Baby Lucas!

Here we are at the Neillsville Clinic saying hi to Baby Lucas! We are
here with Anne's sister, Kathy, for an ultrasound. He is doing great!
With a chunky belly and a little turkey gizzard:-) almost six
pounds....not much longer now!

Foundation Trail

Here we are on another warm and sunny morning at the foundation trail
in Black River Falls, WI. Anne and Gus are going for a run on the four
mile trail. I'm doing some observing of the park from the van. I
really like coming here.

Cape Horn

No, we aren't in Chili...we are on the highway 14 in southern
Washington, near our home, heading towards Beacon Rock. Cape Horn is a
nice lookout onto the Columbia River Gorge. If you look closely at the
river, you can see a barge - reminds us of Minneapolis a bit:-) I love
road trips.

Super Elephant

Car wash, that is! Happened upon this neat sign as we were driving
back to our hotel. The sign is neat and pink, like me. I've noticed
many very neat car wash places all around our country. A neat ending
to our downtown trip.

Full moon over Seattle

You can see the full moon now! It was neat to see the city during the
day and watch the sun set and the city turn to night! The city lights
here look terrific! I especially like how the port has a pinkish glow
to it.

Just being here for a little while, I really like this city! So
beautiful and clean (at least the parts we've seen so far). Some neat
modern buildings, too. I think I could live here...

Mt. Rainier!

The view from the top of the space needle is amazing! There aren't
many days each year that you can see Mt. Rainier, but today is one of
them...you can also see downtown Portland and the port behind me. It
is really neat light, too, as the sun is going down. There is actually
a full moon coming up to my right, but it wouldn't show up in this
photo. Very nice!

Space needle!

Hi everyone! Can you guess where we are off to? Seattle! Joe had to
come for work, so we came with:-) From this angle, the space needle
looks so fake with the trees all around! It is like it is photoshopped
in! We haven't gone on any adventures lately, so it was fun to go on a
small road trip yesterday! As you know, I love road trips!

Multnomah Falls

Of course, we stopped at multnomah falls! We even all hiked up the
trail to the bridge at the top of the lower falls. It was nice and
misty when we got to the bridge. I like waterfalls and bridges and
when there are both in the same place, it is awesome!

Chanticleer point

After settling in our home for a few weeks, we have a visitor! Joe's
mom is here for a few days...we are doing some sight-seeing along the
Colombia river gorge today and stopped at Chanticleer Point. You can
see Crown Point off in the distance behind me and a neat view of the
Columbia River Gorge. What a nice day! Gus had a blast running around
this place!

Camas heritage park

Hi! Here I am yesterday at the Camas Heritage Park. Anne, Gus, and
Astro went for a run on a very nice trail along Lacamas Lake. It was a
rainy day in our new city, but not too bad. We have noticed that it
sprinkles and drizzles on and off for the most part since we've been
here. I'm sure it really rains sometimes, but we haven't experienced
that yet. It drizzled the whole time they ran, but there was no wind
and Gus stayed dry in his stroller and Astro and Anne were pretty dry
with their light rain gear on. The trail is crushed gravel and well
packed and draining, so even though it was raining, the stroller was
no problem. They ran into some runners that didn't like the cold when
it gets down in the low 40s when it rains...Anne let them know that it
was better than snow and 20 degrees like it is in Minneapolis in
winter! I like observing in new places!

Mt. Hood

So as the movers were unloading, the fog dissipated and the the sun
came out! What a super nice day! 51 degrees and not hardly any breeze.
And you can see Mt. Hood from the house, it looks a lot like Joe
figured from google earth...Crown Point is just below Mt. Hood and to
the right (my left). You may not be able to see it in this shot. Mt.
Hood looks so much bigger than the picture shows. What an awesome
view!

Unstuck truck

Yeah! The truck is free! You can see the very nice police man, John,
that came out to help. We also met a bunch of our neighbors, some of
them were trapped in the neighborhood because the moving truck was
blocking the road...we met some very nice people and learned a bit
about our town from John. It ended up being an interesting way to meet
the neighborhood! Truck is now parked on the road and our stuff is
being shuttled to our home by smaller trucks. What an adventurous
morning!

Now that's a tow truck!

The tow truck has arrived, and it is the mother of all tow trucks! I
thought our nephew, Michael, would love this truck! It could almost be
a transformer!

Stuck truck

So here I am at the corner of X and Y street, just a very short walk
away from our new home, by our moving truck. It is really about 800'
away. If you look closely at the back tires where I am looking, you
will see that the back tires are not on the ground. As the truck was
making a big corner on the hill, the truck got high centered! It was
foggy this morning and I can see how someone unfamiliar with the
neighborhood could get stuck...our movers seem very experienced and
knowledgeable, and this was quite unexpected! We are waiting for the
tow truck now...what a crazy turn of events!

Birds!

Hey, everyone! Just got done getting a bunch of odds and ends for the
house at IKEA and Lowes. When we walked out into the parking lot, it
was like a scene from the movie, The Birds! If you zoom in, you can
really see what I mean - they are everywhere! I like winged
migration...

One last stop!

Stopped one last time for gas at exit 104. Also had some McDonald's
fries with Gus! It is a very nice day - 51 degrees and cloudy. A
little windy, though. I'm observing tiny wind waves on the Columbia
River...Almost to our new home!

Water Buffalo @ the Davenport Hotel

Here I am sitting on the golden water buffalo at the entrance of the
Davenport Hotel in Spokane. It was a pretty neat hotel, with a safari
theme. Lots of elephants, tigers, zebras, and giraffes! We had fun
walking around with Gus and showing him all the creatures...there was
even a stuffed real tiger in the lobby! It was a nice place to stay
with a comfy bed and lots of room for me, Gus, and the doggies!

4th of July Pass

One last pass before we head down into Coeur d' Alene - 4th of July
Pass. We looked up some history and one of the first roads linking the
Great Plains with the northwest was the Mullan Road, built between
1859 and 1862, built by US Army Lieutenant John Mullan. This road went
through the 4th of July Pass and a section of the road was completed
on July 4, 1861, hence the name. The elevation is only 3,081 feet. I
guess we were expecting the mountain passes to be higher like in
southern portions of the interstate system through the mountains. Some
neat civil engineering history!

Exit 0

It isn't every day you come across exit "0" - another shot from
Lookout Pass. I like mountain passes!

Idaho!

We made it to Idaho! Wow, Montana sure is a long state! It is hovering
around 32 degrees today with a few light snow flurries. The roads seem
OK - just a little steep and slippery right at the top of Lookout
Pass, which forms the border between Montana and Idaho. Surprising it
is only around 4,800 feet in elevation at the top of the pass.

It is exciting for Joe to be on a stretch of interstate he hasn't been
on before - only been as far as Missoula before.

Stick 'em up!

Good morning, everyone! Leaving Missoula this morning and stopped at
the mountain cooperative for gas and found these creatures for $89. I
love the interesting things you can observe on a cross country trip!

Milepost 161

Here we are on I-90 at milepost 161 in Montana. It has stopped
snowing/raining now and the sun is shining through neat clouds and
mountains are starting to appear. Stopped for another picture break.
Astro and I are watching Joe take another shot. Astro wants to go out
and run around so badly! But it is too muddy...what a nice day it is
shaping up to be! And Gus seems to be feeling better, too!

Welcome to Montana!

Just crossing into Montana...not the coolest sign like Wisconsin and
Minnesota have, but at least there is a sign! What a wide state that
lies again! Here we go!

Bison print?!?

As we are stopped to take a look at the Painted Canyon, I spied a
large footprint in the grass/mud. I wonder if it is from a buffalo?
I'll have to research that! I like exploring and observing!

Painted Canyon

Here I am at a scenic overlook called Painted Canyon. Another one of
the areas that Teddy Roosevelt worked on back in the day. Teddy
actually came to the Dakotas and ranched for a bit before returning to
New York and becoming president. I like Teddy Roosevelt and wish the
Republican Party could find some dudes like that again!

Geese in Flight

Somewhere around mile marker 65 on Interstate 94 in North Dakota we
came across a metal sculpture called, "Geese in Flight". Very neat
little geese on each fence post around the property fence. I like
winged migration!

Picture Time in North Dakota

So we decided to stop and have Joe take some pictures. Joe is easy to
spot with his bright blue jacket against the white landscape, but
Astro is out there with him. Can you spot her? Her coloring is a
perfect camouflage with the white snow and light brown grass. She had
a great time running around while Joe took some photos!

Great Plains

The Great Plains are very great today! Such a neat day out with the
white snow and white sky with shades of blue and purple mixed in...I
like it here. I wonder if there are lots of bunnies out there?

Bismarck!

Just got to Bismarck, ND - made it here around 11:30. As we turned to
go to the hotel, I came across this place called the Space Alien. It
looked really cool with the neat lights; however, it didn't come
across too well on the picture. Definitely not one of my best photos.

Did i mention that our home closed today and the deed recorded?!?
Yeah! Can't wait to show the doggies the new place.

OK - leg #1 down, four to go!

Beware!

Here I am at our hotel room. Astro and I let the maid service know we
didn't need service because we got the room Gus-proofed...she put this
sign outside the door after she saw Astro. I thought it was kinda
funny because Astro and Orion could probably only lick someone to
death!

One Last Storytime!

Here we are at the downtown Minneapolis library for one last storytime
for Gus. All of our stuff went on the moving truck and we are staying
in an hotel while we wait for Joe to fly back from Philadelphia to
join us for our trek to Portland. It is near zero degrees today, but
we were able to take the skyway from the hotel almost all the way here
- that was a fun adventure, too!

I know Gus will miss storytime and I'm sure he learned a lot! Can't
wait to find a new storytime in Portland!

Moving day!

The moving truck came yesterday and loaded up almost everything! We
just have a few things and the Jeep to drive across the country
now...I can't believe the movers got the big semi backed into the
alley space! It was weird seeing our apartment empty again. Excited
for our big adventure! I know it will be a road trip to remember! In
case you didn't catch it before, I love road trips! So much observing,
so little time!

January Day?

A nice January day, but where is all the snow? We took one last visit
here before moving to Portland...I will miss this place, but I know we
will visit and hopefully just be here every day, someday! I'm sure the
bunny will watch over the place!

Tinley Park

Here I am on a sunny, but windy, Wednesday afternoon...we just went to
Culver's and now we are at a very nice park in Tinley Park, close to
where Joe grew up. It is 46 degrees out today! But the wind makes it
feel like it is 35! Gus played on the swings and went down the slides.
It was very fun! Did I tell you we also went to the candy shop?!? That
was super fun, too! I like parks and candy shops...

Christmas bunny!

We have been driving every night around the south side of Chicago and
most of the houses have neat lights and decorations! We've seen
several reindeer made out of lights and they are very cool, but we
just found a bunny!!! You can see him behind me in the center of the
lights. His lights have a little bit of a blue tinge to them. Joe and
Anne were talking and said they might get one for next Christmas. How
neat would it be to have a bunny of our own! I like lighted bunny
decorations!

Merry Christmas!

Made it to Papa E's place...such a nice tree! And inside and outside
the house there are beautiful Christmas decorations! We are having a
great time visiting family and watching Gus play with everyone, too!

Birthday party!

Here I am at Aunt Karen's farm for Gus' b-day party! We had a great
day and even opened up some Christmas presents to everyone from Anne
and Joe! Behind me, you can Andrea to the left of the picture playing
with princess crowns, then Michael playing with a castle, then Gus and
Marcus playing with a Thomas the train set. Even Aunt Karen is in the
mix in the middle of the floor, playing with everyone. I hope everyone
had a great time! I wonder how fun next year will be!

Happy Birthday, Gus!

Here we are at Aunt Karen's farm for Gus' b-day! If you look behind
me, you can see Gus and his cousins, Andrea, Michael, and
Marcus...they were all having fun playing with presents. I love b-day
parties!

New home?

Here I am yesterday taking a look at the home our family is interested
in. It has all kinds of places for a bunny to hang out! Hopefully Joe
and Anne can get all the paperwork straightened out and the next time
you see me here, I will be living here!

Neatest revolving door ever!

Here I am at the Portland airport in the neatest revolving door ever!
There are Christmas lights and snowflakes in the sections of door. We
got here on Thursday to find a home for the next few years. Gus was
great on the flight! He slept almost the whole way! Looks like it will
be rainy and 40 degrees the whole time we are there. Almost the same
as Minneapolis! I'm starting to like it a little more than the last
time we visited...

Crazy clouds...

Hi everyone! Spent a few days in Merrillan and now driving down to see
the Ennesser family in Chicago area for Thanksgiving. Really neat day
outside. If you look just off my bottom ear, you'll see some very
interesting clouds. There is a small formation where perfectly
horizontal bands are hiding among the rest of the puffy clouds. Joe
saw a cool crocodile head about an hour ago. I love clouds!

More cows and two horses

Another shot at Uncle Darrick and Aunt Karen's farm. Here we are by a
bunch of cows and a few horses. Cousin Andrea is hanging out with
them. Her horse is the lighter brown animal in the middle of all the
cows. Andrea and Michael showed us all the animals and told us their
names.

It is a beautiful day out today! It was so fun to watch Gus see the
animals and hear the cows say, "moooooo!"

Sharpshooter K-dog!

Here I am at Aunt Karen and Uncle Darrick's farm in Taylor. Aunt Karen
shot this deer right away this morning. One shot from 200 yards...the
rest of the family is going to be jealous!

Chilly morning

Back in Minneapolis we woke up to a chilly morning! It was 18 degrees
when Joe took the doggies out. You can see the remnants of the weather
yesterday with the ice and snow on our patio chair. Winter is coming!

Snow Flurries!

On our way back to Minneapolis we stopped in Merrillan to wish Papa T
happy birthday. Here we are getting off I-94 at the Merrillan exit.
You can see a few snowflakes in the air and some snow on the
ground...one of the first snowfalls of the season. Awesome!

Class of 2005?!?

Here we are driving around Madison after going to the cave. We noticed
the car in front of us had a license plate that said "RX 05" - perhaps
a pharmacist that graduated in 2005? Before I came into Joe and Anne's
life, Joe almost came to UW Madison for pharmacy school. He would've
graduated in 2005...maybe the person in the car in front of us
would've been Joe's classmate had he come to Madison for pharmacy
school. How cool is that?!? Anne loves asking the "what if" question!

Cave of the Mounds

Hi everyone! Here I am outside of Madison at Cave of the Mounds. We
(Joe, Anne, Gus, and I) came down to stay in Madison to meet Papa E
and Therese. They came up from Chicago for a wedding.

The cave is so beautiful! I'm so glad I was able to see it! The tour
guide noticed Anne taking pictures of me, and asked if I was Flat
Stanley! How funny is that!!

Voting again!

Here we are outside of our new polling place. It is the nicest place
we have ever voted! It was at a coffee house called Open Book. No
lines and they took care of us quickly, even though we had to
register. Anne was number 1,243 to cast her ballot here. I like that
Anne and Joe vote to try to keep our country great...

Mall of America

Here I am at the Mall of America with Joe, Anne, and Gus! I'm by a
dog/bunny creature named Austin. Not sure who that is, but with Gus in
our lives, I'm sure we will figure it out someday! We took Gus on a
bunch of rides and had a Cinnabon...it was so fun!

Happy Halloweenie, everyone!

Here I am next to the pumpkin we carved together with Gus yesterday!
It is really neat to have Halloweenie with him! Hope everyone is
having a great day! I love Halloween!