Chicago

Right after we got back from San Diego, I jetted off to Chicago for a conference. I haven't been to a veterinary conference for 2 years, so I was pretty excited to do some learnin'. No pictures of that here though, so you'll have to trust that I went to the talks :)

The weather was amazing, and the entire time I kept thinking "Why can't DC be this cool?" Some pictures at Millenium Park.


I had the great joy of meeting up with my 2 friends from the Bay Area- Patricia and Kelly. We all met working at the humane society. We went to a free "Opera in the Park" event but were disappointed that you actually couldn't see anything on the stage from the lawn. Who cares when you're eating good food on a lawn under the stars?


In between talks we'd go to the river to eat our lunch, or go shopping.

I found this great steamed bun joint and couldn't resist taking this picture ;)

Kelly and Patricia were also my dates in the evening. We ate a lot of pizza on this trip.


I even got my hair did in this cool neighborhood called Wicker Park, which reminded me a lot of the Mission in SF. I had to take the subway there and they end up on these elevated tracks further outside of downtown. The platform was wooden and there was not a guardrail to be found-- definitely not taking Linus on it the next time we visit.


On the last night we were lucky enough to get tickets to an architecture boat tour. The pictures say it all, but what I love most is the mix of new and old, side by side.



I also got to hang out with Jonas and his girlfriend Lauren, but didn't get to snap any pictures. Jonas has 3 more years left in his surgery residency, so I'm sure that us Karlssons will be out to visit soon.

Linus walks, parents cringe

Our lives are about to get just a little bit more complicated...



Any advice for the parents of the newly walking toddler?

San Diego

Labor Day weekend marked a first for Mattias and I-- our first weekend away from Linus! It took 14 months to do it, but our little getaway to San Diego was well worth it. Kerstin and Magnus took care of the little dude (we owe them big time) while we had a carefree time in our favorite state.

The occassion? Helen and Hillel's wedding! We've known these two as a couple since they started dating about 5 years ago. Hillel got his PhD in neuroscience at UCSF with Mattias, and both Helen and Hillel lived just around the corner from us in San Francisco. We had some good times together, but just about the time that we moved to DC, Helen and Hillel moved down to San Diego.

The nuptuals were set in the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park. Very zen, complemented by the gorgeous weather.



The lovely groom and bride walking down the aisle.


Now walking away as husband and wife.

After the ceremony we sipped cucumber mimosas and relaxed to live Bluegrass.

Those Li's :)

Then we danced and drank ourselves silly under the stars.

The next day we treated ourselves to some much needed down time, renting bikes from the hotel and riding around Balboa Park with nothing to do but nap on the grass.

I got a little silly. Good thing I was wearing my helmet.

We of course had to have a sushi feast. No vacation would be complete without one!


And one night we even got to have dinner with one of my best friends from vet school, Ryan, who's a race horse vet in SoCal. It was great to finally catch up since we haven't seen him in a year. He has since finished his surgery residency and is glad to be back in Cali. We went to a place that specializes in dessert, his favorite.


Not to be dorky, but we did dedicate a good portion of our trip to enjoying one of the things we miss the most since we've moved: Mexican food! I feel so silly for taking it for granted, but it is so hard to come by on the East coast. So Mattias, Mel, and I ate at taco trucks and taquerias enjoying carnitas, carne asada, lengua, and even goat.

And we wouldn't want to piss off our readers by not posting one picture of Linus, so here it is: Linus playing at Arlington National Cemetery. If you haven't heard, he's started to walk! Videos will be posted shortly.