Back on the Slopes!

The weather has finally warmed up here... sort of. It was in the 20s today, after being below zero for a couple of weeks; so we ventured out onto the slopes for the first time this season. Here we are at Afton Alps, just a few short minutes from our house. The St. Croix River is visible in the background... it's hard to believe that we were boating on that body of water in the warm sunshine just a short time ago!

Merry Christmas from the Cold North!

Merry Christmas, everyone! We most certainly are having a white Christmas this year, along with frigid temperatures! But the forecast is for mid 30s, so we can go skiing later this week. Yay! We went to Christmas Eve mass at our crowded church, then went off to Mark's apartment for the big Jaszewski family party - almost everyone was there, and we had a great time in the pool, and having an incredible feast!

Luke tried, as usual, to get a beer at the bar - his Uncle Bill was happy to oblige... I think the drinking age in England is lower than it is here... so what does he know?

Luke declared that it was the "best day ever" on Christmas Day, since Santa was inexplicably good to him. He got into the Christmas spirit with, what else... guns! Oh dear...

Libby was thrilled to get new cowboy boots - now if she just had a horse to go with them!

Thanks to everyone for their wonderful, generous gifts this year!

'Tis the Season for... Trains! (...& Jewelry)

It's the Christmas season, and in our house that means the trains come out. We haven't put out the big set in a couple of years, so it was time to do it once again.


Luke is really into them this year, and is enjoying running them for his friends! The 16-foot table is not the easiest thing to store... especially with the heavy mountain attached. I guess that's just one of the reasons we moved into a big house.


Meanwhile, Laura is busy in her Jewelry shop again, producing really beautiful items - including some for herself for a change!

Veterans Day BBQ at Minnesota Wire

Our company put on a barbeque for Veterans Day, November 11th. It was a big gathering that included the employees at our Eau Claire facility, Veterans and currently serving Soldiers, politicians, and other members of the business community. We had at least 300 show up! It included a program to dedicate a plaque, speakers (I was the emcee) corporate exhibitors, free food and drink from our sponsors, antique cars and 6 military vehicles!

Here is one of the Wisconsin National Guard's "up-armored" Humvees...

Chip and Patria Lawton, the company's marketing coordinator...

Chip, Janis and our president, Eric Wagner, sampling from the Leinenkugel's truck!

My friend, Navy Commander Pat Dillon...

Worst Parents in the World!!!

Well, Jack was awarded Most Valuable Player on his 9th grade soccer team tonight... and his parents weren't even at the sports banquet to see him receive this surprise from his team! We had decided not to go to the banquet, because we thought it was more for the older high school kids... but the coach kept calling, saying he wanted Jack there; so we sent him on his own. Here we are re-creating the scene from the banquet! Worst parents in the world!!!! Congratulations, Jack!

Scary Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween! Cowboy Luke almost missed Halloween thanks to a splinter in his eye, but he toughed it out (OK, not really, he just needed candy). Libby was an iPod, and... Jack? Well, he just went to watch over the trick-or-treaters. I told him to ask for cash for the parents... we'll see what comes back...


We got numerous compliments on Laura's Halloween lighting... "Best-decorated house in the neighborhood," we heard several times...

Luke went with his friends Grayden and Jose. The three amigos are inseparable lately!

Halloween Gone Bad!

Pretty horrifying... the 2nd annual Stonemill Farms Halloween party took place on Saturday night. There were Goth figures, 3 Sarah Palins (big surprise), Michael Phelps, sumo-baby, biker chicks, you name it. Jello shots and grog were just the beginning of the refreshments. This is suburbia gone bad. Be very afraid. The scariest part of the evening? I said to Jack, "I look pretty horrifying, don't I?" He said, "Dad, what's horrifying is that you think you can pull this stuff off at your age." Wow. Go to your room, young man!

Remembering Kenzie

With great sadness, we learned this week that Curt's step daughter Kenzie died in a car accident in Montana. We only knew her briefly, but we were all so impressed with this 10-year old's maturity, earnestness and good nature. One could see how much Curt's character had rubbed off on her, and how much she was loved by everyone - especially Curt and Arvid. She hit it off with our kids at the Threshing Bee this summer - especially with Libby. Here she is driving the 4-wheeler that Curt brought out to Arvid in August. Kenzie will be missed so very much.

Army 10-Miler - Year 4

Oops, I did it again... even though for 3 years, I've consistently said "never again," right after finishing the Army 10-Miler in Washington, D.C. This year I took another 10 minutes off my time, running it in 1:28:44 (an average of 8:52 per mile). It helped that it was 20 degrees cooler than 2007, when it was 90 degrees and someone died at the 9-mile mark. This year there were 28,000 runners registered! It was a nice trip home to visit with Mom and Dad, and to join the huge Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) conference.

The "Destroyers" - Luke Plays Flag Football

Luke is playing flag football this year. His team is the "Destroyers," which is appropriate because they are destroying the competition. Today he played quarterback very well, and won a silver star from the coach for his excellent defense "tackles."

Libby's First Dance

Libby went to her first dance on Thursday night, at Lake Junior High School (which is now grades 6 through 9). Here she is with her friend Marissa before the big dance!

"Segway to Freedom!"

The Defense Alliance held its quarterly membership meeting - "Segway to Freedom" - in a unique way this week... we met at St. Anthony Main to ride the Minneapolis Riverfront on Segways! 25 of us risked life and limb for a couple of hours at dusk, before retiring to a nearby bar. There, we had a terrific brief from a Minnesota National Guard lieutenant colonel who has been involved with nation-building efforts in Iraq - a very good news story that one would never read in the American press. After that, I introduced our surprise guest to cap the evening, Senator John McCain! The presidential candidate (really Pat Lawton's Dad, who is his virtual clone) spoke to us about the important of the defense industry, before he took a phone call from Barack Obama about the debates, and then had to leave abruptly. It was a very enjoyable evening. Read more about Segways and how they work HERE

McCain-Palin Rally!

Well, I couldn't resist... The Republican candidates made a very brief stop in the Twin Cities today at noon. The "McCain-Palin Rally" was held at the Anoka-Blaine Regional Airport, in a hangar. The acoustics were awful, and the candidates were a blip in the distance, but it was a fun environment. Some Obama supporters were there sporting "Real Change" signs (one inexplicably dressed as a cat), and there was also a "Minnesota Hockey Moms Don't Lie" sign - not sure what that was about. All in all, it was a fun 45 minutes with a frenzied crowd!

Back to School!

School began again on Tuesday! There was a big gathering in our cul-de-sac of about a dozen kids going off to Liberty Ridge Elementary, a block away. Luke is there (2nd grade) without any siblings this time around. Libby (6th grade) has moved on to Lake Junior High, where Jack is also for another year (9th grade). Next year, Jack will be in the still-building East Ridge High School as one of its first students. East Ridge will only have 10th and 11th graders for its first year.

Here, Luke expresses his concern with being followed to school by... GIRLS! Well, they don't seem to mind!

CivicFest During the RNC!

The Twin Cities are putting on "CivicFest" during the Republian National Convention this week. It is meant to showcase presidential, American and Minnesota history, and get people thinking about civic-minded things, especially those who are excluded from the RNC's proceedings.

It is in the Minneapolis Convention Center, and includes an Air Force One fuselage, presidential limousines, First Lady dresses, a Medal of Honor exhibit, a large mockup of the White House and lots of interactive things...

Luke was able to recite the presidential oath of office (with his Dad acting as the Chief Justice of the U.S.), and he received a free DVD of the action.

And, of course, we met some dignitaries like Abraham Lincoln, and this year's candidates... As you can see, we don't play favorites!

Jack Sails a C-Scow

Jack and his friend Kanad went out on Bald Eagle Lake on Saturday morning, on my friend Ricardo's "C-Scow." The C class is a 20-foot cat rigged boat, similar to the 38-foot A-Scows that I sailed earlier this summer on White Bear Lake.

Our boat was in the shop this weekend... so this was the next best thing!

This is a really fast boat, even in light winds, thanks to its large, flat sail, and very shallow draft, that lessons the drag.

Jack and Kanad really showed their skills learned in sailing camp this summer, as they raced against a few other boats of the same class in 15 knot winds.

You can learn more about the century old C-Scow class boats, popular in the Midwest, HERE.

Friends on the Lake

White Bear Lake has become one of our favorite places to go with the boat... here, the kids are enjoying time on the water with their friends -Libby with Taylor, and Luke with Grayden.