Dissertation Defense

Joshua defended his dissertation on Wednesday. It was via Zoom, which was unfortunate, but the good side was that we got to watch it. Dave came up to Oregon and spent the day with us, so he and I watched together with the kids, then we all had a celebration dinner that evening before Dave went over to stay in Reedsport.

 I'm so proud of Joshua and all his hard work to complete the degree. His committee members praised his dissertation, which I also thought was quite good although I'm not a good judge because I don't read much philosophy, and they passed him without revision. Grad school was a great experience for both of us and we have many good memories of our time, but it was also a lot of work and it feels good to be done, and done well. Congratulations Dr. Kerr!

Arizona

Photo: Heather

Monday morning we got up early to hit the road again. This time the kids and I were heading to Arizona with Dad, Mom, Heather and her kids, and the Trevinos for Grandpa's memorial service. It was another long drive, but the kids did well and enjoyed the stretch breaks.

Photo: Heather

Mary particularly liked the rest stop where there was a lot of wind.

We made it to our Airbnb and enjoyed some time relaxing by the pool.

The following morning was the service for Grandpa. It was sad, but I was so glad I was able to be there for the service. Uncle Dave gave the eulogy and did a nice job. Afterwards, we all went to Eleanor's house for a reception lunch.

Photo: Heather

Almost all of the cousins were able to come and it was fun to see everyone. We met up with a lot of the Shields family that evening for dinner at Aunt Linda's house.

Wednesday morning we took it easy and had a little time for cartoons after breakfast.

Photo: Heather

Later that morning, most of the family went on a short hike, but I stayed at the house to take a nap with David.

Photo: Heather

After lunch, there was time for some games.

Mary had a blast playing cards with the cousins.

Photo: Michelle

We enjoyed another dinner at Aunt Linda's house and time to visit with family.

Thursday we headed back to Visalia.

We had to eat up all our fruit before crossing the border into California; it made for a refreshing treat while we stretched our legs.

Photo: Heather

Mary took a turn driving us; of course, she was "going to Grandma and Grandpa's house."

 Even though the drive was long, the kids were mostly cheerful and enjoyed having their cousins around to help keep things interesting. 

We spent a day recovering on Friday, then headed home on Saturday.

Easter

Photo: Heather

We got to celebrate a special occasion this Easter - the Nickell kids got baptized at church that morning. We were excited for them and glad we got to be there.

Photo: Heather

Photo: Heather

We spent the rest of the day at Mom and Dad's house.

Mary and David got to open Easter baskets.

Photo: Heather

We had Easter dinner with everyone to complete the celebration.

Photo: Heather

Going to Grandma and Grandpa's House

 We drove down to California on Saturday. Mary was thrilled to not only be finally going to Grandma and Grandpa's house, but to go to two Grandma and Grandpa's houses. We stopped to have dinner with the Kerrs and enjoyed a break from the drive. Mary got to cook hamburgers with Grandpa, and we had a lovely garden tour. The kids had their own table for dinner, which ended with Mary and Amari playing with the ice bowl and laughing hysterically. We didn't want to get back in the truck and leave, but Mary made the most of the rest of the drive by continuing to sing her current favorite song, "Going, going, going to Grandma and Grandpa's house."

Cooking Raw Meat

 Mary was excited to hear that she was going to get to grill raw meat with Grandpa. She started cooking lots of food on her barbecue.

First Haircuts

The kids got their first haircuts Wednesday evening. It was challenging, but we ended up with okay results. David went first and was unsure about the whole thing.

Mary did slightly better, but kept trying to see what Joshua was doing.

Time for Cake

Many years ago, Joshua got a card from one of his friends that included this recipe. He found the card awhile ago and suggested that I make the cake. I finally got around to it this week. I don't think it turned out quite like it was supposed to, but it tasted good and was fun to try.

 

Little Friends

We made a day trip up to visit our friends, the Starbucks, on Sunday. As always, it was great to see them and spend time together. Hazel just turned two, and she and David had a lot of fun rolling a ball back and forth and playing together. 

Mud Pancakes

Mary has been busy making pancakes a lot recently.

 

More Camera Fun

Having photoshoots is a favorite activity right now.

 

Tea Parties

Tea parties are a real hit around here at the moment. Sometimes it involves actually drinking water from the tea cups, but mostly it's just about pouring water.

David likes to get in on the action too. He pushed the chair over to the counter and climbed up all by himself.

Mary had fun looking through all her clothes yesterday.

Little Builder

Mary finished breakfast early the other day. I found her happily building a few minutes later.