Spring?

Spring may well have finally arrived. It was beautiful today, 60F and sunny. We kicked it off with some baking, I made a few scones and Lynne made some bean muffins for a picnic. After about an hour raking leaves and getting started on the garden it was time for a bike ride.

Kaisa and Kevin came over and we all went on our first bike ride for the year and with both girls ever. We packed a picnic and hit the road. we didn't go that far this first time but it went smoothly and was a lot of fun. 7 mile round trip, lots of play and a picnic along the way. All four girls really enjoyed the spin and we adults were finally glad to be out and about after a long winter. I have posted a few additional pictures on the albums page.

 

 

 

 

Taxes

It was Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy and published in The Works of Benjamin Franklin, who uttered the now famous phrase:

"In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."

Well tonight we completed our 2007 returns. Gathering the years receipts, salary details, mortgage information, expenses, deductions, investment details and lots more is a well established tradition for all (well most) who live in the US. We ended up having to write checks once again, one to Uncle Sam and one to the State of Indiana. This is  always painful but we are glad it's all complete for another year!!

To more cheery notes, see this great picture from the weekend of Isabel and Frida!!

Tough Life at Our House

Kristina took this picture last week which exemplifies the tough nature of life living in our house.

A couple of pictures from this week. Isabel in her now customary position of scooting along the floor and Anja in her customary outfit. She spends many hours each day in her tutu!

 

Setanta

Just watched an hour of football, Premier League and Scottish Premier league highlights, in what could best be described as Match of the Day. Yesterday I signed up for a monthly subscription to Setanta Sports, primarily to watch a rugby league game. With a subscription, however, you get all sorts of rugby league, rugby union, football, GAA, Aussie rules and lots more, both live and archived. Now all I need to do is find the time.

Tonight we had Matt and Laura over for dinner. It was fun, lots of great debate, wine, food and beer.

So, always one to try something new, I took Davey's advice and checked out Windows Live Writer. I'm actually using it now. I'm reserving judgement for now but first impressions are not that impressive. It does not offer that much over what I have already with Blogger.

Finally, managed to get out for a run today. Medium length 8 miles in just over an hour. Weather was perfect, really enjoyed it!!

Got out on the Bike this Week

I managed to get out on the bike for the first time this week. It was a little warmer on Wednesday and the wind was low so I thought I'd give it a blast. Managed to get through 20 odd miles but my legs were really weak.  At least the biking season has started, now I just have to find the time and my old stamina!

Ok, this is obviously not me but I often feel like Lance when I'm thundering through the countryside.

Easter Sunday Dinner

To finish off our Easter Sunday activities, we took ourselves over to Randy and Lorraine's house for a great dinner. As always, we stayed most of the day chatting, sitting, drinking wine and coffee.......I have also posted some additional photos on the web album page.

So, as you will see, we had quite the active Easter weekend. It was great meeting everybody! We also managed to spend most of Saturday visiting friends, Lisa and Brad at their farm! Brad and I went for our weekend long run (10 miles) in preparation for the Indy half marathon.

phew...we're all glad to be back at work for some rest!

 

 

 

 

Easter Egg Hunt

Kaisa and Kevin hosted an Easter egg hunt Sunday morning for friends and neighbours. It was a lot of fun. We found some eggs, well Anja and the other small people did, we had some great coffee, bread, cheese, cake, sweets, lots of sweets....you get the picture!! Also got to meet some new neighbours, Jackie, Joe and their daughter Ani!

I've posted some extra pictures on our album space (be warned there are quite a few)!

A Baby on the Way!

Don't get too excited, we are not pregnant (last time I heard anyhow!). The long nine month wait for Steef and Ginette, however, will soon be over. On Friday evening we all went round Rodo and Tere's house for a baby shower. it was more of a friends get together (first of the season), a time to also wish them both well over the coming weeks. It will be their first, they are having a girl!! Good luck guys, let us know if you need us and/or when something happens.

President Bill Clinton

Tonight I went to see Bill Clinton, yes the former president, speak at the local high school which is literally 200 yards down from our house. He was here campaigning for Hillary of course. Since the Democratic race is so close this year, Indiana is actually relevant and thus Bills visit. I believe from what I heard tonight that 1987 was the last time a former president actually campaigned in Indiana.

He gave a very rousing speech. He is clearly a gifted and talented speaker and he had the local crowd of approximately 2000 cheering all night long. It was very powerful and a lot of fun.

I have lots of photos from our weekend which I will post tomorrow night.

Spring Finally Arrived!

Yes I think it's finally here, Spring that is, and just in time for Easter. Today was beautiful. Clear blue skies with the sun out in all its glory. It was still a little chilly but it didn't dampen the spirits. It has been a long winter.

The girls spent a lot of time outside today with Kristina and Emma who was over for most of the day.

We are very pleased with how Kristina has adopted to helping us with the girls and they certainly seem to really like her. She is busy at the moment getting ready for her wedding in May. She bought a dress this week. Shaun, her fiancé, also had a big week. He turned 21 on Monday and his mother was here from California to celebrate with him and the rest of his friends and family. Sounded like they had fun!

Isabel has started talking. Of course it's still totally gibberish but she is extremely pleased with her ba, ba, ba, ba, since it normally evokes a response from us. Language acquisition has started, it's amazing!!

 

 

Happy St Patrick's Day

To all of you out there, Irish or not, Happy St Patrick's Day.

We're not doing anything that special for the day/evening. I know many will be out there painting the town and bars green, have a great evening.

Anja was sporting some green today and a few items that my Mum sent over. Thanks for everything you sent Mum, the Irish Rugby Jersey's are really cute!!

 

I Said I Did'nt Like It

We had some fun with Isabel today. I was trying to feed her some lunch and she was simply not having it!!

 

Lynne's Art!

The sun was out today and this inspired Lynne to venture out into the garden with the camera and catch some Spring images!! The snowdrops look great and she could not resist Daisy in her pose!

 

 

All Fired Up!!

The weather was still very wintry yesterday so we took ourselves off for a morning activity at this place in town call All Fired Up! Essentially you purchase one or more pottery pieces from a vast collection. You then let your artistic side wild and free and paint the item. They will then glaze and fire it and you collect it one week later. We had fun. Anja did a bowl for herself, Lynne helped Anja of course, did a bowl for Isabel and I got to paint my very own daddy coffee mug! It was something very enjoyable to do for a few hours on a cold dark Saturday morning!!

We made a huge mess, which I think is the whole point (particularly if you can simply stand up, declare that you are sorry for the mess and then walk away - cool)!

 

 

 

 

Some Pictures

Looking back over the last week or so, I realized that we were devoid of any pictures. Sorry about that!

Shown below are few which we took of the girls this weekend. All are growing up. Anja is firmly holding her Easter egg, her first ever I think, that arrived all the way from Ireland yesterday. She was very excited, not sure how we are going to keep her out of it this week.

 

 

 

 

10 Years Today

Hard to believe it really but this day 10 years ago Lynne and I got married in Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe. Time certainly passes by so quickly, seems like yesterday but yet so much has happened in such a short time. We dug out the wedding album this evening. Anja really enjoyed seeing her Mummy in her princess dress. Daddy was the prince!

At that time we were so excited about moving to Sweden and starting our married life. Those five years were a great part of our life, great work experiences and life-long friends. Now we have been here in the US for over five years and this phase of life has been focused on having our two very happy girls. I'm sure our next ten years will be greatly dominated by their upbringing and also back to more travel as they get older.

Tonight we got to steal away for a while for dinner, Kristina was kind enough to stay for a few hours (Thanks).

 

Sorry No Pictures of New Orleans

Got back from New Orleans late on Tuesday night. Took me two and half hours to get from Indy in the snow. Frustrating after a day of travel. I'm sorry that I have no pictures. Typical really, I got the battery all charged up but left the camera behind.

It was an interesting visit. I got there late Saturday night and took a walk through the French quarter, down the famous Bourbon St. What a party place. Not much fun I can tell you if one in on your own and sober. I had to give a presentation Sunday so I was keeping a low profile. I actually got to see a lot more of the city when I went for a long run early Sunday morning (9 miles). New Orleans early on a Sunday morning is not pretty and smells even worse. They actually spray the streets with disinfectant. I ran along the river, through the French quarter and north toward Lake Pontchartrain. I did get see some of the devastation, a few FEMA trailers, it was not pretty.

I did get to sample some of the party atmosphere Monday and Tuesday with some Lilly colleagues. Had some great Creole and Cajun food. Lots of sea food smothered in spicy hot buttery sauces. I'm avoiding the scales for a while. It was fun, the conference was OK.

I'd recommend New Orleans for a long weekend, I'd go back!

Update in Advance

I'm off to New Orleans this afternoon for a few days to attend a work conference so there will be no weekend update. I'm really looking forward to visiting that city and curious to see what devastation is still evident from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Lots I'm sure, I'm planning on taking some photos.

Not much to report really. Still cold and white outside here. We are now showing signs of cabin fever.

Hope you are all doing well, I'll post a New Orleans update on Wednesday.