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New Year’s Day 2009

By admin  |  2009/01/16 01:48 Posted in Uncategorized  |  Comments Off on New Year’s Day 2009

We went to Liz and Randy’s place on New Year’s Day. Liz had my name for the annual Christmas gift exchange, and since I was gone on Christmas Eve, she gave her present to me on New Year’s Day. She got me season 3 of The Muppet Show on DVD. Very nice.

There were a few other more interesting gift exchanges that occurred. Jenelle and Holly bought Randy a Dirty Dancing calendar, superimposing Liz and Randy’s faces over the main characters. The gift was hilarious, but not as hilarious as what Randy bought for Jenelle and Holly. Also somewhat hilarious was what Andrew bought for Liz.

There’s a photo album that shows the gifts and some other moments from the party.

I happened to catch a couple of the gifts on video, and I’m happy to direct you to the movies page to check that out.

We also celebrated Grandpa Nick’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

New Year’s Eve, just before ’09

By admin  |  2009/01/11 03:01 Posted in Uncategorized  |  Comments Off on New Year’s Eve, just before ’09

We celebrated New Year’s by having dinner at our house with four other couples. Jenelle and I were thrilled to host Andrew & Holly, Mark & Heather, Jamie & Janet, and Steve & Mary. After feasting on chicken saltimbocca, we played games and chatted constantly, and the new year was here before we knew it. We celebrated once at 11 p.m. and once at midnight. We were hoping for a Conan O’Brien “Happy New Year Central Time Zone” event, but we settled for a local broadcast.

Here we are shortly after the start of 2009:
Ben, Jenelle, Andrew, Holly, Mark, Heather, Steve, Mary, Janet, Jamie

Family Christmas Album

By admin  |  2009/01/09 03:28 Posted in Uncategorized  |  Comments Off on Family Christmas Album

The latest photo album!

After we got back from Oregon, Jenelle and I spent a lot of time with our parents and Andrew, Holly, Ella, and Lily, who flew in from Minnesota to spend part of their holiday with us. Ella and Lily are growing up so fast, and it seems like I have more fun with them with each successive visit. From hide and seek to a SpongeBob Square Pants version of the board game Operation, every moment was priceless.

Next time on BenandJenelle.com: New Year’s photos!

Christmas in Oregon

By admin  |  2009/01/04 20:06 Posted in Uncategorized  |  Comments Off on Christmas in Oregon

Time flies when you’re having fun with friends and family. I’ll have a bunch more photo albums to share in the days ahead, but for now, here’s the first one:

Oregon Christmas 2008 Photos

We were originally going to arrive in Portland on the night of Sunday, December 21, but the worst snowstorm in 40 years canceled our flight (and many others). Thankfully, we were able to get there on the night of the 24th. To limit our time on the unplowed and unsalted roads, we took the train (known as “The Max”) from the airport to Beaverton. From there, it was a short and bumpy ride to Dave & Pam’s house.

Christmas Day was wonderful. We didn’t go anywhere, but Jenelle’s brothers and their families came over to celebrate with us. Lots of presents, a great meal, and plenty of conversation was shared between us.

As the days went on, the roads thawed out little by little. By the weekend, we were able to do pretty much everything we’d normally do during a visit to Oregon. We visited Jenelle’s grandparents, who weren’t able to make it to Dave & Pam’s house on Christmas Day. We completed the usual amount of shopping (no sales tax in Oregon). Another highlight was when Jeff, Josie, and Lucas came over so that we could all play Lucas’ new Wii, which he got for Christmas. I fought Lucas in Wii boxing, and Lucas won.

Jenelle: “Did you lose on purpose?”
Me: (disappointed in myself) “No.”
🙂

We look forward to our next trip out west!

It’s a Christmas Miracle!

By admin  |  2008/12/26 02:29 Posted in Uncategorized  |  Comments (1)

We made it safely to Oregon. There’s no plows or salt out here, and most people don’t even have shovels to clear the snow, but we’re having a great time.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Gah

By admin  |  2008/12/22 21:01 Posted in Uncategorized  |  Comments Off on Gah

Our flight to Portland, Oregon last night was canceled. The weather here has been ugly, but Oregon is receiving its worst snowstorm in 40 years. So, until things clear up a bit, we’ll be “stuck” at home. The forecast isn’t very favorable right now, but I’m hoping the situation improves before the end of the year.

In the meantime, my thoughts and prayers go out to any place that is receiving more snow that it can handle, which could be said about any number of communities throughout the country.

WHOA Friday!

By admin  |  2008/12/22 19:33 Posted in Uncategorized  |  Comments Off on WHOA Friday!

This past Friday was the company holiday celebration. It was also a day when a foot of snow fell. Jenelle coordinated the company event, so it was a busy day for her. I also kept busy, as the schedule below will show:

4:30 a.m.: Ben wakes up and clears the driveway and nearby sidewalks. He’s finished at about 5:15.

5:00 a.m.: Jenelle wakes up.

5:45 a.m.: Ben leaves and heads to the office, and Jenelle leaves and heads to the event site.

6:20 a.m.: Ben arrives at the office and joins his colleagues on our annual “Profit Sharing Day Run”. The treacherous conditions limit the attendance to only three people (including Ben), but the tradition continues!

6:30 a.m.: Jenelle arrives at the event site, following a plow most of the way.

7:00 a.m.: Finished with the run, Ben gets cleaned up for the event.

8:40 a.m.: Ben and many others leave the office for the event site.

10:00 a.m.: The formal program begins.

11:00 a.m.: The formal program ends, and the informal celebration begins.

12:00 p.m.: Family photo time!

1:30 p.m.: Ben returns home and clears the driveway AGAIN.

2:00 p.m.: Jenelle gets home as Ben is finishing up the snow removal.

Most of the rest of the day: Ben and Jenelle RELAX.

The Annual December Endeavor

By admin  |  2008/12/17 22:12 Posted in Uncategorized  |  Comments (1)

Here is our 2008 Christmas letter. We hope you like it!

New Decorations

By admin  |  2008/12/01 00:07 Posted in Uncategorized  |  Comments Off on New Decorations

Currently on display at Ben and Jenelle’s house — a new tree and a new nativity set. We got the tree on Thanksgiving night (half price sale), and we got the nativity set at a HUGE discount in Oregon last year after Christmas. They both get two thumbs up from me.

Eighties Party

By admin  |  2008/11/28 04:54 Posted in Uncategorized  |  Comments (1)

Last Saturday, Jenelle and I went to an 80s party thrown by one of her co-workers. It was totally awesome. We found some killer threads at the Salvation Army Thrift Store. Jenelle’s dress had shoulder pads, and I wore a Z Cavarici shirt. Fun times.