The Office

Today while examining one of my patients, my bra strap came loose and somehow slipped out of my sleeve-hole, dancing around like an extra flaccid arm, hitting the poor little kid in the head.  Since I couldn't discretely get it under control, I had to excuse myself.  And that pretty much sums up my day.

Romping in Utah 2013

We went to visit grandma and grandpa in Utah this week.  It was great to see them and have some fun with family.

We took mom and dad for a drive around the scenic Alpine Loop.    Mike tried not to scare grandma too much, but the curves were a little tenuous.  He was a little jealous of the bikers that were attempting the challenging climb.

 We raided grandpa's garden, which is amazing!  His apple tree is loaded with crisp apples.  We picked juicy red tomatoes, plump raspberries and grapes.  We even sneaked some apples into our suitcase.

 We spent the next day hiking through Big Cottonwood Canyon into Little Cottonwood Canyon.
Lake Mary was at an all-time low.  The rock that the kids have swam to previously is easily accessed on dry land.

 Lake Martha

We met some former Hilcrest High graduates along the way, as well as an 86 year old lady who hiked all the way up to Catherine Pass.  Amazing!

Lake Catherine

 The highest peak we scaled (Sunset Peak) (10,648 ft ) gave us a beautiful view of Heber, Mt. Timpanogas, Little Cottonwood Canyon and the Alpine Loop.

 We had already hiked for 5 hours by the time we reached  Twin Lakes Reservoir (below), and I was determined to find it's "twin lake."  I finally relented, which turned out to be a wise decision.  When we consulted the map at the lodge, "Twin Lakes Reservoir" is only one lake.  Go figure!

 The next day we drove to Park City - mostly for the Alpine Slide.  Yeah, he smoked me!

 And, of course, we spent lots of time with THE FAM!

 Dave

 Mom with Ashley (Scott and Connie's granddaughter)

 Amanda with Connie's new dog

 Ben and Lizzie

 Melissa

Scott multitasking.

Thanks, Scott, for hosting the party!
We'll be back!

Parenthood

Congratulations to Ashley and Landon

I'm pretty sure it's going to be a buttload of fun!

Fridays off!

Can I tell you how much I love my job?  We added a new physician, so I now take call every third week.  Additionally, I will be getting every other Friday OFF!  Yep.  Off.  That means I have a L-O-N-G weekend.  Same salary.  This is AWESOME!
How did I spend that first extra day off, you ask?
in Galvaston!
We drove down Thursday night and stayed at a hotel. (Yep, a real hotel)
Then spent time walking along the beach . . .

riding bikes along the boardwalk. . .

 visiting the beautiful mansions . . .

and eating ice cream and sauerkraut sandwiches on the strand.

I'm a happy camper!

Visiting the Nashville Cats

July 4 may have been hot and sticky in Texas, but it certainly wasn't in Nashville.  Although it rained most of the time, we still were able to have some fun.

We went to the park . . .

did some fireworks . . .

went jogging . . .

while Caroline and Devin rode their bikes . . .

ate pizza in the park while mom and dad were on a date . . .

and - being the wonderful grandparents that we are, bought them sponge dart guns to play with outside (although somebody may have gotten in trouble for shooting in the house - not mentioning names - )

The kids were SO good, and Bex and I had a great time shopping (well, I did) and baking (we both did.)  Dad was a good sport and played with the kids while we baked and shopped.
We took everyone to a Churrascaria and got the evil eye when we walked in with three little kids.  They asked us if we knew what kind of restaurant it was.  I assured them we were well aware.  They were pretty surprised when the kids sat quietly at the table, were darn good at using the tongs to pick their meat up, and took turns at the salad bar.  And we were there for quite awhile, as we were waiting for Shawn to join us.  Several of the staff commented on how polite they were.
Love these kids!  Love their awesome parents, too!

The Big Apple - (aka Ashley's home away from home)

 We had a great time visiting Ashley in New York City last weekend.  She has a lovely apartment in Manhattan which is beautifully decorated and cozy.  She had our weekend scheduled with tons of adventures.

We started off on Friday with breakfast at Sara Beth's, an upscale restaurant in Manhattan.  I highly recommend the lemon truffle pancakes.

Ashley had to work that day so dad and I were on our own figuring out the metro system and navigating  the crowds.   We started off at the icon of NYC - the Empire State Building.  

We then headed to the Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art.)   This is a state-of-the-arts museum that would take the more cultured socialites a day or two to completely browse.  We were done in about an hour.  (So much to see, so little time.)

 Dad really liked this statue.  Sometimes I think he's still in Jr. High.

 Many things in NYC reminded me of Mexico.  This display in the middle of a glorietta  (Columbus Circle) was one of them.  Also, the people were amazingly friendly.  We had technical difficulties with our I-phones and cameras, which constantly needed refueling, and had plenty of people offer their services.

 Friday evening we took the subway over to Met Stadium with Ashley to enjoy a game.  Actually, the game turned out pretty boring, but the chicken strips and cracker jack were stellar!

Just like Mexico, the best food in the city is on the street.   Saturday we started our day with my personal favorite -  waffles-  from a food truck.    They were by far the best I've ever had.  I tried mine with fresh raspberries and ice cream.  Ashley went for the nutella.  AMAZING!

 
And who can visit NYC without seeing the Statue of Liberty.  Thanks to the 911 bomber jerks, no one is allowed inside her majesty, and for now, Ellis Island is still closed.  But we took a nice tour boat and got pretty darn close.  She is a beautiful sight!



Washington Square is another icon, very close to NYU, in the heart of  New York City.

 Another place that reminded me of Mexico City.

Probably the most moving site in the city is the 911 Memorial.  Situated on the previous site of the Twin Towers, it houses memorials of the two buildings, with names of each of the victims engraved on the side of the memorial.

 Freedom Tower

 If you like crazy, and I do,  this is the place to be - Time Square!  Can you believe, the only building I actually entered was the M&M store.

 We also visited the Tennement Museum, which was very interesting, but they didn't allow photos.

And for our anniversary, dad and I attended the ballet Romeo and Juliet at the Metropolitan Opera Theater at the Lincoln Center. Yeah, lucky him.  In case anyone is wondering where the Lincoln center is, it is across the street from Julliard School of Music.  Yep.  We're pretty cultured.

And the Theater is pretty much across the street from the LDS Temple, which doubles as a Stake Center.  Ashley let me sit in on her Primary class, since I was too shy to go to Relief Society.  It was tons of fun!

Mabel's recital

Mabel is definitely a performer!  She walked up to the stage with all the confidence of a seasoned pianist, sat at the piano and played beautifully!  She then took a graceful bow.  So proud!

Gymnastics

Asher and Atley invited us to their gymnastics event.

 We missed Atley's "mayfest," but she gave us a demonstration anyway.

 Asher showed great form.  He loves gymnastics!

 Asher with his "team."

 I captured Atley jumping off the wall into the foam blocks.  That girl has no fear.

 Asher LOVED his trophy.  Atley got a trophy at hers, which she called her "Congratulation."
"Congratulations" to both of them!  They did great!

Here is papa with Ainsley after the event.