Ely blizzard, we're snowed in.

After taking a few weeks off from Ely, we're now snowed in for who knows how long. Last night, we got calls from my mom and Tom letting us know that it was gonna be ugly. But at that point, we were beyond heading out, having too much fun staying warm inside. We woke up Sunday morning to some ugly winds and blowing snow. Today we decided to take a hike across the lake and as you'll see, we were quite bundled up. Hard snowfall, a -1 temp and 20-25 mph winds, created a brisk outing on the lake and a walk through the woods. The boys were loving it, but my lips and nostrils started freezing shut.



Unfortunately, I'm also having trouble with the ATV starting to plow us out. It takes about 3 hours for a heater to warm up the engine enough for me to get it started. Not a great time to have a dead battery and need an oil change. Turns out the snow blower is also busted. Way to go ME for not getting that fixed in the summer/fall.

As for the kids, they're thrilled that they'll be missing school Monday. But Jackson is very nervous he's going to miss his winter program that he's been practicing for. I'm hoping we can get out of here in the AM...but it seems unlikely. I don't think plowing our 1-3/4 mile dirt road is a big priority for the city.

2008 was quite a year.

Happy Holidays everyone. Where to begin, it was a big year for us all. We began the year at the cabin with a trip out onto the ice just before midnight 2007 to scream, HAPPY NEW YEAR! The boys were a bit tired, but they hung in there, got bundled up, and supported our memory making. We tried starting a fire on the lake to enjoy, but that was a bust. So we rang in the new year and headed back inside to warm up, toasting the exciting year to come. 


see miami pics here

In March, the four of us took a trip to Miami to visit Cate's grandparents. We had plenty of fun in the sun and added in some adventure. We rode an air boat in the Everglades, Micah held an alligator, twice, and the four of us had our picture taken holding a baby tiger and baby monkey at Parrot Jungle. Not sure who liked that part more, me or the boys. We also took a day trip to the Keys where we saw some dolphins (mating by our boat) and Jackson and I did some ice cold snorkeling.  


see iceland pics here and see amsterdam pics here

For spring break in April, Cate and I took a trip to Iceland and Amsterdam. We loved Iceland, some highlights being the northern lights, frozen waterfalls and the Blue Lagoon hot springs. What a unique landscape. We're hoping to go back when it's a little warmer and we won't have to battle 40 mph winds and Arctic frigidness that even the brave Minnesotans cave to. Or, we could just bring warmer clothes. 



After Iceland, we welcomed a new addition to our household. A little puppy from Safe Hands Rescue that Micah decided to name Can Opener. He's quite the silly puppy in both attitude and looks. We know he's a mutt, but when people curiously ask "What kind of dog is he?" we've decided that he's a Shih-Tnard or a SaintShih-T, a cross between a St Bernard and a Shih-Tzu. Either one works. It took a while, but Benny finally warmed up to him and enjoys wrestling with him, in the house of course.


see cotton lake and derby pics here

In July, we all headed to Cate's parents' cabin on Cotton Lake for a weekend of crash up derby, tubing, mini-golf and county fair excitement with her family. The crash up derby was a hit for all of us. Good clean fun.


sorry, no wedding pics uploaded, but see hawaii pics here

In May, Cate and I decided to get hitched and were married on August 23rd on the beach at our Ely, MN cabin. There's nothing like 13 kids, 8 dogs, 3 cats and 21 adults to help us celebrate. After the wedding, the four of us headed off to Hawaii for an amazing honeymoon. Volcanoes, lava flow, caving in lava tubes, hiking to black sand beaches, pummeling our bodies in the waves, wild horses, snorkeling and more! Micah and I got about 2 inches from a huge sea turtle. A couple memorable quotes from the honeymoon week:

"I love all the adventures of a honeymoon" - Jackson

"This is my first honeymoon" - Micah

After the honeymoon, Micah started kindergarten and Jackson started 2nd grade. Somewhere along the way, Jackson decided that he'd rather read to us each night instead of us reading to him. And in that same time period, Micah learned to blow bubbles with gum, whistle and snap, which creates quite the chorus when 2 dogs and the occasional cat are joining us for chaotic bedtime ritual of read-snap-pop-whistle-read-snap-repeat.


see el salvador pics here

In October, Cate led her 3rd Habitat for Humanity trip, this time to El Salvador. Lots of hard work, met some new friends, gained new perspectives on life and bent lots of rebar.   She came home reminded that some of the happiest people she has ever met have the least amount of material wealth.  A couple more of those trips and I'm confident she'll either be able to redo our basement by herself or give away all of our belongings so we can live a "simpler life".



We all traveled to Illinois to visit my family for Thanksgiving. Lots of movies, 5-dog madness and quality cousin play time. I remember cracking up when at one point I overheard someone say, "nobody pet Riley, he may attack you." Oh, I also busted my toe tripping over a Wii fit, pretty sure they're not supposed to be used like that. 

I've been very fortunate with my business in this economy. We slowed down quite a bit in Oct/Nov which was a little (a lot) scary, but December brought us some fantastic projects to help weather this downturn. I've had my business for over nine years and have not experienced anything quite like this. It reminds me a lot of the economic aftermath of 9/11, when at that time, almost of my clients disappeared overnight. This slowdown, or recession, or whatever we want to call it, seems much different to me. 

Cate has been thoroughly thriving at Thrivent for 5 years now and is very thankful for a good, stable company. I'm so thankful that I married a sugar momma.

Oh, one more thing...Cate got super sick in El Salvador, and while we figured it was a bit of the ol' travelers sickness (sorry no pics), we were thrilled to find out that she's pregnant! Yee Haw! Our whole family is pumped. Micah is thrilled to be a big brother and Jackson is pulling for a little girl since he already knows what it's like to have a baby brother. June 23rd is the day, so stay tuned for more info. 



We're hoping to keep a journal of our lives right here at jasonandcate.blogspot.com so we can keep our memories documented in one place. Feel free to stop by and leave us a note.

Happy Holidays everybody, enjoy your friends and families and we wish you the best in 2009 (and beyond).