Happy New Year!

As 2010 slipped in, and 2009 slipped into the past; I reflect on how special this year has been:

January 2009: We went on our first cruise with Jonda, Travis, Carissa, Cassandra, Raymond, Ryan, and Valerie.

February 2009: Hunter turned four, and Carissa turned three. Dad celebrated yet another anniversary of being 59. We celebrated Vickye's birthday.

March 2009: Odie moves on to Hanging Rock, OH. We went sight seeing in West Virginia. I had a wonderful birthday surrounded by all my kids and grand kids (except Beth & Marco, who are too far away). It is almost worth turning another year older just to be able to get together with our family!

April 2009: We celebrated Mom's, Steve's, and Odie's birthday. Carissa and I went to the 3D Shark film at IMAX and to the butterfly museum. Hunter spent a week with me working in New Braunfels. We went to the Snake Farm (yuk) and drove through the Wildlife Ranch. He went to sites, and zoning offices, played while I had conference calls, and we ended the day swimming. We shared in the celebration of 50 years of marriage with Bobbie and Crit.

May 2009: Odie and I have been married 15 years! Odie and I took a road trip into Pennsylvania back to where the kids and I lived for 6 years. We stayed on Lake Erie one night with a beautiful view of sail boats. Odie took off three weeks and spent some time with his parents, and we kept the grandkids for a few days.

June 2009: I had my first trip to Disney with Jonda, Travis, Carissa, Cassandra, Raymond, Odie, and Hunter. It was truly magical.

July 2009: Our company lost more work, so I started the month in the unemployment line. I didn't have time to really worry about being unemployed, because Beth and Marco married in Texas on July 10. We had the pleasure of meeting and hosting his parents. Once the wedding was over, the German's headed back to Germany, and Carissa and I headed out on a road trip to Illinois. She is an awesome travel companion. We went swimming at the beach, played mini golf, ate at Buffalo Wild Wings, had our nails done, played "Boogie Man", had Pawpaw do daily oil checks (consisting of under arm tickles), roasted marshmallows, and sent several pictures daily of our shenanigans to Jonda and Travis. Somewhere in this month, we managed a weekend in New Braunfels with all the kids and grand kids (with the exception of Beth and Marco who were too far away).

August 2009: Jonda hits the big ??. Travis pulled out all the stops with a beach house complete with the Amazing Race. We celebrated Crit's and Colton's birthday together at Bobbie's house. I went to Wascom for a day and took Colton and Hunter to the Alligator Farm. Hunter came back and spent a week. Carissa and Alex came and spent some time, too. Odie and I took a road trip to New Glarus, Wisconsin and spent a wonderful afternoon at a brewery drinking beer with names of Fat Squirrel, Uff Da, and Totally Naked.

September 2009: September was a rather quiet month. I got to take Carissa and Hunter to the Children's Museum. Travis had a quiet birthday. Odie and I did take a road trip into Amish Country in Indiana. We stayed at a quaint bed and breakfast. in the country, sitting on the porch watching the birds. Instead of hearing traffic, you could hear the horse pulled carriages as the Amish went about their business. We rounded out the weekend by visiting friends that own a beautiful bed and breakfast in Ohio.

October 2009: Wow, I got to spend an entire week with Beth, Marco, Christiana, Odie, and Wolfgang on a Royal Caribbean out of Florida. The stops are nice, but I just like the cruising the best!! Jonda and I took Parker, Hunter, and Carissa to the Houston zoo for a wonderful fall afternoon.

November 2009: Odie has moved from Illinois to Missouri. I went and spent several weeks there. We bought a new fifth wheel. We took a road trip to Iowa to pick it up and went gambling at the new Jumer Casino. It was wonderful that this was a non-smoking casino. We flew home for Thanksgiving and got to see all the family, (except for Beth and Marco, because they are too far away) We took a day off and road the Arch. We went to the Museum District in St. Louis and ate Chicago style pizza.(yum)

December 2009: Odie and I took a driving tour through a park that had been transformed into a couple of miles of Santa wonderland complete with a light covered bridge while listening to Christmas music. We visited Old St. Charles with quaint shops all decorated for Christmas with Charles Dickens's characters and Old St. Nicks in costume. We came home on the 19th and spent some quality time with out wonderful family. Christmas night was chaotic with all the kids and grand kids filling the house.(except for Beth and Marco) I enjoyed it so much!

Beth and Marco were truly missed, when we were all together.

I guess with the year I had, I should be a little depressed that this wonderful year has slipped into the past. I have captured so many of my memories into pictures that I will enjoy for years to come. So as I sit here, my thoughts now change to the future. I start a new job tomorrow. Two of my Grand kids start Kindergarten this year. We have Monster Truck tickets for all the kids and grand kids (except for Beth and Marco, because they are too far away). I have tickets to see Brad Paisley at the Houston Livestock and Rodeo. So, although we are only three days into 2010, I am looking forward to the adventures of 2010!


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