2008 Polar Plunge- Ogao Memorial

Freezing! Once again, I succumbed to peer pressure and at noon on new year's day I dived into frigid Lake Michigan. Catherine was a little smarter and stayed home while Elizabeth finished her nap. With a high of 23 degree Fahrenheit, a wind chill of 6 degrees, lake water a toasty 33 degrees, I came to the conclusion that it was absolutely ridiculous what we were doing.... but that stroke of common sense still didn't stop us from going in. Todd Lyman and Ken Olson led the charge with Tim Rauch and I following. Todd and Ken kept going out to the deeper water. As soon as the water was about 18" deep, I layed down, rolled over and sprinted back to shore. I think that I was back on the shore before Todd or Ken had turned back. It was cold. My toes felt like they were going to snap off. Today made last year's polar plunge of 43 degrees look like a trip to Florida. The best part is that our good friend Roger Petersen organized all of this and then he was no were to be found. He claims that he was there but none of us quite believe that he made it in the water. I think that Roger pulled off the best practical joke of the year getting his 6 friends to jump into a freezing lake! Here are some pictures that I hope you enjoy!

How much do you know about Christmas?

I am pround to say that after a few years of not taking tests I have PASSED the Christmas test!For those who chose to take the test as well...good luck!

You Know a Lot About Christmas

You got 8/10 correct You know tons about the history and traditions surrounding Christmas. When you celebrate the holidays, you never forget their true meaning - or all the little fun details. Random Christmas fact: "Jingle Bells" was originally written as a Thanksgiving song.

How Much Do You Know About Christmas?

Tis the season... over a month ago

Okay, I know that it's over a month late but our friends finally sent us a picture of our family at the MCW Halloween party. Elizabeth was so cute as a "Sweet Pea". Anyways, hope that you are all loving life while we freezing our butts off in the 5 degree weather of Wisconsin!

Advent, Advent ein Licht lein brennt, erst eins.....

Tonight, we celebrated Advent. Catherine's family has long celebrated this german holiday, which represents the coming of the Christ child. For the three Sunday's preceding Christmas and Christmas Eve, family and friends gather to light a candle, read a Christmas book, and have a good time. We felt so lucky to have Josh & Jill Hunter, Marc & Trisha Crosby, and all of their kids join us. They are great friends and we are grateful to know them.

Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a great Weekend with our friends in Milwaukee. We Started the day off with our traditional Turkey Day flag football game while one of the Young Women was nice enough to watch Elizabeth and let us go play in the cold (thanks Cindy!). Later we spent the afternoon at a friends house and had an amazing Thanksgiving feast! Life is pretty good!!!

Elizabeth also had her 6 month check up and the short genes are kicking in, she is down from 90th to 60th percentile in height. Weight is about 20%. Everything is looking good.

She has been so much fun! she loves to grab at anything she can get her hands on, including Jackson's pumpkin pie that quickly went to the floor. She also loves people and smiles all the time accept for pictures. We have learned that if we want to capture her smile we have to be sneaky.

Festival of Lights 2007- Chicago

We spent Saturday afternoon in downtown Chicago enjoying the Disney's Festival of Lights. This is a city activity that celebrates and kicks-off the Christmas season: the lights along Michigan Avenue are turned on as Mickey Mouse and his entourage pass astride decorated floats. The lights turn on as the procession neared. In the low 40's with a damp rain, the night required a good coat and hat. Elizabeth, as you will see, dawned her snow suit for the first time. Unfortunately, this night she did not see her first snow. Fortunately for her mother's warmth and well being, it did not snow.

Nearly an hour before the parade began people were already lining the avenue, claiming their frontline chicago realestate. Catherine and I wondered if we would even be able to see anything. As we were crossing Erie street, heading south, the police closed the intersection and pulled barracades into place and we, by dumb luck, were able to get right up front. We had a great view of the procession but paid for it by standing in place from 5-6:20PM, waiting. Although Catherine and I enjoyed the experience, I don't think Elizabeth will remeber much... except maybe for the taste of her snowsuit.

And for those who were wondering, our family does have a patagonia problem.

Tagged Twice in One Day "OUCH!"

I am used to playing tag all the time at work with groups and patients but this is a first on a computer thanks to Chelsea and Carmen!! P.S. can you tag back in this game? Then I wouldn't have to write anything right?
Well these were the only rules I was given:
A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning
B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog for game rules/details

1. I hate being put on a spotlight! I lead large and small groups all the time, and poor people have to listen to me all day, but I hate having people look at me. Why I am in the profession that I am as well as teaching Pilates is beyond me. It definatly pushes me outside of my comfort zone.

2. I love my sweets! I have found myself some days wondering if I ate anything that did not have sugar in it. I have to force myself somedays to remember to eat the healthy stuff.

3. I am a terrible person to talk on the phone with because; I dislike talking on the phone. I find myself getting distracted then I forget what people say and let's face it I am not much of a conversationalist. I'd rather be hitting a tennis ball or playing a sport with someone.

4. I love to shop! Now if you knew me in high school I did not know what shopping was. To prove it you can somehow get a hold of one of my yearbooks and see my fashionable oversized t-shirts and jeans.

5. In elementary school I had to scrape gum off tables and clean classrooms for a Summer because I kicked a hole in the wall of our 6th grade classroom.

6. Last but not least; I have never made it awake through any of the Lord of the Rings movies.

WOW isn't my life exciting, hopefully you learned a couple of odd facts about me. There are NO tag backs on this one: If you have already been tagged sorry just ignore:
Kate B
Katie R
Amy and Wes (that's 2)
Sunny and Bradden (2 more)!