Jen Goins

Kindergarten / First Grade Humor

2008-12-01T19:19:00.002-05:00

We've heard this joke about a hundred times over the past week. Thought I'd share. He's the life of the party around here...and Megan, too.

Colin says "Hey, look under there!"

Mom/Dad/Megan/Grandpa/Grandma/etc. says "Under where?"

Colin says "Ha ha - you said underwear!!"

Jury Duty

2008-11-27T06:26:00.002-05:00

Let me start out by saying I am thankful. I am thankful for America. Thankful that we live in a country with a justice system where you are innocent until proven guilty. And thankful that we are free to do and say and be whatever or whoever we want.

And I am thankful that my 10 day jury service is complete!!!!

I sat on a 9 member jury from November 12 to 24. It was a civil case and lasted 10 days. It was so difficult to sit still and pay attention that long. By the end of each day, I was just mentally exhausted (and crabby). The hardest part, for me, was not being able to talk about it with anyone - not even the other jury members.

The bright side is that the court house is essentially across the street from my work, so my daily routine didn't even change. AND we got paid a small amount each day which I get to keep, just in time for Christmas! AND ITS OVER!!

Soccer Awards Night

2008-11-20T20:44:00.003-05:00

Tonight was Soccer Awards Night for Colin & Megan's Team, the Tarheels. Shown in this picture was their coach, Derek. The Tarheels got second place in theh tournament, so they got pretty large trophys. The kids are pretty proud!

Flu Shots

2008-11-01T18:05:00.003-04:00

I told the kids this morning that we were going to go get flu shots. Here's how the conversation went.

Jen said: "Hey kids, you need to get dressed because in
a little bit we're going to go get flu shots."

Colin & Megan cried: "No...I don't want to...it
will hurt..." [fake cry, fake cry]

Jen said: "Will you do it for $1?"

Colin said: "I'll do if for $10.25."

Megan said: "yeah, $10.25."

Jen said: "OK, but if you throw a fit at the place, you
get no money."

And it all went well. I'm out $20.50, but it was totally worth it. :) Isn't that funny? $10.25? I don't know where they come up with this stuff.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-01T17:56:00.002-04:00

We hope everyone had a nice halloween. Colin and Megan had a great time as a Vampire and a Princess. Both were decked out in lots of make-up. Nate took them around to bunches of houses while I handed out treats at home.

We went back to basics on the jack-o-lanterns this time. No fancy, intricate designs like the last couple years...

1st Grade Homework

2008-10-26T20:23:00.003-04:00

Colin wrote the attached story about Magical Boots in his first grade class in September. Enjoy!

Translation: My magical boots help me fly away from booby traps and I like it because they were super fast like a race car and they can go invisible and can go straight through peoples bodies and jump up very high but I am not doing that right now.

I'm looking forward to more creative writing assignments from Colin and to when Megan starts bringing these gems home!

Mammoth Cave

2008-10-26T20:10:00.005-04:00

Last week was fall break for the kids, so my dad and I took Colin and Megan to Mammoth Cave. It was pretty fun. It would have been more fun if it hadn't rained all morning...

On the drive down there, Megan told us she was not going into the cave - that she would just wait for us by the door. Which is hilarious. Her reasoning - she thought there would be bears in the cave. :) But when she saw our tour group of ~100 people, she decided it must be safe. She actually was very brave and enjoyed herself. Colin enjoyed himself too - so did Dad and I.

The tour was about 2 hours in length. I think kids smaller than 5 would probably be a real pain. The cave is absolutley not handicap accessible. There are spaces in which a clausterphobic person would be miserable. So no strollers. The tour we went on started with the decent of 280 wet, slippery, metal stairs - which is what convinced me that toddlers would be a pain in the cave.

But kids 5+ would just love it. And the tour guides catered very well to the kids answering their questions and talking in a way that the kids enjoyed the schpeels too.

Bank Accounts

2008-10-26T20:02:00.002-04:00

Colin and Megan opened savings accounts last week. Colin was pretty excited about it, but Megan had decided she wasn't going to give any of her money to the bank. But when she saw that she would get a green booklet out of the deal, she changed her mind and agreed to put in $3. She was concerned that then money wouldn't be safe. In the end we convinced her to put all $15 of her dollars in.

The nice man who helped us at the bank, Tim, gave Colin and Megan a tour of the vault. They really liked that part and I think it helped them feel safer about leaving thier money in the bank.

They are totally stoked about thier bank accounts, so I'm sure they would love cash gifts at Christmas or Birthdays if that is something you're interested in.

Parent Teacher Conferences

2008-10-26T19:42:00.002-04:00

At Megan's Kindergarten Parent Teacher Conference, Ms. D said Megan is doing GREAT! She knows almost everything a kindergartener should know by the END of the year, and its only the beginning. We're very proud of Megan!

At Colin's First Grade Parent Teacher Conference, Mrs. Westerhoff siad Colin is doing GREAT! She said Colin has all A's - in Math, Reading, and Spelling. We're very proud of Colin!

Soccer - Fall 2008

2008-10-26T19:23:00.002-04:00

Colin and Megan participated in U-8 soccer this fall. They had lots of fun, learned alot about soccer, and met several new friends. Their team was called the Tarheals and was coached by Coach Derrick. He is a terrific coach - giving them lots of vocal feedback.

This was Megan's first season to play and Colin's 4th. They both had a lot to learn. The first game Coach sent Megan in and told her to go stand by the "Ref", but she had no idea what a "Ref" was. By the end of the season she was getting in there and contributing. In season's past, Colin liked to chase the other players more than the ball, but this season, he was starting to get into the game. Even a glimmer of passing strategy started to shine through by the end of the season.

The Tarheals won every game of the regular season except two - which they tied. In the tournament, they came in second place - first place went to the travel team. So the Tarheals had a terrific season.

This is the picture of the Championship game of the Tournament. The black team was the travel team, who won the game. The blue team was Colin and Megan's team - the Tarheals.

Colin's First Loose Tooth - Fell Out

2008-10-26T19:05:00.003-04:00

On September 4, 2008 Colin lost his first tooth. The permanent tooth replacement was halfway up before the baby one finally came out.

The Tooth Fairy came, but she was running late. She came sometime after Colin woke up and before he was done getting ready for school. He thinks she snuck in while he was in the bathroom. She left a dollar. Initially Colin was pretty devastated that she didn't come, but once the dollar was in his hot little hands he was completely happy.

Hopefully next time the Tooth Fairy will come while he's still sleeping. He already has another loose tooth, so time will tell. :)

Colin's 7th Birthday

2008-10-26T18:53:00.003-04:00

We celebrated Colin's birthday a few times since we didn't have the traditional family party at our house this year. We started out celebrating with the Smoker side of the family at "Smoker Family Fun Day." Kraig was totally into it and blew out Colin's candles for him. What a little helper :P We all laughed (except Colin, of course) and re-lit the candles so Colin could take a turn.

The week of his birthday, we had a party at Pump-It-Up and invited all his friends. They had a blast. Having the party off-site (i.e. not at our house) was sure easier on us. And we don't have giant bounce houses to goof around in. :)

Lucas Oil Stadium...

2008-10-26T18:43:00.003-04:00

...is a beautiful place to see a football game. These pictures are from the first pre-season game. It was a lovely, breezy August evening. Nate still hasn't had the chance to go to a game, even though we have season tickets. Its a real shame. Looks like it will be December before he gets an opportunity.

For those of you who don't follow Colts football, Lucas Oil Stadium is brand new this year. It is the replacement to the RCA dome which can be seen in the picture below. Since the picture was taken the dome part has been deflated as part of the demolition. The new stadium is a prominent part of the ever-changing Indianapolis skyline. As you approach downtown from the west (from the airport) the stadium looks like it could swallow the rest of downtown - its so big!

Pump It Up!

2008-08-12T22:35:00.004-04:00

This new place called "Pump It Up" just opened right near Children's Village a couple weeks ago. It is a giant bounce house place. Sarah and I took the kids tonight to check it out. The kids cost $7 each and the parents jump for free. And it was a blast. Its a franchise type outfit, so if you live near one, you should pay them a visit.

First Day of Kindergarten

2008-08-12T22:22:00.003-04:00

My baby started Kindergarten today. :(

Like I told Nate, I think I have this fantasy that I'm tougher than I am because I was pretty beside myself all day today. Anyway, she did great. Her teacher's name is Ms. D. So far, so good.

Of course, part of moving on to Kindergarten means that she has to leave her Pre-K class behind. We have been SO fortunate to have Colin and then Megan under the care of Ms. Rachelle at Children's Village for the past couple of years. Ms. Rachelle has made Nate and I so comfortable about where the kids have been. And she has taught them so much - academically and socially. She is a special teacher and we have been completely blessed that she has been part of our kids lives - and ours. Thank you Ms. Rachelle!!!

1st Day of 1st Grade

2008-08-12T22:17:00.003-04:00

Monday was Colin's first day of first grade. His teacher's name is Mrs. Scott. And everything seems to be going along smoothly so far. No lost kids on the bus this year, thank goodness. Looks a heck of a lot less nervous here than he did last year, huh?

State Fair 2008

2008-08-12T22:06:00.005-04:00

As we do each summer, Lindsey and I took the kids to the Indiana State Fair. This year we added a new member to our tradition - Sarah.

So we ate till we all had stomach aches, watched the kids ride the rides in the midway, saw some animals, and went home exhausted. The weather was terrific. All in all, a successful trip. Next year, Lindsey will be have a 6 month old in-tow. We're hoping she'll still be up for it...

San Francisco

2008-08-12T21:01:00.009-04:00

My parents and I took a trip last month to San Francisco - just the three of us (no Nate, no kids). It was terrific. Here are few of the hilites of our trip.

Day 1 - We rented bicycles in downtown S.F. and biked across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito, had lunch, then took a ferry back to downtown S.F. to return the bikes. Then we went back to the hotel and collapsed.

There were 2 "Emergency Phone and Crisis Counseling" spots on the bridge. I found the smaller sign down below a bit startling. In case you can't read it, it says...

Crisis Counseling

There is hope.

Make the call.

The consequences of jumping from this bridge are fatal and tragic.

Besides that the bridge was absolutley stunning. We were there on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in July. I think most anyone with half a brain would expect there to be a significant number of tourists on hand. However, there were also many "Lance Armstrong" types who wanted to ride as fast as they could across the thing. These arrogant riders acted all put out and inconvenienced if they were slowed in any way. They were pretty rude. I still cautiously took my time crossing the bridge. Careful not to get run over by the crazy "Lance Armstrong" types. My parents were way ahead of me and when I finally caught up with them, they were about ready to turn back and search. But as I told them - they sent me to Purdue to be a CIVIL ENGINEER! I wanted to check it out in detail. Not just a drive by. To all my bridge engineer friends...eat your heart out. :)

This is picture is taken from where we crossed underneath the structure south of the big spans. Lots of utilites were along for the ride.

This picture shows what all the cables are attached too. It amounts to sections of approx 36" pipes connected together.

At a pier looking up.

At a pier looking down.

If you are in civil engineering - you've got to put this on your "Life's To-Do" list.

Day 2 - We drove down south down the pacific coast to Carmel. Then back north to Saratoga where we went to a Marc Cohn concert at a venue called the Mountain Winery. The drive was spectacular. The concert was awesome. We liked the concert so much that the next day we purchased tickets to his Indy show and went again in August.

The drive down the pacific coast was great too. There are lots of places where you can pull off the roadway and go down to the beach. Another striking thing about the drive to me was the amount of agriculture going on.

Day 3 - Alcatraz & Fisherman's Wharf

We did the US Park Service Alcatraz trip. It was ok. I guess in comparision with all the other amazing things we did, a tour of a super old prison just doesn't take the cake for me. But I'm glad we did it.

Fisherman's wharf - I guess I feel the same about Pier 39. Kind of a low point for me. A crowded over commercialized tourist trap. We did see the actor who played the Hulk on the original series there signing autographs.

Day 4 - Muir Woods & Chinatown

Muir woods is a majestic, breath-taking place. I LOVED it. Its hard to describe the beauty of these trees. They are ~1,000 years old. They are huge.

Megan's New Haircut

2008-08-12T20:52:00.004-04:00

Megan got her back to school haircut - a bob. She loves it. And I love it. But I think Nate is still recovering from shock.

She has a lot easier time taking care of it and keeping it out of her food. :) In this picture she is sporting her new Disney Princesses backpack too.

Colin's First Loose Tooth - Update

2008-08-12T20:50:00.001-04:00

As of today - the new tooth has erupted...but the old tooth is still hanging on.

Going Green

2008-07-12T08:36:00.005-04:00

Nate and I have been going green lately. We signed up for the curbside recycling (about $5 per month). We replaced most of the lightbulbs in our house with those compact flourescent kind. We signed up with our power company to purchase 100% green power (adds about $3 per month to our bill). We started turning off the computer at night. We are growing a garden as I posted back in May. And we installed a rain barrel so we can use rain water to water the garden.

Our garden is really doing great. These pictures were taken on June 17. The plants are even bigger now. We might have 100 tomatos growing (we have 2 cherry tomato plants and one regular) - none ripe yet.

Camping at Ouabache State Park

2008-07-12T08:04:00.005-04:00

One weekend in late June, Nate, Colin, and I went camping at Ouabache State Park (pronounced Wabash). The park is near Bluffton and Fort Wayne, Indiana. For an Indiana State park, it is on the small side - but super nice. There weren't too many people there and the weather wasn't too hot. Just the way we like it.

After we first arrived and got checked in to our camp site we had to hit the playground. We het the playground about 94 times in the two days we were there.

But while we were at the playground that first time, Nate and I started to notice there was a storm blowing in. So Nate checked the radar on the Blackberry. How did we used to function without cell phones? There was one of those storms with the blinking red blobs headed right towards the park.
So I did the smart thing and climbed the 100' fire tower. Megan and Colin pressured me into it - but Colin bailed out after the first flight of stairs. Megan pressed on all the way to the top. The fire tower is pretty flexible at the top. It was really moving around in the wind (what a shocker). I think I asked Megan if she wanted to turn around and go back down every 4th step, but she was determined to get to the top. So when we got to the top I lifter her up so she could see out. We could make out those storm clouds quite nicely from up there. After about a 5 second stay, we headed back down. By the time we got back to the bottom, I was shaking like a leaf. She wasn't even phased. Maybe next time we go it will be better weather.We almost threw in the towel and headed out while the storm was going on, but it moved out in about an hour. So did the heat and most of the people. So it was perfect for us.

We had brought our bikes, so we decided to try out the park's bike trail before we set up our camp site. We figure we rode about 4 miles in all, which is pretty good considering we had a 5-year old with us and I hadn't ridden a bike in maybe seven years?? The bike trail there is very nice. The grades are pretty flat. Not much traffic. Shady and sunny spots.

The most challenging part was riding with Megan. She was going a snails pace at first and as an adult bike rider, there is a certian minimum speed you have to go to stay upright. We were definitely riding right about that speed for the first mile or so. Then she got a bit braver and sped up. Colin crashed a few times, but as a rookie rider without training wheels, we kind of expected that. So Nate and I just took turns switching between riding with each kid. It was fun.

After the bike ride we headed back to camp and set up the tent and stuff.
In the picture below, you can see the kids and Nate in our tent. After this picture the air mattress you see below got thrown away. It deflated in the middle of the night. We're going to try cots next time.
First thing in the morning we went on a short trail around the wildlife exhibit there at the park. They have a herd of about 5 or so buffalo.

All in all the camping trip was a success. I ended up with very sore leg muscles for the next couple of days. I don't know if it was climbing the fire tower, riding bikes, or sleeping on the ground that did it, but I was really sore. We're planning another trip this fall when the weather cools back down.

Colin's First Loose Tooth

2008-07-12T07:43:00.003-04:00

Colin is proud to announce the he has his first loose tooth! He can't eat corn on the cob or apples right now, but that's ok. I think a loose tooth is some kind of right of passage for kindergarteners/first graders. And most of his friends already have a couple big kid teeth...

Below he's displaying the tooth in question. It is the lower front left tooth. What a ham. Just wait till he actually loses it.

Megan's 5th Birthday

2008-07-12T07:34:00.004-04:00

On Wednesday, June 11, 2008 we celebrated Megan's 5th Birthday! She had her Grandma and Grandpa Smoker, Aunt Lindsey, Aunt Sarah, Mom, Dad, and Colin with her to celebrate. We went out to supper then came back to our place, opened a few gifts, and had cake and ice cream.

On Saturday, June 14, 2008 we celebrated Megan's 5th Birthday again - this time with a few kids, party games, streamers, balloons, and a Little Mermaid birthday cake. She loved it.

On her actual birthday (June 11) Nate's sister, Amanda, had her new baby - Brendan Murray. He and Amanda did well and are healthy.

Besides being related to Megan's 5th birthday, these three events unfortunately have another thing in common. We don't have a single picture. :( If you have any picture of these, could you share with me?

Kindergarten News

2008-05-22T21:32:00.004-04:00

Well, Colin's last day of Kindergarten was today. I can't believe how fast this year has went. He had full day Kindergarten and learned SO much - academically and socially. He is certainly set-up to succeed in First Grade in the fall.

Remember his picture from the First day...

He looks so much bigger and so much less worried in the picture below. :) Last day...

In other Kindergarten news, Megan is all signed up to begin Kindergarten in the fall. She'll be in full day k too. This is a picture of Megan and her best pal, Sophia, from daycare.

No Training Wheels!

2008-05-22T21:07:00.005-04:00

Last night, Colin kicked off the training wheels on his bike and rode like a big boy! He is super-proud of himself. It was pretty rough at first, but he quickly got the hang of it. It was like watching an butterfly emerge from a cocoon...

He's not ready for the Tour De France, but he should be able to get around the neighborhood like a pro soon.

This first picture is actually a video. Just push the Play button to see him riding for yourself!

Megan is doing much better on her bike this spring too. She is much braver riding it WITHOUT mommy holding her constantly. Which makes it a lot easier for me to go over and scrape Colin off the sidewalk as needed.

Garden

2008-05-22T21:01:00.004-04:00

We built a 4'x4' raised bed garden in our backyard last weekend and planted a few of our favorite vegtables. We really haven't had a garden since we became parents, so it feels pretty good to do so. Its inspiring us to go "green" so...we're making more of an effort to reduce electricity usage and reduce what we throw away. Maybe start recycling again. But I really love paper plates. :(

Churchill Downs

2008-05-22T20:50:00.003-04:00

HNTB had a spring company event at Churchill Downs last week. Churchill Downs is the horse racing track in Louisville where the Kentucky Derby is held in early May each year. Nate and I went and had a good time. We'd never been to anything like that before, so it was a learning experience. We picked a few winners and a few losers, but didn't leave too much money behind.

Spring 08 Soccer

2008-05-22T20:46:00.005-04:00

Colin played soccer this spring. What a difference a year makes! He actually played the game and somewhat paid attention when he was on the sideline. Colin was number 4. Megan sat on the sideline with us - she didn't want to sign-up. Maybe we can convince her this fall??

IU Graduation

2008-05-04T08:31:00.003-04:00

My sister, Sarah, graduated from IU yesterday with her bachelors degree from Kelley School of Business.

My sister, Lindsey, also graduated from IU this month, but with her masters degree in education.

We attended Sarah's commencement ceremony yesterday at IU's Assembly Hall with thousands of other very proud familys.

Even though I'm a boilermaker, I decorated my house in Crimson and Creme and held the celebratory open house because I couldn't be prouder of my little sisters.

To make the situation even sweeter, Sarah starts her real job in a couple weeks at Rolls Royce. So she's moving to Plainfield this week - just a stone's throw away from our house! We're all pretty excited to get to see eachother much more.

New Addition

2008-05-04T08:23:00.003-04:00

This week we made a new addition to our place...a 10'x12' minibarn. We haven't moved our stuff into it yet, so the kids have been using it as their very own fort and basketball court. It's bigger than I expected.

Besides filling it, the only thing left to do to it is paint it. Our homeowner's association covenents prescribe painting it to match the house. Nate is contemplating painting it black with a big yellow smiley face just to spite them. Hopefully I'll talk him out of it. I'll probably be doing the painting anyway, so maybe I'll get to chose the color scheme? :)

Just doing our part to stimulate the economy...

Easter 2008

2008-03-23T15:14:00.003-04:00

We had our family easter egg hunt this year...with a few changes...

First change was that it was at my parent's home instead of at our grandparent's home. Grandma and Papaw weren't up for a bunch of entertaining on account of some health drama. But they were able to come over to Mom and Dad's for lunch...and they brought the eggs for the big hunt.

The second change was that the weather stunk, so we did our hunt in the house. Luckily, the house is pretty big, so we were able to still have a fun time. Kraig, Megan, and Colin had a blast.

What was the same was a nice time with a tasty meal enjoying each other's company.

The kids got these bunny ears in their easter baskets from Grandma Smoker. We couldn't resist getting a few cute pictures.
It seems that each equinox, my dad enjoys standing an egg on end. When we were over for our easter egg hunt yesterday, it was no different, so we snapped this picture of it. You can balance an egg on its end only on the spring and fall equinoxes +/- three days.

When we got home from Marion, we colored easter eggs. We had a pretty good time. We didn't have the "girl color"/"boy color" drama to the extent that we did last year...

This morning we got our new Easter clothes on a headed to church. I think they were looking sharp...

Smuggler's Gulch

2008-03-23T14:39:00.004-04:00

Nate and I have both worked on a project this year called "Smuggler's Gulch." It is a project to construct a portion of the US (California) /Mexico border fence and patrol road. Its a pretty interesting project. I went on a field visit last week. Here's a few pictures...

This first picture is a shot of the existing fence. Its a steel plate type wall about 15'-20' in height. In the Smuggler's Gulch project area, north of this wall (US side) is wilderness and south of this wall (Mexico side) is the city of Tijuana.

This second picture is from the top of Spooner's Mesa looking east over Smuggler's Gulch. Smuggler's Gulch is a canyon/stream that flows from south to north from Tijuana into the US. This stream functions as an outflow for the city of Tijuana's sanitary sewage. As the stream/sewage enters the US, it is diverted into a wastewater treatment plant. After seeing it and smelling it for myself, how neighborly...

Anyway, what you are looking at is a hill about 350' tall. You can see the fence as the black line in the middle of the picture. On the right of the black line is Mexico, on the left, the US. If you look closely, you can see a missing portion of the fence where there was a slope failure.

This third picure was taken from the floor of the gulch, looking east and up toward that slope failure. You can see the fence sticking up at the top. Again, Mexico on right, US on left. You cannot see all the way to the top of the hill in this picture. You can only see up to where the roadway turns north in picture 2 above. I'd guess the top of this cliff is about 200' up.

This pictures just can't do this place justice. It is a massive, amazing, beautiful place...if you just ignore the sewage. How lucky are we to work for a company which gives us the opportunity to work on these amazing projects?

2008 - The Year of Travel...

2008-03-23T14:26:00.003-04:00

So far this year has had Nate and I on the road a lot. There have been 12 weeks so far... and Nate has been gone for 3 weeks and I've been gone for 2...while that might not seem like a lot to some people, its a ton for us. The next couple of months promise to be much of the same.

If you're keeping track, Nate spent 1 week in Kansas City and 2 weeks in San Diego. I spent both my weeks away in San Diego. There have been no overlapping travel, thank goodness.

The kids are doing pretty well with the whole thing. One thing we started when I was away was I called at bedtime and read the bedtime story to them. I think everyone has enjoyed it, including Nate since it helped him keep the same bedtime routine for them. The only trick is finding an empty room to read a silly story (including doing the character voices) in the middle of a contractor's office... So far, I've managed. :)

Vintage Photos

2008-03-23T14:10:00.004-04:00

Our daycare had a photographer come in and take these vintage photos. We've purchased the proofs and the right to reproduce the photos, so if you'd like a copy, just let us know which one, the size, how many, etc... and we'll order them.

Enjoy.

Clothes Dryer

2008-02-13T11:35:00.002-05:00

Heaven knows that Nate and I aren't the most proactive people in the world when it comes to home maintenance. But we discovered something this weekend that I want to share.

Our clothes dryer had been acting a bit strangely lately. The top of it was getting hot when it ran. And it started to get less and less lint in the lint screen. And the clothes weren't getting very dry. Then I ran a load of towels, and there was no lint in the screen. I knew something was wrong.

So after trying a couple of things, I pulled the dryer away from the wall and checked the vent hose - it was completely clogged with lint! I'm guessing we were a load or two away from a big fire. So we vaccuumed out the vent hose, where it connects to the wall, and where it connects to the dryer. We got LOTS of lint out of there. The hose easily connects back on both ends with a spring loaded belt type thing at our house. All of this probably took less than 15 minutes.

If you're as clueless as we were about doing this little maintenance item, you might want to check that out at your house. You may be able to prevent disaster - and maybe improve the efficiency of your dryer.

Babysitting

2008-02-12T22:01:00.003-05:00

I had the pleasure of babysitting Calvin Koontz last Saturday while Nate and Adam were out in the woodshop. Calvin turns one this coming Friday and is just learning to walk. We had a pretty good time. He is a pretty easy-going little guy. It hasn't taken me long to forget how much work toddlers are. Shew. And how cute and innocent they are.

Visit to Grandma and Pa-paw Brooke's

2008-02-12T21:51:00.005-05:00

A couple of weekends ago, Colin, Megan, and I stopped by Grandma and Pa-paw Brooke's house for a visit. We had a pretty good time. One thing we did was have Grandma cut Colin's hair. This is kind of a right of passage for the guys in our family. Grandma got out her big soup pot for him to sit on and her very experienced clippers and went to town. Colin wanted me to get his picture with all different expressions, so enjoy...:)

Normal

Mad Happy
Growling?
Scared
Shocked! What a ham. Grandma was such a good sport.
Then Grandma had Colin and Megan pose for the famous "Hand in the cookie jar" pose...of course they were rewarded for thier modeling services with a cookie afterwards. :)

It was a nice visit. Wish we could see them more often.

Kindergarten Work

2008-02-12T20:41:00.000-05:00

Nate and I have been really enjoying Colin's learning process during Kindergarten. He is so smart. It is amazing to watch him learn. Here are a few of his recent papers.

The translation for this first one is "I love lunch at home with my family, peanut butter is my favorite."

This second one isn't from Kindergarten. He just made this one doddling at home when playing with Megan...so sweet.
Just so you don't think Colin is too angelic, this third one proves that he is a normal six year old boy. It is what I believe to be his first 'writing sentences' punishment. It says "Follow hallway rules" - five times.
Thinking about Colin's first sentence writing punishment got me thinking about my last (and only) experience with that. The sentence was "I will not participate in extracurricular activities in Mr. Schwartzendruber's General Music class." And in my defense, it wasn't me specifically who got in trouble, but the whole class...some of you Oak Hill alumni might remember a similar experience. He got every class eventually, I imagine.

Daycare Christmas Program 2007

2007-12-20T20:01:00.001-05:00

This week we had the daycare Christmas program. Prior to the show, the kids posed in front of our tree. Megan LOVED her dress, so she was all about the pictures.

The program itself was pretty cute. Megan's class did Rockin around the Christmas tree and a poem. She and her friend shown here had the exact same dress on. Appearently her mom and I both shopped at Kohl's. They thought it was cool. I wonder at what age it occurs to us girls to be mortified by that.

Colin's class did Winder Wonderland and Silver Bells. I think the boys are ringing the silver bells in this picture.

Colin's Kindergarten Christmas Program

2007-12-20T19:50:00.000-05:00

Colin had his Kindergarten Christmas program last week and it was super cute. I loved it. The students all filed in and lined up. They performed maybe 8 different numbers - songs, poems... for each one they had a different prop that they had stored in lunch-sized decorated paper bags which they had carried in with them. You can see Colin being a good boy during the program in the picture below. My favorite poem they did was...

I took a lick of my peppermint stick,

and I thought it tasted yummy.

It used to be on my Christmas tree,

but I like it better in my tummy.

Thanksgiving 2007

2007-11-27T07:02:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving this year was a little different. Usually we have four get-togethers to attend. This year we only had one. So on one hand, it was nice to get to relax at home more and not overeat as much. But on the other hand, it was kind of sad not seeing some of our family we love. So to those of you we didn't get to see - Happy Thanksgiving! Maybe we'll see you in a few short weeks at Christmas.

We took this great picture on Thanksgiving. It may be Nate's first appearance on the blog...
And we took our annual Smoker family picture on Thanksgiving. We decided to all dress-up in Colts gear. I think it looks cool. Plus there was a game that day which the Colts won. You can't tell from the picture, but it was really cold outside. It was windy and it snowed some that day. So we had all sprinted out to this bench, posed, then sprinted back into the house. It was fun. And cold.

The day after Thanksgiving I went shopping with my mom and sister, Lindsey. It was the first time I have done that in several years. I had forgotten how much I like doing it. I got our shopping done from ~0% to ~90% in that one day. Not bad. All that was left was a few internet purchases and a few gift cards. Its not often that I get to spend that much time with them. That was the best part.

Later that night the kids and I went downtown to attend the Circle of Lights festivities with Mom and Dad. They had a hotel room down there. So we had some pizza in the room, walked down to the circle, went up to the warm HNTB offices on the Circle to watch the ceremony from above, then we went out the back way of the building. Just as we were walking out the back of the building on Ohio Street, the fireworks were being set off of the Regions bank building - nearly right over our heads! It was pretty cool to see them from so close.

After that we went back to the hotel and did a little swimming. Them Grandma and Grandpa thankfully sent us home... my angelic children were kind of being pills, so I think that the "send them home with their parents' " joy must have been pretty strong after we left. But in Colin and Megan's defence, it is exciting to get to see Grandma and Grandpa, be in a hotel room, go downtown where SANTA is, see fireworks, and swim!

Another good thing was Dad sent me home with a giant bowl of his homemade turkey salad. Eat your heart out Jason, Lindsey, and Sarah! Nate and I have been eating on it all week! It is sooo yummy! :)

It made for a long day, so we all were pretty tired by the time we hit the pillow.

I hope you all had a nice holiday weekend, too!

Lot's to Update

2007-11-04T08:34:00.000-05:00

Work has been keeping me so busy lately that I've been slacking off on the Blog Updates....

I hope you enjoy.
Jen

Indianapolis Corporate Challenge

2007-11-04T08:17:00.000-05:00

While Nate was away on a business trip over a weekend, the kids and I went and became the photographer for HNTB at the Corporate Challenge. The Corporate Challenge is basically a big track meet for professionals for fun. There are the normal events like runs and walks. And there are the Good Sport events like Football Throw, Frisbee Toss, Tug of War, Corn Hole... The HNTB'ers seemed to have a pretty good time.

Colin and Megan's 'Challenge' was to be good which was a struggle, but we survived... Colin ran in the kid race.

And they had a bounce house which is one of their favorite things EVER...

Halloween 2007

2007-11-04T08:04:00.000-05:00

Halloween was pretty fun around our house as usual. Colin was Spiderman and Megan was a Fairy.

See...they can get along...

A crazy pose with the jack-o-lanterns...
Spiderman shooting some web...
Spiderman's muscles...
A Fairy pose...

Nate and I carved the pumpkins in cool designs again this year. His (& Megan's) is the happy quasi-traditional looking face. Colin and I did the spider with six legs :).

Annual Physicals

2007-11-04T07:56:00.000-05:00

Colin and Megan had their annual phyisicals in September.

Colin (6 years old) is 95 percentile in height and 75 percentile in weight. If he stays on this growth chart height curve, he will be 6' 3" when he is 18. He has been on the 95 percentile curve since birth...so only time will tell, but I think he'll be tall.

Megan (4 years old) is is 95 percentile in height and 50 percentile in weight. If she stays on this growth chart height curve, she will be 5' 10" when he is 18...just like her mom. Meg also got her Kindergarten shots which she hated.

You can check the growth chart for your kids too if your curious about what the future may hold...
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/nhanes/growthcharts/charts.htm#Set%201

Baby Kate

2007-11-04T07:42:00.000-05:00

On September 13, Katherine Grace Oldham was born (aka Kate). She is the daughter of my friends Dara and David. She weighed a perfect 7# 6 oz. She is now about seven weeks old and is beginning to sleep through the night her grateful mother tells me.

Her big brother Ben (18 mo.)thinks she is ok...he calls her 'Cake'.

Big sisters, Hailey and Diana, think she is pretty great too. They can pronounce her name perfectly. They have been a big help to their parents since Kate came along.

Kate at one day old...

Kate and I...

Colin's Sixth Birthday

2007-08-26T07:57:00.000-04:00

We celebrated Colin's Birthday last week - twice. First on Monday on his actual birthDATE with just the four of us. This is Colin and Megan on Monday.Then on Saturday we celebrated with a bigger crowd at the Power Rangers party. We didn't have as many folks as usual. So it was a calmer atmosphere.

I made up a party game the kids seemed to like. In fact, last night before bed Colin and Megan wanted to play it again. It was a version of a scavenger hunt. Here's how it went.

I took a picture of 5 different things in our house like the blue chair below.
Then I cut the pictures into 3 or 4 or 5 big pieces.
I put the pictures into envelopes.
Wrote a number on each envelope.
Then hid the clues at the appropriate locations.

So I gave the kids the first envelope. They put the "puzzle" together and saw it was a picture of Megan's doll stoller. They went to there and found the next envelope. Lather, rinse, repeat. At the last place (the blue chair) I was sitting there with stickers as a prize. And every kid loves stickers!

This is just a funny picture of Megan being silly the other night...

New Mexico

2007-08-26T07:27:00.000-04:00

As part of the RailRunner project, they sent me to New Mexico this week. It was a pretty beneficial trip - workwise.

Otherwise, WOW! I was expecting something like San Antonio, I guess. But New Mexico is completely different. I do love San Antonio, don't get me wrong. But I have never seen ANYTHING like where I was this week. So beautiful. Unfortunately my camera was dead. But I found a few websites with pictures of some places I saw. These first two links are my favorite. They scroll through different pictures, so be a little patient.

http://www.abqstyle.com/bernalillo/bernalillo_photos.htm
http://www.abqstyle.com/rio_grande_bosque/rio_grande_bosque.htm

http://photo.net/travel/us/sw/new-mexico

http://www.milebymile.com/main/United_States/New_Mexico/highway_photos.html

One of the amazing things about where I was is how far you can see. 50 miles...100 miles...maybe more. And I saw real mesas. I always pictured them to be ~1 acre in size on top and ~50' high. What I saw were the size of a county on top. And height - hundreds of feet tall. I saw mountains. Desert. Canyons. A lush, green strip about a mile or two in width along the Rio Grande.

I can't wait to go back. I still love Indiana. I always want to live here and raise my children here. But God has created some pretty amazing places in the world. I want to see more of them.

School Bus Update

2007-08-15T19:06:00.000-04:00

Monday has turned out to be the worst day.

Tuesday was better. He got to the daycare 2 hours and 15 minutes after school let out. But they had told me what bus he would be on, and that is the bus he got off of, so I give them credit for having a plan and working the plan. I was still pretty mad after he got off the bus at 5:55pm.

Wednesday (today) has been dreamy - an answered prayer. They started a new bus. The "Snake Bus" (they assign an animal to each bus to help the kids remember which to get on). Or as Colin said the "Shortcut Bus"! This bus picks the children who attend the two daycares up at the ECC and goes directly to the daycares! No switching buses. No stopping to pick up kids from other locations. No sitting there while 40 other kids get dropped off at home. He returned to daycare today by 4pm!!!

Colin's First Day of Kindergarten

2007-08-13T21:00:00.000-04:00

It was bound to happen eventually...Colin started Kindergarten today. As you can see above, he was nervous. In his words "I'm so nervous I can't stand it." He is a student at the ECC (Early Childhood Center) of the Decatur Township Schools. He is enrolled in All Day Kindergarten which is going to be great for him. His teacher is Mr. Dennis. And everyone at the school has been great. Almost everything has gone on without a hitch...

Let me start by saying everything is fine. Colin is safe. But today, my worst nightmare almost came true. The school was scheduled for a half day today with dismissal at 12:40. I called around 1:15pm (before my 2 hour meeting started) to check and see if he made it back to the daycare center where he is to be bussed to. Nope, not yet. I thought that was still pretty reasonable, especially given that this is the first day of school and things might have been a little more chaotic than usual.

I called back after my meeting about 3:25pm to make sure he made it back to the daycare. NO!!!!!!!!!!! HE HAD NOT!!!! You can only begin to imagine the terrible things racing though my head. The daycare had 19 kindergarteners missing. The poor daycare director was trying everything she knew to track these kids down. She said she would call me when he arrived. She said she had heard there was some confusion getting the kids on the right bus. In my mind, at least they all were missing...that was strangely comforting.

She called me at 3:55pm saying that Colin had just been dropped off with most of the other kids. Thank you, God.

So here's what I'm wondering...
Since when is it ok to have kids on the bus for 3 hours and 15 minutes? The school is a mile, MAYBE 1.5 miles from the daycare. And it was HOT today. Wouldn't it be reasonable for the school to call whoever was expecting him to be dropped off (in this case the daycare or the parent) and say they're running late? And wouldn't you halfway expect some kind of explanation phone call this evening? Nothing yet...

I've left a voice-mail with Colin's teacher, the ECC principal, and the bus garage. Tomorrow, I'll be getting to the bottom of this. I don't like to be mean. But he is my little boy. If they can't be trusted with his care... Surely we can get this figured out.

Jen made the HNTB News Flash

2007-08-13T20:52:00.002-04:00

Below is the contents of an internal news email that was sent out today. This type of email goes out whenever something great happens. Maybe this will give some of you a glimpse of why I've been so darn busy lately...Lots of other folks I work with helped too - including Nate. Now that we've won the project, I'll likely be working on it until around the first of the year.

HNTB-Kiewit Expands Design-Build Experience
with Mega Rail Win

**Content Deleted**

Indiana State Fair

2007-08-11T12:18:00.000-04:00

Colin, Megan, Lindsey, and I went to the Indiana State Fair yesterday. It was pretty fun. The weather was beautiful aside from it being a little warm. We went early in the day, before it really heated up.

We ate some fair foods...corn fritters, corn dog, milk shakes from the dairy barn, dippin dots, deep fried snickers, popcorn... plenty of the once-a-year junk food.

The fair theme this year is "The Year of Corn." They had planted corn all over the place.

In the midway, the kids rode a couple rides and thought they were awesome.
You'll notice that for whatever reason, Colin has started to pose for pictures like a pirate...not sure where he's come up with this idea.
We saw plenty of tractors...
And we saw lots of animals...cows, pigs, horses, mules, donkeys...This little baby donkey took a liking to Colin and Megan - and vice versa.

Remote Control Tarantulas

2007-08-11T11:02:00.000-04:00

Colin and Megan want to give a special thanks to our friend Joyce who gave each of them these super fun remote controlled tarantulas!

New Opportunity

2007-07-14T09:56:00.000-04:00

Ok, for once this post isn't about the kids...

I just wanted to say how proud I am of Nate...as of today, he has been transferred into our corporate office to serve on the help desk. He will be joining a group of well-respected, talented, incredibly smart people that focus on CADD, plotting, and other technology related questions/problems. Our corporate office is in Kansas City, but he will be able to perform his duties from Indianapolis. We're still not sure how much travel will be involved. It may average out to a week a month?

This is a pretty nice promotion. Nate has been only working in CADD for 4 years, and he is now technically a "corporate resource." I think this proves yet again that HNTB provides opportunities for those who hunger for them. I think it also proves that Nate has a natural talent for technology - this is the cloth he's cut from.

July 4th

2007-07-07T16:11:00.000-04:00

Our Independence Day was a pretty quiet, relaxing day. The kids spent the previous night with Aunt Lindsey and Uncle Bill. Nate and I had the pleasure of not argueing with anyone or negotiating anything for almost 24 hours...

When they came home, we just chilled out all day. And that evening we did sparklers and watched other people's fireworks in the neighborhood from the comfort of our own backyard.

The Things Kids Say...Part 3

2007-06-30T09:31:00.000-04:00

When watching the commercials during her favorite show, a commercial for Floam or some other "as seen on tv" type product will come on. Megan has started repeating the phrases "But wait, There's more!" and "And That's Not ALL!"

It is hilarious. She does it every time it comes on. I'm going to have to get this on video.
Jen

The things kids say...Continued...

2007-06-24T20:54:00.000-04:00

To the tune of "Transformers...more than meets the eye...."

Yesterday Colin sang...

"Transformers....better than girls..."

:)

Family Fun Day - June - Zoo

2007-06-24T20:19:00.000-04:00

You may not know this...but my New Year's Resolution this year is to do something fun with the family each month. This month, it was a trip to the zoo. The weather was just questionable enough that it kept most people home this morning. It misted most of the time, and the temp was in the upper 60's. The animals were out and about. It was great.

We got to pet the sharks at the new Oceans exhibit. It was pretty cool.

We left the stroller at home...kind of a new era for us. Megan ended up catching a ride on daddy's shoulders for a good part of the trip. She might as well as long as she's little enough, right?

The Rhino's posed for us...:)

And we saw a couple baby Elephants. This one was playing with is trunk...a game similar to a dog chasing his tail.

Megan's 4th Birthday Party

2007-06-24T19:55:00.000-04:00

We had a Disney Princesses Birthday Party for Megan's 4th Birthday Party. She enjoyed it.

We played a couple of games including pin the nose on the clown...

It was great to see everyone that was able to come...and Megan loved all the gifts. Special thanks to Aunt Lindsey who took over planning everything when I got super busy with work over the last couple of weeks.

Disney World

2007-05-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

Colin, Megan, Mom, and I had a great trip to Disney World last weekend. It was full of expected and unexpected excitement!

Thursday - Traveled to Disney by plane, then bus.
- We got to see how bomb-sniffing dogs inspect planes and bags first hand.
- Colin & Megan loved the plane ride.
- We checked into our hotel a couple hours later than we thought...
- Had supper at the hotel.
- Went to bed.

This is Colin & Megan ready to go to the airport...

Colin on the plane...

Megan on the plane...

Friday - Went to Magic Kingdom

- Breakfast at Cinderella's Royal table - Met Cinderella, Jasmine, Belle, Snow White, Fairy Godmother.

- Did a bunch of rides. Colin couldn't get the sword out of the stone either...

- Megan met Aerial.

- Went back to the hotel and had lunch, took a nap, cleaned up.

- Went back to Magic Kingdom and had supper at a restarant where we met Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eyeore.

- Watched fireworks

- Went back to hotel & crashed.

Saturday - Went to Animal Kingdom

- We had breakfast in the room.

- Traveled to Animal Kindom where we did some neat rides.

- The kids got their faces painted.

- Met Baloo, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, & Goofy

- Went back to the hotel, napped, got cleaned up.

- Went to a dinner show called the "Hoop De Doo Revue"

- Went back to hotel & crashed.

Sunday - Went to Magic Kingdom

- We had breakfast in the room.

- Traveled to Magic Kindom where we did the neat rides we didn't have time for Friday

- Went back to the hotel, swam, got cleaned up.

- Went to the Monorail, traveled in the front car with the driver to the Grand Flordian Hotel.

- Had a peaceful Mother's Day supper at the Grand Floridian Cafe.

- Went shopping at the Magic Kingdom for souveniers

- Went back to the hotel & crashed.

- These are a couple of cute picutres taken at our hotel that day. Take note that, sitting down, Woody is 3 stories tall!

Monday - Traveled home by bus, then plane.

- We missed our scheduled bus to leave the hotel, so there was drama/tears. But it all worked out.

- We got to the airport in plenty of time for the longest security line we'd ever seen.

- No bomb sniffing dogs this time.

- When we got back to Indy, we found out the airline had sent Megan's suitcase to Detroit by mistake.

- The suitcase got delivered to our house later that evening.

- Colin & I went to the second part of the Kindergarten Round-up. Pretty Exciting!

Tuesday - Back to Reality.

- Colin & Megan went back to daycare

- Nate & I went to work

- I ended up driving to L'ville & didn't get back until midnight.

What a week!

Swimming Lessons

2007-04-11T12:43:00.000-04:00

Colin and Megan started swimming lessons this week - "Preschool Water Adjustment" class. Nate and I wanted to get them exposed to the water a little more so

Colin will develop a respect for the water and
Megan will not be so scared of the water.

And since we're headed to Disney next month and summer is just around the corner the time was right.

They had the first of eight lessons Monday. The second lesson is tonight. Colin was fearless. This is a piture fo him kicking along with the teacher while blowing bubbles. Not bad for a first lesson.This is a picture of Megan in the water - smiling. Nate and I have a bet going about how many times she will get in the water. He bets 3 lessons of 8 or less...I think I'll win.

Easter Eggs

2007-04-11T12:34:00.000-04:00

We did the traditional coloring of the Easter Eggs last weekend. Our big extended family Easter Egg hunt is scheduled for next Saturday. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. We had a big debate while coloring the eggs about which colors were "Girl Colors" and which were "Boy Colors." Notice the "Girl Colors" are on the top row of the carton, while the "Boy Colors" are on the bottom row.

At one point, Nate and Megan had a battle of wills. I was lucky to catch this on camera. Fortunately for me, Nate can be stubborn. I'm usually no match for her. We make a good team... Poor Colin, he takes after his mother.

Duck Pin Bowling

2007-04-11T12:23:00.000-04:00

My New Year's Resolution this year is to do something fun with the kids at least once a month. March is the first month that produced any pictures. January we went to the Children's Museum and February we went swimming. I forgot my camera both of those times.

But in March, we went Duck Pin Bowling with Lindsey (she remembered her camera). If you aren't familiar with Duck Pin Bowling, it is similar to regular bowling. You use balls that are closer to softball size. And I think you get three rolls per frame. I'm not sure about all the rule differences since we didn't really follow the rules! The only rule Lindsey and I insisted on was taking turns. Anyway, we had fun. Afterwards we ate at the 1950's style diner upstairs.

One thing that made it more fun for the kids was you were able to walk as far down the bowling lane - as close to the pins - as you wanted to. It made for less gutter balls for sure.

The things kids say...

2007-03-04T19:45:00.000-05:00

I have to share this funny one quote from Colin (age 5).

We were having a discussion about dangerous situations, what to do in an emergency, not talking to strangers...

Jen: "What do you do if a stranger offers you a piece of candy?"
Colin: "You say 'Trick-or-treat'!!"

So funny.

Lindsey's Birthday

2007-03-04T19:19:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to Lindsey today. Colin, Megan, Bill, Chompers, and I celebrated with her this afternoon. I made her a milk chocolate cake with peanut butter cream cheese frosting decorated like Cindergrella.

On a different note...I found this next picture on the camera when I downloaded Lindsey's birthday pictures. Something tells me that Megan has been jumping on my bed...we should give Colin bonus points for his creativity in tattle-taling. :)

Ft. Knox

2007-02-10T17:41:00.000-05:00

Today I visited Fort Knox for work purposes. It is an army base in Kentucky. Lots of gold is stored there. Street names are telling like Bullion Boulevard.

From http://www.treas.gov/education/fact-sheets/currency/prod-facilities.shtml
...
Bullion Depositories of the United States:
The Fort Knox, Kentucky Bullion Depository -- The site for this installation was formerly a part of the Fort Knox military reservation that was deeded to the Treasury Department. The Depository was completed in 1936. The Fort Knox Bullion Depository protects Gold Bullion and Assets of other Agencies.

http://www.knox.army.mil/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Knox

WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!

2007-02-05T21:40:00.000-05:00

I know there are some of you out there that are sad.

BUT NOT ME!!!!!!!!!!!! The Colts are awesome! What a season! This was the first time that Nate and I have ever had season tickets to anything. We got to go to most of the home Colts games this season including the stunning AFC Championship Game. Wow! What a thrill. I stood out on monument circle today from 4 to 4:30 waiting for the Colts parade to come. I decided to throw in the towel and head home after a half hour of single digit temps and negative wind chills. Good thing I did because the parade didn't come through there until 7:30!!! I would have been a popscicle by then. We watched the parade on TV. :)

As I promised, here's a celebration picture. Nate and our friend Doug celebrating with the Great Peyton Manning.

Saturday we went and celebrated our nephew Kraig's 3rd birthday. He had the neatest birthday cake. Each of the cars were like cupcake sized cakes, individually decorated. It must have taken my sister-in-law, Sarah, HOURS to decorate. She said her sister, Catina, helped. She also said my brother, Jason, made the track. Such a cute cake!

I have to tell you this funny thing Megan said. When we got to the party and I was helping her out of her car seat she said "Mom, everybody is going to be so excited that I'm here!" So funny.

That evening the kids and I got to spend some time with my parents. Mom read them a few books, which they loved. Jason came over and gave Colin a ride on the snow mobile. A thrill for Colin. I didn't get a picture of that one.

Winter Finally Made an Appearance!

2007-01-29T19:25:00.000-05:00

Well, I was starting to wonder if winter was going to come this year, but it did. We got ~6 inches of snow so Colin and Megan went out in the back yard to play. Megan didn't last too long. She got snow under her gloves on her wrists...I almost forgot how uncomfortable that is.

Colin lasted a little longer. He made a snow angel.

We went to the children's museum a week ago last Friday...but I forgot to take the camera. We had fun in the new Clifford exhibit, with the dinosaurs, riding the carosel, running up and down the ramp, climbing in the tunnel thing. It is a kid paradise. And to make it even more unbelievable, no one got sick afterwards.

This past Saturday Nate's sister, Amanda, was visiting with her new husband, Nick, and new baby, Bria. We got to visit with them for a while. I got 1 picture before my camera battery died. Can you believe how great the picture is?

Another recent highlight for us is the Colts are going to the superbowl!! We were at the Patriots vs. Colts game (AFC Championship) and it was AMAZING! I don't think I've ever been in a more energized atmosphere. The crowd noise was absolutely deafening! Hopefully my next post will have pictures of us celebrating the Colts winning the superbowl!!!

Go Colts!

Bria Marie

2006-12-22T14:01:00.000-05:00

Here is the long awaited picture of new neice. Isn't she beautiful?

Chrismas Time!

2006-12-16T08:15:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we went to a Christmas tree farm and got our tree. We had a pretty good time. Our tree is all decorated and ready for Santa to put the presents underneath.

Last night was the Daycare Christmas Program. The kids had fun posing for pictures beforehand.

During the show, we didn't get the greatest seats, so you can see the backs of heads better than the kids...but we tried.

New Addition!

2006-12-06T06:12:00.000-05:00

GREAT NEWS! Nate's sister had her baby yesterday (December 5) around 4:20 pm CST. Bria Marie weighed 5# 11oz and was 17 in. long with lots of black hair. Just a tiny little thing. When she called last night from Iowa she was just beaming. I wish I could meet my new niece...but that's a long drive. She promised pictures soon.

And another cool thing is going on this week. My old friend Eddie from San Antonio is here helping us at work. He wouldn't let me take his picture. Its nice to get some help at work, especially from someone like Eddie. The downside for him is our recent cold snap. He lives a couple mile from the Rio Grande, so he doesn't like being cold AND he doesn't really have an appropriate coat. Fortunately, he just has to cross the street to get to the hotel from work. It looks like it might snow tomorrow. He's experienced snow before but he said he'd prefer not to experience it again. :) We'll see. I guess I'd prefer it to not snow tomorrow, too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-23T21:38:00.000-05:00

We had a great day with family. The weather was beautiful! Here are a few snapshots.

Beax let us all have a moment to tickle Colin's belly.

Later, Colin was laying low...playing it cool.

Megan and Sisty...

The Smoker clan - minus Nate...

Colin and Kraig had fun playing with the trains. Beaux too...

Here are my siblings plus Bill watching National Lampoons Christmas Vacation...nothing gets you in the Christmas spirit like Chevy Chase.

Hello!

2006-11-22T06:16:00.000-05:00

I'm joining the the rest of you who've created a blog! We'll see how well I keep up with it.

Colin and Megan had a fun halloween. Colin was Darth Vader. Megan was "Cinder-grewa." Yes we videod the pronuciation for posterity.

Here are four pictures that Colin took. I went to download the halloween pictures, and there were 55 other pictures that I didn't take. These are the cream of the crop.

Megan and her doll "Sisty."

A mugshot of Sisty. This isn't really suprising. Sisty gets in trouble alot. Megan had her in timeout for several days recently for "Hitting the house." Sisty is a trouble maker...

Of course, Colin couldn't miss an opportunity to take a picture of his best bud, his blankie....the poor thing has seen better days.

This is the last of the pictures Colin snapped. Not bad...

I just think this one is funny. It was taken May.
Here we have the three moods of Megan...Not Happy.

Suprised/Excited (With paci...that she has very recently given up.)

Happy.

And a good shot of Colin from this summer.