Brian's Final Degree

Last January, we had a couple of milestones in our family.  At the time, I wasn't really blogging other than monthly updates for Elijah, so they went unnoticed on the blog.  For their "anniversaries" I've decided to post on them a year later, just to preserve the family moments for ourselves...  so many of these kind of things come and go so quickly, but I have finally learned to really soak up the occasions and enjoy them.

First, on January 7th, 2013, Brian presented and defended his dissertation.  At about 10am, Brian's parents, my mother, and myself joined his lab-mates and other miscellaneous students and faculty in Pearson Hall room 304 (and via tel-conference to the Lewes campus) to hear Brian present his work on green sulfur phototrophic bacteria.  His adviser introduced Brian commenting on how he is an unassuming and quiet worker, advising him to speak softly and carry a big stick data set.  Brian ended up going a little faster than he planned and finished quickly, but then ended up expanding upon some of his presentation during the q's and a's segment (we have the presentation on DVD if anyone wants a viewing party sometime).  Eventually, he concluded and we all left the room while he defended his work and findings to his committee.

Not knowing how long to wait for news of whether he passed, we all went down the street to the new book store and stocked up on UD gear (but kept the reciepts until we heard the news) and then I ran home to fetch the boys and bring them in.  By about 12:15 he was done, with news that his committee had passed him, and he was finally done (though really, he needed a few more weeks to do revisions and finalize the dissertation before publishing it)!  We took some photos at this time, very excited and relieved that everything had worked out. 

With the woman who helped him perfect many science fair projects and helped him study for Math Counts competitions.

And with the one who financially supported his family so he could study/research/learn.

We then celebrated lunch at a newer favorite on Main Street, Catherine Rooneys.

I had to make a quick exit to head up to my school to conduct a math league competition that was unfortunately scheduled for the same day, but Brian and his parents enjoyed taking Theo to the park near his work and spending some time together.

In the evening, we headed to Brian's advisor's house, for the traditional Ph.D. party that they host in honor of successful defenses.  I made both my double-blueberry and crumb-topped-apple pies (even though they were out of season-as this was a special occassion), and we enjoyed toasting the new doctor (and introducing Theo to the idea of a "fancy glass").

It was definitely a day that I'd been waiting upon for a long time, and I was lucky to watch my husband fulfill his educational goal, even if it took a tad longer than we'd of liked.  When I met him in December of 2000, he already knew he wanted a Ph.D., he just had no clear idea what he wanted it in.  What a surprise to us both that he ended up finishing it 13 years later in marine studies. 

Winter has arrived on the East Coast

We were having a hard time getting into the Advent season this year, but we finally received our dose of Christmas weather this week. On Thursday, I was down in Dover for a training when we got our first "real" snow of the season, which was still only an inch or two. It took quite a while to get home that afternoon, as many were unprepared and uncomfortable driving in the snow. They called a two-hour delay for school on Friday... pretty silly when the roads were perfectly fine the next morning, but that's Delaware. Our first glimpse of snow was actually last Friday, Dec. 10 (during last period, which was my homeroom-they were beyond excited).

The first week of Dec. we did get to see Santa arrive in Newark at the Winterfest. Theodore found the event a little strange, but not too frightening.

Last weekend Theodore picked out the Christmas tree with Brian and we set it up. Baby has yet to really bother the tree too much... we'll see if that can be said once we start putting wrapped presents underneath.

And finally, this Saturday we made our second NYC at Christmas time trip. This time we actually braved the traffic and drove right up to Central Park and parked right near FAO Schwartz (with a coupon for the garage!) with less than three hours from our door to theirs. We learned Brian quickly can pick up on taxi driver's techniques after being on the city streets just a few minutes.
There is just something so great about the city at Christmas... I am so glad we dragged our weary, tired selves there and had a great day. Theodore was great, other than being scared for a brief second when he found himself on the middle of 5th Avenue. It was quite a wake-up after his nap in the car. We headed through Central Park (stopping for Theodore's first carousel ride) to the Museum of Natural History. We could have spent a lot longer there, but it was closing around 6 and we didn't get there as early as we would have liked. We had to speed tour a lot of the museum.
Then we walked back through a very calm and quiet Central Park, viewing all of the city lights on our romantic stroll as Theodore napped. Finally, we stepped into FAO Schwartz and entertained Theodore with all the great toys there. It was a great day, and I got to see the Rockefeller tree at night this time, which is definitely the way to go.

Lutheran Baptism

Theodore was finally baptized into the Lutheran faith on Aug. 15, 2010 at our newly renovated church. It was a unique experience for my family, who are non-denominational Christians that normally wait until adolescence to baptize. We do actually have Lutheran ancestors way back on our Poulson side, maybe I'll write up that story on here someday. I am a very big fan of genealogy, though I have very few posts about it on here.

However, on the paternal side, Brian's great-great-grandfather Martin Phillipp came from Germany in 1893 and was a Lutheran minister in Michigan. So it was very meaningful to see this new generation carry on the Lutheran faith.

Grandma had to let out the sleeves a little for Theodore's chubby arms so he was able to wear the baptismal gown that Brian and his siblings all used. We accessorized with the cap Brian wore, and a new bib and socks.

Brian in Dec. 1982.

Theodore in August, 2010

It was a great time, and we were glad for every single person who could make the trip for Theodore's special day.

A Philly Fourth

This year we headed up to Philadelphia for their big July 4th celebration. Wanting to avoid traffic, we "park and rode" up there from the outskirts of the city (Marcus Hook). Had it been a weekday, we could have just rode from Wilmington or Newark, but those trains don't run on Saturday. Theodore just loved watching everything go by on the train, and I laughed as his eyes moved back and forth tracking passing objects. We have not really spent a lot of time in that part of Philly, so it was a bit of an adventure for us. 30th St. Station was our destination, which is a classic train station that is actually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in the 30s, back when beauty and details in architecture was considered a necessity in public buildings. Check out the columns in the picture linked above.

Once we got down to the "Party on the Parkway" (after just a few mistaken streets) we scoped out the place and got down to business getting dinner. We had some pretty good gyros and humus, something I would never pick out on my own but Brian suggested we try it. I always forget that I really like Mediterranean/Greek food, and it reminded me of the place in Arizona that we infrequently got to enjoy, The Phoenicia Cafe.

The Benjamin Franklin Parkway leads right up to the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum (think Rocky Balboa) and looked beautiful lit up in the evening.

(We were about half way down the street in this picture... and it actually goes a lot further.)

(Theodore in full patriotic regalia.)

We found a decent place to set down our blanket in the shade, and we relaxed and enjoyed the music. Theodore napped through most of his first official concert, but did wake-up and enjoy dancing with mama for some of it. Green River Ordinance were a pretty good start to the show, and then The Roots helped put us in a decidedly Philadelphian state of mind. The Goo Goo Dolls finished off the night. Unfortunately, by the time they were over, we had to start heading back to the station for our 11:50 (!) train back (the last train of the night). Apparently, there was some miscommunication about the start time of the fireworks, and they didn't start until way too late in our opinion. We had to watch them as we walked. Had they shortened all the music a bit and started the fireworks sooner, it would definitely have been a perfect July 4th.

Newark Nite 2010

We had a great time at Newark Nite again this year. Brian had lots to eat, and I enjoyed some Indonesian food for the first time!

Theodore also started to try and blow raspberries while we were out. His imitation is pretty cute.

Super Bowl :(

Like almost every Hoosier I know, I'm thoroughly disappointed that the Colts lost... I really did not see that happening.

It was a bit of a long game for me, sitting that long makes my back start hurting, so I had to keep getting up and moving around. Cori loved stealing Brian's seat in this picture.


Even though it was just Brian and I, the food is still my favorite part of the Super Bowl.
First, we had left over leg of lamb from yesterday, so Brian wanted to make some sandwiches out of the chopped meat. He wanted to make his own bread, and he did a great job making these Kaiser-like rolls from scratch. They were pretty fabulous, and made the sandwiches great.

Second-we had ham roll-ups, my family favorite. Nothing fancy this time, just ham and cream cheese rolled up together.
Third-we made my Grandma Knight's famous cheese dip. It was pretty close to hers, and was delicious.
The final dish we had were brownies... I thought that I was making these brownies, but it turned out that I made a box of the double-chocolate variety. Brian thought it was pretty hilarious b/c he doesn't like nuts in his brownies, but I do. And I didn't even realize we had two different boxes in the house.
We were going to make a cookie pizza for desert, but we were too full.

Newark Restaurant Week 2010

This year we thoroughly tried to embrace downtown Newark's Restaurant Week. January is a great time in Newark because most of the students are not in town (UD has a full J-term) and that leads to better parking, less crowded restaurants, and incentives to get us into stores.

We made a pact to try and go to completely new (to us) restaurants, or at least ones we had only been to once before. The following was our week:

Monday Lunch (MLK Day-no school): Wanted to go to Ali Baba, but realized it is not open for lunch. Went across the street to Klondike Kate's instead.

Shannon: French Onion Soup, Country Club
Brian: Jalapeno Beer Cheese Soup, All Tied Up sandwich

Wednesday Super: Finally went to Deere Park Tavern... "Newark's oldest restaurant featuring hearty and savory dishes in a beautifully restored historic hotel frequented by Edgar Allen Poe."

Shannon: Homemade Fried Fierro Mozzarella (Brian looooved the herbs on top.), Buttermilk Fried Chick with Mashed Potatoes & Gravy (I could eat mashed potatoes and gravy every day of this pregnancy if Brian let me).
Brian: Black & Blue Steak (as normally, not quite blue enough for Brian, but I think he liked it).

Friday Super: Dined at Home Grown Cafe. Found out the place is a little bit restaurant, a lot bar. And it was a little crowded. But once the crowd thinned out we were able to enjoy ourselves, and Brian really loved the flavors here. The band was pretty good too-The John Bryne Band (folk rock). "Home Grown Cafe is an independently owned and award winning restaurant. We focus on providing our clientele with an eclectic unique experience that will be memorable for a diverse spectrum of tastes. With fresh local ingredients, internationally inspired menus, beers and wines from around the world. Home Grown is a great place for families, students, professors and travelers. We make 99% of our menu items from scratch, utilizing local and seasonal ingredients. We have a friendly, professional and knowledgeable staff. Home Grown is truly an enjoyable experience for all.

Shannon: Burger
Brian: Baba Ganoush, Waffle Crusted Chicken, Brandied Pear Bread Pudding

Sunday: We went to the Stone Balloon Winehouse, hoping to get soup, but found out they only had a brunch menu on Sundays. We went with it anyway, and had a very fancy Sunday brunch.

Shannon: Day Break Potatoes
Brian: pastry platter, Crab Cake Benedict

Newark Winterfest & Saengerbund

We finally attended a Second annual event in our still-new home of Newark. We made it on time to see the Christmas tree lit this year, and again enjoyed the free cookies and hot chocolate. It was still so nice out though, that it didn't really feel like winterfest.

The following day it finally SNOWED and snowed. It eventually stuck to the ground, but was mostly gone by the next morning. It was pretty exciting though.

We also got in the holiday mood by going to the Delaware Saengerbund Christmas concert. The lure of German cookies (more free cookies) and coffee got Brian there as well.

My Old Man

So my husband is officially getting old.... while I'm still closer to 20 (for a few more weeks), he is rapidly approaching thirty. It is so strange to think I knew him as a teenager, and now he's 27.

It turns out I'm the only one that loves him. Me and my grandma. We were the only two to wish him happy birthday. His mother gets half a point for texting him, and his grandpa did send a card he got a couple days later. I forgot to wrap him anything, so he didn't have anything to open except my card (he doesn't appreciate singing cards as much as he should). His gift wasn't wrapped; it was his National Geographic subscription for the year, which had already come earlier this week. And you cannot pry those out of my husband's hands until he has read cover to cover.

So Brian is not very good at having birthdays. Every time I would ask him what he wanted to do, he turned it around and would let me decide. We went to Bob Evan's for a large brunch, and then ended up coming home and napping for most of the afternoon. Brian chose grilling out for super, but then after grocery shopping, the rain clouds gathered and changed those plans.

Brian did choose his own cake. German chocolate, sans the coconut icing. It was actually quite good-he chose bunny and butterfly sprinkles (left over from Easter). The cake is the most important part of the holiday for my husband. It would disappoint him the most if he didn't get one.

We also celebrate Kiki's birthday with Brian. She is four years old!-and enjoys icing!

The next day, on Sunday we attended a Cole Brother's Circus. They set up every year on some grounds just across the street from us, so we thought we would have to check it out. I think I have a somewhat romanticized view of circuses. It wasn't quite what I expected (I haven't been to one in like a decade), but it got better as it went along. We had to walk past PETA people protesting, and it was very hot, and started long past the time on our ticket. But once the show started it was fairly entertaining. My favorite things were the little dogs doing their tricks, the "butterfly" trapeze-like artists, and of course the elephants.

Day Trip: Cherry Blossom Festival Part 2

I dragged Brian out of bed early Saturday for the second trip to DC in as many weekends. We had some unfinished business from last weekend. With the promise of Cinna-bun at a rest stop along the way, he was out of the house a little earlier. We went through Baltimore this time, rather than going 896 through Annapolis, and ended up facing an awful lot of traffic due to construction, congestion, and rubber necking.

We parked at a different park and ride this time (Greenbelt-no pay for parking on Sat/Sun), and it was absolutely packed. Luckily we already had our metro cards. We took the green line into L'Enfant Station and started our day at the Air and Space Museum. We picked a few exhibits to view-my favorite was the planets exhibit. I actually know a lot about them through the Mars Educator trainings I attended in Arizona, and could converse pretty well with Brian. I can't really compete with his knowledge, considering he was able to see Saturn through a telescope at one of his own trainings. A very powerful telescope. Could see the rings and everything, said it looked just like the pictures.

We then looked for lunch-an almost impossible task. The plan was to eat at that museum b/c they boasted of having a Boston Market, that was actually only two different meals beside the entire McDonald's menu. Brian didn't want this, and we finally decided to go to the cafeteria in the American History museum. We rested a bit on the lawn while deciding this, and Brian made fun of my Arizona weakness for cold as I huddled in three layers and a hood in while other mall walkers past us in shorts. It wasn't so much cold as windy.

The cafeteria in the American History museum was really quite good, though of course overpriced. We took in a few exhibits there. I really liked the kitchen of Julia Child's. In the bon appetit exhibit they have all of her actual kitchen, with all the gadgets on display. In the Science in American lives, Brian noticed a few scientists he has heard speak. Many of the most popular exhibits were packed, and we were pretty exhausted, so we stopped at the Stars and Stripes cafe for some ice cream. Overlooking a fountain and some beautiful architecture, I loved my butter pecan while Brian enjoyed a root beer float. I was really impressed by the ice cream.

We then made our way back to the cherry trees to see how they had survived the big storm and the windy days. The sun was going down behind the Washington Monument. They were on their last day of peak bloom. Still beautiful.