. Her husband, Michael, is a victim of terminal cancer and unfortunately not doing well. Currently, Michael is in a nursing home and she feels the need to be as close to his call as possible (what a loving, strong, and courageous wife he has). In spite of the dark cloud hovering over the ray of sunshine that we know is there, we found delight in each other. Tears and hugs felt comforting rather than distance that keeps touch at bay. What was also hard, our dear Grandma was in the hospital with a grim prognosis. She currently is recovering. Thanks be to God! The girls and I drove up to see her yesterday at McKenna Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD. She is alive and beautiful. Thanks to her young (19 and 20+ something) male nurses. They arrived in her room to help with her shower. She thought they were kidding. They were not. They take great pride in their jobs and responded as such adding they have done this hundreds of times. Well, Grandma entered the bathroom with a frown and came out smiling. Imagine that! She can't wait to share her bathing experience with her senior friends. Won't they be jealous (she added).

Back to our mini vacation . . . The Mall of America was more walking than Shaylee could count shoes. We had fun looking while spending little. Maria saved her money for this shopping event and did not buy one thing. I was amazed. Shaylee found two pair of shoes on sale for $10. Erika found that purchase unnecessary. Shaylee has more shoes than we do clothes (small exaggeration). Erika felt better after finding pieces of jewelry to go with her new wardrobe (thanks to Cassi!).

Oops, look at the time. Sleeping in is not an option. Erika has Color Guard practice, then there is work, and meeting at 6:30 PM with my family for pizza. I have an Aunt flying in tomorrow from San Fransisco. Ciao.

Gigi

TO ANYONE THAT KNOWS ECONOMICS

alas, it is me again. do you remember last year when i was complaining about economics??? well, i am totally avoiding a EDU 338 course at doane that i can use to get out of there instead of economics. the reason??? the teacher says that she is making me do a 5-10 page research paper and it's only worth, (you better sit down for this if you are reading this standing up) 15 POINTS!!!! that's right. OUTRAGEOUS!!! i'm not doing all that work for little points. eh, the syllabus is horrible. i already complained to my advisor and he took her side. BLASTED ADVISORS!!! anyway, i looked into going back to ccc and repeating economics.

hehehe, so the teacher that i'm going to take it from is in grand island. i already heard bad things about the one in hastings. the one i had retired and so yeah, he's not there anymore. but his class was straight reading and tests. no WONDER i failed!!! anyway, to make this blog a short one here's the story. the teacher and i had a 30 minute convo on my cell phone the other night. he told me it's more oriented towards group work (like doane) and we buy our grade!!! i love that idea. instead of points, it's a money system. he did say people have failed in there but it's set up so unless we totally put no effort into it, we should pass :-). i'm after the elusive C by the way. so yeah. we have one major research project (which i'll dread when the time comes) but it then gotes to group work once we have that part of the research done!!! yippee! and he has more than 100 points TOTAL for the whole class which actually motivates me. the other class had homework worth only 15-20 points each and some of it was MASSIVE work. can anyone see why i don't want to take the course??? my mom doesn't or does randy (my advisor) but too bad. it's not motivating. anyway, back to economics.

so yeah, i'm actually pumped about this economics class because it's 1) lecture (the other was individualized) and 2) group work and 3) only 3 exams worth 100 points each, 4) it's a night class and 5)i actually have a chance at passing! oh the tests are hard by the way, but hey, what can i say??? i'll at least get the accommodations at ccc that i need. doane doesn't offer the ones that i need *sobs hysterically* yet, somehow, i've managed to do swell there xD.

that's all, just a quick blog about economics. so for ANY of you who understands it quite well (niki--i remember you saying something about it once), i'm sure you'll be GLAD to help me get an A in that class. the reading is intense, yes BUT at the same time, i think i'll be able to learn better. oh and the reading is difficult to understand at times. so yuppers. that's all. message me on here if you want to help!!! i'll just e-mail you all my homework and you can do it and send it back *snickers* :P.

mom wasn't too thrilled about me taking at ccc because i have to throw out an elective to take that course in. but hey, i don't care. i might or might not have to make up a course at doane. we'll see. randy will let me know later on. and besides that, tuition is cheaper there and he says that education is never wasted. will i ever use economics in my life again? of course not (okay, so i will but not think about it). but it's the easiest way to get away from that blasted teacher that wants to screw me in my homework!!!! hehehe, okay, i'm rambling. gotta go. another O.o day at work. see ya laterz!!!!

suz

p.s. i'm too lazy to capitalize most stuff. i'm just typing lowercase and stressing important stuff in CAPS. bye bye now.

Alaska: The Last Frontier (by Niki)

Well, that’s what they claim on their license plates anyway. My work came through with their best meeting/training location yet in the form of a trip last week to our Anchorage office. Overall, it was amazing. We left Monday morning to survive over 8 hours of travel (by far my least favorite part) and returned on Friday. Our meeting didn’t begin until Tuesday afternoon, so my work friend Laurie and I had some time to explore around with another girl who worked in our office there.

I’d heard about the sunlight and weather, but it really is strange once you get there. This time of year it stays light for nearly 20 hours a day. The sun fully sets around midnight and rises again about 4-5am. Between the constant sunlight and the time difference, my clock wasn’t ever quite right. Sunny weather that rarely gets above 60 leads to some beautiful landscaping all over the place, too. Flowers grow like crazy and everything is bright, bright green.

The first of our adventures was going king salmon fishing at 6am. Fishing is pretty serious business, so we had to stake out our site by 5:30a to ensure we would get a good spot by the water. I never knew what “combat fishing” was until 6am hit and 30 poles all went in at once around me. I hadn’t been fishing since grade school with my dad, so my serious lack of pole skills and pink sweatshirt of girly-ness made it pretty obvious which of these things was not like the other. Everyone around me was extremely nice and very quick with the fishing tips. They were either trying to help me catch something or trying to keep me from hooking them in the leg with my wild casting. Not sure which. The salmon that other people were catching were 35-40 lbs, so I wasn’t too upset that nothing giant came my way. I attached a picture of my only catch of the day: A genuine Alaskan tree branch!

After some breakfast, we decided to go glacier hiking in the pouring rain. Apparently the glaciers are prettier when it’s raining, so this weather was a very good thing. (The entire car ride to the mountain with the windshield wipers on full-speed, I was not convinced.) Anchorage is surrounded by mountains on three sides, so this hour drive outside the city was amazing. We learned all sorts of things about trees, wildlife and climate from our local expert, Becky. A quick stop at the visitor’s center provided a touch of dry warmth and plenty of bear warnings. Apparently, there was a giant bear spotted on the trail two days before. Great. I tried to read the signs about how ‘you can run from black bears but you should never run from brown ones’, but honestly, I decided I was running either way.

The National Park Service and Forest Service basically manage 75% of the land in Alaska, so the trails and grounds were extremely clean, safe (bears not withstanding) and well-maintained. After a mile hike past a stream and through the trees, we finally made it to the glacier. I had to admit that the ice was an amazing blue color against the rainy clouds. You can’t actually climb on the glacier without special equipment, but we did run around in the surrounding snow and take a million pictures of stuff. I attached one of my feet because I could not believe that I was standing in snow on July 10th while it was 100 degrees at home. So strange. The final picture is Laurie and me in front of Byron Glacier looking quite outdoorsy.

The remainder of the week was mostly meetings and training, but we did have some great food and spent as much time outside as possible. I highly, highly suggest that anyone who likes being outdoors should go visit some day. It’s extremely tourist-friendly and you don’t have to do anything more than look at the scenery to be entertained.

Thanks to everyone who made the trip to the hot and steamy family picnic. My parents and I counted 45 people who made it this year. Very impressive! It was so good to see everyone and thank you Sue for posting the family pictures on her Kodak page. Here is a link to the few that I took.

http://tinyurl.com/2llomx

Take care,
Niki

Family Picnic - Sue

Hi everyone... I've been trying to figure out some easy way to share photos from the picnic.. On the right hand side is a link to the pictures I took . They're in an album on Kodak Gallery. The only hitch is that you'll have to 'sign in' to your account, or create an account if you don't already have one (I know you all love this kind of stuff..sorry). But i think your username can be your email address and just use some simple password you can remember, and then you'll be 'in'. Kodak Gallery is a pretty slick way of sharing photos, if any of you are interested. I know Suki uses it too...
The picnic was great...the Stamps did a great job of keeping us all entertained and hydrated on a very hot day!
Enjoy!

OFFENDED I SAY!!!! OFFENDED!!!!!

Well, why should I NOT be??? My mom makes a stupid comment about people who comment by e-mail don't think!!!! SHE'S NUTS!!!! (in real life she is, you just don't get to see it like I do :P ). Anyway, here is her exact comment...AND I QUOTE: "It has been said people who send comments by e-mail don't think." PUH! What she doesn't realize is that many people who comment by e-mail are smart and intelligent (unlike her due to this little comment she has made). You see, we just don't have enough time to talk on the phone, or messengers (generally unless you're avoiding a research paper like me!!!). Therefore, commenting is the easiest way to go because that way it's quick, simple and to the point. To say that we are stupid for commenting and that's it, well, that's just...BIASED!!! Okay, maybe not the word I was looking for, but hey, it blows my mind!!!! Hehehe, oh I just love having fun on this blog at times. So sorry all, but it was a VERY crazy day at work and well, quite frankly, I'm out of it. Perhaps I need to go to the hospital and get some psychotropic meds to knock me out for a few days so I can be back to my normal self. In all reality though, the comment is quite offensive if you think about it!!!! Hmm, I wonder how I can blackmail her NEXT!!!! *snickers*

OKAY, enough of that. Here is the quickie update on me. I was working today so as you can tell that is why I was not at the reunion. Besides, working with the youth is SO much fun (NOT!!!! Actually it depends what day it is and how they are--today was CRAZY!!!). On top of that, I am just plain exhausted from work. Too bad you don't have Facebook. You all could look and see my exhausted picture that I chose for my mood. Oh, but I'm not searchable on Facebook--or I hope not to be. LOL.

School is coming along quite well. I'm avoiding a stupid research paper though for Organizational Behavior. Ugh, stupid papers. I just want to hide in a hole and away from the Meepits (on Neopets--evil petpets that want to take over Neopia and the world--okay a virtual pet site and it's oodles of fun :-) ) and NEVER be found again (so I can avoid the dumb papers). I mean really, we're adult learners for pity sakes. We've all been to college before (or most of us) and have learned how to write a paper. So WHY in the world do we have to do it now? Now I could see a traditional college or university, but not a non-traditional one!!! Anyway, I'm working on my 10 page paper on self-efficacy and organizational behavior. It's kind of hard to find information on it, but I'm slowly going at it!!! Almost done researching it to :-). Management class is going quite well also. I'm working on a project. That reminds me, I need to see if my classmates got my e-mail :-).

To clarify, I'm not a Business major at all. Dumb Doane College in GI added Criminal Justice this coming fall (W00t!). The downer is that I have to do Organizational Behavior and Management for the degree to graduate. And get this, Randy told me that I have enough if not more than necessary courses in Criminal Justice. Stop!!!! I've only had *counts on fingers* six courses in Criminal Justice either at CCC or UNK. Add 1 more this fall from UNK via satellite and I have seven. So Randy tells me that the majority of my classes are going to be Psychology/Sociology courses. Wait a minute!!! It's a Criminal Justice major. Yes, those are important, but shouldn't we be focusing on Criminal Justice courses here??? Sorry, I really AM out of it. Yikes!!! So anyway, I'm going to go back to CCC once I get done with my degree at Doane in Criminal Justice and Human Relations and get my Associates. That way, I can say that I have a background in Criminal Justice with courses :-). Oh yes, and I graduate next May (supposedly) with my Human Relations degree!!! Yippee!!!! Then it's off to the real world for me!!! (FINALLY!!!!)

Uh work is crazy like today. LOL. But umm, we are short staffed right now and so I've been called in on my weekends off. Actually, this was my weekend to work. I have worked the past I don't know how many weekends straight. With today being so chaotic, I think that it's Sunday when it's really Saturday. *Yawns* I'm REALLY out of it right now. My fingers are just typing randomly right now if you ask me. Anyway, I have to say no on weekends for awhile when they're my days off because I got held for 15 hours a couple of weekends ago (or was it last week???) Anyway, I worked from 0630-1500 for my regular shift and then was told around 1400 that I would be staying for overtime. I frantically looked for someone to take my spot, but no one would OR come in early on the night shift. Damn! So then I get stuck there until 2200 instead of 2300. But at 2100 I went home and had a mental breakdown due to exhaustion (both physically and mentally). I hate overtime because I'm the least seniority generally and that makes ME the one who gets stuck working overtime. Union contract says least seniority stays. UGH! But hey, on the bright side, my paycheck was quite HEFTY!!!! *snickers and rolls around in my money--okay, not really, I have to pay bills (so who wants to take over my cell phone bill and Gordmans credit card bill, Herbergers bill, Sears bill??? *points finger at my mom* *snickers some more*) So that's what's been going on there. And yes, I'm looking for a new job because I can't stand working 15 hour shifts. My supervisor is aware of this though and so is the unit manager. So we'll see what happens.

Umm, okay, I think I have said what I've wanted to say. Blackmailing my mom was the main point of this whole mumbo jumbo. Anyway, I think I need a mini nap now. So I will go to sleep and rest. Watch, then I won't sleep tonight. It never fails. Anyway, off I go to pester my cats for a few minutes and then sleep. Ta ta for now. As I look back on what I type, YUP, I'M REALLY OUT OF IT.

Suzie Q (my nickname a friend at CCC gave me a couple of years ago)

Picnic+Shower additional info and reminder (from Niki/Suki)

The countdown to the family picnic is on! Hopefully you've all received your invitations by now. My dad tells me that construction has closed a road on the map. I attached a revised map with a suggested detour. (Click on the picture for a larger view.) We'll have signs once you get to the neighborhood, and call if you get lost.

Also, this is a quick reminder on Janice's request for the shower.
We look forward to seeing you on Saturday the 7th!

Don't fall off your chair - it's actually a post from Debbie!

Hi everyone! After a long lay off I'll finally add to everyone's news. First of all many (belated) congratulations to Elissa, and Jim and I of course will want to attend the wedding. And Kelly - we are basically neighbors if you are near 56th and Pine Lake, so welcome to Lincoln. When I read your news about being in Lincoln and needing a job, I thought of the new Target and am quite impressed that you are the manager. That deserves a congratulations too!
For an update on all of us - Michael and Renee are still in Omaha, Michael still at Streck, but Renee now works in the anti-terrorism department at UNMC. I think she likes the job, and has put pursuing a nursing degree on hold for now.
Wyatt is in Des Moines, but his situation has changed. While in his first clinical rotation at an outpatient clinic at St. E's here in Lincoln, he came to the difficult conclusion that Physical Therapy is not what he wants to do. He stayed with us and I could sense that something was troubling him. After he finally told me he felt better and said he could sleep at night again. He wanted to finish the rotation and we used the time to try and help him really think things through (and were silently hoping that he would stick with PT.) But he decided to forego this field and start over with something else. So as he worked at the Nebr. Book Company after his rotation, he applied for different jobs online, got a response from an environmental testing lab in Newton, IA and now has a job there as a "chemist." He's learning alot and finds it interesting, but feels he doesn't really fit the chemistry nerd stereotype (he says they all think he's weird!) He did some tests on soil (I think) from Greenberg, KS after the horrible tornado and spoke to someone from FEMA about what he found (there were positive results for something very bad.)
So this job is good experience, but is probably just a stepping stone to something else, perhaps more schooling. He does have a girlfriend who graduated this spring from Drake and she's now working at the Des Moines Register, but she has her sights set on finding a job somewhere like Kansas City or St. Louis, or Phoenix. If she wasn't going to Spain with her Mom, she may have come with Wyatt to the picnic.
Owen was at Wesleyan this year and has decided that's a good fit for him. He played baseball and pitched okay, but struggled all season with something bothering his shoulder. He had an MRI and is now scheduled to have it scoped on Thursday. The doctor couldn't make a diagnosis from the MRI, but thinks during the scoping he'll figure it out for sure and be able to fix it. He did think that if nothing was done and even with lots of rest it would continue to bother him whether he plays more baseball or not.
Reference has been made in other posts to my trip to Honduras, which was a wonderful experience! This was a dental mission trip, so 3 dentists and 14 helpers went for a week and felt grateful for the chance to be servants, to feel we were doing a little of God's work, and to feel our perspectives (on lots of things) being altered. We saw lots of poverty and hardship, but also lots of faith. We pulled lots of teeth from painful mouths, but also saw lots of smiles. Honduras is not the safest place (it's routine to see armed (with rifles) guards at gas stations or even fast food places) but the most hazardous part of our trip was driving home from the Omaha airport the Friday after the big blizzard at the end of February! The dates are set for the next trip, and I will gladly go again. If I don't get any pictures posted, I'll bring them to the picnic.
Nancy did a great job reporting on our marathon experience, that is something else I want to do again. For one thing, it was such an ego boost as we passed the water stations to have all the volunteers cheering us on and telling us how great we were doing (even though we were bringing up the rear of the 5,000 participants.) To keep me moving, I'm now taking a running class with a couple of friends. The class meets once a week, different groups do different levels of running, there's speakers about different fitness topics, and if we want to progess we run on our own during the week. Saturday I ran for 5 minutes, walked for 1 minute and repeated that 6 times, which was tough, especially on the hills in our neighborhood. We'll work up to running for longer times, and as long as my old body can take it I'll keep at it, and maybe run the half marathon next year!
It's past my bedtime, time to close. Love to you all, Debbie

Moved in and training with Target-Kelly

Here are a few pictures from my latest adventures. The first one is in front of my new house in Lincoln with my first visitor--Sarah (my roommate from college). She and her husband took a detour on their way from Oklahoma to South Dakota to stop by, say hi, see the new place and eat a Runza!!

Right after their visit, I went on my first business trip with Target--I traveled to Salt Lake City for 'business college' training. I will be the pharmacy manager at the new Super Target which is opening in July and had to get familiar with Target lingo first--this is why they sent me off for a week of training in SLC. I got to stay in a very classy hotel in a historic building in the heart of SLC.

Here are a couple pictures from my swank hotel room--I loved the king sized bed and room service:)
I did my training at a store just North of SLC in Centerville, I've also included a view of the store and the mountains next to it. I got to see a performance by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on my birthday which was spectacular!
I'm still getting settled in Lincoln but look forward to seeing everyone at the picnic/shower--it's so nice to be in NE with the rest of the family!

Part 2: Berlin and off to Paris! - Cassidy

May 30-31 - I just got done eating a currywurst on the streets of downtown Berlin. This is the common fast food snack, basically a sausage covered in ketchup and sprinkled with curry. Very strange but popular. We took the train to Potsdam and there had a tour of Frederick the Great’s summer home. Amazing! We went to this Turkish mosque, had lunch at a kosher Turkish restaurant, and visited a museum with sculptures from Greece and northern Africa. Our last day in Berlin we saw the Brandenburg Gate and then went to the zoo(1 block from the hotel)and I actually saw Knut with my own two eyes! You would not believe how popular this bear is.

Yesterday was our first full day in Paris. We went to Notre Dame and Saint Chappell and they were beautiful! We’ve been experiencing the Paris night life to the fullest and it’s even crazier than Berlin. Today is our day off and we’re going to Versailles and then the France-Ukraine soccer game. We visited this cool cemetery which was 125 acres big and saw Jim Morrison's and Oscar Wilde's graves, then went to see the Arc de Triomphe (see picture). Finally visited the famous Louvre Museum (see above picture) and saw the Mona Lisa and many other famous pieces. Incredible. That place is so big you literally could not spend everyday for 2 weeks there and see everything. Bye for now! Cassidy

Part 1: Hanging Out in Europe - Cassidy

Cassi asked that I post some of her adventures as she’s cruising around Europe this summer. She left for Berlin on May 26 and currently is in Paris for a 10 day stay before heading to Strasbourg and then Brussels. We anxiously await her return home on June 22.

Sunday, May 27 - I made it! I slept for a good part on the plane, but once we got here it was 7:30a and our day was just starting. Our rooms weren't ready so we went on a walking tour as a group with our professors, but it turned into stopping a block later at the local cafe for a round of lagers served by 6’3” German ladies. This evening we went on a boat tour of the city and then ate a 5 course group dinner at this Hebrew(?) restaurant. Dinner ended with a round of two hookahs (see picture). It's been a loooong two days but it's been awesome so far! We have a ton to see and do before we leave for Paris later this week. Love, Cassidy


Wed., May 30-It's about 9:00 here and my roommate and I stopped into an internet cafe before we meet up with the others to get dinner and go out on the town. Today we went to two Jewish synagogues, a Lutheran church, did a lot of walking and saw the Berlin Wall. The entire part of the wall that’s left is painted and grafittied by local artists and other artists from around the world. (see picture). Afterwards we stopped at this Oasis bar that was all this sand and tables and techno music and lots of locals. So I was hanging out, having a drink at the space bar, next to the Berlin wall, next to the river…it was unreal. Love and miss everyone! Cassidy

P.S. from Mary Jo

I just realized my comments about the next generation being so scientific in contrast to ours is not totally accurate. Sorry Theresa...and the Engineers among the men. It has been said people who send comments by e-mail don't think. Hope no one was offended....I'm proud of all of us unique individuals!!

Mary Jo says she loves the posts from the younger generation

It's been so good to see the recent posts, which I have found most interesting. Please keep them coming. Joan, your experiences are fascinating. I can't wait to hear the reports of your next rotation. I'm sorry about the rabies incident. A friend of mine tells me her daughter's family (2 adults and 3 children) all had to have the shots after contact with a bat in their camper. Kelly, congratulations on Paul's promotion....and good luck finding a job for yourself in Lincoln. The new house looks lovely, and I hope you'll enjoy coming back to Nebraska. (Though you wouldn't remember anything about life in Beatrice, you ARE a native!)

As I read the posts from this generation, I realize how many of you are following medical/scientific careers. That is a new direction for the family. And Nikki's adventures in Philadelphia and New York are something I can hardly imagine. Hooray for diversity.

Hooray for our generation, too. Loved the Marathon Women post. I'm still waiting to hear about Debbie's adventure in Honduras, and by the way, why was your foot swollen??

I spent the week-end in Omaha with Mom, and also got to see Dave and some of his kids and John and Sue and Steve and Suki, plus some relatives on the Warren side! Yesterday, we went to decorate graves and happened to meet the family of the young soldier from Gretna who was killed in Iraq. He was buried in the same cemetery as my dad. The story of how Jim Warren led them to that location was very moving. After the cemetery stops, Mom and I changed clothes and went to an open house honoring Kathleen (Warren) Osberg's son. Then, we went back to her place, changed clothes again and went to John and Sue's for supper with them and Stamps. Busy day. Mom was tired from all of the walking and standing, but felt good this morning and we went to church and then out for lunch. Then we went back to her place, walked around the courtyard, visited with neighbors outside, and chatted on her patio. Finally, at 4pm, I told her she needed to go take a nap and I needed to head home. (I'm tired tonight) Mom's doing very well, but in a couple of weeks she goes back to the cardiologist to discuss a leaky heart valve. She says she can't tell she feels any different, so I hope there won't have to be anything done...

A Tale of a Mini Horse

I don't know how many of you have seen a miniature horse. They are pretty cute and they are usually proportionally (not fat like most ponies). They stand about 3 feet tall and actually quite a few people own them. We had one come in on Sunday night. He was a one year old stallion named "Casey." His owners had noticed hindlimb lameness. It was first thought that he had bilateral luxating patellas (both of his kneecaps would dislocate). When this happened he would just lay in the stall and kick. He wasn't able to get up on his own. His case was brought to anesthesia because they wanted x-rays to confirm the luxating patellas. I got the case about half an hour before we put him under anesthesia.
He was described to me as "fractious" and I was told I probably should just take the physical exam readings from the surgery student instead of doing my own physical. We anesthetized him very carefully because he really did "freak out" several times. Once he was under anesthesia, very deep I might add, he was still kicking. We finally got the radiographs taken and he was allowed to wake up. He was given steroids in his knees to see if that would help. It did not and he wasn't even able to rise after anesthesia. The owners decided to euthanize him.
He was sent to necropsy as a rabies suspect (all animals showing neurological signs are considered rabies suspects). The funny thing is that one of the residents was absolutely sure it was not rabies and he would just freak out because of the luxating patellas. While he was under anesthesia, one of the very experienced surgeons said this looked like a classic case of rabies. It turned out he was right!! I got the news on Monday night and went in Tuesday for post-exposure rabies vaccinations. I have already been through a 3 shot series of rabies vaccinations and have a high titer against it, but all people who are considered exposed must receive treatment afterwards. I only need two vaccinations and both are given in the arm, so it really isn't too bad.
I guess the moral of my little story is that not all mini horses are cute...they might have rabies!!

Joan

Big apples and cheese steaks (from Niki)

So many exciting things going on with everyone!

Life around here is going really well. We are keeping busy with house stuff, work, and school. My latest adventure was a week in Philadelphia and New York two weeks ago. It was my first time, and it really turned out to be quite the experience.

I was attending a conference in Philadelphia and had to go a day early to set up and get things organized. I figured since I had some time, I’d take the train to New York for a day of shopping since it beats sitting in a hotel alone. Bright and early Monday morning, I fly to Chicago for a layover, Philadelphia to quickly set up, and hop on the train for an hour and a half ride to New York City. (With stops in Trenton and Newark New Jersey. I’ve got to say, not so pretty.) After literally being on planes, trains and automobiles for 12 hours while hauling a week’s worth of luggage and work crap, I emerge from the train station in the middle of Manhattan at 5:30 on a Monday evening to a sea of people.

I knew my hotel was two blocks from the station, but apparently a train station that takes up an entire city block has more than one exit. Within 10 minutes I’d managed to get completely lost, yelled at (I really had it coming though—who knew staring at building addresses while aimlessly wondering down the wrong side of the sidewalk is frowned upon), and nearly purchased some adorable “Coach” sunglasses at the low, low price of 2 for $15.

After finally finding my hotel, I didn’t care that the room was the size of my closet and I should have brought my shower flip flops from college. (That’ll teach me to a.) trust the pictures on the internet and b.) try and save my company money). Thankfully Matt’s good friend Dave and his girlfriend Melissa who live in Manhattan came later to take me out to dinner and drinks - a tiny Italian restaurant and watermelon puree martinis at a loud bar with low tables- very New York. Turns out, I “attract the crazies” since the walk home was sprinkled with characters and I didn’t unclench my teeth or the grip on my purse the entire way.

The next morning was much better though. I did some power shopping on 5th Avenue and lunched at Macy’s before taking the train back to Philadelphia. One of my favorite parts of the trip was a chat I had with a college kid next to me on the train. He’d lived in DC his entire life, and this was his first trip to New York too. We had the following chat:

Him: So what did you think of NYC?
Me: I liked it. I need more time when I come back though.
Him: Did you see Central Park at all?
Me: No, but I heard it’s neat. Next time for sure.
Him: It’s AMAZING. There is nothing but grass and trees all around!
Me: (smile) Yes, that does sound amazing. That’s what the entire state of Nebraska looks like if that sort of thing impresses you.
Him: No, but they plant things... like flowers!
Me: (smile and laugh) Yes, that’s my backyard at home. Grass, trees, and flowers. :o)

He was a really sweet kid who made the trip quick and pleasant.
The rest of the conference was fairly uneventful. My work friend Laurie and I did some sightseeing like good Americans at the Liberty Bell and Rocky steps. I also had cheese steaks on three different occasions. I didn’t know they even made chicken cheese steaks, but those with ketchup were my favorite (go figure).

The following Monday after getting back, I took a week long communications class for school. Wearing jeans and no heels all day almost made up for the stress. Like Joanie and Suzanne, I can NOT wait to be done with studying, tests, and classes. December can’t come fast enough.

Two gold stars to Debbie and Nancy for doing the marathon! How fun that your entire family turned out to support (and offer fashion advice). I’d wanted to do it, but I just got a little too busy. I plan to do the Omaha one in September. I’ll have to put my breakfast order in early with Matt since apparently that’s part of finishing!

My mom and I look forward to seeing everyone at the family picnic on July 7th. We were just talking on Mother’s Day how the family shower I had at Sue’s house was one of my favorite parts of all the pre-wedding stuff, and I’m excited to throw Elissa a family shower too. Official invites will be coming out in the next few weeks.

Take care,
Niki