Well, here we are on New Year's Day. A lot has happened in the last year. Here's a quick run-down:

January: Rachel got NIC certified- a HUGE step in her professional growth.
February: Evelyn turned three. I studied all month and then took the written board exam to get my license.
March: I took my clinical board exam. I flew to Idaho to interview for jobs. My mom found out that she had cancer, went in for surgery, and beat it.
April: I was hired for my first real job as a real dentist- although I still won't start for a few months. We begin to pack up our house for the move.
May: I graduated from dental school- a HUGE step in my professional growth. We moved to Idaho. We visited family in Utah. Rachel had her birthday.
June: We continued to visit family in Utah and in Idaho. We found out that Rachel is pregnant with our fourth child. We took a week-long vaction to Mexico.
July: We stopped visiting family and actually moved into our new rental home in Post Falls. I got my dental license and started my new job. We had a blast exploring our new surroundings in Northern Idaho and instantly fell in love with the place.
August: Continued exploration of our new stomping grounds. We purchased our first house (our dream home). I had my birthday. Family came up to visit us.
September: Addy and Jack turned two- Mom and Dad are terrified. We drove to Salt Lake to attend Shannon's wedding.
October: We spent time with family and friends in Utah. I placed my first implant (a dental thing). We had an awesome Halloween. I made a trip to Vegas to get more dental training and to visit extended family.
November: We finally moved into our new house. We spent most of the month trying to organize all of our "stuff." We had Rachel's family up for Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time with them. I also got a new job that I will start in January.
December: We went to visit my famly for Christmas and had a great time. I came home from this vacation and quit my job.

It's been a crazy year. Life is busy. Life is good.

Now, for those who read this blog regularly, the events of December may come as a total surprise- so, let's go back and fill in some of the details. First I'll describe our amazing Christmas vacation, and then I will elaborate on the job thing.

For Christmas, I worked a short day on Friday and as soon as I got home we threw the kids in the car and started driving to Rexburg. I nearly froze to death after realizing that, when driving in a car for seven hours in the middle of winter, it IS a big deal when the passenger side heater vents are stuck on A/C. I finally got smart and covered the vents with duct tape- but now our car looks a little trashy. At least I'm here to tell about it though.

Anyway, we had a great time with my family. Griffin and Ashland came up from Oklahoma for the hollidays and it was good to see them and their cute little girl, Zoey. Christmas morning was fun with the kids, who have reached the age where they can actually appreciate it. Also, on Christmas Eve, we had to teach Evelyn about Santa Claus. Somehow, in the middle of all the the chaos, and in our desperate attempts to focus on the religious aspects of the season, we forgot to tell her what the fat guy in the funny costume really does. She could, however, tell you every little detail of the Nativity story. I don't know whether I should feel proud about this or if I should feel like a failure. I'll opt for the former.

On the day after Christmas, most of us piled into the car and drove up to Harriman State Park. My mom and Allison graciously volunteered to stay at home with all the kids. It has been tradition every year to spend a day cross-country skiing at Harriman. This year we took tradition a step further though, and instead of just spending an afternoon, we actually rented a yurt and stayed the night. It was fun to ski into the cozy little hut, and then to use that as a home-base as we explored other areas. It was fun to stay up late (at least it seemed late) playing cards and talking with family in such an intimate and fun setting. It was a fun trip, and although it didn't last long, I think that the memories will trancend the tests of time. That was me, trying to wax poetic. But it's also true.

Okay, now for an explanation of the job thing. First, let's go back a few months. If you have been paying attention to this blog, then you will have noticed every once in a while that I will make a reference to my job. Here are these references, compiled in chronological order, for your viewing pleasure:

July 10: "Actually, I don't think things could get any better. Things are perfect. Perfect job, perfect house, perfect location..."
July 17: "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.' ... after a few weeks I will fit very nicely into the way the practice works."
July 31: "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."
August 28: "This week can be summed up in two words: FUN and STRESSFUL. As for that last word, we'll just pretend it's not there. We'll get to that some other time."
October 3: "On Monday I flew back to Post Falls so I could work during the week. That’s a whole other story that I won’t write about here."
November 24: " Work has been interesting...more on that later."


Seen all together, these references tell a story. Here, I will fill in the details of that story.

I realized pretty quickly after I started working that things weren't quite what I was expecting. Just to put the comments in context- my official start date for my job was July 13th. It became apparant very quickly that this office practiced dentistry a lot differently than the way I had been taught in dental school. At first this didn't really bother me too much, as I was expecting it to be that way. After all, dentistry is a business and the doctors have to turn a profit in order to stay open. But the more I learned about the practice I was working in, and the more I spoke with other doctors, the more convinced I became, to my utmost relief, that I didn't have to be operating under these philosophies to make money.

Basically, I reached a point relatively early on where I knew that I didn't fit into the practice. Without being too negative, lets just say that I felt like the ethics of the practice, and of the owner in particular, were in need of some serious reform. Also, I question the legality of some of the things that went on, and I was guinely concerned that if the practice ever came under scrutiny that I would be implicated. That, obviously, would be less than ideal for my future plans.

Add to that the fact that I am pretty firm in my own beliefs and ethics, and I drew a disheartening conclusion. If I didn't find another job then the result of my continued employment could only mean one of three things: I would either be forced to compromise my own standards, work would continue to become more and more stressful as the tenuous relationship between myself and the practice owner ate away at itself, thus overshadowing the joy I found in the actual dentistry part of my job, or they would be forced to fire me. I didn't like any of these outcomes, so I started looking for another place in the area where I could work.

I had several opportunities- but none of them seemed right for me. See, for the most part I still loved my job. I loved interacting with my patients and I really loved doing the dentistry. I could truly say that I enjoyed going to work everyday, especially knowing that I was not in a permanent situation with the office policies. So I didn't feel like I had to take the first thing that came along. I looked at some other employment possibilities, and I even considered buying a practice for myself. In the end though, nothing seemed to be right. And that was fine. There is a lot of truth in the saying that the best time to look for a job is while you've already got one. I could afford to be patient. And then I saw the ad for an office in Coeur d'Alene that was looking for a new associate and I gave them a call.

This practice was amazing. The owner is one of the best dentists in the state of Idaho (as least if you are going by credentials) and his practice shows it. They have all the latest technologies and are doing all the coolest stuff. Somehow, I'm guessing through a long process of hard work, trial and error, quality education, and pure luck, this practiced had figured out how to thrive doing dentistry exactly the way I could see myself doing it 5-10 years down the road. They had it all together, and it just "worked." And so I said "yes."

I am excited to work at this new place. I am excited to see what it is about their practice model that works so well. I am excited to push myself clinically to do more advanced procedures. I am excited about the mentoring that I will receive, and I am anticipating that I will learn a lot here that will have a very positive influence on my entire career. I am excited for the interaction I will have with other doctors who are at the top of their field, and to draw from their years of experiance in building myself into the best doctor I can be. I am excited for the emphasis on quality dentistry and predictable, well thought-out treatment planning. I am excited for where this new job might take me.

So on the last day of the year that we were open (Friday), I walked into work and told them I was leaving. It seems fitting, to have this happen at the end of the year- like it's all tied up in a nice little package or something (it also makes it easier for tax purposes). Next year marks the start of a new adventure (with my job, at least), and while I am a little bit anxious, I am mostly just looking forward for what new opportunities might come my way because of this move. Tomorrow is my first day at this new job. Wish me luck!

Here are a bunch of pictures of our Christmas Vacation.

Sledding:

Yoga:

Christmas Morning:

Skiing:

 Yurting:

Happy New Year Everyone!

Well, I just checked the mail and we got a bunch of Christmas letters from friends and family and it made us think that we should probably do one as well. Since we waited so long, however, we are just going to put it up on our blog instead of mailing it to each person individually. Yes, it’s lazy. Yes, it’s cheap.

And yes, it’s very, very efficient (We’re being “green” this year and saving paper. If you feel so inclined, I would encourage you to print out our picture and hang it on your refrigerator for all of your friends to see.)

So, without any further ado, here’s our year in a nutshell:

I worked really, really hard and took a bunch of high-stakes exams, jumped through a lot of bureaucratic hoops, graduated from dental school, and got my dental license. Meanwhile, Rachel was busy being social and stuff, while at the same time raising our three wonderful kids and getting NIC certified (a crazy hard national ASL interpreting certification test). We moved from Cleveland, which was a bittersweet event in our lives, and hung out with family for a couple of months before I started working. During this time we went to Mexico and considered throwing the whole “dental” idea out the window and just living our lives out on the beach in a foreign country. Also, around this time we found out that Rachel is expecting our fourth child- a girl- who is due on February 16th. We’re pretty sure that her name will be Maren.

In June, we moved to Coeur d’Alene, ID (actually Post Falls) where we lived for a stint in a smallish duplex next to a truck stop. That was…noisy, but also a lot of fun as we discovered what a wonderful corner of the country we had moved to- I think that God designed this place with us in mind. Also, I started my job and can honestly say that I love going to work every day. Yes, I am a total dental nerd. After living in our yard-less rental for about three months we finally found and purchased the house of our dreams where we hope to be living for the next several years.

3-year-old Evelyn is finally starting to adjust to her new surroundings even though we’ve been living here for half of the year. The move was actually a little hard on her, and she still asks from time to time when we are going to see her Cleveland friends again. She is involved in pre-school though and is making a lot of new friends. One thing she has definitely caught hold of is the fact that we live in a great place for outdoor recreation, and has taken a strong interest in camping, hiking, swimming, rock climbing, and “campfireing.” She is definitely a daddy’s girl (and I am writing this letter, so I can say things like that).

Adalie and Jackson are two-year-olds in every sense of the word. Cute, lovable, noisy, and curious, they have definitely “taught” us how to baby-proof a house. Nonetheless, they love having the space to run around that our new home offers, as well as the large backyard and swing-set. They are both growing up faster than we are able to keep up with, and it is fun to watch them as they grow into real people. Jackson has a very sweet personality and loves to give hugs, whereas Adalie is spunky and defiant and loves to wrestle. We love both of them.

Well, that pretty much sums it up. For those who are interested in knowing more about our very exciting lives, check out loganandrachel.blogspot.com where a certain person who happens to be a very good writer, father, and husband, shares his thoughts and stories on a weekly basis about family life.

In closing, we wish you all a Happy Christmas. We are so thankful for all of our friends and family who have shared their lives with us, and we pray that 2012 will be a great year for everyone.

God bless,
-Logan, Rachel, Evelyn, Adalie, and Jackson

Here is the promised family picture for your printing pleasure.

Illustrated by Evelyn Hazard

A couple of weeks ago we went and got a Christmas tree and decorated it. The next day when I came home from work, Rachel suggested that we put the tree on our front porch, or the roof, or the garage, or anywhere that was out of reach of the kids. Thankfully they have started to do better with the tree and we are all getting excited for Christmas. Rachel's been going crazy with her sewing machine for all of the presents she is making.

So, this week Rachel has had some exciting developments. She is starting to get back into the interpreting world! She met a lot of people around the area who are interpreters, she went to an interpreter's gathering/workshop, she had two community jobs, and she may be starting up more regular work at North Idaho Collage in the pretty near future (but not until after the baby comes, so not too near.) Anyway, I am excited for her. She is a wonderful mom and wife, but she is also so good at so many other things that I am glad she is able to take some time for her own personal and professional development too.

Anyway, it's going to be a quick post today because Evelyn is waiting for me to make peach cobbler with her and we want to finnish before Addy and Jack wake up from their naps. Here's some pictures.

 Pajama Party!

 I got in on the action too even though I wasn't wearing my PJ's.

This is pretty typical of Addy this week. She is crazy. She is overly dramatic. She cries a lot.
Oh wait- she's a girl!

Real Life

Well, this week has been awesome but unfortunately I can't write too much about it. Don't worry- it will all come to light in due time. Until then, just be patient and know that life is good. And no, we are not having twins again. That would not be awesome. That would be frightening.

So, besides the awesome part, we also did some fun things. We had our ward Christmas party. We (Rachel and I) went to the temple. We had some friends over to our house for dinner. Nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary- but just an overall good week.

Since it was a pretty normal week, I want to pull out my soapbox for a little while and write about something that has been bothering me lately (I warned you last week that this was coming). So, what is the thing? Guys. Not all of them, but there is definitely a certain minority that is giving the rest of us a bad name.

Sometimes, I want to walk up to a guy and punch him in the face just to get his attention (and I'm really not a violent person), and then tell him to join the rest of humanity in a little game called "real life." And no- the Xbox is not real life. In fact, nothing with a screen qualifies as "real life" material- not the TV, not the smart phone, and definitely not the computer. Also, real life is not to be found in a book or in a magazine. And it shouldn't be exclusively in the workplace, although it does come into play a little bit.

See, I have noticed that so many people (most, but not all of them, guys), seem to have totally lost connection with reality. Here's a news-flash for you guys- REALITY IS GOING TO HAPPEN- with, or without you. You can't choose not to play- that's not an option. But by pretending that it is, all you are doing is allowing yourself to lose at the game. And that might be okay with you, and that's all fine and good, but it's NOT okay for your wives and your kids.

You made the decision to take on the responsibilities of a family, so step into the game and start playing your hearts out for them. That's what a husband does. That's what a father does. Your families need you to be present- and that means taking an active role in their lives and not just being another piece of furniture that your wives have to clean around and that your kids have to watch out for. And it is sad that while they are sitting there begging for you to notice them, the fake little man on the screen gets more of your attention than they do. Really, it's disgusting. Stop doing it. It makes the rest of us look bad.

Okay, (deep breath). Now I'm going to step down, slide my soapbox back into the closet, and finish this post so I can have the rest of the night to spend time with my beautiful wife.

Have a good week!

Here's Evelyn giving a haircut to Jack. They both really liked this. A lot.

One of the many reasons that I love my backyard. Beautiful.

Ok- it's been a busy week. We did a lot.

First things first though. I'm sure that the pending results of the gingerbread house contest have been weighing heavily on everyone's minds. Well, here's the bottom line. Team A won. The official count was 21 votes for "A" and only 15 for "B."

Now for the part you've really been waiting for: who was on which team?

Team A:

Team B:

As you can see, it was a guys vs. girls thing. And it shows. I think it is really intersting that, except in a few rare instances, guys voted for team B and girls voted for team A. I also think it is interesting to note that the audience for this blog is mostly female. I'm not trying to make excuses or anything- just stating a fact.

I also think it was interesting that Lindy, one of my dental assistants, said that she thought I was on team B. I asked her why. Her response: "It just looks like it was built by a doctor or an engineer or contractor or something." I kid you not. Those were her exact words. The irony? I, of course, am a doctor. Brandon was a contractor and is also a mechanical engineer. Wesley is going to med school. I think she had us pegged pretty well- but she didn't know any of that when she made the comment.

She is right though. It DOES look like it was made by more "analytical" minds. It was really interesting to listen to the two teams talking as we made the houses. It was something like this:

Team A: Oh- that is such a cute little boat, giggle, giggle. We need to put a person on it!
Team B: So, 39 minus 7 is...alright, and add 4 to that...okay, minus 3. Got it. So there we have the possible dimentions of the exterior walls.
Team A: twitter, twitter- what a funny little marshmallow man!
Team B: Now, structurally, what kind of candy would work well for the internal cross-bracing?
Team A: Oh, oh- I know- we should make a PALM TREE! That would be awesome!
Team B: ...and to reinforce the walls we can use Ritz crackers. Go get a ruler and a level so we can draw a structural footprint.

All said and done, I would say that both teams did a great job and that we had a lot of fun doing it. Thank you to everyone who voted, and thanks to Rachel's family for making our Thanksgiving such a good one.

On to the next subject. "Campfiring." This is Evelyn's word, and it has stuck in our family. On Tuesday night we used left-over graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows to make s'mores. Evelyn loves that we can do this in our back yard and she was very "helpful" in teaching Jackson how to effectively start things on fire using a flaming marshmallow. Addy was grumpy so we put her to bed. She will have to campfire with us a different night.

Also, this week, not to be outdone by the grown-ups, the kids made their own gingerbread houses. Well, technically I made the structures, cheating just a little bit with a hot-glue gun for the sake of time, and the kids decorated them. They all won awards too: To Jackson goes the best decorator award. Evelyn earns the "tell-everybody-else-what-to-do-but-don't-do-much-yourself" award, and Addy gets the award for eating the most candy without allowing it to come anywhere near her gingerbread house. It was a fun activity.

We also made some upgrades to our house this week. The biggest one is that we now actually have some furniture in our family room! WooHoo! Rachel has been searching diligently on Craigslist for couches ever since we moved here, and finally she hit the jackpot. Two matching microfiber couches in great condition, the color matching perfectly with everything else in the room while also being dark enough that you won't be able to notice little stains (not that we'd ever allow that to happen...), and the couches themselves being comfortable enough for me to easily fall asleep on either one of them- Final price: $50 for the set! I have to say, I sometimes make fun of Rachel for speinding so much time browsing the offerings on craigslist, but she did good on this one!

Well, this post has actually gotten pretty long. I was going to step onto my soapbox and rant for a little while about "Real Life," but I guess you'll be spared my personal opinions until a later day when we've had a slower week. Too bad.

Here are some pictures. Enjoy your week!

 You'll notice small snowflakes in the first picture. The kids got cold after a while so we came to our other "campfire" in the house instead.

Even with the couches this room still feels massive. We need to get a pool table or something...one day.

Please- we need your help!

I was hoping the title would get your attention. But it's true. We really do need your help. If nothing else, please go to the bottom and vote (in the form of a comment) on your favorite gingerbread house. Thanks.

What a great week it's been. I'll sort of tell you about it, and then show a bunch of pictures, and then ask a HUGE favor from you as a reader of this blog. First, however, scroll down and read the next post if you haven't seen it already. It is about buying a new car last week. It was pretty exciting.

This week, obviously, was Thanksgiving. This year we decided to extend the invitation for people to come up and visit us instead of us going to them. Family started arriving on Wednesday night, and they kept coming in waves up until yesterday. We actually postponed our big Thanksgiving celebration until Saturday night so that more people could be involved, which meant that on the night when most of the country was sitting down to turkey dinners we were eating pizza and watching a movie.

We did a few different things with family. Of course there was a lot of talking and stuff. On Friday we went to the big Coeur d'Alene Christmas celebration. That was cool- they had a parade followed by an awesome (like, best I've ever seen) fireworks show over the lake and a big lighting ceremony where they turned on all of the lights at the resort. It was a very festive atmosphere with a live band and the weather was pretty nice and it was just a bunch of people having a good time. I think this celebration is something we'll probably go to every year we live here.

Saturday was filled with cooking. There was, of course, the traditional dinner that we all pitched in to make. After dinner we had a dessert cook-off where we broke into teams to make our various different sweet treats. I am proud to say that the unanimous decision among everyone was that Shannon and I literally took the cake (pun intended, ha ha) with our copycat recipe of Chili's Paradise Pie. Oh man- that was good.

Finally, after all the kids were in bed, we had our first annual gingerbread house contest. We broke into two teams. We each had one night to make a gingerbread house. The judges, I am pleased to announce, will be you- my loyal readers. So go to the bottom of this page, look at the pictures, and cast your vote in the form of a comment, either here or on Facebook, for which house you like better.  Do not be a fence sitter. I know you have an opinion and you will not hurt anyone's feelings.

Basically, it has been a lot of fun having everyone up here.

Here are the pictures. Don't forget to judge the houses!


The Food:

The Dessert Competition

(The Winners- Go Shannon and Me!)

The Kids:

 (This is Evelyn being a superhero)

The Gingerbread Houses:

Team A:

This cozy bungalow is located on prime beachfront property where you can enjoy all of your favorite activities. From sunbathing on the sandy shores to entertaining in the outdoor gazebo, this place has it all! The front of the house is landscaped with lush tropical vegetation that is sure to provide a break from the long Idaho Winters. When you need a place for fun, this is it- but watch out for sharks!

Team B:

This sprawling mansion is sure to catch you fancy if you are looking for a place to settle down in luxury. Nestled in the mountains, you get seclusion and a great view from the upper levels. In addition, you can relax in the security that the house is built to be storm proof, earthquake proof, fire proof, wind proof, volcano proof, tsunami proof, bullet proof, and baby proof. There is nothing that is bringing this baby down!

I am breaking tradition this week and doing a second blog post. Amazing, isn't it.

The reason I am doing this is that on Sunday I didn't really get a chance to tell about our week, which was actually quite eventful. First of all, my car died. I know, it's very sad. I loved that car. For those of you who don't know, it was a 1990 Honda Accord. The front speakers didn't work, it had no A/C, and the driver's side window was held together entirely with heavy-body dental impression material. The car was great.

But alas, it was not meant to last. We knew this from the beginning, but it was still a sad day when I was driving home from work and suddenly the transmission started making horrible clunking/grinding noises. I pulled off to the side of the road and put the car in park. That was the last time the car shifted gears. It is stuck. The transmission is a mangled mess of gears and twisted metal. The car is a gonner.

It served its purpose though. See, I refuse to have a monthly car payment. I just don't like it. So this car was purchased with the intent that it would get us through to a time when we were a little bit more financially stable and we could buy a better car with cash. In that, at least, it was successful. On Saturday I drove home a new/used Prizm. I like Prizms. I like that they are, by Toyota's own admission, Corollas with a lower price tag. I like looking at all the mechanical parts and seeing "Toyota" etched, printed, or engraved on everything there is.I like that they go forever, are economical, and are even a little bit fun to drive. I like my new car. I think- *hope* that we have a long history together.

There is a story about getting it though. Without going too much into detail, we found ourselves caught in the middle of a family feud where the son, who owned the car, was trying to sell at whatever price he could get. He was looking for quick cash. Apparantly he had just been released from prison and needed to pay for court fines, but his behavior was suspiciously similar to one who needed cash to buy more drugs. He was continuously strung-out on something because he was totally incapable of forming full sentences. Also, he made it very clear to us that he wanted to be secretive about the transaction. He trusted nobody and did not want to let the car out of his sight.

On the other hand, you have loser-boy's father, a man who doesn't speak a word of English, but is excellent at communicating via hand gestures, facial expressions, and voice intonations that he doens't like you and thinks you should go jump off a cliff. Even though the title was not in his name, he was the person holding onto it and was intent on seeing a fair price offered for the vehicle. He also seemed to have trust issues and was not willing to let the car out of his sight.

Then there is us. We wanted the best price possible (obviously). We also wanted to take the car to a mechanic to have him confirm that everything was in good working order.

So we all caravaned over to the mechanic- Us (with all of our kids), Loser-boy, Grumpy old man, Loser-boy's girlfriend, and some young kid who acted as Gumpy's translator. Add the mechanic to the mix, who also had a colorful personality, and we were a sight to behold. There I am, insisting that an admittedly low-ball offer is more than fair. Loser-boy is saying "that sound's good- just show me the money." Grumpy is yelling and screaming like a maniac in a foreign language, and the mechanic is just sort of laughing and stiring the pot at every chance he gets. In the background you can hear our children wailing that they are hungry and cold as if we had just picked them up off the street on our way over.

Suffice it to say that in the end of it all we came out with a good car at a great price.

Well, that's pretty much all that I have to write. Work has been interesting...more on that later. For now you can be thankful (on this Thanksgiving Day) that I updated again and told you this story.