Residency Interview #1!

Erik had his first interview for residency yesterday in Augusta at the Medical College of Georgia. We drove down Sunday after church and stayed with my brother Michael and his wife, Brittany. (Michael is doing his orthodontic residency at MCG right now.) They are always terrific hosts, and we had a wonderful visit with them. Unfortunately, Abigail had a fever the whole time we were there (I know, aren't we such considerate guests? We kick them out of their bed for a night AND try to infect their daughter!), but she had a great time playing with cousin Clara as long as the Motrin was working.

Erik had a great experience at MCG. He enjoyed interacting with the staff and residents and was very favorably impressed with their family-friendly attitude. Enough of that boring stuff, though. Abigail and I had much more fun hanging out with Brittany and Clara the whole day!

I had been really looking forward to this trip. My sister-in-law ranks at the top of my list of Impressive-People-I-Want-to-Become-Like-Someday. I was hoping to learn all her secrets to getting so much done and being so well-balanced, but it was too much to learn in one day! I had a great time talking with her, though, and picking her brain about all kinds of things. She even taught me some cool things I can do on our blog, and as a result, I have now subjected all my readers to some of my favorite music! Thanks, Brittany!

Clara showed Abigail all the fun things you can do with playdough! (She did not show her that it can go in your mouth, but Abigail figured that out all by herself. Apparently Brittany's homemade playdough tastes pretty good even after being stored away for two months!)

Here's Michael dancing with the girls. Isn't my big bro such a great dad/uncle?

I can't get enough of Clara's infectious laugh! (Doesn't Abigail look charming without her hair clip in all these pictures?)

Ok, so apparently the picture-taking didn't begin until the guys got home....I guess I was enjoying hanging out with Brittany so much that I didn't think about taking pictures with her! Or maybe Michael's just a camera hog! Sorry Brittany!
Abigail is only cuddly when she has a high fever.

Before we left Monday night, we joined the Weilers for Family Home Evening. Brittany gave a wonderful lesson on expressing gratitude in our prayers. The girls were both very good listeners, and at the end, Brittany let them each take items out of a bag that represented things we can thank Heavenly Father for. Abigail pulled out a Book of Mormon and immediately began turning pages. Then, while the rest of us adjourned to the kitchen for root beer floats, Abigail continued to "read" the book, occasionally lifting it up until her nose was pressed against the pages, an expression of almost painful concentration on her face. She didn't even look up when I got the camera out and started taking pictures, and that is extremely unusual. I love this shot--that little bare foot just gets me.

Thanks again M & B for a wonderful time!