You Did It!!!

Congratulations
my Sweet Husband for
graduating (as of yesterday) from
the University of Utah!! You have spent SO
many long hours working and
focusing so hard and it has all paid off!!
You have earned it my darling!!! And what better way to end your college
experience than at the SUGAR BOWL
cheering on our Utes!!!! Yeah!!!
I Love You and Congratulations!!!
You Did It!!

Turkey Bowlin Fox Football Style

We once again started our Thanksgiving off right by giving thanks for the wonderful game of "Football!" Every year we hold the annual "Turkey Bowl" which mind you is no rag tag back yard event, thanks to Steve McDermott we have real flag belts and 3 sets of jerseys. I'm convinced that had Fox Football known about the game they would have covered it. Maybe some of us could have even got NFL contracts out of it, but we chose to keep the press out of this event and enjoy the guy bonding time. This year we had around 24 guys which made it perfect for 3 teams of 8. The first team to score stayed on the field which was nice because everyone got winded since most of us are hasbeens. The little black #4 in front is only one year old and looks to have a promising future in the NFL! We're counting on you Barratt!

Every so often during the game when guys got a burst of energy the game turned into "flackle rugby" since most of the guys playing were former rugby players for the U. All in all it was a fun day and made everyone appreciate football that much more!
A huge thanks to our loyal fans Rosie and Julie! Thanks for the fun game guys and I look forward to next year!

A 12-0 Utah Man Am I!!!!!

I know the game happened almost a week ago but I had to post about how proud we are of our UTES 12-0 and BCS bound! We went to the game and wanted to share some pictures of the classic fans and shots from after the game! GO UTES!!!!

Is it Twilight Yet??

I can't wait for 14 Hours and 5 minutes from now....
(why I am awake and blogging at 8:00 am I have no idea!!!)

According to the Official Twilight Website that is how long I have to wait until Twilight!!!


I have been gearing up for it all week by listening to the soundtrack and watching
the trailers over and over... I am not excited or anything!
I know I may sound crazy but I am not the only one with this insane obsession...some cute ladies in my ward decided we should go to the midnight showing tonight so there are 7 of us going...leaving husbands and kids home! This girls' night will be a total blast!!!

Is it Twilight Yet?

Defying Gravity!

I thought I would let you all know the latest with Steve-o McDermott...

We got the BEST NEWS from Stevie's doctors in California...

Since his radiation treatment with the proton beam ended in August his tumor has had "slight" growth which is HUGE since he was going in for surgery every 6 months to de-bulk the tumor!! - He doesn't have to go to California until February because he is doing so well! He is still on the oxygen because of the damage the radiation did to his lungs but the amazing news about that is that the damage is COMPLETELY reversible!! YEAH!! We are all on Cloud 9!! Steve is really defying this thing they call cancer!!! He will be able to ski, scuba dive and play tennis with us in no time!!!

We love you Stevie!!

Thanks so much to all my amazing family and especially cute Lucy and Gavin for all your prayers on Steve's behalf! We aren't out of the woods yet but I know those prayers have been heard and answered!!!

P.S. Can you believe these are the only pictures we have of us with Steve?? We really need to step up our picture taking!!

Nothin' Better to Do!!

My husband should just never leave town... I am pathetic without him!!
I got home from work, then school, then visiting teaching (nothing like waiting until the end of the month!!!) to finally catch up on my e-mail and look at friend's blogs. That is not the pathetic part... oh, just wait...
I found a quiz on the Crookston's blog about what Disney princess Cori was and thought it would be way fun to see who I was...

SO...

45 minutes later I have found a great deal about myself and who I truly am...

Apparently if I were a Disney Princess I would be Jasmine, If I was a character in Alice in Wonderland I would be Alice, I am "no geek in sight" on the how geeky are you test (apparently the test had no idea it was the third quiz I had taken tonight to find my identity!!!)
if I were some shoes I would be high heels, and if I were a clothing line I would be Hollister...

...then my phone rang and I realized that I should find something more productive to do...
like BLOG!!!

I Wanna Be A Cowgirl, Baby

Last weekend my mom and I drove up to Montana to visit Christina and her new puppy Dash on the ranch and see, first hand, what Ranch life is really like!! We got up there on Thursday afternoon and stole Christina away from work then went to what my husband calls "the happiest place in the world" (and no, I don't mean Disney World...) COSTCO!! We got stuff for our Pumpkin Carving party with one of Chad's best friends, Brett Walker, and his cute kids before going to the pumpkin patch. We got to even go on a hay ride... fun stuff!!! So we carved pumpkins and had soup in the cutest ever bread bowls that had made the trip from Dan's since they are so cute and look like pumpkins..they even have the green handle on top!! The scary pumpkins I try to carve never look very good so I decided to take Martha Stewarts advice and carve flowers on it instead! To my disappointment, however not to my surprise, they did NOT look like Martha's!! And of course, my sister had to "one-up" me and make a very beautiful flower on hers... no daisy's for her!!! My cute mom stuck to the traditional jack-o-lantern idea with the square eyes, triangle nose and mouth with the teeth... you know the kind!!! They are getting so high-tech these days with the options for carving!! You can do Frankenstein or a princess or a Pirate... all beyond me!!!
After that we did the typical Girl's weekend stuff - shopping, eating, more shopping until early Sunday morning when the real ranching experience started...emphasis on the EARLY part!! The ranch hands had spent Saturday bringing down the cows and calf's for what they call "Shipping". The baby calfs get weighed and sold off... the more they weigh the more they cost apparently, and all the while the mamma cows are hanging out Moo-ing, being so sad!! My mom and I were "fence-sitters" while we watched Brett and Bob poke the calves onto the scale then Christina helped them close the doors behind them so that they could move on the to next leg of their journey... Quite a process!!! And SO dirty!! It had rained earlier on Sunday (before my mom and I had woken up to go out to the shipping party already going on outside!!) so that didn't help things in the dirty department! I will never understand how they can spend $350 or more on a pair of boots then be totally okay sloshing around in the mud and poop and everything else. I can tell you if I had $350 boots they would not get close to mud or poop...but that is totally cool to ranchers apparently!!! After the actual "shipping" process it was time for the mamma cows to have their turn... except they are not as lucky as just getting weighed then going on a ride on a big semitruck. No, the mamma cows get "preg-tested"...yes, exactly what you are thinking but it is, in fact, worse than you are thinking!! At least for the poor guy DOING the preg-testing!! I will spare you the details but the poor soul has a plastic or latex glove that goes almost to his shoulder... Yeah... Um... Yeah... he must have lost a bet at one point or another... that is the only thing I can think!! So while that is going on, one person is spraying them with something, another person is giving them a shot, and the last person is cutting their hair so that the tags show. It is quite a process and very interesting but I was totally cool being the fence sitter with my mom!! Actually, I would have loved to be on a horse - maybe next time I can be like a real Cowgirl!!!!
We had a fun weekend with Christina and can't wait until the next time we can go up... there is talk of a Ski trip to Big Sky in February! Hmmmm....!

Let It Rock...

For those of you who have taken an art history class and have a general understanding of fine art work I invite you to read on and appreciate. For those with limited knowledge and understanding of fine art work prepare yourself to be enlightened. Many of you may be familiar with the "Vitruvian Collection" by TMS Inc found at world-class museums and your local "TJ Max Home Goods" retailer.

The "Rock On" Statue

After countless wishes on shooting stars, fallen eyelashes and pennies found in parking lots across the nation my wish was granted...I found the Vitruvian "Rock On" piece at my very own TJ Max Home Goods. Alright, in all honestly I never knew this fine piece of artwork existed so my countless wishes were specifically for the "Rock On" sculpture but had I known it existed they would have been that I would find one. Needless to say upon its discovery I found myself in a vicious internal battle, "Would Rosie be angry that I purchased the statue?" and "If I did purchase it would she allow me to proudly display it?" I pondered over the little pamphlet that came with the statue that says,

"Rock on" (Corna in ancient Greece) was a gesture to ward off bad luck. In pop-culture, the gesture has been Widely used at rock concerts indicating a desire by fans to hear more music. The gesture was popularized by John Lennon, modern motion picture superheroes and sports fans meaning, "you rock!"

To summarize this several-minute ordeal my less logical side took over and I walked away without the sculpture wondering if I would ever see it again. When I returned home I told Rosie of my find to which she told me she needed to find a table at TJ Max so I asked her to see if by chance the treasured statue was still there. Upon arriving at the store, miraculously she found this magnificent sculpture! My sweet wife is extremely smart; she knew that if she were to purchase the statue it would allow her to purchase several other things she found in the course of her shopping excursion.

Upon her return home she informed me that I could proudly display the statue next to our TV in the front room. There it proudly stood...until one week ago when I was informed that my statue would be replaced with some seasonal wooden pumpkins. To which I informed Rosie that the "Rock On" symbol is timeless and will work for any season. Apparently my argument was not convincing enough to allow it to stay, so the statue is now found in the office, where it is more difficult for our visitors to appreciate.

After all, this artwork was inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci's, "Vitruvian Man" it is history and I want to allow others to appreciate it. If the statue is practically caged up in the office only Rosie and myself can appreciate it and I would feel bad that others missed out. So I come to those faithful readers of our blog to help me begin a petition to bring the state back to the front room by posting your belief that we should "Let it Rock" by the TV again.

The pumpkins that took the place of my statue!

If I Only Had a Brain

Rugby

Definition: Sport from England where players in a team of 15 attempt to score points by touching an ovid ball to the ground in the area past their opponent's territory known as the tryline or kicking the ball between goalposts and over a cross bar

Translation: Recreational activity from England where players, exhibiting irrationality and mental unsoundness, in a team of 15 attempt to score points by exerting brutal force against their opponents. (without the use of helmets or pads...which is where the irrationality & mental unsoundness come in!!!)

Example 1: Yes, they are running at each other at full speed....hmmmm....those are my husband's legs you can see peeking out through the midst of the bodies!


Example 2: Yes, that is my husband with the ball getting ready to pass it behind him to on of his other mentally unsound teammates before he is trampled and crushed!!

But really, I have grown to LOVE Rugby! (And not just because of the sweet short shorts!!! Ooh baby!! I remember the time when James was embarassed of the shorty shorts but the next thing you know, he is showing off his upper thigh wherever he can...at the grocery store, gas station... DMV!! Yes, I did say the DMV!!)
But Rugby is way fun! It definitely gets in your blood and I was excited to get to cheer on my husband again in the Utes vs. Utes Alumni game. James' eligibility was up last spring so he played on the alumni team against his younger brother and the present Utah Rugby team. The Utes were talking a lot of heat before the game only to be completely humiliated by the Out-of-Shape Alumni players in a 44-18 victory!! James only managed to bruise his pinky finger and thumb (what worries me is that he isn't sure when it happened!!!) while his poor little brother got a concussion! YIKES!

Rugby... Gotta Love It!!!

Keep Holding On...

Just over 2 weeks ago on August 28th, I woke up to a phone call from my mom telling me that my sisters Fiance, Chad Pierson, had been killed in a car accident 2 days before their wedding on their ranch in Montana.
http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2008/08/29/news/10fatal.txt
We were devastated to say the least and flew to Montana as planned to be there as a family for Christina. We spent the weekend together, along with Chad's family and friends and even planted a Silver Maple tree in the front yard of their home in honor of Chad. We helped a little but noticed most of the ranch hands watched as the "city folks" did most of the work!!! It is a beautiful tree and every time Christina looks out her bedroom window she will see it standing firm and hopefully help to give her the strength she needs to get through losing her best friend. The numbness and shock had not worn off by the day of the funeral, Wednesday September 3rd, but Christina needed to begin her healing process without everyone around so reluctantly we all left by September 4th. Since then she has been strong and is taking life day by day. Her advice to James and I is to never fight over the little things because in the big picture the little things are meaningless. Thanks Christina, we love you!!

After flying home from Montana I wasn't sure if I should still go on a Girls Trip I had planned with my James' mom Becky, sister Melissa and soon-to-be sister-in-law Bree Hansen to Disney World so soon after leaving my grieving sister in Montana. Becky told me that she had actually had a family trip to Disney World planned and decided that, although it was one day after her own father's funeral, they still went and it was the best thing for her in that circumstance. So I decided to go and ended up having a great time! The weather was beautiful, the company lovely, and it was the perfect getaway after such an emotional week! We stayed in the Boardwalk Villas that are just the best to stay in anytime you visit Disney World! I love the 1920's-1950's and it is totally themed for that time and it is just... Relaxing! We went to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party on Wednesday Night and there was NO ONE in the Magic Kingdom!! We walked right on to every ride and we watched the parade and fireworks and it was just so nice to not have a million people around!! Early September is the perfect time to go! We also hit our favorite restaurant in Disney's Hollywood Studios the Brown Derby as well as the fun rides in that park and then also went into Epcot for a few hours but mostly we slept in, laid in the sun by the pool drinking Shirley Temples and Pink Pony Lemonades and read great books and relaxed... Oh, and shopped of course!! And while I was gone my cute husband flew to Lagoona Beach for a work conference and stayed at the Surf & Sand Resort right on the beach...literally... so he also got a good break from reality for a few days!! Although I wish we would have been away from reality together instead of 3 time-zones apart!!

We got home yesterday and now I am just getting my life back in order to start working and going to school again after 2 and a half weeks off. I attended my first Utah Rugby game of the season today so that helped get me back into the swing of things but I am still reluctant to get too motivated... I still want to enjoy the next 2 days before the dreaded Monday!!! So much to do for both work and school that I almost don't know where to start but that's life!!! I will just keep holding on for the ride!!!

Party Like a Rock Star!!!

Happy 26th Birthday My Love!!

Today is my darling husband's 26th birthday and what is a better way to party on than to have a Rock Star Birthday??!! Melissa, Nate, Thomas and Bree are coming over tonight around 7:00 all dressed up like Rock Stars to surprise my very own Rock Star! (He has no idea what we are doing tonight and this is the first time I haven't given in and told him what I was planning!!!) I spent the day making a Rocker Guitar Cake with Stars which I totally put on my Zebra platter... what could be more 80's rock than that.... It looks SOOOO good but I don't know how to download pictures from the camera so I will wait until after I surprise my cute boy with it to have him help me!!! It is the first cake I have ever frosted and I must say it looks very official!!! Anyway, the night will be pretty simple... The family will come over then we will all be dressed up and go to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner then come back here and play Rock Band... and make a music video! haha!!! That was James' brilliant idea - he leaned over to me at church on Sunday right after the sacrament and said that he had the best idea... Make a Rock Band Music Video one of these days... I am so glad my husband is so spiritual and has these amazing inspirations just come to him!!! Especially at church!!! Ohhh James!!

Anyway, just thought I would write quick before we Rock Salt Lake City!!!


Happy Birthday Jimmy! Thanks for always making me so happy! I love you!

They Say It's Your Birthday...

This happens to be a belated post...but better late than never! My sweet wife celebrated her 23rd Birthday on Thursday, August 7th and what a day it was! We were able to make some new additions around the house followed by an Italian dinner at Cucina Toscana and cake and ice cream with family. She is such an amazing individual and I don't know what I would do without her. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I feel lucky to have taken part in her Birthday celebrations as her husband! Happy 23rd Birthday Babe! I love you Rosalie Anne McDermott and look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with you!

I wanna rock...

With the recent release of the Nintendo Wii version of the game "Rock Band" my life has been changed. I have come even closer than I had before with Guitar Hero to my dream of knowing what it feels like to be in a rock band! The exceptional game allows you to rock solo however it is much more fun when you create a band consisting of a drummer, guitar player and a lead singer. Once the band has been formed you go out on tour with a mission to rock the world! It is without question the best medicine for those who are sick of listening to the slow FM100 jams and craving a good time and real music! We have had many long nights playing the game with my family, however Rosie and I have decided to create our own band "JRO'CK." Our band is currently on tour playing a venue trying to save money for gas money so we can move on to the next city. I am not one to brag about the talent "JRO'CK" possesses but let it be known that we have earned 5 stars on all the songs we have played to this point. So if you ever have a case of the blues and need something to change your day...drop us a line and tell us, "I wanna rock!!!"

This Old House

So, James and I are just renting the house we live in right now but out landlords are seriously lacking in style and design! I would love to renovate and update more than the McDermott's did while we were on our honeymoon but my sweet husband likes to remind me that we don't own the house and we won't live here forever! He likes to think that will hold me over until we can move into a house we own and I can decorate it and make it lovely but I had the itch to do something... anything... to make this rental look any better!!! My parents are glad to have me out of the house since I seemed to get "itch's" to paint my bedroom at least once a year... Now James is the lucky one! The other day he made me promise I wouldn't paint... he made me say the words out loud to him too since he didn't believe me! So, luckily I was able to convince him that we should at least paint the old tin can looking silver screen on the front door (which is our next project... I am thinking new glass and a deeper stain...the orange look has got to go). While we were taking apart the screen door we also voted to paint the mailbox too since the white would clash with the newly painted and lovely black screen door (as lovely as any screen door could look at this place!!!) I am bummed we forgot to get "before" pic's but the "after" pic is sure to make Vern Yip from HGTV very proud!!!

Nothin' but a good time...

Contrary to what my mother says I believe I was raised on rock n’ roll. Being born in the early 80’s I was unable to attend the big hair bands of that day and rock with them. Fortunately for me those rock legends still play music the way it was meant to be played and are still around to tour. I have often dreamt of being a rock star but the nearest I have come to stardom at this point is passing the easy level of Guitar Hero. So until I learn to play a real guitar I will have to vicariously live through rock stars like Bret Michaels of Poison. Lucky for us it so happened that Bret was in town with the band last weekend to Rock Salt Lake City. I figured that since I surprised Rosie with a Poison t-shirt for Christmas has how her love for Poison has grown we were obligated to attend the concert for the second year in a row! The music was outstanding and the people watching came in a close second!! They definitely put on a show and will not disappoint, so don’t be afraid to rock with them when they visit a city near you. If you ever need someone to rock with please don’t hesitate to call. ROCK ON!

Welcome to the Jungle...via ebay

As many of you know my rugby career has unfortunately come to an end. In an effort to still enjoy my guy time and keep my testosterone levels high I decided to purchase a bowling ball and join a bowling league with my buddies. I came to the conclusion that you only buy one bowling ball in a life time so it is in my best interest to make it worth while. After coming to this conclusion I immediately began to search the internet far and wide to find "MY Ball." During the course of my search I joined Ebay due to my infatuation with a clear bowling ball that had a boxing glove in it and an etched signature of Sugar Ray Leonard on the outside. It was love at first sight and I was convinced it was meant to be. After carefully orchestrating a plan to win the ball with the help of two true Ebay masters my dad (Who will probably go down in Ebay archives as a legend, he's that good) and an associate at work I was convinced the ball was mine! I did as I was told and waited until 5 seconds was left to submit my max bid thinking I had won the prize...my heart was pounding and I was sure the ball was mine...however as the screen refreshed it informed me that I was not the highest bidder because my competition had set a higher max bid and won. I was indeed disappointed and so I continued my search with a heavy heart not only because I had fallen in love with the ball, but I had also lost my first Ebay bid ever! I though it was impossible to find another ball that could replace the boxing glove ball but much to my surpise I stumbled across a tiger striped ball that reminded me of something out of the 80's. For those of you who don't know I am a huge 80's fan and decided it was meant to be! I used my same strategy as before and ended up walking away as believe it or not...the only bidder and the winner of the "Tiger Striped Bowling Ball. " Since my purchase I have had the ball custom drilled and engraved with "Jimmy." I have taken her out for a prowl twice now and loved every second of it! The league or our excuse for guys night out does not start until mid September so fortunate for me I have some time to perfect my skills of crushing pins until then!

A Perfect Day for a Wedding!!

On June 5 2008 our cute cousin Kristy Welling married the love of her life Justin Green and we were honored to be apart of all the fun! Gene McDermott, James and Kristy's grandpa, sealed Kristy and Justin in the Salt Lake Temple and it was fun to hear again what was said when my sweet husband and I were sealed last year! It made much more sense to me and I could actually focus on what he was saying this time!!! I can't wait for the rest of the family to be sealed by Gene... how cool is that?? Kristy and Justin celebrated their special day at Log Haven! It was so beautifully decorated (The Welling's always have amazing decorations...I am just excited they are my family now too so that I can learn from them!!!) and the night just turned out to be perfect! Shaun Barrowes also sang at their reception just like ours and we loved being able to dance to his music again as husband and wife! We wish Kristy and Justin all the love and happiness marriage has to offer... We have sure loved being married!!!

In a New York Minute...

This past weekend we had the pleasure of visiting New York for a few short days to celebrate our sister in-law Heather's graduation from City College. She not only received her Masters Degree in Landscape Architecture, but was the recipient of the award for "Best Thesis." We loved being able to see family in New York and enjoy the "Big Apple" city life. Thanks to our local tour guides we ate extremely well at all classic local places. It was nice to relax and enjoy a great meal and some time to celebrate. During our time there we were able to find some time to visit a few of the sights, some of the highlights included the view from our Hotel of "Ground Zero," our visit to Central Park, Times Square, Brooklyn and The Gershwin Theater to see Wicked. The play incidentally was absolutely outstanding and we were so glad we were able to see it in such a fun place. In fact, Rosie was so crazy about it that she has concluded that we will have to visit several more time so that we can see Sam and Heather again along with more Broadway shows. It was a short trip but just enough to give you a well deserved break from the everyday routine.

1st Year Anniversary

We celebrated our first anniversary at our favorite resort in Midway... The Zermatt! James had compiled a CD with all of the songs in the order they were sung by Shawn Barrowes at our reception for us to listen to on our way up to Midway. It was such a fun surprise and I loved reminiscing with my darling husband of 1 year about what a perfect wedding day we had and the amazing year we have spent together! Seriously, if this is apparently the hardest year in a marriage then the rest of our lives will be cake and a total blast!!!

We spent the day, May 17th, shopping at the outlet malls in Park City then went to Midway! We walked around the resort since all the times we have been before we have either gotten there late or it was cold outside!! We were loving the sunshine but it was getting hot so we went to Backerei and Eis for some Gelato!... How Italian (even though James says it is beyond better actually in Italy)...maybe we can get the real stuff in Italy for our 2 year anniversary!! Then we played a round of Miniature Golf on their 18 hole course which, I must say I totally rocked at! But my sweet husband didn't score too far behind me... even though we weren't really supposed to be keeping score!!! The Zermatt is so fun! There is a spa and Tennis Courts and a huge outside chess board and a totally cool Merri-Go-Round! We were going to play tennis but it was getting close to the time for us to dress for dinner at Schneitter's which is totally delicious every time we eat there! It was All-American buffet night so we both enjoyed a "plethora" of good old American food and Shirley Temples. To recover from our food binge we went to relax in our favorite chairs by the indoor side of the pool and people watch! It was tattoo night apparently and you couldn't get in the pool unless you had a tat! Unfortuately James and I weren't able to stop in Midway's own Miami Ink Parlor before the Zermatt so we felt a little out of place! So we decided to finish celebrating our Anniversary on our own.....

We slept in this morning until 9:45 which is basically like sleeping until 3 in the afternoon by James' standards then got ready for Brunch at Schneitter's!!! Once again, Schnietter's outdid themselves and so did we!! How can you pass up the amazing crab legs after, of course, the breakfast essentials. It was a little too weird for me to eat crab at 10:30 in the morning unless I felt like I had eaten breakfast already. The food was off the hook and again we had to go lay by the pool for a few hours. It is amazing though how a few relaxing hours at the pool can leave your skin feeling like FIRE! Yeah, we will be feeling the wonderful time spent at the Zermatt for the next week!!! This was such a fun weekend away that we will remember forever!

Moustache May

Well the joyous occasion of "Moustache May" comes but once a year. I was fortunate enough to participate in the celebration for 48 hours. I had intentions of keeping my upper lip furry for much longer however I would have lost my wife and half my stuff had it stayed for any longer. It was exhilarating to enjoy the hair on my upper lip for that long. May I encourage you to give it a shot, grow a stache and know what it feels like to be a cop for a few days! Hair on the upper lip can be hip!