Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'...

I'd like to start this blog post with two thoughts.

1. Life is good.

2. I believe there are no coincidences when it comes to our lives' missions here on this earth.

As for thought number one: Yesterday, life got a little sweeter. Jason accepted a spot to train in Radiology and we're absolutely delighted!! And this is one proud wife! Jason has worked hard and he deserves this. Indeed, life is good.

And now for thought number two: Nearing towards the end of medical school, after much pondering and praying, Jason decided he wanted to train in Radiology. So we went for it. However, life had other plans for us and we ended up not matching in a radiology program. Like a whirlwind, life brought us to Tucson - a place that wasn't even on our radar screen - and Jason was able to fill an internal medicine internship spot. It was devastating news to learn that we had not matched, but we felt grateful for this one-year opportunity in Tucson. Seeing that it was only a year commitment, it naturally begged the question, what next? We thought and prayed about it and felt right about continuing his training in internal medicine. The day he went to speak to the program director about staying on for years two and three, someone had just barely dropped out of the program, leaving a spot to be filled. Coincidence? I think not.

Next, through a somewhat random and coincidental (or was it?) Georgetown/UofA connection, Jason was able to link into some great research opportunities and did those on the side throughout his internal medicine training. While doing this, he was able to forge some wonderful working relationships with many radiologists here in Tucson. While he has loved his IM training, the question as to what came next was often discussed. Do we try for Radiology again? Do we finish up in June and pursue a job as an internist? Radiology always felt like the right fit, so we decided to apply again and let the chips fall where they may. Jason went through all the application process over again (which is costly and well, kind of stinks!) but it felt right and that's what was important to us. We've always had faith that the Lord would send us wherever He wanted us.

And Tucson is where he wants us.

Without going into all the crazy details, being able to fill a spot starting in July is a huge blessing. First, people rarely drop out of Radiology programs. Second, it is uncommon for someone to be eligible to immediately fill a spot.

Coincidence? I think not.

Life here on earth is interesting. It may often seem confusing, random, hard and nonsensical, but when you look back, your life is a beautifully orchestrated piece of artwork...thought out by a loving Heavenly Father who loves us and guides our lives in ways we didn't know possible.

So, I guess my points are:

1. I'm really proud of my husband. He's so awesome! And I love him.

2. I believe coincidences are little glimpses of divine intervention in our lives.

3. Never underestimate the power of trials in our lives. When life gets hard, be patient! Sweet things are often around the corner.

4. We're excited to be staying in Tucson!

5. We are so very blessed. This life keeps on rollin', rollin', rollin'...

Any good news in your lives? Please share!

Jason's Blog

I've officially decided to start blogging about things I like to think about. There will be a lot of politically charged topics--health care, the economy, immigration, abortion. But I hope also to start conversations about religion, science, and mundane observations about American life. My hope is that I can form clearer opinions about important topics by some back and forth with friends and family. Don't be shy. What's your take? I wanna know. Check out Wright, Wrong and the Starry Heavens.

Let's Discuss...

1. Let's talk about The Awkward Hug. Yes, I did just capitalize that - because it's awkwardness is that colossal. Ahhh! The awkwardness. And you all know what I'm talking about. You both reach up (or down) resulting in a totally a clash of body parts that is rather uncomfortable and unpleasant. Can I also bring up the "side hug," which almost inevitably results in the awkward "back pat/rub?" Classic. Adding to the whole uncomfortable scenario, the two hugging participants know the hug to be awkward but lack to vocalize it, making it even slightly more awkward. It's a total conundrum! I wish the awkward hug could be avoided altogether. Unfortunately, this is impossible - unless you avoid hugging altogether. Yes, I do realize I have written awkward about a million times in these short few sentences, but is there any other way to describe it? The awkward hug graced my life the other day. It was not so pleasant. But I don't think I'm willing to give up hugging to avoid it. Anyone out there have some stories to tell? Have you avoided hugging to avoid the big it?

2. Is feeding a toddler perhaps the crappiest and most frustrating job on the face of the planet? I imagine this task gets more complicated as your family grows and gets more opinionated, but I have to say that my 19-month-old toddler is rather opinionated already. And thinking of other things to feed her besides macaroni and cheese, spaghetti and goldfish (that she'll actually eat) is just plain tiring. Any tips?

3. I love having family in town. I had my brother and sis-in-law here from Saturday through Tuesday (hence my short blog hiatus) and it was a lot of fun to see them. But do you ever notice that more often than not, the weather happens to be crappy on the exact days your guests are in town - even though it's been absolutely gorgeous and beautiful for three months prior? "Come visit Tucson. It's so warm and sunny!" And the three days they are here, it's cloudy, slightly rainy and cold. Yeah, that's totally not awesome. This type of scenario has happened on several different occasions - both here and in Washington, DC. Sometimes I really hate that Murphy's Law.

4. And a little politics mixed in...GO SCOTT BROWN! Totally awesome. Way to go, Massachusetts!

5. I'm loving the television show Castle. Anyone out there watch it? My mother-in-law introduced me to it and I find the dialogue between Beckett and Castle hilarious and entertaining. If you haven't seen it yet, watch it and tell me what you think. It airs on Monday nights (on ABC, I think.) What shows are you into right now?

Have a great Thursday, dear readers. The weekend is fast approaching! Yipee!

Because I Like Her

Today, I'm posting a few recent pictures of our darling little lady. She's the best.

Lois adores her blanket. When she's tired, she grabs her blanket, quickly finds one of the corners and rubs the tip of it on the top of her lip - while sucking on her binky! She's so talented! It's pretty cute, though. Here she is doing it. The best is when I see her rubbing that little corner on the faces of her baby dolls, her little toy dogs or other animals while saying, "nigh, nigh." It totally melts my heart. Wouldn't it melt yours? Seriously.

She's loving the ability to feed herself more and more. Ms. Independent!

She's officially cut and grown in all of her eye teeth. Hallelujah! While Lois is usually a pretty serious little gal, she also has her total smiley moments like this one. I'm glad I caught it on camera.

Lois hasn't met a box that she hasn't liked - until this one. I think she underestimated the size of the box or is unaware of how "grown up" she is because she got stuck. And naturally, I grabbed my camera. Ooooo - she was so angry! Look at that crusty!

We bought her these "cool dude" glasses. Every time she puts them on, we say, "cool dude!" And she loves it. I think it freaks her out a little when her world goes dark. She left them on long enough for me to take this picture. That's about it. Maybe her threshold for "darkness" will increase as time goes on.

Lois is a climber. She loves to climb onto or into our chairs, couches, tables (if I let her) and has now mastered getting onto our bed. She especially loves it when the climb results in a light switch that she can turn on and off over and over and over again. Ahh, the joys of toddlerhood.

Have a great Friday! We're loving our 70 degree weather here. How is every one else fairing?

Tucson Observations

Tucson has some pretty awesome things about it.

Like...

Skies and sunsets like this

And cool monsoon clouds

and Saguaro Cacti.

While many of these cacti are super ugly and should be "put to death" (future post - bet you can't wait!) they are indigenous to the Sonoran Desert and don't grow anywhere else in the world. I think that's pretty cool. And they get really tall and live for a really long time. Here I am in front of one - and it doesn't even show it's full height!

Some things about Tucson are a little strange.

Like...

This disease called "small eyes." It's very rare and it has only affected two people in Central Tucson. It also causes excessive smiling. Can't have "small eyes" and not smile.

This girl has a somewhat serious case.

This boy has a severe case. Look at those small eyes!

And like all cities, you have your resident lame brains.

Like...

This guy who professes his love for one of his body parts. From. His. Mirror. Classy, dude. Classy. I won't go into further detail - but you can enlarge the picture if you're interested to see what I'm talking about. But consider yourself warned!

This guy is a real winner, let me tell you.

And then you have your resident comedians.

Like...

This person. As if to say, "Take that, PETA!" But really, I got a good laugh out of this one. Somewhat inappropriate, but oh-so funny.

Oh, wait. How did this one sneak in there? Hmmm. Strange. This most definitely is a Tucson Gem. It's Tim McGraw's lost cousin! I just don't know how his picture got in here.

Hee, hee! Tim McGraw wrote a song about Mr. Moostash. It goes a little something like this: "I like it, I love it, I want some more of it!"

What kind of observations have you made in your cities? Any oddities that you'd like to share? Please do!

Spaghetti, anyone?

If this isn't an effective advertisement for my spaghetti, I don't know what is! She loves this stuff. And she doesn't love a lot of things.

We like her a lot.

We're Ready for an Upgrade

It's official. After five years, I think we've finally outgrown apartment living. I know, I know. Shocker, huh? Who doesn't love, love, love living in an apartment? Well, the answer is me.

Don't get me wrong, I'm really grateful for apartment living. It's such a great and affordable option for many people and it has been a great option for Jason and me. We loved our little apartment in the heart of Northwest Washington, DC. The Envoy's apartment #702 came with an entire wall of windows (loved those), views of California Street (as well as our crazy neighbors), and was only a short walk to the metro and delicious and quaint restaurants. It also came with tons of quirks like a non-working disposal that often smelled like smoke, an archaic gas stove and oven, a refrigerator with a broken door, tile wood floors and lest I forget, awesome stainless steel butcher counters! And we loved it. How could we not? It was our first home as a married couple and we made lots of wonderful memories there.

Jason and I saying "goodbye" to our apartment. Such a sad day, as displayed by our awesome sad expressions.

The view from the top of The Envoy

The second we moved in, I painted the kitchen red, the bathroom pepto bismol pink and the bedroom apple green. It made me love that kitchen and apartment a lot more. I love color, okay? The pepto bismol bathroom got a facelift six months later to a pale yellow.

Did you get a glance at the butcher counters? They're so chic. :-)

The view from our wall of windows

Ahh, the memories!

Which brings us to the present. Nearly three years ago, we hauled our belongings to Tucson, moved into our current apartment and felt like we had hit the jackpot! Two whole bedrooms to our name, vaulted ceilings, three pools and a parking spot! And for $300 less! It was like the Taj Mahal. Then we had Lois and it instantly felt too small.

Then there is the fact that we live amongst a whole assortment of people. And in the past six months, I've started to notice things about these people that I'd just rather not know. For example:

1. The neighbor we share our bathroom wall with snores so loudly that we can hear him when we're in our bathroom. He also has a really yippy wiener dog that barks all. day. long. This guy also blasts random music at 2am.

2. The neighbors we share bedroom walls with like to argue with and scream at each other - usually very late in the evening. They often find a way to "make up." Lovely.

3. The neighbors we share living room wall with, our gay Latin friends, blast techno and other random music at all hours of the day. They also slam their doors a lot, which shakes our walls.

4. The neighbors below and to the left, I've already written about. Remember the poo bandits? Well, they are also chain smokers with a pile of cigarettes on their patio. I nearly pass out every time I walk by their apartment - especially if their sliding door is open! How do they live in there? And the girl is always talking about a friend's tumultuous relationship or watching the show, Friends.

5. And our late-night, door-banging, cologne-ridden college boys to our bottom right are currently being evicted for not paying rent. I'm really glad they'll be gone soon.

So, pretty please, can I get an upgrade? I've been a good girl this year! I'd like to be able to invite more than 10 people over to my place without it feeling as if we're going to bust at the seams. I'd love to be able to offer visitors a bedroom to sleep in and not just a floor and an aerobed. And I'd really love more privacy - and not a random knowledge of my next-wall neighbors' affairs.

Anyone else out there gotten to this point? Or am I the only one?

Smith Family Pictures!

We had some Smith Family pictures taken while we were in Utah a couple months ago. It's been a while since the whole family has been together due to missions. And an added bonus is that none of the girls were pregnant, either. So I think we're good for at least another year.

Here are the results! I think they turned out nicely, don't you think?

I love these guys.

Um...where did my feet go? Have these pants always looked that awful on me? Oh, well.

But I do like this all-girls picture!

My brother and his family

US!

My brother and his cute wife

The whole gang

Lois and Stella

My handsome younger *and single* brothers. Ladies, any takers out there?

And look, it's us again!

Stella and Lois were loving those leaves

And of course, the cute mama and papa that made this awesome family possible.

Like I said before, I love these peeps. A LOT.

The Spiky-Purple Goobladoodle

Once upon a time, the Wright gang was hanging out at Aunt Nancy's house and found this frightening and strange object called the spiky-purple goobladoodle. (Yes, I did just make that up. I'm pretty awesome like that.)

Because we were all slightly freaked out by this unearthly creation, we decided to conquer our fears and go where no man has gone before.

Bet you can't guess what we did...

That's right. We put it on our heads!

Nate was the first to take the plunge, but soon found out it was a little too small for his huge brains.

Then Jason decided to try. Apparently, it's an instant fix to those droopy Busath eyebrows!

Then the crazy mom put it on and thought to herself, "Dang, I look goooooood." And I really did. Can you argue with this? I mean, look how gooood I look!

And of course, it wouldn't be complete without involving the youngest of the bunch.

Who apparently was not too happy about it. And ironically, Ms. Lois had the same death stare as this dude...

who I think we kind of resembled when wearing the spiky-purple goobladoodle on our heads.

All in all, I think we conquered our fears, and we got a few good laughs out of it. Well, except Lois.

The End.

Christmas Galore!

For Christmas 2009, the Wright clan convened in San Jose! Mom and dad Wright flew in from Salt Lake and Jason, the babe and I flew in from Tucson to celebrate the holidays with Nate and Kristen. We had a wonderful time! And Nate and Kristen were such gracious hosts. We ate lots of good food, ate way too many sweets and enjoyed great company the whole time we were there. AND, I was the crappiest picture taker EVER. I didn't even get pictures from Christmas morning. Pathetic. Argh! Anyway, I digress.

Christmas Eve, my mother-in-law's two sisters (Kathy and Nancy) and their families came over and enjoyed a delicious meal of BBQ'd tri tip, mashed potatoes, salad and much, much more. It was fun to see everyone and spend time with extended family!

Jason and his cousins Clint and Eric

Mom Wright, Aunt Nancy and Mari (Clint's wife)

Our gracious hosts, Nate & Kristen and Aunt Kathy.

After the party was over, we all opened Christmas Eve pajamas. Here is Lois Christmas morning, enjoying herself on a cold, tile floor. Have no idea why she was one the floor. Who knows with an 18-month old? And check out my cool yellow moose PJ's from the corner of the picture! Yeah!

Just monkeying around Christmas morning. Again, 18-months old. They're a bit whacky at this age!

Then after all the Christmas morning presents, we convened at Nancy's house for a Christmas brunch. And boy, did it deliver. The food was delicious! This party included Jan's three sisters, Kathy, Claudia and Nancy and their families.

Here's a group shot!

On Saturday, we decided to drive up the coast to Carmel and see some of Big Sur. Our first stop was Dennis the Menace Park. Lois loved it. Too bad it was rainy and cold that day!

Here she is with dad.

Aunt Kristen guiding her through the maze

She loved all the slides!

We stopped at the little town, officially named "Carmel by the sea" and drove down to the beach front. By that time, it was getting dark and was much colder, but we had to see the ocean! It was beautiful. We snapped a few shots, although you can't exactly see anything but black behind us!

Cute Grandma, don't you think?

Not sure if she's screaming or laughing in this picture. I'll let you be the judge.

Our group shot!

The newlyweds with Lois

And a family shot. It's a miracle Lois isn't screaming...

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I know this is a little late, but we are grateful for this season and its significance to the world. A Savior was born! Joy to the World, the Lord is come! What an incredible message. We love you all and wish you the best in 2010!