Finland pt. 1

I’m back!
Never thought you’d see another posting on this blog, did ya?
I’ve had some amazing adventures this summer and they’re not over, so before things get super crazy I thought I’d start sharing.
I had the fantastic opportunity, thanks to my beautiful wife and BYU, to go to Finland and Russia for nearly a month to learn about different cultures and healthcare systems. This study abroad is part of the nursing curriculum at BYU. The students in this class were spread out to Tonga, Ghana, Ecuador, Finland/Russia, Urban/VA population, Utah refugees, Utah At-Risk population, Taiwan, Navajo Nation and India. I’m sure all the groups would say the same, but my group definitely had the best experience.
I think the whole trip will have to be spread out over a few posts because we did a lot and learned a lot. I don’t have the focus to type up a huge summary nor the mental capacity to condense it all into a short summary. So here are some pictures from the first few days of our trip. We flew from Chicago to Copenhagen, then to Helsinki. We stayed a few days in Helsinki to adjust to the time change and get some cultural experiences. We also visited Tallinn, Estonia for most of a day while in Helsinki.

The whole group right outside the Helsinki Airport (our last member is taking the photo)

This is half an archway leading into old Tallinn. I thought it humorous that underneath the small arch you can see a McDonalds. Typical.

Me and Jean Sibelius. Sibelius, through his music, helped Finland form a national identity when it was trying to gain independence from Russia at the turn of the 20^th century.

I just had to include this one, it has my name on it!

Hike: Mt. Timpanogos

This past weekend my wife planned a fantastic date for the two of us. She isn't the biggest fan of camping. She knows that I am so she decided to go out of her comfort zone and plan a camping trip as a surprise for me. We started out by renting a tandem bike from Outdoors Unlimited on BYU campus. We rode for about an hour and had a blast. If like riding bikes and you've never ridden a tandem bike it's a real treat. Very different balance than a normal bike but just as fun if not more so. Luckily there were no accidents along the way. Afterwards we grabbed some things at the store, ate out at Wallaby's and headed up the canyon. It was late when we got up there so we basically just set up camp, made a fire (of course) and went for a starlit stroll. In the morning I got up and made another fire (of course) and we had a simple breakfast then headed up to the trail. Here are some pictures of our adventures along the trail. We didn't go to far. Both of us got tired pretty fast. I'm just plain out of shape - as you can tell by the dearth of "Bike:[insert title]" blog posts. Serena however, has dance classes during the week and she's on her feet all day at work so I can see why she was tired. Anyway, we made it up to the second falls, had lunch, then came home via the Alpine Loop which was just beautiful. The leaves were starting to turn colors and it wasn't too warm. I gotta say, my wife couldn't have done better!

More: Thursday Nights

In my second post I mentioned that I am a nerd and used to role-play and such. Well, if you saw what I did on Thursday nights you might think that I’m even more crazy. Well, here’s your chance. The local newspaper decided to show up a couple of Thursdays and take some shots. Here is a link to the story: http://heraldextra.com/news/local/article_1eb93ed7-7b91-5c52-90f0-64933e6e540c.html. I’ve been doing it for a long time but left for 5 years or so while I went to Brazil on a mission then got married. But now I’ve been going back most Thursdays for some good  exercise and a chance to let my nerdy side out. It’s lots of fun most days and I always come home wiped out. Good stuff! If you’re more interested in the group or are thinking, “What in the world is he actually doing?” The link for the combat society is this: http://www.belegarth.com. Check it out!
P.S. I’m in the first and second pictures. This first one is better – I’m totally dominating.

More: Cystectomy

For those who have the stomach I thought I might share a little of myself. Inside and out. This post is to share my first surgical experience during which I wasn’t asleep. I have a had a cyst growing on my upper right cheek that I felt might be good to get rid of. I think it was making one of my eyes all squinty in pictures. I couldn’t take it anymore so under the knife I went. I was going to put a video of the first of the twins coming out – there were two cysts next to each other – but it would have to go on YouTube to do that so never mind. However, there is a picture of the surgery tray after all was said and done. Lastly, me! This is the bandage for the first day. I need to keep it on for one day then I can use normal Band-Aids. Underneath there are a total of 7 stitches. The nurse said the doctor is OCD about his stitches which I found strangely comforting. The pictures:

More: California and Redwoods

For a long time I’ve heard about the Redwoods. I’ve seen pictures on TV and in magazines but never been there in person. When I was in junior high one of my best friends gave me a bookmark from the Redwoods. (I collect bookmarks). The reason I say all of that is because I’ve wanted to go for a long time and this week I finally got my chance.  My wife and I went to Oregon to visit one of her old roommates with a bunch of her friends. My condition for going was that we came through the Redwoods on our way home. It’s not really “on the way home” but I really wanted to go. I’m so glad that we did. First of all, two 16 hour drives in three days would not be fun. Second of all I love California so the more of it I can see the better. Lastly, and most importantly, I had my breath taken by the beauty of God’s creations. We had basically one day in California so we had to make the most of that day. I think we did. I became insignificantly small at Big Tree, claustrophobic as I drove through a Redwood, gloried in the sea while I walked a coastal trail, saw whales from Klamath Overlook, and huffed and puffed along the Boy Scout trail to a magnificent small waterfall in the middle of the redwoods. I left with only one desire. To come back again and stay for much more than one day. There is so much to see that it couldn’t be done in a week or even a month I think.
Coming from Utah things grow once a year, if that. In my house things tend not to grow at all. Anyway, in the Redwoods things never stop growing. I have included pictures below that are proof of that very fact. The first picture is of a couple of spider webs that were above the trail. They were supported by strands anchored to trees 20+ feet apart. I was amazed by the tenacity of those spiders.

This next pictures is a perfect example of the cycle of life. A huge redwood fell on the side of the path and its decaying remains became the fertile ground for other plants and trees to grow on. It’s fascinating to me that the roots just wrap around the tree, defying what I always saw other trees do – grow in the ground.

Behold the glory of the Redwoods! This is a view of the forest from the Boy Scout trail (the only one I had time to go on). These towers held me in awe as I walked through them. The fact that they only need the moisture from the mist, they are fire retardant, they live for 20 human lifetimes and make me feel insignificant because they are absolutely massive.

This little waterfall was the reason that I took the Boy Scout trail and I think that it was worth it.