Comic Con 2016

Something that has taken me years to understand and fully appreciate is that I am a nerd! 

I think I was always secretly one, but then I married Garett and this whole new side of crazy came out.

I now play PC games like League of Legends and Borderlands 2 with Garett.

I follow League's World tournament like other people follow football.

We also love Nintendo and their family oriented fun.

We watch normal shows, but also anime which can be pretty cool.

I am part of 2 Facebook groups: Gaming Mommies and Legit Lady Gamers and that is the best thing about Facebook anymore.

Garett and I have played D&D with friends and I had an incredibly awesome Dragon disciple bard.(yeah you had never even imagined that combo before had you?)

I read fantasy and I read 26 of the 28 Shannara books by Terry Brooks this summer in the course of 5 months. (I can't believe I did that either!)

So yes I am a big hearted geek nerd and I love it!

This all culminated to bring about us going to Salt Lake Comic Con this year!

To be fair Mark Hamill and William Shatner were speaking and how on earth could I live with myself if I didn't go to that????

(If you don't know who they are, just letting you know, you are breaking my heart.)

Over 10,000 people showed up to hear Mark Hamill speak and let me tell you it was worth it!

He was hilarious, fun and humble oddly enough. You would think playing one of the most famous roles in film, that it would get to his head, but no he's an older guy who just happens to be famous.

He even brought his dog on stage and talked to a crowded room like we were all just sitting in his home talking over lunch. He is truly a remarkable man (no pun intended).

Shatner on the other hand is a straight up comedian who does not take himself seriously at all.

He's had his career and seems content to just laugh off the rest of his life. 

Now onto the good stuff....the actual Comic Con!

It was amazing. It's like Disneyland for nerdy adults!

People dress up and it's really cool! The more people get into it the cooler it is! We got a few pictures of people, but most of them are on here. 

We took UTA down to Comic Con and it was fun to see all the cosplayers on the train. 

Also a shout out to Taryn for recommending the multiday pass, because you cannot see it all in one go.

There were hundreds of booths with an artists section, and then tons of vendors for authors and people selling cool stuff like this shirt:

We took the picture and posted it on instagram and then showed it to the vendor to get a free Midna poster (not pictured on here).

Gosh we just wanted to buy everything!

The few treasures we did find though:

A shardblade necklace from the Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson

(This series will be going on for at least another 14+ years so if you want a finished series I recommend waiting another decade or 2.)

If you can name all 3 of these shows/movies (below) then you are a true anime nerd.

For everyone else from left to right:

Princess Mononoke by Miyazaki (an environmentally friendly movie, not as cutesy as his other movies)

Beyond the Boundary (a cool short show about girl with a blood sword hunting creatures, mostly humorous)

Erased (NOT HUMOROUS, about a guy that goes back in time to when he is 11 to try to stop a serial killer, still ongoing)

P.S. These were my favorite artists! This guy does the mock ups and then his girlfriend does the digital renderings and they were all beautiful. It was difficult to narrow it down to 3.

We also got these (below) for Joshua's room and I am in love!

This guy prints his pictures on the same paper he does his originals so they keep all their colorful glory!

They are watercolors of Miyazaki movies and some of my favorites.

Left to right:

Kiki's Delivery Service

My Neighbor Totoro

Howl's Moving Castle

Not pictured:

2 post-apocalyptic books by this cool new author J Kowallis called the Enertia Trials. 

We walked around to lots of author's tables and most of them told us what they thought we wanted to hear, but she told us what she loved about the books and really just sold them to us through her telling.

We later found out she was the author and happily bought the books. They are a distopia but with actual adults (around 30's I think) because she was tired of teenage angst and I appreciated that. 

I haven't had a chance to read them yet, but I can't wait. Garett has liked them a lot and that's a big deal so I look forward to letting you know how it goes.

I put lots of links throughout this post so if you want to learn more about anything you can find it through the links or google it. 

We had a blast and would recommend Comic Con to anyone whether you be a closet nerd or a scream and shout it kind of nerd. 

Love y'all!

Megan

"Go Go"

Guess what!

We moved about a month ago!

There are still no pictures of our apartment because it is never clean during the daylight hours, which is truly a shame because we get some great natural light here.

One morning I will be proactive before Joshua wakes up and destroys my hard work and take pictures of our new home.

In the midst of moving and unpacking we decided to take a 24 hour trip up to Idaho to see our niece get baptized.

Despite being completely exhausted from leaving at 4:30 in the morning to make it on time (if but barely) we had a blast!

Garett and I are in love with Idaho and going back is always a treat. 

Getting to see family was the icing on the cake and getting to play in the river was the sprinkles on top of it all.

Joshua warmed up to all his cousins and aunts effortlessly (probably uncles too but I wasn't always paying attention) and of course his grandparents. He found out one of his cousins would carry him around and take him outside so I think they are probably best friends now.

Then to top it all off we got to play in a river!

I thought Joshua was going to die of happiness from splashing around and throwing the biggest rocks he could find. (Note the HUGE diaper full of water and rock in his hand. We didn't bring any pool diapers so he got to enjoy an incredibly heavy diaper full of water, it was almost as big as him by time we changed him)

It was a nice, but a fast trip. The weather was perfect and the company was wonderful.

Since then we have been working on settling into our new routine. Garett works evenings which is an adjustment, but probably for the best. We all kind of get grumpy in the evenings, but when it is just Joshua and I we handle being grumpy a little better together. 

Though since we've been here Joshua has become even more of an angel 

(I didn't think it was possible!)

The pictures are from this past week where Garett has been teaching Joshua (and me) how to long board. Apparently I ride goofy (meaning I ride with my right foot forward). Garett rides normal, but kicks mongo (meaning he pushes off with his front foot instead of his back which is much harder and awkward) 

It is Joshua's new favorite thing and he would make Garett ride around the parking lot all day if he could. Sadly daddy gets tired after awhile, but we have lots of fun when we can.

Having settled in I have decided children are a lot like fish. They need the proper sized living quarters for their energy and growth.

We just came from being with family that has a nice sized house, to a 2 bedroom apartment.

This means our small fry goes a bit stir crazy when there isn't enough to explore. 

We have 2 options to help with this.

The 1st is we have a balcony which is lovely and easy to access (only downfall right now are the bars are not as close together as I would like, but we are getting some netting for my peace of mind).

The 2nd is taking walks to the playground or the nice big lawn over by the church (depending on the heat and mommy's energy levels).

The other day we took his cart with us on our walk which ended up with him pushing for the 1st block and then me carrying him and his cart the rest of the time. Oh well, it was still fun.

Joshua is learning lots of new words lately.

His favorites are Eye Brow

"I" which means yes (we have decided he is a pirate)

"Go go" from the Dr. Suess Cat in the Hat show

"Dog dog"

"Ding ding" from trolley on Daniel Tiger 

and "bye bye"

He also said his first sentence yesterday which was "Go bye bye" when we had to leave the play ground and he kept saying it as we walked away. 

To be fair we were at the play ground for a long time and it was nearing bedtime.

Overall this move has been great for us. Joshua has been better behaved, mornings are now family cuddle time while we watch cartoons together and snuggles are frequent. 

Joshua is learning to help more around the house including turning his sound machine and night light on and off at the beginning and end of each nap/bedtime/morning which actually makes putting him to bed much easier.

We still don't have everything down perfectly, but we're getting there one day at a time.

I'll leave you with a fun video of Joshua and Garett riding the long

board together.

-Megan