Adventures Abroad

This post will be on the shorter side, I’ll explain further down.  I had the pleasure of going to Italy this past week to celebrate the union of Carlo and Megan Mondavi.  It was such a beautiful wedding in the most amazing setting, and Megan was honestly the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen!  Unfortunately, Mike couldn’t go with me… he had to be in Germany for a conference of the Nobel Laureates for a prize he won last year. Luckily, I was able to travel with one of my best friends.  Christina spent time living in Florence and is very well traveled so she was a great tour guide and made everything so much easier, especially since I’ve never been to Europe.  We spent a day in Florence and then headed up to the hotel where the rest of the wedding party was staying.  It was an unforgettable week.

The reason this post is short is because on the night before our departure, I fell and severed a ligament in my left thumb… so, needless to say, typing is a little difficult.  I wasn’t able to go to the doctor until I returned home, which was about 36 hours after the fall.  The news of needing to get surgery was pretty devastating, since Mike is still in Germany.  We’re moving in two weeks, and I have a lot of packing to do.  Thankfully, I have a wonderful support system and my mom was on a plane out here first thing this morning.  Mike called early this morning to let me know he was able to get a flight home and would be home tomorrow night to be with me for the surgery. 

Here are a few pictures from the trip.

The scenery is so beautiful that it doesn't look real!

Christina, me and Kendall overlooking Florence

 

 

Christina and I at the rehearsal at Castello Di Nipozzano

The beautiful bride!

Party Time!

This past weekend was Stanford’s graduation. We didn’t go to the big ceremony but went instead to the Chemistry commencement.  It was a great day with beautiful weather! Mike was “hooded” by the professor with whom he has worked the last four years, W.E. Moerner. It was great to have his parents, sister, my mom and both Noah and Amelia there to support him.

Professor W.E. Moerner and Dr. Michael Thompson

Since we had family in town and it’s so close to Amelia’s first birthday, we decided to throw a birthday/graduation party on Sunday night. Our good friends, Bakir and Gretchen, were gracious enough to let us use their beautiful back yard, and the party was a huge success! Amelia got to eat cake for the first time; she wasn’t sure what to make of it at first but was soon sucking the icing off her fingers!

My beautiful friend Gretchen, couldn't have pulled off the party without her!

Yesterday was Noah’s last day of kindergarten; it was a little emotional for both of us. His class had a party and both Mike and I were able to help -- we set up an obstacle course for the kids, which was a lot of fun! Noah has really enjoyed his school, teacher and all the great friends he’s made this past year. Kindergarten was such a wonderful experience for him and he’s excited for first grade!

Dr. Thompson

Finally, the day has arrived that we’ve been waiting for since Mike started graduate school at Stanford . . . Mike defended his thesis and passed! His parents and younger sister were able to come up and watch his defense. I got Noah early from school so he would be able to watch, and he did such a great job of sitting quietly and listening during Mike’s hour-long presentation. After it was over and while Mike was defending during the private segment with his committee of professors, I asked Noah what he thought. He said he liked it, so I asked if he understood any of it… he responded by saying “Oh yeah, all of it.”

With school nearing its end, we went into his kindergarten class today to have breakfast with the kids. This was followed by them singing for us two songs they’ve been practicing. Needless to say, it was adorable!

I feel like Amelia is changing so much. It seems like she’s doing something new every day! She is definitely going to have her daddy’s sense of humor. When someone is trying to take a picture of her and get her to smile, she does this funny thing where she scrunches up her face and squints her eyes. My favorite thing is probably all the babbling. There is an application on our Ipad of a talking cat that can repeat what you say to it . . . she loves to talk to that cat! Some of her favorite things include: flipping through her books, dancing, chasing Lucy around and looking through photo albums.

Girls, Girls, Girls

I had the pleasure of going to Napa for the weekend with an amazing group of girls to celebrate our friend, Megan, at her bachelorette party. It was a very fun and memorable trip; I feel lucky to know so many wonderful women. Her two, soon-to-be, sister in-laws helped to host the weekend, and they were so gracious. It was a pleasure to spend time with them and see how great the family Megan is marrying into… she is in good hands!

Mike definitely wins the best husband and dad award!  He stayed home with Noah and Amelia; even taking them to a party for his lab and bringing chili! Mike took Noah to a hobby store and they built a model Corvette, which Noah was thrilled about!

Noah finished his T ball season and was VERY excited to receive his first trophy with his name on it. We all look forward to next season. Amelia was a good cheerleader during the game and especially enjoyed when there were dogs present!

Noah and his best friend Luke