Christmas Letter 2008

Thanksgiving in Alaska

Time for a 3D movie!!
Emery checking in with Grandma at school, maybe registering for preschool.
Captive audience or first fiddle lesson.
My violin looks like a bass fiddle next to Emery.

These were some photos of Emery on her first trip to Alaska. I think we have more pictures and movies of Emery already (2 months) than of me in my lifetime. It's the magic and wonder of digital cameras and computers.

Frosty Art

Here are some jack frost pictures on a cold, cold morning.

Icy Art

Went skating on the lake for about a week or more until the snow came, found some great icy feathery crystals that were hard to catch in the camera.
This crack in the ice makes an abstract screen saver.
Notice the skate. It is great to skate on a lake.

Cousins visit

Angela with Emery, Willa, and Ava.
Small foot.
Small foot with ring.
Most of John's and Heidi's families.
Emery, John, and Heidi.

Newborn

Grandma Lois Ann
Time for a change.
Daddy and daughter.

Emery Kadence

This is Heidi calling us Monday night at about 7:20PM Alaska time right after our first grandaughter was born.
She weighed 7lbs. 3oz. the same wieght as Holly and Christoffer when they were born.
I had a little trouble downloading the big photos so this is size we have for now.

First Snow

Add a little color to your winter by keeping the fall leaves on the trees.
This snow came the yesterday and last night while Emery was being born.

Very cool Alaskan summer

Click the title above to read all about our COOL summer up here. It was not a new record but you can see many neat graphs from NOAA that shows how it compared to other summers since 1917.

STILL RETIRED

Don't know too much about retirement yet because it's only been one month so far. Have been playing golf, but that will end soon. Putting up siding and painting the house on the lake, and this winter will be busy on the bathroom and kitchen there. Also hoping to get rid of all the JUNK that i stored in the garage to (look at +) throw away if retirement became boring.

Summer green

Early morning fog and a fresh mown lawn make the house look kind of nice.

Butchart Gardens

Some beautiful ladies looking for a place to enjoy their coffee.
We often come to Butchart Gardens when we visit John and Heidi.

This time it was the height of summer blossoming, especially the rose garden.
It is amazing how this family has shared this beautiful place with the world. Click on the title to see more.

RETIRED

Pre-wedding sitting around and waiting

Here is Dan either reading or sleeping in the chair.
Paul in his usual position at the computer.
Just about everyone sitting and waiting to get ready for the big event.

Visiting the land barons

Getting the fire ready for an outdoor meal of beans and hot dogs with Kurt, Lois Ann, and Dean.
I don't recall if these were flowers or some kind of crop.
This is only a small part of all the land they have.

RED WINGS WIN

Congratulations!!! I've been following these guys all year and for many years. They play a puck control game which is exciting to watch. At times it looks like keep away when it works well. They usually have the puck about 2/3's of the time and usually have many more shots on goal. This year the top 2 teams met in the finals for a fantastic series.

Bo and Cathy part 2

There was a fiddle around so we played some tunes.
Cathy's mom is 97 and is very sharp. She was a librarian for 10+ years and everyone asks her about what happened over the years in this part of Minnesota.
Bo and Cathy
Bo has been retired for 3 years. Now Lois Ann has higher expectations for me when retirement starts in August.

Bo and Cathy

This house used to belong to Cathy's mom. Bo and Cathy added on to it and it is huge and has an old fashioned feeling.
I had not seen Bo for about 10 years. He is trying to make the photo interesting. We went to the same church as kids and were friends in school and afterwards but managed to miss seeing each other on my trips to Minnesota.
This part of the original house is made with 2x8's laid flat on top of each other like logs. Wow!!! They don't use that much wood today.
Figures made with popsicle sticks. Buy his book to see them up close. (coming soon?)
Here is Bo in his art and music room.