Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas, one & all! 

We spent our first ever Christmas at our own home in Carson City.  Family was missed, for sure, but we were very blessed to spend Christmas with good friends.  On Christmas Eve, church was so packed full of people that they locked one of the doors to turn people away.  So we spend mass standing in the back foray, which was better for Jax.  Following mass we had a relatively full house for dinner with the Hogans (Kelly, Ashley, & Everett), the Lobsingers (Mark, Sarah, & Logan) and Lester.  The table was full of great food and laughter.  The kids played and opened gifts and it was a really nice time.  Before long it was time for Christmas jammies and bed. 

Christmas morning, I got up to make the traditional sticky buns and Justin made breakfast.  It certainly didn't take long for Jax to get in the swing of ripping the wrapping paper and we were in full gift-opening mode.  This lasted until Jax couldn't go any longer and we all went down for naps still in our Christmas jammies.  By the time we woke up, we were late to a dinner date.  We rushed out to door to spend a wonderful evening with the Niswongers (Rich, Sarah, Emily, & Johnny), of which I have no pictures....my bad. 

The day after Christmas was spent soaking up a little sun (since it was 55 degrees!), organizing, cleaning & making room to store all our new goodies.  Thank you everyone that sent packages, cards and greetings.  We really appreciate all the love this Christmas that was spent away from family. 

And now we work a few days and get ready to travel down to Houston, TX to spend New Years with my brother, his family and my parents. 

Monkey

I know most children have some kind of blanket or stuffed animal that is their most favorite.  Personally, I had a blanket, called my "snuffle".  Justin had a stuffed bunny rabbit, called "bun bun".  Jax has his monkey.  (We'll have to wait and see what he decides to call it!)  This monkey is a blend between a blanket and stuffed animal having the head and arms of a monkey and the body of a blanket.  At bedtime he grabs his monkey and squeezes him tight to his chest and nuzzles his face on him.  More often than not, he'll be sleeping like this with his monkey tucked safely under his arm.  I've purchased a few other monkeys to make sure we're never without...and although he likes the monkeys with arms the best....when in need, any monkey will do.  So far.

Let's go Steelers!

Jax and I were sporting our Steelers pride on Monday for the game, which didn't seem to help Big Ben out very much.  Even though they are not airing the Steelers game here on Saturday (I could order it for $45, but I don't think so), we hope they play better than they did on Monday!

Huntington Grad Weekend

It was great having Justin's parents and grandfather in town over graduation weekend.  Jax got to show off his walking progress and spend time with his grandparents.  We also had a Thai graduation dinner where Justin's niece, Kelcie & boyfriend, Jason, came in for. 

A good time was had by all!

Dr. Daddy Graduation

It's official.  Justin finished his pursuit of higher education and got his PhD.  I believe he said that he was enrolled in some school every semester for the last 33 or 34 years....all the way back to preschool!  Right after we got back from our trip to San Francisco we rolled into graduation weekend.  Justin's parents and grandfather, Papa Jack, flew up for the big event.  It was a really happy and proud day to be a part of the Huntington Family.

It was fitting that this letter came in the mail on graduation day too....

San Francisco 2011

Again this year we took a roadtrip to San Francisco to attend the huge American Physical Union (AGU) annual conference.  It's a long trip for Jax, but he did amazingly well for being out of his element and off his daily schedule. 

As far as the conference itself goes...we were able to do/see much less of it this year b/c Jax just would not tolerate it, so this turned out to be more of a vacation for us than a business trip.  I did present a poster on defining freshwater and saline groundwater flowsystems in Dixie Valley, NV and that went quite well. 

While not at the conference we took a cable car ride to Fisherman's Wharf, visited the Hyde Street Pier National Park, saw Santa and a holiday show under the dome at the big mall, took a bus to Haight Street to do some shopping and then walked through parts of Golden Gate Park including the children's park and the Japanese tea garden, visited Ocean Beach, ate many meals all over downtown, and explored every square inch of our hotel room. 

Jax's Growth Chair @ 14 months

Huntington boys

I forgot to post this with the Valley of Fire pictures, but it really does deserve it's own post.  Too cute!

Valley of Fire

I'm finally getting to my last post from our Las Vegas Thanksgiving trip.  Justin rented a Harley while down there so he could go riding with his Dad.  The day after Thanksgiving Jax stayed with Mammie Sharon for a few hours and I got to go on a ride too--to a place I'd never been.  We headed east within Las Vegas Valley and skirted the western shore of Lake Mead for a while.  Then we entered the Valley of Fire.  Prior to visiting this park, I didn't know why they named it as it is....if you didn't know either, after looking at these pictures you will.

Leah

In loving memory of Leah--Justin's beautiful cousin, who passed away just recently.

I didn't know Leah, really at all, we only met a few times.  But we were the same age and both young mothers. I would have loved to become friends.

Intro to Santa 101

Jax's first experience with Santa....he wasn't so thrilled.

Rolling

Jax gets his first taste of real "riding"...

Green Family Thanksgiving

My Mom sent me this picture of the Green Family Thanksgiving that was hosted by my Aunt Patty and Uncle Randy in Sugargrove, PA. That's a good looking family. :o)

Thanksgiving 2011

We braved the trip and took Jax on an airplane to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving.  The weather was beautifully sunny and in the mid 60s the entire time.  Jax warmed up to Mammie Sharon and Grandpa Ron pretty quickly.  Mammie brought out all kinds of things to play with from tea strainers, pots, light sabers and little cars, so Jax was a happy camper.  There was some fear of him falling down on the ceramic tile, so she even got him a little helmet to wear!

Justin's nephew, Jayden, had Wednesday off from school, so we spent some time with him as we be-bopped around town.  We hit up the fashion show mall and stopped by Justin's cousin, Jennie's house for a Jax studio photo shoot. 

On Thanksgiving day we took a short hike in Red Rock Canyon.  Walking around that place never gets old!  Mammie & Grandpa made a fabulous meal that we shared with Justin's brothers.  Then dessert was at Aunt Linda and Uncle Al's house where we got to visit with many cousins and most especially Papa Jack.

Happy Thanksgiving!

How can you say no....

...to those eyes?!?!?!?

My new favorite picture

Peek-a-boo!

Just hanging around

Exploration

Jax is totally digging that his new mobility is allowing him to explore things he never could before.  This is one of his new favorite things to do.  I can see that sometime in the future I will be cursing the fact that my piano has no key cover....

Jax is one step closer...

...to walking on his own! 

Justin's dissertation defense

Well, he did it!  Justin successfully defended his dissertation last week!  He had a pretty much full house for his presentation and mostly easy-peasy questions from the general audience.  He said his committee didn't cut him any slack on the post-presentation grilling, but he came out on the other end a HUGE step closer to his PhD!  From here there are only a few written corrections to his dissertation manuscript and a lot of graduate school paperwork to shift through and turn in.  Congratulations, Justin!!  Dr. Daddy, here we come!

Jax's Growth Chair @ 13 months

Beautiful Washoe Valley

A few weekends ago we attended a birthday party of one of Jax's daycare buddies at his home on the west side of Washoe Valley.  I couldn't help but as a fellow party-goer to take a picture of Jax and I in the backyard that looked out onto the golf course.  Very pretty view!

Happy Halloween 2011

Happy belated Halloween!!

Between Halloween birthday parties and actual Halloween, Jax got to wear both of his costumes. So stinking cute!

Logan also made the local 11pm news on Halloween night.  Look for the cute ladybug at the Governor's Mansion about 1/2 way through the video.

Backyard swinging

Jax's new ATW

Mammie Sharon & Grandpa Ron gave Jax his very own deluxe Radio Flyer...personalized!  I think it's cute because it says on the side "ATW": All Terrain Wagon.  He loves riding in it and also likes chucking all his toys overboard.  :o)

Father/Daughter Parasailing

My Dad and I have been talking about going parasailing together for several years now (at least since 2009).  We both thought it would be so much fun!  Every opportunity we got ended up falling through until his most recent visit.  It was the last day of the parasailing season and so they cut us a deal.  So. Much. Fun.  The initial lift off the back of the boat was exhilarating, but the rest of the ride was surprisingly peaceful.  The wind wasn't too loud.  We were not cold.  It was just like floating (at 1000ft) with the most beautiful views of Tahoe that you can only get from that perspective.  I'll try and share that perspecitive between my pictures from above and those that my Mom took from the boat.

Boys and their toys

One of Jax's favorite new toys he got for his birthday is this truck.  After eveyone left his party, this is all he wanted to play with.

Tahoe Grandparent weekend

We had a wonderful weekend staying in a big cabin right on the water of Lake Tahoe.  The rainy weather we had cleared up and made for breath-taking views out the panoramic windows of the cabin.  One night as I stumbled out to the kitchen to make Jax a bottle, I stopped dead, completely stunned by what I saw out the windows.....the full moon was shining so brilliantly across the entire like that it looked like a priceless painting.  Just amazing.  It was all so cool to me because of all the times I've visited, toured around and worked at Tahoe, I've never spent a night up there.

Hanging with Grandma & Grandpap

After Jax's birthday party festivities we had a day or so to hang out with my parents.  The weather was super crappy--cold, windy, raining and it even
snowed a little (snowed quite a bit up in the mountains).  The precipitation stopped long enough to get a few pictures in Genoa. 

Jax's Growth Chair @ 12 months

I couldn't help but post this one too.....

Jax's 1st Birthday

What a whirl-wind of a week!?!  Grandma Joan & Grandpap came to stay with us for a week and Mammie Sharon & Grandpa Ron came in over the weekend.  The week started with Jax's 1st birthday.  Early in the morning it started raining pretty hard and the wind kicked up.  Justin and I were woken at about 5:30am to our bedroom lighting up like it was the 4th of July.  Turns out that the power line that connects from the pole to back of our house had been rubbing on a cottonwood branch and then severed!  Boom!  No power.  The neighbors across the street called 911 because they thought something had caught fire, and thank God nothing did!  Especially with a live power line down in our backyard!  After a visit from the fire department and a crew of NV Power guys, we were back up and running to prepare for Jax's big day.

It was a wonderful day, but when it came time for the party, Jax didn't care much for all the chaos.  Since it was raining and cold everyone had to be inside, so it got cramped and loud.  He made it through the singing; had no idea what to do with the candle; did his standard exploratory finger poke to his cupcake; and then started screaming.  hahaha  He didn't care for opening gifts either.  But after everyone left and he was able to see all his new toys, Jax got a second wind and starting playing and squealing with delight. 

Happy first birthday, to my one and only baby boy!

One week countdown to Jax's 1st birthday

Oh. My. Goodness.  I can't believe Jax is only one week away from being an entire year old!!!  What a whirlwind of a year!  If you're around, stop by for his party!

We'll be celebrating his birthday birdy-style...which I think is fitting.  I will be trying my luck at making a bird-shaped birthday cake.  Although I have high hopes that my cake will look something like this one, it may be real ghetto....either way it will be made with love!

Genetics

Ever since Jax was born we wondered if he would get Justin's golden curls.  So far, no curls.  We recently rediscovered a picture of me as a baby that may give us our answer....I think Jax has my hair!  My Mom said I was about 6 months in this picture.  Check out the wispy pieces in the front!  

Dr. Daddy September 2011 update

Welcome to Justin's PhD (what we like to call Dr. Daddy) update!  He has been working feverishly the last few months to make his way through all the fiery hoops toward graduation in December.  This month has been particularly hard on Justin because of all the testing.  I think these tests are what Justin's been dreading ever since he started the PhD program, but he's almost done!  You'll see that he worked the better part of the month completing the 5 sets of questions submitted to him by each of his 5 committee members.  Now that the huge comprehensive written exams are done he's studying hard to prepare for this oral exam next week.  The oral exam is daunting because, although his committee members typically ask questions pertaining to his research, they have the freedom to fire off any question they think he should know about.  After that oral exam, he should be able to have a HUGE sigh of relief and just move forward with his final journal article and start preparing for his defense presentation.  Here we go Justin, here we go!

How do you tickle the ivorys?

It's fun to sit Jax down at the piano and let him play, but he insists on playing with his feet!  There's something about putting his feet up on things that he just loves whether it be in the stroller or on the dinner table.  We've started a campaign to keep his feet down...which he doesn't seem to like.

New Pub!

A report I helped out on, what seems like eons ago, was recently published. Although I didn't really write this report, I supplied and did QA/QC on all the information that pertains to the Nevada basins. So basically I filled in a LOT of tables! I can add one more report to my bibliography. Yeah!

http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2011/5020/

The unique Jaxman crawl!

Logan's 1st b-day

Logan's first birthday was Sunday! I can't believe she's a year already! She was a cute as could be and seemed to like all the people and chaos surrounding her...not to mention her very own cupcake!

Happy Birthday, Logan, my dear Goddaughter!

Hidden Beach

Last weekend we got to spend some time with Dirty Jimmy and his gang. I had not seen them in almost a year, so it was great catching up and hanging out on Hidden Beach. The kids were into catching crawdads, but Jax wasn't so sure about them!

Stand & Play

Lemons, net radiometers & grocery stores

What do these 3 things have in common?

Well.

Nothing.

Except that I have pictures of all them.

Labor Day @ Nevada Beach

We have a really fun Labor Day on Nevada Beach with friends. It was an all-day affair with swimming, paddle boarding, paddle boating, bean-bag tossing, grilling dinner, glow sticks and fireworks! The fireworks were set off from a barge just offshore, so we had ideal seating for one of the best fireworks shows I think I've ever seen. Jax only fussed a little and really couldn't help but watch the show. And a good time was had by all!

Jax's Growth Chair @ 11 months

Here's 11 months! I couldn't get this kid to sit still to save my life....he's gotten a taste of what movement is and sitting in one place seems quite boring to him. We'd better get our running shoes on!

Frog Lake

It was a holiday weekend and we had Justin all weekend long! So we took advantage and had some fun! Saturday we took a little roadtrip. We headed up to Carson Pass for a hike to Frog Lake. Very pretty area and it was a beautiful day for a hike. Jax found a stick that he liked so well that he held it the entire day...even after he fell asleep. We laughed and said it was his "elder wand" and he was casting spells all day (even when he hit Daddy over the head with it!).

Like Dad

I was pulling laundry out of the dryer the other night and had to take a picture of this...it was just too cute.

Messy Little Cheese Ball

Hooky @ Tahoe

Last Wednesday we all played hooky from work and school and spent the day visiting with our friends Rich & Sarah and family at the Tahoe cabin they were renting along with Rich's brother's family.

I never realized how much fun a day in the middle of the week could be! It was a great family day. The Dad's had a great obstacle course set up using the paddleboards that had all the kids on the beach wanting to play with us.

Backyard Staining

Justin spent an entire weekend staining in the backyard. Our deck & fence now look awesome!

Before....

...After!