Goodbye old blog; hello new.

All things must come to an end, but from all ends come a new beginning. This website was originally designed as a simple blog style site to keep you updated. The world marches forward and there are now easier and better ways. Our new blog will bring you the same great content, but it will be easier for us. That means we will update it more frequently and you'll get more updates. Visit our new blog at the link below.

http://bkbhenderson.blogspot.com

Masters Degree and Fellowship

This May, Barron completed his Masters of Science at UNC! Baxter watched from the balcony as Daddy received a piece of paper that is symbolic of the degree to come... where is that degree? Anyhow, masters robes have huge pockets at the end of the sleeves. I was able to tuck away a book, my sunglasses, and two bricks. Okay, no bricks. The School's ceremony was really well organized, so I didn't need the book.

Following the degree, I received a fellowship at the Environmental Protection Agency. Their Office of Research and Development is here in the Research Triangle and I am in the Atmospheric Modeling Division. The fellowship is managed by Oak Ridge National Laboratories and funded through the Department of Energy. I like to joke that from one fellowship, I got 5 acronyms: EPA, ORD, AMD, ORNL, and DOE. It is going well; the work is fascinating and I really like all the people there.



Welcome Jay Baxter

Jay Baxter Kenyon Henderson was born at 2:22 a.m. Saturday morning December 29th at UNC Hospital. He is healthy and adorable! He made his entrance about 10 days early, after our midwives ordered an ultrasound that showed low amniotic fluid and a small baby (born at 5 lb 2 oz). I had actually begun early labor already on my own, but they wanted to speed along the delivery. I was admitted to UNC at 8:00 p.m. Friday evening, and with the help of my midwife, my coach Barron and a low dose of Pitocin (but no pain meds!!), delivered in around 6 hours. We returned home Sunday afternoon and are settling in with the help of my parents.



Notes from the Mommy-to-Be

I'm now embarking on my third trimester (28 weeks), and I have a belly (it surprises us all the time)! My first trimester brought some nausea that was manageable with lots of snacking... and so I gained a good twelve pounds in the first three months! I managed to do lots of flying for work over the summer, though not always gracefully. I felt the baby moving as early as 15 weeks -- a strange and wonderful reminder that there is truly another person in there!

Back in North Carolina, the second trimester was basically comfortable, with the exception of the month of August which was hot as Hades! My schedule is full of baby-related activities. Barron and I go together to Bradley childbirth classes where we learn all about labor and ways to relax naturally (he is a great coach). I can't get enough of my prenatal yoga and AquaMoms (water aerobics) classes. We now go see the midwives at the birth center every two weeks. So far, so good, except to mitigate some foot and leg pain I've had to resort to support hose and sneakers. Let's face it -- while comfortable, this look is less than cute.

It's crazy to think that on or around January 8 we'll be parents... and somehow crazy to think we waited this long :-). Barron and I are growing closer all the time, celebrating this time of anticipation and reminiscing over our seven (!) years together so far. We are so blessed and thankful...and busy and frazzled! That's life, eh?

A Golden Summer in review! 10/2007

We spent our summer in Golden, CO walking, hiking, and learning to play frisbee golf. While Barron dutifully drove from Raleigh to Colorado, Katherine celebrated her brother Chris's college graduation from Boston College. The weekend before, she threw a bridal shower in NY for college friend Jess. A week after arrival in Colorado, Barron ran in the BolderBoulder 10K with 50,000 other people! (see below) Daddy Halton came to visit and even came to see my poster at the Weather Research and Forecasting Conference. Then Barron was off to the AWMA Conference in Pittsburg where he shaved 8 minutes off his 10K time. But we weren't too tired to help set up the reception for Jess's wedding back in Brooklyn. Nor were we too tired to dance like maniacs ALL night. Barron's brother Carter taught us frisbee golf, we skinny dipped in a river stream, we ran with a llama... It was a full, full summer. Then we concluded the summer with a trip to New Hampshire where Katherine got a heaping helping of her family. But they couldn't stay away from their pregnant daughter long! We saw them again here in Raleigh last weekend where they were the inaugural guests in our newly remodeled upstairs!



Introducing Jay Baxter Kenyon Henderson!!!! 08/2007

We're having a baby! You can tell from the face and the feet that this is going to be the coolest baby ever! We had the nurse write down the sex on a piece of paper. Tonight, we will dine and discuss whether to open it. If you are lucky, you will soon know... okay, okay... IT'S A BOY!!!!
Baby's face Baby's feet Baby's spine

Hi from Colorado and NCAR! 07/2007

Dr. William Vizuete, my advisor, secured research positions for himself and me at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder Colorado. This research center is home to leaders in my field. Many of these folks were major contributors to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report that you will be familiar with from the news. Being at NCAR for the summer is an amazing opportunity for me. Luckily, Cherokee (K's employer) has an office in Denver, so we were both able to visit the "Big Sky Country."

This is a welcome break from the hot muggy North Carolina summer! We have already had two great outdoor experiences. Yesterday, we took our first hike to the top of a mesa overlooking Golden. It was amazing!!! The wild flowers here are phenomenal. Then today, I ran in the Bolder Boulder 10k (6.21 mi) race. 50,000 people either ran or walked and 350,000 people were on location. There were 8 or 9 bands and activity at every turn. The entertainment also included runners in costumes from Santa Claus to a bunch of bananas. Finishing the run in the CU stadium with thousands of cheering people was an amazing feeling.

We Bought a House 05/2007

Katherine and I bought a house! The house is just north of downtown Raleigh where Katherine works and I catch the bus. It is a 1948 house with 2 bedrooms, a living room, an eat in kitchen and a finished attic that will be an extra bedroom/office. We have hardwood floors throughout the house (including the kitchen). We have a screened in front porch and a large wooden back deck that looks out on a long backyard with a veggie garden in the back.

Working non-stop for 4 days with lots of help from friends, we moved in and made tons of repairs... not to mention what the contractors did! We can't wait to live there. Some interns from Cherokee are staying there for the summer while we are away.

Ecuador! (07/2006)

We recently returned from a three-week trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. It was the most amazing trip, and sitting here in North Carolina it is hard to believe that it happened. Below is our attempt to summarize this experience. We've interspersed links to key photos to help tell the story; please also see the full set of picture highlights.

The Galapagos captured our imagination long ago as biology students learning about Darwin's journey on The Beagle. We decided to include take a trip to the archipelago as part of a longer trip to mainland Ecuador. The trip was in honor of Katherine's graduation and our two-year wedding anniversary, but mostly it was us seizing a rare opportunity to travel for three weeks.

Our trip began and ended in Quito, a city of 1.4 million people located just south of the equator, at an elevation of 9,300 feet. We made several transitions in and out of Quito, staying for a total of 6 nights in a lovely hostel/hotel called Posada del Maple in the city's New Town. We didn't love Quito, but the food is good, the Old Town is fully of architectural charm, and on clear days the surrounding snow-capped mountains are crystal-close. From Quito we made the touristy pilgrimage to the Equator (Mitad del Mundo), where we visited both the official monument and the unofficial, slightly scruffy museum nearby located on the actual Equator. The monument is several hundred meters off, according to GPS measurements.

We visited the Amazon by traveling to Bataburo Lodge located in eastern Ecuador, at the edge of the Huoarani territory. To get to the lodge, you bus or fly from Quito to Coca, take a 3.5 hour bus ride south to Tiguino, and then a 4-hour canoe ride down the Tiguino River to the lodge. But here was the first hiccup in our trip: a huge surge in the river cut radio communication. The lodge didn't know we were coming, so they didn't send the canoe up to meet us in Tiguino. As a result, we spent a 24 hours in Tiguino with very little information and no running water, as the river surge had flooded the piping. During that period I played translator, as the best Spanish speaker in the group, which isn't saying much. That evening we decided to make the best of it, happily accepting numerous rounds of beer bestowed upon us by the locals.

The next day, our guides hacked our way downstream with a chainsaw. When we finally arrived, Bataburo Lodge was incredibly remote, and the wildlife was fantastic. We saw four species of monkeys, caiman (small alligator-like animals), all manner of tropical birds, snakes, lizards, giant tarantulas...and on the plant side, gorgeous large-leaved plants, ancient trees with huge bambas (above-ground supportive roots), and many plants with medicinal uses. We ate fresh fruit right off the tree, drank water out of cut vines, and learned to shoot a cerbatana (blow gun). We swung on "Tarzan" vines, and walked through the jungle at night in complete darkness.

After the jungle, we went back to Quito to regroup before the Galapagos Islands. Regrouping involved recovering from the second hiccup in our trip: the boat that we had booked for the Galapagos had "technical difficulties" and would not be sailing. Our excellent travel agent was able to rebook us on another boat (The Beagle), which was no small feat during the high tourist season. Since our itinerary changed with the boat switch, we decided to spend three additional days in the Galapagos after our cruise to visit an additional island (Isabela).

The Galapagos was every bit as dramatic and beautiful and strange as we had hoped. The animals are abundant and unique, with many found nowhere else in the world. Truly, they have no fear of humans, and allow you to examine them up close. In general, the landscape is volcanic rock with a few species of cactus and other hardy plants. Certain islands are so barren they look like the moon.

We first spent two days on our own in Puerto Ayora (population 12,000), the largest town on Santa Cruz, the most populated island in the archipelago. We visited a few local sights and had our first encounter with the spectacular Galapagos marine iguanas, the only sea-going iguana in the world. We were exclaiming and trying to show others nearby until we realized there was an absolute sea of them around the corner! Also from Puerto Ayora we went diving, where we swam with a sea lion and spotted octopi underwater for the first time. That morning there was much rejoicing in town, as Ecuador beat Costa Rica in the World Cup.

We spent bulk of our time in the Galapagos on our 5-day cruise aboard The Beagle, named of course for Darwin's vessel. The Beagle is a beautiful 105-foot motor sailing yacht which accommodates 14 passengers. We sailed in the evenings, waking up to a different island each morning. Our cabin was luxurious, and they served gorgeous food, including snacks after our day hikes and snorkeling. The Beagle took us to 5 islands: Floreana, Santiago, Bartolome, Genovesa, and Santa Cruz. Here are a few of the most outstanding things we experienced:

After our cruise, we flew in a small plane to Isabela Island, enjoying the view of the volcanic landscape along the way. We spent three nights there, staying at an awesome hostel/hotel called Ballena Azul with our friends Warwick and Sarah, who we met on The Beagle. We had two primary adventures on Isabela, the first of which was a hike to the caldera of Sierra Negra, the third largest in the world at 7,000 by 10,000 km. The second, even more spectacular journey was to Cabo Rosa, a snorkeling site just recently opened to visitors. This was the strangest and most fantastic spot of all: a honeycomb of clear-water lagoons formed by dried black lava. To get there, our group of seven travelers had to find a captain willing to navigate the 1.5 hour open water journey, culminating in dangerous maneuvers around the jutting lava formations. It was unbelievably worth it. We followed giant sea turtles through the network of lagoons, swimming under lava bridges. We played with an adorable sea lion who gracefully corkscrewed through the water. We spotted a penguin floating along the surface, warming himself in the sun.

After reluctantly leaving the Galapagos, we flew back to Quito and immediately transferred to a bus bound for Otavalo. This town of 26,000 in the northern highlands is famous for its Saturday market, which dates to pre-Inca times. The market now caters both to the local people, who shop for animals, produce, clothing, and other essentials, and tourists looking for crafts. We enjoyed visiting the market, and bartered our way to an entire bag of souvenirs and gifts. Unfortunately Barron missed some of the fun due to a travel sickness, which he thankfully was able to banish with the help of a local doctor (and a lot of Cipro). On our last day in Ecuador, we visited the lake and town of San Pablo, located outside of Otavalo. We marveled at the way local farmers utilize steep mountainside land.

Thank you for reading. We are so thankful for this experience and appreciate that you took the time to share it with us.

 

One Masters Degree Down! (07/2006)

This past academic year was full of learning and new beginnings for both of us.

Katherine's second year of studies focused broadly on real estate, complementing her first year studies in land use planning. She received her Masters in City & Regional Planning in May with awards for overall academic achievement and her Masters Project titled "The Economic Benefits of Open Space in Wake County, NC" (click here for a 2-page summary).

During the last 6 months of her studies, Katherine interned with Cherokee Investment Partners in Raleigh. Cherokee is a private equity fund that purchases contaminated real estate, cleans it up, and returns it to productive use through redevelopment. To her great joy, this internship transitioned into a full-time job. As of July 5, she began work officially as a "Planning Associate" with the firm. Her time will be split roughly 50/50 between working on the planning and entitlement aspects of individual deals and corporate-level sustainability initiatives. Cherokee's concept of "sustainability" continues to evolve. Click here to read our 2005 Sustainability Report for more details.

As of this time last year, Barron was beginning to think about graduate school, but hadn't yet found a particular program that captured his fancy. This all changed when Leiran Biton, a friend in Chapel Hill, introduced Barron to the folks in the air quality modeling group at UNC's Department of Environmental Sciences & Engineering. Shortly thereafter, Barron began doing part-time programming work for this group (on top of his continued full-time job with Woodard & Curran). It was a great fit, providing both the technical interest and environmental purpose that he was looking for. Soon thereafter he applied for entry to the program, and by January he was back in school, supported by an assistantship with the air modeling group. He took an ambitious course load during his first semester, launching into such topics as Environmental Organic Chemistry with gusto (and only a little bit of fear). Barron currently plans to focus his studies on air chemistry, and is considering transitioning into Ph.D. studies (pending successful completion of the Masters and continued energy for academia!).

Amongst all this activity, we had a lot of fun. Barron's dad and friend Rich came to visit. We traveled to South Carolina for Thanksgiving, Boston and environs for Christmas, and Santa Fe for spring break. We had a winter-themed birthday party for Katherine complete with fire and hot drinks (despite 65-degree outside temperatures), and a bowling party for Barron. Katherine graduated with seven engaged ladies, several of whom are close friends. So there were many bachelorette parties to attend, including one that Katherine hosted for Erin (with an 80s "Jem" theme). We attended two weddings so far this summer, Anna & Ben's on the Oregon coast and Erin & Adam's in Madison, WI. See Fall/Winter pictures and Spring/Summer pictures for photographic highlights.

And we moved from Chapel Hill to Raleigh in May. We basically threw our stuff in the new place before wedding and Ecuador travel, and settled in after our return. We're renting a small 1950s two bedroom house in a lovely downtown neighborhood of Raleigh. Our place is perfect for us, from the hardwood floors to the recently redone kitchen. From here we can walk to coffee shops, restaurants, Whole Foods, shopping, etc. Katherine loves her 0.9 mile walk to work (it's a planner's dream!), and Barron has discovered NPR podcasts, which he listens to during his walking/express bus commute to Chapel Hill. Raleigh has a lot to offer, including a great swing dance community, huge farmers' and flea markets every Saturday, and outdoor summer concerts at the Museum of Art. Come visit us and check it out!

Back to school (09/2005)

We had a great summer by all accounts. It was hot as heck, but we have been comfortable since succumbing to serious air conditioning. We both worked at home, which meant we ate lunch together and often took mid-day swims in the nearby pool. We enjoyed relaxing with friends in the area and took numerous weekend trips. Adventures included: attending Barron's cousin's wedding in Baton Rouge, LA; a visit with Katherine's family to the NC beach; two trips to Asheville; a family reunion in Ohio; and two weeks in the northeast, including visits to NYC, Portland, ME, and New Hampshire. Check out our summer pictures for some highlights.

Barron continues to work hard for Woodard & Curran, and is now thinking of going back to graduate school. He is interested in air quality modeling, and thus will likely pursue a Masters in Atmospheric or Environmental Science with a focus on computer modeling. This builds nicely on his background and will put him on a career path that he's excited about. He's volunteering this year for an air quality research group at UNC to get some experience in the field. The big push right now is GRE and applications (ug).

Katherine's summer research for Wake County went really well. So far, her work is showing that protected open spaces in Wake County partially pay for themselves by increasing the value of nearby homes. Increased home values means higher property taxes, which yields more tax revenue for the local government, partially offsetting the costs associated with protecting and maintaining open spaces. She is now beginning her second and final year of school, and though it promises to be a great one, it's difficult to motivate after such a long and relaxing summer!

Its summer! (06/2005)

Katherine has successfully completed her first year of graduate school. It was intense, but her courses were excellent (for the most part). She spend a lot of time thinking about the fictional town of Micmac, Maine. Our social life this year included hosting and attending frequent potlucks and theme parties, including a sushi-making party for Katherine's birthday and an Easter egg-decorating one for Barrons (which actually fell on Easter this year). You can find pictures of these events on our newest oFoto album. So far we have made two trips to Asheville, a small city in the western mountains of North Carolina home to many craftspeople and fantastic organic restaurants. We enjoy staying downtown in an adorable little bungalow associated with ArtHaus (Ashevilles only hostel), and are looking forward to another visit at the end of June. We have very much appreciated visits over this past year from Katherines parents and brother, as well as our friends from Portland, Molly OConnell and Julian Marks. Katherines entire family (minus Sam the dog) will be coming over Memorial Day weekend, and were going to the beach!

This summer, Katherine will be working for the Wake County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Open Space, primarily working on her Masters research on the economic benefits of open space. Shell be working at home at least half of the time, and Barron continues to work at home for Woodard & Curran full-time. It will be a low-key few months, a nice change from the school year. Hopefully we will survive the intense humidity and insect population of the great state of North Carolina. We look forward to spending a couple of weeks in the northeast in August, to visit family and friends in that region and take a break from the southern summer. :)

Christmas Vacation: Around the States in 18 days! (12/2004)

We decided that this year, our first year of marriage, we would see all of our expanded family. First, we went to Austin Texas and ate mexican food with friends. Next, it was on to the German town of Fredericksburg to visit Barron's dad (Halton). We had a lovely visit including a meet-the-neighbors party. On the way to Dallas to see Barron's mom and stepdad (Victoria and Roy), our flight was cancelled. Katherine solicited some people to share a renta-van and we made our destination with little delay and hopefully got three people to their flight to Paris. In Dallas, we had a lovely Christmas day and an action packed few days including numerous visits with friends and family. We then flew to Boston narrowly escaping more weather delays. All told, we spent ten days in the Northeast including time with Katherine's family in her hometown of Wayland, New Year's in New Hampshire, and a couple days in Portland, Maine. It was a great trip and our only regret is that we had to fly home during the (2 hour) season premier of our favorite show, Alias

We moved to North Carolina! (8/1/2004)

Portland was a great place to live, but the time came for us to check out the south. Our move to Chapel Hill involved many helping hands in Portland, a mammoth Penske truck, a lovely overnight stop in Allentown, PA (thanks Tom & Molly!), and a total of 19 hours on the road with Barron driving and Katherine mostly "resting." We were thrilled to arrive at our new home, a townhouse situated in a wooded area approximately 1 mile from Chapel Hill's main drag. Starting this fall, Katherine will be undertaking a masters in City and Regional Planning at UNC , and Barron will be continuing to work with Woodard & Curran as a programmer/environmental analyst, working remotely out of our new apartment. Barron is currently working on several GIS (Geographic Information Systems) web sites. Chapel Hill is an attractive town. We are especially taken with the local natural foods store called Weaver Street Market where they have all our favorite crunchy products as well as live music on the green and a jazz brunch on Sundays.

We got married! (6/12/2004)

We are now officially Katherine and Barron Henderson. Feel free to check out our Save the Date (wedding) page that can be found in the archives section of this page. After our wedding, we went on a fantastic trip to Belize for our honeymoon. For pictures of our wedding or honeymoon go to the pictures page. ;-)