Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Tiffany's Gymnastics Meet

Tiff took first place on beam and bars, second on floor and vault, and a first place win all around. Here are her routines :-)


Saturday, April 17, 2010

Fingerprinting


I am on the brink of ...something. Stress, finishing my first of two years of nursing school, big tests that determine my future school options, stress...these are some of the possibilities.
My nursing school program at MATC is only a LPN program. I will finish in May, take the NCLEX board exams, and be a Licensed Practical Nurse, if all goes well. Another possible explanation of LPN is "low paid nurses" :-) I have every intention of continuing on to become a RN (registered nurse).
I applied to Weber State University and was accepted to their online RN completion program. YEA!! The program is two semesters long, and will take me from LPN to RN by next April. The class work is all done online, and the clinical hours will be done once a week at a hospital...somewhere. It is perfect for my crazy schedule with the busy five, and I am SO happy! Of course, there is a contingency. I need to pass my current program...check, I hope. I currently have all A or A- grades, so it would take a serious disaster to make that a problem. I need to take microbiology and psychology this summer...check - I already signed up for them through independent study at BYU, and am just waiting to finish finals before I jump in and race through both classes (I hope I can do them both quickly so I can have a summer break!). Pass the ATI (a predictor test that is often taken before actually attempting the state board exams) with a 62 or higher. One shot. Three hour test. If I don't do well enough, Weber kicks me off the list for next fall. EEEK!!
Now, I have already been given the "no sweat, you'll do fine", from many loving and well meaning people (including my dear husband), and, in truth, I should be fine. But, ONE SHOT or I'm out! I will be taking the fun little test this Wednesday. First big hurdle to get over!
The other requirement to accept my acceptance for Weber was to get fingerprinting done on a card and mail it to the FBI for a background check. I had a two week deadline to get this done. So, I went to the police department in Pleasant Grove. The sweet lady that was doing my fingerprints worked for over 30 minutes, trying to get my fingerprints to scan correctly. They do a flat fingerprint and a rolled fingerprint of each finger. The flat have to match up with the rolled. Mine don't match. I have dry hands in spite of all the lotion (must be all that hand washing), and my fingerprints are very flat. The lady in PG advised that I go to the BCI (bureau of crime investigations) in Salt Lake, because they are the "experts", and could do a better job. My trip to BCI was worthwhile - four of my fingers matched this time. YEA! I did sleep with Vaseline, plastic baggies, and socks on my hands the night before, with the hope that my fingerprints would be more visible, but the fellow doing the job informed me that it would take four weeks of sleeping with Vaseline and plastic on my hands to make my fingerprints really clear, and I just don't have that much sleep to give up. Have you ever tried to sleep with crinkly plastic bags on your hands??
If the fingerprints don't clear with the FBI, my only other option may be to live a life of crime, leaving no matchable fingerprints behind. I'm still hoping for nursing school, personally!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Fun in Colorado and Wyoming
















Nathan, Cameron, Jason, and Tiffany left me during spring break. They went to Colorado for orthodontist appointment, and then made a stop in Wyoming, "to shoot guns".
I made it into the program I was hoping to get into... which means one year from now, I'll have my R.N.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Ice Skating Outing

A few weeks ago we went ice skating. Every time we go the younger kids get braver and more confident. It is a great family outing!