Finally! Our New Garage!!

It's been a long time in the making folks, but it is now official. We are breaking ground on our garage as we speak! I will post pictures as it comes along so that you all can see the progress. We are just SO excited that we will be able to park our cars INSIDE soon! The builder says it should take 3 months, but we are banking on more like 4-5 months so we'll see.
Have a great day everyone!

Graduation, Shuffleboard, and Laramie, WY

Ayn Rand once said, “The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity.” Last weekend Brian and I, along with my parents, traveled to Laramie, Wyoming to celebrate my brother’s successes at his college graduation. Sean was three years through a tough mechanical engineering program at the University of Wyoming when he decided to think about who he wanted to be once his college life was over. Knowing the great financial success an engineering graduate usually receives once finding employment, Sean put his passion ahead of his wallet and changed his major to Kinesiology and Health Promotion. He has always had a great passion for physical fitness and felt he wanted to help people find their way to a healthier lifestyle. I have no doubt this world will be a better place with Sean at the forefront of health promotion helping a society struggling to get fit! Good luck at the NCED in Norman bud!

We flew into Denver on Friday night and promptly drove up to Laramie via Owl Canyon Road. Brian has many fond memories growing up in northern Colorado and loves to drive around reminiscing. Friday night we stopped by Altitude’s for dinner, a great place to eat and drink and a Laramie icon! Saturday morning we enjoyed seeing Sean in his cap and gown finally accepting his diploma at the graduation ceremony. After the ceremony we all headed to our hotel suite for a little party complete with Winger’s wings and a cake imprinted with two of Sean’s cutest baby photos. Around 6pm we headed to the Ranger to play shuffleboard. Who would have thought that sliding metal pucks down a salt covered lane would be entertainment? But it is my friends, I am now a shuffleboard addict and we hope to have one in our garage one day. After shuffleboard and several cocktails, we decided to hit the Cowboy (another Laramie icon) for some country swing dancing. My husband is a wonderful dancer and I love to dance with him! We had a blast dancing and we all burned off some of the calories in the wings, cake, and cocktails with cardio-packed dancing! A good night out in Laramie wouldn’t be complete without a trip to Taco Bell at 1am for some tacos and burritos. After eating in attempt to soak up some of the alcohol in our systems, we hit the hay around 2am. Sunday morning was Mother’s Day and Brian and I had breakfast with my mom in the morning and then drove down to Fort Collins, CO to surprise Brian’s mom! She had no idea we were in Laramie so she was really excited to see us and it was a great surprise.

All in all it was a perfect weekend. College was such a fun time for us and it was so neat to relive it, if only for one weekend.
Have a great day everyone!

Kansas City, the Detroit Tigers, and Great Friends!

Kansas City is home to the “boys in blue” and the brand new Kauffman Stadium. But who would have known that KC is also home to great restaurants, upscale shops, and a mix of art and history museums that would overwhelm even the avid museum-goers!

Brian and I were lucky enough to visit KC just a couple weekends ago with our good friends, the Kelamises. We started out our weekend with a night filled with Mexican food and margaritas at Baja 600, with the night ending in drinks at the Irish pub, Tom Fooleries. Then Saturday morning we were in for an overwhelmingly powerful trip to the World War I museum in downtown KC. The tragedy and death felt by so many societies and cultures worldwide was truly palpable in the state of the art museum. After a greasy cheeseburger to ease our hangovers, the girls hit the shopping in the Plaza District while the boys had a beer at the pub. Saturday evening was time for baseball and the Tigers weren’t disappointing with a win against the Royals, 9 to 1. (I even got to see Mags hit a home run!) Also not disappointing were the Royals fans. Brian has been around the country watching baseball and he says the Royals followers are the nicest fans. Obviously Tigers fans decked out in our English D fan wear, the Royals fans were never without a smile for us or a warm welcome. Trips to the concession stand lead us into cheerful (despite losing) fans sharing a genuine love for America’s favorite pastime. After the game we went to the Westport District for a most entertaining night full of martinis, pizza, and people-watching.

Thanks Kelamises! Hanging out with you two never ceases to come with lots of unforgettable moments!

Enjoy the pictures everyone!

Anniversary

I just want to take this quick blog minute to gloat a little bit…

Today happens to mark my three year anniversary to the best man in the world. Without getting too mushy on the public internet, I’ll just say that for all you women out there looking for the perfect man, stop wasting your time, he’s already taken.

“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.” Aristotle

Our Celebration of Earth Day

Good day family and friends! As you know, we work in the oil and gas industry. Because of that, some of you may think Brian and I have a vested interest in arguing against man-made climate change and legislation such as Cap and Trade proposed to decrease greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. You would be wrong in making this assumption. Brian and I are also scientists who feel that before anyone can form an intelligent conclusion of their own, they should hear all the facts, fair and unbiased, and entertain all the variables. I do not feel like Uncle Sam is listening to both sides of the debate about global warming. Following hearings before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on climate change legislation and Al Gore's demands for immediate action, I feel like my fellow Americans need to take a stand.
I urge you all to visit the website http://www.climatedepot.com/ if you wish to form educated opinions of your own instead of following in line behind Leo and Al.
I read a t-shirt one time that said, "Friends Don't Let Friends Idolize Celebrities".
Friends, educate yourselves!!

A Wonderful Easter Weekend

This past weekend Brian and I drove to northern Nebraska to visit our family. We got to see our new little niece, Willa. She is an absolute DOLL and such a joy to be around. She can melt you with her smile and I don't think she is really capable of crying. Our niece and nephew, Maia and Ben, were wonderful too, as always. They are such cute, smart, and caring kids. Ben is so sweet and sensitive and always loves to cuddle and Maia is so driven, smart, and beautiful.
As always, we love visiting the Sand Hills and this trip wasn't a disappointment. We can't wait till our next visit.
Happy Easter everyone!!

NO-Bama

I pride myself on staying up to date on my current events. Doing this allows me to be informed enough to carry on an intelligent conversation about politics. Although I have several friends who do not share my views, I have never and will never let politics come between any friendships. I consider myself a "liberal Republican" even if I am the only one. I believe gay marriage should be legalized and that, under certain circumstances, abortion should be a woman’s choice. However, I do not think Uncle Sam has any right to tell me how much of my hard-earned money I “need” and how much I “owe” to the government so they can distribute my tax money in ways I don’t see as fair or beneficial. Although I understand that the majority of Americans voted in our current President, I think we would be better off if we’d been able to go to our local zoo to pick out animals of our choice to serve as our country’s political reps. After all, real elephants and donkeys probably have a better sense of cause and effect than our current administration.
Even if you say you “don’t care about politics”, the paper above is a must read. We need to spread the message to our leaders and friends about the importance of our domestic oil and gas companies. If we don’t, we all may get pretty used to paying European prices of $8 or more for a gallon for gasoline once we become totally dependent on foreign oil.