South Carolina Democratic Debate

Here are some of the latest political debates in the form of video play-lists. I've added these play-lists because I think that it's good for us all to hear what the candidates have to say. In this online format you can watch them, re-watch them or not watch them at your own leisure. Don't forget the republicans below this video.

Florida Republican Debate

Here are the Republicans.

Flashing toothbrushes and the 1920's...

Alright...a little bit of background...

I came across this video of my nephew after my sister and brother-in-law left a CD of their family pictures for the past year.

It is probably one of the funniest videos I have seen lately...

Enjoy...I do... probably half a dozen times a day !! :) My favorite part is when the music changes...you will see what I mean! So make sure you turn your sound on!!!!

Our New 2005 Hyundai Tuscon!!!!!!!!

Just a quick post so you can all see our new SUV! We bought it yesterday(Friday) and brought it home today(Saturday)! There were a few areas that needed work on the body as well as having the interior thoroughly cleaned, and so the dealership detailed it for us which is why we didn't take it home Friday. It is still under factory warranty which is great.

Isn't it beautiful???? So nice and new looking,
only 2 years old!
Ryan with the fancy rental! It is only 2 months old!

The interior is so nice in there! Everything is sooo fancy and new!

Our rental is a 2008 Dodge Magnum...so with the two cars in the parking lot right next to each other, our neighbors have been giving us some dirty looks...lol...it isn't a very fancy apartment complex, and nobody has nice cars...oh well...I just hope nothing gets stolen!

Our two parking spaces are filled up nicely at the moment!
Power everything except seats....drat.
We finally have a button to lock and unlock the car!
The lights blink to let us know it has worked!
Fabulous!!!

We look forward to seeing our family in California over Thanksgiving, and can't wait to drive our new car over the Sierra Nevada Mountains! YAY! Especially, now that we have cruise control...what a fabulous invention!!!
~Becca

Inside :)

The back of the two vehicles.
Nice and big! It will make moving hopefully to California next summer, and transporting my massage table to appointments easier!

Drivers side view of the interior.
The white paint, and the lighter interior will be a blessing while driving in California and during summer time!

WEDDINGS, SUV'S AND 简体中文

The weddings last weekend were very enjoyable. It was great to have my brother and sister-in-law Rick and Leah and their twins here for a few days. Becca’s cousin Alicia, one of the brides, was happily glowing as much as anyone would hope that a bride would. I’m sorry that I didn’t get to see Aunt Marsha and Uncle Martin, Val or any of the other extended relatives that I’ve met before. Becca said that Alicia was a lovely bride and that the ceremony and reception were all very nice. We wish the best for them both.

The day that Alicia got married Becca and I got up at 5:20am to drive me out to the airport so I could fly to L.A. and go to my good friend Vicki Farthing’s wedding. As sad as I was to miss out on Alicia’s wedding I have to say that it was absolutely wonderful to see many of my good friends, their families, my mom and of course my brother Garit who I hadn’t actually seen since I dropped him off at the MTC two years ago. My friends Doug and Sarah were excellent hosts, as always, and I was reminded all weekend of why I have always been so fond of them. My good friend Andrew and his wife Karina were fun to talk to especially since I haven’t seen them since they got married. I was particularly amused to listen in on their little argument about buying nice unnecessary furniture to organize things. That argument sounds all too familiar. I’ve still got your back on that one Andrew! Vicki was a beautiful bride and although I have only had a few occasions to talk with her new husband, he has made nothing but a good impression on me. We wish the best for them as well.

My friend/Chinese tutor Wolf sent me some excellent study materials for learning Mandarin Chinese. That was very generous of him. I finally broke down and bought a Mandarin/English dictionary as well so my Chinese went much better this week. I’ve also figured out how to write in simplified Chinese characters on the computer so 我喜欢写在简体中文. What I wrote is probably slightly incorrect but it’s a good start.

I’d like to send a big thank you to all of you who contacted us this week with car advice. We’ve made a list of your suggestions and it has helped us in our car search. By the way, who recommended the Ford? This Saturday we test drove a 2002 Mazda Tribute, a 2003 Honda CR-V and a 2005 Hyundai Tucson. You all overwhelmingly recommended the Honda CR-V so we were pretty excited to drive it. This particular Honda CR-V was a big disappointment. The engine made funny idling noises that we recognize from our little Acura, however, our Acura is fifteen years old and this vehicle is only four. I then noticed that the exhaust, while not black, was a very visible shade of grey. Then the motor shuddered and made noises, like our little old car does, when we put it in reverse. We were set on not buying it before we got on the road.

The 2002 Mazda Tribute was the first car we drove since it was at a dealership not one mile from our apartment. It’s a smooth ride, has leather interior, all wheel drive and a sun roof. It’s a deep red, almost maroon color and Becca really likes it. The same dealership had a 2005 Hyundai Tucson so we took that out for a spin next. Also a smooth ride, though not quite as much pick up as the Tribute, carpeted interior instead of leather and it’s got a few small nicks and scratches. The thing is it has the same price tag as the Mazda, which is three years older. I think that it’s an incredible deal but Becca hates the way it looks. Your thoughts and comments about the two vehicles are welcome.

CAR ADVICE

As you can see, our car is in pretty bad shape. We took it in for an estimate and the auto body shop said that the repair would cost 250% of the worth of the car. The insurance company sent out an independent appraiser to look over the car and do his own assessment. It turned out to be this twenty-one-year-old guy making a stop while he was on a date. He made her wait in his car while he took pictures of ours.

In any case, they'll probably give us a check and take our car to be stripped and then sell the profitable parts. That means that we're car shopping. We're looking to buy something that is bigger than a common sedan but smaller than a minivan. Neither Becca nor I know much about cars so we'd really appreciate your suggestions.

Thanks in advance.