Merry Christmas!

Well, as I'm sure you all know, Yogurl and I spent this Christmas in Ohio. All of Yogurl's family was there, including two new little babies! Needless to say, Yogurl was super excited about all the diaper changing and screaming and spitting up. Well, maybe not those parts, but she was sure happy to see brand new little babies. I was more nervous than anything. Being around babies is really good for me. I have very little baby exposure time, so the more I get the better I'll be prepared to have my own.

Anyway, Christmas was a lot of fun. It wasn't too cold, thank goodness. Yogurl actually was sad that it wasn't colder. Then she was sad to come back to California where it is warmer. I guess somebody has to enjoy the cold.

We just want to thank everybody for all the wonderful gifts we got. We really feel good and spoiled every Christmas. I just have to mention one gift specifically. Yogurl's dad got all his kids these super reflective shirts. And as you can see from the picture, they really are very reflective. Yogurl wants to keep them in the back of the car so if we have to do something on the side of the road we will be more visible, but I plan to wear it to every time I go outside. You never know when Dick Cheney might be hiding in the bushes.

The Ranch House

Well, this is being posted a little behind schedule, but oh well. Several weeks ago, Yogurl and I got to go visit the "historic" ranch house on Camp Pendleton. It was the first time it was open to the general public, which we only knew about because Yogurl works with a lady who is a docent there. Anyway, just to give you a brief background, Camp Pendleton was a giant ranch which the military purchased in the 40's. The Ranch House was used as various things through it's history. The small chapel next to it for example was used by blacksmiths then something else I don't really remember then after the Marines had taken over it was converted into a chapel. After the government bought it, the commanding general of the base lived in the Ranch House. This continued until last September, when the current CG of MCI West decided that he didn't want to live there any more. You see, the Ranch House is literally across the street from the airstation and I can easily imagine why living there would get real old real quick. Plus, the whole thing is adobe, which is really cool to visit, but wouldn't be that great to live in. Anyway, it was a pretty neat and ummm, educational trip. Just because I've already forgotten most of the stuff they told us doesn't mean it wasn't educational I guess.

Riding Fool

Hey, just wanted to post a quick blog saying I passed my motorcycle course last week and I have my license now. I actually got to bring the bike home for the first time which was really exciting. I felt like I could be in a biker gang riding down coast highway, though they probably wouldn't take me with such an old clunker. I still haven't ridden around much, so I spend a lot of time thinking about my route ahead of time and potential hazards I know of in the road. When I got it up to 60 for the first time today I was so nervous. I thought the bike might fall apart, but it held nice and steady. I need to find a new seat for it or a seat cover at least, since mine has started ripping pretty badly.
Yogurl had a great experience on Friday. We went to a retirement party for my Master Sergeant at a sports bar. Yogurl got to see her first really plastered Marine. He wasn't belligerent at all, fortunately. He was kinda cross eyed and he kept saying "live" when he meant leave. "You guys don't live, liive, leeive, leeeve, leave here." I thought he was entertaining, but Yogurl seemed a little nervous. Afterwards she kept asking if he was going to be okay and if he might die from alcohol poisoning, but I assured her that he wasn't that drunk.

Vacuum and Tree Party

Hooray! We just added a new member to our home....a brand new vacuum cleaner! You may not be as excited about it as we are, but it's a great vacuum. Manburger and I had been scanning sale ads for the last few months looking for good bargains and finally came across a special at the local hardware store. So the weekend after Thanksgiving we drove over there and picked it up. And imagine our luck, it was the last one on the shelf. Here's a picture of Manburger assembling it. Don't you just love the bright yellow color? And here's a picture of me using it to suck up the 1 year accumulation of dirt that our old vacuum couldn't get. I never thought I'd get so excited about household appliances.

Can you believe that it's already December? Since last Monday was the first one after Thanksgiving, we set up our tree, listened to Christmas music, and drank homemade eggnog. Fortunately our tree is super easy to set up. All we have to do is plop it in the stand, fluff the branches, and plug it in. You'll notice the star on top is proof of my handiwork with some poster-board and foil.
Oh, I just have to share one of my huge accomplishments for this week. I have finished all of my Christmas shopping!! Well, except for stocking stuffers. I never thought I'd be one of those people, but I was starting to have nightmares about how much scarier the area around the mall will get as Christmas gets closer.

Also, this Friday, it rained all day. I was so excited and also extremely grateful at the end of the day that I didn't die in a car wreck b/c Southern Californians have no idea how to drive in the rain. There were people flying past me on the highway, and I just kept thinking, "Hey, at least I'm the one who's going to make it home without getting in a wreck."

Manburger and I also attended a Tamale Festival out in Indio yesterday. We don't have pictures yet, but it was a lot of fun. We took one of my "co-workers" from where I volunteer along. We tried pork, chicken, beef, strawberry, caramel apple, chocolate-raspberry, sweet corn, and chile-cheese tamales. I doubt we will ever see so many tamales in one place. Oh and Manburger learned his lesson about Mexican corn on the cob. He bought one (just think of the ones Steven eats in Nacho Libre), and it was totally disgusting. Something about mayonnaise and that weird cheese stuff on corn makes for one gross combo. So if you were curious about how it tastes, take our word and don't bother. However, everything else we tried was delicious and I got to have a mango on a stick (they peel it for you and then cut it so it looks sort of like a flower). I hadn't had one of those since the Latino Festival in Provo that I attended with the siblings in 2005.

That's all for this week. We love you all.

Graduation

Two Fridays ago Manburger joined me as a college graduate. Hooray! The ceremony was held at the Aerospace Museum in Balboa Park. It was super neat because while Manburger was praticing with the other graduates, I got to walk around the museum, read about planes, and watch part of Flyboys. Before the ceremony they had cookies and punch and a huge Embry Riddle cake on display. The best part about the cake is that is wasn't just for show like the Marine Corps Ball cakes are, we got to eat a piece afterwards. One of Manburger's coworkers and his wife came to support Manburger as well. I was so proud of Manburger when he walked down the aisle and onto the stage. He's put up with about a year of crazy busyness just so he could get his bachelor's degree, and I'm so glad he did. Of course, watching him walk made me really wish I could've attended my own graduation ceremony. It's not so much that the ceremony is cool, it's the memory and signification of a new part of your life. We walked around the museum with Manburger's buddy and wife after the ceremony. Here's a picture of the boys fitting into a tiny plane. To end the evening we went out with our friends to Famous Dave's BBQ and had some yummy grub!!

Yogurl Wins Big!

Howdy y'all. Great week down here in sunny California. It actually was cloudy a few days here, and the temperatures are really dropping. I think the high today was only around 65. Brrrr.

The big news of the week is that we came home one day to find a package on the doorstep that we weren't expecting. When we opened it up it was a free cook book for Yogurl! Turns out she got the third prize in a drawing from Silk soy products, or something like that. She had a great big smile all night and she kept saying, "I won something!" See how happy she is?

Originally, everybody at work was told that we would have Friday and Monday off for a four day weekend in honor of Veteran's Day/Marine Corps Birthday. Then I was told on Wednesday evening that I was going to have to work on Friday at 1600. Then on Thursday I was told it had been changed to 1445. Then Friday around noon they called and said they had cancelled and I didn't have to work again after all. As much as I was annoyed that the people at work can't figure anything out in advance, I was so relieved that I didn't have to work that I didn't go crazy.

On Saturday we went and helped some people in the Fallbrook area with cleaning up their yards that had been fire damaged. Both houses we went to had fire damage in their yards all the way up to just a few yards from their houses. Talk about being blessed. It was a great service project, and we really enjoyed it. We got really filthy, which you can't see too much in this picture, but take my word for it. I got to spend a lot of time using a chainsaw to cut up oak tree branches, so that was fun, too. Be sure to click on the picture of the trees so you can see how they got burnt like 80% of the way up, but look just fine on top.

Yogurl wants me to include this picture of the yummy lentil chili she made (along with from-scratch cornbread). Yumm, yumm.

Yogurl looks great for just having had a baby!

Hey everybody! Sorry we didn't blog last week, but it was a really long day. I had a lot of meetings in the day and then at night I went to camp out by the motorcycle safety course building so that I could be first in line for the stand-by spots. Well, after sleeping 7 hours in our little Accent, I definitely deserved to get a spot in the class. Unfortunately, my cell phone was on silent when they called. I saw that I missed their call and called them about 20 minutes after the time they had called me. They said that since I didn't answer my phone, they had already given my spot to the next person in line and that I could try again next week. Well, I'm terribly sorry that I have a job. So, it looks like I'm just never going to ride a motorcycle.

On the plus side, I did get to see the Governator this week. A bunch of us went down to the base of the tower hoping to meet him, but he got off his jet, waved at us, and then got straight into his SUV and drove off. It was still cool.

We already emailed everybody about the fires, but I thought we would mention them again. We didn't have anything bad happen here except that our air quality was poor and there was ash all over the place. On the plus side, I only worked about 20 hours that week, since they only wanted essential personnel going to work.


For halloween I had work and then class so I didn't dress up. I know, I'm an old fuddy-duddy. Yogurl and her whole office did a 50's dress up thing. She had lots of fun. She even bought curlers so her hair could be extra curly. Hopefully she'll let me put up a picture with her in her curlers.


As you all know, Yogurl is the enrichment leader in Relief Society. They had a big activity this past Thursday and Yogurl is glad to have survived it. She was really stressed for a couple days before it, but she actually really enjoyed it. Since class was cancelled that day, I got to go help out. Helping out means helping them eat their yummy foods and putting away tables so the high priests don't throw their backs out. While we were there a sister in the ward told Yogurl that she looked so great considering she had just had a baby. Ha! There is actually another 6 foot female with curly blonde hair in the ward. People in the ward often confuse them for each other, but this was probably the funniest messup I've heard.


The big event this week was the Marine Corps Ball. It was at the Sheraton in San Diego. Yogurl knew more what to expect this year, so she had a lot more fun. They also played the electric slide, so that made the whole thing worthwhile for her. She was still disappointed that we didn't get to eat any of the birthday cake, though. What made it great for me is that Yogurl's dress came from a consignment store and was super affordable. Hooray for a thrifty wife!

Purple toes and a Green Desk

Hey everybody. Yogurl and I's week started out a little rocky, but it got way better. Early in the week I injured both of my big toes playing basketball. Just the large toes somehow, not the other ones. They throbbed pretty good for the rest of the day, but by the next morning they only hurt when Yogurl would accidentally step on them. Then at the end of the week I found out that promotions to sergeant are closed for November for my MOS and that I lost the meritorious sergeant board again. I guess I was the runner-up again, which means I get nothing. Sweet deal. Since I missed my motorcycle safety course to go to the board, I now have to decide if I want to go stay the night to try to crash a motorcycle class on base this week. If I don't, then I won't be able to get into a class until late December probably.
Our laptop has been giving us some problems lately. When you move it around or adjust the angle of the screen, it tends to shut off. We were thinking that we will probably go ahead and buy a desktop instead of getting a laptop again. So we thought that sometime soon we should start looking for computer desks. Well, as we were getting home from the temple on Saturday, we saw a computer desk and hutch for sale for $25, right at the entrance to our apartment complex. Our next door neighbor was selling it. So, we bought it. Once we got it into the apartment, Yogurl realized just how much she hated the color. It seems that already it's getting less repulsive, and we have plans to sand it down and repaint it. It'll be a great deal once we've fixed it to fit in better.

Brandon's Visit

Hey everybody! Yogurl got her haircut this week! Here she is with her beautiful new haircut. We had a pretty okay week this week. On Tuesday morning I went and picked up my orders to the motorcycle safety course on base. I signed up about a month and a half ago, but this was the first available class. Then Tuesday afternoon work calls me and tells me that there is a meritorious sergeant board going on the next day. What a raw deal. I mean, it's great that they want me to get promoted, but how crummy that it is the same time as the course I've been waiting so long for. As far as giving me last minute notice, well that's just how things usually go at work. So I went in to the safety course guys and told them I couldn't make it, which didn't make them too happy. When I told them it was for a promotion board, they said they could still get me through the course as long as I showed up by noon. I didn't think there would be a problem with that since the board started with a PFT at 0630. Wrong. Later that evening, around 1800, I found out that the last part of the board was scheduled for 1330 and probably would run until 1430. So, that's that. Anyway, I won, but it's nothing to celebrate over yet. I won the same board last quarter, and I didn't end up getting promoted. Hopefully things will work out better this time.
Our weekend turned out great, though. My brother and his wife came and brought their adorable little boy, Brandon. He is so cute. Fun things this weekend included my brother eating sushi for the first time. He actually handled it really well. He claims that being forced to eat tomatoes is worse than being forced to eat sushi. Maybe with some more sushi experience, he'll learn to love it. This picture is him enjoying the sushi.
We all went hiking in Torrey Pines state reserve. It is just north of San Diego, and it is absolutely wonderful. We hiked on a trail that led down through some cliffs to the beach. It was really fun. We sure enjoyed having them here and hope they come back soon.

Hollywood, Here We Come!

That's right, Hollywood. It's true when they say that if you go there once, you never have to go again. I don't actually know if anybody says that, but they should, because it's true. We had a blast in LA, but we really did everything I think we wanted to do there in one day. It was a busy day though! First we went to Westwood Village, which is right next to UCLA. It was a really nice neighborhood with really great frat houses. The main reason we went there was for Stan's Donuts. They are delicious. We got a peanut butter banana donut and as pictured below, a peanut butter Reese's pocket donut. Yumm, yumm. Then we went to a really popular place called the Griddle cafe. Yogurl had the French toast which was made with chocolate bread and stuffed with chocolate chips and then covered with cocoa powder and whipped cream. It was so rich, I could hardly eat it. Boy oh boy was it good.
We didn't just eat, though that would have been fun. After brunch, we headed down to Grauman's Chinese Theater. Now Yogurl had never heard of this place before coming to California, so just in case her sisters haven't heard about it either, I'll explain. It is the most famous movie theater on Earth. That pretty much sums it up. While we were looking at the footprints, Yogurl got excited about that chump Gregory Peck's little spot. So I got a picture with my favorite movie star, too. Yeah, Sophia Loren. What a hottie. I mean... ummm... what a great actress.
After seeing everything in Hollywood, we drove to Beverly Hills so we could watch rich people. No better place than Rodeo Drive. We saw this store there named Bijan's which is apparently the most expensive store in the entire world. Men have to make appointments to go shopping there, and it isn't uncommon for a man to spend $100,000 on a single trip. Meanwhile, no more than 500 feet away was a public park with a dozen or so homeless people. It was unreal.
Our big treat came next. We went to the La Brea Tar pits! It was actually super cool, as nerdy as that sounds. The best part was that Yogurl and I got in free since I'm in the military. It's nice to feel appreciated. We learned a lot about the animals that used to live in California and about the tar pits, which actually should be called asphalt pits.
But the journey didn't end there. We went to downtown LA, where we saw all sorts of cool stuff. Really beautiful buildings and artwork, the world's shortest railroad, and some sweet water fountains. Check out this video of Yogurl acting as reporter.
We ended the day with a trip to Olvera street, which was surprisingly empty today. We ate some yummy authentic Mexican food and went home. All in all, it was a really great trip.

More Motorcycle Stuff

Hey everybody! Yogurl and I got a new camera, so hopefully we will get back into the regular blogging habit. Not much exciting news this week. I was told at work that they would only need two people from our unit to go to Iraq. Turns out it is more like six, but I'm not one of them. There isn't anything official, but it's all from reliable sources. If the Marines who are supposed to be deploying really are the ones going, then I'll be the senior Marine in the tower. I'll actually be the senior Marine on crew if you don't count the one Gunny and Staff Sergeant we have, which I don't because once you become a Staff Sergeant you don't really work anymore. So that'll be a change of pace.
My motorcycle class is next week, October 10-12. I'm pretty excited for that. Once it is over I'll have my license and the Marine Corps will allow me to ride my motorcycle. If I weren't a Marine I could ride it right now since I have insurance and a permit, but too many young Marines get themselves mangled in wrecks, so I have to take the safety course before the Corps will allow me to have any fun.
Here are a couple pictures of the motorcycle. She's an '85 Honda Shadow, with 5700 miles on her. The previous owner kept track of all the oil changes. Even though he only rode it 200 or 300 miles a year, he faithfully changed the oil and filter. Yogurl might have mentioned this in the previous blog, come to think of it. Anyway, it's in great shape for an older bike.
These are our helmets. Yogurl's is the white one. Her helmet is actually pretty cool. It is kinda off-white colored until the light reflects off of it, then it is much whiter. It's very girly, which Yogurl is happy about.
This last picture is the Gazelle we bought so that Yogurl can workout inside when she doesn't feel like going for a stroll outside. She often uses it while watching Rachel Ray in the morning.
And to answer your question: No, she doesn't always dress like this when she works out on it. She just felt like slumming today.

Ready to Ride

Hi all,
It's been quite a while since we updated this. We just wanted to let everyone know that Manburger and I got a motorcycle. No, it's not a Harley. We have a 85' Honda Shadow, 700 cc. It's black and in pretty good condition for being that old. I believe the original owner rode it a total of 100 miles per year. Right now the bike is stored at Manburger's buddy's house until Manburger completes the mandatory Motorcycle Safety Course and earns his license. Don't worry, we will post pictures of it too. Here's a photo of Manburger in his riding gear.
The vest he has on is the standard reflective vest that most Marines wear. I have one too, but mine is yellow. I think he looks pretty sweet in his biker stuff. I can't wait till he's had some road experience and is ready for me to ride along. There's nothing quite like riding on the back of a motorcycle. And don't worry, safety is the utmost concern of ours. Manburger won't be making any stunt jumps or doing street races ;)
On another note, our next goal is to buy a new digital camera. We were really lucky to get the one picture of Manburger before the battery died. Our rechargeable batteries hold a charge for about 30 seconds; that's how old the camera is. So hopefully within the next month, we won't have any excuses not to be taking lots and lots of pictures of our new bike and other things going on in our lives.

They really do exist!

Just last week, Manburger and I participated in our first "grunion run." What is that, you say? Well, the grunion is an elusive fish that supposedly spawns en-masse at the full and new moons on Southern California beaches. I say supposedly, because last year we tried to get a glimpse of them, but had no luck. This year however, we were better prepared b/c we checked out the dates and times on the official state grunion website. At about 11pm we walked down to the beach to wait for the grunion to show up. Manburger and I didn't see anything except schmoozing couples on the beach at first, but then a glint showed up in the waves and before we knew it bunches of little fish started wriggling up on the sand. Grunion are the weirdest fish I've ever touched before. They aren't flat like most fish, but kinda of tube-like (like an eel), and extremely slimy. The weirdest part is that before you touch them they lay still on the sand, but as soon as you touch them, they start flopping around like crazy, yowzer! It took quite a while for Manburger and I to get over the initial icky-ness of the little fish and Manburger finally was able to pick one up (I was too grossed out by their slipperiness). So this last grunion picture is the one Manburger held for a good minute while I was trying to get the camera to work. Manburger was more than glad to let the grunion back in the waves, as I'm sure the grunion was glad to be back in the water.
I also finally made my first home decorative purchases. I had a little fun one weekend and bought two sets of red tie-top curtains, two curtain rods, a picture for over the fireplace, and two throw pillows for the couch (one red and one orange). I thought my decorating venture was successful and I even hung the picture and the curtain rods all by myself. See what a handy wife Manburger has! Manburger suggested that we could replace our plastic dining room set, but I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet. I rather like our green table and chairs. :)

Aquatic Adventures

About two weeks ago, Yogurl and I went to see the USS Midway. It's a retired air craft carrier which is now docked in San Diego Harbor and serves as a big ol' floating museum. A brother in our ward volunteers there, so he was able to get us in for free. Just the right price if you ask me! When you get on the ship, they give you a headset so that you can take a self guided tour. We went through the whole thing in order, but if you want to skip around, you just punch in the track number that is posted next to whatever you are looking at. It was a sweet museum. I really feel bad for those suckers in the Navy now. The corridors are all so tiny. I bumped my head well over a dozen times during the two hours we were there. Now I see why Navy stands for Never Again Volunteer Yourself. Yuck, yuck.
The first picture is Yogurl flying something or other. I don't remember what kind of aircraft it is, to be honest. The next one is me in the Midway brig. Being in the brig there would be among the worst punishments I could think of. Especially since on ship they can restrict your rations to just bread and water while you are in the brig. They can't get away with treating civilian prisoners like that.
After seeing the Midway, we went to Scripps Aquarium, which turned out to be a pretty big disappointment. They had a few cool fish, but overall it was small and devoted to teaching us about global warming. They did have moray eels, though. Those things are pretty nasty looking. Kinda like me when I wake up in the morning.
During the week, Condoleezza Rice came to visit Camp Pendleton. Big surprise, nobody knew about it. She spoke to the Marines on the Air Station, but nobody from my crew got to go, because we were at PT. Nobody bothered telling us that she was going to be there. No big deal right? Just the Secretary of State, who cares? I did get to see her as she was boarding her jet to depart, just from a ways away.
This past weekend Yogurl and I were planning to go visit my family. Well, Friday evening my crew chief calls and says they just found out about an arriving aircraft Saturday night, and that I had to go in to work. I didn't have to be in until 2045, so that still gave us plenty of time to go to the LA temple to see my brother and sister-in-law sealed. We just couldn't stay for too long afterwards. When we were driving to Santa Monica, we saw a message on my phone saying that the arrival time had changed and so I had to be into work two hours sooner. So right when the sealing was done, we said goodbye and took off for home. Then once we were well on our way, they called and said it had been pushed back again. Then at home they called again and said it was moved forward again. Anyway, I got in and everything went just fine. After all that hassle, he showed up at the originally scheduled time. I'm just glad we made it to the sealing. It was really awesome to be there for that.