Bonfire and Game Night!

Last night we went to spend time with our friends Justin and Morgan Maughn and Chris and Jordan Spendlove. We met for dinner and roasted hotdogs, had chips, potato salad, taco salad, and cheesecake for dessert! We sat around the fire for a while laughing and telling about everyone's holiday experiences. Justin and Morgan went to Montana for 2 weddings and they had an adventure to say the least!! A little later in the evening the fire started to die off and it started to sprinkle a little so we went inside to play games.

The bonfire 

They taught us how to play 7 Wonders. It took a while to explain all the rules but it was a really fun game! You don't really know who's winning until you get to the end and it takes a while to come up with the strategy on what to do. It's partially a game of strategy as well as luck with several different things you can do to win.

I lost spectacularly! Guy on the other hand got 2nd place. Our friend Chris ended up winning and his reaction was, "Sweet! I didn't really know what I was doing." Guy and I both decided that we would be investing in this game and playing it often.

MLK Weekend

Since last Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. day, Guy and I didn't have school or work. We decided to head to Waterloo and spend time with Morgan, Melissa and family. We left Sunday afternoon and got there early enough that we could chat and eat dinner together and play a game.

Monday morning I went for a 2.5 mile run, while Morgan and Melissa made pancakes for breakfast. After breakfast Morgan, Guy and I went shooting. They both said I'm getting better but I think I still need a lot of practice and a little more muscle to keep my gun steady. While we were shooting the wind really picked up. It was suppose to be fairly nice and warm over the weekend but it wasn't feeling like it. As we were heading home, Morgan pointed out that it was snowing! We changed the day's plan so instead of disc golfing we planned to go bowling.

After a pizza lunch we left for bowling, but it would be a couple of hours until we could get two side by side lanes so the kids could be on one as the adults were on the other. So we talked and Melissa suggested we go see what was playing at the theater. The two options were Night at the museum and Paddington. Eli and Josh picked Paddington. I was surprised, it was more funny than I thought it would be!

We left for Ames shortly after the movie but we had a lot of fun spending a relaxing weekend with family.

Tender Mercies and a big adventure!

This last week Guy and I experienced a tender mercy. We've been looking and talking about getting a new laptop. Over the weekend we were at the Pawn shop and we found a 15.4 inch Retina Macbook on sale for $700. We talked about getting it since it was in excellent condition. We walked away and decided to think on it over the weekend (we hadn't wanted to since we just paid tuition). We decided that we would go and buy it since it was for a great place and in good condition. Guy, researched it when he got back and we found out that it was a late 2013 model.

Anyway we decided it was worth it and that if it was still there Monday we would buy the laptop. On Monday it was there so Guy bought the laptop. When he got home with it, he found that the sound didn't work. The computer itself wouldn't recognize it and said that there was no sound device available. Guy called applecare and found out that the computer was still under warranty. We tried reinstalling the OS and that didn't work so the tech guy told him that he needed to take it to the Apple Store.

The next morning Guy went back to the Pawn shop (they have a 3 day return policy where if it doesn't work you can return it for in store credit). Guy told them and showed the store that the sound didn't work but that he would like to get it fixed and was wondering if he could get some of the money back for the laptop since he wanted both parties to be happy. They settled on $150.

The apple store couldn't fix it in store so they overnighted it to be repaired (we had it back 3 days later). Turns out it was a $300 fix that we didn't have to pay for.  We ended up walking home with a $2000 laptop for $470 dollars. It's been really nice having a new speedy computer. We're both grateful that the Lord blessed us with a nice computer and that we were able to get it for a fantastic price. We know that it was a blessing for us to even get this laptop and we're glad that the Lord provides blessings in so many ways.

Our next big adventure....

We're doing Woodbadge this coming fall! (Woodbadge is scout training for adults where you learn a variety of skills that help in the future...google it...)

Christmas/New Year

For Christmas this year we went to go visit my parents in Colorado Springs. Again we had a hard time getting there (flight from Denver to the Springs was delayed then cancelled) so we ended up spending another night in Denver. This time we were in a different hotel (The Timbers) and it was a lot nicer! Our room had a King sized bed, and a suite with a decent size kitchen as well.

My parents moved 2 weeks ago from a different house on the Air Force base to their current home, so part of the time we were there we were helping  unpack boxes specifically in the garage. We got all of the garage done and set up so my parents could park a car in the garage.

We had a lot of fun watching Hallmark Christmas movies, we took plates of goodies to my parents' neighbors and home teaching/visiting teaching families. On Christmas Eve we went to the Ward Christmas sing along. The idea behind it was that those soldiers or others who didn't have family in the area could come and sing Christmas hymns and enjoy some goodies.

After the singing we went to NORAD Tracks Santa. NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) is a bi-national(Canada and US) agency responsible for warning and controlling air space between the 2 countries. It includes detection,validation and warning against attacks via missiles,space vehicles, aircraft or mutual support from other commands. Their headquarters is at Peterson Air Force Base. NORAD has been tracking Santa for 60 years. It started when Macy's ran an ad that kids could call Santa. The  phone number they printed was wrong and so kids ended up calling the guard on duty that night. Since then NORAD has tracked Santa every year. Each year they reach out to the senior staff to help volunteer to answer phone calls and emails from kids. When I was a kid we always watched NORAD's website and watched to see where Santa was so it was fun for me to be back and be a part of helping with making memories for others. My dad signed all of us up to help for one of the shifts. It was AMAZING!! We had some interesting questions too. My favorite was "How old is Rudolph?" Guy's favorite was "Are you an elf?"

Karl, Guy, Allison, Katie, Rachel and Ruby

On Christmas, Rachel and my mom made several different breakfast casseroles. After breakfast we lined up for the annual Christmas photo (Karl stayed Christmas Eve and Christmas and then needed to be back for work). We did our stockings and Christmas gifts. The big gift this year was that my family all has fitbit activity trackers. We're all competitive so we've spent ever since competing to see who can get the most steps in a day.  I also ran 7 miles with my father later that day. We spent most of the day lounging and relaxing.

Guy and I were suppose to leave on the 30th. Our plane leaving Colorado Springs was cancelled so we re-booked for the next morning. Then the flight from Denver to Des Moines was cancelled so we called the airline and we were on the last (and only) flight leaving from Denver to Des Moines. We didn't get back to Des Moines until about 9:30 New Year's Eve. We went straight from the airport to Chillicothe, IA to spend some time with Guy's family before we both needed to be back at work on the 2nd.

We celebrated by drinking sparkling cider and laughing with Jim, Shari, Morgan, Melissa, Ginny, and Dan. 

Later that day Pete and Emily and family came up and the nieces and nephews played downstairs, while the women played games. The men burned the leaf/branch/yard waste pile for Shari and then they took the back off of the Toyota truck.  They also took the kids to the park while Melissa, Emily and I lounged and chatted. We also did a white elephant gift exchange. It was fun seeing what all people came up with for gifts. There wasn't much exchanging this time around but Guy came back with a calendar of angels and I came back with some curtains! (That we left at Oma & Opa Lasley's house)

It was great to be able to spend time with family this holiday season but it was nice to be back and sleep in our bed.

Taylor 50th Anniversary

My Dad's family only person missing is Rachel

December 17,2014 was my paternal grandparents 50th Wedding Anniversary. As part of their celebration we all went to Pasco, Washington to where my Aunt lives. My youngest sister stayed home to watch the family dog who has bone cancer.   Guy and I had a bear of a time trying to get to the celebration and the party.  When we first checked in for our flights Guy didn't have a seat assigned for the Des Moines to Denver leg,so we got to the airport a little early so we could have his seat assigned. As we were waiting in the line we found out our flight was delayed 15 minutes due to "awaiting air plane." Needless to say as  we waited in the line our plane continued to get delayed. By the time we got to the desk our flight was delayed 1.5 hours. We then talked to the agent to find out what we could since we would miss our connection flight. Our choices were to a) try the 5 am flight the next day to Denver and take the 11 am plane to Washington ( no seats on the leg to Washington) or b) fly to Denver and then see what they say when we get there. We decided to fly to Denver because if we got stuck at least my parents live 1.5 hours away and my sister could come pick us up. We ended up not leaving Des Moines until about 9 pm. So by the time we got to Denver it was after 10. We were told incorrectly about where to go to get rebooked. By the time we got rebooked and the information about our hotel it was midnight. When we got to the hotel it took them 3 tries to get us into a hotel room that didn't have people already asleep in it. We finally got to bed at 1:30am and woke up at 3:30 to catch the 4 am shuttle back to the airport for our 6 am flight to Seattle then Seattle to Pasco. We were on a different airline (Alaska Airlines...much better). The flight was a little rough for me because I sat between a 7 year old and a 12 year old unaccompanied minor (not related) and they were both excited so I didn't get to sleep at all.

Guy thought Seattle looked just like he pictured it would...rainy with lots of trees. Guy liked the plane we were flying in to Pasco on...something about the engines... I was just glad once we got to Washington. The airport in Pasco is SMALL. There are 5 gates and the people at the ticket counter are also the ones that help you get onto the plane. Guy's first thought was that it's like Cedar Rapids, until he saw the baggage claim area. Baggage claim is a tent off to the side of the airport. Where they drive up and put your luggage on a little ledge. If your luggage isn't there in 20 minutes it wasn't on the plane. Ours wasn't there. So we went to file a claim and they told us since we switched airlines it may come in on the old airline's (United) plane. To make a long story shorter. The person who delivers the luggage lives an hour from the airport. So baggage isn't delivered until he and his wife get back up to the area then take the bags. We didn't get our luggage until 6:30pm. But we were both glad to have it before we flew to Colorado Springs the next day. 

We had a great time in Washington. We did a craft, played charades (our team was: my mom, Guy, my grandpa, my cousin Cody and Sister Katie vs my dad, aunt,uncle, cousin Taylor and brother Karl)   played a game, watched a slide show, had dinner and just sat around enjoying each other's company. It was nice to be almost all together for a few hours. 

Getting Started

Part of my New Year's Resolution was to set up and maintain a family blog/journal of all our happenings. Here is the attempt at that.