http://eachristiansen.com The latest from eachristiansen.com en-us http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2012/01/rooftop-lunch We joined a few friends for an outdoor lunch after church today. We ate at a table on top of Jeremiah's building on Sidney Marcus. Aside from a stray breeze it was a very pleasant January afternoon for dining al fresco! http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2012/01/park-city-from-above Our short adventure has come to an end. Isaac made his flight back to Portland and I'm on my way home. If my geography is correct this is a decent shot of the slopes around Park City. Brian, Drew, Mike, and Kelly are down there somewhere! http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2012/01/squatters It was our insistence to get here before our departing flights that made the morning so tight on time. So. Worth. It. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2012/01/temple-square What's a visit to the capital of Utah without making a quick stop at the famous Salt Lake Temple? We didn't have much time here but we made a cursory pass through one of the free museums. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2012/01/salt-lake-city-library The first stop on our (cold) whirlwind tour of the city: the public library. The 36 Hours article from the New York Times led us here and we weren't disappointed. The architecture was fascinating and the views of the mountains hard to beat. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2012/01/breakfast-in-utah Isaac and I met up in Salt Lake City to see Liberal Arts at the Sundance Film Festival. Unfortunately I got there too late to see the movie and he had to go alone, but we still had most of Saturday to bum around the city together. This is on the way to breakfast at Eggs in the City in the Sugar House neighborhood. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2012/01/sarah-and-andrew Expecting their first baby in a matter of months, the McWu's stand on the Museum of Art steps overlooking Philadelphia. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2012/01/phila-for-the-day We hopped a plane to Philadelphia for a quick day to visit Sarah and Andrew. They took us walking around the museums near their building (that's it in the background) despite the cold. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/12/maracas It didn't take long for us to figure out which was her favorite Christmas gift. "Oh, these make noise? Yes, please." http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/12/wild-rice-soup Sara made wild rice soup for dinner following the Christmas Eve service. Apparently it's a tradition at the Cantrill house in Minnesota and after tasting it we now know why! http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/12/pecans A pecan tree grows in Nels and Sara's front yard. Though it was cold outside we were determined to get at the tasty morsels inside the shell. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/12/farmor_and_ingrid Farmor and Ingrid bond over building stacks of yogurt containers and knocking them down. Guess who did the building and who did the knocking down? http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/12/nick_and_friends The place started filling up at 4:45 pm this year for the 6 pm start! We we're plenty early to get seats, jut not the best in the house. Still, it was an impressive concert as usual. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/12/christmas_tree Mary Frances and I got our tree up this afternoon. Now our house looks like we're ready to celebrate Christmas! http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/12/december_over_the_mountains There are perks to working the week after Thanksgiving: the passenger loads were light and the views were spectacular. This was taken on our way up to West Virginia. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/12/moroccan_quinoa_with_squash Look at what Mary Frances used to greet me when I got home from a long four-day trip! She spiced up some quinoa and topped it with a simple stew of butternut squash and carrots--exactly the sort of food I crave when I get home from being on the road. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/12/good_morning_miami No, not the most spectacular view out my hotel window, but 36th and Le Jeune is an area near and dear to my heart. The hotel cafe had the Cuban coffee I needed which was good because Vito's was too far of a walk! http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/11/pollo_tropical Casa Juan was too far of a walk from where we stay in Miami, but Pollo Tropical wasn't a bad consolation prize. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/11/lufthansa_a380 I got to spend most of the day today flying in and out of Miami. There's never a shortage of interesting things to see at this airport--like this HUGE aircraft bound for Germany. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/11/rivalry_saturday It was a great day for both of our football teams today. Go Blue and Go Dawgs! http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/11/pecan_pie We had no shortage of desserts at Thanksgiving dinner. My mom made an irresistable lemon tart and two pumpkin pies. Mary Frances contributed this killer pecan pie. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/11/thanksgiving_2011 Who's excited for Thanksgiving?! http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/11/xiaolongbao It's never a good idea to go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. So Mary Frances and I stopped by Chef Liu for some soup dumplings which hit the spot. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/11/nyc_for_the_day Mary Frances flew to New York to visit Jessica for a quick day of sight-seeing. It was a full day: she left home at 6:30 and was home by 9:30 with lunch and shenanigans in between. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/11/blueberry_muffins Sometimes a Saturday morning just calls for some blueberry muffins to be made. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/11/enchilada-experiments Much of our day on Sunday was spent in the kitchen and I'd say the work paid off. The final product: bean and cheese enchiladas, chili-glazed sweet potatoes, roasted corn salad, and pickled red onions. I think we may be onto something. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/11/greenville-girls Look at all those ladies! We drove to Greenville to meet Mary Ladson for the first time and as a bonus got to have lunch at Mellow Mushroom with Erin, Mac, and Eleanor as well. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/10/the-village-restaurant The birthday girl sits down to some comfort cookin' before our drive back to the city. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/10/blue-ridge-cabin This is the view from the cabin the in-laws rented for Mary Ellen's birthday. No big deal. Whatever. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/10/skeeball-at-ormsbys Don't Caroline's shirt and the lighting take you back to the eighties? Plenty of entertainment here and on the bocce court in celebration of Anna Beth and Ashley's birthdays. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/10/fiddlers-convention Emily gets a ride as we wander Athens State's campus for the Tennessee Valley Fiddlers Convention. There was plenty of music, crafts, and funnel cakes! http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/10/bj-reece-orchard We stopped to pick apples on our way home from Nashville. We couldn't have asked for a better day to wander the hills of north Georgia. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/10/chris-and-hannah Chris and Hannah had a beautiful (and very musical) ceremony on the campus of Vanderbilt University. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/09/welcome-aiden Proud father, Adam, holding Aiden, just hours after he surprised us and decided to be born in Atlanta. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/09/ingrids-party Nels and Sara hosted a HOT party outside for Ingrid's big day. It reached 97 degrees, I think. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/09/ingrid-is-one-year-old We were fortunate enough to be able to travel to San Antonio to help celebrate Ingrid's first birthday. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/09/cinnamon-rolls Mary Frances assembles cinnamon rolls to thank Matthew and Nellie for hosting us for Katie and Patrick's wedding. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/08/another-turner-field-birthday Manoj and Adriane celebrate her birthday by watching the Braves. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/08/sotto-sotto A fantastic Italian dinner with the Snodgrass clan to celebrate Mary Frances' 30th birthday. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/08/cubs-vs-braves Good thing we made the flight home because John gave us his seats for Mary Frances' birthday. It was a big night: Bobby Cox's number 6 was retired, Dan Uggla extended his hitting streak to 31 games, Chipper Jones got his 1,000th career extra-base hit, and (pictured here) Carlos Zambrano got tossed for pitching inside to Jones. The highlight, however, was that Mary Frances fielded a foul ball off the bat of Alfonso Soriano! http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/08/the-porthole Our time in Maine had to come to an end. We enjoyed our last meal outside at the Porthole. The lobster Eggs Benedict (me) and berry pancakes (Mary Frances) hit the spot before heading to the airport. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/08/ottos Fresh pizza for a late lunch hit the spot while wandering the streets of Portland. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/08/naval-observatory Our journey took us in a loop back to Portland. Here's the view from the top of the Naval Observatory looking out to the open ocean. This was a very educational tourist stop. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/08/the-birthday-girl Mary Frances eating her first birthday meal at James Place Bed and Breakfast in Freeport. Robin and Tori were fantastic hosts and we'd give them repeat business in a heartbeat. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/08/the-rocks-of-pemaquid Half the fun of the trip was found in exploring the rocks around the lighthouses. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/08/pemaquid-lighthouse This lighthouse, and the rocks around it, might have been my favorite. The gray weather completed the quintisential lighthouse scene. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/08/moodys-diner On a cold, wet, windy day it's hard to beat grilled cheese, soup, and a slice of pie for lunch. Maybe not the most impressive food of the trip, but it satisfied like nothing else could. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/08/rockland-harbor-breakwater Good thing we brought rain jackets and walking shoes! This is a shot of the wet, mile-long walk from shore to the lighthouse in Rockland Harbor. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/08/bass-harbor-head-light Another lighthouse to add to our resume. This one was at the southern tip of Mt. Desert Island. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/08/abels-lobster-pound We happened upon this quiet restaurant and soaked in the fresh air while eating a relaxing lunch by a harbor. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/08/acadia-national-park So far the weather has cooperated more than we could have ever asked for. The view from the top of Cadillac Mountain was clear with barely a hint of a breeze. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/08/portland-head-light Well, we didn't make it to Australia as we had hoped. But flights to Maine looked good so we made a last-minute decision to hop a flight to Portland. We rented a car and immediately started hunting down lighthouses. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/08/mfopoly The girls created MFopoly as a way to celebrate Mary Frances' 30th birthday while at Debordieu for a (very short) weekend. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/07/marlins-vs-braves Katie took Kate, Mary Frances, and me to the ballgame, my first of the season. The view of the field, the sound of the crowd...I shouldn't wait so long between visits to Turner Field! http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/07/farm-fun Sarah takes a turn with the zucchini launcher. We got to play with a large slingshot and the sheep got lunch. Everyone wins! http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/07/poker What's a trip Up North with the Wu's if we don't play poker? http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/07/the-ark Cool evenings, great food, and even better company. Yup, it's Up North. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/07/niagra-falls Mary Frances and I took a timeout from visiting with relatives to take in Niagra Falls from the Canadian side. Very impressive! http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/07/lake-erie We tagged along for a Kennemer family reunion in Ontario. The relatives' house on the beach was a fantastic place for a get-together. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/07/year-old-cake We dug into the top of our wedding cake and watched the video of our ceremony and reception from a year ago. What a great year it's been! http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/07/on-the-lake It's no wonder there are so many boat-lovers in the family: they get 'em started young! Here Fin convinces his dad to let him drive for a while. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/07/snodgrass-sisters Mary Frances and Caroline at the reception. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/07/emily-and-aarons-wedding Another Leis cousin wedding goes off without a hitch! http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/06/naobf Isaac and his friends enjoy the brews, sunshine, and music at the North American Organic Brewers Festival. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/06/the-beautiful-city Here's the unbelievable view from the home of some of Isaac and Mariko's friends. And what a day to enjoy it! http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/06/isaacs-birthday Mariko and I conspired for me to fly to Portland to celebrate Isaac's 30th birthday with them and their friends. First stop: food trucks for lunch. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/06/variety-playhouse I'm glad we made the effort to get down to Variety Playhouse to hear Over the Rhine play a show. I was reminded of how much I love their music and lyrics. Well worth the money to sit, listen, and let them take you places. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/06/pool-kayaking The summer heat has set in and Brian demonstrates how to relax in the pool at his roommates' house. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/06/atl-sunset Having fun playing with the features of Camera+ on my phone. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/06/chez-christiansen I also knew we'd eat well if we went home via San Antonio. Nels made a scrumptuous dinner before we retired for the night. We had no trouble flying home from San Antonio the following morning. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/06/operation-drive-out-of-town No chance getting out of DFW so we rented a car and drove to San Antonio. Our only mistake was that we didn't leave earlier to get more time with Ingrid! http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/06/trying-to-leave-dfw It's the height of summer and there are over one hundred people on the standby list. This might take a while. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/06/wedding-guest The lighting was fantastic in the chapel where Bayard and Becky were married. Mike posed for me to get a shot of him before he left for the reception. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/06/mr-and-mrs-friedman Bayard and Becky exit after being pronounced man and wife. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/06/tourists-in-dallas Mary Frances, Carrie, and Michelle use their free time in Dallas to explore the city's sights. My favorite of the day was the JFK exhibit at The Sixth Floor Museum. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/06/more-street-food I commend the person who dreamed up this lunch: a cool lentil salad in a parmesan cone. A little on the salty side, but I'm impressed by the creativity. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/05/emil-house Ryan leads the group in one last session before we hit the road back to Atlanta. As usual it was a relaxing and rejuvinating weekend. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/05/beach-retreat Task number one upon arrival at St. Simon's Island: relax. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/05/asheville-brews-cruise We went to Asheville with a group of mustached-folks for a weekend to celebrate Drew's 30th birthday. The mustaches are a tribute to Drew's old driver's license picture. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/05/strawberry-fields-forever We took advantage of the glorious spring weather and went strawberry picking this morning. Our bounty was so great that we had to make lots of freezer jam. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/05/food-truck-friday Mary Frances took a break from work so we could explore Atlanta's lunchtime food options on the street. We had tacos from Yumbii and finished with dessert from King of Pops. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/04/carving-the-easter-lamb Manoj relishes his role as the man in charge of the Easter Lamb. Delicious as always. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/04/easter-cookies My wife should become a professional baker--check out these cookies she made to share for Easter. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/04/homemade-ravioli Mary Frances and I used our new pasta-roller to make a fresh dough and then put dollops of a spinach-cheese filling between the rolls of pasta. Here's a close-up of her punching out individual raviolis to be cooked and enjoyed. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/04/andrew-at-bat It was a hot April afternoon, but we had good seats to see Andrew play a great game of baseball. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/04/sprouts The seeds we planted to reside in the raised-bed garden are coming along nicely. We're still optimistic that this will work. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/04/janes-chick-fil-a-birthday Mary Frances and Jessica planned a birthday weekend in Greenville to celebrate the 30th birthdays of Jane and Erin. Jessica even managed to arrange for the cow to greet Jane at her favorite breakfast spot! http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/03/home-depot-run Look out, world! Eric's gonna try to build a raised-bed vegetable garden. http://eachristiansen.com/photos/2011/03/farmors-memorial All sorts of Christiansens with their new kids. Ingrid and Lewis represent the generation of Farmor's great-grandchildren.