Andee Out of Hibernation!!

STEP ONE IS OVER!!!!!!!!!!! (God willing that he passes, of course!!)

Since Andee has learned everything medicine related known to man, and now he has finished studying for this looming exam, he now has the difficult task of re-learning how to have fun after 2 years of intense studying.  He was rusty at the beginning, but caught on pretty quickly!

Just before Andee's big exam, Arielle had a surprise party for Dave for his 25th birthday!  Of course, Andee was not able to make it, but I was able to attend for a couple hours to celebrate a quarter of a century of one of my best friends ever!  The ice cream cake was delicious, and it was a lot of fun!

On Wednesday, July 4th, Independence Day, Andee took the Step 1 of the USMLE in Toronto!  We stayed at a hotel on Tuesday night to avoid the intense rush hour traffic in the morning, and we were a mere 2 minute walk from the testing center!  Andee was able to study effectively at the hotel, and with the help of Jesus and some intense prayer, Andee was able to get a few hours of sleep before the big day!  PTL!  The exam lasted 8 hours, and we had a delicious McDonalds dinner to celebrate!  I spent the day walking around in Toronto, on one of the hottest days of the year, and made it down to the Jays Shop to buy Andee a Brett Lawrie player T-Shirt as a "congratulations on taking the exam finally" present!  Yay!

On Friday, we headed up to Andee's Parent's Trailer for some swimming and dinner.  It was really nice for Andee to get to spend some time outdoors, and to spend some time with his family!

On Saturday, we attended Dave and Arielle's Jack and Jill!  It was really nice for all our friends to be able to see Andee, and for Andee to get to spend some time hanging out with them!  It was a bit of a running joke that Andee may or may not exist, seeing as noone had seen him since we returned to Canada!  He does exist!  It was a lot of fun dancing and talking with some great friends!

The next day, Cassie, Trevor, Andee and I went up to the cottage for some relaxation!  It was a beautiful day when we got there, and we spent most of the weekend fishing, lying in the sun, swimming, and hanging out with my family!  It was so much fun!  The weather has been perfect this past month, and it is wonderful that Andee is finally able to enjoy it!!  Yay!  I love summer!!

This next weekend we are heading to the cottage again, and Andee is also in 2 weddings in the next 3 weeks!  Jamie and Tiffany, and Dave and Arielle are both getting married during this wonderful summer!  We are so excited!!

So there we have it, Andee out of hibernation!  We will find out the results of Andee's exam in about 3 weeks, and then we will start the process of clinical rotations, finding a place to live, and moving yet again, which of course, we love so much.......Hopefully we won't have to move too often, and can get somewhat settled in our next location!  Anything can happen with Jesus!

T-Minus 8 Days

Andee takes the Step One of the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) in just 8 days!  AAAHHHH!!!  So much studying, praying, and time has led up to this exam!!  Good thing we have Jesus on our side, or this would be extremely terrifying!!  And to celebrate this American exam, we booked the exam for July 4th, Independence Day!  Actually, that was purely by chance, and randomly ironic.  The great thing is that Andee gets to take the exam in Toronto, as opposed to having to travel back to the States just for the exam!  Living close to Toronto is great; everything important and/or exciting in Canada tends to happen in the T-dot!

Speaking of Toronto, Balynn and I just happened to be there this past weekend!  Why??  For the Much Music Video Awards of course!  And how did we get these coveted wristbands?  Well, while driving to work, Cassie was listening to the radio, and while flipping stations, she heard a number to call to win a contest.  So while still driving (ILLEGAL!) she called into the station just in time to win $100 cash!  She was also entered into a draw taking place that night for wristbands to the MMVA's!  So at 6:15, with all of us listening online to the radio station, we heard Cassie's voice on the radio winning the tickets and accepting the prize!!  YAY!!  These wristbands are extremely hard to come by, with teenage hopefuls camping out for days in hopes of catching a glimpse of Justin Bieber, LMFAO, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Selena Gomez, Hedley, Marrianas Trench, and the many other celebrities that performed!  It was super exciting!  Unfortunately, Cassie wasn't able to go the the Award's show, so she gave the tickets to Balynn and I!  At least someone got to enjoy them!  I don't follow celebrities at all, but with our wristbands enabling us to be in the best section of the show, about a foot from the main stage, I couldn't pass up on such a fun evening!  After about 45 minutes of insane Justin Bieber fans, Balynn and I moved to the back of the good section, and could still see everything from there, but without all the shoving and crazy teen girls.  It was so fun!!  It was also a super hot and humid day (my fav), and so we were nice and sweaty and warm throughout the whole show!  Yay!  We took lots of sweet pics too!  Enjoy!

Also this week, Cassie, Kat and I went to my favourite place in the world, Jungle Cat World!!  A zoo dedicated mostly to big cats, and some other super cute little animals too!  It was the best!!  Every time I go, which is at least once a year, I get so beyond excited at the sight of all the big cats and cute animals that I can barely contain myself, and end up looking way too happy in all the pictures.  I LOVE LEOPARDS!!  I even wore one of my many leopard shirts to blend in!  By the end of the day, we were the only ones in the zoo, and I got to watch the leopards play and interact with us!  Best thing ever!  There were also a few new animals this year, including a tortoise, a baby kangaroo, a tiger and puma in the same cage that don't know they are different species, and a baby fox!  So cute!!  One of my favourite things to do ever!!

Later that week, Dave, Cassie and I went for a walk at Lake Ontario!  So nice!  The weather the last couple weeks has been wonderful, and I have been spending lots of time outside!  I much prefer being an outdoor cat in the summer to an indoor cat in the winter.  If Canada was always this warm, I would be this excited and happy EVERY DAY!!  Yay!!

If you are wondering why Andee has been MIA in this blog for a while, lets all remember again that he takes the biggest exam of his life in 8 days!!!  Please pray for him!!  Not only does he have to take this exam, but he has to re-learn how to occupy free time, a challenge in itself! I'm looking forward to planning fun Canadian things for us to do during his month off!!  By the time I write my next blog, Andee will be done!!  I get my husband back and Andee gets his life back!  Hooray!

Summer in Canada!!!

Canada!!  It is so great to be back!!  The weather has been great, and so has the company!  Let's recap the insanity of our current living situations!  Andee and I have been bouncing back and forth between 4 homes; my parent's house, Andee's parent's house, Andee's parent's trailer, and my parent's cottage, which, fortunately, are all within 2 hours of each other!  Along with trying to organize our life between the 4 homes, Andee and I have been trying our best to spend some quality time with family and friends, while also trying to create optimal study conditions for Andee.  Phew!  Instead of hectic and confusing, Andee and I are treating this as a blessing that we don't just have 1 home, but 4 homes to choose from!  And with built in company!  God is good!!

The first day back, Cassie and I last minute attended a Church volunteer appreciation carnival at our home church, Carruthers Creek Community Church (C4)!  There was a ridiculous storm going on outside, with all the traffic lights out on the way there, and no power when we arrived at the church!  Thinking that the bouncy castles, popcorn machine, cotton candy, and the ability to see anything were not going to happen, the "magic" act managed to make their way to the church!  Coincidentally, Just as the magician was being introduced, the power came back on!  It was "magic!"  We were all very happy that God allowed us to enjoy all of the festivities as planned, and we had a great time!

Andee and I have been spending most of our weekdays at the trailer, where Andee can study with the least amount of distractions!  While Andee has been studying, I have been enjoying the beautiful weather, including the beach and lake, wildlife, and nature walks!  Andee even joined me for a walk!

I have also spent some time at my family's cottage while Andee has been studying!  The weather has been absolutely beautiful, and we spent a lot of time in the sun!  We also played our favourite card game, Euchre, and of course, were very humble winners!

I was also able to celebrate our good friend Arielle's 23rd birthday and celebration of finishing her University schooling!  It was a surprise, and her reaction was definitely the best ever!!  It was great to see friends that we haven't seen in a while, and catch up with their lives!  We enjoyed pizza, cake, and lots of fun with our friends!!  

More and more sunny Canadian summer days followed, and my cousin Nick and I rediscovered the beautiful scenery and nature trails of Lake Ontario!  My parent's house is only a 10 minute walk from the Great Lake, and it was such a clear day that we could faintly see the outline of the CN Tower from our vantage point!  So pretty!!

Today, another beautiful sunny day, Cassie and I went to Lynde Shores Conservation Area to see all of the cute and amazing nature and wildlife!  We fed chipmunks, squirrels, blackbirds, ducks, Canada Geese, and even had Blue Jays taking peanuts right out of our hands!  It was so cute and fun!

So, after these last couple weeks, it has been concluded that Canadian Summer's are simply amazing!  With the big city, suburbs, and cottage country all within a couple hours of each other, and with beautiful sunny warm weather without being overwhelmingly hot (for me), it is the perfect place for us to spend our summer this year!  I am so glad that our schedule lined up the way it did, so that Andee and I can enjoy Canada during the best months of the year!

Andee has only a few more weeks before he takes the USMLE Step 1, and he has been preparing for it for a while!  Please pray for Andee during this important time!  If you need us, we will be enjoying Canada!!!