No School Today

Hello all,

Well, the storm hit and hit us hard. There is a lot of ice on the streets this morning. I went out early and drove around the block to survey the conditions for Jen. The hill that we live on is very slick. Before I went out on my drive, I covered the driveway with ice melt pellets.

While out, I watched a lot of cars spinning their tires. I don't know if the driver had forgotten how to drive on ice or was just stuck. I did not have an issue with getting around. Then again, I am from Iowa and we all know Iowa drivers are better than Missouri drivers. :)

Anyway, when I returned I gave Jennifer my report on the road conditions. The side streets are covered, but the main roads are fine. Go figure.

North Kansas City Schools are closed today. I am staying home with both Ali and Zac today. Right now, Zac is upstairs watching Lazy Town on DVD in the toy room. Ali is still sleeping. Life is pretty good now.

Have a great day!

-Andy

Heading Home Early

Hello all,

I am heading home early today due to icy weather moving in. The forecast was for it to come around 5:00, but at 1:30 it is starting to come down. I got stuck on the highway last year during one of these and I do not want to do it again. I hope you are all safe at home.

-Andy

Last nice night before winter

Hello all,

It is 61° F outside right now. Tomorrow it is suppose to be below freezing. How can anyone stay healthy with weather changes like this?

-Andy

PlayStation...

Hello all,

Tonight I taught my daughter how to play Madden Football for PlayStation 2. She called the play and pushed the right buttons to throw the ball. She let the computer run with the ball once it was caught. I wish I could have captured her expression the first time she scored a touchdown. She was just too darn cute. I was rocking Zac to sleep in the recliner while she asked me what play to call. After she locked in the game, she would ask me who she should throw the ball to. The hot read was always the receiver that was identified with the square symbol. Before the snap of the ball Ali would ask me Are they bringing the blitz? If I said yes, she would throw it the tight end in the flat. My daughter marched down the field a couple of times before it was time for bed. I'm sure it will not be long before she is wanting to play me heads up. I better keep my skills sharp because I fear it will not be long before she can take me on.

-Andy

Sunday with family

Hello all,

Not a lot to talk about today. I didn't do much except clean up the kitchen a little bit and watch football today.

-Andy

Ali had her ears pierced

Hello all,

My little girl had her ears pierced today at Metro North Mall. Yep, my little girl was a trooper tonight. She asked if she could have her ears pierced several times today and Jen and I told her if she really wanted them pierced, she would need to ask. This was our safeguard against peer pressure from other family members....

Anyway, my daughter now has pink earrings. She is growing up so fast.

-Andy

Last day of vacation

Hello all,

You know what, this week has really flown by. I did get some much needed PlayStation time in. I think I am going to win the Superbowl again with the Chiefs. Go figure. I am the MAN when it comes to beating the computer.

-Andy

Happy Thanksgiving

Hello all,

Today is Thanksgiving and what I am thankful for most if family. My family has stuck by me for yet another year of ups and downs. Jen and the kids have endured me being on the phone for countless hours while they sat and waited for me to finish. I am grateful for their patience. I hope these last few months have been better than the summer. I have tried very hard to make my time at home family time.

I am thankful for my health. You never think about your health until it makes you. So far, so good for all of us.

I am thankful for friends. I could not live my life without the my friends. Steve, Jeff, Chris, Lisa, Dave... You guys give me the outlet to vent a lot of steam that would be bottled up and explode later. Thank you for being there to listen. I hope through the year, I have been there for you.

In closing, I am thankful for you too. Without this blog, I would not have a record of my day to day life. I have enjoyed looking back at my blog and seeing what I did on each day.

Thank you,

-Andy

Happy Birthday Zachary!

Hello all,

Happy Birthday Zachary!! My little boy is four years old today. I am so proud of the guy that you have become. I know that Grandpa Scott is watching down from Heaven and smiling on you today.


Love you Bud,
Dad

Day Two

Hello all,

OK, day two of vacation. I took Ali and Zac to school today and did some odd jobs around the house. I took Jen lunch at work and then went to Ali's Kindergarten Thanksgiving dinner at school. It was a lot of fun to hear each student's Thanksgiving wish. Ali was thankful for Her new house since her last one was knocked down. The night before, Ali watched ABC's Extreme Makeover where the house was knocked down and a new house built. I love my daughter, but sometimes I wonder where her brain is sometimes.

Ok, I'm going to bed.

-Andy

First day of vacation

Hello all,

Well my first day of vacation is today. I sat at Randy Reed early this morning and had my tire fixed. I had a small piece of metal removed and now my tire is fixed. I didn't do a lot more than that today. I guess that is the point of vacation.

-Andy

Chiefs Win

Hello all,

The wonderful Kansas City Chiefs won another game today. My good friend Jeff Rogers and his friend from Iowa John attended our tailgate. We had steak and potatoes on the grill. Jeff and I shared stories of life while growing up in Iowa. I'm sure Jennifer was just thrilled by listening to accounts of us in our youth. At the game, a B-2 flew over the stadium. It was AWESOME. I always enjoy a game where the US Air Force flies over our seats.

-Andy

Zac's Birthday Party

Hello all,

Today was my son's fourth birthday party. It was held at our house and here are the guest:

Mom, Dad, Alexandria, Zachary
Diane
Carol, Danna
Nicole, Kirk and Dade
David & Susie
David, Jeremiah and Selina
Phyllis and Charles

We all had a great time. The kids were full of energy and slept well at night!

-Andy

ON VACATION

Hello all,

Today is my last day of work for a week. I am really looking forward to being off for a while!

-Andy

Data Entry

Hello all,

Jennifer started to enter data into the BeautiControl tool that I have been working on for so many months. It is nice to build something that she can use. She has already pointed out some improvements that she would like to have included. Go figure! I'm glad you like it Jennifer!

-Andy

Bunko

Hello all,

Even thought tonight was the finale of Dancing With The Stars, my wife still went to play bunko with the neighborhood girls. Yep, those chatty ladies probably talked about men all night. When she returned home to her loving husband, she watched her show on DVR. Emmitt Smith won the competition, just in case you did not know.

-Andy

Still working on the BeautiControl Website

Hello all,

It has been a long process, but I am still working on Jen's BeautiControl Website. Hopefully it will be completed the week of Thanksgiving.

-Andy

Ali's first day of Dance

Hello all,

Tonight Zac and I took Alexandria to her first ever dance class. She was VERY excited to go to dance and learn how to tap. She will also learn ballet later this semester. When Zac and I picked Ali up, she was as happy as I have seen her. She could not stop smiling. I think Jen and I made the right choice.

-Andy

Alexandria's first birthday party for a classmate

Hello all,

Today my daughter Alexandria went to her first birthday party for a classmate. The party was held at Libby Lue's in Independence Center. I have published a few pictures of my daughter's hair after she was transformed into a princess.

-Andy

Busy Day

Hello all,

The morning started with breakfast on the farm. I wish it was ham and eggs, but coffee cake and orange juice will work. My first task was to clear out mom's gutters. Many of them were packed with leaves and twigs. The cold morning made the frost almost impossible to break through with my bare hands. Mom tossed up a garden tool that allowed me to scrape most of the debris free.

I then went on to driving steel posts for snow fence. It was not a hard task, but it took some time. We only hung around 100 feet of snow fence this year as to almost 300 feet in years past.

The final task was cutting brush. Kevin Hamele and I must have cut and hauled wood for hours. He was glad to take the wood home for his furnace and fire place.

In the afternoon we all went to Grandma Scott's house to choose what we wanted to keep. I took a few pots and pans. I took the green, yellow and red cups I used as a kid. The rest of the stuff was just odds and ends. It was very hard to split it up. I did not enjoy it at all.

Jen and I were on our way back to Kansas City by 5:00. We listened to the Nebraska game on the drive. The kids slept as Jen and I celebrated a great finish with time running out. Nebraska beat Texas A&M in the final seconds of the game.

Good night.

-Andy

Leaving for Iowa

Hello all,

The family left late tonight for Iowa. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day of clearing brush on the farm and choosing keepsakes from Grandma Scott's house. I am not looking forward to the later.

-Andy

Setting up my vacation schedule

Hello all,

Today I had to finalize my vacation schedule for the upcoming Holiday season. It looks like I will be taking a week at Thanksgiving and eight days at the end of the year.

-Andy

Vacation Day

Hello all,

After talking to my wife last night, I decided I was going to take today off and do some odd jobs around the house today. I have washed the kids sheets and blankets so far. I have also vacuumed their rooms. It feels good to get some of the odd jobs done for a change.

-Andy

Not much happening today

Hello all,

Well, not a lot is going on today. I spent the day working on some maintenance tickets for SODS. I listened to a lot of MP3's today to help the day go faster.

-Andy

Falling Leaves

Hello all,

Just a few days ago all of the trees were beautiful with colorful leaves. On my drive in to work today, I noticed that most of the trees had lost all of their leaves. Wow, it does not take long.

-Andy

Final mow of the year???

Hello all,

After the Chiefs game, I mowed the yard again. It took a longer than normal due to the leaves that have fallen from the trees. I think it was at least 10 trash cans full of yard refuse that I dumped into the compost heap. After I finished, the yard looked very clean and neat. I'm sure it will not stay that way long.

-Andy

Bearcats and Huskers Win

Hello all,

What a great day for college football! Today my Alma mater Northwest Missouri State beat Pitt State in the Fall Classic V at Arrowhead stadium. What a fantastic day for football. The weather was a pleasant 60° F with a light wind. Zac took a nap during the first quarter but was awake for the remains of the game.

At the game, I ran into two fraternity brothers, Trey Payton and Jim Honn. It was good to see them again. They were there with Jim's dad and brother. They are both doing fine and enjoying life as being a dad.

At half time, Jen, Ali, Zac and I went to see my cousin Ron at his suite. It was good to see Ron and Denny again. We were not able to travel to Maryville this year for Homecoming due to the weather. Ron was glad to see the kids again and they were happy to get out of the wind that was starting to stir at the stadium.

After the game, Jen and I celebrated another victory as Nebraska beat Missouri in Lincoln. Way to go Huskers!

-Andy

Alexandria as Cinderella

Hello all,

Today my daughter has Prince and Princess Day at her school. She was dressed as Cinderella this morning and is really looking forward to her party today. I am leaving work around 1:00 to get home in time to attend.

-Andy

Working on the BeautiControl page for Jen

Hello all,

I have been working on a PHP tool for Jen to track our BeautiControl inventory, mileage, and expenses. It has been a nice change of pace for me. Thanks for being a good customer and giving me time to work on this tool Jen!

-Andy

Lunch at Sweet Tomatoes

Hello all,

Today I went to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch with Jeff Ratcliff. It was nice to get out of the office for a bit and just relax. Thanks for going today Jeff.

-Andy

November...

Hello all,

Well, another month has passed. The year has really flown by it seems. It will not be long before it snows and people will start singing Christmas songs.

-Andy