Is anyone still out there? I don't blame you if you gave up hope and abandoned my little blog.. it certainly hasn't had any updates for about 3 1/2 months. I guess I just fell off the blogging bandwagon.. plus, we spent a lot of this winter in limbo. Not knowing anything about when Brian would be done his thesis, where we were moving, what we would be doing there- all those sorts of important questions! Waiting, waiting, waiting.
First of all, I am very proud to say that Brian defended his thesis on March 27, and passed
with distinction. He did so well! Now he is convocating on May 26- that's going to be quite a celebration!
Second, about a week later he received an important phone call and was offered a postdoctoral scholar position at the Wood's Hole Oceanographic Institution in Wood's Hole, Massachusetts. In short- a postdoc at WHOI which is on Cape Cod. We're moving to the USA! Plans are in falling into place and we will be leaving Newfoundland around July 20. We're taking a little road trip to Ontario with our stuff in a U-Haul trailer. From there we will be taking some holidays in BC, going to my brother Chris's wedding to Kristin in Manitoba, and then spending a couple of weeks in Ontario before driving down to our new home late August. It should be a very fun 6 weeks or so and we're really looking forward to it.
We bought a new vehicle in preparation for our road trip and big move... Rubee is gone (sniff, sniff)- but has been replaced by our new dark grey Dodge Caravan, Rocky. Rocky has been great so far and moving from a 2 door hatchback to a minivan has been quite luxurious.
"Unca Jonny", my younger brother Jon, moved to Newfoundland mid-March to start his Master's degree in marine biology and he lived with us for 7 weeks. We had a great time, He has gone back to BC to make the drive here across the country with his wife Rebecca as she joins him- we are excited to have a couple of months of overlap with them before we move.
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| snowshoeing with Uncle Jonny in March |
Bronwen will be 3 1/2 this summer and she is quite the character. Age 3 has been quite challenging at times as she is really exerting her independence and strong will. But she is a great little lady and we love her so much! John is 21 months and he is chatting up a storm- he likes to repeat almost everything his sister says and is quite good at getting his point across. The two of them play pretty well together for the most part, they have the usual squabbles but that's to be expected.
I will still be working shifts at the hospital until we leave and Brian is working in his lab at the university until we leave as well. We will be quite sad to say goodbye to Newfoundland as we'll have been here for 6 years when we leave (7 for Brian) and it has become very much home for us. We started here as a dating couple and then got engaged, married, and our two little Newfoundlanders were born here as well as Brian earning two postsecondary degrees-- a lot of major life changes. But we are excited for our next adventure and know that it is time to move on and spread our wings. Working at WHOI is an amazing opportunity for Brian and I am excited to explore a new area together.
That's my update... now for some pictures. Thanks for reading, friends. You should drop me a comment to let me know who still reads this blog. :)
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| fun at the park with friends |
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| Bronwen and Sophie |
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| John loves the pond at the botanical gardens |
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| good buddies Bronwen and "Wywa" |
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| The kids on Mother's Day 2015- I finally found a spot to take a picture of them where they will sit still |
7 comments:
Me, me - I do!
Fantastic picture of Bronwen and not-so-litte brother John. I can actually really see now that Bronwen actually looks more like Brian and John looks more like you(in my opinion). I've heard that firstborn babies tend to look more like their fathers (an evolutionary technique to convince the fathers that the baby was actually theirs and to stick around and do more hunting and protecting for the family). This has been true regardless of gender - my friend Katie has two boys and sure enough, the first looks like his father and the second looks like her. Lyla definitely looks like her dad - what about little sister? Maybe you'll see the same thing with Sophie and Tommy and Terri and Andrew, too!?
Love seeing all your pictures! I'm so excited that you are going to be close (relatively...) to me! :)
Me! Perhaps some day I'll update mine as well :S
Glad things are going well! We'll have to talk again soon :)
So nice to get an update!! I check often but didn't want to say anything, because I know it has been a time of unknowns. But now things are starting to fall into place and it looks like it will be new adventures ahead. It sure has been a great chance to visit a part of the country that we probably wouldn't have explored so quickly, and I am so glad we have had that chance. Newfoundland is a gem to visit. The kids are growing up fast and we look forward to seeing you all this Summer and can now make a road trip to Woods Hole. It will be a special Summer. Love Mum. :)
Good story and pics Jen. Ditto what Mum said.
Lf Dad
Your kids have sure grown...my goodness!
Congratulations with Brian's accomplishments and blessings as you prepare for the big move and making a new home in the U.S. I'm sure you will always look back on your years in Newfoundland with smiles on your faces.
Take care ~ Helen
So happy things are going well for the four of you. :) Enjoy the minivan and your upcoming adventures :)
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