Goodbye forever 2020!

 ...we won't miss you! 

Snowmass

It has been harder and harder to keep up with posting over the last two years - the demands of motherhood, residency, preparing for fellowship have been, well, demanding. Funny that the last time I posted was also after a trip to Colorado. What can I say, we love Colorado.

This time we returned to Snowmass for the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists 25th annual winter meeting. It is the best meeting ever. I’ve been to quite a few scientific meetings by now and there is no meeting that is so intimate, so filled with truly impressive people, and so jam packed with relevant information. There is definitely no other meeting where it is expected that you give your oral plenary in Uggs (seriously!). As an aspiring gyn oncologist and someone who would probably fit Warren Millers definition of “winter people” (1972 ski film with a soundtrack that will make you chuckle, its on amazon) you can imagine that I’m pretty stoked about the fact that this annual winter meeting exists. Even better that twice in the last three years the meeting has been held at Snowmass. Kudos to friend and co-resident Dr. Barr for presenting her poster at the conference this year! She presented data that support the use of minimally invasive surgery in caring for patients with ovarian cancer. The use of minimally invasive surgery in caring for women with gynecologic cancers has been an important way that we have improved outcomes for women with cancer. Performing minimally invasive surgery well requires that surgeons embrace and learn new technology and that they practice new technology in a safe and studied way. It’s pretty awesome that our professional society values this type of research.

Snowmass is one of the four mountains of the Aspen Snowmass mountain group. Pre-children you would typically find David and I searching for shrines on Ajax or hiking the bowl (and then sipping champagne at cloud 9) at Aspen highlands, but vacationing with little ones has changed our focus a bit. Snowmass is such an incredibly family friendly mountain, but does not skimp on the steep chutes, super fun glades, and... best of all... you won’t wait on the lift line forever.

#onlyinaspen

1. Dylan learns to ski!
Snowmass has a truly impressive ski school. Today, after three full days of skiing, Dylan’s instructor cautioned us before we took her up the “skittle” gondola: she may be a little tired, but, he added, she LOVES to ski. When we asked her if she wanted to go skiing, she grabbed her own skis and ran right out the door to hit the slopes. At 3 years old, all I really hoped was for her to be exposed to the sport and find it fun - despite her being exhausted, it was obvious that she loved every second of it. Thanks to her instructors for not only giving her the skills but helping her fall in love with our favorite sport!

2. Treehouse childcare
Addy definitely had a rough first night acclimating here, and although we were a little nervous to bring her to day care the first day... we had used the childcare program here with Dylan when she was younger and knew just how attentive and professional they would be. They kept track of everything - her water intake, how much she ate, they told us honestly she was sad through some of the day, but they were able to get her a nap and when we arrived she was not distraught and hysterical. Chatting with one of the local moms today, she admitted that she will bring her son to the Treehouse when she needs childcare because they’re reputation is so good and she just doesn’t feel bad when she leaves her little guy behind. There’s a lot of mom guilt when you leave your kiddos with a sitter or in day care, but ya know, mamas gotta live too, and its awesome to have a person/place you can count on.

Riding the “skittle” gondola to the treehouse.

3. Chutes, glades, bumps...oh my!
There’s no shortage of challenging and exciting terrain at Snowmass. Although we can’t divulge our greatest secrets and finds, I can tell you:
- High Alpine lift: can ski those runs on repeat all day long (and we did, despite brain chilling 60mph winds at the top).
- KT gully: the steep pitch will make you sweat, but rewards you with some fun glades and fresh tracks below.

4. Good Eats
One last shout out to Gwyn’s High Alpine restaurant, which definitely lives up to the claim of “fine dining at 10,500 ft.” After skiing the high alpine trails over and over again, we decided to stop in for lunch. You get to kick off your ski boots and borrow a pair of crocs when you enter the restaurant... just beware you do have to get back into the boots to get back down the mountain after lunch! We enjoyed fantastic wine, tasted Colorado peaches (who knew Colorado was known for its peaches!!) perfectly paired with burrata, elk with a delicious not-sweet sauce, and chicken enchiladas that were exceptionally classy. David and I generally manage to find a hollow leg to take down delicious meals but we were so stuffed with the abbondanza of delicious food that we actually had to leave food behind. Word on the street is that this is Gwyn’s last year so get in on this fine dining experience before its too late!

Anyways, thanks Snowmass for another good year. We’re glad we know you now :)

Colorado!

We decided to celebrate David's birthday out in Colorado - he's been working extra hard to get our forever home built, and we finally got to see the product of his efforts! Happy birthday David! I won't disclose your age here... but you only get better with age <3

Congrats Dave & Ally!

After a totally hectic two weeks back at work, we jumped on a flight out to SFO to celebrate Dave & Ally's marriage in Healdsburg, CA. They got married at Trentadue winery, a beautiful setting for a celebration. As I was busy looking after Dylan and Addy and sneaking off to feed Addy every couple of hours, I didn't get too many pics... but here are a few...I'm so fortunate to have siblings that I love, and a niece and nephew who my kids just adore.

Welcome Addison Paige!!

After a very long week on the high risk service, I checked myself in to triage on Friday night after my shift ended...and Addison was delivered an hour later.

Welcome Addison Paige Levine!! Born April 26, 2019 at 1930. She weighed 7lbs 9oz and was 20 3/4" long. She looks a lot like Dylan except one key difference....so much hair! Addison has more hair than Dylan had when she turned one. More to come...

The Levine's get a Christmas tree!

It's not the first year for the Levine's to have a Christmas tree...but it was the first time we picked out and cut down our own tree!

(Thanks to the crew at Uncle Dave's tree farm in Valle Crucis, NC)

In other exciting news...this holiday season is especially special for the Levine's because we get to share that there's another bear cub due to join the clan this spring! 

We can't wait for HER to get here!

A perfect fall weekend in NC

I'm way behind on blog posts here... a lot has happened in the last few months and I still feel like I'm catching up on sleep! 

Nikhil and Victor came to visit us in our new home in Charlotte! Despite them living overseas for the past few years, we have tried really hard to stay close and to make sure that Victor and Dylan know each other. It had been a while since we hung out, so we were thrilled to see that Victor and Dylan did not forget each other and were so happy to be back together...cousins acting like siblings, Dylan calling for "Bic-tore" and bringing him to her play room to share her toys, Victor chasing after Dylan when she tried to run away at the outdoor festival. Here are a few pics that captured some of those sweet moments together!

Poor David!

Oh and the adults did get to sneak away to see Hamilton! Thanks David for somehow finding those tickets...it was an awesome show, definitely recommend it! All we were missing was our Keri!