Major Catch Up Sesh

Sigh.  Alas, it has been almost 5 months since I last posted.  Bad news.  Good news though is I have a LOT to catch you all up on.  As if you don't already know most of this- thanks to social media and such.  I will only give a few highlights so as to not have this post take you at least a year to read.  Med School.  Woof.  The most stressful day/week of our lives came and went in March with the match looming over our heads.  So here's the deal- we did not match into an Orthopedic residency, as hoped for.  We did, however, match into a pre-lim year in general surgery.  Our hope for matching into ortho was in a small town residency program in Bethlehem, PA.  We did an away rotation there in the fall, as you might recall from previous blog posts.  The general surgery year we matched into is also in PA- a small town called Danville- but is not the same city or program as the one we were hoping for.  It is about an hour north of Bethlehem.  Although we were of course disappointed with not matching into what we wanted, we ARE however, very grateful that we matched and have a place to go after graduation.  Matching is always better than not matching.  To answer the ultimate FAQ, the plan as of now is to reapply to the match this upcoming fall after Ben works his butt off and shows them he's an amazing resident.  We will apply to multiple programs, but will mainly be focusing on the program in Danville or the program in Bethlehem, that we originally hoped for.  If things go according to plan (and they don't always), it looks like we will be in PA for a while.  The good news is that I love PA- it is gorgeous here, I'm close to a lot of amazing cities without having to actually live in them, and the people here are ridiculously friendly and welcoming.  

So let's back track a little.  Flint turned a year old in April! I thought maybe I would feel a little more sad and think "Oh no where has my baby gone?!" But it really hasn't been like that.  To me, Flint just keeps getting more and more fun and I am thoroughly enjoying this new stage in his life.  His little personality continues to shine through and he is becoming more independent and assertive.  We had a great day at the park with friends for his party.  The weather was absolutely perfect.  

Ben graduated from medical school! Time really did fly.  I met Ben right when he came out here for Medical school and just like that 4 years are behind us.  I'm so proud of him and all that he has accomplished.  Being a Doctor is a BIG deal!!

We soaked up the last little bits of St. Louis before it was moving time.  We went up the arch with my in-laws.  And ate at all the yummy places I could think of- or at least had time for.  Of course I couldn't get to them all.  

I also chopped my hair off.  

And then it was time to leave.  This whole moving thing has been so different than I imagined.  I felt like we were in limbo between match day and actually leaving because we knew we were leaving and the anxiety and stress that precedes moving was killing me inside.  But once I actually got in the car and we started driving away, I somehow felt this huge relief.  (After many tears and puffy eyes of course) And this move was different than any other move I have gone though before.  It hasn't been as hard because I have my two favorite people with me to take on this new adventure with.  And I always have the comfort of knowing that I have plenty of reasons to go and visit St. Louis.  I'll be back for sure.  

Danville is a very small town. Population 5000 and the hospital literally takes up half of the town's size.  It is HUGE.  It's quaint and quiet.  It's a huge change from St. Louis, but so far I have been pleasantly surprised at how much I have liked it.  We have been doing our best to get out and explore.  We've done farmers markets, splash pads, etc.  The town is small enough that you can literally walk to anywhere you want to go.  It blew my mind that on memorial day they did a parade and the entire town walked to the bridge (Danville is located on the Susquehanna river) to watch a flower drop, then walked to "downtown" Danville to watch the parade, and then walked to the memorial park to watch the little program that they put on.  We walked the majority of the city and it didn't even take any time.  haha! I love our house that we are renting.  It's 2 stories with 2 and a half bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs with a dining room, living room, kitchen and sunroom (with a hot tub!! holllaaaaa) downstairs.  There is also a great deck and fire pit in the back yard.  It definitely has it's quirks- hey it was built in 1875- but it already feels like home.  

We also planted a garden in the back yard- I'm pumped for some tomatoes and cucumbers soon!

We also live 3.5 hours away from DC so decided to get away for our 3rd anniversary.  And we beat all of the DC traffic by biking everywhere.  It was great!

We also live 3 hours from Philly and went down there for a couple days.  Saw some art, 

ate some donuts, 

and of course played in the splash pad in front of city hall.  Flint is a huge splash pad fan.  And if you haven't noticed- he is walking now! He literally started walking (as in using it for his main way of moving) when we got to PA.  Something in the air here I guess.  

Our last hoorah before Ben starts on Monday was spent on the New Jersey beach yesterday.  These pictures are a little deceiving though.  Flint hated the sand.  We convinced him to sit in it for a few minutes here and there, but overall he hated it.  And he HATED the ocean.  I think it was because the water was kind of cold.  Who knows.  Babies amiright? It was still a very fun day and Flint was perfectly content to sit on his towel and just dig in the sand with his hands.  (Just no feet!) And it was only 70 degrees and overcast so we basically had the entire beach to ourselves.  It was awesome.  Definitely happy about living so close to a beach.  

So life is good so far.  I might feel differently in a month or so once the reality of being married to a medical resident sets in, but that's yet to be seen.  I guess with Ben being gone all of the time, I will have lots more time to blog! haha... we will see ;)

Is it 2016 already?

Something in me can just not keep up with this blog as much as I think/want to.  And somehow it is 2016.  Like how? 2016 means that I have been out of high school for 10 years now.  That I've been out of BYU for 4 years now.  That I was living in Jerusalem 4 YEARS AGO.  That my baby is going to be 1 soon! That I will have been married for 3 years.  That I've officially been out of the career field for a year now.  That Ben is graduating from medical school.  That we are going to (hopefully!) match in a couple of months.  Like how?! Time really does fly, as cliche as it sounds.  2015 was one heck of a year- mainly with the whole becoming a mom thing.  I think 2016 will be a good one though, even though it will bring a LOT of changes.  Mainly the whole Ben graduating and us moving to who knows where thing. (Not stressful at all......) It'll be good though.  I'm trying to embrace change as it comes.  I've never been good at that, and this is going to be my year! Or so I tell myself.  I tell myself every time that a big change is coming that somehow this time it is going to be different.  I'm going to be able to just jump into my new situation and not even let it phase me.  (More often than not, this change is in reference to a move to a new place.) I'm going to get in there and make a bunch of friends right away and just absolutely love every minute of it.  That has yet to happen.  So this time around I'm going to give myself some time and not set too high of expectations.  Just embrace my need to warm up to new things, people, and places, and hopefully at least shorten my warming up time.  I can at least do that, right?  For those of you who don't know, I chose the word "embrace" for my 2016 buzzword.  And I'm really concentrating hard on it.  I feel like I'm onto something great here.  Embracing things/places/situations/people is really key to a lot of happiness to be had out there.  Mastering this will take longer than 2016 has time to give, but hey I'm trying.  Maybe it will be my 2017 word again, who knows.  

So a little about what we've been up to.  As always, I like to sum it all up with some pics.  We went to Journey to Bethlehem this year- which is this amazing thing that the great Harvester church does every year.  I've been going every year I was in town since I was in high school.  It is SO fun! And free! Highly recommended.  

We also went to Our Lady of the Snows to see the Christmas lights.  Again- another free thing that is awesome and Christmas-y.  Plus they have a petting zoo where you can ride camels.  Pretty sweet.  

 

And they have a life size nativity made out of legos.  (PS they charge for this now but just know that it is a trick! Aside from the nativity being cool, the rest of the lego exhibit looked like my baby brother's bedroom.  Literally just all of the lego sets put together on a table.  That's $7 I'll never get back.  And don't trust the old lady sitting outside that tells you it is totally worth the money.  I'm here to tell you it isn't.  BUT the lego nativity is cool!) 

Oh hey I also turned 28! My day included breakfast in bed, as you can see, a tour of a chocolate factory, a falafel bar for dinner (when else can I get Ben to eat falafel?! He didn't by the way...), and fun presents. Overall a great day.  And it's true... 28 is great!

I also took my bow tie shop to the next level and did a couple of shows in December.  My friend Kristy also has a shop and inspired me to join her.  The first one was up by Crown Candy in old north. It was a lot of fun! I really enjoyed myself.  

Plus we got free pics with Santa.

And a full pound of bacon between pieces of bread from Crown Candy.  (Oh I mean BLT's)

The babe turned 8 months old.  

Here's my second show:

I was proud of my bow tie Christmas tree.

Christmas was great with my brother and his wife coming in town.  Here we are for Christmas Eve dinner.  

                     

We did our annual gingerbread contest on Christmas Day this year.  The latest we have ever done it.  For all of you wondering- ours was this one.  We didn't win.  Better luck to us next year!

We did get to enjoy some Pappy's after seeing Wicked, which was great.  And the babe couldn't eat those ribs fast enough.  haha! He really eats anything.  We have yet to find a food he won't eat.  It's amazing.  

Then we made a quick last minute trip to Utah, due to Grandpa Wilson passing.  He was a great man and will be missed.  Here's Flint hanging out at the Chicago air port.  

And Flint got to see snow for the first time! I don't think he was to impressed...

Also- Flint got his two front teeth in on Christmas Eve.  I was so nervous his teeth would change his look so much that he wouldn't be as cute.  (I know that's weird).  But it turns out, he is still as cute as ever, if not more so.  Dang I did good on this one :)

Texting his peeps.  So old school with his flip phone.

And BAM he is 9 months old.  Say what?! The growth between months 8 and 9 was cray cray.  He learned to army crawl and then regular crawl, pull himself up on his own, and grew teeth in.  Oh and he has started eating us out of house and home.  Like seriously.  He eats more than I do.  And who knows where it all goes.  He's still a skinny little dude.  haha!

Here he is, ready to eat more even though he just finished his lunch.  *heart melt*

This babe is just the best most angelic and sweet thing you'll ever encounter.  How I got him is beyond me, but I thank God every day for it.  Being a mama is the BEST.  I can't state it enough.  Literally.  

Anyway- I'm currently getting into reading blogs.  It's been fun so far.  I'm feeling inspired to start something.  Not sure what yet (although it will be food insprired...cooking, reviewing, kitchen tips, all of the above, etc), but something.  It's all coming together in my head.  I'm starting a cooking club and our first meeting is on Thursday.  I'm excited and I will let you know how it goes.  

Peace.