Happy Halloween!

We went to our friend Tya's annual Halloween party on Saturday.  It was a blast as always, with great food, fun costumes, and a hypnotist to boot!

This year was a movie theme, so we dressed up accordingly.  Can you tell we're on a budget?  ;)  Have a happy Halloween this weekend everyone!  Be safe.

24 weeks and counting

Much has happened since the July 24th parade. I guess I could use that as an excuse why we haven't updated the blog. It's either that, or pure laziness. I'd go for the latter.

My parents came home from their mission in August. That means we don't take pictures anymore because we don't need to send our weekly pics. In fact, I don't even know where the camera is. We've been staying in their basement and they've been wonderful roommates. We're going to miss them when we move into our new house this week!

That's what I said, when we move into our new house this week. We found a house (after 10 months of searching and I think last we counted it was the 8th house we offered on. UGH). The house is in Woods Cross - about a mile away from my parents. We signed the paperwork on Friday, the house recorded yesterday, and we had a cleaning party last night. This house didn't come without difficulties. The sellers have multiple sticks up their bums. However, most of the problems have been solved (except for a missing hot tub that was in the contract. We're looking forward to a nice chunk of cash for payment). I didn't care so much about the hot tub - cuz of my current condition. I probably shouldn't cook the baby.

That's the next news item to post on this outdated blog. We're expecting a little girl in February! Valentines Day to be exact... actually more of an estimate. :) We're very excited. I've been extremely lucky and haven't been sick. I had the nauseous feeling in the first trimester, but never succumbed to actually vomiting. As long as I kept food in my belly, I was good. There were times when I tried to suck down that nasty prenatal and the gag-reflexes took over. Ew. But now I'm just getting rounder and rounder. Or as I like to say, fat and happy.

We really are happy - there are so many changes going on right now. We're looking forward to having a place of our own and re-opening wedding gifts that have been in storage for 22 months. :)

Happy 24th

We love parades. And the summer - especially when we can be in the shade. :) I had saved a place for us on the parade route just up the street from my work so we got a nice place in the shade - with space to lie down when the parade was slow.

We were that far away from Jan and her family. They needed to be closer to the street so they could catch candy. We only got one piece that one of BJ's young men threw at him. And Jan delivered circus peanuts too. mmm. Thanks.

The boys came and visited. What goof balls!
The only thing that BJ could find for a pillow was my purse. Looks comf huh?

Videos

If any of you are Mr. Bean fans out there, you're gonna like this one. :) Even if you're not, it's a funny one.



And this one is awesome. Thanks for letting me know about it, Jo!

Eight is enough

Joni Bologna tagged me, so here goes. Oh, and for those of you I tagged (which I didn't), just mention who tagged you, do the eight things and tag 8 fellow bloggers. Good luck!

8 Things I Look Forward To:

Mom and Dad coming home in just over 2 months!!!!
Watching Wipeout tonight
Becoming a millionaire so I don't have to work
Weekends because I don't have to work (I could go on, but 2 "so I don't have to work" items should get the point across.)
Not being the ward organist anymore
Buying a house
Out next vacation (when and where, we don't know)
Girls' night on Wednesday nights. :)

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

Went to work
Taught 2 piano lessons
Watched Chuck
Went to my Visiting Teaching interview
Practiced the piano
Went grocery shopping
Did a crossword puzzle
Showered

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

Draw
Play the violin
Go on Jeopardy
Run my own business
Fly out to Africa again to pick up Mom and Dad
Be bilingual (I kinda stole that one from Joni, but I wish it too!)
Be a doctor
Go back to school (probably should do that before I'm a doctor.)

8 Favorite Things to Make for Dinner:

Roast beef and mashed potatoes
Grandma's homemade mac & cheese
Turkey steak burgers
Chicken milan
Chicken roll-ups
Chicken dumpling soup
Shish-kabobs
Yoshida pork chops

8 Shows I Watch:

Wipeout
Chuck (as of yesterday)
Friends reruns
Jeopardy
Scrubs
(That's all, I don't have shows I have to watch each week, I just watch what's on when it's on.)

8 Bloggers I Tag:

Tag yourself! I don't tag as a rule, but it's fun to come up with 8 things, so I encourage a post from you good people out there. ;)

Golf day

BJ had a golf tournament at his work a few weeks ago. Here are the pics of his team. He had fun watching the guys around him get sloshed.

Happy Memorial Day!

We went to the Woods Cross City Memorial Day Celebration this year. To start out, we got up early and did the 5K with the Jones family. Craigger and Janet are runners and went really fast so I ran with Noah and BJ was a good sport and walked with Rockwell and Kenli.

Pre race

Right before the race started.


During the race. Noah did so great. He didn't stop once. We did the race in 35:18. Not bad for a little guy with short legs! We have a goal of 30 minutes flat for next year. Wish us luck. :)

The race looped around so we got to pass BJ and the kids. (I just realized that Noah is in most of these pictures. When he grows up, he's going to be the kid that jumps in all of the yearbook pics)
After the race.

Here the kids are looking for my dad's name on the Veteran wall. They were really excited to find Josh's name during their search.

During breakfast. In case you can't see what is in their mouths, it's pancakes, eggs and ham.

The one thing better than having fun on a holiday and staying home from work is having fun on a holiday and staying home from work and still getting paid for it. Bring on the 4th!

Our new pet!

I was out working in the garden the other day when I heard some terrible squacking. I found Sadie chasing a baby bird. This bird couldn't fly so it was a foot race between it and my bird dogs. Despite all of my yelling, the dogs wouldn't stop chasing it. Luckily, he was able to hide under a raspberry bush. I was able to drag the dogs into the house so that I could make a new friend. I put some garden gloves on and caught this bird. BJ named him Petrie.


Petrie was very afraid of us. We made him a nice home in a tin tub and I gave him some water and a strawberry. The dogs were very intrigued by the new smell in the house. We put him outside during the night so that if he felt like leaving the tub during the night, we wouldn't have to look for him in the house.

BJ left for work around 6 am and he was still there. But around 8 am when I looked for him, he was gone. Goodbye Petrie! Hope you are able to fly instead of the weak flutter-run I witnessed earlier. I think he just needed a little TLC. :)

3 months, 12 days later...

I've been told a few times that we need to update our blog. Guess we've been slacking. Nothing much new is going on, just working and playing. BJ is going to school too. He's taking his first test right now. Good luck BJ!

I had just cleaned a chicken carcass and ended up looking like my dad...

BJ bought 2 new suits and we went down to our niece's baptism in American Fork



We both celebrated a birthday - here's a pic of me and Katie with my birthday treat. We didn't get any pics of BJ on his big day. :(

Janalyn's kids stayed with us for a weekend while Jan and Craigger ran a marathon. We had fun eating popcorn, watching the Jazz play and playing Uno.

The kids learned a new game with the rolling kitchen chairs...

S'mores anyone?

Haircuts!

Our dogs don't like me right now, but do you think they needed a haircut??? We're not quite done, still need to do some of the feet and their bellies, but I need BJ to hold them down for me. So for now, they're done. :)

Car Salesman

I love these pics. BJ had to be a car salesman for a young men/young women activity so he dressed the part. We couldn't find any gold chains though...

Movie quotes. NO CHEATING!

Saw this on Sam and Kurtis' blog and wanted to join the fun. Here goes...

THE RULES:
1. Pick 25 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDB and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them in a note for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out (or bold) when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. No Googling or using IMDB search functions. That's cheating and it ruins the fun.

THE QUOTES:

1. “If you fit into my pants, I will kill myself” - - Allisun (4 for 4!) - While you were sleeping

2. “So, um, how would you extract information from a hostile?”
“Well... as a... Hindu person... I would just... ask him... politely...” - - Tya, Ghost Town

3. “It is only out of sheer morbid curiosity that I am allowing this freak show to continue.” - - Ashlee, Liar Liar

4. “Statistically, they say you're more likely to get killed on the way to the airport. You know, like on a head on crash or flying off a cliff or getting trapped under a gas truck! That's the worst! I have this cousin, well y'know, I had this cousin...” - - Ashlee, Dumb and Dumber

5. “I don't know... But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking... don't they?” - - Joni, Wizard of Oz

6. “Practically perfect people never permit sentiment to muddle their thinking.” - - Janalyn, Mary Poppins

7. “This has got to be, without a doubt, the single most humiliating day of my life! I hope that you appreciate what I go through for you, young lady! Now, we got to make a plan to get that boy to kiss you. Tomorrow, when he takes you for that ride, you gotta look your best!” - - Shar, Little Mermaid

8. “Well, bite my butt and call me an apple! She nearly took her head off!” - - Tya, A League of Their Own

9. “Hey, how're you guys fixin' to pay?”
“What are our choices?”
“A: Credit card; B: Cash; C: Sneak out in the middle of the night.”
“We'll take C.”
“Very popular choice.” - - Tya, Great Muppet Caper

10. “Well, Jack, good news. I think we can rule out demonic posession among your ailments.”
“But, the little voice from inside was talking to me."
“See, that's just it. Demons talk THROUGH you - not TO you.” - - Tya, Innerspace

11. “A book?"
“That's right. When I was your age, television was called books.” -- Allisun, Princess Bride

12. “Sadie was a beautiful woman, Sadie was not a man!”
“She had a mustache, a nice mustache.” “I think she had more than a mustache!”
“Well, she was European.” - - Allisun, American Outlaws

13. “Guys, a woman's purse, alright, it's her secret source of power. Alright? There are many dark and dangerous things in there, that we, the male species, should know nothing about.” - - Shar, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

14. “I've been hearing things from little birds. Things from Harlem, Queens, all over. They been chirpin' in my ear.” - - Allisun, Newsies

15. “I had a good life before you. Well, not good... but... it was okay. Well... it was empty actually, but at least I was blissfully unaware of how miserable I was. Where as now... because of you... I am acutely aware of how completely and totally unhappy I am. Thank you for that.” - - Shar, Failure to Launch

16. “Do you understand that the world does not revolve around you and your do whatever it takes, ruin as many people's lives, so long as you can make a name for yourself as an investigatory journalist, no matter how many friends you lose or people you leave dead and bloodied along the way, just so long so you can make a name for yourself as an investigatory journalist, no matter how many friends you lose or people you leave dead and bloodied and dying along the way?” - - Drae, Zoolander (you can uncross your fingers now)

17. “Their shows got canceled. Because no one wants to see a fifty-year-old guy hitting on chicks.” - - Jamie, Wedding Singer

18. “Because... she's got this rare disease and if she believes something that's not right and you tell her the truth her brain will boil in her head and she'll die! Ok?”

19. “How was India? I'll tell you how India was. I got up this morning and I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How an elephant got in my pajamas, I shall never know.” - - Janalyn, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

20. “What are you all doing in my room? And what's this forest is doing in my room?” - - Jamie, Combat High

21. “Hey man there was nothin' on that. How 'bout a real shot? Hey Paison, meatballs are slowin' ya down? Hey uhh... how do you say in Italiano, wussy?”

22. “You can't play that.”
“Why not?"
“Because it's Hitler's harmonica. You can't play Hitler's harmonica.”
“You're driving his car!”
“Yes, but I'm not touching it with my mouth. I'm not sucking on the dashboard. I'm not getting his germs!” - - Janalyn, Rat Race

23. “That's why you ran across the whole field?... Wait, you've got to tell me - was it spongy?” - - Tya, Fever Pitch

24. “I'm allergic to fabric softener. I majored in comparative literature at Brown. I hate anchovies. And I think I'd miss you even if we never met.” - - Ashlee, The Wedding Date

25. “Hi guys, alright, say hello to Colleen!”
“Daddy says her name is 'whoops'!” - - Janalyn, Marley and Me

Still alive, and we have a ton of pictures to prove it...

Hello! It's been a long time, and so instead of writing a novel (which I know you all love so much anyway) I figured I would post all the pictures from the past month. A quick review: we went to Africa for two weeks to visit Jer's parents for Christmas, Jer went to visit her sister in Oregon for a week after we got back, and we had our 2 year anniversary. Hope you all enjoy the pictures!

My cute wife taking a self-portrait. I just wanted to throw that in. :)

The flowers I bought for Jer for our anniversary. She bought me a great picture with a nice frame we just put together.

Now for our trip, this was us sitting in JFK airport waiting for our next flight to Africa.

Now we're in Africa, driving to the house with Jer's parents after they picked us up at the airport. Check out all the shops on the side of the road.

Need some shoes?

Okay, after spending a day or two in Dar we flew off to Arusha to start our safari. Here is Jer and Ireta by our safari truck, which picked us up from the airport in Arusha. James is in the background, he was our guide for 4 days.

We saw a bunch of animals on our safari, and this was the first. Just as we pulled out from the airport in Arusha there was a giraffe.

We had a pit stop at this shop, which was loaded with wood carvings and paintings.

We also stopped at this Maasai market so James could buy himself some goat meat for dinner. Meanwhile, we were getting pestered by the locals trying to sell us stuff.

Our first stop on our safari was this lodge. Here we are walking to our rooms.

Jer hanging out at the lodge, down below is where we would be going the next morning.

Us at dinner, me with my tasty Coke and Jer with her tasty Fanta Passion Fruit.

Now we're out on the safari around Lake Manyara. Right off we were driving through a herd of elephants.

And then a pack of baboons...

Once we finished driving around the lake and had a sack lunch, we drove to our next destination. After an hour or two driving we made it to the Ngorongoro Crater. It was crazy green everywhere which surprised us, and we saw a bunch of wildlife as we were driving up to the rim of the crater. This is a water buck.


This is the entrance to our lodge on the rim of the crater, we stayed there for 2 nights.

Here is the view from our balcony, looking down into the crater. Well, off to the right a bit because we found there were a few elephants grazing just by the tree.

We left to go into the crater early in the morning, here are Jer's parents standing in the safari truck and looking for animals.

A pack of lionesses crossing the road after they have been hunting.

Looking down at Jer, I was still standing and looking around.

Here's a hyena on the side of the road, weird looking things.

Black-backed jackal lying in the shade.

We saw tons of zebras, wildebeests, gazelles... The zebras were cool, we never knew that the young ones start off brown and as they grow up their stripes get black.

I like this shot, this was taken at one of the rest stops in the crater.

A lioness in the shade.

This is as close as I dared to get to a lion, which you can see lying in the shade of another safari truck just in front of us.

Same lion with its kill, before it came over to the shade of the vehicles.

Close shot of the lion.

My favorite part of the safari, we got to see a cheetah!

Ireta talking to Jacob, our local wood carver, at his shop.

This is how women carry their kids around, the kids just sit there.

Here is a spot we went to for lunch one day, Ireta is trying to push her way up in line to order our food.



This is our friend Frank, we went to him to buy all our paintings.

Vegetable market.

Jer with her hair blowing in the wind. We went to the rich area for dinner one night and ate out by the ocean.

On the way home from Africa we had an 8 hour layover in Dubai, by far the nicest airport either of us has been in.

Me passed out in the San Francisco airport, the little sleep I was able to get as we traveled. Jer slept on the benches above me, but apparently not the entire time I was asleep since she decided to take this picture.