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!