Philly Me Full of Turkey

You should never spend turkey day alone. That's a fact.

Spending it with friends is good, but the best option is to chomp on vittles and share the gratitude with family. So I drove up to Philly to enjoy both in the company of my brother and sister-in-law.

They definitely came through on the food. Yum, yum, yum.

After you've over-stuffed your belly, you just wanna snuggle up with loved ones.

Our gracious hosts. So good meeting you guys!

The next morning, Pete and I met up with my friend Ashley for brunch.

Yes, she's just as cute as this picture would lead you to believe.
It's a family tradition to go bowling.

Umm, I just realized that I wore this same shirt to this event last year.

How embarrassing.
It's important to have a good victory celebration for strikes and spares.I won't say who had the 166's, but they're very good looking.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday, and I'm grateful I was able to spend it with my sibling and his fantastic wife. They are so much fun. Gotta get back to Philly soon!

Bridals and Bowling

One of my college buddies, Aaron, married the beautiful and talented Camille, I was invited to attend the reception. Jack Frost and Mr. Winter joined forces to provide a whole lotta the white stuff, so it was an adventure just driving to the reception, but I think everyone that was able to make it had a great time and was happy to celebrate the occasion with them.We figured it out beforehand, but as luck would have it, Camille and Brea are in the same cohort in BYU's Masters of Public Health program, so Brea (and Alisha who is also in the picture above) were there. That's a very nice coincidence, isn't it? :)Celebrating Aaron's marriage with Camille was cool, because I met him pretty soon after I got back from my mission (yipes, let's not mention exactly how long ago that was) and we've been friends ever since. He's always been very friendly and welcoming to people, and seeing him find a gal like Camille is always a boost to me. Nice guys don't always have to finish last.I don't know how, but I always seem to run into the Jolleys at random places every couple years or so. Granted, it isn't a stretch that they'd be at Aaron and Camille's reception, since Aaron grew up in their ward. But still, I didn't expect it. Just like I didn't expect to see them a couple years ago while hiking. Great people, those Jolleys.Once we'd had enough of the wedding reception gourmet hot chocolate and cookies, we decided to put some of that sugar-fueled energy to good use at Fat Cats. There was a little bit of a wait due to a bowling league, so we played some table hockey and carnival games. Check out our sweet prizes!
Apparently, Brea is my good luck charm. Not sure what it was. Perhaps our singing "Empire State of Mind" or mini-dance parties or just joking and laughing together, but I was bowling like I never have before. By far, the 214 in my first game was the highest I've ever had (previous personal record was 185). Of course, my next games were not quite so fantastic. Brea, however, improved every game. She's got mad skills and made the whole evening very fun, and I can't wait to go out again.

D&T-FannieMae Holiday Bowling Party

Due to the economic struggles in the financial industries, Deloitte didn't have an official holiday party in 2008, so the first and last one I went to was in 2007. Talk about a big "bah humbug" from Daddy D.

Well, for the last couple months, I've been working on the Fannie Mae audit. To be more specific, I've been on the consolidations team there. Further specifics will only bore you to tears, and I'm not going to bore you here. Let's just say that I wasn't excited to go to Fannie Mae (reports from friends included that notoriously long hours were the norm). However, my hours weren't as bad as I expected and my team was actually very cool.To my great surprise, they informed us that, although the whole McLean office again wouldn't get a holiday party, the partners on the Fannie Mae audit were going to throw one for all of us. Now THOSE are the kind of partners that a team will work hard for. When there's a reward and some appreciation shown, that goes a long way!Lucky Strike Bowling was the chosen venue, and we all got to leave work early to make it there on time and get some warm-up bowling in before all the teams played. Of course, there was an open bar and lots of appetizers, so people were socializing and having a good time in between bowls and waiting for their teams' turn to bowl.I hadn't realized before this holiday party just how many people were on the Fannie Mae engagement, and how many I actually had worked with on prior teams. Also, a good number of friends that were in my same start class were at the party, so it was good to catch up with all of them.Thanks and happy holidays, Deloitte!

Gingerbread Bowl

My friend Claire came over and brought us a fun project to work on: gingerbread houses! She made one for her parents' house and I made one for my apartment. It's a very satisfying thing to take a bunch of seemingly random parts from this

to a standing edifice like thisto a highly-polished and potentially award-winning finished product like this

And how did we accomplish our building feat? By reading the instructions, of course!

Of course, prior to decorating and reaching that third stage, we had to give the walls and roof some time to set. Since we didn't feel like just kickin' around the apartment, we decided to go bowling. Needless to say, being the expert bowlers that we are, there was a lot of this

and this

hahaha Yeah right. But at least we had fun and got out of the apartment for a bit :P

Thanksgiving in Utah

The holidays are about family, and that's why I love flying home to Utah for Thanksgiving. Spending time with the family is always a blast, and I can't imagine a better way to spend the week. Pie Night
As family traditions go, this is right up near the favorites. We've been hosting them for upwards of 15 years now, and Pie Night is sweeping across the nation, slowly but surely. We had a pretty good turnout this year, and plenty of pie to go around and fill our bellies. I think I had around 6 small slices. Personal favorite: banana cream. Football
One of Adam's buddies organized some turkey day football, so Adam, Pete, and I went to play. Early on, Pete and I were putting on a show with interceptions and catching long passes. The opposing team started focusing on us, so we couldn't get as many big plays, but that opened things up for some of our teammates. We were playing tackle, and I started to get reminders that my body in high school may have been a football body, but now I've got a runner/cyclist body. Hits started to take a toll, and I was hurting by the second game, but it was still fun. Adam started to tear it up in the second game, and he was finding the holes in the defense for some big gains and touchdown catches. By the end, I think we were all pretty tired and somewhat beat up, but it was a great way to start the day.Thanksgiving
Some of the Cravens came over and we all enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving feast of Smythical proportions. Wow, I really like that word. Smythical. You may see it more in the future on my blog, though I'll try not to abuse it. Anyway, back to the task at hand. Between the Smyths and Cravens, I don't hesitate that my family can make some mighty fine vittles. My mom made the bird. Aunt Elaine made the mashed potatoes. My cousin Emily made creamy veggies. And I don't know exactly who made all the rest, but my tummy thanks all who were involved.Fantastic Mr. Fox
In the afternoon, some of us decided to go see a movie. This is a pretty standard event for us on Thanksgiving, and we try to pick a good one. Megan, Dave, and I joined the Cravens in seeing the modern adaptation of one of our beloved childhood books, "Fantastic Mr. Fox" by Roald Dahl. It's one of those that mom read to us in bed, so being reminded of the story gave me warm fuzzies (which is curious, since it's really not a very happy-go-lucky storyline). We all agreed that the stop-motion work was fantastic and showed real craftsmanship. As is typical of Wes Anderson movies, there was a great focus on the relationships between oddball characters, and the soundtrack was excellent, too. I loved it.Family Pictures
With the twin girls growing more every day, and Peter and I living on the East coast but home for the weekend, Grammy (my mom) scheduled a timeslot at JayLynn Studios to have some family pictures taken. First we have pics taken of all of us together, then some of Adam & Lindsey's family, then Peter & Jordyn, and finally some of my Mom & Dad. I'm just gonna go ahead and say what everyone's thinking: I have got an incredibly attractive family :) Family Fun Time
When it's cold outside and we can't really play trampoline games or run around playing sports, we turn to fun indoor activities. This time, we played Guitar Hero Metallica, went to Fat Catz for bowling, played Cranium, and watched the movie "Up!" Of course, during all of these we were talking and laughing and having a good time. Which really highlights what I'm most grateful for during the holidays, my family and getting to spend time with them. I love each of my family members and can't wait to see them again at Christmas!

Let's Go Bowling!

I'm an average bowler. Generally in the 130's or so. After getting some dinner in DC, Barbara and I met up with my friend Stanley and some other friends. We all watched some YouTube videos of Flight of the Conchords (one of my new loves) and then headed to the bowling alley.Bowling is great because it's not only about the score, but you have 10 frames in which to celebrate great shots, commiserate less-than-great shots, and generally have a good time. Each game had a PR (personal record) for someone. In the first, Barbara smashed her previous best with a score of 184. In the second, Stanley blew it up with a dominating 194.