A horse is a horse

Of course!

Lilly has been into playing the Sleeping Beauty game (I'm the prince). We eat poison apples, fight goblins and play in our "kingdoms". Last night we made a horse to make inter-kingdom travel easier:












Hwy 10 was really slick this morning. Plenty of cars in the ditch and a few on their roofs. Incredible sunrise through the cold mist:

Cold + Sledding Video

It is -20 right now. Our garage doors are probably frozen shut. :)

Here's a 1st person view of the sledding hill:

Snow!

Probably about 4" out there today. Maybe 3" more Tomorrow night. Seems like the first decent snowfall we've gotten. Jason was home today and shoveled the upper driveway for us.

Lilly and I went sledding with Jacob and Mia. Mia only lasted about 10 minutes as she was clipped by Lilly's sled while walking up the hill and was ready to go in. Jacob and Lilly took turns hitting either the hay bale or the pine tree. Jeez...

Holly went skiing with Diane as Wednesday night is going to be cold. She said the snow was loose and it was kind of slow but she got in two hours and still had a good time.

Speaking of cold. Apparently Chicken, Alaska hasn't seen a high temp above 0 degrees since December 1st. Holy crap.

Went for a run with Joe today. Snowy and windy but I hadn't talked with him for awhile so it was a great run.

Back to Normal

A full week of work...

Monday

• Ran 7 at lunch w/ Todd, Joe, JVD and Eric. Tough run when part of your energy goes into slipping.


• Holly and Lilly played Trouble after dinner and Lilly won! We all played tag.


• I rode a half hour on the rollers - Holly rode an hour on the trainer.


• Boo and I went for a short walk. We saw Jeff and he asked why we left the dock in the river. Uh-oh...

Tuesday

• Sledding w/ Lilly and the neighbor kids. After putting the hay bale in front of the pole at he bottom of the hill, the kids tried to hit it.


• Holly did spin at Trailhead


• 1.5 hrs on the elliptical to the 2nd "half" of the Fellowship of the Ring.

Wednesday

• Reading Buddy


• Swim class. Lilly took a little while to get used to her new teacher so I cut my swimming short and watched her class. She's the only kid signed up for this time slot so 1:1 instruction may be a little weird for her too.


• Holly went skiing with her friends.


• An hour on the elliptical to the 3rd "half" of The Fellowship of the Ring

Thursday

• 7 mile run at lunch. Just me and JVD (one of the best masters runners in the state). Fairly hard run. :)


• Lilly's gymnastics class.


• Skiing at Elm Creek with Bernie, Neil and JayT. Neil had the idea of racing each other with handicaps. I was to do 5 laps, Neil and JayT 4, and Bernie 3. We all were cooked afterwards.

Friday

• The snow that was predicted to go just north of us missed us to the south. Darn.


• Holly and I watched Casino Royale while working out. She rode the trainer for the entire 2hr movie while I did the rollers for half and the elliptical for half.

Saturday

• Skied with Neil, Bernie, Larry and Tony. We did two loops of the multi-use trail (the "outer" outer loop) at Elm Creek. Coffee afterwards at Hudy's.


• Holly, Lilly and I went ice skating. Lilly is getting better but looses interest quickly.

Sunday

• Holly skied the multi-use and outer loop at Elm Creek. Great skiing after a couple inches of light snow.


• A quick shovel job.


• Coffee at Avant Garden espresso bar in Anoka
  
  
  


• A trip to Minnesota Children's Museum
  
  Hmong settlement:
  
  
  Face painting:
  
  
  
  
  Fish:
  
  
  
  
  Rock video:
  
  
  Doggie:
  
  
  Water fun:
  
  
  Turtles (the real one smiled!):
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Bus:
  
  
  Chillin' with Ron:
  



• An lively hour on the elliptical.

Happy New Year

2008 was a great year. I think 2009 will be even better.

Monday

• 8 miles on the treadmill at lunch. 7:00 for the first 6, 6:30, 6:00.

Tuesday

• Musical machines at work over lunch. 15 min each on elliptical, spin bike, treadmill, stairs.


• Dinner with Holly for our 10 year anniversary. Drinks at Maverick's Wood Grill and dinner at Buona Sera.

Wednesday

• 1:10 on the elliptical (early AM)


• Drive to Sioux Center. Stopped at Mc Donalds for a break:
  
  
  
  


• Lunch at the bakery.


• New Years Eve in Sioux Center.


• Boo and Skipper celebrate the new year:
  
  
  
  
  

Thursday

• 1 hr run in Sioux Center. 4 laps of the road by the new golf course.


• Christmas with Holly's family.
  
  Lilly got a guitar:
  
  
  
  
  
  Kelsie got Guitar Hero:
  
  
  
  
  

Friday

• Our 10 year wedding anniversary. Holly got me a great book of pictures from the beginning of our relationship. She also bought me a new ring. It has all of our birthstones:
  
  
  


• Volleyball at Dordt


• Snowmobiling with Rusty


• I ran a few laps on the indoor track and ran home


• Dinner with Lynette, Rylee and Bob at Blue Mountain Smokehouse in Orange City.

Saturday

• Brunch at the bakery


• We decided to take off early to try and beat the ice/snow storm. Here's the car when we got home:
  
  
  
  
  


• An hour on the elliptical to the first hour of The Fellowship of the Ring

Sunday

• Holly and Lilly dropped Kalie off at the airport while I shoveled the driveway.


• Took down the Christmas decorations and lights. It was a little big cold taking down the lights.


• 1.5 hours (2 outer loops + 1 Northern Lights loop) at Elm Creek. Squeaky, cold snow. Listened to the first half of the Vikings playoff game on the radio.


• Roast for dinner.

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.