The Perleys

freedom

2009-04-23T21:29:00.002-06:00

Finals are over and we are FREE!

I spent my first day of freedom scrubbing our apartment down and throwing out everything from this past semester. It was so relaxing and I love having our apartment back to sparkling clean. Plus there is just something very cathartic about throwing out all your assignments and then scrubbing stuff. It definitely relieved all the tension from this past semester and finals.

winner, winner, chicken dinner

2009-04-15T11:24:00.006-06:00

Last week I was procrastinating doing homework and I found a whole bunch of quizzes on a blog I follow, so I started doing them. They were all about fashion/beauty and I had no idea what I was doing, but it was fun to guess. A bunch of the quizzes also enter you into different contests, which I didn't care about, but I figured they would waste my time just as well as the others, so I did them too.

Then yesterday I got an email saying I had won... a designer dress from Saks worth $295!
Crazy huh?

Unfortunately the dress isn't quite modest enough, so I will either sell it or give it away.

Here is a picture - isn't it pretty?

equation

2009-04-15T11:15:00.003-06:00

scooter + pouring rain + ride home from campus = 2 very wet people

thoughts

2009-03-11T14:43:00.003-06:00

- physical therapists are a weird breed of people that enjoy torturing the innocent

- getting a second opinion on medical treatments may take more time, but it is worth it

- the saws they use to cut off casts CAN cut you, and can cut you deep enough to leave scars

- professors that over-simplify their lectures actually make it harder to understand the material

- eating a lot of chocolate doesn't make the pain in my arm go away nor does it reduce the amount of homework I have

- technology is great when it works, and is the spawn of the devil when it doesn't (my hard drive crashed so I get to try and recreate/find/live without everything that was on there)

- a mandatory lecture on Friday afternoon ruins an otherwise perfectly clear weekend

- the thought of summer and relaxing makes everything seem so much more bearable

one week

2009-02-11T16:36:00.002-07:00

I am down to only one more week with my lovely blue friend, mr. cast (I broke my left arm a month ago, story to come when I can type with both hands).

Here are some...

things I will miss:
- not having to do dishes
- not having to clean
- tylenol induced sleep
- sleeping on the couch
- living in t-shirts and sweatshirts

things I look forward to:
- showering
- styling my hair
- not taking 10x as long to do a simple task
- wearing something other than t-shirts and sweatshirts
- yoga and working out

have you...

2008-11-10T11:19:00.002-07:00

I was tagged by a friend and thought this would be fun, so here goes. You just copy and paste this to your blog and bold the ones that you HAVE done...

I got 39 out of 99.

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
8. Climbed a mountain - does hiking count?
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning - thank you Nacho Mammas
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables - does trying to grow a watermelon in Las Vegas count?
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping - in a hot tub, it hurt.
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language - I know a few words in Finnish...
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing...done a rock climbing wall thing.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant - no, but I have had that happen to me
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance - I got to ride in one when I was near an explosion of anthrax-like toxic materials (it was a mock disaster that Bountiful City put on to train their cops, medics, etc. and I got to play one of the injured people)
47. Had your portrait painted - thank you Lisa
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling - we tried in Hawaii but we weren't very successful
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie - I was in a movie we made for a class...
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching - I watched some whales at Sea World...
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter - thanks to Klinton
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
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 - does having an overgrown second ankle bone broken off during surgery count? Technically, it did get broken...
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle - the scooter can speed...
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox - I only got a few pox on my back, but it was enough to keep me from getting it again, sweet huh?
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
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
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

8's

2008-10-19T19:21:00.002-06:00

I got tagged, so here it is...

8 tv shows I love to watch:
1. The Office - Dwight is my hero!
2. Extreme Makeover Home Edition - it gets cheesy sometimes, but I love hearing about families that are really working hard to change their communities (plus the houses are always gorgeous)
3. Scrubs - I think I'm most like Elliot, but I wish I was like Jordan...
4. What Not to Wear - Stacy and Clinton are brutal, but they have some really good advice
5. Mythbusters - let's face it, that is the coolest job ever
6. Law & Order - the old ones on TNT, not the newer ones
7. Home Improvement - reruns are on TBS every weekday morning from 10-12... i love it!
8. The Apprentice - what could be better than watching business people battle it out for a job with Donald Trump?

8 things that happened yesterday:
1. I had a 4 hour group meeting - lucky me
2. Mike's ultimate frisbee team won their game
3. Made scotch-a-roos for the first time in months, so good
4. Put out our Halloween decoration (yes, that is singular)
5. Killed a huge spider
6. Got the official offer package from KPMG - I'm not excited about reading through it all
7. Became even more frustrated with certain group members that don't ever follow through on things
8. Watched A Painted Veil while working on my presentation for Monday

8 favorite places to eat:
1. Buca di Beppo - love the family style italian food
2. Tucanos/Rodizio Grill - all you can eat meat is a wonderful thing
3. Ottavio's - love the accordion player and their chocolate canollis
4. Goodwood - some good greasy southern food
5. Cheesecake Factory - who wouldn't love a place with a book for a menu?
6. Texas Roadhouse - steak is always good
7. Cafe Rio - pretty much everything there is good, you can't go wrong
8. Pace's Dairy Ann - you can't beat their country-boys (hamburgers, not workers) and the rainbows are pretty amazing

8 things I am looking forward to:
1. Graduation
2. Passing the CPA exam
3. Owning a house
4. Having a couple of puppies
5. Having children (these aren't in order... )
6. Being done with the MBA core
7. Interning with KPMG
8. Having all of the family together next summer at Bear Lake

8 things on my wish list:
1. Touring Europe with Mike
2. Scientific discoveries that allow men to have children - it could happen, right?
3. A professional cook to provide Mike and I with healthy and delicious meals every night
4. Having family back in Provo (come on Lisa, you know you want to get a PhD...)
5. I agree with Lisa, 3 month pregnancies (that is, if #2 doesn't come true)
6. A shopping spree to Banana Republic
7. Wymount deciding to let its tenants have puppies
8. Never having to shave again

8 people that I tag: Darylynn, April, Rachel, Alissa, Jessica, Bethany, Katie, Melissa, and anyone else who wants to.

update

2008-10-16T20:35:00.003-06:00

I got an offer from KPMG in Salt Lake for a summer internship!

Although this is great news, I am a little disappointed that the recruiting will be over now. Oh how I love the free food, massages, random promotional products, gift cards, etc. - but like all good things the recruiting must eventually come to an end. So sad.

happy birthday mike!

2008-10-12T22:11:00.002-06:00

Mikes turned the big 2-5 this past Tuesday - here are some of the things we did that day to celebrate:

- we went to class

- we worked

- we treated ourselves to a quick hamburger
since we had mounds of homework

- we stayed up until 2 a.m. working on a
horrendous "trueblood" case

Unfortunately, I don't think it was the best birthday for Mike, but we have tried to make up for it by getting some celebration in this weekend. Mike had an intramural ultimate frisbee game Friday night, so I bundled up and braved the cold to watch him play. His team finally got all the kinks worked out and beat the other team - hooray! Satruday we had fun watching the BYU football game together and eating amazing Brick Oven pizza, and then Mike spent the rest of the night doing his favorite thing - organizing! He made it so that we can fit almost twice as much stuff in our dressers than we could before, isn't he amazing (and a little odd)?

frank. school. tour. interviews.

2008-09-27T15:54:00.009-06:00

So it has been a very long time since I last posted and tons has happened since then...

First off, I got a new bike! We found a Felt F90 from 2006 on sale at Canyon Bicycles in Draper (we highly recommend going there - they have over 2,000 bikes on hand) and it was exactly what I wanted - the right components and more importantly the right color - so we picked it up. This picture was taken after my first official ride on Frank (Frank the Felt).

Secondly, school started! Mike and I are in the MBA core this year, so we get to take classes like finance and organizational behavior. So far our classes have been pretty good, but it definitely sucks not having any "real" classes (a.k.a. accounting classes).

Thirdly, last week Mike did a century tour (100 mile bike ride) in Moab! Mike and his friend from the ward, Steven, have been training for the past couple of months for the tour, and after about 6 hours and 45 minutes on the bike, they finished.

The boys before they started...

After "The Big Nasty" - a 3,000 ft. climb in 7 miles...

Pretty Moab scenery...

Recovering...

The last major thing that has happened in the past month is that we have interviewed for internships. Mike and I "fake" interviewed with Ernst & Young - we didn't really apply for an internship we just wanted the experience of interviewing and they were willing to let us interview, so we did. I also interviewed with KPMG for an internship in Salt Lake. We are still thinking that Denver is where we will end up, but I wanted to make sure that I really didn't want to be in Salt Lake, and it worked out better for us because then we could stay here this summer instead of trying to go to Denver for the summer. I should find out in a couple of weeks whether I got the internship - let's hope they liked me!

happy anniversary!

2008-08-25T19:20:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was our 2nd wedding anniversary! Since we already celebrated with a romantic night out in Las Vegas, we didn't do a lot on our actual anniversary, but we did enjoy spending some extra time together last weekend.

Random wedding fact: We never cut or ate our wedding cake. We took pictures before the reception pretending to cut the cake, but we never cut it because we ran out of time. We didn't even get to eat the top of our cake for our 1st anniversary because the cake was in our freezer during the byu-maintenance-unplugged-the-fridge-while-we-were-out-of-town disaster. So in the end we paid a bunch for an amazing chocolate raspberry, key lime, and white chocolate strawberry cake (each tier was a different flavor) that was never actually eaten by anyone. Oh well, it looked pretty and that is all that matters, right?

viva las vegas!

2008-08-17T20:35:00.008-06:00

Mike and I had a fun-filled weekend in Las Vegas... here are the highlights:

*Dinner at Brio (an amazing Italian restaurant with the best bruschetta I have ever had) with Bryan, Katya, and Kaio, followed by a trip to the strip to see the Bellagio fountains - such a fun night!

*Lunch at In-N-Out done "animal" style, of course. It was Mike's first time and he definitely is a fan now.

*Dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe with Bryan and crew followed by a romantic walk around the Venetian and the biggest highlight of the trip... The Blue Man Group! We had so much fun at their show - if you are going to see in show in Vegas, they are a must see. They are hilarious, amazing musicians, and incredibly original. We splurged and got 2nd row almost center seats, which put us in the "poncho" zone, aka. the you might get wet zone. It was so cool to be close enough to see their facial expressions and all the little details - like the Cap'n Crunch stuck to their faces. We waited outside after the show and got to meet a Blue Man (I was super excited because he was my favorite Blue Man - the one that seemed to get picked on the most and also the best dancer...

The kiss mark left by the Blue Man...

*Listened to a flute/guitar/accordian trio in the courtyard of the Venetian. They played great classics like "Fly Me to the Moon" and "Starlight" as well as some very impressive jazz flute pieces. They were so fun to watch, and made me think that maybe someday I will do something like that.

*Penn & Teller show at The Rio. They are really entertaining and just when you think their trick is over and wasn't all that amazing, they throw something in that blows your mind. We saw Penn and Teller after the show, which was cool. I never realized that Penn is like 6'7" tall - yikes.

*Dinner at the Top of the World restaurant at the Stratosphere (or space needle, as Mike calls it). This was my second favorite thing of trip. The restaurant is located on the 106th floor and it rotates (very slowly) so that you can see all of Las Vegas while you eat - so cool. The dinner was amazing - we had fillet minion that could be cut with a fork because it was so tender, purple potatoes from Peru that were delicious, balsamic vinegar soaked and grilled baby onions, roasted tomatoes, steamed asparagus, and lobster (I don't know if the lobster was good, I didn't eat it - but Mike loved it). All of that was followed by the most amazing, beautiful, and delicious dessert I have ever had. The dessert was in the shape of the Stratosphere (in the picture it is dismantled because our waiter cut it up before we could take a picture) and it was a Belgian chocolate base, white chocolate stem, dark chocolate and raspberry moose in a Belgian chocolate shell for the top, all topped with a vanilla cream and fudge, caramel, raspberry sauce. So good...

We had so much fun in Las Vegas, but we are both extremely excited to get back to normal life and back into school in a few weeks. I know, we are odd, but we love school. Good thing we have two more years!

happy birthday!

2008-08-12T21:50:00.003-06:00

My birthday was last Monday, and we have just barely finished all of our celebrations! The festivities included:

A party with friends including yummy artichoke dip, red velvet cake, and a HD movie projected on our living room wall.

A romantic dinner with Mike at Ottavio's that included sparkling cider, pesto gnocchi, and a delicious chocolate cannoli. We haven't found anything at Ottavio's that we don't love and the atmosphere can't be beat - if you haven't been you are definitely missing out. We followed dinner with the movie 21 - which seemed appropriate since it was my 21st birthday. If only I knew how to count cards...

A delicious dinner with my parents at Z'tejas that included chips with salsa and queso, and an amazing steak burrito.

A birthday lunch at work that ended with a wonderful and very rich chocolate cake from Costco.

And finally, a shopping spree in the Nordstrom's shoe department that yielded a great pair of brown slingbacks and a pair of classic black pumps.

All-in-all it was an amazing birthday and I am so grateful to everyone who sent cards/emails wishing me a happy birthday.

swim. bike. run.

2008-07-27T22:28:00.010-06:00

Yesterday Mike participated in the long-awaited and much anticipated Spudman Triathlon in Burley, Idaho. We headed up to Idaho Friday afternoon and spent the night setting up Mike's transitions, eating the customary "carb dinner", and enjoying the cool night on the river front. We had fun camping on the golf course (where the triathlon was being held) Friday night along lots of other triathlon participants.

Mike's heat started at 7:20 so we got up early and had a small breakfast together before he suited up and waited his turn to take a swim in the nice cold Snake River. Kristi watched him take off and then walked down to see his swim to bike transition. After that she went to see his bike to run transition, and then a short while later the crowning moment, the crossing of the finish line! Mike finished in about 20 minutes less than he had been expecting, with a final time of 2 hours 40 minutes, so it was a big success for him. In total Mike traveled 31 miles: he swam 1 mile, biked 24 miles, and ran 6 miles. I (Kristi) am so proud of Mike for achieving his goal of doing a triathlon - he is amazing!

Here are some of the highlights from the event...

before the swim...

during the swim...
(I don't know which one is Mike - they all had the same caps)

crossing the finish line...
(despite much yelling at the guy in the orange he wouldn't move, so you can't see Mike very well, but he is the guy with white shoes crossing the finish line...)

Mike, Canny (the bike), and his Spudman Medal...

the happy couple...

Wait, Wait...

2008-07-24T15:21:00.002-06:00

There is a great radio program on NPR called Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. It is on every Saturday at 11 a.m. on KUER 90.1 (in Utah), or you can do it the easy way and subscribe to their podcast on iTunes. Anyway, we love this show because it makes fun of all politicians and world figures, has hilarious unheard news stories, and is always very educational and funny. So if you get a chance, listen to a show!

A day in Park City and Gotham City...

2008-07-21T12:48:00.005-06:00

Last Saturday we did our annual Park City trip with Bob and Cassandra, and it was perfect! Mike and Bob mountain biked at Deer Valley while the girls hit the outlets, lunched, and strolled the amazing bookstores and shops on Main Street. After the mountain biking and shopping we did an early dinner at Cafe Sabor in Park City . It was delicious, despite the fact that we were asked to sit on the patio (in 90 degree weather) because the boys were covered in dirt. After dinner we got cleaned up and took Maggie and Sammi, Bob and Cassandra's dogs, to the dog park, which was way fun, and made us want a dog even more.

After the dog park Mike and I went to see The Dark Night at Jordan Commons (we love Jordon Commons because you can reserve your seats, so we showed up 10 min. early and still had great seats!). Seeing The Dark Night was definitely the highlight of the day - it is the best Batman movie by far! Christian Bale is phenomenal (even better than in Batman Begins), and Heath Ledger just blows you away as the Joker. I don't think there was anything that Mike and I didn't like. If you haven't seen it, it is a must see.

Mikes

2008-06-16T14:22:00.003-06:00

I know this is a day late, but I didn't get the chance to blog yesterday, so it will have to do.

Happy Father's Day!

I thought I would take this opportunity to share my appreciation for the two most important Mikes in my life. Mike Spuhler, my amazing Dad, and Mike Perley, my amazing husband.

I feel so grateful to have such a wonderful Dad. He has taught me so much and has given me a great example to model my life after. I have always wanted to marry someone just like my dad, and I am so grateful that I was able to.

I also feel incredibly grateful to be married to Mike. He is my best friend, my study buddy, my motivator, my favorite entertainment, but most importantly he is my eternal companion. I look forward to becoming a parent with Mike, and I know he will be an excellent Dad.

I love you Mikes!

Our new pet?

2008-06-01T13:28:00.003-06:00

This morning as we left our apartment to go to church we found a quite unusual situation on the landing outside our apartment. A hurt, little pigeon (we suspect it hit a window) was perched on the railing, looking sad and downtrodden. Not wanting to be late for church (and Kristi being scared of the little thing...) Mike tried to scare it away, but it was too hurt to really fly, so it just scurried away. We were so surprised to come home from church and find it perched back up on our railing. This time as we passed it and made noise it didn't even move - apparently we no longer frighten it.

Anyway, since we both really want a pet, maybe little Abe (Kristi named it) can be a temporary pet - even if he is frightening and carrying tons of diseases.

Our big debut...

2008-05-28T11:41:00.000-06:00

Ok, so last year we were involved in the taping of a Wifeswap episode that our mcom professor was doing (yes, a BYU professor did Wifeswap), and now the episode is making its tv debut. Anyway, it isn't for sure that we will make it on the show, but it should be pretty good entertainment even without us. The episode is on TONIGHT at 8/7 c. on ABC, so check it out!

P Squared

2008-05-25T21:52:00.003-06:00

The pictures above are of Mike and Bob posing in their matching Prodigy Promos shirts. Ever since Mike started working with Prodigy over a year ago, he has taken to only wearing his Prodigy shirts so that on any given day he is a walking advertisement for them. Now that Mike is all Prodigy, he has started giving the shirts out to his friends and "prodigizing" them, as I like to call it, hence the pictures. Oh, and they are making funny faces because Mike put his arm around Bob's waist, like he would with me, instead of the more manly around-the-shoulder side hug.

The results are in...

2008-05-15T11:08:00.002-06:00

Mike and I were accepted into BYU's MAcc (Master of Accountancy) program! Wahoo! We are both very excited, even though this means we now have two more years of school, two more years of life in Provo, and two more years of living in 550 square feet. All of that considered, we are extremely excited to be in this great program and even more excited to be doing it together.

Our new family member...

2008-04-19T20:53:00.004-06:00

So today Mike and I adopted Canny. He is 58 cm long and he weighs about 17 lbs. He is a mix of red and black, and we figure he is about a month old. We found him at Al's in Logan and we just couldn't leave without him. We have both been surprised at how he is already fitting in with Papa Spech and Baby Yellow Spech so well. Here are some pictures of the proud new daddy and Canny:

Ok, so Canny is a road bike, but with all of my siblings currently being pregnant we were feeling a little left out of the whole "having a family" thing. Hence our lovely bike family (and why I felt compelled to name them all...).

Mike is doing a triathlon in July, so he has slowly been acquiring all of the necessities and the road bike was the last thing on his list. He took Canny out for a little ride today and loved it so that is definitely good news.

p.s.

2008-03-06T22:14:00.001-07:00

I tag Amber, Darylynn, and anyone else who hasn't done it yet!

Tag

2008-03-05T20:42:00.002-07:00

I was tagged by Lisa to share stuff all about my husband and I...

What is his name? Michael Justin Perley

How long have you been together? We have been married for about a year and a half.

How long did you date? Much like Lisa, we dated for 3 months before we were engaged and we were engaged for about 3 months. This may seem quick, but in our defense we knew after 2 weeks that we were going to get married, so we really waited a rather long time...

Who eats more? Usually Mike, but the night we got engaged I matched him bite for bite at Rodizio's. We were both too full after dinner to go on the romantic walk around Salt Lake that he had planned, but it was well worth it.

Who said I love you first? Mike did. He was too chicken to say it in English so the first few times he said it in Finnish, knowing that I had no idea what he was saying.

Who is taller? Mike - 6'1"

Who is smarter? That is a tough question. If you go by performance on tests, then I am. If you go by who says the least amount of stupid stuff, he definitely is.

Who does the laundry? We usually do the laundry together, so both of us.

Who does the dishes? Mike does the dishes with me on Saturday, but during the week I do them by myself.

Who sleeps on the right? He does, but he claims that I try to infringe upon his side almost nightly. I don't believe it.

Who pays the bills? Most of them just come out of our account automatically (an amazing modern convenience), but he usually takes care of the rest of them.

Who mows the lawn? If we were privileged enough to have one, he would mow it.

Who cooks dinner? I do, but with school and work it is pretty rare.

Who drives? Mike does because I apparently drive too slowly.

Who is more stubborn? That would be me.

Who kissed who first? He kissed me. On the first date. I ran away (according to him).

Who asked out who first? I guess technically I asked him out first. We had been talking/flirting in our class for a while and talking online a ton, but he wasn't asking me out and I was getting frustrated. So, I invited him over for a study group (a legitimate one) and things just went from there.

Who proposed? He did. He took me to the Bunny Hop (a carnival thing in Bountiful), then to Rodizio's for dinner. When we got back to his apartment he put a movie in that he had made. It was modeled after the Mastercard commercials, so it went through our first date and special things we had done together and listed how much they had cost (remember, we are accountants and we like numbers...) and then at the end it said "spending an eternity with you... priceless." When I looked over at him he was on one knee holding the ring. It was perfect!

Who has more siblings? Mike does by far. He has 2 brothers and 6 sisters. I have a brother and 2 sisters.

Who wears the pants? We both do in our own ways. But if I had my choice I would live in skirts - they are way more comfortable.

Red Robin

2008-03-02T17:19:00.002-07:00

Last night we went to Red Robin to grab a quick dinner before we had some fellow Coloradans over for games and dessert. This normally wouldn't be anything to write about, but we had a very unusual experience. Just as we were finishing up our dinner our waitress came over to inform us that someone had paid our check for us. We were both quite surprised since we hadn't seen anyone we knew at the restaurant. On our way out we looked around trying to find the culprit so we could thank them, but our attempt was unsuccessful. So, to whomever the mysterious culprit may be - thank you for a wonderful act of kindness and a great dinner!

Good News!

2008-02-19T19:56:00.002-07:00

Kristi finally heard back from Squire, with really good news. Although Squire is currently over-staffed and not in need of anyone, they want her to start working for them this summer. Meanwhile, her contact at Squire set her up with one of Squire's clients that is in need of some part-time accounting help. Kristi interviewed with them today and got the job on the spot - hooray! She is way excited because she will finally get stable hours and she won't have to drive to Lindon, so it is good news all around. The only sad thing will be to leave behind the company that has provided us (and many others) with so many hilarious office stories...

Valentine's Day and a Birthday

2008-02-17T20:14:00.003-07:00

Despite having class, homework, and work on Valentine's day, we managed to have a somewhat-romantic day. Mike surprised me with a gorgeous bouquet of roses, and I tried (unsuccessfully) to surprise Mike with his favorite pizza while at work. Unfortunately the whole surprise didn't go as planned and I had to explain to Mike what I had done so he would accept the pizza.

Another exciting thing happened on Valentine's day - I prepared my first return as a VITA Volunteer and I didn't mess anything up! I just hope I can continue with that same record.

Yesterday Mike and I went to Logan for our nephew Jonathon's first birthday party. We had a lot of fun playing crazy "builder" themed games, eating yummy food, and talking with everyone.

Rescuing Sprite

2008-02-10T20:13:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I have decided that in order to keep me reading things besides accounting text books I will start posting reviews of the books I read. I am hoping to do 1 or 2 a month. This month I am going to review Rescuing Sprite by Mark Levin. Rescuing Sprite is a sweet story about the Levin family's experience with Sprite, a dog with an abusive past that they adopted from a shelter. Having experienced the joys of having a dog and the companionship that it provides, I found this book to be especially touching. Mr. Levin does a wonderful job of capturing the happiness that pets can provide, along with the sorrow that comes from seeing their health fade. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, even if you aren't a dog-person. It is an easy and quick read, and well worth the time.

Our Baby!

2008-02-10T20:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, so she isn't a baby... and she isn't even ours, but we love her none-the-less! Plus the pictures are just cute. These are of us with Bob and Cassandra's newest "puppy" Sammi. She is a Weimaraner and the most relaxed dog - she will just lay in your lap for hours.

Instead of Studying...

2008-02-05T21:54:00.000-07:00

I made the great decision to update our blog instead of studying, which isn't like me at all, but I saw how awesome Jessica's blog is and I just had to try to make mine as cool. Even with the updates mine isn't as cool, but it is getting closer. Speaking of cool, Mike and I played laser tag with some friends last weekend - it was a spur-of-the-moment decision when we passed LaserQuest on the way to dinner. We competed against party of annoying 10 year old boys who were surprisingly good- it must be all of the video games.

I interviewed with Squire last week for a job in their Quickbooks division, so hopefully that works out. I would be consulting companies on how to set up their accounting records, how to maintain them, and how to handle different accounting issues. I know, it sounds really exciting, but I'm trying not to get too excited.

Back to School

2008-01-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

Today we started the second half of our grueling Jr. year. We met our new managerial professor, and she is alright, despite her awkward attempts at humor. We also got to meet our new groups and so far everyone seems normal, so that is a relief. Even though our break was pathetically short, we had a lot of fun with family and friends and we were able to catch up on some much needed work/sleep/play time. Last week Mike's brother David came to stay with us for a couple of days and that was fun. For the first time in a long time we played the Xbox. Mike and David enjoyed picking on me (Kristi) in Halo because I am terrible at it (somehow I always get stuck in a corner), but it was still a lot of fun. Oh, and Mike and I watched some of the new American Gladiators last night and it's pathetic, but at the same time it totally sucks you in. So if you are looking for some great entertainment, it's a must!

Trip to Colorado

2007-11-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

For our Thanksgiving break this year we went to Colorado to visit Mike's family. We had a blast playing monopoly (I even beat Mike once), seeing some of Mike's old buddies, and spending time with Mike's family. Mike got up early Thanksgiving morning to participate in his old ward's Turkey Bowl, and I even braved the below freezing temperatures to watch him play. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner, topped off with a high-stakes monopoly game between the three Perley boys (after about 2 hours of playing and lots of heated discussions Mike won). On Friday, instead of shopping, I indulged in a pedicure and facial with Mike's sister. It was wonderful!

Now that the break is over, we will have to get back to studying hard, but we are looking forward to the somewhat longer break for Christmas.

2/3

2007-11-11T19:16:00.000-07:00

Mike and I are officially done with 2/3 of the semester - Hooray! Hopefully it is all down hill from here. Last week we had our second round of midterms, so we have spent this weekend relaxing and recuperating from all of the studying and lack of sleep. Part of the recuperation involved a night hike with Mike's mission friend Bob, and his wife Cassandra. I have never night hiked before and it was an interesting experience. I could live happily without ever doing it again. Mike's close friend is getting married this coming weekend up in Idaho so we are excited to get to go to that. In other news, Salt Lake finally got a Cheesecake Factory, so Mike and I are just waiting for the incredibly long wait to die down so we can go and enjoy some amazing food and delightful cheesecake.

That is pretty much it. Oh, and BYU beat TCU, which was wonderful, so as long as they can beat Utah they will have not lost a home game for the past two seasons. Go BYU!

Um...

2007-10-14T21:24:00.000-06:00

So with school our lives are pretty boring. In fact, the highlight of our week is pretty much just the office and chuck (not the gay guy in legally blonde, but the new tv series - it's no office, but it has some good parts). Speaking of the office, we have been somewhat disappointed in the new season. Some parts are great (like the mercy killing of a cat, holding the pizza boy hostage, and Michael running over Meredith), but the other stuff has just been lame fillers. Other than that all we do is work and school and both seem to be going great.

Mike says, "Meow." (he does a really good cat impression - sometimes he does it too much)

Happy Birthday Mike!

2007-10-07T09:24:00.000-06:00

Today is Mike's birthday - he's the big 2-4. To celebrate we spent Friday night at Bob and Cassandra's new house. We had pizza from The Pie (which is the best pizza ever) and yummy rainbow chip cake, and we spent the night playing with their adorable chocolate lab. Well, Mike played with her... I tried to keep my distance so I didn't puff up like a balloon. We have decided that we REALLY want a puppy, especially a Doberman puppy. But with our apartment we can't have one, so we will have to settle for playing with other people's dogs. Today to celebrate Mike's birthday we are going up to mom and dad's for lunch and then to Laura's for cake. Anyway, school is going great. We just finished our first week of midterms, and they were rough, but with a lot of late night studying we survived.

2007-09-23T21:56:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I have realized that blogs are no good if you don't ever use them. So here goes. Mike and I are in our fourth week of the horrendous jr. core, and we are incredibly busy, but we couldn't be happier. Our classes are great, and every couple of weeks we get free dinner at one of our professors or administrator's houses, which is pretty cool. The exciting news of the past little bit is that I finally got to meet Mike's brother David. He got home from his mission to Georgia right after school started and he made a trip out to see us last week, which was really fun. I think we convinced him of how wonderful BYU is, so maybe in a couple of months we will have family in Provo again, since a certain family member deserted to stupid oregon... Well, that is about it.

Oh, and Mike says, "I am siiiiick."

i made a blog!

2007-07-15T18:41:00.000-06:00

i was looking at lisa and tom's blog and it looked pretty simple so i figured i would start one myself. i guess i am now officially a computer nerd. great.