Don't Give Me Free Time and a Bad Idea! I Just Might Do It!

So... Trent here! When Lindz and I moved into our place one of the first things that my father suggested was that I build a bridge across this gap from our pot shelves to run my old Lego train on for Christmas time.
So my dad gave me the idea and Wood/Patel was nice enough to give me plenty of free time. And I ran with it! Of course I couldn't just half ace it. I had to make it awesome. Come on I have little brother-in-laws to impress! So first the calculations.
Once I had the equation for the arch of the bridge and the dimensions of the gap I plugged it into the good ol' TI-89 and wah-la! I had my bridge. I took the coordinates from my calculator and plotted them straight to my desk.The sketch might be a little hard to see on the desk. Once I got it all drawn out, I started to build. I made it out of popcicle sticks and hot glue.


You might see to the right that I built a ramp because the pot shelves were not level. Well once I got the train on there it didn't work that great, so I had to build an elevated track for the loop on the lower shelf. Here is the final creation with the train on it. It goes all over the pot shelves. Lindsay loves it! There is an error with the bridge though. Can anyone tell me what it is?

Say "NO" to "Yes Man"

Have you ever sat through a movie that you know you should've walked out of. Well, I'm ashamed to say that that was the situation Trent and I were in tonight. We decided to go see "Yes Man" for date night and no more than 10 minutes into the movie regreted our decision. Please don't see it! It is so crude and offensive. I know, what else were we expecting from a Jim Carey movie right? Well this one went way too far. I don't want to get into details but just please take my advise and don't go see it. It isn't worth the money you spend or the un-uplifting feeling you get when you leave the theater! We ended up driving around looking a Christmas lights to try to get that movie off our minds. So say "NO" to "Yes Man"!

My Brother The Eagle Scout!

So Tyler earned his Eagle a year ago and we finally had his court of honor a week ago! Just in the nick of time too, he leaves for Alaska in exactly four weeks from today! Holy cow this time is flying by!!!! I can't even think of my baby brother leaving for two years without choking up. I'm so excited for him though, I'll just miss him :)
But here he is with his brothers. A good lookin bunch of boys if you ask me!

Not sure what Jared's doing with his face in this one but it's still a cute bunch!

I Am Woman Hear Me Roar!!!

So I feel like I accomplished something great on Saturday. Since Trent and I started dating he's been asking me to go mountain biking with him. He loves to mountain bike! I don't know why but I just have felt uneasy about doing it. I'm not the most graceful person in the world as anyone who knows me can attest to. I knew it was pretty much a guarantee that if I went I would get hurt, I wouldn't be able to keep up with Trent (which I can't stand by the way!) or something terrible would happen which would keep me from going again. I know I'm a real optimist! But much to my, and Trent's, surprise I actually liked it! I couldn't keep up with Trent, and I almost passed out at the top of a big climb (seriously I was falling over at the top, Trent had to hold me and my bike up just before I dry heaved in the bushes. Sorry for the details) BUT I DID IT!!!! I was pretty proud of my self. If anything it showed me exactly how out of shape I am and motivated me to work harder! :)

Here we are at the top. Right after I just about hit the dirt and puked my guts out. Lovely.

Don't You Love The Smell of Fresh Cut Christmas Trees? (Scroll down for Thanksgiving post)

Last year I was adopted into an Owens family tradition of cutting our own Christmas tree! I went with Trent's parents and their friends the Rollers and despite pleading from me, Trent had to stay home. He was still in school at the time and just couldn't miss any time for homework and studying. However, he'll never live down not coming with me on our very first Christmas as a married couple to cut down our first tree :) Anyway, it was such a fun experience last year and I was so excited to continue that experience again this year. This time Trent was with us. We also recruited my whole family to come join the festivities :)
The Whole Gang!

The finished product :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Trent and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had Thanksgiving lunch with Trent's family. His brother Jeff and his wife Leza came to town from Virginia and it was so great to catch up with them and their little girl Addison who will be 1 next month! She's such a cutie pie!!
Trent with Grandad
Addison! Such a Sweetie :)

Grammie, Leza with Addison and Jeff

Cousins

What could be better than one Thanksgiving? Two Thanksgivings! After lunch we headed out to my parents house to have dinner with them and it was delicious! We topped off another wonderful Thanksgiving with some good ol' fashioned Wii playin' fun.



Yet another delicious turkey Dad!

We truly have so much to be grateful for!

I Wish I Could Come Up With Creative Titles

First of all I just want to say that the funeral service for Shane Figueroa on Saturday was the most moving, inspiring, touching and life changing funerals I've ever been to. The throng of friends, family, police officers etc was absolutely impressive. You couldn't help but walk away with the knowledge that Shane's life and death has touched literally thousands. His testimony and love of the gospel was strongly felt. What an incredible person he was. We all will miss him.

A couple of weeks ago we went to a little goodbye party for our good friend and Trent's cousin Scott. We played Rock Band ate yummy food, laughed and had a great time. He reported last Wednesday to the MTC (mission training center) as a full time missionary in Portland, Oregon. We are all so proud of Scott and this decision he's made. It won't be the same without him for the next couple years but we're all 100% behind him and we'll be here ready to party again when he gets back!

Trent displaying his mad skills on the guitar!

Cherish and Kelsey

The gang. Yes this is typical. Trying to get these boys to take a serious pic is near impossible.

We'll miss our Scottie! Can't wait to hear about all the great things he'll do!

I'm gonna be honest, Halloween is not my favorite holiday. I LOVE celebrating Fall and Thanksgiving and to me, Halloween is just a sign that Thanksgiving is coming. Luckily for me I married a man who feels the same way. We're both totally content to not dress up and stay home and pass out candy. This year though we went to my parents to see my brothers costumes and watch movies. It ended up being a pretty fun night.

Jared & his buddies as the 3 Musketeers

Tyler and his friend Ronnie looked awesome! If you can't tell they're Two Face and The Joker

He even went as far as to shave one side of his head!

Agent J and Agent C of the Men in Black :) So cute!

Like every Sunday we were in Maricopa again with the fam. All 9 of us decided to go on a walk. It was a beautiful day and I couldn't resist taking a few pictures

Of course any family outing would be incomplete without my parents "other child" Holly.

Families Can Be Together Forever

This week has been emotionally draining for my family and myself. Losing a loved one is one of the most difficult things to go through but also to watch those you love and care about go through. Wednesday morning after my first class, my husband called me and told me about the passing of his sweet Grandma Rena. She was 77 years young and lived an incredible life and was loved dearly by all who were privileged to know her. Her life was full of ups and downs but she never complained and relied on her Savior Jesus Christ to build her up and help others. She lived a life of service and compassion and will be so missed. The last year and a half have been especially trying on her health. She developed Lou Gehrig's Disease which greatly impaired her quality of life. It was so difficult for us to watch her suffer and so when she passed it was a very bittersweet moment. We are so sad to lose her but relieved to know she is in her perfect state and reunited with her Heavenly Father and loved one's on the other side. We love and will miss you Grandma!
Another tragedy struck this weekend with the passing of Officer Shane Figueroa. The Figueroa's have been friends of mine and my family for the last four or five years. My dad is their bishop in Maricopa. Shane was hit by a drunk driver in his car while responding to a call on duty. To say this was a shock would be an understatement. He was 25 years old. He has a beautiful young wife and a 3 month old little girl. I cannot express the remorse I feel for his family and loved ones. His loss was so tragic and unexpected. I love his family so much and our thoughts and prayers go out to them. It has been a very difficult for me to come to grips with this news and I cannot even imagine the devastation his family is feeling. Life is so fragile.
I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have of Eternal Families. Families can be together forever. How wonderful is that? I know this blessing brings comfort and peace to my husbands family and the Figueroa's. We can be with our loved one's for eternity. We have been taught this principle from a young age but things like this remind us of its truth and promise. This life may seem long to live without them but the eternities are even longer to be with them. Kiss your loved one's. We never know when our time with them may be interrupted.

Now What?

So I took out this 3D puzzle to keep my mind occupied while looking for work and it did keep me busy. But I finished it a lot sooner than I thought and now it is back to finding something to do. Here is the masterpiece. It was pretty fun, especially when Lindz would help.

"Called to Serve"

My brother Tyler opened his mission call last night. He was so excited! My mom checked the mail at around 12:00 and saw that his call came. Unfortunatly, Ty was at work and wouldn't get off till 5:00 and so he had "the longest day I've ever had at work" as he put it. Poor guy had to wait another hour after that so that our family and friends could share the moment with him. When it finally came time to open it, we had several of our family members on a conference call, family and frinends gathered around in the kitchen and we all held our breath as he opened the big white envelope. To all of our shock Elder Loomis was called to serve in the Alaska, Anchorage Mission. I'm not sure how this desert dweller will handle the cold weather but I don't think he cares at this point. He's so happy and excited to serve the Lord in Alaska. We're so proud of him!

Picking him up from work. He's ready!!
Once he got home he wouldn't let that call out of his hands!
Let's get this show on the road already!

Hooray Alaska!!!
We are all so proud of him but I don't know if anyone is as proud as our Dad. He was the only child in his family to serve a mission and so to see his first born son follow in his footsteps and set an example for the rest of his brothers is pretty awesome!
Mom's just thrilled that #1 he's staying in the U.S. and #2 that he gets to be home for the holidays :) He reports Jan. 14th She's so proud of her little boy!
Ty and "big" sis (odviously he towers over me!) I'm SO SO SO ecxited for you Ty. You are such an AWESOME brother and you are going to be an even better missionary! We will miss you so much while you're gone for two years but we know this is the best and most important thing you can be doing with your life. So proud of you!!!