Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you all. Santa made an appearance today. Check him out in the Santa gallery. He doesn't appear too cheerful, but it was getting near his morning nap time. Hope you were good this year and Santa brought you lots of gifts.

Christmas Almost Here

Where to begin...I haven't written for so long I don't know where to start. Jayden's growing like you wouldn't believe. He now is holding his toys and of course drops them so you have to pick them up. Fortunately, he doesn't realize he's dropping them yet. He's up to 7 oz of milk and gets pissed if you don't give him his milk right away when he's hungry. Last weekend he stayed with Grandpa and Grandma Wagner so Kim and I could go on a retreat with our small group from Church. He was a good boy and only puked up once on his clothes for Aunt Chris. Jayden's doing more than cooing now as he tends to screech when he tries to talk. He's also sleeping through the night and almost falls asleep on his own. Some nights he falls asleep with out crying, but other nights he cries for 15 minutes or so. Oh, and our little man also sits up pretty well with our help and likes to look around quite a bit. But, he rejects the notion of tummy time as he hates to lay on his stomach.

Jayden Baptized

"Man, it's been busy both at work and at home. Last weekend Jayden was baptized. We had Kim and my parents over along with my Grandparents and Kim's sister and brother's family. It was fun having everyone together. Saturday night we met them all in Ames for some Hickory Park. Yum. Can't seem to ever get enough of good old Hickory Park.

Jayden's growing all the time. One of these days I'll get some video of him on the site so you can watch him cooing and laughing. It's fun to see him finally interacting with us more. He's even started to go to bed on his own...yes, we still have to put him in the crib...he's not walking just yet. "

The Tigger Sleeps Tonight...

"This Halloween marks the first that I've actually experienced handing out treats to the kids in our neighborhood. Rick, one of my co-workers and neighbors, had said that in years past they've had around 150-175 kids so I thought Kim and I'd better be ready. So we purchased a ton of candy hoping that we'd have enough for the masses. We got to see lots of different costumes...3 different spider mans (didn't know there was more than one of them) Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz along with a Hershey's Kiss that was carrying Toto...3 different Tiggers and assortment of others. We think we had around 93 or so. After handing out treats we went up to Tony and Tasha Vorm's place and hung out with them a bit. We had to get some pictures with Jayden and Addisyn. Who knew that he would already have a girlfriend. haha. :)

We had Jayden all dressed up in his little Tigger outfit. He was oh so cute! (He's going to kill us when he's a senior and we show everyone his pictures haha). But, our little Tigger eventually wore himself out and needed to rest. He was mostly wore out from his visit to the doctor on Friday. He had his 2 month checkup (yeah, I know, already!!!) and got his first round of shots. He came through the shots OK and weighed in at 11 lbs. and 13 oz and grew a couple of inches or so."

Our Little Boy is Growing Up

Man time flies. It's hard to believe how much Jayden's grown in just 8 weeks of his life. We weighed him the other day and he's now at 12 pounds. The week before last he found his right hand. He holds it up and just stares at it not really knowing what to do with it. He's also starting to kick more when playing with his toys. His favorite thing now is to have us walk around with him facing forward so he can see what's going on around him. He's also started making more noises and even laughs from time to time. Kim laid him on the ottoman last week and put Arthur on the TV and Jayden just loved it until he got startled for some reason. Kim watched him jump and then the tears started flowing. Yesterday we put him on the counter and had a football game going. He now enjoys watching football so his training is going very well. :) More pictures of him can be seen under his gallery on week7.

We Broke Our Vows

Well, it finally happened. We new it probably would sooner or later. That vow that we took during our wedding ceremony just didn't take. Things have been leading up to it, but you just don't head the warning signs. Kim and I had both been searching for that one that's just right for us. And this last Saturday it happened. We went up to Ames for our romantic get away and after finding a hotel with a Jacuzzi in the room Kim thought we should tour the auto lots. The first lot we drove through was Willey's Ford dealership. We found a couple of "them" that we thought were in good shape so we decided to go for a test drive. The first one we test drove was white and after looking at the interior more thoroughly we found a place that had a cigarette burn on it. So that ended that one. But there was one next too it. So we came back up to Ames yesterday to take it for a spin. After some dealing and waiting for them to get it ready we drove it home yesterday. Yes as many of you know we took vows that stated we would never buy...cough...cough...a minivan (Careful, everyone around you can hear you laugh). Well, that changed when Jayden was born. I swear when we go on trips we pack two peoples worth of stuff just for one little guy. :) The Jaydenmobile, as Kim calls it, has all the gadgets and is in great shape. Kim's kind of upset as it makes her feel old. She said it's ok for me to feel old because I'm over 30, but not for her. So, we went from the Pontiac Grand AM GT to a Ford Windstar SE Minivan. In all actuality, they don't ride all that bad and you're up higher than a car too. (Oh, and we didn't actually have that vow during our wedding ceremony, but we had said we weren't ever going to buy one.)

Jayden Grow'n So Fast

I realize it's been a while since I last wrote, but time kind of gets away when you have a little one. I can only wait to see how time flies when we have another one. :) Jayden's been growing like a weed. He's starting to coo a lot more and smiles when he sees Kim or me. He makes such good facial expressions too. Kim's also been getting Jayden in to many different outfits. I may be partial because I'm Jayden's Dad, but doesn't he look cute? :) We've found that he likes to fall asleep when riding around in the car so we will always have that to fall back on if he starts to be fussy at night. He's been doing really well when it comes to being a good little boy. He fusses at night some, but that's to be expected. He is up to 5 oz of formula and probably weighs between 9 and 10 pounds by now. He has also grown out of some of his clothes already. :( And to top it all off, he's starting to find his hands.

2 Week Checkup

"Yesterday we took Jayden in for his 2 week checkup and everything looks okay. He gained his birth weight back and then some as he now weighs in at 8 lbs. He also grew an inch so he now is 20 1/2 inches long. We've been fortunate as he's been waking up 2 times a night (around 1:30 AM and again around 4-5) for his snack time. We've also found out his whiny time is between 8:00 and 9:30, give or take a an hour.

Sunday we had a Baby Shower for him with a lot of Kim's family there and some of her friends. Jayden like all his presents and can't wait to start playing with everything. He was pretty tired after it after being ""groped"" by all the ladies. LOL We took some more pictures and they can be found in the Week 2 gallery. One of the pictures that I took was his hand around my finger. Amazing is all I can say.

Saturday, Jayden was all dressed up in his Cyclone uniform so he could help support ISU as they attempted another success over Iowa. Unfortunately, his cheering didn't help with a win."

Face Lift

Well, I decided to give my site a face lift. Bear with me as I work out the bugs. The gallery shows some weird formatting, but I couldn't wait any longer to release it. Hopefully you like it...I don't care if you don't like it. :)

99+ Balloons

"Yesterday I went back to work after taking the week off to bond with Jayden and help Kim out. My co-workers decided to have some fun with my office cube so they decorated it with a ton of balloons. It was fun reading the balloons as some had stuff written on them.

Last night Jayden slept like a charm. Monday night he was ""master of the house"" and cried until 12:30 AM, Tuesday morning. He wasn't eating very well and we had no clue what was going on in his world. We made it through it though. I am definitely glad when he does decide to sleep when it's the right time to sleep (actually, he sleeps a lot as it is...what the life! :) )."

Five Days Old

Well, we've had little Jayden home for 3 1/2 days now and he's almost 5 days old. We've had to treat some jaundice with a bili-blanket. We had to take him to the Doctor on Wednesday and yesterday and his levels were back down so we didn't have to use the blanket last night. He's been sleeping rather well except for the start of last night we were trying to put him to bed and he just kept fussing and appeared to be hungry yet, but wouldn't eat. We switched to the formula that we got because the hospital supplied stock ran out. That may also have been a contributing factor to his unpleasantness at the time. Kim thought maybe we do need to try the pacifier, even though we don't want him hooked on it. It turns out that's all the little guy needed and he fell asleep. He slept until 4:30 this morning so we got up and fed him. Then after feeding he went to sleep while sucking on his pacifier.

Yesterday and the day before Kim and Grandma Wagner went shopping for some boy baby clothes at a couple of the consignment stores that we often frequent. They bought quite a few clothes some of which even had the price tag on. Kim had saved the cash that we got from our early summer garage sale specifically for baby Jayden. She had a ball. :)

Kim's doing very well considering what she went through. She's healing up and is continuing to be active. (Notice that I said continues...she never really became inactive even after giving birth.)

It's a boy!!!

Join with me in welcoming Jayden Lee Minnis into our world. After Mom went through a long excruciating 27 hours of labor (40 minutes of which were pushing), Jayden was born on August 29th at 3:51 PM. Jayden was a hefty 7 lbs 8 oz (which is quite big for how Kim looked) and was 19.5 inches long. Kim started labor at around 2 on Saturday when we were painting the picnic table. Kim knew it was happening, but she decided that we should go and get some ice cream...after all it might be our "last meal". So we went and had ice cream and came back to our place. Around 5:30 the contractions really picked up. The minutes between and lengths of contractions were such that we called the Doc. She informed us to go to the hospital to so they could check out Kim and the baby. We got to the hospital around 6 and they hooked her up to all the machines. Unfortunately, she was only dilated to 2 cm so they decided to send us home. We stayed at home till around 11:59:59 PM on Saturday. We called the doc up again because at this point the contractions were really coming on and Kim had the shakes bad.

So we got the hospital for the second time and this time they kept us as Kim had dilated to 3 cm. And that's pretty much were she stayed until around 8:00 AM, Sunday. Kim couldn't hardly take the pain any longer so she decided to get an epidural. They broke the water at around 8:30. Then I think it was around 9:30 they started administrating Pitosin to see if they could get the contractions to be more frequent and harder as Kim had still not dilated that much...probably around 4 cm at that point. The Pitosin was working so by 12:00 Kim was having major contractions (probably a minute apart) and she could feel her right leg and the contractions again so they had to up her epidural and gave her another shot of some other miracle drug. She was feeling more comfortable by 12:30 and had dilated to 6 cm. Then she dilated by 2 cm for each hour so by 3:15 she was fully dilated (10 cm) and the nurse gave her the go ahead to start pushing. Kim was a true sport and pushed like she was pissed. I'd coach her along and tell her to just get pissed and it apparently helped as by 3:40 or so, the Doctors and the ICU were on site ready to prep the Jayden as he came out. He had a bowl movement while inside Kim so they had to be sure to suck everything out of his lungs and stomach. After Kim had Jayden they moved him over to the warming bed to clean him off and check his vitals. He was having some difficulty breathing so they had him on oxygen for a little while, then gave him to Kim to hold. After about a minute Jayden started breathing hard again so they took him back to the oxygen. They took him back to the nursery for the rest of the time until 1:00 PM yesterday (the 30th). He had been on oxygen until 3:00 AM yesterday morning. We weren't sure if he was going to have to go to the ICU to get more diagnostics done. It was a very trying time and we were so elated when we finally got him back yesterday. We could visit him in the nursery, but it just wasn't the same.

About a half an hour ago we got to step into our home for the first time as Mom and Dad. It's pretty cool having Jayden here and to hear him cry a little bit...at least for now. I'm sure we'll have those nights that we would like him to not cry. :)

Thanks for all your visits and prayers along the way. It's been a true miracle of God to watch everything that's happened and the gift of life. I could see God had his hands right around Jayden as he was transitioning into breathing on his own. But, it was still hard to watch Jayden fighting to breath on his own.

As for all you guys out there who haven't experienced birth...Women are tough!!! They deserve every bouquet of flowers that you get them! :)

Visit the gallery to see Jayden's Photos.

Start The Clock

Start the countdown!!!

And We Wait

Well, we went to the doctor today for our weekly visit and we didn't get to stay in the hospital to have that baby. Kim was, to say the least, a little upset in the whole thing. She even had her bags packed just in case they decide to induce her. But, no luck. Kim had the non-stress test done to find out the stats on the baby and the results of that were in good order. The clinic also setup an ultrasound to make sure everything was still okay and from what we gathered, the insides look great and are normal. So, the doctor said that we can come back on Monday for another checkup and then if all goes as planned and we haven't had the baby by then we'll be in on Wednesday to get things actually started. Hopefully things will happen before Wednesday and we won't even have to worry about kick starting things.

Almost Here

Well, It's been a while since I've given a baby update. The counter at the top of the page indicates that the baby's supposed to be here already, but so far, noth'n. We visited the Doc yesterday and things are starting to take shape, if you will. It looked promising that things will start to happen here within the next week (Maybe even this weekend???). We've been doing a walk every night in hopes that things will happen faster, but I think the baby is being stubborn. :) Following the Doctor's orders, we went to the Fair on Sunday. But, that didn't seem to help any as Kim felt horrible on Monday and went home from work early. Kim's ready to have it. She's getting sick of parents at work coming in to pick up their kids and asking/telling her, "You still haven't had it yet?" Well, she wouldn't be there if she did now would she. At any rate, Kim's doing pretty well. She hasn't been on bed rest. She's been able to continue working. She hasn't thrown up once during pregnancy (but, felt like it at times). She's gained the right amount of weight. And, she really likes ice cream so I get to treat myself too. :)

Clueless Stew Hansen's Dodge

I usually don't like to complain about things but this is just something I have to get off my chest. Tuesday Kim and I went to test drive vehicles at Stew Hansen's Dodge City in West Des Moines. After our sales rep, Michael, finally let us drive the vehicles (it seemed like we were living that commercial where the sales rep didn't even let the potential buyers drive the vehicle), we test drove a Ford Escape and then a Dodge minivan (you know in preparations for that new little one that's due any time now). We thought we were interested in seeing what they would offer for our 2002 Dodge Dakota and how much they would move on the minivan. They first had to appraise the truck before they could give us any numbers. So, Mike finally makes it to us with some numbers. The minivan they didn't change any on price and the truck they valued at $2000 under the Kelly Blue Book trade in value. I about laughed when he told us the prices. So, I told him what I was thinking on prices. After a bit he came back and they thought they could offer $305 under the Kelly Blue Book trade in value and they didn't move on the price for the minivan. Kim was tired, hot, and hungry and I knew the way things were going with Mike that we weren't ever going to get anywhere so Kim and I left. I did receive a call yesterday (2 days later) and a letter in the mail from him. As far as I'm concerned it's too late. You lost the sale.

So, listen up Mike at Stew Hansen's here are a few tips in sales techniques to better improve your chances of me even coming to look at another vehicle at your dealership:

1. Give potential drivers the first opportunity to drive the vehicle. If they wanted someone else to drive they would have gotten a taxi.


2. Don't waste my time coming up with numbers that aren't realistic. A truck the same year with 15,000 miles less is worth more than a minivan. Oh, and the truck was actually worth more than the minivan new.


3. When a salesperson does drive please drive like you're driving your 80 year old mother around. There were a few times that I thought Kim was going to either upchuck her lunch on the back of Mike or back hand him to let him know he was driving like a mad man.

There I feel much better now. I've been to Stew Hansen's before this episode and they've done a great job. The usual sales rep was busy with another set of customers so I got pawned off to Mike. Mike's a good person from what I could tell, but was a little to greedy the day we visited (although, it probably wasn't his fault for the numbers that he came back with).

Still Waiting

Well, yesterday Kim and I went for our now weekly Doctor's visit. The Doc said everything was A-Okay and Kim could go ahead and have the baby any time as we're at full term. So we sit and wait. The Doc also thought it would be around 6 lbs or so when born. So, for those of you who are wagering on the stats, that little bit of info might increase your odds. Kim's certainly ready to have it and wants to get back to a somewhat normal life. Yeah, we'll have the baby coming up here, but she can't wait to be able to go bike and do stuff that she used to do before being pregnant. :)

Summer Fun

Okay, so it's been a while since I last wrote...which seems like the norm so far. Today Kim had her baby checkup and things are looking good. She gained the one pound that she lost two weeks ago so the Doctor was happy and didn't give her a hard time for losing weight. The Doctor was also pleased that all her numbers look good and the baby shows all signs of being healthy and energetic like his/her mom. :)

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday morning my Sister and her family were in town to visit since we aren't traveling very far from Ankeny. We all had a great time showing them around the Metro area, as well as, the Iowa State campus. We even managed to get up to Ledges State Park.

Last Friday we had .8" of rain and then had 1" of rain on Saturday so we had a little bit of urban flooding. The grass is really lush and green so I had to mow yesterday. I'd much rather mow then have it dry and brown.

Baby School

This weekend was pretty busy. Friday night Kim and I went and registered at Target for the Baby Registry. I like registering for stuff. :) Hard telling if we get much from the list, but it's still fun to make a wish list.

Saturday was filled with sitting in a class at our hospital learning all the various breathing techniques, focus procedures and other techniques to help in the labor process. It was quite informative. But, sitting there in a classroom on Saturday was not fun. I'm glad that I'm not pursuing any further education at this time as I'm not sure if I'd be able to sit through classes while on my "free" time. Learning on the job is much more fulfilling. Anyway, back to the baby school...during the class the "support partners" and the women split up and discussed what things we liked/disliked about pregnancy. It was cool to see that complete strangers had similar experiences with pregnancy.

Wolbrink Wedding

Man, what a busy time it has been. Last Friday (6-11-2004) Kim and I started our way towards Door County, WI to attend one of my friend's wedding (Dan & Rose Wolbrink). The wedding took place on Rock Island State Park which required about a 45 minute ride on the Washington Island, Island Clipper. We all weren't sure if we'd be having the wedding outdoors or if we would be indoors on the island, but the weather cooperated and the wedding was held outside. It was quite the adventure and I'm glad that Kim and I were included. There were quite a few people from the church that I attended while living in Mason City that I got to see while out there which was fun. Some of them I haven't seen for about 8 years.

The weather along the lake was quite different than here in warm muggy Iowa. It was around the 50's and 60's on the way out to the island and got warmer inland, but not like it would have been here. Kim and I stayed at Bailey's Harbor Yacht Club Resort which was a very nice place and I would highly recommend staying there if you ever went out that way. The thing that was the hardest on the trip was returning home going across Wisconsin on Highway 21. The roads were OK, but the slowing down for all these little towns left much to be desired. Luckily we didn't find any closed roads going out or returning. While traveling, areas of Wisconsin received heavy amounts of rain and caused a few road closures.

More pictures can be seen in the Wolbrink Wedding Gallery

Five Years

Man, time has been flying by. Monday (June 1) was my 5th year of service at Pioneer. It really doesn't seem like it's been that long. Here's a list of some things that have happened since I graduated and started working for Pioneer.

1. Pioneer was purchased by DuPont.


2. I survived an apartment fire in the building I was living in.


3. I have purchased two different houses (a townhouse and then a regular house).


4. I got married a year and about 2 months ago.


5. Kim and I are expecting a baby in August.


6. I've gained about 5 lbs since graduating.


7. I don't have as much hair on the top of my head.

Yesterday I went and picked up my birthday present from Kim. It's early, but I couldn't wait any longer. For her birthday I got her ISU license plates (KM4ISU). So she got me some for my b-day. Check them out.

Finally Finished Floor

Well, I'm finally done finishing the floor. I started out thinking I'd sand the whole floor which included removing all the old finish with a hand held orbital sander last Thursday. It looked as though it would take a week to finish at the rate I was going so I rented a finishing sander from Menards last Friday and had the floor sanded down by Saturday Morning. It's a time consuming process, but well worth it in the end. Here's what the floor looked like be fore (Old Floor 1) and (Old Floor 2) and here's what it looks like now (New Floor 1) and (New Floor 2). I one coat of finish on Saturday and put two down on Sunday. It's good to be done making a mess.

Lots of Rain

We got pounded with about 2 inches of rain yesterday in about a half an hour. Man, talk about crazy. We drove around to see what else we could find, but didn't really come across any life threatening events. So that was uneventful.

Wood floors can be expensive to refinish. I'm in the process of getting everything around to refinish our Great Room" and dining area. Let's just say that by the time it's done we could have gone to some exotic island. Okay, so maybe not that expensive, but it's still takes a few Benjamins to get the job done.

Kim had another baby-2-be checkup on Monday. Everything's looking and sounding "A-OK". She gained an additional 6 ponds in a month and a week so she's right on schedule.

Chad's Last Day

So, today is Chad Kraus's last day at Pioneer. He's going to join up with his Dad's family business (Dairy Queen). We decided yesterday to give him one last hurrah before today so we filled his cube with some moving stuff to help him out. Here're some pictures of the results. His desk is usually the most organized of those I work with. We'll miss ya, Chad. Good luck and stop in and see us sometime when you're in town.

Steam Power Rules

So, Kim's Dad, Dale, has a steam powered toy tractor that's been passed down through the family. We got to watch it running yesterday while at her parents place. It runs on solid fuel that looks like paraffin wax. He's running out of the "true" fuel so Kim's brothers put some sterno in it to see if that would work. It worked and was hotter as the steam engine ran faster. The name of the tractor is the 1313 Mamod Steam Tractor and here's a picture. I can't believe that you can actually buy these things yet. They're made in England and it lists for around $150.

Fun Weekend and a Half

Well, it's been a very busy and fun weekend. Friday I took the day off to do some odds and ends around the house and built and sealed a picnic table. Friday night Kim's parents, niece and nephew came up to stay the night and then we all went to a bunch of garage sales around Ankeny on Saturday. We found a lot more baby clothes. Then in the afternoon I got 2 more sides of the deck sealed. This morning I applied a weed and feed mix for the lawn before we headed off to church. It was cool going to church today as I met one of my classmates from the ISU Iowa State Singers. Then this afternoon we drove to Creston to surprise Kim's Mom for Mother's Day. All of her brothers and sister were there. Her Mom and Dad were pleased and surprised to see us all there...mission accomplished.

What a Krausburger

Well, the guys at work and I were talking about Google's page ranking and how to get it higher. We also were talking about how some pages don't seem to be showing up in the Google search results. So, we're all going to try this on our sites (Derek Brooks and Nick Leeper) and see what happens. Here's a link to a Krausburger. It's really just a fictitious name of a burger named after one of our co-workers Kraus (who we're sad to see leaving Pioneer). Now all that's left is for Google to index our sites.

Good Eats, Bad Roads

What a nice long weekend. Kim and I went on a vacation together to Kansas City this past weekend, starting on Friday. The last time that I'd driven in Missouri I remember the roads being more to be desired of. And the same held true for this trip. They suck. Pot holes on most of the interstate. We got to Kansas City Friday afternoon and decided to walk around The Country Club Plaza to see what all the shops had. Then went and had supper at The Melting Pot. Man is that place ever good. I'd highly recommend going there. It's a fondue restaurant. We had the fondue for two. We were stuffed after our meal so we decided to walk around some more then headed back to the hotel.

We woke up Saturday morning to find our day was forecasted to be cloudiness and rain. So, instead of going to the zoo we opted to see what else Kansas City had to offer. We ventured upon the Union Station, but hadn't had anything for breakfast so we went back up the road to a McDonalds (I think it's the first time eating at a McDonalds for about 2 years). Well, we survived our breakfast without getting shot...Kim pointed out a sign on the wall that said, "Kansas City Police Work Station". On our way back to the Union Station we saw a huge tower and decided to figure out what it was. It was the Liberty Memorial Tower. So, we took a ride up to the top of it. Pretty neat place to visit. We next made our way to the Union Station. We looked around a bit there and went to the Science City which is part of the Union Station. Next we went to Oak Park Mall near Kansas City and then ate at the Rain Forest Cafe. And finally retreated back to our hotel to relax and soak in the hot tub.

Sunday the weather was much improved and we were able to enjoy the Kansas City Zoo. We saw a lot of cool animals and got to watch the Coral Reef Adventure in the Sprint Imax Theatre The zoo concluded our stay in Kansas City and we launched for the home front.

The end.

Rain + Hail

I usually find watching the weather fun. There's a certain rush to it, but I'm not in favor of bad storms doing damage. Last night at around 11:30 Kim and I woke up to huge wind/rain sounds. After surveying the situation we found it was actually hail hitting the side of the house with a bunch of wind. Here's a picture of the hail on the deck. We also found a small spot that was leaking on the ceiling where the kitchen/great room roof meets the rest of the house. Any normal rain it doesn't leak but with winds at around 50-60 mph the water made its way through. At least we didn't have as bad of storms as people in other states.

VEISHEA No More?

Friday was a good day to have off. I first cleaned our front deck so that I could seal it on Saturday. Then went up to Ames to ride around on my bike with a good friend, "S" (Scott Heider). We rode around Welch Ave and then hit some trails. Got to see a bunch of college students lining up at the bars at 3:00 PM.

Saturday Kim and I went up to Ames to watch the VEISHEA parade and then walk around campus to see what's all changed. Toured through the new College of Business building and got some free cotton candy. Yum. Quite a nice building...too bad it wasn't there when I was attending ISU.

So, all in VEISHEA land was good and then came a long these punks that think they're adults. Well, these punks go and start a riot that created quite a mess and loss for Welch Ave. businesses and the city of Ames. Now comes the question if VEISHEA will continue. I find it disheartening that these little brats could cause something that's been going on for the past 80 years to not happen again. I look at VEISHEA as a time to get together with friends, see what's new on campus, ingest a few cherry pies, and in the future take my kids to see the parade and visit the activities setup on central campus. If VEISHEA ceased to exist you wouldn't get to see and hear the Groove. The list goes on as to what you'd miss. Something needs to be done, but I hope it's not the killing of VEISHEA.

Time passes

Not much new has been happening, but I thought I'd try and remember tidbits from last week. This past weekend Kim and I went to my parents home for Easter. It's been the first time home since my Dad sold the milk cows. He's taking it pretty well. Although, he still gets up every morning at 5:30. It was nice to be able to spend more time with him as in the past he was always out doing chores...until night time. We got to see some new baby calves while we were up there. Kim wanted to see one being born, but we didn't get to see that (plus, I think she would have probably been grossed out anyway).

Last Friday we went in for our monthly Dr. visit and everything was in good shape. So, that was good news. A funny thing happened when the midwife was listening to the heart beat of the baby. When she put the microphone with some cold gel on Kim's belly, the baby kicked at it. Even made the midwife jump. :)

I'm Back

Okay, sorry it's been so long in writing. I changed to a different host...not that there was anything wrong with my old one (nata2.org). But, I just wanted to try something different.

So a lot has happened since I last wrote. I helped one of my co-workers get some lumber from Lowe's last week and we came out with his purchases. A guy was standing near my truck and came over to help us load the plywood into my truck. After we got done he asked who's truck it was and I said it was mine. I thought he was going to compliment me on my truck or something like it. But that wasn't to be. I said, "I have something to show you in the front of my truck." Well, turns out he back into the front of it with his truck. His truck had a topper on it so he couldn't see what was in back of him very well. We exchanged insurance and phone numbers and went on our ways. I called my agent and he said to call the other guy's agent so I did. The owner of the other truck had already called in the claim and all I had to do was find a "Service First" location that would accommodate the paper work. So, today I got my truck fixed and it didn't cost me anything (would have costed $840). I'm very glad that the guy stuck around to tell me about him hitting my truck. You don't find honest people like that everyday.

Ahhh, but you think that's the rest of the story. hehe. Well, we put all the plywood in the truck and had it tie strapped in. I decided it would be better to not go on the interstate so we went home to Dave's house by way of 100th street. Well, at the Hickman and 100th street intersection the light changed and all of a sudden...slloooobaaammmthuud...and the wood was in the middle of the road with cars backed up and we had to load the wood back up in the middle of the day on that intersection. It could have been worse. No one was injured out of both mishaps. So, I'm happy things turned out they way they did, even though my truck got a little hurt outta the deal.

The Best $15 Ever Spent

Today's turning out to be a wonderful day. It's hard to imagine what $15 can give you these days. Kim went in for her ultrasound today to get a checkup for the baby. Her last visit she hadn't gained the 3-4 lbs. that the Doctors/Nurses said she should so they scheduled her for an ultrasound. Kim was pretty quiet and nervous this morning before we went as she was fearful something would be wrong. Well, everything turned out just fine and the baby has 10 fingers and 10 toes and by the measurements is 2 days ahead of schedule on growth. :) The baby weighed in at 11 oz.

It's something that can't be put into words the description of watching the baby swimming around in Kim's belly. The baby was moving all around and liked to wave at us while getting the ultrasound. We could easily see the heart and it's valves opening and closing, the brain, eye lenses, kidneys, stomach, ribs, spine, arms, and legs. The only thing we didn't see (or want to find out) was the prominent placement of a special organ that determines the sex. Hehe. So, that'll be a surprise for us yet. You can see the pictures in the gallery under before birth.

Smells Like Pickles

So, at work we've been playing a little game on one of our co-workers (Chad Kraus). It all started when we put a donut on a note on his desk while he was vacationing at the end of last year. Well, we decided to put the donut and note in his desk. That wasn't all bad in itself, but then we decided to take it to the next level. We started collecting various foods and put them in his desk drawer. Then one day he started to smell "pickles" in his pen drawer (little did he know that one drawer down he had a Quizno's Pepper bar). We thought, "Oh, wait, we can't have him find the drawer so we switched drawers with Cedric. We then moved the food drawer back yesterday. Well, today we got girl scout cookies delivered by Bob's daughter and he decided to put them in the food drawer. Well, he opened the drawer far enough to find the hidden treasures. LOL. Go here to find the photo gallery.

The End of an Era

What a weekend of traveling. Kim and I went up to Rockwell City to watch our 5 year old nephew, Tyler, wrestle. That was pretty fun to watch them all. Oh how the agony of defeat hurts. :) Tyler got second overall so he did really well. We then travelled to Humboldt to visit Kim's Grandparents for a bit. Then drove back to Gilmore City to see Kim's Brother's family. Then drove back to Humboldt to eat at the Fireside bar/grill for some good eats. Then we departed for Nevada to visit some friends there and finally back to Ames. So, we accomplished the Central Iowa Tour.

My Dad got home yesterday from the hospital with no back pain other than the incisions from the surgery so that turned out good. I got quite a shock when I talked to him today as he sold half of his dairy herd and will be selling the rest tomorrow. It's quit hard to believe that it's happening as this is something that he's been doing for at least 30 years. He started out with just a handful of milking cows and through the years built a heard of around 40 milking at one time. He's had hired help to help him milk following my brother and my moving off the farm, but as of late can't find only one (who can't do it all alone) that is reliable enough to make it in the mornings or nights to milk them. He still has beef cattle that he can work with and the land to farm (pending his healing), but life won't be the same for him or my family.

It's Friday

Well, seems like another work week is wrapping up. My Dad went through a successful back surgery this morning so that made the day go smoothly. Now for his speedy recovery. He should be out of the hospital tomorrow. Well, Kim and I had her monthly Dr.'s appointment this past Wednesday and we get to go in and have an ultrasound in two weeks. The mid-wife who checked Kim over wasn't concerned about Kim only gaining 1 lb., but would still like to make sure everything's ok with the baby. Well, we're about to head up to Rockwell City to visit Kim's Brother and family then it's off to Humboldt to visit her grandparents. Should be a fun weekend. I'm outta here.

Wind Sucks

Well, it's been a while since I last wrote so I thought I'd do a little blogging. I'm glad today isn't windy as yesterday was just too much. Sunday wasn't much better for wind either. Went to Office Max and got me another compact flash card reader for at work yesterday. When I send in the $10 mail in rebate it'll be free. w00t! Now I'm all set to better document my day with photos. heh

Had a good weekend. Went up north to visit my family and celebrate Kim's b-day. Saturday was kind of weird as my Dad and Grandfather sold 15 heifers to a farmer in Sheffield. They sold a few cattle off as my Dad's going in for surgery on his back this Friday and won't be able to do as much till he heals up. So, hopefully everything goes well in the surgery and he'll have a fast recovery. Hopefully they won't have to sell anything else off till they really want to. It's hard to see them having to sell some off as farming is what they love to do and they've been working at it for their entire life.

Floppy Disk

So I'm sitting here copying some floppy disks to a network drive so I can get to them from my computer here at work. In fact, I have my "a" drive disabled on my workstation because I never use it. I can't remember the last time that I've even used one. I usually use my trusty USB drive or ftp to my host computer. I can't believe how incredibly slow the drive is. I'm certainly glad technology has improved over the years.

So, here are some pictures that I took this last weekend at ISU. Some are funny some are not. It's always fun to document a day with photos.

Welcome Home

Ah, it's so good to have Kim back from her trip to Florida. Friday afternoon and Saturday were fun days. Went up to Ames to hang out with a college buddy. We snapped some photos of various things at ISU and went to the movie Paycheck. A flick worth seeing.

I think there should be something done about Monday mornings. Have you ever had a morning where you put cereal in your glass instead of the bowl. At least I didn't put the cereal box in the fridge and the milk in the cupboard. haha

Busy Week

Man what a busy week it's been. I just got done painting the baby room. Last night I primered it so tonight I put the real paint on. What a job. I certainly appreciate my job at Pioneer. Painting sucks. But, I guess the finished product is worth it. I painted it this week as Kim is in Florida soaking up some rays and dipping her foot in the gulf for work. So, now my bachelor weekend can begin (yeah, I know tomorrow is Friday, but it's close enough to the weekend to count).

I got my DSL modem from Qwest today. So, now I'm all ready to save some money and lose Mediacom like a bad habit. I warned them this would happen if they continued to charge me the $10 on top of the already $40. I guess monopolistic companies just don't listen.

Johnston, IA Sucks

Okay, I've decided that I should mention that Johnston, IA isn't the place for me to live.

Here is a list of why it's not the place for me:

1. There is a stop light on every block and the light never changes when you're the only one there.


2. The roads suck in winter. Johnston City crews come out when it's too late and the roads are already packed with snow/ice.


3. There is a cop on every corner sitting where everyone can see them with a radar gun clocking every car, bicycle and pedestrian going by.


4. The speed limit is incredibly slow. You can have a corn field on both sides of you and it will still be 25 mph.


5. From Kim's experience with the schools, parents are rich snobs who could care less about anyone else except themselves. Oh and their kids are perfect too.

Spring is on the way

So it feels more like spring everyday. Right now it's 47 out...too bad I haven't been outside since I got to work today.

I've been doing a little testing with mySQL and phpmyAdmin on my local workstation at work and the two apps totally rule. I wish we used more cool stuff like these here at work (Pioneer). I mean, don't get me wrong we get to use some cool stuff, but it's so simple with phpMyAdmin.

Man it totally blows to see family members hurting from injured backs. My Mother has been suffering for years with back pain and now my Dad has been having problems with his. He went to the doctor this past week for x-rays and an MRI and it appears that one of his disks in his lower back is disintegrating causing a pinched nerve. Kim's Dad also is suffering from back pain after numerous surgeries. So, moral of the story...be thankful for good health.

You Smell

Valentine's Day started out great. Beavis and Butthead were playing on the DVR and all was well. Friday night we were thinking of going with Broox, Kari, Nick and Nicole to HuHot (if not one of the best eating establishments in West Des Moines), but they were going to be eating later and Kim can't wait that long to eat. :( Maybe next time.

Kim and I had planned earlier in the week to go to Olive Garden for our Valentine's Day dinner and not fight the crowd at night. So, we had dinner there. Kim ordered the soup and salad and I had the sumptuous Chicken Marsala. We were put in a room with another couple and a group of loud women and their daughters who were celebrating a meal before one of them got married. They left part way through so we got the place to our selves for a while for some well deserved peace and quiet. Well, because Kim's pregnant things can change in a moments notice. She got full and started to feel bad, but we decided to go to Valley West mall anyway. Holy Cow! There were more people there than there were around Christmas. It's odd to compare Valley West to Merle Hay mall. I truly think that Merle Hay has a better crowd to shop with...the people don't seem as rude as those that were at Valley West on Saturday. Anyway, I digress. Well, we managed to survive the mall and went home. When we got home Kim pretty much felt like crap so she and I laid in bed and watched TV.

So, something I've learned this weekend is that Kim thinks I smell. They say that a woman's senses can change during a pregnancy. Well, I think Kim's sense of smell has changed. Anytime I get close to her...she says, "Ohhh. You smell (stink)." lol. At least I know that I can smell.

The Miracle of Life

Today Kim and I went in for our second doctor visit for our little one on the way. It was pretty cool because we got to hear the heart beating today. We could hear Kim's heart in the background while the baby's was louder and faster. It's pretty cool to be able to hear it...much less see it as in the last visit. :) It's hard to believe that someone would kill a living being.

So it looks like spring is on the way. I can live with 20-30 degree weather. With the warm also comes the melting. It's kind of fun to drive along and see houses that have huge ice hanging from them...clearly indicating that they need more insulation. Heck, if I had an insulating business, I'd be driving up and down the streets getting business. But, I don't so, I'll just stick to my computer stuff.

A new Look

Well, I decided to give my site a face lift. So, tell me what you think.

On another topic, Kim (my wife) and I went to Baby's Are Us to look at baby stuff. We bought a baby stroller so that's one less thing that we have to buy...man they cost some money. :)

Stupid Time

Well, it's kind of up..some formatting to do yet with the time and date. I also have to figure out the spacing a bit.

Finally...

So I finally got the database figured out!!! Broox was totally right on how much mySQL and php rocks Micro$oft's a$$!