Dear Internet,

Brett got a 3.85 GPA this semester, and I am such a proud wife!!

Love,
Kaylyn

2008 was great!

With 2008 coming to a close, I thought it would be fun to share with you some of the things that we enjoyed about the past year.

Favorite Movie:
{B} Step Brothers
{K} Twilight

Favorite TV Show:
{B} Family Guy
{K} Sons of Anarchy

Favorite CD:
{B} Lil' Wayne - Tha Carter III
{K} One Republic - Dreaming out loud

Favorite Song:
{B} Avenged Sevenfold - A little piece of heaven
{K} Jason Mraz - Details in the fabric

Vacation:
{B} Las Vegas!
{K} Las Vegas!

Highlights:
Halloween party 2008
Body worlds exhibit
Belle playing in the water.....finally!
Tuvalu Island
Meeting Stephenie Meyer
The giant piano at FAO Schwarz

Things we didn't like at all:
Brett's Surgeries
Lots of cavities
Losing loved ones

Things we are looking forward to in 2009:
Avenged Sevenfold concert!
Longboarding
Mountain Biking
Finishing two more semesters

We hope that you all had a wonderful 2008! Happy New year!!

You can call me Grace

This morning as I was getting out of my car to walk into work, I slipped on a snow covered patch of ice. After a few moments of my feet frantically scrambling for stability, gravity took over and I fell flat on my ass. After standing up, brushing myself off, and making sure I was the only one in the parking lot (success!) I realized that the bag I had been carrying was crushed. What was in that bag you ask? Christmas gifts for my three bosses.

This Holiday Season just isn't going according to my plan at all. Eff you Christmas. That is all.

One of my favorite riddles

I am your constant companion.

I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden.

I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.

I am completely at your command.

Half the things you do might just as well be turned over to me and I will be able to do them quickly and correctly.

I am easily managed--you must merely be firm with me. Show me exactly how you want something done and after a few lessons I will do it automatically.

I am the servant of all great people and, alas, of all failures, as well. Those who are great, I have made great. Those who are failures, I have made failures.

I am not a machine, though I work with all the precision of a machine plus the intelligence of a person.

You may run me for profit or run me for ruin -- if makes no difference to me.

Take me, train me, be firm with me, and I will place the world at your feet.

Be easy with me and I will destroy you.

Who am I?

The Giver

Rating: Four Stars
The one word I would use to sum up this book: Brilliant

I read this book when I was in junior high school, and I had forgotten a lot of the details, so yesterday I decided I was going to read it again (it was the first time I had ever read a whole book in one day!), and I am so glad I did! This is such a great story, and really the only complaint that I can say I have about it is the fact that it's not long enough. I think that the author could have added so much more to the story and it would have been even greater! It is about a boy named Jonas and his family. They live in a society of "sameness" where there is no pain, no suffering, and no color. It follows him through his 12th year of life, and the struggles with getting his 'assignment' and beginning his training for adulthood.

I absolutely loved it, and I am reading the sequel next!! :)

Have you read it? What did you think?

Why You Need A Phone With A Camera

So that moments like these don't pass you by!

1- Trying to cheer my mom up right before her open heart surgery
2- Brett in the awesome froggy goggles that we found at Big 5
3- Dinner at Chile's on Halloween
4- Brett in the pimp glasses that we found at the Halloween store
5- Our kitchen cabinets (minus the doors) right after Brett installed them
6- The Golden Gate Bridge (did you really have to ask?)
7- Shay modeling her 80's day outfit (she wore it to work!) HOT!!
8- Belle in a pretty necklace
9- Brett's ankle swelling up like a balloon 20 minutes after he sprained it

Need A Great Gift Idea This Christmas?

Go to my mom's blog!! She makes hand dipped chocolates that are to die for! My Grandpa and Grandma started up a candy making business years ago, and last year my grandpa decided that he just couldn't do it on his own anymore. My mom turned her basement into a candy makers dream, and took over the family business. My Grandpa still comes over everyday to help her and ensure the quality stays the way he intended it to be. They work really hard and would appreciate your orders! There are many different varieties to choose from:

• Caramels
• Toffee
• Cherry Chocolates
• Nut clusters
• Nut Balls
• Various flavors of cremes

I recommend the Caramels, nut balls, and peanut clusters! They are all fantastic, but those are my favorites. :) The best part is you won't have to spend an arm and a leg to get your Christmas shopping done! They are $14 - $16 dollars a 1 pound box (that's 24 pieces of candy!), so if you are looking for something great to buy for your family, friends, neighbors, or coworkers here's your solution!!

What are you waiting for? Go!!

I Am Afraid Of The Dentist

It's true, and that's why I haven't been to see one in roughly 7 years. Yes, you heard me correctly, I said seven. Brett hasn't been for about 10 years, but not because he's afraid.

So we decided that it was finally time to go. We both went in for cleanings a few weeks ago, and at first it wasn't so bad. We discovered that Dr. Alcorn (our new dentist) is married to one of Brett's childhood neighbors and went to dental school with Dr. Coleman (Brett's orthodontist), weird. It's a small world. We also made another shocking discovery. It turns out that I have a bit of a sweet tooth. Who knew? (okay, I knew.) I have 11 cavities. Yes, you heard me correctly, I said eleven. You think that sucks? Brett hasn't been to the dentist for 3 years longer than me, and guess how many cavities he has? 2. WTF?

So last Wednesday I went in to have 6 of my 11 cavities filled. Joy. Right now I feel like I got punched in the face by Muhammad Ali.

While we were sitting in the room waiting for them to get started Brett said something that made me laugh, and then when I started laughing, he started laughing. I asked him what was so funny, so he took out his phone and said "smile". Then he showed me this little beauty:

Half of my face was numb. I swear I thought I was giving him a full on smile. Guess not. It's okay, you can laugh too. You're welcome.

Dangerous? No Way!

Brett brought his Longboards with us to Thanksgiving. So him and Melissa decided it would be a good idea to go for a ride.....being pulled behind the truck of course! Didn't I tell you that this whole family was made up of crazies? Luckily no one got hurt to badly, even though they each had one crash. Here are some pictures of the adventure:


Brett~




Melissa~

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was a ton of fun! We went to Gwen and Lloyd's house Wednesday night for our annual pie night and games, and stayed over for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday which included more games, more pie, and even more food. We had a great time!

There was pie to be eaten:

Babies to be held:

Games to be played:

Pings to be ponged:

Puppies to be snuggled:

Book Reviews by Kaylyn

I think it's about time for me to start doing book reviews. Don't you? I read so many books, and so many of them are books that I think you should read too. So now I will have a way of enticing you to read what I read, then we can talk about it. Sound good? I will kick things off with the book that I finished yesterday:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

by Mark Haddon

Rating: Two Stars
The one word I would use to sum up this book: Odd

Don't get me wrong, it was definitely interesting. I always appreciate it when an author comes up with a creative narrator for a book (that's why The Book Thief is my favorite!) and this one was definitely interesting. It is about a 15 year old autistic boy named Christopher, and it is written from his perspective. He discovers late one night that his neighbors dog has been killed, and he makes it his mission to solve the murder. The book has it's funny moments, and it's sad moments, with a lot of WTF? moments thrown in as well. It jumps around a lot. Overall it was an interesting read. It's only about 200 pages, so it's a quick read. I won't be reading it again, but I can't say I regret reading it once. I will give any book a chance. So if you just need to kill time, pick it up, or you can borrow mine. But if you are looking for a structured story that you will just love....this is not the book for you.

Have you read it? What did you think??