Babies R Us

So after church today Brianna tells me that she needs to go to Babies R Us because she needs to buy some stuff for her work. So we go and all the time I am thinking that maybe there is a way that I can get out of going in. I have been in a Babies R Us once before and let me tell you, this store creates a very uncomfortable feeling for men without children.

First, we go in and Brianna says that she needs to get a basket and walks back toward the front door. In the meantime, I stand there looking at a stroller on "Clearance" but is somehow still priced at $220. That is stinking ridiculous. So I stand there for a minute, wondering when Brianna will come back with the basket so we can get the stuff and get out of there. Then I turn around and she's left me. I don't see her anywhere. Now I'm feeling like that time I was at the gym and I forgot my workout socks and had to wear my black dress socks and sneakers.

So I begin my uncomfortable quest around the store to find her. I'm quite sure that the people working there had a book out with mugshots of kidnappers and they were just trying to match my picture with one of them.

Then I finally find Brianna and vow that I won't stray far from her as she starts her hour long journey of looking at sippy cups. So I start looking at the products around there, keeping an eye on her so she won't leave me again. I found two of the most worthless products that I can't believe anyone would buy. First there was a baby wipe warmer. A warmer for baby wipes. Let me repeat that one more time, cause I can't even believe that product exists. A product that warms baby wipes past room temperature. WHY??? I ask Brianna and she says that babies don't like cold wipes on their behinds. My initial response is - WELL WHO CARES???? I don't get warm, moist toilet paper on my behind at home. Why should a baby???

Second there was a little bear that you velcro to the cradle and it makes sounds like you're still in the womb. That just blew my mind when I saw it so, of course, I tried it out. Let me tell you, if that sounds like the womb, then the womb sounds like the engine room of a World War II diesel submarine.

Then, as Brianna is checking out and I'm trying to keep my sanity, I go over and read their "Calender of Events." Let me just tell you that was a big mistake. Did you know they have classes on "How to use Breast Pumps" in that store? I'm afraid to see how they demonstrate that. There was also the class on "How to Change a Diaper." If that class is more then 2 minutes long, the people in it shouldn't be allowed to be parents.

Now that I've ranted about my journey to Babies R Us, I should say that if we decide to have children, we'll probably register there, and who knows, maybe by then I'll decide that baby wipe warmers really are necessary....or even a bling bling pacifier (they really do sell them!)

We Went To Toledo!! Yeah..Toledo...Ohio

So we got to go to Toledo, Ohio two weekends ago to see my family and new niece. I'll leave my opinions of Toledo, that God forsaken hole of a place, out of this blog.
We got to fly into the crappy Detroit Airport, which if you haven't had the privilege just look at pictures of abandoned, filthy, third world country buildings and imagine a runway in front of it. (If you ever fly into Detroit, fly on Northwest, because they have the nice terminal.) We then got our rental car, which was an 08 Toyota Highlander, from Hertz. I have never rented from Hertz before, but it was wonderful. Way better then Budget, who I normally rent through. We got to our Hotel in Toledo around 2 am.
The next day we went and saw my brother and his family and my parents. We went to Sears and got pictures taken as a family and then came back and had a Christmas dinner together. Then it snowed pretty good the next day and we didn't really do anything until Monday when we went to Tony Packos and got some Hot Dogs.
It was good seeing the family though. I hadn't seen my brother and his family since Brianna's and I wedding. I would never go to Toledo or Detroit though if he didn't live in that area.

My new niece
Brianna holding her
My mom, niece, nephew and me...wearing paper crowns.
My mom just wraps stuff from when I was a kid and gives it to me as presents. Yes, that is a Smurfs Pillowcase.
Awesome.

White Christmas

So Brianna and I woke up this morning and looked out the window and it was SNOWING!!! This is my first snow on Christmas that I can remember. Brianna thinks it snowed sometime on Christmas while she was in Michigan or Minnesota. You can sort of make out the snowflakes in the pictures. Anyway, Merry Christmas to all and Happy Birthday Jesus.

Brianna holding Dutch, though you can barely make him out.
Dutch just wanted to jump down and play in the snow.
Me, loving the snow.
Picture of the house from the street.

A Christmas Wish to All Our Friends

To All Our Liberal Friends:
Please accept with no obligation, implied or explicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

To Our Conservative Friends:
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving

I know these are a little late since it is almost Christmas. Anyway, we had a really good Thanksgiving. We had two couples from our Bible Study over and we had our friend Chas as well (Who helped a lot with cooking). There were some interesting conversations (Let's just say I now know someone who has streaked and another few people that have clogged toilets exactly the way you think) and a good time of fellowship. It was definitely hard for Brianna and I being away from family for this Holiday but the Lord has blessed us with some great new friends out here.
Enjoy the Pictures!!

Brianna with the Turkey
I was mixing the Brine that we soaked the Turkey in.
Some of our appetizers
Chas all happy because he discovered Top Chef on Bravo
Ham, Sweet Potato's, Green Bean Casserole, Stuffing, Rolls
The Turkey all nice and carved.

So we couldn't find the Cat for a while and were getting worried. Turns out he had climbed into the cabinet and gone to sleep in one of our drainers.

Garden of the Gods

Again, a few months ago, Brianna and I made the trip down to the Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs. I had been fortunate enough to have been there before, but this was Brianna's first time. When we first got there we checked out the Visitor center, but it was totally lame so we picked up a map and headed for the Park. We drove around and headed down to Balance Rock. There was a lot of traffic, but yours truly pulled some illegal maneuvers and got a sweet parking spot there. We spent some time climbing on some rocks and it was kinda cool.

Then we headed up to the actual Garden. We parked and started hiking on a trail that goes around the Garden and saw some cool stuff. Then we hiked in and saw some people rock climbing. We decided to hike back to the car but our map from the Visitor Center super sucked and we got lost. Ended up on a horse trail with poo all over the place. Eventually, we made it back to the car and then ate at Buffalo Wild Wings. Enjoy the pictures.

Entrance of the Park

Me standing next to a tree growing out of solid rock.
Pikes Peak
I think you can sort of see the kissing camels.
The Garden surrounded by the Rocks
Another angle of the Garden
Me standing on another rock...There were lots of rocks there.
I think something famous happened here but I don't remember now.
Brianna the Rock Dweller
And some more rocks

Farewell Duff

So my Mom sent me (Matt) an e-mail today and let me know that she put down their cat Duff. Duff adopted us in 1993 after a family on the block next to us abandoned him. He was about 2-4 years old when we got him. We had our struggles with that cat (he could be so annoying sometimes), but I loved him and he was and will always be a part of the family. It's amazing how hard it is to say goodbye to an animal when the time comes. As my mom said, she walked away from a cat that she loved for 14 years and knew she would never see him again.

Unfortunately, Brianna and I already had to that this year when we put down Zach. And even more unfortunate that we may have to do it again real soon with Dutch since he is very sick.

So farewell Duff, you're up in cat heaven playing with Zach and Butch now.

Jeremy Riddle Concert

Tonight we went to a FREE Jeremy Riddle concert at our church. It was a really amazing evening. He also led us in worship this morning. If you haven't heard of him I'm pretty sure you have heard his song Sweetly Broken (I attached it below). It's kinda weird....I went into tonight looking for just a really cool concert and something neat to talk about, but God totally has a way of changing that. I was brought into a deep worship that I have not experienced for a while. I think one of the songs that spoke to me the most was a song that said, "And I will fear no evil." With the attacks at the Church's out here today it's a comforting thought to me.

Guanella Pass

I think it was around the first or second weekend in October (Brianna thinks it was late September. Maybe she should have posted this at the time instead of waiting for me to post. And then she made me check and it turns out she was right.), Brianna and I drove out into the mountains to see the Aspen trees turning colors. Brianna printed out a list of scenic drives, so we picked one and off we went. We set off down Highway 285 which takes you into the mountains and first stopped off to get some Jerky. I bought some Buffalo and Elk Jerky which was awesome but kinda expensive. Then we stopped at the Coney Island Hot Dog Stand along the way, which for some reason had a ridiculously long line. But Brianna snagged a prime picnic table next to a mountain stream and we had a good time. Then we went down the road a little more and made a turn onto the Guanella Pass. It's a 24 mile road that goes up to an elevation of 13,000+ feet. Only 12 miles of the road are paved though so my Rav4 took a little bit of a beating. Anyway, I tossed some snowballs at Brianna when we got to the top and then we drove down the other side where we were dumped into Georgetown. We walked along and did some shopping there and then came home. Here are some pictures!!

Yes, it is shaped like a Hot Dog.The stream we sat next to while eating.
Some of the Aspens that are turning colors.
A picture of where we were heading to.
Mountain Lake.
Yes, I did.
Picture of Georgetown while we were coming back down.

Chas and the effort to keep his eyes open in a picture

So Chas came up to see us a second time for Thanksgiving. I must say that he was very helpful and we loved having him. It's good to see a familiar face every now and again. He cooked some awsome mashed potato's and some other stuff. Everyone was very impressed with his culinary skills. He also discovered Top Chef on Bravo which became his new favorite show. Anyway, we also went out and did some shopping over the holiday weekend and Brianna and I had a good time spending it (the weekend that is) with our friend.

C'mon Chas...open the eyes

Alright...SERIOUSLY...Can I get one Picture with your Eyes Open!!

Success!!! Now that's what I'm talking about!!

Chas and The Taste of Colorado

So back in September around Labor Day our friend Chas came for his first visit. He was actually picking up his sister at the airport, but got here early so we headed to downtown Denver to go to our first "Taste of Colorado."

We had a really good time. I had some slamming Corn on the Cob, some Buffalo and some other stuff I can't remember now. I think Brianna got a funnel cake or something and Chas just drank beer. Oh and I got a free bag of Cat Litter. Woo hoo!!! (Later found out it was the crappy kind of litter that doesn't clump which super sucks, but whatever....I'm not mad or bitter I carried around that stupid bag for an hour for no reason.) Check out the pictures -

Brianna in front of the Kiss Car...I uh...don't know what this had to do with food

I think I had Steak....mmmmm Steak.....

And Chas picking a giant heads nose. (Notice his eyes are shut to.)

Dutch

So this isn't really new news, but we did get a new cat when we came out here. His name is Dutch and he is such a good kitty. We named him after the two cats I had growing up (Butch and Duff). Just kinda smushed the names together.

Anway, we just found out recently that Dutch has some Liver problems and there isn't anything we can do about it. We're not sure how much longer he has (It could be 2 months, it could be 10 years) so we're just going to give him the best life we can. Here are some pictures of him.

The True Cat. He's thinking, "Take one more picture and I will kill you until you die from it."

Just give me the milk and no one dies!!

Laying with Mommy!!

"Who is that Handsome Kitten in the Mirror" (Fakes kisses to himself)

Chuck Norris Facts

When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.
Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.
There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live.
Outer space exists because it's afraid to be on the same planet with Chuck Norris.
Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.
Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.
Chuck Norris is the reason why Waldo is hiding.
Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice.
There is no chin behind Chuck Norris’ beard. There is only another fist.
When Chuck Norris does a pushup, he isn’t lifting himself up; he’s pushing the Earth down.
Chuck Norris is so fast, he can run around the world and punch himself in the back of the head.
Chuck Norris’ hand is the only hand that can beat a Royal Flush.
Chuck Norris can lead a horse to water AND make it drink.
Chuck Norris doesn’t wear a watch, HE decides what time it is.
Chuck Norris gave Mona Lisa that smile.
Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door.
Chuck Norris does not get frostbite. Chuck Norris bites frost
Remember the Soviet Union? They decided to quit after watching a DeltaForce marathon on Satellite TV.
Contrary to popular belief, America is not a democracy, it is a Chucktatorship.

Visitors!

Our first visitor since moving into our new house was Brianna's good friend, Jennifer. They first met as pledges of Alpha Phi Omega while attending Baylor University. During Jenn's trip to Colorado, they spent one day in Breckenridge. There, they met up with one of Jenn's good friends, whose husband plays in the orchestra for the Breckenridge Music Festival. On Brianna and Jenn's drive up to Breckenridge, they stopped at a wood shop which specialized in making bears. As Baylor Bears, they took the opportunity to stop and Brianna posed with the bears. After strolling through the shops at Breckenridge and stopping for lunch at Downstairs at Eric's, the girls joined Jenn's friends for dinner at a fondue restaurant on top of Keystone Mountain. Other highlights during Jenn's trip included a trip to Boulder, plenty of shopping, enjoying the City Park Jazz Fesival in downtown Denver, and stopping at the newly fashioned Kwik-E-Mart at 3rd and Broadway. Matt was especially excited to get a Squishee, created for the Simpsons movie. (If you didn't already know, Matt is a Simpsons fan!). Here are some pictures from Jenn's trip:

Brianna with the bears.

Strolling the shops in downtown Breckenridge.

Posing on the ski lift at the fondue restaurant.

Posing at the scenic stop in front of the Flatirons outside of Boulder.

Matt in front of the Kwik-E-Mart.

Delaware to Colorado

Matt made the move from Delaware to Colorado in early June to begin his new position. Brianna stayed behind in Delaware to wrap things up at work and close on the house. Her trip to Colorado began on July 12th. Fortunately, her good friend and former co-worker, Angie, was kind enough (or is it crazy enough?!?) to accompany her on the cross country drive. They made the journey over four days. Some brief highlights of their trip included:

the Gateway Arch in St. Louis,

the Anheuser-Busch factory tour in St. Louis,

beautiful country sunsets,

and of course, the world's largest ball of twine, in Cawker City, Kansas.

The trip ended in Denver at Brianna and Matt's new home. Some of the stuff had already been delivered by the moving company, and Matt had started to unpack. However, due to poor planning on the part of the moving company, our stuff had to be delivered in two shipments. The second shipment made it before Brianna started her new job. So, the house is mostly unpacked and was ready for our first visitors!