We're home!

We're home! It only took 27 hours but we finally made it! We last worked Tuesday night and got done on Wednesday morning at 730 AM then Tara and I finished packing up (Ok...I cleaned, she packed) and we hit the road! Tara started off driving and I said we could switch whenever. I woke up to the sound of the rumble strips on the side of the road. She didn't fall asleep...she was getting pulled over! She wasn't going that fast, it was a speed trap and almost everyone was getting stopped. No ticket of course though :-)

Then we kept on and we finally switched sometime in the afternoon. Poor Tara had been up for 24 hours! Eek! I drove for awhile through the mountains (and a snowstorm) before we switched back again. I'm embarrassed to say, but I only drove for 5 hours of the 27!! Thanks Tara!

Notice the heat controls in this photo. I am driving, Tara is the passenger. Guess who is hot-blooded and who is cold-blooded?

This is why I love Montana.

Get me outta here!! We stopped at Billings, Montana the first night and then stopped the second night to visit a friend. We had a great time!

Finally home! Look at all the stuff behind us--you honestly could not have fitted another item in the trunk or backseat!

VANCOUVER!

I'm too excited to hold back the news. Tara and I got a job in Texas starting December 15th!!! And even better, she has family down there that we can torment! Tara's cousin Danny and his wife Jana are about 20 miles from the hospital that we will be working at in Denton, TX. Tara is bouncing off the walls to see them again and I can't wait to meet them!

But first, here's a little about Canada eh...

We left for Vancouver on Friday (11/7) not realizing that no one in Canada knows how to drive. A 2.5 hour drive turned into 4 hours so we didn't get there until late. We arrived at our pent house (see below) ... ok room 707 on Friday.

Our new pad! Check out the green and gold carpeting!

Not quite the honeymoon suite but it'll do ;-) Still lovin' the green n' gold! ...and the mini bar

In going through the cupboards of our mini-bar there was this big closet. This is what we found amongst it:

-A kama sutra kit

-Massage oil

-Lingerie

At this point, Tara looks at me and shreaks, "What kinda place did you take me to!?" I seriously couldn't stop laughing! What do Canadians do after all? I'm not sure it's normal to sell such items in hotels, or maybe I don't get out enough. But either way, I'm definitely double checking my receipt from the mini bar to see if Ms. Denucci took souvigniers!

After swimming (See previous blog) we went out to this Irish Pub and met a few "mates" who got us VIP in the hottest club in Vancouver!
Tara found a Joey look-a-like from friends!

The next day we had a sluggish start because the weather wasn't great and then went out down by the ocean. In this photo Tara and the ducks are playing a game called "Who farted?"

Our bikes! We did many kilometers on these suckers!

We took this photo for Dawn knowing she would scream, "Tara Rae, get down from there!"

We biked all along the Seawalk which is the longest sidewalk in the world I think? Or maybe the country?? Not sure, but lots of little historic things along the way. I didn't know what this was so I made Tara pose...it's a grave...woops.

I look super-imposed on the photo

Peace I'm outta here. I'm lucky I didn't fall, I have no balance!

But this talented woman can do it no-hands!! I tried to learn for about 5 minutes... I don't know how she does it but I was impressed!

Of course we went out again that night to a pub and had a good ol' time once again meeting a group from overseas. However, I forgot my camera (shocker) and Tara's died. No proof of the evening!

Canada is a good time...we highly recommend Vancouver!! But just a warning...it takes 2 hours to get through the border patrol. We were so happy to see this:

Look out Wisconsin, Tara and I are heading back on Wednesday! No really...look out Tara will be driving! Can't wait to see all of our family and friends!!

Falling apart Tara and Dr. Char

We just got back from our trip to Vancouver! Such a great time and I thoroughly enjoyed our hotel!! Our hotel was equipped with this amazing swimming pool that was 11 feet deep! I l-o-v-e swimming and pools in general so that was the first thing that we did when we got there.

When I was little, my sister Katie and my cousin's Toni and Tracey spent hours in their pool. We competed in handstands, holding our breath underwater, a game called colors and touching the bottom of the deep end. So I made Tara do it...

Our gorgeous pool equipped with a sauna and work out facility (yeah we never used that...)

Look at how deep it is!

So we got done swimming and Tara said her ear was clogged with water. I told her it would pass, it happened to me all the time when I was younger. But then I was in the shower getting ready to go out and this is how the conversation went:

Tara: "Char!"

Char: "Yeah??"

Tara: "I still can't hear out of my ear, what should I do?"

Char: "I dunno know....tilt your head to the side and hop up and down."

Tara: "On what foot?"

Char (laughing): "You think that matters??"

So 2 days later...still clogged. So we went to the clinic because now she had a temperature and her ear was hot. How does this stuff happen to her? She still couldn't hear. Actually she could hear herself talking which was annoying her even more.....yeah I'm going to leave that one alone! ha!

The doctor told her that it wasn't the water that it was when she used the Q-tip she pushed wax against her ear drum causing the loss of hearing and infection. So she needed to do an irrigation. This is where I come into the story. I am the irrigator.

Tara with the ear softener in.

I'm ready!!!

We're nurses. We're professionals. We've both done this before in the clinical/ED setting to patients without laughing once. But I was ROLLING!

Success!! She can hear again!! Third flush was the winner. Here is what we got...notice the floaties at the top!
Tara's left arm. This is what happens when she doesn't listen.

Actually she ran into a door...no really.

Kate, Scott, Casey and SURPRISE Chad!

I sat down to write about the weekend that Chad (Tara's Stepdad), Scott (my brother), Kate (my sister) and her boyfriend of 7 years, Casey came out...but honestly I don't even know how to summarize it!

For those of you out there that don't know my brother, he has a disorder called "workaholic." Now this serious disorder has no 12 step program, but the next best thing is to get away for a weekend with his super-cool sister and crazy friend.

Casey is my sister's boyfriend of 7 years but he is part of our family...and I'm embarrassed to say, my friend. We went to high school together and then Casey and I spent 5 and a half years in college together, many of which were spent "hammered drunk" as he says. We have a mutual friend Dylan who lives here in Seattle and has spent a large amount of time showing Tara and I around. Our time here wouldn't have been nearly as good if he wouldn't have been there to help us out! Dylan has been looking forward to Casey coming for weeks, he may have been a little too excited...

That leaves my sister... I just can't describe Katie. She's a 5 foot ball of energy who is the most supportive person I have ever met. She works in adoption in St. Paul (it is still hard for me to believe my lil' sister gives people kids! weird!) Katie actually came out here twice, once with my mama and then again with Scott and Casey...what can I say...she just can't get enough!!

But then there is one more to add to the weekend. I got a phone call from Dawn (Tara's mom) about a week before Kate, Casey and Scott were coming to let me know that Chad also booked a ticket for the weeeknd. He was flying out to suprise Tara for the weekend and I was not to tell her. Luckily enough, his flight was getting in 30 minutes after theirs so he met us at a restaurant where Tara's reaction was jaw-dropping! Very Fun!!

The weekend in review:

This is at the restaurant where Chad met us. Scott is a 2 year old trapped in a 27 year old body. Here he is hitting me with his napkin...

Off to Chopstix, the dualing piano bar!! Who needs a shot??

No really, who actually needs a shot in this photo...none of us!!

Tara getting her birthday song! They kept asking her if they should keep singing (the songs are really embarrassing) and she yelled, "Bring it on!"

Chad is here!!

Halloween night!! Tara and I were "Sleepless in Seattle."

Chad was, "Chad"

Casey and Dylan's costume...I think they're being a bit generous!

The ladies!

Waiting for our bus in the rain!

Tara and I didn't plan our costumes too well...we were wearing slippers with our costumes that definitely were not water proof!

My sister is the walk of shame and our friend Elizabeth from the hospital is a Greek Goddess--wowza!

Dance off! Kate rebounding from being sick. She stayed in our first night because of a cold. Our first night, she was quiet and went to bed early. Chad told her she should liven up...

Look at what he got! He couldn't get her to stop!

Underground tour --- very interesting...but not to Katie ;-)

Playing cards and making lots of noise! How have we not been kicked out yet??

Notice Casey and Dylan playing Wii (addicting!)

And I'm not even commenting on these two.

The photo isn't rotated correctly... But remember me calling Scott a 2 year old in a 27 year old body??

Yeah...that's my lotion that is supposed to say "Body Butter"

Mom and Kate :-)

First off, I must say I'm a bad blogger. I know, I know.... But here are mine and Tara's last two weeks:

10/19-10/22: Work
10/24-10/26: Mom and Kate come
10/27-10/29: Work again
10/30-11/2: Kate, Casey, Scott and Chad come
11/2-now: back to work!!!

So it's been a little crazy and I can't possibly squeeze the weekend of Kate, Casey, Scott and Chad coming with my mom and Katie coming in one blog so I'll be saving that one for next time. ;-) I know you're hanging at the edge of your seats! haha

But Kate and my mom came out the 3rd weekend in October just to get away for a weekend. My mom is still recovering from her "incident" as she calls it where she severed the tendon in her right hand. So Kate was her little helper for the weekend and I was her hair do-er ;-) She's almost done with the #)@$?^! splint that airport security thought might be a bomb so they swab tested it.

It was a very very relaxing weekend when mom and Kate were here....we did a little touristy stuff and stayed in one night having a few beers and playing a few hands of cards. I told my mom yesterday that I would upload the photos to blogger soon, her response was, "Yeah whatever!" I think she has given up on me!

Ready for scenic photo time!?

That is from Alki of one of the ferries.

Mom finally figured out how to get a picture of the Space Needle at night! We couldn't figure it out!!

What am I making her smell??

Throw her in!!
I think she is so unimpressed with me now ;-)

The next day we took the ferries!!

I don't even want to admit to what we were doing in this photo. But notice Tara and Mom wouldn't sit with us.

Lovin the ferries and more scenery! At this point we were wishing we would have ate something. Once we got off the ferries, we were told the restaurants and shops were a "2-3 blocks away...." An hour later and many fights we found a restaurant!

A fellow tourist took our photo, and he knelt down...I think he was trying to make us look taller!

We took the ferry to Bainbridge Island for some shopping and a guy there offered to take our photo in front of the pretty trees..... I grabbed the camera afterwards excited to see what it looked like and I just adore the photo of the four of us....and the parking lot!!!

So after the long day of shopping, we bought some specialty dark beers and we were going to play cards.....only to remember we don't have a bottle opener! That's a knife in Tara's hand...who is concerned??

We got it down to a system!

Gotta love the market again!

Mom loved the bathroom stalls....remember she is 5 feet tall ;-)

Try to find something hot in the photo :-)

Goo...

Everyone commented on my sweatshirt ... OK Tara's sweatshirt ;-)

It was great to have them here! We're going home in 2 weeks and 1 day to be exact!! Can't wait to see everyone!!!