I'm beginning to think there may actually be something wrong going on with our environment. The other day, I caught a giant one-eyed frog roaming our house.

Not wanting to have just another quiet ordinary weekend, Mary thought she'd add a little flair by having a kidney stone--her fourth. So, I came home early from work Friday and off we went to spend the evening at St. John's emergency room. If you haven't had a kidney stone, you are very fortunate...some people compare it to child birth, but Mary tells me such people probably haven't actually birthed a child. Anyway, we (I thought I'd catch a cold to make things even more interesting) spent the weekend on our backs/butts medicated.

Mary had a horrible day at home Saturday and so Sunday morning we called her doctor and told her that something had to be done. We got Mary admitted, hooked up to an IV going full blast and just when she started on her second liter she passed a bowling ball. Seriously, I'm getting three holes drilled in it after it comes back from the labs. All the nurses commented on how it was one of the biggest they'd ever seen.

Tonight, Mary is home, feeling much better and getting some well deserved rest.

All lined up for nap time, from left to right, Huggy, Elmo, Ted, Baby Bear, Drew and Mom.

I haven't been at my desktop computer for three weeks due to my graphics card going out. The minute I get it fixed and sit down to do a little computing...I have a partner. Even Dogbert didn't scare him away.

Look what FedEx brought me today! I must say, ATI's customer support is great! When they say, "When possible, products are repaired and shipped back within 10 business days from receipt at our Service Centre," they mean it (received on the 13th and shipped on the 23rd). No questions asked, they replaced my fried Radeon 9800Pro with a new one. That goes a long way to making me a loyal ATI customer. So, head on over to ATI and check out their new Radeon X1900 series of graphics cards...drool!

Of all the cards we received this past holiday season, two stand out. The first is part of a thank you note a friend sent in response to a donation we made in the name of his father who had passed away.

"It seems there was a period when we were all getting married, then all having kids...now perhaps we're in another state of life."

It's amazing how quickly time passes. And, now, it seems that it is passing faster than ever.

The second is an excerpt from a letter of friends of my parents. It is unbelievable:

"In February we toured Cambodia, Thailand, Myranmar and Laos...as always we climbed the temples, rode the elephants, rode the bamboo rafts and long-tail boated up and down the River Kwai."

"We are celebrating our 60th anniversary by taking a riverboat down the Rhone River to be in Marseilles on the 26th."

I hope I'm half that active and having that much fun when I retire. As for our 60th wedding anniversary, I just hope I'm still eating solid food.

Can anybody guess what's wrong with the graphics card in this picture? It's very subtle...take your time...it'll come to you.

Did you find the problem? Yes, the fan...it should be attached. I'm so happy. Do you know what happens to a modern-day graphics card without a fan? It heats up and fries until it is a useless pile of silicone and mildly carcinogenic chemicals.

The good news is that the card, an ATI Radeon 9800PRO, is still under warranty (3 years, purchased May 03). The bad news is that my main desktop computer is out of service for a while. I had to process the above image with some podunk starter edition program which came free with our laptop. The program is worth what we paid for it, but I digress. We'll see how good ATI is about their warranty and I'll report back. Until then, it's posts from the laptop!

We spent New Year's eve and day with Mary's family. Her sister Michelle and brother-in-law Matt came in from Kansas City. As you can tell, they are huge Chiefs fans. Drew is sporting his Chiefs shirt they gave him for his birthday.

(*Cough cough* Drew could sure use a Bears jersey.)

Here are the top ten best photos we took this past year with links to the original posts:

Best Use of a Mammal as a Cushioning Device:

Best Outdoor Life Appreciation:

Best Look Towards the Future:

Best Product Placement:

Best Example of Unionized Zoo Animals:

Best Example of a Phrase You'll Never See in a Modern Day Memorial (in light of the designers of the World War II memorial in Washington D.C. going out of their way to make it wholly devoid of any mention of God):

Best View:

Most Postcard Like Image:

Best Swim Break:

Best Portrayal of a Fictional Character: