Arrived

Two long days of driving and we finally arrive in Utah at our new home Wednesday evening.

Wade unloaded and unpacked what he could help me with and this afternoon he headed in for a little bit of hard work.

I asked the kids tonight at dinner what they liked most about the new house. Here are their answers:

Gage: back & front yard and that we have a playroom now

Noah: refrigerator and the ceiling fan in mom and dad's room

Avery: that we can have a pet pig

Eli: ba-bas (his brothers)

Interesting answers to say the least. Obviously we are not getting a pet pig, so Avery might end up a little disappointed. I'm still unsure why Noah likes the refrigerator, it's the same one we had in Washington, just black.

I'm busy unpacking, organizing and getting our home set up. I'll have to post more about our move next week.

Sunday Photo .25

We thought it would be fun to do one last Sunday Photo as a family in front of our house before we leave.

And since we got a chance to take a peek this week, we thought we better include the WHOLE family.

(You might have to click on the picture to check out the news)

Graduation

Too many years of undergrad to admit.

4 long years of medical school.

and 3 grueling years of residency.

All completed.

This afternoon Wade graduated residency!

Wade and his director.

We had a nice lunch at the Fircrest Golf Club and had a couples short speeches about how great of a guy Wade is.

(Of course, I already know this.)

 The girls at the office got Wade a very nice long white coat with his name embroidered on it.

There were lots of other gifts too.  All of which made Wade feel very uncomfortable.  

He never has liked being the center of attention.  

This gift had to be one of his favorite.  

Swedish Fish.  

His absolute favorite.

Here I am with the handsome doctor!

And on our way out the door I tried to get a few more pictures, but Wade had had enough attention.  He said it was his graduation day and all he wanted was to relax and have the camera put away.  I managed to sneak in one last picture, which I happen to think is the very best!

We really appreciate everyone who came today, the gifts and kind words.  Wade's parents, his sister Judy, his sister Pam, her husband Ed, and their son Hunter all drove all the way out from Utah.  My parents came and so did our friends Doug and Courtney.  Wade might not like the attention, but I know he really appreciated all the kind words from the doctors and the work that the staff put into this day.  One attending even came by our house to visit with him this morning because he couldn't make it to the lunch.

Wade has worked with some excellent people here in Tacoma and considers a lot of his colleagues his friends.

When I asked him if he felt good about graduation being over, he said,

"Sure.  I'm just ready to move on and get going with this next stage."

Bring it on.

~

I do have some  favorite memories of residency.  The first is a funny one I will never forget -  can be found here.  And the second, makes me smile every time I remember Wade coming home and telling me the story.  You can read it here.  This story is the exact reason I know Wade will always be a success full doctor.  He takes time. He cares about his patients.  I've seen him toss, turn and lose sleep over patients he cares about.  He is humble and really can't stand all this crazy attention, but it's all true.

He's great.

He's good at what he does and he is going to rock!

Congratulations Wade.

We all love ya!

{Washington}

It's hard to believe that we've been here four years.  And our time here is done.

2008

The boys and I moved here in August of 2008.  Wade was gone and moving month to month for different rotations.  I was pregnant with Avery.  One of the young women I knew in Iowa drove with me the Iowa-Utah leg of the journey and then my sister Kathy drove from Utah to Washington with me.

We moved into a tiny little 2 bedroom apartment in University Place.

About a month later we found out it was infested with fleas.  

We lived there about 8 months and the complex bombed and sprayed the place so many times that I was positive Avery would be born with an arm coming out her head or 20 toes.  They would disappear for a few weeks and then be back again.  We never figured out where they were coming from, but they loved to bite poor little Gage.

After four long months Wade finally moved home in October.

We found out Avery was a girl!

We went to the beach a lot.

Gage took classes at the Lakewood YMCA.  We made great friends there.

We did preschool at home  It was a blast.

Wade worked his bum off "impressing" the program here so he could get the one very sought-after residency spot.

2009

We started off 2009 on the right foot by finally moving OUT of the flea apartment and in with my parents.

Wade finished up his time at Tacoma General as a student.

Avery Ann joined our family.

He took boards, interviews and waited for match day to tell us for sure we would be here another 3 years.

Sure enough we matched.

2 Months of rotations in Utah.

Med School graduation.

Back to Washington to find a house.  Looking back it's such a blessing that every single offer we bid on houses fell through.  We would have never been able to re-sell and would have lost a lot of money.  We were blessed when we found our nice little 3 bedroom house the weekend before Wade started work.

The last part of 2009 was a little rough.

Residency life began.

We never saw Wade again ;)

I mowed my first lawn.

My Dad was diagnosed with colon cancer.

Gage started kindergarten.

Noah surprised us with a febrile seizure and a trip to the ER.  We thought he had outgrown them.

Things were busy.

My mom went in for an out patient surgery and ended up in ICU for 2 weeks, the same time Wade found out that his program would be shutting down and we didn't know what exactly that would mean for our future.  And the same week I found out (SURPRISE!) I was pregnant with Eli.

We were all glad when New Years Eve came, Mom came home, and the year was over.

2010

We were determined to have a better year.

We weighed the options, prayed and fasted and decided that despite the program was shutting down we would stay.  Wade would be the last resident.  

Being the last and only one for a while has had it's pros and cons.

Looking back Wade says he still would have stayed.

We tried to adjust to residency life.

I watched another little boy at home.  The boys still miss him.

We spent time at the beaches.  Wade fished.  And clammed.

We found out we were having another boy!

We made it back to Utah that summer.

We camped in our own backyard.

Avery had febrile seizures.

Eli Owen joined us in August.

Six of us now!

Gage started first grade.

Wade trucked on as a resident.

The rest of us held on for the ride.

2011

Busy family life.

Avery turned 2.

Gage turned 7.

Eli and I got a few days in the Florida sun while Wade was at a work conference.

(no need to reinvent the pages, I did these at the end of the year)

Summer finally came.

We went to Idaho for a Bullard family reunion.

The boys played soccer.

Avery became a fashion diva.

Eli turned 1.

Wade became the lonely-only resident.

We made it back to Utah and the boys all went on their first hunt.

Gage started 2nd grade.

Noah started preschool.

Noah turned 5.

Legos took over our house.

We spent Thanksgiving in Ocean Shores with my parents.

Wade has never got enough fishing and clam digging.

Being the only resident meant Wade got all the cases he wanted, but also means lots and lots of hours.

And it left me contemplating "accidentally" shooting the pager.

We spent another Christmas here.  With the pager attached to our hip.

That made four Christmas' in a row here Washington.  

(We are looking forward to finally one in Utah next year.)

2012

Job hunts

Interviews

Traveling

Call schedule.

Avery turned 3.  She has her own sense of style.

Gage turned 8 and was baptized.

Noah had two more seizures and two ambulance rides.  One landing him in the hospital over night and on anti-seizure medication.

Wade accepted a job offer in Utah.

After 7 long years, he finally gets to move home!

Noah graduated from preschool.

We celebrated our 12 year anniversary.

Just in time we found a new (bigger!) house.

Tomorrow Wade will graduate residency.

Monday we load the truck.

Tuesday we leave.

It seems like yesterday we just got here.

We've met amazing people and made the best friends.

Washington will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Last Day of School!

Today was Gage's last day of second grade!  

He was so excited for today, he loves the last day of school assembly and told us he couldn't wait for the "dance off" competition.  He even showed us some moves he had been practicing last night.

Northwood has been a perfect school for Gage the past three years.  I love the small family feel.  There are only two classes in each grade and it's very easy to know every single kid by name.  A lot of the staff even know Noah, Avery and Eli.  

When I look at Gage I don't see a big kid, but then I pull out pictures like this and I am blown away!  

When did Gage get so big?

(first day of kindergarten, last day of second grade)

Yesterday Gage brought home his running club card.  Running club meets every spring two days a week during one recess.  They run laps around the playground and keep track of how far they go.  Gage said his goal this year was to beat last year and collect 4 cards.  (Last year he collected 3.)  He said on the very last day he finally completed it and make it to 4 cards.  He can a total of 21.25 miles this spring!

He was one of the farthest distance runners for the primary grade kids that participated in running club!  

I'm pretty sure he could out run me by 20 miles. 

As a second grader Gage also got to participate in the chess club this year.  

He loves to play chess with Wade.

Gage has had a great teacher this year.  She had to leave early today so I didn't get a picture with her, but we have loved her.  She is patient and kind and fair.

Last week on early out Wednesday we had a little get together for Gage and Noah and invited some of their friends to a park in our neighborhood.  It was a cold afternoon, but the kids didn't care.  Everyone had a fun time running around and playing.  I had my camera but didn't take a single picture!  Both boys have made some awesome friends here in Washington.  We are really going to miss them all.

Our new school next year is big, new and HUGE, and we are excited for a new adventure, but I sure will miss all our Northwood friends.

{Forks}

It only took me four years, but I finally made it to Forks!  I think the whole twilight-vampires are cool phase has passed, but the city is still going strong.

Since we were all starving our first stop was finding a place to eat.  Nothing like a greasy local hamburger joint to get us through.

And of course, I had to order the Bella Burger and fries.

They even came with vampire teeth!  That everyone had to try on.

Wade is the best vampire.

Then after lunch we went to the chamber of commerce to check out Bella's truck and get a map of the town.

Team Jacob?

Or Team Edward?

Just so everyone knows...I am TOTAL team Jacob.  Always have been, always will be.  

And Wade can make fun of me forever because of it.

 After the chamber of commerce we drove around the town a little bit and then headed home.  But not without stopping by the city sign so I could pull a little Vanna White pose with my vampire teeth.

Wade asked me if Forks was all I hoped it would be.  Of course.  There wasn't much, but it was fun.  What else could I expect out of a town of 3,000?

And now my Washington Bucket List is almost complete!  

{Dungeness Spit}

Saturday we went to the Dungeness Sand Spit.  There was about a half a mile hike down to the beach. The kids had a good time running along the path.  We finally came around a corner and down a hill to find the beach!

There is a lighthouse at the very end of the spit, but it is a five mile walk, so we decided throwing rocks and playing in the driftwood was the way to go!

 The boys found an awesome fort someone had left in the driftwood.

Once we got Eli away from throwing rocks in the water, he and Avery had a great time playing in the sand, finding feathers and building with rocks.

 Avery took this great picture of us. I love that I'm at this awkward "is she just fat or pregnant" stage.

Wade liked this beach because he could walk and walk on it, but he says he still enjoyed exploring the tide pools. But this was by far my favorite beach out of the two.  I loved the sand spit because I could sit and relax and the kids could run, play and explore without me worrying about them falling, tripping or getting hurt.  We could also see Port Angeles on one side, large boats go by and Mount Baker on the other side.  

Pretty awesome stuff!

{Salt Creek Recreation Area}

Friday morning we headed out to explore some tide pools at the Salt Creek Recreation Area.  It was a pretty awesome park and we even had sunshine!  The tide was out when we got there, but on it's way in.

The kids had an awesome time exploring.  

We saw lots of sea life and interesting rocks. 

This picture is one of my favorite of Avery.

Apparently when the tide is all the way out you can walk all the way out to the island.  We weren't that lucky, but we still had fun.

Wade showed everyone a tiny baby crab that was crawling around.  Eli was so sad and cried when we wouldn't let him pick it up!

We attempted to get a good family picture.  I wanted to have something of us in front of the ocean before we leave.  I have no idea why this is such a hard task for my family.  But it's worse than pulling teeth!  We probably took a hundred or two pictures and this was the only decent one that I liked.

I played around with some filters and I like the one below.  Wade likes the one above.  I still think we'll have to get some real pictures taken sometime this year by a professional.  Sigh.

This was Wade's favorite beach out of the two we went too.  He said he could have spent all day out there looking around and climbing on the rocks.