Fall and Toledo Zoo

I love the fall here in Ann Arbor. Colors are beginning to change and it's just gorgeous. We've done our fair share of apple picking (3 times) and bottled an assortment of yummy foods. Definitely one of my new hobbies that I'm becoming a little overly-obsessed with. The kids are growing and Danny continues to work super hard. We try and take advantage of any time that we have with him. One warm Friday, Danny had it off, so we took off to the Toledo Zoo in Ohio. It was only a 45 minute drive and SOOOOO... worth it. Charlie hadn't been to a zoo since we moved here so he was totally excited. Other than the fact that we had to stop and buy Charlie some new shoes (we forgot his at home), it was a perfect trip to the zoo. Great weather, spam musubi's, and lot's of fun animals to see. Charlie was in heaven. He still asks me almost every day if we are going to the zoo.

Best part of picking apples...eating apples to your heart's content.


Check out Charlie's awesome outfit. Summer hat, shorts, with his sweet new shoes.


Spam Musubi's!!! No comments unless you've tried one. They are our favorite on-the-go lunch. Charlie probably ate 4.


Since Danny's never with us, I never get to take pictures with both of my kids. Gotta take advantage. :)


Baby elephant that's a month younger than Mina.


One of three white lions they have at the zoo. Apparently, they were donated by Siegfried and Roy.


Hike on one of the little nature trails.



Pickin' Apples


Charlie loves his daddy!

I'm 27...NOT

So Danny and I just had this conversation:

S: I can't believe you're 28.
D: I'm not. I'm 27.
S: No, you're 28. I'm sure.
D: No way. What year is it...October of 2011 (pause)...oh my gosh!!!

He blames it on his lack of sleep and the fact that med school has all blurred into a mass of time. We had this discussion because we were trying to figure out when we were going to be really done. He'll probably be 35 and I'll be 32. That's a long time. We shouldn't have figured that out.

Michigan

We're here in Ann Arbor with internet, finally. I'm too overwhelmed by the thought of blogging all that has gone on in the past couple months but I'll give you this... We're together as a family in a great place that we already have come to love. Charlie is just happy to see his dad again instead of over skype. We definitely miss Utah but are so glad we made the jump to move to a new place. Here are a few pics.

Danny and Charlie playing at Independence Lake.


Danny enjoying Mina while she's awake. That doesn't happen very often.


Before Charlie's Haircut


After...and after playing in an awesome rainstorm. I miss his hair so much but it was almost child abuse to keep it long. He was a sweaty mess after five minutes of being outside.


Danny mowing his lawn. Definitely one of he and Charlie's fav things to do around here.


Charlie with his new friend Spencer who lives just three houses away.


My little Mina with her cute smile.


And this one's for my mom...Jello Beans!!!! Thanks, Mom. Charlie loves them.

Dr. Daniel Noall Bennett, M.D.

My husband is a doctor. Do I call him one to his face? No way. I told him he isn't really a doctor until he finishes residency. I'm mean like that. But seriously, I am so proud of Danny and recognize how much time, effort, and just plain ol' hard work he has put into this degree. It is such an accomplishment and definitely the hardest thing he's ever done.

Saturday was Danny's graduation. He spoke at his commencement because he was one of the co-presidents for his class. He did a great job. He spoke on the Hippocratic Oath and how they should all remember why they went into medicine. It's easy to become a little disillusioned and a little self-conceited during medical school. I can't tell you how many people have become so obsessed with becoming the "best" student/doctor and the highest paid one at that. I think for most students, they went into medicine because of the doctors they knew...they were respectable men/women in their communities who served those around them. Danny just encouraged his class to remember those people and to remember the type of person they were striving to be before medical school...that and a bunch of other stuff. :) He really did a great job and we were all so proud of him.

We both can't believe that he's done, that we're moving our family to Michigan, and that we're going to be receiving a real paycheck next month! Kind of crazy. We're excited for this next phase of life, realizing that it's going to be super hard but a wonderful growing experience. We're especially grateful to all of the wonderful people we've met during medical school. Definitely the "cream of the crop" as my mom would say. We've made some great friends and made some wonderful memories. Here's to the next phase!! Thank you to everyone who has made this possible...that's all of you. :)


This is what the whole day felt like...a blur.


Danny's name on the program.


Danny speaking. If you look closely, you'll see his hair sticking up from his hat. :)


Danny and his proud parents.


Danny and my family.


Our little family.


Danny and JJ. We missed a picture with Wayne and Taryn.


The Brimhall's


The Zaugg's


After graduation and our nephew's baptism, we raced down to Provo for Jake and Jess's wedding dinner and reception. Jake is one of Danny's high-school buddies. Their reception was awesome. They had little firepits where you could roast mallows and make smores. Charlie, of course, ran into the river and covered himself in soot. If you look closely at this picture, you will see the soot marks that cover his whole front. He's a little hoodlum! But look at that face...he's so stinkn' cute.

Mina Inouye Bennett

Our little girl was born on Mother's Day. Yes, definitely the BEST Mother's Day present anyone could ask for. She was 2 1/2 weeks early, which is kind of perfect in my book. She was 6 lbs. 2 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. Everything went really well other than the fact that we missed a whole ton of delicious food from all the parties we missed that day. I guess the only sad thing is that I had to eat hospital food on Mother's Day. Oh well. She's beautiful and we couldn't be happier. We just can't get over the fact that we are now a family of four and that we have "kids." Crazy. Wish us luck!

MICHIGAN!!!!

So, we matched. We're moving to Ann Arbor, Michigan. I can't believe it. I am both happy and sad. I am happy because Danny is so ecstatic to have gotten into his 1st choice and that it should be an awesome city to live in. I am sad because I have to move and leave my family. I can't even talk about it. Danny and I keep asking ourselves, "What did we do?" I can't believe that we have chosen to leave. It will be a good experience, though. Right? So yeah, we're moving. Please come visit me!!!

Important Issue

Hey friends,

I read this blog post on C. Jane today and it really hit me hard. I just thought I would share it with everyone and anyone. Although I would never diagnose myself as someone who has dealt with a "real" eating disorder, I, too, think about my weight probably way too much and I have had countless numbers of friends who have dealt with serious problems/addictions concerning food. In addition to that, self-confidence is something that EVERYONE deals with. So...read the post. I hope it enlightens you. Love to you all.

Seidi