Christmas 2014

We spent Christmas at the Bowles Family Farm in Idaho, and it was magical.

 It snowed on Christmas Day. Doesn't get much more festive than that!

Two Years Old

This little lady joined us two years ago, and she has changed everything.

Nora loves baby dolls, stuffed animals (especially a bunny named Boo Boo), playing the piano, and singing. She asks lots of questions, especially "What's that?" She enjoys conversation, and often starts by asking, "How you doin'?" Nora likes going to school and she LOVES to read books.

We celebrated the big birthday in Idaho with Grandma and Grandpa, cousins, aunt and uncles.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the past 6 months.

Grand Canyon & Flagstaff

Nora dressed up as a butterfly for the Halloween party we attended at her school. Fun!

Halloween is also Nevada Day, and a holiday with no school or work! We took advantage of the long weekend and went to the Grand Canyon and to Flagstaff to visit my friend Wendy.

It was a four-hour drive in the car

It felt great to get out of the car and walk around!

The weather was beautiful, and the Canyon is really Grand.

We had dinner (and dessert) at the Bright Angel Lodge on Halloween night.

Nora enjoyed breakfast the next morning at our hotel in her pumpkin PJs.

We rented bikes and biked along the Rim Trail for an hour or so. It was a bit cloudy and chilly, but still beautiful.

We saw an elk close up.

Nora got very cozy with this mountain lion.

We hiked Red Mountain, between the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff, with Wendy and Lian.

Then we saw snow fall in Flagstaff! 

European Conference on Information Literacy: Dubrovnik, Croatia

In October I traveled to Dubrovnik to give a workshop at ECIL, and I was amazed at the beauty of the place. There are mountains, and the Adriatic Sea, and farms and vineyards, and this fascinating ancient walled city. It was amazing. I spent time with fantastic librarians from many different places and really enjoyed the conference.

Day 1: My co-presenter Cass and I spent the day in our swimsuits, recovering from jet lag.

Scenes from a bike tour: Six librarians from Nevada, California, Wyoming and Dubai go for a 10-mile bike ride through the countryside.

Tour of the city: Cass and I had a half-day tour in and around Dubrovnik. I loved the view of the walled city from the top of Srdj (Snow) mountain.

Sunsets from the President, the beachfront hotel, were spectacular.

 And the city was so dramatic at night. What a beautiful place!