We got to spend some much needed vacation time with Nate's family at his sister's house in Northern Virginia for Thanksgiving. It was so nice to see everyone, eat delicious food, and relax for a few days. It is probably the last trip we will be making for several months because pretty soon I'm not allowed to travel, and we won't be going anywhere with our newborn until May.
On the day we arrived, we went into D.C. and Nate had a meeting while his sister, her boyfriend and I went to the National Gallery, Shake Shack and walked by the White House. We then met up with Nate at the Renwick Gallery, which was a super cool art museum with installation art that each artist made on-site recently when the Gallery was closed. The rest of the trip we stayed in Virginia and played board games, played with our nieces, Nathan played in the Turkey Bowl, and we ate a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. I especially loved how much one of my nieces (Caitlin) thought of the baby, when we were watching TV she would say "I think the baby really liked that part!", and whenever I ate anything she asked if it was okay for the baby. She also wouldn't share any of her ice cream with me because "it would be bad for him". She loved feeling him kick too.
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| This was all carved from wood to look like a tree, but I kind of think it looks like a neuron :) |
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Each of those things is a giant bug from Malaysia,
pretty gross and awesome |
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| Obama's House |
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Super cool ropes hung from the ceiling in a giant room that changed color gradually over time,
I totally fell asleep looking at it for so long. |
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What are these geological formation made out of?
Millions of index cards |
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| Rainbow Ropes |
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Caitlin exploring on our hike by the Potomac River
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| Nate, Kirsten, Mikaela, Aelish, and Caitlin sitting in a tree. |
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Caitlin, unprompted, showing us that she can be a worm
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and after, I must have eaten too much because
I got a serious food baby
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| We went to the mall on Saturday and got to play in the Tesla store with Nate's dream car |
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On a much more nerdy note: Many of you know that stress from my qualifying exam and Nate's first CFA exam have been weighing us down now for a while. Well, now we are both stress-free because WE ARE DONE! And now for a lengthy description of a quals exam and a CFA exam that no one should feel obligated to read but if you want to know what they are... here you go...
Skip this paragraph if you don't want to hear a bunch about becoming an official science nerd (aka PhD)...
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| We celebrated my passing at the Cheesecake factory |
A qualifying exam in a PhD program is basically a rite of passage that each student must take after two years in the program demonstrating their growth and ability to be able to complete the program successfully in the next few years. It kind of marks the end of the classes portion and the beginning of my thesis research portion of my degree. In each program, it works a little differently, but in my case it involved a written exam and an oral exam. The written exam was essentially writing a proposal of the research I intend to do for my thesis in the format of a grant submission (which I will actually be turning in next year). Then I had the oral portion that involved presenting to the three members of my qualifying committee and answering all their questions in order to show my knowledge of the field and argue my hypotheses. They critique my written exam and, after the oral exam, determine if I pass. In my program, most people pass if they put forth effort, but it does take lots of time to come up with experiments, hypotheses, and rationale for your ideas and write it down cohesively in a proposal, in addition to getting some preliminary data from doing research. I've been wanting to get it done since I finished classes in May but I've been delayed by trying to get the preliminary data, a very busy advisor, and some personal procrastination. Anyway, I'M FINALLY DONE, and my committee thought I did well. It means now I get to be called a PhD Candidate instead of a PhD student. Since so much time was going by and I wasn't done with the exam I felt stressed out by it. But now that I'm done and finally feel ready for the baby to arrive.
Skip this paragraph if you don't want to hear a bunch about a becoming an official finance Nerd (aka CFA)....
Nathan's exam was actually much more difficult than mine... He is working on his CFA- Chartered Financial Analyst. It is similar to a CPA in accounting, but for financial analysts and means that you know a lot about finance at an advanced level. It's considered equivalent to a masters degree in finance. It involves passing 3 exams spaced out over a few years, and also working in the field for at least 4 years. Each exam takes 5-6 months of studying 2-3 hours a day to learn a ton of formulas and complicated financial principles and their application. Each test is very difficult and has a pass rate in the 40% range. This first exam Nate just took is offered twice a year and the 2nd and 3rd are each offered only once per year. Luckily, Boston is one of the 17 locations in the US that they offer the test. Anyway, Nate has been studying during his commute and at home everyday for the past 5 months and today he took the 6 hour exam with 240 questions. Nate has had several nightmares about the test recently, so he's feeling much better now. We will have no idea if he passed for another two months, so right now we are living in ignorant bliss :)
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| We celebrated by getting ourselves a Christmas tree |
Also, here are some other photos that didn't make it into previous posts from Halloween and when Nate's parents visited for a few days before their trip to Europe:
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| Beautiful Fall colors in Western Mass |
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| More Western Mass |
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The cake I made for our ward Halloween party that
I DROPPED ON THE WAY TO THE CAR!!! I literally cried!
But it was still salvageable, just don't look too closely |
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| Me and another one of the many pregnant ladies in the ward |
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| We were Chuck and Wilson from Castaway |
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