Home

My brother and I were able to go home to my parents and stay for a few days. It was so nice to have a break. Mom did her home cooking thing and it was delicious. We took a day and all went together to Des Moines and that was great because we don't get many opportunities to do that anymore. It really was a good time but now it's back to the old grind.

Israel

Israel is my little second cousin and he is pretty cute. I got to see him at our family Christmas gathering and was able to hold him for a little bit. He is just over a year old and is a pretty cool little guy. He was quite cuddly when I was holding him and we got some pictures of that.

Thanksgiving Break

My brother and I are heading home on Monday to spend Thanksgiving break with our folks. My mom has to work on Thanksgiving Day so we are planning our big deal on the following Sunday. It will be nice to be home again and have some more of my mom's home cooking.

My Birthday

It's my birthday today and I am 25 years old. I can't believe it! Strange to think I am that old already. We have big plans tonight. I am getting together with my brother and his girlfriend and several other friends and we are going to eat out and then go see a movie. I have a buddy that is going to get me into the theater for free and that excites me. Should be a fun night.

Fair

Tomorrow we are going to the fair. I am going to meet up with my parents and head down. My brother is working at a booth down there for his job so the whole family will be together when he gets off work. It's suppose to be horribly hot but we will make the most of it. We also have been getting lots of rain so hopefully the fair isn't all mud.

Brother

On Saturday my brother was in a wedding. He stood up for the bride so we called him a brides dude. It was a really nice wedding and it's the first one I've ever been to where there was a guy on the brides side. It was pretty cool though. After the ceremony we had a chance to take some pictures and I got one with him. I thought it turned out pretty good.

60th Anniversary

My folks told me recently that my grandparents are going to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary this year. I think that is pretty amazing and it's great to have a good example of commitment for all those years showed to all of us who are young still.
Thanks Grammy and Grandpa for the great example you are to all of us.

Sarah

A good friend of my brothers flew in today from Arkansas. She is going to be staying with us till next week. She seems like a real nice person and has a very strong southern way of talking. It should be fun to have her here this week. We have a lot planned.

St. Augustine Lighthouse

My brother and I are ghost hunters and we saw a show where a ghost hunting team went and visited the St. Augustine Lighthouse in Florida. We happen to be only an hour from there when we were on vacation so the family went and checked it out. I was so excited to be at the same one that these ghost hunters were at on television. They say this place is extremely haunted. We didn't experience anything when we were there.

Wrestling

My mom recently shared with my brother and me that our great grandfather was the state champion wrestler for Iowa. He was in the heavy-weight category. His brother was the welter-weight champ. That's pretty exciting to us because we have always been big fans of pro wrestling. We watch it all the time and have even gone to some of the events close to us. It would have been fun to know my great grandfather and to talk with him about his wrestling days.

New Apartment

In a couple of months my brother and I are going to be moving to a 2 bedroom apartment. We are so excited to have a place for just us. Right now we live in a 4 bedroom with another roommate. He's a good guy but we are just ready to have a place of our own for just the two of us. It can't happen fast enough. We are so looking forward to the move.

Vacation

In two weeks my family and I are going on vacation. My brother and I are pretty excited because we are going to Florida. It's been several years since my brother and I have been there. We are going to be checking out the beaches there and spending a lot of time in the sun. We are not going to any Disney parks this time which is ok with me. It should be a lot of fun and I'm ready to go NOW. :)

Weight Loss

Since January my brother and I have been really working hard at losing weight. So far I have lost over 30 pounds and am really feeling great! I need to lose more but it sure feels good when people tell me how much better I am looking and that they can tell that I have lost weight. We both are trying not to eat too many carbs and we have a pretty tough work out routine. It's working and that's what counts.

Easter

This Sunday is Easter and our parents are planning to come visit us and attend church with us on Easter morning. I'm sure hoping it will be a warm day so maybe after church we can spend some time outside. I'm glad my mom doesn't have to work so that we can all go to church together. This will make the day fun.

Spring Break

About a week ago my brother and I went home for spring break. It was a fun week with hanging out with our parents and also several friends. We did some ghost hunting which we all very much enjoy that is with our friends not our parents. We had delicious food which my mom makes and even had a friend stay with us for a couple of days that we don't see much of. It was a very good break.

Family Vacation

This winter has been a real drag. We have gotten so much snow and most of the time the roads are slick. I am so ready for some warm weather and a family vacation with my parents and brother. I wish that we could all take a trip to Mexico where they have awesome all inclusive resorts and hotels located along the white sandy beaches there. I hear they have gourmet type food made at the Karisma hotels that are prepared by chefs. They also have hammocks and hot tubs, swim up rooms with ocean views which sounds amazing and many other cool things under one price. I know I could definitely go for a vacation such as this.

**I was paid for this post. My honest opinion was given and not swayed in any way.**

Wrestling

On Monday we are heading down to see a wrestling event that is usually televised. My brother and I have been to several of these and they are so much fun. We try and get there early as the wrestlers arrive and many times we have been able to get autographs and pictures with them. We have the best time and I'm pretty excited about going.

Family All Inclusive Vacations

Family vacations are a blast. I love traveling anywhere with my family. We have so much fun and are laughing most of the time. I think it would be pretty cool to take one of those family all inclusive vacations. Such as the ones they have in the Riviera Maya, Mexico. The Karisma hotels are all inclusive resorts that are along white sandy beaches and serve gourmet cuisine. The hotel and amenities are amazing in themselves. That would be a dream come true if we could take a vacation such as this. Hopefully that will happen some day.

**I was paid for this post. My honest opinion was given and not swayed in any way.**

Christmas at Home

We had a real nice Christmas at home this year. We celebrated on Christmas Eve because my mom had to work on Christmas day. During this time we were having a major snow storm. My dad spent most of his time moving snow where he works so it was too bad that they were both busy. Anyway, when my mom got home from work on Christmas day it was still snowing but not blowing and pretty mild outside. So, my brother and I and my mom went outside and built a snowman. We haven't done that in years. It was fun and added something special to our Christmas at home this year.

Black Friday

I am so excited about Black Friday. I've been working a lot of hours and having been saving up for a PS3 and several other items that are going to be at bargain prices. My brother and I are pro shoppers on this day and we get to the stores early and if we can get in we scope out the store to find the items we are interested in.