Sleep-away camp

 This summer, Alaina got to attend her first sleep-away camp!   Her whole softball team headed to Santa Barbara to attend a Nike softball camp the week after the fourth of July.

I took her and her friend/teamate, Trishla to camp on Monday.  On the way, of course we made an obligitory stop at Old West Cinnamon Rolls in Pismo Beach.   They were as good as ever!

The camp was located on the UCSB campus, in a non-university dorm.   Though the girls had all picked out roomates prior to the camp, the camp mixed things up and didveided the team in half, and each group of 7 got a suite with a quad, a triple, a single and 2 bathrooms.   Pretty nice compared to the dorm I stayed in for college!  Anyhow, Alaina was assigned to the single, which she was pretty sad about, but in the end, I think it worked out for the best--she got slightly more sleep.  

 

I got the girls settled in and then headed off---I had rented a car and booked a one way flight home, since I had to work early the next day.  So in the afternoon, I took a long walk along the perimeter of teh campus.   It si a really beautiful campus, situated right on the ocean.  California kids are lucky!

    

Alaina's camp ended on Thursday, and she got a ride to Sacramento, because on Friday the team started a 3-day tournament there.   She arrived around 9 pm, looking completely exhausted and a bit bedraggled.   The verdict: camp was fun but a LOT of softball (not sure quite what she expected....), and there was a lot of teammate drama, which she didn't like. (Alaina is a pretty low drama kid, thankfully!)

Needless to say, the team did not perform too great at the tournament--they were all overtired and overwhelmed.   Alaina had a couple of great games though, and all the hitting practice she has been doing seemed to have paid off--her batting average for the weekend was great.

  

July 4

 Last weekend was the 4th of July, and we spent it up at the cabin.   Gary and Eileen were able to join us.   the weather was pretty windy and cool on July 4 so no swimming!   But it was sunny and bright and at least the cabin stayed cool!

We enjoyed fireworks with the kids over Donner Lake, and had our annual dinner at Sunnyside.

Ethan joined Jason on a trail run for the first time this year--they had a good time!

Goodbye Birthmark

 Alaina was born with a small borthmark on her back--it was dark like a mole, but a bit irregular.   It alwyas kind of bothered her and recently changed shape a bit, so the dermatologist suggested it should come off.

Because of its size, the dermatologist wasn't keen to remove it in the office.   So instead, I took her to one of my colleagues in plastic surgery.  He removed it in his office under local anesthesia.   Alaina was quite nervous to have it removed, but in the end did just fine. 

Now she is stuck out of the pool for 2 weeks.  We timed the removal with a softball summer break, so that worked well.  

Retirement Dinner

 On Friday night this weekend, I hosted a retirement dinner for one of my colleagues and mentors, Dr. Claire Brett.  I first got to know Claire 20 years ago as an anesthesia resident, but by then she was more than halway done with her tie at UCSF--she has been there for 49 years!

Although she officially retired 10 years agao, she was still workiong clinically several days per month on "recall" which is kind of like per diem for retired faculty.

Anyhow, she decided that as of July 1, she was not even going to be doing that.   So, I thought it would be nice to recognize her with some of our colleagues, so we hosted a dinner for 12.

It turned out great, actually, and we gave Claire a photo book peppered with photos from over the years, and letters to her children.  We heard lots of funny stores from the "olden days".   A career well done, for sure!

Claire was always the type of person to just tell thing like they are.   No sugar coating.   She was kind but could also be fierce, and she never hesitated to stand up for what she beleived in.  She also was an amazing mom--raising very successful 2 boys, who are now in their mid-thirties.   Over the years, she taught me a lot about parenting too!

I will certainly miss her presence in our division!

Birthday and Father's Day

 This week was a busy one--on Thursday we celebrated my 46th birthday and on Sunday it was Father's Day.   The two are rarely so close together!

For my birthday dinner, I chose homeade pizza and it was delicious.  I got some nice presents including a new backpack for work.   And, Jason did a great job with my sprinkle cake this year--it was covered!   I felt very loved.

This weekend, we went to a softball tournament in Folsom.   Alaina's team did great on Saturday, going 3-0 (overall 9-0 in the last 9 games).   We expected her first game on Sunday to be an easy win, but they got knocked out, and that sent us home early.

Ethan worked on dinner for us at home, and we ended up having some homeade pasta and artichokes for dinner, and my dad was able to join too, which was nice.

Goodbye Wisdom

This past Thursday was Ethan's last final exam.   To celebrate the end of his Sophomore year, on Friday he had his wisdom teeth taken out.   Ha Ha.

He actully did really well with the procedure.  I decided he would not be receiving anesthesia from the dentist in the office, and lo and behold, it was not necessary.   Not only more safe, but also as it turns out, much cheaper.   Anyhow, the dentist was SHOCKED Ethan was able to do it.   I was less surprised.

The first few hours of recovery were the worst--at first his mouth was so numb he could hardly swallow--and then the pain kicked in.   But he managed with ice and ibuprofen, and by Saturnday night even felt well enought to hang out with some friends.

Sunday, he had a piano recital, and that also went quite well, all things considered.   Alaina managed to avoid it, as she had a softball tournament......

Kudos to Ethan for powering through it!

Grilfriend Getaway

 

This past weekend, my medical school girlfriends and I went away to a spa and wellness resort, called Civana near Phoenix, AZ.    It had been awhile (Fall 2023) since I saw them all, so it was fun to reconnect.    We even had matching t-shirts!

The hotel was pretty cool in that you could take exercise/wellness/yoga classes all day for free.   They had quite an offering of classes, so we kept super busy with that the three days we were there.  It was definitely something "different"--not what I usually so, so good to stretch out of my comfort zone.

And of course, hanging out with my girlfriends was great.  We are all getting so old--and our kids are getting so old--but our friendships have maintained!