My Thoughts on the Economy and the Lessons We've Learned

Becca sent Chris and I a link to this picture today. We thought it was pretty funny, but true. We've joked around with the idea of pulling on people's heartstrings by putting pictures of Sam around the bakery with signs that say, "buy our bread or this little boy will starve!"

It's a crazy time right now. A year ago Chris and I were getting our business started, and we were so excited about this adventure we were about to begin. We felt like we were guided to this opportunity and that it was the right move for our family. Little did we know how bad the economy was going to get. What a rotten time to take over a business, right?! We knew it would be hard, and that we would have a lot to learn.

At my other job at the apartment complex, I had my 90 day review where normally I would be offered a raise if I were doing well. Well, I received a really great review, but the wages and salaries for all employees in the whole company are frozen, so no one will be getting a raise for the time being. Instead, I got a $25 gift card for the movie theater for which I am grateful because Chris and I NEVER go out But still, a raise would have been nice too.

At work I talk to so many people who are out of jobs, can't pay their bills, can't find a place to live because they have lost their house or have declared bankruptcy. I hear friends and neighbors who work for Boeing who are at risk of losing their jobs while they are continually laying people off every month. I don't like to watch the news anymore because it is just so depressing.

So what are we doing here? We know we are where we are supposed to be. We felt inspired to take on this challenge. We are working hard to make things work. We figure if we can weather this storm, than we can make it; only the strong will make it.

In the meantime, we're asking God what we are supposed to be learning from these experiences; we're trying to understand what wisdom we can gain. Well, for one, our family has learned how to be frugal. We have realized that we can live on a whole lot less than we thought. There are so many little costs that we have managed to reduce or eliminate. We have learned to be better at making and keeping a budget. We've learned to enjoy playing the coupon game. If only we had been this frugal from day one of our marriage! We could have been rich!

We have learned how to run a business. We've learned about marketing, branding, bookkeeping, interacting with and training employees, customer service, hard work, and so much more. In addition to that, we have learned to work together--Chris and I make a good team. We're happy to announce that working together has only brought us closer. Being away from our families, we have learned to rely on each other and help each other out more than ever. Our little family of three is closer and stronger than ever before.

We have learned that debt is an ugly ugly thing, and it should be avoided at all costs. I never want to be in debt ever again!

One of the biggest lessons we have learned is just how much we are loved and supported, and how much people want to see us succeed. From that support, we have also learned the wonderful gift of generosity. We have received so many kind and generous acts--you know who you are. We hope to one day be in a position financially to help out other family members, friends, and strangers. The previous owners have taught us that money is just money, but what is the most important are the people you love and who love you. They are the most caring and generous people I have ever met, and I hope to be just like them one day.

Life has been throwing us big juicy lemons, but we are trying hard to make a delicious lemonade. We are looking for the good and trying to help others in any way possible. We realize we are not the only ones feeling the affects of this economic situation. There are a lot of people who are in a lot worse shape than we are. I think we can all learn a little from where we're at right now.

Snow Day in Everett

Monday morning I had some training for work down in downtown Seattle. On the way down, the radio started listing the school districts with late starts or school buses cancellations because of the snow. I thought it was so funny because it hadn't even started snowing yet! What wimps! (Before I move on with my story, can I just say how much I dislike driving to Seattle. I always get lost! I took my exit about 40 minutes before the training was supposed to start, somehow I ended back on the freeway, got off again, wandered around the Space Needle area, found the freeway again, and arrived at my meeting at 9am exactly. Grrr... Unfortunately I have to venture down there again next week. I'm hoping to catch a ride with someone) Anyway, on the way back to my meeting, the snow had still not started yet. I passed a sign that said Lynnwood 8 minutes, Everett 39 minutes--normally it takes about 10-15 minutes between the two. I figured the sign just hadn't been changed from the morning traffic. Boy was I wrong. As I was passing through Lynnwood, the snow started dumping which haulted freeway traffic to about 5 mph. It took me forever to get home.

Back in Everett, the snow was coming down like crazy. There were cars stuck off the side of the road, right on the road, everywhere. It was like going through a maze passing around all the stuck cars just trying to drive home. I generally don't mind the snow, but when it effects sales at the bakery when everyone is too scared to drive, I get really frustrated. It's also hard when our employees call in saying they can't get to work because of the snow. Since Mondays are our slowest day at the bakery and the snow wasn't helping, we decided to close the store early. I went back to work downstairs at the apartment complex, and Sam and Chris walked to the bakery to help close the store for the rest of the day. Chris sent everyone home, but then the sun came out, and the store started getting busy again, so he and Sam manned the store.

Chris was trying to help a customer when Sam started yelling, "Dad! Poop! I need to go poop!" So he had to ask the customer to wait a minute while he ran and sat Sam on the potty. Chris came back up to finish ringing the guy up when Sam waddled up to the front of the store with his pants and underwear around his ankles. Luckily the customer was a regular and just laughed. I would have been mortified if that was a new customer's first impression of our bakery! After that Chris called me and asked what we should do. I left work early so I could go help Chris wrangle Sam and help out at the bakery. Washingtonians aren't afraid of driving in a little bit of rain, but freak out in the snow! We're hoping that was the last snow day of the year.

Books We've Read

I am responsible for making our apartment complex's monthly newsletter. I was reading through some pre-written articles that the newsletter company provides, and I found one about the top 100 most beloved books. This list was compiled from sources such as Time Magazine, Random House publishers, as well as readers' favorites as listed on the internet. I'll provide the list and mark which ones Christopher and I have read. Keep in mind these are books have read and completed; they do not include any books read to us or movies we've seen of the books.

1. “The Red Badge of Courage” by Stephen Crane. Cruelty of war tests young man.
2. “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy. How the world looks after nuclear war.
3. “Robinson Crusoe” by Daniel Defoe. Lessons learned on a remote island.
4. “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Adventures of a Puritan woman. Chris/Camilla
   
5. “A Separate Peace” by John Knowles. Boys who come of age around World War II. Chris/Camilla
   
6. “Slaughterhouse-Five” by Kurt Vonnegut. Aliens, World War II and time travel.
7. “The Sound and the Fury” by William Faulkner. Once-proud family encounters hardship.
8. “The Stand” by Stephen King. Portrays an end-of-the-world scenario.
9. “Sybil” by Benjamin Disraeli. Daughter of poor man in working-class England.
10. “The Swiss Family Robinson” by Johann David Wyss. How to survive a shipwreck.
11. “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens. Civil unrest in France. Chris
    
12. “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. Lawyer fights, among other things, prejudice. Camilla
    
13. “Tropic of Cancer” by Henry Miller. A world of freedom and eroticism.
14. “Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer. Love and a vampire. Camilla
    
15. “Undaunted Courage” by Stephen Ambrose. Trailblazers open the American west.
16. “Three Men in a Boat” by Jerome K. Jerome. Misadventures of young Englishmen.
17. “The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells. Ponders life in the distant future.
18. “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson. Adventure features pirates and gold.
19. “Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” by Jules Verne. Vessels encounter a mystery.
20. “Ulysses” by James Joyce. An early 1900s look at working class in Dublin.
21. “Vanity Fair” by William Makepeace Thackeray. Greed and deception in 19th century.
22. “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau. The solitary life and its lessons.
23. “Watership Down” by Richard Adams. A fantasy about rabbits developing their own culture. Chris
    
24. “The World According to Garp” by John Irving. Life is not always black or white.
25. “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Bronte. The negative aspects of love. Chris
    
26. “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte. Romance thriller includes secrets and good versus evil. Chris/Camilla
    
27. “King Solomon’s Mines” by H. Rider Haggard. Explorers seek African treasures.
28. “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving. A headless horseman on the hunt.
29. “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis. Fantasy in which animals talk. Chris
    
30. “Little Women” by Louisa M. Alcott. Sisters grow up while father is at war.
31. “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov. A tale of doomed passion.
32. “Lonesome Dove” by Larry McMurtry. Cattle drive adventure includes outlaws.
33. “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding. Boys face life on a deserted island.
34. “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien. Yarn of power and adventure.
35. “Loving” by Henry Green. Life in an Irish country house during World War II.
36. “The Maltese Falcon” by Dashiell Hammett. Detective on trail of bird figurine.
37. “Moby-Dick” by Herman Melville. Adventures of a sailor and a large whale.
38. “The Naked and the Dead” by Norman Mailer. Soldiers and their superiors in World WarII.
39. “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck. Migrant laborers harbor big dreams.
40. “The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway. Aging fisherman battles a marlin. Chris/Camilla
    
41. “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey. Life in a mental institution.
42. “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder. Daily doings in a New Hampshire town.
43. “Pale Fire” by Vladimir Nabokov. Intrigue and murder in a never-ending maze.
44. “Paradise Lost” by John Milton. Think sin, death and heaven.
45. “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde. Man’s portrait ages, but he doesn’t.
46. “Pigs in Heaven” by Barbara Kingsolver. American Indian child discovers life.
47. “Pilgrim’s Progress” by John Bunyan. Dragons, dangers and spiritual lessons.
48. “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” by James Joyce. Man seeks answers in Ireland.
49. “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen. The search for love and faithfulness. Chris
    
50. “The Princess Bride” by William Goldman. Renaissance era tale of romance, adventure. Chris/Camilla
    
51. “Don Quixote” by Miguel de Cervantes. All that glitters may not be gold. Chris
    
52. “Dracula” by Bram Stoker. Horror in Eastern Europe features a vampire.
53. “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson. Dual life of good and evil.
54. “Dune” by Frank Herbert. Empire of the future and forces who want to rule it.
55. “East of Eden” by John Steinbeck. How good can triumph over evil.
56. “Emma” by Jane Austen. English girl on self-discovery journey. Chris
    
57. “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card. Youth learns to battle potential world disaster. Chris
    
58. “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury. A future in which reading is considered criminal.
59. “A Farewell to Arms” by Ernest Hemingway. Love and disillusionment during war.
60. “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Ernest Hemingway. The prospect of death.
61. “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand. Architect battles the pressure to conform.
62. “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley. What can happen when science goes awry. Chris/Camilla
    
63. “Gone With the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell. Love and war in the South.
64. “The Good Earth” by Pearl S. Buck. View of farmer’s struggles in China.
65. “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck. Family hardship in the Great Depression.
66. “Gravity’s Rainbow” by Thomas Pynchon. How technology can impact society.
67. “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Pitfalls of the American Dream. Chris/Camilla
    
68. “Gulliver’s Travels” by Jonathan Swift. Fantastic voyages loaded with illusions.
69. “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” by Carson McCullers. Deaf mute acts as a confidante.
70. “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien. How to handle the prospects of power.
71. “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. A self-help guide.
72. “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” by Victor Hugo. A gypsy in Paris has an admirer.
73. “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison. Social issues facing a Southern-based youth.
74. “The Island of Dr. Moreau” by H.G. Wells. Half-human animals on a remote isle.
75. “James and the Giant Peach” by Roald Dahl. A boy finds new life inside a real big peach Chris/Camilla
    
76. “1984” by George Orwell. Be careful who is watching ... and listening.
77. “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain. Youths go on a raft journey. Chris/Camilla
    
78. “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho. A boy leaves his home in search of treasure.
79. “All Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Maria Remarque. War’s horrors. Chris
    
80. “Animal Farm” by George Orwell. Life under a totalitarian umbrella. Camilla
    
81. “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy. A woman married but miserable.
82. “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand. Self-interest becomes the “in” thing.
83. “Battlefield Earth” by L. Ron Hubbard. Thriller set in the year 3000.
84. “The Black Sheep” by Honore de Balzac. Napoleon’s France as viewed by two boys.
85. “The Boys of Summer” by Roger Kahn. The Dodgers, before they went to L.A.
86. “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley. A futuristic look at humans and technology.
87. “The Call of the Wild” by Jack London. Drastic changes for domestic dog. Chris
    
88. “Cannery Row” by John Steinbeck. Depression-era fishery laborers toil in California.
89. “Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer. Tall tales in the 14th century.
90. “Catch-22” by Joseph Heller. Airmen face tough situation in World War II.
91. “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger. Play by the rules—or not. Chris
    
92. “Cat’s Cradle” by Kurt Vonnegut. An arms race for a dangerous substance.
93. “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. Old man learns it is never too late to change. Chris/Camilla
    
94. “Clarissa” by Samuel Richardson. A girl who wants to stay true to her heart.
95. “A Clockwork Orange” by Anthony Burgess. Attempt to reform a troubled teen.
96. “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas. Tale of betrayal and revenge. Chris
    
97. “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Poverty and the search for redemption. Chris/Camilla
    
98. “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Edmond Rostand. Poet-swordsman with a long nose.
99. “David Copperfield” by Charles Dickens. Greed, love and a really powerful storm.
100. “Darkness at Noon” by Arthur Koestler. A Russian cannot condone the regime.
     

Chris has read 23/100, and I've read 14/100. Yikes, my score is not very good. I have started several of these books and just never finished. In my defense, my degree was basically a French Literature major, so if this had been a French list, I would have tons more marked off.

I've seen other lists floating around Facebook of a different set of 100 books you should read. According to one I saw, the BBC says that the average person has only read 6 of those books. From that list I had only read 10. I'm always so leery of staring a new book because I get sucked into them so easily, and all my other responsibilities get neglected until I have finished the book. Many of the books from the two lists we actually own and are just sitting on our bookshelves. This has strengthened my resolve to read more. Any suggestions on which one I should read first.
Chris has read 23/100, and I've read 14/100. Yikes, my score is not very good. I have started several of these books and just never finished. In my defense, my degree was basically a French Literature major, so if this had been a French list, I would have tons more marked off.

I've seen other lists floating around Facebook of a different set of 100 books you should read. According to one I saw, the BBC says that the average person has only read 6 of those books. From that list I had only read 13. I'm always so leary of staring a new book because I get sucked into them so easily, and all my other responsibilities get neglected until I have finished the book. Many of the books from the two lists we actually own and are just sitting on our bookshelves. This has strengthened my resolve to read more. Any suggestions on which one I should read first.

A Scenerio Likely Never Found in Bountiful

Last night we went to Subway for dinner, and while we were eating, a woman wandered in the store. She was loud and friendly, telling everyone in the store that she loved them. She was all buddy-buddy with all the employees so I figured she was a regular. On her way out, she saw us eating our food, and in particular wanted to say hi to Sam, so she came over to talk to us. She asked Sam a few questions and then told him to give "Grandma" a hug. She informed us that she had a handful of great-grandchildren and loved kids. She was very friendly, but I think more than anything, she was a little tipsy from one too many drinks--we think she had come from the bar a couple stores down from the Subway. She was wearing a low-cut shirt showing off her boobies and her lovely tattoo that was fairly low on her boob. Whether it was put there or has sunk down with time we weren't sure. She kept leaning over to give Sam hugs, and Sam just kept staring at her chest. I think she kept leaning over to show herself off to Chris. She left, and then came back a few minutes later with a gift for Sam: a chicken stuffed animal. It's really cute, but it smells like cigarette smoke. She told Sam she loved him in her boisterous voice, gave him lots more hugs, and made her way back to the bar. It made for an interesting dinner. I think we should probably wash the chicken before Sam plays with it.

Language Lessons

I apologize to all Planet Cleverly readers for re-posting this video, but I can't get my videos to upload to Blogger, and I'm trying to figure out how to upload videos on YouTube.

In any case, I wanted to share a cute video of Sam practicing his French. Click here, and hopefully that will take you to the video.

The Gift

I was going through some of my old stuff, and I found this story that my cute sisters Mary and Eliza had written for me probably between 2000-2002--after high school and before my mission. I think it's hilarious, but probably only my immediate family will get it. The text written in Red was written by Eliza, and the text in blue was Mary. Enjoy!

The Gift
by Eliza and Mary

There once was a girl named Camilla. And it was her birthday eve. She was so sad because she wasn't going to be in Utah with her twin Eliza on her birthday. She then decided she would stuff her twin in her backpack and take her as carry on. However this made the girl's little sister (Slow-Ma-Hoe-D'ditz) very sad and feeling left out. So Milla decided that since you are allowed two carry-ons that she would take SMHDD too!

But her mom thought it was a secret plot against their fat tootsie-roll of a dog Noite. It was going to be Noite's birthday soon--at least we thought, maybe...she is really Milla's twin sister's black sister who was a spy inside a tootsie-roll's body. All along it had been a lie. She was a dog "Noite" or otherwise known as Sheila Fee Fee, the spy from the London headquarters. Her whole plot was to make her get on the WRONG flight. Camilla wasn't going to Hawaii anymore. Sheila Fee Fee was sending her to Quebec (dun, dun, dun) to get Elder D (name withheld to protect the innocent) and MARRY HIM! (dun, dun dun!!).

This was against the church rules, but Evil Elder D was with the Quebec Headquarters and knew Sheila Fee Fee. So when Camilla got to the airport and on the plane she didn't have a clue this was gonna happen. Then she looked around and noticed nobody else was on the plane. That's not all she noticed either. The lights were pink and the carpet had hearts. This was no ordinary plane--it was the jet-of-love--and Camilla was trapped! Then she thought "like me pink." Slowly the jet-of-love was brain washing her. She shook her head realizing what was happening. There must be a way out off the jet-of-love. But the door was glued shut with chocolate. She was slowly getting dizzy and then she remembered the move that would save her life. So watching Power Rangers had payed off. She did a triple back flip kick at the door, but she fell over in pain. That was TV, not real life jet-of-love trapped victims. But she wouldn't give up, no not without a fight.

But nobody was even on the plane. She decided to go look in the captain's cockpit. When she got there she saw the captain laying on the floor. The plane was on auto pilot and about to take off. Then she saw it--this would help her get off the jet-of-love! A role of duct tape! Camilla knew duct tape was an amazing invention, so she put it to use. She grabbed the roll, taped the captain's mouth shut and ran to the back of the plane. She taped up the propellers and then got to the most important part. She wrote a Dear John on the tape and left it on the window. Then she taped the tape around her waist and lowered herself down into the engine off the jet-of-love. While there, she opened the engine door and stepped out.

Now, all she had to do was run as far away from the jet-of-love as possible. She reached the gates of the airport and paused to look back at the jet. Should she have stayed and married Evil Elder D? Then coming back to reality she told herself "ick, ick, icky!" As she said this, she saw Evil Elder D himself. "Come back, mon petit chou!" he shouted. Then Camilla mustered all her courage and yelled "You sicky, icky, kisser! I'm not a vegetable and I don't like you, so go back to Canada and get to work. Ick, ick icky!!"

But she ran on after still, then someone swooped Camilla in their arms. She turned to see their face--it was Elder Pinto!! "We've been waiting for you!" Camilla said with a relieved tired smile. "We thought you were in the bathroom with Elder Companion...and we didn't know if you'd ever get here on time for your flight!" So Elder Pinto carried Camilla into the airport and put her down next to her twin.

When she went to talk to Liza, she saw her giving her strange looks. So she looked down and noticed she was wearing a pink bunny rabbit suit. "I'm a little worried about you, Camilla," her mom said not even realizing she had been taken captive. Camilla's dad began to ask in a sad puppy like voice, "Eliza, why is there..."

"Dad," Eliza said, " Interstate 50 does not exist because..."

"No!" her dad cut her off. "Why is there a pink bunny suit on Camilla?"

"That's obvious," Eliza explained. "It's because of her summer job at Northern Exposure. Dad, I thought you knew!"

"Oh yeah, I just forgot!"

"Silly Poptart!" Eliza said.

"But Eliza, my favorite child, why is the sisterhood ring only on you?"

"Because Dad, I'm the coolest, but I guess I'll give it to Camilla because it is her birthday eve after all." So she did, but she could hear Mary in the background, "Ha ha! Now you can't ever be a sister again!" Mary laughed. But Camilla and Liza looked at each other and laughed, "It's all good. We're not sisters, we're twins!"

The End

We're still alive and kicking!

We have been informed that we need to post more on our blog. I guess it has been awhile since our last post. We've had a pretty stressful past couple months both in and out of the bakery, but we're here and still breathing, and closer as a couple because of it all. We won't go into the details on here. Instead, we'll focus on the daily things in life that have kept us laughing.

• So as you are all aware if you read our last post, Sam is potty-trained...kind of. He does great if we remind him every 45 minutes or so, but he rarely tells us on his own if he needs to go. The other night we were at Old Navy doing some birthday shopping, and all of a sudden we notice a miniature lake surrounding Sam's feet. And of course we weren't prepared with anything--no extra underwear, no extra pants, nothing! And since we had walked to the mall from our house, we didn't want to make Sam walk home with soaking pants in the cold. So with Chris' birthday money, Sam got a new pair of underwear and new pants. They didn't have any underwear in his size, so he got the smallest size they had. And they're boxer-briefs! With baseballs! He looks so cute in them even though they're huge on him. So the morale of the story: never leave the house with the diaper bag!

• Sam normally enjoys bathtime, but the other day he got soap in his eyes, and he has not wanted to take a bath again. So the other day he was needing a bath really bad. His face was gross, and he smelled like pee (I cannot find any diapers or pull-ups that can keep Sam dry at night. I think he's just a power-pee-er. Should I be waking him up at night to go potty?). It was a struggle to take off all his clothes, and even more of a fight to get him in the bath. He was flailing his strong little body all over the place yelling that he didn't want his eyes to get owies. And then he started yelling, "Non, merci, mom! Non merci!" It made me laugh so hard! I just love it when he uses his little French phrases! At least he was being polite.
• We received a Wii for Christmas, and Sam enjoys playing the games on it. He does pretty well with tennis and baseball, but his favorite is boxing. We should have been better parents realizing that his boxing skills would likely transfer to hitting things and people outside of the game. Oops! Sam isn't allowed to play boxing anymore.
  
• My secret is out: I play the organ, and now our ward knows it. A bunch of weeks ago the regular organist was gone, and there was no one playing the prelude. I went up to the bishopbric and asked if they needed me to fill in for the day. Since then I have filled in quite a few times, and have now officially been called as the assistant ward organist in addition to being the Primary chorister. I don't mind. I enjoy playing. I just need to reaquaint myself with the organ since it has been more than nine years since I played and was taking lessons. I just wish my legs were a little longer so I could feel more comfortable using the pedals.
  
• We had a nice Valentine's Day. I worked all day and came home to a Pizza Hut pizza (my favorite!). Chris and Sam had brought home a bouquet of balloons, and after dinner I was told to pop them all. I hate popping balloons. With each pop came a loud scream. I'm so jumpy! Inside each balloon was part of a puzzle which in the end made a little love note. It was a sweet small gift that meant so much. It was probably the best Valentine's Day I've ever had.
• And one more thing: Chris and I are having a contest on who can get more friends on Facebook. Currently I have 277, and he has 283. It's a tight race!
  

So there you have it--a brief update on us. Maybe next time you'll get pictures and videos. There's a cute video from Christmas I've been trying to post for a long time now, but it isn't working. Anyway, we hope everyone has a great Sunday!

Everybody Poops

The happy day has arrived! Sam is pretty close to being all the way potty-trained, and we're thrilled! We decided that we we're tired of buying so many diapers and pull-ups, so we tried keeping him in underwear anytime we were just hanging out at home. He has had a few accidents, but mostly waits to do his business on the potty. He used to not sit on the potty long enough to poop at all, but we tried books and movies on our portable DVD player, and now at last he gets those poops in the potty. It's been a few days since the last big accident, so we're knocking on wood and hoping that it sticks. He still uses a pull-up for nap time and sleeping, but we're hoping to retire those as well in the near future. Today he went to church for the first time in underwear, and he didn't have any accidents!
Here is a picture of the little man in action.

Jesus Banks at Wells Fargo

The other day Sam and I were at the bank doing a deposit for work, and a man with long brown hair and a beard walked by. While we were still in the car, Sam pointed at him and said, "Mom! Jesus! That's Jesus!" Sometimes Sam will put my brown headbands around his chin and call himself Jesus too. I guess it's a good thing that Jesus is in his thoughts throughout the day. I guess the next step is to teach him that Jesus wants him to be good (and not to do "jell-o body" and throw fits in the store when he wants a toy truck he sees!).

Phone Change

Just to let you all know, we decided to get rid of one of our cell phones since we really don't need both (we're either at work where there's a phone or together). So now if you need to get a hold of either Chris or me, just call my regular number since Chris' number is no longer in service (and if you don't know that number, leave a comment with your email address and I'll send it to you). There is a possibility that we may change our number to a local Washington number once our contract is up the end of February; but if that happens, I'll let you all know. I think I'll send out a mass email with this update, so sorry if you hear about this twice.

Taylor Christmas Greeting

Last year was the first time and only time we have ever sent out Christmas cards. We had good intentions of sending some out this year, but unfortunately we just never found the time. So this simple blog Christmas greeting will have to do for now even though many of you reading this who are regular readers already have a general idea of what's been going on in our lives.

We can't believe another year has passed so quickly. And so much has happened and changed in our lives. Here's a quick update about our family from this past year.


Christopher completely changed direction as far as his career choice. He decided to leave behind his past ambition of working in the medical field, and decided to combine his other interests of business and baking. Last December we began looking into purchasing a Great Harvest bakery, which included a major move for our little family to Washington state. I remember when Chris made the first phone call to the owner inquiring about the bakery, I knew then and there that it would soon be ours. Although we knew it would not be easy, we have felt good about our decision since that day. We feel completely at home here in this beautiful state. Chris spent a couple weeks in Montana for training, and then spent about two months apart from Sam and me getting our business started while I finished teaching French for the rest of the school year. Being apart for so long was hard for all of us, but living in my parent's basement for that time and being able to enjoy their company made it easier for Sam and me. With our current work situation, we have so much more time for each other as a family. And since moving away from our families, we have grown closer to each other and depend and trust each other more than we ever have before.

Like I mentioned before, I finished teaching my first year of school. I loved teaching and I loved my kids, and I plan on eventually going back to teaching when the time is right. While I was finishing my degree, Chris sacrificed so much to support me in my goal to graduate: he postponed his education and worked horribly long days between his part-time and full-time jobs while still taking a couple classes each semester. Since I have graduated, it is my turn to sacrifice for him to reach his goals and dreams, and I am so happy to do it. Chris and I make a good team and luckily we work well together as small-business owners. I have learned so much about bread in the past few months. Maybe one of these days I'll actually get around to baking some myself (isn't that awful--I own a bakery, and I have never baked anything more than banana bread in my life! Shameful, I know! :) But baking is Chris' department--I just sell it!). I have recently taken on a full-time job as a leasing consultant at our apartment complex, but I am still very much involved in our bakery. In our ward up here, I am the primary chorister, and Chris is a scout leader for the 11 year olds.

Sam is now almost 2 1/2. He is still such a sweet and happy little guy. His laugh is so contagious and he is friendly to everyone including random strangers. In the past year his vocabulary has grown immensely including several words and phrases in French. Some of his interests include cars, trucks, construction vehicles, airplanes, motorcycles--basically anything with wheels. His favorite movie by far is Cars. He loves animals, books, and going to nursery. He is in the process of potty-training, but we haven't gotten too serious about it yet. He has adjusted well to our move up here and has made many new friends.

We completely feel the Lord's hand in our lives and are continually grateful for his direction and guidance. We are grateful for this time of year to focus on the our Savior's humble entrance into this world and feel so blessed to have the peace and confidence the gospel brings to our lives. We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas season and happy new year!

Santa and Sam

This was Sam last year meeting Santa for the first time.

This is Sam yesterday with Santa.

To say the least, this encounter was much more amicable. He walked right up to him, shook his hand, jumped on to his lap and jabbered his ear off. Unfortunately we missed the free Santa at the ward Christmas party, and had to pay a pretty penny for this picture at the mall.

I also wanted to include some of the cute things Sam says these days.

• He knows that his full name is Samuel Christopher Taylor. He calls Chris Daddy Christopher Taylor, and me Mommy Christopher Taylor. To him it makes sense. He also will yell my real first name when I'm not paying enough attention to him.
• Whenever we say the words "guess what" he immediately answers, "I love you so much!"
  
• When he wants something really bad that I'm not letting him have, he'll say "please!" and when I continue to say no he says "nice word, mom. Nice word!" meaning that since he said the nice word please, he can have whatever he wants.
• He doesn't fully understand the word "promise." He thinks it means that he wants something really bad. For example, at the store if he sees a toy he wants, you'll often hear him say, "Promise to take it mom! Promise!"

Oh, what a funny little guy! I love this age!

A Bit of This and That

This part of the country doesn't usually get a whole lot of snow, but we got some over the weekend. In fact, it was so much that they canceled part of church. Everyone was contacted and told that we would be having Sacrament meeting, but the rest was canceled, and if we didn't feel safe driving to church to just stay home. Well, it really didn't snow that much--we think people up here are wimps. Though I guess if they're not used to driving in this stuff it could get scary. In any case, we went to church. I heard by the end of the meeting, about 75 people showed up, several of whom were investigators. My primary kids were supposed to sing a special musical number for sacrament meeting, but under the circumstances, their song was indefinitely postponed (which is totally fine because they didn't know all the verses to the song--I was given one week's notice to teach it to them).

Later that day we ventured outside to play in the snow. As a kid I used to be fine playing outside in the cold for a long time, but I've somehow turned into a wimp and hate being cold. We tried to make a snowman, but it was too powdery. We decided to call up some friends who live down the road and invite them to have some hot coco at our store. We had a good time. They are moving to Texas next month, and we will miss them.Last week we hired and had to fire the same guy. He was from Nepal, and during his interview his English was great. However, in front of customers he froze up, and it just wasn't going to work out. So we have since hired back an old employee who left us for Subway and then decided she wanted to come back. We'll have two other girls leaving us the end of January, so if anyone out there wants a job, let us know!

As for my new job (leasing consultant), it's going well. Our apartment complex is relatively small, so we don't get a lot of traffic. I've shown apartments a handful of times, and then the rest of the time I do paperwork, marketing stuff, and help current residents. It's pretty easy, and the perks are great! We get $255 off our rent each month, we don't have to pay water/sewer/garbage at all, I eventually get medical, dental, and vision insurance, and we get a really good deal on internet and cable (we didn't really want cable, but they had to come together. It's weird having so many stations! We've really grown to love PBS in the past four years of marriage since we have never had cable before now). It's so convenient just being downstairs of our apartment, and so I can pop upstairs and see Chris and Sam pretty easily during breaks. I'm learning to balance all the aspects of my life: mom, wife, business owner, and full-time employee. Chris has been great and has been doing most of the cleaning and cooking. Chris has arranged his schedule so that on the days I start work at 9am, he gets off at 9am, so Sam doesn't have to be watched by anyone else.

Anyway, that's a general update for us. We hope you all have a great Christmas! We'll see some of you very soon!

Civic Duty

So Camilla said I could take over her blog since it's been so long since I logged into mine I can't remember the password.
Coming away from the last election I wondered how many people really know how their country works and a little bit about how it was founded. Fortunately, I found a little quiz that will test your civic and historical knowledge of our great country, the US of A. How did you fare? Camilla and I both scored above average, 64% for Camilla and 85% for me, but that really was not too difficult considering the average was a 49% for Joe Shmoe and 55%!! for our college educators. It did help a little bit that we have been watching the HBO series John Adams (would recommend it to everyone). Well, good luck and happy test taking.
Chris

A Few Things

• We had another fun game night with our employees. We played Trivial Pursuit, 90s edition. The boys won. Chris and I decided that we'd do much better if it had been about the years 1995-2005. We were still pretty young to remember things that happened when we were only 10 years old.
  

• We had the missionaries over for dinner the other night, and Sam had so much fun showing them all his cars. They were good sports and played with them. We have them over once a month, but this was the first time for this set of elders. It's too bad there are not any sisters in our area, because I would love to go teach with them!
  

• Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving) was the busiest day we've ever had at the bakery. Chris went in Tuesday and Wednesday at 2am to have everything ready for everyone's special orders. We just wish we could have days like that more frequently. We're preparing for a good December.
  

• We had a good Thanksgiving--our first as a family away from our families. We spent it with two other young families who are also away from their families. As far as dinner went, our job was easy: rolls and pies. The food was great! We played a game of Disney Seen-It (and the girls totally whipped the boys) and Sam and his friend Kaylee had fun running around all afternoon. He didn't get a nap, but he went to bed around 7pm.
  

• Before and after Thanksgiving dinner we were at the bakery getting ready for Black Friday. Chris didn't go to bed at all and went to start the bake at 11pm. We decided that since we are right near a mall and other big stores that we'd open early like everyone else. We pulled out all our Christmas decorations and put up new posters.

• So Chris stayed up a total of 26ish hours, and I basically got 3 hours of sleep. I stayed up with Chris till 11pm when he left for work, and then Sam woke up at 11:45pm. He used all his excuses on me: he was hungry, poopy, needed his green blanket, etc. After feeding him cheerios, reading stories, snuggling, etc. I fell asleep while he watched some cartoons on TV and then we woke up again at 3:40am (well, I woke up--Sam had been awake this whole time).
  

• Sam and I went to the bakery at 4am. He fell asleep in his playpen, and I went around to all the people standing in lines at Toys R Us, Target, the mall, Best Buy, etc. and passed out free cookies and hot drinks. It was kind of fun, and we think it brought some new faces into our store.

• In other news. I have accepted a new job. I am now a Leasing Consultant at our apartment complex. We weren't really looking for a new job, but this one kind of came up. This means I can't work at the bakery during our regular hours, but I'll continue to do the bookkeeping and help out with marketing and everything else. I'm sad I won't be in the store as much, but with this job we'll get a 30% discount on our rent, plus free water and sewer and medical, dental, and vision benefits. I'll start training December 9th.

• And one more thing I'm not sure I've ever mentioned, but last October Chris "volunteered" (or felt a little pressured to volunteer) to be our neighborhood association's chairman to fill up some of his "spare time". The October meeting was the first we'd ever gone to, and they happened to be choosing a new chairman, so Chris rose his hand at the last second after a very long silence. It's actually not too big of a job. He just has to plan the agenda for our monthly meetings, find guest speakers, and arrange refreshments (which is the easiest part--we just bring our leftover sweets). Any of you reading this who live in Cascade View Neighborhood, you should all come! I really do like that they have something like this. Do all cities have these and I just have never known about them? Anyway, we've met some nice people who live in our area.

Well, we hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! And for those of you in Utah, in case you haven't heard, we're coming the 25th till the 29th! We are excited to see you all!

We'll Make it There Soon!

We've been here for awhile now, and still haven't made it to the Seattle temple yet. We had good intentions of going while Kierstin was living with us since she was a built-in babysitter, but never took advantage of the situation as we still felt overwhelmed with all that goes with owning and running our own business the first few months.
Our next attempt of going to the temple was for our anniversary date. We had some friends watching Sam for us, so it should have been easy. We had to pick up some things down in Seattle from another Great Harvest, so we thought we'd do that and go to the temple. But what we didn't realize was that the temple and the bakery actually aren't very close, and getting through traffic was getting bad, so we didn't end up going.

We decided to try again this week. Again we had someone to watch Sam, and we both had the afternoon off. Nothing was going to get in our way this time; we were determined. We got all dressed, printed maps to get to the temple, printed Chris' lesson for Sunday so I could read it to him while we drove, woke Sam up early from his nap, and headed for the car. I happened to pull out my recommend and noticed that it had expired a month and a half ago. So basically if we had even tried going for our anniversary date, we wouldn't have gotten in. Luckily we found out before the 45 minute drive down to the temple. Grrrr... We'll get our recommends renewed and try again as soon as we can!

Sam Counts in French

You might need to turn up your sound to hear this one well. He left out a couple numbers, but otherwise, his French is pretty good!

Halloween

Here are a few highlights from our Halloween.

First we went to our ward's Halloween carnival and Trunk or Treat. When Sam realized that he could go from car to car and get candy, there was no stopping him.
Then we had a Halloween party with his friends. They played pin the nose on the jack-o-lantern, decorated sugar cookies, and had lunch. It was so fun!

Halloween night was pretty uneventful. Sam had spent the entire day in his costume, but by the end of the day, we were too tired to party anymore, so all three of us were in bed fast asleep by 8pm.

Who are you voting for?

We asked 2 year-old Sam who he will be voting for.

I guess he is still an undecided voter.

Don't forget to go vote! Though really, how could you forget to vote. That's all anyone is talking about in the papers, online, or on TV. I guess I should say go make the effort to vote, even if that means standing in line forever. We here at the Taylor residence have already done our civic duty.

I Love This Man!

Isn't he cute? Four years ago today he became mine.

Who is Christopher?

He is the boss man.
He is a baker.
He is a scout leader.
He is the Cascade View Neighborhood Chairman.
He is going bald.
He is a great cook.
He is the hardest worker I know.
He is a fantastic dad.
He is a loyal husband.
He is psychic and often knows exactly what I'm thinking or what I'm going to say.
He is the person who knows me best.
He is my best friend.

Happy anniversary!

PS Happy birthday to this cute girl!
I can't believe you're now 12!

Time for a Tag

I must be popular or something. I was tagged twice in one day! The first one I've already done, but I guess I'll give the "I" tag a try.

I... speak French fluently
I am... a small-business owner
I think... I spend too much time on the internet
I know... lots of things. I'm a college grad! I have a piece of paper to prove it!
I want... to have more will power
I wish... we had no debt and that our bakery was all the way paid off
I had... a pet bird for less than two weeks before we found him dead for no apparent reason
I hate... spiders with a passion! I try to keep my cool around Sam so he doesn't inherit my arachnophobia
I miss... French cheeses and breads
I fear... our government's future
I feel... sore. My random neck pain from last week has moved down to my right shoulder/back area
I hear... Sam asking me to come snuggle with him, so I'll be back to finish later...
...Later... I smell... nothing in particular. Just our apartment's regular smell
I crave... sugar all the time. Especially GH's Savannah Bars, cookie dough, and cake batter
I search... for great deals
I wonder... if we'll ever be able to afford a house of our own
I regret... not reaching out to different groups of people during high school. I feel like I missed out on some really valuable friendships
I love... my hubby and my little Sam-a-lama-ding-dong
I care... about other people's happiness
I always... have been an early riser
I am not... very creative or crafty; however, whenever I enter a craft store, I feel like giving craftiness a try
I believe... I can fly, I believe I can touch the sky, think about it every night and day, spread my wings and fly away...
I could... run a marathon like my sisters if I really wanted to, but I don't want to, so I won't
I dance... only with Sam. It causes me HUGE anxiety to dance and usually it brings me to tears if you try to force me. It comes from my insecure self from high school that still haunts me at times
I sing... in front of Primary kids every Sunday. Sometimes I feel like I'm singing solos every week
I don't always... exercise like I should
I write... better French than Chris does, though I think he speaks better than I do
I win... some boardgames
I lose... chess when playing with Chris (or just about anyone really)
I play... the piano to relieve stress
I never... eat seafood
I never listen to... rap
I can usually be found... at home or at the bakery
I am scared of... spiders. Oh wait, I've already reveled that! But it's a feeling so strong to deserve two mentions
I need... a massage
I am happy about... living in Washington (however I do miss our families!)

I don't tag anyone in particular because so many of you have already done it. So go for it if you want to.

Random Week in Review

Last Sunday we decided to pick some blackberries around our apartment complex since the season is almost over. Sam helped and turned a little purple.
We like to eat the berries with ice cream and decided to share with some friends.

Later in the week we had these same friends' kids over while they went on their anniversary date, and Sam had so much fun. They have a boy close to Sam's age and a little baby girl that Sam is fascinated with (I was a little worried about the baby's safety with Sam on the loose). One day he'll be a great big brother (but not anytime in the super near future). The past couple nights in his prayers he says over and over, "Thank you for Nathan. Bless the baby."

It must be an epidemic because now I have a crinked neck too! It randomly started hurting two nights ago before I went to bed (so it's not like I just slept on it funny). I can't turn my head too far right! Grrr...

And is anyone else out there sick of the election commercials. I enjoy watching the debates and everything, but when they just bash each other on every other commercial, it gets really old. It's especially bad up here with the race for Washington's governor. I just keep telling myself we only have a few weeks left.

Chris found this website where we can earn more Delta Skymiles for playing games. Only 4,033 tickets to go until we can get a plane ticket to Utah!

Tomorrow we're having game night with all our employees. We miss playing games on Sunday nights with our families, but our employees are like our family up here.

(And mom, if you read this before I call you, I need the recipe for your taco soup!)

Heads Up for Free Baby and Kid Stuff

I found this cool website yesterday called Freepeats. It's a place to find used baby and kid clothing and gear, and the best part of it is that it's completely free! It's kind of like Craigslist where you can post things you want to get rid of, or things that you are looking for, and then people in your area can respond. To register with the forum it normally costs a one time fee of $4.95, but if you do it within the next couple days, it's completely free! I thought this might be good for some of my sisters--both the ones who know they are done having kids and want to get rid of some things, and those who are planning on more. Check it out! You could score some really nice free things!

Conference Weekend with Grandma and Grandpa

Dad did a pretty good job at summing up their quick visit with us last weekend, but I needed to post some pictures. We had so much fun with them here, and we hope next time they can stay longer. We kept the Taylor tradition of breakfast burritos for Sunday Conference morning. And here is a picture of Sam with Grandma and Grandpa right before we took them to the airport.
Conference was great as usual (though a little frustrating with our internet connection). And Chris was happy to spend the entire day in his pajamas!

Sam's Costume and Verbal Skills

I hate spending money on Halloween costumes, so we were originally planning on Sam being a tourist for Halloween. He got this great Hawaiian outfit from Chris' parent's cruise. I thought he could just add a toy camera and some sunglasses and he'd be set.

We recently checked out a cute book from the library called "I Love My Pirate Papa." Sam loves it and calls Chris Pirate Papa, and calls himself a Pirate Boy. So while we were wandering around Toys R Us with Chris' mom, we found a pirate costume and had to get it. So here he is in his Halloween costume.

And in other news, I am sad that Sam is growing up so quickly; his language skills have improved quite a bit in the last little while. Recently he has learned the correct way to say the words motorcycle (which used to be wan-gun-gun) and snuggle (which used to be snuggan). I'm going to miss his little Sam-isms. He is very polite and always says please, thank you, and excuse me, and he says bless you in French every time I sneeze. He can count to ten in French. I wish I could get this all on video, but every time I pull out the camera, he just wants to watch the video. I'll need to do some hidden camera work to document it all.

Fun with the Two Grandmas

We had Chris' mom and grandma come for a quick visit this past week. They got here last Sunday afternoon and left yesterday morning. Sam was a little confused when kept telling him that grandma and grandma were coming. We had little conversations like this:

Us: Sam who's coming? Grandma and...?
Sam: Grandma and Grandpa!
Us: No, they're coming next week. Grandma and...?
Sam: Zoe!
Us: No, Grandma and...?
Sam: Dave!....Lara!

When they got here, he finally got it. He now calls them Grandma and Other-One-Grandma. We had so much fun with them here. We went down to Pike Market Place on Monday. We ate at a restaurant overlooking the water. I guess it's famous because part of Sleepless in Seattle was filmed there. Sam enjoyed the music, two giant dogs that we met, a sculpture of a pig, and the doughnuts. We left a little too late, however, for his patience to last long enough to allow us to go to the Space Needle or to the aquarium. He gets soooo cranky if he doesn't get his nap! That evening we had a really yummy dinner at a local restaurant overlooking Sam's favorite lake (it's where we always go on our picnics and where we feed the ducks).

Tuesday the two grandmas spent the day in the Tacoma area where Other-One Grandma (Grandma Brannock) grew up. They were able to visit with old friends and attend a memorial service for someone they knew.

We had so much fun together. I don't know when we'll see them next--especially his grandma since she lives in Texas. Thanks for the visit! Anyone else looking for a little vacation is welcome anytime!

Vote for Angie!

My friend Angie is in a "baby bump" photo contest for a radio station. If she wins, she gets a dream nursery for their baby boy.


Just go to this link and vote for #59. Be sure to verify your vote through the email they send you to make your vote count. Hurry! Voting ends September 26th!

Another Good Shopping Trip

We're still clipping coupons and looking for good deals, and it's continuing to pay off. Two weeks ago we saved around $100, and if I remember right, I think we spent a little over $100, so that's about $50-60 a week in groceries. Not too shabby.


This week we spent $116.98, we saved 89.83, and bought 78 items which averages out to be about $1.50 per item. We mostly just followed the store ads with a few coupons. I also have done some good deals at Walgreens. Once my coupon collection grows, we'll be a lot better at this!

A Nice Compliment

The other day at work I was helping an old man. He told me I had a beautiful smile. Then he asked me this question: "You love the Lord, don't you. It shows on your face." I used to hear this all the time while I was a missionary, but that was easy because the gospel was my complete life for 18 months. It's just nice to know that my convictions still show in my countenance. Living the gospel does bring a peaceful confidence which can make a visible difference.

Becoming a Savvy Shopper

Living is expensive wherever you live, but it seems to be especially expensive up here. So I decided that I wanted to get serious with using coupons and finding all the great deals. I've found and have been directed to lots of different coupon blogs and sites that alert me to all the good deals, and Chris decided to actually look at the grocery store ads (which we usually just throw away) and match those up with coupons we found online. I'm also trying to get into Walgreens shopping with all their free-after-rebate deals and stuff.

Anyway, so here is a picture of our first serious attempt at being savvy shoppers.We went to three local grocery stores: Albertson's, Safeway, and Fred Meyer. We figured that will all the store cards, sales, and coupons, we saved around $100! We're still new at this, and I hope to get better, but I think it's a good start!

Sam's 2 Year Doctor Visit

Sam finally had his 2 year doctor visit--only two months late. Here are his stats:

Height: 34.37"/35th percentile
Weight: 29 lb. 6.4 oz /62nd percentile
Head Circumference: 50 cm /79th percentile

Chris was the one to take him because I was at work. Sam seemed to like the doctor okay. He kept saying "nice lady, nice lady". I guess she was nice because she didn't give him any shots like we thought he'd get. The one he needed is on back-order, so they'll give us a call when it's available. And when that happens, I'm not sure Sam will think she's a nice lady anymore.

An Evening Out with Our Employees

Last week we went out to dinner with all of our employees and a few old employees for some of their birthdays. I thought I'd add some pictures so you can meet some of the people at the bakery.
This is Jody and July. They are sisters and each have adorable kids.
This is Glen, the previous owner who gave us such a generous deal on the bakery. In the middle is Ruben who is originally from Peru. He's been teaching me a little Spanish, and I've been teaching him a little French. And on the right is Lisa who is July's sister-in-law and who technically doesn't work at Great Harvest anymore, but occasionally fills in when we need extra help.
This is Kaylee with the teeny sombrero on her head. Her last day at the bakery was last Friday. She has moved on to a job that can give her more hours. To the left is Tanya. I took another picture of her, but it turned out fuzzy, so this one will have to do for now. Another old employee, Sara, and her fiance were there too, but they were also included in the fuzzy picture.

Here's Ruben again in his birthday sombrero.

And you should all know who this handsome little boy is. He was stuffing is mouth full of chicken nuggets.

There will soon be a new addition to our Great Harvest family...we just don't know who it is yet. Since Kaylee is leaving us, we have been interviewing a few people. Hopefully we find someone as great as the rest of our employees!

Another Favorite Commercial

This one has been out for a long time. I always tried to explain it to my French students but most of them had never seen it.

Old Home Videos #3

I just like the first part on this one with the big airplane hug! This was a couple Sundays ago when we had a picnic at the park.

Old Home Videos #2

Here is another old favorite back when we lived in the Turpin's house in Bountiful. I love his laugh, and I think it's so funny when he discovers that the camera is taping him.

Old Home Videos #1

This is an old video taken at the Taylor's home last January. Sam is a dancing fool!

Happy Wedding Lara and Dave!

We just got back from a quick trip to Utah over the weekend. Chris' sister Lara got married to Davey-Gravey. The sealing was great, the family BBQ was delicious, and the reception was a lot of fun. They are now honeymooning in Hawaii.
Sam with Uncle Bruce
Lara throwing her bouquet
Lara's friend, who she helped convert in Canada, caught the bouquet.
Monday we went to the Gateway Mall and played in the fountains while Grandma Valerie did some shopping. Sam wasn't too impressed and didn't want to run around with the other kids.

And here is a little bit of video from our trip. Some of the wedding parts aren't very good because it was getting so dark, but I felt like we still needed to document it, so here you go.

Vote for Mary!

Hello all my blogging friends. My cute sister is a finalist in a summer fun photo contest (and currently is in 2nd place out of 400) and she needs your vote. Go here and vote for Mary Elizabeth #15! And if you're interested in a fun giveaway, visit her blog.

Weekend Visit Videos

I forgot to post some video I took from when my family came to visit (most of it was taken at the Future of Flight museum). Enjoy!

Grammar Snob

Thanks John for finding this blog--The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quatation Marks. I love it and it makes me laugh! Though I wonder how some people are able to leave high school without understanding such a basic grammar concept. Come on, people! It's not that hard!

Haircut

Sam finally got a haircut! We thought we should probably do something since his aunt's wedding is next week.

Before

After

We had one of our friends cut Sam and Christopher's hair. They were both pretty shaggy. It was quite the challenge to keep Sam still during his turn.

"Disinfect to Protect"

I'm pretty sure none of my readers are old enough to remember what I'm about to post. Any ladies out there around in 1939 to experience this? I thought it was very interesting.

My Newest Projects

I had heard from a couple people of a computer program that can turn blogs into a book. It's called Blurb and I'm really excited about it. About two years ago I started typing out my mission journal to eventually turn it into a book to keep for posterity. So I began to transcribe it into Microsoft Word, intending to eventually include all my pictures with their appropriate entries. I only got as far as three weeks into my MTC experience. Now that I've discovered Blurb, I am excited again to make my book. I think it will be easier this way. I am transferring my mission journal into a blog (however, it's a private blog for now), and I am including all my pictures so there will be one concise record of my mission. I am so excited for it, however I have a feeling it will take me quite awhile because I wrote pretty frequently on my mission (unlike Chris who doesn't have much of a mission journal--how sad!).

I have also decided to make a new wedding album with this program since our original album's binding is falling apart. It also lets you add stuff from your computer (it doesn't necessarily need to be from a blog) and I'm really excited about this one too. Luckily our wedding photographer gave us all the negatives (really, they're files since it was with a digital camera--does anyone use regular film anymore?).

I think Blurb should pay me for the advertising I have done here!