Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Merry (Twisted) Christmas 2005

Merry Christmas to you and yours! We wanted to update you on our activities over the year and tell you of our adventures. You may already know about how at McClelland St we were simultaneously frozen and kept awake until all hours by our neighbors. Well, we are happy to say that the gas leak in the furnace and the house fire solved both problems quite well (Hallie will miss Mitch, though). We then moved into a new house with Vola, a wonderful lady. Hallie’s brother came to live with us while laying low after running into that fire truck (driving and pesticides don’t mix). We especially loved having immediate family so close for the first time in four years. We had many laughs with him. A “Family Guy” fan, he set up a small idol to Peter Griffin in his new place.

Speaking of mind altering experiences, Hallie, now manager at Curves (local health club), is now fully into the Curves lifestyle. She rarely leaves the house anymore without wearing some bit of Curves advertising. Mike did an ethnographic paper on the culture of Curves. The ladies all love him (and he them).

In April we visited Montreal, Canada. Mike attended an education conference, & Hallie thought it would be fun to tag along. She was right. We stayed at a B&B and got to know Montreal quite well. Unfortunately, this will be our last visit to Canada for some time (if the customs authorities have their way). Once again, Mike went into one of his political tirades with a Mounty, only this time Sgt. Preston spoke back more eloquently with his baton. Montreal reminds Mike of Buenos Aires. He could live there (assuming we cross under cover of darkness).

On May 18, Hallie turned 30. What better way to celebrate your birthday then to take a trip to Disneyland? It was great fun especially to surprise all of Hallie’s family. What a great look Hallie’s mom had on her face when she walked in to say hi to her at work. Mike will never forget how she slammed through two lines of tardy students requesting readmit slips just to get to her daughter. Reminiscent of that Schwartzeneggar classic “Total Recall;” truly touching.
September was a busy month. A new semester brought new trials, & as the end approaches we wonder what were those trials all about? Mike suspects it had something to do with his recurring dreams about a red faced man with horns, the promise of finishing his PhD, and a blood pact, but Hallie scoffs. After all, dreams are rarely based on reality. Hallie interned at Anton Boxrud B&B downtown. She has really enjoyed it and has made good friends with the owner. Now she needs to make nice with the local chamber of commerce & Vola so we can start our own at home.

November brought a first for us. M&H celebrate seven years of marriage in January, & not once had we spent a night apart. Yet on November 10, we both had to go separate ways. Mike went to Nashville for another education conference, stayed at the Opryland Hotel, & really enjoyed it. Hallie went to the Curves Convention in Las Vegas. Both have remained closed-lipped about our trips. After all, you know what they say: “What happens in Nashville. . . .”

On December 11th, we took a business trip to Waco, Texas where Hallie will learn more about what Curves expects of her. Mike will visit the freezing war protesters at Pres. Bush’s Crawford ranch. Nothing warms the blood like a good debate! At the end of December Hallie will graduate with honors from LDSBC. She is excited and has enjoyed her time at school. She made many friends and learned a lot about how to bend the honor code without breaking it. Mike is done with course work and will start writing his dissertation soon. We are excited for this transition in his program.

And our big news of the season: we have decided to start the adoption process, so hopefully by this time next year there will be another little Owens with news of his or her own to share! We hope that as we reflect on the birth of our Savior during this Christmas season, that you will feel His love in your lives. We hope for you and yours all the happiness you can reasonably bear, and you are in our thoughts and prayers!
Love, Us