Five Loving Cousins, Four Loving Sisters-in-Law, and Five Unrelated Guys Sitting Around a Living Room

Russians in our kitchen

We had a troupe of Russian folk musicians stay with us for a week -- Liv dropped by and helped out ably as a translator, and worked on her chops on the Russian folk accordion or "garmoschka".

See you all soon.

John

sorry uncle john

But these pictures just rock too much to not post:

Correction to calendar

Hi,
Could someone correct the Google calendar on Anderblog? Maizie's birthday is Nov. 20. Thanks!
Janelle

Happy Halloween!

See, Democrats can be patriotic!

Fun with Maizie!

Here's some of the fun we had flying paper airplanes with Maizie when we babysat this weekend.

Happy Birthdays

Happy Birthday, Mom and Tom! (I think mom's birthday is incorrect on the Ander-calendar to the right...)

Qapla'!

December 13, 2008: A Klingon Christmas Carol -- Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center, Saint Paul, MN

(click for info)

The Klingon Christmas Carol is being put on again by Commedia Beauregard. I really enjoyed seeing it last year - so much so that I've joined the cast! Save the date!!

Reply

That's great news, Tom and Beckie! And now we know the level of news you consider worthy of an Anderblog posting!

ANDERSON BREAKING NEWS REPORT!

Hi Family! Tom and Beckie have exciting news!

WE ARE WITH CHILD! :)

Maizie is going to have a first cousin once removed.

It is early yet, almost six weeks, but we wanted to share the joy with you all!

(No Facebook comments please, it's a secret to everyone that is not family until three months from now. :))

Happy 21st Birthday, Liv!

Hope it's a happy one!

Bye Bye Birdie!

Here are a few pictures from "Bye Bye Birdie":

Fairchild and Fairborne provide a mixed message

More pix here....

Here's a photo album of our Pequot Lakes adventures.

Short vacation

Hi all,

Sorry to hear about Buddy.

Joel and I just returned from Paul Bunyan country too. We planned on camping two nights and staying in a motel the last night, but we ended up camping only one night as it was extremely buggy everywhere but our tent (and it was hard to read with our fading flashlight). The motel near Pequot Lakes was great, though--and right across the highway from the Paul Bunyan state bike trail. So during our 3.5 day trip, we canoed, hiked, biked (to Nisswa and Pine River), played minigolf on TWO courses, swam, and climbed a fire tower! Pretty athletic for us. The motel also had extensive grounds with a beautiful patio and gardens, play equipment, a sand volleyball court, and a fire pit. Perhaps a place for an Anderson reunion sometime?

Rest in peace old friend

Buddy, originally uploaded by onebigswede.

Mom, dad Maria and I were with Buddy this afternoon as he peacefully took his last breath at the Woodlake Veterinary Hospital.

Buddy had been sick for a while now, and had gotten progressively worse this past week or two. He had gotten to the point where he really couldn't walk without a huge amount of pain.

This afternoon mom called and said that they were going to have to put buddy to sleep. He was in too much pain, and it was his time.

He was a good dog all the way til the end, he never flinched, and just peacefully put his head down and went to sleep.

We'll miss you Buddy, you were a good boy.

News from Carroll Ave.

Hi, Anderson Family,

Saw Joel's show. It was great! Thanks to Tom and Beckie for babysitting Maizie.

Janelle has lived in Minnesota 7 years, wow!

Janelle's mom is coming to visit August 21-Sept. 4.

Looking forward to Janelle's brother's wedding in November, and Maizie's second birthday!

In Brainerd for our anniversary

IMG_0027-1, originally uploaded by onebigswede.

Maria and I went to the Brainerd Lakes area this past weekend to celebrate our anniversary. We were going to go on our anniversary weekend last month, but unfortunately Grandma passed away and her funeral was on our anniversary.

We ended up having a wonderful time this past weekend though relaxing in Crosslake, MN at a beautiful new resort hotel called the Whitefish Lodge and Suites. We even got one of our nights comped when they lost our reservation. Woohoo!

There's no business like show business (or dueling posters on the refrigerator)

Hope to see you at one or both of these shows!

Cousins

Rest in Peace - Katherine Holmes

I just heard the bad news today from Stevie that our Grandma Katherine Holmes has passed away this afternoon. I don't know any more details than that, but just thought I would share with everyone so that they can pray for the family. She will be greatly missed. We love you Grandma.

Here she is in a light moment a few years ago with Grandpa DeWayne.

Hanging on for dear life...

Last fall we dug up our rhubarb and moved it out of the way before the garage work started. For eight months, we've had pallets loaded with bricks out behind the garage. Today our neighbor started moving them, and I discovered this sad little rhubarb plant still alive under the wood and bricks.

Qapla'!

Matt's friend George said he saw a reference to MrKlingon.org in the May 2008 Reader's Digest, so I had to check it out - and there it WAS! As part of "What's Your America IQ?" by Andy Simmons, there was a section of famous quotes to identify. To make it hard, each quote was run through an online translator, in this case my "Universal Translator Assistant." Here it is - Lt. Worf channeling Patrick Henry.

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday, Mae and Ingrid!

Matt, Janelle, and Maizie

Happy Birthday Mae & Ingrid!

Happy Birthday Mae & Ingrid! I hope you both had a wonderful birthday!

Almost done...

We're almost done with the garage project, although we still have to have the floor re-poured because of problems with the mix. But it's nice to have a real fence and gate instead of an orange plastic snow fence to squeeze through!

Happy birthday

Happy 32nd birthday, Peter!

Plans

Hi,
Good to read that Maria is home now.
Lots of stuff happening. I'll be celebrating my 2nd Mother's Day on Sunday. Yay.
Matt, Maizie, and I are going to San Francisco May 20-25. I'm going for a work conference, and Maizie will get to stay with her grandparents. Looking forward to the trip.
It will be 6 years for Matt and me on May 25. Wow.
My brother and Jen have set a wedding date....Nov. 2 in Leesburg, Virginia.
That is the other big trip we're planning.

Have a good spring!
Janelle

happy LIVth birthday!

Happy birthday, Mom!

Please pray for Maria

For updates on Maria's condition, please go to:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mariaanderson

promotion

Hey Family.
I just found out today that I got a promotion and I will not only be teaching yoga and powerflow (a yoga/pilates fusion class) again in the fall, but I am UW's new mind-body coordinator! I'm basically just going to be leading trainings, meetings and doing scheduling. I'm pretty pumped.
Get well, Maria! I'm thinking of you,
Liv

Maybe Spring is here...

Sunrise 4/4/08

Sunrise 4/4/08, originally uploaded by onebigswede.

Beautiful sunrise this morning in Shakopee. Spring is here (I hope?)!

Easter dress

Should we redesign the blog?

Happy Easter!

Silent Movie Night 2008!

Friday night was the annual silent movie night at our local library. It's always a fun night and Norris does a great job playing the piano.

This year was a bit crazy - we added in some movies from a DVD (as well as the regular old 16mm movies) which made things a little complicated. When we got there we discovered that WCCO radio had advertised the show, leading to an even more packed house than usual. Finally, just before the show started, a cameraman from Channel 4 showed up, and wandered around poking his camera at Norris and members of the audience - all to add 30 seconds of a report to the evening news. Here it is: http://wcco.com/video/?id=38721@wcco.dayport.com

San Francisco in February

Maria and I just returned from our trip to San Francisco. I flew there for work a week ago thursday, and Maria joined me on Saturday. We had a great time checking out the sights, enjoying the beautiful weather, and eating all the wonderful food. I think we can now say that San Francisco is one of our favorite vacation locations. I'm sure we'll be back.

Here's a picture of us at Union Square in downtown San Francisco:

Garage update

As some people were asking about the status of our McGarage, I thought I'd post a picture. The garage was built in 5 days early in Janaury, but we had to wait until last week for my Mission-style lights to be installed. In the spring, it will be painted white and the fence will be reinstalled. As it is so big and has so many outlets, perhaps we can hold the next Anderson get-together there.

California Dreamin'...

... on such a winter day as this one when we're heading far below zero, here's a slideshow of pictures from our recent trip to California. I can't say it was warm while we were there, but it was far warmer than what we're enjoying this weekend!



This a set of pictures I took with my cellphone - Teresa took more (and better pictures) with the REAL camera.

Another accident!?

On my way home from work on Monday, I got into a bit of a fender bender. I was waiting at a stoplight when traffic started to move. I started moving as well. I looked down just long enough to change the radio station, and when I looked up, the Jeep in front of me had slammed on their brakes. I slammed on mine as well, but it was too late. I slid into them, their tail hitch going through my bumper, and the rest of the front of my car sliding underneath their bumper. It wasn't a very hard collision, but it was enough to cause a bunch of damage.

I brought my car into our local collision shop, "Body by Bob", and they fixed it in time for me to get it back tonight. Here is the result:



So, no more changing radio stations when starting off from a stoplight!

Trip report

We had a good time in Southern California, but it's nice to be home. We all got along surprisingly well (4 adults being together 24/7) but it was disappointingly cold. We visited Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure, L.A. (Hollywood, Griffith Observatory, Norton Simon Art Museum, Farmer's Market, Dali exhibit at LACMA, and "Wicked" at the historic Pantages Theatre), and Balboa Park at San Diego. We also drove to Long Beach to have dinner with Matt, Janelle, and Maizie, Janelle's parents and grandmother. Here we are--not at Disneyland--but at the minigolf course on one of the warmer days.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Christmas has come and gone, and the new year will be here soon! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, both here in the Twin Cities and elsewhere!



Maria and I had a wonderful weekend - we attended the Nutcracker Suite at the State Theater here in Minneapolis on Saturday. I have fond memories of going to the Nutcracker with Grandpa Anderson when I was younger, and because of that I've always loved going to see it every few years. The performance wasn't as good as in past years, but nonetheless we had a very nice time enjoying the beautiful music and dancing.


Here's to a wonderful 2008!

Scroogical

Babysitting Maizie

Joel and I stayed with Maizie last night while Matt and Janelle went to "Scrooge: A Musical." Maizie was quite entertaining and walked around like a drunken sailor. Here she is enjoying her reflection.

Be careful out there!

Accident, originally uploaded by onebigswede.

Just thought I would update everyone on a little adventure that Maria had last night.

Maria was on her way home last night from work on Pioneer Trail in Eden Prairie when someone pulled out in front of her without looking, and she was forced to brake quickly, and steer into the ditch to avoid a collision. Maria hit the shoulder hard in a puff of snow. She was shaken up, but was otherwise ok. Her car, however, was buried deep in a ditch, resting at a bit of an angle. She wasn't even able to get out of the car until her parents arrived on scene to help her out.

Maria's father and I went back to the scene a few hours later to get the car towed out of the ditch, and to make sure the car would still run. Luckily there is only some minor damage to the vehicle - and it ran just fine.

Thank God Maria wasn't injured in the crash and nobody else was hurt either. It could have been a lot worse! It's starting to seem like the Andersons are a bit accident prone?! Click the picture above to see other photos of the scene.

Murray Rocks! (Unplugged)

Tonight (11/28) was Murray Night at the Har Mar Barnes and Nobles!! We went to do our part to support Murray - and catch the great acts.

Here's Matt accompanying one of the MJHS students during the Murray Rock band(s) segment of the evening.

elbow

So, I fractured both my elbows today riding my bike. If you want the whole story check out my blog...
-liv

Happy Birthday Maizie!!

maizie!

Baby Maizie---It's your birthday!!! Rock on!
Your Favorite Cousin,
Liv

Happy 1st Birthday, Maizie!

Click here for some pictures from Maizie's party!

We're Number 12!

Check out this article at the New York Times online:

In Name count, Garcias are catching up to the Joneses

There is a cool little program that lets you type in last names and see how common they are (and also an article beneath it). Anderson is the 12th most common surname. I bet you guys in Minnesota can believe it!

Uff Da!

We had a great time at Dan and Sharon's church, Immanuel Lutheran, for their annual Lutefisk Dinner. Here's a picture of almost-one-year-old Maizie enjoying her lefse!

Correction

Hi,
Maizie's birthday is Nov. 20, not Nov. 21.
Thanks!
Janelle :)

Wedding

So when is the wedding, Liv? :)

JTA

no!!

Oh no! Now my dream wedding would seem way less original. I've always hoped to get married at the Como Zoo. Although, not just the reception, and definitely not by anything water dwelling.
-liv

Peter & Maria at a friend's wedding

Peter & Maria @ Nate & Emily's Wedding, originally uploaded by onebigswede.

Last weekend Maria's friend Emily was married to her now husband Nathan. They had a beautiful ceremony at Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, and with a reception following at the Minnesota Zoo. Yes, you read that right, the Minnesota Zoo.

The reception was held in the aquarium area at the Zoo, so the reception was surrounded on all sides by dolphins, shark tanks, and all sorts of exotic marine life.

The head table was situated right in front of the dolphin tank so every once in a while, when you were looking up at the wedding party, a dolphin would swim behind the bride and groom. It was a beautiful effect.

Who would have thought a reception at the zoo could be so much fun?

November 7

Garage yet again: 3:00, November 1

At least Koko has a snow fence!

Garage again: 9:00 am, November 1

Soon to be the Taj Mahal

After discovering rotten studs in our 79-year-old garage, we decided to take the plunge and have a new one built. It will be a treat to have a floor that doesn't resemble the surface of the moon and a garage door that doesn't have to be opened with brute force. We had to clean out everything that couldn't pass as "building materials" and it looked pretty sad, as you can see. It was supposed to be torn down today but no one showed up--perhaps they thought it would blow down in the strong wind without any assistance. We'll keep you posted!

all hallow's eve

Madison's wins. Although the man completely coopted Halloween this year. Not only did the police charge admission for access to State Street, it was officially called "Mountain Dew Presents Freakfest."
My friends and I had our event the day before "Mountain Dew Presents Freakfest," but it was still pretty crazy. I included the pretty adorable picture of my roommate and I as Lucy & Ethel.
Last night (the official MDPF) I babysat on Madtown's East side and coming home was like going through a war zone. Pretty crazy stuff...
-liv

Mum's the word

What's the wilder Halloween celebration--UW-Madison's or our next-door-neighbor's? Here we are before setting out to Barb's party. Liv had a lot of leftover gauze from her surgery this summer!

obamarama

Hey family! I know that we try to keep politics off the ol' family blog. But how bout put this under the "celebrity meetings" category rather than politics.
Today I went to an Obama rally and it was pretty awesome and I shook his hand! For photos check out my political/craftacular/hiphopsical blog.
That's all.
-liv

Fun with rockets....

I was inspired by the recent flights at PlasterBlaster of an X-Wing and Y-Wing. (click here to see) So here's my attempt to create a flying X-Wing out of paper:




(I'll confess - the real X-Wing did not fly very well. The stunt doubles for the main flights are conventional three-finned rockets.)

Apple Festival in Bayfield Wisconsin

Bayfield, Wisconsin, originally uploaded by onebigswede.

Maria and I went to the Bayfield Apple Festival on the southern shore of Lake superior this past weekend for a little fun and relaxation, and possibly to see some beautiful fall colors as well.

The entire weekend was a bit chilly, and it was extremely foggy the entire time as well. We still managed to have a great time, eat lots of delicious food, and to even catch a peek of some pretty leaves.

When we left Bayfield it was about 50 degrees and windy. By the time we got home the temperature had risen to 80 degrees. Go figure. Oh well, we still had a good time!

North Shore

Joel and I just returned from three days near Grand Marais. We had a good time (as usual) although the weather was not ideal. We spent a lot of time playing Trivial Pursuit on Tuesday as it poured from about 1:00 on. This picture was taken from the top of Mount Rose overlooking the fort at Grand Portage, shortly before the storm began.

Happy Happy Birthday Birthday

Happy birthday, Lynda & Tom - I hope you each have a wonderful day on this 24th day of September. And Janelle, I hope your birthday was a very happy day as well. The Anderson family's last post was the day before your birthday, so I guess I'm the first to say it via the blog. And on the 27th - Paul, have a great birthday. I'm going by train to Illinois on Wednesday. I hope to see you all in October.

blog

Hey family! I just thought I'd let you all know that I have a new blog (still at www.livvii.com). It's about crafts and cooking and stuff.
Yep. That's all. Oh, and I have a store, too.
Bye fam-fam!

9/11 A day for remembrance.

Our day at the fair

We had a great time at the fair today, eating all sorts of assorted foods - anything from deep fried and breaded spam curds, to a huge basket of french fries. Of course, i also got an overflowing cone full of sweet martha's cookies as well. We're both feeling the pain now - we ate way too much. But hey, it only comes once a year - right?.

 

What I did on my summer vacation

* Take care of Maizie
* Watch Maizie grow. She's 9 months old now!
* Watch her learn to creep, sit, pull up, say "da da", eat simple solids
* Nurse. And more nursing.
* Cook dinner. Feed Maizie.
* Play with Maizie.
* Try to sleep.

Janelle :)