Hi everyone! Just a quick update.... Evelyn is much better at sitting up now, and she is much more playful too. Recently I was holding her on my lap facing away from me, and she kept arching her back and leaning her head back in order to look at me upside down. She would crack up every time she did it. I've never seen her so wound up before!

Now that she can sit up on her own, we have started using her highchair. She seems to enjoy being able to look at us while she eats. She also seems to like how the trey holds things where she can reach them. Sometimes we will put some balls on the trey, and she will roll them around with her hands until she has rolled them all off.

As for other things going on in our lives, I have a final on Wednesday, and then I will be done with classes. From that point on, it will be just research. Clarisse was able to see her parents on Friday, and they had lunch together. They were on their way back home from the resort in Idaho and had some thoughtful gifts from Allen and Giovanna.

We are looking forward to seeing the Streeters LATER THIS MONTH!!! Love you all!

This has been an eventful week! First, we had Dennis and Robyn come through on their way to Idaho. It was fun spending time with them on Wednesday and Thursday. We also made a visit to This is the Place Heritage Park and managed to avoid the rain. The monument above will probably look familiar to you. Brigham Young is one of the three men at the top, and that's all I really know....

We had a good time looking around the pioneer village. Here is a man shearing a sheep. We were surprised the sheep was so mellow. We didn't dare ask if it was sedated.

This is one of the old houses that has been relocated to the pioneer village. It used to house a family with 9 kids! Some of the houses were re-creations, but most of them were actually historic.

This is the interior of a fancier home. I don't remember the name of the family that lived in it, but it was moved all of the way from Payson. Brigham Young used to lodge in it when traveling through Payson.

It was "baby animal day" at the park, and this is a not-so-baby goat checking out the stroller.Evelyn liked the animals as long as they didn't get too invasive. She did not appreciate this goaty kiss!
This little black and white lamb was particularly endearing. Too bad that we have already reached the pet limit at our apartment....

I didn't know what to think of the hairy cow. I assume it has eyes under there, but I couldn't find any.

Here we are enjoying a fuzzy bunny. Mom, I am expecting a disparaging comment about the moustache. I like the way the stroller reflectors are "glowing" in this shot.

Even though Evelyn was pretty tired by this point, she worked up a smile for our fluffy friend.

This slide depicts my new career plan. Forget chemistry--I'm going to strike it rich panning for gold!

Hi everyone! Just some Evelyn updates.... She likes to sit up now but needs a pillow for support in order to stay up very long. Sitting makes it easier for her to play with her toys.

Here she is helping to fold the laundry (or trying to).She has learned to suck her thumb too, and she has a cute way of looping her index finger over her nose!

Oh, and we got an expansion to one of our favorite games, Carcassone. The game is a little more intense now that there is a ferocious dragon roaming the board (the red thing). We had a fun time playing with Grandma Marie last week. Thanks for being a good sport, Grandma!

Hi everyone! As you can see, Evelyn is doing well. She likes being read to as long as the words have a fun rhythm. It seems like she is more entertained by the words than the pictures.

She has added some new foods to her diet recently. After cereal, we tried sweet potatoes which she liked very much. She also likes squash and carrots and is getting use to bananas (all of these are mashed up baby foods passed on from Allen and Giovanna).

As you can see, she's getting chubbier! She's about 14 and a half pounds now. She can't sit up or scoot around yet, but she shows signs of being close to both of those milestones.

I an just taking one class right now in school, but I can't say that I'm devoting much attention to it. I've been more involved in research lately. I'm working on a few different projects, and it will be a while before I develop a more focused area of research for my PhD. Here's a fun picture of my research group that was put together in photoshop. The guy at the bottom is my boss, Dr. Ilya Zharov.Speaking of research, my mom picked up a shirt for me at Daniel's science fair that has a vary accurate quote from Albert Einstein....

("If we knew what we were doing it wouldn't be called research" --A. Einstein)

Hello! We made a trip to St. George last weekend for Grandma Jensen's 80th birthday party. It was great to be able to see her as well as so many other Jensens. We drove down to St. George on Saturday morning, and the trip went better than expected. Evelyn has become reconciled to car trips; she slept most of the time and was easy to keep entertained when she was awake.

After a fun afternoon and evening with family, we stayed the night at a hotel with Dennis, Robyn, and Cheryl. I was a little nervous that Evelyn would prove to be a difficult roommate, but she slept through the night and let the rest of us do the same!

On Sunday we went to church at Grandma's ward and spent some at the "Bologna house" (Grandma's characteristically pink winter house) with the family before taking off in the afternoon. This picture is of Evelyn with her cousin, Camille.

We had an amazing time, so thanks to everyone who helped put it together!

Here are some pictures of a happy Evelyn in her duck suit (or are they chicks?).

We started feeding her rice cereal this past week, and she likes it as long as its not mixed with formula. Supplementing with a little solid food has been useful in keeping up with her voracious appetite.

This is her in her fun chair that was handed down from Allen and Giovanna. Thanks guys; she has a lot of fun with it now that she can push the buttons.

She is also showing more interest in the cats, and Tipsy doesn't seem to mind the attention.
The weather has been a bit unusual this past week. We had our biggest snow of the winter earlier in the week, but today it feels like spring. Here are some pictures of a snowy University of Utah Campus.

Here she is! Evelyn has been doing well lately, although I can't think of any new developments to report. She went to the doctor yesterday and is 12 pounds 10 ounces. She got some shots in her thighs and was a little fussy over it the rest of the day. She seems to be over it this morning, though.

So, I got a little carried away on my run today.... There are so many buildings so close to each other down town! I started out at the capital building which is set up on a hill just north of temple square.

This is the view from the steps of the state capitol. You can see the temple if you look close.


The state capitol building is surrounded by interesting monuments. This monument to the Mormon Battalion caught my eye. The sandstone backdrop has lots of interesting relief sculptures.

And here is a building we all know and love. I could spend all day taking pictures at temple square, but my course didn't head that way today.

Here is the famous Eagle Bridge over the intersection of N. Temple and State St.This is the Cathedral of the Madeline. I love the old Gothic/Romanesque style! I still haven't been inside, but the outside is sure something to look at.

My favorite part is the tympanum. Such amazing handiwork!Right next door to the Cathedral is the First Presbyterian Church. It's another building that I'd love to see from the inside.