Merry Christmas Everyone!!! This is us figuring out the timer on our camera. We were going to use this pic for our Christmas cards, but we chose a doofy one instead (not sure why). Check your mailbox.

Anyway, Merry Christmas. We can't wait to see everyone in January. I'll be sure to have plenty of blueberries for Savannah.

Blueberries

As you can see, Savannah is a HUGE fan of blueberries.
Since she insists on feeding herself these days, we generally strip her down to the diaper to dig into these treats!
Nate, please take note of my sweatshirt. It's so comfy & it's still in great shape--I wear it often & love it!!

Savannah's First Visit with Santa!

We went to our ward party on Friday night, and Savannah had her first visit with Santa! He gave her a squeaky whale, which was a big hit!!

Snow Day

As you saw from Nate's post, we got a lot of snow yesterday. It snowed from before dawn to well after midnight. And we got about 8 inches of powder. This morning, Nate and I ventured out to take some pictures of the first real snow storm of the season.

This picture was taken from our balcony. This morning while eating breakfast we saw 3 coyotes walking through the snow. We've also seen deer and falcons in our forest.

Nate looks really excited to get to work - that is after he brushes all the snow off his car.

And, while he was at it, he cleared off my car as well. Notice that my car had a lot more snow piled on top than Nate's.

Our apartment complex decided it was time to bring the plow out of storage.

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving in Colorado Springs this year. We made the drive in two parts. On Tuesday night we drove to the grand metropolis of Colby, Kansas. They call it the Oasis on the plains. It certainly had the palm trees to match it's slogan (notice the wires). We drove in late, and we were lucky to get a place to sleep. We were turned away from three motels before we finally found a bed. We were so tired!
We got up early on Wednseday and made the second half of the trip into Denver. We went to the temple and we ate lunch at the mall. Then we drove down to the Springs to hang out with JoLee's family. JoLee's sister brought her boyfriend, Peter, so we could all meet him. I tip my hat to Peter for coming to stay four days with a family he's never met. Peter and I both have something in common, by the way. We both have excellent taste in women. Thanksgiving day was great. We had all the traditional food of course. There was some mix up about the oven and the turkey, but it must have been worked out, because dinner was great.
On Friday JoLee, Paige, Peter, and I went to Garden of the Gods. That's where I proposed to JoLee last year. It's a beautiful place.

Other activities over Thanksgiving break included seeing the latest Harry Potter film , taking family photos in some guys backyard, and bowling for Donna's birthday. The bowling alley was funny, because the girl's lane was slanted toward the left and the guy's lane had a faulty pin setter. I think my jeans still smell of cigarette smoke. We stopped by Barnes & Noble on the way home to visit Scott.

We drove home on Sunday, and we were really lucky to get home. If we had left any later we would have been stuck in (or maybe involved with) a 25 car pile up on I-70. We hit a blizzard on the way home and it was nasty! Fortunately, we got stuck behind a snow plow, so we had relatively safe driving until we got low enough that the snow turned into rain. The whole drive was really odd. When we got to Salina, Kansas the skies were sunny and beautiful. When we got home it wasn't even cold.

Well, we had a great trip. Thanks Gillespie's for having so much fun with us! You always throw a great party.

It's cold out here!

Today was the first snow of the season. Everyone left work early. The interstate was backed up for miles. People ran out of gas while sitting in traffic. I was fine, I left work late and I just had to drive slowly home. I am not looking forward to tomorrow morning's commute. On the up side, the snow is beautiful, and my wife bought me a nice scarf to keep my neck warm.

Disaster Area

JoLee finished classes today. Finally! She presented her big paper yesterday to rave reviews and applause. Now she goes into finals. It'll all be over soon, and then we can both go back to eating regular food again.

Video Streaming

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I met JoLee's sister's boyfriend, Peter. He is working for a company called MoveMedia that creates video streaming for BYU TV and other channels. If you go to www.byu.tv you'll find that you can watch BYUTV live anytime you want. Moreover, you can watch archives and past general conference videos. By the way, you'll have to download a plug-in, to get this to work, but that shouldn't be hard.

This Sunday is the Church Christmas devotional, so if you're interested you can get that online. JoLee and I are especially happy about BYUTV online, since General Conference is not broadcast to the Kansas City area.

Hey everyone, about a week ago Brooke and I went with Mom and Dad to see their new house. This is the front...

...and this is the back.

This is inside, up the stairs, looking toward the front entry way.

This is a view from the back windows, looking toward the clubhouse and the sunset.

Stephens family, friends and fans. i will now be signing autographs. I have a five second blub on a nationally televised television show on TV. I also say something very profound so be sure to have your pencils ready. It's something like, "It's a good thing." Deep and poignant. courtTv 11pmEST on the 22nd so check your local listings and don't miss out on this opportunity to learn more about my exciting and stimulating desk job. One of the half hours is our company, Vanacore. The other half hour is the other company. It's about my mom's case and i'm the special tag-along in the background, great career move. and then about a co-worker's case, for the Vanacore segment. No grammar comments, work last week has been a bear, with an average of 13 hour days. Feel free to comment on my latin as that always shines through and is never tarnished come wind rain shine sleet or snowy depths of white.

My Wife The Nerd

JoLee volunteered to take a job grading before she found out how many students were in the class. Now she has to grade three tests for 100 students! It's the bane of our existence. We're so desperate to get this job done, that we made Mom help us when she came for a visit. I'm pleased to report, however, that test number two is almost finished. Now, I can't wait for the final...


JoLee loves to study. I've been teasing her that her desk is starting to look like a professor's office. When we bought this desk, she assured me that it would be large enough. I guess if it were larger it would just have three piles of books instead of two.

Modern Dance

JoLee and I had our first night at the Kansas City theater last Thursday. The Alvin Ailey modern dance group made their anual appearance downtown. If you ever get a chance to see them, I highly recommend you go, even if you don't think you like modern dance. They were very entertaining. The show moved along quickly and ended sooner than I would have liked.

We saw the show downtown. I didn't know it, but there's a really nice area in the heart of Kansas city that has fountains and theathers and a cofernece center. We bought tickets in the upper balcony and squeezed into the tiny chairs. It was worse than being at the Marriott Center. At intermission we went downstairs, where surprisingly the view isn't as good, but the seats are WAY bigger. Anway, we had a great time, and I'm sure we'll go back.

What's Up?

Did I mention this is a family blog? You're all welcome to post (not just comment). JoLee and I would love to hear what you're all up to.

--Nathan

Mom Tours

Mom came to visit us this weekend. We had a blast! The pictures don't explain the whole story, so I will give you the highlights.

Saturday:
Visited Adam Ondi Ahman and serendipitously discovered JC Penny's boyhood home. It rained a little, but it didn't spoil our fun.

Sunday:
Went to church and primary. The kids (and all of us) made crafts for the upcoming ward party. We helped JoLee grade tests for one of her jobs. We seriously worked hard to get all the multiple choice parts finished. We left the essays for JoLee's future reading pleasure.

Monday:
Shopping, shopping, and more shopping. Mom and JoLee went to the Gap and found JoLee much needed school clothes. Then they came to Hallmark for a quick tour and more shopping in the discount store. Finally, we went to the Plaza for one last round of shopping. We were all exhausted at the end of the day. Oh yeah, we also had one of the best BBQ meals in KC.

Tuesday:
Went to Lawrence and the University of Kansas. JoLee had class, so I gave Mom a tour of the campus (I took the day off work). We visited The Bob Dole Institute and the art museum. Mom read every plaque as usual. We ended the day back at home watching the Utah version of Pride and Prejudice.

Mom has been a great guest, and it's been fun to have a visitor again. We still get lonely for visitors out here in Kansas, so if you're in the neighborhood, please stop by.

--Nathan

JoLee and Nate looking over the valley of Adam Ondi Ahman (about 1 1/2 hours from our home).

JoLee and Mom at Adam Ondi Ahman. Right after I took this picture it started to rain.

JoLee on the 9th floor at the Hallmark headquarters. She toured the facility and picked up slack.

JoLee and Nate in Nate's cubicle. This was the best moment I've ever spent in my cubicle. Notice the family picture in the background.

Nathan in the historic Allen Fieldhouse. The Kansas Jayhawks still play here after 50 years. It's hard for students and the general public to get tickets to the games, but hopefully we'll get the chance while JoLee is studying here.

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween!

Baudelaire Day

JoLee had this idea...


In celebration of the 12th (and newest) book in A Series of Unfortunate Events, JoLee dedicated October 27 as Baudelaire Day. The Baudelaires are three unfortunate siblings who spend their lives running from Count Olaf, who is either their third cousin four times removed or their fourth cousin three times removed.

For dinner on Baudelaire Day we at spaghetti with puttanesca sauce, which the Baudelaire's had to make in the first book under orders from Count Olaf. We also ate a side of false spring rolls, which Sunny Baudelaire made in the 10th book. False spring rolls are an assortment of vegetables wrapped in spinach leaves. It's supposed to be prepared in honor of false spring, which could be any time other than real spring. We didn't have the spinach leaves, but JoLee didn't like that recipe anyway.

Here are some more pictures for your enjoyment:


JoLee posted the bio's of the main characters on our windows. The images of Count Olaf were especially helpful seeing as how he is still at large.


Okay, this picture is totally posed for which I make no excuse. (Sorry Gavin.)


JoLee makes any picture look great, but really the main focus here is the group of books on the table.

Looking back on the event, I'm not sure that we celebrated Baudelaire Day properly. We were all smiles and happy, but really the story is one of tragedy and woe. Perhaps we should have been more melancholy.

Woolly Bear Caterpillars

The other day Nate and I found a really cool caterpillar on our front steps. Fearful that the little critter would freeze over the winter we brought it inside to see if it would like to make a cocoon. I looked up our new friend on the internet and learned that it is a woolly bear caterpillar, and that the creatures actually hibernate over the winter. So after observing its scurryings we let it go so that it could find a nice warm rock to sleep under. I guess the woolly bear caterpillar is a one of the most prevalent in the United States (I'd never seen one - but that may be because I'm from Colorado. I don't think too many bugs can take the altitude.) Legend has it that you can predict the severity of the winter from the woolly bear's coloring. If the caterpillar has more black than orange it's going to be a cold winter. If the caterpillar has more orange than black it's going to be a mild winter. It looks to me like Nate and I are going to have a pretty nice winter. I think we found a really good-looking caterpillar. We sure hope he survives the winter. Come Spring we'll start looking for him in his grown-up stage - as the Isabella Tiger Moth.

Picasa BlogThis!

The latest version of Picasa allows you to post a picture to the blog via the BlogThis! button. It's the easiest way to post a single picture to the blog. You'll have to download the latest version of Picasa. Then click on the BlogThis! button and it'll take you right to the posting page. It couldn't be easier.

The Office

Has anyone watched NBC's The Office? It's a documentary style parody about modern American office life. I thought the Halloween episode was hilarious. Dwight showed up as sith lord and tried to use the dark side to persuade his boss not to fire him. It's odd, but if you haven't seen it you might laugh.

Latitudes

With the change of the seasons and daylight savings approach, I'm already beginning to miss the long days and the warm nights. When I lived in Costa Rica, the length of the days never changed, because I lived so close to the equator. Then I started thinking about how every other place I lived was at about the same latitude, which means that the days tend to be the same length. I happen to have a list of all the lats and longs by zip codes, so I delved into the file and found out how far North I have spent 28 out of the last 30 years of my life. I was amazed at how close all the latitudes were! You'll find them below with JoLee's home zip code in Colorado Springs.

--Nate

--------------------------------
Latitude City
--------------------------------
40.2139 Provo, UT
38.9576 Colorado Springs, CO
38.9011 Overland Park, KS
38.8019 Alexandria, VA
38.6839 Orangevale, CA
-------------------------------- 

Travel Plans

Hey everyone. I wanted to post our holiday travel plans for your reference.

Arrive (Southwest):
Thursday, December 22, 7:35 PM

Depart (Southwest):
Wednesday, December 28, 2:25 PM

We are looking forward to seeing everyone!

--Nathan

Judith and Holofernes

I'm a bit surprised I've received so few comments concerning Nate'’s claim that I have “a thing for severed heads. Unfortunately, I can'’t completely deny that statement. There are many interesting myths involving severed heads that I (for some strange reason) like to research. I will try to somewhat explain this odd fascination.

The story that Nate mentioned is the apocryphal tale of Judith and Holofernes. Judith was a respected and beautiful Israelite widow of the town of Bethulia. Bethulia was besieged by the Assyrian general Holofernes, and Judith volunteered to save her town from destruction. She then dressed in her finest apparel, enlisted the help of her maid, and marched to the enemy camp. There she told Holofernes she knew Bethulia was lost, and, in hopes that she would be spared, she would inform him of the town'’s vulnerabilities. Because Holofernes was entranced by Judith'’s beauty he allowed her to stay in the camp and made plans to seduce her. While dining with Judith, Holofernes became incredibly drunk, and in this state Judith beheaded Holofernes, and escaped with the head to her village. Without their leader the Assyrian army was in chaos and abandoned Bethulia. Judith was declared a hero and revered for the remainder of her life for single-handedly saving the village from the Assyrians.

The story of Judith and Holofernes is interesting because although Judith saves her village and is declared a hero, the victory is accomplished through the ambiguous means of seduction and deceit. As you can imagine, artists struggled with how to depict Judith. Who was this woman that was capable of murdering a general? And perhaps more importantly, what does a male artist make of a woman capable of beheading a man?

Here's Botticelli's Judith. Her maid carries Holofernes' head . Does this elegant, graceful Judith look like she has the strength, not to mention the guts, to kill Holofernes? Not really - maybe that's what made her such a threat.

Here's Michelangelo's Judith and her maidservant from the Sistine Chapel ceiling. There are some obvious similarities between the story of Judith and Holofernes and the story of David and Goliath. I think Michelangelo plays up that comparison with the inclusion of an enormous head.

Caravaggio's Judith Slaying Holofernes is one of my favorites. I think her childlike innocence and ridiculous stance are Caravaggio's attempt to tame Judith. In this image, Caravaggio seems to say that Judith is incapable of violence unless she is guided and nearly completely controlled by her God. I had to include one of Artemisia Gentileschi's Judith Slaying Holofernes. What makes this violent image (and this isn't even her most gruesome depiction) so interesting is that it was painted by a woman, and her Judith definitely looks like more of a threat.

All of the images that I've posted so far are from the Italian Renaissance and Baroque periods. But the story of Judith and Holofernes has a long life. Just image what Freud does with this story in the early 20th century. I'll conclude with this very interesting image of Judith slaying Holofernes from a Gothic manuscript. I love Judith's angry face. And so, yes, I get excited every time I discovery a Judith and Holofernes I've never seen before.

Them's fightin' words

Normally, I would respond to a blog post with a comment, but this is Cheerios, which happens to be one of the best cereals out there. What are your alternatives? Basically it comes down to Grape Nuts (a.k.a. Quarry) and Shredded Wheat. So if you would rather eat one of those cereals, be my guest. Cheerios is a lot better than those Captain Crunch Berries that Aaron always ate, or Coco Roos that Jenny lived on while at the Elms. They have been around for 50 years! I went onto the web and here is what I found:

Cheerios -- the #1 cereal among toddlers -- has been trusted by moms and loved by toddlers for generations.

Trust Cheerios for your toddler

Cheerios...

* is recommended by 4 out of 5 pediatricians who recommend finger foods for toddlers.
* has only 1 gram of sugar per serving.
* provides 8 essential vitamins and minerals, including iron and folic acid.
* has no artificial colours or flavours.
* is made with whole grain oats and is a good source of fibre.
* helps develop motor skills because the O's are easy to pick up, firm and resist crumbling.
* tastes great and is fun to eat!

You can feel good about serving Cheerios cereal to your toddlers and your whole family. Visit Good Nutrition Building Blocks to learn more about the importance of eating right from the start.

Cheerios: Food or Foe???

I had a funny experience today...
I was waiting in line at the Home Depot & Savannah, as always, was climbing all over the shopping cart. I grabbed a couple of Cheerios (plain, not honey nut, mind you) from my bag & handed them to her.
The lady behind me mumbled something and, after realizing she was talking to me, I asked her to repeat herself. She proceeded to tell me that I should stop feeding my child these "metabolic disturbers" and start feeding her REAL food.
So, Nate, I don't know what kind of "food" you've been eating every day for breakfast for the last 10+years, but you may want to rethink the disturbing effect it may be having on your metabolism...

Entertainment System

You may have heard that Jim has an incredible entertainment theater room in their basement. It's a fairly large room, all painted in maroon. The back half of the room is on an 8 inch raiser that holds three chairs. The front half of the room holds a huge futon. They have a video projector that projects movies onto the maroon wall, which works surprisingly well. A maroon curtain hangs against the back wall where the DVD player, VHS player, and receiver are housed. You can access the equipment and the wiring from the utility room behind the theater room. They have the three front channels, two satellite speakers, and a subwoofer. The whole system really is fabulous. They're currently having problems getting the component video to work. The blue channel isn't working and it's either due to the DVD output or the projector input. I couldn't figure out which. In the meantime, they're using standard coaxial video. Peggy made us popcorn, and we turned the sound up nice and loud. It really makes movies a lot more fun to watch.

Minneapolis

We're back from a long drive to Minnesota to see the cousins. We had a great time this weekend, and Jim and Peggy are great hosts. Here is what to look forward to when vacationing at their home: (1) Sleeping in until 10 am; (2) nights watching movies in the home theatre (3) followed by relaxing in the hot tub; (4) one of the coolest guest bathrooms on the planet; (5) free art museums; (6) good eatin'; (7) and their total undivided attention. To Peggy, Jim, and family, should they be reading this, a huge thanks for a great weekend!

We didn't get a ton of pictures, but here are a few. We found a great McDonalds, on the way. It was voted one of the nicest in the heartland. Not to worry, though, I stayed away from the McNuggets.

It really was a lovely McDonalds (if you're into fireplaces and Greek columns and that kind of thing.)

Charlotte posing outside the art museum.

Charlotte and her Care Bears listening carefully to conference.

Did I mention that JoLee has a thing for severed heads? No, really. We found this painting of Judith and Holofernes at the art museum in Minneapolis. JoLee wrote two papers about this apocryphal story while she studied at BYU. Yikes!

New Home

I think by now that everyone knows that we put money down on the lot and signed papers for about an hour. We're both feel good about it. I went up and saw the lot again and the trenches were cut for the foundation. It's fun to see exactly where it sits on the lot. When we can figure out how to post pictures on this blog we'll send them as things develop.

The completion date is March 10 and they have yet to meet a date-so it should be done by April 1. I like that better-we're not sure when to market this house and still have handyman stuff to do.

Sounds like everyone is having a fun conference weekend. We've had a great rest. I love conference and love all of you so much. What a wonderful family. All of you inspire me.