Disneyland 2008

All 16 of us in one whole boat on Pirates of the Caribbean 
Electric Parade
Paradise Pier Hotel (sideways)
Katie and Aidan on Buzz Lightyear 
Dad and Asher on Maliboomer 

As you all know I Felicia and I had the opportunity to spend a week with the Brownings and Mom and Dad in Disneyland.  The Rowleys even showed up to for a couple of days to increase the excitement of it all.  I know much of it has to do with the fact that I grew up vacationing in Disneyland but it really is, at least one of, the happiest places on earth.  It doesn't matter if you are in a bad mood, once you sit down in one of the rides or some sort of entertainment begins you can't help but smile.  That very thing happened to Felicia and I on our last day.  We were in a bit of a disagreement of what we should be doing next and so we sat down to apologize to one-another  and one of the employees there came up to us and asked if we'd like to ride the Toy Story ride that wasn't opened to the public yet.  We had actually headed to that part of the park just to ride it but were turned away.  We were so excited we couldn't help but smile and forget about what was bothering us.  It was a really fun ride ride presented in  4D (meaning we were able to interact with the ride).  We were followed by that luck the rest of that night.  We got a pineapple float for nearly half the price because of a mess up on their part, were able to see the Electric Parade, fireworks show, and Fantasmic water show.  Then while waiting in line to get an ice cream sundae an older couple behind us gave us 6, yes 6, fastpasses to any ride in the park!  The got them from a Disney tour they were on but weren't going to use them.  So we were able to ride Indiana Jones, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Space Mountain, our three favorites, all within about an hour before the park closed.  It was a great farewell to our last night there.  Being there with Mom and Dad and the Brownings, being able to experience the excitement with first time kids, having the benefit of short waits with Scottie's wheelchair, and the added life to the party the Rowelys brought, made this trip the best one yet!  I wished so much to be able to go back to when we were kids and experience it all as a happy Anderson vacation that we had so many times.  What do you remember about our Disney trips?

    

T.V. Favorites

I was going to leave a comment on Jen and Em's blog to update them already but then Emily did and I noticed mine was growing gray hair and had sweaters on it's teeth.  So I'm here to freshen up my bad breath blog.  If you get the chance to read One Eyed Sleye's blog do so.  This post follows his.  Before I was a big kid I was a little one, who spent most of his time over at his friends or getting bruised up by his little sister (might have deserved it).  I never spent too much time in front of the television but there were a few shows I tried to catch growing up.  The first show I remember watching but don't remember too many details about was Fraggle Rock.  I do remember the intro with the little fraggle man trying to sneak past a dog and getting snatched up by a giant, who was really just normal sized but the Fraggles were tiny, like mice.  

A couple of cartoons that haven 't faded from my memory quite as much were Tale Spin and especially Duck Tales.  I use to get pretty excited about Duck Tales and even sing along with the song.  I thought it would be cool to have a neighbor who was really adventurous and maybe a little off the wall like Launch Pad McDuck or Doc from Back To The Future.  

When I grew a little older and cartoons weren't so "cool" I took  a real liking to Home Improvement.  Tim was the coolest dad!  Once in a blue moon I'll run across an old rerun and think of Jared Holyoak.  That was about the only show I can remember being able to sit down and watch during the middle of the day, right around the time another t.v. great was on the air.  Saved By the Bell was almost like Seinfeld for kids.  You could talk about it to just about anyone and they also knew what happened in the last episode.  Screech, A.C. Slater, Zack "Preppy", Kelly, Jessie, and Mr. Belding were the role models for us kids on how to deal with real issues.  Drugs, first love, lost love, financial issues, being bullied,  cheating, just to name a few. 

Another lasting favorite that I'll still watch if I run across it is The Fresh Prince of Bell-Air.  Will and his relatives the Banks (Uncle Phil, Carlton, Ashley and some others) along with Geoffrey the butler and Jazz got plenty of my attention.  Chad Clark reminded me of Fresh Prince quite a bit.  I just got the same feeling around him as I did watching Will.  Both pretty cool dudes older than me I guess.  

Thanks for the idea Scott.  I'd like to hear about your favorites.         

Murse for me

  I got an evaluation in the mail last week from Weber State on my school experience and a request for me to set up an exit interview.  Nobody knows better than me how long I've been in school and that little reminder didn't help much.  I wish I had known since I was in high school what it is I wanted to do when I grew up.  It would have saved me some time.  "Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want."  I've gotten a lot of experience from my school.  I feel I've become well rounded from the classes I've taken and I've gotten to know a lot of neat people. If I had to list just one thing that I've learned during my years at Weber State I would say that I've learned how to learn.  That is an invaluable quality that can only be gained through experience and, well, we now all know I've got that.  Professors have presented me with the task to learn a subject time and time again.  Nutrition, science, english, spanish, latin, math, communication, law, swimming, religion, video productions, billiards, volcanoes, economics, accounting, stress management, telecommunications, ................... and on and on.  I've got a little bit of everything under my belt.  "Jack of all trades and master of none" comes to mind.  I'm glad I married my better half to get me on track.  With a lot of patience and just a little pressure she has helped me decide what it is I need to focus on.  So I'm here today (mostly for myself) to announce (hold myself to) that I am going to follow in my wife's footsteps and work towards becoming a CRNA (nurse anesthetist).  I have a couple other friends doing the same thing that have been cheering me towards that direction.  My good friend Aaron (phantom friend) says that we'll be murses together.  A murse in a male nurse.  So here I go!  Thanks to all my friends who have helped me make the decision and especially my lovely wife Felicia.           

Look What I've Done!

Now I don't have to write another blog for a MONTH!  Just kiddin Jen.  I don't even think I like my new template.

A very special birthday girl

This blog is written a little late, like 4 days or so, but I'm finally done with school and have been feeling a little guilty for not updated the blog.  As most of you know it was Felicia's birthday on monday.  She turned 22........22!!!!!  Sometimes I forget how young she is.  She took work off and I planned a good time for us.  I made her a booklet of coupons.  Back rubs, movie night with treats, dinner to anywhere she wants, and one for enough money for a nice shopping spree.  I know she gets a lot of joy out of splurging on fun clothes so I figured we could just make a day of it.  I'll have to say she's got spendy taste but she doesn't every buy anything besides her favorite fruit and a Red Bull once in a while.  So to the Gateway we go.  Her favorite places are Banana Republic, Anthropologie, and Bastile.  If you know those stores you know your "shopping spree" funds can be exhausted quickly but at least in good taste.  We had a great time and the day, if you remember, couldn't have been more perfect for outdoor shopping.  We even ate outside that evening by a nice fire pit that kept us warm from the cool night's air at Typhoon.  

Bragging Time:  You probably already know this but Felicia was recently accepted into the Accelerated Nursing Program at Weber State.  To elaborate on how awesome that is, Weber gets around 1,000 to 1,200 applicants from all over.  They accept just 90 a year and of that 90 only 10 to 15 of those are accepted into the Accelerated program and of the 10-15, a handful have already done a semester or two of the regular nursing program.  That program finishes the degree in half the time.  The average person applies twice and some 3 times.  This was Felicia's first time applying.  I'm actually not that surprised, with her being in the Pinnacle Honor Society and constantly setting the curve in her classes. 

This is just one of the fields of life that she excels in.  She is an AWESOME person and a great wife.  I love her so much and am so thankful for having her in my life.         

SHOUT OUT TO THE COLLEGE KIDS IN THE FAM.

Finals are quite stressful to say the least!  Please excuse me in advance if this blog just seems like I'm blowing of some steam, because I am.

I just lost half my work on a final online project due to my computer freezing and no, I didn't save anything so i'll just start over I guess.  

I'm sure all of you have either experienced or are about to experience "dead week", the week just before finals.  I say what in the world ever happened to "dead week"!!!!!????   It says right in my official Weber Planner that there are no classes during that week, HOWEVER, every since I can remember (because I have gone to school for much longer than needed) my teachers have thought "dead week" to be a good week to throw in one more exam before the final.  How on EARTH am I supposed to do a good comprehensive review when I'm busy studying for last minute exams in all my classes!?  HUH!?  Not like I have a job, need sleep, have to eat, or even need to change my underwear.  

I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the science stuff.  My lab partner was gone for the week so I had to prepare a quiz and a comprehensive practice final for my anatomy class all on my own.  Luckily for me my wife is a science genius and was able to help me a bit set things up in the lab today.  

Needless to say I have many hoops to yet jump through for the semester to finally be over.  I probably have it easiest out of the current college kids in the family right now so this is a shout out to them.  GOOD LUCK! 

Well now that I've vented for a minute I feel better and can get back to my studies.  Every semester is like this so I've done it before, I'm sure I can do it again.  I recommend just writing you feelings down if you feel stressed or frustrated.  It seems to have eased my fury.  I could just erase all of this and pretend like I never wrote it and I'd still feel better BUT... now I have an updated blog so I guess it'll stay due to a lack of time to write another one.       

New thing

Amy asked what was new in our lives in her last blog and I said I'd do my next blog on it.  So here are a couple of new things in Felicia's and my life.

 

New thing #1:  Gollum visited our apartment and almost made Felicia wet herself

New thing #2:  My church basketball team made it to the final two.  We play for the championship next tuesday

New thing #3:  Felicia tried the California Roll 

New thing #4:  Felicia then tried a new dish (stuffed shrimp)

New thing #5:  We bought a good sized Jade Tree for the casa

New thing #6:  Felicia made me cocoa and toast for the 1st time and I REALY enjoy it

I'll end on that great note.