Thanks for giving...

So, it's been a while... maybe we're busy, maybe we're just lazy... but we have a lot of catching up to do, so here it goes...

We spent Thanksgiving in Merced this year. It was good times. Amy went a little early so she would be able to spend some extra time with her family since she doesn't get to see them as much, I joined her a few days later.

I've always liked Thanksgiving. The food, the family... just a chill, relaxing time. The remaining members attending Thanksgiving dinner at home this year joined us on Wednesday. We prepared food and did some last minute shopping for the big day. On Thanksgiving, we finished up... Now, there is a distinct difference between my family's Thanksgiving and a Amy's family's Thanksgiving and it has to do with the formality.

At my family's Thanksgiving, family members come to dinner dressed in whatever atire they were wearing for the day, usually pajamas since there is no real reason to get dressed. Otherwise just jeans and a T-Shirt. As for dinner. We just put the pots on the dining table and go at it.

Amy's family's Thanksgiving, however, is a much more formal occasion. Family members dress in more formal atire. As we were packing, Amy was sure to advise me to bring something to wear for Thanksgiving dinner. I was also admonished to shave before dinner. We ate off the fine China and with the fine silver.

It was a very nice formal dinner. Just different from what I was used to.

The Family around the Thanksgiving Table.

The kids at the "Kiddie Table."

The day after Thanksgiving... a rivoting game of paintball. Well, I don't know if it was so much a game as me being a target for my nephews.

The Office...

So, I've had a lot of people at work tell me I look like Jim Halpert. I love the show "The Office" so I take it as a compliment. But... I don't know... Obviously I have a much fuller face than him...

Brothers...
Cousins....
Not remotely related at all...?

Halloweener!

Halloween is always a fun holiday. I am not a huge fan of Halloween in general. Coincidentally, neither is Amy. My best friend, Wes, is a Halloween fanatic. He'll decorate his entire lawn with lights and figures and a huge UFO as the crowning centerpiece. He lives in Hooper now, so I didn't have to help put it together this year. Wow, just wow... is all I can say to that.


I think Halloween is more fun for kids. I mean, who doesn't want to go around and get free candy. I know I did when I was little. Trick or Treating was always so much fun. You always had that one wealthy family (or more if you lived in a wealthy neighborhood) who would give away king size candy bars. There was always that dentist or orthodontist who gave away toothbrushes... and at the time you were thinking, "lame..." But now, I think what a great idea that was. Yeah, Halloween was just a lot more fun as a kid.



Not to say it isn't now. There are still aspects of Halloween I just have to participate in.

- "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." - I have to watch this at least once a year. It is a classic Halloween movie. And we all still laugh when all Charlie Brown gets from trick or treating is a bag full of rocks...

- "Dressing up" My favorite part of Halloween is dressing up. Maybe I just like being something I'm not... but I have to have a costume for Halloween, even if all I'm doing is going to work. As you can see, Amy and I dressed up. I was a pimp... (it was a joke with our IT manager at work. He and I are the "pimps" of the office because we are so cool.) Amy took advantage of an old dress that was her sister's from the 80s. It is a fabulously sequined teal dress. Amy completed the outfit as an 80s prom queen.

- "Carving Pumpkins" - As I told the teenage checker at Harmon's when we bought our pumpkins to carve, "It just isn't Halloween until you've got pumpkin guts all over your hands." And I'll stand by that. Pumpkin carving is a tradition that dates back to the middle ages. Did you know in Ireland they used to carve turnips and put candles in them to scare off the evil spirits... Just some mindless trivia I heard on the radio.

Anyway, we carved pumpkins with my mom and sister. Amy likes to use a pattern to carve. I have always taken a more traditional approach, just kind of going at it and creating the simple, cheesy grin of a jack o'lantern. They all turned out great!

Amy's and my carved pumpkins... Works of art!





















And... as a joke I carved a "U" in the back of my pumpkin to represent my attending the rival school...

New Hobby

I have found a new hobby! It is digital scrapbooking! It is so awesome! You can do everything you could do with paper scrapbooking but its on the computer and so you can do so much more with all the stuff. You have paper, embellishments, all kinds of stuff and you can change the color of the paper to match the pictures etc.

My sister has a friend that is really into it and then I went to the Scrapbooking Expo and found a company called Digital Scrapbook Memories that I took a class from and bought a couple of their CDs. You can email the pages, print them out, print multiple ones! Everyone should learn how to do it. You use Photoshop Elements...if you are like me the word Photoshop is very intimidating, when I hear it I used to think it was this advanced program that was so complex, and it is in some ways, but what you need to know to do digital scrapbooking is not hard at all to learn! Go to http://www.adobe.com/ and download the 30 day free trial of Photoshop Elements 5.0 and then go to http://www.digitalscrapbookmemories.com/ and learn how to start digital scrapbooking. You will love it!

Here is an example of a page I did:

Family Update

Hello everyone! I decided it has been way way too long since I've personally posted anything so here ya go...

Life is crazy busy right now. We were so spoiled in the summer but now its back to reality. I still have to get used to not seeing Zach as often...its sad! I am taking three classes at the BYU Salt Lake Center, this semester is the first one in their new building downtown Salt Lake in the Triad center. It is really nice! I'm also slowing working on an online class. If all goes according to plan I will be graduating April 2008!! Not very far away. It seems like time is just whipping by me. I'm still at my job at Davinci Suites. They have been really good to let me leave when I need to for class but it is still considered full time so it keeps me quite busy. Its challenging but I'm learning a lot and its been really good for me. I'm working on trying to balance church, family, work and school...its hard though! :)

Zach is so busy too. He is taking four classes, working semi full time, one of the editors of the school newspaper and involved with this TV show for the local television. He was doing a show that reviewed movies but that is not going well so he is starting up with this other show that does issues on the politics related to education. This time he is going to be the one in front of the camera!! He is super excited and I'm excited for him...political reporting is what he wants to do so this is going to be a great opportunity for him!

We love our ward and are kept busy there too! I am still in the nursery...those kids are so cute normally but the other day one of the boys wacked another boy in the head with a toy phone and one of the girls peed all over herself and the bathroom floor when I took her "potty". The one thing I don't have experience with when it comes to little kids is potty training! Goodness gracious! Zach recently got called to be the Young Mens secretary and is enjoying that. He teaches on Sundays once and a while and then helps with Mutual. There are a lot of younger couples in our ward so that is fun!

If you are wondering about Zach and his pilonidal cist...he is doing MUCH BETTER!! It was really painful there for about a week but its gotten a ton better and doesn't hurt him anymore. Doing that packing every day was pretty traumatic for us but we got through it. :) Now we just need to schedule his surgery to get the cist removed. Zach has a co worker that had the same surgery done and she said that she couldn't sit for THREE WEEKS so we may have to wait till next summer when school is slower.

Zach's mom turned 50 about a week or so ago so we all went to the fair and saw SheDaisy in concert...it was AWESOME!! I've posted some pictures from there with me in my new pink cowgirl hat. I LOVED IT! Then we all went to Lagoon that Saturday...my work was going so some of us got in free and then others got discounted tickets. It was fun.

The SheDaisy sisters!

Zach and I at the concert. I love that silly boy!

Anyway...thats about it for us. We are happy and busy but we miss you all! We love you all and would love to hear from you!

Zach and Amy (but mostly Amy) :)