Ra-call-dee

This last year has been a whirlwind for us. Beginning last fall, we packed up our family and started out on an adventure called "clerkships." While Punj was busy interviewing with different hospitals, I was hanging out in Utah with my family! I LOVED being around family again for after what seemed like an eternity! In December we made a special trip down to California for a couple of weeks. This trip was made to see Punj's family of course, but to also see if we could possibly get a residency program in Southern California. It was really a shot in the dark for us but Punj had December totally off so we thought we may as well try. He decided to visit a Hospital in Fountain Valley. I decided to tag along cause Fountain Valley is super close to Anaheim. I served some of my mission in Anaheim and wanted to spend the afternoon reminiscing. As we drove down to Orange County from LA, I had a pretty strong impression that we needed to be in Orange County. I blamed it on the nostalgic memories of my mission. After meeting at the hospital Punj was having some of the same impressions I was having. So with that said, he spent a few days in hospitals in the area and we left saying, "well whatever happens will happen."
In January, we made our way back to Miami via Texas. We needed to stop in Texas for residency interviews. While interviewing for the programs in Orange County, we both had the same feelings of needing to move back west. The frustrating part of having those feelings were, that while we were willing, it wasn't entirely up to us. Punj needed to be picked by the hospital of course!
When we got back to Miami, we all welcomed being back with open arms! We LOVE Miami and it will always have a very special place in our hearts! Being back again made me question our feelings of trying to get a program in California. I wanted to stay in Miami! We had such a good time the last semester of Punj's schooling! We completely lucked out on a place to live! Punj's aunt let us stay in her condo on the beach for the 4 months we would be there. Here are some pics...

Like I said, we totally lucked out. We spent A LOT of our last days on the BEACH! Making up for lost time I guess. But I will forever love Miami. Can't say it enough! Who knows when we will be back but this is for sure, we will be back!

Next in line while being back in Miami was the match program to see where we would be going. We decided to choose Fountain Valley California as our number one pick for residency. Like I said, it was a complete shot in the dark, but after discussing all of our options and feelings, we went with it! And now that we are in Orange County for the next 3 years, we now know that this is where we were meant to be...Even though I miss Miami on a daily basis!

Graduation!! YAY! So so so surreal. And amazing, and worth it and rewarding and I wasn't even the one taking classes! But the day was amazing. We had family and friends around us and the excitement of starting a new adventure! These next pics are from the graduation.

After graduation, we packed as much as we could fit into our car and started the long trip across the country! We decided to stop a few days in Orlando and go to Disney World one last time. Lauren LOVED the water park but the concept of Mickey Mouse didn't excite her to much. I can't say the same thing now. She loves Mickey Mouse! So its nice we only live 12 miles away from the alleged happiest place on earth! These pics were taken at Disney World.

What seemed like an eternity in the car, Lauren age 2 and me pregnant, we FINALLY made it to Los Angeles! We stayed in Los Angeles with Punj's parents for a few months before his residency officially started. I am still adjusting to living in Southern California. The beach is so cold to me! The first time we went to the beach in Malibu, which was in the middle of June, I was getting ear aches cause of the cold!! I was so used to dressing Lauren in little tank tops for the heat in Miami thinking it would be similar here! Boy was I wrong! I spent the summer being "cold." Ha ha. So different from Miami. I have decided that for me, tropical paradise is my ideal environment. Humidity? Bring it on! Its like a big warm wet blanket giving me a big hug! I LOVE IT!

I have definitely found things I love about the oceans here. I will have to post pictures of one of my favorite spots a little later. But it is beautiful here! While I don't get in the water, I love driving down the PCH through Newport Beach and Laguna.

These pics are taken in Malibu! SO COLD!

So I think that brings you all up to speed! We are living in Costa Mesa California right now. We just welcomed a baby boy into our family! (see previous post)... Life keeps cruising by and before I know it, Punj will be done with his 3 year program and we will be off on a new adventure!