We have returned!

We have returned from our dream vacation!!! I (Mandy) have decided to blog our vacation details because we weren't able to keep everyone informed of what we were up to! We'd love to share our journey and give a little detail to our days abroad.  I'm going to try to include the little stories, but some may end up being long! So hang in there, or just skip those posts! They'll come in every day or so, and I'll include photos, too. 

First, we have arrived back in Texas and are just about done unpacking and doing laundry.  Brendan said to me "wow, we are home!" when we walked in the door on Monday. We've been gone for over a month! It's nice to be back in our own home.

We returned and the girls adjusted very well. Renny and Molly were even left alone in the house for about 10 minutes and they didn't destroy anything! Quite surprising.  But, (there is always a BUT..), Renny did manage to get some near-by clothes when she was in her crate. I guess it was about time I got rid of that Holister cardigan anyway...

I talked to our neighbor Sarah (Renny's boyfriends mom, who is also becoming one of my close friends) and I was so excited to get the dogs together. BUT (see what I mean about those but's!) CJ isn't feeling well and hurt his hip, so they won't be able to play until next week. Bummer.  Renny will just have to deal with walks with mom or dad.  Maybe a dog park visit is in the plans...or should be at least! Poor thing gets so car sick I hate to put her back in there, and she will not want to get in.

Brendan started classes yesterday, so far so good. He has two late nights, which might stink when I go back to being in the clinic, but it's only temporary!  He also has classes Monday-Friday, no weekday off this semester, which is different for him.  He seems to be excited for this semester and is looking forward to his internship this summer.  He's moving right along with his degree and doing so wonderful. He's also getting an idea of what part of electrical engineering he likes, so that will help him with his job search!  I am so proud of him.

I am on my "professional development" month, so I have online work to do.  Hence why I am going to try my best to blog about our trip now.  Next month is Women's health, and then is Pediatrics. I'll be spending time the next couple weeks brushing up on that so I am prepared. I can also start the application for my license. That is crazy. But it takes awhile to process, and they encouraged us to get all the information we could in as soon as we can.  I'll be starting to look for jobs in the next few months as well. I haven't decided exactly what I want to do, but time will tell!

Brendan and I are trying to do our own version of the Paleo diet.  I say our own version because I do not see Brendan NOT drinking milk! He loves milk. And also, I already made turkey meatballs, which sound healthy but have oats in them, and those are a no no on the Paleo diet. So, we are basing our new lifestyle off the Paleo ways, but we aren't going to be ridiculous about it!  I'm even eating eggs again so I can have a non-carb breakfast.  I was shocked to find that my grocery bill was under budget after purchasing the fruit, veggies and meat for the week. This lifestyle may just work!  We are also going to get back in the gym.  I don't have clearance to work out from the cardiologist but walking and weights should be fine. I have to get moving! 

That's our update for now. Stay tuned for the first post about our trip!!!