End of '09 / Start of '10

To send off 2009 Derek, my dad, and I started the day off with golfing! It was my first time ever and I actually enjoyed it very much! Derek and my dad have been golfing a lot during his time off but I had never tried it. A fun random side note is that there was mistletoe growing in the trees all around..it made for a very good photo op.






That evening for our New Years Eve celebration we had Dave Stockton and his fiancee, Shelly down to my parents house for a night of games and hanging out. My parents went to a party so it was just the four of us for a nice relaxing evening. We started the evening with the boys having beer and cigars out in the jacuzzi while us girls sat inside by the fire with champagne for girl chat time. Afterward, we all played the board game Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus and had a blast. (The girls won of course!) It was a great way to bring in the new year with good fun and great friends.











The following day, January 1st, we flew up to Oregon for Derek's interview at OHSU. Very convieniently we had to change planes in Oakland and my grandma was on the flight with us from San Diego! We flew Southwest and to our surprise they offer free drinks on holidays. So we all three had a bloody mary (their New Years Day free drink) together!




We dropped my grandam off at the baggage claim in Oakland and continued onto the next plane for our last leg. In Oregon we stayed with my girl friend from high school (Kristen Schwartzentraub - now Baxter), her husband, and her cute two year old - Jack. They showed us all around the city, let us borrow their car, and took us to many yummy restaurants. We had a great time reconnecting and she did a great job of convincing us to live there! Thanks again for a wonderful time, Baxters!! Derek loved the program and the hospital. We also really loved the city.


After Derek's interview in Oregon we flew down to Oakland for his interview at Stanford. We stayed with my grandma Maxine and got to see Lauren and Stephanie for dinner. The day of Derek's interview I hung out with Janelle for a few hours while her sweet mom watched the girls so we could have quality "us" time. I don't think it's been just the two of us hanging out since before Belle was born! It was SUCH great catch up time and it made me miss our college roomate days! (Just the part about being able to see Janelle all the time!) After lunch we went back to the house and got to play with the girls. They are so adorable. Belle loved the treasure chest of jewelry I brought her and Juliette was smiling and cooing up a storm. I had an amazing time with them.




Derek is finally finished with all his interviews and now we have to rank them all in order of preference. The list is not due for about another month. We are still praying about what the exact order will be. We find out March 18th where we "match" and that will be where Derek will be doing his residency and where we will be living for at least the next 4 to 5 years! Please pray for us as we make this decision of ranking schools!