Technology, You Cruel Temptress

Between a severe Pinterest addiction, a new-found love for Twitter (@HilaryWolfley, in case you feel so inclined to follow me...), a fascination with Instagram, blog-stalking, and the usual email/facebook procrastination duo, I have been rather torn between mediums of social media communication.

How can I record my life when there are so many things to choose from?  Is it better to write clever or meaningful blog posts every once in awhile or should I stick with the daily 140 characters that describes a current event or emotion in my day?  Or maybe both?  What about candid pictures I take on Instagram that record something lovely or comical that might otherwise be forgotten?  And then my posterity can have the task of sorting through the odd bits of random data that is the life of Hilary and piece it together to get a life sketch?  OR maybe by then the internet will have been destroyed forever and it will all be for nothing?

... maybe I should go back to journaling the good old fashioned way.  

How Long Shall Ye Kick Against the Pricks?

After years of literary snobbery and mass media/cultural denial, I began reading the Harry Potter series. Although I missed the bandwagon by a few years, my faithful wife has turned the wagon around and has plucked me out of a self-induced wasteland. 

There are those who feel I have sold out. My esteemed friend/cousin Lane Wood is utterly disgusted with my recent conversion. In my defense, slabs of stone can only withstand the torrent of rushing waters so long. 

The best part of joining Pottermania is getting to participate in all of the references and jokes which continue to swarm the Internet. Now that we've almost finished the 5th book, I understand and appreciate hilarious jokes such as these:

I'd like to thank Hilary for making all of this possible. Reading these books has been a real treat. 

Don't Make Me Show You This Clip...

For all the musicians, dancers, and actors we know and  love.  May you never have a Christmas party like this one.

The Great Hawaiian Adventure

The cold of winter-- and our house-- has turned our minds back to warmer days, days when we were in Hawaii. We've been back almost a month but have failed to blog about it due to an unholy number of final exams, papers, projects, and a merciless taskmaster called the Rent.  But now we're free from everything but the Rent so that frees up a little more time for blogging. 

                                         

The Illustrious Max Burgraff and Ken Potts, along with their wives, joined us on the trip. Max was on the USS Nevada and Ken was on the USS Arizona on December 7, 1941. It was an enlightening experience to walk in historic places with true heroes from history. 

At the top of a Volcano!

Families can be awkward together forever. . . in the Hawaii Temple Visitor Center

It was also a lot of fun to be in Hawaii together. It was almost like a second honeymoon except for the fact that we became parents over night to 6 teenagers. We had great kids but we weren't great parents. Example: Count the number of children in this picture. 5 out of 6 isn't too bad right? 

Punchbowl Military Cemetary

The band touched hearts and melted faces wherever they went. 

We immersed ourselves in Hawaiian tourist culture and by the end we felt like Island Royalty. It was an excellent trip and we are so grateful to have had the opportunity to go.  We'd like to especially thank David and Natalie Fullmer for allowing us to come along as "staff" and for helping us have this wonderful experience. 

Semester In Review

Maybe we should blog?
Yeah...

It's crazy to think that this semestFINALS ARE DONEer is over.  I mean, it seems like just yestNO MORE TESTSerday that we were getting geared up to begin our new classes.  Amazing how time flies when you're workSERIOUSLY, NOTHING UNTIL JANUARYing hard and staying busy.

Here is our Semester in Review:

Halloween: Edgar Allan Poe and The Raven

Went to Hawaii (more on that amazing trip later)...

 ...and had six kids.  See our awkward family photo below (one kid missing).

Hil performed throughout the semester with Theatre Ballet and Pete rocked his classes and wowed his English professors with his mad writing skills. We both worked (Vivint and teaching ballet--betcha can guess who did what) and became addicted to Pinterest, our favorite TV shows, and Freakonomics.  

Now that we have a bit more time, expect the bloggin love!

Ron Swanson and Greatness

There are a lot of self-help books out there and I've read my fair share of them. But never again will I crack the cover of a book meant to improve me as an individual. This is my new plan to becoming a great man. 


I present unto you - The Swanson Pyramid of Greatness. 


Pay close attention to what he teaches you, especially about skim milk.  

Risk

I'm learning to take more risks.  It a slow process for me because I'm afraid of failure.  But how will we ever progress if we don't step outside of our comfort zone and stop listening to the negativity telling us we can't achieve?