[fabsroman]

Dan,

My training partner who was a year younger than me went to school in Boulder, Colorado, where I was trying to go. He is still out there 15 years later. Something tells me that if I had gone to school in Colorado and stayed, either my mom and dad would have moved out there, or they would have gotten a divorce so that my dad could move out there if my mom didn't want to.

Now that I am married, moving out west will be even harder because my wife has a 30 minute drive to the mall requirement for where ever we live. Funny thing is that she does not shop that much, if at all. I can count the number of times she has gone to the mall this year on one hand. Heck, I probably went to the mall more than she did this year.

After we figure out our house situation, the next thing on the list will be rental property and a farm. I'm going to be busy for the next decade or three.

We are currently at my in-laws, and my daughter's stack of presents is the largest stack of them all. I got her a personalized ornament that say's "Arianna's First Christmas" with a picture of a baby rattle in the middle and "We Love You, Mom and Dad, 2007" on the bottom and I got her a personalized picture frame. She already has plenty of toys, but I am sure that she is going to get even more of them this Christmas from her 3 aunts and 4 uncles, all of which are single except for 1 pair. She will also be receiving a sizeable contribution to her 529 college plan from her mom and dad.

I'm sure I'll post this again, but Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everybody.