Some pics, facts and things incase you missed them

A glimpse at our lives through the lens of a cell phone camera:


Fat Nick


Michelle's Halloween costume. One person thought she was Edward from Twilight.


This is an old pic I found of the old lady red hat club.


Genius marketing at Utah Valley University


Dumpster diver douche. As you can see from the U-haul truck on the left, this was the day we moved out of that complex.


Found this little gem at a thrift store. What a 5 head!


Amber likes to dance to fireworks at the Mayan as part of the entertainment.


Git R Did and a butterfly


MarRae being secretary/pranksta at T-ville city hall.


Tyra going 80's!


Is this sign telling me to go to hell?


What a steal of a deal!


Keepin it clean


Nick's single ready to mingle days



When Michelle speaks spanish she turns into Miguel. This is a video of Miguel and her amazing and beautifully exotic accent.


Celebs Nick has met, seen, or encountered:
Andrew W.K.
Harrison Ford
Norm Macdonald
Pat O'Brien
Ron Paul
Dick Cheney (giving commencement speech at BYU)
Ralph Nader (giving alternative commencement speech at UVU)
Joel McHale
Chelsea Clinton
Lavelle Edwards
& the lead singer of Modest Mouse


Michelle can no longer have an X ray done due to having so many injuries and X-rays, it might cause radiation. I asked her to write them all down but can't due to the volume. Nick has never broken a bone or had stitches.

"We need to have more parties!"

So, you know how we live in Provo now? Welllll we're about 1 minute from this Provo Temple. Yesterday we embarked on doing a session there and saw that they needed some people for Sealings. It was pretty good. We had a temple worker that could actually pronounce all the exotic names and he kept it light by telling us about the funny names he would find while doing Sealing sessions, such as; Iona Ford, Mary Bones, etc.

Anyway, after we're done and leaving an old man comes up to Michelle and is going in for a kiss on the cheek, which Michelle goes along with awkwardly and confused (kind of like our first kiss). Then he comes up to me and says "We need to have more parties!" and I said "Yeah, thats what I say!" Then he goes on.
"Hows the family?"
"Oh they're good"
"Yeah? Good. Jerry is doing good?"
"...yeeah"
Who is Jerry? I don't know. I swiftly try to get us out of there before he finds out we're not who he thinks we are. Then Michelle blurts out "I don't know a Jerry!?" and I said "Just go with it!" and we got out of there. We didn't see him again.

That was a one of our better temple experiences.

Movie Review- 500 Days of Summer

Miguel and I watched this 500 Days of Summer flick last night.

I give it 4 stars out of 6 rainbows.

This is one of those "indie" movies which means they dress like hipsters and listen to the Smiths or Pixies or some band that you might not hear on the radio but recognize from commercials. Anyway, as I have said in this blog that we are definitely a little hipster and indie. Takes one to know one (kid I think you got it bad), if you recognize those lyrics then I would say you are a hipster indie person as well.

I liked this movie. Any movie that has funny dialogue always gets me. Usually any movie with Zooey Deschanel aint so bad either. She did a great job playing the fun but flighty girl who wants friendship while Joseph Gordon Levitt played the other person in the movie. He is the main star who is either having the best time of his life or the worst because of this Summer (Zooey). Not quite the same boy meets girl plot but not too different. Its quirky enough to watch again and again but its no Juno. I'm just glad to see a movie that doesn't have John Travolta or Kate Hudson in it because those are way too mainstream mediocre and I'm indie.

On that note I did get into Lady Gaga for like 10 seconds and now I'm over it. She isn't that good. Especially when you put her in league with people like Regina Spektor or Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Thats another story though.

500 Days of Summer felt like watching an old relationship that at the time seemed so important but then afterward its like did I really think Lady Gaga was good? I don't know why I was tricked into that one. So I recommend watching this movie because its like a young High Fidelity.

The Times of Valen

This was probably the best Valentine's day ever. Miguel likes to call it "Valen Time's Day" like its some newspaper that prints stories about lovers or some guy named Valen who is such a lover we celebrate his existence every year by being in love.

Its probably a really good thing we didn't just up and leave to Cali this year. Last year was a lot of fun. So fun because Michelle served her LDS mission in North Hollywood and Burbank so we were able to meet some of her converts and the members there who loved her. I mean loved her. They were so happy to see her. (Almost as happy as Michelle gets when I buy her a soft furry stuffed animal).

We met a guy named Brother Cannon. An old World War II vet who later became one of the Seventy for the LDS church and had the greatest gift of discernment of anyone I ever met. He had me shave and had us write down our names in cursive and then a few sentences by which he would explain to us what kind of people he thought we were. He was about 100% correct. We went to his house where his son told us he had been hospitalized. So we went there. A week later he died.

Oh the times of Valen! This year we went to Jump on It, a place that just has about 30 trampolines lined up next to each other with about that many kids jumping on them. I stubbed my toe after 20 mins and we had to go. Also we ate out. Michelle said to make sure I get her flowers. Luckily I found a shirt she would like that had flowers on it. Flowers for V day are nice but they die. T-Shirts, thats where true love is at!

That said I endorse Joel Stein's tweet today- "Why should only Christmas get a better greeting than 'happy'? Let's start saying 'Sexy Valentine's Day'. Also 'Acceptable Presidents Day'

Marketed to Kids, Made for Adults

Today we almost took a drive to Disneyland.

Its sort of tradition for us to randomly start escalating our plans to the point of packing up and driving to California or Vegas by that same day.

We didn't this time. Last year we drove to Santa Monica on a whim of "You don't have to work and we have money! What are we doing here?" Its fun but this time we thought we should save some of our time and money. What dummies right? Anyway, tomorrow we are going to Jump On It and jump on it. Its one of those places that are enticing to kids but designed for adults.

Kind of like one of those computer animated movies I'm not too attracted to. Why do people give me so much guff about that? Every time Michelle mentions that I haven't seen Finding Nemo or Cars or the Incredibles, people act like I killed a penguin because they just can't comprehend the idea of why this would happen.

I'm sorry. Those movies are marketed for kids but made for adults who really would want to watch them anyway but only justify it by bringing kids along. The humor in these movies are mostly rehashed, family oriented versions of Monty Python. I don't hate them but I just don't have a desire to see them. Again, marketed to kids but written for the adults that want that cartoon silliness but are too mature to admit it.

Kind of like Disneyland. Hmmm.....

Just watch some Monty Python's Flying Circus already.

The Wedding Dance

So, my wife and I met 5 or 6 years ago. We weren't married when we met. The marriage came later. This is how it happened-
I went to a wedding just after highschool. It was the first wedding I went to where I wasn't related to the bride and groom in any way. Michelle was there as a bride's maid for my friend, but I don't remember talking to her or meeting her. I was more interested in just dancing in a circle, not knowing the camera or Michelle was recording my moves.
Soon I left for San Diego on a Spanish speaking mission for 2 years, where the first conference in front of the mission I had to introduce myself and said "You know the field is white and already to harvest or in my case its brown and talks too fast". I wasn't asked to speak in front of the mission again.
Upon coming home I found myself playing another kind of field. For 3 years I had no luck in converting a girlfriend to an eternal companion. I found myself in a strange jungle with cougars while living single in Provo and going to school.
Michelle by this time had enlisted in the mission field in San Fernando, Spanish speaking. Then she came home and replayed that tape in her mind of me dancing and inquired my friend as to setting up a date.
I know my friend Jamber likes to take credit for us meeting but I think the credit really goes to the dance moves that impacted Michelle's heart for like 5 or 6 years. How often do dance moves affect people's hearts like that? Not often. The only examples that would be comparable would be Elvis' hips and Michael Jackson's moonwalking.
Jamber sent me a message on Facebook and I eventually saved the date. Michelle had begun texting me and would say things like "rawrrr" and I would reply "meow". With all this texting and waiting 5 or 6 years to see me again Michelle just couldn't wait 5 or 6 more days till our official blind date and we met early. Then eventually (like 3 months later) got married.
Later Michelle told me that she knew I was the one after our 3rd date. We went on a crazy adventure date going to various locations, finally ending up at a carnival set up by a local Catholic church. There was a local band with a trumpet playing so we went to see. Normally people at local band shows are quite reserved and this awkward tension can only be danced off. Michelle initiated it and we began to show off some real groove and sweat, dancing, while nervous onlookers took pictures of us. This time I knew the camera was recording and knew Michelle.
So, my advice to you single ladies and gents is if you want to get married then you need to dance.

Practicality is so hip and smart

Miguel and I finally live in a place that doesn't feel like a cheap hotel or like we're imposing on some stranger's basement. Its called BYU housing and I was really against the idea cause I thought I would feel like I was in Sunday School all the time. As you know as a youth I would often make excuses and cry if I had to go to Sunday School. So there were some trepidations but now I love it. Also, I am sort of hipster so I wanted somewhere cool but now I see how bad it is to follow trends instead of something practical. Practicality is so hip and smart and our place is totally hipster anyway!

Miguel is now going to school without any distractions like:
-House music randomly during the day and night
-swearing and yelling from the other side of the wall
-random smoke smells
-a huge commute
-an overall awkward feeling coming home or leaving
-having to climb a mountain upon coming home

I started my new job at the U.S. Census Bureau and although I've sworn a life oath of never indulging anything about my job (yep), I will tell you a few things that do not pertain to Title 13 Confidentiality Regulations. I got referenced by a coworker to looking, sounding, and acting like David Spade or "that guy from Tommy Boy". Its a really cool job because I will be monitoring phone calls instead of having to actually make or take phone calls. It pays well and ends in July so I'll be able to finally go back to school on my terms: with money and time to study. Also, I might be able to get the morning shift so I'll be able to see Miguel more but if not I'll at least be compensated handsomely for working nights.

Ciao