Quick Update

Sorry it's been a while since we've "blogged". We have been busy. Last week I was in Hudson for the week because my boss Mark was in the Dominican Republican on vacation. I had a good week down there, even though it was stressful. On Tuesday, I went out for St. Patrick's Day with our best friends Jeb and Kaylan Wilson and Tom Kingsley. We started with some Irish beers at the "Wilson Bar". I brought Finnegan's, which if you haven't heard of Finnegan's I will use this blog to promote them. Finnegan's is an Irish beer made from potatoes. A common mistake is that it is made by Summit (terrible beer). Summit is their botteler. This beer company was started in Minneapolis and first became profitable in 2003. They have since becoming profitable donated every dollar to charitable causes in the Minneapolis community. Nicole and I became Finnegans' supporters from our days in the "big city" from 2001 to 2004. Now, since Nicole doesn't drink beer I figure it is only my duty to drink her share. So, have a Finnegans and feel good about drinking beer.
Ok, I brought some Guinness too which is my favorite. From there we went to the only Irish bar in Hudson, called Paddy Ryan's. It is a nice bar, decent food (expensive). This is the only place I have ever been where Fish and Chips is $13.99. I mean come on, its fries and a few pieces of Cod you got at Sam's Club. Their Shephard's Pie is quite good though and the bar is nice. They need some more Scotish whiskeys in there but we got by. The 4 of us had a great time.
On Thursday I completed a milestone. Our biggest client asked us to come and speak at their Annual meeting, 300 people. Since Mr. Schultz (my boss) was out of the country, who does that leave but his trusty sidekick and backup, ME! I probably slept a total of 10 hours in the 5 days leading up to this speaking engagement and the night before (spent at some casino in Granite Falls) I hardly slept at all. You know the expression "I saw every hour on the clock", well I saw every 15 minutes on the clock. I don't know why I was so nervous but I was. Usually when I speak it is a group of farmers, 40% of whom are my customers already and have worked with me and know me. Well, this group was more intimidating. It was bankers, lawyers, energy experts (even more than me). The keynote speaker who sat right in front of me while I was on the stage works for NASA and has taken it personally to solve the United States Energy Crisis. So, there I am some clown from Springfield, MN telling everyone where I think the market is going to go. So, obviously I survived it, and even got a few compliments along the way. Thursday night I slept soooo good. On Friday Nicole and I went to Springfield to see my dad and Nicole had a wedding shower to attend. It was a great weekend and we enjoy seeing our family very much.
This week we have been working on taxes and trying to figure out what we are going to do with our lives. Nicole has job interviews lined up, we need more in the metro area (right now just 1). She has 2 offers, both of them very good, just not anywhere near our home in Troy Burne. She has an interview in St. Paul on April 10th and she will have a few more I'm sure. A lot of her application deadlines are coming up so when those deadlines pass I'm sure we'll hear about more interviews. Until then, keep praying for us to find a good job for Mrs. Ward, excuse me, Dr. Ward. I kind of like the sound of that. She works so hard and I am so proud of her.
So, I've rambled long enough, thanks for reading and I hope everyone is doing well.

So What Is an Iron Ranger?

What is an Iron Ranger?
You have to be familiar with the term: Beer Me
You think warm is above 32 degrees
You don’t mind when someone says; aye
You think sitting in an icehouse on the middle of a frozen lake in the middle of January is fun
You have to shovel, and 15 minutes later the plow comes by and leaves a 10 ft. drift
You know it is summer when the beer league softball starts
Your favorite sport is drinking
You know every back road and every party spot on the back roads
You know at least one Finnish joke
You actually enjoy watching a hockey game or playing in boot hockey
You can go to a street dance and run into people you actually know
You think cliff diving off of mine dumps should be an Olympic sport
The Friday night activity of choice used to be a keggar at a pit party
You have cruised Main Street on the weekends
Gun racks and a four-wheel drive truck are the norm
When returning to da range the sight of mine dumps takes your breath away
NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE NOW, THE RANGE IS HOME!
You continually have to teach city people the correct pronunciation of sauna
Your tires have a permanent orange tint
You must be able to take a side, and defend it, in the Ford v. Chevy debate
You look forward to karaoke night
In the summer you know that there is nothing better then spending a day at Lake Vermillion
You know at least 50 people whose last names end in “ich”
While you were in high school, you froze your butt off in the middle of winter drinking beer outside
You know whatever you may need; L&M Supply will have it
You know that the Eveleth Fourth of July Festivities is the social event of the summer
You have been to an overview in the sky
You cheer for any northern team in the state hockey tournament, especially if they are playing

Hope Everyone is having a great week!

What A Beautiful Weekend!

Wow...was is a beautiful weekend here! Yesterday, Ally, Ellen, and I went to the spa and enjoyed massages. I then gave them a mini tour of Virginia, which Ally thought looked like "goose town." For those of you that are not familiar with that 'Springfield' term...it is basically the other side of the tracks. I then decided to show them the "Big Stick" in Eveleth because they are hockey fans. While in Eveleth, we came across an antique snowmobile show. Check out some of these snowmobiles!

The "Big Stick" and puck in Eveleth, MN.


This wooden snowmobile was from the 1920's!
Ally, Ellen, and I went over to the slopes in the afternoon to check how Jason, Andy, and Brianne were doing. It was so beautiful and everyone was eating outside. Later that afternoon we all made a snowman behind our villa. We also watched the gophers beat St. Cloud last night to make it to the WCHA tournament. GO Gophers!


Today, we all went out skiing. Jason gave Ally and Ellen a quick lesson on the bunny hill (since they haven't skied in a few years) and then they were off to the bigger hills.
Allison and Ellen after a few runs down the bunny hill.
The three of us riding the chair lift...and "no" they didn't have to stop the chair lift for us!
I decided today (since the ending of the skiing season was flashing before my eyes as the snow was melting) that I was going to do some jumps today, just like Jason does. It feels like you get so high in the air (with butterflies in your stomach), but then when you watch the videos or pictures, it doesn't look too impressive. Andy, Jason, and I spent some time in the Terrain Park doing some jumps and the half-pipe (like you see the snowboarders do on the X-Games, but not quite that big!). I wasn't half bad in there. I kind of like the thrill of doing the half-pipe and jumps. I think it got to 54 degrees here today, maybe higher. The snow was starting to get really slushy by the end of the day and it is hard to keep your speed. We are really hoping for more snow because are friends, Jeb and Kaylan are coming in 2 weeks. That will probably be our last weekend skiing. It was a lot of fun skiing in lighter clothing today. We skied for almost 7 hours today because we didn't want to come inside. We even got a suntan and now look like raccoon's because of our goggles and sunglasses.



Nicole and Jason in the Terrain Park. CLICK ON THE PLAY ARROW TO WATCH THIS VIDEO!

We hope all of you had a wonderful weekend and were able to enjoy the nice spring-like weather. Have a great week!

Weekend Visitors

This weekend we have visitors. Nicole's sister Ally and her roommate Ellen.
My brother Andy and his girlfriend Brianne also are here. Andy and Bri arrived first yesterday and we spent about 2 hours on the slopes. It was 32 degrees and bright sun and it was a great day. The slopes were in great shape after the 6 inches of snow we had on Tuesday. I'm a little worried about them after today because it is going to be 42 degrees, actually they probably won't be bad today, but if it warms up and melts and then freezes tonight it is going to be icy tomorrow I'm afraid.
There was still plenty of fresh powder left yesterday as the Ridge isn't that busy during the week. We ate dinner at the Lodge last night and watched Gopher hockey beat St. Cloud. Another win tonight and its another trip to the Final Five.
Ally and her roommate Ellen, pictured below just left for the Pebble Spa with Nicole. She always likes to take our new guests to the spa. I think today was facials and massages, but I can't keep all that stuff straight. I'm enjoying my morning drinking coffee and "blogging", one of my new favorite things. Today I'll hit the slopes with Andy and Brianne, but most likely I will be watching the CA Championship at Doral and see if Tiger can mount a comeback. Enjoy the beautiful day!

Storm Was A Little One

The storm has passed up here and it wasn't bad at all. We received a nice 6 inch snowfall and it is beautiful up here once again. It didn't blow around yesterday, it is just cold today. Tomorrow is going to be 21 and up to 30 degrees by Friday. Should be a great ski weekend. We have guests coming this weekend. Nicole's youngest sister Ally and her roommate Ellen are coming, along with my youngest brother Andrew and his girlfriend Brianne. It is going to be a crowded place, but we are looking forward to visitors, we simply love have people visit us up here.

Bracing For The Winter Storm

So far we have nothing, but they are still saying 8-15 inches. The worst 3 hours are forecast to be 3-6 p.m. so I told Nicole to call me if it's bad and I'll come pick her up. (That means I'm the best driver right?) She always says I am the worst driver she knows UNTIL she needs a ride in a storm. Funny how that works.
Be safe in your travels today.

Great Weather Weekend

We had a great weekend. We weren't traveling this weekend, the first weekend we have stayed home in nearly a month. We love to see family, but everywhere we go from up here is at least a 3 hour drive so a weekend at home was certainly relaxing.
We had visitors this weekend, our friends from Rochester, Aaron and Emily Peter. Aaron and I were college roommates and he works for the government and Emily is part of the Mayo family. Both love their jobs and we are glad they are back in MN after a 2 year stint in Little Rock, Arkansas. They have both been to Giants Ridge before. We skiied all day Saturday with only a break to watch the Gopher BB team lose to Michigan. Friday night we ate at the Lodge and then Aaron and I kicked the girls in Catch Phrase. They did beat us in Pictionary but anyone who knows me knows that I am terrible at that game. Pretty hard to be good at Pictionary when you can't draw, and I'm not even exaggerating. You should see my animals, it makes for great laughing at Jason whenever an animal comes up.
The weather was absolutely beautiful. Warm and sunny. We did lose quite a bit of snow with the warm weather of Thursday and Friday, probably lost 12 inches at least, leaving us 2 feet left. Now, I am seeing 8-15 inches forecast starting tonight through Tuesday night so maybe we'll recoup some lost snow.
Well, thanks to the Peters for visiting and we hope to see your new home in Rochester sometime soon.
On Sunday, the Peters went home around 11:00 a.m. after a great breakfast prepared by Nicole and Emily. Nicole and I decided to take a walk and watch a ski race called a Super G. You see them on TV all the time where you ski around those flags. This was neat to watch, and it was not because of the skin tight outfits. They really go fast, but as we learned skiing on Saturday it was icy on the hills after the "big thaw" Thurs/Friday then it froze back up on Saturday. So these guys would come flying down the hill and then stop hard at the bottom before going into the trees. Well, they wore all the snow down to the ice and many of them slid once they tried to stop. It was dangerous as heck but made for some good entertainment. We watched them for about an hour and then the race was over we decided to grab our skis and try it out. It was a great day to be outside in Northern MN.
We are glad our friends Jeb and Kaylan made it back safely from their trip to Aruba. We talked with each of them yesterday and it sounds like they had a great time. Can't wait to see the pictures, hopefully Jeb has his shirt on in some of them.
Have a good week everyone!

Looking Forward To The Weekend

Nicole and I have had a tough week. We were sick with either food poisoning or the flu on Monday, and then I had meetings on both Wednesday and Thursday, ending my string of seminars over the last month. Whew.
I am safely and happily back up north with my sweetie.
This weekend we have some college friends, Emily and Aaron Peter coming to stay with us. They should arrive around 3 p.m. today and will do some showshoeing while Nicole and I finish up with work. Tomorrow we'll hit the slopes and show them around the area. They actually lived in Duluth for a few years but never made it up this way. We are always excited to get visitors and this weekend is no exception.
I want to make one pointless clarification. There is a picture of my brother in law Ryan and I on the blog enjoying a glass of wine with Hattie from last weekend. My neighbors were ripping on me because my glass is nearly empty and Ryan's is full, saying that I have a drinking problem, etc. The point of clarification is that it was the good Dr's 2nd glass and my 1st glass, so take that.
I hope everyone is doing well and hope to see you soon!

Weekend In Detroit Lakes

We had a great weekend in Detroit Lakes, as always. We left Friday and arrived at 9:00 p.m. We turned in pretty early and on Saturday, Ryan and I left for the dentist's office. A quick update on my braces. My top teeth are in perfect alignment, they weren't bad to start with but they are straight now. The bottom is still where we have the issue and the issue is with one tooth in the middle of my bottom row. It hasn't moved since we put the braces on and that is likely because my bottom teeth are so crowded together that there isn't room for it to be pulled forward. Well, this weekend we got serious. If this idea by the good doctor doesn't work we are going to start pulling molars on the bottom to make space for this center bottom tooth to come forward. Ryan's idea was to "shave" the sides of 2 of my bottom teeth. The idea here is quite simple, we have to create space for that tooth to move forward. After 1.5 hours in the chair the work was done. My teeth are very sore, but I thought it was certainly worth a try before we start yanking perfectly healthy molars. I'm all about minimally invasive. Thanks to the good doctor for making my experience as pain free as possible. I am truly blessed to be in Ryan's good hands. Thanks bro.
All right, now to the fun we had. On Saturday afternoon we headed to Fargo, N.D. This is about 45 minutes west of DL and Nicole had never been to North Dakota before. Fargo is a great town to visit. They have everything you could ever think of just like most major cities. If you think we are in a recession, the people in Fargo don't know it. I have never seen someplace as busy as Fargo. It looked like Christmas with cars everywhere in every parking lot of every store. Crazy!
We shopped a bit in their historic downtown and then had a great dinner at a new place called The Silver Moon Supper Club. Em and I both had the New York Strip, Ryan had the halibut and Nicole went for the surf and turf (short ribs and lobster tail). The food and company was wonderful. So, you think we got a babysitter to go to this 5-star restaurant? Not when you have an angel baby named Hattie. She sat right with us as the piano seranaded her right to sleep. She talked for a while and the waiters and waitresses stopped by to comment on how cute she was, and even the owner "Monte" stopped by to introduce himself. That's how it rolls when you are with the Ritchie's. They are known all over DL and even as far as Fargo.
We returned home Saturday night to watch the Gopher hockey team beat UMD and take 3 out of 4 weekend points. We headed home early today to get back and do some skiing.
Thanks to the Ritchies for a great weekend, we always have fun with you guys!

4 1/2 month old Hattie Georgina with her auntie Coco and uncle Jason at Starbucks


Ryan and Jason babysitting Hattie while Emily and Nicole hit the downtown shops of Fargo. I think they solved the worlds problems over a glass of Cabernet. This was Monte's, a neat wine bar.

On the way home in Akeley we stopped and took a picture of Nicole and Paul Bunyan. The Tauer family lake cabin is nearby and as little kids they used to all 4 of them climb into Paul's hand for a picture.


Miss Hattie...she was a very good baby all weekend. She loves to smile and talk to you. I think she looks so cute when she sits in her little chair...she was watching her first video this morning--she loves the TV.

We hope everyone has a great week!