New Snowblower

We finally broke down and bought a snowblower. Toro of course... We got close to another foot of snow and we figured we would do our part to turn around the economy. Now that we put this much money into a piece of equipment, I am convinced that it will never snow again. Check out the video to see how proud Laura is of her new machine. It had no trouble with the snow up to the top of it's mouth. We also used it to clear off a skating rink behind the house and tonight we are hosting a skating party.

Christmas in Texas 2008

We decided to get out of the cold for a few days, so we visted my grandparents in Pharr, Texas. The temperature was between 60 and 80 F most of the time. We spent a lot of time in the pool, played shuffleboard, and went surfing at South Padre Island. My grandma made a great Mexican meal on Christmas eve. We didn't miss the snow a bit. Click on the picture to see more...

Blizog

A blizog is not a term coined by Snoop Dogg, it is a blizzard blog. We got over a foot of snow in Racine. After three hours of shoveling, we have access to our home.
Unfortunately, it is snowing again and my back aches. Click on the picture to see more.

Deer Hunting 2008

Another successful year of deer hunting is behind us. To our surprise, we did well despite the extremely wet fields; the freezing, windy weather; and the abundance of standing corn. We shot 3 bucks (4, 8, and 10 points) and a doe.
Click on the photo to see more pictures.

4th Annual NH Weekend

Karla and Brian were the only participants in Nerd Herd Racine 2008. Can you believe this is the 4th year? This year was packed with fun Wisconsin style. We went to the high rivalry Brewers/Cubs game at Miller park and tailgated before the game, visited Mars Cheese Castle and the Racine zoo, ate kringle, drank beer, and watched some Packer fans watching the game. That's what we do here for fun!

Fly Fishing Root River 2008

The fall bite is on! The picture in the upper right is a nice brown trout that I caught in Lincoln Park. Below left I am battling a steelhead that got away. Below right is a 14 lb. steelhead that I landed.

BWCA 2008

This year, our annual BWCA trip took us from Sawbill to Wine Lake by way of the Kelso River. We hiked our longest ever portage of 460 rods (about 1.5 miles) but it was worthwhile as we found complete seclusion on an island camp site on Wine lake. The weather was temperamental. An hour or two of sunshine seemed to be followed by 15 minutes of rain drops. Often the rain was done before our cribbage game, played in the protection of the tent. Sometimes, the rain and sunshine were simultaneous. I have never experienced as little wind as on our second day. The canoe stayed wherever we stopped even in the middle of the lake. This made for some great fishing, and I managed to catch my first lake trout which we fried up for lunch. Scott and Nancy kept up the gourmet camp cuisine tradition. Fire roasted pizza in the middle of the woods is unbelievably good. Another great escape from the real world if only for a few days. Click on the picture to link to our picture gallery.