Dear friends and loved ones,
It only seemed fitting to take to Kelly’s blog to share our holiday letter with you this year. 2013 was a whirlwind of life experiences and major milestones for us.
The biggest event of 2013 was our wedding! We were married on May 25th, 2013 in Madison, Wisconsin. We chose the scenic Olin Park Pavilion for the ceremony and reception. Our wedding photos were captured by the lovely and talented Kinsey and Josh Mhire. You can see more wedding photos here. We couldn’t have dreamed of a more memorable day, and we owe it all to the helpful hands and support of our family and friends in making the day as special as it was. So thank you again!
Kelly finished medical school this year, wrapping up a 10 year stint as a student at the University of Wisconsin. For her last rotation, she spent 6 weeks in India, four of which were spent working in a Tibetan refugee hospital. She was privileged to work with an amazing team of doctors and nurses, lead by the Dr. Tsetan-la, personal physician to the Dalai Lama. It wasn’t all work though, she also hiked, practiced yoga, experienced Holi festival, and couch-surfed. You can read more about all of thatĀ here.
We also had a few big trips planned this year. We definitely live by the Badger motto of “work hard, play hard”. As we write this, we’re sitting in an airport on the way home from ourĀ honeymoon in Morocco! We just spent two weeks seeing this amazing and vibrant country. Morocco is truly an assault to the senses, with everything from the noisy hustle of street vendors, several daily Call to Prayers (including a 5AM one each day), to the rich spices of simmering tagines and the colors of everything under the sun that is for sale in the souks. We couldn’t resist picking up a couple of Morocco’s famous carpets, which we hope you can all witness yourselves if you’re in the Bay Area for a visit! You can see more photos and stories from our honeymoon here.
The other large voyage we embarked upon took involved driving across the country with all of our belongings packed ever-so-tightly in a small trailer! We spent three days doing a good ol’ American road trip with our sights set on San Francisco, CA, where Kelly started her first ‘real’ job as a resident physician in pediatrics. Amongst countless scenic highways, we drove through The Badlands, Grand Tetons, and camped in Yellowstone national park.
After finally getting settled in sunny (seriously! the fog isn’t as bad as the locals have you believe) San Francisco, we took our firstĀ camping trip to Big Sur. We cozied up at a beautiful little campsite alongside a pristine creek nestled about 20 minutes worth of hiking from the trailhead near the coast. Both of us have always dreamed of living near the ocean. It’s pretty surreal to wake up every day and be able to see the ocean from our street. Northern California has some amazing camping, combined with amazing weather, meaning that epic spots like Big Sur are just a few hours away virtually year round.
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Our little family of two became a family of three this year, with the addition of Maddie, short for Madison, who we rescued through Pound Puppy Rescue. She’s fast become our new best friend and showers us both with an unconditional love. You just can’t beat puppy kisses that seem to be just as enthusiastic whether you’ve been gone 10 minutes or two weeks.
We’re incredibly lucky to have had such a full and joyful year. Kelly is loving her job as a pediatric resident and is grateful to be surrounded by the amazing and talented individuals that she not only calls colleagues, but real friends. Pat is working at one of the best bike shops in San Francisco and is planning to apply to nurse practitioner school next year. He’ll be volunteering at the same hospital Kelly works at starting next month.
We wish you health and happiness in 2014.
Cheers,