Chicago Visit

At the end of last week, Ethan had a fall mini break from school.   He took the PSAT on Wednesday morning, and on Wednesday night he and I headed to Chicago to do his two first college tours!

We started on Thrusday at the University of Chicago.  It has been awhile since I was on campus, and it was a lot of fun to go back.   Plus the weather was amazing.   We even visited the old medical library (which has been converted to a computer science area/maker lab!) and the building where all our medical school lectures were given.   

 

Afterwards we headed downtown, where we took a run along the lakefront and then promptly consumed all the calories we burned (and then some) at the original pizzeria uno.

The following day, we headed to Northwestern (but stopped for bunch at Walker Brothers first, of course!).   We took another tour at Northwestern, and made a stop at Jason's old dormitory.  

After the tour, we took another run, along the lake in Evanston, and then again promptly made up the calories when we met Jeff and his kids at Barnaby's for dinner.

On Saturday, we had time for a quick brunch with my high school friend Janet, her husband, and 2 of her 4 kids before we boarded the plane back to Chicago.  Both Ethan and I had a great time.   Can't believe we are doing this already!

 

San Antonio

 This past weekend, Jason and I travelled to San Antonio for our annual American Society of Anesthesiologists Meeting.    

My dad graciously agreed to watch the kids at home to make this happen.   It’s been awhile since I have been to San Antonio, but it was a fun and different place to visit, other than the weather (it was over 90 everyday)!  

Though Jason and I were both quite busy with the conference, we did have a little bit of time to hang out together which was nice.   Jason had to spend a lot of time networking for his company, and running the committee on practice management, which he chairs.  He also gave a podcast!

 I had to give two talks on Sunday.   We both got to catch up with old friends and colleagues, which is always fun.

Now time to play catchup! 

Four Eyes

 At the end of last school year, Alaina mentioned that she was having trouble seeing the board at school.   So, at the end of the summer, she got in to see an optomotrist, and indeed, she needed glasses.   (Though her prescription was not too bad at 0.75).   Anyway, she was not happy to hear that, and like probably most middle school girls, she announced that there was no way she was going to wear glasses.

The expeceted argument ensued, and in the end I gave in and agreed to let her try out contacts.   Now, she is a bit squeamish, and has never done well with eye drops, so I didnt really think that would work out.   But the optomotrist had a special "contact class", which she went too, and she somehow managed to figure out how to put the contacts in and take them out without too much drama.

I told her that she still needed to pick some glasses for "back up"--and she begrudgingly agreed after some more negotiaion.   

Fast forward a month, and the glasses arrive.  I think that they look really cute.   Well, approximately 2 days later they "disappeared".   

And since, there have been days that she has "forgotten" to put her contacts in in the morning, or my favorite, nights she has come home from school with a headache after "one contact fell out in the morning".   But I guess its all part of a learning process.

And the good news is, late last week the glasses were "found" in a paper box on her desk.  So her back up is back!

XC Season

 Ethan is doing Cross Country again this year.   He started off on the wrong foot, as he seemed to outgrow his shoe inserts, which he uses for his flat feet, right at the beginning of the season.   So he could not really train too much until his new inserts were made and arrived.   But, now his new inserts are in, and he has been running most days.

This weekend was the Westmoor Invitational.   This is a big race south of us in Daly City, with most Bay area high schools competing over the course of the day.  It is a pretty hilly course and each year, Ethan moves up by an age bracket--this year he had to run JV.   

Alaina and I went down to cheer him on--Jason was enroute to Minneapolis--and all things considered, he did well, beating his time from last year by 5 seconds, at 20:57.   I am proud of him for perservering though his personal challenges, and pushing through--not to win the race--but to beat his own best time.   Now, he just needs to keep up his training in the off season so we do not have another insert debacle next fall!

Home Makeover

For the past 6 weeks or so, we have been embarking on a home make-over.   Our roof was leaking last winter--and though we temporarily fixed it, it was time for a new roof.   And it was also time to paint.   And our grass was a mess.   

Now we have a new roof, a new house color, and turf in both our front and back yards!   We are really happy with how it all turned out--so fresh and clean!

 

 Around the time the exterior was finished, our au pair's contract was up, and since we no longer need an au pair now that Ethan is driving, we took the opportunity to redo that room into a combo office/guest room.   We got new skylights, painted the ceiling, added a ceiling fan, and touched up the bathroom--it turned out great!

A great refresh!

Anniversary

 On Sept 2, Jason and I celebrated 18 years married!

We were lucky to spend the weekend with our friends, the Tomas, at our cabin.   (No back problem this year!)

Over Labor Day weekend, we enjoyed participating in the annual cabin tour, taking a hike to Point Mariah, and going out for dinner at Sardine Lake.   The weather was perfect, and it was a nice get away.

 

 

This past weekend, Jason and I went to dinner to celebrate by ourselves--to one of our favorite Marin restaurants--Buckeye in Mill Valley.   We had a great meal, and it was nice to mark the occasion together!

Division Party

 The weekend after we got back from Croatia, we hosted our annual party for my pediatric anesthesia division.   This year we had about 30 guests!

 

It was, as always, a lot of fun to see everyone's family and kids.   My kids were conspicuously absent--Alaina was in Sacramento at a softball tournament (yes, she already started up again!), and Ethan was in the city with friends.   Jason and I are getting a taste of what being empty nesters will be like!

In any event, the party was a lot of fun, and I feel fortuante we were able to host again.