Weekend Update

I'm ashamed that I haven't been more regular in my blog posts. My hope was that this blog would be like a journal of each weeks activities. I guess it HAS become like my journal, in the sense that I don't keep it up to date.

Since my last post we have had several significant events. I've been in the cardiac cath lab since August, and will continue to be there through October. It's a good thing that I absolutely love it. I had a sneaking suspicion that I would enjoy it; now I'm considering it as part of my long-term career plans. If I decide to do cath, it would probably require an additional year of training, which we would probably have to do elsewhere. I have plenty of time before I have to settle on my post-fellowship plans, so even if I am anxious, I don't feel rushed.

Summer is winding down here in Rochester. It has been a very nice summer--not too hot or muggy, not too many mosquitos (although we have had a lot of bees). The weather turned cool pretty abruptly this week. We've had several days in the 70's, dipping down to the 50's on occasion. Hopefully this portends a nice, long autumn, as opposed to the two week autumns we are used to.

As summer comes to a close, Nate and Haley have started back to school. Nate is now in the 3rd grade; Haley is in 1st. They seem to enjoy it very well, although their opinion about school--and their overall state of happiness, for that matter--is closely tied to the chores-to-play time ratio of a given day. For example, if they have to clean their rooms before playing with their friends, then school was dumb and boring. If, on the other hand, they get to watch TV all day, eat ice cream and donuts for dinner and stay up until midnight, then school was fun.

The new school year means renewed responsibilities for Nikole. She is the leader of VIE (Volunteers in Education) at the elementary school. So, she is responsible for finding parent-volunteers for various school related activities throughout the year, such as helping out with picture day and stuff like that (you'll have to ask her for all the particulars). Last year she found herself filling in most of the time when she couldn't get anyone else to help out. Hopefully this year will be easier for her.

Sorry this post isn't as interesting as others may have been in the past. In addition to entertaining (which I always try to do), I feel obligated to inform you about the goings-on at the Taggart homefront. We've had some other outings that have been pretty fun--church family campout, the Star Wars exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota--as well as our normal day-to-day events that are sometimes humorous. I'll make a point to post some more pictures and more lighthearted fare in the near future.