Happy New Year!

The holiday season offered Erik and I a lot of quality family time! We left on the 22nd with Duffy in tow for Jacksonville to celebrate Christmas. Lauren and AJ hosted Christmas Eve dinner where Lauren's gumbo could give Paula Dean a run for her money. Carole gave Chase a box of percussion instruments so we all burned off a few calories as we were drafted into his never ending Christmas parade. It was a blast!

After our stay in Jacksonville, we traveled back to Virginia ahead of the family who arrived the next day so that we could all celebrate my Aunt Barbara's and her twin sister Kay's 70th birthday! I hope that I have half the energy of those two remarkable women when I reach 70! It was a blessing to have the families together for a happy occasion.

Randall, Amy, Carley, and Bailey came over for a pre-New Year's family dinner. We took turns playing the kids in Wii. I'm not sure who had more fun, we'll have to let the pictures be the evidence. Carley is a pro at bowling, and Bailey loves the baseball.

Enjoy the photos and come visit soon!

Erik's Basement Project Phase I

This year I took on the project of finishing the basement to give us a complete home. The project started at the end of the February and was approved by the county in late August. It took longer then I had hoped but as you can see from previous posts on this blog we have had some other fun distractions this year. All work was completed by myself including the electric/plumbing/drywall/paint. Randall laid the tile in the utility room and Chance was a great long distance consultant. In the end it was fun, but I don't think I will do it again, well at least not until Phase II gets approved by the boss.
Here are some before and after shots:
This was what I started with.

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This is the future workout room 3/10/07. Picture on the left is looking back to front. Picture on the right is looking front to back. The yellow paint in the picture covers the stains from the previous owners who had a dog kennel for their dog. Duffy was happy to see it removed.
    
This is the final work out room. Kim has already put in several miles on the treadmill and even Duffy has put on a few steps too.

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A full bath adds value too the house but also convenience too!! No more running upstairs during those Belknap billard games!!! Duffy didn't care for the bath tub as he hasn't quite made friends with water yet but he is learning.

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And finally the Laundry room. I don't know much about this room but Kim says it looks great. Notice the tile floor! Thanks Randall!


The work looks much better in person so feel free to come visit!!!! (Just don't point out the rough spots)

Trips to Tallahassee and Blacksburg

Oh, the anticipation and heartbreak that is game-day! In the last three weeks, Erik and I made two trips to see the 'Noles. One to Tallahassee for the Miami game, and one to Blacksburg for the Virginia Tech game. The high points were spending time with family and friends with some heart stopping football. The low points were turn overs and a quarterback with a concussion. There is nothing more to say, we are hoping for a late season rally against the other Florida school on Thanksgiving weekend.

Erik did ask me if I had the choice would I rather beat Tech or Florida. Of course I said, "Both!" He made me choose and I had to say, "Florida." So maybe we will see a victory in the swamp before this season is over. It could happen Chris Rix managed it afterall.

Check out my Slide Show!

Soccer Day

Today Kim and I spent sometime with the family enjoying some friendly soccer. Carley's team coached by her dad was defeated 5-2 but played very well. Carley had several shots on goal and appeared to have had a blast. We then trekked to the other side of the county to watch Bailey fine tune his skills. After all the soccer we rushed home to entertain the Simei family with Kim's good cooking and my Wii skills.

Preston Parker's Punt Return Against Colorado

Preston Parker put on a show in Colorado. He almost broke through the Colorado special teams on a punt return even after nearly getting his head taken off. With the face mask penalty on the Buffalo's, we should have gotten into the endzone on this drive. Alas, it was a night for special teams and defense and not yet the offense. We're being patient Jimbo.

Doggie Dip Day

Each Tuesday evening after Labor Day, our neighbor-
hood pool opens for the dogs. Last year, Duffy was the driest Lab in the whole place :). (He seems to be missing the Lab gene that defines the love of water.) This year, Erik went into the pool with him and Duffy didn't fight it too much. He even bound in once on his own while chasing another dog. He had a great time interacting with his neighbors and was exhausted by the end of the event. Can't wait until next year!