Played rball this AM with Pat Humphry, haven't done that in all of 25 years. Had a good time and visited some too. Keaton helped me take down the Christmas tree today and Caleb helped me get it downstairs. Michael H came by to test drive the truck and is interested. Got some reading time in this afternoon, Laura had a sore neck and a headache so she was trying to shake that with some medicine and rest. Went to Sam's and WalMart and then ate at Kelly's. Caleb and Anna went to Bowen's to watch Briana while Kendall went out. It is 1am and the kids still aren't home. The furnace here at home is not working so could be a little chilly by morning.
From WCK BB :)

I played rball for the first time since new years day, and baby'd my foot some. I was surprised that it didn't hurt after that. The boys won their soccer game. Keaton scored low in the corner and Caleb had a fancy goal, juggle up over the goalie and headed in. SWEET!! Laura had supper ready after the game and she invited Adam to join us. Adam came over to work on his car too, he bought some used fuel injectors with fuel rail on ebay from I guy in Hawaii and planned to install them tonight. He was doing real good until he got some gas in his eye and had to take a break for minor medical attention. We all ate supper to a gasoline fragrance this evening but the company was wonderful. Adam went back to his car after we ate and I went out to see what I could do to help. He was just about done when I got there and after connecting the battery he fired it up for a test start and drive. He said it is doing much better and will plan to return GPa's truck tomorrow if it stays running. I parked all the cars back where they belonged for the night and relaxed in the warmth of the house. Thank You honey for another fine meal.
From WCK BB :)

Colder than cold this AM -9, SOooo cold that the public schools don't have school today. I guess the kids can go outside and do some chores or just play in the yard :) Thank goodness for heat, my car was slugish at lunch time after setting out all morning. Took a late'r lunch today, got caught on the phone. Had some soup and saved some room for angel food cake on behalf of Larry W's retirement, 41 years of service. (Very good guy) Planning to play rball at 5pm for the second time this year, hope my foot holds up. Boys have a soccer game at 6:30 that I will be going to and then home for supper.
From WCK BB :)

Had three people interested in the blue truck yesterday down to two today and now I can't get them to return my call. Also found out that Elmer signed his name in the wrong spot on the red truck title so I will have to make another trip to Liberty. Laura had a busy morning and we met at Wendy's for lunch. Anna PSR, Caleb piano and yes Keaton trumpet tonight. I took Caleb and read my book while waiting in the truck, very cold but I have to get it done tonight. Came home and did finish it and had some hot chocolate and watched some hockey with Caleb. Keaton got home late and said he enjoyed trumpet but forgot to pay.
From WCK BB :)

I am showing the truck at 10am, 1pm and 5pm today, got some good bites. Dropped off SSB paperwork for the refi that we are going to do. In to work a bit late today and will get caught up hopefully. Laura called for Char today and ended up sending her an email. Laura is such a great person and does such a good job at that, what a gift she is!! She picked me up for lunch and we went to Panera's, it was definitely a soup day. The 5pm truck show was another offer, I will make a callback later to strike a deal. Laura made supper and had choir, I picked up Caleb and hung out at home for the evening, way too cold to get out. Rick doesn't want the truck after all so I will call the next in line and see what I get. Pretty crazy...
From WCK BB :)

Monday was travel day back home, ready for that :) I was able to leave about 1pm, weather is fine just some wind but sunny and 40'ish. While driving home I returned a phone call about the blue truck we have for sale, I parked it by Ellington while I was gone. Ended up driving straight thru and got home about 5:15pm. Anna and Laura were the only ones home at that point so got my hugs and unpacked before supper. We decided to go out for supper so we bundled up and swung by work and then headed to Applebee's. Keaton met us there and Caleb ate with Logan C. Chilled the rest of the night.
From WCK BB :)

Sunday in Springfield, Mo. I slept til about 8am and read a bit before showering. I went down to breakfast around 9am and had biscuits-gravy, scrambled eggs, sausage, orange juice and coffee. I took some peach yogurt and granola back to the room for lunch. I wandered outside about noon and went to Wal Mart and got an arch band for my foot to see if that will help when I exercise and play rball. I found a gas station after that and will wander more from there. About 2pm sunny and 45 degrees. Stepped into a music store to look at electric drum sets and learned of Ion drums that will interface with xBox and also stand alone. I sent a message to Caleb for more research. I went in Best Buy next and then to Barnes and Noble. That may have been the first time I walked into their store with the intent of buying a book for myself to read. I found one, bought it and then had to get a cup of coffee for the way back to the hotel. Barb and I hit snack time at the motel and then went to Lamberts Cafe (throwed rolls) for supper. Not bad, plenty of food, would be more fun with a bigger group, BTW they don't take credit cards.
From WCK BB :)

Slept OK last night for a motel room. Showered and read a chapter before breakfast. They have a good hot selection here at the Drury. Barb and I ate and then wandered over to the ADM office for the morning. The temp yesterday was about 65 and this morning it is 25 and windy, not very pleasant at all. Things went well during the morning and we had lunch brought in so we hung out at the office until about 3:30pm. Came back to the motel and read a bit and then went downstairs and worked out for about half an hour. Went to happy hour and had a few snacks before we went to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings. Gauldin's are big Arizona Cardinal fans so we ate and watched the first half of the football game. They played well and were several good plays. That was the first time I actually watched sports at a sports bar. Wondered back to the motel and watched the rest of the game and phoned home to talk to Laura. She had a good day with the kids and took them to a movie. She also did way too much work around the house again. Thank you Dear for all the things you do, I Love You.
From WCK BB :)

Got on the road about 7am and headed south. The sunrise was pretty cool this morning and I tried to take some pictures while moving in the van. I made it to Lebanon, Mo. before stopping for a break. I found a McD's with a potty, cookies and more coffee, can't beat that. It was getting so warm in the van that I turned the air on low. I got to Springfield, Mo. at about 11:30am and the motel I am at is the same exit we have taken twice before to eat at Cracker Barrel when traveling to Texas, huummm. Checked in and was able to read a chapter before meeting Barb at the office. Spent the rest of the afternoon learning the new office and working. I got my 12 hour day in and Barb and I went back to the motel to freshen up before heading to Red Lobster for supper, always need to eat good on the company :) Made it back to the room and watched some TV and read some more.
From WCK BB :)

Finally got a text back from Logan today and he felt OK enough to work last night but he said he is not quite back to normal. I actually talked to him as well and he sounded good too. He is eating bananas and drinking orange juice.

Jan has an appointment with her cardiologist today in STL. She will have an echo and visit with the Dr right away. Hopefully all is good and she can start training soon :)

Downloaded a new free checkbook register program to my BB (very cool) so I can get rid of the Palm Pilot device finally.

I picked up the ADM fleet van that I will be taking to Springfield, Mo. Friday morning and drove it home for lunch. It is brand new with only 1500 miles on it. I am anxious to see how it does on the road. Took Anna to piano in it tonight and need to go to Staples and mail a package and get a marker for the old truck so I can write for sale on the window and park it near Ellington for the weekend. Hopefully we will get some interest so we can sell it soon.From WCK BB :)

Stayed pretty busy at work today and didn't get to leave for lunch. I did slip out to the bank to deposit and get a money order for Keaton's cap and gown order. Laura took Anna to the Dr today to make sure that her petechiae (red spots) on her arm wasn't anything more. She was running a slight temp and the cardiologist told Luara to keep a close eye on things. Anna stayed home from school to get some rest. The spots seem to be going away some now. Started snowing before I left work and I stopped by Aldi before heading home. Seems real cold and some wind, not sure if we are supposed to get any accumilation. Walked in the back door at home to the smell of chocolate chip cookies, what a wonderful Laura. Piano night for Caleb and chill for the rest of the evening.
From WCK BB :)

Boxed up some items for Kori last night and will plan to ship via UPS today so she can have what she needs for the weekend. Took the box to Staples during lunch and it should arrive at Kori's school on Friday. I met Laura at Wendy's to eat. Laura has choir tonight, not ready to go back. I tried to help Anna with some science homework but didn't have much luck. She will ask her teacher for help filling in the chart. Watched some TV and wondered to bed about ten.
From WCK BB :)

The first Monday of the New Year (2009) and the kids start back to school. Wasn't too bad getting them up and going, I think everyone made it on time. I had two 4 day weekends in a row, very nice. It didn't take too long to get back into the swing of things at work. Laura and I met for lunch today and then we met at Tower after 5 to eat pizza there with the three youngest. Logan is sick with the flu and Adam may swing by tonight for laundry and left overs. Laura and Anna went to the store for Sprite and crackers and will drop them off to Logan. Caleb and I made a Wal-Mart run after dinner to get a memory card for Kori's picture frame and then made our way home...
From WCK BB :)

Kori called to let me know that she will be needing her bolster by the weekend for clinic. I knew there was something she would forget but didn't know what it would be. I think I have everything laid out that needs to go in the big box, she added a couple other items.
From WCK BB :)

Saturday and Kori is flying back to Colorado this evening. We didn't have anything to do in the morning so it was nice to not have an alarm set. Laura made pancakes and we had a nice leisurely morning.

Lunch plans were at The Pier with J&L, Alex and everyone else except Logan, he had to work. We had a very nice lunch and get half price meals when we have Adam with us. I like taking the kids there and being able hangout, eat good food and overlook the river, bridges and eagles this time of the year. We shared desserts and I think everyone got plenty of food.

We came home after that and told Kori goodbye and saw her and Alex off. It started to get foggy so I prayed they would have safe travel. I sent her a message later in the evening and she had arrived just fine with a sprinkle of snow coming down.
From WCK BB :)

My foot is still sore and walking is slow. I setup to work from home and did in the AM. I sent my boss an email and it didn't seem like much was going on for the day, I think there are still a lot of people on vacation. Laura had to play for Greg M's funeral and I went to STL to pick up Logan from the airport. I got to the airport just after noon and Logan was waiting inside. I parked and got his attention quickly so I didn't even have to pay. We stopped for $1.32 gas at Cave Springs and grabbed a McWrap and coffee before getting back on the road. We had a very nice visit on the way back and talked about several different subjects. Dropped Logan off at his house and Adam and Zach L were dog and house sitting, and maybe playing Wii.

I got home and Kori was giving Laura a message in the piano room, she said Kori was doing a wonderful job. After they were done Laura and I had an appointment in Liberty at the bank and then to purchase a truck from Ray and Elmer. Elmer is 88 and failed the vision part of his driving exam. It was very sad as they watched me drive away in the 1995 GMC Sonoma pickup. We got home with the truck and Keaton and Caleb were ready to go for a spin around the block.

Had a pretty good time last night even though we were treated as outsiders, sat on the band side to eat, bad service, Laura got free dinner, expensive food, no heat, Laura had to eat while we watched, interesting glitter balls, terrible champagne, good music and fun band. I actually danced (or what ever you call it that I do) the whole night knowing that Laura would appreciate that :) I tried to get her over heated with her cuddle duds on so she could get a good workout. There were lots of interesting little Club parties around the dance floor to keep us entertained, we could always use more so we can joke about something. All in all we decided that it would be nice to have a place to go where there was even more people for minimal dollars, not sure what next year will bring.

I made plans to play racquetball at noon with several guys and ended up taking Anna with me, she finally found her swim suite. I played several games and ended up hurting my foot to finish the day. Limping around quite a bit and very sore.

Anna and I were late getting to the b-day party at 2 but Adam didn't get the message and Kori was feeling rough from the night before. We got a very late start and Mom was not a happy camper, we were invited to the Jacobs for supper and missed that but Laura and I were able to go over in the evening and spend some time with big people and good friends. We had fun and enjoyed great conversation.

Happy New Year to all and especially to my Wife, I Love You...

The last day of the year and I get to go to work :) not a whole lot going on as there are not many people in the building. I get to hang out until 5pm and then we are going to Spring Lake CC for dinner and live music. Caleb is going to stay home and watch the girls, he may have Logan C over for a while. The party starts at 7:30.
From WCK BB :)

Had to work today and planning to play rball at 5pm. After that will be picking up pizza at Tower. I ordered pizza and it was an hour wait. I had my book with me and was able to finish it. This is the first book I have read in 18 years. Laura picked one out for me when Anna and I went Texas and I started it there. She was very kind and this was a great one to start with. Thank you Dear for the encouragment and support.

Logan, Mack and another couple leave tonight and are driving to Denver for a New Year's Eve concert. Haven't heard from them yet, but will send a text at some point. They will party all night and Logan will fly home on Friday. I may have to go get him in STL. Mack will be flying on to Las Vegas to spend time with her Dad and Deana. Quite the new year bash.
From WCK BB :)

Kori trip with Dad

December 27th, Adam turns 20 years old today. Now we have 3 children in their twenties, WOW. Rainy outside and and all the snow and ice is melting fast. Adam had said that he would like to actually celebrate on his birthday this year so we have planned to go to the new Italian restaurant Talayna's. Didn't do a whole lot thru the day mainly waiting to eat out this evening. Adam needed a ride so Keaton took the truck to pick him up. The boys went by the restaurant and said it was very crowded and people were waiting. They suggested Pops Pizza so I sent them on to that location and I called Kori to let her know wat was going on. Laura wrapped Adam's new hat he had ordered on line and we made our wat to eat. There was an open table for our eight and we got right in. The pizza was very good and we had a nice time with all. After we ate we all scattered and went back to doing our own things... Happy Birthday Adam, I Love You !

The day after Christmas and the phone rang earlier than I wanted. It was Thom with an update on our plumbing situation. He said that Brian V could be available after a few service calls so I had Thom tell Brian to give me a call when he could. After talking to Brian I got cleaned up enough to take a trip in the pickup to Home Depot to shop for our final Christmas present for the season, a new water heater. I brought one home, Caleb helped me get it to the basement and Brian showed up about 5 minutes later to do the install. He was here about an hour and another hour later we had hot water. Very cool to get this done so fast and Brian did a great job.
From WCK BB :)

Christmas Day and Adam and Kori spent the night at home, I think so they could get up easier and just walk upstairs to be ready. The young ones didn't have to wait too long for Logan to arrive either. I was actually the last one out of bed. We prayed as a family, passed out presents and proceeded to open. There was some of money wrapped for the big kids as they had a few pricey items on their list to buy. There were a few online items that either didn't get ordered or didn't arrive yet. We did get a camera lens for Adam that came on Christmas eve, great timing... Laura and Anna played at Salem 9:30 church and Adam and I did some cooking for breakfast. This has became a fun tradition, cooking plenty of food for all to eat. We have a good time cooking and conversing in the kitchen and plenty of great eaters. We saved the good warm carmel rolls for Luara and Anna when they got home. The flute piano gig went real well. After the kitchen was cleaned from breakfast Laura started in on lunch for all at our house. She commented about the lack of hot water and I had a vision of water going every where in the basement. I went down and checked and there was a steady stream coming from the bottom of the hot water heater. I turned the supply off and made a couple of phone calls and was able to get things turned of to the heater and still allow us to have water in the house. We proceeded with our preperations for the day and all bathing was done at Faler's. Laura's side gathered at our house around 2:30pm and we ate together and then opened more presents. Everyone was able to be here off and on for the rest of the day. We played some very fun games and Jan was able to stay for a long time too. We had a great time, Thank You Lord for our Family and health. Especially for allowing Jan to get better and stronger each day...

Christmas eve 8 o'clock church at St. Peters. Adam joined us in the pugh this evning, very nice to have the three young guys there together. Caleb and Keaton had the same ADM jacket on, Keaton took his off right after he punched his baby bro :) Adam's car is on the fritz so Keaton drove him to and from. We all met back at the house for hot chocolate and cookies after church. Very nice, Thanks to my lovely Laura. Adam stayed the night so he would be ready easier on Christmas morning.
From WCK BB :)

Played rball Tuesday, Christmas eve-eve at lunch time. I took a 2 hour lunch and we played cut throat. Had a blast, didn't win but good time by all.
From WCK BB :)

Today is a travel day back to Quincy. Don't fly out until 6pm and in to STL at about 10:50pm. Anna and I went shopping in downtown Wimberley while N&P went to a Dr. appointment in Austin. We were looking for a t-shirt souvenir for Anna but couldn't find one in the fancy shops. We did get one at the local grocery store... We met back at N&P's house for lunch and then headed to Austin. The temp has changed to quite cold and windy. They dropped us off at the airport and our flight out was actually early because the weather was still changing and they wanted to get in the air before any freezing rain moved in. We got to Atlanta and the temp was 59 degrees, got out of there quickly too and arrived in STL to a 15 degree freeze. We got a shuttle to the van and it was covered in ice but we were able to get one door open and it started right up thank goodness. It took a while for us to get warm but as soon as Anna was there she fell asleep. The drive home was fine with no bad weather. Very lucky and we got home about 1am. Thank You Lord for watching over us on our journey. We had a great time with N&P, very nice to get some time together with them again. Anna had a great time too and was very patient and great manners the whole trip. It was a very special time that we had together. Thank You Laura and Mom and Dad for letting us do this...

Today was the big day to travel to Houston for the party. We left around 8:30am on our 3.5 hour journey. We got to the parking lot to be transfered by bus to the grounds and waited about 30 minutes. Once we got to the grounds we waited another 15 minutes to get into the party area. We walked around, had a funnel cake and some Mexican doughnuts, rode the train and then headed to the ferris wheel. We waited in line there for about 15 minutes and then wandered to the food tent. There were already people in line to get seats for the concert while we ate. The food was real good and Anna and I went to wait in the next line for the concert. I was very concerned that we might not be able to get inside the big tent to see Miley because the line wrapped all the way around the inside of the park. I called Papa's cell phone and asked him to try and get us a spot inside some how and the next thing we new they were letting people in the back door. We found some seats on the second level and waited for the show to begin. There was lots of kids screaming as things got under way. Anna was very excited and ready for the music to start. I took lots of pictures, there were two big screen monitors right and left of the stage and two smaller ones on the light scafolding, quite the show. Towards the end of the concert I walked around and took more pictures closer up before running out of space on my camera. It was a great time and just unbelievable the amount of kids that were there to have fun. The guest list was 7000-8000 and I think most of them showed up.

We spent Saturday messing around. Went to an art gallery and watched a glass blower make a big platter that he will sell for about $600. Took pictures by a very old oak tree, maybe 500+ years old. Found a couple of tree climbers and huggers... Drove around and found the long way home and saw several wild turkeys, even found a garage sale before we were done. Went next door to meet Joseph, he is a very neat 89 year old Scottish gentlemen. We visited for a short time and he showed me some of his family tree info that he has been collecting for several years. Went to 5:30 church and then out to eat at a very neat place in the little town of Gruene, TX. Even got to hear some live Jerry Jeff Walker playing in the oldest dance hall in the US. Very nice evening.

The trip of trips for the year :) Anna and I are traveling to Texas to visit with Nanny & Papa and to go to the Lanier Christmas party to see Miley Cyrus. What a deal... We are driving to STL tonight and will stay overnight to catch an early flight out Friday AM. We will arrive in Austin, TX. just after lunch and be met at the airport by N&P.

Flights went well and everything was on time. About 65 degrees when we got off the plane in Austin. We ate WhataBurger and then drove back to their house. Nanny had guests over that night and we ate and visited. Anna was very good hanging around all the grown ups...

Played rball at QU for the first time. It was just Brian and I. The side wall all glass took some getting used too and the other walls were different too. I seemed to adapt well and my serve was on by the third game. I won two games that night which is my best so far. We had one heck of a workout, great time.
From WCK BB :)