A Birthday Breakfast Surprise

I was set up! I thought I was showing up to Joy's to watch her daughter while she went to the dentist but instead it was the best birthday surprise I have ever had. I really do have the nicest friends.

Thank you girls for the delicious breakfast. I am so happy I got to celebrate with all of you; you made me feel very special and loved. Mmwah, loves to you all!

Mostly Sunny Weekend

A few weeks ago Morris had a Orthodontic conference in Orlando, Fl. Anytime Morris has a conference in a fun place I weasel my way into going along. Chances are Orlando was going to be a bit warmer than Richmond and most of the time it was.

We were able to meet up with our good friends from UCLA, the Craguns at downtown Disneyworld. (Not sure that is really what it is called, but that is what it was called at Disneyland). We barely escaped an attack from the Lego Loch Ness.

It was so fun to see some old faces from Los Angeles, even it was just for a few hours. Thank you Craguns for making the drive from Gainsville. Miss you guys already.
We also got to see their cute kids. After waiting way to long for a table at T-Rex Cafe at Disneyworld and a queasy feeling from all the funky lights once we finally did get a table we bailed and went to Chevy's down the street. The kids dinner time was way past due; the balloon guy showed up to our table just in time to put a smile on there cute faces.

Our last day in town the sun showed up and so we put on our suits and took advantage of the resort and all of the pools.

Morris tried to teach me a thing or two about chess/checkers, I didn't do very well but I did think the board and pieces were pretty cool. He also beat me at thetherball (sp?, I haven't used that word since elementary school) but I took him in lawn bowling.

Boy being boys. Morris and Brandon (co-resident) found a little lizard or gecko thing and tormented it for a few hours. Don't worry it was still living in it's natural habitat when we left.

You have heard this before

We have lived in Richmond for nearly 8 months and last week was our first chance to visit the D.C. temple together. Until now I never realized what a blessing it is to live near a temple. I know that is what everyone says but now I can understand what they mean and now I am saying it too. It was nice to spend the day together (even the 3+ hours it took us to get home) and to enjoy the spirit of the temple.

A New Sunday Night Tradition

and maybe a few other nights in between.

For Christmas I gave Morris a crepe pan so we could continue the Poole family tradition of crepes on New Years Eve since we were going to be spending the holidays in the east away from our families. So we had crepes on New Year's Eve,

and most Sunday nights since---shhhh don't tell our New Year's resolutions.

Morris makes them and we both eat them.
This really was a Sunday so that is why we were in our comfy gear (Morris asked me to explain the gray sweats)

My favorite is Nutella, banana and fresh whip cream.

Morris's pick is maple syrup, whip cream and strawberries.

They are just to yummy for once a year.

And the Celebration...

went a little something like this

I busted into the clinic to leave Morris a birthday surprise of balloons and this poster at his chair. I also left some cupcakes and Root Beer in the conference room so everyone could celebrate with him at lunch.

(sorry for the crummy pic, I forgot to take one and this is the only one Morris got on his phone)

Later that night we went to dinner at Richbrau, a local brewing company that brews there own Root Beer--Morris gave it two thumbs up.

All of the first year residents came to dinner with us

The Burke's

The soon to be Prettyman's--they are engaged!

And Quoc--not sure what face he is making, just go with it.

And then home to open presents and a mini rainbow chip birthday cake.

Thanks to everyone who helped make Mo's birthday a special day. Love you babe, now you have 3 weeks to get working on my birthday--he he!

For My Guy

On his 29th BIRTHDAY! I think you are pretty wonderful and I am so happy you picked me to be your wife, you are the bestest husband a girl could ask for. Hope you have a wonderful day.

Yes, that is a paper mustache.

The Scoop

So we live in Virginia now. We moved here in June so Morris could go to school, no, the graduation pictures posted in June were not a joke, he really did graduate from UCLA, he is now completing a residency program in Orthodontics at Virginia Commonwealth University. Morris is loving his program and comes home everyday telling me he is so happy to be here at this school. After six months of being in Virginia I am still enjoying the life of a stay at home wife. I get to do whatever I want each day, and I love it! We have made some great friends here and are so grateful for the experiences we are having. We are loving life in the east but we are also looking forward to living near family in 17 short months--but who is counting?

Latest Cakes

Here are my latest cake creations--some are a few months old but thought I would still put them on. My friends kids gave me lots of practice.

Mickey Mouse was for Wyatt--he had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Party.
Quincy celebrated his second birthday with a Cars theme party.
This cake was for Haileys princess party.
Elle turned 4 and had a horse party complete with a petting zoo.
Tanner tested my skills with the Ironman themed party.

At Last

Season 5 starts today. I love BRAVO.

Graduation Day

What a wonderful day! The weather was perfect and we were surrounded by some many family and friends. Morris worked so hard during dental school and it was nice to celebrate Morris and all of his many accomplishments. Way to go babe, YOU DID IT!

The cheering section--Thanks to Bill, I think Morris actually heard us cheering for him.
Morris receiving his hood.
Look at all of those Doctors
Our California family. Thank you Brooke and Bill for all of the wonderful memories and support, we love and miss you!
WAHOOOOOO!

It's About Time

I have been putting off this post for as long as possible. Leaving our life in Los Angeles has been much harder for me than I was expecting. The perfect weather, beautiful beaches, Disneyland, fabulous restaurants and museums are hard to live without. Oh gosh, I am already crying…I thought I was beyond this now. I will miss all of these things for sure but what I will miss most is our weekends spent with my sister, Brooke and her family and our great friends from UCLA. We made some wonderful friends while in LA and we are so grateful for your friendship and the many memories we share with each of you. We look forward to many reunions with each of you.

Below are pictures of our last month we spent soaking up the city.

Our last trip to the beach—we loved Ocean Park beach. The boys played hours of Bocce while Marissa and I chatted about little Lucy who was going to make her a mommy very soon.

The Girls—we snuck away from packing boxes and graduation festivities to have one last girl’s night out. We went to dinner and saw “Pillow Talk” at the Glendale Theatre. Miss you girls!

The Last Supper—The institute director hosted the graduating students and their families to a nice dinner. Morris spent many hours studying for Boards and every final at the institute; it is still hard to believe Morris won’t be spending his nights studying there. Thank you Bro. Neeley for always making us feel at home.
OKU Banquet—Morris was inducted into the OKU (Dental Honor Society). UCLA hosted a very nice dinner for all of the new members, way to go babe!

Disneyland—Our last visit to Disneyland, this was a sad day. We are officially Disney geeks now; we took the “Walk in Walt’s Footsteps” tour. It was a behind the scenes tour of the park and all kinds of interesting facts about Walt Disney and the original creators of Disneyland. My favorite part was riding on the Lilly Belle train, it is a special caboose designed by Walt’s wife-Lillian. The tour was very interesting and recommend it for anyone who is interested in becoming a Disney geek.

Oh and Morris made the top 10 for the day on Buzz, he was happy to walk away from Buzz for the last time victoriously.
Here is a picture of the Lilly Belle.
And here is Walt with his Lady.

Miss Saigon—Morris had a patient who would give us tickets to see performances at a local theatre. We were able to see Miss Saigon before leaving LA, not my favorite Broadway show but still fun to see one time.

Reagan Library—Our last visit to an LA museum. I had been trying to find time to get to the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum before we left. We made it just in time, about a week before leaving town. My favorite part was actually the dress of First Lady Nancy Reagan but it was nice to experience the life of a great American President.
The Second Last Supper—It seemed like everyday before graduation we found another excuse to get together with friends before parting ways. We had one last celebration dinner at Cheesecake Factory, it was craziness.
Graduation Banquet—UCLA hosted a banquet for all of the grads at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades. It was a really fun night but the reality of moving across the country was starting to set in towards the end of the night.

The golf course is beautiful, all through dinner Morris was trying to figure out how to get on the course.
Morris receiving an award from the Orthodontic department

The lovely ladies

The whole gang
Wicked one more time—I really could see this show a million times, and I almost have, well, 5 times. Our parents loved the show as much as I do. My mom was a little disappointed to learn that Hollywood is not as glamorous as it looks on TV—sorry Mom.

Whew we did it. Now I can return to the blog world and not feel guilty looking at others peoples blogs that are updated. Goodbye LA, we miss you.

Virginia or Bust

After several long days of too much driving we finally reached Virginia. I will update on our last month in LA soon.