The Blenders

Tuesday, December 19th "The Blenders" were in town. I had heard some of their Christmas music on the oldies station through the years, but I had never listened to one of their cd's. Back in October Dale was playing one of their Christmas cd's. It was so good. They do a lot of their songs accapella, and sound just amazing. They originally came from South Dakota, but now live in Minneapolis. They are really popular here in Des Moines. They came in November and sang for the tree lighting ceremony at Jordan Creek. I knew that Delana and Dale really enjoyed them, so I bought tickets for us to go to the Civic Center to see them. It was my Christmas present to them. I wanted Eric to join us, but he doesn't get into this kind of music.

We wanted to go to dinner before the show, so I hurried home to take care of things at home. We walk in the door and Eric is in bed sick. He came home around 1pm and had the stomach flu. Chase had a birthday party to go to across the street at 5:30pm. He started crying when he found out that I would not be staying there with him. He said he didn't want to go. I told him he didn't have too, we could walk over and drop the gift off. Well, right before we were going over, he decided he did want to stay there.

Since Eric wasn't feeling well, I wanted to get Anthony in bed before I left. I knew if I put him down early, he would probably be up extra early, but I didn't want him crying and carrying on, especially with Eric feeling crappy. So I got him in bed by 6:10pm. And ran out the door to meet Delana and Dale for dinner.

We went to Baratta's which is a nice neighborhood Italian restaurant about seven minutes away from my house. Once we sat down, I was finally able to relax. I ordered a beer, even though it was a week night. It went down really quick. Delana and I shared spinach and artichoke dip for an appetizer, which was fantastic. I ordered a blackened steak salad which was also delicious. When it was time to go, Dale picked up the tab, which made dinner that much better!

We arrived at the Civic Center in plenty of time for the 8pm show. We were right in the middle. We could see very well. The concert was just what I needed. It put me into the Christmas spirit and refreshed my soul. Their voices are something else. I could have listened to them all night. Afterwards, Dale had to leave for work. So Delana and I stood in line to buy cd's. We were going to get them autographed, but they still hadn't come out, and it was 10:30pm, so we headed home.

I was just going to drop Delana off, but she asked if I wanted to come in for coffee, so I did. We put in a Blenders cd and talked. I made myself leave by 11:45pm. Last time I was over at night, I stayed until 1am. We are really good at talking! Of course Anthony woke up at 5am, but that was only 15 minutes before I was going to get up, so it all worked out.

The Kansas City Chiefs

On December 9th we headed to Overland Park, KS to see Miranda and Rob and attend the Chiefs Vs. Ravens game. We were headed to the bypass, when the car stopped firing on all 8 cylinders. So we turned around and came home. Eric did a tune up in the drive way. Almost three hours later we were back on our way. The new hardware did the trick, and the car was running like a champ. I said, "At least it happened before we were on the Interstate." Eric says, "I would have preferred it hadn't happened at all." Well that was a given, but God was with us.

We arrived to Miranda and Rob's around 4pm. Rob cooked us a delicious dinner of ribs, cheesy mashed potatoes, corn bread, mixed veggies, salad and cheeseburgers for Eric and Chase. I love going down there to visit. I get spoiled by having Rob there to cook. After dinner we just hung out and then went to bed early.

Sunday morning Eric, Rob and I were out the door by 8:30am to get to the stadium. Miranda stayed home with the boys and they had a lot of fun playing together. We were parked and tailgating by 9:15am. This was Rob's first pro game, so he was so excited. We grilled hot dogs and ate cold beans, and drank a lot of beer.

We headed into the stadium and found our seats by 11:30am. Our seats were in the sun, so we stayed plenty warm. We didn't even need our gloves. We were of course disappointed in the outcome of the game. The Chiefs lost 20-10. Trent Green threw 2 interceptions and fumbled once. There just wasn't a lot of action. Of the seven games we have been too, this by far was the least exciting. The Chiefs losing the game, made for a long drive home! However, Eric still said he really enjoyed his Christmas present from Miranda, Rob and Meagan.

Tis' the Season

Time to play catch up on my blog. We've had a lot going on, so I will try to recap. I will go back to November 30th, which was our 10 year anniversary. I had a wonderful day. Eric sent me a beautiful bouquet of roses and carnations. Delana and Dale also sent flowers to work. That night we had Cody babysit, so Eric and I could go out to dinner. We went Crimmin's Cattle Company. I enjoyed the lobster tail and prime rib. Eric loved his lemon pepper chicken.

Friday morning Anthony woke up, and his eyes were completely mattered shut. I took him to the walk in clinic, and he had pink eye. So I stayed home with him on Friday. Then on Saturday I started getting sick. By Sunday morning I my throat was on fire. After church I went to Urgent Care. It turned out I had Strep Throat again. The third time in 6 months! The doctor said if I was 10 years younger, he would take my tonsils out. However, since it is so painful for adults to have the surgery, he said I would just have to cope.

All was well for the next week and half, and then it was time for Chase to get sick. He came down with a fever Thursday night. We were up most of the night fighting a 103.8 temperature. I stayed home with him on Friday, and it continued to go up and down. Saturday he was good most of the day, and then Saturday night it went back up to 101. However, he woke up Sunday morning, and all was well. Now I pray that we can all stay healthy for awhile!