A Year of Change

It’s January 3rd and we’re back in the thick of it. We over sept this morning and the misses and I both need to leave in 59 minutes for a meeting across town, so todays post will be real short.

We didn’t hear from anyone on any life changes or things you want to do. Maybe you were all too busy thinking about it. Hopefully we’ll hear from some of you today.

Time to run, the balls in your court, send us some news! Take care and God Bless.

Here we go, another year, more work, back to your same old routine, or are you? I was talking with Grandma Dixie yesterday who said how much she liked the new year and Mondays as it’s always a fresh start. With that being said, what plans do you all have for the New Year? Are any of you making any changes or is it just another day. As people we are conditioned to react to certain dates and no one is bigger for changes than January 1st. I always have to laugh as the most crowded day of the year at the gym is January 1st. From then on it slowly becomes less and less packed as people give up on their resolution to work out. I think the trick here is, unless you have an incredibly strong will, is to make small changes in your life that you can actually stick to. So if anyone has any changes they’re making here in 2013, let us know!

This morning everyone is still sleeping and I woke up, fed the dogs, made coffee and hit the computer. So far, all’s the same for me. I have a bunch of work to do today (the same again) and then will try to find something the boys want to do if they’re feeling better. The oldest slept most of the afternoon but seemed to be coming around after dinner and was getting back to his young self. The youngest, showing solidarity, seemed to have every single pain the oldest guy did. Hopefully both will be all better today. I did make it to the gym and am really sore today so I think I’ll take the day off.

Lots of changes coming to our Country this year from our self serving politicians all in the name of doing so for our own good but I’ll save that for another day. Just do yourself a favor and think for yourself, enough said on this one. Hopefully there won’t be some huge natural disaster as our politicos cause enough harm for us.

Grandma’s Wisconsin Badgers lost yesterday to Stanford in the Rose Bowl and we feel so bad for her. She had on her Wisconsin prep jacket I had bought her years ago when I dropped some navy bean and ham soup for her lunch. Hopefully the Green Bay Packers will do better this weekend.

In closing, 2012 sure went fast. It seems the older you get, the faster the time goes. I laugh when the kids say they wish they were older. So if nothing else, plan one thing to do this year you hadn’t planned on doing. Take a trip, take up a new hobby, learn a new language, something, anything, spice it up as when todays gone, it’s gone and you can’t get it back, same with the year, you know what I mean.

God Bless.

As we begin the third year of our blog, some of us (the kids) have grown up while others of us (the rest of us) have grown older. We hope someday the kids can look back and read these 726 posts and counting, and remember things they might have normally long ago forgot. We’re all so fortunate for all the things we have in life. By things we don’t mean “stuff” but rather our friends, our health, a roof over our heads, our pets and most of all, each other, our family. We pray that all of us have a healthy and happy year starting today. We as a family are so looking forward to 2013. Yes our bills and some health issues will come along with us but there’s something about the first day of a new year that gives you the hope and strength to tackle even the most challenging problems. So let’s all saddle up and ride head on into the new year with renewed hope, confidence and the vigor of our youth, as if you look hard enough, I promise it’s still there. Age is just a frame of mind.

Yesterday we finished taking down all the Christmas decorations inside and hauling them up to the attic. Mom made some great meatloaf for dinner and we tried to keep the youngest calm hoping his stomach virus was gone. He seemed to be ok for most of the day but neither boy wanted to eat much. By the time we were ready to go to bed, the oldest guys stomach was hurting him and the misses and I also were feeling a bit queazy. We all headed to bed to read and watch a little tv or read and all of a sudden we heard the oldest one throwing up in is room! Mom rushed in and helped him to the bathroom while I grabbed the trash can we luckily put next to his bed and took it downstairs to clean it out. I almost got sick myself while cleaning the can out a did the misses while cleaning up his blankets and floor. We managed to get him into the spare room and all his sheets and blankets into the wash. Right after that, it started all over with him getting sick again! We  did the whole clean up routine for the third time in 24 hours and got him back into bed hoping that was it. Thankfully it was and we all slept the rest of the night. My Mom did call just before midnight to wake us so we were up for the New Year. I don’t know how she stays up that late.

I slept until 5:30 when I heard some rustling downstairs. I instantly knew it was Lacey getting into something. I flew down the stairs to find the pantry doors open (they slide and we have no idea how she opens them?) with the large container of flour the misses put on top of the dates moved off and to the side and the dates open and right out in the middle of the floor for her to feast on. I think I managed to get there before she ate too many. It’s getting really old being woken up by her every night to go out or because she’s into something.

Right now we’re all on the couch with the boys and Mom watching Babe, a movie about a pig that wants to be a sheep dog. I think I’ll head to the gym and we were going to try to make a movie today but we’ll have to see how the boys feel.

So, once again, Happy New Year and let’s make 2013 the best year ever. 13 by the way is not an unlucky number. That’s a big misconception. Google it! Take care and God Bless.

Oh yea, here’s a comment from Grandma Annette,

Tomorrow is the first day of 2013 and we sure are looking forward to it! Looking back, our biggest challenge has been the misses health. We’re sure next year will bring relief to her. Now some good things have happened this year so it wasn’t all bad. First off, work was pretty good, we switched to a new accounting system that basically meant we had 10 months to do 12 months worth of sales and we pretty much got it done. Next up, Peyton Manning and the Broncos. Some people will say it’s only football, but the good feelings you have when your team is doing well, are well, priceless. Next up, both boys had a year of growing and learning and did very well in all areas of being 8 and 10. We had some fun trips, all domestic this year that included the ranch in Wyoming, camping in Steamboat and the oldest and I hunting. So we’re thankful for all the good things in our life throughout the year and looking forward to a new beginning starting at 12 midnight tonight.

Now last night we ran downtown to The Kitchen, which is a great farm to table restaurant, for dinner. The youngest wasn’t feeling too well on the way but seemed fine once we arrived. Turns out around midnight, he woke up throwing up all over our room! It seems for the last month or so, lots of people around here (in our neighborhood and school) have had this stomach virus similar to the Norovirus you hear about on cruise ships. So when I woke up, I took clorox wipes and hit every door handle, the computer, all the remotes, and bathrooms. He apologized for getting sick in our room and felt so bad. I’m going to do all I can do to stop it from spreading through the entire family but everyone we know that’s had it, has had it family wide.

Yesterday the misses took the boys to a movie while I was occupied with the trouncing of the Kansas City Chiefs by our aforementioned beloved Broncos. I did manage to get through my sock drawer last night, cleaning it out for the new year. I have a conference call this morning and then some organizing around her for the fresh start tomorrow. I’ll start with my office.

It snowed lightly early this morning and is supposed to be really cold, like 15 or 20, for the whole day. I went out barefoot for the paper as it doesn’t much bother me.

In closing, we hope everyone has a great evening and an even better 2013! We like to (as our blog is named) try to implement life changes rather than go for a resolution that we’ll never be able to keep. As a family, we’ll all sit around today and come up with things we want to do next year and changes we want to make. It’s fun and helpful to have all of us, kids included, on board.

Before I go, here’s a comment from Grandma Annette,

Good morning…if you can believe it I am the first one up and it is 7:20 a.m. Outside, the air outside takes my breath away.  I only opened the back door to let the big dog out and Burrrr.  The sky is a gorgeous blue with wisps of white, pink and gold strewn across the horizon. Beautiful!

Both pups are now snuggled in for the morning. Lacey on her cozy bed and Mojo warming my feet. The Mr. is stirring and soon will be downstairs.  He asked for one last birthday gift…that I get up first with the four legged clan to feed them.  “Thank you” my sweet pets for sleeping in.

Yesterday we ran errands for the boys to get the games they wanted from Grandma D and Pa Don. One of the games is Harry Potter Book of Secrets.  The game has a camera connected to the T.V. and it transports the boys image into the television where they explore and perform spells.  The technology is unbelievable and the kiddos had so much fun.

At 1:30p.m. Grandma came over for green chili and the Mr.’s family birthday party.  Uncle T. and Auntie B. were soon to follow.  The Mr. opened gifts and then came the birthday song and pineapple upside down cake.  The family left at halftime of the Syracuse and W. Virginia game.  The boys came down for lunch and then ran back upstairs during gifts…back down for singing and cake.

We were ready to go to our friend’s for an early New Year’s/Birthday dinner celebration….I was not happy with my wardrobe and made a last minute change, still we made it to the party on time. We were quite excited to meet a new person that was coming to the party, as he is from Scotland.

I called Gram Annette earlier in the day to find out any details she could give me on the MacInnis Clan castle.  During our conversation she told me the family crest was a bee and a thistle and she thought it had recently been changed to a strong arm and an arrow. The castle is actually more of a tower with narrow rectangular windows to shoot arrows from. All very interesting and quite coincidental that she mentioned the crest, since I didn’t ask about it and it randomly came up in our conversation.

Back to the dinner party…..We arrived shortly before the rest of the guests.  I put the German Chocolate cake out on a lovely cake plate and the Mr. opened wine to decant for dinner.  The home looked amazing, candles aglow and Andrea Bocelli’s songs flowing throughout. We were mingling with few of our friends and then the Mr. made rounds to converse with the 2 new couples. (I am still getting used to not drinking the first few sips of “ice breaking” cocktails/wine that make meeting new people sooo much easier).  Anyway the Mr. waved me over and said I had to talk with Hamish the Scotsman.  Hamish and I started chatting and I told him what I new of the Castle.  I told him the name MacInnis and he looked so surprised.  It turns out that his middle name is “Innes”…he then asked if I new the clan crest. I told him that it was the bee and the thistle and he held up his clan ring….which by the way the clan protects wholeheartedly.  Yes, it was the bee and the thistle. Unbelievable!  He said the chances of this chance meeting were truly unimaginable.  Hamish and Lindsey are heading to Italy in January and the Mr. is “hooking them up” and yes we are going to plan a family adventure to Scotland with their help…

The dinner was fantastic! We all had so much fun. Everyone told a short story about how they met our Hostess…some of the stories should be made into movies…We’ll elaborate in a later post.  We sang Happy Birthday to the Mr. and had a Champagne toast to the New Year.  2013 is going to be great!

We made it home at 11:30 (late for me) and the oldest was still awake and watching SNL with the sitter.  He is still asleep….smiley face here. I’ll check with the Mr. to see if he has any additions to the post this morning…

God Bless

It was a really really fun night. Meeting Hamish and Lindsey was nice and we also met two other new friends, Ginnie and Scott. We all hit it off right away and will soon do something with both of them. The other 2 couples and our hostess and her date and us all know each other well. Ginnie as it turns out was Ben Nighthorse Campbells Chief of Staff. He was a democrat senator that turned republican and is quite famous around these parts. Just interesting what some people did or do. Ginnie in her own right, was quite flirty with her arms around everyone and kisses smack dab on the lips when we were leaving! She and Scott are newlyweds for about a year and a half and so was Hamish and Lindsey for about 2 years. Scott was really enjoyable and is an attorney. Anyhow we all had a great time and 11pm rolled around really fast.

Everyone had a blast and we always have a great time when we get together, the two new couples seem like great additions to our little group. Hamish has vowed to get the misses a ring from the clan which she’ll be really excited about. It’s nice to know your family history and have something to identify with from your past. As she said, they’re quite protective of the rings and the clan but he did say I could also have one since I married into the clan. He was truly shocked and said in his entire life no one has come up to him and brought up the family. It was like two long lost relatives meeting each other for the first time, fun.

That’s about it, time to get moving, take care and as the misses said, God Bless.

Both boys were tired yesterday which is usually the norm after a sleep over. Other than that the day was pretty uneventful. I wrapped up some work for the year but will still work Monday. We still have boxes of Christmas stuff around the house but are making progress.

4:30 in the afternoon (when we were supposed to be at our friends house to go to dinner) came quickly as I went to the gym around 1 in the afternoon since our lab kept me up for most of the night which threw off my schedule of going early in the morning. We hurried over the the Harris’s to drop the boys and head out with them to a new place called Duo for dinner. It’s in one of the revitalized neighborhoods that used to be not such a nice part of town. Now it’s filled with fun shops and restaurants and has that funky feeling. Dinner was really good and our friends insisted that they get the check when the bill arrived. We then drove home to their house to pick up the kids and head home. It was only about 8:30 when we arrived. Lo and behold there were two boxes sitting at the front door which the boys spotted from the car. They knew in an instant it was the Play Station 3 from Auntie Kristin for Christmas. She’s been buying the boys a great gift ever since they were born.

Once we were in the house, there was no waiting until morning to set this up, they’d been waiting too long and were too excited. I took care of the dogs and closing up the house while Mom helped the boys get their new system set up. I’m sure today they’ll be occupied most of the day with the new video game.

Around 12:30, you know who woke us up. The misses said she’d get up and let Lacey out and I said I get her in a few hours when she’d undoubtedly bark again. It wasn’t until 4:30 when she again barked so that’s when I got up for the day. When I made it down the stairs, my superman like night vision allowed me to avoid the two piles of doggie puke on the floor. It looks like she’s still trying to get rid of all the dates she ate the other night. Hopefully she’s learned her lesson but I doubt it, she’d probably eat them all over again if she had the chance. Of course now she’s sleeping soundly.

Tonight we’re going to dinner at our friends in Genesse which is a bit up into the mountains. It’s a dinner party for 12 and should be fun. I wish I would have slept a bit longer this morning but once I get up I can’t really get back to sleep.

So that’s it, have a great day, take care and God Bless, I’m off to the gym.

Yesterday we actually accomplished a lot. But first I forgot to mention, the day before yesterday, Lacy “I’ll eat anything” the Lab, somehow opened a plastic container of dates and ate about half of them. On top of that she ate a box of crackers as it seems she now knows how to open the sliding doors to the pantry. So, what goes in, must come out, you get the meaning I’m sure. Well last night she woke me at 2, then at 4 and then again finally at 6. At 2 she wasn’t barking but rather back in the pantry digging through food on the ground and the bottom shelf. I heard her downstairs and I caught her in the act and she went straight upstairs. We might just have to get a second crate (Mojo sleeps in one) for her as this is getting real old. At 4 she barked to go out and then again at 6.

Here’s a comment from Aunt Robi, it was great to have her here as it’s been too long since we were all together,

Last night the oldest spent the night at his friends and the youngest had a friend sleep here. I’m sure both will be tired today. Mom and I de-Christmased the family room and most of the house except for the big tree in the other room and of course all the lights outside. We put our little live tree outside in front of our windows where we could still see and enjoy it.

I was in Boulder earlier in the day and did some grocery shopping as well. Tonight we’re going out to dinner with the Harris’s and tomorrow our friends from Cherry Creek are hosting a dinner for my birthday. Sunday is the Bronco game, Monday is New Years Eve and then Tuesday it’s 2013! Hard to believe. I did splurge and buy a couple of lobsters at the store yesterday as they looked too good to pass up, and good they were. The misses and I had one each and a salad for dinner and they were great.

It seems snow is everywhere in the country and everyone is complaining. Just a month ago, everyone was complaining as there was no snow. You can’t please anyone these days. I kept telling people it would come and it has finally arrived.

It’s after 7am now so I think I’ll run. I was going to go to the gym but that’ll have to wait until maybe later in the day. We hope everyone is doing well. I always like to do something to get a jump on the New Year like cleaning up my office or cleaning out my closet as it’s a good feeling. Everyone else will be indulging in adult beverages over the next few days but not us. The misses hasn’t had a drop since November 22nd and I’ve had a glass or two only on 5 occasions, mostly in the past week. I think I’ll abstain over the remainder of the holidays as there will be too many drunk people on the roads to watch out for.

So take care and God Bless and get your house in order as the new years a coming!

We, or I, was up early. I made it to the gym for a good workout which I’m paying for this morning. Mom made french toast for the boys and I was showered and ready for the day by 8:30. After my 9m conference call I was out the door at 9:30 for downtown. Then it was a trip up north for a meeting. On the way I was on the phone with the misses doctors in Vail and then with a specialist down here at the orthopedic clinic in Golden. I somehow managed to get the misses in at 3:50.

The misses spent the day on the couch so I did some laundry, cleaned the kitchen, made the bed and so on. Grandma agreed to watch the boys from 3:15 on which turned out to be until 5:30 when we arrived home from the doctor. The boys first went out to the pasture and played by the empty pond in the snow before they came in for some hot coco with marsh mellows. Grandma said they were very well behaved.

Meanwhile the misses and I sat in the waiting room for 30 minutes past our appointment time before getting in. Then after she put on some attractive shorts they supplied her, she was off for x-rays. We’re happy to report that nothing is broken and her hips look pretty good with not much arthritis. They then took x-rays of her spine which meant another wait and found a lower disc sort of jutting out that might be pinching a nerve. The doctor, who was very nice and apologetic for our wait, and who seemed very qualified, said this has probably been going on for some time and to rest for a week with anti-inflamotories to calm it down. So all in all, a pretty good visit.

We picked up the boys and went home to try to find some leftovers for dinner. We settled on french toast and lasagna. (The oldest had the french toast) Then we watched Men in Black 3 until bed time around 8:30 and that was it.

Hope your day was just as fun! It’s still cold but we don’t mind. I have some work to do in an hour or so and everyone is still sleeping. I have to find something fun for the boys to do today plus I need to clean out the basement and run up to Boulder.

Time to get ready for 2013 as that’s the next big event. Take care and have a great day and God Bless.

Despite the misses sore hip (it seems worse in the mornings) everyone had a great day. It started as you know with the boys opening some gifts here before we headed up to Grandma’s. We were all there by 10:30 and stayed until probably 2. We all opened some nice gifts and had some good laughs. At 5, my Mom, Robi and Robert showed up for a visit and some frozen lasagna. Uncle T popped in a little later to say hi.

I managed to get the house pretty clean by the time they showed up. The misses of course, despite repeated requests, helped as well. We’ll probably see if we can get her an x-ray today after I get back from my errands around noon.

It’s cold, about 5 degrees outside but to me, feels good. I was just out in my boxers and a t shirt getting the paper. It’s so cold that the snow is really dry as the low temperatures suck all the moisture out of the snow. I’m sure lots of people will be going skiing today.

Robi and Robert fly back to Phoenix at 1pm and then we’ll all settle back into our normal routine. I have a quick conference call at 9 and some expenses to do. I’ll have to get the boys some exercise today somehow or they’ll be full of piss and vinegar (that’s my Mom’s saying).

Hope everyone had a great day and that Santa brought you what you hoped for. It’ll be in the 20’s today for the high with more snow in a couple of days. See, it does come, sooner or later.

Take care, have a great day and God Bless.

Seek and You Shall Find

Where is HE who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him. matthew 2:2

Good morning, we arose to a fresh blanket of snow outside with some of our luminaries still burning on the sidewalk from the night before. It’ll be cold today with the high in the low 20’s and the low around zero. I woke around 5:30 and after making coffee went outside to shovel the walk to get my paper and heard Jag yelling from the top of the stairs, “Hey Dad,  Merry Christmas”!

This was enough to wake Ty and soon Mom followed walking gingerly down the stairs with her sore hip. It didn’t take long for the boys to grab their stockings and check to see if Santa ate his cookies and if the reindeer ate the carrots they left out for them. They opened a couple of presents, like the snow ball thrower from Santa and some new pajama’s before we could stop them so we could take a shower. Auntie Kristin’s gift hasn’t arrived so she told us to just wrap up a picture for them but instead we played a word game. We started out by giving them the first letter of the present which is a “P”. This went on with both boys guessing after each letter until we finished up the first word which was Play and then started the second word which began with a “S”. Finally Ty guessed Play Station 3 which is the fantastic video game console they don’t have. They both fell to the floor with fake heart attack symptoms amazed that they would soon be getting this. Before the youngest guy figured it out they guessed everything from placemats to Playdough to a play set and others. It was a fun way to let them know what was coming.

Last night we had our big dinner which began with my Mom, Robi and Robert arriving a bit after 5. We had a glass of wine before dinner and then all sat down to eat. Soon afterwards, Uncle T and Aunt B showed up as her parents and family had left. We all sat around just like the old days with the 3 of us (me, Robi and Tom) talking smack and sharing stories for the next few hours. My Mom just sat back and took in the festivities enjoying hearing us all reminisce about times long gone and some of just the other day. I could see her laughing on the inside even though she was quiet as a mouse! It was a good time and great for all three of us to be together. Aunt Shelly was sick and didn’t make it but we’ll see her today at Grandma’s. We’re all going up there at 10:30 which is another 3 1/2 hours from now. I was trying to lobby to go up earlier but Aunt Ali suggested 11 (you can tell she doesn’t have kids getting up at 6!) and Tom said 10:30 or so and I said 9 knowing we’d meet somewhere in the middle. Robi and Robert are so easy to be around and said they didn’t care as they get up early anyhow. My Mom said we can come up too whenever we wanted. 10:30’s fine as we’re pretty easy too. After all, it’s Christmas, what’s the hurry as when it’s over, it’s over.

We’ll bring leftovers which include antipasti, chicken, tiramisu along with an apple and pecan pie for brunch. The boys are waiting for Mom and I to shower so they can open some more goodies. The youngest is upstairs playing Wii while the oldest is sitting next to me on the couch watching a show. I think Mom is making them something to eat.

So, we hope everyone has a wonderful day and remembers the true meaning of the day. Everyone needs to embrace our Lord Jesus Christ now more than ever with all the challenges we face in our World. He sees and knows everything going on and is there for those who seek and believe in him. Each person has to decide on their own whether or not to embrace Him and I’m not going to tell you what to do but I will suggest that if you don’t believe, you should give it a try!

Merry Christmas and God Bless.