HAPPY NEW YEAR!

So many things to get accomplished this year! I don't know, it just seems like this year will be different and more changing than any year yet. New Years Resolutions:

- Lose more weight!

- Sell our house

- Pay off more bills

- Take lots of pictures of the nice spots in this state (cuz it's not ALL bad)

- Camping..lots of camping

- Six Flags bunches (season pass baby!)

- Trip to Colorado for scouting possible living areas around the state

- Save some cash for once

Branson Pics

Here are some of the pics I took while at Silver Dollar City in Branson last month. A little late on the pics I know, but Ill try and keep up with the pics as they happen. As you can tell by the pics below, the leaves on the ground looked as if they were placed there on purpose! Everything there just makes you feel fresh and ready to go back out into the real world. It truly is a fun and warm experience...even in the cold of the fall and winter.

Merry Christmas!

Remember the true meaning of Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Ok so late is better than never! It's not as if I forgot about my blog...just pushed it aside for a while...but I'm back. Again.
So once again I am a bit late on my blogging. This month has just flow by too quick! So many things are happening on our end that its hard to just stop and blog. Now that Christmas has come and gone, I will now have time to get back to my side hobbies. One being this blog. A new year will be starting in a couple days, and with that comes a list of new things for our little family to conquer! I will think of a list and post some of it here tomorrow. I know..I know you're thinking "Ya right..tomorrow. Just like you promised those pictures last week!" And you are right I know! But enough with the excuses..time for blogging. I'm back and will be blogging in the New Year! So hold on tight! This year is going to be a CRAZY ride to say the least..As the famous line in Willy Wonka goes "So much time and so little to do..wait scratch that..reverse it!"

November and December have been flying by!

Well, the last couple weeks have just flown by. Just to get you up to speed on how the month has been, here is a quick overview:

The most important thing that has happened to us this month happened just a couple weeks ago on Monday. Deidra and I went to St. Louis to hit the hot tub and relax on Sunday cuz that next day was Deidra's state board exam. Poor girl, she was just sick for weeks up to that day. That morning she looked like she was going to puke! I had no worries, but the look on her face made me worry about her. Her test was 3 hours long but she finished it in little over 2. She was so happy when she left even though her test scores would not be available for days! That Thursday, the word came in....and BOOYA! There was much rejoicing throughout the land! Well in our house anyway. She passed with flying colors...and so as not to make any of her friends from school jealous who check out this blog...those of you who don't already know her score due to her not being able to keep it to herself..lets just say she passed with flying colors and had nothing to worry about. :) For those of you who have been keeping up with this for over 3 years...(didn't realize how many of you there were until the criticizing me for not blogging lately!) for over 3 years, this has been the goal in our lives. MISSION COMPLETE! One step closer to our next goal in line. Our new goal as of late...get the house ready for sale in the spring/summer.

The other thing that has happened around here lately was the HUGE ice storm that downed power lines, trees, and turned the lights off in much of the central part of the state. I have some pics which show the ice around our house, but unfortunately I didn't get any of the roads and other houses that were in really bad condition. We got lucky again..other than some branches falling onto our house and yard and bending of some trees, we didn't receive any real damage.

The snow that fell this last weekend was the first of the year...AND YES I got pictures of it! The pictures above are of the ice and the snow after. The pic of our fireplace just makes me feel cozy.

Well its off to work I go. Got my coffee and ipod. My two most wonderful things I take to work.

I promised myself I would blog later tonigh or tomorrow night with more info and pics of this last couple months, including our annual trip to Branson..so stay tuned!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

We hope each of you have a wonderful Turkey Day blessed with yummy food, beloved family and great friends!

BOOYA BABY! Tied for first!

Broncos OBLITERATE the Titans!

I just love it when things come together at just the right time. This was the Broncos we know and love! After having almost the entire offense starters injured in some way or another, our rookies step up and hand a well deserved loss to the Titans. John Lynch is back and helped lead the defense back to the hard hitting team I love to watch. After losing our first string RB to injury and possible suspension from the league, we put in our 2nd stringer to get the job done. When he went down late in the game we put our 3d stringer in and he went for 62 yds up the gut for his first NFL TD. Our punt returner Glenn Martinez returns a punt 80 yds for a TD. Cutler passed to Stokley for a 48 yd touchdown and threw to Brandon Marshall for a 41 yd TD. It was raining TD's in Denver for our home game at Mile High! I can go to bed happy now!

Cutler Doing what he do!

Andre Hall For his first NFL TD!

They declared "Marshall Law" in Denver Tonight!

Glenn Martinez takes a punt back to where it came from!

They Call him "The Slot Machine" for a reason!

Uhhhh...Say Wha!

High Tomorrow:

76

High Thursday?

40

I've done the math several times in my head and once on paper...and yes...

Thats almost a 40 degree temp drop!

Welcome...You have now entered "my" Twilight Zone world I call...Missouri

Gobble Gobble Y'all!

Thanksgiving Day Ahead!!!

Well we have had several really full weekends of fun and relaxation. Last weekend we went to Silver Dollar City with Deidra's side of the fam. As expected, it was about as great a weekend as it has ever been. It topped out in the upper mid 60's so it was brisk during the morning and evening but almost warm in the afternoon. Went to a couple more shows than normal and I have to say, I'm hooked on the shows down there. They are as good as any I have seen and probably up there in acting with some of the elite shows in the state. Friday and Saturday night was fun and a bit crazy as Deidra's family whooped out this game that became quite...eh...well lets just say "not for the kids". I have not laughed that hard in quite some time. Got some great pics of the lights down there and I will post them soon. On to Thanksgiving! I get a 5 day weekend this go around. Took Monday after off and Gov Blunt was kind enough..ehem..."election year?"...to give us the day after off. Deidra will have to work Friday :( but probably not a full day. Oh well...more leftovers for me I guess. Broncos Play Monday Night Football and this will be a game to watch. If we .. WHEN we win, we will be tied for 1st place in the division. GO BRONCOS!

Movies to see:

Here are a couple movies we are going to see soon. Click on the pic to get the trailer of each.

Fred Claus

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

Walk in the park

We went to Ha Ha Tonka this weekend and watched the sunset. Then we stopped by Deidra's mom and dads to check out their new house on the lake. Talk about a cool place! They are about 2 minutes from the Ha Ha Tonka castle ruins. The house sits on a little cove that is too shallow for the big boats to go. Perfect for a peaceful lakefront house. Their place has 2 huge decks that oversee the cove. Can't wait for summer BBQ's! Next week we go to Branson for our annual light festival trip. I have been looking forward to this all year! Below are some pics of us last night.

Well its been a bit since my last post. Ill try not to let this happen much. Just had a bunch of stuff happen in the last couple weeks (including the Broncos problems) that has put me in a "non blogging" mood. All of that is changing though. Lets do some catch up. Weeks ago, the kids and us went to St. Louis for the zoo and to spend the night. We had a wonderful time as usual. Well actually the time was a bit better than usual now that I have the good camera. Got some excellent photos.We went to the Hartsburg pumpkin festival this month and was a bit disappointed. Its no longer a little event. It seems EVERYONE knows about it now and due to the larger number of people, it seems to be less of a "kids" attraction and more of a trinket sellers market. Last weekend and yesterday we went to Six Flags. You may be thinking...2 times in 2 weeks!?! Darn skippy! Got season passes and you know Ill get my moneys worth! Six Flags in October turns into a spooky fun time called Fright Fest. This will probably take place of the Hartsburg thing from now on. The kids loved it! When the sun goes down, the haunted houses open up and the spooks come out to scare everyone. Quite a fun time. Next week we have nothing to do (kids sports are over) and we are happy about that. Time to take a weekend off cuz the week after that its off to Branson for the light festival. I look forward to that every year. During all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I think all of us at some point or another have fallen into the rut of turning the Christmas holiday into a bit of a stressful time with what to buy whom and how much money it will take and forget what it is all about. Branson brings that part back for me. We are going to start a new trend. Those of you who know me know how I used to be. No Christmas anything until Thanksgiving is over....NO MORE! I want to have a long Christmas every year so from now on our Christmas starts November 1. I would start it earlier but it seems weird with skeletons and zombies hanging everywhere.

Look for my next couple posts to be pictures. I have the new camera and have taken some good shots of our October events.

Sorry again for the non blogging lately. Rest assured (ehem...Nikki & Chad..ehem), I'm back.