It’s official, Kim and I are getting married!! I know, it’s about time, right? We actually started doing some planning for a wedding a few weeks ago. We decided that this year would be the year, so we had to start getting busy, and will continue to be busy up until August 30. I would have posted something earlier, but I wanted to wait until it was more “official.” So, last night I gave Kim a huge cubic zirconium engagement ring and fortunately she said yes. Her uncle owns a jewelry store back in Cincinnati, so we are going to get the real thing in a couple of weeks when we are back in town. That is unless I can convince her that cz is the way to go…

Happy Super Fat Tuesday! Super Tuesday is a big voting day that I’ve never really been a part of, and that tradition will continue. Prior to this years presidential election, I’ve always been a registered voter of Ohio, which holds primaries much later. The problem with this year is that when I got my Colorado drivers license and also registered to vote I did so as an independent. But in order to vote in the Colorado caucuses, you have to be affiliated with the appropriate political party. Oh well, maybe I’ll get my chance in four more years. If you are in state that is holding elections today, and you qualify, don’t forget to get out and vote!

After a heck of a delay in Indianapolis, we finally made it back to Denver very late on Christmas night (actually early morning on the 26th). Apparently Denver had the highest amount of snow on Christmas day in over 100 years, officially 7.8 inches although I think we had more than that at our house. And after shoveling it all for hours yesterday, the snow is falling again today and should continue into the late hours tonight. We could get anywhere from another 4 to 8 inches. This could quickly become similar to the snow situation we experienced when we first moved here last January. This time I will be sure to stay on top of the shoveling though.

As I work through the pictures I took during our trip to Cincinnati, here is one that my mom took for your viewing pleasure…

Update: our pictures are now available.

We’ve been receiving a number of Christmas cards recently. Many of them are the standard card with the only the senders signatures scribbled in them. This has recently (or has always been) the most common card received. But I really enjoy the ones that come with a personalized note or something extra inside. Just yesterday, we received a card from some friends in Denver that had a small Christmas mix CD in it. Now that’s what I’m talking about! Maybe I will do that someday, if we ever send out cards.

My mom sends her cards with an update on the family that I think many enjoy receiving. I know that some of her friends have started doing the same exact thing, and those are a great way to catch up on what everyone has been up to. Here’s her update from this year, if you are curious as to what everyone in my family has been up to:

How quickly the years pass! Merry Christmas to everyone! Hope you are all enjoying the hustle and bustle of this special time of year. We have been blessed with MANY happy times with family and friends in 2007 and hope the New Year brings many, many more.

What better way to start 2007, by cruising around the Hawaiian Islands with the Hemmelgarns to celebrate Claire’s 50th birthday! Such a beautiful place to spend a normally cold and snowy Cincinnati January! We also traveled to Chicago in February for a friends wedding, Pinehurst in July to Condo shop with the Hemmelgarns, Norris Lake in July for a long weekend with friends, Purdue University in October to visit our niece Lauren, Kansas City with a huge group of Bengals fans for the third year in a row, Minster Ohio for the annual Oktoberfest, and Claire took her her annual girl’s trip in April with her sisters to Ft. Lauderdale.

Ed Sr continues to enjoy running and ran his 11th Marathon in May. Claire is working in a third grade classroom this year with four very active and challenging boys.

Tim received his Masters Degree in Engineering Management at the University of Dayton with a perfect 4.0 GPA. He bought a very nice three bedroom house complete with a huge deck and jacuzzi. After many shopping trips for furniture and supplies, he is out once again and living on his own.

Ed Jr and Kim purchased their second home this time in Denver, Colorado. They are really enjoying all that Denver has to offer, especially the snowboarding, mountain hiking, and music at Red Rocks. We actually get to see them more now than when they lived in Kansas City because Ed Jr, who is working from home for his old company, can actually work from home in Cincinnati too!

We have started our home renovations projects. We took out our patio and added a huge wood deck complete with seats and tables! We added a special angel fountain area just for Bryan! It has been almost a year and five months since he passed away, but we are constantly reminded of him! He sends us many, many signs and we know he is always with us wherever we are!

Best Wishes for a very happy and safe Holiday Season! Love, the Paffs

I finally went to get a Colorado drivers license today. An eleven month delay isn’t that bad, right? I read online that going between eight and nine thirty would result in the shortest lines. They did recommend avoiding Monday and Friday, but I decided to push my luck anyway, and showed up at eight thirty this morning. The guy at the desk that gives you a number said the wait would be forty-five minutes, but he quickly said that was a good amount to wait. I guess typically it is longer than that.

So I sat down in a chair and waited. I held ticket number seventy-six. The counter said thirty-three. I watched for the next ten minutes or so as it changed to thirty-four and then thirty-five. I figured that this was going to take forever, so I got up and headed for the door. I decided that I could take the quick eight minute drive back home and do some more work before returning. And that’s what I did. After working for awhile, I returned to the license office at nine thirty. If I remember correctly, the counter said fifty something, but there was no one operating any of the computers. I later learned that there was a computer problem that last fifteen minutes, I’m told.

Shortly after arriving, the computers came back up and again they slowly started going through the numbers. I patiently waited for my turn for another half hour or so. I finally get up to the counter, tell the woman that I need a Colorado license. I hand over my Missouri license and my birth certificate. After a quick vision test and a few questions, the paperwork was done. I was directed toward a cash register where I went to pay my $21 fee. Once that was finished I was told to have a seat and wait for my name to be called for my picture.

So this takes us up to around ten in the morning. I stood around the photo area and waited for my name, but I soon realized that they weren’t calling on anyone and it appeared that the computers had gone down once again. Crap! I was so close to being out of here, but now I had to wait again. So we waited. And waited. Finally as it approached eleven, the computers came back online. After a few others got their picture taken, I was called up to the desk. I quickly signed my name, got my fingerprint scanned, and my picture taken. The guy then handed me a piece of paper that is now my temporary license. I guess they don’t print them up on the spot, and I will eventually get my new license in the mail. So much for my morning.

Kim and I really wanted to hand out candy last night but we weren’t sure if any kids would show up since we live on a fairly busy street. Earlier in the week we bought a bag of candy anyway, and last night we sat out on the porch hoping for people to come by. There isn’t an official time for trick-or-treating in Denver, so we sat from the time it was dark out until just after seven. We didn’t get a single kid the whole time. It was pretty disappointing. So we went in and watched TV for the rest of the night, but we left our porch lights on.

Around nine, we hear a knock at the door. Kim peeked out the window and was scared to open the door, so I grabbed the candy and walked out to meet the costumed character as she was walking away. As I got closer I realized that this person was no kid, but a middle aged woman. I told her that she was the first person that had stopped by and gave her a big handful of candy. She pulled her mask off and said, “Well then maybe we should have a beer instead.” The freaks really do come out on Halloween.

I woke up to falling snow yesterday for the first time this year. I’ve often been told to expect snow on Halloween, but this was over a week early. It only accumulated to a couple of inches, and it was mostly gone by the end of the day, but it was exciting to see. Any snow that falls in Denver is leaving even more snow up in the mountains, helping to create ideal conditions for the winter season. I snapped a couple of quick pictures that can be seen in this album.

PS The Bengals are now 1-0 when there is snow on the ground in Denver. I’m hoping this trend continues as we go into winter and beyond.

PPS I didn’t have any luck getting World Series tickets when they went on-sale today. Boo.

I seemed to have misplaced my earrings. I’ve had the same pair in for years, I bet. Now, they are gone, and I don’t think I’m going to put any replacements in. I’ve had one ear pierced since sometime in high school, and the other was done a year or two later. So, as you can imagine, it was kind of weird looking at first, but I think I’ve grown used to it. We’ll see how long this lasts. Thoughts?

Wow, winter is definitely right around the corner, at least for those in Denver. We left the Cincinnati area last night and it was probably still in the 90s, even at 8pm. When we landed in Denver, it was in the 40s! Talk about shocking, I was in shorts, a t-shirt, and flip-flops. It is supposed to get up to 70 today, but so far we are just barely in the 60s. I better test out the furnace soon, as we’ll probably need turn it on before we know it. In another month or so we’ll be back out on the slopes!

I went to the dentist last week and all was well, except this dentist/hygienist wants me to have my wisdom teeth removed. Multiple dentists before always thought it would be okay to let them grow in, and I was perfectly fine with that. Honestly, I’m a little scared of the procedure and don’t want to go through it unless it is necessary. Am I just being a wimp?