Block Party 2010

Friday night was the annual Bloc Party sponsored by Atlas Church and organized by some very good friends and co-workers of Jens. Despite the 101 degree heat, we ventured out to 16th Street to take in the sights. There were live bands, a beer garden, vendor tents, and an entire block with local artists selling their creations. Nathanael and Sarabeth were both fascinated with the "live artists" area, where several people were painting some amazing pieces. Andrew found a Sno-core to help keep cool, and Noah bought his first ever concert T-Shirt. We were also treated to a performance by our friend Michaels band. All in all, it was a great night!

Period 9, Week 3

These helpful stickers showed up on the sides of all the trucks this week. And the reason we don't carry cash is because business is still so terrible we aren't making any cash. At least this week was better than the last 4 or 5. With the market tour on Tuesday and Labor Day weekend next week, hopefully this week will be strong too. The route ran $18,689 on a plan of $21,708. Yep, that's a miss of $3018. Oh, and stales were high (normal?) again at $338.

Bring on the VP of the western United States for Frito. He's only going to 2 of my stores. What could possibly go wrong???

Day #1

Finally! The kids were the last school in all of Weld County to start school this year. But they have some of the highest test scores in the county. Explain that.

Anyways, Wednesday morning, Andrew, Nathanael and Sarabeth started 4th grade, 2nd, and kindergarten. It was very exciting. For the parents almost more than the kids. Jen took a personal day and Grandma Janet started her work late so they could both be there to say goodbye. The kids all have great/amazing/super teachers this year. That is Sarabeth's teacher Mrs. Johnson. Her desk mate is our friend Augie, who's mom works with Jen and who's dad pastors Atlas and writes amazing books! Its going to be a great year at Frontier!

Period 9, Week 2

Although 23,000 CSU kids showed up in Ft. Collins this week, they sure weren't shopping at my stores. The other problem has been this little construction project across the street from my Albertsons. Sometime next year, a Super King Scoopers will open and take about 70% of my business which will not be a good thing.  Until then, the project has made getting in and out of the parking lot darn near impossible. No wonder I'm down about $1700 a week in there.  So once again, the route missed plan. These are the numbers I should be running in February, not August. Managed to run $15,665 on a $17984 plan. Ouch.

Big Kids??

The adults had almost as much fun at Chuck E. as the kids did. I can't wait to take Jennifer back to Dave & Busters for her surprise birthday party in October. But until then, the Skee-Ball games and Deal or No Deal will have to do. Jim and I really look like we are having a good time, don't we? And look at all those tickets Janet won. Too bad Jen didn't do as well.

CHUCK E. CHEESE

It was a wild and crazy night in Greeley last night, as we headed to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate Nathanael's 8th birthday. We were joined by his friends Levi and Nat. Jim and Janet were also able to stop by and celebrate with the birthday boy. It was a really fun party. Nathanael was treated so well, earning lots of tokens, and special birthday crown and medal, balloon, 30 seconds in the ticket blower thingy, and a personal visit from Chuck himself. All told, Nathanael cashed in almost 1400 tickets at the end of the night.

#8

Happy birthday to my favorite youngest son! I can't believe how fast 8 years has passed. I love you. And I am so glad you are in our family. I love your excitement, ideas, love of hiking and swimming, your love of reading, and how much fun you bring to our family. I hope today was great. Happy birthday Nathanael.

Trumpet!

Look what showed up in the mail today from Aunt Kim! No, she hasn't been taking care of that 11 year old. She sent us her trumpet for Noah to use in band this year!! We are so excited for the hours of practice we will be treated to in the coming years. On a serious note (pardon the pun) thank you so much Aunt Kim. We promise to take great care of it.

Happy Birthday!

August 16th is also Grandma Roth's birthday! All of us here at Campingdad would like to wish mom/grandma/mother-in-law an amazing birthday. Thanks for everything you do, not only for us here in Greeley, but in Sturgis, LHS, and of course for dad. We love you so much, and can never express to you how thankful we are that the "nurse with the purse" is in our lives. Have a great day grandma, we love you!

13

August 16th seems to be a big day in our family. Today, Jennifer and I celebrate 13 years of marriage! Like most (all?) marriages, it has been a roller-coaster ride, filled with joy, happiness, frustrations, hope, loss, trials, and celebrations. Through it all, Jen has been with me, for better or worse, until death do us apart. Thank you Jennifer for loving me, believing in me, helping me, encouraging me, and being there for me. I love you.

Cookout!

Had the chance to hang out with a co-worker and his beautiful family on Saturday night. Unfortunately, Andrew and Nathanael were at the end-of-summer water party at Christ Community, so the four of us attended the cookout. It was great to finally introduce Sarabeth to their daughter, and the two girls hit it off really well. Hopefully there will be more play-dates in the future. We also had a fire pit. Like Grandpa Roth says, "Build big fire, stand WAY back!"

Mile High Music Festival

Thanks to the people at Cricket, the show tonight is being streamed at www.mycricket.com. The beer is cheaper at home, the air conditioning is on, and the entire family can enjoy the show. We are using moms laptop for the internet stream, then connecting it to the big screen via an HDMI cable. Isn't technology great? Its so realistic, you can almost smell the weed.