June: Moving to Utah

The packing up to Utah was awesome.  IHC paid to have movers come and do all the work for us.  It was awesome...all except for one thing.  Our A/C went out.  And the part to fix it took 7 days to install.  It was awful because June is the hottest month in Arizona.  Our movers had to pack up and move the stuff out to the car in 95 degree weather IN OUR HOUSE and outside it was in the 100's.  It was awful.  The packers didn't complain outwardly and were so nice, but I'm sure it was the worst job they've ever had.

After we moved in with my parents for 3 weeks while our stuff was being stored and our apartment was opening up.  It was crazy.  I am so so so thankful to my parents for letting us move in with them (me for 3 weeks, Ryan for 10 days...he had to stay and study for a test, clean our house, and drive our other car to Utah!) while we got things taken care of.  My parents were so great to feed us, take us to fun places, play, and rest.  They are awesome.

Here are some pictures I took of the fun things we did (before my phone died...the cord was in storage!)

 

I love my Grandma Morgan!  Little Madelyn Alice is named after her! Grandma thinks that is so special!

June: Being Silly and my 34th Birthday!

What can I say?  I love being silly with my kids.  Here Joshy and I are pretending to be zombies.

 

 Then later on, we decided it would be fun to make our hair stick up (static electricity lesson, of course :)

 Ryan made me the BEST BIRTHDAY CAKE EVER.  Chocolate whipped nutella frosting and in the middle was a raspberry filling. Yummy!!

 

 Afterwards we went to Funtasticks and drove around in Karts.  Super fun.

And lastly here is a sweet picture of Madelyn while she was learning to walk.  Sooo precious!

June: Our Last Days in Tucson

Our last days in Tucson were bitter-sweet.  We were so excited to move back home to Utah and so ready to get out of the hot Tucson sun, but I was sad to leave the friends that I had made the past 4 years.  We spent our last days with friends.  One of my best friends I made in Arizona was Carol Madsen.  She was there for me from beginning to end.  She took care of me and my kids during residency and always mades sure that I was happy and was my shoulder to cry on.  She was my rock and saved me numerous times.  We worked out together, had playdates, watched each other's children, had swimming parties, biked and walked Sabino Canyon and played tennis together.  I am grateful and lucky to have called her my friend.  She is one of those people whom when you meet you never forget. 

 

She threw me and Ryan a goodbye party.  I loved being with everyone who meant so much to me.  I wish that Janae Henderon, Janelle Blackham, and Michelle Gamett could have joined us, but they had previously moved.  They were also some of my good friends that helped me tremendously through that 4 years.  I love all you guys!  Everyone in that picture has a huge place in my heart among others not mentioned.  I loved my time in Tucson.  Go Hidden Valley Ward!

 Debbie Crowther, Jasmine Spear, Cathy Larsen, Carlie Thompson, Carol Madsen, Emily Taylor, and me!

 Carol, I, our babies and a grumpy Nathan!

 This little lady right here also meant the world to me.  This is Wendy Brimhall.  She was my rock my last year when I moved to a house in the Binghampton ward.  She was one of the nicest people I had met and we bonded immediately.  Our kids were about the same age and so were we! A rare treat!  We would talk and text for hours about whatever was on our minds.  She made me laugh and we had a lot of fun together.  She let me join her co-op preschool mid year where I met Carrie and Nastia and we all became great friends.  Wendy really helped me out and made my last year feel a lot less lonely.  I just love her!

 We went bowling together with the kids and our kids also did swimming lessons together those first weeks in June.  She is such a good friend. 

 Here is Josh in between Landon and Trevy

 We also visited Reid Park Zoo for the last time.  We went there countless times over those 4 years.  We were happy to see the new Elephant addition before we left.  It was awesome!

 Isn't she the cutest???

 Wendy, Carrie, and me

 Those cute kids:  Kairn, Callie, Landon, Nate, and Joshy

 This is Ryan at his residency graduation dinner.  Ryan got an award as the Best Surgeon in Laproscopy during his program year.  It is beautifully framed.  They dinner was great, Ryan was complimented by his colleagues and we had a great time.  After the dinner, the graduating residents put on a roast.  It was funny, and then each of them got a joke prize to take home.  Ryan's was a wig so he wouldn't scare those babies and also a bag of treats since he is the junk food consumer of the group.  It was a great 4 years.  Best of luck to Katherine Glaser, Katie Degan, and Marissa Gonzalez.  They are going to be great doctors!

Me and my sweetheart.  I love him and am oh so proud!!

May May May...What Can I Say?

May was a little bitter sweet.  It is always hard to see a school year end.  It means the kids are growing up.  But it's also exciting because it not only means that summer is here, but most especially that we are finishing up with medical residency and saying goodbye to Tucson in the very near future.  As much as I've loved this adventure, I am sure excited for it to end.  8 years is a long time to endure minimum amounts of husband / father time.  I am ready for him to be around more to enjoy our kids' childhoods and to have a little more money and time for dates and family fun.  I have very much missed our families.  Being alone is okay and it sure helps you to become strong and independent.  Especially for a marriage.  But I really love people and my family is number one.  I am looking forward to family reunions, camping trips, vacations, birthday parties, and holidays.  I feel like my kids have missed out on bonding cousin relationships and I'm grateful Josh has only missed 6 1/2 years and Nate 4 years and have a lifetime to make up for it.  I hope that SLC doesn't disappoint us!!

I put Joshua in Drama Club in January.  It was once a week and he had a great time.  They mostly played games, sang, and memorized their lines for their upcoming play.  Joshua was Prince Harry in the Frog and the Prince.  Everyone had about 4 lines and when it was presented, no one really "acted", but just stood up and said their lines from the story.  Honestly, it was hard to understand, but all the kids knew their lines.  The best part was the singing.  Unfortunately, my camera battery died (see a pattern?) so I didn't get any pictures of my handsome prince.  But he had fun and I'm glad he was able to have that experience.

The boys are totally into Legos right now.  They enjoy making vehicles and playing with the people.  They like it when I take pictures of their inventions.  They have been a lifesaver and keeps my kids busy and creative for hours a day.

On Cinco de Mayo, Ryan's work threw a work family party.  They had delicous food and had a bouncy house for the kids to play in around a park area.  It took Nathan some cohersing, but we finally convinced him that it wasn't scary (that kid is a scaredy cat!) and he had a blast in the bouncy house. There was also a pinata and of course Eegee's.  Yum.  Afterwards we let the kids walk in the river down to the car.  Who doesn't like walking in the water on a hot, sunny day?

Maddie started to use her walker this month to practice her upcoming newest trick.  She is very afraid to stand on her own (although she can do it, if I let go, she balances just fine) so walking may be slow and steady for her.  Following the Porter trend, we need to build up courage to try new things.  She had her last laser treatment at the beginning of this month.  Well, her last treatment in Arizona.  She will probably need maintenence treatments her whole life, but we are proud of the progress the laser treatments have made to her complexion.

Nathan finished up co-op preschool this month.  We are SO glad that we joined them in January.  Nathan has learned so much and grown so much in maturity the past 6 months.  He has learned how to use scissors, write his name, his coloring is better, he's learned about animals, colors, letters, numbers, patterns, friendships, and many other things.  The parents I've worked with have been fantastic.  I will miss them and Nathan will miss Landon, Nikoli, Callie, Trevy, and Cairn.  Such cute kids.

Josh graduated from Kindergarten.  I still think it's silly to have a graduation ceremony and get them all dressed up, but the kids enjoyed it immensely and that party was grand.  The principal spoke, the kids sang about 3 songs, and then they called up their names individually to shake hands and to give out their certificates.  It was quite the ordeal!!  I'm proud of my little guy and he has grown so much this past year.  He is great at math and reading (like always).  We will miss Sonoran Science Academy!!  What a great school year.

So far this summer we have gone swimming a few times, gone to the splash pad, had play-dates, done chores, and started summer homework amongst the norm.  We have a countdown chain to Utah and we are down to 17 days!!  Maddie was sick yesterday and passed on her bug to Nate....I think I know who may be next (ugh!) I hope it doesn't last too much longer.  We have playing to do!  Here's to summer, saying goodbye to Tucson, and especially the Big Move!!