Weekend Visit

 We had such a wonderful time this weekend.  Our dear friends, Sherry and Jon, (Sherry is a friend from college) and their kids, Lacy and Izaak, came to visit us for the weekend.  Last time we visited with them, we went to Martinsville for Sherry's baby shower, just over a year ago.  We finally got to meet little Izaak.  He's such a happy baby, always full of smiles.  And Lacy has grown so much, so much taller than when we last saw her.  As you can see the kids had so much fun.  The girls played, played, and played some more.  They had a ball camping out in Regan's room.   It's always tradition for our guys to go for a round of golf during our visits.  The weather did not cooperate as well as they had hoped, but despite the cold weather Sunday morning, they went out anyway.  Must be a guy thing!  We can't wait for another visit, hopefully it won't be an entire year this time.  

Abby's Three Birthdays

Abby turned four today. She was very excited to learn that her official birthday had finally arrived, since we technically celebrated it two weeks ago. Seeing as how we never miss a chance to have a party, we provided birthday cupcakes for Abby and her classmates at EduCare. As you can see, Abby was very interested in her treat!



The fun part for me was having the opportunity to take the girls to Applebee's (at Abby's request) to celebrate her birthday yet one more time. Bella had to attend a meeting, which is the position that I usually find myself in. So, it was nice to be able to have a Dad's night out with the girls for a change, even if Mom had to sit this one out.



Abby was thrilled to have the opportunity to enjoy her favorite food, dessert! She was very cute when she looked up at me and said with a mouthful of ice cream that she was soooo happy to have had three birthdays: one at the hotel, one at her school, and one at Applebee's...that's going to be a hard combination to repeat.

Travel fun...

Yesterday I had the worst travel experience of my life (thus far). All in all, and considering the frequency, I haven't had that much difficulty traveling throughout the country. Yesterday was a different story.

I woke to gently falling snow in Big Stone Gap, and diligently jumped in the car at 5:00 am for the trip to the airport. Before I left, and along the way (though not the safest practice), I checked my flights to make sure they weren't delayed. All systems go...no delays.

I arrived and checked-in, and was immediately informed that my flight was delayed for 45 mins...not bad considering the weather. To put this into context, the day before Delta had to cancel some 300 flights due to a winter storm. Some left-over issues could be expected.

Well, I get to the gate and 45 mins. passed...then 1h, and then the guy in the suit shows up and lo and behold there is an issue....the first of many

To make a long story short, here's an accounting of my day yesterday.

5:00 am - 6:00 am            Drive to airport

6:00 am-3:00 pm              Sit in terminal, wait on plane

3:00 pm-4:00 pm              Fly to Atlanta

4:00 pm-5:45 pm             Sitting in Atlanta, waiting on plane that was supposed to leave at 4:30 pm to be brought from hangar to terminal


5:45 pm-8:45 pm         Sit on plane, waiting on mechanic to fix crucial instruments that were     needed to fly that wouldn't work because the plane was cold, and then while it is being de-iced, and then in line for take off, and then during the runway inspection that ensued, and then...you get the point.

10:00 pm (Midnight east coast) Arrive at Hyatt Tamaya in New Mexico

I am pleased to report that I am safe, none the worse for wear, and know many people that had worse days that I did. Plus, the morning view wasn't too shabby either.

What a day....

The view from my seat while stranded in Atlanta...more details to come

Party Day

Well Abby and Taylor's party day finally arrived.  They had been so excited about their Wizard of Oz party.  If I do say so myself, it looked pretty Wizard of Ozzie, complete with the yellow brick road.  They loved it.  I believe all the kids had a good time, they tossed a ring around the tin man's hat and roared like a lion.  We thank everyone that came to celebrate Abby and Taylor's birthday with us.  

Our Abby has the most super duper curls.  I experimented one evening after bath just to see what we could do.  She loved her new do, but of course she's not Abby without the bouncy curls.  She even said "Mommy, you took my curls out".