I'm feeling grateful

Peter and I are currently in San Antonio while Peter does his surgery rotation. The hotel that they put us up in is also the same hotel where many men and women come to stay while recovering from serious injuries from war. It's humbling to see so many individuals in wheelchairs with life altering injuries everyday. Breakfast is free here at the hotel so every morning people congregate to the breakfast hall. It's there that I really see these individuals and their families. It's so sad to see them and understand that their lives have recently changed drastically. My heart breaks as I watch them with their parents and their children every morning.

The other day there was a young man (under 21 at least) talking to his siblings about how he lost his leg. He described in detail how he stepped on an IED while his siblings were captivated by his story. I couldn't help myself, I wanted to hear his story. He then went on to tell his brother (probably 10 years old) to do well in school because there is so much to enjoy in life. He advised him to get good grades so he didn't have to join the infantry. By this point tears are rolling down my cheeks. It's not fair that this young man lost his leg and that his life has changed dramatically. He's so young! My sadness for this young man and all those recovering here also includes a great deal of gratitude. Although I am so sorry and sad that they have to experience such hard things in their lives, I'm also so grateful that they are willing to make these sacrifices for you and me. They are brave and willing to serve. I'm so grateful for them and hope that Peter and I might be able to serve those who have sacrificed so much.

Happy Birthday to Peter

Last week was Peter's birthday. Since he was on call the night of his birthday, we had a nice dinner out the night before. We went to Saltgrass( a highly recommended steak place) with some friends. The food was great! The night of Peter's birthday, his intern was nice enough to let him come home for dinner. So we got to spend some time together and he got to celebrate a little with a birthday cake.

I love that I'm the lucky girl that gets to spend all of Peter's birthdays with him for the rest of forever.

Our month in Virginia

Just before Christmas our time in San Diego came to an end and we headed back to DC/VA for a month. The first week was full of classes for Peter and a conference for me. Almost every night that week we met up with friends to catch up since it's been so long since we've seen everyone. Here's a picture of the sunset one morning of the way to work and pictures of a "Minute to Win It" game our friends Chris and Leigh threw.

Then the following two weeks were spent having fun with Peter's family. All the siblings except for Tommy and his family were in town. It was really fun to be able to spend time with everyone. We spent most of our time playing games, eating, watching movies and football, and playing basketball. We went to the temple one day to see the lights and another day to go inside. We even spent a day in the city viewing some of the museums and showing things off to Kathy. We attempted to go ice skating, but the wait was too long. So we headed over to a friends for pizza and Settlers of Catan. I'm not sure if introducing that game to the Bell family was a good

choice or not. We spent the next several days playing all the time and there were many boisterous games. New Years Eve was spent a First Night in Alexandria

enjoying musical performances throughout the night and ringing in the New Year with a firework show at the Masonic Temple.

The last week in VA was spent saying goodbye to family and some more work and school. We are now in San Antonio for the next 2 1/2 months for Peter's surgery rotation. The weather was about 70 degrees when we arrived, so I think we're going to enjoy our time her for the winter.

San Onofre Beach

This last weekend my Aunt had the best idea, she suggested we rent the private cottages on San Onofre Beach. So we went with them and my Grandparents for a weekend on the beach. It was so nice to be on the beach and enjoy the sounds and beauty all day and night. We enjoyed bonfires on the beach, reading, and even playing with our nephews who came up on Saturday for a little bit. We're so lucky to be here in San Diego and I'm so glad we took advantage of this opportunity. I think we may have to make San Onofre a family tradition.

Thanksgiving Festivities

The Thanksgiving fun started the day before Thanksgiving when my mom, brother, and sister in law arrived for the weekend. That evening we celebrated G'pa Hutchins birthday. It was fun to all be there with him, he really gets so much joy out of hearing what's going on with everyone. We're lucky to have him in our lives. We also gave him and G'ma their Christmas present early (from all the kids and grandkids), a Bose Stereo. The picture of my G'ma below is her crying the second she saw "Bose". Amidst her tears she said, "I've wanted one of these my whole life." She's way too cute and so deserving.

Thanksgiving was fun. We took advantage of the beautiful weather and spent sometime at the beach and getting some boogie boarding and surfing in during the weekend.

I'm so thankful for the wonderful family that I have and for the time I'm able to spend with them.

Trip up the Coast

The Monday before Thanksgiving I went with my G'ma, Aunt Melanie, and Cousins Rachel and Ty on a trip up the coast. It was kind of a spur of the moment trip and it was so fun. We started off taking the coast highway north from San Diego. We stopped at Laguna Beach for some shopping and Newport's Crab Cooker for lunch (childhood favorite). We even stopped at the Santa Monica Pier to check out the popular site and Pepperdine University for the view. Everything was so beautiful. It was fun to see some of the sites that you see on TV and the movies.

We spent the night in Santa Barbara and then explored the town a little bit the next morning. I love that town, seriously, I think it might be my favorite city in the US, next to Boston. We then drove up to Solvang (a danish town) and got ourselves some Ebelskivers (danish pancakes). Then off to Hearst Castle. It was a beautiful drive up the coast and I saw beach towns along the way I'd never seen before.

Hearst castle was unreal. It was the home of the newspaper mogul years ago and it's pretty insane.

It was a really fun trip. It was a great week actually, because the day after we got home the family Thanksgiving festivities began.

Sammy's for Clem's Birthday

Wednesday all the family that lives in San Diego headed to Sammy's (delicious) for Uncle Matt's birthday. It was fun to be able to celebrate with Matt and the food was so good. They have a shrimp salad that is unbelievable. The funniest part of the night was when they brought out the birthday sundae, G'ma wanted in on the action that she stood up and reached across the whole table in order to get a good bite. It was so great!