Amy Back at Le Bistro Montage- Nov 2, 2012

Amy, our cards fellow that graduated last year, was back in town to take her cards boards so we met up for dinner at Montage.  The mac 'n cheese was delicious as were the frog legs, though both Amy and Constance were saddened by the lack of alligator.  My favorite part, though, was the foil animals for our leftovers.  So fun!

Brunch at Esther's- Oct 14, 2012

I love brunch, so I was super excited when Esther put together a big brunch of pumpkin waffles, quiche, apple sausage, scones, and bellinis at her place.  I was completely stuffed but had a great time hanging out with the peeps and enjoying the beautiful fall day.

Turnbull Clan and Asheville- Oct 27-29, 2012

It was a quick turnaround after China, but Brandy and I hopped on an overnight plane to Asheville, North Carolina to visit her family for a weekend.  All the Turnbull sisters were in town and they were perfect complements to each other.  We ate a lot, went out on a haunted pubcrawl and dancing for Halloween, and had taco night/game night.  Brandy and I even visited the beautiful Biltmore House all in one fun-filled weekend.

Playing Tourist in China- Oct 24, 2012

While we had a lot of work to do in our short time in Beijing, we did take a day to be tourists.  We started the day with a rigorous climb up the steep, high steps of the Great Wall at Juyongguan.  Only Abby and I made it to the top of the section which I feel pretty proud about.  Next we headed to Tiananman Square and the Forbidden Palace.  It was so cool to see all the Chinese architecture and hear the stories.  While it was a gorgeous compound, the barren spaces cast a poignant melancholy of past grandeur and lost culture.  The destructive sweep of the cultural revolution left little but the bones of the place.

Little Hearts Clinical Care- Oct 2012

 Most of our days in China, we spent echoing children, doing other interventions, and coming up with careplans for the kids at Bayi Military Children's Hospital and Beijing Family United.  Bayi was crazy with its 400 bed NICU.  It was exhilirating to be able to offer something even as a fellow to physicians there and hopefully really make a difference in some of these kids' lives.

International Congenital Cardiology Conference- Oct 21, 2012

When the doctors in Beijing heard that we were coming (well Laurie really), an international congenital cardiology conference at Beijing Family United was put together starring Laurie.  Cardiac surgeons and cardiologists came from all over China as far as Mongolia.  We had a great discussion about the state of cardiac care in China at a dinner the night before and the conference went really well as well.

Little Hearts Medical in China- Oct 18-25, 2012

 It came about with an idea when Tanya picked up JJ from China for his adoption.  She toured the medical orphanage where he lived and was struck by the vast need there.  From there, she and her husband, Mike put together a team of 9 to go to China and visit the orphanage, teach the nannies, and echo orphans.  The trip ballooned into putting together treatment plans, an international congenital cardiology conference, and a packed schedule of hopefully building for the future of the group and the orphans.  Our group consisted of 2 nurses, an attending, a fellow, the 2 main organizers-- the Lees, 2 kids, and a guide.

Sydney and the Beaverton Farmer's Market- Oct 13, 2012

Syd is a bunch of energy and fun, so I was really excited to spend the day with her.  We went to the Beaverton Farmer's Market and ate fancy PB&J's and pizza before enjoying the playground entertainment.

Halloween Cupcakes- Oct 7, 2012

Brandy and I decided to make cupcakes from scratch so we could do some fun Halloween decorations. I haven't had that much fun "cooking" for a long time!  Anyway, some looked really sad, but some turned out well and all went to work with me the next day.

Spencer Butte and Prince Puckler's- Sept 29, 2012

Since we stayed overnight in Eugene, Brandy and I spent the day hiking up to Spencer Butte, an easy but popular trail.  It was great to take advantage of gameday and it's pull of hikers off the trail and into Autzen Stadium.  Afterwards, we treated ourselves to a delicious delight of ice cream at the Eugene staple, Prince Puckler's.

Kayaking the Willamette- Sept 30, 2012

Julie, on of our cardiac NP's, has 3 kayaks and was awesome enough to invite Brandy and I to go kayaking with her on the Willamette.  We put in at West Linn and spent 3 hours on the water.  It was a beautiful day and so fun to weave through the natural channels and see some sections of the river that are otherwise inaccessible.  It was Brandy's first time, but she was a natural and I'm totally excited to go again.

Shins Eugene Weekend!- Sept 28, 2012

Khahn and Britt got tickets to go see the Shins in Eugene and invited Brandy, Tanya, and Emily to make it a trip so we happily went.  I had wanted to see them in Portland since their Portland concert was benefiting our peds cards division at Doernbecher, but was on service so the weekend was better anyway.  Tegan and Sara opened which is why Khahn and Tanya had wanted to go to Eugene.  I didn't realize how many Shins songs I like but didn't know was them!  Plus, the great thing about Eugene was getting to have dinner with Erin before hand.  Yay!

Brielle Lackey 5K- Sept 15, 2012

Rich put together the first Brielle Lacket Memorial 5K Walk/Run and fundraiser this year and a bunch of people in the department showed up to run or walk which made it a ton of fun.  I was on team echo and we were going for the slowest combined time.  I hadn't run in a while so I didn't have the greatest time, but I didn't do too bad either.  Felt great to be out there with all these people who care so much and work so hard to better the lives of others and then spend their free time doing the same.

Last Thursday on Alberta- Aug 30, 2012

I've wanted to experience the wonder and craziness of Alberta Street for Last Thursday for a while, so Lindsay and I took advantage of one of the last one's of the year.  The weather was great and the people watching even better.  People dressed as octopus, dogs in tutus, and tons of live music and street food.  Totally worth it.