The Juliens: 2014

16 December 2014

2014 Newsletter

As we bring 2014 to a close, the Juliens are well. We hope you and your family are too.

(Yeah, next year, we'll do better at taking an actual family photo...)

Maya is a growing seven year old second grader. She is bright, energetic, and simply fun to be around. She amazes us every day with her patience and love for her little sister; their age difference (for now) seems to be a real positive. Maya is super active this year -- girl scouts (we're Brownies now!), dance (ballet and tap), swim lessons (Mays's become a fish), and we just added basketball. She regularly has a great time hiking with her dad and some of their friends.

Cora is an amazing two year old. The kid's language skills are beyond compare (her grandmother regularly comments that it feels like she's conversing with an adult). She loves her school, and she's clearly really growing there. Her favorite things are dancing and baby dolls; she's turned over a very maternal leaf. She also started dance classes this year, and she really thinks she's one of the big girls now. Cora LOVES her big sister!

Tim and I are also both well. Not much has changed for us -- same jobs, same house, same general well being.

We did some great traveling this year, so if December is the only time you check in on our blog, here's a quick run-down: Tim and I went to Luxembourg in January (Tim also got to see some of Belgium and Germany while I was working); Maya, Cora, and I took a trip to Chicago for spring break; Tim, Maya, and I went to Budapest in March (check out Maya's travel blog); the whole family took a trip to Washington, D.C. in June; I went to the Galapagos Islands in August; and we all went to Saint Louis for a long weekend in September. All of these trips were fantastic; as we travel more and more with the girls, we are forever thankful that they are pretty good travelers. We also think its so important for them to be exposed to the world, and it is so rewarding to watch them explore it in their own ways. Here is a smattering of photos from these various journeys; travel is the one thing we keep up-to-date on the blog, so use the links at the right to see more.

Chicago in March

Budapest in March

Washington, D.C. in June

Galapagos Islands in August

Saint Louis in September

Another first for us this year: we took the entire family to ACL Music Festival. (Well, Tim and I went all three days, but the girls came with us for the entire day on Sunday.) Even though it was sloppy muddy, I think everyone had a really fantastic time.

As the girls grow up, it's so fulfilling to be able to share the things we like with them (traveling, music, food, etc.).

We wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy holiday season. We hope 2015 brings wonderful new adventures to your family (and to ours!).

29 November 2014

Saturday in the Park

We headed out to Bull Creek today to get some pictures of our fast growing kiddos. It was, needless to say, a beautiful day!

15 August 2014

Galapagos: Day 4

This morning I woke up early so I could take a hike before the conference started. It was still drizzling when I awoke at 6am. Plus, my phone hadn’t charged overnight. So I delayed leaving until 6:30. I had tried to get various people to accompany me, but no one was interested in getting up that early. In the end, the only time I’ve had to myself for the last five days has been to sleep and shower (since there is no Internet in the rooms, even checking email/chatting with the kids/etc. has been done in the company of others). So I really enjoyed some quiet “me” time.

I walked all the way across town from the hotel on the roughly southern side of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno to the Interpretation Center at the northern side.This was about a 20 minute walk through town. On the way I passed Playa Man, a beach at the end of the waterfront. The beach was covered with sleeping sea lions. I continued down a dirt road. I did not take the recommended path, which was blocked by a cone labeled “Do not enter” and “Iguana nesting area.” Instead, I took an adjacent path and started walking up. The goal was Cerro Tijeretas (Tijeretas Hill). Tijereta is the name of the frigate bird, which frequent this hill. On the way up, I saw lots of finches and a crazy awesome centipede (maybe millipede? I’ve never known the difference). On the way down, I saw more finches and some little lizards. The top of the hill had great views back into Puerto Baquerizo Moreno and out in the direction of Kicker rock. But most of all, at the top were tons of frigate birds. They would perch on the trees just in front of the overlook. They also soared around the air above the cove, making it really easy to see how their tail scissors to help guide them (this is where the name Tijereta comes from). I spent about 20 minutes watching the birds and enjoying the view before I headed back to the hotel for a five minute shower before the start of the conference at 9am.