NathaLiz

Graennifer Visit

2012-02-10T17:27:00.001-05:00

Graennifer (still not sure if that really works: Ben, Jenn, and Gray) came to visit in November! Unfortunately, the weekend they picked happened to be coldish, but we still had lots of fun, starting with:

Springs Preserve wins again! Nathan took them to the bird show while I was at work.

So I missed seeing this ~~guy~~ bird again.

At Grimaldi's!

This was me testing out our new camera. Our camera is so good, it has cat-pirate face detection.

This scene was very common, but I never tired of it. :)

Same goes for this one...

The closest thing we had to leaves for autumn.

A bold, rich, and (fashion) clueless man.

We zipped over to France for lunch...

....:)

Until next time!

Jim makes us all old...

2012-02-09T18:34:00.002-05:00

Because Jim is the oldest sibling, he's set the trend for aging...now that he's turned 40, there's no turning back for the rest of us. So much like the burned carpet in mom's basement: it's Jim's fault. To help offset the resentment, Jim and Alisha made a birthday visit to Las Vegas (in November) that made it (almost) all better. :)

Fremont Street Experience. This will probably be the only good picture I will ever capture of said event, so enjoy!

Alisha and Liz at the Springs Preserve whilst they were setting up for the dia de los muertos (day of the dead) celebration. Two side benefits of this were less people and lots of props we were probably supposed to leave alone.

Fish/shark tank at the Golden Nugget. We visited their pool area in order to scrub our eyes from some of the Fremont Street "acts".

The fox that had the last laugh. He was supposed to come out and eat his mice but he managed to sneak one and decided he could live without the other for a while. It was during this time that I displayed my future parenting "skills" in action. A sweaty young scout apparently wanted my spot in the fox viewing area so he said "excuse me", expecting me to move. "Um, no." Yay!

On the train at Springs Preserve.

For Jim's birthday joy, the four of us went to Mystere, the original Cirque de Soleil show. Highlights included a 200 + lb. "baby" who plucked a man from the audience and ended up driving away with him at top speed backstage, as well as an older gentlemen dumping 3 or so buckets of popcorn on some unsuspecting audience members. It really was funnier that it sounds, especially considering it didn't happen to us.

All of the "Harrison" (both original and adopted) kids at Jim's birthday lunch. Because our camera at the time was a sensitive piece of ~~junk~~ equipment, Nate was our photographer for this one. It's a good thing too as this was the only clear shot of the series.

King Jim at his birthday party. Look how much Shaelynn looks up to ~~the ice cream cone~~ him!

Happy birthday Jim!

Ketchup

2012-02-02T01:55:00.001-05:00

Today I was making dinner (wha?) and I actually ran out of ketchup. I don't remember ever running out of ketchup. I think we've always moved before this happened; I think it really just means we've been eating more sweet potato fries (a gift!), but I'll count it as a milestone. But seriously...

Milestone 1: Did I mention that I made dinner tonight??

Milestone 2: It wasn't gross.

Milestone 3: Today was my first day without a job, and not because we are moving out of state, in a lot of years. I feel relieved to be done with my job, but I feel an identity crisis coming on. To combat these feelings, I made my sister drive through our neck of the woods so I could catch up with her family. It was a nice moment to realize I normally wouldn't be able to do something like that during the day.

This work milestone isn't being mentioned to rub anything in, I will be working again very soon. I will first need to adjust to not working (for money) as a travel agent, and then I will need to adjust to not knowing what I am doing at my internship. A woman I spoke with on my last day at GoGo said, "the problem is you know how to do everything this week and you won't know how to do anything next week". Right you are, Shannon.

Milestone 4: I actually am eligible to walk for graduation this year, so I am officially registered! And yes, the commencement exercises will be inside a casino/hotel. I think hockey is played there once in a while too. Perfect!

Milestone 5: I have clients (for my practicum) that I think I have actually helped in some way. Best feeling in the world.

One of those posts...

2011-12-17T01:24:00.002-05:00

Why are the moments when one has so much to say, there is so little time to say it...and vice-versa? I am woefully behind in blogging. I would much prefer to just get caught up instead of just acknowledging it, but I have to settle for the acknowledgement. In brief, I am back in school as much as I ever want to be. For one more week (only one!) I am doubled up on my classes, in the midst of my practicum (practice counseling), and still working full time. I want something to change; happily, they will soon. I will be going part-time at my travel agency job starting in January. I also found out this week that I have been accepted to intern at Spring Mountain Treatment Center. My list of emotions includes: anxiety (when does it not), fear, excitement, and such. Have I ever mentioned that change is difficult for me? :)

An order of Harrison with a side of Higley

2011-11-10T00:00:00.000-05:00

The Harrisons held their family reunion this year in Ashton, Idaho. We stayed here and it was awesome. Nath and I weren't anxious to drive 10 hours within a 24 hour period, so we opted to fly to SLC, then drive to Idaho after a normal night's sleep. After we got off work, we packed and readied the house and the kitties. By the time our ride had arrived to pick us up, we were all ready to go and had time to spare at the airport....AND we learned a trick. You don't need any photo identification to fly from Las Vegas to Salt Lake, apparently. Fun, eh? This information went against everything I've known and instructed clients for the past 10 years, but it was sure helpful in our case. We stayed the night at my parents' house and packed up our Buick rental and headed out the next morning. Driving 4 hours seemed like a cinch compared to 6, so we had a good time. We arrived into Ashton that afternoon and found we had to use crazy things like jackets and long pants...it was wonderful!

Highlights of the trip included:

-Visits to Yellowstone
-Fantastic Mr. Fox (ha ha)
-Air hockey games (Ethan and Andrew beat me...but maybe Aunt Liz wasn't trying as hard as she could have??)
-Hot Tub parties
-Being told by Vince that I shouldn't drag my coat (technically the coat was Matt's, so I guess it made it okay)
-Playing Shoots and Ladders with Drey and Bince (Grey and Vince)...the "game" lasted about 3 minutes...
-(fake) Margarita night

And now, a bunch of pictures:

Nath looking regal.

The two "gingers" napping.

Ethan continually falling off the fence.

Posing elk.

THE posing elk.

This picture is scary, si?

The twins with their "tousin" twins.

Freezing at Old Faithful.

But happy about it!

Grandma H and naked Braeden.

Apples to Apples.

Add caption

Ruth is a professional photo bomber.

Poppa Tom showing self control.

Sisters!

Tousins and a Bella stand.

Happy Birthday Trevor!

Prepping for photo?

Nath being a fun uncle. :)

Until next time! :)

Bennifer 2011

2011-11-09T23:00:00.003-05:00

Ben, Jenn and Gray came to visit in October!

Gray enjoying the wind blowing through his duck fluff.

Bunnies?

Jenn and Liz at Red Rock.

We picked up these guys while we were there! :)

Talking tree at the Bellagio

What any baby visitor can enjoy whilst in Vegas!

See??

Nate and Ben on the Vita Course 3000

Pretty eh?

Bennifer being used for a higher purpose...I mean, he's even just slouchy and folding his arms...!

Because of this shot, Jenn was awarded "Best Photo Bomb" of the weekend.

Thanks for visiting; can't wait til next time!

One Year

2011-09-25T22:17:00.000-04:00

Today marks a year to the day that was my last day at my last job. Like usual, I wasn't necessarily in love with my job, but the end of that job made a lot of things real to me. The week that followed was one of the most difficult for me in recent years. I had to continue to pack up the house (alone--Nate was still in Vegas), I had to say good-bye to what felt like everything and everyone, and we had to move across the country--again. The whole moving thing isn't that impressive; many people have done it, and done it more than once or twice...but this is me we're talking about. Once I finally gave up and learned to love Ohio, we had to go. I was finally comfortable with our little (dumpy) apartment, comfortable with our semi-trashy rec center for work outs, comfortable with our ward, comfortable with our friends, and even our mall (we visited often for walks during the winter months). I think somehow I needed to love it (flaws and) all, so I could learn what I needed to. And learn I did, but once we packed up the truck and said good-bye, we've had to do it all over again. The (almost) year mark of our arrival as a family into Las Vegas has caused me to evaluate my/our progress.

Nate's evaluation is easier; he's worked anywhere he could, has landed in a good spot and continues to work at developing in his career. Because he's so positive, I always feel like I'm the one that has to be convinced that something is awesome, or even okay. So the results of my evaluation? I'm getting there. Our apartment is roomy and not embarrassing for visitors, we have a little club house to work out in (although the retirees LOVE to remind us of the closing time, where weights should go, etc)...the rest of my list is becoming better all the time, but I'm a hard sell for new things. (PS-why does the local mall in Toledo have an Express and Gap, but neither can be found in the local Vegas mall??) We've loved being closer to family, and take every opportunity to visit; it's been nice becoming "regulars" again; we've also benefited from many visitors we wouldn't normally get to see. So, perhaps, I should evaluate again: in comparison to the quote "bloom where you are planted", I've sprouted. That's something, right?

Joseph Keith and Jessie Lee come to visit

2011-09-15T21:43:00.000-04:00

Since moving to Vegas, we are now blessed to have all sorts of visitors. We love them all, but we hosted some of our favorite friends from Ohio! Joe and Jessie are now living in Indiana, but it's still too far, so we were delighted they decided to spend their Labor Day weekend with us.

Down on the Strip...the reflection of the building looked kinda artsy...and that's about as close as we were going to get to art, so I grabbed a shot.

Liz, Jessie, and Joe.

The only good part of the pirate show.

From the walkway.

Taken for Halloween costume research (pay attention: Mal and Kathryn)

Taken somewhere within the labyrinth that is the Venetian/Palazzo

Who doesn't enjoy a good law school joke (except Liz and Jessie)??

He wouldn't kiss back.

Red Rock Canyon

One of my favorite pictures. Just because.

Same with this one.

I'll settle for this shot because I'm too cheap to buy the special Red Rock license plate.

Kathryn loved Joe. Actually, both kitties loved the extra attention and took full advantage.

La Reve

La Reve flowers.

La Reve lazy cat.

**not pictured--we ventured over to the New York, New York and I spent a few minutes being scared out of my mind on the roller coaster. We discovered that Joe should've taken his glasses (unharmed) off only after our first time around....

--I hit my head on the door frame of my car just because and I saw stars. I suddenly gained sympathy for any/all of my brothers who have hit their head on any of my small cars.

--I managed to get lost whilst trying to find a sandwich shop less than 10 minutes from our house...I'm an impressive tour guide.

--we had plenty of time to talk about a whole bunch of somethings and possibly more nothing...it was wonderful.

Come back soon!

Weekend jumble

2011-08-31T23:38:00.000-04:00

Now that we live in Las Vegas, Nathan and I take advantage of our close proximity to our family in Utah, so about once a month, we drive in for a quick weekend. It's always a great time, but the drive is tiring, so my mind tends to be a bit mushy; during the visit and afterward. So...I sort of loaded the pictures haphazardly to represent my mind and how I tend to remember an average visit.

Nate pretending to be an awesome uncle...except he really is.

Luck Dog.

Afton and Mom auditioning for the next cover of the Ensign.

Jim and most of the kids.

The wee Gray.

The not so wee Ivie and Aunt Liz.

Grandpa, Ivie and Gray.

Sleepy Lilly.

Proof that we saw a mountain fire in the Virgin River Gorge.

Grey, Liz and Amos.

Justice is sweet and musical....~Henry David Thoreau

2011-08-26T00:12:00.007-04:00

June 2007...or so:

Nathan and I lived in Holladay; I worked at University of Phoenix full time/GOGO part time and Nate worked at Verizon. One of us was really excited to quit their job and go to law school...the other, not so much. One Saturday after I worked my part time shift (at GOGO), I made the trek to West Valley to visit Nate at work during a lunch break. After my visit, I made a somewhat whimsical* decision to stop at the nearby Gold's Gym location for a workout. After said workout, I went into the locker room, only to realize that I hadn't locked up my stuff (dumb but I never did in Sandy or Holladay) and some rat had rooted through everything and took: my set of keys, my phone, my wallet, my lip gloss, and my face powder. To this day, I think this girl is disgusting based on the fact that she took my lip gloss. Anyway - after I quietly swore and freaked out in the bathroom, I went to the front desk and started the process of getting things straightened out.

*stupid

Nate, still at work, texted me a question and got curious when my response was full of misspelled words. I'm proud/sad to say it wasn't me responding, but my thief (Ashley). We kept my phone active for a couple days so she would have time to use it so we could track her...

We filed the report, etc., but didn't really have much to go on...until: a week or so later, I had ordered a new phone (with the same phone number) and was all set up. Thief's idiot friend sent me a message. Christmas! I wrote this person back and eventually found out that Hunter (my texter) is the brother of my thief and that they are from Idaho. After telling him a bit about me (Amy, age 22 from SLC) he divulged the first and last names of the two people involved in the theft of my items. After I got what I needed from him, Amy had to move on.

Thrilled with my craftiness, I called in my information to the detective on the case. He called me back a few times, but let me know the main thief had gotten away and thrown away everything of mine she'd taken. At that point, I filled out and sent in a restitution sheet and decided to be satisfied only with my sneaky way of finding the dirty girls who sifted through my things....until....

Restitution checks came in the mail today!!

I got a call earlier this week asking for my current address...3 addresses later, the checks are mine.

Thanks to Ashley and Hunter for a new flat iron. :)

Brother Shakespeare said the prayer

2011-08-18T20:41:00.008-04:00

Lately, I've been trying to think of any excuse to leave the Las Vegas area...it's too hot, and it just gets annoying. (Me...annoyed?)

So...a few weeks ago we planned a quick trip to Cedar City to participate in the Shakespeare Festival, well, festivities. I was a bit shocked that it wasn't 70 degrees (it just seemed like that would be nice), but it was still lovely. We drove to St. George first to partake of delights such as the outlet shops and Arctic Circle. After we'd gotten our fill of discount shoes and fish, we headed to Cedar.

After stumbling into the room for a much needed nap, we readied ourselves for the show and looked around:

Outside the Adams Shakespearean Theatre. (and yes Ruth, I did think of Ms. Butcher and her thespian children while I was here.)

Let's all pretend the lighting was better...we forgot our real camera, so we did what we make fun of everyone for doing and we used the camera phone exclusively.

Me near the May Pole. I told Nate in high school, I had performed a choreographed dance around a May Pole whilst singing to "Follow me down to Carlow" and he was way impressed.
Way.

Inside of the theatre. We saw Richard III and it was amazing. Nate mentioned that he's glad he's not dim-witted or else he would've been lost. I'm glad I've seen this so I wasn't lost. It's not often that my leisure activities match up with Elder Oaks, but they did that night. He and his wife Kristen were on the front row. I bet he didn't get lost in the plot either.

Sunday School on the campus.

Near the Shakespearean concessions...my ill-fitting jeans the night of the show convinced me I was fine without anything they were selling.

We found this beautiful spot after we finished our reading on the bleachers...while pretty, we realized it was too loud to hear each other, so we just took a few pictures...

...and Sabrina danced.

After we left the campus, we headed to church. We encountered a normal (noisy) ward and were delighted to hear that Brother Shakespeare would be saying the opening prayer.

Seriously.

Why Vegas can be cool

2011-07-16T12:09:00.004-04:00

I've wanted to use this post title for a while, but I couldn't find the exact moment. It's possible because right now the weather is stifling and it sometimes (sometimes) feels worse than being stuck inside during the winter in Toledo. It makes sense to be limited when the weather is snow, but not just the sun. ANYWAY...I was on facebook of all places and those annoying ads decided to tell me about Ben Folds coming to Las Vegas! Two days later, we found ourselves here:

This is at one of the pool's at the Cosmopolitan hotel. They apparently drain the pool, raise the floor of said pool, and suddenly they have a concert venue.

This is my (understated) happy concert face.

Here are some of our fellow concert goers. Plaid decided to get drunk early and yell at Ben Folds. I don't know why girl stayed with him, but she seemed used to it. At least I know when Nate yells it's just to make people around us uncomfortable enough to give us some space (it works). The other girls pictured weren't really fans, so I'm not sure why they attended. My sense of etiquette and love for Ben made me want to get rid of these two. When one of them got too close to me, I settled for accidentally clapping too enthusiastically until she moved a little.

Ben! It was general admission, and we made the sacrifice of standing around for a couple hours, but were rewarded with great "seats".

His piano playing always has me amazed, so it was fun to be closer to see more of it. (my piano practicing here at home today will seem really weak, I'm thinking)

After the concert, view from one of the balconies. Vegas has been hard for me to adjust to, honestly. This concert was just what I needed; we had a beautiful night, fabulous music, a great view, and Nathan and I finally got to hear our song (yes, "Luckiest" is ours) together; live. Thanks, Ben.

St Lucia I

2011-07-03T18:40:00.010-04:00

Happy (albeit tired) to arrive!

Me staring at nothing while the food was on its way.

Nate smiling at me while the food was on its way.

View from our lunch table.

Sunset.

Before dinner.

After dinner. (yes, we had 3 desserts between us)

Morning beach walk.

Engaged?? No. I found a ring I had lost since November. IN MY POCKET. For those keeping track, I lost Nate's ring in Ohio for about the same amount of time under similar circumstances.

Rained out.

Eating at the pub.

Finding a bat outside the pub.

K. Large mountain. This is what Nate and I signed up to climb. Later we would realize we basically both dared each other to do this without realizing it, but at this point, it was too late. The drive to the mountain caused 3 people to throw up...not a great start.

Me trying to keep up with Cameron, our 17 year old flip-flop wearing guide. He may have been going for a good tip, but he said that both Nate and I looked about 25, max. Cha-ching, Cameron.

Nate and I at the top. It was about 2 hours up and 2 hours down. The view was beautiful, but cloudy. The clouds (and rain) however, were mostly likely my saving grace. I don't know if I would've survived with the sun out.

At the half way point. In the background is Petite Piton (we were climbing Gros Piton).

Happy to be done, back at the resort and ready to eat again. It was a great experience, but I'm embarrassed to note that I didn't walk normally for about 4 days.

St Lucia II

2011-07-03T18:16:00.007-04:00

At dinner our last night at Sandals La Toc (our first stop). The dinner was tasty, but I'm still suspicious of what was in it...I blame this meal for my illness. Would I eat it again? Maybe.

At dinner our first night at Sandals Grande St. Lucian (our second stop).

Relaxing and reading by the pool.

Picture of the Atlantic side of the ocean. Taken on one of Nate's solo outings while I was hanging out in bed. The night before I had discovered my stomach was extremely mad about something I'd consumed. I watched a LOT of House Hunters.

Propped up before going out for the evening!

In the ocean. The pools all felt like bath water, so the ocean seemed shockingly cold.

Washed up.
Me while I watched Nate play volleyball. As I watched, I thought everyone sucked. 30 minutes later, they talked me into joining and I realized I did too. It's just hard.

Nate was still a star though. Look at that set!

At Tosconini's, a tasty Italian place.

Working off our calories.

In Nate's case, winning off his calories. I'm about as good at pool as I am water volleyball.

We came back to our room and found this. Mrs. Highley was so happy they cared.

St. Lucia III

2011-07-03T17:37:00.010-04:00

Nate and I on the speedboat tour on Saturday. I was grateful for how quickly the boat allowed us to see the island...and that I took Dramamine. Wow.

Halfway through, we stopped in Marigot Bay for snorkeling. I really do love it, but I hyperventilate around for 5-10 minutes, then I calm down enough to enjoy it. Nate of course doesn't need a life vest and can dive without sucking up water into his snorkel. Look how good he looks while doing all that.

Us in front of the Pitons. Please be impressed with the size of these mountains (especially the taller of the two) (See other post).

Nate and I in the mud baths. I pictured dunking myself in sloppy mud, but it was really just a group exfoliating session with lava "soap" as they called it. I felt ridiculous, but our skin ended up ridiculously smooth when it was all over with.

You can't tell my Dramamine has started to wear off, can you?

One of the beautiful pictures as a result of Nate talking himself into a park after it had closed. We got back from our tour late, so he ran around and took as many pictures as they would allow (or until they noticed he was still there) while I hung out by the pool.

Dinner at the pub. The food was so so tasty and the decor was fun.

Walking around the resort while we waited for our bus to take us to the airport.

It became very hot, so we took several breaks, including this one.

One our way back to the airport...I managed a decent shot from the car-finally!

Memorial Grey Weekend 2011

2011-07-03T16:59:00.007-04:00

We had visitors for Memorial Day weekend and as always, we loved it. Tom, Stacey and Grey braved the holiday traffic down to our house and we were so glad. Both parents looked (and rightfully so) beat when they got out of the car, but Grey bounced out and started running around. Three cheers for a baby Grey with such a happy disposition. :)

We were kinda lazy, but we managed to get out a few times. Our first outing with the crowds was down to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. Honestly the exhibit wasn't anything mind-blowing, but it was fun all the same.

See?

Stacey and young "Greg". Predictably, we ran across someone likely mid-day drunk. She commented on how cute Greg is. I started to get nervous she would try to steal him, so I was happy when she sauntered off.

All the kids getting out their wiggles at the playground before the drive to Hoover Dam.

Mere seconds before I fell off.

Hoover Dam is frightening to me just because. Hoover Dam with a small child was almost too much for me to handle. Apparently Nate too...

I love it when they coordinate...

I also love it when Grey wants to mimic the pose a group of Asians tried out before it was our turn. It was my plan even before I knew Grey's desires, so it worked out perfectly.

Yay for a photographer! The happy family (just prior to Grey's meltdown that was eventually solved with potato wedges and biscuits from KFC thanks to Tom's quick thinking).

It's always different for us to have a toddler (and family) in the house, but we were so sad to have them leave...the house is too empty!

Coronado Island and Balboa Park

2011-04-28T23:46:00.010-04:00

The day after Sea World, Nate and I recovered by sleeping in. Then we got lunch. Because it was about lunchtime. Oops. After we were ready for the day, we decided to check out Coronado Island . It was absolutely beautiful, but were happy we didn't actually stay at the hotel; we didn't really feel like we fit in. Our decision was solidified when Nate overheard a hotel goer end his story with "I don't even know how much he paid for it, but he only had $1400 in his pocket!!" (ha ha ha).

Our successful-ish self portrait.

In front of the hotel.

Someone had made this all out of sand; we also found a scary looking Easter bunny and Easter egg designs along the same path.

And yes, Nate had the camera most of the time. :)

Walkway in Balboa Park...once we got to the nice part of the park...before this point I found a disgusting invitation written on the bathroom stall and Nate witnessed a man wrapping his toes in twine (later he said it was a resistance band, but I thought his first version had more splash).

Sea World

2011-04-27T21:39:00.007-04:00

Nate and I spent Easter weekend with Jim, Alisha and the kids...well, at least we had one day with them, but we made the most of it and went to Sea World!

Group shot.

Jim, Lish and Ethan on Shipwreck something or other...Ethan was in love with this ride. :)

Aunt Liz and Ethan.

Liz squared. (ps-I was way proud because Lizzie actually wanted to be on this ride with me. Silly, but it made me so happy.)

Ethan and the very popular Uncle Nate.

Nate and Afton waiting for the Shamu show to start. Or was it Ramu?

Maybe kind of a bum shot, but I thought all that hand holding was so cute.

Lilly meets a seal.

A statuesque seal.

The kids with their souvenir necklaces that Jim magically purchased in about 15 seconds without the kids noticing.

We had such a good time it was ridiculous; thanks for letting us tag along!

Ethan's belated southern birthday party

2011-04-27T21:24:00.003-04:00

In the first phase of the Harrison/Higley extravaganza, we hosted Jim and his family for an evening, so I decided it'd be a good time to have a quick birthday party for Ethan.

Look how happy he is. ;)

Ethan and Lizzie with the dirt cake. (we sang "happy dirt cake" instead of "happy birthday")

Digging in!

The proud maker of said dirt cake.

Harrisons...and a crazy Jim.

Nate helping serve.

Ethan hopefully liking the books we got him. :)

What's a party without a shark puppet wearing a pull-up? ps-Lilly was concerned that he was using her pull-up.

Springtime in Las Vegas

2011-04-10T14:50:00.004-04:00

Just a few things we've run across lately here at home:

FOXYGMA is right.

Baby gucks

Baby Kathryn

Bellagio lobby!

We had a lovely visit down to the Strip. We've learned the right time to leave (when people start getting drunk(er) ) and it was perfect.

On our way home on the freeway, we saw a major accident happen right in front of us. The car right in front of us was hit by someone that came out of nowhere across all lanes of traffic. Everyone was all right, but it was crazy to watch and think about how close it was to being our accident. I got scared and cried. Through my sobby voice I reminded Nate we needed to pick up some bread at the store. Last night's blessing was getting bread at Albertson's. :)

Gray's Blessing

2011-04-10T14:30:00.005-04:00

A couple of weekends ago, we visited Utah for a special occasion; Gray's blessing! Thankfully, there's a spelling difference, because I am now the aunt of Grey and Gray. :) Ben and Jenn's cute Gray was the man of the hour and it was so fun to be there for it.

Gray and Uncle Nathan

Ben, Jenn and Gray

Liz, Lisa and Ivie

Rhea, Ivie and Mom Lisa

I was as proud to catch this smile as Nate was to have been the reason for it. :)

In other news, Ben and Jenn's cats have had no problem with adjusting to life with a baby. Luckily they've figured out the many benefits of baby gear in the house.

Mom and baby Gray

Clean up party

2011-04-10T13:48:00.009-04:00

Usually every year my mom throws a big "party". Growing up, these parties = a trick to get some yard work taken care of. While it was still the same trick, I was excited we'd be home to participate! I can't say I personally got a lot accomplished in the yard, but it was a fun social hour and the yard looked better when we were done, so I'd call the party an overwhelming success.

Nate, Tom and Grey

Most of the girls: Alisha, Stacey, Ruth, Mom

GQ Yard Nate and Braedon

Grey getting things done

Nate with Andrew and Grey

Dad and Braedon

Impromptu birthday party for the twins

Nate and Grey flying.

It was so fun to be all together. It was a perfect morning. :)

My mom was right...

2011-03-04T01:40:00.007-05:00

...I do regret giving up on piano lessons. Turning 30 hasn't done amazing things for all parts of me, but it has strengthened my resolve to take care of a few things. One such item is getting back on the Dozen-A-Day/John Thompson saddle.

Ruth recently gifted me her keyboard (she's upgraded to the real deal) and once we we got around to taking our Christmas tree down (we were bordering, if not completely white trash this year about that), Nate set up the keyboard in the front room so my keyboard is in plain view to remind me to practice.

Kathryn's not so subtle form of protesting the removal of the Christmas tree.

Starting over officially bugs me. Playing songs that I know I played better in elementary school is horribly depressing, but maybe that's the humility I need to keep going. My goal is to beat my younger self, and at this point all I need in order to do that is to not be a quitter. Eh, Mom?

I've been at it about a month, so it almost feels like a habit, and while I'm without a metronome, Gwen Chesley saying "and it's MEMORIZED", Cheryl Morrow complimenting my sight reading skills, and Mom telling me I couldn't quit until I could play the hymns...it's still something. My very own piano hymn book came today too. The real one too, it was a bit less expensive than the simplified one and I decided to set my sights high...or at least to my mother's 15 year old standard.

Speaking of goals and repeating things, I started back to school last week. Again. This time, I really started over. I have to take Portfolio I over again because I've been out of school over a year. That seems fair in some respects, but it's difficult to think about when I took that class the first time...between piano and school and working at GoGo again, I feel like I may be regressing.

Silver lining: I can still play "The Man in the Moon" in all 12 keys and I still give one heck of a PowerPoint presentation*

*provided Nate creates/polishes my slides

Adjusting

2011-03-04T01:07:00.006-05:00

I've lived in Las Vegas for about five months now. Five?? There are some days when I feel like I've been here forever, but I have more days when I feel like I'm living amongst and working with people I don't know. Nate of course doesn't fall into this category, but hopefully you get what I mean. To help me stay sane during the work day, I've taken to eating lunch in my car. The temperature will allow me to get away with this for now...I know it won't last, but in the meantime I've been very grateful for the escape. While I eat, I read; and I've made it through a few books. I recently finished one, and close to the end of the book, I read a paragraph I've been thinking about a lot:

"You get a strange feeling when you're about to leave a place, I told him, you'll not only miss the people you love, but you'll miss the person you are now at this time and this place, because you'll never be this way again".*

I think my problem is I assume I will stay the same person; that I could go right back into an old situation and feel right at home. While I know that is of course not true, that is normally what I tell myself when I leave somewhere or something, just as a way of coping.

We've fallen into a lot of wonderful things out here, but many moments still carry a sting, because I can't help but compare them to either my life in Utah or Ohio; mostly Ohio, honestly. I miss the friends I could've only made in Toledo, as well as friends I was able to "follow" out there and hang on to. Las Vegas is becoming our home, but as it happens, I am often reminded of what home has meant in other places.

Just had to get that out.

*Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azir Nafisi

Happy Phantomtime's Day

2011-03-04T00:45:00.004-05:00

Nathan has figured out that he cherishes a surprise a bit more than I do. However, I've been entertained with the idea that, as of late, he's become worse and worse at actually holding in said surprise for very long. His Valentime's surprise was very much a surprise to me, and knowing a few days early only gave me something to look forward to.

Is this creepy and confusing to you as well?

The Friday before Valentime's we headed down to the Venetian and saw "The Phantom of the Opera". It was fabulous. It had been a long time since I'd seen a production like that and it made me so happy, it brought me to tears. It reminded me of my time in London when I was ridiculously spoiled with all sorts of shows weekly. So major points for Nate, and a few more points to Vegas.

Contraband picture in the theater. ps-the Phantom also had a small role in an episode of Frasier, so...obviously he was good.

After the show, we walked around and took in the sights which brought us to this:

I've always loved H&M (coincidentally a common "after show" spot for me in London) so it was fun to walk through. Isn't anything made better with a horse lamp though? Seriously.

Traveling for work can=traveling home

2011-03-04T00:17:00.006-05:00

One of the perks of working in an office that used to be in Salt Lake and still services that area: getting to visit "on business". The last weekend in January, I went with my boss Paula to Salt Lake for the Morris Murdock Travel Show at the Sandy Expo Center. Way too many proper nouns, but there you go. It's an odd thing to fly for about 5 minutes and be home, but be at the airport, then rent a car and settle back in Sandy...at the Hampton Inn. We stayed in the Auto Mall complex just across from South Towne mall.

I jokingly offered a few times that I could sleep at my parents' house...but really, it seemed ridiculous. I will say the Hampton Inn provided unlimited hot chocolate, so I was able to seemingly keep up with my boss's insatiable coffee habit, and their workout room provided much needed alone time and fitness all in the same go.

The day we got into town, we had a travel show, so I wasn't able to see family, but we had an open house where I saw quite a few travel agents I'd worked with in the past, so it was a lot of fun to visit with them. (side note: before the show, I had the opportunity to visit my very first liquor store...in my home state. It was a special, seedy moment) The next morning I met up with Ruth, Vince, Bella and Mom. And because Jim is omnipresent, he showed up as well. :) We went to Hagermann's for their (rightfully so) famous french toast and had a nice visit. We took a jaunt to Wal*Mart and saw this:

The irony was almost enough to make me forget that I had to get along to work...it wasn't incredibly taxing, but again, it seemed wrong for me to be working when there was a family to visit and grocery shopping to do. It was a long day, but it was over soon enough, and that evening I found myself at McGrath's with a group of people that included the director of the Mexico Tourist Board. For the record, he asked me if I was British. I asked him why he thought so and he explained because of how I talk. It's a new one, but I somehow turned it into a compliment, if an undeserved one.

The next morning I had an early breakfast with Tom, Stacey and the croupy Grey. I was sick over this weekend, so I felt like it was okay to be around fellow sickies (Bella was also sick). We had a lovely breakfast at Paradise Bakery and I briefly made Grey happy by pulling out an oldish cookie (like a day) from my purse ( I took it from the front desk at the hotel and decided against eating it). Breakfast was over too quickly and I again was whisked back to the Expo Center. Thankfully the second day seemed to be a bit more tolerable...if only because I knew we'd be heading home soon...and maybe also because of this:

Once the show was done, we made our way to the airport way too early, had some "express" California Pizza Kitchen and I made my way through a good portion of "Reading Lolita in Tehran".

It was great to fit in a few visits with family, but most of the time, I felt homesick yet comfortable all at the same time. I guess that's fair, considering that is how I tend to feel when I'm home in Vegas too.

Viva Las Salt Lake!

January...finally...continued...

2011-02-11T21:27:00.006-05:00

More visitors! We enjoyed our first January group of guests so much that we decided to have some more. Jim and Alisha's group came down for a long weekend, so we visited the Strip, then decided we didn't need to visit it again. :)

Lanterns in the Bellagio to celebrate Chinese New Year.

This dynamic quickly became very common.

So did this one. :)

Liz and the twins after the bizarre Atlantis statue show in Caesar's Palace.

Family picture at the fountain at Caesar's (I decided yet again to talk through it).

Our house felt pretty crowded while everyone was visiting, but it felt all the more empty when they had to head back home. Until next time! ps-within 2 weeks of our visit, Jim was telling me that the next time they visit he wants to check out a town full of donkeys that is apparently nearby. Can't wait.

30ish

2011-01-20T00:58:00.006-05:00

The 14th was a busy day. For awhile I didn't want it to be, and then I decided busy was perfect. I had taken the day off because of my birthday stance from a few years ago and it turned out to be the only, therefore perfect, day for Nathan's swearing in. I got up that morning around the same time as Nate (he had to work most of the day) and snuck off to the gym for a solo workout before breakfast was needed. I loved it. It felt good to workout in the morning again, it felt good to not have anywhere to go on a mid-week morning, and it amused me that a lot of retired men work out around 7:45am. After my time at the gym, I joined my parents and in-laws for breakfast-it was the first time in a long while that I actually had family around right on my birthday and it made me feel positively spoiled.

We got ready for the swearing in, and made our way to the courthouse. Clark county decided to give me a birthday present in the form of a still paid for parking meter and I took it as a sign we are where we're supposed to be. After the ceremony, we took a tour of the courtroom and the offices and headed for lunch at Bahama Breeze. A co-worker recommended this place, and I went only because of an appetizer she described. It's turned out to be one of my favorite places so it was a fun birthday choice.

After lunch, Nate had to go back to work for a couple of hours, so we dropped him off, split up a little and I went shopping with my mom. We went to Kohl's and found ridiculous Christmas candles that will never sell, and a couple of necklaces that we proved would sell. After Kohl's, it was off to Von's to find a particular laundry detergent mom has been looking for---and we had success! This part of the day was the most low key by far, but again, it had been a while since I've been able to just hang around and shop with mom, so it was perfect.

For dinner, we all met at our place and had a little party. It was odd to actually have to be the hostess; I'm so used to living in a too small space that won't allow visitors, so it was fun actually having enough room to have a proper party:

Liz before embarrassing herself (yet again) with her complete inability to blow out birthday candles. I'd say it's an age thing, but I remember being about 10 at my grandma's house when I experienced the same issue.

Thanks to Jack for taking a few pictures of my parents; Dad's real smile is sometimes hard to catch, so one must be tricksy.

Mom's cute profile.

Clearly we are both very excited about our "new" VHS copy of "Lord of the Dance". Somewhere in Saratoga Springs, Matt is breathing a sigh of relief.

The next night after birthday fun, Nate and I went down to the Strip with Jessica and Woody. They ended up being better tour guides than us by far; Woody found the perfect parking spot for one who wants to avoid the "authentic" Strip feel.

By the Bellagio fountain with my too prominent ghost head.

In the lobby of the Bellagio...Nate really did try to wait for her to stop holding the horse up, but she kept it up, so I feel like she earned her spot on this post. Go USA.

Turning 30 was a lot more enjoyable than I expected! Mal enjoyed it so much that she decided to try (and like) corn chips. Here's to getting older and enjoying salty snacks!

Nathan Swears

2011-01-19T00:57:00.003-05:00

Nate is such a cuss face. To celebrate the occasion (and the whole "becoming an attorney" thing), his parents, my parents, Jessica, Woody, and Ivie all came for a visit. We all met at the courthouse at noon, and enjoyed our private swearing in ceremony with Nate's new found connection with his very own judge.

Swearing with the judge.

Look how much happier he looks now that he's official!

With the proud parents.

With the proud Terrys. (aren't they stylish?)

Stylish people can also be criminals. Don't be deceived.

Nathan at his post.

Nathan with an older and proud Liz. I've typed Nate's praises before, but he worked very hard while always keeping me in mind during the process of law school and beyond and all that it has entailed. To say I'm proud is an understatement, but Nate doesn't like to be braggy, so I'll try not to be as well. He's done an amazing job and continues to work hard to be successful. His humility is enviable, but sometimes frustrating. Recently I asked him now when people ask him what he does if he will say "an attorney" or "a lawyer". His answer: "I work for a judge". :)

Anniversary Trip

2011-01-01T11:32:00.011-05:00

Because my trip to Jamaica was over our anniversary, our celebration had to be delayed a few weeks. And because our surroundings are still new, and we both didn't have any vacation time with our jobs, we figured we'd stay in town. I got an offer with The Golden Nugget to stay for two nights free. Later on we were offered an upgrade they weren't supposed to, so hooray for hotel errors.

Las Vegas branch of the Cleveland Clinic in downtown LV; we loved the Ohio shout out and the cool, albeit crazy architecture.

Inside the Aria hotel (I think)

In the lobby of the Bellagio.

Inside Crystals (shopping area on the strip)

Tiny Liz with a big Christmas tree. We ate at the Firefly, then attempted to walk off what we'd consumed at the Fremont street experience.

Kitty Glitter! I referenced Kitty Glitter in this post, so I thought a picture was due. Once again, we found out how popular this slot machine is with...men. Mostly Asian men, but men all the same.

Tank pool at The Golden Nugget. The sharks didn't show up in these pictures, but they were there. And creepy.

The only part of the pool area we were able to use. We were willing to take a trip down a cold waterslide just to see all the fishies (the waterslide goes through the tank), but it was closed. Boo.

Me in the lobby, but noticed mostly the lobby; there was yet another cool aquarium behind the reception desk.

View of The Golden Nugget from the outside.

It was a lot of fun taking the role of tourist for the weekend; it was also a lot of fun being able to drive back home within a few minutes. :)

Christmas

2011-01-01T10:53:00.008-05:00

This year, instead of flying from Detroit, Nathan and I decided to drive to Utah (separately, just to make things exciting-really, he just had to work an extra day) for Christmas.

One of the views I was favored with on my drive. Because of all the rain in St. George and the surrounding area, makeshift waterfalls were all over the place. I get nervous driving this canyon by myself, but it's mostly because it's so beautiful it can be distracting.

My first day was sans Nate, so I spent some time at Ruth's house. Hearing Vince's little voice ask if Ruth had a good sleep and announcing pancakes were ready and getting lots of smiles from Bella was a nice early Christmas present. :)

Speaking of smiley, I got this picture all on my own of my newest nephew Braedon.

The wee Ivie. I'm also proud of this one, but mostly proud of her cute fluffy hair.

Do we look tired? We were, but it was so nice to be home.

Harrison Christmas chaos. I like that Nate looks like he's about to punch something...to be clear he wasn't and didn't. :)

Steve with Shaelynn and Bella.

Slumbering Nathan. A similar picture could've been taken of Steve and Matt also, I just figured it was my right to take one of my Nate. He'd had a long week and my parents' couch was too much for him to resist (again).

Vince and Grey. It so fun to watch these two together. Grey will mimic just about anything Vince does and they just follow each other around. It was fun hearing Grey tell "Bince" to come up the stairs. :)

Ruth and the kiddies.

A post-Christmas treat. We made a quick stop over at Jim's shortly after they were home from church and we found these two.

Merry Christmas!

Dinner with friends

2010-12-27T15:09:00.002-05:00

While I was home for Christmas, I had dinner with some of my favorite GOGO friends! It had been way too long since we've been together and I had a great time. Hope we can do it again soon!

Michelle, Jessica, Sylvia, Liz, and Celeste

Bible Cats 2011

2010-12-19T23:06:00.010-05:00

After what seemed like a longish day at work, I came home and checked the mail. I had a few Christmas cards (yay!) and a large envelope addressed to Nathan, me, Kathryn and Mal. All of us. Bible Cats, based in Orem, had sent us something special. I was hoping for at least a crazy free brochure, but what we received was so much more. Because I can't carry this calendar with me at all times and show you each one by one, here they are:

BIBLE CATS 2011!

January:

So innocent...

February:

I'm not going to lie, this picture made me wonder about the innocence of our own kitties. They sleep in the living room now.

March:

He's so big and proud. All he's missing is four golden shoes and some heavy eyeliner. Ruth, Jon...a little help??

April:

Skank.

May:

I love his concentration. And his beard.

June:

This is probably about right for June in Las Vegas, right? At least someone else will feel our pain.

July:

I love that Catsheba has been placed in water, yet is still washing much like a kitty.

August:

So many things I could say; I'll just let Candace think them.

September:

One of my favorites: David is so tiny and determined. GoLion is so creepy looking. This teaches me that non-creepy always wins.

October:

A must have in every kitty home.

November:

Who knew being spit out of a whale would be so fun??

December:

Bible Cats wouldn't be Bible Cats without this one.

Special thanks to Marc and Candace for this lovely gem!! Candace is one of few who truly understands and indulges our ridiculous kitty love, so I love this calendar even more.

Jamaican me tired

2010-12-09T22:35:00.006-05:00

This past weekend, I headed to Jamaica for a learning conference. GOGO holds a conference like this every year during December. I was lucky enough to be in Jamaica over our wedding anniversary...at the same hotel. Sarcasm. Throw sarcasm all over that.

Sarcasm aside, Sandals Whitehouse will always be one of my favorite places, so even though I was solo this time, it was fun to visit our honeymoon spot.

After a very long night that suddenly turned into day again, I arrived at the hotel around 4:30pm. I started flying/traveling at 11:00pm the night before. Just sayin'. Upon arrival at the hotel, we were welcomed by these lovely Jamaican singers:

And this banner. I liked the singers better than banner, but it was still fun.

Sunset on the first night after it had rained a bit.

Me and my new friend Linda. This was during our tacky 80s wedding party. I thought my costume was awesome, but it was considerably less skanky than most. I think it stands to reason I would be just as modest at an 80s wedding as I would now, right? ps-the yellow beads are for a tribute to my mom. :)

Me and one of my new co-workers, Waquita. She talks fast and is good at her job. She also might have stolen this parasol.

Me at the main pool after breakfast. I didn't so much get to swim in this pool as I did get to look at it. But beautiful, eh?

Ditto on the ocean.

My second evening and its lovely sunset.

One of my favorite pictures from this trip.

Outside of the front door of my room. When the wind blew through these plants, it sounded like it was raining.

Vivian, Me and Vera (also new co-workers). We bonded at the White Party.

A beach walking bird.

This trip lasted a whole of two days. It was much too short and tiring, but I heart Jamaica, so I will take it in any amount, in any opportunity given to me. Until (hopefully there will be a) next time.

GOGOing Again

2010-12-02T17:40:00.008-05:00

I'm back to work. I think I've officially been there a month or so, but with training, I've been in the office for three weeks now. Settling in is my most least favorite part; it's seems especially awkward because I'm coming back to the same position, but not really. I keep feeling like I should know what I'm doing, because I sometimes know, and sometimes I have no clue. It's a good test of my memory and self-esteem, but it's coming along nicely I think. I've already had a chance to talk to a few of my old favorite agents, and they give me moments when I feel like it's home. My co-workers are very nice and are helping me feel more comfortable. However:

Every time I've started a new job, I've compared it to my SLC GOGO job. I spent so much time there; during those years I went through a lot of things that my little family there helped me with, so I can't help but be attached. I can't help but be nostalgic and a little dramatic when I now talk to someone from Trips, and there's no one around to really giggle about it, or when I have yet another awkward conversation with Pete, no one really gets how funny it is, or when no one has never even heard of Tonda.

So anyway, this is my little tribute to them; I found some old pictures...I unfortunately don't have some of everyone, but we always had fun on our trips, either at someone else's expense:

Jessica and I loved this woman for wearing her conference name tag at the beach. True dedication.

or maybe sometimes our own:

Sylvia, Jeff, Me, Jessica, Michelle

(Soon after this picture was taken I found a tea light in my Diet Coke. Just thrown right in. Thanks, Ritz Carlton. )

Me and Jess relaxing in the Xcaret park in the couple of hours of spare time we were given. Maybe we should've left our name tags on too?

Celeste, Me, Michelle, Jessica and Lisa; my last (full time) day at the office.

This weekend I'm on my way to Jamaica for a GOGO conference; I'm excited, but I know it won't be the same without Sylvia taking pictures of me while I'm doing my homework while at the beach, throwing the undesirable hors d' oeuvres over the balcony with Jess, or Sylvia taking care to point out the "hot" waiters during dinner. :)

Bennifer: November 2010

2010-12-02T17:05:00.006-05:00

For those have you who haven't met Bennifer, you're missing out.

Ben and Jenn came to visit us a few weekends ago! I had just flown back from NJ, and it was fun to be welcomed back by Nathan and friends. I mentioned to them that we aren't great tour guides yet, in fact, we got more turned around than we usually do, but they are our very first visitors, so they had the pleasure (I'm sure) of breaking us in. First on the list was walking through the Stratosphere, I think mostly so we could see the Asian men playing the "Kitty Glitter" slot machines. I need to get a picture, but just believe me for now. We had a delightful dinner at IHOP (pumpkin pancakes=heaven), and I tried to make sense when I spoke. My body was still on Eastern time, so it was about 3-4am according to me and my mushy brain.

After an exciting morning at the DMV, we met back up with Bennifer and decided to head to Hoover Dam!

This is the part of the day when we still didn't know where to go. Impressive power lines though.

I think this is Nate and I being lovey, but it looks very similar to a few family pictures when Tom (that's right, I'm telling) was grabbing my wrist in a like (but brotherly, mean-hearted) fashion.

Me and Jenn with the Hoover Dam worker tribute. If we look awkward, we felt awkward; there were about 3 people (we didn't know) also taking photos we were probably in.

Looking down scared me every, every time. It probably always will. I take comfort in knowing that most everyone else is at least scared by heights like this.

View of the new bridge. Yes, the bridge is scary too.

After spending most of our day at the Dam, we walked along the strip and had a lovely dinner.

From the top of the Venetian. This reminded me of our kitties in a "really mischievous gargoyle" type way. It was a beautiful night to see all the lights on the strip. It was also a beautiful night to see all the bachelor party morons doing their thing* on the strip.

*see next image for some idea, but their thing usually=being stupid

It's lucky we are such fans of Halloween; Vegas is kinda always Halloween. Drunk Halloween, but Halloween nonetheless.

View of Paris from the Bellagio fountains.

We had a such a great time with Bennifer and hope they come (all 3 of you next time?) back soon!

World Traveler

2010-11-21T14:10:00.008-05:00

To kick my new job off right, I was sent to sunny New Jersey for two weeks of training.

I was gone from Oct 31-Nov 12. I filled my days with product and computer training, my nights with frequent visits to the gym and the lobby "store", talking with Nathan, and watching copious amounts of "Bones" and "Burn Notice". Everything went better than I expected, but that often happens because I'm such an anxious gal when it comes to *new* things, so my expectations are normally pretty low.

The weekend presented a problem for me: I didn't want to go into the city (read: I didn't have enough $$ to go into the city), but I didn't want to hang around all day. So, I convinced a front desk worker to drop me off at an area that had a Kohl's, Marshall's, Panera, etc. Janine ended up being delightful, and we discovered all sorts of connections (her dad is an attorney in Henderson, NV, her brother is LDS and went to high school in Utah, and I think she was born and lived in Ohio for a while). She was very nice to take me away from the hotel and I took advantage of my freedom. I stayed out from about 1:00-6:00pm and returned home as refreshed as one can be with that situation. Sunday was a late breakfast, a nap, a Law and Order marathon, topped off with a walk whilst listening to General Conference talks.

I hope my description above explains why I didn't take many pictures, but I thought I'd share some that I did take:

I kept seeing James Carville on CNN. I've been especially been entertained by him ever since he guest starred on "30 Rock" a season or two ago. Cajun Style.

Here's a picture of my notebook/proof I'm a nerd. I truly needed a notebook and this truly looks like Kathryn.

Hosscat?!

Box of candy at Rite Aid. So true, yet so weird.

Everyone all ready for Fishmas?? I still have a LOT of Fishmas shopping to do. Can't wait for Fish Friday. (Get it, Black Friday/fish fry?)

One of many

2010-10-27T12:22:00.007-04:00

Directly after Kanab, I followed my family back up to Sandy for some more visiting. It was nice to know I can (and will) come up again and again, but there's never enough time, I've decided. Some of the highlights:

Wheeler Farm visit:

The geese are frightening and loud, the ducks are smart, and I felt relieved to run out of bread. Yes, I'm an adult.

Afton, Liz, and Lilly. They had a treat after the geese, so they were satisfied.

Lilly and Vince. We got several hand holding shots, so this will represent, but it never got old. Every time a cousin held another cousin's hand, I got the camera out and ready.

I realize this shot should've probably had a child instead of a dog, but Lucky is so cute and I missed my kitties. :)

During my stay, I had an opportunity to bond with Vince. I'm happy to report he knows me by name (usually "Hi Liz" is followed by "and Nate?"), will hold my hand and give me hugs. These steps do so much for an aunt that's been away too long.

Halloween Cat!

Amos (pictured) and Andy were once again very welcoming to us when we visited Tom and Stacey. Amos successfully got me into the Halloween spirit.

Soo...I kind of made my family participate in a last minute Halloween party:

Nate's shoes don't look like they are really on his feet, but they are....and that's his real hair.

Some of the cousins right before they were done with posing on the couch.

With the baby Bella. She wouldn't wear Nate's hair, so we settled for this shot.

Group shot (courtesy of Ethan!)

Nate successfully holding the wee Ivie. We also made progress with our relationship with her. More visits are necessary, but we're willing to make the sacrifice. :)

Kanab is for families

2010-10-26T12:35:00.004-04:00

This year for our (immediate) family reunion, Stacey went above and beyond and found us a great place in Kanab to stay. Our original plan was St. George, but UEA and a few other things got in the way. Kanab was great though; we had a huge house all to ourselves and it was so much fun reacquainting myself with everyone again. Well, not everyone; we were missing Steve and Michelle's family. Maybe everyone for next year??

Tom taking his pool duties seriously; actually Matt and Nate were also spotted helping with this. There were some unfortunate things found in the pool, so a big thank you to them for making sure I didn't see any of them. :)

Ruth and the buttermilk child by the pool.

Jim's dog, Lucky, somehow finding this spot comfy.

Ethan and Alisha...just a little resemblance. :)

Dad and me at a lame "Hollywood movie set". The cutouts were obviously not used in films, yet this was one of the best parts of the tour.

Ruth and the wee Bella. And no, the baby isn't wearing fake lashes and lip liner...she's just pretty.

Baby Grey also just being really cute.

Some of the girls (and Vince) in the hot tub...that pool was way too cold!

Ethan, Jim, Lilly, and Lizzie in the other side of the hot tub...it kind of turned into the pool for most everyone. :)

While Pipe Springs* and the Hollywood movie set was basically a bust, we still had a great weekend. Can't wait until next time!

*in a nutshell, we had to pay for admission (which we didn't realize until we got there) and the worker at the front desk (as Matt said) hadn't gone through his Disney training. We ended up leaving with only one tantrum to deal with.

(south) Westward Ho!

2010-10-11T13:23:00.005-04:00

September 28th, 2010:

Our original plan was to leave early that Tuesday morning. Original. Original didn't happen. Does it ever? Anyway, we found ourselves still wrapping things up around 2:00pm. We finally got everything in the truck, and then the truck wouldn't start. I realize the sound of a car/truck not starting is never welcome, but it seemed really not welcome that day. On the brink of "starvation", I went to get some food whilst Nate figured out a plan for Penske to come look at the truck. They not only showed up, but quickly, so huzzah to them. They got the truck going and we ended up leaving Toledo around 4:30pm.

This is me with our downstairs neighbor, Yvonne. She was our Toledo grandma and very tolerant of our moving out, moving in, then moving out again. She often left us treats by the stairs and made our apartment smell like home cooked food. (It didn't matter what we actually ended up eating, the smell was just comforting)

Midnight, stopping for "dinner". We found a Wendy's just in time...ordering at a drive thru window is tricky with a large truck, but we worked it out okay. The kitties enjoyed the break from their cells, but seemed to remember how unfair life was once we had to stuff them back in.

September 29, 2010:

5:00am. Still driving. Our goal was to make it to Kansas City, MO. Around Columbia, MO, things started to feel desperate/dangerous. Nate was so tired, he sounded stoned. Or what I would imagine he would sound like stoned. I wasn't really doing so well myself. I had resorted to retelling the plot to "Oklahoma!" and even during my own discussion of the Ado-Annie subplot, I almost fell asleep several times. We decided this wasn't anyway to spend our last few moments, so we found the closest La Quinta (they allow pets) and somehow managed to get there safely. Luckily, we checked in just in time for breakfast. The front desk guy let us have the room at a day rate, so we could catch up on some sleep. So by about 3:00pm, we were on our way once again, destined for a similar schedule.

This was my view for the whole trip. :)

This is to prove we were both in the truck; and happy about it.

That evening, we stopped for lunch (our sense of time was completely lost) and we drove past this lovely little place. "King Kong" apparently sells hamburgers. Why the emphasis on gorillas, then?

We saw this in Nebraska and felt it was appropriate.

September 30th, 2010:

7:00am: We had just about made it to Cheyenne when it became apparent that we'd driven too long for Kathryn's liking. We had put down diapers for them to relieve themselves on, but they had kept scratching at them, so as luck/Murphy's law would have it, when we took them out, only then did they need them. Poor Kathryn.

I was tired/hungry, so I felt gaggy, so I made Nate a deal. (wasn't much of a deal, but it was what I could do) If he would give Kathryn a bath, then I'd get breakfast. He was all for it and it surprisingly worked out pretty well.

No, a possum didn't sneak in, this is Kathryn post bath. Nate said considering the circumstances, she was pretty okay with the whole situation and seemed to like it after a bit.

Look how pretty and fuzzy she is!

3:00pm: we were on our way again. We'd managed to sleep from about 8:00am-12:00pm, which wasn't enough, but it was. It kind of had to be. We stopped for lunch in Laramie, then continued to head west, west, west. We had a lot of sun to deal with, so Wyoming seemed years long.

It seemed years long to some others I know. She's so dramatic.

We got into Sandy around 10:00pm on Thursday night. We were welcomed by the Higleys and had a lovely dinner. I'd say conversation too, but it'd only be 50% true. I was so tired I could barely respond normally, so I left Nate to socialize with his family and I went to bed.

Friday October 1, 2010:

10:00am: We both slept in the next morning and I was picked up by Ruth to go to lunch with the sibs. We met at Apple Spice Junction (a lunch favorite from our/my UOP/GoGo days) and we had a good time. It was too short, but long enough for me to be reminded that Tom will always be an adventurous eater. :)

After stopping at Alisha's to visit with her and the kids, Nate and I headed back up to his house to get ready to go. We hung out with his family for a bit more and then left around 5:00pm.

After the traffic in Utah County and a dinner stop, we landed into Las Vegas around midnight. After some discussion with our security guard, (read: begging to at least bring our truck in to get our mattress out) we got what we needed for the night and went to bed.

Saturday October 2, 2010:

8:30am: we got up to pick up the truck from our friends, the Harper's (they've helped more than I can describe), and then proceeded to unload. Our goal was to get most everything done by the time we had a few ward members show up to help with the big stuff. Turns out that was a good plan.

By 11:00am, the truck was empty besides our couch, the treadmill, and our tv amoire; we had one guy from the ward show up, Chris. Chris was a champ and just the help we needed. By about 1:00pm, we had the truck dropped off, and our stomachs fed. We looked terrible, but we were done. At least with that part of things.

From then we just had to dig out from all the boxes.

Jumping

2010-09-23T08:16:00.006-04:00

When I look at these two pictures, I notice a few things about myself (and Nathan for that matter).

Do you see it?

When I jump in water I'm not familiar with, I need to be wearing shoes, and I must plug my nose. When Nathan jumps in water he's not familiar with, he throws his arms up, kicks his legs, (to the point that one can't even see them in the picture) and enjoys the newness of the water.

(And not to detract from my point, but this picture is awesome.)

When I ride a roller coaster, I hang on for dear life; not only because those are the official rules, but I also believe it will keep me safe. At least it makes me feel like I'm safe. Nathan, well...he makes it fun. Again, he throws his arms up, makes a joke out of the situation, and loves every minute of it.

That's not to say I don't enjoy every minute of it as well, it's just that my enjoyment is different, and more conditional on making sure maybe if I'm not truly safe, that I at least feel safe.

If you haven't picked up comparison, I'm afraid to jump right now. Jumping includes finishing packing up the house, packing everything we own, including ourselves, into a truck, and driving away into something new and unknown. I remember my brother Tom once saying that he "would prefer something unpleasant and familiar to something unknown". That is so me. Toledo hasn't =unpleasant for me/us; we've grown so much, met lifelong friends, had the opportunity to travel a lot, and somewhere along the way Nathan found time to get a law degree. :) That being said, I feel like we'll be upgrading in a few different ways (if even our living quarters), but because it's unknown, it doesn't always seem as cool as it really is and really will be.

I know I'll be safe. I know we'll have fun. I know it'll be wonderful to be closer to family. I just don't have proof yet. So in the meantime, I will let Nate throw his arms up, kick his legs and pull me into the fun with him.

I'll miss you, Toledo.

Grand Haven=Heaven

2010-08-28T10:22:00.006-04:00

A few weeks ago, I decided I was going a bit crazy. Job hunting, waiting, more job hunting, etc gets old and frustrating and I had apparently reached my threshold. I've also decided needing to "get out" is a fun curse that my travel jobs have bestowed upon me. I think it's normal to visit different places as often as possible. Or I like to make it normal. Anyway, my mind was made up, and my mind quickly thought about how incredibly cold Lake Michigan was when we last visited and how beautiful many people have said it is in the summer. I shared my idea* with Nate and because he's nice, or felt similar, he agreed-so we headed for the lake!

*by the time it's an idea, my mind is very much set on something

See? Look how happy it made him.

We arrived in the afternoon and wandered through an Indie music fest, found someone's camera, handed said camera over to the police, then made our way to the water. This cool sunset was our reward.

We'd left our suits at the hotel because it had been a bit cooler, but by the time we arrived, we regretted our swimsuit-less apparel. We settled for feet bathing and people watching.

Nothing special about this picture, but I think it's a good representation of what look I give Nate if he's said something I deem embarrassing/inappropriate. For the record, I don't think he actually had said anything in those categories, it was just a lucky shot, I guess.

The next day we returned prepared. The weather was beautiful, the water was lovely to swim in (even for me!) and somewhere along the way, I started to feel okay again.

We had to make it a quick trip, but I'm so glad we did! By the time we got home, I was full of tranquility, satisfaction...and sand.

Speaking of beautiful, if anyone is looking for a creep-y hotel...be sure to check out Dad's Inn the next time you are passing through Northwest Michigan; it's sure to delight.

Bye, bye REC

2010-08-07T11:12:00.007-04:00

Way back in the day when we were in the YMCA's good graces, I never would've imagined I would need to be associated with UT's (University of Toledo) REC center in order to work out. The first YMCA was dumpy, not really air conditioned, and full of wannabe meat heads/sports lovers. It would make me crazy to hear (even over my too loud headphones): "DO YOU THINK T.O. IS GOING TO BEAT BLAH BLAH?!?"

I know people care about sports, I just will never care enough to be that loud about it. Anyway, last fall...we got a YMCA upgrade; they built a new facility and it is lovely. Bigger workout rooms, air conditioning, private tvs on all the machines; their upgrades made it so I could ignore Zumba guy, coffee guy, Johnny Tremain guy, and skanky girl (that actually said, and I quote "will this exercise work my boobs??" Sorry, but it happened) more effectively. I was in heaven!

Then we were denied our "scholarship" renewal. Yes, yes, we are poor, so they were helping us out. And then they weren't. I felt more rejected than is probably normal, but working out is one thing that has, at times, kept me sane while we've been in Ohio. Nate remembered that UT has a REC facility that he could work out for free as a student, and I was required to pay a bit; but averaging both of us paying, it came out to be about the same price as the YMCA before. So we suited up, paid for me, and entered into the undergraduate zone. I couldn't shake the thought that I was one of very few real paying customers, so my expectation was higher (and/or dashed more quickly) than theirs. As opposed to the YMCA guys, these weight room guys were legitimate steroid users, they legitimately used nasty boy language, so I legitimately avoided that area. I stuck to the cardio machines where I learned I can workout and still benefit, even if my closest workout companion smells like dinner sweat, even if I have to watch "the Shore" or "The Real World", even if I see an older gentlemen doing questionable hip exercises, and even if a guy comes up to me and tells me "you can do it! (running)" when indeed I already was doing it. (Is this what flirting has come to?)

When I told Nate last night that it was our last night to go to the REC, he cheered. I'm sad I'll have to be more creative about working out for the rest of our Toledo stay, but I'm happy to be free of our time there. Will I miss being stopped in the parking lot and asked to judge who out of two friends is taller (they were adults, if anyone is wondering)? No, indeed I won't.

The Third

2010-07-05T00:06:00.008-04:00

Recently, both Nathan and I read "Ender's Game". In the story, Ender is "The Third" (born) in his family, which normally meant that he wasn't really good for much, yet he ends up proving everyone wrong. This year, because the Fouth of July was on a Sunday, I didn't think the Third would be good for much...yet it ended up proving me wrong...get it??

We were invited to a big party on Saturday at the Reagan's house...we had a great time!

Kristin's very cute bbq cupcakes. My favorite part was that they were actually brownies...I may have eaten at least 1.5 of these...

When someone throws you a fedora, you have to take advantage of that gift.

Nate showing me who's boss.

Katie, Lisa, Karen and me. Some of my very favorite people in the ward, I'm so glad they were all there!

Me with my favorite person.

The Reagan's even passed out glow sticks (glue sticks, Tom?).

Maybe it's because I'm too cheap to really ever buy those on my own, but they made us feel lots more festive. Well, that and the Neil Diamond playing...

Practicing with our fireworks setting.

I love this one cause it's so palm treeish...maybe Jamaica is trying to call us back??

Since I can't take pictures in church, here's Mal and I being festive on the actual Fourth. It was a lot more low key, but you can tell, she's way excited.

It was a neat experience to have the Fourth of July on a Sunday; it allowed me to actually think about why the holiday exists and I am so grateful for where we live and the freedoms that we enjoy. Happy Third/Fourth of July!

They say it's your birthday

2010-06-26T20:05:00.007-04:00

If it was my birthday again, that would mean I'd passed out for six months or just a lot older than Nate...silly. Nate's birthday was last Tuesday! I was able to get off work at 2:30, so we had some additional birthday celebration time. I couldn't help but remember that last year's birthday was overly Liz centered with all that car accident business. I'm happy to report Nate drove me around all of the 22nd, and whether it was just the lack of people finding flies on their leg whilst driving, or just the fact that I wasn't driving, I'm happy to report we are both safe, sound, and a bit older. After I got off work, we had a late lunch at Chili's. We had a gift certificate and the place practically to ourselves; it was very nice.

Festivities at home:

Party goers

More party goers

The guest of honor lighting his cake...that he made. We had run out of eggs, so he ran to the store, then finished the job while I was working on one of his presents in another room.

I did pick up the cake mix and frosting, however...

Taken seconds before the cats were shoved away so we could consume our cake and ice cream.

Birthday Nate! Doesn't his new haircut look cute?

Nate showing off how much he doesn't need the new weights he received.

The after party show...

Jamaican Me Crazy

2010-06-15T21:30:00.010-04:00

If we hadn't gotten married prior to our first Jamaica trip, I would say that Nate married me for Jamaica. I'm kind of kidding. We had a great trip on our honeymoon, and Jamaica has served as a sun drenched carrot for Nate during law school. I am happy to report that we both found said carrot just as lovely as the last time.

See? Look how happy we look!

A few items:

We checked out sunscreen application. Nathan and I will never be called anything other than: ghost legs, pasty, "you look ill"...actually that's my list. We'll never tan and we've stopped trying. We used tons of sunscreen and we got away with only a nasty heat rash (heat rash belonged to me...think of Bermuda and my burn victim face, Ruth).

I learned/remembered that snorkeling will always scare me to some degree. It's not the being in the water, it's the my face being in the water. I get incredibly claustrophobic and took a good 5-10 minutes to calm down. Oh wait! I also learned that people that announce they hail from Ft. Lauderdale....Florida (as if that explains why they have no need for fins or a life vest) really bother me. This couple also kept getting in the way, but it's not a vacation unless I can find someone to get bothered by, right? :) P.S. One of the intelligent questions from Ft. Lauderdale's mouth to another honeymooning couple was "Did you get a lot of good presents??". Ya, skip that boring "how did you meet" story...we want to know what blender you got.

I also learned that I smile when I have fire placed near my face. Even after seeing this guy not shove the fire down several people's throats, when he stopped at me and went for it, I had a silent panic attack that looked a little like the picture above.

We learned that Nate's facial hair grows like a WEED in Jamaica. Okay, it really grows like Spanish Moss that feels very much like a loofah. Nate took it home to try out the natural alternative in the shower, but chickened out seeing as he had no idea what was living in the moss.

As much as falling into water (especially with my nose unplugged) doesn't agree with me, our tubing adventure taught me that: falling into really clear, non-chlorinated water with a life vest and a Jamaican guide to pull me in the right direction is just fine. In fact, I was happy about the whole thing.

Early into our stay we learned that the ownership of this hotel would be switching from Sandals to someone else...never said who. We were sad to hear it; Dunn's River is a great property and I'm so glad we got a chance to stay there before someone else takes over.

We learned that Kathryn and Mal sort of missed us. Or our luggage. If the world was covered in canvas, magazines, food, and blankets, the cats would be more than okay with it.

D.C. is Deelightful

2010-06-02T00:23:00.012-04:00

A recent long weekend gave us the opportunity to visit Washington D.C.! Neither of us had been before, and we wanted to squeeze it in while we had the chance. So squeeze we did.

Wednesday night, after a long day at work, a long (er than we expected) night of packing, we were finally on our way to Pittsburgh (our halfway point). Apparently getting to Pittsburgh takes even longer if you leave much later than you expected to. Apparently McDonald's shakes are gross enough to warrant a visit to the side of the road...for one of us at least.

After a long night of traveling, a short night of sleeping, and a bit more driving, we'd made it! The first night we stayed in and made pizza; our room had a kitchen so we took advantage of it. And...HGTV. :)

Our first day:

We went through the National Archives. This place is so cool. So cool that the line was tremendously long. So much that elementary school children seemed like the enemy. It was very exciting to see the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights (faded as they are), with a surprise of one of the last remaining copies of the Magna Carta. This visit took a long time, but I'm glad we stopped in.

Nate is glad that the Onion is offered free in the D.C. area. Here he is showing his love for his country and his newspaper.

Our next day we ventured out on foot. Our first stop was the Capitol Building. The Capitol is such a dramatic landmark (among many) in the area and it was exciting to walk around and experience a bit closer.

Nate and the Supreme Court building. Yes, he had a few nerd moments, but why not? He's fallen in love with reading these judges' opinions, why not get excited about seeing the building where they hang out?

Nate and I in front of the White House. This is monumental because it's the White House...and someone offered to take a picture of us together!

At the Natural History Museum. Honestly, this visit was a bit of a low point...this picture represents one of a few embarrassing moments. I was getting hungry (therefore mean) and wouldn't pose by this rock. There's a sign that clearly indicates you can touch said rock. Nate, unaware of the sign, went ahead and reprimanded a few annoying boys for touching the rock. For some reason, I was incredibly embarrassed by this and wanted said rock to swallow me. Frankly, Nate didn't care either way, but I made up for it by caring too much. :)

Speaking of caring too much, my policies are strict, but I get results.

This guy on the other hand...was only elected for his commanding presence and voice quality...

Iwo Jima Memorial. James, our expert tour guide (and friend) took us around to some monuments at night. This is one of my favorite pictures; so thanks to Nate and James.

Speaking of friends, we had a chance to spend Sunday with Nate's cousin, Bret, his wife Erin, and the cute Spencer. It was lots of fun to catch up with them and to meet the fair Spencer.

Our last day, we spent the morning at Arlington Cemetery. We arrive at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier(s) just in time for a changing of the guard. I was surprised how seriously the guards take their position, but I thought it was refreshing to see an individual show such respect for something so fully.

Arlington was one of my favorite places we visited. It was overwhelming to be there because it brought many things to life that I've only read about. It was a great place to experience, especially right before Memorial Day.

Looking out from the Lincoln Monument.

Vietnam War Memorial. This was another moment for us that was overwhelming. It's a beautiful memorial, but it was sobering to realize all of the names on the wall belong to someone's family.

Speaking of family...our last (and very late stop) was the Washington D.C. temple. Our camera was almost dead and we were ensuring ourselves a very late night home, but the quick visit was well worth it. It's a beautiful temple and it was yet another reminder of how blessed we are to live where we do.

I know I say this after every trip we take, but we really did love D.C. We loved visiting our friends and family, and we loved being able to learn and visit so much history all in one stop. One stop shopping. I love shopping.

Graduation, gardens, and glass

2010-05-25T20:21:00.005-04:00

For Nathan's graduation, his mom, dad and sister paid us and Toledo a visit:

All done! I told Nate that the picture taking that would happen for graduation should be thought of much like our wedding day: he'd get tired of smiling, start to question the poses, and just want to eat.

He clearly survived.

Nate at his normal desk at the law school. I was acting as a stand in for his would be secretary?

Jackie and I in the Manor House gardens at Wildwood Park.

Me, Jackie, Lisa and Jack near the flood plains behind the Manor House.

Jackie photo bombs with the best of 'em.

A bully and his victim: Toledo Botanical Garden

Fortunately, both geese and tulips were plentiful at the Botanical garden.

Toledo Art Museum:

We had never gone to the museum during the day so it was fun to see outside at the same time.

We were also just in time for a glass blowing demonstration.

This made me hungry for a candy bar.

Nathan, Lisa and Jackie in front of the main art museum in Toledo. Luckily, we got there just in time to see approx 5 minutes worth of Egyptian artifacts before we were told to go home, but we were welcome to come back tomorrow. We settled for this fine photo on the front steps.

Niagara Falls/Palmyra

2010-05-25T18:15:00.008-04:00

First stop: Niagara Falls, Canadian side

Niagara Falls is too fun to keep to ourselves, so we showed Nate's mom, dad and sister around during their visit. Our first afternoon in, we checked into our hotels, then set out for a walk to orient ourselves.

This kitty and I had a lot in common.

This was a momentous occasion...no stranger was tricked into taking this photo.

Rainbow!

We didn't realize the tulips would still be in bloom; lucky for us they were all over the place.

And our camera's batteries lasted into the evening this time! Canada is beautiful in general, but seeing the falls was a wonderful experience. I'm so glad we were able to go again.

Second stop: Palmyra, NY; Hill Cumorah

Nate at the top of the Hill Cumorah. It was much more of a hill than I had imagined...some poor guy was mowing the lawn very much sideways.

Moroni

Father Jack, Mother Lisa, Brother Nathan, Sister Jackie.

3rd stop: Smith Farm/Sacred Grove:

We happened upon a nest of baby foxes. They upstaged the rest of the farm for a bit; it was fun to see how close to the temple we actually were.

Sacred Grove

Grandin print shop; first editions of the Book of Mormon were printed here.

The print shop has a vacant law office; Nate officially has a backup plan!

Last Stop: Kirtland, Ohio:

As Jackie said, "Done and done!"

Nate and I in front of the Kirtland Temple. We were too late for the tour, but I wasn't too sad about it...we had the grounds all to ourselves.

Back side of temple

Well, I guess we weren't completely alone...yes, we managed to find a kitty that loved Nate. Yes, I took tons of pictures of it. Yes, I wanted to take it home. Yes, Kathryn would be overcome with jealousy.

The grounds were beautiful, flowery, and cat filled. We had a great time!

Married to the Law

2010-05-16T11:59:00.002-04:00

Nate graduated from the Toledo College of Law on Sunday, May 9 2010.

To say "I'm really proud of him" seems cliche, and not enough. But I am. I'm proud to be associated with Nathan-always; bragging that he's a law graduate is now just a side perk. :)

Nathan has not only done well in school, but he's remembered that he has a wife that wasn't attending law school. We had plenty of law related conversations, but I never felt like he was trying to seem more important or even more intelligent than he had been before all of this law business began.

I love this picture because he looks smug. I love Nathan because he isn't smug.

Nate continued to keep the right perspective through school; his work was/is very important to him, but he remembered me, his family at home, his friends, and his church calling.

While there are yet more steps to take until Nathan is finished finished, graduation has been a very exciting and emotional step for me to be involved with. I'm so blessed to be associated with someone so ambitious, loyal, loving, considerate, patient, thrifty, brave, clean...so basically I married a really nice scout. But really.

Congratulations Nathan!

Just what do you think you've been doing?

2010-04-24T23:25:00.005-04:00

I'm not sure what we've been doing. Let me see if I can explain.

1-We've been trying to figure out how this tank top managed to get 11+ price tags attached to it. It's a great workout shirt; you'd think with the bright pink would be enough for a shopper to make notice of it an eventually find a tag. Think again, says TJ Maxx.

2-We tried to get a decent Easter picture. Despite the casualness of a General Conference Sunday, the lack of natural light, and the (original) color of my teeth, we ended up getting a few that worked out okay.

3-We've been in places we shouldn't be. With the gradual, slow, inconsistent onset of spring, we've had the window open a bit more in the bedroom, so Mal has punched her frequent sleeper card quite a bit more often lately. On cold mornings, I'm still a wimp and have the heater on, which welcomes another kitty I know.

4-We can't take it anymore. April has been a stressful month, but we are looking forward to Nate's upcoming graduation, a visit from his parents and sister Jackie, and our trip to Jamaica in June!

5-We've been getting locked out of the granary. We=Nate in this case. He and some (dedicated) guys from our ward left at 6:00am to drive to Defiance, Ohio to work at the granary. After driving an hour and a half, this gate showed them some defiance (HA!); they couldn't get a hold of anyone, so they came right back home. I got Nate back sooner, but it was a disappointing waste of time.

6-We can't stop finding dumb signs. I spotted this one last Saturday, so I was extra pleased to find out it had lasted another week. Nate decided I should be involved with this sign. There was a dude walking through a nearby parking lot, but I steeled my courage and ran out of the car. Not 5 seconds after I got out of the car and approached the sign, some prize in a minivan honked at me (I guess). This sign lived up to it's letters.

Newest addition!

2010-03-18T23:51:00.002-04:00

I would like to introduce my newest niece!

Isabella Annette Cook

Born: March 16, 2010

7 pounds, 12 ounces

Congratulations to Ruth and Matt! She looks as pleased to be here as we are to have her. :)

Birthday Musings

2010-03-14T21:51:00.006-04:00

Why so festive?

Kathryn celebrated her 3rd birthday yesterday!

See how happy she looks? We paid tribute to her by holding her a lot and giving her a little milk to drink. Honestly, her treatment wasn't too different from any other Saturday, so I'm not sure that she noticed.

To make sure we noticed, we headed up to Detroit to the Muse concert. Kathryn would've wanted it that way.

Opening number. He actually pulled off wearing pink pants quite well. I already have a pair, so that just leaves Nate?

Nothing beats an 80/90s lasery show...especially when Pink Floyd and U2 have nothing to do with it...

Nate and I saw Muse at Saltair when we were dating (that's pre-Twilight popularity...just to be clear); we've wanted to see them in concert again ever since so we were excited x10.

More lasery goodness

One of the last numbers; the concert seemed way too short, but I've decided that's the mark of a good concert/meeting/weekend,etc.

Happy, but a little hard of hearing. :)

Oh ya. We saw Bill Laimbeer's jersey and a picture of him totally elbowing a guy in the face. Thanks to The Palace employee walking by for pointing it out.

Nate showing off while we waited for the parking lot to clear. I was equally impressed with his strength and how easily we got out of the lot. Thanks to Kathryn for a great birthday!

Now for something completely different:

2010-03-07T17:47:00.005-05:00

Some may recall my experience in Kirtland when my parents came to visit. It was really the first time in my life that I'd be "accused" of being a mother in any way. I'm not really a motherly type (yet), plus I thought I looked slimmish, so I was taken off guard. I looked over my wardrobe, wondered what my figure was telling people, and eventually got over the situation.

Yesterday, I went with my friend Candace to help her find a stroller/car seat combo. I learned yesterday these are called "travel systems". I would assume a travel system is like maybe a car blanket for me to sleep in while Nate drives us somewhere. It's not a bad idea, really.

Anyway, I was trying to be the able bodied helper that I was assumed to be. I didn't exactly succeed in taking the stroller box from off the shelf, but that would've taken a service opportunity away from Jeremy*. Anyway, after Candace made her travel system choice, we headed over to the rockers and did what everyone does in a furniture department: sits around on something as if they were in the market for said item. Candace actually is, so I felt okay about it. My assistance didn't seem weird until right then. A women pointedly said "look at the mommies". Mommies. I was suddenly a partner! Once I realized what that meant, I wanted to yell after her "I'm not financially supporting her! I can't even support my husband!". I didn't, but checked over myself, much like I had done in October. What is my wardrobe telling people? Was I bossing Candace around? Maybe I'll let you judge for yourself. Here's Candace's account.

*Babies R US worker. Names have been changed because I never actually learned what his was.

Moving in sundry

2010-02-27T13:17:00.005-05:00

Sometimes moving in can seem as painful as this:

(by the way, Nate made me feel better about this picture by saying "the fire is giving him life")

Other times, moving in can be as exciting as spotting this:

I hope my phone did this justice...he was walking out of the museum completely covered in straw. I all but ran after him.

Fortunately, it's been a little of both (fire giraffe and straw man)

Ruth said the cats would just think they'd be on a vacation. She's right, except they've found a few new places they love.

I'm happy to announce the box tower can no longer be a favorite as it has been cleaned up.

Once the box tower disappeared, Mal decided there was yet another tower she could reach:

We are almost all the way "moved in". I don't count it as complete until we have pictures on the wall and I don't have to ask "where did we put ____________?" anymore. Both still are problems, so I'll end this here and get back to work!

Valentime's, Chicago and a nerd's dream

2010-02-18T10:20:00.010-05:00

Last weekend, Nathan and I decided to venture to Chicago to celebrate Valentine's day. After a slight delay due to Nate's moot court schedule, we were off! I was anxious about the drive and the trip itself, but it was very relaxing and I'm glad we had the opportunity to go.

Our first stop was the Art Institute of Chicago. Maybe it was all the neatly hung pictures or the perfectly arranged room fixtures, but it was a beautiful, blessed departure from what our apartment looks like right now.

Nate outside the Chicago Stock Exchange trading room. I was happy to experience a nerd moment with Nate...I had been slobbering over the modern art all morning, so it was nice for him to have a turn.

Me and the bean. This was taken after lunch, on our way back to the museum. We found a Noodles location that was almost as exciting as the museum, so we were in good spirits and I was up for posing on a freezing bench.

Nerd destination #2: Medieval Times!

All that culture gave us a healthy appetite, so we were anxious for both the greasy finger food and the floor show.

See?

Because the museum is free this February, we took a second trip the next day. Luckily, we found this gem. It's garish and scary. Goya thought this one up; I was surprised, but maybe I shouldn't have been?

Liz and Mary Cassatt. This has been a favorite of mine for a long while, so it was a party for me to see it in person. I opted for the shadowy eyes look over the rosy cheekedness that the ladies in the painting sported.

Representative. Nate loved the museum, but lacks the museum geek stamina I've developed over the years. He chose to stay on the top level while I checked out the sculpture garden below.

Told you he was tired.

On the roof of the museum. The rock chairs really complimented the freezing temperatures.

Back inside, Nate showed off his talent for mimicry.

And I showed off how small my head is compared to Mars...hopefully it's obvious; my Utah driver's license may say otherwise.

Life imitates art? In the same gallery, look to the right....

I love good timing. :)

We loved Chicago!

Displaced, but happy

2010-02-02T13:44:00.007-05:00

We just moved again. I love that we are back at our old apartment, but I hate that said old apartment is full of things we need to put away. We worked out a pathway last night, so huzzah for progress.

It's good to be back, but we shouldn't have left in the first place. Last September I sat on the porch, crying because I didn't want to leave our apartment. Last Sunday after we finished with the house we'd been in, I drove away without any hesitation or sadness. It wasn't ever fully our place, so there wasn't much to say goodbye to. I will always hate moving; it's mentally and physically exhausting (by the way, thank you to Marc for all the help!). It's also difficult to move when it's not convenient, or really your idea; that being said, I'm thrilled to be back to our apartment. A few reasons:

-Brand new carpet and linoleum. The carpet in the kitchen was beyond gross and while a runner covered up most of it, it was not fun to clean...and probably never stayed very clean.

-Birds!! Mal loves birds. Our first night we stayed back in the apartment, she discovered a chubby, napping bird and went crazy. Last night Mal proved her dedication to the cause when she planted her full body on the glass in an attempt to get the same bird. Luckily the glass stopped her suicide attempt.

Cat Watching Bird

-Shorter walk to any room. I fully realize how lazy that makes me sound, but walking down 20 cold steps to the bathroom to get ready in the morning was sometimes too much to take. And then, if I forgot something...back up the stairs. I blame that layout for making me late (I'm not sure what I'll blame it on this month).

-Kathryn enjoys the (unintentional) saloon door style of our bathroom entrance. I will spare you any stories, but she likes to know where everyone is at all times, clothed or not.

-Security. Our apartment has both an outer, then inner door that are locked at all times. It's a lovely, lovely thing.

Pictures of the new/old apartment once I dig it out!

Birthday Liz

2010-01-17T19:00:00.006-05:00

Birthday Liz is pretty similar to regular Liz, except Birthday Liz is usually in a better mood because she takes the day off work. It's tough getting older, so for as long as I can get away with it, I will take my birthday off from work. (Hear that, future kids?! Mommy won't be doing anything January 14th.) My brother Jim called me to wish me a happy day and asked if I was turning 28. "Sure". Bless his poor memory, 28 sounded nice.

Birthday Liz and a (belated) Christmas cat. Kathryn hates the caplet, but I'm a big fan, so I've decided I'll put it on her whenever I feel festive.

After I made an embarrassing attempt at blowing out my candles.

Nate had the morning off so he made me french toast for breakfast. After, he asked me what I wanted to do. "Open presents", the adult said. The adult didn't take the "you don't have any presents" news very well. To clear his record, Nate is always a star with any holiday, including Sweetest Day, which is kind of a made up, Midwestern holiday. In his words, he didn't "have anything big to get [me]". Ridiculous; I have enough big items to last me a while. I wasn't so upset that I didn't have gifts, I just didn't want to only be involved in the "getting older" activity that day, I wanted a distraction. A trip to the mall fixed that problem. Thanks to Nate for indulging Birthday Liz.

She gave up after a while.

What better way to celebrate my birthday than with a Halloween swirl cake? It appears to be permanently stuck in the castle mold, so it ended up looking extra creepy. On the upside, it has helped me use less frosting whenever I have a piece. Nate asked me if I was okay being filmed as I blew my candles out. I really can't remember a birthday old or young that I've successfully finished off all my candles without the pity-filled help of those around me. I remember for around my 10th birthday, I blew out maybe one. It was quiet for a bit, possibly for those trying to figure out why a young buck couldn't manage a few candles. Well, for those still trying to figure it out-it's just not going to happen. I at least don't have age to blame on the problem. I don't really have asthma to blame either, so....

I'm happy to have survived another year; thanks to all for the birthday wishes and notes, it was fun to hear from you...almost as fun as eating an unfrosted cake out of a pan; and/or being better at eating candles than blowing them out. Until next year!

Christmas activities

2010-01-03T17:51:00.006-05:00

Before we left for Christmas vacation, Nate and Kathryn had to finish up a few details...like finals. It's a stressful time for them, so we are always glad when it's finished. It also means it's time to go home!

Brothers at the brand new bowling alley in Afton. After Grandma's festivities, we went out on the town. "Out on the town" also included: buying socks at King's (I had forgotten any socks but nylons), buying teriyaki nuggets at the grocery store, and getting a nice home cooked meal from the local Burger King. And yes, Tom now knows a six pack is too many.

Vince helping momma Ruth with the dishes. Hotel Ruth was one of my many stops-always a favorite.

My cat stand ins, Amos 'n Andy. They come free of charge with a stay at Chateau Grey. Tom and Stacey let me stay an extra night or two whilst Nate was out of town. Highlights: watching Grey be so darn happy, eating Stacey's homemade desserts, and making fun of some of the worst real estate listings in the valley.

At the Harrison Christmas party-during the nativity production.

All of the kids did a really good job...the video is too large to post, so I'll need to figure out something else...their "lines" were the best part, followed by their creative costumes.

My night with the (almost all) blond kids. Lizzie and I played "guess the Sesame Street character", the twins actually let me hold them, and Ethan, Alisha, Jim and I laughed at how crazy/sexist the claymation "Rudolph" story really is.

The wee Ivie. Jessica's first and the only Higley grandchild in Utah, she's a popular item. It doesn't hurt that she's really cute and smiley.

Christmas morning=Christmas eyes

Liz's version of Christmas face.

Christmas day at mom and dad Harrison's house

Because Nate was gone earlier, he needed to catch up with the kitties as well.

Grey. :)

Liz up at the U near the special steps. Special steps=where Nate and I saw each other for the "first" time and started talking. Well, I started out pretending I didn't recognize him and he started out talking.

Our visits home are always fun and too quick. Thanks to both of our families!

Happy new restaurant

2010-01-01T15:56:00.003-05:00

We are ringing in the new year in Ann Arbor today. Olive Garden kicked it off right by giving Nate a round of food poisoning he labeled "mostly worse than Peru". That's something an American restaurant should be proud of!

More substantive posts to come, but for now we will enjoy resting in a quiet, clean hotel room void of any sheet rock, cement, counter tops, garbage, people, and small bits of glass (for my kitties to possibly step in). Heavenly.

Grandma Wanda

2009-12-16T10:18:00.005-05:00

I'm trying to take it well, but it's not working.

I lost my grandma this past week. She was 87 and lived a beautiful, full life and touched many lives. But right now, all I can think of is how she touched mine. And I want her back. In an attempt to see things in the right perspective, I found and posted some pictures of my grandma that I love; both so I can remember those moments and so you (if you hadn't already) can meet her a little bit.

Grandma and my brother Jim. I can't even imagine how many birthdays she clocked with us, either at her or our house. She came and helped us celebrate as often as she could. As you can see, she was willing to indulge her very young at heart grandchildren by wearing a smiley face party hat. She kept it on too.

Pauline, Larry and Grandma at yet another family party at my parents' house. No occasion was too small, as long as she could hitch a ride (and she always could), she was there. Once she moved down to Glenwood, she wasn't a frequent birthday party guest, but she always timed her birthday cards to show up exactly on my birthday. And the years she didn't do that, she called. Being one of 20 grandchildren, I always felt special, and was impressed at her memory (or willingness to write things down...I could learn from that).

Me and Grandma just outside the temple the day Nate and I got married. I was so very glad she could be there with us. Grandma had written me a letter in March of that year, just kind of checking in on me, but I think she wanted to make sure my dating situation was going well. In the letter, she wrote: "Take advantage of every opportunity you feel good about as you have nothing to lose". It became the theme that year, as that was right around the time when I worked up the courage to email Nate and figured a way to get him to ask me out. I'm so glad she got to meet the result of one of those opportunities that I "felt good about".

I love my grandma. I love the presence that she was/is in my life. She is such an example of so many wonderful qualities and I feel blessed to be her granddaughter. One more thing I love: that I will see her again. :)

Fred Rogers, science and love

2009-12-12T00:21:00.007-05:00

To celebrate our third anniversary, Nathan and I headed to Pittsburgh for the weekend. Here are some of the highlights:

I kind of made Nate go to Kohl's and Burlington Coat Factory before we did any real sightseeing. To my credit though, I found some great deals and a whole patch of discount witch shoes.

This is what we did for 2+ hours on Saturday. There was a Panthers game that day and we didn't make it to the Carnegie Science Center in time to miss all the rabid game goers. To prove how right we are for each other, Nate and I took equal turns yelling at fans walking in front of our car, and cars full of fans cutting us off. It was a nice way to get to know the city.

This was the only part of the fanaticism I found enjoyable.

Once we made it to the Science Center, we had a serious talk with Darwin. He wasn't sure why it took us so long to get there either.

After our talk, I held onto this dirty wing for a photo op. I've made it a habit to carry hand sanitizer in my purse now, so I felt okay about it.

Nate found the smarter toys.

Like this one: here he is mining for treasures. It was basically a glorified claw prize game, except this one was honest about no one actually getting to keep any of the cheap toys inside.

Infrared. Proof my nose is way cold.

Liz at the Mr. Rogers sculpture near Heinz Stadium.

Liz continuing on with her "I'm just a big kid" weekend. Here we are at the Fredosaurus Rex Friday XIII sculpture. A biker stopped and offered to take our picture. AND he told us about the other Mr. Rogers statue...that we'd already been to. It made me feel a bit better that another adult knew about them.

Church shot I got out of the car window.

After growing up in Utah (where construction is king) and now living in Toledo (where construction is a king that everyone ignores), we appreciated this happy medium of construction decoration.

Pittsburgh was cold, childish and a lot of fun. Maybe we'll visit again in the off season.

Thanksgiving Part II

2009-12-10T23:10:00.008-05:00

This is fairly representative of a fair amount of our days in Atlanta. Just like on my side of the family, all the kids love Nathan, but they love to attack him even more.

Some of you may already be aware of Nathan's desire to match/embarrass his brothers. (On their brother mancation he would wait for Ben and Aaron to get dressed, then find his matching shirt...they wouldn't notice until it was too late). Thanksgiving twinners was just a lucky coincidence...or was it???

Who doesn't need a vestido ho ho ho (ho ho ho dress)?! While Nate and I were padding around a Wal*Mart at 5:30am on Black Friday, we found this beautiful dog vestido. We didn't like it enough to buy it (Kathryn doesn't wear just anything), but enough to take a picture.

This belongs in the aquarium post, but I just wanted to remind you that we saw sharks there.

Tiny Aaron and the 30" pizza. That size didn't really register with me as being incredibly huge, but it is. It was a disgusting amount of pizza, but it was tasty and our group easily finished it off.

Ben and Jenn took us to their local mall so we could people watch...it didn't disappoint. Kudos to Nate on this capture.

Nathan and Oscar. Oscar is enormous and incredibly tolerant. After we got home, I expected the same out of our cats (but only got the enormous part). I bet Oscar would wear a vestido ho ho ho.

Pictures after church. Jenn stayed professional, but I couldn't stop laughing. Why? Because I had this image in my head:

I don't know; a lot of kicking occurred after church.

Thank you to our Georgian hosts, we had a great time!

The Georgia Aquarium

2009-12-01T19:13:00.010-05:00

Nathan and I went to Georgia (Atlanta to be exact) for Thanksgiving. Since I have more than a little bit to show and tell, I figured I'd split it up into parts. We'll start with the Aquarium. It's the largest in the world and it was awesome! Here's some of what we saw:

We determined that anyone would want a fish tank like this one.

We also determined that we were glad glass was separating us from these guys...way too big.

Piranhas! I didn't see much teeth on them...I wondered if they'd been deteethed (think declawed...word wise anyway) or if that is just how these kind are. They still looked hungry.

Ceiling fish! We knew these pictures would look fake, but here it is anyway. The ceiling is a tank for these fish to hang out; it was a very cool/creepy effect.

School of fish.

School of larger fish (or sharks...)

Jaws will always scare me. In turn, sharks like this will always scare me.

Liz, David Cross (of Arrested Development fame), and Nathan. Nate's brother Ben deserves the credit of initially approaching him...then Nate went over...then I couldn't help myself. I stayed at a distance and waved. He reached out to shake my hand...who was I to say no? He wanted to meet me. He told us he's from Atlanta and he was in town for Thanksgiving; I say "ya, us too". Yes, Nate and I are actors "in town for Thanksgiving". I wrapped it up by telling him that I loved him; Nate agreed so it seemed to work. So we say bye and start to leave. Nate, not being able to stop himself, went back and asked for a picture. It was a bit awkward, but he was really nice. He complimented Nate's wedding band. (that I bought, David). While the picture was being taken, Nate said: "we washed our hands, I promise" David said: "I didn't". I decided to chime in with another clever bit, saying "that's okay". "That's okay" made my mouth look the way it does in this picture. I'm glad we didn't find a really attractive celebrity to meet...as it is, I think we are pretty equally matched in the photo...right? ps-I didn't realize until after, but I'm fairly sure the girl he was with was Amber Tamblyn (she took the picture)...so she was treated like a commoner. Sorry Amber, the next time Nate is out of town I promise "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" will be watched.

After our brush with the stars, we headed for the jellyfish tanks. We were both ridiculously giddy, so I'm glad Nate had the presence of mind to take pictures because I wasn't really paying attention. They turned out pretty well. It's probably because the jellyfish isn't talking in this picture.

Nate and I in front of the Barrier Reef tank.

Nate missed the "do not pick up sign". Once he was noticed, there was a flurry of "don't pick them up, don't pick them up!" Ha. He DID pick it up.

Whale shark and some fish friends in the big tank.

Continuing in Nate's spirit of rebelliousness, we didn't "keep off the rocks".

We loved the aquarium!

Tis the season

2009-11-08T01:24:00.002-05:00

Nathan and I took the cats into the vet today for their yearly check up and vaccinations. I made the appointment because I care. Do you hear that cats?...because I care. We trick them into their cages because we care. We hide their faces from the dogs (once at the vet) because we care. We pay the vet bill because we care (and because we have to).

...and we apparently feed Kathryn a lot because we care. Kathryn (see my side panel) gained another pound from last year's visit. She is now almost exactly twice as heavy as Mal. The kitties hated their Halloween costumes almost as much as I hate taking off fake eyelashes (it makes me cry, okay), but both are sacrifices we make for the holiday. In light of Kathryn's somewhat recent weight gain, I'm wondering if she'd be willing to make yet another costume sacrifice for yet another holiday:

Halloweekends

2009-11-01T11:21:00.007-05:00

October 24: Law school friend party

Nathan's friend, Nate Capperman invited us to a pre-Halloween party at his house. The party was so fun, someone was throwing up by 10:00pm. Fortunately this picture was taken before that happened.

Can you find us?

Just in case, here we are back at home...relaxing.

October 27: Ward Primary Halloween Party

Nathan and I helped out with one of the booths for the kids. We were in charge of "Pumpkin Bowling", which soon became "Taped up and Cracked Pumpkin Bowling". For obvious reasons*, we switched out our costumes a bit.

*who doesn't want to see Nate in this "tache and hat combo just one more time??

Ya, we definitely wanted to find a costume that didn't seem scary for the kids...maybe next year.

Nate convincing the poor witch that his hand had been cut off.

Liz trying to look as scary as the dead "Things" (Thing 1 and Thing 2). Thing 2's proud mom in the background...she'll want to kill me if she sees this, but she spent Halloween in Mexico and is super cute, so I don't feel that bad.

October 30: Law school's "Fall Ball"

James, Rob and an amused Liz.

Nate and most of his moot court team he's coaching. Cleveland is on the left and Pria to the right.

Our favorite picture of the night.

Nate with our favorite curly mullet of the night.

October 31: Halloween parties

Party 1: Brandon and Denay's house.

Party 2: Our house with the Snyder's over.

They brought Lucille (their cat) and we discovered our cats probably shouldn't be forced into a friendship just because their parents like to hang out. Nate was hissing because Kathryn is too wussy to hiss herself.

Party 3: Family pictures.

I'm happy to report I'm not in the least bit tempted by a goth makeup, clothing or hair style. (obviously Nate as well) Waaay too much work. And we'd probably both be waaay unemployable. Happy Halloween!

They be trippin'

2009-10-23T23:08:00.004-04:00

Another event that has kept our October exciting was a visit from my parents a couple of weeks back. Here are a few pictures from their stay:

My parents at Marblehead. It was really hot; I mean, really guys, coats??

Nate had a moot court v. law review football game the same day. It was pouring and freezing, so this is about all we saw of the game.

My mom and an exhibit at the Toledo art museum.

Mom and I watched the glass blowing display for a bit-very cool!

Kirtland temple-we finally made it! Special thanks goes out to Google Maps. You suck.

Looking out the windows of the Kirtland visitor center.

Outside the Whitney store. Moments later I would be asked by the sister missionary if I felt okay. After an awkward "yes, I'm just cold", we toured another house. Outside of that house, she stopped me and said "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to single you out. It's just that you look pregnant and I wanted to make sure you felt all right". I struggled with liking this woman after her statement. At least ask, right? And no, I'm not. hiss.

Back room of the Whitney store. This was taken a few moments after we were told President Monson had sat in the very room. That same day. We missed him by possibly the amount of time it took us to be lost. It was sad, but at the same time, very cool that our paths were that close to his that day.

Thanks for coming Mom and Dad!

Apple Festing

2009-10-21T21:23:00.006-04:00

The first weekend of October was filled with cold weather, General Conference and the Apple Fest in Holland, Ohio. We've attended the past two years and enjoyed the official kick off to autumn (read: apple fritters) it provides.

In front of MacQueen's store.

I just like the idea of animals wearing necklaces...with pride.

We loved watching these girls dance...with pride. I'm actually not sure how a tween hip hop dancing troupe matches an apple festival, but it was, well, festive?

Also festive: Nathan and the pumpkin assortment.

Doing ponies in front of the ponies.

We didn't, but we liked the sign.

The kitties celebrated the cool weather kick off a bit differently than we did:

It's more love than guilt

2009-09-25T20:28:00.007-04:00

I don't often remember my dreams, but more and more often I've picked up bits and pieces, none of which ever make sense. Last night I had a too vivid dream that I was deeply in love with John Krasinski (Jim from the Office). I love the show and his character, and even his cute relationship with Pam, but come on...am I suddenly that person that believes they could be soul mates with some seedy actor? (I'm sure he's nice, but you know what I mean) We were dating (I assume he was Mormon in the dream?) and I just was loving every minute of it.

Then I woke up. Guilty! I felt so guilty, cause it wasn't just a date, it was the kind of good date I only had when I finally went out with Nathan. (aw)

Now that it's evening, I've sorted out my feelings, but this post will help me feel better about the situation...to clear my dream conscience if you will.

This is Natan putting together our new bed. At this point, we'd already spent a long busy day at IKEA. It should also be noted that my job was to put together a lamp (unsuccessful), so we're preetty equally matched in the construction department.

Nate is busy doing this a lot. Kathryn is such a faker.

Nate was willing to eat not one but two pieces of the "bologna" gum my sis so kindly sent me (I can almost hear her self satisfied cackle now).

I'm glad my real date was with Nathan once upon a time. He is busy a lot now with school/work, etc. but I can't picture John/Jim being willing to:

-put together a bed without a needed drill

-study/go to class/lose sleep to help both of us in the long run

-eat bologna gum just to amuse me

...at least he didn't do any of that stuff in my dream, so there.