Sean's Visit to Milwaukee

Here's two more pics of Sean's visit. We went to a Harley Davidson factory where they make the engines for these beauts! It was quite informative, especially for Sean and I who aren't huge biker enthusiasts. Signs of economic times though, the day after we toured it was announced that factory would be closed and absorbed into one of there others. My heart goes out to those who find themselves struggling.


Someday? who knows...

Sean and I aren't the most creative, but we thought we did ok with this one:)


Thanks again Sean. Anyone else want to come visit?

Sean's Visit to Milwaukee

So over Martin Luther King Day Sean, my brother came out to visit me in Milwaukee. We had a very kind friend let him use a buddy pass to fly here for the weekend. We had such a great time together! It was lots of fun having him out here to share what my life is like. Sean has always been there with me through everything. He is so caring, sensitive, loving, supportive, and just Sean! I can't express how much I appreciate having him as my older brother. Thank you Sean for coming and visiting! Here are some pictures from the activities we did.
We went sledding as a ward, but this is how I go to school. Yep ski goggles and all. My sisters and mom got me this hat for Christmas and I absolutely love it!
We went and visited the discovery museum. It sits right on the edge of the Lake that you can see in the background. The lake is so big it feels like the ocean. We felt like little kids running around trying the different things here!
Discovery Museum. Here they take a couple pictures and develop a 3D image of your face.

They had a real fligth simulator. Both sean and I crashed trying to land the plane. Good thing we didn't want to become pilots!This was us at the tobogan run we went to with our ward. This is me, Whitney Heller, and Sean. Whitney is a good friend in the ward who has probably 6 callings, one of which is teaching fantastic lessons in Gospel Doctrine.
We had a awesome time! Thanks again Sean for coming out!

Pie eating contest

I said I would put the pictures of our pie eating contest so here you go! This is half of the table that was getting ready to smash our faces into so whipped cream topped pudding pies with graham cracker crusts. We had to finish it all! I though my competition would be the 18 yr old boy sitting next to me ( I am the one with facial hair) but little did I know...

I started off strong and sucked that pudding right up! I love eating, and it kind of comes natural to me.
Soon I realized a couple things. First, eating dinner had filled my stomach more than I thought. Second, graham cracker crusts are terribly touch to eat without milk or water. And third, I really didn't want to finish my pie! Here I am trying to compose myself while my true competition is still going strong. She is the one with black and white animal skin type shirt on standing up bending over. See last picture for ID
And so here I am standing next to the girl that beat me in a pie eating contest. Good job Natalya! It was a way fun night!

My Life here in Wisconsin

Are you prepared! Here comes a post. I am living in Milwaukee Wisconsin in the little suburb of wauwatosa (tosa for short). City names here are really neat. They come from the native americans that used to live around these parts that have since been put on random reservations, one of which sits right down town and is a huge casino called patawonoma or something like that. There are other names like waukesha, shaboigan, and menonemia. Another interesting thing about living here is understanding that the counties are always the same name as the city. For example, I live in milwaukee county but not really milwaukee city. But my mailing address works fine as milwaukee city. Seperating them is quite difficult really. All in all I quite love living out here.
In this post I am going to talk about the many fun adventures I've had since coming out here. I'm not all that good at organizing my posts, so if you find it a little hard to follow I apologize.

I will start things off with what I do most.

Here I am in a "nerd" room at the medical college. This was a picture my friend took of me right before our block 1 tests. I had just laid down for a pre-test nap. So sleeping isn't what I do most with my time, its studying for tests! And more than just having the motivation of looming tests, I often find myself feeling an urgency to be ready when it comes to being tested by real patients really needing my help. There is so much to learn I just hope I can hang on to enough of it to do some good.
Our school schedule is pretty nice actually. The first semester has been divided up into four blocks. The first, third, and fourth block consist of three plus weeks of material followed by a week of tests in all classes. Block two was 4 plus weeks of material followed by a week of tests. Other medical schools follow this same block style while others use a manner similar to my undergraduate experience where you have your tests from each class spread out over the semester, basically giving you at least a test a week. I quite enjoy this block style of learning. Having a "finals week" type of feeling means that after tests have finished you have a fresh start with the new material in all your classes. It also means that I get a much needed free weekend where I don't feel guilty at all for not picking up a book. I also enjoy not having lectures for a week. This allows me to really focus on the material being tested.
Currently we are in our fourth and final block of the semester. Only two weeks left of classes and then a finals week of tests. After that I will be an eighth of a doctor....I know, not all that impressive. The classes we have been taking this semester are gross anatomy, biochemistry, human development, fundamentals of human behavior, genetics, and a clinical continuum course that includes patient centered care theory, medical interviewing, and evidence based medicine. I have enjoyed classes so far. My favorite classes are the ones that involve direct clinial correlations being described.
Beyond just going to class (or not going to class and listening to everything online) and taking tests, we are encouraged to be active in clubs and interest groups. I have helped with a global health fair, phonathon, tricker treating for can foods, go to institute every wednesday at noon, become certified to do eye screenings, attend meetings for interest groups of different specialties, and I sing with the acapella group once a week preparing for this next week where we are going to go carroling to parts of the hospital, sing at a memorial service for our body donors, sing at a variety fair, and somewhere else. I also will be playing with kids who have sickle cell anemia coming in for blood infusions once a week, volunteering each saturday morning at a free clinic for the uninsured, lobbying for a day in washington DC, and who knows what else. On top of that, just today I started what we call our mentor program. We are assigned a doctor to kind of shadow six different times during this year. We are to observe and learn, then put into practice what we have learned about taking histories, performing basic physical exams, and find application for everything else we learn. I have been paired with a physiatrist. The specialty is called physical medicine and rehabilitation. I have been interested in this specialty for a while now and look forward to getting some good exposure to it early on. Happy day oh happy day! - I didn't pass out while watching the doctor give a cortisone injection. I guess there IS hope for me, and I have come a long ways since kindergarten. It was an eye opening experience today.

So enough about school, though I really could go on and on, and probably do a seperate post on every aspect, but I really don't think anyone wants to really know that much or else they too would be here in medical school where that takes up 95% of available neurons.

What else do I do here in Wisconsin? The other part of my life involves the church. We are so blessed to have an awesome singles ward of over 100 ysa. Our bishoprick is absolutely wonderful! They work so hard and dedicate so much time to helping us progress. I have been blessed with quality friends out here that I have yet to really feel homesick. Of course I miss family and friends, but there is little time for those to permeate my mind when I have so many to think about out here. I have once again been called to the activities committee as the co-chair. This is perfect because it requires me to leave my books and head out for a good time with great people. I will put a picture of our most recent activity - a dinner/games, fireside, and dance- where I got beat by a girl in a pie eating contest! I came in a close second, but there was no question she beat me. We do quite a lot as a ward- FHE each monday and usually a weekend activity of some sort. Once a month a get down to the chicago temple with the ward to do baptisms for the dead. This last time I went early and was able to do sealings, a session, and initiatories! It was awesome! Lately I have been singing a lot with groups in the ward- for the funeral of our bishop's dad, ward choir, and a missionary choir singing this sunday downtown. I always envied those with tenor ranges... well out here I have become a tenor. It's not that my voice has changed, we just need tenors so I give it my best shot. It has been so fun! Everyone in our ward is so great. The other med students and resididents are so kind and helpful. Missionary work abounds. I absolutely love it!

Just for fun: Well there is a little time for having fun. Like I said I get one weekend every month about. What have I done? The art galleries here in milwaukee are fantastic! Downtown there are tons of theatre so a friend and I went and saw "Isn't it Romantic" a compilation of love songs that made reminded me of my Papa. Twice I have made the trip to chicago to see "wicked" the musical, one with Sean, my brother, and the other with a date! I saw myself in my first big screen motion picture where I appeared in highschool musical as an extra. I saw the milwaukee orchestra on a super fun date where we played farkle at IHOP afterwards. I play tennis with my roomate. I just finished our intramural season of flag football. That kind of gives a run down of the highlights of living out here.

Well that is an inside scoop to my life here in medical school. There is still much to blog about, but I know many of your have stopped reading long ago. The main point of this post is to share that I truly love living out here in Wisconsin and I know Heavenly Father knows who I am!

Support Prop 8

I don't live in California but thought this is important for everyone to know about and do what you can to inform others. This comes from my cousin in law who lives in california. Hope you take the time to read it.

Thanks for the info, April!!
"You don’t think Proposition 8 will affect you? Here are six ways LDS and non-LDS Christians will be effected if Proposition 8 does not pass:

1. Children in public schools will be taught that both traditional marriage and same-sex marriage are okay.
The California Education Code already requires that health education classes instruct children about marriage. (§51890)
Therefore, if the definition of marriage is changed, children will be taught that marriage is a relationship between any two adults. This will be very confusing for our children.

2. Churches will be sued if they refuse to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies in their religious buildings that are open to the public.
The civil rights activists could fight to keep our church from doing temple marriages since same-sex couples could not be married in our temple or in our churches.

3. Religious adoption agencies will be challenged by government agencies to give up their long-held right to place children only in homes with both a mother and a father.
Children deserve to be in a home with a mother and a father. Catholic Charities in Boston have already closed its doors because of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.

4. Religions that sponsor private schools and provide housing for married students will be required to provide housing for same-sex couples, even if it runs counter to church doctrine, or the church will lose tax exemptions and benefits.

5. Ministers who preach against same-sex marriages will be sued for hate speech and could be fined by the government. It has already happened in Canada, one of six countries that have legalized gay marriage.
Bishops, stake presidents, and other clergy of other faiths would be liable for hate speech if they taught their congregation that same-sex marriage or same-sex relations are sinful. This is taking away our freedom of religion!

6. It will cost you money. A change in the definition of marriage will bring a cascade of lawsuits. Even if courts eventually find in favor of a defender of traditional marriage (highly improbable given today’s activist judges), think of the money – your money, your church contributions – that will have to be spent on legal fees.

As you can see, our rights will be drastically effected by this election. If same sex marriage is
legalized in California I worry that the new definition of marriage will spread like wildfire and our children will reap the consequences. We should have the right to worship as we please—this is why our ancestors came to America in the first place.

But what about equal rights you say? The Gays and Lesbians of California will not lose any rights or benefits for their families if this proposition passes. However, if it does not pass, we (Latter-Day-Saints) could lose everything, including the right to preform temple marriages or civil marriages in our churches. Civil activists could fight to take away the right to marry if we do not open it up equally for all marriage arrangements. No on prop 8 could also take away the right of LDS adoption agencies to place children with LDS mothers and fathers only. Children deserve to be in a home with a mother and a father. We owe it to those children and our own!

If you are a christian or an LDS Californian, you’ve been called to action. Here is how you can help:

First: Get to work by registering to vote at your most recent address—or absentee. October 20th is your deadline. This is a good start. Though your vote is very important, it’s not enough. President Monson asked us members to “… do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment by donating of your means and time to assure that marriage in California is legally defined as being between a man and a woman. Our best efforts are required to preserve the sacred institution of marriage.”

Second: Last night the leaders of our church asked you and I to post on our blog our opinion on prop 8—this could be done even if you don’t live in California. Many people who look at your blog may live in California. We need your help too! If anything, please put the consequences of same sex marriage (above) on your blog or if you don’t have a blog please send an email to friends and family or a letter to your newspaper. Do what you can. There is a great link in which Elder Ballard gave to us last night that will help you in your efforts. There is a lot of great material that you can read and or view. The link is http://www.preservingmarriage.org/"

I hope that we all can see the damage this may cause to our beliefs and lifestyles. Please post your opinion on your blog as well. Thanks!!

MCW Here I am!

Well I have lots I could blog about as of late. My life has been one change after another. I went from graduating from USU which you saw earlier (I don't know who I am talking to really besides myself because I think everyone stopped reading my blog when they checked every day for three months and didn't find any updates, oh well, I guess its for my sanity), then I spent the summer working with my awesome new brother-in-law Sam Thacker doing landscaping. Jami definitely picked a good one, and it was a fantastic working summer. During the summer I traveled to Jackson Hole with friends and communed with the Tetons one last time before I left, we traveled to Zions and did our "guys" trip, even getting to walk through nipple deep water, repel down slot canyons, and poop in a bag and carry it out! Shortly after I took a trip to Panama which deserves its own separate post, and immediately I packed up and my Dad and I drove out here to Milwaukee Wisconsin. Now I officially start school tomorrow! They say as of Friday, when we held our White Coat ceremony, we became apart of officially, even at the lowest rung, the professional world of Health Care. Well I will update you on all this another day cause my battery is about to die and I am sitting in my car sharing the internet with summer who so kindly left theirs unsecured( the techs couldn't install until aug 26th) Well here is a picture of me and my roommate at our ceremony. Love you all lots and if you actually read this, leave a comment.

Graduation and moving on

May 4th I graduated from the Utah State University! I know my sister has already posted this on her blog, but I thought I would make a mention of it here.
It was a great day. I of course forgot my camera, but got a few pics from some friends. One of the funniest things about the day was how my roommate Bryce Jensen and I showed up for the commencement. Rather than drive a car the couple of blocks from our house we decided bikes would be the way to go. Oh ya, we only had one bike that functioned properly. So the two of us hopped on his bike and rode on the main street to campus. We were dressed up for graduation and waved to all the laughing people in there cars on the way. We rode right through the crowd on the quad, parked, and joined the procession. It was great! Thanks to Bryce for being such a great roommate for the past 2 1/2 years!
We all walked to the commencement, heard some good speeches, and then were let go. My family came up and we went out to the Indian Oven in Logan. Anyone who likes Indian food would love to go to this store! It is a must eat! I loved the food and the fact the my family ( and my grandma) would take so much time to make me feel special. I love them so much!
We then went to my graduation! I graduated with a Liberal Arts and Sciences degree so that put me in the college of HASS. That is one of the biggest at the university. Anyone who has attended a graduation knows that the more people there are the longer you have to stay, watching people walk across the stage, most of whom you don't know. Well we needed to get home for The Savior Of The World production my mom and sisters were in. I decided to appease my family and leave early. I was one of the first to walk across the stage and then walked right up the stairs and out of the building. My little nieces and nephew really enjoyed that!
Now that I am done with USU I look back with fond memories. It was a great time! I would have to do a huge post that no one would want to read to ever do it justice. Now I am on to Medical school at Medical College of Wisconsin. It will be an adventure! I leave around August 7th and will be living with Rich Beutler who is also from Layton. I will have to post more about this later. Good bye!