Home sweet home Alabama (vacationing in northwestern Wisconsin) – check out the license plate and car dealership

This video shows the snowfall at about 2:30PM along with a snowplow clearing the road. Exciting stuff for an Alabama boy! Sorry for the crazy parakeet tweeting – I was standing right next to his cage and apparently invading “his space” when I was recording the video.

It has been snowing all day today with at least six inches already on the ground, and the weather forecast calls for the heaviest snow tonight with rates of 1-2 inches per hour! More pictures from throughout the day:

	The Cardwell house mid-morning
	Analise prepares to walk/crawl/hike through the foot of snow in the front yard
	Josiah walks through the snow near the sledding hill
	The sledding hill
	Josiah ready to go down the hill – he didn't go very far
	A video collage of Analise and Josiah hiking/walking through the snow.
	Also, I still had a chance to get an hour long bike ride in today — and I’ll hopefully ride again tonight weather permitting 😉

Well, you know what they say about a watched snowstorm never snows…

Last night at 2AM – the wind was blowing so hard it was only accumulating right next to the house:

This morning (8:30AM) – the view of the deck this morning only 30 minutes after it had been swept by somebody not participating in the documentary of the snowfall:

This morning (9:45AM) – the view of the deck only 1 hour, 45 minutes after being swept:

This morning (8:30AM) – the view out the front door:

It has just started to snow here … I’m up for a while tonight to document the progress of the storm. Weather forecast calls for 2-4 inches tonight, 3-6 inches tomorrow, and even more on Christmas day! Also, I’ve got pictures and video at the end of our cross-country skiing outing with the kids earlier today.

Here is a video of the light snow blowing in the strong wind about an hour after it started.

Here is a “documentary” video as I walk through the snow to video at the same spot again about three hours after the snow first started falling.

And here is part II after I walked on down the hill onto the street:

The swirling snow right outside the glass door next to my laptop:

Earlier today, we went skiing at the Red Barn Campground ski area. The kids did great despite the cold wind blowing hard. Here is a video of Josiah and Kristine at the beginning. This was Josiah’s first time to go skiing. He did really well!

Here is a collage of falling down moments – unfortunately the camera batteries died before I could get a good video of Analise skiing. She did great again this year.

Photos of our skiing outing:

We have been enjoying the snowy Christmas season up here. First, we went with Papa Dale and Aunt Kat to a house nearby growing a few Christmas trees for sale. We had a great time until the kids realized that getting snow in ones boots and gloves is not much fun when the temperature is only 15 degrees. Aunt Kat rescued Analise by switching gloves with her, and all was good.

	Analise and Papa Dale with the "chosen tree"
	Josiah and Aunt Kat pose for a picture while Papa Dale cuts the tree
	Trekking down the hill to find a Christmas tree
	Josiah enjoying being pulled back up the hill

Our next adventure was sledding on the steep hill just down the street. Kristine was worn out from taking care of the kids all day, so I took them down and had them take turns going down the hill until our very last run which resulted in the Analise / Josiah collision you can see in the video at the top. They were OK and laughing about it … “We ran into each other” … Josiah stutters excitedly “We just, just… ran into… each other”

	Bundled up and hiking through the snow in our frontyard
	Happy and ready to be pulled down to the sledding hill
	Analise and Josiah hike back up the hill after their first run

Last night we went ahead and opened presents since Kat was leaving today to head back to Denver. Everybody had a great time, and the kids helped play “Santa” by stacking all the presents into a pile and then helping everybody open their presents.

	Analise and her new "twin" doll
	Josiah and his new legos, which we had already made into a plane
	A family picture this morning

Today while I was working at the coffee shop, Kristine and Grandma Sandy took the kids to Spooner to have lunch and possibly go ice skating. Unfortunately, the ice skating rink was being “watered” to thicken up the ice. So they went and played on a snowy playground instead. Josiah went sliding off the slide super fast and into a snow bank giving himself a “snow bath” he was happy to tell me when they got home.

	On a see-saw like thing
	Analise swinging with the bright sunshine reflecting off the snow
	Josiah and Analise on the swings

Finally, we are battering down for a winter storm tomorrow night. The wind has already picked up quite a bit, and they are calling for close to a foot of snow here. Check out the map below where I added our approximate location here in Shell Lake, Wisconsin:

Definitely going to be a white christmas here … in fact, there is a winter storm / blizzard warning for Christmas:

… Winter Storm Warning in effect from midnight Wednesday night
to 6 am CST Saturday…

The National Weather Service in Twin Cities/Chanhassen has issued
a Winter Storm Warning for heavy snow… which is in effect from
midnight Wednesday night to 6 am CST Saturday. The Winter Storm
Watch is no longer in effect.

* Timing… several periods of snow are expected from Wednesday
night through Friday night. Some sleet is also possible from
late Wednesday night into Thursday afternoon… mainly south and
east of the Twin Cities Metro area.

* Accumulations… significant amounts of snow will occur with
periods of heavy snow possible as the storm intensifies Thursday
and Friday. Near blizzard conditions can be expected… .
particularly late Thursday through Friday. Total snowfall
accumulations will likely exceed a foot in many areas… . with a
few totals in excess of 20 inches possible.

* Surface visibility will be significantly reduced as winds
increase to 20 to 30 mph from the east on Wednesday… becoming
more northeast… then north on Friday.

Precautionary/preparedness actions…

A Winter Storm Warning for heavy snow means severe winter weather
conditions are expected or occurring. Significant amounts of snow
are forecast that will make travel dangerous. Only travel in an
emergency. If you must travel… keep an extra
flashlight… food… and water in your vehicle in case of an
emergency.

We made a make-shift velodrome out of the leaves in our driveway — although our velodrome also had a Nascar style pit row.

Today we asked Josiah to say our Thanksgiving blessing. I was hoping to get a video of him with his eyes shut really tight the way he normally prays but I think the video camera was a distraction.

Also here is a couple pictures from our biking adventure around a running track near our house. The kids had played all day at Grandma’s house after biking in our driveway in the morning. They were tired and ready for bed early!

Happy Halloween!!!

This past Sunday we continued a 5 year long tradition of going to Old Baker’s Farm to get pumpkins, enjoy the civil war reenactments, and the Native American traditional dancing. Kristine drove the kids there after church, and I decided to bike to meet them. Church ran long, and I rode fast making it there before them and then searching to try to find them before borrowing a cell phone to find out that they were still on their way.

We were all hungry so we went straight to the food area, bought a bbq sandwich and bbq baked potato and headed over to the bicycle tractors where Josiah and Analise could sit on little miniature John Deere tractors and pedal around in circles in a small area near the entrance of the farm. After riding Josiah sat down with us and started to eat. There were yellowjackets flying around attracted to the bbq and one eventually landed on Josiah’s nose. Kristine and I both stared at it for the slightest fraction of a second before Josiah swatted at it and we could then see the yellowjacket extend its stinger directly into Josiah’s nose. We swatted it away with the stinger still in his nose, and then Kristine pulled out the stinger. 15 minutes of blood-curtling screaming, one raw onion wiped on his nose, and many tears shed by Analise pleading for Josiah to stop crying, everything suddenly was fine and Josiah was proud/happy to say that it stopped hurting.

We continued on, had a blast, found some pumpkins in the much picked-over end of the season field, and took these pictures below. Enjoy! (Also the two last pictures are from Josiah’s nursery rhyme parade at school and the Clearwater Trunk or Treat event last Sunday)

Update 10/2 – I was typing up this post during my trip a couple weeks ago to New York.

I am in New York City this weekend for Radu and Clare’s wedding. What an awesome experience!

Saturday traditional Eastern Orthodox wedding

I arrived really early at the Union Theological Seminary not sure of how smoothly public transport would be — but it couldn’t have been any easier with a single bus going directly from the airport to a stop only a block away. I was so early in fact that I wandered around the area and along the Hudson snapping a few pictures of the huge towering cathedral at Columbia University. I met and chatted with Clare’s mom and sister in the courtyard while we waited for other family and guests to arrive. Once we were all assembled inside the entryway just outside the Lampman Chapel, we each took a lighted candle to hold for the duration of the ceremony. Violet was feeling sick so Radu and Clare took turns holding her. The priest began the first part of the ceremony where rings are exchanged praying in Romanian and then in English many blessings and directions for Radu and Clare as they enter into marriage. Then we moved into the chapel for the crowning where both Radu and Clare each received a crown of flowers representing the crown of glory that God bestows on his faithful children.

Starbucks in the heart of Harlem

After the wedding, I called Kristine and she helped navigate me to a Starbucks just past the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Just around the corner from where the wedding was, the atmosphere here is different with a nearly constant stream of people passing by the window from all races, all walks of life. Across 125th street is a series of  street-level shops that form an outdoor mall. The store directly across from me is called Home Boy Jewelry. Some stores  have one or more workers outside handing out pamphlets and chanting slogans for the store. Street vendors have booths set up all along the sidewalk, too. Just down the street is the metro station where I’ll catch the subway down to Chelsea Piers in Midtown, Manhattan for the main event tonight!

Starbucks in Midtown Manhattan

I took the subway from the 125th st station down to the stop closest to Chelsea Pier. On the way I decided to check out the Museum of Natural History on 81st street hoping that it would be free, but the entrance had a long line and a cashier so I assumed it wasn’t free and decided to cross the street to Central Park instead. I wandered over and found a “year-round” marionette puppet theater. I think Analise and Josiah would really like that the next time we visit as a family. After a brief stroll through the park, I returned to the 79th steet entrance to the subway and continued the rest of the way down to 23rd street. As soon as I exited the stairs to 23rd street, what should I see — another Starbucks.  I hadn’t had lunch yet so I dropped in grabbed a bite to eat,  and now I have  two more hours of wireless internet.

Wedding on the Hudson River

We boarded the Mariner III at about 5:30 for a sunset cruise and wedding ceremony. We cruised down the Hudson and drifted to a location right next to Ellis Island with the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop for the exchanging of vows – which was a beautiful setting for a beautiful ceremony. After an hour of cocktails and mingling and chatting, we headed back upstairs for a dinner under the dusk and night sky as we cruised on the East River under the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, and almost all the way to Queensborough bridge before turning around to head back to the Hudson side. After dinner it was time for some wild dancing including a traditional Romanian circle dance where one person dances in the middle and then selects somebody of the opposite sex to take their place in the middle by looping a rolled pillow suitcase around their neck and pulling them towards the middle. This process repeats until the song ends and just about everybody has made it into the middle. It was a fun end to a very special day. 

Subway adventures and an expensive cab ride

We had left a bit late so we stayed out on the river later than expected. I was hurrying to make it back to the subway and ended up getting into the wrong station. Once I realized my mistake and made it to the correct station two blocks away, it was past midnight and I wasn’t sure if there would still be bus service to Laguardia. So when the next subway train came, and it wasn’t even the one I was looking for – I decided my best bet was to head back to the street and hail a cab. $30 later, I made it back to the hotel at the airport.

No luggage allowed

I walked over to the airport and grabbed the M60 bus to Manhattan, transferred to a subway on Lexington exiting at the 86th street station, walked over to Central Park to take a picture of the Central Park Reservoir, realized that my batteries were dead on my camera, found and purchased 4 double-a batteries at a deli for $6.50.  I headed back to Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and tried to enter but was barred by security saying that I couldn’t bring any large bags into the museum so that neither my backback nor my rollbehind small carryon would be allowed. I explained that I was there for an informal post-wedding gettogether in the roof garden, but they said it didn’t matter and that I would need to find a place for my stuff. I asked one of the guards if he had any suggestions, and he recommended bribing one of the street vendors to watch my luggage. I couldn’t bring myself to risk it since I would have to leave my laptop with them. So I wandered off in search of an electric outlet to plug in my computer and a wireless internet connection but without any success until now.

Back to Laguardia and home

I am about to leave to head back to the airport to catch my flight back home. Kristine has a meeting at church so I’ll be hanging out at the airport in Birmingham until she gets done.

Update – 10/2 – There was an African American pride parade on 125th in Harlem so the buses were running about 30 minutes behind schedule. By the time I made it to the airport, it was only 45 minutes before my plane was supposed to take off. Fortunately, I didn’t have any bags to check so I was able to use the self check-in kiosk and avoid the quite lengthy check-in line at the Delta counter, make it through security a few minutes later, and shortly after that board the plane for home!

One of the (many) highlights of the trip was Carlsbad Caverns.  It was AMAZING.  Even the kids really enjoyed our visit there.  Pictures do not do it justice, so if you’ve never been… you just have to experience it for yourself.  Analise’s favorite part of the nearly mile-long walk in the underground caverns was Fairyland.  She still recognizes it in the photos.  And of course, the evening bat flight from the cave entrance was awesome.  Definitely worth planning an overnight stay to see that unique sight.

The Grand Canyon was, of course, beautiful.  But it was HOT, the kids had been up early, there were lots of people there, and my kids wanted to play on the rocks, which was a little too nerve-wracking with the drop to the canyon floor just feet away.  Analise had a meltdown after disobeying us by jumping on the rocks, and so we left after about 20 minutes.  Definitely not a GRAND experience.  As Brian reminded me, the kids just can’t grasp how huge it is.  It’s awe-inspiring for us, but they can’t understand the depth and the beauty of it.  Next time, I’d like to plan to be there at sunset, as I’ve heard that’s a beautiful experience.

After a disappointing experience at the Grand Canyon, we had a long afternoon with whiny kids in the car.  Hot, tired and hungry, with grumpy parents, and we were driving 4 hours to Las Vegas.  Food was many miles between, our windshield caught a rock and cracked, and at some point, Brian mentioned maybe I’d better check our reservation in Las Vegas online (on my phone) as he had a feeling he might have made it for the wrong night.  ?!?!?

We had booked the hotel through Expedia (for a lower price than the conference rate, though it was the same hotel!) months in advance, and actually before we knew the schedule of Brian’s conference.  After battling intermittent internet on my phone, we realized that indeed… it was Sunday evening, we were headed for Vegas, and our hotel reservation was not until Monday, but Brian had to present at the conference on Monday morning.  ARG!   More phone problems, dealing with customer service, finding out the hotel rate was twice what we’d paid, and so we finally settled at Starbucks to calm our frazzled nerves and use their internet so Brian could find us another hotel.

He ended up booking us a night at the Desert Rose Resort, just off the strip and less than a block from where we’d be staying the next two nights, at the Monte Carlo, for the conference.   I was a bit irritated about having to stay one (short) night in one place, then move to another.  But once we arrived, we very nearly canceled our other reservations to stay at the Desert Rose.  It was AMAZING!  Full kitchen, huge king bedroom, separate from the spacious living/dining room, delicious full continental breakfast, free wireless (as compared to $15 a day at the MC), 2 pools.  It was awesome.  Highly, highly recommend it, and if we ever go back, I won’t stay anywhere else.  Back to the trip to Vegas…  Now the experience is comical, and turned out to have many blessings in it, but man, was it a long end to a frustrating day!

So we set out for the last couple hours of the drive from Arizona to Vegas, via the Hoover Dam.  I was excited to see the Dam, as I’d never been there.  But we’d been way-laid for a couple hours, and it was going to be dark.  We thought we wouldn’t be able to see anything.  Much to our surprise, the dam was well lit, and there was construction going on for the new Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge.  It is INCREDIBLE!   What a feat of engineering!  And the Dam is amazing too.  Seeing it at night was really different, but still very cool.  And it was 109 degrees outside at 9pm!  Crazy!

Ok, more thoughts on Vegas and the California part of the trip another evening.  Enjoy a few photos… Click on the first one and it will open in a small window and you can click through them all.