Welcome home Lucy!

Lucy made it back to California this morning. Wayne and Sue dropped her off at the airport in Minneapolis and four hours later she arived in Sacramento.

Your so vain you probably think these plates...

I finally got my car registered in CA.  I got vanity plates and I really like them!

Winter Wonderland

Janelle and I are back in California after our 16 day winter break in Minnesota. Lucy was unable to fly with us this morning due to to cold temperature. No worries though, Wayne and Sue are looking after her and will get her on a plane later this week.

We had a great time visiting with friends and family. Here are some highlights in no particular order.

Lucy and Chloe got to play again after not seeing each other for over six months. They had a great time wrestling and chasing after one another. There is no doubt that they will be best buddies when we move back.

At the Tubbs' family Christmas the Tubbs' men bared stomach and chest for an exciting game of smack. It's a ping-pong game where players try to score three points. The loser must then lift his shirt while the winner hits a ball at his chest. And yes, ping-pong balls leave welts. Just ask Evan! 

It just wouldn't be winter without some outdoor hockey. I only packed five days of clothes so I could fly my hockey equipment back and it was well worth it. I got out twice, once with Logan in Albert Lea and once with Andy, Forsman and Ian in Minneapolis. It was so much fun playing with the guys again. We played for two and a half ours when it was 7 degrees!

While I was playing hockey Janelle met Jaclyn and Leah for lunch and some girl talk. From what I hear they had a good time.

Of course I can't forget what brought us back to MN in the first place....Christmas! We enjoyed many Christmas celebrations with all sides of our family. All involving good food conversation and Christmas cookies! Thank you to all the hosts of our Christmas breakfasts, lunches and dinners!

Thanks again everyone for making our trip home so much fun, Happy New Year!

Seasons Greetings!

Since it's too late for a Christmas card, we just decided to post it on the blog. We wish everyone a happy holiday season. Hope you like our picture of Lucy...it took 33 takes.

Flea Find

Today, at the flea market in Alameda we found an old fire extinguisher. We've seen a few and this one was in the best condition and the lowest price, so we had to get it. 

"Winter" Events

Thursday night was the annual holiday light parade in Lodi. Janelle and I helped put together General Mills' float. The parade was made up of over 80 floats made by businesses and local organizations. There was an estimated 50,000 people along the parade route.


Tonight I did something that I never thought possible.... played golf, at night, in December. I went to the local driving range at 6:00 and hit a bucket of balls, chipped and putted. It was 46* which may explain why I was the only person on the range. I plan on going to the driving range at least once a week over the winter. Matt, Andy, Jones, Fors, watch out next year!

Heath Ceramics

Saturday, Janelle and I drove to Sausalito (just north of the Golden Gate Bridge) to Heath Ceramics. They offer a tour of their facilities every weekend. It was a great tour that walked us from making the clay through firing.

This is a picture of the pitcher we bought. They had a lot of interesting pieces as well as custom tile.

One of Heath's kilns. Dad...just think how many Rendezvous mugs you could fit in there!

After the tour we went across the Golden Gate Bridge to the beach in San Francisco. It was a beautiful day, upper 60's, sunny and huge waves!