Sometimes, friends become family.

Okay, I am just TOO excited to not tell everyone about the Wagners. Adam and I met Seth and Emily long before we met each other. Seth and Adam were roommates at good old, Bunkhouse and Emily lived two doors down from me at Royal Crest. Seth and Emily started dating just a bit before Adam and I did. Then, Seth and Adam left Emily and me alone in Rexburg for an entire summer (how rude of them!) so they could go install security systems. Emily and I spent a couple months leaning on each other for support and having tearful, life-pondering, heart-wrenching we're-so-lonely-we're-going-to-die conversations in Rexburg while Adam and Seth probably had long conversations about security systems and sports in Kansas. Well, Adam and I went to Georgia for the fall and Emily and Seth were reunited in Idaho. We got engaged and married and all ended up in Rexburg for one more semester before Adam and I ventured to Ohio. We would always joke about how we were going to someday live next door to each other and have tunnels underground to and from each others houses (I don't really know why we need tunnels if they're just next door). Yet, that seemed like a nice friendship fantasy. I mean, how likely is it that we'd end up living in the same place?

Well, we found out a few months ago that Seth got a job here in Cleveland! I guess they really meant business when they said we'd live next door to each other one day (and we wouldn't want it any other way)! They won't be out here until the end of August/beginning of September, but I am so happy that they are coming. Over the past couple of years they have become such wonderful friends that we can depend on and totally be ourselves around...I consider them to be family for sure! I can't wait to make new memories with them and hopefully...they'll end up next door. I mean, seriously, who wouldn't want to be neighbors with a couple that you can do this with:

The Cleveland Zoo

I finally have some pictures to put up! Yesterday Adam and I went to the zoo with our friends Amber and Dan Patty. Amber, Grace and me with the Ostriches.Adam and me in front of the elephant.This is a capybara. Adam would always tell me about these huge rodents he would see in Brazil. It just so happened that they had some at the zoo. I made sure I got a picture so that one day we can show our children what he's talking about. I think they look like ROUSes from The Princess Bride without the long snout and tail. They can weight up to 175lbs!!!Amber, Grace and Dan in front of the flamingos.

After Mid-terms Celebration!

Last night Adam and I went out to dinner with a bunch for friends we have out here who are going to the podiatry school. It was a celebration dinner at Nuevo Acapulco - a yummy Mexican restaurant. We were celebrating the end of mid-terms and the beginning of a much needed spring break!

The Holloway Family

The Patty FamilyThe Fiala Family (minus their little girl)

Adam and me (with the Fiala's little girl)

A New Family Tradition!

Last night we got together with our friends, Dan and Amber Patty and Tyson and Lauren Fiala, to make gingerbread houses. It was so much fun that I decided making gingerbread houses was going to be a family tradition for us!

Note: Yes, Adam's thumb nail is painted a green/yellow color. I have NOTHING to do with this. He does it on his own accord whenever we go to the grocery store. If you have any questions, please speak with Dan Nelson!

This is a back shot of my gingerbread house. I would put a back shot of Adam's on here, but his looked the same on both sides. As you can tell from the picture of him and his creation, we're not really sure what Adam built. This makes me nervous, and I decided that we will never build our own home.

There were a lot of creative juices flowing and it was fun to see what everyone came up with. Here's a fun picture with the whole group and our houses...

For our friends and family who live far away...these are our friends, Amber and Dan Patty. Poor Dan had a bit of trouble with the skyscraper gingerbread building he was making. It collapsed during the building of the fourth floor. What your seeing in the picture below is the remains of his project. His is the second one to the left in the picture above.
We hung out for the first time last night with Tyson and Lauren Fiala (below). They were a lot of fun, and we hope to do more with them! They both had great gingerbread houses, although Tyson's was really impressive with his two story home.

Brasa Grill

Last night Adam and I went with a bunch of our friends to eat at Brasa Grill. It was so much fun going downtown and having dinner with our friends. We have been blessed with fun people to hang out with here in Cleveland. The restaurant has more meat than anyone could ever really want.

As you can see from the picture, they come around with big skewers that have meat on them. It's cooked over and open flame in is so delicious. You definitly have to pace yourself because there are serious consequences for eating too much (Adam is still getting over it). I always like going to these kinds of restaurants with Adam because he feels like he's on his mission again. It's so much fun to see him talk to the waitors in Portugese. There was a Russian waitor there and Adam said the only thing he knows how to say in Russian, "Don't touch my butt." It took the waitor of guard. I just about died, but I must say I am getting more used to Adam's occasional outbursts! The service wasn't the greatest...we were there for almost three hours. It was fun being with a big group though. We've been so blessed in having wonderful friends here in Cleveland. We all come from such different background and places, but it brings so much color and personality into our get togethers!

The RTA

So about two months ago, when I started working for Dix & Eaton, I drove our Mazda protege to work everyday. I would sit in that car for about 40 minutes every morning switching radio stations...convinced that if I pressed the buttons enough, the noisy morning show would disappear and magically music would play. Indeed I was disappointed each time! I would creep into construction infested downtown Cleveland and pull into the parking garage where it cost me $8.50 a day to park (that's with a hike to work...if I parked in the garage for the building I work in, it'd cost me $12.50 a day!). At the end of the day, I would turn around and make the trek back home. All in all, I used about a tank of gas a week...and with these crazy gas prices, I'm sure you're all aware of how quick that would add up! So after about a month of this, I decided that I've had enough. So I quit my job so that I wouldn't have to go downtown anymore! Okay, so I'm joking about having quit my job...I found a better solution than that.

At the beginning of October, I became more than just an acquaintance of Cleveland's public transportation system when I bought my first bus pass. To be honest, I was scared of riding the bus. I've seen the type of people waiting for the bus downtown...they're not exactly well groomed and smelling like a bouquet of flowers. My mind kept creating all sorts of interesting situations of getting stuck sitting next to Oscar the Grouch on vacation away from his garbage can! The first person I came in contact with at the bus stop near my home wasn't exactly the nicest. She has an 80s punker haircut with tatooed on face make-up (Adam keeps daring me to go up to her and say "I love Motley Crew too"). We weren't exactly sure where to catch the bus so we stopped and asked her...we must've caught her off guard because she looked at us like we were aliens coming to abduct her. I was relieved to find that everyone else at the stop seemed to be pretty normal. I quietly took my seat somewhere near the back of the bus (this is where all the "cool" kids sat in elementary school) and quickly realized that the "cool" people sat at the front of the bus. It would have been a great opprtunity for me to mesh in with their group because the leader, Joe Cool (okay, so his name is just Joe) was talking about The Office...a show I never miss. I made a mental note to ease my way up to their area over the next couple of days. I didn't want to start out as an outcast of the bus social life, and hopefully in the future another conversation would occur that I could casually jump into. Well, as I moved around each time I rode the bus, I met a wide array of people. There are the City Year young adults who wear red jackets and khaki pants, the woman who snorts through her throat, and the little old ladies who are real troopers to go downtown to work everyday. I eventually made it to the front of the bus where the "cool" people sit. I had to make a fool of myself before they finally noticed me...I kept getting on a different bus stops because I'd be running late. It was great finally being up there, but I missed the colorful personalities throughout the entire bus. The journey from the back of the bus to the front has allowed me to have an adventure everyday and get to know a lot of people. I like saving money and time using the RTA, but my favorite part is all the interesting people I get to meet!

A Happy Halloween!

Halloween was so much fun this year. First of all, I dressed up for the first time in nine years! I had been planning our costumes out for a month, so I was so excited to finally put them on! My dad went to Hong Kong on a business trip and sent us back some robes...so we used them for Halloween. Here we are:

We put pantyhose on our heads to make the hair. It was so tight on my head that I started getting a headache from all the pressure! I think it was totally worth it thought. After all, beauty is pain, right? Actually I didn't make a very pretty Asian, but I'm okay with that. Adam looked awesome. I think his favorite part of dressing up was getting to give himself a tatoo.We had so much fun at the party with our friends. All the kids were dressed up adorably. There was a lot of great snacks and hot chocolate.

Brittany Vaclaw and Randee Mecham dressed up too! They're so much fun and so cute! All in all it was a festive and fun Halloween.

Cleveland Rocks!!!

This is Adam, I've never done one of these blogging things before. On wednesday, we went to the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame with our friends the Mechams. This picture was taken outside and we didn't get much more than that because no pictures were allowed inside at all. It was really cool and there were a lot of neat things to see inside, but the overall feeling was that we are still too young to really appreciate most of the things that they had inside there. They had a lot of outfits that people like Jimmy Hindrix and The Rolling Stones wore on stage. They had a giant brick wall representing Pink Floyd, and a special presentation for The Doors. To bo honest, Laura and I didn't know too much about those guys, so it didn't really captivate us as much as it was supposed to. Our favorite part was listening to the "top 500 influencial songs" over the last 60-70 years. There were a lot of songs that we recognized and that we could sing along to, much to the dismise of those standing around us. One neat thing that they had was a giant Weezer light, and it was outside the admittance area, so we were able to get a picture of that. Weezer was one of my favorite bands growing up so I was pretty excited about that.

Adam's Birthday!

Wednesday was Adam's birthday! I was so excited to give him his birthday present that I had him open it Tuesday night. He got a Wii and was so excited because he "never thought he'd get that kind of present from me." I kept him in the dark by telling him that I got him something practical for his birthday! He was really excited, and seeing that smile on his face was priceless.

Wednesday evening we had a little get together with friends for cake and ice cream. It was fun. Adam got a lot of birthday wishes from family and friends throughout the day which made him happy. So I must conclude with saying that even though Adam didn't get an Xbox 360 to play Halo 3 (sorry Jonny), I still think he enjoyed his birthday!

FHE Bowling Night

This past Monday Adam and I went bowling for family home evening. Our friends, Dan and Amber Patty invited us to go with them. It was a lot of fun playing with everyone, but not a whole lot of fun losing. I'm awful at bowling...although I did redeem myself on Wednesday when I beat them all at Wii bowling! Dan absolutly beat us all, and claimed "that's the best game he ever played and he's usually awful," but I'm a little skeptical. :) Adam has a nice spin he puts on

the ball and it was complimented with a nice side kick everytime that kept us all entertained. Amber pretty much rocked at bowling, and did a wonderful job of making it look effortless.

Amber and Dan have the cutest baby girl, Grace. After bowling we went to Friendly's for some food. Adam had fun giving Grace water from his straw. We're so grateful to be good friends with the Pattys!