St. Louis Zoo

Porter pointing at the sloth bear.

Porter and his new best bud, Jackson Smith.

Andrew was a champ and had a good time. He thinks that everything alive is either a puppy or a kitty. He just walks around pointing at every animal saying, "puppy."

The three little terds that keep me smiling and laughing.

We have had lots of extra time during this Christmas break. After Christmas day we started getting pretty bored, so we took a trip with the Smith's to St. Louis. I had never been there and every one around here kept telling us what a fantastic place it was to go during school breaks. We weren't disappointed. I am not much of a zoo fan, which many come as a surprise since I am a ZOOlogy major. But, up to this point Hoggle has been the extent of my zoo experiences. St. Louis is apparently rated in the top zoos in the nation and to top it off, it's free. We were only able to see a small portion, but what I saw was pretty impressive.

Christmas

Christmas morning was really fun this year. Porter was really excited. Santa Claus and his reindeer left foot prints in the snow. Porter and I found a bell next to the sleigh marks in the snow. It must have fallen off the sled when Santa Claus landed. Andrew's excitement was somewhat surprising. We expected him to be a little bit of a dud, be he enjoyed every minute of it.

Christmas Eve

We kept the tradition alive by getting the boys pajamas, which they opened on Christmas eve. Andrew is still young enough that he likes and wears what ever we get him. Porter on the other hand is at that stage where we want him to have cute pajamas, but he is not interested in style and just wants the sponge bob setup. So being the awesome parents that we are, we let him have his independence at the expense of looking cool.

KCOM Kids Social

One of the clubs at school put together a social for the kids. Of course this involved a visit from Santa. Porter hopped into line before Jenn and I even knew what was going on. Andrew, however, wasn't bursting with the same enthusiasm.

Covered Bridge

On the drive home from Kansas City we saw a sign for a covered bridge. Porter and I had to go number one pretty badly so we decided to make the 4 mile drive to check things out. Once we got to the parking lot and took the 1/4 mile hike there it was. It was really neat, plus it was a good excuse to get out of the car and stretch our legs a little.

Thanksgiving

Porter and Andrew have been sharing a room since we moved to Kville. Lately Andrew has been waiting until Porter falls asleep and when the coast is clear he sneaks over to Porter's bed and snuggles up. Normally he couldn't reach Porter's bed but we are working on restaining it right now so his mattress just sits on the floor -easy access for the mischievous little Andrew.

Andrew spent twenty minutes looking at he reflection in the coffee table and then poking his head underneath to find the person he was seeing in the reflection -sometimes he's a bit of a slow learner.

We always have a good time at the Aulds. The nights are always filled with fun games. This year the game of choice was phase ten. When I heard what we would be playing I was pretty confident that I would be coming away with a victory since I had been undefeated up to that point. However, I am sad to say that my reign has come to an end. Monica (Jenn's lil' sis) now has the reign, at least until the next time we play.

50,000 Words in Four Years

I don't know if it is myth or truth, but recently I heard that most people's vocabulary increases by 5,000 words in undergraduate school, while that is ratcheted up to 50,000 words in medical school. In my first six weeks I have made nearly 1200 note cards. That's 200 note cards a week. Multiple that by 4 years and you end up with 41,600 note cards at the end of it all. Recently I changed my study style. The note cards were working well but there is just too much information, so I had to switch it up. I'll find out next week if my new style is effective or not as we have three exams.

Porter's First Day of Preschool

Porter always comes up with the craziest ideas. We had to buy a lawn mower when we got here, and we threw the box in the garage to await the recycling truck. In the meantime Porter found that he could fit in it "perfectly." So he thought it would be sweet to sleep in it. Being the wicked sweet parents that we are, Jenn and I helped him make a little bed and tucked him away for the night. The next day he kept trying to convince us how comfortable it really was -needless to say, we have just stuck to sleeping in our bed.

Porter started preschool last week. The humidity was so horrible when we arrived that we couldn't keep his hair combed, so we buzzed it. It looks pretty bad, but it matches his goofy personality well. Porter loves school, and every night he tells me about how he gets to pour his own milk.

Andrew is consoling his big bro on his first day. "it'll be ok. I'll take good care of mommy while you're gone."

Life in Kirksville

One of our favorite things to do on a Saturday morning is to hook up the bike trailer and take a family trip down to the farmers' market. The Amish population in the area is quite large, and there is always some great friendship bread, salsa, or fresh fruits and vegetables to be purchased. We are hoping the weather continues to be nice for quite awhile. We hear the market is every sat. until it gets too cold.

White Coat

The day after our trip to Nauvoo, ATSU held our white coat ceremony. After the ceremony Sarah looked at me and said, "I'll be honest, it makes me a little nervous that you are a student doctor." To which I replied, "you and me both!"

Thanks for coming out to visit us guys. It was a blast to have you here!

Sarah and Glendon/Nauvoo

A week after we got to MO, Sarah, Glendon and family made the long voyage out to visit us. The day after they arrived we all made the 2 hour drive to Nauvoo. Jenn and I hadn't been back since we were married. It was fun to go back and take Porter and Andrew (well lets be honest, Andrew wasn't that fun to have around because he won't be be still for more than one second). We had a really good time and were glad Sarah and G-string were able to come out.

Outside of Carthage Jail

Candance looking photogenic as always

Port and me making a rope pioneer style

From Vtown to Kville

Jenn and the boys left for Kirksville, MO a week before I did. I stayed in Vernal for an extra week to make some "good money." Jenn is such a trooper and isn't afraid to tackle any task by herself or with two kids. It took them two long days, but they made it. We spilt a Uhaul with our friends Dan and Meagan and they drove it to MO. Apparently the heat and humidity were horrible as can be seen in the pictures below. Jenn couldn't even get a clear shot of the Uhaul. Dan (maybe the only person more organized then Jenn in this world) arranged to have the elder's quorum come help us move in. Then, Jenn and Meridith (Jenn's sister, who is living with us) started to arrange the house. They worked endlessly until I showed up the following weekend.

More Family Photos