Merry Christmas from ..... Oregon?

I finally had time to edit a photo from Christmas, this is one of my favorites from .....our trip out west? Click the photo to reveal more information.

Swim Lessons

The girls had their fifth week of swim lessons on Monday, with a couple more left. Here are photos from the different half hour sessions.

Seasonal Visitor

Lately there has been an influx of postings to the Wisconsin Birding Network with the return of early spring migrants. Spring is a perfect fix for my cabin fever, as the season brings me hope of new and exciting times and renewed interest.

Spring is the highlight of Wisconsin birding, as an ever changing group of migrants populate the state. Some species are returning for the breeding season, other species are just passing through. The end of April and beginning of May are the best weeks for warblers and other passerines. Birding by car today I saw 38 different species, with the number of hawks being noteworthy. I saw 8 American Kestrels (including this cooperative female), 3 Red-tailed Hawks, 3 Northern Harriers, 4 Bald Eagles, and 6 Rough-legged Hawks. This light-morph Rough-legged Hawk was found on the Mead Wildlife Area. Rough-legged Hawks visit during winter from the north, and soon will be gone again until next winter.

Michaela's Birthday

Here is a slideshow of pictures from January 29th-Januar 31st! All four grandparents, Great Grandma Betty and friends visited for Michaela's 4th Birthday. We all appreciated our families taking time to come and visit. The girls always enjoy having visitors at their house and love to show off their toys and show them the things they like doing. So thank you Grandma's and Grandpa's for making Michaela's birthday a special time.

Therapy

The last couple of days have been therapeutic. I'm feeling very uncreative today and feel my inner narrative is still sleeping, thus you get a chronological list of recent events.

1. We missed Chandler's wrestling on Friday, arriving late coming from a conference in Appleton earlier the day. :(
2. Saturday we played a few games of cards and were lucky to spend time with Gary, Chris, Nick, Matt, Bud, Gay, and my parents at the hotel before heading back to Marshfield.
3. Danielle and Michaela went with my parents and are visiting both grandparents in Minnesota. :)
4. Christine and I were able to sit through an entire church service together, likely the first time in a long time.
5. We slept in until 9!!!
6. Last night we had a drinks and appetizers at Applebee's with a few campus colleagues. Christine and I both enjoyed ourselves, which as many of you know can be a challenge considering our introvert natures.

A great thanks to friends and family!

Cultural Fair

This past Saturday we attended the Cultural Fair (Click on link to open video in Google Docs) on the UW Marshfield/Wood County campus. The girls enjoyed story time, the puppet shows, face paints, puzzles, the camel, and of course ran wild through campus. It was wonderful seeing many coworker families in attendance!

Countertop at the Gold House

With a sunshine filled day it is easy to think of upcoming spring, but today I was reminded of Christmas. You may ask how so...well here is a picture!

No this is not the recipe for a major party, rather it is the next round of Vanilla! If you would like more vanilla this coming year for Christmas save the bottle, we'll fill them back up!