Residency Done!

Todd is officially done with residency. He left Rochester on Friday & arrived here Saturday. Poor guy, having to do the drive twice. We were happy to have him home. He was #1 for the night, both Sarah & Mason demanded that he read their bedtime stories.
Todd's "real" job starts this week. Today he learned how to bill (always a good thing to know!). Tomorrow he'll get oriented to the hospital & hopefully start in the OR's soon after! It's kind of a weird feeling, knowing that he's no longer in training. We've come back to basically where we started from. I was working as an RN at UVRMC 8 years ago, then we left for medical school. Now Todd will work there as an anesthesiologist. Pretty exciting!

We really feel like home

Today we really feel like we are home. It's because we've got Mary Jane over playing, just like in Minnesota. She's staying in Bountiful with her Grammy & Grandad, so we are borrowing her for a couple of days.

We planned to meet at Ikea today, but had not nailed down any times. As I picked my kids up from their 1 hour in the play place, there was Mary Jane & Katelynn waiting to go in. They quickly got out of line & waited for my kids to come out. Sarah & Mary Jane were on cloud nine the rest of our time in the store. It was a bit nuts!

Since we've been home I've seen them breeze past several times, each time in different clothes playing something new. Mary Jane will sleep over tonight & be here part of tomorrow. Sarah had a huge list of things todo. I think they are only on about #2 of 9 items, & that was just for today. It could be a long night! Maybe we'll have to borrow her again next week.

My big kids

My kids are growing up so fast! Sarah is 6 1/2 & a great big sister. Mason is 3 1/2 & rarely wants to take off his bike helmet. Emma is not standing or walking, or even crawling, but the big kids want her too. She does have her first tooth though, so she's growing up fast!

Pool time

My two beauties. I think their sunglasses are more in style than mine!
We need a bigger pool to handle all the toys! This picture shows our huge backyard.

We brought our pool with us from Minnesota. The kids were happy to have it, I think it made them feel a little more at home.

Cousin time!

Morgan mowing the lawn. It's HUGE! Grandpa came & mowed it last night for me since Todd is away & I don't dare try the riding mower.
Adeline having fun.
Breton, Sarah, Emma, Jonah, & Mason in a cousin parade. After this we went for an adventure in the "wilderness" behind our backyard. The kids thought it was great & can't wait to do it again.

The kids are having a great time playing with cousins. Sarah would do it every day if she could.

Bikes

We promised Sarah & Mason new bikes as soon as we got to our new house. We arrived Saturday night. Monday morning we purchased these new beauties. The kids are having a great time on them. Mason has not even mentioned his big wheel.

The drive

This is our over loaded car. We saved out stuff for our week in the hotel. I think (know) we kept too much! Todd's car was loaded too.
The Badlands of South Dakota. Mason probably does not have fond memories of this place since he was a bit sick!
Mount Rushmore at the end of a VERY LONG day of driving!

I'm finally adding pictures to my long drive narration. I don't plan on driving that far again for a long time!!!! Poor Todd will be doing it again next week.