Finally! Good TV Again!

Well, it's Tuesday Night which means "Halo Night" around our house. Dustin's parents bought all the boys x-box 360's for Christmas and they get together every Tuesday night at our house to play Halo for a few hours. (Don't worry... I tell them all what big nerds they are all the time) haha. Usually some of the girls will get together and watch a chick flick or scrapbook or do something girly but that didn't work tonight. So while I lay here, thinking about falling asleep, watching 6 grown men play video games I thought I would blog!

So we just got cable last week. It's been pretty exciting. We didn't have TV the first year we were married, just movies. Then we got basic cable (basic channels and Discovery). Then we bought an antenna but when we moved it didn't work so now we have crazy cable. We have movies on demand and like 100 channels and it can be a BIG waste of time. As Dustin said in his last post, he's been obsessed with CNN and I've been watching Gilmore Girls again. There are a few shows that we just can't live without which is why we got cable just in time for all the season premier's. Here are our top 5 favorite shows...

Number 5 - Dancing with the Stars You've just gotta love it!

Number 4 - The Bachelor I know it's kind of cheezy but we just love the drama and trying to convince the bachelor who to choose (although they have NEVER picked the ones we wanted)

Number 3 - Survivor This show really makes Dustin want to see if he's man enough to rough it in the wilderness. Me...no way! I'll just watch!

Number 2 - Lost This is where me and Dustin will definitely differ on number one and number two placements. If this were Dustin writing, Lost would be number one. Lost is just so crazy because it has all these crazy twists that you NEVER would expect. You should watch if you haven't tried it out yet!

And ... Drumroll please ... Number 1 - Grey's Anatomy!!! My teacher friend Amber totally got me hooked on this show when she let me borrow the first two seasons a few years ago. I just love this show! I'm kind of bummed that Amber isn't teaching this year because we would always pow-wow the day after an episode and now I have no one to talk to. I'm so excited for this season because Derek and Meredith might get back together! But after the last episode I just hope Christina didn't talk her out of it! ha ha. I'm telling you, you've got to watch it! It's got all the drama of a soap opera but better acting and it's funny too! I can't believe that I have to wait two weeks for the next episode. Oh yeah, and there is a spin off Private Practice that took Addison to California. It's pretty good and it's kind of like double dose Grey's Anatomy!

So that's that! Our favorite T.V. shows. What are yours?

fall...appropriate

What better word for what's happening these days...fall. Fall apart, fall out, fall down, fall in, fall with just about any preposition behind it. You fall-owing me? A trip up Provo Canyon to see the leaves changing colors today was a healthy reminder of the good side of this season, but the world's getting kinda crazy out there lately. Sorry - I know everybody likes to read about little vacations, baby diapers, and heart felt hubby/wifey testimonials, but I (Dustin) feel like singing a different song on this one. I gotta blame it on an overdose of AM radio and the CNN channel this past week. I think I'm learning a little bit more about politics though.

McCain isn't an ideal candidate for our next president, and his running mate is almost enough reason for a staunch republican to vote for a democrat. However, Obama frightens me...I'm not sure America is ready for his radical game plan. I'm amazed by three things: 1)politicians who are more concerned about securing their seat in office than fulfilling their present responsibilities in the public positions they hold. 2)the fragility of our economy because of oil dependence and out of control debt. 3)the battle that rages between democrats and republicans on Washington hill. I'll spare you the details, because you probably stopped reading after I said there would be no fluffy stuff on this post. I'll just say that life could very possibly be drastically different in the next few years. It would be interesting to see what happens if the dollar melts and our entire income/credit system gets turned upside down. I'm not preaching doomsday or anything, but I'll be very surprised if the economy stabilizes anytime soon. Can't say that I'm really super afraid...many of us need a good taste of what 97% of the world's population lives like on a daily basis. I mean that not having credit cards, pantries full of food, steady jobs, or thousands of dollars in the bank to get by on wouldn't necessarily be the end of the world. If smiley Levi Vasquez in Peru can feed his 9 kids every day where the average wage is less than $150 a month, maybe we could learn a little humility by experiencing the same financial environment.

I just got back from Texas where I helped clean up some of hurricane Ike's aftermath. Talk about a mess! Flood waters pack a nasty punch. It's incredible how much devastation comes with 5 feet of water in a home. Not to mention the critters that move into your house when you're not there anymore. In one day, we killed 4 poisonous snakes inside my uncle Tater's house. The following day, my cousin brought over the alligator they had found in their daughter's closet while cleaning out the 2 feet of mud throughout the house. I never really understood how bad of a situation it is when your house floods. All furniture, pictures, sheetrock, electrical wiring, cabinets, insulation, paperwork, and myriad other things that get wet become garbage. The houses had to be gutted down to the studs and dried out to battle mold and mildew. To think that we almost moved down to Bridge City a few months ago makes me kinda glad that it didn't work out. = ) There's still a buttload of work to be done down there, so go help if you get a chance. Ike might be viewed as a reminder that in 24 hours time our comfort, riches, and even a roof to sleep under can be wiped out.

It's all good though! Reggae music is cool. Mustaches are not..a menos que estes en Mexico!

Family, Sleepovers and Hurricaine Ike

Where do I even start. Dustin is from Southeast Texas, down by Beaumont and Galveston... right where the Hurricaine went. Most all of his extended family is from Bridge City, a city that was on the news because of the flooding. We kept getting small updates because there wasn't power for a while but finally figured out that every single house in Bridge City had water damage. Two sets of Grandparents, Uncles, Aunts, cousins and their families, most of Dustin's family except his parents live there in Bridge City. Anyways, Dustin went down to help get things cleaned up down there and because of teaching, I couldn't leave. It sounds like he's had quite the adventure but I'll let him tell all about that, and we'll post pictures. I am really glad that he could go help out his family but I must admit that I am very excited to see him tomorrow night. It's been a long 6 days with no Dustin but I have managed to have some fun.

Over the weekend I went up to Kaysville for a bridal shower. I had planned on spending the night but ended up staying 2! (I really don't like going home to an empty house, especially when it's dark outside.) While I was up there I got to hang out with my cuz Marie and her adorable little girl Dani. They used to live in Lehi but recently moved to get ready for Grad school. We sure miss having them close! Dani was talking a lot and knows quite a few animal sounds, soooo cute! I also got to see my other cuz Heidi for about an hour. She's teaching first grade too so we swapped stories about our crazy kiddos. Growing up I had the perfect situation... my mom had three sisters and each of them have a girl within one years difference from me. That meant I always had someone to play with and when we were all together it was SO much fun! We were missing our other cuz who had to go in for surgery quickly for her gall bladder. I got to go to church with my grandpa. After church we went and sat on his porch swing and just talked. I used to do that when I was a kid and we'd drink root beer floats. Although we didn't have those, it was nice to spend some time with him. He's the best Grandpa!

The rest of the Kaysville trip was spent with my parents. It was so nice to just chill at home with them. My mom was running around helping with my cousin's wedding stuff and it was humbling watching how much she gives to all those around her. Thanks for being such a great example of service mom. I got to help her while she sewed some of the dreses and it really made me want to re-learn how to sew. Also, we canned peaches and I got to bring some home. Yummy! I'm excited to eat them. Then Monday morning at 6 AM I left Kaysville to go to work. The other two nights I've spent over at Dani and Matt's house. I've been able to play with my super cute niece and nephew the past two days which has been amazingly fun! It's been nice to have people to talk to also, instead of just going home to an empty house. This is a random pic of me and Jax at Jamba Juice. He went to town on that smoothie! He sort of looks drunk on the thing. haha Isn't he so stinkin' cute!

So, thanks to everyone who kept me company this week while Dustin's been gone. It has been a lot of fun!

The Mayan

So... Anybody ever been to the Mayan? What a cool restaurant. Dustin and I went this past weekend and we got the best seat in the house, front and center right by the big pool. It was called the 'wet zone' but luckily we didn't get wet. The divers were awesome, the atmosphere was incredible but the food... well the food... it was just plain DISGUSTING!!! We have both been there a handful of times with family, friends, together, etc. and they have never had good food. We were excited when we showed up this time because they had changed the entrance and the menu was different, but still, no good food. You would think that such a nice, cool, expensive restaurant like that would have at least average food. Pretty sure that the cooks don't know what seasonings are, or they refuse to use them. Maybe you've had a better experience than we have...
P.S. Our waitress's name was NOT Jenifer but that's the only Mayan restaurant logo that came up!

TAG scattegories...

{it's harder than it looks}

Use the first letter of your name to answer the following. They have to be real places, things, names...nothing made up! try to use different answers if the person who tagged you had the same first initial. You can't use your name for the boy/girl name question.

what is your name? Caren
4 letter word: came
pro sports team: Cardinals
celebrity/band: Cake
vehicle: convertible
tv show: Care Bears
city: Cedar City
boy name: Carson
girl name: Callie
occupation: chef
something you wear: clothes
something you throw away: cans
food: Chocolate Chip Cookies
something found in a bathroom: comb
reason for being late: car crash
something you shout: come back

I tag: Rachel, Amber, Shalantie, Katie, Heidi, & Annie
(only do it if you want)

Rain

I just have to say after this weekends rain storms that I LOVE it when it rains hard, especially when I can stay snuggled up in bed! But despite my love for rain, I'm still not ready for summer to be over. :( The weather has been perfect these last few days, not blazing hot, not cold but just perfect!

Boondocks Date

At the beginning of the summer we bought these discount combo passes to Boondocks (that big place just past the point of the mountain with the waterfalls, slick track and the volcano with real fire). We thought it would be a fun date to go up and play around. But summer came and went and we never made it. So Wednesday we had planned on going after I got done with school. Well, after a long, tiring, frustrating day at school, I came home ready to postpone our Boondocks trip one more time and just get in my pj's and be lazy. Well, I got home and found these... 2 dozen long stemed roses!!! I about started to cry because they were so beautiful and it had just been one of those days. Then Dustin said "Well are you ready to go?" He had just cheered me up in a matter of minutes and made my not so great day awesome already! So I changed quick and we were off. For those of you who haven't been to Boondocks... you should go. We had an absolute blast! First we got to do the bumber boats and we were the only ones out there. So we were just following each other around, squirting each other. Dustin's sprayer shot really high but mine was squirting right at him. Ha ha I was laughing so hard I could hardly breathe. Then we went over to the slick track race cars. We raced and raced and raced and raced for like 25 minutes. They just let us keep on going and going and finally we just pulled over to the side and asked them if we could come in. They said because there was no one there they were just letting people go as long as they wanted. Then we played a game of miniture golf. It was a really cool course with ponds and fountains and the course goes right through that big volcano looking thing. I was so proud of myself because I got 2 holes in one!!! (which has never happened before) And, because I tied with Dustin (who has been golfing a TON this summer)! Then we decided we were hungry but we didn't want burgers and fries so we drove over to Harmon's Grocery store (the nicest grocery store we've ever been in!) They had this carvers restaurant where we got tri-tip sirloin with two sides and a roll and it was only like 7 bucks. They had this nice eating area on the second floor that overlooked the whole store. And to make it better... out the big window we had a perfect view of the new Draper temple. It was delicious! We ate then went back and played lazer tag (where Dustin was the top scorer for the game), played one more game of mini golf (on the other course) and used our forty tokens in the arcade. Then to top it all off we went back to Harmon's because they had a Gelato bar with italian ice cream, it was SO yummy! I got peaches with honey and sweet cream and Dustin got chocolate, strawberry and bananna. The funniest 10 year old boy came and sat with us while we were eating our ice cream and kept us laughing all through dessert!
What started out as not the greatest day ended up being one of the funnest days we've had in a while. When I went back to teach on Thursday I felt like I had had a whole weekend. It was great. So Dustin... Thanks for being the greatest and making me so happy! I love you!