Welcome to Idaho

      I officially survived my first week of fieldwork. It was LONG and TIRING. By the way, Washington had a small tornado about an hour East of us on Wednesday night. It only destroyed an old dilapidated barn, but you would have thought it was an F5 tornado! They interviewed this farmer from morning to night going over and over what he saw when the tornado came through! Very funny to me.

      I have also learned this week that I have been pronouncing Colorado and Nevada wrong all of my life. Everyone picks up immediately that we are not from here. Imagine that!

      Also this week, we decided to go to the movies to see Letters to Juliet. We didn’t quite make it to the movies because I locked the keys in the car… while it was running! We had to call a locksmith which was not fun! Hahaha

      On Saturday morning we decided to go explore so we left to visit a place called Coeur d’alene, Idaho! (Chuck, I am quickly adding to my 50 x 50 list!) It is about 40 minutes from Medical Lake. We left around 9:30 for a day trip! It was so beautiful! The weather is still trying to adjust to the summer season. It is about 50 degrees here and very windy. Coeur d’alene is a resort town. It is actually hosting the ironman triathlon competition on June 27, which our small group leaders from Jackson happen to be coming for! The town boasts a beautiful lake where we actually saw someone kite surfing! They have a beautiful park which offers live music on specific nights during the summer. There is also a strip of unique boutique shops. We walked up and down through the shops and found a few gifts for our families! They have this wonderful toy store called Figpickels! I found Jacob a super hero starter kit! Packed with a red cape, wrist bands, stickers, and how to come up with your own superhero name! The town or the state is known for the Huckleberries they have. There are all these huckleberry jams, pepper jellies, and everything huckleberry you can think of! They also have a lot of local wines made in the area, which is also very unique! The town is so charming! We will definitely be frequenting this place throughout the summer!

      Next week at work, I will pick my one to one patient that I will spend a lot of time with and write a huge report on for the summer. I will also go over some OT assessments in depth and learn how to document in a psych hospital!

     Next weekend for Memorial Day, Katie, Erica, and I will be traveling to Tacoma, WA on Friday night to visit with Katy Ann and Ashley (two of our classmates). Saturday morning we will all get up really early and drive to the Hoh rainforest! It is a total of 8 hours away from Medical Lake! On Saturday night we will drive to FORKS, WA and stay in “Bella’s Cabin” at this family-owned place! I am sure I will have PLENTY of pictures to share from this trip also!

I hope all is well at home! Love and miss you all!

P.S. I am so proud of Joseph, BQ, Brett and Jeremy for their triathlon performance! I wish I was there to cheer them on, but I know they did have plenty of support and love there!

I am still amazed at the beauty of the weather rolling in over the valley!

Me, Erica, and Katie celebrating our first Friday night!

Entering Idaho! The western border of Idaho is beautiful! I dunno about the rest of the state! 

Chuck, I am quickly adding to my 50 x 50!

Beautiful Lake Coeur d'alene.  It was windy and cold this day!

They offer jet ski rentals, water skiing, hiking, camping, etc. etc. 

This is also home to the ironman triathlon on June 26-28!

One of the many beautiful boats we saw!

We watched in awe as someone was kite surifng! they have their own beach inside their downtown center area!

The beautiful park! they have live music and picnic spots for the summer time.  Such a romantic city!

Local Wine Tasting room in the strip of shops!