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youtube was around when we were still here in the states, but it didn’t really explode until after we moved to uganda and consequently passed us by a little because we didn’t have the internet for video surfing. well, we just got a little point and shoot camera that shoots nice video, mostly to do some documenting of the newest anderson bowen. especially when we get back to UG, so the gparents can watch him grow. you can see above that there is a new link to youtube videos. check it out early and often. so we should have your media needs covered. words here. photos over at philsgoodphoto.blogspot.com. videos over at our youtube page. enjoy.

so our lives revolve around odin nowadays. no surprise there i guess. this week has been fun in that the doc took him off the lights for a while to see how his bilirubin levels respond on his own. the upside being that we’ve been able to take him for walks and boat rides and stuff. we had another blood test (number 12?) today and will see what they tell us. meanwhile we’ve had a few other adventures… [Read more →]

two weeks goes by pretty quick. i imagine we’ll be saying something similar down the road. “wow, it seems like just yesterday that odin was turning down offers from berkeley and stanford of full-ride swimming scholarships and now here he is getting his 9th gold medal of the 2032 games here in oslo. where does the time go?” not that we have expectations. [Read more →]

since odin was born, we’ve been finding out more about his name. i’ve always liked ravens, so it was cool to learn that odin is sometimes known as the god of the ravens. here’s a list of links that people have sent me: [Read more →]

odin anderson bowen was born at 3:04 in the afternoon on august 2nd. he was 8 lbs 5 oz and 19 1/4 inches. he seems to have all the requisite parts; 10 fingers, 10 toes, eyes, ears… big jim and the twins fully intact. click more to hear the story of his 3 1/2 hour (not a typo) labor. [Read more →]

when are you due? do you know what it is? do you have names picked out? where are you delivering? are you going back to uganda? how long are you staying? are you excited? [Read more →]

all transactions here are in cash and it can get confusing when you have bills for 50,000, 20,000, and 10,000 shillings, among others. the dollar has dropped 13% since we got here, which is awesome, but the good thing is that the current conversion rate makes it easy to figure the amount in dollars. as a ski racer and runner who has done everything in metric, i’m used to converting miles and kilometers. right now shillings to dollars is almost the same as meters to miles. 1600 meters to the mile, ~1600 shillings to the dollar. in case i bought something that happened to be 42,000 Ug shillings, i’d know right away that i’m spending about 26.2 USD.

soccer is big in sub-saharan africa, which is like saying the gates foundation has a big endowment. the english premier league has an incredibly loyal following and tonight for the first time two england clubs are in the finals of the european champions league - chelsea and manchester united. i’m not sure who most of the ugandans will be supporting. in the premier league, arsenal is by far the favorite club here, with man u close behind. chelsea and liverpool a distant third and fourth. i don’t know if all the arsenal fans will rally behind chelsea to beat man u or if they’ll go to the second-favorite team in uganda, man u. chelsea has more africans on the roster, big-time names didier drogba from ivory coast and ghanian michael essien. so that may sway the vote. me, i’m supporting chelsea.

someone must have heard my recent mention of missing mexican food. today at the post office we got our christmas present from my mom. two bags of corn chips and seasoning packets for fajitas, tacos, and guacamole. thanks mom! postmarked december 7. the box looked like it had been traveling for 5 months. though there is a 2/01/08 written in marker on the side. i hope it hasn’t been in the back room since jan 2nd or feb 1st, only to show up less than three weeks before we get home!

another great trip up to murchison falls national park. plenty of photos and comments over at philsgood photo a day. highlights included lions, birds, breakdowns and a new place to stay.

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