Our 15/9 Month Anniversary

For anyone keeping track, the 29th was our 15/9 month anniversary (15 months since we met, 9 since we were married). Yes, we still celebrate every single month, and will continue to do so at least until our 1 year wedding anniversary. We take turns every month with who plans the activities. This month was my turn. Because Jenn has been very sick lately, I kept it fairly calm and simple.

First, we carved pumpkins at my parent house. Jenn created a witch silhouette, and I did a skull and crossbones. Mine didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped, but as you can see, Jenn’s turned out great, in spite of how sick she was.



Also pictured is one of the pumpkin sprouts growing inside of Jenn’s pumpkin. Sara’s family came over while we were there, because Mike is laying tile in their bathrooms, and painting. Then in November, Jason is going to re-carpet the whole house.

Anyway, after that, I took Jenn to one of her favorite restaurants, New Chinese Gourmet. We both tried oysters for the first time. Jenn managed to swallow hers... I did not. The taste was bad enough, but it was the texture that I couldn't handle. Blech! But that’s what I love about buffets, you can try anything, but you’re not stuck with an entire plate of it. So we had plenty of good food (and Dr. Pepper) to get rid of that nasty taste.

P.S. Because of Jenn being very sick, Halloween preparations, and helping my parents move furniture around for the remodeling, there will be no comic this week. We’re so sorry!

Happy Birthday, Adam!

Today Adam turned 26 years old. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! We began the festivities at about 9 a.m. with his presents. In his family they do the presents in the morning instead of in the evening with the cake. So when he woke up, I had his gift, and the card my mom sent him, waiting on the couch.


I had been determined to surprise him with his gifts because he ALWAYS figures them out ahead of time. I managed, though. I ordered them last minute and wrapped them both in one box, so he didn’t know he would be getting two. I was happy I could surprise him and he was happy to be surprised. Let’s see if I can pull it off for Christmas. Lol.


Then, for dinner we went to Sizzler with his parents, combining two traditions into one…sort of. In my family, the birthday guest-of-honor picks what they want for dinner and that is what is made for them. In his family, adults are taken out to dinner to the location of their choice, but not specifically on the big day. So, Sizzler was his choice for dinner so I wouldn’t have to cook. The food was fantastic, as was the company.


After dinner, Adam and I went home for birthday cake and a solo rendition of “Happy Birthday” from me. We went shopping for his cake earlier because our oven is tilted VERY badly and I just can’t bake in it. We found a Snickers cake (Snickers being his favorite candy bar) and just had to try it out. It was delicious, but a little too caramel-y for our tastes.


All in all it was a wonderful day and we wish you all could have been their for all the laughs and smiles.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ADAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

J.A. Toons, Vol. 5

Click to enlarge. Printable, high-resolution image here.

We have also created a new blog dedicated to our comics. We will still post them here every week, but we wanted to created a complete archive for our series.

Adam's New Look

Last Friday, Adam and I got a notice in the mail that Adam’s Medicaid benefits would be cut and no longer cover eyeglasses and related products. We had been waiting until I got insurance for us to go in and get glasses so we could do it all at once. Instead, now we had to jump on the glasses train NOW or never. So on Saturday, we went to Wal-Mart and Adam got his eyes checked (they were REALLY bad, it was something like 2400 /2100 instead of 20/20). The last time he wore glasses was in Junior High.

I picked out his frames, because Adam trusts my judgment (he says he really likes them too). I think he is the most handsomest man EVER and glasses look very, very good on him. We also picked out some cool prescription sunglasses because Adam’s eyes come “pre-dilated” because of his medication. The doctor told him he needs to wear sunglasses when he is out in the sunshine.

He also said that Adam has Pigment Dispersion Syndrome, which is a rare eye condition where the pigment from his iris is being scraped off and mixed with his eye fluids. It isn’t bad as long as it is examined frequently. If the pigment clogs up his fluid ducts, the pressure will build up and cause Pigmentary Glaucoma. So, no worries for now, we’ll keep an eye on that.

So, here are some pictures of my Handsome Man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Isn’t he cute?

Tag, We’re It!

Alright, so Ty and Cami were tagged, then Mama-Llama was too, and apparently anyone who reads their blogs gets tagged and has to do the same thing. So here we go…

8 Favorite TV Shows:

This is a tough one, because we don’t watch TV, except TV on DVD. Plus, we each like shows that the other doesn’t. So these are the ones we agreed on. (Off the top of our heads, so we might feel stupid when we remember more that we left off the list.)

1. M*A*S*H - “What say you, Ferret Face?”
2. Friends - “When we get to Yemen, can I stay with you?”
3. The Simpsons - “…The lesson is: never try.”
4. Tiny Toons - “No relation.”
5. Everybody Loves Raymond - “I wish I were Gus.”
6. King of Queens - “My name may as well be Fatty McButterpants.”
7. Seinfeld - “Even nothing is something.”
8. Taxi - “Whaaaaat doooes a yeeellooow liiight mean?”

8 Favorite Restaurants:

We’re a classy bunch…

1. Red Robin - Soup & Salad, and Clucks & Fries
2. Carl’s Jr. - 4 Big Burgers, mustard and ketchup only
3. McDonald’s - 1 Big Mac, and 1 Crispy Chicken Caesar
4. Arby’s - 1 Crispy Chicken Fillet, 2 Regular Roast Beef
5. IHOP - French Toast, and a Basket of Chicken Strips
6. Denny’s - Pancakes, and Buffalo Chicken Strips
7. Olive Garden - Fettuccini Alfredo, and Spaghetti
8. New Chinese Gourmet - Jenn: everything, Adam: Chicken dishes

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:

1. We woke up.
2. Did laundry from Snowbird.
3. Cleaned the apartment (some of it, anyway).
4. Jenn talked to Mama-Llama over the phone.
5. Went to Trevor’s last football game.
6. Went to Chili’s with Adam's parents.
7. We finished J.A. Toons: Volume 5.
8. Jenn caught some Pokémon.

8 Things [We Are] Looking Forward To:

1. Adam’s 26th birthday.
2. Our 15/9 month anniversary.
3. Halloween.
4. Thanksgiving in Colorado.
5. Our 16/10 month anniversary.
6. Our first Christmas as a married couple.
7. Our 17/11 month anniversary.
8. Our 1 year wedding anniversary!

8 Things On [Our] Wish List:

1. Money!
2. A job or jobs we can handle.
3. A new iPod.
4. A mandolin.
5. An Xbox 360.
6. An HDTV.
7. A new place to live.
8. Snow on Christmas.

Recap of Snowbird

Snowbird was a fun and beautiful experience. The drive up through the canyon was beautiful, but Tori would never have survived (for those of you who don‘t know Tori, she hates drives that are high, windy, and very close to long, steep mountain edges).

Once we got up there we unpacked the food for the week and settled in. We toured Bret’s place, which is very cozy and nice, then spent the evening just relaxing. I saw my first “bluebird,” although it turns out it was not a REAL bluebird, it had a different name but I loved it anyways.

The next day, Sara and her family came up for the day. Jeremy and his family had arrived the night before, but we didn’t see them until the morning. That day was fairly crowded but lots of fun. We all played Apples to Apples as a big, fun, laughing family. We played several sets, everyone getting many Green Apples cards. Then, since it was getting late, and everyone had long drives either that night or the next morning for school and work, we played elimination style Apples to Apples. In this round, whoever’s card was picked was out of the game. We all laughed and had a good time.

Monday was a slower day with not much going on. On Tuesday, after Jeremy picked up the kids from home and brought them back up, we went swimming. The pool is outdoors but heated and the day was not too cool. There was lots of splashing on Jeremy’s part, and a lot of lounging around in the shallow pool for Adam and I.

We played more Apples to Apples and went to bed. Adam had me watch the short versions of the Rocky movies ("short" being the elimination of nonessential moments and the fighting) until I couldn’t keep my eyes open. On Wednesday, we finished the Rocky movies with the unabridged Rocky Balboa. For the record, I would like to say that the Rocky movies are awesome. We then returned home with Adam’s parents, who were going to dinner and testimony meeting with some mission friends. We went down because on Sunday morning I awoke with shingles on my finger and they hadn’t healed enough for us to be comfortable around the youngest of our nephews.

We were sad to have to leave so early and miss the chance to be around Amy, who lives so very far away in Tooele, that we don’t see her much. We wanted to play Apples to Apples with the whole, entire family.

On Friday morning, I awoke to find my shingles had passed into the scarring stage and were no longer a threat. Regardless, we took extra precautions before going back up to Snowbird.

We got up there in time for lunch and chatted with everyone. After a while we decided to go on a walk, which turned into a hike, along some trails on the mountain. I was worn out, tired to the bone, and dehydrated ‘cause I declined a water bottle before we left. We went really high, took some great pictures, and then wanted to go back. Six of our nieces and nephews wanted to hike up higher. Jeremy decided to take them, so off they went. They were seen hours later, far up the mountain with no trail left to follow, waving their coats at Kalli in the lodge, who could barely see them. Boy were they tired by the time they got back.

Wanting to rest their sore limbs, they decided to go swimming. It was cooler by then, so the adults dressed warmly. I got too chilled, so after a while, Adam and I returned to the warm indoors. After everyone else came up from the pool, we had dinner. It was starting to get dark, so Adam and I left, not wanting to drive the canyon at night. So we didn’t get to play Apples to Apples with everyone THIS time, but Park City is just around the corner…


Here are a few of the many pictures taken. I’ll start with some panoramic views I made from our balcony. (I tried doing them higher, to show the top of the mountains, but the angle causes too much distortion for the panoramas to work.)



And here are the rest of the pictures from our trip. Starting with my dad, doing what he usually does on vacations, Blackberry in her temporary home, our many rounds of Apples to Apples, us checking and posting on our blog with the Wii, the 100-degree pool we swam in, plus random pictures of us, my parents, and our walk/hike…

J.A. Toons, Vol. 4

Click to enlarge. Printable, high-resolution image here.

Live From Snowbird

We do have internet up here. However, we do not have a computer. So I am typing this message on my Wii. Cool, eh?

We won't be able to post pictures yet, but we can update you all on what's going on. I'll keep it short because typing this takes FOREVER!!

We survived the drive up with my parents, and Blackberry (our fish). I slept though the worst part, but Jenn was alert for every winding inch. So far it's just us and my parents in our unit. Bret and his family are here in their own unit. And Jeremy's family (who also have their own unit) should be up here later tonight.

We're staying at the Iron Blosam, where my parents have had a time-share since 1979. Bret and Jeremy got their own last year. Each unit is like a big hotel suite. My parents' unit is actually two connecting rooms with two beds on one side, and a kitchen, living room area, fireplace, and sofa-bed on the other. Bret's is a single room unit with a small kitchen, Murphy bed, and sofa-bed. Jeremy's is a two-story unit which we haven't seen yet.

Well, that's all for now. My hand is getting tired. This post took about a half hour to type.

Happy Birthday, Tori!

Lock your doors, Tori’s back in Utah! But she’ll be heading back home to Longmont, Colorado tomorrow.

She arrived here on Wednesday, October 1st and we picked her up from Layton at 11:00pm. We got back to our place sometime after midnight, where Tori crashed on our couch. The next morning, we took her to Liahona, her school she attended while living here, but now does distance learning from them.


We didn’t see much of her after that until last Wednesday, October 8th when we spent a few hours with her. She took a ride in the Corvette, we went to a football massacre, and then to dinner.

The reason we call it a football massacre is because in the first play of the game, Jordan and another kid made a masterful tackle... or so we thought until the guy they tackled didn’t get back up for a while. Then another kid from that team was hurt and took a second to get up. Next, one of our guys was hit hard and apparently dislocated his elbow and had a fracture (possibly compound) below the elbow, and seemed to have gone into shock. An ambulance was called, and he was taken to the hospital. A half hour later, the game continued and two more players were mildly injured. On top of that, we noticed a cheerleader was hurt at one point. Brutal sport.



Now today is Tori’s birthday, and we would like to wish her a happy 17th, and a fond farewell. It was nice to see you again, and we can’t wait until Thanksgiving when we can see the rest of the family.

P.S. We’ll be in Snowbird for all of next week. So we probably won’t post again until we get home. But I’m sure we’ll have plenty of pictures and stories by then.