"Real Men"

Well Brandon took up a personal project.... it was the basement. I think this is an important step for him, its time for him to be a real man. Real men use saws, they use hammers, they have steel-toed boots, they bleed and don't care. So, needless to say Brandon has accomplished all of the above in just a few short weeks, and the proof is in the pudding:

Vacation

Have you ever been to Altamont Utah? Chances are no..... What about Neola? Again, chances are better that you've been to Spain and gotten tagged by a charging bull... We however, spent a better part of 7 days in "God's Country". Below is the photographic evidence of the event.

The wonderful city of Neola slogan "Move no more" we celebrated our independence in this great city, and despite the fact that the parade was 20 minutes long and covered two city blocks, it was fantastic; small goats, veterans of war, rodeo queens, otter pops that opened from the bottom as you were eating them from the top, fire engines, a fly over by 8-10 jets (and by jets I do mean crop dusters from the local area), and many other sights and sounds.

Here is a picture of Brandon pretty much just commanding this powerful twin engine vessel. Look at the way it effortlessly glides across the water. The look of worry on his face probably comes from the realization that if, heaven forbid, a squall came up quickly, five passengers is a heavy burden to swim to shore. Although, the transformer swim trunks would no doubt provide him with the ultimate strength of the one whom the trunks bear - Optimus Prime.

Speaking of Squalls... Here is a real doosy that could have caused some serious damage to a small vessel...

We spent the entire vacation enjoying those "finer" things in life...

Time with family.

Horseshoes. (Brandon's first toss went backwards nearly injuring a small child to which he was quoted as saying "whoa")

Playgrounds.

Fishing.

and each other.

Here is what has been going on...

We took a weekend getaway over to Glenwood Springs, a much needed break from the scuffles of the real world.  The natural hot springs were therapy to the body and soul as we soaked in the mineral rich water of the earth.  Christina enjoyed a relaxing day at the spa while Brandon washed the car and took one last dip in the healing pool, (I'm not sure he can be healed from his everyday craziness). 

We arrived home only to realize that we were in need of a Christmas tree, Brandon wanted a charlie brown tree, while Christina was a fan of the more traditional tree... Below is the picture of the traditional tree.  It took awhile to get it into the house, at 8 1/2 feet tall and 4 feet wide it was no easy task, luckily Brandon has been working out (in his dreams) and hoisted it like it was a candy cane

Christmas Vacation took us to Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California, and we are both too exhausted to describe the Christmas Vacation so just enjoy the photos...