krista & don evans

Don's employer had a holiday dinner party this evening at a local lodge and restaurant. We stayed for dinner and the annual slide show, and then headed home to walk Release around the block. I promised a photo of us dressed up and with the new haircut. Here you go, Kara.

Merry Christmas!

In December, Malachi B. turned one year old. We attended the birthday party and first cake tasting!

Before cake...

Trying cake...

He likes it!

In October, we took a much needed vacation. We flew to New York City, and drove to Connecticut to visit friends: Andy (Don's classmate from grade school) and his wife Nicole. We drove together to Boston for a couple of days, and hiked the entire Freedom Trail one afternoon. Beacon Hill is full of beautiful old brick homes and the Italian restaurants were delicious! We also visited NY City for an afternoon tour and Broadway performance (The Lion King). It was Krista's first NYC visit and Don's second. The last part of the trip was driving through north-west CT to try our hand at "leaf-peeping". We were a week or so early for peak Fall foliage, but enjoyed the drive and covered bridges. Thanks for the tour, Rasmussen duo! A few photos are in the linked photo album below.

Photobucket Album

In mid-October, Sophia, our god-daughter, turned 4. We are lucky enough that she and her family (Steven, Kristy and Malachi) leave nearby, in MN. We love the time we spend with them. It reminds us how much fun it is to play...

In September, we finally completed our 3-season porch remodel. The front porch light was updated, the doorbell rewired to the front porch door, the bead-board ceiling was replaced with newly stained beadboard, the porch floor boards were patched, the porch crawlspace was vented, all wood surfaces were scraped/sanded/painted/stained, and the last few sunny days of Fall were ours to enjoy.

In August, I had a company sponsored meeting in Jamaica. It was great fun. I just wish we had more time for sun instead of the meetings.

Krista, her mom, and Release visited one of two annual greyhound picnics in the Twin Cities. Fun was had...

a new collar was purchased...

...and naps were needed after all the fun.

If you'd like to attend the picnic next year... here's the website: Greyhound Pets of America - MN

Krista visited Munich, Germany, in July. See the rest of trip on the photos page.

Release and Krista walking in the fog (last spring, we're a little behind).

At the end of May, Andy, Nicole and I wandered around New York City for a day. Pommes Frites has some of the best fries I've had, which is good since that's all they serve. They have about 30 different sauces. I had Sweet Mango Chutney. Andy had Peanut Satay Sauce, Rosemary Garlic Mayo and War Sauce. Nicole had ketchup.

Release the hound! Release joined us 8/23/06. He's a 4.5 year old, 80 pound, retired racer greyhound. His feet are bandaged because he pushed open a gate at the foster house and chased a critter. Greyhounds aren't meant to run on pavement so his pads were torn and he lost a nail. He spends most of the day lounging around, but loves his walks (when his prey drive kicks in). Stop by and see him.

Fence is in place.

The grass is in. Just add water.

Digging stumps is fun.

A new rug! It's starting to look like someone lives here.

Leaves, smeaves. In Minnesota, we rake snow.

Merry Christmas from MN! We hope you are staying warm this winter. (We're trying, but the sub-zero weather has already begun in Saint Paul!) Our most recent project (our garage) is almost complete, and the current photos are on our photo page. The link to photos is located in the upper-right corner of the webpage (or it may be located at the very bottom, depending on your browser).

Our favorite cookie chef (and her parents) were here for a visit. It was good to see them .

We refinished most of the floors in the house. It was 2.5 days of sanding in 90F heat and humidity. Disclaimer: wall color, fixtures, etc. are not by our choosing. Go to the links in the upper-right corner(or very bottom)of the webpage and click on photos to see more of the transformation.

We visited Lanesboro, MN for Memorial weekend. The rain in the forecast only got us on the first bike ride. We went to Scapin at the the theatre. Krista was rather proud of riding over 10 miles over the weekend.

We had a nice rainbow the other day.

We finally found a house. Its a 1925 one and a half story. The layout is unique for compared to a comparable house around here. Instead of the living room, dining room and kitchen being on the left front to back and the bedroom, bathroom and bedroom being on the right front to back, the layout is circular with the living room at 7 o'clock and working clockwise bathroom, bedroom, bedroom, kitchen and dining room. The upstairs runs side to side rather than front to back and is actually tall enough for a 6ft person to move around. The basement is unfinished but seems to have the potential of changing that. The one car garage in back will have to come down but will be replaced with a two car garage. Enjoy the safari wallpaper and orange formica counter tops while they last.

We tried cross country skiing at Como Park today. No injuries incurred. Here is Krista demostrating her mad downhill skills .

Merry Christmas!

If only the Huskers could have had this guy on their team! :)

You can guess where this is going. Click the picture.

Just like old times.

Ben Folds!! shammed on at St. Olaf's on Saturday.

The car is finally here

Here are a few photos from our Sweden trip. We had a great time and have more pictures to share. Check back soon! (The other photos for tonight are shown on the "photos" page. Follow the link to see a few more. You'll have to scroll to the bottom of the photos page to find the Sweden photos. Also, the last two photos are panoramas, so you can scroll through the width of the picture.)

We had a beautiful sunset last week following the regular Sunday night storm. This was a full color picture, not an effect.

Krista's daffodil bloomed fully within 24 hours of purchase. Now that's instant gratification.

Our weekend project was baking pizzas and a carrot cake. I was actually surprised that a carrot cake is easily over 80% carrot by volume.

The Saint Paul Winter Carnival has been the staple for local news media. The news helicopters hover by our apartment just before the nightly news comes on. While the Ice palace is the main attraction, the ice sculptures were a better value for the below-freezing-temps time.

Our first Christmas in MN.

Here's another photo of Don and Sophia, our godchild.

Our first big Minnesota snow!

Don turned 26 this December. We celebrated with pie over Thanksgiving.

Our friends, Steven and Kristy, had a baby girl in October. This is our first picture with Sophia at the hospital. We are her proud new godparents!