More X-mas photos from Longville

Bea got a nice doll from Gran and Papa.  She quickly wrapped it up in a blanket (like she does with all of her dolls).

Here's Bea with that squirrel again.

Jack and I got a chance to shoot a few doves.  Here we are plucking a few of them into Gran's cleaning bucket.  I think I will be completely gray within five years.

I had a great time time shooting doves and recruiting help for the plucking.

Much to Gran's chagrin, we transformed her porch into the base camp for our temporary hunting operation.

Bea finally got a chance to get acquainted with some of her uncles.  Here's Brian trying to steal a bite from her cheese...

...and Scott wrestling with her...

...and all of her coffee-drinking uncles (and dad) hanging out on the porch.

Maggie was so excited to set out some cookies and IBC root beer for Santa.

The girls had a great time with their cousins, especially Alice and Audrey.

Christmas morning was fun for everyone.  Bea took some time to inspect the gift area before playing with her new toys.

Maggie had a great time distributing everyone's presents.

Finally, we took a few hours to go catch some catfish at the local Mennonite pond.

When all was said and done, we had a great visit, and look forward to visiting again soon.

Christmas Trip

We're on our annual trip to the Gulf Coast to visit relatives. We left the house at 4:30 AM and, by 9:30, we were ready for a stop in Blythesville, Arkansas, for some breakfast at the local Hilton/diner. Here, Bea discovered an old piano while we were waiting for our food and she quickly wove together this masterpiece:

After arriving in Louisiana, I had to take a quick trip to Jupiter, Florida, for a job interview at the Scripps Research Institute. Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to enjoy the 5 star resort that I stayed in, but I at least woke up early enough on the morning of my interview to see the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean.

The interview went fairly well and I should know within a couple of weeks whether they are going to offer me the job. I am still waiting on word from the University of Michigan. They were supposed to make a decision by Christmas, but "administrative delays" have pushed the decision date back to the end of January. I am also waiting to hear on an interview at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, as to whether they are going to invite me for an on-site interview. I had a phone interview last week that went pretty smoothly, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I will make sure to keep all of you posted.

After my interview, I had a nice, relaxing flight from Jupiter-Atlanta-Lafayette through several thunder storms and this very tranquil car ride from Lafayette to Longville (to the tune of 25 mph on the interstate):

At Gran and Papa's, I finally had a chance to decompress from my recent job interview and I filled the time getting some blood on my new shotgun. I clipped this fox squirrel in one of the large pine trees near the house. I'm sure Roux will be sad, but Bea sure was excited about it:

I think Bea thought the squirrel carcass was one of her babies. Anyway, she was so enamored that, later on, she asked to the squirrel to dance with her.

This girl definitely has no fear of animals (just ask Suzi the guinea pig). To the delight of the girls, Santa Claus showed up Christmas morning. Between Papa and I, we will have many more pictures of the ensuing fracas, but for now, I'll leave you with a video of Bea on her new rocking horse.

This is how Bea eats her cereal.

I don't remember Maggie being this messy.

A tornado hit the Champaign Barnes and Nobel!

A tornado named Beatrice, that is.

We also had a special visitor for the Thanksgiving holiday: Suzi the guinea pig - Maggie's class pet.

We hit the mall today to buy some Christmas presents and to look at the carousel.

More Fall Pictures

Fall Picture

Sorry for the blogging interruption. Things have been busy around here. After the elk hunt (we bagged a total of three, and I took home about 150 pounds of prime meat), I had to come back to Champaign and prepare for a job interview in the Chemistry Department at the University of Michigan. I thought the interview went very well, but I'm sure they will be interviewing several other highly qualified candidates. From the research going on in the department, I think it would be a great fit, so I'll be keeping my finger crossed. I have another interview in a couple of weeks at the Scripps Research Institute in Florida. It's a pretty top notch place in terms of research, but I've heard it's very tough to run a lab there because it is 100% funded through external sources (i.e. there are no students, so if you don't have grants, you have to leave to make space for someone else). I'll keep everyone posted on the job situation. Here are some pictures we took at the Japan House in Urbana about a month ago during peak fall colors. We have many more pictures that I'll cull through later.

Shouldn't these kids be eating dinner?

More Fall Videos!!!!

We just can't get enough of the nice fall weather in Illinois.  We just had a friend take some nice pictures.  Once they're ready, we'll be sure to post them.

Finally, I think Bea may soon have a burgeoning career on Broadway.  See for yourself...

I'm headed off to elk hunt with uncle Steve, dad and Scott in a few days.  Hopefully, the elk have reason to venture onto Steve's serene pastures.  I'll be sure to get some pictures.

New nightgowns for Maggie-Frozen

I'm sure everyone has heard of the new Disney movie Frozen by now. We recently received two nightgowns from Honey. The first is an Elsa inspired gown. Unfortunately, you can't see much of it because Maggie has been falling asleep before Bea lately. Here she is passed out in the living room.

Let's not forget about the Anna pajamas. For this nightgown we decided to purchase a few accessories.

Some nice fall pictures

Hopefully, this will be our last fall in Illinois - not because we dislike the fall here, but because I hope that by this time next year, I will be a professor somewhere.  The fall colors will hit their peak over the next couple of weeks and I'll try to snap a few pictures along the way.  Here's Maggie standing under a nice maple tree in our local Hessel Park.

Here's a few pictures from around the neighborhood.

Here's Bea during a rare moment on the car ride home from day care when she is not crying.

Last, but not least: here's what Maggie thought of her first cup of coffee milk.