Swim Lessons!!

Kelsey started swim lessons on Monday and LOVES it!! It is every day for two weeks. She's becoming more and more brave; however, much to Blake's chagrin, I think she has part of my curse of fear of water. She refuses to put her face in the water and is very timid when it comes to water. She has a sweet teacher though that plays with her very well and pushes her a little bit. Kelsey's favorite thing is to swim with a noodle wrapped around her waist--I had never considered this before. She just lights up swimming around the pool. The video is the first time she did it by herself. Poor Mylee wants to join in. I have to chase her around the pool and grab her before falling in--she doesn't fear water. She's like "Wha-hoo, throw me in!" She'll even put her face in the water and blow bubbles and we can't get Kelsey to do it. Go figure.

Recipes Anyone?

Many of you know that Blake has had health problems. When we were in Utah for a couple of weeks he was able to get some testing to find out what he was allergic to and nutrients he was lacking etc. His dad had this same test done and found out he was allergic to many things and since following his prescribed diet doesn't suffer from his arthritis anymore!! Well we are hoping this will be the case with Blake with his medical conditions. From the test we found out that he is allergic to:

Milk and milk products including cheese, butter, etc.
Caesin
Garlic
Eggs
Mustard
A few others that weren't as severe

Let me tell you that it has been a HUGE shock to our eating habits. Garlic surprisingly is in almost everything, salad dressings, speghetti sauce, grilling spices, marinades, etc. In fact it seems like the things that don't have milk or eggs has either mustard or garlic. I am coming to terms now that I will have to make all my sauces and dressings from scratch and I bought some egg substitute that I can substitute in recipes.

I am calling for any recipes that you may have that don't include these ingredients, or if you have a recipe that could be left without something. I'm starting to compile my own list and may even start a blog of recipes/foods we are eating to help others who may be in the same position or for those who want some healthy recipes. If you have any recipes you would like to share with us, you can email them to me at cami_clifton12@hotmail.com

A Discussion

Cami: Kelsey please stop picking your ouchys (ie: scabs)

Kelsey: But Mom, it's my favorite part


Another day...


Kelsey: Mom, how old are you?

Cami: 26

Kelsey: Mom, when I am 26 I won't pick my ouchys anymore

Humm, Mascara or This?

We have a PROBLEM!! So the mascara was bad, but I'm thinking this next thing is worse because it happens nearly every day!! BED WETTING!! Kelsey you're thinking right? WRONG--Mylee! Confused? Well Mylee has this habit of taking off her diaper ALL the time. It mostly happens when I put her in her bed for a nap or bedtime, but she has been known to do it during the day--especially if she is on her own for a while. Should I try to potty train her? What should I do? Any suggestions?

The Joys of Motherhood

Mascara, need I say more?

4th of July Festivities

We started the morning off early, leaving our house at about 8:20 A.M to go to the city parade downtown. We went with our new friends and next door neighbors. We had a great time. Kelsey LOVED it. It took some warming up for Mylee, but she eventually got the hang of it and was clapping and waving and having a grand ol' time. We met up with some other friends and went with them after the parade to check out the fair where the supposedly had some great food. The food smelled great, but we didn't end up buying anything and didn't stay long because it was pretty hot. People are BBQ happy out here!! The whole town smelled like BBQ yesterday!! They go all out with the smookers and and everything. Hearlded as some of the best food are their fried turkey legs, yes I said fried. I've heard their fried pies aren't too shabby either.

Just chillin' in my stroller Mom!

Mylee waving
Kelsey enjoying the parade

Me and my girls :)

Kelsey thinking this is SO great!!

Later that evening we went to our neighbor's for a BBQ and had some really yummy steaks and sides. Then around 9:00 P.M. we gathered our girls and went searching for some fireworks. We came to a great little place off the side of the road with some green grass to sit on and enjoyed watching the fireworks. Here in Lubbock, they don't really have any restrictions on fireworks, so people were setting them off EVERYWHERE!! It was great! Who needs to buy fireworks! Mylee wasn't too impressed though. After every load boom she would cry. Eventually she found her way into Dad's arms and covered her ears with his arms and the blanket.

We sat next to this family and shared our glow sticks with them. They were thrilled and Kelsey quickly made some new friends. What's funny is this morning at church we realized they are in our ward!! Ha ha, who knew?

Visitors!!

Well we have to give props to three families now, Logan and Tanya and Matt and Dionne who visited us in Vermont and now Matt and Monica who just visited us on Lubbock. We were so thrilled to have visitors and it was so great in being able to accomodate our guests with more space. Matt and Monica arrived late Monday left Wednesday morning last week. Tuesday we packed a lunch and went to go see the temple here in Lubbock--Beautiful of course!! Then we found a really neat park where we ate lunch and let the kids play for a while. The kids had a great time and it was practically perfect weather for the park--not too hot, not too cold, a little windy though. Blake then showed them around the hospital where he will be working. Later that night we just enjoyed visiting and enjoyed watching our kids play together.

Kelsey pushing Blake in the swing
Mylee eating her applesauce on the move--typical
Oakley hanging out eating his sandwich
Blake, Matt and Monica just chillin'

The Beginnings....

Well, Blake started his first official day of residency today. He woke up at 4:30 A.M and was out of the house at 5 A.M. I don't expect him home until 7 PM or thereafter. We feel so blessed that he has a job and that he is doing what he wants to do--Orthopaedics; however these feelings are mixed with, ahhh, how am I going to do this? How is he (he's amazing, he'll do it without complaint)?

I'm comforted by the scripture found in Moses Chapter 6:56 that reads: "...and they taste the bitter, that they may know to prize the good." Yes, these five years will be hard, but when he has time off or when things aren't as busy, I will learn to cherish those times and appreciate them so much better. I also find comfort in the fact that there are other wives in the program with kids that are making it through. I asked a second year Ortho resident wife how the intern year was and she said, "Oh just fine, nothing worse then med school." We'll see if I say the same.

Another adventure begins....

Checking In...

I know I have been MIA lately. I'm making an attempt to give ya'll a little update. Things have been really crazy!! In the past month we have traveled over 4,000 miles, driving from Vermont to Texas to Utah then back to Texas. Our move to Texas went very well. We had no problems on the way and were able to stay with my Aunt Julie and Uncle Brock and their family in Tennessee and then Blake's Uncle Bob and Aunt Cathy in Plano, Texas.

After arriving in Lubbock, we unloaded our truck--mostly by ourselves, but had some help from some nice neighbors near the end with the really heavy stuff. We got our refrigerator the next morning and then went to our ward for the first time. The ward is great, ironically the first person we met was Brother Merrill in the bishopric who was Blake's seminary teacher in high school--it's a small world. The next day they invited us over for a BBQ for Memorial Day where we met other people in the ward. We are lucky enough to have members living next door to us who are also medical residents--Ophthalmology. They have already become our good friends.



We spent the next 2 days trying to get our house put together and then we left for Utah to visit family. We had a great time. My mom had a family reunion for that side of the crew, Blake built us an entertainment center, we went boating, took some new family pictures and mostly hung out with family. We had a great time. I'll have to do another post on all that we did later with pics and the whole deal.

We left Utah after staying about two weeks then drove to my Grandma and Grandpa's house in New Mexico to visit. They live half way between Utah and Lubbock--how convenient!! I got to see my Great-Grandma and my girls got to meet her for the first time!!

The next day we drove home and have since been trying to get things settled. Unfortunately I got really sick with fever and the works for 3 days after we arrived home--I think all the change, moving, etc. got the better of me. We are still in a mess I feel like I have sort of hit burn out stage and have had no energy to do anything. Calling any volunteers who want to come help :) Ha ha, I know that's unrealistic. We'll get our house put together sooner or later. One of the hardest things is I have had to do a lot of cleaning, the previous owners didn't really do anything other than clean the carpets (which was good). I still need to clean walls, doors, baseboards, blinds, etc.

Blake started Orientation today and then starts work officially on July 1st. We are excited to begin our new journey, but also sad at what we have left!!

Kelsey's Interview

1. What is something mom always says to you? Do my chores
2. What makes mom happy? Doing my chores
3. What makes mom sad? When I don’t do my chores
4. How does your mom make you laugh? Doing silly things
5. What was your mom like as a child? she did chores
6. How old is your mom? 4
7. How tall is your mom? Real HUGE (hand over head)
8. What is her favorite thing to watch on TV? cartoons
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? She tries to find me.
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? I don’t know
11. What is your mom really good at? Helping little kids do chores
12. What is your mom not very good at? Getting Jesus to come down from heaven (Where did that come from???)
13. What does your mom do for her job? Clean up
14. What is your mom's favorite food? Salad
15. What makes you proud of your mom? When she does her chores (do we see a theme here?)16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? The Little Mermaid
17. What do you and your mom do together? Play with each other
18. How are you and your mom the same? I just don’t know
19. How are you and your mom different? We are wearing different colors
20. How do you know your mom loves you? Cause she gives me hugs and kisses
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? When he gives her kisses.
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Lowes (we’ve been house hunting/dreaming too much apparently)

All Moms that have not done this are now TAGGED!!

Blake's Project

Last week we were able to go to Blake's sister's house to build them a new fireplace mantel and some bookshelves on either side--well, Blake went to build it, I went to help support the cause :) He did a fabulous job! Really truely, the last picture doesn't do his work justice. There is a lot of detail you can't see. Click on the picture to blow it up. He came home from Home Depot with nothing more then big pieces of wood, molding and some tools and wha-la!!

This is what their fireplace looked like when they first moved in a little less then a year ago.

This is what Blake had to work with when we showed up at their house. Notice how all the dark paneling was taken down and the walls painted--nice.

This is the end result--well, almost. then still need to finish around the edge of the hearth and do a few touch ups, but can you believe the DIFFERENCE!! Wow, LOVE IT!!

Pictures of the House

People have been asking for pictures. So here are pictures of the main rooms in the house.

Master Bedroom

Dining room, opposite the kitchen. The curtains are covering up a large window looking into the back side yard.

Picture of the side yard from the green bedroom, and yes the playset comes with the house and the shed.

Picture of the backyard from the family room.

One bedroom--it will be getting painted. My craft and exercise room.

Another bedroom. Colors are nice, but I think I'll do pink for the girls.

Kid's bathroom

Kitchen

View from the family room, you can see the living room and entry and part of the dining room. the laundry room is to the left of the arch way and the garage back door is there too. It's a rear entry garage. The master bedroom is straight through that hall.

Living Room, this is only one angle though.

Family room, there is a fireplace in the corner that you can't see in the picture.

Another bedroom--I love the cowboy theme, I might keep that.

Master Bathroom

Good News!

WE GOT THE HOUSE!! YEAH!!

We have the inspection scheduled for Monday so I can be there for it and then I leave early Wednesday morning. Oh and get this, I woke up to snow today! I should have brought some winter clothes--I'm freezing.

House Hunting

After we found out we matched in Texas, we booked a plane ticket for me so I could down to do some house hunting. Blake stayed home with the girls and my friends were extremely generous to help out while Blake finishes his last course of medical school. Today he is taking his last test of Medical school and he is done!!

I am extremely fortunate because my former young woman leader and friend (Marti) lives in Lubbock, Texas--I had just found this out a little over a month ago. She and her family have welcomed me with open arms into their home and has made me feel so welcome. After my all day trip to get here--I woke up at 5:30 A.M., drove 3 hours drive to the Manchester, NH airport where my sister-in-law dropped me off. Then I flew to Philadelphia, Dallas, and then Lubbock arriving there at 10:30 their time, 11:30 Eastern time. It wasn't too bad though. It's amazing how much easier it is to fly when you aren't packing around kids. I enjoyed myself and read half of my book. When I arrived in Lubbock, Marti and her husband Russ took me by the temple.

The next day Marti and her daugther Karli, who was one of my laurels when I was Laurel Class President, when house hunting with my Realtor Liz. We saw 23 homes in one day!!! We started at 10 and ended at 7 P.M. But the trip was successful! I found two homes that I absolutely love and we made an offer on one yesterday. So far we have countered twice and I am at the current moment waiting to here back from my realtor to see if they accepted. This home is 5 minutes from the hosiptal, in a wonderful newly developed neighborhood, and within walking distance to the elementary school. To make things even better an LDS Opthamology resident lives next door with his wife and daughter of 17 months. She is also expecting in June. How random is that?? So we are hoping the seller will accept our offer.

This whole thing has been a lot more stressful then I expected! The house hunting was fun, but when it came to the paper work and the nitty-gritty work of buying a house, I was feeling the pressure especially without Blake being here with me. But we did our best. I would get Blake on speaker phone and we would discuss the terms of the contract and we would both ask questions.

As I was waiting to hear back from my realtor after we placed our offer, Marti, Russ, and Karli took me out for dinner at a yummy mexican resteraunt and then they showed me around town. We even went back to the house we put an offer on because Russ hadn't seen it. They also showed me a really nice part of town and then ran drove by the mission president's home. Marti wanted to stop by really quick to introduce me to them. So we went up to their door and it just happened that the whole mission presidency was there and they had just finished having a meeting. They invited us in and gave us ice cream and cookies and talked for about an hour. The only problem is that I forgot to bring in my phone and I didn't want to be rude and go out in get it. But Blake had it taken care of. He was bartering as I was having a nice little meeting. Which was probably better because I would have been stressing out. So we wait, we'll see what happens.

The Verdict is in!!!!!

We arrived at the school around 11:30 A.M. where we all waited with anticipation. I was off the wall this morning and Kelsey kept asking, "Mom, what is it?" I would tell her, "Today we find out where we will be living for the next 5 years and what kind of doctor daddy will be." "Oh," she would say. When we met Blake at school, Kelsey told Blake, "Today we find out what kind of doctor you are going to be!" Remember we ranked two specialties. We know we matched on Monday, but we didn't know what in. So today was very exciting for us.


Here is Blake and Mylee waiting with anticipation--well at least Blake is.

Here is the Dean, Dr. Waterman with the envelopes that say where we are going in them. Ahhh!!! When everyone saw him, everyone started clapping. We followed him back to the students' mailboxes along with everyone else. Me and the girls waited in the hall with our friends while Blake went to get the envelope. The anticipation at this point was about to kill me. People were crying and then I started crying!! I hadn't even found out where we were going. We had worked so hard and then to be there at that moment, the culmination of all that we have been working for the past many years was just surreal. Blake eventually found his way to us. Our friends who had early match in January were video taping and he opened it up. And there it was......

Texas Tech University

Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation.

Lubbock, Texas

Our 1st choice!!!!!

Wow, we can not be happier and really can't believe it!! We feel so blessed and watched over. I am so PROUD of Blake. He worked sooooo hard at this!!!!!!!!!! It just shows that you can get what you really want if you put in the work and rely on the Lord. Today was such a momentous day for us. Now we hope to go looking for homes and get all of our moving plans into place.

So our life moves forward and we are again staring another adventure and we are very excited about it!!!

We Matched!!

Today we found at that we matched; however, we won't know WHERE we are going until Thursday. Something tricky with us too is that we applied to both Orthopaedics and General Surgery, so we don't know what he matched into. We're relieved we matched and that we at least have a job!! Yeah, a job, a real job!! We're on our toes wondering and extremely anxious now to see not only where we will be moving to, but what kind of doctor Blake will be. One thing is for sure though, he is going to be a surgeon!

Mylee and her shades

Blake's sister Tanya actually gave these sunglasses to Kelsey a while ago, but Mylee has since claimed them as her's. She LOVES wearing them, it's sooo funny. What is especially funny is the smile she gives me when to tell her to smile for the camera. Look those cheesers!

Daddy-daughter Date

Recently we got a Lowe's built near our home. In the past month, we've already been there 4 times dreaming about our future home and how we would customize it, and what colors we would use, etc. We've also been dreaming for Blake's sister as she is doing some improvements on her house. Thanks Dionne for letting us use your house to dream about since we don't have one yet. It's been really fun! I LOVE LOVE LOVE interior design so these have been fun little outings for me. During one of our excursions Blake noticed a schedule of events for children. So this past Saturday Blake took Kelsey to do a wood project. Apparently it was the cutest thing ever and she thought she was quite special. She even got her own apron and googles to keep. Each time she finishes a project she gets a patch to sew to her apron--sooo cute! Mylee and I went to a bridal shower and had loads of fun. When we both got home, Kelsey ran to get her project to show me.

If you can't tell it is a basketball hoop. It goes perfectly with March Madness going on. She was even allowed to use a hammer to hammer in the nail herself. Too bad Blake and Kelsey weren't in the picture together.

We're Starting to Thaw Out!!

The weather has been so WONDERFUL lately. We are finally starting to thaw out. Today the girls were outside for most of the day and were exhausted by the day's end--which was great!! It's so freshing to be able to sit on my porch and soak in the sun and not FREEZE to death! Mylee is quite found of this hula, for some reason only she knows. It is so funny, she'll just walk up and down the side walk with this hula hoop around her waist.

Kelsey found a little ice pond to play in. Thankfully it is not there anymore. We're even more grateful that it didn't spill into our basement :)

Blake has really been enjoying his schedule and the warm weather too! He's been out about 3 or 4 times this past week! Saturday he took a 42 mile bike ride--crazy huh? It's so exhilerating to him though. He comes home from those rides all smiles. The time he is away is worth it because he comes home so happy. And me, I'm busy being a mom. That's good enough for me right now.

Happy Birthday Blake!

Yesterday Blake had his 28th birthday!! I sort of ruined it though, don't worry--I'm making it up to him today. I went to the grocery store to get him a cake because that is what he requested. Hey, I couldn't complain, less work for me. I also had visions of making him a nice meal. I picked out slices of cake (you can do that at the bakery) for him to try a variety of different cakes. I thought I was being so clever and was excited to see the smile on his face. Well when we got to the check out and after everything was totaled. I reached in my purse to pay and what do you know, I FORGOT my wallet! I had updated the budget earlier and had left it on the desk. Sadly, we left the store empty handed :( and I didn't make it back to the store before he got home. So we ended up having a regular meal, but we still sang happy birthday and he got to blow out some candles on top of ice cream.

Today however, I didn't forget my wallet and I got the cakes he wanted! And I have chicken cordon blue, rolls, chef salad, and funeral potatoes planned for dinner. I think this will redeem me. Me and the girls love Blake!! Here are SOME of the reasons why:

He is extremely wise and teaches us things. (He's teaching Kelsey to play her game)

He does activities with us.

He snuggles with us. Mylee's personal favorite (she LOVES to snuggle with Dad!)

He works hard and doesn't complain about it.

He takes care of us and loves us.

He makes the time to do fun things with his family.

He's adventurous

He's just plain fun and happy about life despite the challenges it comes with.

He's well-rounded and accomplished in many areas.

We love you Blake and Happy Birthday!!
Love, your girls :)