Kristen Turns 22!

We were finally able to celebrate Kristen's 22 birthday with her today! We drove to Madison and met her at her place of employment, the Wisconsin Historical Society. Wes and I got there before her shift was done, so we were able to finally take a tour of the museum, their most interesting exhibit was Odd Wisconsin . Wes found the most interesting collectible to be a piggy bank from WWII that squealed when money was deposited into it. It was painted with the face of Adolph Hitler, and it was intented to encourage kids to save their coins to buy war bonds!
After Kristen was done working we picked up Alex and went to dinner at a restauant famous for their special hamburgers, yum!!! After dinner we all went back to her apartment for the gift opening, not sure if her most favorite gift was the blanket, the wisk, or the weights!! You'll have to ask her!
 

Breckenridge - January 2009

We just got back from our annual trip to Breckenridge, CO. We decided to try the train this year, since skiing requires so much luggage...boots, skis, poles, and layers of warm clothes. Amtrack doesn't charge extra for luggage! We left on New Year's Day at 2:00 pm and arrived in Denver about 8:00 the next morning. A bottle of wine and a great meal on board, helped us get through the night. Although we spend a week in Breckenridge, we were only able to get out to ski on four days becasue Wes was on the phone half the time with people from work trying to get the negotiations organized for the merger. I was glad I had my new little notebook with me! Except for the Ullr Fest Parade, it was a pretty quiet week with just the two of us there! A second honeymoon?? .... Tahiti was a lot warmer!
 

Old Car - New Car

Well, I said goodbye to my Taurus after 9 great years and 125,000 miles!!

Someone decided he wanted to be in the same spot I was on the Edens Expressway, and I lost the turf battle. Rocky the dog and I sat facing oncoming traffic for 10 - 15 minutes while we waited for the police and the tow truck to arrive...quite a harrowing! Needless to say, it didn't take much to total the vehicle, though the adjusters said the car was in perfect shape. Drat, time for a new car - picked it up today. We bought another Ford, a Fusion. It's a pretty nice vehicle, and Consumer Reports rates it as one of the safest on the road in its class.....very important for me!