St. Kitts and Vet School Here We Come

After submitting my application to Ross, I took a day trip to San Francisco on the 9th of March for my personal interview.....I took the morning and walked around the city including walking 3 miles to pier 39 and back to the subway.....I was a gorgeous morning....and all the omens were there.

Stange Day.....

I wore my eagle feather necklace my dad gave me, my pearl earrings Robert gave me and a bracelet my mom gave me. I figured I needed all the good luck I could get....but my charms brought more thank luck.....they followed with numerous coincidences.....

During my flight from SLC to San Fran. I was seated in the last seat on the plane. After landing I was sitting waiting for the whole plane to offload and was laughing to myself that baggage might have been a better seat. I then began pondering the idea of the boys being shipped to St. Kitts and the chapter in Marley and Me that painted a picture of the yellow lab barking the whole plane ride....with my luck I thought that would be Drake or Widgeon!!!!......and to my surprises as I walked off the plane on to the tarmac there sat a yellow lab barking in his kennel at me. How strange I thought and immediately began thinking of Grams and how she must be up there behind this coincidence. As I walked into the airport I immediately began smelling cigaret smoke and as I took the escalator up...there on my right was a smoking room (a place my grandmother would have immediately ran to after having to sit for 25min to get out of the back of the plane)........and there sat an older lady that looked very similar to Grams happily smoking her cigaret and smiling back at me......I than began to think I was imagining things....but these coincidences didn't stop there.....I bought my ticket to ride the BART system (subway) and got on the train headed to down town for some site seeing before my interview. After hanging up the phone from calling Robert, I looked up and to my surprise saw an add poster on the train car's billboard for Ross University ......during my 6 mile round trip walking excursion from the subway station to Pier 39 and back, I was excited to find what I thought was local bagel shop and stopped for some food and a break on the way back to the subway. Upon making the choice to eat at the bagel shop I laughed to myself that it was fitting to choose a bagel shop to spend my morning milling over my future and my interview notes since I spent a large portion of mornings during school meeting Margaret for breakfast at Einstein's, studying and talking about our life decisions to go to vet and med school. I had wrote her about need her here before my GRE's!!! and as I walk into this "local" bagel shop and look around.....it almost looks just like and Einstein's......little did I know that Einstein's has sister store called Noah' Bagels (or something like that).....how random....

My interview was nothing like what I expected or had prepared for.... I thought I would be asked ethical questions including my thoughts on euthanasia, terminal surgery for education use, lab animal medicine, comparisons of animal welfare vs. animal rights, and what aspect of veterinary medicine I was interested in and what I wanted to do with my degree if i got in. I was prepared to answer a million questions...none of which were asked. I was feeling sort of dismal about my interview and was skeptical of the outcome......The beautiful morning had turned into a very blustery day with horrific winds......and as I left my interview the office space next door was being advertised for lease by Kate Walsh......so after a strange day with weird but good omens.....a conflicting horrible interview (well on my standards) and my plane leaving San Fran being delayed.....I was feeling a conflicted..........

Yet after waiting a little of over a week....

We finally heard back from Ross Vet School that I HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED!!!

This leaves us with a little over a month to get packed and details situated...... including travel, housing, financial aid, the boys...and our vehicles and house here in Salt Lake taken care of. I have to be on island between the 29th of April and the 2nd of May.....

So, we have both put in our two week notices/quite our jobs and we are quickly trying to make arrangements.....

While we are EXTREMELY excited to be taking this enormous step forward, yet we are both stressed and nervous at the same time......this is going to be a huge adventure and change.

Tomorrow is Robert's 29th birthday and my 26th.....we are planning on spending the morning out at Blue Lake. Robert has a couple dives out there with Neptune and the boys and I are going to take in some fresh air and pictures. We are going to spend the evening with friends at the Bayou celebrating birthdays, getting into vet school and our going away.....this is the last free day in Salt Lake......we now have to kick our butts in gear and get our check list completed before heading home to Skagit Valley before leaving for St. Kitts....

Some pictures from my day trip to San Francisco for my vet school interview.....

Famous Two Story Carousel At Pier 39

Sea Lions Pier 39

Cool Sculpture

March Is Already Here.....

Well we are completely unsure of where January and February have disappeared. January started of with Kate's first round of GRE's which didn't go as well as she would have liked. The following week Robert started his open water certification for scuba. Yes, he is now officially Scuba Robert! After several weeks of night classes and pool sessions he dove two days the first of February and completed his open water certification at Seabase. Seabase is a salt water spring that supports tropical fish including angel fish and nurse sharks... in the middle of the desert!!!

We spent Valentines day taking in fresh air and looking for topaz at Topaz Mountain, which is out by where Kate helped the Dearing Lab trap mice for Hanta Virus research. Unfortunately we did not come home with any jewels, but did come home refreshed by clean air and sunshine with happy dogs and ready for a busy couple of weeks ahead of us.

The following weekend started with Widgeon needing to go under anesthesia to have his left eye de-brided of what we thought was a foreign body in his cornea. We were able to get his teeth clean and remove a small skin tag but were not successful at taking care of his eye and so now he needs to visit the veterinary opthamologist at the specialty clinic here in Salt Lake.

That weekend Robert went with Aaron Hamm and dove at the Crater. They had a wonderful dive and Robert was happy to be able to dive in 95 degree water instead of 70 degree water and with out a 7 mm wet suite.

The following Monday, after two months of re-studying for the GRE and sulking from her previous score in math Kate had to retake the test. While the writing and the verbal portion of the test did not go as well, she was happy to get over 100 points better in the math section and prove that she could get above a 600 in math!!! Therefore, now Kate is scrambling to get her application in to Ross University by the end of the day. It could be possible that we could be moving to St. Kitts in two months for her to start vet school the beginning of May.

We are super excite and are crossing out fingers that this all works about, but are both nervous and stressed about the numerous things that would need to be taken care of before we would leave. We won't know for sure till around the middle to end of March...Kate has to get an interview first!

On top off all the diving and vet school application process, Robert is taking another semester of school at the University of Utah and is enrolled in a photography class. Of course Kate is enjoying getting out to take pictures with him.... We took the boys to Wheeler Farm last night to check out the farm animals and give Robert some time to take a few photos for his class!!!

So things over the next few weeks are apt to be extremely busy...Robert is taking more diving classes, Widgeon needs to schedule a visit to see the eye doctor, and Kate has more than she can handle on her plate. On top of all that we really would like to get home to Washington to see family before we possibly move out of country...not to mention there are numerous pople back home hoping Kate can take some pictures for them this spring........We will continue to update everyone on our adventures and possible up coming move to St. Kitts!! Check out the pictures below!!!

Scuba Robert (Seabase)

Flippers up!!

Open Water Cert. Seabase

Help I Hate Swimming but I Love Diving.....does this really make sense?

Drake and Daddy Looking for Topaz at Topaz Mountain on Valentines Day

Sunset Topaz Mountain February 14th, 2010

View Across Valley Atop Topaz Mountain

Boys At Wheeler Farm

Another Great One!!!

Robert Diving At The Crater!

Kate Walsh Photography NEW WEBSITE AND BLOG

My photography business now has its own Dot Com and new blog. To visit the site and blog go to www.katewalshphotography.com

I also have a new business e-mail at katewalshphotography@gmail.com

Please visit, check it out.....and let people know!!!!

Sundance Film Festival 2010

So after a very busy month, including the GRE and Robert starting scuba certification and classes at the U, we finally got a weekend together. One of the girls at work was even nice enough to change me shifts on Friday so that I could be off early so we to go away for the weekend. We even had a dog sitter. Yet, as our luck goes, the Titan's brakes went out on Thursday night and Robert had to take it to the shop Friday. What was suppose to be a 130 dollar brake job turned into 400 dollar brake job and new rotors in a blink of an eye...and there went our weekend away money. So we opted for a quiet weekend at home and around the area.

This weekend was the kick off for the Sundance Film Festival and I was dying to run into Kristen Stewart or some other cast members of Twilight, which were rumored to be in town this week. Stewart has a movie with Dakota Fanning that is premiering at the festival and is in town......we also had heard that Lady Antebellum was playing in Park City at a limited capacity venue which was open to the public as well as credential holders.....so we headed to Park City for the day in hopes of running into some celebrities and seeing Lady Antebellum.

While we got to the venue where Lady Antebellum was playing with hours to spare, they were not letting any more public people into the venue......they only let 10 people in at 10 in the morning. So we spent the day walking Main Street and catching a bite to eat. We were able to see Ben Afflack, but unfortunately did not get to see any other famous people. We had a nice warm lunch at the Eating Establishment before heading back home.

Merry Christmas 2009

So the GRE....Ya don't know what to say...I had to reschedule for the 12th of January because the computer I was signed up to take it on went down and I could not take the test. At least thats the short version not including the waiting all night long to find out if I for sure had to postpone the test. So after a long night and no completion of the GRE later....I spent most my day editing Robert American Institutions final paper and decided to alleviate some stress by taking pictures of the boys who are feeling mighty abused at the moment with the lack of attention over the past few crazy days.

We brought our Adirondack chairs a few weeks ago out of the snow and I thought they brightened up the living room with some Christmas colors. I have been dying to shove the boys onto them and get one perfect picture. Widgeon is the hardest thing to photograph.....he's all black and his facial features get washed out.....but despite their unwillingness to get photographed and them only wanting to do everything but what mom wants I got a few good ones....minus the big huge red rocket Drake was displaying just in time for me to snap a few....yes Drake decide he would add some perfectly festive (the color red) but inappropriate details to mom's picture....and people think dogs aren't like children.....how many of you have had your kids do something inappropriate doing Christmas pictures??? However, its hard to know whether this was deliberate or just happening....

Despite our crazy weekend of studying, the Titans battery dying and other weekend chores, we managed to get Robert his Christmas present. He has been wanting to get dive certified before we possibly head to St. Kitts.....so....we have singed him up for classes and his new, snorkel, fins, mask and diving boot are sitting under the tree with the other wrapped presents....mind you, i refuse to wrap them.....what a waste of paper....unfortunately there is no big Christmas surprise in what he is getting but its kind of hard to buy diving equipment with out the person trying it on. At least it motivated him to shave from a full beard back down to his cute goatee...he can't make a tight seal around his mask with scruff or even more so carpet on his face.

We are looking forward to Kate's parents and brother joining us in a few days for the holidays and hope to have some more great festive pictures...minus the red rocket...posted soon. Kind of sad to say this could be our last white Christmas for a while....but I would gladly trade it for sand in a heartbeat....if only we could get that pesky GRE taken and my apps submitted in a timely manner.......

Mouse Hunting Picture Maybe Published With Research Paper

I received a very exciting e-mail this week from the Dearing Lab mentioning that they were interested in using a picture of mine from mousing hunting last May for the cover photo of a paper that should be published soon. As many of you know I went with the Dearing Lab from the U of U for a week to help them trap and process mice for Hanta virus research last May and of course I took TONS of pictures. Besides taking pictures, I learned many valuable small animal handling skills and was able to be part of some great research!!! I am really excited to have a picture of mine published with their research....What an honor. The picture candidates are the 3 following....I also posted a few other great pictures from the trip. You can also check out "Month of May....How Fast it Went By" under the June tab to check out more on my mouse trapping experience.

Here are a few more great ones....

St. Kitts Pictures.....Our Trip From December 2008....

As most of you already know we went with Kate's family last Christmas to St. Kitts in the Caribbean to check out the island and the vet school there. Kate is in the process of applying to Ross University. Finally, got a few minutes to post a few favorite pictures from the trip

(Kate's favorite pics :) ). We have be so blessed with the places we have been, seen, and experienced and we can hardly believe that we may be living here for two and half years staring in May if Kate gets accepted.......lets keep our fingers crossed. Its now down to crunch time. Only three weeks away till the GRE.....

Kate on the beach at North Frigate Bay, Atlantic Ocean

More Wonderful Beaches: Left- N. Frigate Bay, Right-Sandy Point Black Sand Beach

Botanical Gardens, Nevis (St.Kitts Sister Island)

Green Vervet Monkey

New River Estate Plantation, Nevis. Very Cool Machinery

Us at a Beach Bar Drinking Carib

Rawling's Plantation Sugar Cane Fields

St. Thomas Anglican Church.....Thomas Waren and Samuel Jefferson are both famous people buried in the cemetery here. Thomas Warn was the first governor of St. Kitts and Samuel Jefferson is thought to be the great, great great grandfather of Thomas Jefferson.

Romney Mannor Plantation

Outhouse at Shipwreck Beach South Friar's Bay.....this is so going in my future coffee table book of best outhouses of the world