Friday Night Date Night

We have had a tradition in our house ever since we’ve been married. Well, actually we have had more than one tradition, but this is the one we are choosing to blog about today – Friday night date night! We usually reserve Friday nights for each other and make that one night all about us. Well, we haven’t gone out on the town in quite some time… we’ve been trying to be better stewards of our money and resources, so we’ve been getting quite creative the last few months or so on how we’ve done our “date nights.” However, last night, Greg came home and surprised Jen with a dozen bright pink roses (and chocolate!) and proclaimed that “tonight was going to be a real date night.”

Jen had already had dinner planned, but after that, we went shopping (of course it had to include a trip to World Market!) and then went to see the movie, Fireproof. (Click here to see the movie trailer.) It was absolutely amazing and we totally recommend it to everyone. It had us thinking back too... we were looking through all of our wedding and engagement cards this past week, and through the fun process of reminiscing, we realized that about 5-6 couples who gave us cards/gifts/etc, are now divorced or not together anymore. It sure turned that fun moment into a sad moment. Fireproof had talked about vows and the seriousness of vows, and how when people stand up there before God and everyone, how they vow to stay together for better or for worse… but generally they just mean “for better.” Wow! A movie with some real morals and a convicting story line! It was also a movie that left us with ways to better ourselves and our marriage. Kinda like a challenge.... is OUR marriage Fireproof? So far so good. =)

Prayer/Praise UPDATE

(By Greg)

FYI: I had an interview this week for a research analyst position for a local hedge fund here in the Springs!

The interview went well and they indicated there were only a couple interviews and that I had more experience than the other individual. It was very informal and almost more of a "screening" interview.

I have a 2nd interview on Tuesday October 28th at 2:30 PM with the head boss!

Again, please pray for God's will to be done! In addition, if this is God's will, pray for the negotiations on salary--they do not provide medical/retirement benefits! Therefore, I have done extensive research on what T. Rowe Price pays, what the price tag is for benefits in the marketplace, and have come up with a minimum salary...

We Are Pleased to Announce.....

.... that Brian and Rebecca are officially engaged!!!!!! We couldn’t be more thrilled. (can you tell!!??) CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! =)

We also find it a very high honor to be a part of the wedding party as well by being attendants. More and more these days, people aren’t having their brothers and sisters (or even future brothers and/or sisters) involved in the wedding – and we find it so weird; like it’s a blatant example of the non-closeness of the family. But in this situation, this speaks volumes, and we are proud to let the kind of relationship we have (and hope to continue to have) with Brian and Becca be known to everyone.

We love you guys and can’t wait to help with any of the planning and be a part of your special day!!!!!!

Pumpkin Farm and an Air Show

It was a gorgeous day today here in Colorado – mid 70’s! Can’t beat that for October, huh?! Today we went and picked out our pumpkin at the Happy Apple Farm 25+ miles outside of the Springs. We had so much fun meandering all through the fields looking for just the right pumpkin for our table, walking around in the blackberry bushes picking and eating, and then taking a small hay ride back to the main area to pick up some fresh apple cider. We enjoyed the weather while we could.... we think tomorrow a cold front will be coming through. Bye bye warm weather!


On Friday, Jen tagged along with Mom Kelly to her weekly trip to the Commissary. Once they got inside the gate, they happened to see a jet practicing for the air show this weekend, so they sat in the parking lot and watched him practice for a good 15 mins before they went in and shopped. It was so much fun! Today, we all got to watch bits and pieces of the air show. We’d stop here and there, looking for just the best spot. We found one alright! But, just as our camera batteries died, THE BEST show of all happened (of course, right?).... one of the jets came sneaking up from behind, really low to the ground, and screamed over our heads. It was ear piercingly loud, and we almost felt like hitting the dirt, but it was also the best part of the whole day. We love air shows - they never seem to get old. Below are a couple of the many videos that we took today. Enjoy!

Happy Fall, Y'all

Well, we know that today isn't officially the first day of Fall, but nonetheless, today we decided to get out and enjoy the nice Fall weather. We got up early.... (OK, let's define early in the Fulkerson household on a Saturday morning - anytime before 10am) and headed up to Woodland Park and stopped at our favorite spot, The Donut Mill. Mmmmmm!!!! After that, we drove all over some of the best places in Colorado to see the aspen trees change. We stopped here, we stopped there, we took lots of pictures, and basically enjoyed our time together and our day out. Fall up in the mountains here in Colorado is quite beautiful. The trees were turning such a bright yellow color (and sometimes orange and red) that it hurt your eyes! (Yes, of all the days, the clouds decided to come out, so we have a lot of "not so bright" pictures.... bummer.)

Mid-day we stopped and had a picnic by a river.......

Just after we picked up from our picnic and got in the car and got going again, we hit a HUGE rain and hail storm. The hail piled up over an inch deep!

Can you believe it? Crazy...... (We also encountered a rude gas station attendant in Conifer, CO. But that's another story for another time.) Anyhow, after we drove everywhere that we could possibly think of to see the changing aspens, we headed over to Evergreen, CO. (We think that we'll come back in the Winter to go ice skating out on the lake.)



After looking around that fun little city, we finally headed over to Highlands Ranch, CO to an open house for one of our friends. We spent a good hour and a half there looking around their beautiful home and eating some amazing food before we decided that we were really tired and needed to get home. On our way home we took a few other scenic routes, and saw some other parts of Colorado that we had never seen before. Just before our exit to get off, Dad Kelly pipes up from the backseat and says, "wanna go to Saltgrass to get some coffee and dessert?" We were all still chock-full from the open house, but we decided that coffee sounded good. And plus, we all missed seeing Brian, so the vote ended up being a "yes." Now we're home. It's been a long fun day, but it's time for bed and we both have early morning obligations at church.

My "Ah-Ha" Moment

(By Jen)

Almost every Sunday morning we have a guy at our church who reads the morning scripture and shares his personal “ah-ha moment” for the week. (Turning everyday, ordinary situations into a Biblical life lesson) He always has THE best stories for his “ah-ha moments” and encourages us to find ours. I have always had THE hardest time trying to find one and wondered how he can do it so easily. But then last night, sitting around a campfire at Mom and Dad’s, I finally had mine. Short and simple (and one people might have already thought of before), but I finally had one…… yay!

One of the many things in life that brings me great joy is being with the dogs – whether just sitting and cuddling or going out for walks and playing. (Basically, just including them in my life and the various activities thereof.) And that may sound silly to a lot of people, but it really is great fun (and very therapeutic) to have a dog in your life. Kobe and Casey are some of the craziest dogs ever with two vastly different personalities, but they have become so much a part of the family, life would be so weird without them. Anyhow, as we were all sitting around the campfire, of course they had to be included too. And as I watched them yearn for attention, sit and enjoy the fire, run and chase every little noise that they thought they heard, and whine because one thought that they felt more left out than the other, here is what I thought about:

* They (the dogs) meet you right where you are – they come to you when called. God meets you right where you are in life and knows how to fill all the voids and needs that you may have when you call on Him. * They love you unconditionally and forget anything “bad” you might have done to them in the past. Our Father loves us more than we could ever imagine and forgets our sins as far as the East is from the West. * They just want to be with you. That’s all, they don’t care where you are at or what you are doing, they just want to hear your voice and enjoy your company. Same with God…. He just wants to be with you, whether sitting quietly, or cleaning the house, or going on a vacation or hearing you talk to him. * Dogs want your love and attention/affection. God wants your love and attention. * Dogs will sometimes go to great lengths to get you to pay attention to them and love them. Jesus died on the cross for our sins – talk about the greatest length to go to to get our attention and to get us to love and follow Him!! * As I said above, life would be so weird without them as they are very much a part of my life. Life without Jesus would be so weird….. and scary, since He is very much a part of my life. * They can sometimes feel left out. Jesus never makes us feel left out. He is always there, always caring about us. * Dogs have a keen sense of knowing when something is wrong and when something isn’t quite right. They also like to keep a good eye on their "people family." God always knows everything that we feel and do. He is always there, always watching. I could go on and on and on....

So what about YOU? What’s been an “ah-ha moment” that YOU have had?

A September To Remember

(By Greg)

UPDATE - 09/29/2008:

Today was another day for the record books! The Dow Jones, again, what most refer to as "the market", was down 777 points! In terms of points, that is the biggest one-day drop the Dow has ever had. In terms of percentage points, it's not even close to the "Crash of 1929" or "Black Monday" in 1987!

Friday: 09/19/2008:

Most of you may know this time in our country as: "The Credit Crunch", "Financial Crisis", "Financial Meltdown", "Housing Debacle", etc.

The past 12+ months, but mainly September 2008, will be a moment in time that will forever be written in stone and one for the history books! Although it was unbelievable what has happened, I am excited to be a part of history--let me explain. Also, September 2008 and the remainder of 2008 is left to be written...

For September 2008 here's a list of some events:

Merrill Lynch: World's LARGEST brokerage firm bought out by Bank of America!

Lehman Brothers: World's OLDEST (founded in 1850) brokerage firm filed for bankruptcy!

American International Group (AKA: AIG): World's LARGEST insurance company bought out by the federal government!

Morgan Stanley: Another Wall Street darling, is in talks to possibly be bought out by Wachovia!

Goldman Sachs: The only "original" Wall Street firm left, if Morgan Stanley gets bought out!

Also in 2008, Bear Stearns, one of the world's LARGEST brokerage firms at the time, was bought out my JPMorgan! Lastly, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (owners of roughly 50% of the mortgages in the USA) were taken over by the Federal Government!

The Dow Jones, which most refer to as "the market", had volatility this week (9/15-9/19) that hasn't been seen in decades. Here's the daily change on the Dow, with shares traded on the NYSE. Keep in mind that the average number of shares traded on a daily basis on the NYSE is: 1.4 Billion shares.

Monday 9/15: -504 points (1.8 Billion shares)

Tuesday 9/16: +141 points (2.2 Billion shares)

Wednesday 9/17: -449 points (2.1 Billion shares)

Thursday 9/18: +410 points (2.5 Billion shares)

Friday: 9/19: +369 points (3.0 Billion shares)

Even with these wild swings, we still ended the week down 33 points!

Friday 9/19 will be a day I will never forget! Again, average daily volume on the NYSE is: 1.4 Billion shares. 30-minutes after the market opened on 9/19, volume had already reached 1.0 BILLION SHARES--AMAZING!!!!! End-of-day figure: 3.0 BILLION SHARES!!!!! Did you read that?

I saw stocks move today/yesterday with the greatest of swings like I've never seen before and probably never will see again! Our company stock, TROW, saw a daily spread today from: $47-$70, $23, in one day! Honestly, if you played your "cards" right the last 3 days, this market probably made some millionaires overnight!

While most of you were astonished and in awe at what "the market" did this week, I was on the complete opposite side of the spectrum! Today, I got a glimpse of what times were like in the 1930s. When I arrived at work today, Pershing's systems (Pershing: our clearing firm who clears all of our trades and is the LARGEST clearing firm in the nation) were down and over-loaded by all the volume yesterday, last night, and this morning--Pershing does about 250,000 trades on average per day. Yesterday, they processed 750,000+ trades! Instead of submitting everything via our wonderful technology we have access to, we reverted to the days of old: paper trades, time-stamping, and running around with our heads cut-off--wow, what an eye-opener! On a bad day, we may have 15+ calls on hold! At any given time today, we had 80+ calls on hold! It looked like the trading floor of the NYSE--chaos, traders everywhere, people yelling, sweat dripping, etc! A day I will never forget...

This weekend and early next weekend appears to be an extremely busy day within T. Rowe Price. We are in the process of making a spreadsheet to determine how much money Pershing lost on our behalf today and will attempt to replenish those losses soon. The only bad thing, Pershing never takes the blame, even when they are in the wrong!

I'm sure I could continue with what went on in the market this past week, but most of it would not excite you, and most of it you've probably already heard on the news!

HAPPY TRADING!