The Updike's

Brrrr . . . it has been a very chilly winter! And the bitter wind doesn't make anything any easier. There have been many days with a high lower than 10 degrees with a wind chill well below zero. I don't think we have ever looked forward to spring as much as we have this year. Even though it has snowed quite a bit, the surprising element to us is the ice. There was one morning when it took Garrett quite a bit of time to just even open a car door because they were completely frozen shut. Notice how thick the ice is . . . It looks like snow, but it is very thick ice. He even broke the ice scraper . . . Garrett even wrote a song about it: (imagine in your mind the tune to "Where are you Christmas?" by Faith Hill: Where are you spring time? Why can't I find you? Why have you gone away? Where is the sunshine You used to bring us? Why can't I see the snow melt away? (Yes, I know, we are idiots over here . . . He started singing it one day because I kept complain...

While we absolutely can't wait for Christina to have this baby, there is one thing that I am going to miss about her pregnancy -- Cravings! During the last few months, we have been trying to be really good about saving money and not eating out. I will be honest... it has been difficult for a guy who used to eat out pretty much every day. I have missed the occasional trips to the Outback and Famous Dave's BBQ. I had always heard rumors about the cravings that pregnant women get - steak, chocolate, hamburgers, sweets, etc. I had been looking forward to these cravings because it would be my excuse to keep eating out and maybe even slip in a trip or two to the Outback. Unfortunately for me, for the first 7 months of the pregnancy, the cravings never really kicked in. But the last couple of weeks have been fantastic. Last night we were driving home and Christina said "I need some chocolate!" So what am I supposed to do? Say no? Absolutely not... we stopped by th...

So a couple of weeks ago, Christina & I had the wonderful opportunity of visiting family in the Baltimore/Washington DC area. It was such a great experience and we really enjoyed the time we were able to spend with our families and seeing some very cool historic sites. First, we spent the afternoon with Mark & Julie. It was great to see them! They took us to Annapolis , Maryland where we spent the afternoon checking out the US Naval Academy. It was a beautiful area and very interesting. We got to see lots of sailboats on the water, many of which were being manned by cadets at the academy. It looked like fun! It happened to be the weekend of a yearly boat show that they have in Annapolis , so there were a lot of people and tons of boats. You can’t really tell in the pictures, but there were a lot of boats around. Walking around the campus was really neat too. We got to see the homes where many of the professors live and it was really pretty....

Who says a "big guy" can't run fast? So I have to take a minute and brag about Garrett. For the past 2 months, Garrett has been participating on a intramural flag football team. They had a great season . . . even making it to the semi-finals of the playoffs. In fact, during the first game of the season, his MBA teammates coined the name "Garrett the Gazelle" after he ran the ball down the field to make a touchdown. The other team was about to score a touchdown and then Garrett intercepted the ball on the 5 yard line and ran the entire distance of the field for a touchdown. I think they were all shocked because they didn't think that a "big guy" could run so fast. Way to go Garrett!! (Granted, he did need some oxygen after that play.) The team ended up being really good too. They won all their games until last night. In the last game before the championship, they lost on the last play of the game. It was really heartbreaking. But oh well...

We were so excited to have Austin, Brandon and Laura come and visit us for a few days. We had so much fun with them! We sure love and miss all of our siblings and their families. We sure appreciate all that you do for us! Austin experiencing his first Notre Dame Football Game. We ended up getting soaked by the pouring rain! Our good friends, the Kindt's, are also pictured with us. Austin in front of the Notre Dame Football Stadium Austin on Notre Dame campus Laura and Brandon watching the football players walk across campus before the big game starts Garrett and Brandon getting geared up for the big football game Laura and I having fun together on game day

Can you tell that we are giddy about this baby already? We just keep looking at this picture and thinking how precious her little profile is. This is the "It's a girl" picture. Can you tell? Neither could we - but the doctor insists it is absolutely a girl.

I am a football fan. I have been a football fan since before I was born. My mother says that I used to run up and down the hall in our house when I was 2, shouting "BYU, Touchdown!" I will never forget going to my first BYU game in the Fall of 1996 when they upset Texas A&M. It was an amazing experience and I still get chills thinking about it. I never missed a game for the next 11 years (minus the mission). But I have to say, I never really experienced a real football Saturday until I came to Notre Dame. Being in South Bend during a home football weekend is like nothing I have ever seen. I am going to attempt to recreate the opening game of the 2008 season. Wednesday thru Friday No joke, on Wednesday the campus starts getting ready for the big Saturday. Tents are being set up around campus to sell your favorite Notre Dame gear. On Thursday, a few dozen outhouses are placed around the campus to accomodate the gallons of alcohol (and soda) that will be consumed o...