Marco Polo

I promised Toren a few weeks ago that I'd write a post about one of the greatest aspects of the summer for him: Marco Polo.

Before you assume you know what Marco Polo is, read on.

It's actually a hybrid version of the game you're familiar with. You know the basics: it's played in a swimming pool, one person yells "Marco," the others respond with "Polo," and the person who's IT (the "Marco") attempts to tag one of the others. The difference? The others must also try to tag the "Marco" without him tagging them at the same time. The others receive points for successfully tagging the "Marco." The first round ends when the "Marco" tags one of the others. The person tagged subtracts 3 points from their score, and round 2 begins. After the 3rd round ends the players tally their points and the person with the lowest number has a choice: become the new "Marco" or do a Nesty into the pool (a back flop). If the loser chooses to do a Nesty then they aren't penalized. However, if they chose to become the new "Marco" then they receive one Strike. If a player acquires three Strikes they are forced to do a Nesty. And that's the game.

The guys swear it's intense, and the other girls and I get a kick out of watching them play around in the pool like little boys. As long as the weather's nice and the pool's full, they'll play Marco Polo every day this summer.

They even have an official Marco Polo blog.

Oh, and did I mention that they play in Speedos? It's true. And disgusting.

Introducing Baxter Jack

We've got our little puppy! Thanks for all the participation in voting. Unfortunately, we had kind of already made our minds up. We decided to go with Baxter, though we usually just call him Bax. He's the cutest little puppy I've ever seen. So far he's been a delight. He gets a little hyper at times and he runs all over the house like a maniac and sometimes he decides to pee in the house, but we still love him.

We picked him up early Saturday morning from an Amish family, which means we were also able to drive though a little of the Amish country. It was great! I actually wanted to spend a little more time looking around but we had to get little Bax home.

I took him to the vet yesterday (his 2 month birthday) and he, of course, was very popular with the ladies. Everyone wanted to pet him and Bax didn't mind at all. He weighs exactly 6 pounds and he's a very healthy little dog.

So far he's slept with us every night. He likes to sprawl out and take up as much room as possible. I'll take some pictures of all the funny things he does, but for now I just have this one video.

25 hours, 1800 miles and 3 dead deer later....

We are in Ohio!!! We left Springville on Tuesday night (and I've been without the Internet since then) and drove to Denver. We left early the next morning and drove just outside of St. Louis. We finally finished the drive to Columbus the following day. Let me just say that it was awful! We drove both cars out so we both drove the whole way! For the most part, though, the drive was pretty scenic...if you like flat farmland. And, yes, we did see at least 3 dead deer along the way. Based on what we've done the last few days, I think I'm going to love it here. I'll add some pictures of our apartment on a later post.

Just in case...here's our new address:
Audrey and Toren Forsberg
2550 Farrel Drive #305
Columbus, Ohio 43235

The Biggest Loser

A few months ago after clicking through channels mindlessly I settled an episode of this season's Biggest Loser...and it was over for me. I quickly became a Biggest Loser Addict. I watched the show faithfully every Tuesday. And if for some reason I couldn't watch it, I had Toren download it for me the next day. I seriously couldn't get enough of it. I'm not sure what it is about that show, but I absolutely love it. Maybe it's because it motivates me to eat better and work out often. Or maybe it's because I feel inspired to do great things after watching normal people taking control of their lives and changing them for the better. Or maybe it's because after watching something so regularly you feel like these people are actually your friends....it's pathetic, I know.

Anyway, the last half of the season has been intensely competitive. First it was the black team against the blue team...and the blue team picked the black team off one-by-one. Then it was boys against girls...and the boys had to defend the "bond of brotherhood." And then Jay decided to sacrifice himself so his brother Mark could go on a win. It was all very emotional.

So, naturally, I desperately wanted one of the girls to win. And guess what....Ali did!! She lost a total of 112 pounds and I must say, she looks great. I can't WAIT until next season!

Gailey Family Visit

Last Wednesday my dad, sister (Laura), and brother (John) flew in to Salt Lake to enjoy some time with us, my grandparents, and go to conference. While Toren was in class all day Thursday, I drove up and spent time with them in Salt Lake. Laura, John and I went bowling (I killed them with a 109), and then we spent the rest of the time just hanging out with our grandparents. That night we drove back down to Springville (including my dad). They spent the night with us, and all 5 of us drove out to the Crater in Midway for some scuba diving.

Laura and John aren't certified yet, but they were able to do an experience scuba lesson. They loved it! We had a blast, too. The Crater is a natural hot springs, so it's almost like you're swimming in a bathtub that looks like a cave. It's pretty cool. After our dive we drove back up to Salt Lake and spent some more time with our grandparents.

Saturday we were back in Salt Lake to watch conference with everyone. Toren and John had tickets to watch the Priesthood session in the conference center that night. Laura and I dropped them off and then braved the mall. We were only able to put in about an hour of shopping before we nearly suffocated from pushing ourselves through all the crowds. It was insane!

After we picked the boys up we went back to our grandparent’s house and by this time many of our cousins, aunts and uncles had also arrived. We all ate dinner together and chatted. It was nice to catch up with family that we don’t see all the time.

We such a fun weekend that we had to spend most of today sleeping in order to recover (in between conferences, of course). We love spending time with family!

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We're Getting a Puppy!!

I've been begging Toren for months to let me get a puppy and he finally gave in. Actually, since we aren't allowed to have pets at the apartment we're living in he always had a good excuse to tell me no, but our new place in Ohio is pet friendly and he had no other good arguments. I'm thrilled! I've really needed a companion while he's at school all day, and I think it will only get worse over the summer.

So, we decided on a Beagle (Toren really wanted a French Bulldog, but I think bulldogs usually look like angry toads). We found an Amish family in Ohio that breeds dogs, including Beagles. We put a down payment on the cutest male and we'll be able to pick it up once we get out there.

We agreed on a few "normal" names, though Toren did offer up a few that just won't work (little killer, for example). Now we just need your help to narrow down the names. So make sure to vote for the one you think is best!

Six Months Down...Eternity to Go

Well, yesterday was our six month wedding anniversary. Some days it feels like the time has flown by and other days it feels like it's already been an eternity :). We're very happy though, and I love being married. Here are a few reasons why...

1. I have a permanent chauffeur.
2. I always have a date on the weekends.
3. I can shave my legs less and sometimes go without makeup.
4. I save tons of money on phone calls and text messages to him.
5. I don’t have to kill spiders or take the garbage out.
6. I don’t get scared at night anymore.
7. I have someone to scratch my back when I need it.
8. I don’t have to worry about my roommate wearing my clothes.
9. I’m becoming enlightened to BYU sports.
10. I don’t have to attend the Singles Ward anymore.