Barley's Night

Slept in until 615am. Rolled out of bed just before Mindy's alarm sounded.

Did sit-ups, windmills, and push-ups.

Delivered Mindy's coffee near 630am.

Much warmer start. Already 27 degrees.

Enjoyed coffee and internet. Checked work for any pressing matters, escalations. Quiet.

Thought Bob & Mary Ann were heading off to HV that morning. Sent a well-wishing text. Unfortunately, there was a little rain in the Saturday HV forecast, but snow again on Sunday and Monday. Seems Bob & M.A. are hard pressed to escape an HV trip without at least some rain. And the funny thing is, the last 15+ days have all been snowy and in the freezer.

Jacob was soon off to school, next Mindy, and then Bella. Bella waited for the bus at the door again.

I walked Eiknarf after everyone was gone. Prepared for a run soon after. Didn't head out the door until almost 830am. Still not feeling a 100%. Ran just three miles, but it was still a good one. Walks were more navigable than some of the lesser traveled neighborhood streets.

Back home, I enjoyed more coffee then got busy again with work.

Sandwiched in between work tasks and calls, I got started on our '13 tax return using TurboTax. Went pretty fast. Looks like we'll be getting a decent return despite a significant reduction to our miscellaneous deductions (mortgage interest after our spring refinance). Couldn't finish. Have to claim Mindy's Ava Anderson earnings. What a pain!
Getting the taxes all but done, I felt as though a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

David sent rental car confirmation (we'll have two vehicles now). Probably a good idea for a couple reasons: room being one, but even more so, he and Anita's arrival flight arrives 3 hours ahead of us, and then their departure 4+ hours later than ours. Said he and Glenn may even ski the last day (travel day).

Finally got a shower around 230pm. Felt a lot better after. Still a little queasy, however.

Jacob, Bella and Mindy were all home from school by 415pm. Jimaken & Molly showed up to get the kids near 5pm. Before Mindy got home. Jacob told me he had no chores to complete. Mindy said otherwise when she got home. She made Jacob vacuum the downstairs just before Jimaken arrived. :)

It was 515pm when I knocked off from work. Mindy and I made plans to go to Barley's. I suggested we leave the house around 630pm.

In addition to our Friday night plans, we talked about skiing on Saturday, but the forecast was calling for a strong chance of rain and freezing drizzle. Sunday actually looked like a better day, though Jacob had a 4pm basketball game scheduled. We left our plans up in the air.

630pm came around quickly. We left for Barley's in the Pilot since it was still fairly warm. Crowded lot. Parked in the back 40 along with several others. Mindy sent out a blanket F.B. announcement that we'd be at Barley's. Before we left the house, she shared that former neighbors, David & Becky planned to join us there. Haven't seen the two of them at Barley's in perhaps two years. And then, once we were there, she shared that Jan & Jeff, and then Kerrianne & Kevin were also coming. She tried to reserve K & K a booth in Justin's section since they'd be bringing Garrett and Sawyer. As crowded as the restaurant was, they obliged her request at least initially, but soon recanted for a long wait. Made sense to me.

David & Becky showed up first. Good to see them. I've ran into David a couple times in the last year elsewhere, but hadn't seen Becky since they moved. Gave her a big hug. I know all the island kids would love to see the two of them. Jeff and Jan were soon there, too, as was our friend Rick. He eventually drifted away from our little group. Not particularly sure why. Maybe 15-20 minutes later Kevin, Kerrianne and the boys arrived. We made room at our community table until a booth was again available. By the way, I drank Centennial while Mindy, somewhat surprisingly, went with the Double Dog IPA. David and I joked that I've created a monster. :)

We hung at Barley's with our friends until after 10pm. Had three or four beers in all. Mindy had just one or two beers all evening long. She drove us home. Earlier at Barley's I ate some wings, but was still hungry when we got home. To satiate my hunger I made a cheese burrito. I joined Mindy in bed near 11pm.