A Year of Changes and Beginnings

As we reflect on 2011 and all that has happened in the life our our small little family as well as our extended family, we can't help but smile at the new beginnings that have brought in 2012. Little Ava was born on December 23, 2011 and has forever changed our lives. She's a little fussy at times, a little crazy at times, a little reverent at times, and a little adorable all of the time.

We went in for a three and a half hour photo shoot with Amber Crowley at her three week birthday and for the first hour and a half baby Ava was a little bit fussy. Eventually she calmed down and we couldn't be more pleased with how her little pictures turned out. A special thanks to Amber for being so patient and professional during the whole session!

BYU Basketball

My apologies to the approximately 3 people who read our blog. We have been either 1) too lazy, 2) too busy, 3) too unexciting, or 4) too selfish to let others know what we have been up to!

Lately its been Jimmer Mania, Jimmerica, Jimmer Jammered (whatever your favorite Jimmer phrase is) at our house, between the tournament games here in Denver and the televised games we have been enjoying BYU basketball.

A basketball game wouldn't be a basketball game without professionally crafted signage portraying the image of the one who reigns in Provo at a place they call the Marriott Center:

It is quite possible that the time and thought put into this poster (although simple in appearance) was well over 8 hours, a full work day. Just to make me happy Brandon continues to hold it up as we are watching the televised games from our couch.

We had a great time at the BYU v. Wofford game (thanks to Jason, Michelle and little Jack for sharing your tickets)

Jack was mesmerized by Brandon's pepto-bismal colored shirt, Brandon insists on wearing shirts that allow family members to easily spot him in a crowd.

As mesmerized as Jack was with the pink shirt I don't think any fan was as infatuated as Christina was with "the Jimmer". I think we went through about 15 photos just to get a picture of "the Jimmer" facing us or the back of "the Jimmer's" head. Seeing as the camera was at capacity I am sorry for those of you who did not get to see those 15 wedding pictures, they have now been replaced with what appears to be some part of Jimmer's head/back/shoulder.

Aloha

Sometimes in our daydreaming we imagine what it would be like to pull a tiny morsel of heaven down to earth and enjoy it for a little while.... This is the best that I could imagine (please do not try to zoom in on the picture as the abs only get more defined and larger):

...but in all honesty, we spent a wonderful 7 days in beautiful Hawaii this June and enjoyed every minute of it. The lush gardens and greenery of the state didn't cease to amaze us and we are soon hoping for a tropical climate in Colorado to come our way...

Usually Ron doesn't like to travel further than Tooele, Utah on vacation, but he was willing to make an exception this time, which turned out to be to our advantage as most thought he was a local Hawaiian due to his extremely fine tanned skin.

Each of the pristine beaches were our favorite part of the trip, and at least once a day we found ourselves soaking up the sun and waves of the North Shore

Every day we found ourselves venturing further out of our comfort zone and into the small surrounding cities to taste the local cuisine; Pizza Bob's, Matsumoto's shaved ice, The Tree House, and of course all of the little "restaurants on wheels", the best being this little Brazilian bus that sold Brandon's favorite brazilian treat! (Unfortunately one night led us to McDonald's as it was the only place open late)

We took multiple trips to the Aloha Stadium as the flea market bargains were too good to pass up! Brandon was a super good bargaineer as his experience in Brazil enhanced his skills and fine tuned his keen sense of pricing. (Case in point, the coconut below was purchased for $10, a steal of a deal ;)

We were awed by the reverence of Pearl Harbor, and grateful for those men and women who served and serve to protect our freedoms.

Hopefully we can make this trip a yearly endeavor as the first time went so well!!!

P.S. A special Mahalo to Ron and Patty for keeping us laughing each day and making the trip a little more memorable!

Mr. Michael Bublé

We have been in love (I use that term pretty loosely for Brandon, a little more strictly for my part) with Michael Bublé since 2004, we once drove 5 hours just to see him perform in the quad cities in 2006. So needless to say when Christmas rolled around this year Brandon knew exactly what to get for Christmas in 2009, "call me irresponsible", but I can't get enough of him!



I can't tell you how much we enjoyed every minute of the concert "feeling good" from start to finish, from the vocal performance, to the outstanding band, to the ambiance of the evening, and finding out later that Michael is indeed a conservative! Brandon is sooooooo lucky that Michael "hadn't met me yet" before he proposed in May of 2006....


At one point he came out and performed in the crowd right near where we were seated, my heart melted like the fourth of July, we couldn't help but "smile" as he wooed us with his words



Brandon was texting his brother throughout the evening asking him if "he could sing as beautifully as the man", "of course" would come the reply. Although I will say Michael might have a slight advantage on the Standifird men, when it comes to whistling, you just don't mess with the Standifird duet of Brandon and Jason. Often times Brandon tells me he would like to perform whistling duets with his brother at various firesides and meetings throughout the country.

The stage lighting and show were spectacular the entire night

How fitting that the tour was called the "crazy love tour" because we are both so crazy in love (again Brandon prefers to use the term love in reference to "love of all men") and can't wait for "everything" he might bring us on his next tour.

Thanks for the memories and we will do "whatever it takes" to see him next year!

P.S. Brandon still has "all of me" despite all the things I said about Mr. Michael Bublé...

Happy Easter

Please enjoy the central meaning of this day from our good friends "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
He Lives

Work, fun, & relaxation

Well Brandon has been relatively busy with work these days, I say relatively because he has been home pretty often during busy season... I'm not sure if it is a blessing or a curse! I will say one thing, the man loves his hammer, and at times I have to remind him that it is ten o'clock at night and the sound of the miter saw coupled with the sound of loud hammering isn't condusive to a harmonious neighborhood. Needless to say he has made some great progress:

His latest accomplishment is wiring the bedroom for electricity, thankfully he understands that live wires carry a current and can cause electrocution and sometimes death. We are both very excited to have a bedroom to sleep in during those hot summer nights when we can't turn on the air conditioner, because we don't have one....

We have done a lot in the past few months, traveled to Utah then back to Colorado, then to California where we once again spent the new year with Mickey Mouse and company,

We did experience a lot of new places, the Griffith Observatory -

The Hoover Dam -

And the always famous -

After all these years of searching and pondering Brandon finally came to realize who his Disney character truly is...

This is the moment he found out that he had more in common with a tiny cricket than we could have ever imagined or hoped for.

But while we are on the topic of pests, here is Christina in true character...

We love spending our time together and when all is said and done we are still King & Queen of the castle!

"Real Men"

Well Brandon took up a personal project.... it was the basement. I think this is an important step for him, its time for him to be a real man. Real men use saws, they use hammers, they have steel-toed boots, they bleed and don't care. So, needless to say Brandon has accomplished all of the above in just a few short weeks, and the proof is in the pudding: