Brandon And Alison Think

Emerson's Big Day

2012-02-01T20:18:00.002-06:00

Emerson has loved hanging out with his grandma Cindy for a whole month, but alas, all good things must come to an end. Today was her last day in Kansas City, and that called for an exciting outing. Uncle Spencer was here for a brief visit and wanted to check out the Kansas City Zoo, so away they went.

Emerson hung out at the polar bear habitat.

He took his first train ride (and got a little sleepy).

Mom got off work in time for a late lunch. (And to see the little man streeeeeeetch.)

Here's a video montage of the day's highlights.

Bye bye, Grandma! Thanks for spending so much time with our little guy and for being a great babysitter! We'll see you again soon.

Visiting Aunt and Uncle

2012-01-19T18:48:00.000-06:00

Last week we enjoyed a visit from Kendall and Shelley! Emerson was happy to meet a new uncle and aunt.

The little man turned 3 months old.

He's still quite easy to take along to restaurants and such--we're enjoying this while it lasts!

Obligatory photo call in front of the Nelson-Atkins museum's Shuttlecocks.

Brisquette practices for her modeling career.

Who.... 27?

2012-01-03T16:36:00.000-06:00

Can you guess which is Alison and which is Emerson?

Which one has been an invited speaker to the Marriott Center, twice?
Happy Birthday!

Last of 2011

2012-01-01T00:43:00.001-06:00

We've been enjoying Carl and Cindy's visit. Fortunately, the weather has been great, so we've been able to visit several picturesque Kansas City locations.

Carl continued his handyman ways...this time he was on the roof (!) insulating the windows from the cold weather that is supposed to be showing up one of these days...

Emerson and Brisquette met again, for the first time. This may have been the first time Emerson was aware of the existence of his "big sister."

We've always thought the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art would be a great place to bring the baby, so we tried it out today. Emerson looked at a lot of lights and walls (not sure if he ever looked at any actual art), watched part of a weird video installation (until he got too restless), and slept in his Baby Bjorn; he also ate and got his diaper changed in one of the galleries. All in all, he had a pretty big day!

Oddly enough, we also ran into a couple from our childbirth class. They used the same midwife and had their baby about 6 weeks after we did. It was fun to see their cute little girl (also riding in a carrier on her daddy's chest!).

Finally, there was a Great Moment In Art when Alison encountered her doppelganger. Fortunately, there was time for a photo op.

We hope that 2012 is the year that you find yourself in a weird modernist painting. Happy new year!

Emerson's First Christmas

2011-12-25T23:24:00.001-06:00

It's been another lovely Christmas at the Roberg home. Carl and Cindy arrived from California; they couldn't miss their first grandson's first Christmas!

Here, Brisquette tests out the guest bed.

We prepared a Christmas feast, which included a red cabbage salad based on one from North Woods Inn in California.

Our little guy didn't really know it was Christmas, but he sure looked festive!

His outfit is one that Brandon wore when he was a baby. Cindy saved it and passed it along to Emerson. He got lots of compliments from the ladies at church!

Brisquette had a wonderful holiday, thanks to Aunt Shelly and Uncle Joe, who remembered her once again. (So did Grandma and Grandpa Young--Brisquette thanks you!)

We had an extravaganza of present-opening. All the cute stuff was for Emerson, of course.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! (And now it's time for bed.)

Baby Grows

2011-12-09T20:18:00.001-06:00

Two months ago, on Emerson's first day home from the hospital, we took the picture on the right. Today, we took the picture on the left (sorry about the busy patterns). Our boy is growing so much! He smiles a lot (on purpose) and is getting very interested in the world around him. He loves ceiling fans and lights.

Here's are some more pictures from our fun trip to New Jersey:

Emerson slept while Brandon worked on Thanksgiving-break homework and Uncle Neil surfed the net.

Uncle Eric taught Emerson the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. He picked it right up!

Alison got in some quality floor sleeping time with the baby.

Thanks, Stones, for a great trip!

Here's the little man today:

New York City & Asbury Park

2011-12-02T22:59:00.001-06:00

Emerson sporting his UMKC shirt. Go Roos!

Brandon at Alexander Hamilton's grave at Trinity Church in Manhattan.

Carl and Brandon at the National September 11 Memorial.

Neil and Brandon at the Brooklyn Bridge.

Emerson, Alison and Brandon on the beach at Asbury Park.

Family Thanksgiving

2011-12-01T11:28:00.001-06:00

This Thanksgiving, we journeyed to New Jersey to be with the Stones.

Emerson went on his first plane ride. Mom and Dad learned that going through security with a baby and a dog (Brisquette traveled in style in her bright yellow carrier, below) is no easy feat.

Grandma Lori couldn't get enough. Eric is happy to be an uncle.

The Thanksgiving table, before the feast.

We created a Stone family first: a "mashed potato bar." The suggested recipes were named for the Republican presidential candidates.

Proud Grandpa.

Emerson's other Grandpa, Carl, visited from California to take part in Emerson's baby blessing.

Eric made sure Brisquette didn't feel left out while everyone was admiring the baby.

Emerson is Grandma Stone's 12th great-grandchild.

We also had a chance to do a little sightseeing. This picture is from a small, overgrown cemetery near the Stones' house, with graves dating back to the 1800s. Spooky!

Church History Excursions

2011-11-19T20:31:00.001-06:00

This Saturday, we spent the day attending dedication ceremonies for historical monuments at various church history sites. Our first stop was the small town of Richmond, Missouri.

Old Log Cabin Jail Marker
Noon - Buchanan Street - Richmond, Missouri

This marker was placed at the site of a former jail where Joseph Smith and six other church leaders were imprisoned during November of 1838. This where the story of Joseph Smith rebuking the guards took place. It was extremely windy during this ceremony (and the rest of the day)!

The old jail site is now a residential street. Someone who lived in the house on the corner arrived home and was angry that there was a group of people taking up all the parking spaces around her house. Someone moved a car for her--I don't think she bothered to find out what the event was before stomping into the house.

The man wearing the backpack is the 4th-great-grandson of Joseph Smith, Jr. Notice his profile.

This is the site of Richmond law enforcement today. This is about 50 yards SE from the site of the old jail, and just NE of the courthouse.

Three Witnesses Monument
1 PM - Pioneer Cemetery - Thorton & Crispin Streets - Richmond, Missouri

This event commemorated the 100-year anniversary of the placement of a monument to the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon. The monument was placed at the cemetery where Oliver Cowdery is buried.

The cemetery itself has had some significant restoration work.

A picture of the dedication ceremony. BYU Professors Susan Easton Black and Alex Baugh provided historical background at various events throughout the day. Richard Turley (Assistant LDS Church Historian) and Mark Scherer (Community of Christ Historian/Archivist) also spoke.

Community Reception
2 PM - Ray County Library - E Lexington St. - Richmond Missouri

A picture of Oliver Cowdery.

There were snacks and a historical presentation during this event, but we didn't stay. We just made a quick stop to change Emerson's diaper. (Yes, on the floor behind a cabinet--the bathroom didn't have a changing station or a convenient spot to lay out the changing pad!)

We were really hungry, so we got some lunch at Tequila Jalisco, one of the few restaurants in Richmond. We liked it!

Then, we got in our car and headed to Liberty, Missouri for...

Eight Witnesses Monument
4 PM - South Liberty Parkway and Campbell Street - Liberty, Missouri

This was a new monument dedicated to the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon. The monument is at the burial ground of the Michael Arthur farm, where two of the eight witnesses (Christian and Peter Whitmer) are buried.

It was getting pretty cold by this point, but Daddy kept baby Emerson nice and warm! (So did the cute hat, knitted by Grandma!)

See the man in the red shirt and black vest? I believe he was introduced as the current owner of the property, who graciously allowed a bunch of Mormons to tromp all over his land. We like his beard.

Facing away from the monument--rural Missouri.

Some more facts and observations about the day:

We hadn't realized how many of the early church leaders ended up settling in Missouri (and eventually dying there).

Overheard at the reception: "Did you notice that the winds died down every time someone was giving a testimony?" (Actually, we didn't notice this.)

The Richmond high school football team (the Spartans) had a big football game going on while we were in town. Unfortunately, they lost, but it was fun to see signs cheering on the team in the windows of all the local businesses.

Emerson is an extraordinarily cooperative and agreeable baby. He accompanied us to every event with no complaints.

November Tomatoes, Baby

2011-11-10T19:40:00.001-06:00

Here are the last of our tomatoes for the year (most of them will have to ripen on our counter). We didn't have quite as good a harvest as last year, but we've been kind of busy...

We love Skyping with our families!

Emerson looks forward to the day when he will get to try an In-N-Out burger.(The onesie was a gift from Brandon's Grandpa George.)

Everything is a surprise!

He is working on sitting up in his Bumbo seat.

Here Emerson poses with several of his cloth diapers. He wears cloth about half the time and disposable about half the time (we are still building up our supply of cloth diapers--eventually we want to be using them full time). So far, we are finding that the cloth diapers leak less than disposables, plus they are so cute (although they do make his bum look huge)! Another fun thing about cloth diapers is the brand names--I get a kick out of talking about Emerson's Fuzzibunz and BumGeniuses.

Who's Who 30 Dog Attack Milk

2011-11-05T19:53:00.001-05:00

Here are two handsome boys on their first day of life. Can you tell who's who?

It's an exciting weekend--Brandon turned 3 0 yesterday and Emerson is one month old tomorrow!

Dog attack! (Just kidding--it was more like dog yawn.)

Here's what Alison does all day, every day.

Out and About

2011-10-24T19:43:00.000-05:00

We've gone on several outings this week with Emerson. He had his first sampling of Kansas City barbecue...

At his two-week checkup, he weighed 8 pounds, 14 ounces. Way to grow!

We've had a couple of unseasonably warm days, so we took advantage of the weather and headed out to Loose Park.

The park has a memorial for the Civil War Battle of Westport (the relevant part of the linked video starts at 7:20. Or you can watch the whole...awesome...thing.). We were only a day late for the battle's 147th anniversary.

Some lovely fall scenery.

We also ate at one of our favorite spots, Mama's 39th St. Diner. Emerson will have to wait to try their deep-fried cinnamon rolls, however.

The new dad takes a nap on top of folded baby laundry--with his faithful companion, of course.

Visiting grandma can't get enough!

Emerson also had his first "real" bath...

...and he was wide awake afterwards!

An exclusive look at the making of this blog:

Life with Emerson

2011-10-16T23:19:00.000-05:00

Emerson is 10 days old today. We've been keeping busy and enjoying getting to know our boy!

Thursday he turned one week old. He was not terribly interested in birthday donuts, but very interested in birthday milk.

This Saturday he rooted for BYU in their football game against Oregon State. Brisquette helped.

A friend knitted him this adorable pumpkin hat. He was not super excited about modeling it, however.

We've had gorgeous weather, so we've gone for a couple of walks. Emerson slept through both. Mom had to learn how to navigate the stroller over the curb.

I (Alison) wrote up Emerson's birth story. I wanted to remember the details of the day, plus I always enjoy reading other people's birth stories, so I thought I would add to the genre. It's quite long and has words like "cervix" and "stitches." If you still want to read, it's here: Birth Story

Baby's First Day (Emerson)

2011-10-07T13:34:00.006-05:00

Emerson Scott Roberg was born Thursday, October 6th at 6:38 p.m. He weighed 8 lbs. 9 oz. and was 20 in. long.

Here are a few shots documenting the exciting day(s):

On the way to the hospital Wednesday night to start the induction.

About 13 hours in the hospital, but only around 3 hours into the labor. Things were getting less fun.

Grandma's visit during early labor.

Emerson's first picture after birth. Mom was looking...uh, great.

Grandmas take pictures.

Big baby.

Daddy and his boy.

Relaxing in our room in the mother-baby unit.

16 hours old.

More pictures to come soon!

This Brisquette Life

2011-09-24T19:51:00.002-05:00

Our sweet puppy also came along on last week's photo shoot. Dramatic!

Football games are her favorite time--lots of snuggling and snacks.

And it's important to have plenty of enrichment--including occasional hypnosis.

Brisquette can't wait to meet her new sibling...

Photo shoot

2011-09-18T19:18:00.004-05:00

Baby Roberg is now considered "full term," so technically he could be here any day now! But we're OK to wait a couple more weeks.

We've taken plenty of brick stairwell photos, so we figured it was time to venture out and take some more interesting maternity shots. The art museum is one of our favorite Kansas City spots, so we headed over there.

The Photographer posed with his muse.

Alison had a brainstorm.

The belly was out of control.

The dad-to-be reflected.

...And the expectant mom just hung out.

A Visit from the Mom

2011-08-21T20:09:00.004-05:00

Alison's mom Lori paid us a visit this week, all the way from New Jersey!

Alison's boss threw her a lovely baby shower.

Here's the stash, post-shower. Baby ____ will be here in about 6 more weeks, and it's starting to seem more real.

We couldn't resist practicing dressing up our current "baby."

But her day wasn't all bad--we went to the dog park to go swimming and view some of the local wildlife.

It's 5!

2011-08-12T22:26:00.006-05:00

Then...
(our engagement at Bridal Veil Falls in 2006)

...and now.
(revisiting the Falls this summer)

We've been married 5 years today. We followed our anniversary tradition of a delicious dinner and a movie. (As for the film, we liked it but it was much sadder than the trailer had led us to believe. It's being pitched as an action movie, but it's pretty emotional from beginning to end.)

And here we are at the end of the evening, back home with our (growing) family!

Meat Logs and the Tree of Life

2011-07-31T21:36:00.002-05:00

First things first...Not sure if there's even a noticeable difference from 3 weeks ago, but here's the latest!

Here's a recent delicious dinner we made. The meat is kafta kabobs (we didn't do it exactly like this blog describes, but pretty close--one of the biggest differences is we didn't have any skewers! But they worked fine). They are kind of like a Middle-Eastern-y flavored meatloaf. Not the most attractive dish but very tasty.

Here's Brandon making the "meat logs" (yep, our nickname for them is even less attractive than their appearance).

Meanwhile, Alison braves the heat to venture out to prenatal yoga.

Also, we went to see The Tree of Life last night. It was kind of a challenging viewing experience, but we are finding we like it more the more we think about it.

Mom's visit, Mama's, and Mama-to-be (also: busts and cones)

2011-07-17T19:50:00.002-05:00

Brandon's mom visited and babysat Brisquette while we were at the reunions. We also had some time to hang out and, of course, sample some of Kansas City's finest cuisine. Mama's 39th street diner finally opened again. It had been closed since last November due to a fire--there was no other place to eat good diner food and corned beef hash! We're glad it's back.

A few more months to go. Still time to gain the weight.

The basil in our garden was going crazy, so we made pesto and bruschetta. Fresh!

Another addition to the bust collection of the house. The crack certainly stands out in this picture (probably because of the flash), but is not too noticeable in person. It's pretty much awesome.

Brisquette suffered razor burn after her recent haircut and was making it worse by tending to it herself. She had to be coned for awhile. It was pretty tragic. But she's feeling much better now and is cone-free!

Stone Family Reunion

2011-07-10T18:24:00.005-05:00

(See the previous post for the first half of our awesome family reunion trip.) After the Young reunion, we headed to Oregon to see the Stone relatives (Alison's dad's side.)

We spent a lovely couple of days at the beach. Alison bought some rad sunglasses. Who's that creature in the background?

We practiced our athletic skills.

Baby belly on the coast!

Here's the whole group:

And our immediate family with Grandma Stone.

It wouldn't be a beach trip without some yummy seafood.

There was also a surprise baby shower. We played baby-themed Jeopardy and got to open some fun gifts! Thanks, everyone!

After we got back to Grandma's house, we had a little show with leftover 4th of July fireworks.

On the last day of the trip, we headed to Southeast Portland for some delicious sandwiches at the Grilled Cheese Grill. Definitely check it out if you are ever in the area! (Of course Brandon had to order the one that is actually a burger between two grilled cheese sandwiches [it's called the Quésus]...)

Young Family Reunion

2011-07-10T18:02:00.004-05:00

We just got back from a great trip! The first part was in Utah at the Young family reunion (Alison's mom's side). We had beautiful accommodations in Covered Bridge Canyon.

No trip to Utah is complete without stopping by our alma mater. We checked out BYU's Legacy Hall and saw lots of great memorabilia from the history of BYU sports. (Of course Alison had to reenact the Heisman trophy pose.)

The reunion was lots of fun, with a great group of people!

There was plenty of yummy food.

Here's an inter-generational photo with some people we love a lot! (Grandma and Grandpa Young, the Stones, and two-and-a-half Robergs.)

Aww, siblings!

Miscellany, plus awesome Dads

2011-06-17T23:14:00.003-05:00

Here is our lovely Brisquette enjoying the great outdoors. (Apparently the camera thought the waterfall was the key element of the picture, rather than the adorable puppy.)

She loves her daddy.

Meanwhile, mommy-to-be is moving right along!

And for Father's Day, here's a retro-tribute to our dads.

Brandon's dad Carl, grandpa Art, and uncle Kent:

Alison's dad Scott and some totally cute baby:

Happy Father's Day, dads! We love you.

Thanks

2011-05-23T20:45:00.003-05:00

Thank you for your comments on our previous post! We really miss our Crunchie, but we're grateful to have such kind friends and relatives.

We're also grateful that we still have our sweet Brisquette. We all went for a nice walk today and had a great view of the city.

Brisquette also got some exercise with Daddy.

Here are some more pictures from Carl's visit and all the repair work he helped us with. Front steps before:

Front steps after (we'll paint or stain them once we've had a decent stretch of dry weather):

Gross laundry room before:

New faucets for the washer:

New washer, with pots and pans hanging around:

Filling in the cracks:

And a delicious dinner afterwards!

Today We Lost Crunchie

2011-05-19T20:24:00.004-05:00

Today we lost Crunchie. She was hit by a truck in front of our house when Alison and I were trying to get her back in the house. Due to the nature of her injury, we know she was killed instantly and did not suffer. It was a very traumatic experience and Alison and I are very sad. We will miss Crunchie, but we know that we gave her a good life when she lived with us. She was our friend. Goodbye Crunchie, you are missed by us and Brisquette.

Late-Breaking News

2011-05-17T20:40:00.004-05:00

Well, if you were on Facebook, you found out May 12th. For anyone who missed that announcement, now is your chance!

We're halfway there!

On Thursday, we found out that our baby has a . . .

***

***

***

***

***

Y chromosome!

No, we're not going to show you the proof, but here's his adorable face:

Also, I think my baby has a secret identity: Strong Bad. (Note the mask and the boxing gloves for hands!) I'm sure many capers are in our future.

Speaking of capers, Alison started a prenatal yoga class and got her trash kicked on the first day...turns out when you're basically sedentary for 20 weeks, you get a little out-of-shape.

In other news, we had a pipe break in front of our house. Water leaked from our front yard out to the sidewalk and the street for about 18 hours. Then the plumber turned the water off and we had no water for 3 days.

So we had to stay at a hotel with a lovely view of the city. (Tough life!)

After the water pipe issue got resolved, we figured a few more things in the house could stand to be upgraded. So Brandon's dad came out to help. The guys fixed our fence (hopefully Crunchie will find fewer chances to escape).

They rebuilt the decorative brick wall in our front yard.

They also did some great work with appliances, light fixtures, electrical outlets, and lots of other things. Thanks, Carl! The house is a lot more livable now.

Oh yeah, and we also witnessed a historic event.

Documentary Evidence

2011-04-21T22:15:00.003-05:00

There's a baby in there!

But what kind? Find out May 12th...(and vote in the poll to the right!)

Family, Food, Friends & Foliage

2011-03-31T15:33:00.005-05:00

Eating the Super Big Boy Combo in Burbank. On the left is Chicken Fried Steak.

George Johnson's 75th Birthday. Brandon's Grandpa on his mom's side.

Breakfast at Kendall and Shelley manor. Photographer vomited shortly before picture.

Eaton Canyon

Boston

2011-02-19T17:02:00.003-06:00

We've had a couple of months of crazy weather...the puppies definitely enjoyed frolicking in the snow!

In early February, we took a trip to Boston so Brandon could attend the Annual Meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society. The trip was nearly canceled due to adverse weather conditions, but after a couple of flight reschedulings, we finally made it. Brandon's colleague and her husband were at the conference too, so we got to hang out. Here we are looking through the conference programs and our various sightseeing guides.

We took a tour of Harvard, but we didn't get to go in their freshmen-only dining hall...too bad, because it's pretty awesome! (Picture here.)

We posed by the famous John Harvard statue (aka the "statue of three lies"), and learned that the movie The Social Network was not actually filmed at Harvard--filming isn't allowed on campus.

Also, Jay Leno just happened to be there, for some reason.

We also checked out the Kennedy Presidential Library.

We also spent lots of time on the T.

One of the coolest sites we visited was the teeny-tiny Warren Anatomical Museum, home of the famous skull of Phineas Gage. We weren't allowed to take photos, and we almost didn't make it there due to transportation mishaps and unclear directions, but it was worth the trip.

A special shout-out goes out to Cindy, who came to visit and stayed with our puppies while we were gone. Thanks!

Merry Christmas to all!

2010-12-25T21:14:00.003-06:00

Well, we kicked things up a notch this year, at least when it comes to Christmas decorating! Last year: lights haphazardly strung around a window and a plant. This year: an actual tree! (Dig that sweet Ninja Turtles ornament...)

On Christmas Eve, we decided to reenact the nativity scene. It was a very "solemn" endeavor. (We've been looking out for lightning bolts...none so far.)

Aunt Shelly and Uncle Joe sent the puppies some treats for Christmas. They were so excited! There was much rejoicing and chewing.

We hope your Christmas was as merry as ours!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-30T15:23:00.006-06:00

The Stone family came to visit us for Thanksgiving. It was a delight and a half.

We supported some local businesses...

Alison got a knitting lesson. (Knitting is hard!)

Eric enjoyed our "chest of chips"...

...and reprised his role as the Cave Creature.

Brisquette and Crunchie got lots of attention.

The boys got in some quality sports-watching time.

We cooked our first Thanksgiving dinner. Brandon cooked up a nice brine for the turkey...

...and put butter under the skin to make some lovely "tumors."

The Bird.

Our table setup was a little makeshift, but a good time was had by all! (Our menu included turkey, green beans with carmelized onions and red peppers, regular mashed potatoes, red pepper mashed potatoes, mozzarella mac, and butternut squash soup.)

Here is an appetizing sight from the weekend:

Things overheard, Thanksgiving Weekend 2010:

"Facebook will be obsolete in two years."

"Uncle make it back yet?"

"And the disgusting charity award goes to..."

"Auuggggghhhh!" (followed by throwing down of yarn and knitting needles)

"Crunchie needs another breath mint."

We hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

Halloween, Ducks

2010-10-31T15:10:00.005-05:00

Things got festive...

The girls got matching coats for cold weather. (Brisquette hates hers.)

The dogs dressed up in their Halloween costumes for the church trunk-or-treat. (They went as Crunchie Taco and Pork Brisquette...)

And we all made some new friends.

Happy Halloween!

101010 & Dog Park

2010-10-10T15:39:00.006-05:00

Above: Conference M&M Pancakes
Below: Breaking the law

Hidden picture: Can you find the rushing dogs?
It was an exciting day.

Dog Swimming Videos (When they splash in the water, they try to chase/eat the water droplets. Hilarious.)

Introducing...Brisquette and Crunchie

2010-08-29T17:43:00.005-05:00

As if our trip to Alaska wasn't enough fun for one summer, we also have two new additions to the family to announce! Last week we adopted two toy poodles, Brisquette and Crunchie (why yes, we did come up with those names ourselves). Brisquette is black and weighs a little over 7 pounds; Crunchie is gray and weighs about 9 pounds (we're not exactly sure on her weight because we couldn't get her to hold still on the scale at the vet's office!). They are about 2 years old. Right now we are still in the middle of their 2-week trial period with us, but everything is looking good so far.

These two pictures are from the day we brought them home:

The soda can is there for size comparison.

After a week, they have gotten very comfortable here.

They love taking walks around the neighborhood.

After a long walk yesterday, Crunchie figured out she could cool off quicker by sprawling out on the wood floor.

Here are two short videos of the "puppies." Brisquette loves fighting with and chewing on toys, and sometimes Crunchie gets into it too. Also, look for Crunchie's jump in the second video. The vet said she was like a little circus dog. We agree!

Also, here's a link to a segment about poodles from the show Dogs 101. Apparently, they are the 2nd smartest breed of dog, although Brisquette and Crunchie sure seem to have tiny little brains...

(P.S. For more fun pictures from our Alaska cruise with the family, check out my mom's Stone Soup blog. Good times!)

Cruising

2010-08-22T21:53:00.006-05:00

Here is Brandon's cute anniversary present! (He took our plates to a nearby diner and had them plate up slices of carrot cake and Reese's cake--yummy.)

The next day, we left for our fabulous Alaska cruise vacation. We flew into the Seattle airport, then waited for an hour on the light rail train due to a breakdown...but we eventually made it to our hotel.

Then the next day, we boarded our ship! Our stateroom was quite spacious, and we loved our balcony.

We also loved spending time with our fellow travelers!

We had stops in Juneau...

...where we got to see Mendenhall Glacier...

...and take a lovely hike at the top of Mt. Roberts. Good thing we enjoyed the weather this day because...

...there was a lot of rain in Sitka. (It is in a rain forest, after all!)

In Ketchikan, we went snorkeling.

Did I mention we enjoyed our balcony? And also the abundant food on board the ship...

We got dressed up on formal nights.

On the last night of the cruise, we stopped in Victoria, Canada.

We took so many pictures, we even have pictures of pictures!

Learning how to make towel animals was definitely a highlight.

Here are some videos from the trip: Hubbard Glacier calving, as viewed from the ship; us on our balcony; Brandon channeling his inner mountain man in Sitka.

4

2010-08-11T20:53:00.015-05:00

4 years ago, we...
...made our entrance.

...cut the cake.

...posed with family.

...ate some hors d'oeuvres.

...pretended to throw the bouquet.

...saw old friends.

...tried to keep the hair out of our faces.

...met unexpectedly.

...bonded with our dads.

...and our moms.

...planned photo ops.

...and hosted a mini family reunion.

Also, we made an important discovery for science:

We found Bridezilla in her natural habitat.

Jeopardy Recap by Alison

2010-08-01T17:09:00.015-05:00

Thank you, everybody, for watching me on Jeopardy this week! (If you missed any or all of the episodes, we now have DVD copies. Let us know if you want one.) Here are a few final thoughts and facts.

The show is on at 4:30 here, so I watched it each day at work with my coworkers. It was great to have an appreciative audience to watch with. This was my first time seeing each episode, although I always ended up watching at least one more time at home with Brandon. The IT people put me up on the screens in one of the student lecture halls. Here I am, larger than life, on multiple screens (I think that here I am laughing at one of Alex's "jokes").

In the games I won, I found 7 out of the 9 possible Daily Doubles. In the game I lost, I found none of the 3 DDs.

Here is a recap of the big Final Jeopardy reveal on Thursday's game.

OK, I got the correct response...

How about that wager?

Whoa, my total is more than my yearly salary!

After Friday's game, I became a 2-time champion.

...and then after Monday's game, a 3-time champion.

It all came to an end on Tuesday. (Picture Alex saying, "Oooh, sorry.")

That's all, folks.

The Jeopardy Archive is normally very good at getting games posted quickly, but as of today, they still haven't put up Wednesday's game. Maybe they were too distraught because I wasn't on the show anymore?

If you have a long attention span, you can read my "Winners' Blog" entry on the show's website. I had to write and submit this shortly after my shows were filmed, so I hadn't had a chance to actually watch them. My memory is a little spotty. For example, I wrote that Alex introduced me with, "She may look sweet, but she's tough," when in actually he said the much cooler, "She may look sweet but she's a killer!"

Finally, the below two videos show a whole category (Presidential Math) from Game 1, for your viewing pleasure. Watch me make silly facial expressions as I try really hard to count backwards from 44 to 40 and then multiply by 5! (Trust me, it's harder than it seems.)

Jeopardy Party Night # 2

2010-07-24T00:12:00.003-05:00

We had some of Brandon's colleagues over to watch Jeopardy tonight. I'm amazed we had enough seating for everyone, but we all managed to squeeze into the living room. It was pretty fun! We served bruschetta (a good use for our abundance of tomatoes), chips & guacamole, and funeral potatoes. Of course, celebratory ice cream was required afterwards.

Best thing ever: two of our guests brought these TOTALLY awesome Jeopardy board cookies! Aren't you impressed? They were adorable and delicious.

Thanks for watching! Tune in on Monday.

This Jeopardy Thing of Ours

2010-07-22T23:28:00.002-05:00

Thanks for watching me on Jeopardy! (Utah friends: thanks for attempting to watch me on Jeopardy. Feel free to send an irate email to the TV station.)

I'll post about the whole experience soon. In the meantime, some very detail-oriented people have already documented the whole game (including a nifty graph) here: Jeopardy archive.

Don't forget to watch tomorrow!

If You've Been Living Under A Rock For The Past Couple Of Weeks...

2010-07-22T08:43:00.002-05:00

...welcome back!

Also, watch Jeopardy tonight!

Tomatoes and Peppers, Lightning, and Melons

2010-07-15T00:03:00.004-05:00

Finally, we are enjoying the fruits of our labors! Yum.

Lightning struck Brandon's computer (maybe). There was a major storm, a really loud crack of thunder...and his video card stopped working immediately. Brandon became his own Geek Squad, took everything apart, replaced the video card, and saved the day. Good job!

We didn't grow these, but they were AWESOME.

It's like Christmas When You Were 7

2010-06-30T20:03:00.005-05:00

It's been an exciting day! The harvest has begun. (So far, it's a harvest of one, but there will be more where that came from.)

But even more exciting...

We've had this TV our whole marriage--Brandon bought it on Craigslist after we got engaged. But it was time to say goodbye. We tried to sell it on Craigslist, but none of the people who replied to the ad actually followed through and picked it up. So we resorted to a sure-fire disposal method. (It was gone within 20 minutes.)

Soon a vehicle arrived...

...and it was Christmas morning for Brandon!

The delivery men had never seen a TV so thin.

The box is as big as our refrigerator.

The people on TV are as big as Alison.

(What will she look like on it? Find out by watching Jeopardy on July 22nd...)

Here the TV displays an almost-life-sized image of our old TV. It had a 27 inch screen and weighed 94 pounds. The new one has more than twice the screen size and weighs about half as much--55 inches and 48 pounds.

This TV is so cool we're a little embarrassed to own it...

Ladies and Gentlemen Farmers

2010-06-23T21:45:00.005-05:00

Here's how things are going in our little jungle...

We're composting, although it's not certain that any of it will end up in the garden itself. But it sure keeps our trash can from smelling. This is all our (fruit and vegetable) scraps since mid-April. Surprisingly, no animals have disturbed it. Also, a small tomato plant is growing up from the corner of the pile. Awesome!

Today the sky was pink for awhile. When our camera broke a few years ago, all our pictures looked like this. But today our camera was fully functional and everything was actually pink.

10 points if you can guess what's going on in this video!

Dulce et Decorum Est

2010-05-31T19:31:00.005-05:00

We decided to do the patriotic thing on Memorial Day and go visit the WWI museum and memorial, something we've been meaning to do since we moved to KC. So what better day to do it? (Answer: any other day, apparently. As we waited in line for the elevator to the top of the memorial, one of the volunteers told us that this is the most crowded weekend of the year to visit.)

Kansas City is the site of the National World War I Museum, as in, THE official WWI museum for the entire country. Take that, every other city in America! But before we could get to the museum, we walked through an area, apparently set up for the holiday weekend, with vintage vehicles and mannequins dressed like soldiers. I don't think it was done by the museum, as it was pretty rinky-dink and the museum itself was very professional. But there were some good photo ops (watch out for the creepy mannequin in the back!)

We didn't get any good photos inside the museum, but it was pretty cool. One neat part was the walkway from the ticket area into the exhibit halls--you go across a see-though walkway over a field of 9,000 poppies (one for every 1,000 war deaths). We give the museum two thumbs up--make sure to put it on your itinerary when you come to visit us.

Above the museum is the the Liberty Memorial, which was built shortly after the war. At its groundbreaking in 1921, the supreme commanders from each of the Allied powers were in attendance; it was the only time they were actually all in the same place at one time.

We rode the elevator up to the top of the memorial to see these great views of the city.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Nature Nature Everywhere

2010-05-23T20:24:00.002-05:00

After last week's rain-upon-rain-upon-rain weather pattern, we were excited to see some sun this week (less excited about the accompanying heat and humidity, but we'll take what we can get). We ventured out to the Burr Oak Woods Conservation Area for a little nature hike. We had just entered the park and were still driving down the road to the parking lot when we saw our first critter: this snake, which we think is an Eastern Yellow-Bellied Racer (a.k.a. Blue Racer).

We hiked the Bethany Falls Trail,which was lovely, although there was a definite absence of anything resembling "falls" on the trail.

There were some cool limestone formations, which Jesse James and his gang are rumored to have used a a hideout (or so the signs along the trail claimed).

Then we came home and had a delicious spaghetti dinner. We also made bruschetta using the Boxwood Basil we are growing in the garden. Yay! Later in the summer we'll be able to use our own tomatoes instead of grocery store ones...

May days

2010-05-17T20:27:00.006-05:00

Carl and Cindy came to town this weekend, bearing gifts!

They brought this awesome guy, a gift from friends Chris and Katie:

And since Carl was due for a new company car and our old Honda Accord has definitely seen better days...they brought us a sweet new ride. We're very excited, but we will miss the Honda--it's been involved in some exciting adventures in our lives.

Of course, we had some great food, including at our favorite gas station/eating establishment.

We also checked out the Steamboat Arabia Museum. A steamboat sank in the Missouri River in 1856, and when the river changed course, the steamboat stayed where it was. In the late 1980s, the steamboat was excavated from a cornfield. The coolest thing about it was that the steamboat was full of cargo when it sank, almost all of which was preserved. So there are shelves full of dishes...

...and also some odder items, like these jars of pickles. Pretty neat.

Below is the skeleton of the only casualty from the sinking: a mule that no one bothered to untie when all the people were evacuating. Sad! But also cool!

It rained the entire weekend, and then just as Carl and Cindy were getting ready to leave, the sun came out. But we had fun with them, despite the lousy weather!

In other news...see how our garden grows!

Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote / The droghte of March hath perced to the roote

2010-04-15T21:53:00.006-05:00

As spring comes to Kansas City, we've been feeling the need to get something in the ground. Brandon cleared a space in the vacant lot next door, our landlord gave us some border fence, and we went shopping.

We mostly bought tomatoes: Husky Cherry Red, Roma, Big Beef, Goliath, Patio (Hello, Patio!) and BEEF MASTER. Also some peppers and a boxwood basil, plus some dill and sage seeds.

Yes, there is a post in the middle of the garden. It's, uh, decorative, right?

You say tomato.

Also, this!

Jeopardy updates forthcoming

2010-03-19T13:05:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note to let you know (although I suspect most know already) that I was in LA this past weekend as a contestant on Jeopardy! It was super fun, and I will probably post some more about my experience as the air date approaches. Of course, I am contractually forbidden to give away too much...
But I can reveal this:
My show airs on Thursday, July 22nd. Check your local listings.

A: Recap of Alison's Jeopardy! Tryout ------------- Q: What is the longest blog post ever, Alex?

2010-01-29T21:25:00.017-06:00

I didn't take this picture. But I like to think that Alex would have been this enthusiastic for me.

By popular demand, here is a report on my Jeopardy! audition this week. Plenty of people have blogged about their audition experiences (I know, because I read them all while trying to get an idea of what to expect), but here, respectfully submitted, is my attempt at the genre. I will try to keep Jeopardy!-related puns and references to a minimum.

This story begins about a year ago. I took the online contestant test for what I believe was my 3rd time. (I had passed the test in 2006 and scored an audition but wasn't able to make it due to bad timing with my wedding. I took it again in either 2007 and 2008 and didn't earn an audition spot.) We were living in Provo at the time, and when as part of the test registration I had to select from a list of cities my preferred audition location, I chose the closest, Los Angeles. I took the test and felt pretty good about it. Months passed, I got distracted with moving, and at some point, I figured I had missed the cut again. Imagine my surprise when, in early December, I got an email inviting me to try out...in LA.

Some of you may be aware of the depth of my obsession over the next couple of months. Almost immediately, I started watching the show every night. I played along with the TV (including using a clicky ballpoint pen as my signaling device) and kept score. I also spent a lot of my spare time studying and taking quizzes online.

A: In-N-Out Burger Q: What is the breakfast (OK, fourthmeal) of champions?

My audition was scheduled for Wednesday, January 27th. On Tuesday afternoon, I went straight from work to the airport. The Kansas City airport is small, cute, and very quick to get through. (I was the only person in the security line.) Then it was off to California for a whirlwind trip and my chance at nerd-stardom.

The Robergs picked me up at the Burbank airport (also small and cute) and we grabbed some In-N-Out as a late-night snack. Mmm, brain food!

Moments before this picture was taken, one of the contestant coordinators opened the door behind me and scared me to death.

On Wednesday, Carl and I left early (7 a.m.) for my 9 a.m. tryout--when LA traffic is involved, it's best to err on the side of caution. I made it to the Culver City Radisson in plenty of time. (They don't hold tryouts at the Jeopardy! studio anymore, although they used to, because it's too much of a hassle to get everyone in and out of security). I think I was the first to arrive, but by 9:00, there were about 25 nervous potential contestants milling around.

We filled out our applications forms and attached our list of 5 "interesting" facts about ourselves for Alex to use in the interview portion if/when we make it on the show. They took polaroids of us, and we also attached those to the application. (Fun fact #1: I had never actually held a polaroid in my hand before. I actually asked the contestant coordinator if I had to shake it... Fun fact #2: The picture was actually pretty good!)

At this point, and throughout the rest of the session, we heard some well-rehearsed and mildly humorous speeches from the coordinators (think Disneyland Jungle Cruise, or, if you prefer, Strong Badian Riverquest Safariventure, only with more genuine enthusiasm). Actually, the coordinators were great--very friendly, and they went out of their way to make everyone feel at ease. Way to go, Jeopardy staffers!

We started with the written test, a 50-question exam with the questions appearing on a screen. Each question was also read aloud on a recording (also not featuring Alex, unfortunately), and we had somewhere around 15 seconds to respond to each question before the test moved on. So it was pretty quick. I felt pretty good about my answers--I knew many of them as soon as I read the question. There were two moments of serendipity: one question came directly from the first list of information I studied after learning I would be auditioning. Another question concerned a fact that was specifically mentioned and discussed at length in Prisoner of Trebekistan, a book written by a former contestant which I had read ON THE PLANE THE DAY BEFORE. There is no way I would have known the answer otherwise. So that was fortunate and awesome. (Unfortunately, I can't reveal what those facts were--they swore us to secrecy.) After the test, we had a few minutes to chat with the other contestants, talk over the questions we weren't sure about, and freak out (or gloat, as the case may be).

Then they had us go up in groups of three to play a short practice game (they didn't keep score and they made sure everyone got a chance to answer a few). I think they were mostly trying to see our energy and TV-friendliness. I was in the first group, which was pretty nerve-wracking. The questions were actually fairly hard, but I was able to ring in on a few. After our "game," they did short interviews with each of us while we were still standing up at the front of the room. This was where I really wish I hadn't been in the first group, as I was caught off guard a bit by some of the questions. I would have liked to have seen some of the other interviews first. (As a result, I answered one question in a way that made it sound like I have no hobbies. Wish I had a do-over on that one...) There was really no way of judging how well I was doing, as the coordinators were endlessly enthusiastic and laughed at everyone's jokes. But at least they didn't ask me to "speak up" like they did with some of the others.

After everyone had their chance, it was over. They basically told us, "Don't call us, we'll call you" and sent us on our way. I might hear from them sometime within the next 18 months with a call to be on the show, or I might not. The odds aren't great--they told us that 4000 people audition in person each year, and only about 400 appear on the show. Demographics are at least a little in my favor, though: there were only 4 women there, and at least 20 men. So maybe they need me!

It was a really fun experience. I had a blast both preparing for it and at the tryout itself. Even if I don't make it on this time, I figure I can keep trying and they will have to let me on someday. And until then I can attempt to impress (annoy) friends, family members and colleagues with my recall of esoteric facts.

I came 2000 miles and all I got was this lousy water bottle and pen! (Actually, I was one of only two people to win water bottles. I got mine for knowing the name of the recent 6-day champion. Did I mention I watch the show every night?)

Fun facts:

There were some interesting people at the audition. One woman had tried out for the show 6 times before. Another woman was friends with Brett Michaels (during her interview, she said that she wanted to do something cool, and had narrowed it down to being on Rock of Love or trying out for Jeopardy. Apparently Jeopardy won). The guy I sat next to during the written test is the brother of the guy who beat Ken Jennings in the Tournament of Champions.

Jeopardy! doesn't pay for air fare, hotel, etc., even if you are a contestant on the show. (This fact is not actually fun, per se.)

You have to answer in the form of a question, but any question will do. Including "Where is potassium chloride?" and "Could the answer be...Abraham Lincoln?" But they prefer you stick with "what is" and "who is."

What is THE END?

End of January with Newness

2010-01-23T15:11:00.002-06:00

Well, it was that time again...overwhelmed by split ends, Alison finally got her hair cut. Best part: the salon is only 2 blocks from our apartment.
Aunt Candy crocheted us scarves for Christmas. Way to go, Aunt Candy! We couldn't pick one picture because there weren't any where we both looked good. So enjoy the scarf-y goodness in two different poses.

P.S. Today is the one-year anniversary of Neil's car accident. Check out his blog for some pictures from the scene, and stay tuned for some changes there soon... We love you, Neil!

January is lame, so here are some more Christmas tidbits

2010-01-05T22:36:00.006-06:00

We sent out Christmas "cards" this year, but didn't get as many mailed out as we would have liked. So if we missed you, please accept our belated Christmas greetings! (the picture is not great--it looked better in person!)

Here's the wall o' cards we got from friends and relatives.

And few more highlights from our holiday travels...

Aunt Shelly's smorgasbord of Santas.

Anyone else remember these slightly creepy moving elves?
It wouldn't be Christmas without some game-playing.

One of the three Stone siblings pictured here actually owns a hat exactly like this...can you guess which one?

Alison got an immersion blender from Grandma Stone for Christmas! It is awesome. We've used it to make homemade salad dressing, chickpea soup, and cauliflower curry so far. Here is a video of its first use, for the chickpea soup. I can't remember why we are blending on the dining room rug. The soup looks kind of gross but it was delicious.

P.S. More pictures at Neil's blog. Scroll to the bottom of the post for a cool video of Neil!

Oregon Christmas

2010-01-01T23:49:00.004-06:00

We just got home from our Christmas trip to Oregon with the Stone relatives. Here are a few highlights:

Alison follows the clues to find one of her presents on Grandma's frozen pond.

Beatles Rock Band was the inter-generational hit of the year.
We spent a few days at a beach house on the Oregon coast--the perfect place to do a 1000-piece puzzle!

We lucked out with the weather--does this look like December to you?

Neil registers his approval of the house and the trip in general.
Sharing a cozy evening by the fire at the beach house.

Here's a bonus video of the Christmas Day present extravaganza at Grandma's house. The present pile wasn't as huge as in other years (no little kids means fewer big boxes), but a pretty good haul nonetheless!

We hope everyone had a merry Christmas! Thank you Stones and Rogers for an awesome week!

Christmas Time Is (sort of) Here, Alison @ Work

2009-12-16T22:09:00.003-06:00

We are (vaguely) ready for Christmas. We have a Christmas tree...

and we've temporarily replaced Brandon's skulls with our Nativity.

Here is a brief tour of Alison's workplace.

The lobby. Take the elevator to the 5th floor.

Here we are in the curriculum office. (Alison's coworker is very into Christmas decorating, as you'll see in all the pictures.)
Hard at work, messy desk.

We are thankful...

2009-11-27T23:13:00.004-06:00

...to the Young family for inviting us up to Omaha for Thanksgiving! We feasted in the church gym with family and new friends.

Then we took a walk around downtown Omaha, where we saw Christmas lights and a giant buffalo sculpture (he's leaping through the corner of a building).
We also got to hang out with a few pioneers. There is a whole set of sculptures celebrating Nebraska's pioneer heritage. They are very cool and detailed--a few more pictures are here.

We also got to play some Wii Sports Resort. Our favorite games were Speed Slice and Showdown. Fun (and cute)!

We stayed overnight and left on Friday with some great "prizes"--some delicious meat to stock our freezer (thanks, Aunt Susie!)...

and our only Black Friday purchase, a bevy of fabulous deals from Half Price Books.
We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

In deference to those who have complained about the recent lack of posts, we respectfully submit this update

2009-11-16T21:13:00.005-06:00

Cindy came to visit, and we celebrated with a fatted calf at Oklahoma Joe's.

She brought this awesome photo of two of the Roberg dogs, Millie and Whitney.
(Speaking of dogs, a few weeks ago there was a "Growl-o-ween" event at the Plaza [site of the J Crew where Alison works]. Dogs came in their Halloween costumes and all the stores gave out doggie treats. For some reason, one of the most popular costumes was a lobster...maybe it was on sale at Walmart? This article has a slideshow of some of the participants, if dogs in Halloween costumes is your kind of thing.)

While Cindy was here, we also checked out the Visitors' Center in Independence. In an amazing coincidence, they had a display that allowed us to exactly reenact our journey to Kansas City this summer.

We also found some time to hang out with former President Truman.

This week's big news: Alison started a new job at the UMKC School of Medicine. Here she is getting ready to leave for her first day (at the unearthly hour of 7:45 a.m.!).

eleven four

2009-11-04T21:47:00.005-06:00

On this day in history:
1869 - First issue of the journal Nature is published
1922 - Howard Carter discovers King Tutankhamun's tomb
1966 - The River Arno floods and causes major damage to the city of Florence (especially noteworthy because the same river flooded Florence on the same day in 1333)
1970 - Genie, a feral child, is discovered in Los Angeles
1984 - Dell Computer is founded (as PC's Limited)

These people were born:
1916 - Walter Cronkite
1946 - Laura Bush
1960 - Kathy Griffin
1962 - Jeff Probst
1969 - P. Diddy AND Matthew McConaughey
1981 - This guy:

We had a little birthday celebration with a few gifts...
But THIS was the centerpiece of it all:
All right, maybe it was a little ambitious, but A for effort, right? If you don't recognize it, here is the inspiration (we're obsessed):

Earlier this week, Brandon's computer monitor died a tragic death, necessitating a replacement. We named it Megalodon.

Happy birthday, Brandon!

In The Red

2009-10-17T22:45:00.003-05:00

Kansas City in the Fall

2009-10-11T17:51:00.002-05:00

Late summer in Kansas City was very moderate, weather-wise, but we're definitely well into fall now. Leaves are changing and we've had a couple of very cold days. The radiators in our apartment are starting to turn on---it's very cozy!

We're still enjoying the abundance of barbecue in town. Most recently, we tried Oklahoma Joe's, a restaurant in a gas station that is one of Anthony Bourdain's "13 Place to Eat Before You Die."

Brandon is keeping busy with coursework and a couple of research studies. He's learning how to administer various psychological assessments, including the WAIS-IV. It must be hard work--here he is taking a break.

Here's our street. If you look closely at Alison's car, you can see the damage to the trunk and rear bumper from a fender-bender a couple of weeks ago (hit by an uninsured driver...awesome).
Alison is still looking for a full-time job (had an interview last week--fingers crossed), but in the meantime she is working here:
Folding t-shirts can be a very "zen" activity.

Happy fall!

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming...

2009-08-23T17:36:00.004-05:00

...for an announcement about how much I like this ad:

Thank you, passiveaggressivenotes.com, for reminding me of its existence.

Things to celebrate in August

2009-08-15T14:09:00.005-05:00

After a month of sleeping on an air mattress...finally, a real bed!

A guy was selling this chair on Craigslist. Brandon bargained with him over email for about two weeks--we eventually got the chair for half its listed price!

August 12th was our 3-year anniversary. We took a trip over to Independence and walked around town a bit. Here's an interesting statue of people beating their swords into plowshares.

Then we went to this movie:

Alison gave it two thumbs up. Brandon survived. (Side note: One of the characters in the movie decides to cook every recipe from Julia Child's book Mastering the Art of French Cooking over the course of a year. Alison is also thinking about undertaking a cooking project, although probably not such a daunting one. What do you suggest?)

After the movie we went out for a delicious Italian dinner. After we got home, we figured we'd spent enough time together and decided to play computer games! (Very romantic.) (For those who are curious, Brandon's game of choice is Warcraft [not the online version] and Alison plays The Sims 2).

We hope you are enjoying your August as much as we are! Brandon starts school in a little over a week and Alison's job search continues (as does the thesis...always the thesis...), so we should have some more updates in the near future.

Outside (read this post before the one below)

2009-08-05T16:05:00.007-05:00

We love our new apartment in Kansas City! It's a 1920s fourplex in the historic Westport neighborhood.

Before we check out the inside of the apartment, here are some shots of the exterior. First, the view of our balcony from the street.

And from our balcony out to the street.

...and looking to the right toward our neighbors' apartments.Alison put up a hummingbird feeder, but so far, no takers.The door from the balcony into the apartment.

Here's a side view of the building.

The back yard.

The basement is a little creepy.But there is plenty of storage space!

The foyer area of the building. Our actual mailbox is built into the wall on the left, above the radiator.

Aproaching our apartment (we're on the right)...

Inside

2009-08-05T15:56:00.013-05:00

By the time we saw this place, we had been through a lot of apartments. We had almost committed to a typical "big complex"--hundreds of units, relatively new, swimming pool and fitness room, etc.--in Kansas, but had some doubts. We found this place through a Craigslist ad, and as soon as we saw it, we were making plans to move in. We looked at a couple more places before making the decision, but we kept comparing everything (unfavorably) with this place! The landlords were great--they had the whole place cleaned, paint touched up, etc. in just a couple of days for us to move in.

Here's the living room. We love the wood floor and moldings. Also note the paneled glass doors out to the balcony.

The matador painting is in a place of honor.

Brandon's desk, with his drawing of Hugh Nibley above the computer for inspiration.

We call this next area the "dining room" since that seems like the original intention for this space, although we don't have a dining table in it. Another cool paneled door leads into the kitchen area.

Alison's desk area, where Very Important Thesis Writing is (supposed to be) done.

More dining room, including Brandon's church history bookshelf...and his skull collection.

It wouldn't be home without the vintage '70s Bruce Springsteen poster!The apartment lacks storage in other areas but makes up for it in this room with a giant closet.

Brandon is meditating in the kitchen. In our apartment search, most of the older buildings we looked at a) had hideous, peeling linoleum and b) lacked dishwashers. This apartment has tile and a (small but functioning) dishwasher--hooray!
The back door leads out of the kitchen to the back stairs. We love the 1920s doorknobs throughout the apartment, and this one even has the original key in it.

...And here's our attractive solution to the lack of storage in the kitchen. Maybe it will discourage us from eating too much junk food, since it is all out on display.

The bathroom was green when we moved in, so we left it that way.

Cool tile.

Our bedroom.

Not enough built-in storage in here, either. Or maybe we just have too many clothes...

The view out our bedroom window. The house next door has a huge yard with a garden.

This is our building's backyard. The van in the back is in the post office parking lot--that's how close the post office is.

We hope you've enjoyed the tour!

A Little Preview

2009-07-29T10:47:00.005-05:00

We're starting to get settled into our new Kansas City apartment. More pictures to come, but here are some shots of the early stages.

Building desks for the new apartment.

A view of our living room, before we filled it with boxes...

And finally (for today), here is the video Carl (Brandon's dad) made of the move to Kansas City and our new apartment/neighborhood...

And we're here!

2009-07-13T21:31:00.007-05:00

...well, sort of. We don't exactly have a place to live yet (the Best Western doesn't count), but we're sure getting to know the Kansas City area well as we search for an apartment. Here's a recap of the last several days.

Toward the end of our California visit, Brandon went hiking with a friend at Trail Canyon Falls, where he posed for the following picture and saw a rattlesnake.

From California we headed to Utah. The picture in the previous post is from Brandon's master's thesis defense. It was a bit of a nerve-wracking experience, but he passed with flying colors! Here is the aftermath. Brandon is looking pretty pleased with himself. The man on crutches is Dr. Hal Miller, one of Brandon's committee members.

Here's a shot of Brandon and his mentor/committee chair, Dr. J. Dee Higley. (Also pictured in the previous post was Brandon's third committee member, Dr. Mikle South. (On the second link, scroll about halfway down the page and read the end of the second paragraph about Dr. South to see his claim to fame...)

Brandon's last photo on BYU campus! Taken after we turned in his thesis for final college approval and just before we started our drive to Missouri.
Thesis edits took longer than expected, so we got a bit of a late start on our trip. We had to travel pretty quickly and make few stops, but we did take a moment to snap this shot by the San Rafael Swell in south-central Utah.
Driving through the mountains of Colorado was beautiful.
The first night of the trip, we stayed in a terrible and deceptively-named town: Goodland, Kansas (apologies to anyone from Goodland--there may be some nice parts of town, but we sure weren't in them). Our motel was lame, the restaurants were pretty sketchy, and overall we were extremely glad to leave in the morning. At least the motel had a pool...
Brandon's first view of a Taco John's. Alison sang him the song from the Taco John's commercials ("There's a whole lotta Mexican goin' on, goin' on at Taco John's!"), we took this picture...and decided not to eat there. Alison is pretty sure she never once ate at a Taco John's during her 5 years in Iowa, and we weren't about to break that streak in Goodland, Kansas.

Filling up at a gas station somewhere on the plains. Yes, we foiled our car windows.
Amber waves of grain! (Not actually waving.)We finally made it to Kansas City! Our first meal in town was at famed barbecue restaurant Arthur Bryant's.
They serve all their sandwiches on Wonder Bread...not sure why. Pretty tasty though!
Here's a shot of the Plaza in Kansas City. Wish us luck as we continue the apartment search tomorrow...

Pause

2009-07-11T21:51:00.003-05:00

What are these men up to?

...Find out soon!

(We are currently on our epic journey from Utah to Kansas City. Our computer/internet capabilities are limited at the moment, but rest assured that we will post on all the exciting happenings as soon as we can.)

Catalina

2009-07-01T18:45:00.008-05:00

Here are a few pictures from our fabulous Catalina Island adventure!

Shortly after landing on the island, we took this picture. The large building in the background is the Casino, which, oddly enough, has never been used for gambling.

We spent our time in Avalon, the island's only city. The population is only about 3500, but apparently there are some Mormons there...
We took a tram tour around the city and up into the hills. Apparently Alison and Spencer enjoyed it quite a bit...
Island scenery.

After checking out the town, we spent the afternoon snorkeling. Alison needed a little bit of help getting started, so Brandon kept her from drowning while she figured out the equipment.
We snorkled at three different spots on the island and swam around the top of some awesome kelp forests. We saw garibaldis (the state marine fish of California), kelp bass, topsmelt, opaleyes (in this picture, not taken by us, opaleyes are the ones with the single light-colored spot) and more. At one site, a California spotted stingray hung out near us for awhile.

Getting out of the water was occasionally a little dififcult.

But we survived! It was a great trip.
Below are some miscellaneous videos from the day.

On the road again

2009-06-29T01:50:00.004-05:00

It's been a hectic few weeks. We are officially no longer Provo residents! We moved out of our apartment this past Thursday, dropped off all our stuff at the Cedar House, and continued down to California to see Brandon's family and homeland before we leave for the Midwest. Here are a few photos of our recent adventures:

Here's a picture of the early stages of packing. The green and white boxes are all completely filled with our books.
More packing.

The truck. Don't worry, we didn't fill the entire 26 foot truck...Brandon's sister Stacy moved from West Jordan the same week, so we shared a truck for the trip down to Cedar.
Brandon's self-portrait and our matador are temporarily hanging out at the Cedar house.
Our plants, also in their temporary home.
Our stuff fills the living room at the Cedar House. After we drive out to Kansas City next week, Brandon will fly back west later in July and drive another moving truck with all the stuff to Kansas City. (Yes, it's a complicated move.)
We're enjoying the sunny weather in La Crescenta. On Tuesday, we'll be going to Catalina Island with Spencer. Alison has never snorkeled before, so to get ready for the trip, she practiced in Shelley's pool.Stay tuned for our progress as we hang out with the Robergs, take a cross-country drive, attempt to find an apartment in KC, and more...

Cedar Weekend

2009-05-26T21:49:00.003-05:00

We went down to the Cedar City house for the Memorial Day weekend. Kenny drove down with us and Carl and Cindy drove up. The weekend was filled with projects, including putting insulation on the garage/barn (not sure what to call it) roof. Below is the "before" picture; Brandon forgot to take an "after" picture, so you'll just have to imagine the awesome results.

Carl set up this swingy-chair thingy (also not sure what to call that--apparently vacation=vocabulary death).
As seen in this old post, our car would look like a heap of junk if not for Carl's car-beautification expertise. Well, in the couple of years since then, a few more rust spots appeared, as well as this "mysterious" dent (three guesses as to whose fault it was). So Carl and Brandon went to work fixing things up. Now we don't have the ugliest car in the apartment complex parking lot anymore!

On the drive back from Cedar, we stopped at Cove Fort. We've driven past it many times but never stopped. We took a brief tour with a very nice senior missionary (fun fact: this is her second mission with her husband; for their first mission they went to the Morristown, NJ mission! They served primarily in Elizabeth). Here's a picture of us taken on the upper-lookout-walkway thing (yeah, yeah...) with the courtyard of the fort behind/below us.
P.S. Guess where we were last Memorial Day? Shocking!

Since the last time we talked...

2009-05-10T21:36:00.007-05:00

...Brandon's mom, Cindy, came for a visit. We had a great time hanging out, seeing the sights, and visiting friends. We took a trip up to Ben and Melanie's house--here Cindy is holding one of their chickens.

Brandon's sister Stacy spent a day with us too. She took some pictures of us on BYU campus since we'll (finally!) be leaving in a couple of months.

We also checked out the tulip festival at the Thanksgiving Point gardens. Oddly enough, neither of the following pictures contains tulips, but trust us, they were pretty!

Why is Alison trying to grab the statue? Who knows...
Last weekend we headed down to Cedar City. Carl came up from California and brought along a tandem bike--cool!

...and, in honor of Mother's Day, here are a couple of blasts from the past. This is Alison's mom, Lori, with baby Alison in 1985.And here are Cindy and Brandon at Brandon's baptism in 1989.
Happy Mother's Day, moms! We love you both!

For the Win!

2009-04-10T00:23:00.003-05:00

It's been a good week for Brandon. He accepted an offer to join the clinical psychology PhD program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (we'll be moving there in July). He presented his thesis research at a conference at BYU and won first place in the psychology grad student division. He also received a teaching award from the psychology department in honor of his efforts to create and teach the evolutionary psychology course. Congratulations!

Alison, on the other hand, wins the award for having more bottles of lotion than any other human being. Good grief.
P.S. The amazing cat impersonator in the video on the previous post is Brandon. Possible alternate career option?

When My Friend Fixed My Computer

2009-03-30T01:51:00.004-05:00

Above is a large portrait Ben painted of his kid, and below is Ben fixing my computer in his living room. The video is me attempting to interact with Ben's cat.

We're Green and We're Not

2009-03-16T23:11:00.003-05:00

Green (things we do)
Replaced our light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs (we like the "daylight" ones)
Have our TV plugged into a power strip and turn off the strip at night
Turn off lights we're not using
Have lots of house plants
Pick up trash in the neighborhood
Pay our bills online
Keep our tires properly inflated
Reuse packaging and mailing materials

Not Green Yet (things we would like to do if we had the resources/space)
Drive a hybrid or electric car
Install solar panels for our home
Grow our own vegetables in a garden
Have a compost heap

Not Green Now (things we should be doing, but we're not at the moment)
Take shorter showers
Walk instead of drive to campus
Recycle
Actually use our reusable grocery bags rather than forgetting them at home all the time

How green are you? We dare you to post your own green evaluation on your blog. (Bonus points if you do it tomorrow on St. Patrick's Day!)

Some Fairly Recent Things

2009-03-10T18:27:00.004-05:00

My friend Nick and me at the hot springs near Grandpa and Grandma Young's home.

This is part of the library at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.
This is the hotel across the street from The Green where the applicants for the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences stayed. This is also the hotel were one of the most famous case study subjects in psychology worked. The subject was Phineas Gage and his accident is cited in every textbook that discusses the brain and behavior.
My bed was the one by the window. My roommate (Eric) was a friendly fellow who just graduated from Harvard.
On the Sunday after the interviews, I walked around the Harvard campus and Eric showed me where the William James building is. On the way to Boston from Hanover, I got pulled over in my rental car for speeding. However, I just got a warning.
Here is a picture from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville campus. The campus was beautiful even though it was raining. Their campus also has a unique area called "The Body Farm."
This is Alison's new haircut and spring dress she just got today.

Be Mine

2009-02-14T15:56:00.005-06:00

Since Brandon is spending the weekend in the hinterlands of New Hampshire, and since it's that holiday again, I thought I'd take a minute to declare my undying love.

Here is my valentine:

I love this smile. It is elusive and difficult to photograph, but it's worth the effort. I captured this rare shot when we were dating. I had been trying all evening to get a picture of him smiling, but to no avail. At some point, I made him laugh, and I saw my opportunity--I grabbed my camera and snapped a photo. It's a little off-center, but no matter. Still totally cute.

I don't always get how his mind works, but it's usually entertaining. Check out this blog post from 2005. And it's probably been too long since you revisted the awesomeness of his proposal, Parts 1, 2, and 3.

A year or two ago, he bought me a 1925 edition of H.D.'s Collected Poems from a bookstore in Salt Lake. He knew I was writing my thesis about H.D. but couldn't remember anything except that she was a woman poet who went by initials. He and the employees were trying to figure out who they were looking for, trying out random pairs of initials, when luckily a customer happened to walk by and gave them the magic combination. And then he found me an awesome old book and brought it home as a surprise. What a sweetheart.

Love you, babe.

P.S. If the sappiness is all too much for you to handle, here is an unconventional love poem. (Not for the faint of heart!)

Charles Darwin Bicentennial Week at BYU

2009-02-10T17:13:00.008-06:00

Today I attended an interesting lecture on Charles Darwin as part of BYU's Charles Darwin Bicentennial Week. Here is my account of what happened in pictures and video. The lecture was held in the Maeser Building on the BYU campus. Thursday is Darwin's 200th birthday and birthday cake will be served following another campus lecture. This year is also the 150th anniversary of the publication of On The Origin of Species.

Here is the lecturer, Daniel Fairbanks, near the begining of his talk. At the end of this clip is a portrait of Karl G. Maeser.

Professor Fairbanks worked on the sculpture throught the entire lecture.
Darwin didn't have a beard when On The Origin of Species was published.
Fairbanks says he has only sculpted a bust of Darwin 4 or 5 times in his life. He referenced no photos or paintings of Darwin when creating the bust. Pretty amazing.

Superbrain!

2009-01-29T20:26:00.003-06:00

Neil in his natural habitat about a month ago:

Neil at preschool graduation circa 1995:
As most of you know, Alison's brother Neil was in a serious car accident this past weekend and has sustained some injuries to his brain. He is in the hospital and we are waiting for the swelling in his brain to go down--when it gets down to an acceptable level, the doctors will be able to run more tests and see what to do from there. There is a blog set up here: Neil Stone Updates where you can get the latest news. We are really grateful to all the family members and friends who are praying for Neil and helping out in various ways.

As for the title of this post...when Neil was pretty little (maybe around the time of the preschool graduation photo above?), he used to say that he had a "superbrain" that would allow him to do amazing things. It was pretty hilarious and very typical of Neil to say something like that. Well, it's been many years since he last talked about his superbrain, but it's still the same brain...so even though it's a little beat-up right now, we know his brain is still super!

For some more info about brain injury, you can check out this link from the Brain Injury Association of America. All brains and all brain injuries are different, so not everything on the page will apply directly to Neil, but there is some good information there.

Day of the Skulls!!!

2009-01-09T00:35:00.004-06:00

Drum roll please...

Today a long-awaited package arrived. Brandon has been wanting a human skull for awhile, and although real skulls are impossibly expensive, he found a pretty good replica online and ordered it. And today, it arrived! Below is Brandon's skull collection: (Left to right: a clay skull that Eric sculpted for Brandon for Christmas, a baby monkey skull (real), an adult monkey skull (real), an adult human skull (replica). Our house is looking a little morbid these days.

And in other news, I got an awesome apron for my birthday, made by my mom! I love it. We forgot to take a full-length shot of the apron, so look for that in a future post (trust me, it is worth posting--sooooo cute!). I tried out the apron this week when I made the Napoletana Mac 'n' Cheese (recipe online at the S'mac website!). I realize we just posted about this macaroni and cheese, but now having made it at home, I would just like to reiterate: IT IS AWESOME! Seriously, print out the recipe and make it.
The green is fresh basil and the red is roasted tomatoes. Guess what else is in there: roasted garlic. Drool...

And a blast from the past: Me, circa 1993, with the homemade valentines Mom and I made for my class.And famed psychologist Stanley Milgram, circa 1977, with copies of his books.
Clearly great minds think (pose?) alike.

Macaroni and Cheese, Teeth, and Guns: More Christmas Miracles

2009-01-04T00:50:00.003-06:00

If you thought the New Jersey Christmas excitement couldn't get more...exciting, check this out:

We spent a day in New York City with Mom, Neil, and Eric. Although we had a great time seeing "The 39 Steps" on Broadway and spending 2 hours on the subway (don't ask), perhaps the highlight of the trip was this restaurant:

They serve an amazing variety of different types of macaroni and cheese, and basically nothing else. We were delighted to discover that the recipe for the one Brandon had is available online. First new recipe of 2009, here we come! Here is a picture of the Stones digging in (how did that zombie sneak into the picture?):
It was a good thing Neil filled up on mac and cheese, because a couple of days later, he had his wisdom teeth out. He fared considerably better than Alison did when she had hers out a few years ago (pictures in a forthcoming post...unfortunately), but he did need an ice pack or two (and some Vicodin).

While Neil was recovering, we decided to give the invalid some space, so we headed off to Philadelphia for the day. It was about 20 degrees and there were wind gusts up to 40 miles an hour in the city that day. Most other tourists stayed away, but we forged ahead! We got to visit Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was voted on. We watched the John Adams miniseries earlier this year and had just re-watched the relevant episode with the Stones, so it was great to see where this historic event took place.
Alison made a new friend.
We also stopped by Elfreth's Alley, the oldest continuously inhabited residential street in the United States.
Oh yeah, and at some point, this happened: