Spring Break 2012, Parts 2 & 3

Stop #2: Little Rock

As always, it is so fun to visit with friends back in the homeland.  It was a quick trip, but we got to stop in and visit with several friends, and it was so good to catch up with each of them.

However, the main event during our stay was Match Day for my big brother! Patrick is a senior medical student, and March 16th was the big day.  It was so weird being back in this place, watching him on this day, and remembering all the things we were going through and feeling for ourselves just one year ago.  Somehow it seems like a lifetime ago.  But I am beyond thrilled to report that Patrick will be training as a general surgery resident at Baylor Hospital in Dallas!!! His top choice!! He and his fiance Grace are ecstatic! It was such a fun day filled with so much joy for both of our families!  I honestly don't remember the last time I cried tears of pure joy, but they were flowing freely that day.  It was wonderful! Patty, I love you so much and am so so proud of you!

Anxiously awaiting the news...

  

The big announcement!

LOVE this picture featured in the local paper! So much joy!

Happy family!

Proud little sister!!

Celebratory lunch with both families!

 Stop #3: NWA
After the match day celebration, we headed up to visit the Bells in NWA. We hadn't been since Christmas, so we were quite excited to spend some time with everyone up there.  And although the trip was quick, it was a great visit.  One of the main weekend events was family painting day on Saturday.  Lauren and Alex are having a baby girl this summer, so we all teamed up to help paint sweet Rooney Corrine's nursery pink! It was a fun thing for us all to do together, and then we had family dinner out at Table Mesa.  Great day!  Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures during our trip, but I do have one little shot worth showing...

Sweet baby Jane is getting so big!  She is such a cutie.  Brooks is growing like a weed, too, and he is so handsome, fun, and full of energy.  He is currently vacillating between growing up to be a "heart doctor or a ninja"... truly a tough decision.  We recently discovered that he really only wants to be a doctor because he is certain that all doctors drive ambulances as their personal vehicles.  (I will not be the one to burst his bubble on that one.) So Brooks occasionally has questions for Austin about his profession. The latest was "do doctors eat cheetos or burritos?" I mean, this is serious stuff when it comes to choosing your life's work.  Clearly, this kid is wise beyond his four years, and I love him to pieces.

That wraps up our nine days on the road for Spring Break 2012.  It was tough getting back to the grind, but we are rolling along again.  Speaking of rolling along, today was bike day at our school. It was so fun watching all of the kiddos rocking and rolling on their trikes and bikes! Love those sweet babies!

Spring Break 2012, Part 1

One the perks of working for a school is Spring Break as an adult, and it could not have come at a more perfect time.  And the best part?? Austin was working in the ER and was able to arrange his shifts to have 9 days off in a row with me! I thought this kind of occurrence during intern year was unheard of. So needless to say, we took full advantage of each day we had away from work and headed out of town for a trio of trips.

Stop #1: BALTIMORE! We had been looking SO forward to this trip since booking our flights back in early December.  Rob & Allison, some of our nearest and dearest friends, moved up to Balty back when we headed to Tennessee.  We had seen them for a couple brief visits since moving, but it was so great to get to spend concentrated time with them in their new, northern world.  They have the sweetest toddler girl and the most precious baby boy, and we had the best time hanging out with all of them.  Truly, we could not have wished to spend our vacation doing anything else. We miss these friends so very much, and we soaked up every.single.second. Here are a few (or maybe a several) shots from the trip!

Love this boy and all of his hair.

Sweet, sweet girl.

I think that's a little smile from baby boy!

Baking cookies!

Introducing Ev to cream cheese icing...

I think she likes it!

Sharing book #764 over dinner. This gal is a bookworm!

Love this girl.

 

Hooray for great friends!

To Rob & Allison: This trip was the very best.  Thanks for hosting us for our extended stay.  We must do this again as soon as humanly possible.  Please and thank you.

March Madness

First of all, I can't believe March is already here. Woah Nelly.

Secondly, March is going to be busy month for the Bells. Luckily, it's mostly FUN stuff, and that, my friends, is my favorite kind of busy.

March Madness kicked off with a visit from the pops! My dad had a dental conference in town, so he came to stay with us for a few days. We LOVED having him here. We spent the majority of our time watching Chopped (our newest addiction) and eating like kings.  Yes, my waistline and I are keenly aware of the major food trend happening here.  Somehow, the boys managed to find time between meals for a round of golf. It was cold and windy, but where there is a will, there is a way.  But enough about that, back to the food talk.  We ventured downtown for both of our weekend dining hotspots, and we were not disappointed.  Friday night we had dinner at Spindini, a local Italian place.  It was delish, and we had a great time!  Here's a shot of our side of the table...

But let's move along to the dinner of all dinners.  Flight.  This place is extra-special.  You can order dinner just like you would order dinner anywhere else...OR...you can order flights of food.  Yes, that's right.  Multiple salads, soups, entrees, desserts... SMORGASBORD at your very own table.  If you order a flight, you receive smaller portions of each entree you choose, so the total amount of food equals one typical entree. They have pre-selected thematic flights (e.g., Seafood Flight- lobster, scallops, shrimp), or you can create your own flight, which is what we all did.  Now, I typically don't like photographs of food, but I feel like photos explain this place a bit better...

Salad Flight

Austin's Flight of Entrees

Dessert Flight (mid-annihilation)

Good to the last button-popping bite.  And tons of fun, too! 

Thanks for the visit, Dad!! Come back soon!