December Festivities

I realized that if I put posting off any longer we are all going to regret it. So here is a sum of activities I've been involved in since I found out I got into dental school.

I finally received my final grade in Biochemistry this week after taking the final December 13th. A two week turn around is pretty decent for this class. Yes, I passed and received the grade I need, it's pretty much official that I'm in.

Life in dental private practice is good. I love the people I work with and we all had a blast celebrating the holidays. I went out with Dr. Barnett's office on the first night of Hannukah. I enjoyed learning more about the holiday and being out with the girls from the office. We had dinner at a hole in the wall Italian place. Dr. Barnett spoiled us with gifts and we ate bricks of death (large loaves of garlic bread with what must be a pound of butter on each serving).


Dr. Barnett's Office Celebration

Dr. Quinn took our office to a nearby spa to celebrate the end of the year and Christmas. I enjoyed a full body massage and pampering. It's always fun to get out of the office and just laugh.

We spent the week before Christmas in Texas with Tim, Audrey and Lillie and Sam. I enjoyed chatting with Audrey, hiking, checking out snakes and incorporating Lillie's daily naps into our vacation. (I really think we should get these as adults too). See Jason's recent post for more pictures.


Hiking at a Texas State Park

I was also thrilled to see Stephanie. We were able to go out to dinner and have a fabulous time. It was definitely one of the highlights of this year's Christmas. I know you are all incredibly jealous...and you should be. We have decided that we must have a roommate reunion. We though sometime in 2032 would be good, kids would be out of the house and hopefully we will be able to get the time off. Can you plan that far ahead? Of course earlier times would work to if we could pull it off. I just want to restate what we already know - you are all the best. I feel incredibly blessed to have you for friends. Few things are as valuable as knowing that despite the time and distance we still know how to have fun with one another and enjoy the ups and downs of life.


Stephanie and I Out to Dinner

Jason worked Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Thus, I drove to Madison and had dinner and fun with my family. Unfortunately, we had so much fun we forgot to call my brother who is serving a mission in Las Vegas. The poor kid definitely has middle child syndrome. We spent Christmas day sledding and cross country skiing. Rachel and I are still working on our coordination but it's a fun way to get through the winter here. It's also quiet and beautiful, two of my favorite things.


Our Gingerbread House Under Construction Christmas Day, Emily Mom and I were the Engineers


The Finished Gingerbread House


Cross Country Skiing in Sheehan Park with Mom as Photographer Christmas Day

Ho, Ho, Ho!!!

Hey Merry Christmas ya'll!! Hope you all had a great day and that Santa was good to you. I'll post some pics as soon as Mike gets em off his camera.

Last Saturday....

Ok... last Saturday we had one of those nice slow moving lazy mornings. Shannon got up with Mike to help him make breakfast.


Pancakes and scrambled eggs: YUMMMMM!

Here's Zubby making one of his weird smiles. This is before he started flinging his scrambled eggs around the kitchen.

This is a picture that Shannon took of Cameron and my legs. Like my camo socks?


What?! You are putting this picture of me on the blog?


As you can see, Shannon likes to make odd faces, especially for the Camera. Shocking I know. Where could she have gotten such an odd trait?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LE

So happy birthday LE even though no one knows where you are and we haven't heard from you in like a million years...we still want to wish you a happy day and perhaps somehow in cyberspace you will get this and smile!

Love ya!

You got it Becca!

Ok, so I've added Colette's blog...can you guys send me the links to the others and I'll add them for all to enjoy?

Dental School Updates

Friday morning (November 30th) I checked my email and opened a letter with the subject: Congratulations from the U of M School of Dentistry. I anxiously opened it and found out I have been accepted to the dental program for the class of 2012. (I don't like to think about that number because it seems so far away. It will come regardless of whether or not I'm in school.) Besides, it's a four year investment for a lifetime of benefits.

The initial email didn't actually have my name in it. So before I got too excited I decided to call the school and confirm. The admissions woman I've been working with answered right away. I told her who I was and she asked how I was doing. I said I was doing good (I know that's not proper grammar), and she responded that I should be. That's when I said, so the email is real? I was concerned it could have been a mix up of some sort. It's the real deal though, I'll receive my official letter soon and then I'll have 45 days to confirm my spot with a $1000 deposit. They said it was an exceptionally tough year and that I congratulations were definitely in order.

Before screaming to the world the good news, I wanted to hear back from Marquette first. (I knew they were sending out results to arrive in the mail on the first.) Marquette has placed me on a hold list. They are going to further debate my application and get back to me in the middle of January. Unless they make a decision earlier than that, it will have been past my deadline for Minnesota. I kind of feel like Marquette is playing with me. The interviewers were not the nicest when I went there and I think the admissions committee is toying with me to see how committed I really am. In other words, am I willing to risk losing my spot at Minnesota in order to get in there. While financially Marquette would make a lot more sense ... why would I turn down a school that's excited to have me for another that has been far less interested?

Nothing is final yet. I still have to achieve a certain grade in my biochemistry course before everything is official. (Due to the challenge of long distance learning and poor access to lecture presentations, this is actually a factor. I have two weeks until the end of the course though and then we'll know.)

Jason has been the best. This means that he won't be applying to all of the programs he would have if I weren't going to dental school. Minnesota has been good to us in so many ways albeit cold. We are confident that things will work out for him, either in obtaining a residency there or getting a good position. As excited as I am about being accepted, I am starting to realize that this is definitely not the easy way through life. However, it's a good choice for us and will open many opportunities for us to grow, learn and serve.