Cami and Mike

New Blog

2009-11-16T10:32:00.002-07:00

Hey everyone, I decided to change my blog over to wordpress. So the new blog link is camiandmike.wordpress.com. It has all the posts from this blog, too. So switch your links!

I know I need to blog

2009-11-09T00:11:00.002-07:00

but this is all you get. For now.

Miss you Rik!

Why yes, I'd like to spend my night driving up and down a mountain.

2009-10-21T14:30:00.004-06:00

Which is what we did for an hour a few weekends ago. Mike's good friend Jon, his wife Heather, Mike and I were supposed to go to a haunted house, but the line was so long we decided it wasn't worth it. So we drove up the canyon and up one of the mountaisn to find the campfire Jon's sister Jessie and her husband made up in the woods. But they pick some random spot way back in the woods so we were driving longer than we were actually at the fire.

But we had fun in the car.

Heather and Jon eat out most days of the week, so I'm going to teach Heather a few easy meals.

Ah! The fires of hell! Just kidding. I'm just so, so awesome at taking pictures. Clearly I am talented.

But seriously. This is kind of cool.

I Like to Eat Scones While I'm Wearing my Boots

2009-10-15T15:55:00.003-06:00

When I was 11 we moved from a suburb of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania to a town an hour outside NYC in New York. My new classmates in NY were amused by my accent (mostly the way I said "O's") and used to make me say that sentence - "I like to eat scones while I'm wearing my boots." To laugh at me, basically. Yeah, thanks you guys.

That's just a tidbit I thought I'd share. It doesn't really have anything to do with this post. Except for the scone part.

Speaking of scones, though, they look so unhealthy when you're cooking them.

But they look SO GOOD when they're done.

The other day I made scones, rolls, and a loaf of bread and brought them to the woman I visit teach. She had had a baby the month before, and I figured she could use some homemade bread. Can I just say that I am so glad that Mom is a good cook and has passed those skills to us? I always love making food for other people that I know they'll enjoy. I know eating good food always makes my day a little better, so to be able to do that for other people is just awesome to me. Thanks, Mom!

Mike likes it when I cook, too. Most of the time. Even though he doesn't eat my homemade bread when it's around the house. What's wrong with this boy?

The End of Summer

2009-10-14T13:58:00.009-06:00

So we took our annual Firehouse Carwash Powell trip early September. It was nice to get one final weekend of fun out on the water before fall.

We laid out.

Went wakeboarding and tubing.

Colin made faces.

As did Matt...

I showed them my Sloth face, but I will never allow anyone to take a picture of it.

It got a little cold Sunday, but we still went exploring.

We climbed random roper hanging off the side of cliffs.

And fell off them.

For those of you who haven't been, Lake Powell is a man-made reservoir that has a million little run-off canyons.

They're pretty beautiful to explore.

Colin (General Manager of Mike's work) showed off his strength.

Boys did flips into the water.

We love Powell. Can't wait to go back!

500 Days of Summer

2009-10-13T23:34:00.008-06:00

Ok, so I didn't work for 500 days this past summer, but I do really want to see that movie. I hear it's good. Anyone seen it?

What I DID do was work as an intern at Terry Deru's investment management firm in Salt Lake called Belsen Getty. I did pretty much...whatever they needed me to. And learned about market research on morningstar, how to choose mutual funds...cool stuff like that!

Thanks Terry. Seriously.

Speaking of Terry...It was almost like working with my Dad every day. Dad and Terry are best friends and pretty much have the exact same sense of humor which includes always having a joke about EVERYTHING. Oh you two. I couldn't walk down the hall without being harrassed by Terry (when he wasn't on the phone...which wasn't often.) But if harrassing Terry back is something a good intern wouldn't have done....I was a horrible intern.

My desk space (including Tavin's old hoard of Vault Zero behind the trash).

Jackie and Joni. We all had a new craft to show each other every week.

Jordan. I don't think I've heard so many "dudes" and "right ons" come from one person's mouth in a single eight-hour period. But I give Jordan props for putting up with me for two months.

Jordan was really proud of his ability to make labels with the "wood" background. So I labeled most everything on his desk with it for him one day. In case he forgot that those things were his.

Janson is Damon's wife's brother and also works for Terry.

I became pretty fond of harrassing Brandon by the end of the summer. I think he enjoyed it.

Mike, another advisor. Tom was gone when I took pictures, but he's the fourth advisor at BG.

And I even got to see Shunae and her little girl! Cute.

I might actually be feeling a little cougar pride.

2009-09-15T22:01:00.004-06:00

I don't especially care to pay attention to BYU football or watch any of the games, but even I felt a little pride when they beat Oklahoma when no one thought they would win.

Yeah, I'm pretty much the only one in the family who doesn't care. Besides Heather.

But for once I'll say....Go Cougars!

This is why we're friends

2009-09-08T21:02:00.002-06:00

Number One

2009-09-01T20:38:00.005-06:00

Can you guys believe Mike and I have been married for over a year? Yeah, me either sometimes. But it's awesome!

The Wednesday before the 15th we took the day off, went to Seven Peaks (a water park in Provo), went out to dinner at a little diner on 1st West and Center called Sammy's, and then went shopping with our Macy's giftcards that we still haven't spent all of since the wedding.

It was pretty much the best day. Ever.

Yes, Mam.

2009-09-01T19:57:00.003-06:00

Rik says I need to blog more, so I will!

Here are pics from a Primary splash party last month.

Hannah is one of the three kids in the primary class Mike and I teach at church.

Kittens! They were so cute. Only like two weeks old.

Cruisin'

2009-08-18T22:50:00.002-06:00

Ok, I know it's hard to see this thing in the picture, but try real hard. And then answer my questions:

What is it?

What is it doing on the highway?

Goodbye Kevrik

2009-08-16T22:47:00.005-06:00

A few weeks ago, Kelsey, Nathan, Mike and I said goodbye to Kevrik the night before they started their cross-country drive.

Their apartment was so sad. They gave the bookshelf to us (along with other furniture), and while Nathan and I were taking it apart, I dropped it on my foot. It still hurts.

We hung out for a while and then took a trip to the hospital cafe to enjoy once last hangout together there. We've spent many a night enjoying that cafe into the early hours of the morning (by which I mean like...maybe 1 at the latest. Seriously. We're pathetic.)

Kels and Nathan headed home from the hospital, but Mike and I headed back to the mansion to say our final goodbyes. Rik and I have been good friends for 3 years now, and we've hung out a lot even since we've been married (especially this summer) so it was sad to see them go. New Jersey, you better appreciate your new residents!

Nice rik.

Mike and Kevin had a special relationship. They talked about the NBA or college football 90% of the time we were all together. It was scintillating. Mostly just to them.

And this is how we say goodbye.

The Funeral

2009-08-16T22:36:00.002-06:00

Sometimes music is just so good. Like right now: currently listening to "The Funeral" by Band of Horses and it's just hitting the spot. Thank you Apple for the Genius function on iTunes; it always somehow magically picks out all the songs I'm in the mood for.

I guess that's why they call it Genius.

Speaking of funerals, I'll probably be having Mike's sooner than later if he makes himself another casadilla like the one he made the other day.

I mean, check that thing out. It looks like throw-up with cheese on top.

The Big 5

2009-08-12T22:29:00.003-06:00

Jackson had his 5th birthday party last month and Michelle and I went down to help out Heather with the 8 5 year olds at the house. It was jungle themed.

Everyone enjoyed the hats. And I mean...

everyone.

Happy Birthday Jackson!

My Bruva's Wedding

2009-08-11T22:24:00.007-06:00

Yay Kristine and Dave! July 8th, 2009.

Mike loves his Momma.

And James loves his Momma.

James snacked of goldfish before the luncheon

and occasionally shared some.

Please zoom in and check out Ian's face in this picture.

Yeah, thanks Dave. We love you too.

And I love my pops.

This is what Ian did pretty much the whole luncheon.

I got to sit next to James.

Kristine and Dave, this was a little disappointing. I mean...why be nice when you could be doing...

this.

Congrats you two.

"I live in a hotel"

2009-08-09T14:56:00.006-06:00

Whenever I'm sad because I think I'm not going to see my family much within a year, they seem to prove me wrong. Which I don't mind at all. Mike and I got to hang out with Mom, Dad, Amy, Curt, Ian, James, Dave and Kristine for 5 days while they were here for Dave and Kristine's wedding. Way to bring the family together you two.

Because, let's be honest, how could I stay away from this guy for too long?

Or this crazy-face? Who, by the way, kept telling strangers in the Marriott that he lived in a hotel. It was probably the best five days of his life.

I skipped out on work while they were here (thanks, Terry!) and we spent one day in Park City. Here's Jameser on a playground.

And my cute Momma.

Curt, Amy, Dad, and I did the extreme zipline while Mom and Ian rode down the Alpine Slide. Not to be outdone on speed, of course, Mom claimed she would have gone much faster if Ian hadn't ridden with her...

We watched as skiiers practiced tricks while jumping into the pool.

And the olypmic center had weird things up on the walls. I didn't really know what to think of them.

We played Oh Hell (a family favorite card game), swam in the pool, shopped, and had fun relaxing together. Can you guys come back to Utah soon, please?

4th of July

2009-08-08T08:10:00.004-06:00

Mike and I spent 4th of July with his family up in Sandy. Their neighborhood does a parade (which I slept through because it started at 8) and then a breakfast at the pool (which consisted of sausage, watermelon, and krispy kreme donuts. Interesting).

Michelle, Nate, Becky, and the kids came over, and while we were waiting for Mike to get off work so we could start bbqing, the fam decided to go on a hike to some falls up Big Cottonwood Canyon (to which my response was..."we're doing this for fun?"). I'm what Jim Gaffigan would describe as "indoorsy." So I texted Mike to hurry up and he made it home for the hike.

So I made him carry me the whole time.

Just kidding. But David got a ride (I really don't understand why Mike prefers carrying David over me).

And Katelyn got a sweet ride. I don't think she touched the ground the whole time. The cheater.

But really the hike wasn't bad at all. I suppose this was worth it.

Here's a closer look at Katelyn's ride. Pretty sweet, eh?

David and Alex though Uncle Mike was the coolest person ever because he was throwing big rocks into the stream. See video below, and listen (if you can over the roaring water) to the sounds of awe.

This was a tree up at the falls. People here get so creative...

The slippery log of death while crossing the stream right under the falls.

And here is all of us after the hike. We asked some people to take a picture of us and they took about twenty thousand. This was before Katelyn started getting upset and David started bring the stick up in front of his face.

Ok, now it IS my fault.

2009-08-04T11:03:00.001-06:00

I promise to blog soon.

Happy Father's Day

2009-07-18T18:14:00.008-06:00

Ok, the lack of blogging has NOT been my fault, since we didn't get internet until last week and I'm gone all day every day anyway. So let's update. Mike and I are busy working this summer now that we are home from our travels. Mike is afternoon shift manager now, so he is usually at work until 7:30. I am interning this summer at a friend's investment management company in Salt Lake called Belsen Getty. We only have one car between the two of us, and since Mike works so late we end up being out 12 hours a day. Our usual schedule consists of me dropping Mike off in American Fork on my way to SL at 8, getting off work at 5, waiting around either at Michelle's house or the Bready's in Sandy until 7 and then picking Mike up on my way home. Sounds fun, eh? It's good for us, but they are long, long days.

We all got together at the Bready house for a Father's day celebration. Since everyone in the ward there lives so close (it only takes one street to make a full ward here) they plan "walk-abouts" once a months during the summertime, where volunteers provide food and drink for people walking around the neighborhood on Sunday night. This is an example of the kind of spread we saw at each house. Yum.

It gives people the chance to stop and chat.

Apparently, a few years ago when Thomas was bored he decided to learn how to unicycle to "set him apart" from other guys. I hope that works for you Thomas. I only wish Mike unicycled...

The many faces of David Bready.

Heather and Shane were tortured for a while that night by their own children.

Katelyn was kind enough to show us her cookie. Half eaten.

Turtle Beach

2009-06-18T23:35:00.004-06:00

This beach is called turtle beach because, for whatever reason, sea turtles like to come up on this beach to rest.

Sunset beach.

Laie Temple

2009-06-18T23:23:00.002-06:00

Unfortunately it's under construction, so we can't do a session, but it's pretty to look at. We went to look at it and see the visitor's center on Sunday night.

These pretty flowers were all along the walk up to the temple.

The Polynesian Cultural Center

2009-06-17T22:23:00.005-06:00

To give BYU Hawaii students jobs, the Church built this place back in the 60's called the Polynesian Cultural Center. Within the center is seven different "villages" which each represent a Pacific island and culture, such as Tonga, Somoa, Hawaii, Tahiti, and others. Each village has different buildings, boats, and other things you can find specific to that culture.

This river runs through the whole center, and they put on a show on it in the middle of the day.

I think this was a game in the village of Hawaii.

A pacific island equivalent of mashed potatoes. It didn't have much flavor.

Workers at each village put on a cultural show several times a day. This one was in the Tongan village. They invited audience members who had to repeat what they did, including yelling, stomping, hand motions, and drumming. It was really entertaining.

Here is a Hawaiin canoe that BYU and community members built a few decades ago. It is huge and awesome, it can hold up to 20 crew members.

Here's the midday show on the river. A boat came out representing each island culture and they did dances of the culture.

This was my favorite presentation, mostly because of all the booty shakin. I don't remember which culture it represented. But you should check out the video.

For dinner there was a luau, where they fed us..

pork! Amy, does this bring back memories of the mish? They have a real cooking pit where they show how an animal would be buried while wrapped in banana leaves and slow cooked.

Then, at about 7:30 they put on a show in a giant amphitheater. It's mostly dancing, and some fire tricks which were pretty cool.

You can buy this ice cream dish that has fruit on the bottom with pina colada flavored ice cream. Mmm it's so good. Mike had this one by himself, plus half of one earlier in the day.

My husband is such a freak.

Check out the view

2009-06-17T19:33:00.004-06:00

This is a stop off the highway that gives a view from the mountains. I love the mountains here - they are so green and steep and luscious. Yes, I just called the mountains luscious. I'll take them over the mountains in Utah anyday.

These wild chickens are all over the island. Gladys dreads them...normally they sabotage her sleep by sqawking outside her window at night. We haven't had any problems this trip so far...

This is the opening to a highway going through the mountains. It looks like the temple of doom or something.

Waikiki

2009-06-17T18:39:00.004-06:00

Hawaii is really beautiful, of course. This is Waikiki beach. We went to the swap meet last Wednesday morning with the other Bready's and then drove to Waikiki to eat at Burgers in Paradise. Last Monday we came back and swam here.

This swim area is a cool place to watch the waves crash against this wall. You can barely see it in the picture, but at the very right, there is an area that allows water to come in and out of the swim area. People would wait for the water to get sucked in and out of the hole and would hang on to rocks underwater while the water rushed in and out around them until they couldn't hold on anymore.

Burgers in Paradise was delicious, but the one thing i didn't like was the birds walking around the restaurant. The restaurant was open to the street without any walls, so I could understand that they couldn't keep them out, but it was pretty gross. So unsanitary...

If you click this picture you can see the bird that is actually up on the table, in the basket, eating leftover food. Gross.

Monday

2009-06-11T12:40:00.007-06:00

We spent Monday at a few beaches. It was heaven.

The other Breadys.

Mike and Thomas decided to bury Jake.

See the big rock back there? It's really fun to jump off of. I went snorkeling around the rocks behind it and saw a sea turtle!

Dolphins! A few people went out and swam with them until the lifeguard said we couldn't.

In between beaches, Michael taught Thomas how to catch lizards by lassoing them with a reed.

Sunday

2009-06-11T12:05:00.004-06:00

Here's the place. The bedrooms are back behind the kitchen, and the master suite is downstairs.

Thomas, Michelle, and I played cards after church...

...while the others slept. Sundays are so nice.

Then we had dinner with the Breadys and the Allreds. Here's Courtney, Cortland, and Morgan. There's also Randy's brother John, his wife Stacie, and there other kids: Eric (Courtney is his wife), Connor, and Maddy. They're staying five houses down from us.

Every Day I Wake Up To

2009-06-10T12:56:00.003-06:00

this.

suckers.

NY

2009-06-10T11:49:00.008-06:00

Two days after being home from Asia I hopped a plane from Utah to NY to see the fam and help put together a bridal shower for my brother's fiance, Kristine. Yes, I will blog about Asia, but it will probably be in between other blogs, so you'll have to wait.

After just being in Japan, this is what was for dinner my first night in NY. Of course. My whole family loves sushi. I think Mike is kind of disgusted at how much sushi I can down in one sitting.

And, of course, the real reason for going(no offense Kristine and Dave): the babies. They couldn't get enough of Shadow, and he couldn't get away from them fast enough. He stayed in his kennel a lot of the time rather than be where they could reach him.

Ian's sweet costumes.

And falling asleep in random places.

All the grandchildren LOVE their grandparents. Like...a ridiculous amount.

The bridal shower. Can you tell we're related? And who thought I couldn't get everyone in the picture?

James loves steamrolling.

I think he was still a little shocked after Aunt Ashley steamrolled him.

Oh yeah....this. Dad got a catamaran where you can trapeze off the side and hang out over the water. So I was trapezing when a big gust of wind surprised me, the boat tipped up, my foot slipped, and I fell over the top onto the jib. And got this.

A Short Hiatus

2009-04-28T12:50:00.002-06:00

I thought that I would have time to do one more blog before leaving, but I am running short today. We are leaving the house at 3 and meeting everyone at the airport at 5, so this will have to be it.

We aren't taking our computers, so I won't be able to blog during the trip, but I will have lots to blog when we get back! If anyone needs to get in touch with us....well, that will be difficult, but we will occasionally be checking our email on public computers hopefully, so if you email me I might get back to you.

Wish us luck everyone, and Happy Spring!

Easter!

2009-04-14T00:02:00.009-06:00

We woke up too lake for me to hide the Easter basket, but Easter still turned out ok...

After church we decorated eggs

Then we went up to Sandy to have Easter dinner with the Bready clan.

The boys hung out with Grandma in the kitchen like that for probably half an hour while she made strawberry sauce. They love their Grandma.

I told them to give me big cheeser smiles. David always delivers.

Happy Easter!

Mandy is....

2009-04-13T23:45:00.004-06:00

engaged! I admit, I did not think Mandy would get married before graduating. Then again, I didn't think I would either.

Anyway, congratulations, Mandy! I am super excited.

In My World...

2009-03-19T22:38:00.009-06:00

A few weeks ago the crew got back together. With husbands...I suppose we can't leave them behind now. Kelsey made a delicious dinner.

And then we ate yummy chocolate fondue dessert!

I miss Kelsey. Also, I look scary in this picture.

This is Michael doing his impression of Kevin from the Office, from the episode where they have a discussion of whether or not Hillary Swank is hot.

Ok, so before you watch the next two clips you have to see this video of what they're impersonating if you've never seen Horton Hears a Who. Even with this, though...yes, my friends are crazy.

I can't embed this one so you will have to go to youtube.

Katie

Mug Shots

2009-03-19T22:13:00.002-06:00

Mike and I had to take some photos for our Chinese Visa applications last week. They look more like police mug shots.

This is the one we printed for Mike. I'm pretty sure the Chinese government is NOT going to let us come.

A Lil Som'in Som'in

2009-03-13T19:51:00.004-06:00

I hope everyone remembers this. If not...here's a lil som'in som'in from 2007 to get by on until I take more pictures.

The Big 23

2009-03-11T23:16:00.006-06:00

Ok, not exactly a milestone birthday, but my husband is really getting old. After his birthday celebrations Mike explained to me that his family only did big birthday celebrations on their 5th, 12th, and 16th birthdays. My family, on the other hand, did big celebrations EVERY year. I think I had massive sleepovers every birthday from the time I was 6 or 7 to 15. There was never a limit to the number of people I could invite (yes, Mom must be a little crazy, but I loved her for it). I still had big parties throughout the rest of high school, though they were not necessarily sleep overs....

So, for Michael's birthday, believe it or not, I was not planning much. I thought we could have a nice quiet night with the two of us. Go out to eat. Play a few games. Watch a movie. Eat dessert.
But because of all my years of big birthday celebrations (and not knowing Michael's family's birthday traditions) I felt bad not doing something big for him.

I didn't decide to make plans until the morning of his birthday while I was at work.

I decided to take Mike up to his favorite restaurant in Salt Lake called Molca Salsa (for those of you in Utah, I highly suggest it. It's basically Mexican fast food in this tiny little restaurant with a drive-thru window, but better food than you could ever believe. This is no taco bell.) But Molca Salsa just wasn't good enough - so I decided to also through him a surprise party later that night. Ambitious, I know. I am a little crazy - I take after my mother.

And this is how it all played out:

I picked up Mike from class and started driving up to Salt Lake. He didn't know any of my plans for the night (though there was no doubt in his mind that I was taking him to Molca Salsa). Even though I knew that he knew, I still made him put on a blindfold when we came around the point of the mountain. Everything was going well until we were going up 33rd south. I had wanted to comment on things we were passing, but I was doing my best to keep my mouth shut and not give anything away. We were almost there when I let slip "One dollar carwash!? You guys totally can't compete with that!"

Which I immediately regretted.

And Mike just said, "You shouldn't have said that."

So I let him take off the blindfold. But when we walked into the restaurant he totally wasn't expecting Michelle (Mike's sister) to be there! So I at least had that on him.

(pictures via Michelle's blog.)

After Molca Salsa I had to use up some time before heading home, so we stopped by Mom and Dad Bready's house in Sandy to say hi and watch the Jazz game. I had to tell Michael I had a load of homework to do to drag him away from the tv.

I was supposed to text Jeff when we were almost there so he could turn the lights off for the surprise. Instead, I fell asleep, and imagine my surprise when I woke up and we were home! I texted Jeff, and as we were walking toward the front of the house I saw that the lights were still on and yelled "WAIT!" before Mike could notice. Because, you know, I needed his help looking for my camera in the car before we went in!

I enjoyed Kevin's response the most when we entered the house. I everyone yelled surprise, but Kevin yelled it while jumping out from behind the couch with both hands in the air. It was hilarious. And the best part - Mike didn't see it coming. So we ended the night with delicious cake (I made an angel food cake, the traditional birthday cake in my family: ice cream, angel food cake, and cool whip: you can NEVER go wrong with this combination. Consider that next time you have to make a cake for someone) and good friends and present opening.

Happy Birthday Mike. Love chu, booooooiiiiiii.

Note: If you want a surprise party to be a total surprise, plan it the day of. It works really well - as long as you are awesome.

My Kitchen Has Been Unhappy With Me

2009-03-03T14:35:00.005-07:00

so I bought some flowers to liven it up! Yes, they're fake, but they do the job. I've been using the adorable pitcher the Eisenmans gave us for Christmas as a centerpiece, but it just wasn't enough... but now it's happy.

I am SO excited about this warm weather.

Jackson is really good at sharing candy

2009-02-23T15:50:00.004-07:00

until he gets bored and starts wiping it on your face.

In case you were wondering how Mike likes his steak sauce

2009-02-22T22:18:00.003-07:00

The first, unfilmed version of this was funnier, but my husband is not willing to entertain for the benefit of everyone who reads my blog. Sorry, you blog lurkers.

Spring

2009-02-22T21:27:00.003-07:00

Hey Amy, Ashley, family, remember these?

I miss warmth. And the cherry blossoms in D.C.

Can't spring be here already?

The Holmans

2009-02-21T23:13:00.005-07:00

Randy Holman was a mission companion of Mike's dad, and ever since then their families have been good friends. Since several of the Holman children are out here at BYU, Gladys and Randy cook them Sunday dinner every once in a while. Michelle came with her new boy, and of course Mike and I couldn't pass up a chance to hang out with the Holmans.

John and Mike are close. Real, real close.

Gladys made this delicious dessert. That is chocolate pudding under that whip cream, along with piece of cake and more fruit. So good.

I'm so artistic.

We've been meaning to have Anne over to see Hot Rod for the first time, so we invited all the Holmans back to our place to watch it and play games.

Ace and Lace came along with Ace's sister Asia and a friend of hers.

By the time we got to Sandy, all of the Holmans had been put to work helping make dinner.
John took a few home and family living courses so...he's pretty much an expert on banana slicing.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-21T09:27:00.005-07:00

Mike had to work the first half of Valentine's Day, but he brought me home a box of chocolates and a rose. We watched a movie at our place and then went out for sushi later at a place on center street called Demae.

This face is probably Mike not being excited about eating sushi.

But I don't see how since it's delicious! I ate my two rolls plus some of his. He ate just one of mine. I think he enjoyed the salad the most.

I had been home all day, so after Demae we called up Ace and Lace and went to play games with them at their house. They own two games that we're now addicted to: Killer Bunnies and Bohnanza. So so fun - you should check them out.

Yeah.

2009-02-19T15:30:00.002-07:00

I just thought I would put this up for everyone to enjoy and ridicule.

Jackson

2009-02-18T22:25:00.004-07:00

After watching this video, you will understand why I would dedicate a post to my nephew Jackson. If you don't understand...I pity you and your terrible sense of humor.

Ok, maybe I will cut you some slack. Knowing Jackson on a personal basis probably makes this a lot funnier. But you should know that this video is the epitome of Jackson. He can bounce around like that ALL DAY LONG. With no music on.

I love when Dad visits

2009-02-18T22:21:00.002-07:00

because I get pictures like this

and this

and this

and this.

And because he takes us out for dinner. And because we love him. See you in five weeks Dad!

Spending some time in Asia

2009-02-18T14:47:00.005-07:00

I forgot to mention, for those of you who don't know, that Mike and I are going on a study abroad together with the business school. We're going for a month right after winter semester ends.

We are super excited even though we are going to be so so broke by the time we pay everything for it. But it's ok. We think it's worth it.

We're going to be spending 3-4 days in each city meeting with executives of companies in Asia like Samsung and Walmart. One of the 3-4 days in every city we are allowed to go and do whatever we want, which we are also super excited about. It's going to be awesome.

The cities we are going to are:

Tokyo

Shanghai

Hong Kong

Beijing

and Singapore.

We're also going to another city in Malaysia but I can never remember its name. I think we're also going to another city that the group as a whole will decide on once we start our second block class to prepare for our trip.

Jealous? You should be.

Maybe I will bring you back something. But probably not.

Disclaimer: The school hasn't gotten visas yet, so it is still possible that we won't be able to go. We're hoping everything works out.

Tagged. Thanks Ame.

2009-02-10T15:18:00.004-07:00

Rules:

1. go to the document/ my pictures site on your computer

2. go to your sixth file

3. go to your sixth picture

4. blog about it

5. tag 6 people

Yeah...not the greatest picture of me. But this is freshman year at BYU on the first day of orientation. This is the day I met Mandy. Basically the best day of my life. Not really. But I do love Mandy and I do love this school.

I tag: Mandy, Michelle, Hannah, Marisa, Rik, and Lyndsi

Goodbye and Good Luck

2009-01-28T23:48:00.001-07:00

Goodbye Hank. We will miss you while you're gone. Be safe!

If ever you think about asking us to babysit your children

2009-01-21T14:47:00.004-07:00

you might want to reconsider.

Home Sweet Home

2009-01-17T11:38:00.009-07:00

I don't think I've ever put photos of our apartment on here, for those of you who haven't been here. I'm hoping to add a little color to it still, but here it is so far....

The kitchen

We bought this table off of Craig's List and Mike sanded it, stained it and put a finish on it over the summer. It looks awesome.

The living room

We love all the dark-stained built in shelves.

Our bedroom...

My closet with a storage space above it

Mike's closet and the storage space above.

Our tiny and disgusting bathroom

This is one of my favorite parts of the apartment. The french doors separating our bedroom from the living room

So...that's it. Our home. For now.

KevRik

2009-01-17T11:13:00.005-07:00

So we've been hanging out with Kev and Rik since we've been back. Last weekend we went to Red Robin and then came back to our apartment and had hot chocolate.

And I showed off our super nintendo that Dave brought us. And no, I don't normally sit that close to the t.v.

Last night we we to see Eagle Eye in the dollar theater and then went back to their apartment. Rik and I looked at her new sewing book and played connect four while the boys watched the Lakers vs. Orlando basketball game.

Their apartment is cute.

I love this picture from their wedding that they have on their bedroom wall

A cute magnet board Rik made. I need more cute stuff like this in my apartment.

Kristine

2009-01-17T10:23:00.002-07:00

Mike and I got to meet Kristine last week while David was in Utah visiting her family. We went out to Gloria's Little Italy and then came back to our apartment and played scrabble, which I had never played before. Thanks Aunt Janette for those games you gave us for Christmas!

The cute couple

What I've Got

2009-01-10T11:19:00.003-07:00

I just don't have enough pictures. This is just sad. These are all the pictures that were on my camera.

The Christmas dinner we had at work. It was delicious!

Katie is the student who does my job in the afternoon.

Our ride home from the airport our first day in New York. Ian was good entertainment on the ride home.

Drew and Corissa's wedding. They're cute.

Michelle's Musical Debut

2008-12-06T12:04:00.004-07:00

Mike and I went to the Pepperwood Christmas Party last night because they paid Michelle to entertain for half an hour, so we went to support her.

The happy couple.

Just kidding...this is the real couple...

Michelle was awesome. Great job Michelle!

This is the end

2008-12-06T11:03:00.005-07:00

of my and Mike's November. First, the pride-destroying BYU-Utah football game. The best part was the fondu and ribs. And finding David on the counter when Nate and Becky were trying to leave. He was just sitting there chillin, eating potato chips. We don't even know how he got up there.

This was a sad crew when the game ended. There was also lots of shouting. Lots and lots of shouting.

Marisa came down the Provo for Thanksgiving, and Marisa, Michael (left) and I had a dance party in my kitchen while making pumpkin cookies. I miss Marisa (she up at Utah state now).

Thanksgiving! I don't have many pictures, but these are the most important ones anyway.

Kate

Ellie

Katelyn

All three of them are walking now. It's pretty exciting.

DJ Mic

2008-11-29T14:49:00.006-07:00

One of Mike's good friend's sister got married a few weekends ago, so Mike DJ'd the reception for them.

The family used to live in Pepperwood with Breadys and the Mabey's, so we all went to the reception together.

Jessie and Justin. Actually, it's funny, I found out Justin is from Syracuse Stake. Small world huh?

Mmm, the food was so good. Amy, can we make stuffed mushrooms this Christmas? Yes? Ok, sweet. I'm excited.

Hm, Old Friends

2008-11-29T13:55:00.005-07:00

Man, it's been freshman year reunion time lately. First, Mike and I hosted a dessert night and had Hannah and Rob, Rikki and Kevin, Kesley and Nathan, and Michaela and Russ over. It was the first time I've seen Kelsey since she got married this summer, and the first time Kelsey, Rik, and I have been together since Rik's bridal shower last spring.

Then, Leslie came to town to go into the MTC. She's been in Washington working for the mish, and she got called to Bolivia, though unless the political climate changes, she might serve in Peru instead.

This is the best picture Mike took of us at the temple. Thanks Mike.

After the temple we all got together at Brick oven to say goodbye to Les. Hello U-Hall 6th floor girls.

Happy Belated Halloween!

2008-11-26T22:44:00.005-07:00

Yeah, ok, I know I'm a month late, but I'm catching up. Whatever!

The boys had a party at their house like last year. This was the best costume I've ever seen in my life.

Ace and Lace= Dwight and Angela. Also amazing.

We were robbers! Awesome, I know.

Oh, and Hitler and Borat showed up too.

Um, Dad?

2008-11-26T21:59:00.004-07:00

You didn't warn me about President Sandberg and his love of karaoke.

Party Like It's 1999

2008-11-22T23:53:00.008-07:00

because that's how we do it when it comes to the twins. As you can see by their cakes!

The cleanup- not so fun.

but they ARE super cute wrapped up in towels...

and they love their uncle mike. sometimes.

Before

After

Oh, Didn't You Know...

2008-11-22T23:42:00.004-07:00

that I travel back in time to go to church? Well....here's proof.

Notice the stain glass windows? Yeah I know. It's awesome.

The Saddest Cookie Party in the World

2008-11-02T09:27:00.005-07:00

Ace thought he lost his Flight of the Conchords dvd, so we had a cookie party for him to mourn his loss.

The crowd.

The Cookies.

Everything was going well until the boys started playing this stupid game where they tried to toss the cap of the milk onto the milk jug. Of course they NEVER got it.

After about half an hour of this game I was getting sick of it. So I grabbed the milk jug, ran out of the apartment and threw it over the ledge. The apartment was on the second floor. It did magically land up though, so the milk wasn't completely wasted.

Asia, Ace's sister, did a dance for us.

Proof of how stupid this game was.

Days at the Y, Nights with the Wares

2008-10-25T10:49:00.009-06:00

You'd think we'd go to the Wares for the food. Or to do our laundry.

But really we just come for this.

And this. Jackson posing. Without being asked to.

How do you like his stache?

I'm totally jealous of their halloween decorations.

This is my favorite part.

Just kidding about that first part! We go because we just love the Wares. Thanks for putting up with us you guys.

Here's kate eating with no hands.

Mike Madsen and the roommates did an open mic night at his house recently. It was fun, but a little too cold to actually perform well...as you can see...

Sadly I didn't get many pictures before my battery died. This is...pretty much it.

Shark! Shark! Shark!

2008-10-24T17:08:00.005-06:00

Mike and his friend Jon have started DJing lately, and to get things started they did a block party a few blocks south of campus. It's pretty sweet. He plays songs off of his computer, and as long as he can get an internet connection he can get any song anyone wants.

I went to dinner with Michelle, LJ and Mike Madsen while Mike was setting up his DJ stuff, and then they stopped by to say hi to Mike. I think they said that were going to leave like five times, but watching Mormons dance is just too funny, and they just couldn't walk away...

This is why we keep LJ around.

Just guess what song was playing.

And then Mandy stopped by afterward. Woot!

Oh, and if you're wondering about the title...this should explain something.

Family Home Evening

2008-10-24T15:51:00.002-06:00

Once a month the Breadys try to have a family home evening where everyone comes. This time we learned about the 2000 stripling warriors. Luckily, Randy provided visual aids. I think it definitely enhanced the lesson.

Yeah, I don't know how this happened.

And here's a lil som'in som'in extra.

The Honeymoon

2008-10-11T23:17:00.000-06:00

So Mike and I went to Anaheim and San Diego for our honeymoon the week between our receptions. For anyone who hasn't been there...you should know that southern California is super ugly if you're not right on the coast. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

We drove through Las Vegas on our way down from Utah. That is one place I do NOT understand. There is NOTHING outside of Las Vegas for miles and miles in any direction. I don't understand why people live there. This was a hotel we could see from the highway. Oh, sorry, not just A hotel. THE hotel.

We went to Disneyland our first day there. It was AMAZING. It was my first time there, and I plan to go back many, many times. Every part of the park is so well done, it's like you're just walking from one Disney set to another.

Tarzan's treehouse!

A real moose! OK, not really. You caught me.

This is where we slept.

Ok I lied. It was really just the display beds for this merchant ship.

I really considered buying these for Mike's mom, Gladys. She always wears aprons when she cooks, and this would have been pretty much awesome on her.

Tuesday we drove down the San Diego. We spent Wednesday afternoon getting fried at Mission Beach, and then visited the Gaslamp District for dinner and a little shopping.

Mike was sad when I sad we couldn't stop in here, but he cheered up when we bought him some Pumas instead.

Balboa Park. We were going to go to the San Diego Zoo on Thursday, but we got so burnt the day before at the beach that we decided that weren't going to spend the money when we were in too much pain to enjoy it. Yeah, we were THAT burnt.

Balboa Park has an activities center, a children's playground, lot of museums in cool buildings, and probably more that I can't remember.

The architecture was beautiful.

Yeah, my husband is...special.

Here are a few flowers I thought were cool.

The beach! I loved the beach. It was the first time I had been to the ocean in 15 years. I think I'm going to try surfing when we go to Hawaii next summer.

This is the beach we went to in Coronado after spending the afternoon in Balboa Park. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of Mission Beach, but this beach was much, much prettier. I don't think I'd mind living here.

Mike searched the sand for shells and little animals like this. Gross.

That's Hotel Del Coronado in the distance, Dad's favorite spot in San Diego.

I loved this. A group doing yoga on the beach. Also, in the distance I believe is the karate group that also came down to do a class and got very wet.

This was a fifties-type diner we ate at in Coronado after going to the beach. It definitely beat out Green Shutters. Take that, GS!

The next morning we left and made the long drive drive back to Provo. It was so fun, and I didn't want to leave, especially knowing school was coming soon after that. I think we'll have to go back sometime soon.

What Wedding?

2008-10-04T15:09:00.000-06:00

Oh yeah. Mine. HA! How could I forget the longest day of my life? It's just not possible.

Mirbeau was beautiful. Thanks Nic. I was so glad we got to do the luncheon there.

We're hot.

And let's not forget singing happy birthday to Dave. I think he was actually embarrassed. But that's what he got for talking all summer about how he was having a big birthday party that day.

Somehow Dave is in every picture. And thank you, Deanne, for altering my dress. It looked like it was made that way.

The cousins.

Joe so kindly carried me down the stairs. I'm pretty sure I threw up in my mouth a little halfway down.

Ben! Thanks for playing Ben. If you're reading this, you're awesome.

Totally hot, huh.

How could I not share cake with the birthday boy? He liked it.

Um, this is possibly one of the cutest pictures ever. Though I'm not sure I would have said that at the time, since James threw up on my dress TWICE earlier that day.

It was AWESOME having the Palmers there. Thanks so much for flying all the way to NY for the wedding you two! I love you guys.

Thank you everyone who made the wedding amazing. We love you all!

Signs of a Wedding

2008-10-04T11:35:00.000-06:00

Do you REALLY think I forgot my own wedding? Please...

So here is pretty much the only good picture I got at the bridal shower before my camera died.

The rehearsal dinner. Here are the old men...

Mike enjoying the food. Or whatever. Who knows.

Haha, these two crack me up. I like how Devon looks like a miniature Zac Efron from High School Musical 2.

And of course you can tell these were taken with my camera because of all the self shots.

Are you two sisters? No....YES! Oh Ashley, how many times have we said that line in our lives?

The Best Parts of Summer

2008-09-20T15:57:00.000-06:00

Ok, your pleadings have finally worked. Here are my favorite parts of being home this summer.

Berry picking

Little boys and little girls.

Family.

The lake.

Shadow.

Old friends.

A good game of balls.

Hanging out with Meg. And making silly sentences on the booth wall of Pastabilities.

Cousins

Hot dog eating contests

With even Julia, the vegetarian, competing.

Am I missing anything?

Summer

2008-07-04T18:18:00.000-06:00

So begins my summer at the lake. I don't think I've ever appreciated this place enough. The longer I'm gone, the easier it is to see what a sweet place we've got here. THIS is why I love summer (along with everyone else in the family).

Aunt Celeste and Grandma came along for the ride.

The crazy boys. They actually went tubing too, believe it or not. Of course...Mom and I had to pick Connor up by the arms and legs and force him to go...and then he bragged afterward to his mother about what a hotshot tuber he is

Yeah, anyone who has tubed with Dave knows what's about to happen here...

I like this sequence (not as much as the parker/slide sequence though).

Yeah, we know what the last picture would look like.

Typical tubing videos. Meg falls off in the end only because Chris started tickling her. Ash, Amy, I'm sure you can imagine how indignant she was afterward.

Meg complaining about not being able to get Dave out. Shocking.

Family Reunion

2008-07-04T17:37:00.000-06:00

Mike's mom's family had a reunion the Saturday before I left Utah. We had a fun game of baseball and then everyone went swimming in the pool. Of course Michael and Thomas can't possibly just swim nicely...

Jordon Deru's Wedding!

2008-07-04T16:59:00.000-06:00

I was lucky enough to get to the end of Jordan's reception on the 20th, and it was so fun seeing everyone. Well, almost everyone. I was told that Tavin's baby was having a hard time, so sadly I didn't get to see him, but everyone else was still there.

Shunae and Travis

Damon and Aubrey

Terry and one of his cute boys.

Mynon

and Derek, who I haven't seen in about 8 years.

The newlyweds' poor car.

To give you the full effect of the car...

Congratulations Jordon!

p.s. if anyone does that to any cars at my wedding, I WILL kill you

I Hope They Call Me On A Mission

2008-07-03T21:29:00.000-06:00

But that will be a little farther away than I originally thought. So Steven will have to go in my place. Here are some pics of our last days with Steven.

Family walk

Katelyn at the restaurant for breakfast

Last goodbyes and pictures at the MTC.

Yeah, this was just cute.

YSA Stake Activity

2008-07-03T21:10:00.000-06:00

Enough said.

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-07-03T14:39:00.000-06:00

Memorial Day Weekend was awesome this year. We spent spent all weekend with Mike's family- any time away from school is awesome. Plus Nathan and Becky have a Wii and that pretty much guarantees a good time.

Steven and David

Looks like David's winning...

Cute! Ok, so I'm really just saying that because I'm not sure which twin this is, sorry Heather and Shane. I'm going to guess....Elly? Please? Yes?

Proudly wearing the sweet shirt Mike and I gave him for Christmas.

We locked Mike and Jackson outside for a little while and got these pictures out of it. All in all, a good deal I think.

Just Another Day at the Lake

2008-06-17T19:03:00.000-06:00

For those of you who don't know, my cousin Chris is good friends with Ryan Cabrera, and has gone on several tours with Ryan and Ashlee Simpson. Right now he's on tour with Ryan and his band, they were in NY, so they spent last Saturday at my parents' house, hanging out on the lake and playing guitar around the fire. Check out my mom's blog to see pictures. Ridiculous.

Ace and Lace

2008-06-05T23:54:00.000-06:00

Ace is Mike's old/new roommate who just moved in to help Mike pay for married housing until august. Ace and Lacy are getting married in August, too.

We like Ace and Lace

2008-05-29T17:28:00.000-06:00

Mike and I spent Mother's Day up at the Bready house. Here is Grandma Bready with Kate and Ellie, Heather and Shane's twins.

Hey, here's my finance (in amy's words). He's cute.

Michelle brought Alex and David bags with Nickolodeon stuff in them from California. They loved them and wore the bags around like backpacks.

Dad's Visit

2008-05-28T18:24:00.000-06:00

Dad had an overnight layover in SLC on May 7th, so Mike and I picked him up and took him out to dinner and then spent some time in his hotel room. It was so nice to see him and sit and talk. Family, come visit more often!

My Birfday

2008-05-27T20:32:00.000-06:00

So on my birthday Mike and I went to see SLC's arena football team, the Blaze. Mike and I spent most of the time making fun of the hick people there.

These girls in front of us were especially funny to watch.

Mike snuck in a picture of this guy behind of with this sweet mustache.

The half-time show. It was pretty cool. Some guys did some sweet flips on some trampolines.

Afterward I made Mike drive to Toelle so we could play his brother Nathan and his wife Becky on the Wii. We kicked their butts. I was sad we weren't there earlier while their boys and little girl were still awake.

They're still cute asleep though. Alex

David

Becky's sister and brother-in-law were there too, Heather and Rick.

Then on Sunday Mike Madsen and I opened presents, since his birthday was the next day. Woohoo!

It started with a bridal shower...

2008-04-30T09:53:00.000-06:00

And ended with a wedding! Yay, Kevrik are (is?) married!

Sorry, this is the best picture I have of Rikki's dress. It was awesome.

The Purdy Family

The Hein Family

This is Rik's brother Jess and his wife Danii. I went to Danii's bridal shower last year when she was still at the Y.

Not the best picture I've ever taken...but Rik looks pretty!

Haha, this cracked me up. Rik's niece, Raleigh, hanging out in her dad's coat.

And of course our good friend Robbie was there.

Possible Engagement Photos

2008-04-21T14:11:00.000-06:00

What do you think? I think Curt likes the idea of being in it.

Or maybe we could just use these next to each other. Who wouldn't want to come to our wedding after seeing these?

oh, p.s. for those of you who didn't know, I'm engaged. To this ^ guy.

Seattle Part 2

2008-04-21T13:05:00.000-06:00

I'm sure everyone who actually reads this blog is sick of looking at the gross pictures of me and Mike on the road, so I guess I'll put some more up, even though I should be studying for finals right now.

On Friday we went out to lunch at a Thai place. Ian was too cool to sit with us.

James really enjoyed sucking on Mike's finger.

Of course we went to the Seattle Pike Place Fish Market.

Big!

We finished our day in Seattle by checking out the outdoor sculptures at the SAM, the Seattle Art Museum.

Mike decided to become part of one of the sculptures. Knock Out!

This tree was super cool. If you click on the picture you can see that it's metal.

We stayed down by the beach at the end of the trail for a little while and let Ian throw rocks into the water.

Someone was having trouble sitting in the stoller...

James is getting so big, but he's still so little...

Yeah. This is all Mike.

Seattle Day One

2008-03-31T20:43:00.001-06:00

Mike and I left early last Thursday morning to head to Seattle. This is what we looked like on the road:

Our first stop for gas was in Idaho somewhere, and I couldn't believe that this gas pump was actually functioning. It looks like it's from...I don't know, it's really old.

Mike keeps good company. Just kidding, I slept way more while he was driving.

Washington is pretty!

Idaho...not so pretty. Ok, I guess the mountains are a little pretty.

We finally got there around 8, and Mike met James and Ian. His life will never be the same.

More to come soon!

Robsters and Hannah

2008-03-08T02:08:00.000-07:00

So Robsters and Hannah are getting married, and they're so cute! I mean, just look at them. Really.

They brought back waffle night one last time as an engagement party. Yum.

Old friends. Yay!

Robsters! Makes me miss last year.

Good Morning!

2008-03-01T12:08:00.001-07:00

So I woke up yesterday and I looked like this. I don't think this angle fully portrays how awesome my hair was.

Here, maybe this will help a little.

We went to Mike's parents' house on Wednesday for Steven to open his mission call. Steven's going to the Cleveland, OH mission. I think I was the closest with a guess of "Minnesota." Before we left Mike got a haircut, so he went up to Thomas's room to get different clothes on, and came down wearing this:

This was after Sister Bready trimmed the bottom, but before she cut the top. I told Mike he should leave it like this.

Susie's spot on the couch. I don't think Mom and Dad would ever let Shadow do this.

Appreciation for a Good Show

2008-02-26T13:31:00.000-07:00

So I'm in MCom right now (yes, I am paying attention...I'm a multitasker) and I'd just like to say that I love that my MCom teacher finds any excuse to show us a clip from The Simpsons to show us principles of the English language. Thank you, Simpsons, for your language jokes.

Like a Fat Kid Loves Cake

2008-02-25T21:40:00.000-07:00

Mandy's birthday was the 26th, so she decided to throw herself a birthday party on Sunday night (she didn't even give us a chance). It was fun- we haven't had a group of people over for a while. I almost forgot how to party.... what!

Roy Jr. participated in the games.

The ugliest cake I've ever made. Everyone was saying it reminded them of the scene on Hook when everyone is throwing pudding.

The DT girls.

Marisa and Michael stopped by after Stake Conference. Michael will hopefully be living with us next year!

Last Saturday the general manager, Brad, forgot to put me on the board for work. So I went home and actually had a Saturday night!

Yet somehow I still ended up at Brick Oven. I admit, it's because I've been dreaming about eating at the salad bar. It was pretty good. Dang you, discount!

Yeah, I've got connections with the servers.

Mike hasn't shaved much while he's been sick. So why not get the grossest picture ever?

Some cute pictures.

When I uploaded this video to the blog I labeled it "Mike's Retarded." I think you can see why.

Let's try it again...

My Little Emo Boy

2008-02-22T14:38:00.000-07:00

For those of you who would like to see my face, I apologize for not putting any pictures of me up lately. And I still don't have any for you. But I do have some other sweet pics...

Mandy and Mike competing at making armpit farting noises. Their faces are amazing.

And then I made a joke about Mike wearing my skinny jeans, and he ran into my room and put them on. Emo boy, anyone? I don't think he enjoyed pants THAT tight (though it does look like he's enjoying them).

He's such a punk rocker with those pants AND the shoes.

Leslie's been sick, so on Sunday I told her home teachers (Lincoln, on the left, is my FHE husband) to have them come entertain her for a little while.

And boy, did they entertain her. Colby has shimmying moves like I've never seen before...

Yeah, he said he wouldn't do more, but he lied.

Cleaning Checks and a Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-17T14:11:00.000-07:00

We went to Smart Cookie the other night after a group date and...the water fountain was too short for Mike so he had to kneel. Sad.

On a better note, look at these sweet roses that were delivered to me the day before Valentine's Day last week. The only problem was that I had to arrange them myself, and I've found that...I don't have flower arranging skills.

Also, we had cleaning checks on Saturday (lame), so here is the one time a month our apartment is this clean:

Except Leslie's half of the room. Cause she was sick. I gave her what I had. HA!

Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto

2008-02-05T11:14:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty bad about taking pictures lately, such as during a double date last Friday or Family Home Evening last night where we made pizza. They were both super fun, but alas, no pictures. So this is all I have for you.

This was a night a few weeks ago when Mike and I went to the movies. I was bored with my hair (and fortunately I was smart enough to bring west our crimpers from the 80's) so I crimped my hair. It was awesome.

While I was waiting for Mike, I turned on Mr. Roboto and started harassing Mandy while she was trying to do homework. She loved it.

Don't you wish you were my roommate?

Mike didn't have to go into work last Friday morning and I didn't have class, so he came over and I tried my hand at German pancakes. I've only seen one after it has sat out on the stove for a few minutes, so at first I thought I had done something horribly wrong when I looked in the oven and it was twice as high as this:

I was told last week after FHE about a little ward gathering that goes on at 9 on Monday nights. What, you may be wondering, could bring so many people to pack into such a little apartment?
AMERICAN GLADIATORS of course. I don't think I watched this show when it was on several years ago, but let me tell you, it's hilarious.

I had to convince Mandy and Leslie to come check it out this week. They didn't regret it.

Everyone picks either the blue or the red team and many people dress up in the color of their team. Like Raymon here.

Except Travis, who decided to remain neutral by wearing a clash of 80's colors.

Colby. Yeah...

I crowded next to Chelsea, my old Visiting Teaching companion and Relief Society President, who normally roots for blue but was too tired to dress up this week.

Colby cracks me up.

Here's a little taste of the excitement going on from 9-10 on Monday nights.

Weekend with James

2008-01-27T19:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, Ok! Here are some pictures from my trip to Seattle to visit my new nephew, James. Isn't he adorable?

Old man undies!

But even with a new one around, who can forget about this guy?

Especially when he goes around without pants or underwear on most of the time!

James and his mom.

Should his mother be doing this to him?

James and his dad.

Seepin' on the way to the airport.

Always the neck pinching

Ok, not very exciting, but isn't he cute?

Amy and Curt, thanks so much for having me, I can't wait to come back!

Meet the Parents

2008-01-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm sorry for being so bad about blogging lately, don't be mad! I have very cute pictures from my weekend in Seattle, but I need to catch up first with one last blog about break. So here it is, especially for anyone in Mike's family who might happen to see this.

Mike and I the morning I took Mike to the airport to go home. It was cold and I was tired so...I'm not looking very happy. But it's still cute.

Mike was, um, fortunate enough to be in New York just in time for the big family Christmas party. Surprisingly enough he wasn't harassed much. I think my uncles are getting soft in their old age. Yeah I said it!

Good old family game of balls.

Mike and the Parkacite. I think he misses her as much as I do.

Meg hung out with us almost every day Mike was there. So fun! Miss you, Meg!

Luckily we got a little snow while we were there, so we went sledding down the firelane. Unfortunately...there wasn't quite enough snow so it was a little painful sliding down the gravel road....

No need to be jealous of the sailing sweatshirt I have on.

Uncle Joe lives on the Susquehanna River, so we stopped at the Church memorial on our way to the Christmas party.

Here we are bowling with Eric, Erik, Drew and Klaas, since there's not much else to do in the wintertime in Auburn. My highest was 170...pretty ridiculous.

Snowmobiling with Dad. We only went for an hour and a half, but it was still fun.