Well, I ended up getting strep throat, too.   =(

It snowed today. This was the first snow that Becky has ever seen, but she didn't get to go play in it.     =(

For Thanksgiving, we went over to my folk's place and had a wonderful meal. We then went as a family to see "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". It was great. Even though I had just eaten a huge meal, I still found room for a big bag of cinema popcorn. Then we came back and ate some fabulous pie and gained a couple of pounds.

Yesterday, we went down to Carson City and spent the afternoon with Michele, Kenzie, Hayden, and Neal Loveland. We had a wonderful meal and watched an awesome movie called "The Legend of Bagger Vance". It's a golf movie with Matt Damon, Charlize Theron, and Will Smith. Baby Hayden is so cute, she's just the greatest. She growls like she's possessed or something, but it's so hilarious.   =)

Becky started crawling last night for the first time. And the day before that she sat up, all by herself, for the first time. We are so excited and proud of her!! Now comes the busy time for Mom and Dad to try and keep her out of everything. We have to baby-proof the house and we'll be busy chasing her down, I'm sure. She can't crawl very fast as of yet, since she just started, but she is a smart baby and it won't be too long before she'll be a pro! Yea, Becky!! =)

My trip to Washington, D.C. the past few days SUCKED!! Baltimore Washington International (BWI) airport SUCKS!! America West Airlines SUCKS!! The Wyndham City Center Hotel in Washington, D.C. SUCKS!! X-Ray machines in the airports SUCK!! The Hampton Inn in Las Vegas SUCKS!!

It started out fine on Thursday, November 15th, as Misti dropped me off at Reno-Tahoe International airport (ha ha, there's nothing "international" about it...). Why call it "international" if no foreign flights land here or originate here? Strange. Anyway, I flew out on Thursday morning, had a layover in Las Vegas, then flew straight to Baltimore, Maryland, and finally jumped in a Super Shuttle and headed for the hotel. So far so good. When I arrived, I checked in (it was 10 p.m. by the time I finally got there), and headed straight up to my room. There was a room service guy in there when I opened the door, which was kinda freaky, so he apologized profusely, and informed me that there was no coffee maker in the room. Whatever.

The in-room "high-speed" Internet connection didn't work (if you've ever used one before, they're really not all that high-speed at all, usually low-end DSL speeds [300-400 kbps], definitely nothing to brag about). Since I was trying to e-mail a document back to work that I had been working on during my layover at the airport, I decided to try the front desk's 'net connection (they were sorry about the in-room service not working, and thus volunteered their computer if it would be quick) before going to sleep. So, I copied the file from the laptop to a floppy, ran downstairs, and gave it a try. The floppy didn't work because of the airport's X-ray machines! Arrgh. Thus, I had no way to get the file from the laptop to their computer, so I had to give up for the night.

The next morning, I got ready, ate breakfast (room service is way too expensive), and headed downstairs for the conference. The conference ended up being a bomb, and generally, I felt, a waste of time. I did, however, finally get my file e-mailed off, as the banquet office let me have a floppy and the use of their connection for a few minutes. Woohoo! (Yes, they had a "business center", but it, too, was out of order...) After the conference, I had a wonderful bowl of lobster chowder while I waited for my shuttle back to BWI. The shuttle service took forever to get there (an hour and a half for only a 30 mile drive, because of traffic, stops, etc.), and once I arrived, I had to wait in line for about an hour just to get through the security checkpoint. The National Guard troops were standing by to shoot me if I got out of line, which, thankfully, I didn't feel the need to do.     =)

Once I finally got through the security line, I ended up standing in line for another hour to get a boarding pass for a flight that would end up being delayed, then possibly cancelled, then just delayed again, and finally leaving on a different airplane than the one it was supposed to use. (The original plane was detained because they couldn't get some new "parts" for it....) Hmmmm. While waiting in line, I saw a guy that looked exactly like Mr. Miyagi from the Karate Kid, except that he was twice as tall. I also saw a guy that looked pretty close to Ving Rhames (from Mission Impossible and Entrapment). Oh, the things you notice when you're bored. Anyway, I missed my connecting flight in Las Vegas, so I ended up spending an extra night there (the airline payed for the room, but I didn't get to the room until 3 a.m., after waiting for shuttles, in line again for a hotel voucher, dealing with ignorant airline employees that were unwilling to help, etc., and believe me: the list goes on and on...) The airline then decided to get me home by sending me from Vegas back to Phoenix at 7 a.m., and then have a 5-hour layover there until I could catch the only flight that day from Phoenix direct to Reno. Brilliant. Since I didn't relish the thought of only getting a couple of hours of sleep, I told them 'no' and had them reschedule me for a later flight that morning, so I ended up leaving Vegas around 9 a.m., and only having a 3-hour layover as I waited for the same direct flight to Reno the next day. I guess at 3 in the morning, they weren't thinking too well either... Of course, at 3 in the morning, I didn't really believe the front desk clerk at the Hampton Inn when she said that they'd give me a wake-up call at 7:00 a.m., so I ended up setting the alarm clock, and I'm really glad I did. You guessed it, no wake-up call.

So, anyway, after all was said and done, I ended up getting home, only to find out that the laptop computer I took with me didn't function for 2 days after having undergoing extensive X-ray 'therapy', my floppy disk was totally fried, and my feet really hurt after standing on them in line for what seemed like an eternal nightmare. But, hey, at least the airline let us watch two free movies on the flight back... woohoo. Actually, the movies ("Legally Blonde" starring Reese Witherspoon, and "Planet of the Apes" starring Mark Wahlburg) were pretty good, but the circumstances of the whole ordeal kind of overshadowed the silver screen's flare. I'm glad just I'm back, and I'm sure glad I don't live in the zoo they call Washington, D.C.!

We have officially banned Burger King in our household (at least until we forget). Yesterday, Misti and I stopped by BK to try their new Grilled Sourdough Bacon Cheeseburger, and we both became ill. I had a sour stomach all night, but finally got past it after taking some slippery elm capsules. Misti, on the other hand, ended up expelling the offending meal back up the same way it came in, at 1:00 a.m. Thus, as you can imagine, she's not too pleased with the eating establishment...

Yesterday, Becca Becca went to see her first movie at the cinema. She's been to the drive-in a few times, but not the indoor theater. She liked "Monsters, Inc.", but she takes after her dad, and sometimes feels the need to sleep during the movie. (Her daddy snuck into a movie theater once a long time ago - with Michelle Benson - but wasted his efforts by then proceeding to slumber through the movie. It was "The Horse Whisperer", if I remember correctly.) What's up with Billy Crystal's whole "one eye" comment not even being in the film? It's in the previews, but not in the movie... Hmmmm.

Last night, Becky and her parents finished listening to Grisham's novel, "The Partner". The ending really shocked us all. Misti and I talked it over for awhile and decided that the ending really sucked and yet was outstanding at the same time. It sucks from the "all stories should have a happy ending" perspective, especially since we'd been rooting for the protagonist for almost the entire book. It's a brilliant ending, however, since we didn't see it coming. It hit us broadside, and left us with plenty to discuss. At one point toward the end, I think we both kind of suspected it to happen, but Grisham made us dismiss the possibility with some cunning explanation. What a story!

Becky is officially in her new crib these days. She's finally outgrown her co-sleeper. The co-sleeper doubles as a playpen, so we're still happy with the purchase.

Last night, we also watched another movie, "The Cutting Edge", with D. B. Sweeney. It's an old one, but a good one. They had it on sale at Target for only $6.44. About a month or two ago, we also watched another oldie, "Chariots of Fire". I don't think I mentioned it before, so I thought I would here. (It also was on sale at Target.)

Misti made a wonderful couscous dish for dinner the other night. Since I had never tried it before, I was a little scared to eat it (but only for a second - as it smelled really good). It's great! If you've never tried it, do!

I think we're movie hounds. We've really seen a lot of movies in the past few weeks, it seems. Last night, we watched Fire Birds, courtesy of TBS Superstation, with Tommy Lee Jones and Nicholas Cage. In the past week, we've also seen Shrek, Dungeons & Dragons, The Mask (with Jim Carrey), and Blast from the Past.

Yesterday, our apartment complex cut down two semi-dead trees in front of our apartment, probably in anticipation of the coming snows. My dad's birthday was in September, and I'm just now giving him his birthday present. Now that's procrastination!

I've felt really bad for Misti these past couple days, as she has strep throat. She's been miserable, and I think it's all my fault. I didn't have it, but there were a few people where I work that had it. They probably should've stayed home when they found out they had it, but they didn't. Thus, I think I carried the germs home, and then poor Misti got it. Becky's safe from getting it, as I understand it, but Misti has it really bad. She's on antibiotics now, and it's finally clearing up, but what a miserable condition strep throat can be.

Misti and I are in the middle of John Grisham's novel "The Partner". So far, it's great, very mysterious. If you like Grisham and haven't read this one, I recommend it highly. We're "reading" the audiobook version, as we can both listen to it in the car on the way to work. I check them out from the library (I know, revolutionary concept), as well as many of the videos we watch. It's a great way to be entertained on the cheap.       =)

This was Becky's first Halloween, and she took it in stride. Her grandma made her a little rhino suit, and it was very cute. Everyone who saw her thought she was adorable. Becky did some trick-or-treating, but didn't stay out too long, as it was a bit chilly for such a small rhino.



Heather came down from the lake to enjoy the party, and made some wonderful snacks, too. Heather was dressed up as a Geisha girl. Bonny was a very cute princess.



Becky's mom and dad didn't dress up, but had fun taking part in the festivities. There were sure some creepy houses and goblins out on the streets!



Actually, compared to last year, however, there was a noticible (and steep) drop in the numbers of kids out and about. To be expected, really, but interesting nonetheless.