Idaho Vacation

Pictures:
1. Jason and Violet coming up Dutch Lane
2. The Roosevelt Inn; Jason and Laurel stayed here for part of their honeymoon
3. Great-Grandma, Grandma, Mommy, and Baby at the Moscow farmers market
4. Laurel, Violet, and Uncle Sam
5. Violet and Grandpa

We went on a vacation to Idaho for a week to visit Jason's maternal grandma, Juanita O'Reilly (for whom Violet got her middle name). Jerry and Judy Chruma came up from Phoenix, so we had all the generations present! Grandma O'Reilly and Sam (Judy's brother) live at and run the Idaho farm, so we had a wonderful time in the rolling hills and pine tree-covered land. The weather was great and the air fresh! While there, we took a day trip to Coeur'd Alene, a lakefront town where we spent part of our honeymoon. Also, Jason was able to visit Washington State University in Pullman, WA (about 45 minutes from the farm) to network with one of the new chemistry professors there. One of the other highlights was the Moscow, ID farmers market on Saturday with vendors selling organicly-grown produce and other items. What a great time!

Atlanta Trip

Mommy and Violet went on a trip to Atlanta to visit Boris, Marianne, and Benji. (Marianne is Laurel's friend from highschool) Marianne is expecting baby #2 in October, so we wanted to see her and help out around the house as much as possible before the new bundle arrives. We mommies had a great time and the kids did too, although they did more parallel play than engaging one another. It was so nice to spend time with friends and we even got to visit Marianne's parents (Bruce and Rita), so it felt like old times...sort of...except we each have babies.

Daddy and Violet Enjoy a Sandwich

Wedding!

Tooth Fairy!

Happy First Birthday, Violet!

Violet's first birthday (June 6th) took place during our trip to Duke University. We stayed in a dorm while we were there for the conference, so the video shows her running around the dorm room. She looked so sweet in Daddy's Zags hat!

Duke University Trip

Pictures:
1. Laurel and Violet in front of Wanamaker Dorm

2. Jason resting on the lawn in front of the dining hall

3. Gothic-style chapel in the middle of campus

We just returned from a trip to the National Organic Symposium (NOS) at Duke University which is a week-long organic chemistry conference. Jason presented a poster with some of his research and attended various talks and other poster sessions. The NOS takes place every other year and organic chemists from around the world come. So, it's a great time for networking and bouncing ideas off eachother. Jason got good input on some of his research and was encouraged to publish a paper on an aspect that he hadn't even thought important. Laurel and Violet were able to come along as the conference gives some free time in the afternoons to visit the local area. We saw the University Gardens, the Duke Lemur Center, and went out for some North Carolina BBQ.