Family Photo

We tried to take a picture of the dog and both cats all together. Fail! I ended up with scratches all over and the cats were mad at the world for the next hour.

Former Neighbors

Our normal Friday Night hangout session with our former neighbors was bumped up a notch when another former neighbor stopped by. 

Favorite Chair

We all have our own favorite chairs. V is no exception. Hers is the barstool with a chinrest. 

Honor Roll

CP is proud to be not only have perfect attendance, but also be on the honor roll. He's really enjoying high school.

Pi Day!

We celebrated Pi Day (3/14) with some apple pi in the lab.

Next holiday: Star Wars Day (5/4).

New Vanity

While I was in Vegas, JP & the boys stripped the oak vanity in our bathroom and turned it white. It was a surprise to see when I got home. We just need a new countertop and sinks and it will look like a new bathroom.

ConExpo 2014

This year I finally got to go to ConExpo in Las Vegas. It's a traveling trade show that only comes around every three years. Supposedly it's the biggest trade show that Vegas hosts - 100,000 attendees. 

We stayed at the Luxor at the south end of the strip. At night, the light from the top of the pyramid attracts zillions of bugs, bats, and nighthawks. There are flying things up as far as the eye can see. 

The ConExpo show fill all of the expo buildings plus outdoor areas to the east and west of the convention center. All of the equipment manufacturers show off their biggest and best equipment. The sky was filled with cranes, aerial lifts, and concrete pumps.

The high clouds were drifting by slowly - they gave the illusion that the cranes were moving. I'm really glad my job doesn't entail working in a 200-ft manlift. 

The Weekender

 I spent most of last week in MN at our corporate HQ. We're gearing up to celebrate our Centennial this year. There's a cool old tractor sitting in the main hallway there.

No trip to The Cities would be complete without a stopover at Ike's in the airport for their meal in a glass. I need to find a source for jalabeanos.

Babysitting the Boys Next Door

This weekend we're babysitting the neighbors' dogs. When you look up the definition of "lap dog", these guys show up. Hard to believe such cute dogs will shred a new leash and collar within minutes.

No Mom

While JP was in FL, we had fun here. Tater tots and fish sticks for most meals.

We took advantage of the 2-for-1 fish & chips coupon I had for the Tilted Kilt. The boy's love that place.

We turned up the amps and rocked out to Rocksmith for a while, too. CP is really getting good on the bass.

JP in FL

JP went to FL for her BFF's B-Day. The two of them planned to lounge on the beach, but it was winter in FL, and they stayed bundled up the whole time. The sand on Clearwater Beach is almost as nice as Siesta Key.

On their last night there, the clouds finally broke and the sun exposed itself to them.

Country Estate

Our ex-neighbors moved into their new country estate. They hosted the superbowl party for the remaining neighbors. Can't wait for their pool to warm up!

More Cowbell!

I used my birthday cash (Thanks everyone!) to get a cowbell (and cymbal and tambourine) for the drum set. Gotta have a cowbell! The boys were very excited - the first song we played on Rockband 3 was Don't Fear the Reaper. It's amazing how much louder real percussion instruments are compared to rubber ones.

New Rug

For my b-day, we went on an adventure to Nebraska Furniture Mart in Omaha. Our mission: find a rug for the living room. Not only did we find one, but we were able to stuff it in JP's car and take it home with us.

The animals all lent a paw to help us unroll and position it.

Vitamin D Production in January

We have been blessed with some excellent weather this winter. Most of the storms have passed by us to the East and left us with sunshine and blue skies. There's nothing like soaking in some warmth and taking a nap in the blazing sun.

The animals are no different. L follows spots of sun throughout the day.

60 degrees in January!! Love it!

January Birthdays

January is Birthday Month for us. Three out of four of us celebrate growing older in the first month of the new year. This year for BG's special day, we hit a new Italian place by Menard's where Bennigan's used to be. Very tasty!

For JP's day, we hit the Cracker Barrel. The boys love the portion sizes there. GP is into biscuits and gravy now. It's amazing how good some foods taste once you try them.

For my special day, we stopped off at Granite City in Omaha. The boys don't eat from the kids' menu anymore.

Respect the Keytar

One of our musical X-Mas gifts was Rockband 3 with a Keytar. The boys have seen keytars in old 80s videos, but were clueless about how they work. Now they know. It's a bit more tricky to play than the plastic guitars with four buttons. I'm looking forward to jamming along with some fun tunes.

Lazy Dogs

We babysat the boys next door for a few days. JP taught them that the most comfortable place in the house when a lap is unavailable is our bed.

Lap Animals of Christmas

L's favorite pastime is to shed fun in my office. Doesn't matter who is petting her, as long as she can fill my office with fur.

The boys next door just want to sit in a lap. Any lap will do, especially Nana's.

Christmas 2013

We had the usual gang here for X-Mas again. We were blessed with perfect weather and no snow. It's nice having a white Christmas, but given the choice, I'd rather have a sunny warm holiday.

CP makes everyone look short in family photos now. GP isn't far behind.