Back to the US

It has been a while since I updated this page, almost a whole month.  But not entirely my fault, but just a little partially.  First off Miki had drooled on my Eee PC making it difficult to actually post things.  I like to use my main PC for gaming, and that is about it, so it was hard for me to sit down and type of things.  But now I have a working keyboard on my little netbook and I will be a little more consistent.  But that was not the only roadblock to updating, Whit and I have also been in the states the past two weeks.

It was great to see family and friends again but I could do without the distance between them.  The 20 hours it takes just to get from Baar to MSP isn't too bad.  Inflight movies help and it is just something that you can prepare yourself for.  The problem is the driving once you get there.  It takes 6 hours to drive between the Cities and Nebraska.  Then another 10 from Northeast Nebraska down to Tulsa.  Then another 10-11 hours between Tulsa and the Cities.  Only being able to come home once a year has its disadvantages, and that is certainly one of them.

Luckily that was the only negative on the trip.  Whit and I were both treated to some great back home parties, she was up till 4 on the first Friday and I went to a Karaoke bar.  Plus I was able to play DJ Hero, which is great by the way, and I was able to see the house that my friend Ben was in the process of buying when I left.

Nebraska was the same as always, a relaxing, do-nothing for a couple days trip.  Although when you are chasing around a soon-to-be 1 year old and 3 year old, it doesn't seem like you are doing nothing.  Another thing that we did was have an early Christmas, and when I say Christmas I mean we.  We had our traditional Spaghetti Dinner with our Grandparents, then we opened gifts in my parents decorated living room.  My mom went all out in making it feel like Christmas, all the decorations were up, the Christmas tree, table settings, the deck had strings of lights, the bushes had lights on them, it was great.  We also had a night with my brother and sister-in-law Nia to ourselves, no kids, and that was great because we could actually sit down and enjoy dinner and talk.

After all that is was on to Tulsa to celebrate Whit's great grandma's 100th birthday.  That is not a typo, 100th birthday. And she is looking great too.  She looks and sounds great for being 100 years old and has a lot of life left in her.  We also were able to see Whit's sister Haley that lives in Portland and is moving to London next year.  Whit and I are happy for that, but sadly it still isn't any closer than when we lived in MN and her in Portland.  Another thing is that teenagers grow up super fast too, I know I'm sad that we are going to miss Lea going through high school, never had a little sister.

That is all for now. and until later

Auf Wiedersehen

Wow

That is all I can really say about this country right now.  But this is a good wow, not a wow in disbelief, the Yankees won their 27th World Series, but more an awe inspiring wow.  Yes I have seen mountains before, and yes I have seen a beautiful fall, Ames was surprisingly pretty when the colors were changing, but it doesn't compare to this.

First thing you notice are the mountains in the background wherever you are.  They are quite the sight to behold. The jagged peaks that are covered in snow on a crisp sky blue background will make anyone drop their jaw.  Add that to the occasional cloud that floats in between the arching peaks tops it off.

Another quality of the country are the amounts of trees and shrubbery that are around.  Living in the Cities and on the plains and then living here, you realize that there are hardly any amounts of either.  Our walking paths are surrounded by trees that hold onto their bright yellow leaves.  What leaves are not still on the trees, coat the pathways like a blanket, but not a soggy, mucky blanket, but one that deadens your steps and makes you feel like you are actually away in the wilderness.

Here are some pictures that should showcase what I am attempting to, but will always, fail at.

Sorry but the mountain ones didn't turn out, I'll try and post other ones at a later date.