What better time than to announce the obsolecence of this blog by forwarding you to Elise's second birthday post on our new blog, to which Julie is sure to post far more faithfully than I.

We welcomed Elise Joy into the world yesterday evening. She's the fourth of four beautiful girls, and we're happy to have a healthy mom and healthy baby home tonight.

Today we proved that it is possible, if somewhat impractical, to fit two cars into our two-car garage. It may be too difficult to get in and out of the vehicles for us to do this on a regular basis, but this was the first time we actually managed to get both cars in there.

If you look closely at the picture, you will see the technology that made this amazing feat possible – shelves! Julie’s parents once again sacrificed a Saturday for us, and Julie’s dad built us some wonderful shelves so that we could get stuff off the ground and into the air. There are also some shelves on the side of the garage nearest the door to the house – we’re going to use those shelves as a pantry, primarily for bulky Costco groceries.

Special thanks again to Julie’s parents – we’re really excited to have so much more room in the garage.

Sarah turned 8 on Friday, and she had a great birthday weekend. One of her best friends spent the night after we had dinner at Applebee’s, cake and ice cream at home, watched Sarah opened some gifts, and then watched half of the new “Narnia” DVD.

On Saturday we had a real treat – (Great-) Uncle Stan walked Sarah and her friend around on horses through a beautiful landscape on a gorgeous day. They also finished “Narnia”, bought a few things at the garage sale at the Lynden Fairgrounds, and we got to see Sarah’s friend’s new house!

On Sunday we went to Grandma and Grandpa’s house after church, where we had a great birthday dinner that ended with strawberries on angel food cake. Sarah got her biggest present – a combined gift from many relatives – a real live basketball hoop! I don’t doubt that a “real man” could have had it assembled in an hour or so, but it took this man about five hours. Still, I finally completed it last night before the sun went down, so Sarah and I were able to play a few minutes before bed.

Anyone that has been to our house will remember the field behind our property, with the 100-year-old barn, the tall concrete silo, and the grazing cows.

Well, they are no more. The field is still there, but it is now filled with the rubbish left behind when a barn and silo are destroyed. Not nearly as nice a view, I’m afraid, though perhaps we’ll have fewer flies.

The local Lions club owns the property, and they are apparently planning to build a community center of some sort. Not as nice as a park, but certainly nicer than a trailer park, so I am trying to withhold both optimism and pessimism and merely wait to see what happens.

The Seahawks played a good game on Superbowl Sunday, but they didn't have enough to win. A number of questionable calls by the referees didn't help, either. But, it was fun to have a team to really root for, and fun to hang out with friends for the big game. Did the Seahawks make a fan out of me? Maybe I'll actually watch their first game of the next season...

Yes, the Seattle Seahawks are going to the Superbowl. This football season has been vaguely reminiscent of the 1995 Seattle Mariners; then, too, I wasn’t much of a fan until they started to win, at which point I began to watch faithfully. I watched both playoff games this past Sunday, and much of all four playoff games the Sunday before, and a number of other games ever since the Seahawks had accumulated 10 or so wins for the season. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy watching football before; I’m just a bit of a fair-weather fan. Like most people, I have a lot more fun when I can watch my local team win. So, come Sunday after next, I’ll be staring at some television somewhere, rooting for our team. Go Seahawks!

In case you haven’t heard, we’ve been getting a lot of rain in these parts lately. We’ve basically had rain every day for the last month. Seattle had its 27th consecutive rainy day on Saturday. We had a reprieve this weekend, and actually got to enjoy a bit of sun, but the rain is back with a vengeance today. Generally speaking, I don’t think that we deserve our rainy stereotype, but even I am ready for a change in the weather. The combination of dark skies, hard rain, and faded road lines make for a stressful commute, and daily lunchtime walks are a lot less enjoyable.

Today wasn’t all gloom, though; the kids had the day off school, so Julie brought them to Bellingham and we had lunch together at the “wood fire pizza” restaurant near the office. We all enjoyed our pizza and a little extra time together.

When you haven’t blogged for a while, you realize that there are a few important life events that you haven’t mentioned. It’s rather unlikely that I have any readers that don’t already know this, but just in case…

Julie’s pregnant! If you have any questions, please check the FAQ:

Q: When is Julie due?
A: Mid-June. She’s glad that’s before the hottest summer months.

Q: How has Julie been feeling?
A: Pretty well. She didn’t feel great for a while during the first trimester, but she doesn’t get morning sickness as badly as many other women, so she took it in stride.

Q: Do you know what you’re having?
A: A human. (Har!) We don’t know the sex of the baby, nor do we intend to find out (until it is born, that is).

Q: Did you find out with any of your other kids?
A: No. We like the surprise.

Q: How many kids do you have, anyway?
A: When we bring the new baby home this summer, we’ll have four kids in the house.

Q: You currently have three daughters, right?
A: Yep.

Q: I guess you’re pretty outnumbered, ha ha.
A: That’s not a question.

Q: Wow, that’s three weddings to save up for. Maybe four!
A: A question, please?

Q: Sorry. So, you must be hoping for a boy, eh?
A: I’m good either way. Another girl would be easiest, of course, but I think we’re up to the challenge of raising a boy.

Q: The more girls you have in a row, the more likely the next will be a boy, right?
A: I think we have at least a 50% chance of having a boy.

Q: Have you decided on names?
A: We have a number of possibilities, but no definite names yet.

Q: What are some of the possibilities?
A: None of your bee’s wax. You’ll just have to wait like everyone else.

Q: Are you praying for a happy pregnancy, a safe childbirth, and a healthy addition to the family?
A: Absolutely.

Welcome to 2006! It seems unlikely that I’ll manage to start posting to this blog on a regular basis again, but it’s a new year, so I should at least give it a try.

I was reasonably productive at work today, considering it was my first day back since Thursday before last. I had a great time on vacation. We didn’t have to do any traveling this year, because our families came here! We had Julie’s two brothers in town with their wives, and my parents! Along with the normal fellowship, food, presents, etc., there was also some serious gaming – Settlers of Catan, Euchre, and Rook! We watched our share of football, spent some time looking for eagles, read books, visited extended family, went bowling, drank coffee, and all manner of other memorable activities. But now it’s all over, and we’re left wondering when we’ll get to do it again. As soon as possible, I hope.