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:

Vacation

Have you ever been to Altamont Utah? Chances are no..... What about Neola? Again, chances are better that you've been to Spain and gotten tagged by a charging bull... We however, spent a better part of 7 days in "God's Country". Below is the photographic evidence of the event.

The wonderful city of Neola slogan "Move no more" we celebrated our independence in this great city, and despite the fact that the parade was 20 minutes long and covered two city blocks, it was fantastic; small goats, veterans of war, rodeo queens, otter pops that opened from the bottom as you were eating them from the top, fire engines, a fly over by 8-10 jets (and by jets I do mean crop dusters from the local area), and many other sights and sounds.

Here is a picture of Brandon pretty much just commanding this powerful twin engine vessel. Look at the way it effortlessly glides across the water. The look of worry on his face probably comes from the realization that if, heaven forbid, a squall came up quickly, five passengers is a heavy burden to swim to shore. Although, the transformer swim trunks would no doubt provide him with the ultimate strength of the one whom the trunks bear - Optimus Prime.

Speaking of Squalls... Here is a real doosy that could have caused some serious damage to a small vessel...

We spent the entire vacation enjoying those "finer" things in life...

Time with family.

Horseshoes. (Brandon's first toss went backwards nearly injuring a small child to which he was quoted as saying "whoa")

Playgrounds.

Fishing.

and each other.

Here is what has been going on...

We took a weekend getaway over to Glenwood Springs, a much needed break from the scuffles of the real world.  The natural hot springs were therapy to the body and soul as we soaked in the mineral rich water of the earth.  Christina enjoyed a relaxing day at the spa while Brandon washed the car and took one last dip in the healing pool, (I'm not sure he can be healed from his everyday craziness). 

We arrived home only to realize that we were in need of a Christmas tree, Brandon wanted a charlie brown tree, while Christina was a fan of the more traditional tree... Below is the picture of the traditional tree.  It took awhile to get it into the house, at 8 1/2 feet tall and 4 feet wide it was no easy task, luckily Brandon has been working out (in his dreams) and hoisted it like it was a candy cane

Christmas Vacation took us to Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California, and we are both too exhausted to describe the Christmas Vacation so just enjoy the photos...

PUMPKIN FUN!!!

 

We thought that carving pumpkins for family home home evening would be an excellent idea, we had decided that we would have some adventure this year and head over to the "Rock  Creek Farm" patch to pick out the perfect pumpkins.  It was muddy, cold, and the the rain was falling, which equated to the perfect fall day...  After what seemed like an hour long process we found two perfect pumpkins one large and round the other tall and skinny.  We loaded them into the trunk of the car and headed to the booth to pay; $7 dollars for one or $12 for two, we couldn't have found a better deal.  After a little hot cocoa at Starbucks (just hot cocoa), and about twenty minutes of Christina scraping mud off of her shoes in the parking lot we returned home.  

Here is what the "perfect" pumpkins look like...  (if you look close I am still in work slacks).

It is a long and delicate process, that of carving pumpkins, it requires 1) patience 2) a steady hand, 3) the perfect canvas and 4) the ability to concentrate...  

Brandon really excited....

And finally the finished product....

Brandon's pumpkin was supposed to be a witch and it really looked good for one night, however, the elements have taken hold of the poor little pumpkin and slowly but surely it is shriveling into a mess of ruts and gashes. (If you look closely you can make out white teeth in the background).