Spring Break '08!

It's not as glamorous as as Cancun or Fort Lauderdale, but Salt Lake City has it's own special charm...okay, being honest, the real charm of SLC comes from our family that lives there. Lindsay's sister Chelsea got married this last week, and we got to spend some time with Lindsay's family, and even got to visit Brian's grandparents. We're looking forward to spending the summer there (Brian has a job with a law firm in Salt Lake where he'll be working for a few months from May til August)

Hailey's Uncle Ryan is going to school to become a pilot...


Chelsea's new husband had a birthday while we were there, Lindsay made the "cake"



Family Photo in front of the Salt Lake Temple


"I'm pooped mom, can we go back to North Carolina now?"

Photoshop Fun

Lindsay has been trying to teach me how to use photoshop for the last few months, and I'm having a lot of fun figuring it out. Here are a few photos I've done. Let me know what you think (any tips? that means you: Nina, Aaron, and Nancy...or anyone else that knows photography for that matter)

Duke Basketball

We went to our last Duke game for the season this last week. On Wednesday night Lindsay and I went to see the Blue Devils beat Georgia Tech. I was glad I got 2 tickets to a few games so Lindsay could come with me. The only downside to the whole experience is that grad student section is standing room only...and it's hard to find a spot where Lindsay can see the court over the big fat heads of the people in front of us! All in all it has been a great season and we can't wait to keep watching the rest of the season.

This is our spot...right behinid the bench!



Right before one of our players shoots a free throw the stadium goes
silent and everyone puts their hands up in the air.


This is a particularly crazy tradition...we're standing next to tent #1 a coveted position by all Duke undergraduates. The undergrads started camping out for next week's Duke UNC game back in the first week of January. That's right, sleeping in a tent for 2 months to get in line for a basketball game! Now THAT'S dedication!

A Visit from Jessica

Lindsay's friend Jessica came to visit us this last week, so we decided to go for a weekend trip to South Carolina.
We spent Friday evening and all day Saturday in Charleston.

Friday night at some restaurant in Charleston



I don't think it's possible to take a bad picture of this girl


Walking the streets really pooped Hailey out


We took a boat ride out to Fort Sumter



And saw some Civil War cannons





When we got back to Durham, Lindsay, Hailey, and Jessica made a stop at the
Waffle House (a true staple of life in the South)


And they tried to sneak a peak into a Duke basketball closed practice

Bobbing for Bananas

I want to start this post by saying that Brian always remembers to put the seat down...or so he claims. At any rate he's pretty good at it, but as we learned tonight, pretty good ain't gonna cut it anymore. Hailey seems to arrive at a new phase of her development almost weekly, and today, she has officially arrived at the "I wonder if that floats in toilet water..." phase.

Now that she can entertain herself, we allow Hailey to roam free around the ground floor of the townhouse; at some point today when we weren't looking she managed to do a little empirical research...As I walked into the bathroom earlier, I casually looked down at the toilet only to find a banana rattle toy staring up at me as if to say "just be grateful she isn't tall enough to go bobbing for bananas."

Look Ma No Hands!

Hailey took a major step in her quest to officially join the world of the bi-peds. On the eve of her 8-month birthday she stood up by herself and held her balance for a whole 5 seconds. It took her 6 tries to replicate her feat for the camera, but it was well worth the wait!

Let it snow, etc., etc.

We thought it would never happen...but last Saturday we got snow in Durham! When we left North Carolina for winter break back in mid-December and the temperature was still a balmy 82 degrees, we figured we'd never see a real winter as long as we lived here.


Just a few days before we got the snow, there were weather warnings on all of the TV stations cautioning us to beware of the incoming "wintry mix" (which really just means cold, snowish looking rain); Brian received an email from the school warning that the entire Duke campus may have to shut down if the dreaded "wintry mix" came during the week...sadly the snow didn't come until Saturday, and it melted by Sunday. Even so, on Saturday, half of the city shut down due to the "inclimate weather". Call me crazy, but I don't see anything sticking to the asphalt do you? Still, we got a taste of winter and we are pretty darn glad that it only stayed for one day.

Getting into trouble...

Hailey really started crawling a few weeks ago. This morning while Lindsay and I were getting ready, we left Hailey in her room on the floor after her bath. A few minutes later we found her testing her extra sensory perception trying to make it to mom and dad's room after blindfolding herself with her hooded towel. Instead of making it down the hall, however, she was making her way toward a long and perilous fall down the stairs.


So, we decided it was time to cage up our little animal to make sure she's safe until she's fully domesticated.

...and on to Utah

We visited Lindsay's family for the last 2 weeks; while we were here, Hailey got more attention than she knew what to do with, Lindsay got to hang out with her family, and Brian interviewed for a bunch of summer internships...it was a busy and fun visit.

We finally got the whole Bench clan together for a photo


Hailey got to play with her Grandpa Bench


And she got the royal treatment (don't you wish you could get away with eating popsicles in the bath tub?)

Christmas in Colorado

Merry Christmas! Hailey got spoiled, and we spent lots of time with family, all in all it was a great trip.


Hailey and Grandpa Mills


The wrapping paper was a lot more interesting than the presents


She had no trouble finding the candy


The kiddos got us up early...can you tell?

Week 1 in Colorado

We left North Carolina as soon as Brian turned in his last exam...and flew across the country to visit Brian's family

Dinner with Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Jeff
and the McFaddens (Brian's oldest sister's family)


It's kinda cold in Colorado


Playing with Uncle Jeff


...and cousins Emily and Kevin

Elfamorphosis

Check this out, it's the cutest thing ever! It takes a minute to load but it's worth it. Merry Christmas!!!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1209655982

Hippopotamuses or Donkeys?

The Christmas radio station in North Carolina has been playing nothing but Christmas tunes since sometime in early November...needless to say they've had to be creative in order to not play the same songs over and over. We've heard 2 songs this year that we'd never heard before, but no Christmas will be whole without them ever again. "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" was written in 1953, apparently for some Zoo in Oklahoma hoping to get a Hippo for Christmas that year...then there's "Dominic the Donkey", I have no real explanation for this one, but I'm pretty sure every holiday should have at least one song about a donkey!

I was able to find a couple of music videos of sorts on YouTube so you can hear these 2 Christmas Classics and add them to your own holiday traditions!

"I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas"


"Dominic the Donkey"

Belated Birthday...the big 26!

Brian turned 26 a couple days ago (okay more like 2 weeks ago, but at least I took pictures.) Unfortunately he spent most of his day studying, but he did get to study at home and in his underwear!
While he was busy studying Hailey and I got dressed up and ordered his favorite meal for lunch!


When I asked Brian what he wanted for his birthday all he said was a night out without the baby so we decided to kill 2 birds with one stone and went to the temple. It was our first time going since we moved out here which is kind of sad since the Raleigh temple is only 25 minutes away from our house. It was really nice to finally make it there but we couldn't believe how small the temple is.

When we got home we had some football-shaped ice cream (we thought it was an ice cream cake and really it was just ice cream shaped like a football.) Since the cake was frozen solid the candles wouldn't go in so we had to pass on the traditional blowing out of the candles...but hopefully his wish came true anyways!!!

To Grandma and Grandpa's House We Go

Hailey and Lindsay made a trip in early November to Utah, they had a blast! Lindsay and Hailey were both sufficiently spoiled and disappointed to have to leave so soon. We finally got all of the pictures downloaded this week, so here's a summary of the trip...



Took a nap with Grandpa



Played with Aunt Chelsea...



and Aunt Julie



I learned how to sit all by myself



I got spoiled by grandma



Bye Bye Utah!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Things Brian is especially thankful for this year:

My little turkey


Family




Deep Fried Candy Bars


Duke Basketball


Friends

(All of the LDS Duke Law students at a cookout back in September)

and most of all...my sweetheart

Blue Devil Basketball

Lindsay and I went to our first Duke basketball game a couple of weeks ago. It was the Blue and White scrimmage (a preseason game against themselves). It was super fun! The grad student section is either right behind the basket or behind the Duke bench. From our little spot we can hear Coach K shouting at the team. It just doesn't get any better! I've been to a regular season game since then and I can't believe how crazy the fans are in the student section. These photos are from the preseason game so the stands aren't completely full, but there isn't a single empty seat at any of the regular season games.