Once the tech guy got here at 8:45 he fixed it. It was just one switch that had gotten checked that wasn't supposed to. SO... I will have to post about couples weekend a little later. Right now, I need to get some billable time so that I can take tomorrow (or at least part of tomorrow) off.
Oh, one more thing. For the 90 or so of you who got the Christmas letter (I know... 90 people!! I really need to get a new hobby) yes, this one is edited a bit. It's the internet people!! I don't need to give out EVERY detail of my life!! (Just 99.9% of them :-)
Hello All-
Hope this letter finds you all doing well. Jake and I are much the same as last year. I am still working for a C.P.A. firm in Des Moines so January thru April 15th is especially busy for me. This year was my third tax season so I'm starting to get more responsibilities and being taken out more to clients. In January we do a lot of client visits so I think I was out of town at least two days every week.
Jake is working for a construction company. So far he is just doing commercial construction but sometime in the future it may also be residential. Thus far he has done concrete work and framing but there has also been talk of him learning some steal work. Since they work year round Jake is always hoping for mild temperatures. So far this winter mother nature is turning a deaf ear. For most of our snow days he has been framing a salon in Ankeny and was up on the roof for a lot of the bitterly cold days. I see now that those Carharts we got him in early November were definitely money well spent.
We still live in my Grandpa's old house. The last three years we have had cows over the summer, and this year we also had the pleasure of renting pasture to someone my mom knows. For three months we had seven horses in our south pasture and although they have been gone for a month now, I still find myself looking for them occasionally as I drive towards our house. I never knew how much I missed the farm until they brought the horses.
At the moment our house is still in the country. We have one neighbor about a quarter mile to the south of us and one neighbor about a quarter mile to the north of us. However, the talk of housing developments, apartments, and townhouses is always hanging in the air. Right now they are trying to annex us. If that goes through I'm sure the developments won't be far behind. When we moved here, we knew houses would be a possibility. We did not, however, have any idea that it might also be townhouses and apartments. Neighbors would be one thing, but we are not sure we want to live in a high density housing area.
Speaking of neighbors, last December Matt and Danette moved 1.9 miles away from us. (Yes, I clocked it on my odometer. Yes, I know I'm a dork.) Right after they moved our other friends Shane and Jess decided that they must be missing a really good party so in May they moved just 9 houses down from Matt & Danette. (2.0 miles… in case you're interested!) This has been great for us because we have been able to hang out with both sets of friends much more often. We find ourselves having "couples" nights at least twice a month with both couples and Katie and Dan from Madrid. We also end up going out with one or the other of them pretty much every weekend.
As for travel, we have pretty much been home bodies this year. In June we went to Jake's cousin's wedding in Carroll but that has really been the extent of our venturing. Jake doesn't have any personal days at work, so we don't really want to take unpaid time just to travel somewhere and spend more money. Hopefully some day, maybe after we win the lottery… (no, I'm sorry, I have the winning ticket better luck next time) we will become world class travelers.
The rest of our year has been filled with working and Jake's passion, hunting. This year he got a new bow and arrow for Christmas (Okay, it was a little early for Christmas, but bow season starts in November) and his Birthday (December 27th). With his new bow and arrow he was able to get his first deer with a bow. If you are so inclined and you would like to see pictures (he's very proud) you can venture on over to our website.
Speaking of our website, that is our final piece of news for the year. In June we started a family website. (Okay, I say we, but I really mean me. I print off the pages and Jake glances at them, but really, I do all of the updating.) After reading a few blogs (on-line web logs/journals) on the internet I was hooked. I always LOVED writing in highschool and so this has been a perfect way for me to do something I love. Jake has hunting, I have the website.
The website has also proved a very effective way for family who is far away to keep in touch with what is going on in our lives. Sometimes when you only talk to family members a few times a year you basically just touch on the large events (like in the Christmas letter). This website allows people to keep in touch with the big things, but also the small things that make it seem like you are not missing out on so much by being so far away.
Eventually, we also hope to be able to put pictures of our children (there are already plenty of our four legged children) on there and information about their activities and accomplishments. Feel free to check us out and stop by often as the content changes at least 3 or 4 times a week. Also, please leave comments if you are so inclined. We would love to hear from you!!
Well, that is about all for us for this season. We hope this letter finds you all in good health and happiness!!
WISHING YOU ALL A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON!!
(Do I sound cheesy & domestic enough for you? I try hard!! :-)
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