A Harrowing Tale

The following account is a harrowing tale of events that transpired in Sun Valley, Idaho on 04 March 2012:

Enter the scene: Scott Irvine - my eldest sibling, tormentor of my youth (he still calls me "troll"), defender of all things glitter, culinary master*, Sun Valley's "Mr. Fix-it," and husband to the beautiful Russian, Natalia.

Let it be known that Scott is a friend to all creatures as evidenced by his frequent interactions with lions and lionesses captured in the following sketch, however, not even his many years of trust and friendship with these fearsome creatures could prepare him for the kind of beasts he would encounter that day.

Every once in a great while, Scott snags a day off work and gets to enjoy the grandeur and beauty of Baldy Mountain, and on 04 March he accompanied Natalia to celebrate her birthday in these exquisite surroundings to enjoy a day of snowboarding (him) and skiing (her) together.

Sidenote: He occasionally attempts to show off his mad snowboarding skills, but all documented evidence on file fails to show what happens on landing.

Fishy.

Here is where the story gets interesting...

After hours of snowboarding at Baldy, Scott managed a final run before his legs finally gave out, but when he got to the bottom of the slopes, he realized that he was on the Warm Springs side of the mountain, rather than the River Run side. Lifts were now closed. Bummer. No River Run means no car. No car means no way home. No way home means S&N would be stuck in very unpleasant circumstances until someone came and found them.

Here we see that Scott is temporarily stuck trying to figure out what to do:

Notice the concentration.

Ever the gentleman, he decides to hoof it on foot - seven miles (I think it was actually eight, but he was trying to be modest when recounting the details) - scaling the rough terrain of the mountain, just to fetch the truck in order to pick up Natalia and take her home.

We are all lucky that Scott is alive to tell this tale (and request that it be preserved for posterity on this blog) because along his journey, he confronted not lions, tigers, and bears - oh no - try dinosaurs and fire-breathing dragons!

He barely scraped by the T-Rex, though I'm not sure how dangerous they could possibly be looking back on my own experience as a kid with a brother like Scott. You know how kids think they can take on anybody no matter their opponent's size? That was me. You know how those little kids always end up stuck at the end of the longer arm of their opponent swinging madly yet futilely into thin air? That was also me.

In this case, the t-rex had the advantage of height, but I really have to wonder what kind of damage could be done with those teeny little arms. Not to detract from the heroic feat of my brother in conquering the dinosaur, but let's just keep it real. Maybe it was the scary looking jawline full of razor sharp teeth that posed the problem. Or maybe the thought of being squished like a bug, though Scott has had practice being a bug during his DOI career, so I doubt that was the issue.

Either way, Scott dazzled the dino and moved right along.

He thought the worst was over, but then he came around the next bend and discovered a terrible creature who refused to let him pass unharmed.

That's right. It was a fire-breathing dragon. No broomstick to get him out of this one. Scott was left to his own devices - no magic allowed. His best option as he was dodging bursts of fire (his years jumping through hoops of fire as Zorro probably helped him out) was to fall back on one of his greatest strengths: humor.

How did he slay the fire-breathing dragon?

Laughter.

The dragon was laughing so hard that he actually started choking on his own tongue, which caused serious internal damage for our fiery friend, giving Scott enough time to scurry on past and make it to the River Run entrance at the base of Baldy.

He promptly jumped into his truck, caught his breath, turned on some U2 and Pink Floyd to soothe his soul after such an experience, and navigated his way back to Warm Springs to pick up Natalia and whisk her back to their Chatelier condo.

You'd never guess from the following sketch that Scott had just faced off with a dinosaur and a dragon. His strength and courage know no bounds.

Once they were safely inside their condo, Scott proceeded to whip up an amazing culinary spectacle featuring chicken and mushroom pate with red onion and chile chutney, or something ridiculous like that.

After enjoying a scrumptious feast, Scott called members of his family to tell this harrowing tale, and was stunned to discover that the troll was the only one who bothered to answer the phone and offer moral support. I wanted the world to know how grateful and lucky I feel to have such a cool brother who survives such mind-blowing experiences and lives to tell the tale.

The end.

* The parentals have made it known that the two Irvine daughters have been ousted as "domestic goddesses" by Scott due exclusively to his culinary talents. Besides being funny, I guess Scott knows how to make a decent meal. I'll warn you though, if Scott ever offers to make you a tuna fish sandwich - DO NOT ACCEPT. No matter how good the tuna/mayo combination is, it will not be worth $8.00 - the going rate for Chez Scott.

Of Note

Some things of note:

1) I finally read The Great Divorce. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but can't really tell you why quite yet. Mr. Lewis always takes me some time to digest. But I highly recommend this book if you haven't already read it. A quote:

"There have been men before now who got so interested in proving the existence of God that they came to care nothing for God Himself...as if the good Lord had nothing to do but exist! There have been some who were so occupied in spreading Christianity that they never gave a thought to Christ."

A valuable reality check.

2) It's almost March. Do you know what that means?! We're that much closer to St. Patrick's Day! Which also means we're that much closer to the annual showing of Waking Ned Devine - one of my favorite films ever. In need of some evidence for the high praise?

Annie: "Have we won?"

Jackie: "No but it got me my apple tart brought in now didn't it."

The O'Shea's have an awesome marriage - the scene quoted above cracks me up, yet causes my heart to race all at the same time...and I've watched the film a bazillion times. We can't wait to celebrate some Irish ancestry (mine anyway) very shortly.

3) Ainsley's place is almost put together. There are owls, stars, and sweet chinese lanterns - meaning - there is some serious nocturnal awesomeness taking over in the room next door.

4) Steve became converted to sushi this week. The Red Dragon roll is to blame (or credit, depending on your view of raw fish).

5) John and Annie Glenn make a very classy couple. This week was big for the Glenns, and it was fun for Steve to be a part of it seeing how this former astronaut is a living mascot for Steve's college at OSU. A friend of mine recently posed the question, "What is love?" looking for a genuine response. The following story answers her question perfectly.

Click here

6) We have some very talented friends that recently rocked the Dayton Smackdown which we finally got to experience in person. Swing Columbus competed in Dayton this weekend and took home the trophy. You should check out their fabulous swing dance routine - the win was well earned.

Click here

29 Things

Steve turned 29 yesterday. T'was a fantastic day.

Here are 29 things that you need to know about Steve (for posterity's sake). Some things you may already know, others may surprise you, but here we go:

1) Supreme dish washer. He was THE dishwasher (literally) in Scotland, but he has become a master at utilizing the machine version to its utmost capacity.

2) Habitual journal writer. Every day, folks - every day! He keeps a record of the big things, little things, and seemingly inconsequential things that will probably make a lot of people laugh at some point in the future.

3) Indifferent towards technology. He doesn't obsess over the latest and greatest technological product/upgrade. He uses a cell phone to call/text me regularly. He uses a computer for papers and emails. And that's enough.

4) User of public transportation. Even though we have two cars at our disposal, he still prefers taking the bus to school (mostly because he likes reading books and not worrying about traffic).

5) Loves to shop...at the library. I frequently hear him say, "I went on a shopping spree today! Guess what I found?" I won't go into the details, but if you were to take a peek at our bookshelf, you'd learn the answer. Free and fulfilling - and you can even "shop" online (Steve requests books like a maniac and has them delivered to the public library nearby).

6) Avid recycler. This started in Taiwan and hasn't stopped since. Our recycling pile intimidates our trash pile on any given day.

7) Insanely lucky. This one occasionally drives me crazy, but it's just part of who Steve is. I do not know how to explain it, but Steve is so lucky - especially at games! He's good at skill/strategy games, but at games where it's pure luck, he still manages to crush the competition (yours truly) on a regular basis.

8) Prompt un-packer. Within ten minutes of arriving home from any vacation, Steve is unpacked and organized. Let's just say that we're polar opposites in this regard...

9) Racquetballer. He loves to play racquetball, and while I've never played against him, I hear he's pretty good for a white guy.

10) Doesn't eat fruit. Let me be more clear - Steve doesn't eat citrus fruits, and avoids them like the plague. I'm totally cool with that - more pineapple for the Mrs.

11) Doesn't eat ice cream. Again, for clarification, Steve doesn't eat ice cream as much. Not gonna lie, I was stunned when I realized how much he loves ice cream while we were dating. I remember going through his freezer one day and pulling out 9 different containers of ice cream! He still makes a killer frozen concoction when he really feels like it, but it doesn't happen all that often anymore.

12) Traveler extraordinaire. He loves to travel, even if it means we change plans at the last minute due to bad weather, and become visitors in our own city. He loves to explore and see new people, places, and things.

13) Sweet tooth for cinnamon gummy bears. While living in Scotland, we requested a care package from my sister when we met up with my family in Europe and all that we asked for was as many cinnamon gummy bears as could reasonably be brought across the pond. Steve was in heaven while they lasted.

14) Thai food addict. Thai green curry is his favorite. When we move to a new place, one of the first must-find spots is a good Thai joint.

15) Possessor of random trivia. We attend trivia night every other Thursday, and it's always the random questions that you'd think everyone would know (but we don't) where Steve's knowledge pays off. One of the benefits of being married to a walking non-fiction-loving encyclopedia. For example - off the top of your head, can you name the 48th state to join the Union? Steve can (and did) without even thinking about it.

16) Teachable. He is never too proud to admit mistakes, learn from the past, pick himself up and improve.

17) Self-entertaining. I don't really know how to describe this aspect, but basically, Steve doesn't watch TV. We've never had one since being married, and I don't know if that will change any time soon. Correction: we have a TV, but it is currently sitting in our basement collecting dust. He finds ample ways to enjoy his time without sitting in front of the tube.

18) Loves The New Yorker cartoons. The articles are great, but Steve really enjoys flipping through the magazine as soon as it arrives to check out the witty (sometimes too intelligent for us) cartoons. This one about Joey is our favorite.

19) Lego-lover. Steve home teaches a family with an eight year old named Atticus (coolest kid), and they bond over lego forts, ships, castles, planes, etc. It's pretty fun to watch when I've been able to tag along. You're never too old for legos.

20) "Half-a-piece." Do you want a whole piece or half of a piece? No matter what kind of gum, Steve chews one half at a time. Favorite flavor: Trident Watermelon Twist.

21) Hates melted cheese. It's a texture thing. I love grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup - two cardinal culinary sins in the book of Steve. I console myself with more pineapple.

22) Piano player. He plays the piano on a regular basis and I can never get enough. Mostly musicals, but that's perfect since we both love musicals.

23) Kindle vs. iPod? KINDLE. He prefers reading books to listening to music any day. The only time he listens to music is when we're in the car together and I have control of the radio. When he's in a car by himself? A book on CD keeps him company. I suppose in keeping with #3 listed above, I should note that Steve doesn't own either, but I have both. In the three plus years I've known Steve he's never touched my iPod. Since obtaining a kindle at Christmas, Steve uses it more than I do.

24) German historian. Well, maybe not historian, but German history is his current fascination (again, as evidenced by our temporary library housed in our bookshelf).

25) Quick to apologize/forgive. Even when he shouldn't be the one stepping up to that difficult plate, he does: quickly and sincerely.

26) Has a watch, but doesn't wear it. Besides using his cell phone to make phone calls, it also serves as his primary method to tell the time.

27) Creative cat. He leaves thoughtful notes and gestures for me on a regular basis, but Valentine's Day last year was totally great. I worked that night until 8pm, which meant that I had the car (we only had one at the time) and Steve had no way to get anywhere to buy flowers like many husbands do for their wives. What did I come home to? A dozen lego palm trees that Steve put together and meticulously arranged on the dining table surrounding a card. He's given me beautiful bouquets of fresh flowers, but I'll never forget the lego palm trees.

28) Identity crisis. Steve loses his BuckID on a regular basis - almost daily. It's becoming a routine that I am accustomed to, and it usually goes something like this: "Shoot! I can't find my BuckID! Kristen, have you seen it anywhere?" Panic ensues for 5 minutes. BuckID jumps out from one of its usual hiding spots and heart rates drop to normal levels. It's like clockwork.

29) Happy as a clam. We all have ups and downs, but it is so refreshing how happy Steve is on a regular basis. It's just who he is, and it's contagious.

So there's the profile - 29 things about my best friend.

The Bump

I finally have a baby bump...

It took 7 months and 1 week to get to this point, but there it is.

I hit 8 months next week - only 2 more to go until our wee one arrives.

We can't wait.

Quality Time

Holidays = Quality time with family

We're a little behind with this recap of the holidays, but here it goes:

We headed to Utah on the 9th in order to be there for a special occasion on December 10th - a surprise birthday party for my grandmother, who turned 90 years old. The ENTIRE family was there, plus lots of good friends. This never happens. To explain how big this was, I finally met two cousins who I've never met...I'm 27, they are in their mid and early-20s. Despite the progress, I still have one cousin who I've never met. One of these days...

Here's the Irvine crew, minus Natalia, with my Grandma Chary.

Happy birthday, Grandma!

Parties last a few hours, but memories/photos last much longer. Steve was assigned photo duty for part of the party, and captured every person/couple that came to the party in the following pose:

Because we got to Utah so early, there was still lots of work to be done before the holiday merriment took over. Nathan and I with our computers - technological analysis for him, Ph.D. applications for me.

Trip to the Logan temple with Steve's family - it was a freezing cold night, but really nice to be together.

Our much anticipated visit to Doodlebug Preschool to see Miss Sara in action. We caught her on the day of her Christmas party - Polar Express pj party. We love what she's done with her preschool, and it was really fun for Steve and Sara to re-live some of the Taiwan kindergarten madness.

I have a sneaking suspicion that our little one might turn into a bookworm...we may need to invest in Sara's awesome library design wherever we end up come summertime.

We were lucky enough to spend an afternoon with Steve's aunt, Jamie, who kindly walked through Target with us, aisle by aisle, to tell us what we actually need for baby instead of what you think you need. Best outing ever. We got to spend a couple minutes with some of her family before we had to head out.

Steve and Dax on the drive up to Hardware Ranch to check out the elk.

Checking out the elk.

Getting ready to hunt the elk?

A big thanks to Miss Katie Van Ausdal for inviting us to attend Music and the Spoken Word with her to enjoy the Christmas concert put on by the Tabernacle choir with Jane Seymour and Nathan Gunn.

Loved it!

A couple more pictures from the baby shower.

Here we have Steve and Juli - second cousins and really good friends. Juli is due in February, and we're excited to have little ones running around that will be one month apart, just like Steve and Juli are.

Like mother, like daughter...

If I'm half the mother that my mom has been to me, Ainsley Jane will be a very lucky lady.

Sharing dessert at The Bakery (Gourmandise)...let me repeat... THE bakery - with Jon and Sarah Casper after the Mannheim Steamroller concert. Loved the music, loved the food, and especially loved the company after the show.

Before the concert started, we walked around temple square and stopped in at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building to get warm. It's still weird to think that I worked there, but as always, it was as beautiful as ever.

Steve was practicing with the new camera that Santa brought us for Christmas.

Not too shabby, eh?

We spent Christmas in Logan with Steve's family this year, and here we have the Nesbit's playing around with some colorful shapes.

I love this picture of Julie and Derrall -- I have the best in-laws!

The Irvine family Christmas party took place after Christmas, and we're glad we got to be there before flying home to Ohio the next day.

One of my favorite parts is hearing my dad and Karen talk about memories they have of my extended family members who were alive when I was really young, but who I don't remember much about, except for hearing these stories.

A few of Karen and Paul's grandkids - they keep getting cuter and cuter.

Stevens family

Part of the Irvine family

It was a really great holiday season.

Best Of...

Many of you already know this, but for those of you who don't know...

We're having a baby!

We have been keeping our fun news off of the internet because there were lots of people that we wanted to tell, but in a unique and personal way, and in our own time. With news this exciting, it was way more fun to spread it out over months and get fresh reactions each time. The blog and facebook (especially the latter) would have ruined our plans....hence the silence. However, while we were in Utah over the holidays, we were able to see/tell the final three people we were waiting to tell in person - Daniel, Camille, and Olivia - so now we're going to elaborate on how we shared the news with friends and family. The following documentation is my "best of" list for the announcement/reactions.

The very best have to be the times that we got to share the news in person. These were few seeing as we live in Ohio, but they are gems!

Telling my parentals:

[September]

They visited Russia earlier this year, so we thought a Matryoshka theme would be fitting. I used four nesting dolls and started with my grandmother's birthday, then my mom's, then mine, with the announcement wrapped up inside the smallest doll. My mom had to guess what each date represented (she passed with flying colors) before she could open the doll.

The slip of paper is an inside joke I've had going with my dad for years, so those aren't actually names we considered, but my parents loved the announcement. The date is slightly off as well - baby Adams is due to arrive on 24 March 2012.

I can't wait to see my parents as grandparents - they will be amazing!

To go along with the announcement, I made my parents this certificate. If you received our Christmas letter, this is the promotion I was referring to - hopefully it made sense. This will be the first grandchild for my parents, so we figured we'd go all out with the certificate.

Next up: telling Uncle Joey.

[October]

We invited him over for dinner (I think), but it was really all about the dessert - a scrumptious chocolate cake with the best frosting/icing I've ever tasted.

Joe also received a promotion, as you can see:

It took him no time at all to figure out our happy news. His reaction was priceless, even considering he'd have to convert if he really wanted to become a godfather. =) We had lots of fun that night calling fellow Berhaners to announce another addition to the next Taiwan generation (ours is baby #3 in that group).

Final in-person announcement - telling Liz Weinberg, one of my dearest roommates from BYU:

[November]

We were fortunate to meet up with the Weinbergs over Thanksgiving weekend in NYC, and we had a delightful Thai dinner together. Liz was thrilled, and I was so happy I got to share the news with her in person!

Next up on the "best of" category list - those we told over the phone and through the mail.

If I had actual awards to give out for the best responses, they would have to go to Penny Yarbrough and Ann Odom - hands down.

First up: Penn.

[October]

This picture should look familiar to many of you - including Penn. I sent this to her (and others) in the mail with a note on the back saying only, "We have an announcement to make!" Short and sweet, but totally worth the wait to have it arrive in the mail as a surprise. I will never forget the phone conversation we had when she received it...one of those "hot of the press" moments.

Ann Odom also needs to be mentioned due to the timing of the announcement. I won't go into all the details, but I sent a rather facetious text to her that arrived at the perfect moment, which truly can only be described in person. I was planning on telling her the same way I told Penn, but then randomly felt an urge one particular night to just tell her right away via text. Her explanation of the events made the timing/spontaneity crystal clear. =)

So those are the announcements that made the "best of" list, and the following pictures are some additional pieces of the puzzle that you may or may not be wondering about.

We found out at the beginning of November that we are having a girl! This is how we told our fellow temple workers on the Saturday afternoon shift - an offering of sugar cookies covered with pink sprinkles. My days serving in the temple with Steve are numbered, but I was still excited to share the news with the great friends we've made there.

As soon as we found it was a girl, we immediately knew her name:

Ainsley Jane Adams

Unique. Classy. Scottish.

My parents sent flowers the day after we found out the gender, and I was welcomed into the world of grandparenthood when I called to thank my mom for sending the beautiful flowers, and received the following reply, "the flowers aren't for you - they're for Ainsley." Awesome. That cracked me up.

The last two pictures are from the baby shower that Jamie Benich and Steve's mom threw for us over the holidays. Steve and I got to spend an evening surrounded by family, as well as Penn, Ann, and Savannah. I'm so glad these three could make it!

We received so many generous gifts from those who came, and we're so grateful for all the love and support we felt. Even though family is very far these days, we wanted to put up a picture of this gift from Christie Hardey because it perfectly captures how we feel. We're in Ohio, my parents are in Utah, and Steve's are now living in Peru, but when it comes to family, distance doesn't matter.

So there it is.

Ainsley Jane Adams - coming our way on 24 March 2012!