This was a relaxing week. At work, the other two doctors didn't know when my license would be coming in (and neither did I) so they had scheduled some large cases on days when I would be at the office. Since last week was only my second week working they were unable to reschedule those patients for their days, so instead I just didn't have to work. It been sort of nice and is giving me a chance to just ease into my new position as a doctor. Starting this week, however, I will be full-time all the time (which is also sort of nice from a getting-paid standpoint).

Some people have been asking me how things are going at work. And I have responded that I am learning a lot in a very short period of time. I cannot think of any time when I've crammed this much knowledge into my brain except for maybe the first month of clinic in dental school. This is a very good thing. Just in the last week I have done as many root canals as I did during my entire time in dental school, and nearly as many crowns. Some days I do as many fillings as I am used to doing in the course of 2-3 full weeks, and I've done work on a patient here in one hour which would have taken at least 3 visits to accomplish previously. Yes, it's a little bit stressful. But it is also very, very good.

But like I said, this week I had a lot of time off and work was not really a main focus. What we really did was have fun all week. We went to the beach several times, with each time being better than the last. On Saturday we went hiking. Rachel and I carried AddyJack in backpacks for most of the way, and Evelyn walked. We went about 2 miles and the kids did great! Jackson especially. He was born to be outside. I think that if he had his way we would just live outside all the time.


Jackson is especially fond of the water. This boy is fearless. It doesn't matter how cold or how deep the water is- he will just jump right in without a second thought. We put some water-wings on him at the beach and just let him go. He walked right out to where he couldn't touch any more, and then started kicking and swimming all by himself, giggling like a mad man the whole time.

Addy, on the other hand is a sissy when it comes to the water (but she is very brave in other arenas). Instead, she prefers to walk to the swings and stare at them with a forlorn expression until one of us feels bad enough to go and push her.

Oh- also another exciting thing happened this week. Rachel felt the baby move! A lot! It is really early for her to be feeling this and it sort of has her freaked out that we might be having twins again. I guess it wouldn't be the end of the world if this were the case, but it would be very difficult. She goes to the doctor tomorrow for her first "I'm pregnant" appointment. Pray for her.

Other than that, things are pretty much just normal (as if "normal" even means anything to us anymore after the past couple of months).

I like this picture! This is me and my Jack sitting by the water and looking at boats at the end of a good day. We had just finished eating hot-dogs and s'mores. Jack and I had been swimming and the girls were at the play ground. We bonded.

Here's Jack the maniac at the beach.

Here's a very flattering picture of Addy at our "P-Party." We went in our back yard and had a picnic of pizza and pickles on pink and purple plates. It was actually a lot more fun than Addy is making it look.

This week has been crazy. Let's go day by day:

Monday:

I don't have to go to work on some Mondays so we have an abundance of 3-day weekends to plan fun activities. This week we planned on going to the Coeur d'Alene beach and City Park. Ultimately we did get to go and it was great, but the events leading up to it were pretty hectic.

First, Jackson grabbed a giant butcher knife as Rachel was loading the dishwasher. He is so fast, and we didn't even realize he had it for a while, but then we saw him runing wildly around the room holding it by the blade. We tried our best to stop the inevitable, but we keep our knives pretty sharp and it didn't take long for poor Jack to let out a scream and drop the knife. His hand was instantly covered in blood. It was pretty gnarly.

After washing him off we saw the source of the damage, a deep (very deep) slice right in the meatiest portion of his middle finger. I am pretty sure that I saw the bone, but can't be certain since there was so much blood everywhere. The good news is that he could still bend his fingers at will (as evidenced by the fact that he fought us so hard as we were trying to get a look at it), so we decided that if we could stop the bleeding we could probably avoid a trip to the ER.

It took an hour-and-a-half of constant pressure (during which time he was actually very calm), super-glue (actually invented for surgical use), and a lot of paper towels before we had stabalized things to a slow ooze. After we were finally able to get a band-aid on it we wrapped his entire hand in athletic tape so he couldn't pick at the wound and put him to bed.

The good news about all this is that we miraculously avoided getting any blood on our new couches.

After Jack was safe in his crib we took a deep breath, glad that the emergency was over, and went in the play-room to get Addy ready for her nap. She wasn't there. Her diaper was. And so was the poop. Oh, the poop.

Being a parent can be very rewarding, but sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't just be easier to declare myself a total basket case and get admited to an institution.

Like I said, the afternoon was a lot of fun. We went to the beach and everyone (including Jackson) had a great time playing in the water and building sand castles. Oh- and just so you know, Jackson's finger (now, about a week later) is looking very good.

Tuesday-Friday

My first official work-week. I am getting paid to do dentistry. Overall, the transition from dental school to private practice has been a very humbling one. At school I felt like I was on top. Now, it is obvious that I have a lot to learn. This week I had some very good experiances, and some very, well, not-so-good ones, that make it clear to me that I still have a long ways to go. That said, I am super excited about the place where I am working. They will push me to get really good really fast.

Honestly, it's a little bit stressful right now to feel so far behind. The doctors I work with do pretty much everything and it only serves to highlight how basic the level of dentistry was that we actually learned in school. But I am pretty sure that I will learn more in the next six months than I would in 3-4 years in most other settings. This week alone I did bone grafting, molar endo, surgical extractions, Cerec, and impacted wisdom tooth removal (partial bony)...Basically a bunch of stuff that the dental school wouldn't even let us think about doing. It is nice because *most* of the time there is another doctor at the practice with me so I can ask questions if I need to. Sometimes the doctor leaves though...that's when things get stressful. Give me a few weeks though and I'm pretty sure I will be more confident about things.

Saturday

This was a good day, and a nice relief after a somewhat stressful week at work. To start it out we went on a family bike-ride around the area where we live. It is a beautiful area. When we got home we put Addy and Jack to bed and I played with Evelyn. When the kids woke up we all ate lunch and then went to the Post Falls beach which is just 5 minutes from our house (not the same beach we went to on Monday).

Okay- I am in love with this beach. Actually with this whole park. It is called Q'emeln Park (your guess is as good as mine on the pronounciation), but it has a big grassy area, lots of shade, a beach, a playground, rock climbing, fishing, a boat launching area, 3.5 miles of hiking, and lies just upstream of a kayaking play spot. I don't think I could imagine a better place.

Oh, and the beach? It's awesome! The depth increases so gradually that Addy and Jackson can wade out about 15-20 feet before I even need to start watching them closely. Evelyn can go even farther. This makes it so that one adult can easily watch all three kids. As you get further out into the water the depth eventually gets to about 12 feet (for those of us who actually want to swim, kayak, etc.), but it takes a good 200 yards to do it.

That night we got a baby-sitter who came and fed our kids and put them to bed. We went rock climbing. It was pure bliss.

To finnish the day off, Rachel and I went to Paul Bunyan's hamburger joint (a local place) to try out their food. In my opinion it is the best hamburger place I have ever been to-and I'm not just saying that. I don't take these things lightly. The prices were really reasonable too and I think that between this place and Taco Loco I might actually start gaining some weight.

One can always hope :)

Sunday

A welcome day of rest.

I don't have to work again tomorrow so we are planning to go back to the beach. At this rate I might actually get a tan this summer- something I have NEVER done before.

One can always hope :)

Here we are climbing. This particular climb is one that Rachel has been working on. Just above her in the picture lies the under-cling-move-of-death that she has been struggling to get. One day, Rachel...One day.

Just playing at the beach. If you look right above my back you can see part of the play-ground. It is nice because from the same location you can watch kids in the water as well as the ones on the toys without having to move.

Rachel on our bike ride. I had to include this picture because I was riding my bike while I took it and since I wasn't watching where I was going Evelyn and I ended up going over the curb, hitting a large rock, and careening down a steep embankment. I'm proud because not only did I manage to save mine and Evelyn's lives, but I got a pretty good picture as well. Next time I think I'll just get off the bike though.

After over two months of non-stop vacation we are finally starting to settle down and get back into a routine. It's been a wild ride. We have moved across the country. We have visited lots of friends and extended family. We have had a great time. Our kids think that Grandma and Grandpa Hazard are part of our immediate family (and they still ask when they are going to "come home.") And now, finally, we are in a place where we can stop and take a few quick breaths of relaxation before we move on to the next step.

For me, this week has been interesting as I have been trying to find my place in my new job. I am officially a dentist in Washington now and I have even treated a few patients so far. And I have to say that it is nice (at least to our bank account) being able to start work a little bit earlier than we had originally anticipated. As good as things are, there are still some parts of my job that come with a bit of stress. Most of these come from my obvious youth and inexperiance in "real world dentistry." I am doing my best to be honest and humble while talking with others while at the same time exerting a confidence and poise that I am not sure I really feel. I do, however, feel like things are going well and that after a few weeks for everyone to get "broken in" I will fit very nicely into the way the practice works.

Rachel is also getting used to the new area and is already starting to find fun things to do with the kids. On Friday she went to a play group thing, and on Saturday she took Evelyn to a parade up in Rathdrum. Our kids are slowly starting to understand that this is their new home and that a routine is being established again that will hopefully be in place for a long time.

Here's Rachel and Evelyn at the parade. Evelyn was very excited about her bag of candy (which has now been in our car for over 24 hours and is pretty much all melted.)

Welcome to Post Falls!

When we moved to Cleveland we did a post about all of the changes that were going on. Well, this week we will do the same. Here is what happened in the last month or so:

I graduated from Dental School

I got my first real job

Rachel finished up her job in Cleveland as an interpreter

We said goodbye to a lot of really good friends in Cleveland

We moved across the country to an area that Rachel had never seen until we drove in with a moving truck.

We are looking for a house to buy

We were homeless for a month as we were waiting to move into our new rental place

We went on a major family vacation to Mexico

We officially became residents of the great state of Idaho

I started work

We found out that we are going to have another baby

What! That's right. We are having another one. We are so excited. Rachel is about 7 weeks along right now. She has been pretty sick with this one, but things are looking better. Evelyn will be turning four around the time they are born so she should be a big help. Addy and Jack will be about two-and-a-half, so they should be able to keep life interesting for us. People wonder if we want a boy or a girl (as if our desires have anything to do with it). Our response: Just one or the other, please. We might end up going crazy if we have twins again!

On a different note, we had a wonderful, crazy week this week. Last Saturday we loaded up our stuff from my parent's house in Rexburg, put everyone in the car, and made the seven hour drive up to Post Falls and our new home. My mom also came with us to help with the move and to hang out with us for the week.

The move itself went very smoothly. Last Sunday we introduced ourselves to our new ward. The next day, 11 guys, 5 trucks, and one 20' trailer magically showed up to help us get our stuff out of storage and into our new place. It took 40 minutes to do the complete move-out and move-in. Amazing.

We spent the next few days playing and exploring our new town when the kids were awake. When they went to sleep we would unpack boxes and clean things up. At this leisurely pace we were able to get the last box unpacked by Thursday morning.

Later on Thursday my dad and Grandma/Grandpa Hazard came up to visit us. We spent Friday and Saturday just hanging out and playing. They will go to Sacrament meeting with us today and then head back to Rexburg. For the first time in about two months, it will be just our family again. I have to say that it has been wonderful to have all of the help and that we have loved getting to spend time with everyone, but I am really looking forward to being just us again.

I have written on here before about how amazing the place is where we are living so I won't go there again. Suffice it to say that we are happy to be here. I think it will be a fun place for our kids to grow up.

Also, on Thursday I started my first day of work! It actually wasn't "work" for me since it was mostly a training day. My license won't come in until next week so I couldn't actually see any patients yet, but it was good to go to the office and become familiar with how everything worked and stuff.

Honestly, I was super nervous to start work. Only part of this came from the fact that I no longer would have the safety-net that the school provided in terms of being able to bail you out of trouble. The biggest thing for me though, was learning to work with a staff. I just graduated from dental school and they have been doing this for years. Yet, when I go into the office I am expected to be "the boss."

After spending time in the office, however, all of my worries were put to ease. The staff is great and I could easily see myself falling right into my role as the doctor. As I was shadowing the other Dr. I actually got really excited about being able to do dentistry again. Things are good. Actually, things are great.

Actually, I don't think things could get any better. Things are perfect. Perfect job, perfect house, perfect location, perfect, perfect, perfect.

...It makes me nervous, but for now we will just revel in the moment .

Last night we went rock climbing. We timed it- the climbing place is exactly 5 minutes from our house. We went at 7:00 and climbed for two hours. I think I am in love with this place.

My dad and Rachel, just enjoying the beautiful weather.

I am proud of this picture that I got of Rachel doing a difficult move. I am a good photographer. Oh- and she is a good climber.

My dad came and belayed the whole time. It was fun to go climbing with my him. He is the one who taught me to love the rock. I have a lot of good memories of climbing with him. And he is the best belayer I have ever had.

Grandpa and Addy on the swing (right after she had fallen off of the swing).

Grandpa Great and Jackson. These two are good friends.

We did the Mudgy-and-Millie trail. This is the statue at the park. I was actually in a lot of pain for this picture. Just before it was taken, Evelyn accidentally jabbed me in the eye with her finger. It was actually enough to send me to the doctor. It turns out she tore my cornea. Thanks Ev. It is now 3 days later and my eye still sort of hurts, but it should be completely healed within the next couple of days.

More pictures of the Mudgy-and-Millie trail. This is a trail that follows a children's story written about Coeur d'Alene. In the story, a Moose and a Mouse play hide-and-seek throughout the down-town area. Bronze statues were erected in each of the places that they went and it provides a nice walking tour of the area.

Here's a video tour of our new house. Also, you can see my new car (a little bit) and our new furniture.

What a crazy few weeks we have had. I know it's been a while since I did a real post, and now I am pretty far behind. Because of this, I am doing this post in the most efficient way possible. Pictures.

But before we look at them, lets put first things first. Before you read any further, you need to click on these links: (Link 1) (Link 2). They are family pictures. My sister, Allison, just opened her own photography business and I must say she does a great job. While we were in Rexburg she took some family pictures for us and we absolutely love them. Thanks Al.

Okay, the next great even was the two-three weeks we spent in Rexburg. Sadly, we don't have too many pictures of this, but we had tons of fun. From racquetball to swimming to shotgun shooting, every day had some sort of activity that we did. Also, I must mention the carousel. Evelyn loved the carousel. That is ALL that she wanted to do. When my dad told her that he had to go to work instead of take her to the carousel she verbalized her complete understanding in this simple sentence: "You will go to work and make money and so when you come home you can pay for me to go on the carousel."

Spoiled little girl. She loves grandma and grandpa!

And then there's Mexico. At this point I'm going to start getting into some pictures.

So these pictures aren't really in any specific order. We went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with Rachel's family and stayed in a resort hotel and did all of the fun Mexico tourist things. It was seriously tons of fun. In these first two pictures we are seeing Rachel learning how to train and command dolphins. Unfortunately she was not allowed to ride on them because she wasn't feeling well that day, but I think she had a lot of fun interacting with them from the little underwater platform.

Oh- also, she got kissed by a seal. Apparently the breath smelled very strongly of raw fish. Go figure. While Rachel and most of her family were playing with marine mammals, Brandon and I decided to pursue a different adventure: Zip-lilning. I don't have any pictures to offer as proof, but we did a zip-line tour of the nearby jungle. The highest one we did was over 900 feet off the ground, and the longest was just over a quarter mile. We did 14 lines in all and ended up at a nice little Mexican restaurant.

Here's a picture that someone took of our private beach that was attached to the resort. Beautiful.

I had to include this picture even though it is a little bit fuzzy. There was this little restaurant on the resort that sold a full menu of crepes at night time. I know, I know, crepes are hardly considered Mexican fare, but they were pretty good, and it didn't take long for it to become a very popular hang-out for our family. I am pretty sure that somebody (or several somebodies) went there every day of our trip.

This is on our boat tour. It was a small group and on the way out we had the whole top-deck to ourselves (this was also probably due to the fact that they had an open-bar downstairs and we were the only ones who didn't drink alcohol). Well, things got pretty crazy up there without any alcohol anyway.

Here we are on that boat again. It took us out to a beautiful area to go snorkeling and we got to spend sufficient time in the water to see a lot of cool marine life. I love the color of the water here- it is turquoise and clear. After the snorkeling we went to a beautiful beach and swam, lounged, and ate pie. Then the boat picked us up again and we had a good fun lunch on the way back.

One of the days we took a city tour. A bus brought us all over Puerto Vallarta and then we ended up at this Mexican place with awesome-yet-over-priced food.

This picture was taken during the city tour, but in the back you can see the place where we went snorkeling on the mini-cruise that we did.

This picture was taken at the large street-market that lies in the middle of downtown Puerto Vallarta. It was fun to look at all the things for sale and to bargain for those that we wanted. I feel like we did pretty good and we got away with some great deals (no Mexican blankets though :)

On a different day, Marissa, Wesley, Rachel, and I caught a taxi back to this place to spend a full afternoon. We ate at a little Mexican place that was delicious and we had fun roaming the streets of the town. Although I have no pictures of this, I actually consider it one of the highlights of our trip.

Here's a picture that someone took from our balcony (which, by-the-way, had a private swimming pool on it). It's all very nice. My only question- why go to a swimming pool when you have a private beach with an ocean just a few steps further? I'm just sayin'...

Ah- the carousel. I don't think Evelyn even knew we were gone (even though she looks sort of freaked-out in this picture I can promise that she was having fun).