Money Can't Buy Happiness?

It can if it was spent on a 2010 Cadillac CTS-V. It can if that money sent you 0-60 in 3.9 seconds with a supercharged 6.2 liter V 8 engine packing 556 horsepower. The only barrier to such happiness is getting a loving, beautiful, sweet, kind, caring, generous, and overall amazing wife to pass of on it. That my friends is why I'm writing this. Permission granted. Given we first are financially independent, have our children's missions and education paid off, and are living in a place with no semblance of a winter. Julia feels the need, the need for speed, and being the gentleman that I am, I'm not going to stand in her way. So the next time you see her, show appreciation for a woman who knows a good car when she see's one.

Valentine's Day is for Rich People

Jake and I went to Walmart together to pick out each others Valentine's Day cards.

I went and looked for chocolate while he picked out a card for me.

He went to look at the cupcakes while I picked out his card.

After finding the perfect cards we went to go pay for them.

But then we thought, "Why don't we just give each other the cards now and not spend the money?"

So in Walmart, by the flower section we exchanged our cards and said what we would have written in them.

We then put the cards back on the shelf.

And bought some chocolate and cupcakes instead.

It was so romantic. :)

The Great Escape

Winter is not my favorite time of year. Being cold is miserable. When you can't feel your toes or fingers, it's hard to feel motivated to do anything. We joke that for us to maintain a healthy marriage, we need to live in place where there is no winter because I go into hibernation once the temperature drops.

So when we planned to go to Florida in February I couldn't have been more excited. For the 3 weeks before we left Jake and I would have this conversaion before falling asleep:

Me: "I am SO excited to go to Florida!! EEEE!!"
Jake: "I know."

So on February 11th we got on the plane, leaving snowy Utah behind, and headed to Florida. :)





Daily walks on the beach, the MOTE aquarium, mini-golf (Jake won), lots of ice cream and naps were on our itinerary. We could say we are happy to be home...but we would go back in a heart beat. :)

When saw we thee a stranger...

"And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Crafted by the master carpenter, this message assembles the foundation of a life worth living. We who have been so blessed often forget the homeless and the hungry as we rush to satiate our appetite for entertainment and achievement. I was reminded recently that the poor who we pass by have their own stories. We speak of them as if they are a collective unit, “the poor,” yet, somehow each one of “the poor” got to where he or she is on a very personal and most likely painful journey. I say I was reminded, but more accurately I was made aware by my wife’s example. Julia never passes by the destitute without giving something and she never gives without asking the person’s name. Recently we met Kevin Evans near 7-11 on a slurpee run. Kevin left home when he was 15 to avoid his alcoholic parents. I know this because Julia asked his name and asked him about his life. I also know that even though Kevin has had a hard life, he is proud that he went back to school and earned his GED. I know Kevin does not want to be in this situation but can see no way out. I’m grateful for a wife who cares about the person and not the situation. I’m grateful for a wife who shows everday that charity never faileth. The next time you give money to the poor, ask their name and listen to their story. You may not be able to change their life but you can let them know that somebody cares.

16 Weeks

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a bump. :)

Little Girl, Big Appetite

For date night Jake and I went to Goodwood, an amazing BBQ place in town.

When we got there, there was a 30 minute

wait so we decided to look at the menu and decided what we wanted to order.

Jake asked me if I wanted an appetizer, but I said no.

I wanted to make sure I had room for my meal.

I ate half a rack of ribs, a good helping of pulled pork,

baked beans, potato salad and a corn muffin.

When we left Jake was so full he felt sick.

I wished we had ordered the appetizer.

I officially ate more than my husband.

Go pregnancy.

Kodak Moments

So our first baby purchase was made this week. We bought a Sony Handycam DCR-SX41. In other words, a video camera.

This maybe isn't the traditional "getting ready for baby" purchase but we really want to be able to document our child's life (but no, not it's birth and delivery) and since Medicaid said we had too much money (???) in savings we decided it was a worthy purchase.

We are looking forward to documenting moments such as these.

Get LOST

We've never gotten excited for the premiere of a TV show before. NEVER. EVER.

But LOST is on tonight! And we're excited. Yes, Jake and I are BOTH excited.

I found these Valentines Day cards on someone's blog and I (being a LOST nerd) found them hilarious.

I wouldn't mind getting a Valentine from Sawyer.

And yes, Jake knows this.

I am Garfield. Jake is John.

This cartoon is the story of our marriage.

Ear rubs are awesome.