My goodness, did I miss most of the Summer? It's been a while since I have posted a blog! Time for a recap!
This Summer was both busy and fun for us here in Iowa! After we returned home from our Canada trip in June, it was time to enjoy some beautiful Summer days here in Iowa! As per my usual Summer routine, I spent a good amount of time at the pool, and Andee and I frequented George Wyth Beach on multiple occasions! Andee entered into his third year of Residency, and as of now, he has only 9 months left of his program before he graduates as a real Doctor! Haha! We are very much looking forward to a less demanding work schedule for Andee!
Andee and I also had the fun opportunity of taking a trip to Kansas City for a Medical Conference featuring Residency programs from across the U.S. This year, Karla and I were allowed to attend as spouses of the Residents to offer our input in being a significant other of a Resident, and Andee and the other Residents were in charge of promoting their Residency Program as part of the Recruitment Committee. We sported some fun 'Iowa' themed shirts (Iowa: 75% Vowels, 100% Awesome), and set up a booth with the Northeast Iowa Family Medicine Residency Program. After being on the other not-so-fun side of having the odds stacked against us as Canadian 'foreign' graduates from Medical School while applying to Residency programs, it was quite strange to be on the other side and having interested students trying to impress Andee and his coworkers for an opportunity to interview at Andee's Residency program! We tried our best to be good representatives of the program and to be kind and not intimidating to the applicants that visited our table. It's rough out there in the Medical School world!
One of the highlights of the trip was touring around with Karla collecting 'swag' and entering a draw by collecting stickers from various booths. And when I say 'swag, I mean medical supplies, pens, drink coozys, foam animals wearing lab coats (my personal favorite), you name it! We ended up naming Karla the 'Swag Queen' for her immense efforts in collecting goodies, as well as her winning a Kindle gift basket! At the end of the Conference Andee left the table abruptly and disappeared as we started to tear down the booth. He returned with a $500 American Express gift card as the Grand Prize winner of the draw! As it turns out, his name had been announced (that none of us heard), and with the Conference coming to a close, he almost missed his chance to claim the prize! The funniest part is that he didn't even enter the draw! I entered his name instead of mine, since you had to be a Resident to participate. So, it was safe to say that Andee, the one who avoided collecting all the fun swag, was now the unofficial 'Swag King' for his unintentional winning of the Grand Prize! And after the rough start to trip on the drive down involving a hurt animal, a $200 vet bill, the kindness of strangers that empathized with our situation and gifted us with money, empathy, and hugs to help cover the costs and burden, arriving two hours late to the Conference, and sad and heavy hearts (and tears); winning the Grand Prize was a beautiful example of how God's love and mercy He has for his children. I teared up when Andee brought that gift card over...not because I was excited about the money, but because I felt the tangible provision of a good God looking after us.
Oh, and did I mention this was a company paid trip, so all of our accommodations, food, etc. was covered by Andee's Residency? So with the Grand Prize winning, we actually gained money on this trip! It was so much fun walking around the downtown area of the city and checking out some shops and places to eat, including Jack Stack for some classic Kansas City Barbecue! It was also fun spending some time with a few of the other Residents on the trip! Until next time, Kansas City!
In August we were treated to a visit from my parents to Iowa! We spent our days doing our usual Iowa activities such as George Wyth Beach, chatting in the living room, eating out at Texas Roadhouse and Chapala (my and Andee's new favorite), and visiting the local Farmer's market! Andee was on a lighter rotation than usual, and so the four of us were able to spend some family time together! I love when Canadians come to America to visit! We will likely not be back to Canada until Christmas, so it was great to have a taste of Canada here in Iowa!
Andee and I also celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary, as well as both of our birthdays over the course of August and September. We had an early birthday dinner at Texas Roadhouse with my parents, an anniversary dinner at Red Lobster, and have entered into the last year in our twenties! With every passing year of us looking relatively the same, it gets more and more ridiculous to others that we are indeed the age that we are! And it doesn't help much that Iowan's are built much bigger than the average Canadian, so it may be a while before we look our age. And I'm okay with that! We also received some fun gifts from each other and a beautiful handmade gift from Cassie; five wood coasters representing each of the five places we have lived! From left to right: Ontario, St. Kitts, Maine, Illinois, and Iowa! So thoughtful!
We also attended the annual Cattle Congress Fair, which to my pleasure included a tiger show, a sting ray exhibit, and all the usual fun and games of a fair! The tigers were beautiful, and we even got to pet and feed the sting rays, which was hilarious and cute! It was also a beautiful day to spend some time outside, and we had a great time!
And, as per usual, we have been spending lots of time with our Church Family, whom we love so much! Since we have no family here in Iowa, we have really felt loved and cared for by our 'family' here in Iowa! Andee and I have so enjoyed being a part of the Worship Team, and also spending some time with our growing Small Group! Four new babies in just the past year in our little growing group, and it has been fun to see so many people become first time parents! We love Iowa and Prairie Lakes Church!
Our Little Miss Vera has been growing from a little kitten to a cat! She turned one year old in August, and has been both increasingly more of a snuggle bug, as well as more of a destructor every day! We love our sweet girl, and even though she is trouble, she is our little Miss, and we love her to bits! Here are some cute pictures for your enjoyment!
And finally, as we enter into October that can only mean one thing: Playoff Baseball! And for the second year in a row, our Toronto Blue Jays have made the Playoffs! After a clutch home run by Encarnacion to win the Wild Card game against the Orioles, the Jays are now two games up on the Texas Rangers in the first round! And we are excited for them to make it possibly even further than last year! Now would be a great time to be spending some time back in Canada, but at least we are able to watch them here in Iowa! Go Jays Go!!
As we settle into some cooler Fall weather, to make myself feel better about the close of Summer I try to take advantage of all the many beauitiful elements of Fall! Boots, scarves, soups, chai tea lattes, changing leaves, relaxing indoors, pumpkin bread, candles, and Fall Festivals all make the list of all things Fall that are coming up in the horizon! We are so thankful for all of God's creation and seasons, and the times of rest he gives us when we are overwhelmed and tired. And after a month of 13-16 hour days for Andee and a lot on our plate otherwise, this weekend is a perfect weekend for rest! Goodnight world - see you Monday!
