Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everybody! What are y'all dressing up as? Going out or staying in? Lish and I are NOT going out. It's Homecoming weekend for FSU, plus Halloween. It's going to be a little crazy downtown tonight.

Anyway, we dressed up for work yesterday. My whole office does it. Well, most of them. One of my bosses didn't dress up and the other came as Mr. Rogers, so that wasn't much of a costume. I dressed up as a butterfly. It was fun. Then I kept the costume on for our ward's Trunk or Treat last night. We just went to see all the kiddies. They were so excited. I loved dressing up when I was younger. Still do.

The night before last, I got together with some friends to carve pumpkins. We had a good time. Carving pumpkins and dressing up isn't really Lish's thing, so that's why he's not in any of these pictures. But enjoy! And Happy Halloween!

Maggie's Big 30!

My sister-in-law, Maggie, turns 30 today! Well, the day is almost over, but not quite yet, so I am still at liberty to say that. Anyway, the big birthday!

Maggie is marvelous! She is one of the sweetest girls I have ever met. She is always so concerned about her family and friends and wants the best for everybody. She is so easy to get along with. She can make anybody feel completely comfortable around her. She is an amazing people person.
Maggie is also one of the most positive people I've ever met. She always has a smile on her face and laughs quite often. It's easy to see that she loves life and will take whatever life throws at her. She is so patient as well, which I'm sure she had to be with Lish as a little brother.Another thing I love about Maggie is how motivated she is. When she sets her mind to something, she sees it through. She is such a great example to me for that. I love being related to her now. I couldn't ask for a better sister-in-law.I love you Maggie and hope you had a wonderful birthday! We can't wait to see you in a couple weeks!

Griffith Weekend Update-Finally!

Hey y'all! I'm finally able to update from the weekend with my dad and stepmom!

So, I took a few pictures and my stepmom took a few, but she hasn't sent them to me yet. (Alisia, where are those pictures? Hm? Com'on now.) Anyway, you don't need all the pictures.

They flew in on Thursday, October 8th. After Lish picked them up from the airport, they dropped off their bags and came to pick me up from work. We went out to dinner that night and it was delish! Then we just sat around and chatted before going to bed early. (They were so tired, having woken up very early to catch their flight.)

On Friday, Lish took them onto campus so they could attend the lecture he was giving in his class. I went into work again for half a day, and when I came home, we gathered up the necessities and headed to lunch. Then we went to Wakulla Springs. We took the boat tour, like we have done with other family who comes out to visit, but this was probably the best tour we've been on. The weather was amazing, the fish were jumping, the turtles were basking, and the alligators were fighting. We also saw quite a few manatees, and several birds. It was only the 4 of us on the tour, plus two other guys, so we got to get up and move from side to side to see everything. It was awesome! After that we came back home, recooperated, and headed out for another dinner. Then we headed to the "Downtown Get-down" that is held every night before a home football game. It was fun to show them how crazy our town gets over football. Plus, it was great for people watching.




Saturday we slowly got up, then we headed out for our tee time at the Seminole Golf Course. It was a beautiful course. (The golf carts even had GPS systems in them.) We didn't play well, but we had a lot of fun. It was really humid that day and it was getting ready to rain. In fact, the alarm bell rang out as we were finishing up on our 9th hole. It was perfect timing. Our friend Brian was having another tailgate that day, so we headed over there straight after so we could show my dad and Alisia what a real tailgate looked like. As we were driving, it just started pouring rain. It was crazy! So, they got to see a real rain storm as well. (It just doesn't rain like that in Utah.) After the rain cleared up, we hung out at the tailgate for a little while, went to get some ice cream (of course), and then headed back home to recooperate again. We took a mini nap, got ready to go out again, and headed out for another delicious dinner.



We went to our Sacrament meeting on Sunday, so we could introduce some of our friends to our family. Then we just hung out and chatted until we had to take the family to the airport. It was a fabulous weekend and we are so grateful for the time, money, and energy my dad and stepmom put into coming to visit us. Thank you for everything you guys! We sure love you!

Blank but Recovered

I feel like I have been MIA a little bit. My bad. The day before conference our computer was acting really off. This screen kept popping up on it after we had restarted our computer, the "blue screen of death." Doesn't sound good, right? We didn't think so either. So we spent the rest of the CD's we had backing up our computer. A couple nights later, Lish took it over to a friend's house who knows computers. Our hard drive was almost completely full. Long story short, we wiped everything off our computer. It won't even read my memory card from my camera, so I haven't been able to upload any pictures or anything yet. We have to download all those programs again. It will take a while, but we'll get around to it.

So, the big thing you have missed is the amazing weekend we just had with my dad and stepmom. As soon as I get the pictures uploaded from that, and the other pictures from my stepmom, I'll update you about that weekend. Basically, it was wonderful and I'm so grateful for the time, money, and energy they spent to come out and visit us. Pictures and stories from the weekend to come...

Tailgating in a Football Town

This past weekend Lish and I were asked to attend a tailgate hosted by one of our friends. He asked if we would watch their stuff while they were in the game so they didn't have to put all of it away. We were happy to. Now, you may think, "That's so boring. I'd rather go into the game." But that is foolish thinking. This isn't just any tailgate. It's the Brians' tailgate, equipped with 2 flat screen TV's, 2 tailgate tents, BBQ, plenty of chairs, plenty of snacks, more than enough beer (not for us of course) and so on. It's intense. And we love it! They show up before 7 in the morning and stay into the evening. This is how our friends tailgate.

Plus, the game was at noon and sitting in the sun would have been miserable and hot. And, as we found out later, we could have been one of the many who got heat stroke. I think we made a wise decision.


See what our dog is doing here?
Later that day, when we were cleaning our home, I noticed she looked funny. Apparently, she had eaten something or gotten bit by ants, because her eyes and her lips were so swollen and puffy! We gave her some medicine and the swelling went down. Thank goodness. Maybe she'll think twice before she does whatever she did again.

Found

After almost 5 1/2 years, Brooke Wilberger's remains were found this past weekend. They just held a press conference in Oregon which I was able to watch online. It was very bittersweet. I'm excited for the Wilberger family to finally have some closure. I'm excited for Brooke to recieve a proper burial. I wish it hadn't happened at all, and I wish for her that it hadn't happened the way that it did.

Cammy Wilberger (Brooke's mother) is such a strong woman. I admire her for all her bravery and courage through this whole ordeal. My prayers continue to be with them.

I Scream for Ice Cream!

There is this delicious ice cream shop here. We actually first went sometime during our first week of living in Tallahassee. It was the only ice cream shop we remembered seeing, and it was 15 minutes away. Now, that may not seem so bad to some of you, but it is. It was quite the commute. But we'd go there occassionally, mostly on Tuesdays. Tuesdays are double stamp night, and we have a punch card. Don't underestimate me when it comes to ice cream.

Anyway, a few weeks ago Lish noticed a new sign at a place basically across the street from us. The sign looked something like this

Oh yes. It's true. Ever since that day, I have been keeping my eye out for the open sign.

Yesterday when I was driving down the street, from one visiting teachee's house to another, I noticed a man standing on the side of the road close to the sign. I turned around to look at the sign he was holding, and you guessed it. It was the "Now Open" sign. I was so excited I squealed! I'm not usually a squealer, but when it comes to ice cream, I can't control myself. I immediately called Lish to tell him the exciting news!

Later, after dinner and what not, when Lish asked what I wanted to do I said, "Walk to Bruster's and get some ice cream of course." So we did. It was a 5 minute walk to this amazing place! (I think this could be bad for my health.) I chose the Pumpkin Cheesecake flavor in a waffle cone. It was delicious! A perfect choice to christen the new location and the fall season.

And I am happy.