MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

With love, from our family to yours,
Greg and Jen

We've been "elfed"

Make sure your sound is turned on because this will really crack you up!!

(If you can't click on the link below, just copy and paste it into your browser. It does take a little bit to load, but you don't want to miss this!!)

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1410767519

Arachno"phobia"

In general, most people in life do everything they can to get rid of spiders. Brian, on the other hand, currently owns and cares for over 30 different tarantulas and other such arachnids. Only once has a tarantula managed to make its way out of its cage and find Mom. Other than that, they are taken out on purpose. Tonight we had a little fun with his collection..... those who were brave.

(Jen)

(Greg)

(Becca)

(Dad)

(Auntie Cheryl)

A Delightfully Demanding December

December has to be one of the busiest months for us. It seems like we just go, and go, and go. Actually, our lives have pretty much been non-stop since Thanksgiving, so we've been busy for quite awhile now!! Mostly, we've been going out with friends, doing Christmas shopping, hanging out with family, going on little "get away's" and looking at pretty much every single model home in Colorado Springs. Whew!!

Thanksgiving eve, after having a fun lunch in town and a mini shopping trip, we headed over to Mom and Dad Kelly's house. We spent the afternoon baking, playing games, and all that fun stuff. Thanksgiving day was spent pretty much eating and napping. What could be finer?? The next morning, Dad headed out at the crack of dawn to take advantage of some of the big sales (yes, he loves to shop!!) and after sleeping in a bit, Jen and Mom headed out to get some other sales. Brian and Greg slept in – are we surprised here?? After all of that, we headed up to Mueller State park to our "little cabin in the woods" for a couple of nights. It was SO nice. No TV, no phone, no schedule. Just us. The next day after getting back, we set up our tree!!! One of our Christmas traditions has been to set up our tree the day after Thanksgiving - but since we weren't home, we did it as soon as we could. One of our other yearly Christmas traditions is to buy an ornament together that symbolizes a trip that we went on or a fun memory of that year. Needless to say, a lot of reminiscing goes on as we decorate our tree because Jen usually has ornament exchange parties with her girlfriends, so she has quite a few memories of her own, and Greg has all of his ornaments from Christmases growing up, so those are always fun to look at in conjunction with the ornaments we have purchased together.

December 1st began with a bang!! Jen set off that morning for an all day shopping trip with Mom and Auntie Cheryl. Greg stayed home and did some homework, as well as watched some football. Later that night, Greg made dinner and we had Mom and Dad over. The boys watched football while the girls played games.

The week of December 2nd was busy as well. Monday we watched some old Christmas movies (another tradition of ours). Monday and Tuesday we went shopping for some secret birthday stuff and Wednesday Jen had Team Kid (Greg joined since it was "Pizza night"). Thursday Jen went and got a massage and then headed off to a gift card exchange party while Greg went to class. Friday afternoon we mailed out our Christmas cards, and that night we went to Jen's work party. Jerry hosted quite the party and we went home very full and very happy with bonuses, and gifts. Saturday morning we got up and had to be to church kinda early for cantata practice. We had a small part in the Christmas program with our new friends Jenn and Mike. Our part consisted of only decorating a tree for 5 minutes, but it was still fun. Short and simple, that's how we like it!! That afternoon Jen wrapped presents and Greg did homework and took a nap. That night we headed out to the Broadmoor Hotel for our other yearly tradition of "dessert at the Penrose room." It was SO cold and foggy out, but we still had a great time!!

This week, the week of December 9th, is still busy….. Sunday night we were in the program at church. Surprisingly, there were a lot of people there!! Monday we did some more secret surprise birthday party shopping, and some housecleaning (blegh!). We have hardly been home since Thanksgiving, the poor house has been SO neglected - that's why we don't have a big house..... we are never home!! No sense paying for something you hardly use, right?? (Although, we did find our dream house amongst all those models we have been looking at lately, so we just need a few more things to fall into place before we decide to get it or something that is second best). Tuesday Jen and Auntie Cheryl spent all day preparing and setting up for Mom's surprise 50th birthday party. It was well worth all the time and money spent because she was SO surprised. Tons of people showed up, and the night went off without a hitch!!! Wednesday, Jen has Team Kid again while Greg does homework, and Thursday night Jen is off to pick up her friend Jenn and go do some fun Christmas baking with Mom, Auntie Cheryl, and Becca since Greg will be in class. HIS LAST CLASS!!!! He will have completed his MBA on December 13th and he is so excited!! Maybe time for another celebration?? We’ll see!! Tomorrow night we are trying to reserve as "alone time" since we have been so busy, so we'll see how that goes. Pizza, a movie, and some games at home sound really good to us right now. Saturday we’ll be off running errands like crazy, and maybe we’ll put up our outside Christmas decorations……. or maybe not. If we can end up spending it quietly at home doing nothing, that would be great!!

The week of the 16th is proving to be busy with more shopping, get-together’s with friends and family, Church activities, our traditional get-together to watch "Elf," and Mom's birthday. Before we know it, Christmas will be here!! Jen gets the whole week from Christmas to New Year's off paid from work, so there's no telling what she'll do with her time. Greg is taking a day off somewhere in there to be with her since he gets lots of vacation time. We are hoping it won't blizzard 3 times in a row like last year so we can actually get out and enjoy the snow. Maybe do some sledding or some skiing/snowboarding.

Greg should also be finding out any day now whether or not he got a scholarship for the CFA, so please keep that in your prayers as this would be a major career and financial blessing!!

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas everyone!!! We wish you a safe and blessed New Year!!

Randomness

Pikes Peak - Jen's view on her way to work

Jen and Greg - Mueller State Park

Brian and Greg messing around

Mom and Dad - Mueller State park

The Fam - Mueller State Park

Brian messing around

Helen Hunt Falls

Today we decided to get out and enjoy the gorgeous fall weather in the mountains. We went up to Helen Hunt Falls, took a short hike, and then found our way to a secluded picnic spot by the river. It was SO nice to get out and "get away" for the day.

Tajine Alami

(By Jen)

Tonight was another "girls night" for me, and it was SO much fun!! I invited one of my best friends, Heather, and we went out with Mom Kelly and Auntie Cheryl. We lived quite adventurously and went for Moroccan food at Tajine Alami!! Once we got there, they had us remove our shoes at the door and sit on pillows around the table. After looking over the menu, we decided on the 4 course meal instead of the 6 course meal. We had quite the feast - with NO silverware I might add. You have never lived until you have eaten a whole meal with just your hands!! (I had a great time eating cous cous with no spoon!!) The only thing we missed out on was the belly dancing show and the belly dancing lessons because they only do it certain nights of the week. Bummer!! Afterwards, we went out for some decaf and chat time at Starbucks, and then went our separate ways very full and very tired. How come it is that some things are just more fun without the boys?? =)

Happy Birthday Jen!!

Jen turned 26 today, can you believe it? She didn't have just one day to celebrate, but a whole weekend!! We decided to be adventurous and spend the entire weekend in Denver! We drove up Friday night after Greg got off work, had a quick dinner at Chili's, and then relaxed in our room at the Hotel Denver Tech Center the rest of the night--it was SO nice just to get away!!

Saturday was spent touring Denver (and surrounding cities), driving around town seeing the sights, shopping, and getting a jump on several Christmas presents. Later that afternoon, we figured that Greg's Saturn must have been tired from all that driving around because it ended up being one hubcap short!! Somehow, somewhere in the midst of all that driving, the rear driver side hubcap decided to fly off and we've yet to find it..... Later that night, after much anticipation, we had Jen's traditional birthday dinner at The Cheesecake Factory on the 16th Street Mall in Downtown Denver. And for dessert, we had her favorite: Pumpkin Cheesecake. It was DIVINE!!!!!

Sunday morning we woke up to about 6 inches of snow on the ground! It was pretty, but cold. Can you believe it was 77+ degrees and sunny on Saturday and then cloudy and snowing on Sunday? That's Colorado for you! After the shock of the snow, we went and had breakfast at Einstein Brothers (yes, we had pumpkin bagels and pumpkin cream cheese) and decided to venture back home instead of doing more shopping. We ran into some stopped traffic, icy roads, and blowing snow on Monument Hill, but we made it home all in one piece.

This morning, Jen's bosses decided to throw a party for her at work and made Pumpkin Waffles--definitely one of the best breakfasts Jen has ever had! We decided we're gonna go to Williams Sonoma this weekend to pick-up some pumpkin bread mix, pumpkin waffle mix, and pumpkin pecan butter for a Saturday breakfast pretty soon. They have the best pumpkin stuff ever!! Can you tell that we're "pumpkin" people??

Finally, to top off a fun and eventful three days, we had a little party at Mom and Dad Kelly's house! Jen got a lot of good presents along with the "famous" homemade chocolate cake she loves so much. Happy Birthday Jen!!

Titanic

This morning we went to see the Titanic exhibit in Denver. It was pretty awesome!! Before we began our tour, the staff at the museum presented us with "boarding passes." On these passes were the names of real Titanic passengers, the class they sailed, what room they were in, a little bit about their personal history, how old they were, and etc. So in a sense, we got to be a real passenger as well as learn about the person on our boarding pass. Parts of the exhibit showcased different people's belongings and stories, and at the end of the exhibit we got to find out whether "we" survived or not. Jen, Greg, and Mom Kelly all survived. Dad Kelly and Brian did not. After the exhibit, we had a little bit of time to kill before we went to our IMAX movie, so we went and looked at the mummy exhibit and the health and life exhibit. Brian, of course, ran off to the plant and animal exhibit.

The IMAX movie was called "Ghosts of the Abyss." The movie took you down 2.5 miles to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean to show you what the Titanic looks like now, and created an image to show you what it looked like back then. It was SO neat!! We have never done or seen anything like this before!! (We would have taken some pictures inside, but they didn't allow that)

The weather in Denver was so cold today that you could see your breath when you were outside. (We got hailed on on the way home too) But the trees were changing from green to beautiful red, orange, and yellow, so at least something can be said of the chilly Fall weather!!

October?!? Already?!?

It is officially Fall here in Colorado. Can you believe it?? Summer went fast!! The trees are turning pretty colors already, and our grass is starting to go dormant. Today was the only day it has really felt like Fall though. Yesterday was in the upper 70's, today was in the 40's, and all this week is supposed to be in the upper 70's. Crazy!! Jen would like it to stay warm forever, but we all know that's not gonna happen.
The last few weeks have been quite busy for us. Greg finished up his softball season, but they didn't go out with a "bang." They haven't won a whole lot of their games, but they all had fun out there!! Maybe next year will prove to be more successful for the team. Greg is also in the home stretch with school!! He is about to finish up his second to last class and start in on the last one. December 13th is when he is expected to be done with his Masters, so he's pretty excited about that. Greg also went to an Air Force football game last night with Dad Kelly and the Dauenhauer's (Becca's parents) while Jen went out and did some Christmas shopping..... and had no luck. She did manage to get some candy corn though. =)
Lately, Jen has had fun hanging out with friends and doing girls night. She has also been kept quite busy with Team Kid and trying out new (good!) recipes for dinner. We all know that she really isn't all that crazy about cooking, but we've had quite the feast these past few weeks!! Tonight we're having pizza..... she's gotta have a break sometime!! =)
Also, sometime within these past few weeks, we cleaned out our garage top to bottom and organized it like crazy!! It looks SO much better. We can actually walk around in there now without bumping into things. =) We have also spent some time over at Mom and Dad Kelly's house hanging out, eating their food, and doing nothing. Mom tried a new dessert on us one night.... now she's never gonna get us to leave!! =) Dad just got back from a trip to Alaska and brought back souvenirs for everyone, so that was fun to look at pictures and get some loot!! Brian and Becca celebrated 4 years on the 4th. Time sure goes by fast!! We can't believe they have been together 4 years, but we also can't imagine them being with anyone else!!
Well, that's about it for now. This week is gonna prove to be busy too, and then after that, life SHOULD slow down for awhile. We'll see..... ;)

Fall Ball / Fall Activities

On Tuesday nights, Greg plays on the Fall softball league with his work friends from T. Rowe Price. He had a double header last night!! (They ALMOST won both games.....) The team has been playing for 3 weeks now, and has 2 more weeks to go. So far they aren't doing all that well, but they ARE having a lot of fun!! Greg did have a pretty impressive catch last night as he slammed into the fence in left field--look for that catch to be on Baseball Tonight's Web-Gems segment!

TeamKid is keeping Jen busy on Wednesday nights at church. It started last week and goes until mid May. Almost every week has a different theme, and next week is "slipper night!" She is part of the administration team again and this year took on another role as the "snack lady." She really enjoys it!!

Friends, and not so good friends...

Friends. We have some of the most awesome friends a couple could ask for!! Last night we had Matt, Suzy, and Tallulah over for a bbq at our house, and it was SO much fun!! We grilled out, played games, had brownies, and had a great time catching up. We can't wait to get together again!! (plus, we have a game to finish!!) =)

Today was spent doing a whole lot of nothing. We slept in quite late, ran a couple of errands, and then went for a late lunch at Olive Garden, courtesy of Brian. Thanks Boo!! =) One of our stops today was to Wal-Mart so we could pick up our underwater camera pictures from our shark excursion. This is where the "not so good friends" comes in to play. =) Actually, it was one of the most awesome things we've ever done. Take a look:

Blue Hawaii

Hawaii just gets better and more beautiful each time we go. We didn't want to come home and pouted the whole way back.

Here is our trip in a nutshell:

Our first stop was O'ahu. We arrived on Saturday and checked into the gorgeous Hale Koa on Waikiki Beach--couldn't ask for better accommodations!! Once we got in our room, we headed straight for the beach. We did other stuff that day too, but mainly spent time on the beach since we don't have those here in Colorado. Every morning thereafter was spent eating breakfast on the beach, walking the beach, and playing in the water before leaving on our fun adventure for the day.

Sunday, one of the things we did was go to the swap meet at the Aloha Stadium. There you can find literally millions of souvenirs less expensive than anywhere else in Hawaii. Needless to say, we bought quite a few things. Jen even got a purple Hawaiian suitcase!! We also found out that spray-on sunscreen does not work worth a hoot; hence, the "Zorro" stripe on both Dad and Brian's backs at the end of the day.

Monday, we visited beaches all over O'ahu and just kinda messed around and had fun all day exploring the island. Jen is hoping that next time she can convince someone to take surfing lessons with her. That night, we went to a luau and it was fabulous!! Complimentary cocktails, a pig cooked in the ground, fresh pineapple, poi, and hula dancers (Greg and Dad decided they like Tahiti) - what could be finer??

Tuesday morning, after much anticipation, we went swimming with the sharks. They took us out on a little boat about 3 miles from shore, put us in a cage with snorkel gear, tethered us out about 10 feet, and let us have the time of our lives. It was absolutely incredible!! We have never done something so amazing!!(We just hope our underwater camera pictures turn out.) That night, we also had a tee time for 7:30 to play a round of "night golf." Well, apparently the facility closed for the day and neglected to call us to tell us of the cancellation, so that was a bummer. Next time though!!!

Wednesday we went to the Dole Plantation and got our pineapple ice cream. Talk about divine!! Jen also went to the Maui Divers Jewelry stand and picked out an oyster to open up and pull a pearl out of. Way cool!! She was hoping for a black Tahitian pearl, and got her wish!! Next time she's going to try for a pink pearl - we'll see how that goes. After that, we went to Waimea Bay where we swam with sea turtles - AND forgot the underwater camera back at the hotel. It sure was amazing though!! On the way back to the hotel that night, we discovered that, "Mom doesn't like Sugarland," (spoken in a nagging little kid voice, that only Brian can do.)

Thursday we didn't want to leave, but our next adventure landed us on Maui where we checked into our condo. ($1.2 million condo to be exact - who can afford to buy something like that??)

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we started off the morning with breakfast on our patio overlooking the beach before we were off to explore the island (since we had never been there before.) We went to beaches, we snorkeled, boogie boarded, shopped, and just had the best time ever.

Monday we were back home in "crappy Colorado," as Jen likes to call it, where the weather was a cloudy and brisk 55 degrees. Maybe soon enough we will be working in Honolulu......

(Waikiki Beach)















(Lanikai Beach)















(Luau at the Hale Koa)















(Dole Plantation - No, really?!?)















(Breakfast on Waikiki)















(Fun in the gay minivan)















(Outside Benihana's of Tokyo)














(Swinging from the old banyan tree)

Greg's Trading Blog

(By Greg)

I regret to inform you that "Greg's Trading Blog" has been deleted. Thank you to those who supported my blog in its short existence--it was fun while it lasted!

Due to my involvement with the Securities industry and being a Registered Representative (Stock Broker), my actions are monitored very closely by T. Rowe Price, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD). I was approached by HR and the Attorneys of T. Rowe Price to delete the blog ASAP. In remaining with compliance, the Code of Ethics, and not wanting to lose my job and/or securities licenses, the blog is no longer in existence.

I have received a verbal warning for not complying with the Code of Ethics (and will continued to be monitored), but it was unknowingly and unintentionally committed; hence, the verbal warning.

Thank you again,

Greg

Saying Goodbye

Tonight we went to a party at the Collins' house for Kyle. He leaves to go back to Serbia for another year of Missionary work, so we had to get our hugs and quality time in before then. We went over for dinner and had a barbeque, and then we went out in the "woods" to the fire pit and made s'mores. A bunch of people from church came (even Grandma and Grandpa "California" Course came!!) and we all hung out well into the evening. It was a fun night!!

"The Taste of Douglas County"

Tonight was quite the experience!! We took Mom and Dad Kelly and went up to the city of Castle Rock to participate in "The Taste of Douglas County." Never done that before, but we're glad we went!! Over 40 different restaurants were represented, and we "grazed" for about an hour!! The food and drinks were fantastic and we were chock-full by the time we left. And for all of this we have Greg to thank, because he won the tickets this morning on the radio station as well as some tickets to the Sky Sox game this weekend. How fun!!

Happy 3 years!!!

Today we have been married for 3 years..... can you believe it??
Our lives have been one incredible journey, and we have loved every minute of exploring that life together.
"Till death do us part......"

Tan Lines, Blisters, and a yard to show for it

So after many weekends of hard work, we FINALLY finished the backyard yesterday.... or at least what we had planned on finishing this summer. We roto-tilled, trenched and raked the whole yard, and then we installed sprinklers, topsoil, edging and sod. All that's left (to do for NEXT spring/summer) is to edge the yard with rock, buy some trees and some other litte things for the backyard to make it look even more nice. It looks fabulous!! We are quite proud of our work!!

(Before)



(After)