Visiting Rowan and Ciara in Seattle

Sean and I returned to the states on June 7th (after unwanted but expected delays in Chicago). Sean flew into Portland, but I scheduled my flight into Seattle so I could visit with Rowan and Ciara. Rowan (aka Dr. Flynn) was a PhD student with me at UCC and my officemate. He graduated last winter and is now a postdoctoral fellow with the Dept of Medicine (Cardiology) at the University of Washington. It was great to spend some time with him and his wife Ciara, and I'm so glad that they are settling well in their new home

Below are a few pictures from my visit...

This is their apartment complex. I found it ironic that the exact same complex was being advertised in the Alaska Airlines magazine I read on the plane!



Rowan and Ciara at Gasworks Park. It was a little cloudy that day, but we still had a great time in the city.


Rowan and Belinda


This is the troll who lives under the bridge. A classic Seattle landmark, and I think he is grabbing a real VW bug!

A night at the dogtrack...

Last Thursday, we had a postgrad night-out at the Curraheen greyhound track, which is conveniently just down the street from my apartment! I had never been to any kind of racetrack before, so this was a new experience for me! I wasn't sure how the system really worked, but as a test run I chose 'Scapegoat' to win the first race, and he did! Unfortunately I did not have any money on it, but felt lucky after that and starting placing some bets. As expected, all of my dogs came in last. =( Regardless, we all had a great time!

I also took these pictures with my iPhone (and a little touch up with Picasa). I was really impressed! Not too bad for a camera phone!!

Entrance to the dogtrack


The dogtrack!


Georgina, Ciara, and LiMian


Will, Belinda and Ciaran


Ciara won!!


I really thought she was a winner. I even placed a fiver on for the win! She came in last. Georgina picked dog #2, which was an irish name that none of us could pronounce, and she won 24 euro!

Happy Birthday George...and welcome to your surprise party!!!

Last Saturday, Diane and Sarah (Sean's mom & sister) threw George (Sean's dad) a surprise birthday party at Gerlinger Hall on the University of Oregon campus. They spent months planning the event, trying to find a venue and getting a hold of as many people as they could for the big day. Everyone from family, friends, dental patients, neighbors, ski patrol buddies, and even old friends from high school were in on the surprise. In the end, about 100 people showed up for the party, but there were probably close to another 100 who really wanted to come but couldn't due to schedule conflicts or were out of town (such as those loved ones who happen to live in Ireland!)

Below is the video from the party, when George finally realized what was going on!



Sarah also put together two books for George - one with pictures from when he was born to recent events from this year, of things that he's done, people he's met, and the ones he shares his life with. She spent months emailing people for pictures and stories so she could make the book as complete as possible. The second book was a comments book, by which all of us left him messages of love and thanks. Supposedly there is a third book in the making based on the party. Sarah is a VERY creative and talented artist, with a focus in photography. She's made several other books, mainly from trips, family events (such as the annual McCully Firepit BBQ...which is July 19th this year, so save the date!), when she was pregnant with Finn, and memories book for her grandmother. She creates her books through a great company called Photoworks. I'm hoping that she will make our wedding book as well!