Up North Blog

Costa Rica Surf Trip

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:16:00 -0700

We have landed in beautiful Costa Rica! The plan is a surfing trip to mark my 30th birthday. So far my fist impressions of Costa Rica is a lush, beatiful country with very friendly people. Our first surfing lesson was today, and the surfing was great! We are planning to live it up in this little beach town of Tamarindo. Carpe Diem!

A Happy Day for Jill and Dave

Fri, 03 Nov 2006 16:40:00 -0700

We went to Kansas City for our friends Dave and Jill�s wedding last weekend. The wedding was a wonderful celebration of Jill and Dave’s relationship. It was nice to be apart of Dave and Jill�s community and wish them blessings on their new life together.

The wedding had the backdrop of fall colors. Fall is my favorite season in the Midwest. I love the crisp climate and the palate of vibrant colors as the leaves change colors. I think its amazing that those vibrant colors are always there in the leaves, but only revealed when the chlorophyll in the leaves fades and dies. For me, it is a reflection of the incredible beauty that God has left imprinted in even the most simple things of nature.

We also got to connect with our good friends Jeff and Amy. They are such a fun couple and we share a lot of interests with them. We went on a hike with Jeff through the fall foliage in Weston, Missouri. To my delight, the bluffs of the river were a glow with golden leaves.

House Guests

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 08:17:00 -0700

Mom and Dad Lam came up north for a visit this past week. We had a great time showing them around our new home. I guess a place starts to feel more like home when there are layers of memories about a place. The trip around the corner to the coffee shop becomes a reminder of that time you had a conversation with a friend. Your favorite restaurant is filled with fond memories of meals enjoyed with friends. I think that memories contribute alot to a sense of place. Transtitions can be very dificult, but we are starting to warm up to the Twin Cities just as the temperatures are cooling down.

Meal Groups Kickoff with Donald Miller

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 17:38:00 -0700

We are hosting our first Meal Group for our church the Upper Room this week. Meal Groups are small communities in our chruch with a focus on building community. Meal Groups will use Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller to facilitate discussion as we share meals together and tell our stories. The Upper Room hosted Donald Miller to speak and help kickoff this season. I thought that Donald Miller was a eloquent speaker and a very funny guy. He gave a nice series of talks about his story and his journey on his spiritual walk. We are looking forward to developing a new community with some members of our chruch. Please pray that God would bless this exciting new development!

Reflections of Garden of the Gods

Mon, 04 Sep 2006 20:43:00 -0700

Red Rocks Glow at Dusk
Lush Gardens under Mountain View
Crisp Air Refreshes My Soul

Click here to see more photos

Bike Commuter

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 22:00:00 -0700

The good news is that Erica was hired to teach at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institue. She will be teaching the public speaking course for some chefs in training. It is a nice opportunity to work with students again. The bad news is that Le Cordon Bleu is about a 10 mile commute from our home in downtown Minneapolis. As part of our desire to simplify, we have been trying to make just one car work for our family. With both of our long commutes to our jobs, we have had to be a little creative with Erica’s commute to her new job. Erica has joined the ranks for the bike commuters (there are alot of them here in the twin cities). Her commute involves riding her bike to the light rail, taking the light rail to a state park, riding wooded bike trails through the park and over a bridge spanning the Mississippi river with a view of both Minneapolis and St. Paul and onto to the front door of her work. Total commute time is about an hour. The jury is still out on if she will enjoy her commute and even look forward to the ride through the woods to work. For now, we’re going to try to make it work; happy trails!

Friends Up North

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 11:15:00 -0700

We had freinds from Kansas City come in for a visit this week. It was an awesome time of exploring the city, catching up on our lives and enjoying good food and drink. Our friends are from our Kansas City community at Jacob’s Well Church. Our friends Jeff and Amy attended the church that we have been attending up here, The Upper Room. The service was an outdoor service on the lawn overloooking Normandale Lake. I had a nice teaching moment laying in the grass listening to some things that ring true in my life. It is good to be in the presence to others. I believe that God has created us with a desire for relationship and it is good to be in the presence of those whom we love. I also think that God blesses us relationally with people in our lives and we shouldn’t take for granted those people in our lives who give us life and make life that much sweeter.

Vegas Baby, Vegas

Mon, 03 Jul 2006 19:25:00 -0700

We went to Vegas for a conference last week. I think that Las Vegas lives up to the hype. The mega-resort casinos are like cleaner miniature versions of some of the best destinations in the world. From Paris, to the Venetian, New York New York to the Luxor, fun has a name and it is vegas. I enjoyed just walking around these miniature cities and gazing from amazing trendy restaurant to opulent casino floor. Its true, you can drink for free in the casinos, and the massive buffets have a never-ending plate of crablegs.
Highlights from my time in vegas:
1.) A city that never sleeps, vegas is a late night destination where you can party it up till the daylight hours.
2.) Lots of free things to see in vegas from the minstral singers at the venetian to the dancing water ballet of the bellagio.
3.) The shows! We saw a magic show and a Cirque du Soleil show. Not cheap but worth every penny.
4.) The star trek experience. Every Trekkies dream, to be part of the show. ‘nough said.
5.) The food! Lots of great restaurants and expereinces to be had in vegas.
It ain’t cheap, but its a ton of fun. Vegas Baby, let go!

Rob & Erica's Blogroll

Fri, 11 Jun 2004 11:04:00 -0700

Tim Samoff
Jason Cupp
Peder Horner
Tim Keel
Loralboxer
Tim's photoblog
Sacheen's blog
Mary Muses
Deanne's blog
Alton Brown's weblog
Corrine's Blog
Andy Collins
Todd's Blog

Rob & Erica's Links List

Fri, 11 Jun 2004 11:03:00 -0700

Discover Tasmania
Jacob's Well
Canon 10d Forum
this american life
Virgin Blue
Jet Star
Qantas
Jacob's Well Bloggers