Sophie is born!

Sophie Malia Bierdeman was born on April 21, 2009 at 11:17pm. We are so excited to have her here with us now! We will post more later when it is not 2am!

Harry Potter Mania

Janelle and I decided to have fun on Friday night by dressing up as characters from the Harry Potter series and attending the Grand Hallows Ball at our local Borders store. Janelle was Professor Minerva McGonegall, and I was camera-carrying Colin Creevey. Our friend Bridget was Professor Trelawney and her kids Andrew, 7, and Elizabeth, 10, were Harry and Hermoine. Janelle had stood in line earlier in the day to wait for an arm band, so as to be one of the first in line. She ended up getting #86 even at 9am!

Anyway, we arrived at Borders precisely at 9:30pm, at the beginning of the Grand Hallows Ball, just in time for us to be bombarded with papparazzi! We were by no means the only ones dressed for the occasion, as probably nearly 75% of the people there were dressed up in one way or another, but I do think we had some great costumes. Janelle and Bridget had made them two weeks earlier in preparation for our midnight excursion to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. After reminding ourselves not to look at the camera and smile (which is way harder than it sounds) we kind-of got over the fact that we were being followed around.

We received Glowing Wands, played Snape Bingo, participated in a Spelling Bee, and even entered a costume contest! Janelle, Bridget, and Elizabeth all made the second round. Janelle and Bridget made the final round, and Janelle won! At least, she won the "Queen of the Ball"! They also picked the best male adult costume, and best children's costume. This unexpected turn of events not only got her a crown, but a $10 gift card, and, best of all, 2nd place in line!

All-in-all, it was a night to remember. What a moment in history! We walked out the door at 12:03pm with our brand new copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The next morning we were on the front page of the Greeley Tribune! The picture above is from the newspaper, and you can see all of us, except my head is cut off!

Holiday Blizzard 2006

It's not every day that you get to experience an all out blizzard, but when they come, it is really an extreme experience. Thank goodness Janelle and I were both at home yesterday by the time the snow really started piling up, as we are now stuck at home. As you can see in these pictures, which we just took minutes ago (that's Ryan's car in our driveway), there is no way to get around. Colorado has been declared in a state of emergency and the Governor has told everyone to stay indoors unless there is an extreme reason to leave.

That's fine with us, but I can't imagine being one of the 4700 plus people being stuck at the Denver airport for the past 24 hours or more! And they still have to wait, as they say that the airport won't even open until tonight at 7pm at the soonest! But the worst news is, since it is Christmas season, most flights are already very full, so the people that had their's cancelled may not be able to make it out until Christmas Eve or even Christmas day!

We are starting to worry if we will even be able to make it back to Peoria on Saturday like we planned. As of right now, all interstate highways in Colorado have been completely closed down until further notice! And interstate 80 in Nebraska is closed as well, at least halfway through the state, so we are just waiting to see when they reopen. The worst thing, even though the snow has started to slow down, there is still high risk of blowing snow. We have heard that there are snow drifts of up to 10 feet in areas!

So, right now, we are enjoying a cozy, lazy day at home with nothing to do but eat, watch movies, blog, and occasionally venture out into the the "Winter Wonderland!"

-Chris

More Blizzard Pics

It looks like it'll be a white Christmas in Colorado!

Annual Christmas Picture

Merry Christmas From the Bierdeman's!

Don't we look snazzy?

This year, we went up to the Big Thompson Canyon to take our Christmas shots, as it was snowy there, not to mention gorgeous. There was no snow left in Greeley, and we didn't want to take the same old Christmas shot in front of or in back of our house!

It's one of the many benefits of living in Colorado. We just need to drive a few minutes up in to the mountains, and we can find completely different weather. In fact, we can find snow almost any time of the year in certain areas! Plus, it's just beautiful country...


Janelle wanted me to try out a cowboy hat.

Look who lost 40 lbs this year!












Aloha...

Life after more than 2 months straight of traveling for work

Ahhhh...

It's so good to be home again! For more than three nights in a row!

That's right, for more than 2 months straight, September 11-November 16, I was almost continuously traveling for work. Never once did I have the chance to stay at home for more than 3 nights in a row. It was fun, but it was work. And it was a lot of time away from my friends and family.

I traveled to South Dakota, New York City, Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and all over western Colorado including Aspen, Telluride, Durango, Steamboat Springs, and Vail. I have enough hotel shampoos and lotions under my sink now to fill a bathtub. In fact, if you're a guest at our household, you get your pick of dozens of varieties of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, and mouthwash!

I am glad it's done for the time being. I couldn't possibly travel like that all year-round. Maybe if I was single and had no friends or family. But what kind of life would that be?

The best thing about all the travel is the fact that it helps me appreciate home.

-Chris

Long time, no see

Here it goes...

Another really long, long time without a post on blogger.

I don't wanna apologize, as I feel as though that would get me nowhere.

Plus, why should I apologize? I never promised to write every other day, over even every three weeks! You should be glad I ever post at all!

Merry Christmas.