We decided to use the long weekend to go visit my family in Peoria, IL. My mom was passing through for a few days on her way to Florida. We just got a bunch of her love and attention when we visited her up in Wisconsin a few weeks ago, but I hate to ever miss an opportunity for a visit, no matter how brief. They're off to Europe for a month in a few weeks, and plans are uncertain past that...maybe Mexico for a while...I can never remember! Mom swares all the travel can get tiresome, and she is a homebody at heart, I know, but I still envy her! As usual when we go to Peoria, we stayed at my dad and step-mom's. This is our first time visiting in their new house, that they just finished building and moving in to. I knew going in that we we would be spending a lot of time helping unpack, move things, etc. This became more important when we found out that my dad hurt his back again (through moving,unpacking,etc.) We enjoyed being there none-the-less; it's been a long time since we've all been over for a visit, as they've been as busy as we have. So it was nice to hang out, and my mom cooked a nice dinner for my brother's birthday and had us all over too. It was good to have (nearly) the whole family together; my sister and her family couldn't come as she's been sick. It was the perfect weekend for hanging out and grilling out after all this hot weather we've been having!

Board exams are now right around the corner, and you can cut the "anticipation" in the air at Palmer with a knife. All of a sudden I've started to notice a whole lot less socializing during breaks in the classes, and a whole lot more noses in study books. Mine included. This time around I'm taking Part II and PT boards. Three days with 8 tests. It will be a full weekend. Luckily we have Wednesday and Thursday off of classes before the exams start Friday. We get Monday of the following week off as well, I presume to unwind after a full day of tests on Sunday! I'm sure I'll need, and appreciate it. I know I did after Part I boards! If all goes well I'll have only Part III to take next March, and Part IV in May. I'm hoping for no re-takes!!!

Clinic is going well; I'm now managing four patients, with a few more that I'll be taking on in the next couple weeks. This should ensure that I will be able to maximize the student patient limit of fifty adjustments this tri. That will put me in a good position starting next tri, with the transition into the main clinic. To clarify, there's no limit on the amount of care you can render to patients that are students; it's just that only 50 of those patient encounters can count towards one's credits to graduate. At any rate, I feel like so far I'm on track.

Well, gotta get to class!

Never mind my previous comment regarding the cooler weather...it's back in the 90s again. Yuck.Oh well, summer is quickly coming to a close, and we'll soon be longing for it's return.

This coming break in October, I think I'm taking the family down to Florida for a week. I've been looking at vacation rentals in a few different areas. Saint Augustine (of coarse), Key West, and a little island just outside of Tampa/St.Pete called Anna Maria. I would like to go home (St. Aug) and hang out at my favorite spots, and share them with the fam. My mom and step-dad live there, but they will be in Europe during that time so that doesn't help the decision. i kind of wanted to look into the area, including Jacksonville and Amilia Island just north, for a possible location for our practice. But there's time for that still. Key West is always a blast, but they're having their big festival, Mardi Gras style, with the "adult" atmosphere... not the best time to bring the kids there! They try to appeal to families by having a "family day" but they're not fooling me. I (vaguely) remember a few public spectacles from my younger years there, that would now just lead to embarrassment/ awkward conversations with the kids! I think I'll pass. We're leaning towards Anna Maria. It's a quaint family friendly beach town on a barrier island. Gulf side means sunsets on the beach, a big plus. Calmer gulf-side waves will be better with Laney. Also the temp will still be appropriate for beach activities. It gets a bit cooler in St. Aug by then, and the Atlantic is colder year-round anyway, compared to the gulf. There's also some museums that we'd like to see. I love the Salvadore Dali Museum in St. Pete, and Kristi really wants to see it too. We'd also like to take the kids to the big aquarium there. Laney will LOVE it! Perhaps Busch Gardens; their African animal exhibits are great... And we could drive down to Naples/Marco Island for a day; we've been considering it as a location too. We'll see, once we're on the beach we may just want to chill out!

I know I'll be in the mood to relax after this tri is over. It's been crazy! And boards are quickly approaching, just two weeks away! Yikes! Just had three midterm exams today. a very busy day. They all went well though.

Time to go get my pumpkin (Laney).