Satchy Meets the Snow!

We got about six inches of snow when it was all said and done this evening. We went outside to get the mail and decided to see how Satchmo would enjoy it. We also wanted to see how our camera did with videos...so here you go, the Ebert's first video!

The side effects of the snow are amazing. It's so incredibly quiet outside. Plus, it's actually lighter than it usually is at 7:00 p.m. I tried to capture some of the post blizzard glow.

Let Them Eat Snow

Not 10 minutes after we realized it had started snowing did we decide to do what anyone would do...

Go out for ice cream. Of course, being former Californians, we didn't think that the longer we sat in that ice cream shop, the more time the snow would have to turn into ice. If our experience in the desert stirred any thoughts, it was only that the snow would be completely gone by the time we were ready to head home.

Of course, we're in Washington now.

We figured that out as we were sliding down a sloped street in our neighborhood. As Derrel was saying, "I don't have it! I don't have it!" I realized that this was probably the stupidest thing we've ever done. Neither of us have a very good track record with snow. Even walking in the snow has been a problem in our pasts.

Finally, Derrel was able to slide us right into our driveway. It was enough of an adventure to render us homebound today.

Update in the Real Life

Not to say that '24' is not real life, but I suppose not writing in well over a month warrants some reality as well.

We're raking the leaves for the fourth time since we moved here as the season is rushing to it's transition to winter in less than a month. I was about to say that the rainy season has officially started here in Bellingham, but it looks like the sun is actually finding it's way out as I write. Even when it's overcast, it's incredible to be driving around town and see a light layer of fog nestled into the trees. It's amazing how everyday things here can leave you in awe. More evidence that God is everywhere.

The folks were out to visit over the last couple of weeks. There was a weekend where all four of my parents were here visiting. I'm so blessed that all of my parents get along the way that they do so that we don't have to miss out on visits if schedules overlap. It was fun to get to show off our town twice over. We even made it up to Canada one day!

Derrel is still enjoying his job. They've hit a little bit of dry patch as far as selling sponsorships for the season goes, but Derrel loves challenges. And with that big brain of his, he'll figure it out.
My own job hunt has had it's highs and lows. I had interviewed for a position at the university in town, and even made it to a second interview this past Monday, but that didn't pan out. I know He's got something in the works for us, so I'm anxious to continue with the search and see what what that is.

With Christmas coming up and being just a few clicks shy of a new niece (who we've deemed Audreden) and our first anniversary, it's hard to ignore all the good things God has given us. Thus far, our experience in Bellingham has been stellar. Being in a place where we are the only family we've got has done nothing but turn us closer to eachother, and closer to the God that brought us together. We've found a church and church family we're quite fond of, and I really feel like our life together has officially started. I am very much looking forward to traveling with my new family this Christmas; sleeping on his shoulder in a crowded airport between flights, finishing half-completed sudoku puzzles in airline magazines, relying on eachother to remember what city we're in, and, ultimately, when the dust settles in mid January, returning to the bedtime television ritual that I've grown to love so much. Oh yeah...then we go on a cruise. :O)

And of course I'm anxious for the times between. I can't wait to see my family and be able to help welcome Baby Mitchell into the world. I'm anxious to see how Derrel's folks are settling into their new home in Arizona and am looking forward to coloring with our nieces out there. Both of our families have had a big year and have seen a lot of changes. It will be nice to settle in with everyone and see what new gifts those changes have brought.

I hope it's a pony!

Good thing your father has been in Africa, Kim.

The Ebert bedtime television ritual is usually a combination of the following: House, ESPN, some police reality show, and a rerun of some UFC fight. Mind you, we don't spend four hours watching TV as we nestle into sleepy mode. Derrel has what we in the field call Remote ContrOCD. In our studies we have learned that often times, he will change the channel merely out of habit, and not necessarily because he is unhappy with the current programming. When I say 'we', I mean wives, and 'the field' would be husbandology. This should not be confused with the breeding and raising of livestock. That was their mother's responsibility.

But I digress. In the blip of Sports Center that we caught last night, we heard Dallas Stars hockey player Sean Avery make a very crude comment in reference to his ex-girlfriend dating other hockey players. We didn't hear all of the interview, but the term "sloppy seconds" found its way in and, thankfully, that was the trigger that got us over to channel 58 (for a second). This morning the front page of our internet had a picture of Kim Bauer, Jack's ridiculous daughter in the world that is '24'. She is the American Idol to my Arrested Development; the Cameron to my House. I clicked on to the back section of the internaper to make sure she didn't mess with January 11's launch of season 7.

Turns out Kim Bauer is the ex-girlfriend of the gentlemanly Sean Avery. Apparently the gal likes hockey. Whatever the reason, let's just be grateful that her antics will keep her out of CTU. You're a lucky guy, Sean. Had he not been helping African kids to asylum in the U.S., Jack Bauer would have been dropping down from the Teletron during your game, in a hail of gunfire.

Proud Parents

Satchmo (and his folks) had his first dog park experience this weekend at Lake Padden. We were a little nervous about cutting him loose in this suprisingly large field with all the other kids but, after some initial nervousness, he made a lot of new friends.

In all honestly, it was actually a pretty sweet experience to just watch him play with other dogs. At one point, he got an opportunity to show off his mad frisbee skills in front of his playmates. Lake Padden also has a "dog water exercise area," which we had to take advantage of. Ever since I first saw Satchy diving for toys at the bottom of grandma and grandpa's pool I've been anxious to see how he does with non-man-made bodies of water...like a... lake.

Hmm...wait a minute.

Our Home and Native Land

Right off the bat, we had to go on a business trip for Derrel's new job, which he's very happy at:

We went to Cologna, Canada ( or Kelowna, as it's spelled everywhere else outside of this blog). Seriously, there's some Frenchness going on in Canada, I just assumed some silent letters were involved somewhere. After four hours of gorgeous scenery and at least three partial renditions of "Oh Canada" from my oh-so-cultured husband, we reached the waterside nugget.

But that's when things got interesting. The bridge we had to cross to get into Kelowna was trying to earn its place into the Guinness Book of World Records...

...for the longest bra-chain. Seeing as it's National Breast Cancer Awareness month, a local radio station decided to give it a go. The string of ladies undergarments crossed the bridge three times, amounting to a length just shy of two miles (over 3000 bras). Of course, when we were crossing the bridge, we didn't have this information. We thought that all of the women fallen victim to Canada's male-centered, oppressive rule were finally speaking out. The oppression continued, however, as I had dinner with the other nine men attending the league meeting. I would like to call this particular episode of our lives, "Ego and the City." For a moment, it did feel like I was dining with nine other women, all talking over each other about men and other women, drinking wine and hitting on the restaurant's staff. Only this time, it was men talking about themselves and baseball and hitting on much younger and more married female wait staff. They did still drink wine. I'm so grateful that the game and "the game" have never caught up with Derrel the way they have with the other attendees. It was a definite case study. I knew I should have packed my safari hat.

I was recently reminded that our lives have had a pretty major change, and that I should probably mention it to the blorld (blog world).

We just recently finished the 22-hour trek to Bellingham, Washington; about 90 miles north of Seattle, and just close enough to the Canadian border to be picking up radio stations in French. Satch kept a close eye on our folks in the U-Haul behind us, and we blazed the trail in just about two days.

So far, we LOVE it! We've played in the downtown area quite a bit (which is a bit Davis-like), we've gone hiking (which is a bit exercise-like), and have really enjoyed napping through overcast afternoons (much more us-like).

Derrel started his new job yesterday and seems to like it. We're off to Kelowna, Cananda, this weekend for his league meeting, so the adventure continues!