To answer my own question… not a whole lot. That’s a good thing. We are all doing pretty good. Since there is not much going on I will just give you a few individual updates.

Roger – working the car washes daily to keep them operating the best they can. His back is still an issue for him. He has good days and bad. He has had to learn to live with a certain amount of pain. He loves playing with Kyndal when she comes over. They go out to the dock and look for fish and of course they snack together!!

Cheryl – I stay busy with a variety of things. I still teach fitness classes at the gym. I now teach 2 spinning classes and 2 abdominal boot camps per week. I really enjoy having the opportunity to do this. It is soooo much fun and basically I get paid while I work out. Not to bad of a gig!  Of course I still have my office work for the car washes that I do on a daily basis. I watch Kyndal 2 afternoons a week. It is fun to watch her grow and learn. She will repeat just about anything you say. She likes getting her nails done. That is grandma’s job. So she gets a manicure and pedicure on a pretty regular basis. It is a lot better watching her now that she is potty trained. I decided to carry on my cookie baking tradition with Kyndal this year. What a blast!

Chrissy – She is a great mom! She is a part of a mom’s group that gives her an opportunity for Kyndal to play with other kids and for Chrissy to have adult conversation. Chrissy does medical transcription from her home. That is tough because she can only do it while Kyndal is sleeping (because she has to wear headphones).Therfore, she really does not have to much free time. She would like to resume her career as a teacher, but unfortunetely the economy is making that almost impossible. The school district is having to lay teachers off here, so getting a teaching job will take the next thing to a miracle. Willie is still a firefighter here in the Cape. We are all holding our breath that is does not get cut with the new budget cuts that are coming. Chrissy also gets together with her best friend Leanna and they scrapbook together. It is so neat that they are still friends after all of these years and now they both have little ones.

Chrissy, Leanna, Kyndal and Logan

Steven -  He is going to school and has a year left. YEAH!! He will have a bachelors degree in health science and a minor in secondary education. He plans to either teach (good luck getting a job) or going into pharmaceutical sales.  He works part time at a gas station/store and he also works for Roger one day a week. He has his own home in the Cape. Him and Emily are planning a wedding for March of 2010. They decided to delay getting married until then so that Stevens two best friends will be back from Iraq. We wish them the best. Steven and Emily also think the world of Kyndal. They got her a pair of Jordans  tennis shoes for her birthday. Anytime she wears them she says they are from Uncle Bone and Emily. Bone will be 22 this month on the 18th. It’s hard to believe that my “baby” will be 22. I don’t know where the time has gone and how  or when I got old enough to have kids that are getting that old.

This picture pretty much says it all for “Uncle Bone”

Ellie – You didn’t think I would leave out our baby girl did you? She is still the best little doggie in the whole wide world. If you have any doubts about that you can just ask Roger. He said that he wouldn’t take any amount of money for her. She absolutely loves Kyndal. When Kyndal comes to our house, Ellie HAS to have a hug or kiss from Kyndal. She won’t stop until she gets it. After Kyndal gives her a  kiss she is fine. She is always close by Kyndal. She loves to see Kyndal come over but I think she is also glad to see her go home. After Kyndal leaves, ellie takes a nap!!

That’s pretty much it for now.

As I am writing this Roger has the nightly news on.  It can be a bit discouraging to say the least to listen to all of the bad news, especially in regards to the economy. Therefore I think it is extremely important to keep focused on the good things we all have in our life. As we celebrated Christmas this year, we like most everyone else cut back on our spending. In spite of that we had a GREAT Christmas!

Some of the things I am thankful for:

I have a wonderful family and we are all for the most part healthy and happy.

All of our family live within a few miles of each other.

We enjoy being with each other and not only for the holidays.

We still have a business and although it is not doing as well as it has in the past (due to the economy) we are still making a living.

We have a wonderful group of friends to celebrate things with throughout the year.

We have the freedom to go to the church of our choice whenever we want to ( thanks to major sacrifices from our armed forces) and to celebrate the birth of Christ.

We all have more than we need (I’m not complaining) and we need to be thankful for what we have and not focus on what we don’t have.

Below are a few pictures that help capture the wonderful Christmas we had. I hope you all had a great Christmas as well.

The Whole Neal Clan 2008

Grandma and Kyndal making Christmas cookies

This is just too cute !!!

Roger and I never get each other anything for Christmas, but this year we decided to go to the AC/DC concert in Tampa for our Christmas gift to each other.  For those of you that know us, you know that we LOVE concerts. We have been to close to 125 concerts over the years. We both love music, country and rock. We have listened to AC/DC since we were 14 or 15 years old but we have never had the chance (and/or money) to see them in concert. They are on tour and it is most likely the last time they will ever tour again.

We stayed at a hotel right next to the St. Pete Times Forum which was so convenient and so AWESOME!!  I had a blast trying my hardest to get backstage passes. I went prepared to do this. A  few years back I used to play tennis with the bass players wife. Not only that but our team won the Lee County division and to celebrate our team went out on on his boat. (small little thing…65ft, 3 bed., 2 bath) Soooo I typed a short little letter reminding him of that day complete with pictures. I took 10 copies with me and spent my afternoon trying to get copies of this letter to the right people so that Cliff (the bass player) would let us come backstage and meet the rest of the band. Well I successfully got it in the hands of 6 different people but I was not successful in getting a backstage pass. I did not really expect to, but I thought what the heck, It doesn’t hurt to ask (or beg if necessary).

Even though we did not get backstage we had the best time. Our seats were terrific and the show was incredible. In my quest to get backstage, we counted 16 tractor trailors that were all for the band and the equipment for the show. That should give you some idea how incredible this show was. Of all the concerts we have seen over the years, this was the best show we have ever seen!! Not only did the music sound great but the stage show was out of this world. This was definetely the best Christmas present EVER!!!!

Well as I’m writing this I am thankful that I am pretty much ready for Christmas. The presents are bought and wrapped, the decorations are up and all that is left is cooking the big meal. I have even sent out Christmas cards for the first time in probably 15 years or so. I decided that I was going to boycott the christmas card thing years ago and I did…. until this year. I received a couple of the nicest Christmas cards. You know the kind with the picture on them. Well, they were so nice and I appreciated them so much and was honored that they felt we were worthy enough to receive them, that I began to feel guilty about not sending cards. Soooo… I sent cards out!! Hopefully my cards will make others feel the same way that I felt. If you really think about it, that’s really a big part of what Christmas is all about, trying to make others feel special even if for just a minute or two.
We are looking forward to seeing Kyndal open her gifts this year. She is so into presents and Santa. She has asked Santa for an Elmo, she tells me that she has to be a good girl so Santa will bring Elmo. She doesn’t exactly say it like that. It goes more like: Santa, Elmo, good girl!! I LOVE IT!!
She went and saw Santa (great grandpa Kinzie). At first she was scared and did not want to get near him. By the end of the evening they were best buddiees. She had to hug and kiss him several times before we could leave. We will be having Christmas dinner here and both Chrissy and Willie as well as Steven and Emily will be here. Roger’s parents and sister will be coming as well. It is such a special blessing to have a good family that you can get together with and enjoy each other.

In closing, try to bring Christ into your Christmas celebrations this year. I really feel that with the economy as it is, alot of people are going to get back to the real meaning of Christmas. If nothing else we can be thankful for that part of the bad economy.

I will put some Christmas pictures on here after I get them. I hope each and every person that takes the time to read this has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! 

Cheryl

P.S. it would really be nice if you have just read this blog to leave me a comment. The purpose of this blog is to keep people that we don’t get to see very often updated with what is happening in our family. If you have read this you must want to know, so leave us a message. Remember, you don’t have to join anything and it will cost you nothing. It means alot to hear from you!! We would like to know what is going on with you and your families as well!!

It is hard for me to beleive it has been a month since my last post. I really don’t know where the time goes. I can’t say that anything special has happened in the past month, yet we seem to be so busy. I’m not complaining though. Roger and I really enjoy the fact that we don’t “have” to go anywhere in the evenings. For the most part we have dinner, watch the news, have coffee while watching Wheel of Fortune and then watch our favorite shows on TV. Now that might sound kind of boring to some of you, but we LOVE the fact that we are not on the go every evening. We have been ther done that while the kids were growing up.

We are looking forward to the upcoming winter season.(as are most people in Florida). We are hoping for an increase in business with the increase of the winter folks in our area. It has been a slow and rough summer for most bussinesses in this area. On a positive note, I think that people will be nicer to the northerners and to customers in general. That is something that is good for everyone right! Sometimes things have to get ugly in order for people to realize just how far we have come from where we should be as far as how we treat others. With all of the negative talk about the economy, and everyone talking about how bad the holiday season is expected to be, I can’t help but think that this might help put people back on track as to the real meaning of Christmas. Wouldn’t that be a great thing!!!!

Speaking of where the time goes… Can you believe that our Kyndal girl will be two on the 23rd of this month. She is soooo awesome. She is talking like crazy. You can’t always understand her but she is always trying to repeat everything she hears. She calls us Grandma and Grandpa now!! She loves our dog Ellie. Anytime she gives Ellie a kiss (which is alot) she comes running to me to give me one too. She is completely potty trained and has not had any accidents at Grandma’s house as of yet. I don’t think I have ever seen a two year old as obcessed with flip flops as this girl. She has loved flip flops since she started walking. I have a toy magazine that has all kinds of awesome toys in it. Well one page has 12 dolls on it and they are all wearing… you guessed it, flip flops. That is the only page she wants to look at, over and over and over again. We are really looking forward to her opening presents Christmas day. She will probably really get in to it this year. ( although if she gets flip flops she probably won’t want to open anything else)

Chrissy and Willie are doing good. They like their new house and Willie likes his new job as a fireman. Chrissy has sacrificed in order to be a stay at home mom. She does medical transcription. She can only do that while Kyndal is asleep. Therefore, Chrissy does not get to watch TV at night because she is working. She also has to work pretty late into the night. She doesn’t love doing it but it earns some money and makes it possible for her to be at home with Kyndal.

Steven and Emily have finally decided on a wedding date. It was not an easy decision for them because two of Stevens best friends are in the Marines and will be heading off to war soon. They want them to be in the wedding and share such an important event with them. So they have decided to wait until March 2010 to get married. Yes that’s longer than what they really wanted but this is when it will work out the best for them. Of course for those of you that know me, I already have our guest list ready complete with addresses, I have a cost estimate spreadsheet ready and have gone over the food choices with Emily. Not that I am anxious or anything.., I’m just prepared. You never know, I might be real busy when she needs that information. Now I can just print it out for her and she is good to go!! 

I am still teaching classes at the gym. I teach two abdominal boot camps per week and two or three spinning classes each week. I LOVE IT !!! It is so much fun ( and work). Roger is still doing the car wash thing. We love our family and love our life. It’s all good!!!

Until next time ( and who knows when that will be)

Roger and Cheryl

We have some exciting news!! Steven has popped the question. Yep, that’s right, he proposed to Emily Friday night. Oh and by the way, she said YES!! After 2 weeks of looking for the perfect ring (that he could afford) he took Emily to a very nice resturant for a romantic dinner. He wanted her to think that just maybe he was going to propose but he didn’t. While they were at dinner he had arranged for me to go to their house and prepare the actual engagement setting. Sooo, I made chocolate covered strawberries and went to his house. When I got there, I had to get what seemed like a hundred candles lit. I then made a big heart on the bed with rose petals as well as a path of petals from the door to the bed. I put out 2 wine glasses and a bottle of wine he had bought. I then had to get the music ready. He made a cd just for this night. So you get the picture….very romantic setting. Oh and by the way the engagement ring was set up in the middle of the tray of chocolate covered strawberries. He  brought Emily home and unlocked the front door. From what I hear (i left so they would be alone) Emily started crying as soon as she saw the rose petals on the floor and all of the candles lit. I have included a few pictures on here to show you how nice it was. We are very excited about having Emily as an official part of our family. It already seems like she is family since they have been together for almost 4 years. But it’s nice for it to be more official. They are planning the wedding for next September or October.

 Wow!, is it possible that Roger and I are old enough to have both of our kids married AND a granddaughter that is almost 2 years old. SURELY NOT!!

The handsome and nervous Steven before proposing

Very Romantic (Just like his Dad!)

WOW!!

Steven and Emily

Well, it looks like we have dodged another hurricane season!! We have actually had a few mornings that our lows have been down to 69 degrees!! That’s really exciting for us Florida folk!! I am tired of talking about the weather so we will move on.

We have a new addition to the Neal clan. Steven and Emily got a new puppy named Tyson. He is all black with a little bit of white on him. Yep, we now have a grand dog!! As cute as he is ( he is really cute) he does not even come close to being as cute as our Ellie girl.

Now as to the title, as many of you know, I watch Kyndal on Tues and Thurs. afternoons. She is a trip. She tries to repeat EVERYTHING you say. She is to funny sometimes. Chrissy started potty training her on Monday. Therfore I did not have her on Tues. Well she did not have any accidents on Wed. so we decided that she could try coming over here and see how she does away from home. I am proud to say that she did not have any accidents all day long!! Her big reward is getting to flush the toilet and then wash her hands. It is amazing how excited a 22 month old will get over flushing the toilet and washing her hands. I’m sure my water bill will be higher throughout this process since it does not matter whether it is alot of potty or just a few drops… the flush still has to happen. She is so dog – gone cute with her big girl panties on.

I hope you all enjoy reading about and keeping up with the neal clan. We don’t have a whole lot going on but that is good!! We will just keep on keeping on!!!!!

Cheryl

We have somehow managed to dodge the storms. Gustov went to the west of us, Hannah went to the East of us and Ike had his eye (no pun intended) directly on us for a few days. As of right now it looks like he may have changed his mind and is headed for Texas. Whew. These storms are a pain in the neck. Every time one of them shows up we have to monitor the weather and determine whether we need to put up shutters or not. It is a big job getting those shutters up and then you have to take them back down again. Below are pictures of our house when we put them up for Fay.  That storm hit below us and we just got lots and lots of rain and some wind. We ended up not really needing the shutters but you never know exactly where it will actually hit. You have to be ready ahead of time.  When Charley hit here on 2004 our sliding glass were shaking so bad we thought they were going to blow out. It was scary. We did not have shutters up because it was not “supposed “to hit here. Ooops! somebody forgot to give Charley that bit if information. After being scared out of our wits we decided that we were not going to go through that again. We will shutter up!!

 

We didn’t forget to put one up, We put a few clear shutters up to let some light in so it is not pitch dark in the house.

Have you taken a look at the weather lately? Well let me fill you in…Florida is right smack in the middle of two, yes two storms. One is a major hurricane and the other is just a tropical storm. The result, we have lots of wind, lots of clouds and quite a bit of rain. YUCK,YUCK!! As if that’s not bad enough there a two more storms brewing in the Atlantic. You’ve got to be kidding me. Poor Roger, he checks the computer several times a day to see “the latest” updates. The car washes are really anxious for the rainy/hurricane season to be over!! At least hurricane Gustov did not come right at us!!!!!!!!!!!

 On a brighter note, the family is all doing okay. Chrissy and Steven are both situated in their new houses and pretty much loving it. That Kyndal girl is just plain awesome!! She is talking more and more. She loves being a “helper” She wants to help with anything and everything we do. She is obsessed with flip flops. I know that sounds weird, but she is really obsessed with them. When she comes to our house the first thing she does is go to the closet and gets a pair of flip flops for me and a pair for her. I ordered a toy catalog and I was looking at it with her. I was pointing out different things on each page, then we got to one particular page. It had 12 dolls on it and Kyndal noticed that almost ALL of the dolls had , yes, you guessed it, flip flops on. From then on, the only page she wants to look at is the page with the flip flops. I’m not sure what this means, but I’m thinking she has a major flip flop obsession.

Roger and I took our first yoga class Sat. morning. I will have to admit that it was actually very good. I did not think that I would like it. It is pretty slow paced and , well, I’m not…However, it went really fast and was very good. I would not take that much time stretching or relaxing my body on my own. I think after working out and teaching spinning/cycling classes during the week, (which are very fast paced) that this is probably good for me. Roger liked it and also feels like it might be benificial for his back. Let’s hope so.

Well, hopefully it will stop raining here at some point, although we are pretty much expecting rain throughout the next week due to the storms. Surely it will stop. Won’t it??

Okay, the storm itself was not bad. But come on, it has rained since Monday night. We got 4″ Tues, 1 3/4″ Wed. , 2″ Thurs, and just shy of 3″ today (Friday). That’s alot of rain. Needless to say we are over the rain, big time. We are use to getting rain every day, but not all day long. You can just take a guess as to how many car washes we have done. I’ll give you a hint… NONE, a big fat zero. Mother Nature is killing our business. One thing is for sure, It can’t get much worse. It can only get better!!

Cheryl