Mireya and Steele

Mireya and Steele got married!

I saw Chuck Norris in person

I wanted to make sure I posted this before April Fool's Day so no one would have reason to doubt the validity of my story.

Question: Who sleeps with the nightlight on not because he's afraid of the dark, but because the dark is afraid of him?

Answer: Chuck Norris.

This evening I was no more than fifteen feet away from Chuck himself as he accepted an award at Texas A&M and spoke about his philosophy of determination and positive attitude. I've got a picture to prove it, though I didn't get one with Chuck. There were way too many folks asking for autographs and pictures, so I didn't want to trouble the man who double-crossed the devil in exchange for rugged good looks and unparalleled martial arts ability.

Jokes aside, Chuck Norris is a pretty incredible guy and has a great message that he can deliver as a result of his popularity. Thank YOU Chuck Norris! - Evan

*Conversation last night...*

Evan: "I downloaded all of the photos off of the camera."

Me: "Thank you!"

Evan: "There were over a hundred pictures."

Me: "Wow, of what?"

Evan: "Mostly Penny."

Me: "That's embarrasing."

Wheelin' and Dealin'

WARNING: The following blog may contain instances of mathematics and may not be suitable for all readers.

We've been shopping for pots and pans for quite some time. Prior to our wedding we were shopping for pots and pans, so it has been close to two years now of perusing cookware. Andrea and I finally settled on a set of Calphalon Contemporary Stainless cookware this past weekend and we are super-psyched about them! They're easy to clean, look great and should hold up to a lifetime of making macaroni and cheese. The best part is, we got an amazing deal on them. Here are the contributing factors.

Through our credit card we've been racking up cash back bonuses for the past two years. The way our bonuses work, we can use them on gift cards with a particular partner and receive even more money to spend at that store. For example: at Bed, Bath & Beyond you can receive a $25 gift card for $20. We had $200 in rewards available so we converted it into $250 in gift cards.

We also had some money left over on gift cards from our wedding (thank you everyone!) that we intended to use on pots and pans in the first place. That's another $ . Maybe most importantly, we have a 20% off coupon (that we get sent in the mail weekly by BB&B). This ended up being the deciding factor to purchase the cookware.

So Andrea and I roll up to the store ready to visit "our" (we haven't bought them yet) pots and pans, but fully armed with gift cards and the coupon should the right deal be available. When we arrive in the cookware section we notice our 10-piece set is being offered for $499. It's also being offered WITH a bonus $50 gift card if we spend $300 on Calphalon and a 6.5 liter soup pot (retailing for $150) if we spend $400 or more on Calphalon. It's time to pounce.

Math phobics, please avert your eyes:

$499 for the set

- 20% off

- $363 in gift cards

- $50 for the instant bonus gift card

Grand total: $18.97 total cash for the set and the bonus soup pot. Whoooop!

Needless to say, we were very pleased with our work. I'll put a picture in so y'all can bask in the gleam of the pans with us. *oooooh* *aaaaaah* - Evan

Penny

When we got back to Texas after winter break, Andrea and I adopted a kitten from the Brazos Valley Animal Shelter. We knew we would be in-town for a while after our big trip, so we thought it would be the perfect time to bring a pet into our family. Andrea scoped out the shelter one day while I was teaching and found a 10 week old, girl tortoiseshell kitten to whom she quickly became attached. The next day, we were signing the paperwork to bring home Penny.

I've come to realize a couple of things as we've had Penny in our house:

1. Cats CAN fetch, they just have to be in the mood for it.
2. People who don't have kids treat their pets like kids... sort of.
3. Kittens are pretty low-maintenence.

We really enjoy having Penny in our home. Hopefully y'all can come meet her someday soon! That's all for now. :) - Evan

Tales from the Cafegymnatorium, Volume 2

Let me tell you a story about a kindergartener I will call "Mo." Mo is a really cute little boy whose second language is English. For a while, I didn't know how much he understood because he was so reluctant to speak. Recently, we've had a breakthrough.

The other day at lunch, Mo raised his hand and instead of pointing to a garbage can or the drinking fountain he said, "I have four dogs!" I was surprised at this outburst of conversation from a normally silent child but responded enthusiastically to show I was excited about his effort. I thanked him for sharing and then moved on to the next student with a stubborn applesauce cup. Moments later, Mo raised his hand again. I approached again anxious to continue our conversation. Mo gleefully exclaimed, "I have five cats!" Again, I praised him for sharing with me. But we weren't quite done...

"I have three birds!"

"I have two sharks!"
"I have one tiger!"

And the coup de grace...
"I have one hundred robots!"

Since this breakthrough Mo has become even more outgoing. It's so exciting to hear him trying out English in conversation with other classmates and teachers! He's quite comfortable talking to me at lunch time and our normal conversation goes like this:

MO - *raises his hand*
EVAN - Yes, Mo?
MO - HiMyFriend!
EVAN - Hi my friend! *sticks out his hand for a low five*
MO - *alternating rapid low fives with both hands*

That's all for now. ByeMyFriends! - Evan

Christmas Break in Washington

Happy 2009 everyone! Yesterday, Andrea and I returned to Texas after spending our Christmas vacation in Washington state visiting family and friends. When we left Texas it was 75 degrees outside. In Washington it was a chilly 19 at the airport. Brrrr! There was record snowfall in the Pacific Northwest during our trip. Our friend Mark Pearsall informed us that the Portland newscasters called the storm "Arctic Blast 2008." On a side note, I think this moniker was the runner up subtitle for this past year's Winter X-Games.

For as bad as the weather was trumped up to be, it didn't hamper our traveling too much. We did a lot of driving and managed to make it everywhere we needed to go. There were however, some scary driving situations. Andrea did her best to make me aware of any potential hazards we might encounter as she rode in the passenger seat. Some of her more memorable quotes from the right hand side...

• Break lights. BREAK LIGHTS!
• It feels like we're going really fast.
• *Evan gestures* Please just watch the road.

To quell her anxiety, Andrea started wearing her stocking hat down over her eyes while we were driving. This seemed to be the best strategy for both of our sanity. Thankfully, we were able to make it to all our destinations.

In Pasco we stayed at Jason and Mandy's new house and celebrated Christmas with Andrea's side of the family (sans Bill who got snowed-in back in Tacoma). Jason organized a really fun GPS scavenger hunt for us. Andrea and I teamed up with Adam, Megan and Jamie to search for clues all over Pasco. We got off to a slow start but the game really started to heat up as we arrived at one destination and found out from some sledders that Tina, Jason, and Mandy had been there just minutes before us! After some frantic driving and eventually catching up to the other group, we managed to overtake them at the final location thanks to the girls' great clue-finding skills! Check out the picture at the top of the post.

We left the Tri-Cities and headed out to Aberdeen to have a Merry Christmas with my side of the family. The traditional Aho Family Christmas involves opening gifts on Christmas Eve (Scandanavian tradition, so I'm told) and eating ridiculous amounts of holiday candy throughout the break. Mission accomplished! :)

We took a trip up to Everett to visit with Grandpa Diamond, Uncle Ron, and Gail. We received a wonderful gift from Ron: a painting Grandpa Diamond made in 1937. It means so much to us to have a piece of art that is also family history! Thank you Ron (and Grandpa D)!

Next we met up with my parents at Hood Canal. Pam and Alan have put a ton of work into their new (as of January 2008) place and we had a great time seeing all the changes they've made. I know my mom has always dreamed of a Canal home and I think this one is the perfect palette for her creativity and craftiness. Likewise, it's close to hiking and golf for my dad. We stayed at the Canal for a night in the "Andrea & Evan Travel Room." After a couple more trips around the state, we came back to the Canal for New Year's. We were excited to have Shawn, Jessica, Kyle, Jeremy, and Cat all make the trip up to celebrate with us! Highlights included Balderdash and Rock Band 2. Andrea tolerates video game playing a little bit better when she gets to listen to my lovely singing voice. *wink*

Finally, we spent time with Bill in Tacoma. He gave us a great tour of the Tacoma area and we were so lucky to have just about the only sunny day of the trip for it. Good timing!

We're so blessed to have had safe travels this break to see people we love. Thank you to all our family members for taking good care of us in Washington and letting us stay in your homes once again! - Evan