A missed celebration....

I for got to mention that January 11th was my 4 Year Anniversary of quitting smoking. Yahooooo....It really feels so good not to smoke and wake up coughing in the morning.
Now if I can only keep my weight down. I feel like Oprah with my weight fluctuations. I'm UP, I'm DOWN, I'm UP, I'm DOWN
Currently I'm UP, way UUUUUUUP.

Jaime's surgery...

Jaime had Lasik Eye surgery today at Wolfe Clinic in Cedar Rapids. She is doing well but is in some minor pain. She says its really more discomfort than pain. Right now she is wearing her goggles to prevent getting poked in the eyes. Her vision is very blurred and should return within 24-48 hours.

DAM ITS COLD....BUUUUURRRRRR!!!

WHAT ELSE CAN I SAY....ITS -20 OUTSIDE....WITH WINDCHILL, TEMPS AROUND -40 TO -50....WHY DONT I LIVE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WITH THE REST OF MY FAMILY...
IT WAS ACTUALLY WARMER IN ALASKA YESTERDAY THAN IT WAS HERE...
LETS SEE WHO MISSES LIVING IN THE MIDWEST NOW...

Getting rid of the diaper...

So Kailey has been wearing panties for almost a year now during the day, but at night she has always worn a diaper just to be on the safe side. We never wanted to force her out of them until she was ready. We decided last week to try having her go to bed without wearing the diaper. So far she has done really well. The first 6 days in a row came and went without any accidents at night. She has been so happy to wake up in the morning and let us know that she made it another night. We just keep encouraging her and giving her praise for each night she makes it.

One more hurdle is done.....

We just got word today that an appraisal will not be required on our house. Not that we were worried but it was one more thing that wasn't done yet and we are supposed to close on January 23rd. Jaime and I were a little worried because we have packed up a lot of the house, a lot of which is already in the storage garage and if something had gone wrong with the appraisal, the house would have looked funny going back on the market with a half lived in look.

So our for sure moving date will be January 17th. Should only take a few hours as we plan to move some more stuff on our own when we have a chance. Grandma & Grandpa Atwater will get to live with us for a whole week before they leave for their Hawaii getaway. Maybe they should have rescheduled for sometime in April after we've lived with them for a couple months. They may need the break, so they don't have a breakdown.

Happy New Years 2009

For the last 3-5 years we have been getting together at a friends house to celebrate the new year. Its much easier to do this, especially with kids now. This year we traveled to Marion and spent the evening at the Haley household. We ate walking tacos, eggrolls, creme puffs, drank eggnog (Marco brought the RUM for added flavor) and munched on deer meat and cheese. We played euchre and Wii (my arm is a little sore from kicking ass in tennis all night - just call me John Mcenroe) most of the night. The adults also had a white elephant gift exchange. Jaime got an unmatched set of different colored coat hangers. I got an old telephone, set of golf balls and an already opened mini bottle of Crown Royal (which I later traded in for a deck of cards and a book on card tricks). The kids played all night and made it as long as the adults. Cohen was the first to really get cranky right around 1:30am as you can see from his picture. We hope everyone has a wonderful night and a happy new year in 2009.

The guys playing euchre.

Cohen @ 1:30am, he's not happy

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.