Happy New Year's Eve

Hello all,

This will be my last post for the year. Funny... You know it sounds odd to write that statement. I started writing this blog in 2005 after Steve Brown talked about blogging during our lunchtime walk. I have been doing it nearly every day for over four years now. Most of my posts have been simple: This is what I did today, but today is about reflecting.

I've blogged about both happy and sad times. The birth of a child and the death of a loved one. At the time I wrote these posts, I thought that surly I could come up with something better to say than My sister Nicole just had a baby boy!, but I am not the writer in the family. That would be my wife. That is why on March 7, 2005, Jennifer wrote a simple and heartfelt entry telling the family that my father had passed away after a prolonged illness.

I never thought that this blog would have this type of longevity. In fact, I've never put this much time or effort into any writing endeavor. Though the years, I have commonly thought that I would get bored with this exercise and move on to something different, but it is my friends and family that keep this post going. Chris Wilson... Thank you for keeping me going. Steve, you too. And thank you to everyone who reads this blog.

I am looking forward to 2010. I think it will be a great year. I hope that this entry finds you in good health and good spirits. Celebrate tonight with a loved one. Light a candle for those you miss on this night. Today would have been my father's 67th birthday. Happy birthday Dad. I miss you.

You will find a candle burning at the Scott house tonight. The kids will ask what it is for and I'll tell them it is for you Dad.

Happy New Year!

-Andy Scott

More Snow... again

Hello all,

Well the weather event that was suppose to slip to the south of Kansas City rolled right through the front door and dropped another two inches on the streets. You know, it would have been nice if the streets had been cleared BEFORE the next snow event had occurred. Now the streets have even more snow on them to clear. My trash was not picked up yesterday. What is the city doing? Waiting for Spring?

-Andy

Tired of Snow

Hello all,

I am officially tired of the snow. I'm done -- finished with snow. People can't drive in it. The city can't plow it. The weatherman can't predict it. It is annoying.

My kids love playing in it.

It is good to be a kid.

-Andy

Dentist

Hello all,

This morning I took the kids to the dentist for their bi-annual check-up. Both kids did great. Zac has two loose teeth in the front and Ali has a loose tooth as well. Oh, I think the tooth fairy is going to be running out of money soon!

-Andy

Happy Birthday Mom!

Hello all,

Happy Birthday to my mother Carol Scott! Sorry that you are stuck in the same terrible snowstorm, but there is a silver lining to this winter weather cloud. You have an excuse to drink another white chocolate cappuccino from Starbucks! Drive home safe tonight mom. I'll call you tonight to see how your drive home went.

-Andy

More Snow

Hello all,

I wish I could say I love the snow, but I don't. I don't love it anymore. In fact, loathe it. I've cleared my driveway and sidewalk three times, but the snow is relentless. I have more snow than I can use. Please don't send any more.

-Andy

Merry Christmas!

Hello all,

It snowed last night...
It snowed today...
I think it is going to snow for a while by the look on the radar.

On the bright side, Santa was very good to the kids. His sleigh and reindeer were very capable and he was able to make it down the chimney and to our tree without any issues.

Zac received an indoor/outdoor batting cage. He can hit baseballs, golf balls, tennis balls... you get the picture. Lots of good energy being expelled in there.

Ali received a TV for her room. Now the kids can watch Disney movies in her room and leave mom and dad's TV alone.

Jennifer received dance lessons. Yes, Jennifer and I will do our best impressions of a ballroom dancing pair. I will keep you posted.

I received a new Mr. Coffee pot. Yes, the gift of caffeine. Thank you Santa!

Now that the gifts have been opened, it is time to put on the snow pants and boots and brave the winter weather. I have a driveway to find!

-Andy

Snow Is Coming

Hello all,

I drove into work this morning in a persistent rain. It was not raining hard, but the cold chill in the air and the weather forecast can not be denied. Kansas City is going to be a winter wonderland on Christmas for sure. I am very pleased to know that DST will be closing at 1:00 PM today. I will be able to get home and pick Jen up before heading to Diane's house tonight for Christmas Eve dinner. Oh, the turkey will be fried as well. It might take a long time to get the oil hot enough, but it will be cooked outside in the weather.

Merry Christmas everyone!

-Andy

Wrapping...

Hello all,

Well, I finally did it. I finally started to wrap my wife's presents this evening. I started at 10:00 and finished at 12:30. While wrapping, I ran out of tape and had to improvise and use packing tape. Good luck getting your presents open Jen. :)

Good night,

-Andy

Happy Birthday Alexandria

Hello all,

I want to start out by wishing Alexandria Nikkole Scott a very happy ninth birthday. On a cold morning in December of 2000 my daughter was born. It was VERY slick that night. Freezing rain had covered interstate I-35. Nothing could stop Ali from coming into the world. Happy birthday to my daughter Ali. You are growing up each day right before my very eyes. You have come a long way from being small enough to fit in my hand like a football. Now you and Zac are throwing footballs.... Where has the time gone?

Happy birthday Boo.

Love,

-Dad

Back to Work

Hello all,

It is a wonderfully cold Monday morning. The chill is definitely in the air today. My commute to work was great this morning with so many people off for the Christmas break. I almost had Highway 169 all to myself.

The day went slowly, but I was able to get my tasks done. I am looking forward to having some fun with Ali and Zac tonight. I think we will have a Wii tennis challenge. It is always fun playing tennis against the kids. They both really get into the action of hitting the ball.

Wish me luck in winning!

-Andy

Doing Nothing All Day

Hello all,

Today I didn't do anything all day long. I should have wrapped Jen's presents. I should have washed some laundry. I should have finished shopping for Jen. I should have done SOMETHING today, but instead I didn't do anything. It felt good doing nothing for a change.

-Andy

Ali's Birthday Dinner

Hello all,

Jennifer and I treated the kids to dinner at Skies tonight for Ali's birthday. It was not a good experience. We were seated in an uncomfortable table and our server was very rude. Jen and I did our best to make the best of the situation, but Ali could tell that the server did not like kids. We managed to salvage the evening by asking the piano player to play Happy Birthday. To our surprise the entire lounge sang along with the pianist. That was the best part of the evening. At least something good came from this visit.

-Andy

Ali's Party @ Clardy

Hello all,

It was my privilege to attend Ali's Winter party at Clardy Elementary this morning. I helped to prepare the desks for the pizza party and also assist with clean-up. The kids thought it was very cool that Ali's dad can touch the ceiling without jumping. I think I made Ali proud. :)

After the party was over, Grandma Diane and Ali went shopping while Zac stayed at Adventure club to play with his friends. I returned to work. I think the kids got the better end of the deal...

-Andy

Lunch at Burrito Brothers

Hello all,

I went with Josh and Matt to the KC River Market to eat at Burrito Brothers. It is a lot like Chipolte. It was good, but not great. I thought that I might as well get to know the local places to eat since I plan on being downtown for a while.

-Andy

Southwest Chicken Salads

Hello all,

It seems that all I do recently is write about food. :) Well, tonight I grilled two chicken breasts and mixed those with a Southwest flavored salad made by Dole. It was very tasty and I think it will remain on the menu in the weeks to come.

-Andy

Pancakes for Dinner

Hello all,

It was a very cold day in KC. Due to that fact, I decided the family would have breakfast for dinner tonight. I made pancakes and sausage links for everyone. As we ate dinner, we could hear the wind howl outside. I am thinking I may have to put a pot of chili on to simmer all day for Thursday or Friday. Mmmm.... Chili....

-Andy

Christmas Shopping

Hello all,

I was able to get out of the house for a little bit tonight and get some shopping completed for my wife. It was good to get out and get into the Christmas spirit.

Merry Christmas everyone!

-Andy

Very Tired

Hello all,

The girls were up by 7:30 this morning and were hungry for pancakes.
I was not ready for the girls to be up this early.

We took a nap during the Chiefs game. The team didn't play well, so there was not much to miss.

-Andy

Shopping with Nana and then Ali's Birthday Party

Hello all,

Shopping with Nana - check
Birthday cake picked up - check
Starbucks run with Nana - Priceless

After Nana left to return to Iowa, it was time to head to Gladstone Bowl for Ali's birthday party. While there we celebrated the Bearcat football team winning its third national title - Go BEARCATS!

Ali bowled well. The girls had a good time. Screaming was constant. It was a typical 9 year old birthday party. There were lots of excitement when presents were opened. The fun truly started with the sleepover....

Ali had the girls bring clothes for a fashion show.
Then the girls played Apples to Apples.
Then they watched a Hana Montana movie.
Then they sang songs upstairs.

All was quiet by 12:45.


Good night!

-Andy

Nana in Town

Hello all,

Thank you for coming down to KC tonight to watch the kids encore performance of Christmas Hangups mom. It was great to have you down tonight. Zac and Ali enjoyed being able to perform for you.

-Andy

Church Program

Hello all,

It was a quick turn around tonight. I had to hustle home from work and help Jennifer get the kids ready for Good Shepherd's Christmas program. Jen and I were scheduled to help serve the evening meal. It was then time to head into the sanctuary and get ready for the show. The kids did great tonight. Ali and Zac danced very well. Ali was a star and the Statue of Liberty. Zac was a Hula Boy. They did a great job for sure. Jennifer and I are very proud of both of them.

-Andy

Snow in KC

Hello all,

What a day. It took me two hours to get to work downtown. The drive normally takes 20 minutes. I could hear sirens from my office building all day long. Wrecks were common.

Here are some pictures from mom's house from yesterday.

Thinking of you, Steve Brown

Hello all,

I found out this morning that a close family friend of mine lost his son on the 6th of December. I want you to know my family's prayers are with you and Mary as you cope with the loss of your son Lee.

-Andy

Zack's Music Program

Hello all,

What a great night for Zack's 1st Grade music program! His class sang:

The Twelve Days of Christmas
The Old Grey Cat
Up On The Housetop
"Sugar Plum Fairy Dance" from Tchaikovsky
Good Night/Sleep Baby Sleep
See The Moon Glowing / I See The Moon
Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Up On The Housetop
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
Jolly Red Nose
We Hear Santa
We Wish You A Merry Christmas


After the performance, we went to Baskin Robbins for ice cream to celebrate his accomplishments. It was great to see him sing and perform the group actions. I didn't know I had such an accomplished actor in the house.

Good-night,

-Andy

Lasagna

Hello all,

Dinner tonight was Lasagna! What an outstanding meal for a cold night in KC. I am thinking that Chili will be on the menu on Wednesday.

-Andy

Visit Continued

Hello all,

So last night the kids went to dinner while my mom and Jennifer's mom watched Ali, Zack, Dade, Maddie and Brooke. This morning we were all together to eat breakfast (with the bacon). I cooked the bacon outside on the grill to keep the house from smelling like the smoke. After one pot of coffee and two batches of pancakes, everyone had enough to eat. The Ali and Zack opened their birthday presents from my family while Dade, Maddie and Brooke opened their Christmas presents from Jennifer and I. The floor was a mess for sure, but smiles were everywhere. It was just what I needed to put me in the Christmas spirit!

-Andy

Family in town

Hello all,

What a great night for the Scott family! My sisters Danna and Nicole and their spouses Kevin and Kirk all went to dinner at Smokehouse BBQ tonight with Jennifer and I. I had not laughed like this in a long time! We all ate too much, but that didn't stop us from going to HY-VEE to buy stuff for breakfast in the morning. Who knew we would need two pounds of bacon? Who knew one man could eat a pound himself? Anyway, breakfast has been purchased and pancakes with bacon are on the menu for the morning.

Good night,

-Andy

Met Jen for Lunch

Hello all,

I met Jennifer at Trezo Mare for lunch today. This was the second time I have had lunch with Jen since moving downtown in September. It was great seeing you today Jen. You really made the day go by faster!

-Andy

Putting Up The Tree

Hello all,

Tonight Jennifer, Ali, Zack and I finished putting the ornaments on the Christmas tree after dinner. It was a lot of fun letting the kids find "their" ornaments from past Christmases and hang them on the tree. I let them stand on the foot stool to allow the tree to be more balanced. After it was finished, the lights were turned out and we stood in and admired our work. Nice job family. It is a great looking tree!

-Dad

Home Sick

Hello all,

I went to bed last night with a sore through. I woke up with it worse. I've been at home in bed for most of the day. I'm sitting in the chair in my bedroom writing this message just to have a change of geography. I do not like being sick. Yuk.

-Andy