Thanksgiving

Last night we got about three more inches of snow. We now have enough for dog sledding. Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving Morning. Kari took Joachim and Macrina down Darby Road, cut up to Monestary, came out at the Big House / Church then went down Monestary to the Old Glenn then took the new bike bath along the Old Glenn back to Darby. I did the same without the kids. It was a blast.

The Parents' New Crib

My parents recently moved to Homer, AK. Here are a few pictures taken when we visited in October. It is a rather large, log home. There are three stories, the basement is heated with an oil heater, the rest is wood stove. The views are spectacular. You can't really tell but you can see the Homer spit from their house, also about three glaciers.

This picture is a little fuzy becuase of condensation. I left my camera in the car overnight, then brought it and took this picture. It is of their living room - awesome cathedral ceillings and a long stove pipe.

Update

Kari and the kids went down to MN on Oct 15th. I joined them Oct 31st and we all came back on Nov 10th. While in MN, my parents were able to stop by the cities on their way back from MI to AK. They went to the Mall of America, a goat farm, a pumpkin farm, we celebrated Halloween, went to Duluth for a couple of days and stayed at a hotel with an indoor water park. We visited Taylors Falls. I went deer hunting - It was a team effort but I got a 6 point buck. It was a great trip. But we are all glad to be back home. Enjoy the pictures.

Joachim dressed as Luke Skywalker. He is pretty obsessed with
Star Wars.

Macrina dressed as a penguin.

We trick or treated at Uncle Phil's and Aunt Bonnie's church. Each year they have indoor trick or treating and it was a blast. Lots of candy in a short amount of time.

At the Pumpkin Farm.

Four Generations.

Joachim showing off his car he made at Legoland in the Mall of America.

Getting ready to race the cars.

Macrina in Legoland.

In the amusement park in the Mall of America.

Joachim showing some of his Jedi moves at the Goat Farm.

Macrina checking out the chicken, at the Goat Farm. In case you do not know, Kari really wants to get goats and any chance she gets will go to see some.

Ridding tractors. Uncle Paul would be proud!

Grandpa, Uncle Phil Joachim and myself at Canal Park in Duluth.

Macrina, Uncle Phil and Aunt Bonnie at the end of the Pier in Canal Park.

Grandma, Grandpa and Joachim on the Pier.

Looking down at Canal Park from Enger Park.

At Enger Park. Joachim really wanted to climb the rocks.

At Taylors Falls. This is on the border of MN and WI. It is really cool because when the glaciers were receding from the last ice age a huge river formed here. The eddies in the river caused the small pebbles to boar down into the soft beadrock and form perfectly round smooth potholes. Some as big as twenty feet across and 60 feet deep!

Joachim and Macrina looking down at me. This is the St Croix river, still at Taylors Falls.

We had an awesome time at Taylors Falls. Both Joachim and Macrina are great little climbers for their age.

And finally the deer. Tim, my father in law shoot it first. His shot went thru the gut and out the other side taking out a back leg. The deer still had pleanty of life in it however. When I heard his shot I got out of my tree stand and went to his. I was able to track the deer down and then shoot it in the front shoulder, I was aiming at the lungs/heart. The deer got up ran about 20 feet then was down for good. I kept the antlers and will mount them. I think they will look good next to my gun cabinet. It was quite the experiance.

Last Night

Last night after reading some books Joachim asked if he could sleep with Macrina. We let him, and after Macrina crying (she does this every night) and tossing and turning, this is how they fell asleep. Their feet are near the pillow, their heads on the edge of the mattress. And then Katie joined.

Fishing

The other day I went halibut fishing out of Seward. I was invited by my brother in law, Peter, who was invited by Sam a co-worker of his who owns a boat. The weather in Seward was awesome! We had a bit of sun, and the seas, even outside Resurrection Bay were calm. I did not get seasick, plus I got two monster halibut and one rockfish. My freezer is now full of halibut! Below are some pictures:

This was my approx 100 pounder fish. It was so big we had to shoot it before bringing it into the boat. It was the second fish like that we caught that day, the other was caught by Sam. This was the last fish caught for the day, and I was so hungry when the fish bit that by the time I got it up in the boat my legs were shaking and I thought I was going to throw up!

Here is Peter with a rockfish. We all caught one of these, they are ugly, but supposedly real tasty. They die when reelling them up because of the pressure difference.

Here was the first fish caught for the day. It was my approx 50 pounder. When reelling it in I grunted quite a bit and throughout the day we jocked about that. All in all it was a great day of fishing and I hope to be able to go next year.

Joachim's First Day of Preschool!

On Thursday Joachim had his first day of preschool. He is attending St John's. He was so excited to be going to school. For weeks he has told of that only big boys go to school and what they will do etc. Since we have been watching a lot of Star Wars in our house lately he think everyone will also get a light saber, he wants a green one. Anyway, on his first day he got to play with playdough, do puzzles and play with his 'new friends.' Below are some pictures.

Macrina got to play a little before school started.

On his first day of school Joachim wanted to wear his 'Texas running shirt'. To him any thing that is short-sleave and has letters is a 'running shirt'. He want to wear one everyday. It is only an issue on Sunday's when we go to church. Then we compromise. We put a running shirt under his church appropriate shirt. But right after church, at coffee hour, that church appropriate shirt has to come off.

Oh yeah, today is our 5 year anniversary.

Trees

Home Depot is having a 50% off all remaining trees and shrubs now, so I got these five Alberta Dwarf Spruce trees for less than $20.00! I hope they 'take' and survive the winter.

Mom's House

Above are some pictures of my Mom's newly remodeled house. Some of the major changes are the new flooring and paint. Also new bathroom counters, sinks and tub enclosers, a new French Door with blinds between the glass and all the books have been moved downstaris.