Utah, Part II

After being up at the lake for four days we spent a few more days with the Pollei's before heading back to CA. Tienna loved helping my dad with the fence in the backyard, we played in grandma's backyard and the girls even managed to run through the sprinklers a couple of times. 

The tramp was a big hit...

Tienna loved the sprinklers.

Kiara, not so much at first.

But once she realized Tienna was having fun...

then it wasn't so bad any more.

One morning I snapped a couple of pictures of Kiara with my mom's camera. We sure love this girl!

On our way home we hit the dreaded traffic between Vegas and home. Now that we're here we already miss everyone and Tienna is constantly asking about what her cousins are doing but it sure is good to be back to routines, schedules and normal life all around. Until our next trip!

Pineview

Every summer the Vandersteen's get together for a week of boating up at Pineview Reservoir. Last summer was the first time we weren't able to go so we were looking forward to this year even more. We had 13 adults and 13 kids split between two condos and had a great time. (Everyone but Josh's stepbrother and family and a brother-in-law were able to come.) We got our fill of birthday's, boat rides, tube rides, wake boarding, fire drills, rope swings, beautiful scenery, cool nights, delicious food and good company.

 The view from our kitchen and patio.

McKay and Brooke even came up for a day :)

This is Zion, the oldest nephew on the Vandersteen side. He loved helping with Kiara; carrying her around, playing with her, helping her get snacks... I can only imagine what it would be like to have a 10 year old at home. I think if possible the Tippetts would have taken Kiara home with them : )

Kiara loved swimming in the lake as long as someone had an arm around her. 

Two of the kids had birthdays while we were there. One night there were balloons for everyone to play with. Kiara loved them and didn't even mind when one popped in her face.

Notice how despite the balloons the kids still managed to be drawn in by the Incredibles.

We LOVED seeing everyone and miss you all already. Hopefully it won't be another two years before we can all get together again!

No Longer an Intern

The end of June also brought the end of Josh's Intern year. To say that it's been tough is a gross understatement. While talking the other night Josh and I figured out that in the past 12 months he had 7 call months (call shifts coming every 4th day) 1 month of night shifts with an average of 4-5 days off per month. He got 7 weekends off (Saturday and Sunday off) and only 1 3-day weekend. In addition to that he studied for and took step 3 of his boards and started a research project. Whew! I can't count the number of shirts that have been ironed, the times Josh's white coat has been bleached or how many pairs of scrubs I have folded. I know that I am relieved that it is over and can only imagine the relief Josh feels knowing that he never has to be an Intern again. 

(Since Josh isn't a fan of having his picture taken in work garb, here's the hospitals he's spent the vast majority of his time at since last June.)

Loma Linda University Medical Center 

 Riverside County Hospital

The VA in Loma Linda

This next year will bring another 7 call months but somehow knowing that we've already made it though a year is very comforting. I knew residency would be tough, but I had no idea of how demanding and stressful it really is for both the physician and the family. Through it all I have come to appreciate and be grateful for the wonderful man Josh is. It amazes me what he goes through daily and that he is willing to continually go through such a rigorous schedule so he can help people and support our family in a way that I can be a mom. I love you sweetie! Only 5 more years to go!!

4 Years {SO} Old!

June 23rd was Tienna's 4th birthday. I can hardly believe that she is 4 let alone that I am the mother of a 4 year old, seriously where has time gone?! Tienna keeps telling me that she feels so much older now that she's 4 :) As luck had it we were moving over her birthday (somewhat reminiscent of last year...) however, we managed to fit in a birthday party and a day of fun on her actual birthday.

So, first things first, Wednesday we had a joint birthday with Tienna's good friend David. Since it is June and we live in California we decided on a swimming party with a water balloon toss to help keep everyone cool along with a pinata and cake.

The birthday girl! 

 Tienna and David with their Princess and Lego cakes... (and David's little sister Sadrie)

I initially had plans to make her cake but moving the day before kind of threw things off. Good thing I had the princesses ready to go so they could be added to any cake! :)

On her birthday Tienna was beyond thrilled to be the center of attention. It took some convincing to get her to wait until Josh got home from work to open presents but somehow we managed. The highlight was her Rapunzel wig. To say that she's a fan of Tangled would be a serious understatement so the wig has been perfect and gets used almost daily during quiet time.

Just for my sake here's some of Tienna's current favorites:

• Tienna has an incredible imagination. She incorporates almost everything we see and do into her little vision of the world and I love it! She tells me the most detailed stories about her friends, pets, etc. while we're on errands or driving in the park.
• Tienna has started the never-ending-questions phase. Not only does she ask all the questions I somewhat expect but she comes up with some of the most specific, poignant questions I can imagine. (i.e. "Mommy, why do vegetables help your hair and finger nails grow?") She honestly catches me off guard almost daily.
• Tienna is an extremely tender, sensitive and sweet girl. The older she get the more tender she gets. She can turn on genuine tears over anything startling, sad, frightening or concerning (it's even happened once or twice when we drive past an accident on the side of the road and she'll ask if everyone is ok). She always tries to console others who are sad and gives the best 'hugs and loves' as we say at our house.
• Tienna loves being outside. On one hand I feel bad that we don't have a yard that she can just go play in but on the other hand when we go to Utah she LOVES it and absolutely will spend every possible moment outside. She doesn't care if she's swimming, being a helper, at the playground or just exploring on her own, to her outside is the place to be.
• Tienna is a very social girl. She is finally getting over her shyness and will make friends with anyone, anywhere, anytime. At the park she will play with anyone regardless of age, at the store she will talk to anyone who talks to her (kid, parent or grandparent age) and when I say talk I mean continue talking for as long as possible - she always has been and always will be my little chatterbox!
• Tienna is 100% girl. If she could she'd wear dresses or skirts all day every day, she plays dress ups daily during quiet time and loves all things pink, purple, shiny and sparkly. (I seriously wonder how I have such a girly girl!) That being said, she is getting more well rounded and loves Star Wars, legos and trains too.

We love you Tienna and are so excited to see what this next year brings!

So much to do, so little time

This week life is FINALLY going to get back to normal and I am so excited! Since my last post we've packed, moved and unpacked completely (I'm still working on hanging pictures though...), Tienna had a birthday, Josh finished his Intern year (yea!!!) and we were able to spend a week with both families up in Utah. Needless to say there are MANY pictures to be posted but it's finally on my list of things to do so hopefully the many pictures will be posted in the next couple of days. If only we didn't have to waste all that time sleeping I might have a chance at catching up with everything!