Doctors and Day Camps... who has time for a LIFE?!

First order of "business" I FINALLY finished the blog entry about my Cali trip complete with TONS of pictures! It's right here for those of you so inclined.

Now, onto the PRESENT, this week has been CRAZY. Basically, my time has been taken up by medical stuff and day camps. It is our "busy season" at TGP with all that stuff. And the kidletts are sometimes HORRIBLE but always HILARIOUS!

"I lost my Glifying Glass!"[Magnifying Glass] - Gracie, age 4

"It's been a hot hard day. I think we better get french fries." - Jenson, age 5

"But the cavemen didn't respect the mammoths." - Britton, age 5 [after NotSoHotAsGayishShawn telling then to respect the animals]

"I don't believe in big sharks!" - Cole, age 4

"I can't take the fish home! My brothers will flush him down the toilet!" - Jenson,
age 5
(I *heart* Jenson!)

They have been the good parts. (Also, the look of FEAR when I go into PetSmart now is pretty hilarious as the LAST time we came we asked for 40 feeder goldfish... in INDIVIDUAL BAGS... shown here in the back of Rinny's Subaru! Hee hee hee!)


The bad stuff has been doctors. Especially the new endocrinologist, Dr. Princess. I HATE HIM. He is a jerk. And NO, Not just because this week he has made me give at least a pint of blood in tests, a 24 hour urine collection, and a rather painful ultrasound of my stupid ovaries. It's because he washed his hands then primped his hair for 5 minutes before my exam. And because he wouldn't let me ask questions when I was scared of the procedure. And because he didn't read my chart at ALL and said, like 30 minutes into it "do you have any history of diabetes?" Ummm DUH?. And because he had NO bedside manor at all. But, frankly, he is the only one I can go to. But I am ONLY seeing him for the minimum of things and getting referred for EVERYTHING else. We was prissy, hard to understand... I DO NOT LIKE DOCTOR PRINCESS.

And the tests and crap are far from over. SIGH. But hopefully they can, at last, figure out what is WRONG with me. In Dr. Princess' case we are talking about possible PCOS or something else about my defective nether regions. SIGH.

HOWEVER I did do SOME fun stuff...

CC (who, with TheBoy, tonight came and gave me pictures from Ikea of Rubber Duckies PERFECT for my bathroom!), Cupcake, and our Canadian friend Prism played! And, btw, despite former concerns, it was fun. AND she is DEFECTING! Apparently she has fallen head over heals... for Sluggo actually! hee hee hee!

Anyway, we messed around at Boondocks, ate at Cafe Rio, and had Cold Stone ice cream. It is so good to have friends!

Other than that, I have played a lot with Marco, the kitten. OH, and big stuff at the farm! We helped save a pony! I will show you pics and stuff later of that. A little farm update or something. For now I really should go to bed, even though I am not tired.

And p.s. Fresno is still adorable.

We could call it "The Fallen Sexy!"

Fresno really is pretty much the perfect boy (for me). It has been a very busy, but very fun day. I am EXHAUSTED and may actually SLEEP when I go to bed, which should be soon. So I will probably end up writing this tomorrow.

Here are the pictures from BEFORE...

OR... yeah... not the next day. It is days later. Trying to get caught up on the trip now that I am HOME.

To start with, Saturday morning, Fresno came over to my hotel and we went down to breakfast. It was actually GOOD, not a "continental" breakfast or anything. A full breakfast. We ate and talked and had fun and then took off for our woodsy adventures. First, we went to the grocery store and bought picnic stuff (sushi, trail mix with chocolate, and a box of bottled waters). Then it was off to the mountains!

First we went to King's Canyon National Park to play in and around the giant Sequoias! The pictures make me giggle because so many of them involved Fresno saying "Wave! You have to wave to the camera!" and me arguing "Dude! It's not a video. WHY do we have to WAVE?" So, yeah, lots of "waving."There are also quite a few "Rinny Poses" (ie: Ta-Da!) that just seem to fit the trees' enormity.

Big Trees, Big Fun

Speaking of pictures, there are a LOT you do NOT get to see because they are WAY too silly and embarrassing. Not that they were BAD or anything, we just kept trying to do these stupid sexy Zoolander-esque poses and most of them were pretty humiliating. FUNNY but humiliating. (which could pretty much be the definition of me in a relationship.) Hee hee hee!

We went off the path a lot and hiked and found an awesome unnamed fallen tree to play in that way probably pretty dangerous, but it was SO COOL! Then we decided to get going to the Boyden Caverns as it was supposed to be a "bit of a hike" up there. OH MY HELL. I almost DIED. Just so you know, that little "steep walk" up to the cave would probably do in a lot of people and poor Fresno was basically DRAGGING me up at the end. My calves were on FIRE and I pulled muscles I didn't know I had, and a few of other people's muscles for them. But at LEAST I wasn't trying to CARRY A CHILD up there... one family did.

The cave was pretty cool, but not as good as some. And we got in trouble with Sam the tour guide a few times. Because we touched water we weren't supposed to... and giggled and made semi-inappropriate comments to each other that I am PRETTY sure Sam didn't hear... and Fresno kept saying he was going to sneak off and PEE IN THE CAVE...

"I bet Put would've! You don't think Put ever took a leak in here? Sam said he was lazy!"

...(Now, mind you, Fresno DIDN'T... but the 4 year old who the parents carried up DID! HA!) which was a running (Ha!) joke through out the whole trip because I SWEAR that boy has to pee like EVERY 10 SECONDS which he blamed on me for buying so much water. Anyway, MATL. SIGH.



Spelunking Adventures...

After the cave we had our picnic in "Roaring Meadow." Okay, so it's not really called that it was Zuwalt Meadow or something like that by Roaring River. We kept ROARING whenever we said it, so we started called everything Roaring _____. And making a band called "Beautiful Danger." And kept talking to his car who whines and sounds a little like the Gingerbread man from Shrek mixed with Strong Sad. Yes, he makes his car talk a lot. It is very weird but very VERY funny. Plus Fresno pointed out a bazillion places he used to deliver to in the park (he used to drive for BUDWIESER! HA!)

We had our sushi and really yummy limeade he made from scratch by a pretty (roaring) river and just hung out. It was fun. We also TALKED. Like for really talked. He said that he was sorry for stressing me with the whole moving thing. He told me he had been praying about it and that while he was driving he had "just felt like no matter what, it will be alright. Like, I think, California, Utah, whatever... everything will work out and we will be okay." I told him I thought that was a good answer. :O) (and was pretty much what *I* was praying for, too)

Then we realized we didn't ever see "The General" aka "The Nation's Christmas Tree" which Fresno sang a a program for when he was a kid and so we were determined to see ALL the famous trees. So back we went to the Sequoias... but not before we found a BEAUTIFUL waterfall called Grizzly Falls to play in. But then it was gonna get dark and we wanted to hit the trees before that so off we went again!

Turns out we probably have a TON of pictures OF the general in the background... our off-trail exploring had circled it in every way except the front where the sign was! So we finally found that and then got really silly (more "sexy" facial expressions and far too many jokes about wood) and decided that the tree we explored with no name should HAVE a name and stuff so he named it "The Fallen Sexy or 'The Tree that Which Fell and Nobody Heard'." *rolls eyes*

On the way back, one sad thing happened though. We were talking about how PERFECT this trip had been (and Holy Hannah had it EVER!) and watching the sunset (gorgeous) when there was a road block. Someone had driven off a cliff. There were choppers and ambulances and cops. We felt a little guilty for feeling so happy. We said a prayer and went (slowly) to... Sanger... I think it is?

Where his PARENTS live. Dun Dun DUN! Yeah, I was a little nervous. But HE was freaking panicked. He was SO nervous because, as he said, he wanted me to meet his mom and dad... but NOT have to meet his siblings. So he said we would just sorta SNEAK in the house and hope his jerk of an anti-Mormon psychiatrist brother who was presently living with his wife and kiddlets in his parents' pool house wouldn't notice us come in.

MAN he was NOT kidding about sneaking... as we drove through the grape vineyard they live behind he turned off his headlights and everything. It was SO FUNNY. And then when we got in there, we had to chill awhile anyway because his mom was in the tub and dad was helping her out (she is in a wheelchair now). And while we were waiting, guess who came out to meet us... yep, the brother Fresno hates. And when he introduced himself (albeit in a very condescending way) and shook hands Fresno jumpoed to his feet and almost PUNCHED HIM!!!! IT WAS HILARIOUS! I gave him a very serious "CHILL THE HELL OUT" look but almost laughed out loud. I asked him later "what were you THINKING?!"
His answer? Quite seriously, "All I could think was 'DON'T YOU TALK TO HER. DON'T YOU TOUCH HER. DON'T EVEN LOOK AT HER.'" Umm... Issues much? *rolls eyes*

Psycho.

ANYWAY, his brother IS a rather self-righteous jerkface... but Fresno needs to chill. But it WAS really REALLY funny to me. And when his actual parents came in, well, THEY were cool. His mom was nice and his dad was funny and kept messing with me. He acted JUST like Fresno, but old. SCARY! HA!

We hung out and talked a while and when we left his mom hugged me and his dad shook my hand and said "Well, thanks for coming. Hope to see you around. We'll see how things turn out." and Fresno rolled his eyes and mumbled "Thanks, Dad. Why don't YOU just ask her?" Hee hee hee!

Then it was time to go home, which was good as both of us were both pretty exhausted (especially him). So he took me to the hotel and we planned to meet there for free breakfast again the next day.

Oh, and when we kissed goodnight, way embarrassing, he smiled and said "See, you ARE getting better." Tee hee hee! *blush*

SIGH! He's so cute.

Anyway, the next day we didn't go to the mountains, we went the OTHER direction... to the BEACH! We went to San Francisco! We went to Monterey Bay Aquarium and it was AWESOME! Seriously, amazing place.

P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way Sydney!

We had clam chowder in sourdough soup bowls, got smashed pennies, and walked down Cannery Row holding hands a lot like dorks. Hee hee hee! Then we left, thinking we would have a couple hours to chill at his house with his Alien roomie and the dogs before my flight home. BUT we totally got lost (and it was NOT MY FAULT!!!!). So we only had a little time there, but we DID play with the puppies and just chilled for a little while. It was fun but we were tired and bummed because, well, the vacation was over. <:O(

SIGH. Fresno took me to the airport. We said goodbye. It SUCKED. BLEH. Then we were delayed in Vegas AGAIN with airplane problems. YIKES?! And, there was the trip. (and here is a picture of the casino/airport of Vegas... bad because did you know it's a LAW not to take pictures of gambling people?)

And THAT was the trip! It was a FANTASTIC trip. THE END!

Dream of

I am getting rather excited about my upcoming California trip. For one thing, I am one of those weird people who actually LIKES to fly. Also, Fresno has just been super funny and cute lately and so I am missing him. I fly out LATE a week from today. I will just sleep at the Courtyard that night because I don't want him to come get me at, like 3 am. So he can come pick me up the next morning. I don't know ALL of what we are going to do but we plan to:

• Go spelunking... okay, fine, probably just walk it, but STILL! CAVES!
• See other stuff in Sequoia national park
• Play with the monster dogs a lot
• Meet his mom and dad *gulp* and AVOID meeting any siblings.
• Probably go bowling or play games with his Illegal Alien roomie/best friend.
• Make ice cream with the ice cream making hamster ball I gave him for Christmas
• take a lot of silly pictures on the family camera, especially for BoyKid to go in his next letter (he has the same camera... so he can look at them, we just send memory cards back and forth.)

The Roomie is babysitting the sugar babies (and other zoo members) for the trip so I don't have to worry about them. I got work off (I am working right up until I leave from there and to the airport, but that's fine) and am only REALLY missing Saturday. SO, I figure if I can keep the headache under control, barring a plane crash, getting my stuff stolen, etc. I should survive this and have fun. I *hope* anyway!

Other than that, sort of hanging on by the proverbial thread to my sanity and, well, happiness. Lots of "assignments" from the psych and such. They seem too hard though, and I am tired... so tired and things HURT right now. Just muscles in general. My head, OBVIOUSLY. Just trying not to let my fragile mental health as it were screw up this thing with Fresno. It's a good thing, and a more perfect boyfriend I couldn't invent. He is sweet and not shallow and funny and smart and even super cute. I just get so nervous that I am going to mess things up. And, though I am excited for the trip, I admit I am also quietly terrified.

But it is not just the boy... there are other good but potentially terrifying developments. Rinny just asked me to DIRECT ROBOTICS CAMP!!! I will be in charge... and I still don't even know the PROGRAM! Training is on Wednesday. I AM excited to learn it... but I was expecting to HELP a few of the more experienced staff... not be in charge them. I am nervous!

Also, I am being "drafted" into my family's ward at Church. My mom wants me to teach a certain primary class that she can't find anyone for. (She is the Primary President) And I have been thinking about it, and my feelings about my current ward and, at least for the summer, I am "going home" for church.

In a way that makes me uneasy. Not that 1. Bishops should SAY anything to parents 2. I am doing anything major that needs confessing to said Bishop BUT it is still kind of weird to be in a homeward again, especially with the folks, you know? But ward-wise I AM needing a change, and Mom asked me with out pressuring me, so, yeah... I think that's the tentative church plan.

I don't know, I guess we will see what craziness the future brings but I am pretty sure it involves a lot more responsibility, a lot more doctors, a lot less sleep, and a lot more ROBOTS. So at least it's not ALL bad.