Christmas pics 3

Family photo with Sarah's side & Gma & Gpa Fowler.

Sarah's cousin Jess with Annika & Abby.

The Uncle Bill & Aunt Jody (hosted the Christmas gathering) and son Danny w/Gparents.

Shawn is inspired by his Wolverine gifts.

Now that's a good lure!

Christmas pics 2

Dad & the salsa incident - "Who left the lid off!?!"

Mom, Sarah, Carl, Sam, & Spencer downtown Mpls for the Holidazzle Parade.

Opening presents Christmas Eve.

More presents on Christmas Day.

Christmas Eve service at Wooddale - the church we were married in.

Christmas pics

Sarah and Radar at Mom & Dad Tiede's house

Shawn's sister Audra & boyfriend Tim at their apartment in Uptown

Sarah chatting with Gma & Gpa Fowler at their house

Everyone holds the door for the guy with the camera!

Shawn with some former Grant Thornton co-workers downtown Mpls.

Mom & Dad having fun in Palm Springs!

Mom & Dad Norton arrived in Palm Springs on Wednesday the 13th, and we've been doing a lot of fun things so far - below are some pictures...

We decided to head for the ocean the first day they arrived to take advantage of some great weather. Dad learned to surf and boogie-board, and Mom enjoyed the warm sand of the Carlsbad beach. Above are Shawn and Dad both getting up on their surfboards.

Here's the only picture we got of Dad actually standing on the surfboard, although it did happen a couple times on the waves.

Friday Mom, Dad, Mac, and Shawn went hiking on the Lykken Trail above Palm Springs. We all got some good exercise and enjoyed great weather.

On Saturday Shawn, Mac, & Dad hiked all the way to Murray Peak, a huge climb with great views at the top. It was a little hazy so the pics weren't great, but here's one of Dad and Mac at the top.

Sarah and Shawn at Shield's Date Garden in Indio, CA about 20 miles from Palm Springs. We all enjoyed our first date shakes and learned a little about how dates are grown and where they come from. Then we went to El Mexacali Cafe for some real Mexican food - Shawn had a dish with cactus in it!

Trent Visits Palm Springs

My buddy Trent came all the way from Moorhead, MN to visit us this weekend. Sunday we went to Joshua Tree Nat'l Park for some rock climbing and sightseeing, then Monday we went surfing in Carlsbad, CA. Since we didn't want his camera getting sandy we don't have any pics, but I can confirm that Trent is officially a surfer!

Trent w/Salton Sea in very distant hazy background.

Shawn & Trent on top of Cyclops Rock.

Trent struggling to hang on to Cyclops Rock on the way down!

Open CPU Surgery

About a month ago I decided that our computer needed upgrading, after it didn't have enough horsepower (technically speaking) to burn a photoshow DVD. After shopping around, I decided to try and save a few bucks by building a new computer myself. So after a month of varying stages of heartache, despair, and frustration, my patience has finally paid off and I have a high-speed machine that will hopefully last me another six years....I guess I only saved money if my time is worth nothing, but these are the sort of projects guys resort to when they rent - no home improvement projects to waste time on....