Sarah decided to try being a redhead for a while, so I took pics of the process and dyed my beard to match.

After sanding the last coat of mud, the drywall was ready for painting. Then some custom closet shelves and the new bedroom is complete!

In order to finish the drywall, Sarah and I had to move into the unfinished part of the basement. So I moved the dryer from across the room and rebuilt all the shelving units.

The Otter Stop Inn was generous enough to hold a private party for my Dad's memorial. My brother's were there and many friends to share support and have a good time.

Maizie made her own valentines for school this year with a kit from Grandma. I'm sure they were enjoyed even with the silly school numbering rules.

Ang and Betsy held their annual chili cookoff for the superbowl again. Although the Vikings didn't make it, we enjoyed ourselves anyway with chili, beer, and cigars.

Now that Maizie gets the upstairs bedroom, it's time to retire the movie lounge and turn it into another bedroom. My building motto: "Do it right, do it once."

This year, we didn't have a sled entered, but I did go to watch and see everyone else's creations. But after trying to wrangle two excited dogs and three wild kids, we cut it short and went back home after a few rides down the slopes nearby.

Jessica's mother lost her battle with leukemia 26 years ago, so Jessica completed the 26 mile fundraiser marathon in Disney World on the 26th anniversary with her sister. So we had a celebratory surprise party at Pepito's for her.

Bob Carlson was a dear friend and will be missed by many. After his funeral, we met up at the Legion to celebrate his life and enjoy a potluck lunch and 7&7's, (now forever known as Bob's Drink).

We joined Kari and friends at Ansari's for her birthday on bingo night. We all had fun making dots on the cards while sipping martinis invented at the Manfort.

I made Kahlua and Ginger Vodka from scratch. They're currently in the basement infusing. more...

Sarah and James hosted the second annual Totino's pizza party for NYE. After eating our fill of cheap pizza, we joined another party in the building periodically for even more shenanigans.

Santa came to the Manfort this year to bring presents for Maizie. She got all kinds of fun things to play with. And it was Luis's birthday, so he and Sid got ham.

Maizie is 8 now, so I baked her a jello cake (with the requested pink frosting) and we ate it at Chuck E Cheese with all of her friends.

I met Betsy and Angelo with the gang at the Muddy Pig to help her ring in another year. Great beer, fine company, and a few shenanigans. Good times. :)

For this SPW, we helped Evil Mike celebrate his graduation. With a bag of "roofies", chili dogs, and Jameson.

This year for Sexy Dress-up Day, we had brunch at Maria's and then headed to the Manfort for mimosa's. Seven bottles of champagne later, we never made it to the MOA like planned, but had a great time being all sexy and stuff.

Once again, Dick and Elena hosted our annual Christmas party with Jon de Vaal at the piano. Lots of goodies were consumed while we sang songs and enjoyed each others' company.

I joined Warr and his friends to help celebrate his 21st birthday. Some donned zombie make-up and we bar hopped downtown ending the night at the Saloon for karaoke. Fun times!

Toni and Lisa had a "little" holiday party to invite friends into the new place. Everyone had their fair share of the awesome catered snacks, double keg setup, and general tomfoolery.

Sid and Luis were great help setting up the tree this year. Luis held it up by laying on the stand and Sid scooped all the sparkles left from last year.

Jessica hosted the second annual Cupcake Party where everyone brought their special baked treats. As always, there were way too many to nom and people went home with trays of baked snacks.

Dave and Vera celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at Nye's. Many of us joined them for the fun and to croon our typical standards. Congratulations you two!

Danielle's annual Halloween party was themed, "Bringing Sexy Back." Many people made sexy breakfast foods costumes and everyone had a great time with DJ Neil, ice luge shots, and the ball pit reformed as the Venom Room.

Greg was in town for a visit, so we all met up at Nyes for dinner and singing with Lou. After, Kelly and I stopped in at the Otter.

Danielle's Kitchen wall had a hole in it from a poorly done previous patch job. I tore out all of the plaster to create a space adequate for blending into the original plaster with drywall. Turned out pretty well!

Todd organized a surprise birthday party for Jessica (who thought it was just a Halloween party). Lots of good snacks and costumes. :) And great to see everyone again!

Our friend, Jen, held an awareness event to honor her father who died of cancer complications due to Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War. Although cold and wet, it was a good turnout.

I joined Toni down at the Otter Stop Inn for this year's Otterfest. 12 hours of nonstop karake and fun. We made for a good portion of that before heading to a couple of our other favorite NE karaoke haunts.