Wake me up...when September begins!!

So, this month has been a bit of a blur.  And, I've been a bit of a slacker blogger.  Devin was in his Psych rotation, which was pretty all consuming.  We've also had a good bit going on outside of school/work.  If I could some up the month, it would go something along the lines of, "busy, busy, busy, sleep, busy, busy, sleep, busy, busy, busy, busy, sleep, sleep, busy..." in some sort of long, drawnout repetition.  Seriously, I usually talk to my mom at least a couple times a week, but this month it was more like once a week...if you don't count text messaging.  What have we been up to?  Oh, just a few fun things...

We ordered our first bountiful basket, and ate it all...

...with some help from our puppies.

We've been playing with some new toys, the Bulbous Bovine and the processed alter ego.

We house-sat.  The house had a pool.  We had fun.

And we've enjoyed some quality time with the puppies.  Moose seriously loves to ride now, and seems to have gotten over his carsickness!!



These were the last of my photos from the Summer 2011 album that I wanted to share!  Starting tomorrow, I'll kick off the Fall 2011 album...a few days after that, college football kicks off, too!!  Hello September; I'm so excited to see you again!!!

Happy Birthday the Moooooose!!!

 It seems hard to believe that we've had Maximus (aka...the Moose!) in our family for 8 months!  While we didn't know his exact birthday, we've chosen to celebrate it on August 21...today!!  It's hard to believe that our little guy was once even more little...but he was!  When we picked him up, he only weighed 11 pounds, and was even smaller when we met him.  Now, he's somewhere in the ballpark of 26+ pounds...and looking much healthier!

I'd love to tell you that we made this awesome, giant cake for him, but that would be a lie.  This was just a cute picture with a cake we made out of boredom a couple months ago.

Instead, we tried to celebrate in similar ways to Blue's first birthday.  Unfortunately, I neither blogged nor photographed Blue's to compare.  So, Max wins there.  However, he did not get the all expense paid trip to Petsmart that Blue got.  We didn't make a big deal out of buying adult dog food as they are both now on an all stages food they love.  But, the boys did get to eat Busy Bones (puppies under 1 year can't have them), consume a variety of canine treats and people foods, and enjoy some peanut butter ice cream cups.

It's hard to imagine a life without both of my dogs in it.  Maximus is hilarious, adorable, and very loving.  He really is the portrait of unconditional love.  In addition to loving us, he pretty much thinks Blue hung the moon.  When he first came home, Blue didn't want Max anywhere near him.  Now, he (mostly) willingly allows Moose to share his bed, the Foof chair, and sun spots.  We're all pretty happy he was born!

Happy birthday Maximus!!!

Antsy

I'm wondering if it's just the time of year.  It happened to me last year.  But, I am so antsy, anxious, and jittery that I have trouble sitting still.  One moment, I find myself looking forward to exciting things in the future, like the possibility of one day owning our dream house.  I browse residency programs, distract myself with Realtor.com, and try to calculate how long it will take for us to pay off all our medical debt and be able to go on cruises all the time.  A little while later, I wonder if I've just spent my life growing up too fast and start thinking of ways to drag my heels for a while.  I want to get back up to Morgantown for a football game this year, take a spur of the moment weekend trip, and find ways to have more fun.

The challenge for me, I think, is realizing that all of this can coexist...sort of.  It's hard to be footloose and fancy free galavanting around the world when my sweet husband is stuck in the hospital 12 hours a day.  I try so hard to plan dinner for after the time he expects to be done, and I still end up having to keep it warm.  This rotation, we've only been able to eat lunch together once...as opposed to nearly every day like the last one.  Also, I get sooo bored home alone.  I've been very on top of our laundry, which never happened when I had more time with him.  I scrubbed my kitchen floors on my hands and knees with a sponge.  I've become an obsessive dishwasher guard.  The couch gets de-furred daily.  In short, my home looks good...but I would trade all that for some peace of mind.

So, I think my struggle is trying to find a way to be comfortable with my life.  It's like I've got my first training bra all over again and am having to get used to something that is a new part of the rest of my life.  Devin will be gone and busy...a lot.  I think I've got to learn to find more ways to be happy and have fun without him, while still enjoying the moments I have with him.  It's a hard balance.  And, I'm not a person who handles change all too easily...which doesn't help this one bit.

After reading back through these paragraphs, I think this post sounds awfully whiny.  I'm sorry.  But, it's a pretty honest look at the past few days or week for me.  I know that I am blessed, but sometimes it can be hard to feel it.  I am working on reminding myself of all the good things I have going on.  And I do have a lot.  I've also decided to brush up on some of my old hobbies.  I've pulled out my braille stuff and ordered something new to try and read!  I think if I find some new ways to get a little "me" time in as opposed to just "waiting on Devin" time, I will feel a lot better.  With fall coming on, it feels like a fresh start is around the corner...football, sweaters, cider, pumpkins, and all sorts of yummy smells!  Also, the temps are dropping enough that I think I can start running again in the evenings!  Just the thought of listening to nothing but my breathing, my footfalls, and the sounds of twilight calms me down a few notches.  Maybe Devin will even have time some evenings to join me...maybe!! :]

A Quick Trip to Utah (in photos!)

Okay...one week after returning, I am getting the post up.  As a note, my nephew Ricky was the primary photographer assigned to my camera for the weekend.  He is 6 (and a half!).  So, please appreciate the "who" of the pictures more than the artistry.  Although, I think he did a pretty darn good job for his height!

Five of the six sisters were able to be there for Mandy's wedding.  This picture was taken just before her reception.  Obviously, I'm too tall in my heels compared to everyone else, because the top of my head was just shaved off to accomadate better framing for the photo.

I loved seeing my sister so happy.  Jim is a pretty good guy, and they are very lucky to have each other.

We of course had to photograph all the siblings who were there together.  Thankfully, my brothers made me feel a little more vertically normal.

After watching the professional photographers posing people for the photos, Ricky decided to try his hand at a more interesting pose.  I was confused why he wanted me to make a fist for the picture...until he grabbed my hand and pulled it into Jess' face!  This may be one of my favorite picks from the weekend!

After several hours in our awesome looking, super high heels, our feet hurt beyond belief.  Chaz and Matt were literally holding us up at times until we could finally take the shoes off.

This weekend was the first time I got to meet my nephew Logan!  He turned 7 months old the day we all headed out of town.  While there, Nicki, Kass, and I gave him his first haircut.  I may or may not have messed up on one of his sideburns...badly.

After Mandy headed out on her honeymoon, the rest of us headed up to play at the National Forest situated around Mount Timpanogas.  While there, I made my foray into the world of planking...

...and owling.  Obviously, I hadn't read the rules because my arms and head are all wrong in the planking photo...and probably the owling one too!

We did get a big group shot of us at the end all sweaty and dirty.  It was a fun little trip though.  As a family big into National Parks and Forests, it was worth the drive out of town.

The next day, everyone but Kass and me headed back in the early, early morning.  We decided to spend some time exploring Temple Square before my flight took off.  We posed on the traditional wedding platform of course.

And, we couldn't resist having fun in front of the giant fountain!!!

  

There were literally thousands more pictures taken during the trip, but these sum up most of the highlights.  In short, the plane rides were obnoxious and long, my sister is married and happy, and it was absolutely wonderful to have time with my family!

p.s. While I was gone, Devin finally got our internet switched to a new provider.  It took me less time to load these 12 pictures than it used to take to load just one...hurray!!!

Two Weeks

So, it has definitely been a full 14 days since my last post...yikes!  I don't know that I've gone 2 weeks without posting in months!!  Suffice it to say life has been crazy.  A quick recap:

I am now the President of the Relief Society for the local congregation of my Church.

MSA (aka the Medical Wives' Club) is getting up and rolling again in preparation for the new school year.

I flew out West to see my sister get married.

Devin started his psychiatry rotation.

We've had lovely dinners with new and old friends.

Now, I'm eyeing this weekend with greedy, hungry, sleep deprived eyes.  Honestly, I'm so exhausted that I ended up sleeping with my glasses on for most of the night and not even realizing.  This weekend should be wonderful, though.  Our schedule is small including exploring our new Netflix account (we just signed up last night!), picking up our Bountiful Basket tomorrow morning, and Church on Sunday.  And of course, I plan to catch up on some sleep.  If I'm ambitious, I will post some pictures and details from the past two weeks...no promises though!!