Hey from the Cabin

The black berries are just coming on and should be full bore by mid week. The birds and bears are loving it. A Cheboygan sheriff deputy we ran into on the trail said there is lots of bear activity around here. In answer to the question, "Do bears shit in the woods?" the answer is yes! Also on the road, on the trail, and anyplace else they feel like it. There is lots of evidence around the cabin. The weather is perfect if not a little on the warm side.

Gary invited us to dinner tonight - they have been cooking a pork loin over the fire since about noon. I am not sure we are going but probably. We had a taste of cinammon rolls done in the dutch oven earlier today and I will admit they were some of the best I have ever had. Barb, Gary's aunt, made them from scratch. They even had that yummy carmel frosting on them.

Tomorrow we plan on making the trek to Jim's blind and see if he needs any supplies for repair before hunting season begins. Everyone is talking about the new ban on baiting this year. Lots of opinions!!!!

Four Generation Picture

I Finally Updated My Blog

So, the bike tours are taking over my life, and I haven't been posting much... I have had 2 days work-fee in the past month and a half! I have high hopes for tomorrow, though...

My Blog

Proud Mommy

Hey family I know I ll ready posted today but I got this cute picture of Mckenna and had to share it with everyone. 

In the life of Mckenna

So this is Mckenna's favorite routine bath, eat, then cuddle time with Daddy! They are both so cute!

1 Month Old

Hey everyone i'm 1 month old today.

New Mailbox

So by now most of you have heard about our mailbox being taken out by a driver trying to avoid a deer. He totaled his car which ended upside down in the ditch as the deer ran down the fence line with narry a scratch.

Jim and Bob hard at work. We have moved the mailbox into the drive so it is out of the flow of traffic. Of course when you move a box you have to get approval from the post office.

Jim with the finished product.

We moved our house number between the circular drive and hope it helps all those folks who say they can't find us.

Of couse I had to include a picture of Mckenna waving "HI" to all her family! Hard to believe she will be a month old tomorrow.

Good News

Since my hip replacement surgery my activities have slowed down considerably. I am so glad to have the surgery behind me and I am improving every day. Dr. Sladek gave me a good two week report this morning. X-rays looked excellent, the 39 staples were removed from the incision and my large, padded bandage was replaced with a thin one just for the rest of today. It is much more comfortable without the padding and staples. My physical therapist comes three times a week and puts me through a routine, Dad/Grandpa does it seven days a week. Yesterday I started walking out to the end of the driveway twice a day. I also baked cookies and did some ironing so I'm slowly getting back to normal activities. Best of all, I feel wonderful and walk more comfortably than I have in months.

Dad/Grandpa is also busy getting Sue and Jenny's new house started. The basement was dug on Monday and today men are there working on the foundation. Granite Construction is doing the job so Don and Dad/Grandpa have shared the responsibilities. I think Dad is happy to have a construction job to help with.

Hope as time goes on more family members will contribute their news here. Each one of you is so special and an important part of the family. Love, Grandma/Mother

Starting August with a new contributor

Thought I'd do my part of keeping people up to date on my life instead of assuming my mom gets all the details right. So here it goes.

I swam at Olympic Trials the first week of July and while I didn't make the Olympic Team I was very proud of my accomplishments. I swam 5 times and did 5 best times (it's not always easy to just do your best). As I have been planning to do for almost a year now, I am walking away from the sport and moving on into "the real world", at least for now (there's always the chance for a comeback). To stay active I've followed in my dad's footsteps and have started playing ultimate 2 times a week with a friendly group of local computer engineers (average age of 35).

As for this "real world" I slowly started back in February when I joined up with a local engineer to work on a side project of his. This side project has developed into a 4 man company, of which I am technically a co-founder of (yeah, yeah seems like every Stanford computer science major has started a company). Our goal is to change the way people approach security for websites. Just as this company is picking up steam, I'm already about to jump ship. At about the same time I started this project, I was offered my dream job, computer security consultant (I get paid to hack). The company (iSEC Partners) is in San Francisco and is amazing. I start with them September 15th and will be riding the CalTrain from my Palo Alto residence to the office.

That is enough updating for now. But I also want to say thank you to each of you for the encouragement and support while I chased a dream. I hope I can find time to finally see everyone again, it's been too long. Last time I saw Catlin, she didn't even have a boyfriend! P.S. Mckenna is adorable!

Love,
Cousin/Nephew/Son/Grandson Andy