Family Vacation to Orlando, FL

We have recently returned from a wonderful week in Orlando, FL! Jared was attending a national radiology meeting and we all tagged along for some fun in the Florida sun! Needless to say Jared spent little time at the conference--in fact his presentation was selected out of 640 entries to receive an award and he wasn't there on the final day of the conference to accept it! Instead he was spending time with his family enjoying some much deserved relaxation together.

Elizabeth's father and stepmother (Grandad and Nana) drove from Tallahassee, FL to spend a couple days with us and the grandkids. They were a big help! In order to get the most out of our time together we stayed at a wonderful resort in a 3 bedroom suite. It was within minutes of Jared's conference and major attractions.

Our first day was spent at Sea World. The highlight was feeding and petting the dolphins, although some of the performances were excellent. Paige was thrilled to see the "mama whale" and was brave enough to sit in the Splash Zone during the Shamu show--Brock, Layne, and Paige were soaked!

Day two was spent at Cocoa Beach, approximately an hour away from Orlando. It was a somewhat overcast day, but the water was warm and the kids had a blast! Brock, Layne, Morgan, and Paige especially enjoyed collecting seashells and Taylor took her first dip in an ocean.

Days three and four were spent at Walt Disney World. We started at the Animal Kingdom. Elizabeth, Morgan, Paige, Taylor, and the grandparents enjoyed seeing a live performance of Finding Nemo, while Jared, Brock, and Layne had fun on the roller coasters--they especially enjoyed Expedition Everest. We all then went on a Safari which was a lot of fun.

Epcot was one of the more restful parts of the vacation. Of course there were several fun rides, including Soarin', Mission Space, and Test Track; but it was nice to walk around the lagoon visiting the World Showcase. One of the best parts of the day was brunch with Cinderella, Belle, Snow White, and Princess Aurora. Our girls were all dressed up as princesses (as were most of the other little girls in the castle) and they were as happy as could be to meet Cinderella and the other characters! Definitely take a look through the photo gallery!

The Magic Kingdom was a wonderful experience. Right as we arrived off the ferry and through the gates, we came upon the "Dreams Come True" parade which happened to contain most of the Disney Princesses. Layne, Morgan, and Paige could hardly contain themselves. Other highlights included dinner with Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore; Brock driving all by himself on the Indy Speedway; Paige riding in Dumbo and the Teacups; and, of course, the evening fireworks display over Cinderella's castle.

It was a wonderful vacation and we look forward to many more!

Sea World 5/7/2007

Cocoa Beach 5/8/2007

Walt Disney World 5/9 and 5/10/2007

A trip through Mendon Pond Park

On Sunday evening we went to look for deer in a nearby state park--Mendon Ponds. We have often seen deer there before, but we were certainly surprised to see so many during the hour that we spent driving through the park. The kids counted 126 sightings!

Deer at Mendon Pond Park

Layne's 6th Birthday

Our little Layne is growing up, turning 6 on March 1st. To celebrate her birthday Elizabeth organized a Princess Ball, inviting some of Layne's closest friends. Jared was the chauffeur picking up each invited princess at her residence and bringing her to the ball. The little princesses then had help from ladies in waiting in preparing for the party, getting their hair done and dressing in their ball gowns.

The ball consisted of games such as castle building with colored cups, dancing, searching for jewels in the sand, and proved that they were true princesses by sitting on a pillow and detecting a "pea" (actually a large ball) placed under it. The ball concluded with singing, ice cream, and cutting of the royal princess castle cake. It was a party befitting our little princess!

Layne's Princess Birthday Ball

Trip to Washington D.C.

Jared spent 6 weeks in Washington D.C. in January and February attending the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP)--a radiology course provided for all radiology residents across the nation. It was a long time to be apart, but he was able to fly home every other weekend (which wasn't enough). While there he completed his fellowship interviews at programs around the country. At the end of the 6 weeks, Elizabeth and the kids made the trip to D.C. to pick up "daddy" and to spend some time touring our nation's capitol.

We were able to stay in a beautiful apartment right in Downtown D.C. on P street. One of the physicians Jared works with is the AFIP Distinguished Scientist this year and she was kind enough to let us stay in her apartment while she was out of town. It was perfect! We were only a 5 minute drive from the National Mall. We spent our mornings seeing selected sights, including the Lincoln Memorial (which fit nicely with our home school curriculum coinciding with Black History month), Washington Monument, the National Gallery, Natural History Museum, and the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Our visits were very focused so as to maximize attention spans and to highlight things the children have been learning during the year.

In addition to the museums, monuments, and memorials, we were able to spend time with family friends. On our way home we visited the Washington D.C. temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We were married there almost 9 years ago. It seemed fitting to end our family trip at the place where our family started! It has been a wonderful 9 years!

For a gallery of photos from our trip, just click the link below:

Washington D.C. Vacation

On the move again...in 2008

Jared will be completing his residency in diagnostic radiology in June 2008. Thereafter he has decided to pursue fellowship training in cardiothoracic radiology. After many interviews, multiple offers, some sleepless nights, and lots of prayer, Jared has decided to accept a fellowship position at Duke University beginning July 2008. It was a difficult decision given that the other programs in consideration all offer excellent training; however, it ultimately came down to striking a balance between academics and community. We are very excited and look forward to this next chapter in our family's history!

Layne loses first tooth

Layne has had a very wiggly bottom tooth for several weeks and it finally worked its way out today. Layne describes the event in her own words:

“This is how it happened...I was starting to [fix some ice cream] when suddenly my tooth popped with the top facing out of my mouth. Then I started to cry because I thought it was kind of scary. When I was eating my [ice cream] I said something like, ‘Daddy, I am willing to let you try to pull my tooth out a little, only a little so it won’t hurt.’ And he did and that was how it happened.”

Layne actually lost her tooth in all the excitement, but we eventually found it. Again, in Layne’s own words:

“...I lost [the tooth] one time and then when I was typing this very same journal that Mommy is writing for me, these very same words, this time too, I lost it out of my tooth fairy pillow. So, I hope I can find it to put it under my pillow or somewhere in my room. And that was Layne’s tooth story of her first tooth. The end.”

Layne found the tooth, again, and placed it safely under her pillow just in time for bed.