GAS ALERT!

Brian surprised me by coming home extra early today! Woo hoo! There was a big gas leak at the University and they evacuated the campus! Brian said he was glad to take off and walk straight home! I am too! I love little surprises! Want to check out the gas story? Try ksl.com.

SPRING BREAK IN ST. GEORGE!

We had a great week and a half in St. George visiting family and taking a break. We loved the weather, Brian took advantage and went golfing a couple of times while Apollo demanded to play outside, look at the stars, and point to the blue sky.

We stayed at my mom's house where Apollo found my giant teddy bear and had fun wrestling him! I of course love spending time with my parents and relaxing in their homes.

Apollo helping pack clothes.

My gorgeous boys!

Apollo playing in the Higley's backyard and me with my ultra blonde hair! Its now a red-brown that I really like. Thank you mom and dad Higley for letting come and stay with you! We had a blast and can't wait to see you soon. 

Brian's turn!

ATTENTION!!

Apollo and I have taken control of the blog and the computer! We called our operation the annexation of ga ga ga LIGHT! I have decided to help Carly in her quest to have more posts and take more pictures! We almost nearly just about adjacently barely casi forget our camera every time we go to do something, like our recent trip (or trips for me) to St. George. I missed Carly so much! We drove back late Sunday night and we listened to a book on cd. It was fun but I am tired! I missed Apollo too, he is growing and learning so fast, it is really fun to watch. I am a lucky man to have such a great family. These are some pictures we already had on the computer and I don't think they have been part of the blog yet. 

On a hike with Kate, Ted, Marco and Isabel (Marco and Isabel are borzois). Thanks Kate and Ted for the fun!

Apollo and his best friend, next to his parents, BLANKIE!

Snow, Sun, Snow, Sun. The Weather toys with us!

It is probably the one thing that gets said the most on this blog, "well its been a while". Even though it is true whenever it is said, Brian and I have made it a goal not to have a reason to say it, write it, whatever. For the last week and a half I was down in St. George visiting family and I must say, I miss the warmth of southern Utah. Brian was so nice to drive down with me, but he had to get back for school. Just last weekend he came to pick me up and take me home, thanks for bringing me back to snow Bri! At least I have your warm hugs too! Over the weekend Apollo's grandparents babysat him and we were able to go out on our first date in months! It was so fun. We went golfing with my sister Rachael and her husband Richard. It was a beautiful day and great to be out walking around. Brian did really well and the rest of us were glad when the ball got off the ground! We then went to a new sports grill called The Players Grill and it was great food and didn't take very long to get the food we ordered either, we recommend it to any visiting St. George. The day was so much fun and we are so grateful to John and Pat for giving us that break from our hyperactive child. 

Apollo is now 19 months old and learning tons of words, even though he doesn't pronounce them all perfectly. His favorite word, and object, of late is LIGHT! Brian says its a sign that he will be a physicist. Apollo loves being outside too, and is having a hard time adjusting to cold again. He recently had his 18 month check up and he is still skinny and tall. He skinned his nose while in St. George playing in my mom's back yard and he looks so cute, even though I now it must have hurt.

Brian's spring break is coming up and we are excited for a break and time together. Now the question is if we can afford to go back to St. George! I say the weather is one of those "priceless" things from the credit card commercials. Brian says the boring drive is as well. I say a happy wife is! I win! Plus, I can persuade him with the chance to golf! See ladies! Sometimes our husbands' obsessions with sports can work in our favor! Ha Ha Ha!

THE 13-0 UTES!! A SUGAR HIGH for all Utah fans

Number 7 Utah beats number 4 Alabama! In your face Saban! Next time do the talking on the field! (This is Brian) I had a great time watching the Utes take a first quarter 21-0 lead over the tide, come up with 8 sacks and serve a good helping of humble pie to Alabama. Not only is it great for the school but the whole conference. If you didn't watch it and you live in Utah, shame on you!! Hopefully this will wake the folks in the BCS and maybe in a couple of years the MWC will be the new BCS conference. 

Hoover DAM

What did the fish say when it ran into the concrete wall? DAM! (This is Brian writing) As part of my birthday/Christmas present, my parents watched Apollo while Carly and I went to Hoover Dam. This was Carly's first time there and I really wanted to see the bridge that is being built to allow traffic to bypass the dam. Hoover dam is an amazing engineering feat. It's named after our 31st president, Herbert Hoover, who was an engineer himself.  

The winged angels, they were probably meant for surveillance when Megatron was kept there.

 
My angel is wearing purple!

Overlooking Lake Mead.

Apollo Drumming Away

Looks like I may have given birth to a percussionist.

Vacation Fun

Thanks Candi and Matt for the awesome gifts. The blanket will match the shirt you made for Apollo. You guys are awesome!

Apollo loved playing my brother Nick's drums at my mom's house. Ted tried teaching him a few things but Apollo just loved making noise.

Christmas Eve Day in Zions

Brian went with his parents and brother Chris to Zions national park for a short hike on Christmas Eve. As a tradition they have a snowball throwing contest at the end of the hike to see who can hit the river that lies hundreds of yards below. The winner... MOM! Way to represent the ladies mom! Brian says this is the most snow he has ever seen in Zions.

SNOW and COLD!!

Well we had at least some fun in the snow. Its too bad it it so cold! Apollo hated the gloves and for the most part just stood and watched Brian and I build him his first snowman. Brian says the Big Bird hat is becoming a family heirloom. It sure does stand out!

Apollo --Climber and Partier

It's about time that we post something new! Brian has been very busy with finals and leaves me even busier at home with Apollo. We can't wait for the semester to be over. Brian says this has been his most challenging semester so far and that the Spring will be so much easier. It will be nice to have less tension and less worry! Last week Brian! Hang in there! 

Our little one is growing too fast! Apollo is getting faster and faster on his little feet and it is getting difficult to keep up with him! He has become very fond of climbing, on chairs, toy boxes, anything! He also gets hyper and starts to stomp and turn in circles and flair his arms in a little dance. Sometimes he turns circles until he's too dizzy to stand! What a fun little man.

UTAH: 48 BYU:24

After watching this game I had one predominate feeling, love. Love for the sport, love for the rivalry, love for the color red, love for the University of Utah, and love for Max Hall. Poor guy. I took some time to look into his previous performances and it appears that this was his lowest since TCU defeated the cougars. Well I grew up cheering for BYU, living in Provo, and I will be the first to admit it. But over the past year and a half of studying at the U of U, I have come to the realization that I bleed red! And last Saturday my day was all red. Of course it was not a heart breaking last second pass to win the game, but a solid butt kicking is great to see too. It makes it especially sweet when I recall some BYU fans saying that this year was going to be a repeat of 1984, the year BYU was undefeated and won the national championship. And sweeter still when I heard some fans ranking Max Hall next to Johnson (Tulsa), McCoy (Texas) and Tebow (Florida). I know Max has a good amount of passing yards (something like 3rd in the nation) but lets face it, against a solid defense, he panics and can't pull off good throws. Against the U threw the ball into the Utes hands where it was deflected or intercepted more times than you can count with your two hands. So cheers to the U!

If you missed the game, here is what happened... The first half was the typical BYU UTAH showdown. Back and forth all tied up at half, it was looking like it would come down to the wire. But as the pressure built up it seemed that Max Hall, QB for BYU, couldn't handle the pressure and turned the ball over 6 times. The Utes were able to capitalize on each turnover and treated the cougars like house cats. The result was Utah doubling the score of BYU with Hall having his worst performance of the season. Here's some stats for you: M. Hall 21/41 (completions/attempts), 205 yards passing, 0 T.D.'s, 5 interceptions, one lost fumble. His lowest passer rating this year of 26.0. Brian Johnson, on the other hand, had his highest passer rating of the year of 138.8. Throwing 30/36, 303 yards, 4 T.D.'s and 0 interceptions. Go UTES! Back to a BCS game! 

Our Little Dancing Boy

We love how Apollo flails his arms to the sound of a cool tune.

Halloween Pictures

Well Brian and I got lazy. Apollo didn't like his hat too much but he did look really cute

We hung out with my brother Nate and his wife where their neighbors came over and played a guitar, Apollo loves music and busted out all his moves

Catching up AGAIN

Some pictures of Fall

Apollo had a great time playing in the leaves and hearing them crackle under his feet

Grandma came to visit and Apollo loved it!

Apollo had a bit of an accident and pulled a chair down on top of himself, his poor nose took the brunt of it

Go UTES! 

Utah: 13 TCU:10

They had us worried but pulled off a very quick touchdown in the forth quarter to win the game! BYU visits Salt Lake City in just a couple of weeks and it looks like the U has the advantage. Carly and I (this is Brian by the way) have had a really fun time cheering on our school's football team this year, the first year they have gotten to 10-0 since Urban Meyer and the original BCS busters. I'm betting on the Runnin Utes to make it to the Fiesta Bowl again.  

Our Nations New Leader

Congratulations Barack Obama! Wow, the 44th president of the United States. What a time to be president. Brian and I both voted for Obama and are hopeful that some changes can be made throughout the country. We are very impressed with his ideas. We were also impressed with how McCain handled the outcome of his vote and hope that we can all be supportive of our country and the President. Although we don't agree with the way the electoral college is set up we are happy to see that Obama did win both the majority of electoral votes and the popular vote. We found a great web site that compares the two candidates and if you are still unsure of what each stands for, check it out: www.obama-mccain.ifo/index-obama.mccain.php. 

This was Brian's first time voting and he was very excited to show he does actually care. He reminds me how grateful he is to live in this nation. He has told me many times about families he met in Chile who lived in one room houses with an outhouse and who bathed from a bucket outside. I must say that I agree, that although our government and country on a whole have their problems, it is still a great nation capable of changing for the better. I have a cousin who is on the brink of moving to New Zealand because he is fed up with the USA. Brian and I talked about it and yes, it does seem nice. But then again, the problems the USA has affect the world and as the cliche goes: "you can't run away from your problems". We both have hopes for the future and the next four years will be interesting. Again congratulations and good luck to Barack Obama.

Apollo's favorite activity at the playground is trying to crawl up the slide. He loves getting halfway and then sliding down. Basically I just follow him around and try to keep him from getting killed! He is not at all shy, which is kind of nerve-wracking because he will approach anyone and try to get them to play. Sharing is something he understands very well. He "shares" other kids' toys all the time! He has two more new teeth and can say "mama," "dada," and "bah-bye." It is one of the greatest things in the world to hear him call me mama. This last weekend he enjoyed playing with Grandma and Grandpa Higley and waking up Uncle Chris by crawling all over him! I love my sweet, happy little hellion!

Back to My Husband!

After being in St. George for a week where my mom could help me take care of Apollo, it is great to come home to my husband. I really missed Brian and it is so much fun to be with him again for Apollo and me. Thanks to everyone who has offered to help as my arm heels. It is getting much better and I am encouraged everyday. 

Broken Arm!

This week I was riding my bike and had a bit of a crash! At first I just thought it was bruising and road rash but after noticing pain at any attempt to lift anything, I went to the hospital to find out that I have a fracture in the head of my radius! What a crappy fall! I have a hard time picking up Apollo, let alone scooping him up out of the car seat so Brian stayed home Thursday and Friday to take care of him. Saturday Brian's mom brought me down to Saint George so that my mom can help me with Apollo and Brian doesn't have to miss any more class. We were planning on competing in two more triathlons this year but it looks like my season has ended short. Look out next year though, because once I am recovered I will be a force to reckon with! It's very hard not to be able to pick up Apollo and comfort him as usual but I am grateful that nothing was torn and that surgery is not needed. I miss being around my husband and I feel bad for having to depend so much on my mom for the care of my son. Apollo really misses his dad, Brian is usually the one who gets Apollo to bed and he misses playing with him.