Behind

I have been very behind in blogging and staying in touch. Here's a brief update on our activities during the last few months.

I have been enjoying my lab work a great deal. My project is still being solidified but will most likely involve a collaboration with the other lab in which I rotated in the summer of 2010. We are going to study the effects of hypoxia and metabolic stress on newly transplanted pancreatic islets and how we can alleviate some of the early damage they incur. My lab-mates are wonderful as is my mentor. Science is a different kind of stress. During medical school, I could decide when to stop working and studying and still be fine. In the lab if things take longer than I anticipated and I'm in the middle of setting up an experiment I can't just stop. There is so much to think about, plan, and so many new skills to learn. Overall I think things are going well.

Christina is doing well and keeping busy. The Arrhythmias are awesome this semester! We have the most balanced group of voices of any semester so far and we are doing very challenging but fun music. Her private students are also doing well and she has a few new ones. Christina has been released from being the ward Primary chorister and is now the Stake Music Coordinator. She did a fantastic job conducting the Stake Choir for our Stake Conference this last month and received many compliments. She also has a new hair-do which is a hit. We are both enjoying Kantorei together this year and have wonderful friends who watch Brinton every Sunday night for our rehearsals.

In August Chrissy's sister, Shannon, remarried and we went to the wedding in Las Vegas. Following the wedding there was a Scow family reunion in San Diego. We had a great time playing on the beach, going to Sea World, Anthony's for dinner, and the newly redesigned visitor's center commemorating the Mormon Battalion. Thankfully, Brinton loved the beach and the ocean which shows that our previous attempts to introduce him to large bodies of water haven't scarred him for life.

Brinton is now 18 months old! At his most recent doctor's appointment he was in about the 90th percentile for height and 50th for weight. He cuter than ever and is so smart. He picks up new words all the time after very little rehearsing. He has very funny facial expressions with raised eyebrows and gasps of delight. His new favorite activity is spinning while listening to bedtime stories (especially Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton). Brinton loves to climb as high as he can and reach for things which has resulted in a few bumps and bruises. He is getting a little more picky at meal times but still does pretty well for a toddler. We love him so much and we can tell he loves us too.

We'll that's all for now. Have a great weekend!