An Epic Ballade of Texas

  Now that I'm my own boss, I get to choose which conferences I go to. This year, go figure, there was a conference about C. elegans in Barcelona! The meeting was held at a big convention center / hotel / cruise ship port of call. It's the big bowl-shaped building at the tip of the pier in this photo. In my free time I visited a museum dedicated to the art of legendary Barcelona artist Joan Miró .  I found a painting that looks remarkably like C. elegans worms crawling around on a petri dish. Maybe he was a fan! Here's a photo of the whole gang of worm researchers at the meeting. I'll also mention just one tourist attraction. La Sagrada Família is a cathedral, and is currently the longest-running construction project in the world (began in 1882). I've been to a lot of cathedrals in my lifetime, and this one takes the cake. The outside entrance is a nativity scene that looks like it's made of melting wax. Unique features include angels pl...

The Norris Family recently returned to Boston to celebrate Meg's Ph.D. conferral!  First was the flight from DFW to BOS. Elliot is now officially a pro at flying. Here we are just hanging out on the plane. [Elliot is trying to touch my phone with his foot] We met Meg's parents at the Boston airport and then we all stayed in an Airbnb up in Malden, which was a quick subway ride away from Harvard Square. [Elliot riding the Orange Line] Here's the whole gang posing beneath the iconic Harvard Biology Rhino. And now the main event! Meg is at the podium receiving her degree in historic Sanders Theatre. After the celebrations were over, we all went up to Maine to stay with Meg's parents. Here we are at Two Lights, Maine, enjoying some seafood and Elliot's first visit to the Atlantic Ocean. [Elliot seems none too impressed] Our trip to Boston clearly made Elliot a subway-riding pro. Here we are taking the subwa...

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you the second car I've ever owned, a 2016 Mini Cooper that we call Rusty Jr. Long-time readers may remember that for many years I owned an old Nissan truck named Trusty Rusty, which was formerly owned by my grandpa Shearer. Thus the new car's name, although the color is technically "Volcanic Orange." There are a few similarities though. Interestingly enough, I was car shopping online via AutoTrader, and the perfect car just happened to be in Long Beach, CA. So my dad drove down and took it for a test drive, then the dealer shipped it all the way out here to Dallas. Our first family trip in Rusty Jr.? In-N-Out, to spend some Grandma Shearer gift cards! We just recently came back from our first road trip in the Mini Cooper, and it was great. We drove out to Searcy, Arkansas to attend the wedding of Jenny Martin. Here we are hanging out on the campus of Harding University in Searcy (Rusty Jr. in the background)...

We traveled back to California for a funeral for Grandpa Norris. It was a nice time to remember and celebrate his good life, and to catch up with a whole lot of Norris folks. Here's one of my favorite pictures shown at the funeral. It's Grandpa (standing) and his siblings (seated). You can already identify a number of recognizable Bill Norris characteristics from even that young age. The trip was also an excellent excuse for Elliot and his favorite cousin to hang out some more. His cousin is now big enough that he can hold Elliot in his lap! He can also hold Elliot in his lap while administering a dental exam, should the need arise. Here they are sharing each other's sorrows, shortly after a sudden loud noise. (There are often sudden loud noises when lots of Norrises get together.) Elliot also took advantage of the lovely SoCal weather to go for his first swim! In another first, Elliot ate his first solid food! We'd been offering...

We brought Elliot back to The OC to see the Norris family, and my sister likewise brought her son, so the cousins got to meet for the first time! They were fast friends. Here they are sharing a couch seat:   Sharing a "hug":   Sharing a hand to suck on:   Sharing both a hug and a hand to suck on?  Sharing a menu at BJ's Pizza (with Great Grandma):  Sharing a stimulating conversation: Sharing a yoga mat:  And telling a joke: What else was Elliot up to while we were out in the OC? Well, he was taking skateboarding lessons. He also sampled some choice Californian coffee.   He joined the Norrises for our annual Christmas Shopping Trip to Goodwill.   Here he is celebrating Christmas with Mommy. And finally, here he is posing as part of FOUR generations of Norris boys. In fact, as it occurs to me, four generations of Norris eldest sons!

It's Elliot's first Thanksgiving! Which means it's time for Elliot's First Annual Norris Family Thanksgiving Road Trip. We started out by heading over to see my cousin John's lovely family (they live just thirty minutes away). We had a lovely Thanksgiving meal there, featuring ginormous juicy steaks, as per Texas law. Here is Elliot enjoying his first Thanksgiving meal: [Note that between his moose onesie and his steak dinner we are training him early to be confused about holiday symbols and traditions] Then it was off to Arkansas! On our way, we stopped at a gas station for some delicious fried pecan pies.    We stayed at Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, where you can still enjoy the baths just like they did in the old days. [bath] [(exceedingly) hot springs] We were also right on the edge of the Ouachita Mountains, where fall foliage was peaking- it was almost like we were back in New England again. Later we headed to Litt...

We have a baby! Elliot Alan Norris was born on October 1st. He was 7 pounds 3 ounces, 20.5 inches long. So far we, as his parents, consider him the Greatest Baby in the History of the World. He sleeps well at night, cries only when he needs something (food/diaper/flatulation), and is a real cutie. Over his first month of life, he's already met his grandma Razak. And also his grandpa and grandma Norris. And finally here's a time-lapse, starting in Cambridge, MA and ending in Dallas, TX, of Elliot growing up.