More Wedding PIctures

It was good to see everyone. Here are some radom shots (not great quality--taken with my cell phone).

OK, this one is interesting because it was between a group shot, but it's hard to figure out what Allyssa is doing. I think she passed out, or was shot, or something. She recovered quickly.

This one speaks for itself--I think Mike was having some intestinal issues.

And speaking of the stomach, I'm putting this one in for Bryce. He went with Grandma Mellor to Macaroni Grill and apparently had to wait forever for his food, which he didn't think too much of. Annette, Seth and I got lost in the crowd, so we wandered back to Matt's old neighborhood, where around the corner from his condo is The Other Place, which bills itself as Greek and American food. They have a special called "The Pile." (I'm not making this up.) Double order hash browns, covered in grilled veggies, covered in feta cheese, covered in two eggs (Seth and I chose scrambled). It also comes with a side of toach, pancakes or french toast (Seth opted for the french toast). When in SLC, I highly recommend The Pile. Matt also said there is a version with sausage or bacon (called--what else?--The Heap).

The Wedding

Here are just a few photos from Joel and Sarah's reception. Everyone was taking pictures and video, so don't let this stop anyone else from posting.  The reception was a lot of fun and looked great.  Kudos to Joel and Sarah and Jenny and Joel Sr  and everyone else who put it together.  

We wanted a picture of Joel and Satch together, first because Satchel loves Joel (he saw Joel wearing the hat and said, "I want a hat!") Second, we wanted them together because Joel is the oldest grandchild and Satchel is the youngest. 

Here they are at the reception, looking lovely.  The building was an old house that had been converted into a yoga studio.  Mike impressed us all with his "downward dog".

All the treats at the reception followed the blue and yellow color scheme, and here is Nina showing off her favorite -- blue cotton candy.  The kids were in heaven with all the candy and treats.  Keri was pretty happy too.

Here's Jenny, "giddy" with laughter at the idea of doing this all over again in a couple of months.  Sue is offering counseling and medication.

Stuey showing Matty how the A carbo loads before a race.  Again, it was fun and congrats to Joel and Sarah.  It was fun to see the Mellor clan.  We missed you Grandma and Grandpa, but hopefully you are getting lots of photos and stories.

Good Easter Times

The kids had a fun Easter. Coloring eggs, a big egg hunt, all the candy they could want, cousins and neighborhood friends over for games and a picnic . . . the fun never stopped. Before the day was over Nina was asking, "When will we have have Easter again?"

On Sunday Mike and Aimee invited us over for Easter dinner. Good food! And more fun times. But no photos. I'm a lame blogger.

The A Conquers Boston

Yes, she finished the Boston Marathon. It was an impressive event--over 28,000 runners. Plus on that same day there was a Red Sox game, a Bruins playoff game and a Celtic playoff game. Traffic was a nightmare (although we were getting around by subway, it was still a nightmare). I'll attach some pictures, but unfortunately I don't have any of her running. In fact, as sorry as this sounds, I never saw her running. I went to two different vantage points, but the runners were so thick I never spotted her. We figured out that both times she was on the other side of the street. So I can say I watched as she ran by, but I did not see here. The picture will give you a feel. Actually, it was probably a bit more crowded when she came by.

A friend captured a cell phone video, at a point in the race when they were spread out a bit, so I'll post that.

On Tuesday we walked around Boston a bit. Here's a picture of Annette sitting in the Revere family box at the Old North Church (you remember, one if by land, two if by sea). Apparently the different families had their own boxes. Not a bad idea.

Stuart

Vote Brother Brigham! 

Our Brigham recently ran for 8'th grade officer at his Junior High. His campaign was based on his name and so his posters read. " In 1847 Brigham Young said, this is the place." In 2009 Brigham Harris is the Right choice!" They had to do a 2 minute skit and Brig dressed up as Brigham Young and stole the show! of the 14 running he took home the most votes and thus is now the 8'th grade class President at Orion Jr High! WE are proud of him. I also included some funny photos from our trip to Bear Lake over Easter. Brandy does not like Bears, even if they are fake, or getting sprayed by a skunk which results in a bath! All the best to you all.

Love Todd and Keri and family.

Prom Night 09- Weber High

We recently had Prom night in Utah, why they have it so early is a mystery, but Alex and Drew went together in a group and had a great time! Fun to see your boys all cleaned up, in spite of needing haircuts in the worst way! And yes, Drew is still 15, but we made an exception so he could go with his big brother for the only time they will have that opportunity. They looked almost as good as Uncle Stuart when he was rocking the brown tux with ruffles, monster bow tie, and cruising in the VW Van!

Just a Typical Night in Provo

It's been a while since, so I thought I would post an update. I have been really busy with school this semester (17 credits!), but when I'm not doing homework I am:

1. Dressing up like a rock star ( I thought Grandma and Grandpa would like to have this in one of their albums).

2. Starring in a film opposite Marie Antoinette.

3. And most recently, participating in the Hare Krishna Festival of Colors in Spanish fork.

Love,

Kirstie

Hi All,
Just a quick post and few pics to let you know that we've moved......again :) This time we stayed in the same state, same city, same ward and actually on the same street!!! So we're getting better! We've moved in with Bryce's parents who also have a house in our same neighborhood. Business had been pretty slow for a while and we decided it would be better to consolidate a little. It's going great actually--we still have plenty of room and they are out and about a lot so I don't have to feel at all like we're in each other's way or space, plus we're going to be able to save a lot of money. Bryce also started a new job with AT&T that he's enjoying (we're also enjoying the deals he can get) so if any of you are with AT&T let him know if you need anything :) The girls are as great as ever! Jenna is 9 months old now and they both can't get enough of each other. We're so excited to head down for Joel & Sarah's wedding and see all of you Utahns! Love to you all.

A Day in the Life of ...... Part 2

Well, you have to know that your mother just had a 'mega tantrum'. I had spent over thirty minutes writing a wonderfully witty and insightful article, then pushed the wrong button and it disappeared. It is a good thing none of you were here.
So, anyway I will attempt to recreate it and try again [that is why this is titled part 2. Part 1 is lost forever somewhere out in blogger space.]
I had mentioned that there is just not much activity on the ever exciting HOUSE OF HARRIS blog site. In fact, when we do have a posting there are not even many comments which leads me to believe that no one out there is even reading them.
Hence, I am going to bore you all into doing better. I had the inspiration to each week take a day and tell what we do on that day. When you sons were on your missions I always wished that you would tell me what you do during the day. Now, you probably have never wished your parents would do that, but you are going to have to suffer through it anyway.
For my first day I am going to pick Monday. Now, to you ex-missionaries you might call this our P-day, and it is because by the time the day is over we are 'pooped'. We are able to sleep in a little longer on this day but seeing our age it doesn't happen anyway. So up, dressed, we grab a plastic grocery sack and out we go for our weekly 'trash pick up'. President and Sister Babb, our first counselor and his wife take the outside streets surrounding the temple grounds and we do the inside grounds. Now, you would think that it being the temple and dedicated grounds there just would not be any trash at all. WRONG!. The sad fact is that there is a lot of trash on the grounds. When asked why people just drop their things where they stand the answer came back, well it is just a tradition!!! Interestingly enough a lot of it is tucked away in bushes and shrubs, [I think they do try to hide it] so we do a lot of bending and stretching [good exercise for us]. This usually takes about 45-60 minutes. You would be shocked, surprised, amazed and all the other adjectives you can come up with when you hear what we do find on the grounds; anything from dead rats [which Dad picks us] to beer bottles [left over from bus drivers who are hired to drive youth groups here for baptisms]. Most of it though is wrappers from crackers, gum, candy, etc. Dad is thinking of keeping the next bags we pick up and taking them to our next PPI with the Area President. Maybe he can talk to the Stake Presidents about this. It is very sad.
We then come in, shower, have a little breakfast and usually will do our grocery shopping. The grocery stores here are very nice and modern and usually will have just about anything that the US stores will have, just not maybe at the time you want it. We do have to wait for the US things to arrive via air I suppose or maybe ship. But we certainly do not suffer from want of anything to eat. The time it takes to shop is not very long but the time it takes to clorox wash all the fresh fruits and veggies takes over an hour sometimes.
We are then ready to do our scripture and other reading. Then of course there is the nap time which is a must on the day the temple is closed.
I will usually use this day to bake as I love to give out cookies and banana bread to the gardners, office staff, etc. This is a fun thing for me to do.
From 7-8:30 we have our Family Home Evening here in the Casa de Huespedes [Guest House. There is a room just for meetings which we all gather in]. Once a month or so I will show a 'popcorn and movie' night here in our apartment which the seniors all seem to enjoy.
Well, loved ones there you are. I know this should generate some really thought-provoking comments and I welcome them all.
Remember next week, I will tackle the exciting Tuesday, so stay tuned for more in the life of...!

A Day in the Life of.....

Researching the Best Burger

In a comment to my last post about our ancestry, Todd questioned why I didn't use my energies for more interesting projects, such as what the "H.R." stood for in H.R. Pufnstuf. Frankly, I'm a bit embarrassed for him. It's one thing to acknowledge that he watched H.R. Pufnstuf. He was young; that's an excuse. But to openly proclaim he still thinks about it? Todd, there are other things to ponder. Give it a try.

But to answer his question, I think I've located the best burger in Portland. It's at a funky French restaurant called Le Pigeon. Premium beef on a grilled french bagette type roll, lettuce, pickled onions, homemade ketchup, some type of French cheese, a hint of horseradish. Frankly, I'm not sure what all was on it, but it was amazing. Just ask Kathryn--it was her birthday dinner, and I couldn't stop explaining how amazing it was. The only problem is that they only prepare five burgers a night. Not sure why, but that's the limit. So when Big D returns, the boys can take him there. Of course there will be six of us--one over the limit--but we'll let Todd get some Captain Crunch off the kiddie menu.

Campbell Name Cleared!

Yes, it's true. Recent research suggests we are not the vicious killers that historians have painted us as. For those of you muttering, "Oh, boy, there he goes again," do not delete this. Here's some background (taken from a Scottish newspaper article):

"For almost 317 years the entire Clan Campbell has borne the stigma not only of massacre but of the worst possible breach of the Highland code of hospitality. Early in the morning of 13th February in 1692, thirty eight members of the MacDonad clan were murdered without warning, as they slept, by Campbells lodging in their homes in the Glen; and forty more perished in blizzard conditions when they fled for their lives.

The signal for their murder was triggered by their Chief’s tardiness in taking the oath of allegiance to the then English King, William of Orange. The revulsion of other Highlanders - and of history - for this action leaves the name Campbell, even today, often accompanied by an inward shudder in the uttering. But a research publication, Glencoe: The Infamous Massacre 1692, written by John Sadler, a historian from Newcastle University, claims to present a different version of these events - and one relieving the pressure of this dark legacy on the Campbell name."

Well, I feel better already.

The new book admits that Campbells did the killing, but not as Clan members, but rather as soldiers of the English King. OK, maybe a technicality, but there's more. It appears the Campbells first warned the McDonalds. Not sure how that worked: "Angus, could you pass the mutton? Thanks. And by the by, we'll be getting up in the wee hours of the morning, and if you're still here, and happen to be sleeping, we supposed to kill you."

For those of you who want to know more (yes, Mike and Lee, you can read more), I'll attach a link. Personally, I feel somewhat vindicated, and I suspect the feeling is shared by Mom, Seth, Brigham and Jake. Did I miss anyone?

http://forargyll.com/2009/02/has-the-campbells-role-in-the-glencoe-massacre-been-painted-blacker-than-it-was/