Nativity

The kids did a nativity at our Christmas Eve party. Savannah was supposed to be the Wise Woman, but she kept taking her robe off. So, she just roamed around & enjoyed being part of the show. She was very reverent & very interested in Baby Jesus.

Savannah's Christmas Breakfast

So, Savannah's favorite part of Christmas this year was breakfast. She LOVES sitting at the big people table & she LOVES eating German Pancakes.
She is such a happy kid!!!

Merry Christmas

JoLee and I celebrated Christmas in our apartment a few days early this year. We hope you're having a good Christmas, too.

Christmas News Letter

Biking

Hey everyone, I think it would be fun for all of us to go on a bike ride when everyone's here in January (if the weather is decent). Brooke and I have four bikes, so we'd just have to rent three, and a trailer for Savannah. What do you think?

California Winters

We took our nephews out on the bike trail. We pushed them in their stroller while we rollerbladed behind them. It was really fun to be babysitting, be outside and exercising all at the same time. We were throwing rocks from this bridge and watching them splash below.
Aaron and Ethan throwing rocks.
I loved watching the salmon thrash around. Half of their bodies are above the water as they swim in the shallow parts. They are really deteriorated by the time they make it this far. They're 3-4 years old by the time they come up to spawn. The gulls come too to eat them.
A dead one waiting for its head to be chopped off by fish and game so they can count them.

I ignorantly challenged Aaron to go catch a fish and hold it in his arms. I didn't know it was illegal. Of course, Aaron took the challenge. Some women came to watch and commented on how cold it was. Another guy was watching from the trail. Maybe he was fish and game? thank goodness Aaron didn't catch the fish, but he sure inspired them to get up the river. It was funny because I thought I would have to pay Aaron $500 to do this feat, but all he wanted was a grilled stuft burrito from Taco Bell. Anyway, this picture is after the challenge was done and Aaron was taking Ethan and Lukey out on a tour to see the fish up close.

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

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