Hannah wanted some of our giant pickle from Pot Belly’s on our way through the airport. Check out the funny picture.

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.

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

Chicago is getting its first big snow of the year.  They are estimating about 6 inches when all is said and done.  The dogs love it.  Hopefully Hannah will go sledding for the first time soon.  To top it all off, on Thursday, the national weather service is predicting 1/4 to 1/2 in of ice to form on surfaces, that is really scary.  I took a photo with the iPhone, all the snow sure is pretty as long as you don’t have to do anything important.

This vocal species is not as large as its Alaskan counterpart and no one is sure of the migratory pattern. What is known is that it bites, has thick fur to stay warm in cold climates, does not truly hibernate and sleeps in fits instead, prefers to move on all fours, but if guided can stand on the haunches, when provoked it will growl but not attack like its more wild relative, typically has a pink face and lacks full dental development, prefers well cooked food, and spends more than one season in the care of its parents.

Ursus arctos ssp. sapien

Yesterday evening we flew back to Washington. We must have been quite a sight. It was myself, Ashlee, Hannah, the two dogs, their crates, our bags, and most obvious of all a big silver case. As I stepped to the counter with my posey, I boldly stated, “I have gun.” Then we really got some attention and we were promptly checked in and through security and attracted even more attention. Hannah was even feeling a little feisty and decided she want to fly like a big girl.

7/4/08 – We celebrated the Fourth with Danny at the Lisle Eyes To The Sky Balloon Festival. It was really cool to see the hot air balloons launch and glow. We had a great time.