As many of you know, Jess and I have decided to take an associate pastor position at Cornerstone Church in Austin, MN.
SPAMTOWN
Last Sunday, July 27th, was our last Sunday at Sparta New Life. We are sad to leave our friends in Sparta, but very happy to be moving to Austin to begin a new chapter of our lives.
Here is a picture of the sanctuary of the Cornerstone Church.
Hey just wanted everyone to know that my best friend Aaron Lindholm and family now have a blog. They recently just added their third child to the family, three boys. I think there names are
Boots, Maverick, and Butch.
Well one of those is correct. Be sure to check out there latest video it is pretty cute. THE LINDHOLM BLOG Here is a picture of me and Aaron from the old days.
This weekend we got a chance to run down to my parents house just for a night. My dad had a new pier that he just put in down on their lake and he wanted the boys to come do some fishing. Jacob had been looking forward to it for a long time. We had a great night friday night. We ate fish and frog legs (a specialty at the local restaurant) and then spent a beautiful summer night fishing on the dock. We caught a bunch of sunnies and they were good sized too. The boys had a blast! Levi only fell in once and he hung onto the rope and I was able to pull him back in. (It wasn't real deep where he fell in anyways...but it still made my heart skip a beat.) The next morning while waiting for grandma's egg bake to finish levi helped himself to some coconut cake. His sweet tooth is from his father's side:) On Saturday jacob got a chance to fish with his friends dylan and zach. There was a fishing contest being held by a local church and we signed the boys up for it. Jacob ended up winning second place in the size category. He was excited because he won spiderman boxing gloves. Thanks grandma & grandpa for the great memories!!!
Claire Elizabeth made her entrance into the world saturday morning. Auntie Rachel was very happy to finally meet her sweet little girl. We are all excited about having another little girl to add to the very boy biased cousin count. She was 9 lbs. 12 oz. and 21" long. She has a whole head of dark thick hair & is absolutely adorable!
That is the question I get asked anytime I am at my computer or within five feet of the video camera. So here is another video of Jacob breaking it down.
My parents are missionaries over seas (here) and while they are away this winter they are having their bathroom remodeled. So I brought in one of the construction heavies I know to help with the demolition. Here is a video of his work.
A couple weeks ago, yet again, we received another dousing of snow. While fighting the epic battle of "G.U.S." I decided to take a break and build a snow fort with my son. What else do you do when you have received just over 145 inches of snow this year. So I got out a flat spade and went to work. When we were all done we decided to have a fire and roast marshmellows and eat hotdogs. It was a lot of fun.
It is very important to end any snow fort activity with a couple cups of hot chocolate.
I am a Yooper! If you don't know what that is try google . Recently I have been displaced in Sparta Wisconsin. But this year it feels very much like home. We have received over 145 inches of snow as of Feb. 29th. I feel as though I am back in 985 Wabash st. Ishpeming. Here are a few pictures of my driveway.
Gone fishing. Here is the second installment of my cousin camp series. I thought there would be only two, but I was wrong it has turned into three parts. If you didn't know my family hangs out up in Northern WI for a week out of the summer. The following video is a small glimpse of that week.
Lately my boys have been eating rice krispies treats almost daily. I made a batch for the superbowl party we had here and since then jacob has been requesting them quite frequently. Both of the boys love to help me in the kitchen so i figure it's a good bonding time for us. The other day we were making a batch and jacob's job was to count out 40 marshmallows for me. Well, in the process-and by process i mean jacob yelling that levi was messing up his counting piles-a few of them ended up on the floor. I was so involved in getting the treats done that I wasn't paying much attention to my daughter on the floor devouring the runaway marshmallows. When I saw her with marshmallow mush all over her face and clothes it was too cute...I had to take a picture.
here are a few pictures of the kids that i had on our camera. hannah's hair is so long that it is usually hanging in her face like it is here. (it's actually in a ponytail here!)
jacob asked if he could wash dishes for me. we pulled up a chair and were
having so much fun that levi decided he wanted to "help" too.
jacob and levi in their matching "camping jammies" that my mom made for them. they are so cute. they have little canoes, tents and matches for the buttons.
Each summer my family, my brother(when in the states) and sister's families head to northern Wisconsin for a week of vacation at a cabin on Bishop Lake near Crandon, WI. When I say cabin I mean a 600 sqft building with no running water, so it is the real deal. The week usually consist of a lot of swimming, grilling, fishing and in general a lot of nothing. I thought I should put together some video I took at Cousin Camp. Yes, we even have a name, competitions and chores for tickets in which the cousins can purchase candy and toys at the Candy Shack. Enjoy part one.
I edited this video earlier tonight and when I finished my last frame my program froze on me. YES! I lost all my work. Too bad the original was much better than this version. But, it is still very entertaining.
Jacob and Levi dancing is not an uncommon thing in our house.
well, it's been a while since i posted so i thought i'd share a few pictures of the kids. we are ready for spring. the kids and i have been bound up in the house since christmas. we are looking forward to next week when we'll be at the dells spending a couple of days with the Clairs at a waterpark. jacob is excited to spend some time with his friend lauren and i can't wait to see their cute little levi again. our family is doing well. levi turned 2 after christmas and hannah will turn 1 at the end of march. this last year seems to have gone by fast. my sister-in-law and their family were on vacation the last week and a half so we got to dog sit. the boys were kinda sad to see him leave. levi especially as the dog treats that he came to enjoy himself are now gone with the dog. aaron came downstairs to find levi sitting in front of the t.v. with a box of dog treats just munching away on them. he said he was caught between running to get the camera to take a quick picture or taking the treats away. i found him "snacking" a few times myself. the difference between aaron and i is that aaron lets him finish eating whatever he already has in his mouth...i make him spit them all out in the sink and then take my fingers and rake through his mouth for every last morsel. life is definitely not dull around here.
This last weekend I had the chance to go to Lambeau Field to the NFC Championship game between the Packers and the Giants. If you don't know this is quite a privilege. So I jumped at the opportunity. The last time I had the chance to attend a Packer game was when I was seventeen years old and a senior in High School.
Outside Lambeau Field ...0nly -15.
There is so much I could share about the weekend I will try to just point out a few interesting things. 1. NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME 2. CHEAPEST TICKET ON EBAY - 1,500.00 3. -24 below winchill 4. Lambeau Field - AMAZING NFL HISTORY 5. Most people in the WI would have sold a kidney to attend.
The flag for the national anthem..pretty cool.
In the end the Packers lost in OT. But I do have to say I have never been to a more entertaining, suspense filled, and emotional...oh wait FREEZING... game in my life.
Question: How do I know when it is -24 below at a football game. 1. Most everyone is sober(abnormal for a packer game) because liquid freezes 2-3 minutes after opening it. 2. Frozen snot is the latest fashion. 3. Shopping carts every 10 yards in the concourse filled with free feet and hand warmers. 4. Everyone is wearing hunting clothes..even those who have heated box seats. 5. NO ONE LEAVES THE BATHROOMS DURING HALF TIME BECAUSE THE ARE HEATED! I am not kidding. 400 people in a 30x30 room and 2 people are actually using the urinal. (top right)Me and Joey standing next to V.L. Trophy's...wow. (bottom right) Joey and I just before the game started.
Here is a video of the end of the national anthem. A jet flew over right at the end and about made me fill my pants. I would have had more pics and video but my camera froze up after the game started. I could not take any more pictures. I tried putting the battery in a warm spot but that was to painfully cold.
