August 12x12

1. family photo at Zion National Park 2. keeping busy on the drive 3. sister photo minus one 4. Zion National Park 5. kissing Hammy my niece's new pet dwarf hamster 6. hat 7. directions 8. Auntie and Uncle Jake by Ted 9. Fort Zion Virgin Trading Post Village 10. one of the three patriarchs 11. lulu dancing under the twinkle lights 12. self portrait

The Big Easy

One of the days we were in town we hopped on the streetcar to head downtown to the quarter. The first year we lived in New Orleans we were sans car, so part of our day was spent riding the streetcar. We rode it everywhere, including school, Banana Republic, and my weird temp jobs. Although we loved the experience- Mardi Gras parades were HIGHLY inconvenient (the streetcar stopped running at 5pm so if you missed it, you were in for a LONG walk), grocery shopping was a joke (luckily we had a small grocery near our house) and once Adam started rotations we HAD to have a car.

As we rode the streetcar down with our kids and pointed out all of our favorite haunts like our old 1, 2, and 3 apartments (we moved a lot while we lived there), Lee Circle, The D-Day Museum, the church on St. Charles, etc.. it brought back lovely memories and even though it could be a hassle, I miss those rides.

A little grouchy on the streetcar ride, but she cheered up

Ted loved the ride and so did Buzz.

Ted loves beignets.

Oh so delicious!

Playing Catch Up #6

December 6 Workshop or conference. Was there a conference or workshop you attended that was especially beneficial? Where was it? What did you learn?

This is a resounding no, because I did not attend any conferences or workshops. Although, while I was in Nova Scotia, I did sneak into one of Adam's lectures. It was a lunchtime session about the Halifax Explosion. They discussed it in terms of Pediatric Surgery, because one of the main physicians on hand has been credited with being the "Father of Pediatric Surgery" in the United States.

I knew a bit about it, because we walked through the Maritime Museum and given its significance for the town, they have a rather large exhibit specifically about the disaster. (interesting fact: they also have one of the Titanic deck chairs, as well as other pieces, because the Titanic sunk near enough to Halifax that several rescue boats were dispatched from the area. ) It was cool to see it in a different context though. Also, we ended up having a great conversation with the peds surgeon sitting next to me. He said to Adam "remember a lot of people want to be pediatric surgeons, but you GET to be a Pediatric Surgeon." It reminded us, once again, how truly lucky we have been in regards to Adam's career.

Chillin' in Warm Utah

We got to Utah on Saturday morning. I spent a great day with one of my best girlfriends. We have known each other since we were in 7th grade. I LOVE catching up with her.

I was surprised at how warm it is here. It cracks me up that it is 45 degrees, but I was dying of heat. I have yet to wear a coat. Go figure.

On Saturday night we caught up with one of Adam's brother's family and had a fun dinner. Lulu LOVED playing dress up with her cousin. While we missed my BIL because he is in Ghana, it was great to chat with my SIL. (Although as usual, I did most of the chatting.) I'm so lucky to have a SIL that I just ADORE.

On Sunday my little sister and her family came over for dinner.


Teddy is a little nervous with his Aunt Meggan.



Slaving away at making a birthday cake.


Jake test tasting. How's dinner Jake?


The finished cake. It has some issues, but I'll get there one of these times.




My baby sister will turn 30 this year. We celebrated a little early. Happy Birthday Meggan.
(of course they took a picture of the side that had the problem- nice.)

A Streetcar Ride, A Museum, A Car Crash

Adam has been on vacation all week, so we have been enjoying the beautiful weather. Yesterday we decided to go to our local art museum and see a special exhibit. Since we would be bringing the kiddos we took the streetcar down to the museum and planned on viewing the exhibit and having lunch in the city. The trip down was rather uneventful. We enjoyed the ride and proceeded to the museum. Lulu was okay at the museum- we just gave her lots of assignments .. like "find the cow in this painting", etc.. Teddy fell asleep in his stroller so that was nice.

We ate lunch at a little place up the road and walked back to the streetcar. We got on and within literally minutes of heading back to our car- the streetcar collides with a car. It was a little scary. Because of how the car and streetcar collided we bounced and one of the streetcar windows shattered and cut a passengers arm. It was a huge fiasco. Adam went to check about the arm while I tried to calm Lulu down (interestingly Teddy slept through the entire event). Adam ended up bandaging the guy up because he was bleeding so much and they called an ambulance to send him to the hospital. They sent another street car to pick us up. Although Lulu was not happy. She just kept saying she wanted to get off the streetcar.

I thought it was a little funny that after riding the streetcar almost everyday in NOLA for 4 years we NEVER had a car accident. And many people would attest that it was a sheer miracle. Especially since so many cars play chicken with them.

Needless to say- I think everyone got more than they bargained for. But we had a nice day at the museum

**sorry- I wasn't thinking and forgot my camera.