We are finishing 13 weeks.

We have been in Tucson for thirteen weeks! Time has flow by...it is hard to believe that we have been here since May.

Steve enjoys his job now that he is working weekends and has time off during the week to hike, swim, pan for gold and explore caves (something he enjoys not me).

My job is amazing...the emergency department is "insane" most of the time with 6 - 8 hour waits. I have never seen a homeless population like I have seen here. They treat border jumpers on a regular basis...patching them up so they can be returned to Mexico. However, I have met some of the coolest nurses while on assignment here and have made many friends that I will miss greatly when this assignment is over. I am going to teach TNCC here in Payson, AZ the first weekend in November (something that I thought I would have to give up as a travel nurse). Though time has flown by we do miss our families and friends. We are looking forward to seeing everyone when we travel home for the holidays.

Keeping up with Jackson Softball!

Ashley,

Great picture, this will be a wonderful way to keep up with your softball season, if you can get your picture in the paper weekly.

Love you,

Aunt Brenda

Colossal Cave

Steve went exploring in Colossal Cave yesterday. The cave has been home to the Hohokam and Apache Indians as well as many outlaws over the years.

The second picture is of the "wedding chapel" a room with what appeared to be an alter where actual weddings were preformed.

This picture is of the "silent waterfall" formed over millions of years.

We have had a uneventful week...work, laundry, limited sightseeing, and rest. The weather here has been overcast the past 3 days with rain showers in the evening. We hope everyone is well and gearing up for a safe and restful Labor Day weekend.

Exploring Tucson

This weeks adventure was the "Sonora Desert Museum". Steve and I stopped to watch the prairie dog and his antics as he anxiously watched us.

The deer and mountain lion were enjoying the shade in the summer sun but we did get close enough for a picture.
Hunter...Steve just had to get this picture for you! Below is the limestone cave, complete with stalagmites, stalactites and pools.

Storms bring many things from the mountain.

The storms rolled in from the mountain last evening and left us without electric since midnight. I have spent part of the day in the pool and doing laundry (the AC is solar powered in the laundry room). Just an edit about the electric...Steve and I did not get electric restored for 34 hours. I can not say that I recommend spending 34 hours in Tucson's summer sun in a 5th wheel trailer without air conditioning!

Steve has went to the mountain with his Uncle L.C. to pan for gold. I have learned that the best time to pan for gold is after it rains at which the gold is carried from the mountains in the streams. Steve was up at 6:00 am packing and repacking his gear for his new adventure. They said the guns were just in case of snakes.

Working!

"Working" is all that I can say about this past week. I just finished a six day stretch at UMC and start a 4 day stretch on Saturday. Steve starts his stretch (F-S-S) tonight at Sierra Vista.

We did enjoy dinner and the "Mexican Train Game" with Steve's Uncle L.C. last evening but now we are back to the grind.

I am going to attend the Arizona ENA meeting this evening (the Emergency Nurses Association is part of me no matter where I am).

Please keep my Grandmother in your prayers she was admitted to Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau tonight. I called and spoke to her nurse (as everyone knew I would) and talked to her for a moment at which she seemed so frail. I pray that God releive Grandma's pain and help her to breath without difficulty. Grandma has been such a part of Mollie and my life since we moved back to Jackson in 1997. I am not sure if she ever understood my divorce from Mollie's Dad but she never once asked. She was determined in September of 2000 that I buy my house on Oak Street, so that Mollie had a "home". She has accepted Steve into our family as if she had known him all of her life. God please be with Grandma.

We wish everyone a bless weekend. Brenda & Steve