100 Things. . . Well 61 for now

I have seen this idea on a few other people's blogs and I thought it would be fun to post. I can only think of 61 things right now, but hopefully I can add to it later. Enjoy.

1. I love "The Office"
2. I like competitive shooting
3. I grew up in Southern California but I have never surfed
4. My favorite tv show growing up was "Saved by the bell"
5. I still like to watch re-runs of "Saved by the bell"
6. I am an Eagle Scout
7. I served an LDS mission in the Philippines
8. I have sung at Carnegie Hall in NYC
9. I have helped castrate a bull
10. I wanted to be a truck driver when I grew up
11. I also wanted to be a taxidermist when I grew up
12. I love watching "24"
13. I used to collect comic books
14. My favorite color is blue and the two High Schools and College I went to had blue as its school color
15. I listen to the soundtrack of "High School Musical" when I do the dishes
16. I passed the CPA exam on my first try
17. I have known or dated or been married to Kim almost as long as not
18. I love baseball. My favorite team is the Dodgers
19. I got married before most of my friends got home from their missions
20. I have a baseball from a Dodger game that my Grandmother caught
21. I used to do anything legal on a dare
22. I once tried to disprove a friend who said that I was out of control by trying to jump on top of a garbage can and subsequently getting my foot stuck in the lid and falling flat on my back as hundreds of straws and napkins fell on top of me all while a Jamba Juice store full of people were looking on
23. I used to rub my nose so hard out of habit that I had a crease across it
24. I have never broken a bone
25. I have two really cute kids
26. I once almost had my toe cut off by my sister
27. I used to think Joseph Smith died from not washing his hands after using the bathroom. . . thanks to the same sister
28. I used to have a crush on Paula Abdul, Tiffany and Debbie Gibson
29. I still remember the night Kirk Gibson hit that home run for the Dodgers
30. I was crushed the day I found out Chris Farley died
31. I have seen Tommy Boy more times than I can count
32. I was so surprised when I got in trouble for carving my name in our kitchen table when I was ten
33. I have assisted with a laproscopic gallbladder removal surgery
34. I saw a man get embalmed in front of my apartment window in the Philippines
35. I used to have a flat top in the summers
36. My first cassette tape was the soundtrack to the hit movie "La Bamba"
37. I have personally met Lou Diamond Phillips
38. I sat in the same airplane to Los Angeles as Tracey Morgan (30 Rock)
39. I sat in the studio audience of "Step by Step"
40. My favorite U.S. President was Ronald Reagan. Not sure why, he just looks nice
41. My favorite dessert is the oh-so-tasty doughnut
42. I used to work at a bakery
43. My other jobs growing up were paper boy, ranch hand, geneology book scanner, operating room orderly, car washer/detailer and payroll processor
44. I took one year of German in high school
45. I played on Venice High School's volleyball team
46. I love watching BYU Volleyball, and any other volleyball for that matter
47. I have always wanted to fly in fighter jet
48. I have always wanted to own a Corvette
49. My dream vacation would be to tour europe
50. My wife and I got married in the Manti Temple
51. My favorite subject in school was almost always math (besides recess)
52. I enjoy reading and learning about US history
53. I really like the show "Dirty Jobs"
54. I moved from Los Angeles to Provo, Utah when I was 16
55. I like to camp
56. I sang in my high school's acapella choir
57. The movie "Grease" was filmed at my high school in California
58. Parts of the movie "Footloose" were filmed in Lehi (flour mills), where I live now
59. I know how to juggle
60. My friend and I used to turn on the heater full blast in his car in the middle of the summer to see who could last the longest without cracking the window
61. I love to whistle

I know it's been too long

Just checking in. I'm sure nobody checks this site any more, but I will post anyway. It's official! I have passed the CPA exam! I found out about the last two sections in February, so it's finally over (except for a couple of revenue generator tests through Utah). Anyway, we are really excited to have that over with.

Other than that, nothing much has gone on. Alex had his 4th birthday in January so I will have to get some pictures up from that. We can't believe how old he is getting. We love and are so proud of him and how he is learning so much.

Maggie is also growing like crazy. She is so cute and fun to be with. Both Maggie and Alex got their pictures taken so we will also have to post pictures of those.

Last but not least, Kim is going gangbusters on quilting. She has a good friend in the neighborhood who is a serious quilter so Kim is really enjoying that. At least I think she is because I never see her when I get home because she is quilting all the time (just kidding, Honey). Seriously, I think that has been fun for Kim.

That's about it for now. I will update this post with a few pictures as soon as I can.

Can you believe it? Part 2

Well, two down and two to go! And we found out on Christmas morning no less. We are so excited to be that much closer to having the CPA exam done and out of the way. Thanks for everybody's support. We love you all.

Merry Christmas Everybody

I am finally able to post a recent picture of the whole family thanks to John and Amy Crockett. This picture was taken at their house after their baby's (Kate) baby blessing. So this is our Christmas picture. We hope you enjoy it. Things are going well with us. Just counting down the days before Christmas. We are looking forward to spending Christmas Eve with the Morrisons and enjoying a wonderful dinner and activities to follow. Grandma and Grandpa Barlow will then stay with us at our house on Christmas Eve to be there Christmas morning. This will be the second year in a row. We are so blessed to have a bunch of family close by. This year is probably the last we will get to monopolize G'ma & G'pa Barlow since next year Drew and Sara will then have grandchild rights and Tisha, Matt and Fam will also be living here in Utah. So we are going to live it up 'till then. Don't get us wrong, we are excited for Drew and Sara and that the Williams are moving to Utah. We hope that all is going well with our family and friends during this Christmas Season. We love you all.

Can you believe it?

Got my results for the first CPA test I took. I PASSED! We are so excited to be almost half way through these (I say almost half way because we haven't heard back yet on the second one I already took). Anyway, I eked out a 79 (have to get above a 75 to pass).

Only in Utah. . .

I thought you guys would appreciate a day I had a few weeks ago. I have to make this quick. During the day I was at Wal-Mart and I saw a guy that looked EXACTLY like Kip Dynamite with the black "'do rag" and everything. He also had the tough-guy look on his face which made it even funnier. I swear this guy was 100% serious. Later on that same day we went to Chili's with some work friends and there was a guy there with a mullet. Now I can appreciate that mullets used to be popular and I don't disrespect mullets in that context (not directed to anyone in particular, Lamar) but it is the end of 2006 for crying out loud!!! Anyway, both experiences were technically in American Fork so we people from Lehi are still okay. Whatever.

P.S. Thanks, Wendy, for the picture of the mulleted woman.

Thanksgiving Day Update

Hello All

Just a quick update on us. We had a great Thanksgiving. We got Dad off to the airport in time to enjoy the family out in Colorado. It's already time for him to return and I don't think he is that excited about it. It sounds like it was good for him to be out there and enjoy everbody.

After sending Dad off, we had a great breakfast with Chris, Aftyn and family. It was good to see them and the food was awesome. After breakfast, Kim went to work in the kitchen. I took a nap because I didn't sleep very well the night before. For some reason Kim thinks I'm lazy. She has good reason. Kim made some awesome food. Apple-stuffed Turkey, rolls, sweet potato suffle', twice baked potato casserole, cranberry and blueberry sauce and a berry pie. I made Dad's apple pie. Amy (Kim's sister) contributed some great dishes too. We had a spectacular time.

Alex is done with his swimming lessons. He did really well. Towards the end he was putting his whole head under water without skipping a beat. We are really proud of him and the progress he is making in all he is involved with. He is also a great big brother to Maggie.

Maggie is as cute as ever. She lights up our house when she is fed, well rested and clean. Otherwise. . . watch out. I'm just kidding. We love her; she is developing so well and she is definitely great to have in our family.

We've got our lights and tree up so we have quickly moved from Thanksgiving to Christmas. We are so excited for this upcoming Christmas season. We look forward to having Mom and Dad over again. It should be great times.

I take the second of four CPA exams tomorrow. Wish me luck and I will let you guys know if I pass. If not. . . (imagine crickets chirping in the background). Hopefully it wont come to that. Check you all later. I better get back to work. Love.

Administrative Note

Just a quick clarification item. In order to make sure the comments posted are from legitimate sources and are clean, all comments go to my email for me to review before they are posted. I hope that doesn't cause too much consternation. I just know how many weirdos there are out there that can turn something cool like this into something bad in a hurry. I hope that doesn't keep people from posting their comments. I love to read them.

Family Update

Just an update on our family. I will put pictures up later. I am studying for the CPA exam and will hopefully be done with it by January. I am really liking my job at NuSkin. I work with great people, I am learning a lot and the hours are a whole lot better than public accounting.

Kim is glad October is over so that she can be done with Joy School for Alex (it was her month to teach) and the Primary Program at church that she was in charge of. Kim and I are finishing up the last DVD for Season 4 of "24". Big accomplishment.

Alex is taking swimming lessons at the Lehi rec center. He is dipping his face in the water and floating on his back without floaties or a life jacket.

Maggie is our sweet little baby for just a little bit longer. She is growing so fast! Alex and Maggie were a Knight and Minnie Mouse respectively for Halloween.

We are all getting geared up for the holidays coming up. Alex mostly wants them to be over so he can have his birthday in January.

Our New Minivan

I never thought the day would come that we buy a minivan, but it happened. We came across a really good deal and we couldn't pass it up. Our van looks just like the one here in the picture (no that's not our house). It's a used 2006 Toyota Sienna. We bought it with about 15,000 miles on it. We are really excited to have a car that Kim can rely on. I do need to clarify one thing. NO, this is not an announcement that Kim is expecting again. So stop pressuring us. Anyway, we are enjoying the new van and hope it lasts us a really really long time.

Hello Everybody

This is my first blog posting ever. This blog will be mostly for my family and close friends and I hope they enjoy. I would love to hear from everybody that would like to leave a comment. Enjoy.