Chicago

This past week, I had the opportunity to attend a HFMA Conference in Chicago.  My hotel was one block off of Michigan Avenue (The Magnificent Mile).  My classes were from 8am to 3:15pm leaving plenty of time in the evening to explore the city and all it had to offer....and Chicago has a LOT to offer!

Chicago is a beautiful city with a variety of new and old buildings, amazing architechture, museums, huge parks, lots of shopping, and every type of restaurant imaginable.  The weather was COLD, with some snow and freezing rain, but fortunately, it was not windy while I was there.

Christmas in the big city is so much fun with all the lights, music, and window displays. The Christmas tree was at the German Christmas Festival (great food!) taking place downtown and the window display was one of many at Macy's. 

On my final night, I stopped by the Oriental Theatre to inquire about tickets to Wicked, a Broadway in Chicago show.  I learned that they hold a lottery every show and if your name is drawn, you receive front row tickets for only $25. They drew 20 names and I was one of the lucky winners and enjoyed front row seats for the show.  It was the perfect ending to a great trip.  I hope to return someday when the weather is warmer, when I have more time, and with my wife.

Happy Turkey Day!!

I want to wish all my family and friends a happy and safe Thanksgiving.  I wish we were able to join the gang in West Virginia to enjoy the company, food, and football (speakin’ of football, Jacob...you're goin' down this week). Enjoy your time together and know that I love you all and miss you guys. I am truly grateful for all of you and feel so blessed (seriously blessed!) to have you in my life. 

Nice try turkey...I'm sure dad would shoot you anyway!

Holy War?!? More Like...

HOLY CRAP!!! 

 

Almost three quarters of good football and then....

This guy lost his brain!!  

Down three points, the BYU defense was finally starting to make some stops and placed the ball back in the hands of the normally reliable offense to take the lead in the 3rd quarter. Suddenly...pick! Fortunately...no harm was done as the defense managed to force a punt. Hope was still alive, no harm, no foul right?  

Then pick! Utah score.  

Max fumbles and Utah scores. 

Down the stretch, more passes thrown to Utah defenders....game over.

Next thing I knew, I was looking at this...

Oh well...I guess in the end, a loss isn't too bad:

(1) MWC teams will get a BCS payday

(2)BYU will likely go to the same bowl, even if they had won (Las Vegas).

Thanks Utah for the cash.  Next year will be pay back.

GO COUGARS....HOLY WAR 2009!

Twilight Zone

I feel as if I have entered the Twilight Zone!  

Suddenly, women of all ages are beginnig to act like 15 year old girls....giddy at the prospect of seeing a vampire or a werewolf.   At work.  At church.  Even in my own home! I can't seem to escape it.  There are clocks counting down the arrival of these monsters.   In addition, many women are forking over $$$ and purchasing tickets in advance in hopes to be one of the first to see them. 

Even stranger, they seem to be dividing into teams...one for Edward and the other Jacob??? (Since when did my brother have such a large following anyway?) 

Perhaps it's a sign of the times: wars accross the globe, economic crisis, fires burning accross CA, and women turning into vampire lovers (although I couldn't find any scriptures to support this theory). 

I'm not sure what the facination is with these creatures.  I mean....vampires?!?  Really? They may shimmer like a diamond, but c'mon....imagine what vampire breath must be like!!! Now that's scary!! Let's not even begin to speculate about werewolves.

Well...for those who will be having an up and close encounter this weekend.  I hope you enjoy it.  I look forward to the world returning to some state of normalcy and my trip to the Twilight Zone coming to an end.

Bringin' Bloggin' Back

Now that school is over and I don't find myself writing papers every weekend, I decided to make a second attempt at blogging.  Most of the significant events of the past year are well documented on my wife's page (see My Family link), however, the lesser known stories (or my side of the story) will be documented here going forward. 

One recent bit of fun for myself and Brayden not captured on our family blog took place November 8th.  We were invited to go shooting with friends at an open range in the nearby grasslands.  Although we shot at targets and some skeet, most of our time was spent blowing things up!  Thanks to Tannerite, and pumpkins on sale at Wal-Mart, we were able to say goodbye to Halloween with a bang!

It was a lot of fun and we couldn't have asked for a nicer day in November (sunny, clear, and no wind).  Here's a picture of Brayden with friends.

Finally, here's a picture of some of the arsenal and participants.

Thanks Bill for the weapons, explosives, and a great time!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

To my One and Only love....my wife....the mother of my children.....my Valentine.....Stacie!! I can't believe that we have already shared 8 years together. Every one of them has been amazing and time truly flies when you're having fun. I am so lucky to have married such a patient, loving, caring, intelligent, and BEAUTIFUL woman. Rather than provide the usual card...the boys and I have something to share with you.





I love you so much and hope you have a wonderful day today. You are the LOVE OF MY LIFE and I gladly accept your invitation to attend the "little black dress" event Friday night.

Will you accept this rose? :)

Spring Fever

I am SO ready for winter to be over!  Just when it seems as if it can't possibly get any colder, it does.  Snow continues to cover the ground here in Greeley and because of the frigid temps, I don't foresee a melt off any time soon.  I can't wait for Spring!

While winter may have me down, baseball begins spring training in February and the Red Sox's pursuit of a World Series will begin again.  I just purchased opening day Rockies tickets and Brayden and I are counting the days until we can return to the ball park.  I've decided to make this a tradition with the boys (Andrew will start next year) and this year will mark our 3rd opening day together.  I love going to the ballpark and I especially enjoy taking Brayden (and Andrew soon).  It's neat that Brayden is becoming just as exited as I am to attend the game.  Ahhhh....just thinking about baseball warms me up!

 

Remembering Opening Day 2007

     

        

Sledding Cover-Up?

I am shocked (and frankly hurt) that my family and friends would believe that I would intentionally leave pictures or videos off my blog for the purpose of sharing an experience or story that is not completely accurate.  What makes this especially hard is the betrayal of my own wife and mother...the two most important women in my life.

Since Stacie obviously feels like the truth about our sledding experience should be shared, I will admit that there is some video footage that was not released on my original post.  You must know that my only reason for not releasing the additional video footage was to protect mom from suffering flashbacks of the traumatic events that occurred during our sledding trip.  Yes...it's true.  Mom and Stacie sat in the car while we were sledding.  What you don't know, and what mom obviously doesn't remember, is that she wasn't in the car because it was cold.

 

(click on window in bottom right of player to choose screen size)

 

I'm sorry mom for sharing this.  But even you were asking that I share the unreleased video footage.

I apologize to all who visit this site as it was never my intent to deceive you.  I simply wanted to share the good memories, videos, and pictures of us sledding and I guess I was hoping we could just forget "the accident". 

Sledding, Sliding, and FALLING!

The Thursday following Christmas, it snowed and snowed leaving about 6 - 8 inches of fresh powder on the ground. The following day was sunny and cold and conditions were perfect for sledding. Brayden received new snow gear and a sled for Christmas and it was time to put them to the test! Andrew wore his hand-me-down snow suit from Brayden which was as good as new. The only problem was that he refused to wear gloves and keep his hood on (not a smart idea when it is 9 degrees outside).

Prepared for the elements we sought out to find the perfect hill.

We followed the crowds and decided to sled where the rest of Greeley was sledding, a long stretch of hill not far from our house.

Andrew made one run, had to thaw his hands in the car, and made a second run just before returning home. He appeared to have a good time, but I'm sure he would have enjoyed sledding more if he would have had feeling in his hands and face.

Brayden, however, was plenty warm and didn't want to leave. He started cautiously (half way up the hill), but by the end, was climbing and sliding all by himself. Even hit some small bumps.

As for the experts, I believe the video footage speaks for itself...

I think grandpa will stick to skiing!

We had so much fun and will certainly be back to take another crack at the hill!

Happy New Year!!

I finally cut my blog loose and I'm going live for 2008.  I'm looking forward to an awesome year and I will do my best to document the highlights for the world to see.  Consider this blog a resolution for 2008.

 

This year is already unique in that I am starting 2008 alone.  I dropped my family off at the airport on new year's eve and they will be away for a week in Arizona.  I rang in the new year with friends playing Monopoly and Guitar Hero before watching the ball drop in New York.  I counted down the last minutes of 2007 with Stacie on the phone.  As for my first day of 2008, I slept in without interruption, watched Michigan defeat Florida in the bowl game, and later ate black eye peas and cornbread with friends.  Although it is strange (and kinda creepy) living in an empty house, the rest and relaxation is much needed after a busy December.

I look forward to sharing my memories and experiences this upcoming year.  May you all have a successful and prosperous 2008!