The Hazard Chronicles

For the last couple of weeks it seems like life has sort of been on autopilot. You've been there before, where you are just in your groove and things are going smoothly, and it doesn't really seem like that much noteworthy stuff is happening? But then you wake up one morning and realize that in fact, lots of stuff has happened, and that you haven't recorded any of it, and you think "zut alors, I've better do a blog post!" Yeah, I'm sure it's happened to everybody.

Luckily, this oversight is not quite the calamity that it might seem at first glance. After all, we do have some pictures, and I happen to have an exceptional memory of the last two weeks worth of activity. So take a deep breath and try and relax while I give you a glimpse into what, for us, is pretty normal life.

Let's start with pictures of a bag full of random stuff (keys, climbing stuff, bits of food, etc.) and a sweet little girl. Lindsey is at an age where she is somehow EVERYWHERE AT ONCE and keeping up with her is becoming tricky. This makes it very difficult sometimes to have peace and quiet, like when you just want to take a Sunday afternoon nap. That's where the bag comes to the rescue. This is a trick that Rachel came up with and it worked perfectly. Older kids downstairs watching a movie, Lindsey in her room with the bag- and mom and dad enjoying a few moments of uninterrupted tranquility. It works like a charm.

Liberty Lake trail in the rain

Eating pie and ice cream at a favorite restaurant

Climbing some rocks

Watching the St. Patrick's Day parade (can you tell that we've gotten a lot of rain lately?)

Surprise treats at the grocery store

Hiking Tubbs Hill and discovering a new bouldering area that is under development

Next up are a lot of pictures of somewhat random things we have done- but not random at the same time because taken together they all tell the story of a family that doesn't sit still for very long. We are constantly out doing stuff. Spring is here (it'll be really rainy for the next month or so though) and getting out is getting easier and easier. I also shortened my work day to end at 5 rather than 6, and this combined with the recent daylight savings makes it even easier to live the highly active lifestyle that we love (and that our kids are forced into by virtue of their parents).

Also, note that the last picture in this series (the one with me and Ev) is so much more clear than the others. That is because I just upgraded to a new Galaxy S7 on the day of its release. Yep, I'm on the cutting edge of technology for at least the next three and a half weeks. This makes me feel powerful and important (and lucky that my upgrade date just happened to fall on the day of the S7 release). More notably, Rachel was finally convinced to ditch the ol' I-phone and get a Galaxy as well. I guess all these years I have been right after all, eh Rach?

Speaking of Rachel, this is a life-sized poster of her that sits in the Kroc Center (a local community center) right as you walk in for everyone to see. She's a celebrity! Actually, the Kroc Center has been very good for our family. Also, of all the organizations around here (businesses, churches, clubs, etc.), it is our feeling that the Kroc does more than its share of outreach into the community and Rachel has gone out of her way over the years to be a part of that outreach. The center is currently doing a "pay-it-forward" campaign and decided to highlight certain members as part of the marketing for this initiative. There is also a video of Rachel somewhere on their website, as well as a place to make donations to this great organization.

It's been a while since there was a work picture of me on this blog. Actually, I'm not working here. In fact, I'm paying money to be here. This is study club, and I am doing a pretty awesome surgery (Caldwell-Luc sinus lift with simultaneous implant placement) with Lynsay (assistant) and Sal (mentor) to make sure things go smoothly. They did, and before long I will be doing these procedures as a part of my regular practice. Can I just say that I love what I do? I do! I genuinely love going to work each day. I have an awesome team who keeps me entertained with their incredible singing and off-the-wall conversations. I have awesome patients who share a little bit of their lives with me each time they come in (sometimes more than a little bit). I have the privilege of taking part in a community of professionals who are working together to elevate our neighborhoods. And I get to do some really cool stuff every day that combines my intellectual love of science with technical skill in the hands. It is a profession which will always push me to be better, and which brings with it opportunities for real service in terms of income and skill-set which can be put to good use in a variety of settings.

Also, immediately after the study club was over I went and ran a 5k with a time of 19:30- not a bad showing considering the fact that I had just completed the most intricate procedure of my life. Not a bad day at all. Also, I should mention here that Rachel is riding her bike about 75 miles/week and is soon contesting my status as the most athletically fit person in our family (it's not hard when 5 out of 7 are under the age of nine). I really need to stop eating deep dish pizzas...but we all know that that's not really going to happen.

This is a throwback picture of our family a little more than six years ago. I don't really have a reason for including this other than I was thinking about it and I think it's nice.

Have a good week!