If It Makes You Happy, It Can't Be That Bad

Brea loves my facial hair. I really do enjoy a little from time to time, but I also love being clean shaven. I got sick the end of October though and I didn’t really feel up to shaving. So it kept growing, and she kept telling me how much she loved it, and pretty soon it was Thanksgiving and I had this fully grown beard. Though part of me enjoyed the change and the luxury of not shaving, I did miss my smooth face.

After a full month of living after the manner of Samson.


Finally I caved. But of course I had to shave it off in steps.

A little trimmed.


The sides cut down.




Jeffrey begged me to leave this one for church. I felt a little like Paulie Sr.


Instead I opted for the creeper stash.


Remind you a little of anyone?

Preparing for Christmas!!!!!

Having your first Christmas together is kinda a big deal. You have to figure out where you're gonna be, and how you're gonna get there, and when you are going. You have to somehow combine two peoples' traditions together to find something that works for you. And for some people, like my new wife, it was THE FIRST TIME SANTA EVER CAME TO HER HOUSE!!!

First came the light up reindeer we picked up on black Friday. Then the wrapping of our palm trees with lights. Then came picking out the tree (a first for her too).

I wanted to go with this one, but in the interest of our apartment, we decided to keep looking.

But instead we compromised on one more full than she wanted but less full than I wanted. And it was perfect.

I'll have to put up a decorated tree picture tomorrow.

Christmas came. Christmas left. And it left us all feeling a little more warm, a little more loving, and a little more like a family. And though I know next year will be a different one for me, I'll be excited to try something new when the time comes
.

Our Quarter Dog

Well we can't call him our dog. And we really couldn't say even half dog. So let's just settle for a quarter. This is Jaded Wax, a five year-old ex-racing greyhound. See our neighbors got him. And when they would be gone, they would occasionally ask us to hang out with him. But now, I sometimes hope they are gone so we can pretend like we have a dog for at least a few hours.

I know at least one of the Carbieners really wants a dog right now. And I know that the other one does too, just not quite yet. So for now we'll just have to settle for stealing the neighbors large, "not conscious of his own size", lovable greyhound.

State Fair

For my birthday Brea's mom got me two season passes to the state fair, which was awesome. I love it, and I love the concerts that you get to see for next to nothing. So our first trip was to see Darius Rucker and it was great.

Our next trip was with Christin and Jonmark. We got there just in time to see the Turkey Stampede!!

While Christin and Jonmark saw Bodies with his family, we hung around to see Valentine's performing pigs, which was, well, an experience. Though it made Brea want a pig.

After some more time walking around, now reunited with the rest, we made it to the Monster Truck/RV Demolition Derby. And for a measly five dollars, we got to take a ride in the back of a Monster Truck. Brea nearly peed herself, half from excitement, and half because she was scared. It was a great day, we had great company, and I'm so excited for next year.

A girl happy to have a funnel cake.

Now that is a corn dog.

My Poor Car

It might be fairly cheap and spacious where we live, but it might be in an area that some would consider "slightly ghetto". That being said, after having lived here for three months, I will now be more careful about what I leave in open sight in the back seat of my car.


I thought they stole an alarm. But I found that later. The day after it happened though I got a call from a bishop in another ward. A member of his ward had found our temple clothes on the side of the road. Luckily, he had seen them scattered on the side of the road and gathered them up. Through Facebook he hunted down Brea, found her new last name, and with the help of the stake directory online tracked us down. And we got very nearly everything back.

I called for some quotes, and was told it would be nearly two hundred dollars to replace. Instead I took a drive to the "less fancy" part of Phoenix and I found a small shop that sold me the window for thirty five bucks. It took me almost two hours to figure out how to put it in, but we are a hundred and fifty dollars less poor, and I know a little more about car repair. And whoever sits behind the passenger has a tinted window now, which is great for them.

First Married Trip

A few months ago we decided to take our first trip together, so off to conference we went. I drove through the night like I have the tendency to do, made it to Salt Lake and checked into the Hotel Monaco, which happens to be a Kimpton hotel, and also happened to be barely over a hundred dollars for the night, along with parking, and a voucher for parking. It was awesome and they were so friendly. Though I might have not realized the office building next to us could see so well into our room. So there is a chance that a man sitting at his desk saw me naked . . . sorry!!



After picking up Brea's wedding dress from my parents and having lunch with them at Red Lobster, we got ready and visited temple square. We ate a quick dinner at Bambara and then to the Off Broadway theater for my third time. And it was funny, like always, and Brea loved it.



Saturday morning started off a bit rough, but we got ready, got to temple square with our sign at 9:31, five seconds later, someone gave us two tickets. It was really such a blessing. It was a really neat experience to be there.



After the session we checked out and headed down to Lindon to see the Hackings. It had been a few years and it was so good to see them. After lunch we watched conference there, then went for a little walk with them around the neighborhood, then President and I went to priesthood. It was such a humbling experience to see him again and spend some more time with him and his wife, and I'm so glad they got to meet mine.



We changed hotels, and it was really nice. We had a nice morning watching the morning session, and then got a reminder that hanging the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door isn't quite enough . . . next time we will remember to close that extra security latch.

After spending the afternoon around temple square, we headed back to normal life.

Doesn't she look important?

Another Brick in the Wall

Painting an argyle wall might not have been on the mind of Pink Floyd when composing this song. But when we moved in to our little townhouse apartment, that is what we had in mind. Or at least me. And she was cool enough to let me do it.

We got the keys to our apartment a while before we actually planned on moving in. We had to do this to make sure that we could live next to Jeffrey and Olivia. However this also gave us a little bit of time to get started on some projects. One was an argyle wall. I don't know why, but I wanted to do it. I don't think either of us expected quite so much work to get the finished result. But you know what? It is AWESOME. And everyone that comes over loves it. And I love it. And I'm pretty sure she does too.






In case you are wondering how long it took to measure, mark, tape, silicone, and paint all that, each way, the answer is A LONG TIME.


But isn't it so cool? Really? Really. It is.


Then came the table. This sad little table that was our family table, then Christin's table, and now it's ours. It has undergone several paint jobs, and now has gone through one more, as well as some staining. Most of this was done by Brea, who decided she wanted this to be her project. A little was done by me. And a little of it was done by my mission companion visiting from Mexico. It also took a long time, but it is done, and it is excellent.



The very lovely final project.


Our first dinner. Crab on coolers. The table wasn't exactly usable at the time.


I don't know what happened to the cooler by the next dinner. But she found out she loves brussel sprouts.


Our bathroom is painted blue as well, which is great. Not quite as exciting as the other two though.

So that's our little house. I'll try to clean a little more and put up some more pictures, but I wouldn't hold your breath.

The Big Day

Is it time for the wedding?!

Okay.

So. Thursday was her endowment. We were there on time (even me, I beat Brea there!). It wasn't too weird for her, and there was a lot of people there, and it was really nice.

Friday we went and took some bridals. And she looked super hot, and she whined and said gross pretty much every time we kissed. But the weather was beautiful, as was she, and we got some really cute pictures.







Now. The wedding. I woke up, showered, and ran over to the dry cleaners that didn't have my shirt ready the day before, but promised me would be in the morning. And. It wasn't there. I'm supposed to be at the temple in thirty minutes and I have no shirt!! He made a phone call, I waited impatiently, and fifteen minutes later someone pulled up, I had my shirt and was on my way.

Our sealer was a bit animated, though really good (he had given Brea her patriarchal blessing). There were people there, the ceremony happened, we kissed, people cried (well, mostly Candice. And then Joy Lynn joined in for a bit).

The luncheon at Toby Keith's was delicious, though smaller than we had expected the group to be. And the waitresses in their little shorts made us feel a bit awkward. But what do you do?

The reception, though the forecast had said the weather would be awful, really was pretty nice. Great for the pictures. And great for the first . . . hour and some. But suddenly the weather turned bad. So we hurried with cake cutting, had the parents' dance and ours, and started cleaning up. Brea hadn't been feeling good, and so instead of partying there for a few more hours, we (Brea and I) moved the party back to our place. Thanks to everyone it was a great day. If only there was more dancing . . .

I guess we'll have to find another excuse to fit that in.




Now that is one handsome bunch of guys.


And I'm not allowed to comment on other attractive girls . . .


Love Tom's face.


Oh my gosh. They're so cute!!! And the kids are okay too, I guess.


All Rice Krispies inside.


Grandma playing actual harp. How sweet.


Mathesons, Randalls, Carolynn, Ariana and Tyler.





I think there's a good chance we kissed after this.


Doesn't she look intense?!?! One of my favorites.