Match Day.

March 16th finally arrived! 

The night before, I realized that I had scheduled an appointment with Braden's ophthalmologist on that day! 

What was I thinking??? 

It was a full eye exam and the next available time for another appointment was until 2013!!! 2013!!!! 

So my brother came to the rescue and took him to his 2 hour appointment. 

We were so sad that Braden missed this important day.  

The whole time we felt like a part of us was missing! 

We could feel the excitement in the air when we walked into the lecture hall.  

It was better than Christmas.  

Such a monumental moment! 

Scott was feeling butterflies the whole ride to GWU and it didn't get any better once we got there. 

I started to get so anxious! Those of you who know me well, know that when I get anxious my chest starts to hurt! I had to take a few deep breaths to calm down! 

I took a video of Scott opening his envelope and everyone cheering and Scott shedding tears of joy and excitement! It was such a special  moment! and THEN THE MOST DEVASTATING thing happened to me!!!! ...I realized that I hadn't pushed the stupid record button!!!!!!!!! NOTHING was recorded!!! How does that happen??? I wanted to cry!!! Honestly. I did cry! 

You'll just have to relive the moment as your read this!

Scott said, "WE ARE GOING TO UTAH!!!!!" 

He was so happy, it was his number one choice on his rank list.

I'm so proud of him, words can't describe how I feel. 

Scott has worked SO hard to get here. 

That man sure has the most amazing work ethic of anyone I know. 

I'm grateful that the people at the University of Utah saw that in him.  

Can you tell how happy Scott is? Look at that big smile?

Spreading the good news to his dad.

We enjoyed a nice lunch and it was so fun to hear where everyone else was going. 

We just can't believe that we are finally here! 

The end of medical school has arrived.  

Scott will be Dr. Scott Jensen in a little over a month. 

It has been a long road of hard work and dedication.

We were later reunited with our little boy and my brother. 

Braden said, "I missed all the fun!!"

and I don't even have a video to show him!!! 

SOOOO SAD!!!! :(:(

But aside from my video incident, it was one of the BEST days and will remember it FOREVER.

March in Review│Mount Vernon

It doesn't surprise me one bit that George Washington didn't want to be king and wasn't concerned in being powerful.  With an estate like Mount Vernon who would! I would give up all the power in the world to go retire at this amazing place...(amazing doesn't begin to quite describe the beauty of Mount Vernon.)

He was quite the man that George! 

We finally made it to Mount Vernon...we splurged and paid however much it costs to get in.  I think it was worth it...Scott might beg to differ and I'm just glad that I can say I went! So it was worth it.  

I'm happy that Brielle and Braden were able to witness his house and actually picture in their heads what they learn in school.  They have been talking about George Washington in their schools quite a bit since President's Day.  

I love that they can talk about these things in school and then we can go show them these places! Seriously...how many kids can do that? 

They are lucky! 

These are the statues that welcome you when you enter the visitor's center at Mount Vernon. 

Brielle was in LOVE with Martha's dress and jewelry. 

We went to story time and they learned about the things that George grew in his garden and the animals they had in the farm. 

This is the greenhouse and the gardens.

This place is a dream...I can only imagine what it looked like with all the plants and flowers inside the greenhouse.

Look at that house! 

It is so amazing to me that it is made of wood! yes, wood! 

They used sand to make it look like stone. 

I was so sad that we weren't allowed to take photos inside the house.  

Suffice it to say, that it was pretty magnificent inside.  Beautiful detail every where you turned.  

Most of the pieces inside are original.  

Doesn't that totally look like stone? 

We went to the blacksmith shop.  

It was really interesting to watch how they bend the metal. 

We spent a while on the back lawn area of the house, which faces the Potomac.  It was an exquisite view.  

That's when I realized the reason for George's desire to retire at Mount Vernon.  

I can only imagine the peaceful, wonderful life he lived after his presidency. 

Mount Vernon is like a little piece of paradise. 

The view of the Potomac. 

Acres and acres of beautiful farm. 

Our final spot was the tomb.  

It was a beautiful outing and I'm so, so grateful that we got to go before we leave. 

March in Review│Pre-Match Day

March brought the most amazing weather here to Virginia.  

We had several days in a row of beautiful sunshine and warm temperatures.  

We took tons and tons of walks.  

Spring is such a beautiful time of the year...I like almost as much as fall, if not the same. 

Braden absolutely LOVES his little sister...you can tell by Brooke's expression how she feels about all the love that Braden gives her...I find it hilarious!:)  

Braden is a sweet, sweet boy. 

He is such a witty boy.  

He says the funniest things and I know he is not meaning to be funny that's just his personality.  

He also has a little temper...he is mostly pleasant to be around but sometimes the little devil comes out...

We are working on it. 

The other day he was grouchy and was not being very nice to his mom...so I told to turn his frown into a smile...he didn't take it so well...instead he started making fun of me! 

He kept repeating, 'turn your frown into a smile, turn your frown into a smile' in a mocking voice!!! 

That little stinker!!!!:)

We've been trying to get to a lot of places before we leave.  

I wanted to take Braden to the Air and Space Museum in D.C.  

We went one morning and we had a blast! 

I love to watch him get excited about spaceships and airplanes. 

He had a huge smile when his turn came to ride this helicopter!  

Braden is into experiments.  

One day he came home from school and told us about this cool experiment his teacher did in their classroom.  

If you soak a raw egg in vinegar, the vinegar will dissolve the eggshell.  

It's called the 'naked egg experiment'.  

So we did it at home and it was so cool!!! 

You should try it too! 

My dear old neighbor Judy came to visit us one day.  They used to live next to us when we first moved to Virginia.  It's too bad they moved away! We don't get to see them very often.  It was fun to spend the afternoon with Judy and Bella.  Brielle and Braden love playing with Bella...they've known each other since Braden was a year and half! crazy!

March brought more walks and beautiful flowers...

Braden spotted a cardinal...

It's so sad that we missed the cherry blossoms this year! our last year here!!! I find comfort in the fact that we have gone every year we have lived here...part of the problem was that they bloomed earlier than usual...I think that threw me off a little bit...

We went on tons and tons of bike rides...

Scott had an easy schedule for most of March, it was so nice to have him home...it's always fun to spend time with that man. 

Braden loves the time he gets to spend with his daddy, while Brielle is in school. 

We sure miss Brielle while she's in school though! She's one busy girl. 

The first half of March was spent feeling very anxious about where we would be matching for residency! 

We tried to keep busy trying not to think too much about where we'd be moving...

Brookster is 7 months.

This baby is just growing like a little weed and I can't stop it.  

She is 7 months old and I can't imagine our family without her.  

She has been hitting so many milestone in the last month.

Here are her stats:

height: 26 1/4 inches

weight: 16.8 lbs.

head: 16 1/2 inches

She is growing into those cheeks...

She has been rolling all over the house for a while now and has gotten so mobile. 

I have caught her trying to push up like she wants to start crawling...she will get there...

She still has her easy-going personality. 

She laughs when you tickle her.

She babbles and babbles all day long.

She has opinions now if you take something away from her.

She loves keys.

She LOVES hair! She will pull Brielle's hair or mine all the time! It hurts!

She puts EVERYTHING in her mouth. 

She started to wave bye, bye.  She doesn't do it all the time though, only when she feels like it. 

She says mama and dada. 

She gets her feelings hurt if you ignore her for too long.  

She still wakes up once at night to eat but falls back asleep. 

She isn't too sure about Mr. Braden all the time...but I know she loves him because she gets a big smile on her chubby face when she sees him in the morning...

She fits in the sink...my poor baby got some kind of stomach bug and had blow out after blow out for 5 days...it wasn't fun but she acted happy nonetheless...

This baby loves her food, especially squash. 

She's not fond of fruit...peaches or bananas are not her favorite...which I find it a little surprising...she rather have squash and zucchini...or even green beans.

I've been making my own baby food this time around and call me crazy but I think she eats it with much more gusto than the store bought baby food...

A few weeks ago, we tried the swing...I thought she would be a lot more excited about it...

at least she didn't cry right?

She loves to put her feet in her mouth... 

This little girl has my heart.  I love her to pieces. I could kiss her all day long if I could.  Her little smile when she sees me melts my heart.  I want to eat those chunky legs! She is easy to love.  

I am completely and utterly smitten by this baby.