I thought this would be an appropriate time to post this picture. I know McCain has been disappointed at the imbalance in media coverage between him and his opponent, so here is a little boost. With all of my viewing audience we should be able to get a message out there that despite what you think of his "maverick" politics or the party he belongs to, John McCain was a really nice guy to us. Even when he was late getting off to Lake Powell with his buddy (physician I was working with at the time - to L of Maren) to meet their families, he took the time to talk and take a picture. There, that ought to even things up a bit, eh!?

I just added this photo cause I'm a dad and when I saw this photo I wished I had special time-travelling skills. Ever have those moments? Lainie got to come spend a few hours with me tonight while I'm "moonlighting" at an MRI center. I am just here to save people from allergic reactions to contrast and provide sedation for those afflicted with closterphobia. That really translates to a lot of time to work on logs, blogs, ESPN, and reading the latest orthopedic literature, which, depending on my recent schedule, often leads into catching up on naps. So that's why Lainie and I were able to lazily eat dinner out on the green grass under the sun with a nice, light breeze. We watched a herd of geese, several gold finches and two hummingbirds feeding on some bird feeders along the back lawn, and laughed. It was a perfect daddy-daughter date, as she loves to call them. When we finished eating I asked her what she wanted to do next. She said, "Let's play a game! How 'bout Duck, Duck, Goose.......well, but you'll have to be a duck a lot of times!" :) I didn't mind, at least there wasn't that wrenching feeling that I may play the entire game and never be a goose. As a side note, I'm not sure the real geese liked us imitating them because every time we ran close to them they all hissed at us. I told Lainie that if they came after us she should run and I would stay behind and try to slow them down. She stayed away from them after that.

Before Kari and Chris were married, Maren was able to leave New Orleans early and spend some time with our parents. I wanted to include some of those photos. These are some moments captured from a trip to Lagoon with Grandma Kristen and Aunt Jennie and her children. Amazingly Shelley and Chris and Joe and Emily were planning on going the same day and they all met up. Two things: this made me extremely jealous, but talk about the stars aligning! I figured I'd include the above picture now and then post it at some point when these two are somewhere in their teen years and thinking they are pretty untouchable. That'll give the rest of us a moment of delight. :)

Grandma Kristen with Owen, Isaac, and Brin.

Claire has been Lainie's best buddy as we have somehow moved in tandem with Jarv and Jennie, first to phoenix, and then to the midwest. We will miss them much now that they have returned to SLC, but we know from experience that the draw to be near to our extended family and "home" is great.

This picture left me feeling uneasy. Something about the idea of not one, but TWO teenage female drivers at the same time someday made my heart skip a beat.