Online Version of Our Christmas Card

For those of you that we could not find your address, and who actually read the blog despite my poor ability keeping up lately. (I'll catch up soon, I promise).

The greatest thing about 2008 was… drum roll please
Kara, Kara and more Kara.

Andrew decided that Interventional Radiology (IR) is pretty cool.
Elena decided that IR takes more time than she likes.

Elena continues to push her clients at 24 Hour Fitness.

Laurel, Kevin and Claire came to stay for 5 months. It was so much fun.

Andrew and Elena took a stay-cation to Houston.
We couldn’t go far just in case Kara decided to come early.

Elena started a new hobby, vinyl lettering.
A website should be up by January. TexasLetters.com

Hurricane Ike. We lost our fence. Elena put it up without
Andrew’s help. Ike occurred during IR rotation.

Lots of visitors from Utah. Many more are welcome to come!

That was written by Elena, and I'll just defend myself regarding the fence, because they're bulding a new house behind us, and hadn't built their fence yet. I was waiting for them to build and fix it, which happened soon after. Also, Ike happened in September, and IR (interventional radiology) was October and November, but she did fix the fence in November, which I was on IR.

Always be careful what you put in your blogs, it may come back to haunt you.

Our friends in our ward have this post, and yes, that is my daughter in the second picture being forced against her will to wear a byu shirt.

http://mikeandmindywilliamsfamily.blogspot.com/2008/11/sad-day-to-be-couger.html

My cousin, Justin, is in Afghanistan serving our country. He's a great guy and I enjoy reading his blog regularly. His mother taught him well, and I even thought that she had raised him to be humble, but I had to raise my eyebrows back when I read this post.

http://452days.blogspot.com/2008/09/day-126-priceless.html

Well, we all know how that ended.
Max Hall isn't a senior, is he?...



Good, I'm glad he's not.
(who knows, that may haunt me next year)

Beast videos

As requested (it won the lates poll), here are some videos of beast. I will be holding another poll shortly, but I've been in need of catching up first. It's been a busy month.

Beast likes to play with bags. I know he shouldn't, but he doesn't. He got into the bag himself, the surprise is what I provided.



Beast cleaning himself



And here is Beast playing with the waist ties from my scrubs. The sound in the back is just a TV show.

Neuschwanstein

Neuschwanstein castle

We saw this castle on a trip to Europe before my mission. This is often the castle that is credited for inspiring the various castles in Disney resorts.

Favorite Vacations/ Most Beautiful Places I've Been.

In an effort to be more entertaining, more read, and cater to those who read the site, I've put up polls for people to vote on topics you'd like me to write on, as well polls that are just fun in themselves.

Last week, there was a tie for most desired topics, between Kara and Favorite places I've been. I've posted some on Kara, and now I'm fulfilling the other request. Don't forget to visit the blog personally (not through a feed reader like Google reader) to be able to vote.

Kara's 4 month appointment

Kara went in a little early for her 4 month birthday and here are her stats.

Date 10-7-08
Age 3 1/2 months
Weight 12# 14oz (50%)
Height 25 1/8 (95%)
Head size 15 3/4 (50%)

She goes back at 6 months.

And the Winner is...

As requested, and according to vote, here is more Kara. I'll post some more this week, and include the other winner, favorite places I've been. If you follow the link, you can watch it in HD, depending on your computer and internet speed.

This is Kara in her high chair with one of, if not her, favorite toys. She just gets cuter and cuter as she makes more noises and smiles more.

Watch it in HD here (click on the HD option).

Latest Changes

The polls are about to close, and I've anticipated that Kara would win, so a post is just about ready with better video quality than I've had on the other clips. Since it looks like it will be a tie, I'll work this week on fulfilling both of the winning choices.

I've added links on the side of things to do in Houston. It'll stay on (but get moved down later), and I'll take suggestions for additions as well.

Vote on the new poll also.

Can Wii be friends?

I enjoy my video games. I currently have a Wii, and I know a few other people who have Wii's. Did you know you can share messages, Mii characters, and game online (over built-in wireless) with your Wii.

Only problem is that you have to exchange Wii numbers or game specific codes.

This post is specifically for exchanging Wii friend codes. Mine are posted below, and if you put your Wii numbers in, I will put your numbers in mine. (Both numbers have to be put in for it to work).

Also, let me know if you need help finding your numbers, some of them are surprisingly hard to find.

Wii console number
4578-2409-3806-9761

Mario Kart Wii
3351-5397-7930

Dr. Mario Online Rx
3784-4718-2593

Bomberman Blast
4081-8375-3098

Tagged

Ok, I'll play along, I was tagged before the hurricane.
Tagged by: Mindy

THE FIVE

10 years ago I:
1. Was in Brazil
2. Was speaking Portuguese
3. Had just been transferred to my last area.
4. Had only my second Brazilian companion.
5. Was about to turn 21

5 things on today's "to do" list:
1. Pick up
2. Pick up Lanea and Dad from the airport
3. Laundry
4. Dishes
5. Take care of Kara

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Ice cream
2. Skinny cows
3. Minute Maid plain and cherry frozen limeade, and plain and strawberry frozen lemonade.
4. Marshmallow cream (just spoon it right out of the jar)
5. Raspberries and strawberries


5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Live off the interest
2. Pay off debt
3. Continue working
4. Actually go on vacation
5. And be tempted to buy many different electronics (computer, TV, PS3, GPS ) and eventually maybe even cars.

5 places I have lived:
Murray, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Brazil
Tucson, Arizona
Houston, Texas

Five jobs I have had:
Toy store at ZCMI
Groundsworker at Murray Parkway Golf course
Host and busser at Olive Garden
Research assistant in Biology at the University of Utah
Radiology resident

I tag....
Elena
Mike
Jeff
Nate
Kasey

New Poll on my Sister-in-law

This is my sister in law, Alicia. She just went down to BYU. The poll is, how long do you think it will take for her to get engaged.

Lanea and Chris's Wedding

We got to travel back to Utah for my sister's wedding. They got married in the Salt Lake temple on September 25th. We had a nice trip back, and the day was very nice. It was different from a "normal" Utah wedding, because there was no reception. They had a nice wedding breakfast/lunch with family and friends.

I missed the 'reunion' atmosphere of being able to see a wide variety of old friends and extended family, but the decreased stress, preparation, and having a shorter day for the bride and groom are definite advantages.

Here is the video of them coming out to the temple grounds. (forgive the lack of editing, but my computer can't handle editing).


L and C exiting the temple from Andrew Baugh on Vimeo.

And here's my dad getting choked up during pictures.


L and my Dad outside the temple from Andrew Baugh on Vimeo.

Coming soon

I have a few posts to finish, I'll have those up shortly. I also have a few changes and ideas. I'll have a poll for requests soon. I'll have one of the options be "more pictures of Kara", but others will be random things about me and growing up. If you have any requests or such for the poll, leave a comment.

Clean-up

The Sunday immediately following hurricane Ike we went around the ward and their neighbors to clean up fallen trees. I did the same the following weekend.

Useful items for tree cleanup
Gas powered chainsaw, with supplies (gas, oil, chain, fuel line)
Machete
Hatchet
Tow rope (for directing trees)
Good gloves
Good boots
Mosquito repellant
Sunscreen


One of my coworkers fiancee has a house down in Galveston, and one of the work crews was down there cleaning and helped them out, this is what he had to say in an email.

"God bless the Mormon people who have been coming down to Galveston to help people move out their sewage soaked belongings, and help with the demolition work. (As well as the red cross and salvation army, but they didn't bring any sledge hammers). I love your people Andrew!"

You can have wealth and fame, all I want is POWER!

Really, we had it very good. Our home held up through the storm (unlike the included picture). We had ample food and water. We had transportation. Our cell phones worked reasonably well. Compared to the pioneers, we had it great.

But it was really uncomfortable being without power. No AC, no lights at night, no electronic gadgets... as well as the uncertainty of when we might get power back with the possibility of being without power for 2-4 weeks.

As it turned out, we were extremely fortunate and were only out of power from Friday evening of the storm until about Monday afternoon.

Our Experience with Hurricane Ike

Thanks everyone for your prayers.

We fared quite well from the storm. We are physically well, and our house has no damage that I've found yet. Our fences did take a beating and we lost a section of the back fence.

I'm grateful for the camping and emergency preparedness items that we have. We have two hand crank radios, and it was nice to have some contact, albeit one-way, with the outside world. Headlamps are great for keeping your hands available. I'm also grateful for the storm shutters that came with our house. Having ample bottled water and a backup filter that we didn't need to use. A spray bottle and battery powered fan were also great in the heat.

Things that would have been helpful.

A more powerful power inverter to keep the fridge running (use your car as a generator).

A generator

Grill with lots of charcoal (we had gas still, but it heats up the house unnecessarily)

Adapter to charge our cell phone from our hand crank items, and to have the car charger available (I found it the day after we got power).

And a special thanks to the Cox's in our ward, who opened their lovely home (with power) to us for a couple of days.

Prepping for Hurricane Ike

Well, we've got our first real hurricane headed towards us. Gustav just didn't get us worked up all that much. But Ike had a chance to be the real deal. It did have the possibility to get to Category 4. That's about where we would have decided to evacuate. As it is it should be getting here in the middle of the night. We've boarded up and stocked up so that we could hunker down.

Here's my current favorite website for checking out hurricanes (thanks, Elena).

I feel like I've had some bad luck with hurricanes. Last time they cancelled work in August on a day I was getting off anyways. This time, most people got today off, but I had to work until about 11:30 because I was post-call. Yesterday, I did get to go home for the afternoon to start boarding up the house though.

I'm not looking forward to the power going out and losing water and internet... but I'll keep bravely posting as long as I'm able. ;)

(I stole this idea from Afton, to try to encourage come commentary and feedback...)
What do you like to do on a rainy day?
What's the worst catastrophe/natural disaster you've been through?

Physics Exam

Today was the 1st of my three board examinations in Radiology. The subject was physics. I've had people ask me why I have to know any physics as a radiologist. I've sometimes asked the same question while studying.

It's important to know how each of the different 'imaging modalities' (x-rays, ultrasound, CT scans, MRI, fluoroscopy, PET scans, and other nuclear imaging studies) work. That way you know what the limitations of the exams are, what 'artifacts' (messed up images) are present, and how to fix things when they go wrong. We also learn about the harmful effects of radiation, and what the most likely risk is (very small).

The test went fine. I was glad there were no random numbers I should have memorized or bizarre equations to use. It'll take a while to get my results back though. If I pass, then I'll be 1/3rd a radiologist.

Are you the kind of person who's curious about how things work?
Do you feel like knowing the basics behind things at your job make you better at it?
Are you excited about the new large hadron collider?

New Calling

During the week, we got a request for Elena and I to meet with the Bishop before church. One of my favorite things to do is to ponder what might happen with our callings, Elena says that's bad of me to do. I don't make predictions on what I want to happen, or what I think should happen, but on what could happen. I figure as long as I'm not judgmental about it, I'm alright.

Anyways....I'm staying in my calling in the nursery. I'm glad of it. I'm enjoying it. Nobody else appreciates their teachers in church as much as nursery kids...usually. Elena's new calling is as a counselor in the young womens. She's excited and overwhelmed.

What's the favorite calling you've ever had?
Do you ever covet a calling?
Do you like to guess about callings also?

Speed Settlers

About 3 years ago, I had an idea. A group of friends in the village would often get together to play games. One of those games that I enjoy very much is Settlers of Catan. We have the game along with all of the major expansions. If you haven't played it, I recommend it. However, you have to keep the game moving, or it can take a long time.

My idea.... speed settlers. We finally tried it out with Mike and Mindy. We started with 30 second time limit and went two or three rounds. While 30 seconds worked, we decided 45 seconds would work better. The game was fun, Elena won (she's on a streak of winning games), and she enjoyed it. She said she wasn't looking forward to playing, but that she enjoyed it. The game only lasted about 30 minutes.

For those people interested in playing yourselves. I used my watch as a timer, it resets automatically. We decided that a left over time from the person before you could be used. The decreased time is particularly difficult if a 7 is rolled and you're over the limit, and it really cuts into your time for trading. We may increase it a little next time we play.

An option that Mike came up with would be individual timers, and your given a limit for the game. For example, if you wanted the game to last just an hour and four people were playing, you give 15 minutes a piece on their individual timers that count down. If you run out of time, then you lose automatically.

Other favorite house rules... match play in Uno, $500 bonus when you land on go in Monopoly.

What games do you enjoy playing?
What are some of your favorite 'house rules'?

Welcome to Elena

Elena finally said, "I want to be able to post!" She's been invited the whole time, but had not yet shown interest, and so now she's signed up. I anxiously await her first post.

And here is an adorable picture of Kara before going to church today.

Updated Links, and Etiquette

So I want some input. I've just updated the links.

Is there anyone missing? I tried looking through everyone's links, but I'm sure I've missed someone. Please leave a comment and let me know who I might have missed. (I'm sure I've missed some of Elena's High school friends.

If you want to be listed differently (don't worry Brady and Shawnee, by default I go without last names) let me know. I like that you've spelled out your wishes on your blog (Shawnee). Some of you I put down your blog title as well...

Is there an appropriate way to ask to be linked back to somebody else's blog? What's the etiquette on blog links. Is it... if I link you, you link me? Do you give a link in a comment to let someone's blog you're reading that you have a blog as well? Or is this all handled better by email?

So to summarize (answer any you wish)
1. Who's missing from my links?
2. Do you want your link changed (or removed)?
3. What is proper blog etiquette regarding links?

Happy Birthday, Elena

Today is Elena's birthday. I won't say how old she is, but I'll give you a math hint. It's the result of a number raised (exponent) to itself.

Give her a call and wish her a Happy Birthday. I unfortunately will be working (on call all night).

New Pictures

I'm putting this post on just for some of the newest pictures of Kara, as requested by many people. I'm also in the process of getting caught up from our Utah trip, and you can see some posts below...

We've got TV!

Well, actually, we just bought rabbit ear antennae. We've been without broadcast TV for a year, because we're too cheap to pay for cable, but we wanted to watch the olympics (and we have enjoyed them).

And for those of you who were thinking maybe we had gotten a NEW tv, no, that dream is still not yet a reality.

Adam's Canyon

We took a hike up Adam's canyon on one of our last days in Utah. It's one of our favorites. It's very close to Elena's parents. The first time we hiked it we were dating, so it has some sentimental value as well.

Hogle Zoo

We made a family trip to the Zoo. Roll call included Nola (Elena's mom) Esther, Kennedy and Katelyn (two of my nieces) Elena and I with Kara, Melanie with her kids (see the link to Melaniemom) and her mom, Nola's sister Elizabeth, and Laurel with Claire. All in all we had quite the large group. The bird show was probably the highlight, it may be my first attempt at some video editing.

Week at the Child's in Utah

We had our second week at Elena's family. We had lots of fun with our nieces who were also staying there as Darren and Katie are off in Peru.

We had fun doing various things. Too bad I don't have any pictures (or video) of us all (well, except Dad or Mom) playing Rock Band.

Kara's Blessing

Kara's blessing was the principle reason for us to come to Utah. We wanted to be able to share it with as much family as possible. We appreciate everyone who made it, and understand for those who couldn't. It was a very nice day, and I don't feel like sharing particulars about the blessing online.

Grandpa (or Great-Grandpa for Kara) C's 80th Birthday

While in Utah, Elena's extended family celebrated their grandfathers 80th birthday. It was good to see nearly everyone.