Fantasy Football Anyone?

Thought it may be fun to have a family fantasy football league this year. If you're interested, comment on the blog post here and I'll set it up. We don't have time to coordinate a live draft so we will allow our service to pick for us. (I'm thinking yahoo.) I'll draw numbers out of a hat for ranking and they will fill our rosters.

For those who've never played it doesn't take much time at all during the week and gives you interest in every NFL game. Will also provide some good opportunities for trash talk.

Let me know by Thursday if you're interested.

Jason

Birchwood According to Keith

A week ago the population in Birchwood, WI spiked to 522. With the departure of the Van Drunen's it is down to 518 just like the sign says. My Nextel gets lousy service but "no service is a welcome sight when you are on vacation." Cher was helping Liz and Eric with adjustments to their water skiing techniques when they challenged their Mom to walk the walk or in this case ski the ski. So Cher booted up her Tommy Bartletts, popped out of the water, and showed two of her kids she is still one year away from old age. Noteable Quotes: Bucks Ace Hardware - "Need a penny, take one. Need two, get a job." B.P. Gas Station - "This is a pickup point for animal fur, call --------- for more information." On the radio - "Cumberlands is having a rutabaga festival, send in your favorite recipe and win $25 if yours is a winner." First of all what is a rutabaga? An Osprey came within 20' of our boat to pick up a fish off the surface of the water. Its wing span had to be six feet. That will be remembered. A Monarch butterfly came to rest on Liz's foot for 1/2 hour. I think she got 20 pictures of it. There are now two Kayaks at the cottage. We may post a documented deep water entry attempt on the blog. It was not pretty. My father-in-law relayed some advice he received early in his business years from a Jewish client of his. Always get pricing on items being purchased, don't leave an open contract. I neglected that advice when we ordered dessert at the Blue Hills Inn. The credit card charge was $981.00. Upon further review they apologized for the $900 overcharge and in all reality the meal was almost worth $981. Emily had to work this week and could not come with us. As the years march on I can remember playing pinochle with Grandpa and Grandma Voss like it was 3 years ago. Fish cleaning houses are special places. Capital punishment may not be severe enough for a guy who leaves a fish house in less than perfect condition. There are not many things in life that will hurt more than a fellow respected fisherman chiding you about your fish house etiquette. This is something that should be passed through the generations. If you have a chance, go to Murphy's Flowage to listen to quietness. The occasional call of the loon will break the silence. On the way back from the Blue Hills the sunset lit up the sky with a shade of orange that has not been produced by Crayola yet. As John Denver put it "I've seen it raining fire in the sky." If you are too young to know JD google him or something. How can Joe's Bait Shop let you serve yourself and leave the money on the counter? I left 50 cents more just because. We found homemade jams on a table near Tagalong. Put your money in a box. Would that work back home? I think it still would work 3/4 of the way back home in Cedar Grove. Spending some time in a town such as Birchwood puts things in perspective. Is it a better place to live than we are now? I don't know, but it can be a wonderful experience. I have learned the three seasons in WI are pre-season - Packer season - post-season - repeat.

Xander Crawling

I promised a video of Xander crawling a while back. Here he is doing his thing this afternoon.

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Big girl

Sawyer's growing up too fast!



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Tunnel Vision

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Sounders' March

A lot has happened in the last few months: graduation; two months of studying for the bar; and most recently, an epic cross-country trip in celebration of the completion of the bar exam. Phase 1 . . . Seattle!

Heidi and I travelled to Seattle and stayed by one of her good friends. There were a lot of great sites to see. Below are some of the highlights.

On the Rattlesnake Ledge trail with my friend Hans Zeiger, a Washington State Legislator

Perhaps the most delicious cappuccino I've ever had, courtesy of Espresso Vivace

A necessary visit to the original Filson store

On our final night in Seattle, we were able to take in a soccer game. The Seattle Sounders took on F.C. San Francisco from Panama in the first round of the CONCACAF Champions League. The Sounders won the match 1-0 and won the series by scoring an overtime goal. The atmosphere was amazing, and began even before the game started. As part of Sounders' tradition, we joined the "March to the Match" as fans processed from a nearby park to the stadium. Along the way we chanted Sounders' cheers to boost our team spirit. Below is an except of one of the cheers.



If you ever get the chance to visit the city, I highly recommend it.

Xander the Stander

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Jason's Ordination

I felt compelled to write a little something to update you all about Jason's ordination at Faith that I had the privilege to attend last night. I apologize for the fact that I have no pictures! Grandpa gave the charge for Jason before the ordination became official, beginning with "This is truly the season of B-L-T," and followed with a three-point speech about how he needs to love the Word of God and henceforth Belive It, Live It, and Teach It. He finished with a story from a trip with Frank and Marie Drown about an Ecuadorian woman who has full confidence that her son, killed by a poisonous snake, is now in heaven. Grandpa closed by telling Jason that he needs to go out with urgency and bring the Word to a world full of snake-bitten people.

There were also some solid small sermons given by Pastor Bouwer and Pastor Pitsenberger (my new personal favorite). Basically, it was a great night of giving God the glory for bestowing Jason and the other guys there with gifts useful for serving the church. And I have to say, the whole event was a little poignant for me (and I am sure for most others in our family), as almost exactly two years ago to the day we sat gathered in front of that same stage for Nikki's funeral. It's cool to see God's faithfulness to our family through all the high and lows. And keeping us united together in the process.

Congrats to Jason and family - it was awesome to see!