Thanks Tobey!

Tobey took our family pictures and did a great job! Thanks Tobey for doing that for us...and for spending time while you were sick (along with your whole family!) to get them just right, and ordered for us. (Tobey will try to tell you that's it's nothing..but she does such a great job!!)

Hard Goodbyes

Every day is getting harder as we are saying goodbye to people I would never have wished to live without. I have learned so much from every dear friend I have met here and spent my life with the past 2 years. Going through the medical school experience is something that one cannot understand unless you have been there. The strain it puts on a family is so real...and friends have been my saving grace. They have been through the same thing as we have these past 2 years, and we have laughed and cried together. We made it...but only with each other's shoulders to lean on. This is such a bittersweet time in my life, and I had to include this poem that my friend Katie Rynearson found...because it describes our friendships here all-too-perfectly. It's so hard...we had to move across the country with our families...away from the rest of our families and friends. We had to endure ice storms, tornado warnings, and everything else med school threw at us. We made lifelong friends, but now we are all having to go our separate ways to continue on our medical school journeys. I will love and miss every one of you that has helped us and touched our lives in Kirksville!

"On the first day of it, we talked.
But nothing deep.
We sang
We looked at each other
And little did we know.
And time passed.

On the last day of it,
We talked of life things.
We laughed and we cried.
We sang with deep meaning.
We looked at each other
And we knew.

And then it ended...
But not really."

Picture Update

Warning: Picture and video mania! I haven't had the time to load videos on here lately..so here's a few to catch up. And a whole lot of pictures too! Our internet is being shut off tomorrow because we're moving, so I figured I'd get a whole bunch on here!

Woa Mom...put on your make-up----seriously!

Cait, Abs and Braden. How we'll miss Brade!!!

Our family swimming.
(Yes...that's Braden too. Some days he's Braden Parks..others he's Braden Nielson!)

Um..Mom? These 'rashguard suits' are for SKINNY babies! Not chubba bubbas!

Ah. Enough said.

Up 'n ready for the Pancake breakfast at the church! ('Sippin' corner in hand!)

Sparklers bebe!4th of July parade in Kirksville. Ok..so not to be UNpatriotic...but I've been to MANY small town parades on the 4th...and this one was not-so-grand! It was about 15 political campaign people handing out flyers and candy..and then a random truck pulling a trailer with hay bales covered in blue tarps with people sitting on it. When the last 'float' went by...we could not believe that was it! At least we got to chill with friends there. Ah well...better luck next time!

4th of July girls!

4th of July babies! (Ammon, Noah, and Emma)

Pancake breakfast at the church. And that's Libbs with the girls lookin' all sorts of stylish in her shades! (She gets the style sense from her momma!)

An attempt to get a pic of the youngest ones at the 4th of July BBQ that Melissa organized.

Emma is in LOVE with her sisters!!! I'm going to be in serious trouble when Caitlin starts preschool the beginning of August. Emma's not a huge fan of just chillin' at home with Mom! She loves those girls!

And the packing has begun! (It would have been boring if I just took a pic of the boxes, eh?)

Caitlin's flying LEAP off the diving board at swim lessons. So brave!

Soooo..where are the videos you ask? GOOD STINKIN' QUESTION! I let them load all night and they still wouldn't go. So I'll try to get them on a separate post. Before the internet shuts off in just a little while! AAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Three Months!

Then....

Now! Yee-hawww...bring on the chub-a-licious-ness!!!

Emma is 3 months old! (Ok..not today, but as of a few days ago. Let's pretend like I'm not behind though...) I can't believe that time has gone by so fast. It seems with all of our girls, once 3 months hits, everything is back to normal again. They figure out a nice sleeping schedule, they smile, they laugh, they are so happy and enjoyable! Emma is still such a sweet smiley baby. She goes to bed at 9pm, eats twice at night, and wakes up at 9am. She takes several cat naps during the day, and is just a joy all day long. She's been doing so well on her 'tummy time', and she's just a trooper no matter where the day takes us. We love you little Emma Jo!

Abby's first 'do' with the curling iron.

We are getting so excited to move, yet so sad to leave all of our sweet friends in Kirksville! The weather here has been so pleasant, I don't think it's been above 90 so far. We are going to have 'baptism by fire' (literally!) when we get to AZ at the end of July! Ooooooo-eeeeee dawgies...bring on the heat!