September

September is here which used to mean that leaves would be changing colors and the air turning crisp and cool. It would mean pulling out sweaters and jackets and getting ready to jump in leaves. But September is none of these things this year. At least we have been below 100 degrees on several occasions. I am not sure I was cut out for this kind of heat. Oh well. 

So here are some random photos of some random moments over the past month or so since I last posted.

Our neighbors (also our landlords) have a backyard which Charlotte loves. I am not sure if it is the multitude of friends to play with or the trampoline. Either way, she loves to spend time with them. They are great friends and have great kids. We have shared a few meals with them and always enjoy their company. And their kids also LOVE Charlotte for a playmate so it works out. 

I am now on my third rotation of Intern year. I started out on Surgery (6 weeks) followed by 2 weeks of orthopedics. During the two weeks of ortho, I spent most of my time with PA Eckersley who is a great teacher. He has been working in the ortho world for years and years and has lots of experience and knowledge. As part of the rotation, they let me play with the casting material. I choose green and purple because they seemed to be the two least popular colors and I figured I would use them up. The tech said I did a good job for it being my first cast. Feel free to disagree. 

I am now starting week four of internal medicine. Because our program is new, things are always changing and this was the first year our residents have rotated with Internal Medicine. I was the guinea pig as the first one to rotate with them. It has been a fun experience. The nurses on the floor are great and the staff is good to work with. Other than the hours, I love what I do.

One unique aspect of our residency is the great love of Wilderness Medicine that the residents share. This is not my area of focus as a resident, but when you can go camping and call is part of your internship, you do. So a few weeks ago we headed up to Mount Charleston (~50 minutes form base) where the air is about 15+ degrees cooler and about 4000 feet higher. I got up a little early to watch the sun rise. Seeing how I posted the progression of the sun rise in my last post, I will not do so this time. 

In the morning we went for a hike. A favorite (because it is close and short) is MaryJane Falls. This is a view from the parking lot. It feels so good to be up in the cooler, thinner air. It helps you forget about the hot bland desert that is Las Vegas

Here is a view from our destination. Along the way, we would stop and create scenarios that the medical students would have to talk through. From sprained ankles to broken femurs, we discussed several things to consider when treating people in the wilderness. Lots of fun. 

Our backyard consists of a patio and rocks. This has not stopped Charlotte from finding something fun to do. Her new love is gathering the rocks and then throwing them back. 

Here she is gathering her rocks. The typical experience is her coming into the house, looking at me in the eyes, and while holding out her hand asking in her sing-song voice, "Hand?" Once I give her my hand she pulls me from the couch, out the door, then giggles as she picks up a rock. She then hands it to me and asks again in her sweet sing-song voice, "Frow?" So we take turns saying "One, two, three..." then tossing the rock back. This is followed by more giggles and interruptions of Charlotte enthusiastically pointing to the sky and shouting, "MOON!!!" as the moon is rediscovered yet again. Oh what joy she brings to us.

I was given a day or two off by the Internal Medicine attending a few weeks ago (Known as Batman; I am Robin) so we took the opportunity to hike Cathedral Rock. Charlotte hiked about .1 miles of the 3 which gave our arms a good workout.

Charlotte has a 10 second attention span, unless you are reading a book to her. So getting her to move forward was next to impossible. Especially when there were "buttons" on fallen trees to push and turn.

A view of us from the top. The wind was blowing and chipmunks were running everywhere waiting for some handouts. On the way up we met a nice guy who is a dentist and member of the church. Looks like we found a dentist for Jari should she need one. 

Shopping with Charlotte. For some reason, I think she is worth more than $14.99.

One of Charlotte's favorite things is sweaters. I know, we live in Las Vegas and she wants to wear sweaters... why? I have no idea but they make her SO happy. She also loves to wear Jari's sweaters and walk around with long sleeves. Really cute.

Because she wants to go outside so  much, and seeing how it is finally starting to cool down, we bought some sidewalk chalk for Charlotte and she loves it. We draw a sun with a smiley face (which Charlotte calls "happy sun") and she gets so excited she gets down on her hands and knees and kisses the sun. She comes up with a chalk mustache which is really funny. She is a fun-loving girl (when she wants to be).

So there is a little update. Life is good. Hope all is well with all who read this.