Intro post

Julie and I met at BYU in 2002 -- we both ended up at the blues and poetry night, oddly enough. Well, not as odd for me...I grew up playing the tenor saxophone, mainly jazz and blues. Julie showed up with some friends.

And, lucky she did (for both of us, of course). I went to the event by myself, with my tenor saxophone, knowing that they would have an open mic at some point. Julie went with some friends. My roommates/friends at the time could not be persuaded to join me, because some of the girls in our dorm community (Heritage Halls) were having a Disney movie-thon. My friends were really cool guys, but don't ask me what makes a man opt out of live music in favor of Disney flicks (yes, I'm talking about cartoons). Nevermind -- I know the reason: Guys will do anything for the ladies...especially at BYU.

Well, I was no different. As soon as Julie sat down next to me at the blues and poetry gig, I was locked onto target. And, lucky me, so was she! When the stage opened up for a jam session, I was eager to swoon this girl with my incredible blues riffs. A vivid memory is still in my mind: I was on stage, playing blues in a really bad key for me (key of C, which is B-flat on the tenor sax, yuck). But, I didn't care -- I was watching Julie move out on the dance floor. And, she was watching me. Just six months later, we were married.

Somehow, I got into accounting, instead of music. A complete shift, since accounting is not free, creative, or really even that much fun; unlike music. But, it turned out that BYU has one of the best accounting programs in the U.S. I completed a master's degree in accounting, and I ultimately landed a good job with Ernst & Young, one the big ("Big Four") public accounting firms.

Julie, on the other hand, completed a bachelor's degree in civil engineering -- right up her alley. She worked with water resources (dams, reservoirs, canals...) with the Bureau of Reclamation. She got me through school. Then, we started expanding the family, beginning with Ethan in 2005. At that point, Julie quit work to be a full-time mommy; by no means is this an easy job. In August of this year, we added one more: Sienna. She's a beautiful little girl that finally brought some of daddy's gene's to the table.

People we meet now are sometimes surprised that we're both very multi-dimensional people. That is, I haven't always been the accountant-type, playing with Excel spreadsheets and analyzing financial information. And, Julie hasn't always been the mommy-type, dreaming of changing diapers and cleaning baby food off the walls and carpet. For us, this blog is like a little family journal; a way to share our interests and experiences with our friends and family. Enjoy!