Cold must be a relative term

It seems like cold is definitely a relative term. This afternoon it was 57 degrees outside, and this is how the neighbor kids were dressed - wearing fleece jackets and wool hats. You'll notice Zoe hanging from the monkey bars - she is not wearing a jacket. I thought this was too funny to not take a picture.

It has been awhile...

since I last posted. I've been very excited about Kentucky's football team. They have been doing awesome lately. I was disappointed about the South Carolina loss, but the LSU win was huge. I cannot believe UK is #7 in the BCS right now. They are #4 in the computer rankings. That is the first time they have ever been in the BCS rankings. ESPN Gameday is going to Lexington for the UK-Florida game this weekend. That is the first time Gameday has ever come to Lexington for a football game. Awesome! Go Cats!

Two weeks ago, we worked hard for several days on our slate floor in the entryway. Now everything is done except for the quarter round. It looks great. The next project is to get a new front door.

Last weekend we were in Bowling Green, KY for my Dad's 60th birthday. It was fun, other than Addie's coughing/croup issue. We got to watch most of the UK-LSU game, even though the party was in the middle of the game.

I've got an awesome men's camping trip coming up on Friday. It should be fun!

Rachel has got lots going on with school and two jobs. She has been very busy lately. Go Grad School! Go Marriage! Go Rachel!

Tuition Assistance...

sucks? Rachel gets tuition assistance from UAB since I am an employee. (She also works for UAB, but receives no benefits). Apparently graduate tuition assistance for spouses and dependants is considered taxable. Undergraduate assistance for spouses or dependants is not taxable, nor is assistance for graduate or undergrad for the employee. We were not aware of this until my most recent monthly paycheck was $104 less. They taxed $386 of the tuition assistance on this paycheck at a 27% tax rate. I was shocked at this at first, so I called payroll and they explained the tax rules to me. What they did not explain to me was that they will be taking these extra taxes out of my check as long as Rachel received tuition assistance from me. So imagine my surprise when I received a letter in the mail today saying that they will be taking that $104 in taxes out of my paycheck every month for the rest of the semester (and any other semester Rachel received tuition assistance from me). So even though Rachel received $1500 in tuition assistance from UAB, that will end up costing us $416. The main reason this sucks is because Rachel also has an education account with quite a bit of money still in it. Should we take the assistance now, or wait until later after the education account is empty? Hopefully we will get much of this money back when we file our taxes. These stupid tax laws take away much of the value of tuition assistance.