Merry Christmas!

Please take a look at our Christmas card at http://arclite.byu.edu/dan/christmas2008.

A Little About Us

Rules are: Anything you have done has to be in bold. How much have you done?

(PS Daniel is in red, Stephanie is in blue, both is in purple)

1. Started your own blog (umm...you're reading it)

2. Slept under the stars 

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland 

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a Praying Mantis

10. Sang a solo 

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (I learned piano from scratch)

15. Adopted a child 

16. Had food poisoning (on the mission, you'll eat anything once)

17. Been to the Statue of Liberty 

18. Grown your own vegetables 

19. Seen the Mona Lisa at the Louvre 

20. Slept on an train 

21. Had a pillow fight (yeah...Stephanie won)

22. Hitch hiked 

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill 

24. Built a snow fort 

25. Held a lamb 

26. Gone skinny dipping (I must have been less than 3)

27. Run a Marathon 

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 

29. Seen a total eclipse 

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 

31. Hit a home run 

32. Been on a cruise 

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 

35. Seen an Amish community 

36. Taught yourself a new language (just about every semester!)

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (less about money and more about attitude)

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person 

39. Gone rock climbing 

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke 

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa (I lived there for two years!)

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight 

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing 

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris 

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain 

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie 

56. Visited the Great Wall of China 

57. Started a business 

58. Taken a martial arts class 

59. Visited Russia 

60. Served at a soup kitchen 

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (delivered them is more like it)

62. Gone whale watching 

63. Got flowers for no reason 

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (donated once before going to Africa...now they won't accept my blood)

65. Gone sky diving 

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 

67. Bounced a check (it only takes once to learn that lesson...by the way, this was before we were married!)

68. Flown in a helicopter 

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy 

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial 

71. Eaten Caviar 

72. Tied a quilt 

73. Stood in Times Square 

74. Toured the Everglades 

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London 

77. Broken a Bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (30 mph in a 25 mph zone)

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person 

80. Published a book 

81. Visited the Vatican 

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem 

84. Had your picture in the newspaper 

85. Read the entire Bible (seminary)

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (fish)

88. Had chickenpox 

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury 

91. Met someone famous (let's see who frequents the BYU laundry...LaVell Edwards, Bronco Mendenhall, Susan Tanner, Sister Samuelson with a bad hair day, the list goes on...)

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one 

94. Had a baby (we're almost there!)

95. Seen the Alamo in person 

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (umm, no thanks)

97. Been involved in a law suit 

98. Owned a cell phone 

99. Been stung by a bee 

100. Visited Italy

We would love to see what you have and haven't done!  We can't wait to see!

This week has been a very nice week. It was busy (as is typical), but we got the opportunity to be busy with more fun activities this week than usual. We are on the activities committee for church and our ward had our Christmas party on Tuesday evening. This activity was particularly nice for us because it was catered and we didn't have to worry about any cleanup! Stephanie and I participated in a short musical program by playing What Child is This, but otherwise we were able to sit back and enjoy the ham!

Friday, Mom and Dad came down to Provo to do a double date with Stephanie and I. We went to the Marriott Center to watch BYU's Christmas Around the World production. It was a lot of fun to see the culture and the excellent dancing, and we enjoyed having Mom and Dad around.

Two of Stephanie's bosses at work are involved with the Festival of Trees, and we had the opportunity to volunteer there yesterday. I had no idea regarding the scale of this event, but it was huge! Families and businesses donate to the event everything from decorated Christmas trees and homemade wreaths to gingerbread houses. In turn, families and business purchase these creations and the proceeds go to Primary Children's Hospital. Stephanie and I were in charge of watching the gingerbread houses, and let me tell you, there were some amazing creations. One of the houses must have been 150 pounds!

Now we just have to survive one more week of classes followed by a week of exams and then we will be free for Christmas break! We love everyone and hope you're having a wonderful Christmas season!