playground fun

We drove up to visit another family and we met at a park so the kiddies could play. This was Paul's friend Troy, and his wife Tamara.  Their family live just north of where we met. We all had a great time. It's so fun catching up with old friends. Plus, the Lopes family came with us.

Of course, we had to take a group picture.  This was everyone, except one of Troy's kids. This photo doesn't do those gorgeous Colorado mountains justice. It was perfect.

It was hard to see goodbye, but our next stop was Fort Collins. My old stopping grounds. The Abbajays were calling my name!

Garden of the Gods

Daniel and Melissa took us to Garden of the Gods, which was really close to their house. It was stunning and amazing and made me miss Colorado SO much.  The kids loved it because they could climb all over the place.

Here are all the kids in one tree. Thinking back to our friendship before kids, it's hard to imagine that all these little people belong to US!

silly fun

We always have the best time with the Lopes family. We met them 10 years ago when we first got married, and have been friends ever since. We don't talk everyday, but when we get together it's like no time has passed at all. They are such wonderful people, and so much fun. :)

Lopes family!

Our first fun stop on our trip was in Colorado Springs to see the Lopes family. They are one of the MOST fun families around. We miss them so much!  Some pics from the drive. The sunsets were pretty spectacular, and the kids were really good for the drive.

We haven't seen the Lopes family in forever, since Lullaby and Vivi were babies. Now we each have a baby boy too.

Only a best friend of Paul's would be okay with trying on his socks because they're so comfy... Here, try my socks, aren't they the best?!

We ate at a restaurant called The Heart of Jerusalem that was SO yummy. Melissa and I and our babies.

These two girlies got in trouble in the morning. We had stayed the night and the girls wandered out together in the morning with their umbrella and baby dolls, still in jammies. They were perfectly safe in the neighborhood, but we had to hunt them down to find them. Stinkers. They are FAST friends.

Goodbye Houston!

When we moved into our Houston house, Lullaby was 1, Hawken was 3, and Matix was 4. I was pregnant with Solace. This house was the first house that Solace came home to after he was born. He learned to walk here. He switched from a crib to a bed here. Matix started kindergarten and 1st grade here in Houston. Hawken made his first real best friend, who happened to also live in the neighborhood. Lullaby had her 2nd, 3rd, and 4th birthdays here.  She learned how to write her name here. Paul started and finished residency here. There are too many memories and friendships we have made in Houston to name. We loved this house. We loved our time in Houston, but we are ready for our next adventure. Goodbye Houston!

snuggles

Sully boy has taken to sneaking out of bed at night (now that he's out of a crib), and comes to snuggle up with us. We don't really mind too much. We love our baby.

last day of residency!!

Paul's LAST day of residency was a long time coming. I had dreamed of that day.  Paul has been in school, undergraduate work, medical school, book work and rotations, and residency for as long as I have known him. For him to finally be finished was an exciting day for our whole family. He's worked 100+ hour work weeks. He's stayed awake to take care of his patients whom he truly cared for, despite having had no sleep himself for days. He played with the kids and tried his best to be involved in their lives and interests as much as he could. He took care of me, and all of us. I was SO happy to see this part of our lives finished, thanks to Paul's hard work and dedication. Though he rarely complained, residency specifically, but all of his schooling and training, was extremely hard and both mentally and physically challenging. Congrats to you Paul! You did it. We did it! We love you.

tired

All the packing made for unusual nap time and schedules. Thankfully Sully was happy to sleep where we put him. This particular day, it was on a pillow on the floor, amidst boxes. Poor thing. All the kids have done really well with this move (and all our other moves). We are always very proud of them for their flexibility and adaptability. 

new residents

We got to go to one last work party for Paul and his colleagues. Matix and Hawken got in on their games, while the other kids ate up all the yummy food. :)

fancy dinner!

Paul had his end of the year dinner. They call it a graduation, but it's less of that and more of a end of year celebration. He actually dressed up this year, and everyone was surprised. :) I think he looked very handsome!

The dinner was amazing, as always. I loved every bite!

They announced where each resident would be taking a job and everyone oooh-ed and aaah-ed at Paul's future place of employment, Hawaii!

Paul's parents came for the night, and it was a special night for them to see their son finished with residency! Being a doctor's mother is almost as good as being a doctor's wife. :)  Paul brought root beer for his dad, who jokingly said he only wanted to go to the dinner if they had good root beer.

Paul had some really good mentors and doctors that he worked so closely with for these 3 years.  I am grateful for the very few who were positive and encouraging of Paul. They will be missed.

At the end of the night, they announced some awards. Outstanding resident, derm awards, and the Scholarly Achievement Award. I filmed the first 2 awards, thinking Paul would for sure win one, and surprisingly, he didn't. He was happy for the people who did win, but I thought for SURE he would win one. Then came the Scholarly Achievement Award. Dr. Stotts discussed the recipient and explained the ENORMOUS strides they had taken during residency to improve medicine for future generations of doctors. She explained that this person had just been approved to be PUBLISHED. Then she called Paul's name. He was stunned, not knowing that he was going to be published for his research work. He was very flattered and thankful. I was proud, and knew he was going to win something. :)

It was a good night. He deserved a night of completion, of closure, and of relaxation. Paul, you are so amazing. We are all so proud of you and your hard work!

Flores family moves out

We said goodbye to the Flores family just 2 days before we moved too. The kids missed their Flores friends. These are pics from their last day together in our Houston house.