Summer Days

Ahh these summer days are drifting away and I'm falling behind on my posts.  But, all the fun we have makes it worth catching up.

-Graduation.  Ross is officially a third year resident!  That news makes the top of the list.  I am so proud of his dedication and hard work and mostly, I am proud of his confidence level.  He has become much more confident in his skills and it makes me so happy to think of how far he has come (and that he has finally realized what I have been telling him:  he's the best, haha).  We had a nice time at graduation and a big thanks to Mom and Dad for keeping the girls.  Now that the third year is here, I am making a conscious effort to savor every moment.  The girls have helped me do that more, in general, but I am really working on it even more because I just LOVE living here.  I want residency to be over, but not our time in Springfield.  Unfortunately, the two are a package deal.  BOO. 

Ross was awarded the Velvet Elvis, which is a longstanding tradition and given to the 2nd year resident based on the Seniors' vote.  How funny that the very first recipient of this award (listed on the back) was Ross's new boss in Mountain Home??  We thought that was so funny/neat.

- Five Year Anniversary.  The next day we celebrated five years of marriage and it was a fabulous day just with our family of four.  Although it is nice to be together alone, and needed, Ross and I were excited to spend a whole day together with our girls.  He was on call, but I was determined not to worry about him being called in.  AND GUESS WHAT?  The pager didn't ring the entire day!  I woke up to this awesome present-- a recovered chair and new pillow.  We bought these chairs a long time ago and I never picked out any fabric to have them recovered and Ross did it all on his own.  I love the pattern he picked.

 

We had a breakfast at the most delish pancake house ever.  Hoping to go back many Saturdays to come.  The Hahn's treated us and we owe them so many dinners that I cannot keep track of them.  They are such good friends and so generous in their giving-- and not just paying for our food.  They are generous with their friendship and we love them so much!

 Then we went to Kohl's and shopped a bit and arrived back home with a new pool for the girls.  The big one is a pain to blow up on a whim and we found a small one on sale.  I was whining that my gift for Ross hadn't arrived on time and right then the truck pulled up with his present.  YIPPEE.

 

After naps, we went bowling.  I normally wouldn't have attempted this, but Amelia has been asking to go for a while and they got free bowling games with their Summer Reading Program at the library, so off we went.  It was actually quite a success despite by disdain for the game.  Amelia had a blast and Elise really liked it too.  One game was definitely all that we could swing as they both were a little restless between turns at the end.  And no, I didn't break 100.   

And then, even though it was late, I threw all caution to the wind and we went to Famous Dave's for supper.  My word BBQ that good is totally worth a late bedtime.  The girls were very well behaved and ate wonderfully.  The perfect anniversary dinner :)

This is Elise hiding under the table cloth.  We couldn't stop laughing...

Girls, when you are reading this some day, I want you to know how much I love your Dad and how hard he works at balancing his life as a doctor, his life as a dad, and his life as a husband.  He comes home and drops everything to play with you and give you all his attention and then tries to keep his eyes open to spend time with me, while doing charts or paperwork.  One of my absolute favorite things about him is that he NEVER complains or makes excuses.  NEVER.  He is always positive, always real, and always polite.  It is honestly a complete miracle he puts up with your wild mama and I want you to know how blessed we are to have him as The Man in our life. 

Happy (late, but just as special) Fifth Anniversary Ross!