Happy New Year!

Hello everyone. I know it's been a couple of weeks since we've added anything to our blog...an uneventful couple of weeks, but here's a quick update of what's going on in Branson.

Last we wrote, we were in Arizona for the holidays and headed back to Branson for New Year's. Well, we both got sick, and so we spent most of New Year's Eve sipping cold medicine in place of champagne and watching Ryan Seachrest and that other annoying blonde chick in Times Square. It technically counts as a New Year's Eve in a new city, which we try to do every year, but it was very low key. However, we did manage to re-engage the golden triangle of Newbury Park over web-cam to celebrate the Central Time countdown. If you don't have a web-cam, you should get one...it is very easy to connect over gmail or skype. If you do have one, look us up. You should see how long my mullet is getting! :)

It was a busy week when we got back. We had 5 working days before my dad and Lianne left for their month-long vacation to the Caribbean, and there was a lot to do before they left (hoping we can follow in their footsteps someday). Now that they are gone, it's just the two of us hanging out. There are a lot of younger people in our office...most (all) of them have kids, so we spend a lot of time with Kyra.

In other news, there is a college football bowl pool that we get involved with each year...some of you are in it this year. If you are, you already know that Stephanie is sitting in 1st place with one game left, and it is hilarious. She said she took a new strategy this year...each year the entry form lists 27 bowl games, the teams playing in each, and these little numbers next to them (spreads). Stephanie attributes her success this year to finally understanding what those numbers mean. And she has really gotten into it. I came home from work two nights ago to find her sitting on the couch with a beer watching a game. I asked how the game was going and her response was "it's all tied up but Ohio State is dominating at the line of scrimmage and really moving the chains." Tomorrow's game determines if she takes first place by herself or has to split the pot with a few people...we tried discussing hedging the bet today, but Stephanie doesn't like the idea of 'betting against herself' and potentially affecting the outcome of the game. So...GO OKLAHOMA! We need everyone's "votes" (as she calls them).

Other than that, work is still good. We are still settling in...I think that will be a fairly long process, but we're still having fun so far. It is still cold, although the weather changes a lot...last Saturday it was 73 degrees, and then on Sunday the high was 30. We are looking forward to an upcoming trip to San Diego and Tahoe with some of you in February. And after that, it should start warming up enough out here to have VISITORS. Getting here means flying into Springfield, which generally means American, United, or Delta, none of which have direct or cheap flights. But, here's a tip: From AZ or California, if you can cheaply/easily get to Vegas, check out direct non-stop flights from Vegas to Springfield on Allegiant Air. You can find round trip tickets for $150-200 (by the way, the fact that there are cheap, direct flights between here and Vegas also means that we're looking forward to meeting in the middle sometimes too).

That's pretty much what's going on with us. We miss you all very much...post a comment or send us a note letting us know how you are doing!