The Balli Family

Austin Doesn't Like SANTA???

2011-12-11T18:53:00.000-08:00

I know there are a lot of kids that cry when they sit on Santa's lap... But, Austin never cries when anyone holds him. EVER. He's even talked to a few bearded men before-- so I don't know what did him in last night with Santa, but it was pretty funny and cute. The minute he touched him, he flipped out.

Lemon Juice

2011-10-24T10:56:00.000-07:00

If anyone knows the Swenson family side well, they know that we all LOVE drinking lemon juice... weird, I know. I too, love lemon juice. I remember my aunts giving it to us a lot, they would drink it too. So, I thought I'd continue passing the goodness on to our kids- Austin just needs more adjusting time ha ha!

yup, christmas music already :)

My Boys

2011-09-26T17:56:00.000-07:00

They fell asleep like this on the couch for a while... I just love them!

3rd Year Anniversary!

2011-08-16T21:03:00.000-07:00

Russ and I went down to Colorado Springs for our anniversary this year! We had so much fun! We dropped Austin off at Nini's and Pop's (grandparents) house, which I didn't realize how hard it would actually be to leave him overnight... I did survive however :) We ate a wonderful dinner, topped off later with coldstone, then we went to a late showing of Harry Potter (which was awesome)! In the morning we went to the Garden of the Gods, which is a very cool natural rock park-- I was amazed at how thin and wide each rock slab was. There were a lot of people walking around, and quite a few rock climbers. We ended the day up in Manitou Springs-- ate some delicious Middle Eastern food for lunch and walked around the cute shops and art galleries... I wish we could do it all over again-- until next year!

I feel like we've been married MUCH longer than 3 years- such an interesting feeling. I love it :) I love being married to Russell so much and am grateful for him in so many ways. He is my best friend, an excellent communicator, talented in music and with people, and a wonderful husband and father. Thanks for 3 great years Russ! I'm excited for more!

Mad At Mommy

2011-08-10T21:35:00.000-07:00

I was busy taking a few product photos outside on our balcony last week, and Austin wanted to come with me... but, that created a problem because he wanted to eat my plants. Of course I wont let him eat them, so I gave him a couple more chances before I decided it'd be better to have him watch me from the inside... boy was I in trouble for that. He was so mad at me! I couldn't help but take a few photos of the drama since I had the camera-- I hope you enjoy them as much as I do ha ha!

They crack me up, but the 4th one breaks my heart

I couldn't bear that face anymore... so I gave in and let him come out with me again, and guess what he did?? Went STRAIGHT to the plant again, lol!

Things I Love About My Baby

2011-08-10T21:21:00.002-07:00

Here are some of the things I adore about you:

1. I love your 3 unique little teeth.
2. The way you hit the coffee table as hard as you can and yell out in excitement as you make laps around it.
3. How you are SO SERIOUS about making the biggest splashes you can manage to make in the tub and swimming pool.
4. Your tight lipped cheesy smile... melts my heart.
5. The way you look up at me with your bright baby blue eyes.
6. Your chin. So small and cute.
7. I get a kick out of your cry when you are mad at mom and dad. You are so dramatic :)
8.The way you crawl... never on your hands and knees. Some people call it the army crawl, others the lizard crawl. Whatever it is, you can sure get to where you want to go.
9. I love how you LOVE people. You never cry around others and you let anybody hold you.
10. Sometimes I can’t believe how much you can fit in your stomach, where does it all go? Nevermind, I don't need to ask that...
11. I love it when your cousin Christine comes over and you can’t stop laughing at her (laughing hard)... I still don’t understand what makes her so funny to you, but it’s sure cute :)
12. You learned to flip through books at a young age. I love how you love books already!
13. Your model pose. When you’re crawling and want to stop and see whats going on, you do this 'pose' on your side like your showing off or something.
14. I love how you are obsessed with your daddy-- one of your favorite things is having him play with you, throw you, tickle you, and laugh with you. You two are buds.

Our Baby is 6 Months Old!

2011-06-08T07:12:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Austin is 6 months now! It seems like everything progressed quickly in the last month too... started sitting up much better, got his first 2 teeth at just over 5 months old, started using different tones when he babbles and tries to talk, and 3 days ago he started CRAWLING. He is so quick to learn... we sure love him!

Kallie's Wedding

2011-05-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

Last week me and Austin went to my cousin Kallie's wedding in Gunnison Utah. It was a beautiful wedding, and was fun to see our relatives we don't see often enough. We stayed with my family for a week before the wedding and it was so fun to watch Austin and Gwen together-- they're so cute :)

Cousin Time!

2011-05-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

My cousin Brandy moved to Denver last week! She lives just a few blocks away and is in our ward-- so fun!

Brandy, Adam, and Christine

Austin and Christine

Austin and Josh

2011-05-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

Our friends Ryan and Sarah in our ward have a little boy (Josh) the same age as Austin- every time they see eachother they get so excited :) This time, however, they were not so happy ha ha.

josh is sad

austin is sad

they're both sad...

now they're ok ha ha

Sarah playing with them

Photo Dump of Austin

2011-05-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

These photos are of Austin from the past couple of months-- enjoy!

Austin never stayed in his swing very well...

One minute he was on his blanket, the next, under the table???

He can't crawl yet- how did he do that?

Fell asleep like this on the couch

Russell put this on him :)

Sitting on a big chair

Fell asleep like this while I was making jewelry

Threw up ALL over me- little stinker

Watching American Idol with daddy

Shirt that describes him best...

Watching Winni the Pooh

Eating bananas all by himself

Our Son Attracts Cats...

2011-04-07T10:01:00.000-07:00

Austin is a pretty dramatic kid... its hilarious. One night about a month ago, he was crying and the squeaky tone of his voice attracted a stray cat that starting meowing and scratching at our front door. It was pretty funny- and the next morning when he was having fun squealing, the cat came back-- but to our porch window. I put Austin right in front of the window to look at it and he stopped crying immediately-- I love our kid!

Austin in his Jolly Jumper!

2011-04-04T15:24:00.000-07:00

Austin's First Laugh on Camera!

2011-04-04T14:54:00.000-07:00

He is SO cute! Finally got him to laugh on camera :)

Russell and Austin

2011-04-04T14:36:00.000-07:00

So, one day Russell looked at Austin when he was holding him and said "Hi!", and he started balling... I got part of it on video, SO funny! Hope you all get a laugh out of it! ha ha

At the Zoo with Jamie and David

2011-03-29T14:41:00.000-07:00

I love my sister! Her and Dave have been down here a lot this year so far, its been so much fun :) Last time they came down for spring break and went to the zoo- Austin LOVED the fish aquariums (just like his daddy) and was being pretty cute!

Cute guys!

Feeding break :)

For those of you who think Austin is serious all the time--- think again.

He is MR. DRAMA, (so glad I caught this on camera :)

Dave; this photo's for you. (He was just as interested in the geese walking

around as much as everything else)

he's like "mom, how many pics are you gonna TAKE?"

Try for a Free Illustration Print!

2011-03-11T22:30:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! I need your help to promote my illustration facebook page. There is a great perk for doing it too...

If you complete the 4 steps below, you can be one of 3 winners to receive a completely FREE 5X7 illustration print of your choice. As soon as there are 100 "likes" on my illustration page, I will do a drawing for the 3 winners. Each illustration will be mailed directly to your house :)

All you need to do is:

1. "LIKE" it.
2. Leave a COMMENT on at least one illustration from my photo album(s).
3. Write on my WALL or comment on this POST which 5X7 illustration you would like for yourself if you are one of the winners.
4. Forward this message to your facebook friends (as many as you can-- the more the better).

Good Luck!

-Megan-

Austin at 3 Months

2011-03-10T13:38:00.000-08:00

Austin turned 3 old months on Tuesday-- and he is already wanting to walk! He's constantly wanting to stand and sit up, and will get mad if you don't let him- next purchase: Jolly Jumper.

Check this out- so cute!

Zoo

2011-02-21T07:52:00.000-08:00

It was free day at the zoo this past weekend and we thought we'd all go-- just like the rest of Denver ha ha. It was CRAZY how many people were there. Still all enjoyed what we could see though :)

Justin

2011-02-21T07:44:00.000-08:00

Congrats to our friend Annie who had her baby boy on Wednesday! He was 8 lbs 6 oz, 23 inches long, named him Justin Terence. He and Austin will be good friends :)

Ty Ty's Games

2011-02-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

Had to post some photos of Tyler's games we've been going to :) There's no doubt us Ballis are the number one fans out there-- We're always dressed up in Arapahoe gear, never missing a game, yelling loudest at all the bad calls, making friends with Ty's friends and other students, first ones to come and last ones to leave the gym! (Of course there are some other great fans out there too...) Enjoy the pics! Go Arapahoe!

Baby Blessing

2011-02-06T20:25:00.000-08:00

Austin was blessed today - February, 6 2011- and wore the same outfit that Russell wore when he was blessed.

FINALLY!

2011-01-24T16:44:00.000-08:00

After a couple of years waiting for a decent portfolio and trying to figure out how to do a website, I FINALLY did it! Here is my official photography website: www.meganballi.com. Help spread the word, I would love to do a few weddings this year :)

Events of 2010

2011-01-21T23:19:00.001-08:00

I was thinking back on 2010 and realized that Russell and I had a very very eventful year; I thought I'd post the most important events, which are kind of big events, from this past year. (Keep in mind I was pregnant for 9 months of all of this-- crazzzzy). Here they are in order:

I finished illustrating a self-published children's book for Nancy Livingston (my first book!)

Bought my Canon 5D professional camera & lens

Russell graduated from BYU

My sister Emily got married

Did a few photography shoots

Got called to be the Relief Society president

Afton had baby Gwen

Russell went to Europe on tour with BYU Synthesis for 3 weeks

Then we moved to Denver a week after he got back

Ryan and Ashleigh had baby Sophia

Russell built a fishtank stand

We moved into our own apartment after staying with Russ' parents for a month

Russell recorded an NBA skit with Rocky to be played at future Jazz/Nuggets games

Megan and Aaron had baby Brandon

Russell and I had baby Austin

We flew to Utah for Christmas after 2 weeks of having Austin

WOW HUH!??? I'm very curious to see what kind of year 2011 is going to bring for us after all of that. I can't imagine any year could be as eventful as 2010, but who knows...

Oh Poop.

2011-01-21T12:49:00.000-08:00

This past week was pretty funny-- Austin has been spitting up (were working on portion control this week ha ha) and a BIG pooper lately. David and Jamie were here visiting, and he had an explosion while I was holding him, which, for the first time, somehow actually made it's way out the side of the diaper and all over me. A few days before that disaster, I had to change him literally 3 times in a row right after another cus he kept pooping. Now I just let him sit in it for a while- we save a ton of diapers this way :) Then, get this, after we fed the missionaries and of course during the thought before they left, he let out some monster ones during the whole lesson-- we were all cracking up over it. Then today I gave him a bath in the sink, and I had to refill the sink 3 times before he was clean, cus he kept pooping in the water... I wish I would've thought to take pics of that one. Somehow after all the boogers, throw up and poop, he is still SO DANG CUTE.

threw up on one leg, pooped on the other (don't ask how, I have NO idea).

TOTALLY milk drunk-- threw up all over me

cute times- playing with daddy's ipod before church

Had to post this...

2011-01-08T23:59:00.001-08:00

Happy 4 Week Birthday Austin!

2011-01-04T12:08:00.001-08:00

Sometimes I can't believe how fast this kid is growing! He is a big eater and gained a pound in one week, which is crazy :) It has been an interesting experience being a mommy. So far, I love it-- I love the little sounds he makes- he has a scratchy voice. I love his little cries, and yes, even his BIG cries-- even though they make you feel like you wanna pull your hair out in the middle of the night. He's keeps us up a lot at night, but overall does pretty well. We get 4 hour stretches every once in a while which is great. He started smiling a couple of weeks ago which has melted our hearts-- what a sweet little boy! We sure love him!

As for an update for Russell and I (since it's been a while), Russell is working at a plastic molding warehouse temporarily until we can find more work for him. He might possibly start school this coming fall, but isn't sure yet. He was called to be the ward music director and enjoys doing that right now. He is a great daddy and loves his little boy :)

I love being a stay at home mom, and am amazed at how fast each day seems to fly by. I love having Austin here with me, he is so cute. I am planning to do a little marketing for my freelance photography business to help supplement some income-- and of course because I love doing it. I would like to do some personal art projects this year as well, as part of my new year's resolutions. Wish us all luck!

Welcome Austin Silas!

2010-12-16T10:25:00.000-08:00

Here he is!! Born on December 7th, 2010-- weighed 8 lbs even and was 20 3/4 inches long. I took these photos of him at almost 2 weeks old... he's a very strong and beautiful little boy.

Baby Showers!

2010-11-19T20:06:00.000-08:00

I just realized I forgot to post photos of my baby shower from October-- It was held at the Balli's home, and Megan and Robyn put it together for me. It was sweet of them and turned out beautiful! It was also pretty funny when a few mix-ups happened because of me and Megan's similar names--- she was so worried about people thinking she was throwing a shower for herself (since she was due a month before me). We had some good laughs about it, ha ha.

Also, at the last minute, my awesome vt companion thought she would throw a shower for me too! It's tomorrow morning. Thought that was so sweet of her-- it will be fun to get to know some of the girls in my ward better since Russ and I just moved in :) Thanks guys!

Maternity Self Portraits

2010-11-10T18:47:00.001-08:00

Hair Yesterday, Gone Last Night...

2010-11-09T08:47:00.000-08:00

I have 3 weeks left before our baby gets here, and was not expecting to get so emotionally unstable in the last month of pregnancy-- If you know me well enough, you would say I'm typically a happy, easy-going person. But the last couple of weeks especially have been a roller-coaster ride of extreme emotional ups and downs that I've gone through and put Russell through.

Looking back at some of them make me laugh and wonder what my problem is-- crying over swollen feet, gaining weight, lost running shoes and sports bras before going on my walk, fear of having a 10 pound baby, and irrationally taking all my anger out at Russ about silly things like dirty dishes, laundry... etc. Not to mention my insomnia lately... I'm sure that's not helping.

I feel like a mess. Your all thinking, "poor guy" right? Well, it gets worse. I actually had a great day yesterday, until after my docs appointment. He told us he is slightly worried that our baby will be a big baby, which freaks me out because your first is typically your smallest. My emotions just plummeted after that, so I took a nap while Russell went to work. When he got home we ate dinner, then I started playing boggle online by myself while trying not to be depressed about having a monster baby. (This is the part where it gets worse): In the middle of one my games, I hear Russell call from the other room needing my help. I, feeling slightly annoyed cus I wasn't finished my game, thought he needed help with his fishtank. So I went in the room to find him cutting his own hair, and needing help with the hairline on the back of his head. (He has needed a haircut really bad for a few weeks now...) I took the clippers, thinking that he wanted the back of his hair shorter and blended, and didn't realize there wasn't a size attached and took out a huge square chunk of hair from the back of his head.

We both realized at the same time what happened, and he turned to me and was like "what are you DOING?" I was completely speechless, and after he looked at the back of his head with a mirror we cracked up laughing. I went from one emotional extreme to the other, and couldn't stop laughing for like a half hour- this is what I ended up doing to him before we had to shave his whole head:

One Last Ultrasound!

2010-11-04T17:14:00.000-07:00

We had our last ultrasound yesterday! It was so fun to get another sneak-peak before our little guy gets here in 3.5 weeks. His weight is estimated at 6 lbs 11 oz right now. He was so cute; bent in half and sucking on his toes and hands... can't wait to meet him! Here's the photos of him:

Russell's Moment of Fame :)

2010-11-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

So, the Denver Nuggets mascot, Rocky, needed a saxophonist last week to film his new video clip to rip on the Utah Jazz--- and because Rocky has a few friend connections to the Balli family, Russell got to play the part! If you know Russell very well, you know he's a HUGE Nuggs fan, and hates the Jazz, so it was the perfect little gig for him ha ha. (This clip is going to be played at all the Nuggets/Jazz games on the jumbotron for the next couple of years.)

-Although Russ complained about having to wear a Deron Williams jersey, it

was worth it in the end--- he got his moment of fame, AND free tickets to the

upcoming Nuggets/Jazz home game in February!

This is my recording of the video clip-- we'll post the original/edited one when Rocky sends it to us :) ...and yes, he actually destroyed that saxophone.

New Apartment!!

2010-09-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

After moving in with my in-laws for a month and a half, we finally got our apartment! And, I am so happy its starting to come together this week :) There's still a lot of miscellaneous things to get done, and as you can see... the baby's room needs more help than anything else right now-- look at all the clothes we need to wash ha ha-- We have a washer & dryer now though, which has been SOOOOOO nice!!!!! I feel like a queen having this luxury after going to the nasty laundromats in Provo (yuck). Anyway, here are some pics of our new place:

DINING ROOM

KITCHEN

BATHROOM

LIVING ROOM

BABY'S ROOM

2nd Year Anniversary

2010-08-15T18:45:00.001-07:00

Russell and I decided to go to Downtown Aquarium for our 2nd year anniversary Sat night. I promise we didn't have a theme picked out for our anniversary, but it seems to have turned out that way ha ha. Everything was fish. We started the day finishing Russell's 75 gallon fishtank stand he's been building over the past couple of weeks (you can check out his fish blog for details on that). Then we headed down to the aquarium and ate fish for dinner at the restaurant there (very good). We were right beside a big ol' salt water tank with sharks. Then we went through each of the exhibitions they had. It was very well put together and a lot of fun for families. On the way back home, we decided to get some icecream at Bonnie Brae's -which was very delicious. Thats when we found out that Ryan and Ashleigh had a baby girl! Congrats to them :) Then, get THIS, we went home and finished the night by watching some fish documentary shows on tv... ha ha. Didn't plan that part at all-- Then, this morning Russell woke me up with breakfast in bed and a cute homemade card (with fishes he drew on it). Here are some of our pics:

Rockies Game

2010-08-04T20:42:00.000-07:00

I got to go my first major league baseball game yesterday! It was very enjoyable, but I feel sad cus every professional game I've been to in my life we lost..... Starting to wonder if I'm bad luck or something. Final score was 10 to 0 for the Giants-- but hey, at least the food was great :) Nothin like eating a GIGANTIC hotdog that you cant even pick up without it getting destroyed and falling apart all over you. I just wish I was hungry enough to finish it cus it was pretty good-- thats what Russell and Rick are here for though ha ha. Here's a couple pics:

Good ol' Denver traffic before the game

Coors Field

Todd Helton up to bat

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

Move to Denver

2010-08-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

Russell and I are now in Denver as of last Thursday, July 29th! Pretty exciting new chapter in our lives right now-- we both graduated, no more school for a little while anyway. It feels nice just to have to worry about finding jobs and an apartment without the stresses of homework and classes. We're staying with Russ' parents until we can find a job and be able to get into an apartment-- it feels really great to be here so far. We're having lots of fun with the family and our little nephews Josh & Jake. It's definitely hard knowing that I won't be closer to my fam when our little boy arrives, but at least were within a 10 hour drive from them-- which really isn't that bad. Here are a few photos of Denver and Russ & I:

Downtown Denver

Denver at Night

Before and After Ultrasound Shots

2010-07-21T05:07:00.000-07:00

We are thinking about the name Austin lately-- not completely set on it yet, but it seems we are both leaning to it more and more :) So exciting!

This is our little guy now at 21 weeks:

This was him at 17 weeks, a month ago: (he got a lot bigger huh!?)

Pregnant Belly Photos :)

2010-07-10T12:45:00.000-07:00

Here is my photo pregnancy journal. I love being pregnant, but can't wait to meet our little guy! We are so excited :)

31 WEEKS

29 WEEKS

27 WEEKS

25 WEEKS

23 WEEKS

21 WEEKS

20 WEEKS

18 WEEKS

Russ' Haircut and Pregnant Pics

2010-07-03T13:42:00.000-07:00

Before Russ left to Europe he really wanted to shave his head-- so I let him... shaved a line right down the middle of his head, then we finished the rest. That wasn't short enough apparently, he had to bic it too ha ha :) I actually think it suits him well, he is cute :) I took a few photos cus Im a camera girl- enjoy!

Here are a couple pregnant shots of my belly :) I'm 18 weeks here, almost 19-- our little boy is so active, and I feel him moving around almost all the time now. So exciting! (Thanks Jamie for sending me my very first maternity shirt, I love it!)

Battle Creek Falls

2010-07-03T13:36:00.000-07:00

Russ and I hiked up to Battle Creek Falls the Saturday before Afton had her baby :) It was so much fun, it was WAY hot, but totally worth it. We made some killer hamburgers after too-- Here are some pics:

BABIES!

2010-06-22T14:19:00.000-07:00

We had a crazy day yesterday... my sister Afton had her baby early at 34 weeks last night at 10:55 pm. She was 5 lbs 7 oz, 18 inches tall, dark hair, and so beautiful! Her name is Gwen :) She is doing really well, and probably wont be in ICU for too long because she is normal, healthy, and already breathing on her own a little. Little sis Cami was there to help Afton through everything, what a sweetheart.

Also, this morning at 9:30 am, Russell and I had our first ultrasound, and found out were having a boy! We are so pumped and excited about it! He was moving all over the place, pretty funny to watch :) Here are a few photos of Afton's little Gwen, and our little boy's ultrasound. Enjoy!

Graduation and Women's Conference

2010-05-24T09:31:00.000-07:00

Russell graduated this semester!!! YAY, no more undergrad schoolwork! too bad he still has 2 classes left... he's getting through them though. His graduation went really well-- I guess you could say he was somewhat bored cus we kept getting texts from him ha ha. His family came over from Denver for it, so it was really fun to be with them for a while. All the girls stayed an extra week so we could go to women's conference together-- I only went one morning because I had to work; enjoy the pics anyway!

Baby News!

2010-05-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

Now that we've had our first appointment--- we thought we would announce that we are expecting this November!!!! We are so excited :) I went to our first appointment this week and it was so beautiful to hear the baby's heartbeat-- 166 beats per minute-- pretty fast, and very active. We'll find out the gender near the end of June. I'm pretty excited to be done with the first trimester (which ends this week), got morning sickness pretty bad and threw up a lot- not fun, but totally worth it. Lots of changes are coming our way this year-- moving to Denver in July, new school for Russell, and babies from my sister, 2 sisters in law, and a cousin :) We'll keep you all updated--

March Update

2010-04-06T11:45:00.000-07:00

It's been over a month since we've updated our family blog- a lot has happened in the last month. We had a big birthday party for my dad's 50th, and decided (quite a while ago actually) that we wanted to give him a fishtank for his birthday since he has always wanted one but never got one. Russell and I had it set up at our place for a while and bought different kinds of fish for it so it would be ready for the party. My dad had no idea anyone was planning anything so it was a great surprise. We almost had the whole family over for it, including our good friends Jason & Sue and their kids- so fun. We made it a party for him, my mom, and my bro Jake because their birthdays are so close together.

This month my sister Afton found out that she is having a girl! She already has the name picked out and everything- so cute- "Gwen". She is due the very last day of July, it will come quickly, and my parents will be grandparents for the first time :)

Landon and Emily are getting married on May 7th, so Russ and I went down to St. George to do their engagements and bridals, they are such a cute couple and we love them.

We had our 3rd mission reunion this past weekend, it was SO awesome to see everyone and especially President and Sister Packer. They gave wonderful talks and like usual, really showed how much they love us.

As for Russell- he is doing his best to hang on until he graduates this April. We are both pretty excited about that even though he still has 2 more spring classes and a Synthesis tour to Europe for three weeks this July. After that however, we will most likely be moving to Denver! We are pumped about that- it will be a huge change but hopefully one that will only be for the better.

And for myself, I'm still working at Sharpe Photography and learning a lot about photo retouching and the whole business. It's been a great opportunity to work here. I just got a new camera not too long ago- the Canon 5D MarkII- which has been so fun to have, and will hopefully bring in a lot more freelance work. I've been pretty excited about it. I've also been starting to study nutrition more and healthier ways of eating/living. Its been an eye-opening experience learning how bad some of our food is- too bad they make it taste so good. Although I'm out of school (hopefully just temporarily) I really love taking advantage of learning more on my own. I'm currently reading "The 5000 Year Leap" which I would highly suggest to any American citizen, and I'm not even American! Anyhoo, thats enough update for now.

Baby Fishies

2010-02-28T20:34:00.000-08:00

I know it's usually Russell who blogs about fish and stuff, but here is my little blurb: I love miniature things a ton... and a lot of our fish now have, and are having, little teeny-weeny babies that are the cutest things you could EVER IMAGINE (that's for you Russ- he teases me cus I say 'ever imagine' too much). So I thought I would share the joy in a picture I took of our tiny teensy weeny-teeny little South American apisto fishy. Here he is!

(I put him in a cup to take a picture, he was the size of a pin-head not too long ago... so cute)

Home and Visiting Teaching

2010-02-28T20:21:00.000-08:00

Kind of an unusual subject for a blog I know. I just love it when you have great people you visit, and the people who visit you bring you banana bread and cookies and stuff. Not only that, but Russ now has a new fishtank buddy, and I now have a website builder buddy who can help me get my website up and going. Hoorah for home and visiting teaching!

Kicked out of Intramural basketball game!

2010-02-23T20:39:00.000-08:00

So I have another reason to be excited to leave Utah!

Tonight I had an intramural basketball game with my ward. It was a very quiet game, and the other team only had 4 players so it wasn't really close. The world's shortest referee had the front court on a fast break and one of our players cleanly blocked it. I am talking squeaky clean....the ref called the foul, probably cause he couldn't see over the guys socks! In protest I looked at and put my hands in air and said "are you kidding me"? INSTANT TECHNICAL! BAM! The next words "Are you serious" INSTANT EJECTION! BAM! Out of utter disbelief what had just happend, I commented to him on my way off the court, which might have been over the top, but I just couldn't believe it, "I am sorry they don't pay you enough". That set the little man off...I had to leave the gym....Luckily there were many witnesses and so I am sure I won't get the dreaded ban from BYU Intramural sports, though maybe this guy will pull up his pants high enough to squeak something like that out. Anyway, I couldn't believe the trigger this guy had on him, he could have been competing in the Decathlon in the Olympics. See ya Utah!

Jazz/Nuggets Comments

2010-02-07T23:02:00.000-08:00

For all of those Jazz fans who read this blog I just want to make sure you don't get too excited. It was actually really fun to watch nuggs bench come in a play really well and they weren't scared at all. We were 10 points away from going 4-0 against the jazz this season and increasing the lead to 4 games in the NW division. It is going to be fun to watch the pull away and take over the west after the all-star break! In Chauncey we trust!

Jazz/Nuggets Game in SLC

2010-02-07T18:48:00.000-08:00

Russ and I went to the Jazz/Nuggets game last night. It was really fun to be there... but the game was really sloooow, which made it somewhat boring, and then, we lost. I was sad cus I've only been to 3 pro games in my life and every time I've gone we lost. But we had a good time anyway and I love Russell so MUCH!

Canadian Childhood Journals

2010-02-07T15:23:00.000-08:00

I went up to Idaho to visit my family and go to a fireside (Barbara Barrington Jones-- best motivational speaker ever by the way) and I brought home my "treasure box" full of past keepsakes. I decided to flip through my old elementary school journals for fun, and was laughing hysterically at some of the things I wrote. Russell was on his computer beside me laughing too, but mainly at how hard I was laughing. Here are some of my journal entries from age 5-7 (you'll enjoy my bad spelling... I was a terrible speller):

-I thek today Ben is haveing the birthday.

-I hav pe ke eye. ("i have pink eye"- that was my whole journal entry for the day ha ha)

-I brote my ownde pony today.

-I Have a Smrfe. (smurf)

-A sepe got awt my mom codint gat it in me and Afton can't ethere. (sheep got out)

-I brought my skats I get to keep my skats at school. I like my skats I get to go skating.

-my Favourite animal is a horse. a beautful little horse. (I laughed harder at this one than any of the others...)

-my Favourite coler is green the coler of a lilli pade.

-I hate tomatos. I hate eggs. I hate tomato soop. I hate bat man.

-if I was able to be a owl that flaps around every night with yellow golden eyes and pretty orange feet.

-When I was doing the dish rack I stoped to think. then I played around then mommy come and gave me a spancking and I did not like that at all. and then I forgot everything.

-my family is most precious because they love me very much and I love them to. and anther thing that is precious is you! (I was referring to my teacher)

-my problem is my old sister! she is a brat!

-Sometimes I dont get my own way but most of the times I do.

-If I had a robot Id play games with him. and get mony from him then I could bye a treet for him and me.

-If I could make the rules for the whole world I'd go swiming forever at hot springs and tell people to make pottery every day for me!

-Angela Lana Jaimie Marcy and me made a ice castle together. Amanda Lilli and me had a snow shoe race and I won! Are we going to have another french carnival again sometim?

-If I went to the moon, I'd take my treasure box and my baby sister camilla that would be fun.

We are learning about heat at Inventations day. I can't wait we only get one more practice whith heat!

-we might go swimming at smithers whith Ali and might go walk on the ice where cars drive across the ice.

-If I were a big buddy to a Kindergaten I'd help them go to the assembly. I'd help them do Art.

-daddy is making two gardens!

-on the way to school I saw a dear I do not know if it is a boy or a girl!

As you can see, I was an animal lover... most of my entries had a reference to some kind of animal- mainly sheep and horses. Canadian's have funny childhoods eh?

Crisp Chicken Burritos at 7-Eleven

2010-02-03T21:35:00.001-08:00

So, Russ and I decided to go get some crisp chicken burritos at 7-Elven a while ago (cus they're really yummy) and had an interesting experience with the employee there. He was ridiculously chipper, and the moment we walked in -and with a not-so-quiet voice- he's like "Happy MONDAY!!! How you are two doin' this Monday evening? What can I help you with?" And we like, "we'll, we just wanted to get a couple of those burritos over there," and he was like "OKAY! which ones do you want?" and Russell (unknowingly) made the mistake of asking him which one he thought was the best... We were then stuck with listening to him describe why each burrito was good for each different time of day, and (in his words) "if your in a certain mood for chicken, then you get the chicken, but if your in the mood for steak, then you get steak. and if your in the mood for spicy, you get jalapeno etc..." It probably isn't near as funny reading this as it was watching this dude, what a character! We were trying hard not to laugh at him. I got a quick cellphone snapshot of him outside in the car as we were leaving and laughing our heads off. Hope you enjoyed our story!

(doesn't look quite as chipper here does he?)

More Christmas Photos

2010-01-11T13:07:00.000-08:00

Here are some more Christmas photos from Denver. Enjoy!

making gingerbread houses

all of us with our laptops

jake and josh looking at their new fish tank from russell and me

Russell's Christmas jazz cd present

replaying the nativity

Christmas in Denver

2010-01-03T20:34:00.000-08:00

This year we were in Denver for Christmas. It was really fun! We spent a lot of time hanging out with the family, eating, doing puzzles, and going to Tyler's basketball games. We also had a gingerbread-house making night and a Nativity night where we acted out the story. I was a wiseman and Russell was a shepherd. It was funny to watch everyone. I'll post pictures later when I get some of them.

Presents were a lot of fun this year too, I got my first i-pod, new books, a new wallet (finally, mine was fraying like crazy), new running shoes, and Russell got a new light and 29 gallon fishtank, nuggets shirt, and an indoor door-basketball hoop, yay :)

We had so much fun with our little nephews too... Joshy and Jake. Cutest kids ever!

family photo :)

puzzles!

russell and my gingerbread house

russell and his christmas beard

me and jake bonding together. we had fun :)

what a cheesy smile huh?

Jake and Kristina's Wedding!

2010-01-02T13:36:00.001-08:00

Jake and Kristina got married on Dec 11th! It was so awesome to be there for their special day. They are so fun and we love both of them a lot. Congrats you two!

nice russ...

First Christmas Tree

2009-12-05T20:51:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! Russell and I decided we still have a lot of "firsts" since we are still pretty new at the married thing. It has been only a year and 4 months- it feels like we've been married for years already. Funny how that is.. So this Christmas we decided to get our first Christmas tree! We were so excited! We got a great deal at Walmart then bought all the decorations at the dollar store- he he. Great way to save on the Christmas decor eh. We put the birds in the tree and they loved it. Birdman was SOOOO cute, you need to see the video posted below- he was chatting it up. Birds chat when they are happy, and they usually talk about stuff like seeds and other kinds of good food.

Russell whistling at a sweet Nuggets play-

Photoshop Drawings

2009-12-02T19:26:00.000-08:00

I was going through some old photoshop files trying to find something I needed and came across a bunch of great drawings Russell and a few others did as they were practicing their sweet skills.

Russell's Drawings

Jamie's Drawing

Ben's Drawing

Dad's Drawing

I don't know who did this one

New Fishtank!

2009-11-25T08:56:00.000-08:00

Russell has been so into his fishtanks since he got them, which has been fun to watch, so I randomly picked up a fishtank the other day as I was searching for frames at the D.I. It was only three dollars and in great condition. Russell's tanks are all from the Amazon- and I wanted to change things up- so we did some research on African dwarf cichlids and came across some fish known as "shell dwellers". Their name describes them best; they are very territorial and live in snail shells for protection. They will create barriers by pushing sand around and if another fish or creature crosses it they will nip at them. Here are a couple photos of my African fishtank and a link to our fish blog:

Fish Blog

...look how happy I am

For a Good Cause

2009-11-04T18:40:00.001-08:00

A family from our ward has been out of work for 5 months now trying to make it work financially. Because they haven't been able to get work they are going to attempt at selling homemade Argentine Empanadas (similar to a calzone or perogie, but usually just meat or vegetables in it). They sell them by the dozen and they are $12 per dozen.

If anyone would like to help this good family out financially by buying their food, please let me know! (As of right now there is an option of beef or pork). We can freeze and mail them if you live farther away, with an additional cost for shipping. Thanks!

The photo below is what an empanada looks like:

Zion's National Park

2009-10-17T18:53:00.000-07:00

My older sister, Afton, and I went down to St. George on my day off so she could visit an old friend and I could paint. I spent the night with my other sister Emily and cousin Kallie, and then had a great time painting up in Zion National Park. It was the first time I'd been there, and it was so beautiful! I'll post some of my paintings I did up there later.

Bye Bye Diego, Hello Chauncy!!

2009-10-07T22:50:00.001-07:00

Well, we decided to get rid of Diego a couple of days ago...if only he didn't bite so much. He wasn't very smart either, (actually we think he was a "she"). Bye Diego, we love you!

Welcome Chauncy! The owner where we got the birds let us switch them out, good thing. He is such a great lil' bird by the way... we've only had him for a couple of days now but we love him to pieces. No biting, not a scaredy-cat like Diego, and very intelligent. He and Birdman are going to be best of friends :)

Frijol

2009-10-07T22:48:00.001-07:00

We got a bean bag chair! (thanks to Landon and Emily) It's AWESOME, and we love it so much. Muy comfy and soft :) Here's Russell and I enjoying it:

Part of the Romero family and Sis Martinez came up to Utah from San Diego for conference weekend, so they stayed with us for three nights. It was SO much fun to have them here. Lots of great stories and laughs the whole time, and then a visit from Maggie and Sarah. What a great bunch!

Birds and Fish...

2009-10-03T20:34:00.000-07:00

Here's a little photo update on our animals:

BFA in Illustration

2009-09-10T22:19:00.001-07:00

I got my BYU diploma in the mail today! I'm so happy to be done :)

Part-ay with the MTC Buddies

2009-09-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

Last night we got together with some elder's from our MTC district. We didn't know till this weekend that Elder Turley was in town, so it was fun seeing him and the rest of the group. We had a great dinner too... spaghetti, with amazing sauce might I add, strawberry-banana-apple-lime-nectarine-cantaloupe and yogurt smoothies, and cake. It was a great night!

Harry Potter the Sequel

2009-08-30T22:50:00.000-07:00

Russell's Beard

2009-08-30T13:14:00.000-07:00

Russell was so cute... he decided to grow a beard right before we went on our trip to San Diego because he was in between semesters at BYU. He was so proud of himself. He wants to grow a another one some day that's bigger... I'll decide how long it gets though :)

First Year Anniversary!

2009-08-21T17:50:00.001-07:00

Russell and I decided to go to San Diego for our first year anniversary. It was such an amazing experience to be with the people we taught again. We love them all so much, and wish we would've had a lot more time with them. We were able to help a few members that were struggling, and of course visit others who were doing great. We felt like we were on our mission again... other than the "little" difference in our companionship ;)

Russell and I in Old Town, SD for our anniversary. We ate Mexican food, yummy

The Ruiz and Medina families. They are SO awesome, and amazing cooks

Cesar and Angelica. They are from Guatemala, and are so amazing.

Mateo and Xochitl-- another amazing family.

Argentina and Herlems with their sister, and their two kids Helen and Adan.

The Borja family- we love them sooooo much.

Efren and his wife

Perez family and Ricardo (right). Ricardo has 16 home teaching assignments per month and does them all!!

Russell and I went swimming at Santa Monica beach in LA. Very fun :)

Graduated!

2009-08-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

I DID IT!! I finally graduated this past Friday, August 14th with a BFA in Illustration. Here are some picture you can look at. I also have a couple of my final senior art show, you can kind of see them. (when I scan them in you'll be able to look at them better at my illustration blog). Until then, you'll have to wait :)

Art Studio

2009-08-08T23:14:00.000-07:00

It felt so good after I finished organizing my art studio, so I had to post it :) I have a still-life set up that I'm going to paint after I graduate.

Life Update

2009-08-06T22:35:00.000-07:00

Here is a little update: I just got a new job at Provo Art and Frame in downtown Provo :) I've been working there for about 2 1/2 weeks now, and it's been pretty good. I will start training to work in framing near the end of August after Russell and I get back from our 1st year anniversary to San Diego! (We're so pumped about that). It's been rough trying to work and finish my schooling at the same time though-- thank goodness I graduate on the 14th. I am so happy to be done! I just finished my BFA project and hung it on Monday. It is up from the 5th to the 14th.

Russell got a job at a call center taking inbound calls for security systems. He works with one of his old mission companions and his wife. He only has 2 semesters left now! He is about to start applying to a few schools for his graduate program, so who knows if we'll be in California, Texas, Colorado.... or Timbuktu! He is doing good, loving his fishtank and having fun with me.

My Work

Ben's Mission Call!

2009-07-30T10:11:00.000-07:00

My brother Ben just got his mission call to the Slovenia/Croatia mission!! He leaves on October 14th. He's the third missionary from our family to serve :)

Russell's 23rd Birthday

2009-07-19T23:01:00.001-07:00

Well Russell turned 23 today! We pretty much just stayed home and played with the birds and fish all day long ha ha. But I did make him a really good dinner though... he said wanted chinese food for his birthday dinner so I made him orange chicken- it was so good! Then we had chocolate birthday cake and raspberry chocolate icecream after. Then we played scrabble and he won.

HOMEMADE ORANGE CHICKEN- HERE IS THE RECIPE, IT'S VERY GOOD:
ORANGE CHICKEN RECIPE

RUSSELL ABOUT TO BLOW OUT HIS CANDLES

RUSSELL HOLDING THE BIRDS

Birds and Fish!

2009-07-19T22:01:00.000-07:00

Russell and I are so funny lately because when one of us has wanted or needed to buy something it seems that the other one always can think of something to buy as well. We just feed off of each others' spending wants ha ha. Anyway, the funny part is that the things we bought recently are all similar in either the name or the the actual item. Russell got an ipod, and I got a tripod, he got a computer mouse, and I got a new house (I convinced him to move from our old apartment), he got music software and I got design software, he got fish, and I got birds!

RUSSELL WITH HIS FISH TANK TESTING SUPPLIES

RUSSELL'S FISH TANK, VERY PRETTY!

ALVIN THE ALBINO CORY

Here is a video of Diego and Birdman. They are funny cus every time they hear other birds chirping they chirp along too. This is a video of them tweeting to a video of themselves in the background. So cute :)

Birds!

2009-07-08T17:57:00.000-07:00

Well, Russell and I got new birds yesterday. They are ADORABLE and were gonna train them really well. I've been doing a lot of reading online about them and found out that they are actually parrots and can talk up to 1,500 words. You can train them to play games and fetch. Pretty cool huh! Here's a few pics of them, enjoy :)

BIRDMAN

DIEGO

4th of July

2009-07-08T17:56:00.000-07:00

We went up to Grand Lake, Colorado with the Balli's for the Fourth of July weekend. It was chilly out, but so much fun! We were out on the boat most of the time fishing, and just hanging out. We actually watched the fireworks on the lake too, they were awesome!

The cabins on the lake were so huge and beautiful.

Josh fishing with Robyn and Cooper.

Josh crying after his fishing pole fell in the water, he thought the fish were going to eat it and really wanted one of us to go get it back.

Russell getting ready to fish.

Me, Russell and Ty in the boat heading over to watch the fireworks.

The fireworks.
All the boats trying to leave after the fireworks.

Twin Lakes, Clifton Idaho

2009-06-30T20:56:00.000-07:00

This weekend was so fun! It was a great break from school. Afton came home a while ago and this weekend was the first time Russell met her. It was so good to see everyone! (And of course, attempt to take a new family picture, which was almost impossible. Ben and Caleb were off in their own little worlds in this one, but it's the best photo we got overall)

Russell and I with a great country background

We all went swimming at Twin Lakes... It was SO fun!

My New Gallery in Downtown Denver!

2009-05-23T14:41:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know what I've been doing with my artwork lately, here is an update:

Recently I decided to apply for a grant through BYU which provides funding for seniors wanting to receive professional experience within their major before they graduate. Pretty much as an art student you are required to find some kind of gallery, preferably outside of Utah, which would allow you to show your work.

When I first heard about the grant I blew it off, mainly because I was told only one person was able to find a gallery in the past 30 years. But one week before the grant application was due, I decided to try and find a gallery that would sell my work-- and somehow I did! Right in the middle of downtown Denver. Pretty exciting :) I also got the grant, thank goodness. So this weekend Russell and I drove over to Denver to hang my work and spend a little time with Russ' family. My paintings will be up for the next 4 months, so if you ever drive through go check 'em out! Here are a few photos of the event and the website, Enjoy!

http://www.greatwesternartgalleryllc.com/gallery_mballi.html

Great Western Art Gallery on Curtis Street

Outside the gallery

Inside the gallery

Hanging my artwork up with Russ

Finished!

Elder Shapcott's Farewell

2009-05-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

This week my cousin Devin went into the MTC. He and his family drove down from Alberta, Canada to drop him off. It was great to see them since we don't get to very often. We had a great time at the temple and then enjoyed eating at the Garden Restaurant in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Devin is the first male missionary on the Shapcott side of the family to ever serve a mission.

Coldstone at Home

2009-05-04T21:57:00.001-07:00

We had so much fun tonight. Heather came over and brought brownies for FHE at our place, Russell made chicken celery casserole, and I made strawberry brownie vanilla icecream (Coldstone style) for dessert. We also got to help Heather grade tests for her 5th grade class, we loved it :) Fun fun!

Womens Conference

2009-05-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

My mom came and stayed the weekend here in Provo with Russ and I... It was awesome to spend some quality time together. Womens Conference was AWESOME. I had never been before here in Provo, and was amazed at how many women actually came. We figured (based on how full the Marriot Center was) that about 14,000 women were on campus Friday. Russell was so funny about it and said he rushed off campus as quick as he could after class cus he couldn't handle the estrogen level in the air. There were some amazing talks though-- so for those of you who couldn't make it, here are some links to past General Conference talks that were cited that would be well worth your while to read: "Prayer"- Henry B. Erying, "Learning to Recognize Answers to Prayers"- Richard G. Scott, "Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence" - Jeffrey R. Holland

Balli Weekend

2009-05-02T21:14:00.001-07:00

We had such a fun weekend with the Balli's here in Provo. We went to "This is the Place Monument" and the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City- Josh and Jake were the cutest- like always. Josh was so funny at the zoo- moving us along by "come on team, lets go to the next one". We went and visited both grandparents too which was great to catch up with them. Fun times!

I know it's way overdue...

2009-04-21T01:10:00.000-07:00

I was going through some photos today and I found these pictures that brought back some great memories of New Years. This first one is of us twinners- both wearing UofU t-shirts (even though we both went to BYU), with our new macs, and of course, we're both Megan's. So fun. (For those of you who don't know, Megan is my sis in law).

This one is of all the Balli girls painting with coffee. It was a lot of fun, good bonding time :)

Mission Reunion!

2009-04-05T21:19:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about living in Provo is having your mission reunions come to you ;) We've had three since we've been living here and so far they've all been right here in Provo. Russell and I just had the greatest time ever being able to converse and catch up with some of the returned missionaries from our mission. President and Sister Packer both gave some valuable talks that applied to all of us. It was so good to see how well they were doing... we sure love them.

Monsters vs Aliens

2009-03-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

So, I won this pixar monster-drawing contest to an Imax theater the other day for the new film "monsters vs aliens". Russell and I got free tickets to the movie premier, and a package of cool but cheap monster toys, YAY!

This was the monster I drew and submitted into the contest:

Pizza and Sunflowers!

2009-03-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

Russell and I made our second homemade pizza today... it was delicious. Thanks to mom Swenson's recipe book she gave us, we have a very simple french bread recipe that works perfectly for the crust. We just had to post it to show how delicious it looked.

Russell played in the live band at a reception in Springville at the Art Museum... he was so sweet to bring me home some pretty sunflowers!

Illustration Prints Now Available

2009-03-12T12:46:00.000-07:00

I am now selling prints online at esty.com! You can browse through my online shop if you are interested in purchasing a print here: Megan Balli Illustration Shop.

Sad Weekend...

2009-03-08T22:49:00.001-07:00

Russell has been so sick this whole week coughing, sore throat etc. On top of that, after waiting since Christmas to go to the Jazz/Nuggets game in SLC... they lost, and then Russ lost his throat too. We loved it though, it was one of the best games we've seen in a while. The saddest thing about this weekend though is that they also lost to the Sacramento Kings (who are one of the worst teams in the NBA right now). We were so mad about that. It wasn't all that sad though because we got to feed the missionaries tonight. One is from Chile, and the other from Guatemala-- they are both great missionaries, and it is so awesome to see how well they're working the area. We made beef stroganoff and asparagus. Delisch. Anyway, pray that Russell will feel better soon!

2009-03-07T18:10:00.000-08:00

So Russell and I went to the Jazz/Nuggets game last night (thanks to Ryan and Ashleigh). We got the very highest seats possible, which actually was pretty cool cus we could see EVERYTHING ha ha. Anyway, the Jazz won cus they were killing with their 3-pointers in the fourth. Other than that, the Nuggs showed who the better team was by staying up on them in the first half (19 point lead baby!)

Photo Blog Change

2009-03-02T22:02:00.000-08:00

I combined my design blog and my photo blog together, so my old ones don't exist anymore. Here is my new blog: Balli Photography and Design

Update

2009-02-24T12:51:00.000-08:00

Well, life is good. We're both busy with school, and trying to get more freelance jobs right now. Russell probably got another student to teach from our ward. She want's to learn clarinet better, and he's never taught it before so it will be a good experience for him. I just finished a job doing bridals for one of my friends named Tiffany. It was the first time I have ever done them, and I am happy how they turned out actually. It was a lot of fun.

We are pretty crazy sometimes though... we're both night owls and love staying up till all hours of the night and have a hard time waking up in the morning. We set some goals to get to bed earlier for a better schedule a while ago, but we recently rediscovered the wonderful game of tetris, and again stayed up way later than we should've last night. ha ha. We are improving though, slowly but surely.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-15T23:12:00.000-08:00

We had a great V-day yesterday... Russell had a concert on BYU campus last night that me and Heather went to together that turned out GREAT. Not only did they play really well, but Russell had about four solos and was able to play an original piece he wrote called "Strolling Alone" that they played for the first time last night and Friday. It was beautiful.

check it out:

When we got home, Russell ran to the store to get a couple things... but while he was gone, my "secret admirer" (Russell) dropped off some beautiful stargazer lilies, ghirardelli chocolates, and a cute card. He hid after he knocked on the door so I wouldn't know it was him. He still wont admit that it was him even though it's obvious, and wants to know where my secret admirer is so he can threaten him. He's so funny ha ha. We also got a gift card to Chili's from the Balli's and a bunch of candy from Heather. Thanks guys, we love food! :)

Coolest Cake in the WORLD

2009-02-15T22:28:00.000-08:00

I just had to post this link cus it looks like a Dr Seuss cake :)

http://www.thecanterburyplace.com/The%20Canterbury%20Place%20Gallery/slides/DSC01068.html

Graduation

2009-02-04T19:33:00.000-08:00

I got my associates degree from BYU-Idaho in the mail today! Yay! It felt REALLY good actually. Russ and I are going to celebrate tonight with BYU icecream. Now if I can just hang on till August for my Bachelors ;)

Box of Half Eaten Chocolates...

2009-01-11T23:40:00.001-08:00

So, tonight Russell got back from visiting his friend Justin and brought home two quarts of icecream and a box of delicious chocolates. (It was Justin's birthday and he got a cooler of yummy stuff like that from his grandpa...) Anyway, I have a bad habit of being the 'half-eating chocolate machine' of the house and of course wanted a tiny taste of each one; hey, it's so much better than randomly choosing one and hoping it's going to be the best one from the box. So I asked Russ if he would mind if I took a small bite from each one. He didn't like that idea one bit. So then I asked him if I could at least cut small chunks out with a knife to taste test each one, and he grudgingly agreed. I did great till I got caught slurping the juice out of a runny cherry chocolate truffle. (The cherry and mint are the best just so you know).

I had to take some photos of it, I tell you, they were good chocolates... (Oh, and Russ wants me to remind you all that they still are good because HALF of them are still left).

Back to the Grind...

2009-01-10T23:14:00.000-08:00

Well, we're back in Provo now. We had a great time during the Christmas break though. After spending Christmas with my family up in Idaho, we headed down to Denver for New Years to spend a little time there with Russ' family. We had a lot of fun watching sports, playing with the kids, waiting 3 hours to get fed at the Spaghetti Factory downtown (yah, it really did take that long)... at least we have the cutest memories of little Jake so hungry he started eating his plate and throwing his fists on the table till he got his food. And once he got it he went crazy with both hands grabbing anything edible in sight. Ha ha, it was great.

After our Denver trip, and on the way back home, we were privileged to go to my cousin Brandy's wedding. She got married in the Vernal, Utah temple to a wonderful man named Adam. It was a great experience for them, and it was awesome to be there and converse with relatives that I don't see nearly as much as I would like to.

Now were back to the grind... Russell is currently finishing a song he has been writing for a while that he is planning to play in the big band, Synthesis, this semester. He will be taking more music classes than he did last semester, and is pretty excited about that.
I am taking a load of art classes again this semester, and will be very busy with my projects along with planning and researching for my big BFA project I plan to finish this summer. I just turned in my BFA proposal this week, and my plan for it is to do a group of images inspired by international fairytales. I am pretty excited about it.

Heather and Josh, Downtown Denver

Russ, Me, and Megan waiting to get seated at the Spaghetti Factory, Downtown

At Adam and Brandy's Wedding, Vernal UtahAdam and Brandy Catoor

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-30T13:15:00.001-08:00

Russell and I went up to good ol' Clifton, Idaho for Christmas this year. It was such a great break from school and homework... not from the snow though as you can see. We actually got completely snowed in on Christmas Day where we had snow drifts about 4-5 feet high in places. It was pretty crazy. We had fun though... the usual hors d'oeuvres on Christmas Eve with the story of Christs' birth, new pajamas, games, Christmas prezzies, movies after movies after movies (I'm all movied out for the next few months now)- but it was so fun to see everyone again!

Here's a little update of everyone right now:
(In the photo from left to right) Emily- working in St. George UT, Camilla- at home still in highschool, Russell & Me- finishing school at BYU in Provo UT, Mom and Dad- working and raising the rest of the younger kids in Clifton, ID, Caleb- having fun in school, and falling in love with all the girls in his class, Jamie & David- studying at BYU-Idaho in Rexburg, ID, Benjamin- getting ready to 'fly away' and go to BYU-Idaho for the first time away from home, and Jacob- in school as well, he is the sports king of the family. (Afton is currently living in Prince Rupert, BC working. She wasn't able to come home for Christmas this year.)

Russ and I at eating at 'Formosa' in Logan, UT with the family
during Christmas break. Best Chinese food in town!

Russ doesn't like taking pictures very much, but I made him do it
anyway so we could have a family Christmas photo. This is in
Provo right before we went up to Idaho for Christmas.

Wonderful Finals!

2008-12-18T14:27:00.000-08:00

This week has been absolutely crazy with finals. Russ and I are both chugging along to the end. Russ had a lot of GE classes this semester, which meant a lot of written tests and long hours of monotonous homework. I had a full schedule of art classes, which meant lots of time spent painting (sounds a lot better doesn't it? Well, it is... but it can still be pretty challenging sometimes). So this last week of school we have been trying to finish everything we have to get done before the Christmas break. It's pretty crazy. Thank goodness we only have tomorrow left!

Russell doing his Physical Science homework...

Russell tried to make bread, and believe me, he is actually a really good cook. But this is the first time he made bread before, and he didn't know how to knead it (which I didn't know). So I showed him after he had been "kneading"-- what I would call "squishing"-- but it was too late, and this is how the bread turned out after it was done. It didn't even fill out the pan ha ha! I thought it was the cutest thing ever though so I had to put it on our blog.

My little art studio I used while finishing up my projects for finals week. I had to paint 5 heads for my directed studies class, and this is my work in progress.

The finished pieces.

We did take a little time to do other things we wanted to so we didn't completely lose our sanity, like scrabble, sudoku, Wendy's run, basketball etc... Here is Russ watching his basketball :)

Thanksgiving in Denver

2008-12-01T22:34:00.001-08:00

Russ and I had a great Thanksgiving break in Denver with the fam. We had too much fun with Megan's little boys, Josh and Jake, among other things like watching basketball games everyday (including a live Nuggets game downtown), chatting in the hot tub, playing trionimos and phase 10, the traditional turkey bowl before dinner, and lots more... It was such a good break from school that we both needed. Now it's back to reality, and we both have more homework than we even want to look at.

Turkey Bowl right before dinner! (We won)

Robyn, Heather, Joshy, and Megan

Thanksgiving Dinner

Russell and I at the Dinner Table

Russell and I saying by to little Jake

Lucky Cat

2008-12-01T21:41:00.001-08:00

So, I drove Russell to school one morning (this was a couple months back) and as I was pulling into the parking lot to drop him off I almost ran over a baby kitten that was on the road (he is the same color as the road so it was hard to see him) I felt so bad for him and mentioned that we should go pick him up. Russ reminded me that we can't bring him home, cus pets are prohibited in the house... but I had to rescue him; so, I thought I would bring him home for a minute, give him some food, then help him out, which I did. I brought him upstairs, tried to give him a little food, but he was so terrified that he wouldn't eat anything. I had a class shortly after this, so I decided to leave him in the stairwell, closed off from the house, so that he could eat something and so Russell could see how cute he was when we got back from school. (I promise I was gonna put him out after that). Well, of course when we got back, he was gone... under the stairs and wouldn't come out. To make the story short, we had to listen to him meowing his brains out for food every night for half a week till we finally devised an amazing plan to trap him with a tote-bucket, pencil, and a string attatched to a can of tuna fish. We didn't get him the first try, but the second time we heard him chowing down (the tote didn't fall like it was supposed to) and Russell crept down the stairs and chucked a pillow at the tote and trapped him. We took him out to a park and left him with the can of tuna. We could sleep better after that. Moral of the story: Sometimes being too nice isn't always good.