Leaving, On A Jet Plane

My friend, Katie, is moving to China on Thursday. You heard me right. China. She is going to be teaching high school history at the prestigious Shanghai American School for at least two years. Her husband, Tie, and their dog, Scout, are moving too. What a wonderful adventure they are about to embark on. But honestly, I'm totally going to miss them and a nano-particle of me wishes they weren't going. Harper's going to miss Katie too. They've been buds for a while now.

Stupid pictures. Uploading them made me sad...

Anyways, if you want to keep up with all of Katie and Tie's adventures, check out their blog. And if you are of the praying persuasion, pleas keep them in your prayers. Especially Scout the dog. It is China after all.

New Hampshire, I'm A Fan!

I am loving New Hampshire! It's absolutely beautiful and the weather couldn't be better (think being outside in the sun, but with the air conditioner on). I think my favorite part about the "Granite State" is the abundance of lilacs. 

Lilacs everywhere! They really should rename this place the "Lilac State". 


As much as I'm enjoying being in the "Lilac State" and soaking up all of the good science at this conference, I'm very ready to get back to my husband and kiddo. I think Harper is getting mad at me for being gone so long. She refused to talk to me on the phone tonight. Little does she know that I am at this conference to get new ideas about how to regenerate body parts so I can make bajillions of dollars and buy her lots of ponies. Apparently, the master plan is lost on her. I guess I'll just have to make sure I have a toy in hand when she picks me up at the airport on Friday.  

Keystone Update 3 - Ski Day

What a day! I skied Keystone today and it was absolutely perfect. It was sunny and warm and not crowded at all. Here are some pictures that I took with my cell phone. The views might have been the best part.

This is a picture of the start of the one and only black diamond run that I went on. It was the last run of the day. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it or not. I am a very in control skier. I hate feeling like I'm out of control. So, I ski well but cautiously the whole time. However, there was a little piece of me that wanted to prove that this 30 year old mother could still ski the blacks like the 21 year old single girl that I used to be. So, I went down it. It was hard. But, I made it without falling (in fact, I didn't fall all day) and feel a small sense of accomplishment. The end.

Keystone Update 2 - Ice Capades

Today, Harper went ice skating for the first time. She did great! I was really impressed with her ability to balance on the skates.

I took this right after I got her all laced up. She really liked the skates and kept showing everyone her "new shoes".

I am not an expert skater and didn't want to take any chances while trying to balance myself and Harper. So... I wore these nice little slip on ice shoes instead of skates. They worked well.

Here, Harper is taking a break on some of the snow that they cleared off of the ice.

We had a great time today (and my talk went really well tonight by the way). Tomorrow we are headed to the slopes! Wish us luck!

Keystone Update 1

We've been in Keystone for about 2 days now and we're having a lot of fun already. Harper has weathered the altitude like a champ! Yesterday, we took a walk around the condo to get the lay of the land. Right outside our door is the largest maintained outdoor ice skating rink in North America. Harper loved watching the skaters. I think we're going to have to give it a try tomorrow.

She also liked looking at (and sitting on) the various ice sculptures that are scattered around the property.

But, her favorite thing so far has been making and throwing snowballs!

We've got a lot planned for the next few days. Stay tuned for more updates!

From Denver With Love

So I'm sitting in the Denver airport waiting for my (delayed) flight to San Fran. Being in this airport brings back a lot of memories. When Rob and I were dating, I spent a lot of time flying back and forth between Cincinnati and Denver. I have good memories of Denver. I got engaged here (not in the airport, in the city, at a piano bar named Charlie Brown's). It was nice to see the city and the mountains from the plane as we landed. Although, I wish my family was here. There are lots of young families with little kids running around. Seeing them makes me miss Harper. These next 4 days will be the longest I have been a part from her ever. She has definitely become my sidekick. I like it when she's around because I don't feel so ridiculous talking to myself anymore (I talk to myself A LOT). Now, I'm not actually talking to myself. I'm talking to her. It's nice. We have lots of inside jokes. Ok, wish me luck on making it to San Fran on time. For now, over and out.