LMGORNI & METAYL4

Introducing Little Liam

2012-01-11T17:37:00.000-08:00

Here's a sneak peek at our upcoming little guy. Doesn't really look anything like Carter's ultrasound, its gonna be interesting to see what he looks like.

S.P.E.

2011-11-17T07:07:00.001-08:00

So my school hosted an SPE (Society for Photographic Education) conference for the Southwest region this last weekend and I had the above image entered into the show that ran alongside it. Although not an image I would have chosen (my teacher selected it) its still pretty cool to think about all of the amazing artists who were able to see my work. Yay for me

Blame it on the Hormones

2011-11-10T08:40:00.000-08:00

I can't remember how many times I've started a new post just to get halfway through and realize nobody cares anything about what I'm writing. But this time I'm forcing myself to finish, I guess just to document our (or my) point in time.

If someone would have asked me five years ago if I would want to be where I am right now I would have laughed at how ridiculous it sounded. However, being here now I wouldn't give it up for anything. I don't like Santa Fe, not even a little bit, I try to find anything I can like about it and the only thing I have is that I have found a friend. I like her but I still don't like Santa Fe anymore than I originally did. But regardless of the horrible place I live, I have so many things that make it bearable. I have an amazing husband that does so much to take care of our little family and I am so incredibly proud of him and all that he has accomplished and all that he works to accomplish. I have an unbelievably awesome son, he is my world, he is more incredible than anything I could have imagined on my own. He makes me want to be a better person, he makes me smile, he makes me see all of the good things in life when I feel like there aren't any. I love that little snot, even when he makes me want to tear my hair out. I'm also blessed with a second child on the way. This has been a difficult situation for me to accept. I have people close to me struggling to start their family and here I am with my second child that I simply don't deserve and its extremely hard for me to deal with this fact. I've felt very disconnected with this pregnancy, sure that at any moment it will end because someone will realize that I don't deserve it. I try to remind myself of the old adage "life isn't fair" and that it goes both ways: you don't always get what you feel you deserve and sometimes you get what you feel you don't deserve. I wish I could say that it helps me but I still feel this incredible guilt over having something so precious that I shouldn't have and also a fear that it will all be taken away from me at any moment.

But enough of that. We had some hope of getting out of this place, there was an end in sight and it was nice to look forward to something and plan for that but now its really hazy. We might end up being here longer than we had hoped and although that is nearly devastating it would also be great for Luke's career so there is something positive in it that we need to focus on. Its frustrating because we want to put down some roots to raise our family and neither of us wants to do that here but at the same time we need to look at the big picture and do what will be best in the long run. I know that no matter what happens we'll be ok, we focus on working through things together and as long as we have each other its all worth it.

As much as we miss all of our amazing family we know that they're still there for us even if we can't be with them. Its still a comfort to know that we could go and visit and be welcomed with open arms at any time. I love all of my family and hopefully one day we can be close together again. There is so much to look forward to in the future that it will get us through any rough times in the present.

So enough of all this. I have too many emotions and thoughts running through my head to sort any of it out any further. I'm not going to make any more promises that I will keep up on posts because I know it won't happen but I will promise to post more interesting and/or happy posts.

More on the Smoke

2011-06-11T15:28:00.000-07:00

Being that it NEVER stops blowing around here, there were the rare occasions that it actually worked in our favor and blew the smoke out for a short period of time. Unfortunately it shortly returned, here it is creeping up on us

Smoke Signals

2011-06-10T01:34:00.000-07:00

Santa Fe - such a sucky place that the entire state of Arizona is trying to suffocate us.

Last week I had plans to take Carter to the park for a play date, it fell through but I decided to take him anyway. When we got outside I noticed that the sky looked murky but being a native from Salt Lake I didn't think much of it, figuring it to be an inversion. (To be completely honest I never actually knew what that meant, just that when the sky looked gross you blamed it on "the inversion"). When we got to the park and walked up to the playground I noticed the entire thing was covered in a not-so-thin layer of what I thought at the time to be dirt. Shortly after arriving, an older man riding a bicycle, and coughing up what sounded to be his left lung, asked me if I heard about the air quality warning issued on the radio. It took about 15 seconds for my mind to fearfully process what that could possibly mean and I promptly picked up Carter, went down the nearest slide and drug him kicking and screaming to the car. We drove home smelling like a campfire and my heart silently went out to the snorting/hacking older gentlemen who so valiantly put his life on the line to inform the completely-unaware-of-what-is-going-on-in-the-world moms such as I. Thus being my introduction to the wildfire smoke that Arizona was sending our way.

On a more positive note - Carter is FINALLY sleeping through 3 out of 4 nights.

Playing with Light

2011-03-12T08:32:00.001-08:00

Michelle has been taking some photography classes and sometimes they can be fun. Here are some shots for an assignment she had a couple weeks ago.

More Pics

2011-02-01T05:59:00.000-08:00

Just a couple more pics to share

Picture Problems

2011-02-01T05:50:00.000-08:00

I haven't been able to get any pics to post for a while, I think I've finally got it solved so here are some Christmas pics for you to share in our joy :)

Merry Christmas 2010

2011-02-01T05:39:00.000-08:00

We were SOOO incredibly blessed to have some visitors who ventured their way to our humble abode for the holidays!! Boy were we grateful, it was a special time. Thanks to Kris, LuWayne and Kaden for putting up with New Mexico to see us, we love you guys!

O.N.M.

2010-12-15T14:05:00.000-08:00

Well we made it to New Mexico, and what an experience! Let's just say fourteen hours in a car with a screaming baby who won't sleep isn't my idea of fun... Then to get here and to try and cram all of our stuff into the world's tiniest apartment, boy-o is that fun. Now about this tiny place, I mean what the heck, what is this? We're in New MEXICO, not New York, it's not exactly like we're lacking on space here!

It has definitely been an adjustment trying to acclimate to Santa Fe, as many people who aren't locals put it - it's like living in another country within our country. I can't even begin to describe all the strange little quirks of this place, it's one of those things you just have to experience for yourself.

Anywho, hoping everyone has a beautiful holiday season!!

New Pics

2010-12-14T10:47:00.000-08:00

As promised, here are a couple pics from Carter's birthday and a couple updated family ones as well, enjoy!

Overdue Update

2010-10-08T19:31:00.000-07:00

It's only been about five months since we last posted and there is SO much that has happened I'm sorry if I leave anything out!

First off, if anyone happened to miss out, we've moved back to Utah (temporarily) living in beautiful *ahem* Magna (molten hot Magna!-Luke).

Luke has accepted a new position and in a short time we will be relocating yet again to (there's no way to add suspense here) Santa Fe, New Mexico. You heard it, New Mexico (or as Jake kindly puts it, "Occupied northern Mexico"). I know you're all jealous.

Carter turned one and we had his first birthday party in Henderson right before we left. It was a blast, a dual birthday celebration with his adorable cousin Blake. I'm hoping to have some pics from it that I can post sometime (look for them in about 5 months...).

Carter started walking over two months ago and that's about the end of the stress-free (if that actually exists) parenting. He's on his way to running any day now. On top of being very stubborn and independent he is quite the handful. I am blown-away almost daily by what a blessing he is in my life.

I (Michelle) turned the big 3-0. Other than being rather depressing there's not much else to say on that. Well, actually I guess there is, my amazing fam went in on ringing in the landmark BDay right and got me a super sweet phone and a night out with the hubby (which is quite the rarity these days), dinner AND a show!

My dad got re-married to a great woman named Karen, I’m excited to have her and hers a part of our patchwork family.

Hopefully that’s it, at least its gotta be pretty close. Again I promise to try and do better on not neglecting our dear blog.

2 Years Later

2010-05-20T07:48:00.000-07:00

Monday marked the second anniversary of our wedding! Oh my how much has happened in such a seemingly short time, we've moved about three times, Luke started a new job (as well as myself I guess you could say), we were finally sealed and we were blessed with our sweet little boy! I'm happy to say that I still love my husband as much as the day we made it official. In case you happened to miss it, here's some pics from that wonderful day:

Since so much has changed since that day, here are some photos from now. As you can see we rarely ever appear in the same picture anymore, but we have something SO much cuter than ourselves to photograph!

Through all the changes that have happened (the great and the maybe-not-so-good) and the many, many more to come through the years, the one thing that will never change is our love for each other. Luke - I love you for ever

Wha Wha Whaaat?

2010-05-12T09:33:00.000-07:00

Two posts in one day?? I'm on a roll! So, actually I'm playing some catch up as I've been neglecting this here blog again. I'm way past due as I have tons of cute pics I need to find an excuse to put on here. The following is a good example:

A little update on Carter's sleeping - he actually does it! He's getting so good at it that sometimes he just can't help himself:

Further proof he actually sleeps

I can't even describe the feeling of accomplishment (or is it relief?) from FINALLY making progress on the whole sleeping thing. That definitely helped in being able to post this!

Mother's Day

2010-05-12T09:19:00.001-07:00

First off, some pics of the amazing miracle that bestowed upon me the honored title of Mother. (I can't believe this was seven months ago!)

So this was my very first Mother's Day as an actual Mom - weird. I don't know if I expected anything, or more appropriately, what I expected, but I know that I have developed a new found respect and love for the Mothers in my life for all that they do and all that they are. Thank you all, I know I need to tell you more than just once a year how incredible you are.

This is what my little man did for me on Mother's Day (with a little help from Daddy):

A Little X-Rated...

2010-04-29T08:51:00.000-07:00

There are many wonderful things about being a parent, one of them is the ability to take adorable pics of your child that you know will one day embarrass the pants off them!!

Hee hee hee

2010-04-27T21:22:00.000-07:00

Everybody has a laughin place.

Mine. No! Mine!

2010-04-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

Sleeping is Overrated, Insomniacs and New Moms Unite!

2010-03-30T16:22:00.000-07:00

Sleeping is a completely unnecessary extravagant waste of time, just ask my six-month-old son. Carter dear has slept all of one full night in his life - ONE. If he doesn't need to sleep through the night, neither does anyone else. If he so graciously allows you 6 hours of wholly interrupted sleep you must take this with appreciation and the knowledge that you most likely will not see so much time again in the future. And don't think that naps are needed either, we need not repeat what a frivolous item "sleep" is. Obviously any functions that require more than absolutely minimal sleep time are superfluous, this does include sanity folks - completely unessential. There is entirely too much to do to waste precious time sleeping!

Carter Would Like To Say Something

2010-03-29T06:21:00.000-07:00

World's Worst Mother Award Winner

2010-03-17T07:57:00.000-07:00

Dun da da dah... Me. So, yesterday I was at the park enjoying one of the 10 nice days we get here in Vegas and my negligence and utter stupidity caused my five-month-old son to fall out of his stroller onto the cement. I can't begin to describe the horror that washed through me as I saw him face down on the ground, luckily I was with two veteran mommies who assessed the situation and ascertained no imminent danger and attempted to console me; however, I was past the point of no return as I was consumed by disappointment and despair (thank you anyway ladies, I really appreciate the attempt). Its frustrating that this whole mommy thing gets harder as time goes by, not easier, what's up with that? Well, no pics this time, I can still barely look at the damage without tears filling my eyes and I would rather not have the image immortalized on the internet (not that it won't be in my mind and that's hard enough). Unfortunately this was the only remotely interesting thing that has happened. Until next time...

(Have you noticed my penchant for ... ? )

Bad News :(

2010-03-16T11:02:00.000-07:00

Dun dun dun... So, my husband (dear thirty-year-old Luke) who I think is becoming bitter in his old age, thinks that I do nothing all day and has decided that I must take over our here blog. Being that it is obviously neglected I unwillingly obliged. The problem is that I am not witty or insightful or have any writing skills whatsoever and about 99% of my time is spent with a baby leaving even my basic conversational skills lacking. There really isn't going to be much improvement in the posts other than that there might actually be some. All this being the case, my goal is to post pictures and videos of our quickly growing son (and maybe some of us on the off chance we were unlucky enough to get caught). So to kick it off I'm gonna post some of our family pics (yes, I know they were two months ago, as if I need to remind anyone about the lack of attention this poor blog gets) in case somehow you missed seeing them everywhere else we have them posted. Hey, no promises here...

"Dad, that wouldn't fit in our yard..."

2009-11-29T20:57:00.000-08:00

"Its not going in our yard Russ. It's going in our living room."

This past Thanksgiving weekend was pretty memorable. It was Carter's first Thanksgiving and though he likely wont remember any of it, his parents definitely will. On friday I went with Mandy and Scott and their kids along with my mom, Luwayne and Kaden up behind Brianhead, UT to cut down a Christmas tree. For Scott's family it's something of a tradition. Go out and find a tree amongst the snow and really celebrate being together as a family. We thought it best not to subject Carter to the colds of Utah just yet so I went alone. It has been pretty exciting to start thinking about family tradition and while I don't know where we'll be in years to come I would definitely do this again. There is something special about being out there in the snow and cold looking for a tree that "speaks to you."

My trophy.

About an inch of clearance with the star on top.

A little sunshine in your life.

2009-11-15T21:21:00.000-08:00

Say hi Buddy!

The true meaning of life.

2009-10-07T20:52:00.001-07:00

I stink at posting on this blog. I'd blame the wife but then I immediately remember all that she went through to get us our perfect little boy into the world and I realize that I can never ever ever ever ever ever say anything even mildly negative about her. She is amazing. I love her more than I can convey in a sappy cliche here in the internet. I am not worthy of the son I have been given and I thank my father in heaven for him.

Drumroll Please!

2009-04-11T16:06:00.000-07:00

It's a boy!

The entire video is about 19 mins long but if you watch just the first few minutes you get a pretty good picture of his fishy. Really I (Luke) just wanted to see that everything was ok and that Michelle, in fact, wasn't incubating a baby velociraptor in there. Kinda trips you out to see your baby moving around, flailing his little arms and legs, and looking so, well, baby-like. I'm glad it's a boy but I would have been just as insanely happy if it were a girl.

I'll post pics soon.

Baby Pics!

2009-03-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

These first 2 were done at 6 weeks, 4 days.

The last 3 were done at about 12 weeks. Apparently the tech woke him/her up and he started flailing his little arms and legs around. Must not like being woken up. Can't imagine where he got that from....MICHELLE! Just kidding. Totally my kid :)

Jasper would like to say something.

2009-03-19T08:42:00.001-07:00

Since we got back from our trip to Sandy Eggo our moronic cat Jasper apparently has had a lot on his chest that he would like to get out in the open. So Jasper, you now have the floor.

Meow MEow MEOW MEOW MEOW meow mewo MOW MOW MOW MOW meow meow mow mow meow meow meow meow. RArrrrr RRRRRRRR mow mow mow MA OWW MA OWWW MA OWWW MA OWWW, MEow meow meow meow meow meow. MOW MOW MOW MOW MOW. MA oww MA oww MA oww! MOW MOW Raarrrr, Mow Mow MOw MOW MOW MOW, meow meow, RAR, meow, MOW MOW MA MOW MOw MA OWW!....purrrrr....

I'm sure he feels much better now. Thanks for listening.

Sunset Cliffs 2

2009-03-16T08:40:00.001-07:00

Sunset cliffs

2009-03-16T08:37:00.001-07:00

Seal beach

2009-03-15T15:07:00.001-07:00

Long day

2009-03-13T14:01:00.001-07:00

Knocked up

2009-02-11T14:03:00.000-08:00

Except unlike the movie where you feel like you're forced to sit in the same room as your best friend's parents while they fight and tear each other down, we are super excited and ready for 1st child! Sorry, I actually hated this movie but it worked for our announcements. Peace!

Getting in and living to tell about it....Area 51

2009-01-20T14:11:00.000-08:00

Many of our stalwart readers are probably wondering why we haven't posted in a long long time. Surely there must be enough going on in our lives to justify at least a post a month. Well, we can neither confirm nor deny the existence of "going ons" in our life at this time. You see, much of what has transpired in the past few weeks is so amazing and even unbelievable that many who read the following post may not believe their eyes. We certainly couldn't. But nor could we deny what our own eyes beheld that fateful day in the Nevada Test and Training Range desert.

Saturday started out the same as any other: with an incessant meowing coming from the 2nd bathroom. Jasper was at it again bright and early, demanding both food and attention from his parents, Luke and Michelle. I rolled over hoping that somehow he might just decide to stop and occupy his time with something else. Michelle sighed heavily, "I'm going to kill him." She started to pull the covers off to go and release him from his nightly lockup and perhaps condemn him to a round of spray bottle shots, or even worse, the shower when i decided I should save him, once more, from himself. This is how it had been pretty much since the day we got the little smelly butt back in November. Michelle relented to getting a cat since getting a dog wouldn't be the brightest idea as we live in a condo for the time being. Unfortunately the old saying that 'cats are easier than dogs' doesn't apply to little Jasper and we've more or less been paying the price for getting the most vocal cat on the block. Basically his only redeeming quality is that he can play fetch as well as any dog, something I constantly remind myself when his incessant crying wears thin on our nerves.

Although our day might have begun like any other, the task that lay before us was anything but ordinary. During the many hours spent at my job I had begun to gather raw intelligence on a certain military installation north of Las Vegas. This included aerial and satellite imagery of the installation as well as first hand accounts of perimeter testing from such trustworthy sources as Youtube and google. I had a good idea of what to encounter and my experiences in Jordan infiltrating the Al al Bayt defense mechanisms gave me the kind of confidence you can only find in the most battle-proven soldiers. Our team consisted of Michelle, a.k.a Whitesnake, known for her intimidation abilities as well as her ruthlessness, Lala, our resident photography expert who would be providing her expertise in still photographic imagery, Jakers, our security and firearms expert providing close ground support, and myself, Lakas Aurelius Maximus, a.k.a White Bunny Rabbit, would be the wheelman.

An undertaking of such magnitude is obviously not to be taken lightly so there was a great deal of preparation that went on behind the scenes. We packed rations of Hummus,pita chips, apples, oranges, crackers and copious amounts of Diet Coke so that we would be properly prepared for any unforeseen problems that may arise. It's not everyday that you try to run the gauntlet of Groom Lake Rd. Aside from the food stuffs, we made sure our own "Black SUV" was properly outfitted with the necessary anti-detection and evasion gear.

We were ready.

Our team set out at approximately 13:30 and made a short stop at Arbys where we filled up on the necessary carbs, simple sugars, and transfats we needed to optimize our energy. It was something we would need.

13:50- On I-15 N out of Vegas. No events.

14:20- Turn onto Highway 93. No events.

14:40- Still on Highway 93. No events.

15:10- Still on Highway 93. No events.

15:40- STILL on Highway 93. The road hasn't had a bend in it for the past hour...

16:00- We arrive at Highway 375, a.k.a The Extraterrestrial Highway. The tension mounts.

16:15- Strange lights are seen off in the distance. Upon further investigation, the lights turn out to be the sun. No events.

16:30- We arrive at Groom Lake Rd. The silence is foreboding. I vomit out the window. Dang nerves.

Upon arriving at Groom Lake Rd., we believe that it is indeed the road for which we've been searching. Close inspection of the 'STOP' sign confirms our suspicions with the phrase "Real Gate to '51'" inscribed on the back. It's "Go time."

In the distance we can see dust clouds from 2 or 3 vehicles. The roads are intentionally graded with heavy machinery that pulverizes the dirt into a fine dust, thereby making it all but impossible to approach without being noticed. Impossible for some, but not us.

The nature of the vehicles remains unknown at this time as there are more pressing obstacles with which to deal. A herd of cows wanders into our path. Nothing out of the ordinary except for two. They stare at me with big black eyes in the strangest way. Almost as if they're trying to read my mind. For an instant we think that perhaps these cows are more than just ordinary cows, but the thought is quickly put to rest. Surely the government hasn't trained cows to act as undercover sentries to one of its most secret bases. Right?

We emerge from the cows unscathed though we aren't sure if we have been noticed by the Cammos (base security) at this point. We have no option except to proceed and hope for the best. About halfway to the hill marking the end of the road we hit a crossroads and are met with a black Avalanche. Quickly realizing the best course of action, I, being the veteran wheelman, execute the proper maneuvers to ensure the Avalanche can't follow us: drive in a straight line. He quickly disappeared into our dust screen.

A sigh of relief is heard through our vehicle but it is short-lived. Another car approaches. I can feel everyone in the car readying themselves to react at a moments notice. Jakers fingers the slide of his Walther PPK .380 Auto. Lala snaps some photos. Whitesnake flexes her muscles.

The car passes with the driver throwing up a "peace" sign with his two fingers.

He probably wouldn't have done that had he known how close to certain death he just came.

At this point Lala relays to the rest of the team that she has just spotted a Cammo on top of a small hill in the distance. She uses her high-powered telephoto lens to confirm his position and orientation in respect to our trajectory. He is definitely tracking us.

We slow to about 25mph so that we can better maneuver if the situation goes downhill. Only one turn left.

The Cammo is out of sight for a short period of time as we round a hill. Just a little further.

As we clear the hill, the goal is in sight...and so is the Cammo. While we had come around the mountain, they had repositioned their vehicle to again face our own. So it was to be a battle of wits eh? We'll see about that.

I quickly stop the SUV on the side of the road and we react like the crack squad we've been trained to become. Upon exiting the vehicle we immediately don our anti-brainwave/mind-control headgear so as to render their equipment useless. They wont get our secrets that easily! Lala and Whitesnake snap some pictures of the area as well as some of Jakers with the Cammos in the background. Our mission was a success! We load up and begin our evac before the Cammos can even react, safely enclosed in our dust screen.

So there you have it. Our close encounter with Area 51. Some might call us crazy for taking on such a dangerous mission. Perhaps we are. But as Nietzsche once said "The secret of reaping the greatest fruitfulness and greatest enjoyment from life is to live dangerously." That's how we live our lives. Right on the cutting edge.
Our trusty Full Combat Vehicle.

Hello nice lady, today is free carrramel apple day!

2008-10-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

So I get a lot of flak for not updating this blog while I am "hard at work" on my other blog. Part of the reason is that I don't have any pictures to post while I am at work. I think pictures are a staple of these"couple blogs" and so I shy away from just posting paragraphs of information as probably no one will read them. But alas I have no pictures and it has been a long time since our last post so the readers will just have to deal with having no pics.

Our big news is we got rid of the Focus. That poor little guy did his best for the time we had him and considering his bloodline, you can't expect years of problem-free service. Its really amazing he helped out so much in the end by turning off the Check Engine Light so as not to alert the mechanics of the suspect problems under the hood. Just wait till they get that thing up on a lift... Anyway, we are now the proud owners of a black 2008 Mazda CX-7.

We like to think its a good alternative to a larger SUV and a smaller rice rocket though we have been reminded repeatedly of its use as a "family car" though I'm not quite sure what everyone is referring to. All I know is its got the same turbocharged 2.3 I-4 from the Mazdaspeed 3 and that's something I can live with. While the Focus SVT wasn't the slowest car on the planet, its sportiness was somewhat anemic and it was, after all, a Ford (Please, there is no need to remind me that Ford has a ~33% controlling interest ownership in Mazda...). We were glad to get out from under the Focus and even though we had to roll a little bit of what we owed on the Focus into the CX-7, we still got it for less than its book value. I have to admit that the experience at the dealership was not nearly as bad as previous trips. It did take about 3 hours to get it all done but it wasn't as pressured as I had feared.
Other than that things are just peachy. Halloween is swiftly approaching and the weather here in Vegas, if you can believe it, has actually started to cool down. It didn't even get out of the 60s this weekend. A miracle indeed.

CAMPING!!!!

2008-09-06T08:42:00.000-07:00

So, this poor blog is a little outdated, we've actually been doing a lot of fun stuff and haven't been on here to write about it so let's play some catch-up.

A few weeks ago we had a weekend camping trip with the Nelsons, Castos, and Bayacas. It was a ton of fun, but in this "melting pot" we call the United States it never seems like you can get far enough away from those who think they're at a futebol match. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL! Apparently camping in some cultures isn't a time to get out into the wilderness and ponder the greatness of nature and its many wonders but rather to blow airhorns, sing, and act like imbeciles all in the dead of night. We may have escaped the heat but not the people...

We went to Panguitch Lake and did a little fishin, the only one coming out with anything was little Ty Ty (despite what Scott might tell you), showin all the big guys how its done! We enjoyed the beautiful weather and scenery there and then headed to Zion's National Park where we took on the Narrows and half of Europe (must be nice for em with the Euro-Dollar exchange rate right now). We were led by our fearless leader, Scotty (not the Star Trek one, James Doohan, but the Basic High Go-for-Broke award winner Scott Nelson) and Jake (with his unusually long walking stick) who led us into the bowels of the Narrows. We all had a great time though Scott had a somewhat comical slip and fall into the river (Jake laughed but not me, I wasn't fortunate enough to witness it) and was also almost pummeled by a log thrown in upriver by an ingenious Spanish girl. Close calls all around. But in the end it was a blast as we braved the wind, rain, snow and hail and swam in the cold water for hours before we grudgingly headed back to "the real world".

It was a great trip and a wonderful time to spend with family. And, no matter what Scott says, Michelle did NOT pee in the bus! (Though this could have been entirely possible because the bus ride is like at least 30 mins long-the Editor)

my humps my humps my humps....

2008-07-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

So, this week we're fresh off our world tour (read weekend trip to LA) with the famous Black Eyed Peas. We wined (diet coke of course) and dined with the most exclusive A listers in all of Hollywood (Ru-fi-o Ru-fi-o RU FI OOOOOOO). Our stay was at the historic and exquisite Biltmore Hotel in downtown LA and accomodations were provided on the top floor. Could we expect any less seeing as how we are now the sole white folks to be related by two marriages to a Black Eyed Pea? I think not. For those of you who aren't "in the know," Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas married my step-sister Jaymie in a beautiful wedding in southern California this past weekend. You might want to google it to see some of our pictures. There is an especially good one of me, though you can't actually see me per say, as we walked out of the church behind Jimmy (Taboo) and Jaymie. Needless to say, the Paparazzi must have obviously been changing lenses at the moment we exited so as not to capture our brilliance on camera. *sigh* the life of a superstar is not as easy as one might imagine. We'll have to post our own pictures here so everyone can check out the glamorous Gornichecs (mostly Michelle but I'm not without my charm).
But in an effort to streamline the process of telling everyone of all the stars we met, I'll just make a short list of who we met and who we saw.

Fergie and Josh-
Fergies hot but Josh is probably hotter. I really wanted to ask him what it was like to battle Megatron.
Will.i.am-
My dad dragged him over with him looking a little sheepish, probably a little afraid of the only white people in the room. Seemed like a nice guy in the 12 seconds we talked to him.
Rufio-
Wanted to ask him if he was still bitter over losing the Lost Boys to Peter Pan and what it felt like to be called a Paramecium brain. So cold Peter...
Boyz to men-
Sang a song. They sounded kinda like a band I knew back in the day, oh yeah, Boyz to men.

I guess thats really about it. There were other probably famous people but how famous are you really when I don't know who you are? Hmm? Anyway, this is getting tiring and I'm excited to go see Batman tonight. I think I'll get my action figure out and prepare myself for the film. PEACE!

2008-06-29T20:54:00.001-07:00

Well, this is the 21st century so we decided to join the rest of the world and make a blog (crowd goes wild!). Now that the standard intro is out of the way... Welcome to our blog!! We have totally good intentions on keeping this up to date, but I'm sure you'll forgive us if we forget now and then to update the world on the nothingness that goes on with us.

Being this is the first blog let's do the little intro here, "we" consists of Luke and Michelle Gornichec. Blah blah blah on our childhood and then we both started working at USBank where we met and fell in love. Of course this was after months of teasing (i.e. Luke pushing me into the bushes) and throwing "insults" in our childish way of saying 'I like you'. After about a year and a half of dating his family convinced me to give in and marry him and so I did.

May 17, 2008 will go down in history for having the most beautiful, perfect wedding in history, that was cut unexpectedly short... And now here we are in the not-so-beautiful but oh-so-hot Henderson, Nevada.

It's been good talking to you and keep in touch