Trip to Redding

On a whim, we went up to Redding to check out Tess's old stomping grounds. Tess lived in Redding right after high school to go to Shasta JC, where she got an associate's degree. Redding was fun. We didn't get to get out a whole lot because Alex hates getting in and out of the car. However, we spent a good chunk of the afternoon on the lawn near the Redding City Hall. The weather was great. They had a nicely landscaped area surrounded by several interesting pieces of artwork. Anyway, here are some of the pictures:

Alex's Blessing

We had Alex's blessing in Church this last week. Stephen, Ashley, Andrew, Alli, Dad and Mom joined us in Sacramento, along with a whole host of Tess's family. Alex was very good during the blessing, although I think he's getting back at us now that everyone is gone. Everyone got to taste a little of Sacramento, I think to rave reviews (Mom kept going on about Sacramento's sandwiches). We'll get to experience a little bit more of Northern California again in May for graduation.

Post-Christmas recap

It was awesome to be at home for Christmas with everyone! Of course we realize that Tess and I were of secondary interest. Everyone wanted to see our little guy (and who could blame them).

Everyone quickly realized that he is quite demanding in his needs. He does not put up with second rate service. He wants to be bounced on the ball and wants to be fed at specific times. Interestingly enough, even with all his demands, Alex was able to sleep through all of the Bourne Ultimatum. Not quite exciting enough for him.

He caught just a little bit of the cold that went around right as we were leaving, leading us to make an extra stop on the way home in the glorious city of Palmdale, CA, just north of LA. I think he got better just to not have Tess clean out his nose anymore.

All in all, it was a great Christmas and will be one to remember with everyone having been there together.

The Hampton's Christmas

The Hampton's reunited this Christmas in Ft. Stockton. We flew in on December 21 to El Paso, but we got there before our luggage. We had to wait 4 hours in El Paso for it to get there. The babies were exhausted by the end of the trip. Kyle and Tess drove in from California with their new baby Alex. We arrived the same day in Ft. Stockton. Everyone was there except for Brian, Bridget's husband. He is working over seas in Africa. We all missed him. The Hampton house was full with 4 grandkids. We had a lot of fun playing with new toys, and the adults had fun playing Guitar Hero. Jeff and Nicole and their 5 kids came to visit and we had a wonderful Christmas dinner. Thanks to all of Carol's hard work cooking. Darlene also came to visit for New Year's. We brought in the new year at the Ft. Stockton Civic center. We all went to the party after we put the kids to bed. This was mine, Stephen, and Bridget's first time to hire a sitter. We were all a little nervous, but it all worked out well. We had so much fun listening to an 80's cover band from Austin. This will probably be our last Christmas in Ft Stockton since Steve and Carol will be moving soon. So it was nice to have all the Hampton kids there.

Alex's Birthday

Well, the day finally came. Alexander Jonas Hampton was born on November 20, 2007 at 9:05 PM. He weighed 6 lbs, 9 oz and was 19.5 inches long. He and Tess came home on Thanksgiving Day. He's been a real good little boy. He caught onto nursing right away and generally is calm and pleasant. He likes for us to be close to him while he sleeps. We're just so happy to have him with us and to get to introduce him to all of you.

Alexander Jonas Hampton

Kyle called me around 11:00pm MST to tell us that Tess had just given birth to a healthy baby boy. He weighed 6 lbs 9 oz. and 19 1/2" long. It sounded as if the delivery went pretty well. I'm sure that Kyle will post more about it later. He assured me that he will take plenty of pictures. Congratulations Kyle and Tess!!! I am excited about my new little nephew.

Economics

This is nothing more than old fashioned bragging, but if I can't brag to you then who else is going to listen? I just got my grade for my Managerial Economics class, and the results are...drum roll please...I made an A! I am thrilled, but it wasn't just any plain ol' A. I also made the highest grade in the class on the final, AND I was ranked first in the class of 80. You must be very proud to know someone as brilliant as me. All kidding aside this is very encouraging because I have kicked around the idea of going on to get my PhD in Economics some day. I might just have what it takes. Thanks for indulging me on this. I was thinking about reprinting our Christmas cards to include this valuable information. I think that someone might shoot that idea down (Ashley, I'm looking your way), but you might hear about this from me again. Until then...