Cold Canada

From 2011 Oct-Dec

For the first time, my son-in-law Michael was able to join us for a little Fall foray to Ontario’s magnificent Lake of the Woods. October crappies were calling our name but a strong NW wind and cool temperatures kept us from our usual haunts on the north side of Miles Bay. The gap near Mylie’s found us battling six-foot swells. Yikes! But what a ton of fun and a decent fill of walleye. Nearly bagged our limit.

Friends and Family

From 2011 Jul-Sep

So very grateful to have our extended family to the cabin for a weekend of relaxation and shopping junkets to Nisswa. I am reminded this is indeed one of my life’s greatest blessings … to have our children marry into such wonderful, Godly families. Families who love one another and enjoy a good round of late-night scrabble (more coffee please …). Terrys, Zazuciks, Groves – we love you!

Wedding #3

From Jordon & Ashton ~ Stephanie Drake Photography ~ HiRes

Well, it’s happened again. God has joined yet another of our children to a wonderful family. Welcome aboard Ashton and your groovy parents, David and Mary! We love you all and so look forward to watching these kids blossom before us. The ceremony was lovely, meaningful and fun! Thank you Lord for being front and center in these proceedings.

Great American Road Trip 2011

From 2011 Apr-Jun

After a couple-year hiatus, found ourselves once again heading west on an RV-trailer convoy to the Black Hills of South Dakota. The faces have changed a bit (welcome Jenna!) but the fun remains the same. Forever grateful to my parents for once again providing the “mother-ship”. Hope you had as much fun as we did. Most “interesting” event? We were nearly shot by wild-west reenactors in Hill City! True story.

Surprise! It's your 16th birthday!

Stacked directly against our return for Perdido Key, our older kids, friends and relatives did a terrific job of getting things ready for Mariah's suprise 16th birthday celebration. Is was hectic, but it was an amazing event for her. In the morning she got her driver's license, and after a made-up trip to Target with mom, she returned to a house bursting with well wishers (forty-plus as best I could tell). She didn't have a clue and thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Thank you to every one who came to wish her well, and a second thank you to all that helped with decorations, food and cake! A video highlight is posted below. Find additional photos posted here.

Beach, Eat, Sleep, Repeat

Although the crew was smaller this year, we are once again thankful to spend some time on God's shoreline, Perdido Key. This was our 11th spring break in the area as best I can recall, and we were thankful to see that ill effects of last year's BP oil spill were no where to be found (although FEMA crews still regularly patrol the beaches). The area also seems to have now fully recovered from the devastating Hurricane Ivan of September 2004. Surpisingly, with spring break already concluded for regional universities, things were very quiet on the Key. No lines, sparse traffic, it was great! Best of all, record setting warmth greeted us every day but one, with sunny highs nearing 80 degrees day after day. Never seen such great weather. Thank you Lord. Nothing too exciting, but I've posted three short videos below. Find additional photos posted here.

State Champions!

Our Maranatha Christian Academy Mustangs pulled-off a historic tournament surge to win the Class A Minnesota State High School Girls Basketball Championship. It was a memory of a lifetime for these girls, Coach Hammond, his assistants and the entire Maranatha family. Cool thing, our Mariah is a student manager for the team, and she got to be a central part of this amazing ride. God was given the glory over, and over by this wonderful school that we call home. We are so proud of you!

MCA Winners! Final Seconds

Let’s do it again!

Every year I’m somewhat amazed at the continued interest in these old machines and the people that built them. Scorpion Homecoming started in 2005 on a bit of dare … would anybody even show-up? Well show-up they did, and here we are seven years after the fact, with no end in sight. Kudos to the wonderful people we’ve met along the way. Together, what was once lost, has now been found. Thank you!

Pop the question Jordon!

After many months of careful planning, our second son Jordon finally popped the question to his lovely girlfriend Ashton Elizabeth Terry. It took some doing. Ring paid-off: check. Everything set at Saint Paul’s romantic Rice Park: check. Brandon and Jenna devising a scheme to divert Ashton's attention: check. Only problem, a flat tire nearly made this the engagement that wasn’t. What a great memory, and what a beautiful setting. Oh, and she did indeed say yes. We are very proud of you both. An August 19, 2011 wedding is being planned.

2010 Year in review

Wow, this has come far too soon this year...but here we go. In 2010 I continued to consult with SunGard, where massive crisis-inspired regulatory changes are giving me more than enough to do. There have been many changes in my firm and industry, including some that have been incredibly stressful, but God was and is faithful. I am forever grateful for His protection. Starr remains part-time at Boger Dental. She is very active in local bible studies and should get the credit for pretty-much anything I have done, or the wonderful people my children have become. Brie and husband Michael are well. They live nearby and Michael’s outdoor servicing business (Greenline) is very busy. Recent heavy snows have been a blessing (at least for him - not so much for me). Brie is busy with a home-based business she is developing. Brandon and Jenna recently purchased their first home and are nicely settled-in for the holidays. He is a graphic designer (Harrison Collective) and she works as an event coordinator. Jordon remains at home and will be wrapping-up his associates degree in the coming months. His long-time girlfriend Ashton has been a real blessing to us this past year. Mariah is a sophomore at MCA and she has been very active in volleyball and is presently managing the girl’s basketball squad. She’s delightfully social and her school activities keep her (and us) hopping. We returned to Perdido Key, Florida for another spring break outing in March. It was a particular blessing to have so many of us there, including all the kids, their spouses, my parents, and Jenna’s folks as well. Let’s do it again! Oh, and the fishing was terrific. We also spent a lot of time up-north, both in Crosby and at the cabin (great times together with those wonderful Groves, Lyles, Weiers and Wiechmann's). In February we had our sixth annual Scorpion Homecoming (I can’t believe it’s been that long – thank you to all the wonderful volunteers). In July we returned to West Salem, Wisconsin for our annual camping trip with the Sharp family (you guys are simply wonderful). Brandon and Jenna joined-in this time, which was a real treat. A couple other items of note included an MCA progressive dinner, two trips to the state fair, a junket to Duluth, a few Twins games (nice ballpark, particularly those Kramarczuk brats), and our perennial trip to Holidazzle and the Orchestra Hall skating rink. The boys and I were hoping for a season full of Purple Pride football parties, but ... not so much. In August I suffered a serious cycling accident but am grateful it wasn’t worse. For the first time in over forty years, I wasn’t able to go deer hunting but four-months out, I can finally see the end of physical therapy and hope to be in ship-shape in time for spring break. Though many challenges remain in this world, and there are ample opportunities for fear and anxiety, I find myself more and more learning to trust God and let go of the cares that weigh us down. It is my prayer for 2011 that you will join me in these sentiments as well.

Shall we skate?

It's always a blessing to spend an evening with the Sharps for Holidazzle, boot skating at Orchestra Hall, and gifts and games back at the Grove.

Final recital?

Wow! After years and years of these events across four children, could this be the last one?

Slow!

Local government quickly responds to a safety concern. The broken bone byway now bares a warning to the naive, the uninformed, and the brittle-boned among us … caution to all ye brave enough to navigate this blind bend to pain. To their credit, the city also cut-back much of the undergrowth which obstructed the prior view.

Lake-side antics

Not much to say about these highlights of men at work.

Broken Bone Byway

Still trying to make some sense of it all. This seemingly tranquil bike trail did me in for the following reasons: I was unfamiliar with the path; I was moving; the hard-right turn is completely blind; the treated asphalt was wet and surprisingly slippery; and hard braking action (to handle the unexpected turn) slid my tires right out from under me. In an instant my middle-aged body was pounding the pavement with extreme malice. Shoulder dislocation and broken humerus in a heartbeat. Think I'm crazy? Uncoordinated? An acquaintance of ours took a similar spill and broke her pelvis only two hours later at this same spot.

Lisa Ling

Noted journalist Lisa Ling and her production crew spent two days in our home, filming for an upcoming documentary. You may have seen Lisa on Oprah, The View, National Geographic and most recently the new Oprah Winfrey Network.

Spring Break - 2010

We were saddened to once again bid goodbye to Perdido Key, our spring break refuge for nine years now (I think that's right - I'm starting to lose count). This year we were particularly excited to have Jim and Dee join us, along with our son-in-law and daughter-in-law ... thirteen people in total. What a crew! We are so grateful to have all the kids together. That's not so easy as they grow older. Kudos to my parents for once again being the boots-on-the-ground to make it all come together. We certainly beached, bummed and ate royal reds with the best of em. Good fishing, good weather and good food! Thank God for the beauty of this place and the wonderful family with whom we’ve been able to share it. Our first spring break here was in 1986. No kids, just a dog. Things have indeed changed. Thank you God for your goodness! You can find several related photos in my Picasa Album and a few video highlights immediately below (with more available through my YouTube Channel, look for "Spring Break - 2010").

Scorpions On Ice

For me, February has become synonymous with Scorpion Homecoming. Here we enjoy an iconic image of the firm's legendary 1969 line-up - just a few of the nearly 300 sleds in attendance. Thanks to all the wonderful family and friends who once again joined us for the festivities on beautiful Serpent Lake's west-end!

2009 In Review

Well it’s that time of the year again. If you enjoy those overdone Christmas brag letters, feel free to proceed. If not, hit your ‘Back’ button. Coming-off an incredibly active 2008, 2009 brought a much-welcomed reduction of pace. I continue to consult in fixed-income processing for SunGard. The credit crisis has presented many opportunities for stress and many changes and challenges among my clients (large domestic financial institutions) but the over-all atmosphere is thankfully on the upswing. My bride continues working part time at a local dental office where her ever-present smile is a delight to all. Brieanna is settling into married life and is a full time college student while also working part-time at our church. Her husband Michael is busy in outdoor servicing and together they live about 20 miles north of us so we still see them regularly. Brandon wrapped-up his four year tenure with Go Ministries where he most recently served as their graphic design director. He is now working full time in that same field. His wife Jenna will be attending college this spring and they live just a couple miles down the road. After spending a year with Go Ministries, Jordon is back at home and is now a full time student as well. He works part-time at B&N and actively volunteers in our church. Mariah is in the 9th grade at MCA. Highlights for her include a staring role in "Your a Good Man Charlie Brown” and making the varsity volleyball squad. The dogs have been a thorn in my side. The youngest has been getting some help from the local dog whisperer but I don’t know if it’s going to be enough to save our relationship. We were grateful to spend our 25th anniversary on Maui. We also spent some time on Perdido Key Florida (including a horrible overnight in the Atlanta airport), Orlando Florida, and an undisclosed north woods location. We also surprised Jordon in Branson, Missouri during his last tour with Go. Several of us were featured in a marketing campaign for a local dental office. I’d never been on a billboard before. It was a lot of fun. I believe the campaign is still running in Mpls St Paul Magazine. Jordon, Mariah and I did our first marathon in October. It was just a Twin Cities 10K but was more than enough to keep these creaking joints moving. I’m looking forward to next year. Rounding-out the year was the fifth annual Scorpion Homecoming, a Go Ministries leadership retreat, camping in West Salem Wisconsin, the Cuyuna Days loon calling contest (which Mariah and I lost), my 30-year high school reunion, and getting skunked for another year of deer hunting. With so many friends and colleagues experiencing layoffs in 2009, it was indeed a time of great challenges, even fear. But I've found God to be faithful in things big and small, and I've been reminded in these times of the things that really matter. I've been blessed with so many trusted and heartfelt friends and my family is a source of great strength, inspiration and even joy. So all told, Starr and I remain very grateful for God’s blessings in 2009 and together we wish you and yours a terrific 2010!