Holiday Vacation: Part #12 (MESA again)

We packed everything up & drove to Mesa on Wednesday night so that we could take Kylee to get tubes in her ears early the next morning. Kylee was in pretty good spirits on the way to the surgi-center & decided to sport her elephant hat during the ride...

Kylee did a great job. She didn't flip out until they actually put her on the operating table. Then it was only a few seconds before they put the gas mask on her & she was out. (We weren't allowed to go back there with Kylee...I just asked the nurse what happened once she left us.) Kylee woke up kind of fussy & was a little tired that day, but that's about it. Since getting tubes, she has been like a new kid! I think I blamed WAY too much of her behavior & crankiness on the "Terrible Two's" instead of on her ears.

We had Santa's forgotten gift laid out on my parents' couch for Kylee when she woke up from her nap...

Seriously, all Goodwill! Expenses in medical school are killer, so I was glad to be back in the U.S. with some options of things to buy & good deals to find!

We really enjoyed the nice weather in Mesa. Linc took Kylee for a bike ride one day, which she LOVED!

We spent New Years Eve with our good friends Steve & Erica. We were so happy to be able to hang out with them multiple times during our vacation. Friends like them are very hard to find & we are SO blessed to have them in our lives! My favorite part about our relationship with them is that we can go months without talking & pick up right where we left off. Plus, Erica is another one of my friends who knew me before all of my health problems. She knows who I am without all of the trials & baggage & everything else that comes with me now. :)

Anyway, we put all of the kids to bed at Steve's parents' house, then played games & ate treats. Oh, and we laughed...

 A LOT...

 Even Lincoln laughed hard. That means we had a lot of fun, in case you didn't know. :)

(Sidenote: Most of you have probably noticed that Linc & I are opposites in the laughing department. I laugh at pretty much everything & I laugh loud. Lincoln doesn't laugh very often, & most of the time he just chuckles quietly to himself. In fact, at least once a week, I say something that I'm pretty sure is hilarious that he doesn't laugh at. That leads to the same conversation every time...

Me: "Why aren't you laughing? That was seriously so funny!"

Linc: "I am laughing."

Me: "No you're not."

Linc: "Yes, I am. I'm laughing inside.")

At midnight, we watched the ball drop & toasted with sparkling cider. Someone had the idea that we should all set a New Years resolution right then & tell it to each other, so that we could check back next New Years to see if we actually accomplished our goals. After I said that I want to lose 20 pounds this year, nobody else could think of a resolution...or maybe I just made it awkward? Ha ha.

We woke Kylee up, gave her a chocolate cookie, & took her home...

The next day we met Heather & Josh, and Joy & Aaron (Heather's sister & her husband) at Joe's BBQ. Kylee didn't take a nap that day, so she ended up falling asleep in the car...

When Kylee woke up, she ran around with Cason, who is the same age as her...

After dinner, we took Kylee back to my parents' & put her down for the night, then headed over to Heather's parents' house. Man, it was so nice being able to leave Kylee a few times at night after she was asleep & have a free babysitter! Anyway, the boys played video games until really late while Heather & I went to Walmart, then QT for yummy donuts & shakes, then back to play games & hang out. We ended up setting up a mini photo shoot for the two of us. I'll share those pictures another time. :) 

Here's a favorite pic from that night though..."Dr. Hiatt" feeling a lump on Heather's neck. The face Heather made for this picture & Lincoln's face of "Anj, are you seriously taking a picture of me doing this?!" makes me laugh...

The next day was spent packing to go back to Mexico, then we left the U.S. on Thursday morning!

Oh, & I almost forgot to share that I FINALLY found out what is wrong with me! I have mono! Good old Dr. Coss in Snowflake met with me last-minute, ran some tests & discovered what was wrong. I was really impressed with him & how thorough & thoughtful he was when I was telling him my symptoms. I'll leave the rest for a post all about mono...I know you can't wait to read it!!! :)