Happy Birthday, Jessica!!

Christmas with the Beringer's

Bryan & Jessica, Cindy (hidden), Grandma Trego, Jackie

GI Granny

Every year, I am reminded how blessed I am to be a part of the Beringer family. We had a wonderful Christmas together this year in Pierre. Thanks again for everything, Jeff and Cindy!

The weary traveler

We left yesterday afternoon around 1:00 ... Dad and Grandpa in one vehicle, me and Grandma in the other. We were headed to Kansas City (well, Overland Park to be exact). We arrived around 7:30 last night and immediately headed out for supper. Per my request, we went to Houlihan's. Don and Shelly (my uncle and aunt) took me and my friend, Sarah, there in September. This place is amazing. The food is spectacular and the atmosphere is awesome. If you are ever anywhere near a Houlihan's, you have to go there. Check 'em out on the web too ... www.houlihans.com.
It ended up being a very early night for us, which was good. We were all up and ready to go around 8:00 this morning. We had breakfast at this great little restaurant (I can't remember the name of it though ... something about First Start ... not sure). Anyway, the food was great there too. I had a turkey dill crepegg. It was crazy!
After that, Dad and I headed back to South Dakota. After stopping for gas in Rock Port, Missouri, we kept the peddle to the medal ... Dad didn't want to stop again. We finally got home around 3:45. Let's just say that makes for a very long trip and a very fast walk to the nearest restroom!! I shouldn't complain too much though. Don and Shelly are driving Grandma and Grandpa the rest of the way ... Weslaco, Texas. That trip is a bit longer than our jaunt home. Travel safe!
I now plan to settle in for a movie and some popcorn ... and maybe a couple beers!

... and all that jazz!

The Employee Committee (well, most of us anyway!)

We had our company holiday party the other night. It was a lot of work but it ended up being so much fun. The decorations were awesome, the jazz band was great and we all looked fabulous! Happy Holidays!!

People only have one way to be. You never know. Write everything down. Keep a journal. Take more pictures. Never let them know. There are no secrets.

Storm

Meet Storm. My friend Rachel got her last night and I am extremely jealous. How cute is she?

Grandma & Grandpa

Shel has been bugging me to get a picture of the proud new grandparents on here and I finally got one last night. Allie even had her eyes open!
I wonder how long it will be before my parents actually look like grandparents?

A good time was had by all!

Chad and Michelle were visiting this weekend (Chad needed to do some good 'ol South Dakota hunting!) and Jodi was home for the weekend, which meant we all needed to go out. We were all completely exhausted, but that didn't stop us from closing things down on Saturday! I even got Jodi to sing with me and now she's totally addicted (she may not admit that to many people though)!

fresh ink

Shelly and Jodi got new tattoo's this weekend. Shelly's (on her foot) means older sister and Jodi's (on her ankle) means younger sister. Really got me thinking that I need to get another one ...

It's the great pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

Halloween's Book of Rules

When it appears that you have killed the monster, never check to see if it's really dead.

If you find that your house is built upon or near a cemetery, was once a church that was used for black masses, had previous inhabitants who went mad or committed suicide or died in some horrible fashion, or had inhabitants who performed satanic practices in your house move away immediately.

Never read a book of demon summoning aloud, even as a joke.

Do not search the basement, especially if the power has just gone out.

If your children speak to you in Latin or any other language which they should not know, or if they speak to you using a voice which is other than their own, shoot them immediately. It will save you a lot of grief in the long run. NOTE: It will probably take several rounds to kill them, so be prepared.

When you have the benefit of numbers, never pair off and go it alone.

As a general rule, don't solve puzzles that open portals to Hell.

If appliances start operating by themselves, move out.

If you find a town which looks deserted, it's probably for a reason. Take the hint and stay away.

If you're running from the monster, expect to trip or fall down at least twice, more if you are of the female persuasion. Also note that, despite the fact that you are running and the monster is merely shambling along, it's still moving fast enough to catch up with you.

If your companions suddenly begin to exhibit uncharacteristic behavior such as hissing, fascination for blood, glowing eyes, increasing hairiness, and so on, get away from them as fast as possible.

Stay away from certain geographical locations, some of which are listed here: Amityville, Elm Street, Transylvania, Nilbog (you're in trouble if you recognize this one), the Bermuda Triangle, or any small town in Maine.

Beware of strangers bearing tools such as chainsaws, staple guns, hedge trimmers, electric carving knives, combines, lawnmowers, butane torches, soldering irons, band saws, or any device made from deceased companions.

Happy Halloween!

Borrowed from www.halloween-online.com

Shelly stopped by Nichole and Randy's last night to see Allie. She also dropped off a belated birthday present for me! A book from a new author, Around the Next Corner by Elizabeth Wrenn. I'm so excited to start this book. I contemplated buying it from my book club and now I'm glad I didn't. Thanks Shel!!

As we grow older and realize more clearly

the limitations of human happiness,

we come to see that the only real and abiding

pleasure in life is to give pleasure to other people.

P.G. Wodehouse

It's my birthday

Not only is it my birthday, it's my golden birthday. Yep, 27 on the 27th.

Chili Davis (whoever that is) once said Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional. I think almost anyone that knows me would agree that this particular quote pretty much sums it up for me!

Aunt Christi & Uncle Dustin

It's a girl!

Allie Jean Hofer came into the world at 12:07 p.m. today, October 25th. She weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz. and measured 19 3/4". I may be biased, but I think she is the most beautiful baby in the world! Congratulations Nichole and Randy and welcome to the world Allie!

Yes, that is a Burmese Python wrapped ever so gently around my neck. Dustin loved it. As you can see, I wasn't so crazy about it. Hector thought it would be fun to get the snake to kiss me. I didn't agree! There were all kinds of animals at the canopy tour. We held a ferret, but passed on letting the trantulas crawl all over us! The monkey was our favorite. We fed him some kiwi and when we tried to leave, he wouldn't leave Dustin's shoulder!

The Canopy Tour

This was probably the craziest thing I've ever done in my life! It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be though. They don't really give you enough time to be scared! This tour took us out to the rain forest in the mountains of Puerto Vallarta. We hiked up to various points and took the zip lines from tree to tree. The highest line was over 300-some feet up! The view was unbelievable.

Puerto Vallarta

We went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for our honeymoon. It was amazing! These two pictures are the views from our hotel lobby and our room. The ocean was just on the other side of the pools (our hotel had four pools!). Two of the pools had bars in them ... you just swim right up and sit on a stool that's in the water and order your drinks. It was crazy! The pool bar was also the location of my bee sting on the last day of our trip. It hurt ... a lot. Needless to say, I still don't like bees.

Nichole & Randy

Nichole and Randy are expecting a new baby any day now!! I'm so excited, I can hardly wait!

It's hard to believe that after all the planning (years in fact) that the day is over and now we're just an old married couple! It really was a great day!

I'm still working on figuring out the whole picture thing, but I hope to have links available soon so that you can view some of the pictures from the wedding. I owe so much to Lacey for taking all these pictures! Thanks, Lacey!!

Our Wedding Day

Our Hollywood kiss!!