Christmas Card.

Taking a break from my normal blogging thing to give you way too many details about my family. Sound cool?

Hope you all had a wonderful Holiday season with your families. Now get back to work.

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MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE PIERCE PALS!!! (sorry for yelling)

 

We’ve had a heckuva 2012. I (Wade) nominated myself to write to you all – our dearest friends and family – to fill you in on what we’ve been up to. (Dad wrote his and mom’s sections. I think my version was too “hip” – and inaccurate – to be acceptable for the family Christmas card)

 

Dad has had an interesting but rewarding year at CareSource with staff and customer changes.  The yogurt business is expanding in northeastern Indiana.  YoYo added two stores this year and the fourth opens in the spring near Indianapolis. 

Mom has also been doing her thing. She’s still teaching at the youngin’s school, and staying busy at Church.  She says it’s been a little weird and quiet around home since 3 graduated and left home this year.  Oh! And she keeps us posted regularly on how many days til summer vacation!!! She loves Yost! 

Bretton had a pretty big year. After graduation from the Art Institute in Chicago he moved back home. He now spends his days working in graphic design for DuPree’s Sports in Stillwater, and spends his evenings looking intimidating as a bouncer at one of the local watering holes. I’m more than a little bit jealous that he is close to everybody and back in Stillwater (GO POKES!).

My year was pretty dope (I say things like “dope” to keep me feeling young). I graduated 16^th grade from OSU in May, and decided to backpack through 13 different countries in Europe for six weeks. It ruled. After that, I moved to Kansas City and work at a medical software company called Cerner (call me, ladies -- I’m stable). After the start of the year I’ll be traveling full time. I’m a grown up (more or less). I pay bills and stuff. It sucks.

Leigha is halfway through her Junior year as a Chi Omega at Oklahoma State. She’s switched her major to art – and she’s… well… she’s pretty freakin’ good at it. She is increasingly involved on campus and in her sorority. And I like her. She’s cool.

Marianne’s year has also been exciting. She graduated from Mount St. Mary and joined her sister as a Chi-O at Oklahoma State – another Pierce in Stillwater (WE’RE TAKING OVER). She participated in a first place Freshman Follies singing/dancing show on campus (Leigha is also involved with Follies), and seems to have made a smooth transition to the college life.

Julia is in 7^th grade. She’s in show choir. She’s a teenager (whoa). She plays basketball, and tennis, and piano. She’s pretty. And tall. I’m starting to workout again so I can beat up all the boys she’s going to eventually try to date.

John Paul is super musical. He plays trumpet and piano. He also plays soccer and basketball. He reads – a lot. Like… I caught him reading the dictionary (I’m worried). He started a club – the “Immaturity Club.” I don’t know what it is, but it sounds cool and I want in. I don’t play him in chess anymore, because I can’t win.

That’s it from us. Hope this letter finds you well and ready for a wonderful 2013! WE LOVE YOU GUYS. THUNDER UP.

 

Love,

Larry, Kathy, Bretton, Me, Leigha, Marianne, Julia and JP.

 

 

 

 

 

Naked Guys Everywhere.

I think one of the things I miss most from my trip was the instability. It's pretty fun to have no idea what is going to happen. It's why people watch sports.

Unfortunately, my life no longer contains that type of excitement. My routine has become fairly predictable. I haven't even lost a sock in the laundry since July. I'm like an adult now. It's so stupid.

Anyway, the next stop on the trip was Italy (Rome/Vatican City, Cinque Terre, Florence). Vatican City is technically its own country. I think that’s pretty dumb, but since I’m Catholic, I let it slide. No use arguing with God about who owns his house, I guess.



Hiking in Cinque Terre, Italy.



Top 5 Things About Italy (and Vatican City):

5. Peepee’s everywhere.

I'd like to be a fly on the wall at a meeting with those Renaissance artists.

"What are you working on, Michelangelo?"
"Naked guy sculpture. How 'bout you, Leonardo?"
"Naked guy painting. Botacelli? Rafael?"
"Yeah. We're doing naked guys too."
"Nice. People are going to love this."

4. High-fiving the pope.

Didn’t actually happen. But it would’ve been pretty awesome.

3. The Shower/Spaceship/Nightclub.

I know this sounds stupid, but this was the coolest shower I've ever seen. I took a 30 minute shower and hadn't even finished playing with all of the buttons in it. It was incredible. It was the iPhone6 of showers, while my shower at home would be like a Motorola Razr.

2. Nunz.

They're everywhere and they're just delightful. I had remembered my friend Philip (hey, Phil!) telling me he made "nun-spotting" a game. It's pretty fun. I had a conversation with one of the nuns and she smelled like lavender (I mentioned that in in my journal......?) and so that's weird.

1. Lasagna.

Lasagna noodle chefs are the laziest of the noodle chefs. It's literally a sheet of noodle. Aside from the silent 'g' -- there's really nothing fancy about lasagna. It's simple. It's beautiful. And I ate all of it.

I like how the bonus cheese makes it look like it's exploding.



Worst thing about Italy:

Everything is pretty rundown. Like the Roman Forum? There’s just like chucks of rock on the ground everywhere. And they’ve done a terrible job with upkeep on the Coliseum. It looks like it’s been there for a pretty long time. Practically ruined.

(These are the jokes, folks. I know I'm not that funny.)

Have a great weekend, gang. I'm going to Montana.

Mexican Food.

Happy Thanksgiving Week, friends!

I thought about doing a "Top 5 Things I'm Thankful For" list -- but you guys already know how much I love Survivor, bears, high-fives, wolves and sausage... so what's the point? We'll just stick to the theme of the last few weeks...


I don't miss an opportunity to put a picture of a wolf on my blog.



Honestly, though, Spain was definitely a highlight of the trip. I think I'd put Barcelona in my top 2 or 3 favorite cities in the world, but that's a list for another day.
Top 5 Best Things about Spain:

5: Decipherable Language
I don't really speak Spanish because I never really enjoyed the classes in school and I couldn't ever get my hands on a bootleg copy of the Rosetta Stone CD-ROM set (apparently the target market for pirating websites isn't respectable travelers looking to learn a new language... weird), but I could pick up bits and pieces. The only word I really learned in France was "vin" (but to be fair, that was all I really wanted to know).

4: The Beach.
I saw an old man in a speedo conversing with very young women. What else do you need, really?

No. Seriously.

3: It isn't France.
People are just in a better mood in Spain. I don't know if it's looser marijuana laws or the fact that their women are better to look at, but it's true. Additionally, they nap a lot. So I guess that explains it?

2: La Sagrada Familia.
Coolest building I've ever seen. It looked like something Tim Burton would do with billions of dollars worth of creative animation. Walls looked like they were melting. Then they looked like they were made of colorful ice. The pillars looked like tree trunks. It was a million feet tall. The audio-tour guide sounded like a total babe. No complaints.

1: Best Mexican food ever.
(also, wine)

Worst Thing about Spain:
I can't be honest when I sing the song "Never Been to Spain" by Three Dog Night anymore. I used to love that song.



Go hug your mom and dad this holiday week (and tell 'em it's from me).