Pictures

This is Blake's first dive off the dock there at Lake Geneva. If you can look past the brilliant light that is emanating from my torso you'll notice a look of sheer surprise and wonder at the flailing individual in front of me.



So I have a lot of shirtless pictures of Blake, that's not weird....

-Ben

The Puddle

One morning in the geographic region of Switzerland Blake and I were making our way up to the train that we had to catch each morning just up the hill from our Hotel. I happened to discover something unusual on the right hand side of the road. I went to investigate, and puzzled over it for a moment until Blake let me know just what it was.
Blake forces out the words, "Dude, it's puke."
I recoil and return to our journey. Blake, I'm afraid, didn't recover quite so quickly. I continued to talk about the discovery much to Blake's dismay.
I say, "Man, the color of that, looked like fur..."
Blake whispers, "Dude, (Dry Heave) please no..."
He takes a deep breath and says, "I'll, (Dry Heave) be fine as soon as we (Dry Heave) get to the train..."
He continues, "That shiz is so (Dry Heave) nasty, someone (Dry Heave, Dry Heave) must have partied too long last night."
I mention "Dude, I think those were chunks of Dominiques bread in there!"
"(Dry Heave, Dry Heave, Dry Heave) DUDE!"
Blake did make it to the Train that morning without expelling any of his breakfast. Weak stomach, but strong will. Here's a picture of him fully recovered.


Here's another for posterity. I've put this as my desktop background.

Much Love,
Ben Evjen

More on Zombies

Hey Blake,
Happy 30 days of Blake! :)
I didn't know that you were a big zombie fan until I read about it on this blog. Everything I know about zombies I learned from the Jonathan Coulton song "Re: Your Brains" and this video that some friends from my old singles ward made. I figured you might enjoy the video, and that Becca can learn some zombie uprising survival skills that could prolong your lives when the zombies try to get you.
Happy Birthday!

Mission: Vienna, Austria

Many of you probably know that Blake was a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Vienna, Austria some 10 years ago.

Here he is with his Grandparents at the airport, saying goodbye. Grandma Williams was a big support to him, writing letters twice a week. She provided him a constant supply of Kool-aid; the packets were light and small enough to send in an envelope.

He decorated the envelopes he sent home. His parents were delighted and kept them, obviously.

He is pictured here arriving in Austria with President and Sister Mangelson. They have been a constant source of support and encouragement to Blake since he's been home. President Mangelson married us last year, which was such an honor.

One of the "highlights" of Blake's mission was the Milka challenge. He was supposed to have eaten 1500 grams of chocolate in an hour. You can see the results below. Oh, the things missionaries do for fun!

He also learned to love schnitzel, which is ok by me. We make it at home every couple of months and it is sooo good. If you ever want to come over for schnitzel, we'd be happy to cook up a batch for you!

Background Noise

Blake likes background noise. He likes to have music playing or a podcast, movie, or TV show running at all times. His work is such that he can listen to whatever he likes during the day. A full-time job makes for a lot of music and podcasts in a week. He gets more use out of his iPod than anyone else I know.

He's always looking for new stuff, and his tastes are quite diverse. Do you know any shows or podcasts or bands you think he should know about?

Tell him about it in the comments!

Tired Dance

I just shared a video of Blake from our trip to Mexico. Because this is his birthday, I decided I should give him presents and not just post embarrassing or funny things about him.

So, Blake, because I love you, I'm sharing the video of my tired dance.

This is at the Mexico City Airport during a 6 hour layover, with very little sleep.

I'm a panther

When we were in the Mexican jungle on our honeymoon, we thought we'd heard a panther. We were in the parking lot at Chichen Itza. The area was all mystical and ancient and surely protected by a mythical panther. It was very scary.

Then, I discovered it was just Blake.

"I'm a panther" is the ringtone on my phone when Blake calls. It still makes me laugh every time.

Unhappy Hipsters

This is from a website that I thought Blake might like. The comments on the pictures kill me!

Daddy was making them watch yet another documentary on the impact of Bauhaus on American architecture.

Disneyland, the more current years

Blake may have fallen in love with Disneyland in his younger days, but the love affair has continued passionately into adulthood.

It's a place where he can go to reunite with his childhood friends.

And initiate new family members to family traditions.

This night was awesome. We rode Splash Mountain 3 or 4 times in a row, without getting out of the log. It's not such a popular ride at night in the winter. That was also the night we discovered the creepy real-live guy who watches the logs go by. Scares me every time now.

I'm sure the Disney love will continue down the generations. How could it not? For our kids, it'll be the place their parents got engaged.

Disneyland, the early years

Blake's experiences at and love of Disneyland started young.

He's the little guy on the left of Eeyore.

He's working so hard to get the sword out of the stone! Blake's mom said they had to stay around for about an hour because Blake was just sure he was going to be the one to do it. Can you see the determination and excitement on his face? It just delights me!

Blake loved his Mickey Mouse sweatshirt. His parents say he practically lived in it for a whole year. This picture is from Blake's 4th birthday. His parents drove all over the Salt Lake Valley looking for a Mickey Mouse cake mold. They found one and baked this cake at home for him. Blake's brother Trevor was born that same night. (That's right, they share a birthday.) When we look at this picture or talk about his birthday, Blake always points out that his parents did all this for him while preparing for a new baby. He speaks with awe about how his mom baked and decorated a special cake for him on the same day that she gave birth to his brother. He knew he was loved.

Graphic Design

I know I've mentioned before that Blake is creative and is inspired by others' creativity. I also shared the pic of his first graphic art. And today, I invite you to see for yourself what Blake can do.

His portfolio and website (which he created himself) can be found here.

Be sure to check out the about section. It makes me laugh.

My favorite piece is the collage portrait Blake created for me as a wedding gift. It can be found under illustration in the work section.

My mom is partial to the Dance-off in the found under web in the work section.

His talent impresses me. Blake is a hard worker and is constantly seeking to improve his skills. I admire that about him.

Hampster Band

I know posts about Blake are probably most interesting to all you party guests, but some of these things Blake likes are also part of the fun.

Perhaps you've seen this before. I was introduced to it today, and it made me laugh out loud . . . at home . . . by myself. And now, for your entertainment pleasure :

The Chainsaw Massacre . . . well, incident

Injury stories are always nice. In my family, the story of how my Grandpa Hook lost his hand (which was later replaced by a hook, obviously) was a family favorite.

In Blake's family the injury story that I've heard repeated is the chainsaw incident. Not having been there, I'm a little fuzzy on the details. Feel free to add info or set the record straight in the comments.

When Blake was about 15, he and his older brother were in the backyard with a chainsaw. I believe Ian was cutting a slice off the end of a log or stump to make a table or something. Blake's help was enlisted to steady the log. Somehow a lack of communication and planning and thinking resulted in the chainsaw and Blake's hand meeting, and it wasn't pretty. Sorry, no pics on this one. I guess Blake was too busy bleeding and Ian was too busy driving Blake to the hospital for them to stop and record anything for posterity.

Blake almost his thumb, and has some pretty cool looking scars across his right palm.

Again, I'm fuzzy on the details, but Arby's was involved somehow. Maybe that's what Blake wanted to eat when it was all said and done. (?)

So, let that be a lesson to you: Don't play with chainsaws. But if you do, bring a camera and stop for curly fries on the way home.

Broken Arm

When Blake was a wee lad he broke his arm. He fell off the couch. It seems to me that whether he fell on his own or was helped along by his brother is still up for debate.

The first time I saw this picture, Blake was careful to point out that this was likely his first graphic art. That's probably what the big smile is about; he's so proud of himself. ;)

Axe Cop

Blake likes comics. We have established this already. Today he was excited to show me Axe Cop. It's a comic written by a 5 year-old and illustrated by his 29 year-old brother. The writing is awesome. You can see all the episodes here.

Check out episode 1:

A Good Man

I recall a story Blake once told me about the time when he was courting Becca. It went something like this: He was once along time ago a young gentleman and she was a young maiden lady from down South. Blake claimed to be a very good-looking man and so much a gentleman that he brought her a watermelon every Saturday afternoon with his initials cut in it, E. A. T. Well, one Saturday he brought the watermelon and there was nobody at home and he left it on the front porch and returned home in his buggy to, but she never got the watermelon, he said, because a dim local boy ate it when he saw the initials, E. A. T. !

Moleskine Sketchbooks

Blake's preferred brand of sketchbook is Moleskine. He was all excited the other day to show me this video starring a Moleskine sketchbook, and then the same video showed up today on Zoomdoggle. I decided it was a sign that it should be featured at Blake's birthday party.

PUPPIES & BABIES!

One crisp Fall day me and Blake were taking one our many, many autumn walks when we happened upon a puppy with a broken leg. Now me being me I was prepared to leave the puppy in the dumpster and just keep walking, but no not Blake. Not Blake. Blake unbuttoned his yellow wool cardigan and gently raised the infant canine to his chest and allowed the baby animal to gorge itself on the milk from his superfluous right nipple. Oh and that animal drank, it drank of the creamy Blake milk until it could stretch its newly mended leg into the day sun.

Blake set the beast down and we both watched as the animal trotted and romped as if it had no memory of the injury at all. The adorable puppy played and danced, danced and played right into on coming traffic. No matter, Blake gently scooped up the bloody, quivering, adorable mess and started squeezing miracle milk from his superfluous left nipple into the mongrels broken mouth. Through my own tear streaked eyes I saw the puppy transmorph into a full grown dog and rip the throat from the driver that hit it. Blake would have saved the wretched driver as well but alas he needed the remainder of his precious milk to clean the blood off of his beautiful yellow wool cardigan sweater.

At this time me and Blake noticed that actor/Trappers owner Bill Murray had been watching him, jaw agape, for the entire duration of the incident. Blake just slapped his hands down on the Ghostbuster/failed minor league baseball team owner's shoulders, looked deep into his eyes and told him "No one will ever believe this".

Happy birthday friend!

Creativity

Blake likes creativity. I like how excited he gets to see the exciting and creative things other people are doing. Yesterday I shared a video with him, and now here's a video he shared with me. Creativity is inspiring. Blake is creative. Therefore Blake=inspiring. ;)

parkour motion reel from saggyarmpit on Vimeo.

Awesome video

I saw this video the other day and wanted to show it to Blake. His birthday blog is the perfect place! Enjoy.

Zoomdoggle

Blake introduced me to a great blog: Zoomdoggle.com. It claims to be "more fun than work."

Jake, the blog's author, posts links to fun videos, cool projects, creative people, and time-wasting games.

I found this MacBook cover called a BookBook on Zoomdoggle today. It's something I think Blake might enjoy.

(I know some of the pics are posting off the margin, but I don't have the time to figure it out.)

Things I like about Blake

I was thinking a while back about the things I like about Blake. I realized that, as his wife, the things I like about him are probably different from the things other people like about him.

I love how sensitive he is to me. He is willing to help me and support me like no one else I know. He listens. He helps me draft emails and create resumes and solve problems. He's also snuggly and kissy. I like those things too.

So I was wondering, what do you like about Blake?

(Leave a comment below. If you haven't done it before, don't worry, it's easy. Just click on "comments" and a box will open up where you can type whatever you want. When you're done, click "post comment." The comments are emailed to Blake, so he'll get to read what you write.)

Glasses

I don't know if you knew or not, but Blake wears glasses. I really like his glasses. They're stylish and make him look quite debonair. He doesn't like them as much, and this is the only picture I can find of Blake in his current glasses.


He's a little self-conscious about his glasses (but don't tell him that I told you that!). After seeing these next pics, you might understand why. Blake's parents sent these photos with the explanation that they came from "the bigger the glasses the better years." (Their words, not mine.)
I still think he's adorable. Although I do have to confess that these pictures give me the giggles, just a little bit. He was very excited to get contacts:


I would like to take this opportunity to point out another great Blake characteristic: he has awesome hair. (Seriously, look back at any of the other pictures, his hair is always in style.) Always and forever.

Waffles

Blake loves waffles.


When we were creating our wedding registry we were sure to put a waffle iron on there. We got this really cool one that doubles as a sandwich maker. It has two sets of removable plates, which is nice because it cuts down on storage space. AH! Tangent!

Back to Blake . . . in our experimenting over the last year or so, we have discovered that Krusteaz instant mix makes the best waffles, that is of all the instant mixes we've tried. I'm sure scratch would be better, but when you're hungry nothing beats just-add-water. Starting to ramble! Keep it together, self.


Point: Blake loves waffles. He was excited when I shared this with him yesterday. It's a blog that posts answers to the age-old question "Will it waffle?" They make things like s'mores and hashbrowns and bread pudding in a waffle iron! Will we be trying these things? Yes, we will!

School Pics

Blake's Kindergarten picture:



First grade:
If I were a teacher, I would definitely want him in my class. I'm hoping that if we ever have a little boy, he will look just like Blake--so cute.

Looking at these pictures, I noticed that Blake's sense of style has remained fairly stable. He has at least two sweater vests and several collared shirts hanging in the closet right now. He just wore the argyle sweater vest to church last Sunday!

Best Friends

Another great thing about Blake is that he is a good friend. He's loyal and accepting. He always has such complimentary things to say about his friends and makes time for them when he can.

Blake is also supportive of me making new friends and maintaining my current friendships. It might be a small thing, but it means a lot to me.

We have recently started celebrating how Blake and I have become each others' best friends. (Sorry to all our previous best friends, you've been demoted, but only slightly.) Last night we took a quiz together from a book about building a strong marriage. The point of the quiz/game was to see how well you know each other. There was a little points system to help make it fun and competitive. Except for us it wasn't so competitive. We ended with exactly the same score! Maybe we know each other too well . . . NAH!

We're just BEST FRIENDS!

Zombies

For reasons that remain mysterious to his wife, Blake LOVES Zombies.


Last Halloween Blake geeked out about a guest on a podcast he subscribes to who was a Zombie expert. The guest talked about this history of Zombies and Zombie lore. Blake was enthralled.

He also loves Zombie movies and Zombie video games.


Occasionally, he will try to engage me in a hypothetical conversation about how we would survive a Zombie apocalypse. I don't even attempt to play along, because I don't know how and also because I don't think I could possibly care less about Zombie lore or a hypothetical Zombie apocalypse (I'm so unfamiliar that I had to learn how to spell "apocalypse" in order to write this post). However, in the spirit of giving and as my 6th day of Blake gift, I will attempt to explain how I see Blake and I surviving a Zombie apocalypse.


Um . . . how do Zombie stories start? (Insert typical beginning here.)

Blake will realize that a Zombie apocalypse is underway and will be somewhat excitedly putting his carefully crafted plan into place. There will likely be a stockpile of guns involved and maybe an axe or two. We will undoubtedly take refuge in the mall around the corner from our house. I know this is a good place to increase your chances of survival during a Zombie apocalypse because there are lots of supplies inside--food, clothing, weaponry--and has lots of locking doors to keep Zombies at bay should they make it inside the mall. (Blake taught me that!)

Being completely ignorant (almost) of all things Zombie, I will likely make some kind of rookie mistake and become a victim of the Zombies. I will somehow trick Blake into letting me bite him or have access to his brains. This shouldn't be too difficult, because I currently bite to show my love AND whenever we say the same thing at the same time we joke about being in each others' brains. So, I would just have to anticipate what Blake might be thinking or feeling and thus give myself access to his brains. Once I have turned him into a Zombie, we will live Zombily ever after in Bloomingdales.

Travel

Blake loves traveling, which is good for me, because I do too.

He's lived most of his life in Utah except for 2 years as a missionary in Austria and the most recent 4 months in California with me. However, his sense of adventure has taken him to many places.


In his first 30 years, Blake has visited Europe: Rome, Paris, London, Switzerland, and Vienna, of course. His travels have taken him to New York, Washington DC, Orlando, Seattle, Alberta, Kauai, Cancun, and all over the Intermountain West.


In the next 30 years we hope to be able to visit many more places. Happy 5th day of Blake, travel buddy!

Baby Blake

I was so busy being with Blake yesterday that I didn't have time for a 4th day of Blake post. We we were running errands, cleaning toys in the nursery, and doing laundry. Normal Saturday.

If anyone was wondering, yes, Blake always has been a smiley, happy guy.


I'm pretty much expecting that this is what Blake will look like as an old man: bald head, big smile.

Laughter

Blake is one funny man. Whether he's saying that his new year's resolution is going to be 1366 x 768 or just being a grumpy-face, I think he's hilarious. (Thinking he's funny when he's mad gets me in trouble sometimes, but I can't help it!)

Here he is having a good laugh with his older brother. Thanks to Blake's mom for the pic.

I'd like to share the most recent thing Blake did that got me laughing. We were at home, and I looked over to see Blake pulling up his shirt, showing his bare chest. I don't know how long he was standing there before I noticed and looked over. When he got my attention, he said, "Look! Blake's gone wild!" and shook his chest at me. He was, of course, trying to make me laugh. Mission accomplished.

Would you like to tell about a time Blake made you laugh? Leave a comment below.

High School Musical

That's our Blake, singing in the High School Musical. Thanks to Matt for supplying the photo.

Speaking of High School Musical, when we go to the video store I joke about getting High School Musical. Blake "jokes" too, but I think he really wants to see it. In another life, I would love to see Blake take Zac Efron's place. He'd actually be pretty good.

Happy 2nd day of Blake!

Nerdery

On this first day of Blake I would like to highlight/celebrate his nerdiness.

When we first met, Blake and I talked a lot on "the chats" (that's what we like to call them) while we were both at work. In one of those first chats I remember Blake sharing pictures of Comic Con with me. He told me that it was his dream to go at least once in his life. Being a non-nerd, I had never heard of Comic Con before.

Basically, I knew from the very start that Blake is a HUGE nerd. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) When we were engaged and I was trying to decide what to give him as a wedding gift, I had a flash of inspiration--I knew the perfect gift for him: A trip to Comic Con! He was thrilled, and we're going this summer.

Being the super nerd that he is, Blake is hoping that we can go dressed up and maybe win some kind of prize.
However, I'm expecting that my experience will be a little more like the guy on the left here:
And I'm pretty sure at some point in the future, our kids will look something like this:
All kidding aside, I really love Blake's nerdery. My favorite is when he really geeks out about something. Even thinking about it makes me smile.

On the first day of Blake, let's all raise our glasses to nerdery. (To nerdery!)