Tough Guy

Though Chris always talks about his high school wrestling days, I've never really seen him wrestle. When we run into his old wrestling buddies, I try my hardest to be interested in what they have to say about the "good old days" at Olympus while wrestling (I promise that I really do try, honey). Because of my lack of interest, I usually give a courtesy laugh in the right places, and shake my head at their crazy stories.

Ultimate Fighting (otherwise known as UFC) is similarly boring to me. Call me crazy (and some people do), but I don't enjoy watching guys beat each other until they bleed. All the hype and all the drama is highly over-rated. 

So when Chris decided he wanted to start Jiu-Jitsu (a form of martial arts, which is what UFC is), I threw up a red flag. However, after much explaining, coaxing from others (mostly my cousin's husband Ben, who also does it) and begging, I decided that he should be able to do what he'd like to do. If nothing else, it is a great form of exercise - and though it is a bit more pricey than what we're paying at the gym, he would be motivated to go. Unlike now... that goes for both of us. Why keep paying the money for the gym when we don't go? We were roped into Gold's and we have a contract. Boo.

When he began Jiu-Jitsu training, he was on cloud nine when he got home. He was so happy, so excited to tell me about it. And though he was rather sore, he couldn't wait to go back. That was about a month and a half ago. And though I haven't enjoyed paying for things to get him started, it has surprisingly become important to me because it's important to him.

Then came the tournament.

Sure, it's all fun and games until someone's trying to win something. Those guys are brutal. I've seen it on T.V.... I know, it's not UFC - there is no punching involved. It's all submission... no real rules, no time limits, and in order to win, you have to choke the other guy out. Yes, I said choke. But believe you me, I was not looking forward to seeing my husband being strangled.

While I knew he was strong and smart when it came to wrestling (or so I hear), I had no idea what to think about Jiu-Jitsu.

As I was patiently watching and waiting

and praying that he didn't end up like this guy

(who I felt awful for),

Chris name was called. It was his turn. He was in the Novice division, the one just before the beginner division. Don't let the rank fool you.

Chris won his first match in 55 seconds flat. Not so bad. I was actually surprised about how laid back I was about it all. It wasn't quite as hard to watch as I thought it'd be. (There is a video below if you're interested in watching.)

This is him all smiles after his first match

He won his second match as well... 15 minutes after it started. That one was pretty nerve-racking... as I said before, I didn't like seeing my husband being strangled. And 15 minutes is no short amount of time as you watch your husband get stuck in tough positions over and over.

There was no room for this match on the big open mat that his first match was on, so they moved them into "the cage." He loved it.

He's in control here, but this was a little crazy... they were up against the fence a lot of the match. It wasn't very fun to watch him being squished into the hard metal as the other guy tried to gain control.

Chris in control on this one

By the end of the second match, I knew that he knew what he was doing. I learned that he would be getting either first or second place in his division after the next match. I think because of this, he may have been a little over-confident... and lost the last match in a matter of seconds. Literally.

But, he did come home with a 2nd place medal. 

How's that for a first tournament?

Did I mention he'd only been training for three weeks?

Here are some videos if you're interested. They are both of him winning... except I forgot to get the coolest part, when they raise the winner's hand at the end. 

Sorry honey!

Twilight Review

I first want to say that everyone who goes to this movie thinking critically and analyzing everything is going to hate it. The film was low budget, they only had two hours to tell the story, and it was a movie - how could it be expected to match up with the book?

That being said, I thought it was well done for what they did have. Sure, there were a few downers. For one, the Cullens were all ghostly white, with Jasper looking almost on the verge of Edward Scissor hands. Not all of the special effects were all that "special," and it was a little hard to get used to the camera work. But overall, I thought is was good. It's just a fun movie... if you're looking for anything more than that, you'll be disappointed.

I thought Bella, although she was dramatic in some parts, was well cast. Edward was perfect, and I really enjoyed their chemistry together. I wasn't a fan of the villians, however. 

Laurent was okay, but James and Victoria killed it.

It made $70.6 million dollars this weekend, and they've already announced that the second book, New Moon, will be made into a movie. My only hope is that they will fix the flaws and do well on that one, too.

I Pulled It Off!

I wanted to throw Chris a surprise party for his 25th birthday last year. Because we were in Florida, it didn't quite work out - so I decided to do it this year. And miraculously, it stayed a surprise! A ton of people came, and I think it turned out well. Thanks to everyone was able to be there, and I'm sorry about the UFC fight that I ordered but didn't work!

Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to take many pictures. 

Thanks to Heather and Paige, I have a few.

Brandon, Talisia, Christy, me, Nuria, Cole

Chris, me, Paige, Lorin

Chris's good friend Bryant made a special BYU cake just for Chris.

Singing "Happy Birthday"

Blowing out the candles...

Because Bryant is a huge Utes fan, he decided to 

have a little fun with the cake. Not only was the inside 

red, but it was also seasoned with cayenne pepper....

We played a game where everyone had to write down a memory of 

Chris. I read the memories, and he had to guess who wrote them. 

We got some pretty wild stuff - especially from his family who had 

more than their fair share of memories from his childhood 

that were to funny not to share.

We finished off the night with some karaoke. 

Chris and Lorin got down to serious business....

Thanks again for those who were able to come! We had fun!

Excellent

Not only is she beautiful, but she can SING.

I went to Carrie Underwood's concert on Wednesday night. That girl puts all of the other american idols to shame.

She toured with Little Big Town, who are quickly becoming one 

of my favorites. If you love harmony, you will be amazed. 

Here is one of their new songs, "I'm With The Band."

Like I said. Excellent.

Family Week O' Fun

My older sister Holly moved to Florida about two years ago. 

Her husband Tim is from there - he stole her away from us and we only 

get to see them once a year, if we're lucky. :) (Kidding, Tim.) 

We love Holly and Timand we were sooo happy they found some low rates 

and were able to come out for a week! The entire time they 

were here was jam packed with stuff - including a big sleep over with 

all the siblings! It was so nice to spend time with everyone. I saw my brother 

Taylor more that week than I have in months!

Here are some highlights. (I of course will try to limit the pictures...)

Cessna and Robby playing - Robby is Holly's two and a half year old. 

He's a little smarty, and a little crazy... I'll post some videos later.

Me and Bree - my five-month-old niece 

who I had never met before this trip

They came to visit me at work, this is Robby playing around 

the dominoes chair we have located in our conference room

The grandkids hangin' out together. 

They love when their cousin Robby comes to play!

This was the night of the sleep over.  Everyone was there - even 

Hannah Montana graced us with her presence and her awesome rock skills :)

On Saturday night, it was our turn to do the cousin-dinner 

get-together. Each month we take turns getting together and 

cooking together, and socializing. We had fun - even though 

we had about 15 people crammed into our tiny space!

Taylor and my cousin Angela

The dinner crew... this isn't all of them.

We had chili and cornbread. Mmmmm.....

Playing a game after dinner

On Sunday we had family pictures. It was so nice having everyone together.

These pics are from my camera - I can't wait to see the final products.

My immediate family:

Taylor, Holly, Dad, Mom, Heather, TJ, Me

My sisters. We love spending time together.

Heather, Holly, me

My adorable niece Bree. She is so much fun!

The grandkids.... why is it so hard for kids to 

just look at a camera and smile?

Holly, Tim, Bree and Robby. We miss you!

We had so much fun. We love you and can't wait for you to come 

again - and we will try our best to come see you.  

I think you know we'd rather be in Florida at this time of year!

Tradition

About half way through my mission, my companion Sister Wilson and I were in a district in Selma, California. We had some zone leaders that brought some treats to district meeting one week that were pretty good. They told us the next week was our turn. We took turns for a few weeks, each companionship trying to out-do each other. So we decided to bring donuts - homemade. Still to this day, the elders think they won. But we know the truth. Nothing beats homemade donuts.

We decided that we wanted to make it a tradition. Each year, around this time, we make them. And this year was our fourth year. 

Amanda and her new husband Jeff came over, and we caught up on new things, reminisced about old, and enjoyed our time together.

Amanda, Jeff and I

The newly-weds

My niece Cessna and Jeff, coating the donuts with sugar

There were a lot more than this made, but they were gone that night.

I think everyone liked them. Especially my nephew Lance. :)

Amanda is like another sister. 

We love her so much - and we can't wait until next year! 

Holly, you better be here too!

My sisters Heather and Holly (Holly lives in Florida) with me and Amanda

Cool or Annoying?

While I think the idea for this clock is rather smart, one of my coworkers pointed out that it may put you in a bad mood when you wake up. This alarm clock lets you hit the snooze button once. The second time it rings, it wheels itself off your nightstand and steers itself across the room, forcing you to get up to turn it off. 

Would this really work for anyone? I have a problem in getting up in the morning. Even if I get up, say to go to the bathroom, I do have a tendency to climb back in bed - even if I only have ten minutes until it's time to get up. Of course, I'm not usually able to fall back asleep in ten minutes, leaving me wanting to hit the snooze when that alarm makes its debut - just so I can have extra time in my warm bed... and there have been mornings when I have hit the alarm maybe 4 times. Possibly more. yeah - 40 or so minutes is a lot of time! Do I have a problem? Maybe one of these could come in handy for me... what do you think? I do need to come up with a solution (and I have tried setting goals for myself... it doesn't work out too well) - and I just don't want to admit that the solution is simple... 

stop being lazy!

Isn't He Cute?

He Lost, But...

John McCain Rocks. What an awesome speech.

Love These Days

From time to time, a couple of friends at work bring their babies into the office. It's not often that they are there at the same time, but on the days they are, I love it.

Meet Stella and Pierson.