home for the holidays

**I promise to charge my camera battery before the next blog post**

I finished student teaching (WOOHOO!) and Brent did VERY well on his finals. The last week of the semester was pretty crazy as we finished everything up and got things ready for the break.

The break started with Troy (Brent's little bro)'s farewell. Troy is leaving this week for the MTC then he'll be in Long Beach, CA. We are definitely going to miss him.

The day after the farewell Brent had back surgery. He has had herniated and bulging discs in his back that have caused him a lot of pain the last few years. We are hoping that this surgery will allow him to be full strength before the baby comes. He is doing very well so far. Because of the surgery we have been pretty much home bound the whole break. (With a few visits to his parents who live nearby).

We spend our days playing Mario Galaxy, watching Grey's Anatomy, reading, watching geek movies, and napping. It has been restful for both of us, but we are also going a bit stir crazy.

Pregnancy Update

We had our 18 week ultrasound the week before Christmas. So far things are looking good. We decided to have the doctor write down the gender of the baby for us to open on Christmas Eve. I am so glad we waited, it was really fun to open it with just the two of us. We found out that we are having a BOY! It is fun to be able to say "he" and "him."

coo coo for finals week

Brent is going to be up late working on a Spanish paper. He should be working on it right now, but I was craving cocoa puffs, so he ran to get some.

I love this guy!

Baby Update: things are feeling good. We are going to the doctor on Thursday for our ultrasound. We'll find out the gender, but we are going to have the doctor write it down so we can open it for Christmas.

Grateful

It's been awhile since I added to the family blog, and I think that it's only fitting that I do so now that we're expecting.

This pregnancy is something for which we have prayed very earnestly. I am aware that there are many people out there, very possibly reading this blog, that went through longer, harder, and more soul-wrenching trials in order to have their children than we did. I am also aware of those that are still struggling towards this goal. Sincerely and deeply, I'm sorry. Katie and I went through something this summer that we never thought possible and are only now really beginning to recover from. I can't imagine what it would be like to do it again.

It's interesting how the Lord teaches us. Over the course of the past couple of months, Katie and I have been humbled and tutored from on high. I shudder to think that I could say that I am grateful for these past couple of months (since May), but I am. I would never want to live

through them again, but they have made us much stronger and the trials through which we have passed have drawn us much closer. Though we may not have enjoyed this past summer quite like we had imagined, our lives are better for it. Elder Paul V. Johnson shared something that comforted us through our trial:

Recently a nine-year-old boy was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer. The doctor explained the diagnosis and the treatment, which included months of chemotherapy and major surgery. He said it would be a very difficult time for the boy and his family but then added, “People ask me, ‘Will I be the same after this is over?’ I tell them, ‘No, you won’t be the same. You will be so much stronger. You will be awesome!’”

The trials through which Katie and I have passed together have made us better. Hindsight has taught me that. These tests have made me fall even more in love with her; she truly is the woman of my dreams. More so now than ever, and more tomorrow than today. I don't think that I was out of touch with reality at the beginning of this summer, but I do know that now I am more "in touch" than I have ever been.

I believe the most valuable piece of experience that we gained from our trials was knowledge; knowledge of our Savior and of His love for us. The pain and anguish that resulted from the miscarriage were deeper, more intense, and excruciatingly more real than I ever could have possibly imagined. We never realized how much we wanted to be parents until we lost it. It frightens me to think that this might have just been the beginning of trials that Katie and I face together, but I know that everything has its purpose. Though in the grand, eternal scheme of the gospel this trial will represent a small blip on the radar, at this time it is for us our first, humbling step towards Calvary. We will not ever reach the level of unimaginable suffering and pain through which our Lord and Savior passed; however, I do know that our trials in this life are meant to bring us one step closer to the summit. The purpose is not simply to suffer, but to learn. I learned that we are many times much stronger than we give ourselves credit for. I learned that all those times when I have been fiercely loyal to my wife (and she to me) paid off when it mattered most. Most of all, however, I have learned that the atonement is something that I will never truly understand in this life. However, I know that it is real, and that Christ did do it for us. I cannot fathom to what depths He must have descended in order to feel what we felt, yet infinitely more. I have simply learned to trust in Him. This trust has yet to fail me.

When I wrote my mission president about what had happened, he responded with a scripture that has spoken peace to my soul on more than one occasion:

For verily I say unto you, blessed is he that ^akeepeth my commandments, whether in life or in ^bdeath; and he that is^cfaithful in ^dtribulation, the ^ereward of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven.

3 Ye cannot behold with your natural ^aeyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the ^bglory which shall follow after much tribulation.

4 For after much ^atribulation come the ^bblessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be ^ccrowned with much ^dglory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand.

5 Remember this, which I tell you before, that you may ^alay it to heart, and receive that which is to follow.

I'm still not 100% sure why I needed to post this blog, but I felt that I did.

I know that Jesus Christ lives. There is no place for doubt even in the hidden corners of my soul that He did die for us. I know that Heavenly Father loves us more than we can understand. They are there for us constantly, and I know that Their arms of mercy are constantly extended towards us. I am grateful for the things that have happened to us. Most of all, I'm grateful for Katie. I love her. If you don't know her, take my word for it.

I am grateful for this summer because it taught us invaluable lessons on how to deal with hardship. Katie and I have learned to roll with the punches, as many of you have, and life has never been better. Ever.

the first trimester

We are THRILLED to announce that we are expecting! We are due on May 19. I am currently 13 weeks along. We are so grateful to be pregnant. It has already been a great learning experience for both of us.

So far in my first trimester I have been feeling pretty sick. Brent has been great at helping take care of me. The hardest thing has been having low energy. I am student teaching right now and it takes all of my energy to make it through the day. Poor Brent has had to get used to me going to bed at 7:30 every night. Our weekends have been great for recovery. I spend most of the weekend asleep or in bed reading.

I'd say I haven't had many weird cravings yet, but Brent might disagree. I am starting to turn the corner on the nausea, but for the last 8 weeks Brent has had to play "guess what Katie can eat today" I have gone through a few different phases so far. For the first few weeks all I wanted were hash browns drenched in maple syrup.

Then one night Brent started to make them and I got sick and said no more. After that all I wanted was cereal and lots of strawberry milk. This week I have been craving sno-cones/slushies/smoothies.

Brent has become the resident chef while I can't stand being in the kitchen. He does a great job :)

Brent has also been good about cheering me on and keeping things light. He likes to tease me about my hormone changes. So what if I cry about Hallmark commercials, episodes of Grey's Anatomy, Bones, Project Accessory, Mormon Messages, Kenny Loggins songs, blog posts that mentions babies, and running out of chocolate milk? Who doesn't?

Despite not feeling well lately, I have been so grateful that I wake up every morning feeling pregnant. I don't want to complain about the morning sickness, exhaustion, nausea or any other symptom. I am grateful everyday that I get to feel this way. Brent has been a rock star at helping me. He's even had a few sympathy cravings (bran muffins and diet dr. pepper).

We had our first ultrasound on Friday and everything looks great. The baby has a strong heart beat and is growing well. We will have our next ultrasound on December 15 and we will get to find out the gender then!

My favorite part of blogs are pictures of babies. So here is our baby's first photo shoot:

DIY chevron table

So this was my August project. You will notice that in almost every picture Brent is doing all of the work. He graciously volunteered to sand and prime the table (all the hard stuff) So I could just add on my design. The coffee table was originally purchased for $10 at D.I. It took us a full year to get around to painting it.

Here is Brent sanding away.

This is a close up so you can see the checkerboard pattern that was on the table originally.

Here is Brent painting for me

The painted coffee table.

At first I wanted to keep the checkerboard design. I spent 2 hours taping this off before I realized that the checkerboard pattern was not perfectly even on the original design.

I bought these cardboard stencils from Walmart that I planned to use in the checkerboard pattern. These were my samples, as you can see they bled a lot. I tried everything I could, but it kept turning out sloppy.

We left it for a week or two and then my sister-in-law Ashley came to visit and she suggested a Chevron design, so we gave it a try. If I were going to do it again I would definitely start with three straight lines to make sure the points lined up. It turned out ok, but it is a little bit crooked. (luckily it is such a busy design it is hard to tell)

Here is the completed table. I LOVE it!

Another angle of the completed table

Here it is with our blue walls.

Overall it was a fun project. We were able to use cheap white paint and a $3 gray paint sample from Walmart for the stripes.

The last few months-- the highlights anyway.

Life, as always, is busy in the Pickett house. This post will probably be super long-- feel free to skim through it for the pictures/ bolded words. usually how I read blogs...

So as promised here is the picture of Dae Dae with us this summer. He had just cleaned the front room and rolled out the yoga mats as a "red" carpet. Totally cool kid and a blast to have around.

After we dropped off Dae Dae we headed to Park City with Brent's family. I forgot my camera and so I don't have any pics. :( We ate at some great restaurants, hit the outlets and spent several hours lounging by the pool. It was a great weekend.

In the coming weeks we wrapped up our summer job working at the summer camp. As always it was a lot of fun and a lot of four square. It's always great to work together in the summer because we get to spend so much time together. Like all day every day.

So then we headed to Cave Falls for my family's annual camping trip. We got to spend a few days relaxing, fishing and playing games with family. Unfortunately the mosquitoes were REALLY bad. So we did not get to camp in the actual campground. (I was completely bummed). We spent my birthday there, which is always my favorite. here are some pictures of our trip (luckily remembered my camera this time)

These are the pics I took of Brent while he fished. I loved sitting by the waterfall.

It was such a beautiful day. Brent didn't catch anything though :(

Just after I took this shot we watched and Osprey and Bald Eagle almost fight over the waterfall. Seriously so cool. Unfortunately my camera was pretty well dead by this point.

Here we are together standing in the super cold water.

One of my favorite shots. I love watching the mist come off of the falls.

Me, Mom and Sammi chillin in the water. Traditionally we have a swimming/float race but this year the water was just too cold. We decided to just shiver in the water for a few minutes instead.

After a few days at CF we decided to head to Jackson Hole. This is where we took our honeymoon, so it was fun to visit again. We'd been married almost exactly 1.5 years in this pic.

here is me holding the nephew in Yellowstone. We drove the park and saw the animals. Corgan loved every minute of it. He's a big fan of animals.

here's the whole crew (minus mom and dad who are taking the pic) in Yellowstone. We really missed Cody & Larkin and Lance & Taylor this year. I am really hoping everyone can make it next year!

A couple of weeks after our big family camping trip we headed down to spend some time with the fam for Maren and Greg's wedding. It was a lot of fun, especially because Greg grew up down the street from us. (seriously this has been in the works for 18 years.) The week before the wedding we came down for temple stuff and bridal shower. Cody and Larkin were in town and it was so fun to see them. Here are some pics of the shower:

here all the sisters :) So many girls in the family now. <3 it !

Here we are again (with Hilary) posing with Larkin's dress fiasco. Ok so it does not look that bad in this picture, but she ordered it from (India I think) and it came and had super puff sleeves and fit weird. It was a big NO vote from all of us. She found a much cuter ensemble for the wedding. The modeling was sure fun though!

Now for the BIG day!

The whole family! I cannot believe how much we've grown in the past few years. I love all of my new siblings. Seriously I have the best sibs in law ever. And the nephews are so sweet. Unfortunately in this pic you can't see the cute skirt Brent bought me for the wedding (gray and white stripes) I absolutely love it.

Here's a shot of the sisters. Could we look any different? Ok I guess with my hair dyed Sam and I could pass, but as always Maren with her gorgeous olive skin steals the show. My bangs are doing something funky, but otherwise a great shot. Maren made such a beautiful bride. It was weird to see her all grown up. Seriously I am so happy for her and Greg, they make a really cute couple!

This last shot was taken after the wedding on a mall excursion. My aunt Amanda, who is way cool, flew out with her two daughters for the wedding. Naturally we partied and shopped with them. I wish it showed up bigger on here, because this may be the first picture of me, EVER, that I look tan. Yep, sepia rocks for me.

** over the course of the two weeks of the wedding there were SEVERAL trips to Taco Amigo. :)

After the wedding it was time to bounce back into school (ok so I did a fun at home project in the in between weeks. PICS coming very soon!)

I am student teaching this semester-- 8th grade US History and ESL classes @ South Cache 8-9 Center. After I teach each day I had to Millville where I run the after school program. Then after that (most nights) I head to class. It's been a bit overwhelming, to say the least, but I am hanging on.

Brent is too busy, as per usual. He works 20 hours a week with his migrant job (which he still loves), is taking a full course load-- physics and Ochem included, is head of the Spanish Ambassadors on campus, interprets at the hospital once a week, continues to serve as EQ president in our ward and helps me by making dinner most nights.

In the midst of all this chaos we are exhausted, our house is a constant disaster, there may never be an end to the laundry piles, and heaven knows the fridge needs to be cleaned out.... BUT we are still happy and in love.

Over labor day we snuck back up to Cave Falls for a quick trip with my parents and Justin & Ashley +boys. It was so much fun. We loved just relaxing by the river. We nearly died on the way up-- but we survived for a fabulous, delicious weekend.

Brent's back started hurting again a few weeks ago. Thankfully this year he is insured (HOORAY!) (THANKS OBAMA!!) And so it is not nearly as stressful as last year. He has already been in for treatments and feels great. We are grateful for the tender mercies of the Lord. We are looking at possible surgery options to prevent further relapses, but won't know for sure for a few weeks.

And that folks is all for now. Will post pics of my lastest project soon. :)

eight year olds and otterpops

** pictures coming as soon as I can find my camera :)

Our summer took an unexpected turn when we got the chance to have an 8 year old house guest, Damien, (Dae Dae) for two weeks. He is an awesome little guy and was a blast to hang out with. Thought I'd share a few of my favorite moments from the weeks.

Brent thought Damien would enjoy seeing Samson eat a few guppies. They went to Petsmart and got some feeder fish. Somewhere in all of this Brent either neglected to tell Damien the fishes' purpose or Damien just didn't care because by the time we got home they all had names. Swimmy, being Damien's fish that he wanted us to keep forever. As Brent dumped them into Samson's tank I got a sinking feeling. A few minutes later Damien was in tears because Samson had eaten Swimmy. Lesson learned. We did our best not to laugh when Damien proclaimed Samson the meanest turtle ever. It took a little while, but Damien eventually forgave Samson for eating Swimmy.

Another great moment came tonight as I was working on homework, packing for Park City, cleaning the house, catching up on laundry, running Relief Society errands, and waiting for Brent to get off at the hospital... (phew I'm tired just remembering it all) I asked Damien to put away the games he had gotten out to play the night before. He went the extra mile and while I did the dishes he cleaned the entire front room. It looked awesome (super impressed). Then he took our yoga mats and spread them from the door for a red (ok blue and green) carpet entrance. Then he spent the next 25 minutes showing me how people should come in the door. "Ok so lets say you got off work and you came in the door you could just walk on it and get your guitar or come over and sit on the love sac..."

The best part of the week for me has been watching Brent having fun with Damien. Brent hates monopoly more than anyone alive, years of being forced to play long games with siblings and lose. When we first started dating I could barely get Brent to play any board game, let alone the dreaded monopoly. So it came as a funny surprise for me when Damien announced his favorite game in the world... Monopoly. We played one or two games every day for two weeks. And Brent, being the great sport he is, did not complain once (ok just once on facebook after I crushed him with the railroads and boardwalk).

Other favorite moments include an otterpop lightsaber duel at the ward softball game, playing the yellow car game EVERYWHERE we went, and introducing Damien to the hilarious world of Pete and Pete.

everybody's working for the weekend

Logan Summerfest

+

Super 8

+

Gardener's Market

+

Pet Adoption Booths @ petsmart

+

Sam's Club free samples and demonstration

= the perfect weekend

Wish I had taken the camera everywhere!

Summer Sun-days

I love Sundays in the summer. After we enjoy church in our fun ward we get to spend our afternoons soaking up the sun. Here are pics from the last two Sundays. Since I am taking a full load of courses this summer we do not see each other as much as we'd like. So Sundays are Brent and Katie days. :) Enjoy lots of pics!

Here we are in Merlin Olsen Park

Brent reading his totally un-nerdy book

Re-reading the hunger games. wow my legs are white.

My sad face when I realize my legs are the same color as the pages of my book.

Brent looking at something.

Just laying in the sun.

Love relaxing in the park!

Sitting on a bench outside the temple.

The view from our bench. <3 Cache Valley

π

This is Brent, and I thought that I'd get on here and post a quick update on the things bouncing around in my head........

1. In the spirit of Ashely Reeves' blog, here's a flawed but fabulous story... though it is certainly leaning towards the flawed side of the scale. We need a moral judgment here, because I think that we may be "scum of the earth"-type people. We were on our way to a church activity last night and on the way we passed aKool-Aid stand manned by a group of 11 year-old neighborhood girls. We pulled up, rolled down the window, and told them that we would take one glass of whatever they have. Instead of having the Kool-Aid in pitchers, they had the idea to do glasses of the sugary elixir one by one, made-to-order style. I thought it a great idea; however, complications soon arose. In the interest of teamwork, one girl poured the water, one dumped in the Kool-Aid packet, and one dumped in the sugar. However, they had not quite figured out who would be doing which job, and the proportions of each ingredient were.... let's say.... a bit off. They handed us the cup of Fruit Punch Kool-Aid and Katie took the first sip, which she did a good job of "enjoying" and then asked for a bit more sugar. The little girls kindly added a little bit more (emphasis on the little) and handed it back with a huge smile on her face. Knowing that we didn't actually stop for a cup of Kool-Aid, we smiled back, thanked them for their service, and even left them a 25 cent tip. As we drove off, we started to "critique" their business plan of serving Kool-Aid in a roadside stand in made-to-order glasses. About 200 yards down the road, I hit the brakes, looked at Katie and said, "Are we really critiquing the business plan of a group of 3 11 year-old girls and their lemonade stand? We might be the worst people alive." I don't know if that officially qualifies, but please weigh in. I think that I may very well have lost my mind. Legit shout out to the group of girls; keep that entrepreneurial spirit alive. Lesson learned? Certainly. Life is too short! Stop and smell the roses.
2. Katie and I entered into a debate, and if you feel so inclined, please weigh in. (Note: there are some young boys playing outside our window right now. They appeared to be stacking some stuff to see how high it would get. I didn't actually see it happen, but I just heard a crash and heard the older one yelling angrily at his younger brother as he ran inside to tell his Mom.... this ought to be interesting.)
   
   
   A few nights ago as we were about to go to sleep, a question with enormous implications entered into my mind, and I simply could not rest until I got it resolved. Naturally, I turned to my moral compass in life, Katie, and asked her what she thought. The question is the following: Who would win in an epic battle duel of honor: Albus Dumbledore or Jedi Master Yoda? (I tell you that I get worried sometimes about the absolute idiocy of the things that are bouncing around my cerebral cortex.) Katie sided with Dumbledore, while I loyally stuck to Yoda. I won't get into a full breakdown here, but I need to know what America thinks. Who would win? I think the answer falls into the "obvious" category, with questions like: "What happens if I stick a fork in an electrical outlet?"; "Did Al Gore really invent the internet?"; and "Should we watch this new Nicolas Cage movie?"
   
   

vs.

I mean, I think the answer is clear. It'd be like LeBron James playing 1-on-1 vs. Nancy Pulosi.

gratitude

As many of you know the past week has been a difficult one for us. We appreciate everyone's love and support. We are still heartbroken, but we are starting to get back to life. I debated how much to share on here and because our blog is public I've decided to leave out the details, but if you are a family member/friend that would like to know what is going on feel free to message me.

My goal of this post was to update everyone but also to express my gratitude for the gospel. We have felt a strong feeling of peace this past week and for that I am so grateful. The following verses of scripture have been on my mind.

17Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are ^alittle children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;

18And ye cannot ^abear all things now; nevertheless, be of good^bcheer, for I will ^clead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the ^driches of ^eeternity are yours.

19And he who receiveth all things with ^athankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an ^bhundred fold, yea, more.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. It has made a difference for us, and we appreciate you.

Rebuttal: The Truth Exposed

This is Brent, and I am going to take advantage of this forum, that for one reason or another, has chosen to post scathing slander regarding my trustworthiness with electronic items.

The prosecution calls Katie Pickett to the stand.

Me (in a very official sounding, lawyer-like voice): Is it not true that it was in fact YOU that were in charge of the original Ipod in question when it was originally lost?

Katie: Why yes, I do believe that it was.

Me: Indeed it was. Is the person that found the originally lost Ipod here in the courtroom?

Katie: Yes, he is.

Me: Would you point him out for me, please?

Katie: Certainly. (she points to ME)

Me: Let the record show that the defendant pointed to the prosecuting attorney!

(general rustling from the peanuts gallery)

Judge: There will be order or I will have all of you thrown out and held in contempt of court!

Me: Ms. Pickett....

Katie: It's Mrs. Pickett.

Me: Mrs. Pickett? Oh, well... my (blushing) your husband must be a VERY lucky man.

Katie: He most certainly is.

Me: Yes I am. Mrs. Pickett, after the new Ipod Nano was found, who was it that located the item in question?

Katie: Why, it was the same dashing Zeus-like hunk of a man that found the first Ipod! This man has the sleuthing instincts of Sherlock Holmes himself!

Me: So it was your husband, or as you put it, this "dashing Zeus-like hunk of a man" that found BOTH lost Ipods in question.

Katie: Yes, I believe that it was. He did find BOTH Ipods and I did not find any lost Ipods. If there were a contest for finding lost Ipods, I would be down 2-0.

Me: Let the record show that the defendant is ogling the prosecuting attorney.

Judge: Noted. Can you blame her?

Me: Not at all. The defense rests.

Note: this actually DID happen and Katie DID actually admit this. Once again, the prosecution (or in this case, the defense) rests.

lost and found

Sometimes you just have to laugh, because is life is funny. And today's funny story really had me rolling.

This story starts last summer on our last day of the after school program. Immediately following work we hopped in our car and headed for Yellowstone to go camping with my family. We made a quick stop at our apartment and that is when the trouble started...

I had been playing with our ipod trying to get the right song ready to start our road trip. We ran in the house made a couple of quick trips and when we sat back down the ipod was nowhere to be seen.

We looked everywhere. Our car was stuffed and I was sure it had fallen between our seats. We kept digging in the car and looked all over the house. No luck. We left without the pod. We got back from Yellowstone and cleaned out the car. STILL no luck. We looked everywhere and finally gave up hope. Brent was convinced it fell out of the car and I was convinced it was still stuck underneath one of the seats in some tiny nook.

Fast forward 5 months and it is Christmas time. I decided to splurge and get Brent a new ipod because-- depending on how you look at it, it might have been... maybe just a little bit, my fault that our old pod was gone. So I got him a new nano. It was risky because it was even smaller and our record at losing things is high. But we thought we'd give it a shot.

Brent definitely did not expect it, but really liked having an ipod again. Especially as he started running it was great to have some tunes. All went well at first, we managed to keep it safe, until this week. It was lost, nowhere to be found. Brent tore apart the house with no luck. Then he took the car and cleaned it out (which I was thrilled about) but instead of finding the new ipod he found THE OLD POD! hidden in a tiny crevice underneath his seat! (LIKE I SAID ALL ALONG!!)

He came in and we laughed and laughed. We still couldn't find the new pod but we figured it would turn up, and sure enough he dropped his pen in between couch cushions tonight and pulled out the pod.

So now we have two ipods and both are in my sight. Let's just hope we can hold on to them a bit longer this time :)

finals week

It's

almost

OVER

just

a

few

more

tests/projects

We promise to blog at the end of this week, when finals are over and hopefully I am not sick anymore. In the meantime, enjoy these dancing penguins:

flawed and fabulous

My sister in law Ashley started this fun thing called flawed and fabulous friday where we celebrate our flaws. So here goes:

Last night I got out of class around 10. It has been a long week and I was ready to get home and crash. Brent and I had both been sick all week. But as I got in the car Brent told me that he was in desperate need of a bran muffin (new diet = weird cravings). We went to Smith's and looked through their baked goods, NO LUCK! We went to whatever Albertson's is called now, NO LUCK! Brent was really frustrated and then I realized he had been wearing his shirt inside out all night I started laughing. Instead of going home I called Macey's and they said that they sold them in packs of 4.
We rushed to Maceys and looked through their muffins. They had bran muffins but the four packs were variety packs and had lots of different flavors. Brent was really upset, so I did the only rational thing and started marching to the service desk to demand they put 4 in a box, they did tell me they sold them after all. Brent stopped me and dragged me back to the muffin stand where we finally found one box with 4 bran muffins. He was one happy camper and we giggled the whole way home.

yes we are ridiculous but we love our silly adventures. Flawed and Fabulous :)

KNIVES.

I HAVE THOUGHTS!

So... this is Brent. I have decided that I have some thoughts that I want to blo g. Some of them, of course, will involve basketball; more specifically, the NBA Playoffs coming up. Also, I am going to post some of the convoluted craziness that I will extract from the manic maelstrom that is my conscious process. Buen provecho. Enjoy.

1. Our neighbors, Jake and Hannah Garrett, are moving. That stinks. We've really enjoyed having them so close. They taught us pinochle and gave us our first real "couple friend" after we got married. Good times. We know that they'll be off on a new adventure in a new apartment, but if one of you is reading this, WE STILL WANT TO BE FRIENDS! We need another pinochle summer!

2. I enjoy drinking out of large glasses. Small glasses stink.

3. One of Katie's students, Sarai, invited us over to her house for some authentic Central American food on this upcoming Monday night, including pupusas, black beans, tortillas, and a few other things. I think that I will be fasting until Monday. For those of you that know how amazing this stuff is, be jealous. For those of you that do not know this food, I feel bad for you. Legitimately. Your life is awful.

4. (Insert sports rant) The Chicago Bulls will win the NBA Championship this year. They have size, length, athleticism, and "that dude" (thanks to Charles Barkley for that), Derrick Rose. Though they may not have the proven playoff mettle of the Lakers, Spurs, Mavericks, Celtics, Heat, Knicks, or the Magic, they will have enough to dethrone the Lakers as champs. Here's a team-by-team breakdown of why:

1. Celtics- the Celtics are the presiding elders of the eastern conference. However, the loss of Kendrick Perkins opened up the door to Father Time's withered hand that is now firmly choking greatness out of the Celts. Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer will make Jermaine O'Neal (yes, he's still playing, and yes, he's starting for the C's) look 10 years older than he is, effectively putting him into the geriatric ward. Luol Deng will bother Paul Pierce enough to lower his effectiveness. Kevin Garnett will do well on defense, but his "O" has retrogressed to the point where he is a shadow of his former self. Rose v. Rondo is compelling, but Rose is in a league by himself. He makes Raghib Ismail look like Wilford Brimley and will make sure that this year the Toros take down the C's if they meet.

2. Heat- Containing the Big 3 will be a tall order for any team in the league, and whether or not it can be done remains to be seen. This will be the season where Lebron must step into legendary status or continue on in his past of playoff frustration. Luol Deng, Ronnie Brewer, and Keith Bogans will be able to do their job against Lebron and D-Wade, which means that they just have to make them take hard shots (jump shots) and keep them from simultaneously averaging 40 points over the course of the series. Joakim Noah will nullify Chris Bosh with his physicality and manic defense in the pivot, and Joel Anthony, Erick Dampier, and Big Z will be disappointing reinforcements. Derrick Rose will dissect the Bibby/Wade/Chalmers mod squad that will attempt to put a dent in his production. Though the Bulls will not win by 20 every night, I think they will be able to eke out at least a 1-point in victory in four out of seven.

3. Knicks- Noah will beat Stoudemire up, Boozer will get the better of Knicks C Jared Jeffries, and Deng/Bogans/Butler trio will be able to keep Carmelo from a 30 ppg average. Once again, Derrick Rose will be the force behind the frontcourt battering ram of Deng, Boozer, and Noah that will power the Bulls to a victory in this possible matchup. A Chauncey Billups from the 2004 Pistons championship run would make for an intriguing matchup against Derek Rose, but this year's Billups model has too much mileage. His craftiness will win him some battles, but Rose will win the war.

4. Magic- Outside of the Lakers and the combined 21 feet of Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum, the Bulls may have the best matchup possibilities against Dwight Howard. Coach Thibodeau can run Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, and a bevy of double teams zones that will effectively confuse Superman and force him to do what he does not do so well: pass out to the open man. He hasn't been able to throw a exit pass to anyone but his teammate standing directly in front of him. If the Bulls can force him to look cross-court to pass out and stay solid on their rotations, they should be fine. Though the Magic shooters can burn it up from outside, the perimeter team defense with Bogans, Brewer, Deng, and Rose will have the length and quickness to cover a larger part of open 3s than most teams in the league. Advantage: Bulls.

5. Lakers-Whatever anybody may say, the championship still comes through L.A. If the Bulls meet them in the Finals, Kobe's and Bynum's knees along with more apparent vulnerability on defense will spell the Lake Show's downfall. Nobody in the league can cover Rose; don't even try. Joakim Noah will give Pau a run for his money, which means keeping him under 20 pts and 10 boards a game and outside of 10 feet from the hoop. Though Kobe's knees may be ailing, he's still the deadliest clutch player in the game. If Brewer/Deng/Bogans can keep the Black Mamba from getting to the hole with regularity, Kobe may be less effective. His knee will be banged up, his jump shots may come up a little short, and Showtime 2.0 will fall.

The Bulls have the size, athleticism, and star power in Derrick Rose to bring the O'Brien trophy back to Chicago. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. If I'm right, I'm smarter than you and you should seek my opinion on future life decisions. Ha!

Thanks for dropping by. Katie will be making the future posts; I'm just glad that I can have the floor every few months for a rant. Thanks!