Summertime Update

Wow...it's been a while. We are doing well. Here's a list of a few things that have happened since our last post.

-The BYU Singers concert was a huge success. We feel so fortunate to have had them tour to Denver and to have been able to help arrange a concert. You can read more about it here.

-I completed my Pediatrics rotation at Children's Hospital in Denver. I enjoyed the experience and definitely think pediatrics or some subspecialty thereof is a possibility, though I don't have much to compare it to yet.

-Chrissy conducted a piece at a concert commemorating 20 years of her high school's choir program and shared the stage with Eric Whitacre. Eric was VERY complimentary of her conducting and reached over the other invited guest conductors to give her a kiss on the cheek on stage.

-We finished our basement (or rather, had it finished). Just waiting on a few things for the bathroom and then it will be done.

-Brinton has started to get into everything and walks, talks, and jabbers constantly. He's very smart and learns new things all the time. His one-year molars are 3/4 of the way in. Despite the hints of an emerging toddler attitude he is remarkably good-natured and pleasant to have around. He loves his new space in the basement to run around!

-I have been rotating in a lab and as of yesterday accepted the invitation to join. I will be working in a diabetes lab that studies that studies mouse models of pancreatic islet cell transplants to treat diabetes. I hope to use some very cool advanced microscopy techniques to watch the immune response to the grafts in living mice. I like my coworkers and am excited for my project.

-We planted our first garden. Our soil here is very poor so it may take a few years before we can keep the plants happy. So far our yield has been low, but it is still fun to have the plants. Maybe we'll have better luck next year.

-Our other plants, however, are doing very well. I ordered some American pitcher plants that are very beautiful and doing well. I sent pollen from my tropical pitcher plant to other growers and now it is sending up ANOTHER flower spike. One of my sundews is also flowering. The orchid I got for Chrissy for Valentines Day 2010 is flowering again and is very nice. The leaf cutting I took of our African Violet has rooted and is sending up new leaves. Here's my favorite of our American pitcher plants:

Hope your summers are all going well!