Doggie Disneyland

Last Sunday we embraced the perfect weather by taking Porter to Marymoor's off leash dog park. Except this wasn't any dog park, it was "Doggie Disneyland". The 40 acre off leash dog park has a river for water dogs, a modern looking garage with glass doors that houses a dog wash area which is probably nicer than any other park dog wash you've seen, and plenty of room to run around and socialize. The dog park is just part of a larger 640 acre park with tennis courts, playgrounds, free bicycle rentals, a R/C airplane field, a community run garden, and much more. 

Porter couldn't wait to take off exploring

Porter chased the frisbee, but was too distracted by all the scents to pick it up and bring it back

The high speed butt sniff!

This guy had some funny facial expressions

Porter can't wait to return!

Getting Settled in Seattle

I figured that since I moved over 3,000 miles from home I should get back into blogging as a way of staying in touch with family and friends. I can't believe how long it has been since I last updated, so much has changed! To hit the highlights:

• I finished up both of my externships (one of which I LOVED, the other...well, not so much). 
• I took and passed parts II and III of my national boards (one of which required a flight to North Carolina).
• In early February, Andy flew to Ft. Lauderdale to help me pack and we shipped all of our things to Washington in a 6'x7'x8' shipping container. 
• I flew out to Washington in mid-February for residency interviews and submitted my rankings. I matched with the VA hospital and will start my residency in July.
• In May we celebrated our 3 year anniversary, my birthday, and my graduation from optometry school!
• The day after graduation we flew out to Washington with Porter sleeping at our feet in the cabin.

Between being without my computer for over a week, getting settled, and working on what seems to be a never ending to do list I'm a bit behind on my photo editing. I'll be back posting photos as I get to them. Stay tuned!

Andy's visit

Wow, I can't believe it's been two and a half months since my last update! Things have been busy as usual around here - actually busier than usual. I finished up my contact lens rotation and am currently working 5-6 days a week in the primary care clinic where I see a wide variety of patients. It's not uncommon to see patients with HIV, drug addictions, or personality disorders such as schizophrenia. One of my patients went off and was yelling at me because she thought I was killing her family and was afraid I would eat her eyes. Another patient had a seizure and had to be admitted to the hospital. There's never a dull moment!

In case you had be planning on bringing a grenade into the exam room...

Andy's been working at his new job in Washington for 2 months now and really enjoys it. He flew in this weekend to visit and while we had a wonderful time together, it wasn't long enough! While he was here we saw a movie, went out to dinner, made a trip to Miami, did some shopping, took Porter to the dog park, and relaxed at home. I had to drop him off at the airport this afternoon and I thought it'd be a little easier to say goodbye this time, knowing that we're nearly a quarter of the way through our time apart, but it was just as difficult as the first goodbye! Between now and his next visit I will be taking parts II and III of my national boards examinations so I have plenty of studying to keep me busy.

Family portrait: a day at the dog park! 

236 days until graduation!

Sleepless in...

Source: art.com 

Did you know Seattle's nickname is the Emerald city? I always thought it was the rainy city, kinda like Chicago is the windy city. Anyway, Andy and I are back from our trip! We had a great time in Seattle, but came back more tired than when we left - our vacations are hardly ever relaxing. We packed our days with sightseeing, shopping, hiking, and hunting... apartment hunting that is!

Andy flew out about a month ago for a job interview and received an offer so it was time for me to go and give my stamp of approval. With the offer signed I can now officially say we're moving to Seattle!

Jamaica, Jamaica, ya mon!

So I've been back from Jamaica for about two weeks and am just now starting to feel caught up on everything. I had a good time in Jamaica, though I was really only there for two and a half days. Four students, including myself, and one doctor saw around 170 patients in Kingston. I got the chance to see a couple diseases I haven't seen back home which was pretty cool for me (less so for the patient, no doubt).

I wish I had lots of photos to share, but I didn't want to bring my camera since I knew I'd be busy and wouldn't be able to keep an eye on it while I was working. Hopefully I can get copies of the photos my friends took and share those later. Here's a photo I took with my phone from the plane right before my battery died - we took off over the water and had a great view of the mountains.

One of the reasons it's been a bit crazy since I got back is because Andy and I are planning a trip on short notice. I can't divulge when or where we'll be going just yet, but I will say it's the opposite extreme from Jamaica, in more ways than one.