Piggy's Day Out

Meet Piggy, the Hey Song-singing football pig. When I bought this for Josh I honestly thought that he would hate it. As it turns out, he actually loves it quite a lot.

Piggy went on his first adventure a few weeks ago, to the Utah/TCU football game. That's right, the game where we got completely and utterly and maddeningly crushed. Oh well, it was still fun to get out to a game, and Piggy even got all decked out in a University of Utah scarf for the occasion. It's a good thing it was warm, or EJ might have missed his scarf! Here are some more pictures:

We were depressed by the outcome of the game, of course, but at least we (Piggy especially) had a good time! And we're standing by and cheering for our Utes. Go Utes! Beat those Cougars on Saturday and this season will have been worth it!

And in other news...

We had a "blizzard" last night! I dropped quite a bit of snow, but nothing unmanageable. But boy was the wind strong! Essentially the entire state shut down. It was quite exciting, and nice to go home early. The dogs (Toby in particular) were excited to see the snow and spent some time out bouncing around in it. Of course, eventually they did want back in...

Toby just loves being dried off with his towel, so I think it was a good night all around for him. We're just glad that the roads were (mostly) clear this morning! And tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so...HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip (For Ginger Snaps & Nilla Wafers!)

Well first let me apologize for not having a tantalizing picture to go with this yummy recipe. I wanted to take a picture, and charged my camera and everything, and then promptly forgot. Josh's mom had a Halloween dinner on Sunday, and asked us each to bring an orange food. This dip was recommended to me, and I decided to try it. I was pleased with the outcome. It was easy and tasty! Here it is:


Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip


2 C. Pumpkin Puree
1 C. Dark Brown Sugar
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger (I only used 1/4 tsp)
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1 (8 oz) Package Cream Cheese, softened
1 box of Ginger Snaps and/or Nilla Wafers Cookies

1. Using a mixer, whip cream cheese and pumpkin until creamy
2. Mix in sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger until well blended
3. Refridgerate Overnight


Serving Option (I did this, and it was fun and festive!):

Cut off the top of a small pumpkin and hollow out the inside. Pour dip into pumpkin and replace top. Refridgerate. When you are ready to serve, just pull out the pumpkin and place it on the serving tray with the cookies!

I'm still trying to recover...

...from the black belt test on Saturday! Josh and I both tested for our 2nd degree black belts, and two students tested for their 1st. We started off the morning bright and early with forms. There were a few mistakes, but in general those all went well. Once we were good and tired from forms, we started on our 5 mile run. I hate running, but it's a necessary evil once in awhile! It was raining too, so we were all pretty soggy by the time we were done with that. After the run and the pushups/situps, Josh and I were lucky enough to have a break while the others tested on their strikes, blocks, and kicks.

The rest of the test went by pretty quickly, and was a lot of fun. We did our defenses, during which time we were attacked randomly by other people. Sparring was fun as well. My parents and my cousin had all come to help out, so they all got to fight against us. Mom knocked the wind out of me. It just goes to show you never do reach a point where mom can't beat you! Here are a few pictures from the day:

Here I am, trying to defend myself from my mother!

Now Glenn has me in a headlock...uh-oh!

Josh beating up on EJ...

But this doesn't look so good for Josh!

Sterling attacking Josh

Uh-oh...Bye Peel! (Jacob or Porter? Can't tell from this angle! They're identical twins...)

Defenses turned out kinda funny...

I'm actually quite proud of this kick, except I wish my hands were up so it'd look better!

Here is Josh doing his breaking - 5 boards at one time! Way to go Josh!

Here we are performing our Tai Chi Sword form together

More of the sword form

It was a lot of fun, but very tiring, and we have been sore for the past few days! More pictures to come later!

The New Door

Finally! This is the moment we've all been waiting for. Well, it's a moment that I've been waiting for for quite some time now. We have a new back door! That's right! No more lifting up a giant slab of glass and metal just to access the backyard. No more ugly, old, and warped frame. Though this new door cost us a bit more than we wanted to spend, we are sure glad to have it. The installer came yesterday. I was able to watch the demo on the old door, which was a lot of fun! (Although Toby was a bit nervous about a stranger coming and destroying our house!) I didn't get to stay to see the final product, however...because I had to go to work! It was like having a bunch of Christmas presents you aren't allowed to open. I think work was longer than ever. Josh even covered my eyes while he walked me toward the kitchen so that I couldn't see until he "unveiled" it. And I am so happy with the results! And now for the unveiling...

We'll start with a "before" picture of the old door...

And then...(drumroll please!)...TA DA!

Both sides actually do open wide, but for the pictures I only opened one door. Isn't it beautiful?!

What's New?

The answer to that question is...nothing! That's alright. I do enjoy a little down time now and then. Josh is working hard and doing great in school. His engineering class made batteries using lemonade today. Don't ask me how it works, but he is sure that he could build a generator for our house now. Who knows? Someday down the road that might not be such a bad idea...

As for me, I'm still working and hoping the construction is finished soon. The buiding shakes and rattles all day. On the upside, asphalt and parking stalls in our new parking lot magically appeared Monday morning. No "ins and outs" or sidewalk yet though, so "NO PARKING" allowed. Yet. Maybe soon? Things are pretty much a bust in the writing business right now. Titles are all too technical; they deal with cars and things that A.) I know nothing about, and B.) would be difficult to write in a single 400-500 word article. Oh well. On the upside, we should be getting our new french doors on Wednesday! That hurts the pocket book but makes me oh so happy! The simple pleasure of being able to open a door.

To finish off news of our Atlanta trip, Kathrine took us downtown to see the underground mall on our last day there. Here we are riding the MARTA:

The trains are actually pretty clean, which a relief because we did see a few rats running around the tracks. The Underground mall was pretty cool. Trains everywhere! We ate at a place called Johnny Rockets (which I've never heard of). It's a 50's style diner with some really good food. They even serve your fries to you with smiley-faced ketchup! I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and the glimpse of Atlanta. Alan made fun of me for acting like a tourist (duh Alan I was a tourist!), but oh well. What right does a man in a straight jacket have to talk anyway?

That's right. EJ is strapping Alan into a straight jacket. He came in from work and proudly announced that his straight jacket had arrived. There is an explanation, believe it or not. He works in a haunted house on Halloween, and this is his costume this year. Of course they couldn't resist the urge to try it out. And of course, Kathrine couldn't resist the urge to torment him...

Here she is hiding puppy treats in the jacket for Tallie to find. Ha ha! Good times...

Greetings from Atlanta

Well here we are in Atlanta, and after a red-eye flight and more than 24 hours without sleep, those elephant ears were looking pretty fantastic. Alright, they are really cool, even after a good night's sleep. These beauties mark the entrance to my sister's apartment complex.

We all flew down to see Kathrine's portfolio show, since she is graduating in Game Art and Design from the Art Institute of Atlanta. She is ridiculously good at her work, and I must admit that I am a bit jealous. I wish I was that talented! You can actually see her portfolio at www.kathrinedavis.com. Here's a hint: That picture on the main page in NOT a photograph. It is part of her portfolio. Each graduating class at the Art Institute competes to earn the honor of the "Red table" at the portfolio show. This red table symbolizes best in show, and is meant to draw the attention of any would-be-employers that come to the show. It was Kathrine's goal, and she found out yesterday when we went to set up her table for the show, that she earned it. Congratulations to her! Here's the final result:

Of course, she had a lot of work to do to get ready for today's show. Lucky for her, she had a lot of help...from a somewhat unlikely source...

Tallie is very serious about creating that poster. She is also an avid Jaguars fan, it seems, if the bandanna around her neck means anything. This is the first time I've met Tallie. She is definitely a cutie, and a character. She even seems to have a little bit of Shena and Sydnie mixed in.

We spent the day at the portfolio show today, and we finished the day off with a good meal at Olive Garden. Never ending pasta bowls all around!

Now that portfolio is over, we're hoping to have some free time to do a bit of sightseeing. From what I've seen so far, the city has some really cool architecture, and many of the houses down here are gorgeous. There are trees all over this city. They even replace grass in many yards, and the houses are hidden by forests. It's beautiful! 

Free Tickets

"Early" (not really) yesterday morning, Josh and received a call from VanLeer regarding extra Lagoon Day tickets. Neither of us has been to Lagoon in awhile (read "since Jr. High") so we decided it could be a fun little evening outing. I think evening is just the way to go. It's cooler, and you only spend a few hours there so you aren't completely dead by the time you're ready to go home. Unfortunately my stomach was feeling extra weak last night, so I didn't get to enjoy too many rides, but I did enjoy the ones we went on (mostly...)! Here are some pictures:

We stopped by pioneer village for some ice cream...

This is us in the place with the old printing stuff...which you can't see because we take up the whole picture. Oh well!

Josh is excited for the Rocket...

Me...not so much...

My nerves and my stomach may still be stuck at the top somewhere. A Halloween tradition of ours is to go to the haunted house, so of course we stopped at both of Lagoon's while we were there. They even had a pimped out hearse...

Complete with skeletal driver...

Creepy? Morbid? We think so, but with Halloween lurking around the corner is has its own certain sense of character and humor. The license plate even read "Lst Ride."