Silencer Shop

Have you noticed that I haven't blogged much lately?  Remember when I said that we've (especially Dave)  been working really hard?  It's true.  I haven't had time.   At the end of October, Dave quit his programming job at VMWare to run our business, Silencer Shop, full time.   And, it's been a bit crazy.  But, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  We've been running it out of our house but are literally busting at the seams.  So, we leased a space and we should be able to start moving in next weekend!  We are super excited!  

We are also in the process of hiring several more employees and have been training our manager for the past couple of weeks.  I don't think we've ever been this busy.  Hopefully, things will calm down a bit after our Grand Opening which will be at the end of February.

We were contacted by Kevin Fowler as he wanted to be our "spokes person" which was super exciting.  So, he is doing our radio ads.  Here's a couple of them . . .

~ and ~

What do you think?  It's been a fun, stressful, crazy, scary, exciting ride.  Neither Dave or I have ever wanted to own a business.  Sometimes, we still can't believe we're doing this!

Happy Birthday . . .

. . . to the love of my life.  

 I'm so glad we get to grow old together.

Thank you for working so hard for us (you have no idea how hard he's been working . . . I'll tell you all about it soon), and for always making me laugh.

 You're the best thing that has ever happened to me.  

I'll love you forever. 

Merry Christmas!

  . . . & Happy New Year!

Look who . . .

. . . got her driver's license!  

 Oh!  Sweet Freedom  . . .

Already missing them.

~ Grandpa & Lauren ~

We're so glad they were able to come and visit!  We had such a great time and are missing them already.  

Thanksgiving

Dave's parents came to visit all the way from Oregon!  They split their time between our house and his sister, Katrina's house.  It was so good to see them and so much fun to all be together for the holidays.  Dave & I hosted the whole bunch for a wonderful Thanksgiving feast . . .

~ Carter & his Grandpa ~

~ Katrina & Nancy ~ 

~ Dave & Kevin ~

 ~ Kevin & Maggie ~

 ~ Lauren, Taylor, & Grandma ~

 ~ Katrina & Kevin ~

 ~ Seth, Lauren, Nathan, Taylor, Carter, & Matthew ~

 ~ Dan & Dave ~

~ Katrina, Halli, & Carter ~

~ Matthew, Nathan, Seth, Lauren, & Taylor ~

~ Nancy & Dan ~

 We are so thankful for family!

A little bit funny.

We got some new t-shirts for the shop . . .

 My parents like them, do you?

Important skills

Taylor learned how to change the oil in her car last week!

Dave's such a good dad.  I'm so thankful for him.

My Dad . . .

* he's fun

*he's a dare devil

*he is in the Wyoming coaches hall of fame

*he  is a control freak  likes to be in charge ("lead or get out of the way")

*he's a good listener

*his family always comes first

*he would do anything for you

*he's generous

*he is a good friend

*he still thinks he's 20 something

*he's got a huge heart

*he's a master carpenter/wood-worker

*he is creative

*he's a team player

*he's never met a stranger

*he is always in a hurry

*he thinks he can multi-task

*he's bossy  

*he's smart

*he has common sense

*he gets grouchy when he's tired

*he's cheap frugal

*he's responsible

*he is a hard worker

*he is a retired teacher & coach

*he is a dad to three and grandpa to six

*he's kind of famous in Wyoming

*he has more friends than anyone I know!

*he's resourceful

*he's successful

*he's charming

*he likes to be in everybody's business!  :)

*he gives good advice (even if it's often unsolicited!)

*he's compassionate

*he's fun to tease

*he's quick to laugh & slow to anger

*he's always willing to help

*he is friendly

*he's a worrier

*he can talk to anyone/anywhere/about anything

*he is flighty

*he can be the most frustrating yet endearing person 

*he's got a great sense of humor

*he's out-doorsy

*he's an amazing husband, father, and grandpa

*he's a natural born leader

*he is the poster child for ADD

*he's a sport's fanatic

*he's athletic

*he's talented

*he has no boundaries

*he's a good money manager - as Carter would say, "he's rich!"

*he likes to eat

*he's a great photographer

*he is care-free

*he's down to earth

*he's kind

*he takes great care of my mom

*some might say that he has less than perfect table etiquette

*he is loyal

*he is honest

*he is fair

*he's easy to talk to

*he's the least judgmental person I know

*he can "dish it out" and "take it"

*he's sixty something today!

*he's a good example

*he's one of the best men I know and I am so thankful that I get to call him my dad!

Thank you for everything you do!  

Happy Birthday old man . . .We love you!  

Halloween

For dinner, we had ogre and jack-o-lantern hamburgers with jack-o-lantern oranges stuffed with fruit salad . . . 

 Taylor was 1/2 showgirl, 1/2 zombie . . .

 She's really been into stage make-up.  She did this look completely on her own.  We thought she looked pretty good.  She didn't trick-or-treat but had a few friends over to watch a scary movie.  

Carter, was a referee . . .

He went trick-or-treating with a couple of friends.  They left before I could get any more pictures!

And Lauren was little red riding hood . . . 

I'm so glad it's over!  :)