Mission Reunion

So, my mission reunion was last night as are most mission reunions. It was the 3rd one that I had been to since I got home and already the crowd is getting thin. I really only knew a handful of the kids there. I got to see several of my mission buddies and took a few pictures. I didn't get pictures with everyone that I would have liked to and some of the pictures were dark (gyms aren't great picture taking places!) but I got a good one with Joey Rich:

This picture is kind of dark but I wanted to put it in as well. Pieter and I got a chance to chat and catch up a little and it was good to see him again.

And with my trainer (Leaf Knotts) and his wife. It was great to see them and talk to them again. We had some great times and we have really enjoyed getting to know them better.

And of course I got a pictures with my favorite and final companion! She is the best and I love her to pieces. I really don't know what I would do without her!

If at first you don't succeed...

Colb and I have now been married for over six months. In that entire six months, I think I can count the number of meals that I've prepared on a couple hands (I may also need my feet, but it hasn't been a lot). Not that Colb has ever complained. I think he prefers a bowl of frosted mini-wheats to about anything, but I still want to be that good, cook-meals-for-your-family wife.

I started working at Ernst & Young in January and this has only made matters worse. It is busy season at work and we work and eat out a lot. Now my idea of making dinner for Colb is bringing him home my dinner from the restaurant of the day.

I decided it was time to change this fact and start cooking more. A couple months ago we received a free turkey that has been taking up freezer space so I decided to make turkey for a Sunday dinner. The first week I planned on making turkey didn't work because I didn't realize that big turkeys need a couple days to thaw out. However, the next Sunday we were prepared and had the turkey thawed and ready to go. We woke up early Sunday morning to put the turkey in the oven so it would be ready to go when we got home from church. We did pull the insides out because I had talked to Mom the day before. Everything was going well until I didn't read all of the directions. Instead of the turkey being ready when we got home from church, the turkey was completely done and ready to come out at about 9 am, just as we were headed out the door. We pulled it out and came back to a much cooler turkey than we were previously expecting. I can say that I didn't mess up the BOXED stuffing and Colb made mashed potatoes. As for the gravy...let's just say the gravy was very interesting. All in all the meal wasn't a complete failure. However by the time I am finished cooking at least something is already cold and I'm pretty much unappetized. Also, I've decided the rest of the cooks in the world must use lots of salt and butter or know some pretty good secrets that I'm missing because the food I cook tastes a bit bland.


The scariest part was that I was also asked on that Sunday to take dinner to a family in our ward that had just had a baby. I can make cookies and follow a recipe, but meals/dinners are not my strong suite. After much fretting (and many phone calls with mom), I did take the family a meal (and I don't think it killed them).

I decided part of the solution is practice so I actually made three meals this week...lasagna, a casserole, and chicken chili (ours was actually turkey chili). All turned out fine, but required lots of effort and time. Colb always says he really likes it, but I'm curious to hear what he'll say about these meals in 20 years. I guess in the last six months I've grown to appreciate my mom's (and all the other women in my life) time and patience in cooking so much more than I used to. I saw a quote that said..."If at first you don't succeed, order pizza." I was tempted to go for that, but for our waistlines I think I will keep practicing my cooking skills. In the meantime, I welcome any advice or yummy recipes. Happy Cooking!

Bob That Head With Rascal Flatts!

My little brother Tim went to the Rascal Flatts concert last year and absolutely loved it so this year for Valentine's Day Nicole and I went to the Bob That Head tour with Jessica Simpson and Rascal Flatts. We were so excited the whole week and we had a great time there! Jessica Simpson did well but we both agreed that she needs to stick to her old style of music. Rascal Flatts came out with a bang; lights, fireworks, and cool backdrops. They played a bunch of songs including Life Is A Highway which I recorded a clip of below. I know, I know, I should have recorded more and I should have gotten the chorus but I was too busy rockin' out!

They finished the show and left the stage. Everybody kept yelling and screaming and then on the big screens they showed an animated guitar player. He started playing parts of songs from Guns 'N Roses, Jimi Hendrix, etc. (it was really the Rascal Flatts guitarist backstage) and then they came back out and played Me And My Gang which was awesome! We really had a great time and it was so much fun!

A Big Day

Friday I had a busy, major (cold sore creating) day. It started early as I got ready for a medical school interview at the U. I spent the first part of the day in orientation and interviews for med school. Orientation was great and then we got started into the interviews.

I had two interviews, one with a doctor at the U and another with a fourth year med student. Both interviews went really well and then we had a chance to tour the new medical school building and see a little bit of the campus. We ate lunch with a few second year med students and then the day was over!

Right from my interviews I went to Westminster for the research fair that i was presenting at. Nicole took off some time from work and came to surprise me, which she succeeded in doing! She took a few pictures and I had a great time presenting all of the hard work we put into the project.

Nicole's Training In San Jose

For the last two weeks Nicole and I spent our nights talking on the phone because she was in California for training. She left Sunday the 4th and came back Friday the 16th after two long weeks! There really isn't a whole lot that happened for the two weeks but I am so glad to have her back! She has been really busy with work as it is busy season. We can't wait until spring to get out of this cold weather and have some time together!

New Years Eve!

Nicole and I spent the week after Christmas in Roosevelt and were able to attend our old family ward on Sunday. It was fun to see everyone and to be together there. We took a few pictures and the one above was one of our favorites. Our families spent New Year's Eve together at my house. My family got a Wii and Rock Band for Christmas and we had a blast playing it!

We decided that the four parents just had to try it out. We weren't going to just let them do it normally though. We wanted to them to have the full Rock Band experience so we added the wigs for effect:

Sheryl Crow & Bob Dylan

Maureen "Moe" Tucker

Slash

After seeing the picture below I am really thankful for a couple of things.

1) Nicole has long hair and not short, spiky, black hair.
2) I have short hair and not long, curly, brown hair.
3) I don't do drugs or my eyes would look like that all the time!

Winter Wonderland

So this post is kind of a catch-up because I just barely ran into these pictures, but thought they would still be fun to share. One day over Christmas Break (which seems like such a long time ago!), we went sledding. However, we now sled very differently than I did as a child. Instead of sledding down a hill and having to haul yourself and your sled back up we just use four wheelers. This eliminates pretty much all forms of physical exertion, adds a new element of wet and cold snow in the face, and is still really fun! We were there with lots of family (Hales, Duncans, and Hackings) and had lots of fun!

Halli had lots of fun with Brynlie sledding down a small hill and playing in the snow. We made lots of snow angels and even had a few snowball fights.

Mom and Lisa are usually right in on all of the action, but they stayed a little warmer and drier this time.

Tim, of course, is looking pretty stylish...

We had a lot more people on the sled, but about this time we figured out that we didn't put in the card for the camera so we were done taking pictures.