McCord and Lisa

Baby bump pictures

2012-01-18T19:58:00.011-07:00

24 wks little photo shoot:

(6 months pregnant.) Yes, it's true. This is me now.
Measurements for future personal reference at 24 wks: 127 lbs. 33' waist.

(almost 5 months pregnant) This is one of my favorites because I was so happy this week. We had just found out that we were having a girl. It was such a fun week. You can tell on my face.

(almost 4 months pregnant)

Halloween 2011 (almost 2.5 months pregnant)

After 4 positive tests, we figured it was true. Pictures of me that day. I just got back from running, so I don't look glamorous, but at least you can see a sort of body shot before I started growing. (little over 4 weeks pregnant)

Gender ultrasound results....(drum roll)

2011-11-30T12:55:00.001-07:00

We are so so excited!

Announcing Our First Baby!

2011-10-21T10:14:00.005-06:00

Ultrasound picture around 8 weeks. We are so so excited to announce our little miracle! We are very happy that the baby is healthy, happy, and very active. Baby is due on CINCO DE MAYO! We feel so blessed and are ready for the challenges that come with children.
Ultrasound picture at 12 weeks.

Since I have been sick sick sick the last 3 months. I wanted to throw out some thank you's to the people that have helped me so much in these troubled times:

Thanks to:

My mom. For the many meals that she prepared for us, and for doing half my canning this year. Thanks for listening to my daily complaining and always being there. For the many solutions to all my worries and problems.

My mother in law, Kandi. She has been so supportive. She checks in on me to make sure I'm surviving feeling sick. She always listens to the updates, even if I've told them to her before. It's also been hard for her not to spill the beans, so thanks for being so patient.

To all my sisters (especially Angie, Courtni, and Mauri) for all the tricks on how to deal with being sick, for making me laugh when I'm blue or frustrated that I can't eat. And for keeping me hopeful that days will be brighter soon.

My cousin Melissa, who has been so so helpful with every change that my body is going through and telling me the tricks of the trade on how to deal with them.

Finally to my wonderful husband! He is just amazing! He has carried me to bed from the bathroom floor countless times. Who has driven me to work everyday, so I don't have to get sick on the bus. Who has done dishes, laundry, cleaning, and cooking for the last 3 months. He has held me when my dreams wake me up crying in the middle of the night. He has gone to the store in search for that perfect food item that would hopefully stay down. Thank you so much, McCord. Words can not describe how much I've appreciated you.

The Ultimate Coach

2011-10-05T13:12:00.003-06:00

Excited to post that McCord has volunteered to help coach the Sky View Ultimate Frisbee team this year. He helped out with coaching last year for a few tournaments and LOVED it. He's a great coach and enjoys the students and the sport so much. Attached are some pictures from the end of year tournament last year. So proud of you, Mac. You are awesome! Also, to give a shout out to my little brother, Nate. He's a great player on the field.

October = Halloween = Costumes!

2011-10-01T18:16:00.009-06:00

We love dressing up! It is so much fun for us. This year we decided to dress up like Black Widow (SHIELD agent) and Nick Fury (Captain of SHIELD). Both will be featured in the upcoming Marvel Avengers movie. In this post, you'll find some comic pictures included with the various pictures that were taken to imitate the comics and movies. Hope you enjoy. Happy Halloween this month!

(Nick Fury. Played once by David Hasselhoff in Nick Fury Movie) (Black Widow. Played by Scarlett Johansen in Iron Man 2 movie)

San Diego Comic Con 2011

2011-08-09T14:02:00.003-06:00

Lisa's Promotion / McCord's New Job

2011-06-02T10:21:00.004-06:00

McCord got a new job yesterday! He'll be working part time for Batteries Plus, close to our apartment. He starts on Friday, tomorrow. They are under new management and hired McCord on the spot, straight in the interview. He will get to work with our friend Sam, too. We are so happy. It will be nice to have a little extra income so we can accomplish some of our financial goals.
YES IT'S TRUE! I got the promotion! I'll be moving to a transfer evaluator position in the Transfer Admissions office at the U of U. I'll start my new position on June 13th. Yes, I will be making more money, which is nice. I'm mostly excited to work with all the transfer students more closely.

Psych!

2011-05-26T10:13:00.002-06:00

The job that we were so excited about, we think is a hoax. Many people have been doing work and receiving checks from these people and the checks are fraudulant. So, McCord is no longer working for them, even though no contract was signed. Just iffy all around. He quit after 4 days.

Computer died. Our computer finally died, so I won't be able to post for a while. We ARE excited for the summer and hope that we do well in all the classes that we are both taking.

Until next time,
Lisa

McCord got a job!

2011-05-12T13:15:00.000-06:00

I know that I don't post much. Not terribly too much has happened. We are excited to say that MCCORD GOT A JOB! After 3 months of hard work, he finally got one. He'll be working part time for a real estate lawyer here in the valley as he goes to school part time this summer. We are just super thrilled.

Everyone meet Rory

2011-04-02T08:02:00.003-06:00

Rory is a great friend who we've known for almost 3 years. He's going into the Armed Forces in September. Rather than commute from Ogden to SLC for his job, he'll be staying with us. He'll be staying with us until September.

This will be nice for us because he is helping us out with our rent a little bit. It also helped our decision on if we should move or not at the end of May. We will renew our lease until at least September. This means we will be staying in Salt Lake until then. McCord will probably continue to travel back and forth between SLC and LA for jobs if needed, but we're going to stay put for the summer.

YAY! We are so happy to have Rory here. It's a win win situation for all involved.

List of events in the last 4 months

2011-04-01T09:48:00.002-06:00

Our lives have been so busy in the lst 4-6 months, I haven't had time to post much. So I decided to make a list of everything that's happened to us in the last 4 months:

- Participated in a Clomid study for the University of Utah Hospital
- I applied for 4 promotions at the University of Utah. Didn't get 3, but am currently waiting to hear back about the last one.
- Went to Jazz vs. Suns. (I won tickets!)
- McCord went skiing at the Canyons
- We still have Chuck night every monday night at our house. Chuck at 7pm and Castle at 9pm.
- We were invited to the season premiere of Red (with Bruce Willis)
- We saw Tangled 3 times in the theatres. Twice in 3D
- Taken around 6 trips to LA and back.
- Visited the set of Castle
- Given talks in church
- Paid for 3 soldier's groceries
- Replaced a US flag at a homeless shelter
- Education at SLCC
- Topped 155,000 on our car
- Been to Vegas twice
- Saw the Aggies beat the Boise State Broncos and get into the NCAA.
- Both of us got new phones. McCord's new phone broke last week, though.
- Have had many and many HeroClix parties at our house.
- Got two frogs (Kyle and Kate)
- I got glasses 3 days ago.
- I officially got diagnosed with asthma.

All and all, a great last couple of months. We've been very blessed. Love you all.

Hope everyone is healthy and doing well

Summer at SLCC

2011-03-28T15:32:00.002-06:00

This is not the biggest of news, but we are both going to take a class at SLCC this summer. We will both transfer up the classes we take to USU and hopefully graduate with an associates degree in August. We are both looking forward to this opportunity.

McCord the actor

2011-02-03T15:30:00.003-07:00

Yes, it's true. McCord, for fun, auditioned for some acting parts while in LA this last trip. Everyone loved him. Today he will be on a court tv show. For fun, I thought I'd post his professional "headshot" that every actor needs to have accompanying their resume:

McCord is 27

2010-11-05T19:23:00.001-06:00

Time flies when you are having fun. I'm SO lucky to have a wonderful man like McCord in my life.

Tuition paid for

2010-09-22T09:57:00.002-06:00

Thanks for all the prayers that have been said for us concerning McCord's financial aid. It's been a HUGE long process and we've been on pins and needles for 2 months. His tuition has been entirely paid for with a grants! We are so grateful and so blessed. We are indeed so happy.

End of summer and what we've done in Aug-Sept

2010-09-21T10:46:00.003-06:00

This post is long, but it will cover all the weeks that I've missed posting something.

I'm very proud. I've always wanted to get into canning fruit and vegtables, just like my mom and grandma's have. I've always known how, because I have an awesome mom who taught me and still helps me from day to day. I'm proud to announce that I now have 12 quarts of peaches, 6 pints of peach jam, 6 pints of peach-orang marmalade, and 20 pints of salsa. I'll be doing 12-20 quarts of tomato juice in the next 2 days.

I'm always amazed at how fast my summers go by. We had a great summer and McCord got a ton of great film/commercial jobs and he worked really hard. We are now focusing of school and working and saving money. Our lease for our apartment ends next May and we are considering building some equity and getting a small townhouse in Salt Lake, but we'll see.

McCord did some more shooting for Cloak and Dagger and he could end the shooting for this project as it is here. He may decide to shoot one last fight scene. That is all pending. It's great news that pretty much all the shooting is done.

Our biggest news is that we are going to LA this weekend for a "pitch summit". Movie companies from all over are coming to hear pitches of movie and television scripts and ideas. Huge companiese like Lionsgate, Summit, Warner Brothers, Disney and Marvel Studios. McCord and I have been working and working hard to get everything ready to go. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to post from LA next week. We have no camera, but we'll be staying with a friend and I might get some pictures. We ask all to say prayers for us that perhaps, if it be right, that one of the small or large companies will want to buy McCord's ideas/scripts. It would give a ton of money and we'd be able to buy a house, and get us out of debt.

McCord has been working for the Republican party going door to door passing out fliers for voting early and voting at home to registered republican voters. He's been able to bring in a little extra money and he's supporting the party. He's been pretty happy with this temporary job.

He's been working 20 hours a week + 20 credits at SLCC + getting scripts and pitch packets ready for the LA pitch summit. It's just been so much. McCord had too much on his plate and we ended up dropping his math class, so our plans have been pushed back one semester. It was just a little too much for us to handle. So, as always, nothing ever turns out as you planned. We'll still be doing school throughout the rest of this year, but it's better than wasting money in tuition on classes that are just going to be unsuccessful in.

We are doing great! Loving Salt Lake, jobs, the education, our ward, etc. We've got great friends and we love our little apartment. Wish us luck in LA!

5 years ago...our first date

2010-08-18T15:44:00.002-06:00

A blind date, 5 years ago, was when we met each other for the first time. We went seing dancing and karaoke and went out for icecrem at Charly's icecream parlor in Logan. It was a great night full of fun and getting to know each other. No kiss followed, sorry for all you who were hoping for the DSA (Door Step Action) story. We've come so far and experienced so much together. As we look back on the last 5 years, we are happy.

Fall Semester Plans

2010-07-24T16:29:00.002-06:00

I've realized that not many people in the family have been told of our fall plans. We were originally going to apply McCord into the University of Utah film program, but after doing his evaluation, he would have missed the GPA requirements by around 0.4. =( Sad, we know. On top of that, we were working so hard last winter semester to get him through the math class, and we were not told that it was Math 1050 that he needed to get his Associates with Utah State. So, yes, we have to, yet again, go through another Math class for him to finish up that degree with Utah State.

Plans never turn out the way you think they will. This is a life lesson that we've learned to accept. So, this semester (fall), we are going to continue at SLCC with some film classes and the Math 1050 class. Then we will transfer the Math 1050 class over to USU and get his diploma for the Associates. We will also work hard to raise the GPA up higher so he can either 1) get into the U, or 2) go through to a Bachelors in General Education through SLCC.

We love the little community that we live in and the ward is great. We are happy in Salt Lake and McCord has had so many great job opportunities here. We are so blessed.

McCord's Joseph Smith Movie shoot wrapped last week and was successful, from what I understand. They may do a few more days of shooting in September, but we'll see. We are now excited for the future. McCord is going to be on a movie set that has a budget of 5-10 million dollar budget and we are hoping that he gets pulled on as the Associate Producer. This would be so ideal for us. And then, in the last week of August, he'll be the first AD on a new web television series. A small project, but he's excited to do that also. We have a big month of August ahead of us, full of work. The end of July, we are just going to enjoy the sun, friends and family, and each other. It's been much needed.

New Joseph Smith Movie Shoot

2010-06-29T08:31:00.003-06:00

Well they flew McCord out to Boston last week and he'll be there being the 1st/2nd AD (Assistant Director) from Jun 23rd - July 3rd. I decided, after being home alone for a week now, that it's not good my health to be away from my honey this long. I've officially eaten two small store bought pizzas, and 2 full bags of chips. My house is also a mess because I start all sorts of projects while he's away. I'm ready for my heart to just over-activate and blow up. ha ha ha.

No, really it hasn't been all that bad. Well, the statement above are all very true, but it's been nice to have some time to myself and to get some projects completed. This new project that I'm working on making room for some food storage. We've felt really strongly about getting some and getting a supply up and going. So, I'm cleaning and rearranging our 2nd bedroom. All the boxes in the 2nd bedroom need to go into our small storage unit, so I need to arrange that also. And finally, I may have to bring in my food bookshelf into the second room, which will require me to rearrange my whole kitchen to fit all the food that's on my shelf. Oh ya, it's gonna be a huge project. So my house looks like a tornado hit it. =) Perhaps I'll post pictures later, but we'll see. Wish me luck on this grand new project. Don't know if I can finish it in time for McCord's arrival, but here's to hopin.

JULY 7, 2010

Update on Joseph Smith movie shoot. McCord is back here in Salt Lake from Boston and I'm happy to have him back. He's shooting from 4pm-4am for the next 10 days. I still won't see him much, but we are grateful that he's getting so many opportunities. I'm also glad that he's here in the state, and here in the city. They are shooting at This Is The Place Heritage Park, and apparently it's coming along quite well. I thought that I'd post the teaser trailer to the movie. Enjoy:

"This is the best father's day ever." - Craig Day

2010-06-21T12:10:00.004-06:00

My dad simply LOVED our presents that we gave him this year for father's day. I made him a little scrapbook of ALL of our past family vacations, with captions of all the people in it. Took a little bit of my time, but holy hanna was it ever with it. Also, all of us kids came up with lists of things that my dad has taught us over the years. I was able to come up with a list of 100. My siblings also made their lists, I don't know how long. Jared even emailed some things from Chile. We all took the time to make some special things that he's taught us, including famous sayings. Angie put them into a nice book also, and he was more than happy with that one. "This is the best father's day ever." he said. The best thing about it was how he laughed at some of them and truly enjoyed the sincere ones. But I applauded out loud when he climbed on the counter acting like a monkey, eating bananas, and digging in mom's hair for imaginary bugs to eat. I haven't seen that since I was about 8 years old. He also got nice shirts from the boys, pants from mom, and a tie from Angie. We love you, dad. No words can describe how much you've taught me, and what a wonderful childhood I had. We are all so lucky to have your influence in our lives.

The island of misfit electronics

2010-06-19T03:19:00.002-06:00

If anyone wants to see more pictures in the future, buy me a new camera. If you want to talk to me, buy me a new phone. =)

Yes, sadly, my phone is continually turning off. I can send the occasional text message, but it will always turn off. =(

And yes, after over 4 loyal years to us, our camera was laid to rest. So, the next couple posts may be just my wonderful spelling (not), and my spectacular creative writing. wink wink

Cloak and Dagger pictures, commercials

2010-06-19T02:23:00.006-06:00

Cloak and Dagger shoot pictures - Finally.

(Shoot: March 2010)

COMMERICALS
Can't say much about the commercials, but they are going to be awesome. Continue to watch the World Cup commercials, and when the Bing commercials come up, you can think of McCord. He was a PA on set for them.

Four score and 7 weeks ago...

2010-06-18T23:37:00.010-06:00

...(or more than 7 weeks ago)...was Easter/Conference Weekend 2010. I never posted pictures because I just got my memory card reader back from one of McCord's movie shoots. So, we're going to back track a little to 7 weeks ago...ish. I guess it's more than 7 weeks ago, now that I think about it.
My mom is awesome at sewing, crocheting, and being domestic in general. She taught me a little about crocheting. We didn't get too far, but hopefully I'll get to a point where I'm as awesomely domestic as she is. She used to make me easter dresses every year when I was a little girl. She altered and enhanced ALL of my prom dresses and my wedding dress. She's simply amazing and more.

My mom is awesome at sewing, crocheting, and being domestic in general. She taught me a little about crocheting. We didn't get too far, but hopefully I'll get to a point where I'm as awesomely domestic as she is. She used to make me easter dresses every year when I was a little girl. She altered and enhanced ALL of my prom dresses and my wedding dress. She's simply amazing and more.
Obviously Nate was paying sooooo much attention to conference in this picture. He was making tongue tatoos with the fruit roll ups. He always makes me laugh.

Obviously Nate was paying sooooo much attention to conference in this picture. He was making tongue tatoos with the fruit roll ups. He always makes me laugh.

Joe and I decided to blow eggs for easter. I totally thought that it would be easier than it really was. After blowing one, my sense of accomplishment was at it's peak and I was SO not going to do 5 or 6 more. Joe went on to do more and one exploded in his mouth and hands. I just happened to get a picture.

The Larsen home tradition is that we make danish hotcakes. McCord made the hotcakes this year for my family for the first time. Mmm, so good. This tradition will live on hopefully for a very long time.

Yep! That's my hubby being a chef. Every wife's dream: not have to make breakfast every once in a while. =) Easter was awesome. It's always so much fun. It was extra special to have it on conference weekend. One of our best.

SKY VIEW HIGH SCHOOL - Guiness Book of World Records Cereal Art
My high school alma-mater (sp?) the humanities department made the largest cereal art in the world in the big basketball gym. I was told that it attracted "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" and will be in 2010 Guiness Book of World Records for the largest cereal art in the world. I'm so proud to say that I went there. Woo Hoo! They based it off of Silent Night by Vincent Van gogh. I think they did amazing.

These are the huge boxes of cold cereal that were donated. There were over 15 of these huge boxes. Insane!

McCord and me. You can't see us very well, sorry.

Here's a video. It was so hard to get the size perportion in the picture. Notice how small the people are.

More cooking stories from Lisa:
Apparently I will find anyway possible to blow up cookware. After shattering my casserole dishes on the stove, burning something at least once in every apartment we've lived in, and melting plastic gadgets, I came home to a smoke filled apartment and my baking poor poor baking stone:

Bridgestone commercial

2010-06-03T09:26:00.004-06:00

McCord got a call this week to be an on set PA for a Bridgestone commercial that they are shooting in Park City. He'll only work for them for a day, but we're hopin that they like him and that he gets called back to help with future days. He's an awesome awesome worker though. They are lucky to have him. Great job, babe. This summer is going to go by so fast with all the film opportunities that he's been getting.

Memoria Day

2010-05-30T21:59:00.002-06:00

We are very patriotic at our house and we really have no words to describe how we love our veterans and our soldiers.
A poem for veteran's day:

It is the
VETERAN,
Not the preacher,
Who has given us freedom of religion.

It is
The VETERAN,
Not the reporter,
Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is
The VETERAN,
Not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is
The VETERAN,
Not the campus organizer,
Who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is
The VETERAN,
Not the lawyer,
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is
The VETERAN,
Not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the
VETERAN who
Salutes the Flag,

It is
The VETERAN who
Who serves under the flag.

4th year Anniversary!

2010-05-10T11:21:00.005-06:00

Has it been 4 years already?!? WOW! We've had such a great 4 years of being married. We've been so blessed and just fall in love with each other over and over again. A wise someone told me "If it goes by fast, then you know you are happy." I thought about that and since my last 4 years of marriage have gone by so fast...we are happy. How true that statement is.

Since it was sunday, to celebrate, we packed a lunch and went out for a picnic in Sugarhouse park. The weather was perfect, sunny with a slight breeze. We sat by the big pond, watched the birds and the clouds, talked and just enjoyed life. It was so nice. One of our best.

Just for fun, I thought I'd put down the top 10 things that have happened to us this last year (the good and bad):

1- McCord PASSED his math class! This was such a BIG thing for us, and it has opened up so many options for us and our family.
2- McCord got accepted to SLCC film school while we were in Germany, and he's been attending school here in SLC.
3- I got a job at the U of U, part-time and then got promoted to full-time in the Admissions office.
4- Movie opportunities that we've had this year.
My Girlfriend's Boyfriend
Immortality Bites
I Live at the House with the Blue Door
Endless song of Night
She's My Daughter (music video)
...and many more small projects McCord's done.
5- We moved to our new 2 bed apartment. We love it. It's bigger and better than we've ever had before.
5- Rushed McCord to the ER with kidney stones. =( That was an awful day!
6- Made great new friends here in Salt Lake
7- Family is growing up: Angie had her baby, Jared got called on his mission
8- WE LOVE SALT LAKE! We've been to 4 Jazz games, and 2 concerts. We love the little "ma and pa" places to eat, and love the city.
9- Enjoying watching our families grow: Angie had her baby. Jared is on his mission (6 months out now). Mauri and Courtni are both pregnant with #3. And many more things.
10- Our car is still surviving for us. YAY!

HE PASSED!

2010-05-05T10:48:00.004-06:00

MCCORD PASSED HIS MATH CLASS! The letter C has never sounded so good after 4 times of taking this class. =) Words can not describe how wonderful we both feel to get this math class over. We have completely altered our lives around this math class, so he could have the time needed to study and pass. He's studied 4 hours a day, and around 6 hours a day closer to finals. The last week for the final he was studying more than 10 hours a day. We are just so so HAPPY to have this math class over. That C is now our new best friend.

My 24th birthday

2010-04-28T12:30:00.003-06:00

Can't believe that I'm 24 years old. I remember being in high school and thinking that 24 sounded so old and I would never reach that old...and yet, here I am. =) I'm feeling good and feeling blessed. I have the best hubby in the world. He treated me to a great birthday.

First he was so so nice and brought me huge gerber daisies that he picked out and hand delivered them to my office at exactly 9:00am and said "you were born at 9 o'clock, right?", with a huge grin on his face. Got tears in my eyes because I am just so lucky to have a man like him.

Then he came and picked me up from work right at 5 and took me to Cafe Rio for pork salads. Oh, how I love that place. He then told me that he got me a massage. The sweet friend of ours that does massages is 9 months pregnant though, so that became a rain check. So he took me home and walked me into a CLEAN house with CLEAN dishes and floors. May I add that it truly looked like a tornado buzzed around my house before, and HE CLEANED IT ALL. He made me a jello pudding cake and invited all my friends over for a game night. It was SO much fun. We played games until midnight and had a blast!

For my present...like I needed one after all this... he bought me the new book by Dieter F. Ukdorf:

Icing on this wonderful birthday cake was that he also arranged a family birthday party for me up in logan on May 2nd. I got so many nice gifts for my new job. I loved all of my gifts. I have the best family ever.

What a lucky woman I am to have such a wonderful husband who appreciates me. He's so great and I love him so much. Thanks to him for everything!

My Girlfriends boyfriend trailor

2010-03-31T12:44:00.003-06:00

For those of you who don't know or maybe forgot. McCord was a PA for My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, filmed in Salt Lake. I was Alissa Milano's stand in and we were both extras in this movie. Comes out April 22nd to theatres. Everyone go see it and let me know if you can see us in the background. Should be a great chick flick to go see.
Here's the trailor. Cheers.

Promotion!

2010-03-29T12:10:00.007-06:00

I GOT THE JOB! Hoowaa and Yippee!
I am so excited to announce that I received the full time job position at the U of U Admissions front desk. We are so so blessed to be going to bigger and better places in this economy. I am so excited to work at the front desk and to meet and greet new people. I know I will do a great job and help with the emense volume of papers and phone calls that they receive. Since this is a full time job, yes, we will have full benefits. We are thrilled to death about that, especially after we rushed McCord to the ER last month for the kidney stones. The best news of all is that I got a huge raise in my hourly rate and I will be receiving the highest amount/hr for the position that I received because of my education and experience. I officially start on April 1st.

We are more than thrilled and we are so so blessed.

I will miss working so closely with all the graduate and residency staff. They were all such good sports and let me take a picture. As I always said "VIVA GRADS!

Being Aunt and Uncle

2010-03-08T12:36:00.008-07:00

Announcing!:
Dayton Taylor Chandler
8 lbs. 8 oz. 20.5 inches
Born March 6, 2009 @ 11:45pm (ish)

Mom, Dad, and baby are home and doing fine. I am a proud aunt. So happy for Angie and Adam! So so happy! I don't feel much different than I did 2 days ago before the he was born, but I sure love being an aunt. Here are some pictures of the little guy with all the family:
I've been waiting so long, and here he is. He's the cutest little thing, and such a good baby. He never cries. Angie is a lucky mom. He melted all of our hearts in one second.

This is our proud momma. Yay! She is beaming and is now "Grandma Trudy". She stayed up all night to hold this little guy. I love Dayton's smile in this picture.
Other pictures with the family.

We are so happy to have little Dayton in our family and we love being Aunt Lisa and Uncle McCord/Mac.

More good things about being uncle and aunt is that we get to babysit sometimes. We had the privilege of watching all 4 of Justin and Alesa's kids for a whole weekend. Here are some experiences that we had and some pictures.
(will add later)

4 years ago by the Logan Temple...

2010-02-24T07:50:00.003-07:00

Today marks the day that McCord proposed to me! 4 years ago McCord took me up to the hill next to the Logan temple over looking Logan city. We had a picnic lunch and he told me over and over how much he loved me. He was so nervous and the ring box got stuck in his pocket as his shaking hand tried to wiggle it out. He told me the sweetest things and asked if I would marry him. Without looking at the ring at all, I said yes and gave him the biggest hug in the world. He started crying and I was started crying. We were so in love and so happy.
Just retelling the story intesifies all the love that we have for each other. We love each other more now than we did that day. Could life get any better than this? It would be pretty hard to beat.

Valentine's Day 2009

2010-02-15T13:09:00.002-07:00

For Valentine's Day this year, McCord surprised me by taking me to Red Lobster. We both LOVE seafood and it's one thing that I can not make at home. =) It was so nice to get out, and Red Lobster has some good prices with some of the choices that they have. It was so nice. I surprised McCord with some movie tickets to Persey Jackson and the Lightning Thief. He's been so into reading the books lately and I just knew that he wanted to go to the movie so bad. We went to the movie with our good friends Jeremy and Raine. It was so so much fun! Great movie. Nothing like the books, but a great movie.

The mother of all updates

2010-02-11T08:10:00.006-07:00

WE LOVE SALT LAKE!
We've been here for 7 months now and love it here. I love that it's the city and I can go shopping anywhere I want. McCord loves it because he actually has the opportunities that he has always hoped for with his film, school, and career goals. We also love that we can go to Jazz games (we've been to 3) and concerts (we've been to 2) without traveling 2 hours each way to see them. I also love that it is still close to family, just 2 hours away, instead of 3000 miles away (when we were in NY)We really love our life here:
Jazz game Jan 2009

Bucky Covington and Phil Vasser in concert: (boy, I do love Phil)

I through Angie a baby shower on Jan 9th. She's about to pop. She now has pretty much everything that she needs and I'm so glad. Love you sis. So so excited for you.

McCord was called to help with THE CHOSEN film for the LDS film festival as an AD (assistant director). So we went down to Provo for 2 weekends in a row to work on making this short film and seeing it, and many others, priemere. It was so fun. I got to be a grip, and a PA. Pics from the shoot.

McCord's next project is a Cloak and Dagger pilot. Cloak and Dagger are one of our favorite superhero teams ever. We start shooting over spring break. It's gonna be BIG and I hope I can get a lot of pictures to show you in the future. Here's what they look like so you can get an idea.

Christmas 2009:
I never posted about christmas 2 months ago, so it's gonna be short. We didn't do stockings or candy or dvds or anything like that. We got this:

It was a great christmas with family and great food. I didn't take many pictures, but know that it was one of the best. We missed Jared, in the MTC, but it was greaat all around. One of my favorite memories will be Paul and Kandi's (my inlaws) faces when we showed them their new 50" plasma tv that all the kids chipped in to help purchase. It was so great. Also, little Abby wearing my 3 inch pencil high heels:

I was so entertained by this. I don't know why, but isn't she so so cute.

We also never posted about New Years either. So sorry. Normally we don't do much for New Years. But for the 2010 new year we had a lot of fun having a fondue party with the Larsens and the Meikles (Alesa's family).

McCord and I wished that we could light the illegal fireworks from Germany, that are actually legal to light there. We got a whole box full for 6 euros. That was a great New Year. Feel free to look back on my posts to see those pictures.
So even though it is late, Merry Christmas 2009. Hope everyone's christmas and new years were fabulous.
Love,
McCord and Lisa

p.s. Now we get to be excited for Valentines Day. =)

Best day of our lives perhaps?

2010-02-03T12:29:00.008-07:00

Could this be the best day of our lives?
#1: "Math? I'd rather stick a pencil in my eye!" - McCord
This cartoon is to tell everyone that McCord GOT AN 89 ON HIS FIRST MATH TEST!! WOO HOO! Let it be published in the next history book. We are screaming from the top of our lungs for this glorious happening. This will be his 4th attempt at Math 1010 (just the word "math" makes his shiver inside) His final grade is based on soley the 3 tests. We both couldn't be happier with this score. What he did miss was just the simple mistake of a negative sign. Everyone send him a text/facebook message to congratulate him.

#2: THE STONE HAS PASSED!
(Picture to be posted later)

#3: Big surprise for Lisa:
(picture to be posted later)
McCord, yesterday, looked online and found me a Whirlpool washer and dryer, got them in our second level apartment and hooked everything up for me. I had NO CLUE that he was doing this for me. Isn't he the best? It's exactly what I wanted and he found them for cheap, which is great also. I love a good deal. I have the best hubby ever.

Yah! I'm not excited about these babies at all...obviously. ha ha ha

#4: Our new apartment
(video and/or pictures here)
Our new place seem so big to both of us. We are happy to announce that we can walk normally instead of shuffling to the side when we walk. We can sit on the toilet and if we forget to close the door, it doesn't hit our knees (in fact, they have plenty of room). The second room is so nice. We also have a small storage unit and covered parking space. This will be our home for the next 1.5 yrs+.

#5: GROUNDHOG DAY summary
Last night was so much fun! As most of you may already know - groundhog day is HUGE at the Day's house. We came all the way up to Logan for this fabulous occation. The street was lined with cars. My mom makes more food (2 tables full) for groundhog day than she does for christmas. We watched Groundhog Day with Bill Murry and the whole family singing the songs in the show. It's a time honored tradition and this year we had groundhog presents (small kites from the dollar store) - so fun. My dad also annuonced that next year we might be singing groundhog carols. lol It's always so much fun. While I had the chance, I took a picture of me and my cute preggo sister before the baby comes and I miss my chance. She only has about 3 weeks left. =)

So, this may be one of the best days of our lives, it seems like. I'll let you be the judge of that.

Kidney stones...

2010-01-31T23:08:00.004-07:00

...is a nice name for something that is WORST PAIN ON EARTH!

This last week has been one of the hardest weeks ever for us. We rushed McCord to the ER around 2am on wednesday night/morning after being up all night trying to figure out why McCord was in so much pain. Neither of us slept at all that night and it was terrible. KIDNEY STONES was the diagnosis after all the testing. So around 9am or so after that night we were at home trying to rest. We are still waiting for the stone(s) to pass.

This all had to happen, of course the big week that we were moving. With McCord on narcotics (a little out of it and unable to drive), we had the best friends in the world showing up to help us move. We are officially moved and in our new 2 bed apartment and comment frequently on how much room we have. Thanks to all that helped us out. We appreciate it so so much.

A little humor to spice up our lives:

McCord's on IMDB!!!

2010-01-26T12:20:00.002-07:00

How many people can say that THEY are on imdb.com? Well, it's official. MCCORD IS!
Here's the link:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3757857/

Here's also a fun game for you to play:
This is hilarious!!!! Please Don't spoil the fun, and keep it going............DONT TELL ANY MEN!!!!

Pick the month you were born:
January-------I kicked
February------I loved
March----------I karate chopped
April------------I licked
May------------I jumped on
June-----------I smelled
July------------I did the Macarena With
August--------I had lunch with
September----I danced with
October-------I sang to
November-----I yelled at
December-----I ran over

Pick the day (number) you were born on:
1-------a birdbath
2-------a monster
3-------a phone
4-------a fork
5-------a snowman
6-------a gangster
7-------my mobile phone
8-------my dog
9-------my best friends' boyfriend
10-------my neighbour
11-------my science teacher
12-------a banana
13-------a fireman
14-------a stuffed animal
15-------a goat
16-------a pickle
17-------your mom
18-------a spoon
19------- a smurf
20-------a baseball bat
21-------a ninja
22-------Chuck Norris
23-------a noodle
24-------a squirrel
25-------a football player
26-------my sister
27-------my brother
28-------an iPod
29-------a surfer
30-------a homeless guy
31-------a llama

What is the last number of the year you were born:
1--------- In my car
2 --------- On your car
3 --------- In a hole
4 --------- Under your bed
5 --------- Riding a Motorcycle
6 --------- sliding down a hill
7 --------- in an elevator
8---------- at the dinner table
9 -------- In line at the bank
0 -------- in your bathroom

Pick the color of shirt you are wearing:
White---------because I'm cool like that
Black---------because that's how I roll.
Pink-----------because I'm NOT crazy.
Red-----------because the voices told me to.
Blue-----------because I'm sexy and I do what I want
Green---------because I think I need some serious help.
Purple---------because I'm AWESOME!
Grey----------because Big Bird said to and he's my leader.
Yellow---------because someone offered me 1,000,000 dollars
Orange--------because my family thinks I'm stupid anyway.
Brown---------because I can.
Other----------because I'm a Ninja!
None----------because I can't control myself!

Busy busy busy!

2010-01-22T12:39:00.003-07:00

Weekly updates? I keep saying that I'll give weekly updates, but we are so busy busy busy. Here's a quick update.

We were so excited about the split level apartment that we found and it was perfect! We loved it and had such awesome plans a flowin. Then we got a call and the owner's sold the duplex and the new owners are NOT renting it. We were SO bummed out. So, we've been searching and searching for 2 weeks and found another place that we like and could stay in for a while. Yes, we are still sad about the duplex, but it'll be just great. We will be moving throughout the week 25th-30th. I'm getting good at moving. =)

Last weekend we went to Provo for the whole weekend and were both working (McCord as the 1st Assistant Director, me as a grip and PA) on a short that IS going to be shown at the LDS film festival this weekend. McCord is going down this weekend to Provo to watch premieres and work some more on different sets. Wish him luck and keep your fingers crossed that he can get some great connections.

Feeling old. Jared will soon go to Chile from the MTC, and look at my baby sister:

That bump is getting pretty big! I'm feeling old because all my younger siblings are getting older and moving to different stages in their lives. I wonder how my parents feel? lol

I've been applying for some full time jobs at the U. I didn't get the job that was open in my office. Kinda sad about it, but life will go on and I like working in Grad Admissions. It's busy all the time and I wish I had 3 of me so I could do more things.

Till next time.

"Dare you to Move"

2010-01-12T12:54:00.002-07:00

I thought that was a cleaver heading (for those of you who like the band Switchfoot) to announce that we have found a new apartment in south salt lake and can start moving in on the 15th of this month. I'll try and post a video beneith this post later of a grand tour.

"That's a wrap!" - Immortality Bites

2009-12-21T12:58:00.002-07:00

Filming for "Immortality Bites", the vampire comedy movie, is DONE! McCord is done with this shoot and we hope he can get a job at Sundance this year. Here is the imdb url site for the vampire comedy, if you want to take a look and see all the great people we were able to meet:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1553943/

Holiday season for the Larsens

2009-12-07T07:55:00.007-07:00

So I haven't posted in about a month or so. I hope you are in for a short and sweet review of all the past holidays and a brief preview of christmas. Ready, here we go:

Halloween at my parents house is always awesome, but this year it was SPECTACULAR! The boys knew that it was going to be the last halloween that the whole family would have together for the next 5 years, and so they all made it so big. With flying head's on fishing line, ghosts on motorcycles, graveyard with orange and purple twimkle lights, and THEE electric chair wired from the house. It was super awesome. The best one we've ever had.

Thanksgiving was awesome! Lots of food and family. I decided the two best things in the world are food and family, and on thanksgiving you get lots of both. I didn't take any pictures of thanksgiving, but I was so lucky and glad to have work off and to have McCord off work. We loved every second of thanksgiving this year.

Jared's family and friend parties went well. I ended up making 418 cookies for the big event. Can't believe he only has 2 days left until he reports to the MTC. He'll be a great missionary, but I will miss him.
This picture we took of us and the Carpenter family (well, all who could make it). It's a priceless picture, so I had to post it. They've bene family friends since I was 3 years old (I think). =)

Christmas this year is going to be different for us. It's the first time I've been able to put up my decorations (because we've moved so much). So I MUST show off my favorite pieces. And yes, they are the only pieces that I have too. =) But I'm so proud.
This nativity was made by my grandparents and given to me the christmas after we got married. It's a HUGE porchelin nativity and I absolutely love it! They are both quite gifted in making ceramics. This is one of the many things I have from them.

This is my cute, not to mention awesome, village set. When we got married, McCord said that he'd get me one new piece each year. This year, the stuff was 50% off at JoAnn's, so I got the little family with the carriage too. In time I hope to get a school, a church, another house, street lamps, etc. But for now I have one house, a toy store, and a lighthouse. I love them all. I've been just starring at them and playing with them all weekend.

Black Friday was a HUGE SUCCESS this year. We are getting some great presents. We decided to put the small present money into a pot and buy one big present this year. Yes, we did open that big present before christmas. We are so bad at that. But I'll post pictures of christmas presents later. You'll have to wait... =)

"Vampire Comedy" movie shoot:
As most of you know, McCord has been on a shoot for the last 4 weeks straight! It's a new Vampire comedy and is supposed to be a spoof on all the vampire movies that are coming out. It's been super good for him to experience this awesome set of people. He's met so many awesome people, including "couch bulton" from High School Musical, and his brothers and sister.
This picture is of Lindsey and McCord after a long and late night of shooting. They are the only P.A's on this shoot - hence all the walkie talkies.

I teased Lindsey and told her she looked like a suicide bomber with all the equipment she was carrying around, so she posed for me:

McCord at work, in the job he loves, helping direct extras (in the back). This was during shooting.

Didn't get too many pictures of the rest of the crew because they were all working, but when the wrap party comes, I'll put up more pics of faces.

She's My Daughter music video shoot

2009-11-11T18:10:00.002-07:00

This was a small but such a fun shoot. It was very low budget and every person involved was a volunteer. We got to stage a wedding. The guy who wrote and sang the song is in the first picture. Tiffany and I, she's in the last picture with me, decorated and did wardrobe, etc. McCord directed and Jason did the camera work. Our actors were Chad, the groom and Chelsea, the bride. Yes, the father of the bride is really Chelsea's dad. McCord's dad gave the wedding service/ performed the staged marriage. He made all the extras and crew laugh with his words. Since we were dubbing over the sound later with the music for the music video, he nicknamed Chad Luke Skywalker, and Chelsea Misty Moonlight. It was hilarious!
(Hopefully I can put the song on the blog later)

"Lethargic" - McCord's 2nd film project

2009-11-04T18:33:00.002-07:00

This is a 2 min short that McCord made for one of his film classes. It's not the most peppy video, but I'm proud of him for succeeding expectations on all his projects. Now the main actor in this short is Rory, he and his wife Becca are our great friends,lived beneith us in Aggie Village in Logan last year. My hubby is a great director. =)

U of U Admissions Job

2009-10-09T11:56:00.004-06:00

Don't know who has heard and who hasn't, but I got a part time job working in the Admissions office at the U here in SLC. I just finished my first week and LOVED it. I fit right in the office and everyone is fantastic. We are so blessed to finally have jobs. We are even more blessed that McCord's movie career is moving forward. Hopefully I'll be able to post more about McCord's film work soon.

"The Sweetness of Addiction"- McCord's FIRST video

2009-09-30T14:33:00.004-06:00

"The sweetness of addiction" is McCord's FIRST video that he's done - this was a project for one of his classes. It had to be one minute long and couldn't use 'real time' sounds (closing doors, footsteps, etc). YES, he did it all - writing/directing, editing/sound, etc. The only thing he didn't do was the camera work. The "shady character" in the movie is actually McCord too. =) Enjoy!...and please leave comments.

8 years ago...

2009-09-11T21:49:00.005-06:00

8 years ago on September 11th. We will never forget how we felt that day. McCord and I always reflect about that day and how America kinda came together. Yes, it was so tragic, but it's important that we look back and learn from what happened, remember how we felt that day, and let that day govern whatever choices you have for the future. Whatever your political views, etc. We all know that 8 years ago, the horrible happenings changed each individual of our nation. More people were saying prayers for others and themselves. More people came home to love their families, and more people were grateful for what they had instead of be greedy for whatever was being advertised through the tv.
Our experience this Sept 11th:
We were randomly driving in downtown SLC when we came across this.

McCord and I shed tears. We love this country and have been in Germany for those 6 months at the beginning of this year. We never saw anything like the patriotism that the US has while we were there. The sight of this...We couldn't believe our eyes. We both just couldn't believe it.

They held a ceremony for the soldiers that have died in the war, fighting for our families and our freedom. Here are the mothers of the lost soldiers, they all hugged each other, strangers, but they all had one thing in common. The mothers cried when the roll call was sounded and their son's names were read and there was no answer of "here" from the soldiers. They played taps and all the soldiers present soluted.

The fire truck that was there let us go up on the ladder and take a picture of all the flags that were there. It was so amazing!

It was a priceless experience for us. We love our soldiers so much, and anyone who stands up for this country. We love the United States and the freedoms that we have here. God Bless the USA.

News all around the Day household and Update

2009-09-03T21:47:00.008-06:00

I'm trying to update our blog every week to let y'all know about what's been going on with us, but I fear that I've been failing about the every week, so I'll try to do better.

So much news from the Day's side
- Angie and Adam are PREGNANT! YAY The first grandchild on the Day side. She is done with the first trimester and she has had no morning sickness. Lucky duck. Baby is doing well:

- Jared got his mission call to Chile Osorno mission! That's the very southern part of south america. He leaved Dec 9th. He's going to go to USU for one semester before he leaves. This is him in Germany with his buddy, Brad. He'll be a great misisonary.

- Jake is engaged to Kaia Christensen! They are getting married September 5th! So happy for them both.

- Mom got a new job! She started as a reading assistant at North Park Elementary school! She is so excited and we all, as her kids, know that she will do famously.

McCord and I are proud to show you all our lovely "extremely gorgeous" couches in our apartment:

I know, how much hideousness can we shove into one room. =) Oh how wonderfully they all match each other. And how great they match the room. ha ha ha. Even the bold beautiful pillows add just the right touch.=) I'm sure almost everyone who has been married can relate to a room like ours.

McCord got a job! He is working for Sweet Chicago Pizzeria in Draper.

We are so thrilled and so blessed to finally have a job set in stone. He will deliver pizzas for them and he started today. He came home with tips and a smile on his face. We are so grateful. I am continuing to apply and call and interview. When something is secure on my end. We will let you all know. McCord started school (14 credits for him) and he is doing so well in all his classes. I haven't seen him this busy in a long long time. He's writing like crazy and impressing all of his professors.
We were able to go to the new Oquirah Mountain Temple this week. It is beautiful and we loved the spirit there. We are very happy and grateful for what we have. Until next week. (I'll try to update every week at least)

"I Live at the House With the Blue Door" crew

2009-08-18T00:33:00.006-06:00

"I Live at the House With the Blue Door" is a dark drama that will go to the film festivals first, and we'll see if there will be a theatre release. If it comes to video, we'll let you know.

Anyone remember the season of The Amzing Race with the "hippies"? Tyler Macniven, "the hippy" was an actor in this film. Here he is! He's freakin' awesome!

Tod Huntington was the main actor in this film. McCord did some great assistant work for him and took care of him. They both have great respect for each other.

Dave Kranig played the drunk father in the production. He is an AMAZING actor and everyone knows it.

This is Renny (main actress and Producer), McCord, and Sarab (the Director)

McCord with Sahna: Production coordinator

McCord, Keith: the whole Art Department, Lindsey: PA with McCord, the sound guy, Andy: Grip.

Sahar: She and her hubby were the set designers (their house WAS the house with the blue door), then the make up girl, Danny and below is Mike: Director's Assistants, and McCord. Danny is going to market McCord's next production.

Kari: head makeup, McCord, Lindsey, again: PA and her fiancee Daron.

McCord with another actor in the show, and Natalie: Costumes.

Craig - Gaffer (sp?) = light & electric, and McCord.

McCord's movie #3, Weekly Update

2009-08-07T15:37:00.007-06:00

"The House with the Blue Door" has started filming in Park City! We are thrilled that they hired McCord on as a PA (Production Assistant) and Extras Coordinator for this movie. Yes, they are paying him! Woo! He will be vigorously working on set M-F 5am-10pm for the next 2 weeks. He has also finished up post production for the 20 min scary short film. Classes start the end of August for him at SLCC and he's excited to be majoring in film.
I am still looking for a job as a CNA, or any job for that matter. We are loving SLC and hope to stay here for longer than a year (we haven't been in one place for longer than a year yet, new grounds for us.)

Pictures and Happenings the last little while:

Elder Jared Day:
Can't believe my little brother is an Elder! His papers are in and he's off to Germany for the next 2 weeks. He's been touring southern Germany and loving it. He'll return home and we'll open his mission call then. Turns 19 in Oct. So excited for you, J. We know you'll do famously.

Private, 1st class, Jake Sorenson:
Can't believe that Jake will leave for the war in october. I'll have 2 brothers leaving in october. Jake left today for training, and will leave to go overseas in october for 1 year. He'll be training until he leaves. We know he'll do great and we are so proud of you for serving this great country. Soldiers now-a-days deserve a lot of credit for offering up their lives for our citizens. We are SO glad that Jake has chosen to serve.

Uncle Gary's Ordination:

FINALLY FINALLY, after 50+ years of not being active in the church, McCord's uncle Gary (Paul's oldest sibling) received the melchezadic (sp?) preisthood. It was a wonderful experience to be there! Paul gave the ordination and so many tears were shed. McCord got to stand in the circle and that was a HUGE opportunity for him. This goes to show you that ANYONE can come back to the church to open arms if they want to. =) We love you, Uncle Gary.

Angie and Adam are closing on a house:
They found the cutest house in Mendon and they'll be closing on it next week. They've been searching long and hard for a place to call home and we are glad they found it!

Jo made the drumline on tenors and Nate on saxophone!:
Geez, the growing up never ceases. Jo's been practising hard to make the drumline this year at Sky View and he pulled it off. Nate made it on sax, and is contemplating running for student body officer. Looking forward to a great year of watching them perform. Jo will be 17 in sept and Nate will be 16 in April (driving, eek!). They both are planning on being on the track team this year as well as being brainiacs in school.

Larsen girls are in town:
This is the first time we've all been together in the last 1.5 years.
Courtni is back from 2 years in Australia and moving back to California. We are glad to have the whole family on the same continent again. =) It'll be so nice. We went to Bear Lake with the Larsen clan last week and it was so fun!
Mauri came from Minnesota this month and her car broke down in Nebraska. So McCord and I went with Mauri on a 24 hr. road trip to get her car back. It was great fun and good times.

4th of July, and catching up

2009-07-11T17:16:00.006-06:00

4th of July!!! WE LOVE THE USA!:
This 4th of July was really emotional for us. In church everyone stood up to sing the national anthem and I couldn't even sing the first word. It has just been so long since I've seen such patriotism, even with a simple standing ovation in respect for their country. We listened to patriotic songs and shed a lot of tears that day. We are truly blessed to have such a great nation.
We watched the Taylorsville fireworks from our apartment complex. That was nice. We got to see the Logan stadium fireworks from the best location in the town. We were right under them. We loved it! We were right by a canal and my dad was throwing big rocks into the canal as other people would walk by on the other side of the canal. It would splash really high and get them wet. It was funny. After we went to Jamie and Justun's house, APX friends from NY, and Phillip. Enjoy the pictures. We had fun with the sparklers. McCord loves the sparkler pictures because he says it makes us look like we have super powers. =)

Saturday with Robert:
Robert Marx if one of McCord's German students came to Salt Lake City and asked us to show him and his mother around temple square. It was so fun and they were able to get a tour in German, which was nice. They had lots of questions that were answered. They treated us to Rodizios after for dinner. Here's some pictures:

Grandma Evey's Things:
I inherited some of my grandma Evelyn, who died in '98. My aunt Annette gave me these little gismos and the mirror holder. Most of them are from Japan. Some from D.C. and Seattle. I didn't even know that she went to those places. I feel pretty special to have these things. They remind me of her and apparently I'm a lot like she was.

Big Buff Brothers:
My brothers are getting so buff and handsome, charming and intelligent. We had a fun photo shoot at home. It was fun to look at the pictures after and see my size compared to Jared's in the picture. The one with all 3 of them is definately the best.

Friends Forever:

(Lt to Rt: Alex, Tristan, Chuck, McCord)
McCord's good friend from high school, Chuck got married on July 3rd. There we were able to get a picture of Cord and his friends from high school. All of them in this picture are married now. It's pictures like this that will always be memorable.

Moved in:
We are moved in! YAY. We like our little apartment and all is well. I have a washer, dryer, dishwasher, new carpet and tile, and a little storage place on the patio. We hope to be here a while. I'll post a video tour for those who are far away of our house and post it here later.

2ND & 3RD INTERVIEW AT U of U HOSPITAL:
I have a second and 3rd interviews with the U of U Hospital Gynecology unit!! YAY! This time it will be an interview with the board of physicians. The third will be in front of the rest of the staff. Got past the board of nurses in the first interview though. Hope that I can be better than all the other candidates. 2nd interview is on Wed 11:30-12:30. 3rd is on Thurs 3:00pm. We appreciate all the prayers that are going out on our behalf. We appreciate all of Justin's, my brother in law, great answers to interview questions. Keep us in mind if anyone hears about openings for jobs or anyone who is hiring. We are still looking for work.

Movies we recommend:
We've seen some great movies that are out on video. If you are looking for a good show, try one of these:
Taken
Eagle Eye
The Recruit
Ghost Town

Television shows we recommend watching:
Chuck
Cupid (got cancelled after 5th episode or so)

"My Boyfriend's Girlfriend", U of U interview

2009-06-26T14:34:00.004-06:00

I have an interview on Monday at 2:30pm at the U of U Hospital, Gynecology Department. YAY. Keep us in your prayers. This would be the best job in the world for me. It's been one of my dreams to work in a hospital.

McCord will be on his FIRST movie set starting this monday!! Double YAY. He's going to start as an extra in the new movie "My Boyfriend's Girlfriend" starring Alissa Milano. They also said to send them his school schedule and they might have him work on some other things too. OH YAH! We are excited.

Keep your fingers crossed for McCord to get maybe a PA job, or some other position with this movie producing company and for me to get the job at the hospital. Love you all. Tschuss.

Accepted!

2009-06-16T14:51:00.004-06:00

For those of you who may not know, McCord has been accepted to the film program at SLCC in Salt Lake City, Utah! We are so excited to continue with his dream to be a writer. He already has many ideas for movie scripts, and has completed 2 150 page screenplays. We are thrilled that he can get great experience in EVERY aspect of the film business through this program. Cheers to 2 more years in SLC, and to fulfilling dreams.

We got a call from the VP of the Fine Arts Department at SLCC. She said that McCord's interview went well last friday and they'd love to have him on the Fine Arts Student Leadership Board. Woo Hoo! We are so excited. He starts next monday. We are excited because this will allow him to be in the middle of all the Fine Arts happenings, including the Salt Lake City Film Festival! He is in charge of it! They meet every monday. They also pay for some of his tuition, which is huge.

CHUCK- Season 3...

2009-05-27T10:41:00.007-06:00

CHUCK will continue!!! Season 3 is scheduled to come on the aire around this fall. We are so excited. This is one of our favorite tv shows (if not THEE favorite tv show). We are thrilled and invite all to watch an episode of Chuck. It's hilarious! After all, who can miss faces like these:

"Can you do it? Can you be awesome?"

Week with the Days

2009-05-14T12:06:00.002-06:00

(Pictures to be added later)

Being home is so nice. I get to do all the little things that I couldn't do when I'm far far far away like:

Quilting with mom and sis. We come from a great line of talented women who can cook, clean, can, and sew anything. I hope to continue the traditions. For every occasion in our family, you get a quilt/blanket. When we got married we received and displayed 8 quilts. This is us quilting on Joe's eagle quilt.

Going to parades where my bros are marching, and J's lacrosse games.

Eagle court of honor. I've been to so many court of honors, but Eagle's are always the best. Seeing family is the best

Funny happenings at home. Nate was trying to warm up some of my Dad's hot fudge (Mmmm- he makes the best!) and he turned the pan on high and walked away to do something else while it heated. He came back to find the pan completely black and fudge burned and stuck to the pan, unable to get it off. My mom today decided she'd put the pan in the oven and turn on the cleaning cycle to get the crispy fried fudge off the pan. The oven door locked shut unable to open and toxic fumes filled the house. =) A day in the life of being a mom never never will be boring. We open windows and all will be well.

This reminds me of when I put a casserole dish of brownies from the oven onto the stove to cool. The burner on the stove was still on. Most of the mom's know what's gonna happen next. You guessed it. The dish exploded like a military grenade and scared me to death.
Last story. Who's ever ran out of dishwasher soap? ME! Who's ever tried to put liquid dish soap in the dishwasher to compensate? ME! Oh ya! I put liquid dish soap in the dishwasher and went to the store to buy more (this is when we were in NY). Came home to a kitchen ful of waist high bubbles EVERYWHERE. I was literally swimming in bubbles across my kitchen to get to the dishwasher to turn it off. It took all day to clean up the mess. Lol. Some things you just have to learn from experience.

3rd Anniversary. On different continents!

2009-05-09T08:47:00.002-06:00

Today is our 3rd year anniversary and we are on separate continents. "Fidamt"!

TRIER, GERMANY

2009-05-06T16:18:00.005-06:00

Trier, Germany is the oldest Roman city in the world and was founded nearly 1300 years before the roman empire. On top of that, it was the Roman empire's first capital city. "The Gate" to the city is mostly original and still standing. This is shown in the picture below. "The Gate" was built in 108 A.D.!!!! It was so cool!

Inside views of the city from inside "The Gate". The Gate was our favorite part of Trier. There are pictures of the big town square from the top of The Gate, and other views to show the old architecture.

This is the Jewish part of town. In the 14th century the jews were required to live in a separate part of town. This was their street.

This was the HUGE catholic dome in the middle of the city. It was built before the bible was compiled. This was one of Constantine's palaces.

Our favorite thing in the dome was the ceiling:

This is the Basilica. It was Constantine's throne room.

This is sorta like a mini colosium. They used this area for sports.

At the public baths. They actually had heated water from the ground, and saunas, that people would come and bathe in. There were huge tunnels underground showing us the technology of the heating of the water, etc. Very facinating. This structure I thought was beautiful.

AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND

2009-05-06T15:23:00.005-06:00

Amsterdam in the Netherlands was so much fun. We took a train from Germany to The Netherlands and it was about 2 1/2 hr train ride. We were able to go there for quite cheap, and we decided to take a canal tour of the city. The tour turned out to be perfect because there are so many canals in the Netherlands. We had no idea. So, most of these were taken from the view of the river. It was beautiful. Hope you are ready for a long post because this one will be lengthy because we loved it.

what can I say? My hubby wants to be spiderman.

Main train station in The Netherlands. We actually saw 4 missionaries there and we went up and said hi to them. Most of them were from Utah and we thanked them for their work. I'm sure we made their day and probably will make it into some letters home this week.

The following pictures I'll describe to you are our favorites. McCord loved the pirate ship that we took a picture of. He dreams of going on a treasure hunt someday. My favorite was Anne Franks house, but I also loved the picture with the boats on the canal and the two big structures behind them. One is the huge dome/cathedral (left) and the long structure towering over the boats to the left is the place where the royalty stayed in. So cool! We love Amsterdam.

So many canals with beautiful bridges that we got to cruise under:

This is the most famous bridge in all of Amsterdam:

The dollar sized pancakes are FANTASTIC!!! Ser lecker!

The mothers would all tow their children around on bikes. One in front and one in back. I only caught a picture of this lady peddling her youngster on the back. Sarah and I thought it was hilarious.

Famous Vincent VanGough Museum:

This is the Oscar award for the Anne Frank movie:

This is outside Anne Frank's house. It was amazing going in and experiencing what she went through. And to think that she was just one of the many jews... they wouldn't let us take pictures inside, but we did see her diary and the pictures that she posted on her bedroom wall for her decor. Pictures outside:

over 250 people actually live in house boats like this on the canals:

I thought of Angie when I saw this sculpture, so I had to post it.

Mammuts vs. Devils

2009-05-05T02:00:00.004-06:00

The Munster Mammuts played the Devils. We're the black team in all of these pictures. It was one of the best games to watch. Marijke, Margaret, and Tristan and Sarah were there to watch as well as almost the whole Inlingua staff came to support. Pictures posted below.

McCord and Joe giving the team a pep talk:

This is "Hillmer". He's the star player. He was easy to find because he was the one making all the great plays and he had a red helmet on.

The FINAL score was:

Saying goodbye...

2009-05-03T16:03:00.001-06:00

MUNSTER BRANCH!
What a group. Not all the members are in this picture, but most of them are present. This has been our branch for the time that we've been here in Germany. We love these people. Words can not describe how much we have enjoyed helping the branch grow and how much we love these people. We will miss all of them.

INLINGUA!
We had so much fun with the other teachers at Inlingua. Everyone came from all different parts of the world, with different backgrounds, opinions, and different languages. We all had one thing in common and that was speaking and teaching English. We hung out with the teachers, went out for drinks and picnics, and really had great discussions together. We are really going to miss these guys. Tschuss.

Flying over Germany

2009-05-03T14:50:00.007-06:00

Today Henk took us flying over Germany. These pictures are posted especially for Kandi (McCord's mom). She said if we were ever going to do something dangerous, like fly in a small aircraft, or skydiving, etc, to NEVER tell her. =) As a side note: the weather was quite stormy and they didn't know if we were going to be able to get the little plane up in the air in the first place. So, here's to you - Kandi Lu.

End of Classes #2

2009-04-30T07:50:00.002-06:00

The end of our classes for this month is done. McCord didn't get a picture with his class, but I did. This is my class. It was so much fun teaching this group. They all have an opinion and aren't afraid to share it. We had a lot of fun playing pictionary, mafia/werewolf, and psychiatrist. Hope you guys do well with your customs training. Good luck.

USA, Patriotism, "Why"

2009-04-27T15:12:00.004-06:00

PATRIOTISM...

Patriotism - we miss the most. Here in Germany the only time, that our students have told us, that the Germans had pride for their own country was at a soccer game in 2006. In America, doesn't matter what state you are from, what party you vote for, or your religious views - there is patriotism within the hearts of the people! We decided that America is based on one word "WHY". When we first became our own country, England said they'd be the boss, and americans asked "Why". Every day, as Americans, we ask "why". "I want to be president" a candidate will say. We ask "Why". Even in the small things like crossing the road, what we should buy, etc. We always ask "why". We miss that. We miss the free thinking, the questions, the citizens finding their own solutions to problems (big or small). We miss the love for the country. The shameless patriotic pride for where you live. Being in Germany has taught us so much. Also helped us feel a deeper appreciation for the United States of America. We love the USA!

Spring flowers in Münster, Germany

2009-04-26T04:52:00.002-06:00

Thought that I'd take some pictures of some springy flowers that we see on our way to work every day. McCord and I love spring. We love Germany and have had a fantastic experience here. One more week of classes at the BWZ (customs university) then our students will go off into the world with the English that we've taught them. Love you all in the states. Hope you enjoy the photos.

Divide and Conquer

2009-04-22T11:33:00.002-06:00

It's official. Lisa is coming home on the May 7th. She'll leave on 8am on May 7th from Germany, layover in NJ, and arrive at the SLC, Utah ariport at 8:30pm. It'll be cool to be flying into the past. Super!
McCord will stay in Germany until the beginning of June until the next session of BWZ classes end. He'll be working probably 60 hours a week and coach a couple more football games until he flies home. While he's working hard in Germany, Lisa will find a job in the states and find an apartment.
We are excited for this plan because we hopefully will not have any time without income during our transition. It will be hard to be separated for this month, but we know that it will be okay.

"Ice" "Ice" Baby

2009-04-19T05:39:00.003-06:00

Ice cream in German they call "ICE". The ice cream parlors here are phenomenal!!! All 4 of us are now dreaming of opening an ice parlor in Utah. It would do so well. =) They just pile on the homemade ice cream and decorate it with real fruit and unsweetened whipped cream. Mmmm. We will miss the german ice cream.

This is Margaret and her ice cream concoction. She treated us all to ice this last weekend when she came to visit.

Weekend of Castles

2009-04-18T04:14:00.008-06:00

Castle #1:
This was McCord's favorite castle because it is older and more of a castle than a palace. He loved the 3 moats and stories that came with protecting the castle from invasion. This was a pretty small castle but we loved the ancient architecture and the traditional stories in history that were told about it.

CASTLE #2: The second castle was Lisa's favorite because it was HUGE and impecably gorgeous! We loved the gardens and the inside was beautiful. This castle once belonged to a hot-headed bishop and his family. They were so obsessed with impressing everybody with their huge house, fancy clothes, silk walls, statues, etc that when they died, after selling all of their belongings, were still in debt $2 million. Interesting story. Beautiful castle.

1st black president, 1st black general authority

2009-04-18T03:40:00.002-06:00

We are both excited to be able to tell our grandchildren that we were alive when the USA received it's first black president, and excited to tell them that in the same year The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints called their first black general authority. What a year in history!
Link to general authority article:
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_12148790?source=email

Spring has sprung

2009-04-16T03:41:00.002-06:00

Spring has sprung, our allergies have risen.
More students to teach in the BWZ "prison".
The flowers are up and trees blooming pretty
More bikers running into people in the city
The bunnies scamper all over the ground
We know in Utah they are never around
We'll teach our classes 1 or 2 rounds more
wish we had more time to site-see and tour
The time is approaching that we soon will be back
We definately will miss what Münster has and lacks
So wish us luck with teaching, church, and football
And we will soon be home to give hugs to you ALL.

Mammuts Exhebition vs. Padaborn Dolphins

2009-04-10T09:38:00.003-06:00

(McCord couching Hillmer)

These are some pictures of the first game for the Münster Mammuts. The final score was 46 to 6 Dolphins.

"Czech us out!"

2009-04-06T12:57:00.002-06:00

Prague, Czech Republic is by far our most favorite place we have been in our lives. It was absolutely spectacular. We loved it, to say the least. Hope you enjoy the views that we were able to see in Prague. We hope everyone has the chance to go there some day.

Berlin - Our favorite parts

2009-04-02T13:36:00.001-06:00

McCord's favorite part was the Jewish Memorial. The pictures with the stone in them are the memorial. They were laid there to honor/remember all the jews that were killed in WWII.
Lisa's favorite part was seeing The Wall. It's not as big as we expected it to be. We also brought home a chunk of it. Woo hoo! She also liked "The Gate" It has such a great meaning to the people that they build the wall around it and neither side (east or west) could claim it as theirs.
Enjoy the pictures:

Berlin Slideshow

2009-04-02T06:44:00.001-06:00

Spider-Man Saves Child With Autism

2009-03-25T11:43:00.003-06:00

COACH

2009-03-22T06:30:00.004-06:00

Münster Mammuts Report:

We just got done with our 2-day camp. It was fantastic! We should have done it 2 months ago instead of 2 weeks before the first game. For the first time I'm starting feel like the offense is organized, people know their positions, and that the receivers know their routes. We saw some good things and some things that we need to work on. We gutted the play book and made it more simple. All of the players simply seem more comfortable. It's going to be an interesting season. Too bad I'll only be here for half of it. The Juniors have their first game next week. I'll let you know more later.

Fair in Münster

2009-03-21T16:05:00.003-06:00

The fair came to Münster this weekend. So we took the train downtown, past the musical people...

Over the river....

To the FAIR!

Everything was pretty much the same as any stereotypical traveling fair: rides, arcade, games for stuffed animals, cotton candy, etc. But I took some pictures of some things that I thought were out of the ordinary for the enjoyment of everyone back home.

Of course, at any German event, there must be BEER. I took a snapshot of one of the little pubs that was traveling with the fair

If you look close, this is a coconut fountain. you can buy slices of fresh coconut:

These guys made pizza in an old fashioned stone oven. They were dressed funny, and having a great time.

These big brown things are meat. If you order a "hiro" (a greek dish), they cut a huge long piece of meat off these huge pieces and put it on a plate for you with whatever topping you want.

If you can see...Yes, these are dentist tools. You can buy your own dentist tools to do your dental work at home. We will forever be talking about how weird we thought this was. =)

We had a great time at the fair and were sure glad that we went. Not too many differences, so it was nice to eat cotton candy and some roasted nuts. Mmm.

Top 10 Differences between the US and Germany:

2009-03-19T04:04:00.003-06:00

10 - Wood houses vs. cement houses
9 - Bakery located every 10 ft in Germany.
8 - No grocery bags or baggers at the german grocery store
7 - Average family has 1.2 children in Germany.
6 - Bunny rabbits, and mole holes EVERYWHERE.
5 - Thousands of years of history vs. hundreds of years of history
4 - Freedom of choice vs. little choice (work and school)
3 - German's idea of having fun is drinking and talking. (legal drinking age is 16)
2 - No customer service in Germany
1 - Socialism vs. Capitalism!

Funny Advertisment

2009-03-14T06:13:00.003-06:00

Take a minute and listen! (sound is must for this)

2009-03-12T15:52:00.002-06:00

The Larsen family continues to get bigger. We have 2 new additions to the family:

IAN JUSTIN LARSEN
Happy parents: Justin and Alesa Larsen

Addition #2 is Dallas's beautiful new wife:

BRITTANY FOSTER LARSEN

We are so happy that our family continues to get larger and larger. We are so lucky to have such a great family (on both sides). We love you all and miss you!

Football Coach

2009-03-11T05:59:00.002-06:00

GO MUNSTER MAMMUTS!!!
(Posted by McCord)
For those of you who don't already know this, I have been hired to coach the recievers and quarterbacks of the Munster Mammuts (Mammoths) football team, here in Germany. We're getting ready to start the season and we've got a long way to go before we're ready. In the past, there has been one coach and no support from the administration. This year however, we now have 5 coaches, a new benifactor that has given us some money for new equipment, and some new players. The new administration has been working very hard by getting us some news conferences, posting some pictures in the newspapers, as well as helping us with some recruiting from the surrounding areas. I just wish that everybody would show up to every practice. That would be sweet! However, Germans are not used to being pushed. They're also not used to getting hit. One of my recievers has a bruised arm that the doctor said is going to take him out for 6 weeks. It's crazy. On a positive note, one of my recievers, who has never played football before this year approached me and said, "I have played soccer for 20 years and have accomplished many things. I have not had a team that I felt like was my family. I want to be here for MY team." This is a point that the coaches have tried really hard to stress. So we must be doing something right. This league is what they call a division 4 league. They are good here they have the opportunity to move up to a professional level. So we are doing our best to teach them the skills that they will need to be successful. We'll see how the season goes once we're actually able to put 11 guys on each side of the field. More later...

End of March classes

2009-02-27T06:13:00.001-07:00

Today marks the end of a great first teaching experience for both of us. The students took their test today and most of them did fantastic on the written and speaking part, which was graded by us.
This is McCord's class. He says that he really enjoys teaching. Especially this class. He says that he will miss them.

My class is in the pictures below. I have one picture of the guys and one of us girls. We all went bowling together this last week and it was a blast. That's where the pictures were taken.

I have had such a great experience with these students and certainly will never forget them. I've loved our discussions on the differences between germans and americans, and the many other discussions we've had about life, family, religion, and politics. I wish each and every one of them the best of luck in their lives. I hope I have left a good impression. It's been super teaching. I also hope that I have converted at least a few of you to watch Chuck.

CARNIVAL SEASON!!!

2009-02-21T09:11:00.001-07:00

Carnival Season is here! This week we will see tons of costumes and parades in every city. It's bigger than the 4th of July in America. Everybody dresses up in funny costumes. This was a parade that we went to in Wolbeck. Anine and tobias, friends from our branch brought us to their house for the parade. the parade was marching right down the street in front of their house, so we opened the windows and cheered from the inside. Sarah and I went upstairs and they threw candy etc up to us.

All the kids waited at the window of their house and people threw candy to them.

This is Anine and Tobias' youngest daughter, Sophia.

I tried to get the best picture I could of the crowd that attended this small town's parade. It was packed everywhere.

Many and many crazy, drunk dancing in colorful or political costumes. They throw out shots to the adults and candy to the kids. There was an Obama float, but I didn't get a picture of it.

Inside each float was at least 12 cases of beer. They go nuts over this traditional holiday. This boat had the most beer inside, I think.

I had to take a video of the crazy chic conga line:

The girls, at carnival, cut the guys ties and give them kisses. I assume these girls were doing a lot of that. The LDS missionaries are allowed to take their ties off for carnival week.

Koln Chocolate Factory/Museum

2009-02-17T06:25:00.000-07:00

The chocolate museum in Koln was the next stop after the Dome. We started by all going up in a "Willy Wonka elevator". Looks like it, doesn't it? The first floor was all about the history of chocolate. Sarah and I are by the staue trying to be silly like her.

The second floor was all about how they make the chocolate. The assembly line and workers. We went from where they put the cocoa beans through a grinder, then through a series of adding things process. They mixed it up in an ginormous automatic mixer, which was fun to watch. This is where the chocolate was put into the trays.

After that, then the little chocolate bars go through the chilling chambers and come out to this point. Those 2 black rods twist each tray like you would an ice cube tray.

Then it's dumped into out of the trays down to get wrapped. Check out the video. It shows how it wraps the candy:

This is the machine that they put chocolate in when molding the chocolate into things:

Then it goes down a shoot to the ladies that put them in bags and sell them to us. And POOF chocolate! Mmm. So good.

They had a fantastic chocolate fountain. It was a tree made of cocoa pods and it drizzed chocolate out of 6 little tubes and also a big drain. We got free samples dipped in this fountain. The chocolate in Germany is the best. They don't add wax like they do in the states. Mmm.

They had blocks that you could pull up to see how much chocolate different countries eat compared to each other. Check out how much the states have vs. Germany. (and they say we are fat because of chocolate...pft)

After the chocolate museum, we walked around Koln and down the Rhine River for a bit. Check out their curbs:

This is my favorite picture of the trip. This picture says so much. Tristan and McCord have been best friends for years. They have both meant so much to each other and helped each other out in many indescribable ways. This picture of them walking tells it all. It was a candid shot and they can just talk forever together. Priceless!

Carnival season is here! Everybody dresses up in funny costumes even a week before the celebration day. "to get ready for carnival" is what they say. They also drink a lot to get their bodies ready for the huge carnival where there is more beer than ever. These are pictures of some fun costumes (above and below)

After walking around Koln after we visited the Dome and saw all the fun people all over, we went into a "cafe" for some REAL GERMAN CAKE! Here are some pictures of this "cafe". It looked like the inside of the Ritz hotel, and the cake in germany is heavenly, just amazingly delicious!

This "cafe" was simple gorgeous. It's how I imagine a plaza hotel to look like with crystal everywhere, white and felt chairs, mirrors all around reflecting the enchanting lights, gold lining everything. There was also a live piano and violin playing to set the mood even more. I managed to swipe some pictures casually, with no one noticing.

After the cafe, we started on the train ride home. Here's a picture of us on the train home:

This is random, but I thought I'd take a picture of the public trash cans in the train station. They all have the separate bins for the rubish (as the British would say)

Koln, Germany

2009-02-16T11:48:00.000-07:00

For Valentines Day this year, we went to Koln, Germany. In English, it is said "Cologne". It is 2 hours south of Munster. We took a train ride to get there and it was beautiful.
This is the famous Rhine River:

Koln is like a fairy tale. All the streets look like this. The Romans settled the town and it is most known for the annual "carnival".

People were dressed up all over the place for the carnival. I snuck a picture of some of them. There was also an artist drawing on the sidewalk outside. It was so amazing, I had to take a picture:

This is a view of the whole city of Koln. It's enchanting. More so than Munster. The picture of all 4 of us girls jumping is outside of the Koln "dome". The soccer fans were cheering at us because they are so hard core about the games here. It was so fun.

This is the Koln Dome. The architecture of this place is amazing. I also took a picture of the archway which had figures hand crafted. Most of this catholic cathedral is original. Some windows, etc have been restored since WWII, but most is original. It took 600 years to complete.

This is my favorite stain glass window. It is made of the brightest colors all in little squares. And I got a picture of the gorgeous reflection of the colors on the walls and pillars. That was my favorite part of the dome.

McCord and I thought is was funny that this statue is holding a "holy hand granade" from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. And also shown is one of the many stain glass windows with people:

After 500 steps to the very tippy top of the dome, you could look over Koln:

This is the gold box where they believe that this contains the holy scriptures of the 3 apostles:

The floor of the dome looks like carpet in the picture, but it had little stones about 2 cm long and it created a beautiful pattern. It must have taken the creaters forever to do the floor.

A picture of us and most of the inside of the dome:

Random: Brautwurst anyone? That's a lot of sausages!

New Callings

2009-02-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

Germany has given us SO many opportunities here in Germany. All four of us have received callings. Sarah and I are the councelors in the Relief Society. McCord is the branch mission president, and Tristan is the sunday school president.

We are so excited to serve our little branch. There is so much that we can do and each of us are so excited to do our best. Little trivia to give you a perspective: The branch has about 15 members that attend church, and that's on a good day. We only go to 2 hrs of church services. On a good attendance day we have: 5 children, 6 women, and about 6-7 men.

Wii would like to play

2009-02-10T14:35:00.000-07:00

We finally got the Wii up and running. Fun video of Tristan and McCord boxing:

Sofa excursion

2009-02-09T07:40:00.000-07:00

After going for a run, Sarah and Marijke come dashing into the house screaming "Lisa! Lisa! You have to come help us get this couch!" We ended up speeding down the street to a pile of trash where a black leather couch was just chillin' waiting for us. We were thrilled to death be able to get the couch before the other guys who were eyeing it the same time we were.

We shoved the couch in the back of Marijke's car, but had nothing to hold it down with. So I layed on the couch and held the hatch with my hand. I had to be very careful because if the police find you in the back of a car, they will fine you and you'll get in trouble. So these are pictures of me hiding on the couch in the trunk.

We were so proud of ourselves that we moved the couch without any men. We had so much fun.

After getting it in the house, we found out that it looks absolutely hideous in the living room. We'll have to see what will become of it in the future.

We had so much fun! GIRL POWER BABY!

Munster - fun sites we see every day

2009-02-07T04:56:00.000-07:00

Thought it would be great for family to see some things that we pass every day going to work. Hope you enjoy!

This is the Haptbaunhof of Munster. The transportation system here is circulated very well. Yes, you have to pay to use the public bathroom, as you also see here.

This is the Munster train station we walk to every sunday for church and every day to get to work. It takes us to the Haptbaunhof (main station). The sidewalks here in Germany are split. The red brick walks are for the bikes. If the police catch you walking on the bike path, you pay 20 euros. All the sidewalks are like this.

This is the biggest and best hotel in Munster. It's called the Hotel Kyserhof (sp?):

All around town we see these gold bricks in the ground. The students explained to us that they are little memorials for each of the jews from WWII. They put them in front of where that person lived. I think that is the coolest thing.

Inlingua classrooms (customs students)

2009-02-06T07:02:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd put on some simple pictures of what our classrooms look like. They are not very big. You can see that my material is on the first desk by the pink ipod (my clock is on it). None of us have more than 10 chairs. Teaching is going so well, and all 4 of us love it.

GROUNDHOG DAY - Tribute to Craig

2009-02-04T07:26:00.000-07:00

GROUNDHOG DAY (A tribute to Craig)

Many people have seen the famous movie GROUNDHOG DAY:

Hi dad, I know you love Groundhog Day, and it's been a tradition to watch the movie on groundhog day. I'm sorry that I couldn't make it this year. As pay back, I've decided to make this tribute to you and the fam with some pictures from the show, and our favorite quotes.

"Who could go for some flap-jacks right now."

"Don't drive angry."

"Mom always said....Oh ya, don't drive on the railroad tracks." "Uh, I happen to agree with that one."

"I make the weather."

"Don't you worry about cholesterol?" Phil: "Why?"

"It's me. Ned. RYERSON!"

"BING!"

Video trailer URL is attached below: Everyone should see the trailer.

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1709376281/

Love you dad! Sorry to the Day family for missing the party. I know mom always makes it BIG!

Lisa's New Hair cut - Jan 09

2009-02-04T07:09:00.001-07:00

Das Haus

2009-02-02T08:14:00.000-07:00

The house we are staying in is very nice and we are so grateful that the Bartels have let us watch it for them. I thought I'd post some pictures of das haus and some things that are different.
Here she is:

I think that the germans have to keep their yards spick and span, so I took a picture of how perfect all the bushes are in the neighboring houses. This is an example:

As you come into the front door, there is a nest of ostrich eggs sitting on the table for decor. Pretty cool, huh?

This is our bedroom in the picture below. There is no carpet anywhere in the house. Yes, we each are on a twin bed. Makes it hard to snuggle and sometimes we squish onto one twin bed at night. The mattresses are egg shell foam and they only use bottom sheets here. We have a down comforter on to cover and that's it. The boards sometimes fall out from under McCord's bed, as you can see in the picture, but we just put them back on the frame and no big deal. =)

The house has 4 bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms. This is a picture of the sauna that's in the basement:

This is the living room. We all spend a great deal of time in here preparing lessons and watching Heroes and American Idol.

The electrical plugs are different here. What do you think? I don't think our plugs are going to fit in these:

(Don't worry, parents, we have sufficient converters for our needs)

The light switches are different too. You push them in and out to go on and off, and you twist them to dim or brighten the lights. It took some getting used to for this.

We take care of the cat here. Shadow is much like a dog, she is trained well. I think it is funny that she drinks from the bathroom fauset:

Garbage! It's so complicated. You have to separate the garbage into 4 different categories: paper, plastic, bio stuff, and the rest. This drawer holds the garbage and the garbage cans. You put the different garbage out on the street every two weeks. If you do not separate it, they will fine you and not pick up your trash for 2 weeks.

I had to take a picture of the "leechy berry". You crack the shell and inside the berry is very delicious and sweet. The texture is like and eye ball.

Can anyone tell me how to work the dryer/washer? It's all in german.

I really know how to work it. It's just cool that it's all in German.

New American Idol Judges

2009-02-01T06:52:00.002-07:00

Due to recent drops in ratings, the producers of American Idol have decided to replace the exhisting judges with new faces:

Dinner with Uncle Brik

2009-01-31T13:06:00.000-07:00

Brik came to visit us in Germany while doing business in Europe. He took all 4 of us out to dinner at a restaurant downtown. It was so fun and so delicious. We all got to practise our german in ordering and our waitress spoke a little english, which was nice. The food was amazing. They do fried potatoes really well here. We all loved the food and hope to have more great experiences of tasting fantastic food. Thanks Uncle Brik, we all had a blast!

Inlingua teachers!

2009-01-27T03:38:00.001-07:00

WE GOT JOBS! We will be teaching English at the Inlingua school here in Munster. It is right across the street from the haptbaunhof (the "grand central" of Munster). We start training this Wednesday and will start teaching whenever they think we are ready. Probably will start in February with classes about 8-10 students.

Job interviews in Germany

2009-01-26T06:16:00.000-07:00

We both got job interviews last friday at a school right next to the train station. The school is called Inlingua. Our interviews on friday went well and the interviewer, Patrick, seeemed to like us both. He asked to come back today, Monday, for a second interview. We are to prepare a lesson for someone who doesn't speak ANY english at all. Lisa has prepared her lesson on shopping and McCord's lesson will be introductions and some other basics. Wish us both luck. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

Out for a REAL italian dinner

2009-01-23T14:33:00.000-07:00

We had the chance to go to a REAL italian restaurant but the menus were in German and everything. I got water to drink, but here the water they bring you is sparkling water. It's not as good as Sprite though. =) It was nice that they had numbers by the dishes so we could tell them our order in numbers, because that's the bulk of german that we know. In the picture with us is Henk and Marijke. The food was amazing. They italian food in the states (AKA Olive Garden) will never taste the same to us. It just doesn't compare! The pastas were fantastic!

TV shows

2009-01-19T07:22:00.000-07:00

We have many tv shows that we have enjoyed over the past years. There are some great writers and producers that can come up with some great entertainment.

HEROES:
This is our favoirte tv show and we have never missed an episode. McCord loves the superheroes and Lisa loves the suspense and mystery mixed with science. Season 4 will start soon and we cannot wait.

Most of America is following American Idol and most of you know that season 8 has started. We plan to follow this season and are excited about the new judge.

Chuck:

This is a comedy that we have just started this month and love it. We are now all caught up on the episodes and would recommend it to family and friends to watch.

Momma's Boys:

Reality TV shows are all over the place. We have enjoyed watching this one because A: it is a Ryan Seacrest show, and B: because it is a short season and entertaining.

Kegaln- German Bowling

2009-01-13T05:33:00.000-07:00

We got to rent out a lane in a restaurant. The game is a little different. The balls are lighter, without holes. There is carpet on both sides. If a runner can run down the side and go faster than the ball is going - then the thrower owes everybody a round of beer. If the thrower hits the string in front of the lane - then he pays .50 Euros.

There are so many different ways to keep score. You don't get 2 turns to knock down the 9 pins (not 10). We played many different ways. Kept score on a chalkboard:

The best way is to make up special ways to throw the ball. We imagine it is much more entertaining to watch this when more people playing are drunk Germans, but it was still so much fun. We had to throw the ball with an elephant nose...

backwards...

spinning around 3 times and then throw. Hopping from the back of the room to the string and then throw. Also throwing the ball after 3 pushups:

We had so much fun. It sure was different, but we had such a good time as well as making fools of ourselves.

Palace of Munster

2009-01-10T05:37:00.000-07:00

This is going to be our new house (we wish). It's the Munster Palace that was bombed in WWII and was restored into a University. This is like "Old Main" of Munster.

There are gardens all over and we got to visit the greenhouses. It was awesome:

This is a vanilla plant.

...and a cocoa plant:

Berliners and Brautwurst

2009-01-07T05:55:00.000-07:00

These are our favorite German foods. They are so good! We are going to come home at least 20 pounds heavier.
Brautwurst/ "german street meat":

"I am a berliner." -JFK (wanting to say "I came from Berlin")

A berliner is a berry filled donut with sugar on top: