R.I.P.

We lost a member of our family last week.

My trusty blue 1986 Ford Bronco II, my first car, the car of my adolescence, the car my brother drove me around in, the car we had countless adventures in, the car the accompanied us on (not a few) illegal endeavors, the car that Preston and I/Erin and I/Erica and I/Landon and I had long talks in, the car Jenna and I delivered cookies in, the car that took us to school dances, boy/girl parties, choir concerts, "random dates," Western Watts, and soccer games/tennis matches, the car that sat parked in front of my first apartment, the car I said goodbye to many friends in, the car that was ALWAYS cooler than the Trooper, the car that contains too many memories to count or name, has gone the way of all 23-year-old cars with 200,000+ miles on them.

When we moved to Utah, I couldn't bear to leave him, so we brought the Bronco with us. It turns out that the trip over Malad Pass was a little too much for him. The car started smoking and sputtering, and leaking transmission fluid faster than we could fill it up. We had to tow it, (courtesy of my father, brother, and generous uncle) all the way back to Salt Lake. Once he cooled down, the mechanic said he was just old, but fine, and we filled him back up with transmission fluid and went on our way. But he was never the same after that. He tried his hardest. He faithfully carted Landon to and from the Trax station almost daily for two years. He forgave us when we left him all alone at the parking lot a few times over night, in the cold. He let us tow him back and forth to the mechanic multiple times to cure his minor ailments. He tolerated  the newer (but not nearly as awesome) Cavalier.

Best of all, he hung onto life through the awful 4 months of my unemployment this summer. I don't know what we would have done without the Bronco during that time. And then, as if he knew we would now be ok, the Bronco died the week I found my new job and we decided to move to Provo, where having only one car is much more practical for us. It was a miracle. And I like to think the Bronco did it for us; a payback for all of the great memories we created together.

As much as it pains me to say it, we had to sell the Bronco to a junkyard. I fought it. We tried to sell it to someone who would use it, we tried to give it away to a loving family who would give it the tlc it needs, but there weren't any takers. Landon went with me to say goodbye, we cleaned out our belongings, and then...we let him go. And I confess I cried.

Goodbye, old friend. We will always remember you.

If you went to high school or college with me, and have any great memories of the Bronco, I invite you to post them as a comment.

The Wonderful Thing About Burgeners Is...

They just keep comin'!

We had so much fun with our family this weekend! Shopping, high-culture, lots of laughs, and a few surprises greeted us with the arrival of Friday. Despite the Cougars' dismal performance on the football field, we had a fabulous few days. We ate at Mimi's and Diegos (yum!), spent a 3-hour marathon at Ross and got in a little early Christmas shopping, and checked out the Victorian art display at BYU. After the clan left, we got a surprise visit from Dallin and his friend Michael Berger, who decided to crash at our place for the night. We were thrilled! You guys are welcome anytime.

Tomorrow heralds the arrival of the last Burgener for a long-awaited event:

But more on that as it comes...

Sewing 101

I was lucky enough to inherit this awesome sewing machine from my Grandma Jackson. The only problem is, I have no idea how to sew! I took a 4H class when I was about 12 years old, and I have on occasion made flannel pajamas for my friends. But it's been years...
This weekend, Landon was called out on an impromptu field work assignment, so I was left alone in my apartment for a few days. I pulled out the sewing machine, put it all together, figured out how to thread it, and attempted my first project:


They don't look like much, but it took me three hours to sew these! In case you can't tell, they're little baby shoes to give as a gift. Anyhow, for my first time, I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out. And I had a ton of fun doing it! I think I might have found myself a new hobby.

Millions of peaches, peaches for free!

My mom tells it like this:

"Abby called me up the other day and said 'Mom, I want to make jam, and I feel like that's something I should learn how to do from my mom. I want to come up conference weekend and make jam with you.' Kylie called 3 days later and said 'Mom, I thought the whole jam thing sounded like a good idea, so I fanagled myself some free peaches, looked up how to make jam on the internet, adapted it to a strawberry/peach combo, and man is it delicious!'"

Just a little insight into the way my personality differs from my sister's. Good thing we love each other!

It's true. My sister mentioned homemade freezer jam and my mouth watered. A woman that I work with was offering free peaches to anyone who would come and get them off her trees. So Landon and I went and filled two large boxes with amazing, fresh peaches. We then spent the next 4 days up to our elbows in peach juice as we peeled and sliced all of them (minus the several pounds that we just ate on the spot) and put them in our freezer. I would have loved to can them, but I lack the proper tools. Someday I am sure I'll get into that. Anyway, we also made several quarts of freezer jam. I was proud of myself because I found a recipe that didn't require sure-gel. I have to confess that stuff has always freaked me out. I mean, what IS it? No one seems to know... My recipe was all natural. Still full of sugar, but what are you gonna do, right? It's delicious. Our freezer is now so full of peaches that we have to slam it really hard to get it to close. We have already used one bag to make peach cobler for a FHE with Jesse and Catherine, and it turned out delicious! As an epilouge, I also went up to Idaho last weekend and made strawberry jam, so as not to miss out on the mother/daughter/sister bonding time. It's yummy too!

In addition to the jam-session, I was able to see one of my dearest friends this weekend. She brought her two kids up to my mom's house and we played and talked for hours. It was so fun! I don't keep in touch with that many of my high school friends. It felt great to have someone to talk things over with and just be goofy with. Friends are one of life's little gifts to us for making it through the daily grind, I think.

While I was in Idaho, Landon was in Laramie, WY, at the "Rocky Mt. Renezvous." It's a networking conference for Geologists. He had a blast and came home with a bag full of goodies, including T-shirts, a reading lamp, and a handfull of pens (you can never have too many). It was a great experience for him, and he made a lot of new friends. It's so crazy to think that he will be graduating in 7 and 1/2 months! It seems long and short simultaneously.

We are now looking forward to lots of family time in October: a visit from my parents next week, a possible trip to Yellowstone the week after, a Burgener business trip to Provo the next weekend, a visit from Miles a few days later, and then a trek up to Rexburg for Halloween! Woosh, I am tired and excited just reading that. Should be an eventful Fall!!

True Cougars

While we did nothing so dramatic as the Utah State ritual (yeah Trevor, I am still appalled by this), last weekend we got some of our friends together for a pilgrimage not to be missed by BYU students. Since Landon will be graduating in April - and there's a good chance of snow that time of year - we thought this might be our last chance to do something he's never done. We hiked the Y mountain! It's not much of a hike - a couple of miles straight uphill - but the view is really pretty, and hey, it's fun to say you've been! Here's proof of our new status as "True Cougars":

We got lucky - and a blast from Kylie's college past was in town from Florida - thanks so much for coming, Camille, it was so much fun to see you! I can't wait until our next random adventure!

Jesse and Catherine came too, and our good friend Jenna. Kyle missed out, because it was a ton of fun. After our escapade, we made a stop at the Creamery on Ninth - another Provo must do, and another first for Landon. We sure are loving living in Provo!

Going Green and Flying South

Ok folks... this is it... the big one... I know you have all been waiting. The rumors have been rampant, the suspense unbearable, the waiting acute. I am here to confirm it.

Yes, we have found a new job! (APPLAUSE)

Kylie is now proudly a UVU Wolverine! She is working for the Studios and Broadcast Services department. She gets to run cameras and is helping to develop a non-profit cable TV station for the school. She also does scheduling, billing, and whatever other tasks are needed. She's even been roped into an inauguration already. So far? It's a big hit. Awesome guys to work with, home at 5:20 every evening, 10 minute drive to work, and best of all....

We moved to Provo!

We live in a basement apartment near the temple. Every second has been fun. We love our new house (we get to paint walls and work with the yard when we want to), and we LOVE being close together every day. We've been able to participate in all kinds of school stuff for Landon, and our lives overall have become much less stressful. Less commuting, less working, less stressing about the economy, more time spent together = happy life! We miss our little place in West J - after all, it was our first real home and we have so many amazing memories there. But it is time for a new adventure. We have been so blessed through everything, and are grateful for amazing friends and family. Please come visit us, we'll be here all winter!

A Magical Week!

*Disclaimer: this post covers 9 days of the most memorable vacation in recorded history. There will be TONS of pictures. Believe it or not, I actually narrowed them down quite a bit. Consider yourself warned.

I am overdue on blogging (again). I missed a lot of events in the Burgener household (graduations, reunions, activities galore), but if I stop to try and catch up on all of them I'll never make it. So I'll have to be content with starting here and being more consistent in the future.

Thanks to the fiscal responsibility of my paternal grandparents and the generosity of my parents, we were blessed with the amazing opportunity to spend a week on vacation with my whole family (except my brother, who was very much missed) in DisneyWorld!! We still can't believe it. We keep talking about how we never thought we'd actually see the EPCOT dome with our own eyes. But see it we did!

The week was so fun, it can't be described entirely in words. We went on dozens of fast and furious rides, walked what seemed like hundreds of miles, saw a part of the country that we'd never seen before, crossed some things off our 'to do before I die' lists, and spent loads of time just being together. It was definitely something we'll remember forever. But, in the words of LeVar Burton, "you don't have to take my word for it..."

I see it! We're there!

Having a magical day...

The Tree of Life (Animal Kingdom)

Best restaurant in the whole world. We learned to hula, and watched fireworks, and saw a volcano, and ate amazing food, and stole the bread, and just generally caused a ruckus. What can we say? We're the Jackson five!

...I'm sure we deserved it.
Definitely met Mickey Mouse. What kind of a Disney trip would it be if we hadn't?
Dinosaurs were everywhere...I think this is what the celestial kingdom will look like when Landon gets there.

New Facebook picture anyone?

Sure Tom, you can call me Becky if you want to!
Singin' in the Rain (at Hollywood Studios)
Oh yes, we were really there. Did we see the space shuttle? Yes, yes we did.

Just for Erin!
On Sept. 9, 2009, we saw this same shuttle fly through space above our house. Crazy.
Don't tell Mickey we borrowed his hat.
Oh - so this is the other side of heaven!
Just for Kelly.
Just for fun.

Partway through the week, my parents gave us yet ANOTHER surprise. We went on a private cruise to watch the fireworks over Cinderella's castle. Probably the coolest thing I've ever done. Our boat captain's name was Roger, which was just too hilarious.
Awww...I always knew we were princesses! By the way, Snow White said I was wearing her favorite color, and it looked good on me. :) Made my day. Yes, I am 4 years old.

Proof we were there. (Epcot)

We also made a pilgrimage to the Lego store...can you tell this trip was a dream come true for Landon?
Our firstborn...Reginald, the Mammoth. He lives in our living room if you want to meet him.

Stella enjoying the Muppet 3D show.
Tiki room anyone?

Stella's favorite ride. 10 points if you know where we are.
Liberty Tavern in Magic Kingdom.

Getting ready to go on the Teacups with the master - my father.

If you made it to this point - wow! Thanks for looking at my pictures. I have the coolest parents in the world. We can't wait to go back someday!