Jake the BBQ Judge!

Jake had the best time yesterday. One of his good friends signed him up to be a judge at a bbq contest. Thinking he would get to sample a little of the local food, Jake agreed. Little did he know he would be judging a national BBQ contest with hundreds of contestants from Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida, Texas, and Louisiana! Jake judged BBQ chicken and pork. The contestants each brought their BBQ forward and Jake, along with the other judges, scored the meat on appearance, tenderness, and taste. Jake said he had never tasted better BBQ than he had on Saturday. He said he really enjoyed being "wined and dined" by the country boys, and might actually pay dues and take a class to become a nationally certified BBQ judge!

Our 3-D Adventure!

On Friday night we took Megan and Kaitlin with us to the movies to see Monsters vs. Aliens in 3-D! Those two girls (ages 7 and 5) are two of our favorite people, and we love hanging out with them. We figured we would give their parents a night without the kiddies. It was so much fun going to the movies with them. It was also my first 3-D movie ever!

Jake's Birthday!

Tuesday, March 24 was my birthday and Elisa made it one of the best ones ever! She surprised me all day long! When I got to school at 8am, she had decorated my work desk and covered it with cards, presents, and pictures of the two of us. Then, during my class at noon, she delivered cupcakes to my classmates and me.But the best part of the day was that evening as Elisa threw a surprise BBQ/bonfire for me! She told me we were just going to go out for dinner together, but then we showed up at our friends' house where everyone was waiting. We had a great time eating Sam's famous "Hirt Dogs" fresh of the grill. (If you've ever had J-dogs at BYU, these are just like those....delicious!) We all had a lot of fun just hanging out after dinner, opening presents, and roasting mallows and starbursts over the fire.Just in case anyone didn't know, I really did marry the #1 girl. Elisa constantly strives to make those around her happy. She is the most giving and unselfish person I have ever known. She makes me truly happy and I'm still trying to figure out what she sees in a dorky guy like me! I love her.

More Babies......More Quilts!

I recently found out that my sister and both of my sisters-in-law are pregnant! So we will have three new babies in the family this fall! I decided that I had better get work now on quilts for the new additions to the family! Here is my latest completed quilt!

Fun in the Sun

After we got back from Ohio, Elisa had to return to work, but I was still on spring break. Some buddies of mine from church were heading down to the beach at Pensacola, Florida on Wednesday. With permission from the wife, I joined the boys on the day trip to the coast. The beach was beautiful with white sand and perfect waves. Since Pensacola is only three and a half hours from our house, Elisa and I decided that we will have to go again one of these Saturdays. Spending spring break lying on the beach in Florida was pretty sweet. The only other thing I could have wanted was that hott wife of mine to be soaking up the sun beside me.

Spring Break 09

For Spring Break we headed up to Ohio to spend the weekend with Jake's parents on the farm. While we were there Jake played in his high school alumni basketball tournament and was the leading scorer on the team! (That's my baby!) We also went to Columbus on Sunday and listened to Elder Russel M. Nelson speak to the congregation in Central Ohio. It was a very uplifting meeting as Elder Nelson taught the Saints that everything we need to know we learn while we are in primary. It was a great review of basic gospel principles that will help us return to our Father in Heaven. He also had the children 12 and under stand and sing songs from the congregation including "I am a Child of God", "I Hope They Call me on a Mission", and "Follow the Prophet".
We always have fun with Duane and Sandy. They take such good care of us while we are there. We had a great steak dinner one night and just had fun playing board games and doing farm chores with them. Also, we went to our nephew Georgie's birthday party and watched him play in his soccer game. It was so nice to see our family. Alabama is fun, but we miss our family and close friends a lot. It was really nice to spend time with them.

Snow in Auburn!

Last Sunday (March 1, our anniversary!) we woke up to quite a surprise!!! Auburn got 3 inches of snow - believe me, that's a lot of snow for Alabama! It was the most snow Auburn has had in years. People here don't really know what to do when it snows, everyone just kind of goes crazy! School was closed the next day and businesses and churches all over town had to close for the day. But of course we are still in Alabama and the snow did not last long. Today, March 6, only 5 days later it was nearly 80 degrees! Ha! Crazy, crazy, crazy.

I'm Finally Done!

I'm really excited because I just finished this quilt! It feels great to finish a project and I can't wait to start on my next quilt.

Best Year of My Life!

This message is for my hunny. I just want to tell you, Jake, that this has been the best year of my life. You have taken me on so many fun adventures and I have loved them all! Every morning you make me giggle and every night you tuck me in and kiss me goodnight. I thought that moving to Alabama, away from friends and family, would be so hard. But with you at my side, I feel like this expereince has brought us closer than I thought possible. I love you!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!

Ice Skating

Another fun part of our weekend away was going ice skating at the Ice Palace in Montgomery. We had a lot of fun and we found out that I am definitely a better ice skater than Jake! The rink was in the middle of the Montgomery mall, so after skating we went shopping....well, I shopped while Jake called Duane every 5 minutes for updates on the BYU/Utah basketball game (BYU won 63-50, so you all know Jake was happy!)