I'm Going to be a Big Sister!

Of course, I've actually been a big sister to my awesome brothers for almost 32 years. Now I'll get to be a Big Sister to a young girl through the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program!

I've been thinking about doing this for years and finally signed up last fall. The wait has been long, but today I finally got word that I've been matched.

Here's what I know so far about my little sister:

Alexis
age 9
third grade

She lives with her mom, brother, sister and a cat. She plays basketball, dances and enjoys math.

I get to meet Alexis and her family on Thursday!

Wrapping Up Our Travels

These are the last of the photos from our post-New Year's trip to Michigan. They are also the last photos from my beloved digital camera, but I'll save that sad tale for another day.

On our trip we went to Chris' Grammie's house for dinner. Also present for Opal's outstanding lasagna were Chris' uncle Mike, aunt Donna and several - but not all - members of their family.

Chris' cousin Cindy and her son, Sawyer

Sawyer with dad, Ryan

Chris' cousin Jenny's baby, James

Here's a view of Main Street in Rochester, Chris' home town, where they really go all out with the holiday lights. For several blocks, every building is covered with hundreds of lights. It was so fun and festive!

"Wii" had fun!

The weekend after New Year's (yes, I'm falling behind), Chris and I traveled to Michigan. He had a meeting and new project there so we extended his trip to visit friends and family. We stayed with friends Chris and Kristin Harper and their 5-year old twins, Kate and Kyle.

Here are a few fun videos of Nintendo Wii action from the weekend. It may look like that's all we did, but there was probably only about an hour or two of gaming the whole weekend. That's plenty, if you ask me!

Kate takes on a boxing challenger, while Kyle tries to get in on the action.

Chris boxes while Kate, Kyle and Chris look on.

No one can say I'm not humble, posting a video like this of myself. Geez, my boxing skills look more like modern dance moves than fighting maneuvers!

On Sunday evening we had dinner with the Darnells: Matt, Sherrie, Jack and Nick. They got a Wii for Christmas too!

They have two controllers, so Chris and Matt were able to box against one another. I thought they were going to take this offline for a minute or two!

Chris would like me to point out that my video was taken prematurely and that I missed him "kicking Matt's you-know-what!"

Chris and Matt also played baseball. If I recall, Chris also won that game!

Stay tuned for non-gaming photos from our Michigan trip next week!

Party in Aberdeen

On the Saturday after Christmas, we went to Aberdeen for Christmas with the Healys and Reed's 60th birthday party. Events were held at Reed and Deanna's beautiful new home.

Chad, Brennan, Grandma Julie

Sara and Brennan

Josh, Trevor's head and arm, Bobbi, Jack

Tiffany, Julie, Yvonne

Olivia and Mike

Olivia (she breaks out in a smile the moment a camera is pointed at her!)

Marilyn and Sara

Yvonne and Olivia

Dennis and Olivia

Grandma Julie, Sophia, Kristina

More Christmas

Although we may be too old (and probably way too naughty) to deserve it, Santa still finds us and fills our stockings with treats. Thanks Santa!



Chris and Amber had a competitive online Scrabble match, as you can see from the serious look on Amber's face.


Trevor showed me how to jump on the air mattress.

Lucky Trevor got lots of fun gifts.


The 'chicken dance' chicken was actually for Chris, but Trevor seemed to enjoy it as well.

Modeling their gear and clothes.



Scooter looks like some kind of space alien dog.

Trevor seemed to enjoy mixing potions with his new bath set (goggles included).

Christmas Eve

Happy New Year! It has been such a long time since my last post. Following a fantastic five day Christmas excursion in frosty Ivanhoe and frigid Aberdeen, I managed to contract some type of illness that knocked me out most of last week. Fully recovered in the nick of time, but after a seriously lame New Year's Eve that ended well before 10pm, we were off for another four day trip - this time to surprisingly sunny (3 out of 4 days!) Michigan.

I took so many pictures (me? it's a Christmas miracle!) so will spread them out over a few posts. Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start... (name that tune, anyone? anyone?)

Chris and I began accumulating an excessive number of gifts before even leaving home. I'm certain Chris' favorite gift from me was the 16 quart All-Clad stockpot. Who wouldn't love one of those? He did ask for "a bigger pot" in which to cook ribs...

I was the lucky recipient of a Scooba. No surprise there, as I purchased it myself! The jury's still out on the effectiveness of the robot floor washer, as this was a deeply discounted floor model. Two unsuccessful attempts - both thwarted by inadequate battery life - indicate that Scooba might work quite well once I purchase a new battery.

Upon arriving in Ivanhoe on Christmas Eve day, we visited with the fam and Amber indulged us in yet another one of her fabulously odd poses, while Dad struck up his best stoic face and Chris grinned, probably still thinking about his All-Clad stockpot (I know I would have been).

Mom recently got a dog, a one year old Shih Tzu named Scooter. She's quickly become my buddy and I brought her a t-shirt in which she looked adorably festive.

Grandpa Dennis let Trevor open a gift early. Who knew they still made Lincoln Logs? They seem to be better than ever, with plenty of plastic accessories to help make the log structures more exciting and colorful.

Jon constructed a high-quality two-room cabin in a flash, not unlike the real-life work he does every day!

Lucky Trevor got to wrap up in his warm Cars blanket while Amber toted him to their next destination!
Dad and I looked fancy for church in our coordinating striped hats. Quite a pair!

Stay tuned for the next installment tomorrow...