Goodbye Santa Monica 3rd Ward

We have had a lot of excitement and change as this year has closed out including my realease from the Young Single Adult Ward Bishopric. Caroline and I have been Santa Monica Silver Monkey's for over three years. We owe a lot to the Santa Monica Third Ward. It is where we re-met, dated, broke-up, courted, were engaged, were married, and almost had our first baby. We have been through a lot and have grown in the gospel since joining its ranks. We are very sad to leave and hope that all of our friend from the ward will still talk to us and at least pretend to like us. Once a Silver Monkey, always a Silver Monkey. To all of the singles still members of SM3, get married and come join us.

The Blasers' Came to Los Angeles

We had the time of our lives hosting Sherm, Juliette, and Katelyn this past week. They came to escape the winter wonderland of Boise, ID and share the beautiful weather with us here in Los Angeles. Here are a few of our highlights:

Sherm, Katelyn, Juliette, & Brian on the School Bus Ride
at Knott's Berry Farm

(*this one was a doosy)

Katelyn on the Airplanes

(*she didn't understand that to lift off of the ground you had to pull back on the stick so she was the lone flyer who crop dusted the whole time)

Katelyn and Sherm Trucking Together

Brian, Caroline, Katelyn, Juliette, and Sherm on the Santa Monica Pier
(*just after we took this photo a seagull attacked Sherm for the rest of his cheese burger by swooping in and biting his cheesburger hand. We wished Cutter was there to take care of the seagulls.)

Doctor Visit #2

So, I (Brian) was really pumped to go to the second baby doctor visit so we could see the baby again. In theory the baby is big enough that you can possibly find out the gender. We got in the doctors office and Dr Amersi busted out a heart monitor with a speaker and we were able to hear our babies little heart beating at about 180 beats per minutes.

"Any questions?" Dr Amersi asked.

"Yeah, can we see the baby on a sonogram?" I asked.

"No", she said, "you only get three on your insurance plan."

In my mind I was thinking, "What kind of lame idiot created this insurance plan. It takes like two minutes and should cost like maybe $10.00 at the most." And then I said, "okay we will wait FOUR MORE WEEKS."

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas to all,

And to all a good night!

Merry Christmas from the Bishopric

Left to Right: Lloyd (Reindeer #2), Brian (Elf #1), Bishop Eastland (Santa), Mike (Elf #2), Jeff (Santa's Helper), Peter (Reindeer #1)

1st Anniversary

Our 1st Anniversary snuck up on us without us realizing it. Since most of you out there weren't able to make it to our crazy HUGE party we have included a few photos of the excitement.

*p.s. we plan on reusing the candle on our cake in about 18 months. How fun is that?

Christmas Cheer!

This is our second, "first Christmas" since we have been married but this time we actually have our heads on straight...enough at least that we have been able to bring a little Christmas Cheer to our home. We hung some stocking on the bookcase...I hope Santa is tall because we hung them on the top shelf. And below is a picture of Caroline modeling our first Christmas tree. (look like a familiar photo?)

Happy Birthday Dad!

Randall Adair Merrell

Our First Doctor's Visit

What a Great Experience. I guess we weren't sure what to expect, seeing as how we were referred to an unknown doctor at an unknown hospital, but it was great. Our Doctor's name is Shamsah. With a name so foreign who knew what to expect. She turned out to be great. She is of Indian decent but is from Africa and seems to be in her early to mid 30s. She was very competent, very nice, and a mother herself. After all of the girl stuff she performed the first ultrasound.

Drum Roll Please!!!

There is a baby inside. Caroline almost fell off of the bed she was so excited. In no time flat there was the image of a beautiful, teeny, tiny baby with it's little arms and legs. Some people were hoping for two little ones inside but there is only one. Before we could gather ourselves together Shamsah was rattling off stats and pointing to the heart beating and the spine and some other stuff that surrounds the baby that I am sure is really important but not as cool. We thought the baby was going to look like a Kumquat (that's what they compare it to online) but not so, my friends, not so. It looks just like a baby. Big head, normal body, arms and legs with joints and tiny fingers and toes, healthly heart, spine, and of course the embilical cord.
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The baby was moving its body, little arms, and legs and was very, very active. Shamsah kept says, "what a healthy and active baby" over and over again. She was very impressed with how healthy the mother and baby are and how much the baby was moving. Then it happened. No joke! And Caroline will stand as my witness. The little showboat did a back flip right before our eyes. I think it's a Beus thing because "daddy" has never been able to do backflips.

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Shamsah's equipment estimated that the baby is 4.8 cm in length, that Caroline is 11 weeks and 4 days into her pregnancy, and that the estimated due date is 25 June 2009. She also recommended eating toast (Caroline's favorite) and an Omega 3 supplement for Mom/Baby and for Dad. I guess she could tell that Dad's mental acuteness was lacking in luster a bit. Our next appointment is 30 December 2008

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What a fun experience! We are going to be Mommy and Daddy.

A few more details...

Sorry for not giving any details in the last post. I was in such agony over Brian posting that picture of me (which he has made me promise not to remove) that he gave up before writing any more. I am due towards the end of June which makes me a little over 10 weeks along. I don't think I would be showing at all yet, except that I eat constantly to try to curb the nausea. But who knows... people have been predicting that we are going to have the largest baby in the history of the world because we are both so big... 33 inches. 22 lbls. Thank you, everyone. That doesn't scare me at all. Not one bit.

Our Early Chrismas Present

We got our Christmas present a little early this year.
We found out that we are gonna have a baby.
We are VERY excited!

Look at my glowing wife!

Ron & Verenda's Sealing

Congratulations to Ron and Verenda who received their endowments yesterday in the Salt Lake City Temple and were Sealed for Time and All Eternity! What a special day.

I had the honor of accompanying Ron in the Temple and being a witness for his Sealing.

The Beus Family Goes to Disneylandia!

Caroline hosted the fam here in LA this week. Mom, Dad, Doug, and Mark came down on vacation to visit Shirls (Gma Shirley) and to enjoy Disneyland/California Adventure. Luckily I made it home from Boston, MA in time to ejnoy a bit of the action. Here are some of the highlights:

Doug, Caroline, & Mark

Brian & Caroline after Marti Disney Gras

Doug & Mark after a Strawberry Funnel Cake

Don't Hesitate, Vote Yes on 8

Welcome, NoVeMbEr! I am so glad you are here. We are ready to see the end of this campaign and the restoration of traditional marraige to our beautiful state, California. 3 days to go...

Santa Monica 3rd Silver Monkeys

Here I am with my flag football team (front row next to the champion's pot) after we killed the Los Angeles 1st Ward Gators for the 3rd straight year. I played center. Brian is not in the picture, but he stood on the sideline with a microphone and commentated for the entire 2-hour game. He ran out of jokes about half way through, but did a fantastic job, especially when it came to being impartial. When I fumbled a pass and then dropped it he said,
"And it's a perfect pass up the middle.... Ohhhhhhhh, she felt the heat coming and took her eye off the ball!"

Where's the LOVE, honey? Where's the LOVE?

Protecting Marraige

This November, Californa voters will once again take a stance on marraige. In 2000, Proposition 22 was passed by a 61% majority vote, establishing the legal deffinition of marraige as between a man and a woman. Earlier this year, 4 judges in San Francisco overturned the people's vote, legalizing same sex marraige.

The proposition is on the ballot again, this time as Proposition 8. Brian and I want to join our voices with those who support the traditional family. We believe in the sanctity of marraige between a man and woman and it's central place in our Heavenly Father's plan.

Vote YES on Prop 8!

Check out this neat video made by our friends.

http://www.preservingmarriage.org/


http://www.preservingmarriage.org/

My first hair cut

A couple of weeks ago we got a parking ticket when we went to a friend's going away party in Santa Monica. To make up for the $47 hit to our bank account, Brian decided that he would give up his bi-monthly trip to the barber shop and have me cut his hair instead. I don't think it turned out too bad for my first (okay maybe second) haircut ever.

Europe

In August we took a trip to Europe so that Brian could take a special class on International Business for his MBA... or atleast, I think that's what he studied while we were there. All I know, is that for the first time in two years, I was the one who didn't have to study! And boy, did I enjoy that!

For me, the best part of the trip was two weeks of uninterrupted time together. These first months of our marraige have been so busy with full-time school & work, church callings and Brian's frequent travels around the country. We needed a break! Watching the Olympics (Olympische Spiele) in German every night before going to bed, was the best kind of therapy!

An extra special highlight of the trip was the few days we were able to take away from Brian's studies to go to the tiny Italian villages in the Alps where my ancestors Michael and Marianne Beux lived, worked, and eventualy joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We had such a nice time and I really wanted to write all about it here... but everytime I sat down to do it, I felt so overwhelmed! And with school starting just a week after we got home, my European travel log got pushed to the very bottom of my to-do list. (Although, I promise to write more about our two days in Italy for the sake of family history!)

So in a poor attempt to make up for the lack of details, I am including a link to our photo album here. The pictures are riduculously out of order (a picture of our hotel in Germany is between two pictures of Italian dairy cows in the Alps), but maybe you will enjoy it regardless!

First Day of School

Today is the first day of school. I can't believe the difference a year can make. The bell is going to ring in about ten minutes and instead of sheer panic, I feel calmness and wisdom flowing through my viens. We'll see how long that lasts!

Here's the view from my third story window as the kids wait to flood the halls. Wish me luck!

July

It's been such a long time! I'm going to play catch up. Here are a few highlights from July:

1. Home to Idaho for the 4th

I love being home. It had been a long 6 months since the last trip. We had such a great time being together over the 4th of July holiday. Everyone in my family was there, except for Beth, whom we really missed. We went to the Melba parade in the morning, had a our traditional sish-ka-bob party at Mom and Dad's in the afternoon and fireworks at Jeff & Joanna's that evening. I love this picture of all of us standing around watching the kids ride Frank. That's my niece Brooklyn there in the background. And these are my brothers, Jeff, Doug and Dan, with me and my dad in the middle.


2. Brian's Cake Decorating Skills - He is such an all-around guy!

This year I was really excited to make the beautiful flag cake I found on my favorite blog of all time, Thepioneerwoman.com. I will forever be in debt to my sister in law, Connie who introduced me to this site. I love the Pioneer Woman. I think we were meant to be bosom buddies. Anyways, I made the cake and the frosting (which contains 2 pounds of butter and a pound and 1/2 of cream cheese! Do you see why the Pioneer Woman and I are so close?) and Brian took over from there. Oh, actually... I did the first two rows of stripes at the very bottom of the cake... the ones that look ridiculous. And that's when Brian took over. And he did a fine job, don't you think? You know, Brian's mom Barbara is a professionaly cake decorator so I don't think Brian deserves all the credit. But thank you Brian for saving the cake, and the day.

Here he is looking so proud... and handsome.


The cake was such a hit, especially with my brother Jeff, that we made it again for little Eli's 1st birthday party.


We sure love Eli! Happy Birthday!

3. Angelica's eSpaghetti Verde

When I go home, I always try to visit my friend Angelica Zavala and her kids, Karina, Christofer & Evelyn. Angelica's husband, Salvador has worked with us on the farm forever. They are a great family and we really love them. Angelica is working on her English and since I'm working on my Spanish, we've become good friends. This visit was especially fun because Angelica, Salvador and the kids were excited to meet Brian. I'm pretty sure they weren't disappointed. Brian is so good with people and especially kids. By the end of the visit, he had them all wound up. They also told him that his Spanish was better than mine. Ah, man!

While we were there I told Brian what a good cook Angelica was. I especially raved about her green spaghetti. I really do love that stuff. It's homemade tomatillo sauce with lots of green chiles and sour cream poured over spaghetti noodles and baked with lots of cheese on top. It's SO tasty!

There's a point to this story, I promise. The next day Jeff invited The Zavalas to Eli's birthday party/bbq. They couldn't make it, but they quietly dropped by with a huge dish of green spaghetti... enough to feed the army. They slipped in and out before anyone even knew they were there. That's Angelica and the Zavala family. Quiet, humble, generous and so kind. I want to be like them.

I wish I had a picture of Angelica or the spaghetti... or the look on my mom's face when she took a big bite and realized when the food was half way down, that it was a little too caliente for her liking!

4. The Kids

Let's be honest. The best part of our trip to Idaho was hanging out with all 6 of my nieces and nephews. They are all such cool kids. I love how different they are. They're so fun and funny, and best of all, they are great kids who have wonderful parents.

Katelyn:
Eli:
Bellamie:
Cache:
Cutter:
Brooklyn:

5. Boston

We spent the last week of the month in Boston, MA. Brian goes there quite often on official Air Force business. This time he decided to make a vacation out of it by bringing me along. We had such a great time getting to know the city, seeing good friends, and spending time together.

Boston is a beautiful city. I couldn't stop gawking out my window at the trees as we drove around. It was so strange to feel as if I was in the middle of the forest only to see a Nordstrom come out of nowhere. But don't get me wrong. I do love it when a Nordstrom comes out of nowhere. I also loved the large colonial style homes and the amazing history of the city. We stayed at Hanscom Air Force Base in Lexington since the real purpose of the trip was work. While Brian worried himself with national security, I drove around town with my teammate Niki Lee who lives in nearby Winchester.

Niki and her two awesome kids, Porter and Madeleine made sure I had a great time in Boston. Niki's husband Jared is doing his medical residency at Harvard University. They have lived there for over a year and are very familar with all of the best spots to visit. The Lee's took me to Minuteman National Park in Concord where the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired. We also toured Luisa May Alcott's home where she wrote the famous book, "Little Women." I happen to love Little Women so I really enjoyed that. A couple of days later we went to Paul Revere Beach just in time to see the sand scultpures. Sadly for me, I forgot my camera and didn't get a single picture the whole trip other than the few I took with my cell phone. However, Niki took lots of pictures which you can see on her blog: http://bostonleegal.blogspot.com/ The Lee's also made us Sunday dinner, took us to church and gave us great tips for the rest of our trip. What great friends. Thanks so much, Niki!!!

On Saturday Brian and I walked the famous “Freedom Trail,” a 2.5 mile red-brick walking trail in Boston’s famous North End that leads to 16 national historic sites. It’s a collection of museums, churches, meeting houses, burying grounds, parks, a ship, and historic markers that tell the story of the American Revolution.

My favorite stop on the trail was the Old North Church made famous on the night of April 18, 1775 when the church sexton, Robert Newman, climbed 14 stories the steeple top and held two lanterns as a signal from Paul Revere that the British were marching to Lexington and Concord by sea and not by land. Hence the famous phrase, “One if by sea, two if by land.” This was the beginning of the American Revolution.

Here is some more information from their website: www.oldnorthchurch.com
“The Old North Church is officially known as Christ Church in the City of Boston. It was built in 1723, and is the oldest standing church building in Boston. In 1775, on the eve of Revolution, the majority of the congregation were loyal to the British King and many held official positions in the royal government, including the Royal Governor of Massachusetts, making Robert Newman's loyalty to the Patriot cause even more extraordinary.”

Finally, I can’t complete this post without letting you all in on some good dining tips. If you’re ever in Boston, you should go to ALL of these places:

- Ernesto’s. While in the Italian District we saw a fellow in the park eating what seemed to be some very delicious pizza. Fortunately, we asked him where he got it because we never would have found it on our own. It was hidden away up a tiny alley and the store-front couldn’t have been more than 6 ft wide. He called it “the best pizza in Boston” with a very thick Bostonian accent. When we walked up to the counter inside, Brian unconsciously imitated his accent while ordering a piece of pizza. I think that was the highlight of my trip right there!
- Mike’s Pastries for the best pistachio macaroons of your life. Also in the Italian District.
- Bedford Farms. A friend of Brian’s recommended we go to this ice cream stand not too far from the base. Wow, I know for a fact that I’ve never had better ice cream. Maybe it’s the 16% butter fat? What do you think?
- Legal Seafood. I tried my first and last mussel here. But the crab cakes were SO good.


6. Summer School

Life can't be all butterflies and rainbows can it? Therefore, I must tell you that we've also been busy with summer school. Brian as a student, and me as a teacher. My 4-hour-a-day summer school class is pretty breezy except for a few trouble-makers, which is only to be expected. But bless Brian's heart, he's been going to class 2 nights a week until 10pm after a full day of work and studying/reading/meeting with classmates the rest of the week. He's doing a great job though, passing the first term with an "A" and getting ready to finish up the 2nd term here in a couple of days. Term 3 will start at the end of this week when we fly to Europe for a 2-week study abroad in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Film Festival

Each year our single's ward, which is chuck full of genius film makers, puts together a film festival. People come from all over the area to watch the films and walk the red carpet. This year there were over 500 people in attendance. It's mostly cheesy, but really fun too. Brian took his tuxedo out of moth balls for this special night. I found a $40 dress at a discount department store. We live such a glamorous Hollywood life, I know. Follow this link to watch the short films: SM3 Film Festival

Click on 2008 Films to see a list of a dozen or so. Some of our favorites:
- Kent: the Undefeated Runner (winner of the People's Choice award)
- Here we are with Julian Ruble
- The Buttload Debacle (my personal favorite)
- Granny's Day out (Brian's favorite)
- The Deal (slightly disturbing)
- The Devil & Mr. Smith (with an amazing performance by the winner of the Best Actor award... look for the guy in full-length spandex)

Besides red carpets, films, and awards, there was also a live performance by some talented actors in our ward. Brian contributed backstage by providing sound effects with his trombone. He's so talented. We had a great night. Wish you all could have been there!

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I don't really know what to say about these goofy pictures other than sometimes I give in and play along with my husband.

Marky comes to visit Part II: Roscoe's

My youngest brother Mark comes to visit every summer. It’s been our little tradition for last few years since he turned 11 and my mom gathered up enough courage to put her youngest baby on a plane by himself. We usually pack in as much fun as we can, from theme parks and drives up the coast, to trips to the mall and the beach. Marky is 15 now and this year he told me that he didn’t really care what we did. He just wanted to spend time with me. What a sweetheart! “Oh wait,” he said. “There's one place we have to go.” I knew exactly what he was about to say: Roscoe’s House of Chicken n' Waffles. I know, such a strange combination... but it's strangely delicious!

Mark should have been born in the South… the way that kid LOVES fried chicken. He always has. From the time he was old enough to wrap his paw around a chicken leg. I remember back in the good old days when my family’s favorite place to eat was JJ North’s (aka, Chuckarama. Where else are you going to go with a family of 10?). Though there were 100s of choices, Marky would come back to the table with nothing but fried chicken on his plate. If my mom talked him into it, he might throw some macaroni ‘n cheese or Jello on there too, but all he really wanted was the chicken.

Well, with his 15 years of experience, he thinks he’s found the Mecca of fried chicken at Roscoe’s. It’s Soul Food, baby… and it is reeeeeel good, I’ll have to admit. Although, I like it more for the waffles than the chicken… especially when they put the equivalent of an ice cream scoop full of butter on your waffle.

Isn’t that amazing… I mean, disgusting?

What fat lard would spread it out and eat the entire thing? Brian?

Snoop Dog? (Check out this video. You may run into someone famous at Roscoe's.)

or could it have been me? Cast your vote!

Marky comes to visit Part I: Boba & Sushi

On his first day in L.A. we thought we should force Marky to experience a little bit of California with some tasty Asian treats: boba and sushi. "What in the world is boba?" you ask.

Well... boba is a little brown ball of tapioca derived from the starch of the cassava root. It's sweet, it's slimy, it's chewy and it's very delicious!

In West LA you can find little tiny boba shops all over the place. They put boba in coffee and tea mostly, BUT... they also put it in these milky, creamy, unbelievably good fruit smoothies... and if there's something milky and creamy and unbelievably good, you better believe that this dairy farmer's daughter has discovered it.

So, anyway, the friendly people mix up your drink, the boba sinks to the bottom, after which you grab a special extra-wide boba straw and immediately begin to slurp (some people think they are too good to "slurp"... eh hem, Brian). Sometimes, I even forget to chew those little bobas because the slurpie is so tasty! Brian likes to chew every single one until it's completely disintegrated. It takes him hours to finish... unless I get my hands on it, which I usually manage to do.

So, here's a little diagram for your information.

And here is Marky slurping it down. It took a little coaxing... but I think he liked it!

This is Brian not slurping...


And here's the sushi... unfortunately, it wasn't as well recieved by Marky. Oh well, B and I liked it!