Can you say Karate Kid??

This weekend I had the opportunity of taking my nephew, Liam, to his Kyu Test. For those of you that don't know the lingo of Karate, this is a test for Karate Students to go through the basics of their level and then do their individual "Kata." Basically a series of Karate moves. They do this in front of their instructor and then the Instructor decides how well they did and if they should move up a belt or not.

You might be asking yourself, why didn't his parents take him? Well, they were busy gallivanting all over Europe. But every other year they have been there 100% supportive.

Well can I just say my nephew did AWESOME!! I seriously felt like I was sitting in Mr. Miyagi's Dojo and watching Daniel-son. Maybe it is because he takes after his Dad, who is a second-degree Black Belt!!
Liam did so fantastic, that instead of getting moved up one belt Purple to Blue, his instructor moved him up 2 belts, from Purple to Green & White. I was just beaming in the audience!!

Brendan's Birthday -- Moab!!

Last weekend was Brendan's Birthday. I thought it would be fun to plan a camping trip down to Southern Utah for us along with some of Brendan's good friends. Now . .you know how much I love my husband, if I willingly volunteer to plan a camping trip!! :)

We headed off on Friday afternoon, we decided it would be more fun if we all headed down to Moab in the Suburban, that way we could all ride together. Brendan and I were up front. Andrea, Jason and Steve were in the back.

We got to Moab in the early evening. We set up our tents and then started the BBQ. It was so much fun. We played some games that night and told stories around the campfire.

The next day we decided to go hiking in Arches National Park. Our first hike of the day was to Delicate Arch. This is an awesome hike and an awesome sight. It was so neat to hear so many different languages on the trail of the people we were by. If you have never been to Moab, it is definately worth a trip. It is such a unique place to visit and to hike.

Here is a picture of Delicate Arch. You can get some idea of its size, that is Brendan and myself standing underneath it!!

We also decided to hike Devil's Garden, to see the largest Arch in the world, Landscape Arch. On this hike you also get to see Tunnel Arch & Pine Tree Arch. All are amazing.

Here is a picture of Landscape Arch:

That night we went out for pizza and played games. We played Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and the girls, Andrea and myself, kicked the guys trash two out of the three games.

Sunday Morning, we got up and had breakfast and cleaned up camp. On our way home we stopped at Dead Horse Point. It is such an amazing sight to see. Basically like Utah's own Grand Canyon. The picture below is of our group!

My favorite picture of the weekend, the three boys sleeping on the rocks at Moab?? Why did the three of them want a picture of them pretending to be sleeping?? Let's just say, "Boys will be Boys!!"

Life's Little Soundtrack --by Brendan

How great would it be if life had its own soundtrack? Say you nail that big presentation at work and the theme from Rocky starts playing. Or, you walk into a party, and “Sexyback” by Justin Timberlake starts playing. Awesome, right?
Think about your own life’s soundtrack. If you’re stuck, you can borrow a few tracks from mine (see answers below):

1. It’s the first sunny Saturday of spring, and you’re on your way to Lowe’s. You open the sunroof and start seriously grooving to THIS SONG. You’re pretty sure the song is about drug hustling, but you can’t resist its intoxicating rhythm. You receive strange looks from fellow motorists and are brought to the abrupt realization that you are a 30-something white boy from the suburbs. So, you close your sunroof, turn up the volume and continue to groove.

2. It’s 3:53 a.m., and you’re on your way home from work (it’s Jazz Playoff time). It’s also the morning of your second anniversary, and you’re wife made you promise to, “not die.” Flying down the 1-15 at 97 miles per hour, you blast THIS SONG to keep yourself awake. As one of the coolest songs ever made, you can’t help but feel exhilarated, even though you’re half-asleep.

3. As a new addition to your iPod, THIS SONG is fast becoming one of those rare tunes you will never grow tired of listening to.

4. It’s the mid-80’s, and you’re on a field trip to the roller rink with your fifth-grade class. - Feathered hair, check. - Money for candy, check. - White T&C Surf shirt that looks rad under the black lights, check. It’s time to impress Misty Carbino and her friendship-bracelet-wearing clan. Your plan is simple: gain enough speed to jump the rink entry divider, skate up to snack bar and offer to share a 3-ft licorice rope with Misty. The time is now. THIS SONG is pumping. You’re gaining speed. You’re jumping the rink entry divider. You’re landing your jump (nice one!) You’re approaching the snack bar. You’re passing the snack bar. You’re crashing through the emergency exit door. The alarm is sounding. Ms. Applebee has sent you to a designated “time-out bench” to reflect on your reckless actions. Misty and her friends are still giggling at you. Years later, you realize simply talking to Misty proves far more effective.

5. You wish you could get THIS STUPID SONG out of your head. Try as you might, it’s still there.

6. So, your hippy-music loving little brother is in town from Portland to visit prospective colleges in Utah. What song do you play to get the maximum amount of older-brother teasing in during the 45 minute drive to Provo? You play THIS SONG. You’re pretty sure he’s still recovering from the experience.

7. You’re ashamed to admit that, through overexposure, you’ve involuntarily memorized every song from THESE TWO MUSICAL PRODUCTIONS. Thanks to your sisters for the first and your wife for the second.

8. So, what if you want to listen to a song from musical theatre without feeling like a total Nancy-Boy? You listen to THIS SONG.

9. You’ve been caught rocking out in your car many times. Most often, people simply smile and look away. Sometimes they laugh. Sometimes they point. THESE THREE SONGS have been responsible for your most recent embarrassing rock outs. Shamefully, your last encounter involved a car full of high-school girls who hit you with a triple-combo of laughing, pointing and mimicking your rock-out moves.

10. You’re heading back to Salt Lake City after a bittersweet trip to California where you visited your pseudo ex-girlfriend. She had again pleaded for an explanation of why you left Los Angeles and, ultimately, her. You had cited religious differences because you knew she wouldn’t understand the real reason (that you woke up one night with a strong “gut feeling” to move back to Utah). With the exception of a quick stop in Barstow, to pick up new sunglasses and a chocolate Frosty, you listen to THIS SONG the entire way home. You can’t believe how perfectly the lyrics fit your situation. Feeling guilty and completely sorry for yourself, you wonder if you’re crazy for making yet another life-changing leap of faith. None of this makes sense to you until almost two years later when you meet a hot, little blonde who changes everything with a pinky swear.


1. “Paper Planes” by M.I.A
2. “Extreme Ways (Bourne Ultimatum Remix)” by Moby
3. “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay
4. “Tarzan Boy” by Baltimora
5. The jingle from the Hotwire.com commercials
6. “International Harvester” by Craig Morgan
7. Music from the musical productions of Annie and Wicked
8. “One Night in Bangkok” by Murray Head (from the musical Chess)
9. “Beer For My Horses” by Toby Keith and Willie Nelson, “Teenagers” by My Chemical Romance, and “Shut Up And Let Me Go” by the Ting Tings
10. “Everybody’s Changing” by Keane

My Week in Pennsylvania

This week for work, I got to travel back East to Pennsylvania!! A friend from work, Kim and I flew to Philadelphia on Monday. We got there in the early afternoon and decided to head to Philadelphia's Downtown to see some of our nation's history. We had a total blast walking around and seeing all of the cities great sites.

That night for dinner, we thought we should find a very authentic Philly Cheesesteak!! So we asked a couple of guys on the street and they showed us on our walking map where we should go. After 45 minutes of walking, we ended up on this corner of 2 competing Philly Cheesesteak places. Now if any of you watch the Food Network, there is a show: Diners, Drive-In's & Dives. We LOVE that show. And it just so happens that one of the episodes we caught, was about this exact place!! I was so dang excited to experience it. We decided to go old school and go to Pat's over Geno's. Pat's is the original, as you can tell from the pictures. The sandwich was so GOOD and well worth the 45 minute walk.

After dinner, we went back to our rental car and headed west to Lancaster. This is Amish Country for those of you that don't know. It was SO PRETTY. I have been there before, back when I was a senior in High School, but I was amazed at how green and how everything was already in bloom. We did a little bit of exploring in Amish Country and had a blast.

On the way back to our flight, we decided to stop by Valley Forge. I was very impressed and very humbled to be in such a historical place.

Oh yes and we did actually work while we were out there!!

Tulip Festival 2008

Last weekend, while Brendan was helping some close friends of ours move, I decided go to the Tulip Festival with my sister Stephanie and her family. The Tulip Festival is at Thanksgiving Point and this year, they planted over 250,000 tulip bulbs. The Gardens at Thanksgiving Point looked amazing.

For those outside of Utah, we haven't been having the warmest of Springs. The day we chose to venture to the Festival, it was very sunny but also very windy which made it somewhat of a cold day. But still we had a blast walking around and looking at all the scenery. And also, of course shopping. There were some booths set up for the Festival activities, so of course we had to make a stop at them!!

Here is a picture of Steph and me:

PS: GO JAZZ!!!

Celebrity Crushes according to Brendan

The topic of harmless celebrity crushes recently came up in conversation. This soon led to confessions of weird celebrity crushes. Now, I’m not talking about the Jessica Albas or Brad Pitts of the world. I’m talking about the ones that make you think, “Am I normal?”

Allow me to share some examples:

Brendan’s Weird Celebrity Crushes:

- Julie McCoy from “The Love Boat”

I not sure why the 9-year-old me was drawn to this clipboard carrying twenty-something with a Ronald McDonald hairdo. Wait, I just answered my own question

- Jan from “The Office”
She’s crazy, but I just don’t care.

- Cheryl Burke from “Dancing with the Stars”
This one may not seem odd until you take into account the other popular crush possibilities on the show. Forget Julianne Hough and Edyta Sliwinska. I’ll take Cheryl every time.

- Mary Poppins
Hey, I’m as confused as you are.


Nikki’s Weird Celebrity Crushes:

- Usher
- Matt Lauer
- Edward from the Vampire Books
-and my personal favorite… Kid Rock!

Speaking of odd celebrity crushes, I’d like to call out a few celebrities who, at some point, have fooled many into thinking they are crush worthy. Here are eight of my most overrated Hollywood beauties (using the term very loosely):

8. Scarlett Johannson (o-v-e-r-a-t-e-d, clap, clap… clap, clap, clap… o-v-e-r-a-t-e-d)

7. Julia Roberts (her best role? Racing against War Admiral with Toby McGuire on her back)

6. Madonna (music: good, music video: bad)

5. Helen Hunt (leading lady roles throughout the 90’s? Give her agent a raise!)

4. Kate Blanchett (talk about a miscast for Galadriel. Was it just me, or were Frodo and Legolas both prettier?)

3. Glen Close/Meryl Streep (I can’t tell which is which, and making a distinction would require me to look at them.)

2. Jodie Foster (see Helen Hunt, but worse)

And the #1 offender… Sarah Jessica Parker! Bleeech! To quote Peter Griffin, “Well, they let Sarah Jessica Parker on the TV, and she looks like a foot.”

Do you agree/disagree with this post? Do you have a weird celebrity crush you’d like to share? If son, I’d love to hear all about it. Maybe it will help me feel normal.

Something to Blog About

This week we had our monthly Family Home Evening with our great friends, April and Justin!! We have been doing this for awhile, one Monday a month we get together and have FHE. This consists of dinner, spiritual thought and an activity!! We take turns hosting every other month!

Here is a picture of Justin and Brendan working on the puzzle that we wanted to put together! They were a great team and made quite a bit of progress on it. April and I on the other hand, mainly talked!!

This is April and their new son Carson. He is three months old and so dang cute!! He is such a good baby and it is so fun to see their cute family!!!