Finally Some Pics....Lots of Them!

Things have been really crazy around here the past few months, so there hasn't been a lot of time for blogging. I finally took a break from the insanity and posted some pictures. These were taken between March and September 2009.

Just a glimpse of how much fun it is to tackle a dissertation.

Russ's birthday at Texas Roadhouse.

I'm not sure where he learns these poses...maybe Zoolander.

Coloring Easter Eggs with grandma.

Yes, that actually IS a roma tomato in the Easter Basket. I like to keep them guessing.

A little Wii action. Brandon is actually holding a remote control to an old air conditioner, but he thinks it works.

Russ didn't have a pirate patch, so he improvised by taking out one of the lenses in his sunglasses.

A night spent preparing my job applications. Ultimately, I burned through 4 boxes of paper. Yeah, that's about 20,000 sheets of paper. This is just the last phase of stuffing the envelopes. You don't want to know how long it took to print all of this stuff and you really don't want to know how much it cost to mail it.

Here are the stuffed envelopes. I quit counting after 150!

Russ fell asleep while sitting in time out.

4th of July weekend at a local cafe with the grandparents.

Russ burned completely through the inside of the training wheel.

Brandon isn't afraid to "open up a can of whoop...", well, you get the point.

The Creamery. Seriously, it's the best ice cream on the planet.

This is the suit that was deemed 'unfit' for Marketing. It's a long story. I'll tell you later if you haven't heard it yet.

2 years old!

The white car takes the 'walk of shame' to the shop. At 238,000 miles, I can't imagine why stuff is starting to wear out.

Almost as bad as the real thing!

Priceless.

Man, these guys sure are getting old!

The BYU women's soccer game against West Virginia. BYU won in overtime. It was a great game.

First day of kindergarten, pose included free of charge.

Hopefully that tides you over for a while. Who knows when I'm going to have time to post again. I've got to find a job, you know!

Continue reading...

*UPDATE* Places We Won't Be Moving (Part 2)

As many of you know, I've spent the past few months preparing for the job market, which officially began last week. (OK, I've actually spent that past decade thinking about getting a job, but that doesn't count....does it?) It's crazy, but there is no systematic way to know exactly which universities are hiring, so the strategy in my field is to mail your applications everywhere and see what happens. It's brilliant, I know, especially when they have over 200 pages of information inside them. Trust me, this process kills trees faster than a forest fire and wastes tons of time in the process, as I'll be ranting about at a later date.

Anyway, while it is still way too soon to tell where we might be moving, several schools have already contacted me to let us know where we won't be going, as they unfortunately aren't hiring this year. Thus far, here's the list of places that are no longer in the running:

• Colorado State University
• University of Kentucky
• University of Oklahoma
• University of South Carolina
• University of Utah
• University of Washington
• Washington State University
• Brigham Young University
• University of Arizona
• University of Colorado
• University of Hawaii.....Sorry Mom
• Boise State....No Blue Turf :-(
• University of Missouri
• University of New Mexico
• Ohio State University
• Villanova
• Texas A&M

I'll keep you updated, as if you really care where we move! I'm sure you just hope it's far away from you.

Continue reading...

Russ's Graduation

I'm obviously too busy lately to blog, but here's a link to some pics of Russ with his friend Abby. Hopefully this will tide you over for a while. Thanks, Andersons, for letting me steal your post.

Continue reading...

Expect Delays

Well, it looks like my blogging drought is going to continue a bit longer. I just found out last week that the deadline for my 'job market packet' is being moved up 1 month. Don't give up on me.....I'll be back sometime. The next 3 weeks are going to be interesting!

Continue reading...

Stay Tuned

I recently realized that I haven't posted on the blog for a while. A lot has been going on lately.....there's the data collection for my dissertation, a surgery that never happened, lecturing to undergrads, grading, and applying for jobs. Anyway, I want everyone to know that as soon as this semester is over, I'll be filling you in on all of the interesting events that have occurred during the past few months. Stay tuned for: crazy student stories from Spring 2009, my experience with Dirk at the computer repair shop, Russell's wild ride on his birthday, someone hitting our car with a moving truck, and my unrelated experience getting the car fixed at Firestone (it wasn't even Wal Mart this time).

See you soon.

Continue reading...

A "Swift" Response to Morgan's Video

As many of you know, one of Russ's best friends, Morgan, moved to Idaho a few months ago. Several weeks ago, the Deans posted a video of Morgan singing a Taylor Swift song. (You can see the American Idol audition video here. Scroll down to the January 31st post.) Since then, Russ has asked to watch "Morgan's Song" every single day. After enjoying her song for the last month, Russ finally decided to respond in kind with his own version of "Our Song" (back-up dancer included).

Continue reading...

One of the Many Reasons I Love Chile

Having spent a few years living in Chile, I really miss the country sometimes. After seeing these pictures, I remember why. I want to thank my friend Eduardo Esteffan for these amazing pictures from the land down South.


There are definitely some rough neighborhoods in Chile, so you always want to dissuade thieves as much as possible. I'm sure this should do the trick.

Some of the meat markets are a little different than those we see in the US. This one advertises its chicken as the kind that doesn't taste like fish.

This picture is interesting because it says the beach can only be used for sunbathing....not picnics or tents.

This picture pretty much speaks for itself, but just in case you were wondering, "malo" means broken.

There's a reason why pirated goods are cheaper in Chile.

This is somewhat disturbing, but particularly funny if you've ever walked through a Chilean cemetery. We actually took a similar picture when we were there.

If you speak Spanish, you're probably laughing your head off right now. I'm not even going to translate this one.

A typical road sign, with the exception of the 4th destination, which when translated means "take off underwear - 4 kilometers".

I'm not sure why this is so funny, except for the fact that I saw hundreds of these guys while I was there.

Yes, this is a dental office....just in case you were wondering. Ahhh, only in Chile.

Another funny street sign: "Drive with Care - There Aren't Kids to Spare Here".

Ever wonder which type of meat you are buying? Ponder no more!

The economy must be especially bad when adult stores are branching out to new customers by adding mariscos (seafood) to their offerings.

This must be a special product line that GM only introduces in the Chilean market.

This one is beyond me: "Esteemed Patient, Please Do Not Urinate in the Wastebasket - Thank You".

I'm not even going to touch this one, but trust me, it's funny. If you must know, ask a Spanish speaking friend. I'm not responsible though.

Continue reading...

Everyone Wants Pictures

OK. OK. I get it. Everyone wants to see more pictures of the kids. Here you go:


This is usually how things end up after playing. We're trying to get Brandon to put the toys inside the container......but this is a good start.

Brandon really needs the shades because it is so sunny here in the winter time.....ask anyone who has been here from October through March.

Millions of dollars spent by grandparents on toys and this is what gets played with the most?

Shalece somehow took this amazing picture of a squirrel ransacking Russ's homemade bird feeder. Hey, it's not just a tough economy for humans.....ask any squirrel whose nut supply is down 40%.

Russ and Brandon helping me weigh my bags before my last data collection expedition.

Again, mountains of toys and these get all the attention?

A recent trip to a local cafe for a treat on a freezing cold night. Russ made it to the counter and ordered his ice cream before the rest of us even made it through the door. He's tricky that way. You should see him at restaurants.

Uncle Wade sent us this slingshot chicken, which unfortunately only made 1 flight. Mr. Chicken was decapitated on his second take-off. As a poultry specialist, I attempted surgery, but results of the operation are still pending.

Finally, a shot of the boys around Christmas time.

I hope that tides everyone over for a while.

Continue reading...

Maintenance Man Quiz Answers

Well I must say that the "Maintenance Man" post received quite a bit of attention. If you didn't catch the original post, you can click here to read it. Given the overwhelming response, I held out a few extra days before posting the answer. Anyway, without further ado, I present you with the answers:

1) Tuna fish can lid used to cover 4 inch hole: TRUE


2) Shelves falling down...put back in same place...shelves falling down again: TRUE

3) Karate kick to the screen door: TRUE (and quite funny to watch)

4) Flooded room...fan...'mushrooms growin': TRUE


5) Hole in the tub...green silicone: TRUE

6) Musical burner modules and elements on the stove: TRUE (frustratingly)

7) Dishwasher element replacement...eventual flood: TRUE

8) Crooked, off-center, uneven dishwasher install: TRUE (I couldn't make this up if I tried)

9) Towel rack...loose bar...$32 bill...Shalece losing her cool: TRUE & FALSE Everything was true except the part where Shalece told them to "come take their @$&*$#@* towel rack back." She actually didn't swear...but the rest was true and she was out for blood :-) .

OK, so it was kind of a trick quiz, but you get the point. Ultimately, this stuff is much funnier when it doesn't happen to you. I'm glad you guys had fun laughing at our misfortunes. I'm confident it won't be the last time!

Continue reading...

High Maintenance Family Seeks Qualified Maintenance Man . . . Seriously

Living in an apartment has all kinds of perks. There's the money you throw away each month in rent, the common walls you share with neighbors, and the guys that come fix stuff when it's broken. We salute these gentlemen with the following quiz. Can you identify which event did NOT actually take place with our apartment's maintenance workers? It may be harder than you think! I'll reveal the one correct answer next week. Here are the choices:

After we found a 4 inch hole through the foundation of our apartment, a maintenance worker attempted to fix it using the lid from a tuna fish can and some silicone.

After the shelves in our closet collapsed, ripping the drywall anchors out of the wall, the maintenance worker fixed the shelves by putting them back in the same place, after which the shelves immediately fell down again.

When replacing our sliding screen door, the maintenance worker karate kicked the door, bending it in half, before determining if the new door would fit. Ooops.

After one of the bedrooms flooded, rather than pulling the carpet up, the maintenance worker said, “Just throw a fan on it.” When we asked if the property manager would replace our carpet once mold started growing, the maintenance worker responded, “They aint gonna replace it unless it turns black and has mushrooms growin’ on it.”

After we noticed a hole in our bathtub, the maintenance worker said, “I can fix it, but all I got is some fluorescent green silicone. You want me to put that on it?”

When the burner on our stove went out, the maintenance worker put in a module for a smaller sized burner, rather than a large one. When the burner wouldn't get hot enough, he put in a new heating element. When that didn’t work, he tried another wrong sized module. When I suggested that maybe the stove uses two different sized modules, he looked at me like I was an idiot. As it turns out, the stove uses two different sized modules.

When our dishwasher stopped working, the maintenance worker replaced the heating element, but failed to tighten it, so as soon as we turned it on, water flooded our kitchen.

When our dishwasher still didn't work, the maintenance worker tried his hardest to remove the handle so he could get inside it. After 5 minutes of pulling, twisting, and straining, he realized that he needed to remove a screw to get the handle off. He then turned to me and said, "Man, I feel pretty stupid."

When the maintenance worker finally decided to install a new dishwasher, he and his partner put it in crooked and uneven so that the door would not close and the front was several inches higher than the back. Noticing the asymmetry, I asked if the front was supposed to be a different height than the back. In response, the maintenance worker said, "You want it to be lower in the back, 'cause that's where the drain is." After they left, I opened it up and saw that the drain was in the middle. Hence, I reinstalled it. This time level, straight, and in the center of the opening.

When the towel rack broke in the bathroom, the maintenance worker attempted to install the new one using the same brackets, but the bar was too big. Next he put the new brackets in the same holes, but the bar was too short. Instead of moving the brackets, he carefully balanced the bar between the two brackets and left. As soon as we touched the bar, it immediately fell to the ground. The property manager sent us a bill for $32. Shalece callled the property manager and told them to come take their @$%&*$#@* towel rack back. We bought one for $4.88 from our favorite store.......... Wal Mart!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the record, I hold the property manager responsible for many of these problems. By not paying the maintenance workers well, not training them appropriately, and not providing them with the resources needed to properly do their job, the property manager sets them up for failure. Maybe that's why there's a new maintenance man every month. Get a clue property manager!

Continue reading...