He's checking it twice

On my way back to LA, I spotted this gentleman in the Delta Sky Club in Salt Lake City.

I didn't realize that Santa flew commercial during the rest of the year.

Science!

I snapped this shot of the forecourt of a new biomedical science building at the U, on my way back from the job interview. It was good to be back on campus.

A change of scenery

After a year in California, I decided to start applying for other positions. My job was pretty good, but Rachel was unable to find work, and we still felt like our life was a temporary situation. I wasn't looking for any new job at all, but something that might take us back home.

In December, I applied for a position at the University of Minnesota. I heard nothing in response and forgot about it. Then, in February, they reached out to me for a video interview. In March, they asked me to come out to Minneapolis. If nothing else, it was a free trip and a chance to visit the place I thought of as home. (I hadn't been back since a weekend in September 2009, when I was still trying to sell our old house.)

So, May 4 finds me admiring the mountain view from the Salt Lake City airport, on my way back to Minnesota.

One for the pizza, one for me...

Ellen likes making her own flatbread pizzas. Her current pizza of choice: bacon and kalamata olives. The kid definitely has her own tastes.

Order up!

April 24
Sometimes, to entice Ellen to come down to breakfast, I text Mommy a picture of her plate. Yes, this is how I'm harnessing the power of the 21st century ...

Fairy tale

I mentioned back in October that we bid on a "date night" package at the elementary school charity auction. It included, besides gift certificates for dinner and a movie, babysitting from an actual princess in this year's Rose Parade Court. Ellen was excited to have a "real" princess babysitting for her, though slightly disappointed that she wasn't wearing her sash and tiara.

Jonah's not a Disney story, is it?

But I guess Pinocchio is. That's the one with the whale, right?

Another visit (from my good friend Scott), another Disney trip! Ellen's tiny arm is trying to pull Scott down before the whale eats him.