Dreams, little dreams

This morning I woke up dreaming about kidneys.

For real.

It happens all the time nowadays. I'm studying in my sleep people! Making up for all the time (like, oh, now for example) that I'm not studying when I'm awake.

I wonder if this will continue for the rest of my life. It's fairly annoying, really. But can we blame my brain? When I have been spending the majority of my time lately learning and thinking about the kidneys, what else is it supposed to give me at night?

So I was thinking about my dreams and this little gem of a song popped into my head. Burke brought home a whole slew of CDs from Paraguay, and one day while listening to a CD I had never heard before, we ran across this. And we happen to think it's charming! So I decided to look it up on Youtube.

Here you have it. The lowest budget music video ever made. But do enjoy the song. It's mostly Spanish, but my favorite part is the two little English words in every chorus. And the violin.

Love family time.

Ian, Emma, and Beth came to visit from Utah. Ian and Emma got in later Saturday night, and Beth came in on Sunday morning. It was a blurry, busy Father's Day. We ate breakfast, went to church in my parents ward, Daddy opened his presents, all of my dad's side of the family came over for a get together, and then they had Dillon's eagle scout court of honor at my parent's house. Burke and I unfortunately had to miss that so we could get back home for work on Monday morning. The weekend was lovely, but very busy. 

My family's plan for the week was to go to the beach for a few days, to the beach in southern NC. However, through much persuading, they were convinced to come vacation by us. I couldn't get out of work to go with them, but since they were close we are able to hang out in the evenings. And it was priceless.

The house they stayed in was on the bay, right down the street from us. They were able to go to nicer beaches during the day, but play with us at night.

Emma loves the beach. The sand, the water, the shells, the crabs... she loves it. But she did not want to smile for a picture!

 Bright colored pedicures for Mom's birthday! 

 Ian got a much-needed vacation from his 80+ hour work weeks.

 We enjoyed a little bit of much-needed sister time! So sad to live so far apart.

 Grandpa loves his little girl

...and can provide hours of entertainment for a 4-year-old!

Thanks, family, for coming to Virginia instead! Being able to join in on your vacation a little felt just a bit like a vacation for me.

Weekends and between

A couple of weekends ago I got to help my dear friend Elise celebrate her birthday by going to the Eastern Shore. We stayed at a quaint bed and breakfast in a quaint, quiet town. We enjoyed ourselves so much! The bed and breakfast was hilarious. Breakfast was a sit-down, "three course" meal at a dining room table with all of the other guests--who were all old couples. The three of us girls showed up at breakfast following a run on the beach... everybody else was cleaned up and showered and ready for the day. Then we spent literally an HOUR at breakfast waiting for the next food, being polite, and making conversation. It was so funny. Elise's favorite part was when the three of us sat around the piano and played and sang together. It was so lovely to spend that time with Elise and Laurel!  

 That same weekend Burke took the youth to the D.C. temple. It was one of those marathon trips--6 am til 11 at night. So don't worry, he had plenty of fun without me too!

Last weekend was Harborfest. We went on Friday night as soon as I got done with work. We made it in time for most of Gavin Degraw's performance, and Burke, who for some reason unknown to me had previously referred to him as "Gavin De-Blah," also enjoyed the show. Then we looked around for a while, admired the huge ships, watched break-dancers and drummer guys, and then watched Colbie Caillat sing for a while. It's such a cool festival, one of Norfolk's funnest things.

In between weekends we've been busy working. I finished my primary care/internal medicine rotation. Now I'm on a nephrology rotation--that's the kidney specialists. The docs I'm working with are fantastic, but it's been kind of tough. I really started out having no idea what was going on. Week 2 is going better so far, but I'm awfully slow at figuring stuff out. I have learned a lot and I think it's pretty awesome stuff. I've enjoyed getting to be in the hospital and learning the culture there and the way things work. Burke is working hard at home still. Things are going well for him. He is staying extra busy as Young Men President. And I just got called to my 4th different calling in this ward! I was released as a teacher in Relief Society and will now be teaching Gospel Doctrine. I am so anxious about it, but I am also excited to study the Book of Mormon better. 

Next weekend we'll be heading to NC for another whirlwind weekend. Ian, Emma, and Beth are coming for a visit. We'll only get to see them for a day, but we're excited!