The Unpardonable Sin

Who did this?

I'm going to find out who is to blame and hunt them down.

The Whole Story

Baby sees snow for the first time.

Baby touches snow, and there is an instant of curiosity.

Wild screaming commences as if you have set his hand on fire.

Fragile

It must be Italian.

Liz is shown with her friend's lamp. It's worthy of a "major award."

Merry Christmas

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Redneck Baby

He's shirtless, with a camouflage gun.

Liz in Disguise

Her disguise is to pose as a Japanese tourist. Those who have seen Japanese tourists take pictures know what I'm talking about.

We're Back, and a Little Sad

H did not like the ocean. At all. In fact, I think he felt betrayed. He's not sad to end vacation, but I could have stayed a little longer.

We're back to the mainland, the cold weather, and the reality of responsibilities (sort of). Having a baby on a red-eye flight was not ideal, but he slept most the way. One of us had to be awake to hold him, so we all needed some more sleep once we landed. The was a coughing baby that was sometimes a screaming baby, and I was just so glad that wasn't us.

Nick got a little sunburned, which is a little ironic. Part of his med-school experience has been to educate teenagers on the danger of the sun. I think he did it just so he'd have a tan to prove he went somewhere.

We'll be spending Christmas with our extended family.

Note to Self

Note: baby does not really like the beach, or sunscreen in his eye,
or sand in his eye. Also, he does not like cold water, waves, or salt
water in his face and eyes.

More of My Dad's Beach Attire

Nick and Tim with Boogie Boards

That is His Swimsuit

My dad's been sunburned before and is now totally prepared. Dallas is
also prepared, wearing a more socially acceptable rash guard.

Aboard USS Arizona Memorial

If You Like Pina Colada

We got caught in the rain.

At the PCC Luau

What's a Little Rain?

Everyone Loves H

Strangers took their picture with him- he's that cute. Then they
played with him.

H chilling at the PCC

Ukelele Hero

Toots bought the boys a ukelele. Dallas has comendeered it and
transfered his mad guitar hero skills to a ukelele version of Johnny
Cash's greatest hits.

One of My Favorite Places, Anywhere

He's Into Everything

Here he is pulling containers off shelves, opening them, and removing
their contents. It's the only time he's ever shown interest in a bottle.

He also tried to get in the toilet today.

Indianapolis, Indiana

This is the interior of the capitol dome for the great state of Indiana. This is the third state capitol building we've visited in the past month. I don't have a goal of going of going to all fifty states, but I think if you're in the neighborhood you should go to just a little extra effort to see their capitol building. They're very pretty and you usually learn something. Did you know Indiana was the nineteenth state to join the union?

What a Trooper!

We got home this evening after a great visit to Ann Arbor, Michigan for Nick's interview. Henry did really well in the car both going and coming back. The only problem we had this morning was that our windshield washer fluid was frozen solid. On an ordinary day, that's not too big of a problem. However, today, the first two hours of our drive had roads that were just wet enough to get salt spray all over the windshield. A few times we exited the freeway and splashed a new container of washer fluid on the windshield to get it clear. Somewhere in Indiana the fluid thawed and it works again. We're very excited.

From the Road

It's Called the Holiday Inn for a Reason

We'll show H pictures like this and tell him his first Christmas was
magical and full of delights. We will neglect to mention that we
didn't decorate or buy him any presents.

Ann Arboy Days

Nick is done with his interview here. While he was busy, H and I had
lunch with Brian Tanner at a burger joint called Sidetrack. It's
located next to train tracks and the train came while we were eating.
H made lots of friends at surrounding tables.
We really liked the sweet potato fries.

Pure Michigan

This trip has been great so far. We made it here in good time, despite
waking up two hours later than we meant to. The trip was a very windy
one, but the roads were essentially dry with specks of snow blowing
accross.

Henry spent the evening with the lovely Jessica Allen, friend of Brian
Tanner. She said there was some crying when he woke up from his nap
(I'm guessing that went on for a while) but he was overall a happy
little guy.

When we came back, he was smiling and giggling and playing with bells.
He had no interest in the fact his parents had returned. When I sat
down he crawled over to me, but it turns out he was really just
interested in the banjo I was next to.
I'm relieved to know this process can go so well. We should get out
more often. This was the first time Nick and I had been together
wihout the baby and it did feel a little odd. We were almost to the
dinner when I realized the baby was NOT in the back seat and it made
me just a little sad.

We may alter our return trip due to weather. At the end of October we
drove home into the night and that was fine, but now I think we need
to plan things for daylight hours.

I-69 North to I-94 East

Things have gone really well on our road trip so far. Keep us in your
prayers. It has been REALLY windy, but the roads have stayed clear so
far.

Brian Tanner found us a babysitter so it looks like I'll be going to
the dinner with the residents tonight. The baby has been a champ today
in the car, and I pray he will be half as good for a babysitter.

For People Who Ask if He Ever Cries

Hi Everybody!

At the Garden's Train Show

Regular Blogging to Commence Shortly

The technical difficulty has been fixed.

I still can't find spell check in the new blogger editor.

Happy to be Home

You have received a YouTube video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE8-N8XJvUM&sns=em

Kara Johnson

If I text my post in with no pictures, I think it works.

We'll return to St louis in the morning. We loved Rochester and the Mayo clinic. Nick also interviewed in Minneapolis. Henry and I visited the state Capitol building. Our hotel is adjacent to the U of Minnesota campus and I hate the students because they jay-walk and are oblivious walking while they listen to their iPods.
Our rental car is a shiny GOLD Ford Focus. It makes it easy to find in a parking lot. At an intersection a lady pulled up in the identical car and mouthed "nice car" to me. It was pretty funny because the color is just so ridiculous.

We'll be home tomorrow.

Back in Minneapolis for the U of Minnesota

Rochester, Minnesota

Things look good in Rochester.  If you can survive the harsh winters and smaller-town living, this may be the place to be.  Henry and I went to the interview dinner last night with Nick.  The program here seems great, and the food was really good too.

Henry and I have to check out of the hotel here in just a few minutes, but I am loving the Spring Hill Suites by Marriott.  We did our laundry for free and breakfast was included with the room.  Unlike the Hilton, the Internet was also complimentary.

H is an army crawling machine.  He first figured it out on the Page's living room floor.  We also have our first baby injury.  This morning he opened a drawer and then shut his finger in it.  Our days of being safely immobile are over.

Mall of America

We arrived in Minneapolis late this afternoon, rented a gold Ford Focus and checked into the Holiday Inn.  Sadly, it is not a Holiday Inn Express, but we got it so cheaply by bidding on Priceline, it was almost like stealing.  We listened to the nail-biter BYU vs Utah (not on TV here, very disappointing).  Then we headed to the Mall of America.  I am not sure if it's still the largest mall in the world, but it was when it was built.  It is a travel destination in itself, and it is huge.  We wandered around for a bit.  I was amazed at how crowded it was.  It was great for people watching, including seeing a lot of bad behaviour.  People are like animals.

Henry has a cold.  It was inevitable and the really amazing thing is he held out this long to have his first illness.  He's been a trooper, just a little fussy and clingy.  He spiked a fever 30,000 feet in the air on the flight from Albequerque to St. Louis.  The saddest part was he didn't have energy to play with his toys.  He was very cuddly, which was both cute and pathetic.

We were home less than 24 hours.  It was just time enough to water the plants, clean our clothes, and pack everything back up.  People have asked if it's Henry's first flight, and I'm almost embarassed to admit how traveled he is.  Nick interviews at the Mayo Clinic on Monday and University of Minnesota on Tuesday.

They've updated the blogger editor, and now I can't find spell check.  Blog wise, things have been going downhill around here.

Blog Still Broken, Can't update on the go.

A Boy on the Move

Fwd: Interacting Hydrocarbons

From our museum visit Saturday. 

Subject: Interacting Hydrocarbons

H really loved this exhibit. He's a born nerd, and I couldn't be more proud.

Kara Johnson

Museum of Science and Industry

I think I can post to my blog again. Ididnt change anything, it just started working again. This was supposed to post on Saturday.

H and I went to the museum today while Nick was interviewing. H was not exactly impressed, but he will be when we come back when he's older.

Testing

Almost Famous

We're in San Diego with the Page family, and it feels like old times. They greeted us late last night with butternut squash chocolate chip cookies (similar to the pumpkin variety). We stayed up too late sharing funny stories, and the kids were super excited in the morning to see Henry.

Today Henry is using up some of his 15 minutes of fame. We went to the Pioneer Woman's book signing in St. Louis last week (which I plan to blog about later). Today the Pioneer Woman blogged about it, and used a picture of me, Henry, and the delightful Pam P. from Columbia, MO. Pam had been a stranger at the start of the evening, but we became fast friends after she invited us to sit next to her. Check out her comment on the baby mullet post. That information made that child even creepier.

In Fresno

I've been having some technical difficulties with the blog.  Typically when we're on the go, I email a quick post containing a picture from my phone.  I've been doing that on this trip, but the posts have been disappearing into thin air.  I have no idea where they are going, but they're not showing up here.  As a result, you're missing out on Henry's visit to the Museum of Science and Industry, his first bus ride, and his visit along Michigan Avenue after their lighting ceremony. 

We stayed in a hotel that was pretty nice- the Club Quarters Hotel in the loop area of  downtown Chicago.  We used the elevated train to get to and from the airport, which was a little interesting with all of our stuff, but worked out pretty well.  We were lucky the weather was so nice- sunny with the high about 50.

We then flew accross the country to San Jose, California in a chair in the sky going 500 miles per hour.  Henry was nearly perfect throughout the flight.  A few minutes after take off, we realized we had sent the baby wipes in our checked baggage.  I know, that's the mistake of a novice parent.  But he was a perfect gentleman and we didn't need them, so we dodged that bullet.

We rented a Ford Fusion and drove to Fresno.  We're staying in "downtown" Fresno.  It's looking a little depressed.  I came to Fresno about thirteen years ago to visit my dad's aunt, C. Anne.  But other than their mild winters, I don't really remember much.  At a glance, it's less appealing to live here than the other places he has interviewed.  No offence to Marcie, but California seems just a little too crazy.  I mean, do I want to live in a state with a bottle deposit and is always on fire?  The data for Fresno that I was looking at was from 2005, and their unemployment was 13% back then.  I'm sure if we end up here things would work out just fine, but I don't think we'd live downtown.

Tonight, our trip gets really exciting.  We head back up to San Jose, and then fly to San Diego to be with the Pages!  Sarah and Nate allowed us to invite ourselves over for Thanksgiving. One thing we have missed since they moved from St. Louis to San Diego is their delicious pastries, so I'm glad we're visiting over a pie-laden holiday.

What are your favorite things in San Diego?

How Henry Sees the City

There's a 7-Eleven across from our hotel. The wee babe and I went and
for a big gulp, bought a sandwich at a local shop, and are back
inside. Nick is off to the residents' dinner.

In Chicago, In Luxury

We took the orange line train from the midway airport to our hotel
downtown. The trip wasn't too bad. Nick is here to interview at Mount
Sinai. H and I are just along for the ride.

Last week Nick was in Chicago to interview at U of Illinois. He stayed
at a "flop-house" level motel in the heart of Chinatown. The room was
only about a foot larger than the bed and the cleanliness was
questionable.

For the same price, this weekend we're staying in a three-star hotel
downtown. This hotel is nice enough, I felt out of place when we
checked in.

The bottled water is one of the perks here. There's stacks of empty
bottles and a water vending machine. It makes it feel more special
than of they just had a stack of bottled water.

Library Story Time

The Med School Wives met for library story time today. Slight problem- no one from the group showed up except me and Natalie, and our babies are too young to care they're being read to by a stranger. It is always fun to see Natalie. She's on my list of "favorite St. Louis people."

Above, Henry shows us how clapping is done.

Baby M naps on her mama's shoulder.

Baby Mullet: Another Bad Idea

At The Pioneer Woman's book signing last night, I saw another "bad idea." This is the baby half-mullet. Now, the picture isn't the best because I was trying to take it while going fairly unnoticed. If I had taken another shot to get a better illustration of the baby half-mullet, it would have been conspicuous. This infant appears to have a mullet. That tuft of hair you see on the left of the photo is definitely mullet-esque. The reason it isn't a mullet is because it's ONLY on the left. The long hair does not continue across the back of the head onto the right. It's a sort of half-mullet growing out of the baby's lower right quadrant of her head. The mullet section of her hair was darker and coarser than the rest of her head, so I think this is just how her hair has been growing. Seriously though, just cut it off. Give the rest of the head a chance to catch up.

Oh how I wish I had a picture of this in profile.

He Claps!

He first did this Sunday morning. It's been nice to have Nick home in
the morning this week.

The Pioneer Woman Book Signing