High School Grad

Today my little brother, Josh, graduates from high school! He is becoming quite the young man. I am so proud of him. He will be attending BYU Idaho in the fall and then going to London, on a study abroad, in the spring. I wish I could be there for his graduation. Congrats Josh!

Flashback: Josh graduating from kindergarten

9 lives

My cat just survived going through the washer. I was on my way out when I started the laundry and came home about an hour later. I heard Moby crying and I found him soaking wet in the washer.  I rushed him to the emergency vet and they checked him out and said he was a little hypothermic but just fine. It really took longer for them to calm me down then to attend to Moby. We are home now, he is curled up on the heating pad and I am listening to his breathing to make sure he didn't inhale any water. We have a front load washer that doesn't fill all the way up with water. Luckily, the washer had stopped itself after about 30 minutes before the spin cycle. The vet said he had never seen a cat go through the washer before, usually it is the dryer and I have never seen Moby in the washer before. I also have to mention that Bella was very upset. She was all puffed up because she knew from Moby's cries there was danger. I feel like an absolute, terrible human being. I do not deserve to be a cat mom. We rescued Moby off the street on Christmas Eve 2008 in San Antonio. I instantly fell in love. So much so that we flew him back to Utah with us and moved because our current apartment did not allow pets. Moby is my baby but right now I feel like he deserves so much better. He definitely lost at least one of his nine lives today.

This is from when was when we first got him

He loves his belly rubbed

The Girls

Anyone that knows both my sister, Sarah and I, will tell you we are complete opposites. We are yin and yang.  Growing up, we never got along and were always butting heads. It wasn't until I was in college that we really started to become friends and now my sister is one of my best friends. Whenever I am struggling or unsure about what to do, I call her and she always has wise advice for me.  Whenever I am having a really bad day, I will call her and she will cheer me up or come rescue me. We still are very different, but I think we have learned to embrace and love it. One thing we do have in common is reading. I recently read a book she gave me called The Girls by Lori Lansens. (all of the books I read are recommended by Sarah) The story is about two sisters who are conjoined twins. Sincerely, it was one of the best books I have ever read. I gave it five stars on goodreads, and I have to say out of the 67 books I have rated, I have only given eight books 5 stars.  Read it, especially if you have a sister. Sarah and I recently started taking pictures of quotes we love while reading and then sending it to each other.  While I was reading The Girls, I sent her the following quote:

"Before she closed her eyes tonight, Rose said she regretted that she has not done something heroic in her life. Well, it's not like she can suddenly climb a tree and save a cat, or go to medical school and begin some important cancer research. But rose has been my sister. I think that's heroic."

Sarah responded with a picture showing that she had highlighted the same quote when she read the book.

Sarah is truly a heroic sister. 

24

This past week I had a really wonderful birthday. All of my friends and family made it very special. Sometimes I forget how many people love and care about me. I am so grateful.

24 years ago

For my birthday dinner we went to one of my favorite restaurants. If you are ever in Dallas, you have to go to rise #1 for some souffles. They are to die for.

A big thank you to this guy for making my bday so great!

My sister is bringing me over to the dark side. I have been very anti-kindle for forever, but Sarah talked me into it. So far I love how convenient it is. A full review to come.

Getting acquainted with my new yoga mat.

Mother's Day

This year's Mother's Day was a blast. My sister and I both went to San Antonio (rarely happens) and my Uncle Guy came to visit too. It was a full house, filled with lots of laughter. Max recently turned 12, so he got ordained at church. We also celebrated my birthday since we were all together. I was actually born on Mother's Day, so it seemed appropriate. My mom reminds me every year that I was the best Mother's Day present she has ever recieved. (ok, maybe some years she had her doubts)

I really am so lucky to have such a wonderful mom. She is always there for me with great wisdom and advice. She is so supportive of me and I don't know what I would do without her. I really hope she knows how much I love and appreciate her. Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Mother's Day Breakfast

I was so happy to have captured this special moment

  

We love Unlce G!

The quickest way to my heart is with some chocolate covered strawberries.

Maurice

Back in January, I fell in love with the author Maurice Sendak, after watching an interview (part 1 and part 2) of him with Stephen Colbert. He is best known for writing and illustrating Where Wild Things Are. I was very sad to hear he passed away yesterday but last night Colbert played a video tribute (watch here) with some more footage from his interviews. Here is my favorite exchange between them.

Colbert: What's the best thing a parent can do for their child?
Sendak: Love him/her
Colbert: What does that mean?
Sendak: Take them for what they are.

Maurice Sendak was a truly amazing author and artist. I look forward to one day giving my children his books.

Hooray

It feels so good to be done with my first year PA school. Two years from now I will be graduating. It has been the two craziest semesters of my life but I live to tell the tale. My biggest obstacle was definitely pharmacology.  I haven't been so happy to be done with a class since the end of organic chemistry lab (see below). A little background on this pic, I decided to take the ochem lab during the summer, meaning you take the course in twice the time. It was also one of my last classes before graduating. I was in the lab almost every day including six hours on Fridays. Plus you had to do make up labs if you didn't do it right the first time (which was always the case). On top of that, there was an insane amount of homework, quizzes and tests. It was basically a full time job. I managed to capture one of the happiest moments of my life and now every time I am not sure if I am going to make it through school, I look at this picture for motivation. 

4 years ago

The last four years have flown by. Wish I could say I was all dressed up and headed out for a night on the town to celebrate, but once again school has succeeded in ruining my life. The reality is I am curled up on the couch, in my pjs with a box of cheez-its, studying for my pathology final tomorrow. On the bright side, in a few weeks, we will be back in Jamaica where we got married. For today, a trip down memory lane will have to suffice.

Nervous hands

Not so nervous groom

Happy Anniversary Taylor! I wouldn't be where I am today without you.

Flashback

My mom is searching for a new school, for my little brother Max. Yesterday she took him to look at my old school, Shepherd of the Hills. She visited one of my elementary teachers and this picture, of her favorite fourth grade class, was sitting on her desk. (ok, we were also the first class she ever taught)

Last summer one of our favorite teachers retired so we had a reunion.