July 2018

Moving month and board study month.

We moved July 13th onto Randolph Air Force Base. Derek was able to take this month to out process, in process, certify, study for his boards, take his boards, AND move and help us out at home.

He is AMAZING. It wasn't really a month off for him, but it was nice to see him just a little more even though it was so stressful.

Those pugs sit and wait for food every single day. They certainly don't clean my floor well enough so they could use a little more practice if you ask me.

My young woman Abby Panter who I call my little sister had her baby boy on July 3rd. Eden and I went and visited her and Jonas in the hospital. Its crazy how tiny those babies are and how precious a brand new baby is. I'm so glad Eden was able to experience that joy and getting to hold sweet Jonas.

For the 4th of July we went up to the Pinkston's and spent the night. We played fun games, got some fireworks to shoot off up there, and it's awesome being so far out that it's totally ok to light ginormous fireworks!

We played Speak out a game where you put plastic in your mouth to hold it open and try to speak phrases. It was pretty hilarious. And I totally cheated playing Clue by giving the wrong card... I think I needed a nap. 

 My boys are so silly.

 It was so nice having Derek home. Surprisingly the 4th of July is the most attended holiday in the last 8 years by Derek. It's not every year, but definitely the one he seems to get off...

The next day we met up with our friends from medical school Patrick and Raquel Bell and their 4 kids Benji, Sammie, Andi, and Naomi.

I love that there are people in this world that you haven't seen in years and yet when you get together again it is just like where you left off. We are so grateful for their friendship and desire to see our family. They are such good people who we love and I know we will stay in touch over the years.

Kael and Benji were both almost 2 when we met. These kids had a blast playing together just like we were in the village again.

 We both had one more kiddo during residency and they got to meet for the first time. Connor can go ahead and have an arranged marriage with Naomi for the future. She is so adorable.

Free slurpies on 7/11 at 7-11 is a tradition I don't think I will ever change.

Eden is always so good to come up with fun ideas. She always includes her siblings and is so caring. It was fun having one last little picnic in the back yard before we moved.

Moving day soon arrived and everything started to change a whole lot.

The girls bedroom got very empty on packing day.

Then on loading day it showed all of our messes! Oops.

With no beds in the house on loading day we packed some clothes and headed up to the Pinkston's to sleep. We stopped at Mamacita's on the way up for dinner. We love Mexican food way too much.

 Moving day arrived and we were a little exhausted.

And to top it off we officially live on a military base. I loved peeking out the window and seeing at 5:30 when the national anthem played my children knew to stop and show respect.

The kids all took swim lessons on the base and every one of my kids were more advance than their class. I'm so grateful we had the opportunity to do private lessons last summer. My kids are becoming really great swimmers and that makes this Mama happy knowing that they are becoming safer in the water and developing a life skill. We always love playing in the splash pad when time allows.

Abby came to visit us shortly after we moved in with baby Jonas who was now about 2 weeks old and it was Elara's turn to be a Mommy and hold and feed Jonas. My girls love baby's and cannot wait to be Mommy's someday and it makes my heart so happy. They are so precious and love helping young children even though they are so young themselves. It amazes me how these girls already have a desire to nurture and love those around them and I know it is a gift from God given to them.

Our house was not completely ready for us on move in day. The bathroom tubs needed to be re-varnished and we needed to be out of the house to have them fixed. We had already planned on heading to Corpus Christi after Derek took his anesthesia boards test so we packed up for a few days and took off. I don't think we will ever get sick of the beach and going on vacation. We swam at the beach, we swam at the hotel, we were lazy and watched shows and played and ate and life was so good! It is so rejuvenating being with just US!

July came to a close and more summer fun.

 Connor loves playing on the trampoline. Kael got to go to his friend Jimmy's birthday party. Connor regressed potty training with the move. It was like 1 step forward and 8 steps back... It was awful. The one nice thing though was that the toilets at the new house are short enough for him to stand without a stool even and go standing up, which he loves.... Because I guess boys really love learning to pee standing up. 

And Elara got this ridiculous pink pig as a new toy. It makes the most annoying sound and I don't even think it is a pig. She loves it and thinks it's hilarious. She has the best sense of humor and she cracks me up.

 Finally settling in to the new house.