The Making Of Our Christmas Letter

While Julia (right) folded, Veronica (left) handled the stamps and Lauren did the stuffing.

Producing our annual Christmas letter has become a several-weeks-in-the-making production. We started on this year's letter a few days before Thanksgiving. The process begins with Sean asking the girls questions for their bio sections. Next comes the first review of photos. From several hundred pictures, we narrow the choices down to about 10 for each girl, then start considering which ones will actually fit either the context of the letter or even the space requirements (it has to be vertical to make the back section).

There's also the selection of group photos. This year, we had more than 40 to choose from, which was nice. Next up is the layout. The 2011 Christmas letter was one we liked, so we used that template for starters. Finally, there was the writing of the front page stories. Then editing, production, folding, addressing of envelopes, placing of stamps and return address labels, message-writing, closing and mailing. Whew. Fortunately, the girls are very much into helping with every stage of the process.

You can download a color version (PDF) of our Christmas letter here. Please note that it is a huge (175 MB) file, so it might take awhile for it to download.

Olivia was the queen of addressing again this year.

Veronica (right) wore the same shirt as Lauren did for school pictures a few years ago.

Here's what the front page looked like as Sean worked on it in the airport in Paris.

Sunset in Spain

A nice sunset here at the Denia Mariott this evening.

Breakfast

Yes, that is chocolate cake. In the Air France Lounge.

Off To Spain

Only two days after returning from Utah, I am back on the road again. This time, Spain is my destination. Omaha mired in sub-freezing temperatures, so it's a good time to get away.

Travel Time

So I am back on the road after more than a month away. Here is what it looked like in Denver while I was waiting out a delay.

I am on my way to Salt Lake City for meetings in Park City. As you can see, I am flying Frontier. It feels a bit strange not to be on Delta. And I am missing some of the perks of being one of their frequent fliers. But sometimes it is good to see what "the other guy" is doing.

Prediction Contest: Nebraska vs. Penn State

It has been a few weeks since we have done a Nebraska football prediction contest with the girls.

We had a bit of a failure when it came to some of the categories from the last time we did this. So we're changing things up. For instance, the "Cornheads" category guess is gone. It would be a much to imagine a lot of shots of fans in the crowd wearing corncobs on their head in Happy Valley. So we've changed it to shots of "Bo Blowups." Specifically, how many times will they show Nebraska Coach Bo Pelini blowing his top on the sideline? See the chart below for the other categories.

Name	Winner, Score	Temperature at Kickoff	Bo Blowups	Penn St. Cheerleader Shots
Emily	Penn State, 32-23	38 degrees	13	3
Lauren	Penn State, 46-30	38 degrees	50	50
Julia	Penn State, 31-27	38 degrees	5	15
Olivia	Nebraska, 36-28	36 degrees	6	3
Veronica	Nebraska, 36-30	40 degrees	17	13
Sean	Nebraska, 28-24	40 degrees	7	11

First Snowfall: 2014

I take these photos every year. Here's the initial evidence of our first snowfall this fall.

YD Yard Work

How's this for quick work of the front yard?

Back To The Future: Hyatt Place

(From left): Emily, Veronica and Julia pose in front of the new Hyatt Place.

And the same trio, in March of 2010, when the site was advertised as a "Residence Inn by Mariott."

The latest picture in our "Back to the Future" photo series harkens back more than three years ago.

Veronica says she doesn't even remember taking the photo (see the original post here). Emily was already sprouting up like a bean pole. Julia wore her St. Mary's school uniform and Olivia and Lauren didn't want to be in the photo. So it was too bad for those two when it came time to pose for the "finished product" picture.

You can see from the photo at right that the building itself didn't turn out exactly as portrayed in the artist's rendering that was originally on display.

If you would like to see for yourself, the Hyatt Place is across the street from Ted and Wally's ice cream shop, near the corner of 11th & Jackson.

If you like our "Back to the Future" photo ideas, check out this one of the DJ's Dugout in Aksarben Village and this still-in-progress shot at Hillcrest Estates. 

Olivia walked across the street to capture a broader view of the building.

Everyone got to be a part of this photo.

Classroom Visit

It was nice to be back in the classroom tonight, sharing advice with students at Grace University.

States I Have Visited

So I saw this on Facebook and thought I would participate. It's a program that produces a colored graphic illustrating which states you have visited, or visited more frequently than others.

First, here's the key:

Want to produce your own graphic? Here's the link.

Halloween On Parade: 2013

This year's Halloween parade was a bit unlike years past.

For starters, there was only one YD marching. Julia has moved on to junior high (but accompanied me because of her own early dismissal). Olivia was home sick. So Veronica was left to carry the torch. And she did a great job as a solo act. You can see by the smile on her face that she was obviously enjoying herself as a beautiful Barbie princess.

The weather also cooperated. Sunny skies and temperatures in the low 50s made for a great time.

On to the photos...

Olivia's teacher sported a "Despicable Me" Minion costume.

Here comes Veronica...

This little guy looked like he came straight off the pitch. I asked him who won.

That's a "graduated cylinder."

Look! More Minions!

This is an annual tradition. See past versions here and here.

These two onlookers attracted quite a bit of attention.

 I couldn't get over how tall this kid's hat was.

The Cat in the Hat seems startled Veronica has lost her wig.

And with a flip of her wig, she's replaced the Cat in the Hat's hat ... with hair.

There, that's better.

So Who Won?

Nebraska beat Illinois 39-19 and Sean's buddy, Eric Francis, took this (copyright) photo of it.

Nebraska beat Illinois 39-19 Saturday. So first we needed to figure out who won the prediction contest. Well, only two people – Julia and Sean – chose the Huskers to win. So that certainly narrowed it down. And Sean's prediction (42-34) was the closest. So there you go. As for the other categories? Well, we lost track of the original sheet. We'll do a better job next time. We promise.

Nebraska-Illinois Predictions

So it's Nebraska football time again and I am finally in town to enjoy a game. Last week, the Huskers had a bye week so the girls and I will be watching when the two teams kick off at 11 o'clock today.

Of course, there will always be a prediction contest. And this year, we stepped it up with a variety of predictions in addition to the usual ones (winner and final score). The new categories for today's game are: temperature at game time in Lincoln, number of people we will see on TV wearing corncobs on their head and the number of yards rushing by Nebraska.

Name	Winner, Score	Temperature at Kickoff	Cornheads	Neb. Yards Rushing
Emily	Illinois, 47-23	49 degrees	11	316
Lauren	Ants, 10	1 degree	"10 hundred"	1
Julia	Neb., 51-45	51 degrees	6	245
Olivia	Illinois, 47-43	48 degrees	5	402
Veronica	Illinois, 47-36	45 degrees	6	425
Sean	Neb., 42-34	49 degrees	3	425

As you can see, Lauren is already a bit off the mark. But that's OK, right?

USA Pro Challenge: Helping Tejay van Garderen

Tejay van Garderen needed a little help at the finish of the Vail time trial today.

This Was A Bit Disturbing

At least all of those messages are marked as "read" on my MacBook.

Think She's Excited?

I hadn't heard of "Teen Beach Movie" before tonight. Obviously, Veronica had.

Girl Scouts Pool Party

It's not unusual to see us at the pool. But this obviously wasn't at Robin Hill Pool.

Veronica was invited to an end-of-the-year swim party for her Girl Scout troop this weekend. Curious to see what the pool was going to be all about, I set about to use some simple technology to find out.

It was a matter of plugging the street address into Google maps. From the looks of it, this swanky home in Bellevue had nice curb appeal. So that passed the initial test.

 

The final step was to take a bird's eye view of the pool itself. Of course, when a photo like this is taken in the winter or spring, it's not so appealing. But the fact that it was an in-ground pool and had a diving board gave it a passing grade.

As for the swimming, the girls gave it a passing grade, although the water was a bit too cool for me. We did have a nice game of "Simon Says" which might go down as the first I can remember being played in a swimming pool.

Thanks, Veronica, for letting us join you at your Girl Scouts swim party!

This Guy Is Smart

If you are opening for Justin Bieber, make sure people know your name.

Dress Up Like Dad Day?

This is what I came home to this afternoon. Quite the surprise.

Back to the Future: Hillcrest Estates

We'll see how this turns out. It's expected to be quite a place when finished.

We added to our "Back to the Future" series of photos today by snapping a "before" photo of the area near Hillcrest Estates where an elaborate "Grand Lodge" will go up on some vacant property at the corner of Highway 370 and 60th Street.

You can read all about it – and even view a virtual tour here. Judging by the photo at right, it's going to be a pretty amazing place.

If you don't want to follow the link, here is a bird's eye view of the master plan. The "cottages" are already in existence and where Aunt Jean lives now.

Working Lunch

Filip Sercu shot this photo of me using some of the screaming fast wifi at a Swiss cafe.

Finally ... My Luggage Arrives

Here's the poor guy who had to deliver my luggage. He was in a rush, obviously.

I've never seen so many luggage tags on a suitcase. Yikes.

So my luggage didn't catch up to me when I arrived in Geneva on a Delta and KLM Airlines flight Friday. And it actually didn't catch up to me until early Sunday morning – just before 1 o'clock. What a saga. And I was simply waiting for it. I can only imagine the drama the delivery driver experienced making his way on narrow, Swiss mountain roads, late at night, through pouring rain, to a hotel that was completely shut down for the night.

Did I mention this guy only spoke French? Well, that was a bit complicated. Fortunately, there was a chef from Vancansoleil still in the lobby and he directed this guy in. But by the time he showed, the hotel was completely locked up and the driver ended up about 300 meters from the hotel in the team parking area. I ran out into the rain, signed for the two bags, gave him all the Swiss Francs I had (about seven), plus three Euros and he was on his way.

My Office

This will be my office for the next five days. (Photo by Filip Sercu.)

First Meal in Switzerland

This was the starter. Not bad at all.

I actually tried the fish (out of frame). The fries were awesome. Should not have eaten.

Dessert was this caramel apple pie thingy.