April 2009

April 2-5

Amanda and I flew into Denver for our second annual Jazz roadtrip. A very generous friend hooked us up with VIP parking, dinner, and lower bowl basketball tickets . Thank you Greg!

I had the Salmon at the Blue Sky Grill. :)

They were out of the pork so Amanda got nachos and they comped dessert. :)
They sent us on our way with to-go cups for our drinks.
The Pepsi Center was awesome.
The game...not so much.
Off to the Marriott, where another friend hooked us up with an employee discount. Thanks Steve. :)
The next day we took a tour of the US Mint, where they make circulated coins. Then a stop at the temple where the little old ladies fussed over us.
We ate very well this weekend, but our favorite place was Rock Bottom. In fact, we ate there twice.
We discovered we knew quite a few people in the area. So we did a lot of visiting with old neighbors, coworkers, cousins and friends. Thank you Kera and Patrick for putting us up for a night. It was so wonderful to see you again. And we managed to squeeze in a little shopping at the outlets too despite the bad weather. But this beautiful view greeted us home.
April 10th

Friend and soon to be roommate, Julienne, had a fashion show for school down at the Rose Wagner Theater. It was awesome. After which the four of us went to Bucca di Beppo
and they stuck us in our own nook...and forgot about us. :)

It eventually tasted good. April 12th :)Wicked came to Salt Lake City. My sister, Heather, got us a great price and we surprised her daughter for her birthday. It was yet again wonderful.
April 16th
Jenny was in town from England and so we used it as an excuse to get a bunch of oldies together again. Meigan, Nikki, Me, Jenny & Candice found a little corner at Five Guys and talked for hours. April 17 - 19
I hopped on a plane to surprise good friend, Nicole, in San Francisco. I've decided I love sitting in the front row. With some inside help, I managed to get this kind of reation. :) It warms my heart. The reaction alone was worth the time and money to skip out to the Bay for the weekend. I got to tag along for all of the fun stuff. Like a test run. :) Beautiful. And Audi drivin'. Thank you Jason. :) All for the Bridal Shower. and the bride. I then managed to leave my camera in the bathroom at this restaurant. So sadly the rest of the trip goes undocumented, but it included the Melting Pot and the wine lounge and some fun sleeping arrangements. I so didn't mind. Thank you for taking me along Nik. April 24th
Dinner & Dancing for Alicia's birthday.
California Pizza Kitchen. The Hotel. April 25th
Madison & Morgan had another skating performance. Morgan was a blue alien, thanks to my mom's amazing sewing skills and duct tape. :)

Madison stepped in and skated in an extra group number for a sick friend. She did great!I'm so proud of my neices. I never did anything that took that much hard work growing up. It can't be easy, but it's paying off.

I think I might have over used the smiley faces this round, but it was a great month.

March 2009 - Travels Begin

March 5-14

Dominican Republic

Party of twelve check-in for red eye to Atlanta. We had a lot of equipment to take with us. This is our accountant Craig.

Sleeping in Atlanta waiting for connecting flight four hours later.

The sun rises on Friday.

All aboard...Clint, Amanda, Heath, Stefani, Mindy, Sheri, Craig, Me...

and David.

A corner market next to our hotel.

Old colonial Santo Domingo

Welcome Dinner at Hotel Europa

Clinic Day 1 Saturday
Most of these people have never had a toothbrush. We would teach communities how to properly use them.

Last trip we ate chicken on the bone, rice and plantains.
This time we were spoiled.

And there always seemed to be more than enough for everyone.

Mary Lou is from St. Louis. She and Dr. Jim Moore were on our same trip in Sept. 07. It was a pleasure to work along side of her once again.
This is Rafael. Rafael is homeless and has an amazing story. Smiles for Hope was able to give him new front teeth. Now, out of gratitude, he comes along on the first clinic day to help out where he can. Mary Lou brought along speakers and her ipod, so we were dancing together.

After returning from dinner, Doc treated the group to ice cream.

Sunday
The Blackwood clan and Hammonds headed to sacrament service.

And stopped by the beautiful temple grounds.

Returned to check out of hotel #1 and head to a most delicious lunch.

The restaurant was right on the water and teased us of our leisurely time to come at the end of a hard working week.

The sun rises on the beginning of Clinic Day 2. This is taken from the fifth floor of the Howard Johnson.

Stefani and I continued our sterilizing duties.

Mindy doing some Spanish cramming before the day begins.

We loved the children.

Greg Anderson of the Crown Council blogged our trip.

Hygienists would help numb the patients waiting for doctor treatment.

Many of the children would come and watch through the windows.

We ate breakfast and dinner at the hotel.

Tuesday, Clinic Day 3

Bathroom facilities are....interesting.

This day was National Women with HIV day.
We signed this banner in respect.

Dave got a little taste of his future.

Some of Dr. Michelle's pulled teeth all cleaned up.

Wednesday, Clinic Day 4
Apparently, I love food. We had bananas straight from the branch. I had two.

I fell in love with this little boy waiting in the doctor line.

He was by his mother's side while she had her teeth cleaned.

Patiently waiting to be seen.

Doc is legendary at extractions and he loves it.

Pregnant Mindy couldn't get enough of these little girls.

Part of the program is to teach girls from the bateys dentistry. Three doctor students and three hygiene.

Thursday, Clinic Day 5
Check out of our second hotel in San Pedro.

Complete with our daily omelet to kick off the day.

This is Kimberly. Isn't she beautiful?

Dogs are wild.

I worked the whole week with the hygienists.
This is a very classic scene.

As the last day winds down, there is one more patient.

The last day everyone had an opportunity to pull teeth.

Children with machetes.

The Blackwood Clan

Beautiful Kayla with Esperanza.

My partner in crime.

Goodbye until next time.

The sunset of our last clinic day from the third floor of our last hotel.

Room visitors.

Relaxation begins.

Friday - Soaked up the sun on the beach as much as possible before returning to Utah's snow.

Our last evening together.
Smiles for Life Dental Care & Esperanza.

Saturday - the return home
Our flight was delayed. So we made ourselves comfortable. March 26-29
Longview, Washington
I hopped in the car with my mom, sister, and two nieces to visit my sister, Raena's new home.Awesome Uncle. Skateboarding Niece.Dr. Spencer
A serious pizza.
Family & FriendsMy niece is so small...she just held herself there.
Headed to the beach...in the rain.Chowder & Crab CakesTaffy as far as the eye can see.
Thanks Rae.Next time it will be sunny. Right?Road trip food. Um. I love my family. It was a really nice weekend.