It seemed so surreal for match day to actually be here! I slept like a little kid the night before Christmas, and Brian didn't sleep much better. The infamous Match Day...the day we would find out which Residency program Brian will be working with and where we will be living for the next three years. He interviewed at ten programs between Pocatello, ID and Phoenix, AZ, with his top choices being in Utah and then Arizona...we were on pins and needles!
This morning I realized I'd been so focused on Match Day that I hadn't made any St. Patrick's Day surprises for the kids. Since Kinsey and I were up early, we made a quick 6am grocery run to add to our produce rainbow and get Lucky Charms for St. Patrick's Day.
Chandra's biggest concern this morning was that she didn't have any clothes with green on them and she didn't want to be pinched. She found a solution by making jingle bell/pipe cleaner ankle bracelets and having me put twisty green pipe cleaners in her hair.
At 9am we drove to the University. The envelopes were all laid out, and after a catered breakfast and a short program, the ribbon separating the 4th year med students from the envelopes was cut, and they could grab their own and open it immediately or return to their families to find out where they would be going.
Brian grabbed his envelope and came back to open it with us. His hands were shaking as he popped open the flap and pulled out the paper. I looked at it too, and couldn't figure out where he was going until he said, "St. Mark's." As soon as Bracken heard, he realized we would be staying close to his friends and cousins and started yelling "Yes! YES! Yes!" While doing fist pumps and jumping up and down. He was ecstatic!
After a couple of minutes, I went to find my phone to let people know where we were going and found Bracken talking and texting on my phone. He'd already called his cousin Dallin, Aunt Melissa, Grandma Lisa and texted a couple of people. :)
Sue and Rob flew in from Phoneix to be with us and support Brian on this exciting day!
Bracken made Brian a good luck charm for match day. Brian had it in his pocket the whole day, and it brought him lots of luck! He got over a stomach bug just in time to go to match day, he got into an awesome residency program, and (drum roll) he won the fish bowl full of dollars at the end of the day! (Each medical student put in a dollar as they went up to tell everyone where they had matched, and the last persons to be drawn got to keep the whole pot. We may have been helped by the fact that Kinsey tore Brian's name tag in half during a tantrum so it was smaller than everyone else's and harder to grab, but the rest of it was all Bracken's good luck charm!)
Brian paid each of the kids $1 to smile for one last picture. He had plenty to share at the moment. :)
Rob, Brian, and Sue
What an exciting day! On our way home, we drove by St. Mark's so we could all see where Brian will be working for the next three years. Then Grandpa Rob treated us to carne asada burritos for lunch, Brian and I went on a double date with Rob and Sue to see Beauty and the Beast, and then we hung out until Rob, Brian, Bracken and Dallin went to the Young Men's backyard campout in preparation for the Scouting for Food Drive tomorrow. What a day! How exciting to know where we are going to be now. We are so happy to be staying by the many neighbors and friends we have come to love!
Celebrating with Ice Cream in Springdale. It was delicious! 
