It's fall y'all!

Y'all... it's October!!! This is my favorite month and I think it is because the weather finally starts to turn chilly, pumpkins are everywhere, trees turn the most gorgeous colors and it officially kicks off the "fall season". So many fun things happen this time time of year,  homecomings, halloween, thanksgiving and finally the best of all Christmas! It just puts me in a good mood all around! Here are some updates on our current situation.

The most exciting and best news of all is we have a house in Memphis!! I love love love it and can't wait to move in. It is definitely more house than we need, but there is NOTHING in the memphis area for our price range if we wanted in a safe area. So we had to pay a little more than we wanted but after searching for weeks, that was our only option. But anyways, we love the house but love the neighborhood more. Its an older established neighborhood with gorgeous houses and lots of huge trees. Our house is down at the end of a cove and our two neighbors are old retired men that sit all day and watch everything that goes on, so thats nice for us! And in our neighborhood about a mile from our house there is a lake and boat dock with running trails all around it. Can you see why I am so excited?! We have enjoyed our time in Jackson, but this is just more like us and I really think we are going to enjoy our next couple years in Memphis!!

A a different note, Mitch as finished his first month of rotations! He is now into October and when he is done with October, his two moth rotation is up and he moves on to the next hospital. Moving around to different hospitals every two months is neat because you get to see some many different things and ways to do things, but also right when you get comfortable you have to leave. He is currently loving his hospital right now. They are so good to him and it was the best place to start.

I am just subbing a lot and working on my classes. They have taken over my life and I feel thats all I do. I am also trying to get some stuff packed up when I have any free time. We are taking a small load of stuff down this weekend to start the moving process but since we are still a month out we don't want to take much. And we are going to have to rent a u-haul at the end of the month anyway, so we want to do most of it then.

Random but our good friends here got a new little goldendoodle puppy and Bella has been in heaven playing with it!

We also got the opportunity to go home last weekend. It was a very last minute trip and we just wanted to see family, even if only for a day because we both wont be back together until thanksgiving. It was so wonderful to be back and we always enjoy our time there.

I have also picked up a new hobby. I have never been a "crafty" person but always try and never succeed haha! I so wish I was! But I think I finally fond something that I can do. I have always loved big burlap wreaths on front doors, but they are SO expensive to buy. So I thought I should try and make them and after lots of Pinterest help and youtube videos I have mastered the burlap wreath! I have made several but here is mine and I can't wait to hang it on our new front door!

All my others I've made for friends and family have different colors in them, but I wanted a neutral one for now. I have so many signs, like razorback, OSU, thunder and green bay that I can hang behind or over it. I will eventually make one for all our teams but for now, since I don't have a lot of time, I want something I could use for all of them. They are so easy and I made three just the other night while watching TV. And speaking of TV... is anyone else as excited as we are all the fall shows started back up last week!?!? I was desperately needing some Scandal in my life again. The premiers were all SO good and I love having a show to watch every evening. During the summer when nothing was on and Mitch was so busy, I watched Gilmore Girls all the way through. I had pretty much seen every episode but never all together and oh my that show is so good. Might be my favorite!!And now I am in the middle of Friday Night Lights and it is way better than I expected! So good! If you need Netflix suggestions those are worth watching!

As much as I am trying to keep this post going and not pack, I desperately need to get back to packing. Check back soon for more updates!

Busy, busy, busy....

*I wrote this about a week ago and never posted it... so I will post again very soon with lots of new and exciting updates!

These last few weeks have been crazy. Mitch started his rotations, I started my observations, we officially got rid of Mitch's car, got a different car, and began our house hunt. This month is already overwhelming enough with his clinical schedule, but adding house hunting, packing and trying to get everything worked out with his car it was been a nightmare. I am so ready for things to slow down.

     I'll start out with Mitch's rotations since they are probably most interesting. He gets up at 4:30 in the morning and is gone by a little after 5am. He was a nervous wreck his first day, but he loves it. He is finally getting to put into practice what he has been learning the past year. I could tell you story after story, but overall he is really liking it and they are letting him do it all on his own. There are 25 people in his class and the other clinical l site has at least 3-4 students there together, but he is the only one from his class at his hospital and at first he was really nervous about that but I think it is working out for him. He has two other 3rd years there with him, but thats it. He gets there early, gets changed, sets up his room, does his machine check-off, draws up his plan and gets the meds ready. Then he is off to pre-op. He does his pre-op assessment with the patient and then brings them back to surgery. He has officially intubated, administered drugs alone and woke them back up. He has had some interesting and difficult cases but even after this short amount of time he has learned so much. I imagine after 2 full years of this he will be a pro! Also, since this hospital is so small, they provide him with free breakfast, lunch, snacks and drinks at all times. Most hospitals don't do that so he is getting spoiled. But I can't tell you how nice it is not having to worry about making his lunches everyday! Some days he gets off at 1 and some days it's 7, but he is really enjoying it and I can tell he is so much happier not being in the classroom all day everyday. I think it is a breath of fresh air after this summer semester. 

     I am not nearly as interesting, but I mentioned I am taking 2 online classes and they are going better, just constantly working on them. Since Mitch gets up so early for clinical, I usually have a hard time getting back to sleep, so I have just been getting up with him and getting in a good couple hours of work before I go to my observations. So for my classes I have to have 20 hours per class of observation hours, then I have to do this huge project I don't even want to talk about. But I am so thankful for the school I am at. I subbed there a lot this past year and everyone there is so nice. I feel so welcome and they treat me just like one of there teachers. I am going to miss it when we move.  But anyway when I found out I had to do these observation hours, I called the principal and she was so welcoming and told me to come do them whenever. She has been so nice to me ever since I started subbing there. So I am trying to get these hours done in the next two weeks or so since we have our move coming up. So I am going every day and actually really enjoying it. I am with the nicest kindergarten teacher and she lets me do a lot and not just sit back and watch. She knows I use to teach so she lets me help with lessons and work with the kids. I am going to miss it when I get my hours ha! It reminds me how much I LOVE kindergarten and I am so ready to teach again! And she is letting me sub for her when she can't be there, and of course I am loving that! 

     And now the car. So I don't think when I posted last we new much about it. But a long story short we have spend more hours on the phone with State Farm and been to the collision place more than we have bene home this week. Oh my, dealing with this stuff is crazy and I hope we never have to go through it again. So the car was totaled from the wreck, yes I know just what we needed during Mitch's first week of rotations. His stress level was already through the roof and that made me extra stressed out. The car actually wasn't damaged that bad.. I mean it wasn't just a scrape or anything, but it was because they were going to have to replace both passenger doors and his car is so old, the cost to fix it was almost as much as the car was worth.... so they totaled it. We are both just happy we are done dealing with it all and he now has a safe reliable car to get him to and from clinicals. 

     And then the house hunt... which isn't going well. We have been looking online for the past two weeks and picked out some to see. I went to Memphis yesterday while Mitch was in class and met with our relator. I had a friend go with me and it was so nice having someone else there to help. House hunting is always so much more stressful when you are in it, but seems so fun when you are on the outside. We looked at several and only one was a maybe. So I am going back to look at some more next week. I hope we can get this narrowed down quick. It is just one more thing on our plate that I need taken care of.
We are enjoying these cool morning and evenings and I can't wait for fall!! We are getting those random cool days and being able to curl up in my sweatshirts makes me so happy! Have a great week!! 

St. Louis, House Hunting and Labor Day

Happy Labor Day! I always get my hopes for for September, but always seem to get let down. Every time September gets here, my mind automatically goes to fall everything, where in reality September is still summer! It is one of the -ber months and so therefore I always assume when September gets here its going to feel like fall. And then reality hits me and it's still in the 90's. But I do know by the end of the month it will be feeling more like fall. September also has those wonderful fall days then its back with the heat. Its like it can't make up its mind, it gets my hopes up and then crushes them. So thats my rant about September... I am doing my best to hold off on fall things, which is very hard for me. I am weird and want it to feel like fall before I start buying and getting my fall fix.
 On another note, we have been busy with getting things ready for our move, its slowly sneaking up on us, and oh yeah there's that thing called school that keeps getting in the way ha! Mitch has been so busy with not really "school work" but just lots of orientations and fun still like that. He starts Wednesday on his first day of rotations in the hospital and keep him in your prayers because he is very nervous. I know he will be great, but I can only imagine how terrifying it will be. Y'all he will be for real putting someone to sleep Wednesday... so thats weird, but I am so excited for him and can't wait to hear all about it! My classes are going okay, but I am finding out i'm not a fan of online classes and well taking classes in general. I guess I have just been out of the whole "school" routine for so long and its very hard to get back in it, especially when it is just for a few classes and not a degree or anything. But I am pushing through and taking it week by week. My classes are SO unorganized and I think thats really what I am not enjoying about them. But I keep reminding myself- I just have to pass and move on ha!
In other news, we went to St. Louis this weekend just for a quick trip, we love thats it so close, and like always, we had a great time. It was kind of last minute... well last minute for Mitch and I, we are planners and usually have these thing planned out. But last weekend we didn't have much to do, our town is so exciting and all, and kept talking about how these weekends we both have together are few and far between. Last weekend we sat and stared at each other for the first part of the weekend and realized we haven't had a weekend here in Jackson together in probably over 6 months. We had forgot what it was like to have a weekend together. So last weekend we went hiking at Natchez State Park and it was so wonderful! We hiked about 5.5 miles and although it was hot, we had a great time.

While we were hiking, Mitch kept talking about Labor Day weekend we both don't have anything so we should take a quick getaway trip. I told him to plan it and he chose St. Louis again. We love thats it so close and that we can go to a Cards game and there is always stuff to do there.

   Unfortunately we had a little mishap while we were there that put a damper on our trip. We had only been there a few hours and there is an outlet mall I love just outside of St. Louis and we were leaving it to go back downtown and got in an accident. Hands down the scariest moment of my life. We were going probably 70 and no warning or anything the car in front of us stopped, not slowed down, but came to a complete stop. We had no option, there was a barrier wall to our left, and a small opening to our right but a semi was coming up on us on that side. So we either ran into the back of the Escalade that was in front of us and probably went though it and the several cars that were in front of it and most likely still be laying in a hospital room, but we swerved right and tried to miss the semi (it was trying to move over a lane as well to help us out) but we still side swiped the semi. Sounds a lot worse than it was, being that we hit a semi on one of the busiest highways in St. Louis, but it really wasn't that bad. I still keep replaying it in my mind and can't figure out how we didn't get hurt or ruin the car. I mean there is a huge dent on the side of Mitch's car but to be out of town and it still run fine and nothing seem wrong, minus the scratches was a miracle. I keep asking myself how did we not get hit from behind, how did it not damage the car more with hitting a semi, how did we not get hurt at all, how did it not cause a bigger wreck on the highway and it really doesn't make sense. I am so thankful we had protection over us that day and I know it was a total God thing, because it just doesn't make sense how we are both okay. So after that we went and checked into our hotel. We were running a little behind to make the cardinals game so we ran up to our room, which by the way the lady at the Hilton could tell I had been upset and Mitch mentioned we had just been in a wreck that's why we were late and she upgraded our room for us. It wasn't a huge deal, but really meant so much to us. She was the nicest lady and definitely put a smile on our face after a hard afternoon. Our hotel was only a couple blocks from the stadium so we walked over and made it just in time.

Saturday morning we both slept so hard and didn't even leave the hotel until 11am. We usually like to get up and get going but we were so exhausted from everything we needed a break. We tried to get the wreck out of our minds and enjoy our trip but with people calling us nonstop asking about it, it was hard. But we did end up having a great day. Mitch knows I love brunch so he found a good brunch place and took me, it is called Rooster and if you are in St. Louis GO! One of the best places I've ever eaten at!

Then we just hung out downtown, went to Forest Park, the Zoo which was a blast, and of course Ted Drew's. Overall we had a great trip and I'm sure there will be many more St. Louis trips our future... just minus the accident!

I have a feeling this month is going to fly by. We have some houses lined up to look at next week and trying get our house packed up is always fun. We usually make a couple trips back home in October for OSU Homecoming, our annual Razorback game and the Tulsa run but his year I don't think we will make it back for anything. OSU homecoming is one of my favorite events all year, I have been going since before I can even remember and hate to miss it and we have been to at least one Razorback game every year since my freshman year of college, but with that being the month we are moving it makes it difficult.  I have been debating over the Tulsa run since last year and I think I am done with it. I hate it because it is one of my favorite races and I love training for it since it is during the fall, but it has gone so far downhill. The price has skyrocketed and what you get for your money has gone down. If you read my post about it last year, they ran out of water on the course, no goodie bags and no snacks along the course. I was talking with my friend Tayler who does it every year as well and she said the same thing. She is not doing it anymore for the exact same reasons. So as much as I hate that because I have been doing this race since high school, it's just not worth the money and trip in. Maybe when we move back I will rethink it, but for now no more Tulsa Run.  We do have a few things this fall we are looking forward to. We are making a trip with our Sunday school class to a big pumpkin patch, Mitch has his conference in Nashville and I love spending several days there, and my good friend Tayler is coming to stay with me. She has been wanting to come but she was in her last year of CRNA school and has been studying for boards like crazy...which she took them and passed Friday!! So now we are planning our girls weekend in Nashville! I can't wait!

Yesterday we spent all day looking and calling on houses. Why does house hunting always seem so fun until your in it?

Last night we had several people over to grill out for Labor day, which is always fun.

We had way too much food, but thats how we do it here in the south. Lots of food and great company. We spent all night outside playing corn hole and had lots of great conversation. Don't get me wrong we are ready to move home when this is all over, but Tennessee is definitely our home for now and I'd say we fit in pretty well. The rest of this week will be lots of "firsts" for us and will update on those soon. Other than school and house hunting we are watching the US open and just trying to stay cool. Friday a cool front comes through and oh my I am looking forward to temps in the 70's... I'd even take 80's! Have a great week!!

Still here!

Hello.. yes we are still here! This summer semester is finally OVER!! Mitch and I were both talking about how fast we thought this summer was going to go and we were wrong. We both felt like it was never-ending. BUT we are officially done and we made it through alive ha! I am so thankful that is behind us. He finished Aug 13 and we headed to Oklahoma for a week and then on to Arkansas for a few days. It never seems to be long enough... we have so many family and friends in Tulsa and I hate that we can't see them all. We literally had stuff to do all day everyday while we were there but it was so nice to be back. It's like a breath of fresh air and reminds us what we are working towards. If you can't tell we can't wait to move back to Oklahoma. We are liking our time in Tennessee and we are thankful for this adventure we get to take, but its just nice to know where we want to be when we are done and that we have lots waiting for us back home.

These last few week of Mitch studying for finals have been so overwhelming. I don't think either of us have ever needed a break so bad. I am very thankful because my parents came up for a week at the end of july/beginning of august and unfortunately Mitch had to study the whole time, but I was able to hang out with my parents and it was so nice. We spent a few days in Memphis and Nashville and it was just a good break. My parents aren't as familiar with Memphis so I took them all around and showed then where we want to live- we actually looked at a few houses. But Nashville, even though we go a lot, they know a lot better. Because of my brother, my parents have friends in Nashville that they like to visit and they are in the music industry so they get them into places most people can't go. They have been to The Bluebird for dinner and concerts (which is super had to get in), The Grand Ole Opry several times and even backstage to meet the performers. I may be a tad jealous they get to do all the "cool" things. But anyway, we had a great time with them and I love when they come up.

August 13th Mitch finished and we made the trip to Oklahoma. We had the best time, lots of pool time, haircuts, eating at our favorite places and catching up with friends/family. It was the best time. One of my favorite parts about being back home is visiting my school and sweet kiddos I had. I have been so blessed by several families that keep in touch, but one specifically I ALWAYS see and I love these girls like my own! Hadley the older one, I had in kindergarten and she still writes me about every month. I know I say it over and over, but I am so thankful I have found what I love to do and even though I can't teach right now, getting to come back and see these sweet faces makes it all better.

We are now back in Tennessee and Mitch has a crazy busy next 2 weeks. He is all over the state for orientation and his classes start for fall semester. He doesn't start clinical until September 8, but until then he is super busy. I start my classes today to keep my OK teaching license up to date and let me tell you I am nervous about these classes. I have never done online classes before and I am hoping it is as easy as everyone says it is. I am excited about the classes I am taking and love learning about education but until they get going I am a little stressed.

We are trying to get settled back in from our week and a half away then we will start the house hunting process. I am ready to find something and secure it so I don't have to worry about it anymore but I am so not looking forward to packing up the house again-- I may go crazy! That's about all we've been up to. I promise I will get better at updating.. I love to look back and see where we were a year ago and all the changes we've made. ALSO-- did I mention how excited I am about fall being just right around the corner?!?! I am trying to hold back until at least mid-september (when it actually starts to feel like fall) before I go crazy with my fall obsession. Lets see if I make it :)

Placements are in....

Well placements for rotations are in and it's been a long week trying to figure out what's going to be best for us. There are several things we have to factor in that most people wouldn't even of thought of, but because we know this program and how it works, we are able to make the best decision for us.  This was a stressful decision just Mitch and I had to make, but we are thankful for your prayers as we conquer this decision and figure out the next step for us.

When we saw the rotations we knew logically, just by looking, what the obvious decision would be. But we wanted to really look into everything, like I said there is so much more we look at than just where he is the most for clinical. But that does play a huge role in it.

Let me explain the best I can how these next two years of rotations work. Starting in September he begins clinical for the next 2 years, the remaining time we have here in TN. He goes by 2 month rotations so for example: September and October will be at the same hospital. Then November and December will be at the same hospital on and on for the next two years. There are SO many clinical sites all over Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky. So for example even though it changes every two months he could have 8 straight months in the same city but every 2 he changes hospitals. I don't know if that makes any sense. So overall we were trying to see if he had any that back up to each other in the same city and if so how many. And he only got three for the whole two years here in Jackson and one of those rotations we will be here for. So that means he would have to commute to Memphis all two years except the 4 months he is placed in Jackson.

That brings me to our decision and it is to make the move to Memphis. It is what Mitch wanted all along and I have been torn bc I don't like Jackson at all, there is nothing here to offer, but we are settled in, have friends, church and a great house. But I have always said, and Mitch too, if we were just in a bigger city with some stuff to do, we would both enjoy our time here a lot more. So when it comes down to it we are both crazy excited to make this move!

We knew this was a big possibility so we have been researching towns for the past month or so and figuring out where exactly we want to be. There are 3-4 towns we like that aren't considered "in Memphis". I mean either way we will pretty much be in Memphis, the line is very vague where Memphis starts and ends but as long as you stay on the outskirts you're fine. So after talking with several people here and lots of his that classmates already live there, (they decided to live there from the beginning) and everyone we talk to recommends Bartlett, TN. And after looking into it we LOVE it! It is in Shelby County, is located in the northeast corner of Memphis and it is a part of the Memphis metropolitan area. So basically we will be in Memphis and have the benefits of Memphis at our fingertips, but without having a Memphis address, which we soon figured was the key ha! I'll talk more about this later but we went and drove around the other day and we were in an area where one side of the road was Memphis and one side was Bartlett and it was like night and day. We both agree we will be finding a house in Bartlett city limits! We don't know if it is because of Jackson, we now think any town is better or it just is a really nice town, but either way we love it. And it is in the best location for all his clinicals.  If you are traveling on I-40 from Jackson to Memphis it is the first city you come to before actually getting into downtown Memphis. So that will make his commute shorter when he does have to commute to Jackson. Also several of the hospitals he will be at are in suburbs of Memphis and he has some in Bartlett too. So overall it is the perfect location for us, it couldn't be better! Lots of people from his class live in Bartlett and just love it. So after taking everything into consideration we have decided on Bartlett, TN. Well I mean I guess that's where we want to be, now we have to pray we find a house.

So we will be officially moving in October. Mitch was lucky and got his first rotation, September and October, here in Jackson and our landlord has been so wonderful to work with. Our lease is up August 1 but he is letting us rent month to month for however long or until we find a house. So that takes a lot of pressure off. So that will eliminate two months of commuting then when he starts in Memphis in November hopefully we will be all moved in and settled in Memphis! We have been praying for a good schedule and one that will be obvious on what we need to do and that's just what we got. So even though we have to move AGAIN, we couldn't be more excited about this next journey. I really think we will be so much happier. Not many couples can say they have been married 5 years and moved 4 times ha! But with his school this is just a crazy season of life and it will make settling down in Tulsa so wonderful!!

When I think about it, October seems far away but with everything we have going on I think it's going to fly by. Mitch only has 1 month left of summer semester, thank goodness, and then when he is done he has a week off we are going to go back and visit friends in Tulsa. Then when we get back he starts clinical and we start house hunting and packing!

Since we decided Bartlett is where we want to be, and we have only been there to eat (we make the drive frequently bc there are so many good restaurants there) we decided to spent some time there last Friday and we just looked at some houses, neighborhoods, etc. and to say we are excited about moving there is an understatement! I mean Jackson doesn't have the worst food options at all but there is so much a bigger city has that we don't have. For instance, in Bartlett, within a minute of where we will be living we have Bahama Breeze, chipotle, Pei Wei, Firebirds and J. Alexander's just to name a few! This is big for us coming from Jackson! And then not to mention we will be a 10-15 min drive away from downtown Memphis at our favorite places there! Not only food, even though yes we love our food, there are parks, biking and running trails and just so much to offer that Jackson doesn't have. We miss that so much. We are also excited about being in a "decent" neighborhood again. Ours is okay, it's definitely in a better part of Jackson but still not the best. I know I would feel safe with Mitch being gone and he doesn't want me there alone. So being back in a safe neighborhood will be so wonderful. 

So if you can't tell we are ecstatic about this move. We have 2 years left here in TN and although we are ready to be done and move back to OK, this will make our experience so much better. I don't know how many times a day we say this experience wouldn't be so bad if we were in a city with stuff to do and now we will be! Of course we miss home and family and friends but we know this is a season of life and this makes our adventure a little more interesting! Also thank you to all our family and friends who have come to visit us. With Mitch's school schedule it's hard to come home but we've been blessed with lots of visitors!

So thank y'all so much for the prayers and messages! I say this a lot but we seriously have the best friends and family. I couldn't of got through this year and first half of summer without y'all. The daily encouraging messages and verses keep me going in tough times. Mitch are I are so fortunate to have such good friends that even though they are far away, I feel like they are here with us. Oh and I also forgot to mention one of the best parts about this move..... It makes us an hour closer to home!!!!! I know that doesn't seem like much, but when you already have a long drive that almost always consists of backed up traffic this is wonderful news!

So needless to say these next few months are going to be busy, but a good busy. We will do our best to keep you updated as we continue this exciting process! 

Is it July already!?!

Well it's July! Can you believe it?! Overall Mitch and I both agree this process isn't necessarily going by fast, but this summer is a different story. I feel like we just got started and settled back into a routine. I guess since we were thrown into this summer semester head first, we didn't have time to adjust and here it is a week into July! Here is a little recap of what we have been up to.

In my last post I mentioned we went to Dallas for about 4 days had the best time. My doubles partner from OBU was getting married in Waco and my best friend, Elizabeth lives in Dallas, so we went to visit them while we were in town for the wedding. We had so much fun and it is aways so hard to leave. We just love Elizabeth and Kevin and wonder why we live so far apart ha! 

Although Mitch left the house before the sun came up every morning and didn't come back until around dinner, we had a good time. I missed seeing him but I knew he had to study and I got to spend some good quality time with Elizabeth. We ate a lot, shopped, ran, just about anything we use to do together. 

Elizabeth and Kevin did take us out to Cheesecake Factory for our anniversary. Can you believe its been 5 years?!? She had heard me talking and talking about how I miss it, so that was a fun time! They also took us to several other places in downtown Dallas, one called Off-Site Kitchen and it was incredible. If you're in Dallas go to this place. They are known for their burgers and fries, but they also have INCREDIBLE tacos!! 

And no we did not plan on matching. We actually didn't even realize it until after we took the picture and looked at it. Ha

The wedding was Sunday evening, so Mitch only studied that morning and then we went to Waco for the day. It was so neat to walk round Baylor, its a gorgeous campus and  we had fun just driving around checking out the town. And yes we went to Magnolia Market- made my day!!! 

The wedding was that evening at a small country church and then the reception was at the Palladium. It was decorated beautifully and couldn't have gone better. It was so nice to see old college friends and celebrate this girl! 

The prettiest bride!

I could only get half the candy bar in the pic but this was the best candy bar we've ever seen! So neat and so pretty!

We got back to TN Monday night and hit the ground running with a crazy busy week, for the both of us. We just traveled from TN to AR, AR to Dallas, from Dallas to Waco and back and then from Dallas to TN, all in 4 days. TOO MUCH! On top of everything we had going that week to say we were exhausted was an understatement! We made it through the week and then drove from Jackson to Memphis and back Thursday, Friday AND Saturday (Mitch's family was in town all weekend). On our drive back Saturday, I have never seen Mitch so tired. In between trying to see family as much as we could he was studying and staying up late and getting up early and I think he just over did it. We probably should've only went to memphis once, but now we know. With his summer schedule we just can't do it all. So as weird as it sounds, we are looking forward to the month of July being low key and dedicated to school. He has on average 2-3 tests a week so for the reminder of the summer we will be staying at home and enjoying time to ourselves. We would've loved to make another trip at the end of July to go home, or have friends come here, but thats not going to happen. Its hard to say no, but right now in our life it is crucial for our sanity ha!It is nice to know its just a month and a half more of this craziness and we can go back to normal life.... well as normal as this program allows. 

As crazy as this week/weekend was, and how exhausted we were with running on little to no sleep- we had a great 4th with family!

In august he starts orientation for all the hospitals he will be at so that month with be busy too and then he hits the ground running in September as he begins his clinical rotations! We did get some news regarding his schedule for the next two years, and I will share in my next post. We want to take some time, just Mitch and I, and figure everything out. As crazy as this program is and especially with the rotations, I am so lucky to have Mitch by my side. So when we figure out our plan, we will share all that with friends and family when we are ready! :)

Hope y'all have a great week and try and stay cool!! 

Happy Summer!

Happy 1st day of summer!!! It has been a while but as I have said before, this summer is crazy crazy crazy!! I keep thinking to myself... please let this get easier! Now, I am not the one in these crazy hard classes (thank goodness), but I do live the effects of them. Mitch is in class all day everyday and then when he's home he is locked in his study room. We always make a point to have dinner together, but I go to bed alone and wake up alone. I am literally counting down the days until this summer is over! 54 days if you're wondering! As hard as it is, I am thankful for his dedication and hard work. I do love getting to see him learn and do things he is interested in. I am just ready for these classes that are jammed packed into summer to be over (and I think he might agree ha).

But we are making it and as long and drawn out as this summer may seem, I keep telling myself it will all be worth it when he is done with school. Its so weird to think its already summer. We usually have time off, visit fiends and take multiple vacations in the summer. To us this doesn't even feel like summertime (minus the weather). But like I said, it will be so worth it here in a few years. And about that weather, it is crazy hot and humid here. Now being from Tulsa, I know hot and humid, but Tennessee is a whole different level. It is about the same temperaure here, but the humidity it unlike anything I have ever experienced. Mitch and I joke all the time about it. You literally start dripping with sweat when you walk out to get the mail and we HAVE (I mean it is a must) to use our Yeti mugs at all times in the summer, unless you want your ice to melt in your glass and get all over the table within about 2 min. I love summertime, but I am already so ready for fall!!!!

With all the craziness that this summer brings, we are trying to enjoy ourselves as much as we can. I had an idea where we would do one "fun activity" together each weekend to celebrate getting through the week. Yes, these weeks are long and hard and if we make it to Friday it deserves a celebration. So I filled up a mason jar with small inexpensive ideas and we draw every weekend and make time for whatever our activity may be. It's going well, but this week was extra busy and we didn't get around to playing putt-putt. This next weekend we are headed to DALLAS so we will skip drawing and celebrate our anniversary in Dallas!

We are going because one of my good friends and doubles partner in college is getting married and also I get to stay and spend four days with my best friend, Elizabeth!! I was planning on going alone and just flying out, but Mitch came in one night and even with how busy he is wants to try and go since it is our anniversary. I was so excited and even though he will lock himself up at some coffee shop the whole day to study, I will enjoy him being there and maybe even get a few dinners with him :) To say I am excited about this trip is an understatement! I cannot wait to see Elizabeth and Kevin and also several of our college friends at the wedding. And not to mention- the wedding is actually in Waco, so yes I will 100 percent of course be making a trip to Magnolia Market! Fixer Upper has been my show for years now and I wouldn't miss that opportunity.

Other than that, we are staying busy with work and school and just ready for mid-August to be here so we can make a trip back home! I miss our friends back home so much and especially this time of year there are so many fun things going on in Tulsa. We can't wait to be back. But we are really enjoying our time in Tennessee. It is definitely hard being away from "our home" and where we were settled, but we are coming to like it here. I think I just love being so close to Nashville, but hey that counts for something, right?

Today we are watching a lot of golf, well I am and Mitch is trying to, and wishing our dads a very happy father's day!!! We wish we could be there to celebrate! Here are a few picts of what our "summer" looks like so far.

Every night we take Bella up to campus to run around. It's so hot and humid here in the day she won't go outside at all. 

Our 1st "fun activity" together- bowling!

This girl is my sidekick here in TN and I wouldn't know what to do without here. She keeps me company while Mitch studies his life away. So naturally we make many Starbucks trips- for the both of us :)

And this is a snapshot of my weather app- we are not looking forward to these temps this next week, and either is Bella!

Our trip to St. Louis!!

First off, let me start this post with...

I love June!! It has always been my favorite month until recently when I've gotten older and my love for Fall and the month of October has taken over. But I still love June and the start to summertime! It brings warm weather, tans, lots of outdoor activities and usually for me time off work ( I can't wait to to teach again!)

So now I will tell you about our trip! It couldn't have been better! Like I said in an earlier post, this was Mitch's last weekend on his 2 week break and he wanted to do something, a little getaway, so bad. So I told him to plan it and he did a great job. Although this is a time in our life when we don't have a lot of funds for fun trips, etc we both think it is so important to do small inexpensive trips/activities during our time here in TN. We know we can't do a ton right now but enjoying our time here is very important to us and we don't want to look back and regret not doing anything because we are going in debt with school, but to look back and remember the fun times and things we did. So although we can't do the things we are use to for these next 2 years (YES it's two now and not three!!!!) we still want to enjoy ourselves.
So we spent the past weekend in St. Louis and had the BEST time! Friday we spent all day doing the touristy things, eating, visiting the Arch, etc. we had lunch at a place called The Shaved Duck. We saw this in Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. We got what they recommend on the show and it didn't disappoint! So good! 

Cheese smothered fries

Mitch and I split this bbq sandwich, I just ate the meat because it was seriously the best meat I have ever tasted. 

Then around 3 we went downtown and hung out there until the game (we had tickets to the cardinals game that night at 7). We walked around downtown, such a fun area and found a coffee shop that Mitch heard about. He knows my love for coffee and always try's to find me a unique coffee shop. It was called Park Avenue Coffee and it also had the food networks best butter cake. So of course we tried that!

It was forecasted to rain on and off all day/night so we were worried about the rain. It started raining a few hours before the game but didn't last long. So we went to this restaurant/bar in Ballpark Village, Fox Sports Live and hung out until we walked across the street to the game and it turned out to be the best night with no rain at all! After the game we were starving, we didn't eat before or at the game so we went back to the Fox Sports Live restaurant and got these nachos that everyone was getting earlier in the day and they were so good!!! Highly recommend them!

I haven't stayed up past midnight in a while ha! So we definitely slept in Saturday. When we finally got up and around we went on a donuts and coffee run and then to the Science center. 

Let me tell you about this science center- yes we were the only ones in there without kids- no joke- but the teacher in me had the best time! I mean we spent a long time- about half the day in there but I could've easily dedicated a whole day to it. I know not everyone loves stuff like that and being a teacher makes this stuff super appealing to me, but I still recommend it! I think everyone would enjoy it! 

Our next stop was lunch. We went to Dressel's Public House, another place Mitch found on diners, drive-ins and dives. Mitch always likes to look up places from this show when we travel. 

The "Louie" recommended from Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. I wasn't the biggest fan of this particular sandwich, but Mitch really liked it. BUT the appetizer and bread pudding for dessert were incredible!

Then we headed to the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. Now I don't want to say I wasn't excited about going on the brewery tour, but I mean I just left the science center and in my mind nothing could've topped that. Well I was wrong. Y'all, this was SO cool!!!! May have been tied with the science center on my favorite part of our whole trip! We got there around 2:30 and the people at the front told us the tours were full and the next one we could go on was 4:30. Well we didn't really want to wait but also we really wanted to do it. We had dinner reservations at 7:30 and had to go back to the hotel get ready and get there so we knew this would be cutting it close.

We walked around the lobby area, stores, bar, etc for a while and then happen to see the beginning of a tour starting. We heard the guide give his whole intro and then we started to walk around more and try to figure out what to do until 4:30. Well right when we were walking off the guide said that tour wasn't full and they would take a few more people. We literally ran and jumped in ha! It was about an hour (this was the free tour, they have several more you can pay for) and so worth our time! I'm not really a beer drinker at all, but this tour was just so neat. It was so informative and actually really neat to hear about the brewing process. I was amazed! When we go back to St. Louis, we both want to pay for the next one and learn more! I learned so much about how they make the beer, lots of interesting facts I never knew, and just about the Anheuser-Busch plant in general. If you are in the area, GO! It's so worth it! And a plus- we got to see the famous Clydesdales!!! Gorgeous! 

Then since we got into the earlier tour, we went to the famous Ted Drews after. This is a famous Frozen custard place and EVERYONE that knew we were going to St. Louis said it was a must and we agree. It was delicious- so delicious that we may have went more than once :)

Then like I said, we had dinner reservations at Giovanni's on the Hill. We heard from multiple people go to The Hill, which is just an area in St. Louis that has several Italian restauants. We were lucky because I have been wanting to eat at Giovanni's but knew it was one of the more expensive restaurants places where all the famous people go in St. Louis. But we randomly found a groupon for it and couldn't believe it. Out of every restaurant on groupon this is the one we wanted to eat at so we were very excited!!

Sunday we got up early and drove into Illinois to play a round of golf. We also found a groupon for this and it was a really good deal. It happened to be super cold that day (of course the only day it wasn't crazy hot on our trip) but we had fun anyways. We got done around lunch and went back into downtown St. Louis for lunch. We ate at this little Mexican joint and it was so good! Then we went and picked up Bella from the place she stayed at and went to the parks. They have some awesome parks in at Louis and it was so fun to spent the day outside!

Overall we had the BEST time and already are planning a trip back. We love that we are only a little over 3 hours from St. Louis so it makes the perfect little getaway. There were several things we didn't get to do that we wanted to, but we also felt like we can always come back. We didn't want to rush through everything just to try and fit everything in. We enjoyed our time there and fit in what we could and what we wanted. We have several more things we still want to do, but like I said, there was no point in rushing through and not enjoying what we did just to try and get it all in. There are def things we would do again, and there are several more things we just didn't get around to. 

Today starts the beginning of summer semester and it's already in full swing. I have been mentally preparing for these next two months and praying we both make it through ha. It's going to be crazy but once August hits his classes will be (mostly) done and residency begins. We also find out one month from today if we will be moving or not!