Dr. Jared T. Lee, DDS, MS

Graduation! It finally happened! The FINAL graduation! Parents came into town to see it with their own eyes. There were no caps and gowns but Jared did get to walk across a stage and was handed a paper scroll and a fancy pen. He gave a speech that was funny, optimistic, and perfect for the occasion.

I can't say enough about how proud I am of my guy. Sure, he's got a nice resume (understatement), but what is most impressive (and important) to me is how well he handled all his stress, how he would always come home with a smile and make me laugh. He's balanced his school life and everything else so well that it was easy to forget how much he really had going on.

There was a nice little luncheon after the ceremony...

Jared's parents

My parents

Us

A few people were disappointed that we didn't bring the babies, but what they didn't realize was that the fun kids we bring to run around in the clinic don't suddenly become quiet kids that would sit through a 2-hour graduation ceremony. These text pics I got were proof that they were much happier playing with Eli & Audrie.

Texts from Abbie:

I reeeeeeeally like your babes.

A lot.

A lot. A lot.

Congratulations, Jared. Here's to NO MORE SCHOOL!!

NO MORE SCHOOL! NO MORE SCHOOL! NO MORE SCHOOL!!!

A chant feels appropriate.

senior banquet

Graduation week was kicked off on Monday with a banquet for the grads. It was at Kefi, a yummy Greek place on the Upper West Side. There was nothing ceremonial about it--we just ate, mingled, razzed the 2nd year table, listened to old men tell inappropriate jokes, and watched the video we put together. I'll share it after we block out some patients' faces, so as to not violate HIPAA, haha.

The class of 2011 with two of their professors (one just peeking over Brendan's shoulder).
They may or may not have been the old men telling dirty jokes.

Our good friends Brendan & Tamara.
Out of their class of 7, Jared & Brendan were the only guys, the only Mormons, and the only ones born in the U.S. They all got along great, but these two definitely had that special connection.

Max & Christine, our golf buddies.
Christine is the orthodontist, and Max is a consultant and pilot on the side, which makes them officially the coolest couple ever. We love them and hope they move to California to be our neighbors forever.

Jared with his little sibs (1st and 2nd years), Greg and Andrew.
They gave Jared some swanky cufflinks that I'd love to give him the opportunity to wear soon (fancy date night, mmm?).

The UCLA grads.
All I'm saying is that Columbia ortho hadn't taken anyone from UCLA for a while, and then they take Jared, and then two more... Jared will probably be upset with me for saying that, but I'm just saying...

I just had to throw this one in here--Nixon, one of our security guys, had asked to take our picture on our way out, with his camera (and then I asked for one with mine). This was just after we passed our neighbor who did a huge double take when he saw me. I'm probably reading too much into it, but the take-home message for me was that I clearly don't try hard enough, most days.

But everyone looks good next to this guy.

NY exit interview

We just said goodbye to the city. My blog should say goodbye too, but I'm not exactly sure how to properly wrap this whole experience up. I want to do it justice, and I need your help! You guys are smart and funny and creative and good-looking... Ask me some New York questions! Anything from living here to leaving here. What would you like to know?

Beeteedubs, I'm always nervous to ask people to leave comments/questions because what if no one does?? Please ask!!

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

DEButante ball!

First of all, thanks to my parents for naming me Deb, because when your name is Deb and you have really fun friends and you have to leave them, they will throw you a DEButante Ball! Abbie and Leslie were the gracious hostesses, and Whitney and Tamara helped out too.

Second, I'm so glad that amidst all the stress of moving, finishing school and twin-momming, I've been able to pack in some really good fun these past few weeks. Jared is so great for sacrificing to make it happen.

Third, back to the Debutante Ball! Half the fun is the anticipation, right? Here were the picture texts flying around as we made our hats in the days before the ball.

Leslie went first and set the bar SO HIGH! Just look at this hat!

Abbie responds with the most humongous bow that ever sat on a hat.

Mine wasn't nearly as flamboyant but I was still pretty happy with my sudden burst of craftiness.

My crafty mess. Laptop displaying the paper flower tutorial,

phone playing Vampire Weekend pandora station.

The party was so fun and fancy. We wore royal wedding or Kentucky derby inspired hats and frilly dresses, nibbled on fine delicacies, bragged about where we would summer and complained about the help. (But because we are also true New York women at heart, we did break character for just a moment to dance to Sisqo.)

Miss Whitney

Miss Leslie

Miss Tamara

Miss Abbie

Miss Abbie & Miss Jess

Miss Debutante

Peanut butter cupcakes in a D! Someone knows me well.

Leslie's lovely butterfly nest.

Miss Ashley

Miss Jen

Secrets, secrets

It got way too late but our hats wouldn't let us go home. They wanted to be seen by as many people as possible so they took a few of us on a quick trip down to Times Square.

This random guy on the subway wanted a picture with us.

The girls were sooo uncomfortable, haha. :)

Making news in Ghana

A trend has emerged with these ladies: Every thing we do becomes the new funnest thing we've ever done. They are insanely fun, sweet, and good girls and I love them and am kidnapping them and taking them to California. Husbands and children are welcome to follow.

PS Abbie took a thousand more pictures and I'm totally going to steal them if/when she blogs about it.

the end of the end

Can it really be happening? Already? And how come it feels like "already" when we've been looking forward to this for ages? I swear it was last week that we moved in to our little New York apartment. And just yesterday I'm pretty sure the countdown to graduation was at the 6 month mark, but now... 2 days.

This month kicked off the beginning of the end. Jared completed his mock board exam earlier this month, defended his thesis yesterday, celebrated with a senior banquet last night, and graduates on Friday. He still has to be at the clinic until the end of the month. Still tons to do, but the end is in sight and coming at us way too fast.

It's also the end of the end for our time here in New York, and I suddenly feel really unprepared to leave. Not just because I've hardly packed a thing--I mean, definitely because of that, but also because I'm really going to miss this place and these people. I'm a little bit in denial that it's happening. No fair that this move has to happen in the summer--it would have been much much muuuuuch easier to leave this place mid-Feb.

Since the sad things are too sad to think about, I'll focus on the upsides of leaving: checking off the bucket list, and goodbye parties! Stay tuned.

next stop: California!

It's back to California for these Lees!

That may sound like the most anticlimactic news ever, especially to anyone we haven't talked to much over the last 6 months, because California had been the plan for a long time. But since January, when the job we thought we had secured fell through, the job search has been our obsession. We feel like we've considered nearly every type of career you could have in orthodontics, in every corner of the country. We even flew (without the kids!) to check out opportunities in New Mexico and Kentucky. Our poor friends and family who have kept up-to-date through that whole time must have gotten so exhausted from the weekly changes to our plans. It started to feel like being the bachelor on the Bachelor, dating 4 girls at once. Just a whole lot less drama.

We finally concluded that the best thing for Jared and for our fam is to start up a private practice in Ventura County. (We'll share more about the specific location after Jared signs a lease on the building, per his consultant's advice.) We love that it's just a couple hours from his family and a short flight to mine, the weather is great, the area is beautiful and the beach is close. We're nervous about the risks of starting up from scratch and that we may have chosen the more difficult road, at least for the first few years. And I'm also a little terrified of learning how to be a suburban mom. I hardly remember what it's like to own a car!

Then I think about all the places we've been. No, not just been, lived. If we can survive 4 months in the highlands of Guatemala, living it up Mayan bathe-twice-a-week-in-a-mud-hut style; if we can spend 2 years in my parents basement (okay that was kind of plush) or a summer in my sister's spare bedroom in Portland (okay that was just fun); then we can find our way in Southern California.

And if New York taught me anything, it's that if we can make it there, we'll make it anywhere. We have, and we will.

dolphin park: a new favorite

In all our searching for the new places in the city to take toddlers, I had no idea that the best one would be right in our neighborhood! Dolphin Park has everything the kids (and mom) are looking for in a playground:

* a jungle gym (that's low enough to the ground to not be constantly worried about safety)

* a sandbox (with buckets and shovels provided since ours were left in some other park, somewhere)

* a dolphin statue that sprays water (entertaining the kids for hours on end)

* and the freedom to move from one thing to the next (while still being contained so I can easily watch both babies do their own thing... and it's all in the shade!)

It's only open in the summer, so we went for the first time on Monday, and ended up going back two more times this week!

Isaac, NOT EATING SAND, hooray!!

(Wow, I guess they really do grow out of old, gross habits. Thank goodness.)

Ellie!

Isaac likes to get wet, then get sandy, and then go down the slide, in that order.

I'm sure all the other kids (and moms) appreciate it.

Bethany likes to hang and swing, then slide.

She's becoming quite the adventurer--must be taking tips from her brother.

Our neighbor, Zahra (on the dolphin), has been such a fun friend for these babies.

We've loved running into her and other new neighborhood friends at Dolphin.

Buckets!

Bethany and Ellie make a splash.

Isaac sees what the big kids are up to.

I'm so glad we found such a great place to run around and keep cool, just in time for the hottest days of the summer.

And I knew this would happen... I'd fall in love with the city again, just in time to leave. (I'm getting ready to talk about it...)