We're Back....

Well we are back from our family vacay! We had a very enjoyable time! I will save you from many of the details, but we made many memories. Tyler and I also re-lived our own childhood as we watched our children enjoy the many things that make a vacation- going out to eat (more specifically, eating at McDonalds and playing), swimming at the motels, camping, playing in the dirt, staying up late, etc.

We toured 5 hospitals and the surrounding areas in Michigan and Ohio. We were highly impressed with what we saw. We are not favoring one area over another yet. I'm glad we have until October to make the decision on where we must go next summer. Until then... we are home doing laundry and Tyler is repacking to head off to Army Officer Training on Saturday until the end of July. (sniff... sniff... We already miss you!)

Swimming with Style

Long gone are the round little circle pools. We got this pool with all the extras for a cheap price at good ol' Wally World. The kids love it!

Looky Looky!!

I am now a mini-van mom! AAAHHH.... We are happy with it too! We got a 2005 Toyota Sienna. It is a dark gray. The van has power doors, sto-n-go seating in the back, and the back windows roll down. Tyler is in heaven with all the space. He felt so clausterphobic in our little car. Of course he will still be driving the our little Kia most of the time still though!

My Military Man!

There is just something about a man in a uniform....especially my man!

Tyler got all of his military clothing today in the mail. Tyler is so glad to be serving his country in such a peculiar way. The Health Professions Scholarship Program is a unique way to be in the Army. We have had no regrets in our decision and we know we were guided in making such a big decision. I tell ya' it's the way to go when you would be going $200,000-$300,000 into debt for school. 

(After we took the picture, we realized he had his name tag on the wrong side! Oops... that's what happens when you are new at this!)

Countdown to Summer!

4 more days of Finals.... I feel like we are in survival mode here. It seems like everyone is already enjoying their summers except us. Next week Tyler will be doing a week preceptorship (job-shadowing) here in Kirksville. The school usually requires 2 weeks in a very rural area away from here. Luckily after much diliberation, they excused the military students from doing the usual requirement. This allows us to have a 2 week vacation before Tyler leaves for the Army Officer Basic in Texas.

Our plans are to enjoy some R&R at home for a few days, then do 3 days of camping at Starved Rock State Park(click on it for the link) in Illinois, and then do a 3 day tour of Michigan and Ohio. Why Michigan and Ohio you may be thinking? Can you believe next summer we will be already moving again? Tyler will be doing his hospital rotations somewhere else for his 3rd and 4th years. The school has several sites all over the nation, but we've narrowed it down to just a few. We now just want to get a feel for the areas and tour the hospitals so we can make a final decision by October.

Tyler will then leave for OBLC on June 15 and will be gone until the end of July. Luckily we will get to fly in and see him over the 4th of July weekend. We plan on going to Sea World in San Antonio, because military families get to get in FREE. From Texas we will fly home to Utah for 2 weeks! Yeah! Then we get to continue our adventures and have Tyler's sister Mandy and her little girl, Lexi, come home to Missouri with us for a week to keep us company. We are excited!

Middle Name Description

I got a new tag from Sarah.  I must describe myself with the letters of my middle name.  Wow!  OK, where do I start?  I have 2 letters to work with.... J  O.  Jennifer Jo is my name.  

J-- Jogger.  Notice that it does not say runner.  I do like to jog and I try to get out there for some fresh air every so often.  It all started when I went up to Northern Utah with all my cross country running friends in high school.  They were going up for the Provo River Run 1/2 marathon.  Because of the circumstances, some of the people who had registered for the race were no longer going.  Somehow the idea came up that I could run the race with everyone instead of cheering them on.  I went with the crazy idea and it was an exhilarating experience!  I could go into more details, but I will spare you.  I was also an avid swimmer in high school.  I someday want to do a triathlon.  I was going to do one here in September, but it turns out it is on Sunday. 

O- Old.  I'm sure my mom will get a kick out of the fact that I'm calling myself old, because she doesn't think she's old!  I feel like I'm still just out of high school, but goodness that was 7 years ago! Really the reason why I'm describing myself as such is because Makenzie tells me this.  She is learning her numbers, higher than 10 now.  She knows that Jordan is 1, Kenzie is 3, and Mommy is 25, and Daddy is 26.  After telling her that Daddy was an old man, she also told me I was old too!  I guess children age you in more ways than one....

So this is a fun tag and I want everyone to participate..... IF you are linked to my blog, that means you are special and you have been TAGGED.  That is Angie, Melanie, Kyrsten, TerriLyn, Danika, Tara, Annie, Terra, Nashelle, Chamrie, Erin, Brooke, Emily, Megan, Jessi, Christy,  Rachel, Kaylyn, Janae, Jude :), Rachel, Amber, Melani and Chelsey.   HAVE FUN.... and I will be checking your blogs soon! 

     

The Latest Adventures

We've attended some fun activities this past week. This is what makes the town great. There isn't much shopping or lots of entertainment, but there are plenty of activities that the school does for us.

1. Truman Farm Children's Social- included a hay ride, seeing the horses and cows, and planting a seed.


2. BBQ at Thousand Hills State Park- The weather wasn't the best, but we enjoyed a free dinner and a ride around the lake in a platoon boat. Makenzie and her friend enjoyed the frosting off several cupcakes. We also went on a little hike, which the kids loved. Makenzie and I did some face painting. I gave her a rainbow and she gave me a snowman. I say she did pretty good. We went to the store afterward, and I swear I was getting a lot looks for some random paint on my cheek.



3. Pillow Hockey Date Night- We had free babysitting, dinner, and exercise. Pillow hockey was a lot of fun. You each have a pillow as your stick and you have to hit a huge exercise ball as the puck. The guys were a little scary to play with, but fun was had by all. I recommend this activity to anyone for a good workout!