Zoology...

This past weekend we celebrated the end of Christopher's surgery rotation with a family excursion. So off to the Toledo Zoo we went. We got there right after it opened, scoring an awesome parking space, and getting us there in time to see the shark feeding. We really enjoyed the little aquarium and I wish we would have taken more pictures. But we did get a year pass so I'm sure we'll be there soon enough for more photo ops. We covered just about everything except the Science Museum, the kids petting zoo area, the butterfly conservatory, and the rainforest exhibit, which just gives us more fun and new things to do next time. We wondered how well the trip would go since this is the first time to the zoo for our kids. We psyched Kira up for a week, to the point where at night as we were trying to get her to go to sleep, she'd recite a l o n g list of animals that we would be seeing at the zoo. I think overall, it was a success. Alexis struggled a little due to sleep deprivation, but we finally got her to nod off for about 20 minutes. The girls were good and it was fun for Christopher and I to go to a zoo again. Here's just a fraction of the cool "aminals" we checked out. (Sorry, Kira had no love for the camera that day.)

There was a beautiful garden.

He's a biggun'

Penguins in the background

Mommy and Kira

Sleeping hippo

George

Finally...

This seal loved to swim upside down

Kira and Daddy

Courageous Kira had to do it by herself

Our favorites

"Roundee-round"

We even scored a free caricature. Guess who.

Holy headband, Batman...

Protecting the streets of Gotham Wyandotte, by day and by night (well, until bedtime anyway).

These 'shoes' were made for walking...

And that’s just what she’ll do….every day! Yes, Alexis is walking and has been for about two months. Now that she’s summoned up the courage to brave the slippery, unforgiving hardwood floors in our new place, she’s cruisin’! But she’s discovered how important foot accessories are at an early age. She will insist on wearing shoes EVERYWHERE- outside, in the house, during naps, in the bath. She’s had shoes for a while but would never keep them on. But I guess now that she’s walking, she needs to keep those tiny toes pampered. Alexis just got over a week of extreme fever, fatigue and fussiness. We never pinpointed the exact cause, but she’s doing well now. So, throughout the week in order to try and keep her fever down, she lived in just a diaper- well, a diaper and shoes, as insisted. I couldn't’t help but snap a quick picture of her sickie attire while she followed me around the house. Kira has been a pretty good sport while we've dealt with her sister's illness. She slept through nightly wakings, tolerated an irritable playmate who really didn't feel like playing and parents who've been at another's beck and call. Kira maintained her good humor and did a lot of self-entertaining. please excuse the hair...like I said Kira was a neglected child for a few days

Quick update on Christopher: He passed the boards!!!! WHOOOO-HOOO! I'm so proud of him and glad that this part is over. He's gotten through a rotation of Pediatrics, which ended up being a blessing in disguise. Administration was trying to deal with physicians and scheduling and it was starting to look like he might have had to go downtown to rotate with a peds doctor. Ugh. But he actually wound up with a doctor that allowed him to participate a ton and taught him a lot. He's now on Surgery rotations and and will be on call twice in his first week. Obviously, we haven't seen much of him but we're glad he's having some positive experiences and that he's out of the classroom doing things he worked hard to do. You ROCK, hon!

If all else fails...

...post pictures.

Backyard adventures

Lex's loves

Fun at the park

The little house on 12th St...

"Wood" anniversary...

Christopher and I would have celebrated our 5th anniversary June 18th. That day just happened to be the day after boards, the day before we started the move and the day our parents arrived to help us move. Needless to say, we figured it wouldn't be the day to plan much in way of anniversary fun, though we did go to Nauvoo for a quick trip to the temple before leaving the area. I really wanted to do something memorable since it is one of the first marriage milestones. A few months before, I decided to take advantage of the fact that my mom would be with us after the move and plan a short getaway the end of June. I tried keeping it a secret but I wasn't sure what or how much to plan since Christopher and I are both kind of mellow homebodies who would have just been as happy to be lazy at home after packing, test-taking, traveling and moving in. I let him in on the plan. It actually didn't end up being anything super exciting, but it was just what we needed after a week of unpacking, painting, cleaning, organizing and reorganizing, etc.

First, we went here and ended up doing sealings, which was pretty cool for an anniversary. We are now only about 30-45 mins. away from a temple, yay!

Then, we went here to spend the night.

The whole idea for the trip was mostly centered around splurging for a day and staying somewhere a little more luxurious than normal, minus kids. This was the first time since we had Kira that we got to get away by ourselves. Long overdue. I had to take pictures of the place since we were pleased with how nice the hotel ended up being- it was a steal of a deal on hotwire. We had thought about going to a museum or something but since we were only booked at the hotel for that night, we decided to enjoy the feather bed, large LCD TV, and the opportunity to be lazy and sleep in as l o n g a s p o s s i b l e.

Chillaxin'

Nothing flashy but double shower heads are A-MAZING

I wanted to take my own picture of the lobby fountain but we didn't want to look touristy (at least, in front of other people...our room was free game, obviously). There was a baby grand piano right next to it that my fingers just itched to play, but I saved Christopher the embarrasment and the guests their ears.

All in all, it was a simple celebration but nicer than anything we've done for ourselves in a while. It was awesome to be able to spend time with my honey and reflect on the five blessed years we've been together and look forward to the eternity to go. (Love you, babe.)

Yikes...

I hate it when this happens. I distance myself from the blog whenever I get too busy and then continue to put a hold on the relationship when so many things happen that go unposted that I just feel to overwhelmed to even start! Well, I've got a mental list a mile long of everything that has occurred in our little world for the last, uh, month and a half. I guess I'll just start by saying that we're here in Wyandotte, Michigan- we made it safe and sound. We're basking in the 70* July weather (seems like an oxymoron for us Oklahoma transplants) and the closer proximity to little luxuries like malls and forms of retail that don't start with a 'W'. Christopher took the dreaded board exam before we moved and now is anxiously anticipating his score. We've had the benefit of family around for a while to help with the moving and settling in. I don't know how we could have done so much without them. Anyway, I'll not bore with details...all at once, that is. We are alive. Look for more to come!