***Warning, Long Post--no pictures--read if you dare or care :)***
Last week was the thrilling/Stressful time for us to find out where we are going for our Optometry Rotations. During Erics 4th year of school we have to move every 3 months to a new site/clinic. This whole process seems pretty simple until you have more than one person putting in for a site/clinic that you wanted. In those cases you have to go to "Lottery" which means whoevers name gets drawn out of the group goes...everyone else is then put into a loser drawing and you get to pick whatever sites are left over. Fun, I know!
Our first choice/rotation was to make sure that we stayed here in Forest Grove so that I could keep working, try and sell the house, etc. There were 7 people that put it in for this site/clinic and LUCKY for us Eric won that lottery so we will be staying put!
The next spot we were going for was the Salt Lake VA hospital for the 4th Rotation. Unfortunately we had to go to lottery once again, this time against one of our friends and we weren't so lucky! We lost that rotation, but eric was picked 1st to get the leftovers (Lucky once again) so we chose to go to Roseburg, OR. VA hospital. for our 4th rotation. We both feel that this will probably be a better fit for eric anyway!
Next we were going for Miami, OK. for our 3rd rotation....nobody put in for this rotation so we automatically got it. This one is nice because it is only 1 1/2 hours from my house in Springfield so I can live with my family, and spend the holidays (thanksgiving and christmas) with them as well!
Then the last rotation that we could go for (which is the rotation that we wanted the most) was the St. George 2nd rotation. We wanted this one so we could live with erics parents, network, etc. considering thats where we are trying to end up! Luckily/Suprisingly enough nobody else put in for this site so we were able to get that one without going to lottery as well! YIPEE!
So to break this down:
1st rotation- Forest Grove Oregon
2nd rotation- St. George Utah
3rd rotation- Miami Oklahoma
4th rotation- Roseburg Oregon
It sounds like we are going to be living out of our suitcases for a year. And even though that really doesn't sound that much fun, I'm pretty excited to get on to that portion of our lives! We were fortunate to get most of the sites we wanted and feel very blessed! I know that I said we got "Lucky" more than several times in this post, but I know that in reality the Lord had a hand in this and answered our prayers and put us in the places that would be best for our family! I'm so lucky to have a husband that works so incredibly hard to provide for our family. This year will be a difficult one for him, but we know he will do great! One more step to being done, and we can't wait!
The first day we arrived in utah we headed up to Beaver Mountain to stay at a family friends Cabin (Bucks Cabin). It was quite the place...full of tons of fun things to do, including relaxing on the hammock.
Kinley caught a fish!
The second day we were able to head up to lake labarron to have fun fishing. We fished all day and the fish didn't disappoint...I was amazed at how many fish everyone caught! The ones we couldn't save, we roasted up that night!
These were some of the many deer that we got to see while staying at the cabin! I loved how many baby deer were around!
I think Shannon and Angie just spiked it over you brock!! haha
Some other fun events at the cabin were playing volleyball, basketball, swinging, and playing games! 
Big Smooch for Kinley!
The family
We had such a fun time at the Cabin, and can't wait to go back! Thanks mom and dad for such a fun time there!
Once we got back into town a got to spend a couple of days with my cousin Robin while Eric was off shadowing Optometrists. We went to the splash pad one of the days with our friend Stari and had a blast...Kinley wasn't to happy (she didn't have a nap) and pretty much complained or cried the whole time we were there...but we had a great time chatting and catching up! After the splash pad Robin and I went to her house with a plan to put the kids down and make a cookie monster with ice cream and eat it in peace just like the old days...haha but that didn't happen...the kids were wide awake by the time we got them home! It was a nice idea though, I guess our lives will never be like they used to! :)
We also got to go see Grandma Drake while we were there! And Grandma Waite, even though I doubt she remebers we were there :) ha
Kinley had a great time laughing at the girls with Grandma...
Alyssa is kinleys greatest fan! She called every day at least 3-4 times a day to see if kinley was awake and ready to play! They had so much fun together!
Eric and I got away for a little bit to go on a hike!
The last day we were in utah the Drakes threw Grandma and Grandpa Beatty a 60th wedding anniversary party! We had so much fun playing games and spending time with family! We had an awesome hawaiian dinner, talent show, picture slide show, and more! We loved how much time we got to spend with everyone and wish we could do it more often! We miss you guys already!
