We Love to See the Temple

I changed the layout of our blog. . . again. Not because I didn't like the old one, but because it's summertime outside and I wanted something bright and colorful for this season on our blog. This is the last change I'll make for a while. . . I promise!

Last week for Family Home Evening, Brad suggested that we go up to the temple and walk around the grounds. As we walked around our beautiful temple on the hill, we talked about why we love the temple.

Brad said he loves the temple because it is a total escape from the world. He said once he's inside, nothing even remotely reminds him of anything worldly and he can think on a higher plane. I said I love the temple because it has made it possible for us to be a family forever. Alaina oohed and aahed and jabbered and growled, which I'm sure means she loves the temple too.

It was such a beautiful sunset! You just can't beat Idaho skies. I've travelled a lot, and I've never seen a more beautiful sunset than the one that evening at the temple. Here are some pictures we took.

Look-alike Meter

I thought this was kinda fun. We've had a running debate about who Alaina looks like more. I guess this settles it! No, if we had done different pictures, I think the results could have been very different. She's got a lot of both of us in her!

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

It's Official

After a very long and stressful process, we have officially decided to attend the University of Washington for Medical School. Hooray! Brad called Creighton University this week to tell them he won't be part of their entering class in the Fall. We'll always hold a special place in our hearts for Creighton because they were so great to Brad, but Washington is where we need to be. We couldn't be more thrilled!

(University of Washington Medical School, Seattle)

Because Idaho doesn't have a Medical School, University of Washington has a program that places their Idahoan first-year Medical students in Moscow, Idaho. It's called the WWAMI program. Idaho students also pay the same tuition as Washington residents. Brad will be taking his courses at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Washington (about 10 minutes from Moscow). So we'll be in Moscow for a year, then head up to the UW campus in Seattle.

We heard yesterday that we were able to get into subsidized housing in Moscow. Yay! We hear it's a really nice complex where a lot of student-families live. It's a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment and the complex has a playground and a clubhouse. We're really excited. Brad's classes start August 15, so we will be moving August 1.

(Our apartment floor plan and exterior, Moscow Idaho)

I'm so proud of Brad! All the hard work he has put in over the past few years is really starting to pay off. I never doubted he would be accepted into Medical School, but there were times when we wondered how it would all come about. We needn't have worried. Now we have strong testimonies that the Lord is guiding us along. We simply had to do everything we could to make things happen, and exercise faith that things would turn out for the best. Though it was hard sometimes, we did our best and now we are so blessed. We're so thankful things turned out the way they did!

UW, here we come!

A Little Bit of Random

I have a few random things I want to write about this week, so bear with me if this post seems a bit disjointed.

I don't know if there is anything more random than Rexburg weather. Last week temperatures were in the 40's. Today it's 85. We have officially skipped Spring in Rexburg this year. We went straight from Winter to Summer. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to be done with this year's freeze-out, but I'm a little sad we skipped Spring. I love Spring. So, I've decided to find Spring this year in a couple of personal rituals I do every year.

Lainy and I have been reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It's one of my most favorite books. I read it every Spring (or if I'm longing for Spring) because it's all about treasuring life. Lainy has been surprisingly good while I read to her. I pull it out when she's almost ready for her nap, and she just sits in my lap and listens. Maybe it's because she's teething and just enjoys the cuddle time, but maybe (hopefully) I'm helping her gain a love of good books.

My second ritual is Spring Cleaning. There's something about the new fresh air outside that makes me want to freshen up everything in my house. This year I've made a goal to organize all our closets. We moved into this apartment 2 weeks before Lainy was born, and I've never gotten around to really organizing things after the move. Here is the first closet I completed last week.

The warm weather has drawn us outside for the first time in 8 months. We go on at least one walk a day to soak in the sun. Lainy loves being outside! Unfortunately, we have discovered that Alaina has inherited my fair skin instead Brad's easily-tanned-skin. She got a little sunburn from being outside for about ten minutes last week. Poor girl!

When we're not reading books, cleaning, or outside, Lainy can be found trying her hardest to crawl. She tries and tries to move, but just hasn't figured it out yet. She's actually really close. She just needs to pick her belly up off the floor and she'd be ready to go. Instead she pushes up on her hands and strains and whines and reaches. . . and hardly moves. Maybe she'll get it down soon. We'll keep you posted!

I just have to include one more thing. Lainy has started really protesting when she doesn't get her way. She makes a hilarious face too. Brad and I call it the pirate face. See for yourself!

A Mother's Day Post

Well, our blog is officially private so we can post whatever we want on here! Thank you all for still visiting.

I'm sorry if you're tired of cheesy, sentimental thoughts about Mother's Day. I'll try not to be too corny, but I thought it might be a neat thing for me to write a few things now that I have been a Mom for 8 months and 10 days. So, without further ado, this is what I have learned so far about being a Mother:

• It is much harder than it looks
• As my Grandma Dye says, you don't need television when you have a baby to watch for entertainment
• It makes me feel better to cry right a long with Alaina when she gets hurt
• My own mom is simply incredible (I knew that before, but I understand it better now that I'm a mom)
• I understand the love Heavenly Father has for me (and all of His children) in a way I couldn't fathom before becoming a parent
• The better mother I try to be, the better person I become
• Every day holds exciting new things, whether it's as small as a cute giggle or as big as crawling for the first time
• It's the best thing in the world!

Going Private

We've talked about making our blog private for a while, and what better time than now? We haven't had any scares, we just want to know exactly who is visiting our blog so we don't have to worry about what we post on here. I think I have most of your email addresses, but just to be sure, send an email to me at traci_024@hotmail.com. If you will do that, I'll make sure you are added to our guest list. We'll make the change to a private blog a week from today (Saturday, May 10). Sorry for the hassle, but thanks for visiting us!