Spotlight 2014: Andrea

Notable changes/events in 2013:
*Attended my first THREE Broadway-ish plays (Mary Poppins, Wicked, Matilda)
*Dental Convention at Myrtle Beach
*First visit to NYC!

*Education weekend at SVU
*Annual cross-country road trip in the summer
*Visit with Destiny and her family here in NC
*Cruise to the Bahamas with Marianne
*Caretaker for Andrew after his spinal surgery in Dec

Follow-up from last year's hopes:

*Spring break trip to NYC to visit Mandi and Christian and their kiddios.  Yep. So fun.

*Finish better than .500 in my tennis matches. Yep. I went 11-3. Woo hoo!

*Annual summer road trip and reunion with my parents and siblings and Grandma Cuca.  Yes again. Loved it.

*Finish Sports Psych and two other classes toward my degree---seriously, we're getting into crunch time here.  Dang. My luck runs out here. I did finish Sports Psych and Leadership Development. I have *started* Gender Studies, but am only on chapter 3 of 12. Yikes.

Hopes for 2014:
*Finish three BYU classes. (I know, I say that every year. But I MEAN it this year.)
*Take the annual summer road trip
*Beach trip with Andrew's parents and Angie's family this summer

Favorite sport: Tennis to play. Football to watch

Is really good at: Smiling

Wish you were better at: Getting my BYU independent study classes done in a timely manner. Sheesh. I have a year and two months left until my deadline. And four classes. Time to get to work!!

Best part about your job: Getting to hear all about my kids' days at school when they come home. And good night hugs.

Favorite pastimes: Date nights with Andrew (oh, how I've missed them the last few weeks!), lunch with girlfriends, board games with my family and friends, tennis, reading, talking to people.

Favorite recent reads: Blackmoore, How Will you Measure Your Life, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, The Power of Everyday Missionaries, Divergent, The Kiss of a Stranger (it's not skanky, even though the title makes it sound that way. I promise!)

Favorite restaurant: Southern Roots? Bonsai? Poblano's? Printworks Bistro? So hard to decide!

Dessert of choice: Cheesecake

Five things that make you happy: Talking on the phone with my family members who live far, far away; snapping a photo that really captures a personality or a moment in time or a relationship; when Diane (my tennis partner) sets up our opponents and I'm able to slam a winner on the baseline; seeing my kids' work hard at something and succeed; experiencing a deepening love for Andrew with each passing year.

Spotlight 2014: Andrew

Notable changes/events in 2013: Back surgery, Panthers/Patriots Monday Night Football game, Wrote my first novel a 200 page middle-grade fiction book called Unicorns vs. Zombies and I've sent it off to several agents, but haven't found anyone who's interested in publishing it. (But that's OK because I mainly wrote it for the kids and to say that I've written a book.)

Follow-up from last year's hopes:

Have my knee recover so I can start dunking again.  My knee recovered from the ACL injury, but my back was too bad to let me dunk again.

Become almost fluent again in Spanish as I work with the Gate City branch on the high council. Si.

That the Panthers make the playoffs. Yes, baby!

Hopes for 2014:
To fully recover from back surgery so I can start dunking again.
That I can join a competitive old man's basketball league.
That I can start writing another new book. (I'm kicking one around right now called The Nerd Vortex of Hunter Junior High that Saved the Universe)
That the Honda dies and I can finally buy midlife crisis sports car.

Favorite sport: Football to watch. Basketball to play.

Is really good at: starting fires with flint and steel

Wish you were better at:  handyman stuff

Best part about your job:  that they let me take six weeks off with full pay to recover from back surgery

Favorite pastimes:  Fantasy basketball, vacationing with Andrea, Madden 2013, writing, Survivor

Favorite recent reads: The Walk-On, The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, My Name Used to Be Muhammad, Unicorns vs. Zombies

Favorite restaurant: The Deck House

Dessert of choice: Baskin Robbins Peanut Butter and Chocolate Ice Cream

What kind of car would you like to drive? Nissan 370Z

Five things that make you happy: Andrea, the kids, vacations, Monday Night Football, winning my Fantasy basketball league

Spotlight 2014: Brandon

Do you have a hobby? Yeah. Biking, playing basketball, and playing Roblox.

What do you like about school? Ms. Bradner's classes (reading & social studies)...and that's about it.

What don’t you like about school? My math/science teacher, my band teacher, math, and homework.

Five things that make you happy: Babies, video games  being good at video games, scoring in my basketball games, getting a hundred at school, doing The Zone [his favorite BMX spot]

If you could meet any character from a book, who would it be? Harry Potter

What is the silliest thing you’ve ever done? Tried to do a double front flip at Boston's house and split my lip open.

Would you like to play a musical instrument? Orchestra and woodwinds are the only ones I DON'T play.

What kind of job would you like to have? I would like to be able to make money at Disney World or work for NASA.

If you could have a pet, what would it be? A Florida pink-bellied turtle

What’s the most important thing that you do? I go to school, that's kind of important.

What’s the best dessert in the whole world? The thing I had at Miss Shelley's house. It's a big pile of whipped cream with sweet cereals on top and maraschino cherries.

Nickname?  B-money
 

What kind of car would you like to drive? Buggati Veyron 16.4 Supersport

What’s the coolest place you’ve ever visited? Disney World!

What’s the most exciting adventure you’ve ever had? Getting lost at the Environmental Center with my Mom and Aunt Cindy.

Have you ever won anything? Yeah. Not a basketball game. yet. A soccer game. My team won the championship this year. 

One thing you’re really good at: Video games

One thing you wish you were better at: Biking and Basketball

What scares you most? Getting stranded on a boat.

If you had a million dollars, what would you buy first? It would be my Buggati, but they're too expensive, so I guess it will have to be a boring old Lamborghini.

Favorites:

Favorite animal? Black jaguar, any big cats

Favorite snack?  Food. I don't like eating belts or paper. Ummm...CheezIts. I like eating those.

Favorite TV show? I don't have a favorite right now. I don't watch TV. I guess Pawn Stars.

Favorite place: Disney anywhere

Favorite vegetable?  Broccoli...not steamed

Favorite place to eat out? Golden Corral

favorite meal? I can't decide between spaghetti and Navajo tacos.

favorite season?  Summer

favorite song? I like music without words--classical and dubstep.

favorite game? Roblox and Monopoly

Favorite sport? Basketball

Favorite book? Way of the Warrior

Favorite candy? Anything with over 60 sugars in a serving.

Favorite color? Black

Favorite movie?  Tron

Spotlight 2014: Whitney

Do you have a nickname?   Whitster

Do you have a hobby?  Art and loom bands

What do you like about school?  My friends and math

What don’t you like about school?  How boring it sometimes is

Five things that make you happy:  Candy, friends, art, church, and loom bands

What is the silliest thing you’ve ever done?   Play "Attack Hannah Montana" with Lauren and Leanne

Would you like to play a musical instrument?  I'd like to learn how to play the clarinet or the flute. I already play the piano.

What kind of job would you like to have?  I either want to be an artist, a dentist, or a hygienist. They all pay well and I enjoy them.

If you could have a pet, what would it be?  Chinchilla

What’s the most important thing that you do?  Get good grades

What’s the best dessert in the whole world? Peppermint ice cream with candy and fudge coating and sugar wafers

What kind of car would you like to drive? Lamborghini Aventador

What’s the coolest place you’ve ever visited?  The condos at Pineview Reservoir with the little clubhouse and all the flat screen TV's and the little jars filled with milk duds and junior mints and lemon drops.

What’s the most exciting adventure you’ve ever had?  Going to the little house near the creek with Brandon and Care Bear

Have you ever won anything? Yes. I won the Reflections contests three times. I won multiple hundreds of thumb wars. I've won races with my sister.

One thing you’re really good at:  Art

One thing you wish you were better at:  Piano

What scares you most? Lord Voldemort He who must not be named

If you had a million dollars, what would you buy first? Every single My Little Pony there is

Favorites:

Favorite place to eat out?  Bonsai

Favorite vegetable? Zucchini

Favorite sport? Gymnastics

Favorite book? Harry Potter #4

Favorite candy? Butterscotch discs

Favorite color? Magenta

Favorite movie? Harry Potter, doesn't matter which one

Favorite animal? Chinchilla

Favorite snack? Candy

Favorite TV show? My Little Pony

Favorite place? My house

Favorite season? Winter

Favorite meal? Christmas dinner (crab legs, shrimp, macaroni, mashed potatoes, rolls, jello, artichokes)

Favorite song? Royals by Lourde

Favorite game? Telestrations

Random fact: I've lost ten teeth.

Spotlight 2014: Caroline

Do you have a nickname?   Yes. Care Bear.

Do you have a hobby?  I don't know what a hobby is. Play with My Little Ponies.

What do you like about school? Centers. I love computers and puzzles.

What don’t you like about school?  Putting our heads down time after recess.

Five things that make you happy: Candy, "Frozen," [the movie] My Little Pony. Rainbows. My family.

What is the silliest thing you’ve ever done?   Making silly faces.

 

Would you like to play a musical instrument?  No.

What kind of job would you like to have? Riding a horse.

If you could have a pet, what would it be?  A cat.

What’s the most important thing that you do?  Go to school.

What’s the best dessert in the whole world? Cake. Cheesecake.

 What kind of car would you like to drive? A convertible.

What’s the coolest place you’ve ever visited?  The movie theater.

What’s the most exciting adventure you’ve ever had?  Watching "Frozen."

Have you ever won anything?  No

One thing you’re really good at:   Making weird sounds

One thing you wish you were better at:  Brushing my hair

What scares you most?  Fire

If you had a million dollars, what would you buy first?  My Little Ponies. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Princess Celestia.

Favorites:

Favorite place to eat out?  Bonsai and McDonalds

Favorite vegetable?  Are vegetables the ones that have seeds? Carrots!

Favorite sport? Running

Favorite book? "Welcome to Equestria" [a My Little Pony book]

Favorite candy? Hershey's chocolate

Favorite color? Pink and purple

Favorite movie? "Frozen"

Favorite animal? Cheetah and reindeer

Favorite snack? Snow. Beef jerky.

Favorite TV show? My Little Pony

Favorite place? The movie theater

Favorite season? Winter because I get to build snowmen because I like snowmen, especially Olaf the snowman.

Favorite meal? Fry bread

Favorite song? "Frozen" songs

Favorite game? Hide-and-go-seek

Random fact: I love Elsa from "Frozen."  

What December looked like...a little late

vintage family photo

tree huggers

Hermione

The joys of recovering from major surgery :)

 Harry Potter in his cupboard

 Gotta love December in Carolina!

Blatant height discrimination!