California Adventure Pictures

"Real World" Spring Break

Another reminder that you are no longer in college....NO SPRING BREAK! It was early March, I began to get really bored with everyday life, why sooo bored you ask?? I am used to getting scheduled breaks at random times throughout the year (thanks to our school systems for implementing thanksgiving break, Christmas break, fall break, winter break, spring break and best of all SUMMER!) Now that I live in the "real world", I have to trudge along with everyone else who works 9-5 in a break-less existence. Wait...there is a point to all my ranting. Quinn and I needed a break, a vacation of sorts. Since our birthdays are weeks apart in March and April, we decided to gift ourselves a vacation to California to visit Quinn's sister Katirna, her husband Doug and our nephew Sampson. This was our second annual trip to visit Katrina and Doug and we were excited to experience the outdoor/scenic side of California vs the touristy city stuff (all of which we did last year). We had a great time hiking, sleeping, shopping, and eating. It was a great way to celebrate both our birthdays! Thanks goes out to Doug and Katirna for being amazing hosts...anyone who goes to California should call them, they will show you a good time!

Our Titanic ImpersonationThe biggest piece of birthday cake I have EVER seen

March Madness!

No...not college basketball bracket buster (though Quinn would approve if I blogged about that). I am talking babies!! In March alone Quinn and I became Auntie and Uncle to 3 new nieces and 1 new nephew! Please welcome to the world....

Aubrey Stott

February 26, 2008

8 lbs 2 oz

Proud parents: Marne' and Dave

Thayne Michael Millet

March 2, 2008

7 lbs 6 oz

Proud parents: Floyd and Jo

Reese Phillips

March 15, 2008

6 lbs 8 oz

Proud parents: Kristi and Scott

Chloe Alexis Bates

March 29, 2008

7 lbs 11 oz

Proud parents: Jenn and Cory

A special thanks goes out to all of our siblings. With them reproducing so often...Quinn and I don't need to contribute for at least 4 years!

Culinary Creations

As most of you know I love to cook, especially DESSERT! As of the past 4 months or so, I have really been focusing on presentation. I feel like I can make something taste good, but I was not the best at making it look good. Here are some of my most recent experiments...I think I have made some progress.

A carrot cake I made for Quinn and I one Sunday night.

This is my first effort in making a cake actually look like something. My mom always did this when I was little, my birthday being in April, I got A LOT of bunny cakes. I thought I would try to recreate history for my nephew Tyler at his birthday.

I am proud to say that the bunny cake was quite the hit, particularly with all the kids there. I ALMOST did not want to eat it because it was so cute...however, it tasted as good as it looked!

This last one was a personal creation and quite the experiment. Rob and Elaine threw Quinn and I a little birthday fiesta at their house and I thought to myself, who better to experiment on than the in-laws?? So I created a Black and Blue Berry Cheesecake Trifle. This was made in honor of my in-laws, Millet's do love their trifle.

Spontaneous Extreme Makeover

One Thursday night I was complaining to Quinn about how I thought our carpets were dirty and wanted to get them cleaned. I was in the middle of listing the pros of carpet cleaning and why he should support me in my desire to have clean carpet, when I had an idea; why PAY to clean the carpet...when you can rip it up for FREE?! Home improvement Project!!! That defiantly perked Quinn's interest. We spent the rest of the evening crawling around our nasty old carpet peeling back the corners to reveal the solid wood floor underneath (one of the benefits of owning an old home). Our only worry, was that the previous owner may have covered the wood floor for a reason, like major scratches or water damage. The only was for us to find out however, was to completely rip it up to see the whole floor. The next day, I came home from work to Quinn on his hands and knees and this is the sight that met my eyes. You can imagine my surprise, I saw a huge pile of carpet a a super dirty wood floor littered with carpet staples and other unrecognizables. Well, it being a Friday night, we already had plans with friends, so we left the mess and met up with our friends for the night. Saturday morning, we got up bright and early and worked all day. We ripped out staples, scrubbed off glue and paint stains and swept up all the leftover carpet pad bits. We then used a whole bottle of wood oil to moisturize the floor. After letting the oil soak in overnight, the image we saw before going to bed on Sunday night quite a sight. A drastically different sight than what I saw late Friday night. Not to shabby for a weekend project!!

CarJacker...Kind of

Has anyone seen the hilarious show that feature stupid criminals like the guy who robs a convenient store but leaves his cell phone on the counter with the clerk or the guy who walks out on his tab at a restaurant, but then comes back 20 minutes later to get the jacket he left on accident?? They should start recruiting for talent in Sugarhouse, because I have a fully written and already preformed script for the next episode of that show.

Quinn and I were enjoying an uplifting dose of spirituality at church one Sunday morning at our church (located on a very busy street in Salt Lake). Quinn and I had driven separately because I had to go early for choir practice. After church I head out to my car and drive home. Quinn also heads out to his car (which is parked on the other side of the parking lot). As he gets closer to his car, he hears that it is idling, which is weird because the keys were in his pocket and the car doors were locked. He walked around his car to the other side and found this...

Apparently, the stupid criminal had gone through all the trouble of prying off the side of the window, busting in the window, ripping off the steering wheel cover and starting the car with his screwdriver before he realized that the steering wheel was locked. I guess Quinn accidentally locked it when he pulled himself out of the car before church. Needless to say, a locked steering wheel deterred our criminal from stealing Quinn's car. Our criminal left in such a hurry that he did not even turn the car off. As a result of his hurried departure, Quinn and I are now the proud owners of a new screwdriver. If you found you have misplaced yours....don't call us to complain, we may send the cops after you!

See how far we have come!

I was scanning through some pictures the other day and came across a few from our first months of marraige....1 year and 9 months ago. Those first few months we had a A B and C list. The A list was stuff we could not live without such as a shower curtain, food, and a broom. The stuff on the c list was stuff that everyone else probably has and you probaly should not live without, but our budget could not quite afford such luxuries as a trashcan, a mop, or "real" dishes. I am glad to say that we now have everything on our A, B, and even our C list. These pictures truly show how much can change in such a short time. Please Note the use of coolers as chairs! A very practical use of coolers if I do say so myself!