ON THANKSGIVING

we are grateful for the hospitality we have encountered here. Thanksgiving in Menomonie has become a wonderful tradition. Thank you for the tasty food, the warm and cosy atmosphere and, most of all, the friendly and fun company! We had a great time.

Mountains of deliciousness


Jenna and George 'starving'

Samu in good hands



Game time: Marko's drawing for "The turkey doesn't like Thanksgiving."

THANKSGIVING

is also about watching the parade, experimenting with food and making a total mess of the kitchen. We mastered all of those this year.

THANKSGIVING

at Martha's and Dave's included: great food (duh), great drinks (yay!), wonderful company (including dogs), an emphasis on nouns, revengeful cows, goat cheese and commas, political incorrectness, inappropriate children's books, and stomach pains from laughing. We had a blast! Thank you so much!

UNCLE KOBI's PICTURES

are so pretty that they deserve to be posted for no other reason but their aesthetic value. Our street, city, campus and community have never looked better. Enjoy!

Our street

Our city

Our campus

Our community

RESUMING

walks with Jenna and George was just what we needed after conquering the workload of the past weeks. The sunny winter Sunday was perfect for a walk next to the Mississippi.

THE FIRST SNOW

usually brings something exciting, according to Marko. This time it was a new car! When our old one 'Esmi' started to develop transmission issues, we started looking for a new one. And now we proudly present our new old Mazda Protege 5. Complete with stick shift and cassette player. Huzzah!

Goodbye, Esmi. You were a wonderful first car.


Welcome, Fritzi! Isn't he a beaut?

Apart from the new car excitement, Samu was a bit suspicious of the new element of snow. Where had all the colorful leaves gone that moved in the wind and made that exciting rustling noise? This white stuff was just cold and way too bright. After a few minutes, his skepticism turned into curiosity and we took our first long walk in the snow. Beautiful...

and exhausting!

MID-WEEK AT PHALEN

Thanks to our flexible schedules we can afford to take a sunny Wednesday afternoon off and work on a grey Sunday instead. This is what we did this week. It was so worth it! We finally introduced our son to our favorite lake in the Twin Cities: Lake Phalen. We watched geese, inhaled the crisp autumn air and enjoyed the sunshine.

NEWS FROM SAMUEL

While his parents do not have much to tell about their life (it's all work, work, work...), our little boy's life is quite an adventure. New things are explored and learned every single day. The latest favorite pastimes include ...

twisting and turning on the side to track people (especially daddy) walking by, ...


eating giraffes, ...

cuddling (or fighting?) with bears, ...

talking to the Samu in the mirror and ...


falling asleep in the bathtub.

What a life!

UNCLE KOBI

is not only a great uncle but also a fantastic photographer. See for yourselves! Aren't these better than the ones from our foto shooting? Thanks, Kobi, for these precious memories of a wonderful week.