One year later...

I truly cannot believe it has been an entire year since my last post... So many things have happened in the last year and I'll give a quick run down of what our lives have entailed the last 12 months.

I was attending class for 4 hours a day, 5 days a week at Pima Medical Institute in Seattle. I completed the veterinary assistant program in November of last year. I externed at a local veterinary clinic for 6 weeks and was then hired upon completion. I then was accepted into Pima's veterinary technician program which I recently finished classes at the end of July. I applied for an "ace" site for my last 6 week externship, which required specific grades and multiple letters of recommendation. Fortunately I received the site I wanted and recently finished the externship hours. They then offered me a job for a position they were not needing to fill but felt strongly about bringing me on as part of their staff which I happily accepted. I am currently part of an amazing team and extraordinary hospital called Elliott Bay Animal Hospital located in Seattle, they have received many awards and have a wonderful reputation. They have 7 doctors and a total hospital staff of 40+ people. I am very lucky to have gotten my foot in the door at such a highly sought after hospital and I'm excited to start my career here. I've learned so much in this past year and a half and it blows me away how lucky I am to be doing what I love. I'm so grateful for all of the support during this stressful time in my life, particularly for my husbands hard work that has allowed me to pursue my education. In November I will graduate with a 4.0 and will take the VTNE (veterinary technician national exam) to become licensed. I couldn't have done any of this without my support team and study buddies. So thank you to everyone who was involved with my success.

Spencer has been working long and tiresome hours at PwC but is doing wonderfully, everyone seems to love him which comes as no surprise to those who know him. He received a raise in July which then brings me to my next point... Due to his raise we were finally able to proceed with buying a home here in Washington. We found an adorable cottage type home a few miles from where we are currently living and will be moving in next weekend. The dogs will finally have a doggie door and beautiful big backyard to themselves... And I won't have to venture outside to do my laundry! We are very excited and eager to move, it is some what bitter sweet though... We have fallen in love with downtown Edmonds and are sad to be leaving. It's been so nice being able to walk to restaurants, stores, the beach, etc... we will also miss our cute rental home, it has served us well and we've made many wonderful memories here.

One big surprise that we were not anticipating... Was adding another member to our family, and no I'm not talking about a baby... But another furry friend. During school, we would perform spay and neuter surgeries on rescue dogs in need of homes... A little guy by the name of Tank, who was also a rat terrier, was in need of a foster home. After much discussion with Spencer we decided to foster little Tank, expecting to have him for a few months. Little did we know that we would fall in love with him. Again after much discussion and deliberation we ended up adopting little Tank. I know I know... I'm turning into a crazy dog lady, but we truly couldn't let him go. Needless to say I won't be fostering any new pets in the future. So there you have it... We have 3 dogs... That are crazy and a big pain in the butt but we love each of them none the less.

That's all I have for today, but know that we are truly loving life up here in the northwest and couldn't be happier. We love and miss all of our family and friends back home and I will attempt to keep you all more up to date with our lives on here. Included are a few photos documenting our life according to my iPhone...

XOXO
Cara