A Graduation Party with the Lab

A few weekends ago, Brad's former lab threw a party to honor his graduation.   The party was at Susana's house, and everybody brought a little something to eat.  Susana had traditional Spanish omelets, Kiran brought some Indian food, Hyongi some Japanese, Inna a Russian salad, and Bob made BBQ brisquit  using his family's secret recipe.  It was all really fantastic.   After we ate dinner, we had dessert and they gave Brad a very nice gift. The gift was a block of glass with a model of DNA and RNase H1 (Brad's thesis topic) engraved inside.  Best of all, it came with a stand and light that illuminate the model very nicely.  Very cool!

Susana's three girls. Susanna and her husband, Mario, also have two sons. 

Susana had hot dogs especially for the girls and juice boxes, just in case they didn't enjoy the cavier and other ethnic foods! 

Susana and Bob preparing the food.

Kiran and her daughter.

Rich, Mario and Kiran's husband.

Brad sharing some of his dessert with Jillian.  It looks like Faith already got some, and all the while, Bob is giving a very nice review of Brad's time in the lab.

Bob very poignantly shared that Brad was the very best graduate student he has ever had (also the ONLY graduate student!).  Haha! He really did say that, but he also spoke high praises of what he, and Ian Holt (his collaborator & Brad's Cambridge supervisor) thought about Brad.

On a recent occasion, Ian asked Bob, "Can you get another one (meaning graduate student) like Brad?"  He responded, "Nope, don't think so. It's not possible."

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Bob & Brad.  It has been a wonderful 5 and a half years.

A picture of Brad with his lab at the NIH.

Brad giving a small speech in appreciation of the gift, but also everyone's support through the years.

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Bob has been extremely enthusiastic and supportive of Brad's collaboration with Cambridge, as well as the Alliance.  When Brad went back to England in November for his defense, Bob went too.   Throughout the years, there have been several lab parties and other special events. (Brad is a bit of a stinker taking photos, so unfortunately, I don't have many, but I do have a couple from an event I attended with Brad and Bob at the Capital).

This photo was taken at the Capital Building (our first year in Maryland) for a fund-raising event for the Alliance, an organization that financially supports the NIH/ Oxford/ Cambridge program.  

*Brad and I do even consider ourselves big fans of LBJ (his presidential library is at our university rival, t.u, also known to some as U.T.)., but I still think its a fun tradition to look for Texas memorabilia everywhere we go!*

Bob (also a native Texan) and Brad on the Metro to go back home from D.C..  Its been an amazing PhD journey. I can honestly say that I am so thankful God gave our family the adventure of graduate school. We have grown and learned so much.  We are now enjoying our new adventure of staying in the area for Brad's new job (which he LOVES)!  

Ross and Meredith

While Leigha was still here, we had a surprise visit from one of Brad's high school & college friends, Ross, and his sweet wife Meredith.   Brad and Ross both grew up at the same church, Park Cities Baptist, and the same school, Lake Highlands high school. Then both of them attended First Baptist Bryan and Texas A&M.  Ross is a couple of years younger than Brad and has always been a terrific friend.  After out engagement, Ross's mom even offered to host me a bridal shower!

Currently, Ross is a PhD student in aerospace engineering at Texas A&M and Meredith is now on staff for Chris Hoover!   It was great fun catching up at Five Guys, the best hamburger joint in D.C.!


Meredith and Ross

Ross and Meredith were AMAZED by how many french fries they give you with one order at Five Guys. :-)

They thought all three of our girls were so sweet! 

Anna thought they were pretty sweet too! 

Thanks Leigha for taking picture of all of us! :-)

Saying good-bye with some high fives! 

Anna thought it was lots of fun!

Ross, Brad, Jillian, Faith, and Anna

Ross and Anna giving hugs to one another and Daddy smiling at Anna! :-)

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The summer before we moved to England, Ross came with the Singing Cadets to Washington D.C. for a concert tour.  He invited us to attend a "casual concert" (at least I hope it was, if not, we were under-dressed) at the Capital building! :-) It was a lot of fun! I always get so excited when they sing the "Spirit of Aggieland"! 

I love this picture because it says "Jillian Holmes '28". Whoop! We are already looking forward to Jillian   being the proudest member of Texas A&M Class of 2028! :-)

Aunt Leigha's Visit

I have been pleading with my little sister to come make a visit for sometime now and she finally "indulged me" and decided to make the trip to see us the day before New Year's Eve! YAY! She stayed with us for 10 days and the time absolutely flew by! It was so very special to have her here with my family.

New Year's Eve:

Faith loves her Aunt Leigha

We shared a delicious dinner together on New Year's Eve. 

We had grilled filet mignon, green bean casserole, home-made potatoes, and vegetables and dip! 

New Year's Day:

The next day we went down-town to Washington D.C.   

Faith loves the "1-2-3 game"!

And so does Jillian! 

We first went to the National Building Museum but it was closed. :-(  Only upon arriving did we discover that it isn't considered a Smithsonian museum.

The girls weren't too upset. 

They recovered quickly with some lemonade from Subway. 

Then we walked outside the Newseum and found the state of Texas! 

After that, we went to the National Archives.  We actually were able to see the Constitution and the Declaration on Independence and there were some other interesting exhibits inside as well (no photography was allowed)

Gingerbread House:

The following day, we decided to finally make our traditional gingerbread house for the "year" (technically, we missed it by a day).

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Aunt Leigha expertly helped the girls with the icing and the girls diligently worked to decorate their house with lots of candy.

It was a fun day and it wasn't even over yet! 

Gingerbread Cookies:

Next daddy helped the girls make our own gingerbread men cookies (with real molasses).

Hanging with Aunt Leigha:

It was so nice having my sister here. She helped me get the girls dressed in the morning, feed them meals, took them on walks, and even babysat while I took Jillian to preschool in the mornings! Aunt Leigha was sorely missed by all of us when she went home to Texas.

She also babysat for Brad and I, so we could go on one of the first dates we have had in ages to see The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 3-D at the movie theater. One of the highlights of the movie was getting to see King's College in Cambridge and being able to say "I've been there!" :-)

Aunt Leigha read lots of books to the kiddos too! 

She helped them learn new things with their Leapsters. 

A Day of Fun:
My mom sometimes growing up would wake us up in the morning and surprise us with a Mommy and Kids Fun day! It was never exactly the same, and was always a surprise what our "itinerary" was going to be.  But an example of one of our "fun days" was donuts for breakfast, bowling, skating, and to a movie ALL in one day. And then that evening we would have PIZZA for dinner. 

Our day was not as elaborate as long but it was a fun day! We started out at Krispy Kreme for some donuts. The girls always enjoy watching the donuts being made.

We had so much fun at Krispy Kreme's. Next stop, Chucke Cheese's! 

Aunt Leigha is the BOMB at basketball! :-)  I think she scored over 40 points in one game.

Faith and Mommy playing with a race-car.

Faith and Aunt Leigha snowmobiling! 

Jillian and Aunt Leigha also doing some snowmobiling. 

Snuggles with Anna:

Anna fell asleep on Aunt Leigha for her nap.

Aunt Leigha was so sad to leave us, knowing that her nieces are growing up so quickly.  But we are so thankful that she came to visit us.  We want her to come back to see us soon!