With the help of my little brother David we installed a new porcelain floor in our kitchen, pantry, utility and entry way over the Christmas break. I was a little nervous about doing it ourselves but after finishing I’m happy we did. I’ll post up some pictures for everybody shortly. I’m still working on finishing out all of the trim. We are replacing the wood trim with the standard white trim to match the rest of the house.

We also survived The Blizzard of 2009 as everybody seems to be calling it. It also gave us a white Christmas which is a pretty big rarity (thankfully). The storm hit on Christmas Eve and left well over a foot of snow in some areas of the yard. It was a blast to watch the dogs run around and play in it. Bella looked like she had a bad case of dandruff and Snickers had to jump to move around because the snow came all the way up to her chest.

The week after Christmas we took off for Dallas to watch the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Cotton Bowl. We showed up on Friday and had dinner with Heather’s Dad and Nancy at Boston’s. The next day we attended the OrangePower.com tailgate party to prep for the game. About 30 minutes before we headed in to the new Cowboys stadium in Arlington and it was AMAZING! Seeing pictures and video of the new stadium doesn’t do it justice. The jumbotrons are huge and crystal clear. Did I mention they are HUGE! That’s about where the fun ended for the trip since our offense couldn’t figure out how to score touchdowns. Even though we lost the game it was a great weekend and our first bowl game experience.

We also purchased a new camera with the holiday specials.  We (I) picked up a Canon EOS Rebel T1i which I’ve loved playing with and learning more about photography.  Hopefully with the new camera we’ll be able to post up more pictures on this here bloggy majig.

We hope everybody is staying warm and had a great holidays.  We wish you the best in Twenty-Ten.

- Paul & Heather

So that was February… let’s see what about March?  We had a good time downtown for St. Pat’s at McNellie’s with our friends Nik and Hollie (congrats on making it into the blog).  I think the Tulsa Boat Show was also in March.. I may be wrong, but then again… I just might be right.  Any who we made it out to tour all the toys on display and hung out with my Pops and Suuuusan as well as Nik and Hollie (congrats on making the blog again… you’re famous).  After leaving the show I quickly signed up for as many get rich quick schemes as I could find in the hopes of being able to afford some of those boats.

Oklahoma also had one of it’s famous 70 degrees one day and 6 inches of snow the next in March.  Mother Nature trying to get one last jab in there before giving into Spring fever.  I’m very happy to say that Spring has arrived and boy was it a welcome sight.

Our big news for April is Heather and I celebrating our two year wedding anniversary.  The second year seemed to just fly by with Heather starting law school and me…. well um…  I’ll get back to you on what exactly I’ve been doing.  We’re now in year number three and are both very excited to see what this year holds for us.  Heather has a couple of weeks left in the Spring semester and then gets a week or so off before Summer school.

Oh… we also purchased a boat (queue SNL skit).  We had such a blast last Summer hanging out on my Pop’s boat that Heather was able to convince me to get our own.  I’ve grown up on boats but the thought of having our very own is still somewhat of a shock to us.  We should be taking delivery next week so we can share some pictures with everybody, well that is if we can find a wifi spot on the water

The girls are both doing great… they’re a handful but keep us laughing all the time.  I’ll see what I can do about getting some new pics of them uploaded too.  We hope everybody is doing well and looking forward to the Summer as much as us.

- Paul & Heather

Christmas 2008 – Pictures Here

Heather and I made it out to my Dad’s house for Christmas Eve where we grazed on the delicious food and hung out with the family.  There are a few pictures from that evening on the site.  I’m very fond of the storm trooper helmet pics.  Where were those toys when I was growing up?  Anywho, we had a great time seeing everybody as always.

New Years Eve 2008/2009 – Pictures Here

For the last several years Heather and I have celebrated New Years with our friends Dustin and Jae at their house, but with them expecting their new family member Donovan in early February we were banished to find some other place to ring in the new year.  We were invited over to our friends John and Kara for the evening which was a blast.  We had a too many beers, to much to eat and way to much rock band!  I’m extremely musically challenged as is evident in the pictures.

Chicago Trip

I spent a week in Chicago for training from January 12 thru the 16th.  I was lucky enough to be in town for Chicago’s coldest weather in 8 years!  I leave Tulsa which was having some nice 50ish weather and arrive in Chicago with the high on some days –1.  Let me just clarify in case you didn’t read that correctly NEGATIVE ONE was the HIGH!!!!  I had to walk about a half a mile from my hotel to the training center.  I was definitely happy to arrive back in Tulsa.  Business trips by yourself are extremely boring.  I would wake up, go to training, go home, find food, sleep and repeat.  I learned a lot though so it was a good trip in that aspect.

Semester Two

Heather is now well underway in her second semester of law school at TU.  They say the first semester is the toughest one so it should be a cake walk for her from here on out, right?  Her schedule is rough but she seems very determined to get that degree so she can get paid to argue with people.

Well, that should be a quick summary of what has been going on in our little world.  Work and school have kept us both pretty busy the last few months but I’ll do what I can to keep everybody updated a little more frequently.

•   Turkey
• Ham
• Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• Green Bean Casserole
• Stuffing (Thanks to her mom’s recipe, which is awesome!)
• Cranberry Sauce
• Corn
• Dinner Rolls

We also had apple pie, pumpkin pie and a rum cake (thanks to Danielle) for dessert.  I’m pretty sure everybody had to be rolled out of the house after the meal.  I was really happy Heather was able to take a little time away from studying to cook the meal. Thanksgiving Pictures

As of this writing she has one final remaining in her first semester of Law School… wish her luck!  We hope everybody is staying warm this winter and enjoying the holidays!

*Edit: My hosting server was hacked and lost a weeks worth of information including this post.  That’s why this was posted twice.

I met JJ in the Fall of 2001 when I decided to join Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE).  He was initiated a year before me which meant I would be a member of the first pledge class since his he’d have the pleasure of initiating.  Even though he had the upper hand on me being a member and me being a pledge he never really let it get to his head.  He treated everybody with the same respect and friendship you showed towards him.  A few of my favorite memories of JJ was a trip we made to Tulsa to help him move some stuff back to Tahlequah from his Dad’s house and learning you never bet JJ on anything.

JJ was our chapter’s social chair during my pledge semester and he would constantly remind me how important social chair was to the chapter.  When I’m driving him up to his Dad’s to grab some furniture he once again reminded me of how I have such an important role of protecting the social chair he constantly referred to me as his secret service agent.  An entire three hour roundtrip of him acting like the President of the US and me needing to jump in front of bullets for him.  Goof ball.

My other memory is making the mistake of betting JJ.  He was one of the biggest sports fanatics I knew.  I didn’t always agree with his choice in teams but hey.. not everybody’s perfect.  So my bet with JJ was I would play him a game of Madden football and the winner had to clean the other person’s car.   I lost… horribly.  Well before I cleaned his car I challenged him to a re-match of double or nothing.  Second mistake, making this challenge while I’m intoxicated and he is not.  He then proceeds to agree but on the condition that we play the game right then.  I lost… horribly.  To clear my debt with him I end up having to clean his car and go snack shopping for him using only a paper bag full of pennies, taped closed with a douche taped to the outside of it.  Why he had all of this at his apartment I have no idea.  Embarrassing?  Sure… but I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything.

He was a good friend and I will miss the banter traded back and forth in regards to sports.  He was a great guy and was taken from us way to early.

If you’re reading this and have some memories you’d like to share feel free to post them in the comments.

View our Halloween Pictures

We’re now in November and looking forward to the Holidays.  It’s always nice to visit with family and catch up and the food isn’t to shabby either.  I’m still enjoying this awesome weather with last weekend sitting around 80-85 degrees I feel like I live in Florida.

Oh… and since it is Election Day… Get out and Vote!  I know.. the lines suck, just do it!

Heather took her mid-term(s) for her first semester in Law School… I haven’t heard the results yet but I’m sure she did fine on them.  I think she is really looking forward to Winter break and having a little time to herself.  I know I’m looking forward to spending more time with her.

I can’t believe next month is November!  This year is just flying by.. Thanksgiving then Christmas…. New Years and we’re into 2009!  It’s Halloween Friday and the temperature is going to be 75 degrees.  I’m not complaining but I think that might be the reason it doesn’t feel like November yet.  I’m sure this means that January & February are just going to be miserable, cold and dreary.  Yay!

If it’s cold where you live… I hope you’re staying warm.  If it’s warm where you live… I’m jealous.

The transition has been a little rough because she is still working full time and going to school part time which makes her days really long and mine really boring at home alone.  She seems to be handling it pretty well and enjoying it on most days.   I’m really proud of her for making the decision to go back to school and I think she’s going to make a great attorney.  How can she go wrong… lots of talking and arguing, yeah she’ll do just fine.

I’m pretty bummed out that Summer has all but ended and we’re moving into Fall and then the dreaded Winter!  Winter is so miserable it’s so cold and yuck and you’re stuck inside how boring.

The girls are doing great for those of you who are interested.  Bella is about the size of a small horse weighing in at about 65 lbs. and Snickers is hitting about 35 lbs.  They’re both awesome dogs and we’re really glad we ended up with the both of them even if one of them did pick us *cough* *cough* Snickers *cough*.

We did manage to make it down to Dallas to catch the Rangers vs. Red Sox game.  The Rangers DESTROYED them and then had the favor returned the following day.  I’ll post up some of those photos tonight or tomorrow and give you the details on that trip.  *Edit: View the Rangers Road Trip Pictures Here

Sorry this post has been so random… just wanted to catch you up on some of the stuff we’ve been doing.  We hope everybody is doing well.

- Paul & Heather