Graduations!

*This post is a few months old but our computer hasn't wanted to publish. Enjoy a little late!*

The only school Trevor knows is preschool, so whenever he prays he asks for "me and Dad to do good at preschool." Now we officially have two "preschool" graduates. Trevor still has one more year before starting kindergarten, but here he is with his first teacher, Sister Willard. At graduation she described him as a "born leader" and I know she was very patient with his arguments more than once.

For myself, I'm really grateful for the chance I had to teach this year. It was one of those things that worked out perfectly for our family situation: Trevor got a little something to keep him busy, I was able to enjoy teaching again (and not pay for preschool!) and Haley could stay with me and nap. I would like to try teaching from my own house someday, but it will have to be another situation with good timing. For now I'm glad to have a break.

And finally.....Birch's graduation! Here are the families we were close to during medical school. It's been hard saying good-bye the last few weeks to some of them as they move to other places for residency. Having other families going through the same situation meant more to me than I expected.

The hooding! Birch's parents and I went onstage to hood him together.

Our little family after it's all over. I actually love Trevor's face in this picture. :)

Birch with his parents. Education is really important to them and I could tell how proud they were of him.

And here's everyone who drove here to support us, thank you!

Alaskan Cruise

Birch and I took a trip without the kids to celebration his graduation, a cruise to Alaska! It was the perfect vacation for us: lots of outdoorsy, fun stuff to do. We even got our friends Aaron and Kellianne to come with us. They were the best people to do this trip with!

Aaron and Birch trying out some fly fishing. The guys were happy in the water, the girls were happy talking on the shore, and the kids were happy with grandparents!

Getting ready to kayak around Mendenhall Glacier.

Ziplining in Skagway: I've never done this before and I'm a big wimp but I loved it! One of our favorite things on the trip.

Can you see the train on the left? On the side of the mountain? We took that gorgeous ride up and had a nap on the way down.

The weather was perfect and clear until the day we were in Glacier Bay. Still some amazing pictures!

All dressed up and fancy for formal nights on the boat.

Back and Forth

Birch has been working in Flagstaff the last six weeks. It was his last rotation of med school and this Friday is the big graduation!!!

I stayed in Tucson with the kids during the week and Birch and I took turns driving back and forth on the weekends. I didn't think it would be too bad being alone since Trevor and Haley are a little older, almost 2 and 4. But it was rough. I am so glad to be back home with our family together.

Dad and Haley enjoying some time together.

Giving mom a few minutes alone: painting the house with water kept them busy!

In Flagstaff we played outside with the kids as much as we could. Here's a little hike we took by Birch's parents' house.

Conference weekend was amazing with four adults and two kids. I was able to listen and learn and understand answers to questions I had.

My sister Becca went to prom one weekend we were in Flag so Haley got to play dress-up. She was so sad when she couldn't go with her to the dance.

Trevor had his 4th birthday and all he wanted was brownies--easy!

These are his huge Superman muscles. :)

Your Least Favorite Topic: Housework

I'm not sure how many comments I'll get on this one, but I've been thinking about it, so we'll see. How do you keep your house clean? I've been in a few houses that always seem to be in order, even when I come over unannounced. Do these people clean all night after their kids are in bed? Does their husband love to help and do chores?

I've gone through different routines with our house. For a while I had a chore for every day: Mondays were laundry, Tuesdays were bathrooms, etc. But if one day got busy I usually didn't make up for it the next, so the chore waited for the next week. Ew. Then I switched and tried to do a big clean once a week, usually on Saturday. But I got burned out on that pretty fast.

Now I clean something every day but there's no schedule. I just look around and see what needs to be done and how much time I have that day. Today was a busy Tuesday so I just vacuumed. Yesterday I did laundry and swept/mopped the floor. What works for you?

And the other part: how do you teach your kids to work? For a while Trevor's job was to wipe off the kitchen table. Now I give him options as long as he does something every day. I probably should have some kind of chart to help me be more consistent but it hasn't happened yet. How do your kids (and husband) help at home?

A Little Home Decor

My sister-in-law Lori just started an amazing new business called Plum Street Prints.

They make art prints for your home that arrive via email in printable (jpeg) format. You can also do customized and personalized prints, or a completely custom order. Check out her site, she's so talented and I know you'll find something you like!

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/plumstreetprints

Blog:
http://www.plumstreetprints.blogspot.com/

Etsy Store:
http://www.blogger.com/www.plumstreetprints.etsy.com

Our Match

We'll be doing residency here in Tucson!!! I won't lie--there's a part of me that really wanted to go somewhere new. But all day I've felt calm and I know that the right thing did happen. The best part is Birch got "transitional year" for the first year, which means that he'll be doing rotations again instead of a year of surgery or internal medicine, which is a lot more hours. A little less stress is always good!

The theme of match day was Disney so we had fun dressing up as Peter Pan characters. Trevor loved it--he's been calling us Peter Pan and Wendy all day.

Not the best picture but it shows what happens at Match Day. Everyone meets in an auditorium to watch a skit by all the different specialties. Then one by one, the students are called up on stage to get their envelope with the residency assignment and open it in front of the crowd.

Luckily, everyone also got an email a few minutes before they started the envelopes so we saw where we matched before Birch went on stage.


After the big ceremony we had a party in the park. Birch was in charge of entertaining the kids so a jumping castle took care of that. Now that we know where everyone is going, it's sad to see friends who will be moving away. Trevor will especially miss one one of his best buds, Nash.

I can't believe four years has gone by. Finishing this process has seemed so far off but we're almost to the end. Just one more big hump to get over.

Compatibility

I had a friend who once said, "My husband and I don't have anything in common, not like you and Birch do." I almost laughed, because I think we all go through phases where we wonder "How in the world did we ever get married?"

Birch and I do have some similar interests but usually do them separately. We both like to exercise, but he requires a ball and a competition; I prefer being alone outside on a run. We both like to read but I usually have a novel or parenting book while he is always reading the news.

For Christmas Birch got me a cookbook, The Bread Baker's Apprentice. It's another one of those gifts that's for "me" but also for him. This baker has bread baking down to a science and the book reads kind of like a textbook. I decided that's why I'm not a big fan--it takes all of the emotion out of bread-making. Sounds silly but I love making my mom's recipe for rolls or a loaf of bread that a friend shared with me.

But....this book has given us a new hobby to do together so I'll take it. We've made some tasty English muffins and this amazing Sicilian bread. I didn't take a picture but it looked pretty close to the bread below:

Birch is doing an at-home reading elective for school right now so it's given us a little more time for baking. We're also trying to plan a vacation for just the two of us after he graduates, probably a cruise.

What do you and your husband do together? I know some of you are really good about spending time together and others are probably more like us, taking any little thing that you might have in common after being married a few years. Tonight it was Chex Muddy Buddies--yum! But is there anyone who doesn't like those?

Matman

Trevor's favorite things to wear around the house are his Batman pajamas. He won't sleep in them though, because they're too hot. So while he naps, Haley likes to play dress up and be "Matman," (she can't pronounce the B). You can tell they're getting too small for Trevor because they're not that bad on Haley.

They also love to watch YouTube videos on Birch's iPod. They watch the "Matman" theme song and Adam Sandler's song about Elmo. It's catchy!

I always thought it would be fun to have all boys but now I'm surprised at how much I like having a little girl. My favorite thing is to do her hair in the morning. We don't have fancy bows and I do it the same way almost every day, but something about combing her hair is fun for me.

At least for now she'll hold still for a minute and not rip it out if I distract her.

Valentine's smile :)

Running Treats

I've had an extra dose of motivation to run lately thanks to two Christmas presents: a watch and a book. I'm not a real tech-savvy person so when I heard about the GPS running watches, I was sure I wouldn't want one. But the curiosity of how fast (or slow) I am and how long my routes are slowly changed my mind. Birch, of course, was thrilled. Why do all men just love gadgets?

I have liked the watch a lot more than I thought I would. Now I know better what my normal pace is and it feels so good to run fast or long and have a number to prove how hard I went. The only problem was I got a little overzealous the first few weeks, running more than I should have and my lower back spoke up. That's when the second gift came in handy....

This book is by two women (obviously mothers) who write articles for various magazines: Shape, Runner's World, etc. They give their tips on how to stay fit and reach your running goals while raising children and working. They're definitely more hard-core than I am, waking up before dawn to run while their children are sleeping. I was surprised that they didn't talk about jogging strollers or how to run with your children. But they both work part or full-time so our schedules are different. It did made me realize a few things I can and should change about how I exercise:

Strength train!! Once or twice a week

Cross train!! Both of these will help my back stay healthy

Run a race for time and not just for distance

Getting up early sometimes would give me better workouts

Schedule time to run with friends

To Move, To Stay, To Be Happy

Birch finished his residency interviews last week so now we're trying to decide on how we'll rank the schools he interviewed at. It's pretty much coming down to if we're willing to leave family or not. There's a part of me that REALLY wants a change. How often are you given the chance to live somewhere new, knowing that you'll be back in a few years? If it were just me and Birch, I would leave in a second. But thinking about having another baby with my family 14+ hours away doesn't sound fun. And what about holidays, family get-togethers, etc.? We're not the type to go home every month just to visit but I would miss not being able to hit the big family events.

Our top four choices are Tucson, Portland (Maine), Oklahoma City and Omaha. I never would have guessed that I'd want to live in Oklahoma or Nebraska but from what we've seen, they seem like great, family-friendly places. I'm not the kind of person who looks for change--I'm happiest when I'm familiar and comfortable. But when Birch showed us pictures from the cities he visited and described what it could be like to live somewhere new, I got the "grass is greener" fever.

We'll turn in our list in a few weeks and hear where we match on March 17--Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Any thoughts on moving away from family? I'm sure the pros and cons are pretty obvious, but I'm curious how it's been for anyone who has left home for a while. Would you go back and change it? Are you glad it happened?

This weekend Birch met my dad and brothers in Phoenix to play golf (AKA the Frost Open). The moms and kids stayed at the house playing. Here's Haley with her cousin Kate.

And the boys: Trevor and Benson.

Trevor is way into jerseys right now--soccer, football, you name it!

Family Picture

What a victory! I'm sure we're not the only ones who are totally faking the happy smiles in our family photos. After calling someone to take the picture, finding a date/time that works, shopping for clothes, getting ready, finding the right spot, and trying to stay happy and calm so no one is crying in the picture, I am SO glad to have a picture of our family.

We've always wanted to have a picture taken in the desert, so here's our "Tucson Memorial" photo.

Thank you Brittany, for being our "professional" photographer! You did a great job!

Climbing on the rocks on the side of Mt. Lemmon was the best part!

I love this smile and her hair that has finally grown a little.

I think we're about done....

Last picture!

The best part was after taking pictures on a Saturday morning, we went to our church Christmas party that night and came home with a few injuries. Trevor came home with a black eye and Haley cut her lip from running around with the other kids. Great timing!

Langosta!

Here's our first attempt at a home-cooked lobster. I hope you follow these same steps if you decide to try it yourself:

1. Let the critters out of the bag to crawl around for a while.

2. Don't le the lobsters get too close to mom or she'll scream and scare the kids.

(I think Haley thought we had just found the biggest cockroaches in the world and were crazy to keep them in the house.)

3. Show off those big claws!

4. Drop into the big pot of boiling water...

5. Ta da! A delicious, home-cooked lobster dinner.

(I think this might be our last attempt. The mess inside the lobster was a little much for me. I'll just order a tail at a restaurant the next time I'm feeling a little fancy. They can take care of the dissection.)

Everyone Needs Someone Nice

I haven't been the "new guy" very often in my life. I lived in the same city until going away to college and have lived in Tucson since then with many of the same friends when I was single and married.

In the few weeks we've been away from home, it's made me realize how important it is to stop and be friendly. Even if you think you have nothing in common with a person you meet, maybe they just need someone to talk to. That sounds like we've been over here crying in our apartment because we're so lonely, which isn't true, but the people who have welcomed us I've been so grateful for.

Our first week here was rough as we got settled: sick kids, driving back and forth to Boston to figure out our rental car, adjusting bedtimes and naps to time changes and a few cold and rainy days. When we left for church that first Sunday I prayed that we would find friends--someone to talk to and someone for our kids to play with.

We met several families who were also working at the hospital. Some were attending doctors who had been in Portland for years and others had moved there recently for residency. When one family invited us over for dinner that night, I was so relieved! It was nice that we did have some things in common, but I wouldn't have cared if it had been otherwise.

Birch's sister was also so helpful when we first arrived. She picked us up from the airport in Boston and took us to her house where a hot dinner was ready. We borrowed her car for that night until our rental was ready and she sent us away with a bag of breakfast food for the morning and snacks for the kids. We didn't tell her what we needed and she didn't ask--she just decided to help.

I hope that I can be better about welcoming people and inviting them to do things without worrying about details. I usually run through my list of excuses: we have kids and they don't, our kids aren't the same age or gender, the food I made isn't my best, our house isn't clean enough to have people over, etc. And if I see someone who could use some help I have excuses for that too--usually wondering if what I have to offer isn't what they really need.

Now I can see that these things don't matter. Even though the gestures were helpful to us, I mostly appreciated people taking time from their "busy" lives to think about someone else.

Back to the Homeland

We always tell people that Birch and I grew up in Flagstaff, but his family didn't move there until he was 8. Before that he lived in Maine, which was one of the reasons we decided to do a rotation here.

Here he is with his namesake--Birch trees. I'll admit, I didn't even know what a Birch tree looked like until this trip.

This weekend Birch's parents came to visit us and went to see his sister Marie and her family in Boston. We took a mini road trip around Maine on Saturday, visiting the places they knew when they lived here.

At Bar Harbor, we found the trail where they would hike as a family--a perfect .3 mile hike that was quite a climb! It was nice and short (great for kids) but you felt like you had done some work to get to the top.

At the top of the trail overlooking the ocean--gorgeous!

We made it to Orono to see their old house, which Birch's dad built himself. There have been some changes but it's pretty much the same.

I was surprised at the fun things Birch could remember about playing at this house as we walked around the yard. Even though I've known him since we were kids, I don't know much about when he lived in Maine. I feel like I learned another piece about him this weekend and I understand better why he loves this area.