perseverence and congrats

Every once in a while life test us all in such a way that we are forced to discover who we really are, what we are capable of and, in the rare occasion, what will break us. Sometimes we find we are capable of far more than we had ever imagined. Over he past semester's classes Shelli has battled through work, school, migraines and whatever else could be thrown at her to endure a tough semester of classes. It has been an arduous road, but the classes are over, the semster is done and Physiology is over! Passed and complete! So congrats to my wonderful and resilient wife, I am very proud of you honey! Now its time for some study vacation and some fun holidays. Its good to see Shelli around a little less stressed, and far more relaxed.

escapes

Sometimes a small side of me does wish I was stranded on a desert island. The escape just seems so desirable at times. This past weekend Shelli and I enjoyed a beautiful weekend away from it all in Park City. My work Christmas Party was at the Canyons resort this year and they had extremely discounted room rates, so we stayed the night. We spent he day finishing up (or as close to it as we could get) our Christmas shopping (I hate being part of the commercialism this time of year brings, but alas, I am a contributor) then headed to Park City where we enjoyed a fun night of interesting dances, including the YMCA as performed by a good chunk of the board members, the worm, and a few other notable little numbers. We also enjoyed a little guitar hero and wii sports before the night was finished.

Afterwards we enjoyed a great room at the Sundial lodge. It was a cool little studio style apartment with a fireplace and all. We relaxed to wine and candlelight and awoke the next day to the disturbing thought of having to return to the craziness of Salt Lake. After a stop off at the outlet malls we did just that.

Upon our return however we did get a long nap and then it was off to the 1st Annual Capital Youth Ugly Sweater Party! We dished out the awards for the "Most Hideous", "Most Disgustingly Captivating" and "Grandma's Special". It was a great time! The Youth at Capital continues to flourish and it is exciting to see God work through all their lives. It is just amazing!

Now its on to Christmas, just a few more gifts to finish up. Shelli is off from classes for the holidays so its nice to get a little bit larger dosage of her around the house. Oh and on a side-note the 2000 piece puzzle did come to completion (started just before Thanksgiving), I am quite proud and relieved to state that. For now, have a wonderful Christmas, and enjoy all God has given us all!

no snow tahoe

I am not really sure why we thought it made sense to flee the blizzards of northern Utah in search of pristine boarding conditions in Lake Tahoe, but we did. So, a week ago me and the guys packed up and drove the however-many-some-odd miles too Lake Tahoe/Reno for our annual trip. What resulted after the drive was 10 inches of snow in Salt Lake and 0 inches of snow in Lake Tahoe. Doesn't add up, does it?






Despite the lack of natural snow we were able to locate limited amounts of the man-made powder at Heavenly Resort in South Lake Tahoe, one of about 4 resorts open at the time, and a grand 2 runs open. Wow. Actually despite conditions we had a blast, we boarded for a day and when all was said and done, I don't know if we would have survived another. We left the gondola bruised, semi-conscious, and very tired. We spent the night learning the nuances of guitar hero, taking in a comedy show, and resting our boo-boos.












Morning brought lunch at McP's (yes, yes I said lunch, darn-skippy!) and one of the top-ranked burgers I have had. Delicious. We toured the remainder of South Lake Tahoe and hit the road. Tahoe is surrounded in the beauty of God's creation. We drove around the lake and enjoyed breathtaking views from start to finish. God's workmanship is absolutely incredible. He certainly knew what he was doing, because there is now way I could have ever dreamt or imagined that kind of scenery.








Another night in Reno, which consisted of hours of blackjack, less hours of winning, and a ton of fun. Next day was home and here we are, back to work. Wow, this story got depressing quick, didn't it?

On the other hand Shelli had a great weekend with her parents, though the snow did put some damper on a few plans. It was a refreshing and rejuvenating weekend and she got to spend some much needed time with her mom and dad. And by the way, thank you to Pam and Gary for taking care of my wife in my absence, you both treat us too well. We love you, thank you so much!

Well, work is back to the routine and next week is finals for my beautiful wifey. Pray things all go well, she has been busting her butt all semester and she deserves some reward. This weekend we have some youth get-to-gethers and next weekend is officially the end of the semester and my work Christmas Party in Park City.

gus.

Thanksgiving was all it cracked up to be, although we may have left my family with a bit of a bad addiction. We toted the Nintendo Wii with us to Moab for the holiday and the whole fam had a hay-day on it. The kids absolutely loved it, and lets say the adults weren't exactly disappointed either. All in all several rounds of bowling and baseball later and everybody was trying to discover how to get a hold of one. I am starting to believe my true calling is as a door-to-door Wii salesman. I could make a killing!

All-in-all Thanksgiving was over 6 pumpkin pies, 1 deep-fired turkey, 1 honey-glazed ham, 3 poker tournaments, 1 completed hideous brown puzzle, endless wii hours logged, and one near miss of a flying deer until completion. Now thats good times.

Between the return from Thanksgiving and the departure for a weekend in Tahoe, we managed to fit in Gus. Gus, if you haven't already discovered or heard, is our first Christmas Tree together. We found him hiding and lonely in the back corner of the lot and fell in love. He has been a beautiful and pleasant smelling addition to our humble little abode. He's not teaming with ornaments by any means, but we're working on it.

I love the air around Christmas time. Its a fun-loving, giving and warm time of year, especially considering how cold it can be outside. The hot chocolate overflows and the smells delight. Mmmm.... mmmmmm.... I do enjoy it. Christmas music, along with pine tree and cinnamon aromas have begun to fill our apartment, and the seasonal traditions of the hilarious National Lampoons Christmas Vacation and Home Alone are starting to settle in, Christmas Story is soon to follow, I am sure. Its nice just to curl up at home with Shelli and enjoy a warm blanket and a movie at the end of a long winter workday.