Give Thanks!!!

We spent Thanksgiving with Cory's side of the family in a nice log cabin in Victor, Idaho.  Buzz worked really hard to put it all together so we could have a great family get-away.  Let's just say that there was a whole lotta this going on...

But seriously, this trip was just what we needed.  I needed to be able to lounge around for a few days.  Of course, Thanksgiving dinner was an all day affair.  People were in and out of the kitchen all day getting ready.  Everyone contributed (some more than others).  Jake made some good funeral potatoes.  Here I am pretending to coach him in the kitchen.

In reality, I didn't have time to be coaching Jake, because I was trying to add any last splashes and pinches of flavor to my homemade applesauce.

Every once in a while we took some breaks for kissing, or pretending to ice skate on the hardwood floor in our socks.  I enjoyed both activities.

Finally dinner was done.  It was super delicious, and it was nice as we went around the table to hear some of the many things that we were grateful for in our lives.

As a tradition in my family, we leave a Christmas ornament on each other's plates to open before we dig in to the turkey dinner.  Cory and I kept the tradition alive.  She got me a Daisy and Donald Duck ornament, since those are our absolute favorite Disney characters.  I got her a Rescuers ornament with Bianca and Bernard hanging onto a big diamond.  We didn't plan on both getting Disney ornaments, but that's life.

Buzz also made the week fun by giving Hanukkah gifts each night we were there.  The first night she came out with LED Headlights for everyone.  It was awesome.  Jake and I immediately put them to use trying to start a fire in the fire pit outside, which took us longer than I would like to admit.  I also used it anytime I went downstairs and the light wasn't on.

On Friday we headed out to Jackson, formerly known as Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  It was just a quick trip through a mountain pass.  They were having a Christmas program in the town square, complete with Salvation Army marching band and hippie MC that kept giving us updates on where Santa was relative to Jackson.  

We also spent some time walking around the shops around town.  Jake and I tried on some hats, as you can see.  Ironically, about 12 seconds after this picture was taken, a store clerk came over and told us no pictures were allowed in the store.  There was a sign right behind me the whole time.  Awkward.

So all in all it was a fantastic Thanksgiving break.  Only two more weeks of school left, and then final exams!  Can we just fast forward to Christmas?

How 'Bout Them Apples?

With the Thanksgiving holiday on the way, and us heading to Idaho to spend it with Cory's family, I decided to contribute something to the dinner.  In my family, home-made applesauce is a staple food during the holidays.  My grandma Sherry and my mom always made it, and it became my favorite food at holiday dinners.  They even started making it for my birthday.  So, with all that nostalgic memory bursting from my heart, I made the decision to follow in the footsteps of  those special women.

When I told Cory what I was thinking of doing, she supported me 100%.  Also, Cory understands that I am challenged in the kitchen.  Those two things led to her suggestion of heading to Bed, Bath, & Beyond to obtain an apple peeler.  The thing looked like a medieval torture device, which intrigued me.  With Cory gone at work, I started to peel.  It actually was very fast and efficient.  I think it literally saved me hours of hard labor.

With all the apples peeled I started to cook them on the stove.  At this point my anxiety levels were through the roof.  In most arenas in life, I am very calm.  In the kitchen, I am not.  I think I may be too detail oriented.  When my mom was giving me the recipe over the phone she kept saying things like, " a splash of..." or "a generous amount of..."  Those terms mean nothing to me.  How much is a splash?  Anyway, at every step I am paranoid that I have ruined the whole thing.  (Keep in mind that I literally ask Cory how long to microwave a cold piece of pizza.  Seriously.  I am incapable of punching in numbers until she tells me how long.)  In the end, though, I think it turned out alright.  Mine was definitely chunkier than my mother's version, though, and it was a little more tart.  I don't think I splashed it enough.

The finished product!

Anna's Swan Song

The Swan song is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement.  That is what Wikipedia says.

Anna isn't about to die, hopefully, but she did give her final performance as a part of BYU's DancEnsemble this semester.  Buzz, Sarah, and Grandma Pladsen all came down for the weekend.  It was great to see them and make some memories.  Here we are on the second and final night of shows.  Sarah had already gone home.

I know the traditional thing to do is have a bouquet of flowers for the performer, but Buzz and Jake had that covered.  Plus, a five pound bag of gummy worms sends the same message.

So as part of her final performance, Anna not only performed in the show, but also choreographed some of the dances.  I can only offer my perspective as the brother-in-law that has only been to three performances, but I'm pretty sure it was a masterpiece.  

After the show we had some quality family time eating some enchiladas.  

The enchiladas almost tasted as good as Cory looks in this picture...yum...

We Dressed Up!

Cory and I attended the Annual Anderson Halloween Dinner this year once again.  It was basically a pot-luck style party where people brought "spooky food".  Here is what Cory made!

Here we have pumpkin vomit (guacamole) and fried bat wings (blue corn tortilla chips).  She carved a little jack-o-lantern face out of an orange bell pepper for the pumpkin.  It was a hit.

She also made some great Halloween cupcakes.  Cory really shines when it comes to parties.  She knows what the people want!  We also dressed up in some awesome costumes.

Kyle was a pretty impressive Fix-It Felix, and I was an old man.

Here is some of the old gang, back together in all our glory.  I made it a point to never smile in any picture.  I thought it added to the costume.  Cory went as my granddaughter.  I don't know why everyone thought that was weird.  Halloween is supposed to be a time where we can be something we aren't.  I guess people just can't get into the Halloween spirit.  

Just Another Night at Home

Every once in a while we get a little bit crazy at home.

Cross-Eyed Sam

Halloween time is here again, and even though we aren't huge Halloween people, we did have some fun taking part in the festivities.  We got another pumpkin to carve from the same place we went last year:  The Pumpkin Patch!

Over the next couple of days we slowly chipped away at our masterpiece.

We decided this year we would go with a more traditional design as well.

Thus was born Cross-Eyed Sam!

He looked pretty great outside our front door.

The Silent Assassin

So we have been going to a few of Jake's basketball games lately, and it has been pretty fun.  Jake is that one guy that Anna is dating.  I don't want to praise him too much, but DUDE CAN PLAY!!!  You can tell that he has skill because he changes into special shoes before the game and changes out of them after.  Only serious ballers do that.  

The best part about Jake, too, is that you almost never hear him make a sound on the court.  He just goes about his business, dismantling the defense, breaking ankles, and using off-ball screens to softly sink the outside J.  He truly is a silent assassin.

We are silent assassins on the sideline, though.  DANG WE LOOK GOOD!

She just really supports him in everything he does.

Roll Tide!

Back L to R:  Elder Knight, Elder Street, Me, Elder Humphrey, Elder Pope Front L to R: Sister Gustafson, Sister Peterson, Sister Butterfield, Sister Madsen

My second district left earlier this week to New Mexico and Alabama!  The turnover is a little bit crazy.  I have now taught in one month the same number of districts that I taught in Spanish after four months.  These posts might become more consistent than my cereal reviews...

Trip to Disneyland

Sean and I took a last minute trip to Disneyland.  Sean had the weekend off work and some classes that were cancelled for Friday, and I was able to finagle my work schedule last minute and on Wednesday night we decided we were going to leave for California Friday afternoon!

Sean's parents were in California for the week for work and a vacation and we didn't want to miss a chance to get in some time with them and at Disneyland.

On the way up Sean commented that this would be my 4th time at Disneyland in the last 6 months.  When you say that it sounds rather excessive!  With our 3 day excursion in may and this last trip, he is right.  But it is also my 4th time to Disneyland in my life.

We took lots of video while we were there and made this little video to remember our trip!

Gilmore Glamour

Here is the family picture we took in August.  I think it turned out pretty well!  Click on it to see a larger version.

Hiccups

Never a dull moment!  Cory got a case of the hiccups and went to great lengths to find a cure.  As I sat doing my homework, all I heard was, "I need a straw! Hurry as fast as you can!"  This was the scene I found upon arrival.  Long story short:  It cured her hiccups.  These are the silly moments I think we should remember.

Acoustic Explosion

Cory and I both had the night off, and it was perfect timing because Brett was perfroming in BYU's Acoustic Explosion.   Listen, I have been a fan of Brett's music since "Two Dreams" hit the airwaves.  The performance was at The Wall, which is a fairly new lounge/cafe on BYU campus.  It was the first time I had ever been, and it was pretty legit.  Brett was one of five performers.  Needless to say, he ROCKED it.

As lead harmonica in his band, I committed to Brett that I would be ready to accompany him in the next performance.  Seriously though, Brett got the loudest ovation at the end of his set.  We should have sent around a pre-order list for a CD and capitalized on that momentum.

Great job, Brett!  Play "Two Dreams" next time!

Restart the Count!

Back L to R:  Elder Stone, Elder Mangrum, Elder Brown, Me, Elder Wangsgard.  Front L to R:  Sister Urness, Sister Johnson, Sister Cardon, Sister Page.

It is time to restart my district count at #1!  My first English district left last night after two weeks together at the new West Campus.  It was really awesome, and they are going to do awesome things in Fort Collins, Colorado.  It was different than I expected (maybe because it was 12 days, not 6 weeks) but the doctrine of the gospel is the same, and their purpose as missionaries is the same!  

Menaces to Society

My bros Brett and Kyle turned 25!  We celebrated with burgers at Red Robin.  Shane, Jenna, Zach, and Joanna were also there, but we forgot to take a picture.  I sure do love these guys, and am proud that they are halfway to 50!  Now, no pressure, but get married you bums, but don't settle, but also don't be too picky, but also have some standards, but don't be self-righteous, but make sure to have a double wedding so I save on air-fare.  

Concealed Handgun Class

My mom planned a girls weekend for Sarah, Anna, and I to come up and spend some time together.  I had really been looking forward to time with them and to time off work.

Anna and I drove up together and stopped at a smelly and fly infested gas station that we both quickly agreed we would not stop at on the way back.  We got in late Friday night, but stayed up chatting and catching up.

The big activity planned was for all of us to take a concealed handgun class together and learn about gun safety and self defense. We were up early on Saturday morning and headed out to a shooting range where they had what were called pistol pits where we were set up to take our gun class.

I wasn't nervous at all until it was time to actually shoot.  The brass shot out of the gun and flew right at my face.  I literally thought the gun had malfunctioned and I had just shot myself in the face.  After a minor freak out I looked around and no one else seemed to be having the same problem.  The whole day I had brass flying at me after every shot and a couple times when it would hit my chest and fall into my shirt and burn me.  It was not pleasurable and I had small burns on my chest later that night.  I was having a hard time enjoying myself, but was a good shot.  Sarah, Anna, and my mom were having a great time and feeling empowered.  I was about ready to give up.  It wasn't until after the 4th piece off brass burned me inside my shirt that the instructor gave me a different gun.  I shot it and...nothing.  He said that the new gun was set up so the brass shot out to the side more dramatically than the one previously.  It pretty much changed the rest of the day for me.

We all had tons of fun and it was fun to all learn together and cheer each other on during drills.  We are pretty much ready to fight anyone who comes at us now, except that Sarah is the only one that actually has her own gun.

I don't see myself ever wanting to buy a gun, it was a little bit scary sometimes to think that I could actually kill someone with what was in my hands.  I don't know if I want that type of power.

Here we are with all our gear, cheesing it for the camera!

Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats--Touch of Fruit

I am actually kind of over these cereal posts, but in the rare occasion someone actually brings up my blog in conversation, they always mention these posts.  I can't tell if they are mocking me or not.  Anyway, Frosted Mini Wheats - Touch of Fruit in the Middle was pretty good, but I think it is only for certain people.  Every time I ate it Cory scrunched up her nose as if it was giving off some foul odor.  I think that was her way of communicating she thought the concept was gross.  I give it a B.

Adios, Muchachos

I knew this day would come.  I have officially taught my last day as a Spanish teacher at the MTC.  I definitely do not appreciate the magnitude of that last statement, yet.  I have been teaching missionaries in Spanish for almost three years, and it has been life-changing.  So many people have had an influence on me while in the Spanish area, from supervisors, to other teachers, and especially the missionaries.  

The good news is that I am staying at the MTC, but will be teaching English districts.  An opportunity came up to follow my Training Coordinator to a new area he will be supervising, assuring me a job until I graduate in April.  It is going to be a big change, for sure, but a good change.  It is kind of fitting, as well, that the last district I taught had missionaries going to the Buenos Aires West mission, which is where I served.  I had never taught missionaries going to my mission up to that point.  So Adios Elderes y Hermanas!  And Hello Elders and Sisters.  Here is a look back on the missionaries that I was fortunate enough to teach.  These are only districts that I was officially assigned to, and there were many more missionaries that I was blessed to work with.

L to R:  Elder North, Elder Porter, Elder Roberts, Elder Hutchinson, Me, Elder Steiner, Elder Collins, Elder Lammi, Elder Michael

My 17th and last Spanish district.

L to R:  Elder Drollinger, Elder Hale, Hna. Allen, Hna. Lee, Hna. Southwick, Hna. Lauaki-Sablan, Me, Elder Page, Elder Andrews

16th district.

L to R:  Elder Platt, Elder Hawks, Elder Meldrum, Hno. Albaugh, Elder Hales, Elder Burnell, Me, Elder Mathis, Elder Bonham, Elder Ricks, Elder White

15th district.

L to R:  Hna. Dunn, Hna. Sorensen, Elder Mowdy, Elder Rios, Elder Jacobsen, Elder Atkin, Elder Callister, Elder Urbina, Me, Elder Roundy, Elder Borsboom, Hna. Wright, Hna. Oldham

14th district.

L to R:  Back - Elder Packer, Elder Cotter, Hna. Brox, Elder Beard, Me, Elder Maddox, Hna. Taylor, Elder Shaw, Front - Elder Jackson, Hna. Beu, Hna. Castleton, Hna. Peterson, Hna. Rane

13th district.

L to R:  Back - Elder Knight, Elder Barker, Elder Nieves, Me, Elder Arnold, Elder Ferney, Elder Nielsen, Front - Hna. Hazelgren, Hna. Krage, Hna. Layton, Hna. Gimenes

12th district.

L to R:  Front-Elder Webb, Elder Tensmeyer, Elder Parry, Elder Christensen, Me, Elder Moore, Hna. Workman, Front-Elder Olsen, Elder Hyde, Hna. Ogletree, Hna. Hamblin

11th district.

L to R:  Elder Swenson, Elder Richards, Elder Smith, Elder Gabbitas, Elder Stott, Me, Elder Paredes, Elder Huber, Elder Call, Elder Yates, Not pictured-Elder Woods

10th district.

L to R:  Elder Sixta, Elder Bradshaw, Hna. Matthew, Hna. Johnson, Elder Pollard, Me, Elder Egbert, Elder Bauman, Hna. Morgan, Elder Rock

9th district.

L to R:  Elder Ready, Elder Anderson, Elder Barrie, Elder Barrett, Me, Elder Dalton, Elder Sullivan, Hna. Bundy, Hna. Magoon, Hna. Williams, Hna. Flake

8th district.

L to R: Back- Elder Burger, Elder Rodgers, Elder Brown, Elder Huff, Elder Hadley, Elder Sines, Front- Elder Dias, Elder Bauer, Elder Billy

7th district.

L to R: Elder Strong, Elder Wynn, Elder Ika (crouching), Elder Holley, Elder Jones, Elder Oveson, Elder Durrant

6th district.

L to R, and Front to Back:  Elder Cowden, Elder Belliston, Elder Berlin, Elder Anderson, Elder Fry, Elder Beard, Elder Warner, Elder Baker, Elder Bowes

5th district...I can't find my picture with them anywhere, so I stole this off of Facebook.  It will have to do.  They are home now.

Back L to R:  Hno. Hollenbaugh, Elder Bliss, Elder Leavitt, Elder Hull, Me, Elder Tanner, Elder Guadagnin, Elder Allen Front L to R:  Elder Petersen, Elder Harward, Elder Larson, Elder Harris

4th district.  Home now.

Back L to R:  Hno. Hollenbaugh, Elder Gravelle, Elder Mikesell, Elder Daniel, Elder Alder, Elder Rapp, Me, Elder Sonderegger  Front L to R:  Hna. Jensen, Hna. Pixton, Hna. Bingham, Hna. Vaughan

3rd district.  All home.

L to R: Elder Saifoloi, Elder Hall, Elder Miller, Elder Hunter, Elder Rawlins, Me, Elder Archibald, Elder Day, Elder Allen

2nd district.  All home.

L to R: Elder Lundskog, Elder Kitchen, Elder Scoma, Elder Rasmussen, Me, Elder Forkey, Elder Stewart, Hna. Evans, Hna.  Perkins, Hna. Ollerton

My very 1st district.  They are all home now.

I am ready to make some new memories with missionaries speaking the language of the Restoration!