Four Calling Birds

On the fourth day of Christmas, we slept. We were awakened to the smell of bacon emanating from my mothers kitchen. We got up and ate a delicious French toast and bacon and coffee cake and eggs breakfast. We hung out with my mom and her husband until it was time to go to Holland for the first Christmas.

We went to GR to meet up with Jaimes parents and then the four of us headed out to Aunt Ruths house. On the way out it started snowing. It was beautiful. I had been longing for snow for over a year and there it was. Horray! The actual celebration was boring as usual. I didnt take part in the gift exchange. (I have enough $10 flashlights.) The food was delicious.

By the time we left the snow was really coming down. We were supposed to pick Jenna and Brett up at 945pm from Gerald R Ford Int and when we checked the flight was still on time. When we got to the airport it was really dark. It seemed like it was shut down and only the security lights were on. By this time, the snow was blowing sideways and the wind pierced our coats. There was at least six inches on the ground.

When we finally found our way to the terminal from long term parking it became apparent that something wasnt right. There were about 64 million people waiting for people to arrive and the lights were nearly all turned off. The arrival board said that all but one flight out of Chicago was on time. It didnt make sense.

After standing around for a little bit we over heard that the main power was out and they were on generators. They also werent letting any flights land until 1000pm because they needed to clear the ice off the runway. Then when the planes land they have to wheel stairs to them so that people can get off the planes because the jet ways arent working. Also, there are at least four planes circling, waiting to land. One of which Jenna and Brett are on.

At 1030 my phone rings. Its Jenna. This discussion followed.

Me: Hey, did you guys land?
Jenna: Yeah, what airport are you guys at?
Me: Were at Gerald R Ford. What do you mean what airport are we at?
Jenna: Were in Detroit.

The conversation continued but Ill summarize. They were circling GR, waiting for a chance to land and got low on fuel. They sent them back to Detroit, told them to get off the plane and get their luggage. They were canceling the flight and the next flight into GR was 830pm the next day. I told her to see if they could rent a car or get a flight close, like Muskegon, Lansing or Kalamazoo then when she knew give us a call.

We went back to Jaimes parents house and Jenna called back. They got a flight to Lansing and should be arriving around 0115am. Jaime and I borrowed her moms GPS and headed out. We picked them up and went to Kalamazoo certain that we never wanted to drive again.

Three French Hens

On the third day of Christmas, I finished my driving shift, which took us through Texas, and into Tulsa Oklahoma. At this point we again, filled up on gas, and peed. What makes it a new day is that we went to Cracker Barrel for some delicious breakfast.

After breakfast Dan started his second shift and we rotated as people got tired. We arrived in Kalamazoo around 1100pm after dropping Dan off in GR.

With 2000 miles behind us, 32 hours of driving completed and very little sleeping done we were ready for bed.

Two Turtle Doves

On the second day of Christmas, we drove. I dropped Jaime off at work around 8. I went home and finished packing the food and as much of the cooler as I could. Got the last of the food for the trip from the store and made the sandwiches. Dan arrived around 1130 and we packed the car up and went to get Jaime.

Dan took the first leg of the trip and got us all the way out of Arizona. It was a beautiful drive up the mountains and then back down into New Mexico. We stopped for gas and a bathroom break and then Jaime took over the driving. The sun had set by this point and the weather started to turn a little. Still at a pretty high altitude, we ran into a little bit of snow blowing across the highway. It must have rained here earlier because the highways were covered with ice. We saw one person go into the ditch in front of us and two others that had already found their place in the mud.

Now in Texas and the dead of night all around us we gas up again, potty and switch. It was my turn to drive and being 11 hours in my eyes began to play tricks on me. Jaime was my co pilot and she was having trouble staying awake as well. Off in the distance I was all but certaithat I saw our impending doom. A couple minutes later Jaime said: "Dave, do you see that..?" and I finished her sentance with "funnel cloud?" "Yeah." "Yeah I see it." As we approached it became more and more apparent that there was in fact a giant tornado in front of us. The strange thing was, it didnt seem to be affecting the rest of the weather around us. It just loomed in the distance, barely moving, as if to say, Im waiting for you, and I am patient. Jaime turned the radio to FM (rather then the XM we had been listening to) to see if we could find a weather channel. No luck. We got closer and closer. Then, in the distance, we saw the cause of our fears, the worlds biggest cross. It was lit from below and its shadow against the dark cloudy Texas sky looked like a twister. I have never been so thankful for Christs sacrifice.

A Partrage in a Pear Tree

On the first day of Christmas, I worked half my shift and went home early. There wasnt anything going on in the shop and I had ants in my pants, literally. (One of the cars that came in had ants nesting in the wind shield wiper fluid reservoir.)

Home early, I finished packing and played some video games while I waited for Jaime to come home. When she got home we finished watching the last disc of LOST: Season 3. (Watch it!) Then we put the finishing touches on the packing and went to bed. The vacation has started.

(Ill be adding pictures when we get home.)

Its Time to Move on, Its Time to Get Goin

For a very long time now Ive wanted to move to the greater Denver area. When I turned 10 my parents told me I was adopted and was born there. Ever since Ive been curious about the city. Ive been there on a couple occasions and like any family vacation destination found it enjoyable. Ive followed the Broncos and the Rockies and the Avalanche depending on what sports I was into at the time. Its been a childhood dream.

As an adult, I simply wanted to move away from Grand Rapids. For a long time it didnt matter where I moved. Jaime was reluctant, due to her close ties with her family, but after finishing school she realized that there was nothing for her in GR as far as jobs were concerned and started looking elsewhere. As you know, we wound up in Phoenix.

Phoenix is a great city. You can do anything you want, you just have to have the money to pay for it. The city is surrounded by beautiful mountains. Vegas and the Grand Canyon are only a half days drive away. My mother is a safe 2000 miles away. We can live here with only one car. Theres just one problem. Its hot. Stupid hot. I walked to the grocery store today in a t shirt. I hate it. Both of us do. Its very difficult to enjoy anything outside for 4 months out of the year. The sun beats down every day. EVERY DAY. Theres no diversity in the weather.

Our lease ends in June. In a couple months Jaime is going to start looking for a job in Colorado. If she gets one we are moving for sure. Theres a very good chance that we will be moving regardless of weather she has a job or not.

So are we moving to Colorado because I have some childhood fantasy about living there? No. Its the place thats the closest to having everything we want. It has diverse weather. It has diverse terrain. While not the best, as a state Colorado is above average regarding crime rates and quality of education. Cost of living is decent. The only thing it doesnt have is our friends. But no place has all of our friends and Colorado is pretty frickin close to the center of Michigan, Arizona, Florida and Washington.

Im very excited to move again. I feel like were finally going to be adults. Im ready to be where Im going to be for the next big part of my life. Im not saying that were going to stay in Colorado forever. But when we moved to Phoenix, we knew it wasnt going to be for long.

Employee of the Month

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Superbad

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