Current Weather: 88 and partly cloudy Current Gas Price: $2.98 per gallon Total Cockroach Count: 5 (late-night sighting in our bathroom...he got away!)
Hey Fam! Well, you're getting two posts on the same day because it took me so long to get the April post working. But, that's okay because this one will be incredibly short. Basically, May was one of the busiest months we've had since moving here. Wes was on his 5th block of Medicine (out of 5.5) so he was pretty much working, eating, and sleeping for most of the month. I was in the peak of my IEP season and stayed late at work most evenings. Because Wes worked every weekend (except one) we didn't really make too many plans on the weekends and I spent most of my weekends working as well. So, I honestly don't have much else to write about....boring, I know! I am now on summer break and Wes starts his last .5 Medicine block tomorrow. SO, in two weeks Wes will have officially completed his first year of residency, WAHOO!! BUT, I will reflect on that in the next blog...I can't get ahead of myself here!
The only fun thing that we did in the month of May was attend a "wine tasting/class" at our friend Payton's Foust house. Payton used to work for a bunch of classy restaurants in Charleston and he had to attend weekly wine tastings as a part of his job. He therefore knows a ton about wine and so he held a little class to teach all of us some new info about wine. It was a really fun evening as lots of the resident's and their wives came. Here are some pics:
Payton & Clory. Payton had 8 wines that he'd picked out for our tasting.
Dave & Tammy Johnston (on left) and Payton. Payton is explaining how to use a corkscrew that doesn't have "wings" on it. Dave is trying his luck with it. Haha, as you can see, we were all pretty much amateurs.
Wesley and me at the wine tasting.
Ok, well, sorry that was so boring. More to come in the June blog!
***Ok, so I wrote this post in May and then right when I was ready to post it the Picasa album with all of our pictures from Charleston something messed up (or I did something wrong) and I couldn't access them anymore. SO...sorry this post is so late but May was so busy that we just finally got to fixing the Picasa album issue...thanks to Wes for fixing it! ***
Current Weather: 83 degrees and sunny Current Gas Price: $3.51 per gallon Total Cockroach Count: 4
Whew! April was a blur! It was also a very unusual month for both of us. Wes was on community medicine so besides clinic, online tests/modules, and visits to medical professionals in the community Wes had the month off! He finished his STEP III! YAY! I know what you're thinking, "when is he going to be done taking huge (and expensive) tests?" Well, the answer is never. BUT! STEP III was the last "general test" he has to take and now he just has one more at the end of residency to be a "board certified" physician. Then he only has to take a huge-expensive test every 10 years after that. Are you thinking about becoming a doctor? How about now? Haha, just kidding! We've enjoyed the process but like to laugh about it once in a while!
I had a total of 9 days off during the 20 day work month...so it was weird (but awesome) to only work 11 days during the month. Definitely an interesting month...how about I start at the beginning? Good idea!
The month began with a visit from G & G Haldy (Jim & Opal). They were headed back to Ohio from spending the winter in Florida. We were especially glad to see Jim as he had just recently had surgery to remove suspicious masses from his colon. It was a major surgery and we were so happy to see him looking so good and healthy! He is doing much better now and I guess we're still not sure for sure whether or not the masses were cancerous? They treated us to dinner at Red Lobster and then came to our place for breakfast the next morning before continuing on their journey north! I had not been to Red Lobster in like forever and can I just say how much fun it is to crack crab legs? If you have not experienced a good "crab leg cracking" you are definitely missing out on one of God's little pleasures in life! Haha, good times! Wes was hit twice by some "fly away crab"...so see...it's fun for the whole family!
Wes & I with G & G Haldy
Next, I enjoyed some Easter fun with my friends Clory and Carly. We colored eggs and attempted to make flower cookies (like Clory saw on Pinterest) but they didn't turn out quite like we had planned. I always enjoy girl time though so it was fun to just hang out with them! Here are some pictures from our "Easter Fun" night.
Our egg decorating supplies :)
Posing with my finished eggs.
Clory dying one of her eggs.
Carly was a champ at making the flower cookies. Haha, Clory and I attempted to help her but I just got stressed trying to do it...so I gave up! Haha, they did a much better job than me and the cookies were delicious, despite not looking much like flowers.
That was during my last week of work before spring break! Best part about working at an elementary school is taking an entire day to goof off and dress silly. Haha, this was the Friday before spring break and it was our "Literacy Alive" Celebration. All the teachers dressed like pirates and there were activities all over the school for the kids to do. It was a big party to celebrate the kids reading so many books! Haha, they hired two "pirate actors" and the kids were scared of them so you could hear kids screaming sporadically throughout the day...it was pretty funny!
Here I am in my pirate outfit.
My room was transformed into the "Buried Treasure" room. The kids took turns digging for buried treasure in the pools and they were allowed to keep a prize of their choice. My job was simply to explain the rules and re-bury the treasure before the next class came in. Haha, it was pretty entertaining.
After that, it was time for spring break! WAHOO!! Wes and I went to Charleston for a week and we were so excited that Libby & Craig and John & Kim came with us for the first few days! We kicked the vacation off with Libby & Craig coming over that Friday night and having a Just Dance competition. I had a an absolute blast! That game is so much fun and it makes me want to buy a Wii just to play it! But, I'm going to avoid that purchase for as long as possible. Here is a video of Libs and I's first dance (we're just getting warmed up!) which is pretty funny. I thought I was pretty much kicking butt until I was defeated by...it's true...my husband. NO! Haha, Wes beat me at this Indian dance. I blame my bum shoulders but it could also be Wes' inner-Indian coming out. I've always known he has one. Haha, no worries, I'm taking him on again in Norris Lake. ;)
Anyway, here is the video and all of our Charleston pictures can be viewed at the provided link. We had an absolutely WONDERFUL time in Charleston and truly enjoyed some extended time with family. We miss you guys!
Honestly, April ended up being a month in which we saw all of our family members, even if only for a brief moment! The weekend after we got back from Charleston we enjoyed a visit from Dad & Lynn. We really appreciated them coming to see us as it turned out that they were only able to come for one day but they still made the trek down here! Thanks again guys! We gave them the ole' tour of the Emerald City and went to Abbeville for dinner at the Village Grill. Lynn has been training for a half marathon so we spent some time during the day running/walking. Haha, Lynn was running and the rest of us were walking! But it was nice to get out and be active! The weather was great and we had a good appetite for the Village Grill afterward!
Me, Dad, and Lynn in Abbeville Square.
Haha, our waitress took a pretty awful picture but this is us at Village Grill. We all ended up getting the same pork chop special, so that was pretty funny. But it was really delicious and came with root vegetables grown by Parisi Farms (which is our favorite local produce at the farmer's market).
While we were in Charleston, we learned that Wes' other grandpa (G Miller) was back in the hospital. He stayed in the hospital for a week or so before he was moved home, on hospice care. He passed away on April 24, 2012 and we headed to Ohio two days later. He was 92 years old and had lived a wonderful full life. If you'd like to read his obituary, click here (http://www.jackson-sarver.com/obituaries.aspx?turl=http://hosting-24842.tributes.com/show/russell-miller-93699515). Unfortunately, our other visit with family was for his funeral. Although it was a sad reunion, we were really happy to see everyone, and it blessed our hearts to see everyone in our family during the month of April. (I don't have a picture of it but my mom came and had brunch with us on the Sunday we were in Ohio...so she made it official...we got to see everyone!).
After Grandpa Miller's funeral. It was really cold and rainy that day so we took this picture as fast as we could. I was the only person not brave enough to take my coat off. Haha and Wesley was recovering from a flu-ish type sickness and then I got a cold the next day...bummer! Nasty Ohio weather!
It was so sad to say goodbye to Grandpa Miller but we felt blessed to see everyone and that all of us were able to stay for several days...so we got some time to just be together! We even had time for a second fish fry at G & G Halderman's house!
After that, we headed back to South Carolina and it was suddenly May! Oh my goodness!
