End of the Year Recap

Taylor and Kelsey Drake’s 2015 Story

We started the year with Taylor studying for the MCAT, while I got promoted to RN Supervisor…It helps pay for all his books and study tools…On our down time, we like to cook and bake.  We’ve learned to be dairy-free and save our intestines by making meals with soy cheese (since we’re lactose intolerant—not by choice). We love living near the mountains of Red Butte, and have done many hikes, including hiking our first mountain together—Mount Timpanogos in August.  Tannin (the best pet lizard  scaley baby ever) even comes along on occasional hikes with us on a leash.  Tannin usually passes the day looking out the windows, and even reached a big milestone of learning how to walk… on the ceiling of her cage! She’s very precocious!

We’ve had a few health issues this year again with Kelsey’s mom being sick, Kelsey knees,  back and thyroid, and Taylor‘s back beginning to hurt (he finally can commiserate with Kelsey!).  We were really excited about a research study Kelsey participated in to possibly heal her back, but that fell-through (after she was poked with huge needles in her spine and they decided her discs were too leaky)…But that doesn’t stop us from having fun going on vacations! 

A few vacations we went on this year:  Bryce Canyon in May to celebrate 2 years of marriage and to eat pickle and pinto bean pie; Indianapolis—where Kelsey had to work and Taylor joined her after meetings; Colorado—where Taylor took the MCAT and Kelsey drove up Pike’s Peak; New York with Dad Justice-it was Taylor's first time; San Francisco to Roseville; trips to nearby reservoirs to learn to kayak properly in an inflatable kayak; Goblin Valley camping; and the very last vacation Taylor took all by himself: a romantic vacation to Portland Maine while Kelsey worked...

Some cool accomplishments include:  Kelsey getting over her excessive fear of snakes by petting a huge 11 foot one at “Tails & Scales.”  Taylor not only studied hard for school and the MCAT, he worked hard at home by re-finishing furniture and constantly making Kelsey dinners, including creating whole-wheat crust rhubarb pie. Taylor also loves his new job at the Utah Lion’s Eye Bank where he works as a recovery tech.  Kelsey had fun helping RMMSC's infusion clinic grow to over 500 patient per month!  All these things and doing Cub Scouts keep both Kelsey and Taylor very busy.