Omaha!

Shew! It's been ages since the last blog update but we hope it's been worth the wait. Below are a few pictures taken in Omaha to celebrate the Bris for Eliezer Binyamin, newest member of the Shyken family :) We had a blast and laughed all weekend long - nothing like being with family. A big thanks to Eliezer's grandmothers for planning/cooking/organizing, to Yael for bringing Meir A., to Dad for dropping us off at the airport before sunrise (sorry Dad!) to the Shyken's for providing this lovely simcha and to Alexandra for working her magic to get airline tickets!!! Right then, onto some pictures:

Picture 1: First introductions...welcome Eliezer Binyamin.


Picture 2: hmmm...still sleeping. I think I detect a theme here.


Picture 3: Ah yes, definitely a theme here!


Picture 4: Not everyone was as sleepy as EB...here is Aviva Chana in, *ahem* full swing ;)


Picture 5: Don't blink or you'll miss the quiet moments...


Picture 6: Batsheva Tova loves the camera...


Picture 7: More glamour shots...


Picture 8: Sisters!


Picture 9: Not to be outdone...some silly faces as Shmuel Aaron makes an appearance.


Picture 10: S.A. working hard in the garden...


Picture 11: Yael & Meir Avraham...he's so delicious!


Love to all...till next time,
Kevin, Alexandra & Bruno

Chicago 'n stuff: a 3-part blog update

So much activity and traveling in the last few weeks with loads to tell and pictures to show. Let's kick the updates off with pictures so you can see how the Greatest Great Dane that ever lived has been getting along :) Not that we're biased or anything...seriously though, everyone thinks he's the most handsome and well behaved dog they've ever seen. (Except when he's not...see the older post of him chewing Alexandra's shoe but hey, we all need to exercise our mischievous side once in a while). As you can see from the above picture, Bruno loves his momma!

Here is Bruno at a recent play date with another Dane seen in the right side of the photo. This poodle came running up to see Bruno & Biggio and when he arrived, I think this picture shows his surprise at how big these dogs were :)


PART II - Sweatin' It Out
In other recent news, we recently had to replace our entire Air Conditioning system. Of course it decided to die on us in the middle of the San Antonio summer (which, incidentally, lasts from February to November). Needless to say, with temperatures hitting triple digits we were in desperate need to have the issue addressed. During the first night of our ordeal, we went Olde-Skool and bought an industrial fan and a few bags of ice. In the next picture, you can see Bruno enjoying the slight breeze this afforded. Unfortunately, the temperature remained in the high-80's inside the house at night.

Given that none of us were going to survive much longer with this jerry-rigged setup, we returned the next night to WalMart and purchased a window AC unit....genius!!! We set it up in the guest room and enjoyed the immediate respite from the heat - I don't think Bruno left that room for 5 days! The AC was finally replaced...Nothing Stops A Trane (and if it does, we still have the window AC).


PART III - Chi Town Baby!
We also spent a great few days in Chicago celebrating the wedding of Alexandra's best friend from college. Here is a picture of Kevin, Alexandra, Jeff & Susan enjoying the waterfront of Chicago.


Nothing like a little break from all the walking...if I remember correctly, this is right after Susan mentioned she was going to buy me a bronze fountain, circa 1600 Tibet, from the store Primitive :) Thanks Susan!

In addition to making Susan promise the treasures from Primitive, the Lotus Blossom White Tea we had at the store had its effect on Jeff...


Mazal Tov to Sara & Evan...and while they were very happy, they weren't the only happy couple there :)



BONUS FEATURE!
...and a few recent photos from San Antonio:

Catch Ups...

While Alexandra spends the weekend freezing in St. Louis, Bruno & I are having a great time here at home where we're enjoying beautiful Spring weather & some tunes by Kate Nash, Rilo Kiley and others :) In between studying and letting Bruno chase squirrels I found four photos that I haven't shared yet.

Picture 1: Gila and Grandpa! Look at those little eyes sparkle with joy.





Picture 2: Here's one from 2005 on a picnic at the McNay Museum grounds during the Fall. Nice sunglasses miss :)




Picture 3: Bruno surveying the lake at Innsbruk during any icy-cold Winter morning sunrise. Look at all the ice on the far side of the lake...brrr!




Picture 4: Bruno enjoying a large field we found on the drive home from St. Louis in January. Our big boy weighs in at 133 lbs this week but is obedient and sweeter than ever.

It's Study Time!

April is a very hectic month for all Ophthalmology residents throughout the country as we take our national boards at the end of the month. The exam is a 4 hour, 250 question test that covers all of Ophthalmology. After some calculations, I figure that I do approximately 200 practice questions for every real question asked on the day of the exam! Hopefully the blog will get loads more pictures after the exams when I can breath a bit more :)

We had the chance to see some of our friends who were in town for a review course. Never need an excuse to entertain...


Amanda (visiting from the West Coast) & V. (visiting from the East Coast) get entertained by out antics. Thanks for the great wine Amanda! Vasilios, thanks for your gift too.




Dinner was a la francaise: Soupe a l'oignon avec une petite salade fraise.


...and because he's underrepresented on our blog...here's Sir Bruno getting all the love from the ladies!

Off to the salt mines for yours truly, time to study. Looking forward to the next blog which will have pictures of Alexandra's trip to New Orleans...

Our Friendly Neighborhood

Quick update on the blog...

We love our friendly neighborhood and live on the best street! There are loads of kids that come over to play with Bruno and to ask "Miss Alexandra" if she has any gum for them :)


Picture 1: Bruno is always there to help the kids up and down the street when their energy runs low.


Picture 2: here's what's in style these days...

Picture 3: Our local fashionista...a BIG hit with Alexandra :)

Mischief

I've said it before and I'll say it again: we have the most loving & wonderful dog in the World! Bruno is (as they say here in Texas) "a real blessing" and adds enough humor, laughs and joy to our life to make up for his very infrequent naughtiness. He's just turned 1 years old and considering that Great Danes mature at around 2 years of age, he's getting into a mischevious stage. For example, the other night I was studying while Alexandra was at a yoga class. Bruno was being a little too quiet, and when I went to investigate I was met with the scene pictured below: Sir Bruno nibbling on one of Alexandra's favorite shoes! I didn't say a word but he knew he was doing something he wasn't supposed to and he beat a quick retreat to his bed. Spent the rest of the night looking at us with big "I'm sorry" eyes too! (PS - the shoe has since been replaced, but Bruno isn't allowed within 100 yards of it).

Telluride Ski Trip

Well, we have just returned from our ski trip to Telluride, Colorado where we met up with Whitney & Kelyn (Alexandra's sis & boyfriend). Telluride is a very small town with it's history rooted in the mining rush of the late 1800's. Population: 2,000. It's a picturesque ski town nestled in the Colorado Rockies and the perfect place for a relaxing, secluded and fun ski trip for the four of us. Activities can be summed up as follows: wake up at 7, eat breakfast, spend 30 minutes donning all your ski attire, ski for 5-6 hours (don't forget a hot chocolate break on the mountainside), hot tub for 20 minutes, out for dinner, complain about sore muscles and then bed. Next day: rinse & repeat! There are some excellent restaurants in Telluride but our favorite was The New Sheridan Chop House: excellent food, great service, strong drinks (as pictured above) and loads of laughs. We're infamous at this fine dining establishment after slipping the hostess a 10-spot to move tables when....well, let's just say the quality of the surrounding air was sub-par due to a local "polluter" sitting at the table next to us :)


Here are a few pictures 's of us celebrating Valentine's Day:







To get an idea of how much snow there was, this is a picture of Alexandra & Whitney trying to stand up against a vertical pile of snow and their imprint:






Next picture, taken at Honga's Lotus Petal is a hip sushi bar that used to be Roma's (as in, "didn't I meet you at Roma in the fall?"). The sushi bar kept the Roma bar because it's reportedly the oldest one in town.


Speaking of town, here is a shot of what things look like during the day on Main Street:



The next 3 photos are "Bob Photos". He and the girls were in Telluride 10 years ago and had as much fun then as we did this time (missed you on this trip!):

(1) The Famous Telluride Clock

(2) The Girls

(3) Horn Realty...ha ha ha!


Finally, a few pictures of the daily activities. Alexandra turned out to be a great skier and managed to swoosh her way down the blue runs (only one or two yard sales). Kelyn picked up snowboarding readily and Whitney joined him in boarding down double-greens by the end of the week (Kelyn - you'll have to join me on the double black diamonds next year).






A ticket to hilariousness with Smokey the Ferret: viva la Telluride! (One cocktail at 10,000 ft and a Mad-Libs book & you too will get the joke) ;)