Renovating, Traveling, and Celebrating

June has been busy. Julia has recovered from the rhabdo crisis. Benjamin returned from Alaska, and they are now in Michigan for a bit with his parents. Then they will go to Detroit for a friend's party. The final stop will be Washington, DC, for Julia and back to Alaska for Benjamin. Can't wait! Meanwhile, Meme has been in Rochester having fun with friends and family. And, on the home front, the renovation is nearly complete. Everything but the closet organization system is done. Unfortunately, we couldn't schedule the installation any sooner than June 29. It will be so wonderful to have everything neat and tidy (and, of course, better organized) again. Poor Elizabeth had to live through it with us, and it will be back to normal just in time for her departure. Most happily, Steven and I celebrated our 21st anniversary on June 15--blessed beyond measure and very thankful. 

Ice Cores and Project Purgatory

Julia presented at the Ice Core Open Science Meeting, held at Scripps Seaside Forum at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in LaJolla, California. Her presentation was titled, "Improved Understanding of Decadal Surface Mass Balance, Recent Climate Variability, and Future Ice Core Sites along Coastal West Antarctica using NASA Operation IceBridge Airborne Snow Radar." Although San Diego was not sunny, she thoroughly enjoyed the new knowledge, networking, and beachy air. Below are pictures of her holding a piece of ice core, thumbs up with her new friend Emma, and giving her presentation.

On the home front...the upstairs gut and renovation continue...three weeks so far (that was supposed to start in April). We are about 6 days away from being able to sleep back upstairs (holiday weekend, deep cleaning, and furniture installed). Elizabeth comes to stay with us this Sunday--misery loves company. She said she doesn't mind that we are still under construction. Hopefully, it will only be a few inconvenient days for her. 

First Day of School Never Gets Old

Julia started her first day of school as a second-year Ph.D. student at the University of Minnesota. Exciting! She has already accomplished quite a lot in her first year (#FINESST Award), so I'm sure more great things are headed her way.

Phase 1 of house improvements has been completed--front porch, back deck, and upstairs bathroom. We liked the contractor so much, we are dreaming up new things for him to do. Stay tuned!