Happy Halloween

Hello all,

Tonight is the night were all of the little ghouls and goblins come out and scare all of the adults. Zac is going as Optimus Prime while Ali is going as Charpe from the High School Musical movies. We went to Good Shepherd's "Trunk-or-Treat" gathering last night. The kids had a great time getting dressed up last night. They were able to get a little bit of candy, but we did our best to keep the snacking to a minium and off to bed by 9:00. Tonight we are going to Diane's neighborhood first and then back to our house. The kids should get a bucket full of sugar by the end of the night. We'll see how much of it they actually get to eat. I hope to throw a majority of it out in the trash by Sunday.

-Andy

Productive Day

Hello all,

Today has been a very productive day for me at DST. I've cleared two tickets and promoted the code to Test. If all goes well, those changes will be migrated to production on Tuesday. I've lost count of how many tickets I've cleared out of our maintenance bucket, but it is over ten. I'm feeling better about my knowledge of the Vision system.

On a sad note, Sterling McCullough was let go at Embarq today to make room for other changes that will happen due to the merger between Embarq and Century-Tellecom. I'm sure that many more of the people I had worked with will be reassigned or given their outright release. I am very lucky to have left the company when I did. I didn't think it was a great decision at the time, but right now it looks to be a sound decision.

-Andy

Design Patterns, Day 2

Hello all,

Day one is behind me and day two is here. The subject matter is becoming much more difficult. I wish I had Steve or Chris in class with me to bounce ideas off of like we did in the past. I miss you guys. The classes are challenging and the examples are difficult to understand since they lack a lot of substance. The Java classes are basically a series of constructors with print line statements in them. It is hard to see the differences between a Factory and the Product and the DAO.

-Andy

Design Patterns

Hello all,

I am in a training class for Design Patters. Today's class covered singletons, strategy and decorations. Tomorrow is covering abstracts and DAO's. My head is swimming and it is only 2:00.

-Andy

COLD DAY

Hello all,

WINTER IS ON ITS WAY. When I let the dog out this morning I was greeted with a crisp (39 degrees) breeze. The dog looked at me like I was crazy to ask her to go out into the cold. Too bad for you Dog, it is your turn.

My trees are almost entirely bare now. My yard looks like it is covered with a golden blanket. Great... more work for me.

-Andy

Delta Sigma Phi Gathering

Hello all,

Today I met up with some old friends from college at Hooters by I-29. It was good to see Chad Johnson, Scott Macky, Mike Stephenson, Justin Brant, Brian Kiem and Bill Purviance again. Two hours passed quickly as we caught up with each other and how our lives have changed since we were 22 years old. It was good to share memories and how our lives have changed. It was great to get together and share a pint and a laugh or two. Thank you all for the walk down memory lane. It was very much appreciated.

-Andy

Yard Waste

Hello all,

Today was a busy day for me. I started by hauling the limbs that I had cut down over the past two weeks down to the dumpster that our homeowner association rented today. The yard trees and bushes look great now. I helped Jeff King carry his Pin Oak branches to the dumpster as well. I was very tired by the time day came to an end.

-Andy

Driday Fun

Hello all,

Today was an interesting day. The UMB bank by our office was robbed today around 2:00. The man who robbed it ran away on foot towards Main Street. The KC Star is already reporting that the FBI is on the case. You just never know what is going to happen on any given day downtown.

Tonight Jennifer and Vanna are taking Ali and Zac to High School Musical 3. We are all meeting at Chili's at 5:30 for dinner and then they are heading to the show. I'm going home to saw down a few more branches and get ready for the dumpsters that will be in our neighborhood tomorrow. I might even rake some leaves if I have time.

-Andy

Parent Teacher Conference

Hello all,

Tonight Jennifer and I were very pleased with our discussions with Ali and Zac's teachers. We do have some great kids! Both teachers had great things to say about our kids and how much they care about their education. Great job kids. Keep up the good work

-Dad

Gymnastics

Hello all,

It was another Wednesday of running home and getting the kids changed, fed and to gymnastics before 6:30. I was able to get Zac to class by 6:37. He had to run his laps by himself and get in line for stretching. He did a great job on the parallel bars and high bar tonight. He is really getting accustomed to tumbling. Ali had a so-so night. Her class is getting into more coordinated movements that are difficult for her. They wanted Ali to do a back flip on a trampoline. She tired very hard, but could not get her legs back underneath her in time. Her final attempt had her crash face first into the trampoline. I can tell it is frustrating her that she can not do these moves. I wish I could help.

-Andy

Dinner at Texas Roadhouse

Hello all,

Tonight Jennifer and I treated the kids to dinner at Texas Roadhouse to celebrate their great report cards! Both Ali and Zac received positive remarks from all of their teachers at Oakwood Manor. Ali had mostly 'M' and 'P' scores. Zac's report card was mostly 'P'. We could not have been more proud of both of them. GREAT JOB kids!

-Andy

Working with Zac

Hello all,

Tonight Jen and I worked with Zac on writing his letters and numbers. He is still struggling recognizing the numbers "11", "12", and "13". I know that boys and girls learn things differently at this age and I know that he knows them. He can add and subtract. He just can't recognize the number "11" and say eleven. It is very weird. I am looking forward to seeing Zac's report card. It will be delivered at our parent / teacher conference on Wednesday.

Ali received her report card today.. She is doing excellent. Her report card had very positive comments from all of her teachers. Way to go Ali. Your mom and I are very proud of you.

The kids played outside for a while before dinner. I want them to get as much time in outside as they can due to the rain that is expected this week. My grass will grow and the leaves will fall for sure.

Good night,

-Andy

Good Day

Hello all,

Today was a good day. The kids and I kicked the soccer ball around outside. The sun was out and the temperature was in the high 60's. Laughter was in the air. Ali and Zac played well with each other. Zac loved sliding in the grass and getting dirty. I will remember the smiles on their faces for a long time. It was nice to just get outside and play.

-Andy

Cleaning up the Yard

Hello all,

Today was my day to finish all of the projects I've started this summer and never finished. I trimmed the hedges that separate our house from the Steve and Phyllis. I mowed the grass and also filled in some grass seed in places where the trees kept the grass from germinating. It was a great afternoon's work and I was happy to finally have it completed. The next task will be to suck up all of the leaves that will be falling soon.

-Andy

Happy Anniversary Jennifer

Hello all,

Today Jennifer and I celebrated our ten year wedding anniversary. So, what do you do to celebrate ten years together? Well, there are a lot of things to consider. First, did we want to go out and paint the town, or stay in? Did we just want to be ourselves? The answer was simple when we put our minds to it.

Tonight Jennifer and I went to Blockbuster (like we did when we first were married) and rented three movies. Two were romantic comedies and the third was Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. We ate a simple dinner of take out food from Trezo Mare and enjoyed a bottle of wine while watching movies on our couch. That was how we lived 10 years ago. Simple entertainment with one another.

Thank you for a wonderful ten years Bear!

-Andy

Book Fair

Hello all,

Tonight Jennifer, Diane, Ali, Zac and I helped Cyndi York set up for the Oakwood Manor Book Fair in the OWM library. I could not believe how many books there were for the kids to choose from. We must have unpacked 60 boxes of books. When we were finished, the place looked great and I know that the kids will enjoy shopping for books after Parent / Teacher Conferences.

-Andy

Gymnastics

Hello all,

I think this will be our last year for gymnastics. The kids enjoy it. Zac and Ali are good at it, but they are wanting to try other sports now. Jennifer and I have a standing rule. They get to choose one week activity and one weekend activity. If they want to try basketball this winter they need to give up gymnastics. I do not want to over schedule my kids and have their education suffer.

-Andy

Homework

Hello all,

Tonight we worked with the kids on their homework at the kitchen table. Zac is doing much better on his letters. Now we need to work on getting him to write them at them in the correct space on the line. He is making progress for sure.

-Andy

Rain

Hello all,

The Fall rains are here today. The temperature is in the mid 60's and there is a chill in the air for sure. The weatherman has been talking about frost early next week. Winter is right around the corner.

-Andy

Early Morning

Hello all,

I was hoping to sleep in a little bit this morning and skip 9:30 church. Nope, not with Ali and Zac on the job. We were up and out the door at 9:10 and made it to church on time. We then went to Gladstone bowl so that Jen could make up her league play with her team from last Monday. While there, Ali and Zac both bowled two games: (60 A, 66 Z), ( 80 A, 72 Z). As you can see, they bowled better the second game.

We then went home for after eating lunch at Chicago Uno with Diane. It was time for the kids to run to the Christmas program practice before we could blink an eye. Then it was time to go pick them up.

It was soon 5:00. The day was almost over and I'm exhausted.

Jennifer and I went to bed when the kids went to bed.

-Andy

Long Day

Hello all,

This morning I left the house at 5:45 AM to drive to Randolph. At 8:30 I pulled into the drive way and jumped into the flow of the construction process. Kevin had already stood up two of the three walls. My uncle Cliff drove the 4020 John Deere down to aid in the construction process. The most difficult part of the process was lifting the rafters. That was the first time I had ever aided in that effort. I now have a great appreciation for home builders.

My brother-in-law Kirk and I were the odd men out in the activities. We both work with computers and not power tools for our livelihood. Hence, we were the goffers of the crew. We carried rafters and 2x4's from place to place. It was very humbling to see just how little I truly brought to the construction effort besides a physical body to push or lift something into place.

The day ended with me driving home in the dark. I turned the radio off and just drove. I will be sore in the morning for sure.

Good night,
-Andy

Friday

Hello all,

It is Friday. This weekend I'm heading to Iowa to help my family raise my mom's garage. I'll be leaving early Saturday morning and will be getting back late that night. I hope that I have enough stamina to make it through the day.

-Andy

Thursday

Hello all,

Things are pretty good right now for me. I'm just about to celebrate two months at DST. I'm learning a lot about the system I'm supporting. It is so much different than SODS or OMS. It is huge. I'm finally getting my hands into the guts of the programs to understand how point A connects to point B.

Anyway, I hope you all have a good night!

-Andy

Dinner at Wendy's

Hello all,

It is Thursday night so it must be time for gymnastics! I got out of work late tonight and had to hustle home to get the kids picked up and out the door in time for gymnastics. We walked through the garage door at 5:42 PM and had to be at the gym at 6:30 for Zac's class. I did not have time to prepare anything so I took the kids to Wendy's for chicken nuggets and French fries. Zac had chocolate milk while Ali had lemonade. When we were looking for a table we ran into a friend of our from Good Shepherd, Jai Vaughn. Ali walked over and put her ketchup on her table and proceeded to sit down. I then asked Jai if we could join her for dinner.

Our conversation was lively. Ali bounced from topic to topic. Jai and Ali had a great conversation about everything under the sun. Thank you Jai for making my daughter's night. She felt very grown up.

At gymnastics both kids did very well. Zac is improving on the parallel pars while Ali's tumbling is improving. Before I could blink it was 7:45 and time to head home for the kids to take a shower and get ready for bed.

The house was quiet by 8:30.

I could finally sit down for the first time all night.

Did I mention I love Thursday night???

Good night,

-Andy

Slow Night at Home

Hello all,

Tonight was not the most exciting day of my life. Not a lot happened at work today that merits an entry and nothing much happened at home tonight either. Jennifer worked a little late to make up some time that she is taking off on Friday to spend with the kids. I cleaned up the kitchen after dinner and straightened up the house some. It rained most of the morning so the air is damp and has a slight chill to it. The weather man is saying that Kansas City could have a freeze by early next week. The seasons are changing for sure.

-Andy

Reading with Zac

Hello all,

Tonight I read four books with Zac. The key to that last sentence was the word "with". Yes, Zac is learning to recognize words and is having a blast reading with mom and dad. His favorite books are Scooby Doo. He giggles when Scooby and Shaggy get into trouble and have to find a way out of it. Zac can read several words: the, and, as, at, for, said, picnic, pizza, and cheese. I bet you can figure out that tonight's book was when Scooby and Shaggy went to the park to have a picnic and eat cheese pizza.

Great Job little man!

-Andy

Day of Rest

Hello all,

It seems that our Sundays are always the most busy day for us. We have church at 9:30. Ali had an audition for a speaking role in the Christmas performance at 12:30. At 2:30 she and Zac had rehearsal for the Christmas performance. At 6:45 we have our small group meeting for "One Month To Live". I'm exhausted.

Good night,

-Andy

Golf Tournament

Hello all,

Today I golfed in the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church golf tournament at Shilo Springs in Platte City. I was paired with a group of gentleman that had not played in years. I would say we all had very low expectations on the first tee. We openly said after playing the first three holes at even par that we were playing better than expected. After six holes, we dropped our first birdie. We were now one under par. Two holes later we were at two under. Then we dropped an eagle that made us four under par. We were on a roll. We finished at six under par and never had a bogey. We missed several attempts at birdie, but just could not make any of them drop. Our team finished seventh out of seventh. We were one stroke away from a five way tie for fourth place. Not bad for a bunch of guys that had not played since 2006.

-Andy

Lunch with Steve and Mary Brown

Hello all,

Today I had lunch with two very good friends of mine, Mary and Steve Brown. They came to town to visit with their son and took an hour out of their day to have lunch with me at Sweet Tomatoes. We had a great time catching up with the changes in our lives. We shared pictures of our families and talked about the days when working at Sprint/Embarq was fun. The hour passed very quickly and it was soon time for them to leave for their next appointment.

It was great to see you both again. I hope you have a safe journey back to Little Rock.

-Andy

Spaghetti Dinner

Hello all,

Tonight I made a kid favorite, spaghetti. Zac and Ali set the table while I prepare the noodles and sauce. I know it is good since the dinner conversation stops for the first five minutes and then everyone takes a minutes to catch their breath. After dinner, Jennifer quizzed Ali on her spelling words and I worked with Zac on writing his lower case letters.

-Andy

Pulled Fix

Hello all,

On of my fixes was pulled from the install for tomorrow due to an HTML alignment issue with Internet Explorer. I developed my changes using Firefox and Firebug. The site is only certified for use with IE. So when the BA went to look at the site, the columns did not align seamlessly. I was very disappointed.

-Andy