FABJ's First Communion

One of the few downsides to living in Ireland (in my opinion) is the big deal that is made concerning first communion.  FABJ's was in May, and I think LBJ was a bit tense about it.  An understandable concern is that for most kids, it is a big gathering of family, and my family doesn't like to cross the Atlantic.  However, I thank my sister (PL) for being the family representative.

The weather on Friday, the day before, was miserable.  It poured ("bucketed", as they like to say here).  FABJ got out of school early, so we went to our favorite neighborhood restaurant for lunch.  Kindly, LBJ's parents, brother, and the girls' cousin APB joined us.

Fortunately, the weather on Saturday was great, as the photos show.  Everything went very smoothly, aside from an unfortunate child in the choir who became ill during the ceremony (none of the first communion-ers noticed).

The paparazzi descend on the girls

FABJ was thrilled with her outfit, and ORBJ got a new outfit for the special day.  Come to think of it, all the women involved got new outfits, and the guys did not.  That's ok - I try to avoid wearing my suit as often as possible.

The happy family after the event

The school hosted a nice reception.  All the food for the girls was white to minimize the likelihood of ruining any dresses with stains.  Then, we returned to our house for an enjoyable lunch (made by LBJ) with family and friends.  I was worn out afterwards, and LBJ did more work than I did, with the clothes purchasing and the cooking (even if I did most of the dishes - i.e. "washing up").

Ladies' day (looking into the sun, again)

Perhaps the best quote of the day was from FABJ's fairy godmother, who, upon meeting my sister, responded: "It's nice to finally meet her REAL mother."  Notice any similarities in the photo above?

After this event, we (at least LBJ and myself) were ready for a vacation.  Good thing we had one planned...

However, I'll leave you with a picture of the back of Dublin Castle, as my sister and I enjoyed a visit to the Chester Beatty Library during her visit:

View from the lawn outside the Chester Beatty Library

ADDENDUM: A couple of weeks later, I attended ORBJ's ballet "concert" (she did ballet as her after-school activity).  Alas, the pictures did not turn out very well at all, but it was a rather entertaining event.

Sweden and Finland 2015

In April, I had work trips to Stockholm and to Finland.  In Stockholm, I gave a talk at the Stockholm School of Economics.  The night before I visited a friend of LBJ's, who happened to be visiting us in Dublin the weekend before.  So it was nice to have a casual dinner with people I knew to start the trip.  The talk and visit went well, although the talk was not well attended (a combination of people traveling and out sick, I was told).  Still, I got a few good comments.

Because my flight the next day was not until 5pm, I took the opportunity to do some sightseeing (as I'd never been to Stockholm before).  My main activity was the Vasa Museum, devoted to a boat that sank on its first voyage in 1628.  It is amazing how well preserved it is:

The ship in its museum

I also enjoyed a brief walk around the neighborhood near the museum.  If I had more time (and been visiting in summer), I would have taken a boat cruise - would have been a great way to see a bit more of the city.  Instead, I walked and took a couple of streetcars.  Maybe I'll visit the Nobel Prize Museum even though the prize in economics is not technically a Nobel.

Just another view of the water in Stockholm

The only downside of the trip was that my flight home was cancelled.  So I was put up in a mediocre hotel in the middle of nowhere, when all I wanted was to get home and see my family.  Instead, I took an 8am flight the next day.  I have had missed connections or cancellations 2 of the 3 times I have flown SAS. Grrr (but it's the only non-stop option to Stockholm).

Just a few days later, I was back to Northern Europe, with a trip to Finland to visit and work with my co-authors there.  I spent a day in Helsinki before taking the train north to Jyvaskyla (ugh, can't figure out how to add symbols in Safari - sorry).  I also gave a talk there (same paper as in Stockholm).

Water view in Jvaskyla, near the University

It was a good and productive visit, and it was nice to see a bit of the Finnish countryside.  I joked that Jyvaskyla is the Cedar Rapids of Finland (my family lives in CR), but, to be honest, Jyvaskyla is prettier with the lakes.  Again, it would have been nice to visit in the summer and get out on the water.

Yet another picture of the water (Jyvaskyla)

After this trip, I was happy to be back in Dublin with no travel plans until the end of May.

Oh, one last thing.  I discovered in Stockholm these robots that will mow your lawn for you.  I thought that was pretty cool, although a bit expensive.  It appears that they sell them in Ireland, too.  Once I win the lottery ....

Robot lawn mowers in Stockholm airport

Easter 2015

Sorry for the lag in posts.  As the kids always have 2 weeks off school over Easter, we decided that late March / early April would be a better time to visit the U.S. than, say, New Year's.

The trip began, like usual, with a visit to Chicago.  We knew this trip was going to be different when I was offered an upgrade on the rental car to a BMW for $10 a day.  I decided that this was the only time I'd ever rent a BMW-er, so I went for it.  I have to say, it was a nice car, although I'm more used to Japanese cars.  So no worries about a mid-life crisis involving a BMW.  A kayak, maybe.

Alas, our hosts were away themselves on Spring Break (Florida), but they kindly let us spend the night at their house.  So instead, we visited another graduate school roommate, JPD and his wife TD. They have two girls a bit older than ours.  The visit was great - I hadn't seen them in ages; LBJ had never met TD.  The girls had a great time, and we were well fed and beveraged.  We had to drag the girls away at 9pm (which would be 2am Irish time)!  They fell asleep in about 2 minutes on the drive to our host's house.  And did great with jet lag the rest of the trip.

As usual, we enjoyed our Chicago visit.  Aside from catching up with TK, JK, and the kids, we managed to see a play (for kids), visit the Lincoln Park zoo, and visit the Grove / Kennicott house (historic house and grounds from from 1800s).  Hmmm...can't seem to find my pictures from this portion of the trip.

Then off to see the family in Iowa.  A good time was had by all.  The girls enjoyed the Iowa Children's Museum (again), but the highlights were likely the Easter Egg hunt and the horse riding lesson.

Safety first!

Careful, ORBJ!

Ok, these pictures were taken as the girls waited for their horses to be brought out from the stables.  The facility is very nice, as is the woman who runs it.  It has an indoor riding area (which we used since it wasn't all that warm in April).  It warmed up a bit later in the week, so the Easter Egg Hunt was outside.

ORBJ enjoying her horse ride

Then, we spent a couple of days in Northern Iowa, where we stayed at a cabin inspired by Little House on the Prairie.  It was great.  It was cosy, nice and warm, and breakfasts were great.  Plus it had lots of period pieces (despite being recently built), and the girls had a wonderful time.

We visited the nearby Laura Ingalls Wilder Park and Museum (a hotel, not the best place she lived) as well as the Effigy Mounds National Monument.  It was a busy but enjoyable day.

You can take the girl out of Iowa, but ...

Freshly laid eggs for the next day's breakfast

LIW (or is that FABJ?) outside our cabin

Then we drove to Madison, WI to have lunch with a college friend (who also lived in KY when we did) before returning to Chicago.  Alas, I came down with a cold that day that eventually developed into a chest infection.  Nonetheless, it was a great trip.