Glimpse of Christmases yet to come...

Although we did not put a Christmas card together this year (or last), I've been imagining what our future Christmas cards might look like...

If we have girls:

If we have boys:

If we have one of each:

Or if we adopt:Well, however it happens, I'm sure we're all in for exciting times ahead. I hope this made you laugh more heartily than an expensive photo shoot of us might have. And thanks to Meghann for her e-mail featuring these (and more) hilarious Santa's lap moments. I think these men deserve a lot more than I'm sure they are paid. It takes a special kind of person, that's for sure. Happy Christmas, everyone!

I'll (kind of) be home for Christmas...

So most everyone has had their Christmas plans solidified for a while now. Not us, we're fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants kind of people. But, as of late last night, we know where to tell Santa to drop off our presents. We'll be spending the 21-27th in Moscow...Idaho. Then poor Brandon has to go back to work to support me in the lavish lifestyle I'm accustomed to. But me, I'm flying to Toronto to spend 10 days with my family (most of whom I haven't seen since we got married last August). I can't wait to see everyone. I'm really excited, and this way everyone wins...except Brandon. Isn't that always the way?

Speaking of Brandon being oppressed by his battleax of a wife, yesterday in a Marriage & Family class we attended we made lists of the qualities we admire in our spouse. Apparently my list wasn't as lengthy as Brandon thought it should be. So, I've decided to recruit some help via our blog. Brandon needs your love more than ever! So, if anyone out there is reading this, please make a comment letting us know something you like about Brandon. Don't be shy, we'd love to hear from you. If you feel you must post this sort of sensitive information anonymously, feel free. I've fixed the blog so that even if you don't have a "Google account" you can post comments anonymously. Family, this means you. Also, if you're wondering, yes this picture was taken during our engagement photo shoot. How do we love Brandon? Let us count the ways...

A Christmas Family Hee Haw

Well, today I happen to have a slow day at work, missing my family and excess Christmas spirit on my hands (they're really quite full). So I turned to creating elves (a word I don't think I've used since I misspelled it in a spelling bee years ago) out of my siblings and I. There are a few kinks to work out, but please, click on this link and prepare yourself for a whole lotta Haw-Haw-Haw (I've finally come to terms with and embraced some of the "funny" nicknames people called us growing up)!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1179129778
And just in case my parents and grandparents thought they were immune...

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1179810625

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...only inside our apartment

Despite Provo being unseasonably warm, we have officially declared the Christmas season open in our apartment. The stockings have been hung on the coat rack with care, hoping that Santa will somehow be able to find us without a chimney, or back door. We'll see.

We've also busted out our "tree" again this year. We're a step up from Charlie Brown, but it gets the job done. As you can see, I am taller than the tree with the star on top, but I think our assortment of macaroni angel, Care Bear and A Christmas Story ornaments more than make up for the lack of branches. And yes, that is snow at the foot of the tree...and by snow, I mean the stuffing from an old pillow. It's also in our windowsills, very authentic.

Well, while I'm at it, I thought I would post some pictures of our apartment for the majority of you who haven't had the opportunity to grace us with your presence. Here's our living room with matching couches finally! Our entertainment unit has been refurbished in light of the holiday season, and even has a new TV Michelle scored from some friends in the ward. Life is good.

The kitchen. Please note the clean dishes in the sink, as well as two freshly baked loaves of banana bread on the stove. I'm a lucky man (Michelle says this was a good day and she actually planned to take these pictures for the previously mentioned reasons.)

Lastly, but not leastly, the world's smallest bathroom. (We do have a bedroom, but it's more a storage closet than anything else, not something people want to see). Strangely enough, we're quite proud of our bathroom. Some have scoffed at the rubber duck motif, but it works for us.

We're pretty happy where we are, but looking forward to finding our where I'll be going to grad school and moving there.

My Little Sister's 21?!?!

Yesterday was my sister Kristina's birthday. I can't believe she's 21...almost as unbelievable as the fact that I will be 24 in 2 weeks! Yikes. But, I thought that I would post a bit of a tribute to my favourite brunette sister (she used to be very sensitive about the whole brunette thing, but I think time, and stints of blondeness have healed her wounds). Here is a pictorial tribute to a sister I've become closer to living thousands of miles apart. (sniff)

The wee butterball I loved (but struggled) to hold in my arms.

Kristina learned and exploited my weaknesses at a very early age, a time-honoured tradition that continues today.

This is quite possibly one of my all-time favourite pictures of Wedge (a tender nickname she earned as a result of incidents such as this one).

Although the similarities are striking, no we aren't twins, we just wore matching outfits until our adolescent years.

Reliving our childhood with some healthy (and stiff) competition: subjective Guess Who? Does your person look like he may have spent some time in jail?It took me moving to Utah to realize how much I love and miss my sister. She's grown up so fast and so much (that I make her bend down a little bit in pictures). She had a wonderful birthday, even without me there. Love you Wedge!

Um, excuse me...

So last night I had the opportunity to do something I have always wanted to do: tap a stranger on the shoulder and let them know they have toilet paper stuck to their shoe. What a rush. Actually, I'm pretty sure it was a serviette (napkin) but I said toilet paper, because that sounded cooler. This was after the football game (THAT WE WON) and he was a freshman in the middle of a huge crowd, so you can imagine the scene he caused, freaking out because he thought it was toilet paper. I can die happy.

I've been hit!

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

I interpreted “facts/habits” to mean little-known nuggets and quirks. But, coming up with interesting and entertaining facts about myself required more introspection that one might have thought. I hope at least one of these little-known facts brings a smile to one or more of your faces.

1. I find it impossible to sleep whilst clocks are ticking. I used to take the battery out of the nearest clock before going to bed and reset it in the morning…until I finally figured out that if I closed both the bathroom door and our bedroom door, I could handle it and get a good night’s rest.

2. My side of the closet is colour coordinated in a rainbow from white to black and has been since high school. We won’t talk about Brandon’s side, it makes me cringe (I’d say “half” but that just isn’t accurate).

3. I am right-handed, but insist on wearing watches and bracelets on said right hand, which apparently is highly abnormal. Even weirder is that my husband is left-handed and wears his watch on the left hand…eerie.

4. I was Snoopy in my high school’s production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”. I had a solo involving a hat, cane and doggy dish. Enough said.

5. I met Hanson, the ultimate boyband, backstage at a concert in high school. I would have included a picture, but pictures were sent only to members of the fan club and alas, I was not. I accosted a roadie, pleading with him to take down my contact information but he insisted that the pictures would get to me…without an address…or even a name… So the evidence of my life reaching its pinnacle never reached me. (sigh)

6. I remain an avid, stalwart Spice Girls fan. Have been since “Wannabe” came out. Yes, I was devastated when Geri left the group, but in my heart I always knew a reunion tour was on the horizon. Too bad I won’t see it. Back in high school I did a mean Baby Spice impression. Blonde hair to my waist and standing an impressive 5’2” made that relatively easy. Some friends and I actually performed some numbers at a Youth Conference were hounded for autographs and pictures for the rest of the weekend. Please note that I served as choreographer and am still able to perform Wannabe, Stop, Who Do You Think You Are, Spice Up Your Life and others to this day. Something to be proud of? I think so.

Phew...I wonder how many people will actually make it this far in my post! Sorry. But now, I choose to tag (and don't hate me): Amy P, Amy J, Tawna, Mike, Darbie, & Starlie

Hallowe'en in "Scranton"...

The following pictures were snapped at the Office themed Hallowe'en party our friends threw. We were quite impressed with the variety in the costumes. Ryan came with Cousin Mose, Jim & Pam, of course, as well as Phyllis and Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration. The Bullocks spent a lot of time & energy into recreating the Scranton Branch of Dunder Mifflin. Thought most of you would appreciate the footage.

This was the spread...not bad. Soup bowls that look like pumpkins. What will they think of next?

The Witches Brew. Spooky!

The group shot. One word: Wow.

After a few rounds of Hate Ball and the like, we created "Gingerbread Houses". Ours turned into a Haunted Outhouse. See below, and please note the toilet paper and the line forming (must be a women's room).

All in all, a great Hallowe'en. Sure beats sitting around handing out candy to kids who don't even say "Trick or Treat"anymore...what is the world coming to?

He put my stapler in Jell-o again...

Our ward party was last night, and although we were a little pressed for time by an intramural game, we arrived fashionably late as Dwight and Angela. Those who recognized us had a good laugh, those who didn't stared awkwardly. But all in all, it went rather well. Our neighbour Jon came as Three-Hole Punch Jim from the Halloween episode of The Office. Couldn't resist taking a picture of him and "Dwight". The last picture is our attempt at the stapler in jell-o. Again in a time crunch, only baby staplers were available, but it got the idea across. QUESTION: Which bear is best?

Vampires and werewolves and Dwight...oh my!

Above, you will notice our Halloween costumes from 2005. Somehow 2006 got skipped, as we had nothing to do but hand out candy (getting old kind of stinks!) But this year we've been invited to an Office themed party. So, we're going as none other than Dwight K. Schrute and Angela Martin. We have a ward party to go to as well, not sure everyone there will be able to appreciate the characters, but I'm too lazy to come up with two costumes for both of us. We went to D.I. this weekend and picked up some sweet accessories, including a replica of Sprinkles, Angela's sickly cat, which Dwight provided with an untimely and cold demise. Think we can pull if off?

Michelle's Book of Choice for November

So a few weeks ago I saw the movie Freedom Writers. I went into it thinking, I've seen Stand and Deliver I've heard of Dangerous Minds, how is this going to be different? It was a really touching movie, and besides the token F-words, I really enjoyed it. She teaches a class full of teenagers who have given up, and have been given up on. She helps change their outlooks and attitudes through having them read the Diary of Anne Frank. They visited Holocaust memorial sites and the experience changed their lives. Watching it, I realized that the last time I read this book was in Grade 7. Thinking that I am slightly more mature these days, I think I will be able to appreciate and learn from her experiences much better. Hence, me choosing this book for the book club I've involved in. I think it's an account that everyone should read again.

Grad School, here we come!

So we spent a Saturday evening applying to grad schools for Buddy. I came up with the idea of wearing BYU gear to channel our good experiences here, and red in hopes of having good experiences elsewhere (most of the schools he's applying to sport red as one of their colours). So far the list of lucky schools that could have him there are : the University of Utah, Belmont in Tennessee, University of Kentucky, Eastern Washington University, Northern Arizona University, University of Nebraska, UNLV, University of Puget Sound, Harvard, Yale and Princeton (just kidding on those last three). I'd be happy with any of these, but I'll be happier when I know where we'll be in six months!

It's official.

We officially have a blog. We have nothing exciting to report on said blog, but we thought we should be prepared for the day we have news to share. Family and friends, get ready for the most boring blog with flashes of hilarity you've ever read...