:~) :~) :~) :~) :~)

WIND, WEATHER, CAMPING . . . . . . . I'm goin *hope no trees fall on us

Med Schools, Izzy, and more

Definitely excited about the interviews, especially UW. You just amaze me sometimes - how do you manage to make a "new" friend at an "interview", and get an invite to stay with him (her?) Speaking of which - tell me more about MJ - how did you guys hook up for an apartment? (and the moving thing - LOL - just that the time frame was so tight with the wedding things going - not a relaxed pace. But then what would you do with us for more than a couple of hours anyway :)
And those little Izzy smiles - just be prepared to work for them. She might be feeling generous, or she might not, LOL. You will be amazed at how she's grown - right Morgan ? Morgan is such a natural mom, it suites her well.
And . . . the mommy thing - we both obviously saw her in a slightly different light (the poor lost soul). The interaction of all the characters was interesting. Wonder how he did his research. m-m-m-m. Maybe we should start a book club and discuss the finer points of the subject matter. Obviously I would be way behind you cuz I am a slow reader (but then your sch. can be very full, so we may be even). Anyway - if you have any suggestions for good reading, I need a book.
Have a great week. LOVE - the _ _ _ _ _ LOL

I Need to Remember...

So it would seem that us three may be the only ones who really do this consistantly, but with that said, I totally forgot about it for a week or two here. So I need to remember to keep writing.

It sounds like mostly good things from the rest of you. Morgan, I'm sorry you have to start back to the 40 hr/week routine. I would imagine that not being with Izzi all the time would be the hardest part. I need to get home soon so I can see her smile/laugh more, definitely haven't seen enough yet. Mom, what do you mean moving me in was a whirlwind? You helped pack up the truck. You make it sound like you did all the work lol. Last year you could definitely make that comment but I don't know about this year. And I'm glad you got through the book and liked it. I told you that some of the story was going to be a little different for you. Connie can certainly borrow it assuming I do get it back. You can be my enforcer if she holds on to it for too long.

On my end of things, I'm trying to figure out an appropriate balance between my jobs and my life. A couple weeks ago I was at about 80 hrs and then last week I was back to like 40. I need to be putting in 40 at the hospital but then figuring out how many shifts a week I want to work at Paisan's is difficult. Especially since I do not have many permanent shifts there so I end up taking other peoples' shifts. I usually have to do that weeks in advance so if I'm having a tough week and want a night off from Paisan's, sometimes I just can't b/c I had to take the shift when it was there earlier.

Life in the new apartment is really good. MJ and I get along very well and besides the plethora of spiders, I really like the place.

Med school stuff...almost nothing has changed since I last wrote on here except...UW offered me an interview today which although expected is very excited. So thus far I'm 3 for 5 on getting interviews at schools which is great. I think at this point last year I had had one interview and a bunch of no's. I didn't have a total of three interviews until middle of January last year so I'm way ahead of the game. My Wake Forest interview is next Friday, so that's coming up fast. I'm flying out there on Thursday, staying with a friend I made during my interview at St. Louis last year, and then coming back Saturday. UW interview is October 1st and Ohio State is the 27th of October. So I'm definitely excited for all of these. Hopefully I can just get accepted to Wake Forest to get the monkey off my back and then just keep it going from there.

I'll probably end up calling some of yous in the next few days. So keep an eye on your phones :-). Love you all.

We Are Family

Well, family, this is going well, isn't it :) Must be things I don't understand about blogs, I thought the whole family was in it - or only if they accepted invitation ? I got an invitation (in my regular mail) from some Jane chick. How did she get my e-mail ? Even Eric's came in through my junk mail list. I'm such a dinasaur :)
Camped this weekend - only because Jaime was able to grandma duty - (pudding, now that's a thought-just kidding) Was good to be out again. Looking forward to upcoming weekends as well.
Eric - finished your book. Almost put it down in the first couple chapters, but I stuck with it, because I really enjoyed the writing style. Very humorous. Just had to get use to the basic subject matter-interesting. I liked all the main characters, and the Mommy character. Some real insight in her insanity. Not the usual kind of ending I normally come across either. If you aren't in a hurry for it back, and you don't mind, Connie wants to borrow it. Won't go anywhere til I hear from you. LOVE-the mommy :)

Cars & Dinners & Work, Oh My!

Last week was hectic! Jason & I decided to look for a different vehicle for me; an SUV rather than a car. I loved my Malibu but it was pretty tough to get baby things in & out of & still have room for anything else. I think we looked at every make & model out there before deciding on the Equinox. Brought home our new car on Saturday, loving it already.

Monday night Jason took me out for a Mother Appreciated dinner, which was so sweet he wanted to say thank you out of the blue. Friday night was a birthday dinner for our friend at a Japenese steakhouse which is always fun & delicious. Last night I took Jason's cousins out to The Melting Pot (fondue) as a thank you for babysitting a few weeks for us this summer. Again fun & delicious!

Work was busy last week as new projects came in & people are looking to get building yet this fall. Not to mention the construction going on in the front of our building since we had to replace our front wall because of a new driver crashing into it a few weeks back. Today & tomorrow are my last days off of summer w/ Izzi :( Next week I'm back to a regular 40hr work week. I will be sad to miss my extra days w/ her but hopefully I'll adjust quickly.

Izzy, med school, THE Boys

*Izzy keeps me laughin, that's for sure. She makes me laugh when she is laughing. I think I laugh harder when I'm trying to make her laugh and all she gives me is that blank sober stare !!
*My week has been busy too !! Helping Eric move is always a whirlwind experience. Actually, most of our time together ends up a whirlwind, but I LOVE the HUGS (you must get that from me). So when are these interviews ? Which one, when ?
* THE Boys - always an adventure. Nicholas was flying over the fields on their BIG 4 wheeler the other day. Keith had it slowed down so he could only go so fast, but still, he was so little on that honkin 4 wheeler. And poor Hayden wanted to drive it too, he said he WAS bigger like Nicholas. Growing up is SO hard. Being grown up is harder still.
* Got a 3 hr ride in today at Machickenee Forest. Lots of mud and water trails from all the rains. Plenty of mosquitos too. LET THE RIDING/CAMPING SEASON BEGIN !! I LOVE FALL.

The Move to and from Madison

So to continue where I left off...

I did go ahead and sign a lease on an apartment before I left for camp. It seemed pretty nice and had some character. And when I say that, I mean it actually did have some nice things about it; it's not just a nice way to say it was crappy. I now have all my stuff moved in but it is not unpacked in any ways. It's been such a busy week since getting back from camp that I haven't had time. So I need to work on that and get settled in but I am really happy with my new apartment. Easily the best apartment I've had while living in Madison.

Camp was amazing. I spent a little over a week up in Eagle River at camp and loved every second of it. It had been two years since I had gotten to work up there and three years since I had seen this group of campers. I got up there during their evening program on the first night and was greeted with lots of hugs from both staff and campers. That was one thing I'll miss a lot about camp considering you can get a hug 24/7. Everyone there is so welcoming and loving. It's sad the whole world doesn't work like camp does. But highlights from camp: I learned to wakeboard (think surfing while being pulled by a boat), a very crazy, inappropriate nurse, and maybe a little bit of a love interest (unfortunately she goes to school in Denver).

Work is more or less the same. The guy who was training my at the hospital did leave so I'm on my own now which is good and bad. I like being fully independent and I like being the one people have to come to now but I still want someone to go to with questions also. Paisan's is the same as always. I think I'm going to start putting my application out there and maybe pick up a different job to replace some hours at Paisan's.

Only other real new bit of info I can think of is my medical school hunt. Thus far I've heard back from four schools. Two have given me the boot (Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and Pritzker in Chicago). I would've loved these two schools, especially since they give scholarships to cover either half or all of medical school, but they are very competitive schools and it's not surprising I wasn't considered. The good news is Ohio State and Wake Forest have given me interviews. I don't know much about Wake Forest but I'm excited to go to North Carolina. And I'm definitely excited for Ohio State.

Talk to you all soon. Love you.

I'll take Dare

Mom, you already know most of my business but I'll participate. We've had more rain/storms this yr than any summer I can remember & several of my poor friends have had flooded basements on more than 1 occassion. Ours usually stays pretty dry but sometimes we get a little water on the floor too. I discovered the reason why now; a small hole/leak near the bottom of one of our walls!!! hopefully Jason can patch it up pretty easily. The only good thing about all this bad weather is Jason has been getting lots of overtime. I'm stashing as much of the extra $$ away as I can towards building a house some day. Right now we need to get our attic insulated though before the cold sets in again.

Izzi is growing so fast; already 4-1/2 months!!!! She loves to practice standing up & Jason thinks she will be walking before anything else. I'm going to hold out for her to roll over 1st. She'll be going to her new babysitter on Sept 1st since Taylor will be going back to school. That also means I'll be back at work 5 days/wk :( I will miss my extra time w/ my baby girl.

Truth or Dare

Tell me the truth . . . am I not doing this right * OR * I DARE you all to participate. I am a very social person and need human contact . . . please !! **I've just been a busy little beaver working, mom care, had my boys (not my baby boy) all day Friday. Breakfast out was an enlightening experience. Accomplished a couple errands (Nana's loose a few of their children skills with age), created a magic rock aquarium. Fed the cats. Nicholas carried 2 bags of cat food to the barn for me, getting there just before they slipped out from under his arms !! Hayden loves to stand in front of the stall door until Kevin leans down to smell and touch his head. **Campfire, potluck, and all the margaritas we could drink at our annual Riding Club campfire, potluck, all the margaritas you can drink, get together. ** Back to Nana skills 7am Sat. with Miss Elizabeth. Maybe my Nana skills are improving with practice - she smiles and talks to me now instead of crying . . . . . or . . . . . she has simply gotten past my strangeness and accepted the fact she's stuck with me, I'm family. ** more lawn cutting - yippee. ** Jim talked about going to see the tall ships in the harbor Sunday - think I'll hold him to it . . . if not, I'll just have to go shopping with the girls - oh hurt me. Actually, it does hurt - I do not shop any more, as my wardrobe can attest to. Signing off . . . Love ya all, take care.

Making Family Memories

Got to make Grandma Samson's favorite "Calico"Bean Recipe with her Tues. We danced around each other in the kitchen for 20 min. and all she got done was 2 tsp of vinegar in the bowl - LOL - ya just gotta laugh. Took her & Julie to have their hair done - lookin good ! All the little critters at work were NOT happy to see me. I'm so glad to go home to my kitties, Ace, Six, "Miss Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy"(from 'Pride & Prejudice'), and Kevin who LOVES me, for the food I provide only. No running marithons for me - the mosquitos just carry me - haha. Actually, they have me running so fast I could actually compete - for about . . . .m-m-m-m-m-m no, never mind.

Getting It Right

As I said to Lori Beth . . . . it will be a MIRACLE if I get this right - try, try again ! This is a test message. Testing, Testing. Good Grief. Yeh, go ahead and laugh, I'm from the dinasaur age, don't ya think I know it :( It will be great fun !!

Time flies

We hosted our traditional Hamburger Days party this past Saturday & this year I actually got to see the hot air balloon rally night glow, which was beautiful. Labor Day is just around the corner though so I'm trying to enjoy every moment I have left of summer & working part time since I'll be going back full time after that :( Wish I could stay part time forever.

Izzi is 4months old already! She just had her checkup today & the Dr. said she looks great. She's on the small side (about the 20 percentile), but she started out small so no surprise there. The worst part about these checkups is the shots because no mother can stand to see her child in pain. She did pretty well though only crying for a few minutes.

Good Ole' Georgia Life

Hello Everyone!
I first want to start off by saying, Eric this is such a great idea! I love it! As for life down here in Dallas, Georgia...well it's been busy. I started my ASP (after school program) job on Friday and I love it. I love hanging out with the kids! I work with the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. We play dodgeball and kickball and get to do some cool science experiments. I start my student teaching in 4th grade on August 16th, so I am looking forward to that as well. Life is full of busy days right now in the Smith household. Jared is all into his biking these days. He biked 42 miles the other day. His dad and him are training for a sprint triathlon. As for me, I am still trying to train for my half-marathon but thanks to Georgia weather, its so stinking hot, I can't find time to run except at 7 AM in the morning. I don't wake up that early in the summer so running has been MIA the past few weeks. I plan on stepping into gear this week and getting my training in before ASP at 2 PM. As for that, nothing new. Just been trying to get some last minute things done before my life is consumed by kids Monday-Friday. I am ready to graduate and have my own classroom. Well, I better get back to work. Talk to you all later! Love you!

To Get Things Started

So this week is a very interesting one for me. But to explain it, I have to let you know about next week. I will be working at the summer camp that I have in the past next week. This is important because I will be up there starting Sunday and going to the 15th which is a day after I need to move out of my apartment. So this all leads to me having to move out this week. In fact, I will be moving out tomorrow. This story becomes even more interesting when you consider the fact that I do not have an apartment for next year signed yet. So I've been spending a lot of this week packing and searching for apartments.

I do think that I finally found a couple apartments that my roommate and I like. Now we just have to pick one.

I also have the annual Seymour Canning Company Golf Outing on Saturday. This is kind of a joke among many of the families that lived on Woodside Dr in town. It's always a good time and we get to hang out on Lake Shawano after the golfing. Cody, Keith, Bob, and I are a team and we decided to dress like bandits since we are unofficially sponsered by Fritos. So we are Los Fritos Banditos. We have sombreros and cap guns. Should be fun.

And I will be home Sunday for most of the day so I plan on seeing most of you then.

Welcome :-)

Hey everyone so as I said in the invite, I was hoping we could all use this to stay better connected. So hopefully this catches on with all of us.