He Did It!

It's been a very busy summer over here at Casa de Smith. So much has happened and I'm painfully close to becoming so behind on my blog that I've considered giving it up altogether. However, like so many others, I will not quit (yes, Anisha, I'm looking at you)! You're welcome.

Aside from the fact that I know that there are fives to tens of you out there who find my life absolutely riveting and cannot wait for another post, this is pretty much my journal right now and I figure I should keep it up. If for no other reason than so that when my kids grow up and whine about the crappy childhood they had, I can pull up the blog and say things like "we visited a cranberry bog" and "I potty trained you" and "I didn't murder you for coloring on the walls with sharpie". You know, important stuff like that.

Usually, when I get this far behind I have a hard time deciding where to start again. This time though, it's easy. The moment we've all been waiting for finally happened...(drum roll)...

Justin graduated residency!!!!!!

That's right! He's done (well, except for fellowship)! He passed his boards and is now a board certified, totally legit, doesn't-have-to-say-resident-anymore, doctor! We began the celebrating by going out to a fancy dinner, just the two of us:

While we were at dinner, Justin gave me a gorgeous (and totally unexpected) diamond necklace to let me know he appreciated my support and love. He told me he couldn't have done it without me. This journey has been rough at times for both of us. I cannot say how much I appreciate and love that he acknowledged that it was a team effort. We've grown so much together throughout this experience and I'm more in love with him than ever (diamonds aside). I'm married to a great guy - the best guy, if you ask me.

For his graduation, we had my parents, Justin's dad, and Justin's sister come to visit. We had a great time. We got to meet our new nephew, Xander, and get to know our niece, Abby, better. It was fun times hanging out with the Smith cousins. (As usual, I am pretty much the worst when it comes to taking pictures.)
This series with Sammie and Xander cracks me up though:

We travelled as a pack and our van was crowded! Packed to capacity (I'm glad we got the one that seats 8!)

It was a great weekend. It all culminated in Justin's graduation ceremony. For graduation, they do a nice event with appetizers, drinks, a sit down dinner, yummy dessert, slide shows, awards, and speeches. I loved sitting at the head table with Justin, I was so proud to be there next to him. Justin was given an award for being an exemplary teacher to interns and med students (which is something he loves and is really good at).

Each resident is asked to give a little speech. There are a few things about Justin's that I particularly loved: 1. He asked me to stand next to him. (When each resident is called to receive their certificate, their significant other is called to stand and be recognized too. However, when the resident gives their speeches, most significant others stand in the background. Justin had me stand next to him. We're a team. Love him.) 2. He danced. Not only did he dance, he called one of his old attendings out of the crowd to dance with him. He taught her how to booty bounce. I know that there is video evidence of this somewhere. Dad, Missy, if one of you have the video, please send it to me and I'll post it. It really deserves to be seen.
He totally rocked the three piece suit to graduation. Handsome devil.

I didn't bring a camera to graduation. I should probably try to get some pictures that other people took there but I haven't attempted that yet. This is one that my dad took. Not sure what Justin's doing, but look at how yummy my chocolate cake looks!

There are a thousand little details that I'm missing about graduation, but the short story is: my man is an official doctor now. He did it. We did it. I am so proud of him. One more year of fellowship and then it's off to the real world for us (I'll do a post about that in a few months when we've decided where we're going).

Love you Just. You're pretty much the most amazing person I know.

Sledding

Yesterday was the first year resident retreat. That's when all the first year residents take a little break from work to talk, unwind, and have a little fun. They ended up retreating to a cabin on a lake in Michigan. At lunchtime, the families were invited to come and join the group for lunch and afternoon snow fun!

The boys had been really looking forward to 'retreating'. They had no idea what it was but it meant a half day of school for Clayton and a mysterious adventure so they were super excited. When we got there, they played in the cabin while we waited for lunch. They had foosball, ping pong, toys, board games, and snacks! For lunch the interns (a.k.a. - first year residents) made us pizza! It was actually really good. Some of those guys may have missed their callings...

After lunch, we had s'mores and then it was time for the main event...SLEDDING! The boys were really excited to sled. I knew that Noah would love it for sure, but I was worried about Clayton. He had a bad experience sledding about 3 years ago and that has kept him from sledding since. He'll watch, but never particiaptes. This year was different though! He got so into it! He and Noah crashed once and still they got back up and kept sledding. Clayton even tried the super fast purple sled and ended up going farther than the designated hill. Justin and several other people had to chase him down past the barrier to get him. I thought for sure that was going to be the end for him, but he just decided that he was done with the purple sled and kept sledding on the slower orange sleds. I was pretty proud of him!
Noah is such a daredevil. He would go down the hill backward, forward, and upsidedown.
I love that they would haul their own sleds back up the hill. They would bring their sleds back up to the top and immediately go back down. The weather was PERFECT for sledding - not too cold.
I had also worried about how Josie would like it. I shouldn't have worried. She loved it just as much as the rest of us did!
She loved going down the sled with Daddy. Every time she had to wait at the top of the hill, she would sneak into an empty sled and try to go down the hill. It was pretty cute. At one point, Justin did send her down alone. It made my heart stop for a minute, but she did great! She didn't fall out or cry or anything!
Having Daddy drag you back up the hill after your run is all part of the fun!
Let's not forget the brave (or, if you prefer, crazy) residents. They would 'snowboard' down the hill on the sleds, try to hit one another with snowballs as they were sledding or returning, pack as many people on one little sled as possible, etc. They were making me laugh for sure! It was very entertaining.
It was a pretty perfect afternoon. We could have done this all day! Clayton and Noah have both decided that 'retreating' is awesome. I couldn't agree more!