A PA from VA

Right after Nate finished his semester in December, we headed up to Roanoke, Virginia for Nate's sister's graduation.  Lizzie graduated as a Physician Assistant on at the Jefferson College of Health Sciences.  We are SO proud of her!  Unfortunately for Lizzie, ever since she entered PA school, she has been bombarded with all sorts of medical questions from our family. Sorry!  Anyway, we were lucky enough to be able to see her graduate and be there for a couple of extra days to visit.  Here are the pics...

White Coat Ceremony: 

Ruby was yelling "CHEEEEESE"!

Later that evening we headed back to the hotel.  By some miracle, we were able to score hotel rooms right next door to each other, allowing us to spend time together even after the kiddo's were in bed.  It was so great! Anyway, we had some chocolate silk pie to celebrate Lizzie.  It was such a fun night!

Excuse my pajama's. :)

The next day was the graduate school graduation where Lizzie walked with all her fellow PA's and other classes in the medical field.  It was yet another fun day.  The sun was ridiculously bright, hence all our squinty eyes.

She's a total babe!

A little bright there, Rube? :)

Later that evening we just walked around the mall in search for a V-Tech sweatshirt for Lizzie.  It was way more fun than it sounds and the kids had a blast riding escalators. And we finally found a sweatshirt for Lizzie! Mission: complete.

There just happened to have a Duke and V-Tech apparel display. 

We ran into the Biebs.

The next day we went sight seeing a little.  All of us (minus Lizzie since she was studying) went to downtown Roanoke and walked around.  I love going to downtown area's of different cities.  They are so fun and unique and there is always so much to see.  We even saw 4 LDS missionaries handing out free hot cocoa while also handing out some pass along cards.  Anyway, we had fun.  Later that day, we picked up Lizzie for an evening of FUN! In Roanoke, there is this HUGE star, that you can see from many different places, but we mostly saw it when driving on the freeway.  Every time it came into view, the girls would yell "LOOK, A STAR!" I thought it was just put up for Christmas, but apparently it's a year-round thing.  So, we drove up to see the star and it is HUGE!  Unfortunately, the guys who took our photo's up there didn't really think to make sure we were all looking at the same camera.  Oh, well.

While up at The Star, it was pretty freezing and Lyla snuggled up with her dad.  I don't really know what brought this on but we just started taking snapshots of different kinds of faces.  Please enjoy the next few photos and realize that this is one of the many reasons why I LOVE my family.

Scary

Excited

Surprised.  Nate, starting to join in.

Sleepy.  I think Nate was snoring?

I have no idea.

Again, no idea. Love Nate in this one though :)

And the sad face.

After the star and our drama faces, we went to dinner at a delicious Virginia BBQ place.  Seriously, it was divine.  And I fell in love with hush puppies all over again.

Sideways.  Too lazy to flip it :)

Ruby.  The hair. The smile. The semi-bird. Those kissable cheeks and neck. Win-Win-Win-Win. Win.

And Lyla absolutely loved those ribs.

Just like her mother...

Idaho Falls, 2006?

After dinner, we headed to Walmart to grab a few items for our next activity.  We picked out random food items that we gave to the other team to make into a Christmas carol scene.  

O, Christmas Tree.

Away in a Manger.

The next morning we went to Lizzie's branch, sang a family song in sacrament, and then said our goodbye's.  It was SO much fun being there for Lizzie, and also being able to see Grandma and Grandpa Wright and Becca.  And the girls had an absolute blast! A couple days after we left, Lizzie took her PA Board exams (and passed!) and left for Utah all in the same day.  We really miss having Lizzie so close,  but we are so proud of and excited for her.  Congratulations Lizzie, we love you!