Family Picture

This was taken over Thanksgiving in Grand Junction

Kade

Just couldn't resist :)

Thanksgiving in Grand Junction

This year for Thanksgiving, we spent it in Grand Junction! We spent a few evenings at home, and spent the great Thanksgiving meal at Brad and Camille's. What a great time with everyone!

Connor's Thanksgiving Program

What a super cute program. The kids sang a few songs at the front of the class and then we all sat down to eat a Thanksgiving feast of stone soup, among other things that the kids made.

Connor

This is Connor's 4 yr old preschool picture!

Kade

Just for fun!

New Orleans!

The AOA/AAOA Conference was in New Orleans this year and because I'm the Vice President of the RVU SAA, I and the President were able to attend this year. It only lasted 3 days, but we sure crammed a TON in. We arrived on a Sunday evening, checked into the Renaissance Arts Hotel in the Arts District, and took a dinner cruise along the Mississippi that evening with a local Jazz Band. The next morning, we attended our required conference sessions, then headed down Bourbon Street in the French Quarter for lunch. I tried the typical red beans and rice, jumbalaya, and gumbo, and finished up by walking the dirty streets back to our hotel. That evening, we ate dinner at a French Restaurant named Cochon, and I had my first ever fried rabbit liver, hogshead cheese, and paned pork cheeks. Yep, I know....it sounds disgusting! But, it was seriously amazing! We sat at the chef's table and we were lucky enough to have a complimentary appetizer sent out for us to try. It was absolutely a FABULOUS, contemporary place in the corner of the Arts District and I would go there again in a heartbeat! The next morning, we boarded buses to Audubon Park where we did a 5:30 am 5K, then attended a few conference sessions later that morning, and caught our cab for the airport by 2:00. So, yes, it was quite a whirlwind, but a TON of fun.
Would I go back? Never! It was filthy, stinky, and one of the dirtiest, rudest places I've ever been. Fortunately, next years convention is in San Francisco and I am on the national committee to help organize it. So, hopefully it will be a much cleaner experience :)





This is us getting ready to board our river cruise Sunday night




At the Convention Monday morning with some local entertainment :)






Checking people in to the first session






Voting







Bourbon Street










Bourbon Street









And, Bourbon Street again. Not much to look at :)







A bunch of pelicans in the trees along the 5K early Tuesday morning







After the 5K

Halloween!

The day before Halloween, we had a Hallo-boo-loo party at RVU with a costume contest and catered lunch. I, along with 4 others decorated that morning on behalf of the SAA group and when it came time to eat...the boys showed up :) No surprise there! So, here are some pictures of the kiddos in their costumes at Sean's school. Connor entered the contest, and Sean was one of the judges. There is also a picture of Lacey and I with our two little giraffes (which we didn't plan at all, really). After the contest, we took the kids trick-or-treating around the school:)





















Then, we came home and Sean and Connor carved a pumpkin in the garage. There is a picture of Connor sitting near it by the front door. The last picture is of the boys trick-or-treating Halloween night. Connie came in town just in time to go trick-or-treating with us, the Parks, and the Fitzgerald's. So, that night, we went down one street, and it was so cold that we threw in the towel and went out for pizza for the rest of the evening :)

Snow!

Let it snow! Two days before Halloween, this is what it looked like outside. Look like a lot? It was 26 lovely inches of frigid wintery white stuff. Since school was canceled for both of my students, we got together with some friends (other med students and their kiddos) and went sledding at our friends' condo. Some of the pictures are of the snow on our car, and on our back patio furniture and grill. There is one picture of the snow on our roof and the others are of us sledding at our friend's place.