Off to get Anna's Piano

Well Cole and I (and Jackson) went to Chicago! We got Anna a new Piano (used) that was a steal off eBay! What a great day to spend with my son doing a good thing for Anna!

Cole's First Book

Cole read his first book all the way through to Lori and I. We are so proud of Cole. He loves school.

Beautiful Tessa

Tessa taking a bath....she is such a fun little girl!!!!

Utah vs. Notre Dame Game

Well we went up (Aaron Stobbe came out from SLC, Marcus Dager, and Brian Baker) to the Utah vs. Notre Dame game and although Utah forgot to show up and play football we had a GREAT time. Great tour of the campus. Great tailgating.....saw some folks that I have not seen for over 10 and 20 years.....amazing....Saw an old opposing coach from 20 years ago who had not changed one bit....he remembered things like it was yesterday.....Saw my Uncle Jerry and Aunt Monica whom I have not seen for over 10-12 years....all on Notre Dame's campus...pretty amazing....

It was wet and cold the entire day but we had a great great great time!!!! I am glad that Stobbe came out......has been since graduating in 2001 since we have seen each other....

Veteran's Day

We are blessed here in Indiana as the Elementary Schools have such a wonderful program that is soooooo patriotic. Here is the program from today. Also I wanted to put in the card my beautiful daughter Anna made for me and had set aside for when I woke up on Veteran's day...I am truly blessed to have such wonderful family whom I love dearly.

I also on this day want to give thanks to all the sacrifices not only the soldiers make but also their families on a daily basis to support and make it easier for those serving be able to do their job. During the program I leaned over and told me wife, besides family if there is one thing I feel blessed for and what I feel defines a part of me, it is having been able to serve the country in a war zone.

The Service Club of Indianapolis

I was asked by retired General Tom Jones of Indianapolis if I would be willing to give a presentation to The Service Club of Indianapolis. It was a very fun meeting and it went very well. It was soooooo awesome to be amongst of group of men who have served the country (most were from WWII, Korean War and Vietnam War) and to see the patriotism that existed amongst these great men. Here is the newsletter they sent me.

Survival Bracelets/Keychains

Today Anna and I made some homemade 550 Cord Survival bracelets/keychains.....these bracelets/keychains are an extremely compact source of heavy duty paracord line; capable of supporting loads up to 550lbs. Each bracelet/keychain can be unraveled, freeing an average of 14ft. of usable line to the wearer. Pretty Cool....

Steak and Shake

Cole at his favorite place to eat!!!!

The kid's MOM

Age 4 Mom knows everything! At 8 Mom knows a lot! At 12 Mom doesn't really know everything. At 14: Mom doesn't know anything. At 16 Mom doesn't exist. At 18 Mom's old fashioned. At 25 Maybe Mom does know about this. At 35: Before we decide, let's ask Mom. At 45 I wonder what Mom ...thinks about this? At 75.......I wish I could ask my Mom about this." I hope my kids realize how lucky they are!!!!!

Tessa's First Haircut

Voted

Halloween

Cross Country Meet

Cole and I got to experience a college Cross Country meet hosted at Northview Church. I also got to revisit with Coach Houle who put up with me for three years while at Southern Utah University. It was really fun!!! Coach introduced us on Friday to the team like I was this awesome runner (we all the know the truth there, as I told them I ran back when SUUwas still growing...it is amazing to see what he has done with the program). He is still the most positive and great guy that he always has been....it was really fun. He included us through the whole meet as we ran with him from corner to corner as his athletes ran the course. Cole had a great time. It was a highlight to reconnect with such a great man!

Visit with the Carrier's

Well Cathy and Anne Carrier came down to visit us here in Fishers and we had a great time reconnecting. Anna and Anne got along very very very well and Anna had tears in her eyes when they said goodbye tonight. We went to the Haunted House last night at the Children's Museum. (Anne lost her first tooth on an apple that Lori sent with her). We went through the haunted house twice....even though the kids will tell you that they WERE NOT scared, they screamed and squealed the whole time. I had to push them to keep going....they were not done with one round as I stated they HAD to do it again....what a great time. It was a memorable visit and we were very very happy and really enjoyed the visit. We are hoping to travel to Wisconsin Dells this spring to the GREAT Wolfe Lodge to repay the visit. They are great people!!!!

The best part of the visit to Connor Prairie was the role playing that the actors do for the living museum. The year was 1836 and it was just like it was back then. Amazing to see the progress that we have with today's society. I asked about a daughter becoming a carpenter or educating them and they asked "why would you want to educate a girl?" The Inn cost 12.5 cents for 1/3 of the bed. To have a gun made it was 12-15 dollars. To bed your horse in the stall with hay was 25 cents. It was fun to see.

Deer Hunt on Mt.Dutton

Well Cole and I went out to Utah this last weekend and had a great time with Grandpa Partridge and with Uncle Judd and Tanner. We flew out Friday and got up on the mountain Saturday morning just in time to saddle up and head out. It was cold and miserable. There was lots of rain, lots of wind, and some snow. We kept warm and had a great time. Cole rode on the back. He was a little mad as he wanted to ride his own horse. He did ride the horse for about a mile on the way back as I walked beside him and behind Grandpa Partridge. He is growing up and learning alot of new things. We did not see alot of deer but saw a ton or elk. For us it is about being with family and being able to experience some of the great outdoors that not many people get to experience.