Painting for my Nephews

Last week I visited Robbie's sister and her family in Cheyenne, Wyoming to do a little more painting in my nephews' rooms. I have been up once before this to paint and they wanted me to add a few more images. Here's what I painted the first time:

A camouflage wall in Mason's room

The main characters from Ninjago for Avery: (left to right) Zane, Cole, Sensei Wu, Kai, and Jay

As you can guess, Mason loves all things military (probably stemming from his love for the Call of Duty videogames) so this time I was up he asked for a plane with paratroopers.

We decided to go with a cool silhouette effect which made it super easy!

Avery asked for some more Ninjago characters. He actually had quite a list of characters he would like me to paint but for the sake of time, I told him he had to pick three and then I could do a few more next time. He chose Fangtom, Skales, and Lord Garmadon this time and for my next visit he wants the Golden Dragon. I seriously have learned more about Ninjago than I ever thought I would. He sat with me most of the time I was painting and told me all about the characters and their powers/weapons/personalities/etc.

This is Fangtom. He's the General of the Fangpyre snakes. They build their armies by biting people and/or objects and turning them into snakes.

This is Skales. He's the General of the Hypnobrai snakes. They have the ability to hypnotize people by staring into their eyes. Avery made a special request for Skales to have the black circles in his eyes because that is his "hypnotizing face."

Finally, this is Lord Garmadon. He is Sensei Wu's brother (duh duh duh!) and he's always trying to take over the land of Ninjago. His son, Lloyd, becomes the green ninja and eventually has to face him in battle. It actually is a total rip off of the Darth Vader/Luke relationship in Star Wars.

I had a great time painting and hanging out with my nephews. Here are the final products:

Celebrating the Completion of Year One

As usual, I've got my little blogging buddy sleeping in my lap as I type this morning.

Lazy thing

Robbie is all done with his first year of Dental School! He has the Boards in 11 days, but once those are done we'll be on summer break. Woo hoo!! I'm glad his classes are over so he'll have some time to just focus on the Boards without having to study for all of his classes as well.

Here's some pictures from the school year:

I got this idea off pinterest.

His first lab assignment.

Working hard carving a single tooth from a chunk of wax.

Here's the final product.

An awesome flash card I made for him. Are those teeth or muffins? hmm....

I brought him some coffee while he studied.

He finally got his Dental loupes.

#14 carved from wax

Robbie hung out with my while I got a free Dental exam from the 4th years.

We went to Dental Prom with our friends

Photobombed by the other Rob

Looking a little bit creepy as he works on the dummy

Working in the lab some more

Class II preparation on #31

Creepy dummy head

Dental School will be over quicker than we realize but I know we will have so many great memories from the experience!

End of Year Trip

We are now in the final countdown of Robbie's first year of Dental School! His last finals are in one week and his last practical is on the 19th. Then he has a week and a half to devote completely to studying for the Part I boards. After that, he'll officially be a DS2!

In celebration of this milestone, we decided to go on a trip together. Since it will likely be our last trip before having kids we decided to make it a really exciting one by going somewhere neither of us has been before. We ended up finding a great flight and hotel deal on Priceline for 5 days/4 nights in San Juan, Puerto Rico!! This is especially exciting for me because I studied Spanish for 9 years and I have yet to visit a place where the chief language is Spanish. Puerto Rico was also a great option because my passport still has my maiden name on it (P.R. is a U.S. territory, so you don't need a passport to fly there). I just can't wait to chill on the beach with my hubby, drinking a pina colada and celebrating the end of the first chapter of Dental School.

I seriously can hardly wait!!! This gorgeous picture is originally from http://my.lulac.org/group/604

Technically we have lived in Denver for just over a year now. Looking back on all that has transpired puts me in complete awe of how good my God is! He provided us with a great apartment that we could afford that was also close to the school. He provided us with incredible friends to share the journey with. He used the difficult periods of Dental School to draw Robbie and I closer together in our prayer life. He gave me a close friend with kids so that I could receive wisdom from her about motherhood. Seeing and helping Robbie grow into the man God desires him to be brings me more fulfillment than any other relationship in my life. I have especially loved experiencing first hand the truth found in Proverbs 11:25 because every time I made it a point to refresh and encourage Robbie, it filled me to the brim with joy.

A generous person will be enriched, and the one who gives a drink of water will receive water. -Proverbs 11:25

What a great year! I wouldn't trade the lessons we've learned for anything in the world! It has been challenging and rough at times, but God has used the difficulty in amazing ways. I can't wait to see what next year brings!

Do not despise the Lord's instruction, my son, and do not loathe His discipline; for the Lord disciplines the one He loves, just as a father, the son he delights in. -Proverbs 3:11-12