B.A.

With all the house activity, we've let the pregnancy progress without much concern. Now that there's only one more trimester left, focus has changed. Maternity clothes have been purchased/borrowed, registering is (almost) complete and the nursery is ready for painting.

We've been lucky and Baby Axner is checking in as "normal" at every appointment. The ultrasound in late December was such a surreal and thrilling experience. Check out our photo albums to see little B.A. at 6 and 20 weeks.

We're getting excited!

Summoned

I was recently summoned to jury duty in Hennepin County. If you talked to me throughout the week, you would have heard me complain, whine and roll my eyes.

I admit, I was planning on never being needed for jury duty so I opted for call-in status. Sunday night I had my first sigh of relief. By Monday afternoon they already needed me. I had trouble getting downtown, finding parking and following the signs to the assembly room and office. There was a lengthy "orientation" followed immediately by two requests for juries. My name was called for the second request.

It took a full day for jury selection. The process was long and drawn out. A lot of time was wasted hanging out in the hallway. After all the questioning, the lawyers decided my opinion was necessary. Over the next two days we listened to instructions, opening statements, witnesses and finally closing arguments. It felt like a LONG time. In actuality, we were only in the courtroom for about 5 hours.

We spent a few hours on our last day deliberating. It was an interesting discussion where I'm sure everyone learned something. After the verdict was announced, the judge asked to meet with us to get feedback. This small gesture added so much to the process that I was swayed to think it was overall a great experience! Plus, you can't beat the $10/day, not including mileage even though I took the bus.

10 blocks west

After looking through almost 100 houses in two months, we found our future home. As of today we are the proud owners of a house just 10 blocks west of where we currently live. The location is beyond perfect for us. It's our style with old wood floors, built-ins, a fireplace and multiple sunrooms. The kitchen is big, the basement is unfinished and there's potential for a third floor expansion. While it's move-in ready, we won't be packing up until after we sell our current house. Instead, we'll take the time to make the house ours with various electrical and paint projects. It's exciting and scary to see all the potential the house has and to know it's just a matter of getting it done. Luckily we have many years ahead of us!

This house-buying experience vastly contrasted to our last house purchase. The market was quite a bit different six years ago. The day our house was put on the market, we walked through and within hours put in our final offer (above asking price due to multiple offers). What a whirlwind! Without the pressure this time around, we saw the house a few times before deciding it could be our future home. Negotiations were settled upon and today we closed. We feel very lucky in both cases to find such beautiful properties. Now we just have to unload the first one!

For anyone interested, check out www.4618wentworth.com!

Hooplas, Camping and more

It is so convenient that Trevor's 30th birthday fell smack in the middle of Labor Day weekend. Thanks to summer hours and flex time, we were both able to take Friday off without using a vacation day. To start things off right, we headed to the State Fair to indulge in fried goodness. The day began with a blackberry milk shake at the Dairy Building, as close as you can get to our daily smoothie. We met up with family to check out our pickles on display. After 5 hours, our bellies were filled with corn on the cob, cheese curds, turkey sandwiches, pronto pups, fried pickles and cookies. Even though the food was spectacular, the best part of the day was the Giant Slide. You really can't beat six adults racing down on burlap sacks!(Pictured left to right: Sam, Sara, Scott, Jennifer, Rebecca, Trevor)

After a short recovery nap, we got the party started. Trevor's favorite people made it over to celebrate the big day. A bonfire, dance party and wrestling match with a gigantic monkey helped make the event a success. Thanks to all who participated - this was the first party that ended with less alcohol than started. We really appreciate it!

The festivities continued with a family lunch at French Meadow, another recovery nap, and a trip to Nerstrand Big Woods camp sites. We got a walk-in site, which was great. Ted Cooks was on the menu along with essential s'mores, gourmet style. Cheddar was a huge disturbance protector and fended off the evil wind/squirrels by his growling. After camping, the Friedpeople had to return to Chicago. But we continued celebrating with a romantic dinner at Solera, a walk to the Hennepin bridge and a movie in the theater (The Hangover - highly recommended)!

Last up was a barbeque in the park on Monday. Many yard games were played, including mega-golf, bocce ball, and speedminton. All of which Trevor (surprisingly) won. That's what happens when you turn 30!

Mt. Waverley

How does a 15 hour flight trump a 3.5 hour flight? The DC777-200LR. My biggest learning from my recent trip to Australia is that traveling BusinessElite is definitely the way to go. Not only does your seat fully recline, the food, drinks and service are better, but you also get to use the express lanes through customs! I might not be home if it weren't for the BreezeWay (tm).

We had a day and a half of free time before starting work Monday morning. After getting settled into our apartment, we took a stroll into the town of Glen Waverley. On the small street, there were multiple Asian restaurants and grocery stores. We filled ourselves with Thai and bought our first round of groceries. We took the 30 minute MetLink into Melbourne for some quick site seeing. After strolling the Yarra river and nearby botanical gardens, we walked through the city and found a restaurant in South Gate. I tried char-grilled kangaroo, it was good. Sunday we drove to Dandendong National Park, did some hiking and tasted wine at a wonderful little winery. The rest of the week was spent at the plant or at our apartment. I won't bore you with those details. Thursday night the team took us to the sea for dinner and dessert. It was beautiful!

Though my time was quick, it definitely gave me a view into the country and intensified my desire to explore further. Now I just need to figure out how to get another BuinessElite ticket!

Bled and Beyond

The town of Bled sits adjacent to a shining blue lake with a church on an island and a clifftop castle. Nothing gets more picturesque, especially with the Julian Alps in the background. You can't help but be relaxed surrounded by such beauty. We arrived mid-morning and spent the day in the town walking up the cliff and around lake. Again the weather was not very cooperative, but certainly didn't keep us indoors. It was easy to convince Scott to join in our afternoon ritual of coffee and beers. We also introduced him to the delicious Bosnian meat, cevapcici. With a great night under our belts, we took the next day to explore the national park. We visited both Bohinj Lake and a nearby waterfall before lunch. Then we drove back to Vintnar Gorge with it's crushing rapids and winding wooden paths and bridges. Both were sights to be seen! We spent our last evening with pizza and wine on the balcony with cards.

We are currently home after a quick jaunt in Amsterdam. The trip has been incredible and we thank everyone at home who helped us take this journey. We feel so lucky to have been able to explore such beautiful countries for so long. It is highly recommended!

The city we can't spell or pronounce

After a morning drive and train ride, we arrived in Ljubljana mid-afternoon. It was raining so we opted for a taxi to bring us and our luggage to our hotel, a huge splurge. After getting settled, we walked four blocks to try and find Scott at his hotel. We found out he was off spelunking a nearby cave so we hunkered down out of the rain for our afternoon beer and coffee. We were able to find a cafe with dark beer on tap where we relaxed until meeting Scott for dinner. The next day we visited the castle on the hill. Trevor led a wonderful walking tour through the city checking out various sites. Our dinner that night was one of the best through the trip. It was just off the beaten path serving local cuisine. Ljubljana was a cute city with an old town filled with new shops. It had less hustle and bustle than the rest of our trip, but we think it was because of the weather.

Plitvice Lakes

The weather has gone from perfect to not so much. The rain and mist have become never-ending, but our smiles continued thanks to Plitvice Lakes. The national park is a series of lakes connected by ever changing waterfalls. The paths wind through the park over the water with a natural feel. We spent hours walking up and down the various elevations awed by the beauty in all directions. The water is crystal clear and filled with hundreds of trout, probably because there is no fishing or swimming allowed within the park. It is nothing like anything we have ever seen before, and highly recommended!