Independence Day

We had a different fourth of July this year and it was so fun to change it up.  Instead of the usual BBQ, stuff your face, and then watch fireworks (which I love all of the above) we decided to go to Charlotte for the day with the Mosley clan.  Our goal was to meet up at Ikea, shop around, and then head to the Discovery Children's Museum.  Well we made it to Ikea, spent way to long chasing kids, browsing and looking at everything and ended up not making it to the museum because it closed at 4:30, stinker.  Oh well Ikea was great and we ended up going to Bass Pro Shop and stayed there for almost 2 hours.  There were boats, 4-wheelers, side-by-sides, and other things to climb on and check out.  The kids had a blast doing that so we figured it was great for them to be entertained and run around and get all their energy out.  Then on our way home we stopped in Burlington and ate at "Little Italy."  It was pretty good.  One of Tim's patients told him about it and he was been wanting to eat there since ever since.  We headed home and didn't get Jonah to bed until 9pm, and I payed for it that night. Oh well, you have to skip your routine every once-in-awhile.  We didn't do the fireworks which I was super bummed because I LOVE fireworks, but we knew it probably wouldn't be much fun for Jonah.   Maybe next year!

 Tim's mom gets us matching shirts every year from Old Navy.  I love this tradition and so look forward to wearing our new shirts and getting pictures.

 These 4-wheelers were Jonah's favorite.  I can't wait to go home to Montana in a week, ahhhhhhh, and he can ride them all day at both grandparents!  He is going to love it there.

 Yep I took some pictures on the boat. I wanted to make it look like we went boating on this huge amazing $45,000 boat.  Does the background look real?

 Haha, not with that big hunting sign in the back!

My boys, love them to pieces!!

Jonah was pretty fussy by this time of day so it was movie time while we waited for our food.  And the cousins enjoyed this time as well.  Jonah loves Joshua so much.  We were walking in Ikea and I told him to hold momma's hand.  He was not listening and kept running away from me.  But then Joshua told Jonah to hold his hand and Jonah's little hand slipped right into Joshua's (melt my heart).  And Jonah wanted to be carried about by Joshua the whole time, so precious to see how much Jonah adores him.

Happy Fourth of July, 2013!

My little Artist

Last week the weather was great.  Sunny, warm, so many fun things to do outdoors.  This week it has been awful!  It has rained everyday since Sunday.  That makes it hard for this momma to keep the little man entertained inside all day.  But we somehow managed.  These pictures are from last week when it was nice out.  You would think since it rained all week I would have posted these pictures sooner, since were stuck inside all day, but I was probably wasting time on pinterest or something.  Anyway here are some pictures of Jonah painting and playing with bubbles, some of his favorite things to do!

 Now how do I get this lid off?

 We started out painting the driveway...

And then discovered it was more fun to paint himself!  I did purchase washable paint which was a good thing because he had it all over him.  But after washing his onesie I learned I should have sprayed the shirt with spot cleaner because there are light blue stains all over.  Oh well it was a cheap onesie and he had a blast so it was all worth it to me!

 See the drool in the picture?  There was some major concentrating going on here!

 And then it was time to clean up.  Jonah washed the driveway for me!

 I tried to get an action shot of Jonah running with the bubbles but all I got was a dark body.  I obviously did not have the right setting on my camera!

 Having fun letting the bubbles pop on his face!

It's Time to party!

I threw a big party for Tim on Sunday for all of his classmates, family, and some of our close friends.  It was a great turnout with about 30 people including children.  So if you know me well, you know I love to throw a big party.  I am obsessed with searching pinterset for all the lastest and greatest decorating and party ideas, and love to read blogs and magazines for ideas as well.  I have had a collection of ideas for Tim's big party for awhile now and it was fun to see it all come together!  It was so great that Tim's mom was out for the party because she was a huge help watching Jonah so I could run errands, pick food up, and watched him the day of the party.  Tim was reluctant for me to throw him a party as he did not feel he was really done, but I informed him that he had accomplished so much and I wanted to recognize and celebrate him so we did.  Thanks to everyone that came out to celebrate!

There was lots of Jonah and Mimi time.  So sweet!

The spread.  I went with UNC carolina blue (except I was a little off on the color and went more aqua oops!) and then had cupcakes, a scrub cake, and flavored popcorn.  I had a great time putting the table together.  Then in the back I displayed his diploma from residency!

My friend Kpo made the cake and she did a great job!

I saw this cute sign on pinterest and tried to recreate it.  It was better on pinterest but I was still pleased with how it turned out!

The flavors of the popcorn were Salt and Vinegar, Caramel, and Jalapeño Cheddar.  They were all very tasty!

My dear friend Katie's little girl Kaitlyn.  What a cutie!

These are some of my dearest friends here in North Carolina.  We all met at small group, go to the same church, most of our husbands are residents together, we have had children together, and have stayed friends since then.  It has been so fun getting to know these girls and they have become my closest and dearest friends here.  It will be so hard when we all leave in a year and go our separate ways, but we will always cherish the time we had!

Enjoying a little cupcake!  He hardly gets dessert so this was a fun little treat.  By the end of the night he had frosting all over him!

Caleb enjoying a cupcake too.  Looking at this picture makes me see he is getting so big!

Tim enjoying sometime visiting with his friends and colleagues.
 

My friend Katie Beth and I!

Katie Beth, Melanie, Julie, and I.  Oh and Emery with Melanie!!

Some cousin love.  Amelia and Jonah have a love/fight relationship.  They are both the youngest and sometimes don't get the whole sharing thing.  But then they have these cute little moments where playtime is great together.  Here Amelia is loving on Jonah and they are both having a blast!  So sweet to see cousins together.

Congratulations Tim!!!

Cheers to my Hubs!!

Let me start out this post by saying I am so proud of my husband.  My hard working, easy going, supportive, sweet, caring, helpful, loving husband has graduated from the UNC Anesthesia Resident program.  Yay for you Tim! I am beaming with joy and and am so proud of the hard work you have done these last four years.  The speaker at his graduation summed up a Dr.'s profession very nicely, the time it takes the average person to go from K-12th grade is the same time it takes a Dr. to complete his training.  Yes thats right folks.  Four years of under-grad, 4 years of medical school, and 4 years of residency (some programs are longer like neuro surgery is I think 8 years) plus one more year of a fellowship.  There you have it.  What a long and hard road, but so exciting to finally see we are almost out of it.    I am so proud of Tim for all the late nights he worked, the days he would go in at 6 am and not come home until 8am the next day.  The many weeks of nights he worked, LOTS and LOTS of weekends, sometimes he would work 10 days in a row without a day off.  This is the life of a resident and Tim has lived it and worked it with ease and grace.  I am so proud to see how much he has put into it and how much he has grown.  He is loved by all at UNC and I know because when I was in the hospital with everything with Ellie, every nurse I came in contact told me that my husband was so nice and and such a caring and wonderful person to work with.  That did make my day and my heart was full of joy because he is a great guy.  He cares about his patients, has even had the chance to pray with some and share his faith.  He is a team player, always willing to pitch in and help, and is kind and respectful to all and loved by all.  I love you Tim Erpelding and am so proud of everything you have done and what a wonderful leader, husband, father, and friend you have been.  Heres to you!!!!!!!

 Some of the guys.  Tim, Jeff, and Chris.

 The whole class.  This was a great class.  We have done a lot of things from day one.  Everyone gets along so well and really has a good time together.  It will be sad to not see everyone next year.  But we have made plans to have a get together every year, we will see if it really happens!!

 This is the same placing for everyone from day one of their intern year.  Kind of neat to take it again and see they are all done!

We are so glad that Tim's mom was able to come to his graduation, it really meant a lot to Tim to have her here!

 It was so fun to dress up and go out again.  Laura stayed home with Jonah so we could all go together. It was at the Chapel Hill Country and was was so nice.  The food was great!

Congratulations Tim. Love you so so much!