The Bearded Beanie

A few months ago, I made a discovery on Twitter that would go on to change my life forever... The Bearded Beanie! The minute I laid eyes on it, I wanted one for myself. I asked several friends with mad crochet skills if they could pull it off before Danielle Moody made it happen. And let me tell you that it's as comfy as it is beautiful! And for those of you who think it's not beautiful, it's really REALLY comfy! Sure, you might look a little creepy, and I now strongly resemble my Uncle Howard, but it's legit! I've taken it out snowboarding and it was incredible! What a creation! Bearded Beanie, you complete me.

The original.

Tyson, for hire.

Book Club, Christmas Party

Also in December, for our Book Club activity, we threw a Christmas party. It actually turned our really well! We invited the entire Elders Quorum and their families, asking people to bring either a soup or dessert. The turnout was fantastic! In fact, I think we had more people at the Christmas party alone than we've had at all of our other activities combined! We definitely had over 70 attend. It was awesome. I guess that just goes to show that the secret to a good EQ activity is soup, rolls, Christmas time, and the Book Club! And a special shout out to Jason and his Oreo balls, Amber's brownies, and the Housholders and their root beer float cake! It was to DIE for!

The Marble Sealing Miracle

This was probably one of the coolest experiences of my life. We have a family in the ward that I have been working a lot with through service projects, visits, etc. that is really cool. They were foster parents to two sets of siblings and later went on to adopt all four children. Early in December, they were able to go to the temple to be sealed as an eternal family and I was lucky enough to be invited.

A couple of days before the sealing, I talked to them and they reminded me of the time and place and everything was ready to go. The day of, I got ready, took Jeremy up to Grandma's house, and drove down to the Bountiful temple for the sealing. The sealing was to take place at 1:00, and I arrived, as told, promptly at 12:30. The temple parking lot was packed that day, being a Saturday, and I was forced to park in one of the very furthest stalls from the doors. I got into the waiting room and found it completely empty! I thought for sure that there would be someone there that I recognized, so I asked one of the temple workers if they had already taken the guests inside. That's when it started to go downhill... They had no record of the Marbles being sealed that day, at that time, in that temple. After consulting with a few other temple workers, I was told to go down to the desk and ask them if it was perhaps taking place at another temple. I was so sure that it was Bountiful...

Knowing the Bishop was going to be there, I sent him a text asking where it was taking place while the woman at the desk looked into any other possible locations. Right at the same time my pocket vibrated with the Bishop's response, the woman said, "Um, it's in the Salt Lake temple. It doesn't start until 1:00 so you might make it, if you hurry..." It was 12:40. So I literally RAN down the length of the parking lot, jumped in the truck, and pulled out of the parking lot. It was then that I had this conflict in my mind: "Should I go? I won't make it. I tried, right? That's all that counts." vs. "You know where you're supposed to be today. You'll make it." So I took a right, and sped down Bountiful Boulevard.

I figured that this would be the best route, as there are only a couple of stop signs and no lights until getting on the freeway. I confess that I didn't come anywhere near the speed limit, but thankfully there were very few cars. As I came down the hill towards the light to get on the freeway, the miracles started happening. As I approached the red light, it turned green and I went straight through to Beck Street. Looking down the road, the light was red again... and immediately turned green just as I was about to apply the brakes to slow down. The same for the next light as well! So I'm now up by the capitol, in shock at the miracle of the green lights, when I see my next dilemma: where am I going to park? Being a Saturday, Temple Square was PACKED with people...

I hit yet another green light, and head down the road, passing car after car after car, all parking spots full. I was just giving up hope of making it, as it was now 12:55, and I was on the east side of the Conference Center about to reach North Temple, when there it was! An open parking spot was waiting for me, the second from the last, right next to North Temple, big enough for me to pull right in! I jumped out of the car, still in SHOCK, and hurried across the street to the temple. It's now around 12:59 when I reach an elderly man directing wedding guests. I told him where I was heading and he directed me towards the waiting room.

As I reached the room where guests remove their shoes, a woman was further directing guests and asked what sealing I was going to. When I told her the name "Marble" she told me to just leave my shoes in the hall, that she'd put them away for me, and to RUN! I didn't really feel comfortable running, so I walked quickly down the hall and into the waiting room, where the Bishop and his wife were sitting, looking at me with a mixture of shock, awe, and admiration. I had made it! I was several minutes late, but I'd made it none-the-less.

The sealing was so wonderful and it was such an honor to be there witnessing this family become united for eternity. After the sealing was complete, I went up to greet the family and told them briefly of my adventure. That's when the cherry was placed on top: I was late. I should have missed the sealing, even with all of my green lights and epic parking spot. The reason I'd made it? The family told me that the man performing the sealing had gotten a bloody nose at the last minute, pushing everything back 15 minutes.

I'm so glad I listened to my heart and was where I was supposed to be that day. Nothing short of miraculous events brought me to that sealing in time. Just goes to show that when we do our part, and everything in our power, the Lord makes up the difference and makes the impossible possible.

Christmas Tree Hunting

Being December (at the time), we went out Christmas tree hunting. We heard there were some pretty cool things to see at the nursery across the freeway so that's where we started. While we didn't find a tree there, we did get to see some reindeer, take a hay ride, and see Santa Claus. Not sure that Jeremy liked the Santa part, but he loved the rest of it!



It's Dasher! ... Or it that Comet?



The approach...

And the fail.

Hay ride!

So after we were done at the nursery, we went over to the Home Depot. Not only a fabulous place to buy tools and "get your manliness on", but also a great place to buy Christmas trees! Amber found one she liked, we loaded it into the truck, and brought it home. We had a great time decorating it, especially Jeremy. Operation "Find a Tree": Success.

Ugly Sweater Party

Our friends the Housholders invited us over for an ugly sweater party the first weekend of December. And what is synonymous with "ugly sweaters"? D.I. of course! So we went out searching the D.I. for ugly sweaters. Luckily for me, Jeff already had a gem that he was willing to let me borrow, so I wore that. Amber got this sexy candy-striped creation and Jeremy got stuck with a homemade knit green one. As you can see, he loved it.



Tyle Housholder and his 'stache.
Priceless.

The party was a lot of fun and the food was great. Jeremy made sure he tried to stick his finger in every cupcake on the table... so I ended up eating 5 or 6 of them. We had a really great time. One interesting coincidence of the evening: Jeff's ex-fiance was at the party as well. I did what any supportive friend would do, I sent him a text to let him know about it. Haha. He handled it with class. His response: "Tell her I fell off a cliff and died on impact." ('Happy Gilmore' reference for those who don't know.) I sent back, "Okay, I'll do it!" So he promised me lunch if I pulled it off. I pulled out my iPhone, opened the Voice Memo app, and waited for the opportune moment. Ladies and gentlemen, for your listening pleasure, I present to you one of my greatest coups ever:

So yeah, needless to say, it was AWESOME. It was one of those times in my life where I felt like I probably should feel guilty, but I really didn't. I did however feel one bit of sadness for my actions: What if this is it for me? What if I'm 26 and have already hit my Peak of Prankness?! Am I really doomed to pass the rest of my life and never eclipse that moment that is now recorded for countless future generations? I guess we'll just have to find out. Pretty sure I've got a few tricks up my sleeve still...

Anyway, great party, great prank, and great way to kick off the Christmas season. Cheers!

Trailer #2: First Weekend

We had a really good weekend working on the new trailer. Dad brought the frame down with him and we started working from the frame up. Pretty amazing what a little experience can do... We got further in two days than we did in two weekends on the first one! Everything is coming along great! We got the sides up, insulated, cabinets framed, and tongue-and-groove put up as well as most of the wiring. It's going to be so sick when it's finished. Here's our progress so far:

Beat BYU

Also on Thanksgiving weekend was the annual Holy War between Utah and BYU. Tim hooked me up with this gem of a shirt, the best shirt EVER I'd dare say! It wasn't the prettiest game ever, but in the end, the good guys won! One thing I love about the Rivalry Game is that it's always close and usually comes down to a final drive or play. I was extra stoked because had the U lost, it would kind of defeat the purpose of having the date printed on the shirt as well... So now the shirt is legit forever and I can gloat for the rest of the year. Amber, while somewhat unstoked in the picture, took it well. Living in a "house divided" could potentially cause problems to other couples. We just say it keeps things spicy. ;)

Thanksgiving 2010

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We were extra blessed to be able to spend the holiday with both of our families as well, and that in itself is a great blessing in that both of our parents get along so well. Growing up, we had a tradition of playing football in the snow on Thanksgiving day. That's been replaced by a new tradition: building teardrop trailers! Dad brought down the new frame and we made an incredible amount of progress on it in just a few days. I'll save that for another post, though.

Mom, Aerielle and Rob, Tim and Tay, Mom and Dad, Amber, Jeremy, and I all got together for the epic feast. The lady folk put took there talents to the kitchen and did not disappoint. Turkey, ham, beans, jell-o, fruit, potatoes, pies... I don't think anyone could have asked for a better meal! Everything was amazing. The best part of all, though, was being together as family and friends. We had a wonderful year this year. Some difficult times, but overall, the best year together yet. Jeremy has brought us so much joy and happiness and continues to make every day a wonderful adventure. As we went around the table sharing our thoughts and feelings of what we were thankful for, mine we turned to family and my church calling.

As I've already mentioned, my family has been my greatest source of joy in my life. I've been so incredibly humbled by Amber's love for me. It's the little things that she does that really show it the most. I know I'm pretty weird sometimes, but she never seems to tire of doing things that I like to do or supporting my craziness. She's the best I could ever hope for and never ceases to amaze me with her strength and dedication. Jeremy is an absolute inspiration. I can't believe how smart he is! He reasons and converses well beyond his age. I can't believe how lucky we are to be his parents. He makes us so happy. We've had amazing parents growing up and they do a wonderful job of being fantastic grandparents as well.

As for my church calling, it's now been two years that I've been serving as Elders Quorum President. I can't believe how much I've grown personally and spiritually in these two years. I can honestly say that I've performed every possible Priesthood ordinance possible for me to perform in these two years. My testimony in the Priesthood has grown so much. I have no doubt that it truly is the very power of God. I've found myself in some pretty interesting situations and some very heavy discussions. I've received a lot of phone calls the past two years. There's been more than a few times that I didn't want to answer or go, thinking I had more important things to do. Thankfully, I've never didn't answer the call. And Amber has been so supportive. I couldn't have made it this far without her.

We have so much to be thankful for. I look forward to every day and couldn't ask for more. Thanks to all of my friends and family who make this such an epic ride and make it great to be me.

Jeremy made a turkey out of an apple. He's showing his apple turkey the fresh snow!

The epic spread!

Mom and Aerielle showing off the feast.

The System

Jeremy has now established what I like to call, "The System." Every night we put him in his car bed, say prayers, and give him his blanket and sippy cup. On the good nights, he'll let us walk out and fall asleep by himself without a peep. Usually, I'll end up laying next to him until he's asleep or until I can slip out with the excuse that "Daddy needs to go potty." Some nights, however, we witness The System. It involves him being in the car bed, finishing his sippy cup, and instead yelling at us until we come and get it, because we would try to ignore him so he'd go to sleep, he just opens up his door, calls out: "More please!", tosses out his sippy cup, and goes back to bed to wait for us to bring him a freshy, cold and topped off. It's not a bad system. He goes to sleep on his own and we get back to whatever else we're doing. Kind of a win-win-mutual-benefit-we-all-get-what-we-want thing. The System.

The System, in progress.



Garage Construction: Storage Shelf & Snowboard Rack

My latest update/addition to the Man Cave that is my garage was a storage shelf and snowboard rack. The back of my garage has been quite cluttered with all of our camping gear and miscellaneous nick-knacks so I decided to build a shelf on the back wall to clean up the clutter. Tim came over and we busted out the tools and went to work. It turned out quite ill if I do say so myself. And saved a ton of space down below! I had some leftover wood from the shelf and decided it was time to attempt an idea I've had in the back of my mind for quite some time: a snowboard rack. Jeremy helped me with this one and it turned out quite sick! Perfectly spaced for all my boards, both with and without bindings. Another job well done! Check the pics:



Now even more room for more tools! Win win!