Vacation: Take Two

Whew, this blogging is hard work for a two year old. So back to my trip to Savannah... we drove to Savannah and as we were en route, we got word Matt's ceremony was delayed two days to Saturday at 5:30 am. Now we all know I can handle an early morning (if any of you haven't participated in my early morning scream fests, please sign up with my mom) so it was no big deal. With a day to spare, we went to the beach, the pool, Grandpa and mom went jet-skiing, we rented bikes (can you see me?), and of course we hit The Crab Shack. I made friends with a bunch of kitties at The Crab Shack...

And then the big day was here. It was so amazing. There were a lot of people out on this field and most in the bleachers. These buses went by and we heard the troops were in them. We all cheered! Then the buses went to the back of the field and within minutes, troops were marching towards us. So if you can imagine- it was still dark out- and here were these troops, in full gear, marching onto the field from behind a row of trees and we knew Uncle Matt was in there somewhere. There wasn't a dry eye in my family. And then there he was- my Uncle Matt. Finally.

The rest of our trip we played played played...

Welcome Home Uncle Matt

I went to Savannah, Georgia this past weekend to welcome my Uncle Matt home from Iraq. I have music class today so I can't stay home to post, but here are some pictures of me with Uncle Matt. More about our vacation to follow!

"How to get a Sandbox" by Ella Campbell

Step 1: Ask Grandpa Steve

Step 2: Ask Uncle Scott

Step 3: Look cute

Seriously, that is all I had to do. What better way to help grandpa recuperate than sit outside and watch my parents help Uncle Scott build me a sandbox! I have to admit I didn't realize it would be such a large job, but thank you so much Uncle Scott and Grandpa! We took a break and had dinner out Saturday night. Back to work on Sunday though and as you can see- I am one lucky girl! Oh- check out my May post and you'll see the original Scott Sand Box!

Before:

During:

See- I'm making sure Grandpa rests!

Look at me help!

After:

Wow- can you believe it? Uncle Scott said the next project would be something called a zip line. My parents seemed excited about that one. Thank you so much Uncle Scott for working so hard while you were here. You need another vacation now. And Stevie- thanks for playing with me all day and for the multiple Lowe's trips (3300 lbs of sand!!!!). You guys are the best!

Paging Dr. Ella

I figured I'd give mom a break tonight and tell all of you about my day at the hospital. I'm dictating this to my Dad. It really was a long and busy day but thank goodness scrubs and crocs are so comfortable! They really help me stay relaxed in pressure situations.

Of course, that's more than I can say for the residents. I don't know if it's just me, but the residents today can't even show up on time for rounds. How irritating. This is me waiting for them. Ugh! Kids these days.

And then of course when you're trying to do something else you get paged! Thank goodness for cell phones, though. This turned out to be no big deal and I handled it completely over the phone. Can you say rock star?

Sometimes it's hard to find a nurse and so I have to take vitals. I don't mind so much, though. I have 2 aunts, 1 uncle, and my Nonna who are nurses so I know they can't be everywhere at once.

I find I really like to take some time and do a thorough examination. There really isn't any substitute for a good exam. You can catch a lot of things and don't necessarily need all those expensive tests - if you're good, that is! It looks like Grandpa Steve is going to be just fine.

It does get a little bit tiring explaining the same thing over and over again to family members who don't always understand. This is my patients son and son-in-law. Geez- the one works here so he thinks he knows everything. I had to demonstrate how I did the procedure (yes, that is my case cart I am showing them), so they would quit asking so many questions! It is part of the job, though, so I try to put myself in their shoes.

Sometimes I do like to switch it up and look at the patient from the other side of the bed!

... and sometimes, I'll even sit on the patients bed. That is only for the really special ones- like Grandpa Steve.

I know it looks like I am using my stethoscope on my phone here, but really I'm banging the two together. Seriously, is it too much to ask for decent reception on the floor?

Just one more patient to see and then I can go home for the night.

FREEDOM! I reflect on my day as I head to the parking garage. I plan on putting the windows down and using the softness of my rich leather seats to melt away the stress of my day. It is a lot of hard work but every now and again you get one of those patients that makes you think, "yeah, that's why I do this." Grandpa Steve was just that patient for me tonight. He'll spend the night though so I can keep an eye on him.

Oh- two more pictures before I go. This is Dr. DiMarco and me hamming it up for one of our patients. Always good to make them laugh. I let Dr. DiMarco scrub in for Grandpa Steve's procedure today. I know- sooooo crazy since I'm such a veteran, but he didn't have anything going on today.

Summer Garden

Remember my post earlier this summer about our container garden? How great it was, making it was so fun, can't wait for fresh tomatoes, etc., etc...? This is not a picture of that. If it were, it would be a small struggling tomato plant with one tomato on it.

This is Steve's neighbor's house, the Parlett's. They were kind enough to have Ella over to experience the real deal. We brought a bag to put everything in (there were zucchini and beans too) but Ella ended up eating most of everything right off the vine.

The County Fair

What would August be without The Albemarle County Fair! Ella and I met Dory and Sami at the fair and had a lot of fun. Our day did not start out with so much promise (I quote myself here, "You can either leave that sass at home or stay home with it- you choose.") but it really ended up great. There was a lot to do at this fair- animals to pet, tractors to climb on, games to play, painting, rides, and my absolute fair favorite- funnel cakes! I love that picture of Ella where she can't even take her eyes off the funnel cake for the picture. Seriously, Dory was doing all kinds of things to get her attention with no such luck.

That evening we were completely unmotivated but did end up putting three golf clubs in the stroller with Ella and headed out for a walk over to Old Trail (the gold course near us). Ella plays golf a lot like croquet. So the two golfers in the family putted around and I had a drink. Hmmmm... this golf thing might not be so bad after all!