My Christmas List. . .

Click the picture to go to their website. . . I'd love to play a part in giving clean water to those that don't have access to it. Maybe we could do this for Christmas this year. Any takers?

Cali pics

We're having a good time out here in California. We did a wine tour today -- driving through Sonoma County on two-lane backroads to all these little wineries. It's beautiful here and the wine has been very tasty! We decided to just focus on the pinot noir variety since it grows so well in this region. It also is a variety that Darcy and I have wanted to explore more. Some of the vineyards we visited have up to a seven year waiting list for certain bottlings of their pinot noir. Another serves their wine at the White House. All that to say that the wine here is very sought after and exceptionally good. Unfortunately Darcy still has a cold and can not taste or smell much of it. Talk about bad timing! We might stop at a few more wineries as we head north tomorrow. We are planning on spending the weekend up in the Sinkyone Wilderness area, though it's supposed to rain tomorrow evening so we may not camp until Saturday. We'll keep you posted.

Le Shaque

Your house looks great!! It's got to feel wonderful to be that finished with it. Way to go!

Ben and I took Micah & Natalie up to my fam's cabin (we call it The Shaque) a couple weeks ago. It was so relaxing - we had such a great time. I haven't been up there that late in the season for several years, and I couldn't believe how warm it was still. We were able to lay out on the dock in the sun, fish, and even take baths in the lake! (well... I didn't, but the others did) Micah brought up his canoe & explored the tiny Nickel Lake, and then wrote a little song about it :-) You can see the video of it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jkYBdV41_A

I would love for you guys to get the Shaque experience someday! Here are some photos...

he's such a rebel!

the couture fashions of Port le Shaque

the view from my swing...

had some target practice --- I learned to shoot a handgun for the first time!

Pictures of the basement

Here are a few pictures that I took yesterday of the basement. As you can see, there's still a bit of touch-up work to be done, and boxes to unpack, but John and Elizabeth have officially moved in. We look forward to showing it off to you guys the next time you're out.

Here are the photos from the wee morning hours before you left. It was so fun having you guys stay! Darcy - how did everything go in NY??

I hope all the work on your house is going well... or at least as smooth as possible. I still love the idea of meeting up in NY for a weekend. When Ben's football games are done, we should find a shared free weekend and plan a mini trip! Would it work to go from a Friday evening through Sunday?

One more picture for ya.... of the sleeping boys.

48-hour film

Hey guys! We're so excited to see you next weekend... you'll be pretty busy it sounds like, but we'll be able to hang out a bit at our house.

I was part of the 48-hour film festival in Minneapolis last month which was really fun. The challenge is to write, shoot, edit, and turn in a short film all in 48 hours. On Friday evening the teams gather together and everyone is given three things that they have to use in their film: a prop, a character, and a line of dialogue. The three things are the same for all the teams. Then each team draws a film genre out of a hat, and that is the type of film they have to make. 48 hours later the teams have to turn in a finished film under 7 minutes long.

It's a whirlwind of a weekend with no sleep for the writers/directors. The films are screened at a Minneapolis theater over a week and the audience votes on their favorites. It's always really interesting to see how each team uses the required prop, character, and line.

Anyway, it's fun to see what people can come up with in such a short time, and if the script you wrote the first night sucks, there's no time to go back and try again! If you want to check out the 48-hour film website, it's www.48hourfilm.com

Here's a link to the film made by the team I was part of: www.schmidvidpro.com/film
The required elements for everyone this year were:
prop = fish
character = Mr./Ms. Perkinson, substitute teacher
line = "you look very familiar"

The genre that our team picked out of the hat was "Holiday Film" ..... we didn't win.... :-)

The Patio

OK, Ben asked me to post some photos of our patio.... I can't even explain how awesome it is! In the morning w/coffee, afternoon to read, evening with a fire, or for a big patio party, it is so great to love hanging out in your back yard!

It's also a great place for little dogs to stand up on the sitting walls & feel like king of the world.... or to bake in the sun after a long day playing...

Here's a couple other dog photos to make you smile!