Unfortunately our Halloween-night plans didn’t quite work out, but at least I got to dress up with a few friends at work. I went as our former intern. Not funny unless you knew him. Check out this attractive bunch:
Kristie’s Birthday
October 27, 2009 By 1 Comment
Tonight we got Thai at our favorite restaurant in Park City, Bangkok Thai on Main. It was two years ago today that we had dinner at the same spot, hours before I proposed. Happy 24th baby!
Lavell Edwards Stadium, We Missed You
September 26, 2009 By 4 Comments
Our awesome/kind/generous/etc. friends Leah and Jonny gave us their tickets to the BYU vs. CSU game because they were going away to Mexico for the long weekend. So we spent the afternoon basking in the glory of another sellout crowd and another Cougar win. At one point, after Harvey Unga ran into the endzone for a touchdown, the cameramen got shot of the crowd reaction. Apparently I was front and center for a few seconds. I found out initially because my phone suddenly flooded with texts and Facebook messages from friends telling me they saw me on TV. But even better, when we got home that night we got an email from Jonny and Leah in Mexico who made their family rewind the game so they could take a picture and email it to us. Pretty awesome. Unfortunately Kristie was blocked by the score icon in the bottom right:
She got her own moment in the spotlight after the game, however, when she was invited down onto the field to stunt with some friends, just like the old days. The first picture is of a “cupie” contest (which couple can hold the stunt the longest)…
…and the second is of a gnarly stunt that I can never remember the name of. It might be called “watch-me-make-a-pretzel-out-of-myself-and-point-at-you-while-standing-on-an-ox-of-a-human-being” — but don’t quote me on that.
Birthday’s In Rexburg
September 19, 2009 By 2 Comments
Since we missed Andrew this summer at Cape May, he thought it would be fun to fly out for Coleman’s birthday. Kristie and I were already planning on heading up to Rexburg, so Andrew flew out a few days early and spent some time down here with us and friends till we took off Saturday morning.
Friday night we went to a documentary film and art gallery about the Bahia…the state in Brazil where I served. It was an exploration of art from that area, put together as the capstone project of a few BYU seniors. If you have a second (and the desire) check out a video of the trailer here. I loved it, and it brought back some awesome memories.
Saturday morning we drove up to Coleman’s dorm, and Andrew walked in with me like it was no big deal. When Coleman came around the corner his jaw just dropped…it was so funny to watch him try to process what was going on (“wait…Andrew lives in North Carolina…but…”). This was followed by a big brotherly bear hug. It had been too long since the three of us had been together.
That afternoon we went out to lunch at Bajio’s and brought Lacey and Coleman’s roommate Dallan. Here’s a couple shots from the restaurant:
Then we headed to the park to play football and kill some time till the BYU/FSU game. I don’t want to talk about the FSU game, but we certainly enjoyed ourselves up until that point.
After the game we squeezed in an hour of racquetball…it was a first for Coleman, and a blast for everyone. We looked particularly sexy posing in the goggles:
That night Andrew crashed at Coleman’s dorm and Kristie and I got to stay with Tiff and Kolby. Their hospitality was unmatched, they’re such a cool couple (thanks again guys!)
And many thanks to Mom and Dad McConnon for making this weekend happen for us…the flights, the dinners…everything. We love you guys!
4th of July Weekend
July 4, 2009 By 1 Comment
Kristie’s family got to come down from Boise to spend a great 4th of July weekend with us. Despite threats of rain, we were able to spend the majority of it out in the sun (which made for a very happy tommy). On Friday morning we packed food, frisbees and longboards for a picnic at Rock Canyon Park. Here are a few pictures from lunch and riding down the canyon:
That night we went out for Thai, then got sucked into a Twilight Zone marathon on TV.
Saturday morning we went to Provo’s annual 4th of July parade, where we got to catch up with Jeriann, and her adorable daughter Ruthie.
Later that afternoon we grabbed lunch and then set up a blanket on the lower MTC lawn, which gave us a pretty awesome view of the fireworks over the Stadium of Fire.
[before you compliment me on my photography skills, I must disclose that I didn't take the above picture]
The traffic was so congested after the show, that we ended up falling asleep in the blankets while waiting for things to clear up. Cole and I made it back pretty quickly however, riding seated on longboards (bobsled style) down the 2 mile winding roads to our apartment.
Surprise Birthday Party!
May 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Unbeknownst to me, Kristie had planned ahead (a habit unfamiliar to me) and coordinated with a few friends to come by Alpine for an early, surprise(!) birthday party in honor of yours truly. I was under the impression that we were going to Nathan and Kendra’s for dinner that night, and had no idea. I learned (after the fact) that Kristie spent the better part of the day cooking, prepping and planning with good friends Kendra and Leah to make it all happen…and managed to pull things off without a hitch, despite a few close calls.
When I walked into the clubhouse I was completely surprised, and admittedly confused, by the group smiling and shouting at me. It took a moment to realize that I had suddenly become the center of attention. This was actually my first-ever surprise birthday party, and the fact that it was a genuine surprise made it all the better. It was a blast to catch up with everyone, and we had some really delicious food–kebabs, burgers and hot dogs on the grill, tasty sweet-potato-fries (thanks to Kedra!), and fruit crepes for dessert.
Thanks everyone for coming out, it really meant a lot to see you there…and thanks as well to the ones that wanted to be there and couldn’t make it–I love you guys too.
Later that evening Kristie gave me a few awesome presents. Note my best excited face:
Among them were two new pairs of Old Navy flip flops, because, as you can see, my previous pairs were well beyond their prime. Three out of four had holes in the heels, one had a strap that had just broken, and one looks like Jaws took a piece off the top. May you rest in peace(s), trusty flip flops…we sure had a good run, didn’t we?
Boston/Marathon Trip
April 20, 2009 By 2 Comments
Back in October, Kristie and I ran the St. George marathon…she killed it, and it almost killed me. But, with her awesome time, she qualified to to run the Boston Marathon; the world’s oldest annual (and perhaps most prestigious) 26.2 mile course. What made this even cooler is that Boston is conveniently located 40 minutes southeast of my our place in Acton, MA…so we got to visit and spend time with my family leading up to the race.
We arrived Thursday afternoon and got a chance to go out to eat with my brother Coleman and my parents. Andrew had to be in NC competing at an equestrian event and couldn’t make it…we missed him like crazy. Friday we got a chance to swing by Walden pond and soak up some history and sun. In the afternoon we dropped Coleman and his buddy Matt off at South Station in Boston so they could embark on their spring break trip to Miami Beach, FL. Besides a close call with the car overheating, everything was cool and they made it out ok. My aunt DD came by and surprised us with an Edible Arrangements gift for Kristie (fruit, a thoughtful and safe pre-marathon food). It tasted as great as it looked:
On Saturday, mom came with us to the pre-race expo in downtown Boston. There Kristie received her bib, timing chip and free shwag. While we were there, we picked up an official Boston Marathon jacket that Mom and Dad gave Kristie as a graduation present. She loves it…it looks awesome on her:
After church on Sunday, DD took us out in her new Yaris to check out the beginning of the course in Hopkinton to make sure that we’d be able to get Kristie to the starting line on time and beat the crazy traffic. Then, at 6:30 am on Monday we got up and got everything together for the race. We had the pleasure of travelling with Littleton’s bishop, Frank Gentile, who was running his second Boston Marathon–this time for charity. Here’s a shot of Kristie leaving the house:
At about 8:30 I dropped the pair off in Hopkinton so they could get to the starting line around 10:00 am. Then I drove back to Acton and we all departed for the finish line to wait for Kristie and the other runners to come by.
We got off around Kenmore square and walked a couple miles away from the finish line till the crowd thinned out a bit. From there we had a great view of the course and the runners that came pouring by in droves.
The air in Boston on Patriots day (a holiday for MA!) is electric. College kids, locals, and out-of-state visitors can’t help but get caught up in the exiting atmosphere surrounding the day’s big events. For a comical perspecitve on the race, check out Bill Simmons’ Idiots Guide to the Boston article (thanks for sending that over Ang!)
At around mile 24 of the course we watched the leading men, women and wheelchair athletes come roaring by. Kara Goucher was leading the pack for the women at that point and we all had high hopes that she’d take it (she didn’t, but still had a great showing at third). When Kristie came by we went nuts, ringing our cowbells, yelling and waving our signs. I think we actually startled her a little.
As soon as she passed us, we fought huge throngs of people to meet up with her at the finish line. She said the hills (Heartbreak and its nasty cousins), the crowded course, and strong headwinds were real challenges…but she did awesome, coming in at another Boston-qualifying time of 3:34. I’m amazed that she did so well after having lost so much training time to her nagging foot injury. It was so cool to be there to cheer her on…the race is so huge, and contains so many of the world’s best distance runners. If the qualifying time were a little more forgiving for my division, perhaps even I would consider it. It would be something incredible just to be a part of.
So congrats babe, you’re an inspiration to us all. Thanks to everyone that supported Kristie with calls, texts, emails and more…it meant the world to her!
A Very Reynolds Weekend
February 22, 2009 By 1 Comment
This weekend was a blast. Our old friends Mac and Julie came into town from LA, so we planned a bunch of stuff to capitalize on the occasion. We kicked things off on Friday night by getting together for dinner at Sushi Ya. Although some of the gang couldn’t make it due to prior obligations, we still had Bobby and Kathryn, Mac and Julie, Justin, Jeriann and Ruthie, Harry and Sarah, Dan, Sarah R., Richie and his buddy in attendance. We had a great time catching up and being introduced to such sushi phenomenons as the must-have “Godzilla Roll.”
From dinner we went over to Harry’s place to rendezvous with some more friends and then head up to BYU for an much anticipated game of Library Tag. Now, to the uninitiated, Library Tag may come across childish or silly…but I cannot begin to tell you how much fun it is. We started playing quite a few years ago with the roomates and any girls we were interested in getting to know.
Library Tag itself is simple, but full of tradition. We always play on the 5th floor of the Harold B. Lee library, we always play at night (best is around 11-12 pm, when only a handful of diehards are still hitting the books), and we always begin by consulting the official rules and Library Tag map, so as to minimize our annoying presence and keep it fun for everyone. Each game starts with one person being “it” while the rest of the group disperses. In public areas where there are tables and people studying, absolutely no running is allowed–but as soon as you make it into the vast maze of empty bookshelves, the heat is on.
We have people running full-tilt through the bookcases, bobbing and weaving, and teaming up with people either seek or evade. I’m telling you–it’s a rush, and it has to be as silent as humanely possible. When someone gets tagged, they join the hunt, until everyone is out. Over the years we’ve developed some genius evasion tactics and non-verbal communication strategies, had some gnarly accidents, had some epic chases and been asked to exit the premisis more than a couple times. And Friday night was no exception. Here’s Dan, not exactly sure how this worked out for him:
Then pictures just started getting silly. Can you spot Jer? He’s a certified chamelion.
Or me? Virtually invisible.
After library tag a bunch of people came over to watch a movie till crazy late and we had the honor of having Mac and Julie crash at our place. Saturday was busy with errands, work and stuff, we but all reconvened at Velour to watch the Imagine Dragons CD release show. After Velour, we went to the Malt Shoppe with the band and friends to ice cream and unwind a little. We tried to watch all of Australia with Mac and Jules that night, but at 3-something we called it quits so we could stay awake during 8:30 church. It was a really fun weekend overall…makes me wish we could all somehow end up living close together one day. Distance makes these reunions far too infrequent for my liking.
Valentines ’09
February 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Kristie started off the Valentines fun by surprising me on Thursday night. She claimed that she needed the car for work, so she dropped me off and picked me up at 5:00. When I got in the car she told me that she needed to swing by the house so that she could pick up a computer cord and take her friend’s house. So we headed over to Alpine Village and she had me wait in the car while she ran up to grab it. About ten minutes later she calls and says “hey, look in the glove compartment” and hung up the phone. A little confused, I opened it up and found a note instructing me to park and come on upstairs. When I arrived, I found the place all decorated, with my favorite dinner on the table by candlelight! I really married a sweet one.
On Valentines, Kristie had to work during the day and then got to a basketball game–so I had plenty of time to plan some fun stuff for that evening. I spent most of the day running errands, and then picked her up at the marriot center with a dozen red roses.
I swept her up quick so we could jump in the car and head up to Park City, where I made reservations to eat at our favorite Thai restaurant (the one we ate at the night we got engaged). For dinner, we went all out, and the food and desserts were delicious. I gave her a few gifts during the course of the evening, like bottle of Dolce and Gabanna’s Light Blue and some [essential] hand-crafted truffles.
When we got home, she found the house as I’d decorated it, with valentines baloons, and a hundred-or-so cutout paper hearts with a hundred-or-so reasons why I love her written on them. To my credit, I got to about heart #97 before succombing to my natural character and writing “[insert witty, romantic compliment here].”
We then settled into a good film, Pitt’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It was our first Valentines married, so I didn’t want to mess this one up…hope next year’s will be as fun.
New Years Eve In SLC
December 31, 2008 By 1 Comment
Can anybody tell me: Why in the world do they refer to New Years celebrations as “First Night” celebrations? It’s not the first night. It’s the last night. First morning maybe…but not first night. I can’t believe this gross error is allowed to perpetuate like it does. Please correct me if I’m missing something.
Anyyyyways…HAPPY NEW YEAR! On New Years Eve we headed up to Grandma Hiller’s because she was sweet enough to put us up (put up with us?) so that we could stay out late in SLC and have somewhere to crash. There we connected with Nathan and Kendra who came with us to dinner and then downtown for the shindig the city put together.
After walking around Temple Square, the Gateway, etc for a while, we were lucky enough to stumble upon a badge that got us into the restricted-access area at the Gallivan Center where they had a bunch of live performances and dancing. We caught a pretty cool reggae show that played until the clock struck midnight and the fireworks were set off.
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