A Visit from Grandma Schiess

I love being able to spend time with family, and it is such a treat to have people come into town and visit.  My Grandma Schiess comes down to education week every year, and I was so glad that we were able to make time to see her.

We played phone tag for a while but we finally made plans to go out to dinner together. Sean and I picked up my grandma and her sister and took them to dinner at Mimi's Cafe.

I always enjoy my grandma's company, her quick wit, sense of humor, and sincerity are extremely enjoyable to be around.  She always asks Sean and I very seriously, "Do you still like each other?"  Luckily we do!

So glad we could visit, and hope that we can see you again soon!

Once in a Blue Moon

Cory and I headed up to Sundance to ride the moonlight ski-lift.  It was awesome.  It was actually a blue moon that night, meaning it was the 4th full moon of the summer.  I just learned from google that a blue moon is the second full moon in a calendar month, or the fourth full moon in a season.  It wasn't actually the color blue--just rare.  Check out the video!

Naylor Exodus

Reality just set in a little more.  Joseph and Abbey left Provo to start real life outside of the bubble.  I first met Joseph freshman year in 1100 Merrill Hall.  He was my Elder's Quorum President, I his secret third counselor.  We were home teaching companions, and watched Brad innocently find what lurked in Kelli Jo's top drawer.  He tried to steal Zach from me, and failed, so instead he stole Charlie from Shane.  We went on our missions and sent letters back and forth.  Then for the past three years we have lived together in the same apartment, or within 12 seconds walking distance.  Honestly, we have had more laughs and good times than I could attempt to summarize here.

Joseph has truly become one of my best friends in life.  Rarely do I feel deep connections to people, and more often than not I sever ties pretty quickly with my lack of keeping in touch.  I am positive Joseph will be a different story, though.  He pretty much initiates the keeping in touch, so I don't have to worry much about that.  Best of luck to the Naylors as they start their new adventures in the Washington D.C. area!

Hershey's Cookies'n'Creme & Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch

I have proof that someone reads this blog.  While on our weekend trip to Wyoming, my parents bought two types of cereal that they usually would never buy.  They showed them to me and said, "Don't you like to try new cereals and blog about them?"  Why yes, yes I do.  So here are the two I tried for the first time (spoiler alert: and last time) in Wyoming.  

First, I tried Hershey's Cookies'n'Creme.  I was interested to see what this would actually taste like, and wasn't too surprised to find out that it didn't taste like Cookies'n'Creme.  It mostly just tasted like a blander version of Cookie Crisp.  Overall grade: C

The next morning I moved on to Honey Nut Cheerios: Medley Crunch.  I am already a fan of Honey Nut Cheerios, so I was expecting to like this.  The overall experience is basically like taking a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats and pouring Cheerios on top.  I liked it.  My dad didn't like all the different textures.  Overall grade: B

Family Pictures

Cory and I took a weekend trip up to Wyoming for some needed vacation time, and to take some family pictures!  The pictures turned out great, but we will probably never have proof of that, because the photographer doesn't give out any digital files.  Trust me though, we look good, even though we had to brave the elements and go into some of the tallest grass my mother has ever seen.

Pictures were just one small part of the trip though, and we had tons of fun the rest of the weekend.  Dad, Chris, and I all went golfing on Saturday afternoon and it was a blast.  By the end of the day we were all hitting some pretty good shots, and it was overcast so we weren't dying in the heat.

The course in Powell is actually pretty awesome.  Half of it is their "Desert Course", which is the one we played on.  We were also the only people playing so we didn't have to feel rushed.  I was surprised at how well kept it was; much better than a lot of the Utah courses I have been to.  Good job , Powell.

Also, who could resist Wyoming's best frozen yogurt (and possibly their only frozen yogurt)?  We got to try WYogurt!

The rest of the time, though, was spent at home in my parent's new house.  It was really fun for me to be there and feel like we were making new memories in a new home.  We played games, watched movies, ate a lot of good food, and complained about how long it was taking the guys outside to finish the landscaping--everything you could want during quality family time.  

Dad made scones one night, and Mom made chocolate shakes.  Winning combo!

We also tackled as a family the somewhat daunting task of going through my Grandma Sherry's books.  We spent hours deciding what each person wanted to keep, and what to donate.  She had a ton of books, and a lot of the time had three or four copies of the same book.  

We also tried out my parent's new hot tub, which was awesome.  Ebin and Rhiannon never lost their enthusiasm in showing us the changing color option you could choose for the lights.

Mexican train is definitely our go-to game in the family!

By the end of the weekend, the landscaping was done, and the finished product doesn't look too shabby.  

Well, Hello

Feeling like it was time for a change, so we mixed things up!

Hope you like our face lift!

Dos Dozen Donut Challenge

As the summer keeps moving along, the reality that school is about to start and friends are leaving Provo is slowly starting to creep into my thoughts.  I try to take advantage of every chance I get to do something memorable with my buddies, even when that something is a little ridiculous.  I don't remember what specific day this happened on, but Joseph, Kyle, and I found ourselves at Krispy Kreme because of some promotion they were doing.  If you bought a dozen donuts, the next dozen was only like 75 cents.  I wasn't planning on getting any (just mooching off of Joseph and Kyle's 4 dozen) but in line our conversation turned to us questioning how many hot glazed donuts we could eat in one sitting.  I mentioned that I thought I could easily eat one dozen without a problem.  Joseph upped the number to two dozen, and thus a new eating challenge was born!  

Each of us bought two dozen and prepared mentally for the task at hand.  Joseph appropriately but unknowingly wore his "Every Day is Game Day" shirt, and this challenge was an affirmation of that lifestyle.  At any point in time you have to be ready to perform.  The ironic thing about this, too, is that Joseph has a history of folding under the pressure during eating challenges.  When my roommates and I did the Sensuous Sandwich eating challenge (24 inch sub sandwich in 30 minutes) Joseph gave up after a few bites.  He gets so nervous that he makes himself sick.

Here we are about to start.  Joseph had already started to psyche himself out, and he was the one who set the bar for two dozen.  So we started and after one bite Joseph said, "Uh oh, this is bad".  Literally Kyle and I couldn't even take a bite of our donuts because we were laughing so hard.  I started to cry from laughter.  Joseph had eaten like three by the time I took my first bite.  Then Kyle and I ate a dozen and Joseph had only eaten two and a half more.  

In the end, I ate 12, Kyle ate 13, and Joseph ate 5.5

I definitely underestimated how hard it would be to eat hot donuts.  After about 8, I hit a mental wall.  They started to taste gross, and by the end they just seemed to taste like the oil they were fried in.  The good news was that I had a dozen donuts to take home for Cory and I to eat for breakfast the next morning.  And although I felt sick for the rest of the night, I am glad I now have that funny memory of Joseph and Kyle downing donuts at our local Krispy Kreme.

Pioneer Day 2013

Pioneer Day is something that is huge in Utah, and unrecognized everywhere else.  It is the day that Brigham Young and the first wagon company of Latter-day Saints entered the Salt Lake Valley in 1847.  It is actually a holiday that people get work off for here in Utah, which meant that Cory had the whole day off.  Anna spent the day with us as well, and we started it out by watching the Days of 47 parade on TV.  The parade is in Salt Lake, so the comfort of our own couch was the perfect venue for watching.  After we went to the driving range to hit a few golf balls.  Let's just say that by the end they both had improved to the point that the ball was going into the air.  Baby steps!

Later that day we headed to the Orem Owlz game for a healthy dose of America's pastime.  As a promotion to try to beat some world record, they were handing out sunglasses with stickers on the lenses that looked like owl eyes I guess.  We rocked them for about 5 minutes.

They looked more legit if you tried to make an angry face.

After the game they shot off fireworks.  We didn't want to fight the crowds, so we actually left a little early and staked out a spot in the IHOP parking lot across the highway for some front row seats.  We laid a blanket down and started watching, but about halfway through the sprinklers came on and we panicked a little bit.  Everyone made it out alive though, and we didn't have to fight traffic heading home.  

Here is Anna enjoying a Wendy's frosty.  A big thanks to Brigham Young and the pioneers for getting Cory the day off of work!!!

Empanadas

Cory and I made some empanadas, and they were delicious!  We tried once when we were dating to make some, and they turned out TERRIBLY!!!  It scarred us so badly that it has taken us about two years to try again.  This go around though was a great success.  I ate empanadas on a regular basis in Argentina, and I had been craving some for a while.  These tasted just like I remembered, and it was fun to share with Cory what they are actually supposed to be like.  So hopefully her old impression has been replaced with something more positive.

Page is in the House!

So as I mentioned, my mom came down for a few days and brought me my grandpa's old golf clubs, but that wasn't her purpose in coming down.  My parents have been in their newly built house now for about eight months, and they are putting some finishing touches on their interior decor and furniture.  Hence, Mama Gilmore came down for some shopping!  She got to come to one of our softball games (Cory and I played co-ed softball again, and had some fun games and great plays, but we lost in the tournament).  She and I also went and caught a movie together just like old times.  One of the highlights, though, has to be our dinner at La Jolla Groves.  Anytime I have been to this place, it is amazing.  Their beef medallions in mango and ginger sauce is ridiculously delicious.  We all agreed we need to go back when Dad is here, too.

After our dinner we walked the Riverwoods a bit and came across our favorite French cookie cake treat kiosk, "le petit Macaron".  I have joked about this place to Cory since we were in the early stages of dating.  Of course we had to buy some to try.

So actually, I am not the hugest fan, but they are still fun to pick out and taste test.

The rest of our time was spent visiting and playing games at home.  Cory joined in on one of our long standing family traditions, which is playing Rummy for vast periods of time.  I like when Cory plays, because for some reason I was doing really well.  Keep up the good work Cory, and a big thanks to Mom for coming down and entertaining us for a little while!

Grandpa's Legacy

I think Cory is probably surprised at how passionate I have become about golf in a very short period of time.  I am a little surprised myself, but I have been going more and more this summer with friends.  I knew my mom would be coming down to visit, so I asked her to bring down my Grandpa's old golf clubs that he left me to see if they would be an upgrade from the clubs I was using at the time.  It was a definite upgrade.  It was funny, though, to see his old bag that was pretty much falling apart.  He could have easily gotten a new one, but I'm sure he figured there was no need as long as his old bag got the job done.  I found some old sun screen and a price list for Los Angeles golf courses from 1984.  FYI:  It was like $4 to play 9 holes with a cart back then.  

So I unloaded everything after Cory went to sleep and carefully decided what I wanted to keep from both sets of clubs.  It was fun, and I really wanted to go play, but it was like midnight.  

The next day I headed to Deseret Industries to look for a cheap bag and ended up finding a pretty nice one for $5.  Here is the finished product.  

I am ready to get out there and see if any of my Grandpa's skill is still trapped in those clubs.  We all know I need it.

Chickens and Sequoias

I am mostly writing this post to look back on as proof that our life has plenty in it to spice it up.  We may not be traveling the world, but every once in a while something happens during the day that breaks up the monotony of both of us working all day.  This month, it was chickens.  We walked out one day to see a flock of chickens wandering around our courtyard.  How random is that?  Whose are they?  How did they get here?  Would we get in trouble for eating one?  All of these questions went unanswered over the course of two or three days.  We woke up one morning to the sound of clucking outside of our window.  That is when Cory called animal control, and the chickens haven't been seen since.  I kind of miss them now.

If there is anything weirder than chickens in your courtyard, it is stupid people that park their Toyota Sequoia in the entrance to our parking garage, thus blocking exit to anyone who is trying to go to work.  Seriously though, who does this?  I walked out there and called management, waited for 20 minutes, and then watched as some lady came out apologizing over and over again that her car was too tall to fit into the garage, so she didn't think to back out and park anywhere on the street.  I was standing there in my white shirt and tie, with my white MTC badge on, and I think she thought I was some sort of parking official.  I capitalized and told her she needed to move her car immediately, and that she needed to park on the street in the future unless she had a parking permit for our facility.  

It still baffles me she left the car parked there for 20 minutes.  I can maybe see someone thinking it would be alright for 1-2 minutes.  Anyway, thank-YOU Toyota Sequoia lady for keeping our lives exciting!

A Lot of Hot Air

Fourth of July was fun this year because we got to do things over multiple days.  On Friday we woke up early to see the hot air balloons take off at the Provo High softball fields.  It was pretty cool.  I was surprised how many balloons were actually there, and it was cool to see all the different designs.

Jake was there with us, but he was taking the picture.  Some girl said she took a picture of the five of us, but she must not have pushed the button hard enough, because there wasn't any picture when she gave us the camera back.  At that point it was too awkward to ask her to take another one, so we settled for this.

Some of the balloons were actually different shapes as well, like this Smokey the Bear one.  There was also a pig shaped one with legs and everything.  Anyway, they all took off and everyone was sticking around and so we did as well.

So I guess they were supposed to circle back and play hot air balloon games, like dropping beanbags from their balloons and trying to land it on targets in the field, and jousting smaller balloons out of the air or something.  It sounded like it might be entertaining.  Alas, after an hour or so of waiting, they didn't look like they were anywhere close to being back, so we bailed.  I got my Smokey the Bear free frisbee and we hit the road!  It was fun to see all the balloons take off though.

It was a fun weekend with family.  I had to work, but the gang headed to deer creek reservoir on Saturday for a picnic and to get in the water for a bit.  Later that night, we headed to play some mini-golf, which Cory and I have been doing more and more recently.  

A big thanks to Buzz for coming down to visit, and to Jake for not being a weirdo and making all of us uncomfortable!

Stadium of Fire

To end our 4th of July festivities, Cory and I accompanied our good friends, Elder and Emma Sabey, to the Stadium of Fire show at Lavell Edwards Stadium.  Kelly Clarkson was the headlining act, and Carly Rae Jepson opened up for her.  Grammy award winner Patti Austin was the MC for the night.  It was a pretty cool show that all started with...

Note to self:  I need to have better self awareness while recording videos.  It was loud in the stadium so I am raising my voice, and the sound is going directly into the camera's microphone.  How embarrassing.  Anyway, the show started with some Cirque du Soleil that was pretty impressive.  We enjoyed being with Tyler and Emma too because Tyler was very vocal about how he felt during the show.  He kept making dramatic comments about how great the show was that kept us laughing.  At one point he calmly said, "This transcends humanity..."  I don't know why but I couldn't stop laughing.  He was kind of right though.  Cirque du Soleil transcends humanity.  

Next on the program was Carly Rae Jepson, famous for her song, "Call Me Maybe".  I don't want to discriminate, but she is Canadian...singing at a 4th of July concert...badly.  She started her routine with, "I'm a Canadian girl, but I LOVE THIS COUNTRY!!!"  I think she was expecting people to react or something, but nobody did anything.  No cheers, no clapping, no noise.  It was sort of comical.  Also she struggled to command the crowd.  Carly Rae forgot to bring it to Stadium of Fire.  She must have left it in Canada.  She sang 4 or 5 songs, and everybody only knew one.  Poor girl.  

After that the show started to pick up as we saw a video presentation about the Wounded Warrior project.  It was cool, and Patti Austin brought the house down singing, "Lean on Me".  She achieved Diva status in my heart because of that performance.  It was powerful.  It even got everyone to start swaying their cell phones above their heads.

After Patti, Kelly Clarkson finally came out and I have to admit that it was a pretty sweet performance.  I learned a couple of things: 1) Kelly Clarkson has way more hit songs than I realized.  She sang about 12 songs, and I didn't know she sang 8 of them, but I knew them all.  2)  Mormons have zero shame when it comes to taking their small children to anything and everything they attend.  I was flabbergasted (yes, that word was the only one that could properly convey my feeling) at how many INFANTS I saw at this thing.  If you are under the age of 1 you have no business being at a Kelly Clarkson concert.  3)  There are little girls that weren't even born when some of Kelly's songs came out, and yet they still know every word. 

  

The night ended with some awesome fireworks.  It was a really fun experience that I'm glad we got to do at least once in our time here in Provo.

God Bless America!

Happy Birthday, America!

237 years old and still rockin it!  4th of July, 2013 was awesome for us and full of fun memories.  Buzz came down for the weekend and on the Fourth we woke up bright and early for the parade on University.  Of course we all had to wear patriotic colors, and here is a picture of Cory and me ready to start walking to our parade watching destination.

Just like last year, we staked out a spot at Brett and Kyle's house.  They live on University Avenue, so it is prime parade watching territory.  Kyle and his roommates stayed out on the lawn overnight to claim spots, so we were grateful for such an influential friendship.

Who doesn't love a good tank going down the road?  The parade was fun to watch, especially with so many of our friends there.  Joseph and Abbey were also there watching, and Anna also joined us with her new flame, Jake.  There were plenty of floats, bands, and military vehicles with veterans to see go by, but none as patriotic as this little girl Buzz caught with a picture.

She needs to be on some sort of poster!  While watching the parade, Buzz and Cory were snacking on some patriotic waffles that I didn't feel like eating that day, but now looking at the picture makes me hungry for waffles.

Here is the whole gang!

After the parade, we headed back to our apartment for some lunch and a nap.  I had to work in the afternoon, but Cory and I headed to the Stadium of Fire at night and it was a blast.  Overall, it was a successful Independence Day.  

Did You Hear That?

I know that teasing your wife is a sign of immaturity, and I completely recognize and own that part of my being, but you cannot deny that it is sometimes too fun to pass up.  I tease Cory too much, but she handles it well.  One of my new favorite ways to tease her is at church.  (I know.  Worst time, worst place scenario.  It is a further confirmation of the growth I one day will need to suffer through.)  

Every once in a while during a talk or a lesson I have found it funny to lean over to Cory, nudge her, and say something like, "Are you listening?" or "Did you hear that?" as if to say that she needs to improve in that area or work on what the speaker just said.  It is usually when a speaker mentions something really obscure, or something that Cory clearly does not need to work on.  For example, today in Sacrament Meeting the speaker mentioned that we should always be friendly with people at church because the Spirit can guide us to lift another's burdens.  I immediately nudged Cory.  

For the record, I have never seen Cory be anything but friendly and pleasant to people at church.  

Mormon Miracle Pageant

It's a miracle!!!  Cory and I headed to Manti, Utah on Friday night to witness the Mormon Miracle Pageant in all of its glory.  I have seen the pageant as a small child, and honestly I remembered nothing about it, and Cory had never seen it.  I have to admit that it was pretty cool sitting at the base of the beautiful Manti temple, waiting for the show to start.  We knew we were in for a treat as well when the narrator announced, "Please no flash photography.  Due to the distance between you and the performers, the flash technology on your camera is completely ineffective and will only disturb those seated around you."  For whatever reason, that was really funny to us.  It was kind of a nice way to say, "Hey, stupid, the people are too far away for you to take a picture with the flash on."  

Before the show we ate some burgers across the street, almost bought chocolate dipped strawberries, found some seats, moved up and found some closer seats, talked with a family sitting next to us celebrating their 20th anniversary since being married in the Manti temple, and read the informational brochure given to us about the history of the pageant.  It was awesome.  Once the performance started, I was surprised by two things: 1) How dramatic it was, and 2) how entertained I was.  Cory felt the same way.  Was it a little cheesy at some parts?  Absolutely, but overall it was really good.  We thoroughly enjoyed our trip, and it was another Mormon miracle that we were able to drive back to Provo without falling asleep at the wheel! 

Golf Days of Summer

With Summer officially here, we have been doing a lot more outdoors.  Cory and I have Pass of All Passes, which get us into various places of diversion free of charge.  We have been to Seven Peaks water park a few times already to cool off, and I have also been back on the golf course.  Cascade Golf Center, which is where Joseph and I went a few times last year is actually closing down at the end of July.  It is definitely a beginner's course, but since announcing they are closing down, they have cut the price in half for a round, which justifiably means that I can go twice as much.  It has been fun, even though I need some coaching.  The only problem I have now is figuring out where to go when Cascade closes.  

Honey Kix

I think I already mentioned that these cereal reviews are probably going to die off pretty soon.  There just aren't very many new flavors to try, but I did come across Honey Kix.  I walked into this knowing that this cereal wasn't going to have the sugary explosion of flavor that some of the past cereals have had, and that can be a good thing.  Regular Kix are about as bland as you can get, and Honey Kix is slightly more flavorful.  I liked it.  I am giving it a B+.

Day Off in Salt Lake

We love when we both have the same day off from work!  I have taken on extra hours for the summer at work, so we have even less time together during the week and like to capitalize when we can.  We decided to head north to Salt Lake for a temple excursion.  On the way we stopped at Fuji's Japanese Steakhouse for some Hibachi grilled goodness.  Cory loves these places, and I also have jumped on the bandwagon, plus Fuji's had an awesome lunch deal.  Cory sets super high expectations for the shows, and is usually let down, but we did get the classic flaming onion volcano!

Also, the rice at this Hibachi place was out of this world delicious.  I am not sure what the difference maker was, but we were inhaling it as soon as it hit our plates.  

As you can see on my plate, the rice was long gone before I got to the steak and veggies.  I was one happy camper.

We headed the last few minutes up to Salt Lake and were able to do a session in the temple.  Cory had never been inside, and I only have been once, so it was a great experience for both of us.  To see the workmanship of the pioneer saints inside was amazing as we noticed intricate details and were humbled by their dedication, sacrifice, and lack of power tools.  On our way out we decided we wanted a picture together in front of the temple, so we stood by the reflecting pool and waited...but it was so empty!  No one was around, which was so strange.  Finally some guy walked by and we asked him to assist us.  He hurriedly took the picture and then kept on his way.  This was the result:

Seriously?  We are standing in front of a giant majestic temple of God!!!  Didn't he think we may have wanted that in the picture.  Right before taking it he scooted in really close, and I thought to myself, "Weird...I don't think he can get the temple in the background."  I was right, and this picture just makes us laugh now.  Oh well.

Promotions

This summer started off well for us.  Cory and I both received promotions at our respective jobs.  Cory is going to be the new manager of the South Jordan building at Noah's, and I am a new zone coordinator at the MTC.  It is a fun time and has made us feel good that our employers value us and have noticed what we bring to the table.  We decided that we would go out for a celebratory dinner at Ruby River Steakhouse.  It was delicious.  They give you huge portion sizes there, as seen in the picture below.  

Congratulations to my baby for her new position!  I am so proud of how hard a worker she is for our family.

Donuts and Summer Flowers

Some of the sweetest words that Cory has ever spoken to me are, "Hey, it is National Donut Day.  Krispy Kreme is giving away free donuts."  I love her, and donuts.  Once we were off work, we decided to swing by and grab some donuts.  They were free, and delicious.

On our way home from Krispy Kreme we stopped by Lowe's to look for some flowers we could plant for the summer.  Last year Cory planted Petunias, and this year we went with Hydrangeas.  They are looking good outside our front door!

Happy June!  We are excited to have some Summer adventures!