I'm not sure what I'm going to do for Jack's birthday tomorrow. I want to celebrate in some small way. We'll definitely bake up the rest of the cookie dough, but beyond that I'm not sure. We're picking a day after Jared gets home from Evanston to celebrate as a family with presents and cake. I figure I may as well take advantage of him being young enough not to really know or care, but it still feels a little sad to not do anything. We'll probably be snowed in again, so I'm sure there will be plenty of treats, "shows," and blanket forts. More on Mr. Jack in his official Jack Turns Two post in the coming weeks!
We spent the holiday weekend in Layton, UT. Jared's Grandpa Welker passed away quietly last week at age 97. We came to be with family for the funeral, which took place on President's Day. It was beautiful. I was so moved, even with having to perform some acrobatics to keep Jack contained and undistracting (he wasn't able to take a nap that day). I'm so grateful we were able to be there. I left feeling inspired to live a life more focused on our little family and spending ample quality time in the outdoors together, instead of putting so much energy into the little side projects I've clung so tightly to these last few years while Jared's been in medical training. They've been an essential sanity saver and taught me lots of new skills, and I know I'll always have some sort of side thing I'm working on for me, but for now I think I want to put primary focus on good times as a family, both at home and out of the home when Jared has free weekends.
Grandpa Welker built his family a boat and a camper trailer with his own two hands, and he was always taking his family on camping, fishing, boating, and gem-collecting adventures. We will all miss him dearly. The occasion brought the extended family together in a way I hadn't seen before. For the first time in a long time, we were all together under the same roof for a few days. We talked and laughed and played lots of games with Jared's wonderful cousins. Jack was in heaven playing with Jared's cousin's two-year-old boy, James. The two look the same from the back and sound so similar. I wish I'd gotten a couple pictures of them together, but I didn't pull my phone out much at all over the weekend. I'll have to work on that.
Jared started his away rotation in Evanston, WY, a little while ago. There's another resident in Jared's program who is from Evanston, and he was kind enough to set Jared up for free in a room in his parents' mortuary. It's just a room--he shares a bathroom with some other people. It's so funny to me that he's literally living in a room in an old mortuary with plush, green carpet. I'll have to make him get some pictures. Anyway, the rest of us weren't going to be able to stay with him, but I reallllly wanted to be close to him for at least part of the rotation and get a feel for the town to see if we'd be willing to take a job there after residency.
The best option we could come up with was having the rest of us stay at Jared's family cabin in Bear Lake, an hour from Evanston. That way hopefully Jared could come stay with us a few evenings a week and we could have weekends together. We'd also be close enough to visit my parents and new niece, and romp around Evanston during the days. Unfortunately, although the roads were clear all around the lake, the dirt roads going up the mountain to the cabin were just horrific. Icy, unplowed, steep--just really bad. We made the drive, but after nearly slipping off the mountain a few times and Jared spinning in a 360 trying to turn off a hill into the driveway, neither of us felt good about me staying there, especially not with Jack showing signs of getting sick. It was a miracle that none of us died slipping off a cliff, or that neither of our cars got stuck in a snow bank, and that was getting up there on the nicest day of the forecast. I knew we'd basically be trapped there all month, with Savvy having to spend the whole month in the freezing garage and Jared not being able to come visit. So the next day we made a run for it before the snow came in even thicker. Poor Jared had beat-up arms for days after digging us parking spots and a walkway from the road to the cabin, just to have us leave the next morning. At least we were able to enjoy one night together.
We ended up staying in Layton until after Grandpa's funeral, and then Jack, Savvy, and I drove back to Casper. We'll finish out the rotation here, with Jared coming to see us at least once before it's over. Such is medical life. At least he's loving this rotation!
^^Seeing Jared off to his rotation. Jack's on yet another pants strike. I'm not complaining. Those chubby thighs won't keep forever. We stayed in Casper alone for a week to finish some house projects before trying to join Jared.
^^We survived with popcorn and movies, forts, and a trip to the Burger King play place.
^^I celebrated Valentine's Day with this little man, having his favorite waffle breakfast (wa-whoas) and enjoying an evening of painting after he went to bed. I've never been a painter before, but I painted a simple piece to put on our wall and it was so relaxing! Meanwhile, Jared spent Valentine's Day with the Evanston doctor's family at the local high school basketball game. Actually pretty jealous I had to miss that.
And that's what we've been up to! If you stuck around through til the end of this post, your reward is to be privy to our good news--Jared got his first (tentative) job offer! We were hoping that his rotation in Evanston would end with a job offer, but the doctor sat him down on day ONE and told him to expect a contract at the end, and then gave him most of the details. So it's not official yet, but it sounds really promising. This doctor realllly needs another family physician at his growing clinic. If it happens, we'll probably do some negotiating back and forth, and then we'd almost definitely sign for the job. It's exactly what Jared was hoping for, as far as the work goes. It would be entirely outpatient at this doctor's clinic. The staff are all really nice, and the doctor is super smart in terms of both medicine and business, so Jared feels like it would be a great opportunity to learn and improve. There is also potential to maybe buy in as a partner for the additional clinic the doctor is hoping to open in a few years. Jared still has another year and a half of his residency to complete before starting his first "big boy" doctor job, but it's pretty normal to sign this far in advance.
The location is great, with Evanston being situated close to Bear Lake, the Uintas, Park City, and less than 2 hours from Utah Valley. Evanston itself may or may not be our scene--we wouldn't really know until we moved there. It's a small population, but big enough to have a Walmart and a few restaurants (even a Costa Vida!). And if we didn't love it, we wouldn't have to stay forever. Just long enough to make a good dent in them student loans. But honestly I wouldn't be surprised if we stay longer than that. It feels like it could be our scene, and the pay is much better than Jared could ever make in Utah. Plus, no income tax in Wyoming.
Ever since Jared delivered the news of this (tentative) offer, I've been feeling a shift in mindset. I've been holding onto this idea that I need to start something that will take off and make us great money for a long time. I think I've been in denial that Jared would ever be making enough money for us to afford any of those "extras" that would be nice down the line, like a bigger car or a fun vacation. We've been living on so little for so long, with so much debt looming over us. But all of a sudden I feel like I can breathe easy! We won't ever be cRaZy RiCh on a family physician income, but we'll be able to live a really happy life, even with the huge chunks going to loan repayments each month. It's nice to feel like I'm allowed to let myself spend my free time making things to improve our home and planning weekend trips. Of course I'll still be taking editing projects here and there. My 2007 laptop I bought during Jared's first year of med school is on the fritz, and I wanna be prepared to buy a new one when this one quits on me for good. I'm sure I'll always have a "side project" for my own happiness, but it's so nice to realize that those projects are allowed to be for my own happiness and learning, and not required to make money. Well, that was a lot more than I was expecting to write. I'm just really excited for all that's ahead. Until next week!
Grandpa Welker built his family a boat and a camper trailer with his own two hands, and he was always taking his family on camping, fishing, boating, and gem-collecting adventures. We will all miss him dearly. The occasion brought the extended family together in a way I hadn't seen before. For the first time in a long time, we were all together under the same roof for a few days. We talked and laughed and played lots of games with Jared's wonderful cousins. Jack was in heaven playing with Jared's cousin's two-year-old boy, James. The two look the same from the back and sound so similar. I wish I'd gotten a couple pictures of them together, but I didn't pull my phone out much at all over the weekend. I'll have to work on that.
The best option we could come up with was having the rest of us stay at Jared's family cabin in Bear Lake, an hour from Evanston. That way hopefully Jared could come stay with us a few evenings a week and we could have weekends together. We'd also be close enough to visit my parents and new niece, and romp around Evanston during the days. Unfortunately, although the roads were clear all around the lake, the dirt roads going up the mountain to the cabin were just horrific. Icy, unplowed, steep--just really bad. We made the drive, but after nearly slipping off the mountain a few times and Jared spinning in a 360 trying to turn off a hill into the driveway, neither of us felt good about me staying there, especially not with Jack showing signs of getting sick. It was a miracle that none of us died slipping off a cliff, or that neither of our cars got stuck in a snow bank, and that was getting up there on the nicest day of the forecast. I knew we'd basically be trapped there all month, with Savvy having to spend the whole month in the freezing garage and Jared not being able to come visit. So the next day we made a run for it before the snow came in even thicker. Poor Jared had beat-up arms for days after digging us parking spots and a walkway from the road to the cabin, just to have us leave the next morning. At least we were able to enjoy one night together.
The location is great, with Evanston being situated close to Bear Lake, the Uintas, Park City, and less than 2 hours from Utah Valley. Evanston itself may or may not be our scene--we wouldn't really know until we moved there. It's a small population, but big enough to have a Walmart and a few restaurants (even a Costa Vida!). And if we didn't love it, we wouldn't have to stay forever. Just long enough to make a good dent in them student loans. But honestly I wouldn't be surprised if we stay longer than that. It feels like it could be our scene, and the pay is much better than Jared could ever make in Utah. Plus, no income tax in Wyoming.
Ever since Jared delivered the news of this (tentative) offer, I've been feeling a shift in mindset. I've been holding onto this idea that I need to start something that will take off and make us great money for a long time. I think I've been in denial that Jared would ever be making enough money for us to afford any of those "extras" that would be nice down the line, like a bigger car or a fun vacation. We've been living on so little for so long, with so much debt looming over us. But all of a sudden I feel like I can breathe easy! We won't ever be cRaZy RiCh on a family physician income, but we'll be able to live a really happy life, even with the huge chunks going to loan repayments each month. It's nice to feel like I'm allowed to let myself spend my free time making things to improve our home and planning weekend trips. Of course I'll still be taking editing projects here and there. My 2007 laptop I bought during Jared's first year of med school is on the fritz, and I wanna be prepared to buy a new one when this one quits on me for good. I'm sure I'll always have a "side project" for my own happiness, but it's so nice to realize that those projects are allowed to be for my own happiness and learning, and not required to make money. Well, that was a lot more than I was expecting to write. I'm just really excited for all that's ahead. Until next week!
Last weekend we decided to "escape" the cold and take a day trip to Thermopolis, WY. "Escape" is in quotes because it was still pretty cold and there was snow all over, but it was several degrees warmer than Casper, which was having record winds and felt freezing. Also I knew this might be our last chance at a family adventure until Jared gets home from his Evanston rotation. We're hoping to join him for some of that rotation and get a feel for Evanston, but it'll all depend on weather and road conditions and Jared's schedule. Like everything else in medical training, we'll take it as it comes.
Turns out there's not a ton to do in Thermopolis, especially in the winter, so I'm glad we didn't make this an overnight trip. It's about a 2-hr drive from Casper, and the best part of the drive is the last 15 minutes going through Wind River Canyon. Not quite as majestic as Provo Canyon, but it was still pretty and felt kind of like home. There were several people fly fishing in the freezing Wind River below.
Once we got out of the canyon we found lunch straightaway. There's not a huge selection in Thermopolis (population 3,000), but we found a modern little pizza place where we were the only customers, so Jack could roll around on the floor to his heart's content. He wouldn't eat anything but a bottle of chocolate milk but whatever. I never expect too much from a toddler. (I swear he's the only kid on earth who loooves meat but won't touch pasta or bread if he can help it.)
Next we walked across a suspension bridge to see some cool hot spring formations flowing into the river. Don't know what they were called. There were probably some signs I should have read, but you know, toddlers. Speaking of, this next picture is Jack throwing a tantrum because he wanted to run off the edge of the cliff that drops into the river. He knows how to have a gr8 time.
Here's my little hoo-rah for Jack fi-nal-ly reaching an age where a movie can hold his attention on long car rides! If only he had hit this milestone two months earlier, our plane rides to and from Washington could have been so much more pleasant. But I'm glad we've finally arrived at this stage! The next stage that will be game-changing for travel will be when Jack finally realizes that it's ok to just fall asleep without having to scream bloody murder for 20 minutes first. We have tried everything under the sun to establish routines and soothe him to try and avoid the pre-sleep scream-fest, but it just isn't meant to be yet. Fingers crossed that'll come as he learns to talk and communicate more over the next few months. We think he just has a bad case of the FOMO. He has literally never, not once in his entire life, even if he's exhausted beyond belief, asked to go to sleep on his own or fallen asleep somewhere besides his crib. Once again, homie knows how to have a gr8 time, but that gr8 time does not include sleeping. Oh well! Maybe our next child will be a happy lil' sleeper. Jack's more of a work hard, play hard, sleep never kind of guy. I can respect that.
Das all. Hope everyone's next week is gr8!
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