Happy Birthday Tavis

What can bring me out a blogging lag? Only a birthday!
Happy Birthday Tavis. We are looking forward to the wedding and spending more times with both you and Chryslyn.

Spider Webs on a Morning Walk

A Grey Heron

We watched this Grey Heron fish about an hour ago. Beautiful.

Senator Obama

We saw Obama last night in a packed out Assembly Hall. It really was inspirational. Could America really be changed in this way? You so want to hope so. I am going to try to upload a video at the end so you can hear that he sounds the same in real life as he does on TV.

Happy Birthday Sue!

Happy Birthday Susan! I found this cool photo of your in your classroom. Despite the fact that you are just moving in, you are looking extremely professional with the ear piece you are wearing!

We hope you have a wonderful day and know that we love you!

- Amber and Stephen

Senator Clinton

Stephen and I went to see Hilary Clinton today. It is so neat to be able to see these candidates in person. As you can see from the pictures, we had a great view.

A Morning Walk and an Eagle's Nest

Feist

Feist came to town on Friday night and I happily went with a friend. Creative, anti-star, and a Canadian. She talked about knowing how she was south of Canada and somewhere in the midwest of the States. I can relate to trying to figure out where Indiana was.

She did some beautiful shadow art with a screen and on the backdrop of the stage. I took pictures but they did not do the beauty justice. The pictures are exactly what I saw, but are taken from Feist's fan site, http://www.listentofeist.com/

Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds

So, last night we went to see Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds play for free at Assembly Hall (the same place we watched basketball). The saga began when I got home last Wednesday to find the announcement that Obama was hosting a free concert at our school, but you needed a ticket. I proceeded to pick up Stephen from school and together we waited for three cold hours outside to get our hands on what became known as "The Golden Ticket" (a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory reference). 13,000 tickets were given out and here are some of us. The tickets secured general admission so again yesterday, we found ourselves in a crazy line but this time is was nicer weather.





When the doors opened, the pushing began and we were able to secure great seats! Dave and Tim proceeded to play together, just two guitars and Dave's voice. It is suffice to say that it exceeded both our expectations and was so great.





Stephen and I used to blast Dave as we drove to and fro from Vancouver to Lethbridge. In fact, the crazy trip where we left after work on a Friday and drove all night to find a place to live...Dave Matthews pulled us through. One of our favorites is a song called Bartender and to our delight, they opened with it last night. Anyways, a great night!

Happy Birthday Darcen!

So Darcen...

Thank you for being a wonderful brother and friend.
Thank you for marrying a wonderful girl who fits so well in our family.
Thank you for making the effort to stay in touch despite the distance.
Thank you for telling us about your job, school...we are both amazed and proud of you.

We love you. Have a wonderful birthday.

Amber and Stephen

Listening to Chelsea

Tonight I went to see Chelsea Clinton talk and answer questions on the IU campus. She is an articulate, intelligent woman to say the least. She was able to answer questions on standards such as health care and college tuition with ease. Even more impressive was her ability to handle off collar comments ("Sir, I will try to answer your questions but please stop interrupting")and comments she did not agree with ("I actually don't think that is true.") Obama's name did not come up in any of her responses. It was neat seeing a snapshot of a campaign that is historical.

You will also notice the picture with Sean Astin. A bit of a goof when it comes to public speaking but we are Lord of the Rings fans and our cat is named after the character he played. He opened for Chelsea.

I love my Netty Pot

If you have allergies or sinus problems, try it. I love it and credit it for stopping an approaching infection. I promise, it doesn't come out of your ear!

Chicago St. Patrick's Day

Yesterday we went to Chicago fir the day with our friends Joel and Chris. Joel is in the HPS program with Stephen. We loved their idea of going for the day to see the St. Patrick's Day parade.



There was a huge crowd gathered around the canal to see the water be turned green.



Stephen, Chris, and Joel at the canal. Notice the canal...



Stephen and me.



The dye being put in the canal and mixed in by the speedboats.



The parade...heavy on the bagpipes, Irish dancers, and politicians wanting votes. A highlight was that we shook the Illinois Governor's hand (like the Premier for you Canadians).



Stephen was taken by the intensity of this man's beard.



A bagpipe team. The man at the front would take a few steps and then sheepishly look at the crowd and raise up his kilt on one leg. Funny at first and then a bit weird as he continued to do it over and over.




Joel and Chris on the train that we took to get into the city.



We went to the zoo as well and I captured the lion chowing down on raw meat on a huge bone.



Us by the cool bean downtown. I don't know if I really captured how many people were actually downtown, or how cold it was. The wind off Lake Michigan was paired with a few snowflakes.

Happy St. Paddy's!

Happy Birthday Stephen!

Today is my husband's birthday and the first day of Spring Break. We took to the road to do some wine tasting, exploring, and birding.



We started off by going to French Lick, Indiana. A billionaire couple in Indiana have refurbished a hotel which was created I believe in the early 1900's and since then has been a Jesuit seminary, a college, and then abandoned. They spared no expense and have kind of revitalized a ghost town. The lobby is magnificent!



We then drove to Madison, Indiana. It is a charming, historical town on the Ohio River. We ate lunch on the river...a great sandwich that a colleague made for me on the WV trip. Tomato, cucumber, chutney, and pepper jack cheese. We also ate a piece of Stephen's birthday cake. We made it last night...a lemon cheesecake. Stephen is a big fan of lemon.



We then went to two local wineries. Indiana is alive with wineries, with some grapes grown here, and some imported. We went to two and tried some wine.



Finally, we went birding at a bird refuge. We have been here before but never with the scope that Stephen is borrowing from his ornithology professor. Here we are in a bird hut on the water. We heard an owl, watched many a duck including some elusive wood ducks and a new one for Stephen, one that has a shovel-like bill. We also watched a beaver.

Tonight Stephen will talk to family, we will enjoy more cheesecake and Mediterranean pizza, and chill. Happy Birthday sweetie!