Cirque De Sole

Poor elephant.
This elephant got across the balance beam. I was very impressed. I was so nervous for him. Can you imagine if he fell? Oh my gosh, that would be scary.

Tiger jumping through the ring of fire. The cats kept opening their mouths and their whiskers would separate and they would hiss at the trainer. I thought one of them was going to eat him.
again...
Look how BIG!
The elephants were amazing. I think elephants are my new favorite animal
He knelt at the end

You can imagine our surprise when the first act was introduced and 8 dogs appeared. And this girl was dancing for the dogs
Yes, that IS a poodle jumping through a ring of fire. haha, thank you dogs.
This trainer was MEAN. The second tigger from the right (in the foreground) wasn't cooperating and received a whip across the face. It was loud and it made me pretty upset.
The Siberian tigers were really pretty.
Here is a good picture of the kittens.

We went to the Shrine Circus last night. Not quite the Cirque De Sole, but a close second. We had a lot of fun. I think I cried like 3 times...At the circus? Yes. Why? Because the elephants looked miserable. They looked like they needed the assistance of a veterinarian. Badly. They were walking around in a circle giving rides to little children with sticky-fingers (you could pay to ride them before the show). I really wanted to ride one because it's on my "bucket list" but I didn't want to go by myself...The second time was when I saw the clowns who were old men in costume. Men who have probably defended our country at some time or another and are now dressed up as clowns to entertain. And the last time, I walked out to get Bruce to show him where our seats were (he met us there) only to be welcomed back to our National Anthem. I looked to find the flag and not far from it, Shrines saluted. I can't quite describe in words what I saw nor what I felt but I can say that in that moment, I was so proud to live in this country and none other.

In desperate need of motivation

I haven't been up to par with my blogging efforts. I admit it. The reason being... I don't really have any motivation. The people who check our blog on a regular basis are the ones who already know exactly what we have been up to. I know some of you CAN'T WAIT until our next post because you believe we live these extremely adventurous and thrill-seeking lives and feel the need to live vicariously through us. Allow me put the rumors to rest. The truth is, we are just normal people living normal lives. We wake up, go to our jobs, come home, have dinner, go to bed; repeat. SOMETIMES, we get really crazy on the weekends and watch a movie, but those are considered to be special occasions.

Okay, lets get real. For those of you who haven't already visited Natalie and Quincy's blog... Bruce and I went to Washington D.C. to visit my sister and her family (check her blog for pictures). It was such a wonderful trip! We were able to spend time with them before they leave for Saudi Arabia AND we were there for Porter's first birthday!!! We are going to miss them so much. Natalie introduced me to a fabulous book The Color of Water, and I have determined reading isn't so bad. I couldn't put the book down. For those of you who don't know me, I like reading just as much as I like to exercise. Not at all. People couldn't pay me to do either... until now. Just for the record, I went running a few times last week. Yeah. Does anyone have any good suggestions for another book? Something tragic preferably? And please not the Twilight series although I am highly interested... Bruce is about 15 pages from finishing the Iliad. He's incredible. He's motivation enough for me. I have secret competitions with him while we sit in bed at night reading our books. The game starts when he turns a page and I begin reading as fast as I can and try to finish my 2 pages before he does. I know I win when I turn my page first. Poor guy doesn't even know what is really going on.

Well, I guess the last thing we have going on is the CiRcUs! Yup, tomorrow night! I'm actually really excited. It's a local one. Who knew Indy was so hip!? I hope we bump into Eddie's son (Dad that one is for you). He will either be guessin' peoples weight or barking for the yak-woman.

Okay, I'll post pictures in a bit.

Hey guyyys...Check this out!

I've had this idea for a while. I have been wanting to flat-iron Bruce's hair just to see what it would look like straight because he has a lot of curl. My only problem was the execution of my plan. Timing is of the essence. When Bruce is playing a game, is watching a program on t.v. or is researching his latest on wikipedia, he is fixated on it. He has this incredible ability to tune out his surroundings. This is something I envy. As I sit here watching 'Best of Hawaii' on the Travel channel, I have only made it through 5 1/2 sentences in 30 minutes. I cannot even concentrate long enough to complete one thought! Back to my original thought... I caught him in a vulnerable state. A chess game. I think it went something like this: Bruce can I flat-iron your hair? I am taken back by his reply. His answer is one word, monotone, almost drooling, jaw open just enough to let me know he is REALLY into his game. I knew I had it made. "Surre." I almost didn't hear what he said. But rather than making sure my ears were not deceiving me, I ran into the bathroom to grab the flat-iron and a comb. Within seconds I was experiencing what i would consider to be pure ecstasy. HE EVEN LET ME PUT PRODUCT IN IT! *Note: If you know Bruce, you know he is no-fuss. Previous to this phenomenon, he wouldn't have let me come within feet of his head with a hot tool designed to flatten out curl.* This time was different.

So now, I give you the final result. You may never see it again. What do you think?


We (and when I say "we," I mean I) were just being silly.

I was trying to get his attention. MAUH!


He's so great!
Taking a quick break from an intense game of chess.
Alright one, just one.
Please stop before things turn violent.
Just playing around.

Christmas

Okay, seriously, this is ridiculous and the reason I only post every 3 months. I tried to put all of the pictures in chronological order. It has taken me 45 minutes to upload the pictures onto my blog. So, rather than trying to arrange everything the way I want it, I'm just going to label each picture; PreChristmas, JorayChristmas, MangusChristmasEve, MangusChristmasDay, NewYearsEve. Make sense?




PreChristmas: After Preston's Christmas program for school, we went to El-Camino. This is Preston and Brittany. I love this one!!
PreChristmas: Adam and Liz were so gracious to give us our Christmas tree. Thank you Adam and Liz! The Tree is beautiful, and it was so fun to decorate as we watched the First presidency Christmas devotional.

Can't remember: I don't remember when this was, but I do remember we were at El Camino...again. Don't you love his hair?
I don't know: Mangs. She is so fun!! I don't know when or where this was taken. I miss you!!
PreChristmas: The day after Natalie and Porter arrived, she came into the salon to get her hair trimmed. I love it!
Seconds after cutting 10" off. We donated the hair to Locks of Love.
PreChristmas: I had to work right up until the time I was supposed to be meeting my family to go to Preston's Christmas program. I got there a little late and had to sit up in the nose-bleed section. It was held in the auditorium of Westfield High School. I used the zoom on my camera to try to find Preston but I couldn't. So, I ran up to the front of the stage. I was literally 10 feet from him and this is the closest shot I could get. Preston is in the blue on the front row. I was so proud of him. He did all of the motions and was always right-on. They were singing "Up on the housetop" and while everyone around me was laughing, I began to cry. I'm so glad they have moved here and that I will be able to watch them grow and to attend their school functions. After wiping my tears and telling myself how ridiculous I was, I ran back up to the rafters.

MangusChristmasEve: After receiving our pajamas, we took several pictures. What a wonderful Christmas we had. We are so blessed to have all been together this year. Thank you Mom and Dad for another incredible Christmas.
MangusChristmaseve: Bruce and Quincy discussing books, politics, or their new pajamas.
JorayChristmas: This is Noah. He is such a cute boy. The twins are walking now! It's so fun to watch them interact. I love them!
JorayChristmas: This is our niece, Alora. She is a ball of energy and she is very bright! In the background, you can see a blur of Shad and Hannah, Molly on the floor, and Greg on the couch.
JorayChristmas: Bruce's parents gave the grand kids trust funds and wrapped them so creatively. They wrapped them in large boxes filled with packaging peanuts, tissue paper and other various space-fillers. When they opened their presents they would play in the boxes. This is a clearer picture of Shad, sitting on the present, and Hannah, waiting patiently for Molly to hand her something.

*Note* For some reason I had a hard time figuring out my shutter speed at the Joray's so my pictures are a little blurry. I apologize.

MangusChristmasEve: This is after we opened our pajamas. From the left: Britt, Nat, Mom, Mangs, me
MangusChristmasEve: First attempt at our first family Christmas, (as a married couple).
MangusChristmasEve: A-"Lets try another one!" B-"Do we have to?"
MangusChristmasEve: B-"I'll smack you with my book if we take another picture." This is a really good book by the way. It makes you feel really good about your strengths, especially if you previously viewed them as weaknesses. Gives you a whole new perspective.
MangusChristmasEve: Just ONE more! He resisted, so I grabbed his neck and forced one. Thank you for your cooperation.

MangusChristmasDay: I love this picture of the Beals!!! LOVE IT!

MangusChristmasDay: The Carroll boys. It's a good thing they had their eye-masks last night. Even little boys need their beauty-rest. They were so excited about the train Santa brought them.
MangusChristmasDay: I was afraid of this. All he wanted were a bunch of books...which is exactly what he got. I may never see him again.

MangusChristmasEve: The whole Beal family. Porter looks a little fuzzy. Sorry.

MangusChristmasEve: The Mangus girls. Merry Christmas!!!

MangusChristmasDay: Sorry, I had to.


MangusChristmasDay: Morning Pee-Wee!

MangusChristmasDay: Not all of us are so fortunate to wake up and look this good! Dang!!!

MangusChristmasDay: Morning Francis...

NewYearsEve: Fearless Collin with his sparklers.

NewYearsEve: Preston with his sparkler. They had fun with their fireworks.

NewYearsEve: After 3 hours of being in their new home, the Carrolls had the whole family over for a New Years Eve party. Some unpacked while others cooked, ran to Papa Johns, and gave equestrian lessons.
NewYearsEve: At the Carroll's after playing a few rounds of BINGO.
NewYearsEve: Funny thing. We were the last to arrive for the New-Year's Eve party. Bruce and I were wearing red and Green as were the Beal's. Great minds think alike.
Final product. This is our family Christmas picture. Each year the guys get matching pajamas, as do the girls and the babies. I call them babies in hopes that they will stay little forever. They are all getting SO BIG!