"Snow" much fun in the UP!

I love me some sushi

While Jess and Dan were visiting we discovered a delicious restaurant in the Champaign-Urbana area, Kofusion. We began dinner with some yummy drinks...Jess and I opted for the White Dragon cocktail.

Even though Fin didn't get to enjoy any sushi, he still got in on the chopstick action.

He didn't master the art of eating with chopsticks but at least they kept him occupied.

A house without books is like a room without windows - Heinrich Mann

Thomas Jefferson said, "I cannot live without books."  Jamie and Fin would agree.

Although most of my time is spent reading journal articles at this point in my life, Jamie and Finley always make time for reading books.  Finley has an overflowing bookcase, but the current favorites are in the basket by the reading chair.  Every night ends with the reading of two or three books, but tonight Finley's appetite for reading was voracious.  He decided to pick out every book in the bin for Jamie to read.  Needless to say they didn't make it through them all.

Winter Wonderland

Finally it feels a little more like home down here after a "major" snowstorm deposited 8.5" of wet snow on Urbana over the weekend.

Finley did not enjoy getting all bundled up and resembling  a stuffed sausage, but he did like playing in the snow.

Sherman was more of a scrooge about the whole situation; he turned into a warm weather dog over the summer.

Go Pack Go

Sundays in fall and winter are spent watching the Packers whenever possible.  We've been pretty lucky down in Illinois so far; Fin and I have been able to watch the majority of the Packer games.  Unfortunately, if the Bears, Colts, or Rams are playing those games get priority as we live so close to the three cities.  Packer gear and goofy hats are donned.  Finley loses interest pretty quickly, but once again with the help of a single M&M we were able to get this crazy smile for a pic.

Turkey Day

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving in Urbana with the Sholtens. Every previous Thanksgiving was spent at Grandma Helen's devouring delicious food prepared by others. Thankfully, with many phone calls home for recipes and advice, we were able to create a tasty feast!

To help prepare for the next holiday, we started talking to Fin about Santa. We took him to the local mall to get his picture with the big guy. He wasn't too happy about it but with the help of some M&Ms we were able to snap a few photos.

Although I missed seeing the rest of my family and friends over Thanksgiving, I'm so thankful that Sara and Trevor ventured south to spend some quality time with us!

Ziller to Ziller

Today a Ziller to Ziller was awaiting us on our doorstep after work. We all look forward to Ziller to Zillers (which is mail from my parents) whether it is a card or package. Usually there's a little something for everyone in the packages, but today Fin was the lucky sole recipient. Fin is the owner of some new sweet New Balance shoes.

They came in the cutest little shoe box!

Those are some nice kicks...Steve's jealous. He wants a matching pair. Thanks mom and dad!

What a difference a year makes

Last October we bought Fin this new winter coat for the harsh UP winters...it was a little large so we packed it away for next year.

It's finally cold enough in Illinois to sport a winter coat. It fits! But Fin wasn't too happy. Brings to mind Ralphie's brother in A Christmas Story.

Opening day of deer season

For the first time in 18 years of deer hunting I will not pick up a rifle in pursuit of the majestic whitetail deer in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  It truly is a sad day, but hopefully we will reside back up in da UP before too long.  Keep your fingers crossed!

I sported the blaze orange Stormy Kromer in the lab today in true hunter's spirit. Finley sported his in honor of Elmo and the M&M's that it took to bribe him into wearing it for the picture.

Fall clean up

The large tree in our yard, which providing much needed shade during the summer, has finally dropped its leaves in the past two days.  The amount of leaves on the ground is overwhelming to say the least.

In Urbana, you need to purchase biodegradable bags to put your decaying biomass in and then place them on the curb on recycling day.  By the looks of it I am estimating 25 or so bags.

It could be worse; I could be at deer camp with everyone else in the UP.  Oh the humanity.

Origin of the Muskybuck

A few years ago a close friend and I were discussing what would be the most desirable creature for a master hunter to pursue.  It didn't take long before we determined it would most definitely be a muskybuck.  Body of a musky, rack of a buck, master of the water realm.  When trying to choose a blog name I was actually surprised to see that muskybuck.blogspot.com was already taken.  Also, a quick search of muskybucks.com revealed a group from Wisconsin had also thought of fabled creature some time back.  Seems like a good bunch of guys to me.

That darn time change

Living in the central time zone during the "fall back" can certainly be depressing. Stuck in the house from 5 pm on can bring on boredom.  Thankfully, Jamie is always there with the comic relief.

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Fin and I liked it; I am not so sure Sherman felt the same.

Dadda juice

Today Finley wandered into the garage while playing outside.  Jamie followed afterward and noticed him pointing to an empty bottle of Goose Island IPA on the workbench.  He coined it "dadda juice".  Sometimes kids can be a little too observant.

Welcome!

Hello friends and family.  We welcome you to our new blog.  We hope everyone can stay in touch and check out what Finley has been up too down here in Urbana, Illinois.  Finley recently enjoyed his first Trick-or-Treating expedition.

Needless to say Fin enjoyed the chocolate.  Sherman got in on the action as well.