Christmas Eve

Celebrating Christmas Eve Eve with family.

We woke Christmas Eve morning to a blanket of beautiful snow.

Zoie's Christmas present - catnip!!

J.J. enjoying his giant bone!

Graduation!

Last Friday Jonathan and I graduated with our Master's of Arts degrees! We felt very strongly that it was an important rite of passage to walk across the stage and receive our diplomas. It was all the more important because we continue in school next semester, albeit in new degree programs.
The ceremony was great. We had lots of family there to cheer as we went up. We had a lovely dinner beforehand and afterwards, and breakfast at Panera the next morning. Perhaps the best part was walking up to the stage, hand-in-hand, and knowing that we did this together. If we hadn't spent every morning writing our theses together this summer, we never would have finished so soon. It has been a great journey together. But it's not over yet!

New Orleans!

Last week I went to the AAA conference in New Orleans, where I was invited to present my thesis research. The presentation went very well - I was surprised, in fact, by the positive feedback I received from other presenters at the conference. It was really a great feeling to present well and be done with it!
Once the nervous part was over, I had a great time with the girls in New Orleans. Friday and Saturday night we went all over the French Quarter with my professor. We got to see live jazz bands in bars, an evening wedding at Jackson Square, eat beignets and drink chicory coffee at Cafe Dumonde, meet some Saints players, and conclude the trip with a party that ended on the roof of the Weston hotel, overlooking the city. It was a great experience, but I really missed my boys at home!


The view from our hotel room - we were on the 36th floor with a riverside room!

Lovely Jackson Square.

Mmmmmm - nothing like beignets!!

Ready for the party in my new dress.

Happy Thanksgiving!



Make your own greeting

Lydia's visit

Homemade Fall decorations - the house looks so festive!

Lydia and J.J.
We had a good week last week. It was considerably less stressful than the last several weeks, since we've defended and finished our theses. Now we're working on term papers, statistics homework, grading student papers, etc. I'm also preparing for the conference in New Orleans that is next week! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone.
Lydia came for a visit last night and we all got up early to enjoy her homemade pumpkin pancakes. Yum! Have I ever mentioned that I'm a pumpkin fanatic? Well, I am. We always love seeing her and talking about philosophy, future plans, and sustainable living. We love you, Lydia!
Tonight we are going to enjoy homemade pizza and pumpkin beer, as a reward for spending our entire Saturday in front of our computers. Then we plan on decorating for Christmas (it's never too soon!) and preparing for our last week of classes before Thanksgiving. We are so looking forward to the break!

Master Jayme!

Wow, what a week! I defended my thesis today - and passed! The defense went much better than I imagined it would - I even found myself having fun. Weird. I gave a 30 minute presentation, during which I stayed very calm and was really excited and passionate about sharing my research. Then my committee "grilled" me for about 45-50 minutes, then the general audience (including our Department Chair) asked me some questions. Jonathan said that I handled the defense really well. Then we went out to wait on the committee to reach a decision. They called me back in after about 5 minutes and congratulated me - I did it! I shook my committee's hands, but couldn't help from giving all of them hugs, too. The best part is that it is over! Now Jonathan and I just have to finish up our courses for the semester, then we'll graduate in December! Hurray!!!!

Congratulations, Master Jonathan!

Jonathan passed his thesis defense this morning with flying colors! He gave an excellent 30 minute presentation, after which his committee "grilled" him with questions. He answered all of them clearly and calmly. Then they talked amongst themselves for a couple of minutes, called him back in, and shook his hand! He's worked really hard for this and it is finally done. Congratulations, Jonathan!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone! It has been a quiet holiday weekend at home for us. I was so sick last week and didn't start to feel better until Saturday. Since I probably need rest to recover, and we both defend our theses next week (Ahhh!!), we decided to stay in and get some work done and some sleep. We did celebrate by buying and carving a pumpkin (meet Jack), roasted some pumpkin seeds, had homemade pumpkin soup for lunch yesterday, and splurged on our local brewery's pumpkin ale for dinner. It's sad that we didn't get out, because we had some great costumes put together - Jonathan was going to be an akido master and I was going to be a geisha. Well, maybe next year! Hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween!

Sick Day

I started feeling sick on Saturday, which got worse on Sunday. This morning I woke up feeling awful - body aches, chills, headache, etc. So I stayed home and tried to rest, drink lots of green tea, and get better. I feel a bit better tonight, so hopefully I'll be back on campus tomorrow.
Other than that, we had a nice quiet weekend at home.

Fall leaves

This weekend we are enjoying some quiet work time at home. Yesterday evening we took JJ for a walk and took in the smells of Autumn. The leaves are beautiful here. I pick up a pretty leaf every time I walk somewhere, and stare at it until I get to where I'm going. Just marveling at the wonders of nature.
Last week was busy for us, like every week. Jonathan's thesis defense date was set - November 2! I'll meet with my committee next week and hopefully set mine for the same week. We've been invited to two Halloween parties and are brainstorming costumes for the first time as a couple. For some reason, we've never dressed up before. We'll have to post some pictures once we figure it out. I realized today that, as quickly as the last 8 weeks have gone by, the next will no doubt go as fast. And that means that Christmas will be here in no time! I can't wait! I think we might celebrate our thesis defenses by putting on some Christmas tunes and pulling out the decorations!
This evening, we plan to enjoy homemade noodle soup (chicken-free), a roaring fire, and hot chocolate. I hope your evening will be as pleasant.

Fall is finally here!

Welcome to the Midwest, Fall! We had our first real fall weekend. Yesterday it was even chilly enough to build the first fire. We had soup and grilled cheese for lunch and pizza for dinner. We pretty much spend our weekends in front of our computers, doing research and reading for school. We can't believe that it's already week 7 of the semester - it is flying by. Only one month from now we'll both be defending our theses!

Family Visit

Last weekend we had the pleasure of having Jonathan's mom and brother for a visit. We had a wonderful lunch at a local restaurant downtown. To celebrate Jonathan's last birthday, we had carrot cake and coffee for dessert. Afterward, we took Ricky to campus to meet a friends and we showed Krista around my building and office. It's always so nice to have visitors!

It's Official!

The program for the AAA (American Anthropological Association) conference is finally online...and I'm on it! I'm so excited! My name is actually on the AAA website!
New Orleans here I come!

Update

Just wanted to give a quick update on everything that's been going on with us these past two weeks. School started last week and it's going great so far! My mom mentioned to me that it's easy to lose track of all that we're up to, so I thought I would list it here for convenience. :)

1. Jonathan and I are both working as tutors in the writing center. We've been giving presentations to classes these past two weeks and helping students with their first assignments. It's been very fulfilling so far (Jonathan did it last year, so he already knew how great it is). Perhaps the best part is that we have the same schedule so we get to sit together at work. Fun, huh?

2. We are also both teaching assistants. Jonathan is assisting an awesome emeritus professor in a senior-level class on the Constitution. He has office hours and got to lecture with the other teaching assistant today. Cool! I am a teaching assistant for the senior capstone in Anthropology. It's a class that all seniors have to take and is great because there are less than 20 students in my class, most of whom will be graduating in December. Hopefully they won't all be moving into their parents' basements in January...

3. We are both hard at work on our theses. Jonathan finished his first draft (wow!) and turned it in to his advisor this past week. Anyone who's had to do a thesis knows what an accomplishment it is to do one over the summer. Congrats, babe! I am halfway done with my first draft and hope to finish it by the end of the month. Both of us plan to defend them in November.

4. I am now the President of our Department's student group, which has been exciting. I've been organizing lots of events and we've seen a huge spike in membership. We're planning on doing lots of fun academic and non-academic things this year. I'm also the representative for our Department on the Graduate Student board. Very cool, but I'm busy.

5. We're both taking two classes each, which are turning out good so far. I'm doing a big project in one of them, the goal of which is to publish at the end of the semester. We'll see how that goes.

6. Jonathan was asked to be a guest lecturer today and it went so well! The class (75 students) was super engaged in the discussion - in fact, he had to remind them that class was over about 5 minutes after the 'bell'!

7. I'm putting together three grant applications to get money to support my trip to the national conference I am presenting at in November.

On top of all this, we'll be applying for the PhD programs this semester, and registering for graduation. Whew! We're incredibly busy and it's only September!

On a non-school note, we made a trip to see Jonathan's mom's family this past weekend. We went to see his grandfather who recently made a big transition. It was also his grandmother's 80th birthday. We had a great time and hope to see everyone again soon.

We hope all of you are well and are ready for a great holiday weekend! I'll let you know how Jonathan's birthday turns out!

Final Days of Summer

Last weekend we enjoyed the last days of summer. J.J. did especially, as he spent the entire time in the pool. Jonathan got his hair cut and we've been getting ready for the beginning of the school year. Last week I had a workshop for my new job. Ricky also came to visit and we really enjoyed it. We had homemade pizza for dinner, went downtown for dessert, and had an awesome breakfast at a local bakery/cafe. It was so nice - can you believe he's the first family member to stay the night with us in our new home? Can't blame anyone for not wanting to stay though - poor Ricky slept on the couch! He was sweet not to complain. :)
This weekend we've been working a number of hours on our theses (making great progress, we hope!) and getting everything ready for school tomorrow. The summer has really flown by!

Dutch family visit

It's been several weeks since they've returned home, but I wanted to do a small post about our family's visit from Holland. We had the opportunity to see them on three separate occasions, including the 4th of July. We had a great time. The girls (myself included) mostly did a lot of shopping, sitting by the pool, and watching Grease on the 4th. The men did what they always do - lots of projects, barbecuing, and drinking beer. :) I think J.J.'s new favorite is Uncle Rob - he really enjoyed swimming in the pool with him. One of the pictures above is of J.J. hiding during the fireworks - he has got to be the biggest wuss of an 80 pound dog!
We can't wait until your next visit, Van Der Vlists! We miss you!

Our Road Trip!

Hello all! I apologize for the very long lapse in posts. A lot has been going on around here. First, we had a wonderful visit with our Dutch family, which I will post more about later. Then, our best friends came for a visit and we toured the state of Colorado together. We had an amazing trip, as the slideshow I hope will attest. It was so wonderful to share our hometown, home, and furry children with them. Our trip through Colorado had its share of mishaps (although funny even at the time) and adventures that characterize American road trips. It was quite an experience to share the wonders of the open road with them. We can't wait for our next adventure together, and hope that it will not be too long until we meet again. Until then, we will have to survive on phone calls and emails.
After parting ways (with many tears and hugs), Jonathan and I resumed our work on our theses, work on campus, and taking care of things at home. We have a lot to prepare for this semester, with new jobs on campus, finishing up old ones, and getting paperwork ready for finishing our degrees. We're eagerly anticipating this semester and hope it will conclude with the two of us walking down the aisle with our degrees.
Additionally, Jonathan and I celebrated 4 years of marriage on Monday. We didn't do anything crazy, just had a nice lunch and enjoyed a quiet home. 4 years has gone by so fast and I am more grateful every day for the man I married.
Hope you all have had great summers and I will try to post more frequently. ;)
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Family Visit

Last week my family came in from out of state for a visit. We had a great time together. Alex has grown so much - it's incredible that she will be 5 in August. How time flies! We went out to eat for Father's Day and played lots of charades. Alex also inherited several boxes of toys - much to her grandfathers chagrin!Below: My Uncle, niece, and Jonathan. I love the shades.
Kaylen and me at a restaurant for Father's Day.
Alex is such a sweet little girl. I really enjoyed tucking her in at night, reading her stories, playing Barbies together (well, actually, she played and I obsessed over putting together coordinated outfits), and enjoying the funny things kids at her age say. One night, we went upstairs to go to bed and we laid together watching Shrek 2. There's a part where Prince Charming goes to find Fiona and Alex said to me, "I would never marry him." I asked her why not. (I was thinking she might say that his hair was too long or something.) She looked at me in surprise and said, "'Cuz I'm a little kid! Little kids don't get married!" I about died laughing.
Thanks so much for your visit! We thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait for the next holiday to see you again!

A note dedicated to our best friends

Our best friends sent us some pictures from their wedding last weekend and I am honored to include them on our blog. They had a beautiful wedding and I only wish we could have been there. (Although Els did keep a memento of me with her all day which meant so much to me!) They will very soon be coming to visit. We can't wait to share our family, friends, and places where we live and have created memories.
My dear, you were a beautiful bride! We wish you both as much fulfillment in your marriage as we have found in ours. We can't wait to see you!!!

Congratulations, to our very best friends!

This weekend our very best friends got married in Belgium. We are so happy for you both!!! June is a wonderful month for weddings. The best part was sharing in the planning these past few months. We wish you many many years of happy marriage.
Our weekend was far less ceremonious. We ran some errands, did some reading, watched a movie, cleaned out the storage room, went for walks, saw some deer in our neighbor's yard... and that was pretty much it! Nice and quiet at home but very productive.
We are looking forward to some family coming in from out of the country next week. We can't wait to see them! They will be here for three weeks. It will be such a blast to celebrate the 4th of July together as well. Then, a week after they head home, our Belgian friends will come for a nice long trip! We will travel and "see America" together. So much to look forward to! We are so fortunate to have such amazing family and friends.This pretty doe was munching something in our neighbor's yard. Sorry for the lack of clarity - I would love a nicer camera someday but I do okay with my little digital for now.
This is a little pond in our neighborhood, that we walk by everyday when we take J.J. for a walk. He is currently hiding under the bed because it is storming. You should see him trying to get out afterward a storm - he nearly throws us off the bed!

A June Wedding

This past weekend we went to one of Jonathan's cousin's wedding a few hours away. It was 97 degrees on Saturday so it was fortunate that the wedding didn't start until 8pm. It was lovely and nice to see all of the cousins and their families. We spent the evening with Rachel, Jeremy, and Ricky and had a good time. It's amazing to see how mature and wonderful Ricky has become. Lydia is a doll, too. I thought she was too cute for words on this swing.Jonathan and Ricky look too cool in their shades. I am an adoring fan of both of them.
The wedding was themed in brown and purple which went surprisingly well together. We also saw some friends from high school that we hadn't seen in a while, which was nice.
Although the wedding was beautiful and it was great to see everyone, we are reminded at every wedding we go to that our wedding was the best for us. Our sandy-beach wedding with 9 family members had none of the stress and anxiety that characterize so many American weddings. No wedding favors, bridesmaids, or musicians - just an exchange of lifelong vows in the presence of loved ones. My very best friend is getting married this coming weekend and I wish her all of the beauty, simplicity, and peace on her day that I experienced on mine. I love weddings!