Brotherly Bond

While Ethan is at school Tanner is having a hard time with the adjustment. Last week he woke up after a very unusual short nap crying for Ethan and was really worked up about it. This morning we walked around the block and Tanner rode his tricycle. After going around he took an unusual turn to leave our street which takes you down a back street to get onto the main road. I told Tanner we couldn't go that way and then he started to cry and said, "going to get ethan." It was so cute that little Tanner knew that's the way to Ethan's school and he was going to ride to get him. It took much convincing on my part and I actually had to pull him from the bike to get him on the sidewalk to head home. Once on the sidewalk Tanner cried most of the way home saying, "Ethan." Poor little Tanner misses his buddy! The boys really bonded this summer and it's neat to see them watch out for each other.

8 is great!

*pictures to come*

Today we have been married for 8 wonderful years! We have been so blessed in these years and really couldn't ask for more. We have a healthy and happy family with two sweet boys. I am grateful for a loving and caring husband like Jared. I count my blessings each day that I get to spend an eternity with him.

Well, Jared did it again and surprised me with a weekend getaway to Las Vegas to see Celine Dion in concert. Friday morning he was still in bed at 6:30am which was a pleasant surprise but he is normally out the door by 6am so I wondered if he was surprising me with a day off. I asked if he was going to work and he said he was but then dressed in shorts so I knew something was up. I got ready and found my mom was at our house to watch the boys so I knew Jared had something up his sleeve. I have to admit Jared got me this time. I thought for sure we were going to San Diego because I knew we didn't have much time and we have talked about going there for a trip. While on the road it took me quite some time to figure out we were on the 15 north headed to Vegas! Jared had been planning and arranging this for a few months. It's quite hard to get an extra day off in Residency but luckily Jared is on a lighter rotation and he knows how to make it happen. 

Once we made it to Vegas we went swimming in the pool, walked around the strip a little bit and had chinese dinner. Saturday morning we went to the Las Vegas Temple which was neat to add to the list of temples we have been to. It's very hot and dry in Vegas. After the temple we got Jamba Juice and pizza. Our favorites! That evening was the Celine Dion concert and it was amazing! I mean amazing!! I loved it and actually cried the first five songs which I never would have thought but her music has been a part of my life for at least 20 years and to see her in person was amazing. She came out strong with my five favorite songs and blew us away. Jared was pleasantly surprised too at the power of the show, the lighting and show quality. We had a great time and I will happily say, that yes Jared you got me. :) 

Ethan's first day of kindergarten

*pictures to come*

Today was Ethan's first day of Kindergarten and as expected Ethan had no reservations. The last few weeks I have been prepping him but he's been ready to go. I love that he loves school and is confident in all he does. As we drove up to the school Ethan said, "school days, school days" as if he was a pro and experienced. It was cute. He was excited to see Alessandro this morning and I'm glad they have each other.

Once we got to the school we were informed that Ethan's class is now a Kinder/First grade combo with 30 kids for the time being. The class size will drop to 24 by Sept but the combo situation could be a good situation but I still have mixed feelings about it. His teacher, Mrs. Bryant is a great teacher and seems to be well qualified to make this combo beneficial to all the students. At this point I hope he stays in her class. Ethan seems to have had a great day. Both boys were happy to be reunited and swing together once home.

Fresno, Disneyland and Angels Game

Today has been a fun and busy day for all of us. Jared just called to report on his first ID interview in Fresno which went really well. He loved the program and felt it will be a top contender. It's great to know we should have some great options.

Grandpa, Grammy, Joel, and Carly took Ethan and Tanner to Disneyland this morning. It was neat that Tanner got to go as well. Ethan gets to go on outings often with Grammy but this was Tan's first outing to Disneyland with Grammy and Grandpa. My pass doesn't work right now with the summer block outs so while the boys were away, mom and I played too. We got a manicure and pedicure which is such a treat! I feel so put together after having one. Afterwards, we went to Target and Costco and ended the outing with lunch.

Right now Jared is driving back from his interview and will meet up with us at the Angels game for Mormon night. It will be Tan's first baseball game and I think he will enjoy it since he loves baseball so much. Ethan was in heaven last year, it's a family summer favorite.

Dynamic Duo

The boys have been playing well together and we love seeing their brotherly bond. Ethan has built several forts for them over the last few days. This morning they put on last year's Halloween costumes and played Batman and Robin. Last Halloween we couldn't get Tanner to wear the costume without crying and had no chance of putting on the mask. This morning was just the opposite. Our little boys are growing up!

Chuck-e-cheese, swimming, and McDonald's

It doesn't get much better for a little kid than meeting Chucky at Chuck-E-Cheese, going swimming with Papa and getting a happy meal for dinner. Papa came up to stay the night with  us while daddy was on overnight call. It's always fun to have visitors and Papa knows how to show us a fun time. Thanks for coming Dad and thanks Nana for sharing him with us.

ID interviews

Last week Jared got his ID application in and the next morning he had three invites for interviews at USC, UCI, and UCSF Fresno. Other invites have continued to come in but we were excited for the immediate response from so many of our top choices. Jared will do a two week rotation at the end of sept at UCI to get a feel for the program and also show how serious he is about coming back. It always looks good to butter up the program of your choice. While setting that up with the UCI secretary she informed Jared on how excited the program director was to have him coming for a rotation and that he was excited in the possibility of doing his ID years at UCI. The secretary said they would love to have him back and the program director doesn't normally comment on applicants so we both were excited at the news. He also emailed one of the head ID doctors he knew from his UCI medical school days and he will put in a good word for Jared. We feel we have a very good chance of going back to UCI. Jared has worked hard so it's nice to see the blessings pour down. We have always felt guided and blessed every step of the way and we know this will be no different. The next few months all of Jared's days off will be spend interviewing around California, Utah, Arizona and a few other surrounding states. It's a match again where we rank the programs and they rank us and a computer will match us. We find out in December which is just around the corner. Exciting times!