Tis the Season!

I was trying to hold off on a Christmas post until I had pictures of my house, my husband, my babies (nieces and nephews that is...), and family in general. However, it is time to be realistic with myself. I don't take pictures and it will take me months until I actually go and get them from Da Champs (my in-laws) or my own mom and pops. Thus this is my post Christmas post!
Danno and I have been so blessed this year.

While working at Old Navy in Sandy I was a little grumpy to be working a long shift in the crazy holiday madness. I just kept thinking how messy the store was, how demanding people could be, with an overall bitter taste toward the holiday lolipalooza. I had been called in early to help out and as I went to the back counter, there were clothes strewn everywhere. I asked what I should do with all of them in a bit of an exasperated mood when my manager told me that a woman had come in and bought all of our coats, warm pants, blankets, hoodies, and hats/gloves/etc. for charity and needed help loading them into her caravan of cars. I was so touched by this act of good will. The spirit of Christmas is always one of my favorite things to enjoy this season.

Danno and I have settled into our new apartment well, thanks to our selfless and wonderful parents. It finally looks like a home and we are so glad to be closer to our parents and family. We had Danno's parents, brother, and sister over to decorate Christmas cookies at our new place and had a blast! We also made gingerbread houses with the Domm's and had fun listening to Cam's songs. We were able to celebrate Christmas eve with my family at my aunt's house. It was a little different this year as we discovered my Aunt Darla went into a coma and her chance of survival wasn't hopeful. As heartbreaking as it is, it was a blessing that this happened Christmas eve when our family was together, and we were able to reflect of the birth and life of our Savior. We were then privileged to spend our Christmas morning with Da Champs and had a smashing time! I now see why my husband is so amazing, he comes from a wonderful family who exudes the Christmas spirit in every way possible.

We hope this holiday season finds you well and we love you all!
Love,
The Champs ( I love saying that!)
Danno and Nellie

A Few Quotes

"I could be Survivor Man. I have a really strong stomach, like seriously strong. I can eat anything, except for salads. I'm not a big veggie man." --17 year old kid at Old Navy

"Have you ever tried chestnuts? Well you should, they will change your life." --My 3 year old nephew Cameron while sitting on the potty. He does much thinking there.

"All the knowledge I possess everyone else can acquire, but my heart is exclusively my own." --Johanne Wolfgang Von Goethe

The last one was a change of pace from the others, but was still quotable I say.

We Are Not Homeless, Homeless...

We have wonderful news! Sure, it probably isn't as exciting as my cute sister-in-law who is having a baby (I'm a little excited!), but its news to us and we are so relieved. We got a call today that we have an apartment! Its in Murray in a complex called Lost Creek. We went apartment hunting during Thanksgiving break and saw some real creep holes, so the fact that there wasn't garbage and minimal vandalism was a real treat! One apartment we looked at had a Jesus plaque mounted to the table, but I guess if anything is going to be a permanent fixture in a creepy apartment, that is the one I would choose. Thus, Lost Creek has been a breath of fresh air.

I think I should recap on our Thanksgiving. We had so much fun seeing our wonderful families! We had so much fun just hanging out with the fam. Evonne and Wally flew in from Texas and it was a wonderful little treat! We spent Thanksgiving dinner with my side of the family and pie time with Danno's family at his cabin. We played Groups and Runs (or Poops and Runs as his family affectionately deems it) with Dee Dee and Grum (Danno's grandparents), his mom, and his little sister Lou Lou or Amy I suppose... It is holidays like this that make a person so grateful for family. We have been so blessed with good friends and family. We love you. Peace out yo.

Woooooo Hoooooo!

It is official! Danno and I are celebrating our first major holiday as husband and wiff. We kicked off our holiday by splitting up and spending a little time with members of the same gender. I went to Twilight with my cute sisters where I nearly suffocated from the sighing fan club of Edward Cullen. I admit, I read the first book, I liked it. But I must say, I felt sicked out, not swoony, over the infamous stone cold chest of the much fantasied Edward. Danno went with my padre and brothers in law to eat meat and see the new James Bond. We both had so much fun!

It is the time of thanks this month and I have so many things to be thankful for! I have a wonderful husband who couldn't make me laugh harder or treat me better, a wonderful family, some of the cutest nieces and nephews, shiny hair, and one surviving bamboo plant. A girl couldn't be luckier or ask for more than that! I also get to leave Logan and join civilization again (including a Target!). So Woooooooooo Hoooooooooooo everybody, its the holidays!

Top Ten

Danno and I have been bored in Logan. Its rainy, but too cold to just walk around in it. And its not snowy so we can't play in it--a double edged sword if you ask me. We have a very small mall with a (drum roll) AMERICAN EAGLE! Its basically like we live in the fashion capital of the world. Only we don't. So here we are, in plea, with some of our blessed talents to entice you to A. hang out with us or B. give us something to do.

Top Ten Reasons we are the Big Cheese:
1. I was a mathlete.
2. Danno won a regional competition in bagging for the great Albertsons family grocery. He even got to go with the number one checker from the store.
3. Danno beat me in a 5k. Although when he was "training" (meaning he ran once) he threw up on the side of a road in front of an old woman.
4. Children grab my stomach and ask where the baby is.
5. We watch Paris Hilton's New BFF religiously.
6. We both have SBO sweaters...not SOB sweaters as was the joke.
7. We successfully held feet, with interlocking toes. It hurt, but it was worth it.
8. We spend a lot of time sitting at a bar where we never drink. He makes the drinks while I study.
9. I can't catch anything thrown towards me.
10. We are the Champions my friend.

Where is Koala?

Hello friends and family! Look closely at this picture. Please take note of a few details.
1. The bowl is empty.
2. The bamboo is gone.
3. Koala is gone.
4. There are fish sticks beside the bowl.
No, we did not eat Koala. But there is a tragic story. However, first I would like to remind you of the conditions in owning my sweet little beta fishy. Danno said that we can have a baby if I could 1. keep the plants alive, and 2. keep the fish alive. Now for the tale of that dark, dark day.

I awoke one chilly October day and my nose was a little runny, and the tip of it was cold. I stepped onto our creaky floor and thought, "My tropical little beta fish must be freezing if me, a mammal underneath mountains of blankets is cold!" Due to my maternal nature, I wanted to warm up my little creature. So I did what any loving mother would do, I turned on the heater. After an hour, our glorified space heater was doing nothing but warming a corner of the house and my Koala was probably STILL cold. Then I thought, "Well I'll just put him by the heater of course!" I went about my business and then went to retrieve my fish. When I bent over, my fingertips were shocked with a foreign sensation! It is called "warmth."
The bowl was warm.
The water was too warm.
The fish was dead...and little cooked I assume.
I tried to cool him off with tepid water. I tried a little first aid by pushing on his little tummy to start his heart. Even my sad and sorry tears didn't bring back Koala.

The moral of this story is: sorry if you wanted a niece or nephew, grandson or grandaughter, playmate for your children, or cute baby eye candy. Its not gonna happen :)

October has been a time when Danno and I can actually spend some time with each other in the daylight! Fall has gotten us excited to spend holiday quality time together so we embarked on some fall fun. We hiked to the Wind Caves in Logan Canyon.

He did it!!!

Well after weeks of monotony, I finally have something to report! Danno got his acceptance letter to the University of Utah. We are so excited! Well, I'm getting a little bit worried about leaving Logan. I'm so happy to be moving closer to family but my life has been in Logan for 3.5 years now, PLUS I really like our apartment. Hopefully our new one isn't completely made of cinderblocks...
I would also like to report that Danno and I are loving being married and still haven't fought yet! I know we are still in the newly wed stage when I asked Danno to do some chores while I was at work and he only did the ones he wanted. Somehow, when I got home and had to finish the chores, I thought it was cute. I told him this phase where I always think he is cute would pass, and one day he would have to clean the fish bowl. But for the meantime, I still think he is cute.

Miracle or Guilty Conscience?

Danno came home from pumping iron a few days ago and found what I believe to be a tender mercy of the Lord! There, against the wall where we had left them about 1 1/2 months ago were our stolen gift cards! I know they weren't there before because not only had Danno and I torn up our apartment but my sweet friend Nadia had come and help me look for an hour too! I have no idea how they came back but we are so grateful for this HUGE blessing. We celebrated by getting the internet and Cafe Rio...yum.

We Are Still Alive!

Blogging has been a difficult task for us since Phillip left. Perhaps you are thinking, "who is Phillip? Is it their best friend? The mail man? The crazy neighbor who hammers at 3:14 am?" Nay, he is none of those. He happens to be the small strain of wireless internet that we managed to grab as we await our own hookup to begin. Danno and I have been very busy! School has begun yet again, and the nights of waking up in a puddle of your own slobber in a $200 text book about educating the youth of zion has begun. We have had a crazy first 6 weeks of our marriage! Our gift cards from our wedding were stolen out of our cute little apartment. Luckily, nothing else was taken! The intruder also walked into our home a few days later when I was home by myself, but left when he realized I was home. We have been very blessed and were even lucky enough to find some checks and a few gift cards that made our intrusion a little less sad. I was also blessed this week. Danno was working one of his 12 hour shifts and I was getting restless so I started trimming my split ends. Something went terribly awry and I ended up cutting my own hair including my bangs. Thankfully I'm better at hair cutting than I thought. We are well and we lock our doors religiously now and Danno doesn't leave me alone with scissors.

Hello Fam and Friends!

Well we have finally fallen into the blogging world. Danno and I want to keep in touch with all you web based folk! I don't really know what I'm doing but we will give it a go!