Winter Break

Since I (Greg) have been kind of a slacker in the blogging department, I figured that it was time to write about my winter break. I will, however, skip over most of what Megan has already blogged. So...

Over winter break I...

Sewed a bit (something I have not done since I was about 9 or 10!):
First, I made Megan a reversible tote bag which she already posted. I was originally going to buy her a bag, but couldn't find one that I liked, so I decided to make one instead. Given that I did not even know how to thread our sewing machine when I set out to make the bag, I must say that I am pleased with the way it turned out. Then, I decided to use some scrap fabric that Megan's sister Amy gave us to make an infant quilt (for the church to give to someone in need). It is only about 30''x30".


Went to Florida:
My dad took me to Florida with him to visit our good friends the Mullikins. We were gone 6 days, but spent two full days traveling. To kick off the trip, we got up at about 4 o'clock in the morning and had Jeff drive us to the Eugene airport. When we got there, we found out that our plane was unable to land due to fog and was therefore canceled. They told us that the only way to get to Florida was to drive to Portland, so Jeff came back and got us and brought us back to his place. We slept a few hours at Jeff's apartment, then he and Hilary drove us to the Portland airport (they were planning on driving to Washington to visit Brad's family that morning anyway). When we got to Portland they switched our flight schedule again and we only had about 20 minutes to get through security and down to our gate (which was the farthest away). So my dad and I had to run the entire way. When we got to the gate however, we realized that when the woman at the desk said we had 20 minutes, she meant that we had 20 minutes until the plane STARTED boarding. So we actually had another 20 minutes and decided to grab a bite to eat. So we bought some pizza, and as my dad was paying for it, he realized that he didn't have his driver's license. It was last seen at the security checkpoint, so we had to retrace our path (running and scouring the ground with our eyes). Luckily, they had his license at the security checkpoint and after proving it was his, my dad and I ran back to our gate and made it onto the plane. We flew to Phoenix where we had about an 8 hour layover, and I decided to call up a couple of mission buddies that live in the area. Luckily, one of them was just getting off work and only lived about 20 minutes from the airport, so he came and picked us up and we got to catch up, I got to meet his wife, my dad took us all to dinner, then we went to the Mesa Temple to see the Christmas Lights. Afterwards it was back to the airport, another hour and a half of waiting, before flying to Charleston, SC. Another 2 hour layover in Charleston, then we were on our way to Pensacola, FL. By the time we got to the Mullikin's house, we had been traveling for about 34 hours. We arrived with just enough time for us to say hello to everyone and take showers before rushing off to Julia Mullikin's wedding reception. And thus began our very exhausting trip.

It had been 2 years since I had seen my good friend, Dan, and over 4 years since I had seen his family, so it was good to catch up. Unfortunately, I had a sore throat the whole trip. Even so, we managed to have a lot of fun. Among other things, we went fishing, shot handguns, and ate plenty of southern food (I even ate my first bowl of cheese grits!). Well, I guess I have been rambling on long enough--hear are some pictures.

Joseph, Dan, Me, and Mark on our fishing excursion.

Me reeling in a real whopper!!

The Catch.

The Great Randini with the bait cooler.

The View from where we were fishing.

Even though we didn't catch anything edible it was still fun to be out in the open air and among friends. It was a cold, but beautiful night.

One of the best parts of the trip was that we were able to videotape Hyrum Mullikin (Dan's dad) telling old stories about when he was a kid (during the depression), and when he was a master diver for the Navy during WWII (he used those old metal diving helmets). One of his diving buddies came over one day and told some stories as well. Hyrum is now in his 80's and his health is beginning to fail him, but has led an incredible life. It was really neat to get a glimpse of it through his storytelling, and now his stories will be preserved for his family.

Was Sick:
I had a sore throat for about 3 weeks, and when it was finally starting to go away, I got an ear infection!! In an effort to recover quickly I tried to rest as much as I could. Which translates to: I read a lot, played a lot of video games, got the paperwork going for our visas (to Belgium), and slept a lot. To many of you this might sound like a wonderful break, and I have to admit it was not bad. However, with no job, no school, and 4 weeks of vacation, I was hoping to be a bit more active (and productive). In particular, I was hoping to record some music that I wrote a long time ago and never got around to recording. However, singing is kind of problematic with a sore throat. Oh well. There is always spring break or summer!

Disclaimer: I realize that this has probably not been the most interesting post, but if by chance you have made it this far, I congratulate you! Either you are a blogging addict, or a masochist! haha j/k.

P.S. for those of you who haven't heard yet, my brother Chris got his mission call just before Christmas. He is going to Bilbao, Spain!!! He leaves April 9.