March-ing Along

How is it the end of March?! So crazy. And super crazy that Reid now has just over 2 rotations left and then we're done with intern year. Can I get an "AMEN"?

Speaking of crazy, that's pretty much what life has been. In the last month or so, we… got a dog, had to return the dog, committed to training for the Nashville Rock n' Roll half marathon, went to Gatlinburg for a week, got a new dog, enjoyed a week at home with Daddy, had visitors, went to the zoo, did an Easter Egg hunt and enjoyed some serious sun. Whew. 

Now for a few details: the dog. We adopted a mix breed puppy and after a few days, it was pretty obvious that he was not a healthy pup. He was basically pulling himself around by his front paws because his back legs stopped working. Heart-breaking. Even more heart-breaking: telling James we had to give the dog back. Fortunately we had adopted him from a Christian agency and they happily took him back and are working to get him healthy (at least that's what they told us and that's what we're choosing to believe for forever). And so… you can't take away a three year olds new puppy and just be done with it. Therefore, please welcome our newest boy (yep, I was suckered into a boy… when am I going to get some girl power in this house?!) Are you ready for his name… courtesy of James:

Captain Finn Flynn Wally Gurgleguts Phelps - aka - Finn

He's a sweet boy. Golden Retriever. 12 weeks. 

He will be my bodyguard and sweet company on those long nights alone.

And hooray for vacation!!! We were super blessed with two weeks of freedom! We took advantage of it by spending 6 days in Gatlinburg, TN. Let me tell you - super fun and super odd. It's like a redneck version of Las Vegas. Seriously. I don't even know how to explain it, but you you love mini golf on every block, random "believe if or not" type museums, "As seen on TV superstores" and a wealth of other random, corny tourist attractions, then it is the place for you. We did have so much fun and the Smoky Mountains are quite lovely (nope, they are not mountains like we know and love, but they were beautiful all the same). We enjoy a couple hikes and had slow, unplanned days. Awesome. Oh - and the Gatlinburg Aquarium is super awesome. No lie. 

Reid & J

Me and the Duke… who I carried up the trail in the carrier. Oh. So. Heavy.

My boys… oops. J has his eyes closed. Aren't those handsome eyelids?

Daddy and his little dudes.

One of James' newest obsessions is pirates. He was super excited when we saw this pirate flag at the aquarium. No, he was not just carrying around a pirate sword. The exhibit provided it for the photo op. It was too funny because he was so serious when we were taking this picture - as if this pirate captain takes his job very seriously.

A just a great shot of Reid…oh, I mean Luke. Gosh, it's hard to tell them apart. For real. 

Have you ever seen such a little daddy clone?!

Luke in the sandbox (during his time off, Reid built the boys a rockin' sandbox with a serious fort over it. So cool!) You may be wondering what this face is all about. It means, "but MOOOOM! I want more water to play with and dump all over myself!"

And my J-man at the Easter Egg hunt. Umm…check out those cool kicks. That was our splurge at the Pigeon Forge (yes, there's a town in Tennessee called Pigeon Forge) outlet stores. And J was so excited about his bucket full of eggs. What a handsome little man.