From the Frozen Tundra

Just got back last night from a three night trip to Minnesota. It was COLD! The temperature when we arrived was a balmy nothing degrees. I don't think I've experienced temperatures that cold before. Why were we in Minnesota in January? Andrea's friend Nate(not me) was getting married, and the bride's family is all in the Minneapolis area. So off we went to see Nate get married. We arrived late Thursday evening, and after some adventures with getting the rental car, we made it to our hotel in Shakopee just after it became Friday. The next day was play day! What do you do in Minneapolis in January? You go to the Mall of America! The place is big: three stories tall, and each story alone is bigger than any mall in the Portland area! Plus, there's an amusement park in the middle with three roller coasters and other rides! It's BIG!!

Here we are, standing in front of the courtyard amusement park.

We also visited the Legos Store. I'm glad Sean and Murray weren't around, because we would have morphed into eight-year-old boys on the spot. ;)

Both of these (plus the statue above) are made completely of Legos! There were tons more of them!

I want the kit for this one!

As you may know, I love Way of the Master Radio. Well, their studios are in Minneapolis, and I was able to pay a visit. It was a lot of fun to talk to all the people about how the show is put together, and how their end of the ministry works (they're also in charge of putting together conferences and seminars). I came during the show, but I was able to talk to Todd (the host) and Tony (the co-host). James gave me the tour, and Joel talked about several things he's involved with in the ministry. To find out who I'm talking about, go to the WOTMR website. I've posted the link in the side bar.


Here's David (aka, "Hip Hop") doing his production duties during the show.

And here I am with Todd (left) and Tony.




More later, I've gotta scoot.

Yet Another Frozen Lake

This week, we tackled Trillium Lake. We got up to the sno-park early again, but this time we weren't the first one's there. It was COLD! The wind was bringing the perceived temperature well below freezing. Of course the blowing snow didn't help us feel any warmer either. In all, it put something of a damper on an otherwise gorgeous day. We made it to the lake and turned around and headed home, stopping at Paris Cafe again for lunch (no Joe's this week though). One really good coffee place we stopped at was called Mt. Hood Coffee Roasters. Great coffee! I recommend it for anyone on there way to the mountain and needs a place along the way for coffee.




Here are Kirby and Andrea, all bundled up.







































I thought I'd add one random picture to this post: this is the quilt that Andrea and I made for my parents for Christmas. I think it's the biggest and brightest quilt she's ever made. That made five total quilts on the year! My wife is a rock star!!

Week 11

I thought I'd pass on what the baby website says about the baby's progress this week (11):

How your baby's growing:
Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.

She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

Note: this isn't our baby. I took this off the website.

Take care everybody!

A Comparative Study of Mirror Lake

Here is Mirror Lake in the summer time:



And here it is in winter:







...Perhaps we should go there in summer.






Anyway, we went snowshoeing to Mirror Lake today. It was great fun. We took Kirby with us. He wore his brand new boots for the first time. Isn't he cute!










We trained him to wear the boots this week, and when we went out on the trail, he didn't have a problem wearing them. Good thing. He did not like wearing them in the house, but I think he knew that it would not be fun to walk around in the snow without out them(he'd be right too, spaniels develop little pills of snow in their paws that are very painful. It would be impossible to take him on a trip like this without them).

We got up there early and headed out(we were the first car in the parking lot). Andrea noticed the cap of clouds over Mt. Hood and said that that indicated a storm was on the way. She was right. By the time we got to the lake, the mountain was shrouded in clouds, and what was a clear sky was getting increasingly overcast. We walked around the lake, and then headed back to the car. We didn't meet anyone on the trail until we had started back down. We got back to the car by 12:30 and as soon as we were back on the road, it started raining! We stopped in Sandy to pick up some donuts and have lunch. Getting up early in the morning is hard, but it almost always pays off.

We then went to our friend Barbara's with some Joe's donuts. She's new to Good Shepherd, and we told her that having Joe's is required for membership there. Now we're just sitting at home by the fire. Nothing else exciting. Talk to you all again soon!

P.S. Thanks to Sean for the picture of Mirror Lake in summer (and his wisdom in going there that time of year).

Oh, Baby!

Now that we've told all our families, it's time to put updates on the blog as well. If you haven't heard: We're having a baby!! Andrea is now in her ninth week. We logged on to a website that sends updates on your baby's progress every week. Here's what it says for week nine:

How your baby's growing:
Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

It's been fascinating to read about the different stages of development. Andrea has been sick off and on (she doesn't get morning sickness, but afternoon sickness). Otherwise, everything is going along fine. Our first visit with an actual doctor is on the 23rd. I don't know if we'll be having an ultrasound or not. I do know, that since Andrea hates surprises, we will be finding out if it's a boy or girl as soon as we are able. We've picked out two names: Lucille Rose if it's a girl, and Gavin Knight (tentatively) if it's a boy. Our sister-in-law, Carol, was going to use Gavin for her third child, but didn't (they settled on Dylan). I liked the name so much, that I decided to use it if she didn't.

On another note, Andrea and I finally got tired of my inability to read the sermon notes on the projector screens at church and the street signs while I was driving, so I went in for an eye appointment a couple of weeks ago. I knew I could use glasses (though I am clear to drive without them, I just can't read signs at a certain distance), I just didn't have any insurance until Andrea got me on hers. So I got them last week, and it was a joy to look up on the screens and actually not strain to read the words!

As for my self esteem, don't worry. I expected to have glasses before I was in high school, so I am blessed to have made it this long without them. I just like being able to see at all.

Other news: we're headed to sunny south Minnesota for a wedding (you may want to ask, "In January!?" I would advise not to). We'll be there a day early, so we plan on going to the Mall of America. I'll post pictures. That's all I can think of right now. See you later!