Baby Boy-zelle

My mom called my Grandma Watson to tell her we were having a baby boy. Mom thought it would be funny to tell her we were having a baby boy-zelle. Grandma was horrified that we were naming our child "zelle." Mom repeated herself with more emphasis this time, "No, mom, they're having a BABY BOY-zelle." Anyway, Grandma Watson is still horrified about "Zelle" and we've officially dubbed our son "Baby Boy-zelle" in honor of my mother's failed joke.

It's a...

BOY!
According to the ultrasound technician "that little part right there is his little boy part." Jon and I are thrilled to have a little boy to begin our collection. Jon's already planning all the soccer outings and he and my sister, Jessica, are in a full fledged soccer v. volleyball debate.

The u/s lady told us our baby weighs 14 ounces right now and he's developing perfectly normally. All the major parts are there. We got to look at his brain and organs as well as his bones. He had his leg fully extended up past his head in a broadway worthy high kick during the u/s. Now that the hullaballoo of Christmas is over, we can actually scan our u/s pics and hopefully post them sometime soon! Stay tuned...

Christmas Decorations

While we are headed to Carston for Christmas, we decided to enjoy the season and decorate our apartment this year. Kudos to Steph for doing some great work.

Steph made this great board at a Relief Society activity. I added the nails.

This is our Nativity scene. Every year Steph gets some additional pieces from her Grandma Watson.

This was all Steph's genius.

And, the all important tree.

Baby Boizelle

So a quick update on Baby Boizelle. It seems to be growing well (as evidenced by Steph's increasing roundness). It also seems to be an active little bgirl. Last night the baby was rolling around a ton. I was even able to feel it! It also seems to follow in paternal footsteps and has a good kick. I'll have to get it a soccer ball for its first birthday to ensure it has good athletic taste.

The bgirl status will be dropped on Tuesday when we go in for the gender ultrasound. At least, we hope for a good enough picture. I might let modesty slide just this once. Anyway, we'll be sure to post and let anyone who reads know.

Por Fin!

For those of you who don't speak Spanish, por fin means at last. Steph finally has her permanent residency! After 19 months, it is finished. At least for two more years.....

On Thursday, we went up to Spokane for Steph's interview. It went well and turned out to be no big deal. Steph had been having nightmares of a dark room with the single light bulb and an interrogator. Instead, we had a really nice guy ask us some standard questions. I guess it was a pretty convincing case that we really were a married couple. The ultrasound picture definitely helped.

Now that Steph has residency, we are totally clear to head to Canada for Christmas! That is, providing the weather cooperates. She is really excited to head home. I am also looking forward to Christmas with the Quintons.

20 weeks!!

Today is my 20 week mark. Looking back, 20 weeks didn't take very long. The time seemed to fly past. We had our ups and downs, of course. Being sick--definitely a down. Possible miscarriage--downer. Feeling baby kick for the first time--wonderful. Having Jon feel baby kick for the first time--definitely a highlight. It's strange to feel baby move inside me. Sometimes when I shift my weight one way, baby shifts the other way and I rather feel like I'm leaving my stomach behind. And I now understand Lauren's comments about Eric's poking and Morgan's kicking. Being kicked all the time is not all that pleasant. Baby kicked me hard in the bladder yesterday and I actually had to go to the bathroom! It's getting strong!

Looking back at the first 20 weeks was great! Looking forward at the next 20 is a bit uncertain. I know I'll start looking like a whale and experiencing all the other fun problems that come along with whale status (like not being able to bend over to tie my shoes), but I also have a gender discovery to look forward to, as well as the baby itself! Not to mention that I'll soon be able to start shopping for baby stuff. On the whole, I'm content with my pregnancy and looking forward to another 20 weeks with my unknown midget. (I'll check back with you again in ten weeks and we'll see if I'm still happy! lol)

Who woulda thunk!

I forgot to mention in the last post that I'm in fairly major trouble with my ob doctors because I haven't gained a single pound yet. Sheesh. You'd think four months of yummies + a baby would have equaled at least half a pound. Heck, baby probably equals half a pound by now. This wouldn't be so disconcerting if I hadn't tried all last month to gain some pounds only to find out last week that the scale hasn't budged. My doctor threatened to interfere with my diet if I don't gain some major poundage by next month. So, for the last week I've been overeating everything on my plate. It's disgusting. I'm so stuffed all the time I can't even remember what hungry feels like. I only have three weeks to gain at least 5 or more pounds. Had someone told me a year ago I'd be having this problem, I would have laughed out loud...

On the other hand...it's nice to have an official order to eat as much as I want, whenever I want! Don't worry, I'm not bulking up on Doritos. If my parents are reading this, Dad is probably thinking how much he hates Dorito breath and mom is probably making a mental note to remind me that what goes on, must come off! lol This is becoming a medical emergency, mom! I have to eat! :P

Merry Christmas to us!

The day has finally come! Our baby, which has been an "it" its whole life will officially receive a gender on December 22, 2009.

In a gesture of good will, my ob clinic allowed us to schedule the visit before we left for Christmas break on the 23rd. It was a tight fit. We get our ultrasound on the 22nd, but we have our dr's visit in the early morning hours on the 23rd. They couldn't fit the two visits into the same day.
Jon and I both think it's a boy, and we've been unconsciously calling it a "he" for a week or so now. According to Murphy's law, that means it will be a girl. Oh well! Whatever "it" is, we'll be thrilled.

We've also felt our little "it" kicking! In fact, now that I know what to feel for, I'm surprised that I couldn't feel it kicking a long time ago. It kicks a lot and they're pretty strong. Two days ago, it was kicking really hard. I told Jon and he laid his hand on my belly to see if he could feel it. After about 15 minutes, his patience was rewarded because baby laid a solid kick right under his hand. Jon said it felt like a hiccough. He's pretty stoked about it. Most dads don't get to feel baby's kicks for a long time yet.

And, in other news, we officially received travel documents! My self-imposed exile from my motherland will come to an end on December 23rd when I cross the border for the first time in a year and a half! Hurray for spending Christmas with my family whom I haven't seen in a long time! My brother's got all his fat and pregnant jokes primed and ready for the occasion and I'm sure that for every present I receive, I'll get at least two pieces of baby advice, but I'm ready and willing to take it all! I love my family.

P.S. Our blog is now open for everyone to read. This came about in response to my mother's comment that she has never seen our blog because my dad's the only one who can access it, and, judging by his blog, he hasn't been on since...well, probably never! lol Love ya, dad!

Life as usual

I am unashamed to say that life in the Boizelle household is proceeding much the same as usual.

I am still working full time. I got Remembrance Day (Veteran's Day) off work yesterday, which came as a surprise to me. I get very random days off in this job, but since I was able to sleep in, I wasn't complaining. Baby is doing great. I'm still not showing very much yet, although it won't be long. It's becoming more and more difficult to get comfortable at night. Compound that with Jon's late night homework escapades and I'm not getting much sleep. Poor Jon has taken to crashing on the floor in our second bedroom so as not to wake me up at 3 or 4AM. If I catch him doing that during one of my numerous bathroom runs, I make him get into bed to sleep. I can't imagine what will happen when I actually have a huge belly. I'm already sleep-deprived.

Jon's classes have him busy round-the-clock, literally. I wanted him to cuddle with me last night, so we set an alarm for a half hour nap. After the alarm went off five times, I heard him stagger out of bed. Much to my surprise, he woke up back in bed at 1:39AM (and woke me up as well) without a single memory of waking up at 11:00 and leaving the room. He doesn't remember getting up at 1:39AM to work on his homework, so he thinks he might have fallen asleep in his homework chair. We're still not sure which one of us was imagining things last night. Anyway, that's pretty much Jon's life right now. He either stays up really late, or gets up really early to do his homework, works, eats, and sleeps. I know most of you can sympathize! He's very good about coming home for dinner when he can, so that I get to see him at least an hour a day, but I'll be really grateful when grad school is over. Busy season's got nothing on grad school!

P.S. We're still waiting on pics from our neighbor, but when we get them, we'll blog about our Halloween party. It was pretty much awesome.

Clean Bill of Health

As of one hour ago, I have been given a clean bill of health by my ob! Baby's heart rate is normal along with all my hormone and blood pressure levels. I can now start exercising again amongst other things.

So far, I have not started showing much at all. I lost a few pounds and inches over the first tri., but nothing to worry about. All my clothes still fit just like normal. The only difference is a tiny amount of pudge around my belly button. It depressed me for a while that I was so sick and had nothing to show for it. At least an expanding belly would remind me why I have to be sick. Now, however, I have a miniscule amount of pudge to show AND I haven't been sick at all for three days! Everyone told me life would get better, and, what do you know, it did!

P.S. We will find out the sex of our baby in approx. 8 weeks! Be very excited!

Righting a Wrong

It has very recently come to my attention that none of the Boizelle side of the family has seen our ultrasound pictures. As a self-proclaimed righter-of-wrongs, I, of course, set out to right this wrong. After one or two tedious minutes of scanning, here they are!


Baby at nine weeks.
















I had a little trouble interpreting, so it's facing down with the head on the left. That little blob under it is an arm and the little blob on the far right is a leg.


Baby at 11 weeks! (We got a second one. You can decide whether that was lucky or unlucky.)
















You can see the skull and jaw bones in this picture.

















This is a full frontal shot. Our baby is practicing for its audition in the next "Thriller" remake. It seriously looks like a ghoul.

It's a hard knock life!

Jon had two exams last week for which he almost killed himself preparing. However, he still didn't have a lot of the material down for his Governmental Accounting class. He got out of the exam looking a little "shell shocked" as the proctor later told him. Jon's been terrified all week about finding out his results today. He even went so far as to say that he'd rather skip class than find out what grade he got and that he would be relieved if he got a B. I spent the week telling him that I'd still love him even if he got a C.

After all that drama, he got his grades back today, and, wouldn't you know it, he got 101% on his exam. It's a hard knock life!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving! Just thought I'd psych everybody up for the true Thanksgiving holiday which occurs on Monday, Oct. 12 this year! And, to all my American relatives, it's Ok to be jealous. Not every household gets to have 2 Thanksgiving's per year. One with pickles (oh yeah!) and one without (unfortunate, but true). If you're feeling horribly deprived, you can always put pickles on your Thanksgiving table and say that you're doing it in my honor. I'll collaborate!

Jon and I agreed to celebrate both Thanksgiving holidays in our household from now on. Our Thanksgiving in Canada involves many of the same traditions as American Thanksgiving. We still have all the family over. Dinner involves turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes etc. The one thing I've noticed is the pickle thing. Everyone I know in Canada eats pickles at formal meals. You just slice 'em and serve 'em. Jon thinks that's weird. However, my family has some traditions that differ from most due to personal preference:

We always have both turkey w/mashed potatoes and ham w/ applesauce at Thanksgiving. You can choose. One side of the family fights over the dark turkey meat and the other side fights over the white meat. I personally like both, so there's always plenty for me wherever I go! Beets and cranberries are absolutely forbidden in the house, let alone on the table, and weird jello salads are a must for the Watson's (I'm talking cherry jell-o with pretzels, fruit, and whipped cream. Yuck) By the way, Jello is a side dish in Canada, not a dessert.

Every member of the Quinton family HATES pumpkin pie (we call it stoolie pie), although Mitchell might like it. We're not actually sure that he even tastes his food as he shovels it down. Pies for the holiday include lemon without meringue and banana cream with the bananas on top, not inside. The Watson side of the family has an obsession with Orange Dream Jello salad (orange jello mixed with whipped cream). That jello salad shows up at every Thanksgiving. My mom makes it the best, but my immediate family got so tired of it that she refused to make it. Now my aunt makes it every year (not as good).

The Quinton family also HATES Jello that has anything in it. We like it plain. No fruit, no whipped cream, and definitely no cheese, nuts, lettuce, or hamburger (I did warn you that Canadians like weird Jello salads).

Add all these ingredients together and you have the perfect recipe for a GREAT Canadian Thanksgiving!

Making a racquet!

So, I'm officially kind of obsessed with tennis. I played for a season in High School and really loved it. Unfortunately, I stopped playing while I was at college and on the mission and got a little rusty.

A few weeks ago, Steph and I went in and bought tennis racquets for the both of us. I even got a great deal on the racquets (To quote Dad, "there's no status in overpaying"). Since then I have started playing with a few friends and Steph has been learning to play. It is a really nice balance because it allows me to play both competitively with some friends and recreationally with Steph.

However, I don't expect that to last long. Steph has been learning very quickly and is starting to get pretty good. She even beat me in one of our games! I uh.....just couldn't get my serves in. No really!

It is really good to be back in the game and getting a little exercise in when I'm not swamped with schoolwork. I hope to play again tomorrow!

Some warm Montana lake

For those of you who don't know, Steph's grandparents own a cabin on Echo lake in Montana. For you geography buffs (that's you Dad), Echo lake is located just north of Flathead lake and is southwest of Glacier National Park. We just got back from spending a few days up there with Steph's immediate family and had a great time. It was actually the first time Steph's entire immediate family has been together for two years.

This was also my chance to get to know Mitchell, since he has been serving as a missionary long since before Steph and I got engaged. We had some fun together and even spent some time in the lake together after I tackled him off the tube while unawares. It's nice to have another brother.

While at the cabin, we had some wild rides on a three-person tube, I got to water ski, drove the wave runner, and we did a little swimming in the lake. The lake was fuller and warmer than last year, making swimming more plausible.

We also watched some great movies, including the new Harry Potter. It was pretty good and handled the book to movie transition as well as could be expected. Those who stayed awake also watched What's Up Doc and Meet the Robinson's.

Thanks Quinton's for a great time! Good luck to Jessica and Mitchell as they leave for school!

The Day has finally come!

After 13 years of under-undergrad and 5 long years of undergrad (that's 18 years!), Stephanie Dawn Boizelle can officially take her place among the ranks of diploma'd people! Hurray! It was a long time coming, but now that it's over, I can say that it was worth it. I learned a great deal in school (both before and during college), but the most important thing I learned is that most learning originates in the home. My parents were the ones who taught me to love learning. They were also the ones who taught (by example) how important school is. Many were the nights they stayed up late helping me finish projects or break through mental barriers (that's for you, Dad!). I doubt I would have made it so far if I hadn't learned solid principles like discipline and hard work before I ever stepped one foot into an institution of learning. So I would like to say thanks to my parents. This diploma is just as much their's as mine. We worked hard for it. And the fake gold leaf is so shiny... ;) Thanks mom and dad!

The inscription reads

Brigham Young University-Idaho, on recommendation of the University Faculty and on authorization of the President and the Board of Trustees, has conferred on Stephanie Dawn Boizelle this Bachelor of Arts in English Education together with the honors, rights, privileges, and responsibilities pertaining thereto. Given in Rexburg in the State of Idaho the tenth day of April in the year of our Lord two thousand and nine.

Signed by Thomas S. Monson and Kim B Clark.

I met my dad in California!

Jon and I were walking around Hotel Coronado on Coronado Island, and we stumbled upon a series of statues celebrating the life and works of Dr. Seuss. And would you guess who was there? You got it! My Dad, immortalized in bronze! This one's for you, Dad!

My take on Cali!

Jon forgot to mention some of the important details of our California trip, so I thought I'd get on and set the record straight. While most of you probably got the impression that our trip was a blast (it was), Jon never mentioned that he's been practicing his romancing skills. I must tell the world that this lover-of-sleep whom I call husband woke up at 5-ish in the morning to watch the sunrise on the beach and collect seashells with me. He also spent almost two hours driving the coast of California looking for a tide pool so that I could fulfill a childhood dream. So, for those of you who thought you'd never see the day, it has arrived! Who ever would have thought that Jon Paul Boizelle is a romantic at heart?

P.S. Jon posted an awful pic of me by Space Mountain, so for your viewing pleasure...

(His finger is a hook. Like a pirate! Arrrg)

Moscow, we're here (no, not Russia)

Because my career requires 150 credit hours of college to sit for the CPA exam, I need to attend graduate school. After a number of acceptances, we decided to attend the University of Idaho in Moscow. We didn't know much about the town or campus, but felt good about attending here and they gave me a scholarship.

We pulled in this last week and were very surprised. Moscow is a town of about 21,000 people situated in rolling hills right on the edge of the Idaho-Washington border. It is green and beautiful. Campus has an ivy league feel with old, ivy covered red brick buildings. And since the Washington State University is eight miles away, shopping is much better then we expected. We even have a mall with a Macy's and a Bed Bath.

We found a nice little apartment about two blocks from campus. It has two bedrooms and has a beautiful hillside view of campus. We love it. Add to it that people have been extremely friendly. We are very happy with our situation.

The town is fun. People often travel by bike and they have a farmer's market downtown each Saturday that sells produce, breads, and other artisan wares. We went and bought a pound of snap peas for $1.50. An hour later, they were no more.

A funny story about the farmer's market. We have been told that there is a bit more of a hippie influence in the area. While you can see it in the occasional person, we did get a kick out of a sign at the farmer's market. It notified us that the produce was organically grown, but that the market couldn't advertise that because the government passed a law requiring licenses for 'organic' businesses. These laws made it easy for big producers like Wal-Mart to obtain licenses, but very difficult for small businesses. The small time producers refused to buy into a system that forced them to share cherished values with corporate giants like Wal-Mart.

Although we didn't enjoy driving the moving truck through the canyons on the way up, we really love it here.

The view out the front of the house. Yes, those are hilly fields.

The view out our back windows. You can see campus as it climbs the hill. The golf course is off the back of the hill along with the arboretum/botanical garden.

The living room.

The kitchen.

California Screamin'

For those who don't know, we took a last-minute vacation to California in May to celebrate our one-year anniversary. For those who knew, here are some of the pictures we took (late, I know).

After deciding to go to California, we ended up deciding to go to southern California. We almost went to San Fransisco (we wanted to see Wicked and drive the coast highway), but we decided southern California was more within our ability. And since Steph had never been to Disneyland, we had to go.


Disneyland was a blast! We bounced back and forth between the California Adventure and Disneyland and tried to ride everything we could in two days. We ended up riding the Indiana Jones ride five times, Pirates of the Caribbean four times, and California Soarin' twice (and saw San Fransisco and the coast). They were awesome. We even got soaked on Grizzly Peak Rapids!

I am a roller coaster fanatic. Steph on the other hand, hasn't been much of an enthusiast. However, she was a trooper and decided to try some of the bigger rides. She even got on California Screamin'! While that was a one and only, she loved Space Mountain and I don't know how many times we rode it. Disney was a great time for both of us.

After Disneyland, took a drive down the coast from LA to Oceanside and stayed at a resort for two days. The resort was right on the beach and was beautiful. It was Steph's first time in the Pacific and she loved the sight and sound of the waves. It was also her first time in the surf. We had a great time walking the beach and looking for shells.

On our way out of town, we briefly stopped in San Diego, went to the temple, ate in Old Town, and went out to Coronado Island. We even walked around the USS Midway! It was a great time.

The San Diego Temple. Steph is in the bottom right of the picture.

California Screamin' the ride. Steph rode it!

Steph on the pier at Huntington Beach. We stopped on our drive of the coast.

Here is Steph on the Mark Twain, a paddle-boat that rides around the lake.

Steph's favorite roller coaster: the amazing indoor Space Mountain.

Me riding the Maliboomer (a "crazy" ride that shoots up 150 feet).

Captain "Jon" Sparrow.

T-I-Double G-ER

Steph and I with the Mater and Lightning McQueen.

Graduate School

For those of you who don't know, I have been planning on attending Graduate School. In order to sit for the CPA exam, I need 150 college credit hours. Since a normal undergraduate degree can be done in 120-130 hours, this often requires graduate school to acquire the necessary credits. Such is my situation.

After applying to a few graduate schools, I was accepted to three: Utah State University, University of Idaho, and Brigham Young University. It was a bit of a tough decision for me because BYU has one of the best accounting programs in the nation and U of I offered me a very generous scholarship. In the end, Stephanie and I felt best about attending University of Idaho. So we are going to be living in Moscow, Idaho (no not Russia) for the next year.

We will be moving there in June and are going to try to find summer jobs. I am also going to take some classes online this summer so my course load will be easier and I can complete everything by the end of next May. This also gets us out of the warm Vegas summer. I always wanted to experience an Idaho summer.

Goodbye Vegas, hello Moscow.

Graduation

On Friday, BYU-Idaho held graduation. Although Stephanie and I have left BYU-Idaho following my graduation, she has been student teaching in Las Vegas. She finished teaching a week ago and from what I can gather, did an excellent job. I heard nothing but good things and I feel she reached some students that had previously been unreachable.

Now that she is finished and graduation has been held, Stephanie is a college graduate! She can now go to most states and teach. Congratulations Steph!

Wave o' babies, wave o' babies!

No, Jon and I are not pregnant. I finished my student teaching and was really bored today. Luckily, the internet holds many entertainments for a bored newlywed. So for those of you who are wondering, here's what Jon and I's future baby will look like! Dum dum dum. (Isn't technology wonderful? Now we don't have to wonder!)

And, just for fun, I stole a copy of Lauren and Erik's wedding picture and created their future dream baby as well! Say hello to Paul Boizelle and Jackson Merkley!

Thank heavens for genetic variation right? There's no way my babies, or Lauren's babies, are ever going to be that ugly! Like Jon says, cute people make cute babies!

A Conference

To all who read this blog, I haven't been great about keeping up lately. Life has been pretty busy. Between January and April, accountants are very busy preparing taxes and performing audits on the financial statements of the past year. Work had me traveling for two weeks and then very busy while in town the following week. One week involved 65 hours of work. It can be a bit draining.

Last Sunday, Steph and I had the opportunity to hear from the leaders of our church at a regional meeting. We arrived expecting to hear from local leaders, but were happily surprised to hear from Thomas S. Monson and David A. Bednar of the Twelve Apostles. As the church has grown internationally, it as become increasingly more difficult for the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to visit everyone in the church. Technology has allowed them to speak to members of the church all over the world while staying in Salt Lake City and they are beginning to utilize this technology more frequently.

Both men spoke very well. The overall theme of the conference was on living so that the Holy Ghost can be with us to bless our lives. We were taught that we cannot force the Holy Ghost to come, we can only invite Him into our lives by keeping the commandments. We also cannot be obedient to the spirit of the law while ignoring the letter of the law. We should pray to invite the Holy Ghost and we should be "meek and humble" so we can receive it.

I left the conference happy and pensive. The conference was uplifting and also instructive. There are some things I feel I can do better so I can more fully enjoy the blessings of the companionship of the Holy Ghost. I always feel grateful to receive instruction from the Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. I look forward to hearing from all the members of the twelve this April when they address the world-wide membership.

Anime Night

It finally happened! I was beginning to wonder if it ever would happen. What is this event? Jon played dress-up with me. Here's how it went down... Stephanie was very bored one night, so she went into the bathroom and started playing with her hair. She gave herself two weird pigtails and decided they looked like anime pigtails. She ran out into the living room to show her devoted husband her new anime couture. Then she had a brilliant idea!! What if Jon also dressed up anime-style. They could totally have anime night. After about half-an-hour [sic] Jon finally relented. He put on his awesome anime duds and let Stephanie give him a sweet faux-hawk (Stephanie's really bummed that you can't really see it in the picture). And that's how Anime Jon was born. Hey, at least it's something!

What?!?!

Guess what everybody! On Monday, Jon and I will celebrate our 9 month anniversary. That's big anniversary .75! Just thought I'd remind everybody because I'm pretty excited.

Over the Hill and Still Sane!

I'm just proud as punch to announce that I just completed Week 6 of my 12 week student teaching experience. It wasn't a bad week except for the tummy aches, and the stress of unfinished paperwork. Oh and I can't leave out the detention I gave when a Hispanic student called me a dirty word in Spanish, the kids doing 'the wave' across the classroom when they think I'm not looking, or the Valentine card I confiscated that burped when you opened it. How can anyone not love Junior High? (No sarcasm intended) I'm actually really enjoying my student teaching. I have really sweet kids for the most part, so my biggest discipline problem is chatter. I've only really butted heads with one kid (dirty-Spanish-word-boy Victor). It's wonderful. So I just want to say to all those of you who read this and haven't student taught as of yet, it's not anywhere near as scary as BYU-I professors make it sound!

A red-letter day, with black ink.

About a week ago, Steph and I received a letter from McGladrey & Pullen's Dallas office. In this magical letter, a generous salary figure was included, benefits were outlined, and a start date (18 months from now) was included. After prayer and some deliberation (okay, not too much deliberation), we have decided to accept this offer. Yay!

We are both very excited about this opportunity. We spent the first few months of our marriage in Dallas and had a great experience. Housing is very affordable, the people were very friendly, and I really liked the people I worked with. We also had a lot of missionary experiences in Dallas. One of the nice things is that people in Dallas are still very religious and religion isn't considered "uncool."

While we are sad that this takes us away from family and might make seeing them more difficult, we have high hopes that our more northernly relatives will come come to visit us during our warmer winter months. The golf courses looked pretty nice. We considered Las Vegas and it's convenient location, but feel better about Dallas and the career opportunities I will have there, plus our ability to raise children in a good environment.

All in all, we feel very blessed.

The Strip

Living in Las Vegas means living with the gambling and the Strip. While neither Steph or I gamble, we did want to go down and see some of the more interesting parts of the strip. Becky was staying with us before we took her up to SUU and so we made a trip of it. We did a ton of walking, but saw some pretty interesting things.

Here we have Becky with Nicolas Cage. Don't worry Dad, he's made of wax and is standing outside of Madame Turnaud's House of Wax.


Aside from exotic wax celebrities, we also found a some exotic vehicles. Gotta love a Lamborghini.

The best part of the Strip has to be the Bellagio. Every 15 minutes, they have a water show out in front of the casino that employs water jets and is choreographed to the music. Steph and Becky sure liked it.

Inside the Venetian, they have some really cool (and expensive) shops. The one Steph is posing in front of has Renaissance outfits and masks (for a ball masque) made in Italy. Pretty incredible.

Below is another shot of the Venetian. It is themed to have canals, a sky painted ceiling, and Italian theming. It is beautiful. You can even take a ride on a gondola in the canal and have the operator serenade you. They keep the gambling on another floor, so you can really enjoy the upper levels of the casino.

Aside from the pictures above, we saw things like a small Eiffel tower, Cesar's Place, and a lot of lights. I was surprised at how much it is nothing like Hollywood would have you believe. The place is pretty over the top, but still has a few interesting things to do and has a lot of shopping.

Moving to Las Vegas

As exciting as new experiences are, moving has never been my favorite activity. For whatever reason, it usually involves a great deal of stress, lack of sleep, and a number of unanticipated difficulties. This move was no different.

Since Steph needs to student teach in Las Vegas and I have an internship there, we found an apartment, rented a Budget Moving truck, and headed for Las Vegas. We were very grateful that gas prices dropped and that we found a great deal on a moving truck. With gas at $4.00 a gallon, we had anticipated spending a great deal of money moving.

Moving was especially fun because of the cleaning we had to do and the weather. In order to stay until the 17th, I had to cut a deal with our landlady to do a deep cleaning of the apartment. Things always take longer than expected and we only got about 4 hours of sleep. We then had to drive a 16 ft. moving truck through the snowstorm that hit southern Utah. It was a bit hair raising to say the least. Despite the bad weather, we were blessed and made it to Mesquite for the night.

The most comic events of our move happened when we reached Las Vegas and started moving in. We had unloaded most of the truck and were left with the couches. We were able to maneuver the love seat through the twisty, narrow entry, but there was no way our couch would fit. We ended up taking it in over the patio railing and through the sliding glass door! We must had looked so funny, especially when we got momentarily stuck! My hat goes off to Steph for being a trooper and helping me get the couch over the patio railing. Good times.

Here is the moving truck (partially unpacked). We got a larger truck so we didn't have to stack things too high.

Here is the moving truck in front of our old apartment in Rexburg.

Graduation

On December 12th, Steph and I were able to attend commencement and convocation. We were very happy to have both sets of parents there for the occasion. Although Steph still needs to student teach before officially graduating, she was allowed to walk. Despite this fact, it was a quite very interesting to reflect on what it took to get there. Quite truthfully, it doesn't feel like I'm done. Perhaps this is because I still have Grad School ahead of me.

BYU-Idaho has meant a great deal to both of us. There is a special spirit on that campus and it has made a significant impact on both our lives. We have also had wonderful experiences with many people, both students and professors. We are very grateful to have attended there and for all those who made that possible.

On to the next!