OUR DAILY DRIVEL

We were at Costco this past weekend and ran across this...

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:53:56 -0700

It's a couch

It's a bed.

We were at Costco this past weekend and ran across this convertible sofa. Laura is always thinking of ways to improve our house. And when she saw this sofa, she knew that it was the perfect solution. Most of the time it will be used as a couch but when we have guests it turns into a bed. Perfect.

Except for the fact that we hadn’t budgeted for it so I told Laura that we would have to wait. But then she reminded me of our personal FU savings accounts. I set these up at our bank and feed them $42/month for a total of ~ $500/yr. The point of these accounts is to give each spouse money to spend on anything they damn well please without any grief. Up to now, only Jeff has taken advantage of the account.

It will be a couch the majority

Proof that the kids are back in school. This picture was taken...

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:39:20 -0700

Proof that the kids are back in school. This picture was taken just moments ago. It shows Cade and Laura working hard on his New Mexico Family Field Trip, which was to Bandelier.

Back to School

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:25:05 -0700

After what seemed like a quick two weeks for the kids, school started up again today. The two weeks seemed much longer to Mom and Dad, especially Mom. Strangely, school started on Tuesday which is actually the norm for the schools wacky schedule. The kids were actually pretty excited to be going back to school. So we are back into our routine and we couldn’t be happier with the great Christas break that we were blessed with.

Here is the last of the Christmas gifts. I bought this Snoopy...

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 09:43:29 -0700

Here is the last of the Christmas gifts. I bought this Snoopy watch from a guy on eBay back in early December. It was coming straight from China and I had hoped that we would receive it before Christmas. Not long after the eBay auction, he sent me the following note that I probably would not recieve it before Christmas.

hi
how are you
thank you like my items.we have receive your money and sent the items to you at 7 Dec by AIR(hongkong post).the package from us to you normally need 25-30 workdays.International shipping requires more complicated shipping procedures (such as both countries customs, transit stations etc.). it will probably take longer time for your items to arrive at the final destination. Thank you for your understanding on this matter.If you are satisfied with the purchase and our total service, your comment is very important in our business success. Please take a minute to leave us a positive feedback with an overall Detailed Selling Rating (DSR) of 5.
If you have any question, feel free to contact us anytime. Hope that the cooperation happy!
best regards

- ybtangss168889

Kayla was very excited to get her new watch and plans to wear it everywhere exept “…in the bath and when I’m sleeping.”

The party’s over…but Cade and Kayla won’t stop...

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 09:35:24 -0700

The party’s over…but Cade and Kayla won’t stop celebrating. They got these New Year’s party accessories from Grandma Bea and Grandpa Dick who got them from a restaurant on New Year’s Eve.

biorhythmist: Mmm. 30-year old bubble gum.

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 07:32:32 -0700

biorhythmist:

Mmm. 30-year old bubble gum.

biorhythmist: thedailywhat: In Case You Missed It of the Day:...

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 07:26:56 -0700

biorhythmist:

thedailywhat:

In Case You Missed It of the Day: Residents of Beloit, Wisconsin gather along Rock River to recreate George Seurat’s “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of LaGrande Jatte.”

[reddit.]

I missed this. Did you?

Our New Year’s invite. We changed the theme to ’Good...

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:22:00 -0700

Our New Year’s invite. We changed the theme to ’Good luck recipes for the New Year’ because we’ve had our fill of tamales. We also made it a Blue Moon theme. Here’s Laura’s e-mail to our guests.

This New Year’s Eve is going to be a Blue Moon (the thirteen moon in a year instead of twelve). In the twentieth century, there were only forty blue moons. Since the moon is so rare it is believed, the moon holds mystical powers.

Superstitions say the occurrence of a blue moon is the perfect time to plant the seeds of long-term goals that will blossom in the sun of a future day. Any goals forwarded and planned beneath the glow of the second full moon of the month are thought to have the benefit of a kind of psychic tidal pull of the satellite. Unfortunately, the magic of the blue moon is unpredictably intense. To put in motion your goals for the future underneath the moon at the end of the month is the same thing as making a wish granted by a genie. If you don’t use very careful and precise language, the result may very well be a sweet cookie full of arsenic. The potency of the magic of the blue moon is said to be concentrated and passionate; you may get what you wish for but in a way not foreseen if you allow loopholes to dangle beneath the bright reflection of the sun’s light against the cold darkness of the lunar surface.

FYI, I’m not really superstitious, but this makes a good theme!

Don’t be late.

Getting ready for another New Years Party

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 09:33:32 -0700

Although last year Laura said “I’m done”, apparently we are not. And it’s not totally her idea. She suggested a New Years day brunch but I vetoed that idea because I thought it was weird. So here we are again getting the house ready for the usual group of friends, minus two families. Our neighbors the Pillotes declined because they have family in town and Hoffman’s didn’t make our invite list because we haven’t seen them since our last New Year’s party. So we are thinking that this years party will be a little more mellow and maybe the kids have matured a little bit over the past year. We also plan to have the Wii going for a large portion of the night.

We will report back tomorrow.

I’ve brought a few of my Christmas gifts into work. Can you spot...

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 07:25:00 -0700

I’ve brought a few of my Christmas gifts into work. Can you spot them? It’s the little speakers from Mom & Dad and the new calculator from Kayla.

Christmas Eve morning presents?

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:05:25 -0700

Kayla called me at work this morning (which is very unusual) and asked me a question. Our tradition has been to let the kids open one present on Christmas eve and the rest the next morning. She wanted to know if we could open our first presents the morning of Christmas Eve instead because otherwise they wouldn’t have time to play with their toys.

Who am I to argue.

Getting ready for Christmas Eve dinner

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:02:58 -0700

Laura and her mom are in the kitchen right now preparing tamales for Christmas Eve dinner. Laura decided that instead of buying tamales at El Modelo as usual, she would make them. She is making a variety of different types (green chile chicken, traditional pork and tamale pie). I can’t wait till tomorrow!

We woke up to about 1” of snow this morning. Unfortunately...

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:57:39 -0700

We woke up to about 1” of snow this morning. Unfortunately the snow did not have enough moisture to make a snowman, but the kids still had fun.

Here some photo’s from the River of Lights last night. The...

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:45:00 -0700

Inside the carrot.

Here some photo’s from the River of Lights last night. The weather held out for us but the crowds did not. I can’t remember a previous RoL that was so crowded. I had to walk in half steps most of the night. We still had a good time and will be back again, but next time we’ll get there a little earlier.

We're off…

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:40:18 -0700

…to the River of Lights before the snow storm rolls in tonight.

School's out

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:56:13 -0700

Yesterday was the kids first day off from school. They return January 4th. So Laura decided to take the kids and Cade’s friend Marcus to the movies. They saw G-Force and had a really good time. But on the way home we got some bad news. Marcus’ family is planning to move to Colorado at the end of the school year. This is a real bummer for Cade since Marcus is his closest friend and the only one that he has regular play-dates with. All this info came from Marcus and not his parents so it might be that they are simply exploring their options. Apparently his father is having trouble finding work is this area.

Mmmmmm. One the the great things about the holidays is all the...

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 07:16:24 -0700

Mmmmmm. One the the great things about the holidays is all the goodies that appear in our cafeteria at work.

Thank’s Auntie Jen and Uncle Justin. The kids really,...

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:50:00 -0700

Thank’s Auntie Jen and Uncle Justin. The kids really, really appreciated your gift package…and they haven’t even opened their gifts yet.

This is a dog and he has a pipe in his mouth. That is...

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:17:31 -0700

This is a dog and he has a pipe in his mouth.

That is all.

(via)

At Costco getting some necessaries and new tires for the...

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 11:05:38 -0700

At Costco getting some necessaries and new tires for the Odyssey.