|{ My Researcher }|

Things have been very busy over here in the Peterson household!  The hubby was about to start his 3rd year of medical school, in which he would get to start with rotations, when life threw us a curve ball.

Though it was really hard to go through at the time and left us feeling frustrated and angry I think that it turned out for the better!

Jonathan found a great lab to do research in this year instead, postponing medical school until next year! He is already having a lot of success, he is getting paid for it, and he will get MANY publications out of it which will help him to get into a really good residency!

He has been VERY VERY busy!! Definitely more busy than his classmates who did get to start their 3rd year! He spends every day in lab, even the weekends, and is there from around 8-10 in the morning to 8-12 every evening! I don't get to see him much so when I do I try to take advantage of it.  Usually the weekends are less busy when he only goes in for a few hours.  He has had a few days off, mostly for things like birthdays and my graduation, and those days are always awesome!

I am so proud of him for all the work that he has been doing and I'm excited for our future! He's so amazing!!

|{ The Time Our Family Came To Michigan }|

At the end of June we got a visit from Jonathan's parents and his little sister, Angela! Their decision to come out was kind of sudden but we couldn't have been happier that they were finally going to come to Michigan to see us!! They drove all the way from Utah, which took them 2 days, and they stayed for about a week and half!!

We had such a great time with them while they were here! We went to a few big parks and took walks.  It is cool that there are places like that even right in the middle of town.  One of things I love about Michigan is that I can feel like I'm in the middle of the woods right in the middle of Ann Arbor.  We had a campfire one night and made tin foil dinners and s'mores, as well as had a good time with some masked visitors.  We went to the Henry Ford Museum.  We even took a trip up to Palmyra, New York to see some church historical sites like the Hill Cumorah and the Sacred Grove.  It was really special to see all those places that we have always only heard about.  I'm really glad to have finally been able to see it!

Little tiny turtles at Geddes Park

Making paper airplanes at the museum

All in the same position, haha!

Teasing his little sister

Now tell me that is not the cutest face ever!

On the 4th of July we went up to Jonathan's aunt's parents house and spent some time with his uncle and cousins.  They live on a lake and we were able to go out on the boat! Jon went water skiing and even stood up once! :)  It looked hard and I'm scared of being in the water in lakes...too dark... I did go tubing though! That was a lot of fun!!! That evening we bought some fountain fireworks and did them in the front yard.  I was really grateful to Jon for making sure we did fireworks.  I LOVE the Fourth of July!!

At the Hill Cumorah

Palmyra Temple

In front of the original painting

Tubing, I did NOT want to fall in the water, haha!

Other things we did:  Catching fireflies with Angela, ate lots of pizza, went swimming at the hotel in Palmyra, played Plants vs Zombies, and had a lot of fun with our family!!

Thanks for coming out guys! It was so great to see you!!

Also, my parents just bought a house in Arizona!!! They are so excited! I am so excited for them! I love Arizona!! They are planning to be heading down there by the end of the month!! CRAZY!!! I can't wait to go and visit them down there!!

Jonathan has officially decided to take this year to do research and to continue with school next May.  He is working in a really great lab that should be able to help him get some papers published, which will be great for when he applies for residency! I am so proud of him! He is super busy but he still takes the time to do things with his wife! :)

I am in the last stretch of school.  We are currently learning Neuromuscular Therapy and once we are done with that we are DONE! It's crazy!! I'm starting to realize how much I am going to miss my classmates! It's really incredible how close you get to people in only a year! I take my final on August 16th and then, assuming I pass, we have nothing to do until the day of graduation on September 8th! I am planning on getting certified in hot stone massage in the beginning of August and then in prenatal massage at the end of September and then I just need to take my National Certification exam and I'll be ready to rock and roll! Though I am planning on trying to find a job before I graduate!

So, life is sure busy, but it is GREAT!! Things are just wonderful here in the Peterson household!!

p.s. We are babysitting this little dude for the summer! His name is Kyle and he is so adorable!! :)

|{ Step 1 + Jon's Birthday }|

Jonathan took his Step 1 exam!! YAY!!! SO glad that it's over!  He hasn't found out what he got yet, hopefully soon! It was pretty much what all of the other wives of med students told me it was going to be like.  I'm glad they told me so that I could be prepared.  I honestly didn't realize how bad it had been though until it was over and all of a sudden I had my regular, happy, loving husband back! I sure missed that guy!! :)

After he finished his test I brought him pizza from Pizza House! We went to the mall for a bit and got some new clothes.  Then we went to see Avengers in 3D! SUCH a good movie!! We had a blast!!!

The next week was Jon's 27th birthday!! The night before we had some friends over for a BBQ and games! He got some fun gifts from his friends!  On his actual birthday he opened his presents from me! The biggest being a .22 handgun.  I couldn't actually buy it for him so we went to get his permit and then went to pick one out.  We got to shoot it the next day and he loved it! The rest of the day was spent relaxing, eating Korean chicken, and spending time together! It was a great day!

|{ What Its Like To Be Married To A Med Student }|

Hard.  That pretty much sums it up.

I do feel lucky that Jon is able to watch his lectures online, so if he isn't required to be there in person he has the choice to stay home.  Because of that, first year was not as bad as everyone told me.  I actually got to see him quite a bit and spend some time with him.  Second year is harder, maybe because Jon is recording the lectures so he has to be at every lecture every other week.  Also he has had some pretty tough sequences and has had to do a lot of studying.

It's also been harder since we moved because our 'office' is in our main living area which means that I have to be quiet, so I can't distract myself with TV while he is studying.

Some days are harder than other, for example yesterday (Saturday) Jon went to the school to study with some of his classmates.  He left at 10 a.m. and studied until about midnight and then wanted to get his test over with, so he didn't come home until 3 a.m.  I really missed him but he passed his test and I'm glad he got it done so we can spend some time together today.  He has Monday and Tuesday off of school but he is going to spend all day those days studying for his Step 1 exam.

As much as I miss him now, I've heard third year will be even worse! He will get to start doing rotations and seeing patients and will be gone a whole lot more.  I think how much he'll be gone will vary depending on the sequence he is on.  I guess we'll see.  All this missing him is just practice I guess!

The biggest thing that gets me through is that I know he is trying his hardest and that in the end...he'll be a doctor! And it will all pay off!  He'll be doing what he loves and we'll have a stable life!  We've really grown a lot as we've gone through this and I know we will continue to grow stronger as individuals and in our marriage!

So yes, it's a hard journey but I'm glad we're on it.

|{ Biorhythms- Phlomax }|

Do you remember when my awesome hubs did a rap for 'Biorhythms' a few months ago?

If not, I talked about it HERE!!

Biorhythms is a show that the medical school puts on where students get to perform dances, songs, and things of that nature.  Last time Jon's rap group was called 'Phlomax' and this time they got the group back together (with a few new members) and wrote a new rap! It was even better than last time! They did great!! Everyone thought it was hilarious (even though I personally did not understand some of the jokes!)

It's about pathologists (doctors who work in a lab) versus internists (doctors who work directly with patients).

Gangsta- Dr. Agon

This following photos were not taken by me!

MHRF

MY HUSBAND ROCKS FRIDAY!!

This week my husband rocks because he is dedicated!!

He works so hard to keep up with school and making sure he studies well for his tests!! I am always impressed with him. I don't know if I could work so hard and still have a good attitude when I'm not working. I do miss him, even when he is here he isn't really here, but I knew what I was getting into when he started medical school and I am excited for the journey. I know he is going to do his absolute best and that he will be an amazing doctor!!

I love my man!!

Amazing Weekend

So my weekend is actually Sunday and Monday since I work Tuesday through Saturday.

On Sunday Jon had his white coat ceremony!!! It was such a surreal feeling to see him starting this amazing journey!! He sure looked handsome in his new coat with his new stethoscope! (I'll post pictures and videos soon.) After the ceremony we had drinks and cute cookies shaped like white coats! Then we went with Jon's Aunt Cindy and Uncle Mark up to their parent's house and we had dinner and talked and then went on a boat ride out on the lake right behind their house! It was a ton of fun!! I was actually really proud of myself. I usually get nervous and quiet and, frankly, unhappy when we have to go and do stuff with people I don't know but since we got here I feel like this whole part of my personality has changed and I had such a great time with them!!

Yesterday was great! Jon had his first day of orientation (his classes officially start on Thursday) and while he was gone I finished unpacking the rest of the house, which was quite a task. I was very proud of myself!! I was in a great mood and went to pick up Jon from school. We drove past a VW car dealership and Jon enjoyed punching me while all I could do was laugh while I drove. Then we went to a BBQ with the rest of the M1s in Jon's class. There are 170 entering medical students this year. I can't even tell you how nervous and intimated I was. Me, having never been to a day of college, meeting with a bunch of really smart future doctors, many of which have already been to schools like Harvard, Yale, Cornell, John's Hopkins, Standford, and many other prestigious schools!! So I was definitely a bit scared but it turned out to be really cool. They were all very nice and it was awesome to have people know what it means when I tell them that I am a medical transcriptionist! They were really cool and I am so happy that Jon gets to spend so much time with such fun people!

After that we came home and we made dinner! The line was too long at the BBQ so we didn't eat much. Dinner was awesome! Pesto Calabrese (yes, again, YUM), broccoli, and rosemary chicken!! It was very tasty!! While we were eating a lady came by to deliver my new desk!! I really love it!! We got it and a chair for $40!! It is from Ikea and even has a white board (pictures to come soon). I love it!!

As they were leaving Jon showed me the fireflies in our front yard!! I have never seen a firefly before and it was SO cool!! Definitely my new favorite bug!!! It was awesome!!! I was so happy!! Later that night we found another frog on our house and hurried out to catch it! We now have 2! We are going to the pet store later to get some bugs to feed them with. Jon wants to keep them! Haha! We hope to catch more!

Yeah, it was definitely the best weekend EVER!!

p.s. Happy Birthday Month to me!!

Feeling Bubbly In Ann Arbor

We finally got our Internet installed this morning so I can tell you all about our trip!! We left Dallas on Sunday morning and got to Nashville that evening. We stayed with the Fillmore's and had such a great time with them! They are so awesome!! On Monday morning we packed up the truck and then on Tuesday morning we made our way to Ann Arbor!!

Driving up here was such an amazing feeling! The drive was beautiful and we definitely enjoyed it! We had been waiting for it for such a long time and it was so exciting!!

The best part was after we had passed over the Michigan border and we were about to pass the Ann Arbor city limits. We were listening to the radio, a typical station that seems to play the same 10 songs that are most popular right now and right as we were getting ready to pass into Ann Arbor the song 'Bubbly' from Colbie Caillat came on the radio. Our wedding song, the one that is on our video, the one we danced to on our wedding day and one we haven't heard on the radio very often lately. I definitely almost cried. It was so amazing, like a sign that we were supposed to be there and everything was going to be perfect!!


So far it has been! Ann Arbor is amazing!! I already want to stay here forever! It is such a cute little town, a small town feel with big town excitement. There is so much to do here! There are tons of little privately owned shops and a bunch of super old vintage places. Like a classic bus station and a cute little hamburger restaurant. There as so many cute and colorful houses, I just want to have them all! I am planning to go and take pictures of all of these things, we just haven't had the time yet.

That night we had dinner at a random sushi restaurant that we drove by. It ended up being amazingly good and pretty inexpensive! We ordered 4 rolls and they gave us miso soup and salad to start off with! Awesome!! They also had pickled cucumber instead of pickled ginger! So delightful! Then the owner came out and chatted with us a little bit and then gave us a free roll!! It was so yummy! We really loved it!!

We spent all day Wednesday looking for a place to live. We looked at probably at least 12 different places and ended up deciding to go with the first place we looked at. It was the biggest size as well as the cheapest price. We moved all our stuff in on Thursday and things are going swimmingly! It's in a mobile home park about 15 minutes outside of the center of downtown Ann Arbor. It's pretty new and in good shape and we absolutely love it! We will be renting for a year and then have the option to buy if we want to. There is so much space! We can actually fit all of our stuff!!

The cats love it too, they have been chasing each other around for days!! They keep running across the linoleum in the kitchen and slipping on it! I really need to try to catch it on video!! It's pretty funny! Jon also caught a frog on our back door our first night at our place!! Awesome!!


Jon had a fun activity with the rest of the M1 students on Friday (M1 for a 1st year med student, M2 for second year, etc). They went canoeing down the river and had a really good time! I started up work again today! Tomorrow is Jon's white coat ceremony and we are so excited!! I'll record it and post it for the world to see! On Monday he has orientation and gets started on school!! It's crazy! I can't believe it's finally here!! We are so excited and happier than ever!! We are ready to move into more of a 'save money because we won't have much to spend' phase and it's going to be great!!

We love our lives!!

P.S. Congrats to Whitney and Kelli who have just had their precious little babies! Welcome to the world Issac and Ella!!

Jonathan's 24th Birthday

Jon turned 24 yesterday!! It's always weird when his birthday comes around. The rest of the year he is only 3 years older than me. But during the summer he 4 (in numbers) years older. I'm 20 until the end of August.

I have always been bad at holidays. Any day that I have to get Jon something or celebrate in one way or another; Christmas, Valentines Day, his birthday, our anniversary, etc.... I just dread it. I never know what to get for him or how to celebrate. I am getting a little bit better though.

Jon came home from selling to find that I had decorated the house "The Office" style. I had decorations up, including pictures of Hilary Swank, the pervert Dwight poster, the H.E.R.O. lesson, the poster of Dwight (D- determined, W-Worker, etc), the Dwight Schrute Workplace sign, crossword puzzles, the diversity day cards, and, of course, The Office sign!! We bought pizza for dinner (from 'Alfredo's Pizza Cafe'). We had ice cream sandwiches, M&Ms, Altoids, tuna sandwiches, grape soda, and brownies. Yes, every single one of those things has to do with The Office! It was pretty fun and he got a good laugh out of it! We had our friends Ethan and Misty come over. They are fans of The Office too. We then watched the new episode of The Office. I'm pretty sure it was the season finale! 'Company Picnic!' Great episode! Anyway! We had tons of fun!!

I got him a few small gifts for his birthday, but we are having mail problems. I got everything off of ebay or the internet, and NOTHING got here for his birthday. It really sucked, but he didn't seem to mind too much. He'll get them eventually!

Anyway, I think I did a pretty good job this year! Now I need to start thinking about next year so I don't screw that one up either! lol!

Also, we decided to defer Jon's acceptance to medical school. We'll go next year instead of this year. In the meanwhile, Jon will get to stay with Pinnacle and make some really great money. The main reason we decided to wait was for the experience, not the money. It's going to be great to spend this extra time together to prepare in order for us to really enjoy medical school and each other. We feel good about it and are ready to start kickin' our butts working!!