Anna and Emme will be loose for the summer Thursday about noon.  They had a great year, but are a bit excited to get into summer.  Gretchen and another mom are hosting a pool party at the Country Club that afternoon with burgers etc for Anna’s Class.  That should be a good kick off to summer. 

Emme and Anna are both going to be swimming through the summer.  Anna had her first meet in Wenatchee this past weekend and the family went over to cheer her on.  She did really well, the pool was an outdoor 50 meter and there were about 20 teams there.  Many camped, we stayed a a four bedroom condo on Desert Canyon Golf Course, a friend on my hockey team manages that and we go in for free, so had the Rypkas stay with us also.  Between hanging out at the meet and barbecuing on the deck at night it was very cool.  Anna placed third in a couple events and made up a bunch of time on the relay she was in. 

Both the girls will be going to Camp Firwood this summer.  This place is right out of the old camps in the Northeastern United States and people come from all over the world to this place.  The cool part is it just 3 miles from home on Lake Whatcom.  So no need to travel.  Anna goes in for a week in July and Emme is doing day camp where we drop her off and pick up each night. 

I am getting pretty busy, this year will be interesting, our heavy workload is a bit more front end loaded and the tail end of the summer might be quite a bit more enjoyable than usual.  I have a couple more hockey games left, then turning to hockey team golf night every Tuesday instead to keep the team in shape. 

Fathers day is this weekend, I sent Erik a box of our new fish attactors to put off his dock.  That should draw in the big boys.  Also the reunion blog is updated a bit so make sure everyone sees that. 

Hope all is well. 

We had an excellent time at Whistler a week or so back celebrating the kids spring break from school. Whistler is the number one ski resort in North America and we are blessed to live about 70 miles from there. It’s north of Vancouver a bit and the host to the 2010 Winter Olympics (something we are looking forward to in a year and a half).

We rented a condo for the week and it was right on the ski run for part of the resort. Gretchen got new skis this year and was ready to rip up the hills. This is the first year Anna has not been in ski school. She skiied with us each day and can really get down the hill in great shape. Emme went to ski school for the first two days, but after that she was with use too. It was really cool to be able to cruise the same hills and runs as a family. When the wore us out, the two of them cruised the Majic Chair from the village for another hour or so while we watched from the patio. It was cool to seem the getting on the lifts and coming down together. The weather was for the most part excellent. We really like going at that time of year because the resort is pretty quiet as people start shifting to other activities, things are much less expensive and there are no lines. We have been doing this for a few years now and it has become a highlight.

We are back in school now, the kids are looking forward to finishing out the year and getting to summer. Anna is going to be in her second swim meet in a month or so over the mountains in Wenatchee, looking forward to going over for that. I have quite a bit of travel upcoming. Was in Reno for the Cabela’s meeting this past week. Myself and Adam who works with me won awards and that was good. Had a good chance to catch up with Tom and what was going on with his family as well.

Hope all is well, as soon as we get some pictures downloaded from the ski trip will post them.

The Bellingham Moose won the Regional Mens Championship Game this Thursday Night. It was a good game against the new guys. They generally have been running right over most of the teams in our league. We kind of split the series with them during the season. The score was 2-1 and I had assists on each goal. The rest of the time we were pretty much shuting them down. Tons of penalties as well.

Daylight savings time kicked off this weekend as you know, and this starts one of the best times of year around here.  We are so far north that the winter days are very short, its dark at 4:30 on the shorter days of the year.  Last night is was still light out at about 8 pm and by June 21st that goes till about 11 pm.

We are going to Southern California for Easter to stay with Margit and Paul.  Getting in Thursday night, the girls are going to Disney on Friday while I get some work done at Westlake.  Paul and I are going to play golf on Saturday while the girls hit high tea somewhere in the zone there.  We will be going to Easter Mass at the Cathedral Down Town, that is really cool, Cardinal Mahonney says mass and this a very interesting place.  Should be a good time.  I also get to rescue my golf clubs that have been at Pauls this winter as I generally drop in there a time or two per month. 

Some sports are winding up here.  Emme is done with hockey and had a good year.  They have their awards banquet this coming Wednesday.  Anna is swimming three nights a week now and is probably better than me.  Her phys ed teacher at school has really noticed this and thinks its pretty cool.  I have my last game tonight in the mens hockey league before the playoffs.  We are currently in first place, will have to hold them tonight for a better position.

Report cards got here yesterday, things look pretty good overall.  Anna needs a little help in science and Emme has been improving in reading. 

We are starting to think about redoing some of the back yard this summer.  Going to add a fire pit/gathering area down where the swing set is.  Jane the newer dog is starting to dig a bit so we are on a mission to reduce lawn etc. 

The Canucks are winding down their season, we are waiting to see if they make the playoffs or not.  I’ll be going on St. Patricks Day and then probably to a couple of games late this month.  I’ll also have a chance to get to a San Jose Sharks game on April 1st while down there for some meetings.  Looking forward to that as well. 

Jerry McNabb reported in that they are fired up and ready to get to the reunion.  They are getting in about noon on Thursday to Seattle and heading north.  I think we are doing pretty well on rooms etc there, so keep that up. 

Hope all is well. 

The weather has been pretty stunning this past week, nice break in the action as we look at the USA Today map and most of the rest of the country is frozen. 

Anna and Gretchen got up to Mt. Baker to ski for the first time since we moved here this weekend.  Anna’s friend had a birthday ski party and sleep over that started out there.  We keep forgetting how close this is.  It turns out that fifth graders can ski free all year also, so we are going to start taking a bit more of an advantage of that.  Gretchen got some new shaped skis that she really likes.

Anna is going strong on the swim team.  They moves some of their practices from late afternoon to early evening, so that screws up dinner a couple of times a week, but oh well.  Emme is going very well in hockey this year and they have two games this coming weekend and a tournament that will finish off the season in March.  Those are fun, most of the rinks in Canada have restrauents that hang over the ice so you can really relax in style and watch them play.  A bunch of us are going to the Canucks Red Wings game this coming Saturday night and we are looking forward to that as well.  In men’s hockey news, my team is leading the league and its been a lot of fun this year.  I ended up dragging my gear to Los Angeles last week, the treasurer of one of our new clients in that area plays every tuesday and thursday morning so I went out with them and had a great time, it was also a pretty good bonding/introduction experience with them. 

Gretchen and I are celebrating our 16th wedding anniversery this coming Friday, we will be farming out the kids and going to the Chrisalis Hotel here in town on the water.  Getting massages in the room at 6:30, then dinner.  In the morning there is a new over the water board walk that goes from the hotel down to our favorite coffee shop so we will get a walk in. 

 Will keep you all posted on coming events, bye for now. 

Well, this has been quite a week, pretty much everyone sick at the same time.  The girls came down with fevers and didn’t make it to school last Wednesday through Friday then rallied a bit.  I got hammered on Sunday and am barely moving but starting to get better.  Anna had a relapse and has been home the last few days.  I have been moving a trip to California back every day this week, but looks like next week will work out. 

We went to the Assumption School auction on Saturday night (between diseases) and had a really nice time.  This is a major fund raiser for the school.  We picked up a few things like the front row in Church for the 2008 school Christmas Show where each class performers.  That should be good, we sat there with some friends last year and could actually see it for the first time ever.

Gretchen and I are starting to plan our anniversary, our 16th is a week from Thursday and we are going to farm the kids out and go some where.  Should be nice.

The reunion site has been updated a bit.  We have a couple of things dialed in.  We rented the pavilion at a great park about two blocks from the Hotel and right on the Puget Sound for Friday night.  The Country Club has swim lessons and couldn’t get us organized there till about 8 pm and I figured that was a bit late since everyone will be from the east.  I have the golf slots dialed in as well.  I talked to the people with the Whale Watch Cruise and that is down to $50 per person with no international border to cross so perhaps we will do that instead. 

This time of year is always a bit rainy around here and we are always ready to see the sun.  It is kind of cool though that we are as far north as we are and it hardly ever snows.  We can drive about a half hour and be in the mountains with plenty of snow, but never had to shovel it. 

Emme had her first reconciliation (confession) this morning with her class.  This is the year they go through the sacraments so next step is first communion in May.  She did really well and we went out for brunch at Anthony’s on the water and had a nice meal.  They brought in about six priests so it didn’t go too long and she enjoyed it.  She didn’t get any penance though so Gretchen is taking her back next week for another crack at it from Father Scott.  She is down to about five hockey games left for her team then done for the year.  We will need to start thinking about summer camps etc if she wants to keep going, she goes up another level next year. 

Anna has been doing well swimming and her Young Author’s club has really been fun for her.  Two years ago the local bookstore had a contest she entered and they published the winning stories in a book and she won her age class.  Last year she didn’t want to do it, but I think this new club she joined is getting the juices going again.  They meet at Barnes and Nobel about twice a month.  Tuesday nights are starting to get pretty hammered for us.  Gretchen and our new dog Jane go to training, Emme has hockey practice, Anna as art class then goes to young authors about twice a month, and then I have a hockey game in our league that night.  We got through the first of these ok, will see how the rest go.

I spent Thursday getting ready for my first colonoscopy.  Something you are supposed to get when you turn 50 to screen for Colen Cancer.  Thursday is the don’t eat and clean the system day, Friday was the scoping and sleep off the drugs day.  Turns out it looks pretty good.  They found a few small polyps and clipped them to sent to pathology, but there were the kind that generally never turn out to be an issue.  If that is the case then I don’t have to show back up there for another 10 years.  Looking forward to that, but it was not as bad as I thought it might be, didn’t really feel a thing.

 Busy week ahead, meetings out of town on Monday-Tuesday then Thursday-Friday.  Our year at work is really getting off to a good start and falling into place nicely so far.  Looking forward to getting back at it. 

Hope all is well.  Pictures coming next time. 

Bellingham McNabb’s want to wish you all a very happy new year and hope this year will be a great one for you and your family. 

 We had a very good Christmas season here in Bellingham.  It was very peaceful and relaxing.  The Girls were out of school on Friday December 20th and don’t go back until this coming Monday, so we have had a great time catching up on things and seeing friends around town.

Our Christmas went very well.  We made it to 4 pm mass on Christmas Eve, then came home for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner with Gretchen’s French Onion Soup.  It’s hard to believe that soup will fill you up, but this one always does.  We had our neighbor, Dave, down for dinner.  He is about 70 and lost his wife a year or so ago, but gets around very well and he is a wood craftsman and he brought Gretchen a beautiful small cabinet.  The girls got to open one present and we got off to bed.  The next day we continued with tradition by lounging around the house in new pajamas and watching some DVD’s. 

We got to get up to Vancouver for one Canucks game with friends on the 27th.  That was probably the best game of the season.  I’m taking Anna up to the Rangers game tomorrow night.  Emme has had a bit of a break from hockey as her team wasn’t in a holiday tournament this year, but that was kind of relaxing also, as we didn’t have to drive to Canada every day. 

We had a good New Years Eve over at friends and a good rest yesterday.  Gretchen has a bit of back pain from moving some stuff around so we are getting organized to get to the doctor’s this morning, but other than that we are ready to get going in 2008 and hope all is well for everyone. 

Well, haven’t dropped a note for a while so here goes.

We got back from a very nice trip to Michigan over Thanksgiving weekend.  We traveled on Saturday and returned on Saturday so the airports were pretty painless.  Arrived in Lansing from Seattle on Saturday evening late and stayed at Grandma Furseth’s home over night before heading north on Sunday to Traverse City to see Grandpa Furseth.  We had an excellent visit and stay at Spider Lake where they live.  On Monday we toured the town a bit and did some shopping.  On Tuesday Anna and Emme went to school with Lynn and Anna spent the day with her Sixth Grade Class while Emme joined the 2nd graders for the day.  We had a stunning dinner that night at a new restaurant called Red Dragon and packed to head back to Lansing on Wednesday Morning.  Grandma Furseth did her usual stunning job organizing Thanksgiving Dinner.  The girls favorite part of that was seeing the new baby and watching Uncle Dick claim that the candy corns on his plate were his vegetables.  We had a really nice visit with that side of the family and also caught up with the Jorgensens for a bit on Friday before they took off for family stuff.

December is going to be a fun month.  Gretchen and I went up to the Canucks/Pittsburg Pengiuns game Saturday night for the first visit ever of Sidney Crosby and his team to our town.  That was pretty electric.  Emme’s hockey season is started and we are pretty much across the border every weekend for a game.  She has really grown into quite the little skater.  She is the first line right wing on her squad.  I help coach them Tuesday afternoons before taking on our men’s league teams on Tuesday nights.  We are in first place so far this year so haveing a good season.

I was in California most of last week working on new accounts with some great progress.  I also got to play golf with Paul (Margit’s husband) and we enjoyed a nice time catching up and taking in the scenario.  I stashed my clubs there for the next month or so as I need to get in to town a few times.

You may have seen the news about Centralia where we used to live.  Floods wiped out much of the town and causes severe damage in the neighborhood we used to live in.  Coast Guard helicopters were saving people all night and many lives are pretty well ruined.  All of our friends live on high ground, but they know people that lost livestock.  Most of the dairys around lost all of their cows that were in barns that flooded and couldn’t get out or to high ground.  We will be going down between Christmas and New Years to see people.  Our business location there was ok and Kyle got to help out with some of the equipment we have.

Our plans for Christmas are pretty simple as usual.  We are hanging around the house and having a few things before.  Our game night friends are going to dinner on Friday the 21st, we are having some good friends over for dinner on the 22 and then gearing up to celebrate.  The girls don’t go back to school till Monday after New Years so we have a nice two week break with them.  Will try to get in some skiing etc. 

Hope all is well and people are signing up for the Reunion. 

Well, we are pretty much all settled into school routines.  The girls are glad to be back at is as near as I can tell.  They both had birthdays and parties in September.  Sleep overs for both of them were a good time.  I got banned from the TV room for both events, so not too sure how much I like them, but they had a blast. 

Emme is about three weeks into the hockey and ballet class season.  She is doing very well in both.  She is probably the best skater on her hockey team, all the rest are boys.  She still needs to learn to get in there a bit more however.  Should be a good season.  Emme and I went up to Vancouver last night to have our picture taken with the Canucks.  That was fun and we should have that back pretty soon.  Her and I are going through classes for first confession and first communion, that will be this winter for confession and May for first communion.  Grandmother Furseth will be out for this event and then head to Alaska for a cruise this coming spring. 

Jean and Chelsie showed up a weekend or two back and we had a great time visiting.  Good to have them drop by once in a while.

 Anna has joined the swim team in town and has a beautiful stroke.  She is learning a lot and while still does not want to compete in meets will probably take that on sooner or later.  We have to go stand in the rain for about 8 hours this sunday to get volunteer hours for the swim team at the Bellingham marathon.  Don’t know how I got roped into that.  She also started art classes after school today and is cranking out some stunning stuff as usual. 

I started Hockey last week and with no real activity for about three months managed to get around pretty good.  I will be coaching emme a bit this year, so it’s good to be getting exersize again.  There are a couple of new teams in our league that don’t seem to know the rules, will probably have to tune them in a  bit.  The Vancouver Canucks season kicks off Friday night and Gretchen and I are going up with friends to check that out. 

I had a chance to be back in Michigan a week or so back and forgot how much I miss the color.  That is the only thing we are a bit weak on here in the Northwest.  Too much evergreen, not enough maples.  Things were not at peak, but still something to see.  I have been working on getting my pilot’s license tuned back up as well.  Finished a number of classes and flights as part of WINGS program instead of just getting an bi annual flight review.  That was well worth it.  I learned a bit and also learned I haven’t lost much of a beat.  Gretchen’s best friend is not up for that however as she lost dear friends in a crash at our old airport in Concord California this past winter.  Anyhow, we will overcome that.

 A few of the boys went to our friends the Millmans for Poker Night with Father Frank, this is something we won at the Assumption Auction last year and was a great feast followed by some Texas Hold’em Poker.  I play that about once every 10 years so the food was better than the cards, we had a great time however.  Fr. Frank however cleaned us out as he does every year so we told him next time we will advertise it as Poker Night without Fr. Frank and see if we get a better price. 

Anyhow, hope all is well for everyone.

Love, Terry