West Virginia

So the Elmendorf women went on a little estrogen trip this weekend with three other sets of mothers and daughters to West Virginia for some cross country skiing. We really only had snow the one night, so we had to find other ways to entertain ourselves. We spent time outdoors snow tubing, ice skating, and doing some hiking to Blackwater Falls. We also saw some jazz and spent some time in the lodge celebrating birthdays with moonshine. There was also, of course, much dancing, laughing, eating, and other varieties of female bonding (most of them including some wine, as you can see by the gr

aveyard below). It was an amazing weekend and we are totally exhausted, but weekends like

these are impossible to top, and I am grateful that I have friends and family that can make me laugh until my stomach hurts, dance like a hippie in a crowd full of people, have sled races down a hill with the enthusiasm of five year olds, and drink moonshine off skis, all within 12 hours of each other. I wish this for everyone!

A New Perro

Here she is! Genna Marie Perro. 5lbs. and 14 oz. 19 inches long. Daughter of Geoff and Kara. In this picture she is approximately 5 minutes old. Feb. 8, 2008. Another beauty!

Skip and Sandy.

An Invite

Hey All,

Wow! Lots of news. We send a speedy recovery to Piet and HUGE congrats to Nick and Beth, Corey and Bethanie. Geoff and Kara-looking forward to seeing your new little one.

We just bought a house....and are busy painting, tiling, scraping, shoveling, mudding, scrubbing, (yada yada yada) House warming party soon to come!

We also have a new career: teachers go exotic travelers (I've attached a photo of Charlie in the Galapagos basking with the sea lions)

Please check out the letter below and pass it on.......Much Love, Maria and Charlie

Dear Friends,

I would like to take this opportunity to invite you on an adventure of a lifetime. My boyfriend (Charlie) and I will be escorting a group to the Galapagos Islands in August and we would love for you to join us, or at the least help us spread the news. Charlie had the chance to travel to the Galapagos last April and he’s the first to tell you, this is the most fascinating place on the planet. Nowhere else in the world will you encounter such a wide variety of vegetation and wildlife at such a close distance. Since this trip is limited to just 30 participants, we wanted to get the word out to our close friends before offering it to the general public.

Some background information: Charlie’s parents own a small, family-run travel agency (Cruise & Tour). They lead groups all over the world and offered us the opportunity to begin leading a few unique trips a year. Obviously we are thrilled because it gives us the opportunity to travel when we’re not teaching.

If you are interested in joining us please take a moment to visit the Cruise & Tour website and check out this amazing 10 day itinerary. If you have questions or want to hold a place on the trip, email me, call me at 414-801-9030, or call Cruise & Tour at 1-800-383-3131.

http://www.cruise-tour.com/Galapagos/Galapagos.htm

Please forward this message to anyone you feel would be interested...Thanks!

All the best,

Maria Rosi

Pats Lose

Don't ever go to a superbowl party where everybody there is for the other team.

The Unknown

Last Wednesday, in a split second, many of the things that I had come to think of as rock-solid in my life came crashing to a halt. As my daughters alluded to in their posting, I completely ruptured the quadriceps tendon in my left leg and had it repaired Friday morning. The rehab process will be three months to get back to a point where I can be mobile but more like 12 before I am back to "normal", if I ever was there! The re-learning process for the three quadriceps muscles involved will make it a long recovery, but I will battle to get that done. In the meantime, I will carefully evaluate where my life needs to go next. My email name, odinstone, reflects on the unknowing rune from ancient mythology, the one that cannot predict and yields uncertainty. I feel like I reached right into the bag and plucked that out. All I can tell you is how thankful I am for my family and circle of friends who have been supportive beyond belief. I ask for your thoughts and prayers as I journey to this next place in my life, guided by a knowledge that love and support will help me arrive at the correct destination.

Dorf Down! DORF DOWN!!!

WANTED: Sixteen year old girl from cincinnati partially responsible for complete destruction of Pieter Elmendorf's leg.

So this guy we like to call dad was involved in breaking up a girl fight, that's right folks, a girl fight at work this week. In the process there was a fall, and a torn quadricep tendon. He had surgery this past friday to reattatch it. He is on his butt and straight legged for no less then six weeks, and out of work for at least four months, and lord only knows how long the whole healing process will take. His plan as of right now involves beer, bench pressing and a goal weight of 240 lbs. However, we have instructed him that this rehab plan is not sound. Any and all movie and book recommendations are welcome, otherwise we have to entertain him, and for that we ask for prayers. Love you all!!