*CHRISTMAS 2010*

Boy, do I LOVE Christmas! The lights, christmas tree, stockings, glittery decorations, christmas music, wrapping gifts, sugary foods, christmas movies and time off from work. As I get older, Christmas becomes more exciting to me because it's a good chance to see family and just relax together. : ) Christmas 2010 for me was a little like the movie Four Christmases, but with less drama and less crazy people!
Christmas #1 was in Aspen, CO on December 21st with the my awesome Berney family at Roaring Fork Club. We watched football, put together a puzzle, had a cheers with egg nog (for mom!) had dinner at the Roaring Fork Club lodge (might have been the best meal ever.... :P) and opened presents by the fire while watching Christmas movies. I never feel like I fully deserve all the love that comes my way during those christmas nights, but boy do I let it soak in and enjoy every single minute of it without taking advantage of any bit. Then, it was back to Bentonville for Christmas #2.... with our cool new iPad's!
Christmas #2 was in Bentonville, AR on December 23rd with Landon. We nicknamed it (while stuck at the Houston airport Continental President's Club) "Krisdon Curney Christmas." Landon got me a big flat screen tv with wall mount for my workout room, so that I don't have to look down at my tube tv from the 80s anymore when I run, that was basically sitting on my floor! I got Landon all the Entourage season DVD sets and some stylish Broncos shorts! We also both did stockings for each other this year, which was a first for both of us. : ) On to Christmas #3....
Christmas #3 was in Bartlesville, OK on December 25th, Christmas morning at the Curd Jr. household! We had coffee and danishes, then opened gifts by the Christmas tree. I always love watching the dogs open their gifts, because as big labs.. they have gotten pretty good at using their teeth to open the gifts themselves! Tanner was the helpful trash picker-upper. Next we listened to Christmas music and had some yummy brunch... can't ever have enough food during Christmas time! Nap time first (and Home Alone 2) then on to Christmas #4 that evening....
Christmas #4 was in Bartlesville, OK on December 25th, Christmas evening at the Curd Sr. household! We had wine (with my new wine opener set!), opened more gifts, watched football and had dinner. They always have Prime Rib and Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and pie for dessert........ YUM!! My first time ever to have both Prime Rib and Yorkshire pudding was Christmas '09 at their house and Christmas '10 was just as tasty as I remembered! : ) What a lovely bunch of Christmases!! Next thing to look forward to-- New Years Eve....

**MY FIRST HALF MARATHON**

Seawall Half Marathon - Galveston Island, TX

Saturday, November 20, 2010

2:18

Will there be another Half Marathon to come in 2011...?

Kansas State University: Berney Family Capital Project Fund

My parents donated a large sum of money to Kansas State University, which was presented at the Kansas State vs Oklahoma State game on Saturday, October 30th in Manhattan. This fund will provide support for the renovation and maintenance of the Kansas State Welcome Center in Memorial Stadium and the initial construction of the Kansas State Basketball Training Facility.
http://www.kstatesports.com/genrel/103010aaa.html

Jason, Alli, Landon and I met up in Dallas to fly together to the "Little Apple" for the game. We arrived Friday night and went to Kites in Aggieville with mom and dad and all stayed at Prairiewood. Saturday morning, grandma, mom & dad, Jason & Alli and Landon & I went to a breakfast reception at President Kirk Schulz's house then we went to another athletic reception before we went to our suites for the game! In between the first and second quarter, we went on the field to present the "big check." I am so proud of my parents and I cannot wait to see the project on the K-State campus when it is complete!

Curd Family Cruise - Mexican Riviera

After 2 full weeks of back to back travel to different universities for campus recruiting, boy was I ready to take a personal FUN vacation!! : ) There were nearly 50 in our Curd/Morgan group traveling on the 7-day Carnival Splendor cruise from L.A. Longbeach to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. We left on 10/10/10 and spent the first couple days at sea getting settled in our rooms, navigating our way around the ship, playing at the casino (or really watching for me, ha!), enjoying the hot tubs and lido deck pools, playing miniature golf, dinners at the Gold Pearl dining room, 24/7 ice cream, all-you-can-eat buffets and just enjoying the beautiful weather with yummy Piña colada's and Cruisers. : ) Late at night on our last night at sea on our way to Puerto Vallarta, we received a message over the PA system of someone jumping overboard, so we stopped the ship for about 8 hours so that they could search for the person, who turned out to be a new crew member. Unfortunately the man was never found. More details are in our cruise director's blog: http://johnhealdsblog.com/2010/10/13/a-very-sad-day/ We arrived to Puerto Vallarta at 2:30pm rather than 8:00am, but it all worked out as carnival worked to get our excursion rescheduled for that afternoon!

Puerto Vallarta: We took a boat from the port to Nuevo Vallarta where we had our Dolphin Signature Swim excursion. WOW! We were able to hold the dolphins, pet their belly, kiss them, dance with them, take a belly ride and watch a show at the end of all the dolphins doing tricks for us! Interesting fact: Dolphins never sleep! They let one half of their brains sleep at a time so that they get the rest they need, but are still conscious at all times. We then looked around a few of the shops and relaxed with some coronas on the patio at a local mexican restaurant before returning to the ship.

Mazatlan: We took a tour of the city of Mazatlan then went to Stone Island for an all-inclusive day on the beach. We had an authentic mexican lunch, all-you-can-drink at the bar, boogie boarding, banana boat ride and an ATV ride along the beach.

Cabo San Lucas: We took a boat ride to Lovers Beach to spend the afternoon. What a beautiful place!! I have never seen waves this big in my entire life. We went snorkeling and played in the waves. Then we had a mexican lunch with Pacifico's and hung out at the local party place, Senor Frogs, for some music and Piña colada's before getting back on the ship to head back to L.A.

You will be missed...

Duane Coast: December 5, 1982 - September 16, 2010

To every thing there is a season, a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal, a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. - Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

Benton County Fair

"Children make you want to start life over." -- Muhammad Ali

Landon, Austin, Tanner and I went to the Benton County Fair on August 21st while it was in town for a few days! Can't go wrong with some freshly squeezed lemonade, GREAT people watching and the smile on Tanner's face as he played on the toys with his dad and uncle Landon... just a couple more inches to go and he will be able to ride the kiddie rollarcoasters - Next year!! : ) 

House Pictures- Updated!!

I know many people have been asking me to post pictures of my house, decorated. I'm obviously still not completely done, but this will give you the idea! I need some visitors to motivate me to finally get to the finished product (wink wink)! : )

IILC Video

**IILC 2010**

I attended the International Intern Leadership Conference (IILC) this year from Monday, August 2nd through Sunday, August 8th. There were over 1,400 interns from 13 countries. I was asked to be on the SWAT team which helped with the planning, registration day and pep rally, decorations and general session table goodies, random Q&A, signage, game night, general session microphone running... really most of the "behind the scenes" help that people assume "just got done somehow." : ) I had so much fun with these 5 SWAT girls: Jen Nixon (McLean), Jen Sell (Philadelphia), Dawn Thompson (New York), Natasha Stough (Chicago) and Natalie Kuns (Chicago).

We all received a free pass to the Walt Disney World park of our choice on Friday night of the IILC conference. I went to dinner on the Disney boardwalk and then on to Magic Kingdom... boy, did it bring back childhood memories of the annual Berney Walt Disney World trips!! : ) It was SO good to see all my Dallas girls again since I moved EY offices!  

Todd's visit Bentonville

Dave, Lisa, Brian & Kyle came through Bentonville on their way home from visiting the Groens in South Carolina for the 4th of July holiday. What a great last minute get-together!! We all ate at Dink's (of course) and Landon gave everyone the grand tour of the restuarant and the smoker, etc then I gave them the tour of my first home in Bentonville. Hopefully they'll make it back this way soon for a longer trip!! : )