RIP: Ducks chance at BCS

This is simply a selfish posting in an attempt to try to clear my mind of the awful events that occurred last week during the Oregon / Arizona game. There are so many reasons to be frustrated: the loss of a great dream to see a team actually make it to the national championship game; the realization that the Ducks could very possibly lose the rest of their games this season; annoyance at Dixon for even playing in this game when he knew very well that he shouldn't have; anger at Belotti for giving up (reminiscent of last years beating in the Vegas Bowl) and not providing his team with some motivation and hope after their star quarterback was hurt. The list could go on and on.

It has been a rather depressing week up here in Duck Country. After the loss, it seemed that even the skies couldn't recover as they continually poured down rain for the following three or four days. As we try to recover, we can only hope that the Cougs pull out the victory this weekend and start getting some more respect. I suppose I should just be grateful that I was able to enjoy watching a season that even had a chance to win a national title; but sometimes it hurts a little more when you are so close......

Lucky

Here is a picture of Kristine taken by our budding photographer, James.


This past weekend my beautiful wife celebrated her birthday (I will refrain from mentioning the life milestone that was attained). It got me thinking about how lucky I am to have her in my life.

Kristine and I randomly met our first days at BYU, when she and her roomates ditched their designated Y-group to join group 149, The End. I remember that my attention was immediately drawn to her and her friends. She had (and still does have) this quality of being able to make everyone around her want to get to know her. I think it has something to do with her smile that is both comforting and inviting. You want to make her smile and you want to smile along with her. Then it just intensifies when you hear her laugh. Her laugh has got to be one of the greatest sounds in the entire world. Lately, the deep guttural laugh has occurred while participating in our new family tradition of watching "America's Funniest Home Videos" together. Don't mock, there is nothing better than seeing a mom try to stand at the top of a kiddie slide and slip and land on her back or when they have a montage such as, "How many people can trip in one minute?" James has already discovered the allure of his mother's laugh. He hears her laugh during AFV and then tries to pretend to fall down, just to be able to have the surreal experience of being the cause of his mother's laugh.

It has now been over eleven years since Kristine and I met, but I would have to say that the time that I really fell for her was when we were apart. For six months Kris and I were both serving missions for our church; she in South Africa, while I was in France. I often dig out our old letters from that time in an effort to relive this unusual connection. It was during these months that I realized that she would be the girl that I would compare every other girl to. The summer she returned I convinced Joel that we needed to go to our good "friend" from freshman year's homecoming, I had butterflies in my stomach from Vegas to Fresno. But once I saw her again and sat in awe as she so simply and powerfully spoke about covenants that Sunday, I knew that I wanted to do whatever it would take to make sure that I would be the lucky one that would get to spend every day with her.

We fairly quickly got engaged (a short few weeks after she returned to Provo) and what follows are the best years of my life. Although Kristine claims that we never went on an official date, I remember finding ways to spend as much time together as possible as we juggled work (me in SLC at the Club, her at the bunny hutches of Provo), classes, and homework. We would go to the movies, get the screaming deal of a kids meal at Burgers Supreme, go to cheer on the Cougs at the football games, and just sit around and talk.

We got married in Salt Lake on Groundhog Day almost seven years ago. Our first home (this somehow doesn't seem to be the right word) was in an ugly blue box of a house south of the BYU campus, in a basement apartment underneath some random group of boys. The sinking kitchen with red carpeted walls, lack of control over the thermostat, having to reach outside of the shower to turn it off, and having a direct duct connection with the upstairs bathroom are a few treasured memories of that place; however, it is here that we simply found pleasure in not having to say goodbye to each other every night and it might be the only time in my life that Kristine would cuddle with me during the night :)

We quickly moved to SLC after Kristine's graduation and lived in a teeny apartment on 11th East. I have great memories during this time of experiencing the great restaurants and life of downtown SLC (many thanks to the Bureau for that). We met some dear friends and Kris and I had a while to continue to simply spend time together before moving to Evelyn's duplex on 9th about a year later. It was to this house that James would come home after being born a few weeks early, even if he had to spend much of his first few days on his jaundice-killing light bed. In this home, I became even more amazed with Kristine as she showed unconditional love to our first child, supported me through my master's degree at Westminster, and grew to love sewing and cooking (both of which have benefited me greatly--the latter more than the first).

After spending a few years in that perfectly odd, slightly decaying house, Kristine trusted me enough to support me in my dreams of moving to Oregon and working on my doctorate degree. Here in Oregon, I have relied on her for strength and support as I try to juggle the craziness of working full-time, working on a PhD, and trying to spend quality time with her and our handsome young boys. I continue to learn more about the intelligent and gorgeous woman that is the greatest, kindest mom to our kids; runner of triathlons; entrepreneur; everyone's favorite cook; and the most supportive wife-who knows when to give me advice and when to just quietly listen.

I look forward to seeing what the rest of forever has in store for us. All I need to know is that I will be with her and it is all thanks to that one lucky moment in which she decided that her assigned Y-group was lame and she happened upon a skinny, lanky boy that shared her love for a good fountain drink.

Happy Birthday, Kristine....

How 'bout them Ducks?

With College Game Day in town for the second time this year, we decided to head down to the stadium to enjoy some of the Duck frenzy! Here are some pics....although we have tired eyes, we were having a whole lot of fun, that was even better after the Ducks took down the Sun Devils. Gotta love a little Pac-10 football!



This last picture is about as close as we got to Chris Fowler, Corso and Kirk Herbstreit; we should have waited for him to put on the Duck head.....

Halloween!

James was Larry Boy and Owen was an elephant. It couldn't have been better. Kristine did a great job making the Larry Boy costume and we found Owen's at the Goodwill! Gotta love it. Now I get to enjoy all of Owen's candy :) We had to have a little shout out to the Ducks and Harry Potter with our jack o' lanterns.....

tagged

I got tagged by Mindi, I am not sure exactly what that means, but I figure I am supposed to fill out this silly list :) Thanks, Minda for the chance.....I still think I could run faster than you and you wouldn't be able to tag me, but I will play along with your virtual fantasy....

1. Best thing you cooked this last week.
I haven't cooked since I made "breakfast for dinner"---eggs, mickey mouse pancakes, and bacon; the best thing that I have eaten that was made by my beautiful, excellent cook of a wife was Ina's biscuits and chicken

2. If money, time, and babysitting were no object where would you go?
Paris...with my beautiful, excellent cook of a wife :)

3. When was the last time you cried?
I don't cry....just kidding...probably in church after the primary program; kristine did an amazing job teaching her primary kids those songs and it paid off with a beautiful program, when James got up and said his perfectly memorized part and scripture, I shed a few tears; nothing like the simple faith of a child to increase your testimony of the gospel

4. 5 things you were doing this month 10 years ago.
serving a mission for the LDS church in Paris, France
I would have just gotten there, serving in Rennes in Bretagne
eating escargot for the first time
seeing Mont St. Michel
watching Fred get baptized

5. 5 things on my to do list.
start writing my literature review for my doctoral dissertation proposal
go to bed
plan what I will be teaching next week
read a book, just for fun and not for class
relax

6. 5 favorite snacks.
coca-cola classic
popcorn
costco trail mix
snickers
sour patch kids

7. 5 bad habits.
staying up too late watching tv
biting my fingernails
drinking too much coca-cola
changing the alarm clock in the middle of the night so I don't get up to go running
talking about poo

8. 5 favorite foods
pulled pork
pizza
sweet and sour meatballs
french fries
coca-cola (I know it might not count, but come on....I love it)

9. 5 places I've been
France
Oregon :)
North Carolina
Washington, D.C. (with 25 8th graders....what could be better)
Omaha

10.5 favorite memories
being on mission at the same time as Kristine (bizarre, but that is when I fell madly for her)
marrying the love of my life on an ugly Groundhog Day morning
the birth of my two beautiful boys
hiking in Zion National Park with Kristine on our "honeymoon"
being in the temple with my entire family

There....I hope that you are happy.... I now tag Britt, Greg, and Alisa

New Pictures

Here is a picture of the boys being "chefs" in their pjs and Owen on his birthday. He got everything to do with "choo-choos", including these pjs, pillow, and blanket from his nana.

Worn out!

It is only the end of October and I already have lost the fire and dreams for the school year. I am busier than ever this year and I don't know if my body is going to survive. I am working on getting all of my administrative intership hours, teaching full time, going to school full time, etc. Sometimes I wonder how much a body can take; is it possible that your mind can just reach a point of overload? In fact, right now I am sitting in class typing while Dr. Stevens discusses the incremental change of block regression of educational statistics. Luckily, I did my reading and already understand it, because I don't think that I have any more room upstairs. At least I have adorable kids and a beautiful wife to go home to.....I can't wait.

Fall is in the air

Call me a big nerd, but I have always loved this time of year. Even as a kid, I remember loving that trip to ShopKo or Kmart (the only choices we had in Brigham) to get those school supplies. There is something great about getting a new notebook, that is full of fresh clean pages and picking out just the right pens (the blue papermates for me, please) and maybe worming my way into getting a new backpack. I remember the anticipation of the new year and the goals that I would set for myself that I was going to achieve such great excellence. I was a teacher's dream student (atleast, now that I actually am a teacher, I dream of having these types of students). I didn't need any treats or silly incentives, I wanted to be the very best in the class because of the sheer competitor in me. I wanted to be the smartest and the most creative and at the first of the school year, I was willing to put the time in to accomplish that. However, as the school year would get going and i would get busy with sports, student government, and friends, I would lose track of that goal. Not that I would let everything slide, but I just didn't have to the absolute best anymore, just one of the better ones. Now that I am a teacher, i still get excited about the sales at the local stores. I rush out and buy new folders, paper, colored pencils, and markers for my classroom. I have hopes and dreams about how great I will teach this year and how much my students are going to learn. They are going to be the best students in the entire district. As the air becomes a little cooler and the leaves start to change color, I can only think of the excitement of the new school year and the dreams of students everywhere as they are able to start over once again. Spring is normally when we think of renewal and beginnings, but for educators, there is something inherently beautiful about the fall.

harry potter love

I am not ashamed to declare my love for "the boy who lived" and the entire world that J.K. Rowling has so masterfully created. I was a little apprehensive to read the final book, but devoured it in two days and came away from the experience somewhat emotionally exhausted. I don't believe that I have ever had an experience like this, nor might I have one again. J.K. Rowling somehow created these books that lead me through all sorts of emotions---there were times in reading this book that I was laughing out loud, raising my fists in the air with excitement, reaching for the tissues to muffle my sobs, and throughout it all I was full of love and concern for these characters that have been a part of my life for the last ten years. All I can do is say thank you to Ms. Rowling for creating such a masterpiece that evokes such great emotion and reminds me of the power of great writing.

P.S. For anyone searching for something great to read, the "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" series by Rick Riordian is excellent. I devoured the first three books in a matter of days--a little Greek mythology mixed in with a troubled adolescent....great stuff.

The boys

Owen, after our newspaper war.










James and his sad face, he uses this one a lot to try to get everything that he wants.











James and Owen enjoying the Oregon rain.

Experiment

Our friends have all recently started these blogs and so here I am trying it out. I don't know if I will have much to say, but it will atleast serve as a good posting spot for cute pictures of the kids, so here we go.