Robotic Inchworm

Videos of Lilly (and Boo) playing with the HexBug she received from Grandpa Bob and Grandma Julie for Christmas:

Lilly:


Boo 1:


Boo 2:

Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Monday

• Super cold and windy. Did an hour on the treadmill at work over lunch. (7:00 pace)

Tuesday

• Ran at lunch with JVD and Joe.


• Did a half day to take off for Manchester, IA before the snow. Slow moving out of town and then came to a standstill by Elko as a semi rolled under an overpass. Sat still on the interstate for 30 minutes.


• Ate dinner at Applebee's in Waverly, IA and made it to Grandma Rotach's around 9:00. Roads were fine until freezing fog about 20 miles outside of Manchester.

Wednesday

• Ran an hour on Manchester's city trail.


• Swam with Lilly and Grandpa Bob at their hotel's pool.


• We went to the Community Congregational UCC candlelight service. Lilly was surprised to hear Angels We Have Heard on High but didn't belt out the chorus like Olivia.


• Chili for dinner and presents afterwards.

Thursday

• Santa came to grandmas!
  Lilly's "princess bouncy ball":
  
  
  
  A recorder:
  
  
  
  Princesses:
  
  
  
  Festive Boo:
  
  
  
  


• I did the same run as Wednesday. Colder and a little slick. I wiped once on some super packed snow at an intersection.


• Christmas meal at Grandmas.


• Lilly went sledding with Megan, Caleb and Aunt Bee while we packed to leave. We were leaving early to avoid the weekly Iowa ice storm.


• Arrived in Des Moines after a drive through 35mph winds that blew us sideways a couple times on a somewhat slick I35.


• A great dinner at Grandma Merical's house thanks to Kate.


• More presents.

Friday

• A nice day of hanging out at Legacy Pointe. Game room, walking through the halls, 11:30 lunch in the private dining room.


• Holly and I soaked our feet as we walked the dogs to Dahl's. The sidewalks and trails weren't plowed and with the temp in the mid 50's they were very sloppy.


• Out to dinner at Chopstiks. The service was a little frustrating but it was still a good time. Lilly met a friend and Buddha:
  
  
  
  
  
• We all went over to Jerel and Elaine's to visit and pick out pottery. It is always fun to see the new pieces and we especially enjoyed the stories and old family photographs.

Saturday

• There was another ice storm overnight:
  
  
  
  


• Geoff and Beth took off early for CO. Geoff forgot his flannel shirt which dad found in the closet:
  
  
  
  


• We took off late afternoon and the drive was ok with some weather off and on. We stopped in Ames for the world's best pizza at Great Plains Sauce and Dough Company:
  
  
  
  

Sunday

• Skied for 2 hrs at Elm Creek. There has been a huge meltdown and the manmade loop is all that is good skiing. Northern Lights was passable but pretty stinking hard - bordering on ice.


• Unpacked everything and got ready for round two of travel this week. Played with Lilly's Christmas gifts:
  
  
  
  


• Had the neighbor kids over for a while and played the "Monster Game"


• Boo is tired:
  
  
  

Butt Cold

Word is this could be the coldest week of winter. The wind chill is -25 right now...

Monday

• Shoveled the driveway. Wow, it's cold.


• Addressed and packed our Christmas cards. We might even get them out before Christmas.


• Rode the rollers while Holly rode the trainer. Did the CC "Climbing" video.

Tuesday

• Made a visit to MRS in Anoka over lunch. Seems nice.


• Played "The Princess is Dead" and "Santa Claus" with Lilly.


• Skied 1 hr at Elm Creek. New snow was nice. A little bit of packed powder on the man made loop and a few inches of slow stuff (on top of ice) on the Northern Lights loop. Cold temps (~0 deg) but I was able to stay warm.

Wednesday

• 2" of new snow. Shoveled early AM.


• Reading buddy. Fredrich doesn't like Mc Donalds. well, except for the fries and Mc. Chicken sandwiches.


• Lilly's last swim class. Morgan was a great teacher. I swam a half hour during Lilly's class.


• Our traditional Christmas picture in front of our tree:
  
  
  


• A little work from home.

Thursday

• 7 mile run at lunch w/ Todd, JVD and Brian. Todd broke off for a shorter run and JVD pushed it. Something about me having a fast time on the "Matlock" loop.


• Lilly's gymnastics class. They got to play in the big kids gym.


• Waxed the skis for this weekend. Setup a little bench in the basement for waxing our skis.

Friday

• Snow was predicted she didn't feel well so Holly stayed home with Lilly for a Mom and Lilly day.


• Day 1 of the "Early Bird" ski trip w/ Todd, Eric and Scott. Todd got me into skiing and skis a 2:40 Birkie. Eric had skied once previously. Scott is an elite wave Birkie skier. We drove to Hell's Kitchen in Duluth for breakfast and then continued on to Ironwood (UP, Michigan). Skied ABR for 2 hrs. Tight and winding like Elk River. I was toast after we did the hard loop as the last loop. On to Scott's parents' cabin in Ontonagon, MI.

Saturday

• Ski trip, day two. Wokeup and hit Syl's for breakfast. Skied 2 hrs at Sweedetown. Hilly. I had some heart flutter type thing going on that made me feel winded all the time. Not necessarily out of breath, just a super fast heart beat. I wrote it off as either caffeine or a chest cold. On to Michigan Tech ski trails for a HARD 1 hr ski. Super hilly. Pizza at The Ambassador in Houghton. Very cool place downtown overlooking the river and DH ski area.


• Holly and Lilly went to The Nutcracker ballet. Lilly loved it.

Sunday

• Ski trip, day three. We headed down to Seely to ski the Birkie trail at OO. It wasn't groomed! Frustrating. We tried and Mosquito Brook and same result. Hiked in a "quarter mile" to the cabin Scott is building. It is right on the trail at Mosquito Book. Wow. Headed back to the cities. 6.5 hrs in the car. Ugh. Great trip with some great guys.


• Came home to a cookie decorating party with Lilly and Kelsie. Grandma Shonna, Kalie and Kelsie had to stay an extra day because of the weather in southern MN / northern IA.


• Did an hour on the elliptical and finished The Hunt for Red October.

Guilty

We sent some people to prison for a long time. At least now life is back to normal.

Monday

• 8 mile run (early AM)


• Jury duty


• Sledding with Lilly and the neighbor kids


• Holly rode the trainer in the basement

Tuesday

• Shoveled show before heading downtown. We got another 2".


• The end of jury duty. I was chosen as the foreman. We deliberated for 4 hours and handed back a guilty verdict on conspiracy to manufacture greater than 1,000 marijuana plants. Sentancing guidlines for this are 10 - life.


• Holly went to spin class at the shop - she said she worked hard.


• I went skiing from 9:15 - 10:00. I saw Neil and we lap raced up the big hill. It took 15 minutes to catch him. It was nice to put out a hard effort as I was really cold and needed some heat.

Wednesday

• Back to our normal routine


• Reading buddy at lunch


• Swimming laps while Lilly had swim class. I forgot our goggles - she was able to borrow some, I wasn't. One instructor called me a, "trooper". One more swim class this semester.

Thursday

• 7 mile run at lunch w/ Joe. Good to talk to him again.


• Lilly's gymnastics class:
  
  
  
  
  


• 1.5 hr ski at Elm Creek. Northern Lights was open - a little undulating and some dirty snow but very much skiable.

Friday

• 7 mile run at lunch w/ Todd, Joe, Eric H. I wasn't really winded but it seemed like it took all my energy to keep running. I suppose it doesn't hurt when it's 6 degrees with a 10mph wind.


• Beginning of the "Dad and Lilly" weekend as Holly is on the Birkie trail for a women's XC ski clinic with Diane.


• Built a fire and watched Frosty the Snowman.

Saturday

• Slept in until Lilly woke me up.


• Lounged around the house, played games and did the laundry.


• Ran some errands.


• Ate at White Castle.
  Lilly's first sliders:
  
  
  
  Winter at White Castle:
  
  
  


• Ice skating up the street at Sorensen Park with the neighbor kids. The ice isn't quite ready. Which seems odd as it has been plenty cold.


• Built a fire and watched James and the Giant Peach. Lilly and I loved the book and the movie was good also.


• Ran on the elliptical to The Hunt for Red October. What a great movie.


• Made 4 batches of Chex Mix.

Sunday

• Slept in until Lilly woke me up. Found out later she was eating Chex Mix before I got up. What a stinker.


• It is raining - hard.


• Church


• Playing games inside - eventually with the neighbor kids.


• Ran on the elliptical. Pretty hard (avg hr: 156).


• Built a fire and watched Holly wrap Christmas gifts.


• Lilly in a long, skinny box:
  
  
  


• What a great weekend!

Jury Duty

Driving to Minneapolis this week for jury duty in US District Court.

Monday

• Reported for jury duty and was selected for a criminal trial. Conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana. Should be about a week.
  
  The seal:
  
  
  Downtown at night:
  
  


• Dean from Northstar Home Fitness was out to replace the plastic piece that was broken on our elliptical.


• Hipster Lilly goes to bed:
  
  
  

Tuesday

• 8-mile run early AM.


• Jury duty all day.


• Holly went to spin at the shop.


• Lilly and I went to the car dealer for an oil change on the Corolla.
  
  
  


• Walk with Boo.

Wednesday

• Rode the trainer 1 hr early AM.


• 1/2 day work, 1/2 day jury duty.


• Played tag and hide & seek with Lilly while Holly lifted weights.

Thursday

• 8-mile run early AM. (Holly did yoga).


• Dropped Lilly off then headed downtown for a full day of jury duty.


• Holly and Lilly went to Lilly's gymnastics class. Lilly did well and had a lot of fun. Kylee from preschool is in her class - fun! She "practiced" for me when they got home.


• Holly rode the trainier while I did the elliptical. Watched 3 Simpson's episodes on DVD (~1hr).

Friday

• In to work for a half day.


• Ran at lunch w/ Todd and Eric H.


• Downtown for a half day of jury duty.


• Holly's work Christmas party in Rogers. Pretty good time - overwhelming to be the new person at the party. Especially when everyone else has been working there 5+ years. A little snow on the way there and back.

Saturday

• 2 hr ski with Todd at Elm Creek (my first of the season). They had all of the 2.5k loop open except the small loop at the end of the tubing hill. It was pretty cold starting out so I warmed up quick by doing a few laps up the big hill. I was pooped after an hour and a half.


• Medtronic Children's Christmas Party. I took Lilly to this while Holly did some shopping. These parties are always busy but always fun. Lilly saw Natalie from preschool. They both are full of energy.
  
  I want a sit-on bouncy ball with princesses on it:
  
  
  
  A clown made Lilly a princess crown out of a baloon:
  
  
  


• Hit the Loon State Cycing party with Neil, Jay, and Hoglund. Great time as always. Rock Band and Miller Light. Always good to see Jorge and Mike Berger.

Sunday

• New snow (~ 2").


• Holly got an hour ski in (her first of the season). It was cold and crowded but still fun.


• Holly and Lilly went shopping while I finished cutting up the tree from last weekend and shoveled the driveway.


• Sledding on the new snow with the neighborhood kids.


• Holly rode the trainer for an hour and I did the elliptical for 30 minutes.

Thanksgiving

We have so much for which to be thankful.

Monday

• Ran 7 at lunch w/Joe. More doom and gloom. He's kind of that way sometimes. He did call MDT stock going down to 28.


• Lunch at Zantigo with Rob and Wade. Good times.


• Holly took Lilly to her last Abrakadoodle class.


• I went to Northstar Home Fitness and bought our Christmas present - an elliptical machine.


• For some reason the furnace didn't turn on and the house was down to 62 degrees. It works now, but before it warmed up there was some cuddling:
  
  
  

Tuesday

• Word is people are sking a 1.5k loop at Elm Creek (all man made).


• 8 mile hard run at lunch (by myself). 8 miles @ ~6:00 pace.


• Holly went to a 2 hr spin - she said there was good attendance.


• Lilly and I played "The Monster Game" and Old Maid with Hailey, Jake and Mia.


• More work until bed.

Wednesday

• 1hr on the spin bike at work.


• Picked up the elliptical, took it home and unpacked it. It was broken. Just a cosmetic thing so no big deal, but kind of dissapointing. We bought it from North Star Home Fitness and they've been great.

Thursday

• Holly went to Lifetime Fitness for their 2-hr Thanksgiving spin class with Madonna. She worked hard - it was a lot more standing than she was used to.


• I went mountain biking for 2.5 laps at Elk River. Saw a turkey on Thanksgiving:
  
  
  


• Cooked Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey breast, suffing, potatos, buns and pumpkin desert. Good food and wine. Called Beth, Mom and Dad and both Grandmas.

Friday

• 10 mile run in Elm Creek. Nice run on a nice morning.


• Decorating for Christmas. We found more lights for outside:
  
  
  
  The tree is "up".


• We went downtown to meet Russ, Teresa, Jackie, Aimee, Kalie, Jennifer (Kalie's roomate at RMA), Kelsie and Alex to see the Macy's A Day in the Life of an Elf
  
  
  
  
  


• Ate at Keys


• Went to the Terget Holidazzle parade:
  
  
  
  
  
  


• Russ, Teresa, Aimee, Holly and I went over to Amy's for the Goodbye to the Van party. We saw Jay, Melinda and Bill (TSH teamates) and Neil, Tom C and Larry. Very fun - great stories.

Saturday

• I worked with Russ to cut down a tree along the river bank that blocked us getting in and out with the boat


• Holly and Lilly went shopping with the others at Mall of America




• Jambalya for dinner


• Alex, Kelsie, Lilly and I watched a Snoopy movie while the other went out to the movies.

Sunday

• 45 minute run through an inch of new snow. (library)


• Holly went shopping with her sisters and nieces.


• Russ and I put together the elliptical machine.


• Stacked most of the remaining wood from the tree and pulled the deck pannels off of the dock.


• Holly rode the inagural ride/run of the elliptical machine.


• I watched the 2nd half of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory w/ Lilly.


• More work from home (especially since I'll be OOO at jury duty tomorrow).

Colder November

It seems colder this year. I remember bike commuting until after Thanksgiving two years ago. It's 16 degrees as I'm writing this. Yikes.

Monday

• 7 mile run w/Joe. Layoff rumors already.


• Lilly's Abrakadoodle Art Class. We walked up to Franklin Elementary (actually ran the whole way there as Lilly wanted to show she could run a long way) for art class. It was a chilly walk with the wind. The teacher read The Very Hungry Caterpillar and then all the kids made caterpillars. Here's Lilly's:
  
  
  

Tuesday

• The sun came up:
  
  
  


• Ran 8 at lunch w/Eric and Brian C.


• Came home and played with the neighbor kids in the basement. Played "monster" and Hi-ho Cherrio.


• Holly went to spin class and Lilly and I went to Target. "It's like a Christmas world!"
  
  
  
  
  

Wednesday

• Reading buddy.


• Dr. Appointment to have a mole looked at. He recommended removing it.


• Lilly swim class. I swam in the lap pool while she had her lesson. I peeked at her a few times and gave her a thumbs up. Her and Skyler (the other little girl) have a blast together.

Thursday

• Lilly was up coughing last night again.


• Ran 7 miles w/Joe, Todd, Eric and Nelson. Todd is a "cockeyed optimist". Joe, not so much.


• Played tag and "I AM A RO-BOT" with Lilly before dinner.


• I went to spin at the shop. Talked with Andy at Moonrock afterwards. Sounds like he's got a bead on fundraising for RAAM '09.


• More Lilly coughing. Just when we were thinking she was doing well this winter so far.

Friday

• 8 mile run w/Todd & Eric


• Played hula-hoops with Lilly's class after work.


• Home and then to Ruby Tuesday for dinner.


• Tag w/Lilly.


• Bath time. For Lilly and Boo.

Saturday

• Rode in the Ramsey parking ramp with Neil for 1.5 hrs. At first I thought we'd bag it 15 minutes into the ride. But I warmed up and we fell into a rhythm taking the corners where we could have a great conversation. Coffee afterwards. The coffee people had a, "good for you guys" attitude towards us riding in the ramp. That or, "just smile politely at the crazy people."
  
  
  
  


• Home in time to winterize the mower and weedeater before Holly and Lilly were back for the store.


• After lunch we all headed out to look at elliptical machines. Lilly tried every machine in the store.


• 5 mile run (Mercy Hospital) with Boo.


• Holly and Lilly watched a movie of short Disney stories. Monsters Inc. was one and Jack Jack from The Incredibles. Lilly was scared because Jack Jack had the super power to turn into a "baby on fire".


• I received a letter ordering me to report for jurry duty in US District Court on December 1st. Great.


• Buffalo chicken pizza.


• Holly, Madonna and Erika rode for two hours in the basement watching movies and chatting.

Sunday

• Woke up early and ran to the wooded trails by the Library. Got lost for a little bit on the trails. (~10 miles / 1:15)


• Another "Left Behind" type message at church. There was a genuine moment though.


• Holly and Lilly went to see Madagascar 2.


• I hung the Christmas lights:
  
  
  


• Washed and waxed the 4Runner.


• Talked to the neighbor Jeff about taking out the tree that hangs over the river. He's cool with it - that's nice of him.


• Played outside with the neighbor kids. At one point I was a prisoner in the dog run. They were all turned the other way talking to Holly and I scaled the fence and was just standing there. They all did a double take when they realized I was on the opposite side of the fence.


• More working from home.


• Another great weekend.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

well, Thanksgiving anyway. No snow on the ground by Halloween, but close.

Monday

• 7 mile run at lunch with Joe, Todd, JVD and Eric. Faster paced run today.


• Lilly and I built a fort to hid in when mom came home.


• Holly took Lilly to her first "Abrakadoodle" art class at Franklin Elementary. Lilly found a friend Lexie and they had so much fun they didn't want to leave. Lilly brought home some modeling clay - "it's like silly clay!" Here's the artist and her work:
  
  
  


• Holly rode the trainer so I joined her on rollers for a half hour. It really loosened up my legs from all the running I've done as of late.

Tuesday

• 7 miler at lunch with JVD, Eric and Nelson. John started fast and it was a decent pace the whole run. Eric and Nelson said, "See ya later," about 3 minutes into it.


• Lilly likes jumping on the bed also:
  
  
  
  


• We had Jacob and Amelia over for a while after dinner. The kids were more interested in jumping off of the table into the Jumpoline rather than checking out the awesome Lincoln Log house I built. :)

Wednesday

• Reading buddy.


• It was "safety day" at Lilly's swim class. They talked about water safety and even had them jump in the water with sweatshirts on to simulate what it'd be like to fall in with clothes on:
  
  
  


• Talked a little more to Mike W at swim. He said there's always a lap lane open if I wanted to do some laps while Lilly is in class. Cool.


• Holly went for a run (after dinner in the dark) and felt pretty good.


• I took Boo for a walk. They've started dredging out the Rum River. Next summer we'll be able to take our boat up to the docks in downtown Anoka. Certianly a novelty since we can walk there in 5 minutes.

Thursday

• 7+ mile run at lunch w/Todd, JVD and Eric. (48:50)


• Read to Lilly's preschool class. Olivia and Hungry Hen. A little bit of a surprise ending in the last one when the hen eats the fox.


• My own mini duathlon. Rode 1hr on rollers, ran 4 miles. (1:25)

Friday

• 8 miles at lunch w/Joe, Todd, Eric C, Eric H, JVD. J, J and J (me) took the longer loop to make it 8. Eric lost his watch.


• Rode for an hour to Harry Potter with Holly. She did two hours. Good for her!

Saturday

• Ran to the dam and back (13+ miles). The dam is closed so I did the Anoka side there and back. Good run. Listened to Greg Boyd sermons for most of it.


• Worked in the yard. Finally got all the leaves up. And cleaned out of the gutters. The kids "helped" for some of it too.
  
  Tackle her!!!
  
  
  Huge leaf pile!
  
  
  In lockup.
  
  
  Hailey is under the tarp. She thought it'd make a good parachute. It didn't. But she still liked jumping.
  
  


• Had dinner, played puzzles, drank some wine, watched The Illusionist and went to bed.

Sunday

• 2nd time at Mt Olive


• Lilly and I rode a lap in the park. She was bundled up in the trailer. The trailer makes me work hard and go slower which keeps me warm. My fingers and toes were cold by the end (and so were Lilly's). Some cocoa helped.


• Lilly and Holly went to the library and bowling while I stayed home to work from home and to cook beef stew. When they got home we were all working on a computer. I was working, Holly was doing foundation stuff and Lilly was playing PBS Kids. She looks like she's ready for an office job:
  
  
  


• The stew was great! Lilly wasn't. And neither was dad.