Work that seemed like fun

A lot has been going on in the last few weeks, but I've been too busy to blog about any of it until today. Early February sent me to Seattle to help my group prepare for the upcoming research cruise into the North Atlantic/Artic. I made sure my instrument was working and that things were getting packed, but everyone else had twice or three
times as much work. In some ways I would have liked to stay longer to help more, but am definitely glad to be back home to spend some time with CD.
Here we are at work: the new intern Caitlin(?), Kristen, Lindsey (my soon to-be roomie) and me


While in Seattle I was fortunate enough to see a lot of my good friends. I was very excited to see Adam and Celia who recently returned from a two-year stint in Madagascar. Celia surprised me with a bottle of wine that we made together more than 3 years ago!


I decided to couch surf while in town which afforded me the opportunity to see friends further. I arrived at Jason's and we spent many a late night catching up- he also cooked a delicious tagine that I enjoyed tremendously! And we made so much of it that i enjoyed it for several days. JR, I want that recipe!



Next stop: Charlie's kingdom. I stayed with my friends Shelly and Chris and their 18-month old son, Charles (and Ruby, the beagle). I always enjoy spending time with them since Shelly is one of my closest and dearest friends. I also feel like I'm missing out on Charlie's childhood now that I've moved away (I feel the same about my nephew and nieces). The boy is growing like a weed and enjoying all his "cars" (he pretty much calls anything with wheels "cars").
Here he is enjoying yogurt:


On Saturday night, their neighbor babysat Charlie so that we could hit the town. Much fun was had at the Viking in Ballard. It was awesome to see sooooo many good friends gathered together, including Robyn who made it up from Portland for the weekend.
Robyn, Betsy and Sarah:

Adam and Shelly(sorry about the blurriness):


I also got to spend a couple of days at my brother's house where we shared many stories and watched an old video of my grandfather describing his youth, growing up in Kansas and hopping the train when he moved to Colorado. And so much more! I can only hope for that much experience and wisdom. I really felt like Kendall and I were bonding, although we've always been pretty close. No photo of Kendall, he is elusive...

Dear friends Sarah and Stefan took me in for the last few days. We enjoyed watching "Lost" and I was very excited to be in town for Stefan's birthday. A large gathering occurred at the Tin Hat in Greenwood/Ballard. So many good friends came out and I got to see people I hadn't seen the week before.
Sayeeda, Chris, Stefan (the birthday man) and Jason: