Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Janelle!

wedded bliss

I took the train from chicago to sturtevant illinois yesterday for andrew papillon's wedding. tom was the best man and my mom and dad and beckie were all there as well. it was a really nice ceremony with a string quartet and trumpet player, but the reception was a little lacking. there was no dancing. I can't wait until tom and beckie's!

Is This A Sign?

So, I moved in on Saturday and all Saturday evening/night and Sunday morning/noontime there was a crazy lightning storm here. And overnight the cross on top of our chapel got stuck by lightning. Yes, the cross. And a huge chunk of stone broke off of it and the organ in the church no longer works. Everyone is really worried it'll break off and crush someone and so the whole chapel area is blocked of.
Liv

WOO

Hey, guess what family? I got into the Manitou Singers. That's the freshman women's choir here at St. Olaf. Woo.
Liv

Hoyme's Got the Power

Hey family! Well, I'm relaxing during another busy day in Hoyme. (It's my Home...with a Y) St. Olaf is a lot of fun and I've met a lot of people and they are all pretty cool. I met this kid named Stephen Anderson. He is really crazy and from Illinois. We hang out and it's fun. There are a lot of names spinning through my head...In conclusion, HOYME POWER!

Liv

State Fair

We're glad to hear that all the college bound Anderson's are settling in and set for a year of learning (and other experiences i'm sure). Good luck on the upcoming year.

We went to the fair on Friday and had a great time indulging in every manner of food on a stick - as well as enjoying the displays, rides and general good times at the fair. I think Maria's favorite part of the day was the Miracle of Birth Barn, while my favorite part was the Sweet Martha's cookies. I think I've eaten enough to last me until next year.

Good luck

Hello,

Just wanted to wish everyone good luck at college and with the empty nests! I hope one of you all gets married soon so I can come back and visit...Drink a tea at Blue Mondays for me, Liv!

See you,
Ingrid

Um Ya Ya!

Here's the view you get after hauling bags and boxes up three flights of stairs to Liv's new digs on the St. Olaf campus (click the picture for a bigger version). I guess you don't HAVE to haul stuff up there to get the view, but that's how WE did it.

Liv is all moved in and happy with the execution of her design for the room she shares with Katie. (Chances are she'll be posting some pictures of the room herself.) We had a nice day helping her settle in, as well as hearing *delightful* speeches from the faculty. As Stevie said of one of his professors, they were a bit "longwinded."
We weren't able to indulge in any tears on our way home because, due to a sudden storm, the visibility was poor enough.

books are very expensive

Andersons at the Fair, 2005 (click for a bigger picture)

We've been busy at the Fair! Besides Norris, Teresa and Joel marching (well, rolling) in the parade on Friday, we (Joel, Teresa and Liv) have been volunteering at various booths, and entering our creative works in the competitions. Norris is also judging 4H talent. All told, we managed to score 14 free tickets!

well

chicago is pretty awesome. there are these thrift stores here that i would maybe compare to the salvation army or goodwill rather than savers because it isnt as neatly kept up as savers but there are still lots of nice namebrand clothes. the stuff there is way better any of the aforementioned stores because the prices are ridiculously low. I bought two pairs of polo khakis and a pair of tommy hilfiger cords for 7 dollars total. and today I bought a biker/messenger style of backpack for only 90 cents. I am pretty impressed at my frugality and vocabulary at the moment. classes start tomorrow and I am taking intro to the bible, studies in literature, intro to the personal computer and internet and then some fruitcake class. my email is sanderson7@northpark.edu just in case anyone wants to send me a friendly greeting or whatev. also, if you would like to visit me, feel free to stop on by. just make sure that i know you are coming first. well I better go party.

Empty Nest

Nancy and I took a big step towards empty nesterdom this week when we deposited Stephen and many of his wordly possessions at North Park University in Chicago where he is beginning his freshman year. Tuesday we traveled in two vehicles with the family of best friend and roommate John Robert Madsen to Woodale, Illinois outside Chicago where we had reservations. Wednesday was spent on campus participating in a variety of orientation activities for students and/or parents. The high point of the day for me was unloading the vans and bringing the boy's belongings to their third floor room. This was accomplished with the able of assistance of returning student/staff who did all of the carrying up the stairs. At 4:00 Stevie and I walked Nancy to the elevated train station near the campus. She took that train to the Amtrak station and proceeded to Galesburg to visit her parents down on the farm for a week. After one more parent session I said good bye and left for home at 5:30. In Chicago rush hour traffic it took me one hour to travel the first 25 miles. I arrived at home at 1:00 A.M. Study hard and have a great year Stevie and John.

Twins Game

I had one free ticket to last night's Twins game against the White Sox. It was probably one of the most exciting Twins games I've ever been to. The Twinkies were held hitless through the eighth inning when Jacque Jones hit a home run. It was the only hit the Twins got all night, but it was enough as they pulled out a 1-0 win. I heard on the radio its only the second time in Twins history that they've won a game with only one hit.

After the game I took a few pictures on the way back to my car. Here's one of them:

Good luck Stevie!

I had a good time over at Mom and Dad's house last night saying goodbye to Stevie as he embarks on his college adventure. Although I didn't realize that you were going to be staying on the "North Ark"? Is that something like Noah's Ark?. In any event, good luck Stevie!

On Sunday Maria participated in a lake baptism at Lake Minnewashta in Carver County. It was a very meaningful time, and some of the testimonies (including Maria's) were very touching. It was a beautiful night, and I was very proud of Maria for going up there and speaking as I'm sure it wasn't easy to do. Great job honey!


Maria is the third from the left in the water

goodbye

well I leave for chicago and northark today. I am excited and I am sure that it will be a lot of fun. wish me luck. goodbye familia.

New from Buford Avenue

We just learned that my Aunt Bev (who most of you know) died suddenly this morning. She had bypass surgery on Tuesday and was expected to go home tomorrow, but collapsed while walking. My uncle has not been doing well mentally and physically, so there will be many changes.

I got a second job as a part-time faculty member at Anoka-Ramsey Community College. I will be teaching a health class Monday nights. The only problem is I was hired on Tuesday and the class starts next Monday. So I've been busy developing my syllabus and curriculum in between drumming for "Music Man, Jr." at Como Pavilion.

8 - 17 - 87 EASY TO REMEMBER!

EASY TO REMEMBER THE DATE 8 - 17 - 87 ... so sorry I didn't!
I hope you had a great day, LIV! Congratulations on Eighteen years of enjoying life! Nancy

Happy 18th Birthday Livvi'i!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Princess Livvi'i!!!!

Minnesota Christian Ashram

We just got back from the Minnesota Christian Ashram at St John's University. We had a great time hanging out with family, worshipping and attending the various bible studies. View some pictures of the events:

HERE

wow! congrats!

Congratulations Tom and Beckie!

I just back from "the worlds largest underground hacker convention" - three *hot* days in Las Vegas, learning among other things how to hack using Google and how to get out a set of handcuffs.

A very good and educational time - though exhausting in the 107 degree heat.

no, I didn't use this ATM

BIG NEWS!!

Maria and I were in Webster, Wisconsin this weekend at her Godparent's cabin (see picture). We had a great time playing with all their assorted toys including their wave runner, ATVs, and boat. We both came away with a bit of sunburn, but had a wonderful and relaxing time.

OK, on to the big news (as was stated in my title). We got home tonight and noticed that we had a voicemail. We listened to it and found out that TOM & BECKIE ARE GETTING MARRIED!!


Sorry about the silly photo it's all i have. :)

We called him up and he regaled us with the tale of how he had proposed to her while they were on a mission trip to New York. I'm sure Tom will come on here and tell the story himself, so I won't spoil it. But let me be the first to say on this Blog - Congratulations Tom and Beckie!!

hey

I was just in new york city for a week. the high light of the week actually happened before I got to the city. we had a quick layover in chicago on the way there and I went for a walk in the airport. I sat down just to look out the window and when I looked up I saw jesse jackson sitting across from me. I called tom on his phone since he was on the other side of the airport and told him to come see jesse jackson, so he and beckie came over and sat down for a minute, but they were quickly intimidated and left. I made up my mind to shake his hand and after 10-15 minutes of gathering my courage I finally walked over to him and said hello as I extended my hand to shake his. He shook my hand but held up the index finger of his other hand to indicate that he was busy. I then realized that he was talking on the phone via an earpiece. boy was that embarrassing. so I ran off quickly with my tail between my legs.

Ikea

Yesterday my mom and I did some intense dorm shopping at Ikea. Today I assembled this awesome Malm endtable dealy with my new Fixa. Here I am representing Swedish pride.
-Liv

At Sandy and Dale's Cabin

Here are some pictures of the Peterson, Mueller, Anderson cousin get together on Lake Shamineau. Click this link to see Sandy's slideshow. (note: use Internet Explorer to watch the slideshow.) Sandy writes: "I also threw in a photo of our oldest son Jonathan. He and his girlfriend Abby and his friend from college, Byron Boone, came just after everyone left. Byron had just arrived at the half way point (Stillwater) on his bike trip across the US (Washington to Maine). "

The Sweltering City

Norris and I took a four-day road trip to Chicago this weekend. We had many adventures, including surviving a White Sox day game when the temperature was 102, sitting in the very top row of Wrigley Field watching a thunderstorm approach from behind us, getting lost multiple times, stomping out of Wisconsin Dells in a huff, and starting for home with a total of 29c for the many tollbooths ahead of us!

We also saw the science museum's "Body Worlds" exhibit, the Art Institute's Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit, the Brookfield Zoo, and Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio. The picture is from the new Millennium Park on the lake.

Happy Thirtieth Anniversary!!

Happy Anniversary, Joel & Teresa!
I thought about your anniversary when I was down in Illinois and on the trip back. I hope you had a great day. I was going to call you tonight, and then realized, "What couple wants a call from their sister-in-law on their anniversary?" ... Am I right? That was a beautiful picture, Liv!
Nancy

30

Happy 30th Anniversary to my parents. Woo! Here they are with their two absolutely adorable children.
Livvi'i

More pix

Happy birthday norris!

Here are some more pictures of the lot and surrounding area where our new home will actually be built.

Savanna Pointe Homesite

Happy Birthday Norris!!!

(click the picture)

Our little boy is 23!!

---

I won't nag anyone to *vote* for my podcast again (unless you want to) but.. maybe this is of interest...


A request went out to a consortium I'm part of called Podcast Minnesota
(http://podcastmn.com/) from the St. Paul Pioneer Press tech writer,
Julio Ojeda-Zapata, asking about "the iTune effect." I dropped him a
line (hit counts have gone from hundreds to consistently thousands a
day).

I actually had a phone interview with him about my podscast and why I'm doing
this. I sent him some links and info - heck I even sent him graphs
showing the impact. He didn't use much (any) of my information
overload, but at least I got ONE sentence:

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/business/12083209.htm

Podcasts get lift from 'iTunes effect'

Software thrusts geeky online personalities into mainstream

BY JULIO OJEDA-ZAPATA

Pioneer Press


Until last week, the Twin Cities' Wanda Wisdom had enjoyed only
marginal success with her podcast — a radio-like program offered
online as a digital file for subscribers to download and put on their
portable music players.

....
Joel Anderson of St. Paul said his "A Klingon Word from the Word"
podcast centered on the "Star Trek" aliens' guttural language saw a
tenfold increase in hits just after the new iTunes came out.
....

Congratulations! Now we know.....

where we can have *ALL* the Anderson get-togethers. Will there be a good place to play Kubb?!?

We bought a new house!

The Longport Model - Exterior

Maria and I recently began looking for new houses. We found exactly what we were looking for in a new development in Shakopee - The Longport 4br 4 bath single family home. Here is an artists rendering of our new, yet to be built, home.

To check out more pics and floor plans of our new house, click here

Ripley's Believe It or Not

Mark and John:

I rode my bike to work today!

Our 3rd Anniversary in Red Wing

Maria and I spent our 3rd anniversary weekend in Red Wing on Saturday and Sunday. We had a wonderful time - and you can view the pictorial evidence here:



View the whole set here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/onebigswede/sets/476020/

Boundary Waters

I just got back from the Boundary Waters yesterday after 5 days of fun camping and fishing. Here's a slideshow of some photos I took while i was there. Enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/onebigswede/sets/450008/

well, I guess 3 isnt bad

my team and I got 3rd in the state tournament today. yesterday we beat grand rapids 6-1. it was really easy. I won 6-1, 6-1. In the semifinal match this morning we lost 5-2 to rochester mayo. danny wilson and I were the only two people who won. I won 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. then we played against wayzata for third place. earlier in the season we beat them 4-3, and they are wack and stupid so they probably thought they had a chance. we beat them 6-1 and it was pretty cool. it was my last team match ever. I had a pretty good career I think. While I was on the team we got 5th place twice and 3rd this year. my personal record at the state tournament is 8-1. my only loss in singles this year was to edina's number 1 singles player mike eastman so I am claiming the title of best 2nd singles player in state. I had a fun career and I will miss it. I think I graduated last night too or something like that. and finally, my good friend and teammate james gleckner and I shaved off our playoff beards. we now have moustachios.

Liv's graduation

Thanks for the quick reporting, Peter. I didn't think Liv and Stevie were graduating on the same night, but I guess they did. Our ceremony was quite nice and although we had crying babies and airhorns, our speakers were good and the Roy Wilkins Auditorium was air-conditioned.

Stevie's graduation went off without a hitch last night -except of course for the long winded commencement speakers, overheating gymnasium and crying babies.. Congrats Stevie and good luck at the state tournament! Congrats to Liv as well..

I'll be heading off to the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area tomorrow afternoon for a five day canoe trip with some guys from our church. We'll be going up to Ely, MN and going into the BWCWA through Lake one. On the map you can see the route that we're going to be taking. I can't wait! And now - off to Stevie's graduation.

Vote Early! Vote Often!!! (but only if you want to)

Congratulations on your publication, Janelle! Is it online somewhere?

---

As some may recall, I mentioned "Podcasting" back in March. Well, that led to an odd podcast I've been doing of
A Klingon Word from the Word "Klingon Bible Studies." (yes, yes, some people have way too much free time.) Anyway... IF you wanted to boost my popularity among the weirdos, you could vote here to improve my ranking for this month (yeah, it is a monthly ranking). Thanks!

Published

Nancy, glad you finally got your car to stop honking. A similar thing happened to me once, so I took out the security system.

Good news. I published my first essay in the Spring/Summer 2005 issue of Asian Cinema Journal! It's an essay about the film "Jose Rizal." Yay!

Janelle

Serial Adventures

You All put in such pretty pictures. I'll paint a picture in your imagination. This is a serial adventure series...
One adventure was when I was in Illinois. My mom was in the rehab. facility and I had been with her for the day. (She’s home & doing well now.) As I left to go home, I opened the door of my parents’ car and the horn started honking ... HONK, HONK, HONK... on and on. I tried everything I could think of to get it to stop. I started the engine, I turned the lights on and off, the radio, the hazard lights. I got out of the car and looked helpless. I thought of going into the nursing home to see if I could find someone to help me figure it out, but here I was in a nursing home parking lot. It was probably past bedtime for many folks, so I finally decided I had to get out of there. I started driving, thinking that any second the honking would stop. I was really hoping that I would see a police car, but where are they when you need them? I thought of stopping before I got on the freeway, but at the freeway entrance was the hospital. I just couldn’t stop there! I traveled for a few miles honking every second until I got to Aunt Bernice’s corner... some of you know where I mean... where it finally stopped. I held my breath the rest of the way. When I got to the farm, I turned off the engine and the honking started all over again. Fortunately, my sister was there and she told me to put my key in the door lock and sure enough, it worked.
Because I had opened the door without using the key, the horn had started honking... the car’s security system... I suppose it was good that I didn’t see any police.
I'm really glad to be back home and watching Stevie play amazing tennis. We're very proud!
By the way, a very belated but heartfelt Happy Birthday to Ingrid and Mae! Nancy

Como Zoo on Memorial Day

Maria and I headed over to the Como Zoo and Conservatory yesterday. We had a great day of watching the animals, and strolling through the beautiful gardens. Here is a picture that maria took in the Sunken Gardens at the conservatory. Nice shot honey!

Click here for more pictures from our day at the como zoo.

Weekend Project!

Our fence by the front gate was pretty much falling apart... so I made a new one this weekend!

Playing Kubb last night in Forest Lake with Maria's family.

woohoo

well we did it. my fellow south tigers and I advanced to the state tennis tournament today with a crushing 6-1 victory over the southwest lakers. it was pretty awesome. the section's individual tournament starts tomorrow(friday) morning and concludes on tuesday. the state tournament begins tuesday june 7th at 8am at the 98th street northwest athletic club. it is also the day that I graduate. I will keep you all posted on any further developments.

I think I might have a graduation party or something in the coming months. I'll have to get back to you on that one.

Wedding Fun

Maria and I attended our friend's wedding this weekend in Richfield. We introduced the happy couple in 2001, and they finally tied the knot. Congratulations Nathan and Jeny.

In case anyone wants to see pictures of the big day - check out the links on my blog HERE

Thanks!

Thanks for the birthday wishes. Happy Birthday, Mae! I wish I could come visit you all in Minnesota in June but I will be in Alaska at the Evolution Meetings and possibly getting eaten by a bear. Congratulations to the graduates and best wishes with your future plans.

--Ingrid

Happy Birthday!

I hope you guys have a very happy birthday Mae and Ingrid!

Happy Birthday Mae and Ingrid!

hmmm ... birthday happy, may you have, yes!

Stevie's Prom

Here is stevie's long awaited prom picture. Stevie is on the far left, and his date is right in front of him. If stevie wants, i'll let him comment further.

(Click on the picture to see a bigger version of it)

just had some fun with Paul's birthday photo of grandma/mom. colorized it and cleaned it up a little.. hope you like it!

Mom in 1953 

This is a picture Paul scanned in - this being Mom's birthday month, and just having celebrated Mother's day, it seemed fitting to share it on the blog. Paul notes that Dad wrote on this one Mae and the clouds . . . nice profile . . . 5/31/53.

Thanks for the birthday wishes everyone.. This year my parents gave me some money to spend on what i wanted to get - so what did I get? A Kubb set of course! I even got as ambitious as to paint my kubb set in Swedish colors. Next family outing we'll all have to play!

Happy Birthday Peter! May the Cake be with you.

                                              ,|
                                            ,' |
                                       --  .'  `.
                                           ;     ,
                                            `- -'
                                             ...|
        __       ,-----.                     |  |
                ,'_/_|_`_`.          ,_______|__|________
               /<<::8[O]::>`         |                   |
 -----        _|-----------|_      |-+ Happy Birthday Peter
         __  |  | ====-=- |  / ____|                       |
             |  | -=-==== |  8==d--'`:''''''''''''''''''|'''
      __     `. | ::::|()||  /       |                  |
        '     | | ....|()|| |        |             ___  |
              | |_________| |        |                  |
              | |`_______/| |       ,-.               ,-.
             /   ` /   ` /   `     (   )             (   )
             `---' `---' `---'      `-'               `-'

(Use the fork, Peter! Use the fork!)

Happy birth/mother's day

Happy birthday Peter. Happy Mother's Day Nancy! Thanks to Peter's arrival 29 years ago today Nancy is celebrating her 30th mother's day as a mother. Thanks for all the great mothering. Nancy is celebrating her mother's day by helping her parents for a week while
her mom is rehabilitating from a broken hip and surgery.

Softball

Happy 5/05/05! Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Last night, Matt's church softball team played the Gopher Bar, and Matt won 13 to 6!! His mostly over-40 team beat the 20-something team! Yay! :)

sorry

I dont have any prom pictures yet. Once I get them I will be sure to post them so hold your horses everyone.

Happy Birthday Teresa!

Here's to a happy birthday - sorry i didn't post before!

OK, I'll show you it's done, Stevie...

Liv and Andy before Como's prom (Andy's father had run back home for the flowers which they'd forgotten.)



And what a difference a few days make...

Liv before taking a Greyhound bus to St. Cloud as part of an English writing assignment, April 26


Liv before prom, April 30

Happy Birthday Teresa!!!!

                         +---_--_----------------------------+
                         |  | || |__ _ _ __ _ __ _     _     |
                         |  | __ / _` | '_ \ '_ \ || |       | ---
    ___                  |  |_||_\__,_| .__/ .__/\_, |       |
   /_ _\             ----|            |_|  |_|   |__/        |   ---
   | O  \      ------    |___ _     _   _       _           _|
   '-^-'/`---------------- _ |_)_ _| |_| |_  __| |__ _ _  _| | --
    \`,\/          `,    | _ \ | '_|  _| ' \/ _` / _` | || |_|
      '           -------|___/_|_|  \__|_||_\__,_\__,_|\_, (_)
      `\  ,```.  (       |-------------------------------_/--|
       || '   ``. '     /-`                                 /-`
      CCC.'   CCC.'BP  | | |                               | | |
                        \-/                                 \-/

from me and the hound dog!
Joel and Kokomo.

Photographic evidence

Thanks for the nice picture of Stevie playing tennis, Peter. We really want to see a picture of him with his prom date, though, so someone (Stevie?) please share. We will post a picture of Como's fabulous Grand March after next weekend.

I went to watch Steve play tennis at a tournament in Eden Prairie today. I took a few shots of him while he played, here is one of the better ones. Look at the concentration on his face!

To see more photos that I took today click here

I went biking tonight near our house.. It was a beautiful spring day near Shakopee, on the Minnesota River.

JCC

Hey! I got a job as an intern at the Summer Musical Theatre Institute that's at the Sabes JCC in St. Louis Park. Woo-hoo!
----Livvi'i

Changing more than pants?

Mr. Editor: I believe you mean "Norris and Stevie," not "Tom and Stevie."

The Swedish Birthday Song

By popular demand here again is a link to the...
Swedish Birthday Song lyrics and tune!
From Paul:
It is generally referred to as Ja, Må Han Leva! (Yes, May He Live!) Although the subject may also be she or they.

A couple of pronunciation tips. Pronounce 'r' in the front of your mouth. (Not the guttural American way.)

Uti (oot-ee) is one word and so is hundrade (hune drah-dee).

Ungame

Tom and Stevie after switching pants.. why? because they had to - the Ungame said so..:)

EDIT: oops.. it was brought to my attention that this picture was NORRIS and Stevie. That's what I get for blogging so late at night. sorry Norris..

Happy Easter! Han är uppstånden!!

Church of Corpus Christi, Easter Vigil 2005
Hope everyone has a happy and blessed Easter!!

Hi from D.C.

Greetings from our nation's capital. I'm attending the National Immunization Conference and my mommy and daddy are running around town getting into trouble. They greatly enjoyed visiting the Basilica (largest Catholic church in the U.S.) and the just-opened "Faces of the Fallen" at Arlington Cemetery--a rendering of all the faces of men and women who have died in Iraq (by different artists).

Tomorrow our boss is giving a plenary talk (to the big group of about 1,500) and I'm giving a workshop presentation (to about 50-100 people). Then, off to the airport to race home for the Holy Thursday service!

I'll see most of you on Easter. John and Lynda, I'll see you in Decatur in a week... I think I saw some monkey grass today.

March 21st Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday, Maria!
How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?
Love, Nancy

QoSlIl yItIv!

Happy Birthday, Maria!

      ,-.
    ,-( o )-.
   ( o )-( o )
  .-`-'.|,`-/-.
 ( o )--*--( o )
  `-/-.'|`,-`-'
   ( o )-( o )
    `-( o )-' _(
       `-' __ |
           `_`|
              | .'`
              |/   |`
           __ |    `|
           `_`|
              | __
              |/_/
           __ |
           `_`|

Happy Birthday Maria!

Happy 24th Birthday Maria! I love you.. and a happy first day of spring to everyone else!

Happy Birthday Mom!

I hope you have a wonderful birthday!

The First Robin of Spring Came By.....

                  ,---------.
                ,' Happy     `.
               (    Birthday,  )
                `. Nancy!    ,'
                  `------+ ,'
                  .--.  |,'
                ."  o \__
             _.-"    ,(  `
         _.-"      ,;;|
    _.-=" _,"    ,,;;;'
.-"`_.-"``-..,,;;;;:'
`"'`          `| |
               /^,,,

oops! a late invitation

Oops! We are so slow inviting you all to the youth dinner at our church that Joel’s bus driver had to do it!! Don G. drives a university bus and Joel often rides on his bus. We’ve just learned that Don mentioned it before you heard it from us.
Stevie’s youth group (Tom and Beckie are both youth leaders) is having a Mystery
Dinner on Saturday night at 6:00. It is a fundraiser for the summer youth mission trip to New York City. The mystery takes place in the 1930's so you can dress in that fashion for the fun of it, but it’s not required.
The price is $8. per ticket. Call Tom or Nancy to make a reservation by Friday.
We hope y'all can come!

Pod People! On Beyond Blogging!!

The *newest* thing - is Podcasting, kind of like radio blogging! Little sound files that come from amateurs and professional radio sources. They can be music, personal journals, or technical articles. People download them to iPod's or mp3 players and listen to them wherever they choose.

I've been enjoying a number of them - technical interviews, music and such. One I like is by a Dutch priest, Father Roderick Vonhögen, and is called "Catholic Insider." Anyway, I sent him a note last week, and here's what he had to say.

hi ya'll

I played in a tennis tournament at flagship athletic club in eden prairie this weekend. I didnt do very well in singles, but danny wilson(my teammate from school and the 2nd best player in the state) and I won the doubles tournament. we got trophies it was cool. here is a reenactment of the awards ceremony. my trophy is actually bigger than that in real life.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40274000/jpg/_40274115_sampo98.jpg

I HEART NYC (and huckabees)

Hey family! So, I'm home from NYC. Here are some pictures. They are, respectively, of: the entire group dressed up before our performance, our choir in front of Manhattan at the Statue of Liberty, and my friends Ashley, Mary and myself. Here you go:

----Livvi'i

Trip report

Finally, a few pictures from our trip. Here is the Hellerup park outside our hotel before and after a blizzard. It started snowing when we were in Sweden on Saturday, and continued through the night. Usually, I'm the cheap one regarding taxis, but Joel insisted we drag our suitcases through the half mile of snow from the hotel to the train station.



Here we are in Lund, Sweden. Lisa (right) and Carl (left) are Joel, Paul, John, Matt and Mark's third cousins. Marita is their mother. Lisa's boyfriend Erik is taking the picture. They were most gracious and welcoming. We ate two huge meals in one afternoon.

Anderson Family Blog

Happy Birthday John!

Tillykke med fodselsdagen! Grattis på födelsedagen

Happy Birthday John! (that's Happy Birthday in Danish and Swedish, but you knew that!)

Oops! Missed it by *that* much! But, hey, we just flew in from Copenhagen - and are our arms *TIRED*!

                .----.
              [-|.  .|-]
              [-|.\/.|-]
                \||||/
                 ||||
                 ||||
                 ||||
                 ||||
       |         ||||    |
       |\        ||||    |\        (note: it's *supposed*
        \\      /||||     \\        to be a birthday-banjo)
        . |   [-|||||     . |
        | |     |||||     | |
        | |     |||||     | |
        | |     |||||     | |
        | |     |||||     | |
        | |   _.|||||._   | |
         ''  '  |||||      ''
         .'     |||||     `.
       .'       |||||       `.
      /         |||||         `     
     /          |||||          `
     |          |||||          |
     |          _____          |
     |-.       '-----'         |
     \  `.      |||||          /
      \   \    .-----.        /
       `.  \   |     |      .'
         '.|   '.    |    .'
           '--._|____|_.-'

We had a great time visiting the relatives in Lund!
They were wonderful! Let's hope we can convince them to
come visit us all!

Happy Birthday, JOHN!!

Happy Birthday, John!
And Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow to one and all!
Is this a great family, or what!

Cold Copenhagen

Sitting at the train station, using up our minutes, even though we discovered a free computer in the "business center" of our hotel (a lobby a few feet from our room, with artwork and one PC). We had a few minutes of sun today, but it's still quite blustery walking. We took the train up north a bit to "Louisiana," the modern art museum that Gustaf took Norris to six years ago. Tomorrow we will hop on the train going south and venture into Sweden to meet the relatives.

"Know it? Why, I was a boy here!"

Not quite - but a day rambling around Copenhagen made me feel like Scrooge when he said that, since I was here working for 6 weeks 20 years ago. Teresa and I spent yesterday walking around Copenhagen streets. It was weirdly familiar - I couldn't tell you how to find things here, but.... walking around I'd think "there should be a bookstore here..." and there would be! (Or a Burger King, or a church.... whatever - my memory of twenty years was remarkably accurate).''

Today Teresa is at her WHO meeting (we walked around Hellerup last night, locating her meeting place and then eating at a Pizza joint). Lots of bicycle traffic in town and in our more suburban location, even today when it was a bit rainy.

I'm in Copenhagen today, with plans to wander around some more to see the sites - not just sit in the train station on the internet.

Happy 40th!

Smile for the camera Matt - being 40 ain't so bad!

And the icing on the cake!

Thanks to everyone who came to the celebration of Matt's 40th Birthday! For those who weren't here and didn't see the cake - we asked Liv's friend Andy's family bakery to come up with something to incorporate "Aliens, Birthday and Sweden" and here's what they did! Matt put together a great slide show, too - a very touching look back! Happy Birthday again, Matt!

Happy Birthday Matt!

Happy 40th Birthday Matt! We'll see everyone tonight..

Here's a picture of our little Nala, who just got back from being "fixed" this morning. She's recovering nicely for those who are wondering!

Happy Birthday Matt!

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         .'   @_/-//-\/ / '/ @  '. 

        (  @  /_ // '/----------^-) 

        |'._  @     //|###########| 

        |~  ''--..@|',|}}}}}}}}}}}| 

        |  ~   ~   |/ |###########| 

        | ~~  ~   ~|./|{{{{{{{{{{{| 

         '._ ~ ~ ~ |,/````````````` 

            ''--.~.|/ 

 



 

Have some cake, and many happy returns!!!

Happy Groundhog's Day everyone! Looks like its 6 more weeks of winter - Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today!