Year-to-date

I wish I was a good enough blogger to start out a post by saying, "this week..." but instead I have to start by saying, "this year...." Sorry guys, I'm not the best, but so far we've had a pretty eventful year. Well, eventful for a med school family that is. 

This year......

I went to visit my cute, mama of a sister and got to hold my sweet little nephew Bridger for the first time. I was the only one who hadn't seen him yet so I got a whole day's worth of first dibs on holding him. He was only 1 1/2 months and was soooo tiny. Now he's a little rolly poly of solid chunk and even more to die for!

Fun family get together for Bridger's blessing

Back home in Missouri, Jeff was very busy studying away and finishing up the school year. I could show you a picture of him in action, but it would just be a picture of the back of his head while he's sitting at his desk and I don't think anyone would appreciate that, especially Jeff.

But we were still able to sneak away and do some fun things this summer...

One night we went to Kansas City's new opera house and saw the Romeo and Juliet ballet. Jeff was soooooo excited to go, but this is the conversation we had as soon as it started.

"Hey Paige, aren't they going to talk in this?"

"Jeff, no, this is a ballet."

"Right. (Pause) How long is this going to last?"

What a trooper, and how lucky am I to have a husband not only willing to TAKE me to the ballet, but a husband that STAYS at the ballet once he realizes what he's gotten himself into.

We also went through a slight Jenga phase. We're all about quick games these days, and we had lots of fun with this one. I think our current record is 37 stories. 

In May the Kansas City Temple was dedicated. This was really the best experience. It is such an incredible temple, and it's really amazing the amount of pride you feel when you get to watch a temple being built just for you. I was asked to be a host for the open house, and it was so cool to be able to spend so much time there with people who know very little about the church. This temple was very well represented in the media, and we had a lot of great missionary opportunities as the open house was going on. President Monson came to dedicate it, and I especially loved seeing the youth's excitement to see the prophet in person for the first time. It was interesting how much the church focused on making this a great experience for the youth. One night, they closed off the temple to the general public and invited only the young women to come tour the temple. Being a YW leader, I got to walk with my group of girls through the bridal room and spend some extra time in the celestial room. The next time they will be back in those rooms, they will be going through the temple themselves and getting married. I was so lucky to be as involved as I was during the temple dedication, and it was one of those experiences I'll never forget.

My mom came this spring for a weekend visit. Jeff was busy with school, so it was just a mom/Paige weekend. She helped me make these curtains, aren't they so cute? My mom is so talented.

We also got lots of pictures of this cute baby. Don't you just want to coochie his cheeks?

 Before the heat hit, we had a couple bonfires and of course some s'mores! The lighter fluid in the corner kinda blows Jeff's boy scout pride. And once the heat DID hit, I just moved my s'more making inside.

We also discovered the best museum ever. It's pretty close to the school, so we've gone a few times after I've gotten done with work. This place is huge! It's a good place to spend the afternoon, and probably an even better place to be if there's a tornado.

We've also kept up our little walking tradition. We love to wander around the neighborhood by our house, and surprisingly we haven't gotten sick of it yet. Last year was so nice because we hardly had a winter, so we were able to walk pretty much year round. We love how green it is here, and it's also our way to squeeze in a little bit of time together.

Flowers and tomatoes! Ever since we moved in, I've been so anxious to use all the garden space our little house has. I tried starting some tomatoes and other things from seed and that was not very successful, so I ended up just buying little starter plants. I bought four tomato plants thinking that if I bought four, maybe two would live. And I bought two basil plants hoping one would live. And same with the bell peppers. I'm not sure if I've gotten past my "kill every living thing in sight" phase, or Missouri is just an easy place to grow stuff, but everything I planted just grew like crazy! And fast too! We had more tomatoes than we knew what to do with and so much basil that I smelled it instantly the moment I went outside. It was so fun! My flowers out in my front yard did great too! I'd like to say I am the lucky charm, but if I'm being honest with myself, it's because Missouri is awesome.

In July, we got to go to the lake with my family! It was the first time our whole family has been together in a long time, so it was fun to see everyone. And of course, Montana isn't a bad setting for a vacation!

And finally, the biggest news of the year......da da dahhhhh!!! We have a little munchkin of our very own on the way!!

We are counting down with excitement to February 17th! We can't wait to meet our new addition and start this new phase of our life together. We're a little anxious around here planning for upcoming baby chaos as well as preparing for Jeff's national boards coming shortly after the baby comes. But we know we will have a little help and everything will work out fine.

Jeff is going to be the best dad. Medical school is hard. Really hard. It takes its toll on Jeff and our family every day, but I've been so impressed this past year watching Jeff focus so intently on school, not for his own gain, but for the purpose of providing for our family and letting me be a stay-at-home mom. I feel so lucky to have him, and our sweet little baby will be lucky to have him too.

Blue or Pink? We'll find out September 17th. Take your guess!

Love and miss you all, hope everyone is happy and well!