Camping

Over Labor Day Weekend we were able to go camping with the Zastrows. We headed down to Mammoth Caves in South central Kentucky and stayed for two nights. It was a great time, and I think Aiden had more fun than any of us. He was so happy to be out in the dirt and grime, not having to always be wiped down and told not to put things in his mouth. Of course, that was pretty much only because there was no way we could ALWAYS keep him clean, and because he was constantly putting things in his mouth, so inevitably, some things slipped past our watchful eyes. BUT, he's not sick, so no harm, no foul. The Zastrows went ahead and took a good two hour long tour of the caves, but we didn't think Aiden could make it that long, so we ended up taking our own little hike around the area. We saw a lot of butterflies, and cool springs where underground rivers came to the surface, as well as some BYU fans, believe it or not! In all, we had a great weekend and really enjoyed the time with family and friends and away from school and all the business of Lexington.

A Day in the Life of Aiden

I just had to post these recent pictures of Aiden. There is construction going on next to us and he just LOVES to watch the trucks and bulldozers moving all of the dirt. So, we sit outside on our patio in our camping chairs and watch the trucks together while eating popsicles. He is getting so big.


Lately he has also started to wear his ducky towel on his head and walks around saying "quack, quack."

Aiden has also discovered that it is fun to get wet even if it is cold water. He plays in the rain and he plays in the sprinklers in our backyard.

The Start of Something Wonderful

Today was Brad's white coat ceremony at the University of Kentucky's College of Medicine. This is a special ceremony they do for the new entering medical students where they receive their white student doctor coats and they recite an oath of professionalism. First the Dean of Medicine spoke and I really enjoyed his speech. He talked about how learning should be a lifelong process and that if you really are trying to strive for perfection and to be the best doctor you can be for your patients then you should always be striving to learn more. He also talked about gaining the respect of your colleagues and of your patients. He said that respect takes a lifetime to build and just one moment to lose. Anyways, he said a lot more but those were a few of my favorite points that he made.
Then the Dean of Admissions spoke and she talked about the entering class and their academic excellence and also the different talents and skills they took note of during the admissions process. She started by reminding the class that they were the 113 people chosen out of over 2,000 applicants and out of over the 400 who were interviewed. It always makes me so thankful, humble, and amazed to hear those numbers because I know that Brad was meant to be here at this school right now and it was through the Lord's blessing that we are here and I am so grateful.
This year was the 50th Anniversary of the College of Medicine at the University of Kentucky so they had an alumni come from each graduating class since 1960 come to participate in the ceremony. The alumni were the ones who presented the new students with their white coats. Here is the video of Brad receiving his white coat--

After receiving their white coats they then all stood and said their oath of professionalism. And then there was a reception with food and stuff afterwords. It was all really nice and I am so happy for Brad to have this opportunity. Brad--I am so proud of you!

Together after the ceremony. (Aiden looks like he is sneering. haha)

Brad shaking hands with the Dean of Medicine after receiving his white coat. (Sorry for the bad pic quality I didn't realize that Aiden had smudged the lens.)

My two handsome boys. I love you both so much!

Happy Birthday, Love!

So Jessie's birthday was just a couple of days ago on July 28th. She officially turned 22. We were able to celebrate with Brent and Meagan and their family. They came over that night for cake and ice cream and the kids played for a little while. We went out for her birthday dinner to a seafood place close to our house. Jessie had been there before with her mom and sister and loved it, so we decided to head out there again. The food was great. We had a fun evening as a family. I am such an incredibly blessed man to have such an amazing woman as my wife and mother to our son! I love you, Jessie! Thank you for marrying me.

Kentucky

Ok, so our first week in Kentucky has been full of unpacking, fixing, buying, moving, replacing items, making trips to Wal-Mart, running errands, making more trips to Wally World, heading to campus, hanging out with the Zastrow family, and more unpacking. After all the running around, though, I think we are finally all moved in and settled down. I had to run down to campus yesterday to take care of some financial aid issues and to pick up my new student ID, so we took advantage of the time and went as a family and looked around part of campus for a little bit. It is a beautiful campus and it only made us more excited to be here in Lexington. School starts on August 2, so it's only a short week and a half away. I never really thought it would actually come, especially during all the hassles of applying for schools. Jessie and I really feel that this is where we are supposed to be. The school and the College of Medicine especially have such a great atmosphere.
Our little townhouse if perfect for the three of us. It's big enough to fit us and all of our stuff, and it's in a great part of the city. Lucky for us, a good amount of the members in our ward live within just a few blocks of where we're at. Apparently so many members live around here that the missionaries call it Little Utah. Oh, and we love our ward. The members that we met on Sunday were amazing, and a lot of them are students or residents. Dental students, medical students, medical residents, oral surgery residents...and a LOT of them are actually from Idaho. Who would've thought! Anyway, we'll post up some pictures and write more later. Go Wildcats!...and GO COUGARS!

The part of campus where I'll be spending a LOT of my time.

Memorial Hall

Aiden and Mommy in the living room.

Aiden doing what he does so well as of late...walking!

Aiden and the car.

Aiden Turned 1!

About a week or so before we left we got to celebrate our little boy's first birthday. He is growing up so fast. He is now running around everywhere and only crawls if he trips and is in a real hurry to get somewhere. He is so smart and curious about everything. Jessie and I are so blessed to have such a happy, healthy, and smart young boy. We love you, Aiden!

One of the rare occasions where I was able to get Aiden to fall asleep.

We found out that corn on the cob is literally one of Aiden's new favorite foods...but it has to be on the cob.

Aiden also loves his new car! We have already spent hours pushing him around in circles.

Aiden and his birthday cake. He didn't eat too much. He was more tired than hungry.

We Miss North Idaho

The whole Alan Griffitts Family, grandchildren and all

Well, the time has finally come. We have now been in Kentucky for a little over a week. We are very excited to be here and to move on with medical school and life down here, but we are definitely going to miss the time we were able to spend in North Idaho. We had a lot of fun and made a lot of good memories. Here are a couple of pictures that were taken over the last couple months with everyone home. Thank you to everyone that helped us out during our stay there and for all of your support. We love and miss you all.

Aiden playing with his cousins Coen and Atlas, loving the bubbles.

Sitting at the kiddy table with Emmy.

Playing Scum with the Family and Mike D. Goody joined us for a while, too.

The girls all waiting out for the midnight showing of the new Twilight movie.

The Ladies!

The boys...

Panic Plunge at Silverwood. It was actually pretty crazy!

Aiden and Daddy on the Silverwood train. Aiden got to see a real life train robbery...sort of.

Daddy and Aiden going down the slide at Silverwood.

Aiden at Boulder Beach waterpark...love his camo hat. It says 'Young Buck'.