Christmas in Lund

Snow!!
Our beautiful little estate

Gabe, the Leggo Master.

I'm so excited about my new camera!! It means that I can start adding things to the family blog!

We got so much snow!

Dad enjoyed James' new MP3 player.
6:00 am. I think that's a record for Christmas morning. The ususual time

is around 4:30.

Thanksgiving and Gabe's Birthday

What a fun weekend with the Harris/Shaha/Harpham crew! We enjoyed having everyone share our home. We played, ate, cheered, ate, booed, ate, laughed, ate, swam, ate, shot, ate, played, ate and ate some more. One of the best moments was playing Balderdash and having Gabe tell us that nobody got the right definition. (Of course, he never read us the correct definition) Remember Quagga? It's too quiet here. When is the next party?!?

Harris Family Music

These are the quintessential Harris family tunes. Just hit the play button in the middle and there should be about 5 tracks. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Head

See the resemblance?

Parents Weekend!

Bill and I were able to relive our past by attending Parents Weekend at BYU. What an awesome weekend it was! Wendy, David, Brita, Bill, and I took BYU by storm completely dominating the plinko game and raking in all sorts of wonderful prizes (okay, a couple of plastic cups and a BYU pom pom, but who's counting anyway) I did get a free t-shirt thrown at me after jumping up and down like a wild maniac. It's all about the freebees, right?

We started off the weekend by visiting Brita's rad dorm room and meeting her roommate and Lord of the Rings fan, Emily. Brita gave us a tour of the art museum and Dave gave us a tour of his work and research. Dinner at Thai Rubies was excellent. And, our last minute decision to go bowling was right on. Not only was it free (seems to be a theme of mine), but it was fun even though I came in dead last.

The next morning, we were up and at it at 0 dark thirty to run in the Parents Weekend 5k. Okay, light refreshments weren't the only motivator. Dave, Bill, and Wendy were at the head of the pack while Brita and I were having an enjoyable run together (right Brita?) I know she's been training hard ever since. Wendy won her age group, of course. Bill and Wendy won the Father Daughter catagory but nobody but they knew it. You'll have to ask them about it.

Attending the Hinkley Center tailgate party turned out to be a good choice also. Not only were light refreshments served, but there were games, a totally awesome BYU mens singing group (Vocal Point), and the BYU cheerleaders and .... COSMO!

Of course, the football team did not disappoint, beating UNLV 42-35. We were wondering for awhile. The weather couldn't have been nicer and the crowd was friendly. We happened to be sitting directly behind the Carter-Griffin clan.

Bill and I attended Brita's freshman ward on Sunday and then it was off for home and back to real life again. The fairy tale weekend was super super great and hopefully we can do that again next year. That is if light refreshments are served again. :)

BYU vs. New Mexico

This was the first football game we went to this season where it actually felt like football. It was COLD! Thank goodness BYU won, even if it was sloppy.

Next home game: BYU vs UNLV on October 25


Final Score

Oh we were happy to be there, these are just our "its-not-summer-anymore" faces. Brita's is the bomb :)

Top of Utah

Brita, Dave and I and some friends hiked the 11,749 ft. Mount Timpanogos this last weekend. It was incredible. We started our hike while it was still dark so we were able to see the sun rise. The weather was perfect and the view from the top was totally worth it.



Dave is convinced that most of the water you lose while hiking comes out of the top of your head, so he wore his hoody all the way down the mountain. Yes, just the hood of the hoodie. and of course his rad glasses.


Dad- the taking of this fossil picture was a complete "What would Dad Do? (WWDD?)" experience. We even used Dave's watch for scale. Thanks for teaching us to be fascinated by rocks. :)

The other side of a wedding.

Now that the dust has settled, it is time for reflection. The highlight, of course, was the temple sealing. Surrounded by those who were there to show their love and support to Wendy and Dave was an amazing experience. Sacrifices were made by many in attendance to be there and share in what turned out to be one of the most memorable sealings I have attended. The temple sealer made us all feel at ease with his sense of humor and very eloquent advice. I remember he spoke of forgetting oneself and serving our partner no matter what challenges we may face or how we may look several years down the road, advice not only directed to Wendy and Dave, but to all of us in the room.

Taking Wendy through the temple was another highlight. As the first of my family in the celestial room, I waited with anticipation for their arrival. I just kept thinking, "This must be the closest I will feel to heaven when we can all meet together again." As Wendy joined us, my heart was full. What a great place to meet Dave's family!

The North Hampton house reception was truly beautiful. It was great to meet more of Dave's extended family, co-workers and friends of Dave and Wendy, and many of our Utah family and friends.

After all was safely set up and on it's way, I was finally able to take a breath at the Lund reception and enjoy greeting good friends. Friends who had been a part of our lives since we first moved to this little community when Wendy was just 2 years old.

Okay, now for some other reflections and hopefully learning experiences. . . Prepare for some ramblings and maybe a little irreverence.

. Make sure that you leave plenty of time to arrive at the temple. Think of anything that could possibly go wrong and multiply it 10x.

. Do not make a hair appointment an hour before you are to be at the temple. As Wendy was patiently getting her hair done and we were all feeling the pressure, I felt like the kid in the movie, Christmas Story, who after witnessing the famous tongue sticking to the pole and hearing the school bell ring. Felt compelled to leave his helpless friend, exclaiming, "But, the bell rang!"

. Ask for more help with setting up. At one point, I was just about ready to give up when some angels appeared (Sherry, the Bennetts) and gave me a huge boost. Don't anticipate that everyone will be available when you need them. Ask for more help period!

. Computers are not our friends. They have their own agenda.

. Food, food, and more food!

. More music and dancing. Party on!

. Slow down, take a deep breath, and enjoy every single moment.

Shower!

Dave's sister Katie and sister-in-law Bethany threw a bridal shower for me on Tuesday. It was fun to get our two families together. I realy wish the moms and grandmas could have been there though! Deb, Cara, and Sandy came and a couple of my roommates and Angela. We played "pin the scalpal on Dr. Dave" and this game where we tried to pop balloons that were taped to our behinds with toothpicks. I got SO much stuff. I've never felt so spoiled! Brita and I had to be creative finding space for it all in our little room!

The Suzuki violin camp brought the yearly learning and culture to the Harris'. Lisa and the boys prepare all year for this one intensive week of classes.

Bill spent a great day with brother Ron and 20 teachers on a geologic tour of White Pine County. A trip into the depths of the mine, and to the summit of 13,064 foot Wheeler Peak. An awesome day.

A trip to the Oregon Coast with Brita allowed us to experience all the wonderful things that present themselves there: wind, waves, invertabrate creatures, the drizzle, the just the mystique of the ocean that we love so much.

A few pics from early summer activities.

Camping Ya'll!

These pictures are of our camping trips to Goblin Valley and Bryce Canyon in June. The other people are Dave's roommates and friends from the ward. We had a blast and took a lot of sweet pictures. Mom....... now its your turn!
love,
wendy

Laughter is the BEST medicine

You all have to watch this video. Get ready to laugh. It will make you instantly happy! :) Enjoy! (click on link)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P6UU6m3cqk

Blogaliscious

Oh boy have I got some juicy news for you guys! It's certainly "blogaliscious." Mom- thanks for putting a post up. I loved the slide show of Brita (i swear she was the cutest little girl ever) and now I don't feel so lame being the only one to post on this blog. Grandma and Grandpa Guipre- Its really easy to put up a post, let me know if you need help, we all want to hear how ya'll are doing too! Anyway, as you all well know by now thanks to mom,....... I am engaged!! Yes, I Wendy Harris (a.k.a. "smallz", "hurricane wendy", "wendalyn", "that runner girl", or whatever name you know me by) am getting married on August 22 in the Timpanogos temple. I can hardly believe it myself. I know what you are all thinking, because I am thinking the same things:
1. Since when was she old enough to get married?
2. Didn't she just barely get her braces off?
3. Whoa, when did she even start noticing that there were those crazy creatures called "boys"??
4. And when did they start noticing her?
5. Wait, she has a life outside of running? What??
6. Does she know that when she is married she will have to COOK??

Oh yes, I know that each and every one of those questions buzzed through your minds the very minute you heard the news. Don't even try to deny it. :) Nevertheless, the news is true. You have officially heard it from the horses' mouth. So I guess there isn't much of a story to it. Dave has yet to propose. Turns out his grandma had a secret stash of diamonds that not even her own kids knew about (let alone her husband!) and she "remembered" it while Dave was telling her that he still has to get me a ring. We got hooked up with thousands of dollars of diamonds and a beautful setting from Dave's great-great grandma. What a blessing that was! So we took them to a jeweler and the ring is being worked on even as we speak. So for the sake of planning and organizing for something as momentous as a wedding we decided, on a chilly sunday night in April, to get married. Dave called Dad the next night and Dad simply said "Well, Sure!" (I had my ear next to the phone so I could hear him, but I really didn't need to because he said it so loud the whole parking lot could have heard!) Just Kidding, Dad. It was awesome and made me really happy. So lately we've just been trying to do a little planning and house hunting (trying to find married housing in provo is like trying to find the purple walrus; almost impossible!! oh that was a bad analogy, i hope you don't think I meant that I was looking for housing while sitting in the bath tub ;)) Anyway, I really hope you all can make it out for the wedding and/or reception. I would love to see you all and have you share in my special day!

In other exciting news, I was a very close-up witness to something that has only happed a hand full of times in history! Maybe you've already heard about it, I'm sure it was all over the news. Well, as I was working as an official at the Utah State track and field meet, I saw a man get skewered by a javelin!! You know, those spear-looking things that are really pointy and will kill you if you are a photographer not paying attention while walking across a javelin sector in the heat of a 4A boys competion? Yeah, those things. I won't go into much detail, you can read the article. But it was intense, and I'll tell you what, that man was the luckiest man alive at the moment that javelin decided to head for his leg and just break his skin, missing all muscles, bones, tendons, and blood vessels. He could easily have died. I was standing about 15 feet away from him when it happened. I could hardly believe my eyes. Check it out:
http://www.standard.net/live/news/133306#

Alive and Kickin' !

Alive and Kickin' , one of my favorite's from Simple Minds (they're an 80's rock group for those of you who don't know) And, yes, we are still alive and kickin' here in Lund, NV., although you may have doubted from reading this blog. Wendy resurrected our sorry blog by posting a couple of very interesting articles. Thanks, Wendy! And, as for the rest of you, are you still "Alive and Kickin'" ?



Two major pieces of Harris news that are just begging to be covered are.......

Brita is graduating and moving on to BYU! and........

Wendy is graduating from single life and moving on to marriage! Just one of these events in the life of a family would be spectacular ( and slightly overwhelming). But, to have two in one summer. As Barney, the purple dinosaur, would say, "That's super-dee-duper!" Can't you just hear Dad now?



News item #1: Brita is set to graduate from Lund High school Tuesday, June 3, 2008. We're all very proud of her accomplishments. She has worked very hard and has earned the title of Valedictorian. She's been the senior class president and has worked tirelessly to inspire her fellow seniors to accomplish their goal of raising money for the senior trip. Their hard work will pay off May 21 when they fly off to California for a little r and r and whatever seniors like to do. It's all good. June 23, it's off to BYU and life after high school. Yeah, Brita!

Turn up the speakers, there's great music to go along with the video. Sorry the pictures are so small.

News item #2: Our little Wendy is getting married! Okay, we knew this would happen eventually, but now? We are very happy for Wendy and Dave. So far, Friday, August 22 is the date. This is where Wendy gets to fill in the details. So, Wendy, tell us all about you and Dave. We want to know all the gooey details. You better include a picture or I will and you may not like it.

Missouri, Here I Come!

So after this weekend, I will have added another state to my list. I am finally healthy, maybe not totally ready, but healthy, so coach is sending me to Missouri to compete in my first collegiate outdoor track meet. I'll be running the 5k, which is also something new to me. So many firsts! I'm excited and I thought ya'll would like to know. Hope you are well!

The Blog Lives On!

I come to this blog every once in a while when I find a spare moment, transparantly hoping to hear the latest from the H-troop in L-town, and every time I find it still says: Harris Family Blog, Last Post, October 7, 2007. And this makes me sad. This blog was such a great idea (thanks Mom)! What a better way for us to keep in touch, send pictures, tell funny stories, relate sad news, be goofballs, and for Wendy to practice up in her journalism skills. So for the sake of the blog, I say KEEP WRITING! And for the sake of me wanting to postpone my homework even more than I already have (hence frequent visits to the blog:), I will share with you some of the highlights of my life as I can remember since October 7, 2007:
1. Fall semester went by in a flash. I ran, I studied and I dated more in two weekends than I had in my whole 20 years of existence. It was great.
2. In January it was discovered that I had been running on a stress fracture for over 2 weeks and so I was sentenced to the eliptical, the bike, and the pool for a couple of months. I am almost fully recovered now and ready to run my first college track race next weekend in Missouri!
3. I applied for and got accepted into the Communications major at BYU and will officially begin my trek towards journalism this summer.
4. I recently found a love of playing the bass drum and traded in my violin for a shot at the drum during my orchestra concert! Don't worry, I got my violin back (the drum wouldn't fit through my apartment door).
5. I met this boy named Dave who is a complete heart throb. He lives downstairs (and so do I most the time!) and he makes me ridiculously happy.
6. Me and my roommates decided to take a trip to Wendover for fun (or maybe it was just incompetence in taking directions, I'm not quite sure), and so we went to McDonalds and got ice cream cones, since Wendover is one of the only places where you get that opportunity.
7. I walked into my bedroom on April Fools to find my bed had disappeared (mattresses, frame, pillows and all!). But don't worry, I found it!
8. In February I received news from the troops that a little southern bell named Brita would be taking BYU by storm this summer and gracing Apartment #13 with her grace, wisdom, and coolness. You can only imagine how I felt! Honored. Humbled. Awe-struck. Enthralled. And gosh darn EXCITED!
9. I, so far, have passed all my stats test. Definately a highlight. Turns out I do have a few microscopic math fibers somewhere in my body.
10. This semester I was called as a Relief Society Teacher. Boy, has that been both a challenge and a blessing in my life. Talk about facing your fears!
11. I've tried so many new things this year, thanks to my Rec. Youth Management Class, taught by my Uncle (Brad). Rock climbing, canoeing, cross country skiing, scuba diving, and snow shoeing have all been added to my "been there, done that, and loved it" list.

Well, I suppose thats it for now. Sorry to bore you, but I want you all to do the same! Write to me and tell me what's crackin in your lives! That means you too Grandma Harris, Gram and Gramp Guipre, Lesly, Jack, Jill, Brad, and everyone else! Keep the blog alive! I love you all! Many, many hugs and kisses,
wendy