Christmas 2007

The girls making a breakfast caserole.
Looking at all the pictures taken throughout the years

First cousins Colin, Tatum and Reese.

Sorry for not getting much posted over the break, but it has been really hectic.

It all started for us at my Mother's on the 23rd of December. My grandfather,step-grandmother, my brother and his family along with my brood all met for Christmas the day before the day before Christmas. It was nice to spend time with my family and look back over all the photos my mother has taken throughout the years. Those of you that know my Mom, know how many photos she takes. I believe we went through 30 or so books. It was great to show my girls all the places we have been and the people we have met. Looking through the pictures brought back some great memories. While it was a pain in the ass when she was taking all the pictures, it is sure worth it now. Thanks Mom.

As usual we all made out like bandits. My Mom came through and got me the Garmin 305 Forerunner. All you cyclists and runners out there know what that is!!! Nothing like having a wristwatch that has a gps system, heart rate monitor and cadence. It can then be connected to my lap top and will show where I have been and how fast all on a graph. Sounds cool to me!! The girls got a ton of stuff, none better than the guitars.

Then on Christmas Eve we all went to my Grandma Rapp's house. This has been a tradition my whole life. While the house is small, it is something I look forward to every year. We had good time and hopefully this is something that can continue for years to come.

After getting home late Christmas Eve we had to get all the stuf ready for Santa. The girls made cookies for Santa and some sort of food for his reindeer. We put it all out of them and then went to bed. The girls had been pretty good this year, so Santa brought plenty for both girls. Luckily Santa officiated some basketball over the break, so he had plenty of cashola to pay for some nice things.

After opening the gifts we then had to get things ready for Kirsten's family. We had her brothers and her parents along with my Mom over for Christmas dinner. Kirsten prepared a fantastic meal and we ate like kings. The girls got even more goodies and then were sad that Christmas had come to a close. For me it was only the beginning.

As I stated previously, I had to officiate basketball over the break. I went to Park Hills for 8 games this year. My Mother graciously came up for two days to watch the girls and my sister in law, Liz watched them the other two days. Kirsten was off New Years Eve and was able to watch them. Luckily I was able to share a ride with fellow ref Ryan Eaton for four of the days. It makes the drive down to Park Hills much more enjoyable and cheaper! I had good games until Saturday when Ryan and I had the game from Hell. We had a boy's game that went into overtime and then almost got out of hand on a call I made with 15 seconds to go in the game. It went against the home team and then the player lost his cool and got a techincal foul. We had fans trying to beat us up after the game and had to be escorted out of the place!! The AD informed me it was three schoolboard members trying to kick our ass!! What else would you expect from schoolboard members in Flat River, Mo? In any case, we were getting observed by a state official at the game and he said all the calls were correct and we handled it great. We got all good marks and are now eligible for state games. I felt like I made the call correct, but felt like I was not supported by the administration. I doubt if I get invited back to ref next year, but really don't care as I would rather spend time with my girls. The last day went ok, but was ready for a short break before getting back to school and reffing. January is very busy for me with 16 days of officiating. Luckily I only have 5 dates in February and then done. While the money was nice over the break, it was not much of a break for me. I would leave at 10 in the morning and then get back around 4 or 5 every night. I am going back to work tomorrow and don't really fell like I had any time off at all.

Here are some pictures from Christmas.

Take care.

Bryan