MD memories

Chad, Will, John, and Steve on their 180 mile bike ride
Outer Banks NC with the Jacobsens and Adams in the background
The Ladies
Mormon Mafia
White Coat Ceremony/Dinner In A CUP
Lila and Aaron
Laurel, Me, Katie, Amanda, and Chrissy

I hope that nobody gets upset with me for posting these pictures. I found them as I was browsing through some old photos. It was so nice to see familar faces again and to reflect on the good old times. Well, probably the stressful times for Will.

$170,000

A member of The Who, said, "With a lineup like that you'll go down like a lead balloon." You don't say? A fan paid $170,000 for a pair of tickets for a one time reunion show in London to see Led Zeppelin. I have told Will many times over the years that I would love to see them in concert, but they have been broken up since I was four years old. I enjoy listening to this band more than any other group out there and although I think it is sick to pay that kind of money to see anybody I am glad to see that someone out there recognizes that they are a great band. I even contemplated this ridiculous thought once when I was young, "Could I marry someone who does not like Led Zeppelin?" Thankfully Will does and thankfully I have grown up a lot since I had those dumb thoughts. I would pay a pretty penny to see them but since we currently have no pretty pennies laying around the house I will just have to envy anyone that gets the one time opportunity to see them in concert.

Chilly Thanksgiving

We had a fun Thanksgiving this year. It snowed the whole day but the snow did not stick, so it was perfect driving weather. We have so much to be thankful for this year and it was nice to celebrate it with new friends. It made me remember last year when we were able to spend it with three other families from dental school. We miss the Lan fam, Greenley fam, and Jacobsen fam A TON! We were so lucky to be with you guys last year. Now we are in a different phase of our lives or wait......no, we are still in that school phase. This morning I went to the grocery store and saw on my car themometer that it read 8 degrees outside. With the wind chill it was -10 and my face started to feel stiff and my hands were craving a pair of gloves. It really was not bad until the wind kicked up a little. The kids played outside and did not seem to mind the great coldness. I honestly think that people have talked it up so much that I was expecting it to feel unbearable. Well, so far it is not bad.

Photo Shoot

Today I picked up Rex and Ella's pictures for Christmas and Halloween. We took these pictures when Will had time off and looking back I don't know if I could have ever done it by myself. We could not get them to look at the camera at the same time and they would not smile at the same time either. They quickly became bored and were tired of listening to me sing songs and make funny faces in hopes that they would smile at the camera. Then we had to change their Christmas outfits into their Halloween costumes just to confuse them some more. Rex and Ella refused to give up their ornaments so, to keep them smiling I allowed them to hold the ornaments for their Halloween pictures. The poor photographer took a ton of pictures but only a few turned out cute. If Will is still MIA over the next couple of weeks I just might have to use one of these pictures for a Christmas card.

Cold Weather

Cold Weather
Originally uploaded by julio rodriguez

What is wrong with me? I feel so cold already. We have been getting flurries for the past couple of weeks and then it finally snowed yesterday but it did not stick. On thursday the high is going to be 29 degrees, that is the high not low. What do people do when the temperatures are going to drop 80 more degrees. Is this possible? We have hats, gloves, and coats but what do we do for the 80 lower degrees from now? It has been close to forty degrees lately and I have been told that in Jan/Feb it can be -40. Everyone says that it will only be that cold for a couple of weeks at the most. I guess I can handle that. I know that I will be acclimated to the weather when zero degrees feels warmer to me. This weather feels like MD and DE to me but this whole below zero thing will be a new adventure. In a sick way I am kind of looking forward to seeing what -40 feels like on my face.

Wisdom Teeth Extraction

Today I decided that I am finally going to go to AZ for Christmas this year! Yay! This photo represents a portion of my decision. Will is so dang busy and honestly, I hardly ever see him. He leaves before I wake up and comes home right before I go to sleep or sometimes after I am already asleep. This year he said that it would be fine to go home since he won't be around anyways. It has been FOUR years since I have been to AZ for Christmas. Rex and Ella have never been to AZ during the holidays so it will be fun for me and for them as well. I still feel a little bad for leaving Will but I know that as long as the hospital stays open and people keep coming in with broken jaws then he will remain busy. Speaking of broken jaws, Will was telling me the other day that people come in all the time saying that they were just minding their own business and were sucker punched......hmmmm that hasn't happened to me.

Lakeshore Learning Store

PICT0759 Language work -Short a
Originally uploaded by cmbmomof2

Many teachers out there love and use this store, and I am one of them. Last week I found a Lakeshore Learning Store located near my home, and of course I had to stop in. No, I am not THAT nerdy to take my camera into the store and take this pic, I found it on flickr.com. It has so many creative tools to use with language and mathematics, and the art supplies are pretty creative as well. A huge chunk of pre-k and kindergarten classrooms are equipped with many learning tools from this store. Some things in there can be a little much but I like to get the free catalog so I can get ideas. For example, I saw some number flashcards that had the number written in a texture material to help with pre-writing skills. Instead of paying the ten bucks for the cards I decided to use puffy paint on index cards to get the same results. Although I like everything in the store I just limit the items to things that Rex is currently working on.

Trains

This weekend we went to the Twin City Model Railroad museum. The museum is located in an old historic train station that was once in operation. Rex and Ella really got a kick out of pushing the buttons to make the model trains move. I think that the funnest part for them was the Thomas the Train table. That table is not the reason we went to the museum but it ended up being a popular attraction.

Goodbye Fall

Happy Anniversary!!! 8 Years Today!

Where has the time gone? It truly feels like I have always known Will and it is hard to remember life before him. Technically we have been together for 13 years but nobody really counts that. Recently Elena saw this photo of us and said, "Wow, you guys look young." I guess it is a clue that we are getting older. I am thankful that I have a good friend like Will to grow old with. Happy 8 Years together Will!

Trick-or-Treaters

We had so much fun on Halloween night. It was Will's last and final day of anesthesia which means no more nice predictable schedule for us. So we had to make the most of it together. We planned on going trick or treating here in our neighborhood but the wind was blowing (more like howling) and the temperature was staying in the 41-46 degree range outside so at the very last minute I decided to throw everyone in the car and head down to Mall of America for Halloween. I was being a little vain and I did not want to put a thick coat over their cute costumes. I guess next year I will have to choose a costume in which each child can layer up on the inside. Rex and Ella enjoyed playing with their candy and carrying their cute trick or treat bags everywhere. We were surprised to see how outgoing Rex was and how the scary costumes did not seem to bother the kids at all. Rex and Ella spent the rest of the evening looking at and playing with their candy. Next, I need to make it magically disappear soon.