The long awaited post

Life has been getting pretty hecktic over the past few months. I will take a quick moment to tell you about them all.
I have actively been persuing a job since October. The problem that I was having is that my GPA....well....really stinks. So I'm not on the top of anyone's hiring list. I have a friend in my program with me that recommended me for a job that his father had. In March is when I had my over the phone interviews. The fun thing is that Erin was invited to all the interviews as well. We had a face to face interview with my friends dad at the begining of April and I was offered the job.
The company name is Metso. They make machines that produce paper. I will be assigned to work in a paper mill in Anderson SC maintaining equipment and improving proceedures. It is something that I really enjoy doing and I think that I will do very well at it.
This is the point where things start getting crazy. The last interview was done on the 9th I believe. I could be wrong. They wanted me to start on the 2nd of May in Norcross Georgia for training.
We took a house hunting trip and found a really cute place in a city called Flowery Branch Georgia. We are supposed to be here for 3-4 months while I train. We really enjoyed the place, but it was about this time that we realized how far away everything was and how much we will miss our home. While on this trip we did get to go to the Atlanta temple open house. It was a nice reminder of what is really important.
When we got home we contacted the movers and started to initiate the move. Graduation was only a week away at the point and finals were in full swing. Needless to say it was a stressful week. We told the moving company that we needed to be in before the 2nd and they said it wasn't a problem.
Graduation was long and boring! Erin said that I needed to do it because of all the work and effort that my family and I all put into it. I can understand all that, but it was still long and boring. I couldn't even sleep during it. So, during the ceremony I watched my neighbor play angry birds.
The night of graduation we had all of our family and friends over for a quick goodbye party. We say a lot of our good friends and a lot of friends that we don't get to see very often. It was a good evening and I hope that everyone enjoyed it.
This is when stuff gets more crazy. The movers picked up our stuff the following Tuesday and we moved to Erin's parents house until Friday. The movers chose this time to inform us that they will try to get the stuff to us by the 2nd, but it could take until the 5th. Frusterated, we waited until the time came for us to fly to Georgia.
Flying was fun with the kids actually. They did really well. The second we touched down we had to be hurring to our rental car so we could make it to our new home to sign the lease agreement before they closed. Anytime you are in a hurry, there is something that will stop you from being in a hurry. The rental car took forever to get. Once we received the car, Erin drove as fast as she could, but we were 15 min late. We decided to leave when we got a call saying that they were waiting for us still. It was nice that we were able to sign the lease.
It was about this time that Erin realized that she setup the utilities on the wrong house by mistake and we would not have any hot water until it could be fixed. It was late already and the utilities were closed. We had to wait until Monday to fix the situation.
We stayed at a hotel that night with the kids. This ended up being a big mistake. They stayed up most of the night and wouldn't really sleep. Erin and I were so frusterated that we decided that even though we didn't have anything in our new home we would stay there anyway and get out of the hotel. We left the following morning and started looking at sofa sleepers for something to sleep on. We found a nice one but they wouldn't deliver that day. We decided to rent a Uhaul truck to pick it up and we would move it in. We again had to rush because the wearhouse where we were storing our things was going to close at 5:00 and it was 4:15 at the time. I was running downhill to the Uhaul store when I realized that my top half was going faster then my bottom. I fell, scratched up my right side and dislocated my left shoulder. Please be informed that insurance for us doesn't start until June. We decided not to rent the uhaul at that point in time. Erin drove me to a instacare unit and they tried to put the shoulder back in place but weren't able to because of the pain. We went to the ER then and they decided to put me asleep for 10 min so they could relocate my shoulder. I felt really good when I woke up.
Since I can not move the sleeper anymore we decided to let them deliver it and we would sleep on an air matress until it came. We went to walmart that night and spent over $600 in sleeping, eating, and living items. We called the shipping agency and they now indicated that our stuff was still in Provo and would be to us by the 5th at the latest.
That night it came to our attention that the sleeping bags we got for the kids didn't contain any sleeping bags at all. Erin rushed back to the store at midnight to replace them. When she got back I had to tell her that our pump for the airmatress needed batteries to operate. So she left again. We got to sleep at 1:00.
The next day was Sunday. We got up and got ready for church. With everything that we have been going through church sounded like a blessed relief. We were hoping to meet someone that would let us use their washing machine. We made it to the church building a little late and no one was there. A sign on the door said that it there was no church due to the Atlanta Temple dedication.
We got home dejected. I tried to unlock the door and realized that the front door has 2 dead bolts. Both can be locked from the inside, but only one can be unlocked from the outside. I had locked both locks and ran out of the garage while it closed. We didn't have a garage door opener either. We were sucessfully locked out and I even had the key in my hand. We called the complex to see if they could help, they refused. It was a good thing that I had a friend that brought a ladder to reach our 2nd story balacony. Luckly that door was open. Good friends are a blessing!
That night we looked up of the phone number for the bishop and tried to see if we could meet a member that would help us wash our clothes. We were able to get a call back from the Elders Quorm with some assistance. We were to meet a family on Monday night and they will allow us use of their washing machine. I love the church!
Monday brought some more disappointment. We wouldn't get hot water until Wednesday, The truck still was in Provo and wouldn't leave until Tuesday, the cost of our rental car was getting really expensive at this point, and we still didn't know anyone close.
We spent the night with ward members doing our laundry. It felt good to be around people of our own faith again. I never realized how I would miss it. When we got home we decided to put more faith in God and rededicate ourselves to doing his will. Needless to say, it worked.
Tuesday came and we purchased a mini-van. We have a 2005 honda Odysee. We love it. My Dad was able to get us some more money to pay off the rental car because we kept it 2 days longer then we should have. We slept really well that night.
Wednesday came and we found out that our stuff left Provo and would be to us the following Tuesday. This is over a week later then we were anticipating. The hot water came on that day. There was much rejoicing.
Saturday found us driving to see Anderson SC where we will live eventually. It was a nice little town that reminded us of American Fork. The thing that we didn't like is that there is no inside smoking laws. We were eating when we noticed tons of people around us lighting up. Because Erin was pregnant we left quickly.
Church on Sunday was awesome. Erin made friends very quickly and I bumped into an old missionary buddy. It was nice to have someone that I know. The strange thing is that when I met him on the mission I thought how weird it would be to come from such a backwards place like Georgia.
We used the webcam to wish our parents a happy mothers day. I got homesick watching everyone interacting with eachother. It is the first holliday that we had away from home. I hope that we will get used to it.
The job is going great. It is mostly just going through safety training and reading product specs. It will be nice to get into the swing of things.
Our stuff will be here tomorrow. I can't tell you how excited we all are about it.

Erin's Trip to Seattle

I just got back last night from a fantastic weekend vacation to the Seattle area in Washington state. I went up to visit my good friend Mindy who just moved there at the end of last year. It was a good excuse to get away for awhile and visit a good friend, not to mention see somewhere new!

I left Friday morning at 9:30, and Mindy picked me up at the airport with her two adorable little girls. We spent the day talking and catching up, and that night we went out on the town to do dinner and a movie, but the wear and tear of the day finally caught up with me and we ended up heading home to watch a movie there instead.

Saturday morning we got up, lounged around, ate breakfast and took off on day trip. We drove to Bremerton to ride a ferry into Seattle. On the way we went across the Narrows Bridge which I thought was pretty cool. Apparently some time ago it actually failed when it had some stability problems, but since then they've fixed it up and nothing bad happened to us when we crossed it.

We passed the Puget Sound Navel Shipyard on the way to the ferry as well. Mike was really interested in this because he would love to work there someday. To me it looked kind of gray and depressing, but then I'm not a chemical engineer! :) It was pretty cool to see all the docked ships, they were huge!

We waited in line for the ferry for about 20 minutes, and then we were able to drive on. We parked, and then went up to the higher levels of the ship for sightseeing. The view was amazing, my camera wasn't able to capture it properly. I think everyone should take a ferry ride if they get the chance! We had a blast!

The ferry ride lasted about 30 minutes, and once we docked in Seattle we drove off the ship and right into downtown craziness. We passed the Seattle Art Museum which would have been fun to visit. We went looking for the Space Needle, since we had decided that would be our next tourist attraction. Once we got there (after a few wrong turns!), the sign said it would be $8 for valet parking, so we pulled in and just as we were going to let them park the car, I thought to ask if it was really $8, and they said no it was $20. It's $8 if you are just going to their restaurant. Stupid fine print. So we drove around and found a place to park and then hiked in, which gave us a taste of how cold it would be up on the observation deck! It took 41 seconds to ride up (supposedly) and then we took tons of pictures of the view, with an especially pretty picture of the area we came from on the ferry. All in all, pretty cool but I don't know that I would spend $18 again unless I was bringing that special someone (which I hope to do!).

After the Space Needle, we were getting pretty hungry for some seafood. Mindy let me drag her to a place called the Crab Pot, where she tried seafood that wasn't from Red Lobster for the first time, and it seemed to make a good impression on her. As for my own opinion, fresh seafood (not flown in to Utah, but from a restaurant right on the ocean) is absolutely incredible and I wish I could eat there weekly. Maybe more. I had a hard time with the shrimp heads, that was weird, and the mussels and clams were just okay. But the crab was phenomenal, and so was the fish! Especially the halibut. I am so hungry just writing this... Good thing I took pictures so I can relive the memories!

We had such a fun time, but we were totally drained the next day. So we spent Sunday lounging around, eating food, napping and just relaxing. It was so fun to talk and catch up, and it was definitely the most fun I have had in years. I can't wait to visit again, and to bring Mike with me next time! Thanks Mindy for such an amazingly fun vacation!

Birthday parties

So we've had birthday parties for both Emma and Matthew now. Emma is 5 and Matthew is 3! It's crazy how fast the years are starting to go by. I don't have the pictures for Emma's party at this moment, but I will be posting them once I get them from my mom. Our camera was nowhere to be found that day.

Both kids had store bought cakes this year, which I have never done before (and felt slightly guilty about), but I thought, "Hey, I'm pregnant and in school full time. Do I really want to make cakes?" And the answer was NO. So! Emma had a How to Train Your Dragon cake, complete with a Toothless and Hiccup toy. Apparently she had a dream that she was flying on Toothless behind Hiccup, and she could hardly describe it to me because she was so excited. Her party was a lot of fun, and she received a lot of nice gifts. The amazing thing to me is that she can remember who gave her each present. She has a great memory!

Matthew chose a Dinosaur cake, which was a little more generic, but the price was a lot better at Costco so I was cheap and didn't give him all the cool options. He seemed really happy about it anyway, and he did have fun blowing out his candles. He was so sad at Emma's party when he didn't get to blow her candles out; needless to say he was very excited about blowing out his own candles, and he did a great job. Matthew's party was also a lot of fun, and he had the extra treat of having Uncle Jared and Aunt Jessica come to his party. Since they live in Texas it was awesome to be able to have them come while they were here. It was definitely a full house, but it was a great time. Thanks to everyone who came, and for the wonderful gifts that were given!

A better post

It seems to me that starting a new post is more difficult then squeezing a horse into a VW beetle. I bet you are wondering about our Halloween. Well, due to a lack of foresight on my part, we didn't have our camera ready. We have pictures taken by Grandma, but we have to get them first. Emma wanted to be a bunny, and Matthew wanted to be Woody. Erin is luckly good with a sowing machine and she was able to make them. I had to do some engineering on the bunny ear to help them stand up though. Since we have no pictures, I will now try to the best of my ability to describe the scenes that filled our Halloween. I will attempt old school novel style. We'll see how it goes.

The day started fresh and new. The house was cleaned and ready for the new onslaught of children when ever they decided to get up. I awoke early to take an exam at school. It was my second attempt at my senior level exam. I was fairly distressed as I missed six, but will attempt again in January. The air was crisp and stung my face causing a flush of red on my cheeks as I dejectedly walked to my car for the lonely drive home.
After arriving upon my destination I opened the door and was greeted by smiling children, happy and ready to attack anything that held the semblance of being orderly or clean. Since they had been cleaned and fed, my wife and I decided that we should depart henceforth to the place of my birth. This owing to such vices as boredom, and the fact that my parents would feed us lunch. So the children donned their costumes and we started on our long trek to Salt Lake City.
It is always nice to journey in the morning hours. It is too early for the slower voyagers to be on the roads and hence the condition of the roads was quite favorable. Due to a matter of logistics we met my parents at Costco. They were excited to see the children in their costumes. My mother quickly took my wife and daughter from me and left me with my father and son. We sought after the normal masculine isles containing objectives like electronics, computers, and tools. The conversation lingered on topics like what features a new printer had, or how a lithium ion battery is more efficient then the older batteries. Once these items had been talked about and the a fore mentioned isles visited we met with the females in the family and decided that pizza would be in order for lunch. My mother intended to purchase a gold dress for Emma with a black bodice for Christmas. My wife and I are excited to see it on Emma. After the items were purchased we separated ways with my parents with an oath to reconvene at their home for afternoon refreshment. I am happy to say that both the company and the pizza were well received at that time.
We took our leave from my family at a little before 2:00 to start our arduous journey up Parley's canyon and onto Midway were My wife's family was waiting to receive us. The children ran to play with their uncle Ian while The rest of us helped attend to dinner. This particular dinner was to be a grand occasion because my brother in law, Nathan, was to bring the object of his affections to sup with the family for the first time. Before dinner could begin however, the matter of tricks and treats needed to be addressed. The children were gathered and new makeup was then applied in preparation to leave.
The day had gone from a bright sunny day, to a dismal cold rain. Midway tends to be about 10 degrees cooler then Salt Lake or Provo. We started to visit some of neighbors that Erin knew well. Owing to the rain we decided to only visit a couple more houses before returning home. Erin's grandparents were happy to see the children and take there leisure with us for a short time. The time passed quickly though and we returned the matter of supper at my wife's parent's house.
Dinner was a great experience. Everyone was in such grand humor that not a dry eye was to be found. The young lady that accompanied Nathan was welcomed into the home with such a grand and loving manor that I found myself jealous. I was not offered such a welcome when first I met this family. I am happy to report that the young lady found the family most agreeable and she now looks forward to many more such encounters.
The after dinner entertainment was a viewing of old slides upon an old slide projector. As this was the first time that Nathan brought a guest to visit with the family, most of the slides were upon the topic of him. Many times I have been thankful that this family does not possess any slides with my countenance upon them.
We soon left and returned to our place of residence to prepare for what was to be the final occurrence of that day. Nathan was again to join us with his young love for a viewing of "Lord of the Rings". The children, no doubt tired from the days happenings, fell asleep quickly leaving my wife and I a little reprieve before the addition of our guests. Upon their arrival a refreshment of corn bread and hot chocolate was made much to delight of everyone. The film was then started and, owing to the events of the day, everyone fell asleep. Upon reaching the mid section of the film Nathan and his girl of his affections decided to take their leave. Upon which my wife and I went to bed. Thus ending a day filled with travel, adventure, costumes, and attempting to keep the flow of sugar into our children as moderated as possible.

There is help!

Hello friends,

I am normal person Mike. Do you or someone you know consistently walk into walls? Does the thought of driving down the street with your blinker on excite you? Did you purchase that special machine to rewind your DVD's when you were through with them? If this sounds like you then you may have a special condition called "Stupid".

The condition of "Stupid" can be best described with this easy to picture example. Imagine a normal egg. This is what normal people are like. They are smooth, clean, and seamless. Now picture the same egg hard boiled with a screwdriver through it. Then take a string, tie one end to the screwdriver and the other to a ceiling fan. Now turn the fan on high. This is "Stupid".

Stupidity is the cause of many of the hardships we face. Some of these hardships include:


*Traffic Jams
*Slow Internet
*Messy Drawers
*Politics
*Buying a Volkswagen
*and countless acts of Art


If you feel like you or someone you know may have this condition, please do not feel alone. There are many stupid people in places like America. The whole world may contain thousands, nay, ten thousands of stupid people. Some of the places would include South America, Moscow Idaho, Norway, Germany, and yes even France should be considered when thinking about "Stupid" People. The board of "Stupid Recognition and Avoidance" states that 1 out of every 10000000 people could be considered "Stupid" and avoided.


There is help available to you! The Center for "Stupid" has created a special place where you or your loved ones can go to be rehabilitated. This luxurious compound is located in a special area of the middle Northwest. It even contains a restaurant for you to attend while you are recreated into a normal person.

So please, the next time you stop your car in front of a green light think about "Stupid" and how you can best help humanity. If you can't get help for stupidity at the "Center for Stupid" Please lock yourself in a box. Also rest assured that I will be in that same box with you because I am also stupid.