A Rough Week . . .

Relaxing and reading the newspaper on Sunday.

Well, this past week has been full of rest, movies and several trips to see our doctor. It all started on Saturday, when Anja showed signs of some sort of sickness coming on, and Erik and I spent a couple of hours at the hospital because of a barrage of contractions in the evening (just like I had with Anja, only a couple weeks earlier this time).

After six days, we're both doing better (though not 100%), and I'm not on bed rest quite yet. (Just sitting a lot more, or else!) We're looking forward to a healthier week next week!

The Inauguration

We were all happy to witness history this past Tuesday. What an amazing moment. Here is a photo from one of my favorite sites, "The Big Picture: News Stories in Photographs." Check this link for 48 photos from the day.

Erik Skis the Pepsi Challenge

I started this winter with high hopes of putting in some serious skiing. While that hasn't quite panned out (I'm lucky to get out once a week), I'm not letting it stop me from doing the races I signed up for. Today I skied the classic 26 km Pepsi Challenge in Biwabik, MN. With all the stellar training I put in I knew I was going to be a contender in today's race. After getting winded in my warm up, I staked out a spot in the starting area and enjoyed the warm winter morning, it was 5 degrees above zero.

Rather than give a lengthy race report (see Peter Nelson's blog, Ironman and Beyond for stellar examples of truly in-depth race reports), I decided to include this helpful graph of my race. I thought this might help analyze my performance in order to improve in my next race. In the eating chocolate department and b-s'ing with the aid workers I was unstoppable today. Otherwise I think it's clear I spent far too much time limping, crawling, and walking rather than racing.

In all honesty, even if my legs would not agree, it was some of the most fun I've had skiing. Often times when you're racing you don't even notice the scenery. Not today. It was truly a winter wonderland. Pristine snow covered meadows with a light snow falling and just enough sun to give each snow flake a little sparkle. Truly beautiful. If I can find some pictures I'll post a few.

To Florida and back again . . .

The girls out snorkeling . . . I stayed on the boat because I can't snorkel (and I'm a little weary of the wildlife)!

This year the St. Kate's team training trip took us to the Florida Keys . . . the warm sun was fantastic and the girls' training was as well. Erik and Anja stayed home this time around, and they survived very well without me. Needless to say, everyone's glad that we're back together again. Here are a few shots from the trip!

Looking landward from the beach. I loved seeing green in the winter!

There were little lizards and iguanas everywhere! Yeeesh!

Ut på ski!

Anja got her first pair of skis this holiday season, a pair that both Karl and I used when we were little. While there is some uncertainty as to when my brother and I first used these skis, maybe it was at two years old, maybe it wasn't until we were three or four, there is no uncertainty about Anja. This kid is a natural. Here she is on skis for the first couple of times at two years, 1.5 months. Enjoy the video. It's one minute 40 seconds in length.

The clips where it is snowing was her very first time on skis. We had two brief attempts (we basically put the skis on and she was done) and then another great outing yesterday.

Happy New Year!

It's been a busy holiday break for us and I'm sure we'll get to posting about all that took place. For now, I just wanted to post a link to the lists of 2008. An impressive collection of bests and worsts of the year. Enjoy. http://www.fimoculous.com/year-review-2008.cfm