This is our first family portrait to include Mara.  It turned out really nice.  It reminds me of the Garth Brooks song “Two of a Kind Working on a Full House.”  Enjoy the music and the next time you hear it, we really will be.

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Just a quick update on our garden. Ashlee just plucked out a 4 pound 15 ounce squash. The funny part is we thought it was a zucchini and tried to cook as such. It didn’t turn out very good, but after we figured out that it was a squash we turned it into some delicious squash soup.

Ashlee has been working hard in a little vegetable patch this year. I picked some of the fruits of her labor. Four giant zucchini, a cucumber, and several mild peppers. The biggest zucchini weighed in at a whopping 4lbs 14oz. I put the gloves in the photo for perspective. I have yet to eat any of it, but will let you know how it tastes.

Here is a puppy pupdate. Some really cute shots of the puppies cuddling with us and their individual portraits as well. Enjoy, and click the photos to be taken to the gallery with lots more.

Enjoy the photos of our trip downtown with Nick. Some funny shots of Nick and I at the Garmin GPS store. Some cute ones of Hannah and all four of us. Click the photo for a link to the gallery.

Lake Michigan at North Beach in Chicago

We spent the day playing with dogs at the annual IKC show at McCormick Place in Chicago. There were lots of Tollers, good friends, and good competition. It was a benched show so we got to show the dogs off all day and it was a lot of fun.

Check out these photos from google maps.  I could not believe the photo of my truck just sitting there and Ashlee’s car from the satellite view.  I tried to read the license plates, but couldn’t.  The resolution is not high enough yet… but it is still a little scary.

My poor mother is flying into this tomorrow.  Hopefully, we will not get hypothermia and die.  When it is that cold here you can not even breathe outside and it feels like your eyeballs are going to freeze.  This really makes Aaron and I miss Washington and makes Hannah mad that she had to be born here.  Stay warm  and enjoy the snow in WA.  We miss you!

Issued by The National Weather Service
Chicago, IL
11:02 am CST, Sat., Dec. 20, 2008

A WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM CST /4 AM EST/ SUNDAY TO 12 PM CST /1 PM EST/ MONDAY.

WEST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS OF 35 TO 45 MPH LATE TONIGHT AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY SUNDAY. THE STRONG WINDS WILL COMBINE WITH TEMPERATURES NEAR TO JUST ABOVE ZERO TO PRODUCE WINDS CHILLS OF 20 TO 30 DEGREES BELOW ZERO

A WIND CHILL ADVISORY MEANS THAT VERY COLD AIR AND STRONG WINDS WILL COMBINE TO PRODUCE WIND CHILLS OF 20 TO 30 DEGREES BELOW ZERO. THIS WILL RESULT IN FROST BITE AND LEAD TO HYPOTHERMIA IF PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN. ONLY VENTURE OUTDOORS IF YOU MUST VENTURE OUTDOORS