AWARD

Well, I won't call us the worst bloggers since Nate and Jana haven't updated since October but we have been pretty lazy! Eric is working on a blog post in between working 12-14 hours a day and all of our Christmas plans so expect that to be out soon. For now, I would like to thank Scott and Ana for this lovely award and award it to seven others. We feel truly honored that even with our lack of updated posts, we were able to receive first place from them! Thanks guys and we can't wait to see you Christmas Eve!

And now the awards.....

First Place goes to: Doug and Angie Smith for the cutest blog ever! Eric and I are both envious of your photography skills and I am envious of your scrapbooking ones. You will need to teach me!

Second Place: Lu and Liv for posting all the fabulous pictures of our good ole' high school days and of course of our little missionary, Spin Dawg.

Third Place: Megan Hinckley for being one of my biggest inspirations! I can't believe how well you did on the GRE! Congratulations!

Fourth Place: Liz and Jeff because that is just the cutest dang letter to Santa I've ever seen!

Fifth Place: Camille and Jeremy for bringing another little angel into this world! Congratulations!

Sixth Place: Eric and Kari Allen for being newcommers. They never really blog but when they do, they have some pretty good stories to share.

And finally....in seventh place: Nate and Jana because even though they haven't posted since OCTOBER!!!!! you can't beat the Happy Birthday Grandma Jacob video. Classic!!!

Well, there you go! All those who just received this award, copy the pic and award seven others. I hope to receive some more awards soon! We sure do love everyone that reads our blog and comments on it. Thanks again Munhall's! Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!

One-Year Anniversary!

Wow! We made it to one year. Despite all the bruises, broken limbs, hair-pulling and kicks to the crotch over the first year, Julia and I agree that it was an amazing first year and look forward to the next infinity years together!

I just want to take this time to say that I LOVE my wife. She is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me (yes, MUCH better than that time I won 2nd place in a beauty contest!). She makes every day amazing and can turn around a bad day at work or school with simple hug. She is every bit the amazing girl I married a year ago today and more.

We have both done a lot of maturing this passed year and we continue to grow in new exciting ways. This past year had us going through a lot of changes in our lives; Julia and I both switched jobs and we both went back to school.

We went to Disneyland in May and that was obviously awesome. We splurged on a new huge TV.

The times I have most enjoyed this year have been just Julia and I going up the canyon, seeing Bridal Veil Falls, relaxing on Sunday afternoons, and sleeping in together on Saturdays skipping our very unimportant classes. I look forward to many more amazing moments this year! With the Bahamas in December, I am sure this is going to be another sah-weet year!

America Votes: 2008

I have just shaved off my beard and now I am putting a vote to the world whether I should regrow it and the various stages at which I can have facial hair. Cast your ballot today! And remember, when you vote, everybody wins. Except Mutton Chops Man. That dude totally does not reside anywhere close to the realm of possibility on my face!

Candidate one:

Beard of Bees Boy:


Running Mate: Rasputin


Beard of Bees Boy is stuck in the ways of the old folks. His political facial hair growing experience comes from his part in several 1980's soap operas. He hails from Oscoda, Michigan. Definitely a candidate that can swing the "red" states! Don't let that serious look on his face or the squinty look in his eyes fool you (nor his running mate), he can have fun and is definitely not from Redbeard China!

Rasputin says that if he would be a great vice-president because of his inability to die. Mr. Bees Boy found him in working in Moscow, Idaho working as a masseuse. Apparently he works magic with his hands and plans on conjuring up some sorcery to take care of the crime problem in America.


Candidate two:

Johnny Handlebar Moustache


Running Mate: Rollie Fingers


Johnny served as chairman for Bikers with Handlebars. He innovated new ways of shaving back in the 1970's but now people are saying that he is resistant to change. He has been much maligned in the papers due to being affiliated with some pretty shady types. Do the Hell's Angels ring a bell? He promises that his fun ways are way behind him and he is looking to associate himself with many promising cabinet members if elected. He promises to reach beyond party lines and even chin lines to improve the standard of grooming for all!

Rollie Fingers adds years of moustachery to this brave candidate. His spitball skills shows that he is not afraid to cut corners or use devious tactics to get ahead. Be advised!



Candidate three:

Angry Moustache Man


Running Mate: George Moustachington


Angry Moustache Man has been compared to many notable figures from history. Charlie Chaplin and George Moustachington come to mind. Some say that he might have an alternate agenda and that if he is elected, he will rally all the youth of Facialhairlandia into growing facial hair similar to his own and forcing all people with different facial hair into barbershops that use really harsh shaving cream. It is a scary thought but he says he just wants to unite the people. His website angrymoustacheman.com has some pretty harsh opinions about people the other candidates, but he says that they were written by someone else and he just signed it. hhhmmmmmmm. When asked if he always looks like the above pictured and he responded by saying that he was in a staring contest with his little brother when he was five and his face just stuck that way.

George Moustachington is a proven leader that has snubbed the Whig Party in favor of the Tiny Angry Moustache Party. He won several battles, most notably the Battle at Valley Fu-rge Manchu.

Candidate Four:

Clean Shaven McGee

Running Mate: Mr. Clean


Clean Shaven McGee says that he is THE face of the youth. His tactics and debating skills are smooth, to be sure, but does he have the experience necessary to lead a nation? He definitely has a clean record. We meticulously groomed his records for any signs of rough patches, but couldn't find any hairy situations that he has been involved in. Some people say that he is too soft on hair crimes, but he proclaims that he has been shampooed and conditioned to love his neighbor. Truly an inspiring candidate!

Mr. Clean was a no-brainer as a choice for Veep running mate with Clean Shaven McGee. Both have a knack for clean politics and are looking to sweep out the dirt from Moustachington.

Halloween and all the fun stuff from the end of October (and beginning of November)

It has sure been a fun month. We went on The Haunted Canyon train ride through the Provo canyon and repeatedly had the socks scared off our feet. We got there earlier than we needed and walked around a bit while we waited for our train to come. We picked an outside train since I have heard that the wind prevents any ghosts from riding along with us. HOW WRONG WE WERE...muhuhahaha!!!

The picture descriptions below detail our horror:


A ghost had just crossed our path when this shot was taken. Thank goodness, too, or we wouldn't have had someone to hold our camera for us.


A picture of me with Ernest J. Murderman. Apparently, he haunts trains up and down the Wasatch Front. He was quite pleasant to us, though. He only tried to murder us 4 times and really one of the times he was pretty half-hearted. I mean, come on, who is going to kill someone with a rusty pair of nail clippers?!?

This picture was taken after Ernest left and before the gas came from the nacho and bean tacos we had eaten before boarding the train. The aftermath left us frightened looks on our faces for several hours!



Last Sunday, we went to Julia's grandma's house and Julia decided that she was going to make a pair of pajama pants for me. I picked out the fabric and she made it. Julia is very forward thinking and made the pants knowing that I am planning my entry into the 2009 Weight Gain Olympics (banned in most developed countries). I am entered in the leg, thigh, and feet weight gain medley relay. It involves drinking pure liquefied lard, munching down solidified protein, and getting IVs BGH (Bovine Growth Hormone). Things are looking pretty good so far, I can no longer see, feel, or smell my feet. All good things, who needs 'em anyways!?!


This picture proves that we aren't the lazy geniuses everyone makes us out to be. We actually have to pretend to study every once in a while. In this picture, Julia pretends to study for her Marriage class while sleeping with her eyes open. I pretended that my camera was a calculator for several hours before the Librarian asked us to leave. She had to wake us up before, but then we were not so cordially shown the door. Bah humbug!

Here is my fake studying shot. I had just opened up Word and had preceded to type fart in over 257 times without making a spelling error. A new record!!


HALLOWEEN DAY...the most terrifying days not including Tax Day, President's Day, and Random Murder Day:

Up in the mountains we took this picture. We are standing by a bunch of Aspens, but no, we were NOT in California.

Our good buddy Jack O'Lantern. He is always so downtrodden so we stuck a candle in his mouth to 'lighten him up'. Get it???? Pun!

For Halloween, we made Chili and Apple Cider with Brett and Annie and watched a scary movie. It was quite enjoyable and I only got frightened when we were walking down to the car after the movie to go home and that hobo with the bloody knife approached us. We were relieved to find out the blood was several days old and he had just forgotten to wash it off!!! Hahaha! Crazy ol' bum!!


BTw, check out my photo blog for some new recent photos I have taken. :)

A Real Bed to Sleep On

After sleeping on cinder blocks for the first 11 months of our marriage, using assorted towels and coats to warm ourselves, we finally got a proper amount (and by proper, I mean ridiculous amount) of pillows AND a bed spread with REAL sheets! We are like regular ol' Jed Clampett now, post-Black Gold Texas T-finding, of course!!
Our bed pictured above. Never mind the junk in and on the night stand!


We find that by sleeping off of the ground and with real blankets and pillows (a bag of softballs does NOT a soft pillow make) we get less spider bites and more sleep on the average night. We truly recommend sleeping on a real bed to anyone!

Mid-month Wrap-up (as we always do)

A crapload of things have happened to us these past couple weeks. As you might know, a crapload is defined as the amount of crap it takes to fill 7 olympic-sized swimming pools, 8 milk vats, 14 2-liter bottles, 19 thimbles, and 4 syringes. That is an exact amount, by the way, I have personally 'done the math'*.

We have been crazy busy lately with going to school full-time and working full-time. Julia and I have also taken up jobs as balloon animal engineers (Don't call us clowns or we will break your thumbs, this is serious business) so we have that going for us, as well.

During these crazy past couple weeks, we have heard about (third hand, nobody ever directly calls us directly) Ben and Erica having their baby. Peter Maxwell Jacob born a few weeks ago somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 pounds  (we don't remember the exact weight, but that's not important) We are thinking that the name stands for two things. 

First, Peter probably comes from Peter Lorre, pictured below:

Peter Lorre was the star of many award-winning movies and quite the handsome beau. I am sure Ben and Erica saw their baby's bald head and saw an uncanny resemblance to the actor and couldn't resist.

Maxwell is an obvious nod to Maxwell Smart, the famous spy of the tv documentary, "Get Smart" Here is the spy himself shown defusing a shoe-bomb with his unusually large government-issued earlobes:

Overall, an excellent choice for names, in my opinion.

A few days later we received word that my mom had gotten her mission call to Australia. Naturally, I was worried, since Australia is filled with convicts, descendants of convicts, and future convicts. The last of these of course involve only those Australians still in the womb, since the average age of first conviction by Australian citizens is 8 months old.

Not that I am too worried, I once saw Mom take down a bear with a single thread and a needle. It was not a pretty sight, there was blood everywhere. I am sure if some drunken miscreants (aka: Australians) try anything funny, Mom will show them her kung fu.

Pictured below is Mom's recommended outfit for her mission so she can blend in with the natives:

Then, a few days after that, we received word that Tris and Dave had their 5th child, Cannon Jacob Foutz. There is no doubt as to the origins of his name.

When I heard that his first name was Cannon, I instantly knew where they got it from. Tris and Dave are avid Civil War reenactors and have a passion for all things ammunition. For some reason, they fight on the side of the South and are constantly bummed out by the lack of firepower on the side of the Confederates, so they named their son Cannon so that they always have a Cannon on their side. Cheesy, I know, but that is the honest truth, right from the horse's mouth.**

Also, Jacob is the last name of the greatest people on the earth. Did you know that a quick search of truefacts.com reveals that all people with the last name of Jacob have an average IQ of 217. True story.

The name just rolls off the tongue: Cannon Jacob Foutz. Oh yeah!

Julia made a couple new recipes, one being a turkey burger on a toasted english muffin with Apple and cranberry chutney. Delicious indeed! I could eat one every day and never get tired of it! Plus, it is made with ingredients scientifically proven to make you cooler, so it's got that going for it as well. :)

Then today, she made a cinnamon applesauce pumpkin chocolate chip with a apple cider cream cheese spread with raisins. Why have I never eaten this before? The flavors danced in my mouth and then gave it a massage. It was like eating perfection, then regurgitating it and re-eating it, to find it had somehow gotten better.

The foods in question:

Oh yeah! I love her, she is so amazing!!!

*No math was actually performed in the making of this blog post...if you get my drift.

**Unfortunately, Mr. Ed has been known to lie from time to time for financial gain. I paid him several hundred horsebucks for this information which I now suspect to be false...

Our New Couch!!!

Julia and I were looking at couches on Wednesday, our day off, at RC Willeys. We decided that the most comfortable kind of couch is the one you can sit on. In all actuality the best couches actually turned out to be the ones with giant screens on them that play sounds and duplicate pictures from halfway around the world. I know it sounds fantastical, but it's true! Case in point, our new couch:

Jealous...?

Picture Tag

I've been tagged! AGAIN!!!! This one is different than a survey though. I was tagged to go to my picture file, go to my fourth folder and then the fourth picture. This is what I got:
Haha, this was when we went to Disneyland in May for our "honeymoon" six months after the wedding. We did this ride once and were hooked on it for the rest of the trip. For 3 days, we battled out who was the best Astro Blaster!!! As you can see, we got really into it. It was close on this round but I WON!!!!! After all of our battles, I ended up being the best Astro Blaster, even though Eric won't admit it.

Anyone that wants to do this tag, GO FOR IT!!! It might get really funny depending on everyone's pictures.

The Hot Date

Well, Julia is taking a marriage class and was given the assignment to plan out a date and take your spouse or significant other out on a hot date. The date would then have to rate how the date went. Since Julia's significant other was working on Saturday, she asked me, her husband, to go instead. She was very vague about the details, but said I should probably bring a mouth guard, a speedo, a hair net, and hamburger helper gloves. I figured that we were either boxing in a vat of hamburger-infused pasta, or swimming in it. Either way, I was excited.
So there we were, Saturday morning, all dressed up and ready for the day. It was raining microscopic cats and dogs trapped inside large raindrops, so I had to drive, but Julia didn't want me to know where we were going on our mystery date, so I had to wear blinders like a horse while I was driving. I sideswiped several old ladies and small babies in strollers, but I think I did pretty well over all.
We arrived at our destination, the Hollywood Connection at around 12:30pm. I had never heard of it, but I figured we had somehow driven to southern California. I had no idea what this Hollywood Connection entailed and included. As we walked in, a small chinese man greeted us and offered to exchange tickets for money. We passed over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money we had and peace we lacked. After that, we ran around like kids in a giant candy-filled toy store/amusement park. There were arcade machines, putt-putt, bumper cars, skating rink, some sort of vomit-o-tron spinny merry-go-round contraption, and most of all, our games of choice: Deal or No Deal and Slam-a-Winner, both games I previously thought to be scams.
Slam-a-winner is a redemption machine. The only 'redemption' most of the time is a pat on the back and MAYBE one ticket. For Julia, however, the machine was made putty in her hands. She put in ONE token, hit the button and we hit the jackpot. The Jackpot. THE Jackpot. THE JACKPOT. Yes, the thing that gives you more than one ticket!! Julia hit it! We got 600 tickets and moved on to Deal or no Deal. We decided to Deal, of course. We won another 300 tickets and felt like we were on top of the redemption-machine world! We eventually got two amazing prizes, a really awesome thing with pins in it that you can put hand-impressions in and a DIE (as in DICE) made of FOAM! Oh yeah!
After we left the Hollywood Connection, we went to Famous Daves' for ribs. We ate a delicious meal and went home to watch Nebraska get killed in football. So, that was sad, but it wasn't part of the date.
It was a really awesome date and we had a ton of fun. I still haven't filled out the questionaire, but if I had to rate the date, I would have to give it 7 happy stars out of 7! 8 fingers up! 4 smiles, a hug, and a hive five. No, two high-fives! Excellent date!

My First Award

Thanks Mary Jo! I finally had some time to put my award on my blog! I appreciate it!!!


To translate the gift from Portuguese to English, it means:"This blog invests and believes, the proximity[meaning, that blogging makes us 'close' -being close through proxy].

"They all are charmed with the blogs, where in the majority of its aims are to show the marvels and to do friendship; there are persons who are not interested when we give them a prize, and then they help to cut these bows; do we want that they are cut, or that they propagate?"

I nominate Alissa Jacob and Ana Munhall!!! Congrats guys!!!

HELP!!!!

Hey everyone! I have a project for one of my classes that I need help on! Im writting a report on how marriage, dating and relationships work with special needs. Im looking for things like how many special needs people get married and at what age, what their dating lifestyle is like, if they have children and the consequences/risks of it, etc. Anything on special needs people dating and getting married. Im having a really hard time finding research so if you run across something or have any suggestions, let me know! Any help is appreciated! Thanks everyone!!!!!

Updated My pictures blog

Hey, just wanted to let you guys know, I (Eric) have a blog dedicated to my photography. I am just getting it off of the digital ground and am adding pictures as I take them. :) Give it a look see and let me know what you think.

http://ericjacobphotography.blogspot.com

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

The impossible just became possible. After hearing sister-in-laws and sisters alike complain about how hard it was to make Mom's most famous and coveted of dishes, Chicken and broccoli casserole, Julia nailed it on her first try.

I got home from work at 6:15 on Friday and noticed right off the bat the aroma in the air. No, it wasn't the odor coming from the closet where I keep shoes, this smell was much better than that. Julia warned me that entering in the kitchen would mean instant death and dishes for a week (I suppose the latter would've had to come first, making it somewhat delayed death), but after smelling buttered bread crumbs baking in the oven, I figured out what she was up to. I was cautious at first, remembering the warnings my sisters and in-laws gave me. But I threw all that silliness out the window after the first bite.

Julia just might be the greatest. cook. ever. I should've known that one time that I came home and found Rachael Ray, Giada de Laurentiis, and Alton Brown worshipping her at her feet.

Oh yeah!! BTW, if you ever decide to kidnap Julia and force her to replicate the dish for your own family, she will intentionally botch it. :P

I LOVE FALL!!!!

I LOVE Fall! I love the colors and the smells. I love that everything is red and brown and yellow and that there is just a slight chill in the air. I love waking up in the morning with a chill in the air and being perfectly warm under the covers I love the smell of pumpkin and pumpkin bread and pie. I love hot chocolate with whipped cream and apple cider. I love driving down the street and seeing fruit stands on every corner. I love pears and apples with caramel and warm cobbler. . I LOVE Fall!

Fall reminds me of so many things. Camping with my family and going four wheeling. Taking long drives through the canyons just to see the colors. Grandma raking the leaves into huge piles and letting us jump in them. She would always pretend to be scared when we crawled out of the leaves pretending we were monsters. We would laugh and never want to go home. I love reading on a blanket under a tree or snuggling up on those cold nights with a good book next to the fireplace. I love cooking pumpkin pies and turkey with my grandma and my grandma's amazing homemade rolls. I love carving pumpkins with my family after we all gathered up in grandpa's truck and went to the pumpkin patch to pick out the perfect one. I love being with family in the Fall.

Fall reminds me the most of my wedding. We purposely chose the Fall to be married because the colors are my favorite! We chose the 9th of November so that it wouldn't be Halloween themed and so it would (hopefully) not be snowing yet. It was perfect weather and a perfect weekend. In fact, two days later, the snow came. I was so happy it waited. Our wedding colors were chocolate brown and cream with fall leaves and red roses mixed in. I am also a huge fan of candles so we put them all over the place. They were on the tables and the cake. It was so beautiful and now when I see the fall colors coming out, I get so excited and cant believe it has almost been a year!

I have been finding cute decorations to put in my house this year. A lot of leaves and pumpkins and candles. Our house constantly smells like apples or pumpkin pie and I love it! I can't wait for Thanksgiving. Im planning on trying to make Thanksgiving dinner for Eric. It is his favorite meal and I decided I should probably start practicing this year so I'll be a pro when I have my own children to cook for. So, if you have any good recipes or tips, PLEASE give them to me. I've never made a pumpkin pie or cooked a turkey on my own and I don't want it to be a complete disaster.

Fall is my favorite season and I love when it comes around every year. It is so hard for me when it snows because I know that soon the leaves will fall and it will be cold and wet and depressing. But for now, I'm going to enjoy FALL!!

Background Obsession

So, I just found a bunch of people that i know on blogspot and all of their blogs are so cute!!!! It has started my new obsession with backgrounds. I have already tried out a couple and there are more to come! If you know any good sites to get free backgrounds, let me know!!!!! I LOVE THEM!!!!

My Best Friend

WARNING!!!!
This post is mushy so for those who don't want to read that stuff, move on now. I decided it has been too long since I have publicly told Eric how much I love him and I think he would really apreciate hearing it, especially now that we barely see each other with school and work.

There are some things in life I could never do without, one being my husband. He is the most amazing man i've ever known. The only one I have learned to trust and love. He is my best friend!




I can tell him anything and we can do anything together and be happy. We can laugh with each other and cry with each other. We trust and love each other completely and would do anything for the other. Eric works so hard to make sure Im happy and taken care of. He praises me for my accomplishments and teaches me when I fail at something. He never raises his voice at me and would never hurt me. He barely gets mad at me and when he does, it is usually my fault. He calms down almost as quickly as he gets upset and is instantly happy again, helping me to be happy as well. He hates being sad or angry and has decided that he would rather be in a good mood and be happy.

He is strong in the gospel and works hard at his calling. It is so nice having a man that is worthy to hold the priesthood and give me a blessing whenever I am in need.

He is a genius and loves learning. I admire his love and yearning to learn and enjoy whenever he rambles on and on about something new he learned. He can answer any question and loves when people ask, just so he can test his knowledge.

I love when he gets excited about something new, sticks with it for about a week, and then lays it aside and goes on to another thing. He is so outgoing and willing to try anything. I love when he finds something new that he loves, like his photography, and we spend our afternoons walking through the park and taking picutres of every plant there. Or when he finds a new song that he loves and we spend every car trip, listening to it on repeat until I'm pulling my hair out and he is still getting chills from how good it is.
I love our moments when we can talk seriously and cry together. I love when he talks about his dad and how much he loved him. I feel like when i finally do meet his father, I will already know him and be able to walk right up to him and hug him. From what I have heard, Eric is exactly like his father. Looks and personality. I love when his brothers and sisters talk about their dad and tell me how much Eric is like him.

I love seeing Eric with children. He loves his nieces and nephews. Even though little things annoy him, he loves picking a child up and making him laugh. He loves teaching his nephews all the cool things he loves. He loves when they want to play video games or sports with them. He loves teaching his nieces the knowledge he knows. He is always correcting their grammar and teaching them what they should be doing. He wants the best for them and loves being called "the favorite uncle." He will never admit it, but he loves when a baby is thrust in his arms and he can hold it and cuddle it. I can't wait to start a family with him and see him as a father. He has a lot to learn about it, but I know he is going to do amazingly!

I love seeing Eric happy and would do anything to make him happy. Even if it's listening to him tell me for the tenth time that day how well he is doing at work and what his numbers are or going to some priemer of a movie that I have never heard of nor care about, or eating Peruvian food again, even though I am not that fond of it but I know he loves it. The greatest thing in the world is just being with Eric and seeing him happy. I don't care what we are doing or not doing, I just love being with him.

He is a wonderful man, my best friend, my love. I love him more than he will ever know and I don't know what I will do if I ever have to be without him. I love you Eric!!!

The Camera and the Cabin

Well, last week was pretty fun. On Wednesday, I got the camera that I had been waiting for for an excruciating five days! When I got the notice on our door Wednesday afternoon that the delivery guy had missed us, we decided to run a few errands until we could go to DHL and pick it up ourselves. When 5 o'clock rolled around, we finally got it and, fearing my excitement would lead to fast and distracted driving, I made Julia drive home while I carefully unwrapped every piece that came with the camera.

I went the unconventional route, and though the ca

mera elitists out there might scoff at me (snooty snoot faces!)

, I bought an Olympus EVOLT E-510 SLR. I got an amazing deal on it and got two lenses to boot. One wide angle standard lens and a sweet macro lens for getting close up shots of everything from pocket lint to weeds in our 'garden.' Really fascinating stuff!

After getting comfortable with the camera through heavy bathroom reading of the braille bible-sized users guide we set off on Friday afternoon after work to stay with Matt and Alyssa, Ana and Scott, and some of Matt's friends up at Alyssa's parents' cabin in the middle of nowhere. We climbed for what seemed to be an eternity through woods and thicket until we finally arrived at the modestly sized cabin in a clearing. The seven-bedroom, 4-bathroom house with indoor hottub, pool table, and ping pong fun zone would have been a tight fit for even a single couple, but we all managed to squeeze in for the weekend, all 6 adults + mini-people in diapers.

We settled in for the night while I attempted to take pictures of the moon and stars. Here below is the best, most spooky shot I got. I wanted something to convey the serenity I felt up there in Ax-Murderer's Cove, as the locals call it.

All night we played Cranium, which Julia and I of course destroyed Matt and Alyssa at and also got a game of Balderdash in, which was filled with the usual hilarity.

The next morning was filled with more games. The guys played pool while the girls tended to youngin's and then Matt, John, and I played a couple never-ending games of Monopoly. I definitely had an ace up my sleeve while playing. That didn't help me, of course, as Monopoly isn't played with face cards, but with cold, hard Monopoly cash, sweat, and tears. Matt made a mockery out of us and truly donned the monocle and top hat of a champion after the games.

We then decided it would be a great idea to go up through a time warp/inter-reality portal to the Shire, popularized in the hit movie, (which they then made books out of) The Lord of the Rings, about an olympic gymnast (Elijah Wood as Bill Bobaggins nephew). It seemed a bit confusing, so I have actually never seen it, but I hear it ranks up there with such great Olympic movies as Chariots of Fire and Chariots of Fire 2: a-Blazin' Feets (The lesser known, but more emotionally-charged sequel). Anyway...

We arrived at our destination after climbing up the mountain and came upon the village. Look how huge I am compared to everything else! It was like being back in Peru again! I look like I am in danger and that Julia is flying beside me as I prepare to fall to my death, but it is just an illusion. I was really mere inches off the ground!!! I know it is hard to believe, but this photo was completely set up and contains no actual danger.

We messed around and got a few other pictures, namely these as we walked around and delayed returning to our cramped quarters.

When we got back, Julia prepared two amazing salads with her bare hands. They were healthy to the max and made sure to include all of the food groups, namely vegetables (lettuce and celery), fruit (grapes), grain (delicious noodles), proteins (cashews and bacon bits (with NO MSG ADDED! Booya!)), sugars (sugar), and mayonnaise (mayonnaise). We weren't getting our daily recommended dose of half cup of mayonnaise per day like the foot doctor recommended, but with Julia's salads we were getting much closer. They were delicioso. For all you one-languagers out there, that means delicious. The other food was not too shabby, either.

After lunch/dinner we just laid around and didn't do much (or did we, my mind is hazy at this point) and then it started getting dark and we were shown the front door. I admired the quality craftmanship of it as I had done with all of the other doors in the house that weekend. It then dawned on me that dusk was fast approaching. We packed up and left and headed home. The memories of the weekend will stay with us forever. We thought it was awesome up there and hope that if we weren't too awesome of guests, we will be invited back to the cabin next year. I know Julia will be up to it. Maybe by then, my camera skills will be as great as my enthusiasm for the great outdoors.

Thanks Matt and Alyssa for an excellent weekend!

The past month

Man, life has been crazy the past month. I am way behind on updated our blog so i decided to do it all in one chunk.

Brett and Annie's wedding was beautiful. We had trouble getting to and from but we made it. Flying standby, it's not always easy to get a seat on the plane. Because Denver is a connecting airport, it is impossible. We waited all morning in the airport for a seat and only one opened up which i quickly sent Eric on. I wanted to make sure he was there at least for the wedding. I waited all day and when i found out there was no way i was getting on, i bought a one way ticket for more than i wanted to pay and got to Denver in time for the groom's dinner. I found out that it was suppossed to happen though. On the same flight that i bought a ticket, Kari Allen and her baby Ellie, who were also going to the wedding, were sitting next to me. Kari says it was a blessing because she didn't know how she would have traveled with Ellie alone. I guess everything has a purpose. We got to Denver, ate at a Japanese grill where Brett's dad bought 90 different trays of Sushi, and 90 different trays of entrees. It was so good! The next morning was the wedding. The temple ceremony was beautiful but it was too hot to take pictures when they came out, so we bagged that and went to the hotel for the luncheon. The food was fantastic and Brett and Annie's speaches for their siblings and parents were very emotional and heart felt. Later that night, we went to their reception where Eric and I became the best man and maid of honor, making sure they had everything they needed. We know how it felt to get no help at our wedding and made it a point that they got the help they needed. Overall, the wedding was beautiful. Eric and I ended up staying a day extra because there were no flights out. We waited all day in the airport and were prepared to spend the night there but i had the flu and my mom bought us a hotel so i could get some rest. The hotel was nasty but it was a bed and my own bathroom to be sick in. We got up at 4am the next morning and finally got on a flight back to Utah. Man, it was a crazy trip but worth it. Congratulations Brett and Annie!

Baby Ellie
In the airport...all day!
Im so glad the airport had a bookstore and were fully stocked with the new Breaking Dawn book!

After getting back from the wedding, Eric and I have just been busy with life. Eric's 24th birthday was on the 9th. We went to Dinner at Biaggi's in SLC and saw The Dark Knight for the second time on IMAX. I decorated our front door with happy birthday signs and painted our car with HONK, IT"S MY BIRTHDAY written all over it. He got a ton of honks in SLC and we even got free parking at the mall from it. We really enjoyed the evening and Eric is excited for his 24th year. He says he has one more year of brain growth so it's a party year!


Eric and I also got the opportunity to spend the night in Park City. We went up on a Tuesday night and spent the night in the Marriot. The next day we went to the Alpine slides and walked around Park City then got shakes at Granny's in Heber on the way home. It was a nice, relaxing day. We enjoyed it a lot!
We saw the most beautiful rainbow we have ever seen! It was two rainbows right next to each other and they had the most vibrant color we have ever seen. It was amazing!
Eric sold his iphone so he could buy a new SLR camera which is in the mail now and i read Breaking Dawn, along with 3 other books this month.


Eric and I got our grants for school and are starting class at UVU on the 27th! We are so excited!!!!! We will both be working full time and going to school full time. It will be hard, but we will survive!
Pretty much that is all that has happened. Our summer is coming to a close quickly. We have another week before school starts and have plans for this weekend and Labor Day weekend. After that, life is going to be crazy! Crazy until Christmas when we will be leaving the day after Christmas with my family for our cruise to the BAHAMAS!!!!!! It's been a fun summer, our first married. We are excited for the holidays and for the changes that are to come in our lives.