2008 April — Kristie & Tom McConnon

Three Cheers For Pizza Night!

April 21, 2008 By Tom Leave a Comment

For the last two semesters, our good friend Harry has upheld the most-excellent Reynolds tradition of providing and hosting our favorite weekly social event–Sunday night Pizza Night.

The level of dedication, generosity and love required to pull it off still amazes me. Every week he and Sarah would prepare, create and cook the most amazing pizza you’d ever tried…all from scratch. No kidding…the sauce, the dough, everything. And then he’d just have everyone over to enjoy the good company and enjoy the good food. It was heavenly. Now that they’re gone for the summer we miss it like crazy. But lucky for us we’ve been promised that it will be back in full force next fall…along with an all new supporting cast of Reynolds. Can’t wait.

A picture from the Pizza Night season finale:

Filed Under: friends, fun things, out of town

Bonfire In The Canyon

April 20, 2008 By Tom 1 Comment

Saturday night a small group of friends got together for a bonfire in the canyon. For some it was an escape from finals, for others, a chance to catch some rockin’ guitar, and for others yet it was a chance to roast marshmallows with sunglasses on and stand in the fire.

All in all it was a wonderful event. Harry, Joe and Richie got to jam out while we got to listen to classics like I’m A Hard Man To Love, Fickle Tickle, Monsters In My Head, Limo Larry and more.

Oh and another thing…has anyone ever tried Reese’s Peanut Butter cups in s’mores? AMAZING. Thanks, Sarah, for the tip. Here’s a shot of Sarah and Harry sandwiching a roasted PB cup and marshmallow that came dangerously close to melting into the fire:

A couple more from the night:

Filed Under: friends, fun things, music

Happy Birthday Jer

April 14, 2008 By Tom 2 Comments

Who couldn’t love a face like this?

Thanks for throwing a sweet party to commemorate your date of birth. And awesome call on the tacos.

Us with Harry and Sarah at the party:

Filed Under: friends, fun things

Regina In Paint

April 13, 2008 By Tom Leave a Comment

Kristie’s received an assignment from her humanities class to listen to a piece of music and use it as inspiration for an “abstract expressionist painting.” Gotta love general ed classes. She chose Regina Spektor’s lighthearted, quirky On The Radio (watch/listen on Youtube here.) The result?

A regular puff-paint Picasso.

Filed Under: family, fun things, music, school

Laws Of Motion

April 12, 2008 By Tom 1 Comment

So today I woke up really wanting to longboard down Provo canyon. I’d been thinking about it ever since I watched people ride it while I was was stuck running it. So after Kristie agreed to drop me off at the trail head, I grabbed my board and we left the house. On the way to the car I made the mistake of asking her to push me across the parking lot. Now picture this, I’m standing there on the board, waiting for a push when WHAM, next thing I knew I was laying dazed on the asphalt.

I imagine this was the moment when the laws of force and motion re-entered Kristie’s head after a temporary vacation. Bless her heart.

So, class: When you push a precariously perched object on a mobile platform, it’s important to push from its center of gravity. That action produces an even, balanced, forward momentum. However, when you decide to plant your foot on the base of that mobile platform and push with all your might, the perched object will not move evenly with it’s accelerating base. It will fall. Hard. On it’s tender elbow. Boo hoo.

The best part was that Kristie’s first reaction was uncontrollable laughter…mixed with trace amounts of concern and sympathy. Which was oddly adorable.

Filed Under: exercise/sport, humorous

New Pictures From The Half Marathon

April 10, 2008 By Tom 4 Comments

Zazoosh.com took pictures on race day and posted them on their site…here are a few of their images:

Filed Under: exercise/sport, pictures

The Bravery

April 9, 2008 By Tom Leave a Comment

A while back I got some free tickets to a show from a local radio station. The show featured sets from Story of the Year and The Bravery.

For Kristie, watching Story of the Year was like a trip down high-school-memory-lane. I say that because most of their fans were in high school themselves and dressed so emo it hurt. Not that Kristie was into that scene or anything, but Eagle High apparently was.

The Bravery put on a pretty good show, however. They’re another new-wave, indie rock outfit, hailing from Brooklyn. Fun times, and best of all, it was free-ninety-nine.

Filed Under: entertainment, fun things, music

Conference at Grandpa’s

April 6, 2008 By Tom Leave a Comment

After the race on Saturday we headed up to Franklin for the remainder of the weekend to watch General Conference and be with family.

While there, I watched UNC and UCLA get steamrolled, which blew my chances of winning either my work or Ivy House bracket. Stupid. But besides that we had a terrific time. Tammy and Kyle and their family came down from Washington and Nathan and Kendra came up from Provo. I really, really enjoyed the sessions of conference. And it was fun to chill around the farm. While crusing by on a four-wheeler, Nathan captured a photo of us on a walk in our particularly awesome hand-me-down outfits. Note my awesome hat and Kristie’s to-die-for umbrella:

Filed Under: family, fun things, out of town, religion

13.1 Down, 26.2 To Go

April 5, 2008 By Tom Leave a Comment

In case you were wondering, the half marathon didn’t kill me afterall. Sorry for the temporary absence.

So, we did it. I completed my first 13.1 mile race, and Kristie, her third. As expected, she rocked it. She took 2nd place in her age division and maintained a stellar 7:24 pace. Check her out sporting the new hardware:

I, on the other hand, ran it at a respectable 8:09 pace and was just happy to finish. Around mile nine, I, with a straight-face, offered a kid twenty bucks if he’d sell me his bike on the spot. You should have seen his face, he didn’t know what to make of me. Even though I spent the whole race waiting to be done, I found enough energy to full-out sprint the last block to the finish line. Then I threw up on my shoes. Classy.

Here’s a picture of us after the race:

And as an extra bonus, lucky Kristie won a free 6-month Gold’s Gym pass in a random raffle. Not too shabby.

And in other news, we’ve decided to run the St. George marathon in October. Since there are so many people that sign up, there’s a drawing to enter, and not everyone makes it. If we do, the SEO company I work for has offered to sponsor us!

Filed Under: exercise/sport, fun things, news

Brazil Reunion

April 4, 2008 By Tom 2 Comments

Friday night Kristie and I got to go to a reunion for the missionaries of the Brasil Salvador Mission who served under our esteemed Presidente Williams. He and his wife are such wonderful people, it was great to see them and a few of the guys I served with in the Bahia. Here’s a picture with us and Pres:

Filed Under: friends, fun things, religion