Thursday, June 26, 2008

Good news

I don't really expect you to read this whole thing, although feel free to as it is informative. Basically The AB board of directors has turned down the inbev buyout offer. They also said they are making plans to cut costs and make other moves to make the company more profitable. Now we can only pray that if this deal goes into hostile takeover the shareholders will vote no, and that the cost cutting measures don't include Sean losing his job. I know that a lot of shareholders only see this offer as a business deal, but I see it as much more personal than that. How can you ignore the fact that Ab employs thousands of people all over the country who's job may be lost if this goes through? And then consider all their families who will not only be without income, but without health insurance and other important benefits. Another major factor is all the charitable work Anheuser-Busch does not only locally, but around the country. It would be a shame to see all that end and so many people's lives turned upside down for the almighty dollar. So please, continue to pray this will all be over soon and AB can focus on the really important things, like making yummy beer!

Sean just forwarded this to me:
All Anheuser-Busch Employees
All Anheuser-Busch Wholesalers

The Anheuser-Busch board of directors has determined that the unsolicited, non-binding proposal it received from InBev is financially inadequate and not in the best interests of Anheuser-Busch shareholders. We have issued a press release moments ago announcing this, see copy below.

The value of InBev’s proposal was below the value created by Anheuser-Busch’s own strategic plan, which Randy Baker and I will outline in detail to investors tomorrow morning in a conference call.

We have a strong plan, and it is important that we remain focused on our business and delivering results. We have an experienced, motivated workforce and family of wholesalers working together. Thank you for your commitment to high performance that will continue to assure our success in the future.



August A. Busch IV








ANHEUSER-BUSCH REJECTS INBEV PROPOSAL AS FINANCIALLY INADEQUATE, NOT IN BEST INTERESTS OF SHAREHOLDERS

ST. LOUIS, June 26, 2008 – Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. (NYSE: BUD), a leading global brewer, today announced that its board of directors has unanimously determined that the unsolicited, non-binding proposal by InBev (Euronext: INB) to acquire all outstanding shares of Anheuser-Busch for $65 per share is financially inadequate and not in the best interests of Anheuser?Busch shareholders.

“InBev’s proposal significantly undervalues the unique assets and prospects of Anheuser?Busch,” said Patrick Stokes, chairman of the board for the company. “The proposed price does not reflect the strength of Anheuser-Busch’s global, iconic brands Bud Light and Budweiser, the top two selling beer brands in the world, with Budweiser selling in more than 80 countries today. The proposal also undervalues the earnings growth actions that the company had already planned, which have significant potential for shareholder value creation; the company’s market position in the United States, the most-profitable beer market in the world; and the high value of its existing strategic investments.”

The board thoroughly studied the proposal with independent financial and legal advisers on multiple occasions during the two-week period since the proposal was made, and the board’s independent directors also met alone to fully examine its merits.

“The InBev proposal fails to be competitive with alternative plans the company has developed in recent months to generate significant top-line and bottom-line growth, which will increase value for the company’s shareholders,” said Douglas A. Warner III, the board’s lead independent director. “The board will continue to consider all opportunities that build shareholder value.”

The board communicated its decision in a letter sent from August A. Busch IV, president and chief executive officer of Anheuser-Busch to Carlos Brito, chief executive officer of InBev. Full text of the letter follows:

June 26, 2008




Mr. Carlos Brito
Chief Executive Officer
InBev nv/sa
Brouwerijplein 1
3000 Leuven
Belgium

Dear Carlos,

This is to provide you with a response from the Anheuser-Busch board of directors to your unsolicited and non-binding proposal submitted June 11th.

First, let me express our appreciation for your public comments about your high regard for Anheuser-Busch, its employees, leadership and wholesalers, remarking on the success of our company in building iconic brands and the independence of its board of directors.

We have noted that your letter is expressly not an offer, but only a non-binding proposal. Notwithstanding the non-binding nature of your proposal, the Anheuser-Busch board carefully and thoroughly examined all aspects of your proposal with the assistance of independent advisers.

The board unanimously concluded your proposal is inadequate and not in the best interests of Anheuser-Busch shareholders. In reaching this conclusion, the board considered the advice of its independent financial advisers.

The Anheuser-Busch board believes that your proposed price substantially undervalues Anheuser-Busch, its key assets and its prospects, among them:

Premier, iconic brands – Anheuser-Busch has built coveted, highly valued brands over the past 150 years. Budweiser and Bud Light are among the top 10 global consumer brands and are supported by valuable marketing properties. Bud Light is the largest?selling beer brand in the world and Budweiser is the second-largest. These brands have strong consumer loyalty. Recent change of control acquisitions of other major consumer product companies with iconic brands have been valued at much higher multiples than what you have proposed for Anheuser-Busch shareholders.

Market leader position – The strength of these brands and the close relationship the company has with its wholesalers have made Anheuser-Busch the U.S. market leader with almost 50 percent share in the world’s most-profitable beer market. In sheer size, the United States is the world’s second-largest beer market and continues to grow.

Growing international partners – Anheuser-Busch has large, strategic investments in two international brewers in important growth markets. We hold a 50 percent direct and indirect interest in Grupo Modelo, the leading brewer in Mexico, another very profitable beer market. Modelo also has a strong, growing business in the United States. We hold a 27 percent interest in Tsingtao, the leading premium beer and one of the largest brewers in China, which is the largest and fastest-growing beer market in the world.

Global brand business – Budweiser is a leading global brand, sold in 80 countries around the world, and is the largest-selling beer in Canada. Budweiser is the leading international brand in China, the world’s largest and fastest-growing beer market. We own our Budweiser brewery in India and recently entered Vietnam. We see strong growth for Budweiser in Mexico, Argentina, Paraguay and other Latin American markets.

Accelerated Earnings Growth – Our company already has developed a detailed, accelerated earnings growth plan that 1.) expands our cost initiative through an enhanced productivity plan that we refer to as the Blue Ocean effort to deliver more than $750 million in savings through 2009 and $1 billion in savings through 2010, while furthering environmental sustainability; 2.) extends the strong revenue growth from our brands that we’ve seen over the past five years; and 3.) drives additional volume growth for core brands through new consumer opportunities and for our successful, higher-margin new products.

Anheuser-Busch’s beer brand building expertise is an asset without comparison. Our brands sell in countries around the world and are sought by consumers everywhere. Our award?winning advertising, U.S. and global sponsorships and superior-quality image are second to none.

As you state in your letter, there is limited overlap in our respective businesses. Many of the suggested synergies seem not to be synergies at all, but are instead profit enhancements. We believe that we can deliver similar enhancements to our shareholders independent of a transaction, and have included these enhancements in our accelerated earnings growth plan.

From your standpoint, we see that now could be opportunistic timing for you to make this acquisition, given the weak U.S. dollar and sluggish U.S. stock market. From the standpoint of the Anheuser-Busch shareholder, however, a transaction with InBev at this time would mean foregoing the greater value obtainable from Anheuser-Busch’s strategic growth plan. We are convinced that pursuing our program will enable Anheuser-Busch shareholders, rather than InBev shareholders, to realize the inherent value of Anheuser-Busch.

While Anheuser-Busch pursues its plan, its board will continue to consider any strategic alternative that would be in the best interests of Anheuser-Busch shareholders. The board is open to consider any proposal that would provide full and certain value to Anheuser?Busch shareholders.

Our two companies know each other well and have a close dialogue and relationship. This has developed over the years through our joint agreements in the United States, Canada and South Korea and through our exploration of other joint business deals. As you say yourself, you dream big. We respect your desires to grow your company. But your growth should not come at the expense of our stockholders.

Very truly yours,




August A. Busch IV

cc: Board of Directors of InBev nv/sa



About Anheuser-Busch:

Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch is the leading American brewer, holding a 48.5 percent share of U.S. beer sales. The company brews the world’s largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch also owns a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico’s leading brewer, and a 27 percent share in China brewer Tsingtao, whose namesake beer brand is the country’s best-selling premium beer. Anheuser-Busch ranked No. 1 among beverage companies in FORTUNE Magazine’s Most Admired U.S. and Global Companies lists in 2008. Anheuser-Busch is one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and one of the world’s largest recyclers of aluminum cans. For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com.

Anheuser-Busch Advisers

Goldman, Sachs & Co., Citigroup Global Capital Markets Inc. and Moelis & Company are acting as financial advisers to Anheuser-Busch. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is acting as legal adviser to Anheuser-Busch.

Conference Call

Anheuser-Busch will conduct a conference call with investors to discuss its rejection of the InBev proposal and its plan for accelerated earnings growth at 7:30 a.m. Central Time on June 27. The company will broadcast the conference call live via the Internet. For details, visit the company’s site on the Internet at www.anheuser-busch.com.

Forward-looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements regarding the company’s expectations concerning its future operations, earnings and prospects. On the date the forward-looking statements are made, the statements represent the company’s expectations, but the company’s expectations concerning its future operations, earnings and prospects may change. The company’s expectations involve risks and uncertainties (both favorable and unfavorable) and are based on many assumptions that the company believes to be reasonable, but such assumptions may ultimately prove to be inaccurate or incomplete, in whole or in part.

Accordingly, there can be no assurances that the company’s expectations and the forward-looking statements will be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ (favorably or unfavorably) from the expectations stated in this release include, among others, changes in the pricing environment for the company’s products; changes in U.S. demand for malt beverage products, including changes in U.S. demand for other alcohol beverages; changes in consumer preference for the company’s malt beverage products; changes in the distribution for the company’s malt beverage products; changes in the cost of marketing the company’s malt beverage products; regulatory or legislative changes, including changes in beer excise taxes at either the federal or state level and changes in income taxes; changes in the litigation to which the company is a party; changes in raw materials prices; changes in packaging materials costs; changes in energy costs; changes in the financial condition of the company's suppliers; changes in interest rates; changes in foreign currency exchange rates; unusual weather conditions that could impact beer consumption in the U.S.; changes in attendance and consumer spending patterns for the company’s theme park operations; changes in demand for aluminum beverage containers; changes in the company’s international beer business or in the beer business of the company’s international equity partners; changes in the economies of the countries in which the company, its international beer business or its international equity partners operate; future acquisitions or divestitures by the company, including effects on its credit rating; changes resulting from transactions among the company’s global or domestic competitors; and the effect of stock market conditions on the company’s share repurchase program. Anheuser-Busch disclaims any obligation to update or revise any of these forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors concerning the company can be found in the company’s most recent Form 10-K

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

17 months old

Well I got distracted by the fact that everyone was out of town and totally missed Megan's 17 month old birthday. Not a whole lot new going on with her lately though either. We're still working to get her talking with actual words and not just jabbering in her own language. I know one of these days she's going to wake up and just start talking in complete sentences. Then she really won't seem like a baby anymore. I think her super curly hair is helping to keep her looking like a baby for now.
Megan is still incredibly tiny for her age. I think height-wise she is catching up, but she is still really skinny. Everyone we meet guesses she is about 6 months younger than she really is.
Megan loves climbing and is quite the expert at stairs. She even knows how to go down them really well. I can't wait to see how she acts at the lake this year. With as much as she loves taking a bath I think she'll have a good time.

Monday, June 23, 2008

home safely

Sean and the kids made it home safely yesterday evening. I did enjoy my weekend alone, but it was nice having everyone home again. As nuts as the kids make me sometimes, I definitely miss them when they aren't here. I did get a lot of things done, although Sean was probably wondering why the house was not perfectly clean when he arrived yesterday. But lets face it, I'm not that person. My house would not be immaculate even if I lived alone. Clean I can do, but prefectly picked up and organized, not so much.
Anyway the kids had so much fun with everyone, especially their cousin Courtney who they rarely get to see. And the most exciting news I heard was that Sean's sister is ENGAGED! Congratulations guys. I probably wasn't supposed to post that on here for all the world to see, but too bad, I'm excited. Now I just have to convince them to get married on the beach somewhere so we have an excuse to go. LOL! I actually have no idea what their plans are because I wasn't there and we all know how great guys are about getting all the info.
So now we have 5 days to get the rest of the shopping and packing done for the lake trip. I'm so excited even though I know the lake is going to be up and have a lot of junk in it. It is always so clear and beautiful, but when the water gets really high, as it is now, it's a lot more murky and full of leaves and other crud. The good news is that even on it's worst day it is still a million times cleaner than the Lake of the Ozarks. So in 5 days we'll be here soaking up the sun and... well that's all we do really.


PS. Kelly I'm so glad you figured out how to leave a comment! :)

Thursday, June 19, 2008

my thursday night

This is how I spent my night:

I never saw season one or any of season two except the last episode, so I'm spending my weekend catching up. So far it's been great tv!

On a side note I realized tonight this is the first time I've been alone without a husband or kids since before I had Emma. No wonder it feels odd to be home alone. It's been over 5 years.

do you hear that?

Listen closely or you might miss it. Oh wait, you can't hear anything? ... That's right my house is completely silent, well except for the hum of the air conditioner. Sean just left for a weekend trip with all 3 kids and I'm home alone. While I'm so excited about a little quiet time just for me, it's incredibly odd for our house to be this quiet, ever, let alone at 6pm. I am sad that I could not go this weekend (yes guys I really do like spending time with you), but I have a million things to do here at the house to prepare for our vacation in a week and a half, and I'm just not feeling up to taking two very long car trips so close together.
So if anyone is free this weekend, so am I for once. And if you could pray that everyone has a safe trip that would be great too!

This is where I'd love to be this weekend enjoying my quiet time, but I'll take what I can get! hehe

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Nathan's 4 years old

and so we went for his checkup. He grew 3 inches, and is up to 39 inches tall. He also gained a little weight and weighs 33 1/2 pounds. The good news is he is still in the 25th percentile for both height and weight, so he's proportionate. The doctor said he looks great and has no concerns. Nathan also had to get two shots today, the mmr and his second chicken pox vaccine. He seems fine this afternoon and doesn't even seem to have a fever with them, which is pretty common. Of course he cried a little, but instantly receovered, and there was no screaming bloody murder, like when Emma goes to the doctor.
I also changed the look of our blog again. There was something that was just off about the other design. I like this one better and I hope you do too!

Kelly and Mike's wedding

As some of you know, I occassionally do "Day of Wedding Coordinating", and I love it. I recently worked a wedding for an amazing couple and today their slideshow was posted by their awesome photographers. Kelly and Mike had a beautiful day, and they had two of the most amazing photographers in St. Louis there to capture everything. Not only are the photographers ridiculously talented, they are also two of the nicest people I've ever met. I really hope I get a chance to work with them again soon. Anyway, here is a link to their fabulous show. While you are on their site be sure to check out some of the other amazing weddings they have been part of.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Happy Father's Day

Just wanted to say Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Today we went to a park that had a big playground and some fountains to play in. I totally forgot my camera, so no fun pictures today. But everyone had a good time playing. Only two weeks till the lake!

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

more work on the house

It's been a while since I posted anything about the work going on at the house. At the end of February we got the basement finished. We had the Owens Corning Basement Finishing system installed around the exterior walls and then we drywalled the interior parts. We are still working on getting the doors and trim installed, but at least it is usable space now. I didn't take any before pictures, but just imagine a room with concrete floors and walls crammed with a bunch of crap and boxes.
Here is how it looks now (please ignore all the toys strewn about, I was too lazy to clean up before taking the picture):




Because of finishing the basement, our upstiars living room was empty. I was content to leave it empty until we knew for sure what we wanted to put in there and had the money to buy it. Sean thought it was odd to have an empty living room for who knows how long, and thanks to Uncle Sam's stimulus check we went furniture shopping. We ended up with a sofa and love seat set from Ashley furniture, and a set of 3 black tables, also from Ashley. The sofa and love seat are so comfortable. I am still contemplating painting again (don't tell Sean, he doesn't know that), but for now it works since the furniture is neutral. I STILL haven't put up curtains in the living room because I can't find anything I like. Plus I'm not sure what the best plan of attack is for window treatments in there. So it's not like there are no curtains after living here for 3 years because I'm lazy, I'm just lost. I am also going to go and get a chair I have reupholstered. This chair is the most hideous chair I've ever seen. But I love the shape, so I decided it was worth saving. My mom had it and I think it was a chair that was left in the first house she and dad lived in, so it's old and crappy, but I think it will be beautiful when it's finished.
Here is the sofa and love seat we bought:

and here is the table set we bought:

And here is a picture of the living room as it is now:


The other room that was affected by the basement finising, was the office. All the kids toys were relocated to the basement, making the office more like an office and less like a room with an identity crisis. No major changes in there, but a bit of rearranging and hanging some shelves and pictures definitely make a difference anyway. Sorry no pictures of this one because it has actually become the holding place for Emma's old mattress, and it doesn't look so great with a bed in the middle of the room!

The last room that has gotten a recent overhaul is Emma's room. I know that seems like an unlikely room to do anything to, but because of the new baby, Emma and Megan are going to have to share for a while, which means we needed a more workable sleeping arrangement than trying to cram a toddler bed or twin bed into Emma's room alongside Emma's huge double bed. The solution... Bunk Beds! I really wanted white beds to math Emma's other furniture, but all the ones I liked were really expensive. We ended up with a chocolate brown set that is really plain and simple, but cute, and my plan is once the new baby is old enough to share the bunks will end up back in Megan's current room. Our plan is if we have another girl, she will share a room with Megan and Emma will get her room back to herself. And if it's a boy then he will share with Nathan, and Megan and Emma will each have their own rooms. Aren't we quite the planners?
Anyway here is a picture of Emma's room before(sorry it's not so great):

and with the new beds:


I still have a lot of work to do, but things are getting there. I still want to tile the half bath and repaint it. Plus we need to finish the trim in the basement and put up our crown molding, now that we bought it and it's just sitting in a pile in our foyer.

Monday, June 9, 2008

13 weeks

So I went to the doctor today and everything looks great. I gained back all the weight I had lost plus a pound, so that sucked, but my dr. said I should gain weight, so I didn't feel too bad. He even said, "sorry you gained weight," as I was leaving. I almost said, "Don't be sorry. I'm the one eating all the ice cream." But I didn't. The baby's heart rate was 154, which is pretty normal. So I go back in 5 weeks. It was supposed to be 4, but we'll be gone that week. Anyway, Yay for good appointments.
and because no one likes pictureless posts here is one of Sean and I from the wedding.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

pregnancy update

Things are still going well. I feel like I'm finally coming out of the sickness phase. Of course, I'll tell you that today and then wake up tomorrow feeling like I got ran over by a truck, but for today I'm feeling good. I go back to the doctor next week, I think (maybe I should check on that), and hopefully we'll get to hear the baby's heartbeat. It always makes me feel better being able to hear it, and not just see the little flicker on the ultrasound screen that the doctor says is the heartbeat. In other news I've really starting growing a belly now. I think I'm still stuck in that limbo of people not really knowing if I'm just chubby or if I'm a little pregnant, which is ok, except I hate feeling like people think I'm fat. I want to wear a sign that says, "Yes I'm pregnant, I'm not just addicted ice cream". Which I am this pregnancy, but everyone doesn't need to know that. I'll try to get Sean to take a picture of my growing mid-section tonight. He always looks at me funny when I ask him to take pictures of weird things (like me with the before and after haircut pictures), but he usually does it anyway. Guys just don't get it, and I've given up on trying to explain it.

Happy Birthday Nathan

Nathan turned 4 on Tuesday. He is growing so fast and is such a funny kid. He keeps saying that he is so glad he is 4 now. I guess being 4 is so much better than being 3. As always here are pictures form years past.

When he was born

His first birthday

His second birthday

His 3rd birthday

this year with his new bike!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

tada!

I got my hair cut today. Please ignore the fact that I look crappy in these pictures. I really like my hair, even though it is shorter than I wanted. The length I wanted would have left me one inch short of being able to donate my hair to "Locks of Love". So, since it was only an inch difference I told the guy to just cut enough off. I'm so glad I decided to do that, and my hair turned out cute anyway.
Before

After:

and here is my ponytail they cut off

Monday, June 2, 2008

haircut

Tomorrow I am going to get my first major haircut in a long time. My hair is pretty much as long as it was when I graduated high school. Right after graduating is when I chopped it all off. I am one of those people that is in a constant cycle of growing my hair out, and then cutting it all off again. I am so looking forward to shorter, more manageable, cooler hair for the summer. Not to mention that it will be easier to take care of than the thick mass of hair I have now. Granted cutting it all off means I'll actually have to fix it rather than just throwing it in a pony tail, but I'm tired of being that mom with her hair always in a ponytail. Plus I feel like it's so heavy and thick that even when I wear it down it looks crappy. Be sure to check back tomorrow for before and after pictures!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Laura's wedding

Saturday Laura and Brian got married. It was an amzing day. Everything was so perfect and Laura was absolutely stunning. It was so great to be part of their wedding day. The kids did a great job, and had so much fun at the reception. They cried when it was over because they did not want to leave. They danced and danced and danced. It was so cute. Here are a few pictures I have from the big day. I can't wait to see all the amazing pictures her photographer got. He and his partner were amazing. What a fabulous day. Congratulations Laura and Brian!




Laura's rehearsal

Thursday was the rehearsal for Laura's wedding. Everything went really well and the kids all did such a good job. They were so cute! At the rehearsal dinner Laura gave the kids their presents, and she did such an awesome job. She got Emma a purse with her name on it and inside was a book about being a flower girl, a box with her wedding jewelry in it, and a little pink bag with some lip gloss and nail polish. Emma did not put her purse down all weekend. She LOVES it!
Nathan's present was the book, "10 cool things about being a ring bearer" and a shark tent. It is a tent for kids in the shape of a shark. I had to put it up right away Friday morning, and the kids have played in it constantly since.
She also got all of us bridesmaids black bags with our names on them, and they were full of very useful items. The best things were our necklaces and earrings for the wedding, and yellow fliip-flops for us to wear once the ceremony was over. My feet were so thankful for that gift! What a great friend Laura is.