YSA Sizzlefest 2010 in Raft River, ID...wherever that is!

Oh I love camping...especially if you get to cram 4 girls into one little tent! We sure did! It was known among the camp as the "Princess Castle"! My singles stake left Thursday afternoon, June 24, and drove up to Raft River, ID...somewhere between Burley and Pocatello, I think! The Steadman's Place has two water slides, a zip line, large areas of grass, and lots of scurryng little mice!

We were also known as the "Princesses" for this fact. Kaylee and Amanda own pink chairs; however the funniest fact is that Jessica, Amanda's roommate, bought Amanda her chair before we left Thursday without looking at the tag. Do you see a difference in size? :)

Oh man, we laughed so hard! We were almost crying! Jessica unknowningly bought Amanda a "Junior" chair, but it worked and she used it!

Erika Johnsen played her guitar for us Thursday night. She had some really good songs that she had written! I just wish not all of them were about her ex-boyfriends and relationships! She's a hopeless romantic, aren't we all a little bit!

The Steadman's Place! The black and white waterslides are seen as well as the zip line which starts from the yellow ship like mast thing! :) We had so much fun! We played shoeless soccer, scum, and some were able to shoot clay pigeons. I was able to shoot a bow and arrow brought by my friend Shane. I wish I had pictures of that, I looked like Robin Hood. Now if only I can aim like he does!

Sizzlefest...tents, canopies, waterslides, and fun people! Friday was so hot! I reapplied my sunscreen about 6 times! It felt great to be outside, but by the end of the day we were ready for bed!

Myself, Amanda, Jessica, and Kaylee with the "River Rat" tube! The fastest tube on the waterslide! We got about 5 on this thing at one point. We just had to make sure we bailed off in time or you ran the risk of hitting the end and flopping into mud puddles. I had a few encounters in the mud puddles and ended up covered in muddy water and grass! Oh we looked so attractive!

Check me out! Amanda is hanging on the top for dear life!

My first zip line experience! I love it! I don't know why I've never done it before, but I know it won't be the last!

Service project...build awning! One group formed lines and moved rocks to decorate a hill on the Steadman's property, but I worked to help build the Steadman's newest awning. With 4 guys and another girl, we measured, sawed, and nailed the wood beams in place. After the side was done, my friend Shane told me to get up on the ladder and he was going to have me use the nail gun! Really? Sweet! The other guys were jealous that I got to do it!

Our creation! I nailed those wood beams across in place! We worked on it for 3 hours!

My fellow workers, Nichole, Dave, and Rob in the background!

Check me out! Oh yeah, it was a lot of fun! See how they wish they could be using it!

I found out Dave works for Disney! His group just finished designing the video game for the movie Toy Story 3! I also found out he can get himself and 3 other people in for free to any Disneyland theme park. My new best friend!

Good work team! Shane, Lynette, me, Justin, Rob, Dave, and Amanda!

And no I did not participate in this! I was working on the awning, but laughed pretty hard when I saw them!

Friday night, we started to play soccer before the talent show and a storm rolled in. We ended up playing through the storm and as we walked up to the amphitheater, this was the result of how the sky looked after the storm passed! Beautiful!

Friday nights sunset! Raft River has beauty that is unknown to most of the world!

Is it bad I only remember the guys names in this photo? :) Ben is back left, Shane in the plaid, and Dave lying down in front. We played scum each night and this night I won the president and vice-pres spots!

Me, Tavin, and Christine!

Just some beautiful scenery shots from Raft River! It was a fun getaway. It was great to meet so many new people in my ward!

Chalk Art Festival 2010

Friday night, June 18, 2010, my friend Laura, Mary, and I drove down to Gateway to see Toy Story 3 and to see the Chalk Art Festival. It was amazing! I love art, but I haven't seen too much art done in chalk. It's a fun style! Below are some of my favorite drawings!

People walking up and down the sidewalks of Gateway, watching the artists at work! The girl sitting down is drawing Peter Pan, which was one of my top favorites!

Alice in Wonderland, the Rabbit, and the Mad Hatter!

Einstein with a twisted tongue!

Wendy reading a book to Peter Pan, Tinkerbell and Captain Hook!

Peter Pan!

Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter! Good job!

A collection of Dr. Seuss characters! I wish I could see this one all done, they were good!

Just enjoying the cheese, trees, and breeze in Oregon!

Portland, Oregon...city of roses! I love it here, it's so green! Beautiful! It was way past time to visit my best friend Chantel, who lives in Oregon with her cute baby girl, Norah and husband, Reed. I spent the weekend with them, laughing, playing games, and watching Norah!

Where's the temple? The trees are so tall and plentiful.

There it is! I could only get this view of the temple. A few factors were at play, it was raining (suprise, surprise), I was in a car, and there are a lot of trees!

Norah Ryann Wilkinson who is about 10 months old now. She's such a big girl, knows what she wants, but still has a hard time getting those messages to mom sometimes! She is spunky, crawls everywhere (including up the stairs, but not so well coming down yet), and is full of smiles and giggles!

Girl's Night, June 4th, 2010! Reed had a scout campout, so us girls played! We made pizzas for dinner, watched "New Moon" (which Chantel hadn't seen yet, and its my duty to update her), and we worked on our latest crafts. Chantel is making a quiet book for Norah and I worked on making my disney version of a very fun game. It is homemade, but will be the best in my game collection.What a masterpiece! I put spinach leaves on top of the sauce, pepperoni, mozarella cheese, and pizza seasoning!

On Saturday, June 5th, we headed west to the Oregon coastline! Our first stop was the Tillamook Cheese factory! They make amazing cheese, as you may know, and the ice cream wasn't too bad. Of course, it was delicious!

They have free cheese tasting, which naturally gets you to buy a bag of their snack cheese cubes or squeaky cheese. Personally, I love squeaky cheese! Chantel and I downed it!

I got one of their new flavors, Grandma's Cake Batter! New to them, but it tasted just as good as all the other cake batters out there...ok, better!

Norah liked sharing mom's ice cream cone!

Highway 101...the scenic drive down the Oregon coastline! Beautiful!

And for the rest of the day, we hung out at Cannon Beach...home to Haystack Rock!

Norah was doing as she does best, crawling everwhere! You could see her tracks in the sand. I noticed she loves to lead with her left leg and drag the right. Funny girl!

Haystack Rock!

Norah's sand angel! She wasn't too pleased with us for making her do this. To be honest, she cried the entire time, but it turned out so cute!

Godzilla attacked our sandcastle! Ahhh! We had a great day at the beach! By the end, Norah was covered with sand (in the ears, nose, rubbed in her eyes) and we were ready for dinner and some relaxation! Once we got home, Chantel and I laced up our running shoes and ran to McDonalds to get a redbox. Funny concept, going on a run to a fast food restaurant. Anyways, we watched Sherlock Holmes! We've all seen it, but its so funny!

Sunday, June 6th, was a typical Portland day...rainy! It poured! After church, we played Settlers of Catan a few times, made breakfast for dinner, and I learned a few new games! I love playing games with Reed and Chantel! I'm so glad they allow me to spend a few weekends a year with them! I've been home about 11 hours now and I already miss my best friend!

Is anyone a nurse?

Yes...I think you can guess my story! Last week, I got off work June 2nd, around 8:30pm...it was a long day! I ate my lunch at my nurses station! Anyways, as I was driving home I decided to take Highland Dr and stop at a car wash near 45th south. If you've seen my car lately, it's filthy! I've been waiting for the snow/rain to stop and since I was headed out of town the next day, I decided it was time since it would be covered for the next 5 days. After I washed my car, I had an urge to drive down Highland Dr. to Target in Fort Union for some pleasure shopping. Yet, I then had a feeling I just needed to go home. I didn't need anything for my trip, they were wants, so I turned right and headed down 45th south for home. No more than 50 ft after I turned, I noticed a lot of cars off to the right, a lot of people, and a body lying on the ground! Yes...a body! Ahhh! My expression and feeling exactly! So I quickly pulled off the road, turned my emergency lights on, and ran over to the group of people. I asked them "Is anyone a nurse or medical professional?" "NO," was the reply! Well I guess its just me! Honestly at this moment, fear sat in. This was my first response where I was the only medical professional. "Ahhh!"

Luckily someone was calling 911, allowing me to focus on the victim. He had been on a motorcycle and I'm unsure of the story, but I heard he put his brakes on quick, went over the handlebars, and landed on the pavement. So with that in mind (sorry if this forms a graphic picture in your head, I am a nurse), I looked down at the victim, he appeared to be mid 20's, lying on his stomach, with a pool of blood underneath his face. "Oh my goodness!" Seriously, this is why I don't work in the ER or with adults! I quickly assessed my ABC's! He was breathing, not very concious, but breathing, and quickly my fingers went to his wrist. His pulse was weak but there. Ok, by this time neighbors were bringing blankets to put under his head. At this time he begins to come to and wants to sit up. Between myself and a few other women, we calmed him down but he did turn over to his back. I really didn't want to move him, but he seemed ok doing it himself. As he turned over, he was dripping blood, it was at this time I noticed the back of his head had a quarter sized hole in his skull and the whole left side of his face was covered in blood (road rash). "Oh my gosh!" This was more blood in an uncontrolled setting than I've ever seen! I kept my fingers on his pulse (which is what they teach us in a code situation at the hospital) until the paramedics arrived.

It was interesting to be a part of the whole situation! On arrival, I informed the crew I was a nurse. They asked me questions about his vitals and my assessment. It felt great to contribute what I could, but since I hadn't witnessed the accident I couldn't give anymore information. There was a guy who apparently may have hit him and he seemed a wreck. I felt so bad for him, I can't imagine! That's why I don't know the story because I avoided making him feel worse! The paramedics wrapped the guys head and put him on the stretcher, loaded him up, and off he went! A very scary, blood pumping experience that I hope to not repeat again in my life. I was very glad to have felt the spirit, allowing me to be an instrument in the Lord's hands for this man.