When bee stings go bad.

In case you need a closer view:

Note to self: While riding bikes to school in the morning, always be on alert for inconspicuous, kamikaze bees waiting to spring on any unsuspecting face. There's a slight chance the lovely little stinger it leaves behind after said attack may cause large amounts of swelling in the lip and jaw region.

8 mile long run

We ran 8 miles on Saturday, and we liked it. That's right everyone, Chad has joined me in my attempt to become a better runner, and we ran it together!

Look, the moon was just barely leaving.

We started our run at Vivian Park. The drive up the canyon was absolutely gorgeous. Bursts of red and orange have started to appear all over the place, and it was beautiful.

We were excited and ready for the challenge.

... Chad was also a little cold.

Good news: the run went well and are only feeling slightly sore today!

The other big event of our Saturday was the BYU vs. UNR football game.

Good news: We got to hang out with our friends the Brandleys before, during, and after the game!

Other good news: We got to sell parking in our driveway. Don't Mark and Chad look cute out there, working hard? First they chat it up...

then pace around for a bit,
start to get a little bit nervous because we're not sold out yet. Or perhaps it was just stinkin' hot outside. Maybe a little bit of both.

and then back to chatting.

Then there was the bad news of course. BYU lost. Miserably. Bummer.
Overall a good day.

"GHFBJB"

My clinical on Thursday was a rotation in the ER and I absolutely LOVED IT. I think I might have even said at one point, "I think I might have found my calling". Okay, maybe not my calling, but it was definitely somewhere I could see myself actually working as a nurse; along with Labor/Delivery and NICU. I have a few favorites at the moment. But seriously, it was an awesome day. I got to see so many different kinds of patients with all sorts of different problems, started IVs, gave medications, and helped in the detective work that is involved in diagnosing someone who walks through those ER doors.

Favorite Diagnosis of the Day: "GHFBJB" (written on my nurse's notes)

me: [peering at nurse's notes] "Wow... what are they here for?"
nurse: "Oh it's bad... haven't you heard of [points to acronym]?"
me: [trys to reach back into memory for some obscure disease/illness that may have a 6-letter acronym. Feel stupid that nothing comes to mind.] "No... I don't think I've heard of it before."
nurse: "Got Hit in Face by Junky Buddy. He's totally plastered. His jaw is broken in 3 places!"
me: "There's an acronym for that?"
nurse: "Oh yeah, it happens more than you might think."

who knew?

Welcome Fall Semester 2010!

Another semester has officially started. A kitchen table full of books will be a frequent sighting at the Bennett home for the next 3 1/2 months.

The only difference this semester is that Mayzie has decided to offer her assistance.

... she's partial to chemistry.

A new semester also means lots of football games, both at home and away. This past weekend, we went to watch the BYU vs. Air Force game at the Brandley's house. Unfortunately BYU didn't win. The rest of the crew couldn't handle it. Seriously, you would have thought somebody had died by their faces.

Laci was especially frustrated. She takes football pretty seriously. She's from Texas.

Today, Riley came over to study for our music test (we're taking music 101 together)... and Mayzie decided she's a fan of music as well.

... although not so much a fan of Riley.

2 weeks down, now just the rest of the semester to go!

Learning the Healer's Art

I took care of a woman today who changed my life. She didn't say anything to me, ventilators are sticky little contraptions. But she changed something inside of me. I was tired and feeling stressed that I had to get up at 5:00 a.m. to get to the U of U hospital on time for a 12 hour clinical day. I was nervous and feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of being in the ICU for the first time.

My sweet little patient couldn't say a word, couldn't barely move. Lines, wires, machines, tubes... you name it, she had it. She's been in the ICU for almost a week, experiencing pain like I could never imagine. I asked her if she was cold and she nodded her head once. I walked out and grabbed a blanket from the blanket warmer and laid it over her. I asked her if there was anything else, and she shook her head and smiled. It was a subtle smile hiding behind the large ventilator tube, but it was a smile.

How could a woman who has to go through so much physical trials be so incredibly positive? Here I am feeling sorry for myself because I get to be going to school, learning, and pushing myself to the limit to learn how to take care of people. It's nice every once in a while to get that little reality check and realize how blessed I am and what's most important.

The motto for the BYU College of Nursing is, "Learning the Healer's Art". Every semester that goes by, I'm starting to get a small picture of what that really means. Being a nurse means helping somebody every day. You get paid to take care of His children every single day.

This is why I can't wait to be a nurse.

He's back.

That's right everyone. My brother Jason is back from his mission and back in action. We just love those Lamprecht boys around our house.

On Sunday, we had a Lamprecht-Myer-Bennett-Simmons-Hawkins gathering at our house and it felt so good to be with such good friends. Even though we all have different last names and come from different parents, we will always be family.

The Friel Cousins

I just love my family. They're the best. I especially love it when we have a chance to get together with all of the Friel cousins; they're all about hanging out, good food, talking it up, and fun games. Plus my cousins have the cutest kids I've ever seen. Last weekend, we had ourselves quite the delightful picnic at a park in Orem.

My cousin Kayla introduced us to this amazing game that involves a huge band of swimsuit material. I can't explain how it works in words so hopefully the following series of pictures is sufficient.

It got a little out of control.

Like I said before, the Myer genes are golden... look at how cute these kids are!

Cousin Taz with Boston

... and then back to the game.

I love this picture of Boston. I caught him at such a weird angle and it made him have kind of a scary face.

Those kids loved the melon. Harley included.

I even snapped a picture at the resistant Walker boys. They were not about have their picture taken.

For anyone who knows (and loves) my uncle Clint, you would know that he always takes things seriously. This is his intense face... he was, after all, a prison warden.

Houston, the dog whisperer.

All of the girls...

I love family picnics at the park.