And the Winner Is........

Minneapolis Minnesota. What?! I bet you never knew that the Midwest was on my top 10 list of places to live. Okay it never has been, but sometimes when an opportunity is dropped in your lap, you have to take and run with it.

It all began with a message October 11th (yes, only 12 days ago) from John's cousin Ryan. Ryan is currently finishing up his prosthodontic residency at UMN. In this message he told John that there was an opening into the residency program for next year and wondered if he was interested and if so he needed to act immediately. I told John I would be good with whatever his decision was. Over the next couple days he went back and forth about it. He wanted to make sure it was really what he wanted to do. Up until this point, he was happy with the idea of being a general dentist and we weren't considering any specialty. After checking out the school's website, it really did look like a good program and a great opportunity, and of all the specialties he could pursue, prosth would be the one. (For those unfamiliar with what a prosthodontist does, they do crowns, implants etc. Basically prosthetics for the mouth). It was a very tough decision for him to make in such a short amount of time but he decided he wanted to move forward with the application process. By Sunday night the application was complete and emailed to the directer (thank goodness for a wife that ordered two sets of all transcripts the last time just to have an extra set on hand:)

Monday morning John told me as he was heading out the door that they wanted him to come for an interview later in the week. Plane tickets were purchased and he was on his way early Thursday morning. John began to get anxious about the interview and this is when he realized that he was anxious because he decided it's what he really wants. He was to go in for his interview Friday morning and had been told that it would take a good portion of the day. I received a phone call from him in the late afternoon informing me that he was all done. I asked him how it had gone. He said, "I was interviewed with a couple other applicants but it went well.....I'm in". Well that completely caught me off guard, I thought he was trying to trick me, I mean don't you have to wait at least a few days for a decision to be made? He assured me that he was not joking, that they had immediately taken him into the directors office and handed him a contract.

We feel great about this new adventure and are excited. It does mean another three years of living the life of students but since we as a family don't know any different, what's a few more years? We've heard great things about Minnesota, which should get me through the cold winters:) The best part for me (besides John being so excited) is knowing where we're headed next!

Dancer Girl

This has been a really long time coming. Abby had her dance recital way back at the end of May. I do realize many of you may find it boring to watch both videos all the way through, unless you're a grandparent of course:) I think they're adorable and funny. Enjoy! Abby's second in from the left, or you could just look for the smallest girl:) As you can tell by her face, she was very serious about the whole thing and I apologize for the shaky camera work, I tried really hard not to laugh.





Unfortunately her BFF Sophie, moved away just before the recital so wasn't there to perform. She was still here for picture day though. I love the friendship these girls have and I'm so glad they were able to do this together. We sure do miss Sophie (and her family).

Kristen also took some great photos of the girls back at her place after the session at the studio. They're too good not to share. Thanks Kristen!

NYC with the Girls

Way back at the end of April (I know, we're talking about two months ago here. Even Kristen who just moved across the country managed to post about this before me), a few friends and I headed down to the Big Apple for a 26hr frenzy of fun. I'm sure some of you are wondering if you really can see NYC in 26hrs and although the answer is "absolutely not" you might be surprised by how much you can do. Here is the rundown of our 26hrs.

Just arriving in the city, I had the great privilege of being the driver for the trip. It wasn't as bad as I anticipated, only one minor close call with a taxi.

We got checked into the Hilton 6th Ave. A big thanks to Lance and Em for the use of some Hilton points and to Em for getting us a room upgrade upon our rocky arrival:) First thing on the itinerary and always the most important thing for me, food. Very tasty, very cheap street food. Mmmmm Halal.

Followed by a stop at the very cute Magnolia Bakery. I really am not a sweets person so didn't get anything but I did enjoy watching the guy frosting cakes.

A pass by Radio city. It was only a couple blocks from our hotel so whenever we saw it we knew we were close to home base.

30 Rock and a tour of NBC studios.

A little photo op. This is us trying to be serious, Em is already cracking.
Seconds later. Pretty much the mood of our entire trip.

Just because the kids weren't with me doesn't mean I didn't think of them. These pictures for Aiden and yes I did go inside and get him a little something.

A little shopping, a lot of walking and a stop a Grand Central station. What a beautiful building.

It was then time for a stop back at the hotel to beautify or rest our feet for a few minutes before heading here. Memphis was amazing and certainly the highlight of the trip (next to more fun than we should have had in Daffy's basement:) Thanks Steph for scoring us front row seats, I loved every spit/sweat dodging moment!

A little of Times Square on the way back to the hotel for the night.
No we did not all sleep in the same bed.

The next morning, we headed way out of the way and headed down to Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty. My final instructions from Aiden before leaving were, "don't forget to take of picture of the Statue of Liberty." We didn't have time to take the boat over but we did see her from a distance.

Wall St on the way back up to pick up the car and head home.

Thanks Kristen for being our photographer and being okay with sharing the unedited photos. I know I'm not doing them justice. To see pictures at their best check out her post here. Thanks Ladies for such an easy going great time. When and where is the reunion trip?

4?!

Here begins the first of a long list of things I really must blog about, though it seems a little late they all should be documented:)

May 6th Abby turned 4! I can't believe it and every day I look at her and wonder how she got so grown up.

Abby decided she wanted a princess tea party. I must again credit my friend Marie for a few of the ideas, Thanks Marie! I had this brilliant idea to make a princess dress for each of the girls (since she was only inviting 3). Now before any of you judge me, telling me how insane I am I'll let you know that because I was in the middle of sewing a prom dress and a petal dress for a little 15 month old all during the week leading up to her birthday I decided I'd better not add that to the chaos that is my sewing desk. Ideas that didn't happen aside, here is her party in a few pictures.

The Invites

Decorating tiaras and wands.

Showing off the finished products .

Pinata (nice work yet again John:)
Love the tongue hanging out.
Ben wanted a part of the action too.
Gathering all the loot
I made these cute little purses as goodie bags and a place to put their candy.
Tea party time! Chocolate milk in a tea pot and pink lemonade in a pitcher with all kinds of finger food.
The cake, again far from perfect, don't look too close. Those that like cake decorating definitely buy Duff Goldman fondant over Wilton fondant. Much easier to work with and it actually tasted good. I'm so proud of the crown I made out of gum paste. It was really fun to make too.
The gifts

Abby is such a happy sweet girl. She loves hugs and snuggles. She is so kind and concerned about those around her. She is stubborn and confident. We can't imagine life without her. We love you Abby!