IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

Aaron, Dave, and I went to the gym on Friday since I got off from work early. Our cousins from Seattle were driving down to visit and David, Tammie, Elijah, and their dog Sadie were going to come over so we could all hang out. I hopped in the shower and everyone was at our house by the time I was done getting ready...except nobody knew where Dave was. I called him to see where he was, figuring he was in the garage or somewhere else in the house I was too lazy to check first. He said he'd made a trip to the store to get sour cream to make more dip, but was held up when he ran into an old friend. Well, when he got home it was obvious that he made no such trip to the store when I saw in his arms:

A PUPPY!!!!!

We've been talking about getting a puppy for a very long time, but nothing had been officially decided. We've looked at ads, we've talked about maybe going to the animal shelter, etc. But he just went out and got one! So here's my reaction:




Here's an up-close mug shot:




Cuddling with Uncle Aaron:




Gigantic paws = gigantic future dog:




Side profile:




Exploring the back yard:




Just being cute:




Pooping (new parents are just SO proud of everything the new baby does!):




Eating:




All tuckered out:

Still Here!

Long time, no update! I'm done with 3 of the 6 rotations I have to do. It's been awesome living back at home in Bakersfield. My next rotation starts on Jan. 5th at Kaiser. My parents, Dave, and I are heading up to Folsom tomorrow to visit with family, and we'll be back for a wedding in Lake Isabella on Sunday. Then I have a few days off before it's back to work/school! I'll try to be better at keeping up with my long-lost (but not forgotten!) blog!

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

Busy Weekend

Dave and Aaron came up to visit me this last Thursday night and stayed through the weekend. We ended up driving to San Francisco to celebrate the 4th of July. On Sunday we drove to Newman for Joe and Kristin's engagement party. Kristin's dad and stepmom hosted the party, and I got to see the rest of my family, too! This was my last visit before I get to move home. I'm down to the final stretch! Three more weeks of classes...then a week of finals...then HOME! My last final is at 9am on August 1st and I'm moving home THAT DAY! Rotations start on August 18th, so I'm planning on living up the short time I have off by backpacking, relaxing, visiting friends and family to catch up on the 2 years I've missed, and hopefully talking my mom into taking me to The Oaks at Ojai!

My mom first took me to The Oaks before my wedding. Neither of us had ever been to a health spa before, but she'd heard about it from a friend. As spas go, it's relatively inexpensive for everything that's included (I looked up spas when we got home from that trip because I was so impressed). Some people stay for 30 days at a time! We do the 3 days/2 nights package, and I absolutely love it!! Ojai is beautiful and the weather is GREAT! I don't want to babble on too long about the spa because it's easier to just follow the link to find out more about it, but I want to say that if you are looking for some "time off" and have a little money saved up...GO! There's no "women only" rule, but I've only ever seen 1 or 2 men there. They have specials from time to time (mother/daughter, etc.), so check out the calendar on the website, and treat yourself and someone you love to some healthy pampering! (Katie and Gretchen--if you make some extra money fund-raising, take yourselves to the spa after the JDRF walk!!! It will cleanse your souls!)

Anyway, here are some pictures from the busy weekend:

San Francisco







Coit Tower with the fog rolling in


Pier 39 was PACKED!


View over the bay...can you see the Ghirardelli sign?


Aaron, Dave, and Me


The carousel


Hard Rock Cafe at Pier 39...we decided against putting our name in since there was a 2 hour wait


Fireworks in the fog


Last shot of the flags on our way back to the car


Joe and Kristin's Engagement Party
Elijah and his daddy (my brother, David, in case you haven't kept up with my blog :)


Elijah, Daddy, and Grandma Noni (my mom) with the BIG slide behind David and my mom's mom (Great Grandma Noni) relaxing in the shade


Elijah can swim! With floaties, anyway...he jumped in the spa section (at the top right of this picture) without them and I had to jump over the wall from the main pool to pull him out. Then I asked if he wanted his floaties back on (ya know, because I thought drowning was probably scary) and he said "No." The kid's got guts!


My biggest brother Joe (left of center) with friends and family


He climbed all the way up the ladder, realized how high he was, and decided NOT to go down the slide. We started him halfway down and he loved it!


Friends and family


Elijah with Great Grandma "GG" (my dad's mom)


This is me thinking about going down the slide...and that's the new bathing suit I got at Old Navy in San Francisco for half off! I'm talking $16.50 for BOTH pieces, people! I love a good deal :)


This is me realizing (like Elijah did) that the top of the slide is really high!


So much for trying NOT to get my hair wet!


David has a headache...


Elijah chillin' like a grown up


Elijah deciding "I'm too sexy for my shirt." Sorry if I just got a really annoying song stuck in your head :)


I love this kid!


Tired from all that swimming!


Family playing cards


Friends mingling


Family relaxing


The cake


Joe and Kristin cutting the cake...aren't they CUTE?!

Wow, 3 posts in 1 day! I think it's a record...

I love that he's wearing shinguards just for fun...hahaha

Elijah Updates

I went home this last weekend to visit my family and here are some updated pictures of Elijah...he's getting so big!! He's like a little MAN!

Summer + sprinklers = fun!


He decided to pee on the driveway...classy :)


What a studmuffin!


Okay, I have to show him with an adult to keep things in perspective...he's not THAT grown up, yet!


I may or may not have instigated this...hee hee hee


This is the kinda mad kinda smiling face...hahaha!


Elijah and Maddie, it's a love/hate relationship. Here's some love:


Here's some hate! (She ate one of his cars and he's wrestling her...he then proceeded to drag her around the house by the collar.)


He wanted to "drive to school" in the "yellow school bus"...TOO CUTE!


He actually STOOD STILL and SMILED long enough for me to get this one!

Vibrant Colors

Here's my submission for this week's Exposaroonie challenge:



Do you Bakersfield people recognize the location??