Spring Is Almost Here!!!

No new kitchen floor yet but we do have something to look forward too,,,,,,SPRING!!!  The last few days have been sunny.  We are still in the high 30s but at least the sun is out!  

We may have a day of snow here and there through mid-March but nothing that will stick. That is good considering we still have 3 feet of compact snow on the ground and piles of it everywhere!  Environmental concerns now prevent the cities from dumping snow in the lakes so they find vacant lots and fields to pile it in.  Our ski areas will have great skiing through at least June.

Mandy is in the midst of her IDC training.  IDC training is a grueling 2 weeks of 14 hour days, studying at night and functioning on 4 hrs. sleep a night.  She finishes next Sunday.

Loren, Mandy's boyfriend, lost his Dad to cancer February 15.  Currently, Loren is home in San Marcos and he was able to spend quality time with his Dad before Heavenly Father called him home.  Our deepest, heartfelt sympathies go out to the entire Esposito family during this time of great sorrow.  To Frank we say "God Speed".  

Loren will return to Manzanillo to finish out his training.  We expect both Mandy and Loren to return to the States mid-March.

All else is as usual.......  My weight has stabilized at 165.  Phil is doing well and we are waiting for authorization for his gastric bypass.  Lots of red tape.

Well, that is all that is fit to print.

I hope everyone is well. 

HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY!!!

Hi everyone!

We're back in the house.  We spent 4 nights in a Holiday Inn because the fans being used to dry out the kitchen were intolerable and the kitchen was unusable.  I walked around with my shooting ear protectors on for 2 days until the pressure on the sides of my head gave me a MASSIVE  headache.  Dylan wore a pair too but basically stayed in his room with the door shut. Poor kid!  We were came to the house daily to check on things, let workmen in and plow the driveway and returned permanently on Friday.  Even nice motel rooms get really small with 3 people and only one TV!

Holiday Inn in Hayden is attached to an indoor amusement park/waterslide park.  Although we didn't use the waterslide park, the arcade provided some distraction......  Dylan loves the Chuck-the-Cheese kind of games!  The food is horrible and outrageously expensive, but, you expect that from a tourist attraction.  Actually, when I am being robbed I'd rather have someone stick a gun in my back!

Over the last 2 weeks we have had more than 3 feet of snow!  It is gorgeous but what a pain!  We have wonderful neighbors who all help each other but you get tired of dealing with it after awhile.  Although it has been the biggest winter for us, I am told this is just a little more than normal!   We have at least 6 more weeks no matter what the groundhog in PA says!!!

Mandy is officially a Divemaster!  She passed her Divemaster exams on Monday and has one more level to go!  She will be in Mexico until at least mid-April.  Her e-mail is hamsterranger@gmail.com.  You can use this email to go to her MySpace.com page and look at her pictures.

Well, I have some housecleaning and laundry to catch up on!  More later with some new pictures!