recent photos

Maybe a month ago we went for a day hike to Starved Rock State Park. It was an overcast day, but some sun shone through at intermittent times. It was a great day to shoot in black and white.
Annie took the opportunity to practice her photo taking abilities. Here are some of her shots.

While it was a pretty muddy hike, we managed to stay relatively clean and mud-free. That is until the last 5 minutes of the hike when one misstep made a big difference.

All in all we had a great day at a great park. It was good for us to get some time away and have time to reflect on life and discern where we are headed next. We still do not have any details on that part and definitely post when we do.

recent shots

A nice night-time Wrigley Building view.



Fun while on Wendella Boat trip

Does something seem strange?

can it be true?

Sports Illustrated's Gary Smith, a longtime writer for the mag and known for his ability to effectively chronicle the life and times in the United States of America, recently spent some time in Chicago and with the Chicago Cubs. The Tribune interviewed him. As a life-long fan of the Cubs, I (Dan) was interested to hear what this man had to say.

Here is a exerpt:

"To me, life is all about living it with full passion and zest and with arms wide open. At the same time, understand on one level the meaningless of it, and on the other level, living like it means everything. In a way, that's what sports is all about. Cub fans, to me, have grasped that more than most fan bases. They are totally into it and have invested so much of themselves into it. But they also understand on some level the absurdity of it all. There's a sweet metaphor about life there and how you approach life, and if you could live with the contradiction, live with the paradox."

I like it. Go Cubs.

you say potato, i say you're right

its official, the chicago nighttime skyline is just pretty.

 

Promised pictures.

At long last, success! The stars are aligned and the blogging gods must be on my side. Fabulous! And now, in no particular order, some pictures from our summer so far.

We headed up to Duluth with our friends, Tim and Heidi (and baby Justin) for the 4th of July weekend. It has a lovely boardwalk/path along the shore of Lake Superior so we took a walk.

And at the Rose Garden, there is nothing like stopping to smell them!

Beautiful flowers, beautiful picture. This is in Duluth as well.

And Gooseberry Falls (farther up along the North Shore). I believe these are the middle falls but I'm not entirely sure.

Here we are, at the upper falls.

My little sister graduated from high school this year and we were able to make it back to Wausau for her party. While there, an unxepected thing happened. We discovered that a Cornish Pixie had made himself at home in her cake...

Minnehaha Falls.

This is Tim and Heidi's baby, Justin. He and I hung out a bit while in Duluth.

Finally, my sister Sharon and my grandma. Aren't they cute?

And that, my friends, is some of what we've been doing. There are more pictures in existance but I am unable to locate the cord I need in order to move them from the camera to the computer so they will have to wait.