Saturday Night Grill Out

Saturday night after we got back from hiking was gorgeous so we decided to grill out. We got 40 pounds of beef for Christmas from Kyle's mom and dad so we decided to grill steaks and corn on the cob(MY FAVORITE!!). Bailey hung outside with Kyle while he grilled the steaks and it was nice to enjoy a summer evening in February (crazy!). We were able to see the sun set while grilling outside.

Before we sat down I said this would be like a $40 dinner at a restaurant and we did it for like $5, it was the best dinner we've had for a while. Bailey was lucky enough to get the bone from the steaks and was occupied for about an hour. We dealt with a throwing up dog in the middle of the night but speaking for Bailey I think it was totally worth it.

Hiking to the Pinnacle

After having the whole week off of school and poor Kyle has been studying all week for big tests on Monday and Tuesday next week so we decided to take a break on Saturday to do some hiking since it was 60 degrees and sunny outside. I can't believe that it was snowing 4 days earlier. We have a beautiful overlook that you can drive up a mile to see over Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee so we decided to hike up to it from the town Cumberland Gap. It was Bailey's first hike and she did really well and didn't even get tired when I did. It was a little muddy from the snow melting and we all got really dirty and Bailey had a blast playing in the mud. The neatest part was once we got up to the pinnacle the parking lot had about 3-4 inches of snow still on it, so there was nobody up there and we had the whole place to ourselves. I was so glad Kyle was able to take a break from studying and go hiking. After we were all done it was about a 4 mile hike and we were all exhausted afterwards, especially Bailey. She passed out once we got home and slept most of the night. I never realize how much we would like hiking until we actually got out and did it, I enjoy being away from everything and being out in the woods (weird, never thought I would say something like that). We plan on doing a 19 mile hike over the summer without Bailey so we are working our way there.

We got SNOW!!

Monday we had some ice and snow come down in the morning, so Kyle and I were able to experience Tennessee and snow. Our school let out early at 11:00 and this is where it all began. We heard people talking like it was going to be a huge blizzard, but to Kyle and I it just looked like a light dusting. It picked up that night and the snow began to freeze so Tuesday we were called off, oh how I love being a teacher. Tuesday it really started picking up in the evening and we even went up to DCOM for a bible study for the Christian Medical/Dental Association, which Kyle was just recently elected the Vice President of for next year. He will get to help with bible studies, fundraisers, and stuff. When he got elected he came home that day and said you are talking royalty because I'm the new vice president of CMDA. We had a hard time making it up a hill at Kyle's school yesterday. Kyle found out Tuesday night that he didn't have to get up and go to school in the morning he could just watch his lecture online, and of course J Frank White closed today.

It's been so great to have this many days off and it's been really weird. Working for Rockwood last year I would cross my fingers if even during a bad snowstorm to get off, but I've noticed down here any snow at all and school consider cancelling. The back roads are a lot different in this area though compared to St. Louis and they don't plow or salt the roads. When I was teaching economics to my 6th graders I was teaching supply and demand and I asked what the supply for salt for salt trucks in the summer would be, and all the kids asked what's a salt truck? It's definitely a little different than "up north". We thoroughly enjoyed our day at home, relaxing and just being in the same place at the same time! Kyle has to go back to school tomorrow, but I've lucked out and have one more snow day!! Here's a picture of how excited Bailey and I got when I checked online that school was cancelled.

It's crazy to believe that although we have snow on the ground tonight, that in 2 days it's supposed to be 60 degrees. I wish we had this snow during the week day every week. :)

Newlyweds- How he puts up with it, I don't know

We have experienced a few things of living together as newlyweds. I'm am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful, caring man and truly feel like the luckiest girl in the world. With that being said... just recently I got on Kyle about how he made the bed, then I realized without him to balance me out I would be over the top. I have realized that I have some OCD tendencies and Kyle isn't a slob by all means but we definitely balance each other out in a good way. For example, I am a freak when it comes to my kitchen and it was the first room to be unpacked and cleaned. When Kyle's dad helped move us in he said I bet you're ready to go to bed at about midnight and I said nope I'm ready to set up "my" kitchen, and I did just that until about 2 AM until it was just right. I love having a clean kitchen and I laughed at myself the other day when we got a survey in the mail to receive coupons (which are my new favorite thing) and it asked how often do you use cleaning supplies and it had once a month, once a week, and once a day. I realized I was in the once a day category and couldn't believe they even had a once a month category but hey everybody is different. My nightly ritual is after I get done cooking I always have to clean up the kitchen before we go to bed, because it's the first thing I see when I get up. I've also noticed myself arranging things just slightly so that I'm happier with they way they look. Now, I'm no doctor and I'm definitely not suggesting that I have OCD but I feel like I've become much more of a "clean freak" since we've gotten married. Now here is a picture to explain what Kyle has to deal with when I do my rearranging and fixing, gosh I love him for putting up with me. Again, nothing wrong with the way he made it I just like it my way, I mean "our way".

These are a few of my favorite things...

Since I got a new camera for Christmas (thanks Grandma, and thanks Mom for your after Thanksgiving day Walmart steal) I've been taking more and more pictures. I didn't think it was possible to take more pictures than I did before; I've inherited my mom's genes where if I find something remotely interesting I have this urge to document it by taking a picture. These are a few of the things that make me smile down here in Kentucky/Tennessee/Virginia.My incredibly handsome, hard working husband. He's my rock, he's always there for me and I fall in love with him more and more each day. I'm so proud of all the hard work he's putting in to reach his dream. He's going to make an amazing physician.

I'm so glad that we decided to get a dog and I didn't know we'd wind up getting the best dog in the WORLD!! I had never had a dog before so I didn't know what we were getting ourselves into, it feels like almost as much work as a kid. She is totally worth it though, it's so nice to have another living being around the house when Kyle has to hit the books. Plus it's funny to see how Kyle relieves stress by goofing around with her.
I know she looks evil here, but she's actually really cute. Kyle was trying to get her to jump to him like getting a kid to jump into a pool. They both make me laugh.

I can't believe how much slower life has become since we moved here. It's hard to explain and it's definitely a good thing but I just feel like I have so much more time than I did last year. It's great to only have 12 students and work part time but there's something else about the pace of life down here that's different and hard to explain. Because of this slower pace I've picked up some new crafty hobbies. I've really enjoyed just being craft lately and anything I can put mod podge on, I get so excited. I've also started learning how to sew with my new sewing machine I got for Christmas. I learned how to make my first stitch all by myself!

This is my favorite so I can add him twice! Kyle got a new fly fishing pole and he is very excited to learn how to use it!

New Experiences and New Friends

I was worried when we moved down here that we would have a hard time meeting new people. We have wonderful friends back in St. Louis and it was very hard to leave and have to start fresh, but with a new experience came some new incredible friendships. Don't get me wrong Kyle and I both miss our friends from back in St. Louis dearly but we are so thankful that we've met some people down here that have really made an impact on this whole medical school journey. We've been lucky enough to have met some good friends from the church that we go to and we often spend time with those people. We've also met some people through DCOM (Kyle's school). Kyle of course spends a large amount of time at school and I'm so glad that he has some friends he studies with that relieve some of the stress of all the studying. He has a study group that is mostly his friend Michael that's from Knoxvile and his friend Chuck from Ohio. Sometimes when I call and they are studying I hear them laughing about something and it makes me feel good that he is able to have fun while studying. We were lucky enough to meet a couple who we both really get a long with. Colleen and Chuck are from Ohio and getting married this summer one day before our year anniversary. Chuck and Kyle are always studying together and goofing off, they are really funny sometimes. Colleen and I help each other get through this change of small town life. We go shopping in Knoxville, do pilates and yoga, run, and have girly movie nights with wine while we whine. We are very fortunate to have found some great friends that we have so much in common with and can help each other out during this stressful but exciting time in our lives.