SLC and the big birthday!

Sorry it's been so long, but we've been away for close to a month! Chris had to do a mandatory pediatric emergency rotation in Salt Lake City. Because they don't get the volume in Billings that is required for residency, they have to spend a month working at Primary Children's hospital. It was a great experience: great teaching, lots of volume, varied cases. Exactly what he was hoping. Interestingly, we've become a lot more vigilant about certain things. For instance, I stopped strapping Ava into the grocery carts. "Eh, she'll be fine." That's been my MO lately. Well, he told me that he had AT LEAST one kid a day who cracked their skull by falling out the grocery cart at Walmart. Ava is now strapped in.

While in SLC, we really took advantage of all it had to offer. Probably will not be a shocker to you that SLC is very family friendly. They have amazing parks. The zoo is awesome, especially if you're used to the Montana Zoo. Plus, the library is flat out incredible. We also went on lots of hikes. Almost all the trail heads were only 30 minutes away. When we decided to stay home, we hung out in the pool. Oh, and the farmers market awesome and the food choices (indian, mexican, thai, etc) were great too. Probably the biggest highlight was seeing my college roommate, Brian and his wife. They live in Park City which is about 20 minutes away.

Silver Lake

Ava loved hiking.

Amazing Aspen grove above Silver Lake

So, the trip wasn't all sunshine and happiness however. Chris basically worked from 3:30 until midnight just about everyday. We only brought one car so Ava and I pretty much had to hang out all afternoon and evening. I did almost go crazy a few times but we survived. No TV, no internet, no phone, etc. Pretty boring. Fortunately, Ava thought it was great fun to run up and down the halls, climb onto all the furniture, and open/close all the doors. Out of desperation, Ava got all of her birthday present early. We needed some new toys. Once she went down, I read books, drank beer and ate cereal. Yep, fun times.

Ah yes, Ava already a rabid texter. She practiced all the time!

This door was opened and closed no less than 1000 time a day!

Loving life at the spray area at Liberty Park

Snuggle time.

Ava turned one while we were down in SLC. We had a small cake and went to the park. On the way home, we stopped in Green River to see my Uncle Rex, Aunt Patty and their kids (and grandkids). We then drove the rest of the way to Powell and had a BBQ and cake with my family. Ava and my dad have the same birthday so they each had their own cake. (Thanks to Grandma Rich!) It was fun to see all the family but Ava was pretty much fried after the long drive. We then drove home to Billings and have been basking in the delight of our apartment since then. Man, is it good to be home. Here are some pics and videos.

Ava and Grandpa enjoying their German Chocolate birthday cake!
Petting Grandma's little kitty.

Lastly, Ava's friend Eileen came over to play yesterday and brought her a book about a little pea for her birthday. For some reason, Ava thought the book was hysterical and couldn't stop laughing everytime I read a certain part. I managed to get a clip of it. (For those viewing this blog in an email, you have to go to the website to see the video.)