Pictures from Christmas Day...

Christmas day is finally here.......

We woke up Thursday morning around 8am. It was nice that the kids slept in for a change. The kids were excited to find out that Santa had been here. We opened gifts up right away. Kailey got exactly what she wanted "a KITCHEN." She was so happy that Santa brought her it. Cohen got what he wanted too. Cars, cars and cars. He got the Shake & Go Crash cars race track with cars. The kids played with toys, wound up from the morning take from Santa while Jaime and I packed for the trip to Chicago.

We left around 11am and arrived just before most of my family did at 3pm. It was a very nice evening. My cousins and aunts were there. My cousin's 5 month old baby girl Taylor was there as well. It was the first time I have seen her in person.

Dinner was great. Ham, roast beef, potatos, plus a million other things I cant even remember. The kids opened gifts and then the adults did our normal $15 grab bag gift exchange. It was a great time stealing gifts from each other and laughing our way through it. Everyone had a wonderful time visiting with each other. With all thats gone bad in the world over the last 6 months, it was nice to see everyone happy and healthy. I posted some pics below from the day (some from in Iowa and some from Chicago).

Christmas Eve....

Its now officially Christmas as I sit here typing at 12:03am. We just got back from Jaime's parents house where we had dinner and exchanged gifts. The kids are tucked away in bed as they know Santa only comes when they are asleep. I actually told them in the car tonight "that I heard of some kids who didnt get any presents last year because they tried staying up all night to see Santa and he skipped over their house". Kailey said that she was going to go to bed right away so she got presents. I love it.....I'll have to use that same story next year. One day I'll get a kick out of telling her the truth.

Jaime and I have 1 last gift to wrap and then its off to bed. The gifts are under the tree and we await the morning. Here are a few pictures of Xmas eve at the Atwater House.

Good night to all.

Picture with Santa

Its getting really close to Christmas and we hadn't been to the mall yet to visit Santa. Jaime and I figured that today would be a perfect day to go. Hopefully, most people wouldn't go until after work which would mean the line would be short. Yippee....we were right. When we got to the mall, there were only 4 groups in front of us (including Jaime's cousins wife with the 3 boys).

Kailey was a little hesitant at first to talk to Santa but she wasn't scared by anymeans. She told him she wanted a play kitchen (Santa asked if she would make him food so he could come over).

Then she asked for MAKE-UP, Santa actually said "I dont think so". It was a cute moment for Jaime and I. Cohen was a lot more shy. He didn't really want to talk but when we finally got him to tell Santa what he wanted for Xmas, all he said was "CANDY".

Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year.

GE Xmas party....

Jaime and I went to her work Xmas party on Saturday night. It was held at the Collins Plaza Hotel. It was a very pleasant evening. Dinner was a buffet style with different stations of food set up throughout the room. Their was a soup station with brocoli cheese soup, chili and minestrone. They also had a pizza and dessert station. The big hit was the "Make your own Burrito" station. A couple chefs were cooking up chicken and steak slices for the meat. You could add your own toppings (lettuce, salsa, etc.) It was very tasty. Overall the whole thing was an interesting set up.
Entertainment was a dj and they also had their own version of "Are you smarter than a 5th grader" tv show. They called up 3 employees who answered questions from the following 3 categories: History, Pop Culture and GE. The 5th graders consisted of a few employees (one being Jaime) who could be called upone to help the contestants. I'll be honest that in this game, even the 5th graders couldnt answer most of the questions. Soome were very hard. As employees went higher up the educational ladder, the more money they could win. It was done very well and I believed everyone enjoyed it.
The hightlight of the whole event was being able to sleep in on Sunday morning without kids. Thanks to Grandpa & Grandma Atwater for watching them. It was a very nice night out with good food, a few drinks (well maybe more than a few) and good company. Till next years party.

Final day of hunting...

I woke up this morning with a sadness in my heart. Its the last day of hunting for shotgun 1st season. I can't believe that the last 4 days have come and gone already. It seems like just yesterday we were heading out on Saturday morning into that cold bitter wind.
Well AJ and I had one tag to fill so we headed out into the timber around 930am. We sat in our stands till 1200pm without seeing a single deer. It seems that the deer just werent on the move like they were the first 2 days when more people are out walking & pushing deer.
AJ and I took the deer to the Newhall Meat locker for processing. Should be about 3-4 weeks before our meet is ready.
That brings the 2008 deer season to a close for me. Until next year when I'll once again sit in the bitter cold and wind trying to bring home that once in a lifetime trophy.
360 days and counting till next year. I'm already excited just thinking about it.

Hunting...Day 3 and Day 4...

Monday morning started the same way that Sunday ended (really cold and without seeing any deer). We hunted in the morning and then went back out from 1030am to 1pm. I didn't see any deer at all. With the impending winter storm moving into the area, we decided not to hunt Monday afternoon. AJ's parents house is on a gravel road with some steep ditches on either side and when that road gets icy, it can be a real safety hazzard to drive on.

I woke up Tuesday morning to ice covered roads. Many schools were closed and some businesses were on 2 hours delayed openings. With the roads still a saftey concern, we decided not to hunt today. We'll see how things look on Wednesday as its the last day of hunting for season 1. We still have 1 more BUCK tag left to fill and we know their are some nice big males in the area. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and give us 1 more shot at a big buck (no pun intended).

Hunting....Day 2...

630am...another cold morning for hunting. Temps were colder than on Saturday but with no wind, it sure seemed warmer out. AJ and I had no luck in the morning. I dont think we even saw any deer. After we got a bite to eat we headed back out around 11am. The deer were really on the move now as temps climbed up about 15 degrees.

I was sitting in the back of the timber when I spotted a couple does coming towards me. I had to calm myself as my heart started racing so fast and my adrenaline started pumping. Here was my 2nd chance to harvest a deer this season and I didnt want to blow it (should be good now with new batteries in the scope). She stood about 35 yards from me and I was able to hit her broadside. I thought she was a smaller doe (its so hard for me to size them up when your sitting 35 yards away and 12 feet in the air on a small metal stand attached to a tree). AJ told me she was a nice looking doe, not super young but not an old deer at all.

About 15 minutes later AJ was able to take down a young buck. He had one antler broken off and from afar, AJ thought it was a doe.

While in the timber talking with the neighbors, we spotted a small group of deer with a nice looking buck giving chase. If only AJ would have stayed in his stand, that nice looking buck would have walked right up to him. Oh well, thats hunting for ya.

So the day ended with AJ and I both harvesting a deer. Things are looking up. I wonder what day 3 will have in store for us.

Shotgun season officially opens...

Saturday December 6th was opening day of shotgun season for whiletail deer in Iowa. It was a wonderful and beautiful morning with temperatures in the teens and gusts of wind that took the heat right out of you. I went to AJ's parents house again to hunt this year. Thanks to Al and Roberta for opening up their home to me. Roberta gets a big extra thanks for the fabulous breakfast, lunch and dinner she made. It warmed us up when we came in from the chilly weather. Al, you get thanks for the Pepsi (I still owe you a dollar and you'll never see a dime of it).
We hunted from 630am to 930am. Saw a few deer but nothing in shooting range.
Then we went out from about 11am to 1pm. I took 1 shot at a doe but missed completely. For some reason, I just couldnt see the red dot on the scope. More about that later.
We hunted from about 3pm to 500pm. Didnt see anything. Just got more cold. That was the end of hunting for day 1. AJ's bro-in-law was the only one to shoot anything all day (a doe).

As for the red dot. I found out that the reason I couldnt see the dot was because the batteries were dead. They were dead because when I borrowed the gun from Dustin at work, I took it to the shooting range and had left the scope turned on when I was done shooting. It had been turned on for the past 7 days. I didnt realize that you actually turned it on. I thought the red dot was just on the lense. Anyways, with new batteries in the scope, Im hoping that tomorrow will be a better day. Maybe I'll get a deer.

the house is SOLD!!!!!!!

Our house sold today after 10 days on the market. We can't even believe it. It still hasn't sunk in yet. Their was about 4 counter offers between us and the buyers but we were able to come to a mutual price. Were so happy to have it out of the way and were looking forward to moving on.
We will have an inspection next week and barring any changes in the next month, our closing date will be Friday January 23rd. We will be moving in with Donnie & Jill (my in-laws)
until our house is built next year. If anyone wants to help us move, well be recruiting help for Saturday January 16th (as usual, Im sure AJ will be busy that day - ha ha, just joking AJ).

Baby MULLET goes BYE BYE...

After lots of whining on Jaime's part, she was finally able to talk me into getting Cohen's hair cut. The baby mullet is now officially gone. I actually liked his long hair. I felt it defined him as a 2 year old little boy. Jaime just said he looked like his sister. Either way, its gone.

On Saturday Nov. 22nd, we went to a new place for kids called Whipper Snippers (the P's are scissors on their sign). Check out their website. http://whippersnippers.net/ Instead of sitting on normal chairs, kids can choose either of the 3 to sit in (an airplane, a Dodge Viper, or an H3 Hummer). While the kids are sitting down, they have flat panel tv's mounted on the walls in front of them playing cartoons. They have a section for the teen girls and for the teen boys, a section with flat panel tv's with XBox360 so they can play while they get their hair cut.

Cohen did an excellent job for his first time getting his hair cut. He never cried and didnt even put up a fight. The hairdresser said he was one of the best kids she has ever had. Once he was done, we watched them feed the fish in the large fish tank. We got the babies 1st haircut package which included a lock of hair, keepsake certificate and photograph.

Now I have to see if I can get Jaime to let it grow out again. Maybe it will be 3 years till his next cut. ha ha ha....I doubt that will happen.

House for Sale.....

Its official, our house is finally on the market. Its been a while since we started getting it ready to show and sometimes I wondered if we would ever be ready. Well that day came and went and we now are listed on the Skogman website.
Check out the link below for pictures and a virtual tour.
http://www.skogman.com/details.asp?mls=2807819

Jaime and I are planning to keep the family here in Center Point. We've been meeting with builders in the area and are hoping to build a house next spring. Were very much at the beginning of the process but are excited for the future and at times a little scared as well. Our lot is picked out and were currently working on floor plans/pricing.

We'll keep you posted on the progress but for now...its...SELL...SELL...SELL

Donnie turns 60!!!!

Jill had a surprise 60th birthday party for Donnie tonight. It was actually two surprise parties in one. A neighbor of Jill and Donnies named Tammy was turning 50 this week so her family was their as well. Donnie was told that the birthday party was for Tammy, and Tammy was told it was for Donnie. After Donnie found out we were their for him, it was hush hush for the next hour until Tammy's family arrived. Tammy's family was standing outside the big shed door at 5pm. When the door opened, Tammy was blown away to find out that the party was for her as well. It was a great time with lots of family and friends (about 90) for both Donnie and Tammy.

Happy 60th Birthday Donnie.......

Time to join the internet revolution - blogging

Wowzers....I can't believe I have my own blog. Until a year ago, I didn't even know what one was. My friend Tammy sent me a link to her blog and it got me thinking about why I didnt have one of my family. Thanks Tammy, you've inspired me.

I hope you enjoy what you see. Its my little way of letting you know whats going on in our lives.