Thanksgiving - Blogged by N8

I just wanted to post about the things I am grateful for. I feel that since the commercialization of Christmas has gotten so out of hand, most of us don't stop to really look at the purpose of this holiday.



I am thankful for the freedoms I have. I am thankful that I have the right to question authority and the decisions that are made for my behalf. I am thankful that there are still people in this world with enough honor to lay down their lives to support that freedom. I am thankful for a loving God and a Savior who made it possible to return to their presence. I am thankful for a loving wife and family who have been so much support to me. I am thankful for not one, but two methods that I have been blessed with to support myself and my family especially during these though economic times. I am thankful for beautiful music, good food, the beautiful scenery of my home state, a soft bed, and the smells of this season which all remind me that I have a body that works the way it should. I am grateful for a healthy body and that I have been blessed with the ability to work, play, and rest normally. Above all, I am grateful that God has blessed me with my agency and the ability to make all of my decisions for myself.



I hope that this Thanksgiving finds everyone happy, safe, well-fed, and with people that they love.

Busy October - Blogged by JME

We apologize for being so behind on our blog. It's almost Thanksgiving and we haven't really blogged about a whole lot of things that have happened since August. With finishing school and N8 training for his mini-triathlon, it is amazing we find time to do what we do.

October was a busy month for us. To kick off the fall season, N8 and I went on a beautiful hike with his Aunt A, Uncle M, and their son. Because of our work schedules, we had a late start and when we got to the top where the waterfall was, it was almost dark. On the way down, we got a little lost but finally made it back safe and sound. It was a lot of fun and N8 was able to use his amazing photography skills and took some great pictures (will be posted on our Thanksgiving post.






My sister also got married early in October. We took a road trip down south for the wedding. It was close to where N8's grandpa lives, so we took advantage of the opportunity to see him. We had a really nice time. We played 'Greedy' and grilled up some steaks. While we were outside grilling, a friendly lizard stopped by to watch us. It was a fun trip and, as always, had a great time with Grandpa.





N8 and I had a couple of opportunities to do things to get us in the Halloween Spirit. First, the GIS (Ghost Investigation Society) came to our local library to do a presentation. We were able to see some of the images that they took with infrared video cameras and listen to sound clips taken with EVPs. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, this was very interesting and spooky and fun to do to kick off the Halloween season.

Later in the month, N8's Uncle L and Aunt D took us to dinner and to see the dance performance 'Thriller.' It was such a great show and we would definitely recommend it to anyone. There were zombie people walking around before the performance, during intermission, and after the performance. They were pretty creepy. Aunt D was creeped out more than anyone and that was pretty funny to watch. The show was so entertaining and the talent we saw was incredible. We had a really good time doubling with the two of them and it will be something we will always remember.





We also went to our ward's trunk or treat. We were kind of bummed because we thought it started at 6:30. By the time N8 and I got off work, went home, and got all dressed up, it was 6:45. We thought we were only about 15 minutes late. To our disappointment, the trunk or treat started at 6, so we were almost an hour late and missed all the chili. We, however, did get there in time to pass out candy and got our picture taken.



I read Bram Stoker's Dracula last spring semester for my English class, and so the day before Halloween N8 took me to see the play. It was really well done and was so fun to see after reading the book.

We carved pumpkins for Halloween. I entered mine into a pumpkin carving contest at work and won 2nd place. I got a gift certificate to Applebee's for my prize!!! N8 carved the one that looks like Jack Skelington and I did the Slimer looking one.






We also cooked and pureed pumpkin for homemade pumpkin pie. We heard that blue hubbard makes excellent pumpkin pie, so we will be trying that out this year too.

We also enjoyed a beautiful rainbow the day before Halloween. We sure got a lot of those this year but I think this was the last one of this season.

N8 n' JME wishing everyone Happy Holidays (This includes Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Hannukah, or anything else you might be celebrating during this Holiday Season!)

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'Tis the Season - Blogged By JME

Tis the season to be busy, and for me, at this time of the year, busy is good! It's really helped time fly and helped me be able to deal better with the holiday blues and feeling down about N8 being gone through the holidays. I've had a lot of fun shopping, going to family parties, going to work parties, playing secret santa at work, having lunch with friends, and many other activities that have helped me stay busy and not feel so lonely without my better half.

Here are a couple things I did this year that I'd never done before, but might be some fun, new traditions.



Shan, my new sister-in-law, and I got together and made some really yummy popcorn balls. They were amazing, and best of all, they were super easy. I thought they would be a lot of work but they came right together and the clean up wasn't bad either. Shan and I had a great time. The recipe ended up making 12 balls all together. In the end, Shan and Cub got half and I got half. They ended up being great treats to give the sisters that I visit teach and also for gifts at work.



Here is the recipe if anyone needs a good treat idea:

Our Favorite Popcorn Balls:

Mix Together In Large Bowl:
* 4 quarts of popped popcorn
* 3 Cups miniature marshmallows

Bring To Boil & Simmer For 3 Minutes:
* 1-Cup Butter
* 1-1/3 Cup Sugar
* 1/2-Cup Light Corn Syrup
* 1-teaspoon Vanilla

Blend hot mixture into popcorn and marshmallows; put baggies on hands and use to form balls. Enjoy!!!

Another fun thing that I got to do this year is go to see Zoolights with a group of friends. From left to right there was Em, Linz, Jen, and me. We had another friend with us but the person who took this picture didn't really know how to use a camera and she ended up not being in this group shot.



They had all sorts of lights that were shaped like animals and they had them work so the animals looked like they were moving.








It got pretty cold there at the zoo. Luckily, they had a lot of those warmers all over the place. When our fingers would get numb we would stand right below the warmers and put our hands up next to the heat. I'm suprised none of us had our gloves start on fire. T is the girl standing between me and Em and is the friend that got cut out of the first picture.




We saw what we guessed was a Turkey Volture that looked pretty cold too. At first we couldn't see its head and it looked like a turkey with its head cut off, but then we saw it was snuggled up pretty tight with its head tucked in to stay warm.



I had a blast with that group. Em was quite the entertainment. He could dance so well and danced all the way down to the zoo to hiphop music. We didn't see a lot of animals out because of it being winter time. However, we did get to go into the reptile house and the monkey house. We also saw a snow leopard that came right up to us. Em thought maybe the snow leopard liked him. I told him he probably would like him for lunch. Em didn't appreciate my humor very much and I got the look. We were also able to see the Tigers. There were three baby cubs that were very active and playful. It was so fun to watch and they were so cute. I wanted to hold one, but I'm sure it would have eaten me up. When we left, I told Em to say goodbye to the Tigers. He said, "Adios, Diego," which cracked me up since Diego is the sabertooth tiger on 'Ice Age.' What a cute kid.