Dave will be so embarrassed, but...

...so what??? hehe. This is kind of an ode to Doctor Dave, not Daddy Dave. So this weekend was the Senior Dinner, where all the seniors come for a nice meal and awards, then a "roast" of sorts-funny things from dental school. We had so much fun with friends at our table and talking across tables to other friends. We laughed a lot and made bets on who would get what awards and the most awards. Nobody at our table had any expectations at all of getting awards, not that every guy there wasn't deserving...just not expecting. They had a lot of awards to hand out, and some were funny in their wording, some went to people who totally deserved them, etc. Then they announce the award for clinical excellency in periodontics goes to...Dave Latham?? WHAT? hehe. We were all laughing and there were cheers and shout-outs, and Dave was a little embarrassed to get the award. I don't think that he thinks he deserves it, and I don't think he wanted any awards. He's not the type of guy that looks for acknowledgment and praise. Obviously, it's always good to praise people, and I try to do it with Dave, but he never looks for it or expects it. But he got it that night! He did tutoring/TA-ing for perio, so I think that contributed to him being considered for this award. And he really has a great ability to teach people and help people who are having difficulty understanding concepts, so it's not a surprise to me.

And as far as Dave being a dentist, he's gonna be great. He is so good at listening to his patients and taking the time to understand their concerns. A few patients have told him how much it has meant to them that he really listened to them.

For those who don't know, Dave wasn't originally going to be a dentist. He graduated in Marriage, Family, Human Development with a minor in Psychology, and he was accepted into programs for a masters in Marriage and Family Therapy, with plans to go on to a doctorate in Psychology. And anyone who knows Dave knows that he would be a really great Marriage and Family Therapist! He has a knack for listening to others and finding solutions for people-he has pretty much been our family therapist! My extended family always joked that he could do his thesis on them-haha. So that was our plan. We were all ready to move to Nebraska, I was accepted into a Culinary program, things were moving forward. But then we visited my uncle, who's a dentist. And he realized that his job probably wouldn't allow him to be with his family. People are willing to leave work in the middle of the day to visit a dentist, but most are only willing to see a therapist after work and on the weekend. After a week or so of contemplation about what he wanted for our family and time together, he decided to change career paths. So back to school for all the pre-reqs for dental school!

So, this "education" road in our marriage has been a long one, and it's finally coming to an end, 8 1/2 years and 2 kids later. I'm so proud of Dave and all he has accomplished. He has always given his best effort on his schoolwork and clinic, while making time for our family, and that's not something a lot of people are able or willing to do. We love him so much for that-anyone who is around us knows that he is obviously the favored parent at our house :)

Congratulations Dave!! Sorry if you're embarrassed that I'm tooting your horn :) I love you so much!

Burger Showdown

Five Guys and In-N-Out. Sorry, but Five Guys didn't even stack up. Dave likes it better, but not me. No sir. Give me In-N-Out anyday over Five Guys. Sure, the burger was okay. But it didn't have any "secret sauce." And the fries didn't even come close.
Nice try Five Guys...nice try.

When you think you have it bad...

...just know somebody always has it worse. I actually don't think things are that bad for us. We're healthy and happy, we sold our house, and we're moving. Somewhere. Don't know where yet, which is a little stressful, but I can't complain. Dave got his braces off today (YAY!), we had a fun-filled Easter evening with friends last night (my abs still hurt from laughing so hard!), and Bree behaved the whole day at the outlets today (yes, jaw-dropping, I know), and I had a great time chatting with Alison while we sat on the couch at the bookstore...without kids. Life is wonderful.

But I'm always even MORE grateful for all I have after reading Nie Nie's blog. I know a lot of people have read about her and read her blog over the years, and I've been silently following her blog since I found it. The entries previous to the accident were inspiring. They reminded me of how I should be a better mom and the things to look forward to everyday. They also included things to just ponder on and think about-not necessarily "mother" things, just things in general. The entries during her coma were heart-wrenching in the sense that I knew her children were suffering, but they were also so hopeful because they reminded me of the goodness of people in the world. Now she's awake and she writes about things that we would never even realize would be important. Like being able to pick up our child, or even having our child love us and not resent us because of what we look like (burns and scarring to her face). The love between her and her husband is an example for all marriages. And if I ever think I have it hard, I just need to read about her happiness at finally being able to lift up her child and have his head rest on her shoulder.

We are so lucky.

Mommy Daughter Date!

The pictures from last night are too cute not to put up right away! We first went to Coldstone with Nancy, Bailey, Anna, and Elizabeth. Then we met up with Lauren and Avery at the HANNAH MONTANA MOVIE!! I was a little hesitant about taking Emma to it because it IS a little old for her. But she LOVES "Hannah Batana" (that's how she says it). I don't even know how she ever discovered who she was because we don't have the Disney channel. But somehow she knew and I got her a t-shirt a while back and she loves it. She always talks about how Hannah Batana is a ROCKSTAR. And she air guitars. Yep, my little girl AIR GUITARS. It's hilarious to watch. So, off to the movie we went. And it was so dang cute. These little girls were glued to the screen and every time a song came on they would get up and dance and try to mimic the lyrics. There were a few moms and teenage girls that were commenting the whole time on how cute they were. When the movie first started, it was all quiet in the theater, then Bailey screamed out HANNAH MONTANA!!! That got us some laughs. Then something funny happened on the movie that made everyone kind of just chuckle, but our girls were just laughing their heads off, which made everyone laugh some more. It was a really well-made and appropriate movie, which I was really happy about. It made me want to live in Tennessee :)
Haha, maybe we will!!!

tub time

Here you go Grandmas & Grandpas :) Here's a little glimpse into what happens after the bath. Notice how Bree calls Emma "Demma." It's very cute.

BEST.NIGHT.EVER!!!!!

Is this any indication of how much fun we had? (sorry they're so small...if you click on them they should get bigger)


I think I burned off any calories from dinner and dessert with my MAD dancing skills :)

It seriously was a blast. I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard and had so much fun. I repeat...BEST.NIGHT.EVER!!!!

(more pics to come. I need to blog disneyland first)

Pampered Chef Party!

I sent email invites to those in my hotmail contacts, but I know I don't have everyone's email. So here's your invitation!! Bring friends, come for a little while or a long while!

Thursday, April 2nd
7pm
13402 Cedar Rd.
Cleveland Heights

For those of you who know Sarah, you KNOW her food is awesome, and who doesn't love the Pampered Chef products? :)

If you can't come but need to order something, let me know and we'll get it added to the order!

If you're going to come, post a comment so Sarah and I can figure out how much food to make.

Parking: in my driveway, on Cedar in front of the nursery next door, or across the street on Rossmoor

Hope to see you there!!!

Cali

Since everyone is asking...drum roll please...

These awesome pictures were taken near San Luis Obispo, on the central coast. It's a little piece of heaven tucked away where other people can't find it-hee! We drove around the county, from the 101 south of San Luis Obispo to north, in Paso Robles, then west on the 46 to Cambria and the 1, then south on the 1 back to the 101. We went all over!

In our search to find a place to live that was near water (for me), had a milder climate (for me), had somewhat affordable land (for Dave) and outdoorsy type stuff (for Dave), and where we could enjoy beauty all around us (for both of us), I came across Paso Robles. And from there, everything fell into place! It hasn't been easy finding a place that suits both of us, but we found it! And everyone is welcome to visit us anytime!!!

Unfulfilled Foot Fantasies, But Still a Pretty Place

So we think we finally found where we want to live (This is the San Luis Obispo area in central CA). The only way I can really describe this place is that it's what I think the Shire would look like. I kept expecting little hobbits to pop out of the hills and ask us what we were doing there. I was excited about this possibility because as long time readers of our blog know, I myself have hobbit feet. I've been looking for an opportunity to join in the time honored tradition of having a foot-off. This is similar to having a competition of strength but it mostly involves looking at your opponent's feet and making comments like, "Your toes are especially square", or "I like how those bows accent the color of your foot hair" until one person's feet are decided to be superior. But my square toes and foot hair accessories went unchallenged and therefore unappreciated. But it was still a very pretty place and somewhere we think we want to settle down.

Now the challenge is to find a job. I'm pretty sure there aren't many people, much less dentists, who could win a foot-off, so if I could find the local hobbit hole full of hobbits with cavities I'd be set; but in the mean time I need to find some people to work on instead. But I'll still probably bust out my hobbit feet from time to time, because I think everyone can appreciate a well groomed bunch of toe hair.

Here are some images of the areas we found for your enjoyment (groomed foot hair not included).
For some reason our pictures didn't quite capture how green these hills are. They are much more vibrant in real life, as are my feet.

Happy cows live in california!!!

NOT KIDDING!! You KNOW those commercials. And we spent a good chunk of our day seeing all sorts of happy cows. It's no wonder they're so happy. They're living in the prettiest place on the planet. We found it. But we still need to find a job. Pictures of the prettiest place on the planet soon to come...if we can remember to take the camera out amidst our jaw dropping shock of the beauty of this place. :)