We Should Be Models

A few days ago Talese and I walked into a small store near her house and were greeted by the shopkeep's verbal astonishment that such a beautiful couple would be found walking through the door of her small establishment as opposed to being on the cover of her favorite magazine, modeling the finest fashions and styles of the day. I too was similarly flummoxed. Talese, however, mused that it might be more likely she was merely trying to flatter us into a purchase. I still do not see even the slightest possibility that might be true.
The experience did get me pondering, though, on how a couple of small town kids like us could ascend to such lofty heights of style, wit, and sophistication.
To be honest with you, our large and faithful throng of avid readers, I don't know.
But perhaps it has something to do with the myriad opportunities we have living in a mecca of culture and progressive cosmopolitan ideals. As Talese has recently documented, we have been spotted by the paparazzi recently at such high-brow locations and events as Lagoon, the sheepdog competition/festival, the Utah State Fair, the Salt Lake County Fair and Demolition Derby, and Dana's hi-tech basement where we play Wii for hours and hours on end.
I guess with activities such as these, it should be no wonder to anyone why we choose to wander the quaint streets and shops of suburban Utah rather than spending tedious hours being photographed for publications of the latest vogue.

for fun

Greg and Talese are also trying to have some fun. This is what we have been doing lately.

Utah State Fair! A yearly tradition, no? Well, perhaps more of a decennary tradition for some. The best part of visiting the fair was this testimony-building story: Friday afternoon on September 14th, groups of ominous clouds were gathering in the sky. Certain parts of the valley were receiving masses of rain. After finding a rather terrific parking spot on the street, Greg and Talese began walking to the fair entrance, and found themselves facing a mass of black clouds spewing lightning bolts. It seemed those same clouds were headed toward the fair. "Should we go?" asked Talese, "It costs, like, 8 bucks." "Excuse me," a little lady shouted from her car window while waiting for us at the crosswalk, "are you going to the fair?" "Why yes, we are", replied Greg. "Here, take these" she added as she fished out two complimentary tickets to the Utah State Fair from her wallet. What an angel.

Talese got to see baby animals, some of her favorite things in the whole world, and also see how adult animals get inspired to make those baby animals--animal print lingerie:That's hot.

And who could forget the Salt Lake County Fair? Certainly not anyone that is a fan of a good old Demolition Derby! Thanks to my friend Ryan who organized that gathering. Coincidentally, this fair was also serenaded by claps of thunder and flashes of lightning, yet no rain. We enjoyed the cooler weather, the 'no guts, no glory' attitude of the drivers, and the snowcones.

for a living

Greg and Talese are trying to make some money. This is what we are doing right now.

Greg is a new lawyer. He graduated from BYU law school in May of 2006. He got his first job during the summer of 2006 working with a lawyer in St. George doing corporate litigation. This lawyer was closing down his practice, so in December of 2006 Greg moved back to Pleasant Grove to look for a new job and study for the bar. While looking for another law job, he started working for Installpro (satellite dish installation) in their warehouse. He took the bar in February, 2007. In April, 2007 we were happy to hear that he passed! Here he is at a 'happy birthday/congratulations on passing the bar' party with friends. This is obviously before he lost the "Jesus look" for job interviews. And here is Greg with his mother, who is mostly beaming with pride that her son finally cut his hair, shaved his beard, and put on a suit. But also mostly, she is proud that he was just sworn in by the Utah bar as a lawyer. Now Greg is working for a small family law firm in Orem, and still working mornings at Installpro in the warehouse. Yes, he is working 11-12 hour days, plus another 3 hours at the gym, and spare time on Saturdays helping his parents prepare their house to sell. The man is a work horse. And he has the body to prove it.

Talese just started her sixth year at East High School as the Community Education Manager. A random and confusing title, indeed. Basically, she administrates over activities that take place during out of school hours. At East High, specifically, she runs open gym during lunch for the students, she runs the make-up credit program after school for students that have failed classes, and in the evenings she runs enrichment classes for adults like pottery, auto body, and Italian. Here she is with two of her favorite students she saw grow from Freshman to graduation. Talese also dances professionally when she can. She spent 7 1/2 months in 2006 dancing on the "Norwegian Sun" cruise ship in their production shows. Here she is admiring part of the set for their Latin production show "Que Noche". This year, she will be dancing with the Radio City Rockettes in Nashville for the holiday season. Many people don't know that the Radio City Rockettes have expanded to perform in many other cities across the U.S. They have! This year is the 75th anniversary of the Rockettes, and Talese was able to participate in a photo shoot for a soon-to-be-published coffee table book about The Rockettes for this anniversary year. She went to NYC in August and got to pose for cameras in three of their vintage costumes. Here is the 'snowflake' costume: