the great frozen tundra

my nephew kieran and his new train (made by his great-grandpa!)

i recently returned from a trip to the frozen tundra that is minnesota. it never seems to fail that it is really, really cold whenever i go home...january, may, august...it doesn't matter. the day i flew in it was -5F. when i woke up the next morning it was -25F. let's just say i didn't venture out of my parent's house very much. the trip home was to celebrate our annual belated-christmas get together. almost everyone (we missed you david and pete!) was able to make the trek and it was great to spend a few days with my whole family. my nephew is 20 months and has changed so much since i saw him in june. he babbles up a storm and RUNS everywhere. i don't think walk is really in his vocabulary. my niece is 9 years old and nearly as tall as me. i am having a hard time believing that she is a third grader. everyone else in the family is doing well and the three black labs (ages 6 months, 18 months, and 10 years - cass's sister) kept everyone entertained. on our way back to minneapolis for my flight, i got to have lunch with my dear friend tenley and play with steian for a bit. my flights back to california made for a good adventure...it's a bummer when the landing gear is problematic and you're in the air... hmm.

brother matt and niece madeline

back on the home front there is good news. i have a more than temporary place to live! i don't move in until march 1st but at least i don't have to look anymore. for the time being i am staying with friends mark and jen. they are really wonderful people and i feel so grateful that cass and i are able to be here.
my peru trip is fast approaching which means that i will get to see pete soon. i feel like a little kid at christmas these days...i can hardly wait. as soon as we get back to the states we start our separate travel schedules again so i am really thankful that we will have two weeks together before we are apart for another three weeks.