Summer of George

Yes I am ripping off the name from Seinfeld. And yes I am using another Seinfeld reference. And yes I am that much of a loser. The problem is that no matter how many different names I tried to come up with to name our summer I just couldn't top George Costanza's self titled summer (lazy Scranton did come close because we were so lazy and the obvious office reference). Anyways the whole point of this post is give this summer the respect it deserves. Now let us recap the Summer of George in no particular order.
-We got things started right with a cruise a week before school was even out. I should have known then that this summer had a lot of upside. Carly had some great poses by people making out, I got a sombrero, and we ate tons of good food. And our wives are really mean to us.
-Carly and I started playing tennis. She made me look bad many times, but my day is coming. At some point I wont suck anymore and then I will be able to show my face in public again.
-Carly turned down every job in Utah so that she could chase her dream of becoming a BFI or book fine investigator (see the actual bookman above). She really is something special.
-We went to Boston just in time to see the Celtics win the championship. Going to the parade was one of the best moments of the summer. The drunk people yelling at Matt on the subway was hilarious. Maybe one day I will be a part of a team that wins a big championship, but being as I am a Nielson that might not happen. If you are aware of the Nielson curse you will understand.
-I worked at camps, slept a lot, and managed to continue the streak of coming in second in intramurals. I seem to be good at that. At least we always have fun in the process.
-We went to Texas and had a great time at the Guadalupe river. Between the rope jumping, watching Arrested Development, eating a mighty fine burger, and a Ray Wylie Hubbard concert, it was a trip even a magician named Gob would have liked.
-The highlight of the summer was a trip to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico filled with days at the beach, Mayan ruins, and snorkeling. It was amazing and Doug didn't even get pulled over!!!! Oh and I managed to scare Hillary and Alicia into thinking we were some of the locals hitting on them while they were on a walk.
-We watched every possible second of the Olympics and that included getting up at 6 am to watch the redeem team play. I haven't mentioned this on here yet, but I now have a new most hated player and he is Marc Gasol. That greasy Spaniard is a no talent hack, but he is 7 feet tall so he gets to play (don't cry too much Marc with a C). And Phelps and Bolt are amazing, absolutely unreal except that I am pretty sure I could give Bolt a run for his money...if he only can use one leg that is. Oh and one last thing, the Olympics only made me hate China even more.

-There was quite a bit more, but I will leave it at that. All in all I think it was the best summer we have had yet. I think we are ready for things to get started though. I am ready for the season to start and I know Carly is ready to start work. Anyways hopefully this upcoming few months will be as exciting as this summer was.

Happy Anniversary

Happy 2 year anniversary to Anthony and Carrie! I think the photo below is probably an accurate snapshot of their marriage. Anthony is confidently striding forward with no worries about the stairs that could cause him and his new bride some trouble. Carrie is moving ahead looking both elegant and cautious, making sure to safely make it down 4 steps in a heavy dress and heels. You figure out what it means!
We love you both! Although we do like Carrie more. I think most people do.

And the winner is...

I accepted a job today with UVU (formerly UVSC) as the financial manager of their library, aka digital learning center. I am both excited and nervous. I start one week from today!

A digital rendering of the library from the west side. The library just opened 2 months ago and it is gorgeous. It definitely stands out as you drive by on I-15 (maybe that is just because the main architectural detail is not cement slabs). I get my own office too!
The view from the south side. The job is everything I wanted: challenging, 10 minutes from home, amazing benefits, competitive pay, and a sarcastic boss (at least he seemed like it in the interview). After 6 years at BYU, it will be fun to get a change of scenery. I may even see some shoulders, extreme hair styles, and above-knee leg!

********

What Carly left off of this little post is the most important part of her job...she is the library fine collector. I mean seriously if she showed up at your door demanding money to balance her budget wouldn't you give it to her. I think I will start calling her Bookman (Seinfeld fans will enjoy that one).

On this day in 1993...

I am starting a new segment of our blog with journal entries from my earlier years. Keep in mind that I addressed my journals as an animate object, but not quite a person, until I was probably 14.
Here are a few good ones:

• July 22nd, 1993- "I now take tennis lessons. I have learned to balance my racket on two fingers, to do forehand, ready position and for right now the last thing is foot fire. Our teacher's name is Chris. I hate him. He is stupid. My mom is a better teacher than him."
• August 12th, 1993- "I hate my mom. I won't explain what happened. Anyway yesterday we went to Walden Pond. Today we are going again with the Porters. My mom said you couldn't come. Well she didn't say you couldn't come but she said I couldn't get mad if someone read you over my shoulder. I know you didn't want someone looking at you except me. Sorry about when Meredith opened you. Anthony got home yesterday. Meredith and I made a basket and filled it with candy and tissue paper. Have you ever had a Watermelon War Head? They are awesome!"

Those are just a few entries. I had a lot of hate!!

Funny

I can't stop laughing at this commercial. Every time I see it I crack up. Sorry, I can't figure out how to insert the video into the blog. Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=198okcxeF74

Creepy or Insightful Camera?

Look closely at this picture. Click on it. I dare you. Our camera has this inexplicable ability to see right through people! Look at Garrett and Kaylie on the left. Garrett's head should be blocking part of the building behind him. Daniel has no eyes! Our digital camera could either be creepy or incredibly insightful. My explanation is the latter; the camera has the ability to sense the artificiality of people. Garlan and I are the most real, seeing as our entire bodies are solid. Garrett's head is gone. Maybe the camera can sense that horrible time when Garrett's hair and eyebrows were dyed from strawberry blonde to black. Nick's mouth is gone. We all know Nick speaks falsehoods regularly. That is why he is going to be so great in MBA school. Daniel's eyes are missing because his contacts artificially enhance his vision. I'm not sure why the top of his head is gone; perhaps a fake brain, fake hair, or both. Beware when you pose for pictures taken with our camera!!

I Am Queer

My choice of words is deliberate. I bet my blog title piqued your interest. Daniel has been gone this whole week at Lake Powell and I haven't been doing much of anything. For some reason while I have been hanging out with myself I have noticed many bizarre, and seemingly hypocritical things I do. Here is a list:

• My closet is color coded and separated by clothing type (shirts, pants, skirts, etc.); however, many of the clothes are inside-out on the hanger because I don't feel like taking the time to fix them. Margaret Tueller was the first to point this out to me. She is about to pop with baby #2, by the way. (Margaret- the question to you is: are you going to create a whole new blog for Tueller-Proffitt boy #2, or morph Booker's site into a dual-approach with posts from one or both of the boy's points of view? I am dying to know)
  
• I exercise a lot but I eat unhealthy foods. Today I went to the gym and I also ate 5 cupcakes. Lest you think any less of me, eating 5 cupcakes in one day is not necessarily typical, but it was a great example.
  
• I set my alarm clock to very particular times, such as 8:27 AM, but I NEVER get up the first time it goes off.
• I wipe down my kitchen counter tops multiple times a day but I rarely scrub the floor. Rarely means rarely (like less than monthly). Don't judge me. Our 15-year-old linoleum looks essentially the same after being scrubbed for 2 hours. There is no point. I do sweep or vacuum it regularly.
  
• I am a very good speller and I don't know Roman Numerals- at all. I was out sick when we covered them in third grade. That is not a joke; I really was out sick. I came back to school and we had one more day of them but I was too shy to ask for help so I just never learned.
  
• I spend a lot of energy and money on clothing. I like nice clothes (only on sale of course). However, I hardly ever spend time doing my hair. In fact, there have been multiple times when I did my hair and someone told me they had no idea my hair was that length. Side note: Daniel has asked me several times why buying nice clothes for a great price that I don't really need is okay. He doesn't understand the satisfaction of knowing that the pants you are buying were originally $99.99, marked down to $59.99, then to $34.99, and finally to $15.49.
  
• I have never paid a bill late. Ever. I managed to be late to my first class nearly every day during graduate school.
  
• I hate The Hills but I still watch it. My excuse is that Daniel likes it.
  
• I love writing long emails but I hate long phone conversations.
  

Yep, I am definitely queer!

*Editing note: The above picture is of me in a kitchen cabinet. There is currently a microwave occupying that space. Daniel and I went to visit his cousins when they had just moved into a new house. I climbed into the cabinet just to see if I could. Daniel shut the door and we surprised everyone when they came in!

Juan Familia en Mexico

Daniel and I can no longer fully relate to James Taylor's "Mexico" with the deep feeling we used to. We have really been, but we would sure like to go (again). The whole John family flew into Cancun for what I will boldly name the first ever John Family Reunion.

The House
We stayed in a gorgeous house in Playa del Carmen. It was about a mile from downtown "Playa" and lived up to all its hype. It had plenty of room, great AC, comfortable beds, and lots of things to do.
The front
The pool after a day of playing "don't hit the beach ball down into the cenote with the turtles". Daniel kept picking up the turtles and saying he was going to put them on me. Oh, so scary.
The semi-circle shaped window is the room we slept in. It had great vaulted ceilings, a walk-in closet, and a huge bathroom.
The view from the roof deck. The beach is between the trees, just below the clouds.
The living room with the kitchen in the background.
The walk to the beach from the back of the house. There were some houses right on the beach, but we didn't mind the 100 yard walk.

TULUM
Tulum was about an hour away from the house. The setting was amazing with the ruins overlooking the beach. Even the Mayans knew prime real estate when they saw it.
Breathtaking
Look closely to see all the detail carved into the building
The beach below the ruins
The waves were great.
So great that everyone just had to wave their arms.
Juan Familia- 2008- Anthony & Carrie, Hillary, Matt, Alicia, Meredith & Steven, Dad & Mom, us

XEL-HA
This is an eco water park. We snorkeled, floated on tubes, cliff jumped, swam, ate (a lot!), and generally had a good time. We had an encounter with what I am convinced was a huge mean fish who wanted to eat me. He was swimming at the surface of the water right by us and he did not move when we got close. This was probably our favorite day but we don't have any pictures yet because we only used the underwater disposable camera. If there are any good ones you can be sure we'll share.

CHICHEN ITZA
These ruins were about 3 hours away from the house so we left early one morning to beat the heat and the tourists.
Seriously, how did they do it? Four square miles of amazing stone structures.Just to give you an idea how big they are. And no, we didn't climb up the stairs. Tourists are not allowed on the ruins anymore.
The group walking to the next site.
One of my favorite pictures from the day. Click on it to enlarge
Oh wait, no maybe this one is my favorite.
Nope, this might be the best. Thanks for the trip Mom!
The wall of skulls.
Matthew really enjoyed the day. Probably thinking about Arrested Development here.
The observatory where they studied the stars.

DOWNTOWN PLAYA DEL CARMEN
We had a great dinner right on the beach. The setting, the food, and the company were awesome.


OUR BEACH
There was a beach resort we thought we would go to, but this small beach right by the house was perfect for our needs. The white sand was the softest ever. I love swimming in Caribbean water! Though it was a bit salty so we were sticky when we got out. We would walk back home and jump in the pool the rinse off.

We dragged chairs, boogie boards, noodles, and a floating chair from the house and had a great time.

THE VAN
We rented this awesome 12 passenger van. Perhaps the most exciting news of the trip is that my dad did not get pulled over!

As you can see, it was probably the best trip we can ever hope to go on. Believe it or not, I DO have more pictures if you want to see them.
Much thanks to the John parents for for making it all possible.

To see more pictures look at Meredith's blog

Texas Trip

I am finally getting to our trip to Texas. We did get back about a month ago, but it was a great trip and it deserves a post. WARNING: ANOTHER LONG POST

THE DRIVE

We drove 21 hours straight from Utah to Texas with Carolyn Nielson the First and Whitney.

Ok so Daniel did some driving, I just rode (Yup, that is me sleeping on my own lap. My legs were numb for hours after that.) Daniel took a ton of random pictures along the way, like the one below, but I must have slept through the inside jokes that go along with them. He can make a post with the 25 pictures he took of things by the side of the road.

One thing that definitely needs to be addressed? The smells by the New Mexico-Texas border. I don't think I breathed through my nose for at least an hour.

THE GUADALUPE
We stayed at a great house down on the Guadalupe River for a few days. The house had everything:

a rope swing into the river,
great hair,
great scenery, a floating dock to lay out on, (the Carolyn Nielsons had their stuff kayaked to them)
amazing food,
the after math of one of our delicious dinners was all I got a picture of

kayaks,
this is Daniel kayaking away from the floating dock after bringing us cool refreshing beverages

fishing,

paddle boats,
a field for puppering,

if you don't know what puppering is, I can't help you

a water slide into the river,
and more!
Other things not pictured include a community pool, comfortable beds, and a great/dangerous rock for doing group cannonballs off of. We were never bored.

BARTON SPRINGS
Since we hadn't had enough swimming, we went to Barton Springs, a watering hole in Austin that was formed when Barton Creek was dammed. The water is cold and, well, nature-y. I couldn't help but voice my disdain as clumps of a moss-like substance touched me.


RAY WYLIE HUBBARD CONCERT/TEXAS HISTORY MUSEUM

Daniel found out about a free Ray Wylie Hubbard concert in downtown Austin by the Texas History Museum. We toured the museum for a little while and then relaxed on the grass while Mr. Hubbard presented his vocal stylings. The concert brought out the most diverse of crowds like only a free concert can do. (Well except for maybe a free concert in Utah)
It was a surprisingly small crowd.
It only took about 10 minutes to get this picture right.
Click on this to make it larger and see our expressions.
But we really can take nice pictures. It's a Carolyn Nielson sandwich!

MIGHTY FINE
We tried out this new hamburger place. It was quite the event. Mighty Fine did not disappoint. The fries were my favorite.

On top of great food, they had a hand washing machine. I did it twice. Look at my triceps.

DRIVING RANGE
The Nielson men headed over the driving range while the women attended Mama Mia!


Other trip highlights include seeing The Dark Knight at midnight in the front row, eating at great restaurants, having diet coke with fresh lime at Chuy's (it's the best-especially when served by a waiter named Miami), watching two seasons of Arrested Development, getting free muffins from Mimi's Cafe, and attempting to play tennis multiple times. Thanks for making it all possible Nielson parents!
We had a great time! When are you going to buy a house on the Guadalupe Tom and Carolyn?