It's Beginning To Look A Lot like Christmas....

Um, Santa stopped by a little early in the Alger household. The puppy Rusty didn't really seem to like him. I guess he won't be getting anything from him this year :)

Disneyland

On November 17th and 18th, Buddy and I had the privilege of going to Disneyland. My work, Career Step, took the entire company, and Buddy tagged along with me. It was perfect weather and the perfect time of the year. I want to go back every November! We had so much fun. There are a lot of photos, and more to the story, but I'll save that for a later date. I spent a long time just uploading them off the camera, and it's getting late. So I'll post more about it soon!

Buddy's Birthday!

Buddy turned 24 in November! Hip hip hooray!! Here he is blowing out his birthday candles.

Psi Chi

Buddy was inducted into Psi Chi, the Psychology National Honor Society, this month. I didn't bring my camera to the event, but here's a picture of Buddy afterwards.

Catching up: Halloweenie 2008

These pictures are all a little out of order, but I'm trying to catch up. Here's our cool pumpkins we carved for Halloween and Buddy in a costume (he didn't wear this one, he was just trying it on). The crazy hair one is my work costume. We were silly and didn't get any of our "real" costumes. I was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and Rusty was Toto. I had some pretty dang cool ruby red slippers. Buddy went as a cowboy with a cool inflatable horse. We'll have to track down some pictures from friends.

Fall Photos

We went up Provo Canyon a few weeks ago to take some pictures with the pretty leaves. We left a little late, so it started to get dark, but here are some of the cute pictures.

Rusty Pup

Now that I finally am able to upload pictures, I had to put up some of our cute dog, Rusty! (affectionately known as Rusty Pup, Stink Pot, Bubba, Bubbalicious, & Rusty Bubba) We hadn't planned on getting a dog, and this is how it happened. I was walking around one night and these two cute puppies that live in the complex came running up to me. They were the cutest Yorkie-poos (Yorkie/Poodle mixes) and I told Buddy that I wanted a dog and didn't want to wait like we had planned. I went inside to take a shower before we went to bed, and Buddy got on KSL. I came out of the bathroom after my shower and Buddy tells me, "Look, here's a dog for a good price. He's a year old and potty trained. He was posted 15 minutes ago." I told Buddy to call the guy right then and we would buy him. It was already about 9 PM at night and we told the guy we would meet him at IKEA (he was from Salt Lake) and buy him. So an hour later , there we were in the IKEA parking lot purchasing our new little Rusty. (He was named Sparky at the time, but I changed that as soon as I got him). Rusty never looked back. He came into our home like we had been his family his whole life. And that's how our puppy came to be Rusty Alger!

(cheesy I know. I never thought I would be one of those "crazy" dog people, but I do love my dog!)

Elder Turney

We took Micah to the Missionary Training Center this past Wednesday. It was a bittersweet experience as I'm sure it is for all people who leave a missionary there. I think I cried every hour after we left. Two years is a long time! I know he will do great though. Buddy, J.P., Mom, and Mom Alger were able to attend. Dad said goodbye to Micah in Germany, but we made sure to call him on the cell phone as Micah went into the MTC. Micah will be serving a 2 year mission in the Wisconsin, Milwaukee Mission. We received our first letter from him today. We were all so excited. Go get 'em Elder Turney!

What have you done?

I saw this on someone's blog. All you have to do is bold the things you've done, and put the other things on your list of things to do!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (And lucky me my company is taking everyone in 2 weeks! yay!!! I haven't been in a while)
8. Climbed a mountain ("Y" mountain counts right?)
9. Held a praying mantis (They have these all over my work. They come inside the buildings and I pick them up and throw them over the fence into the abandoned field so they don't get squished.)
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped (okay, so maybe I'm cheating on this one, but I did those bungee things at the fair where you get hooked up and can do flips and stuff.)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (I guess this was more in the air, but we were over the ocean in the airplane and I saw a pretty cool storm)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables ( I grew zuchinni this year! Yay)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (did this when I was little. The train that took us to East Germany. Back when there was still the Berlin wall)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (um, lots when I was in school. My mom and dad were always willing to sign off on my notes:) And hey, technically, I was sick of school!)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb (well maybe just petted one, I can't really remember...it seems like I did though)
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (I remember this in Germany. We all got x rays to look through to watch the solar eclipse)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (well I know I have in kick ball)
32. Been on a cruise (does the Rhine River Cruise count?)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community (I remember trying to be sneaky and take a picture out the back windshield of the car of the Amish buggy driver. He ducked. I was sad)
36. Taught yourself a new language (German I guess)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (at the Quarry...so never outdoors)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke (I'm horrible)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (well not a restaurant, but I did buy a homeless guy a bratwurst)
44. Visited Africa (I wish!)
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (Most recently did this in Cancun, with my honey bunches!)
46. Been transported in an ambulance (No, don't want to ever)
47. Had your portrait painted (I had a caricature drawn, and I think I've painted a self-portrait)
48. Gone deep sea fishing (This would make me sea sick)
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris ( I finally went to the tippy top with Buddy. It was a little scary)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (lots of times; Guam, Hawaii, Cancun)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud (I love mud!)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater ( I did this when we visited Utah when I was little! We saw the Lion King)
55. Been in a movie (haha Yes! Mobsters and Mormons. I was an extra. You can see me in the first scene at the wedding dancing)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China (someday...)
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (no, but have eaten lots of them!)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (We visited Dachau one summer)
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (Um, lots? I still have Alex my teddy bear. He's probably the most recognizable one)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial (twice! Once with my family and once with Buddy)
71. Eaten Caviar ( I tried one egg, but I think some of the sushi we eat has those little orange eggs on it...those are good)
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (Well I rode with Buddy on his, and I'm pretty sure he speeds)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book ( I was published IN a book...A piece of art I did)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (I have been with someone who has, but only used cars for me)
83. Walked in Jerusalem (Another thing I hope to do!)
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (I think I have back home in Germany when I was in high school)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury ( I did get called to jury duty and got summoned like 6 times, but never had to go)
91. Met someone famous (I was just talking about this last night...I met Alex Trebek from Jeopardy. But Buddy kissed Mandy Moore so he says he is cooler)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (Nope, and you would think I would have!)
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee


So I have done about 54 things (this list was long and I lost count a lot, so I might be one or two off) How many things have you done?

YAY! FRIENDS!!

Well, it looks like people actually do like me ;). I have friends! As soon as I figure out how to do links on the side, I'll be sure to put you up. I am sorry this blog has been rather neglected. One of the big reasons is that we switched our household to Macs a few months ago, and I don't have a cord for my digital camera to hook it up. And really, what's a blog without fun pictures? But, I have decided that for as much time as I spend reading other people's blogs, I need to do better and update mine. If for no one but myself, just to see a log of what we've done. But here's a quick update on the Alger's. I'll try to include what has been going on since April! Pictures to follow...

July
We bought a cute little Yorkie named Rusty from KSL (please see my tribute to KSL below). He is the cutest little dog ever and so much fun. He is furry grandson number one for the grandparents.

August
My birthday month! I was so excited this year because it happened on 8/8/08. My work took me out to lunch a few days before and unfortunately I got food-poisoning and missed my at work party, but besides that, my birthday was great. Buddy and I went on a fun vacation to Cancun, Mexico (where we had our honeymoon). We even stayed at the same resort we had before. It was lots of fun. We met the funnest couple from Las Vegas, Sam & Randa, who drove us around the crazy streets of downtown Cancun. They literally have no lanes there, they just make their own. So sometimes the roads are two lanes, sometimes four or whatever you feel like squeezing in.

September
Buddy started school again much to his dismay. He is planning on graduating in April of 2009 with his Bachelor's in Psychology. After that he is applying to grad school to become a school psychologist. He is looking forward to finishing school and not having to write another paper.

October
We have been looking forward to Halloween this month. We attended a great party at the Clyde's house that sent us on a scavenger hunt through Lehi and Pleasant Grove. Our team won the treasure (a chest full of candy) after spending over an hour digging up s a small park. It was lots of fun. We also got to hang out with Rosalynn and Greg on Friday night and we went to Liberty Land in Lehi. We rode the bumper boats, and although it must have been 40 degrees outside, we sprayed each other with the water guns on the boats. Call us crazy, but it was a great (albeit cold) time.

November
Well this hasn't happened yet, but Micah goes into the Missionary Trainging Center (MTC) November 5th. He'll be serving a two year mission in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He actually gets here tomorrow and he'll spend the week getting everything ready! Yay!

I do have lots of pictures and intend to post them soon!

I know you are out there!

So I didn't really want anyone to know about this blog, because we don't do anything with it, but then Buddy posted it on his Facebook, so I know our visitor rate went up! Make yourself known! Be our friend (seeing as we have none). I probably read your blog already, you just don't know it! So say hi. Right now our blog is kind of lame, but we will try and make it cool. Anyhow, just make a comment or something so we can be friends :)

Buddy got a new toy!

I broke down today and allowed Buddy to buy a motorcycle. He bought a buell. Its a Harley Davidson streetbike that sounds really loud. He likes it so that makes me happy.

The Paso Doble

Here is a video of Micah performing at the recent dance lab at BYU. He was so fun to watch and did a great job. Sorry it is hard to see him sometimes-it was hard to keep up!